Latest / Daily Influence / 569. Playing Big: Courage, Connection, and the Ripple Effect of Everyday Influence

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569. Playing Big: Courage, Connection, and the Ripple Effect of Everyday Influence · Daily Influence

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[SPEAKER_00]: Welcome to the daily influence where our mission is to deliver a daily dose of positive influence that can uplift you personally or be shared within your sphere of influence.
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[SPEAKER_00]: While not every episode may directly apply to your unique circumstances, we strive to provide insights and inspiration relevant to most people's daily, weekly, and monthly lives.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Whether you are tuning in during the morning, noon or night, the daily influence is here for you.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Listen, share, and embrace the power of influence in your life.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Welcome to Daily Influence, I'm Greg Collino.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Today's guest is Erin Herman, a dynamic keynote speaker, storyteller, and advocate for embracing the change in stepping outside of comfort zones.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Erin's journey took a transformative turn after an unexpected loss of her father.
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[SPEAKER_01]: inspiring her to pursue her dream of speaking on global stages and encouraging others to start truly living.
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[SPEAKER_01]: One of our most meaningful professional experiences was working with all that.
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[SPEAKER_01]: The fundraising and awareness organization for St.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Jude's Children's Research Hospital where a simple weekly email series she created for her team revealed the profound
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[SPEAKER_01]: Erin now speaks on topics like change management, creating positive failure cultures, self-assurance, and empowering women to play big in the workplace.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Erin, welcome to daily influence.
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[SPEAKER_02]: Thank you so much, Greg, thrilled to be here.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Aaron, could you share a bit about your background and what led you to where you are today?
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[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, absolutely.
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[SPEAKER_02]: I'm happy to.
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[SPEAKER_02]: It started my career out in the elevator and escalator sale, so I was quite literally paid to help people move up in the world.
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[SPEAKER_02]: And I had a ball doing it, you know, it involved sales and
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[SPEAKER_02]: and relationship building an account management, and essentially I worked my way up in the organization.
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[SPEAKER_02]: It was a global organization.
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[SPEAKER_02]: I held various global roles and enjoyed my time there, and then I eventually found myself wanting to connect deeper on a humanitarian level.
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[SPEAKER_02]: So I ended up moving over and taking an executive role with United Nations Children's Fund, and I led their corporate partnership programs for the U.S.
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[SPEAKER_02]: for about seven years.
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[SPEAKER_02]: And then that was preceded by me going in pursuing a similar line of work with new set of challenges for all SAACs, St.
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[SPEAKER_02]: Jude Children's Research Hospital.
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[SPEAKER_02]: And I'd say over the 10 year of my career, I've had the opportunity and good fortune too.
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[SPEAKER_02]: work with leaders, team members, NGOs, foreign civil service agents, you name it all different types of Fortune 500 organizations.
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[SPEAKER_02]: And in each of those rooms, I will say the three things that stuck out most to me and meetings and workshops and planning sessions was the amount of courage.
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[SPEAKER_02]: the amount of empathy and just this growth mindset of wanting to be better, elevating you know, teams and in each other's work.
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[SPEAKER_02]: And so I took those three qualities and built the middle present day methodology and hence coupled that with my love for key noting and I started my own, you know, public speaking business.
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[SPEAKER_01]: What a great career path I love at Erin.
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[SPEAKER_01]: You know, you've spoken about your time at St.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Jude and the weekly email you sent to your team.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Can you share that story with our listeners and what it taught you about and seen influence?
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[SPEAKER_02]: absolutely.
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[SPEAKER_02]: You know, every Friday from the first week that I started to the day that I resigned, I would send a note every Friday to my entire department, various teams, various individuals, and within these Friday emails, there would be a centralized theme.
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[SPEAKER_02]: It could be, you know, leading conflict or leveraging charisma through conflict or
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[SPEAKER_02]: showing empathy amongst animosity, just certain things that obviously all of us experience within our workplace is right.
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[SPEAKER_02]: So there'd be a title, there'd be a theme, and then I'd share a story that would make it very relatable and, you know, transformational in a sense to just bring this action to life.
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[SPEAKER_02]: And then after that, I would highlight people on my team throughout the
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[SPEAKER_02]: These qualities each week and you know Greg the first couple of months I didn't even know if people were opening my emails if they were reading them I don't know if this the ship was landing okay, and then one day I was in my office and Memphis and this woman came and she knocked on me to orange She said hey Aaron is it okay if I come in it was a Friday and I said yeah absolutely She said we got to talking and she said I just loved Fridays and I said well, yeah I do too.
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[SPEAKER_02]: I get to you know flight home to my family and Kansas city and
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[SPEAKER_02]: I said, she we're closer to happy hour.
