Welcome to 5G Talent Talk with Carrie Charles

Welcome to 5G Talent Talk with Carrie Charles, a podcast dedicated to helping you navigate the future workforce with innovative strategies to attract, retain, and engage people in this new world of work, only here on 5G Talent Talk with Carrie Charles, CEO of Broadstaff Talent Solutions. Thanks for joining me today on 5G Talent Talk, I’m Carrie Charles, your host. I am very happy to have my friend, Lynn Witcher, with me today. She is the general counsel for md7 and the president of the Women’s Wireless Leadership Forum (WWLF). Lynn, thank you for coming on the show.

Thank you, Carrie. It’s such a pleasure to be here with you. We are a great group of talented, amazing, dedicated women here to support each other, colleagues if you will.

Tracing Lynn Whitcher’s Leadership Journey in Telecom

Lynn, I want to know more about your past. How did you get to where you are today in leadership?

Thank you for that, Carrie. I am a lawyer by training and worked at a firm in Los Angeles as a litigator. One of the clients that firm served was one of the tier one carriers. We were outside Real Estate Council for a major carrier. I asked my friends and peers about what they do over there for this wireless carrier. They mentioned those cell sites like the giant fake trees off the 405. Initially, I had no idea, but once you see it, you can’t unsee it. My family sends me pictures asking if we built this or that, and I have to tell them no, we did not.

Our thought at the time was that the Telecom Group would be project-based and out of a job in 18 months. However, we’re still building in 2024, so certainly, my colleagues were incorrect about the future of the wireless industry. As I got married and lived my life, I moved from litigation to a transactional practice, the Telecom practice being the largest practice in the Los Angeles office of my law firm at the time, McGuire Woods. I transitioned to Telecom and hoped to go in-house, which I have done now. I worked at McGuire Woods for a few years servicing that telecom client and then moved to md7 as associate general counsel and then ultimately general counsel.

When you’re a lawyer working in a law firm, you don’t really get out of the office very much. I was used to going to court all the time and going to depositions all the time, so I wanted to go out, see the sites, and meet our major MLA Partners. It was one of the first times anyone from the McGuire Woods office left to go visit one of the clients, and they were like, why do you need to do that? I wanted to build relationships.

I got active in California Wireless and WWLF at the recommendation of the client. They said there’s a great organization for women your office should consider joining. The rest is history. I’ve been with WWLF for about 15 years now.

Role of WWLF in Promoting Women’s Success in Telecom

WWLF, the Women’s Wireless Leadership Forum, supports the success of women in our industry through education, networking, and opportunities. We are a professional, volunteer organization comprised of professionals in the wireless industry. Why do we need it? Especially with all the changes in the landscape of DEI in the last 18 months, I think it’s the wrong question. Who are our members? It’s the telecommunications industry. Do we provide value? Absolutely. We’re doing so many amazing things, and I look at all the great leaders that we have coming up through the city rep program and through our board of directors.

We have amazing sponsors who see us as partners for their existing employee resources groups internally. It’s a place where we can come alongside some great companies in the industry and really provide opportunities for leadership but to do that in a way where you’re having fun. If you’ve gone to a WWLF networking reception at ConnectX or Mobile World Congress, or even at some of the regional conferences, you know what I’m talking about. There are amazing opportunities there.

Unveiling WWLF’s Partnership with the Wireless Infrastructure Association

It’s a great question. I didn’t even realize our connection until I joined the board. We’ve just recently gone through a rebrand, and I think you will see in our new logo it says WWLF powered by WIA, which makes that connection very clear. WWLF is not a standalone business entity. We are actually a part of the Wireless Infrastructure Association. We work hand in hand with Patrick Hiy, Deb Bennett, Tim House, and all the wonderful people at WIA.

I love that we are powered by this amazing organization in WIA. We have really amazing opportunities that are brought to us through that partnership, like the wireless leaders luncheon in DC that Patrick Hiy started two years ago. It was a fantastic opportunity to bring some policy folks from the hill together with the infrastructure folks and celebrate the contributions of women in the industry.

Exploring the ConnectX Conference: Opportunities and Insights

We also have a professional development symposium, a half-day symposium the day before ConnectX on Monday, May 13th, from 1:00 to 5:00 PM. This is an opportunity that Patrick and his team at WIA were able to bring to us.

Let’s talk briefly about ConnectX. It is a WIA event, right? So tell us more about that and how WWLF is involved and maybe opportunities to get connected there at ConnectX. ConnectX is one of the most exciting conferences in our space. If you are in wireless infrastructure or communication infrastructure, it’s the place to go. There’s really amazing content from the educational standpoint. I like to go because of the policy updates, which are always fantastic. Another thing you can do is attend our networking reception.

