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Nathalie Gregg: Lead Loudly, Live Boldly · The Bold Lounge

• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Bold Lounge Podcast.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: My name is Lee Burgess and I will be your host.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: 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.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: This podcast is all about those kinds of stories.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: Every week we'll hear from someone who has taken the lead or embarked on an extraordinary journey.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: In addition to hearing their stories, we'll also learn about their bold growth mindset that they use to make things happen.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: Whether they faced challenges or doubts along the way, they persisted, and ultimately achieved their goals.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: These impactful stories will leave you feeling motivated and inspired to produce your own bold growth.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: I believe everyone has a bold story waiting to be free.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: Tune in and get ready to be inspired.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the bold lounge.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: Today I have Nathalie Gregg, who is an adjunct faculty, a speaker, and a trainer.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm excited to introduce you and her lead loudly that she is leading across really many forums and many spaces.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome, Natalie.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much, Lee.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: I am so thrilled to be here.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: Excellent.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: So I thought for those that don't know you, if you could just do an introduction, introduce yourself to the listeners.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_01: Sure.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_01: I consider myself to be an educator by trade, entrepreneur by design.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_01: I consider myself the catalyst for the Lead Loudly movement.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_01: And Lead Loudly is the hashtag for women to live bold, confident, and fearless.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_01: I have a strong calling for women-owned as well as women-led.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_01: So you'll see on my social media pieces where I talk about women-owned and women-led and continuing to champion those things because I really feel like that we can redefine women empowerment.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_01: And that's empowering women to become their own economic engines, whether they work for themselves or they work for someone else, or they have some type of hybrid platforms going on.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_01: And that's what I suggest to my listeners, my followers, my audience, and also the women and a couple of men that I fearlessly coach.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: I think you can lead loudly as a male or a female for sure.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: And I think, you know, our focus here, obviously, a lot of my focus is also on women and connecting with them, probably mainly because I am one.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: And I, you know, I connect in with that and some of the shared experiences, I guess, of some of the challenges that can occur.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: So how would you define bold?
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: What's your definition?
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_01: I define bold as a lifestyle to not let our fears and our doubts win.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: That really comes out, I think, in the lead loudly as well.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: You said it's bold, confident, and fearless.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: And I I sensed a sense of independence, like being able to be independent in our in what we do and how we interact, and creating our own economic engine and some of the things that you talked about there.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: So if you think about your experiences, what was the first time you can remember being bold, confident, and fearless?
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I think it goes back to my first Chamber of Commerce board meeting when I was five years old.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_01: My father had been elected to the Marion County Chamber of Commerce, and he decided that I needed to accompany him to his first board meeting.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_01: Now, why on earth?
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_01: I have no idea, but I guess that was the beginning of the Lee Loudley movement.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_01: And I noticed Lee as I tried to squirm up into those huge chairs and I looked around the room that there was not one female sitting at the table.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_01: And when I won the Athena Award from the Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce decades later, I was sad to say that the room hadn't changed very much.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: So even at five, and your dad's bringing you to this probably momentous, very proud moment, and also what a great experience for a five-year-old.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: Kind of in your kindergarten, first grade stage.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, you remember a lot in those phases.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: And then you were able to see, like, you know, there there aren't a lot of women in the room.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_00: And then decades later, there still weren't a lot of women in the room.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, not much has changed because I can remember when I was talking to the CEO of our chamber, I was saying, Well, you know, I'm going to tell my story about being five years old and sitting around the table.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_01: And I said, So just hold your breath.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_01: I said, I'll bring you out as the as the winner.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, and I and I said during my acceptance speech, you know, things don't change unless we change.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_01: And even serving on the Chamber of Commerce board and also on the nominating committee and in different other capacities, you know, it was my goal to invite women and encourage women to come sit at the table and be a part of the conversation.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: So do you feel like you were driven by that early on, like from five until let's just say like high schoolish?
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: Like, is that something that was notable to you?
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_00: Were you leading loudly during those phases of your own evolution and change?
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I think the women's empowerment piece, because I always say when I work with my clients, I always ask them, what did you play as a child?
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_01: Because I believe that play and passion, they leave clues.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_01: You know, all of my Barbie dolls were female.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_01: There was not one kin.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_01: And my grandmother used to tease me all the time, she said, Well, how in the world did you get a baby and there's no kin?
