Latest / Daily Influence / 649. Exposed to Empowered: Serena Mastin on Truth, Resilience, and Leading with Authentic Influence

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649. Exposed to Empowered: Serena Mastin on Truth, Resilience, and Leading with Authentic Influence · Daily Influence

• 0:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: Welcome to Daily Influence, your daily dose of positive influence.
• 0:14
  [SPEAKER_00]: I'm Brian Smith founder of IA Business Advisors and co-author of the Iain team series.
• 0:19
  [SPEAKER_00]: Each day we share stories and insights to help you find be and build your influence in a positive and responsible way.
• 0:27
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I'm Greg Leno, partner at IA Business Advisors, and co-host of Daily Influence.
• 0:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: Be sure to follow, subscribe, and share Daily Influence with someone who could use a little extra positivity today.
• 0:39
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• 0:48
  [SPEAKER_01]: Welcome to Daily Influence, I'm Greg Leno.
• 0:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: Today on Daily Influence, I'm excited to welcome Serena Maston, a powerhouse storyteller, CEO, speaker, and the creative force behind part of creative and pulse marketing.
• 1:05
  [SPEAKER_01]: Serena is also the author of Exposed, a raw and inspired memoir that has impacted thousands through its message of courage, truth, and empowerment.
• 1:18
  [SPEAKER_01]: For work helps individuals and organizations unlock authentic connection, elevate their influence, and lead with purpose.
• 1:26
  [SPEAKER_01]: Serena's story is one of resilience, creativity, and using your voice to make a meaningful impact.
• 1:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I can't wait for you to hear from her.
• 1:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: Serena, welcome to Daily Influence.
• 1:37
  [SPEAKER_02]: Thank you.
• 1:38
  [SPEAKER_02]: I am so just grateful for this opportunity and excited to be here with you.
• 1:45
  [SPEAKER_01]: Great, thank you.
• 1:46
  [SPEAKER_01]: Let's start with the beginning.
• 1:47
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's right in a few share a bit about your background and the key moments in your journey that led you to where you are today.
• 1:53
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yes, we're going to go way back.
• 1:56
  [SPEAKER_02]: So I actually started my life in witness protection and multiple foster homes.
• 2:06
  [SPEAKER_02]: I lived on the streets by the age of 15, you know, abandoned houses,
• 2:17
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I would sneak into the gym in the morning to shower so that I just pretended like I was every other kid.
• 2:25
  [SPEAKER_02]: And then once I graduated I climbed the corporate ladder and I kicking him screaming.
• 2:32
  [SPEAKER_02]: Well, I worked in a lot of different sales and marketing positions and then worked my way up to a VP of marketing.
• 2:39
  [SPEAKER_02]: And then about 13 years ago, I started my marketing and advertising agency poll marketing and the heart of creative is my consulting side.
• 2:52
  [SPEAKER_02]: And through that journey, I felt like I just, you know, being an entrepreneur and having all of these of the unknown is what really happens when you're entrepreneur.
• 3:06
  [SPEAKER_02]: My husband of 10 years decided to quit his job and start working in the agency and managing sales.
• 3:15
  [SPEAKER_02]: And at first, it was incredible.
• 3:18
  [SPEAKER_02]: Um, we were growing, we, you know, moved into our first office space, all of those things.
• 3:24
  [SPEAKER_02]: But over time, our marriage and the personal issues that we were having started to impact the business.
• 3:31
  [SPEAKER_02]: Um, my, my husband struggled with mental health issues, addiction and multiple infigilities.
• 3:39
  [SPEAKER_02]: And, um, he took his life in 2020.
• 3:43
  [SPEAKER_02]: And so you can imagine the impact on our kids and our family, but then how that also woven the business.
• 3:51
  [SPEAKER_02]: So I would say the pivotal point of me writing the book exposed was because I recognized that brought my life, I've always hid behind something, whether it was a mask saying I'm strong, I'm okay, or whether it was literally hiding in the closet.
