Before leading others, it’s very crucial to first get a hold of yourself and be the leader of your life!
 
Maya Roffler’s corporate career began at 22 when she was promoted to the corporate office of a major men’s fashion retailer. She had put herself through college working in retail stores. That promotion had a big impact on her life. She had exposure to C-Suite Executives and her first supervisor was a powerhouse female mentor. She built a trade show and event program, a training program, and then became a spokesperson as well.
 
In this episode, Maya offers an in-depth story as to how she started her intrapreneur journey to becoming an entrepreneur. With this and a little mix of her own amazing insights and tips and tricks, you’ll get to discover more about what makes you a leader and how you can hone those skills to become that amazing girl boss you were always meant to be!
 
 
What you will learn from this episode:
  • Find out why you should start being present on the things that ACTUALLY matter in your business
  • Learn more on how determination and consistency will always beat talent, even in a male-dominated workplace, no matter what
  • Understand the importance of embracing being a leader first before leading others
 
 
“Women need to understand how to embrace being a leader before they ever step into any of these (leadership) roles.”
– Maya Roffler
 
 
Valuable Free Resource:
  • How to become the powerhouse female boss you are destined to be in a male-dominated workplace: https://mayaroffler.com/
 
 
Topics Covered:
 
02:08 – The powerhouse female mentor that started it all: Maya starts off with how the impact of her mentor started her journey
 
04:17 – Maya gives a glimpse of what it was like learning from her powerhouse female mentor in a male-dominated place
 
06:39 – Giving glory: Maya shares how her mentor called out her strengths and passions
 
08:01- How was Maya counseled by a powerhouse female mentor in a male-dominated arena?
 
09:30 – Maya takes a step into the past and shares how did she become an entrepreneur
 
13:48 – Intra vs. Entre: What does it mean to become an intrapreneur?
 
14:58 – Was the pandemic really Maya’s biggest challenge? Maya talks about what are the different challenges she faced as an entrepreneur
 
18:01 – How does Maya categorize what job she needs to outsource and what things can she do on her own?
 
20:17 – Which came first– the brand or the podcast?
 
22:05 – Mayapinion: Maya shares how she started her podcast and built it to how it is now
 
23:42 – What does it mean to embrace being a leader before stepping into the role?
 
25:56 – Q: Where do I think leadership is going? What do I think the future of leadership is? A: And you’ll hear me talk about this on my podcast quite a bit. And I say that I think the future of leadership is female. And sometimes people are like, “What does that mean? Does that mean, Maya?”
 
27:46 – Find out more on how to become the powerhouse female boss you are destined to be! Click here: https://mayaroffler.com/
 
 
Key Takeaways:
 
“Your life sometimes feels a little empty when you’re just checking boxes.” -Maya Roffler
 
“Know when you’re scaling, and it’s time to hire someone.” -Maya Roffler
 
“You should do it all in the beginning because you want to know everything” -Maya Roffler
 
“If you don’t understand what’s coming in and what’s going out, I’m scared for you. You should always know what’s going on.” -Maya Roffler
 
“The more you know yourself, and the more you understand yourself, the more aligned you’re going to be when you go into the workforce, the more aligned you’re going to be with whatever company you choose to work for, whatever company you create for yourself.” -Maya Roffler
 
“Having empathy is a strength.” -Maya Roffler
 
 
Ways to Connect with Maya Roffler:
 
 
Ways to Connect with Sarah E. Brown
 
 
Full Episode Transcript:
 
Maya Roffler 0:00
The more you know yourself and the more you understand yourself, the more aligned you’re going to be when you go into the workforce, and the more aligned you’re going to be with whatever company you choose to work for, whatever company you create for yourself because when we do it the other way around, we fall into circumstances instead of truly understanding ourselves.
 
Dr. Sarah E. Brown 0:24
Hello, everyone. Welcome to the KTS Success Factor Podcast for Women, where we talk about challenges senior female leaders face in being happy and successful at work. I’m your host, Dr. Sarah E. Brown.
 