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_01: I said, artificial insemination, grandmother, catch up.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_01: That's what happens when you only allow a child to watch Sesame Street and the news.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_01: That's what you get.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_01: Those were what you were allowed to watch.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_01: That that that's that's what you get.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: So as you kind of work through different opportunities to kind of see, observe, you know, grow yourself.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: Were there any things that you remember kind of during those pivotal periods and like maybe even in college that you were like bringing together the bold, the confident, and the fearless, which equals leading loudly?
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: Are there moments of where you led loudly in those spaces?
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_01: It reminded me of an incident I had with my third grade teacher, Mrs.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_01: Jones.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_01: One of my male colleagues and I were having a very heated race to learn our multiplications.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_01: All right.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_01: And uh she said to me, think about it, Natalie.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_01: You're not gonna let him win, are you?
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_01: And I said, absolutely not.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_01: And lead that still rings in my mind today when I go up against something, whether it's something in an all-male dominant um industry, most of my work has been, even though it's been in education and leadership and those types of things, it has been where they've been mostly men at the table.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm constantly negotiating with men and those types of things.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_01: And that really stuck out to me.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_01: So it's really important what you say to young children, but how we shape them in education as well, because they will carry those those pieces with them throughout their throughout their career.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I have second and third grade moments, and those are actually pretty good ones.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_00: I have a high school one, which I've talked about on some of the podcasts around math, and and that's not a good one.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_00: And so, like it is, it is so important that we our words are very powerful.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, you know, and for us to understand even one another as adults, they're very powerful.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_00: You never know what someone's going through on a certain day or what's happening.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_00: That's so true.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and I think the more we realize that, the better off we'll be.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_00: And then I think sometimes people give their opinions and they mean the best, but they come across, you know, you had a great experience.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_00: So that's you know, someone really motivating you and and cheering you on.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: And I think those are those are the moments we all need, even as adults.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_00: Like, you know, I'm your number one cheerleader and I hope I have a cheerleader back, you know.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely, because you know, that's why, you know, you see a lot of my posts talking about I am the champion for women's empowerment.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, because I really feel like that we write our own story, depending upon how we want to write it, not how someone says we should write it.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I have a I have a feeling you've probably gone against the grain every now and then.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_00: Like someone tells you this is the way you should do it, Nathalie, and you're like, Well, that's nice, but I'm still gonna do it my way, authentic to me, authentic to my purpose and what I want to do.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: And so I think sometimes that might be how we can lead loudly, live boldly, and be fearless in some of the things that we do.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_00: So as you think about kind of the lead loudly effort and what you're doing, what are some examples of people leading loudly that you you've come across, either your clients or your students or people just in everyday life?
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_00: Making a decision to do something differently.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_01: You know, a lot of times our culture, our community, our friends, our family will say you need to do X when you may be passionate or you want to explore Y and Z.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_01: So why not?
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_01: And I think it's I'm inspired by you and other people who have decided to say, I'm gonna do it regardless.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_01: Don't know what it's gonna look like, don't know where I'm gonna end up, but it's okay because I know it's gonna be successful one way or the other.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_01: I'm just not sure what that looks like.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_01: And I think a lot of times we as human beings, we want to know the end.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_01: That's just our nature.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_01: We want to know the end and feel secure and say, oh, I know this going is going to be X, Y, Z.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_01: When a lot of times it's not that way, especially not starting out.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, for sure.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_00: I think we also have this plan of what our life is supposed to be.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_00: And it sometimes feels like it's a point A to point B to point C to point D.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_00: Certainly when you go to school and college and it's you know, leading up to that in high school, like you this is what you do.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_00: This is what you're almost trained or programmed to do.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_00: I don't mean programmed in a bad way, but I just mean like how you do it.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_00: And then somewhere along the way, and the earlier the better you figure this out.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_00: Mine was at 47, 48.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: It's like you actually are in charge of this.
