Subscribe to the podcast!
Women’s Leadership Development: The Power of Peer Support
Women’s leadership development is often described in terms of new skills, expanding responsibilities and career advancement. But some of the most meaningful growth happens through the relationships leaders build along the way.
Trusted peers can provide perspective, challenge assumptions and create a space where leaders can speak candidly about uncertainty, ambition and change. Those relationships become especially valuable for women navigating career transitions, new leadership responsibilities and competing personal and professional priorities.
In this episode of What’s Your Story?, Sally speaks with women who participated in the Cox FORGE program about women’s leadership development. They share how talking openly, listening to one another and finding room to laugh helped them move from a group of colleagues to a trusted network of support.
On today’s episode, we’re joined by a group of women who have learned the power of sisterhood in career. Through women’s leadership development and personal development, overcoming ego and fear, and integrating passion into their day to day life, these women have grown to cherish the powerful bonds between strong women who lift one another up rather than cut one another down through competition and cattiness. Today, they’ll teach us what they’ve learned on their way about women’s leadership development.
Women’s Leadership Development: More about today’s guests:
Ashley Hill:
Ashley Hill manages the Supplier Diversity and Risk Management programs at Cox Automotive. She’s been at Cox for 9 years in various finance roles including the FORGE rotational program. Prior to Cox, Ashley worked at Cisco Systems and Cbeyond. Ashley received a Bachelor’s degree from Georgia Tech in Business Management with concentrations in Finance and Operations Management. Growing up as a military brat and traveling the world, Ashley developed the skill of adaptation and a love of diverse foods.
Lainey Sibble
Lainey started her career at KPMP in the Real Estate Audit practice. Upon realizing she wanted to redirect her focus within business, Lainey returned to graduate school and earned an MBA from Columbia Business School. Since Columbia, Lainey has found her passion in strategy. She spent two years working in strategic finance roles at Unilever, and then joined Cox where she has worked across the different divisions. She started in a financial investment strategy role at Cox Business, rotated across divisions and functional groups through a leadership development program, and ultimately found a strategic planning director role at Cox Automotive, where she works today.
Julie Meier
Julie joined Cox Enterprises in 2013 after beginning her career in public accounting, and has since held roles in Audit, FP&A, Strategy, International Finance, and Business Operations. In her current role, she helps Cox’s Sales and Marketing teams understand the impacts of proposed changes on financial statements and customer relationships. Julie enjoys supporting her alma mater, Notre Dame, by serving on the alumni board as well as volunteering around Atlanta with the Special Olympics, Habitat for Humanity, and Ronald McDonald House.
Lauren Kicklighter
Lauren Kicklighter is a team-oriented and dedicated individual that enjoys driving results. She also enjoys an environment in which she can learn and grow and coach others to do the same. Experienced in managing projects, she learns quickly and is enthusiastic about adopting best practices and procedures. Her goal is to improve the efficiency and quality of business operations through utilizing data-driven metrics. With strong executive presence, Lauren builds relationships quickly as well as effectively communicate sound strategic recommendations.
Kristi Roche
Kristi Roche is a Director of Audit Services at Cox Enterprises, Inc. with 10+ years of experience across a variety of finance disciplines. She joined Cox in 2014 as part of the Cox Automotive Strategy team before joining the leadership program in 2017. Prior to Cox, Kristi worked in finance and strategy roles for Carter’s, Accenture and Protiviti. She’s an avid Georgia Bulldogs fan after earning both her BBA and MBA from the University of Georgia.
Show Highlights about women’s leadership development:
- What sorts of issues cause trepidation about joining groups of other women in a career setting? Do issues like catfights and competitiveness often cause problems? Are these traits of strong women?
- How did these women find their own rules and cadence for the group? What role did personality tests play from the beginning on?
- How did a sorority approach (vs. a competitive approach) build vulnerability, bonding, and the ability for the women to help one another?
- What types of stress behaviors came out when the women had to do their bi-yearly reports to top leaders from various companies? Why was this their least favorite part of the program? How did having support from other women help?
- What things were important to the bonding of the women in the group? What role did shared life experiences and rope courses play in creating the sisterhood?
- How does personal development (vs. work skills) assist in careers at the early stage and the leadership stage? What did they learn about how to build a team (and how not to)?
- How did the timing of this program affect women differently? What major life events occurred during the program? What discoveries did this result in as far as choosing a path forward, regardless of what was happening in life?
- What archetypal roles did the women play in the group and what difference did these combinations make to the team? How do you integrate your passion into day to day life when it isn’t an integral part of your day job? Satisfaction emerges from finding opportunities to add your passion to your role.
Women’s Leadership Development: Why Peer Relationships Matter to Women Leaders
Leadership can become more isolating as responsibilities increase. A leader may have a strong team and supportive manager while still lacking a group of peers with whom she can speak openly.
Trusted peer relationships create a different kind of development environment. They give women an opportunity to compare experiences, test ideas and ask questions without feeling that every conversation is an evaluation of their readiness.
