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Gail Burgos: How Bold Leaders Build Communities, Not Just Careers · The Bold Lounge

• 0:07
  Speaker 1: Welcome to the Bold Lounge podcast.
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: My name is Leigh Burgess and I will be your host.
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: If you're anything like me, you love hearing inspiring stories of people who have gone on bold journeys and made a positive impact in the world.
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: This podcast is all about those kinds of stories.
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: Every week, we'll hear from someone who has taken a leap or embarked on an extraordinary journey.
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: In addition to hearing their stories, we'll also learn about their bold growth mindset that they use to make things happen.
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: Whether they face challenges or doubts along the way, they persisted and ultimately achieved their goals.
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: These impactful stories will leave you feeling motivated and inspired to pursue your own bold journey.
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: I believe everyone has a bold story waiting to be freed.
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: Tune in and get ready to be inspired.
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: Welcome to the Bold Lounge.
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: Today I have Dr Gail Burgos.
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: She is the former Senior Diversity and Inclusion Officer for TSYS and the Senior Vice President Diversity Equity Inclusion at First Century.
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: Upon retiring after 25 years with TSYS, gail started her own consulting company and is currently the founder and chief executive officer of Burgos Consulting Group.
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: During her tenure at TSYS and volunteer work, burgos championed a program through the Women's Network and Inclusion Group to partner with Girls Inc.
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: She coined the program Project Cookie Jar that focused on financial literacy education and workshops for young girls in the Columbus and Atlanta area.
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: She is passionate about increasing diversity and STEM education and devotes her time to help build a pipeline of diverse talent for the technology industry.
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: She served as the chair of the TSYS IT Education Council to foster awareness of technology with the Chattahoochee Valley region of public schools.
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: Burgos has received numerous accolades, awards and speaking events honoring her impeccable leadership, commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and her service to her community.
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: Honoring her impeccable leadership, commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and her service to her community.
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: Welcome to the Bold Lounge Gail.
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: Oh wow, thank you so much, first of all, for having me, and I'm truly honored.
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: I am so excited to jump into your definition of being bold.
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: What does bold look like to you?
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: For me, boldness isn't just an action.
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: It actually is a mindset.
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: It is about making moves with intention.
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: It's about an understanding of the weight of the path that you're walking.
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: It's with a commitment to push past those boundaries that you may have without losing yourself.
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: It's about finding the power in your vulnerability as a woman, and it's about using that tool to disrupt and transform systems and pathways.
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: And sometimes the boldest thing that you can do is to show up exactly as you are.
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: Yeah, just had that conversation today.
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it Like being you is bold, you know, because you're, you're standing in your truth, you're standing in your value.
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: Maybe misunderstood, it sounds like in your definition, which I love it's, I love the layers of it.
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: It's intentional, it's focused on not only the maybe, the strongness or the power of our work, but also the vulnerability, the soft and hard side of what we do.
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: Right, that's right.
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I love that.
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: So when you think about that definition and I think disruption and change and bold, I think they're cousins.
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: Right, they can all get a bad rap and they can all be very positive, but they, they're a choice.
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: When you think about that choice you've made to be bold, that's aligned with this definition.
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: What memory or what moment comes to mind for you?
• 3:48
  Speaker 2: Oh, my goodness, I have several in my time, but the one, I would say, that probably intrigues me the most is a personal one.
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: Okay.
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: One of a health choice, you know, and a lifestyle that I'm pretty sure, as my mom used to say, if you live long enough you're going to go through something in life.
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: Right, and having a health challenge several years ago over 10 years ago that I had to stand in the path of even life or death and make some significant choices, you know that not only impacted me but, of course, my family, and it was.
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: It was very revealing, you know, during that time.
• 4:33
  Speaker 2: I have three daughters they're all grown now, but certainly wanted to be that strong woman for them and, at the same time, be very candid and be very open and honest about where I was and what decisions I needed to make in order to maintain and remain here, you know, in present life.
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: So that was, you know, probably one of the boldest times in my life, where not just having my husband there, but I had to stand up and not alone but make some choices.
• 5:05
  Speaker 2: And certainly here I am today, nearly 17 years later, living a great life, being able to share my gifts and my talents and continue to make an impact.
• 5:18
  Speaker 2: But I'm thankful and I'm grateful.
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: Yeah, well, me too, and I think we want you here Right, and I think about 17 years ago, your youngest was 11.
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: Is that right?
