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Welcome to the powerhouse Revolution Podcast. I’m Lucy Gernon, ex corporate leader turned CEO of my dream business, helping corporate female leaders just like you to create your dream career and life. At 40 I quit the corporate world as I was tired of doing a job that no longer led me up and wanted to live my life my way. I created the power house Revolution podcast, to give you simple, actionable tips and strategies to help you create the perfect career and lifestyle that you and your family deserve. So if you’re a corporate female leader or manager who is ready to step into her superpowers and live the life you were born to live, you are definitely in the right place. Because life is way too short to dread Mondays. Okay, let’s jump into today’s episode.
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Hello, they’re gorgeous. And welcome back to another episode of the powerhouse Revolution podcast. How are you feeling today? Can you believe that it is June already, I actually cannot believe it is actually my wedding anniversary. Next week, we are married. Oh my god, 12 years, 12 years this year. And so yeah, we’re still together. Isn’t that amazing? After all this time, I love to and actually I love this point in the year where you’re really finishing out on those q2 targets. And you’re getting ready to kind of give it one last shot before the kids finish off for summer. And I hope that you are on track for all of your targets. And if you’re not, you know what, it’s not the end of the world, it’s really not. So just give yourself permission to really reflect on all you have achieved. Instead of always looking at everything that you haven’t achieved. Okay. I know your world is so fast paced, and it’s always just on to the next thing. But if you seriously just sit down and look at everything you and your team have done since the start of the year, you will see that you have done an incredible job. And yes, there’s more to do. But there’s always more to do. So just celebrate yourself today. Celebrate all you have done, celebrate all your team and make sure that you remember to thank your team. Okay. So onto your team.
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Today, I wanted to talk to you about five big challenges that many women in your team and men actually as well may be facing what they’re afraid to tell you. And what prompted me to record this podcast is, in my mastermind groups, we are talking a lot about performance issues. So you’ve heard me talk about my power house elite mastermind group. And I have just started a another mastermind group, which is my powerhouse accelerator group, we are actually just having a very first call this week, which I’m so so excited about. And the reason I started these groups was really to provide a supportive, safe space for women and leadership to come together to resolve challenges that you guys face. But also to celebrate successes, that’s probably my favorite part of the whole experience. And I love teaching the ladies who are in the groups, my secrets and bringing in amazing guest experts in as well to really help you to be more successful, to be more confident to have that work life balance, and really just to be more happy in who you are, because it’s what I’m all about. But in my elite mastermind group, it’s come up multiple times and with my one to one clients as well around managing performance issues. Now, when we look when we think about performance issues, and that’s not what we’re going to talk about today, there’s always a lot of stuff that’s going on in the background with the person, okay, so you’re seeing the symptom of maybe poor performance, maybe they’re not delivering on certain things, maybe they don’t seem to have the right attitude. And maybe they are not taking their own development into their hands. And that can be really frustrating as a leader when you have so much other stuff to do, right. But I want to tell you, in my experience, because I have worked with a lot of women, so I tend to work mainly with female executives. But I also work with women in leadership at all levels. I’ve worked with individual contributors to you know, I’ve even worked with women as young as in their 30s, even though the majority would be in 40s 50s, even 60s. But I have worked obviously myself in as a leader too. And there are five common challenges that many people in your team are facing. And that’s what I’m going to go through with you today. So the first challenge is they don’t know how to set personal goals and actually achieve them. So have you ever been sitting there in a development conversation with your team and you’re asking them about their career aspirations or you know, where they’d like to develop? And they are looking at you blankly, looking at you as if you should have the answer? Yeah, we have all been there. So you’re sitting there going well, you need to own your development itself. phrase we love to use in the corporate world, you know, HR love to use it, you have to own your development. And I like to use it too. And it’s true. But you need to teach people what that means. And you need to actually, like, tell them how to set goals and how to achieve them, because they literally don’t know. So what gets in the way, they don’t have a proven framework or process to actually set them up for success. And you may not even have this framework. So this is something I love teaching, and I call it my achieve more framework. So in my trainings that I do, I walk you through my four step process on how to set and achieve goals. And I have used this really simple process myself to build a multi six figure business and under two years, I’ve used it with my clients to help them achieve new opportunities at work, salary increases better balance and all the things that they desire. And it’s so simple, but it is super, super effective. Now, I shared this. Recently, when I did a corporate goal setting workshop on the attendees absolutely loved it, I did it with a big corporation. And the lady who hired me is actually one of my one to one clients, who’s now in my mastermind, and also kindly gets me into her team to do talks as well, because she’s gets the, I suppose the importance of investing in your team’s development. And she said, Lucy hosted a corporate talk for our marketing professionals across our international region this morning, we actually had people on from Australia, we people on from Europe, we had people on from America, it was all over SoCal. She said the engagement on the call was instant with the group, Lucy’s ability to connect with the team virtually, and offer tangible takeaways was astounding. She brought an additional perspective in relation to boundary setting and personal personal professional goal setting for 2023, we