May 20, 2025 • 34 mins
Episode 101 Unstoppable Leadership: Victoria Pelletier's Journey to Empowerment Frederick Dudek (Freddy D) Copyright 2025 Prosperous Ventures, LLC
Get ready to dive into a powerful conversation with Victoria Pelletier, a true change-maker in the world of leadership and business. Known for her dynamic approach to whole human leadership and authentic personal branding, Victoria brings over 20 years of experience as a top-tier corporate executive and a sought-after speaker. We explore her journey from overcoming a challenging childhood to becoming a CEO by 41, emphasizing the importance of vulnerability and authenticity in leadership.
Victoria’s insights on building resilient corporate cultures and empowering teams are not just inspiring; they are essential for anyone looking to thrive in today’s fast-paced business environment. Tune in for a wealth of wisdom that could transform your leadership style and help you create a more engaged and motivated team.
Discover more with our detailed show notes and exclusive content by visiting: https://bit.ly/4j9JN72
Kindly Consider Supporting Our Show: Support Business Superfans
In a thought-provoking discussion, Victoria Pelletier sheds light on the nuances of leadership in today's fast-paced business environment. With a career that has seen her break barriers as a female executive, she brings a wealth of experience to the table. The episode challenges conventional views on leadership, urging listeners to rethink their strategies in light of the evolving expectations of employees. Victoria articulates her belief that effective leadership goes beyond traditional metrics of success; it encompasses the emotional and psychological aspects of team dynamics.
Her insights on 'Whole Human Leadership' highlight the necessity of showing up as authentic and vulnerable in order to cultivate trust and loyalty among team members. Throughout the episode, she shares actionable strategies for leaders to enhance employee engagement, manage transitions effectively, and build a culture that celebrates diversity and inclusion. Victoria's narrative is not only inspiring but also serves as a practical guide for anyone looking to transform their leadership style and foster a more inclusive and productive workplace. This episode is an essential listen for leaders committed to making a real impact in their organizations.
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Takeaways:
- Victoria Pelletier's journey from a challenging childhood to becoming a top executive demonstrates resilience and determination.
- Emphasizing the importance of authenticity, Victoria encourages leaders to embrace vulnerability in their leadership styles.
- True leadership is earned through accountability and trust, rather than through fear and control.
- Victoria's experience in corporate transformations highlights the need for empathy and human connection in business.
- Creating super fans among employees requires fostering an environment of appreciation and recognition to enhance engagement.
- The conversation explores how understanding personal motivations can lead to effective leadership and team empowerment.
Links referenced in this episode:
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- Unstoppable You...
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:56):
Hey super fans. SuperstarFreddie D. Here in this episode 101
we're joined by VictoriaPelletier of Unstoppable you. She's
a powerhouse leader and aninspirational force. With over 20
years of experience as acorporate executive board director,
number one best selling authorand professional public speaker.
(01:18):
Known as a turnaround queenand a CEO whisperer, Victoria has
built a remarkable careerchallenging the status quo, becoming
a COO at just 24, a presidentby 35 and a CEO at 41. Recognized
globally for her impact,Victoria has been honored as one
(01:40):
of the 100 global outstandingLGBTQ executive role models by involvement,
a 2023 woman of influence anda multi award winning leader in the
tech, entrepreneurship anddiversity. She's a sought after speaker
on whole human leadership,authentic personal branding and a
(02:03):
transformative power of DEIand shape resilience inclusive corporate
cultures. Get ready for anenergized conversation filled with
bold insights, real worldwisdom and a kind of leadership lessons
that leave a lastingimpression. Welcome Victoria to the
(02:25):
Business Superfans podcast.
Pleasure to be here.
So tell us a little bit aboutyour backstory of how did you come
up with Unstoppable you. Whatwas the story before Unstoppable
you?
Well, first of all,Unstoppable is my life's philosophy
and mantra. I will never letanything prevent me from achieving
(02:47):
the goal or objective I've setfor myself I've had for over 20 years.
I am a corporate executive,but I have both built, bought and
sold a number of companies.Unstoppable youe has been very adjacent
to the work that I've done asan executive for the past 25 years.
I coach business leaders, I dopersonal brand coaching, a professional
(03:07):
public speaker, and I'vewritten several books, the first
of which was also entitledUnstoppable. The publishers approached
me for that so I figured itwas karma. So I had to contribute
to that book and so I've beenloving that ever since.
And what came up with the Unstoppable?
So a big part of who I am andwhat I speak and coach people on
is around authenticity, aroundvulnerability and being comfortable
(03:31):
in sharing life andprofessional experience. My story
is I had a very traumaticchildhood and adopted out of a very
difficult situation to afamily with lower socioeconomic means.
That's my why I was determinedI'd be better than my biological
mother or the circumstances ofmy adoptive family. And that's when
(03:53):
I very much focused on careeraspirations. My mom said to me, I
think when I was 10 or 11years old, Tori was My nickname growing
up. And she's like, Tori, youneed to do better than us. And she
didn't need to tell me thatbecause I just knew I wanted to be
better than I felt like I hadprobably at that age a little bit
of a chip on my shoulder and Iwas going to demonstrate success
from all the places that I'dcome from, both biologically and
(04:16):
from a circumstanceperspective. So that's my driver.
That's my why I startedworking at 11. By age 14, I was in
my first leadership role. Iwas the assistant manager of a shoe
store while I was in highschool and got promoted up through
the ranks while I was inuniversity working full time as well.
Got recruited out of banking,which is where I worked throughout
university, to be the chiefoperating officer of a private outsourcing
(04:38):
company at age 24. So my drivecomes from those early years. That's
what's formulated. Thisunstoppable nature of not letting
adversity, hardship orchallenge prevent me from achieving
the goal I've set for myself.
That's an amazing story and Ican relate because I left home at
17 and was living on my own,paying rent, still going to high
(05:01):
school and working in thedrafting industry. My dad was an
engineer and it passed downit. So I was doing drafting work
and still going to 11th grade.I know exactly where you're coming
from. A little bit differentstory, but similar. Had to survive
on my own and create my own future.
Yeah, I think that in itselfbuilds some resilience. I graduated
(05:23):
high school at 16, moved outjust as I turned 17. I bought my
first house at 19. Just beingout on your own causes you to need
to do things differently andvery different generation. Now my
kids are not quite 25, theyounger ones not quite 21 and they're
very far from where you and Iwere at age 17.
Yep. Yeah. Different worldthese days. Different world. So let's
(05:47):
talk a little bit more aboutsome of the things that you do with
the coaching that you do withsome of the leadership. What is it
that you kind of dive intowith them?
A number of things. Itactually spawns. First of all, out
of experience. For me,stepping into an executive role at
age 24 was a massive stretchrole. I'd had 10 years of leadership
experience, 13 years of workexperience. I'd been running large
(06:10):
scale operations and contactcenter. Now all of a sudden I stepped
into a role where I wasleading all functions of that company
except for finance, sales andmarketing, technology, hr. Things
I hadn't been accountable forpreviously. Being a very young executive,
younger probably by twodecades, being the only woman at
the executive table, I showedup in a way that I thought I had
(06:32):
to. Entering the workforce ina very command and control, top down
way. Not wanting to appearinexperience, to appear weak and
vulnerable. I showed up in theopposite way that I do now. I got
a nickname in my mid to late20s as the iron Maiden. All business,
all the time. I wasexceptional at driving business results.