Dr. Sarah E. Brown 0:43
My guest today is Maya Roffler. Her corporate career began at age 22 when she was promoted to the corporate office of a major men’s fashion retailer. She had put herself through school working in retail stores, so the business wasn’t new. But that promotion had a big impact on her life. It was then that she had exposure to C-Suite executives, and her first supervisor was a powerhouse female mentor. In that role, she built a trade show and event program, a training program, and then became a spokesperson as well. Later, she also worked for smaller companies and startups. And soon thereafter went out on her own. She now operates an event planning and logistics business. But the reason I invited her to the show is because she has also launched a podcast, and is building a brand called Mayapinion. And that’s what we’re going to talk about today. Maya, welcome!
 
Maya Roffler 1:50
Thank you so much for having me, Sarah! What a great introduction. Thank you!
 
Dr. Sarah E. Brown 1:55
Well, I have to start with this called out in the introduction in your bio. Tell us about that powerhouse female mentor, what did she do? And what impact did she have on you?
 
Maya Roffler 2:08
I absolutely love that you want to talk about her first because she’s woven into a lot of interviews that I do. But at such a young age at 22, about to be 23, going into this very male-dominated environment, she saw something in me that, I don’t know, if everyone else could see at that time, right? And she promoted me to the corporate office. And her name is Dawn, we’re still in contact ’till today. So that’s a very cool fact– 13 years later. And you know, she was the youngest vice president at the company at that time, at that level, the youngest woman, Vice President. So, lots of checkboxes there. So, I was already blown away by that! But that’s just data and facts, right? So, when I got there, and I met her, I’d never met her in person, that was another cool fact, when I started working for her. But she had done some pretty incredible things in the retail space already and implemented programs with another men’s retailer and had a lot of success, which is why they brought her on board to develop this program. And she saw something in me! And the reason I found her to be so inspirational, is that she really catapulted and pushed my career forward, she didn’t take any crap from anyone. She didn’t care about, you know, if there was someone in the room that was the CEO or, you know, owned a billion-dollar business, or if we were on a private jet or– whatever, it didn’t matter. She really taught me how to command a room, how to command respect how to, you know, speak to these men. It was predominantly male! So how to speak to these men that were two and three times my age at 22, 23 years old? So, the wealth of knowledge that she gave me, but also the confidence that she gave me, is hard to kind of pack into just a couple of minutes. But she’s someone that I’ll never forget and will probably be in my life forever. She’s an incredible mentor! And I have so much respect for her.
 
Dr. Sarah E. Brown 4:03
So, I’m curious about how she taught you to do those things. Did she demonstrate it and let you watch it? Did she give you instructions? Did you practice? What at all did you do that enabled her to actually impart that?
 
Maya Roffler 4:17
You just hit the nail on the head– all of the above! So, she was the like complete embodiment of that, right? She was in her early-mid 40s at the time, and I just was blown away by her, the way she didn’t take, again, crap from anyone! So, I saw that in her and as I’m approaching, you know, I’m the mid-30s now and so I see that now and I’m like, “Wow, she was really just was comfortable in her own skin and had been through so much.” And I heard her, she’d share her stories about her evolution and the mistake she made so there was the mentoring aspect of that. And then there was also the coaching, the one-on-one coaching aspect of it to where we would go through situations and I had some trials and tribulations and things that happen and where I was disrespected and things happened to me, she was there to protect me. But she would also say, “How do you want to deal with this?” and she would put me in it, with the protection, but also give me the tools to deal with those situations. But then also giving me those additional tools and resources by sharing her experiences, which, you know, I know, we’re going to talk about it in my podcast, but that was a lot of inspiration for my podcasts, too, because I wished that- she’s kind of like, I’m trying to be the dawn for other women with that, really?
 
Dr. Sarah E. Brown 5:32
Oh, that’s very cool! I didn’t know that when I asked the question. So, she was both a coach and a mentor? She was both bringing it out of you, and, at the same time, giving you advice and real skills practice.
 
