Close Up Radio Spotlights Summit’s Corinne Mason, PhD
Corinne Mason, Ph.D., Partner at Summit Leadership Partners, recently shared her leadership experience and coaching expertise in a live interview with Jim Masters on Close Up Radio. During the discussion, she highlighted her background, the case for executive coaching and inclusive leadership, and the evolving future of work.
Read below for some key takeaways and listen here for the full conversation.
Shaping Herself as a Leader
It all started with her roots – Corinne studied leadership styles early, considering herself a “natural boss” being the firstborn.
In 2014, Dan Hawkins founded Summit Leadership Partners and persuaded Corinne to join in 2018. With over 30 years of experience in human resources, consulting, and leadership development, Corinne possessed a shared ambition with Dan to build a leadership advisory firm. Corinne highlighted how proud she is that Summit has been recognized with numerous awards, and she attributed its rapid growth to the amazing, knowledgeable team of consultants.
Like many others on the Summit team, Corinne has a Ph.D. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology. She uses her experience and skills to relate to CEOs and founders and coach them to success. As someone who has personally faced the challenges that come with being a female leader, Corinne strives to apply this unique experience and coach other female leaders toward success and C-suite positions.
The Importance of Coaching
As Corinne noted, leaders need coaches, just like professional sports teams. Professional athletes have an entire coaching staff to support their success; why shouldn’t business teams do the same? Coaches help people work at top performance. That’s why anyone interested in elevating their performance should consider a coach to help them in their journey.
Corinne pointed out that not everyone is ready for a coach, however. People need to be self- aware and have a desire for growth in order to benefit from a coach.
Inclusive Leadership
Throughout her career, Corinne has leveraged her passion for developing leaders to help create a more inclusive and equitable workplace for all leaders. She asserted that inclusivity within companies “is not an option; it’s essential.” She said that 50% of the world is women, but they are still vastly underrepresented in senior leadership positions.
She encourages all of us to think about questions like: How can we help women advance into leadership positions? When companies seek to hire new employees, they should evaluate the total talent pool and consider the range of strengths that women can bring to those roles. Diversity and inclusion in the workplace are something all leaders are responsible for to create a more equitable world.
As a partner of the consulting firm, Corinne notes that most of the employees at Summit are women, and she partially attributes that to the representation she sought to cultivate as the firm began.
The Future of Work
During the discussion, Corinne brought forward research and examples suggesting that the future of work will be more flexible and collaborative. This means leaders should be – and must be – open to new ways of working and to creating a workplace that welcomes new thoughts, ideas, and perspectives to stay competitive and attract the best talent.
“The world is changing rapidly, and leaders need to be prepared for it,” she said. “The future of work is about creating a culture of innovation and creativity.”
The next generation of leaders will be more inclusive, more collaborative, and more innovative than ever before. Diversity, inclusion, and flexibility in the workplace are essential for creating a more prosperous and equitable future for all leaders.
Corinne aspires to be a role model for women and minorities who are determined to lead. She also reminded us all that we can benefit from coaching as we develop into better leaders.
Listen to the interview to hear more about Corinne’s inspirational journey and her insights on leadership coaching.