will definitely be inviting Lucy back to continue the momentum, keep up the great work. It’s been a pleasure, it’s only the beginning. So I’m actually due to go back to this company later this year. Because this particular leader, she really gets the value of investing in workshops and master classes like this, and it is definitely what is going to take her team to the next level for sure. Okay. So that’s the first thing your team don’t know how to set personal goals and achieve them. The second thing that Molly have people in your team are struggling with right now is they are struggling with their confidence. Now this is an old chestnut that people say oh, you know, I don’t have confidence and that kind of thing, right? But it’s, it’s a really big problem. And here’s why. When your team are struggling with their confidence, this affects their decision making ability, it affects how they take action. So many people in your team are literally wasting time procrastinating, they are wasting time and ruminating on what should I do this should they do that? They are afraid to speak up in meetings and make a point, like there’s so much that goes with this. And as a result, there’s a lot of stuff being escalated to you that really they should be able to resolve, but they don’t have the confidence to do it. Also, you may have open roles in your team, where there are some people right now in your team that can absolutely do those roles, okay, I can tell you that with certainty. And you may not even see them as a I suppose a candidate because they are not being as confident as they could be. But they probably have the innate talent. They, they’re the raw materials there, they just need a little bit of work when it comes to their confidence. So I love teaching people how their mind works and why they think that way. Because with a scientific background, I like to think in processes and structures, and it’s one thing I’ve been known as, as a child I, I always need to understand why. So if I don’t understand who I think something, or why something is a certain way, I cannot kind of make sense of it. And most people are the same, we need a reason. So I love teaching people like how their mind works and how they can actually control their mind. Because when you understand that that’s when the game changes, okay. And I have a method I teach actually, it’s called the belief boosts method, which literally helps them to walk away in under an hour with tools they can implement straightaway to boost their confidence. And what I really love is when I teach these things in corporates, I know that there are people there who definitely needed to hear those things on that day. There are some people who don’t need it right at that moment in time for sure. So same with everything. Some of you listening to this right now you will be struggling with your confidence others won’t be and that’s just normal, but I believe in the power of the universe. Money people will listen and don’t act but I am focused on the ones who do act, the ones who needed to hear that that
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specific day. And what’s even cooler is I’ve had people who have attended my trainings and corporates messaged me afterwards to tell me that they have gone home and they’ve shared it with their spouse or they’ve shared my methods with their children or I’ve had one to one clients who when they learn how to control Will their mind they go and they coach and mentor other people within their organization who were struggling with like them. And that just fills my heart with so much joy because I am on a mission to shift corporate culture by empowering and supporting female leaders. To be the best version of yourself. That’s all I want you to do, is just really stepping into your full potential. Get rid of all these limiting beliefs you hold about yourself, step in and step up for yourself, be the best you can be, but also live a really balanced, happy, fun life because life is not all about work. Okay. Actually, next week, I am going to a large pharma. As I’m recording this, I’m doing it what more doesn’t know it’s me. So yeah, when you’re when it’s been released, the talk will have been done. But I’m going to a big farmer in Ireland to deliver this particular talk next week on my belief booths method, mastering your mindset, I cannot absolutely wait to do that. Okay, so that’s the first two. So the first one I said was, they don’t know how to set personal goals. The second thing is that they struggle with their confidence, which affects their decision making, and everything that results in more escalations to you. More frustrations.
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The third thing that many people in your team are struggling with, and you may be yourself is they don’t know how to prioritize effectively, because they’ve never been taught. So they might freak out when there are issues or unforeseen problems. And, you know, that is part of their role. This is the biggest misconception, I think that sets people up for failure is you go into work with a an idea of what you’re going to do. And of course, in the corporate world, it’s such fast paced, a world changes all the time demands, change everything. So therefore your to do list changes. And a lot of people find that really, really difficult, and they don’t know how to prioritize, and sometimes they prioritize based on who’s asking them, rather than actually what the priority is. So what they need to do is they need to learn to prioritize, they need, but they’ve never been taught how to prioritize, they need to learn to shift their mindset from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset. But they don’t really understand what this means. So I have a training I share with my private clients, and I deliver it live to corporates, and it’s called and prioritize like a pro CEO. And this is basically where I walk you through my planning system. So I am known for being super structured and super organized, always have been, which is why when I work worked in the corporate world, and everything always got done, everything always got done, but it got done in a way that felt positive, most of the time, not gonna lie. Of course, there were days where I was like, Oh, my God shits hitting the fan. But in general, you know, I like structure, organization is really where it’s at. And clear communication with your team, obviously, is key as well. So in my training, I walk you through how I like to plan, what works for me, and I also teach how to actually prioritize. So when you’re sitting there looking at your long to do list, and you have five people shouting at you, everybody wants something, how do you actually prioritize that? How do you know what the right thing is? I teach you in my trainings as well.
