Thanks for listening to my podcast! I'm Amy and I love sharing the show notes from my extraordinary guests. Here you'll find links and resources highlighted on each episode of Insight Edge with Amy. Thank you so much for giving us your listening ear! Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and to my email list Insights for Impact to stay connected!
Advancing More Women to the C-Suite with Stacy Mayer
How do we learn to advance our businesses and leadership by leveraging our feminine strengths? Executive Coach and Promotion Strategist, Stacy Mayer, shares how she’s integrated her feminine strengths in growing her business and serving her clients. Stacy is passionate about bringing more diversity to senior leadership roles. Her mission is to double the number of women promoted to the c-suite each year worldwide. We discuss the significant internal and external barriers women encounter when advancing their careers. Stacy offers women several key tactics from her recent book Promotions Made Easy: A step-by-step guide to the Executive Suite, including 15-minute ally meetings, being intentional with our choice of words, and owning our accomplishments.
Like many, Stacy shares her story of how she started out in the mailroom stuffing binders at an organization where she saw potential. This company did offer coaching services to women and she knew she wanted to be a coach. This position was her entry point and after a short period of time, and a clear vision for her next steps, she scheduled a meeting with her manager and asked the question. How do I get that job one day? Your job of being a coach? Her manager saw the potential in her as well and her role quickly evolved as she learned from others and became a certified facilitator.
Eventually, her bigger ambition was shaped by her desire to do things a little a bit differently. She eventually ventured off on her own and launched her business with her unique approach. As she paid attention to the successes of her clients, she quickly realized what made her different: her guidance was leading women to be promoted to the c-suite. This was happening often and happening quickly for her clients throughout their work together.
When asked about her passion to focus on coaching women, Stacy states that she really enjoys working with women. She finds her time best spent with other women and is intrinsically motivated to help underestimated and underrepresented people in the workplace.
We talk about the barriers that exist for many when it comes to being prmomited, but specifically for women. At the top of Stacy’s experience list is simply a lack of trust. Whether it’s “not looking like the rest of the room”, not in the right space to participate in essential conversations, or spending too much time in the weeds therefore not being able to communicate effectively with leaders and build important relationships, many women face the same lack of opportunity.
Through her work, Stacy encourages her clients to get past these barriers in a number of ways.
- Bringing your whole self into your work, strategically.
- Shifting the way you communicate with leaders
- Understanding your leadership style (and filling the blanks)
- Stepping into your power
- Using 3x vision to stay on track with your big goals
All of these techniques are addressed in our conversation and throughout Stacy’s programs and coaching. It all comes down to building the trust muscle with decision-makers and developing authentic power.
True power is power with people, not power over people.
HELPFUL LINKS:
Listen to this episode on Spotify
Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts
Elevating Senior Fitness with Emily Johnson, Founder StrongerU Senior Fitness
A passion for elevating senior fitness and breaking down outdated ageism narratives prompted Emily Johnson to make the leap and leave her corporate job to start her own business. Emily is the Founder and Creative Director of StrongerU Senior Fitness and on a mission to innovate and elevate senior fitness globally. Like many women entrepreneurs, Emily’s business started as a passion project while still working in her corporate job.
When the pandemic hit, watching declining well-being for so many seniors was prompt to decide to leave her job and launch her company. StrongerU Senior fitness is filling a gap by empowering recreation, fitness, wellness professionals, and senior-serving organizations to provide high-quality fitness experience through unique virtual training models. Their fitness instructor programs provide the foundation for a holistic experience while changing the narrative about aging and fitness.
Emily noticed a gap in the model of senior fitness which is ultimately what propelled her to start StrongerU. The tools and resources needed to teach quality classes were missing for other recreational and athletic professionals who were educating seniors. Some of these tools included proper training, access to certifications, ongoing class content, and education on programs specific to seniors.
Part of this was also the knowledge and awareness to recognize different abilities and capabilities. Just like with any age group, it is individual. This doesn’t change as we age.
The primary goal is to train fitness instructors across the globe, in multiple languages, so that anyone anywhere can access the training. This has been the driver for having a 100% virtual platform for training.
Learning to run your own company is a steep learning curve. Emily shares her top learning insights and strategies for successfully turning your passion project into an impact-driven, thriving global business.
When thinking back to where it all started, Emily recalls the impact of having a community of experts and support made on her entrepreneurial journey. “There are resources out there to support you. Go to others who have been there, done that and pull on their expertise. Create a network of people you can turn to with questions”.
For Emily, this was not only a group within the SheEO community, but also various business activators, local accelerators, and entrepreneurs of all kinds. Through these conenctions, she not only gained business advice, but also life advice, community connection, and so much more.
We wrap up the discussion with a few key takeaways for listeners, whether business owners, or just people interacting with seniors in their life.
- For the entrepreneurs: find a mentor, and find one early.
- For business owners: Take time to check-in, evaluate where you’re at as a business, and refocus. See challenge as an opportunity.
- For anyone: be aware of the capabilities of your elders and what they might need. You can support them by keeping them moving. Instead of “let me get that for you”, invite them to go for a walk with you. This benefits the mind & body.
Emily describes herself as always learning and always growing. Her edge is to always listen and focus in on your customer with the goal of living in a world where we don’t fear aging the way we do now. We need to shift in the way we approach aging across the globe.
Helpful Links:
Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts
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Learn more about StrongerU Senior Fitness
The Power of the Possible: Reorganizing the World So it Works for Everyone. Interview with SheEO Founder Vicki Saunders
In a world where 2% of the venture capital flows to 51% of the population (read that again), how do women and non-binary founders find success, impact, and reach their dreams? Vicki Saunders and SheEO are reinventing the world, so it works for everyone. Vicki is the creator and founder of the hashtag radical generosity and SheEO, a radically generous community supporting women + non-binary people working on the World's To-Do List. What I deeply admire about Vicki is when she didn't like the inequality she was witnessing and experiencing in business, she used her frustration to reimagine a new world and business model. SheEO is an intentionally designed ecosystem, business, and economic model rooted in radical generosity, partnership, collaboration, and the core belief there is enough for everyone.
In the SheEO world, ventures and activators have access to this incredible ecosystem designed to empower you to be successful. It's a model that challenges you to put aside your experience with outdated and broken systems. The SheEO experience invites you to suspend your disbelief and be embraced, celebrated, and recognized for the greatness of all you do as an entrepreneur.
“The prompt for SheEO was a series of a thousand different things along the way to its inception. I was mentoring an incredible entrepreneur who built up a business that was really taking off. As she started to get a lot of traction, the advice she was given from advisors was all around the go big or go home mindset. People were saying things to her that I was told years ago as a young entrepreneur myself.” Vicki tells the story of this young woman who found herself in a situation where those around her were hinting towards the move to replace her (through microaggressions) with someone “who knows what they are doing”.
This was all too familiar for Vicki who, she herself was replaced after taking a company public early in her career. “Watching it happen to someone else really drove me to a desire to break this cycle. The system cannot take us down anymore” says Vicki. It led to a serious conversation about how do we rethink the economy and reorganize resources? This was the big moment with many other experiences along the way.
SheEO began with the idea of creating a community for female or nonbinary entrepreneurs to share their ideas without judgment, and have access to resources they would not otherwise have. Crowdfunding would be offered with a low rate to pay back within 5 years, and this community would live by pillars that truly encompassed the concepts of give and take.
Creating this space for radical generosity allowed people to be bolder, share their dreams, and see growth weights beyond what is typical in normal networks. Entrepreneurs need more than funding, they need customers, networks, connections, advisors etc and that is where they often hit systemic barriers.
We’ve lost our collective imagination about what is possible. There isn’t just one way of doing things. The dominator mindset is not the only one and we need to keep dreaming of other ways.
There is an opportunity to suspend your disbelief and step into a different place where things are done in a new way if you are ready to try this and transform.
