Power Women: Rebecca Warfield of Chicane Group On How To Successfully Navigate Work, Love and Life As A Powerful Woman
An Interview With Ming Zhao
Perseverance — Do not quit. Take one day at a time, and just keep going. If you think you’re close to quitting, ask for more and many times you will have a breakthrough.
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 Rebecca Warfield, CEO at Chicane Group & Global Head of Strategic Partnerships at Looped.
Rebecca Warfield is a top artist manager, entrepreneur & entertainment visionary on the cutting edge of technology. She has nearly 20 years of experience developing strategic, global, & multi-platform initiatives for some of the biggest artists & creative companies in the world. Her extensive knowledge and skill set in building effective teams, drives talent to the next level & continues to result in accelerated growth across music, entertainment, & technology. In 2012, she founded the Chicane Group, an artist management & consulting firm, where she is CEO, and in 2019, joined Looped as an early advisor & their loudest evangelist. She now serves Looped as Global Head of Strategic Partnerships.
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 a log cabin that my parents built in the 70’s in the woods of Northwest Montana. The TV and magazines that came in the mail were my windows to the world and I was always interested and fascinated by TV shows, and musical performances. I also read every day…I was reading “Gone With The Wind” in first grade. I spent my days reading, writing my own stories, working hard, hiking, hunting and playing in the trees, creeks, and woods that completely surrounded our cabin for miles. My parents were from New Jersey and I had early exposure to New York City, and places around the world from my mom teaching me geography and about different cultures. I was always interested in fashion and always felt slightly out of place getting dressed in trendy outfits in Montana. Growing up there taught me my survival skills, work ethic, and strong values. I was a cheerleader from junior high through my first year of college, and started my first business when I was 12 — painting jeans, and scooping ice cream. I always worked several jobs at once (and still seem to have this tendency)! I learned to hear and listen to my inner voice through the stillness and quiet of growing up in the woods in the 80’s. I started traveling overseas when I was 16 and became obsessed with travel, exploration, and different cultures.
Can you tell us the story about what led you to become a manager and how you got started in the tech world?
I had been freelancing in the talent department, working on various award shows and music tv specials, many with Dick Clark Productions for about seven years. During the writer’s strike in 2007, many of my peers were either losing their jobs, or not being asked back to shows due to budgetary restrictions or the shows were completely cancelled. I began thinking about what I would do next as I felt the urge to make a move. Someone in our office suggested that since I was always on the side of the artist, that I should think about going into artist management. I decided I would reach out to one of the teams that I really admired, Alicia Keys’ VP, DJ Walton. I reached out to him and him only, not realizing at all that he was working on Britney Spears’ upcoming “Circus” tour. Four months later, I was out on the biggest tour that had ever gone out in the history of touring. That launched my career into artist management. Over the years, I got lots of inquiries on a regular basis from tech companies coming out of Silicon Valley wanting to work with our artists. I began advising the tech companies on how to best work within the entertainment industry, what they needed to provide in terms of customization or how to make it more attractive and user friendly, while making introductions to potential partners. I really started consulting in tech by accident and at the same time, got a very in depth understanding of what was happening and how artists could utilize tech (if it was customizable, flexible and easy to use). I started advising the Looped interactive virtual venue in 2019, and it has been an exhilarating ride, playing many roles to fill what has been needed as the company has grown and evolved over the last three years.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
There are so many moments, I don’t think I could just pick one…I think my most interesting is a series of events that I don’t talk about too much separately. Being in the room either collaborating or just being there on a regular basis during Steven Tyler’s creative processes. Whether it was writing his solo album in Nashville, and literally watching the channeling of lyrics from the heavens into his brain and out onto paper or singing a line for the first time, or coming up with a creative concept for a project, all over the world in Africa, Europe, various cities across the US, in jets, cars, and boats. I think being in the room and soaking all of that in on a regular basis was really interesting, rare, and a profound learning time in my career and life. I work very closely with Julian Lennon, and he recently re-recorded “Imagine” for a Global Citizen campaign for Stand Up For Ukraine, and that was a very special, monumental, and sacred process to be facilitating and a part of for so many reasons with the world being as tumultuous and volatile than ever before.
You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success?
Resilience
Perseverance
Creativity
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 think women have always been intimidating to men, in general, since childhood. The boys chase the girls because they might be bigger and louder and rowdier. The girls tend to be more developed intellectually earlier, and have wit, and play this game because it is fun as kids. Boys are intimidated by girls because of their beauty and bodies as teenagers. The pattern continues and when women are in business, they now have this sometimes all-knowing wisdom added to their features, and it can either be embraced and respected as allies and strong leaders, or treated as a threat. We have a long way to go because unfortunately, a lot of men in the room are oblivious to how they act toward women, or simply not willing to give up their power to be more collaborative and win as a team. This is an evolution just like anything else. The good thing is that there are a lot of powerful and integral men out there educating themselves, being great mentors to women, and also empowering the women in their businesses and lives.
Without saying any names, can you share a story from your own experience that illustrates this idea?