The ConnectX conference is huge, with thousands of people, easily north of 3,500, approaching 4,000. It’s easy to get lost in such a large group, especially if you’re new to the industry or you’re not someone who’s traveling nationally a lot. The WWLF networking reception allows you to be in a room with very focused people who are there to have a good time, to meet new people, and be very supportive. Maybe you and 500 of your closest friends can connect, and a lot of people really look forward to that event because it’s a great end to an amazing week of education, networking, and opportunity.

That event is going to be on Thursday evening. You can get a ticket to that event by becoming a member or how do we get a ticket to it? Traditionally, the way that you attend our event is if you are a member, it’s free. It’s one of the benefits of membership. For just under $100, you get free admission to the networking reception at Mobile World Congress in the fall and also the ConnectX event in May. You also have access to all of our other content.

This year, if you register for a VIP ticket at ConnectX, you will also get admission to our event. Good, I’m glad we know about that.

Highlighting Key Programs and Initiatives of WWLF

Let’s go back to WWLF, the programs that we offer. Can you just hit some highlights there because I know there’s so many? There really are so many. One of the best ways if you are not currently active in participating in programs is to get involved in our monthly Motivation and Mugs. It’s going to sound maybe silly or trite to people who haven’t been a part of it, but I will tell you it’s very powerful. I don’t know why it works, but I do know that it works. The first Monday of every month, we get on a call for about 45 minutes. If there are new faces, we let those folks introduce themselves, tell us about their company and where they are, and then we’ll have some kind of inspirational quote or idea that we’re brainstorming around or sharing around.

Beyond that, we’ve got some great programming at the city level. We just celebrated Earth Day with volunteer projects in many cities in April. I’m really proud of the work that the city reps are doing. I feel like we have never had such a strong group of engaged, creative, dedicated women out there serving the community and the industry.

We also are rolling out some new programs. We launched Telecom Trailblazers, which is WWLF’s outreach into the schools to get folks curious and interested in a STEM career in Telecom, not just STEM careers for girls but STEM careers in Telecom because we have such a great need for amazing talent to build the network of the future. We’ve got to reach into the schools earlier.

If you look especially at the interest of girls in STEM, they perform on par with boys in science and math in middle school. But as they get closer to college, as they’re rising up into high school, their interest in STEM wanes, and then at the high school level going into college, we see a huge drop in numbers. I know you have a daughter pursuing a STEM career in university, and she’s the exception. How do we make it where she’s seeing more female faces in her classrooms? Emila de Jesus’s daughter is pursuing a STEM career at the University of Alabama, and she says in almost every engineering class she’s in, she’s the only female. We’ve got to do better.

I’m really excited to be able to create change and to create an impact for future generations. So how can we get involved with WWLF? What is the website, and how do we become a member and get connected? If you’re not a member, now’s the time to do it, right before ConnectX, so you can take advantage of all the offerings we offer there. We didn’t even talk about the free headshots that we offer at the show, and all these other benefits. Check out our website at www.wwlf.org.

You can learn all about the other programs and fellowship and mentoring and professional development and webinars. It would take hours probably to talk about everything that we’re doing now and how different it is than the past, so I’m really excited. Good, in fact, when we roll out corporate drives with our larger sponsors, we will do a webinar just dedicated to all of the programs that we offer. It’s quite a bit.

Corporate Support and Its Impact on Women’s Leadership

Yes, it is. So, there’s also—I mean, there are employers speaking of corporate drives, right? There are employers that are supportive. Can you talk a little bit about that? Because I know that your employer, MD7, was very supportive of you getting involved because, you know, to be on the board and especially in a leadership position like you have, it takes a lot of time.

Yes, that’s absolutely true. When I interviewed at MD7, in my interview with Tom Leto, who has been interviewed on your show before, he asked me if I would consider joining an organization in the industry called WWLF. It’s a really great program for women. We haven’t been able to get some traction to get some women in our company to join. It was funny because at that time, I just opened my portfolio and handed him my WWLF board card. I was already active in WWLF, actually on its board, and it floored him.

So, WWLF and my journey at MD7 really kind of started even before I got hired, in my actual interview. My company was very supportive of our organization. It was interesting because after my interview, I called the president of WWLF and asked, “Have you heard of this company? They seem to know us. What can you tell me about it?” I spent quite a bit of time talking to the president of WWLF about this company because I was going to have to relocate from LA to San Diego to move there, and she had nothing but great things to say.