We talk about energy and motivators, challenges, and solutions, and Vicki shares “It is so rare for us to be embraced and recognized for the work we are doing. It’s what keeps me doing what I am doing. This organization is designed for my gifts where I get to be the best version of myself. Supporting others and their dreams, seeing them step out of their comfort zone to do something that makes a difference in the world; that is my favorite place to be. I am truly energized by the purpose of SheEO”.
“I am very good at managing my energy”, she adds. “I give myself space and pay attention to where I’m at. When I am in flow, I can get things done so much more efficiently, so I don't force myself to do things when I don’t want to”.
As a team, we practice a 4 day work week, we take 8 weeks off throughout the year, and personally, I take vacations and find a pace and balance that works for me. I believe in designing a life around what works for you. That is critical.
As we look ahead and discuss the future of SheEO, Vicki shares that a new name will be coming in January to be more inclusive. The team is focused on simplifying the calls as a community and focusing on the main 4 tracks.
As an activator myself, I have gained so much from this organization and cannot wait to be part of the amazing year ahead.
HELPFUL LINKS
Listen to this episode on apple podcasts
Listen to this episode on Spotify
Book: Dawn of Everything
Podcast: OnBeing with Krista Tippett
Eradicating Childhood Sexual Abuse: Interview with Angela Johnston, CEO Priority Kids
Angela Johnson, the CEO of Priority Kids, is on a mission to eradicate childhood sexual abuse. Her company, Priority Kids, works with youth-serving organizations to support the development and enrichment of child sexual abuse prevention strategies through education and partnerships to increase the skill and capacity of the broader community. The statistics on childhood sexual abuse are staggering. While having critical statistical information is essential, as Angela shares, simply knowing about childhood sexual abuse doesn't change the outcomes. One of the biggest challenges Angela faces, despite the alarming statistics, is overcoming the discomfort we have talking about childhood sexual abuse so we can have meaningful conversations. Priority Kids has created specific, best practice informed training programs to help us develop the skills to talk about and take informed action to protect children. Priority Kids programs show people how to think strategically see abuse prevention through a new lens, empowering us to transform systems and environments to keep kids safe.
Angela started her career in this field as an independent facilitator to spread awareness and encourage adults to become educated. Through this experience, she discovered this topic is a scary one for most. It’s a lot easier to avoid me, or the training than it is to step through their fear and take the training to learn more, she states.
Seeing the resistance and confronting it head-on created a desire to be intentional to push through the hesitation; thus she created Priority Kids to work regularly on educating others to spread this important message. Building a strong strategy with various organizations has been critical in getting people engaged.
Her work has been eye-opening to say the least. Child sexual abuse occurs to 34% of all children. How was no one talking about this? Angela shared that part of it is the assumption that we are keeping kids safe; people believe that organizations like schools/sports teams etc have policies in place and are implementing them however this is not always the case.
Often, the abuser is someone the family knows or trusts. Whether they are tristing them personally or professionally, they believe their children are in safe environments however that is not always the case. Especially in a society where many of these organizations are trying to fill roles.
Angela’s training is developed around 6 best practices. “When people are trained they want to implement best practices and are enthusiastic and empowered to put them in place”.
Although the topic can feel heavy and perhaps at times intimidating, these are simple things we can do as individuals to influence our circles and make an impact. Here are Angela’s 3 major tips:
- Talking to others about this openly makes it a comfortable environment for learning (but makes it uninviting to perpetrators). When we know more, we can change our mindset around so much.
- Being open with children so they are empowered to speak up. We’ve seen over and over again that children do not share when something unusual or unacceptable happens. Perhaps out of confusion, fear, or just now knowing any better.
- We need to be selective on who is interacting with our children (volunteers, teachers, neighbors, etc). Better screening can often support this. There is a sense in the community that the need to bring in police checks is a nuisance.. They don’t see the value or use. Just this one thought is a risk because it leads people to think there is no danger to children.
Angela is so passionate about her work and is full of insights and information to make a difference. I invite you to check out her website and connect with her, whether on your own or as a group to learn more about this important conversation.
Her program is for any adult who care about the protection of children. She reminds us that although there are conversations to be had with children, it is an adult responsibility.
Helpful Links:
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Connect with Angela:
Managing The Awkwardness Of The Moment To Hold Your Boundaries
Defining what's ok and not ok for you and the boundaries you need and want to be at your best is essential. I shared Kelly's story identifying her boundaries with her team in part one. But, defining our boundaries is only the first step. Practicing holding our boundaries with a team member, client, or family member can be a growth edge. Keeping a boundary can feel awkward or challenging. You want to hold your boundary and take care of your relationships. But how do you do both?
First, we need to identify we need a boundary, but then we need to manage the moment and uphold the boundary. The rich learning shows up here.
To get started, here are six specific things we do to manage our boundaries:
- Be aware of the resistance to change
- Participate in conversations to communicate and manage the boundary
- Have the courage to ask for what you need and say no to what you don't want
- Have compassion for self and for others
- Practice to develop confidence and build muscles even when it’s uncomfortable. Nurture self-trust and trust with others through habit creation
- Reflect so you can continue to expand and deepen your conviction
Now if you’ve set your boundaries, and started to practice them, it’s time to reflect on your progress so you can continue to improve.
Here are 4 questions that may help you identify progress with your boundaries
- What are the situations where you put aside your intention, time, and boundary to attend to the agenda of others?
- What are you experiencing in that situation? What is happening? What are you feeling?
- What is your internal private conversation in this situation? What beliefs are being revealed when you want to drop your boundary
- What do you see as a common thread in these situations? Is holding your boundary difficult with certain people, with certain requests, etc.
From here, you can create practices to manage your boundaries differently when you know it is a challenging environment for you.
Showing others that you are protecting your time and energy with dignity and integrity is helpful for everyone. Holding a boundary means change (some discomfort and resistance) both internally and by others but it does get easier. We get better every single time we practice.
HELPFUL LINKS
Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts
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Feeling Underappreciated? Check Your Boundaries
Have you ever had the feeling that your time, skill, and contributions are underappreciated? Or maybe you feel taken for granted. In either situation, it's not a great feeling. But the worst part is, it's frequently our fault. If we don't identify and communicate what's ok and not ok for us, others are left to figure it out. In this first two-part episode on boundaries, we'll examine how boundaries help us have more satisfying relationships and provide structure so we can adapt to shifting work and life situations.
When was the last time you thought about what boundaries you need to support your workday, focus time, relationships?
YOUR boundaries what are they? Clear boundaries serve as a compass to help us align our actions with our intentions and values. They are very helpful with decision-making and act as guideposts for us to help us filter where we want (and should) spend our energy.
If we don’t define them, others will, so defining what works for you is critical.
“Boundaries are one of the greatest acts of generosity because they let others know what is ok and not ok in our relationships” - Brene Brown
People who are the most compassionate and generous with others have the clearest boundaries (BB research).
Here’s an example around work from home boundaries:
If we don’t set a schedule or working hours, it can be difficult to get a break. For our colleagues and for our family members, having these boundaries can be very helpful. Managing the separation is different for everyone, but for most, this reminder of strategies will help.
Think of a boundary like a fence - a boundary helps keep out what we don’t want and protect what we do want. And there may be different fences:
Rigid boundaries: A stone wall might be the best boundary when there is no room for error (sharing confidential information, drinking, and driving, etc). In this case, there is no flexibility and no bending. That being said, it can make asking for help and accepting help difficult. It may limit connection and intimacy. So I remind you to ask yourself, where is this type of boundary best suited?
Flimsy boundaries: A split rail fence is another type of boundary - it lacks clarity, lacks definitive structure, has gaps. This can lead to a difficult time saying no and we can easily become overwhelmed when the boundary is flimsy. Consider if this is just contextualized? Is it just at home, just at work? Etc.