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: Yes, 11 to 14, somewhere in that range or 15 were their ages, and so that's seeing their mom go through something is extremely impactful, right On so many levels.
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: I appreciate you sharing your bold moment and being able to also see and look back at that and go, yeah, like that was bold for me, and there were choices you made right in there that were not easy, and that's one thing that we talked about in the green room was that bold is a choice.
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: So, knowing that's one of your bolder moments as you've gone throughout your life and the different experiences that you've had, from high school to college, to the corporate world, to consulting and FinTech and now the CEO of PayTech where's that boldness come from?
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: Do you think it's part of your genetics or do you think that you've become emboldened over time or you were born bold?
• 6:24
  Speaker 2: Oh well, that's a great question.
• 6:26
  Speaker 2: You know, I've never had to put that way, but you know, I think it's a combination of yes, there are certain aspects and behaviors that I probably was born with, passed down from, you know, my great grandmother to my grandmother and so forth, and then, of course, having such an amazing I can say community throughout the years and all of those spaces that I've been privy to be in, whether it was at work or in my community that I live in, in my neighborhood, I've just been surrounded by these wonderful individuals that, unbeknownst to them, they were showing me those characteristics at times when you have a voice and your voice can be amplified and you don't have to walk in fear.
• 7:12
  Speaker 2: And so that does come again with that self-confidence that I may have been born with.
• 7:18
  Speaker 2: But I also was sprinkled with people in my life that encouraged me along the way during different facets, whether I was the young Gail, whether I was the older, more mature Gail, there was always a presence in my life that allowed me, and even reminded me of how to use my voice and how to use my presence to be of an influence and not walking fear.
• 7:42
  Speaker 2: So I think to answer your question is is coupled between both, you know, and I was just blessed to have that, you know.
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: I think like it would be very hard and I don't think anyone has ever answered it when I have asked that question of like oh, I was born with it and it's just easy for me to do Like I don't even think male or female have answered it that way.
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: So I do think it's a combination of our experiences.
• 8:06
  Speaker 1: But I think we, you know, we're either like going from a zero base or like a solid base.
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: Like you know, my mom was always instilling me like you belong at any table you want to sit at and you know, pull the chair up, bring your own, like whatever.
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: She never said it like that, but that's always how I felt.
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: Now I think it was like in my mid to late twenties that I was like whoa, like I don't think she was right, I don't think everyone wants to hear my opinion, and those are things you can learn how to tune in a bit, you know, in the corporate setting, I think a professional setting.
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: But I think you know, in that sense it is, it is a hybrid kind of our experiences, the people around us, our influences, and kind of our self-belief or our self-confidence that we've built and maybe wasn't also instilled in us early, absolutely so.
• 8:49
  Speaker 1: When you think about your experiences and you've had some incredible experiences with Girls Inc and the things that you've done with them, I think in that organization and really helping young girls age six to 18, which we were also talking around just financial basics and investing like that, like I wish I had those sooner.
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: With all your layers of experience, can you pick one or two that have really set you up now as you come into the CEO space of Paytech and formerly on the board, so obviously already connected, doing incredible work as a board member and now stepping into the space that you're in now?
• 9:28
  Speaker 1: What's been the common string that's kind of pulled you into this direction?
• 9:32
  Speaker 2: Well, thank you for that.
• 9:34
  Speaker 2: And I would say you know, looking back over my early career in the banking industry, working at a payments company for 25 years, and then how I've transitioned over into nonprofit, I think the one factor that has been very consistent and is one of the reasons why I have the passion that I do for helping not only young girls but women as well is that there was a sponsor and a mentor presence.
• 10:03
  Speaker 2: You know, that was providing me with the knowledge and exposure to help me in those spaces where I probably had not had the opportunity to do so before.
• 10:18
  Speaker 2: And so what I mean by that?
• 10:20
  Speaker 2: One of my sponsors at Global Payments, at Teases.
• 10:23
  Speaker 2: I became her chief of staff and she sat me down every week with her financial advisor and said I'm going to show you how to run a multi-million dollar budget.
• 10:34
  Speaker 2: And it was that exposure, something that grad school could not even show me or give me that experience, that hands-on of running a multimillion dollar P&L.
• 10:47
  Speaker 2: And I think, as women leaders, that was something that we talked about, that in order for you to continue to move up and grow in your career, especially as you went up the ladder, having that confidence to run the business and to own and truly understand how to not only to make money but how to be very conservative in your expenses and so forth.
