Entrepreneurs and executives seek the business coaching, training and keynotes of Penny Zenker for her strategic thinking and ability to transfer these skills to others. Penny is one of the very few business and entrepreneurial coaches that merges her own high level success with extraordinary coaching skills to offer motivated individuals an exceptional resource. 

Playing Small Moment

Penny undervalued herself after selling her IT company. She was working too many hours, so she decided to work for another Tech Company. After getting hired, she realized they wanted her to become the CEO of the company. Penny was dripping with fear and felt like she was over her head. She ended up staying with her job for longer than anticipated because her boss, who became her mentor, explained what his real expectations were.

The Wake Up Call

One of Penny’ wake up calls was when she ended up in a big fight with her 3-year-old. She realized she wasn’t giving him the attention and the presence he needed, because she was focused more on her work.

Style of Leadership

Penny has a coaching style of leadership. She comes from a place of curiosity and uses a collaborative way of coaching.

What Are You Excited About?

She is excited to announce that at the end of February, she is launching her new TV Talk Show, called Excellence Success.

Leadership Practice

Penny’s leadership practice is viewing the big picture and the whole picture by stepping back and getting perspective.

Book to Develop Leadership

Power of Full Engagement: Managing Energy, Not Time, Is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz

What Would You Tell Your Younger Self?

Penny would tell her younger self to compare herself to the best version of herself. She has a book coming out next year called Compared to What, which speaks to this idea.

Inspirational Quote

Stop managing your time and start managing your energy.

Interview Links

http://p10app.com/

https://www.facebook.com/PennyzPerspective/

https://twitter.com/pennyzenker

https://www.linkedin.com/in/pennyzenker/

https://womentakingthelead.com/penny-zenker/

If you've been following along with the podcast or got my newsletter a couple weeks ago you know I was sidelined with a strained muscle in my lower back and I am feeling so much better now and am back at my burpee workouts and moving toward my goal. This is going to sound strange to say but I am so grateful to be back doing crazy amounts of burpees!

I did a lot to care for my injury but the real turning point was when I sucked up the scary and the discomfort and started going for walks, doing light aerobics and then building from there. Go figure, movement is beneficial to the body.

Recently I had a conversation with someone about leadership challenges.

Her biggest challenge is one we all face – and one that seems so much more overwhelming at this time of year: How to stay focused when you have so much to do – and you feel like all you’re doing is simply putting out fires and keeping up with minutia – and getting nothing of significance accomplished.

I know this is an all-too familiar topic for many of you. The good news is that you can stay focused, even when it feels like you have no time to spare and you’re extinguishing whatever fire seems to be burning brightest.

Here are my 5 of my favorite strategies for staying focused – try implementing even one and I bet you’ll see noticeable results in your life

1. Turn off the phone, close your email & shut the door to regain focus.

Ever hear of a digital detox? I’m sure you have, and right now you’re probably thinking, “What?! Like I can disconnect now.”

Don’t get me wrong – I love smartphones just as much as you do. But the importance of disconnecting from technology is even being recognized by hotels, many of which now offer a whole new kind of “detox package”.

Instead of the customary offerings that give guests a chance to “cleanse” by dining on a special diet and engaging in a fitness plan, digital detox packages have been called the “next big trend” in the hospitality industry.

No need to spend days detoxing – a mini-detox can be just as effective. Close out that email, turn off the phone, and shut the door to focus on what’s really important (and it’s not that Facebook post from your friend detailing what she made for dinner last night).

We all have the same amount of hours - so instead of trying to use your energy on dozens of tasks, target your energy on a limited number. Focus on what will give you the biggest bang for your energy buck!

2.  Renegotiate commitments. Did you say “yes” to something when you should have said “no”?

Many people say yes to avoid confrontation or maintain and image of themselves as giving, capable and in control. You can take the middle of the road option: the neutral no.

“A neutral no is steady, uninflected, and clear. It is mostly notable for what it is not: harsh, combative, apologetic, reluctant, or overly nice.”

Saying “yes” to everything is one of the fastest paths to burnout. It is perfectly ok to say “no”; in fact, you owe it to yourself to be honest about what commitments you can – and cannot – handle at a given time.

Practice makes perfect on this one, and for some people, saying “no” can be really hard. Just keep practicing until it becomes comfortable for you. Oh, and there’s a bonus here: when you do this, you’ll gradually feel more and more empowered and confident.

If you absolutely hate to say "no" I recommend using the phrase, "That's not going to work for me." It's a way to say "no" without shutting the other person down.

3. Take a deep breath when you see something on “fire”, then take a closer look.

There’s another fire burning somewhere right now, just waiting for you to come put it out. Wait – is it really something that needs your attention now? Has it turned into a total conflagration, or is it just a “flare-up”?

I like to take a closer look at the issue and see if it’s actually something that can wait, even if it’s just for a little bit. That little extra time may allow for the fire to burn out on its own…and if not, that bit of added time allows me to look at the issue with a clearer mindset.

When we are overworked or overwhelmed we don't see things clearly. We lose our ability to rank need and so everything feels urgent. Taking that deep breath and calming down before making a decision will give your brain some time to turn those capabilities back on.

4. Reset your expectations.

Sometimes, because we have such high expectations of ourselves, we assume other people have the same expectations of us.

Oftentimes, however, it’s our own expectations running the show - and rarely do we live up them.

According  to Eckhart Tolle,“The primary cause of unhappiness is never the situation - but your thoughts about it”. Reset your expectations and be real – and by taking an unbiased second look, the situation can end up looking totally different.

I often remind myself that if I'm the one who set the deadline then I'm the one who can change it. I look at whether it was an arbitrary deadline or if it is tied to something time sensitive. If it was an arbitrary deadline I chalk it up to a bad guess and move the date.

Being overly stressed can impede your ability to get tasks done in a timely manner. If by changing the due date on some less import tasks allows you to give your biggest priority more mental bandwidth, all the better.

5.  Free yourself by delegating!

This strategy is unfortunately often under-utilized by many people who think they have to “do it all”. Amy Gallo in Harvard Business Review says if you’re working long hours and feel you’re the only one who can do the job while your staff keeps regular work hours, you may not realize that you’re hoarding your work.

Don’t make excuses by telling yourself training someone will take too much time. Keep a checklist and see exactly how your time is spent. “You’re likely to find that a lot of time is spent on low-leverage activities that can be delegated,” says Jeffrey Pfeffer, author of What Were They Thinking?: Unconventional Wisdom About Management.

There you have it – my 5 favorite strategies for keeping focused when it feels like the fires are burning all around you.

And don't forget the Create Goals that are Worthy of You Mini-Course has exercised in it to help you identify your Superpowers as well as qualities that, once developed, you can leverage to get things done more quickly and effectively. This mini-course is $29 but as a listener of the Women Taking the Lead podcast you can use coupon code goals10 to get $10 off at checkout.

I hope this was of value to you and here's to your success!

Thank You to Our Sponsors!

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Zebralove Web Solutions: Your website tells a story about your business! At Zebralove Web Solutions, Milly and her team are going to make sure your website tells the story you want your customers to hear. Connect with Milly at zebralovewebsolutions.com to create the impression you want to make!

Resources

Create Goals that are Worthy of you: If you are done with either pursuing vanilla goals, suffering through the struggle of goals that are not aligned with your strengths, or dealing with heartbreak of an unattainable goal this course is for you!

Private Facebook Community: Chat, share and collaborate with other women listening to the podcast!

Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing: A simple, step by step system that gives you the foundation and structure to take your goals and make them happen.

Stephen Josephs, Ed.D. is a leadership development expert. He is dedicated to helping leaders shape their culture and bring out people’s best work in ways they haven’t thought of before. He is particularly interested in the strengths women bring to their leadership roles, and he helps them build their capacities and skills to thrive in today’s business environments. In his 40 years of leadership development work in corporations he has integrated mindfulness as a central part of developing executives.

His recent course, Mindfulness 2.0 for Engineers, has received high ratings from participants.

In this episode Stephen and I discuss...

• How taking on a new role is a good fit and sometimes you have to make it your own.
• The challenges faced after taking on a new role when you bump up against the culture.
• A role play that can help you get a win-win in a confrontational conversation, and create an opportunity to transform your relationships with those whom you had perceived as adversaries.
• How to get at the original source of inspiration that is there for all of us.
• A powerful practice that allows you to build rapport and a connection with anyone.

Links

Books: Dragons at Work and Leadership Agility 

Website: http://www.stephenjosephs.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenjosephs

Sponsors

Zebralove Web Solutions: Close your online marketing skills gap, learn how to remain relevant in a quickly changing marketplace, and get ongoing support in promoting your businesses online. Stay ahead of the game by signing up for these Digital Marketing Forum. Go to womentakingthelead.com/zebraworkshops to register.

Resources

Create Goals that are Worthy of you: If you are done with either pursuing vanilla goals, suffering through the struggle of goals that are not aligned with your strengths, or dealing with heartbreak of an unattainable goal this course is for you!

Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing: A simple, step by step system that gives you the foundation and structure to take your goals and make them happen.

This episode is a celebration albeit a somber celebration. At the time of the release of this episode on March 25, 2020 we are 14 days into the Coronavirus or COVID-19 being declared a pandemic.

The information we are getting from the news is startling, especially as we are all coming to grips with the fact that this isn’t going to pass in just 2-4 weeks, like we may have originally hoped.

Things are very uncertain but we cannot stop doing the very things that continue to develop us and remind us of our humanity and our connection to one another.

Let’s do some celebrating, then I’ve got some information that may help you get through the coming months.

The Celebration

The Women Taking the Lead podcast is 5 years old! The official launch date of Women Taking the Lead was March, 25 2015.

Here are some numbers for you.

Most podcast don’t go beyond 10 episodes and it’s uncommon to make it to 100 episodes. This episode is the 385th episode of Women Taking the Lead.

There have been over 687,000 downloads in 176 different countries. We are only 313,000 away from hitting one million downloads.  

Those numbers are amazing and I want to be clear that what this represents to me is community. And you, my community, while you have been listening to this podcast and sharing your thoughts and ideas, I‘ve been listening to you. Many of the best ideas I’ve gotten for this podcast and my business have come from you. I cannot thank you enough.

Thank you for your feedback, thank you for sharing this podcast with your friends, family and colleagues and thank you for listening!

The Elephant in the Room

While I will continue to celebrate and feel all the good feelings that come with hitting this milestone, it would not be an episode of Women Taking the Lead if I didn’t address the elephant in the room

You are under a lot of stress right now and could probably use some support. Being a high achiever, that’s probably hard for you to come to grips with – unless you’ve already had a meltdown. In which case, you can no longer hide or deny you need help.

I want to offer you some support by giving you some tips on dealing with the uncertainty and the changes that you are taking on to keep our most vulnerable loved ones safe.

We joke, and I’ve seen several memes on social media, about all we have to do is stay home. And yes, what we need to do or not do is easy to understand and execute but it is going to take a toll on you.

And for those of you who are leaders, it’s going to be even more important for you to take care of yourself, because you need to continue to show up and communicate with your people. They need your direction, your empathy and your steadfastness now more than ever. You must, you must, you must take care of yourself and your mindset to deliver on this.

The thing that steals most of your focus and energy is the mental stress of being out of a normal routine, and dealing with uncertainty and bad news.

How you mitigate stress is by changing your perspective, or the focus of your attention.

If you are struggling with all the uncertainty and have not yet read Viktor Frankl’s book, Man’s Search for Meaning, now is the time to do it. You don’t have to walk into a store or wait for a delivery. You can download it on your Kindle reader or buy the audiobook.

If you have read Man’s Search for Meaning now may be the time to review it.

Man’s Search for Meaning is Viktor Frankl’s memoirs of his life during the Holocaust. He had survived, having spent three years in four different concentration camps. He noticed that those who were most likely to survive were those who could find some meaning in the experience.

Frankl believes meaning can be found through creativity and work, human interaction and experiences, and the manner in which we respond to suffering. Many survivors of the holocaust had coped with their experience by reminding themselves they didn’t want to disappoint relatives who were dead or separated from them, by helping others or, as Viktor Frankl did, to try to find the beauty in his environment.

If you feel guilty because you are trying to find positives in the devastation, I want you to let the guilt go because, it’s okay to do that. It’s what is getting you through this and it’s a good thing. I know you also see the reality; you’re not ignoring it. What you are doing is preventing yourself from being mentally and emotionally disabled by it.

You won’t be good to anyone if you are constantly watching the news, getting overwhelmed by all you see, and becoming too fatigued to cope.

It feels like doom and gloom but we are also seeing and hearing about people who are stepping up to help their neighbors and communities to address the challenges. I’ve seen businesses come up with creative ways to stay open and continue to provide services. I think this is why Kitty O’Meara’s poem has struck a chord with so many of us. It’s unlikely you haven’t read it somewhere by now but for those of you who haven’t heard this poem yet…

And the People Stayed Home

By Kitty O'Meara

And the people stayed home. And read books, and listened, and rested, and exercised, and made art, and played games, and learned new ways of being, and were still. And listened more deeply. Some meditated, some prayed, some danced. Some met their shadows. And the people began to think differently.

And the people healed. And, in the absence of people living in ignorant, dangerous, mindless, and heartless ways, the earth began to heal.

And when the danger passed, and the people joined together again, they grieved their losses, and made new choices, and dreamed new images, and created new ways to live and heal the earth fully, as they had been healed.

It’s okay to recognize the positives. This is how we take advantage of opportunities. Adopting a woe-is-me attitude so as to not offend other people will not help anyone. Be sensitive to what other people are going through and recognize there are good things happening all over the world and you can be a part of it.

I am continuing to get new clients. I have passed 3 referrals to other business owners in the past few days that will turn into business. Yes, we are already seeing an economic downturn and it will have consequences but we will get through this and we will recover. We’ll do this together.

When things are turbulent, having a coach can make a difference. There’s no shame in getting extra support and accountability so that you are thriving in such a difficult time. I’m seeing too many leaders who are struggling, not asking for help, and it’s having a detrimental effect on those around them. Don’t hesitate to reach out to me if this sounds like a good option for you. I’m here to support you if you want the support.

In times like these, when so many things feel out of our control, and they are, I lean into the Serenity Prayer. Stress comes when we either deny the power we have in a situation, and render ourselves victims to our circumstances, or we try to assert power we don’t have, which only causes us frustration.

To bottom-line it, stress will typically come from one of two things:

1. We fool ourselves into thinking we have no control in certain situations when we do. We always have control over our attitude, our actions, and our voice.
2. Or, we try to control things we have no control over – like other people’s attitudes, actions, or words.

In the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic, you can follow the CDC guidelines on hygiene and social distancing. You can shop for your elderly or medically vulnerable neighbors. You can buy gift cards from your local establishments. You can reach out to family and friends to see how they are doing. You can think about developing new streams of income. You can get 30 minutes of exercise in each day. The list could go on and on. Find what you have control over and take action. That will relieve stress and refuel your energy stores.

Alternatively, let go of trying to control things you don’t have control over. You can make sure the people you know are informed on proper protocols, and pass along tips for self-care, but you can’t force them to adopt them. And let me be clear, if you are getting upset it is because you are frustrated that you cannot control their behavior. What you can do is bless them, pray for them, and do what you need to do to take care of yourself. As long as you have done what is in your power to do, for your own sanity you need to make peace with the rest.

Here’s the Serenity Prayer to help you with that.

Serenity Prayer

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;

courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;

Enjoying one moment at a time;

Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;

Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it;

Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will;

That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him

Forever in the next. Amen.

I’m struck by the line in that prayer that reads, “Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it.”

Now, it is my own belief that the world is not sinful, it is mistaken – but let’s not get tripped up by that word. If you read the line without the word “sinful” it reads:

“Taking, as He did, this world as it is, not as I would have it.”

The world is what it is. This is the world we’ve got. Railing against the fact that it should be different doesn’t do you any good. Taking action to make positive changes, that is completely in your power. But you have to first accept that the world is the way it is before you can make a meaningful difference. That means first seeing things factually, unemotionally, and without judgment.

The world is neither good nor bad, right nor wrong. It is what it is.

Now, from this non-judgmental perspective ask yourself, “What would I like to infuse into the world?”

At the end of each episode I send you off with a Marianne Williamson quote with a little jingle playing in the background. Today it feels appropriate to just read it for you now.

Our Deepest Fear

By Marianne Williamson

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness
That most frightens us.

We ask ourselves
Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.

Your playing small
Does not serve the world.
There's nothing enlightened about shrinking
So that other people won't feel insecure around you.

We are all meant to shine,
As children do.
We were born to make manifest
The glory of God that is within us.

It's not just in some of us;
It's in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine,
We unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we're liberated from our own fear,
Our presence automatically liberates others.

Thank you for making this 5-year journey so joyful and memorable. We are in this together. Here’s to Our success!

Cheers!

Women Taking the Lead Resources

Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing: A simple, step by step system that gives you the foundation and structure to take your goals and make them happen.

Create Goals that are Worthy of you: If you are done with either pursuing vanilla goals, suffering through the struggle of goals that are not aligned with your strengths, or dealing with heartbreak of an unattainable goal this course is for you!

Stephanie Breedlove is the authentic voice for women entrepreneurs. She has been walking the walk of a successful entrepreneur for over twenty years. After launching a career in corporate America with Accenture, she found her true calling as co-founder and CEO of  Care.com HomePay (previously Breedlove & Associates), the nation’s largest and most comprehensive household payroll and tax firm. Her startup grew to national leadership, was later acquired for more than $50 million, and plays a vital role in the quality and professionalism of the in-home care industry. 

Click to tweet: .@BreedloveSteph is sharing her story to inspire you on Women Taking the Lead https://womentakingthelead.com/216 #inspiration

Playing Small Moment

Stephanie’s company was 5 years old and was doing great. They were profitable, growing steadily, and profitable. Stephanie got a call from a competitor that changed the way she looked at how her business was growing and opened up her eyes to how she was playing small.

The Wake Up Call

After the universe beat Stephanie over the head for months, she realized she needed to break away from the conditioned that was filling her head with doubt. Stephanie knew it was her responsibility to put aside societal norms in order to succeed.

Style of Leadership

Stephanie believes if you’re going to be an effective leader, you have to consciously work on it. You have to bring your best traits and talents into your leadership. Stephanie ensures that her team knows that they will achieve excellence together. If you want equal give and take, you have to give expectations.

What Are You Excited About?

Stephanie’s company was acquired by Care.com, and she exited the business a couple of years ago. Since then, Stephanie has answered a new calling and is now an author and advocate for women entrepreneurs. Stephanie’s new book, All In: How Women Entrepreneurs Can Think Bigger, Build Sustainable Businesses, and Change the World, empowers readers to be all they are called to be.

Leadership Practice

Stephanie prides herself on being all in, in all that she does while pushing through any barriers that stand in her way.

Advice For Younger Self

Stephanie would tell herself to not jut be okay, but be comfortable and confident in being different, if that is where your best talents are.

Inspirational Quote

“Never allow a person to tell you no who does not have the power to say yes.” ~Eleanor Roosevelt

Links

Website:  http://stephaniebreedlove.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BreedloveSteph/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BreedloveSteph

Thank You to Our Sponsors

altMBA: Seth Godin’s altMBA workshop is an intensive leadership and management workshop designed for changemakers who have a fire in the belly. This is for people who are itching to level up and make a bigger impact. Find out more at: altmba.com/womentakingthelead

Zebralove Web Solutions: Your website tells a story about your business! At Zebralove Web Solutions, Milly and her team are going to make sure your website tells the story you want your customers to hear. Connect with Milly at zebralovewebsolutions.com to create the impression you want to make!

Resources

Private Facebook Community: Chat, share and collaborate with other women in the community!

Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing: A simple, step by step system that gives you the foundation and structure to take your goals and make them happen.

The Accomplished Community: A community of entrepreneurial Type A women uniting to achieve their biggest goals with confidence, integrity and a sense of humor.

Subscribe to Women Taking the Lead

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We are unpacking a big topic today. We’re exploring developmental trauma broadly and child poverty trauma specifically, and the impact it has on leaders.

Clinical Professional Counselor and Certified Clinical Trauma Professional Nikki Yardy joined me to create more awareness around this topic and how you can explore this topic as an individual and support others as a leader.

In this episode Nikki and I:

·         Discuss manners, etiquette, and class levels in society

·         Explore the concept of poverty trauma and its impacts on identity and self-worth

·         Define developmental and complex trauma and its influence on Imposter syndrome in the workplace

·         Underscore power of EMDR and its impact on trauma recovery

You may find this episode speaks directly to your own experience but even if you don’t relate to growing up poor or having experienced any childhood trauma, chances are someone on your team has. And while other peoples’ experiences and their journeys are their own, having more information on this topic could give you insights on how to be a better leader to them.

Resources mentioned in this episode

Glennon Doyle Etiquette vs. Manners.

Classy with Jonathan Menjivar

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson

Where to find Nikki:

Free Webinar: Understanding Trauma

Email: nikki@viragowellness.com

Website: https://www.nikkiyardy.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nikkiyardy/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikkiwetherell/

Other Resources

Episode Show Notes: Transcript and links mentioned in this episode.

Saboteur Assessment: Find out which Saboteurs are impacting your performance, wellness and relationships, and how they do it.

Register for the How to Get Mentally Fit webinar: Learn the 3 core muscles to build to gain mental fitness.

Leadership Coaching: If you are interested in finding out more about my coaching process, the cost of coaching, or how to ask your employer to pay for you to work with a coach.

Leadership Operating System Inventory. Wondering what kind of Leadership traits you have? Take this FREE, FAST self-assessment and find out more about yourself as a Leader.

Apply to be on an “On-Air Coaching” episode: Are you a female leader who has been promoted in the last year? You are invited to apply to be on the podcast.

Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing: The book containing a simple, step by step system that gives you the foundation and structure to take your goals and make them happen.

Shannon Kenny is a Sustainable Business Consultant who helps eco-conscious businesses grow with integrity so they can create meaningful impact while running a successful business. Growing up on the Caribbean island of Trinidad instilled a deep sense of environmental responsibility within her, and in 2017, she turned that conviction into her career with the launch of Mama Eco, a business dedicated to helping eco-conscious people make better decisions for the environment.

Prior to that, Shannon worked in the travel industry as a luxury travel advisor, and in the art world as an artist and curator. She has spoken at sustainable events as well as been on panels with thought leaders in the environmental world. And has been featured in several publications, including USA Today, MarketWatch, mindbodygreen and Grateful. 

In this episode Shannon and I discuss...

• The work Shannon does as a sustainability consultant and the type of clients she serves

• Why it is important for businesses to think about environmental sustainability and begin to take transparent steps to help the environment

• How businesses can benefit from incorporating sustainability into their DNA and how it serves their employees, customers and bottom line

• Why it’s important for women to take the lead when it comes to sustainability

Links

Website: www.mamaeco.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mama.eco/

WTL Leadership Survey

I’d love it if you could help me to do some research on the coaching and training that is most needed right now. I’ve put together a quick survey (5-10 minutes) to gather this information so I can make sure you are getting exactly what you need as a leader right now and in the near future.

Go to womentakingthelead.com/survey to add your voice to this project.

Thank you so much for your help!

Sponsors

Zebralove Web Solutions: Close your online marketing skills gap, learn how to remain relevant in a quickly changing marketplace, and get ongoing support in promoting your businesses online. Stay ahead of the game by signing up for these Digital Marketing Forum. Go to womentakingthelead.com/zebraworkshops to register.

Resources

Create Goals that are Worthy of you: If you are done with either pursuing vanilla goals, suffering through the struggle of goals that are not aligned with your strengths, or dealing with heartbreak of an unattainable goal this course is for you!

Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing: A simple, step by step system that gives you the foundation and structure to take your goals and make them happen.

Carol Hess is passionate about two things – the power of words and the empowerment of women.  After 30 years in the communications industry putting the power of words to work as a writer and editor, it was time to make a shift.  Carol founded Star Polisher, an online and Maine-based business that offers workshops, private coaching, and group retreats designed to encourage and inspire women to play big and shine.      

http://www.womentakingthelead.com/carol-hess

Mercy Nthiga likes to say, that growing up in Kenya, she did everything she “should" do. Studied hard in primary school, passed the 8th grade exams that allow a small % of Kenyans to continue to secondary school, became one of the 5% that graduated secondary school to attend university. Completing university put her in the top few percent of Kenyans. For all that, facing 60% unemployment, it still took years to find work. 

That’s when she determined to find a better way for herself, and her country. She came to Houston, and scrambled through more to become a radiological technologist. Mercy has started a business to focus on genuine education of children – which Mercy perceives as essential for kids in America and Kenya.  Her business is Entertain to Educate My Child . The business is built on the realization that our children are our greatest responsibility. The mission is to maximize the time parents spend with kids as opportunities for education, and to form a community where parents support each other in our greatest calling on this planet.

Playing Small Moment

Mercy struggled through school, but made it a goal to finish school and go to college. She attended college in Houston and still struggled to find work. At a job that she held for 4 years, she struggled with tardiness as her daughter had to be dropped off at school before she went to work. This had not been favored, but was tolerated by management at the time. Once management changed, she was forced to choose between her job and getting daycare for her child.

Style of Leadership

Mercy realized that once people are bored, they tune out. She tries to make things fun, jovial and entertaining with her work.

What Are You Excited About?

Mercy is really enjoying Periscope. She has been doing 10-minute daily tip sessions on Periscope and has loved the interaction.

Leadership Practice

Thinking of who she is serving, Mercy tries looking from their point of view to help the situation.

Book to Develop Leadership

Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert

What Would You Change?

Mercy believes we become who we are because of our past, but she would tell herself not to be so willing to fit in with society. Nice girls don’t make history, so why not ruffle some feathers.

Inspirational Quote

“If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree it will live its live thinking it is stupid.”    -Albert Einstein

Interview Links

Entertain to Educate My Child 

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/mercy.kay2

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/mercymercykay

https://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity?language=en

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/magic-lessons/id1018969048?mt=2&i=348850892

If you enjoyed this episode subscribe in iTunes or Stitcher Radio and never miss out on inspiration and community!

Milly Welsh is the founder of Zebralove Web Solutions, a web development company in Portland, Maine, that specializes in web design & development, mobile app development, and search engine optimization. Milly started Zebralove in 2006 and loves to help businesses, small and large, achieve the online presence they need, to grow to the next level. Milly is currently working on a mobile app, called VibeSquirrel, that will come out for iOS and Android in early 2017.

Playing Small Moment

Milly’s playing small moment was when she took on an enormous project, and because she was a self-taught developer, she didn’t ask for help from other developers. She feared they might think her a fraud.

The Wake Up Call

Milly realizes that by helping other people she is able to grow her business to the next level.

Style of Leadership

Milly is developing her leadership style through collaboration. She knows it takes longer than giving directives but she believes better ideas come out of it.

What Are You Excited About?

Milly is excited about developing her own mobile app, VibeSquirrel, which is a random positive messaging app. She is raising money through Kickstarter to cover the marketing costs.

Current Business Challenge

Milly is challenged by getting all the pieces of her business in place. She may be reaching the tipping point of having to hire additional people.

Your Support System

Milly’s support system consists of her husband, her team members and her dad.

Leadership Practice

Milly has a heart-to-heart conversation with new team members so she can assess where they fit into her team, and how she can help them to move forward.

Book to Develop Leadership

The Little Engine that Could by Watty Piper

Advice For Younger Self

“Don’t think too much,” and “Trust your gut.”

Inspirational Quote

“Each of your cells is a galaxy in the universe that is your body. You are full of amazing things.” ― VibeSquirrel

Links

Website: www.vibesquirrel.com

Website: http://zebralovewebsolutions.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vibesquirrel/

Find more resources at https://womentakingthelead.com

David Lee is the founder of HumanNature@Work and StoriesThatChange.com. He is the author of nearly 100 articles and book chapters on topics related to leadership, constructive conversations, and personal development. He is author of Powerful Storytelling Techniques, published by ATD press, and is currently working on a new book Courageous Conversations At Work. He is especially interested in helping people “show up” as their Best Selves and have the important conversations they need to engage in, to have the life they desire.

Click to tweet: .@HumanNatureWork is sharing her story to inspire you on Women Taking the Lead https://womentakingthelead.com/215 #inspiration

A Woman Who Impacted You

David’s best friend and former partner has always had the skill to ensure emotional safety with a gentle approach to listening and allowing you to feel comfortable. With a gentle presence, she was able to see the potential in him when he would doubt himself.

What Holds Women Back from Stepping Up as Leaders?

Though it is not typically gender specific, choosing silence over speaking up in our professional or persona lives can hold us back. David believes that when we bring up difficult conversations in a respectful way, it models how to have the hard conversations.

The Benefit of Mentoring Women

David mentored a woman for many years, eventually becoming more colleagues and friends than mentor and mentee. David found himself in a situation where he would benefit from her help, and it was a nice switch to become the student. David recommends that mentors also become the students sometimes to keep perspective.

The Necessary Changes

Challenge your self limiting beliefs. David was faced with a situation where he almost talked himself out of a great opportunity. The entire process made him question what else had he been telling himself he couldn’t do.

Current Projects

David has a book called, Courageous Conversations at Work, where he tells different stories about people and their challenging conversations, in storybook style.

Inspirational Quote

“Better results require better conversations.”

Links

http://humannatureatwork.com/
http://www.storiesthatchange.com/

Thank You to Our Sponsors

Zebralove Web Solutions: Your website tells a story about your business! At Zebralove Web Solutions, Milly and her team are going to make sure your website tells the story you want your customers to hear. Connect with Milly at zebralovewebsolutions.com to create the impression you want to make!

Resources

Private Facebook Community: Chat, share and collaborate with other women in the community!

Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing: A simple, step by step system that gives you the foundation and structure to take your goals and make them happen.

The Accomplished Community: A community of entrepreneurial Type A women uniting to achieve their biggest goals with confidence, integrity and a sense of humor.

Subscribe to Women Taking the Lead

If you enjoyed this episode subscribe in iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Google Play Music or iHeart Radio and never miss out on inspiration and community!