I worked closely with a record label head who seemed to despise and have jealousy for my close relationship with a management client. He did whatever he could to undermine my direction, and gaslight me to get closer to the artist. He also did this to a lot of the women who worked for him so he was known for this behavior. This was so bizarre because he was the record label head who held so much power as it was. He could have embraced my leadership and been more collaborative. Together we could have moved mountains, but instead I had to use so much of my daily energy playing defense in a psychologically toxic environment. The only thing that stopped him at one point was my client (a man who he respected) putting him in his place and calling him out to respect me. But again, this whole thing could have been avoided and we could have been such a stronger team without the ego and power play. Mothers, teach your sons the way of enlightenment!
What should a powerful woman do in a context where she feels that people are uneasy around her?
Sometimes you have to play yourself big and sometimes you have to be small to drive your goals and what you know you need to do to win for a client or in business…It doesn’t mean you’re giving away your power or operating without integrity. Eliza VanCort talks about this in her book, “A Woman’s Guide to Claiming Space: Stand Tall. Raise Your Voice. Be Heard.” Sometimes you have to play into the power mongers by giving it to them…or so they think. I do always try to break the ice and relate to everyone in the room from the start. There is always common ground. Find it.
What do we need to do as a society to change the unease around powerful women?
Embrace an individual’s power and unique talents no matter how a person identifies. There is strength in our differences. We need men teaching their sons and other men to recognize the problem specifically and mothers teaching their sons. Start early. Kids pick up on respect, so we need to set good examples and be conscious of how we are reacting in front of them.
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 actually have SO many stories like this and maybe in my next life I will come back as a man so I can experience both sides. I was out on the road on tour with my daughter when she was seven weeks old. I would not be able to continue doing my job if I couldn’t go. I was looking forward to getting back out there but I did have to go out of pocket to pay for my nanny to come with my baby on the road and jump through hoops to make it happen and obtain any resources to offset costs. I pumped for 12 months in between events and backstage, and all over the world. But, definitely pumping in between meetings and calls, etc. was a really wild, vulnerable, and strenuous task. Good thing that was pre-Covid when we weren’t on zooms all day long!
In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by women leaders that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?
We generally have less time to do more to prove ourselves due to taking care of family and home obligations on top of full, demanding careers. This sets a standard where we are always doing more and more to prove that we deserve our next role or promotion. There is not enough support for women in their households to manage home life and obligations, and a full career. Women are highly criticized by their looks, too pretty, not pretty enough, etc. Being a mother is a choice, but our human race depends on it, so we should be more supportive to mothers in the workforce and provide more women’s mental health resources in a proactive manner, versus addressing symptoms of anxiety, depression, exhaustion. I believe this is due to the incredibly unbalanced amount of responsibility that we must take on to be successful in the world and still have the opportunity to have a family. And the biggest challenges are faced by Black women and underrepresented communities who need to be more recognized and more protected by society and other women.
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?
Yes and it still is….Always…Working on a balance to satisfy and show up for your family and clients, is a daily struggle. It can be extremely difficult. It can also force you to redesign your life and I think it’s a transition time that lends to growth and evolution. I had to completely rebuild my entire business when I had a baby, simply because others viewed me differently, even though I could run circles around anyone else standing in for my position. Others will 100% view you differently when you have a child, and even treat you like you’re incapable or disabled immediately. There are no protections against this for business owners getting discriminated against by client teams, so I think that’s something that needs to be looked at in policy to protect female business owners in some way.
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?
Someone once said to me, “When you have kids you’ll do everything in half the time you used to.” I thought this would be impossible since I truly thought I was so incredibly busy. I laugh at that now because it’s very true. It’s a work life weave and you just have to learn to juggle it all, be decisive, hone your decision making skills and your common sense. If you can make decisions quickly and own them, write and read quickly, and learn how to ruthlessly prioritize, you’ll figure out your weave and get better and better at it. I don’t always have work time and personal time separately. I let it all run together throughout the day in blocks of time, and that’s ok with me because that’s how I make it all work. I also don’t spend time on the phone talking about nothing or recapping events. Every five minutes in my work day is productive and working toward a goal. I also must have alone time so I can think about big picture visionary inspiration, and let random thoughts come to me that need my attention.
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. Perseverance — Do not quit. Take one day at a time, and just keep going. If you think you’re close to quitting, ask for more and many times you will have a breakthrough.
2. Education — Educate yourself. Learn Strategy. You don’t know what you don’t know.
3. Creativity — Do things differently. There are more ways to the top than a straight line, or maybe you don’t even want to go to the top.
4. Spirituality — Trust in whatever faith you can tap into. Pay attention to and respect the rules of the universe. Tap into helpful and guiding energy. Learn more.
5. Flexibility — Sometimes you have to pivot. Learn to be ok with change.
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?
Two very different people cross my mind for this, but one is Dua Lipa, because I think she’s such a talented and incredible artist who I’d love to work with and represent. She is a strong, beautiful, integral, and creative woman who has potential to do so much in the world as she builds her artist, brand, and charitable empire. The other is Sara Blakely, a self-made mogul, who also is a mom, and so hilarious. I love her style and also think we would have a lot of synergy and sisterhood in our sanity quest.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
