On Wednesday, July 28th, Cambridge Mobile Telematics hosted the fourth installment of the Women in Leadership webinar series, Redefining Leadership. CMT’s Carolyn Pickering, Director of Solutions Consulting, and Heather DeJesus, Chief Customer Success Officer, joined Sarah McCrary, CEO of GasBuddy, and Sukanya Soderland, CSO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, for an in-depth discussion about how how to practice authenticity, encourage diversity, and challenge traditional models of leadership.

McCrary discusses her path to becoming a leader and mentioned a time early on in her career where she was given an opportunity to show her leadership skills. Also, she talks about her experience accepting and learning the value of what she brings to leadership and how she challenges the mainstream model of leadership everyday. 

Leadership is changing as is the working environment, especially in the shadow of the global pandemic. Pickering shares her leadership journey and how her confidence and the effectiveness of her leadership has grown. “Keep people engaged, keep people feeling effective, keep people feeling challenged in places that they want to grow, and lead them towards their missions, their vision,” she says. “I try to be the leader I wished I had,” De Jesus echoed. 

Soderland shares input on her personal role and says she believes that leadership is about energy with a focus on the importance of how one manages their own energy, and the group’s. The women discussed that there is a correlation between work and home life and the energy flows between the two areas of life. Being centered, focusing on what you can control, creating healthy habits, and a healthy work-life balance allows you to perform your best at work.

McCrary wrapped up the discussion emphasizing the importance of having confidence in yourself to earn your seat at the table.

This four part webinar series is part of CMT’s Diversity and Inclusion initiative. To watch all episodes of the Women in Leadership series click here!