Maya Roffler 5:46
100%! I mean, we spend so much time in trains, planes, automobiles together, kind of, to be silly and say that, but it’s totally true. We had a lot of, you know, windshield time together, a lot of playing time together because we’re building a program from the ground up together. And that time was invaluable. And she was able to do all of those things simultaneously, which I think is what makes her just incredible, and a part of my life! Yeah.
 
Dr. Sarah E. Brown 6:10
You mentioned that she was one of the youngest executives. And I’m assuming she was one of the very few females in that role?
 
Maya Roffler 6:18
She was the only female Vice President.
 
Dr. Sarah E. Brown 6:19
Okay, she was- Well, kudos to her for doing that! And that’s a time-consuming effort. And, so kudos to her for doing that. Do you know what it was she saw in you that you will remember that she called out as your strength or passion or whatever?
 
Maya Roffler 6:39
Yeah, actually, there’s a very specific story I remember. but I’ll keep it short. I actually, we got so close. I came to her. She has five boys, so she’s also very busy. Yeah! And her youngest child was turning one. And I came to the birthday party. And I remember her telling her children about me as I was sitting there. And she was like, “You guys, really this is Maya. She’s a powerhouse. She never had any girls.” So, she kind of took me under her wing in that way, as well. And she said, “She works so hard. She’s so determined. And she wants to learn.” And I just loved the fact that she saw me. She really saw me for who I was. Because my whole life, I’ve always been the most determined person. You know, I think you can be the most talented person, you can be the “smartest” person, you can be the prettiest person, whatever, right? But determination beats talent, and consistency beats talent any day. And she just really got that about me! And yeah, I just- she got me and that’s a huge, huge benefit to a mentor or a coach, fill in the blank, whoever you’re working with.
 
Dr. Sarah E. Brown 7:47
That is a very cool story. So, did you consult with her when you were thinking about transitioning to these other companies?
 
Maya Roffler 7:56
Oh, 100%. Absolutely!
 
Dr. Sarah E. Brown 7:58
How did she counsel you?
 
Maya Roffler 8:01
So, she happened to leave the men’s clothing company I was with Joseph Bank. And she happened to leave them prior to me leaving about two years before. And so, we always stayed in touch. And she talked, spoke to me throughout, and mentored me throughout the continuation of my journey there. I spoke to her when I wanted to transition over to the women’s side of things and go to David’s, and I continued to speak to her. And I was fortunate to have other women mentors as well, which is great, but she was the beginning of it all! And I would tell her where I was. And I felt like, you know, I was growing and I was being held back or I needed to move forward. And she typically was like, “You got it. It’s in you! You know this.” You know, she was kind of my sounding board, my person, you know, that we’ve kind of talked about before. But yeah, I mean, she gave me great advice. And really, I think the biggest thing she always helped me understand too, as I progressed forward, and matured, was reminding me about my value. Because as women, I think sometimes we forget about our values and defining that, especially when you’re going out on your own because you’re not told what your salary should be and what you should be charged. And that word “should”, which gets a little murky there. So that was a very helpful component as well because she had done a lot of consulting herself. So, she knew how to coach me and mentor me, as well on that.
 
Dr. Sarah E. Brown 9:21
Very cool! So, let’s use that as a segue to how did you make the decision to go out on your own, to become an entrepreneur?
 