Healthy boundaries - The picket fence offers stability but can adapt to different situations. Things can move through the fence if we want them to. We can ask for what we need, say no, accept no from others without concern, and remain aligned.
Different boundary styles will work in different settings and can adapt over time but the most important part is to be aware, make small changes that will turn into habits, and gain confidence in putting our needs first.
We often fear holding up our boundaries because of what other people will think. We want to hold up boundaries but also want to be relational, caring, and thoughtful, for all. Join me in the next episode where we discuss managing boundaries.
Helpful Links:
Listen to this episode on Spotify
Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts
Related Episode: Learning to Receive and Release Overgiving.
Learning to Receive and Release Overgiving
Offering to be helpful to others is likely part of your everyday interactions. We often give our talents, ideas, energy, and time willingly and often. And being helpful often makes us feel good and that we have something valuable to contribute.
Being helpful and generous with our time and talent is essential and, most likely, a part of who you are as a woman, business owner, or leader. However, when we don’t know how to receive from others, we create disharmony between giving and receiving. If we are consistently over-giving and under-receiving, we wind up feeling unappreciated, overextended and depleted.
Noticing when we want help but don’t ask is the first step. To restore a sense of equilibrium, we need to practice receiving. In this episode, I share some key practices to help you develop your receiving muscle and to begin to re-establish a healthy flow between giving and receiving.
How do we protect our energy when we are helpers and givers? Receiving is a way of sustaining and retaining energy.
Practices to develop your receiving muscle:
- Pause before offering to help. Check your intention.
- Check-in on your energy. Do you have the energy to offer out and give to someone else?
- Capacity. Do you have the bandwidth to add to your commitments?
- Ask for what you need but notice when you don’t ask but know you want help
- Practice accepting offers from others
- Reflect and notice when you decline help.
- Develop your network of help (people you trust)
- Practicing gratitude (perhaps journal writing). Notice the receiving you are letting in every day.
This act of gratitude may be the most important - being aware and noticing where we are receiving can often help build the flow of receiving and allow us to ask for more when we need it.
Coming up next is an important series on boundaries which is just as important as learning to receive; I hope you’ll join me there!
Helpful Links:
Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts
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Related Episode: How to Ask For What You Want
Leading in The Unknown: A Conversation With Claudine Bennett
What does a wool sweater have to do with adapting to ongoing change and transition? More than you may anticipate! Claudine Bennett, RN, MScN Director of Public Health Emergencies and Communications at the Region of Peel in Ontario, invites us into the less visible side of the pandemic response. Claudine shares how leading during constant and high-velocity change requires you to trust yourself to make the best decisions, even in the face of rapidly changing information.
We start the conversation with insights into what the height of the pandemic looked like for Claudine and her team. Claudine shares that for her the biggest change was adapting her role to new responsibilities based on the new needs. Among the group there was a feeling of significant fear, adapting to the new resources required (contact tracing, etc), and a shift in their overall job descriptions. An 8:30am - 4:30pm Monday - Friday team was now working 8am - 12am at times, putting a strain on team members both personally and professionally.
Claudine’s positive outlook and driven personality viewed the situation as an opportunity. Here’s what she learned about herself during this time of crisis:
- I have more capacity than what I thought was possible
- My biggest driver was my staff - being there to support and respond to them
- Being part of a team that was growing together inspired me to keep going
- Fight or Flight responses are strong. We can do a lot on adrenaline - not forever but for a long time
As a leader, Claudine describes the experience as a time to take the information you have and make the best decisions you can. This infodemic came with changing information, changing science, changing societal needs, so the best we can do is review the information available at that time and make decisions accordingly.
Her advice for leaders navigating new territory? Be honest, be transparent, and be aware. Give what you can even if it is not traditional in your role or organization. She states the example of taking on tasks for her colleagues so they could get home to their families, or providing flexibility during regular work day hours knowing there were long nights spent by many.
And finally, don’t forget to take care of you.
For Claudine this meant home workouts, walking daily, playing golf, starting a new hobby (curling) and dedicating time to self-care.
When you feel like there isn’t enough time for self-care.. Schedule the time, and ask for help.
You are worth it.
HELPFUL LINKS
Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts
Listen to this episode on Spotify.
Helping Women Rise by Strengthening Our Community with Jassy Hundal
Have you ever wondered about what it takes to create a community where everyone can thrive? I know this much; it takes passionate and dedicated leadership to drive change through inspired action. My guest, Jassy Hundal, is a dynamic community leader with extensive experience in the not-for-profit space. A strong advocate for diversity and women’s rights, Jassy leads the United Way Women United program.
Jassy helps us see the often less visible yet critical work social service agencies, programs, and advocacy play in taking care of people and strengthening our communities. Through her work with the United Way Halton and Hamilton, Jassy is passionate about driving change through advocacy and building networks of help for women and their families. She believes in the power and strength of the community. She specializes in developing strategic relationships with community groups and community members to ensure the effective delivery of the United Way Halton Hamilton purpose and strategy.
Jassy starts the conversation with a strong aspiration as she states her goal is to be the champion and the voice for our community.
We quickly dive into the issues around gender inequality, especially with the effects of the COVID 19 pandemic. Jassy shares that 70% of Canada’s job loss was held by women during the pandemic, some being voluntary due to childcare needs.
She shares the important message that poverty, mental illness, violence, and isolation do not discriminate. And for those reasons, United Way has developed two wonderful programs:
Women United:
Investing 1.1 million dollars into 26 programs that support women.
One organization cannot provide wrap-around services, you need multiple agencies to get the support needed. Women’s United advocates for health, education, and stability in every community and provides a safety net of social services by funding and supporting these agencies.
Period Promise Campaign: ¼ women have struggled to purchase menstrual hygiene products for themselves. Many have to make the choice between products and other essentials.
Additionally, with no access to public washrooms and at times school restrooms during the pandemic, this left even more girls and women without the products needed.
The campaign will launch will again in 2022 - stay tuned!
The impact of this organization and programs is enormous yet most are not aware. Many of the needs that drive members to access United Way services are invisible (or less visible) however there are 310,000 members accessing United Way Halton programs alone.
To wrap up the conversation, Jassy encourages you to reach out with any questions, at any time. She encourages every to take time to become educated, leave shame at the door, and share their stories to receive the help they need, and to help others.
“In order to strengthen the status of women, we need to start with awareness and advocacy. Change starts with a conversation”.
It may feel overwhelming or intimidating to address large-scale issues however a simple question can make a difference. As women, we need to ask each other, how I can help you in this moment? How can I raise you up in this moment o help you be successful?
Gender equality and advocacy is shared responsibility. All have our own journey to walk but our greatness is measured by what we give. Give kindness, share knowledge and stand up for what’s right.
Helpful Links
Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts
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It's More Than a Feeling: Building Financial Wellbeing with Saijal Patel
Saijal Patel is the Founder and CEO of Saij Elle, a financial consultancy and education platform with a mission to help women create financial independence and security. She is also the creator fo the Strictly Money program, and the host of the Strictly Money Show on the New Forum. In this interview, we explore the many myths in our society that hold women back financially and what needs to change. Saijal outlines several critical steps women can immediately take to change their money situation and create a fulfilling and prosperous financial future.
“As a society, we have been taught that self-worth = net worth. The more you have, the more important you are, and the more indispensable you are in our society. But it is not true”.
We need to consider all of our contributions to define our self-worth; community contribution, kindness, intellect, support, etc.
The first step in getting past this mind block is recognition. Where do these narratives and messages come from?
From there, we can identify where women are tripping up around money. You don’t need a PHD in finance to work through the basics and be financially well.
Financial Wellbeing is a feeling. And more than a feeling, it is about the enjoyment of life. It is when you are on track to meet current and future obligations, you have a backup plan and are on track to reach your financial goals.
