Ascendo AI Podcast with Team WIL

Transcript

00:00

I am actually going to go to Ami for the first time and this is going to be my first HTM conference and I.

00:08

That's something about this WIL.

00:12

And I was talking to people like Grant Hopkins and stuff.

00:14

And I said, okay, I have to really talk to these ladies.

00:17

You couldn't make it, but these three women are able to make it today.

00:21

So thank you guys for coming.

00:23

It will be great to have a introduction about each one of you.

00:28

April, maybe we go with you first.

00:30

Sure.

00:31

First, Kate, let me say thank you so much for having us.

00:34

It is a pleasure meeting you.

00:36

My name is April Lebo, and I am the VP of Demand and Development for Probomedical, as well as the president of WIL, the Women in Leadership Society.

00:49

Through that, I'm also a mom and a wife and have two beautiful, amazing adult children that have been with me throughout this entire journey.

01:00

you for having us.

01:03

Very nice.

01:03

Thank you.

01:04

Amber, you want to go next?

01:06

Yes, of course.

01:07

I'm Amber Sportsman.

01:09

I am the vice president and quality manager for MW Imaging and I am the treasurer of Women in Leadership.

01:18

Um I too am a wife and a mother.

01:22

My children are21 and 31, and yeah, I'm excited about this opportunity you've given us today, so thank you.

01:33

Yeah, and April, you are in Philly.

01:35

Amber, you are in Missouri, is a state I haven't visited.

01:39

I need to.

01:40

And Adri, please go ahead.

01:42

Hi, I'm Adri, AKA Cali Girl.

01:45

I'm from California.

01:47

um I am the Director of Inside Sales for Advanced Ultrasound.

01:52

I sit on the WIL board as the secretary and I also sit as a voluntary secretary for the CMIA, which is the California Medical Instrumentation Association.

02:03

So yeah, I've been in the industry about 18 years, going on 18 years.

02:08

I have a daughter that's 25 and I'm extremely excited for this opportunity and thanks for highlighting WIL.

02:15

It is amazing to meet women not many times.

02:19

First of all, I'm not never in a screen full of women.

02:24

So most likely next I'm going to be in an event with 200 people and I will probably be one of the five women there maybe, right?

02:34

So So it's a joy to connect with women.

02:37

You know, coming, I'm going to be there at HTM and the army for the first time.

02:44

So you guys have any tips for people like me coming in for the first time to New Orleans?

02:51

I do.

02:52

First let me say you are picking probably the Super Bowl of our industry to get your feet wet coming to the AMIE exchange.

03:00

It is an absolutely phenomenal conference.

03:04

A ton of great people that will be there.

03:07

My biggest tip is just meet as many people as you can.

03:11

Everybody in our industry is so welcoming.

03:14

and so open to conversations and networking.

03:19

So just go around and meet as many people as you can and look for the will pins.

03:27

There are so many of us now, you should be able to identify anybody that's in the Women in Leadership Society with the will pin that they will be wearing and we will welcome you in.

03:39

We can introduce you to people that you might not know, we can save youYou a seat at the lunch table, whatever it is you might need.

03:48

We've got different networking events that we do.

03:51

We've got some educational events that we're doing, but one of the reasons was really put together was to make it a very comfortable place.

03:59

four other women at these conferences, because like you said, sometimes you go and you're one of five people amongst the sea of 200 and it's not always comfortable.

04:09

So we wanted to create an environment where everybody felt welcome.

04:14

So just utilize that opportunity to network and utilize us as the WIL members to help you do that.

04:22

Ladies, anything else that you would recommend?

04:26

Thank you.

04:28

Yeah, the one thing I want to bring up, and it's only because April, you totally inspired me on your last podcast on building authentic relationships.

04:35

Kay, I'm going to challenge you because April challenged us on not just collecting those business cards, actually building authentic relationships.

04:43

You can collect 1000 business cards, but if you can't remember who's on the other end of that.

04:47

there's a problem.

04:48

So truly, genuinely have those conversations, meet and greet, and maybe have five authentic conversations versus 5,000 business cards.

04:58

So April, I am listening and I'm taking notes.

05:02

In the land of AI, that's the thing that we as students can do be better, right?

05:07

And Adri, I actually looked at one of your LinkedIn posts where you were talking about your experienceWith awesome customer service where the person treated you throughout the entire journey and was with you throughout the journey, right.

05:23

And that's so important in the land of AI to bring in the humanness and the humanity, right.

05:30

So first April, I'm going to get that pin.

05:34

That's what I'm going to do.

05:35

You know, I'm going to come and meet you and say, hey, that is my thing.

05:39

So I'll get that.

05:41

So April, but there are so many women organizations and many of them have many different goals.

05:49

There are women on boards and this, that, everything, right?

05:52

But why WIL?

05:54

Why just another women's organization?

05:59

So one of the things that I noticedbeing in this industry was kind of like what we talked about before, that you felt alone and it was very intimidating.

