Since celebrating International Women’s Day last year, we have grown our #WomenInSpine series with numerous features of our female leaders at NuVasive. This year, we are proud to keep empowering women with the launch of our first Employee Resource Group (ERG): Women in Spine (WIS). This new group is committed to building an inclusive culture to ensure that NuVasive realizes the full potential of its female talent. With our ERG and #WomenInSpine blog series, NUVA aims to continue to celebrate and highlight our female shareowners’ achievements and success.
Featuring this month’s #WomenInSpine feature, Laura, Commercial Leader for NSO Germany.
What woman inspires you and why?
I can’t name a woman in particular, but in general, I am inspired by women who set ambitious goals for themselves and strive to achieve them. In sales, it is essential to keep your goal in focus and to take control of the sales process.
I find women who are assertive and approach things in a positive way inspiring—they look at challenges and see opportunities.
What advice would you give to other female professionals in Sales?
Focus on your strengths, strive for improvement, and keep developing. When you’re confronted with work conflict, criticism or mistakes, try to focus on the big picture, not just the negative part of it. These kind of situations can help you deal with difficulties in the future. You can learn from it and make a better decision next time. Keep evolving and be the best version of yourself.
What do you think is the most significant barrier to female leadership?
The most significant barrier to female leadership is the way women see themselves. We ourselves are our biggest hurdle. If women become more confident and supportive of each other, there will be more women in senior positions.
How do you think the female perspective benefits our company mission of changing patient lives?
Orthopedics and trauma are areas in which males are dominant—there are very few to no chief doctors. I believe that a feminine, or any different perspective, stimulate thought and discussion. Additionally we are focused on working with kids in pediatric orthopedics. Apart from technical expertise and sales skills, there is more needed to be successful in our field. It requires empathy and toughness—characteristics that women often embody and which benefit our mission.
What will be the biggest challenge for the generation of women behind you?
I don’t think there will be more or less challenges for the generation of women behind me. I think there will be great opportunities in the future as people’s mindsets are changing more and more every day. Women and men can be equally successful in their careers—this depends on your personal attitude and how you respond to challenges.
To read other #WomenInSpine features, click here to browse our ‘Culture’ section.