I’m on this topic because I’ve had a personal experience with this recently and so has a close friend and then when I was facilitating my local mastermind group several of the members shared that this was something they were dealing with as well. Whenever I see a trend it’s a red flag for me that this is a topic worth discussing.

http://womentakingthelead.com/people-who-bring-out-the-worst/

Laura Roeder is the founder of Edgar, a new social media automation tool designed to prevent updates from going to waste. Laura began her entrepreneurial journey at the age of 22, when she quit a design job and decided to launch her first business. Since then, she founded B-School with Marie Forleo, has run successful courses of her own such as Creating Fame and Social Media Marketer; and she was named a Top 100 Entrepreneur under 30, in America. Edgar was created out of a need Laura had in her own business to more effectively manage social media – and so in 2014, Laura pivoted her business to dive into the SaaS world. Since launching in mid-2014, Edgar has hit over $150,000 in monthly recurring revenue, all the while bootstrapping the entire way. More than 3,000 customers are now using Edgar to help manage their social media.

Playing Small Moment

Laura always felt self-conscious, because she looked too young. She would go to various chamber of commerce events where she did not typically meet anyone close to her own age. Laura always felt like she stuck out. She attended a speed-coaching program at a conference where the coach laid into her and picked her apart – she needed to change her clothes and her voice. Eventually, Laura realized she had lived through her biggest fear and was not changed by it; she had survived.

The Wake Up Call

When Laura first moved to LA, she was doing social media consulting and helped her friend – an actor on Heroes – create a presence on social media. She walked home after a brainstorming meeting, realizing she didn’t fit into the mold she had created for that route.

Style of Leadership

Laura leads by giving ownership and letting her team truly own their projects. Most people start out by delegating but you’re still doing a lot. The way Laura leads, she has someone in charge of Customer Service and that person gets to make all the calls for their domain.

What Are You Excited About?

Laura is excited about Edgar, which launched a year ago. Edgar has grown super fast and they are now hiring a bunch of people. Meetedgar.com is a new approach to social media that handles your content differently than anything else out there.

Leadership Practice

Using a quarterly survey to ask, what should we stop doing, what should we keep doing, and what should we start doing allows employees to share their opinions on an ongoing systems.

Book to Develop Leadership

Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other Keys to Creativity, by Hugh MacLeod

What Would You Change?

Focusing more time on the things she enjoys; bringing more value to her business.

Inspirational Quote

"How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives." ~ Annie Dillard

Interview Links

@lkr @meetedgar

http://www.meetedgar.com

Lauren Copeland is an empowering Life and Clarity Coach for amazing women who feel the call to be more, do more and live more! By working together, we discover what your 'mores' really are in life and business, how you can make them happen, and pursue the life you love without sacrificing your unique self.

Playing Small Moment

Lauren knew the 9-5 was not for her and she was excited to get the opportunity to be a stay at home mom. But, people close to her didn’t seem to understand her decision. She says her playing small moment was when she let the opinions of others color how she viewed herself. 

The Wake Up Call

Lauren truly had an A-ha moment, when her husband asked her if she could really overcome her shyness to become a life and clarity coach. It lit a fire under her to do what she felt compelled to do and that would bring her joy.

Style of Leadership

Lauren is a listener, an analyzer and very optimistic. All traits that contribute to her nurturing leadership style.   

Current Leadership Challenge

Lauren is finding it challenging to dodge her insecurities while launching her business.   

What Does Your Business Support System Look Like?

Lauren is part of an online community of female entrepreneurs that, she says, gets her through when she has questions or when she needs support.

What Are You Excited About?

Lauren is excited to be launching a 5-day challenge to help people prioritize their tasks, make the most of their time and find balance in their lives. 

Leadership Practice

Consistently working towards her own personal development is one practice which makes Lauren a better leader. She is able to learn new ideas that she can share with others.

Book to Develop Leadership

Make it Happen by Lara Casey

Advice For Younger Self

“Value is not determined by anything on this earth. It is determined by Christ.” 

Inspirational Quote

“To live is to choose. But to live well, you must know who you are, what you stand for, where you want to go and why you want to get there.” - Kofi Annan

Links

http://www.laurenecopeland.com/

https://www.facebook.com/lecopeland/

Find more resources at: http://womentakingthelead.com 

Dr. Jamie Orr is a successful entrepreneur, physicist, and educator with expertise across a wide range of technical fields. She is passionate about helping young companies and students alike to thrive and discover their potential. She is a co-founder of Mountain Lab, Lake Tahoe's first co-working space and innovation hub. Jamie also teaches courses in physics, mathematics, chemistry, and green sustainable education, and consults in the areas of economic development, entrepreneurship, and education.

Playing Small Moment

Jamie was crushed when an advisor in her department didn’t show up for the faculty meeting, which would have helped her along in becoming a Ph.D. candidate. After the initial sting wore off, she decided she would move away from Physics and into the study of law. She was accepted into six different law schools before being persuaded back into the Physics program.

The Wake Up Call

Jamie’s wake up call came almost a year after her daughter was born. Jamie and her husband were going through photos and realized most of their happiness came from their visits to Lake Tahoe―not from Silicon Valley. So, they just packed up and moved to Lake Tahoe.

Style of Leadership

Jamie likes to lead by teaching people and by working in collaboration with them. She wants the people around her to reach their potential and to accomplish things. 

Current Leadership Challenge 

Jamie needs to give herself permission to say no, because she realizes she may experience burnout if she doesn’t take time for herself.

What Are You Excited About?

Jamie is excited to be integrating the concepts of physics into her community projects. 

What Does Your Business Support System Look Like?

Jamie has a balanced team of business partners and family who inspire her and amaze her every single day.    

Leadership Practice 

Jamie is a teacher by nature and she believes in elevating those around her.

Book to Develop Leadership

Brain Rules by John Medina

Advice For Younger Self

“Failure is an opportunity to try a different direction. So, don’t be so hard on yourself.” 

Inspirational Quote

“Be kinder than is necessary because you never know what someone else is going through.” ~ Jamie Orr

Links

http://tahoemountainlab.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamieforr

Find more resources at https://womentakingthelead.com

In the last episode I continued our exploration of the Cycle of Change using the analogy of a card game which was first introduced to me by iPEC Coaching.

If you have not listened to the first two episodes covering the Cycle of Change, I recommend you go back to the episodes. They are titled How to Process These Unexpected Changes and Contemplating Your New Normal, respectively.

These are quick episodes and will catch you up on The Cycle of Change as it looks during the COVID-19 pandemic, or really any time of crisis.

I mentioned in Contemplating Your New Normal that when you move into the Shuffle Phase you require more time to reflect and begin researching different options for the future.

You start doing some research and reaching out to others who know more about whatever it is you are exploring. In the Shuffle phase you don’t have a lot of information yet, so you are thinking and gathering, exploring ideas, imagining different possibilities that could play out in the future.

The Cycle of Change

Phase 2: Deal (Preparing/Developing)

The next phase in the Cycle of Change, using that card game analogy, is The “Deal” phase. The Deal phase is marked by an increase in activity – this will include active networking, testing out interests or experimenting, training and skill building.

The plan that was developed in the Shuffle phase is beginning put into action!

You will have more energy and a more positive attitude because now you can actually do something. You are following a path; you have a direction to go in.

You’re open to new experiences, new people, and preparing yourself for the intensity of the next phase.

When you are in the Deal phase you are more optimistic, seeing life as an opportunity, and you experience more confidence in this stage than in any other. You are the proverbial adventurous student of life eager to stretch, learn, and grow in new directions.

Think about it. When you’re playing a card game and the cards are being dealt, there’s so much opportunity. It’s anyone’s game at this point.

When you first enter this the Deal phase in life, you will shy away from making commitments. Remember, this is the phase of experimenting and because of this you’ll tend to want to keep your options open and take things “one step at a time.”

What’s important in The Deal phase is your ability to move to the point where you can make a choice to move forward with commitment and make something happen. You may not know how it’s all going to turn out but you are ready to execute your plan.

Here you’ll also be looking around for allies, mentors and guides who can help to see you through the next phase successfully.

You’re now developing a plan that will take you into the next phase, beyond networking and experimenting.

You will identify one or more goals for the next phase, and thus the work at the end of The Deal Phase is to have a strategy and a plan formed that lays out the steps that will take you to your goal.

Anticipation, excitement and energy will increase as you gain more clarity around all of these pieces.

There is also fear of failure or success, likely a combination of both, but you will be poised for action.

The Deal Phase During COVID-19

You may have experienced the full cycle of change during the COVID-19 pandemic in certain areas of your life. There is no definitive length of time that you need to spend in each phase, what’s important is that you are doing the work in each phase.

You may have found that with some things in your life you felt grieving and despair, a longing for what was. This may have passed relatively quickly as you contemplated and absorbed the changes.

You may have then found yourself reaching out to others to see what they were doing or going to Google or Youtube to find ideas for how to do things differently.

Before you knew it, you may have found yourself experimenting with your new ideas and noting what worked and what didn’t work.

And not long after you found yourself saying, “This is what I’m doing. I’m all in.”

For other things in your life, you may find yourself still in the Toss In, unable to accept that things won’t be the same, at least not anytime soon.

What will be helpful to you in the Deal phase is:

Having a vision of what success will look like in the next phase.

This will not only get you excited for what’s to come but may also help to identify any gaps in resources or training that you will need to set you up for success.

In the last phase you were identifying your core values and how you wanted to live your life. Here, it’s also important to know what brings you alive, what value you want to bring and at least a sense of what your purpose or mission is.

If you can connect your goals to these things it will fuel your fire.

However, don’t overthink it, experiment with what you want to bring forth in this phase.

For instance, in my case I can boil down my purpose to the statement, “my purpose is to wake people up to how awesome they already are so they can get on with their purpose.”

That is clearly tied to the goals I have for Women Taking the Lead and yes, it fuels my fire. It motivates me on the days when I can’t see progress or I just don’t feel like it.

Start with the change you’d like to see in the world and let it unfold from there.

If you are externally motivated, find an accountability partner or and accountability group.

This will help you keep up momentum. That’s not to say you cannot pivot based on what you are learning from your networking and experimenting.

Forward movement coming from informed decisions is what you are looking for here and the accountability will help ensure that this is what’s happening.

Also, having trusted advisors who have your highest good at heart and who can listen intently, cheer you on, and help you clarify your next steps is priceless.

If you have someone like this who is also great at setting priorities and making a plan, especially if this is not your forte, that’s a bonus!

If you are in this phase and you have not yet read my book Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing I’m going to strongly encourage you do so. A lot of what you need to do to navigate The Deal phase successfully is in this book.

From creating a vision of success, to getting at your core values, your purpose and mission, Superpowers, and even creating goals and designing a plan are in this book. It’s a tool you do not want missing from your toolkit.

You can find the paperback and kindle version of Accomplished in Amazon, and as soon as I can get into the Portland Pod recording studio once again, I will have the book recorded, mastered and uploaded into Audible for your listening pleasure as well. Stay tuned for that!

If you have read Accomplished and you are finding yourself in The Deal Phase, read it again. This book is a process that will take you to new levels of knowing yourself and finding success with each reading.

Okay, that’s The Deal phase. We only have one more phase to cover, Playing the Game phase and I’ll be covering that in next week’s episode.

As always, I hope this was of value to you and here’s to your success!

Thank You to Our Sponsors!

Zebralove Web Solutions: Your website tells a story about your business! At Zebralove Web Solutions, Milly and her team are going to make sure your website tells the story you want your customers to hear. Connect with Milly at zebralovewebsolutions.com to create the impression you want to make!

Resources

Private Facebook Community: Chat, share and collaborate with other women listening to the podcast!

Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing: A simple, step by step system that gives you the foundation and structure to take your goals and make them happen.

Create Goals that are Worthy of you: If you are done with either pursuing vanilla goals, suffering through the struggle of goals that are not aligned with your strengths, or dealing with heartbreak of an unattainable goal this course is for you!

If any of you have ever met Amy, you know she is passionate about three things.  Family, Finances, and WINE!  This comes through in all that she does and all that she is.  When asked to describe herself she first and foremost states, “I am a wife, a daughter, and hopefully a good friend, who happens to also be a financial planner.” 

Amy holds a Master’s Degree in financial planning and is a Certified Financial Planner^TM, Enrolled Agent, Certified College Financial Consultant, and a Financial Wellness Coach with over 25 years of financial planning and industry experience.  She is the Founder and owner of Rooted Planning Group, Amy is definitely “doing it her way” and has been recognized by her financial planning colleagues as being a “disrupter,” a title she holds close to her heart and is proud of.

On her website it states, “I love what I do, but I also very much enjoy warmth, good conversation, wine tastings, and volunteering.

In this episode Amy and I discuss...

• The measures she is taking in the financial upheaval caused by the COVID-19 pandemic
• The steps you can take to get your healthcare initiatives in order
• Highlights of the CARES act and what you'll want to pay attention to
• How Amy is working with her clients to alleviate their fears and plan for the road ahead

Links

Website: www.rootedpg.com

Email: amy@rootedpg.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rootedpg/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rooted-planning-group/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rootedpg/

Thank You to Our Sponsors

Zebralove Web Solutions: Close your online marketing skills gap, learn how to remain relevant in a quickly changing marketplace, and get ongoing support in promoting your businesses online. Stay ahead of the game by signing up for these Digital Marketing Forum. Go to womentakingthelead.com/zebraworkshops to register.

Resources

Create Goals that are Worthy of you: If you are done with either pursuing vanilla goals, suffering through the struggle of goals that are not aligned with your strengths, or dealing with heartbreak of an unattainable goal this course is for you!

Private Facebook Community: Chat, share and collaborate with other women listening to the podcast!

Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing: A simple, step by step system that gives you the foundation and structure to take your goals and make them happen.

Shannon Moss is a passionate journalist who has called Maine home since 1999. A former TV news anchor, Shannon is now the owner of Code Gratitude, a mission-driven company in Maine dedicated to showing our appreciation to those who serve us every day by offering special deals and discounts from local businesses. CodeGratitude.com connects supportive businesses with the men and women in Law enforcement, Fire, EMS and Military. A graduate of the University of Rhode Island, is also known for using her celebrity to spotlight and support multiple causes she believes in. 

http://womentakingthelead.com/shannon-moss

Erin Robbins has been working in analytics and marketing for the past 15 years for enterprises, agencies, and startups. She has lived around the country as well as internationally and currently calls Columbus, Ohio home. As GinzaMetrics' President & COO, Erin helps lead product strategy, sales and marketing, and organizational operations. When she's not busy with Ginza, she's likely spending time with her bulldogs, enjoying a beer, or doing something active. 

Click to tweet: .@TexasGirlErin is sharing her story to inspire you on Women Taking the Lead https://womentakingthelead.com/210 #inspiration

Playing Small Moment

Erin came from a male-dominated technology field and had to figure out how to navigate through the gender bias while also staying true to herself. She was shocked to discover that many women were often just as much to blame as the men in supporting the gender roles in business.

In her early 20’s, Erin worked for a midsize organization, as one of the lowest people on the totem pole. Her boss was often seen talking to people in the hallways and inviting them back into his office. One day, Erin was also invited and was made very uncomfortable by this boss’s comments about advancing her career. Erin started making herself busy during those invites and would ignore his advances. A female coworker of hers at the time, who was previously familiar with the boss’s invites, started spreading rumors about Erin out of jealousy. Erin assumed that because of her junior position, she would not be taken seriously on her claims against the boss and her coworker; Erin just wanted out. In order to avoid the confrontation, Erin quickly switched jobs into one she wasn’t even interested in, just to get out of the uncomfortable situation. Looking back, Erin wishes she had said something, as others may have been suffering the same way. Erin now stands firmly behind the belief that size or stature is not a determinant in doing the right thing for yourself, or your organization.

The Wake Up Call

Erin worked at an agency filled with amazing coworkers and clients, but a terrible boss. Having worked with some incredible bosses, Erin was torn, as she definitely knew the difference. At times, Erin felt there was no way to please her boss, almost as if she were running on a treadmill with the speed increasing, yet going nowhere. Erin knows she stayed longer than she should have at that job because of how much she loved the people who surrounded her. Moving on to her next position, she reflected on something her father told her when she began working, “Your only real job at your job, is to make your organization and your superiors look good.” Your performance is always more important to your direct supervisor than the CEO of the company, as that person is responsible for you accomplishing your goals and tasks, while helping you grow your career. This taught Erin how the type of manager she wanted to be, and how she wanted to make people feel included. When one person wins, the whole team wins.

Style of Leadership

Erin is a direct leader. She wants her team to always know where they stand with positive coaching feedback on a regular basis, not just a yearly review with shocking information. Erin expects the same in return. She wants to know if her team is unhappy as soon as it becomes a problem, not 6 months later when they decide to unexpectedly quit. Erin is direct, but also casual. She uses overly formal communication and is often both sarcastic and intense. Erin also encourages all growth opportunities and believes the only limits within her organization are the ones you set for yourself.

What Are You Excited About?

Historically, there has been a black hold between where companies are putting their money and what they are actually getting for their investment. What GinzaMetrics is trying to do now is use more data and data analysis to show companies better insight into what is working and not working, with a side by side comparison. This can also allow for recommendations on where they should be spending to make the most difference. 

Current Business Challenge

At GinzaMetrics, they have a huge global network and customer base, which means the team is constantly working with different languages and time zones. Considering her team is reasonably small, Erin really counts on everyone to pull their weight and be a conscientious team player and it can be a real struggle at times. To stay productive, the team uses numerous channels on Slack. Erin feels that especially with a small team, everyone’s ideas and input are important so they try to keep the channels narrowed down so nothing gets lost.

Leadership Practice

Erin tries to learn and do the tasks that she asks of others around her. In order to help make the most strategic and beneficial recommendations as a leader, Erin strives to always understand the core functions and roles of her team. Erin also believes in being aware of what she doesn’t know, as this allows her to put trust in the people she hires to fill those gaps.

Advice For Younger Self

Erin would advise her younger self, and even her current self, to incorporate more balance into her life. Allotting more time for family, friends and healthy practices, such as yoga and running, has been very beneficial for Erin. She is more focused and productive during her time spent at work when things are more balanced than if she pushes herself to work 24/7. On days when Erin is working longer hours, she still tries to pull away during the afternoon to readjust herself.

Inspirational Quote

“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” ~ Thomas Edison

Links

Website: http://www.ginzametrics.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TexasGirlErin

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erinrobbins

Thank You to Our Sponsors

Zebralove Web Solutions: Your website tells a story about your business! At Zebralove Web Solutions, Milly and her team are going to make sure your website tells the story you want your customers to hear. Connect with Milly at zebralovewebsolutions.com to create the impression you want to make!

Resources

Private Facebook Community: Chat, share and collaborate with other women in the community!

Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing: A simple, step by step system that gives you the foundation and structure to take your goals and make them happen.

The Accomplished Community: A community of entrepreneurial Type A women uniting to achieve their biggest goals with confidence, integrity and a sense of humor.

Subscribe to Women Taking the Lead

If you enjoyed this episode subscribe in iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Google Play Music or iHeart Radio and never miss out on inspiration and community!

Stacy Tuschl is an Entrepreneur and Business Performance Strategist. She started her first business in her parents’ backyard at the age of 18, and turned that company into a 7 figure business. She is the author of the book, Is Your Business Worth Saving?, where she reveals proven strategies for pulling entrepreneurs out of a rut and launching them toward business success, and the host of the top-rated podcast Business Rescue Road Map.

Playing Small Moment

Stacy realized she had been playing small by only looking within the dance industry for inspiration for her business. It wasn’t until she started branching out that she realized how much more was available to her. 

The Wake Up Call

Stacy reached a level of success with her dance studio that she never thought was possible. She was nervous to extend her business reach even further. It wasn’t until a contractor told her she needed her Facebook page up and running that she overcame her fear of branching out to reach even more success. 

Style of Leadership

Stacy understands she is leading leaders. She encourages her team to work on personal development so the entire group can take the company to the next level of success.

What Are You Excited About?

Stacy is excited about her Level Up Facebook community and group coaching program.    

Current Business Challenge

Stacy always focuses on marketing and building her brand, so as her business grows she needs to add employees. She says it’s challenging to hire new team members while she is in the rushed mode of needing someone quickly.

What Does Your Business Support System Look Like?

Stacy has 40 members in her team. They allow her to work on the business and not in the business. She is able to work on things that matter the most to her business and delegate everything else. 

Leadership Practice

Stacy reaches out to every employee, every month using her popsicle stick method.

Book to Develop Leadership

Good Leaders Ask Good Questions by John Maxwell  

Advice For Younger Self

“You are the average of the 5 people you surround yourself with.”     

Inspirational Quote

“Don’t be the smartest person in the room.”

Links

Web: http://www.stacytuschl.com

Facebook: http://www.leveluptribe.com

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/StacyTuschl

Business Rescue Road Map Podcast: http://businessrescueroadmap.com/

Text: Levelup to 24587

Find more resources at https://womentakingthelead.com

Man, the summertime crazy has commenced. It took everything I had, and little less sleep, to get this episode out this week. My schedule was jam-packed and I have family coming to visit so my schedule is going to be all out whack for a couple of weeks. I'll have a week of rest after (or not) and then I'm off to Podcast Movement.

The old me would have become insanely stressed out and resentful, and the people around me probably would have been very aware of it. I would have tried to get rid of as much on my to do list as possible to try to alleviate the stress. 

The old me would have battled with myself about doing an episode this week and I probably would have done it but it would have been because I didn't want to look bad. I would have been motivated by a fear that if I didn't do this episode I would lose momentum, and lose the faith and trust of those of you who look forward to the 100% Jodi episodes each week.

I'm not going to deny I'm a little wound up this week with everything but I wanted to do an episode this week because I'm motivated from something different than fear. The emotion I'm motivated by is love.

I love doing these episodes. I was hesitant at first. I was excited and nervous and testing out the waters with different topics but now I've hit a groove, gotten your feedback and now 100% Jodi is a labor of love.

As much as possible do things coming from the emotion of love. I think we can agree it's much more enjoyable to be feeling love while you are taking action than it is to feel fear.

I would much rather do an obstacle course loving the exhilaration rather than running it half freaked out by the obstacles I have to overcome.

Sometimes it's not even fear we need to shift but there can be something really special that can come about when we add love to the mix.

I remember when I joined BNI my chapter took attendance but they didn't enforce the attendance policy. That seemed fine with everyone because everyone seemed to give a best effort to attend...until they didn't.

When I was the President of the chapter from 2012-2013 I had some real concerns with what I was seeing. With my personality type, and my background in corporate you know I went to the reports to see what was going on. Sure enough, when attendance was good there were corresponding increases in the numbers of referrals passed and the amount of money we tracked in closed business.

When attendance went down so did the referrals and money made by the members.

 Okay, so after looking at the BNI reports for my chapter for attendance, referrals passed and money made by the members, it was plain as day what I needed to do but this would be a major culture shift and I had only been in the chapter for a year and a half. A large number in my chapter had been in the chapter for more than 10-15 years, some of them for nearly 20 years.

However, the solution was clear but I needed to do this right. So I presented the information first to the members who were in leadership roles in the chapter and proposed that we start enforcing the attendance policy. They were surprised but the numbers didn't lie and they agreed to the change. 

With their support I prepared a PowerPoint presentation to do at an upcoming meeting. I was a little nervous given some of the personalities that were in the chapter at that time but I knew it was the right thing. I was resolved. And I was preparing for the presentation with that energy.

My friend Michelle who is also a member of my BNI chapter, chatted with me the day before my presentation and asked me how I was feeling. I've mentioned her before as the friend who balances me out and this demonstrates exactly how.

I told her I was ready, I was resolved and it was the right thing to do. Michelle replied, "And remember you doing this because you love them." She was exactly right! I wouldn't have risked so much if I didn't love the people who were in the room but I wasn't present to it as I was preparing my data and creating the slides.

Every Type A woman should have a friend like Michelle in their life.

I started my presentation by asking everyone in the room if they had hit their money goal the prior year. Only one person raised their hand. I then told them that my goal as their President was to change that. The reason people join BNI is to make more money. Everything else, and there's a lot of other things, are a bonus. People leave BNI if they are not making enough money for their efforts.

I delivered my presentation focusing on how the attendance policy was going to help them make more money and achieve their goals. At the end of the presentation I decided to be completely transparent and I told them I wanted to do this because I loved them and I wanted them to be successful.

Everyone agreed to my proposal to start to enforce the attendance policy. We've been enforcing the attendance policy ever since and my chapter has gotten better every year.

On your part it feels better to come from a place of love, and it feels better for the other person as well. People can sense the intention behind what is said and an action taken. They may not be able to name it exactly but they do get a sense of whether it feels genuine or manipulative.

If you're not coming from love you are likely being somewhat manipulative.

Things that will take us out of love:

• Money fears are soul sucking
• Conflict in an important relationship 
• Judgment of another or a situation
• Challenges to our values
• A lack of love in others

We have to consciously choose love in these situations because it's too easy to get sucked into fear and anger. 

If you find yourself getting sucked into negative emotions come back to a place of love. How do I do this is focusing on the things that I love. I might get fearful about some aspect of my business but then I think about the women in this community. I remember why I work so hard and why I continue to challenge myself to put out good content. 

When I get stressed out about a lack of time I remind myself that it's my expectations of myself that causes the time crunch and that I love peace of mind more than perfection. I then do what I can from a place of love. And sometimes I surprise myself; because I'm so calm doing my tasks they actually get done more quickly because I'm not so easily distracted.

Make Plans and Take Action from a Place of Love

As you start planning your days and your to do lists begin by getting yourself, not only in a good state of mind, but a good state of heart as well. Remind yourself of what you love and once you begin to lighten and feel the good emotions, then take action. 

Especially do this before every meeting or phone call. Get to your set point of love and go from there. I guarantee you, you will see a difference in your productivity, your results and the effect you have on other people. 

This is simple but not easy. It's a practice and I am constantly getting off track and going into auto-pilot, catching myself and resetting my mindset and my emotions. It takes some effort but it is SO WORTH IT.

If you are looking to be around more women who are taking the concepts I've been sharing in these episodes, talking about them and putting them into practice then you want to check out The Accomplished Community. While I certainly have a private facebook group that any woman can join, The Accomplished Community is an exclusive community of women who are taking it to the next level.

What I am really good at is showing Type A women how to let go of the stress so you can believe in yourself and, with clear vision and confidence, take the actions that are going to see you to the success that you want. My coaching removes the barriers that keep you from having the experiences you know you were meant for. Whether that is gaining more clients, growing your team, achieving awards and recognition in your industry, gaining that promotion, speaking, podcasting, or writing your book. If you've dreamt it I can help you achieve it.

Go to https://womentakingthelead.com/community to find out more and register if this is for you.

Thank you all for joining me and here's to your success!!

Thank You to Our Sponsors

Freshbooks: The all new FreshBooks makes ridiculously easy accounting software that’s completely transformed how freelancers and small business owners deal with their day-to-day paperwork. Get a 30 day, unrestricted free trial go to FreshBooks.com/lead and enter WOMEN TAKING THE LEAD in the “How Did You Hear About Us?” section.

altMBA: Seth Godin’s altMBA workshop is an intensive leadership and management workshop designed for changemakers who have a fire in the belly. This is for people who are itching to level up and make a bigger impact. Find out more at:  altmba.com/womentakingthelead

Zebralove Web Solutions: Your website tells a story about your business! At Zebralove Web Solutions, Milly and her team are going to make sure your website tells the story you want your customers to hear. Connect with Milly at zebralovewebsolutions.com to create the impression you want to make!

Resources

Private Facebook Community: Chat, share and collaborate with other women in the community!

Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing: A simple, step by step system that gives you the foundation and structure to take your goals and make them happen.

The Accomplished Community: A community of entrepreneurial Type A women uniting to achieve their biggest goals with confidence, integrity and a sense of humor.

Subscribe to Women Taking the Lead

If you enjoyed this episode subscribe in iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Google Play Music or iHeart Radio and never miss out on inspiration and community!

After a successful career in Mutual Fund Operations as the Assistant Vice President of Corporate Quality, Jodi Flynn set off on a new adventure and founded her coaching business. Her specialty is partnering with women who experience self-doubt and feel overwhelmed to overcome stress, get organized, and start creating the business and the lifestyle they dreamed of having.

Her podcast, Women Taking the Lead, inspires women from humble beginnings to overcome self-doubt and lead with confidence, integrity and a sense of humor. The podcast has hit #1 in 3 categories of iTunes’ New and Noteworthy: Business, Careers, and Society and Culture.

Playing Small Moment

This happened after Jodi decided to not complete her Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology. She was looking in the newspaper back in 2000, for a job to pay the bills. She found jobs that paid from $22,000 to $24,000 and then there was a gap. She also saw jobs that paid $30,000 and up. She played small because she ended up going for the $22,000 job, which ended up paying a lot more than the $30,000 a year jobs, since she had been promoted over five times.

The Wake Up Call

Jodi’s ‘aha’ moment happened when she was reading a book called a New Earth, by Eckhart Tolle. He compared human consciousness to the evolution of a flower and stated that we are in a time where we as humans are experiencing a leap in consciousness. Just like the flower, the environment does not fully support it. The more people that experience this awakening, the more suitable the environment will become for more and more people to shift in consciousness. This made Jodi feel like she was on fire. She has so much energy that started flowing through her body. Jodi realized at that moment, this is why she was here.

Style of Leadership

Jodi is very nurturing, supportive, and naturally looks for the strengths/skills in others. She gets a thrill out of helping someone realize how capable they are. Jodi is a leader with high expectations. She is result oriented. Jodi’s favorite clients are the action takers.

What Are You Excited About?

Jodi is doing a free webinar called How to be Recognized and Rewarded For the Work You Do

Leadership Practice

Paying attention to the vibe in the room. Jodi does not make assumptions; she looks for the opportunity to connect with people.

Book to Develop Leadership

The Slight Edge: Turning Simple Disciplines into Massive Success and Happiness by Jeff Olsen

Advice For Younger Self

Don't lose faith. Worry and despair represent symptoms of you trying to control things that you have no control over. Set your goals, do your best, find enjoyment, and trust that God is taking care of the rest.

