Latest / You're Overqualified Podcast - Career and Leadership Strategies for Women / 121. From Manager to Director in 4 Sessions: A Client Story with Lexy Williams

Transcript

121. From Manager to Director in 4 Sessions: A Client Story with Lexy Williams · You're Overqualified Podcast - Career and Leadership Strategies for Women

0:00
Hi. Hello.
0:01
How are you? If you are here, you are in the
0:03
right place. I'm Danny Tan, I'm a speaker and
0:05
leadership coach. And today we're talking to one
0:08
of my lovely clients, Lexi. I'm super excited.
0:12
So before we kick it off, let me just give a little intro on who
0:15
I am. What have you been doing here?
0:17
So I like I mentioned, I'm Danny.
0:20
I'm a former VP of Merchandising, Product
0:23
Marketing. I am now a speaker and
0:24
leadership coach and I work with folks who are aspiring leaders.
0:28
They are executives, they are entrepreneurs and they're
0:30
looking to grow, build or be a part of successful teams and
0:33
prepare for their next pivotal promotion.
0:35
So I myself have pivoted careers five times.
0:38
I got a lot of promotions in 11 years.
0:40
So I can get a little busy too when it comes to these things,
0:42
when it comes to that corporate life.
0:44
I'm first Gen. so I'm first generation to graduate college.
0:46
In my immediate family, I'm Asian, Latina, so I'm Puerto
0:49
Rican, Filipino and Chinese very proudly.
0:51
And it's totally my jam to work with amazing folks who are just
0:56
making waves and changing things in their industry because that's
0:59
what we do, right? And so in today's session, we're
1:02
talking about Lexi and what it was like to work together.
1:05
Where is she is now and what is she up to?
1:08
So I'm going to let Lexi introduce herself because there
1:11
is no better hype person than yourself.
1:14
Thank you, Danny. It's really a pleasure to be
1:17
here on your show. I'm super excited.
1:19
I like, feel so honored that I'm here.
1:23
That you're here. I like literally when I got your
1:27
invitation to do a podcast, I was like, oh, my goodness, me.
1:30
Who me? So I am blushing under my blush.
1:33
You just cannot tell. But yeah, I'm Lexie Williams.
1:38
I am currently a director of admissions for the Craffled
1:42
school in Philadelphia. I have spent the last, maybe I
1:47
would say three to four years working in nonprofit work, and
1:53
before that I used to work in for profit work, all within
1:57
outreach, admissions, recruitment roles like that.
2:02
I'm really passionate about helping young people, empowering
2:05
them to pursue an education and meet their goals, whatever that
2:10
looks like for them. And I'm first generation, My
2:15
parents are both from Sierra Leone and West Africa.
2:18
And so the why for me behind education is just like, it's
2:22
just so vast. There's so many things that I
2:25
value when it comes to education and when it comes to empowering
2:29
others to find that for themselves.
2:31
And it really hits home with me. So that's a little bit about me
2:34
and like, you know my why and I'm really honored to be here
2:37
today. Exciting to have you.
2:39
And Lexi just had a birthday, just so everybody knows.
2:43
So happy birthday to her. And she's a fellow Virgo.
2:46
We're both Virgos. So we have just.
2:47
I have just to drop that in there for fun.
2:51
I mean, yeah. I mean, because we're Virgos and
2:53
also, let's be real, two days Beyoncé's birthday is coming up.
2:56
So that's just like a just be that, yeah.
3:01
I love it. Amazing.
3:03
And I also want to note that Lexi is a life coach, which is
3:07
pretty cool too. I have to throw that in.
3:09
Come on. That's really cool, Alex.
3:10
Thank you. So before we, you know, get into
3:15
all the juicy details of what you're up to now, I'm super
3:18
curious for everybody else just to kind of learn and understand
3:21
what even kind of like got you into deciding to work with the
3:24
coach. Yeah, I I honestly my top reason
3:29
for looking for a coach. I felt really stuck.
3:34
I'm someone who does not like to be stagnant.
3:37
I'm always growth minded. I like to think about what is
3:40
ahead and I like to see a clear path for myself or a trajectory
3:45
of growth. And I wasn't seeing that.
3:48
I have been working in an organization for about 3 years.