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Okay. So the fourth thing, then, that your team are probably struggling with many of them is that they don’t know how to be, or they’re afraid to be their authentic selves. So this is a topic so close to my heart, I think there are so many people walking around people pleasing, I was one of them, and trying to conform to the environment that they’re in, you know, when you’re in the corporate world, you can kind of get brainwashed by the corporate structure like this, just the whole, I suppose you’re in this kind of microcosm, aren’t you? And you’re very much like in this bubble of the corporation’s culture. And you know, it’s sometimes you can forget who you are in that. But I, you know, when people start talking about the culture is toxic, and blah, blah, blah, like you are the culture, people are the culture. So I think the more people actually step into being who they really are, and start accepting each other for who they really are quirks and all differences of values, differences of beliefs, all those things. That’s where you’re gonna get the true harmony between people in your organization. So I love delivering training on that as well. I suppose I love trying to even, you know, just give people permission to be their authentic selves. I love sharing my story of, you know, how I was afraid and how I used to conform and now I walk around on my pink power suit and Rodeo Drive, right? I don’t care. Because if you’re not happy with who you are, nobody else is ever going to be like it. Nobody else is ever going to be happy with you because you’re not going to be who you are. And I would rather have somebody judge me for everything I am, then judge a watered down, dumbed down version of me, okay, because you’re going to attract far more people into your world who like you and who Were like who are like you when you’re authentic. So I’ll give you an example. When I started my business, I was very much kind of like, okay, I have to be very corporate now, you know, I have to be very corporate and I have to, you know, portray a particular persona and speak the corporate jargon. This is what I was thinking originally. And then I went, Wait a minute, like, I don’t want to be a cookie cutter, executive coach, I don’t want to be a boring woman, no offense to anyone going in, like in a gray suit, and just being like corporate. And when I say corporate, I mean, what comes to mind for me is stiff, on authentic, somebody who’s like, just not friendly, who’s not showing them their real selves. And you can smell that a mile off, versus somebody who who comes in to work. And it’s just themselves, like, we gravitate towards that. But yet, so many people, like I said, me included, actually don’t know how to be themselves. So that’s something I love to share, as well as to help people to really open up and I remember, I had a client, I think I told you guys this story before, her name was Sarah, and she worked in the tech industry. And I remember we were doing a one to one session, and we were working on her confidence. And we were working on her leadership skills, etc. And she had told me that she really wanted to go into work and wear this purple dress with black hats on it. And I asked her, why did why wouldn’t she do that. And she said, Oh, I’m not really sure it would be kind of be accepted. So anyway, we worked through this whole thing, and I was like, wear the dress, just go in and wear the dress. And she did. And she said, she just felt amazing, because that’s how she felt her most powerful, authentic self. And when you’re your most powerful, authentic self, that’s when all the good shit happens. Okay. And then finally, number five, the last thing that I see that people struggle with a lot is they don’t know how to build meaningful relationships and connections at work. Now, this is a huge problem. Because this is where we fall into, I suppose targets not being met, we fall into conflict. So you might be seeing metrics which are not being hit, okay. Or you might be seeing people stressed running around the place or your team under pressure. And a lot of that is because honestly, they’re siloed into thinking, they are thinking about what’s in it for them only. And they are not building meaningful relationships with the right stakeholders in a genuine authentic way that is actually going to serve your organization, and it’s going to serve you because I believe when you build friendships and genuine, I suppose relationships with people. And honestly, that’s when the magic happens. So I remember, when I was leading a capital project, very large capital project, before I left the corporate world, it was a new build, it was like a $60 million project. And we were dealing with, you know, people all over the world, we were dealing with engineers, we were dealing I was dealing with, you know, people on the site that I worked with, you know, architects, everything, like when you’re managing a project like that you really need to be relationships are key. Because if you need people to do things for you, you need to be able to bring them along with you. And how you do that is by actually being interested in them interested in what they’re doing interested in what they have to say, interested in being of enough service to them, too. So it’s not all about what you can get. It’s actually like, how can you serve them too. So a lot of people just don’t know how to build those relationships. And that is something that I was always really, really good at our work. So that’s what I love. I love talking about and for International Women’s Day, I actually did a talk in a large multinational, was great actually really, really good engagement,
