Congratulations to Sharon Vosmek, CEO Astia, September’s NOWLeader.
Thank you Patricia K. Fletcher for submitting Sharon’s nomination. Patricia is Global Head of Regional Routes to Market for SAP’s Technology Stack.
Readers – Keep your eyes on Patrician Fletcher as well. You will most certainly be hearing more about her, here, there, and everywhere.
Sharon Vosmek, CEO Astia
Sharon Vosmek, CEO Astia
Since 2007, Sharon has been serving as Astia’s CEO and transforming the organization. Astia is a global organization with a distinct focus and mission – to propel women’s full participation as entrepreneurs and leaders in high-growth businesses, fueling innovation and driving economic growth. Astia works with start-ups and growth-stage companies around the world as they access capital, grow their businesses, and develop the leadership of the women on the executive team.
Sharon defines her own and the organization’s success as the “eradication of the need for Astia.” You can read more about Astia here, and access Sharon’s bio here.
Sharon Vosmek Contributes
Some people make a contribution no matter where they go or what they do, as was the case when Sharon responded to the interview questions I asked. So we begin with two new NOWLeader attributes and a refinement of one that already exists.
Be Bold …
about the opportunity and what can be achieved.
Sharon’s boldness is apparent when she reflects on Astia’s mission, vision and driving values.
This problem is solvable.
We are a gender inclusive organization [that is what we do] to improve the world.
The vision is inherent in her approach – Be the Change. Sharon is the change she seeks in the world.
Sharon is simultaneously humble and driven:
It’s bigger than Sharon Vosmek. I use her voice. I am a change-maker. To lead change you must be truthful and humble. At the same time, I want to move on from evolving and towards achieving. It’s time to make a serious difference.
Communicate
My role above and beyond everything else is about communicating, linking people to the goal. The leader is the connective tissue.
Sharon’s prescription for communicating well is:
- Resonance
- The vision has to take on meaning with a diverse constituency that would not align without your communication and ability to resonate with them
- Frequency
- Communicate often
- It’s some of the most important glue
Collaborate
This means helping others find their power in the opportunity.
Sharon uses a few words that reach far beyond getting people to work together. It’s worth reading twice to uncover the nuanced richness of her wisdom.
Collaboration is helping others find their power in the opportunity.
NOW-Leadership Interview with Sharon Vosmek
As you review the attributes of a NOWLeader, which do you consider most important and what effect do they have when you use them?
This is a great time to ask me this question. I just spent a week at the IBM Centennial THINK forum with 150 leaders from inside IBM and 150 leaders from outside IBM. This [NOWLeadership] is fantastic and really resonates with what we talked about there.
Be Collaborative
What matters most is the leaders language around collaboration and empowering others. That is why I define collaboration as I do. I chair a 60 person organization [comprised of people who work for other organizations]. We, Astia, dare to say “You can continue to exist individually as an organization but you must align to these mutual goals. The goals were created by the collaborative.
I, as the leader, have developed a deep understanding of collaboration. It takes me to vulnerable places. This is why I also have to…
Be Bold
I have to dare to align Astia’s success and its future with 60 other organizations and be bold about what we can achieve. We can end this in 10 years. My goal is for Astia not to be here in ten years.
Be Humble
Be inquisitive. Change happens through the asking of questions.
I approached the 60 members by asking the following:
Just under 10% of venture capital goes to women. Why? How? What do we need to do differently? We convened a summit to answer these questions. Then they asked me,”Who’s going to fund it.”
No one.
This is why Sharon must be simultaneously bold and vulnerable. Her success relies on 6o others aligning to collaboratively developed goals. This is the way of the future. Little can be accomplished without collaboration, and Sharon Vosmek is showing us how to succeed by leading collaboratively, boldly and with humility.
Thank you Sharon Vosmek, change-maker, for this interview and for your leadership to improve the world by way of more successful women entrepreneurs and leaders.
You can follow Sharon on twitter. While there you may want to follow Patricia Fletcher as well and you can read her blog, Puting the Seats Down - here.
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