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[SPEAKER_02]: I just made a couple jokes and she said, no, I really look forward to Fridays around to a clock.
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[SPEAKER_02]: And I thought, well, yeah, you know, we're getting pretty close to that five o'clock hour and she she said, I really look forward to your emails and.
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[SPEAKER_02]: In that moment, it just, it took me by surprise.
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[SPEAKER_02]: And I realized I didn't even, by happenstance, I always sent them out around 2 o'clock just by habit.
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[SPEAKER_02]: I very Friday.
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[SPEAKER_02]: And she said, every Friday, I have saved your emails from when you started until now.
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[SPEAKER_02]: And she said, every Friday, I open them up.
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[SPEAKER_02]: And I hope that my name is in there.
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[SPEAKER_02]: I search it the first thing I do is read and search from my name.
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[SPEAKER_02]: And it really, it made me realize that this quiet consistency that we have in our lives in the seeds that we plant in others can really help them grow into these.
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[SPEAKER_02]: amazing, beautiful human beings, and sometimes it just takes such a little effort from us, but it's transformative for them.
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[SPEAKER_02]: And from there, I really just thought about, wow, if I can impact one team, one person, what can I do on a grand scale through my keynote business?
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[SPEAKER_01]: I love that story, Aaron.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Thank you for sharing it.
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[SPEAKER_01]: You know, looking back, what is one moment when you knew you made a positive impact on someone's life?
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[SPEAKER_02]: You know, I'll tell two quick stories and one is just kind of cute and funny, but my daughter, I have an 11 year old daughter.
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[SPEAKER_02]: And you know, I think is working moms.
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[SPEAKER_02]: We are busy.
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[SPEAKER_02]: We've got multiple priorities hitting us.
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[SPEAKER_02]: You know, we want to be everything to everybody.
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[SPEAKER_02]: And I think my guilt can also be a really real thing, right?
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[SPEAKER_02]: One day I was working out to my office and.
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[SPEAKER_02]: My daughter was telling me that she had to put together a book or a port and she was going to do it on a female basketball player.
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[SPEAKER_02]: She loves Caitlin Clark and she said, you know, mom, would you mind if I ask you a few questions and just send her a future a little bit.
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[SPEAKER_02]: And I said, sure.
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[SPEAKER_02]: And the first thing that came out of her mouth and I just thought it was powerful.
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[SPEAKER_02]: She said, mom, I know women can be bosses, but can men be bosses too.
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[SPEAKER_02]: And in that moment, it still just gives me chills and I thought the story, I go out and I speak about women empowerment to, you know, rooms of upwards of 2,000 people and if I can instill that belief in my 11 year old imagine what women all across the nation can do for one another.
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[SPEAKER_02]: through supporting and advocating and elevating each other's words in these meetings.
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[SPEAKER_02]: And I tell this story because I was giving a keynote to a women's organization.
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[SPEAKER_02]: And one of these women pulled me aside after the keynote.
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[SPEAKER_02]: And she said, Erin,
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[SPEAKER_02]: It was all about believing in yourself, having to see that the table, self-assurance, and she said, it just come back from maternity life.
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[SPEAKER_02]: And she said, it wasn't even sure if the professional sector was for me.
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[SPEAKER_02]: Anymore, I wasn't sure if I still have that momentum to propel forward.
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[SPEAKER_02]: And she said, after I heard you speak, I realized I was just getting started.
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[SPEAKER_02]: And
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[SPEAKER_02]: That hit me that's so powerful.
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[SPEAKER_02]: I mean, those are the types of interactions that I have with people that is exactly why I do what I do because if we can inspire and elevate one another, we are doing something right.
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[SPEAKER_02]: And so I knew I had a positive impact on her and I felt so grateful for that moment.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Thank you for sharing that story.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And that's just one person who shared the story.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And imagine all the speaking, the agency done, all those stories that are out there and the ripples that you're having that are spreading across the globe that's amazing.
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[SPEAKER_01]: You know, your story is filled with courage and transition.
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[SPEAKER_01]: How do you define playing big in the workplace?
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[SPEAKER_01]: And what holds women back from doing so?
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[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, you know, playing big isn't really about the title or the corner office or the biggest salary, which I think is oftentimes where we, you know, put our value as humans.
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[SPEAKER_02]: But I always say, what are the values that are true to you?
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[SPEAKER_02]: How do you want to show up?
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[SPEAKER_02]: What do you want people to need from you?
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[SPEAKER_02]: How do you want to impact people?
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[SPEAKER_02]: What do you no longer going to tolerate?
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[SPEAKER_02]: Right?
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[SPEAKER_02]: In the workplace, all of these things matter and all help you play big.
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[SPEAKER_02]: I'll tell you, when you hold true to your values, your values are your foundation.
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[SPEAKER_02]: Jobs change, roles evolve, right?
