Category: Community News

Photo by NataliaDeriabina from iStock. 

Discover 12 must-read books recommended by local leaders and executives.

Axis Connects’ new weekly podcast, The Quiet Part Out Loud, asks all of its guests their top three favourite books, and they don’t disappoint.

Here, discover books recommended by local leaders like entrepreneur and Dragons’ Den star Manjit Minhas, managing partner at EY Calgary Alison Jackson, Axis Connects co-founder Heather Culbert and some picks from the Axis team.

Wealth and financial management

Think and Grow Rich: Manjit Minhas’ all-time favourite book, Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, is a self-help book that explores the principles of success and wealth. The book lays out a formula and specific steps to reach riches and success, and although originally published in 1937, Minhas says it “stands the test of time.”

The Wealthy Barber: David Chilton’s The Wealthy Barber lays out the basics of personal finance through simple guidelines to better manage your money. The book takes shape in a novel form, following the lives of a few characters while providing guidelines on financial basics, such as RRSPs, mutual funds, real estate and insurance.

Die With Zero: Bill Perkins’ Die With Zero flips the script on traditional beliefs of squirrelling your money away to ensure you can leave a hefty inheritance to your children. Instead, Perkins offers a different philosophy on living rich instead of dying rich and the value of creating experiences now.

Big ideas

The Let Them Theory: Recommended by Axis co-founder Heather Culbert, Mel Robbins’ viral book is a must-read for everyone looking to let go of the things they can’t control. Filled with empowering lessons and inspiring passages, The Let Them Theory will positively impact your relationships, bring you new perspectives and give you the power to create the life you love.

Never Split the Difference: Written by Chris Voss and Tahl Raz, Never Split the Difference is the ultimate book on negotiation, bringing readers into Voss’ career as the FBI’s lead international kidnapping negotiator. The book offers skills, tactics and strategies to become more persuasive that seamlessly transfer to your professional life.

Freakonomics: Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner examines a range of social issues, from cheating on tests to the organization of drug gangs, through an economic lens. It explores the incentive to increase wealth and its impacts on behaviour.

How to Win Friends and Influence People: Another book that has stood the test of time, How to Win Friends and Influence People, provides guidelines to help you create positive relationships. Dale Carnegie offers specific techniques on how to handle people, make them like you and win them over.

Invisible Women: Caroline Criado Perez exposes how data often fails to take into account women and the impacts it has on every part of our lives. From the design of pianos and transportation systems to medical research representation, Perez explores how we live in a world built for men, resulting in gender inequality.

Just for fun

The Notebook: Alison Jackson thinks everyone needs a little bit of escapism and romance in their lives. Nicholas Sparks’ The Notebook offers just that, with a tale of enduring love that survives despite class differences and extensive time apart. A classic romance, this beloved book is the perfect summer read for when you want to balance out the serious stuff and kick back with a love story.

Why Not Me?: Actor Mindy Kaling recounts stories of her life through a series of personal essays. Read the humorous and entertaining stories that depict her experiences navigating the dating scene and her journey in Hollywood, and all of the self-doubt, deep ambition and challenges that come with it.

The Nightingale: This harrowing international best-seller tells the story of two sisters on different journeys during World War II. Kristin Hannah reflects themes of survival, love, resilience and the strength of women during trying times.

The Briar Club: Kate Quinn’s murder mystery unveils the secrets behind the doors of an all-girls boarding school in Washington. In The Briar Club, loyalties are put to the test after a shocking murder takes place.

Here’s what you missed at the 2025 Axis Connects Stampede Round Up, including a big announcement for what’s next at Axis.

This week, hundreds of leaders from Calgary’s business community gathered at the Deane House for the annual Axis Connects Stampede Round Up. Dressed in their best Stampede gear, leaders mixed and mingled and helped raise funds for YW Calgary.

As the hot sun shone down, changemakers made connections over cool cocktails and light bites, celebrated one another and raised a glass to the collaborative work being done to advance women in business.

The Honourable Tanya Fir, Alberta’s Minister of Arts, Culture and Status of Women, kicked off the afternoon by affirming the province’s commitment to increasing women’s participation in the Alberta economy and her support for organizations leading the change, like Axis.

