Unpacked with Ron Harvey
People Always Matter. Join Ron as he unpacks leadership with his guests.
Unpacked with Ron Harvey
The Power of Authentic Connection in Leadership
Whitney Faires, founder of Whitney Faires Coaching and Development, shares her journey from corporate America to entrepreneurship while unpacking essential leadership lessons learned along the way. She offers practical strategies for developing authentic leadership skills, making challenging career decisions, and finding balance between professional ambitions and personal priorities.
• Leadership is about influencing others to take action that drives positive results
• Women in corporate America should view challenges as opportunities rather than obstacles
• Achieving work-life integration requires "ruthless prioritization" and accepting necessary trade-offs
• Sometimes lateral career moves provide better long-term growth than vertical promotions
• Building a strong support system is critical for both corporate leaders and entrepreneurs
• Regularly seeking specific feedback helps identify and address blind spots
• Authentic connection with team members drives higher performance and loyalty
• "Harness your highlight reel" by keeping reminders of past successes visible
• When seeking mentors, be specific about what you need and never waste their time
• Continuous learning is essential for leadership growth in our rapidly changing world
Find Whitney at whitneyfaires.com or email her directly at whitney@whitneyfaires.com.
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Just Make A Difference: Leading Under Pressure by Ron Harvey
“If you don’t have something to measure your growth, you won’t be self-aware or intentional about your growth.”
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Disclaimer:
The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and guests and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any organization or entity. The information provided in this podcast is intended for educational and informational purposes only and should not be considered as professional advice. Listeners should consult with their own professional advisors before implementing any suggestions or recommendations made in this podcast. The speakers and guests are not responsible for any actions taken by listeners based on the information presented in this podcast. The podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice or services. The speakers and guests make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the information, products, services, or related graphics contained in this ...
Welcome to Unpacked Podcast with your host leadership consultant, ron Harvey of GlobalCore Strategies and Consulting. Ron believes that leadership is the fundamental driver towards making a difference. So now to find out more of what it means to unpack leadership, here's your host, ron Harvey.
Speaker 2:Good morning. This is Ron Harvey, the Vice President, chief Operating Officer for Global Core Strategies and Consulting, a professional services leadership development firm based out of Columbia, south Carolina. So if you've been following us and you've been with this podcast for the last 18 months, you know enough about who we are as a company. We love helping leaders be better connected to their workforce. We truly enjoy it, and so I won't spend a lot of time on that today, because we have a phenomenal guest that's going to come on, introduce herself and we're going to dive into.
Speaker 2:What we always do on the show is unpack whatever shows up. The beauty of this is I never know what questions I'm going to ask. Our guests have signed up for it and they're on board with it, but we promise one thing that we're going to add value, make a difference, and we're going to be open and transparent and hopefully leave something with you that you will actually use this week. So let me pause. I'm going to have Whitney with us and she'll introduce herself and tell you who she is and what she wants us to know about her, and then we'll dive into the podcast and have some fun. Whitney, welcome to the show.
Speaker 3:Hi Ron, Thanks for having me Excited to be here.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, thank you. Can you tell us who you are, what you want us to know about?
Speaker 3:you, of course, of course. So my name is Whitney Ferris. I am a founder of Whitney Ferris Coaching and Development, so I do executive coaching. I also am a leadership expert after 20 years in corporate America, and I do some keynote speaking as well. My whole focus is helping people really be at their best, unlocking that untapped potential, and I'm a big believer that every single person has more potential deep down inside. The challenge is how do you access that? And so I help people, whether it's one-on-one coaching and corporate development programs or through my keynote think and reflect, inspire them to take action and create that behavior change.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, I love it. I mean. So you're right in my wheelhouse and we'll have a great conversation and I'll tell everybody that listens here we have people that do exactly what we do, that come on our show, because I don't believe in competition. I know it's out there, but I just don't live in that space. I believe in competition. Somebody is doing what we're doing. That's a good partner and a good resource. So I always bring people on and I'll tell all of our listeners don't be intimidated by people that do what you do. Find a way to have a good relationship, and you never know how they may be able to help you. So, whitney, thank you for coming on. I love to have fun with it, so let's dive into it. I mean, leadership is this? Now, when I say leadership, people are like, what does that mean? Like, what are you talking about? Like, so, what was your best way that you explained when people ask okay, so what is this leadership stuff? What do you really do? How do you explain that?
