Latest / Legacy Living with Dr. Gloria Burgess / A Servant Leader's Journey | Episode #459

Transcript

A Servant Leader's Journey | Episode #459 · Legacy Living with Dr. Gloria Burgess

0:21
Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to today's show, Legacy Living, Make Your
0:27
Speaker 1: Life Count. I'm your host, Doctor Gloria. Gloria Burgess, international
0:34
Speaker 1: leadership expert and trusted advisor. Welcome to Legacy Living, Make
0:42
Speaker 1: your Life Count. I'm so delighted that you joined me today.
0:48
Speaker 1: I want to give a big thank you and shout
0:51
Speaker 1: out to all of you listening around the world. I'm
0:54
Speaker 1: delighted and so grateful that you tuned in today. I
0:59
Speaker 1: hope you're enjoying a fabulous day and that you're having
1:03
Speaker 1: a fantastic week, because you know what, in the grand
1:07
Speaker 1: song of the universe, life is very very short. It's short,
1:13
Speaker 1: sweet and very precious. So I hope you're making a
1:17
Speaker 1: difference in your own life because when you do, you
1:21
Speaker 1: also make a difference in someone else's life. Now, a
1:25
Speaker 1: lot of folks want to make their life count for
1:29
Speaker 1: something right, and they ask me, doctor Gloria, how do
1:33
Speaker 1: you do that. Well, it's really very simple, very simple.
1:39
Speaker 1: You make your life count day by day, step by step,
1:44
Speaker 1: moment by moment, every single day. Three sixty five twenty
1:49
Speaker 1: four to seven. That's what Legacy Living, Make your Life
1:53
Speaker 1: Count is all about. You can learn more about my
1:57
Speaker 1: work and legacy living. Make your life caut out by
2:01
Speaker 1: visiting the Gloria Burgess website. And as I've mentioned before,
2:05
Speaker 1: if you love to be inspired, you can actually subscribe
2:09
Speaker 1: to my inspirations right on my website. Just scroll down
2:13
Speaker 1: a little bit look on the right sidebar until you
2:16
Speaker 1: see the place to add your email address to subscribe
2:20
Speaker 1: to my weekly inspirations. It's that simple. Each week you
2:25
Speaker 1: get a lovely photograph and a short quotation that inspires you.
2:30
Speaker 1: Or by visiting Facebook and you can find me on
2:33
Speaker 1: Facebook at Facebook dot com. Forward slash dr for doctor
2:38
Speaker 1: Dr Gloria Burgess, pH d. Forward slash Today, I want
2:46
Speaker 1: to talk with you about leadership. As you know if
2:51
Speaker 1: you're a regular listener, this is a topic that is
2:54
Speaker 1: very close to my heart. Today, we're going to focus
2:59
Speaker 1: on a lit leadership journey. Okay, one person's leadership journey
3:04
Speaker 1: and how she orchestrates that incredible life changing leadership journey
3:10
Speaker 1: for others. Today, I have a very special guest joining
3:14
Speaker 1: me and her name is Danielle Harvey Stenson. Now, Danielle
3:19
Speaker 1: was my guest last week, so if you missed that episode,
3:23
Speaker 1: be sure to listen to it. Last week we talked
3:27
Speaker 1: about work life balance. Danielle shared a little bit about
3:32
Speaker 1: her work and her amazing journey to the work that
3:35
Speaker 1: she does now at the University of Southern California in
3:39
Speaker 1: her role as Assistant vice President for Alumni Relations. Along
3:44
Speaker 1: the way, she shares many many pearls of wisdom about
3:48
Speaker 1: how she thinks about and how to actually achieve work
3:53
Speaker 1: life balance. Now that's something we can all use a
3:57
Speaker 1: lot more of, right, So who is Danielle Harvey Stenson?
4:04
Speaker 1: As I just mentioned, she's AVP of Alumni Relations at
4:07
Speaker 1: USC and in addition to pursuing her career, she wears
4:11
Speaker 1: many other hats. Danielle is a mom to six children
4:17
Speaker 1: right six. She's also passionate, and she's also a lifelong learner.
4:23
Speaker 1: She describes herself as someone who thrives on creativity. To me,
4:29
Speaker 1: she's also a very valued and trusted friend, and I'm
4:33
Speaker 1: blessed to count her as one of my amazing mentors.
4:38
Speaker 1: If I had to describe Danielle in just a word,
4:42
Speaker 1: I would say encourager. Yes, encourager. If I had two words,
4:49
Speaker 1: I would also say inspiring. Danielle is a leader who
4:55
Speaker 1: thinks outside of the box and is one of the
4:59
Speaker 1: most humble human beings, one of the most humble leaders
5:03
Speaker 1: that I know. She makes a difference in her own
5:06
Speaker 1: life and in the lives of so many others throughout
5:10
Speaker 1: the world in her work at USC. Now. I met
5:15
Speaker 1: Danielle almost ten years ago. She was searching for a
5:19
Speaker 1: keynote speaker for one of the alumni conferences at USC.
