From Flint to Starbucks: Wanda Herndon on Leadership, Courage & Claiming Your Voice

Send us Fan MailWhat does it take to rise from a working-class neighborhood in Flint, Michigan, to become a senior executive at three Fortune 500 companies—including Senior Vice President of Global Communications at Starbucks?In this powerful episode of Women Like Me Stories & Business, Julie Fairhurst speaks with award-winning communications leader, author, entrepreneur, and mentor Wanda Herndon about courage, authentic leadership, career advancement, and finding your voice in rooms where you may be underestimated.Wanda shares how she learned to exceed expectations without changing who she was, build relationships in corporate environments, communicate through difficult moments, and become the CEO of her own life.In this conversation, you’ll discover:• How to speak confidently in powerful rooms • Why women must claim their place instead of waiting for permission • What Fortune 500 companies taught Wanda about leadership • How communication helped build the Starbucks brand globally • Why authentic leaders bring other women with them • How to turn rejection, setbacks, and “no” into a new direction • What it means to be fearless, strategic, and true to yourselfWanda is also the author of Breaking Glass: One Woman’s Fight to Belong and to Lead, a story of perseverance, possibility, and rising beyond other people’s expectations.If you have ever questioned whether you belong, this conversation will remind you: you were invited into the room for a reason. Take your seat. Use your voice. Claim your spot.Subscribe for more honest conversations about women in business, leadership, confidence, visibility, personal growth, and the stories that shape our lives.CONNECT WITH WANDA:https://www.wcommgroup.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/wanda-herndon-b4794019If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's PodcastJulie's Website