3:53
I have, you know, done the things I've been told many times
3:57
how great of a job I do. I've made lateral moves all with
4:02
the hope and the understanding that it wouldn't be like, you
4:04
know, a vertical move at some point and you know, the moves
4:09
were not moving. And I, I don't like feeling
4:12
stuck. So I made a decision like, you
4:14
know what, like I need to invest in myself.
4:18
I also had some professional development funds with my
4:20
organization. I said, why not?
4:23
And I was also pursuing at some point like, you know, and
4:26
considering going to life coaching myself.
4:28
So this is all happening simultaneously.
4:29
And I'm like, you know what? If I can have somebody who can
4:33
really work with me and help me from a neutral standpoint,
4:37
understand my goals and move forward, maybe this can like
4:40
help me get to the next step. So.
4:43
And then this is the question that pops in my mind was how did
4:47
you decide like which coach that you wanted to work with?
4:50
Like is it like you click does it?
4:52
I don't know. Yeah.
4:54
So the irony is the organization that I went through was like for
5:00
PD funds within coaching was already partnered with my
5:04
previous organization. So a lot of people from my
5:08
organization were like going to this like coaching group.
5:13
And so I was like, OK, let me see.
5:15
When I did the assessment, they had an assessment that I did.
5:19
I answered some questions and then it actually paired me with
5:23
a white man. And for those, I mean, who are
5:27
hearing this via podcast, I am a black woman.
5:31
And not to say that I'm sure that he was going to be great,
5:34
but like what I was primarily looking for was a woman of
5:38
color. I, there's no one who knows
5:40
women of color better than a woman of color.
5:44
And so I had to, I went to like the, I think there was like a
5:47
one-on-one kind of thing, like an intro to like coaching, like
5:52
zoom call before actually doing coaching.
5:55
And I just like asked and advocated for myself.
5:57
I was like, Hey, I got paired up with this man.
6:00
I'm sure he's lovely, but I need and I need to change.
6:04
I need a woman of color. And so they're like, Oh yeah.
6:07
Well, let me see, like who else, you know, fits like your profile
6:10
and what you're looking for. And then they sent me a couple
6:13
options. And then they sent me Danny,
6:15
you, IE you, your profile. And I read your page and like
6:20
your bio and a lot of things that stood out to me was like,
6:22
you know, looking to pivot, looking to make a change,
6:26
looking to go into leadership and really championing women of
6:31
color. And that was like, I was like,
6:32
yes, yes. I was like eating it up.
6:34
Like it was a bowl of ravioli. I I really, really was like,
6:39
yeah, I'm like, this is my girl. I don't know something about it.
6:42
I read everything. I was like, yeah, this is my
6:44
girl. I'm feeling really good vibes.
6:45
And then when we finally connected and you say you were a
6:47
burger, I was like, oh, this is definitely my girl.
6:52
Yeah. But that was the main thing.
6:53
I wanted to find mainly somebody who has a safe space because
6:59
there's nothing like just feeling sane and a lot of times
7:02
with clients we just want to feel sane.
7:04
Yeah, yeah. Oh my gosh, full of ravioli now
7:07
I'm hungry. No, but I think the thing that's
7:11
amazing though, and I want to like this is me being a little
7:14
coachy for a hot 2nd. But you already came out the
7:17
gate advocating for yourself. Like for I feel like folks
7:21
sometimes, you know, feel like when they're coming into
7:23
coaching, it's because there's like something wrong almost or
7:28
like that they're missing something or that like they're
7:32
in a bad spot. But sometimes you could be like
7:35
the most badass, advocating for yourself, working super hard and
7:39
diligent. But it's like you and we'll go
7:41
into it, but it's like about having that partner who's going
7:43
to like help support you when you're like, I am doing
7:47
everything. And Lexi, when I met you, I was
7:49
like, Oh my gosh, she is doing all the things.
7:50
But like, I know that I'm going to be able to be here to support
7:53
you through all of it, which I love, which I love so much.
7:57
OK. So then with that being said,
8:00
knowing that you wanted to be like growth minded, you were
8:03
looking for support. You know what was like your
8:05
vision for coaching was like your primary goal going into it.
8:10
My primary goal going into it was having a partner to really
8:15
help me move to my next step because my primary goal was
8:19
like, I want to not be where I am now at least like, you know,
8:24
six months from now, I want to be somewhere else.