But I think I left a wakebehind me. People followed me. More
(06:54):
fear than followership. Takingsome of those lessons is what I talk
to leaders now. My latest bookcalled Whole Human to Power, Whole
Human Leadership. And that isaround how do we, first of all, we
all show up our whole selves.We can't drop the personal stuff
when we show up as employeesand as leaders. On one it is and
I've long since recognizedthat people do business with people
(07:16):
they like and trust, want todo business, whether that's buying
from working with people. Andso I had to be a very different kind
of leader. Refer to it as athree acts of engagement. You need
to be courageous to do some ofthe things I'm going to talk about.
Being the next one isauthentic and being vulnerable. Those
are uncomfortable for many. Itcertainly was for me. Yet at the
same time, it doesn't meanthat there's a trade off for strong
(07:38):
business performance by beingthat kind of empathetic leader that
demonstrates vulnerability.I've been a part of over 40 merger
and acquisition or divestituretransactions in my lifetime. A lot
of times talking to leaders,what does that look like? Some of
the aspects, how do theysuccessfully manage some of the change
or transition. That's where Ispend time with business leaders.
I also do a lot aroundpersonal branding because people
(07:58):
do business with people theylike and they trust. They're not
just buying what you do,they're doing why you do it. And
that comes from a brand perspective.
No, you remind me of when Iwas in charge of global sales. I
was that guy that was on amission. I remember somebody pulling
me aside that says, you know,you've got some sharp corners and
it's hurting some people. So Ihad to take a step back, look at
(08:23):
myself because I was samething on a mission. I had to take
a product from nothing andgrow it globally. And I had zero
tolerance for shortcomingsbecause I was on a mission. Sometimes
I was a little bit abrasiveand I learned from it because they
handled it in a nice way totell me tone it down a notch.
(08:48):
And many leaders are figuringthat out. The way you described it,
which it was probably a littlebit the way I was, or leaders who
want to be just liked. And sothen they actually, on the opposite
end, don't make some of thereally difficult decisions and have
some of the toughconversations that are required.
Yeah. When I worked recentlywith a particular company, the leadership
there never really hadleadership training. They started
(09:10):
the business themselves as ahusband, wife, team. They grew it
to about a million and change,and then it flatlined. The way they
handled their team and theirmindset was that they were doing
the team a favor by givingthem a job. They had contractors
that were doing work for them.The mindset was, well, we're giving
(09:34):
them work. They should begrateful. When I got in, they said,
let me ask you something.You're sending these contractors
to a customer to do theservice. Who are they representing?
It's them that's there. And soif you've just made them feel like
(09:55):
they should be grateful forthe job, they're not going to be
a super fan of yours andtalking up what a great company you
are to the customer, becausethat's frontline. It's not you, it's
them. What you're talkingabout is very important because you
have to look at how youcommunicate with the team. The team's
(10:17):
gotta be empowered to have theenergy and be on the same mission.
Just like in a racing rowboatwhere everybody's got the nor. You
gotta get everybody on thatrowboat and in synchronization, going
in the direction that you need.
Yeah, I agree. It's sointeresting hearing you talk. Although
there were many aspects of myleadership that pour in those early
executive years, I did realizethe importance of creating the right
(10:41):
kind of at the frontlinelevel, employee engagement. Because
to your point, they're theones talking directly to customers.
It's actually where a lot ofmy passion and focus around diversity,
equity, inclusion came from.When I think about my own experience
in that executive role where Ifelt like the only. As I described,
I was so much younger thaneveryone. What woman, by the way,
(11:03):
lies about her age in theopposite direction, which I did at
the time. So saying I wasolder, if I ever got pushed in a
corner, feeling different andthe only and recognizing that company
and outsourcing company. Soyou think of outsourced call center,
and this is the three earlydays, 25 years ago, telemarketing,
when it was still much more ofa thing.
Remember those days?
Yeah. As well as customerservice and Tech support at the time
(11:26):
in North America, probablystill not viewed as the destination
job to go to. It's people whoare un, underemployed, unemployed.
And at the time I was inCanada, many more new immigrants
to the country, potentiallythe same here in the US the turnover
was something like 300% insome instances. It was the early
days of pay for performance.If we did not perform, we lost money.
(11:47):
I had such high turnover,wanted to reduce our costs. I realized
if I could create this greatenvironment where people felt appreciated,
where people felt a sense ofbelonging, they could bring the food
they'd cook at home for lunchthe next day and not worry about
smells in the lunchroom andpeople appreciating it. So that's,
you know, for me, that was areally early lesson. And so, like
(12:09):
I said, I got some otheraspects of my leadership wrong, but
that was one that I learnedearly on to create the super fans.
You talk about theappreciation with the frontline employees
because they're the ones, thefront line.
They're the front line. One ofthe quotes in my book is people will
crawl through broken glass forappreciation and recognition.
(12:32):
I think that's where I don'ttotally love or appreciate the headlines
that came out a little bitpost Covid around the great resignation
and quiet quitting. But thereality is there was a movement,
sure. And I think that's wherea command and control leadership
style I entered the workforceinto. That was employees saying,
enough. We want to work forand with leaders and companies that
(12:57):
are different, that align tomy own values or purpose and mission.
And I want to work for leaderswho trust me, who are invested in
my development and to yourpoint, appreciate me, will call out
the contributions I've made.So I feel like the effort that I'm
putting in, albeit at thatpoint now, remotely in people's homes
(13:18):
for the most part, versussitting in physical offices. Not
being bums in seats doesn'tequate to performance. And real performance
equates in hearing a thank youfor it.
Oh, absolutely. My wife in theother room, she's been with the company
for seven years in April, andshe does telesale selling hearing
aids. She's one of the topsalespeople in the company and she's
(13:40):
been making less money becausewe think the company's being positioned
for other things. But shestill loves the culture. They fly
everybody in once a year forteam appreciation, she won the prize
to go with the founder of thecompany, go fishing off Miami. The
company's based in Miami andso she got to go deep sea fishing.
(14:01):
Not her favorite thing, butshe got to hang out with the founder
of the company. And, you know,those are the things that they do.
One of my other things I talkabout is sometimes the little things
are really the very bigthings. It's the little thing, the
appreciation. They send alittle trinket, a little fun prize.
You want something. They do alot of Airbnb gift cards. So we've
(14:23):
won several thousand dollarsworth of gift cards that we've used
on Hunter Vacation. Those arelittle things, but they really become
big things to the recipient.
Yeah, I agree. Recently in mycorporate executive side of my profession,
we're hypergrowth mode. Theteam's working like crazy as we're
scaling and in the absence ofbeing able to, we're not in a bonus
(14:44):
cycle. So in the absence ofthat being able to say, you know
what, take your partner outfor dinner, like just something small.
I appreciate your putting inmany hours here. Try and take time
off on the weekend and just gohave a great meal out. That's easy.
