What a NASCAR driver can teach us about leadership
Julia Landauer, a two-time champion NASCAR driver, knows the importance of being a bold woman. She embraces her competitive spirit - whether she is in a race or faced with the realities of a male-dominated profession.
"I love winning, and I think that is not something we encourage girls to say a lot," said Landauer.
Her top takeaways:
- Be aggressive. "Women are not fragile, we take risks, fall down and get right back up."
- Take control. Don't waste energy placing blame when things go wrong. "Find whatever bit of control you can take in whatever situation you're in," said Landauer.
- Strive for self-awareness. Ask trusted friends or colleagues for opinions on how to better yourself.
- Build relationships. Male allies can be powerful advocates as you advance into groundbreaking territory. Julia recalled a coach who advocated effectively on her behalf. She added that women should always be in the practice of supporting one another, too.
"If we don't lift each other up, we can't expect anyone else to help us either," she said.
Landauer graduated from Stanford in 2014, earning a BS degree in Science, Technology, and Society. She focused on business and how modern technology can be applied to racing. Ever since, she has purposefully built her brand where technology, community and racing intersect and fuse.
Referencing her father many times, Landauer believes that her inspiration for greatness stemmed from both her parents who encouraged her to be the pinnacle of whatever she wishes to achieve.
Although Landauer admits there are many roadblocks for women who want equal opportunity, she reminds us that this is not a battle to be fighting alone.
"If we're not willing to help each other as women, and grow and really bring each other up, then why should we expect other people, meaning society and men, to help us."
Interview on Wisconsin Public Radio
News brief in Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Communities section
Mount Mary students connect academics to NASCAR
Landauer spoke to a crowd of 300+ Milwaukee business leaders at Mount Mary University's Voices of Leadership event. The annual Voices of Leadership event brings together and engages Milwaukee's professional community around topics and ideas that underscore the mission and purpose of Mount Mary University. Mount Mary's campus community came together around themes of women empowerment in preparation for the event. See how students and faculty in various academic programs contributed to the inspiring event:
Voices of Leadership is sponsored by: Johnson Controls, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, Gustave A. Larson Company, Park Bank, Quarles & Brady, and Baird. Two alumnae have also established endowments to support the ongoing work of the Women’s Leadership Institute: Virginia R. Cornyn ‘62 and Nancy Cheski ’65.