As she looked to the crowd, she captured the essence of the event, saying, “This is what community truly looks like: businesses, leaders and organizations working together to build, drive change and uplift one another.”

Exciting things to come

This year’s event also included an exciting announcement from Nuvyn Peters, CEO of Axis Connects, who revealed Axis’ latest opportunity for members: Axis’ Member Experiences.

The Member Experiences program provides Axis members with exclusive access to events and unique offerings throughout the city, allowing them to extend community-building and networking opportunities beyond the workplace.

The first offering is a trial membership to the newly opened Eau Claire Athletic Club. This two-year invitation-only offering gives Axis members exclusive pricing to test out the new athletic club before committing to a full membership.

Peters also announced that this year’s Leadership Forum will be held on November 25 at the Calgary Telus Convention Centre, and early-bird tickets are on sale. The 2026 Calgary Influential Women in Business Awards nominations are also open.

Axis is looking to the future, with new events like the announced three-part Board Readiness Series in partnership with Board Ready Women, starting in September. Women will gain insider tips on board interviews, recruitment, etiquette and more, and registration is now open.

Don’t miss more events like this. Become a member today.

Photo by NataliaDeriabina from iStock. 

Who doesn’t love a carefree day spent in the sun with your kids, friends or even some spare time spent alone? For most people, this sounds like a dream, but for others, thinking of time away from work may be anxiety-inducing.

As we head into summer, not only is vacation important for overall happiness and well-being, but it also offers professional benefits. Time away can actually increase workplace satisfaction and productivity. Most employees return from vacation feeling rested with increased focus and engagement. Still, the majority of Canadians don’t use their vacation time — less than a third reported taking all of their allocated time off in 2024, according to an ADP Canada survey. And women are less likely to use their vacation time than men. With significant professional barriers already stacked against working women, there are many reasons why they may not take all of their vacation time, including feelings of guilt, an overly heavy workload, concerns about how colleagues and superiors may perceive it and the worry that it could hinder their career advancement. Taking time off isn’t solely the responsibility of the employee. Employers must also foster a culture where stress-free time off is possible and encouraged.

Three benefits to using your vacation time

Avoiding burnout

Not taking vacations can contribute to burnout. In a time when burnout levels are at an all-time high, taking prolonged breaks can help keep it at bay.

With the recent surge in work-from-home opportunities, research has shown that remote workers struggle to disconnect from work and are less likely to take a vacation than office workers. The flexibility that comes with remote work may actually lead to an increased workload, which can quietly contribute to burnout. In an article published by The Globe and Mail, Calgary-based organizational psychologist and podcaster Dr. Laura Hambley Lovett explains that women, in particular, are more likely to excessively prove their availability and accessibility in fear of losing the flexibility of working from home. As employers, it’s essential to acknowledge the risks associated with this mentality — like burnout — and promote the right to disconnect through uninterrupted vacation time and clear working hours.

Job satisfaction and well-being

Vacations offer opportunities for rest and relaxation, which, in turn, allow you to get back to work feeling more motivated, creative and appreciative of what you do. Positive work cultures that promote time off can also make employees feel more appreciated and supported outside of the office, leading to more job satisfaction. A Michigan State University article reported that 70 per cent of workers feel more satisfied at work when they take regular vacations, and there’s no denying that job satisfaction boosts work productivity.

Increased productivity

Returning to work rejuvenated enhances your problem-solving skills, focus and creativity. With less stress, you reduce your chances of getting sick, demonstrate more engagement and are better equipped to handle the challenges of work. Employees tend to have more energy and a more positive outlook post-vacation – vacations can increase performance by up to 80 per cent, according to researcher Mark Rosekind.

For leaders

As a leader, it’s just as important for you to take vacation — your well-being and productivity will benefit, too. Modelling this is an excellent way to create a culture where taking time off is viewed as a positive thing. Just as much as employees must take their time off, employers must ensure they feel comfortable and encouraged to do so. Review your policies and remind your employees that they have a right to disconnect and take all of their allocated vacation time. Ensure sufficient coverage so time away doesn’t add stress, and a little bit of enthusiasm and support for employees’ vacations goes a long way in showing your team that taking a vacation is a wonderful thing.

For more conversations on leadership and professional development, become an Axis member today.