I don't need to ask forpermission from anyone to do that.
To your point, small thingsare the big things. I think those
are much more appreciated thangetting crystal plaques that will
(15:06):
sit on a desk and collect dust.
I have memories when I was inthe early days as a tech guy and
then I moved into sales. Wewould go on Fridays, the regional
manager would take everybodyout to the restaurant for happy hour
and we would hang out as ateam and just have some food and
stuff. It was just fun. Wejust had fun. And we got to the point
(15:29):
where we would go camping asco workers. Some of us would go camping
and built more relationships.I'm still friends with some of the
guys that I started with 45years ago in the computer industry.
I started in the verybeginning and I'm still friends with
some of those guys because ofrelationships we built and the management
(15:50):
team we had that we weretogether for seven to 10 years.
Yeah, that's great for me.Even going back to suggesting my
leadership approach, I thinkpeople did what I asked. A little
more fear than followership. Ameasurement of my success now is
having built greatrelationships. I have people who
have come with me throughmultiple organizations. I've got
(16:10):
people that I've worked with.To your point, maybe not 45 years
ago, but 20, 25 years ago. I'mstill connected to, let's say on
a few of them on Facebook, butcertainly most of them all on LinkedIn.
Sure. Let's go into Some ofthe things you do with leadership
and teams about customerengagement and really that whole
experience. At the end of theday, my philosophy is, and I believe
(16:31):
you'll agree with me, the saleisn't the deal. The sale is everything
after the deal.
Yeah, interesting. We'retalking about unstoppable you and
how I'm coaching leaders. Butthe other half of my corporate life
is working a large scaletransformation and ensuring its success.
And a big part of that isaround things like change management,
(16:53):
ensuring successful adoptionand building relationships for future
to potentially continue toiterate and do more from a transformational
standpoint. So to your point,the deal's not done when it's sold.
And that's why, although I'veled sales teams before, I would never
lead only a sales team. Manytimes they fly in, get the sale done
and then it goes to clientteams, delivery teams, et cetera.
(17:14):
When I work with leaders onbuilding your growth plan, whether
it's account planning,portfolio planning, your entire business
strategy, it's buildingauthentic relationships from a place
of generosity and not greed.It takes longer to do that. So you
want short sales cycle forcertain things, but you're investing
in a long term relationshipand then going back to the trust
that gets built through anauthentic relationship with people.
(17:36):
That can mean when the sale'sdone and you're delivering and something
goes wrong going, I own it,I'm accountable, happen. And it's
the recovery that can besometimes the best. From a relationship
perspective, again, it's abouttrust. If you can own up to it, fix
it, ensure it doesn't ideallyhappen again. And so I spent a lot
(17:56):
of time talking to leaderslike that and those that are in sales
or client management rolesaround the way they build relationships
from a business to businessstandpoint. Where I've spent a lot
of my career, there's a bookcalled the Challenger Customer following
the Challenger Sale byGartner. They said almost 10 years
ago for every buying decisionthere's an average of 5.3 decision
makers. I think that'sprobably increased in the last eight
(18:19):
or ten years since the bookwas written to probably like seven
or eight. And so who are thoseinfluencers as well? And that buyer
helps you with that. Sothere's just so many dynamics and
tentacles into ensuring thesuccess once the sale's done.
Oh yeah, we could talk hoursin sales. I was very fortunate. I
went through some very highend sales training. And you talk
(18:39):
about all the influencers andstuff. We called it a little bit
different back in the day, butit was finding the key influencer
that may not be the individualthat you think is the key influencer.
And usually it's not. It'susually somebody that has nothing
to do with what you think theyshould be doing that is the major
(19:00):
player in the company. And sothat's always been fun to find that
person and then how do youmanage that person? But you know,
going back to the customeraspect, really, it's the whole customer
journey of once you get thedeal done, how does a team really
do the onboarding thatcustomer, making sure that their
(19:22):
expectations are properly set?Because a lot of times I have seen
companies make the transactionand then don't set up proper expectations
for the implementation ofwhatever it is that they've got,
whether it's manufacturingtechnology, et cetera. And it's already
on a bad foot.
(19:43):
Yeah, I agree. So when we'restarting, whether a sale, a transformation,
a transaction, an a whatever,let's start with the outcome in mind.
There's a business case,you're taking cost out, there's growth,
you're transformingtechnology. Understand what that
is. What's the userexperience. We've got KPIs or metrics
that'll get measured.Hopefully you've got some people
based metrics in there interms of how that's going to be experienced
(20:06):
by the end users, employees,customers, whatever. Building with
that in mind and ensuringsuccessful change management. A lot
of people think that's projectmanagement. They're very different
skills. Project managementwill manage time, budget and scope.
Change management is theconnection between head and heart,
behavior and mindset andsuccessful adoption. I keep saying
(20:27):
transformation, but it canjust be a sale, a new product service
entering into the equation.Starting with that experience and
outcome upfront and thenmaking sure you're embedding that
all the way through the process.
Yeah, because now you'recreating super fans of the people
you're implementing it with.If it's technology, you want to make
(20:48):
sure they're excited about thenew technology that's being brought
in or if it's manufacturing orwhatever it is. Because if they're
unhappy with that wholeprocess, then the company goes back
and questions the decision ofgoing with this vendor. Maybe they
should have gone with theother guys. That sets a negative
(21:09):
tonality. Whereas if youworked with the right expectations
when I was sellingmanufacturing software, we would
look at the objectives ofwhere the company wanted to be in
a couple of years and then setthe tone for the team. It's not going
to be the fact that you got itToday we got it delivered. Today
you're going to be makingmoney with it. Tomorrow it's going
(21:29):
to be 90 to 180 days away andyou got to run systems simultaneously
and so you set those properexpectations. Now what happens is
the team on their end, theygo, oh man, it took the spotlight
off of me for a little bit soI can learn this new stuff and so
they become a fan of yoursbecause you've just made it a little
(21:52):
bit easier for them to breatheversus okay, they bought it and they
want me to use it by next Tuesday.
Yeah, that's right, exactly.And I've been many times, I think
there was like many years ago,I remember a company I worked for,
we won a bunch of awards forimplementation of some new technology.
A couple years later, thatsame company decided to outsource
(22:12):
the function that technologysupported. We looked at the RFP that
asked some of theadministrators and higher level users
of the platform what we neededto be aware of as we move some of
that work to an outsourcedenvironment. And they actually blamed
the technology for which wehad won awards for its implementation.
But to your point, and justmaking it easy for users going back
(22:33):
to start with experience andoutcome, thinking about how the process
and experience was going to befor that person. So instead we had
detractors as opposed tohaving superfans when we implemented
as expected. But this isagain, start with end in mind, start
with experience and then worktowards the outcome with that piece
up front.
(22:54):
Oh, absolutely correct. I gotpaid by a company to go on Saturdays
and fly from Chicago when Iwas working in the tech aspect. And
that's when I learned I hadsome sales skills because I flew
out there and they realizedthey bought the technology and they
wanted to send it back. Theysaid it wasn't working, but they
had no processes, no SOPs, nosystemization, no good training for
(23:17):
the people. And there'sanother district that sold it. But
I had developed a reputationas a very good installer and trainer
and proved to the managementthat it wasn't the technology and
outlined it. I became evenmore sought after and they ended
up keeping the system andwriting me a testimonial letter.