Maya Roffler 9:30
Yeah, there were two times that came up. So, my story is interesting, and I find all entrepreneurs have interesting stories with this. But, for me, I was working for David’s Bridal and then I went into another company doing a very high-end job, and I was over all of like North America for sales for this service office company. And I lost my brother. I lost my brother in late 2016, and when you go through something like that, you really start to evaluate. My brother was 27. I was 30. And I had checked all these corporate boxes, right? I was, you know, obviously making well over six figures. I bought a house. I had done this– check, check, check, check, check! But your life sometimes feels a little empty when you’re just checking boxes. And I was really starting to go within because losing my brother was just– I loved my brother. He was my best friend growing up. And it was kind of a “What do I want out of life” moment for me. And so going in, and that was in late 2016, so going into 2017, I left that job. So, the first time I ever just up and quit a job and had zero plan, which is so not me. So not me– yes! So that was a pivotal moment. And I started the podcast, which was the first iteration of MaYapinion. And I was not talking about leadership at the time, I actually had been on a reality show when my brother, I lost him to homicide. And so, a lot of things were going on. And I started to do some consulting work, and I enjoyed it. But then I ended up getting roped into going back to so it’s kind of my first toe-dipping into entrepreneurship. But it started working predominantly for more startups. So as going into these startups and creating event programs for them, training programs for them, so using my tools from before. And I started to realize in 2017 and 2018, that I was, what you call, an intrapreneur. And I was creating programs within companies. So as those years passed, and I kept getting sucked in because they were good paying jobs, you know, but I also built this kind of side brand of MaYapinion. I thought, “Well, if I can do this, for these brands that are just popping up or wanting to grow or evolve, why can’t I do this on my own?” So, it kind of evolved from there. And the final push for me was I took one more final gig in 2019, but when the pandemic hit, I said, “I’m going to do this” and a lot of people thought I was totally nuts. But I felt it was time. And within myself, it was because I wasn’t feeling fulfilled. I wasn’t feeling- I was hitting the ceiling. You know, there wasn’t far for me to go anymore. And it was either I was going to be a partner with someone else at a company or I was going to do my own thing. And I really wanted to do my own thing. And feeling empowered in watching the success I had had in other companies, whether they were Fortune500 or small, and being this intrapreneur, I wanted to challenge myself as an entrepreneur. And so that’s how it happened.
 
Dr. Sarah E. Brown 12:43
Hi, this is Sarah Brown, again, the host of the KTS Success Factor Podcast for Women. I hope you are enjoying this episode and gaining some tips and inspiration on how you can be happier, more successful, and experience less stress at work. If you would like to learn more about how you can empower the women in your organization to do the same, simply click on the show notes to see how you can connect with me. As an added bonus for my podcast guests, you will see how you can book 30 minutes with me to explore how you can implement a scalable self-coaching program for the woman in your organization. Simply visit bookachatwithsarahebrown.com. Now back to this informative episode!
 
Dr. Sarah E. Brown 13:40
So, for my audience, define intrapreneur.
 
Maya Roffler 13:44
Yeah.
 
Dr. Sarah E. Brown 13:45
Because that’s an important concept.
 
Maya Roffler 13:48
Yeah. So, a lot of people don’t know that they’re intrapreneurs when they’re doing this. So intrapreneurs are really individuals that are working for, whether you’re working for a Fortune 500, a large company, or even a small startup company, you’re creating things within a company. You’re able to do what an entrepreneur does in a certain capacity within a company. So, to use myself as an example, I would go in and create an entire program or an entire branch of a company from zero to nothing. Like Joseph Bank, I created their training program. It didn’t exist before. And we had manuals, and we had certain exercises they had to do and complete. Our tradeshow program didn’t exist before. And when I left, after two, almost three years, it was two years and 10 months, it was at $25 million from $0. So those are intrapreneurs– people that can come in and create something within a company to keep it very, you know, 50,000-foot level. Yeah.
 
Dr. Sarah E. Brown 14:41
Yeah. Thanks for doing that. So right before the pandemic or right in the middle of the pandemic, you’re launching into this new area as an entrepreneur. The pandemic notwithstanding, what’s been your biggest challenge, or has it been the pandemic?
 
