August 26, 2024 • 17 mins
iHeartMedia Chicago presents the Women Inspire Chicago Podcast hosted by Angela Ingram, iHeart Chicago's Senior Vice President of Public Engagement and produced by iHeart Chicago’s Jasmine Bennett. Angela hosts inspiring conversations with some of Chicago’s top women executives as they share their personal stories of success, including their triumphs, detours, pitfalls and challenges.
Jasmine Flowers Mazyck, Managing Director at Flowers Communications Group, spent 17 years as a global Talent/HR consultant and leader in the management consulting industry. She began her career at Deloitte as a Human Capital Consultant, where she developed and implemented change readiness and learning strategies for large-scale clients across a range of industries.
Jasmine advanced her career at Deloitte, eventually becoming a Talent Leader for the Core Industry Solutions service area. In this role, she was a strategic thought partner with senior leadership, advising on priorities such as employee engagement, culture, professional development, performance management, retention, compensation, and DE&I.
Most recently, Jasmine was a Professional Development Manager and Global Talent Management leader at McKinsey & Company, where she partnered with leaders to advance and activate DE&I commitments and led the inception of a leadership development strategy and program.
Jasmine is a PR Council Board Member and an alumna of Leadership Georgia, one of the nation’s oldest and most successful leadership training programs for young business, civic, and community leaders. Jasmine holds a B.A. in Economics from Spelman College and an MBA from the University of Georgia Terry College of Business. Notably, her first corporate internship was at Flowers Communications Group while she was at Spelman.
Check out the Women Inspire Chicago Podcast and be inspired! The Women Inspire Chicago podcast is sponsored by Potbelly.
Connect with Jasmine Flowers Mazyck:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasmineflowersmazyck/
Instagram: @MrsJazMaz
Jasmine Flowers Mazyck, Managing Director at Flowers Communications Group, spent 17 years as a global Talent/HR consultant and leader in the management consulting industry. She began her career at Deloitte as a Human Capital Consultant, where she developed and implemented change readiness and learning strategies for large-scale clients across a range of industries.
Jasmine advanced her career at Deloitte, eventually becoming a Talent Leader for the Core Industry Solutions service area. In this role, she was a strategic thought partner with senior leadership, advising on priorities such as employee engagement, culture, professional development, performance management, retention, compensation, and DE&I.
Most recently, Jasmine was a Professional Development Manager and Global Talent Management leader at McKinsey & Company, where she partnered with leaders to advance and activate DE&I commitments and led the inception of a leadership development strategy and program.
Jasmine is a PR Council Board Member and an alumna of Leadership Georgia, one of the nation’s oldest and most successful leadership training programs for young business, civic, and community leaders. Jasmine holds a B.A. in Economics from Spelman College and an MBA from the University of Georgia Terry College of Business. Notably, her first corporate internship was at Flowers Communications Group while she was at Spelman.
Check out the Women Inspire Chicago Podcast and be inspired! The Women Inspire Chicago podcast is sponsored by Potbelly.
Connect with Jasmine Flowers Mazyck:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasmineflowersmazyck/
Instagram: @MrsJazMaz
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
I Heard Media Chicago presents the Women Inspire Chicago podcast,
hosted by Angela Ingram I Heard, Chicago's Senior Vice president
of Public Engagement and produced by I Heard Chicago's Jasmin Bennett.
Angela hosts inspiring conversations with some in Chicago's top women
executives as they share their personal stories of success, including
their triumphs, detours, pitfalls, and challenges. Jasmine Flowers Mosique, Managing
(00:24):
director of Flowers Communications Group, joined Angela for her latest episode,
Check it out and be Inspired.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Welcome to Women Inspire Chicago. Jasmine Flowers Mosique, Managing director
of Flowers Communications Group. We are so excited to have
you with us today.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
Thank you, thank you. I am so excited to be here.
Why don't you.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Tell us a little bit about your story? Your background.
Speaker 4 (00:50):
Yeah, my background, I think most people would say, is
probably non traditional in terms of where I started and
where I am today. So I went to Spelman con
shout out to all my Spellman College graduates and current students.
I was an economics major, not super clear on what
I wanted to do in my career, but I ended
up getting my first job at Deloitte Consulting, where I
(01:12):
did Talent management consulting for many, many years there around
fifteen plus years, and then I transitioned to Mackenzie Consulting.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
For a couple years.
