WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.100 Tell me about your vision. Sure. So I am on a 00:00:03.100 --> 00:00:05.919 mission to rid the world of lazy leadership. 00:00:06.419 --> 00:00:10.119 As a leadership advisor, I work with leaders 00:00:10.119 --> 00:00:13.060 and teams and organizations to build trusting 00:00:13.060 --> 00:00:16.480 environments through communicating with clarity 00:00:16.480 --> 00:00:19.699 and addressing conflict in a constructive manner. 00:00:20.780 --> 00:00:24.510 Wow, that's awesome. Tell me more. Sure. So I 00:00:24.510 --> 00:00:26.710 tend to work with people within the professional 00:00:26.710 --> 00:00:29.769 services space and then their clients who they 00:00:29.769 --> 00:00:33.469 refer me to. And what I'm hearing a lot of these 00:00:33.469 --> 00:00:37.609 days is that we're all going so fast that we 00:00:37.609 --> 00:00:40.170 have more meetings on our calendars than ever 00:00:40.170 --> 00:00:44.310 before. And that we're not as human beings, we 00:00:44.310 --> 00:00:47.170 don't have the time or we're not making it a 00:00:47.170 --> 00:00:49.710 priority to slow down and take a moment to just 00:00:49.710 --> 00:00:52.119 think about. what is needed in this moment, in 00:00:52.119 --> 00:00:55.140 this conversation, in this meeting, in this interaction. 00:00:55.479 --> 00:00:58.539 So what I'm hearing and seeing people do is they're 00:00:58.539 --> 00:01:00.539 sweeping a lot of things under the rug because 00:01:00.539 --> 00:01:03.240 they just don't have time to address these things. 00:01:03.659 --> 00:01:06.280 So what they think is like, I'm just going to 00:01:06.280 --> 00:01:09.500 do this or quickly respond to this email. They 00:01:09.500 --> 00:01:12.819 end up taking more time later on because of the 00:01:12.819 --> 00:01:16.230 residual effects. you know, there's a misunderstanding 00:01:16.230 --> 00:01:20.090 or they misread something or they misinterpret 00:01:20.090 --> 00:01:23.650 something in an email, for instance, and that 00:01:23.650 --> 00:01:27.310 escalates conflict or misunderstanding in some 00:01:27.310 --> 00:01:32.489 way. And so trust erodes and they oftentimes 00:01:32.489 --> 00:01:35.549 leaders don't realize that that trust is eroding 00:01:35.549 --> 00:01:38.030 when it is until it gets to the point that something 00:01:38.030 --> 00:01:41.250 blows up or someone leaves or a client fires 00:01:41.250 --> 00:01:45.040 them. And so really helping people be far more 00:01:45.040 --> 00:01:49.239 deliberate in their approach to leading both 00:01:49.239 --> 00:01:52.099 internally and externally with clients or customers 00:01:52.099 --> 00:01:56.620 and really helping them gain that awareness of 00:01:56.620 --> 00:02:00.060 what they're doing that's not serving themselves 00:02:00.060 --> 00:02:03.959 or others and then giving them the tools to be 00:02:03.959 --> 00:02:08.439 able to have a difficult conversation or to address 00:02:08.439 --> 00:02:12.460 conflict. So that it doesn't continue to escalate 00:02:12.460 --> 00:02:16.340 out of control. For sure. Wow. Thank you. Thank 00:02:16.340 --> 00:02:20.020 you for sharing that. Tell me more. How did this 00:02:20.020 --> 00:02:21.740 come about? Like, how did you get on the path 00:02:21.740 --> 00:02:23.939 of this leadership? I know leadership is very, 00:02:24.020 --> 00:02:26.580 very, very important in any organization. And 00:02:26.580 --> 00:02:29.219 if an organization is not really focusing on 00:02:29.219 --> 00:02:32.759 that, the growth is, I think, comes to a halt 00:02:32.759 --> 00:02:36.780 or the growth stops eventually. So tell me more. 00:02:36.840 --> 00:02:40.330 How did you end up here within this realm? Well, 00:02:40.370 --> 00:02:42.870 I started my career working at Harvard University. 