Championing Change: A Powerful Women Interview with Dr. Rebekah Wanic, Expert in Social Psychology
An Interview by Natalie Ruiz
As part of my Powerful Women series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr Rebekah Wanic. In this interview, we dive into her tips for navigating change, continuously improving, self-empowerment, and many other gems. I am thrilled to share more about Dr. Rebekah Wanic!
Dr. Rebekah Wanic is a mindset psychologist who works with entrepreneurs and individuals to help them overcome challenges and reach their personal goals. A gifted public speaker and university lecturer, Rebekah is an expert in social psychology, and her work has appeared in academic journals and publications around the world.
She is particularly interested in how people’s mindset can influence their outcomes and is a firm believer that resilience is a neglected skill, which should be more widely taught. You can find Rebekah at: https://www.venttoreinvent.com/home
How would you describe your leadership style, and how has it evolved over the years?
I am very Type A and have learned to channel the good parts of that (hyper-productivity, organizational efficiency, etc) while reducing the impact of the less optimal aspects (a sense of time pressure, perfectionism) by constantly asking myself to focus on what really matters and what the “value add” is for any specific action. In this way, I can maintain high standards for myself and others while still providing reassurance and supporting motivation to work toward goals with a positive outlook, a sense of security, and in an encouraging manner.
Can you share your vision for your organization or industry in 2024? What key goals are you working towards?
I’m content but never satisfied. There are always new challenges to seek out, and I hope to grow my business impact and complete a few more personal projects in the coming year.
Challenges and Opportunities:
What do you see as the main challenges for women leaders in 2024, and how do you plan to address them?
Women should stop prioritizing their identity as women and focus on effective leadership that works for their unique skill set and environment. Both women and men should view themselves as leaders first. One’s gender identity plays a role in their interactions with the world, but prioritizing that over everything else is not productive to individual or group aims. Unfortunately, this is hard to do when so many people are stuck on the “woman” part of the equation.
I help people to recognize their individual strengths and challenges and work to optimize their outcomes with these aspects in mind. Reflection, adjustment, and evaluation should be a continual process for anyone seeking to improve their experiences and get closer to their goals, irrespective of their gender.
Are there specific opportunities you believe women leaders can leverage in the coming years?
Focusing on being exceptional at whatever you do, without using any identity category as a crutch, excuse, or selling point, can help one capitalize on their individual strengths and promote more harmonious relationships.
Navigating Change:
How do you plan to lead your team or organization through uncertainty in a rapidly changing landscape?
Navigating change is a continual process of evaluation, anticipation, and adjustment to feedback. This requires attention to detail, collecting information from multiple sources, and weighing one’s options, but ultimately, it is about making decisions and assessing their impact. A healthy recognition of the reality that not everything will work out as planned can increase the odds of catching mistakes early, minimizing negative consequences, and maintaining motivation to move forward with confidence, despite uncertainty or setbacks.
Can you share a specific instance where you successfully navigated a significant change, and what lessons did you learn from that experience?
When I have major changes taking place, I work to adjust my mindset. Situations requiring significant adjustment can feel overwhelming when you focus on the primary endpoint. While it is important to keep the finish line in mind, a highly effective technique for me is to identify intermediate milestones to work toward in order to reprioritize regularly to keep on track with small steps that lead eventually to the larger end goal. Additionally, regularly reminding yourself of your past successes can help to keep you moving forward when you feel caught in the weeds. If you’ve overcome difficulties in the past, there’s no reason why you won’t work through the ones you are facing currently.
Diversity and Inclusion:
How do you prioritize diversity and inclusion in your leadership approach, and what steps are you taking to promote a more inclusive environment?
Helping people to feel comfortable is an important part of helping them to reach their full potential. This requires creating situations where differences of opinion can be shared. However, it is also important that individuals recognize their role as part of a team, which often requires adjusting self to situation and not the other way around. Leading with support for viewpoint diversity, while also supporting organizational effectiveness in process and outcome, can be difficult to balance in a climate that promotes narcissistic, “me-first” attitudes. Highlighting the importance of collaboration, compromise and hard work as mutually beneficial helps to align group values to create a workplace that will be productive and inclusive.
In your opinion, why is diversity important for the success of an organization, and how do you ensure diverse voices are heard?
Diversity for diversity’s sake is not productive for organizations, and there is much data to demonstrate this. Viewpoint diversity for organizations can be important to avoid group think and ideological capture. Promoting a sense of shared values, rather than telling everyone that their unique perspective matters, can often be more effective in cultivating an organizational culture that is both welcoming and effective at meeting KPIs.
Mentorship and Leadership Development:
Have you had mentors or role models who have influenced your leadership style? How has mentorship played a role in your career?
I have been fortunate to have intersected with so many wonderful colleagues who have helped me in my career, both directly and indirectly. Most of my mentorship has been informal, learning from friends through conversations, rather than explicit feedback sessions. In this way, I have been exposed to different personalities and stories about navigating challenges and been able to ask questions to garner suggestions and feedback on specific issues as well. The informal nature of these interactions eliminates defensiveness and promotes increased honesty, which is powerful in helping each other grow. Getting back to the office, cultivating social relationships with co-workers, and expanding your network should all be priorities for individuals interested in self-growth and career development.
How do you prioritize leadership development within your organization, especially for women aspiring to leadership roles?
Not everyone wants to be a leader or is suited for the role. Therefore, first and foremost, one should assess whether they are pursuing an opportunity because of their own desire or because they feel they should due to external pressures, whether they be societal or coming from more proximal sources. As I mentioned, leadership development is a continuous process that requires keen self-knowledge, thus the primary focus should be on cultivating self-reflection and self-critique. Knowing your preferences, your strengths and your areas for improvement are all necessary for individuals to make the choices that will be best for them and those they work with.
Legacy and Future Generations:
What legacy do you hope to leave as a leader, and how do you hope to inspire future generations of leaders?
I am someone who believes strongly in being yourself. But this comes with a recognition that you also have an obligation to make adjustments along the way and avoid the grandiose sense of entitlement inherent in much of the narcissistic “authenticity” we see reinforced today. I strive to project positivity, while promoting the value of regular self-critique and consistently taking on challenges. If I could inspire more people to own the consequences of their choices, face the reality of their own shortcomings, and work first to adjust their own actions before seeking to place blame externally, that would be a huge win because they would see improvement in their own lives, which would spread outward to others.
In what ways are you actively working to create opportunities for the next generation of leaders?
As a professor, I get the privilege of interacting with future leaders every day. I take this privilege seriously and strive to teach and model positive, effective behaviors to maintain personal and career success. My messaging promotes self-empowerment and personal responsibility, foundational aspects of effective leadership, and more fulfilling experiences overall.
Thank you so much for sharing all of this with us! This interview was inspirational, and I wish you continued success!
🌸 About the Author:
Natalie Ruiz is the CEO of AnswerConnect and often says that her path to success has been unconventional, which fuels her to continue to challenge assumptions about what work, success, and the concept of balance in life look like.
Natalie is an award-winning executive recognized as Female Executive of the Year and for Women Helping Women by the Stevie Award Association and a Woman of Influence by the Portland Business Journal.
Outside of her day job, she volunteers as an executive board member at PDXWIT, speaks on international stages, lends her voice and words to podcasts and publications, and seeks in all that she does to leave people and places better than she finds them.
Connect with Natalie here: on Medium, on LinkedIn, and Instagram
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