THE STORY BEHIND THE CHANGE MAKERS AND THE FOUNDER, RÚNA MAGNÚSDÓTTIR
leadership, THE POLITICAL WORLD, AND MYSELF
I was born and raised in a highly political and entrepreneurial environment. My father was one of the political leaders in my small town of Seltjarnarnes, Iceland, as I was growing up. My biggest role model in life, my mother, dared to become an entrepreneur at the age of 52. Dinner table discussions were most often related to business and ways to make our community, our country and even the world a better place.
One of the core values I took away from my upbringing was the basic belief that every single one of us on this planet is unique and has a personal responsibility to pursue freedom, happiness, and to create the life they desire.
STEPPING INTO THE POLITICAL WORLD AT THE AGE OF 21
My career took an unexpected curve when, at the age of only 21 years of age, Mrs Ragnhildur Helgadottir - the second woman in Iceland to become a minister - invited me to become her personal secretary in the Ministry of Culture and Education.
Working closely with Mrs Ragnhildur Helgadóttir during her first years as a minister - for one of the biggest ministries in my country - gave me a deep and profound insight into the life of being a female politician. Not to mention seeing and feeling the criticisms and judgement she faced in office, often just because she did things differently - and just because she was a woman, working in a world created for men by men.
FROM POLITICAL LIFE TO LIFE AS AN ENTREPRENEUR
My entrepreneurial life began in 1988 when I decided to join my mother in her wholesale company - a company which I later bought from her and my father. In 2006 my career took another turn when I sold that wholesale business and for the first time in my life I started to follow my heart, passion and purpose.
GLOBAL PLATFORM FOR WOMEN IN BUSINESS
Selling my business gave me space to create an online platform to empower women worldwide. I named it Connected Women, and within a few months I had built a global community of women business owners and entrepreneurs in over 75 countries. Despite its natural growth, I quickly noticed how very few members knew how to promote themselves with confidence and clarity to stand out from the crowd.
BRANDING YOURSELF
To answer their need to unleash their own ability to stand for who they were and how they could communicate their business with confidence and clarity, I co-founded (in 2009) a branding boutique with my business partner Bjarney Ludviksdottir and Mary Schnack (who sadly passed away in 2012)
We named our program BRANDit, and in 2011 our program received the EU WIIN award in the category: Capacity Builder.
BRANDit started as a program for women entrepreneurs, but quickly became a program we offered to all genders. BRANDit empowered entrepreneurs to brand themselves authentically and lead their organisations with the feminine values of collaboration, co-creation, communication and authenticity - the 4 core elements in the New Paradigm Leadership module.
BRANDING YOUR X-FACTOR : PERSONAL BRANDING COACHING & CONSULTING
Following the publication of my book: "Branding Your X-Factor, how the secret to your success is already right in front of your..." I dedicated my work to helping business owners and corporate leaders to discover both their personal X-factor and their teams' X-factor and vitality. I've been so honored to share my story on global stages like INBOUND 2015, INBOUND 2016, and ELEVATE EVERYTHING - the largest Scandinavian Business & Personal Success Conference - to name a few of the stages I've spoken on.
BRINGING IN THE CHANGE MAKERS
Becoming the change - like Gandhi so memorably suggested every one of us should do if we want to see a change - isn't a task you can do by yourself.
That is why I've gathered some of the most experienced, skilled experts in the world of the business and personal development field - people with the tools designed to help you to create a change that is: Sustainable, Inclusive and Magnetic
The Change Makers are here TO HELP YOU:
Creating a Magnetic Company Culture
Build an effective and high-performing team
Overcome obstacles on the way to your missions and goals
Become the courageous leader in your field
Bringing awareness to the boxes that are no longer serving you or your team
Enhance your self-awareness, behaviour, reactions
Deeply connect you with your personal values first, then your organisational values
Give you the tools for yourself and the people around so you can prosper in your environment
Add a heart, meaning and purpose in your day-to-day decision-making
Lead in an environment that is nurturing you, your team, your business, organisation, community or even your nation