Latest / Glovisor Podcast / Can You Stay Calm When Everything Goes Wrong? | Aileda Bailey (Ep 59)
Transcript
- Joe: The leaders who thrive aren't the most experienced. They're the ones who can regulate themselves, stay clear under pressure, and lead consciously. Welcome to the Glovisor Podcast, where we explore business growth, communication, and personal development through real conversations with people that make an impact. Our guest is a strategic operations consultant, leadership strategist, and creator of the conscious leadership development system, helping leaders and organizations navigate complexity by blending evidence-based business strategy with a deep understanding of human performance and conscious leadership. Glovisor welcomes Aileda Bailey. Aileda Bailey: Joe, thanks for having me. Joe: Aileda, let's begin. Please share with us a little bit more about what you do. Aileda Bailey: I'm a business consultant of 15 years, primarily strategic operations. I will share a little bit about kind of the Conscious Leadership Development Program, only because I'm super excited about it. I have a book coming out next month called Wake Up and Lead. And I will say that that whole program and system was initially grounded in my strategic operational work. primarily in crisis management and that happened during the pandemic. I was working in the city of New York and it was with medical practitioners, medical owners and various different aspects of the industry. know, internal medicine, urgent cares, it was a war zone essentially when things hit in New York. And so I myself oddly enough had a group of medical owners and practitioners in different various aspects of the industry. and they had contracted me about six weeks before the pandemic hit and they were all in the city. And so when that occurred, it obviously sent the dynamic of the work and what I was initially contracted out to do to a whole different direction. And so, you know, this program, Conscious Leadership Development and the system was actually developed during that timeframe because I realized that I mean, first of all, like I was running support, you know, for all of the field teams and the doctors and the nurse practitioners and just all of the medical, you know, teams that were on the ground. And essentially we were in a war zone for lack of a better term. We ran out of protective gear in three weeks. We were running out of, you know, medicines that they were using to try and treat and triage with. And it was crazy. long story short is I took a director of operations role and started building and designing like in real time, right? At a very high rate of speed, not just myself, but teams of people, right? That I was responsible for conducting. And so we built out all kinds of additional systems, programs, know, field teams, all kinds of things to meet the demands of what was happening from one moment to the next. you know, I try to explain it to people like, you're up against all of that. And then you also have, it's the medical field, right? So you've got HIPAA compliance, you've got state laws, you've got federal laws, all of those things were changing literally some days by the minute. And so you had to have the capability to stay calm and in a calmer, more clear state of being. And that really starts with our own operating system. And so, This program developed out of that because I realized that I almost felt like I had been training myself for that moment in time when all of that occurred because it was my capability to hold myself in this very conscious and very calm state of being that allowed me to execute with a lot more clarity during that period of time. And the thing that I realized coming out of that is that if more people, more leaders in particular, who are trained to do this and to think this way and to be able to understand their own physical operating system, especially in crisis situations, and now that we have all these technology and all of the speed of light change that we have in today's world, I think it becomes even more important that young leaders especially understand how to start to transition and train their own leadership skills right in this arena. It's more of an advanced level of leadership than we've ever really kind of thought about before and so that's the reason why the program actually developed. Joe: you developed a program during one of the most difficult times, or this country. And here you are working live, just trying to figure this out and put it all together. So can you just take us back a little bit? What was that moment when you realized I'm onto something here? Aileda Bailey: It wasn't even so much of like a I'm onto something here, right? It was more like it was meeting the demand of what was required at that given point in time. And what it allowed me to do is to be able to provide support on a far greater level at a faster rate of speed with a lot of clarity and precision. So I'm gonna give you an example here. So, you know, a lot of people went into panic mode, understandably so. Right? I even had a lot of practitioners, medical practitioners who, you know, it was horrifying to them and they wanted to run away and like tuck themselves in a corner and hide and not come to the forefront and lead during that timeframe. And then you have, you know, business owners who did a lot of the same thing. Their systems went into panic. They went into panic. When people go into panic, you cannot do, you