It’s been said that what we avoid may benefit our well-being the most. That’s the role therapy has played in my life by offering me a safe, empowering space to be and process all aspects of my life. I’ve realized that I lead better when I pursue my best self. When prioritizing my total wellness, those I lead get the best versions of me and vice versus. Therapy is an excellent tool for leaders to unpack how they navigate life — making decisions, connecting with others, addressing fears, and setting a vision. When I think about my journey, investing in therapy has helped me be more authentic, vulnerable, and accountable to my team. It is a priceless mirror moment that calls me to higher ground.
For me, understanding the principles of Stoicism was key in developing a level-headed and robust mindset to face challenges. Stoicism is a philosophy that emphasizes personal ethics and virtues like wisdom, courage, and self-discipline. When unexpected hurdles come up, I don't dwell on what's out of my control. Instead, I focus on my response by maintaining resilience and clarity. This attitude has helped me transform stressful situations into growth opportunities. So, it all comes down to how you manage your reactions and emotions, and it's definitely something I recommend to every aspiring leader.
When I was younger, I held off on great opportunities because I felt I hadn’t grown enough to pull them off successfully. When I finally decided to take the leap and co-found my business, I realized that feeling out of my depth was a sign I was on the right path. When you’re out of your depth, you grow exponentially. You face challenges and adversity that help you become the leader you want to be sooner. Don’t wait for growth and think bigger, earlier!
I attribute a large portion of my success to my curiosity and growth mindset. I've always been a 'change junkie,' continually looking for ways to unearth inefficiencies and striving to improve them. This passion for continuous improvement has profoundly shaped my career choices and my current role as a facilitator, where I guide companies through change daily. This philosophy is rooted in a deep respect for the emergent qualities of the world around us and a fundamental understanding that is impossible to come close to understanding everything. This frame of mind has aligned me to a posture of inquiry vs. advocacy. When ardent advocacy is replaced with rigorous inquiry, new pathways, and connections are established, which lead to innovation or resiliency in times of great challenge In my experience, hard work, dedication, and persistence often lead to what seems like 'overnight' transformations. It's only after tirelessly working towards a change, does it occur, as if by magic.
One personal growth strategy that has significantly impacted my leadership journey is engaging in a mentorship program. Before assuming the role of a startup CEO, I had the opportunity to work in a company that had a well-established mentoring program. Being paired with a senior member of the team who served as my mentor proved to be invaluable. Having access to a mentor who could provide guidance, share their expertise, and offer advice on leadership allowed me to make significant progress in honing my leadership skills. My mentor was a great guy and we used to have regular conversations, and I gained insights into effective team management, decision-making, and navigating complex business challenges. The mentorship program created a supportive environment where I could openly discuss my aspirations, concerns, and professional development goals. My mentor provided constructive feedback, challenged my perspectives, and helped me broaden my leadership capabilities.
The biggest lesson I've learned since starting my business which has carried over into my personal life is: Do the hard things, voluntarily, sooner. Whether it's an important task that I don't want to do, or a tough conversation with my spouse, anytime I can sense my self wanting to avoid something and take an easier path, I think of that mantra and it motivates me to take action. We all know that hard things don't go away, they just get worse. And reframing challenges that I want to avoid as opportunities that need to be tackled ASAP has helped my business and personal life avoid turning molehills into mountains
In January 2023 my daughter was diagnosed with Leukemia. As I balanced my role as Chief People Officer, Podcaster, Wife and mom to my other kids, I felt like I was constantly failing on all levels. I came across the work of Kristin Neff doing research for my podcast to try to answer the question on how I was going to use this opportunity to turn self-defeat into a serious self-growth moment. Her initial assessment helped to give me the permission to ask for and take space when I needed. Finding my way to greater self-compassion has allowed me to be a better leader and head of the People team for a national-level mental health organization. We now integrate this work into our wellness content and education given the challenge emotional work that our employees navigate.
Regarding personal development, I would say that "Clarity" has been the most significant component of my leadership journey as a small business owner. 12 years ago, I set on the entrepreneurship path to to build legacy in the world of business. Along the way, there were highs and lows in all aspects of my attempt to become an effective leader. About halfway through, I realized that in order to lead a business, I needed to get clear about who I was, what I wanted, how I was going to do it, and most importantly the people that I needed to entrust along the way. I lead any and every engagement, project, conversation or interaction, whether personal or professional with clarity first. Clarity drives societies, and gives us the foundation on which to build and stand on during our most challenging moments in life. Clarity which leads to purpose is the single most important factor in life.
Embracing vulnerability has significantly shaped my leadership at Authors On Mission. In business, vulnerability is often seen as weakness, but I view it differently. It fosters trust, open dialogue, and innovation within my team. It's not about displaying weaknesses, but cultivating an environment of authenticity and mutual support. By openly discussing my challenges, I encourage others to do the same, creating a culture of continuous learning. This approach also allows for deeper connections with our clients, as they seek a partner who understands their journeys, not just a service provider. Through vulnerability, we not only impact personal growth but also build a business that genuinely serves our authors. We are not just writing books; we are helping our authors create a lasting legacy.
One personal growth strategy that has significantly impacted my leadership journey is practicing active listening. This strategy has helped me foster stronger relationships, build trust, and make informed decisions. In a specific example, during a team meeting, one of my team members expressed concerns about an upcoming project. Instead of immediately jumping in with solutions or dismissing their concerns, I chose to practice active listening. I gave my full attention, maintained eye contact, and asked open-ended questions to understand their perspective better. Through active listening, I realized that their concerns were valid and had the potential to impact the project's success. I acknowledged their input and thanked them for raising their concerns. This approach not only made the team member feel heard and valued but also encouraged others to share their thoughts.