• 11:12
  Speaker 2: That was one piece of knowledge that was just absolutely needed and necessary.
• 11:17
  Speaker 2: And then, when you think about from a personal aspect right and how, depending on where you are in the country and how you were raised and what you were exposed to, that financial knowledge of being able to not only take care of yourself but to build wealth and to have those fundamental things of simply living right and being able to balance that with the economies that you're faced with, that was something that was truly missing, it as a part of my early childhood, and so it became very important for me, along with the other women at TESIS and at Global Payments, to pour into the young women in our community.
• 11:57
  Speaker 2: And that's where the one on financial literacy we went every month to the local Girls Inc here in Columbus and shared that you know very practical things of banking, one-on-one, savings, one-on-one, how to have a savings account, how to prepare for college even, and how to shop.
• 12:17
  Speaker 2: Those are things that we could not just assume, right, yeah, like those things.
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: I mean, if you don't have guidance, I mean, and schools provide it, but it's, I don't know, like I feel this would have been nice to be one of the mandatory things or some of the things that were a course that you had to take, kind of like you all have to take English 101, like I had to take it, and why couldn't I take, you know, investing or saving, or just financial literacy 101, right?
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: Yes, sure, I would have hemmed and hawed, but it would have stuck with me, right, because I think some of those things that would have been nice to know earlier, I think impact us later on, right?
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: You know, in the sense of here we are, in our 50s and like, okay, can I retire?
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: Well, I'll have a financial advisor, which you know.
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: That's great, but I think just being able to to know the basics and what you should have been doing, like I just remember my dad constantly saying to me get a Roth IRA.
• 13:10
  Speaker 1: I mean that's all he ever said to me.
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: I never listened to him.
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: I should have.
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: My daughter has one Very good Right.
• 13:19
  Speaker 1: In that sense, I love that.
• 13:20
  Speaker 1: That has been, you know, part of your legacy.
• 13:23
  Speaker 1: As you've gone through your career, you've used two words sponsor and mentor.
• 13:27
  Speaker 1: And what do those words mean to you and how are they different?
• 13:34
  Speaker 2: Oh, very good.
• 13:34
  Speaker 2: So I see it completely different roles.
• 13:37
  Speaker 2: With a mentor, you can actually ask someone to be your mentor in so many different pathways, whether that's at your workplace, whether that's in your community, whether that's in your personal life.
• 13:52
  Speaker 2: A mentor can be fitted in each one of those spaces and you gather knowledge for areas that you certainly need some assistance in or guidance in right, and it's a two-way street.
• 14:05
  Speaker 2: In that case, you can certainly learn from your mentor, or you're being a mentee, and vice versa.
• 14:11
  Speaker 2: With a sponsor, though, that is someone who chooses you.
• 14:15
  Speaker 2: You don't necessarily choose them.
• 14:17
  Speaker 2: They choose you and they see a quality in you that you know based on their experience and their knowledge, that you know based on their experience and their knowledge, they take you up under their wing and they simply pour into you, you know, and they open up doors and they speak for you when you don't even know you're being spoken for, and so certainly, as women, we need to do more of that.
• 14:39
  Speaker 2: I think traditionally we have done it, and maybe it just hasn't been called out as a true sponsorship, but certainly if you look back and I've asked this question of many other executives before it's like if you think back in your career at some point along the way.
• 14:53
  Speaker 2: You know, not only were you ment mentoring, but we are sponsoring other women and other individuals along the way and reaching back and pouring into them so that when those opportunities open up, they're ready and they have that confidence, they have that boldness that they can step through and say you know, I can do this at the next level and have the skill sets and awareness to do it very well and to be successful.
• 15:25
  Speaker 1: I couldn't have said any better than you said it.
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: I think, along your career you have different types of mentors and you may have different types of sponsors as well.
• 15:34
  Speaker 1: Same with coaches.
• 15:35
  Speaker 1: I think coaches should evolve as you evolve and I think you have some people who will help you when you first start being in the executive setting.
• 15:44
  Speaker 1: So you'll have maybe a leadership or executive coach, and then you know, you might have a life coach.
• 15:49
  Speaker 1: You might have, you know, I don't even know what to call some of the coaches I've had, because I like the ones that mix and mingle.
• 15:55
  Speaker 1: You know lots of things that I need, because I usually need more than one thing.
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: That's right you know we're all growing in different ways, but I think sees in you what you may not see in yourself yet.