In our burnout series, we go beyond the idea that burnout is just about long hours, and confront it for what it is: a state of exhaustion that impacts how you think, work, feel and live. In this fourth and final chapter, we examine how burnout can present itself and what to do when you or your team are experiencing it.

It’s no secret that burnout predominantly impacts those with a heavy workload, but it’s not as simple as being too busy. Burnout is an all-encompassing state of exhaustion that can arise after prolonged stress. It can result from accumulated factors like not feeling recognized or valued, struggling to set boundaries or not having your boundaries respected, having too much to manage and the inability to gain control.

Dr. Valerie Taylor is the department head of psychiatry at the University of Calgary’s Cumming School of Medicine. She researches links between mental illness and the body, and she knows how serious the repercussions of burnout can be. Burnout can impact your coping skills and ability to think clearly and can even take away the joy you get from your work. It can also pose significant health problems, like headaches and sleep and intestinal issues.

Burnout disproportionately affects women, and some female leaders face burnout because of the ongoing pressure of leading a team, rising above professional barriers placed against women and, oftentimes, taking on the majority of unpaid domestic work. Taylor explains how it’s easy to make yourself the last priority when you’re a senior-level professional, yet it’s critical to put yourself first, especially when you sense burnout coming on.

For leaders dealing with burnout 

Often, some of the pressure senior-level women feel is their own perception — they may not feel like they can take a holiday, occasionally leave work early or even mute their phone during non-working hours because they think it will be perceived negatively. Taylor says having trusted mentors is important so that you can ask how it might be viewed if you take time for yourself.

She says most mentors will probably tell you that not everyone works on weekends and “the people who are able to avoid burnout are able to do so because they can [take time away from work].”

Look at your team and the people supporting you, and find ways to delegate tasks. Be firm with whatever work-life balance works for you and ensure you make time for the things most important to you. “Working hard and being successful takes effort, but so does prioritizing yourself. People need to give themselves the same priorities and the same level of importance that they give to other things,” says Taylor.

What to do when your team is struggling  

As a leader, it’s important to notice when your team may be struggling with burnout and adjust the systems that lead them to burn out. Look internally at the small things, like how often you send out work emails and at what time, and the bigger things, like your company’s work-life balance expectations. Reflect on whether there are inclusive opportunities or resources for your staff to use when they feel frustrated.

“People don’t need work-social activities. They need to connect with themselves and their families sometimes. But they also need to be able to share frustrations if they think that they’re not being recognized,” says Taylor.

Ultimately, people need to know prioritizing themselves is important. They need to see their leaders modeling this behaviour and that their workplace encourages everyone to do this.

To keep up with more conversations on burnout and its impact on women in business, become an Axis member.  

With Mother’s Day around the corner, it’s important to highlight the barriers mothers face at work and discuss how we can collectively help break them down.

The current work model wasn’t designed for moms, and it hasn’t evolved to fit modern family dynamics (the 9-5 workday was established nearly 100 years ago, yet the employment rate of mothers of young children has more than doubled in the last 50 years). Women still disproportionately take on the majority of household chores and caring responsibilities despite working — it’s not easy, and it’s even harder to advance without supportive systems in place.

In 2023, economist Claudia Goldin won the Nobel Prize in Economics for her work studying women at work and the gender pay gap. Goldin’s research showed that the pay gap is largely tied to motherhood. As mothers return to work, they often struggle through the transition and face new challenges in their professional trajectory.

“There’s a moment when childcare demands greatly lessen, and women can increase their hours of paid work and assume greater career challenges. We can think of that moment metaphorically, as when mothers reach a summit and then run down the other side of the mountain. But even though they increase their hours of work, they never reach the rich valley of gender equality,” writes Goldin in a research paper.

Goldin states that women will never reach gender equality until they’ve reached couples’ parity. Still, challenging parenting and unpaid work norms within your personal relationship is only one piece of the puzzle. Businesses must play their part, too, encouraging parental leave for men by limiting its negative perception and effects and putting in place support systems for women who have kids.

We know diversity and inclusion in the workplace benefit everyone; it causes teams to perform better and generate higher revenue, allows companies to have an increased employee retention rate and offers greater opportunities for innovation and creativity. In order to champion DEI, there’s a collective responsibility to support working moms. Here are a few ways your company can contribute to advancing gender equity in the workplace and listen to what working mothers need.