Speaker 3:Yeah. Well, there's a lot of different ways you could explain it, but I would say, at its most fundamental level, leadership is about being able to influence people to take action that drives positive results. It's whether you know, I'm a firm believer that you can be a leader and not actually lead a team. You can be a leader amongst a group of peers. You can be a leader within an organization that creates a positive impact, leads by example, influences a broader organization to inspire results and company culture and all of those things, or you can be a leader of a team, and so the question is how can you lead in your current role, whether it's work or life, and I think we all have that opportunity to do what we're doing, but with better quality and in a way that amplifies our impact in the world.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, thank you for sharing that. What do you find out? And you're in corporate America, and so, as you're sitting in corporate America, there are challenges for women leaders. This is Women's History Month. There are challenges. So how do you help if you're that female and they're listening and they're in corporate America? How did you navigate that effectively and what are some tips that you give to women that are in that space right now, learning how to navigate corporate America as a female?
Speaker 3:Yeah, well, I will tell you. I think one of the most powerful things women can do is view the challenges that they face as an opportunity. And I mean that because we cannot control, maybe, how we're viewed. We can't control that we're females, we can't control how our bosses or peers or other leaders see us. But what we can do is we can work really hard to be the best version of us, in the sense that we are authentic, we are showing up consistently.
Speaker 3:People know we have a clear brand on what we're known for and how we deliver value, and we look at all the other little things as just obstacles. And when you view it as an empowered place is owning the challenges and running towards them versus being a victim. I think it really can inspire you versus drag you down. And so I think it starts with really understanding who am I today and who do I want to be, and how do I work on closing that gap so that I can continue to continuously improve who I am, both personally and professionally. And I think when you stay true to the things that you can control, it makes it easier to navigate the uncontrollables. And sometimes we hear those comments in the workplace or there are biases that we know exist and we have to be us and work on ourselves versus worry about the noise around us. That will figure itself out.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, and there's a lot of noise.
Speaker 3:We both know there's a lot of noise in the workplace.
Speaker 2:And how do you get focused on it? How do you do it? I mean, one of the things that leaders are having a really tough time with today. I don't like to call it work-life balance, but I do want to figure out. How do you have a common way of being a family person, being a corporate America, being in a leadership role? How do you learn to make that level of feel where all of it's important and you can do a good job with collaborating or allowing it to intermingle with each other? How did you do well in that space?
Speaker 3:Yeah, well, I'll start by saying how I didn't do well in that space. First, because that's the truth, and I will tell you, I had this crazy vision that I thought I've always had a way of being able to outwork and grind my way through what all the, all, the, the, the big challenges I face.
Speaker 3:So I'm going to have a couple of kids and just like it's going to be business as usual, like once I drop them off at school, I'm just going to go about my day. It's like going to be before I had kids. Anyone who has children or is a caretaker for anybody knows that's completely false. There's so much more around you than just you drop them off and you move on with your day. And so at first I think I really struggled because I had, in my mind, unrealistic expectations for what I thought I was going to be as a mom, as a wife, as a high level leader in an organization. And then, oh, there's me, just as a person that needs a little attention too, and so I started out trying to function at the same level that I always had in all of those buckets, and it was exhausting and not successful, right, because even when you did it, you didn't feel good doing it, because you were just trying to make sure you got it all done, versus investing intentionally and where you were focusing your energy.
Speaker 3:And so for me, I had to really zoom out and say, okay, there's so much time in the day. What are the things that are my must haves? And that is everything from like I got to get a workout in every day. I want to make sure I can be there when either my kid wakes up or they go to bed, because at the time when I had kids, I was leading a team of salespeople that were in the operating room and so it's early mornings a lot of times.
Speaker 3:So I defined all the different must haves and I had to sit down with my husband and say how do we make this work and where are the places that we can make trade-offs?
Speaker 3:And part of that was really tough because it required me to face the fact that I wasn't going to maybe always be the mom who is there every morning and every evening, but I was really grounded in the work that I was doing. I felt it was really important meaningful work to the patients that we serve in our organization and that I was doing. I felt it was really important meaningful work to the patients that we serve in our organization, and so I was able to really come to a place where I could accept that it's okay to make trade-offs and it's unrealistic to function at the level that I want all aspects without making those and over time I think you find your stride and you learn that you're going to be really high in balance personally at times and low in balance and other times. But how do you kind of redirect when needed to be able to find that you know, quote, unquote balance or that blend once again?
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, I love it and thank you for sharing, because most leaders we have this mindset of we got to do it all.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, most leaders, if you're really, really effective and if you really really care. The danger is you think you got to do it all. Yeah, you shift from that because you know to get promoted, you kind of got to show up, you got to get things done, you got to be dependable, you got to always be around, you got to be visible. I mean, there's so much, there's a load of, if you're going to chase this corporate career or this leadership journey that you're on. There's a lot of things that, whether true or untrue, we tell ourselves how do you manage that mindset?
