Episode 49 – Authenticity & Purposeful Leadership (ft. Lara Schmoisman)

In Episode 49 of the VulnerABILITY Podcast, host Marisa Donnelly welcomes Lara Schmoisman, the relentless and unapologetic and Founder & CEO of The Darl, to talk about authenticity and purposeful leadership. Lara is originally from Argentina and shares the ups and downs of starting her own business and why she resonates with the term ‘leader’ over boss.

Highlights From The Episode:

[1:40] “I… believe [vulnerability] is [to] be empathetic in how you relate to others and be able to show feelings and emotions and share those with others.”

[3:20] “You need to grow [your business], you need to let it bloom.”

[4:10] “You need to lead, in anything you do, with intention and with a plan.”

[5:50] “There’s a huge difference between a boss and being a leader. Part of the leadership is to know the culture of your group, who they are, and what they’re about. If you don’t know that, how can you lead them? If you don’t know the strengths and the weaknesses of each person, how can you help them improve? Part of the job of the leader is to be a mentor.”

[6:45] “I don’t like the word ‘boss.’ I prefer to be a leader. I am proud of being a leader.”

[6:50] “The ‘boss’ is basically someone who barks orders and pays checks, pays money for services. And a leader is someone who is there emotionally for their tribe, is leading them with intention, that is communicating. The leader can read between the lines and understand because they get to know each one in their tribe to see where they’re struggling or recognize, ‘Are you okay?'”

[7:35] “That’s, for me, the definition of leadership: being able to teach and to lead your tribe into a better place.”

[8:10] “Even the words themselves: lead vs. boss. Boss has the connotation of ‘I’m going to tell you what to do.’ Whereas ‘lead’ is more about ‘Where are we going and can I direct us there?’ It has the growth built into it. You’re not just telling somebody what to do from a higher-up place, you’re leading others to follow and/or to walk with you.”

[9:00] “I’m the owner of the company, and I’m no the boss of anyone. I don’t manage anyone. We collaborate. Each one in the team has a role and each role is important and has a point of view.”

[9:15] “Working together and sharing ideas – that really is the core of what business and work should be – a bouncing of ideas, relationship-building, growing as a group as opposed to individuals on separate paths.”

[9:20] “That’s what makes a tribe – the beliefs – and we all believe in the same thing.

[11:00] “There seems to be a phenomenon in the last few years… that people have what’s called ‘FOMO: Fear of Missing Out’ because they believe information is power. Information is not power. The only thing you can do with information is if you know what to do with it.”

[11:20] “There [are] so many people in work cultures that feel they need to know more, know what everyone is doing in order to get ahead. Instead of really using the information they need to do their task right.”

[11:50] “We’re taking in all of this information because we think, somehow, that this information… gives us value or gives us an advantage over somebody else or something else.”

[12:40] “It’s not about knowing more, it’s about how can we work together. It’s about relationships, really.”

[13:05] “In marketing, everything we need to do has a conversion. We need to have a goal. And I’ve found that there are a lot of people who are not thinking about the goal.”

[13:45] “If you’re putting something on social media to entertain, you have to think not only about the action-reaction, but what is the connection you can build?”

[14:15] “We’re not just sharing information, we’re sharing it with purpose.”

[16:30] “You can pivot your story. It all depends [on] how you see it and the point of view.”

[17:50] “I think you just have to come to terms with who you really and not who you want to be. This is what I have and this is what I have to work with, and not try to be something or someone that you’re not.”

[18:30] “You have to struggle with those things, but also, you know what, you can say: ‘This is who I am. Take it or leave it.'”

[19:35] “We’re just too concerned [about] what the other is going to think about us, or if we say the wrong thing and what they’re going to think