8:26
I want to be able to say that I have moved from a manager role
8:31
to hopefully a director role. And so having a partner to just
8:37
like help me look within all of my options and like make sure
8:41
that I am checking off. I'm doing everything that I can
8:43
do because I know that there's a lot of things that are not
8:46
within my control, especially when it comes to maybe not
8:50
getting a promotion or not getting a certain job after
8:55
you've been applying. But doing everything I can do in
8:58
my control and having someone to empower me with that was like
9:01
really important. Yeah.
9:04
What do you feel like the things that we were working together?
9:08
Did anything kind of like stand out to you of like maybe things
9:11
that we are working on together, the challenges that you face
9:13
that we were kind of like able to work through?
9:17
Yeah. You know something that I really
9:19
valued about our experience coaching and you just like being
9:24
there for me. I think you are very intentional
9:26
about listening to me. Like what is it that you want?
9:30
And then from naming, what is it that we wanted, that I wanted?
9:34
It was like we talked about like potential Rd. maps.
9:36
It can either go this way. It can go that way.
9:40
How how would you feel if you know, if you did this?
9:42
What are your non negotiables? I even wrote out the list having
9:45
the planning to of like what jobs have I applied for in my
9:50
networking? Am I am I also networking within
9:53
internally like having the game plan of two options, like
9:57
whether or not I was going to move up within my, you know, at
10:02
least that organization, my former organization, or whether
10:05
that meant like I had to potentially leave that
10:08
organization to meet my goals. And us being able to work
10:11
towards both simultaneously was a lot of help.
10:14
So I didn't feel like, you know, if one option didn't go my way
10:19
or didn't go the way that I intended that I'm now stuck.
10:22
So I really appreciated that. Something else I felt like was
10:26
amazing was to really just go through my resume and go through
10:29
my cover letter. And I remember Danny, you
10:32
actually help me with like, cuz I was looking at nonprofits, but
10:37
then also like schools and you're like, OK, this is your
10:39
school resume and cover letter and this is your nonprofit
10:43
resume and cover letter and having different ways to
10:48
showcase myself so that way I can at least move forward and
10:51
get an interview. So those are the things I really
10:53
felt were like crucial for me, kind of like moving forward in
10:57
the way that I did. Yeah.
11:01
And the thing that comes up for me and when I think about, you
11:04
know, clients in general is that when we want to make a move to
11:09
our next step, sometimes it feels like we have to like go
11:13
all in on one path and all. And also just like maybe
11:17
abandoned some of the things that we want to do to just go on
11:21
that one path. And I'm very much about, as you
11:24
know, creating different scenarios of like, what is
11:27
scenario A, scenario B, scenario C like, And what do you really
11:30
want to do from a place of like, is this really your intention of
11:35
where you want to go? Or are you kind of going here
11:37
because you're like nervous or scared or worried or concerned
11:40
and it's kind of like not coming from what your true intention is
11:44
of what your goal is. And I think that's a big thing
11:46
of like sitting down and saying what do you really want?
11:49
Or you're going after this because you think it's going to
11:50
be a little bit easier or more approachable or more manageable
11:53
in the time, in the in the period of time.
11:55
Like it's kind of like, is it a short term role or like the long
11:57
term role? I think that's a big thing.
11:59
And then creating the multiple paths is always crucial, which I
12:02
think usually surprises people. But that's just the way my, my
12:05
brain works and how my coaching works.
12:06
They do it multiple times, every single time.
12:09
It's like it's never just one path because you want to feel
12:12
like, especially when we were talking about you and the work
12:15
we were doing, you, you loved where you were, right?
12:18
And so you really had a care for the organization.
12:23
And so for me, it's always like, how can we make sure we have
12:26
worked through every single option possible, you know,
12:29
before we go to any other plans? And I think that's something
12:31
that's really important. And then when it comes to the
12:33
resume, P is same thing. I think there's a lot of,
12:37
there's a lot of noise out there when it comes to resumes and
12:39
cover letters and like prepping for jobs in general.
12:42
The noise could be you have to customize every single resume.
12:45
And there's nothing wrong with that.
12:46
I'm not denying it. But I think the thing that's
12:48
important is that to not overwhelm somebody like Step 1
12:53
is just if you're applying to like two different career, two
12:56
different job titles or three different job titles, then just
12:59
create a job that is for those like a resume and cover letter
13:02
for that title, that title and that title.
13:05
That way you don't feel like you're starting from scratch
13:06
every single time. And that way feels a little bit
13:08
more manageable, I think is really important.
