Early in her career, Quinn walked into a room full of successful women working in commercial real estate and discovered something that would change her professional life. Surrounded by supportive women willing to share their knowledge and experiences, she found the encouragement and mentorship she hadn't realized she needed. More than 16 years later, she still remembers what she wore to that first meeting.
Today, Quinn is committed to providing that same encouragement to other women. Through public speaking, mentoring, community leadership, and her work in traditionally male-dominated industries, she helps women develop the confidence to advocate for themselves, overcome setbacks, and pursue leadership opportunities. Her guiding principle is simple: become the person you needed earlier in your own life.
In this episode of Worthy Connections, Laura Lasher talks with Quinn about the experiences that shaped her commitment to women's professional development. They discuss her negotiation workshops with fellow speaker Lisa Leovic, the importance of challenging gender-based expectations about communication, and why sharing stories of failure can be one of the most effective ways to help others succeed. Quinn also explains how a personal mission statement guides her extensive volunteer work, including her involvement with the Women's Fund of Omaha.
Transcript Highlights
Laura Lasher: Welcome to Worthy Connections, the podcast where we sit down with people who are building something real: entrepreneurs, brand builders, and leaders who've earned their authority the hard way.
I'm Laura Lasher with Worthy Performance Group, and in every episode, we go looking for one thing: a story worth learning from.
We've got a great session for you today. We've brought in a rock star promoter for women in construction and for lifting women up in all sorts of industries.
Quinn, please join us. Hi there!
Quinn Texmo: Hey, it's great to see you.
Laura: Likewise. We've taken some of your day today, and I know you're a really busy gal. Thank you for carving out a moment for us.
We really want to share some of your journey with our audience. From earlier conversations, we know you deliver speeches to help women, and you've got a first draft of a new book with your editor. We want to talk about those things.
Quinn: Absolutely. It's my favorite thing to talk about.
Laura: Let's go, girl!
Quinn: Very early in my career, I was surrounded by men and realized how important it is to lift up and support other women.
I stumbled into an organization for women in commercial real estate and realized how impactful finding a mentor that young in my career was.
That organization helped me find my voice and launch my speaking career. I started speaking on female leadership, communication styles in male-dominated industries, negotiation skills, impostor syndrome, overcoming fear of failure, and all sorts of things that come from my own experiences.
In everything I do, everything I say, and every coaching conversation I have, my main goal is to be for other women who I needed at some point in my life.
Laura: You were inspired early on. Was that when you were still in college or at one of your first jobs?
Quinn: It was my first job, about two years out of college. I was working for a general contractor in town, which was a very male-dominated industry.
I walked into this luncheon for women in commercial real estate and saw a room full of women who were successful, who were willing to help one another, and who were supportive of one another.
That was 16 years ago, maybe 17 years ago. I can still tell you what I was wearing that day. That's how big an impact that day had on me.
Laura: Wow. You took that experience to heart, and you've carried it into your speeches.
I know you also give some presentations jointly with Lisa Leovic, and you love to travel. If people want to hire you to come out and speak, you two are ready to go.
Let's talk about some of the speeches you give.
Quinn: Absolutely. Probably my favorite, and I think Lisa would say the same, is a negotiation skills workshop for women that we developed.
It not only teaches people how to negotiate, but we also peel back the layers to understand why people don't feel comfortable asking for what they deserve.
We help them overcome the feeling that someone isn't going to like them if they ask for what they want.
Anytime we give this presentation, we see a direct cause and effect.
Someone sitting in the audience takes what we say and applies it to something in her life. Usually, a week or two after the presentation, we get a follow-up conversation.
"Hey, I just got promoted."
Or, "I got a 10% raise."
Or, "I bought a car on my own for the first time and felt confident doing so."
What we've put together is such a powerful message, and it resonates with everyone because negotiation doesn't always have to be about asking for more money at work.
Anything in life can be a negotiation if you want it to be.
Lisa and I have actually made negotiating a game. We try to negotiate everything.
Twenty times out of 21, we'll get a no, but we always make the ask because you never know.
Quinn: Another topic we're working on is a webinar about female communication styles and how they contrast with male communication styles.
Lisa has a version of this talk rooted in brain science.
My version stems from research I did during my master's program, highlighting societal expectations and stereotypes and how they drive the way people expect you to behave.
When you don't behave the way they expect, that's when they have a negative reaction.
We're working on combining those two perspectives for a powerful science and social science look at how women communicate, specifically in male-dominated industries.
Quinn: I also have a talk on overcoming the fear of failure.
Laura, I stand onstage for 40 minutes and walk you through everything I've screwed up in my life.
I think it's so important that people hear that because almost every major positive change that has happened in my life has come on the heels of some sort of massive failure.
Talking about it and sharing such open and vulnerable stories, specifically with other women, makes them feel less alone.
That's the theme in everything we talk about.
I don't ever want a woman to feel like she's the only one going through whatever she's going through, because I promise you she's not.
Laura: That is so amazing because we've all seen it, and we've all felt it.
We've all been in situations where you think nobody knows what you're going through. Nobody's done this before. Nobody's had these things happen.
I love that. I don't think I've heard that particular talk, but I love hearing about the things you're doing.