5:23
Speaker 1: In fact, it was the USC Women's Alumni Conference, and
5:27
Speaker 1: at that time I was in the process of expanding
5:30
Speaker 1: my reach because I wanted to impact more women leaders. Well,
5:37
Speaker 1: when I met Danielle, I just have to tell you,
5:41
Speaker 1: when I heard her talk about her work at USC,
5:44
Speaker 1: she was absolutely passionate talk about love. Her enthusiasm was
5:51
Speaker 1: just contagious, and I thought, Yes, I'd love to work
5:55
Speaker 1: with this young woman who was truly on a mission
5:58
Speaker 1: and on fire about her work. Now, I'm also a
6:03
Speaker 1: USC alum, which made it a perfect match. Right now,
6:07
Speaker 1: Danielle has worked at USC for sixteen maybe seventeen years
6:12
Speaker 1: in alumni relations. She has a bachelor's degree in education
6:17
Speaker 1: from USC's Rossier School of Education and an executive Master's
6:22
Speaker 1: degree in leadership from the Sole Price School of Public
6:26
Speaker 1: Policy at USC as AVP. For alumni relations. Danielle and
6:33
Speaker 1: her team are responsible two and four about half a
6:38
Speaker 1: million people. That's a lot of folks. She and her
6:42
Speaker 1: team provide an incredible array of programs and services and
6:48
Speaker 1: events throughout the year, year after year. Now, as I
6:55
Speaker 1: just mentioned just a few moments ago, Danielle is positive,
7:00
Speaker 1: committed to making an impact on the world, and she
7:04
Speaker 1: has a particular interest in making an impact to empower
7:09
Speaker 1: women leaders to transform their world. Danielle says that, among others,
7:16
Speaker 1: her mom had an enormous impact on her life and
7:21
Speaker 1: has shaped her vision for her work. During my conversation
7:27
Speaker 1: with Danielle, you will hear more about her story. You'll
7:32
Speaker 1: also hear about some of the people and moments that
7:35
Speaker 1: have shaped and formed her as a person of influence,
7:39
Speaker 1: People in moments who have shaped and formed her as
7:42
Speaker 1: a leader, all with a particular focus on serving other
7:47
Speaker 1: leaders in many ways. In her outlook on life and
7:53
Speaker 1: in her work, Danielle pulls together the many threads of
7:57
Speaker 1: what my own life and work are all about. You've
8:02
Speaker 1: heard me talk about these threads and themes on this show, right.
8:08
Speaker 1: These are the themes of gratitude, authenticity, vulnerability, integrity, generosity, strength, passion, presence, hope, creativity,
8:21
Speaker 1: and possibility. We are truly blessed to have Danielle as
8:28
Speaker 1: one of our honored guests on this podcast. Can I
8:32
Speaker 1: just tell you something. Danielle and I had a fabulous conversation.
8:37
Speaker 1: I'm so excited to have this amazing leader with us today.
8:41
Speaker 1: This is going to be a marvelous episode. I don't
8:45
Speaker 1: want you to miss a single word of it. So
8:48
Speaker 1: put on your walking shoes, grab your earbuds, or if
8:51
Speaker 1: you want to stay home, relax in your favorite chair,
8:54
Speaker 1: grab yourself a cup of coffee or tea or a
8:57
Speaker 1: nice cool glass of water. You are going to have
9:01
Speaker 1: a great time, and you're also I want to take
9:04
Speaker 1: notes today, so all right, get ready. Now, before I
9:09
Speaker 1: jump into today's episode, I want to take just a
9:13
Speaker 1: moment to welcome you. If you're just joining us, I'm
9:16
Speaker 1: your host, Doctor Gloria, and this is Legacy Living, Make
9:21
Speaker 1: your life count. I'd like to extend a very special
9:25
Speaker 1: welcome to those of you joining this podcast, or if
9:29
Speaker 1: you're joining Talk Network Radio for the very first time,
9:33
Speaker 1: let me tell you something. You are in for a
9:36
Speaker 1: real treat. I'm excited to have you listening in today,
9:39
Speaker 1: and I'm deeply honored that you've allowed me to be
9:43
Speaker 1: part of your day so you can be inspired by
9:46
Speaker 1: ideas and resources to make your life count. Today's program
9:54
Speaker 1: is all about one leader's journey and how she orchestrates
9:59
Speaker 1: journeys for other leaders.
10:04
Speaker 2: Danielle, I would love to hear about the scope of
10:07
Speaker 2: the networks that you support across USC. I know you're
10:12
Speaker 2: responsible for various programs and services and events for a
10:16
Speaker 2: huge population. And I'd also like to focus in on
10:19
Speaker 2: the Women's Conference because that's how you and I first connected.
10:23
Speaker 2: And I'd also like to give you some time to
10:25
Speaker 2: maybe cheer about that conference and may be promoted a
10:28
Speaker 2: little bit as well through the program.
10:30
Speaker 3: Okay, awesome, Well, thank you. I can speak about the
10:34
Speaker 3: Women's Conference ad nauseum NonStop. If this word teles on you,
10:40
Speaker 3: you wouldn't need to book any other speakers. So I'll
10:45
Speaker 3: start with the different networks that we have and then
10:48
Speaker 3: go into.
10:49
Speaker 4: The Women's Conference.
10:50
Speaker 3: So just to refresh, I guess my answer from before
10:55
Speaker 3: about some of the different programs that I'm on and
10:58
Speaker 3: our approach to alumni engagement here at USC. It's very
11:03
Speaker 3: important for.
11:04
Speaker 4: The university to maintain that connection.
11:06
Speaker 3: So we have things that we call the Trojan family,
11:10
Speaker 3: and that's really the alumni, the parents, the students, the
11:14
Speaker 3: whole gamut of anyone connected to or tied to USC.
11:18
Speaker 3: And specifically, we also say around here.
11:21
Speaker 4: You may be a student for four or five.
11:24
Speaker 3: Plus years, but you're in a lum and a Trojan
11:27
Speaker 3: for life. And at USC, I will say that is
11:31
Speaker 3: one of the things that convinced me to come and
11:34
Speaker 3: be a student here at USC. And I was deciding
11:37
Speaker 3: between other universities, but when I got to see that
11:40
Speaker 3: Trojan family and that Trojan connection.
11:42
Speaker 4: Up close and personal, I was blown.
11:45
Speaker 3: Away and said, yes, sign me up right now. So now,
11:50
Speaker 3: as the person responsible for maintaining that connection and hoping
11:55
Speaker 3: to cultivate that connection, we're approaching engage in an alumni
12:02
Speaker 3: centric approach. So that means, as I shared a little
12:07
Speaker 3: bit earlier, we're trying to find ways that alumni will
12:13
Speaker 3: feel connected to the university in a way that is
12:16
Speaker 3: personal and meaningful for them. So for some people, if
12:20
Speaker 3: they are very connected through their industry or their profession
12:25
Speaker 3: that they've chosen, we have built networks around that and
12:28
Speaker 3: right now we have four of those entertainment, real estate, education,
12:35
Speaker 3: and entrepreneurship. And the wonderful thing about the networks is
12:40
Speaker 3: it doesn't matter what your major.
12:42
Speaker 4: Was when you were a student.
12:44
Speaker 3: So you could have majored in law as a graduate student,
12:48
Speaker 3: you could have majored in political science as.