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[SPEAKER_02]: But when you show up fully and unapologetically, and you're sharing your ideas and
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[SPEAKER_02]: And they're less than perfect or they're still being crafted.
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[SPEAKER_02]: That's where you're showing up bold, okay?
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[SPEAKER_02]: That's where you're refusing to shrink, you're continuing to evolve, you're advocating for yourself, you're advocating for your team members.
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[SPEAKER_02]: That is plain big.
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[SPEAKER_02]: You have got to take the risks because life, my friends, is short.
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[SPEAKER_02]: And the more that we put ourselves out there, the more we build and facilitate our own self-assurance.
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[SPEAKER_02]: When we grow, when we play big in the workplace, it isn't about making sure that we're totally ready to go.
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[SPEAKER_02]: It's about the lack of readiness, but coupled with the willingness to excel, to step in and to ultimately bet on yourself.
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[SPEAKER_02]: And that is truly plain big in the workspace.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So true.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Thank you for sharing that, you know, you speak often about creating a positive culture around failure.
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[SPEAKER_01]: What does that look like and how can teams foster this environment responsibly?
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[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
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[SPEAKER_02]: You know, I love failure.
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[SPEAKER_02]: And I'm probably, you know, people think I'm odd for saying that, but failure is not the opposite or the dichotomy of success.
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[SPEAKER_02]: It's a part of the success.
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[SPEAKER_02]: And, you know, some of the things that I speak on is the importance of creating failure files.
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[SPEAKER_02]: Okay.
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[SPEAKER_02]: And people are like, well, what is a failure file?
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[SPEAKER_02]: And for me personally, it is literally everything that I have messed up on, boy, I
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[SPEAKER_02]: how I've treated director ports, how I've just come full speed ahead.
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[SPEAKER_02]: I remember when I was like a very new manager, I thought it was all about results and you know, we've got results, well that's all that matters.
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[SPEAKER_02]: All of that I failed.
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[SPEAKER_02]: different elements in my life.
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[SPEAKER_02]: But what I did is I wrote all those failures down.
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[SPEAKER_02]: I keep a file.
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[SPEAKER_02]: It's actually in my cabinet here.
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[SPEAKER_02]: And I use that is data, not as defining who I am.
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[SPEAKER_02]: So I don't attach my identity to it.
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[SPEAKER_02]: I use it as data to enhance and be better to perform better.
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[SPEAKER_02]: And I think it's so important to do this with your teams on high performing teams, failure
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[SPEAKER_02]: As it's large teens, you know, they meet once a month or once a week and everyone comes around and they say, well, what did you win at?
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[SPEAKER_02]: What did you do well at?
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[SPEAKER_02]: But what about what did you learn at or how did we iterate on that instead of who messed up or this attack culture or this you've got to be perfect and no one can make a mistake.
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[SPEAKER_02]: When you foster.
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[SPEAKER_02]: failure when you celebrate the experiments when you when you normalize the reflection or or you as the leader you monitor and and model that vulnerability at the top that's when the beautiful work happens because it gives everyone else.
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[SPEAKER_02]: the same permission to iterate, to evolve, to take the big risks, which lead to the big rewards.
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[SPEAKER_02]: And that my friends is where innovation is born.
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[SPEAKER_02]: It truly is.
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[SPEAKER_01]: That is so true.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And do have any tips on how to change your mindset around that?
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[SPEAKER_01]: Because a lot of people are so hard on themselves when they fail, but if we pivot it and think of it as its data and its learning opportunity.
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[SPEAKER_01]: How can we pivot our mindset?
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[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, you know, there's several things you can do, the first thing I will say though is it's with yourself and this is a very simple tactic, but it's so overlooked.
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[SPEAKER_02]: So in addition, creating this failure file, what I do before I create a failure file for myself is I write down in my calendar 15 minutes a day and I block it out, I have a meeting for myself and I sit down and I use that is a silent support meeting.
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[SPEAKER_02]: And in that meeting, I turn off all email.
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[SPEAKER_02]: I turn off all phones.
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[SPEAKER_02]: I turn off everything that pulls at us.
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[SPEAKER_02]: I shut my kids out.
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[SPEAKER_02]: It could be you could do this on a walk.
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[SPEAKER_02]: You could do this on a drive wherever you are by yourself.
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[SPEAKER_02]: And I want you to sit there and I want you to think about what went well.
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[SPEAKER_02]: And then what didn't go as planned, okay?
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[SPEAKER_02]: Because it starts with self-talk.
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[SPEAKER_02]: it truly does.
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[SPEAKER_02]: We can be our own worst critics and often times we are.
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[SPEAKER_02]: And even about what could have I done to evolve further?
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[SPEAKER_02]: How could have this become a little bit more effective?