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_00: And so the and you don't have a lot of time, like it's not guaranteed tomorrow.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_00: And I learned that very early in my life as well.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_00: So it's just so important that people understand that they can lead themselves loudly as much as anyone else.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_00: And I think sometimes that's probably the person we forget to lead.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_00: And because we're we're dedicated, it's easier for us to give to others than to actually give to ourselves.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_00: And I think I see that some of your posts, you know, you know, talking about self-care, a lot of other posts out there around that, the importance of that.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: But actually, we can lead loudly by just taking care of ourselves.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_00: And that's not selfish, it's actually essential.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, absolutely, because you know, I can remember when I turned 30, you know, I had some health issues, and it was because of me not taking care of myself, continuing to push, push, push, you know, thinking that I was superwoman, that I could work 80 hours a week and do this and do that, and looking around and realizing that most of my friends either had hypertension or they had some kind of health scare as well.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_01: And we were just 30.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_01: It was because of the lifestyle we were living.
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and we have to think about lifestyle probably differently on a regular basis, too, right?
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_00: Things that we do or things that we we get into routines, and I talk a lot about habits and the power of routine.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_00: And oh, absolutely.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_00: One of the questions I love to ask myself and to the my clients is on a rough day, a tough day, what happens to your routine?
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_01: What happens to your discipline?
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_00: Because it's easy for me to go, oh man, I'm so tired.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_00: That was a rough day.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not gonna go outside even though it looks nice.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna just eat something and you know, binge watch Beverly Hills, housewives or something like that.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_00: A bit mindless.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_00: And so, and we could do it in different ways, but it's like the routine and habits of our own self-care that we need to pay attention to.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_00: And again, I I love bringing this back to the bold, the confident, and the fearless, which also I think leads to being independent and live in the world, and not that you don't need anybody, but it's important to be able to feel like you can be on your own.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_00: And I think I remember that early on, you know, like there was a period of time where I didn't have a boyfriend, I wasn't going out with anyone, and I felt lonely.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_00: But actually, I learned a lot during that time about myself just by being alone.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_00: And I learned I didn't like it.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_00: Number one, but I also learned about myself and how I operate and what I did good or what I didn't.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_00: I ended up getting two almost full-time jobs and just working, working, working, working.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_00: But you know, I obviously that wasn't something I could that would last, but I think we learn about ourselves in that time period as well.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_00: So when when you think about bold as a lifestyle, I love that statement.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah, and like what does that look like?
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_00: Like, if you saw someone like living life as bold, you know, what does that look like?
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_00: What does that person admit?
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_01: That person admits being in the moment and serving themselves first, not from being selfish, but understanding that, like the airline say, I must put on my own oxygen mask first before I serve anyone else, because you cannot serve out of an empty cup.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_01: And I think a lot of times we as women are not conscious of that or don't want to be conscious of that.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_01: And so that's what that looks like to me, that that person is living in the moment exactly where they need to be.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_01: You know, if it's in a boardroom, you know, leading a negotiation strategy, or if it's uh like one of my favorite places, sitting in the middle of a waterfall on a boulder, uh sipping Starbucks.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_01: So it doesn't matter what it is, it's that you're fully present and living in that moment, and that's exactly where you need to be.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_00: I go back to that, you know, we we have a plan for our lives, and sometimes like just it's so not sometimes, it is important all the time to be here now, right?
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_00: In a sense, but it is a really hard thing to do on certain days because we have a million things going on and lots of things coming at us as much as what we want to do.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_00: So it's a habit we have to form.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_00: And so I think that that habit of self-care, which is a big one for me because I didn't have it until 2020.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_00: Every now and then I do something for me, like, you know, but I you know, it never felt like I couldn't.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_00: I just never did it.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_00: And I never made time for it.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_00: And then I paid the toll.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_00: Ultimately, you know, towards the end of you know, kind of my corporate run, you know, I I really was burnt out, which is not a healthy place to be.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_00: Sure.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_00: And uh I love for people to learn it before they get burnt out, you know, just start making small habits, doing small things.
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_00: It could be just like you said, getting a Starbucks, reading a book, going to the library, looking for vinyl on a weekend, going antiquing, just sitting by water and listening.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I think sometimes it's just the small things that are free that we forget actually can be healthy for us.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_00: That is so true.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_00: What's your favorite thing when you think about just renewing or making sure you're focused on self-care?
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_00: What's what's your favorite thing to do?
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_01: It has to do mostly with water a lot of times, and it also has to do with having courageous conversations, courageous conversations with myself, but also with my friends because there's nothing like having a belly laugh, a laugh that really makes you release and not think about all the crazy things, but makes you appreciate all the amazing things that you have going on in your life.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, we talk about gratitude and thanks, and sometimes that's another thing we overlook, right?