Inspirational Quote

"Life shrinks, or expands in proportion to one’s courage. ~ Anaïs Nin

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” ~ Helen Keller

Interview Links

https://womentakingthelead.com

https://womentakingthelead.com/jodi-flynn/

Elizabeth Ross Holmstrom is the Founder and President of BreakTogether. Elizabeth founded BreakTogether to improve health and work in office/tech environments. With twenty years of health and wellness design experience, most recently as VP with a national bank and 26,000 employees, she’s witnessed the power of mindfulness. We’ve spent decades creating new ways to connect 24/7, leading to significant increases in stress-related illnesses. Her proven methods help people work better in 2-10 minutes a day, unplugged. When she isn’t practicing, she may be mountain biking on the nearest wooded trail and singing along the way.

Click to tweet: .@BreakTogetherME is sharing her story to inspire you on Women Taking the Lead https://womentakingthelead.com/243 #inspiration

Playing Small Moment

Several years ago, Elizabeth was given the opportunity to manage a new program that lead 70 different work groups. On one of their monthly calls, someone on the client team berated members of her team over something insignificant and Elizabeth had to change conversation topics. After the group call was over, she took a walk to calm down before meeting with this person one-on-one. During their call, Elizabeth stood up for herself, despite her fears, and ended up forming a very good working relationship with that person.

Style of Leadership

Elizabeth searches for strengths in others. She feels it is always best to work on the things you are good at, and collaborate with others on the things you aren’t good at.

What Are You Excited About?

Elizabeth is thrilled about her new website updates. Now that she has a clearer product and a clearer path to describe, she is excited her website will reflect that.

Current Business Challenge

Elizabeth struggles prioritizing her to-do list. She needs to focus on important tasks and not get sucked into other things when she logs on.

Leadership Practice

Elizabeth is compassionate and always strives to listen and understand where people are coming from so she can better serve them.

Advice For Younger Self

“Trust your intuitions.”

Inspirational Quote

“There’s no such thing as a weird human being, its just that some people might require more understanding than others.”  ~Tom Robbins

Links

Website: http://www.breaktogether.net
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethrossholmstrom/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BreakTogetherME
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BreakTogether/
Email: Elizabeth@breaktogether.net
Office: 207-370-9055

Thank You to Our Sponsors

Zola Registry: Zola is an all-in-one wedding registry that will do anything for love. Register for the things that you need and want, as well as experiences, cash funds, and honeymoon funds – all in one place! Choose products from their beautifully curated assortment in the Zola store, and ask for contributions towards your honeymoon…or anything at all! To sign up and get a $50 credit towards your registry, click here.

Zebralove Web Solutions: Your website tells a story about your business! At Zebralove Web Solutions, Milly and her team are going to make sure your website tells the story you want your customers to hear. Connect with Milly at zebralovewebsolutions.com to create the impression you want to make!

Resources

Private Facebook Community: Chat, share and collaborate with other women in the community!

Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing: A simple, step by step system that gives you the foundation and structure to take your goals and make them happen.

The Accomplished Community: A community of entrepreneurial Type A women uniting to achieve their biggest goals with confidence, integrity and a sense of humor.

Subscribe to Women Taking the Lead

If you enjoyed this episode subscribe in iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Google Play Music or iHeart Radio and never miss out on inspiration and community!

Cathi is an internationally acclaimed expert in the ancient art of Feng Shui. She has 20+ years’ experience consulting and teaching and has worked with over 1,000 clients around the globe. Cathi's work has helped clients increase revenue, reduce stress, resolve conflicts, build health and more. She is the host of the Feng Shui Mastery Show podcast.

Playing Small Moment

Cathi believes that often our environments are dictating, they try to convince us we must stay small. She shares the start of her entrepreneurial journey at the age of 8, and tells of her experience looking after cars for fans during matches.

The Wake Up Call

A cancelled job in Japan to mend Cathi’s hip resulted in her wake up call. Cathi learned so much about healing while in traction. She started reading about Zen and Chinese philosophy which resulted in becoming more observant about her surroundings.

Style of Leadership

Cathi comes from a holistic perspective and believes in taking care of all of the elements. Her leadership style is inclusive, global and involves the five elemental balance.

What Are You Excited About?

Cathi is excited about her upcoming projects. She is currently creating a video for her space clearing procedures and offering all-in-one Feng Shui kits.

Leadership Practice

Communication makes Cathi a better leader. Being honest with herself is a very important role in her communication style.

Book to Develop Leadership

Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Eker

http://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Millionaire-Mind-Mastering-Wealth/dp/0060763280

What Would You Change?

Cathi would tell her younger self that even if you think you can’t do something, still go and do it. Still take those steps to that vision, no matter how much you feel you can’t do it.

Inspirational Quote

“A mathematical journey with geometrical intrigue.”

Interview Links

http://www.fengshuimasteryshow.com

http://www.wealthyspaces.com

https://www.facebook.com/Cathi-Hargaden-143654305651664/timeline/?notif_t=page_user_activity

If you enjoyed this episode subscribe in iTunes or Stitcher Radio and never miss out on inspiration and community!

Abbie McGilvery is a Social Media Magician (okay, a Social Media Strategist, but that’s close enough!) She serves as an adviser, guide, and mentor for the business owners she works with. Abbie has been called a Marketing Maven and a Networking Expert, but prefers to think of herself as a creative "social media scrapbooker" with a focus on helping business owners build brand visibility and tell their stories on social media channels. Abbie helps business owners, creatives, and leaders get clear on what they do, who they are, and how to share their gifts with the world.

Playing Small Moment

Abbie dimmed her light for many years because she was afraid someone else would dim it for her. She thought people wouldn’t be ready for her energy. So, when she found herself in a moment of panic after being let go from a job, she went into an interview carrying her doubt and uncertainty on her sleeve. She forgot to interview the company to see if the position they were offering was even a good fit for her. The experience taught her some hard lessons and crushed her spirit. 

The Wake Up Call

Abbie was rudely confronted about a photo she used in a company publication. Instead of having a conversation with her, the manager aggressively accused and bullied her. The situation ended with her separation from the organization. She vowed never to allow herself to be treated in that way again and she would make sure the next job she took would be something she wanted.      

Style of Leadership

Abbie says there are three things a leader should be or do. They are: 1) Leaders should understand that they do not have to be perfect. 2) Leaders should sit within the circle of their team. 3) Leaders should be authentic and show people what it’s like to be the culture of their organization.

Current Leadership Challenge

Abbie’s current leadership challenge is her plan to scale up. Her service based business will be adding people and they need to have the same values and beliefs she has. 

What Are You Excited About?

Abbie is excited about the possibility of helping people pinpoint their dreams and to figure out how they can focus more energy in that direction.

What Does Your Business Support System Look Like?

Abbie figured out that humans were meant to be surviving in tribes by working together and sharing talents. Her best friend and co-worker Angie, along with her parents are always there for her.

Leadership Practice

Abbie’s practice of showing up and listening to other leaders she aspires to be like make her a more effective leader. 

Book to Develop Leadership

Rising Strong by Brene Brown

Advice For Younger Self

“Be big, be bold and don’t ever let anyone dim your light.” 

Inspirational Quote

"In a gentle way, you can shake the world." ~ Mahatma Gandhi

“The woman who does not require validation from anyone is the most feared individual on the planet.” ~ Mohadesa Najumi

Links

Web: http://www.fromthenestsocial.com/

Facebook Business Page: https://www.facebook.com/fromthenestsocial/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/FunkyFabAb

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funkyfabab/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abbiemcgilvery

Find more resources at https://womentakingthelead.com

In the last 100% Jodi episode, we covered what to consider when you are reviewing your responsibilities to decide what you need to focus on and what needs to find a new home. In this episode we’ll cover your next steps to make those change so you are focusing on those tasks that only you can do or those tasks that will get you closer to accomplishing your goals.

Let’s do a quick recap. In the episode, Are You Afraid of Success or Are You Afraid of More Responsibility?, I challenged you to consider that what might be holding you back from pursuing your next big opportunity may be an underlying concern that if you take anything else on, you’ll get crushed by the weight of responsibilities.

If you feel like you are narrowly hanging on in your current role, the thought of an expanded role would logically be out of the question. However, what I typically find working with women leaders is that they are more than competent to take on a greater role, but they have not adjusted how they are operating as a leader to allow more bandwidth.

There are many reasons for this and some are easy to address by asking a question, making a decision and following up to see it through.

Some reasons require addressing our mindset and the identity we are holding on to that is trapping us in a situation where we are doing work that we don’t need to do or could reassign.

In the episode, What Responsibilities Should You Keep?, I guided you through a process of deciding what responsibilities needed to be realigned based on the resources you have, your values, and your goals.

If you have not listened to those episodes yet hit pause and go back to give them a listen. These episodes will set you up to get the most out of what I’m going to cover with you now.

I hope with these 3 episodes you now see the opportunity that delegating and realigning your commitments can create.

I’ve gotten feedback from some of you that you need a place to start to begin the process. I hear you and this past week I created a quick and simple worksheet that will help you identify all the variables you need to think about as you start having conversations and making decisions.

If you would like work with me on any of this, I invite you to sign up for a Responsibility Remodel Session. I would love to help you lift some of the weight of responsibility off your shoulders and do it in a way that makes you and those around you feel good.

I hope this was of value to you and here’s to your success!

Thank You to Our Sponsors!

Zebralove Web Solutions: Your website tells a story about your business! At Zebralove Web Solutions, Milly and her team are going to make sure your website tells the story you want your customers to hear. Connect with Milly at zebralovewebsolutions.com to create the impression you want to make!

Resources

Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing: A simple, step by step system that gives you the foundation and structure to take your goals and make them happen.

Create Goals that are Worthy of you: If you are done with either pursuing vanilla goals, suffering through the struggle of goals that are not aligned with your strengths, or dealing with heartbreak of an unattainable goal this course is for you!

Hira Ali is a Leadership Trainer, Speaker, Writer, ICF accredited Coach & Licensed NLP Practitioner. Over the past decade she has trained and coached hundreds of professionals belonging to various professions, cadres & ethnicities . Hira's articles have been have been featured in The ICF The Huffington Post, Thrive Global as well as Ellevate Network (a few of them have been shared by Arianna Huffington herself) She is regularly invited at various forums to talk on Leadership and Personal Development topics. Her self-development podcast 8 Minutes of Learning With Hira Ali has been featured in the Huff Post. Hira is the founder of ed Management Consulting, Advancing Your Potential & Revitalize and Rise.

Click to tweet: .@advancingyou is sharing her story to inspire you on Women Taking the Lead https://womentakingthelead.com/235 #inspiration

Playing Small Moment

While in school, Hira was terrified to speak in front of her peers, to the point of refusing to turn up to a speech she could be chosen at. Later, this caused her to cry as she was a good student with a lot to say. She now tries to push herself forward in those situations, but it still happens from time to time. Hira has to ask herself, “What is the worst that can happen?”

Style of Leadership

Hira’s leadership is always evolving. When she was managing a team in person, Hira took on more of a team leader role. Now that she is in the online world, her leadership has changed from people-oriented, to task-oriented. Hira is working on mixing the two.

What Are You Excited About?

Hira is working on her book and new online training program right now.

Current Business Challenge

Hira finds working remotely with teams can be challenging, especially when they are abroad. Hira tries to work one-on-one with her team and coordinate times that works for everyone.

Leadership Practice

Hira creates a good, but realistic, vision for her team in order to keep them motivated and driven.

Advice For Younger Self

Even up to a year ago, Hira would tell herself to be more focused and prioritize.

Inspirational Quote

“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right.” ~Henry Ford

Links

Website: www.advancingyourpotential.com
Website: www.revitalizeandrise.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hira-ali-5972b91b
Twitter: https://twitter.com/advancingyou
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/advancingyour/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/advancingyourpotential/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/edmanagementconsulting/

Thank You to Our Sponsors

Zebralove Web Solutions: Your website tells a story about your business! At Zebralove Web Solutions, Milly and her team are going to make sure your website tells the story you want your customers to hear. Connect with Milly at zebralovewebsolutions.com to create the impression you want to make!

Resources

Private Facebook Community: Chat, share and collaborate with other women in the community!

Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing: A simple, step by step system that gives you the foundation and structure to take your goals and make them happen.

The Accomplished Community: A community of entrepreneurial Type A women uniting to achieve their biggest goals with confidence, integrity and a sense of humor.

Subscribe to Women Taking the Lead

If you enjoyed this episode subscribe in iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Google Play Music or iHeart Radio and never miss out on inspiration and community!

This episode is Part 2 in a conversation I began with Mary-Theresa Tringale about her 7-step process to creating successful events.

Mary-Theresa Tringale, currently a resident of Portland, Maine and working full-time as the Manager of Events and Sponsorships at WinterKids, also runs her own business as an Events Strategist & Producer helping entrepreneurs and organizations plan their first live events the right way.

A myriad of careers across the country have helped bring M-T to where she is now. These included: Director of Catering for a Best of Boston Restaurant, Women’s Day Magazine Sales Assistant and Integrated Marketing Manager and Events Specialist for Men’s Journal in NYC , and Marketing Manager of Advertising at Portland Press Herald.

She is the creator of the first Varsity Maine Awards in 2016, as well as played a crucial role as a founding member and now Past - President in development of the iconic The Maine Women’s Conference, the first of its kind in Maine.

She loves to guide transformative coaches or organizations with specific initiatives through the experience of creating an event that will be transformative (for your business, community, audience, clientele) and impactful and reaches people around the world.

In this episode Mary and I discuss...

• Team: understanding what kind of support you have that you don't have to pay for and the kind of support you will need to pay for. Ask for and allow yourself to receive support so your best can come forth!
• Budget: Your budget starts with your original vision. What in your vision is going to cost money? It finishes with how much money you actually made what you actually spent money on so if you do your event again you have information on which to make decisions.
• The many different ways you can bring income in around your event.
• Timeline: based on your mission, vision, budget and event date. Start with the end in mind, the date you've confirmed with your venue and work your way back to today.

Links

Want to consult with Mary to then take it from there and/or hand over the execution of the event to your team? Mary offers virtual and in-person intensive to guide you through all the steps so you have the knowledge and the plan to lead yourself and your team through all the stages of planning and delivering an amazing experience to your community. Find out more here: https://www.marytheresatringale.com/intensive

Work with Mary to craft a personalized Mission Statement [Special discount for Women Taking the Lead listeners!]:  www.marytheresatringale.com/wtlmission

You can also find her on...

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marytheresa.tringale

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marytheresatringale

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mary.theresa.tringale

Thank You to Our Sponsors

Zebralove Web Solutions: Close your online marketing skills gap, learn how to remain relevant in a quickly changing marketplace, and get ongoing support in promoting your businesses online. Stay ahead of the game by signing up for these Digital Marketing Forum. Go to womentakingthelead.com/zebraworkshops to register.

Resources

Create Goals that are Worthy of you: If you are done with either pursuing vanilla goals, suffering through the struggle of goals that are not aligned with your strengths, or dealing with heartbreak of an unattainable goal this course is for you!

Private Facebook Community: Chat, share and collaborate with other women listening to the podcast!

Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing: A simple, step by step system that gives you the foundation and structure to take your goals and make them happen.

Are you looking to enhance your leadership skills and create a positive feedback culture within your team?

Constructive feedback is an essential aspect of effective leadership. It empowers team members to grow, improve, and reach their full potential. That's why I have Lynae Remindino back. She’s sharing best practices for providing feedback that drive positive change.

Better yet, Lynae is also sharing a model that guides leaders through feedback meetings, ensuring a collaborative and supportive approach.

In this episode Lynae and I discuss:

💡 The GROW model: Goal, Reality, Options, Way Forward. This framework helps guide leaders through the process of providing coaching and feedback.

💡 The importance of reflection first: Take time to evaluate your own role in setting expectations and identify areas for improvement. This prepares you to approach the conversation constructively.

💡 Understanding the value of feedback: Ask yourself why providing feedback is important and how it will benefit the individual, the team, and overall performance.

💡 Shifting your mindset from conflict to coaching: Approach feedback conversations as opportunities for growth and collaboration, rather than focusing on correcting someone or creating conflict.

💡 Fostering open dialogue and understand perspectives: Seek to understand the other person's viewpoint, as their interpretation of events may differ from yours. This allows for a more comprehensive and constructive conversation.

Resources

Episode Show Notes: Transcript and links mentioned in this episode.

Register for the How to Get Mentally Fit webinar: Learn the 3 core muscles to build to gain mental fitness.

Apply to be on an “On-Air Coaching” episode: Are you a female leader who has been promoted in the last year? You are invited to apply to be on the podcast.

Leadership Operating System Quiz: Wondering what kind of Leadership traits you have? Take this FREE, FAST quiz and find out more about yourself as a Leader.

Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing: The book containing a simple, step by step system that gives you the foundation and structure to take your goals and make them happen.

Leadership Coaching: If you are interested in finding out more about my coaching process, the cost of coaching, or how to ask your employer to pay for you to work with a coach.

Joe De Sena - the founder and CEO of Spartan Race, the world's leading obstacle racing company.

Following several successful entrepreneurial adventures and a career on Wall Street, Joe moved his family to Pittsfield, Vermont to operate an organic farm, a bed and breakfast, and a general store for hikers. It was here his passion grew for ultramarathons, adventure races, and endurance events. His racing resume is the stuff of legend – over 50 ultra-events overall and 14 Ironman events in one year alone. It was in Vermont the idea for the Spartan Race was born. 

With more than 200 events in 30+ countries planned for 2017, Spartan Race has more than 1 million global participants offering open heats for all fitness levels and ages, as well as competitive and elite heats. The company has two popular NBC television series, making obstacle racing one of the fastest growing sports—and lifestyles— in the world.

Joe’s message of inspiration and personal transformation, combined with his status as a two-time New York Times Best Selling Author of “Spartan Up” and “Spartan Fit.”, makes him a popular keynote speaker and public figure. Joe currently lives in Tokyo, Japan with his wife Courtney and their four children. 

Click to tweet: .@SpartanRace is sharing his story to inspire you on Women Taking the Lead https://womentakingthelead.com/220 #inspiration

A Woman Who Has Influenced Your Life

In the 1970s, Joe’s mother entered a health food store and met a yogi from India who changed her life. After that trip to the store, she began meditation, adopted a vegan diet and started teaching yoga. These new life changes made Joe’s mother an outcast and resulted in his parents getting a divorce. Joe learned to follow what he believed was right in his heart.

Trends He Sees That Hold Women Back

Both women and men need to believe in themselves more. Believing in yourself can allow you to push through when things seem stacked against you.

What He Has Learned From Women

Joe is confident that women are definitely tougher than men, probably due to biological reasons. In his races, he has witnessed women with a higher tolerance for pain and an unwillingness to quit.

The Necessary Changes

Women need to believe in themselves and stop talking about the things that are limiting them. Joe believes that you need to take control and make things happen. You may not get recognized for your hard work right away, but keep at it and you will.

What Are You Excited About

Joe is currently writing a third book called Spartan X, which he hopes will help people 10X their lives. He is also working on expanding obstacle racing to 20 new countries, and even adding it to the Olympics.

Inspirational Quote

“It could be worse.”

Links

Website: https://spartan.com
Email: joe@spartan.com
Spartan Up Podcast: https://spartan.com/en/media/podcast/episodes
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SpartanRace

Thank You to Our Sponsors

altMBA: Seth Godin’s altMBA workshop is an intensive leadership and management workshop designed for changemakers who have a fire in the belly. This is for people who are itching to level up and make a bigger impact. Find out more at: altmba.com/womentakingthelead

Zebralove Web Solutions: Your website tells a story about your business! At Zebralove Web Solutions, Milly and her team are going to make sure your website tells the story you want your customers to hear. Connect with Milly at zebralovewebsolutions.com to create the impression you want to make!

Resources

Private Facebook Community: Chat, share and collaborate with other women in the community!

Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing: A simple, step by step system that gives you the foundation and structure to take your goals and make them happen.

The Accomplished Community: A community of entrepreneurial Type A women uniting to achieve their biggest goals with confidence, integrity and a sense of humor.

Subscribe to Women Taking the Lead

If you enjoyed this episode subscribe in iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Google Play Music or iHeart Radio and never miss out on inspiration and community!

Alison Cardy is a career coach who runs an international career coaching team specializing in guiding people through career changes. Her team’s work focuses on that crucial step before job searching: helping you figure out what it is you actually want to be doing with your life. She and her team have guided hundreds of people, in every industry imaginable, to innovative and functional career solutions.

Alison is the author of the 5-star rated, bestseller, Career Grease: How to Get Unstuck and Pivot Your Career. Her work has been featured on Monster, Forbes, The Muse, Undercover Recruiter, and The Washington Post.  

Click to tweet: .@cardycareers is sharing her story to inspire you on Women Taking the Lead https://womentakingthelead.com/221 #inspiration

Playing Small Moment

Alison was so used to following the path her parents put in front of her, that she got stuck in a safe routine. Realizing she had to break out of the cycle, she hopped on the Metro to DC for a solo trip. Once she stepped out of the fear, she looked around and saw it for what it was.

The Wake Up Call

Alison naturally focuses internally. When she transitioned into leading team, she realized things were getting a little rocky. Alison realized there was a blindspot getting in her way and had to refocus.

Style of Leadership

Alison takes care of herself, but is always trying to look at ways she can lift up the people in her world. She wants people to know she is not just in it for her, but them too.

What Are You Excited About?

Alison is excited about her book, “Career Grease: How to Get Unstuck and Pivot Your Career”

Current Business Challenge

Alison enjoys work and sometimes struggles to turn off her work brain in the middle of the night.

Leadership Practice

Alison actually cares.

Advice For Younger Self

“Keep doing those scary things.”

Inspirational Quote

“Your real life, your whole life is worth getting your heart broken a few thousand times.” ~Martha Beck

Links

Website: http://www.cardycareercoaching.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cardycareercoaching/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cardycareers
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alisoncardy

Thank You to Our Sponsors

Freshbooks: The all new FreshBooks makes ridiculously easy accounting software that’s completely transformed how freelancers and small business owners deal with their day-to-day paperwork. Get a 30 day, unrestricted free trial go to FreshBooks.com/lead and enter WOMEN TAKING THE LEAD in the “How Did You Hear About Us?” section.

altMBA: Seth Godin's altMBA workshop is an intensive leadership and management workshop designed for changemakers who have a fire in the belly. This is for people who are itching to level up and make a bigger impact. Find out more at: altmba.com/womentakingthelead

Zebralove Web Solutions: Your website tells a story about your business! At Zebralove Web Solutions, Milly and her team are going to make sure your website tells the story you want your customers to hear. Connect with Milly at zebralovewebsolutions.com to create the impression you want to make!

Resources

Private Facebook Community: Chat, share and collaborate with other women in the community!

Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing: A simple, step by step system that gives you the foundation and structure to take your goals and make them happen.

The Accomplished Community: A community of entrepreneurial Type A women uniting to achieve their biggest goals with confidence, integrity and a sense of humor.

Subscribe to Women Taking the Lead

If you enjoyed this episode subscribe in iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Google Play Music or iHeart Radio and never miss out on inspiration and community!

Steve Kidd is a 3rd Generation minister and business coach who has actually been selling since he was 5 years old! He is the first ever male host on the eWN Radio Network with his show Thriving Entrepreneur. Steve works with his wife Kathy and together they are WeHelpYouTHRIVE.com where they help people discover their passion and release it with authority to the world.

http://womentakingthelead.com/steve-kidd-2/

Lynda Adams has worn many hats and is never afraid to try something new in order to expand her horizons! She has been exploring personal and professional development for a number of years and has a desire to educate people how to have more fulfillment and success in all areas of their lives.  She is the Marketing Director for Essential Living Maine magazine; a host for the Portland, Maine WMPG radio show, Successful Balanced Living; a coach teaching people how to build residual based income; and was recently elected to the Westbrook, Maine City Council.

Click to tweet: Lynda Adams is sharing her story to inspire you on Women Taking the Lead https://womentakingthelead.com/217 #inspiration

Playing Small Moment

Though Lynda had previous experience as a singer in a band, Lynda was not comfortable with public speaking. When Lynda was asked to do a presentation before a well-known and—to her—a more experienced speaker, she panicked. At first, Lynda turned down the opportunity, but ended up changing her mind. On the day of the event, her nerves were through the roof to the point that she had felt physically ill. Somehow, she willed herself on stage during her time to speak and survived. After the event, that same well-known speaker came up to Lynda and shocked her with his comments about her presentation. Lynda learned a lot that day about playing small.

The Wake Up Call

After working as a city clerk for 7 years, Lynda craved more from her career. She was eyeing a job that would give her more time to work on her network marketing business and was assured she would get the position. Lynda was crushed to find out that they had given the position to someone else, as she had already mapped out her future plans. This pushed Lynda to step away from her city job completely and jump into her network marketing business full time. A couple of months later, her path changed again for the better.

Style of Leadership

Lynda has the natural ability to get along with pretty much everyone and allow them to open up and share things they wouldn’t necessarily share with others. Lynda asks a lot of questions and really listens. When people are allowed to be heard, they talk more and you have the ability to learn more.

What Are You Excited About?

Lynda is thinking about buying Essential Living Maine magazine, but also working with the owner over the next year to double the reach of the publication.

Current Business Challenge

Lynda is currently trying to stay balanced and healthy. She does know how to say no, but when something enticing comes along, it seems to escape her vocabulary.

Leadership Practice

Lynda loves to give people compliments and watch them shine. She believes that people don’t receive enough compliments and it really inspires them to want to do more.

Advice For Younger Self

Lynda would tell her younger self to listen to her gut instinct more and tune into her spiritual side.

Inspirational Quote

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord, your God, is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

Links

Web:  www.successfulbalancedliving.com
Email: info@successfulbalancedliving.com
Facebook:  www.facebook.com/successfulbalancedliving

Thank You to Our Sponsors

altMBA: Seth Godin’s altMBA workshop is an intensive leadership and management workshop designed for changemakers who have a fire in the belly. This is for people who are itching to level up and make a bigger impact. Find out more at: altmba.com/womentakingthelead

Zebralove Web Solutions: Your website tells a story about your business! At Zebralove Web Solutions, Milly and her team are going to make sure your website tells the story you want your customers to hear. Connect with Milly at zebralovewebsolutions.com to create the impression you want to make!

Resources

Private Facebook Community: Chat, share and collaborate with other women in the community!

Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing: A simple, step by step system that gives you the foundation and structure to take your goals and make them happen.

The Accomplished Community: A community of entrepreneurial Type A women uniting to achieve their biggest goals with confidence, integrity and a sense of humor.

Subscribe to Women Taking the Lead

If you enjoyed this episode subscribe in iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Google Play Music or iHeart Radio and never miss out on inspiration and community!

Sabiha Vorajee is the Founder & CEO at High Value Woman. She is passionate about helping women tap into their innate power through utilizing the skills and talents they already have, and leveraging them in our dynamic world, so they can have the success they want, and earn the money they dream of.

www.womentakingthe.com/sabiha-vorajee

Before her immersion in health and fitness, Nicole LaBonde was a professional dancer, choreographer and actor in Philadelphia and Miami. Nicole is a certified Pilates instructor through the prestigious Romana’s Pilates program. She is the creatrix of CABARRET, a dance fitness class that blends toning barre work and cardio burlesque dance- a calorie-burning, muscle-sculpting, sexy workout! She is a contributing writer on Health, Fitness and Wellness for several online magazines and outlets.

http://womentakingthelead.com/nicole-labonde/

What Nearly Toppled Me

I did my first live webinar for Women Taking the Lead last week and I’m glad it’s done.

Don’t get me wrong. It was awesome. It was amazing. And the size and scope of it nearly toppled me.

And, now I know I can do it again.

The foundation has been created and each time I do a webinar it will be easier and I can identify ways to tweak it a little bit to constantly be improving.

Stretching to Accomplish New Things is Good

I was reflecting on this experience prior to doing the webinar while I was home visiting for Easter. I was trying to not to let the work and worry of the webinar interfere with the celebration.

Honestly, what gave me a little peace was the thought that it’s meant to be like this.

Am I supposed to stress myself out with each new thing? No.

I can see in retrospect some things I could have done to spread the work out more and to support myself.

But I (and you), if we want to live amazing lives, we have to find opportunities to stretch our current abilities. This is one of the ways in which we grow.

Sometimes life throws things at us and we’re forced to grow, whether we’re ready or not. But for the most part we have a choice in the areas we want to grow and how fast we want to grow.

How To Support Yourself While You Stretch

For myself, I’m a big fan of the Slight Edge philosophy; doing little things every single day to get just a little bit better.

For the webinar, when I wasn’t rushing at the end, I was watching a couple short videos each day and working on one or two slides at a time.

When I had to learn new software I would give myself more frequent and longer breaks because that is not my strong suit. I can learn new technology, and have a lot of fun with it once I do, but learning it takes effort and concentration. It’s not intuitive to me and frankly it makes me nervous at times.

But I do it, I take it slow, and I celebrate when it’s done.

I’ve got some steps you can take to just get started and feeling more comfortable stretching yourself in a new area.

Keep in mind, though I’m going to have you set a goal, the focus in these steps is not the goal, the focus is on mindset and forming new habits that will support you in attaining any goal.

Here are your steps:

1. Identify something you want to accomplish

Something. Anything. Think of the life you’d rather be living and identify something you can start working towards now.

2. Set a date by which you can reasonably accomplish this

Don’t make it too tight. Life happens and you don’t want to blame life events for the reason you didn’t hit your deadline. And not too far out either. Remember, the deadline provides motivation. If it’s too far out you won’t make this a priority.

3. Identify an easy daily practice you can put into place 

This will support you in working toward your goal.

It should take no more than 20 minutes a day though somewhere between 5 and 15 minutes is ideal.

4. Get Someone In Your Corner

Who can you count on whom you can check in with, and that you feel comfortable being honest with, about your progress? That’s your accountability partner. Ask them if they are up for the task.

5. Get started

Don’t put it off. There’s no better time than now.

Of course there will be other things you will have on your to do list to accomplish this goal but you need to look at this daily practice as the foundation. It will keep you on track and moving toward your goal even if life gets crazy.

Here’s an example from my life.