Maya Roffler 14:58
You know, it’s so funny. I thought it would be the pandemic because, you know, I have the MaYapinion brand, which started with the podcast, but I trademarked it and decided to do logistics because that’s what I knew. And I knew I’d be able to take on a few clients and start that way. But I thought that would be my biggest challenge because– hello, it was the pandemic. We weren’t meeting in person, but I took that intrapreneur in me and made it an entrepreneur and said, “I’m going to grab hold of virtual events and have one of the best financial years ever in 2020.” So that wasn’t really the challenge. The challenge for me was learning just the nuances of being a business owner, just the things you would not think about that companies, you know, take care of for you. And it’s interesting. I’m, like, glad we’re talking about this because I don’t talk about this a lot in interviews anymore. So, it’s a fun topic, like silly things, like things that are actually really important, but you don’t realize like ordering all your office supplies, and all your expenses and the things that you have to deal with like that, and invoicing and figuring all of those things out. It’s your first year, that’s a lot. It’s very intimidating. And so, my advice and recommendation, and the things I did wrong, and things I talk about on the podcast, too, as I transitioned from my corporate advice to my entrepreneur advice is, you know, know when you’re scaling, and it’s time to hire someone. You know, I made some of those mistakes, where I was like, “Oh, okay, I’m still doing okay. I still can manage, you know, the finances by myself.” No, my accountant is CPA. It’s very important in my life now, right, because it grew very fast. And, you know, I think it’s really important. I didn’t think about, you know, contracts. I was like, “Oh, I got to get these legal contracts drawn up.” You know, things like that I think if you have those in place in the beginning, you’re going to save yourself so much time. It’s going to be so much easier for you. But those are the things that I think were the biggest challenge. I think for some people, it’s also acquiring clients. For me, I was very fortunate, because I had a client base and people who wanted to come with me because of the experience that I had. But I think that’s very often a challenge that can happen to you is building your client base. And I think also with just the times that we’re in now, but I think you can kind of flip that perspective, too, because we’re all so connected, virtually. There are opportunities to gain more access. So, it’s all about how you look at it. But I would say the fundamental stuff was more of a challenge for me because I grew fast. And so, I needed to kind of step back and go, “Okay, I’m going to need some help here, here and here.” And that was more of a challenge.
 
Dr. Sarah E. Brown 17:36
So, I counsel people to outsource things that are not in their passions and their strengths. But I think early in an entrepreneurial venture, it’s a good idea to do them yourself so you know what it is, you know the fundamentals of what it is, even if it’s not something you’re going to do long term. How did you go about deciding what it was you were going to outsource versus keep and do yourself?
 
Maya Roffler 18:01
Great question. I agree with you 150%, Sarah. I think you should do it all in the beginning because you want to know everything. You know, I hear some stories with people who are like, “I don’t like doing finances. I’m not going to do any of it. That scares me to death.” Because I’m like, if you don’t understand what’s coming in and what’s going out, I’m scared for you. You should always know what’s going on, right? But I’m with you, that is exactly how I decide, for me the particular things like admin stuff, because I’m managing two podcasts now. I’m managing my event logistics company. I also have another tech startup that I started last year. So that kind of virtual assistant type work, that’s the stuff that I outsource, like the quickest, because that is a time thief right away! And it’s also pretty cost-effective, that you can outsource those types of things. So, for me, I don’t find that that’s the best use of my time. The best use of my time is to spend time in front of clients doing the logistical type of work because that’s what they need me for, and being present at events or being present for, you know, my actual podcast and actually giving value. So that’s how I determined that. Obviously, finances, I’m heavily involved in them, but I knew that I needed to get someone that really knew what they were dealing with because we have multiple streams of income. So that was a huge one too, so that happened pretty quickly. But I touch all the accounts like it’s not like someone deals with them, and then that’s it. So that, I mean, that’s how it worked for me. And I think, you know, again, I agree with you. If it’s something that you’re not loving doing, I think you should, but you’ve got to know how to do every single aspect of your business because it’s your business. That’s my-
 
Dr. Sarah E. Brown 19:43
Otherwise, in my opinion, you don’t know how to outsource it. You don’t even know how to contract for it if you don’t know what it is.
 
Maya Roffler 19:49
Absolutely! Because you’ve got to be able to tell the person or team that’s doing that for you. It’s no different than hiring an internal team, right? It’s actually more challenging, sometimes, in the beginning, because you’ve got to articulate very, very clear to them because they’re dealing with all different types of businesses. So, I agree with you.
 