12:51
Speaker 4: An undergraduate student. You could have.
12:52
Speaker 3: Majored in something like writing or directing in the School
12:57
Speaker 3: of Cinematic Arts. But now whatever profession you're in, let's
13:02
Speaker 3: say you're in real estate. So you know, we hear
13:04
Speaker 3: all the time, I'm working in a field that I
13:06
Speaker 3: didn't major in, or I'm majored in one thing now
13:09
Speaker 3: I'm working in another. I'm one of those people I
13:11
Speaker 3: majored in education, but now I'm working in alumni relations,
13:14
Speaker 3: which is essentially public relations or communications, et cetera. So
13:20
Speaker 3: these networks are allowing alumni to break down those barriers
13:25
Speaker 3: or those silos that we have because perhaps, let's say
13:29
Speaker 3: you went through the Marshall School of Business or the
13:32
Speaker 3: Annenberg School of Communication, whatever you're where you started. It's well,
13:37
Speaker 3: I should say it this way. It doesn't matter where
13:39
Speaker 3: you started. It just matters what you care about and
13:42
Speaker 3: what you're doing right now. So with those networks, we've
13:46
Speaker 3: had them, i want to say, for about three or
13:48
Speaker 3: four years now, and each one has started at different degrees.
13:52
Speaker 3: But we're starting to see alumni who graduated ten, twenty, thirty,
13:57
Speaker 3: forty years ago never had a connect to the university before,
14:01
Speaker 3: except you know, they'll get together watch a game with
14:03
Speaker 3: some of their classmates. But now they're coming back and going, oh,
14:07
Speaker 3: this is of interest to me, This is a value
14:09
Speaker 3: to me. The speakers that we bring together, or just
14:12
Speaker 3: the opportunity to network with other Trojans in that field
14:16
Speaker 3: has been very valuable to them. Very similarly, we're also
14:21
Speaker 3: looking at that lens, not just with professions, but also
14:25
Speaker 3: what are some topics or our programs that are or
14:30
Speaker 3: shared interests is how we talk about them that are
14:33
Speaker 3: of interest and that includes our age based program. So
14:38
Speaker 3: let's say you're under the age of thirty five and you.
14:41
Speaker 4: Need career advice. Well, the career advice we.
14:44
Speaker 3: Give an alum who's under the age of thirty five
14:47
Speaker 3: versus the career advice we would give to an alum
14:49
Speaker 3: who's over the age of fifty is very different. So
14:53
Speaker 3: we also look at where are you in your lifespan
14:57
Speaker 3: and how can we curtel or make our programming specific
15:01
Speaker 3: to those needs.
15:03
Speaker 4: It's been very important.
15:05
Speaker 3: And now to segue over to the women's conference, we
15:09
Speaker 3: have been for many, many years looking at alumni identity.
15:15
Speaker 3: So we have our traditional Asian Pacific Alumni, Black Alumni,
15:19
Speaker 3: Latino Alumni Association, and our Lambda LGBT alumni associations that
15:25
Speaker 3: have boards, are full blown alumni associations. They have advisory councils,
15:31
Speaker 3: they do galas, they do scholarship fundraising, and then they
15:34
Speaker 3: also award scholarships from those organizations. Similarly, we have women's
15:39
Speaker 3: groups that fall sort of under this category as well
15:42
Speaker 3: as our Alumni Veterans Network that falls under this category.
15:47
Speaker 3: And with our women there has been so much talk
15:53
Speaker 3: and so much emphasis on feminine based our feminine quality leaderships,
16:00
Speaker 3: also needs and interests of women. How can we speak
16:05
Speaker 3: directly to them? And this has been very important for
16:09
Speaker 3: the university and the Alumni association because.
16:12
Speaker 4: Just within the last i want to say, ten to
16:14
Speaker 4: fifteen years, what used to be a very.
16:18
Speaker 3: Small percentage of our student body has now become a small.
16:22
Speaker 4: Majority of our student body.
16:23
Speaker 3: So our women's student body is just over fifty one
16:26
Speaker 3: percent and our alumni base is mirroring that now as well.
16:32
Speaker 3: So that's really exciting and also a reason for us
16:35
Speaker 3: to harbout our programs and really speak to this audience
16:40
Speaker 3: in a way that hasn't been done in a number
16:42
Speaker 3: of years.
16:44
Speaker 2: Well, thank you. That demographic it sounds like I mean,
16:47
Speaker 2: obviously you're in this business, but my sense from all
16:52
Speaker 2: the reading that I do is that demographic it's just
16:55
Speaker 2: going to keep trending upwards.
16:57
Speaker 4: Absolutely.
16:58
Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, So I know that you're planning your conference
17:02
Speaker 2: for next March, and as I mentioned earlier, you and
17:06
Speaker 2: I actually met through the Women's conference that you had
17:09
Speaker 2: invited me to speak there about seven years ago. And
17:13
Speaker 2: I'm just wondering if you can tell us why you
17:16
Speaker 2: think that there is such a power in these programs, Danielle,
17:21
Speaker 2: and such a hunger for them as well.
17:24
Speaker 3: Yes, you know, that is a great question, and I
17:29
Speaker 3: wish I had a short answer for it. I think
17:34
Speaker 3: that as women, there is so much power that gets created.
17:42
Speaker 3: And again, I'm a creative person, so I'm all about
17:45
Speaker 3: this when we're all in a room together. And Gloria,
17:50
Speaker 3: if I could, and you would have to correct me
17:53
Speaker 3: on this quote, but one of the first sentences that
17:57
Speaker 3: you ever shared with us in this setting at the
18:01
Speaker 3: Women's conference was that twenty first century women are one
18:06
Speaker 3: of the most powerful forces on the planet. And I'm
18:10
Speaker 3: paraphrase that's it, correct me if I didn't get that
18:14
Speaker 3: quite right, But those words and that sentiment really stuck
18:19
Speaker 3: with me because as we are looking at movement, as
18:23
Speaker 3: we're looking at the shift that's happening, you know, definitely
18:27
Speaker 3: within our country, within politics, within leadership, within business, people
18:33
Speaker 3: are paying attention to what is that powerful source? Are
18:37
Speaker 3: we sourcing it correctly? Are we channeling it to our
18:42
Speaker 3: fullest potential and to our fullest benefit? And then are
18:46
Speaker 3: we paying attention to it in a way that allows
18:49
Speaker 3: us all to become better? Again, I think it just
18:53
Speaker 3: goes to being the human race. Are we maximizing our
18:57
Speaker 3: fullest potential? And I think the answers and people believe,
19:02
Speaker 3: not just me, the answer is within you know, that
19:06
Speaker 3: feminine quality force all of that. So I personally can't
19:15
Speaker 3: possibly put that, I think into words, but just my
19:18
Speaker 3: own feeling is there is something there that we all
19:22
Speaker 3: need to pay attention to.