13:10
And the other thing is, is when folks work on their resumes, I'm
13:15
always going to have you go a level deeper because I already
13:18
know how amazing you are. Like like, say I was like,
13:20
listen, I know you're doing crazy stuff over there.
13:22
So we need to hype up this resume is so much more, which
13:26
was so easy because you take feedback really, really well.
13:29
You're very coachable, which is why you're so successful.
13:32
You, you identify what it is that you need, but also you run
13:35
with what is given and you, and you don't just take it.
13:38
You're like, OK, let me think about it.
13:40
How do I feel about it? Do I want to do this?
13:41
Do I not want to do so? I think it's really important.
13:44
Thank you. Yeah, I remember, and I'm, I'm
13:46
recalling the exact moment when I got the, we had like a lot of
13:51
video, but not video recordings like those, like voice
13:53
recordings, because it was like easy for both of us to just
13:55
like, do that throughout the day.
13:57
And I remember that I sent you my resume and you gave me
14:02
feedback like, yeah. So I reviewed your resume.
14:05
I'm going to challenge you because I know that you know you
14:07
are a bad ass and I know that you have a lot of juicy things
14:11
you're not putting here and I need you to share that.
14:14
And you're like, where's the data points where like I know
14:16
you, I know you did a lot more. I need to see more.
14:19
And I was like, OK. And a part of me is like, man,
14:22
Danny came for me. But like in the in the not in
14:25
the, but not in a bad way. Like you know, it came for me.
14:27
Like you're, you're holding me to the standard that you know,
14:29
that I'm at. And I need to be like, I need to
14:33
show myself. If I don't show folks who I am
14:36
or like how I showed up, how would they know?
14:39
And I just thought that was like really great.
14:40
Cuz I'm like, yeah, OK. And I feel like literally maybe
14:43
a couple weeks after me doing that, I was starting to get more
14:45
like calls back from the, from the organizations I was applying
14:49
to. So yeah, yeah, the push, the
14:52
pushes were there and they were necessary for sure.
14:55
It's so good. I love it.
14:57
The pushes were there and that reminded me of this.
14:59
Other thing too, is that you really like escalated and
15:03
accelerated your success in the sense of Lexi was not like just
15:08
gonna wait for the call and Ioffer this to everybody, but
15:10
you really took advantage of it in a good way.
15:13
Like I was like, good. She's capitalizing on this
15:15
opportunity. I think there was times I'd be
15:16
checking on YouTube. I'm like, she's too quiet, but
15:19
ioffer slack. So like outside of one-on-one
15:21
sessions where we're like on a video call going through
15:23
coaching, I have Slack, which we can like leave voice notes
15:27
together, we can drop in documents to review, We can
15:29
message other like text messages basically.
15:33
And I always offer that between sessions because I want you to
15:35
feel supported. And I know that things come up
15:37
like you might have an interview, you might have a
15:38
conversation, you might just want to like brain dump some
15:41
that happened. And I always say the folks who
15:44
are really successful in coaching are the ones who are
15:46
keeping up at it between the sessions.
15:49
So if we're not meeting every single week, then you know, I'm
15:51
checking in or you're checking with me or you're letting me
15:54
know how things are going. Like even your resume, like you
15:56
would drop it to me. I would review it and I would
15:58
send you like video feedback or I would leave your voice now.
16:00
But I think that's testament to you because you weren't just
16:03
like, oh, this one, you know, session, 45 minute session is my
16:07
time to work on this. You were continually giving me
16:10
updates and all that good stuff of like, this is how this
16:12
conversation went. This is how this is going, this
16:14
how this application went. So you truly were like
16:16
maximizing your time, which I think really accelerated your
16:20
success because you were like, I'm not going to just use those
16:22
one moments in time. You kept coming in and giving me
16:25
updates and we're able to like help you move through whatever
16:28
that was happening, even where I was like, hey, just give me an
16:31
update on how this conversation went.
16:33
I just want to know because I've invested, I'm like so invested
16:36
in what's going on. Yeah, no, really great point,
16:39
Danny. The slacks were slacking between
16:41
us, the store. And even like something that I
16:46
really valued about your coaching style was that it
16:49
wasn't just let's focus on your resume, it was also like what's
16:53
showing up for you in general at work?
16:56
And I really appreciated how relatable like you shared some
17:00
like some experiences that you've had where it's like, OK,
17:02
I'm not alone. OK, you've also been here.
