Hey Trailblazers! Welcome back to another episode of "Women in Tech Trailblazers." Tiffany Benitez here, and today's guest is going to change the way you think about your own mind. Meet Paula Guilfoyle, the leadership expert behind the Claim Leadership program, whose neuroscience-based work with Microsoft, Lowe's, and Coca-Cola Consolidated has driven higher engagement and teams that actually hit their goals.

We go straight to the real talk: gender bias. Paula does not pretend it doesn't exist; she has lived it. But she introduces something called your Reticular Activating System, the part of your brain that finds whatever you tell it to look for, like when you buy a car and suddenly see that car everywhere. She admits she once flew to Nashville expecting a male leader to be difficult, and guess what, he was. "What we resist persists, and what we look for, we will find." Her fix for a hard boss is not what you would expect.

Paula gets into the beliefs that quietly hold us back. She calls them "BS," belief systems, and explains why your brain completely ignores the word "don't." She proves it live with a purple elephant. Tell yourself not to think about a purple elephant, and now it is all you can think about. That is exactly why "I don't want to be nervous today" backfires every single time, and she shows you what to say instead.

The moment that stole the episode? Paula teaches visualization, the same mental rehearsal Olympic athletes use, where you picture the outcome you want before you walk in. She sent two Coke leaders into a four o'clock meeting picturing the exact result they wanted, and they walked out twenty minutes later with a six-figure check. You have to hear how they pulled it off.

Here are the key takeaways:

(3:30) Letting your true self lead

(5:08) Dropping the pressure to be perfect

(8:24) The neuroscience behind gender bias

(13:47) Winning over a difficult boss

(15:15) Limiting beliefs are just "BS"

(17:31) Affirmations and the purple elephant trick

(21:27) Why self-awareness is step one

(22:10) Deciding the leader you want to be

(25:56) The people who give you energy

(28:29) When it's okay to walk away

(30:50) Only kindness to yourself and others

Paula is proof that your mind is the most powerful tool you own, and she closes with a line that will stick with you. "It's not your business whether or not you make people uncomfortable." Tune in, subscribe, share, and go follow Paula on LinkedIn. See you next time, Trailblazers!

About Paula Guilfoyle

Paula Guilfoyle is the President and Founder of Claim Leadership, where she helps leaders and teams improve mindset, productivity, engagement, and self-awareness. Her work uses neuroscience-based tools to help people stay calm, focused, and effective during change. With experience across companies including Coca-Cola, Lowe’s, Microsoft, KPMG, and Collins Aerospace, Paula brings a practical view of leadership shaped by earlier roles in Human Resources and Sales at GE and Aventis.

Connect with Paula:

LinkedIn

About Tiffany Benitez

Tiffany Benitez leads Data Governance at Compass Group USA, ensuring data quality, integrity, and compliance across all business units. She is passionate about driving data excellence and advancing women in tech and STEM.

Connect with Host:

Tiffany’s LinkedIn

Disclaimer

This podcast is for informational purposes only. The content should be considered other than professional advice. Listeners are encouraged to consult with professionals regarding specific situations or concerns.

Hey Trailblazers! Buckle up, because this episode of "Women in Tech Trailblazers" goes somewhere most career talks avoid. Tiffany Benitez sits down with Dr. Debbie Qaqish, founder of The Growth Factor and the creator of revenue marketing, who has spent more than 30 years figuring out what really holds women back. Today she puts a name to it. Stigmas. The ones other people hand you, and the ones you quietly hand yourself.

Debbie takes us back to her early career, where being a woman with a Southern accent meant getting underestimated before she even opened her mouth. Instead of shrinking, she leaned all the way in, closed a job interview like a pro, and walked away with a nickname that says everything. Her stories are funny; they sting a little, and they make one thing clear. The culture is powerful, and in tech it runs on overdrive.

Here is where it gets personal. We dig into the internal stigmas, the perfectionism, and the constant proving, and Debbie calls it exactly what it is. "You need to stop proving yourself through performance and concentrate on the value that you know that you add." She walks us through how to catch the cycle, name it, and break it, and why you get to decide which feedback to keep and which to let go of.

Debbie also gets honest about her own life, the ups and the downs, and the one question she asks herself every single morning that changes how her whole day goes. We will let her tell you what it is. We also talk about why your 40s might be your most freeing years, and why she thinks AI could open doors for women rather than close them.

