"I don't believe in making myself smaller. I don't believe that anyone should be making themselves smaller, and I advocate largely and loudly for that." Esther-Mireya Tejeda is a self-proclaimed born and bred New Yorker with a direct, no-nonsense style- - seen as positive attributes for men in business, but not necessarily for women in leadership positions. The CMO of Anywhere Real Estate, Inc, has faced those negative perceptions head on, and believes building strong relationships throughout her career has been the best way do it. In this episode of Brand Insider: BTS, Esther-Mireya also talks about the "magical moment" …

"I'm pretty much like I can do almost anything now. I think I can take it on. Throw anything at me, I will figure out how to get it all done." Crystal Millican gets it all done as Cookies' SVP of Marketing & Retail. What gave her that confidence to "take it on" was her radical transition from a career advising Fortune 10 companies to a position at the cannabis start-up...and did I mention, while at the same time becoming a mother for the first time! In this episode of Brand Insider: BTS, the Fulbright Scholar tells me she never …

"I think as women we have a tendency to be pleasers. We don't want to rock the boat, and we don't want to come across as too aggressive. You know, it's not what we're taught to be growing up." Mary Ann Donaghy, believes it's been a challenge striking a balance between what women have been taught by society and fulfilling the results they were hired to achieve. The chief marketing and customer experience officer at ZIPS Cleaners admits that early in her career she was more deferential, and didn't have the confidence to speak up until she had attained a …