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_00: Of what we have right now and versus what we don't have.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_00: And that's so true.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and I think no one's perfect at that.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_00: There's probably people that are better at it, but I think it's always something just to have as a reminder for ourselves of you know, even if that's how you wake up.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_00: I saw someone yesterday's like, that's the first three things she does.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_00: She writes down what she's thankful for, which I've heard, you know, that before.
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_00: She's like, No, no, no.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_00: I get really specific.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_00: Like I say, someone held the door open for me, I didn't run out of gas, or like, you know, I got that hug I needed, you know, like it's the little things that add up, honestly.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_00: That is so true.
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_00: So I I love that about the the courageous conversations with yourself as well as with others.
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_00: So one of the things I saw on your LinkedIn was sorry about Starbucks, and you're a Starbucks fan, and I appreciate that.
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_00: And I remember seeing it and just going, wow, I could relate to that.
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_00: And I think the crux of it, and I'll let you kind of give the brief of it, was that someone solved a problem that was there, and they took it upon themselves, in my opinion, to lead and to to fix something that obviously had gone wrong that maybe someone didn't think was wrong.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_00: But to me, that person exemplified leading loudly.
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_00: And I wondered if you thought the same and could share a little bit about the story.
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, absolutely.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_01: And thank you so much for bringing that up.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_01: I consider Starbucks my corporate headquarters because even on my LinkedIn, um, my LinkedIn says that I'm a Starbucks aficionado.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, so I take it I take it very seriously.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_01: So one morning I was leaving my hairstylist, and there's a Starbucks in the parking lot.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_01: And I said, well, instead of driving to my home Starbucks, which is past my office, I'll just run in, grab my drink, run out, and I can get to the office about 30 minutes earlier.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_01: So I went in and I gave the barista my order.
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_01: And when I received the order, it wasn't correct.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_01: And I kindly went to her and I said, Um, you added caramel syrup instead of the caramel drizzle.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_01: And she said, I promise you that the syrup is not in there.
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_01: And I said, I can smell it and taste it.
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_01: I know what it smells and tastes like.
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_01: And she's like, I promise you it's not there.
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_01: I said, Okay, fine.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_01: I said, I'll go to Mike, my home Starbucks, and ask him to straighten it out.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_01: And she just kind of looked at me and I walked out the door.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_01: So I drove past my office, went into my home Starbucks as I consider it.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_01: And Mike was sitting over on the side, the manager, and he said, Natalie, what's wrong?
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_01: And I said, I know this didn't happen at your store.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_01: And I said, I'm cognizant of your supplies and everything.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_01: And I said, But would you please fix my drink?
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_01: And so one of the other Borises asked me, Well, why would you go to another Starbucks to begin with?
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_01: And I thought it was so endearing.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_01: And I said, Well, it was closer to my job.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_01: And I said, But I've learned a lesson.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_01: And so he kindly got up, he prepared it himself, and he said, Here you go.
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_01: And I said, Mike, I said, I greatly appreciate it.
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_01: You know, you actually saved the customer today.
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_01: And I said, So I am going to call your district manager, and I'm also going to call the community care line, is what they call it.
• 20:23
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm going to let them know what happened.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_01: So when I call the community care line, the gentleman said, Oh, I'll just go ahead and put$15 back on your card.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_01: And I said, Well, that's not what I'm calling for.
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_01: I want Mike to get the recognition he deserves as far as being a leader, solve a problem, and customer retention.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_01: And Lee, he didn't know what to do with it.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, they don't.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_00: It's hard for people to actually take good calls.
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_00: And they probably have it very rarely, but yeah.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_00: So he didn't know what to do with your compliments and your recognition.
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_01: Nothing at all.
• 20:55
  SPEAKER_01: So I said, okay, fine.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_01: I said, I'm going to turn on that camera, I'm going to record the video, and we're going to post it on LinkedIn.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_01: And that's exactly what I did.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't know how many views you got of that, but I know I viewed it and I giggled and I was like, yeah, what I loved about it, and I recently had it not of a Starbucks experience, but it was an appliance experience, which we probably all can relate to in some form of fashion.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't have to go through the process of asking them to solve the problem.
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_00: They actually solved it without me asking.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, wonderful.
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that was like, it doesn't happen that often.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, I'm waiting for the survey.
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_00: And like if I don't get it by today, like I will reach out and figure out how to give someone a compliment.