Identify a goal. I want to begin building a team this year and I know it’s going to start with a virtual assistant who can help me with tasks around the promotion of the episodes of Women Taking the Lead. Something that needs to happen first is getting sponsors for the podcast. This, like the webinar, is new and definitely out of my comfort zone but I know I can do it. I’ve got the media kit ready to go and I know other podcasters who have sponsors so I know I can ask them any questions as they come up for me.

Set a date. I think it’s very reasonable that I could have my first paid sponsor within 30 days.

Daily practice. A daily practice would start with making a list of brands that I think align with my mission and would benefit from being my sponsor. I’m looking for a win-win! Once that is done my daily practice would be to send 2 customized emails to potential sponsors.

Accountability partner. I already have an accountability partner, Kim, whom I check in with every Monday at 9 am.

Getting Started. Today, I’m going to spend 15-20 minutes researching companies that share my mission and that my audience would love. Tomorrow, I’ll create an email template that I’ll customize to each company that I reach out to so I’m not recreating the wheel so to speak with each email I send.

Now it’s your turn. Go through the steps until you have your foundation and you are ready to start. If you find getting started difficult start with something fun or light to ease into the process and get used to it.

What do you want to accomplish this year?

https://womentakingthelead.com/accomplished

Anna Lenhart is the founder of the Next Generation of Service, an online alternative career center that encourages recent graduates to start their career with a Year of Service. Anna graduated from Carnegie Mellon University.  Using her Fulbright Grant, she studied sustainable waste management practices in Namibian townships.  She has since staked a role in the San Diego community as a Salesforce and technology consultant, working primarily with non-profits and start-up companies. Anna is also an ambassador for the Franklin Project.  She loves surfing, rock climbing, and camping; and has visited 23/53 of the United States National Parks.

Playing Small Moment

Anna tried working with universities for funding. After the realization that it was too difficult working with universities for funding, they had to revert to traditional ways. Anna felt uncomfortable asking for donations and often came across as timid. Once she spoke to other non-profit founders, she had to change the way she approached donors and kicked up her confidence.

The Wake Up Call

With Anna’s unique skill set, she often gets offered full-time jobs with large salaries while she is doing freelance work. She makes sure to carefully examine her current situation before turning down a job offer. As a result, others often question her about those decisions once they learn she has turned down those large salaries. 

Style of Leadership

Anna has different methods depending on what/whom she is leading. She leads her construction engineering differently. In not-for-profit, she looks for very specific people that “get it”. Skill set is not as important as the passion people hold for the project you are working on. The key is to surround yourself with the right people.

What Are You Excited About?

Recently, they collaborated with the Positive Impact Podcast to hold an upcoming week long summit featuring successful individuals who got their start with a year of service.

Leadership Practice

Anna finds that she has a tendency to blurt out what she is saying, so she is trying hard to listen to everyone and hear what they really have to say.

Book to Develop Leadership

Rising Strong by Brené Brown

What Would You Change?

Anna wishes she knew when she was younger that relationships are actually the most important things you have. She wishes she had been less of a jerk as she has a competitive nature that often came between friends.

Inspirational Quote

“Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pool of what you really love, it won’t lead you astray.” - Rumi

Interview Links

Next Generation of Service: http://ngsmovement.org/

Franklin Project: http://www.franklinproject.org/

Journey to Social Entrepreneurship (Upcoming Online Summit): http://journeytosocialentrepreneurship.com/

Emily was a self-starter from the get-go and began her trajectory of being her own boss by owning a tanning salon in college –

no joke. From there, she started making and selling jewelry online which fueled her passion for online business as a whole. She

moved from designing jewelry to designing websites at Indie Shopography where her natural talent for coding, project management, and ability to use metrics to make calculated decisions has allowed her to continue to expand her reach and impact for online business owners ever since.

Emily uses that experience to share what she knows about building an online business on the Being Boss podcast, where she inspires, writes, and curates content to help creatives own their path and be more boss.

Playing Small Moment

When Emily moved her jewelry store off of Etsy and on to her own website she decided to sell web design to others interested in doing the same. Her playing small moment came when she undervalued her own work even when she knew it was worth more.

The Wake Up Call

Emily woke up one day and knew she had to do a podcast with her partner Kathleen. When a fairly large company contacted them about a sponsorship she realized the podcast was cultivating a community that was hungry for the information they provided.   

Style of Leadership

Emily likes to keep things as transparent as possible and she refuses to ask someone to do something she would not do herself. 

What Are You Excited About?

Emily is excited about re-launching the Being Boss Club House. It’s a result-focused, paid membership group for their ‘bosses’.

Current Business Challenge

Emily finds the daily grind of leading a seven-person team challenging. She is responsible for doling out tasks, keeping things organized and making the business run smoothly.

Your Support System

Emily has a six-person support team. There is Kathleen, who is Emily’s business partner at Being Boss.  Her baby daddy and money man makes sure people get paid, and a four-person team of people makes the website and podcast work.

Leadership Practice

Taking an interest in other people is one of the things that makes Emily a great leader.

Book to Develop Leadership

Rework, by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier

Advice For Younger Self

Wake up earlier.

Inspirational Quote

Emily’s one-word focus intention is Grace and her word of the month is Joy.

Links

Web: http://www.beingboss.club

Web: http://www.emilymthompson.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/emilym_thompson

Twitter: http://twitter.com/beingbossclub

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emilym_thompson 

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/beingbossclub

Thank You to Our Sponsors

Jewel's Custom Books: Every child wants to be the hero of their own story! With a Jewel’s Custom Book your child plays the central role in every book, bringing joy and delight when they hear their name and those of their family and friends. Visit jewelscustombooks.com to make your child the STAR of the show!

Zebralove Web Solutions: Your website tells a story about your business! At Zebralove Web Solutions, Milly and her team are going to make sure your website tells the story you want your customers to hear. Connect with Milly at zebralovewebsolutions.com to create the impression you want to make!

Private Facebook Community

https://www.facebook.com/groups/womentl/

Find more resources at https://womentakingthelead.com

Kristen is known for creating a core foundation for women to develop a powerful mindset and unstoppable energy to cross any finish line with ease and confidence. Kristen empowers women worldwide to stop settling for mediocrity, overcome obstacles and live in courage while kicking fear to the curb in a fun and inspiring way. Kristen is a regular guest, community producer and TV Host of Health Matters on Rogers TV promoting living your best life. Kristen's enthusiasm and inspiring approach is both empowering and guaranteed to leave you with confidence, courage and clarity to Step out of your way & Step into your Power.

http://womentakingthelead.com/kristen-owens

Boom Shikha is a serial entrepreneur, wanderluster, online-business owner, yogi, author, and avid meditator. She's interested in helping you find your life purpose, and get to your Level 10 life.

Playing Small Moment

The last time Boom felt like she was playing small was in the corporate world. She says they almost set up the environment for people to play small by hiding their creativity and not being themselves.   

The Wake Up Call

Boom was working at her previous job when she planned an overseas vacation. Shortly before she was ready to leave, the management team told her about an upcoming launch she would miss if she continued with her travel plans. Boom went to Asia and upon her return, her boss told her how disappointed she was that she missed the launch and that she must not care about the company. Her wake up call was the realization she wanted to control her own time. 

Style of Leadership

Boom trusts her gut and considers herself an intuitive leader.

What Are You Excited About?

Boom is excited about her current artist’s workshops and the desire to become an improv performance artist.

Current Business Challenge

Boom is challenged by continuing to trust and believe in the path the universe has for her, and keeping her ‘keeping on’ mindset.

Your Support System

Boom has a weekly Mastermind Group which gives her a community to build and grow with. Her family also supports her in her business efforts.

Leadership Practice

Meditation is a leadership practice that is crucial to Boom, making her a better leader.

Book to Develop Leadership

7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey

Advice For Younger Self

“Don’t go to University and start your business right away!”

Inspirational Quote

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

~ Marianne Williamson

Links

Website: http://www.themillionairehippie.com/

Facebook Group: http://www.whatsyourfreedomnumber.com

Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/boomshikhacoach

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/boomshikha

Find more resources at https://womentakingthelead.com

Patsy Doerr is the Chief Executive Officer of The Association of Junior Leagues International, Inc. (AJLI). Patsy leads all facets of AJLI and serves as the face of the organization, advocating in both the public and private sectors.

Patsy is a leading expert and thought leader in the field of corporate social responsibility, diversity and inclusion, and sustainability. She has been interviewed by a number of publications and programs, including Forbes, The Muse, The Hill and ThriveGlobal. Completing over 75+ keynote presentations, panel moderations and group discussion facilitations per year, Patsy is frequently tapped to discuss DEI issues.

Her greatest passion is helping organizations build and develop initiatives that best position them for long-term success in a diverse, global environment.

In this episode Patsy and I discuss...

• The work the Association of Junior Leagues International (AJLI) is doing in the world to train women and get them ready for leadership in their local and global community.
• The people who make up the membership of AJLI and why they choose to get involved in the Junior League.
• The mission AJLI has in regard to its members. How understanding the qualities and values of the people drawn to your mission can help you support them and keep them engaged.

Links

Forbes Blog: https://www.forbes.com/sites/patsydoerr/#2b288ca43bca 

Thrive Global Blog: https://thriveglobal.com/authors/patsy-doerr/ 

Articles/Interviews:

The Muse (Interview): My Job Is to Promote Diversity and Inclusion at a Major Company

The Hill (Op-ed): Gender Equality is Good for Business

Swaay (Byline): No Title No Problem:  How I Created My Own Positions Throughout My Career

PokerDivas (Podcast Interview): It May Be Diverse But Is It Inclusive

Sponsors

Zebralove Web Solutions: Close your online marketing skills gap, learn how to remain relevant in a quickly changing marketplace, and get ongoing support in promoting your businesses online. Stay ahead of the game by signing up for these Digital Marketing Forum. Go to womentakingthelead.com/zebraworkshops to register.

Resources

Create Goals that are Worthy of you: If you are done with either pursuing vanilla goals, suffering through the struggle of goals that are not aligned with your strengths, or dealing with heartbreak of an unattainable goal this course is for you!

Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing: A simple, step by step system that gives you the foundation and structure to take your goals and make them happen.

Jodie Rodenbaugh is a Love Agent with a unique triangulation of a tragic personal story, captivating professional knowledge, and a passion for increasing the life of others by empowering their love stories. She has over 20 years of professional study in human behavior and relationships, a Master’s Degree in Diversity Education, is a certified professional coach, and a gift of seeing what you cannot see yourself.

http://womentakingthelead.com/jodie-rodenbaugh/

In 2002, Sheila Ronning believed so strongly in women’s ability to serve on corporate boards that she became the founder & CEO of Women in the Boardroom. Today, as one of the nation’s top leadership and board service experts, Sheila excels at connecting influential women executives and professionals with the people and tools they need to succeed in business and the boardroom.  She has built a strong track record and a powerful network over the years, which she uses to help women achieve their goals. When asked about her secret to networking, Sheila says to “Be fearless, sincere, honest, and frank.”

Playing Small Moment

Sheila is a life learner. She was playing small when she was working for a major retailer. She realized her boss was always just dangling a carrot in front of her face. He was always giving the store management positions to the guys. Sheila was selling herself short by constantly needing to please him.  

The Wake Up Call

The aha moment Shelia can remember was when she moved from Minneapolis to New York. She didn't know anyone in NY. The relationship she moved there for had ended. Her company took a nose dive, because the financial crisis crept up and she didn't have her eye on the ball. Sheila tried to hide what was going on with her business and relationship. She didn't want anyone to see she was failing. Sheila became this really unhappy and angry person. One of her friends suggested she should try meditation.

Style of Leadership

Sheila leads by communication and authenticity. 

What Are You Excited About?

They reformatted Women from the Boardroom from an event company to a membership platform five years ago. Sheila is continuing to develop this platform for growth for getting more women on corporate boards.

Leadership Practice

Sheila meditates as her leadership practice.

Book to Develop Leadership

Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success by Adam Grant

Advice For Younger Self

There are going to be some serious bumps in the road, keep forging through. Everything happens for a reason. 

Inspirational Quote

“Remember to show up, stand up, and speak up.” ~ Sheila Ronning

Interview Links

http://womenintheboardroom.com/

https://womentakingthelead.com/sheila-ronning/

Have you ever worked on a team going through a lot of change?

I’m guessing you have many times and in many different scenarios. I’m also guessing your experience of that change had a lot to do with the level of trust that the team had for one another and the leaders of the team and/or organization.

When there is a high level of trust the impacts of the change are softened. When there is low trust change can be traumatic.

Clearly, we want to work in teams that have high trust but if that’s not the current condition, how do we get there? To answer that question I’ve asked Malia Monaco to join me for this episode.  

In this episode Malia and I talk about:

·         The work that Malia does for leaders and organizations through Positive Intelligence involving change management and trust building.

·         What it takes to build trust in teams and what becomes possible when trust grows.

·         Why it’s important to get to the root of the problem rather than tackling the symptoms, which is where many organizational initiatives go wrong.

·         How our belief system will shape what we see around us and determine whether we bring harsh judgment or blameless discernment to our reactions.

·         While insights are important, they only make up 20% of sustainable long-lasting change what makes up the other 80%.

Resources

Episode Show Notes: Other resources and links mentioned in this episode.

Saboteur Assessment. Find out which Saboteurs are impacting your performance, wellness and relationships, and also how they do it.

Leadership Coaching: If you are interested in finding out more about my coaching process, the cost of coaching, or how to ask your employer to pay for you to work with a coach.

Apply to be on an “On-Air Coaching” episode: Are you a female leader who has been promoted in the last year? You are invited to apply to be on the podcast.

Leadership Operating System Inventory. Wondering what leadership traits you have? Take this FREE, FAST self-assessment and find out more about yourself as a Leader.

Where to find Malia Monaco

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maliamonaco/

Email: malia@positiveintelligence.com

I am excited and honored to do a couple sponsor introductions to the newest (and first!) sponsors of Women Taking the lead, Zebralove Web Solutions and Jewel's Custom Books!

Meet Milly Welsh

Milly Welsh is mom to 3 young daughters. When she's not helping businesses create websites and make them easily found she's getting dirty in her garden or making pottery.

Zebralove Web Solutions
http://zebralovewebsolutions.com/
https://www.facebook.com/zebraloveweb

Meet Robin Bates

Robin and her husband Marc are foster-to-adopt parents. They have adopted 2 of their 3 children - all under the age of 5. She is busy but she loves every minute of it!

Jewel's Custom Books
http://www.jewelscustombooks.com/
robin@jewelscustombooks.com/
https://www.facebook.com/jewelscustombooks
207-221-6973

Find more resources at https://womentakingthelead.com

I hope that as you’re listening to this episode you are in a good place physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. I hope you are enjoying the season and surrounded with love. This time of year there is greater emphasis on having gratitude for what we have and to be kind to those around us.

I’m going to encourage you to especially be kind to yourself. I know you all are working so hard to hit your goals, to take care of your families and to honor your responsibilities. Just remember, you at your best can get all that done more quickly and easily than the version of you that is over-tired, feeling frazzled or unappreciated; or the you that is fighting off an illness.

Those around you are happy when you’re happy so give them what they want.

Are You Sick of Being Tired?

I also have some exciting news for the New Year. Year after year I, and many of you, experience the post-holidays fatigue. I’ve gotten the low-down from many of you. You’re so wiped from all the activity that you limp into the New Year and don’t hit your groove until late January or even February.

Let’s change that this year. Starting on January 1^st I’m going to help you get re-energized within days. I’ve done this work with my clients and it is remarkable how quickly this can help you go from feeling tired and burdened to light, energized and ready for action!

This is a Tolerations Detox. What happens is that over time in our busy lives we begin to tolerate things because we tell ourselves that we don’t have the time or energy to deal with them head on. So we ignore them, put up with them; we try to let go, move on, accept or make peace with these things but consciously or subconsciously they are still bothering us so we have to use some of our energy to try to keep them off our radar.

And when I say we have to use some of energy I mean we have to use some of our energy for each little thing we are tolerating, and the bigger the toleration the more energy it takes. And for some of us we are tolerating so many things we are expending a great deal of energy to keep from getting bogged down by them, to keep up appearance of “everything’s fine” and to stay on top of the important things that need our attention.

As our overall energy becomes depleted we start to feel busier and so we feel like we have even less time and less energy to deal with the things that bother us. These tolerations start to build like plaque and clog up our energy system.

Want to Get Back Your Energy?

To explain away our lack of energy and lack of ability to focus and engage, we say things like “It’s because I’m getting older” or “I’ve just been so busy” or “the weather is bringing me down” or, “I think I have adult ADD.”

At the end of the day you’re probably baffled by how tired you are and wonder how other people get the energy to get in a workout, go out with friends, or work on a hobby or project after dinner. While you are sitting on the couch watching TV because it’s the time you can check out and unplug from the day.

What I’m going to tell you, and I want you to sit with this, is you have as much energy as all those people. You could also be waking up in the morning jumping out of bed, rocking your day and spending your evenings doing whatever you like, whatever you find fulfilling.

What I have for you that will help you get back your energy is a Tolerations Detox Challenge.

This Challenge will kick off on January 1^st and every other day for 10 days I’m going to guide you through identifying all the little and big things you are tolerating in your life, your home, your finances, your relationships, your work and even your car or mode of transportation; not all at once, we’re going to do this little by little and I’m going to share with you how to remove the tolerations in a way that feels good to you. I’m not going to ask you to do anything that you’re not ready to do.

You’ll do this process at your pace. You’ll have a couple of days in between each challenge to remove a couple of tolerations (or more if you’re so motivated). Let me tell you, once you do a few you’re going to feel a difference and it’s going to feel great.

If you are interested in playing along with this challenge go to womentakingthelead.com/tolerations to register. Let’s kick off the New Year with a bang and with an abundance of good energy. Go to womentakingthelead.com/tolerations to sign up for the Tolerations Detox Challenge.

Pre-work to Goal Setting

Last week I promised to take you through a goal-setting process I use for myself and my clients. Today, we’re going to take the first step.

Years ago, my coach and I were talking about my goals for the coming year. Before I got into the list I had created she asked if I had captured all my accomplishments from the previous year.

It gave me pause and at first I resisted the notion.

All I could think was, "great, another task." It reminded me of preparing for my own performance reviews in the past and that thought brought me no pleasure. It felt like I had to prove I had been productive and valuable in the past year. That was a turn off.

Then she explained the reason she was asking. She said, "Often times I find I've accomplished way more than I would have given myself credit for at first glance. It's so easy to forget the small victories you've had along the way when you're focused on all the obstacles that still need to be faced to achieve the big goal."

She was right. When I started to create the list I started with the obvious. That year I had survived my second corporate acquisition with my sanity intact, for the most part. I became certified as a professional coach, started my business, took my first paying clients and performed a comedy skit in front of 150 people and received a standing ovation.

Then I started remembering the less obvious accomplishments.  There was a relationship with one of my sisters that had previously been on life support was transformed that year, I developed amazing connections with fellow coaches and business owners, I changed my coaching niche...etc.

Quiet Your Inner Critic

It had the desired effect. I was awed at what an amazing year I had, amazed at who I became in the process and grateful for all that I had faced.

Reflecting on and writing down your achievements is like a booster shot in the arm.

Giving yourself the credit you deserve increases your confidence, quiets the critical voice in your head and energizes you to go after bigger goals.

The first step to creating your goals for next year is to start with what you've achieved this past year. What worked for you? What went well? Even if it was unexpected, write it down!

We are all capable of more than we give ourselves credit for. Celebrating and remembering all our victories great and small will get us that much closer to reaching our full potential.

Do yourself a favor, take the time to sit still and reflect on the most important thing in your life: you.

And if you want to set yourself up for a great new year by playing along with the Tolerations Detox Challenge go to womentakingthelead.com/tolerations to register.  Again, that’s womentakingthelead.com/tolerations.

As always, I hope this was of value to you and here’s to your success!

Thank You to Our Sponsors!

Zebralove Web Solutions: Your website tells a story about your business! At Zebralove Web Solutions, Milly and her team are going to make sure your website tells the story you want your customers to hear. Connect with Milly at zebralovewebsolutions.com to create the impression you want to make!

Resources

Private Facebook Community: Chat, share and collaborate with other women listening to the podcast!

Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing: A simple, step by step system that gives you the foundation and structure to take your goals and make them happen.

The Accomplished Community: A community of entrepreneurial Type A women uniting to achieve their biggest goals with confidence, integrity and a sense of humor.

Brian Ligotti is a health coach and the owner of Dirigo Fitness in Falmouth, Maine. Having overcome years of struggling with his weight, being uncomfortable in his own skin, he obtained his degree in Exercise Physiology because he wanted to make sure no one ever felt the same despair he had felt. Brian spent most of his life addicted to one thing or another; food, then drugs, then food again. Fitness allowed him to find the piece of himself that could face anything and push through discomfort. It showed him that there is nothing more important than your health and that the people around you benefit when you are taking care of yourself.

A voracious learner, Brian applies the knowledge he has gained with the philosophy that helped him turn his health around: "The only way to create lasting change is to stay focused, have a clear reason for what you are doing, and be consistent with small changes."

Click to tweet: Brian Ligotti is sharing his story to inspire you on Women Taking the Lead https://womentakingthelead.com/245 #inspiration

A Woman Who Impacted You

Brian’s mom has always been a huge influence in his life. She raised three kids on her own, which was not an easy task. Considering her children often spent their free time fighting, they all turned out to be decent adults.

Another inspiration to Brian was Silvia Anthony. She grew up near his grandfather. In the 60’s after her divorce, she started homeless shelters for women with no formal training,  because she wanted to help. Mother Theresa has also impacted Brian for the same reason. Through helping one person at a time, Mother Theresa became one of the most powerful women of the 21st century.

What Hold’s Women Back from Stepping Up as Leaders?

The most common thing that Brian encounters is that women typically place everyone else before themselves, especially when it comes to fitness and self care. Women tend to think that they have to be able to do it all, all the time. If you are running yourself ragged, because you feel like you have to, that hurts everyone around you.

Another thing Brian tends to see is not choosing to be happy in the moment. He believes you have to make the decision to have a good time, despite the bad things happening.

The Benefit of Mentoring Women

Brian has learned the power of being present with someone through working with women. He finds that a lot of people, when they are speaking, are just waiting for their turn to talk, but women respond better to presence. The power of just “being” in the moment and listening with your full attention is very important.

Brian grew up around women, and one of his early survival skills was tuning things out. His mom and sisters would call him out when he wasn’t listening, so this is a practice he has been learning from early on.

The Necessary Changes

Brian feels that women need to embrace who they are at the core of their being. He has seen that women can sometimes need reassurance when they get in their own head.

Current Projects

Brian is excited to be offering health and fitness coaching online and over Skype. Skype allows him to see a person’s face and their body language, which is important as he feels communication can get lost in text, email or phone.

Final Inspiration

“I want to sing like the birds sing, not worrying about who hears or what they think” ~Rumi

Links

www.dirigofitness.com
brian@dirigofitness.com

Thank You to Our Sponsors

Zebralove Web Solutions: Your website tells a story about your business! At Zebralove Web Solutions, Milly and her team are going to make sure your website tells the story you want your customers to hear. Connect with Milly at zebralovewebsolutions.com to create the impression you want to make!

Resources

Private Facebook Community: Chat, share and collaborate with other women in the community!

Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing: A simple, step by step system that gives you the foundation and structure to take your goals and make them happen.

The Accomplished Community: A community of entrepreneurial Type A women uniting to achieve their biggest goals with confidence, integrity and a sense of humor.

Sometimes you’re looking for a mindset shift and transformation. And sometimes what you need is help STAT!

If you have no bandwidth and you are at your wits end, stay with me because I’ve got a woman who can help you.

Meet Kelly Nolan

Kelly Nolan is an attorney-turned-time management strategist and mom of two. After experiencing overwhelm as a young patent litigator in Boston, Kelly figured out a time management system that helped her show up in the ways that she wanted at work and at home – without requiring her brain to somehow magically remember it all. 

She now empowers other professional working women to manage their personal, family, and career roles with less stress and more calm using her realistic time management system, the Bright Method. 

The Bright Method has been featured in Bloomberg Businessweek, and Kelly's work has been published in Forbes, Fast Company, Insider, and Parents. Kelly also hosts the Bright Method podcast. Most importantly, the Bright Method works for real women, helping them manage it all with more clarity, less stress, and the confidence to hold boundaries at work and at home.  

In this episode Kelly Nolan and I discuss:

• Our differing approaches to time management and how to know which one is right for you
• The four pillars of Kelly’s realistic time management system, the Bright Method. 
• Systemization and reducing mental load
• How to know with confidence what you can say Yes to
• Building flex-time in your calendar to absorb curve balls

Resources

Episode Show Notes: Other resources and links mentioned in this episode.

Register for the How to Get Mentally Fit webinar: Learn the 3 core muscles to build to gain mental fitness.

Apply to be on an “On-Air Coaching” episode: Are you a female leader who has been promoted in the last year? You are invited to apply to be on the podcast.

Leadership Operating System Inventory. Wondering what leadership traits you have? Take this FREE, FAST self-assessment and find out more about yourself as a Leader.

Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing: The book containing a simple, step by step system that gives you the foundation and structure to take your goals and make them happen.

Leadership Coaching: If you are interested in finding out more about my coaching process, the cost of coaching, or how to ask your employer to pay for you to work with a coach.

Find Kelly:

Free 5-day program, the Reset & Refresh: https://kellynolan.com/refresh

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_kellynolan_/ 

Alexa Gilmore is a vitality warrior who takes a stand for your fullest potential. As an acupuncturist, Chinese herbalist, bodyworker, and coach, she takes a no-nonsense approach to the healing arts and expects positive outcomes: function rebalanced, harmony restored, resilience renewed. She welcomes guests from around the county to her clinic in Portland, Maine, where she specializes in chronic illness, women’s health, and skin disease, but her passion is to use optimal health as a vehicle for personal transformation.

Playing Small Moment

After months of seeing her maximum amount of patients each day, Alexa suddenly realized there was more she wanted to accomplish. Alexa knew that if she could get her hands on people uninterrupted for as many hours per day, magic would happen. So, why did she feel that it wasn’t possible? This helped her come to a realization about who she was and what she wants to offer the world.

Style of Leadership

Alexa starts off as a guide for her clients and patients, to help lead them back into their bodies. Then, there is a shift and she is leading the leader to help themselves. Alexa uses her enthusiasm to get her patients and clients excited about taking back power of their own body and health.

What Are You Excited About?

Alexa wants to take the information that she knows about Chinese medicine and make it mainstream. If you aren’t coming into her clinic, Alexa still wants you to know the information she has about how to take care of your body and the things you should or shouldn’t be doing to live a healthy life.

Current Business Challenge

Transitioning from a clinical space to an online space has been challenging for Alexa. She wants to stay fully present and one-on-one in her clinic, but also have time to create her online presence without feeling overwhelmed.

Leadership Practice

Alexa makes sure to carve out time each day to get some quiet time in, usually through yoga and meditation. That time gives Alexa the space she needs for her inner wisdom to come forward.

Advice For Younger Self

“Oh honey, it’s going to be okay.” Alexa would also give her younger self the book, The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer.

Inspirational Quote

"Be the first.
The first to say hello.
The first to compliment the other person.
The first to give credit.
The first to say sorry.
The first to offer to help.
The first to show up for someone else.
The first to set an example.
The first to offer hope.
The first to shine.
Be the first."
~Chris Winfield

Links

Website: http://www.atxacu.com
Website - Specifically for Skin Disease: http://www.atxskin.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/atxacupuncture/

Thank You to Our Sponsors

Zebralove Web Solutions: Your website tells a story about your business! At Zebralove Web Solutions, Milly and her team are going to make sure your website tells the story you want your customers to hear. Connect with Milly at zebralovewebsolutions.com to create the impression you want to make!

Resources

Private Facebook Community: Chat, share and collaborate with other women in the community!

Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing: A simple, step by step system that gives you the foundation and structure to take your goals and make them happen.

Subscribe to Women Taking the Lead

If you enjoyed this episode subscribe in iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Google Play Music or iHeart Radio and never miss out on inspiration and community!

Recently I had the opportunity to be interviewed by Mark Taylor of the Education on Fire podcast network for his Learning on Fire podcast. One of the questions he asked me was in regard to advice I would give to my younger self.

I gave a concise answer on his show but his question got my mind going and before I knew it I was opening a word document to capture all the things I wish I knew, and understood, and lived when I was younger.

What stood out for me, and I shared this on the Learning on Fire podcast, is that this is the same advice I would give myself today because these are things I know but need to be reminded of because I can fall back into my old patterns.

The mind has a negativity bias. To rewire the brain we have to consciously put our ah-ha moments into practice and set reminders.

I’m sharing these with you just in case you want or need reminding as well.

Here’s what I would say to you and my younger self…

Lastly…

You don’t need to do more to achieve your goals and be more successful, you need to do less.

It's about changing your mindset around "work" so that instead of taking massive action that produces a few results you are taking key actions effectively to produce greater results.

For instance, would you rather make 100 cold calls to set up two meeting with prospective clients or would you like to have an enjoyable coffee date with two connectors in your network who could introduce you to four prospective clients.

Making 100 cold calls will certainly yield you some results but you're going to burn a lot of time and energy to yield those results.

This example applies across the board in your life: in many areas of your work, health, finances, relationships - you name it!

You think you need to work really hard to get what you want. It's not true.

This is precisely what my Accomplished Coaching System is based on.

The process I take you through, starting with the Energy Leadership Assessment, gives you the awareness to identify all the areas where you are working too hard with little result. You then have the ability to make changes, internally and externally, to free up your time and energy all while gaining greater results.

It is why I am so in love with the work that I do.

If you’d like to get to know yourself better and find out where and why you are working so hard with little effort go to womentakingthelead.com/assessment/ to get started.

There is tons more I’d love to chat with you and my younger self about but I’m going to leave it here for now.

I hope this was of value to you and here’s to your success!

Thank you to Our Sponsors

TextExpander lets you instantly insert snippets of text from a repository of emails, boilerplate and other content, as you type – using a quick search or abbreviation. Go to https://textexpander.com/podcast and select Women Taking the Lead from the dropdown list for 20% off your first year!