Speaker 4 (01:22):
Where I would say is where I decided to or
had the opportunity to take a major pivot in my
career in my life that really kind of landed me
here today and where I am today in my career,
which is Managing director at Flowers Communications Group. On a
personal side, I have three beautiful children, a wonderful husband.
We live full time in Atlanta, but I am definitely
(01:44):
commuting back and forth between Atlanta and Chicago and just
really really excited to be here.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
The roots of Flowers Communications Group run deep Michelle Flowers Welch,
founder and CEO a Flowers Communications Group. She said, the
formula for marketing and communications agencies that exist today, and
now you are at the helm, How does that make
you feel?
Speaker 4 (02:08):
That's a great question, and I think you set it
up right with talking about just kind of the iconic
impact Michelle has had on the industry, the impact Flowers
Communications Group has had on the industry, and so I
feel just incredibly honored, first of all, to even be
in this position I don't think I ever anticipated or
(02:29):
thought that this is where I would land and this
opportunity would come my way, that Michelle would look to me.
I don't think that ever crossed my mind. So I
feel incredibly honored. But at the same time, I feel
that this is the purpose. I think this is exactly
and I'm a woman of faith. This is what God
(02:50):
had in his plan for Michelle, for me, for the agency.
So you know, I've talked about with folks who asked
me this question around just how everything fell into place
and the divine timing that really led me to take
this opportunity. And I just feel incredibly, incredibly honored.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Well, you are certainly walking in the footsteps of someone.
As I just mentioned before, there's certainly kind of the
model it's set to stage. And so to have an
aunt and a niece be able to step up to
the plate, what a blessing. Let's talk about some of
your defining values. When you think about your value system
and what moves you, what were the top three?
Speaker 4 (03:32):
Definitely my faith, you know, I talk to God on
a daily basis and really try to live my life
in a way that honors him. My family, Secondly, my
family is my passion, and I think you can have
more than one passion, and they definitely fill my cup
at the end of a long day or at the
end of a long week. The ability to spend time
(03:53):
with them and just have that other kind of personal
side that kind of completes me and fulfills me really
definitely defines kind of who I am and my values.
And then lastly, I would just say, really the importance
to me on just my own well being was a
huge value. I think you know, any leader just you
have a lot on your plate, and so you know,
having values around taking care of yourself, your mental well being,
(04:17):
your physical wellbeing, that all is a part of me
that that's important for me to kind of keep intact
into value when.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
You think about your leadership style. And so prior to
this recording of the podcast, we had an event where
we had a conversation with you, a Q and A
with the women of iHeartMedia Chicago and some of our
community and business leaders as well as Flowers Communications Group,
and the session was titled I Am Comfortable in the
Driver's seat. Let's talk about you being a driver.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
Yeah, I am a driver.
Speaker 4 (04:48):
That is how I describe myself and a driver to me,
because I'm talking about myself, this is really what it
means in terms of how I define myself. A driver
is relentless towards their goals, relentless in what they are
striving for, unstoppable, unmovable, always moving forward. And I think
that's what being a driver is, and being in the
(05:08):
driver's seat is being able to being keen on vision.
I think that's one of my strongest strengths.
Speaker 3 (05:14):
I do.
Speaker 4 (05:14):
I have big visions, big vision for what I do.
And because I have big vision and I set a
high bar, I do, I drive towards it and I'm
relentless in that.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
When you think about detours and pitfalls and challenges and
ultimately success, how do all of those connect?
Speaker 4 (05:32):
I think they all connect because they're all part of
a journey, and they're all part of journeys.
Speaker 3 (05:38):
That all of us go through.
Speaker 4 (05:40):
We all have pitfalls, we all have challenges, we all
see success. And if you don't experience kind of the
variation of that in your journey, I think it's difficult
to learn and grow and ultimately get to the best
person leader that you're supposed to be.
Speaker 3 (05:58):
You need pitfall to learn.
Speaker 4 (06:01):
How to fall and how to pick yourself back up again,
and how to learn from those situations. You need success
to be able to say, hey, I can keep going,
I can keep pushing. I made it, I came through
that pitfall, and now I'm successful. And then you need
challenges because challenges is what gives you the perseverance. And
so to me, that's all part of a person or
(06:23):
a professional journey that's important to really grow you into
the greatest and best person professional that you are destined
to be.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
Amen. Amen, When you think about the future of women
in leadership, what does that look like to you?
