For Women’s History Month, we are celebrating the inspiring and hard-working women at Businessolver who are helping to create the success of the company each and every day.

For our next entry, we interviewed Cynthia Phillips, the Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Communications.

What women in history do you admire most and why?

When I first thought about this, there were amazing women that we have all heard of that initially came to mind:

• Rosa Parks – who was not afraid to stand (or in her case sit) against profound opposition.
• Joan of Arc – who challenged the status quo at great personal sacrifice (her life).
• Emilia Earhart – who went after her dreams when everyone told her she couldn’t do it.
• Mother Theresa – who so selflessly dedicated and lived her life serving others with great love and care.

What I admire about these women is their passion, belief, dedication, and conviction about what they believed was right, and their courage to stand up for it in the face of great opposition.

As I contemplated this further, what I truly admire is so many other women who live their lives every day in ways that encourage and inspire me:

• Military wives – who are sometimes left to run their households, care for their families, and often work a job outside the home while their husband is deployed (both of my parents proudly served in the Air Force).
• Single moms – who work tirelessly to raise and provide for their children (I do want to mention that there are single dads who also deserve to be recognized as they may do the same – I married one).
• Foster, adoptive and stepmoms – who choose, every day, to welcome someone else’s child into their home and love them as if they were their own.

Many of these women will never receive notoriety or even the thanks and recognition they deserve, but that does not stop them from loving and leading in extraordinary ways. 

What woman or women inspired you to be the leader you are today?

In addition to the women above, there are a few, from a professional perspective, that I have learned a great deal from.

• Linda F. – I worked for Linda many years ago. I was always impressed by her intelligence, insight, creativity, relational abilities and dedication.
• Rae S. – whose fingerprints are on so many aspects of our company (many which people don’t even know about) and who so tirelessly leads our team. She is okay with staying behind the scenes at times as a leader to put others and the organization in front. She is a strong, smart and feisty woman who has and continues to propel us forward.

What advice would you give to women following in your footsteps? 

• Get to know who you really are, embrace that, and don’t be afraid to live it.
• Don’t worry about what other people think you ‘should’ do or be.
• Stand up for what you believe is right but do it with love and respect.
• Don’t be afraid to fail or make a mistake – you’re not losing if you are learning!
• Value relationships and people over checklists and accomplishments – if you get to the top and you are alone, you have done something wrong.

If you could give advice to your 20-year-old self, what would that be?

• Don’t take life or yourself too seriously.
• Don’t sweat the small stuff.
• Live life whole-heartedly and be present wherever you are.
• Follow your heart.
• Love, give grace, forgive, laugh and make time for fun!

For more inspiration, read our other Women History Month interviews below.