Power Women: Lisa Thee of Minor Guard On How To Successfully Navigate Work, Love and Life As A Powerful Woman

An Interview With Ming Zhao

Look within for guidance: It is important to have consistent wellness practices that allow you to drown out the noise of the world to hear your own wisdom. Only you know all the competing priorities of your life, your goals and dreams, and what lifts your energy vs what drains you. It is important to get out into nature and see the tops of the trees to get grounded back into your body which will always help you identify the next right move. I use guided Breathwork and Meditation to help me.

How does a successful, strong, and powerful woman navigate work, employee relationships, love, and life in a world that still feels uncomfortable with strong women? In this interview series, called “Power Women” we are talking to accomplished women leaders who share their stories and experiences navigating work, love and life as a powerful woman.

As a part of this series I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Lisa Thee.

Lisa Thee leads Launch Consulting’s Data for Good practice, helping the world’s most innovative healthcare, and global technology companies to improve digital safety, anti-toxicity, and apply machine learning for innovation.

As an entrepreneur, Lisa is the CEO and Co-Founder of Minor Guard, an Artificial Intelligence software company focused on making children safer online and in real life, and is a TEDx speaker on “Bringing Light to Dark

Places Online: Disrupting Human Trafficking using Artificial Intelligence.”. She is the Co-Author of Demystifying Artificial Intelligence for the Enterprise and hosts the Navigating Forward podcast host. Lisa also currently serves as an advisory board member for Engineered Medical Solutions, Humaxa, Spectrum Labs, and Marketplace Risk.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood “backstory”?

I grew up in the suburbs of Detroit, where my parents had a clearly defined vison of a path to success for me. Attend the University of Michigan, get a STEM based degree, and build my career in the auto industry. I was 5 internships in on that path when I graduated from school and took the right hand turn to move to California for a job in the tech industry.

As a figure skater, I was high on passion, but low on talent for the sport. My biggest influencers were Kristy Yamaguchi and Brian Boitano. I knew I was not Olympics-bound, but the love of the sport taught me a lot about failing as part of the process. I would fall trying a new jump 100 times before I would land it, this was a good training ground for entrepreneurship. It’s not about how you fall, it’s about how you get back up.

Can you tell us the story about what led you to this particular career path?

I had achieved traditional success in the technology industry as a director for revenue for a $6B P&L, but I was lacking the mission I needed to feel satisfied in my career. As a side project, I worked through 2016–18 with innovative startups and non-profits to disrupt the proliferation of child sexual abuse material and human trafficking; I found significant satisfaction in providing a voice for the voiceless and bringing resources to bear for vulnerable women and children. When we deployed our solution in 2017 to accelerate the coordinated national response from tech companies to law enforcement — from 30 days to 24 hours — in partnership with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, I knew I could not go back to being satisfied just selling technology.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

Persistence — I’m from the Midwest and was raised with the mindset that your word is

the most valuable asset you have. When I commit to something, I will see it through in

a way that brings along everyone. My mantra is: bad news is ok, but surprises are not.

Where you have transparency, trust, and the ability to adjust to new information you

can drive the change you want to see in the world.

Passion — As a female social impact start up founder, I had to learn that my passion is

what makes me memorable. My skills, credentials, and network are what get me in the

room; but what closes the deal is people’s belief that I am the right person at the right

time to execute the vision I lay out. That is all based on emotion which is triggered by

passion, then validated with data.

Connection — I am the classic definition of a connector from Malcom Gladwell’s book “The

Tipping Point.” I love people, learning more about what inspires each and every

individual I encounter, and how I can remove roadblocks to bring their unique vision to

the world. It is an honor when someone truly allows you to see them.

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. The premise of this series assumes that our society still feels uncomfortable with strong women. Why do you think this is so?

I believe it comes from a scarcity mentality around power. There has long been a well-defined path towards success for the group that is leading today, and I think the shifting landscape is jarring for some. Talent, innovation, and leadership are evenly distributed in society; if we only include a small subsection of society in the rooms where decisions are made we will continue to have blinders on for the needs of consumers and society. Change is hard for people, and they will resist it until they experience the benefits in their personal experience. I have a lot of faith in the younger generations to get us moving forward again.

Without saying any names, can you share a story from your own experience that illustrates this idea?