The gap here can go both ways - often is people feel well, but in practicality, they don’t know if they are well. They have not done planning or calculation while others do the leg work but don’t feel well. The best way to close the gap is to take the time to create a plan.
This is where the Strictly Money Program was born. The top 3 questions I received from women are what helped design this program. Throughout the course, we answer:
- How do I save better and manage expenses?
- How do I learn to invest and where do I start?
- Do I have enough for retirement?
I have found the greatest obstacle to financial wellness is shame and stigma, not financial literacy. If we put emotions aside, and create a space to talk about this (both one on one and as a community, we can succeed).
My top 3 pieces of advice for women:
- Recognize that wage/gender gap is real. Sometimes it is a barrier we need to surpass, and other times, it is simply because we are not in higher-paying industries and not raising our hand for higher-paying positions. What can you change to be where you want?
- Invest in yourself.
- Raising your hand for the promotion. Trust that you are resourceful. Ask for a seat at the table.
Helpful Links:
Listen to this episode on Spotify
Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts
Taking Care of Your Financial Fitness with Tracey Bissett
Money is a critical tool. But I’ve learned that money is rarely held as a tool, both through my own experiences with money and conversations with women. More often, money comes with many stories and emotions, influencing our self-worth and value.
To start, Tracey shares that how we think about money is often rooted in our childhood experiences and the conversations we have growing up whether in our home or outside our home (school, friends, media, etc), together these notions develop our mindset around money however there are often inconsistencies that leave us uncomfortable around the topic.
To move past this discomfort and gain confidence, we need to start by observing how we react in various situations - how do you feel when you receive an invoice? How do you feel when you are broaching the topic of money with a client or with a significant other? How do you share your value with a prospect?
Tracey’s top three practices for anyone looking to move from scarcity to abundance:
- Practice gratitude.
- Think about who you are spending time with. What are their feelings around money? Spend more time with those who are aligned.
- Put some time in our schedule for things that give us joy, recharge, and balance.
When it comes to managing money as a business owner, there are common stories we tell ourselves.
“It will work out if I am busy.”
“I have hired someone, they will deal with it, I don’t need to look at my finances”.
“I know the amount of time it will take me to do this, so this seems fair.”
“I just need a client, I will accommodate their budget this time.”
The most essential financial tool for any business owner is a strong understanding of their cash flow. Cashflow refers to the money that comes in, money that comes out, and the timing of that.
Every entrepreneur should make a list of what is expected to come in this month, track expenses that need to be paid this month, and see what is there at the end. For some, this may need to be done on a weekly basis. With this number, you can set goals, determine how you can pay yourself, and gain confidence in WHY you need to stand firm on your pricing.
Throughout the episode, Tracey Bissett takes a closer look at mindset traps, common money mistakes, and strategies to build your financial fitness. Tracey drops gold on this show, so have a notepad handy and check out her course BizPeace, designed for entrepreneurs.
Helpful Links:
Listen to this episode on Spotify
Listen to this episode on ApplePodcasts
Find out more about Tracey’s services here
When the Disrupter is Disrupted Business
If you are frequently in a position to be a disrupter and changemaker, essentially a leader or entrepreneur, you've likely honed your skills in managing uncertainty. In fact, you may even intentionally create uncertainty to grow, learn and create new services or offerings. However, in this episode, we look at navigating the disruptions we didn't intend to create or even see coming, the ones that knock us off our game and interrupt the flow of our work and life. These can be hard moments, and the creative and proactive approach that we have cultivated as a leader can be difficult to access just when we need them. However, there are small steps we can take to reestablish our ground, bring awareness to our circle of influence, shift perspective and regain our power to choose our next move.
So, how do we manage the moment when something happens in the external world that disrupts our flow of activity? What I can control is how I choose to interpret the situation, and how I choose to respond.
We tend to shift to the immediate concern and pulls us off course of our activity and plans. We feel overwhelmed and highjacked emotionally. We tend to go into a narrative that “this is happening to me” which causes a long list of emotions.
Here are strategies I encourage you to have handy the next time you are faced with an outside challenge.
- Notice your feelings. Be aware of your reactive state and process what is happening.
- Acknowledge what is.
- Ask yourself - what can I influence or control, and what is not in my sphere? Remember, you have a choice to stay caught or being to process this and see where I can make a difference.
- Accept this is a hard moment and set an expiration date for these feelings.
- Ask for help (whether it be a conversation, task, or advice)
There are a few qualifying steps to ensure you get the help you need:
- Do I trust this person to listen?
- Does my history with them tell me they can listen without shame and unsolicited advice?
- If I ask for what I am looking for, will they be able to help me?
Be specific about what you’re looking for, ask for exactly what you need.
I need __________. Get their buy-in.
A good listener can ask great questions if probed. It can lighten the load and remind you that you’re never alone on this journey.
6. Return to service. This can be a great reminder of our value and worth.
7. Next level self-care. It is critical that we have boundaries about what we let into our life. Conserve your energy this way.
8. Self-compassion.
9. Good nutrition. Nourish your body - fuel yourself for resilience and recharge.
10. Honor your body’s need for rest. Take a nap, go to bed earlier.
11. Remind yourself this is only a moment. It will not last forever. You have been through hard moments and you come out stronger.
When faced with disruption of this kind, we may tend to hide out. We feel alone and that there is no immediate solution however I strongly believe these steps will help you recover in a healthy way.
“Remember, asking for help accelerates getting through the mudpit. We can only do so much, but with the help of others, we can do a lot more”
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All The Tools You Need To Build A Successful Online Business
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Re-Imagining Your Career Part Four: Aligning your unique strengths, values, and care to blend with the marketplace
Learn to read the world and determine how to align your unique strengths, values, and care to blend with the marketplace. If you are listening in and you haven’t checked out episodes 36, 37, and 38 then go back, listen and do the work if not now, then after this episode. They all fit together.
If you have been along the ride with me on the reimagining your career series then you have renewed clarity on your care, your strengths, values, and unique capabilities, and you’ve reflected on the future, you want to create. Now you want to move from your imagined future to the real-world trends and marketplace. Let's do this together.
Today is about reading the world and aligning yourself with the marketplace. It’s about moving your ambitions into a phase of implementation.
The best way I have seen others do this is through conversations. Not “catching up”, not “picking your brain” conversations, but intentional discussions for the sake of learning.
These conversations should take place with people inside and outside your industry. They should include an intention, agenda, and questions for growth.
The first step to outlining this implementation of your ambitions is making space for these conversations so grab a pen and paper. Here’s the fiield work:
- What are the current and near-future trends you would like to be a part of addressing?
- What company, organization, association is doing work that you think is extraordinary?
- During your scanning, what is the demand for your talents, skills, interests, passions?
- Who would you really like to have a conversation with to learn more about trends, ideas, and solutions in your industry?
- Who would you love to talk to outside of your industry?
- If you are employed, who can you ask to have a conversation with? If you are self-employed, who can you ask to have a conversation with to talk about growing your business?
The practice daily (or minimum weekly) should be to scan the trends in your industry.
Read the world. Have conversations. Listen.
This is how you will understand how you fit into the world moving forward. So, once you’ve answered the questions above, identify 3 people and reach out this week. Get those calls into your calendar and prepare to have discussions around your growth and development. This time with them is all about you!
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Re-Imagining Your Career Part Three: Expansive thinking to look at the future
Your vision for your future is the north star for guiding your approach to the next evolution for your career. In this third session of my four-part series on Reimagining Your Career, I share a process to think expansively and begin to refine what you want next in your career. Defining your career vision may be unfamiliar or abstract, it may feel like navel-gazing or a waste of time but it is not.
Figuring out your next career path requires a destination. Your vision is your north star, and through a series of career visioning questions, this episode will help you get started defining it.