Speaker 3:It is.
Speaker 3:It is. It can be a struggle for sure. So I'm not going to sugarcoat it because I can give you a super pretty answer and I will tell you. Then everyone's going to go do it and be like this doesn't work, but I will. So I will tell you is I had to get super clear on my priorities. I say, like you have to be willing to ruthlessly prioritize, and so that means at times I am going to have to choose.
Speaker 3:I need to take this business trip, be in person for it instead of take it over Zoom, because this is what's in the best interest of the company that I've committed to my career, in me feeling like I've delivered at the level that I expect of myself, not even what the company expects of me, but what I expect of myself, which is core to me, feeling like I'm doing a great job. And then there are other times where I had to say, as hard as it is, I may need to pass on this trip because I've got someone on my team that can lead it just fine. And so it was very much a struggle to get in the habit of making those decisions because you feel like you're underperforming in some part of your life. But here's what I'd encourage people to think about the more you do this, the more practice you get making these trade-offs, you realize that in the grand scheme of a quarter or a year, you're just fine on every level. Right, your career isn't taking a hit.
Speaker 3:People actually oftentimes appreciate the vulnerability that you show by saying, hey, I've got to make this hard choice and here's how I've set it up to ensure that the business doesn't suffer. Or to say to my my, my, my kids listen like, mom does work, that she loves, that helps people. And so I'm not going to say I'm sorry that I'm leaving. I'm going to say when you grow up, you should chase your dreams too. And here's how I'm still here for you, even though I might not be here to put you to bed. And it doesn't mean there aren't hard moments. But in time it's the small steps of practicing that behavior that enable you to see you can still perform at that high level. Here's one more thing I throw in there is oftentimes, you know, like when I I had two kids, two and under. I had an infant at home. I just returned from maternity leave. I had a newly turned two year old.
Speaker 1:And here.
Speaker 3:I was yeah, I was like throwing it all in. I'm like might as well just fit two in and just keep keep the car going. But I was actually looking and I was being tapped on the shoulder for a promotion. I was looking at that next roll up and I did realize that for me to do that job well, I needed to be on the road three days a week, virtually every single week, and that, to me, was something that I was not willing to sacrifice at that point of time, both for my family, for myself, and I just knew that I could do it, but I wouldn't enjoy the work and I wouldn't be at my best.
Speaker 3:So I said to myself, when I look at my five to 10 year plan, what are the other skills I want to be at my best? So I said to myself, what else? When I look at my five to 10 year plan, what are the other skills I want to build? I need to build to put myself where I want to be, which was leading at a high level in a corporate organization, and what opportunities exist for me to build those skills today? So, instead of going up, I went lateral and I launched a new function internally. So I went from that sales experience to building that corporate experience and it enabled me to just feel like now is the time. Now's the time to do something different that suits my long-term plan. It may not be what I thought, but it turned out to be one of the best decisions of my career because I got a whole new skillset. I did something really fantastic in an organization with a great team and in the long term it set me up better than if I would have just gone vertically. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, it's phenomenal. Thank you for not sugarcoating it, because oftentimes we make it look easier than it is. We make it seem like it's an easy decision. There's no compromise, there's no pain, there's no frustration. But if you have a family, you're also teaching them how to make sacrifices and how to live up to commitments as well to yourself and to them. So thank you for sharing that.
Speaker 2:So, when you start thinking about making that move to left or right and even though you're looking up here what happened for you though I mean because it is hard to say, hey, this is in front of me, but I don't want to be on the road three times Can you, can you unpack that and say what were the difficult decisions? And how did you come to the conclusion that, ok, even though I want it, because there's an ego part of it, let's be real. There's an ego of going higher versus going left or right. How did you get through that? Because a lot of people struggle with turning down something that looks like a great opportunity, but not the right opportunity.
Speaker 3:Yeah, if I'm honest, it was probably the hardest 18 months of my career when I made the transition and it's for everything that you've said, which is here. I've been tapped to interview for roles, here I've been tapped to interview for roles, thinking about taking that next spot and I essentially opted out. And I think why it was so hard for me was what I opted into was a big idea in a corporation, so just the high level. I worked for a med device company. We sold surgical robotic systems. They're millions of dollars and we we had a problem. We had customers that needed them faster than they could pay for them. So they said, hey, like they took me. And then this, this uh guy who was a VP of a leasing company, and they said we want you to to combine your knowledge and create ways to finance our systems using our own balance sheet. We don't know how well it'll work. We think it'll work, but we don't know. So here's this idea, build it. And so what was challenging is I didn't know. I wasn't stepping into something where I knew how it would work, it wasn't established. And so, as I'm, you know, really working together and I had the best partner, partner in crime, in this process that I could have had. He's now a dear friend of mine.