Fantastic.
(23:38):
So I can completely relate towhat you're saying and it's really
important. Victoria, share astory of somebody that you worked
with in leadership slashcustomer experience. What was the
challenge and how did they transform?
There's one example I'd liketo give. Almost 20 years ago, I was
relocated for my first timefrom Canada to the US. I was probably
(23:59):
a late 20 something year oldleader. Early days of recognizing
my leadership style, needingto change. I came into a role where
we had acquired a company andwe're integrating them in. I'd now
done several of these at thispoint and understood the importance
of a few critical team membersbecause of their connection to their
client would have massive riskassociated with making changes with
(24:21):
these leaders. So I came inand there was this really tough native
New Yorker who was like, who'sthis young Canadian leader coming
in who's got less years onlife than I have in this particular
industry telling me what todo. She was one of my biggest challenges.
I don't generally have a tonof patience, but this one tested
all kinds for me. I understoodthe risk, so I couldn't make a change.
(24:46):
It took me almost a year withher demonstrating that I trusted
her, that I valued her in alarge part was because our client
and this very large, importantportfolio for us valued her. One
of the ways I demonstratedthat is there was a very large delivery
issue with a member of herteam. And our CEO was crazy. And
(25:07):
we were in a room and he'slike, who was it? Where was it? He
wanted names like takeprisoners. And I was like, no, Tom.
I said, I'm ultimatelyaccountable for this team, so it
doesn't matter who it was. Isaid, what I can assure you is we
are coaching that individualand this will not happen again. That
was the turning point for herbecause I didn't throw her into the
bus. I didn't throw her teammember under the bus. I was the leader,
(25:29):
accountable. And so that was amoment where she saw my leadership
was different. I wasempowering her to manage her team
member, coach it. And so whenwe did another acquisition several
months later and bringing newpeople in who were all very concerned,
she all of a sudden becamelike the biggest champion.
It was just a super fan she was.
(25:49):
But it took me a year to proveit. In this case. I was young and
untested, unproven to her andnot like the tough New Yorker. Coming
into this environment, thereare a bunch of things I was going
up against. And so that for mecontinues to feel like one of the
greatest successes I had, butcaused me to step out and do things
differently and exercise thekind of patience I don't generally
(26:09):
have.
Good story though. Good story.But I can appreciate the patience
thing. So I've gotten to besofter these days, but back in the
day, yeah, I was a little curtat times, but, you know, that's what
drivers do. That's how you getto the top. So I can appreciate it.
(26:30):
And as we get older, we mellowout. It's interesting how that starts
to happen, you know, whenyou're young, but then as you get
older, you take more time. Sowhat is the biggest mistake that
leaders do that reallysabotages them inadvertently?
(26:54):
There are a few. And it'sfunny, I'm mentoring a younger leader
right now who's in a seniorrole, but as an individual contributor
and thinking about making herfirst into people management. Some
of what I talked to you abouttoday around this desire to be liked
versus being respected and howthere's a balance. I see people sabotage
(27:15):
performance in the desire tobe liked by their team instead of
making some of the difficultdecisions that come. Conversely,
as you and I talked about,we've had to evolve our leadership
styles as we've matured.There's those that drive so hard
without understanding thehumans in front of them and that
human experience and theappreciation, empathy, and all those
(27:35):
pieces. And then there's oneother piece, and it's not specific
to an individual leader, butorganizations as a whole in that
recognizing incentives drivebehavior. We as HR leaders help design
these incentive models as wellas the business leaders leading their
teams. They say they want onething, but they incent something
(27:56):
differently. So if we're goingto do that, we need to change the
performance and incentivemodels as well. That in itself can
be a big sabotage. Some of theoutcomes we say we want aligned with
the behaviors that are driventhe way we measure incent people.
Totally agree because youtalked about being liked. And one
of the things I did recentlywas a person at this particular company,
(28:21):
she had challenges dealingwith depression. She got chastised.
And this was that company Itold you about, the husband and wife
company. They would do verbaltraining, put you onto the system,
and then chastise you a weeklater because you were making mistakes.
But they wouldn't pull youaside and do it in private. They
did it so that everybody inthe company could hear. That created
(28:43):
anxiety for her, whichaccelerated some of her personal
challenges and made everybodyelse on edge. When I ended up taking
over that company and runningit, I started empowering her and
helping her with moreresponsibilities. So I did the opposite.
I gave her moreresponsibilities, helped her and
(29:04):
changed her outlook onherself. She started to blossom,
have fewer bad days, andbecame more creative because of the
responsibility to theempowerment. Good leaders empower
their team and let their teamget the glory. My belief as a leader,
the training I got years ago,was my job is to make your job successful.
(29:28):
It's not about me. It's abouthelping you do your job as part of
my team. And successful inthat you're fulfilled, you're fired
up. The rest will come to me.That's how you get yourself liked,
is you take care of your teamand help them achieve their personal
goals and their businessaspirations. You don't have to worry
about yours. It's taken care of.
(29:51):
Agree, Agree. And so again,there's a mindset shift that has
to occur and I think as youngleaders, you're trying to figure
that out. Hopefully spend asmuch time observing other leaders
both for what works well, thethings you need to stay far away
from.
What's a couple of takeawaysthat we can share with our listeners
here, Victoria.
Some of what we're talkingabout as it relates to leadership,
(30:12):
leadership, empowering teams,doing things differently sounds simple,
but some of it's hard becauseit can make us really uncomfortable.
And I believe that incrediblegrowth, opportunity and success comes
when you put yourself in thatzone of discomfort. One of my favorite
quotes is by Georgia Dare andsays that everything you've ever
(30:34):
wanted lives on the other sideof fear. I'd encourage your listeners
to put themselves in theirzone of discomfort in terms of how
they lead, how they engage, sothey can ultimately live the kind
of unstoppable life that theywant, achieving their goals and objectives.
Nice. Play into that. Bringingthat in there, like smooth. So you've
(30:56):
done this before. I like that.As we kind of get towards the end
here, Victoria, how can peoplefind you?
Best way to find me is mywebsite, which is victoria-peltier.com.
i'm sure it'll be in your shownotes. So I won't spell.
Absolutely.
But from there, if people wantto connect on the social platform
of their choice, they can doit directly from there.
(31:16):
Okay. And do you havesomething for our audience?
There's tons of content that Ipublish, all of my written content
that I share in platformsthat'll all be centralized there.
I have my books listed there.I'm not saying your listeners have
to buy it, but I do have acompanion to one of the books that
they can download directlyfrom there. On personal branding,
(31:37):
humanizing what you do muchmore broadly. I talk deeply about
that. That's been a bigelement of success in my career.
What's the name of the book?
It's called InfluenceUnleashed. That's the book. And so
when you find that on my page,I've got a free, like download that
helps them kind of map throughthat. And then of course, if anyone
wants to engage with me, talkabout consultation, hire me as a
(31:59):
speaker, they can reach methrough there as well.
