By Carolina Campos Ruiz
Episode 10 of the Speaking of Phenomenal Podcast features Meghann Conter, the founder and chief visionary officer of The Dames, a global online network that supports businesswomen from 6 continents. Through this incubator, Meghann helps women grow to the seven or eight-figure mark in revenue or get to the C-suite in corporate while fostering work-life balance.
Meghann Conter's journey with The Dames began in 2015 in Denver. She identified a gap in support for women transitioning from six to seven figures in their businesses. Her mission was to establish a community to promote higher-level positions and revenue among women, thereby increasing the number of female leaders. "When we have more money and more resources, we can make bigger differences. We can really achieve our epic missions a lot easier."
With her unique blend of boldness and humor, Meghann shares her vision of reinventing leadership through vulnerability, fun and horizontal collaboration. After spending a year at improv school, she learned how to use sketch comedy to communicate complex concepts. Combining those strategies with her theatrical background from her youth and with the help of a coach, Meghann writes sketches and performs as different characters at events organized by The Dames, like its annual "funference," using edutainment to address critical issues affecting women leaders.
She also teaches members how to embrace vulnerability and ask for concrete help. "We should all be able to ask for what it is that we need to take our missions to the next level." She shares inspiring stories of how The Dames' network has facilitated connections, leading to significant opportunities for its members, like one of her members, an author, who will be able to turn her book into a movie.
As for the future, she dreams of creating in-person chapters in countries where it is tough for businesswomen to find support from other women who have run or led big businesses. "It's my belief that women are here to change the paradigm of business, and we are gonna change it in a big way, in a really positive way."
As a woman without heroes or heroines who has been constantly encouraged to embrace her uniqueness, Meghann shows how blending courage and vulnerability and striving to become a "fuller version" of ourselves is crucial for those who want to make a difference. It's not an easy task, but it's so worth it.
Carolina Baldin is a freelance journalist from Brazil. Having worked in law, policy and regulation, she is passionate about everyday stories that illustrate larger issues. She graduated from a master's program at Northwestern University in 2023 and became a guest blogger on the "Speaking of Phenomenal" podcast blog in March 2024.