Speaker 3:It was. It was so uncertain and it was like, did I make a bad move? All these people are getting promoted. I would have been one of those people. You know there's there's a lot. You get beat up a lot when you're starting new functions and organizations right, because you're disruptive, you're introducing something that is very disruptive to the day-to-day of that org.
Speaker 3:And I thought for a while what did I do? Did I completely sidetrack my career? But I stuck with it and I knew I committed for a reason. I had been deeply thoughtful before making that move and so I pushed through a lot of the mental hurdles where I said I shouldn't have done this, I made a mistake.
Speaker 3:And I always ask myself the question when I'm getting that narrative that's really bringing me down what evidence do I have to prove that it was the wrong decision? What evidence supports this negative thought, this unproductive thoughts? And sometimes you, you could find it You're like, yeah, well, I didn't do great in that meeting. I got some harsh feedback. There's evidence, but but what was what the reality was? Every time I asked myself that question, I said it just wasn't where I thought I would be right now, yes, but I made the choice to take a step sideways. So it's a lot of work of really.
Speaker 3:I think when you're making these big decisions, you have to ask yourself why is this the right choice? How does it serve my five to 10 year career plan 10 years is. You might not have a 10 year, but you should have a five year at least vision of a couple of different places you might want to be in your career. And then and then, why does this work matter to me as a person? And I think if you do work that you love, if you do work that's driving you towards a long-term goal and you have a good why behind it, you can't really lose. You may look back and say I wouldn't have done it again, but it was something that you learned from and you grew from.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I love it. I love it. Let me unpack for a second for you. What did you learn about yourself in that process? Because when you first do it, you think what am I thinking? And, yeah, I'll go for it. But there's something about going through moments like that that you are uncertain, unsure, don't know where you're going to end up at the destination and the airplane is in the air. You just don't want to crash your career. What'd you learn about yourself?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I learned. The number one thing I learned about myself is I can learn anything that I put my mind to and I can be great at it. And so the next time I want to do something big and I feel that self-doubt, trust the process. It's not going to be easy, it was anything but easy, but it was transformational for me personally and, I believe, for our organization. So that was number one. Number two and this is something that's really important it doesn't matter what everyone else is doing. It matters what you are doing, what is good for you, and so what may be good for me and was good for me.
Speaker 3:There were some people that were big skeptics. I mean, for the first two years, people kept saying when are you going to come back to the sales side? Why'd you make that jump? Sure, you don't want to be here. And it came from a really good place and I took it as a compliment. It was a compliment, but that wears on you sometimes where it creates that doubt, and you got to go back to those questions. I told you to ask because what I learned was this is my life, my life with my husband and my kids. That's what matters. And when I looked at all of my priorities and how making that jump enabled me to live more fully the bigger part of my life. There was no losing and it actually set me on this path to where I am today, and that's what I'm deeply grateful for. Wow.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean phenomenal, I mean the story, I mean we can talk about that for a while, something you said that's really, really interesting, as you went through this journey and getting to where you are now. We're in a social media platform world. Everybody has everything out there. How?
Speaker 3:do you not?
Speaker 2:pay attention to what people are saying or not liking or disagreeing with. I mean, there's so much noise from all angles and I don't even know all the platforms. There are a ton of them. How do you reduce the noise Because it's going to come at you, even though you feel like you're going right soon, as something shows up that feels a little shaky, you may run back to cover and get in your comfort zone. How do you avoid doing that?
Speaker 3:Yeah, the easiest answer is you have to be really solidly grounded in who you are and what matters to you. I mean deeply rooted in that when you get, you're drawn to the bright, shiny things in your company that everyone else is doing, or you're on social media and you're thinking that person's life looks so great that's their life, that's not your life. And so number one is if you know that you're heavily influenced by those things, don't get on them. I know there's people that really get dragged down looking at social media and everyone's perfect lives and I just I kind of take it with a grain of salt so it doesn't influence me that much. But yeah, you're on LinkedIn. You're like look at all these people getting promoted it's January, like everyone's moving up but me.
