233. Women In Leadership: Success In a Male- Dominated Industry & Mentoring In The Workplace

The most capable person in the room isn’t always the one who gets promoted. Ashwini Balasubramanian learned that the hard way.

In this episode of The Leader I Needed, James Rosseau Sr. sits down with Ashwini, an author and seasoned executive who spent years climbing in the male-dominated world of automotive. She is honest about the season she calls “faking it,” when she blended in so well that her colleagues told her she’d become “one of the bros,” and the moment that finally forced her to bring her full self to work instead.

She digs into the difference between being a culture fit and a culture add, why she stopped chasing titles and started chasing skills, and what she did after getting passed over for a promotion, a move that turned a painful no into a mentoring relationship she never saw coming. Along the way she shares hard-won lessons on women in leadership, why real influence starts with generosity instead of transactional networking, and how mentoring others became one of the most fulfilling parts of her career.

If you have the title but feel like you’re faking the rest, this conversation hands you the map.

Listen on YouTube, Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Get Ashwini’s book, Map Your Ascent: ⁠https://us.amazon.com/stores/Ashwini-Balasubramanian/author/B0H7T39FHG?ref=ap_rdr&shoppingPortalEnabled=true&ccs_id=0ef015b3-0cf8-4d2e-9152-4fbc1cf04205⁠

Connect with Ashwini on LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashwini-balasubramanian/⁠

Visit her website: ⁠https://mapyourascent.com/⁠