Looking back at our process so far, here’s what we took away from the last two episodes in this series:
Part One: Identifying Your Care (Clarity)
Part Two: Completing a Value/Talent Assessment (Foundation)
Part Three (today): Expand our thinking to look at the future (Visioning)
Success = visioning the impact you want to have (you must define it). If you don’t define your vision, somebody else will. We’re always attending to someone’s vision…
Dedicate space, time, and freedom in an environment that supports ideas. You want to complete this exercise in a space that allows creativity and visioning to occur. Even if it is just to share and improve to create new ideas.
Here are my key questions to exploring your vision for the future:
- What do you want to be experiencing in your work and life three years from today?
- If there were no practicalities or limits, how would you spend your time? What would you be doing? Who would you be with? What is the environment in which you would spend your time?
- Who are you sharing your time, energy, and gifts with? What are the characteristics of the people you surround yourself with? Ex: 3 years from now, I am surrounded by colleagues, friends, and family who are positive, inspire me, proactive, etc.
- What is your financial experience and health like three years from now? What are the freedoms you have?
- What are the ways you are contributing, serving, and what is the impact you are having three years from now?
- What is your life like? Describe it. Relationships, health, where you live, physical body, sense of happiness, peace, spiritual practices, etc.
- What are the strengths, talents, capabilities, potentials you are leveraging?
There is no right or wrong answer.
Practice by going somewhere new this week or next. Explore a new cafe, museum, winery, or nearby town and think about these questions while in a new environment. Then revisit them and write down your answers.
You might be tempted to skip doing this work. Please don’t skip it.
Dream. Imagine. Make the time. Write it down. Revisit. Add to your list.
Your future is worth it.
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Re-Imagining Your Career Part Two: Owining Your Value and Creating a Foundation For Your Future
In the first episode of this series, we established that your career is a reflection of your care, and how you care for what matters to you. Today, I reflect back on conversations around the work of owning your value and creating a foundation. They each emphasize the importance of taking stock and getting clear on the unique value, strengths, and perspective you have today.
A career should be future-oriented, our actions through a series of roles, positions, jobs, are working to move forward in one direction. During our careers, we’re in service and in action to take care of something that matters to us. This care can as simple as making an income to provide for your family, but sometimes even with that care fulfilled, we do not feel satisfied.
Perhaps since the last episode, you’ve noticed your desire for something more, something different. Part of the work throughout this series is taking notice of those feelings and asking yourself how you can create some awareness for yourself and where is there an opportunity for you to take this feeling and explore it so that you can create a new possibility for your future?
Now, this doesn’t come without judgment, and that’s ok. Acknowledge and release any judgment, whether it be from yourself or from others.
Looking back at some conversations I have had with others in this field, and resources I’ve read, I have summed up the next step in this journey to be the ability to evaluate and appreciate where we’ve been in order to lay a foundation for the future.
There are two models from equally great books that I invite you to review and consider:
Taking control of your career and your future
Pivot: the only book that matters is your next one
As the next step together, let’s uncover your experiences and your value with 5 questions, 1 practice, and 1 next step.
- What do you love to do? Something you are good at that you can do with ease for prolonged periods of time.
- What are your strengths? What are your career wins and successes so far? Comments from others, feedback, formal assessments etc.
- What are your unique and often less visible talents and strengths? What do people ask for your input and guidance on?
- What are your core values? This is a big question. Take a breath and take the time to reflect on your core values. What are the non-negotiables for you? 3-5 values that ensure you are in alignment.
- What is the impact and contribution you want to make now, in this next evolution of your career, through your work?
Now here’s a practice: notice and build your awareness of what you’re longing for in your career. Pay attention to our energy during the activities we’re engaged in.
Next step: set up at least one conversation with a colleague, friend, advisor on your strengths. Get an assessment as they seem them. Invite them to a conversation and be open. Uncover from another person’s perspective what makes you unique.
Give yourself permission to have desires for something new. Be appreciative of who you are and enjoy this exploration.
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Love What You Do episode: Secrets to a Thriving Business Partnership with Gail Donner and Mary Wheeler
Re-Imagining Your Career Part One: Beyond The Next Title or Position
You’ve checked the boxes and become an expert in your field. You excel in what you deliver and your career reflects a series of progressive moves and wins, yet you are increasingly ambivalent about what’s next, caught between expectations and the external drivers of success and a longing for something more.
In this four-part series, I'll share how to redesign and revitalize your next career evolution.
In part one, I share an alternative perspective for your career and critical questions to get you started. Let’s start here. Open your mind, and think through the discussion below. At the end, I will leave you with 5 key questions and practice.
What else is in the future for me that could be more satisfying and fulfilling? That could be a better pace, something more creative, more aligned with your gifts, that lights a fire inside you..
Often when you look at the next position in your path, you feel you are not ready, that you don’t have what it takes, or that opportunity is limited. For others, we’re unsure of what we want.
Giving an amount of energy to a role that is not giving back can leave us without the bandwidth to even consider what we want. If you’re in that state, and unable to answer the above right now, that’s ok.
Most of us have learned an interpretation of a career from society, friends, family, education, and our organizations. Often about developing competency and skills that allow you to move forward. In various roles.
Your career is an expression of your care by being in action using your unique gifts to take care of this care. By doing so, you’re creating a ripple of impact and a life and future where you thrive by fulfilling your ambitions.
- Inspired by Bob Dunham
Too often, our career is defined by external measures of success. Although there is practicality merit, it does limit the possibility for growth. We’re not creating leveraged opportunities to see what else is there. This may lead to the feeling of missing meaning.
We often get stuck in a wheel, not looking beyond the roles that exist.
Now, we’re starting a new conversation with ourselves outside of that org chart, outside of that mold. Where do I need to evolve in my capacity to influence change? To influence decisions and generate more value? How can I use my unique strengths to do that? This will result in cares that are important to me, in compensation I feel good about, and a ripple of impact that matters to me.
To complete our first exercise, grab a journal, and answer the below.
- When in your career have you felt most alive, ambitious, energized, and creative?
- What were the circumstances of this experience? What was the environment? Group? Hours? Structure?
- What was it about this time that was most fulfilling?
- What were the strengths, gifts, and skills you leveraged in this position?
- What was the impact you were having?
Practice: This week, notice and pay attention to the experience you are having in your day-to-day activities at work. When you do feel energetic creative, aligned? Take note and also notice what is leaving depleting?
Together, we’re going to create a pathway along this series to help you access your career and create a direction towards a more fulfilling future.
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Do You Love Your Inner Oppressors More Than Your Ambitions?
Coming soon.
Disrupting the Status Quo: My Interview with June Tavenor
June Tavenor, RN, is the founder and CEO of Catalyst Health Solutions in Newfoundland and Labrador and is passionate about disrupting the status quo in healthcare. June’s clear mission to drive positive change by offering effective and efficient home care solutions has been a driving force in building her company. Throughout our conversation, she shares the critical role relationships play, even with competitors, in scaling her business. We explore the advantages of being small in a big system and her predictions for trends in healthcare.
After 13 years as a nurse practitioner in the emergency department, June made the bold move to go out on her own and provide innovative, on demand, home health care and nursing services to those in her community.
Using her expertise and niche skills, she kickstarted a small business that has now developed into a company of 20 practitioners licensed provincially and federally that does work even beyond the tasks that she was accomplishing within the public system. What started as mobile blood collection, her team now includes a specialized foot care nurse and a menu of healthcare services for individuals, family health, and corporate groups.
June credits not only her unique hands-on skills, but also her innate ability to connect with people and build relationships as the driving force behind the growth of her company. Having such a strong network of physicians, administrative staff, and patients that believed in her approach helped generate word-of-mouth referrals. Always keen to collaborate with others, to this day, she relies on the feedback of the physicians, patients, and paramedics she works with to expand her team’s services and reach.
Many of her practitioners also work in the public system, demonstrating how the teams can work hand in hand.
When I asked June about the mission and vision behind Catalyst Health Solutions, her answer was clear, confident and full of passion.