know, you can't think about things in a strategic fashion because your system, your physical system starts to shut down on you. know, cortisol starts racing into your body and that's because of the mind-body connection, right? Your brain controls your body. So if you're in a state of fear and panic in your brain, then your body starts dumping all these chemicals into the body as a reactionary measure. Oxygen starts to shut down to the brain. Moral to the story is like, we are not optimal. to take any kind of decisions, let alone extremely strategic decisions when we are in that state of being. And so my reality coming back out the other side of the pandemic was this capability would have saved a lot of, potentially a lot of lives and a lot of businesses too. It was like it's twofold kind of across the playing field because, a lot of people kind of almost gave up during that period of time. Joe: this Aileda Bailey: destroyed. Joe: something that you would say you had to do a little self-talk to say, Aileda focus and do this and do that? Or is this something that was just inherent in you? Aileda Bailey: no, this is why I say like this is a lifetime of understanding and of knowing and of learning and of growing, right? And so I say that only because like I've always been, I've had a passion about the brain, right? And so neuroscience, quantum physics, epigenetics, these are my key core passions in my life. And so when I say passions, these are things that I study deeply. simply because I want to, not because anybody's ever told me I had to, right? And so, you know, I think that that is what really makes the difference for me when I say something is a passion, right? And then I have, you know, obviously like, you know, curriculum and all of that and things that I've had to learn in life or that I have learned through, you know, coming up through corporate America and my career path and all of those things. But when it comes to the brain in particular, you know, My fascination with it, I think, started at a very young age. I had a family member who had suffered brain trauma. And so that kind of like brought me into awareness initially of the importance of the brain and the different lobes and the different functions. And then I had the opportunity to actually rehabilitate a mass stroke victim at a certain juncture in my life as well. And so that just literally like sent me down this path of like, fascination with the brain. And I will say this, so just some fun facts, right, for your viewers here today. So one thing I will say is like, I equate conscious awareness with essentially free will. And I equate that because it's been proven that we cannot take new choices or new decisions about anything unless we're consciously aware. Now, the one thing that separates us from technology and separates us from most everything on the planet as a human is our ability to become conscious. So I find that super fascinating, right? Like that's the one thing that kind of like defines us and separates us from most everything in the world. And so that's a gift. And then when you look at like, pop neuroscience and pop psychology, they estimate that we are conscious as human beings only an average of anywhere from five to 15 % of the time. that's, I mean, so that means our brain, which is incredible, is running our system essentially very efficiently on a daily basis, but it's running it on autopilot. meaning taking decisions automatically for us. And so I try to teach people, you know, like if you think about this, can equate it to like conscious awareness is the pilot of the plane. And then subconscious mind is like the capability to put the plane on autopilot. Well, if we're traveling internationally, I don't necessarily want that plane on autopilot the entire time. especially if we start to hit turbulence, like please, yes, put the pilot back in charge of the plane, right? And so it's the same exact thing, except this is our daily lives that we're living. And so I maintain that we should be training ourselves to be conscious and consciously aware so much more of the time. Joe: Interesting. Now, some of the listeners may be thinking, well, Aileda you've studied all of this. You're strong. You're a tough person. Maybe that's why you're predisposed to this. Maybe if I went through this process of this learning process, I may not have the same outcome. Do you agree or disagree with that? Aileda Bailey: I totally disagree. This is something that like we're all, we all have essentially the same human design and we've all got the capability to train ourselves to, you know, hold conscious state of being for more, more prolonged periods of time for sure, without doubt. And, and this really resonates well because I ground the system, you know, very intensely also in science and science based facts. so You know, I've trained and developed aerospace engineers in this train of thought. I have done it with entrepreneurs and business owners who were just like, I don't even know if I want to keep my business, right? Like I don't even, like I'm just hitting this wall and I just feel like I want to give everything up and I want to just cash in all the chips. And I'm like, wait a minute. How about if you just step in here with me for a second, right? let's put you in this program and then if three months from now you feel the same, fine, right? But if you just take a time out and you're willing to actually work on some key components, not just