What are the other two booksthat you've got?
So the first one is a coauthored book I mentioned called
Unstoppable, which as I saidwas just serendipitous for me to
participate in that one. Thesecond book was the one I just mentioned,
Influence Unleashed. And thethird one that came out last year
is called the Power of WholeHuman Leadership.
Oh wow, Excellent. We'll makesure that's in our show Notes Victoria,
(32:21):
I want to thank you so muchfor your time today on the Business
Superfans podcast show. Greatconversation, great insight. We look
forward to having you on theshow down the road.
Thanks for having me. It was great.
Hey superfan superstar FreddieD. Here. Before we wrap, here's your
three A playbook power move toattract ideal clients, turn them
(32:45):
into advocates, and accelerateyour business success. So here's
a top insight from today'sepisode. You don't earn true leadership
by demanding respect. You earnit by being courageous enough to
be accountable, human andreal. So here's the business growth
action step. Show your teamyou've got their back. Publicly take
(33:08):
ownership of a failure thisweek and use it as a moment to build
trust, not blame. If today'sconversation sparked an idea for
you or you know of a fellowbusiness leader who could benefit,
share it with them and grabthe full breakdown in the show notes.
Let's accelerate together andstart creating business super fans
who champion your brand.
Hey super fans. SuperstarFreddie D. Here in this episode 101
we're joined by VictoriaPelletier of Unstoppable you. She's
a powerhouse leader and aninspirational force. With over 20
years of experience as acorporate executive board director,
number one best selling authorand professional public speaker.
(01:18):
Known as a turnaround queenand a CEO whisperer, Victoria has
built a remarkable careerchallenging the status quo, becoming
a COO at just 24, a presidentby 35 and a CEO at 41. Recognized
globally for her impact,Victoria has been honored as one
(01:40):
of the 100 global outstandingLGBTQ executive role models by involvement,
a 2023 woman of influence anda multi award winning leader in the
tech, entrepreneurship anddiversity. She's a sought after speaker
on whole human leadership,authentic personal branding and a
(02:03):
transformative power of DEIand shape resilience inclusive corporate
cultures. Get ready for anenergized conversation filled with
bold insights, real worldwisdom and a kind of leadership lessons
that leave a lastingimpression. Welcome Victoria to the
(02:25):
Business Superfans podcast.
Pleasure to be here.
So tell us a little bit aboutyour backstory of how did you come
up with Unstoppable you. Whatwas the story before Unstoppable
you?
Well, first of all,Unstoppable is my life's philosophy
and mantra. I will never letanything prevent me from achieving
(02:47):
the goal or objective I've setfor myself I've had for over 20 years.
I am a corporate executive,but I have both built, bought and
sold a number of companies.Unstoppable youe has been very adjacent
to the work that I've done asan executive for the past 25 years.
I coach business leaders, I dopersonal brand coaching, a professional
(03:07):
public speaker, and I'vewritten several books, the first
of which was also entitledUnstoppable. The publishers approached
me for that so I figured itwas karma. So I had to contribute
to that book and so I've beenloving that ever since.
And what came up with the Unstoppable?
So a big part of who I am andwhat I speak and coach people on
is around authenticity, aroundvulnerability and being comfortable
(03:31):
in sharing life andprofessional experience. My story
is I had a very traumaticchildhood and adopted out of a very
difficult situation to afamily with lower socioeconomic means.
That's my why I was determinedI'd be better than my biological
mother or the circumstances ofmy adoptive family. And that's when
(03:53):
I very much focused on careeraspirations. My mom said to me, I
think when I was 10 or 11years old, Tori was My nickname growing
up. And she's like, Tori, youneed to do better than us. And she
didn't need to tell me thatbecause I just knew I wanted to be
better than I felt like I hadprobably at that age a little bit
of a chip on my shoulder and Iwas going to demonstrate success
from all the places that I'dcome from, both biologically and
(04:16):
from a circumstanceperspective. So that's my driver.
That's my why I startedworking at 11. By age 14, I was in
my first leadership role. Iwas the assistant manager of a shoe
store while I was in highschool and got promoted up through
the ranks while I was inuniversity working full time as well.
Got recruited out of banking,which is where I worked throughout
university, to be the chiefoperating officer of a private outsourcing
(04:38):
company at age 24. So my drivecomes from those early years. That's
what's formulated. Thisunstoppable nature of not letting
adversity, hardship orchallenge prevent me from achieving
the goal I've set for myself.
That's an amazing story and Ican relate because I left home at
17 and was living on my own,paying rent, still going to high
(05:01):
school and working in thedrafting industry. My dad was an
engineer and it passed downit. So I was doing drafting work
and still going to 11th grade.I know exactly where you're coming
from. A little bit differentstory, but similar. Had to survive
on my own and create my own future.
Yeah, I think that in itselfbuilds some resilience. I graduated
(05:23):
high school at 16, moved outjust as I turned 17. I bought my
first house at 19. Just beingout on your own causes you to need
to do things differently andvery different generation. Now my
kids are not quite 25, theyounger ones not quite 21 and they're
very far from where you and Iwere at age 17.
Yep. Yeah. Different worldthese days. Different world. So let's
(05:47):
talk a little bit more aboutsome of the things that you do with
the coaching that you do withsome of the leadership. What is it
that you kind of dive intowith them?
A number of things. Itactually spawns. First of all, out
of experience. For me,stepping into an executive role at
age 24 was a massive stretchrole. I'd had 10 years of leadership
experience, 13 years of workexperience. I'd been running large
(06:10):
scale operations and contactcenter. Now all of a sudden I stepped
into a role where I wasleading all functions of that company
except for finance, sales andmarketing, technology, hr. Things
I hadn't been accountable forpreviously. Being a very young executive,
younger probably by twodecades, being the only woman at
the executive table, I showedup in a way that I thought I had
(06:32):
to. Entering the workforce ina very command and control, top down
way. Not wanting to appearinexperience, to appear weak and
vulnerable. I showed up in theopposite way that I do now. I got
a nickname in my mid to late20s as the iron Maiden. All business,
all the time. I wasexceptional at driving business results.
But I think I left a wakebehind me. People followed me. More
(06:54):
fear than followership. Takingsome of those lessons is what I talk
to leaders now. My latest bookcalled Whole Human to Power, Whole
Human Leadership. And that isaround how do we, first of all, we
all show up our whole selves.We can't drop the personal stuff
when we show up as employeesand as leaders. On one it is and
I've long since recognizedthat people do business with people
(07:16):
they like and trust, want todo business, whether that's buying
from working with people. Andso I had to be a very different kind
of leader. Refer to it as athree acts of engagement. You need
to be courageous to do some ofthe things I'm going to talk about.
Being the next one isauthentic and being vulnerable. Those
are uncomfortable for many. Itcertainly was for me. Yet at the
same time, it doesn't meanthat there's a trade off for strong
(07:38):
business performance by beingthat kind of empathetic leader that
demonstrates vulnerability.I've been a part of over 40 merger
and acquisition or divestituretransactions in my lifetime. A lot
of times talking to leaders,what does that look like? Some of
the aspects, how do theysuccessfully manage some of the change
or transition. That's where Ispend time with business leaders.