These relationships can be particularly valuable during career transitions. A woman accepting her first leadership role, moving into a different function or gaining greater visibility may be managing new expectations without a clear model for what comes next.
Peers cannot make those decisions for her. They can help her see the situation more clearly and approach it with greater confidence.
Women’s Leadership Development: From Professional Group to Trusted Network
A group of talented professionals does not automatically become a supportive network. Trust develops through repeated experiences.
Participants need time to understand one another’s personalities, communication preferences and professional goals. They also need opportunities to interact beyond formal meetings and structured assignments.
Shared experiences can accelerate that process. A difficult project, candid conversation or unfamiliar team challenge can reveal how people respond under pressure. These moments help individuals recognize one another’s strengths and identify where support may be needed.
The goal is not for everyone to think, communicate or lead in the same way. The value comes from learning how different people contribute to the group.
Women’s Leadership Development: Vulnerability Creates Stronger Connections
Professional environments often reward confidence and composure. As a result, emerging leaders may believe they should always have the answer or appear certain about the next step.
A trusted leadership network creates room for a more honest conversation.
Vulnerability in this setting does not mean disclosing every personal concern. It means being willing to acknowledge a challenge, ask for help and receive feedback without treating those actions as signs of weakness.
When one person speaks candidly, others may realize they are managing similar concerns. That recognition can reduce isolation and lead to more useful conversations about career decisions, difficult relationships and leadership expectations.
Vulnerability becomes productive when it is supported by trust, discretion and mutual respect.
Women’s Leadership Development: Personal Development Is Leadership Development
Leadership programs often emphasize business knowledge and functional skills. Those capabilities matter, but leadership development also requires greater self-awareness.
Leaders need to understand how they respond to stress, how others experience their communication and what behaviors emerge when the stakes increase.
A person who is collaborative in routine situations may become overly controlling under pressure. Another may withdraw, avoid conflict or provide more detail than an audience needs. These reactions are not always visible to the individual experiencing them.
Feedback from trusted peers can help leaders recognize those patterns. Once the behavior becomes visible, the leader can make a more intentional choice.
Personal development strengthens leadership because leaders bring their habits, assumptions and communication styles into every interaction.
Women’s Leadership Development: Learn to Recognize Stress Behaviors
High-visibility assignments can reveal communication behaviors that do not appear in everyday work.
A leader preparing to update senior executives, for example, may speak too quickly, overprepare, become defensive or lose focus when questioned. These behaviors can weaken the message even when the leader understands the material.
Peers who know one another well can provide particularly useful feedback. They can identify changes in tone, energy or interaction and help one another prepare for demanding situations.
Constructive peer feedback might address questions such as:
- Did the leader communicate the main point clearly?
- Was the level of detail appropriate?
- Did stress change the leader’s pace or tone?
- How did the leader respond to questions?
- Did the leader appear confident without becoming inflexible?
- What behavior had the greatest positive impact?
- What adjustment would make the next conversation stronger?
The most helpful feedback is specific, respectful and focused on behavior that can be changed.
Women’s Leadership Development: Support Does Not Eliminate Accountability
A strong peer network is not built on agreement alone. Supportive colleagues can encourage one another while still asking difficult questions.
They may challenge a peer to apply for a larger role, reconsider an assumption or address a problem that has been avoided. They can also point out when someone’s behavior is inconsistent with the leader she wants to become.
This combination of support and accountability creates meaningful women’s leadership development. Encouragement helps a leader move forward. Honest feedback helps her move forward with greater awareness.
Women’s Leadership Development: Bring Personal Strengths into Your Leadership
Professional satisfaction does not always require finding a role that reflects every personal interest. Leaders can often bring their interests, values and natural strengths into the way they approach their existing responsibilities.
Someone who enjoys teaching may become a stronger mentor. A leader who values community may create more opportunities for collaboration. A person energized by solving problems may help a team approach change with curiosity rather than hesitation.
This does not mean turning every passion into a job. It means recognizing that leadership is shaped by more than a job description.
The strongest leadership styles often emerge when individuals understand what energizes them and find appropriate ways to bring those qualities into their work.
Women’s Leadership Development: How Organizations Can Support Emerging Women Leaders
Organizations can create the conditions for strong peer relationships, but those relationships cannot be manufactured through a single networking event but through women’s leadership development.
Effective women’s leadership development programs should combine skill development, self-awareness, meaningful interaction and practical application.
Organizations can support women’s leadership development and the process by:
- Creating cohorts that remain together over time
- Providing opportunities for candid peer discussion
- Connecting development to real business assignments
- Incorporating feedback and self-reflection
- Giving participants access to senior leaders
- Supporting relationships across departments and functions
- Addressing communication skills as responsibilities increase
- Allowing participants to learn from different leadership styles
- Establishing expectations for confidentiality and respect
- Continuing peer connections after the formal program ends
The program on women’s leadership development should help women develop as individual leaders while expanding the relationships they can draw on throughout their careers.
Like what you hear? Hear more episodes like this on the What’s Your Story podcast page!