• 4:09
  [SPEAKER_02]: So that was the moment that I shared my truth.
• 4:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: you have clearly lived and lived through a lot of transformation and transition in your life.
• 4:20
  [SPEAKER_01]: Thank you for sharing that story.
• 4:22
  [SPEAKER_01]: In our book series, we talk about how influence begins with awareness, what experiences how to become aware of your own influence, both personally and professionally.
• 4:35
  [SPEAKER_02]: You know, it's interesting.
• 4:37
  [SPEAKER_02]: My determination began a huge part of my life and such a young age.
• 4:43
  [SPEAKER_02]: I would say five years old.
• 4:44
  [SPEAKER_02]: And it was, my determination was to really to prove everyone wrong that I wasn't going to become a statistic.
• 4:52
  [SPEAKER_02]: And so I really jumped in to every single workshop or self help or book or anything that I could do.
• 5:01
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I think one of the most powerful moments
• 5:05
  [SPEAKER_02]: The emotional intelligence book and learned about not just self-awareness that was what I was really good at, but was self-management, self-regulation.
• 5:17
  [SPEAKER_02]: Those were the the pivoting points of not just my inner awareness, but how my actions impact others.
• 5:27
  [SPEAKER_01]: Awareness is such a powerful first step and it often shows up in the way we impact others.
• 5:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: Can you tell us about it moment when you realized you made a truly positive impact in someone's life, maybe a story from your work, your book, or even your personal journey that reminded you why you do what you do?
• 5:49
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yes, so after my husband passed away, I did.
• 5:56
  [SPEAKER_02]: It didn't need support, but I felt alone.
• 6:00
  [SPEAKER_02]: And when you're in a place like that is a leader, the owner of an organization, you have a tendency to try and show your employees one part of you and not be other.
• 6:11
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I recognize that in my moment that I was most vulnerable and most authentic with my team members, they rose up and they carried me.
• 6:24
  [SPEAKER_02]: through that journey, allowing us to rebuild the foundation of the company.
• 6:30
  [SPEAKER_02]: if I would have continued to retract or shut down and not fully open up and share some of those, you know, not even the details of the personal situation but just the pain or the emotions I was going through.
• 6:47
  [SPEAKER_02]: If I wouldn't have been able to open up with them, they wouldn't have known how to come in and support me.
• 6:54
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I think that was a huge turning point, not just for me personally but for our team.
• 7:00
  [SPEAKER_01]: You know, those ripples of facts, you create your story and connection naturally lead into the leadership and the team that you built.
• 7:08
  [SPEAKER_01]: In the 19 series, we emphasize responsible influence, leading ourselves well, so we can lead others well.
• 7:16
  [SPEAKER_01]: How do you approach responsibility and alignment in your own leadership, especially as a CEO, author, and creative visionary?
• 7:24
  [SPEAKER_02]: that's a good question.
• 7:26
  [SPEAKER_02]: So we make it a part of our values.
• 7:28
  [SPEAKER_02]: So I have my own personal values, but as a company, we actually create values for that year.
• 7:38
  [SPEAKER_02]: So the team comes together, not just me creating a bunch of values and then pushing it on them.
• 7:44
  [SPEAKER_02]: We actually come together and determine
• 7:49
  [SPEAKER_02]: what it would matter to us and then how do we implement that into everything we do?
• 7:53
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I think the collaboration piece is really where inspiration comes in, is when you give others a voice and then you listen and allow them to feel heard.
• 8:04
  [SPEAKER_02]: That's a huge part of really inspiring others.
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  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, and of course leadership today looks different than even did a few years ago.
• 8:15
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, it is.
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  [SPEAKER_02]: It's comes really different.
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  [SPEAKER_02]: And it's different dynamics with different age groups or generation within the company.
• 8:24
  [SPEAKER_02]: Different cultures within the company.
• 8:26
  [SPEAKER_02]: You have to really understand what matters to your people in order to understand how to serve them well.
• 8:33
  [SPEAKER_01]: That is so true.
• 8:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: Are you using AI in your work?