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_00: And I that's the one thing I just want to ask organizations is make sure you have a compliment line as well as a complaint mechanism, because I think both are are definitely needed and you need that feedback.
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_00: But it's very hard to really recognize people.
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_00: And I've I've experienced that, and I bet some of the listeners have like you have a really good experience and you want to say something great, and you don't Have any route to do it, and then you wonder did they ever get did they ever get back to that person?
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_00: How often you see Mike, which is great every day, so that's that's wonderful.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_00: And I think it also shows a lot that what happened at Starbucks happens at a lot of our organizations.
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_00: Like someone may not know at one side of organization how to problem solve, or they haven't had the experience, or maybe they unknowingly really thought that caramel syrup wasn't in there, or they really thought they got that project done, or they really thought the numbers lined up, or whatever it may be.
• 22:31
  SPEAKER_00: Then you go to a different side of the organization where someone's like, Oh yeah, I I see the challenge here, or I see the issue, or yeah, I confirm that stuff was definitely in there.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_00: You're right, let me make you a new drink.
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_00: It's the simplest thing, but what it is is solutioning, right?
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_00: It's solutioning without being asked to solution.
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that that's good for Starbucks for being able to do that.
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_00: And obviously, there's things to learn, as most organizations have, maybe at the other store, and it's not doesn't mean it's a bad store, it just means there's maybe some ways to think about the customer and what they say, and especially like you know, what they need, and you know, some people may be needing certain things based on their allergies or their health, and so that's really important to to do that as well.
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_00: So when you think about I'd love to focus on the positive, right?
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_00: So when he when there was no sense when you know, from the correcting the issue, he didn't give you a sense of you've got to prove it.
• 23:27
  SPEAKER_00: Nope, not at all.
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_00: And they said basically, why'd you go somewhere else?
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_00: Which I think is very sweet.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_00: And then again, you will you will remain a Starbucks aficionado and someone who speaks highly of them.
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_00: And really that's what I thought that video was was really showing how Starbucks knows how to solve problems, how to help people, and has people who understand how to lead and lead loudly.
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_00: So that's that's for me, you know, shout out to Mike and that store and what he did, and very, very, very excited to know that you know to me, I always get excited when there's people out there leading loudly, and I just like to recognize them, right?
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, well, thank you so much.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_01: I greatly appreciate it.
• 24:11
  SPEAKER_01: And I can't wait to let him listen to the podcast uh when it becomes live.
• 24:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and Starbucks, if you ever will let us talk, that'd be great.
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_00: Because I I do think he'd be a great example of someone who who again knows how to lead and solution and creates lifelong customers.
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's what I think, you know, when we think about being bold and you know, being in business or being in education or whatever field we're in, you can be bold and you can lead loudly in different ways, right?
• 24:40
  SPEAKER_00: And I think his was very uh obvious in the sense of solutioning and s and solving a problem.
• 24:46
  SPEAKER_00: And I the example I think can be extrapolated to other areas, and so that's what excites me about it because I think again he took the lead and and really made it happen.
• 24:55
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_00: One of the things I want to talk about before we end is the economic engine.
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_00: So when you talked about that and helping women entrepreneurs, and you said you're educated and entrepreneur, so tell me a little bit about the connectedness of that intro and then the economic engine for women that you want to help support.
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_01: Interestingly enough, my mother is an educator, my father was an entrepreneur, and I'm the blend of both.
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 25:19
  SPEAKER_01: And so I consider myself an educator by trade and entrepreneur by design.
• 25:24
  SPEAKER_01: There you go.
• 25:25
  SPEAKER_01: Because I'm always asking what's next.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_01: And interestingly enough, a couple of years ago, the president of Midlands Technical College decided that entrepreneurship was going to be embedded in everything that we taught, that it was going to be a lifestyle.
• 25:42
  SPEAKER_01: So even if you were teaching English, math, or whatever, entrepreneurship actually flowed through that particular discipline.
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_01: And so that really made my heart sing.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_01: But you know, as far as the entrepreneurship side of it is helping people understand is that you're your own brand, you're your own personal brand, and you get decided to decide how you want to portray it, but also how you want to leverage it, because based upon how you leverage it, it will actually give you opportunities that align with what you want to do next.
• 26:17
  SPEAKER_01: This was an opportunity based upon a video that you saw on LinkedIn.
