Member since May 2023
Dr. Heather Backstrom is a dynamic and engaging speaker and author, known for her impactful insights on women's leadership. As a guest speaker she engages audiences with her expertise in empowering women in business and cultivating inclusive leadership. With her years of experience as an executive coach and facilitator, Heather is dedicated to transforming workplaces into environments where women thrive.
Her rich experience includes Toyota, City of Hope National Medical Center, JPL, City of Pasadena, Chief Inc., Los Angeles Metropolitan Water District, Port of Long Beach, the United Nations, City National Bank, Pasadena Star News, Alexandria Real Estate, Elicio Therapeutics, First Entertainment Credit Union, Travis Credit Union, Lagerlof and Leadership Pasadena. She is also an adjunct faculty member with the University of Redlands where she delights teaching MBA students.
An enthusiastic learner herself, she received a doctorate in organizational leadership from Pepperdine University.
Heather served on the Board of Directors of Leadership Pasadena and is a current Board member with the Pasadena Educational Foundation. She is a long-time volunteer with the Tournament of Roses Association. She enjoys traveling and has floated on the Dead Sea, walked along the Great Wall of China and ridden in a hot air balloon over Stockholm, Sweden. She's run one marathon and that was enough.
Driven by a commitment to women's empowerment, Heather is passionate about fostering an environment where women can confidently step into leadership positions. She believes that strong, collaborative leaders not only enhance their organizations but also inspire future generations of women to pursue their ambitions without hesitation. Heather's work is rooted in the conviction that every woman possesses unique strengths that can contribute to transformative workplace change.
Like a lot of women, I struggle with self-promotion. I'm more comfortable than I was once and yet its not the easiest thing in the world for me to do. A story that sticks out where I shied away from self-promotion happened after I got my doctorate from Pepperdine University. After earning the degree it took me an entire year to put "Dr." Heather Backstrom on my website! I just didn't feel like i had quite earned that right. Sounds so ridiculous saying that now. I felt like I needed more practical experience before I could add "Dr." to my website. Somehow in my limited thinking all of that school work and completing all of the requirements for the degree wasn't quite enough. Again, pretty ridiculous. Contrast that with a male friend of mine. We went through the program together and the nano-second he had earned his degree it was on his website! My own struggle with self-promotion and seeing other women feeling the same, is one of the reasons I’m so passionate about women’s leadership. I want all women, everyone, to feel confident, empowered and self-assured. And to find authentic ways to engage in self-promotion.
I worked in corporate HR for many years with several large companies such as Toyota. City of Hope National Medical Center and JPL/NASA. I loved my work for a long time until my interests started gravitating toward facilitating workshops, coaching individuals and being involved in leadership development. As that gravitational pull became more apparent I set my sights in that direction. I became a certified professional coach and got a doctorate in organizational leadership. All the while, I continued working in HR even though my heart was yearning for more people-centered work. Eventually, after a difficult experience at work that caused a lot of tears and introspective, I took the leap and quit my job. And I did it without a coaching client in sight. That was about 10 years ago and I've survived!
My passion for human-centric work, with a focus on developing leaders, led me to develop my speaking and coaching practice, as well as my book, "Collaborative Confidence: How women leaders can activate self-awareness, amplify their authentic talents, and accelerate workplace change."
Women often struggle with self-promotion because it can feel self-serving and braggadocious. After all, shouldn't hard work speak for itself? Unfortunately, that’s not the case. And being known for your accomplishments is pivotal to career success and fulfillment. This interactive talk explores the many challenges women face when it comes to self-promotion, along with actionable strategies that can be implemented immediately. Through stories, humor and research you’ll learn:• Common challenges women face that prevent them from engaging in self-promotion. • Benefits women enjoy when they engage in authentic self-promotion. • How self-promotion also benefits colleagues and the team. • To be a champion of other women by encouraging them to engage in authentic self-promotion. • Characteristics of authentic self-promotion.• Actionable self-promotion strategies to start today. This talk is based upon Heather’s women’s leadership book, “Collaborative Confidence: How women leaders can activate self-awareness, amplify their authentic talents and accelerate workplace change.” The message found within its pages and through her talk create an enduring bond among women that propels them forward together. Heather brings to life leadership solutions that are practical and paramount to success and fulfillment. Heather’s dynamic speaking style helps audiences learn simple, easy and yet incredibly powerful ways to practice authentic self-promotion daily.
