Dr. Madeline Ann Lewis

While the world celebrates the success of women in the corporate world, not that all of them are sung heroes. There are many women achievers in the world that can teach a lot to the leaders of today so that they can take giant leaps forward. One of them is Dr. Madeline Ann Lewis, the CEO of Executive Women’s Success Institute (EXWSI) based out of Maryland.  

She is not just a renowned name in business consultancy but also an author, speaker, trainer, and career strategist. She hails from New Orleans, Louisiana, but currently resides in the Washington Metro Area. Known for her tireless pursuit in helping women progress on the path to success, Dr. Lewis gives training in professional development and conducts workshops and seminars the scope of which is not only spread across the US but also abroad.

Dr. Madeline Ann Lewis's Achievements 

Dr. Lewis has also been recognized for her relentless endeavors. In 2017, she was chosen by the Enterprising Magazine as the “2017 Enterprising Woman of the Year”.  And as a finalist by the National Veteran-Owned Business Association’s “2016 Woman Vetrepreneur of the Year” while she was selected by the Paul Anthony Foundation for “2016 Successful Journey of Black Entrepreneurship” Award. She was also chosen among several contestants from around the world as a finalist for the “2015 Enterprising Woman of the Year” Award. In 2013, she was selected by the Prince George’s Chamber of Commerce for the “Business Women of the Year”. In 2012, she was picked by the Minority Enterprise Executive Council for the “50 Women of Power in Business” Award.  

What Is Success to You? 

Dr. Lewis, who has authored the book ‘Finding Your Best Inside: How to Persevere and Become the Person You Are Meant to Be’, appeared for an interview with Margo Lovett on ‘Her Business, Her Voice, Her Conversation’ podcast where she spoke on a plethora of success.   

According to Dr. Lewis, the definition of success is different for everybody. It means different things to different people. For her, success is whatever you believe it takes for you to be successful. She has to be able to articulate, have a compelling message and be able to share with the people she serves or speaks to. In her own words, she said “I have to make sure that I can invoke change in the lives of the people that I am coming in contact with.” But whatever success means to you, getting into the right mind-frame and having the right attitude will help you to get there. 

Investing in Yourself  

If there is one major rule of success you should follow. Be willing to invest in yourself! Don't be afraid to invest in yourself and your abilities. Even if it takes time to discover new opportunities and skills, do it and never give up. Because investing in yourself can yield rewards that last a lifetime. Dr. Lewis explained that a lot of people start a business and career but when it comes to really growing and staying an expert in their field and their industry, they will not invest in themselves. They’ll go out and buy a Louis Vuitton bag, but not going to pay to get training to expand their mind. “Such people get exposed when they start speaking”, she said. 

Be Ready to Learn 

Another aspect of success for her means to continue with the process of learning. To show others the way to success, she has to keep herself growing and that comes with education and coaching. She also needs to receive training from other people who she thinks are resourceful and have done their work successfully. She said that if one doesn’t have the confidence in himself or herself in doing something successfully, then he or she is unlikely to excel in anything.  

She always has a coach in her life to show the way. “I have a coach for everything that I do in each area of my life. I have a coach right now. I have someone that I work with that just takes me step by step. Every, every two weeks we speak, okay, what’s going on now? What are you doing? Here’s what I think you should be doing,” she said, adding that while her point is not to say that she needs someone all the time to tell what is to be done, she needs someone who has done it and speaks from experience. At the same time, she said she is not okay with taking advice from people who themselves haven’t done it and been successful. “You will not at all survive without continuous learning,” Dr. Lewis then added.  

When Lovett asked Dr. Lewis about “credentialism” when judging the aspect of success, she said that one doesn’t need a doctorate degree to be a coach or to be in business. However, “you need to have the certified backing behind you to show that you trained, and you studied,” she said. As an example, Dr. Lewis has a coaching program called the ‘8 Habits of Highly Successful Women’ she creates after doing research and case study with 20 women around the Washington DC area that were in executive-level positions. The research was done to help her find out some of the obstacles women at the executive level faced.  

You may have to spend every minute of the day working on your business to make it successful, but you shouldn’t let that stopping you from learning while growing with your business. It’s important to do research and communicate with your customers. Asking your audience specific questions will help you get valuable and honest feedback directly from your customers to help you grow your knowledge.   

Be Prepared for Challenges  

You have to be ready for any challenges that come along. You will go through some stuff in your life to get where you are going. Take the bad with the good. If you fall down, get up. Don't stop and stay down. Move forward. Set long-term goals and make small continual improvements every day. As stated by Dr. Lewis, be prepare because someone will always challenge you. “I used to go out to present and represent. I worked for an organization that used to send me out all the time to represent them. Somebody in that audience is always going to try and challenge or ask a question that they think you don't know. It never fails.”  

You have to be prepared for what you're going to face and what to expect because that's what it comes down to. When you are ready and you're not wavering from that, and you are committed to whatever your task is or whatever your obligation is, then you can have that inner peace and tranquility and that inner well-being. That is what it's all about, building those inner resiliencies.