Speaker 4 (06:38):
The future of women in leadership? You know, I want
to see more women in leadership. When I think about
the future, you know, we are still to this day
dealing with a lot of inequities as it relates to
women in the workplace in leadership levels, pay, equity, and
so the future of women in leadership to me is
more women in leadership. It is more equity for women
(07:02):
in leadership positions. And then I think it's more women
reaching back to pull up the next generation. I think
we have to do more of that. I think we
have to do more of that and really focus on
growing and developing other women who look at those of
us coming up and want to say, I want to
do that. How do I do that? Who do I
(07:24):
need to talk to to do that? How do I
get in the right spaces to do that? I think
sometimes women in leadership sometimes it's so hard to get
there that you forget that to have had a little
help along the way, it would have just been nice.
So I think for the future of women in leadership,
we got to do more of that supporting and bringing
other women leaders up behind us.
Speaker 2 (07:45):
And we're called to do that because, as you said,
we didn't get where we are today, you know, just
little o me. I mean, really, there was always someone
in our view that pulled us along, and sometimes we
don't even know it. It happens behind closed doors, That's right,
It happens behind closed doors. And so when we think
we've reached the pinnacle of our careers, I just think
(08:06):
it would be a shame if we didn't reach back
and pull someone else along the way. And they're going
to do it, and the next generation is going to
do it, and so what we're doing today really affects
the next generation. And so I bring Jasmine Bennett who
is the producer of Women in spar Chicago. Now into
the conversation, who walked in our doors five years ago
and was ready and willing to do anything, anything that
(08:29):
we asked her to do, And now she has been
promoted to the promotions director for one oh seven five WGCI.
It's amazing and what a blessing, What a blessing. And
it is because we saw something in Jasmine five years ago.
I remember her coming in and sitting in my chair,
this one's going to be successful. We didn't know how,
(08:51):
We didn't know what was going to happen, you know,
what was going to fall in place, but she was here.
So Jasmine is you have heard the conversation between Jasmine
and I Jasmine and Jasmine today. I love this. What
what are your thoughts? And certainly coming off of, you know,
just being promoted a couple of weeks ago.
Speaker 1 (09:08):
Yeah, so I feel like I relate to you so
much because you having that mindset of you're a driver
and you're relentless and wanting to get what you want.
Speaker 3 (09:17):
That is me. I think it might be a Jasmine thing.
I'm just kidding, but no.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
I completely feel that one hundred percent because I've always
been like that since I was a little girl. So
getting here, you know, five years ago, I had multiple goals,
you know, multiple things that I wanted to do, but
of course I didn't know when it would happen. I
didn't know how it would happen. Regardless, I was like,
it's going to happen. Something's going to happen. And I
have a quote because when you when you have something
(09:42):
like that, being relentless towards your goal, I feel like
you have to build up some kind of self confidence.
You have to and it's hard because you know, imposter
syndrome will creep up your back and other people will
be in your ear or you'll get in your own head.
But the self confidence is everything. So this quote is
from William Jennings Brian. He says the way to develop
self confidence is to do the thing you fear and
(10:05):
get a record of successful experiences behind you. Destiny is
not a matter of chance, It is a matter of choice.
It is not a thing to be waited for. It
is a thing to be achieved, and that is what
you do, Jasmine.
Speaker 2 (10:18):
Yes that wow.
Speaker 4 (10:19):
Destiny is not a thing to be waited for. It's
a thing to be achieved. Yes, I love that me too.
It was perfect for this, it was it was absolutely perfect.
And you know, it's all about attitude. Yeah, it's all
about your thought pattern and what.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
You want to do in setting your mind to doing
something and striving toward that goal. And as you mentioned before,
there are going to be ups and downs, they are
going to be pitfalls. And the interesting thing about this
generation in which we live, and they look at leaders
who have been in our business for a very long time,
they think, all of a sudden, you just woke up
and you ended up in that corner office, right, And
(10:53):
they don't realize that, No, this was a path, This
was a journey in order to get there, and it's
a constant journey. It's green, it is. It's one thing
to make it to the corner office, but you need
to stay in the corner office. And how do you
stay in that corner office? Is constant growth, is constant development.
