Corina Walsh

President, Shift People Development
Author, 'The Engaged Employee Blueprint'

In 2014, I made the choice to leave the security of a full-time job behind. I was experiencing levels of disengagement in my career and with my employer that were impacting my well-being. I choose to create my own workplace based on my core values of autonomy, creativity, and empowerment. My proudest professional moment was leaving the corporate world behind to start my own business and follow my own vision.

Each level of success will demand more from you. Starting and growing a business is a constant cycle of personal and professional growth. Publishing my first book was my greatest stage of growth as I was putting a lot of my personal experiences, especially the mistakes, out into the world for everyone to read.

Entrepreneurship is taking off in Atlantic Canada and I am thrilled to see so many women starting businesses. The opportunity for us as a region, lies in providing the support by way of funding, mentoring, and networks that women will need to grow their businesses. Women typically reach a comfortable point in their business and stop growing or struggle to get the capital they need to grow. Over the next ten years I want to see a massive shift in how women are able to access capital and the networks they need to grow their businesses.

Right now, when companies say they have a great workplace culture, that culture is still often based on outdated values that don’t represent what is most important to women. Our ideas about engagement and culture need to shift and for that to happen we need strong ‘culture facilitators’ to help companies have the kinds of conversations that consider what’s most important to all employees.

My deepest learning over the past two years is that I have to have a clear vision for what I want for my life and business and I have to be 100% dedicated to that vision. That means saying no to a lot of other opportunities that come my way. Many of those opportunities look good, but they often just take you away from your own goals.

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Workplace Culture Innovator, Leadership Coach, Author, Facilitator; Speaker, Communicator, Vision, Mom, Explorer, Nature Lover, Entrepreneur, Activator, Advocate for Better Conversations