Tampa Bay Business and Wealth, in partnership with the Institute of Strategic Policy Solutions in St. Petersburg, presented a panel discussion with three winners of TBBW’s 2024 Women Who Win Awards.
The event was held at Salon Halo in Tampa.
The panelists provided insight into how they “win” in the business world, their experiences with mentorship and the ways they give back charitably to the Tampa Bay community.
Panelists included:
Dr. Sarah Combs, chief executive officer, University Area Community Development Corp.
Valerie Lavin, founder and CEO, Luminary
Kate Sawa, president, St. Joseph’s Hospitals Foundation
Dr. Kanika Tomalin, president and CEO, Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg
The panel was moderated by Bridgette Bello, CEO and publisher of TBBW. This transcript has been edited for length and brevity.
Bridgette Bello: I’m going to start with Val. What is your definition of adding value to the community?
Valerie Lavin: My definition is: to give to your capacity. If you have the capacity to give more, to do more, I think it’s very important. I know people who just do nothing. They go to work; they go home in their household. And I’m like, how do you feel fulfilled? I just think that giving your time, treasure and talents to the community is very important.
Bello: This one is for Sarah. Do you battle imposter syndrome? And if so, what are the tools that you use to get through that?
Dr. Sarah Combs: Yes, absolutely. I find, often, my job is handling high demand and it often triggers that imposter syndrome. And what I found, is that I’m not alone in dealing with this. Where it really clicked with me was at the University of South Florida. I was sitting in a doctorate class, and we had a case study on imposter syndrome. I realized as the hands went up, it wasn’t just females, it was males, as well, dealing with imposter syndrome. We learned, in that class, that you need to find those tools and strategies to keep in your toolkit when you’re feeling that way, [so] you can deploy them.
Bello: Val, would you like to add anything?
Lavin: I remember one time, we were having wine, and I was like, ‘How did I get here?’ Being in combat boots and camouflage for almost 22 years and then putting on a skirt and heels and integrating myself into the business community, I have asked myself do I fit in? Am I saying the right things? Am I too aggressive? Am I too authoritative? I mean, all those questions were going through my mind. And I’ll tell you that TBBW has been a huge part of helping me realize that I’m not an imposter. It’s through the amazing people who have nominated me for the different awards. And each time I fill out the application, I’m like, okay, how do I become more vulnerable in my answer, not just giving the same answers? And that has helped me really feel like I deserve to be here.
Bello: Kanika, I would like for you to answer first, how do you find time for civic and community engagement?
Dr. Kanika Tomalin: I was fortunate, in a former chapter of my life, to serve as deputy mayor and city administrator of the great city of St. Petersburg. And I like to think that the high value that I gave to civic engagement was part of what got me there, but I really learned the importance of it and the transformation it offers to a community. So often we see elected officials and designated leaders who have opportunities to sit before audiences and talk about top-line concerns, but the work that happens every day is unfolding by real people doing real work that makes a difference. So, it’s defining and there is no element of civic engagement that is too small.
Lavin: It’s important to understand the process and the issues in order to make educated decisions when you vote. Right? It’s also important to understand that most Americans are moderate, right? But it’s the squeaky wheels who are heard. If we are able to sit down, have a conversation and listen to opposing sides, then the solution is somewhere in the middle. I aspire to be able to help the moderate voice sit down at the table and be heard. And that’s why ISPS (Institute of Strategic Policy Solutions) is important to me.
Bello: Kate, what is the best advice that you have to offer to either a woman in the business world or a man who is managing, or working side by side a woman in the business world?
Kate Sawa: I’m a big believer that you are one person. You bring your whole self to work. Certain things may show up or not show up more frequently than others, but you are one person. And seeing someone as a whole person, I think is a beautiful way of honoring them and getting the best out of them. Seeing someone for all that they are, all that they could be and all that they bring. The other part that I would share is I’m just a big believer in mindset and thinking aspirationally. I’ve always thought, why couldn’t it be you? Why couldn’t you do that? If that ceiling needs to be broken, break it. That goal needs to be destroyed, go destroy it. Bringing that mentality into your personal world and your work world of thinking, there is nothing you cannot do.