Speaker 3:And sometimes the answer is we've chosen that this is the job that we love, this is a path we want to walk. This is what's right for me. Right now Doesn't mean it will be in a year or two years or five years, and so it's. You have to have your vital few for who you are, what matters to you, you know what your long-term plan is and what you love to do, and if you anchor yourself around those and your values. I think it makes it much easier to just brush it off. It doesn't mean that you're uninfluenced, but it does mean that you can easily kind of right-size, like, oh, this person got promoted. That's such a bummer to me. I should be here. No, like I'm over here because it was good for me and my career plan, because it enables me to be around more. It prevents me from being on the road every week. Okay, like there's value in that, so let it go.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I love it. I mean, thank you for unpacking that. So you've transitioned from corporate to where you are now. I mean and I know there's some challenges in transitioning Can you unpack, you know, some of the things that you had to go through where you came from corporate and now you're an entrepreneur, and then we'll get into the lanes of entrepreneurs. Go through where you came from corporate and now you're an entrepreneur. Then we'll get into the lanes of entrepreneurs. What was it like to have to make that big shift and go to this certain guaranteed salary, if you will, to now? You got to figure it out. What was the challenges through that transition that you can share with our listeners?
Speaker 3:Yeah, of course. So I will say first I had a unique situation where I was not leaving a company because I was unhappy, which added a really unique dynamic. I was not leaving a company because I was unhappy, which added a really unique dynamic. I was actually leaving a company and a job that I loved, people I loved working for and with, and I had my most favorite team ever. We were just in our stride doing great work, but I left for something that I felt I was really called and had a purpose in doing, and so it took me a while to really do that work within, to say this is the right thing to do because I'm leaving something great behind, but I'm actually going towards something where I feel I can have the most impact on the largest number of people, and that was really a catalyst for me. So doing that work in advance got me prepared for all the adversity that comes with making the transition.
Speaker 3:You go from big corporate America to it's you, so you're sending emails, you're sending invoices, you're building your website copy, and I will tell you, the hardest thing was it was really lonely at first.
Speaker 3:You go from leading people and being on Zoom calls eight hours a day or in meetings, and you're sitting in an office and it's quiet and you don't know how to do half the stuff that you need to do and you're Googling everything and just learning by yourself and I had to really have that long-term vision in mind. That was a key piece for me to. I have a vision board in my office with people that have businesses like I want to have, and I was surrounded with a great group of supporters. I was really thoughtful about people that I asked like hey, when I go on this journey of starting my own company, I need you to be an accountability partner. I need you to be my sounding board, my person I'm going to brainstorm and strategize with and creating that support system. People mix with knowing where I wanted to be and where I believed I could be um, at a year, at two years, at five years, was what made me stay the course, because it's easy to like I could shut this thing down and go back.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 3:But you know you've got to have a good why and why you make these big moves.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, I want to unpack a couple things here. You said a lot of stuff. That's really really great for people that are listening. Regardless whether you're in corporate America, whether you're an entrepreneur or you're supporting some other organization. You have a vision board in your office and on that vision board you have companies or individuals or people that's ahead of you. How important is it to have people in your site that's ahead of you and how do you connect and leverage that?
Speaker 3:Yeah, that is a really critical skill set. I'm glad you brought that up. So I think it is important because you don't know what you don't know, and so you know how, when you go into a job, you have a leader. Hopefully, if you're an entrepreneur, you may not, you don't, you shouldn't You're the leader, but typically, when we move into the next world, we have somebody that's mentoring or leading us, and so we need that.
Speaker 3:Whether we're an entrepreneur and we're really seasoned in business, there are people that are years ahead of us that can tell us all the mistakes that they made and some things that they would say definitely do this and don't do that. And so I, for the first time in my life, I got really courageous and I would be at a conference and I would see somebody who was a speaker on the stage and I'd walk up to him and say, hey, like do you have 10 minutes? I want to learn this from you. And by the end of that 10 minutes, I'd say, uh, could I get your email? Uh, I promise you, if I make an ask of you, my two things I will assure you of is is one I will take action on it into. I will never waste your time. I will. I will get on. If I asked you for 15 minutes, I'll ask my two questions, I'll be prepared and I'll be off, and you would be surprised at the number of people that say yes to you. When you, when you have a 30 second kind of pitch of what your vision is for your company and how you would love to learn from them, most people will say yes. And so I got really three key people in my, in my world that are 10 years ahead of me in the same business, and they see the passion, they see the action that I've taken to before I got to them. It wasn't just a dream, it was in motion.
