Featuring Natalie Benamou, Host of Women Leaders on the Move and Founder of HerCsuite®
Challenges are inevitable. What defines a true leader is the ability to see a way forward even when obstacles appear—and to transform problems into powerful solutions.
Natalie Benamou, entrepreneur, podcast host, and founder of HerCsuite®, has spent her career mastering the art of pivoting challenges into opportunities. She shares real-life experiences and a practical framework for problem-solving, resilience, and leadership.
Early Lessons in Problem Solving: The Trade Show Floor Challenge
Long before founding HerCsuite®, Natalie learned to thrive under pressure. During her career leading large teams for fortune 50 clients, she faced a seemingly impossible situation: a critical product, weighing several tons, had not been shipped for a client’s live demo—just one day before the show was set to open.
While others shrugged and said there was no solution, Natalie refused to accept not delivering for the client. She explored all the options and located one of their products and orchestrated a double-team delivery operation so it would arrive on time. Despite forklifts having been cleared from the exhibit floor, she mobilized a team of six carpenters to physically carry the product into place.
The result? The client opened the show with a full demo setup, never missing a single meeting.
This experience reinforced Natalie's natural ability to connect the dots, solve tough challenges, and persist beyond obstacles—skills that would become the foundation of her leadership approach.
Fast Forward: Two Business Pivots, Two Big Lessons
Today, as founder and CEO of HerCsuite®, Natalie still applies these problem-solving strategies every day.
Earlier this year, she faced two significant challenges back-to-back—both involving decisions she made to outsource critical aspects of her business.
First Pivot: The Podcast Solution..That Wasn’t
Seeking to free up time and focus more on business development, Natalie outsourced her podcast production, marketing and email strategy to a premium agency that seemed to check all the boxes. However, within two weeks, it became clear things were not aligned. Unapproved changes—such as renaming over 200 podcast episodes without her consent—created confusion, extra work, and misalignment across graphics, blogs, and social content.
An urgent need arose with needing a podcast editor in less than a week.
Applying her problem solving mindset, Natalie took action. Reaching out to trusted partner Anastasia Lipske, she was introduced to Lina La Rue Gomez, who streamlined operations, standardized podcast graphics, and created a 10x time-saving solution that preserved the integrity of the podcast brand.
The key lesson? ‘Everything is figureoutable’, as Marie Forleo says—and persistence leads to better outcomes when you focus on solutions instead of setbacks.
Second Pivot: Marketing Tech Missteps
Sometimes it can take more than one situation to learn life or in this case a business lesson. Eager to upgrade HerCsuite®'s CRM and email marketing platform, she signed with a well-known company. Unfortunately, after just six days, it became evident that the solution was not a fit. Technical failures, platform outages, and misalignment made it clear that staying would cost more than pivoting.
Persistence pays off is one of her favorite mottos, and after months of meetings, emails, and negotiations, Natalie successfully exited the agreement—and even received a partial refund, something almost unheard of with this provider.
These experiences reinforce a powerful leadership truth: mistakes are not failures—they are catalysts for growth, clarity, and better decisions ahead.
Problem-Solving Framework
Throughout her career, Natalie has developed a repeatable system for pivoting problems into solutions.
4 Step Framework to Pivoting a Problem into a Solution
- Tune In
Get clear on the details. Break challenges into personal, career, and joy categories. List everything weighing on you. - Evaluate
Look at the categories and ask: What shifts can I make, short-term and long-term, to resolve this? - Identify Who to Involve
Big problems often have hidden stakeholders. Shift your mindset from seeking help to offering solutions that consider the broader impact. - Take Action
Don't wait to solve a problem. Choose one challenge and break it into three small, manageable steps to build momentum quickly.
This approach helps leaders move from feeling overwhelmed to empowered—because clarity builds confidence, and confidence drives action.
Persistence, Resilience, and Seeing the Dots
What sets Natalie apart as a leader is her ability to persist, even when solutions aren't obvious—and her unique skill for connecting the dots before others even see the problem.
Whether it's orchestrating impossible logistics, navigating contractual pitfalls, or advising clients, Natalie sees opportunities where others might see dead-ends. She listens deeply, assesses quickly, and formulates action plans that create progress even under pressure.
Through her own experiences—and countless conversations with HerCsuite® members, clients, and colleagues—Natalie proves that leadership isn’t about avoiding mistakes. It’s about moving forward with clarity, strategy, and courage.
HerCsuite® Takeaway: From Problem to Power Move
Inside HerCsuite®, Natalie supports women leaders and helps them to apply these same principles in their personal development paths.
Here are three questions she recommends asking when faced with a challenge:
- What isn’t working—and why?
- What does real alignment look like for me now?
- What is the smallest move I can make to regain momentum?
The truth is: you don’t have to solve everything alone. Surrounding yourself with the right network—and staying future-focused—turns even the toughest challenges into powerful pivots toward success.
When problems arise, see them as stepping stones—not roadblocks. Your greatest breakthroughs often begin on the other side of your biggest pivots.
🌟 Keep Shining Your Light Bright. The World Needs You.
Connect with Host Natalie Benamou, Founder HerCsuite®
Natalie is the host of "Women Leaders on the Move'', a top 25 Women's Leadership podcast by Feedspot. She is also the Founder of HerCsuite®, a powerful women's network with membership programs that advance women in the second half of their career. Natalie is also the President of HER HEALTHX, a nonprofit focused on improving health outcomes for women.
Natalie Benamou on LinkedIn
HerCsuite® on LinkedIn
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