It's having the right team around you, making the right connections.
(11:13):
And so many people don't see that. What keeps you
up at night, Jasmin?
Speaker 3 (11:17):
What keeps me.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
Up at night or awake?
Speaker 3 (11:20):
It gives me awake at night.
Speaker 4 (11:21):
You know, I wouldn't necessarily say anything keeps me awake
at night to that degree.
Speaker 3 (11:28):
What I will say is.
Speaker 4 (11:30):
That I am constantly thinking about this vision that I
have for Flowers and moving the agency forward, and what
needs to be done to achieve this vision. And so
I am constantly thinking about that. You know, the world,
the marketplace is ever changing, and so you know our
(11:51):
agency we are growing within that as well. But the
how we grow and how we achieve this vision is
kind of what is constantly kind of playing in my mind.
I spoke earlier the Women Inspire event that you mentioned.
I was saying, how when I work out and I'm
running on the treadmill, I clear my mind and that's
when my best ideas or my best problem solving moments happen.
(12:14):
And so I'm often thinking about that when I'm on
the treadmill, which is how are we going to get there?
What do we need to do, what decisions need to
be made, how do we differentiate ourselves? How do we
take it to the next level. So that I would
say is with a constant kind of conversation that I'm
having with myself dialogue in my mind pretty regularly.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
So what inspires you or who Oh.
Speaker 3 (12:39):
I love this question. What inspires me? Who inspires me?
Speaker 4 (12:45):
So I thought about this because you know, I'm like, okay,
I have really come from I've been fortunate and blessed
to come from a long line of very inspirational women.
My grandmother's my mother Michelle. I have other aunts, you know,
I have friends who are doing big and wonderful things
(13:06):
and they all, you know, inspire me. My family fills
my cup, you know. So there's a lot of directions
that I could go. And so then I thought, I
was like, okay, what does inspire really mean? And I
looked up the definition and it said to inflame or
or blow into So if you think about, you know,
a small flame and blowing a little air, and it grows.
Speaker 3 (13:27):
So I was like, okay, what grows me?
Speaker 4 (13:31):
I was kind of playing around with a conversation with
my friends and one of my friends said, why can't
I inspire me?
Speaker 3 (13:38):
Why can't me inspire me? And for me, that was it.
Speaker 4 (13:43):
And I think in my mind I maybe wanted to
say I inspire me, but didn't want to come off
as arrogant or anything like that. But I think it's
okay if you are self motivated if you inspire yourself,
If day to day, when you are in the grind
and having to make major decisions, having to solve problems
(14:07):
or think about, you know, how we're going to innovate,
You're not always going to have people you know with
you inspiring you in those moments. And so it really
takes having that ability to inspire yourself. What are you
saying to yourself to inspire you to grow, to not
allow your fear to freeze you in this moment, but
(14:29):
to fuel you to take things to the next level.
And so my answer to that, but my long way
of saying that is I inspire me. And yes I
come from a long line of inspirational people, but day
to day, especially in my professional career, I inspire me.
Speaker 2 (14:45):
That's a book, and I think you need to but
it's true. I mean, we have no problem with bringing
ourselves down. I mean we conjure up all these things
in our mind why we should or should not do
something you mentioned fear and we're afraid to do it,
and what if they don't like me? And I mean
by the time we start our day, we could be
a wreck. Absolutely, we have no problem with doing that.
(15:06):
But then we don't look back and think of all
the things that we've achieved, the blessings that we have,
and I call them handprints. When I am struggling with something,
I look back and I'm like, Okay, God brought me
through that. He brought me through that that was much larger,
and he can bring me through this.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
See.
Speaker 2 (15:22):
I have a tendency to trust him on the big
things and the little things. I mean, I have a
flat tire the world in right, but you know, you
give me something major, and I know God's got it.
But it's all about your mindset, it is, and your
desire for growth and your desire for development and being
around the right people. You know, we can really surround
(15:42):
ourselves with the wrong people, and so you got to
make sure that people have your best interests in mind.
That's right. And I think a lot of times, particularly
as women, we tend to gravitate to people that don't
always have our best interest in mind. And we found
out about it it's too late. So I think there's
a book in the in addition to all of the
other nuggets that you have been able to give us today.
