Posted by: Co-written by Liz Pinto, Red House Custom Building and EM NARI staff

Leyah Valgardson of Leader’s Voice was the guest speaker at the 2019 Women in Remodeling Event held at the Oakley Country Club in Watertown, Massachusetts.

Leyah was moving and impactful. Too often at these events, the guest speaker doesn’t relate to the audience or has their own agenda. Leyah came from a family of builders and she understood the challenges of being a woman in this industry.

In the presentation it was noted that, on average, women are paid .83 cents on the dollar in the working world, but in the remodeling and building industry, we only comprise 9% of the industry yet make more than men on average. There is a large opportunity for continued growth for women in the remodeling industry.

Takeaways from the presentation:

• Be authentic-don’t try and blend. The value we bring to this industry lies in being different and bringing a different voice. Speak up.
• Invest in a mentor and a sponsor. The difference is a mentor supports you as you develop in your current role and a sponsor pushes and advocates for your future career growth.
• We have both feminine and masculine energies that play into how we can be successful as leaders. Switch between ones that need to be utilized in the moment.
• We should work synergistically – defined as taking the “best of the best” in all subject matter expert areas to create something great together. Play off peoples/teams strengths.

Leyah had us take a quiz on her website to learn more about how our voices are categorized in 4 different segments. They were defined to help us hone in on who we are.  Click here www.leadersvoice.co for more information about the different segments of voices.

After Leyah’s presentation we separated into groups for Speed Mentorship.  Some of the top women in remodeling were the leaders of these groups.  Each group had roughly 5 minutes to ask questions or discuss issues regarding women in remodeling.

This event is a great success thanks to all of the mentors who take the time to share their thoughts experiences and understanding with women who are just beginning in the industry.

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