Zebralove Web Solutions: Your website tells a story about your business! At Zebralove Web Solutions, Milly and her team are going to make sure your website tells the story you want your customers to hear. Connect with Milly at zebralovewebsolutions.com to create the impression you want to make!

Women Taking the Lead Resources

Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing: A simple, step by step system that gives you the foundation and structure to take your goals and make them happen.

Create Goals that are Worthy of you: If you are done with either pursuing vanilla goals, suffering through the struggle of goals that are not aligned with your strengths, or dealing with heartbreak of an unattainable goal this course is for you!

Private Facebook Community: Chat, share and collaborate with other women listening to the podcast!

Jessica Philippe is the founder of Uptrovert, a blog dedicated to helping introverts succeed without losing out on the magic of actually being an introvert. She’s currently focused on helping introverted entrepreneurs who thought they could start a successful business alone, to get over that fantasy and instead build a network they can rely on. When she isn’t helping other introverts kick ass at being themselves, Jessica is also a mom, scientist, gardener, and adventurer living in Vermont.

Playing Small Moment 

After attending a conference and feeling confident about her performance, people back at the office inferred Jessica should never have been invited―her invitation was only because no one else could go. Jessica started to believe what her colleagues were saying and it took her many years to move past it.

The Wake Up Call

When Jessica realized her sense of place was important to her, she took the necessary steps to continue living in Vermont. She started looking for inspiration outside of her traditional career and found opportunities everywhere.

Style of Leadership

Jessica leads by doing, and by setting an example that it is OK to try new things. That is what makes people follow her.

What Are You Excited About?

Jessica is excited about putting together a portfolio of tools for introverts. She wants to take fears and weaknesses and turn them into something positive. She would like to facilitate meaningful conversations.     

Current Business Challenge

Jessica’s business challenge is finding balance in her life. She is so excited about Uptrovert that she wants to work on it all day, every day; but Jessica knows she needs to take her time because she is in for the long haul.

Your Business Support System

Jessica’s husband has been amazing at picking up the slack when she gets excited about a new class or her new business. Also, she now has a coach she can trust.

Leadership Practice

Jessica always does basic background research on people she is going to meet with, in order to give her a sense of who they are. 

Book to Develop Leadership

Start with Why by Simon Sinek  

Advice For Younger Self

“Don’t listen to the people who are trying to get you to slow down!” and “Listen to your mother when she tells you that you can do anything you put your mind to.”      

Inspirational Quote

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people will not feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone and as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” ~ Marianne Williamson

Links

Web: http://uptrovert.com/

Email: jessica@uptrovert.com

Find more resources at http://womentakingthelead.com

Thank You to Our Sponsors

Jewel's Custom Books: Every child wants to be the hero of their own story! With a Jewel’s Custom Book your child plays the central role in every book, bringing joy and delight when they hear their name and those of their family and friends. Visit jewelscustombooks.com to make your child the STAR of the show!

Zebralove Web Solutions: Your website tells a story about your business! At Zebralove Web Solutions, Milly and her team are going to make sure your website tells the story you want your customers to hear. Connect with Milly at zebralovewebsolutions.com to create the impression you want to make!

Kim Eisenberg is a Career Counselor and an Organizational Development Consultant who helps people and businesses create healthy relationships with work. She blends her expertise in corporate career services, counseling, and organizational leadership to deliver candid, strengths-based approaches to career and business development.

Playing Small Moment

Kim noticed her playing small moment after she first started her own business. Kim was fearful that she wasn’t making enough money, so she went out and got herself a full-time job. This job was a step down from what she was doing in the past and ended up being a complete disaster after only one month.

The Wake Up Call

Although Kim doesn’t like to focus on aha moments, she does remember some wake up calls. While Kim was working at the full-time job mentioned, she received high praise from one of her clients that she was coaching at the time. During this time, Kim also heard one of her research papers was being published by a peer review journal.

Style of Leadership

Kim has two different styles of leadership: situational and strength-based. She realized that people perceive themselves as much smaller than the world perceives them. Kim loves to delegate and feels that being the boss doesn’t mean she knows it all. Kim surrounds herself with people who have talents that she doesn’t have.

What Are You Excited About?

The launch of her programs geared toward woman negotiating. Kim doesn’t just mean negotiation for jobs; she is talking about all aspects of life.

Leadership Practice

Kim practices active listening. She believes the more substance the better. She also practices being a leader who can be in the present moment with people and not think about her own agenda.

Book to Develop Leadership

Body of Work by Pamela Slim

Nonviolent Communication by Marshall B. Rosenberg, PhD

What Would You Tell Your Younger Self?

Kim would tell her younger self that the entire world is not falling apart. Just hang in there and keep chipping away at it.

Inspirational Quote

No doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Strive to be happy.

— Excerpts from the poem Desiderata by Max Ehrmann

Interview Links

www.kimeisenberg.com

https://www.facebook.com/KimEisenbergConsulting

https://twitter.com/kim_eisenberg

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimeisenberg

https://womentakingthelead.com/kim-eisenberg/

There are a lot of myths out there about what you need to do to be successful at work.

You may already be at a point in your career where you’ve realized this and had to shift gears.

And you may still feel like you are walking a tight rope of, for instance, needing to be more decisive but not too decisive because that can work against you as a woman. Or, advocating for yourself more but not too much because that also has consequences.

On this episode of Women Taking the Lead I’m joined by Analiza Quiroz Wolf to talk about the strategies and practices that will actually lead you to success in the workplace.

In this episode Analiza and I discussed:

·         How her own story influenced the need to debunk the myths of success and the research and experiences that went into it.

·         How our strategies for success often come from those who want the best for us but those strategies don’t always translate into success at work.

·         The notion that you will be seen, acknowledged and rewarded by focusing on your responsibilities and working hard.

·         How growing your influence is about developing relationships with others and again doesn’t involve a lot of hard work.

·         Letting go of leadership stereotypes so your own strengths as a leader can emerge.

Where you can find Analiza Wolf:

Website: www.analizawolf.com

Book: https://bit.ly/mythsbook

LinkedIn:

www.linkedin.com/in/analizawolf/

linkedin.com/company/bossmamas

Facebook:

www.facebook.com/womenofcolorrise

www.facebook.com/analizaqwolf/

Instagram: www.instagram.com/analizawolf/

Youtube: www.youtube.com/analizawolf/

Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/author/list/19480823.Analiza_Wolf

Amazon: www.amazon.com/stores/Analiza-Quiroz-Wolf/author/B07VH11YVP

Resources

Leadership Coaching. Find out more about my coaching process, or how to ask your employer to pay for you to work with a coach.

Apply to be on an “On-Air Coaching” episode. Are you a female leader who has been promoted in the last year? Apply to be on the podcast.

Leadership Operating System Inventory. Wondering what kind of Leadership traits you have? Take this FREE, FAST self-assessment and find out more about yourself as a Leader.

Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing. The book containing a simple, step by step system that gives you the foundation and structure to take your goals and make them happen.

I feel like it has been a while since I have personally said hello to you. I was horribly ill at the beginning of April and that messed up my production schedule a bit but I am back in full health once again and doing burpees like crazy.

In the “March update on goals” episode I mentioned that I would be talking about The Dip by Seth Godin next and I think this is perfect timing. You’ll have to let me know if this topic resonates with you right now or not but it definitely resonates with me.

“The Dip” Seth Godin explains is a natural phenomenon that occurs when you set out to achieve a goal. At the beginning it’s exciting and interesting so you have a lot of energy and it’s easy to stay engaged.

Then The Dip happens. Seth Godin describes it as “the long slog between beginning and mastery.”

The Dip is what separates the half-hearted from the committed. It is the naturally occurring obstacles (bureaucracy, administrative work, study and practice) that are unenjoyable but required to achieve the goal.

Depending on the goal some dips are longer than others. Think about med school or the career track to becoming the CEO of a Fortune 500 company. Typically the bigger the goal the bigger the dip and that’s why so few people emerge on the other end and ultimately achieve that particular goal.

If something is worth doing you will usually find a dip

Podcasting is one of those things with a relatively big dip and it’s the reason most podcasts fade after a couple of years. It takes doing a lot of work for a long time week in and week out to grow a loyal audience.

Many people go into podcasting to make money but they quickly realize it’s a marathon and not sprint and they give up before the podcast has a chance to pay off.

Seth Godin also puts forth that that successful people don’t put up with The Dip they actually seek it out and lean into it.

This has been true for me and podcasting as well. I’ve leaned into the work and as a result I’ve grown my network exponentially, I’ve become a better communicator, coach, and human being. I’ve definitely been in The Dip with Women Taking the Lead but by no means has it been wasted time.

According to Seth Godin If you’re not willing to work through the dip you’re better off not investing the time and energy to even start. You are better off investing your time and energy in something you are willing to get so good at you see a return on your investment.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve started and stopped learning a second language because I love the idea of being fluent in another language. I spent countless hours to not even become mediocre because I didn’t have the staying power and the perceived benefits were not enough to get through the dip.

I now take that time and invest it in my podcast and becoming a better host, coach and community leader.

Are you in a dead end?

In his book The Dip Seth Godin also talks about another situation that can look like a dip but is actually a dead end. This is a situation where you work and work and work and not much changes; it doesn’t get better or worse. Think dead end jobs and dead end relationships.

It’s important to recognize if you are in a dead end situation so you can get out of it fast because the dead end will keep you from doing something else that would provide better opportunities and results.

There’s a stigma against quitting but the reality is successful people quit all the time; but it’s important to know when to quit. Strategic quitting can actually make you more successful (i.e. letting go of commitments that are distractions to your goals). While reactive or serial quitting can work against you.

Quitting is difficult because it’s hard to admit you’re not going to be that good at something or you’ll never have the opportunities that you hoped for.

Never stay in a dead end because you don’t like the short-term stress. Not quitting when it would be hard to quit is a bad decision.

I’ve seen this with relationships, jobs, investments, team members, marketing plans, etc. If it’s hard to quit or pivot people tend to keep on doing what they are doing even though they are not happy.

If something is not working and it’s not getting better with increased efforts deal with the short-term stress and cut your losses.

You can’t do The Dip halfheartedly

If that’s your plan you’re better off not getting started. If you want success you have to:

(1) Recognize if you are in a dip or a dead end. Are you moving forward and making progress?

(2) Having recognized you’re in a dip you have to give it your all especially when it gets stressful because that’s when the transformation takes place.

Quitting in the midst of a true dip is a waste of time and energy and is very foolish. Do the work, push through The Dip and reap the rewards and long-term benefits of sticking with it and giving it your all.

Never quit something with great long-term potential because you don’t like the short-term stress.

Next week I’m going to be giving a progress report on my goals and with each one I’m going to cover if I’m experiencing The Dip in any of them or if a goal is appearing to be a dead end.

Until then, join the Facebook group to be in community to get support and have some fun with other women who are working on their goals too. If you’re going to be in The Dip anyway let’s go through it together. Go to womentakingthelead.com/group to join us.

As always I hope this was helpful to you and here’s to your success!

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Zebralove Web Solutions: Your website tells a story about your business! At Zebralove Web Solutions, Milly and her team are going to make sure your website tells the story you want your customers to hear. Connect with Milly at zebralovewebsolutions.com to create the impression you want to make!

Resources

Private Facebook Community: Chat, share and collaborate with other women listening to the podcast!

Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing: A simple, step by step system that gives you the foundation and structure to take your goals and make them happen.

Do you ever wonder if your financial decisions are aligned with your values and goals?

Money can be a murky topic, especially if you don't feel 100% competent or confident around money management. And considering most women between the ages of 30 and 60 are getting pulled in many directions when it comes to money, it can be a topic that induces stress.

And as I've shared recently on this podcast, I can relate to that feeling. That's why I've asked Allison Bishop to join me in this episode to inspire you to take charge of your finances, make informed decisions, and live with purpose.

In this episode of the Women Taking the Lead we'll:

• Discover why talking about money is essential, whether it's with your family or in professional settings.
• Understand the importance of being intentional with money, making decisions that match your priorities.
• Delve into how every financial choice impacts another, highlighting the necessity for strategic planning.
• Debunk common misconceptions about financial literacy, retirement planning, and debt management.
• Learn why having a firm grasp of your finances today can lead to a more stable and fulfilling tomorrow.

Resources

Episode Show Notes: Other resources and links mentioned in this episode.

Register for the How to Get Mentally Fit webinar: Learn the 3 core muscles to build to gain mental fitness.

Apply to be on an “On-Air Coaching” episode: Are you a female leader who has been promoted in the last year? You are invited to apply to be on the podcast.

Leadership Operating System Inventory. Wondering what leadership traits you have? Take this FREE, FAST self-assessment and find out more about yourself as a Leader.

Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing: The book containing a simple, step by step system that gives you the foundation and structure to take your goals and make them happen.

Leadership Coaching: If you are interested in finding out more about my coaching process, the cost of coaching, or how to ask your employer to pay for you to work with a coach.

I'm just going to bottom line it. Taking care of yourself – body, mind, and soul – is the foundation of being and feeling successful.

People often dismiss this key component of success because they become overly focused on the end result – a new job, a career advancement, another degree or certification.

And if you're in my tribe of entrepreneurial minded, Type A, ambitious women, you know this is one of your stumbling blocks.

Success Starts with You

Anyone can push hard for an immediate goal. However, if you’re focused on success that will last, you're going to have to take care of yourself. 

As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “The first wealth is health.”

Dr. Stephen Covey, author of the best-selling book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, calls it “Sharpen the Saw”.

Successful people develop and maintain a balance or focus in four areas of life: physical, social/emotional, mental, and spiritual.

When we renew ourselves continually in each of these four areas we enhance our ability to cope with the inevitable challenges that come at us.

Keep in mind that while self-care is key, it’s imperative you pay close attention to your habits – because your habits determine your success.

You can do all you want to take the best care of yourself– but if you’re not willing to honestly examine and alter your habits – don’t expect to get anywhere fast.

Go back to the last episode/post, The Secret to Being Successful With Ease, to help you get in the mindset to commit to forming new habits.

I'm going to focus on four key areas but I've also got a worksheet below that you can use to identify where you need focus on taking care of yourself.

Read more and find all the resources shared in this post at https://womentakingthelead.com/feel-successful/

Sara Millman is an independent filmmaker and writer whose work has been screened and distributed on five continents. She envisioned backHer to enable fellow artists, activists, and entrepreneurs to grow budgets, while at the same time to support women who are rising from poverty and oppression. Sara has devoted much of her life to actively caring for people and animals. Social and economic justice has been a factor in her life from the start and Sara is especially passionate about creating and growing the backHer Rise Together Fund.

Click to tweet: .@filmworks7 is sharing her story to inspire you on Women Taking the Lead www.womentakingthelead.com/087

Playing Small Moment

Sara’s film was the closing night film at a London film festival. As she was sitting in the limo that was provided, she suddenly felt super anxious about the upcoming events. Throughout her whole life, Sara wanted to be seen, but now that all eyes were going to be on her, she began second-guessing her decisions. Being at these fancy parties and being treated like royalty while not being able to afford a cup of tea, Sara struggled with a prince and pauper sentiment, still feeling like an outsider who did not deserve to be there.

The Wake Up Call

In school, a science teacher ridiculed Sara for her veganism after her refusal to dissect frogs. Inside a closet, the science teacher came in and shoved dead kittens in her face. Sitting in the closet that day, a powerful knowing came over her and she left. Sara suddenly knew she did not have to go through that.

Style of Leadership

Sara seeks the leader in others; she tries to always live and work in a state of empowerment. It’s about encouragement of self-empowerment and leadership in everyone.

What Are You Excited About?

BackHer is a crowdfunding platform for women to fund their projects and ideas, while also helping underserved women. BackHer supports organizations that help women who are rising out of poverty and oppression. Their goal is to use crowdfunding to help women reach the next step while helping women in need get an education and the help they need.

Leadership Practice

Sara focuses on compassion; putting heart before ego. She tries to become more aware of the interactions she has with each person every day. Each of us deserves to be treated with respect.

Book to Develop Leadership

Ted Talks

Why Do Ambitious Women Have Flat Heads? by Dame Stephanie Shirley

How to Overcome Our Biases? Walk Boldly Toward Them by Vernā Myers

What Would You Change?

Greenlight yourself. Don’t try to be part of the mold that doesn’t have room for you.

Inspirational Quote

“If you manage to stay on your path in life, you will always be at the perfect place.” ~ Arch Bishop Desmond Tutu

Interview Links

https://www.backher.com/

If you enjoyed this episode subscribe in iTunes or Stitcher Radio and never miss out on inspiration and community!

J V Crum III helps established business owners and coaches build companies that make a Big Impact and Big Profits. He is the Founder/CEO of ConsciousMillionaire.com, which provides training, coaching, and masterminds through its First Million Academy. J V is a speaker, coach, Huffington Post Columnist, and #1 best-selling author of “Conscious Millionaire: Grow Your Business by Making a Difference.” He hosts the top-ranked “Conscious Millionaire Show & Podcast” and holds an MBA, JD, Masters in Psychology. J V has built and sold successful companies and is featured in the upcoming movie, RiseUP.

A Woman Who Has Influenced Your Life

J V says many of his mentors have been women. Mary Ann Reese is a particular female who had a profound impact on him with her neurolinguistic programming (NLP) research and techniques. She stands out to him as having strong leadership skills. 

Trends He Sees That Hold Women Back

J V says often times what holds women back is their compassionate and mothering aspects. A woman’s journey is more difficult because in the professional world they didn’t have female models to emulate. 

What He Has Learned From Women 

J V has learned that women want to uplift other people. They allow their loving hearts to bleed into their business.   

The Necessary Changes

J V says women need to embrace their left-brained strategic qualities. It’s necessary for business.

What Are You Excited About

Launching The First Million Academy, Coaching Programs and Masterminds are what J V is excited about right now.

Inspirational Quote

“Everything counts!”

Links

Free Gift from J V: http://consciousmillionaire.com/freebook

Conscious Millionaire Podcast: http://consciousmillionairepodcast.com/

Conscious Millionaire Website: http://consciousmillionaire.com/

Conscious World Foundation - A global non-profit for young   entrepreneurs: http://consciousworld.org/

Conscious Millionaire Book at Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Conscious-

Millionaire-Business-Making-Difference/dp/0976719223/ref=tmm_pap_title_0

J V LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jvcrum

J V Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jvcrum

J V Twitter: https://twitter.com/JVCrum

Thank You to Our Sponsors

Jewel's Custom Books: Every child wants to be the hero of their own story! With a Jewel’s Custom Book your child plays the central role in every book, bringing joy and delight when they hear their name and those of their family and friends. Visit jewelscustombooks.com to make your child the STAR of the show!

Zebralove Web Solutions: Your website tells a story about your business! At Zebralove Web Solutions, Milly and her team are going to make sure your website tells the story you want your customers to hear. Connect with Milly at zebralovewebsolutions.com to create the impression you want to make!

Private Facebook Community

https://www.facebook.com/groups/womentl/

For more resources go to https://womentakingthelead.com

Did you know...?

• Women make just 83 percent of what men do, and that gap is wider for women of color.
• According to a new Equal Pay Day study released by Credit Karma, 31% of women say they still don’t feel comfortable asking their employer for a raise.
• 66% of women say their current salary is holding them back from reaching their financial goals, including paying off debt and saving for retirement.
• 35% of women surveyed said their low salaries were preventing them from being able to afford necessities like rent.
• Nearly 60% of women never negotiate their pay at all.

In this episode Anna and I discuss...

• Key times in your career that impact how much money you make
• The story behind the creation of Shift Profile
• The mindset that keeps women from asking for what they are worth
• Always be negotiating!

Resources

Episode Show Notes: Transcript and links mentioned in this episode.

Apply to be on an “On-Air Coaching” episode: Are you a female leader who has been promoted in the last year? You are invited to apply to be on the podcast.

Checklist to Ask Your Company for Coaching: Would coaching help you become a stronger leader? Wondering if your company would pay? It doesn't hurt to ask!

Leadership Operating System Inventory. Wondering what kind of Leadership traits you have? Take this FREE, FAST self-assessment and find out more about yourself as a Leader.

Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing: The book containing a simple, step by step system that gives you the foundation and structure to take your goals and make them happen.

Leadership Coaching: If you are interested in finding out more about my coaching process, the cost of coaching, or how to ask your employer to pay for you to work with a coach.

Anna brings her special blend of creativity and analysis, along with a commitment to excellence, to all that she does. Anna founded CreativeIQ in 2016 and leads a dynamic team partnering with clients seeking their consulting services in business and organizational strategy development, along with copywriting and communications advice. Based in a small town in regional Western Australia, Anna has rapidly grown the business to service, literally, the world.

 Anna and I discussed:

• Delegation
• Crisis Mode
• Having a "foot-in-the-door" product
• Anxiety about others' opinions
• Applying your zone of genius to your own business
• Clarifying systems and processes

Links

Website: https://creativeiq.net/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/annacreativeiq
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/creativeiqconsulting/

Thank You to Our Sponsors

Podcast Movement is the world’s largest gathering of new and veteran podcasters, or anyone looking to start their own podcast the right way. For $50 off any level of registration, visit podcastmovement.com and enter promotional code lead.

Zebralove Web Solutions: Your website tells a story about your business! At Zebralove Web Solutions, Milly and her team are going to make sure your website tells the story you want your customers to hear. Connect with Milly at zebralovewebsolutions.com to create the impression you want to make!

Resources

Private Facebook Community: Chat, share and collaborate with other women in the community!

Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing: A simple, step by step system that gives you the foundation and structure to take your goals and make them happen.

Subscribe to Women Taking the Lead

If you enjoyed this episode subscribe in iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Google Play Music or iHeart Radio and never miss out on inspiration and community!

Have you ever received a promotion in which your manager becomes your peer?

If you have you know it’s a big transition on top of an already big transition. The intensity of the change in relationship will depend on the relationship you already had with your former manager, but even in the best circumstances it will be a little unsettling. Especially if you have differing opinions in a management meeting.

I have Liz Johnson with me for a coaching episode of the podcast today and this is one of the things we’re discussing. Let me tell you about Liz.

Meet Liz Johnson

Liz Johnson is the VP of Research and Development for a private, mid-sized biopolymer company located in the upper Mid-West of the United States. She holds a BA in Chemistry and a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering specializing in implantable polymeric biomaterials. She grew up on the East Coast, studied in the Mid-West and West Coast. She is now back in the Mid-West where she lives with her husband, 3 kids and 2 dogs. Liz’s passion is bringing people, process, and technology together to launch great products. 

In this Coaching Episode Liz and I discussed:

• How homing in on your personal mission will help you navigate career choices.
• Strategies for reducing overwhelm and setting priorities.
• Reframing your perspective and questions to ask your team to identify opportunities to delegate.
• How to gain buy-in when decisions need to be made quickly.
• Finding common ground with someone you used to report to, who is now your peer.

Resources

Leadership Coaching. Find out more about my coaching process, or how to ask your employer to pay for you to work with a coach.

Apply to be on an “On-Air Coaching” episode. Are you a female leader who has been promoted in the last year? Apply to be on the podcast.

Leadership Operating System Inventory. Wondering what kind of Leadership traits you have? Take this FREE, FAST self-assessment and find out more about yourself as a Leader.

Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing. The book containing a simple, step by step system that gives you the foundation and structure to take your goals and make them happen.

Angela Lussier is an award-winning speaker, five-time author, two-time TEDx presenter, and CEO and founder of the Speaker Sisterhood, a network of speaking clubs that help women discover, awaken, and create their voice through the art of public speaking. Angela is the host of Claim the Stage, a public speaking podcast for women rated #1 on the inspiring podcasts list by Forbes in 2017. She is a contributor to Huffington Post and her work has been featured on ABC, NBC, Forbes, Virgin, and Entrepreneur. Her motto:  Stop waiting. Start creating.

Playing Small Moment

Angela’s most defining small moment took place in 2008, when she was employed at an executive recruiting firm. Angela’s job was very refining. She sat at a desk all day, while making calls and reading the same script. Her boss approached her and asked her to create a presentation showcasing how she stood out from the other recruiters. Angela saw this as an amazing opportunity and put together a detailed presentation. After presenting at the meeting, Angela’s boss told her they knew her creativity would be a problem. Angela struggled to fit into the box they made for her, before realizing maybe the problem wasn’t her at all.

Style of Leadership

Angela leads by example. She shares her stores to inspire and show others how she got to where she is now. Angela also shares tips and shows them the steps they could be taking to move forward. Now that Angela has a staff working for her, she makes sure to ask lots of questions and welcome their ideas so it can be a more productive space, with her team more invested in their jobs.

What Are You Excited About?

Angela will be on a speaking tour throughout New England in April. The tour will help spread the word about speaking up and asking what for what you need at home, and at work. Angela will also be promoting her new book, The Secret Life of Speaking Up Prequel: 30 Tiny Speaking Adventures.

Current Business Challenge

As CEO, Angela is often weighed down by financial worries. There is cash flow and revenue, but they are so close to not being a sustainable business. Angela has a goal, and now has a plan to get there by next year.

Leadership Practice

Angela is a creative person who tends to come up with a lot of ideas, but when there are too many ideas going at once, not much gets accomplished. Angela’s ability to focus on 1 or 2 ideas at a time, and executing them before continuing to new ideas, really helps her lead effectively.

Advice For Younger Self

Surrounding yourself with coaches, mentors and a support team, is not essentially a bad thing, but you still need to trust and believe in yourself and the things you want at the same time.

Inspirational Quote

“Stop waiting. Start creating.”

Links

Twitter: https://twitter.com/angelalussier
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/angelalussier/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelalussier
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/speakersisterhood
Speaker Sisterhood: https://speakersisterhood.com
Website: http://angelalussier.us
My episode with Angela on Claim the Stage: https://speakersisterhood.com/2018/01/10/podcast-ep-77-4-ways-to-get-out-of-your-own-way-and-put-yourself-out-there-with-jodi-flynn/
#SpeakUpTour2018: https://speakersisterhood.com/speakup/
“The Secret Life of Speaking Up Prequel: 30 Tiny Speaking Adventures” Book: https://speakersisterhood.com/tiny/

Thank You to Our Sponsors

Care/of: Care/of is a monthly vitamin subscription that makes it that much easier for you to take control of your health routine. Each month, you receive a box with thirty daily packs personalized for you. You can adjust your pack or cancel at anytime. Plus, there's free shipping on all orders over $20. To receive 25% off your first month go to https://takecareof.com/ and enter promo code: lead

Zebralove Web Solutions: Your website tells a story about your business! At Zebralove Web Solutions, Milly and her team are going to make sure your website tells the story you want your customers to hear. Connect with Milly at zebralovewebsolutions.com to create the impression you want to make!

Resources

Private Facebook Community: Chat, share and collaborate with other women in the community!

Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing: A simple, step by step system that gives you the foundation and structure to take your goals and make them happen.

Subscribe to Women Taking the Lead

If you enjoyed this episode subscribe in iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Google Play Music or iHeart Radio and never miss out on inspiration and community!

Stacy Curtis interviews fascinating people on her podcast at WriteOfYourLife.com. Her latest project – Lifestorytelling.com, a Lifestory Laboratory (and memoir writing course) – is taking off. This life story and memoir telling project is the culmination of years working to understand the psychology and art of life story writing, and making it easy for others to write their stories. It’s valuable to trace your trouble, transcribe your tale, and transform your life.

Click to tweet: .@WriteOfYourLife is sharing her story to inspire you on Women Taking the Lead! ▶ www.womentakingthelead.com/094

Playing Small Moment

Stacy’s first husband cheated on her. After he told her he wasn’t sure if he wanted to stay with her or leave, she sat by the phone waiting for him to choose her. During a memoir writing class, she realized that she had never raised her hand. Not speaking up had become her life theme.

The Wake Up Call

Stacy ended up in a second marriage, this time with a sociopath. She signed onto her computer for her daughter and spotted her husband’s Craigslist ad, soliciting himself to couples. Stacy’s realized that her kids would end up in similar relationships if she didn’t get up to show them how to stand up for themselves.

Style of Leadership

Stacy leads by encouragement. She guides people through her course by trying new things and encouraging experimentation.

What Are You Excited About?

Stacy is excited about her podcast, writeofyourlife.com, which gives her the chance to connect with so many different people. Her work helps her learn more about herself.

Leadership Practice

Grace to herself and to others. Stacy has been given grace so many times when she has failed, so she is sure to spread it to others.

Book to Develop Leadership

One Big Thing: Discovering What You Were Born to Do by Phil Cooke

What Would You Tell Your Younger Self?

Raise your hand! Take the spotlight; you are not responsible for other people’s feelings.

Inspirational Quote

“If we all did the things we are capable of, we would astound ourselves.” ~ Thomas Edison

Interview Links

http://www.writeofyourlife.com/

http://lifestorytelling.com/

Social Media Links:

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/WriteOfYourLife

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/WriteOfYourLife/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/WriteOfYourLife

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/WriteOfYourLife

Google+: https://plus.google.com/+Writeofyourlife/posts

Instagram: https://instagram.com/writeofyourlife/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stacycurtis

If you enjoyed this episode subscribe in iTunes or Stitcher Radio and never miss out on inspiration and community!

We are just about to close out January. Can you believe we are already checking off one month in 2018?

I hope you are feeling momentum and a sense of “I got this” now that we are a few weeks in. If you don’t I want you to know you are not alone!

There is a virtual workshop I am doing next week on how to get hours back in your week and in retrospect I am seeing that I will be doing this workshop prior to starting the Tolerations Detox Challenge the next time I run it.

The reason for this is the biggest obstacle those who did the challenge faced was not having enough time to keep up the pace and complete the challenge.

What has been heartening is I am still getting messages from women letting me know they fell off but they are carving out time in the next couple of weeks to complete it.

They are reporting that they’ve seen the benefits of identifying and removing tolerations from their life, even though they may have only addressed two or three thus far. Those benefits include a sense of relief, feeling in control, having more mental and physical energy and feeling like they can tackle more.

Also, I’ve been getting feedback on The Accomplished Intensive. The common theme is, “it sounds great but an 8 week commitment feels too overwhelming right now.”