with yourself, but I will address during that period of time anything that happens to be major challenge in life. For some people it's business, for some people it's family, for some people, there's a whole... slew of things that people can be viewing as like major stressors and so that's the other thing that I tell people is like really pay attention to the words that we're using too because you know the word stress or I'm so stressed all of that is like very ingrained here in our American culture and our corporate right and social way of like viewing things and and essentially like almost even embodying things, right? Like if I say the word stress, just saying the word automatically makes me wanna like panic a little bit, right? Gives me little bit of angst, right? But if I swap that word and it's just a word, right? But if I just change it to the word challenge or maybe even if you dare, opportunity, right? It's an entirely different. way that I look at that something now, I look at it and I view it completely differently and my perspective is flipped and now I can manage it differently. Does that make sense? Joe: when you change the word, it goes from it's happening to me to all of a sudden I become an active player in my own choices and decisions. So I get that. Aileda Bailey: Yeah, yeah, yeah, now I name it and so now it's outside of me, right? Now that I can label it, it's outside of me and now I can see it differently. Joe: Yes. Now how do you deliver your system? Aileda Bailey: So my system starts with a three month program and that's because, you know, it's designed for the first three months to ensure that people don't feel like over obligated because that's a big factor initially in the beginning is like people are like, I don't know if I can commit. I don't know how long I could do this for. I don't know if I can do this, right? There's so many things in the beginning, but it's always fascinating because once we get about six weeks in, about midpoint through that first three months, literally I'm sitting with people and they're just like, I cannot believe how much my life has already changed for the positive. And it's, like I said, anything that's touching their life, right? And so I'm one of those people who, you know, people think that business and personal lives are separate and they always intertwine. They will always intersect. I don't know how many CEOs that I've known throughout my career that if they have something going sideways in their personal life, it definitely gets packed into the business, whether they intend it to or not. And so it just helps them understand how to navigate life in a whole different way. Joe: Do they have to learn anything or read anything in preparation to start near system? Aileda Bailey: No. So one of the really interesting things is that when I work with people, I'll give them what I reference as a protocol on a weekly basis, right? And so, and, and, and, or if they work with another one of the trainers and the developers who have been certified, right, with my program. And so they will go through a weekly protocol initially, sometimes that depending on a person's need, once they start to become like, they start to feel like they I reference it like almost like getting your training wheels, right? You're ready to kick off the training wheels. Then you can go for more prolonged periods of time in between, but the protocols are designed initially to keep people very focused. It's very, the directive is really geared towards a customization of what that individual's needs are. And I say that because no two people have the same perception about anything. And so, you know, what is fine for some person might not be fine for somebody else. And so we look at everything just kind of like across the scope of somebody's life and how they're viewing things and what their lens is. And the three months is important because really what we're doing is we're ingraining new behaviors and new ways of looking at things as we're working throughout that period of time. Also, Helping people to understand their operating system, like I said, their human operating system, right? And so how that functions and how to have more control over that. Like most people don't realize that you can tell your brain what to do and it does it. I mean, again, when we're conscious, we have that capability. You can tell your brain what to do and it will execute whatever you tell it to do. So. Just knowing that, right, is kind of a key factor, but what we're doing through that period of time is really what we call neuroplasticity, and we're reprogramming whatever needs to be reprogrammed. And so if you think about it this way, you know, we kind of don't think about it, but like programming and just even that term, right, like it's in place for a reason, because we have TV programming, we have, you know, And you think about broadcasting systems. know, one thing I tell people sometimes who are feeling in almost like a state of despair is, you know, when you're watching the news, right, literally in broadcasting systems and the programming world, it's designed if it doesn't bleed, it doesn't lead. And we often forget about that, right? And so it becomes fascinating because I'll say, how about you just, as part of the protocol, hey, how about if you only watch news half the time that you normally would or whatever, right? And people will be like, Aileda, come on right now. I'm a realist, right? I