• 16:10
  Speaker 1: Yes, and I love that because it's almost like you know, it's the closest thing to, I guess, a work mom or a professional mom that way, because your mom sees what you're capable, or your potential, or knows where you can go.
• 16:24
  Speaker 1: But ultimately you have to get there and they can help us as much as they can, just like we can help our children, but we can't make them.
• 16:31
  Speaker 1: And I think you know, with a sponsor, I think they see so much of us and the potential and they understand the world we're in.
• 16:38
  Speaker 1: right, they understand FinTech right, so they understand they've been there and I just really always am aligned and much more drawn to industries that are not like, well, you have to go through what I went through, like you're not going to skip a step, you've got to go through the pain or whatever.
• 16:56
  Speaker 1: And there are industries that are like that and I'm always saddened by that Because I think I just think there's why I wouldn't want someone to go through some of the things I went through like, right, you tried to like prevent it.
• 17:07
  Speaker 1: I don't mean no one ever skins their knee, I just mean that why would you want to experience that?
• 17:12
  Speaker 1: Like?
• 17:13
  Speaker 1: You'll have your own experiences.
• 17:14
  Speaker 1: I'm sure that might not be what you planned Absolutely, absolutely so with our sponsors, I think, like you said, they choose us too, and I think that's really a powerful piece of that.
• 17:35
  Speaker 1: What's one thing about being a woman leader in FinTech that we don't understand?
• 17:36
  Speaker 1: That's good for us to know or be aware of, and it could be something positive, could be something negative, or it could be just something that you know, you've learned over time.
• 17:40
  Speaker 2: That's just an awareness you have now that you didn't have before critical aspects that, hey, this is why I'm in PayTech Women today is to really help women understand the power of the community with fellow women.
• 17:59
  Speaker 2: You know, looking back, especially in the fintech industry, it is a male still today, a male-dominated industry, and certainly, along the way, you may have mentors and sponsors who are men and you need them, don't get me wrong.
• 18:13
  Speaker 2: You certainly need them.
• 18:14
  Speaker 2: But there is certainly a a beauty and a tapestry of community with the power of women to help, you know, pour into, to bring you along, to pick you up, sometimes by your bootstraps up, sometimes by your bootstraps, when you need that dose of encouragement that you can't get any other place.
• 18:36
  Speaker 2: And I think that you know the more we cultivate and navigate and even pour into and support our women networks, no matter what industry, not even just the fintech, but any industry, the women's network that we have and the resources that are made available to you, whether it is around career development, whether it is personally related or what have you as a working mother, as a caregiver, as a spouse, even, you know you have all of these different hats that we wear as women and so when you have that common ground of understanding from someone, no matter what part of the country you may be in, to have that, to be able to rely on that.
• 19:15
  Speaker 2: That's just a beautiful thing, that's just a powerful thing that I feel like we need to continue to bring to the forefront so that women again feel that their voices are amplified, they feel that confidence, they have the knowledge and awareness and again they have that community that they can, the knowledge and awareness, and again they have that community that they can rely on to help them through every facets of their life.
• 19:36
  Speaker 2: And that's the one thing that I want to take away, or want to be able to continue to share with people.
• 19:41
  Speaker 1: Yeah, one of the things my experience with PayTech Women.
• 19:44
  Speaker 1: It was one of the most welcoming communities and I think you know when you say community like I think, having other women who are living it, doing it, succeeding in it you have the same challenges.
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: I think it's so powerful.
• 19:58
  Speaker 1: What do you think it is about pay tech women that makes it so special, so welcoming and accepting, because those are the words I truly would use.
• 20:08
  Speaker 2: Well, it goes back to the culture and how it was created.
• 20:11
  Speaker 2: You know, I think that has been for the past 20 years the secret sauce.
• 20:16
  Speaker 2: You know that it was built by the founders to be this welcoming and create a sense of belonging for no matter who you were and in which part of the country you came from.
• 20:28
  Speaker 2: You know.
• 20:28
  Speaker 2: And so when you have that as one of your founding cultural practices, you know, and it's cultivated over and over into not only the mindset but the actions, it becomes real.
• 20:41
  Speaker 2: But that doesn't come overnight.
• 20:43
  Speaker 2: That again becomes part of the culture.
• 20:45
  Speaker 2: I think when it started out it was a very small room of less than 500 women getting together and now it's a membership over 6,500.