19:25
Speaker 2: Absolutely, And I think you actually did a beautiful job
19:27
Speaker 2: of summing that up. I mean, we could we could
19:29
Speaker 2: probably spend the whole program just talking about that one question, Danielle,
19:33
Speaker 2: so thank you for your summary. You know, I was
19:36
Speaker 2: in Nigeria last fall and I had a wonderful opportunity
19:43
Speaker 2: to spend about maybe half a day with a girl
19:47
Speaker 2: who has organized an international women's conference, and she was
19:52
Speaker 2: on the cusp of celebrating her twentieth year. And one
19:57
Speaker 2: of the things that she talked about, I mean, she
19:59
Speaker 2: was kind of you know, we talked about it. She
20:01
Speaker 2: was also brainstorming about like what would be the best
20:04
Speaker 2: theme or topic or way to kind of just galvanize
20:07
Speaker 2: and pull things together for this twentieth anniversary. And you know,
20:11
Speaker 2: one of the things she talked about was what you
20:13
Speaker 2: pointed out, and that's that feminine quality, Okay, the feminine
20:17
Speaker 2: quality of leadership. And there's something that we have as
20:21
Speaker 2: women that we we can't afford to give up. I know,
20:26
Speaker 2: over the years that I've been in the business sector,
20:28
Speaker 2: in particular in education as well, a lot of women
20:32
Speaker 2: they want to they want to go along, to get along,
20:35
Speaker 2: and they want to give up some of the qualities
20:37
Speaker 2: that they have, particularly you know, so that they fit
20:39
Speaker 2: in with the men. And I'm going like, no, No,
20:43
Speaker 2: there is such diversity that we can offer when we
20:49
Speaker 2: put ourselves at the table, bringing those feminine qualities, those
20:52
Speaker 2: feminine attributes that will be missing if we don't bring
20:56
Speaker 2: them to the table. And so, Daniel, I wonder if
21:00
Speaker 2: you can talk to us a little bit about how
21:02
Speaker 2: do you come up with with your amazing themes for
21:07
Speaker 2: the various conferences. I mean to me, they kind of
21:09
Speaker 2: build over the arc of the ten years that you've
21:13
Speaker 2: had your signature impress on them. And so I'm just
21:16
Speaker 2: wondering if you could talk with us a little bit
21:18
Speaker 2: about So how do you do that?
21:20
Speaker 3: Thank you? That is a question that again I could,
21:24
Speaker 3: I could speak endlessly about it, but I will say
21:29
Speaker 3: that and this might be a little too spiritual for
21:34
Speaker 3: some people, So forgive me. If you are a person
21:38
Speaker 3: who is in your head, I'm going to go into
21:40
Speaker 3: my heart for a second.
21:41
Speaker 2: Oh go there, please.
21:44
Speaker 3: So this conference is very near and dear to my
21:48
Speaker 3: heart in a way that for me, if I did
21:52
Speaker 3: not get paid to do it, to produce it year
21:55
Speaker 3: over year, I.
21:56
Speaker 4: Would still do it.
21:58
Speaker 3: This is what I call a passion project, and so
22:02
Speaker 3: I never approach it. To this point, I have not
22:06
Speaker 3: approached it as just something else on my to do list.
22:10
Speaker 3: So when I am preparing forward, when I am thinking
22:13
Speaker 3: about what are we going to talk about at the conference,
22:17
Speaker 3: what's the conversation at the conference this year? I am
22:21
Speaker 3: doing that from listening, from having conversations with people that
22:27
Speaker 3: I trust, like you, Gloria, We've done that number of years,
22:32
Speaker 3: and then also just paying attention to what women that
22:37
Speaker 3: I work with, I admire, women that I myself don't.
22:42
Speaker 4: Understand but I want to know more about.
22:46
Speaker 3: And when I tune in to all of those things,
22:50
Speaker 3: then the conference reveals itself to me. So I know,
22:56
Speaker 3: I said I'm creative, but this is not something that
22:59
Speaker 3: I feel that I can really take credit for creating.
23:03
Speaker 3: I think it's something that just happens when I allow
23:07
Speaker 3: it to flow in the way that it is going
23:10
Speaker 3: to flow. So I always say, I just get out
23:12
Speaker 3: of the way and let the you know, and let
23:15
Speaker 3: the good work happen.
23:17
Speaker 4: And I think, you know, other.
23:19
Speaker 3: Creative solds would actually describe their process very similar, you know,
23:23
Speaker 3: songwriters or poetry. I think this is something that is
23:28
Speaker 3: that can be described in a similar way. It happens,
23:33
Speaker 3: and it's just my job to be in tune and
23:37
Speaker 3: to listen for and then to bring all those wonderful
23:42
Speaker 3: things together.
23:44
Speaker 2: Yes, I totally get what you're saying. I totally get it,
23:48
Speaker 2: and yeah, thank you. And you have to be open
23:52
Speaker 2: and have that sense that you talked about earlier, Daniel,
23:55
Speaker 2: that sense of curiosity and discovery and being an open
23:59
Speaker 2: vessel so that the ideas can flow in and come
24:02
Speaker 2: through you.
24:04
Speaker 4: Absolutely.
24:05
Speaker 3: I you know it's saying, I will have conversations with
24:08
Speaker 3: with with anyone because I never know where the inspiration
24:13
Speaker 3: is going to come from. In fact, I was having
24:15
Speaker 3: a conversation with a fundraiser.
24:17
Speaker 4: Of all people, right, we.