Speaker 3:And then, of course, I did what I said I was going to do, and so I think it's really critical to have people, and even when you're in a company and you're moving up in that role, it's nice to still have a couple mentors or advisors, because there are times where your, your leader, might not always do it the way that you do that you would do it right. They have a different style, they have a different approach, so it doesn't mean you disregard their guidance, but there are times when I stepped into roles in companies where I wanted that group of mentors around me because I wanted to figure out how to take their guidance and do it in a way that was organic to me. And so, no matter where you are entrepreneur or in a company, get that support system.
Speaker 3:The biggest thing is you got to drive it. So you've got to have the agenda, the one or two questions. Do not over-ask. Don't ask them for like an hour every week. They don't have that. Ask for small bits of time and then go do the work and so that they can see that their effort is paying off and investing in you.
Speaker 2:I love it. You're dropping really nuggets, so hopefully all the people that are listening are taking notes. I love that you walk through the process of making sure you got to do the work. You got to be bold and ask the question and you got to say here's what I need Be very, very specific and you said some things that are super important is make sure that you tell them you're going to follow through, you'll take action and you'll never waste their time. So if you're listening and you have that mentor, you have that role model, you have that advisor, never waste their time. I will tell you, leaders love helping, but they hate getting time wasted. So I love that you said that particular piece of it.
Speaker 3:Can I add one more thing in there?
Speaker 2:Absolutely yes.
Speaker 3:Next to my vision board or actually interspersed in my vision board. And then, you know, on each side of it I have things that remind me of times I was really proud of myself. And so, like, on on one side of my vision board, I've got this, this poster from when I was a college athlete that you know, my, my teammates and I were, were on, and I've got, you know, my diploma from the university of Virginia. And I've got a couple other things interspersed in my vision board, just key things, like from when I was in my coaching program or when I, you know, first launched my company. And I have it there because we have to be our own hype person.
Speaker 3:Here's the truth is, the only person that really needs to believe in you is you. But the tough thing about that is, at times you're not even going to know why you would ever believe in yourself. I mean, you're looking at yourself going like I've never done this. This is crazy to leave this job or to go after that job or to think I can make all this stuff work. But you have to be your own source of confidence in belief, and when you master that ability to take the self doubt and really I call it harness, your highlight reel.
Speaker 3:I look at those boards to the right of me here and I see the times when I did something I never thought I could do, when I beat the odds, when I performed or outperformed people that were really exceptional, and I have to say you know what that is me. So I'm going to roll the dice on myself once again. I'm going to create a good plan and I'm going to chase it and I've proven I can do it and I'm going to do it again Doesn't mean there won't be adversity, but you got to believe you can get through that and most of the time you will.
Speaker 2:I love it, I love that. I mean I'm going to use that phrase too, because I don't harness a highlight reel. I mean I haven't but I don't know. So on the board I mean all these things, and I think that's important because it gives you momentum when because life is going to happen and they're going to be when you drop off that roller coaster.
Speaker 2:It's going to be a really fast dip in a long dip, but you need something to remind you that you can get back your highlight reel, and I think we got to be able to do that. Something you mentioned earlier is accountability partner. You know the value of that. Can you tie that to feedback and unpack that for people that are listening? Accountability partner and the value of feedback.
Speaker 3:Yes, yes, Okay, Well, I might separate them just a little bit. The first I will say is I think I often challenge people in leadership development programs to ask themselves the question how often are they proactively seeking feedback? That's question number one. Are you seeking it from a diverse group of stakeholders and how intentional are you with the ask? And those are three questions that I think we really have to be honest with ourselves and chances are we're not asking for feedback enough, and it can be for a variety of reasons.
Speaker 3:Feedback is scary when you ask, and if you're asking someone whose answer you don't know what it will be which is the point then you may hear something that you don't want to hear, and so I think a lot of people are like well, if it was really necessary, somebody would tell me that's actually not true. They may not know that you want to know, they may not think that you trust their or respect their opinion, but the thing is, the perception of you whether you have the feedback or not, is still there. So think of it this way you can either know what people think of you, both good and constructive, or you could not know, but it still exists. So I don't know about you, but I want to know. And so part of that means you have to be really thoughtful about how you ask for it, so you're not just you don't want to go up to everyone and say, do you have any feedback for me? How did I do in that meeting? I mean not that those questions are bad, but I tell people be intentional about the ask. Let's say I'm going into a meeting and I'm presenting to a group of executives there's probably my leader or a peer, even someone on my team that I may say. I am really working on my ability to stay succinct and concise when I get objections and questions from executives. Can you please just pay extra attention to that and give me any feedback you have after this meeting? So they're going in there like with one focus. Or I may say, hey, here's something that I've gotten some feedback on from other stakeholders. I can't really. I don't really see it. I can't really understand this feedback. Could you just pay attention to this as we work together and give me any insights you have? So that is a much more intentional ask. You're giving them direction as to where they can help you and, believe me, if they have some other thoughts for you. Once you've opened that door, they will share those, and so feedback is critical to us being accountable, to raising the bar and growing our skills. So that is how it ties to accountability.