06:11

So not only just me personally at my company and being surrounded by a lot of men and wanting to grow and wanting to have a seat at that table, but going to these different conferences and going to the different meetings,As a woman and as a young woman at the time, being able to walk in to this networking event, to this conference, and needing to just randomly go up to older men, very educated, very knowledgeable, very technical, and try and introduce myself, it was extremely intimidating.

06:51

And so I wanted to create aan outlet for women to be able to get that support, to have other women who were going through something similar and be able to create that network where we had each other and to try and motivate and again inspire other women to be a part of this and to know that they weren't alone and that they could have somebody when they went to thesenetworking events, these conferences, these different society meetings, that they could have somebody there that could go do it with them, and also be able to help mentor them if they were having questions, if they were struggling with different things, but then also role models, because you didn't see a lot of women in our industryholding higher level management positions, and we all, and we talked about this in our very first meeting two years ago when we we talked about doing the Women in Leadership Society, it's hard to be it when you can't see it.

07:59

And so without having role models in those upper level management positions, what led us to believe that could ever be something we could do?

08:08

So we really wanted to be able to show womenthat in this industry it is possible, and that there are women that are making it happen and able to navigate this environment.

08:20

So that was kind of the premise.

08:21

I know there's a lot of other women's groups out there, but there really didn't seem to be anything devoted just to healthcare technology management, and I think it just was because there wasn't a lot of women to begin with.

08:34

So we had to really create that um environment so other women could see it,and know then that they could be it.

08:43

So that was kind of why we started.

08:45

It's beautiful because every industry brings in its own challenges, and um especially the ones that are minority in these.

08:55

So I actually have a daughter who is going to be a surgeon in two years, so I knowthat a lot of them are male oriented professionals and having mentors and guides is the best thing.

09:15

In WIL, April, can you run a little bit on started two years ago.

09:22

What have you guys touched so far in HTM?

09:27

So we started out with just this group of women right here on the phone.

09:33

We're missing Kim, who is our vice president.

09:36

But we sat in a room, and I kind of pitched this idea.

09:40

And everybody said, absolutely, this is something we needed to do.

09:44

And fast forward two years, and we now are at about 640 members, which if you would have asked me two years ago, are there 600 women in HTM, I would have said, absolutely not.

09:57

So we have been able to just through going and networking and talking about our mission, we have been able to pull in a lot of support, not just from the women, but from the men, Brian Hawkins, Danny Mobley.

10:15

So many of our male counterparts out there are so supportive of what we're doing, but as we've grown, we've instituted a mentorship program, we startedDoing our war stories, which stands for Women are remarkable.

10:30

to share the journeys of our members so other women can see what different women in this industry have gone through to get where they are at today.

10:43

We have our ambassador program, so we've expanded out to have ambassadors so that there is always somebody at one of these events that a woman who is just starting out or isn't super comfortable knows they cango with, walk around with, be able to connect with that can help them at these shows.

11:04

And then Kim started the No One Sits Alone program so that we have a spot during the lunches, during some of the educational sessions where you can always find somebody within will that you can sit with and you don't have to sit by yourself.

11:19

So we've continued to grow and expand over these two years and we're looking to grow even more in terms of our presence and the things that weoffer.

11:29

We do training, we've done some different webinars based on some of the feedback that we've gotten.

11:35

So really trying to do as much as we can to bring value to the group and help the women out as much as possible.

11:44

That's awesome.

11:45

And one other thing that's common across all three of you is, you know, you folks are working in ultrasound equipment.

11:56

GE Healthcare is a large customer of ours, along with other large ones.

12:01

So I'm familiar with it.

12:02

But what struck me, Amber, is you've been in this company for 18 years, and you actually have been in the industry for over 30 years.

12:13

And one of the terms that we use is a entrepreneur where somebody innovates within the company.

12:21

like an entrepreneur, but within a company itself.

12:23

And now I heard that you're actually helping run the business.

12:29

I would love to hear from you, your perspective on how the journey was and what you feel now that you wish you'd felt before.

12:38

Hmm That's a deep question, Kay.

12:43

Yeah, 18 years ago when I was hired to come into this position,I don't think we had a vision really at that point.

12:54

It's been a very gradual growth.

12:59

One of the things that our company has always focused on is our customer and our customer service and so um I amI am the manager that likes to sit in the background and the ladies will tell you, I'm always like, why do you guys want me on this board?

13:17

You know, what am I going to bring to it?

13:20

So I like to sit in the back.

13:22

I'm a thinker and a planner and an organizer and I care.

13:28

I care about patient safety, I care about quality.

13:32

So those I think are the things that I contributed to the company along with hiring a very phenomenal team of employees.

13:41

We have such a great team.

13:43

So the longevity that I have within this company kind of goes to what Adri was talking about earlier too.

13:51

I too did not graduate from college.

13:53

So in my early years I was afraid to leave.

13:56

I thought whoWho's going to hire me?

13:59

Who's going to want me for Amber Sportsman on a piece of paper not knowing me and giving me that opportunity because I don't have the college education.

14:09

I don't feel that way any longer.

14:12

I know that my achievements speak for themselves, but I would like that kind ofanswers your question a bit.

14:21

It definitely does.