• 20:54
  Speaker 2: And you know that doesn't happen just because yeah, exactly, you know by word of mouth and truly by.
• 21:02
  Speaker 2: You know spreading of the community and what it brings to the women and the members and even the non-members who do participate.
• 21:10
  Speaker 2: It is that feeling of belonging, it is that sense of community and that is being cultivated through everything that we do and all the resources that we have.
• 21:20
  Speaker 2: And so when you feel that you want to become part of you also want to pass that along to the next generation of the person to your left or the person to your right, it becomes organic.
• 21:30
  Speaker 1: Yeah, because that's how you foster and it's not just transactional.
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: That's right.
• 21:34
  Speaker 1: Truly, what's powerful about yours is that it feels like it's a natural thing that you know I'm welcoming you, accepting you, we're seen as 360 degrees, not just our role, not just our title and, like you said, all the hats that you wear.
• 21:49
  Speaker 1: So I think that is something that I think is very, very powerful about your community, and I've told lots of people about that.
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: Thank you, yeah, absolutely so.
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: You have every year this incredible conference, so tell us about the upcoming one and what you're excited about and what we should expect.
• 22:05
  Speaker 1: Well, thank you.
• 22:06
  Speaker 2: It certainly is going to be one of my most celebrated years, because this is our 20th year.
• 22:13
  Speaker 2: Oh, wow, that's awesome 20 years that WNET now PayTech Women has been around, and so it will be in November.
• 22:20
  Speaker 2: November the 4th and 5th they're in Atlanta, Georgia, and we're certainly growing it by leaps and bounds.
• 22:27
  Speaker 2: It gets better and better each year.
• 22:29
  Speaker 2: But the breakout sessions that we have, the phenomenal guest speakers that come on board like yourself, you've certainly been one of our renowned guest speakers from last year and so by having that as an opportunity for our attendees and our guests, as well as our sponsors, to come into the doors, it makes for an incredible event.
• 22:46
  Speaker 2: It makes for an incredible event and it's not just that year or that month or that day that it happens.
• 22:54
  Speaker 2: Those nuggets that those women are able to take back into their organizations and take back into their communities, it's what makes it so intriguing and powerful?
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: Yeah for sure.
• 23:04
  Speaker 1: And again I go back to connection.
• 23:05
  Speaker 1: It's not just about the mechanics of being in it, it's not just about how we do our jobs well, but I mean you have a focus on wellness and mindset.
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: You even have a meditation room, I think.
• 23:15
  Speaker 1: Just even that was lovely, even for me being an outsider, to see that that was something that you focused in on.
• 23:21
  Speaker 1: So this is a conference that looks at you like you had said earlier even in your definition a whole human.
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: So as we pull through and we think about what role do you think decision making or being decisive as a bold leader comes into play.
• 23:35
  Speaker 1: What role has that played for you, even in your career and your journey to now?
• 23:40
  Speaker 2: Oh, that's a great question.
• 23:42
  Speaker 2: I would say and this is just my own leadership style, not just because I feel that I'm this way, but others have said this characteristic about me, so I'm just repeating what I've heard.
• 23:54
  Speaker 2: I've been stated to that I have a way of when I walk into the room, I have a confidence about myself, but it's subtle, it's not overpowering, it's not dominant or anything like that.
• 24:08
  Speaker 2: It's very much with a gravitas and a welcoming spirit.
• 24:12
  Speaker 2: But at the same time, when I open my mouth and I have something to say, it's respectful.
• 24:18
  Speaker 2: I have a way of sharing a mission and a vision to others so that they feel that they're a part of, and I think that, as great leaders, that's exactly what you want.
• 24:29
  Speaker 2: You don't want to be viewed as a dictator or a dominating person.
• 24:34
  Speaker 2: You certainly want the people coming along with you to be part of that journey, right, and so when you have the capabilities or the skillset to be boldly in sharing your mission and sharing that vision so that people can understand it and see it the way you're expressing it too, that's the richness.
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: Yeah, that's kind of the continuum of being bold too.
• 24:58
  Speaker 1: It's not always loud and in your face it's quieter.
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: It's those quiet moments.
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: It's when we listen and understand a little bit more, try to really understand where someone's coming from, but we're able to also make decisions and we're also able to take the steps into the unknown, sometimes right or to innovate, that's right.
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: To create change or disruption in something that, as leaders, is kind of second nature, honestly like that's how you grow, that's how you evolve.