(16:05):
But as I'm sitting here and looking at you and
no Michelle Flowers Welch, I know why she selected you.
I know why. Well, you have her smile. If nothing else,
the smile is there. But there is no question, no
doubt that she has certainly selected the right one to
follow in her footsteps, per se. And I know their
(16:25):
big shoes to feel and you will never feel those,
but you will create your own. And she knew that
you would be able to do that. Jasline, Thank you
so much for joining us today for women inspires. I'm inspired,
I am inspired. I'm good for another round because of you.
Speaker 3 (16:40):
It's inspired to be.
Speaker 4 (16:43):
You know that.
Speaker 3 (16:44):
Really it means a lot.
Speaker 4 (16:46):
You know, these things come along and you just you
reflect on your journey almost like how did I get here?
And it's an honor and I am truly honored and
humble to even be considered an inspiration.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
Oh you are. And the humility that that is what
I see that resonates with you so much. Oh yeah,
sure you're in the driver's citing, you're leading the pack,
but the humility and that's what really gets you to
the next level and the next level in the next level.
He being humble, he being humble.
Speaker 3 (17:16):
Thank you so much, Thank.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
You, thank you, Thanks for listening to The Women Inspired
Chicago podcast hosted by Angela Ingram, presented by iHeartMedia Chicago
and produced by Jasmine Bennett.
Speaker 3 (17:28):
Sponsored by pot Belly.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
Feed your group from small to larch with pot Belly
catering pot Belly, You've Gotta Get It Hot,
I Heard Media Chicago presents the Women Inspire Chicago podcast,
hosted by Angela Ingram I Heard, Chicago's Senior Vice president
of Public Engagement and produced by I Heard Chicago's Jasmin Bennett.
Angela hosts inspiring conversations with some in Chicago's top women
executives as they share their personal stories of success, including
their triumphs, detours, pitfalls, and challenges. Jasmine Flowers Mosique, Managing
(00:24):
director of Flowers Communications Group, joined Angela for her latest episode,
Check it out and be Inspired.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Welcome to Women Inspire Chicago. Jasmine Flowers Mosique, Managing director
of Flowers Communications Group. We are so excited to have
you with us today.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
Thank you, thank you. I am so excited to be here.
Why don't you.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Tell us a little bit about your story? Your background.
Speaker 4 (00:50):
Yeah, my background, I think most people would say, is
probably non traditional in terms of where I started and
where I am today. So I went to Spelman con
shout out to all my Spellman College graduates and current students.
I was an economics major, not super clear on what
I wanted to do in my career, but I ended
up getting my first job at Deloitte Consulting, where I
(01:12):
did Talent management consulting for many, many years there around
fifteen plus years, and then I transitioned to Mackenzie Consulting.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
For a couple years.
Speaker 4 (01:22):
Where I would say is where I decided to or
had the opportunity to take a major pivot in my
career in my life that really kind of landed me
here today and where I am today in my career,
which is Managing director at Flowers Communications Group. On a
personal side, I have three beautiful children, a wonderful husband.
We live full time in Atlanta, but I am definitely
(01:44):
commuting back and forth between Atlanta and Chicago and just
really really excited to be here.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
The roots of Flowers Communications Group run deep Michelle Flowers Welch,
founder and CEO a Flowers Communications Group. She said, the
formula for marketing and communications agencies that exist today, and
now you are at the helm, How does that make
you feel?
Speaker 4 (02:08):
That's a great question, and I think you set it
up right with talking about just kind of the iconic
impact Michelle has had on the industry, the impact Flowers
Communications Group has had on the industry, and so I
feel just incredibly honored, first of all, to even be
in this position I don't think I ever anticipated or
(02:29):
thought that this is where I would land and this
opportunity would come my way, that Michelle would look to me.
I don't think that ever crossed my mind. So I
feel incredibly honored. But at the same time, I feel
that this is the purpose. I think this is exactly
and I'm a woman of faith. This is what God
(02:50):
had in his plan for Michelle, for me, for the agency.
So you know, I've talked about with folks who asked
me this question around just how everything fell into place
and the divine timing that really led me to take
this opportunity. And I just feel incredibly, incredibly honored.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Well, you are certainly walking in the footsteps of someone.