17:05
Oh, OK, this is what happened. OK, great.
17:07
So we're, we're here, we're on the same page, OK, You know, or
17:11
like when I am sharing some tea and you're like, oh, I am
17:17
invested girl, what heck happened?
17:18
You know, like, please share that.
17:20
I'm like, oh, you're right, you're right.
17:21
Let me tell you about, you know what I mean?
17:23
So it, it, it's almost like, and as I mentioned, the cheerleader
17:27
that you didn't know that you needed the cheerleader that is a
17:30
safe space. The cheerleader that's like, OK,
17:32
they know exactly what's going on.
17:34
And helping you navigate the politics, you know, within an
17:38
organization, while also helping you navigate, you know, the
17:43
stress that comes applying for jobs is incredibly stressful.
17:48
There's going to be so many Nos before you can even get that one
17:50
guess. So like, and I, I feel like
17:53
especially as women of color, we're so hard on ourselves and
17:58
having someone in your corner say, hey, like, it's OK, That's,
18:02
you know, it just wasn't meant for you.
18:03
There's something better in store for you.
18:04
And like holding you to holding you to that.
18:07
So I don't know, those are things that showed up for me.
18:09
But yes, that communication in between made all the difference
18:13
because I think we only met like once a month.
18:15
Yeah. And I think we only have maybe
18:17
like 4-4 sessions, four or five seconds.
18:21
So it's not like a lot of time to like meet if you think about
18:23
it. But the work that was done in
18:25
between that, the conversation we had in between, that really
18:29
made a huge difference. Yeah, for sure.
18:32
And I think that brings me to this question that just pops my
18:34
head was that, you know, given that during our time together,
18:38
we kind of like you were ramping up on the things that you were
18:41
going to go out and execute and then our coaching had closed
18:45
out. Obviously, I'm always like, I'm
18:47
forever your coach. You're not getting rid of me.
18:49
I'm going to check in on you and see how you're doing.
18:52
You know, what did it look like post coaching and all the
18:55
different other moves that kind of happened throughout your your
18:58
next step? Yeah, post coaching, I feel like
19:03
post coaching was a lot of me utilizing the things that you've
19:05
taught me and the resources you provided.
19:09
So like going into like back into my non negotiables, like
19:13
spreadsheet, going to the roles I've applied for, networking and
19:19
some of the tools and sense of like, OK, this is like my
19:21
nonprofit resume and cover letter versus my like school
19:24
resume and cover letter and just doing that work.
19:27
But also what was helpful was just like you keeping in touch.
19:31
Hey, you know, I, I'm, I haven't heard from you in a while.
19:35
What's you know, what's going on?
19:37
And I'm like, oh, by the way, and I don't know, it felt it was
19:40
a little bit like I was surprised that you were keeping
19:42
in touch a bit. The reason why is because like,
19:45
all right, you're not getting paid right now.
19:46
You know, you really don't have to get to keep in touch.
19:50
You know, like I'm yes, forever coach, but like in the same
19:53
time, like, you know, like we don't have a contract at this
19:56
moment, you know, so it was like, oh, you're actually, you
19:59
know, wow, like you care, care, you know.
20:04
But again, I kind of feel like when it comes to working with
20:07
you and I speak as your forever client, it's like riding a bike,
20:13
just showing me the foundations. First I was on the I had my
20:16
little, what is it called training.
20:18
Wheels. Yeah, I have my training wheels.
20:21
And then it's like, okay, all right, you got it, you got it,
20:24
you got it. And then, you know, just
20:25
utilizing the things that we worked on together.
20:29
And then before I knew it, I was riding my bike on my own.
20:32
And then I end up getting, you know, this job and utilizing the
20:36
interview tips that you gave me and stuff like that.
20:38
So that was a lot of it. But of course, like the check
20:41
insurance that we had on LinkedIn, that was also helpful.
20:45
I mean, I do care. I care a lot, probably too much
20:48
she's but I think the thing that's so crazy is that
20:52
especially for you, Lexi, you're good at making sure that once
20:56
you know what's up, like this is the plan.
20:58
These are the tools you roam with it.
20:59
And I think that's a big thing for like every single client
21:02
will be different of how they implement on their own, but you
21:05
very much are good at like implementation.