Dr. Sarah E. Brown 20:08
All right, well, I want to pivot to your podcast swirl and your brand. And, which came first, the brand or the podcast?
 
Maya Roffler 20:17
The podcast is kind of, well, it’s an interesting story because the podcast came out, and the first iteration of my opinion came out in April 2017. And we were talking about a good friend of mine. He had been on the radio for a long time. We did trade shows for years. And he told me, “You should podcast.” Because of losing my brother, being on this show. He’s like, “You’re a talker. You could do this.” And I’m like, I don’t even know what I would call it. There’s no way! I’m never going to do a podcast. That’s so silly. He’s like, “Let’s just do it and see how it goes.” He’s like, “What would you call it?” And I’m like, “Well, I’m really opinionated. And my nickname was MaYapinion, so let’s just call it that.” And that’s how it happened. And so, from there, we did a couple of seasons, with three or four. We monetize very fast. It was very successful because it came off the show. But I didn’t want to talk about reality TV forever, because I did a show, and that was it. So, I shut it down, kind of revamped it, and decided I wanted to talk about leadership because as I mentioned earlier to you, Sarah, I really was so inspired by Dawn. So inspired by my journey as a young woman going into corporate America, not knowing anything about who I was as a leader, and then leading these large initiatives, and then teams. I had over 100 people reporting to me at David’s Bridal, and I didn’t have a clue who I was as a leader. So, I thought about it from that perspective and relaunched it. And then I decided to trademark the name. And then I decided to create my LLC out of it. So that’s kind of how that evolution happened.
 
Dr. Sarah E. Brown 21:49
Mhmm, and tell me what the main message of MaYapinion, the current version of MaYapinion podcast, is, who you’re attracting, and what you want them to get out of that– all of that stuff? I’m pointing my listeners towards it, so.
 
Maya Roffler 22:05
Yeah. No, thank you so much. Yes, I would love for you guys to listen. Our message, of course, its leadership in my opinion, and my guest’s opinion. But the ultimate message is how to be the leader of your life, and how to step into being the leader of your life. And so, every woman that comes onto the show, I have solo episodes, but I have a lot of incredible women, like yourself, that have been on the show. And they share their journey. And they share their story, a lot like I’m doing here today on your show, Sarah. And I always ask, you know, a question at the end, you know, what is your advice to give to women and about leadership and about when you step into leadership for the first time? And no two women have answered at the same, and we’re well over 100 episodes at this point of the reiteration and the leadership version. Yeah. So, I think it’s just the knowledge that comes out of it is great. And the purpose of having women from all different walks of life, age groups, you know, ethnicities and all over the world, which has been really cool is not every woman is going to identify with me as a 35-year-old woman who went to corporate America, very young. Every woman can identify with at least one, I think, at least five women that have been on the podcast at some time in some way. So that’s really our goal is to help women understand how to step into their leadership now, and my main, my big message is I really think we have leadership backward. I really think that women need to understand how to embrace being a leader before they ever step into any of these roles. And that’s what I’m truly passionate about, and like to talk about on the podcast.
 
Dr. Sarah E. Brown 23:37
Okay. And tell me what that means to embrace being a leader before you step into the role.
 
Maya Roffler 23:42
Yeah. So, for me, I take it back to my experience, right? And so, when I was walking into those doors at 22, 23, I didn’t know my values. I didn’t know what my mission was in my life. I really didn’t know what I felt like purpose was, and I really didn’t know what my overall vision was for my life and what that was. And I think it’s so valuable if we give that as a gift to women, and help them understand that. “Look at that now. Think about that now. What are your values? What’s important to you now? Really reflect on that, like, what is your- and these can evolve, and they will evolve. I’m not the same person, ultimately, that I was at 22. But at the core, I am in a lot of ways. So really thinking about that, I mean, this can happen for women in high school, middle school. I mean, you can start to do these exercises young. And I encourage young women to do this. Because the more you know yourself, and the more you understand yourself, the more aligned you’re going to be when you go into the workforce, the more aligned you’re going to be with whatever company you choose to work for, whatever company you create for yourself. Because when we do it the other way around, we fall into circumstances instead of truly understanding ourselves. So that’s what I mean by that.
 
