We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Maria Ross a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Maria, thanks for joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

My work helping forward- thinking leaders and teams embrace empathy to achieve radical success evolved from my original intent when I started my brand strategy consultancy. A few factors came together to create a perfect storm!

Empathy has always been a superpower for me as a marketer and brand strategist Helping clients see the world from their customers’ point of view and crafting compelling messaging to speak directly to them. The goal is to connect and engage and empathy helps you do that. Many of my most tech, left-brain analytical clients started to say they wanted their brand to be “seen as empathetic”which I found interesting, What did that mean to them? Could they really deliver on that brand promise?

in 2016, my son was about two at the time and we would read books about empathy, sharing, and collaboration. But the leaders making headlines were anything but. Why teach my son’s these values to my son if the world was full of leaders succeeding without them? My frustration grew: I knew there were leaders and brands winning with empathy and I set out to find them. Delighted to to find so much data and research proving how empathy boost engagement, performance, collaboration, innovation, customer loyalty and more, I wrote The Empathy Edge to show skeptics the business case for the ROI of empathy.

The book hit a nerve, especially when the Pandemic hit – and people finally understood why empathy had a place at work. We don’t part our humanity at the office door! I began delivering keynotes, leadership training workshops, and ERG talks to help leaders strengthen their empathy to achieve radical success.

Soon after, I started my podcast The Empathy Edge, to keep the research and conversation going, speaking to C-suite, HR leaders, psychologists, social justice advocates, entrepreneurs about the different facets of empathy and how it leads to transformation and success. I quickly realized this was the work that I wanted to be doing: Helping leaders, teams, and brand embrace empathy to build stronger cultures and brands.

Between the talks and the podcast, many leaders told me they were on board with empathetic leadership but were struggling amid challenges in the new world of work. And so I wrote my second book on the topic, The Empathy Dilemma: How Successful Leaders Balance Performance, People, and Personal Boundaries to offer a framework to help the converts balance the needs of the business , the needs of their people, and their own mental health needs at the same time.

My work helping business is my way of making the world more empathetic for my son. By practicing empathy in the place where we spend the bulk of our time, my hope is that it spills over into our personal lives, relationships, communities, and world at large. It’s my small but might attempt to create the world I want for my son – and to enable all of us to better connect and engage with each other.

Maria, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I believe cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive.

After starting my career in management consulting, and then getting back into my love of marketing (on both the clients and agency sides), I started my own brand consultancy, Red Slice. I spent decades helping forward-thinking leaders and teams connect and engage through empathy to accelerate growth and impact.

My services include powerful keynotes, dynamic leadership training workshops and talks, and brand strategy and messaging engagements. The ultimate goal? To help clients connect and engage with the people who matter most.

I have authored multiple books, including my most recent, The Empathy Dilemma, and also host the top rated The Empathy Edge podcast, where I speak with leaders, changemakers, and authors about how to achieve radical success through empathy.

Personally, I understand the power of empathy on the brand and personal levels: In 2008, shortly after launching my business, I suffered a ruptured brain aneurysm that almost killed me and inspired my memoir, Rebooting My Brain. In it, I explore the critical importance of empathy in healing and overcoming adversity.

I’m very proud of the brands I’ve helped build, the stories I’ve helped craft, and the lives I’ve touched. it’s been an honor to be featured in prominent media outlets, including MSNBC, NPR, Wisdom from the Top with Guy Raz, Forbes.com, ABC News, Entrepreneur, and Thrive Global. I deliver powerful talks and trainings for companies such as Salesforce, TBWA/Worldwide, New York Life, and CHRISTUS Health. I have also delivered dynamic keynotes at venues ranging from TEDx to The New York Times to The 3% Conference. Her thought leadership writing has appeared in multiple publications including Entrepreneur.com, Newsweek, and Huffington Post.

I want people to know that my work is all about creating a more empathetic world so we better connect and engage with each other – I’m simply starting in the workplace! I live in Northern California with my husband, young son, and American Bully rescue mutt dog and serve clients worldwide. My loves include red wine, trivia games, British crime dramas, hiking, Crossfit, and Peloton.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

It sounds cliche, but everything about my business starts and ends with relationships. I think that is why I’m so passionate about empathy! Creating real connections based on authenticity and generosity. Most of my work is through referrals, and that is about making time to get to know people, being generous with time, sharing resources, actively engaging in targeted communities, and doing good work that I genuinely believe in.

Your brand should be an accurate reflection of who you are and what you believe, because that is the beacon you are putting out into the world. You will attract what you put out. If you try to copy someone else, or chase the latest marketing tactic because “everyone”is doing it, you will end up atracting the wrong-fit clients.

Take a stand. Boldly share your mission, vision, and philosophy. Your story is unique to you. Put it out there, try not to be all things to be all people, and you will attract the right-fit clients who align with your values and dig your vbe!

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

In 2008, right when I stated my business, I almost died from a ruptured brain aneurysm. I had a miraculous recovery and had to learn how to adapt in order to get back into life again. This experience taught me that anything can strike us down at any time, that things are not always as important as we make them out to be (yes, I missed meetings and my business had to shut down for awhile. The sky didn’t fall down!)

Recovery taught me powerful lessons and forced me to adapt how I work, how I live, and how I connect with others. And I had to learn that patience is not about stagnation – it’s about taking small steps to get to your goals. This was the only way I got on my feet again, built my business back up, and am now thriving.

Ask for help – we don’t do this alone. Whenever I hit an obstacle, I asked for help or sought expertise. And thank goodness I did. Community was vital to my recovery and taught me that asking for help is a sign of strength to get your goals, not a sign of weakness.

Find the humor – levity and joy are important. Make time for them! They help us heal, they help us reduce stress, they help us see light in even the darkest situations. We leveraged a lot of dark humor in those early recovery days! Make room for joy at any cost.

I not only got my business back up and running. I started saying yes and finally published books, took stages, shared my story, and eventually had my son years later. I had to make the second chance I was given count!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.red-slice.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/redslicemaria/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/redslice
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariajross/
• Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/redslice
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Redslice-MariaRoss
• Other: Threads: https://www.threads.net/@redslicemaria

Image Credits

Rebecca Henry Photography