• 25:25
  Speaker 1: But not everybody loves change, that's right.
• 25:28
  Speaker 1: Right, you know so and sometimes I don't you know, like I'm not always team change, but I do think that it takes you from one place to another Right, and you're absolutely learn along the way.
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: I think that's a very powerful piece to who you are as a leader, and also your mindset of coming into new situations or meeting new people or tackling new problems, right Cause, like you said, it's ever changing.
• 25:51
  Speaker 1: So if someone's listening as we kind of close out and they're thinking about man, I want to get into FinTech and I'm just not sure it's for me, what advice would you give someone who's really trying to explore it as a possibility?
• 26:05
  Speaker 2: I think that and I've always shared this with sometimes total strangers, people that I mentor, students even, and just people that I come across with, whether I'm speaking or what have you I always go back to one simple thing is knowing your gifts and your talents that you have.
• 26:24
  Speaker 2: That's first and foremost.
• 26:26
  Speaker 2: Before you decide to on a platform and when I mean by platform I mean which environment that you think that you should go into you should know your gifts and your talents very, very well, because those are transferable.
• 26:42
  Speaker 2: It doesn't matter whether, like in my case, I was in the banking industry, but then I moved over into the nonprofit sector and now it's a beautiful blend between the two, but not only in that.
• 26:56
  Speaker 2: I still have that same gift and skillset that I show within my family.
• 27:01
  Speaker 2: I have that same gift and that skillset that is evident in my community, right In my neighborhood, the city that I live in.
• 27:09
  Speaker 2: So, no matter what if I had to give a piece of advice to anyone, no matter where you are and what stage you're in that you first and foremost tune into your gifts and your talents that you have and then you apply that your actions should always align with your gifts, not the other way around when your actions align with your gifts, and then your network should align with your actions, success happens.
• 27:35
  Speaker 2: You don't have to actually go looking for it.
• 27:37
  Speaker 2: The door is open, and so I've just been very blessed in my journey that I knew early on what my gifts were, and so when opportunity revealed itself, I was not hesitant to take advantage of that opportunity.
• 27:54
  Speaker 2: I felt confident because I was always taking my gifts and my talents with me.
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: Yeah, so starting at a base of what you're good at and what you enjoy and what makes you happy, not, I need to learn that so I can be happy, so I can be joyful, because, in the sense of like, as you were talking, I was like say that again for the people in the back, because I think that is really where I think we sometimes think we're supposed to do something or there's an expectation of us and our family or maybe something that's been given to us as an expectation of like you will do this, and I think what we're learning, what I'm seeing at this point in my career, is there's so many opportunities to get curious and to do or to try different things, but don't count yourself out, and I think you can do that.
• 28:43
  Speaker 1: If you start with I'm really good at, I really like to, and I get happy when I do it.
• 28:48
  Speaker 1: It doesn't mean like every piece of your job is wonderful and you know those types of things, but I think the majority of it should be you spend the majority of your time doing it.
• 28:56
  Speaker 1: It's taken a bit of time, I think, for me to like understand the what I always call like the strata of all the things I like to do, like when you look at a rock on the side, like, oh yeah, I like that and I like that, and really just practicing, getting curious, talking, you know, to people who are in the industry, or you know, saying, would you, you need an intern, or would you, you know, could I be able to come to your membership meeting, or you know.
• 29:17
  Speaker 1: I just think those are things that we need to do more of and, on the other side of it, as leaders, be more welcoming, right, and yeah, let's try it.
• 29:26
  Speaker 2: I think that it was during this time of you know COVID and self-sheltering five years ago, when people were given that opportunity right Because they were at home and the world came to a standing still.
• 29:39
  Speaker 2: So they had that time to start to really think and process like who am I, what am I great at?
• 29:45
  Speaker 2: And so we started to see the data has shown more authors were popping up, more cooks and chefs actually started popping up because people were cooking at home.
• 29:57
  Speaker 1: Right yeah, we were home.
• 29:59
  Speaker 2: Exactly.
• 30:00
  Speaker 2: There was less return into the industry, respective practices, and people really started to explore.
• 30:08
  Speaker 2: They had that time before to explore themselves and who they were, Whereas before, with a pandemic, they were on this pedestal go, go, go, go, go, and they didn't slow down, they didn't have that quietness and that stillness and that stillness.
• 30:27
  Speaker 2: So that's what I mean by you know.
