Gwen Young & Polo REO Tate - Meet Your New Hosts

Welcome to Women Really Mean Business, presented by Athena International. I'm Jeff Blitnikoff, and I have two guests that are going to be more than guests, as you're going to see in just a second, or hear in just a second, I should say. And I'm going to introduce them, and then I'm going to talk to them for a second, and then we're going to have our big announcement. But first of all, Gwen Young, and her title is Gwen K.

Young, J.D., Juris Doctorate, of course, and she's the Chief Operating Officer of the Women's Business Collaborative. She's also a visiting scholar at the Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University, and former director of the Global Women's Leadership Initiative and Women in Public Service Project at the Wilson Center.

She's also an advisor to Concordia and president of Balance Up Leadership. And there's way more in the bio that I will put on the show page. And then we have Paula Rio-Tate. If you remember, she was on episode number 89 of Women Relieving Business, and you can review that episode.

It was great, and I'm going to put a link there as well. She is an author, actor, writer, and comedian, and she performs all over the place, at least pre-pandemic. She was performing all over the place, hoping to get back to that and get to a sense of normalcy. And her book also is Deep Dark Blue, A Memoir of Survival.

And that's something that we talked extensively about in her interview. So first of all, I'm just going to welcome you to Gwen and Polo. Hello, hello. Hello, hello.

Thank you for having us. Thank you for having us. I'm so excited to be here. This is so fantastic.

Yeah, it's great to have both of you here. So what you are listening to right now are your two new hosts of, see, and they're firing me because I can't talk. No, I'm just kidding. This is actually a planned transition, and I'm very excited about it.

But you are listening to your two new hosts of Women Really Mean Business presented by Athena International. And they're going to start the, we're going to take a little hiatus on the podcast here. And then October 18th, they're going to debut with a brand new show, Monday, October 18th. And I just want to kind of get them on the air today and talk about what that show is going to be about.

I'm going to kind of back off into a technical and a support role that I'm very excited about because I really feel, you know, all kidding aside, I was kind of joking around a little bit, Paulo and Gwen. And but all kidding aside, I think you two are really going to take this podcast to a new level. You're going to bring a wealth of experience, as people can hear from your bios. And I just really want to get kind of your vision, at least as you're working on it now, as we record this on July 28th, as to what you think.

So, Gwen, let's start with you and then we'll follow up with Paulo on on what she thinks. Thank you, Jeff. So I think what's really interesting about this podcast. and what's really interesting to have this podcast and have these discussions in 2021 is to talk about how women are leading today, how we're leading, what are the values, what is the purpose, what is the style, and to really focus on both that in the professional and the personal realms because we're leading across all different planes of our life and how we're leading may look very different than pre-COVID versus post-COVID, but it might look very different than it did five years ago or 10 years ago.

And that's where I really think We're going to come out with what these values of leadership are and what the world looks like and what what change we're driving and how we're driving to have more diverse voices that are reflective of the voices in our community leading across all kinds of tables. As I say, I want women and diverse voices at every single table, whether that's the dinner table to the boardroom to the creative table as you're planning a movie. and paula what's your perspective on it now and it's going to be interesting to hear you've kind of run the gamut when it comes to this podcast so you started out as a guest then you and i hadn't mentioned in the intro you're actually on the board of athena international as well and now you are set to be a co-host of the podcast so what's your perspective on everything thank you so much for even asking that and and how fun that right after our interview is when i I was asked to be on the board anyway after I had given a talk and led a breakout session and keynoted the Athena International Conference in Poughkeepsie.

So their mission is beautifully aligned with my own personal mission to really help people in whatever way that I can get the very most out of life and to really do whatever I can to convey what I've learned about learning, getting to know yourself wholly and learning to love yourself unconditionally so you can live fully in the freedom of your authenticity. That's my own personal mission to really explore how we do that. How do we do that in life? And so the beauty of this podcast is we are going to be talking about, we are going to be talking with brilliant women across all sectors.

Truly, I'm looking forward most to really seeing where how life and leadership intertwine, where do they intersect in our lives, and especially with these brilliant women with whom we're going to be having conversations, what truly inspires them and gives them purpose right now, today? And how is that purpose woven into the story of how they got there, how we all get there? And not only how we all get there, but how do we all navigate this life experience, especially over the course of the last weirdo pandemic era of the last year and a half?