“We are revolutionizing the way that healthcare is delivered in North America. Let’s deliver better care for less money.
Whenever I am struggling with a decision or considering a project, I always go back to the values of Collaboration, Innovation, and Access. If something doesn’t fit, I don’t take it on”.
Although the pandemic has had immense effects on the mental and physical health of front line workers, June states that it has also supported the evolution of remote services that the industry needs. COVID-19 has created an expectation for virtual care she states. People were afraid to go to the hospital, and quite frankly did not need to go. Many cases do fall into the threshold of a nurse practitioner’s abilities that can be addressed at home. It has worked and it is here to stay. It is helping break down the “only way to do it mentality” that has existed for many years.
When we talk about the future of healthcare and the anticipated trends, June foresees a continued collaboration between public and private care. Already, there has been a change in the funding of certain services, and she shares that the goal is to improve the sustainability of the publicly funded system by being more efficient in the offerings and adaptability of the smaller, outsourced teams. This way, together, they can deliver better care and better outcomes.
By expanding the scope of professionals, using resources differently, and moving non-emergency treatments outside the hospital (still with the supervision of a medical director), we can be more effective and efficient as a whole.
As she continues to develop and grow her company, June is also tackling the project of teaching methods for her specific technique around blood collection. She is now working with a local biotech company to develop a modelling system that is more reflective of the human body so others can learn and master the challenges of collection.
We end of our conversation with one piece of advice for women leaders and female entrepreneurs; it is in our nature to be nurturers, we are often the ones that have ideas for the greater good, if you have an idea for how something can be done better, go for it! There are enough of us in these communities now that you can get the support you need to make it happen.
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Catalyst: an agent that provokes or speeds significant change or action
Catalyst Health Solutions Services: COVID19 Testing, Individual and Family Health, Corporate & Group Health, Concierge Health Services, Blood Collection, Advanced Foot Care, Intravenous Treatment & Medications, Private Nursing Care, Pain and Symptom Management/Palliative Care, Post Delivery and Postpartum Care
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Defining Moments: An Interview with Connie Clerici
Connie Clerici, the founder and now Chair of the Board at Closing The Gap Healthcare, shares her conviction to make a difference as the driver behind her decision to create her own healthcare company. The company now employs over 2000 professionals and has a 30-year track record of providing excellence in service delivery. In this episode, Connie discusses the importance of living your values and the critical business skills you must have to navigate challenges as a female founder and clinician in the world of health care.
Connie’s journey is one to be admired. Starting her business as a young woman, believing in herself, and following her ambition to make a difference, she now makes an impact for so many; both her patients and employees, while carrying significant titles and accomplishments.
To name a few:
The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Second Jubilee Award
RBC Excellence and Entrepreneur Award
Federated Press Women of the Year
Inducted into Canada’s Most Powerful Women Hall of Fame
Connie Clerici Nurse Entrepreneur Award (created)
“Looking back, naivety is probably what made me successful. I thought that all I had to do was have compassion and a belief that I could show people I could do what was right and that would make a significant difference in the community”.
The road to success was not always easy, Connie went back to school for business and leadership training, getting a degree while starting a business (serving children with genetic anomalies or complex diagnosis), and raising two kids of her own, but her commitment to excellence and her ability to ask for help whether in her personal life or professional life was critical to the growth of her career.
When speaking about the evolution of her company over time, Connie shares some wonderful insights from the perspective of a successful entrepreneur.
- Entrepreneurship is a lifestyle. It is continuous and ever-changing. Over time, you need to learn to give up pieces of your role or of the company to allow yourself to take on others and continue to make a difference
- Keep your care at the forefront. Connie shares that what keeps her going, even during the challenging times is the commitment to making a difference in people's lives. Both to the patients they serve but also to the people they employ at Closing The Gap Healthcare. She is constantly thinking about how they can improve patient care but also how can they improve the employment experience?
- Find strong mentors and bring in people whose strengths are different from yours. Connie notes that she hires or outsources for her weaknesses. Very early on she learned the importance of being able to identify the gaps and hire or look before she was ready. “It’s so important to have people with different perspectives and expertise who can be honest with you. You can’t underestimate the value of mentorship”.
Entrepreneurs are driven by a passion that fuels their business in a unique way. You must be ready to do every job, at any time and get your hands dirty. Titles such as CEO come with a respect that is earned, not given. And that humbleness and work ethic is what makes Connie so impressive.
We end the conversation with a discussion around the Connie Clerici Nurse Entrepreneur Award and its purpose. It’s an opportunity to support those who are passionate about contributing to patient care. It’s about organizations using the funds to kick start or grow initiatives that make a difference.
To find out more about the award, click here.
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Alignment
As a business owner and coach for female leaders and founders, I’ve gained valuable insights into the critical factors you need to sustain your ambition and passion. In several podcast interviews, you will hear the passion these women have for their work. But what fuels their fire? Alignment. It’s the catalyst driving unwavering conviction in your vision, the force behind bold action, risk tolerance, and challenging barriers.
There is a practice of creating and nurturing the powerful force of alignment. In this episode, we explore its importance and how to get there.
Just like with anything, building a foundation in your career is essential. When we create alignment, we give ourselves direction. Alignment brings creativity, joy, energy, the ability to problem-solve and a sense of resiliency to navigate the hardships and challenges that come our way. By being crystal clear on where we’re headed and where we want to land, we’re able to make informed decisions and approach opportunities without wavering.
It also drives our courage to ask for help. When we’re invested, we’re more likely to ask for the help we need to make it happen.
Getting clear on what you care about is the first step in alignment. It’s the ability to identify your intention, mission, and values. Knowing and understanding in your heart what you want to create will be the critical factor that fuels ambition, vitality, and passion. You’ll begin to create a path with purpose and seat goals that are connected to your care.
Oftentimes when speaking to clients, I notice clues that point to misalignment. Vagueness in responses, feeling disconnected, depleted, or unappreciated in their work or environment, and a lack of purpose or meaning. All of which seem to be summed up in a feeling of fuzziness. When we aren’t clear on our care, or we are out of alignment, we lose our sense of direction.
I encourage you all to make time once a week to pause. Reflect on your actions, on your work, and ask yourself if you are on track or off track? Notice how you are feeling and where you may need to refocus. Over time, I hope you’ll be able to make this a daily routine to help you stay connected.
At times, there may be a need for a larger change; other times, it may just be changing the story we tell ourselves and shifting our perspective. I share my story of bookkeeping - this used to be a task I dreaded. It did not give me energy or creativity. But changing my perspective to understand the importance this task plays in the success of my business and the impact it can have on other decisions that lead me to my goals, I now embrace it. I have asked for help and now enjoy the work.
Here are questions to help guide you towards alignment. Whether you’re part of a team, running your own business, or ready to start something new, shifting from success to significance is what will lead you to that sense of purpose and fulfillment.
Ask yourself often.
- What do I care about?
- What kind of contribution do I want to be making?
- Do what I love to do? What fulfills me, makes me feel at ease, and gives me imagination and creativity?
- Who do I love to serve?
- What do I envision for my future? In that future, how do I feel physically? Am I emotionally happy, content, appreciative? What kind of relationships do I have? Spiritually, how am I connected? What are the experiences I am having with my work and with my family? What environment am I working in? Who am I working with? What is my life like at home? What kind of freedoms have I created?
Try to see yourself in these places.
If you’re feeling stuck as you reflect on these questions, don’t give up. It may take practice.
It’s ok to only see the present right now. Ask yourself these questions weekly. You will start to have some of the answers, and over time, develop a future vision.
Give yourself permission to allow your imagination to take the reigns.
You are in the driver’s seat of creating your future.