21:08
That's why we were able to have four sessions and you're able to
21:11
run off and like execute, execute, execute because you're
21:14
really good at accountability. You have an insane amount of
21:19
like self-awareness, accountability, like able to
21:22
just do those things. And so I think that was a huge
21:25
testament to it. And for me, it was kind of like,
21:27
OK, it's kind of like we're just waiting for the cake to bake.
21:29
And so I was like, I'm not missing it.
21:31
I was like, I was like, I know it's going to happen.
21:33
It's inevitable. So I'm going to check in and see
21:35
how it's going. So I'm happy to hear that.
21:37
That's good. Thank you.
21:38
And you know, something that it brings me back to one of our
21:41
like many voice notes on Slack. So to name here in the space for
21:49
the audience, I got 2 promotions.
21:52
Technically, I eventually after, you know, pushing and pushing
21:58
and pushing to, you know, be seen and get the promotion.
22:01
I didn't get the promotion that I wanted.
22:03
I was a senior enrollment manager.
22:06
And while I really did appreciate the fact that I was
22:09
able to level up, what I really wanted was the director
22:13
composition. And like, again, my goal when I
22:16
first met Danny and I, I told you this, let you know I want to
22:19
move from manager to director. And so while I was like, yeah,
22:23
upward mobility, regardless of, you know, not getting to where
22:26
exactly you want to be, it's still mobility nonetheless.
22:29
But I knew that that's not where my heart was and that I wanted
22:33
to be able to, like, lead a department.
22:35
I want to be able to direct something.
22:38
And one of the voice notes we had, Danny and Slack was, you
22:42
know, nobody leaves baby in the corner.
22:44
Do you remember that? Yes, I.
22:48
Do. And it's so true.
22:49
And everybody who hears that, you should understand it's Dirty
22:52
Dancing. Like please know that it's dirty
22:54
The Dirty Dancing. Don't don't under like a.
22:56
Baby in a corner. Where did I hear that from?
22:58
Yeah. But just the whole concept of
23:01
like, you know, that's not if that's not where you want to be,
23:04
like, don't stay there. Make sure that you're doing the
23:07
things you need to do to get out of that corner because, you
23:10
know, if you're not happy, you have to keep pushing forward.
23:14
And so even after I got the promotion to senior manager and
23:18
I told you about it, we were messaging on LinkedIn and you
23:22
were like, yeah, OK, yeah. And I said, I, I'm still not,
23:25
you know, where I want to be. You're like, keep pushing for
23:27
it, keep going for it. Like, you know, keep applying
23:30
for jobs. Have you been networking?
23:32
Have you, have you tried reaching out to so and so and
23:35
everything like that? And that was like really
23:36
helpful. I'm like, yeah, you know, I
23:37
shouldn't settle for what, for where I am, even though it's a
23:41
great place to be. I know there's some greater in
23:43
store and that's a lot of my why and how I end up going into this
23:47
director role so. Yay.
23:50
Oh my gosh, I'm so glad that you shared that.
23:52
Yes, you did. Technically, it's not.
23:53
Technically you got 2 promotions, you know, and that's
23:56
an amazing thing. So let's just like bask a little
23:59
bit in your role right now. So can you talk about your role
24:02
now? Yeah, so I'm currently the
24:05
director of admissions for the Crawford School.
24:08
The Crawford School is a small Independent School located in
24:12
Philadelphia, technically in the Germantown area, not too far
24:15
from Plymouth Meeting. It's a small school, has about a
24:19
hundred students all together and very big on just like having
24:24
high support for our students. Our students are from various
24:27
zip codes all over, have different different needs,
24:31
different things that they're they're wanting in an
24:34
organization and we provide like emotional support as well as
24:38
academic support and just making sure that we are helping
24:41
students get to their next steps, which is often college.
24:44
So I'm really excited. I just started in July.
24:48
It has been crazy to think that July came and went so quickly.
24:53
I've been in this role now for what September 1st was
24:56
yesterday. Girl, I'm like, where's my math?
25:00
Is it two months? Yeah.
25:03
Yeah, you're good. You're good.
25:05
You're good. It's two months.
25:06
It's two. Yeah, yeah.
25:09
And for me, what's like really exciting about this role so far
25:12
is that I don't have to jump from multiple stakeholders just
25:17
to like pan out and and go into the decision, you know, and make
25:21
and make things happen. I can just make things happen
25:23
because I direct it and I don't know, I just said that I'm like,
25:27
Dang, I sound bad right now. Yeah, cuz you.