So I am so excited to have conversations with people and really pull out and Gwen has superpowers beyond. So hopefully we will work together beautifully in terms of really being able to elicit the great stories of life that get us where we are And I think it the continuing mission of this podcast What I found was most interesting about my journey on this podcast was that I started out with kind of a basic list of questions. And as I progressed in the podcast, I said, you know what, it's not a formulary group of questions you're going to ask people, but it's really eliciting a environment where they feel comfortable telling their story because everybody's got a unique story.

And that's what made the podcast really interesting. I always like to say that I was never the host of the podcast. I was a facilitator of the podcast, a facilitator of having an environment where people could feel free and comfortable again to tell their stories on a weekly basis. And I'm excited that that mission is going to continue.

So I'm going to throw a little bit of a curveball question at you both, and I'm going to start it with Polo right now. And so there we go. Bring it on, Jeff. Bring it on.

Here we go. But when you look at the prospect of developing your vision and Gwen's vision for this podcast, what excites you? And then also, what scares you? Ooh, beautiful question.

In talking about this and really seeing the beautiful things that you've done with this podcast and being able to experience it firsthand as a guest in your, the atmosphere that you've cultivated and elicit to have those conversations. I would say I am most excited and I will always gravitate towards the personal side of anybody's story, how they have truly transcended what they've been through. We all have our stories. We have all had our challenges.

We've all had those things, those pivotal, poignant places in our lives that have really set us on a different trajectory. We've had things that we've had to overcome. We've had things that we've gone through. And of course, if you're familiar at all with my book, Deep Dark Blue, then you'll probably know that we all have those stories.

And mine are definitely dynamic in terms of things that we've been through. But all of that, of course, leads to how we make decisions today. And ultimately, in starting from where we are now and starting from the present moment with where all of our power is, we're speaking with women. and every single conversation is going to entail some form of incredible badassery, of incredible purpose and how to execute and implement of what they're doing for women, on behalf of women, to lift up women.

As we all know, a rising tide lifts all boats. Women are that tide. And all of these women that we are going to be speaking with are doing things in the present moment that are not only changing our present for the future, but they're for the better, but they're changing our future as well. So that's what I'm most excited about.

How do your particular constellation of attributes contribute to what you feel your purpose is? And how does that ripple out into the world? Because inevitably they're doing things on a daily basis that are incredible. So I can't wait to unpack those gifts.

What am I most scared about? That's a really good question. I wouldn't say that I have any fear going into it. My biggest feeling of responsibility comes in really, truly, first and foremost, always creating a safe space for us to have real, raw, open and honest conversations.

That's always going to be my desire, because I think that's where the good stuff is. Those are where the golden nuggets of life are. If we can all get to a space where we can speak openly and vulnerably and really, in a real authentic way, share our stories because we've all been through what we've been through. So that would be my only feeling of responsibility.

But I'm not afraid of that. I'm so excited for it because I know in that space comes the best gooey nuggets of life. Absolutely. And Gwen, I'm going to pose the same two questions to you, scared or should say excited and then scared.

And you have a unique kind of perspective on things. You know, Polo certainly had the perspective of being a podcast guest, being on the Athena International board. But you're coming at it from a really a partnership standpoint that you're creating with Athena International with the business, Women's Business Collaborative. collaborative.

And it's, I really think the fusing of the two organizations, it's just going to be amazing. And so, you know, what's your perspective on what makes you most excited? And same question, most scared. No, it's fantastic.

And actually to build on what Polo was saying, I think what makes me most excited is to make these connections, right? To make these connections, to learn what people's powers are or what lessons they learn, what values, what their purpose is. Because I think, you know, it sort of stems from the Women Business Collaborative. You know, we are 54 organizations and 350 champions.

And my philosophy is the more the merrier. Let's all work together. Let's all connect and let's all network together. And the only way you make true social change, the only way you really drive change is to be a community and to be a connected community and to exchange.

And so I think in the same way, Polo, you were talking about sort of pulling out the nuggets and like getting to know and getting really authentic, totally agree with that. And to me, it's to bring us together. You know, the more I talk to the more women, the more we can have an honest conversation, we can learn from each other, we can be friends with each other, we can be professional colleagues. But more importantly, we can realize that we're there together to work towards the same goals and the same purposes.

And that's the only way you drive to in the lasting change. That's the only way movements take hold. And so for me, and I'm an extrovert, right? So I want to meet everybody.