• 30:28
  Speaker 2: It shouldn't take a pandemic to force us as human beings to pause and to really do that self-evaluation and to listen to what's already in us.
• 30:35
  Speaker 2: Right, we already have a gift, we already have a skillset.
• 30:39
  Speaker 2: We're born with it.
• 30:41
  Speaker 2: And so when you really tap into that and you know what that is, I don't care what platform you have or what and I say platform, you know what I mean by that that's not your community, your workspace or what have you.
• 30:56
  Speaker 2: Doors just open and success happens.
• 30:58
  Speaker 2: And I think we also the last thing I will say do an injustice to our children, even at some point.
• 31:04
  Speaker 2: Because, coming from an educator okay, so I'm not going to bash the education system, because my father was a principal and a superintendent, so having an education was ingrained in me, but I think that you know early on, in early elementary and even in middle school and leading up to high, kids are taught you do this, this, this, you know English, math, science, blah, blah, blah, blah.
• 31:27
  Speaker 2: Then you go to college and you do this, this, this, this, this, and when you get out then you're forced to make decisions.
• 31:33
  Speaker 2: Well, okay, what are you going to do to be successful?
• 31:35
  Speaker 2: I think we should start, go back to that basis of having a child early on, really be observant around their gifts and their talents, you know, and really help them hone in on that, Because, again, doors are going to open.
• 31:52
  Speaker 2: Success is going to happen when they're happy and they know what their gifts are, and I think we do a disservice as educators when we don't, you know, explore that with our children.
• 32:02
  Speaker 2: But that's a personal aspect that I look at Podcast.
• 32:05
  Speaker 1: Yeah, that's a whole nother podcast, yeah.
• 32:06
  Speaker 1: That's a whole nother podcast, right?
• 32:08
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I think it is interesting how I grew up, and maybe how you grew up too, like there was this map that we were supposed to follow, where I think like we need to maybe I feel like rip up the map.
• 32:19
  Speaker 1: And I think also I worked in the K through 12 environment for a while and I think some of the things that are expectations for our classrooms are misaligned with, I think, creativity and understanding and intentional discovery, and I think that's also where I think wherever we can put those things, like do it.
• 32:40
  Speaker 1: That's why I was like get curious, try it out, explore.
• 32:42
  Speaker 1: I think it was interesting.
• 32:44
  Speaker 1: I was writing a post.
• 32:44
  Speaker 1: I was talking about just curious, try it out, explore.
• 32:45
  Speaker 1: I think it was interesting.
• 32:45
  Speaker 1: I was writing a post.
• 32:46
  Speaker 1: I was talking about just things I had done and I was like these are like 10 things you might not know about me by looking at me, and one of the things I did was I, you know, took time off of college and I traveled with better homes and gardens and they used to have mall tours and I gave out Mott's apple juice.
• 33:01
  Speaker 1: That was.
• 33:02
  Speaker 1: I was the apple juice girl.
• 33:03
  Speaker 1: But what was so interesting is I didn't connect me, being able to walk up to anyone and talk to them and have a connection that never I've never would have expected about apple juice, right.
• 33:16
  Speaker 1: So it was interesting though, cause I remember when I first started I was like I got to walk up to people.
• 33:20
  Speaker 1: I got to talk to people.
• 33:21
  Speaker 1: Like I think I can and I think now in my life like that's not a big deal, like I never connected that.
• 33:28
  Speaker 1: So it kind of goes back as you were talking like, oh, I never would have connected me trying this thing.
• 33:32
  Speaker 1: I mean, I knew I didn't want to do all tours for the rest of my life, but I got to travel the U?
• 33:36
  Speaker 1: S and meet people and it just was something I did at 22 and 23,.
• 33:41
  Speaker 1: But I think it has led to me just being able to talk to anybody about anything and that's a big skill.
• 33:48
  Speaker 2: It is and that has taken you when you really sit down and you think about it, lee the doors that have opened, and each time of a platform that you've been experiencing in, what was that?
• 34:01
  Speaker 2: One key thing?
• 34:02
  Speaker 2: Yeah, the ability to communicate and to engage and have a conversation with complete quote unquote strangers, right.
• 34:10
  Speaker 2: So when you stand on stage, that's what you do.
• 34:12
  Speaker 2: You know you're having conversations with sometimes complete strangers in the audience, but you bring them in to your message, right, and you make it relatable.
• 34:23
  Speaker 2: And you know, even on this podcast, you know we hadn't sat down and had a conversation before today, but feel totally comfortable.
