This week we interviewed Dianne Gubin and Beth Hilbing of C-Sweet, the premier global community of female executives.
The genesis of C-Sweet serves as an inspiring tale for entrepreneurs. Dianne Gubin, actively engaged in running and participating in various networking groups, sought a new community that crossed industries and business boundaries. Faced with the challenge of not finding precisely what she was looking for, she embraced the entrepreneurial spirit: if it doesn't exist, create it. Collaborating with her trusted friend, Beth Hilbing, marked the beginning of C-Sweet, and the rest is history.
From its humble origins in a small conference room in Century City, C-Sweet has blossomed, now spanning seven cities with a membership of several hundred and a distribution list exceeding 25,000. Beth Hilbing shares a story that resonates with many women executives—a tale of being deeply immersed in her work during her corporate ascent, inadvertently letting her network fade. However, faced with a career transition, she recognized the importance of a vibrant network. In reconnecting and rebuilding her network, Beth did land her new position at Boeing. Joining forces with Dianne in C-Sweet ensures that other women never have to start over from scratch.
Beth's experience serves as a reminder for executive women at any stage of their career journey. C-Sweet offers a lifeline, allowing women to stay connected to a dynamic network where they can have fun, learn, grow, provide support and be supported. The message is clear: with C-Sweet, executive women can foster meaningful connections and navigate their professional journeys with resilience and support.
This conversation covers a lot of ground for business leaders including:
Discussion about what makes C-Sweet’s programming unique and powerful, including:
The challenge for leaders today, holding a special space for the challenges facing female leaders.
Acknowledgement that too often there are still very few females in the executive room and how we can support those doing it and make progress to change the statistics.
Tips for engaging (or not engaging) with toxic personalities. Creating a culture where ego driven toxicity is the exception rather than the rule.
The importance of shared values and vision is their key to success as Co-CEOs (not something that can be sustained very often). Their tips:
Stay focused on the shared value. For them, the member experience is what matters most. How can they serve their members drives everything they do?
Keep sight of the vision. When individual differences pop up, they resolve them quickly through honest conversation.
Hold a sacred space for gratitude and appreciation for your partners, including their differences.
Maintain a lighthearted attitude about differences. They share about golf - something that Dianne enjoys and Beth prefers to participate if she can “drive the cart and drink the beer.”
We're thrilled to share this inspiring conversation with you, and we can't wait for you to join us on this journey with C-Sweet. Your questions and comments are always welcome.
A Leadership Beyond is led by Change Management Consultant Adrienne Guerrero and Leadership Communication Strategist Tom Rosenak, and exists to support the alignment between business strategy and people strategy - to drive results with people not at the expense of people (Talent Optimization).
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