I get it so I’m going to break the intensive into two separate shorter programs and you’ll be hearing more on that soon!

As for the workshop next week, this idea came to me as I was getting all this feedback.

For those of you struggling with managing your time, whether you’re currently still working through the Tolerations Detox Challenge, thinking about doing The Accomplished Intensive, or you just are overwhelmed with what you’ve already got going on in your life, this workshop may be the thing that draws the line in sand for you regarding overwhelm.

I’m going to cover 7 different strategies that will help you get control of your time, your calendar and your peace of mind so you are accomplishing everything you want to be accomplishing with more ease and a sense that there is plenty of time.

To find out more about this workshop and to sign up go to womentakingthelead.com/time.

If this workshop interests you but you can’t make the call live, don’t worry about it, still register. I will be recording the call and sending the link to the video and worksheets to anyone who registers.

Since this episode represents month end I thought I would give you and update on the progress I’ve made with my goals at the very end of this episode. Since many of you expressed how helpful it was for me to use myself as an example for creating goals, I’m going to give monthly updates that will be in the 100% Jodi episode at the end of each month.

Let's define transparency, authenticity and vulnerability

In this episode I am going to cover transparency, authenticity and vulnerability. These have become buzzwords in the current vernacular.

We have a strong desire to connect with something real. Turns out reality TV is actually staged and the current requirement for political correctness has caused an avoidance of truth.

With all the media channels, social or otherwise, that we are now on to engage with our friends and find out what’s going on out in the world we have also exposed ourselves to an enormous amount of over-done marketing.

It can be exhausting.

On the flip side is the experience when someone without drama or manipulation tells the truth.

They open up their minds, their hearts and share their experiences in the hopes they can connect with others and be helpful to them.

Just thinking about the experiences I’ve had when another person was willing to be real with me, it makes me feel joy. I sigh with relief because we can let go of the pretenses and have a real conversation about things that mean something to us.

You can see why the pendulum is swinging and we are craving more of these experiences. Now many people are jumping on the movement to be more real but this is also causing the waters to muddy because people are using the terms transparency, authenticity and vulnerability incorrectly and it’s creating some confusion.

Given that I have taken on Vulnerability as my theme for 2018 I am especially interested in clarifying these terms because it will keep my intention top of mind.

To start let me give you some simple definitions.

Transparency is how much you share.

Transparency has more to do with the quantity of information you share rather than the relevance or quality of information you share.

People or organizations that have a core-value of transparency will likely let you see a good deal of their records but you may have no interest in that information.

Authenticity is the truth of your words and actions.

Authenticity has more to do with the quality of the information you share rather than the quantity and it is backed up in everything you do.

People who have a core-value of authenticity will not quibble or try to couch their responses to your questions. They will give you their honest perspective and their gut-reactions. You may not like what you hear them say but that’s your issue, not theirs.

Vulnerability is the quality or state of being exposed to the possibility of being attacked or harmed, either physically or emotionally.

The added layer that is required to being vulnerable is risk. You have to be willing to risk rejection or attack. This is why Brene Brown, who is a social researcher on shame and human connection, rarely talks about vulnerability without discussing bravery.

To truly connect with others we must be brave and take the risk of getting vulnerable.

How do these transparency, authenticity and vulnerability play together?

• You can be transparent without being authentic or vulnerable.
• You can be authentic without being transparent or vulnerable.
• But you cannot be vulnerable without being transparent and authentic.

To be vulnerable you must share more than you are comfortable with and be completely honest in the sharing.

In The Accomplished Community, which is my membership community, we have two Zoom calls a month when anyone and everyone can jump on to ask questions, get feedback from the group or get coaching.

In one of our December calls someone asked about how to build confidence. There were a lot of great tips shared by the whole group. After it was done I invited everyone, rather than focusing on building confidence, to take on being more vulnerable.

Because when you are willing to be vulnerable you don’t need confidence and those you are speaking with are more likely to connect with you as a human, as a professional and as an expert.

I did a presentation for a local women’s network about a year ago and one of my clients came and sat in the front row.

After the presentation she came up to me all excited and said, “I couldn’t believe it. When you started talking you did great and then I saw your hands were shaking and I realized you were nervous!”

I responded, “Yes, I was nervous! There are a lot of powerful women in this room.”

She went on, “Before today I would have never imagined you getting nervous about anything. And while I watched you be nervous and still do a great presentation I realized I can do it to. Before today if something made me nervous I would avoid it. Now I know I can be nervous and do it anyway.”

Spoiler alert: before I speak and probably for a good minute or two at the beginning I get nervous. Some of it’s just excitement but nonetheless my mouth will get dry, my voice my tremble and my hands may shake. I don’t let that stop me.

Because I’m clear that I can help people by doing public speaking I take the risk of looking foolish and I speak, openly and honestly. That’s vulnerability.

Where you can find more opportunities to practice vulnerability

Just like The Accomplished Community I want to encourage you to find more opportunities to seek to be vulnerable rather than confident.

For those of you who need to tell your story as a part of your business or your career you’re going to need to get vulnerable if you want to create a human connection. I’m not just talking about facts and figures. That’s transparency.

You need to be transparent and authentic to the point that you expose yourself to being judged and rejected. That’s vulnerability.

If you are looking to transform a relationship in any area of your life, that’s going to take vulnerability.

If you want to have influence, start a movement or gain buy-in... You guessed it, vulnerability.

To quote Brene Brown in her book, Daring Greatly…

“Vulnerability is the birthplace of love, belonging, joy, courage, empathy, and creativity. It is the source of hope, empathy, accountability, and authenticity. If we want greater clarity in our purpose or deeper and more meaningful spiritual lives, vulnerability is the path.”  ~ Brené Brown

If you never fell like you have enough time...

Vulnerability is on the agenda this year for me and so is my helping you to feel more freedom in your time.

For those of you struggling with managing your time my workshop may be the thing that does the trick for you in letting go of overwhelm.

In this online workshop I’m going to cover 7 different strategies that will help you get control of your time, your calendar and your peace of mind so you are accomplishing everything you want to be accomplishing with more ease and a sense that there is plenty of time.

If this workshop interests you but you can’t make the call live, don’t worry about it, still register. I will be recording the call and sending the link to the video and worksheets to anyone who registers.

I promised to give you an update on my goals

1. Build more strength and endurance.

Goal: Do 300 Spartan-regulation burpees in one session by June 30. Separately, do an unassisted pull-up.

Originally I guessed my baseline was 50 burpees in a session but turns out my baseline was 100 and the next week I did 120 burpees and then last week I did 140 burpees. At this rate I will hit 300 burpees well before June 30.

And during one of my burpee sessions I got the inspiration to turn the achievement of 300 burpees into an event. Maybe find a place to accomplish this goal, invite others to burpee with me (they don't have to do 300 burpees) but it could be a fundraiser for a local charity and maybe do a Facebook live. I'm still playing with the idea.

So it was great that I was more fit than I had guessed but I was feeling like I was going to have to really raise the bar on the area of strength and endurance and then I remembered, Oh yeah I also have to do a pull-up. I don't think I'm going to accomplish this goal so easily so it will probably keep me busy for a while.

I already have a pull-up bar. My next step is to buy a set of pull up bands. I'll start with the largest band for support and graduate to a smaller band when I can do 3 sets of 5 pull-ups in one session. That sounds right but if you’re a personal trainer and you have a better idea for me let me know. I am totally open to feedback on this goal.

And if I can't do a pull-up by September I'm going to hire a personal trainer to help me with this goal.

2. Be in a relationship.

Goal: be in a committed, monogamous, romantic partnership with a man.

*I am taking on embodying being more open to partnership and having fun (look the part). I tend to be very focused when I'm out and about and I have gotten feedback from friends and family that I give off signals like I'm already in a relationship or I'm too busy or disinterested in chatting with strangers. Sigh. I'm going to have to change that.

*I have begun telling my family and friends about my goal and ask that they introduce me to single men that they admire and who they think I would get along with, preferably a man with some goals in life who is interested in self-improvement.

*I have also started to research online dating apps and been asking around as to which one would be the best for me. If you've successfully done online dating and you have any tips for me please reach out - jodi@womentakingthelead.com. My intention is to do the organic thing to start and then create an account in online dating app by end of February.

3. Increase profitability in my business.

Goal: have a net income (earnings minus expenses) of $80,000 minimum.

I have created a spreadsheet that outlines how many books, assessments, strategy sessions, group programs, private coaching packages, etc. that I need to sell in order to hit my goal.

Now I’m focusing on the marketing and the promotion of those things.

As for my Profit and Loss report I’m going to have to give you the January update in the episode I do at the end of February but I’m in the black at this point by about $1000 and I am pre-recording this obviously so the final numbers are not in. However, if I’m going to have a net profit of $80,000 I’m going to have to do a lot better than this.

The last two goals, 4. Do a Women Taking the Lead branded full-day event in the summer or fall and 5. Outsourcing are contingent upon my profitability goal so no real action taken in these areas as of yet but I’ve started documenting some actions steps I can take when I’m ready to take action.

Okay, that’s it for now. Please feel free to reach out to me regarding anything you heard in this podcast or if you are looking for some support with vulnerability or your goals for 2018 you can reach me at jodi@womentakingthelead.com.

As always I hope this was helpful to you and here’s to your success!

Thank You to Our Sponsors!

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Zebralove Web Solutions: Your website tells a story about your business! At Zebralove Web Solutions, Milly and her team are going to make sure your website tells the story you want your customers to hear. Connect with Milly at zebralovewebsolutions.com to create the impression you want to make!

Resources

Private Facebook Community: Chat, share and collaborate with other women listening to the podcast!

Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing: A simple, step by step system that gives you the foundation and structure to take your goals and make them happen.

Does the thought of stepping into a new role, surrounded by new faces and greater responsibilities, send a ripple of anxiety through your core?

If so, you’re not alone.

The first 90 days post-promotion can feel much like navigating through uncharted waters. However, with the right mindset and strategies in place, you can steer through this phase effectively, emerging as a capable and confident leader.

This transition period is pivotal not just for personal growth, but also for establishing a solid foundation for your new team and manager.

In this episode, we’re delving into imposter syndrome, establishing authority and credibility, and fostering relationships with new team members as you stabilize post-promotion.

Resources

Episode Show Notes: Other resources and links mentioned in this episode.

Leadership Coaching: If you are interested in finding out more about my coaching process, the cost of coaching, or how to ask your employer to pay for you to work with a coach.

Register for the How to Get Mentally Fit webinar: Learn the 3 core muscles to build to gain mental fitness.

Apply to be on an “On-Air Coaching” episode: Are you a female leader who has been promoted in the last year? You are invited to apply to be on the podcast.

Leadership Operating System Inventory. Wondering what leadership traits you have? Take this FREE, FAST self-assessment and find out more about yourself as a Leader.

Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing: The book containing a simple, step by step system that gives you the foundation and structure to take your goals and make them happen.

To get us caught up, in the last Bonus episode I talked about using your powers of deduction to get at who you want to be as a leader and that you are not your stress reactions. I promised I would go into some of the common stress reactions so that, with an awareness of what they look like, you could choose a new reaction.

Well, as promised here are two of the most common stress reactions

Shutting down: Cocooning

Imagine you are going about your day when suddenly, something happens.

No matter what it is, it occurs to you as bad news. In the moment it feels like the worst news. The last thing you needed right now. The straw that broke the camel's back. It could be a change to your carefully laid out plans, an unpleasant conversation, a flat tire, burnt toast...whatever.

It really doesn't matter what it is. What matters is it's something you don't like and you feel like it's out of your control.

And then you feel the energy drain out of your body. You're tired, defeated and you start to wonder why you try so hard. It's already X o'clock in the morning and you feel like you need a nap.

But you can't take a nap so instead you either go in your office and close the door, or you go to your phone to see what's happening on facebook, or you get in your car to go to Starbucks to get a jolt of caffeine. If you're at home you might sit on the couch and do a Netflix marathon.

You. Are. Shut. Down.

You're batteries became depleted and you are now doing anything you can to recharge.

You may also be in a mindset where you can't stand to be around yourself and nothing makes you happy. You may feel ashamed of yourself and worthless.

You can't stand to have people see you like this so you hide out and go into your cocoon. You isolate yourself from others and keep them at a distance.

This is not YOU.

This is your alter-ego in survival mode. It will help you to recover but it's not the most effective way to hit your goals or to achieve the life you want to live.

While you are recovering, and if you find yourself here do what you can to recover… But while you are recovering you are falling a little further behind on your goals and you are ineffective at anything you try to do.

The real you is effective, capable and resourceful but the real you has taken a back seat and given the power over to the alter-ego.

Don't give your alter-ego decision making power.

Here’s a little warning: do not make decisions when the alter-ego is in charge. They will be decisions made from the perspective of an 8-year-old. What does an 8-year-old know about what you are capable of? Exactly.

The key here is to be aware that the alter-ego has taken over. When you are aware, the power is in your court. You can make a different decision if you like. You can choose to see the situation differently and see where you do have power and control - where the woman of your experience and skill level can make a difference.

In the last episode I mentioned how I become a micro-manager when I get stressed out and feel out of control.

Well, there are times when I let that controlling part of myself off the leash so I can dive into the details and research the daylights out of a certain topic. But I'm doing it by choice and not because I feel out of control. I use my default stress reaction to serve me and not the other way around.

Life is duality. You are both in control and powerless. The key is to be in control when you are in control and to let things unfold when you are not in control...and dare I say, enjoy the ride?

Over-reacting: The Amazon Warrior

Similar to the previous situation something happens but in this instance your alter-ego's faulty radar picks up something different. Rather than sensing a situation where there is nothing you can do you're alter-ego picks up a threat. 

That change to your carefully laid out plans, the unpleasant conversation, the flat tire, the burnt toast - they are now perceived as putting something at risk, something important. This creates conflict.

The alter-ego is now charged up and ready to do battle! Rather than turning into the Incredible Hulk (we're women, after all) you become The Amazon Warrior.

Being an Amazon Warrior might sound eccentric and sexy. But no one likes to be around this woman and this woman has to fight for everything that she wants. She's so unpleasant people only help her if they have to.

The battle that you create in this stress reaction can come in the following forms:

• Aggression: verbal and/or physical (though likely at your age you redirect physical aggression into some sort of workout)
• Passive-aggression 
• Fuming silently
• Perfectionism
• Jealousy (the more they get the less I get)
• Second-guessing yourself (yup, this battle is with you)

There is more energy in this stress reaction so you're not likely to find yourself lying on the couch, at least on right away. But this burst of energy is on credit and you pay it back in interest. Once the adrenaline rush has passed you will likely find yourself in need of some recovery time and you slip into cocooning.

Also, when your alter-ego is in charge of this stress reaction the actions you take will like be misdirected. It will get you a result that is only temporary and land you with consequences that may be worse than the original perceived threat.

This stress reaction causes us to say things we don't mean (to ourselves and others), take our fear and anger out on an innocent bystander, and make snap-decisions in the heat of the moment. 

Even if you are somewhat aware of your internal conflict your attempts to hide it are futile. You'll find yourself being critical of yourself and others, you'll involuntarily focus on the negative (threats!) and your tone of voice/word choice/body language will give you away.

A coach of mine called this leaking. It's gross but accurate.

You are trying to hide your volatile mood but it leaks out and as a consequence you occur to other people as "not quite right."

This is not YOU either.

This is your alter-ego on high alert, looking for threats, and trying to protect you. It is defensive, augmentative and just waiting for someone to say or do that "thing" and it will lash out.

Again, to gain control over your alter-ego awareness is key. Be aware of what is pushing your buttons; what feels threatened and what is causing the threat.

Realize that a large percentage of the threats you perceive are just that, perceived threats. They are not real and if you can stay in current reality you can keep yourself from turning into The Amazon Warrior.

If you know one or both of these stress reactions are holding you back in your business or professional life reach out to me. This is how I serve my clients best and when they are able to manage their alter-egos and choose their response consciously they are able to keep stress away and stay focused on their goals.

For more resources go to https://womentakingthelead.com

Corporate wellness programs are very common now but how effective are they?

Many people talk about what their company offer but when you dig in many of these programs are underutilized. The reasons, and they vary, include the programs don’t fit the demographics of the organization, there’s a lack of awareness of what the company offers, lack of accessibility to the programs.

I recently met a consultant who had a fresh take on corporate wellness and I asked her to have a conversation with me to give you an opportunity to think about your own wellness programs, if your company offers one, and if it’s meeting the needs of the entire organization, especially yours.

Meet Tawn Williams

A renowned leader in the wellness space, Tawn Williams is a wellness consultant, speaker, and leadership development expert. She currently functions as the CEO and Head Holistic Experience Curator at House of Anaya, a platform she founded to help people access tools for wellness. One of only a handful of women of color in the corporate wellness consulting space, Tawn holds over 20 years of industry experience, having worked with international leadership teams at Intel, Avnet, and BRP. Tawn uses her unique lens and extensive background to help design corporate and individual wellness plans that feel holistic, personal, and inclusive.

In this episode Tawn and I discuss:

• Why, despite corporate wellness programs being a $53 billion dollar industry, burnout and stress continue to be at an all-time high.
• How well thought out wellness initiative, folded into the culture give companies a strategic advantage in today's competitive recruiting landscape.
• How effective wellness programs take into account not only physical and mental health but emotional, social, financial, and spiritual well-being.
• Anaya Wellness’s upcoming Impact Leadership Summit and Retreat

Resources

Episode Show Notes: Other resources and links mentioned in this episode.

Leadership Coaching: If you are interested in finding out more about my coaching process, the cost of coaching, or how to ask your employer to pay for you to work with a coach.

Apply to be on an “On-Air Coaching” episode: Are you a female leader who has been promoted in the last year? You are invited to apply to be on the podcast.

Leadership Operating System Inventory. Wondering what leadership traits you have? Take this FREE, FAST self-assessment and find out more about yourself as a Leader.

Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing: The book containing a simple, step by step system that gives you the foundation and structure to take your goals and make them happen.

Where you can find Tawn

Website: https://www.anayawell.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tawn-williams/

Hello everyone and thank you for joining me for this month-end episode on goals.

Here in the US we just had our Thanksgiving Day celebrations and I am now in a detox mode. Luckily I had the opportunity to help my brother and his wife move so I’ve burned off most of what I consumed and now I’m just waiting for the cravings to go away.

Now we are in full swing for the holidays and I am wishing you all peace, joy, and happiness as you make your plans, do your shopping, wrap your gifts, and make time for all the holiday parties and events that you want to attend. Remember, you don’t have to attend them all. Celebrate the holidays in the way that fulfills you.

Last December I did a series of episodes to walk you through my goal setting process and I used myself as an example to take you through all the steps.

I promised during that time that I would keep you updated on my progress toward my goals in the hope that it would be helpful for you as you work toward accomplishing your goals. I want you to know we are in this together.

This episode is the progress report on my goals through November.

During the Goal setting series I identified four focus areas that were important to me this year and each area has a specific goal assigned to it.

Thank You to Our Sponsors!

Zebralove Web Solutions: Your website tells a story about your business! At Zebralove Web Solutions, Milly and her team are going to make sure your website tells the story you want your customers to hear. Connect with Milly at zebralovewebsolutions.com to create the impression you want to make!

Resources

Create Goals that are Worthy of you: If you are done with either pursuing vanilla goals, suffering through the struggle of goals that are not aligned with your strengths, or dealing with heartbreak of an unattainable goal this online mini-course is for you!

Private Facebook Community: Chat, share and collaborate with other women listening to the podcast!

Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing: A simple, step by step system that gives you the foundation and structure to take your goals and make them happen.

Cloris Kylie, Marketing MBA, is the founder of Lead Generation Academy and Client Attraction Bootcamp. She helps coaches, authors, speakers, consultants, and skilled practitioners command attention, attract the right clients, build a captive audience of subscribers, and skyrocket their impact and revenue! A sought-after speaker, trainer, and author, Cloris has been featured on various television and radio shows, including the #1 podcast for entrepreneurs, "Entrepreneur On Fire." Cloris’ articles have been published on websites with millions of followers, such as TinyBuddha and Addicted2Success.

Key Takeaways:

[2:40] Produce something new, partner with those around you and promote your own message to reveal your magnificence every single day.

[6:55] Start with step #1 - Get clear on who your right client is.

[11:20] Create an offer that meets the needs of your ideal client.

[16:23] Learn the fundamentals before you try to change the rules.

[24:19] Leverage the audience of large platforms to build authority at a faster rate.

[30:32] What is a current business challenge Cloris is facing right now?

[32:45] What does Cloris’ support system look like? 

[35:12] How to get in contact with Cloris and how to get her new ebook for free. 

Mentioned in This Episode:

Women Taking the Lead Episode 97 with Cloris Kylie 

Cloris Kylie

8 Proven Ways to Build Authority and Grow Your Audience

Find more resources at https://womentakingthelead.com

Kristie Kennedy is a motivational speaker, a personal development coach and an established author. Kristie has a rich treasury of insight and knowledge for women who are challenged in three areas: self-worth, self-starting and self-growth. She is a visionary leader, who serves as women’s beauty, business, brilliance and body image speaker with a passion for empowering individuals to live magnificently in the face of adversity. 

Playing Small Moment

Kristie is an artist at heart and didn’t know she could use those skills to be expressive and was often held back by her own fear. In college, she was afraid to contribute to class discussions for fear of being wrong and realized that her professor was enabling her fear and holding her back.

The Wake Up Call

This year has been a year of transformation for Kristie, which is pivotal for her role as an entrepreneurial leader. After being terminated unexpectedly from her spa career, she realized that she was worth so much more than what she was working for.

Style of Leadership

Kristie leads from within. She builds herself up with affirmations from her book so that she can be strong form the inside out. Kristie is also a firm believer in doing unto others as they would do unto you.

What Are You Excited About?

Kristie is pumped about her new online radio show, Massive Momentum. Her show talks about small steps with massive power and how effective you can be once you overcome your fears.

Leadership Practice

Journaling has been therapeutic for Kristie, ever since middle school. She journals everything internally and externally, and finds peace in it.

Book to Develop Leadership

“Aim for Greatness: See it, Say it and Soar!” by Kristie Kennedy

“The Mary Kay Way: Timeless Principles from America's Greatest Woman Entrepreneur” by Mary Kay Ash

What Would You Tell Your Younger Self?

“Dear Kristie, one day you are going to wake up and realize that all of your pain was a divine oyster housing a pearl of unrevealed power.”

Inspirational Quote

“Success doesn’t come to you; you go to it.” Marva Collins

Interview Links

www.kristiekennedy.com 

Did you know women represent only 33% of employees in the Tech industry?

And according to Accenture half of women who go into the tech industry drop out by the age of 35.

Knowing those stats, it’s great when you hear of a company that is beating those odds. I wanted to know what is making the difference, so I’ve invited Laura Baldwin, the President of O’Reilly Media to share what they are doing at O’Reilly with all of us.

Meet Laura Baldwin

Laura Baldwin began working with O’Reilly Media in October 2001 as Chief Financial Officer and added Chief Operating Officer to her responsibilities before becoming O’Reilly’s first President in March 2011. Prior to O’Reilly, she consulted for the publishing industry with BMR Associates, managing diverse large projects. Her media career started at Chronicle Books, where she was CFO for ten years, contributing to its successful distribution and gift business launch. Laura’s diverse experience in banking, corporate governance, and media fuels her passion for the industry. She credits her leadership ethos to her all-girls high school, where she was taught that leadership is available to anyone who demonstrates initiative and drive regardless of their gender. At O’Reilly, she helped to create a diversity scholarship program and continues to advocate for an inclusive and open workforce.

In this episode Laura and I discuss:

·         O'Reilly's executive team stat (45% women) and companywide stat of 43% women

·         When O’Reilly realized there was a discrepancy in their company, and something needed to change.

·         What they are doing differently, which has allowed them to sustainably achieve these numbers.

·         O’Reilly’s current focus to help their people continue to have flexibility and manageable workloads.

Resources

Connect with Jodi Flynn on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodiflynn

Leadership Coaching. Find out more about my coaching process, or how to ask your employer to pay for you to work with a coach. https://calendly.com/d/djm-mnc-2km

Apply to be on an “On-Air Coaching” episode. Are you a female leader who has been promoted in the last year? Apply to be on the podcast. https://forms.gle/xiTZt2JAWZnWEiWp7

Leadership Operating System Inventory. Wondering what kind of Leadership traits you have? Take this FREE, FAST self-assessment and find out more about yourself as a Leader. https://womentakingthelead.com/leadership-abilities-inventory

Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing. The book containing a simple, step by step system that gives you the foundation and structure to take your goals and make them happen. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N3LH7S0

Where you can find Laura and O’Reilly’s resources

O’Reilly’s diversity statement: https://www.oreilly.com/diversity/

Free diversity resources: https://www.oreilly.com/online-learning/building-diversity/

Laura Baldwin:  https://www.oreilly.com/people/laura-baldwin/

Corporate Responsibility in the Age of AI: https://www.oreilly.com/radar/corporate-responsibility-in-the-age-of-ai/

Rich Brooks is founder and president of flyte new media a web design and marketing firm in Portland, Maine. He is a nationally recognized speaker on entrepreneurship, digital marketing and social media.  He is a founder of The Agents of Change Digital Marketing Conference, an annual conference on search, social & mobile marketing. He runs The Marketing Agents Podcast where he interviews marketing experts from around the world on search, social & mobile marketing.  He is also a regular contributor at SocialMediaExaminer.com, the world’s most popular social media marketing blog.

http://womentakingthelead.com/rich-brooks/

Sandy Weiner, founder of Last First Date, is devoted to helping women achieve healthy, off the charts love in the second half of life. An internationally known TEDx speaker, dating coach, speaker, and workshop leader, Sandy specializes in helping women communicate effectively, set clear boundaries in relationships, and value themselves. She believes that a woman of value attracts her best partner. Sandy has contributed hundreds of articles to several prestigious publications, including the Huffington Post, Psychology Today, and The Good Men Project, and she is the dating expert at Better After 50. She is also the host of Last First Date Radio, an acclaimed show about attracting and sustaining healthy relationships in midlife.

Playing Small Moment

Sandy had the opportunity to do a TED Talk after discussing her love for TED Talks with a friend, but she was petrified of public speaking. She hired a speech coach and was able to deliver the speech with phenomenal affect. Sandy had to make the choice to play it small or be amazing.

The Wake Up Call

Sandy looked to the future of her marriage, realized that she would be alone with her husband, once the kids were older, and moved out. This was a thought that she was not looking forward to, and the more time they spent apart, the more their differences surfaced. 

Style of Leadership

Sandy teaches her clients to be their own coach. She says “It’s not about powering over, it’s about powering with.” Sandy believes that empowering to change is much more powerful than shaming into change.

What Are You Excited About?

She is re-launching Find Love Online After 40, a pre-recorded course that helps women learn how to find love online, successfully.

Leadership Practice

Having and accountability partner has been greatly beneficial for Sandy. They meet a couple of times a week and set small goals, then discuss their success or what they plan to do if they didn’t succeed.

Book to Develop Leadership

Fierce Conversations: Achieving Success at Work and in Life One Conversation at a Time, by Susan Scott

What Would You Tell Your Younger Self?

Get more support! She tried to do it all, and lost herself. Self-care is so important, and it is essential to delegate, even at home.

Inspirational Quote

“Strive not to be a success, but rather be a value.”

Interview Links

LastFirstDate.com

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/yourlastfirstdate/

Could anyone possibly meet the expectations you have for yourself?

Many of the women I coach have such high expectations for themselves, they sacrifice health and happiness to meet them.

Sometimes the driver is the thought that others are expecting a lot from you. But if you looked closely, is that true? Are others watching you and expecting you to overdeliver all the time?

Or are you assigning them those judgments because in reality you’re judging yourself.

I had a fantastic conversation with Andrea about trying to meet your own unrealistic expectations, delegating, having healthy boundaries, and asking for help.

If you feel like you’re doing too much for everyone else, and not getting enough time for you, or for the people and things that are also important to you, listen in.

Resources

Episode Show Notes: Transcript and links mentioned in this episode.

One-Hour Leadership Coaching Session: This session is designed to get to the heart of the challenges you are experiencing in your new role. You’ll be sent a quick questionnaire to fill out ahead of our meeting so we can make the most of our time together.

Apply to be on an “On-Air Coaching” episode: Are you a female leader who has been promoted in the last year? You are invited to apply to be on the podcast.

Leadership Coaching: If you are interested in finding out more about my coaching process, the cost of coaching, or how to ask your employer to pay for you to work with a coach, schedule a call with me.

Checklist to Ask Your Company for Coaching: Would coaching help you become a stronger leader? Wondering if your company would pay? It doesn't hurt to ask!

Leadership Operating System Quiz: Wondering what kind of Leadership traits you have? Take this FREE, FAST quiz and find out more about yourself as a Leader.

Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing: The book containing a simple, step by step system that gives you the foundation and structure to take your goals and make them happen.

Stephen Woessner is CEO of Predictive ROI and the host of the brilliant Onward Nation podcast. He is the author of two bestselling books, The Small Business Owner’s Handbook to Search Engine Optimization and Increase Online Sales Through Viral Social Networking. His digital marketing insights have been featured in SUCCESS, Forbes, Entrepreneur, The Washington Post, Inc. Magazine and more. His agency blends education in very transparent ways for clients.

A Women Who Has Influenced Your Life

Stephen’s Grandmother, Julia, is a woman who has influenced his life. She was from Greece and her grandchildren called her Yia Yia. She worked side by side with her husband, raising 4 children and 10 grandchildren, while running their own restaurant. Yia Yia came to the US when she was 5 years old and her mother died during child birth shortly after this move. Julia’s father didn’t know how to raise kids, so he sent them to the orphanage and went back to Greece to find a new mother for them. The conditions inside the orphanage were horrific. Julia was a tenacious woman who overcame great odds to obtain her position in life.  She was loving, caring, hardworking, and compassionate. She also taught her children and grandchildren to be entrepreneurs that treat everyone with the respect and dignity they deserve.