• 34:31
  Speaker 2: So that is a gift, that is a skillset that you have and you apply it to wherever you are and whatever you're doing.
• 34:38
  Speaker 1: Yeah Well, thank you.
• 34:38
  Speaker 1: So, like, just like you have like, be curious, explore, be open and even if someone says you can't or you shouldn't, see if that really aligns with how you feel.
• 34:49
  Speaker 1: I don't say fight everything everyone says, but I just alignment, just see if it really sits with you the right way.
• 34:55
  Speaker 1: And if it doesn't, you know, and it's safe, like, go out and try.
• 34:59
  Speaker 1: You know you can take small steps.
• 35:02
  Speaker 1: You don't have to take the huge leap too.
• 35:03
  Speaker 1: I think that's the other thing about.
• 35:08
  Speaker 1: A myth about being bold is that it doesn't have to be this big thing.
• 35:10
  Speaker 1: You don't have to quit your job.
• 35:11
  Speaker 1: You don't have to, like, change your major, just start exploring and then see, you know, there's a possibility to do something different, or maybe even in at the same time of something you're doing.
• 35:19
  Speaker 1: So it's not an all or nothing type of life we should be living.
• 35:23
  Speaker 2: Absolutely, and it shouldn't start once you're in college or about to graduate.
• 35:28
  Speaker 2: I'll use this quick analogy.
• 35:30
  Speaker 2: So when you think about a musician or a violinist, right, or someone who's playing an instrument, when do they start picking up that instrument?
• 35:38
  Speaker 2: They take an interest, sometimes elementary, middle or middle school, right.
• 35:42
  Speaker 2: They don't wait till they graduate high school and say, oh, I think I want to play the violin and go to college for it.
• 35:49
  Speaker 2: No, they start, you know, in middle school.
• 35:53
  Speaker 2: And so that's what I mean by starting early, by planting that seed of knowing what your gift and your skillset is, finding that out early.
• 36:01
  Speaker 2: And even as a teacher or a parent a mother in our case, you know, we are supposed to help that child, cultivate that gift in them, so that, because we want our children and our girls and even our women now to be successful, but not wait until college or even post-career, post-college, and you're into your career and say, oh, by the way, what is it that you want to do and how are you going to go about doing it?
• 36:28
  Speaker 2: And so, even in career development that's some of the same basic things that I have conversations with about some of the women.
• 36:36
  Speaker 2: I was like don't allow that job title to define you, because that job title is not you, that's not who you are.
• 36:44
  Speaker 2: You're bringing your gifts and your talents to the table.
• 36:47
  Speaker 2: So, first and foremost, what is your gift, what is your skill, what is that you love to do?
• 36:52
  Speaker 2: And then you align it with your actions, then you align it with the platform.
• 36:57
  Speaker 2: It's not the other way around.
• 36:59
  Speaker 2: That's why you're uncomfortable, that's why, unfortunately, if you feel like you're not successful and then that's why?
• 37:09
  Speaker 1: Yeah, something's fighting it.
• 37:10
  Speaker 1: It right there's a tension, right that?
• 37:11
  Speaker 1: Yeah, like I can't put my finger on it, but I think, for everyone listening, really think, like, what are your gifts and your talents and are they aligned with what you're doing now?
• 37:17
  Speaker 1: And if you're not sure, I think there's some time to be spent.
• 37:21
  Speaker 1: And again, it doesn't mean big leap.
• 37:23
  Speaker 1: I'm not telling everyone to quit their job.
• 37:25
  Speaker 1: I'm just saying don't push it away, just learn more about it, get curious, start exploring it.
• 37:32
  Speaker 1: Well, thank you so much for being on the Bold Lounge.
• 37:34
  Speaker 1: It's been such a lovely conversation.
• 37:36
  Speaker 1: Please do check out all the information about Gail and PayTech and the upcoming conference and all the things that you can learn through their community and being connected to it.
• 37:45
  Speaker 1: Thank you so much for being on the Bold Lounge.
• 37:47
  Speaker 1: Thank you, lee, I appreciate it so much.
• 37:50
  Speaker 1: Thank you for listening to the Bold Lounge podcast.
• 37:55
  Speaker 1: Through the continuum of bold stories, vulnerability to taking a leap, you will meet more extraordinary people making a positive impact for others through their unique and important story.
• 38:05
  Speaker 1: By highlighting these stories, thank you.