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Can you share with us a memorable life experience? e first time I went to West A frica, Burundi, the third worst countr y in A frica; it was the best experience of my life. I had a lot of preconceived concepts of that area, but there was never a single day when we woke up that they were not already work ing. No one ever begged one time for any thing. It was a wake- up call for me. When we arrived, we were told we would be approached. But, no one asked for money, they wanted to carr y our bags or make us clothes. When we would wake up in the morning the lile k ids were outside with their mules and all of their products. ey were already work ing. When we got in at 11 o'clock at night, they were still out. I've never seen such industrious people. No one begged for a penny, even at the Vatican, the g y psies are there. I never felt safe. It forever changed the way I felt about my life. Maybe it is the third worst countr y in A frica, but they sure don't have the third worst mindset. e experience changed my whole perspective. How do think women can help each other more in business? As a woman who was a leader in a large organization, I push women to work twice as hard, be twice as good, because I k now that is what it takes. Some women accept it others do not. I see women who are almost afraid that if they help a woman it will be seen that they are doing it because she is a woman. A nd some women honestly want to be the only one; that is their sacred space as the only. But in the middle there are women who will support at whatever level they can. What I want to see is women who have solid opportunities to bring other women along and unapologetically talk about it. If you get women together and demand nothing , they are just a bunch of women. If you get women who are unified and they say we are willing to experience discomfort and consequences to accomplish something that can be a force for good and change. I love to see young women who are courageous enough to raise their voices. I think about the women who made the biggest influence in my life. ey were the women in my community who encouraged me and shared some of the realities and consequences of life. D Continued om page 27 GRAVITAS MAGAZINE GravitasMag.com | 27 26 | GRAVITAS MAGAZINE GravitasMag.com By Jules Lewis Gibson my BEST life GRAVITAS MAGAZINE GravitasMag.com | 27 rst saw Lafern Batie on stage. Her compelling personality lled the auditorium. Mesmerized by her quick- wi ed con dence, the all female audience was energized by her unique combination of strength and femininity. I k new immediately, I had to meet this women and share her stor y. Batie is most de nitely a woman with gravitas. A few weeks later, we met for what was scheduled to be an hour lunch. We both brushed our schedules aside to enjoy an entire a ernoon of lively conversion covering all the tabu topics of race, religion, politics, divorce and any thing else controversial we could think of. Two women with seemingly li le in common, we became fast friends and con dantes. Originally from Mar yland, Batie has called Florida home for close to two decades. She enjoyed an impressive career with Fortune 500 companies before starting her own company in 2005, the Batie Group. She uses her expertise to help international organizations and leaders across diverse industries ma x imize their collective and individual performance. She travels between her o ces and homes in Tampa and Washington, DC to assist clients around the globe. is inter view covers some of the highlights of our lively conversation. You have an impressive background. How did your career evolve? I originally thought I wanted to be a teacher. I was many teacher's pet growing up. I didn't even want to go to recess, I wanted to stay and help the teacher. I was a dedicated student until the 9th grade when something ipped and almost failed. en I woke up and realized I wanted to graduate on time and do something with my life. I worked in bank ing as a summer job then stayed on and went to school. I ended up ge ing my accounting degree then, years later ,I decided to go back to school for my MBA . I ended up work ing for a defense contractor, then a brokerage company when we moved to Florida. Out of the blue, I was o ered an opportunity to run the human resources for an engineering team. For the rst time, I went into an inter view with nothing to lose, so I was ver y honest. My honesty was I do not do routine day-to-day ever y thing is the same. I need excitement, something di erent. Other wise, I will be like a caged tiger, when that door opens, I'm gone. e executive chuck led and said OK , at least I k now where you stand. It ended up being a great opportunity that allowed me to grow. When I went in my goal was to be there four years. I had a chance to see what I enjoyed most which was strateg y, and helping leaders be more e ective. Being able to see the inside of a large company, the people, the processes, the systems and the discipline around those processes that is what creates the exceptional experience that people are a racted to. When the four year mark came, I realized I didn't have a plan. I got frustrated with myself. So in 2005, I started my three-year plan and started by business on the side. A ll of my vacation time went to ser ve clients. I saved my money, so I would have enough money in reser ve. A nd at the end of that time, I resigned and never looked back. at was 2008, we all k now what was going on then. 2008 was an interesting time to jump o the cli . Actually, I think it was the best time, because organizations were look ing to do things with more disciple. ey didn't have the luxur y to say, "We're doing well, we don't need that." How did you carve out your place in male dominated industries? It was ver y bene cial to have a man tell me I could do whatever I want, that was my father. Nobody said you can't, not in my inner most circle. A nd I think it's important to give that to others that maybe don't have that k ind of inner circle. I had structure but not boundaries. Nobody ever told me, you should be this. I was able to gure that out on my own. I've worked around men predominately but I've never felt that I needed to be like a man. I love being a woman. I love the femininity of a woman. I love the intelligence of a women. I like substantive conversations and I like football. If your wife or your girlfriend does not like football please don't bring her to my house on Sunday. I'm not going to entertain her. I'm watching the game. Where did you get your con dence and how do help others nd it? First of all, you have to have the courage to allow con dence to surface. I believe part of it came from my nurturing. My mother is ver y independent, even now at 80. She was a leader in the community and required us to ser ve the community. She taught me to stand up for what is right. She would tell me, "Honey, sometimes you have to be the voice for people, when they are too ignorant to do it for themselves." So, having a voice was always familiar to me. A nd my father always talked to us about be young ladies and not being afraid to be di erent. A lso part of it was my makeup my mind set. I'm ver y independent which can be stubbornness but, when tempered can be con dence. Over time as I became more comfortable with who I am, what I believe, what I k now is right for me. K nowing that if I don't walk in con dence, then I will be the doormat for somebody else and I'm not able to live with that. I'm OK with con ict and disagreement. Other peoples judgement of what I should be doing , that made me ght even harder. Con dence comes with embracing who you are with all of your imperfections. It comes from my desire to fully live the way LaFern wants to live. A nd not just living my life fully but, helping others do the same. I think it's a shame for someone to go through life and not get a taste of joy and happiness and ful llment, because of the choices they are too afraid to make that will make them uncomfortable. So I love work ing with people who don't mind being stretched. I want to be the boot camp instructor for your mind. I am going to challenge the way you think. Not to get you upset but, to make you consider a di erent perspective, even if you don't embrace it. Life changed for me when I started changing my expectations. ver y honest. My honesty not do routine I LaFern Batie Business Strategist, Executive Coach and Speaker, The Batie Group " TOP TO BOTTOM: LaFern after running a half marathon in the Washington, DC. With one of her inspirations, Oprah Winfrey. LaFern with her brothers and sisters celebrating her mothers 80th birthday. LaFern with her husband, Bob. Continued on page 31. September 8th & 9th Straz Center for the Performing Arts Keynote Speakers Just Announced! Morning Keynote: Brandi Kamenar, Celebrity Branding Strategist Use Code: GRAVITAS to get access to early- bird pricing and save $20! //Alexis Carra //Brandi Kamenar Lunch Keynote: Alexis Carra, TV Actress, Recovery Road | www.workingwomenconference.com