What He Sees That Hold Women Back

The impostor syndrome – we are all victims of it. Stephen says you need to have an exorcism to get it out. The issues are: societal roles, peer pressures, and the traditional values or acceptances that may make women the victim. It’s that little voice which sits on your shoulder and says ‘who do you think you are to attempt something so awesome?’ You are doing that to yourself, more than the world is. Be scared and do it anyway!

What He Has Learned from Women

You can be compassionate and tough as nails, at the same time. 

The Necessary Changes

Stephen says there are a couple of things that need to change. Women cannot get hung up on titles. Everyone within an organization can be a leader. Stop feeling sorry for yourself, and acknowledge the fact that you are one. Put on your big girl clothes and be a great one! Remember, you are always mentoring 24/7/365, there is never a break whether you acknowledge it or not.

Inspirational Quote

“Procrastination and fear are the enemies of success; the war is long, but the battles are daily.” ~ Noel DeJesus

What Are You Excited About?

Stephen is excited about his daughter blossoming into an amazing nine-year-old. In the business realm, he has many projects in the works. He is writing two books: the first one focuses on strategies of how business owners can use podcasts to increase sales traffic leads and sales, which is due out in the fall of 2016. The second book concentrates on the knowledge that they have extracted from their onward nation podcasts, which is due out in early 2017. Predictive ROI launched a brand new service called Sales Generating Podcasts.

Interview Links

www.onwardnation.com

www.predictiveroi.com

http://onwardnation.com/12download/

Bob Newhart’s SNL “Stop It” video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow0lr63y4Mw

https://womentakingthelead.com/stephen-woessner

Born with Cerebral Palsy, Win Charles has defied the odds by becoming an author. Her memoir I, Win is an amazing story of how she remembers her life through the years of having a condition called CP. Competing in the Kona Iron Man Triathlon, Win Charles truly is an inspiration to many. Today Win Charles is planning on touring the country and speaking to schools and institutions to raise awareness about cerebral palsy. She is also an advocate of veterans across the world.

http://womentakingthelead.com/win-charles/

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year was celebrated on September 14 and 15. Schools are back in session. Well, I’m not Jewish and I don’t have children but this feeling of new beginnings is not lost on me. 

How about you? Do you have things around you in your life reminding you to celebrate what has come to pass and prepare for what is to come? 

http://womentakingthelead.com/bonus-episode-time-for-a-new-beginning

Bola is a money coach, business strategist and founder of Clever Girl Finance, a platform that empowers and educates women to make the best financial decisions for their current and future selves. Clever Girl Finance also inspires women to pursue their dreams of financial independence in order to live life on their own terms.

Playing Small Moment

Bola attended a meeting at work with a senior VP. Though in her head she had so much to say, she actually didn't say anything for the whole hour. After the meeting had concluded, the executive pulled her aside and told her if she didn’t speak up people would not realize her potential. Bola realized that she can be successful at doing what she puts her heart into. She just needs to quit thinking the WHAT IF.

The Wake Up Call

Bola’s wakeup call was when she had her twins; she realized she needed to pursue her dreams. Bola wanted to make sure she left a legacy her children would be proud of. She told her fear that she was going on a journey and fear could come along for the ride, but that it was going to need to take a back seat because she was the one in charge now.

Style of Leadership

Bola does well when she is motivated to be her best. She is a motivational leader. Bola is very good at helping people to realize how capable they are and how much power they have.

What Are You Excited About?

Clever Girl Finance is seven months old. Bola is working on a weekly business planner for women, to help them plan out their business goals, visions, business tasks, and business finances. She is focusing on small business owners, entrepreneurs, and women who are launching their business part-time or full-time.

Leadership Practice

Affirmation and To Do lists make Bola a better leader and business owner.

Book to Develop Leadership

Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office: 101 Unconscious Mistakes Women Make That Sabotage Their Careers by Lois P. Frankel

Advice For Younger Self

Bola, do not be afraid! Do not worry about fear of failure and fear of what others think. 

Inspirational Quote

“We can’t become what we need to be by remaining what we are.” ~ Oprah Winfrey

Interview Links

Web: Clevergirlfinance.com

Email: info@clevergirlfinance.com

Instagram: @Clevergirlfinance

Facebook: Facebook.com/Clevergirlfinance

https://womentakingthelead.com/bola-sokunbi/

Welcome to this 16th bonus episode for Women Taking the Lead.

In the last bonus episode I talked about how it’s so important to have a picture in your mind of what success is going to look like and a sense of how you are going to feel when you get there.

I also did a guided exercise to help you with that so if you have not listened to that episode yet go back and listen to Bonus Episode: A Future You’ll Be Excited About.

I’m talking to you now about commitment but it’s really important you have something worth committing to.

When you have that really important something come back to this episode as I guide you to the next step.

At the beginning stages of forming what success will look and feel like you have the thought, but no action or very little action to back it up. If in the past you stayed in this phase you probably noticed that you were just wishing and wishing, and then you noticed all the time going by with no wish granted.

Every now and again you may take tentative steps toward this dream. You try something new; you buy lottery tickets or you try to form a new habit that will get you better results. If it doesn't pan out you go back to wishing.

If you want to achieve that success you imagine it will require changes; changes you must commit to.

Access the full transcript and find more resources at https://womentakingthelead.com

I have an update to share with you all.

If you are not subscribed to the podcast hit the follow or subscribe button so you get the comeback episode when it comes out. And if you know anyone who can benefit from any previous episodes, please share those episodes with them.

If you are looking for leadership development opportunities for yourself, your team or your organization, reach out to me. We can customize a program that meets your specific needs. You can reach me at jodi@womentakingthelead.com.

Thank you for your ongoing support and understanding. I’m excited about what the future holds for Women Taking the Lead and for all of us striving to make a difference in the world of work.

Have a wonderful summer, and I look forward to coming back with renewed energy and a clear vision for the future. Until then, here’s to your success!

Resources

Connect with Jodi Flynn on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodiflynn

Leadership Coaching. Find out more about my coaching process, or how to ask your employer to pay for you to work with a coach. https://calendly.com/d/djm-mnc-2km

Apply to be on an “On-Air Coaching” episode. Are you a female leader who has been promoted in the last year? Apply to be on the podcast. https://forms.gle/xiTZt2JAWZnWEiWp7

Leadership Operating System Inventory. Wondering what kind of Leadership traits you have? Take this FREE, FAST self-assessment and find out more about yourself as a Leader. https://womentakingthelead.com/leadership-abilities-inventory

Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing. The book containing a simple, step by step system that gives you the foundation and structure to take your goals and make them happen. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N3LH7S0

Equal parts teacher, connecter, and founder, Darrah Brustein stands for entrepreneurial empowerment.

In the fall of 2018, Darrah launched "Life by Design, Not by Default" sharing stories with visionaries like Deepak Chopra, Adam Grant and Jen Sincero in a 45-speaker online summit reaching over 7,000 people.

For the past 10 years, she founded and scaled two businesses in tandem: a networking events company serving 30,000+ people and a payment processing company spanning 38 states.

A prolific writer and interviewer, Darrah's thought leadership articles on lifestyle design have been read by over 1 million people across Forbes, Entrepreneur, and Thrive Global.

Her motivating motto "build a life of your own design, a career to fund it, and a network to support it" has inspired thousands to reach higher and dream bigger. She was even named “#1 to follow” by BossBabes. Most recently, Darrah launched the video series “Diving Deep With Deepak & Darrah” to make deep topics relatable and translatable into your life.

In this episode Darrah and I discuss...

• What to do when you sense it's time for a change.
• How to genuinely build a network that will happily work for you.
• Relationship building tools to achieve the success you're hoping to (and how to connect with anyone you want to meet).
• Action steps to take you from an ordinary existence to living the life of your dreams.

Links

Website: Darrah.co

Instagram: @Darrahb

Thank You to Our Sponsors

TextExpander lets you instantly insert snippets of text from a repository of emails, boilerplate and other content, as you type – using a quick search or abbreviation. Go to https://textexpander.com/podcast and select Women Taking the Lead from the drop-down list for 20% off your first year!

Zebralove Web Solutions: Close your online marketing skills gap, learn how to remain relevant in a quickly changing marketplace, and get ongoing support in promoting your businesses online. Stay ahead of the game by signing up for these Digital Marketing Forum. Go to womentakingthelead.com/zebraworkshops to register.

Resources

Create Goals that are Worthy of you: If you are done with either pursuing vanilla goals, suffering through the struggle of goals that are not aligned with your strengths, or dealing with heartbreak of an unattainable goal this course is for you!

Private Facebook Community: Chat, share and collaborate with other women listening to the podcast!

Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing: A simple, step by step system that gives you the foundation and structure to take your goals and make them happen.

Dr. Ellen Braaten is associate director of The Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), director of the Learning and Emotional Assessment Program at MGH, and an assistant professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School. She earned her Ph.D. in psychology from Colorado State University, has published four books, and is an educational leader and advocate for mental health. 

Playing Small Moment

Ellen was asked to start a new program to assess children with a wide variety of differences. She didn’t take on the role of a leader like she should have; she didn’t think of herself first.

The Wake Up Call

When Ellen’s oldest child entered middle school, she realized her daughter needed her in a different way. She had to start working part time and had to pick and choose parts of her job that were more important.

Style of Leadership

Ellen tries to hire good people and let them do their best. She gives them freedom and confidence to do a good job.

What Are You Excited About?

Ellen is writing multiple books with different partners right now and is feeling very inspired and motivated.

Leadership Practice

Ellen leads with empathy. It helps her understand where people are coming from. It can be an Achilles heel but it’s also very powerful. Looking at a problem through their eyes can be helpful in all partnerships.

Book to Develop Leadership

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, by Susan Cain

What Would You Change?

Ellen would tell her younger self: don’t worry, don’t hurry. Your career path is much longer than you think it is.

Inspirational Quote

“Bloom where you are planted” ~ Ellen Braaten

Interview Links

The Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds at Mass General Hospital: www.mghclaycenter.org 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/massgeneralclaycenter/?ref=hl 

Twitter: @MGHClayCenter 

Ellen’s handle: @ellenbraaten 

Google +: https://plus.google.com/101617766762117356957/videos 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBdGAoFma-eEZL4ywneftIg 

If you enjoyed this episode subscribe in iTunes or Stitcher Radio and never miss out on inspiration and community!

March started off a celebration of Women’s History Month and ended with episodes on how to identify and support leaders who are struggling, especially now that we are in the midst of a pandemic.

Ironically, the focus in March changed the week of the 5-year anniversary episode where I offered some perspectives that will help you to look at things differently so you could release some of the stress that you are likely experiencing.

Changing your perspective, depending on the perspective you choose, can be like releasing a pressure valve.

The next episode, which was the episode before this one, talked about the effects stress has on your system and why you may be finding it hard to function at your very best.

I listed out some symptoms of a leader who is struggling and the mindset of a leader who, while being challenged in a crisis, can continue to function and grow in the face of those challenges.

I know it has not been easy to talk about hard things but the way to the other side is through. We need to acknowledge what we are dealing with before we can get through it.

Common Responses to Stress

Under stress, we typically go into a Fight, Flight or Freeze response. Flight looks like avoiding or running away from a problem. Fight looks like getting defensive or combative. Freeze looks like going still as you take in information and formulate your next move – are you going to Fight or take Flight?

New research is also showing a female response to stress will also include Tend and Befriend. Some of us under stress will have increased nurturing behaviors and seek out social connections.

How many of us in the current crisis have gone on a baking frenzy?

My hand is way up in the air.

How many of us have increased the amount of reach outs to friends, family, and colleagues to reassure them and ourselves that they are thought of and the connection is still there?

Again, my hand is way up in the air.

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, it is not business as usual. While you can’t expect that you’ll have the same performance that you had before this crisis there are some gentle things you can do to increase your focus and productivity.

First, you must find calm.

Perhaps not feeling calm all day every day, but injecting calm throughout the day.

When we are stressed, we tend to be very active but not always productive. When we feel stressed, we often also feel time-pressured. We start moving so fast we can get stuck in the weeds, losing sight of the big picture and important details. We start giving unimportant details too much time and attention which results in lots and lots of wasted time. We are also more likely to make mistakes when we are moving too fast and under too much pressure.

The goal is to avoid or, if you are already there, to get out of this frenetic state so you are functioning optimally.

Start with a practice in the morning that helps you calm your racing mind and get clear on what the priority of the day is.

Set timers or put on your daily calendar time blocks to unplug and engage in activities such as meditation, prayer, reading, walking, stretching, yoga, breathing exercises, fun and play. You choose what works best for you.

Those activities will help to take you from feeling energetically stretched and scattered to bringing that energy back in your body and feeling centered.

This level of calm has several benefits. It quiets the chattering, distracting, monkey mind thoughts so you can give whatever you are currently doing your full attention. A state of calm comes with a heightened level of awareness so you are able to see things more clearly.

Additionally, this level of awareness helps you to realize everything will get done in due time. It all gets done one step at a time.

This practice of finding calm will help with the next practice to help you continue to increase your focus and productivity.

Practice being aware of your thoughts and emotions.

Your thoughts and emotions are your signals to your state of being. If you find yourself anything but calm, joyful, or enlivened, you are likely feeling threatened by something and it’s creating fear, however subtle. You may not even recognize the fear.

The emotion of fear gets a bad reputation in our culture because we see it as a weak emotion only felt by those who lack courage. When in reality, courage is the ability to do something that frightens you. An act is not courageous unless the person taking the action is feeling fear but does not let the fear paralyze them.

By definition, fear is an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat.

Guess what? The current crisis is threatening to you and to people and things important to you. If you can become aware of your experience and name it you have some power over it.

You can then look more closely at what the fear is and challenge the belief that is causing it. 

I’ll use myself as an example. When I find myself getting wiped out, I notice it’s after spending too much time reading the news online. The numbers and the stories overwhelm me because I feel powerless to stop it or make a difference.

The belief is I am powerless in this situation and am a victim of the circumstances. To challenge this belief so it no longer has power over me, I ask myself, “Is it true that there is nothing I can do that will make a difference?”

The quick realization is that there are many things I can do to make a difference:

• I can social-distance to prevent myself from getting sick
• I can produce a podcast to help others get through this crisis
• I can email, text, or call someone to check in on them
• I can work on projects I wouldn’t I have time to complete if I was traveling more
• I can get prepared for when the restrictions are lifted
• I can donate money to any of the organizations on the frontlines of the pandemic

Name your fear and the belief that is causing it, and then challenge that believe so that you can see that you do have some power and there are some things you can do to control your destiny, however small.

Find a trusted person to talk about your feelings with. It is so powerful to have someone you can go to admit that you are sad, angry, joyful or “meh” without your emotion being judged.

Now, all that being said, this exercise isn’t to push you through the emotion so you can move on as quickly as possible. Do this exercise gently and know it’s okay to sit with the emotion for a while before you take a closer look at it.

The next practice I recommend to increase your focus and productivity is to…

Accept help if it is offered.

For some (or many) of you, this is really hard to do because you’re accustomed to being the person who is on top of things and gives off the impression of having it all handled. Some leaders even feel threatened by this.

But if you want to have more focus and be more productive, you’re going to have to make this a team effort.

Let’s face it, during a crisis it must be a team effort so let your team shine.

Be open to new ideas and ways of doing things. You show you’re open by listening, asking questions, showing appreciation for an idea (even if the idea isn’t going to work acknowledge the person for speaking up and bringing the idea to you).

I started with accepting help if it’s offered because the next one can be even more challenging for over achievers.

Reach out for help

Lay your cards out on the table. Make and a list of what needs to get done and ask your team and your colleagues for help. If you have a team, make them a part of the process of identifying everything that needs to get done and ask if they are willing and able to take on some tasks.

I’m hearing stories of teams shuffling tasks around so the tasks are being done by the person it makes sense to be doing it.

For some of you, you need to step away from daily operations for chunks of time to attend webinars on the changes in your industry. You need to rely on your teams even more right now.

You may be quarantined or sick. You’re going to need to rely on your friends, family and local community to get groceries, medications and other supplies.

Now is not the time to let the identity of being the superhero get in the way of the greater good, and your own good.

Believe it or not, there are people right now who are dying to be more helpful.

Helping others gives us a sense of meaning and purpose. If you don’t give others a chance to be helpful you are blocking an opportunity for them to find meaning in this crisis and to also show how capable and caring they really are.

If you struggle with any of these recommendations to help you increase your focus and productivity (finding calm, self-awareness, accepting help and asking for help) I’m going to invite you to take the Energy Leadership Assessment as the solution to that problem.

Forbes magazine listed the Energy Leadership Assessment as One of the Top 11 Assessments Every Executive Should Take.

The reason for that is, quoting right from the article, “The Energy Leadership Index Assessment provides a unique lens on self-awareness and emotional intelligence, two key ingredients for any leader. Situational awareness of yourself and others is critical for a leader to respond appropriately to the people in their charge. Understanding where you are at any moment and how you respond to stress can make all the difference.”

The knowledge you gain from taking the assessment allows you to continue to grow and develop as a strong, compassionate, effective leader.

If you would like to explore the Energy Leadership Assessment you can go to womentakingthelead.com/assessment to find out more and purchase it if that feels right for you at this time.

I would love to work with you.

Again, for those of you in leadership, I thank you for your contribution. We need self-aware, skilled leaders more than ever.

I hope this was of value to you and here’s to your success!

Resources

Create Goals that are Worthy of you: If you are done with either pursuing vanilla goals, suffering through the struggle of goals that are not aligned with your strengths, or dealing with heartbreak of an unattainable goal this course is for you!

Private Facebook Community: Chat, share and collaborate with other women listening to the podcast!

Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing: A simple, step by step system that gives you the foundation and structure to take your goals and make them happen.

In this review I have narrowed down my focus areas from 5 to 4, removing outsourcing as a focus area. Outsourcing is still going to happen and will occur as a part of my overall plan; it just won’t be something I focus on or measure for progress.

Focus area #1 Increase profitability in my business

Goal: have a net income (earnings minus expenses) of $80,000 minimum this year.

With the help of my mastermind group and going through my goals review I have 4 sub-goals for this goal. These sub-goals are, in the next 6 months:

• Have 12 new Executive Leadership Coaching clients. This is coaching that focuses on leaders within organizations to help them with their performance and happiness at work.
• To do 10 corporate workshops.
• Promote the DIY products that are on the website for sale
• Do two more group programs by the end of the year.

May’s Profit and Loss report showed a net profit of $1658.40, down about 39% from April’s profit and still far off from the average $6700/month required to see a net profit of $80,000. The good news is I have a new client, the potential for a couple more in the coming weeks and 2 corporate workshops in July so next month things should look a lot better.

If you know any ambitious overworked women who would like to make more money and achieve their goals while doing less, please send them my way. Thank you!

Focus area #2 Build more strength and endurance

The original goal for strength and endurance was to do 300 Spartan-regulation burpees in good form in one session by June 30 but I completed that in February.

Goal: I had updated my burpee goal to do 1000 burpees at the Burpees for Boobs event I’ll be planning to occur in October. Separately, I have a goal to do an unassisted pull-up before the end of this year.

With this new review I’ll stop talking about the original goal of 300 burpees and only mention the goal of 1000 burpees going forward.

If you receive my newsletter you know I strained a muscle in my lower back putting a dish into the dishwasher and this is an injury that got worse before starting to get better so I have not been able to do my normal workouts this past week. However, I always plan a cushion. Knowing it was possible to get sick and/or injured during the 9 months I would be training I built in a 4 week cushion in case I needed to take a  break.

Pray that my back is well enough to begin training again soon and this will not be a concern.

For pull-ups I now have the reminder on my to do list every day so I’m getting them done. Starting to see some small progress and I’ll be looking to see what I can do when I’m no longer so uncomfortable.

Focus are #3 Romantic Partnership

Goal: Be in a committed monogamous relationship with a man.

I am continuing to meet people, continuing with first dates but not seeing a lot of progress in this area.

While doing the goals mini-course I identified qualities that would help to take me to my goal. The ones that I specifically want to develop are being aligned, feminine, social, focused, disciplined and committed.

Then I identified the daily practices that would help me to develop these qualities. I was not completely surprised to see that many of the practices had to do with my self-care, especially sleep, a lighter schedule and transition time between meetings and activities.

This past week being injured and not feeling like my usual self, never mind feminine, it was hard to be engaged on the dating app.

When you’re sick or injured it is natural and appropriate to be focused on healing and so you need to be self-focused.

For me, it was taking so much energy to just compose messages back on the dating app it was ridiculous. And not surprising the men I matched up with were also self-focused. We had the same vibe going on; I was just pretending that it wasn’t the case for me.

My intention this summer is to take excellent care of myself so my best self and the self that enjoys being feminine and social can come forth. It’s a new strategy for this goal but it’s a good one.

Focus area #4 Live Events

Goal: Plan and execute the Burpees for Boob event in October in partnership with Marie Sola of Daughters of Change and Emily leRoux, the Spartan Women Global Leader and Global Partnerships.

In October, which is breast cancer awareness month, we will partner for a “Burpees for Boobs” event. I am going to coordinate the event here in Maine and Emily will coordinate these events globally.

Also, as a part of this focus area, though it is not technically a goal, I will continue to serve on the board for The Maine Women’s Conference to develop this start-up entity and plan the conference for 2019.

In doing the goals mini-course as a part of my review process I realized how important live events are to me. This is an area where I shine and part of the reason I chose to have workshops be a part of my plan to increase profitability in my business.

Have you reviewed your goals yet to see if they are still serving you and in alignment with your values and superpowers? Do you know what qualities will help you to achieve your goal and do you know how to apply your superpowers to get better results?

Did you not set goals at the beginning of the year and your thinking now is as good a time as any. Because now is as good a time as any. We still have 6 months left in 2018 and you can make a lot of progress in that time.

This entire mini-course is only $29. If you are interested in finding out more and accessing this mini-course go to womentakingthelead.com/goals. And as a thank you for being a listener of this podcast you can use coupon code goals10 to get $10 off.

As always I hope this was of value to you and here’s to your success!

Thank You to Our Sponsors!

Zebralove Web Solutions: Your website tells a story about your business! At Zebralove Web Solutions, Milly and her team are going to make sure your website tells the story you want your customers to hear. Connect with Milly at zebralovewebsolutions.com to create the impression you want to make!

Resources

Create Goals that are Worthy of you: If you are done with either pursuing vanilla goals, suffering through the struggle of goals that are not aligned with your strengths, or dealing with heartbreak of an unattainable goal this course is for you!

Private Facebook Community: Chat, share and collaborate with other women listening to the podcast!

Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing: A simple, step by step system that gives you the foundation and structure to take your goals and make them happen.

Josey Milner is part small town teen, part road-worthy country starlet, and starting at only 17 years old, she turned heads and changed hearts with her debut US single, “Not Pretty Enough.” The song thrust Josey into the country music spotlight, launching her anti-bullying campaign with Angels and Doves, earning her a 2013 Independent Country Music Award nomination for Promising Young Artist, a Top 10 Hottest New Artist designation, and a Number One single on the world’s first independent country music chart, Indie World.>

Now, 19 and a recent Magna Cum Laude high school graduate, this CMT.com Top 20 Artist has taken her initial successes to greater heights with “Cowgirls,” which reached #1 on New Music Weekly and Top 75 on Music Row!

http://www.womentl.com/josey-milner

First, the Agents of Change conference was awesome! I want to give a huge thank you to Rich Brooks, Amanda O’Brien, Lindsay Babayan and the whole Flyte New Media team who made this such an awesome experience. A crap-load of work goes into an event like that and they made it look easy.

Then, I got to hang out with a lot of you. The Women Taking the Lead community was in attendance at The Agents of Change. What was really fun was The Agents of Change conference happened the day after last Thursday’s 100% Jodi episode in which I introduced The Cycle of Change. Several of you came up to me to let me know you listened to the episode and it rung true for you as well. We had a lot of fun laughing about how much we resist the Toss In phase but we are looking forward to the next phase.

And for my new friends…if we met at The Agents of Change and you’ve just started to listen to Women Taking the Lead, Welcome!! If you have not yet joined the private facebook group for this podcast you can find it at facebook.com/groups/womentl/.

Last week, I introduced The Cycle of Change using the analogy of a card game as I learned it through iPEC Coaching. I gave an overview of the four phases you can find yourself, in any area of your life. I’m going to dive into each phase and I started with the phase that I was in with Women Taking the Lead, the Toss In phase.

We don’t go through The Cycle of Change once; we go through it over and over again with each cycle ending in the Toss in. The Toss In is a stage of completion and probably some bittersweet feelings as you start to accept everything that happened in the last phase and move toward emotionally detaching from it and in some cases there may be a physical separation from the environment and people who were in the last cycle with you.

So, using the card game analogy, this is when the last game comes to an end but you’re still alive and so you will continue to play one game or another. Again, it’s a continuous cycle.

Phase 1: Shuffle (Thinking and Reflecting)

The next phase, the “Shuffle” phase is a non-committal phase where you want to contemplate what was and what could be next. In the Toss In phase of non-action, the contemplating and reflecting had more to do with grieving and letting go of the past and what could have been.

In The Shuffle phase the contemplation and reflection moves toward focusing mostly on possibilities for the future.

I know myself and a lot of you will feel uncomfortable allowing for inactivity for an indefinite amount of time. But believe me, if you give yourself the space to do this you will then naturally begin to move into the part of The Shuffle phase where you begin research and network, and you will find the next thing that will re-energize and re-engage you.

When you enter The Shuffle phase you will find that you are better able to deal with the pain you began experiencing in the Toss In phase. You will also find you are better able to think on those events from the last cycle without becoming emotional. Rather, you can reframe what happened and logically process the information to find what worked and what didn’t work, giving you more expertise moving into this new cycle.

This is also the phase where you will evaluate where you are in your life. You’ll examine your core values and feelings so you can decide what is really important to you in your life and that will help you decide where you want to move next and how you want to play that game.

If you are in the beginning of this phase you’ll likely feel that you have lost control in this area of your life and that may spill over into other areas because you will second guess yourself. However, you’re also likely feeling like there’s an opportunity here for you – you just don’t know what it is yet.

This is also a phase in which you will likely experience spiritual growth because of the need to go inward and connect with something greater causing a leap in personal growth.

At the end of this phase you will have more inner strength, a plan to grow, and renewed energy. You will have a new vision for the future which will give you hope and a new purpose.

With all of this you will have more enthusiasm going into each day and will probably be breathing a sigh of relief that you can now move on and DO something.

If you allowed yourself to do the kind of work required in this phase (reflecting and researching) you will be able to focus on the right activities that will move you forward, rather than engaging in activities that are just what you think you “should” be doing.

If you find you are enthusiastic about researching, exploring new ideas, and networking and connecting with people who can move you forward in this area, you are likely well into this phase.

I mentioned in the last episode that I was definitely in the Toss In phase.

I don’t know if it’s because I had a chance to talk about on the podcast and with some of you at The Agents of Change conference, or if it’s because I’ve finally started catching up on the sleep I’ve been deprived of all summer – you guys, I slept a full 8 hours after Agents of Change and then took a nap the next afternoon. A nap - I can’t remember the last time I took a nap. I’m not known for napping.

I don’t know if it was from all of that but I can definitely feel myself in The Shuffle phase.

As I mentioned before I had already made some changes to the podcast and they felt right but I can feel myself wanting to do a deep dive again to make sure the vision I’ve had for Women Taking the Lead still excites me or if I need to dream bigger or change some of my plans.

I’ve started working with a digital strategist who just as a part of the discovery session has gotten me to think about who I am, what my gifts are, who I’m meant to serve and how I can best serve her.

I’ve also started drawing to me people who are energy workers, intuitive coaches and even mediums – here’s where the spiritual and personal growth play in.

I’ve let go of the discontent that after so much massive action in the last year things are still not exactly how I wanted them to be and I’ve moved on to dreaming about something new.

It feels good to be here and I’ll be keeping you posted on my progress.

For those of you who found your ears perking up and may nodding along as I went over The Shuffle phase here are some things that may help you now.

First, trust that everything you need to move through this phase will come to you. You don’t have to control or force it, just let it unfold and follow what interests you. Your curiosity and your interests are your north start right now.

Second, you’re starting to reach out to others. Only give your time and energy to those who want your highest good and avoid those who seem to be pushing or pulling you in a direction that doesn’t feel good or make sense to you right now. If you can sense judgment coming from them, just put some space between you and them for a while.

Third, when you’re ready to take a little bit of action, don’t overthink it. Just start somewhere. You can always pivot if your first moves aren’t giving you the information that you need.

Fourth, there may be some anxiety and you will likely find yourself coming face-to-face with beliefs or automatic ways of being from the past that make you anxious and hold you back. Confront them and challenge the truth of it.

For instance, for me an old belief that I get confronted with on occasion is the belief that if I have needs then I am burdensome and a bother to people. In this phase, that would hold me back from reaching out to others to ask them to impart their wisdom to me. Even though the reality is those with wisdom crave the opportunity to pass on what they know to those who are ready to receive it.

When I am confronted with thoughts like, “they have so much going on, I don’t want to disturb them”, or, “well that was a curt reply to my text, they must be annoyed with me”, I have to consciously let that go and trust that if I they really don’t have time for me they will kindly let me know.

Lastly, when you’re ready, begin creating goals and a plan to accomplish those goals. Then decide how and when you want to begin. Tap on those people who have your highest good at heart. They want to help in this stage because you are acting in alignment with your own highest good.

If you have not yet joined the private facebook group for this podcast you can find it at facebook.com/groups/womentl/.

I hope this was of value to you and here’s to your success!

Thank You to Our Sponsors!

Zebralove Web Solutions: Your website tells a story about your business! At Zebralove Web Solutions, Milly and her team are going to make sure your website tells the story you want your customers to hear. Connect with Milly at zebralovewebsolutions.com to create the impression you want to make!

Resources

Private Facebook Community: Chat, share and collaborate with other women in the community!

Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing: A simple, step by step system that gives you the foundation and structure to take your goals and make them happen.

The Accomplished Community: A community of entrepreneurial Type A women uniting to achieve their biggest goals with confidence, integrity and a sense of humor.

Subscribe to Women Taking the Lead

If you enjoyed this episode subscribe in iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Google Play Music or iHeart Radio and never miss out on inspiration and community!