Speaker 3:For the longest time, I believed that I did not need anyone to hold me accountable. I have very high expectations for myself. To the point, it can be ineffective at times, but here's what I learned there are always a couple areas where I could really use someone to push me and just ask me some questions. A great example is and this is hard to mix, I put it out there but when I started my company, I had a lot of hesitation and I figured this out because I was like, not excited to go out there and tell my network what I was doing, and, if I'm honest, it was because what if they said why would you do that? Or oh yeah, I don't think we need anything right now, but I'll keep you in mind where you can tell that they're thinking who is? This person thinks she is right, and so the first thing you should be out there doing is, once you stand that business up is getting the word out there.
Speaker 3:But the first couple of weeks I found myself being like I'll do that after I do this. I only have time to call two people today. And then I started doing it and it was the opposite response than what I was, what I feared I would get, and so I started really thinking to myself where else am I not, um, totally avoiding, but not leaning in to level I should be. And I realized I actually could use that accountability partner. And you know, it just goes back to how do you want to ask them for help? There's, there are a couple of people that keep me accountable. My husband is one, cause he sees the, you know, the good, the bad, the ugly. I've got one of my previous leaders who is a sounding board for me that I'll say hey, I've got two goals over the next quarter. Here's what I'm striving to do. Let's, let's chat, you know, once, once every couple of weeks, and when we, when we catch up, you ask me about those things and he does.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, I love it. If you're listening and you're paying attention to this podcast, it's, it's saved our business and oftentimes, when you're starting something, you don't think as much about yourself as other people do. I mean, you'll be amazed how much you have that, that self-doubt talk, because you're nervous and new and you're unsure, you know. So I would say you know, for me, I had to pay attention to you know what? What was the self-limiting beliefs I was having about myself that other people said, no, you're really really good at that, so an accountability partner can can be that person. No matter how good you are, you can't see everything about you. Yeah, I haven't met that person yet that sees everything. So we all have blind spots and so that's no accountability partner. That that helps you see the blind spots. I mean we covered a lot. We covered a lot about leadership. We covered a lot about corporate America in the space. What has been the most valuable lesson that you've learned? That's serving.
Speaker 3:Oh, that's a good question. I would say the most valuable lesson I learned is connect with people, and I've hesitated sharing that for many years. It's something I've leaned into now that I feel like I've proven it time and time again is that people want to work with somebody and work for somebody that is a human being, and that that a lot of people will hear that and say that's soft. This is business and we have a number to drive and we have results to hit, and what I would encourage you to consider is the the best way to hit the results and to drive the number is by having leaders who genuinely connect with their people. What do I mean by that?
Speaker 3:When people start working for me or I start working closely with somebody, there's a couple questions I ask them. I say tell me about what motivates you. I want to learn about you, like not just at work but in life. Tell me about you, and I really want to genuinely learn about them and their families, because that helps me see a whole different side of that person and a side that I can connect with in different ways. Right, I talk to them about how they best really like to learn.
Speaker 3:You know there's going to be things that we have to teach each other. How can I best support you in that? So I want to know how I can flex my style when at all possible to meet that person in the middle and I also ask them listen, like, how do you like to receive feedback? And and and those are key questions, because that enables me to be somebody that they want to work for to the greatest extent that's possible. And I always tell them like there are going to be times where I can't deliver feedback that way, but I will do my best to flex my approach to meet you where you best can learn and hear that feedback. And so people want somebody that is going to connect and be a partner to them, not just manage the business or be their leader, and when you do that, that creates loyalty. It inspires somebody to want to run through walls to drive the result and do great work, and I think it is just an underestimated component in leadership, and the importance of really driving results is investing in those people first.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, I mean, and people that follow me on the podcast will say that, yeah, she's speaking Ron's language because I'm a relationship guy. Things get done through people at the end of the day. Can we close? I love to close. You know, before we get into your contact information, how to reach you. How important is it for people that are thinking leadership in whatever space that they're playing in? How important was it for people that are thinking leadership in whatever space that they're playing in? How important was it for you to continue to learn professional?
Speaker 3:development. To be a student all the time, oh, I mean, it's critical. I try to. So time is limited because those two little kids are still little, so I'm like spending my weekends at sporting events and such, but find what works for you. So I try to read brief articles, I try to listen to podcasts, and I think the piece is knowing where you need to invest the most in your development. So I find that, with the little time that we all have, is just being able to be specific about.
