Mirinda Kay Scott

Mirinda Kay Scott: For me, being an influential woman is not about your title, your authority, or even your visibility. It's about your ability to create trust, ask thoughtful, meaningful questions, really connect with people, help them build and bridge their ideas, and help any more important work that they're working on, they're building, they're creating move forward in a way that's clear, ethical, and helpful to others. It's not about who's in your sphere. In fact, influential women have a massive depth and breadth to their sphere of influence. The people they connect with are at all levels, different education levels, different backgrounds, more diverse men and women and individuals who self-identify differently than you, people with more expertise and less, people who are new to maybe the workforce or your community or your church, it's about making everyone feel welcome, their voices heard. True influence is about serving others. It's about building for others, helping and supporting and growing others so that future generations can sustain. It's not about focusing only on like-minded people, but really hearing. What value do others bring? What do they want to bring? What are their dreams and their hopes, and helping them come up with ideas to make those proposals, those ideas grow and come to fruition. To be perfect, to be flawless, is not influential, and so many women believe it is. No, to be authentic, to be vulnerable, and to be caring and compassionate and admit when you make a mistake or admit that something could have been modified, looking for those opportunities for continuous improvement can be in health, career, internal personal relationships at work, external community environments, wherever you want to influence. Go there, grow there. Challenge yourself to go into new venues. Try to build and create and help others. Sometimes it means simply sitting back and being the quiet one in the room. You don't need to be the loudest voice. You don't have to be the most passionate, but if you feel that commitment to passion, integrate it into the conversation while still allowing others their opportunity to share, speak, and be heard.

What's one piece of advice you would give to younger women chasing their dreams?

Mirinda Kay Scott: The advice I would give younger women chasing their dream is don't wait until you feel fully ready. All the parts and pieces do not have to be into place. Dreams require you to grow into them, with them, through them. So start before you have all the answers. Stay disciplined enough to keep learning, continue asking questions, keep improving, keep reaching out to others, look for mentors, look for opportunities to learn, train and grow. That can be book learning, it can be at a formal educational institution or university, it can be through mentors, it can be through community groups, it can also be through online courses, or it can be through just going out and meeting individuals who are doing what you want to do or even a portion of what you think you want to build. Protect your confidence. There will be rooms where you feel underestimated, overlooked, undervalued, that's OK. They don't define your worth. Let them sharpen your clarity. Separate useful feedback from fear, bias, or limited imagination. Let your creativity flow. Find quiet times, quiet spaces where you just focus. Maybe you journal if that's your thing. And you write down your ideas, you brainstorm with others, you get in a focus group or a survey group, or you host it. Go get those ideas. Build credibility through action. Be prepared. Follow through. Do what you say you will do, especially keeping those promises to yourself. If you commit to doing x by x date. Great. Some people are major planners. Build out that calendar. I will do X. I will launch my website by August 11th. I will. Update my LinkedIn bio. I will write my book. I will draft my video, whatever that looks like to you to get started. Map it out. Some of us are true project managers, and we really need to scope everything out. Don't go to such a high level of detail that you impede yourself. Start with the basics. Start high level. I would also remind them that relationships truly matter. You can't build your dreams by yourself. There are mentors, there are sponsors, peers, there are industry experts. They're honest people who will encourage you. Be generous Influence grows when people trust your character. They need to see you multiple times. They need to hear from you. They need to get to know you. Give them those opportunities. Most importantly, let your dream evolve as you shape and grow what it looks like. Continue to be open to possibilities. The art of the possible is only limited by what you define. So leave those doors open. Change your direction. That's not a failure. Wisdom is often refining the dream, expanding it, or even choosing a path that better matches who you're becoming or what your dream or goal is. So don't be afraid to open those doors wide open and, let your mindset be open to changes, authority, options, because everything is going to strengthen who and what you ultimately become and how you fulfill your dream.