Allow flexibility and provide childcare support

When moms call for more flexibility at work, it doesn’t necessarily mean a fully remote job with the ability to work whenever they choose. However, if employers start by acknowledging that a traditional 9-5 doesn’t work for a parent unless their spouse is at home full-time, they may also start making small changes to help parents who don’t have that support.

Flexibility can look like a mom taking their child to an appointment in the middle of the day and working the extra hour at a different time or working earlier hours so they can do the after-school pickups. Similarly, organizations can consider a top-up of federal childcare subsidies for those with school-aged kids who find themselves paying more for after-school care.

Create a culture that supports families

Part of the motherhood penalty is the loss of salaries, promotions, pay increases and pension contributions women experience when they are on maternity leave. Having men take some of that leave is one of the best ways to close the gender equity gap at work, yet only 1 in 17 men take a parental leave.

Companies can create a culture where men can take leave without feeling guilty or as though they’re completely leaving their team. Changes can be as small as visibly making parental leave widely accepted and even expected through conversations like, “Congratulations on soon becoming a dad. When are you taking your parental leave?”

Companies must also offer supportive resources to make the transition back to work as seamless as possible, for both men and women. As an employer, examine your company’s return-to-work policy and ensure it’s well-timed and thoughtfully planned out. Ask your employees what they need and how you can best support them during this transition.

Offer pay transparency

Pay transparency is one of the many ways we can start closing the gender pay gap. Disclosing pay ensures that employees with the same qualifications are getting the same pay, including mothers who have had career interruptions. It helps women negotiate for more pay and know what they can expect for salary before entering a new professional commitment.

You can also do a pay equity analysis within your company to examine any existing inequalities and make the necessary adjustments.

Become and Axis member today to follow more conversations on women’s workplace advancement.

Join Axis Connects’ CEO, Nuvyn Peters, and executive director, Alexandra Stante, as they explore what it means to be a leader in our new weekly podcast, Quiet Part Out Loud. This week’s inaugural episode features powerhouse entrepreneur Manjit Minhas.

At Axis Connects, we’re on a mission to help advance women in the workplace, and talking about the real stuff is how we normalize the imperfections of a career journey. Our new podcast, Quiet Part Out Loud, does just that — it sparks conversations about the self-doubt, tough decisions, big wins and bigger failures that come on the journey to  leadership.

We’re shining the spotlight on the leadership stories that often stay in the  shadows. “We started this podcast because we both had experiences in leadership where we were thinking, ‘Am I just crazy, or are we all just  pretending?’” says Stante.

“This podcast is all about peeling back the layers of what’s going on behind the scenes,” adds Peters. “No fluff, no corporate jargon — just the real stuff we all need to hear.”

Our goal with Quiet Part Out Loud is to normalize the messy, imperfect and deeply human side of leadership, especially for women navigating spaces that weren’t built with them in mind.

Powerhouse Guests

In episode one, we invite Manjit Minhas, entrepreneur and Dragons’ Den star, to sit down with us and pull back the curtain on her impressive career in business.

Minhas is the 2023 Calgary Influential Women in Business winner of the Small & Medium Enterprise Award. She’s a trailblazer in Canada’s beer and liquor industry, having co-founded a $220 million brewing empire, part owner of Edmonton’s professional basketball team and one of the investors on the hit TV show Dragons’ Den.

But her journey to success has been anything but linear, and she’s even redefined success a few times along the way. In Quiet Part Out Loud, Minhas shares the ups and downs of her journey and snippets of inspiration that have helped her and can hopefully help you, too.

Minhas explains why she still gets nervous (and how it’s a good thing) and why she always looks forward. She shares her belief in the power of self- valuation and feedback, her favourite books and the qualities of people who inspire her.

Episode one offers listeners a look inside the journey of a multi-million dollar company CEO and how Minhas has trusted her gut and had the persistence to get to where she is today. Our unscripted and candid conversation with Minhas sets the tone for the stories we will tell on Quiet Part Out Loud: the unfiltered journeys of women who lead and challenge the status quo.

Why now?

Diversity in the workplace is as important as ever, and helping propel women in business is an integral part of creating more diverse, equitable and inclusive work environments.