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lots and lots of discussions. And he always asked for feedback after I do these talks to see where I can kind of improve preparing the women’s lead, said that there was nothing to improve on. It was genuine and thoughtful content, which delivered the specifications we had for the International Women’s Day on connection in the authenticity. Thank you, Lucy. So I suppose I just love I love it. I love what I do. I love going in and doing these talks. I love helping you in your roles on this podcast. And I’m so grateful that you are listening to this today. So in summary, the five biggest challenges that I see that your team are facing right now is number one, they don’t know how to set personal goals and actually achieve them. Number two, they struggle with their confidence, which affects their decision making loads of stuff gets escalated to you, which really shouldn’t. Number three, they don’t know how to prioritize effectively and monitor workload as they have never been taught. Number four, they don’t know how to be or they’re afraid to be their authentic selves. And number five, they don’t know How to build meaningful relationships at work, which really leads to last time unnecessary conflict. And it’s really all about improving that collaboration. So what can you do about these challenges I hear you ask. So you can just teach them how to do it, teach them how to set goals, take some take, you know, take some time to bring your team aside, tell them how you set your goals, tell them how you’ve achieved what you’ve achieved, give them structure, help them with their confidence, you know, big them up, tell them point out their strengths. Tell them what you know, what you like about them, tell them what they do really, really well. When they make a good decision, tell them they’ve made a good decision. And equally, if they make a bad decision, you need to have a growth mindset and be okay with them not making the right decision. Like that’s super important. Teach them how to prioritize be explicit in your communication. So if they’re unclear of their workload, or they’re unclear what your priorities are for them, they’re just going to pick Okay, and like I said earlier, and also they tend to prioritize a lot, especially junior people, they tend to prioritize based on who’s asking them, not what is actually needed. So you need to be really, really clear with them. And you be authentic. So if you want to attend to be more authentic, you need to be more authentic, be yourself, like, think back to who you were in your 20s and bring more of that energy, right? Imagine how much more fun work could be if you just rocked up as your 20 year old self, right? channel that energy and be yourself. And then finally, teach them how to build relationships, you know, call it out with them and say, Look, you know, these are the key stakeholders that I think you need to develop relationships with and tell them that you appreciate when they invest time. So, you know, if if they’re having a coffee with somebody, like that’s work, it’s not slightly you know, slacking off. And I was gonna say, slagging off, slacking off. If someone’s in the coffee, it’s networking, right, super, super, super important skill that you know, your team need. So go through this with them, take this podcast, and summarize what I have just said, and just do a little session with them, okay. Or if you would like, and if this is not your area of expertise, I of course, would love to support you. So these are all topics that I am an expert in. And I would love to either deliver a masterclass or a series of master classes to your team, either virtually or in person. So if you have trading budget, or you have a team building event coming up, or you’re thinking Jesus, she’s right, I really need to do more for my team here. Because I want my team to develop, I want to be seen as a great leader, I know I need to invest in my team. And the in house training is not enough. If this sounds like something you need, just go to my website, Lucy garden.com, forward slash contact. And there’s a little forum there you can fill in to let me know about your needs. Or you can DM me on LinkedIn or Instagram, just send me a message even with the word event. And we can have a chat and even where you’re listening to this podcast right now. If you are on my website, in the show notes, you will see a link, you can just click you can bring it straight to my website to contact me. Or if you’re listening on Apple or Spotify. Again, just click the link, it’ll be in the show notes there as well. So I hope that was helpful for you today, I really, really hope that you sit with the challenges that I’ve spoken about and do something about them. So like I said, please either do a little session yourself at your team or get me in to do it for you if you don’t have the time or the expertise because I promise you, when you do this, you are going to make your life it’s just going to make your life so so much easier, which is all I want for you because I know you have enough to do. So that is it for this week’s podcast episode. We are done for another week. I hope that you enjoyed it. I hope you got some nuggets out of it. And I hope that a few of you will reach out and contact me because I have opened up some spots. Now for q3 and q4. I’m not going to do too many talks more talks this year, because I kind of burned out nearly in q1 doing them. So please just don’t hesitate because I’m not going to be available forever. And if you enjoy this podcast, and if you think oh my God, I need to share this with my colleagues, please just hit that share button. Just copy the link to the podcast, send it off in an instant message to your colleague and tell them to listen. And maybe you could even club your budgets together and get me in to do a group, a bigger group. So there’s no limit to the number of people that you can have at my sessions. You can record it you can broadcast it virtually at this moment. I don’t cap it. I’ve had like over 1000 people on calls before. So that is it. I look forward to chatting to you soon have the best week and Yeah, talk to you then be safe be well