When I returned from maternity leave with my second child, I was informed my job had been eliminated and that I would now be responsible for selling electrical components 15 years into my career. I was ranked as a top performer in the company prior to my family leave, but when I tried to advocate for myself I was met with leadership who defended their actions strongly and an environment of harassment. It was explained to me that “It was my husbands’ job to pay the mortgage and my job to pay for shoes” in a career development discussion with my manager. It took me two years to work my way out of that toxic environment, and to be honest, a few more to recover from the impact it had on my career trajectory and self-esteem.

I was not the first or the last woman in the construction industry to face that kind of blatant discrimination, so I leveraged my network through the Society of Women Engineers to return to the tech industry at the right level of seniority to get my career back on track. I am grateful for the lesson, because I don’t think I really understood the impacts that gender based discrimination has on women in the workplace, especially working mothers until then. If I had not lived through it, I don’t think I could ever truly grasp how fast you can be cast from the in group to the out group in a work environment when your performance and results are consistent. It has made me a better sponsor and advocate for those who are coming behind me.

What should a powerful woman do in a context where she feels that people are uneasy around her?

You don’t do the world any favors by playing small. There is no point of getting invited to the table if you are not free to change the conversation. According to a recent survey from Forbes, 61% of women surveyed are planning a major career change post-pandemic. In addition, 1 in 4 women surveyed are interested in starting their own business. Emily Kennedy and I are successful startup executives who have built our social impact businesses from scratch. We have released an Entrepreneurship 101 e-course series to help accelerate women towards success. Our course is titled Spark Passion, and we demystify the process of founding a company. We provide guidance on free resources to launch your business, find your customers, build your minimum viable product, and prevent burnout with community and wellness practices.

What do we need to do as a society to change the unease around powerful women?

I think the key to change is time with more women in the C-suite, Government, and Board of Director roles. The pandemic has shined a light on women leaders globally who have managed though a crisis more effectively than many of their male counterparts. When people can look back and see companies and societies that are more successful under a women’s leadership, unease will dissipate. When waters rise, all boats float.

In my own experience, I have observed that often women have to endure ridiculous or uncomfortable situations to achieve success that men don’t have to endure. Do you have a story like this from your own experience? Can you share it with us?

I have had to explain to more than one manager how travel to conferences and international meetings is different for me then the rest of their male staff members. From being followed off elevators by strangers, to being grabbed by customers, or harassed by colleagues — I have to be more vigilant, and staying in dicey parts of town or traveling solo can be a real risk. It is humiliating to have to live this, let alone explain this. Always make sure your teams are not traveling solo, and make sure you are providing enough budget to book at reputable hotels (especially in big cities or international travel). Anticipate the needs of your female employee’s vs making them have uncomfortable conversations with you just to do their job.

In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by women leaders that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?

Physical and psychological safety in the workplace. I have experienced a range of sexual harassment, bullying, and disrespect that I would never wish upon my worst enemy from both genders in the workplace. The saddest part about it is how there are so many bystanders that don’t intervene when they have a powerful role to play as a neutral observer. In the wise words of Ellie Wiesel “We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” The role of Male Allies is critical to improving area, I recommend “Good Guys” by Brad Johnson and David Smith for anyone looking to make sure the workplaces that their mothers, sisters, and daughters enter improve over time.

Let’s now shift our discussion to a slightly different direction. This is a question that nearly everyone with a job has to contend with. Was it difficult to fit your personal and family life into your business and career? For the benefit of our readers, can you articulate precisely what the struggle was?

I found that the expectation of always-on cultures in the workplace make it really hard to have the flexibility required to juggle all the balls during the years when your family needs you the most. You can’t prevent dropping one of them on most weeks and it is a constant struggle to make sure you are dropping one that is plastic and not glass on any given day between home and career. It is important to give working parents that autonomy they need to accomplish their jobs when and where works best for that season of their life. If you can clearly articulate what outcomes you want vs how you want them accomplished you can achieve a lot more as a business leader. A lot of policies and constraints are based in fear and lack of trust; this is not the way to lead in the 21st century.

What was a tipping point that helped you achieve a greater balance or greater equilibrium between your work life and personal life? What did you do to reach this equilibrium?