Quiet Part Out Loud aims to make leadership feel more real, relatable and accessible — not just for women but for anyone who’s felt like an outsider trying to lead from the inside. We want to amplify the voices of bold, curious and unconventional leaders and foster a community of mid-to senior-career professionals hungry for some straight-up real talk about what it  means to lead.

There is no such thing as a “perfect leader,” and by showing the behind- the-scenes thinking, mistakes, pivots and unspoken truths that shape seemingly “perfect” careers, we hope to inspire more women to step into their greatest potential.

Listen to episode one, out now.

Axis Connects is proud to partner with InterGen and Board Ready Women to accelerate gender diversity in leadership and drive real, systemic change in Calgary’s business and tech sectors. Together, we’re opening doors, building networks, and championing the advancement of women into executive and board roles.

Read the full announcement below and learn how this powerful collaboration is shaping a more inclusive future. ⬇️

Here, we look at the lived experiences of successful women and the secret to how they balance it all. Spoiler alert: they don’t do it alone.

Women continue to make strides in the workplace, representing more board seats and C-suite positions, but it’s important to note that they are not getting there alone. For every woman climbing the professional ladder, there is a support system helping hold it down.

Women continue to carry the load of unpaid work, like childcare, cooking and cleaning, and it’s difficult to balance home and work-life responsibilities, let alone executive or C-suite tasks. According to Statistics Canada, the inclusion of women in leadership roles leads to better results and economic benefits, but the professional challenges women face are much greater when they do it alone — a support system is critical to helping women advance professionally. In fact, choosing your spouse can be one of the most important business decisions.

When someone helps carry the responsibilities of unpaid work, like a non-birthing parent taking parental leave or friends helping with after-school pick-up, women can turn more energy toward their professional leadership responsibilities. Ensuring you surround yourself with the right people — whether they be mentors, friends or family — can influence your success at work by alleviating some of the barriers women face in career advancement.

Here, three Calgary Influential Women in Business award winners share how their unique support systems have been integral to their successful careers.

Jennifer Massig is the CEO of MAGNA Engineering services. She’s also a single mom. Massig says there’s no way she could have accomplished what she has done without the support of friends, co-workers and mentors.

“This strong foundation of incredible people includes my amazing friends who are raising families at the same time as me and were always available to watch my toddlers and elementary-aged kids when I had an important meeting or appointment. But also the incredible group of women that I work with who always provided support when I had to balance sick kids and a full-time job. They checked on me when I was looking overwhelmed and offered to do school drop-off and pick-up when I was tied up at work.”

“Lastly, I have always had a strong group of mentors. When I say mentors, I mean those who are blazing the trail ahead of me, those who are in the mire with me and we can connect on our shared experience, and also those coming along behind me, who I am honoured to share my experiences with.”

For Shelley Powell, the key to juggling her responsibilities is accepting help. Plus, the Senior Vice President of Operational Improvement Support Services at Suncor Energy says it’s more fun to do it together anyways.

“I certainly would not have been successful without a strong support system around me, but that started with the willingness to accept the support being offered. My partner has always been my biggest cheerleader, but he also did more than his share of driving to hockey practice, taking the dog for a walk and cooking dinner — all of the things that can seem overwhelming at the end of the day.”

“It has also been critical for my own mental well-being to find a group of trusted friends. A group where I am just Shelley and not an executive title. Life has a tendency to just slow down, and things come into perspective when you are with a group of friends that you trust completely.”

This years Lifetime Achievement Award winner, Hilary Foulkes, said she hasn’t always been the best example of managing her hectic work life with support systems, and she paid the price having needed to take a few years as a consequence of neglecting a health issue.

“It was the earlier part of my career, with little control over my schedule and limited financial means, and a workplace with no accommodation, that was the most challenging. For a period, we hired a daytime nanny, which provided relief, but after becoming a single mom, I thought I couldn’t justify the costs.

“My recommendation is: Do not be a hero. Ditch the guilt. Pick a good partner. Pay for whatever you can off-load, and if earlier in your career, look at it as an investment and not a cost.”

“Good stay-at-home mom friends always gave me first ‘dibs’ on volunteer slots, and I was a competitive squash player, so my self-care and socialization could be done in 45-minute slices! I am happy to say all three of my daughters have learned how not to do it!”