As I just mentioned before, there's certainly kind of the
model it's set to stage. And so to have an
aunt and a niece be able to step up to
the plate, what a blessing. Let's talk about some of
your defining values. When you think about your value system
and what moves you, what were the top three?
Speaker 4 (03:32):
Definitely my faith, you know, I talk to God on
a daily basis and really try to live my life
in a way that honors him. My family, Secondly, my
family is my passion, and I think you can have
more than one passion, and they definitely fill my cup
at the end of a long day or at the
end of a long week. The ability to spend time
(03:53):
with them and just have that other kind of personal
side that kind of completes me and fulfills me really
definitely defines kind of who I am and my values.
And then lastly, I would just say, really the importance
to me on just my own well being was a
huge value. I think you know, any leader just you
have a lot on your plate, and so you know,
having values around taking care of yourself, your mental well being,
(04:17):
your physical wellbeing, that all is a part of me
that that's important for me to kind of keep intact
into value when.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
You think about your leadership style. And so prior to
this recording of the podcast, we had an event where
we had a conversation with you, a Q and A
with the women of iHeartMedia Chicago and some of our
community and business leaders as well as Flowers Communications Group,
and the session was titled I Am Comfortable in the
Driver's seat. Let's talk about you being a driver.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
Yeah, I am a driver.
Speaker 4 (04:48):
That is how I describe myself and a driver to me,
because I'm talking about myself, this is really what it
means in terms of how I define myself. A driver
is relentless towards their goals, relentless in what they are
striving for, unstoppable, unmovable, always moving forward. And I think
that's what being a driver is, and being in the
(05:08):
driver's seat is being able to being keen on vision.
I think that's one of my strongest strengths.
Speaker 3 (05:14):
I do.
Speaker 4 (05:14):
I have big visions, big vision for what I do.
And because I have big vision and I set a
high bar, I do, I drive towards it and I'm
relentless in that.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
When you think about detours and pitfalls and challenges and
ultimately success, how do all of those connect?
Speaker 4 (05:32):
I think they all connect because they're all part of
a journey, and they're all part of journeys.
Speaker 3 (05:38):
That all of us go through.
Speaker 4 (05:40):
We all have pitfalls, we all have challenges, we all
see success. And if you don't experience kind of the
variation of that in your journey, I think it's difficult
to learn and grow and ultimately get to the best
person leader that you're supposed to be.
Speaker 3 (05:58):
You need pitfall to learn.
Speaker 4 (06:01):
How to fall and how to pick yourself back up again,
and how to learn from those situations. You need success
to be able to say, hey, I can keep going,
I can keep pushing. I made it, I came through
that pitfall, and now I'm successful. And then you need
challenges because challenges is what gives you the perseverance. And
so to me, that's all part of a person or
(06:23):
a professional journey that's important to really grow you into
the greatest and best person professional that you are destined
to be.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
Amen. Amen, When you think about the future of women
in leadership, what does that look like to you?
Speaker 4 (06:38):
The future of women in leadership? You know, I want
to see more women in leadership. When I think about
the future, you know, we are still to this day
dealing with a lot of inequities as it relates to
women in the workplace in leadership levels, pay, equity, and
so the future of women in leadership to me is
more women in leadership. It is more equity for women
(07:02):
in leadership positions. And then I think it's more women
reaching back to pull up the next generation. I think
we have to do more of that. I think we
have to do more of that and really focus on
growing and developing other women who look at those of
us coming up and want to say, I want to
do that. How do I do that? Who do I
(07:24):
need to talk to to do that? How do I
get in the right spaces to do that? I think
sometimes women in leadership sometimes it's so hard to get
there that you forget that to have had a little
help along the way, it would have just been nice.
So I think for the future of women in leadership,
we got to do more of that supporting and bringing
other women leaders up behind us.
Speaker 2 (07:45):
And we're called to do that because, as you said,
we didn't get where we are today, you know, just
little o me. I mean, really, there was always someone
in our view that pulled us along, and sometimes we
don't even know it. It happens behind closed doors, That's right,
It happens behind closed doors. And so when we think
we've reached the pinnacle of our careers, I just think
(08:06):
it would be a shame if we didn't reach back
and pull someone else along the way. And they're going
to do it, and the next generation is going to
do it, and so what we're doing today really affects
the next generation. And so I bring Jasmine Bennett who
is the producer of Women in spar Chicago. Now into
the conversation, who walked in our doors five years ago
and was ready and willing to do anything, anything that
(08:29):
we asked her to do, And now she has been
promoted to the promotions director for one oh seven five WGCI.