Here are the key takeaways:

(2:35) Bringing purpose into how you show up

(5:03) The most powerful tool women in tech have

(7:09) Bias, a southern accent, and getting hired anyway

(13:12) Asking what do I want and how do I get there

(14:45) Why stigmas are crippling your next career step

(16:34) Breaking the story cycling in your head

(22:41) Writing down the story you tell yourself

(27:09) Why the AI era is an opportunity for women

By the end, you will be looking at your own career a little differently, and asking who actually owns it. Spoiler: it is you. Tune in, share this with someone who needs it, and subscribe to catch what is next. Until then, Trailblazers, go get your own horse.

About Debbie Qaqish

Debbie Qaqish is the founder of The Growth Factor and the creator of Revenue Marketing®. With more than 30 years of experience, her work focuses on helping marketing leaders and teams improve decision-making, resilience, and performance under pressure. Her books include Rise of the Revenue Marketer and From Back Room to Boardroom, and she also hosts Revenue Marketing Raw. For more than a decade, Debbie has taught revenue marketing at the College of William and Mary.

Connect with Debbie:

LinkedIn

About Tiffany Benitez

Tiffany Benitez leads Data Governance at Compass Group USA, ensuring data quality, integrity, and compliance across all business units. She is passionate about driving data excellence and advancing women in tech and STEM.

Connect with Host:

Tiffany’s LinkedIn

Disclaimer

This podcast is for informational purposes only. The content should be considered other than professional advice. Listeners are encouraged to consult with professionals regarding specific situations or concerns.

Hey Trailblazers! Welcome back to Women in Tech Trailblazers. Tiffany Benitez here, and today's guest had us taking notes before we even hit record. Meet Addie Ventris, a senior marketing strategist and brand architect with nearly 20 years of experience across defense tech, economic development, and consumer retail. She builds brands for a living and today she is building yours.

We get right into the thing nobody talks about enough: imposter syndrome and the guilt women feel about sharing their wins. Addie flips the whole script. It is not about saying "look at me." It is about saying "look at what I created and here is how you can do it too." That one shift changes everything about how you show up in your career.

Addie also drops a formula that is simple enough to start this week. Three wins and one lesson, tracked and shared on your own terms. "Think of your self-promotion as a living, breathing resume." And the lesson piece? That is where the real community gets built.

There is also a conversation in here about the gap between doing great work and being known for great work. Spoiler: those are two very different things, and only one of them gets you promoted.

Here are the key takeaways:

(4:08) What authenticity looks like without the mask

(5:48) Why talking about your wins feels so hard

(7:22) The branding piece most people ignore

(8:36) Why your work needs a personal cheerleader

(11:28) Getting comfortable with being seen

(14:26) The three wins and one lesson method

(18:16) Building an elevator pitch people remember

(19:29) Why your title is not enough

(22:12) Writing down wins when you forget your value

(23:49) Doing great work vs. being known for it

(27:03) Keep going, keep growing

(28:01) Why women need to open doors for women

(29:39) Choosing the circle that reminds you

Addie closes with something we are still thinking about: make space at the table for the woman next to you. Say her name. Refer her name. Three times. If you are ready to be seen for the work you are already doing, do not miss this one. Subscribe, share, and we will see you next time, Trailblazers!

About Addie Ventris

Addie Ventris is a marketing strategist and brand architect with over 19 years of experience across defense technology, economic development, and retail. She spent more than a decade leading marketing operations at Tactical Electronics, building strategies for tactical and military audiences. She also served as Director of Marketing for the Tulsa Initiative at the George Kaiser Family Foundation, supporting workforce development and economic growth efforts. Today, Addie works as a strategic marketing consultant, helping brands connect strategy, execution, and growth.

Connect with Addie:

LinkedIn

About Tiffany Benitez

Tiffany Benitez leads Data Governance at Compass Group USA, ensuring data quality, integrity, and compliance across all business units. She is passionate about driving data excellence and advancing women in tech and STEM.

Connect with Host:

Tiffany’s LinkedIn

Disclaimer

This podcast is for informational purposes only. The content should be considered other than professional advice. Listeners are encouraged to consult with professionals regarding specific situations or concerns.