I also do a lot aroundpersonal branding because people
(07:58):
do business with people theylike and they trust. They're not
just buying what you do,they're doing why you do it. And
that comes from a brand perspective.
No, you remind me of when Iwas in charge of global sales. I
was that guy that was on amission. I remember somebody pulling
me aside that says, you know,you've got some sharp corners and
it's hurting some people. So Ihad to take a step back, look at
(08:23):
myself because I was samething on a mission. I had to take
a product from nothing andgrow it globally. And I had zero
tolerance for shortcomingsbecause I was on a mission. Sometimes
I was a little bit abrasiveand I learned from it because they
handled it in a nice way totell me tone it down a notch.
(08:48):
And many leaders are figuringthat out. The way you described it,
which it was probably a littlebit the way I was, or leaders who
want to be just liked. And sothen they actually, on the opposite
end, don't make some of thereally difficult decisions and have
some of the toughconversations that are required.
Yeah. When I worked recentlywith a particular company, the leadership
there never really hadleadership training. They started
(09:10):
the business themselves as ahusband, wife, team. They grew it
to about a million and change,and then it flatlined. The way they
handled their team and theirmindset was that they were doing
the team a favor by givingthem a job. They had contractors
that were doing work for them.The mindset was, well, we're giving
(09:34):
them work. They should begrateful. When I got in, they said,
let me ask you something.You're sending these contractors
to a customer to do theservice. Who are they representing?
It's them that's there. And soif you've just made them feel like
(09:55):
they should be grateful forthe job, they're not going to be
a super fan of yours andtalking up what a great company you
are to the customer, becausethat's frontline. It's not you, it's
them. What you're talkingabout is very important because you
have to look at how youcommunicate with the team. The team's
(10:17):
gotta be empowered to have theenergy and be on the same mission.
Just like in a racing rowboatwhere everybody's got the nor. You
gotta get everybody on thatrowboat and in synchronization, going
in the direction that you need.
Yeah, I agree. It's sointeresting hearing you talk. Although
there were many aspects of myleadership that pour in those early
executive years, I did realizethe importance of creating the right
(10:41):
kind of at the frontlinelevel, employee engagement. Because
to your point, they're theones talking directly to customers.
It's actually where a lot ofmy passion and focus around diversity,
equity, inclusion came from.When I think about my own experience
in that executive role where Ifelt like the only. As I described,
I was so much younger thaneveryone. What woman, by the way,
(11:03):
lies about her age in theopposite direction, which I did at
the time. So saying I wasolder, if I ever got pushed in a
corner, feeling different andthe only and recognizing that company
and outsourcing company. Soyou think of outsourced call center,
and this is the three earlydays, 25 years ago, telemarketing,
when it was still much more ofa thing.
Remember those days?
Yeah. As well as customerservice and Tech support at the time
(11:26):
in North America, probablystill not viewed as the destination
job to go to. It's people whoare un, underemployed, unemployed.
And at the time I was inCanada, many more new immigrants
to the country, potentiallythe same here in the US the turnover
was something like 300% insome instances. It was the early
days of pay for performance.If we did not perform, we lost money.
(11:47):
I had such high turnover,wanted to reduce our costs. I realized
if I could create this greatenvironment where people felt appreciated,
where people felt a sense ofbelonging, they could bring the food
they'd cook at home for lunchthe next day and not worry about
smells in the lunchroom andpeople appreciating it. So that's,
you know, for me, that was areally early lesson. And so, like
(12:09):
I said, I got some otheraspects of my leadership wrong, but
that was one that I learnedearly on to create the super fans.
You talk about theappreciation with the frontline employees
because they're the ones, thefront line.
They're the front line. One ofthe quotes in my book is people will
crawl through broken glass forappreciation and recognition.
(12:32):
I think that's where I don'ttotally love or appreciate the headlines
that came out a little bitpost Covid around the great resignation
and quiet quitting. But thereality is there was a movement,
sure. And I think that's wherea command and control leadership
style I entered the workforceinto. That was employees saying,
enough. We want to work forand with leaders and companies that
(12:57):
are different, that align tomy own values or purpose and mission.
And I want to work for leaderswho trust me, who are invested in
my development and to yourpoint, appreciate me, will call out
the contributions I've made.So I feel like the effort that I'm
putting in, albeit at thatpoint now, remotely in people's homes
(13:18):
for the most part, versussitting in physical offices. Not
being bums in seats doesn'tequate to performance. And real performance
equates in hearing a thank youfor it.
Oh, absolutely. My wife in theother room, she's been with the company
for seven years in April, andshe does telesale selling hearing
aids. She's one of the topsalespeople in the company and she's
(13:40):
been making less money becausewe think the company's being positioned
for other things. But shestill loves the culture. They fly
everybody in once a year forteam appreciation, she won the prize
to go with the founder of thecompany, go fishing off Miami. The
company's based in Miami andso she got to go deep sea fishing.
(14:01):
Not her favorite thing, butshe got to hang out with the founder
of the company. And, you know,those are the things that they do.
One of my other things I talkabout is sometimes the little things
are really the very bigthings. It's the little thing, the
appreciation. They send alittle trinket, a little fun prize.
You want something. They do alot of Airbnb gift cards. So we've
(14:23):
won several thousand dollarsworth of gift cards that we've used
on Hunter Vacation. Those arelittle things, but they really become
big things to the recipient.
Yeah, I agree. Recently in mycorporate executive side of my profession,
we're hypergrowth mode. Theteam's working like crazy as we're
scaling and in the absence ofbeing able to, we're not in a bonus
(14:44):
cycle. So in the absence ofthat being able to say, you know
what, take your partner outfor dinner, like just something small.
I appreciate your putting inmany hours here. Try and take time
off on the weekend and just gohave a great meal out. That's easy.
I don't need to ask forpermission from anyone to do that.
To your point, small thingsare the big things. I think those
are much more appreciated thangetting crystal plaques that will
(15:06):
sit on a desk and collect dust.
I have memories when I was inthe early days as a tech guy and
then I moved into sales. Wewould go on Fridays, the regional
manager would take everybodyout to the restaurant for happy hour
and we would hang out as ateam and just have some food and
stuff. It was just fun. Wejust had fun. And we got to the point
(15:29):
where we would go camping asco workers. Some of us would go camping
and built more relationships.I'm still friends with some of the
guys that I started with 45years ago in the computer industry.
I started in the verybeginning and I'm still friends with
some of those guys because ofrelationships we built and the management
(15:50):
team we had that we weretogether for seven to 10 years.
Yeah, that's great for me.Even going back to suggesting my
leadership approach, I thinkpeople did what I asked. A little
more fear than followership. Ameasurement of my success now is
having built greatrelationships. I have people who
have come with me throughmultiple organizations. I've got
(16:10):
people that I've worked with.To your point, maybe not 45 years
ago, but 20, 25 years ago. I'mstill connected to, let's say on
a few of them on Facebook, butcertainly most of them all on LinkedIn.