It's amazing and what a blessing, What a blessing. And
it is because we saw something in Jasmine five years ago.
I remember her coming in and sitting in my chair,
this one's going to be successful. We didn't know how,
(08:51):
We didn't know what was going to happen, you know,
what was going to fall in place, but she was here.
So Jasmine is you have heard the conversation between Jasmine
and I Jasmine and Jasmine today. I love this. What
what are your thoughts? And certainly coming off of, you know,
just being promoted a couple of weeks ago.
Speaker 1 (09:08):
Yeah, so I feel like I relate to you so
much because you having that mindset of you're a driver
and you're relentless and wanting to get what you want.
Speaker 3 (09:17):
That is me. I think it might be a Jasmine thing.
I'm just kidding, but no.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
I completely feel that one hundred percent because I've always
been like that since I was a little girl. So
getting here, you know, five years ago, I had multiple goals,
you know, multiple things that I wanted to do, but
of course I didn't know when it would happen. I
didn't know how it would happen. Regardless, I was like,
it's going to happen. Something's going to happen. And I
have a quote because when you when you have something
(09:42):
like that, being relentless towards your goal, I feel like
you have to build up some kind of self confidence.
You have to and it's hard because you know, imposter
syndrome will creep up your back and other people will
be in your ear or you'll get in your own head.
But the self confidence is everything. So this quote is
from William Jennings Brian. He says the way to develop
self confidence is to do the thing you fear and
(10:05):
get a record of successful experiences behind you. Destiny is
not a matter of chance, It is a matter of choice.
It is not a thing to be waited for. It
is a thing to be achieved, and that is what
you do, Jasmine.
Speaker 2 (10:18):
Yes that wow.
Speaker 4 (10:19):
Destiny is not a thing to be waited for. It's
a thing to be achieved. Yes, I love that me too.
It was perfect for this, it was it was absolutely perfect.
And you know, it's all about attitude. Yeah, it's all
about your thought pattern and what.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
You want to do in setting your mind to doing
something and striving toward that goal. And as you mentioned before,
there are going to be ups and downs, they are
going to be pitfalls. And the interesting thing about this
generation in which we live, and they look at leaders
who have been in our business for a very long time,
they think, all of a sudden, you just woke up
and you ended up in that corner office, right, And
(10:53):
they don't realize that, No, this was a path, This
was a journey in order to get there, and it's
a constant journey. It's green, it is. It's one thing
to make it to the corner office, but you need
to stay in the corner office. And how do you
stay in that corner office? Is constant growth, is constant development.
It's having the right team around you, making the right connections.
(11:13):
And so many people don't see that. What keeps you
up at night, Jasmin?
Speaker 3 (11:17):
What keeps me.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
Up at night or awake?
Speaker 3 (11:20):
It gives me awake at night.
Speaker 4 (11:21):
You know, I wouldn't necessarily say anything keeps me awake
at night to that degree.
Speaker 3 (11:28):
What I will say is.
Speaker 4 (11:30):
That I am constantly thinking about this vision that I
have for Flowers and moving the agency forward, and what
needs to be done to achieve this vision. And so
I am constantly thinking about that. You know, the world,
the marketplace is ever changing, and so you know our
(11:51):
agency we are growing within that as well. But the
how we grow and how we achieve this vision is
kind of what is constantly kind of playing in my mind.
I spoke earlier the Women Inspire event that you mentioned.
I was saying, how when I work out and I'm
running on the treadmill, I clear my mind and that's
when my best ideas or my best problem solving moments happen.
(12:14):
And so I'm often thinking about that when I'm on
the treadmill, which is how are we going to get there?
What do we need to do, what decisions need to
be made, how do we differentiate ourselves? How do we
take it to the next level. So that I would
say is with a constant kind of conversation that I'm
having with myself dialogue in my mind pretty regularly.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
So what inspires you or who Oh.
Speaker 3 (12:39):
I love this question. What inspires me? Who inspires me?