Speaker 3:Here are the two or three areas where I want to learn over the next few months and how do I pinpoint just some quick hits of information to be able to continually raise the bar. It's just that little steps of improvement that add up to big things over time. So I think it's critical. I mean, listen, we live in a dynamic world. We're dynamic as people. The world around us is certainly changing Companies. There's always change. So we have to evolve and if we're going to continue to be operating a high level, in whatever capacity, then it's going to call us to step up and evolve our skills and our approaches over time.
Speaker 2:It's a must. Yes, yes, I love it. I mean, you've been phenomenal. The phrase that I always tell people that whatever your best was today, it has to be better tomorrow.
Speaker 3:Yes.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I think that's an expectation that I put on myself all the time that even if it's good today, like tomorrow, I want to make it better. I want to continue to improve it and enhance it, and the world is changing fast. So, if you're that leader, never get complacent, never get comfortable that because you were great three years ago, that you're great today. You're going to have to work on that, so I really appreciate it. So, whitney, how do people reach you? We'll answer the second question, but the first question is if I'm sitting and I'm listening to this podcast and I'm a leader, what are some of the things that show up that says, hey, give Whitney a call. What are the top three reasons or things that you bring to the table that I could use if I'm that person listening?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I spend the most of, I invest the most oh, I can't talk. The most of my time is invested in leaders, right? So I focus a lot on people that are striving to get from, make that shift from an individual contributor to a people leader, so those emerging leaders. And then I do quite a bit of executive coaching with folks that are trying to get to that VP plus level and so wondering what are the skills that I need to really diagnose and then develop to continue growing in my career? I work a lot with leaders that are trying to figure out who they are as a leader. How do I lead authentically but effectively, balancing the demands of my company and who I want to be and how do I want to show up as a leader. And I also work with a lot of folks that are striving to. I don't call myself a career coach, but there's a lot of us that are looking and going what am I going to do in five years and what's that journey going to look like and how do I approach that? So that's on the individual side.
Speaker 3:I also work a lot with companies, farmer, individual contributors into people leader roles and we think that they're going to pick it up based on having a great leader. Oh, they're a go-getter, they'll figure it out, and some of them will. There's still a cost to that. Leadership is like any other skill we have to teach it. It is learned Very rarely. I mean, people may be born with these innate traits of leadership. That doesn't make them good leaders. You have to figure out how to apply that in the, in the, in the situation that they're in. So I work with companies to run development programs to train their, their people, leaders how to lead and be most effective and inspiring people. Developing people as well as building high-performing teams that drive results.
Speaker 2:Love it, love it. What's the best way for them to reach out to you?
Speaker 3:Yes, you can always reach out to me on my website. It's WhitneyFerriscom and my email is just Whitney at WhitneyFerriscom. You could follow me on LinkedIn and Instagram as well, so I'm pretty much every place. So just check out my website and you can always contact me directly there if you. If you don't think to email me, Awesome, awesome, whitney, you've been phenomenal.
Speaker 2:I mean you helped me unpack a lot of stuff. I mean pretty transparent. You know, something that you said on the podcast is being vulnerable, and so for the leaders that are listening, you know being a leadership role requires you to be vulnerable. I mean you'll get taken care of, you know. So if you're listening, we'd love for you to reach out to either one of us. I mean, we enjoy doing the work that we do and support each other, which is why we're on this podcast.
Speaker 2:So again, this is Ron Harvey, with Unpacked and love to be able to continue to share information with you about your journey and your goals, whether it's corporate or entrepreneurship or nonprofit. Leadership is leadership, and our goal is to help you be successful at it. Until next time, whitney and I will sign off and tell you thank you for joining us, thank you for being with us, and I know, or at least I hope, that we left something that you're going to use to implement, and just having an idea is nice, but implementation is required, so we hope that you put something to use that we share with you. Any parting words, last minute things, whitney?
Speaker 3:you want to share. You know my tagline is always dream the dream, build the plan and bet on yourself in big ways. So I'd encourage you whatever that little dream is in there, put the plan together and go chase it.
Speaker 2:Yes, thank you, whitney. It's been a pleasure. And to everyone else, we'll see you on the next podcast.
Speaker 1:Well, we hope you enjoyed this edition of Unpacked Podcast with leadership consultant consultant Ron Harvey. Remember to join us every Monday as Ron unpacks sound advice, providing real answers for real leadership challenges. Until next time, remember to add value and make a difference where you are, for the people you serve, because people always matter.