gotta, and I'm like, okay, I'm gonna hear now I'm here to challenge you, right? I get it, I'm a realist too. And reality is that they don't have a camera strapped on the back of every superhero. that's racing around the world and saving lives either, now do they? And then people are like, Joe: That's right. Aileda Bailey: huh, you might have a point there, right? Or I'm like, how about you walk outside your door, right? How about you go talk to some of your neighbors? How about you move around your neighborhood, right? Tell me, are you seeing all that same stuff that you're seeing on the news? Odds are no. Nine times out of ten, odds are no, they're not experiencing that. But they can be all consumed by the news and now all of a sudden the world is ending. Joe: Absolutely. Now do you have like a quick example or maybe something that you can share that can make someone who feels a little down and you can change their state almost instantaneously? Aileda Bailey: Yeah, there's a couple of different things, right? So I'll say, you know, like call up and speed dial your funniest friend and share a good laugh Joe: Yeah. Aileda Bailey: because that's like inevitably going to do the trick every single time. But I will say this, right? So as silly as this is going to sound, this actually works. And so they've started putting green space back into cities worldwide, because one of the things that they discovered is that when they start to take parks out and we start to do so much development that everything is concrete and now we've left no mother nature into the equation, it does dramatically impact a person's mental health and a person's mental well-being. And so they've started putting parks and planning that space back into cities again globally for that reason. And so it's fascinating when you look at it because there's actually a chemical that's put off by plants and by trees that actually induces well-being and calmness in our physical systems. And then there's science now that's backing if you in fact just get out and step away from your technology, right, for a period of time and just put your body on the earth. Like could be something as simple as like, hey, let's go out for a picnic and let's throw a blanket on the ground like the good old days, right? And let's just sit down and let's just share a meal sitting on the ground and have, you know, have good conversation. It's amazing how in 30 minutes that can completely calm the human body and the physical system. Joe: You know, it's funny you mentioned that because I've noticed that more and more of the CEOs that I talk to, they're walking around barefoot. It's this Aileda Bailey: they're actually practicing the art of what's referenced as grounding? Interesting. Joe: I'm seeing a lot more of that. Aileda Bailey: It's interesting Joe: Yes. Aileda Bailey: though, because one of my clients, right? So an aerospace engineer, younger gentleman, high level of responsibility though. You know, it was interesting because when I first suggested this to him, that was where his head went, right? Was like, he was like, I can't go to my local park and just start walking around without my shoes on. People are gonna think I'm crazy. Right? That was his initial thought. And I'm like, wow, you know, what happened to the days when we would roll up our pant legs and maybe take a stroll on the beach? I get it. It depends on what location we're in. Right? That might not be super safe and some if we've got broken glass and whatever. But in most cases, right. But that was where his head automatically went. And I was like, wow, that's so interesting. Right. And then I was like, you know, I'm not even suggesting that that necessarily has to be what it is, right? Just go out and take a stroll through nature, through a park, or pay attention to the trees and get out amongst trees if you can, go for a nice hike, whatever the case may be. I'm just suggesting that you maybe like stop and sit along the way and just breathe it in for a second and then see how you feel. And so... Super fascinating because that same person, yes, actually went to the degree where you were talking about he might have been one of the people you saw in Florida walking around barefoot all Joe: Mm-hmm. Aileda Bailey: of a sudden out the middle of nowhere. And then it was fascinating because he started sending me pictures of like, you know, I would give recommended reads or whatever, you know, as he was going through the process of the program. And then he started sending me pictures of being outside. The rocket would be like right there. right, that they're working on, ready to launch, but him actually sitting on the grass with a good read, like up and just paying attention to all of it. And so super cool for me, right, when I get to see the effect of that and the transition for people. Joe: Absolutely. It it confirms the transformation that your work is having on other people. And I'm sure that's gotta feel really, really good for you. Aileda Bailey: hugely gratifying, Joe: if one of our listeners wanted to work with you, what is the full process from getting in contact with you all the way through the system? Aileda Bailey: Yeah, so I have a scheduling system set up online so people can just go to my website. It's askaileda.com and on my website there's a book now or you know connect with me button or option. There's also content on there that they can view to kind of get a better idea of what the offering is but