Helpful Links:
Love What You Do:
Success Secrets to a Thriving Business Partnership with Gail Donner and Mary Wheeler
What does it take to build a thriving, innovative and fun business partnership? In this episode, Gail Donner and Mary Wheeler, partners in DonnerWheeler Consultants bring their entrepreneurial joy and fire to our conversation. Tune in to hear how taking a chance to pursue an opportunity turned into a 30-year business venture that is still going strong. They share the critical insights to their success including the importance of nurturing your network, being purpose-driven, and knowing your niche.
Both registered nurses with impressive backgrounds, Gail and Mary share strong instincts that fueled their ability to seize opportunities and take action on their cares.
Gail Donner, RN, PhD, Professor Emerita and former Dean of the University of Toronto Faculty of Nursing has chaired significant public health policy initiatives and is an active volunteer and member of several boards. She continues to give back to an industry she is deeply passionate about.
Her work has been recognized by many and her awards include an Honorary Doctor of Science from Ryerson University, the Order of Ontario, The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, the YWCA Woman of Distinction, the Canadian Nurses Association Jeanne Mince Award, the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing Ethel Johns Award, the Canadian Nurses Association Centennial Award, the Ontario Medical Association Centennial Award, and the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario Award of Merit.
Mary Wheeler, RN, MEd, is a serial entrepreneur, an expert consultant in the organization and human resource development space, and is a certified ontological coach. Mary has won awards from many honorable organizations including the RNAO’s President Award, ICF, and The University of Health Network. She has also been nominated by the Canadian Women's Network and an invited member of Canada's First Business Women's Summit.
Mary is a certified coach known for her instinct to say yes to opportunity with enthusiasm and for her ability to embrace taking risks and chances. She is active in National and Provincial Non-Profit Organizations and part of many committees.
Together, this power-duo are honorary life members of RNFU and have been instrumental in creating the Nursing Entrepreneurship Award.
So where did it all begin? Mary was running her business at the time and Gail was working at SickKids Hospital. With a focus on human resources in the healthcare sector, a Government grant became available for innovative ideas to retain nurses. Gail and Mary came together to develop a workshop with the idea that if healthcare leaders and employers treated career development the same way they treat other benefits, and invested in their employees, people would feel cared for, and stay.
After their application was turned down the first time, they reached out to their networks of peers and mentors for feedback, made some changes, tried again, and this time, received the grant.
They started with career development programs and interventions with nurses at Sick Kids (where Gail worked at the time) and soon began to receive calls from others to do the same. Shocked by the response (this was just research at the time), they said YES to opportunity and have now been facilitating these workshops for over 30 years. The goal has always been the same; to help nurses personally and professionally, and to give them a voice.
Throughout this episode, we talk a lot about leadership and the opportunity to be entrepreneurial, whether inside an organization or in your own business. Two exceptional leaders and entrepreneurs, Gail and Mary credit their success with this first project to identifying their experiences and skills, and applying them to a need or gap in their surroundings. That’s how DonnerWheeler Consultant was born.
As Gail and Mary continue to grow their successful business, the heart of the work remains. They share the need for human resources in healthcare to pay attention to the shortage of bodies, to prepare and value caretakers in the workplace, to diversity, to develop strong leaders, and most importantly, to prioritize health and wellness for these essential workers.
Their work spans far beyond what we’ve touched on today, and they will be back to continue the conversation.
They leave us with three strategies to build a thriving, innovative, and fun partnership:
- Expand your network. Even if you have a niche in your business (which is very important!), connect with others in different fields or areas of expertise. You’ll learn so much from different perspectives.
- Build trust. This is essential in any relationship but especially in a business partnership. Having a strong foundation in order to have great conversations and difficult conversations is what makes navigating the journey comfortable and ultimately, successful.
- Find the right people to fill the gaps. Outsource when needed and continue to find joy in your work.
“We will close DW when we are no longer having fun”.
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Riding the Wave Of Emotion
Are your emotions driving your decisions? When emotion has you hooked, it influences the choices and possibilities you see, affecting your actions and outcomes. Emotions are like waves; they wash over us and sometimes pull us into their undertow. They can be powerful guides or distractors. Unaware of emotional grabs, we lose traction and focus.
Heightening awareness and learning to accept our emotions helps us focus and cultivate resilience.
We are emotional beings, so a range of emotions is natural. But we need to be aware of them and how they influence our thoughts, choices, and behaviors.
Sometimes, if we’re not aware, our emotions can take us off track. Emotions can trigger us to react in the moment, and this can cause us to be out of alignment with intentions.
So how do we begin to acknowledge, embrace, and accept our emotions? In this episode, I offer four practices to navigate the hook of powerful emotions.
“Emotions can be our teachers. We can learn to become aware and become present with an emotion. Recognizing the rising tide of emotion and the story we begin to tell ourselves so we can find a way to return to choice before we react.”
Here are five ways to help you begin to see your emotion, label it, and return to a place of choice.
- Go to the balcony to look at what we are thinking and telling ourselves. What are the emotions connected to that thought? Taking time to observe yourself in the moment is a mindful practice to label the emotion and understand the story we’re telling ourselves instead of being distracted by the feeling.
- Accept your emotions. Being with your emotion and facing it, sitting with it is a powerful practice. To experience self-awareness, we need to acknowledge what we are experiencing and remember it is a moment and not who we are. There is a difference between “I am angry, and I am experiencing anger” it is an experience; it is not who you are.
- Create space between your emotion and what you are telling yourself. Add a pause to take a few deep breaths, feel the ground under your feet or call a friend. Take a moment to take care of yourself to release the emotion so you can return to the place of choice.
- Consider your intention and care, then choose your response and act. Connect and reflect with your intention for the situation you are experiencing. This conscious practice helps us avoid saying or doing something from a reactive state.
- Keep practicing. Cultivating emotional agility and awareness is not about getting it right every time. We are human, and learning to navigate strong emotions is an edge for all of us and requires a lifetime of practice.
Finding your center is essential to reclaim your focus and stay on course; when we can come to a center, we come to a place of choice.
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Related Books:
Emotional Agility by Susan David, Psychologist, Harvard Medical School and Author
Say Yes To Your Ideas
When was the last time you said yes to take a chance, launch an initiative, or pursue a new opportunity?
Have you had an idea that you can’t seem to shake?
A spark or thought that keeps nagging at you. Tugging for your attention.
You know it has value and that it will make a difference.
You feel your energy rise as you think about it.
You can even see yourself in action, making it happen.
And then it fades because you get busy and shelve it for another day when the time is right.
There’s always a reason (or a few) that we tell ourselves to justify saying no. We’re already too busy; we don’t have all the answers, we’re not sure it will work. The list goes on. But what would happen if you said yes this time? If you took one step to make it happen.
Saying yes to your ideas shows that you are willing to play with possibility; it strengthens self-trust and your capabilities. I speak to this in previous episodes with Anne Day and Monica Pierre, two wonderful women, and guests who joined me for conversations about self-trust and self-belief. Through those discussions, we reaffirm that it's by taking action on your ideas that you can reframe limiting beliefs, get unstuck, and develop into risk-taking confidence. It’s a powerful thing to experience our confidence expand with every new step we take to convert vision into inspired action.
Shonda Rhimes says it so well in her book Year of Yes:
"Saying Yes Should Feel Like The Sun”
We can do so much more than we know. New possibilities remind us or teach us of our true capabilities.
In this episode, I walk you through six strategies to help you say yes to YOU and your ideas.
- Commit to being curious and pay attention to your ideas and the energy they bring.
- Write down your ideas for your business, team, foundation. Appreciate your ideas and imagination.
- Be open to receiving opportunities. If someone opens a door for you to join, try, launch, speak, create, this time you say Yes.
- Take the initiative to create opportunities. Reach out and ask for a conversation with someone who can open a door, spark an idea, or shift your possibilities.
- Spend at least 10 minutes a day envisioning yourself saying yes to your idea. See yourself in action creating the impact you want to have. Envisioning is a powerful tool for deepening our belief in our desired future.