You never know how your employer’s support will show up, but I was just talking to Taylor Sierra, one of our board members. She’s the executive director of membership. We were talking about how important it is for your employer to support your time at WWLF. It is—you know, there are going to be times when you’re going to spend many hours preparing for events like ConnectX, and our best volunteers give above and beyond. If you want to travel to our local events, travel to regional events, travel to national events, you definitely need the support of your employer. And it’s one thing when you have to sell it to your employer, certainly that can be done. We think we offer value, but when your employer is already bought in, it makes things so much easier.

We know how that support, that championship from your senior leadership, is so critical to your career. And for all of the amazing sponsors we have out there, thank you for all that you’re doing to support your employees and their leadership journey through our organization. We have so many sponsorship opportunities too, and partnership opportunities for companies to show your support of women in the industry.

I would like just a brief explanation of who MD7 is, what you do, and who you do it for. I know that Tom Leto was on the show, and we can go back in the archives and listen. He had an amazing show, but let’s just give a quick commercial.

Sure. So, our marketing will tell you that MD7 is a digital infrastructure consultancy serving operators worldwide. We have provided services across six continents in 28 languages and counting. All of that being said, here’s what you need to know for those in the industry: We provide landlord management services. If you call certain operators in Europe or in the US, if you’re a landlord looking for your rent check or there’s an issue with a cell site, MD7 picks up the phone. We provide services like that, contract auditing, things like that. We do site development both for telecommunications and other digital infrastructure, EV, and other areas. Then we have a pretty robust lease negotiation program. Our very first client in 2001 was AT&T in this lease negotiation program, and we still have that project operational today.

How can companies support women better in Telecom, and really, where do they fall short?

I think it’s about how they support their leaders, and if they happen to be women, they happen to be women. Are you taking the time to build a relationship with your employees, especially your Rising Stars, understanding what is their career trajectory and then looking for opportunities? At MD7, for example, we like to get women involved in WWLF, although males are certainly welcome to join. We actually have a pretty good percentage of male supporters as members of our organization. But beyond that, we’re always looking at investing in them as thought leaders, making sure they’re going to conferences or watching programming that helps them understand where they are in the industry, and then having conversations about the future. What are our strategies?

Especially coming off of a challenging year for Telecom in 2023, every one of our leaders is involved in peer coaching sessions at their level. We start at the team lead level and then the manager level, then we have our rising directors and then our senior leadership team. We have conversations about where are the challenges, where are the opportunities, where do we want to go in the future. I think that communication is very key, and then as part of that, for folks that are called for greater service and it has to be a calling to if you want to serve at a state Wireless Association or in WWLF or a similar organization, we’re always very happy to support that. But it takes time, it takes energy, and it takes focus. Yes, no, it really does.

Has the diversity conversation changed over the past, really since COVID, right since 2020? What are your thoughts there?

Absolutely, and so the pendulum swung right after George Floyd and the social justice protests, and then the pendulum swung the other way with the Harvard case rulings and the impact certainly in education but then that has kind of expanded to the corporate world. So, I do think the buzzword of DEI certainly has gone through some changes, but I think that’s also a distraction. Think about what we do because I’ve been the beneficiary of diversity programs my entire career. I come from a working-class, entrepreneur background. I’m the first in my family to graduate college, the only lawyer in my family, and so I didn’t have a built-in network, but I did participate in some great programming through Maguire Woods, my employer, through some bar associations that I joined.

It was really not so much about supporting women or supporting Asians or something like that. It was about good-hearted people who wanted to invest in the next generation of leaders. If you look at it that way, if you look at where’s the talent, where are the opportunities to invest in people, right? Who you see are very high potential or who maybe need some guidance, you provide an environment where you can help them in their journey. You’re giving back to the community, that’s what you’re getting out of it, but certainly, you’re creating some amazing and authentic relationships along the way. I think that’s what it’s about.

So if that happens to happen through an organization for women, I think that’s really secondary. It really is about the people and about investing in future generations. So, how do women experience maximum career growth and development in Telecom? Do we—is it up to us to take charge of our professional growth?

I know sometimes companies provide that and do a really good job, and then sometimes they really don’t have formalized programs for career development. Well, as a CEO, you know how hard it is to run a company, and you’re a serial entrepreneur as well, right? It’s not easy, and there are going to be a lot of obstacles in your way, whether you’re a woman or a male, despite your race or your capabilities, or you know, your neurodiversity or whatever it may be—where you went to school, where you didn’t go to school, who your parents are, what church they belong in, or whatever. There are all these different factors, right? Maybe it’s a skill set that you didn’t develop, etc., etc.