Dr. Sarah E. Brown 24:50
Okay, and don’t let me put words in your mouth, but is that what you mean when you say being a leader of your life?
 
Maya Roffler 24:56
Yes, absolutely. That’s 100% what I mean!
 
Dr. Sarah E. Brown 25:00
Okay, that’s great. And if I can just augment a little bit about your podcast, not only do you ask women about their journey and their values and get that perspective, but you’ve got a breadth of people coming and talking about the various aspects that entrepreneurial leaders sought to think about for their business as well. And I think that is a real added benefit of what you’re doing.
 
Maya Roffler 25:25
Thank you, Sarah! Yeah, absolutely. That is definitely a huge aspect of the podcast. Because I think it’s so important that women, and we have a lot of men that listen to the podcast, too, which is incredible. But I think it’s really important that we share those messages on different journeys. And there’s not just one linear path to success and fulfillment for women.
 
Dr. Sarah E. Brown 25:44
If I were going to ask you one question that I haven’t asked so far that I should ask that conveys the essence of what you’re doing with your brand and your podcast, what would that question be?
 
Maya Roffler 25:56
I think maybe asking, you know, where I think leadership is going? What do I think the future of leadership is? And you’ll hear me talk about this on my podcast quite a bit. And I say that I think the future of leadership is female. And sometimes people are like, “What does that mean? Does that mean, Maya?” And what that means is, that it doesn’t mean that I think every single leadership role is going to be filled with women. What I mean is, we’re getting a seat at the table at different tables that we’ve never had a seat at before, which I think is incredible, but we still have a lot of work to do. And it also means that we are now embracing more of the feminine in the aspects of leadership versus just the masculine. Because if I think of when I went into the corporate world just, you know, 13 years ago, it was so masculine. All masculine kinds of traits. And you know, that aspect of leadership was embraced. And anything on the feminine side wasn’t really looked at. Now, it’s starting to change. And so that’s why I say the future of leadership is feminine because we’re identifying, men and women are identifying all these positive characteristics that we identify as feminine. In the leadership world, empathy is huge. We focused on this so much during the pandemic, and it is such a huge win for us. As you can tell, I get like lit up about this and fired up about this because having empathy is a strength. And I think it’s also one of my most listened-to episodes. I talk about the masculine and the feminine and how every single person, it doesn’t matter if you identify as male or female, you have characteristics of both and really leaning into your positive qualities of both. And that’s why I say, you know, the future is female for us, but in general with leadership and embracing those characteristics, so I would definitely talk about that.
 
Dr. Sarah E. Brown 27:42
And finally, Maya, tell our listeners where they can find you.
 
Maya Roffler 27:46
Okay, yeah, sure. So, you can visit my website. It’s mayaroffler, M-A-Y-A-R-O-F-F-LE-R, .com. That kind of has all my different websites embodied together. You can check me out on Instagram @mayaroffler, LinkedIn, Maya Roffler. Those are where I’m most active if you want to connect with me. I’m very active on Instagram. Obviously, you can check out the podcast too, the @mayapinionpodcast, that’s on Instagram. And we’re on all major channels, Spotify. We’re on, you know, Apple podcasts. We’re on like 12 different platforms so you can find us everywhere.
 
Dr. Sarah E. Brown 28:23
Maya, thank you so much for being with me today!
 
Maya Roffler 28:26
Thank you for having me, Sarah! This was fun. Thank you so much.
 
Dr. Sarah E. Brown 28:29
Thanks for listening to the KTS Success Factor Podcast for Women. If you like what you’re hearing, please go to iTunes to subscribe, rate us, and leave a review. And if you would like more information on how we can help women in your organization to thrive, then go to www.sarahebrown.com. You can sign up for our newsletter, read show notes and learn more about our podcast guests, read my blog, browse through the books or contact us for a chat. Goodbye for now!
Sarah Brown
Sarah Brown

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