00:02:43.349 --> 00:02:47.750 And one of the first, well, second role, third 00:02:47.750 --> 00:02:51.069 role that I had there was working at Harvard 00:02:51.069 --> 00:02:53.629 Business School on an initiative examining women 00:02:53.629 --> 00:02:56.370 in the workforce. And this was, well, it was 00:02:56.370 --> 00:02:59.169 19 years ago. And I know that because I was pregnant 00:02:59.169 --> 00:03:01.129 with my daughter. So that's how I always know 00:03:01.129 --> 00:03:05.370 how long it was since I was there when I started 00:03:05.370 --> 00:03:11.259 there. What we noticed at the time was that the 00:03:11.259 --> 00:03:13.939 infrastructures essentially were not in place 00:03:13.939 --> 00:03:19.460 to retain and advance women into leadership positions. 00:03:19.680 --> 00:03:22.080 When my daughter was born, that just gave me 00:03:22.080 --> 00:03:25.740 that fire that I wanted her career opportunities 00:03:25.740 --> 00:03:29.680 down the road to be the same as her brother, 00:03:29.759 --> 00:03:33.120 that whatever opportunities that he had, that 00:03:33.120 --> 00:03:37.400 she could have the same opportunities. When she 00:03:37.400 --> 00:03:40.759 was about five, I started my own practice of 00:03:40.759 --> 00:03:44.319 this leadership advising, working with leaders 00:03:44.319 --> 00:03:49.500 and individuals and teams and organizations to 00:03:49.500 --> 00:03:53.729 really help them, as I said, be deliberate. Like 00:03:53.729 --> 00:03:56.050 you said, without that vision, without knowing 00:03:56.050 --> 00:03:58.030 where we're going, where we're heading, what 00:03:58.030 --> 00:04:00.909 we're trying to achieve, we have so many people 00:04:00.909 --> 00:04:04.349 just rowing in different directions. And by helping 00:04:04.349 --> 00:04:07.009 people get on the same page, addressing the issues 00:04:07.009 --> 00:04:11.009 before they start to... to really grow and become 00:04:11.009 --> 00:04:13.750 like an avalanche and just take over everything, 00:04:14.009 --> 00:04:17.930 really help people think and communicate what 00:04:17.930 --> 00:04:20.750 that vision is, what they want for the organization. 00:04:20.750 --> 00:04:24.870 And not some fluffy language that's put on a 00:04:24.870 --> 00:04:27.430 plaque and put on a wall somewhere, but really 00:04:27.430 --> 00:04:31.910 something that people can live by, make decisions 00:04:31.910 --> 00:04:35.589 through and know who they are and how they are 00:04:35.589 --> 00:04:37.750 representing their organization, their team. 00:04:38.569 --> 00:04:41.610 to be the most effective leader, the most effective 00:04:41.610 --> 00:04:45.290 at what they do so that they are admired, that 00:04:45.290 --> 00:04:48.290 they are respected because of that. Thank you 00:04:48.290 --> 00:04:50.730 for sharing that. Thank you so much. Would you 00:04:50.730 --> 00:04:54.350 say that that is also your why of what you do? 00:04:55.089 --> 00:04:57.769 Yeah, it really, you know, going back to my daughter, 00:04:57.850 --> 00:05:01.860 that is my why I want. the workforce, the workplace 00:05:01.860 --> 00:05:05.060 to be different than it was 19 years ago when 00:05:05.060 --> 00:05:08.899 she was born. And I certainly have seen shifts. 