24:19
Speaker 3: Typically don't see them as being inspirational, but I was
24:22
Speaker 3: inspired by something a fundraiser said in a conversation that
24:27
Speaker 3: we were just kind of spinning ideas around. Or she
24:30
Speaker 3: actually called me and said, hey, I want to share
24:32
Speaker 3: a few things with you.
24:33
Speaker 4: Do you have time? And I said absolutely, I will
24:35
Speaker 4: make time.
24:36
Speaker 3: And she was talking and I was listening, and I
24:41
Speaker 3: let me be honest, sometimes I have to tell myself
24:44
Speaker 3: to put aside my judgment.
24:47
Speaker 4: Right, So when you're.
24:48
Speaker 3: Listening, listening is a very it has to be active,
24:52
Speaker 3: and sometimes what we end up doing is waiting for
24:55
Speaker 3: our turn to respond, right, waiting for you know, now
24:59
Speaker 3: you're going to say something.
24:59
Speaker 4: I'm to say something. So I have.
25:02
Speaker 3: To sometimes tell myself to shut off and listen and
25:07
Speaker 3: just to your point, be open and receive the information
25:12
Speaker 3: without judging. That is a very tough thing to do,
25:15
Speaker 3: but as long as we practice it, it's something that
25:19
Speaker 3: we can get better at. And it's even something going
25:22
Speaker 3: back to just working with my staff, it's something that
25:24
Speaker 3: I've had to even.
25:25
Speaker 4: Do with my staff people that I'm supervising.
25:28
Speaker 3: I have to receive their information, take in their information,
25:32
Speaker 3: and reserve judgment, put.
25:34
Speaker 4: It all to the side, and listen to what they're
25:36
Speaker 4: really saying.
25:38
Speaker 3: And again, there are days when I am worse at
25:41
Speaker 3: it than I should be, and better at it than
25:44
Speaker 3: that I'm surprised by. So in this particular case, going
25:48
Speaker 3: back to the women's conference, it is important to be inquisitive,
25:53
Speaker 3: to be open, and to receive the information until we're
25:58
Speaker 3: ready to pull it all together and then come out
26:01
Speaker 3: with a plan.
26:02
Speaker 2: Yes, yes I can. I don't know what your office
26:06
Speaker 2: looks like, but I imagine it as a studio, you know,
26:09
Speaker 2: kind of like a little artist's attilier where you have
26:13
Speaker 2: these ideas, it's kind of flowing and going and going
26:16
Speaker 2: through you all the time. It seems like, yeah, I
26:19
Speaker 2: wish it.
26:19
Speaker 4: Was like that.
26:20
Speaker 3: Now you're giving me inspirations, I think I may actually
26:23
Speaker 3: move some things around so I can create that cool.
26:28
Speaker 2: Well, I heard you talk about the conference and you
26:30
Speaker 2: use these words passion project, and I know you just
26:34
Speaker 2: spoke to that, Danielle, But is there anything more that
26:37
Speaker 2: you want to say about that in terms of why
26:39
Speaker 2: this is your why this is your passion project?
26:43
Speaker 4: Absolutely, I'm again in full disclosure.
26:46
Speaker 3: I was raised by a single mom who was also
26:51
Speaker 3: a creative soul, who worked so so hard, sometimes for
26:58
Speaker 3: not a whole lot, and that really affected me as
27:02
Speaker 3: a as a young person watching that, and I always
27:09
Speaker 3: wanted things.
27:10
Speaker 4: To not be so hard for my mother.
27:13
Speaker 3: And so when I work on the women's conference, I'm
27:18
Speaker 3: usually thinking about what are those things that are going
27:21
Speaker 3: to make life not so hard for the women who
27:28
Speaker 3: are out here just trying to make a way, you know,
27:30
Speaker 3: be it, you know, and not everyone's life is hard.
27:32
Speaker 4: I get that. So it's not always about.
27:34
Speaker 3: The struggle, but sometimes it is just about bringing women
27:38
Speaker 3: together so they can say, oh, are you also going through.
27:42
Speaker 4: That, well, I am going through that.
27:44
Speaker 2: You know.
27:45
Speaker 4: Sometimes it's just an AHA moment.
27:47
Speaker 3: Sometimes this is just a you know, a feel good moment.
27:50
Speaker 3: And there are women who come in the great day
27:53
Speaker 3: to dress up and see their friends and life is
27:55
Speaker 3: great for them and great. I'm glad they come and
27:58
Speaker 3: I'm glad they have a good time. There are women
28:00
Speaker 3: who are coming to this conference and looking for tools,
28:04
Speaker 3: tools to land their next job, tools to balance their
28:09
Speaker 3: financial matters and to manage and lead their financial matter
28:14
Speaker 3: so they can have better lives, easier lives, whatever is.
28:19
Speaker 4: Of interest to them.
28:20
Speaker 3: So I think again to answer your question, Gloria, this
28:25
Speaker 3: is such a passion project for me because as women,
28:31
Speaker 3: we should be empowering one another, and we should be
28:37
Speaker 3: helping each other to find answers. Sometimes it's just where
28:42
Speaker 3: do I go for this? There are women who are
28:45
Speaker 3: trying to answer questions, and I hope that at this
28:48
Speaker 3: conference those questions can can be answered.
28:52
Speaker 4: I don't know if I answered you of answer your questions?
28:55
Speaker 4: Did I answer your question?
28:57
Speaker 2: That's a great answer, as you were as you were talking,
28:59
Speaker 2: I was here, thank you. I'm a usc alum too,
29:03
Speaker 2: and I remember you know, I got two degrees there, Danielle,
29:07
Speaker 2: and I remember that USC attracts people from all walks
29:11
Speaker 2: of life. There's some people who are very well off
29:14
Speaker 2: in terms of financial means, and there's some people who
29:17
Speaker 2: are just struggling, you know, and they're just barely making it.