Sure. Let's go into Some ofthe things you do with leadership
and teams about customerengagement and really that whole
experience. At the end of theday, my philosophy is, and I believe
(16:31):
you'll agree with me, the saleisn't the deal. The sale is everything
after the deal.
Yeah, interesting. We'retalking about unstoppable you and
how I'm coaching leaders. Butthe other half of my corporate life
is working a large scaletransformation and ensuring its success.
And a big part of that isaround things like change management,
(16:53):
ensuring successful adoptionand building relationships for future
to potentially continue toiterate and do more from a transformational
standpoint. So to your point,the deal's not done when it's sold.
And that's why, although I'veled sales teams before, I would never
lead only a sales team. Manytimes they fly in, get the sale done
and then it goes to clientteams, delivery teams, et cetera.
(17:14):
When I work with leaders onbuilding your growth plan, whether
it's account planning,portfolio planning, your entire business
strategy, it's buildingauthentic relationships from a place
of generosity and not greed.It takes longer to do that. So you
want short sales cycle forcertain things, but you're investing
in a long term relationshipand then going back to the trust
that gets built through anauthentic relationship with people.
(17:36):
That can mean when the sale'sdone and you're delivering and something
goes wrong going, I own it,I'm accountable, happen. And it's
the recovery that can besometimes the best. From a relationship
perspective, again, it's abouttrust. If you can own up to it, fix
it, ensure it doesn't ideallyhappen again. And so I spent a lot
(17:56):
of time talking to leaderslike that and those that are in sales
or client management rolesaround the way they build relationships
from a business to businessstandpoint. Where I've spent a lot
of my career, there's a bookcalled the Challenger Customer following
the Challenger Sale byGartner. They said almost 10 years
ago for every buying decisionthere's an average of 5.3 decision
makers. I think that'sprobably increased in the last eight
(18:19):
or ten years since the bookwas written to probably like seven
or eight. And so who are thoseinfluencers as well? And that buyer
helps you with that. Sothere's just so many dynamics and
tentacles into ensuring thesuccess once the sale's done.
Oh yeah, we could talk hoursin sales. I was very fortunate. I
went through some very highend sales training. And you talk
(18:39):
about all the influencers andstuff. We called it a little bit
different back in the day, butit was finding the key influencer
that may not be the individualthat you think is the key influencer.
And usually it's not. It'susually somebody that has nothing
to do with what you think theyshould be doing that is the major
(19:00):
player in the company. And sothat's always been fun to find that
person and then how do youmanage that person? But you know,
going back to the customeraspect, really, it's the whole customer
journey of once you get thedeal done, how does a team really
do the onboarding thatcustomer, making sure that their
(19:22):
expectations are properly set?Because a lot of times I have seen
companies make the transactionand then don't set up proper expectations
for the implementation ofwhatever it is that they've got,
whether it's manufacturingtechnology, et cetera. And it's already
on a bad foot.
(19:43):
Yeah, I agree. So when we'restarting, whether a sale, a transformation,
a transaction, an a whatever,let's start with the outcome in mind.
There's a business case,you're taking cost out, there's growth,
you're transformingtechnology. Understand what that
is. What's the userexperience. We've got KPIs or metrics
that'll get measured.Hopefully you've got some people
based metrics in there interms of how that's going to be experienced
(20:06):
by the end users, employees,customers, whatever. Building with
that in mind and ensuringsuccessful change management. A lot
of people think that's projectmanagement. They're very different
skills. Project managementwill manage time, budget and scope.
Change management is theconnection between head and heart,
behavior and mindset andsuccessful adoption. I keep saying
(20:27):
transformation, but it canjust be a sale, a new product service
entering into the equation.Starting with that experience and
outcome upfront and thenmaking sure you're embedding that
all the way through the process.
Yeah, because now you'recreating super fans of the people
you're implementing it with.If it's technology, you want to make
(20:48):
sure they're excited about thenew technology that's being brought
in or if it's manufacturing orwhatever it is. Because if they're
unhappy with that wholeprocess, then the company goes back
and questions the decision ofgoing with this vendor. Maybe they
should have gone with theother guys. That sets a negative
(21:09):
tonality. Whereas if youworked with the right expectations
when I was sellingmanufacturing software, we would
look at the objectives ofwhere the company wanted to be in
a couple of years and then setthe tone for the team. It's not going
to be the fact that you got itToday we got it delivered. Today
you're going to be makingmoney with it. Tomorrow it's going
(21:29):
to be 90 to 180 days away andyou got to run systems simultaneously
and so you set those properexpectations. Now what happens is
the team on their end, theygo, oh man, it took the spotlight
off of me for a little bit soI can learn this new stuff and so
they become a fan of yoursbecause you've just made it a little
(21:52):
bit easier for them to breatheversus okay, they bought it and they
want me to use it by next Tuesday.
Yeah, that's right, exactly.And I've been many times, I think
there was like many years ago,I remember a company I worked for,
we won a bunch of awards forimplementation of some new technology.
A couple years later, thatsame company decided to outsource
(22:12):
the function that technologysupported. We looked at the RFP that
asked some of theadministrators and higher level users
of the platform what we neededto be aware of as we move some of
that work to an outsourcedenvironment. And they actually blamed
the technology for which wehad won awards for its implementation.
But to your point, and justmaking it easy for users going back
(22:33):
to start with experience andoutcome, thinking about how the process
and experience was going to befor that person. So instead we had
detractors as opposed tohaving superfans when we implemented
as expected. But this isagain, start with end in mind, start
with experience and then worktowards the outcome with that piece
up front.
(22:54):
Oh, absolutely correct. I gotpaid by a company to go on Saturdays
and fly from Chicago when Iwas working in the tech aspect. And
that's when I learned I hadsome sales skills because I flew
out there and they realizedthey bought the technology and they
wanted to send it back. Theysaid it wasn't working, but they
had no processes, no SOPs, nosystemization, no good training for
(23:17):
the people. And there'sanother district that sold it. But
I had developed a reputationas a very good installer and trainer
and proved to the managementthat it wasn't the technology and
outlined it. I became evenmore sought after and they ended
up keeping the system andwriting me a testimonial letter.
Fantastic.
(23:38):
So I can completely relate towhat you're saying and it's really
important. Victoria, share astory of somebody that you worked
with in leadership slashcustomer experience. What was the
challenge and how did they transform?
There's one example I'd liketo give. Almost 20 years ago, I was
relocated for my first timefrom Canada to the US. I was probably
(23:59):
a late 20 something year oldleader. Early days of recognizing
my leadership style, needingto change. I came into a role where
we had acquired a company andwe're integrating them in. I'd now
done several of these at thispoint and understood the importance
of a few critical team membersbecause of their connection to their
client would have massive riskassociated with making changes with
(24:21):
these leaders. So I came inand there was this really tough native
New Yorker who was like, who'sthis young Canadian leader coming
in who's got less years onlife than I have in this particular
industry telling me what todo. She was one of my biggest challenges.
I don't generally have a tonof patience, but this one tested
all kinds for me. I understoodthe risk, so I couldn't make a change.