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) work within organizations has gotten a lot of press lately. But what does it take for a company to truly become more diverse, equitable and inclusive?

To dive more deeply into the topic for this episode, I have brought on Wema Hoover.

Meet Wema Hoover, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Leader

Wema is a DEI leader and former Global head of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Google. She has also held executive roles at multiple Fortune 500 companies including Chief Diversity Officer and Global Head of Culture, Inclusion & Diversity at Sanofi and Global Diversity & Inclusion Lead at Pfizer.

Wema is a frequent speaker to business leadership audiences. She is working on a book and has authored many articles such as How to Transform DEI Energy Into Action in the Workplace from INC., and has been featured on Diversity Inc. and other podcasts.

In this episode Wema and I discuss...

• The approach to embed Diversity, Equity and Inclusion into people processes in an organization
• Gauging company readiness, metrics to measure progress, and creating environments for people to thrive
• What women can do to create more diversity in their own company

How to find Wema:

Connect on LinkedIn

Resources

Apply to be on an “On-Air Coaching” episode. Are you a female leader who has been promoted in the last year? Apply to be on the podcast.

Checklist to Ask Your Company for Coaching. Would coaching help you become a stronger leader? Wondering if your company would pay? It doesn't hurt to ask!

Leadership Operating System Inventory. Wondering what kind of Leadership traits you have? Take this FREE, FAST self-assessment and find out more about yourself as a Leader.

Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing. The book containing a simple, step by step system that gives you the foundation and structure to take your goals and make them happen.

Leadership Coaching. Find out more about my coaching process, the cost of coaching, or how to ask your employer to pay for you to work with a coach.

While working in the television industry, Marie Sola excelled at new business development and relationship building. Her entrepreneurial spirit inspired her to start her own company (Crocker Marketing, Inc.), which led to her creating the –

New England Emmy nominated television show The Maine Dish and The Maine Kids Show.

Following her work in the television industry, Marie worked internationally for the premiere networking group, of more than 20,000 CEOs around the world, Young Presidents’ Organization.

Deciding that she is the best boss she has ever had, Marie took the leap to go back and work for herself, founding Shasta Concepts LLC and Daughters of Change™. Combining her love of developing grassroots projects with her passion for social entrepreneurship, Marie’s work focuses on businesses with a conscience.

Playing Small Moment 

When Marie watched the planes hit the twin towers on 9/11, she felt compelled to take action. She organized the United Maine Lobster Feed and along with many Maine breweries, she was able to organize food for the emergency workers at “the pile”. To this day, it is one of the most significant days in her life, with a clear message to make her time on this earth count.

The Wake Up Call

Marie had always worked for other people’s passions and pocketbooks, which she knew didn’t mesh with her core themes. Marie had a wake up call when her teenage son admitted to not sharing something with her, “because she was working”, to make her take the leap and to start off on her own.       

Style of Leadership

Marie believes you must inspire and empower the people you lead by stripping down your ego and giving them a voice.

Current Leadership Challenge

Marie’s biggest challenge has been creating a business model for an abstract idea. She grapples with defining and focusing on what she needs to do first. 

What Are You Excited About?

Marie is currently working on what will be Maine’s largest public awareness and education campaign on domestic violence —Take Action Maine. 

What Does Your Business Support System Look Like?

A supportive partner can make all the difference when taking the big leap to do what you love.   

Leadership Practice

Meditation is essential to Marie. The time she takes to slow down and gather herself keeps her from being scattered.

Book to Develop Leadership

Conscious Capitalism by John Mackey  

Advice For Younger Self

“Do it sooner, don’t agonize over the small stuff and take the leap.” 

Inspirational Quote

“If your dreams do not scare you, they are not big enough” ~

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia

Links

Web: http://www.daughtersofchange.com

Email: msola@daughtersofchange.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/daughtersofchange

Find more resources at https://womentakingthelead.com

For your career, who do you go to for help and support?

Help comes in many forms and from various sources. Some help you can get for free and some will cost money.

I recommend utilizing the free resources when appropriate and for as many things as you can. And, it’s important to know that free resources may only get you so far depending on what your goals and challenges are.

I’ve seen many women get stuck in their career or with a situation at work because they keep going back to the people in their life who will offer their help for free, but who don’t have the expertise to guide this woman through her challenge effectively.

Knowing whom you can go to for what will save you time and energy, and not put any undue pressure on those in your support system who want to help but can’t give you what you need.

This episode will cover the types of help you can receive in your career for free, and how to utilize those people.

Resources

Episode Show Notes: Transcript and links mentioned in this episode.

Apply to be on an “On-Air Coaching” episode: Are you a female leader who has been promoted in the last year? You are invited to apply to be on the podcast.

Checklist to Ask Your Company for Coaching: Would coaching help you become a stronger leader? Wondering if your company would pay? It doesn't hurt to ask!

Leadership Operating System Quiz: Wondering what kind of Leadership traits you have? Take this FREE, FAST quiz and find out more about yourself as a Leader.

Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing: The book containing a simple, step by step system that gives you the foundation and structure to take your goals and make them happen.

Leadership Coaching: If you interested in finding out more about my coaching process, the cost of coaching, or how to ask your employer to pay for you to work with a coach, schedule a call with me.

Angela L. Walker Franklin, who became Des Moines University’s 15^th president in the spring of 2011, is a native of McCormick, South Carolina and a 1981 Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude graduate of Furman University, a small liberal arts college in Greenville, South Carolina. A licensed clinical psychologist, she completed her Ph.D. in clinical psychology at Emory University, followed by a yearlong clinical internship at Grady Memorial Hospital.

Angela L. Walker Franklin has worked in higher education for more than 20 years. Prior to her arrival at DMU, she held faculty and administrative positions at both Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia and Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee.

Get inspired ▶

http://womentakingthelead.com/angela-franklin

Paula Gosney is a writer, businesswoman, feminist, warrior, speaker and mom. At 11-years-old she was sent to boarding school, and during her teenage years she became the victim of sexual assault. Her 20’s were spent seeking pain relief through a mix of hard drugs, alcohol, and personal development masters. She established her first business at 21. Her current endeavor, Belief School, is an accumulation of all she has learned, taught and lived. Her personal vision is to help other women heal more quickly, accept love earlier in their lives and contribute to their own lives sooner. Much like what she would have done, had she been exposed to the principles she teaches today sooner. 

“As women, we need to celebrate our broken bits and stop the righteousness, stop the blaming and hold each other up. Because we are bloody awesome.” - Paula Gosney

Playing the Small Moment

Women succumb to two types of fear. One is an intuition-based fear which comes from deep in our subconscious. It is a healthy, survival-based fear. “Women are taught to ignore our gut feelings,” Paula says, “but what we should be doing is giving ourselves permission to trust this fear”. The second type of fear is one we should not allow ourselves to fall prey to, as it is one of the greatest poisons of our society. It is when we feel this fear telling us we cannot do something or we are not good enough that we need to embrace the moment and know that we are not the voices in our heads.

The Wake Up Call

Paula’s wakeup call came during some of her darkest days. She was listening to her inner victim and living the life it chose for her. One day, a profound thing happened as she was sitting in her car. Almost mystically, the clouds parted, the sun hit her shoulders and she thought “Wait, I get to choose how my life will be”. She found it empowering and now teaches others that if we stop listening to our inner victim we will become creative, solution-focused and powerful.

Style of Leadership

Paula believes in a service based leadership approach and leading by example. She says “we have to be the lighthouse and light the way for others by owning our own mistakes.” She adds “the world around us is a reflection of who we are being.”

What Are You Excited About?

Paula is bursting with excitement over her new book The Fuck Off Handbook for Healing and Celebrating Your Broken Bits. It’s just now coming together but she already knows it’s really good. It is a practical guide about shedding shame and owning our experiences. She adds that this book may not be the last as she certainly has 1 or 2 more books in her.

Leadership Challenge

Paula faces the challenge of moving into a bigger mindset. In her other businesses, she has always done everything herself. Her new project requires more funding and more partners. Everything is expanding. She is presently adopting a THINK BIG mentality and moving past previous challenges.   

Book to Develop Leadership

The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer

Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion by Sam Harris

Advice For Younger Self

Paula says she would grab her 16-year-old self by the shoulders and say “This is not about you. This has nothing to do with you. You get to choose your story.” and “Define what gives you satisfaction for yourself, don’t let it be defined by the people around you.”

Inspirational Quotes

Paula finds it beneficial to choose one of her limiting beliefs and then write her own success quote around it. 

“Be the change you want to see in the world.” – Gandhi

Links

How to Be Recognized for the Work You Do Webinar

Belief School

Belief School on Facebook

Find more resources at https://womentakingthelead.com

Sara Speicher, a wife and a mom of two little ones, helps women entrepreneurs make greater impact, serve their client better. Integrating business consulting and coaching, this international best-selling author’s specialty is helping mom-business owners, who are stuck due to a change in life or shift in business, make more money, have more time and more fun. Sara, who holds an MBA degree and is a former internationally recruited NCAA D-1 basketball player (at 6’1” she still rocks her high heels), and her husband are also avid travelers.

Playing Small Moment

Growing up, Sara was always told not to brag, because no one cares. Well, playing small held her back. Because of the fine line between bragging and using her accomplishments for marketing and credibility, she often sold herself short.

The Wake Up Call

She battled Post Partum Depression, she saw an offer for a health program and it clicked that she needed to start focusing on her health and her family. It came down to feeling bad for herself or doing something about it, so she chose to make changes.

Style of Leadership

Sara has a combination of different leadership types. She always puts her people first, and believes heavily in leading by example. She is always open about making changes with her leadership and parenting.

What Are You Excited About?

Sara is excited to give another look at her business, and having more time to spend with the girls.

Leadership Practice

Sara relies on trusting her gut as a leader.

Book to Develop Leadership

Circling the Sun by Paula McLain

What Would You Change?

Sara would tell herself to stop thinking and start doing.

Inspirational Quote

“One dream could change your life.”

Interview Links

www.saraoblakspeicher.com

If you enjoyed this episode subscribe in iTunes or Stitcher Radio and never miss out on inspiration and community!

Joan Sotkin is the award winning author of Build Your Money Muscles, host of The Prosperity Show, business and personal coach, business owner, and popular podcast guest. Her passion is helping people improve their relationship with money and themselves. Her sage, holistic approach emphasizes how your internal environment affects your external results and she provides great advice, based on years of learning and experience, on how to address that.

http://womentakingthelead.com/joan-sotkin/

As the owner of two six+ figure businesses built from the internet, Rachna brings real world expertise to helping her clients use the Internet to make money more efficiently as they build their online communities.

Get inspired ▶ http://womentakingthelead.com/rachna-jain/

In the last episode I continued our exploration of the Cycle of Change using the analogy of a card game which was first introduced to me by iPEC Coaching. If you have not listened to the first two episodes covering the Cycle of Change I recommend you go back to the episodes titled Respecting Where You Are on Your Journey and The Secret to Clarity is Reflection and Research, respectively. These are quick episodes and will catch up on The Cycle of Change.

I mentioned in The Secret to Clarity is Reflection and Research how I had moved into the Shuffle Phase and so I required more time to reflect and begin researching different options for the direction of Women Taking the Lead.

Another thing that I was fully aware of but it started to become a problem in this Shuffle Phase is the constant feeling I have of being busy. I feel, and I want to stress the word feel, I feel like I’m always overbooked and up against several deadlines. This causes me to constantly abuse the busy word and it impacts my mindset and how I “BE” in my life.

What had been happening was I was not honoring my flow; I time-block to get project work done, and have separate time blocks for meetings and consults. But I find I am constantly giving away my project time blocks because, let’s face it, I consider other people’s time to be more important than my own.

And here’s my dirty little secret. I am constantly working on the weekends because my projects get pushed from the work week to the weekend. Don’t get me wrong, I love the work I do, and would probably choose to do a little bit for my business every day but that’s not what’s happening. I wake up on Saturday and Sunday knowing I have to do several hours of work each day to play catch up before the work week begins all over again on Monday.

I’m done with that. So on Saturday when I thought through what was happening and what I really wanted in this Cycle of Change for Women Taking the Lead I realized I don’t want to be doing project work every weekend. So I moved all my tasks to the coming week so I could not give my time away.

Wish me luck and send me your love and energetic support as I commit to taking better care of myself, while leaving other people feeling honored and supported.

Now, onto The Deal Phase.

Phase 2: Deal (Preparing/Developing)

In the Cycle of Change using the card game analogy, The “Deal” Phase comes after The Shuffle Phase and before Playing the Game. The Deal Phase is marked by an increase in activity – this will include networking, testing out interests or experimenting, training and skill building. Thus, the plan that was developed in the Shuffle phase is beginning put into action.

You will have more energy and a more positive attitude because you now you can actually do something; you are following a path, you have a direction to go in. You’re open to new experiences, new people, and preparing yourself for the intensity of the next phase.

When you are in this phase you are more optimistic, seeing life as an opportunity, and so you experience more confidence in this stage than in any other. You are the proverbial adventurous student of life eager to stretch, learn, and grow in new directions.

When you first enter this this stage you will shy away from making commitments. Remember, this is the phase of experimenting and because of this you’ll tend to want to keep your options open and take things “one step at a time.”

Before entering the next phase you’ll make a firm commitment to trust yourself and the choice you have made. In the next phase you will be assessing and evaluating the plan but what’s important in The Deal Phase is your ability to move to the point where you can make a choice to move forward and make something happen.

Here you’ll also be looking around for allies, mentors and guides who can help to see you through the next phase successfully.

You’re now developing a new plan that will take you beyond networking and experimenting. You will identify one or more goals for the next phase and the work at the end of The Deal Phase is to have a strategy and a plan formed. Anticipation, excitement and energy will increase as you gain more clarity around all of these pieces.

There is also fear of failure or success, likely a combination of both, but you will be poised for action.

What will be helpful to you in this phase is...

Having a vision of what success will look like in the next phase. This will not only get you excited for what’s to come but may also help to identify any gaps in resources or training that you will need to set you up for success.

In the last phase you were identifying your core values and how you wanted to live your life. Here it’s also important to know what brings you alive, what value you want to bring and at least a sense of what your purpose or mission is. If you can connect your goals to these things it will fuel your fire.

Don’t overthink purpose, mission, and the value you want to bring. This can be something you experiment with in this phase. For instance, in my case I can boil down my purpose to the statement, “my purpose is to wake people up to how awesome they already are so they can get on with their purpose.” That is clearly tied to the goals I have for Women Taking the Lead and yes, it fuels my fire. It motivates me on the days when I can’t see progress or I just don’t feel like it.

Start with the change you’d like to see in the world and let it unfold from there.

If you are externally motivated, have an accountability partner or group. This will keep you from backtracking. It’s not to say you cannot pivot based on what you are learning from your networking and experimenting. Forward movement coming from informed decisions is what you are looking for here. The accountability is about ensuring, for you, that this is what’s happening.

As always, having trusted advisers who have your highest good at heart and who can listen intently, cheer you on, and help you clarify your next steps is priceless. If you have some like this who is also great at setting priorities and making a plan, especially if this is not your forte, bonus!

A Tool to Have in Your Toolkit

If you are in this phase and you have not yet read my book Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing I’m going to strongly encourage you do so. A lot of what you need to do to navigate The Deal Phase successfully is in this book. From creating a vision to success, to getting at your core values, your purpose and mission, Superpowers, and even creating goals and designing a plan are in this book. It’s a tool you do not want missing from your toolkit.

If you have read Accomplished and you are finding yourself in The Deal Phase, read it again. This book is a process that will take you to new levels of knowing yourself and finding success with each reading.

Okay, that’s The Deal Phase. We only have one more phase to cover, Playing the Game phase, and I’ll be doing that in the next 100% Jodi episode.

As always, I hope this was of value to you and here’s to your success!

Thank You to Our Sponsors!

Zebralove Web Solutions: Your website tells a story about your business! At Zebralove Web Solutions, Milly and her team are going to make sure your website tells the story you want your customers to hear. Connect with Milly at zebralovewebsolutions.com to create the impression you want to make!

Resources

Private Facebook Community: Chat, share and collaborate with other women listening to the podcast!

Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing: A simple, step by step system that gives you the foundation and structure to take your goals and make them happen.

The Accomplished Community: A community of entrepreneurial Type A women uniting to achieve their biggest goals with confidence, integrity and a sense of humor.

Subscribe to Women Taking the Lead

If you enjoyed this episode subscribe in iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Google Play Music or iHeart Radio and never miss out on inspiration and community!

Andi Simon is a Corporate Anthropologist who helps executives see their companies with more observant eyes, achieve “aha!” moments, and discover new and profitable opportunities. By applying the concepts, methods, and tools of anthropology to business environments, she turns observation into innovation and revitalizes businesses seeking growth. Andi is PhD in Anthropology and tenured Professor in American Studies and Anthropology. She is the Founder and CEO of Simon Associates Management Consultant, the author of On The Brink: A Fresh Lens to Take Business to New Heights. She has 20 years as senior executive in healthcare and financial institutions

Click to tweet: .@simonandi is sharing her story to inspire you on Women Taking the Lead https://womentakingthelead.com/214 #inspiration

Playing Small Moment

Andi was hired to eventually take over a company, on the terms that she would fix it first. Andi successfully merged the company into its parent and had really focused on taking the company from bad to great. Once the company had been severely improved, the original agreement drastically changed and Andi was shocked. Andi learned a big lesson about each of us being the hero in our own stories, and how there isn’t always room for two heroes in the same story.

The Wake Up Call

Andi was in the healthcare organization during 9/11, and though they didn’t receive many patients from the attack at that facility, her and her coworkers were still really emotionally involved. It became the push that Andi needed to reassess where she was and where she wanted to be in life. After a talk with her husband, and with his PR guy, Andi had a clearer idea on her goals and what she wanted to be doing. Humans are easily happy in routine and similarities, so sometimes it takes a crisis to make you reevaluate everything around you.

Style of Leadership

Andi’s leadership style is very much entrepreneur, but with a visionary side. She also competitive, while inspiring and enabling others. Andi refers to herself as a balanced leader with a strong focus on where they headed in a visionary fashion.

What Are You Excited About?

Andi and her husband have started using inbound marketing to focus on discovering what people are looking for. Often, it’s not about the product you are selling, but the answers you have to the questions people are asking.

Current Business Challenge

With the struggle of today’s society of there never being enough time for things, Andi believes in taking a walk away from the desk. Every 90 days, her team takes vacations. It helps clear their minds so they can come up with fresh new ideas.

Leadership Practice

Andi tries to really listen and think outside in. If you ask people what they are having issues with, they usually don’t come forth with their problems. Henry For said, “If I asked people how to improve their transportation, they would have told me to make their horses go faster.” Observational research lets you see what they don’t think you can see.

Advice For Younger Self

“Keep going, this is an adventure.” Andi said as corporate anthropologists, they tinker and fuss, fail and pivot. Andi’s younger/older self would say to just keep trying stuff.

Inspirational Quote

“We take observation into innovation.”

Links

http://www.simonassociates.net/
http://www.andisimon.com/the-book/#onthebrink
https://twitter.com/simonandi
https://www.ocai-online.com/

Thank You to Our Sponsors

Zebralove Web Solutions: Your website tells a story about your business! At Zebralove Web Solutions, Milly and her team are going to make sure your website tells the story you want your customers to hear. Connect with Milly at zebralovewebsolutions.com to create the impression you want to make!

Resources

Private Facebook Community: Chat, share and collaborate with other women in the community!

Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing: A simple, step by step system that gives you the foundation and structure to take your goals and make them happen.

The Accomplished Community: A community of entrepreneurial Type A women uniting to achieve their biggest goals with confidence, integrity and a sense of humor.

Subscribe to Women Taking the Lead

If you enjoyed this episode subscribe in iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Google Play Music or iHeart Radio and never miss out on inspiration and community!

Are you leading by example?

This is a trick question because the reality is you are always leading by example. The question is whether you want the people you lead to do what you are doing.

Like it or not, people are watching what you're doing and they're listening closely to what you're saying. And, the higher you go up the leadership chain the bigger an example you become. There's a saying when you reach senior leadership, you are whispering from a megaphone.

Your people are watching you closely to determine what is acceptable behavior and attitudes, and what is not. The question is, are you exemplifying the behavior that you would like to see in the people that you lead? Are your actions consistent with your message?

Leading by example may not always be easy but it’s a must if you want the best chance of hitting your goals and having harmony in the workplace.

In this episode we’re covering what it means to lead by example and how to gauge how effectively you are modeling the behavior you want to see.

Resources

Episode Show Notes: Transcript and links mentioned in this episode.

Apply to be on an “On-Air Coaching” episode: Are you a female leader who has been promoted in the last year? You are invited to apply to be on the podcast.

Checklist to Ask Your Company for Coaching: Would coaching help you become a stronger leader? Wondering if your company would pay? It doesn't hurt to ask!

Leadership Operating System Quiz: Wondering what kind of Leadership traits you have? Take this FREE, FAST quiz and find out more about yourself as a Leader.

Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing: The book containing a simple, step by step system that gives you the foundation and structure to take your goals and make them happen.

Leadership Coaching: If you are interested in finding out more about my coaching process, the cost of coaching, or how to ask your employer to pay for you to work with a coach, schedule a call with me.

Are you curious about neurodiversity in the workplace?

Did you know that nearly 30% of the population falls into the neurodivergent category, including individuals with autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and more? Understanding neurodiversity is crucial because it challenges the notion that processing information differently is a deficit. Instead, it recognizes that people are just different, and accommodating their unique needs can lead to increased productivity, innovation, and happiness.

This episode offers valuable insights and practical advice for leaders to promote neurodiversity and create inclusive workplaces where individuals can thrive.

Meet Katherine McCord

Katherine, a physically and neurodiverse woman herself, built her career on inclusive innovation in People Operations and HR Tech. She lives by the motto that different is not a deficit.

In 2014 she founded Titan Management, a national people operations consulting firm, and then in 2021 she shook up HR Tech by designing the first ever fully accessible, anti-bias Applicant Tracking System plugin that fires the resume and showcases company diversity!

Featured at Web Summit, HR Disruptor, SHRM, and London School of Business, she makes an energetic, interactive, education-based speaker who always brings some spice!

In this episode Katherine and I discussed:

• The definition of neurodiversity and understanding that these differences are not deficits but rather natural variations.
• The significance of making accommodations for neurodivergent individuals in the workplace and the need for leaders to create psychological safety, listen to employees' needs, and provide appropriate accommodations to enable their comfort and productivity.
• How, by standardizing accommodations to make them available to everyone, not just neurodivergent individuals, leaders can create an inclusive work environment where everyone feels supported.
• Using Humor! Katherine shares her personal experience with neurodiversity and suggests using humor as a tool to diffuse tension and normalize differences.
• Why, If you are a neurodivergent leader, sharing personal experiences and being open about one’s own neurodiversity can establish trust, create psychological safety, and encourage open conversations about diversity, mental health, and physical differences.

  Connect with Katherine:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherine-mccord-093bb343/

Resources

Episode Show Notes: Transcript and links mentioned in this episode.

Register for the How to Get Mentally Fit webinar: Learn the 3 core muscles to build to gain mental fitness.

Apply to be on an “On-Air Coaching” episode: Are you a female leader who has been promoted in the last year? You are invited to apply to be on the podcast.

Checklist to Ask Your Company for Coaching: Would coaching help you become a stronger leader? Wondering if your company would pay? It doesn't hurt to ask!

Leadership Operating System Quiz: Wondering what kind of Leadership traits you have? Take this FREE, FAST quiz and find out more about yourself as a Leader.

Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing: The book containing a simple, step by step system that gives you the foundation and structure to take your goals and make them happen.

Leadership Coaching: If you are interested in finding out more about my coaching process, the cost of coaching, or how to ask your employer to pay for you to work with a coach.

Nicole Boucher is a Project Manager who helps small business owners be more productive and strategic with their time so they can grow their businesses with less overwhelm. She loves the business side of business—strategy, spreadsheets, and systems—and her clients love feeling the weight lifting off their shoulders with the support of a true brand partner.

Nicole and I discussed:

• Working on doing the things we do for others, for ourselves.
• Cookie Cutter businesses.
• Inner turmoil as a working mother.
• Being afraid to offset the current life balance.
• Altering client relationships as the business evolves.
• 2018 business plans.

Links

www.nboucher.com

Thank You to Our Sponsors

Zebralove Web Solutions: Your website tells a story about your business! At Zebralove Web Solutions, Milly and her team are going to make sure your website tells the story you want your customers to hear. Connect with Milly at zebralovewebsolutions.com to create the impression you want to make!

Resources

Private Facebook Community: Chat, share and collaborate with other women in the community!

Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing: A simple, step by step system that gives you the foundation and structure to take your goals and make them happen.

The Accomplished Community: A community of entrepreneurial Type A women uniting to achieve their biggest goals with confidence, integrity and a sense of humor.

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Were you one of the people who, when the pandemic shut downs began, took a step back to reflect on how you were living your life; checking in to see if you were on the right track?

If you didn’t like what you were seeing, you’ve probably been doing some research to see what changes you could make and how to make those changes. From there, the next natural step is to get into action.

When the pandemic began, I redid a series on the Cycle of Change and completed 3 of the 4 phases that make up the Cycle of Change. The phases I covered were: The Toss-In Phase or the ending of a cycle, The Shuffle Phase which includes deciding what you want to do next, and The Deal Phase when you decide what strategy you’ll utilize in the next phase.

The timing did not feel right to cover the final phase back in the spring but I am feeling it now.

In this episode, we’re going to cover the fourth and final phase of the cycle of change, Play the Game.

Hi, I’m Jodi Flynn and welcome to the Women Taking the Lead podcast. I’m an executive leadership coach, author, speaker, workshop facilitator and I have the joy to work with women leaders who want to hone the skills they’ll need to thrive in Senior Leadership. I know I’ve met a woman I would love to work with when we start having a few laughs about our tendencies toward perfectionism and people pleasing.

Originally from Massachusetts I have been living in Maine for the past 18 years. Thanks to the beauty of technology I’ve been able to work with women all over the world. If you have a device and Wi-Fi we can work together.

I do individual coaching as well as workshops and team retreats. I am currently in the processes of taking my coaching system and turning it into an online course for those who prefer a Do-It-Yourself model of learning.

I am the current President of the board for The Maine Women's Conference and I am a Curriculum Partner for a Women’s Leadership development program through Real Women Collective Action (RWCA).

I spend my free time catching up with friends and family, FaceTiming my boyfriend who lives in Virginia, working out and watching the Great British Baking Show.

Play the Game (Action!)

“Play the Game” is an exciting and mostly positive time during the Cycle of Change when you are all-in to live your dreams and reach new levels of success, fulfillment and well-being.

Whereas in previous stages you were either reflecting on the past or imagining the future, this phase is about being fully in the moment.

You are living the strategy and the plan you created in The Deal Phase.

It is a time of action but the amount of action you will take in this phase is based on your personality, how clear you are on your goal, how feasible your plan is and how much support you have.

That’s why The Deal Phase is so crucial to set you up for success in this phase, though most plans will work if you can only get out of your own way.

What that means is in the Play the Game Phase it’s important to manage your inner critic, which always comes to life when you are doing something new, big or scary. This is where self-doubt can start to plague you and if you allow it too much power you will unconsciously begin to self-sabotage.

Know that it is natural and normal for your inner critic to try to have a field day with you. Change the perspective that hearing your inner critic is a bad thing. Rather, hearing your inner critic means you are playing full out and that’s a great thing.

If you are able to manage your inner critic you will, for the most part, feel harmonious, optimistic, determined and fully alive.

If you are able to remain flexible you will be able to pivot and adjust if things don’t go according to plan. Let’s face it, things rarely go exactly according to plan so it’s important not to get too attached to the plan or judge yourself and others too harshly for not expecting the unexpected.

Things may not go as planned but you are 100% in.

While this stage is usually associated with wins and success, it can also be the setting for disappointments, setbacks, and new challenges. You can probably look back on times in your life where the Play the Game Phase of the Cycle of Change did not go well.

If this is happening to you right now it’s important not to judge yourself too harshly. Look on what is happening as a valuable lesson that you can examine and learn from so you go into the next Cycle of Change stronger and wiser.

Place your focus on what is working and what is not working without judgment and you’ll be able to make adjustments and pivot pretty easily because you won’t be heaping the past and emotion on the situation. Remain nimble and empowered by staying curious and looking for opportunities no matter what is happening.

Being Fully in the Moment

People typically love this phase the most out of all of the four phases and wish it would continue on like this indefinitely, or better yet, for the rest of their lives.

Although that sounds great, chances are if you are still open to growth and being your best-self, you will be back in the Toss In Phase and the cycle will begin once again. It doesn’t mean you’ve backtracked, it actually means you are moving forward, even though it may not feel like it at first.

For instance, have you ever hit a time in your life when you want to stay in action because being in action makes you feel productive? However, if you are not regularly taking time and a step back to reflect on the goal and your progress, and making sure you are using the best strategy you will limit your own progress.

Every phase of the Cycle of Change is important and requires your participation, even if participating looks like sitting idle and looking out a window or writing in a journal. Powerful things are happening internally that will increase your chances of success the next time you find yourself ready to Play the Game.

What phase of the Cycle of Change are you currently in, in regard to your career? I’d love to hear from you. Send me a note at jodi@womentakingthelead.com or comment wherever you see a post for this episode.

Also, please share this episode with anyone in your life whom you think could benefit from it. Word of mouth is still one of the most effective ways for us to find the resources we need to make changes in our lives.

As always, I hope this was helpful to you and here’s to your success.

Thank You to Our Sponsors!

Zebralove Web Solutions: Your website tells a story about your business! At Zebralove Web Solutions, Milly and her team are going to make sure your website tells the story you want your customers to hear. Connect with Milly at zebralovewebsolutions.com to create the impression you want to make!

Resources

Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing: A simple, step by step system that gives you the foundation and structure to take your goals and make them happen.

Create Goals that are Worthy of you: If you are done with either pursuing vanilla goals, suffering through the struggle of goals that are not aligned with your strengths, or dealing with heartbreak of an unattainable goal this course is for you!