In late 2017 I was at a crossroads. I had achieved the career milestones I had strived for and I was looking to infuse more meaning in my days. As a working mom of young children, the expectations from the corporate world were out of alignment with my responsibilities at home and I was on the edge of burnout. Over coffee with a mentor of mine, I shared my business idea, and I asked him to talk me out of doing it. He replied with a question that got me out of my own way: “If I am at your funeral and you never tried this even though it would likely fail, are you ok with that?” I have never felt clearer on my answer of NO. I recognized as a technology insider, trust and safety expert, and sales professional, that I was uniquely qualified to lead this initiative. It took me a long time to recognize that I was an Entrepreneur (till 40!). I wish I would have left corporate America earlier. It was significantly harder to drive change from the inside of a multi-national company than from outside. That’s why I have partnered with Women in Data and fellow founder Emily Kennedy on our Entrepreneurship 101 courses to help demystify the process.

I work in the beauty tech industry, so I am very interested to hear your philosophy or perspective about beauty. In your role as a powerful woman and leader, how much of an emphasis do you place on your appearance? Do you see beauty as something that is superficial, or is it something that has inherent value for a leader in a public context? Can you explain what you mean?

I think earlier in my career it felt more critical to align with societal expectations on beauty in order to be heard. Today I feel more freedom to be valued for what I say vs what I look like when I say it. Impact and success speak louder than a shiny exterior. I still enjoy getting dressed up if I am going to be on a stage, but I no longer feel like I need to avoid those situations until I look like I did when I was 21. Can you imagine if Oprah decided to play small until she hit her goal weight? What a loss that would be for the world.

Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. Based on your opinion and experience, what are the “Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Powerful Woman?” (Please share a story or example for each.)

1. Trust your instincts: I have never met a woman who said “I ignored my gut feel and it turned out great!” We are blessed with good intuition, don’t ignore it because you feel bad about judging a situation and making a choice without all the data. No one ever has all the data they would like to have to decide. Trust yourself!
2. You are not the default for unpaid labor: At home, outsource things that drain your energy where you can. For example, I realized in 2020 that I like to cook, but I hate trying to think about what to make for dinner during the week. Signing up for a meal prep service allows me to make fresh meals without the invisible labor of the conceiving and planning for them when I am already coming off of a long work day. I highly recommend Eve Rodsky’s book “Fair Play for a well thought-out system for identifying and distributing unpaid labor in the home in a more balanced way.
3. Just because you can doesn’t mean you should: It is important to free yourself from the grinding tasks in life that will not get you where you can make the most impact, in order to bring your unique contributions to the world. Don’t volunteer for the unpaid labor in the workplace, and if you are asked by your leadership to do it more than once suggest letting someone else have the opportunity to showcase their project management abilities. Early in your career it is a great way to build and demonstrate skills, but what got you here won’t get you there.
4. Identify Safe vs Toxic Connections: If someone is crossing your dignity and respect line consistently, especially if they have a position of power over you, start planning your exit strategy immediately. Maya Angelo once said “When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time”. You will never behave well enough for a narcissist to see your value and to stop being toxic. You can only recover from these environments by getting out of them!
5. Look within for guidance: It is important to have consistent wellness practices that allow you to drown out the noise of the world to hear your own wisdom. Only you know all the competing priorities of your life, your goals and dreams, and what lifts your energy vs what drains you. It is important to get out into nature and see the tops of the trees to get grounded back into your body which will always help you identify the next right move. I use guided Breathwork and Meditation to help me.

We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.

My goal in life is to do something impactful enough to be interviewed by Oprah Winfrey for Super Soul Sunday. I have dedicated my career to protecting vulnerable women in children globally from human trafficking and child sexual abuse material online via technology. I would love to raise the global awareness of what these crimes are and how everyone can demand more from government, companies, and society to stop the enabling this horror. The crime of human trafficking is a $150B industry; the front lines need the best tools available to help them recover victims faster. Technology can be a great tool to accelerate the tedious things that machines do well,; so that investigators can focus on do what humans do best which is to investigate cases.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.

About The Interviewer: Ming Zhao is an immigrant, third-generation entrepreneur, and mother whose daughter, Ember, is the same age as her company, PROVEN Skincare. PROVEN applies Artificial Intelligence and data to create personalized skincare products. The Stanford scientist team at PROVEN create customized skincare systems for individuals based on more than 47 factors about them, including their gene expression, external lifestyle, environment and skin concerns. PROVEN is the winner of MIT’s AI Technology of the Year award. Check out PROVEN at www.provenskincare.com