I want to be with everyone. I want to learn. And my first question is always what can we do together Right Whether that let go go for a run Let go have a cup of tea or let go change a policy in the company or in a government What can we do Who do we want to talk to and who do we know that wants to do that So for me, it's that building the network and building that connections that I think is going to be really exciting and really having this conversation in an authentic way. But you and I have talked about this to a very positive way.

I want to start from what can we do? Where are we going? What do we see as success? Where are we winning together?

How can we continue to have this conversation? How is this not a one off? How is this not a thank you? I saw you once and we're done and we got one nugget out of it.

How can we how can we build and how can we work together? I very much like Polo I'm actually not scared of anything I'm more scared and being accountable to you know being truly honest open and authentic with with Polo with you with the people that that we're interviewing really and putting them in a space where we can really deliver you know interesting conversation and an interesting place to engage and just being able to deliver that ability to come whether you're listening to the podcast or whether you're on the podcast to feel like you're engaged in a part of that.

And so for me, accountability is making sure that you're listening, that you hear something different. You feel like it's engaging for you. And you see where we're going or where that individual is going and kind of where the conversation is going. So you can, you know, people will say, well, what can I do today to further gender equity in business or women's leadership?

And part of it is just get an idea and feel like you're a part of it. And so I think that's where I want to make sure that we deliver that. And so it doesn't sound like the same podcast or something different or something that's not authentic, but it sounds really like something that resonates that the audience can engage with. And that we are all talking a year from now in July 28th, 2022 and saying, here's some great things that come out of this.

And we're so excited to look for 2023. I have no doubt that you two are going to take this to the next level. And I am very excited. I'm going to be your number one fan with all this.

There's just no doubt about it. And I get a chance to still work with you. I'll be working behind the scenes and helping in any way that I possibly can. Athena's greatest true uses Plato's greatest truism of what is honored in a country will be cultivated there.

Right. And that's exactly what you've done to create this burgeoning community of honoring women and talking about it. And what Gwen was saying is so brilliant. And I'm so excited to be able to witness and experience and take part in her superpowers, too.

And really talk about how women are leading now. You know, I always explore the notion of so often we're tormented by our past or we're so worried about our future that rarely are we in the present moment where all of our power resides. But really, what are we doing right now? how do we define authenticity?

How do we define purpose? How do we define perception, inspiration, motivation, expectation? How do we define enlightened leadership? What do we do with our core values?

What are our core values? All of those things, being able to explore through the lens of these incredible women's stories and taking it to another place and a different place that you have handed us the baton, from which you have handed us the baton. of this podcast it's exciting right i also want this podcast to resonate with men and women right i want this to be very much at the wbc we have what's called ally of her where we're recognizing the men that are with women you know much like the peloton bike team we're all working together to make sure we get people across the finish line right we're all working together to enlarge the table or to make sure that the table looks diverse and so that that we're in this together and we're in this when leadership in 2021 and some of these values and purpose and themes, well, that you were talking about authenticity and integrity.

And, you know, like there's all these 10 traits of leadership. I want men to listen to this podcast. And I want, I want, this is, we're all, this is all together. This is not an us versus them kind of thing when we're talking about leadership, right?

And it's really to raise the voices of the women leaders to showcase who they are, how many more of them that we don't know that we're going to find out across various planes and sectors. And so I think it's really interesting, as Polo, you were talking in agreement with all of that, but also, Jeff, that point of like, if you ask me, it's like, I want women and men to be listening to this. I want them to hear what we're doing today, where we're going, what leadership looks like, and understand that some of these things resonate with everybody.

This isn't particularly, there will be some things that may be women only, and there are some things that are potentially individual only, but it cuts across. When you measure leadership traits, it's the same for men or women of what are the traits of successful leaders. So I think that angle of it's interesting as well. And Gwen, I can't agree with you more.

And you echo what Martha Mertz said in episode number 50. I had the honor of interviewing the founder of Athena International, as you well know. And she was the one that envisioned the eight Athena leadership principles. And she said, you need both women and men to lead and each lead in different ways.

But the combination of the two makes it for a much more strong organization. So what you said really resonated with me. And it's something that was echoed when I had interviewed Martha. So that was quite an honor to do that.

I've been honored to interview everybody. I mean, I thought that I was, it's funny I thought I was giving when I was when I helped to create this podcast but I ended up taking a lot more I like to tell people it was a master's class in business every single week and you know these lessons will stay with me for forever I mean I'm forever you know you can't and I'm glad when I say this I say this is a positive I can't unlearn all the great stuff that I learned And that a that from my perspective that pretty wonderful So let let give you both the final word Gwen I started with you So I going to start with Polo for the final word So I guess Gwen you have the final final word I call this the giving the guests the floor question So I'm going to pass the virtual mic over to Polo.