there's an option to then just go in if you're curious about any of the services that I offer. you can click on it and that allows you to come into a free consultation with me. Joe: Now, is there an ideal individual that should be contacting you right now? And is there also another group that you've identified that probably shouldn't be contacting you at this time and maybe they're just not ready? Aileda Bailey: I mean, I would say I think people know when they're ready, right? So I think if you're at any point in juncture where maybe you're like it's a situation like what I described, right? Like maybe you're ready to throw in the towel on something that's like really vitally important to you or that's always been important to you and now you're just kind of like at your wit's end. I would say probably a good time to connect just to get. like also grounded advice, right? And advising through those critical kind of critical mass points in life, I would say. But also on top of that, this program in particular is for like that mission critical younger leader who's coming into, you know, having to make high level executive decisions and anybody who's in that high level executive decisions, meaning I'm a leader and my decisions are going to impact a lot of people. I'll give you an example, an aerospace mission director, like, Aileda, if I make one decision wrong, it can all of a sudden cost millions upon millions of dollars. It's that type of leadership that could be in finance, it could be in cybersecurity, aerospace engineering, it's across all industries essentially, right? But when people are in that type of a role and they are just perpetually like, you often hear the terms pushing through, right? And if that's what somebody's feeling or sensing, then they're not at optimal level for sure, right? If you feel like you're pushing through, you're not functioning at an optimal level yourself. You're just pushing your system as hard as you can to get to the next, you know, decision or the next whatever that you have to take, right? And so I would say that, right? Because that's a pretty crummy feeling and it's a very high level of responsibility. That would be ideal, right? To move those leaders into this type of program. You know, it's not going to work for everyone. And when I say that, this would not work for like if a corporation's like, I'm going to assign everybody in our company up for this training and for this development, which they could, right? But if you sign everybody up and there's people who don't want to embark upon this training and they don't want this type of development, then it's not going to work for them, right? Like somebody has to actually want it. Joe: we run away from pain or towards pleasure, right? So if you're not feeling some pain somewhere in your life that you need that change right now. And then to your point that you're making earlier, if you're at your wit's end, this is it, then I think you have nothing to lose but to make the call and just look around to see if there's something else that can make that change for your life. Aileda Bailey: Yeah, mean, Joe, also, you know, I will say this and this isn't like an ideal situation, but just in general, a lot of high achievers have oftentimes turned towards drugs of some sort in order to like, you know, induce that level of like, I have to keep going, I have to keep going. And it's not something I like to talk about, but that's reality. Like that is, that is what's happening and or what has been happening in large part for a lot of these high achievers. And there's other ways, right? It like, I would say to that person, like you want, like once you understand how your physical system is designed to work in a very optimal and a very efficient way for you, it doesn't have to be like that. Like that doesn't, doesn't have to be. your go-to in order to curate or continue to curate success at the level at which you're used to achieving it. Joe: Sure. Now, if listeners remember only one thing from today's conversation, what do you hope that message is? Aileda Bailey: I would say, you know, I hope that they cling on to the few tips and tricks that we've tossed out there. Like, you know, get outside, you know, take in a little bit of nature. It takes down angst or anxiety really quickly. I would say that like that's a fast way to make yourself feel better. I would say also be mindful of how you're programming yourself with the word choices that you're using. If you are that person who uses stress all the time, please start to use a few things more as a challenge or an opportunity even if you dare go that far with it, right? And hopefully you do. I would say those are two very fast things that can change how something is feeling for you very quickly. Joe: Excellent. Great advice. Now finally, can you tell us again where can our audience connect with you? Find out more about your work and continue this conversation. Aileda Bailey: Yeah, so you can find me on LinkedIn. So Aileda Bailey, the spelling's not the easiest, right? It's on the screen here. So jot that down. And so you can find me on LinkedIn under Aileda Bailey. You can also find me via my website at askaileda.com. Joe: Aileda thank you so much for joining us. we appreciate your time and all of the value you've shared. Aileda Bailey: Joe, I appreciate hanging out with you, thanks. Joe: Likewise. All Thanks everyone for listening. 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