To be seen as confident and in a favorable light women have to learn to balance between warmth and competence. If a woman is too warm she risks being seen as too soft and not confident enough, therefore not leadership material. If she’s seen as too competent then she risks being viewed as too tough and difficult, therefore also not leadership material. What a tightrope! This talk examines how women can balance both warmth and competence in order to be seen as confident. This interactive talk explores the tightrope between warmth and competence that woman have to balance on, as well as strategies to make it easier. Through stories, humor and research you’ll learn: • Behaviors and characteristics associated with warmth.• Behaviors and characteristics associated with competence. • Implications for women leaders when warmth and competence aren’t balanced.• Strategies to authentically balance on the tightrope between warmth and competence.This talk is based upon Heather’s women’s leadership book, “Collaborative Confidence: How women leaders can activate self-awareness, amplify their authentic talents and accelerate workplace change.” The message found within its pages and through her talk create an enduring bond among women that propels them forward together. Heather brings to life leadership solutions that are practical and paramount to success and fulfillment. Heather’s dynamic speaking style helps audiences learn simple, easy and yet incredibly powerful ways to balance warmth and competence.
Like a lot of women, I struggle with self-promotion. I'm more comfortable than I was once and yet its not the easiest thing in the world for me to do. A story that sticks out where I shied away from self-promotion happened after I got my doctorate from Pepperdine University. After earning the degree it took me an entire year to put "Dr." Heather Backstrom on my website! I just didn't feel like i had quite earned that right. Sounds so ridiculous saying that now. I felt like I needed more practical experience before I could add "Dr." to my website. Somehow in my limited thinking all of that school work and completing all of the requirements for the degree wasn't quite enough. Again, pretty ridiculous. Contrast that with a male friend of mine. We went through the program together and the nano-second he had earned his degree it was on his website! My own struggle with self-promotion and seeing other women feeling the same, is one of the reasons I’m so passionate about women’s leadership. I want all women, everyone, to feel confident, empowered and self-assured. And to find authentic ways to engage in self-promotion.
I worked in corporate HR for many years with several large companies such as Toyota. City of Hope National Medical Center and JPL/NASA. I loved my work for a long time until my interests started gravitating toward facilitating workshops, coaching individuals and being involved in leadership development. As that gravitational pull became more apparent I set my sights in that direction. I became a certified professional coach and got a doctorate in organizational leadership. All the while, I continued working in HR even though my heart was yearning for more people-centered work. Eventually, after a difficult experience at work that caused a lot of tears and introspective, I took the leap and quit my job. And I did it without a coaching client in sight. That was about 10 years ago and I've survived!
My passion for human-centric work, with a focus on developing leaders, led me to develop my speaking and coaching practice, as well as my book, "Collaborative Confidence: How women leaders can activate self-awareness, amplify their authentic talents, and accelerate workplace change."
Women often struggle with self-promotion because it can feel self-serving and braggadocious. After all, shouldn't hard work speak for itself? Unfortunately, that’s not the case. And being known for your accomplishments is pivotal to career success and fulfillment. This interactive talk explores the many challenges women face when it comes to self-promotion, along with actionable strategies that can be implemented immediately. Through stories, humor and research you’ll learn:• Common challenges women face that prevent them from engaging in self-promotion. • Benefits women enjoy when they engage in authentic self-promotion. • How self-promotion also benefits colleagues and the team. • To be a champion of other women by encouraging them to engage in authentic self-promotion. • Characteristics of authentic self-promotion.• Actionable self-promotion strategies to start today. This talk is based upon Heather’s women’s leadership book, “Collaborative Confidence: How women leaders can activate self-awareness, amplify their authentic talents and accelerate workplace change.” The message found within its pages and through her talk create an enduring bond among women that propels them forward together. Heather brings to life leadership solutions that are practical and paramount to success and fulfillment. Heather’s dynamic speaking style helps audiences learn simple, easy and yet incredibly powerful ways to practice authentic self-promotion daily.
To be seen as confident and in a favorable light women have to learn to balance between warmth and competence. If a woman is too warm she risks being seen as too soft and not confident enough, therefore not leadership material. If she’s seen as too competent then she risks being viewed as too tough and difficult, therefore also not leadership material. What a tightrope! This talk examines how women can balance both warmth and competence in order to be seen as confident. This interactive talk explores the tightrope between warmth and competence that woman have to balance on, as well as strategies to make it easier. Through stories, humor and research you’ll learn: • Behaviors and characteristics associated with warmth.• Behaviors and characteristics associated with competence. • Implications for women leaders when warmth and competence aren’t balanced.• Strategies to authentically balance on the tightrope between warmth and competence.This talk is based upon Heather’s women’s leadership book, “Collaborative Confidence: How women leaders can activate self-awareness, amplify their authentic talents and accelerate workplace change.” The message found within its pages and through her talk create an enduring bond among women that propels them forward together. Heather brings to life leadership solutions that are practical and paramount to success and fulfillment. Heather’s dynamic speaking style helps audiences learn simple, easy and yet incredibly powerful ways to balance warmth and competence.