• 26:22
  SPEAKER_01: You know, LinkedIn is one of my favorite platforms, and I kind of use it in conjunction and in tandem with Twitter because I do run the Lead Loudly Yacht Twitter chat, which is now evolved into the Lead Loudly Yacht Twitter spaces.
• 26:40
  SPEAKER_01: And I can remember when I first started exploring LinkedIn before I actually built my website.com to my LinkedIn account.
• 26:54
  SPEAKER_01: And I landed my first paid speaking engagement to actually lead a five-day women's retreat for my Fortune 500 company.
• 27:05
  SPEAKER_00: It's a great way for people to learn about you and to connect and to also, I think, again, going back to what we were talking about being able to be entrepreneurial and think about solving problems differently and creating solutions that I think you know people you know may not be able to come up with on their own, but collaboratively you're able to help them.
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_00: So I think it's a a great way to do that.
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_00: So as we close out, thinking about leading loudly, what advice do you have people who aren't sure if they can or if they're ready to lead loudly?
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_00: What advice would you give to them?
• 27:41
  SPEAKER_00: Start taking steps.
• 27:43
  SPEAKER_01: Don't let doubt and fear keep you playing small.
• 27:47
  SPEAKER_01: That was one of the things that I started thinking about when I started thinking about, you know, how I want it to impact women's empowerment.
• 27:55
  SPEAKER_01: We have so many women across the globe that are so extremely talented, but a lot of times we play small.
• 28:03
  SPEAKER_01: We second doubt ourselves, we think about, you know, can I really do it?
• 28:07
  SPEAKER_01: Imposter syndrome creeps in and it goes on and on and on.
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_01: And I suggest start taking small actions.
• 28:16
  SPEAKER_01: And if you could to start taking small actions on a daily basis and said, okay, you know, I did this, I did that, and you know, continue to move forward.
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_01: But those small actions is really what's going to minimize those doubts and fears as you start gaining success.
• 28:37
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_00: Create a habit of trial and error.
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 28:42
  SPEAKER_00: Spin away, right?
• 28:43
  SPEAKER_01: And sometimes we learn more from our failures than we do from our successes.
• 28:47
  SPEAKER_01: And it's okay.
• 28:49
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_00: It's okay.
• 28:51
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, for sure.
• 28:52
  SPEAKER_00: I can definitely say that's been the case, and a lot of people can too.
• 28:55
  SPEAKER_00: But I think sometimes our own imposter syndrome or perfectionism or whatever, you know, insert, whatever it may be that we have gets in our way, and we get in our own way every now and then.
• 29:07
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 29:07
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, I love that advice.
• 29:08
  SPEAKER_00: That's true.
• 29:09
  SPEAKER_00: Start taking steps.
• 29:10
  SPEAKER_00: They can be tiny, they can, you know, they don't have to be huge steps, but just start taking those steps.
• 29:15
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, don't play small.
• 29:17
  SPEAKER_00: You don't have to.
• 29:18
  SPEAKER_00: You know, you weren't meant to be small.
• 29:20
  SPEAKER_01: Nope.
• 29:21
  SPEAKER_01: You don't have to.
• 29:22
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 29:23
  SPEAKER_01: And there are a million people out there around the globe who are willing to help you.
• 29:27
  SPEAKER_01: You just have to be fearless in asking for what you want.
• 29:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 29:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 29:32
  SPEAKER_00: Fearless doesn't mean you don't get scared every now and then.
• 29:35
  SPEAKER_00: It just means you are gonna step into it even then when it's scary or unknown.
• 29:42
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, it just it's hard to walk people through that.
• 29:46
  SPEAKER_00: But that one step that they take towards that goal leads to the next, leads to the next, leads to the next.
• 29:51
  SPEAKER_00: And so that is great advice.
• 29:53
  SPEAKER_00: And I have enjoyed having you on the Bold Lounge.
• 29:56
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much.
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, it was such a pleasure.
• 29:59
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for the invitation.
• 30:03
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for listening to the Bold Lounge Podcast.
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_00: Through the continuum of bold stories, vulnerability to taking the leap, you will meet more extraordinary people making a positive impact for others through their unique and important stories.
• 30:16
  SPEAKER_00: By highlighting these stories, we hope to inspire others to share the journey of those with a bold.
• 30:22
  SPEAKER_00: We hope you've enjoyed this podcast and look forward to sharing the next bold journey with.