So, there are all kinds of challenges out there, and I think that the reality is to be successful at an executive level, you have got to invest a ton in yourself as an employee, as a contributor, as a brand, and really kind of understand how are you going to highlight, you know, your employer or your company that you’re running, and how do you provide real value? You have to continuously evolve, and so I think for the women out there, or for men, or however you identify, the challenge is essentially the same. Your process you’re going to go through is the same: invest in yourself, provide value, make connections, find the right opportunity, and if you aren’t in a place where you have opportunity now, maybe that is just a sign that your opportunity lies elsewhere, and that’s okay.

But be really honest, and create those relationships. We were on a call a while back, and you said something that was, I think, really powerful about a paradigm shift for women to really stop focusing on and talking about what’s against us and talk more about what’s for us, our strengths. Shift the conversation into that—we have an advantage, right? Empower ourselves. Absolutely, I love being a woman in Telecom. First of all, Telecom as an industry itself is amazing. There are a ton of supporters out there. It’s one of the reasons why we love going to conferences like ConnectX; we’re going to go see our friends and find new opportunities within that realm. The power of the WWLF network, the authentic support system that we have, I think is really wonderful.

Even beyond that, at the leadership level, we’re having really meaningful conversations about very tough things, whether that’s pivoting in an economic challenge, you know, or what have you. And I think that actually, I love being a woman in this industry, and to the extent that anyone like has an old-fashioned idea that maybe women can’t lead, or whatever, I welcome that because I will just push right through. So, you know, I think that for myself now, it may not be an approach that aligns with everyone out there. I appreciate that this is just my personal experience and kind of how I approach things.

I don’t see the limits. I just see the opportunities, and certainly, have I seen roadblocks in my career? Absolutely. I’m just going to go around and keep going. What I am going to do is keep going and pushing forward, and I think if you look at the leaders on our board—Taylor Sierra, Arleth Carbajal, Lauren Goof—we have some… Even beyond just our board, that next generation of leaders, Rachel Metler, Tisha Germaine, these are women that are going to get stuff done. Do not stand in their way. That is what gets me so excited, and I just, if all I could do is just spend time just hearing about their successes, I think it would be amazing.

Lynn, what advice would you give to a woman who wants to move further into leadership, maybe to an executive role?

I think what I’ve been able to do at MD7, and I hope that it’s helpful for others, is number one, understanding the entrepreneurs of the company. I was not an entrepreneur coming in; I do not have an MBA; I don’t have a business degree, so I had to learn it. I had to learn the business, the business of what we do. I certainly understood site deployment, but, you know, the P&L sheet and what are the strategic considerations that we have to consider, understanding the global aspect of Telecom, not just in the US. Understand the value proposition of our company, and that gets redefined. I’ve been here 11 years; we went through a rebrand a few years ago, and we had to relearn our place in an ever-evolving industry.

So, understand that and then understand what are the challenges for the industry and then what are the challenges for the economy as a whole. You have to understand where you fit in that big picture, and as a tasker when you come in as a project control specialist or a lease consultant, you probably don’t have those insights. That’s something that you have to acquire, so the education, both self-education but also through conferences like ConnectX and other opportunities, regional conferences like Wireless West, South Wireless Summit, just start learning. Start to understand the clients. If they’re having economic challenges, you need to understand that as well and then be a problem solver.

What is your value proposition? What is your role?

So as a lawyer, my value to the company is not my legal acumen; certainly, that’s something I do as part of my day job, but I’m a strategic thinker. I ask a lot of questions. So, when I come into a room, my role as an executive of this company is to just listen, be curious, and if something doesn’t seem like it makes sense to me or if I want to learn more, I ask those tough questions quite frankly.

Oh, brilliant! And something you said, boy, I love this quote. I should get everyone t-shirts with this on it: “I don’t see limits. I see opportunities.” And I think as women, that’s where we need to stand.

Yeah, yeah, I mean, I—you know, in talking to CEOs like yourself and talking to VPs, that is a common theme that I’ve kind of discovered, is like, yeah, you know, there are, of course, there’s challenges, but I never let that get in my way.

I love it, Lynn. I could talk to you all day. Let’s close with information right, the WWLF website. Let’s give that again, let’s also where can we reach MD7, that website.

Absolutely, so WWLF’s website is wwf.org, and you can learn more about MD7 at md7.com. Thank you, Lynn, for coming on the show. This has been wonderful, and I am going to see you in a couple of weeks at ConnectX.

Absolutely, thank you, Carrie. Take care.

Thank you for listening to another informative episode of 5G Talent Talk brought to you by RCR Wireless News, Telecom Careers, and Broadstaff Talent Solutions. As we advance into the future, we promise to bring you the resources you need to navigate this ever-changing landscape of 5G to help you attract, retain, and engage people in this new world of work. To access the show notes or leave a review, visit broadstaffglobal.com. Until next time.