29:20
Speaker 2: There are a lot of first generation students there, and
29:23
Speaker 2: I was just sitting here smiling just because your motivation
29:28
Speaker 2: for what you do and having your mom as the inspiration,
29:33
Speaker 2: I think reaches so many women across that spectrum of
29:37
Speaker 2: life circumstances, and it touches their hearts, it touches them
29:41
Speaker 2: where they need to be. I think you meet people
29:43
Speaker 2: where they where they are. And I was just sitting
29:46
Speaker 2: here just this glowing because I'm so glad that you're
29:49
Speaker 2: in this very influential position at USC and can impact
29:55
Speaker 2: the lives of so many I'm going to say women
29:58
Speaker 2: in particular for this conference, but also just the lums
30:01
Speaker 2: in general, men and women across the board.
30:04
Speaker 4: Yeah, thank you, thank you.
30:07
Speaker 2: I know we're getting close to the hour, and I
30:09
Speaker 2: know you're a very busy a woman, so I just
30:13
Speaker 2: want to be respectful of your time. Danielle, is there
30:16
Speaker 2: anything that you want to tell us? About your tenth
30:19
Speaker 2: annual conference, your vision for it, or are there other
30:23
Speaker 2: things that you wish we would have talked about that
30:25
Speaker 2: you haven't.
30:26
Speaker 4: Gotten a chance to address yet. Thank you, Gloria.
30:30
Speaker 3: The opportunity to talk with you again today has just
30:33
Speaker 3: been so surreal for me because I still am looking
30:39
Speaker 3: up to so many people that I admire, So as
30:41
Speaker 3: I shared with you, I can't imagine anyone who would say, Hey, Danielle,
30:47
Speaker 3: we want to hear from you. So I thank you
30:49
Speaker 3: for this opportunity. But as we wrap up, I think
30:53
Speaker 3: the biggest thing for the tenth Annual USC Women's Conference
30:57
Speaker 3: that I just would want to share is that it
31:00
Speaker 3: is happening.
31:01
Speaker 4: Over three days.
31:03
Speaker 3: We are remixing our format, so if anyone is familiar
31:09
Speaker 3: with the conference in the past, it's always been usually
31:13
Speaker 3: one day that starts in the morning with a huge
31:17
Speaker 3: program with everyone together in our main auditorium. We then
31:22
Speaker 3: go into breakout sessions, then we have a lunch all
31:25
Speaker 3: together under a big, pretty tent, and then we come
31:28
Speaker 3: back for a closing session with a keynote or a
31:31
Speaker 3: panel and then networking over cocktails.
31:36
Speaker 4: In the afternoon.
31:37
Speaker 3: And that formula has worked very, very well for us.
31:40
Speaker 3: We continue to receive a lot of great feedback on
31:45
Speaker 3: that program. With the tenth annual, I feel that we
31:49
Speaker 3: have this wonderful and unique opportunity that we want to
31:54
Speaker 3: capitalize on, and so we're looking at creating an experience that,
32:00
Speaker 3: as I shared, would go across the three days, starting
32:03
Speaker 3: with a Thursday night VIP networking session that would include
32:08
Speaker 3: all of our speakers from the conference who are able
32:11
Speaker 3: to join us, and then other high profile alumni.
32:15
Speaker 4: Women, USC women, parents, and some students.
32:19
Speaker 3: The Friday would look a lot like our conference of today,
32:24
Speaker 3: and then on Saturday, that's the opportunity that I'm very
32:27
Speaker 3: very excited about. Saturday we believe will draw out, hopefully
32:32
Speaker 3: audiences that we haven't really been able to capture as
32:36
Speaker 3: deeply as we've wanted. So that includes a younger professional
32:41
Speaker 3: women who probably don't have the license to take off
32:46
Speaker 3: from work the way that some of our more established
32:48
Speaker 3: women do, so that's a population that we want to
32:51
Speaker 3: see grow. Also, we have over the years received a
32:56
Speaker 3: lot of inquiries from women and some fathers who have
33:00
Speaker 3: wanted to bring their school age daughters to the conference
33:04
Speaker 3: and the programming and with it being you know, on
33:07
Speaker 3: a school day, we just could not a good conscience
33:09
Speaker 3: say yes, bring your ten year old or twelve year
33:12
Speaker 3: old or seventeen year.
33:13
Speaker 4: Olds for that fact.
33:14
Speaker 3: And so now we're looking at doing some specific programming
33:18
Speaker 3: so that mothers can bring their daughters and if fathers
33:22
Speaker 3: want to bring their daughters as well or send their daughters,
33:24
Speaker 3: they can because we'll have some programming that will.
33:28
Speaker 4: Speak to that age demographic. And so we're.
33:32
Speaker 3: Really really excited about that. And then finally the last
33:36
Speaker 3: piece of the Saturday that is new for us. We
33:40
Speaker 3: have received over in the years many inquiries from alumni
33:45
Speaker 3: and alumni women in particular, who have businesses that.
33:50
Speaker 4: Have told us, hey, I can't be one of.
33:52
Speaker 3: Your sponsors at you know, one of the sponsorship levels,
33:55
Speaker 3: but I would love to just have a table or
33:58
Speaker 3: an exhibit at the conference. And so from that feedback,
34:02
Speaker 3: we are creating an expo this year where Trojan owned businesses,
34:07
Speaker 3: particularly women own businesses, will be able to participate. If
34:13
Speaker 3: you're an author and you want to sell and sign
34:15
Speaker 3: your book, if you're a small business owner and you
34:19
Speaker 3: have a service to offer, you'll be able to display
34:22
Speaker 3: your company.
34:23
Speaker 4: And we're hoping that.
34:25
Speaker 3: Both students who fall in that category because we do
34:28
Speaker 3: have some very entrepreneurial students here at USC. Now you'll
34:32
Speaker 3: be able to participate as well as our parents and
34:34
Speaker 3: as I already shared, our alumni.
34:36
Speaker 4: So we're looking at really getting new.
34:38
Speaker 3: Audience members who haven't been able to participate in the
34:41
Speaker 3: past and be a part of this big celebration.
34:45
Speaker 2: I love it. I love that you're remixing the format.
34:48
Speaker 2: I love your language for that. And it sounds like
34:51
Speaker 2: that Saturday format is really going to help you tap
34:54
Speaker 2: into a whole new demographic and possibly even new programming opportunities.
34:59
Speaker 2: It sounds like.
35:00
Speaker 3: Absolutely yes, we're really really thrilled about it. So more
35:04
Speaker 3: information will be coming out by December, definitely by January.