00:05:10.120 --> 00:05:12.560 Things have changed in the last five years of 00:05:12.560 --> 00:05:15.139 the way that people interact with one another 00:05:15.139 --> 00:05:18.240 and more and more seeing a lack of interaction, 00:05:18.579 --> 00:05:22.699 of live interaction, you know, and people struggle 00:05:22.699 --> 00:05:25.680 with that. And there's so much that we don't. 00:05:26.279 --> 00:05:30.439 or pick up on when we are texting someone or 00:05:30.439 --> 00:05:33.819 emailing someone compared to a live conversation, 00:05:34.100 --> 00:05:37.180 ideally in person, but that isn't the case all 00:05:37.180 --> 00:05:40.379 the time. But being able to see where people 00:05:40.379 --> 00:05:45.779 are and seeing their interactions, their response, 00:05:46.079 --> 00:05:50.089 their body language, the nonverbal. communication 00:05:50.089 --> 00:05:52.310 that happens, which depending on the research 00:05:52.310 --> 00:05:56.529 I've looked at, it's anywhere from 65 to 90 % 00:05:56.529 --> 00:05:59.949 of our communication is nonverbal. So certainly 00:05:59.949 --> 00:06:03.209 in a text and an email and instant message, like 00:06:03.209 --> 00:06:05.610 you can't tell the whole picture of what's going 00:06:05.610 --> 00:06:09.970 on. So it really forces us to communicate and 00:06:09.970 --> 00:06:13.649 to listen far more intently than we've ever had 00:06:13.649 --> 00:06:18.980 to. So what are going? going a little deeper 00:06:18.980 --> 00:06:22.079 in this. So what are some of the changes or some 00:06:22.079 --> 00:06:25.060 of the impact that you have seen when someone 00:06:25.060 --> 00:06:27.660 implements your way of strategy behind leadership? 00:06:28.000 --> 00:06:29.980 Yeah, well, it's funny you should say that. I 00:06:29.980 --> 00:06:33.279 just was on with a client this morning and I 00:06:33.279 --> 00:06:35.259 did some work with them around their communications 00:06:35.259 --> 00:06:39.199 as a leadership team. And we use an assessment 00:06:39.199 --> 00:06:42.439 to help them understand both themselves and each 00:06:42.439 --> 00:06:46.220 other, how they naturally think and behave. And 00:06:46.220 --> 00:06:48.899 the story that came up this morning was that 00:06:48.899 --> 00:06:53.300 the two managing partners plus the chief talent 00:06:53.300 --> 00:06:57.740 person were discussing hiring a vendor consultant 00:06:57.740 --> 00:07:00.860 to help them with something. And they interviewed 00:07:00.860 --> 00:07:04.399 two people. One person was, here's my framework. 00:07:04.660 --> 00:07:07.360 Here's my approach. This is where you are. This 00:07:07.360 --> 00:07:10.000 is where I'm going to get you to. And this is 00:07:10.000 --> 00:07:13.319 how we're going to do it. So very logical systems, 00:07:13.600 --> 00:07:19.149 processes in place. The other person was a little 00:07:19.149 --> 00:07:21.829 bit more fly by the seat of his pants of like, 00:07:21.850 --> 00:07:23.550 we're going to unearth and see what comes up 00:07:23.550 --> 00:07:27.569 and then we'll figure it out as we go. And the 00:07:27.569 --> 00:07:32.389 two leaders, the one who responded well to the 00:07:32.389 --> 00:07:34.689 gentleman who said, let's fly by the seat of 00:07:34.689 --> 00:07:37.629 the pants, that's how he communicates. That's 00:07:37.629 --> 00:07:41.110 his approach to problem solving. But with the 00:07:41.110 --> 00:07:44.420 chief development person. They came at it from 00:07:44.420 --> 00:07:46.939 different viewpoints. So she really liked the 00:07:46.939 --> 00:07:50.319 processes, the systems, the approach, the clarity 00:07:50.319 --> 00:07:53.279 that she had with one consultant. But they were 00:07:53.279 --> 00:07:56.040 able to say, instead of saying, well, we're just 00:07:56.040 --> 00:07:57.699 going to agree to disagree and I'm the managing 00:07:57.699 --> 00:08:00.439 partner, so we're going to do as I say. What 00:08:00.439 --> 00:08:02.300 they were then able to have this conversation 00:08:02.300 --> 00:08:04.720 of, oh, I understand where you're coming from. 00:08:05.120 --> 00:08:08.500 You like this structured approach and that feels 00:08:08.500 --> 00:08:12.399 confining to me. And then. She was able to say, 00:08:12.579 --> 00:08:14.879 yeah, I do like the process. I like the system. 