Women & Leadership - a Q&A with Megan Foster

Q: What qualifications do you have to discuss women and leadership?

A: I am a woman who has been in the workforce for more than two decades and have owned my own business for the last five years. For schooling, I have a Master’s Degree in Leadership with a focus on strategic organizational change. I also have extensive experience working as a leader in sport, especially as a coach trainer, and I’ve personally worked as a coach from the local to national level for nearly 20 years. 

Q: What are some benefits to having women in leadership roles?

A: Women bring a different perspective on life experience. It’s not better or worse, it’s just different. The more perspectives at the table, the better. Including education, race, gender, age, etc. Any company can better serve their clients and customers when their staff have first-hand understanding. 

In my experience, women also bring a nurturing perspective. We tend to ask more questions to better understand. We also tend to lead from a collective and collaborative approach. We engage others rather than observe and decide on our own. 

Q: What or who motivated you to become a leader?

A: I have and have always had a lot of strong women in my family, so it has always felt natural for me to be in a leadership position. I also had a lot of strong female role models through sport and business that have mentored me. They modeled and demonstrated different ways to be a strong woman in business and life. 

Q: What do you think is the most significant barrier to women becoming leaders?

A: People as human beings gravitate to who is similar to them. Men as leaders of business tend to mentor other men. It’s not necessarily because they don’t like women, but they tend to align themselves with men. Breaking into that circle is a significant barrier for women.

Q: How do you empower other women to become leaders and how can women in general empower each other to become leaders?

A: I offer women-only training and workshops. I’m happy to mentor women if they reach out. I’m also setting up a scholarship this June for people who identify as a woman. 

As for tips, I’m a huge fan of the cold call. I’ve never been afraid to call someone or email someone I don’t know to ask a question. I really encourage others to do the same. Know someone in a position you want to be in? They might be willing to make a connection. 

Q: How important is it to have a mentor to grow as a leader?

A: Mentors are a huge resource. Not only can they provide answers, but they can reflect and pose questions back to you to help you work through it in your own scenario. Many times, mentors have very similar experiences, but they’ve already done it and might be coming out the other end and can give that crystal ball perspective.

Q: As a leader, how do you stay mindful of who’s at the table and who’s missing?

A: If everyone is exactly like you, there are people missing. That’s why multiple perspectives is so important. If you are planning, overcoming obstacles, making decisions, the more people you have that represent different experiences and different insights, the richer the result. I want to include people who have different strengths, different ages, and people who are comfortable disagreeing with me. I want to hear from collaborative people who have different perspectives, ideas, and thoughts. 

Q: What advice would you give your future self?

A: To my 18-year-old self - you’re going to have lots of fun, and it’s okay, and you should have that fun. I would encourage her to make those cold calls and to be curious and brave. 

To my 25-year-old self -  keep going in the direction you’re going. Keep making those decisions. Good things are on the horizon. Start meditating sooner. You’ll really enjoy it.

Q: How have you built confidence and resilience over the course of your career?

A: Resilience comes from failures and things that didn’t work out. I’m a planner and try to work until I get what I want, but it doesn’t always pan out. If I get a no, how do I make it a yes, or how can I change when I get better? I feel most confident when I’ve prepared, or I am speaking on something I know about. I reach out to people who I think would have better knowledge on a topic. I never try to bullshit my way through any scenario. It’s okay to say I don’t know and point others toward people who do. That leaves me with the energy and head space to invest in what I’m confident in. If I had any advice, it’d be to lean into your strengths.