I am thrilled to announce the launch of my brand new podcast show: “Inspiring Women Interviews”. And I mean “thrilled”. This is a huge and exciting step for me and it aligns perfectly with my own mission to help professional women to achieve success and change the world in their own way. This is not a throwaway “tagline” – I believe that when smart women have the courage and confidence to actively use their skills and talents, without holding themselves back, that the World will become a better place.

One of the best ways I know of encouraging professional women to stretch outside their comfort zone is to introduce them to inspirational female leaders. And so the podcast was born!

Hence the official description of the “Inspiring Women Interviews”:

Each month, Amanda Alexander interviews a high-flying female leader who is committed to sharing her experience openly and honestly to support gender equality. The purpose of the show is twofold:

1. To inspire women to BELIEVE in themselves so that they can reach higher in their careers and

2. To help them to be creative and resilient in their response to the challenges they may face along the way.

If you are a professional woman who wants inspiration to step up, then this podcast is for you! However, this isn’t a podcast only for women: These interviews will help men who recognise the wider benefits of encouraging more women into leadership. Together we can change the World!

The first interview is with a truly inspirational female leader and advocate of women in leadership, Kristen Pressner of Roche Diagnostics. Kristen is a VP and Head of  HR for EMEA and Latin America. She is also a champion for women in leadership and a mother of 4.

Since the podcast went live on Tuesday 2nd June, Kristen and I have received many messages of thanks and praise.

Here’s just a few of the most recent comments:

▪ “This should be required listening for ALL women and girls from aged 14″
▪ “I could listen to you both all day!”
▪ “It energised and inspired me”
▪ “Such a fluid interview”
▪ “It inspires me to make sure that the women who come into my life get my help to change the world one thought at a time.”
▪ “Fantastic interview…There were so many points in it that were relevant to me both personally and from a business perspective.”
▪ “She (Kristen) was very authentic in her answers and you could see she is so passionate about women in leadership and in the workplace in general. Loads of things she was saying resonated within me”

I can almost guarantee that you will thoroughly enjoy and learn from this interview, in which Kristen and I discuss:

▪ Planning your career progression
▪ How to make it “work” as a working mother
▪ How to return from maternity leave with confidence
▪ The most important qualities of a leader
▪ Why we need more female leaders globally
▪ The challenges faced by women in leadership positions
▪ The case for positive discrimination to increase the number of women on boards
▪ Being  strong female role models for our children

I invite you to listen to this whilst you are cooking, driving, walking, running, ironing or even having your hair cut! But please DO listen because I am certain that you’ll love it.

I’d also like to ask you to help me spread the word about this podcast. You can do this quickly and simply:

1. Click here to subscribe to the show on iTunes
2. Rate it 5 stars!
3. Pop a quick comment under your rating to say why you enjoyed the podcast.
4. Let your friends know about the interview with Kristen.

And if you have a teenage daughter, you might want to listen to this with her. Let’s give our future female leaders the insider knowledge BEFORE they have to make big decisions about their careers!

Click here to listen to the interview with Kristen Pressner

p.s. I’m looking for future interviewees. Are you – or do you know an inspirational female leader? My interviewees will be highly successful women who are authentic, approachable and keen to share their experiences for the benefit of women and girls. Once you have listened to my interview with Kristen, you’ll know exactly the type of interviewee that will fit the bill! I’ll also be interviewing in my capacity as a Psychologies magazine blogger, so this represents an incredible opportunity for profile-raising for the right people. Please drop me an email if you would like to make an introduction.