Speaker 4 (12:45):
So I thought about this because you know, I'm like, okay,
I have really come from I've been fortunate and blessed
to come from a long line of very inspirational women.
My grandmother's my mother Michelle. I have other aunts, you know,
I have friends who are doing big and wonderful things
(13:06):
and they all, you know, inspire me. My family fills
my cup, you know. So there's a lot of directions
that I could go. And so then I thought, I
was like, okay, what does inspire really mean? And I
looked up the definition and it said to inflame or
or blow into So if you think about, you know,
a small flame and blowing a little air, and it grows.
Speaker 3 (13:27):
So I was like, okay, what grows me?
Speaker 4 (13:31):
I was kind of playing around with a conversation with
my friends and one of my friends said, why can't
I inspire me?
Speaker 3 (13:38):
Why can't me inspire me? And for me, that was it.
Speaker 4 (13:43):
And I think in my mind I maybe wanted to
say I inspire me, but didn't want to come off
as arrogant or anything like that. But I think it's
okay if you are self motivated if you inspire yourself,
If day to day, when you are in the grind
and having to make major decisions, having to solve problems
(14:07):
or think about, you know, how we're going to innovate,
You're not always going to have people you know with
you inspiring you in those moments. And so it really
takes having that ability to inspire yourself. What are you
saying to yourself to inspire you to grow, to not
allow your fear to freeze you in this moment, but
(14:29):
to fuel you to take things to the next level.
And so my answer to that, but my long way
of saying that is I inspire me. And yes I
come from a long line of inspirational people, but day
to day, especially in my professional career, I inspire me.
Speaker 2 (14:45):
That's a book, and I think you need to but
it's true. I mean, we have no problem with bringing
ourselves down. I mean we conjure up all these things
in our mind why we should or should not do
something you mentioned fear and we're afraid to do it,
and what if they don't like me? And I mean
by the time we start our day, we could be
a wreck. Absolutely, we have no problem with doing that.
(15:06):
But then we don't look back and think of all
the things that we've achieved, the blessings that we have,
and I call them handprints. When I am struggling with something,
I look back and I'm like, Okay, God brought me
through that. He brought me through that that was much larger,
and he can bring me through this.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
See.
Speaker 2 (15:22):
I have a tendency to trust him on the big
things and the little things. I mean, I have a
flat tire the world in right, but you know, you
give me something major, and I know God's got it.
But it's all about your mindset, it is, and your
desire for growth and your desire for development and being
around the right people. You know, we can really surround
(15:42):
ourselves with the wrong people, and so you got to
make sure that people have your best interests in mind.
That's right. And I think a lot of times, particularly
as women, we tend to gravitate to people that don't
always have our best interest in mind. And we found
out about it it's too late. So I think there's
a book in the in addition to all of the
other nuggets that you have been able to give us today.
(16:05):
But as I'm sitting here and looking at you and
no Michelle Flowers Welch, I know why she selected you.
I know why. Well, you have her smile. If nothing else,
the smile is there. But there is no question, no
doubt that she has certainly selected the right one to
follow in her footsteps, per se. And I know their
(16:25):
big shoes to feel and you will never feel those,
but you will create your own. And she knew that
you would be able to do that. Jasline, Thank you
so much for joining us today for women inspires. I'm inspired,
I am inspired. I'm good for another round because of you.
Speaker 3 (16:40):
It's inspired to be.
Speaker 4 (16:43):
You know that.
Speaker 3 (16:44):
Really it means a lot.
Speaker 4 (16:46):
You know, these things come along and you just you
reflect on your journey almost like how did I get here?
And it's an honor and I am truly honored and
humble to even be considered an inspiration.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
Oh you are. And the humility that that is what
I see that resonates with you so much. Oh yeah,
sure you're in the driver's citing, you're leading the pack,
but the humility and that's what really gets you to
the next level and the next level in the next level.
He being humble, he being humble.
Speaker 3 (17:16):
Thank you so much, Thank.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
You, thank you, Thanks for listening to The Women Inspired
Chicago podcast hosted by Angela Ingram, presented by iHeartMedia Chicago
and produced by Jasmine Bennett.
Speaker 3 (17:28):
Sponsored by pot Belly.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
Feed your group from small to larch with pot Belly
catering pot Belly, You've Gotta Get It Hot,
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