And Polo, you just addressed the audience with whatever you'd like to talk about. Well, speaking to what you so beautifully articulated and the reciprocity of what this podcast and conversations like these can really yield. I just want to express my appreciation for the opportunity to really take the baton from you that you have run with so beautifully to get us to this point and to really see where we can take it in the future. Gwen, I echo every single word that has come out of your mouth, And I'm so appreciative of including women and men, all genders, all across the entire spectrum of human existence.

There are we don't live in a vacuum. Right. Every single conversation that we have, project that we undertake, every single relationship that we have, it is all collaborative. So everything that we do with and for ourselves will absolutely radiate into every interaction that we have with everyone else and on and on into the world.

So if we come from that frame of mind, then what we do for ourselves, what we do for others, what we do with others has such an incredible exponential power. So if we can come from the place of really true authenticity and true integrity with what we're here to learn, being open hearted and open minded and coming from a soul knowing and understanding that there is a place at which we're all one. then I think everything that is on the table that gets put on the table in these conversations is so incredibly important in serving how we go from here.

So I think that would be the only thing left would be to say, I'm so excited. I'm so excited for what this all has in store. And to meet all the wonderful, incredible people that we're going to meet along the way and to allow those conversations to foster a new paradigm from henceforth. That's really the best part of it.

It really is the people that you meet and the people that you impact. You know, I've heard comments from people that have been very appreciative from what they've heard and have in a positive way altered lives. So that's been the most gratifying part for me. And I think you're going to find that yourself.

Gwen, the final, final word to you. What do you think? What's your take as we give you the floor right at the end of the podcast here? where to go and what to say after everything that's been said.

I think to build on everything that has been said by both of you and Polo to build on your conversation is that, you know, if we come back to the purpose of a podcast, right, is to develop a discussion that as we learn and grow from the people that are on the podcast as the host, from the audience, is that we will iterate and grow as the paradigm changes, as the discussion changes. And so part of authenticity or part of when you're talking about women really mean business or leadership, this all changes, right?

As we grow, as the world changes, as our responsibilities change, as our visions of leadership change, right? Technology has changed how you interact with your workforce, which changes how you act as a CEO, just as one small minor example. So I think what will be really interesting is we will iterate, that we will grow and that we want to be engaged and connected so that that iteration and that growing is really following the discussion, following where people are, is is authentic and really driven by purpose and meant to be.

You know, when they say diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging means that we're all the discussion is growing. It's changing. It's evolving. And it's a positive discussion of where we are all going together to achieve leadership and to really mean business, whatever that means across whatever industry, across whatever planes of your life.

I'm a mother. So what really means business is how I manage the home. So we really can have these really honest discussions. And so I look forward to that learning from each other, that iterative process and that growing.

And I'm just excited. And I hope that we can all continue to not only engage and support, but also kind of, you know, question each other and talk about where we're really coming from to figure out where we're all going together. Well, that's a beautiful way to conclude this, except I have one more thing to say is, is that and I'm speaking to the listeners that I'm so appreciative that you've gone on this journey with me. Thank you for supporting something that I honestly had no idea what it would do when I was sitting in my chiropractor's office in May of 2018.

And I know you're going to be in very good hands, and I'm going to officially pass the hosting duties over to Gwen Young and Polo Rio Tate. You are going to hear them starting on October 18th. There will be a hiatus of the podcast, so you'll see when you go to the website, womenreallybeingbusiness.com, that we'll be announcing that October 18th is the new start with the new hosts.

And of course, I will be involved in this. I'm going to be interacting with Paulo and Gwen quite a bit. I'm going to be the guy on the technical end and helping to post the podcast and all that stuff. And like I said, most importantly, I'm going to be the number one fan, or at least I'm going to try to claim that title before anybody else does, because I'm sure you two are going to have a lot of fans.

and what you're going to build is going to be very special. And I can't wait to hear it. So thank you so much, Paula Rio Tate and Gwen Young. Thank you so much for your time this week and really looking forward to hearing you on October 18th and beyond.

Thank you so much. We're looking forward to it too and utterly appreciative of all that you will have done and will continue to do with us. Thank you, Jeff, so much. Thank you both.