- Develop your community of people who are ahead of you, doing the very thing you want to do or on the path to taking chances, growth. Be around people who are stretching the edges of what you believe is possible. This is so critical. Add to your circle of thought partners, mentors and champions.
Every time you bet on yourself, you grow more powerful. Tomorrow, say yes to one thing.
Or maybe it’s time to accept a new job, start a new initiative, take a day for yourself, build a team, to try out the thing you keep putting off.
Say yes to YOU.
If you liked this episode, why not say YES to visit insightedge.ca and subscribe to get more insights.
Building On:
Trusting Yourself with Monica Pierre
Believe in Yourself with Anne Day
Referenced Books:
Shonda Rhimes: The Year of Yes
Seth Godin: What To Do When It’s Your Turn, And It’s Always Your Turn
Trust Yourself with Monica Pierre
Monica Pierre is an Emmy Award-winning journalist, and founder and executive producer of The Powerhouse Woman Show. She’s an author of three motivational books, Found My Soul in a Sweet Potato Patch: Living a Life of Victory, and No Permanent Scars: It's Never Too Late to Have the Life You Truly Want. Currently, she shares her industry expertise as a faculty member at Xavier University in New Orleans, where she teaches announcing and digital storytelling to the next generation of aspiring media talent.
Monica has spent 30 years broadcasting and serving the community through her unique storytelling. The heart of her work is in sharing other people’s stories with dignity, and this is what makes her so powerful. In this episode, Monica shared that through these experiences, she’s learned so much about others but also a lot about herself. And it’s by doing, not just thinking, that she’s mastered the ability to trust herself.
When looking back at some of her most memorable moments, she shares the experience of covering Hurricane Katrina and the aftermath of the constantly evolving situation. It was an opportunity to put people’s voices on air, and to hold onto information for hope, she says.
“I have a job to do but I always have the choice of the way to do my job”.
In this conversation, we discuss self-trust, seasons of change, and alignment. Monica reminds us to listen to our bodies. Throughout her career, she has learned to step back and notice how she feels in various situations. Her gut reflects a lot around alignment and it’s especially prevalent when she feels out of alignment.
We end the discussion with three powerful insights that I hope you will all take away and apply to your journey:
- Sometimes you just have to make a decision. Pick an idea, a job, a step. To start, you have to pick one, be strategic, and move on it.
- Trust yourself. Ask yourself what the word failure means to you. What does failure look like and what will you learn from it if it happens? There is always great information in both successes and failures.
- You deserve what it is that you want. What we want, and how we want it may not always exist so we may have to create it but there is power and freedom in that journey, and you deserve it.
Don’t let one day go by without doing one new thing.
Helpful Links:
Listen to the Episode on Spotify
Listen to the Episode on Apple Podcasts
Stay Connected to Monica Pierre:
Managing Your Reputation and Social Capital with Kristine Leadbetter
Kristine Leadbetter, MCM is the president, LeadBetter Group, founder of the Women’s Network, and host of YourTV’s Lead Better with Kristine.
Kristine is a passionate leader with an innovative style that has allowed her to spearhead significant transformational initiatives throughout her roles. Kristine was the previous host of Burlington’s DeGroote Women's Professional Network, has over 10 years of experience working in academia; specializing in marketing, communications, relationship development, brand and reputation management, strategy, and advancement.
“The more time you spend honing your craft the better you’re going to get”
Today we talk about the importance of cheering other women on, breaking down barriers, and bridging connections. Kristine discusses her research, and the critical skills women need to cultivate to advance their career and professional growth. Did you know women are 30% less likely than men to be promoted out of entry-level positions and 60% less likely to be promoted into executive rank? These stats propelled Kristine to dig into the barriers that prevent women from excelling and how we can combat them. She also shares her formula for measuring your professional capital: your human capital (intellect and education) + your work and life experience + social capital, your connections + reputation and brand and this collectively creates your Professional Capital.
We dig into navigating barriers such as visibility discomfort, perfectionism, imposter syndrome, and defining success on your own terms. Kristine talks about the importance of women's networks but also the importance of being a part of other networks that include men and how we can support one another and build confidence to access these networks. We talk about the way Linked In can feel disingenuous and Kristine offers us ways as to how we can create authentic relationships online by getting in tune with your why.
She shares how she went from thinking and having ideas to doing by thinking out loud, practicing her craft every day and talking about struggles, and being lifted up and supported by others. She shares her ambitious dreams for her network to help connect and share stories as well as engaging youth and pairing them with mentors.
Kristine leaves us with these tips:
- Don't drop the ball on managing your reputation and networking with others and building your relationship with others
- Be kind and try to be a positive influence
- What kind of contribution can you make? What kind of talent can you give to the community to help people get through this time?
Helpful Links:
Believing in Yourself
Believing in yourself, having a sisterhood of support, and taking risks are the essential keys to Anne's success. Listen in as my co-author Anne Day shares her journey in writing, business and a life well-lived. Anne is the founder of two companies supporting women-the Company of Women and Full Circle Publishing, a publishing house focused on helping women become authors and get their books into the world. She's also the host of the podcast Day by Day, author of seven books, and an award-winning entrepreneur.
In this episode, we talk about the ups and downs of writing a book, how Full Circle Publishing is helping more women affordably publish books, how to get over your fear of writing and how to promote your book in the time of virtual book launches. Anne shares her journey through letting go of perfectionism, facing fears with writing, and some of the biggest lessons she's learned. How do we pick ourselves up and allow ourselves to be vulnerable again? Anne reminds us to be kind, patient, stick up for ourselves, and keep a sense of humor!
"You have to believe in yourself; if you don't believe in yourself, how can you expect other people to do so. Know what your strengths are, know what you're good at and surround yourself with people that believe in you too."
Tips Anne Shares in The Show
Ways to get over the fear of writing:
- Write more, even if it's just for yourself
- Honing your writing skills - write regularly, start with something not too threatening
- Writing about something you care about
How do you promote a book today virtually?
- Virtual book launch and made it so people who attended purchased the book
- Book trailer beforehand to build up hype
- Consider the marketing before writing the book and let people know you're working on it before it's done.
Podcast links for thought leadership, finding your voice, and making changes
The Lunch that Launched The Book
TalkTech to Me with Maxim Cramer: Creating a Digital Future by Women for Women
Maxim Cramer helps women entrepreneurs create world-class software by removing communication barriers between their vision and technical teams. She’s the CEO of Mennenia with a mission to double the number of female-founded tech businesses globally, securing a digital future for women. She’s developed apps with millions of downloads in one day and in this episode she shares exciting news about a new app she is launching.
Maxim Cramer talks with me about her journey into becoming the CEO of Mennenia and how she is breaking down barriers for women who want to integrate technology into their business. Originally from Amsterdam, she is now based in the UK, Maxim started to develop a reputation for being that female software engineer that did mobile apps in London, this led her to found Mennenia. Maxim shares her journey from childhood through her twenties as she searched for her place in the Tech industry and the incredible women she along the way. She shares how at one time, wishes and goals that once felt abstract were made tangible by doing small amounts every day and being consistent. She shares important questions women should be asking when they want to integrate tech into their business like:
Ignore the how and instead ask-What is my why for wanting or creating this technology asset?
What is the scale of my reach?
What is the strategy behind implementing this technology?
And Maxim also shares a very exciting and recent win, creating and launching a new app to transfer Zoom recordings to Drive/Dropbox: You can find it here.
We also talk about two excellent books; one for understanding data biases, Maxim recommends Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez, and the other for developing consistency in our work, The Practice, Seth Godin's latest book.
As a special gift for Insight Edge listeners, Maxim has created The Technical Strategy Blueprint download: https://www.mennenia.com/lp/insightedge
You can learn more about Maxim Cramer and Mennenia by visiting her website and checking out her podcast Cutting Through Tech.