What a Wing Woman and Earth Angel Collaboration Looks Like

I got off a call this morning with Nichole Marshall, feeling energized, grateful, and certain this is how networking is supposed to work.

We’ve known each other for about a year. It’s the kind of friendship where she still has my book on her shelf with my handwritten notes tucked inside, and where we talk marketing strategies one minute and pray for each other’s health the next. This is what transformational relationships look like.

The Work We’re Doing Together

Nichole is bringing a book into the world. We spent over an hour mapping out the real work: finalizing her cover, building a marketing plan that doesn’t feel like marketing, using AI for interview-style content, developing an Amazon A+ strategy, setting pre-sale timing, securing endorsements, exploring sponsorship possibilities, and working with the team at Books Go Social.

We also scheduled an interview session where I’ll pull content from her through conversation, what I call book riffing. Sometimes the best material comes out when you stop trying to write and talk.

Showing Up Together

My friend Lynn Hazan keeps telling me I should present at Chicago Innovation Week. It’s a significant stage, and Nichole confirmed the visibility it provides for my work in authentic relationship-building and collaborative economics.

But here’s the thing, I won’t go alone.

I told Nichole straight out, “You’re my wing woman since you’re an angel.” She didn’t hesitate; she just added it to the PR plan and said we’d use it to promote the book, too. That’s real partnership, not “how do I get ahead,” but “how do we show up together.”

I’ve led this work with more than 175 leaders over the years, seeing what happens when networking shifts from transactional to transformational. I’m not interested in reemerging into visibility on my own; I want to make it happen with people who get it.

Women Supporting Women (For Real)

We talked about women in leadership as a lived reality. This is what it looks like: sharing contacts freely, building each other’s platforms, and showing up as wing women rather than competitors.

I’m introducing Nichole to Michelle Rathman, another author doing incredible work helping rural hospitals secure support. That’s the kind of meaningful connection that matters—people doing meaningful work, connected because someone took the time.

Before we hung up, we covered the human side: family health updates, battling sciatica, and a Doodle appearing on camera, settling into her lap.

We signed off with the goal for her project: Simple and Powerful. That’s what the book needs to be, the marketing needs to be, and the whole approach to building something meaningful needs to be.

Not complicated. Not performative. Just two women who believe in each other’s work, moving things forward one conversation at a time.

You’ll eventually see us at Chicago Innovation Week: Wing Woman and Angel, doing what we do.

Nichole Barnes Marshall, Visionary Leader Bio

Nichole Barnes Marshall is a visionary leader dedicated to creating high-performing, inclusive cultures that drive growth and innovation. As Founder and CEO of Marshall Matters, LLC, she leads a trusted management consulting firm committed to transforming workplaces through expert guidance in human capital management.

With over 25 years of executive leadership, Nichole has shaped business and culture strategies at some of the world’s most renowned companies, including, most recently, serving as Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer at Pinterest. Previously, she was Vice President and Chief Inclusion Officer at Bath & Body Works and established the global inclusive culture framework at Aon plc. She has also held key roles at IBM Global Services, Grainger, and Tribune Company.

A recognized industry leader, Nichole has earned numerous accolades, including Diversity Woman Magazine’s Elite 100 Top Black Women Executives, Black Enterprise’s Top Executives in Corporate Diversity, and Savoy Magazine’s Most Influential Women in Corporate America. She is committed to community impact, serving in leadership roles with organizations including OIC of America, the Columbus Urban League, and the United Way of Central Ohio.