25:32
All got hurt. I love it.
25:33
If I don't think the system makes sense, I'm just gonna get
25:36
rid of it and I'm gonna implement a new system.
25:39
And there's something that's really like the first time that
25:44
I walked in and I, I took my, my office pictures the very first
25:48
day that I, and it was on LinkedIn and I, I, I hid it for
25:51
like a month because I was trying to like get certain
25:53
things in store and just get used to the position.
25:57
But like, I'm like, I have my own office.
25:59
I got 3 couches in my office and it fits like, I'm like, I sat
26:03
down in that chair like, yeah, I'm in the director chair.
26:06
Oh, who's the director owe me? You know, I had that moment for
26:09
myself and it was a little bit of like that, like, I don't
26:13
know, like if it's an imposter syndrome or if it's just that
26:17
moment where you're like, I didn't, I've been working
26:19
towards this for so long. I didn't think this would
26:21
actually happen. And now I'm here and I had to,
26:24
like, sit with it for a while and like, OK, no, this is real.
26:28
Pinch me. Oh, that hurt.
26:30
I'm here. Yeah, but I'm excited.
26:34
Kids start on Thursday. So all the kids come back.
26:38
I have new student orientation on Wednesday and literally when
26:43
I started, we were really under enrolled.
26:46
We had like 79 students and now we're already at 88.
26:53
And I'm just going to keep pushing and I'm going to make
26:55
sure that we get to our 100 goal very soon.
26:58
And I'm, I'm just excited. I'm just really excited about
27:00
what's in store. I don't even, I don't even have
27:04
to like try to fight to be on the like at the table.
27:08
And that's something that really sits with me because it's like
27:12
when you're looking to move into leadership and you're looking to
27:17
just have a seat, you know what I mean?
27:19
And you have to like, especially in a larger organization, you
27:22
have to like fight tooth and nail just to get to like
27:24
somewhere close to the seat. It's like, no, I'm not fighting.
27:27
I'm at the seat. I'm speaking my mind and we're
27:29
making changes in the processes because of it, you know what I
27:33
mean? And that and then it feels so
27:35
great. So that's a little bit about
27:36
where I'm at right now. There's a lot more to come.
27:39
I'm sure I've only been here for two months, but there's a lot of
27:42
things that I'm pleased with so far.
27:45
Yeah, that's, that is so much already in the course of two
27:47
months. That is so much already in the
27:49
course of two months. And I'm going to check in with
27:50
you again in like 6 months. You know, I mean, obviously
27:52
before then, but that's already so much because I think, you
27:55
know, it's such a big deal for you to go and really embody this
28:01
leadership identity that you had been working towards all this
28:03
time. So it was like you were doing
28:05
you're checking everything off the list of how to show up as a
28:08
leader. But now you've really been given
28:10
this like platform, not given you worked for it.
28:13
So now you're like, okay, great. The environment matches my mind
28:16
because this is where I meant to be.
28:18
And now you have the ability to create systems, change systems,
28:22
you know, really effects change. And I think when we go and we
28:25
talk about like non negotiables, it sounds like really unsexy,
28:28
but really what we're talking about is what is it that you
28:32
want? Like what do you desire?
28:34
And we talk about that in the sense of what was not like going
28:37
well for you or what was not driving before that you want to
28:40
make sure you have for yourself and, and whatever next step it
28:43
is, whether it's in your current organization, next organization.
28:45
But understanding that those pieces is so crucial because if
28:48
not, we just start grasping at anything that comes at us.
28:51
And so to hear you talk about all of the, you know, ability to
28:56
impact, make change, influence, really make a difference already
28:59
in the course of two months in a new role is super, super, super,
29:04
I mean, exciting even for me. And I'm not even in the role or
29:06
like working with you because it just means that like it's such a
29:09
shift in where you're meant to be when it comes to the
29:12
environment that you've been really trying to work for us and
29:14
be a part of. So that's pretty cool.
29:16
Thank you so much, Danny. I'm I don't know, I'm still like
29:19
pinch me like, you know, I'm still in that like days.
29:22
But it's like also, no, it's reality because you know, I'm
29:25
making things happen and I don't know, I feel I feel great about
29:29
it and I definitely know that I wouldn't be where I am now like
29:33
without having you as a coach and just having mentors and just
29:37
people to believe in me and champion me and be behind me
29:39
every step of the way. Oh.