Bello: I would like the rest of the panel to answer similarly, what piece of advice do you give to your mentees who say, ‘Can you help me get to where you are?’
Combs: Don’t take no for an answer. When someone tells me, ‘I’m not taking no for an answer,’ that intrigues me, and I want to dive in and learn more about that person. So that’s the advice I give them.
Tomalin: I’d say really figure out your ‘why’ for whatever the aspiration is. I think when we really connect with the ‘why,’ our personal ‘why,’ that will remain a point of intrinsic motivation that allows us to dig deep when the aspiration isn’t unfolding exactly as we might expect.
Sawa: I feel like mentors have shaped who I am and my prayer is that I could pay it forward and shape others because I don’t think there’s anything more precious than time. When someone chooses to give you your time, it is truly the most precious gift.
Lavin: Two things I tell people who I’m mentoring is don’t ask for a seat at the table, build your own chair and bring it because don’t take no for an answer. The second thing I tell mentees is unleash your entrepreneurial mindset. Because the entrepreneurial mindset doesn’t necessarily mean that you can make it as an entrepreneur or not that you’re meant to be a small business owner, but entrepreneur at the core is problem solver. And once you unleash your entrepreneurial mindset, you will see problems faster and you will come up with solutions faster.
Bello: Sarah, you’re obviously very accomplished. You’ve been a CEO for quite some time, do you still have a mentor?
Combs: Oh, absolutely. I think that the need for mentorship doesn’t diminish as we continue to advance in our careers. I almost think the opposite. I have three mentors. I have a spiritual mentor, I have a business mentor and I have a peer mentor, which might sound strange, but we are on the same level and we’re able to talk about things that we’re both going through and we’re able to sharpen each other’s skills.
It’s also incredibly important to have mentees and to pay it forward and to help someone, because we’ve all been in that situation where we wouldn’t be where we are if someone didn’t open the door for us to take a chance on us. Having someone to be able to say, you can do it, and being behind you in that corner, it makes all the difference.
Bello: All right. Kanika recently started a new position, coming from running a large city. What were the tools that you employed to be able to make that transition successfully?
Tomalin: I was deputy mayor for eight years. Prior to being deputy mayor, I was a health executive at Bayfront Health System. And the last work that I did there before going to serve the city was to establish the Foundation for a Healthy St. Pete. When that leadership position came open, it was a full circle opportunity to actually lead the organization and inherit the vision that I’d planted for our community.
Taking on a new job is a new job, whether you’re 15 or 50. And so I go into it wide open, no expectations, only possibilities, completely honoring the fact that there’s a very capable team there that’s been working very hard, driven by passion, serving our community, and my job is to resource them in a way that allows them to reach their maximum potential in that role. So, I went in to learn. I’ve been there for a year and it’s been wonderful.
I find that the common thread in all that work is honoring people and recognizing their why and when I’m the leader of the team, understanding that it is not my role to do the work, but to empower the team to do their best work.
Bello: Kate, the number one piece of feedback that we get when we have these conversations, is that people want to know about a time that you failed.
Sawa: My whole career has been in health care and philanthropy, except for these two and a half years where I did a pivot and I worked in international security. Didn’t see that coming, did you? Nor did I. They did not hire me for my international experience. They hired me because I knew how to form a team, create a vision and drive a result. So, I get there and I’m learning all these things that I had no idea existed. One of the things they tell me is we also need a new incentive plan for the sales team. And I really wanted to show up for this job. I wanted to prove that I was there, and I was worthy to be there. And so, I created an incentive structure for this company. I had no business creating an incentive structure for this company. So, not only did it not work, but I lost six months of really valuable time. And so, what I learned through the process is that I don’t have to be everything to everyone. It’s okay to hire a subject matter expert and let them do what they do best and go spend the time where I’m strong and I learned to really own my mistakes. The things I failed, I don’t forget those, and then I get them right the next time. ♦