14:22

So we did a podcast earlier.

14:26

I talked to Noel, who also had not had a college degree, but is a executive in the tech industry.

14:34

And you're exactly saying that don't let your education or your background intimidate you to reach the highest highs.

14:42

As long as you have the experience and you have theinertia and the growth mindset, which is very important for me.

14:52

You can reach to the level that you want to, and don't be stopping yourself.

14:57

That's a great message, Amber.

14:59

Thank you.

15:00

You're welcome.

15:01

Thank you for, yeah, thank you for bringing that out.

15:05

Adri, you know, we were seeing how she has this gorgeous smile and and youI started from a full sales background.

15:17

So I can tell you from coming in from a tech background and then going into sales was eye-opening for me because I used to think, Hey, I'm selling you something, whereas it's a big perception I'm helping somebody.

15:37

may have a better life or a better job or something like that.

15:41

It was a big switch that I had to do for myself coming in.

15:47

But you have been doing sales for quite some time.

15:50

Tell me a little bit more about your journey and tell, you know, what you would suggest to anybody who is in healthcare management or even not about sales itself.

16:02

I'm sorry I'm putting you on the spot.

16:04

Put my sales hat on.

16:05

That's the only one I have.

16:08

I've done sales my entire career.

16:10

I started off selling large appliances so I was learning barcodes and different manufacturers and it was a straight commission position.

16:20

So if I didn't sell, I didn't get paid.

16:22

So that's where I learned how to hustle.

16:24

I learned knowledge with power.

16:27

I learned you had to be there, you had to show up, you had to build those relationships.

16:31

So when I had an opportunity 17 years ago to come in as a sales coordinator, I took it because I knew I wanted to start at the bottom.

16:40

I wanted to grow.

16:41

I wanted to learn.

16:42

I wanted to invest.

16:43

I wanted to be mentored.

16:45

And I sat with some very professional people who let me do all the paperwork and let me do all the paper pushing and take notes in all the meetings.

16:54

And I did it.

16:55

And within two years, I became a sales Rep.

16:58

So I was an account manager and actually having the.

17:01

conversations and not just taking the notes, preparing the meetings and about five years into that I became an inside sales manager.

17:09

That's where I learned people matter and um I trained them from the beginning so when they came in I put them through a three month training program because I really want them to understand the company and who they were, who they are because you cannot sell if you don't know.

17:26

If If not you're just a typical salesman.

17:28

Well I'm a saleswoman and I wanted to give them anProvide what we had is what I was selling.

17:36

Um After that, I kind of just started learning and branching and reaching out to people like April and Amber.

17:42

And just building me and my network and realizing my authenticity is what helped me in my career and building those relationships because people buy from who they trust.

17:56

And again, with this will, people join because of who they trust.

18:00

April handpicked us to be on this leadership panel.

18:04

And it's because she knows that we have built these authentic relationships and they trust that and they know it and they see it.

18:11

So one thing that I've learned though, talking about sales is I can sell anything, right?

18:17

I can go anywhere, I can sell anything.

18:19

UhBut I was chasing a title.

18:21

So I was doing sales where my passion was, but I thought I had to continue to climb to have any sense of fulfillment.

18:31

And so I chased the title and I'm now in my director position.

18:35

When I was offered the position, I accepted without.

18:39

any ifs ands or buts about it.

18:41

And then I Googled, how do you become a director?

18:44

And I just figured it out.

18:46

So here I am three years later, hard work, dedication, constantly learning, but I have not forgot where I came from.

18:55

I still, like Amber, put in the work.

18:58

I do exactly the day-to-day that my account managers are doing now, plus sit on the wheel board, do these podcasts,put out the company newsletters, work with the leadership team, but I also am a very team-orientated leader to where I am leading by example.

19:19

That's awesome.

19:19

You know, one thing that comes out talking to all of you is that authenticity, right?

19:25

And who you are as, even though there's so many commonalities.

19:31

between but stay true to who you are, irrespective of how life has taken you.

19:37

And I think that's a precious thing that we needed to preserve.

19:42

And I truly, truly believe AI needs people of various attitudes and aptitudes, and you guys are the examples of it.

19:50

So one message that I would love to spread to the WIL audiences isto some extent, like what Amber said, don't hesitate that to march on AI, because it requires everybody all sorts of thinking into it.

20:12

Otherwise it will be very much like monotone, like how the industries have become, and then we have to change it.

20:22

Why is that?

20:23

Let's be part of it, right?

20:25

That would be my message to everybody who's listening in into this.

20:30

With that, I wanted to thank all three of you for being in the podcast.

20:35

I can't wait to come to New Orleans, get my pin and give you all a hug and maybe share some drinks.

20:45

So looking forward.

20:47

Thank you so much.

20:48

We've enjoyed this very much and appreciate you giving us an opportunity to meet you and to talk about WIL.

20:56

We're very excited about it and can't wait to see what the future brings.

21:01

Absolutely.

21:02

Thank you.

21:02

Thanks, Adri.

21:03

Thanks, Amber.

21:04

Thank you.

21:05

Thank you.

21:05

Thanks.