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[SPEAKER_02]: And in that 15-minute period when you quiet all the noise, you have an opportunity to do your best
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[SPEAKER_02]: We'd never take time to reflect.
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[SPEAKER_02]: We'd never take time to just be still.
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[SPEAKER_02]: We'd never take time to provide self-talk and say, you know what, I'm not a horrible person.
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[SPEAKER_02]: That was something I tried.
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[SPEAKER_02]: I put myself out there.
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[SPEAKER_02]: It didn't go as planned, but that's okay because look at everything that I learned.
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[SPEAKER_02]: And now I can go into this next situation.
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[SPEAKER_02]: And I can correct A, B, and C. And now I'm super successful.
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[SPEAKER_02]: And so we change our self image.
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[SPEAKER_02]: We change our self talk over time.
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[SPEAKER_02]: And we begin to realize that this isn't who I am.
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[SPEAKER_02]: This is just supplemental information to help me become who I want to be.
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[SPEAKER_01]: That's great advice.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I love that very helpful.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Thank you.
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[SPEAKER_01]: In a rapidly changing world, are you using AI in your work?
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[SPEAKER_01]: And if you are, as it's supporting your mission and your vision,
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[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, you know, I think AI is a really powerful amplifier.
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[SPEAKER_02]: It helps me to got check content that's current.
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[SPEAKER_02]: It helps me to think about my audience size and delivery mechanisms.
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[SPEAKER_02]: It helps me to enhance the operational effectiveness of my business.
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[SPEAKER_02]: I mean, there's so many different elements from
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[SPEAKER_02]: back in financing to marketing and branding content to the written content.
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[SPEAKER_02]: And I think if you can combine the efficiencies of today's world with the empathy of your message, you are just so much more effective.
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[SPEAKER_02]: I'm reaching the audience that you're truly trying to connect with.
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[SPEAKER_02]: So I think it's essential to today's world.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I would agree, thank you.
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[SPEAKER_01]: What message or words have encouraged me would you like to leave with our listeners who aspire to make a positive difference in the world, whether in the small team or a global stage?
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[SPEAKER_02]: I would say, don't underestimate your ability to impact others.
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[SPEAKER_02]: And it doesn't matter what job title you have.
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[SPEAKER_02]: It doesn't matter if you're five years old or if you're 95 years old.
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[SPEAKER_02]: The ripple effect is something extraordinary.
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[SPEAKER_02]: And I often think that people believe they need to do these grand gestures or these big scale rooms or have these huge teams to impact people.
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[SPEAKER_02]: But if you just do it one person at a time and you don't dim your light in the process,
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[SPEAKER_02]: that is where your voice shines through and I don't want anyone to ever forget how important your voice is.
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[SPEAKER_02]: I mean, you were made for a reason and you're here to share it.
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[SPEAKER_02]: And there are so many people in this world that need to hear it, your insights, your wisdoms, your mistakes, your opportunities that that communication is ultimately connection and so don't forget the ripple effect you have with your
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[SPEAKER_01]: Thank you for sharing your powerful journey with us and your deeply personal turning point to the ways that you lead with intention, courage and authenticity.
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[SPEAKER_01]: You know, you reminder that every even a simple weekly email can shape the lives is such a testament to how influence starts in this smallest moments.
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[SPEAKER_01]: If our listeners, Erin, wanna get in touch with you, what's the best way to do so?
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[SPEAKER_02]: Absolutely.
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[SPEAKER_02]: Please jump over to my website at www.varenherman.com.
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[SPEAKER_02]: And on there, it's got all of my information where I'm speaking, topics I speak on, I also do facilitation workshops, I do different tours.
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[SPEAKER_02]: So it's got cities that I'm coming up to next.
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[SPEAKER_02]: And then also please connect with me on social.
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[SPEAKER_02]: I'm on LinkedIn, TikTok, Instagram, and just drop me a line.
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[SPEAKER_02]: I love to hear what people are going through.
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[SPEAKER_02]: And,
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[SPEAKER_02]: how they're navigating their path doing so.
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[SPEAKER_02]: Good, bad, and different, and I can always say I respond to every single person that reaches out to me.
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[SPEAKER_02]: So please share your story.
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[SPEAKER_02]: I'd love to hear it.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Great, and we'll put that information in the show notes for our listeners.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Thank you so much for sharing your stories and your advice with us today.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Aaron, I'm so grateful for you.
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[SPEAKER_02]: Thank you so much, Greg.
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[SPEAKER_02]: I appreciate it.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Our listeners, thank you for joining us today on Daily Influence.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I urge you to take Erin's words to heart.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Step outside your comfort zone, play big and never underestimate the impact you're having.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Until next time, keep influencing responsibly.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Have a great day.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Bye-bye.