• 8:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: And if you are, how are you integrating it into your creative storytelling or business processes?
• 8:41
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, so we actually have a thing within our company that we don't allow technology to replace human connection.
• 8:52
  [SPEAKER_02]: we use it to become more efficient or we use it as a tool, but not to replace.
• 8:59
  [SPEAKER_02]: And so with that, we do use AI.
• 9:02
  [SPEAKER_02]: And a lot of it is to identify ways to structure things or to create more efficiency, but it doesn't actually replace any of my team members.
• 9:11
  [SPEAKER_02]: It allows them to feel like they're using it tool to become empowered, not a tool that will replace that.
• 9:18
  [SPEAKER_01]: I agree, I agree with these new tools, but at the heart of your work is human connection.
• 9:23
  [SPEAKER_01]: The hundred percent, I love that.
• 9:26
  [SPEAKER_01]: You know, your storytelling is incredibly authentic.
• 9:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: What practices help you stay aligned with your values, your purpose, and the vision of yourself, you want to bring to the people and influence them.
• 9:41
  [SPEAKER_01]: whether it's readers or clients or your team.
• 9:44
  [SPEAKER_02]: I think self reflection is a big part of that.
• 9:47
  [SPEAKER_02]: Being able to look inward, identify the ways that our actions impact others, seek feedback, and then create a good experience when you receive feedback that's really hard to hear.
• 9:59
  [SPEAKER_02]: I always, you know, our team always says, we see the hard things to say in a loving way.
• 10:04
  [SPEAKER_02]: So like that's part of it.
• 10:08
  [SPEAKER_02]: You can't grow or evolve anything.
• 10:11
  [SPEAKER_02]: if you don't have someone that feels safe to share the things that you could do differently and I think that peace really makes the biggest difference.
• 10:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I would agree.
• 10:23
  [SPEAKER_01]: Now for all listeners who want to make a positive difference in the world, whether through creativity, leadership or influence, one message or words of encouragement, would you like to share with them?
• 10:34
  [SPEAKER_02]: So for a long time, I made the mistake of thinking that service meant that you were sacrificing yourself.
• 10:44
  [SPEAKER_02]: I felt like I had to serve others to this big extent that really sacrificed my own name.
• 10:51
  [SPEAKER_02]: And there's a quote that I live by that says, you don't have to set yourself on fire to keep others warm.
• 10:59
  [SPEAKER_02]: and that's a beautiful thing and it ties in to understanding that you have to be healthy and wordly and obviously healthy spiritually and mentally and all those things in order to truly serve others to the highest level, but it doesn't mean that you have to sacrifice yourself.
• 11:20
  [SPEAKER_01]: That's so true.
• 11:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: Serena, thank you for sharing your story, your insights in the purpose behind the work that you do.
• 11:27
  [SPEAKER_01]: Your journey is an incredible reminder that influence becomes powerful when it's authentic, intentional and aligned with who we are.
• 11:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: If our listeners want to get in touch with you, what is the best way to do so?
• 11:40
  [SPEAKER_02]: They can easily go to SerenaMastin.com, or we'll smartgettingteam.com, that is the easiest way I get all those messages directly.
• 11:52
  [SPEAKER_01]: Great.
• 11:52
  [SPEAKER_01]: We'll put that information in the show notes.
• 11:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: Thank you so much for joining us and sharing your stories and advice.
• 11:59
  [SPEAKER_01]: Thank you.
• 12:00
  [SPEAKER_01]: And to our listeners, thank you for tuning in to Daily Influence.
• 12:03
  [SPEAKER_01]: I hope today's conversation brought you inside an inspiration.
• 12:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: If it's spoke with you, please share it with someone who could use a little positivity today.
• 12:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: Remember that your words, your actions, and your presence matter more than you realize, keep showing up with purpose and responsibility, as always, keep spreading positive influence in your corner of the world until next time, stay, inspire, and keep having a positive responseable influence.
• 12:30
  [SPEAKER_01]: Bye-bye.