35:10
Speaker 4: And to your point, yes, Floria, we want.
35:13
Speaker 3: People who have not been able to participate before to
35:16
Speaker 3: come out and have a reason to come out, or
35:18
Speaker 3: if they participated in the early years and haven't been back,
35:21
Speaker 3: we want to see them back.
35:23
Speaker 2: Absolutely well, thank you so much, Danielle. Is it okay
35:27
Speaker 2: to share your personal contact information? How would you like
35:31
Speaker 2: for people to know more about the conference? Number one?
35:34
Speaker 2: And I see that there's a conference addressed here on
35:39
Speaker 2: my notes, but is there also a way that you
35:42
Speaker 2: maybe could welcome people to be in touch with you
35:44
Speaker 2: personally as well.
35:46
Speaker 4: Yes, absolutely.
35:47
Speaker 3: If anyone has any questions about the conference, they can
35:50
Speaker 3: definitely go to our website, Women's Conference dot USC dot edu.
35:56
Speaker 4: You can also follow us on.
35:58
Speaker 3: Facebook and Instagram, which is at UTC Women's Conference. And
36:02
Speaker 3: then just for me personally, if anyone ever has any
36:05
Speaker 3: questions or if there are any Trojans listening Hey fight On,
36:10
Speaker 3: you can always contact me here at the Alumni Association.
36:13
Speaker 3: My email is harveyd at USC dot edu. And then
36:20
Speaker 3: also I don't do a lot on Twitter, I do
36:22
Speaker 3: more on Instagram, but both of my handles are at
36:26
Speaker 3: Danny Eliza Harvey, which is a combination of my first name,
36:30
Speaker 3: middle name, and last name.
36:32
Speaker 2: Hey. Great, well, thank you again so much, Danielle, for
36:36
Speaker 2: all that you're doing for University of Southern California Fight
36:41
Speaker 2: On Yes, and all that you have shared with our
36:45
Speaker 2: listeners today. We have listeners all over the planet, and
36:48
Speaker 2: I know that you're going to add a lot of
36:50
Speaker 2: value to them and inspire them. So thank you again
36:52
Speaker 2: for being my guest, and sadly I have to say goodbye,
36:56
Speaker 2: but I would love to have you back another time.
36:59
Speaker 3: Absolutely, I'd love to do it, and thank you so
37:01
Speaker 3: so much, Gloria for the opportunity. Side onto all my
37:04
Speaker 3: trojans and love you so much. I can't tell you enough.
37:08
Speaker 2: Thank you. You have a good rest of your day.
37:12
Speaker 1: What a fabulous conversation. Thanks again to Danielle Harvey Stenson
37:17
Speaker 1: for being my guest. If you'd like to learn more
37:21
Speaker 1: about Danielle's work, or, as she mentioned during today's conversation,
37:26
Speaker 1: if you want to contact her directly about programming services
37:30
Speaker 1: or anything else that she offers through USC, you can
37:34
Speaker 1: reach out to her via this email address, and that's
37:38
Speaker 1: Harvey d h A r v E Y d is
37:44
Speaker 1: and Danielle at USC dot edu. Or you can reach
37:50
Speaker 1: out to Danielle on Instagram or Twitter. Her Twitter handle
37:55
Speaker 1: is at d A n I E l I z
38:02
Speaker 1: A h A r v e y Okay now love it.
38:11
Speaker 1: If you missed any part of this week's episode, you
38:14
Speaker 1: can listen to the podcast right here on Talk Network Radio.
38:18
Speaker 1: You can also catch us on iTunes or SoundCloud or
38:22
Speaker 1: Android alexaspreaker dot com. We're in so many places, hallelujah. Yeah,
38:28
Speaker 1: thank you for listening, because when you listen, we just
38:32
Speaker 1: get bigger and bigger, and we share the wealth more
38:35
Speaker 1: and more. So thank you for telling others about this
38:38
Speaker 1: podcast and for sharing the wealth. Okay, that's how we
38:42
Speaker 1: do it now. I know that when Danielle mentioned her
38:48
Speaker 1: mom as one of the people who influenced her during
38:51
Speaker 1: our conversation, who influenced her as a leader, she got
38:55
Speaker 1: me to thinking about, you know, some of the folks
38:57
Speaker 1: who influenced me. So I want to ask ask you this,
39:00
Speaker 1: who are some of the leaders in your life who
39:03
Speaker 1: poured into you when you were young, and who's pouring
39:07
Speaker 1: into you now as an adult, who influenced you, who
39:13
Speaker 1: inspired you? Now this is my zone. As you know,
39:18
Speaker 1: Inspiration such an important quality in a leader, right, and
39:23
Speaker 1: we all want our leaders to be inspiring. We're like
39:27
Speaker 1: mouths that are drawn to a flame and who were
39:30
Speaker 1: naturally drawn to people who inspire us. But before leaders,
39:36
Speaker 1: or anyone else for that matter, can inspire others, they
39:39
Speaker 1: must first be inspired. Now, many of you know you've
39:45
Speaker 1: heard me talk about this before. That inspire comes from
39:48
Speaker 1: this beautiful Latin word inspirare. I just love saying that inspirare,
39:55
Speaker 1: which means to breathe into or upon and to become inspired.
40:01
Speaker 1: We must be infused with life from a force outside
40:07
Speaker 1: of ourselves, and for me, I'm a person of faith,
40:10
Speaker 1: so that means being infused with life, being breathed into
40:15
Speaker 1: by God. Now how does this happen? Well, that's another show, right,
40:22
Speaker 1: Maybe sometime I'll do a show just on inspiration. But
40:26
Speaker 1: for now, let me just say that when we are
40:29
Speaker 1: infused with that inspirara with inspiration, something shifts in us,
40:36
Speaker 1: something changes. Some say that magic happens. I say the
40:42
Speaker 1: impact might be magical, but there is nothing magical about it.
40:48
Speaker 1: It really is about being an open channel, a con
40:52
Speaker 1: to it for God, for the divine to work through
40:57
Speaker 1: us and to use us as his vessel. Picasso speaks
41:01
Speaker 1: about this, Beethoven, Michelangelo, and many other artists speak about
41:07
Speaker 1: this very same thing. Several years ago, I was on
41:11
Speaker 1: a trip to Tuscany, which, by the way, my guest
41:15
Speaker 1: Danielle had a strong hand in making that trip happen.