29:41
My gosh. Well, everyone's going to be so
29:44
lucky. They are so lucky to have you,
29:47
the students, the faculty, everyone is so lucky to have you
29:50
because even just spending in the course of whatever it has
29:54
been 30-40 minutes with you, I'm like all excited and I'm even
29:58
motivated. But you know, thank you so much,
30:02
Lexi, for joining. And so before we like wrap up, I
30:06
will ask you, is there anything else that you feel like you
30:08
didn't get to share or you didn't get to highlight that you
30:10
want to be able to? I want to just highlight like
30:16
the why behind coaching and why people should really consider
30:20
like getting a career coach and why I'm a big fan of it.
30:27
I feel like, you know, I know that like when we first started
30:32
and then once I like got to where I am, you said, Oh, you
30:37
like you did all the work. You did all the hard work.
30:39
Like you know, you, you did that, which is true.
30:41
Yes, I did a lot of the work, but having a coach to push you
30:47
and like kind of like help you think differently and help you
30:50
strategize and, and help you feel like you're not alone is
30:54
like really important to getting to like where you want to be.
30:57
I have really felt like, I don't know, like there's something
31:02
about having like a partner in the midst of like chaos.
31:07
I kind of a quick equivalent it to being like in a car and you
31:11
know, like where you want to go, but it's like there's a lot of
31:14
there's a storm, it's raining, there's a lot happening kind of
31:17
thing. And just having a coach to like
31:18
help clear some things up for you and help you like, you know,
31:21
help you hold you accountable and help guide you to that path
31:24
is like really important. I am so happy that I chose to
31:29
invest in myself. Like coaching is, is investing
31:33
in yourself and being proud and being empowered to do so.
31:38
And I can't name even more like how how great this was for me.
31:42
And this was just a great experience.
31:44
So, yeah, I just want to highlight that because I don't
31:47
want that to go get lost in the sauce.
31:50
I know we, we talked about, you know, nobody leaves baby in the
31:52
corner. And maybe people are still there
31:53
like, Oh yeah, nobody leaves me in the corner.
31:56
But having a coach is like having Patrick Swayze come and
32:01
pull you by the hand and say we're coming out on the stage.
32:05
And then next thing you know, once you get to that promotion,
32:07
now you're like in the air. And you made that jump that you
32:10
were so afraid of. And now you're just like, you
32:13
know, you're doing the thing. I'm having full on flashbacks to
32:16
that movie part of me. But yeah, that's that's how I
32:19
would equally to that's just all I would say is like, it's like
32:22
having a coach is pulling some getting you to be pulled out
32:25
that corner and finally be seen for all the greatness that you
32:28
are. And as you say, you're all your
32:30
clients are badasses. And I felt I feel great.
32:33
I'm a badass director and I have a lot of gratitude towards you
32:38
and just for being in my corner and helping me be sane and feel
32:41
sane. So that's all I'll say to end
32:44
off. OK, Lexi, you're making me
32:48
emotional. I'll start crying on this
32:49
podcast episode. My gosh.
32:52
Well, thank you for those kind words.
32:54
And now everybody has to watch the movie if they haven't seen
32:56
it. They do.
32:57
It's a classic. Yeah, please, please do.
32:59
But Lexi, thank you so much and I will.
33:02
I'm accepting what you said and I appreciate it, but I have to
33:06
default real fast and say you did all the work.
33:09
I know I'm I'm that, I'm that Lady.
33:11
You did all the work. You probably effort, the energy,
33:14
the commitment, and I'm just glad that I got to be your
33:17
partner in crime through it. And yeah, but thank you so much,
33:22
Lexi, and thank everybody for listening.
33:24
So if you are looking for me, you know where to find me.
33:27
You can go to mywebsite@danitan.com.
33:30
DANITA n.com. And there's more about me, how
33:33
to work with me, all of that good stuff.
33:35
But this episode truly was just dedicated to Lexi and all of her
33:38
amazingness and all the things that she's accomplished so
33:40
quickly, which is not surprising.
33:42
And we're going to check in with her.
33:44
I will check in with you again because I know you're going to
33:45
make such a lasting impact on all people that you work with
33:49
and surround yourself by. So they're lucky to have you
33:51
forever. So thank you.
33:53
Thank you.