(24:46):
It took me almost a year withher demonstrating that I trusted
her, that I valued her in alarge part was because our client
and this very large, importantportfolio for us valued her. One
of the ways I demonstratedthat is there was a very large delivery
issue with a member of herteam. And our CEO was crazy. And
(25:07):
we were in a room and he'slike, who was it? Where was it? He
wanted names like takeprisoners. And I was like, no, Tom.
I said, I'm ultimatelyaccountable for this team, so it
doesn't matter who it was. Isaid, what I can assure you is we
are coaching that individualand this will not happen again. That
was the turning point for herbecause I didn't throw her into the
bus. I didn't throw her teammember under the bus. I was the leader,
(25:29):
accountable. And so that was amoment where she saw my leadership
was different. I wasempowering her to manage her team
member, coach it. And so whenwe did another acquisition several
months later and bringing newpeople in who were all very concerned,
she all of a sudden becamelike the biggest champion.
It was just a super fan she was.
(25:49):
But it took me a year to proveit. In this case. I was young and
untested, unproven to her andnot like the tough New Yorker. Coming
into this environment, thereare a bunch of things I was going
up against. And so that for mecontinues to feel like one of the
greatest successes I had, butcaused me to step out and do things
differently and exercise thekind of patience I don't generally
(26:09):
have.
Good story though. Good story.But I can appreciate the patience
thing. So I've gotten to besofter these days, but back in the
day, yeah, I was a little curtat times, but, you know, that's what
drivers do. That's how you getto the top. So I can appreciate it.
(26:30):
And as we get older, we mellowout. It's interesting how that starts
to happen, you know, whenyou're young, but then as you get
older, you take more time. Sowhat is the biggest mistake that
leaders do that reallysabotages them inadvertently?
(26:54):
There are a few. And it'sfunny, I'm mentoring a younger leader
right now who's in a seniorrole, but as an individual contributor
and thinking about making herfirst into people management. Some
of what I talked to you abouttoday around this desire to be liked
versus being respected and howthere's a balance. I see people sabotage
(27:15):
performance in the desire tobe liked by their team instead of
making some of the difficultdecisions that come. Conversely,
as you and I talked about,we've had to evolve our leadership
styles as we've matured.There's those that drive so hard
without understanding thehumans in front of them and that
human experience and theappreciation, empathy, and all those
(27:35):
pieces. And then there's oneother piece, and it's not specific
to an individual leader, butorganizations as a whole in that
recognizing incentives drivebehavior. We as HR leaders help design
these incentive models as wellas the business leaders leading their
teams. They say they want onething, but they incent something
(27:56):
differently. So if we're goingto do that, we need to change the
performance and incentivemodels as well. That in itself can
be a big sabotage. Some of theoutcomes we say we want aligned with
the behaviors that are driventhe way we measure incent people.
Totally agree because youtalked about being liked. And one
of the things I did recentlywas a person at this particular company,
(28:21):
she had challenges dealingwith depression. She got chastised.
And this was that company Itold you about, the husband and wife
company. They would do verbaltraining, put you onto the system,
and then chastise you a weeklater because you were making mistakes.
But they wouldn't pull youaside and do it in private. They
did it so that everybody inthe company could hear. That created
(28:43):
anxiety for her, whichaccelerated some of her personal
challenges and made everybodyelse on edge. When I ended up taking
over that company and runningit, I started empowering her and
helping her with moreresponsibilities. So I did the opposite.
I gave her moreresponsibilities, helped her and
(29:04):
changed her outlook onherself. She started to blossom,
have fewer bad days, andbecame more creative because of the
responsibility to theempowerment. Good leaders empower
their team and let their teamget the glory. My belief as a leader,
the training I got years ago,was my job is to make your job successful.
(29:28):
It's not about me. It's abouthelping you do your job as part of
my team. And successful inthat you're fulfilled, you're fired
up. The rest will come to me.That's how you get yourself liked,
is you take care of your teamand help them achieve their personal
goals and their businessaspirations. You don't have to worry
about yours. It's taken care of.
(29:51):
Agree, Agree. And so again,there's a mindset shift that has
to occur and I think as youngleaders, you're trying to figure
that out. Hopefully spend asmuch time observing other leaders
both for what works well, thethings you need to stay far away
from.
What's a couple of takeawaysthat we can share with our listeners
here, Victoria.
Some of what we're talkingabout as it relates to leadership,
(30:12):
leadership, empowering teams,doing things differently sounds simple,
but some of it's hard becauseit can make us really uncomfortable.
And I believe that incrediblegrowth, opportunity and success comes
when you put yourself in thatzone of discomfort. One of my favorite
quotes is by Georgia Dare andsays that everything you've ever
(30:34):
wanted lives on the other sideof fear. I'd encourage your listeners
to put themselves in theirzone of discomfort in terms of how
they lead, how they engage, sothey can ultimately live the kind
of unstoppable life that theywant, achieving their goals and objectives.
Nice. Play into that. Bringingthat in there, like smooth. So you've
(30:56):
done this before. I like that.As we kind of get towards the end
here, Victoria, how can peoplefind you?
Best way to find me is mywebsite, which is victoria-peltier.com.
i'm sure it'll be in your shownotes. So I won't spell.
Absolutely.
But from there, if people wantto connect on the social platform
of their choice, they can doit directly from there.
(31:16):
Okay. And do you havesomething for our audience?
There's tons of content that Ipublish, all of my written content
that I share in platformsthat'll all be centralized there.
I have my books listed there.I'm not saying your listeners have
to buy it, but I do have acompanion to one of the books that
they can download directlyfrom there. On personal branding,
(31:37):
humanizing what you do muchmore broadly. I talk deeply about
that. That's been a bigelement of success in my career.
What's the name of the book?
It's called InfluenceUnleashed. That's the book. And so
when you find that on my page,I've got a free, like download that
helps them kind of map throughthat. And then of course, if anyone
wants to engage with me, talkabout consultation, hire me as a
(31:59):
speaker, they can reach methrough there as well.
What are the other two booksthat you've got?
So the first one is a coauthored book I mentioned called
Unstoppable, which as I saidwas just serendipitous for me to
participate in that one. Thesecond book was the one I just mentioned,
Influence Unleashed. And thethird one that came out last year
is called the Power of WholeHuman Leadership.
Oh wow, Excellent. We'll makesure that's in our show Notes Victoria,
(32:21):
I want to thank you so muchfor your time today on the Business
Superfans podcast show. Greatconversation, great insight. We look
forward to having you on theshow down the road.
Thanks for having me. It was great.
Hey superfan superstar FreddieD. Here. Before we wrap, here's your
three A playbook power move toattract ideal clients, turn them
(32:45):
into advocates, and accelerateyour business success. So here's
a top insight from today'sepisode. You don't earn true leadership
by demanding respect. You earnit by being courageous enough to
be accountable, human andreal. So here's the business growth
action step. Show your teamyou've got their back. Publicly take
(33:08):
ownership of a failure thisweek and use it as a moment to build
trust, not blame. If today'sconversation sparked an idea for
you or you know of a fellowbusiness leader who could benefit,
share it with them and grabthe full breakdown in the show notes.
Let's accelerate together andstart creating business super fans
who champion your brand.
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