41:19
Speaker 1: As a part of that very special trip to Tuscany,
41:23
Speaker 1: this was for USC's women alumni and their friends. Anyway,
41:29
Speaker 1: on that trip I had the great fortune to once
41:33
Speaker 1: again witness Michelangelo's artistry. Right. I remember standing at the
41:38
Speaker 1: base of his magnificent sculpture of David. I was absolutely transfixed,
41:46
Speaker 1: and I was transported into another realm. Now you have
41:52
Speaker 1: to realize that this sculpture of David is of David
41:56
Speaker 1: as a young man. Most of you probably seen a
41:59
Speaker 1: picture of it, or maybe you've been to Duscany too.
42:02
Speaker 1: But this youth, okay, this young man who was about
42:05
Speaker 1: to duke it out with the mighty giant Goliath. I mean,
42:09
Speaker 1: this amazing statue is actually fourteen and a half feet tall.
42:14
Speaker 1: That's taller than a house, right. Okay, it's about the
42:18
Speaker 1: height of a two story building, and that doesn't even
42:21
Speaker 1: include the base, which is about three feet high. Right,
42:25
Speaker 1: So we're really talking about a statue that's about two
42:29
Speaker 1: and a half stories tall. So I'm standing there at
42:32
Speaker 1: the foot of this absolutely magnificent sculpture of David, and
42:38
Speaker 1: I'm in heaven. Of course, forget about the bees nests
42:45
Speaker 1: of dozens of other people buzzing around me. I mean,
42:49
Speaker 1: there are tons of folks who are they're just like me,
42:52
Speaker 1: just like me, to admire this absolutely astounding work of art.
42:57
Speaker 1: They're shooting videos, posing for selfies. I mean, you get
43:01
Speaker 1: the picture, right, Pardon the pun. But in the midst,
43:05
Speaker 1: right in the midst of this sea of humanity, I
43:09
Speaker 1: had this wonderful epiphany, this wonderful aha, I realized that
43:16
Speaker 1: the task of the artist and the task of the
43:23
Speaker 1: leader is actually one and the same. Right, And just
43:28
Speaker 1: what is this task? Well, I thought you'd never ask.
43:32
Speaker 1: The task is to release our resistance, to simply surrender,
43:39
Speaker 1: to surrender what wants to be born in us and
43:43
Speaker 1: to be born through us. To simply surrender to what
43:47
Speaker 1: wants to be born in and through our marriages, our
43:51
Speaker 1: relationships with our kids, our friendships, right, our communities, in
43:58
Speaker 1: and through our teams and our organizations and communities. Now,
44:04
Speaker 1: Danielle spoke about her creativity in her own work. Wow,
44:10
Speaker 1: creativity such a powerful, powerful force if we let it,
44:16
Speaker 1: if we surrender to it, creativity can actually be a
44:20
Speaker 1: powerful and amazing ally If we just open our hearts
44:25
Speaker 1: and minds, creativity can be an ally, a resource, a
44:30
Speaker 1: guide to support us in how we live and also
44:35
Speaker 1: in how we lead at home, at work, and in
44:40
Speaker 1: any area of our lives every single day three sixty
44:45
Speaker 1: five twenty four seven. Why, Because how you live is
44:54
Speaker 1: how you lead. In fact, how we live is really
44:57
Speaker 1: how we show up in every aspect of our lives. Right,
45:01
Speaker 1: Can I get an amen? Amen? Now? If you happen
45:08
Speaker 1: to miss any part of this week's episode or last week's,
45:12
Speaker 1: you can listen to a podcast at your convenience. You
45:16
Speaker 1: can even listen on the go. Check us out at
45:20
Speaker 1: www dot talknetwork Radio dot com, Forward Slash Hosts Forward
45:29
Speaker 1: Slash Legacy Living. That's Talknetwork Radio dot com. Forward Slash
45:35
Speaker 1: Hosts Forward Slash Legacy Living. You can also find us
45:41
Speaker 1: on iTunes, Audible, Alexa, SoundCloud, iHeart, tune in, Spreaker, dot Com,
45:49
Speaker 1: Talk Network Radio, and so many other places. You can
45:54
Speaker 1: also find me on the TEDx site and listen to
45:57
Speaker 1: one of my ted talks. Just type in my aim
46:00
Speaker 1: to find me there. Now, before I close today, I
46:05
Speaker 1: want to thank each of you for tuning in for
46:08
Speaker 1: allowing me to share a bit about my journey with
46:11
Speaker 1: what Legacy living is all about, not just living and learning,
46:17
Speaker 1: but living and learning and serving so that you make
46:22
Speaker 1: a difference in your own life and in the lives
46:25
Speaker 1: of others. It's about being on purpose every single day
46:31
Speaker 1: three sixty five twenty four to seven. Legacy living is
46:37
Speaker 1: a powerful way to make your life count once again,
46:43
Speaker 1: I want to thank you for joining me for today's episode.
46:47
Speaker 1: I'm your host, doctor Gloria Gloria Burgess, and this has
46:53
Speaker 1: been Legacy Living. Make your Life count. Please join me
46:58
Speaker 1: again for another episode mode of Legacy Living. Make your
47:03
Speaker 1: life count. Don't just count the days in your life.
47:10
Speaker 1: Make the days in your life count. That's what legacy
47:15
Speaker 1: living is all about. Hey, have a fantastic day and
47:20
Speaker 1: remember make the days in your life count. God bless you.
47:39
Speaker 1: That's our show today. I'm your host, Doctor Gloria Gloria Burgess.
47:46
Speaker 1: I hope you'll join me again next time. Until then,
47:51
Speaker 1: don't just count the days in your life, make the
47:54
Speaker 1: days in your life count. That's what legacy living is
47:59
Speaker 1: all about. Here's to you have a fantastic day and
48:03
Speaker 1: be sure to make it a yes kind of day.
48:07
Speaker 1: Remember to celebrate the music of your life. Make the
48:14
Speaker 1: days in your life count.