I think your passion comes from your experiences.
The stories are definitely what people want to hear today. In talking with the other people we've had on this podcast, they've all got stories, and that's what people want to hear.
If people come back to us wanting more information or a question-and-answer session with you, we're going to ask you to come back.
Laura: One thing I want you to explain is why you volunteer for so much.
You have a full-time job. Your job involves you in the community and has you traveling. Yet you volunteer for countless things.
You've been president of organizations, run golf tournaments and charity events, and served on boards of directors.
Help us understand how you fit all that in while maintaining your full-time job, spending time with your dog and cats, and enjoying time with people at work and with friends.
How do you do that?
Quinn: That's a big question. I often ask myself the same thing.
About seven years ago, I made a concerted effort to write down my own personal mission statement.
If I get approached to join an organization or volunteer for something, I always take it back to what that personal mission statement says.
If the request supports that mission or helps fill my cup, if it's something I'm passionate about, I'll find the time to make it work and fit it into my schedule.
One of the boards I sit on right now is the Women's Fund of Omaha.
Early in my career, I came across a leadership study they had done in Omaha.
They looked at the number of women in the C-suite, on leadership teams, and on corporate boards throughout Omaha.
I remember flipping to the back page, where they listed the board of directors.
There wasn't a single woman on that board whom I wouldn't have considered an absolute icon at the time.
I remember sitting at my desk, looking at that list and thinking, "Wow, that's what I aspire to do someday."
Then, a couple of years ago, I got an email from the executive director of the Women's Fund asking if I would be interested in joining the board.
I burst into tears. I just burst into tears right there because I thought, "Oh my gosh, this is what young Quinn always dreamed of or aspired to become."
And here I am.
When you're that passionate about an organization and its mission, it doesn't feel like work when you're doing it. It's really not hard to find the time.
Other organizations I'm involved with are more community-focused.
I'm a big fan of giving back to the community because I was fortunate enough to have a community that surrounded me, insulated me, supported me, and gave me everything I needed to grow up and become successful.
Now that I have, all I want to do is make sure I'm sending that elevator back down, helping bring up as many people as I can.
I'm not married, and I'm child-free aside from the fur babies, so that affords me significantly more time than a lot of other people.
But what it boils down to is that if it's something I'm passionate about, I'm all in, and I'll figure out how to make it work.
Laura: People shouldn't be intimidated to reach out to you, right?
Quinn: Of course not.
Laura: People need to know that help is available.
I've worked at plenty of places where it's very male-dominated, and it's like carrying a couple hundred pounds up a hill every day.
Every day.
I'm very proud of you, and I love that you have a passion for doing this.
Laura: You also do quite a bit of traveling. How does that fit in with your speaking engagements?
Quinn: Travel is kind of my therapy.
I've found that if I'm having a terrible day, I accidentally stumble onto Delta.com, and that "Book It" button just feels so good when you hit it.
I was with Lisa [Lackovic] last night and made her hit the "Book It" button. She's joining me on a trip to New York around Christmas because that's fun.
You have one life, and I want to live it.
If there's one piece of advice I could give anyone, specifically as it relates to travel, it's that travel is my self-care.
And my advice is this: If you work for an organization that gives you time off, take it.
I take every last minute of PTO my company gives me.
I could rifle through this notebook next to me and show you where I do PTO math to figure out when I can take two weeks off to go to Europe and completely disconnect from work.
I do that, and then I come home completely refreshed and reenergized.
I'm a whole new woman when I come back.
If you have vacation time, take it. Book it.
Laura: That is great, Quinn.
A generation or two ahead of you, including myself, was always trying not to take time off because we felt we had to set an example that we were these crazy workaholics.
"I'll get everything done. If you can't get it done, pile it back on my plate, and I'll do it."
It's great to see you pushing against that.
Quinn: I'll tell you, my relationship with Lisa started with her as my mentor.
But in any good mentor-protégé relationship, it becomes a two-way street. There's a lot of reverse mentoring that happens.
That's probably the biggest thing I've been working with her on: helping her understand that she can take her vacation time.
She watches me set up my out-of-office message that says, "I will not be back in the office until this date. Please email me back after that."
There is no "in case of emergency" because the work I do is not life and death. Anything can sit for a week and a half. I promise you.
That's really what I've been pushing on her, my wonderful, most favorite baby boomer.
Because you nailed it. There's a generation that feels like your butt has to be in a seat to prove your worth.
That's just not the case.
I love that I've finally gotten her to the point where she will unplug.
Laura: That's just great.
We're going to let you get back to your day, but we want to make sure people can reach out to you.
LinkedIn is an easy way to connect. That's pretty much all business communication.
We've also got your personal and work email addresses.
If people want to book something with you or just reach out, is it okay if they email you? Is it okay if they go on LinkedIn and send you a direct message? I know you're responsive there, too.
Quinn: Absolutely.
Generally, if it comes through LinkedIn, I'll ask to redirect the conversation to email to keep it going.
But absolutely.
Laura: Thank you so much for today.
You're a worthy connection for sure.
We want to bring other groups into this and help them find great value in listening to our podcast.
Thank you.
Quinn: Thank you.
