Profile

Sonja Šmuc is an executive director of the Managers’ Association of Slovenia since 2005. She focuses on development of Slovenian management and leadership to encourage competitiveness of Slovenian businesses. Among other business topics she has specialized in women’s leadership. She is a member of different professional bodies (Board of Summit100 business leaders of SEE, Accreditation Committee of Bank Assets Management Company, Advisory Committee for Equal Opportunities with European Commission, Slovenian Council for Equal Opportunities, International graphic center, CEC – European managers) and award boards.

She also served as a treasurer of CEC – European Managers, a European confederation of managerial organizations with headquarters in Brussels. In 2006 Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia co-awarded her with bronze award for innovation in publishing. She is also a co-author of a book on managing export risks. Before joining MAS she was editor-in-chief of magazine Manager, specialized in leadership and management. She is the author of more than 700 business related articles. She has Master’s Degree from Economic Faculty in Ljubljana; she deepened her knowledge at Stanford University of California, Vienna’s Wirtschaftsuniversität and IEDC – business school of Bled.

HeartTalk.

Interview

1.What is your definition of women empowerment?

An empowered woman is a woman in charge of her life. She is independent and proud of who she is and who she will be. She makes decisions for herself and those that depend on her. She does not take this power lightly, since she knows that the outcomes of those decisions influence more than just her life. She is not afraid to walk away from bad situations, bosses or relationships. An empowered woman can take a lot of burden but she doesn’t allow anybody to walk over her and her dignity. Funny, the same is true for empowered men.

2.What motivated you to get involved in being inspirational for change?

Doesn’t everybody want to make a difference in the world? I’m fortunate that I found my tool for making a dent in the universe.

3.What are some key characteristics of an empowered person?

Under question 1.

4.What can leaders or individuals interested in advocacy do to facilitate empowerment?

First, get to know your topic. Don’t get blinded by your own personal view. Read personal stories, talk with people, find research. Second, get connected. Find others that share your passion. Together your voices will travel further. Third, set a clear goal of what you want to achieve and make a roadmap of how you could get there and who needs to get involved. Fourth, don’t let emotions and ego get in your way. Use the energy of emotions to fuel you and others, but also rational brain to cool you down when needed. It is not about you, after all, it is about the cause you care about.

5.What advice would you give to those who want to give up due to a lack of empowered feeling, thinking and action? (e.g. What is an important first step)

The liberty of free will works both ways, one can either be active or decide not to be. That is our right and it is ok. Strangely enough, not everybody wants to be empowered. But just think – would you feel better about yourself if you try and fail or if you don’t even try? In both cases, you will learn a lot about yourself.