00:08:14.959 --> 00:08:16.540 I like to know where we're going. I like having 00:08:16.540 --> 00:08:20.000 that clarity. And the willy nilly is the word 00:08:20.000 --> 00:08:23.879 she used doesn't work for me, but there wasn't 00:08:23.879 --> 00:08:25.920 a disagreement. It was simply understanding, 00:08:26.060 --> 00:08:28.800 oh, this is how you prefer to communicate. So 00:08:28.800 --> 00:08:31.439 of course you're going to appreciate that approach 00:08:31.439 --> 00:08:34.419 versus this one. And so they're able then to 00:08:34.419 --> 00:08:37.730 talk about it, not. Kind of finger pointing, 00:08:37.850 --> 00:08:40.889 but instead being able to say, oh, OK, this is 00:08:40.889 --> 00:08:42.529 where you're coming from. This is where I'm coming 00:08:42.529 --> 00:08:45.330 from. But what does the firm need and where are 00:08:45.330 --> 00:08:47.870 we trying to get to and approach it from that 00:08:47.870 --> 00:08:50.070 perspective? Because they understood that they 00:08:50.070 --> 00:08:53.610 were seen and valuing things differently in those 00:08:53.610 --> 00:08:56.470 in that decision of who to choose as a vendor. 00:08:56.990 --> 00:08:59.049 Yeah. Wow. Thank you for sharing that. That was 00:08:59.049 --> 00:09:01.990 very, very helpful. I have one more question 00:09:01.990 --> 00:09:03.750 for you before we enter this segment, Julie. 00:09:05.319 --> 00:09:08.840 Your entrepreneur journey, how did you get started 00:09:08.840 --> 00:09:11.059 on that? If you want to expand, how was it in 00:09:11.059 --> 00:09:13.340 these early days when you were getting started 00:09:13.340 --> 00:09:15.179 off your feet and figuring out what you need 00:09:15.179 --> 00:09:19.700 to do? When I started my practice, it was something 00:09:19.700 --> 00:09:23.000 I'd thought about for a bit. I was working at 00:09:23.000 --> 00:09:28.480 the time for a startup in the career space and 00:09:28.480 --> 00:09:31.600 really had a great relationship with the two 00:09:31.600 --> 00:09:35.669 founders and watched them. grow and create, you 00:09:35.669 --> 00:09:37.450 know, they started with writing a book, saw a 00:09:37.450 --> 00:09:40.210 need for some consulting, and they kept growing 00:09:40.210 --> 00:09:43.590 that way. I was their first employee. And so 00:09:43.590 --> 00:09:47.029 I saw and learned from them in terms of what 00:09:47.029 --> 00:09:50.429 worked, what made me feel comfort, what made 00:09:50.429 --> 00:09:54.389 me feel uneasy. And what I figured out was, you 00:09:54.389 --> 00:09:57.090 know, I really love having an impact on people. 00:09:57.389 --> 00:10:01.049 And how can I do that? in the most effective 00:10:01.049 --> 00:10:04.570 way. So when I started my practice, my goal was 00:10:04.570 --> 00:10:09.809 to do to coach some of the leaders who that I've 00:10:09.809 --> 00:10:12.090 been exposed to over the course of my career. 00:10:12.309 --> 00:10:16.149 And but I maintained that relationship. And kept 00:10:16.149 --> 00:10:19.350 doing project work for them because that, for 00:10:19.350 --> 00:10:22.049 me, that felt comfortable to know I had a little 00:10:22.049 --> 00:10:25.029 bit of income coming in while I was starting 00:10:25.029 --> 00:10:28.110 my practice. And I approached it certainly from 00:10:28.110 --> 00:10:32.110 a more conservative, less risk -taking place. 