Being biracial and a military brat, my leadership journey has been shaped by diverse experiences. Embracing cultural intelligence has significantly impacted me. It helps me understand and appreciate different perspectives, leading with empathy and inclusivity. Cultural intelligence expands my worldview, teaching adaptability and resilience. It has been instrumental in building diverse, high-performing teams, fostering collaboration and innovation. Growing up in different places and interacting with diverse people taught me the power of understanding and valuing unique strengths. Cultural intelligence guides me through complex situations and has resulted in stronger relationships and impactful outcomes. It's a game-changer, shaping my leadership style and creating a positive work environment.
Prioritizing self-care and mindfulness practices has significantly impacted my leadership journey. By making time for regular exercise, meditation, and other self-care activities, I'm better able to manage stress and maintain focus. This has helped me make better decisions and lead my team more effectively. It also shows my team that taking care of oneself is important and can encourage them to do the same. For example, after I started prioritizing self-care, I noticed my team members also started scheduling time for exercise and other self-care activities.
Active listening has helped me to hear and understand more deeply message, intentions, and emotions. It takes practice and requires concentration, empathy, and a genuine desire to understand the speaker's perspective. Active listening demonstrates respect and empathy, which can strengthen relationships and build trust. It also demonstrates to others that you value their opinions and perspectives. It has helped in stressful or quick moving situations to understand a position, and find a resolution or solution to a problem.
As a leader, you have the responsibility of catering to the needs of both your team and the person your report to (senior manager, stakeholder or client). This requires empathy towards other people's perspectives as well as an understanding of your own needs, so that you can drive performance and set standards. There will be cases where you lack mutual understanding with the people around you, and when there is a lack of clarity, alignment becomes skewed. The ability to instigate and execute difficult conversations is essential to combat this. Whether it be with a member of your team who is underperforming, or dealing with an unrealistic expectation from your superior, your approach should be professional, genuine and consistent, regardless of how different the scenarios are. Here is a process I recommend: 1. Calmly outline the situation. 2. Explain the impact clearly. 3. Articulate your emotions professionally. 4. Listen to feedback. 5. Agree on actions. 6. Act!
One strategy that has significantly impacted my leadership journey is employing a deeper approach to personal growth. Rather than trying to tackle everything at once, I learned to focus on one aspect at a time. It’s like zooming in on a specific area, making it a lot more manageable. This approach has served me greatly, especially at TechNews180. By giving a particular trait the time and attention it deserves, I’ve been able to understand it deeply and develop more effectively. The process might take time, but the growth achieved is substantial and long-lasting. The key is patience and consistency. This method is not only beneficial for self-improvement, but it also strengthens my leadership skills, making me more understanding and effective in guiding my team.
Taking time for self-reflection is a simple yet impactful personal growth strategy that can significantly impact your leadership journey. Just like career growth or other development plans, we need to take time out for ourselves. One of the ways I have done this is being away from the same place of work and without any distractions such as office emails and calls and treating myself with a good drink or a lunch. Every once a while, its important to appreciate your growth and changes you went through that pushed you to be better. This half a day session lets you go through the past quarter ups and downs, that is then reviewed on positives and negatives basis where we need to improve. Although mentors and other coaching systems are available, in my opinion, when you are leading you don't need to leave your originality and don a different hat. It's super-simple to start - start spending time on your own and reflecting on your work is pretty much whats needed.
One personal growth and development strategy that has greatly impacted my leadership journey is leveraging creative problem solving. Rather than relying on conventional methods when confronted with an obstacle, I strive to be innovative in my approach. For instance, recently when tasked with motivating a team working on particularly challenging project, I utilized elements of theater production to direct rehearsed discussions around the issue until it was fully resolved. This unique approach allowed for greater communication amongst team members and ultimately produced superior results compared to discussing the subject in a more traditional setting.
One personal growth and development strategy that has had a significant impact on my leadership journey is self-reflection. By taking the time to step back and reflect on my successes, failures, and experiences as a leader, it has allowed me to better understand both myself and others. It also gave me insight into how I can improve my leadership skills in order to more effectively lead, motivate and inspire those around me. Self-reflection has helped me to become a more confident and well-rounded leader, as well as enabled me to develop a deeper understanding of my team members and their unique strengths. As such, it is an invaluable tool for any leader striving for growth and success.
For a long time while developing and growing my business, I was pretty much working on my own. That unconsciously enforced in me a habit of doing everything related to leadership on my own, be it recruitment and employee management, marketing, client engagement--even dealing with clients personally. All of this did get too much, and it was only when I looked at the business growth that I realized I'm going about it the wrong way. No leader can do it on their own, and in fact they shouldn't do it on their own. Instead of trying to be an expert for everything, it's better to rope in the experts and let them guide you or take over some aspects of management themselves. It's also better to recognize the strengths of your team and harness them to play a bigger role in buisness development.
Having a business coach significantly impacted my leadership journey. Scaling a small business is a roller coaster, and I struggled with feeling successful daily. My coach reminded me to celebrate even small achievements, fostering a positive mindset. They also serve as a sounding board, boosting my confidence in making strategic decisions. With their support, I navigate challenges, celebrate wins, and make informed choices for long-term growth. A business coach has been transformative for my leadership.