Voice of Change: Dr Kerstin Brehm's Crusade for Women's Empowerment in the Workplace

Are you a woman working in a male dominated workplace who struggles to have a voice, be seen and given the same opportunities as your male counterparts?
Yes we’ve seen a big movement towards women empowerment along with equal rights and salaries, but we are not there yet. In today’s podcast episode is VALUE packed with so many take aways. I sit down with Dr. Kerstin Brehm, an esteemed cardiac surgeon from Germany. Kerstin shares her own personal battles with hierarchy and equal opportunity in a high powered, male-dominated field and her journey into consultancy and mentoring ambitious women in business, to speak up, find their voice and secure their future.
We talked about salary bands, (initially, I thought we were talking about salary bans, so was a bit confused. 🙄) Dr Kerstin, hadn’t negotiated her salary for 11 years because she didn’t realise it was possible. As a result, she is passionate about educating others to understand the system.
What is vertical and horizontal communication? I had no idea…Kerstin opened our minds to different ways men and women communicate and why this plays a role in opportunities.
Have you ever encountered a doctor who didn’t seem strong in their communication? Maybe you came out of your consult, still not fully understanding the diagnosis or the diagnosis was communicated without feeling or understanding from a patient's perspective. We talk about the struggles some doctors face with empathy and effective communication along with miscommunications that can also occur between doctors and within teams and how this can lead to devastating results. We are all human, but communication training is lacking in this field.
This episode is packed with valuable insights into navigating professional environments, advocating for oneself, and the pivotal role of communication across all sectors.
Here’s what you will learn…

01:36 Kirsten's Journey: From Cardiac Surgery to Empowering Women
02:53 The Pivot: Why Kirsten Left Cardiac Surgery
07:34 Addressing Gender Communication Gaps in the Workplace
11:38 Empowering Women: Strategies for Self-Promotion and Negotiation
15:37 The SPARC Framework: A Blueprint for Career Advancement
22:24 Exploring Personal Branding and Audience Engagement
23:17 The Importance of Networking and Setting KPIs
24:02 Adapting Communication for Different Audiences
25:23 Overcoming Language Barriers and Embracing Multicultural Communication
28:20 Building Confidence and Communication Skills
32:10 The Role of Social Media in Professional Visibility
35:50 Evaluating Healthcare Communication and Learning from Aviation
43:25 Empowering Women in Business and Medicine


Full shownotes can be found here: www.lisahugo.com/23
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