00:10:32.389 --> 00:10:36.250 You know, I bought a computer. That was my down 00:10:36.250 --> 00:10:39.850 payment. And I took some courses. But I wasn't. 00:10:40.080 --> 00:10:42.320 you know, I didn't have an outlay of money. So 00:10:42.320 --> 00:10:44.980 if for me that worked, because if it didn't work, 00:10:45.080 --> 00:10:48.279 if the practice didn't grow, I could walk away 00:10:48.279 --> 00:10:51.000 and there wasn't much that I needed to get rid 00:10:51.000 --> 00:10:56.320 of or, you know, that I owed on. And so I had 00:10:56.320 --> 00:10:58.740 the one of the best pieces of advice that someone 00:10:58.740 --> 00:11:01.700 gave me in the very beginning was you're going 00:11:01.700 --> 00:11:06.259 to have these very large dips and rises of your 00:11:06.259 --> 00:11:11.659 practice. And As you continue to grow and build 00:11:11.659 --> 00:11:16.279 your name and get referrals, that won't be such 00:11:16.279 --> 00:11:21.179 deep highs and lows. And so now when I have a 00:11:21.179 --> 00:11:23.980 little bit of a dip, I take advantage of it. 00:11:24.059 --> 00:11:26.519 That's the time that I do a lot of business development. 00:11:26.700 --> 00:11:30.120 I do a lot of speaking. I will do a lot of planning 00:11:30.120 --> 00:11:32.720 and development because I know that it's going 00:11:32.720 --> 00:11:34.679 to come back up. But it's not these big highs 00:11:34.679 --> 00:11:38.840 and lows. It was within the first year of my 00:11:38.840 --> 00:11:42.840 practice, all my clients at the time would be 00:11:42.840 --> 00:11:45.379 ending their engagements at the end of the month. 00:11:45.440 --> 00:11:48.419 And I had no one starting the following month. 00:11:48.500 --> 00:11:51.960 So I had no income coming in. And it was a great 00:11:51.960 --> 00:11:54.799 motivator. It set that urgency, like I got to 00:11:54.799 --> 00:11:58.279 get out there. And I still do this, but I do 00:11:58.279 --> 00:12:00.860 a lot of speaking, whether it's on podcasts like 00:12:00.860 --> 00:12:05.919 this or on big stages at conferences. I want 00:12:05.919 --> 00:12:09.309 as many people. as out there to know and to hear 00:12:09.309 --> 00:12:13.549 how I approach things, how I add value to people. 00:12:13.789 --> 00:12:16.470 And so that's what I did when I knew, like I 00:12:16.470 --> 00:12:19.509 saw all my clients are coming to an end. I called 00:12:19.509 --> 00:12:23.389 my alma mater and said, Hey, I'll do a free webinar 00:12:23.389 --> 00:12:27.250 for you. And I got three clients out of it, you 00:12:27.250 --> 00:12:29.370 know, which it wasn't, I wasn't expecting to, 00:12:29.429 --> 00:12:30.830 but it was a great thing. And then I realized, 00:12:30.929 --> 00:12:33.950 Oh, I can keep offering to do a webinar. Doesn't 00:12:33.950 --> 00:12:37.029 take much. on me. I'm not traveling sitting here. 00:12:37.090 --> 00:12:40.049 I have the equipment. I can do this. So speaking 00:12:40.049 --> 00:12:42.049 has always been something that has worked really 00:12:42.049 --> 00:12:46.750 well for me from a business development and growth 00:12:46.750 --> 00:12:49.309 standpoint. Thank you for being here today. I'm 00:12:49.309 --> 00:12:51.049 really happy that you tuned in to Vision Pros 00:12:51.049 --> 00:12:54.009 Live. I'm looking forward to seeing your reactions 00:12:54.009 --> 00:12:56.629 as these episodes continue to move forward. This 00:12:56.629 --> 00:12:58.549 is going to get more and more fun. We'll have 00:12:58.549 --> 00:13:00.750 more and more engagement as well. We invite people 00:13:00.750 --> 00:13:03.210 to participate in the show. And thank you for 00:13:03.210 --> 00:13:05.389 giving us your time and attention. Have an excellent 00:13:05.389 --> 00:13:07.809 time building out your vision and becoming a 00:13:07.809 --> 00:13:08.470 vision pro yourself.