June 22, 2025 • 31 mins
EPISODE SUMMARY
Reclaim Your Voice and Rise: Confidence, Clarity, and Career Growth for Women in Leadership
When you’re doing the work and still getting overlooked, the problem isn’t your performance—it’s your visibility. In this episode, Coach Mo sits down with Rosie Zilinskas, founder of No Woman Left Behind, to explore why high-achieving women stay stuck in corporate roles and how to shift that trajectory. Rosie shares how her Promotion Readiness Roadmap helps women become confident advocates for themselves, land promotions, and thrive in leadership—without burning out. From overlooked to in-demand, this episode is a blueprint for women who are ready to speak up, step in, and level up.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- “Really? You never said anything.”
Rosie’s career pivot started with this one sentence. Learn why visibility—not performance—is often the key to promotion. - Confidence comes from preparation, not just personality.
Discover how Rosie helps women build leadership readiness by mastering feedback, self-assessment, and strategic communication. - The post-promotion void is real.
Getting the job is just the start—Rosie explains how her membership program supports women as they navigate real-time leadership challenges. - Resilience is built in the fire.
Rosie’s backstory—moving countries, surviving divorce, raising kids solo—reveals how adversity shaped her career clarity and coaching mission. - Middle managers are burning out in silence.
Coach Mo and Rosie spotlight the leadership blind spot: unsupported new leaders stuck between executive pressure and team delivery.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Welcome to the let's Think About it podcast, where we
embark on a journey ofthoughtfulness and personal
growth.
I'm your host, Coach Mo, andI'm here to guide you through
thought-promoting discussionsthat will inspire you to unlock
your full potential.
In each episode, we'll explorea wide range of topics, from
self-discovery and mindfulnessto goal-setting and achieving
(00:33):
success.
Together, we'll challengeconventional thinking and dive
deep into the realms ofpossibility.
Whether you're looking to findclarity in your personal or
professional life, or seekingstrategies to overcome obstacles
, this podcast is your go-tosource for insightful
conversations and practicaladvice.
So find a comfortable spot,chill and let's embark on this
(00:57):
journey of self-improvementtogether.
Remember, the power oftransformation lies within you,
and together we'll uncover thetools and insights you need to
make it happen.
So let's dive in.
Welcome to another episode ofthe let's Think About it podcast
(01:20):
.
I'm your host, Coach Mo, andI'm here with another amazing
guest.
Her name is Rosie Zelinskas.
Rosie, how are you?
Speaker 2 (01:32):
I am doing very well.
Today.
The sun is shining here inChicagoland, which is usually
either cold or really hot, so Iam well and excited to be here,
coach Mo.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
Thank you.
Thank you and that's one of thequestions that I always ask
people is where they're checkingin from Chicago, born and
raised.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
I'm not born and raised.
So I was born in Chicago but wemoved to Mexico City on and off
a few years when I was a kidlived in Texas but I've been in
the Chicagoland area since I was19.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
I love Chicago.
I've been there a few times.
I love the culture there.
I love that it's a sports city.
They love their bears, theylove their Chicago.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Bulls?
Yes, absolutely so.
Funny because I'm more partialto the Chicago Cubs, which is
northern side of the city forbaseball.
But those Southsiders, man,they are Chicago Sox all the way
.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
Yeah, yeah, I actually was out there a couple
of years ago for the 49ersversus the Chicago Bears.
I'm a big Niner fan and we do aguy's road trip every year to
catch some away games.
And we went.
I think it was 2022, I believe,I'm not really sure, but they
played the Bears opening game ofthe season.
(02:48):
It was pouring down raining.
We didn't expect the rain, itwas just crazy, but we had a
great time.
So tell my audience who you are, what you do and the type of
value you bring.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
I am a Mexican female .
I am married, I have two kids.
My kids are 24 and 26, and I'mvery happy that they are out in
the world and they are no longerliving at home.
I'm one of five in Chicago, andhow I bring value to the world
now Coach Mo is.
I work with women in thecorporate world who feel that
(03:23):
they may be undervalued, and Ihelp them with a proven roadmap
so that they can claim therecognition they've been looking
for, so they can step intoleadership with confidence.
My company is called no WomanLeft Behind, and I coach and
empower women in that realm.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
Well, let's rewind a little bit.
I coach and empower women inthat realm.
Well, let's rewind a little bit.
How did you get to this pointto help advocate for women to
get these type of positions?
Speaker 2 (03:52):
I was 40 years old and I was, at the time,
expecting a management role, aleadership role, when I was
sitting at my desk thinking,okay, any day, now someone's
going to come and tap me on theshoulder and say, hey, rosie,
you want to be a manager?
Nobody ever came, and I noticedyounger employees than I was at
(04:15):
the time were getting promoted.
I was like what is wrong withthis picture?
What am I doing wrong?
Because at the time I was ahigh performer, I was
volunteering, I was doing allthe things, and when I finally
went and I talked to anexecutive and I said, hey, I'd
like to be considered formanagement, the response was
really and I was like what doyou mean?
(04:37):
Oh, really, I'm doing all thesethings.
And they said you never saidanything.
And that was a huge waking upmoment for me, because I just
thought that people were goingto notice the work that I was
doing, but, in essence, nobodywas paying attention to what I
was doing other than me and thenmaybe my manager.
(04:57):
My downfall was that I was notadvocating for myself and as so,
I stepped into management rightafter that and then, the next
time that I went to get a roleas an executive vice president,
I started campaigning for me,and once I actually got into
that EVP role, I was responsiblefor onboarding new talent women
(05:21):
and men that were justgraduating on to a full timetime
position, and I noticed thatthe women were not answering
questions.
They were very quiet, not vocal,and I was like, oh my goodness,
it's not just me.
And so I started doing internalwork while I was there in the
corporate world just to help theyounger women understand that
(05:44):
they need to speak up.
And after that, in 2019, Istarted volunteering.
I joined National SpeakersAcademy, I joined Toastmasters
and I started volunteering fordifferent organizations, and
then one day I was like you know, I think I want to do this into
a business.
So I did my side hustle for afew years, and a couple of years
(06:04):
ago in September, it'll be twoyears that I left the corporate
world and now I'm doing thisfull time.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
Wow, that's great.
And one word that I cansummarize from everything that
you just said and shared in yourstory.
I'm going to say resilience.
Help my audience understand.
How did you develop that?
Because I can imagine youbusting your ass to prove your
worth and there's biases,there's maybe some
(06:33):
discrimination, I don't know,but you're just easily
overlooked sexism, all of thatstuff.
How did you build thatresilience for yourself to keep
propelling forward?
Speaker 2 (06:46):
Well, when I was a child so I was born in Chicago
my dad moved our family toMexico City back and forth a
couple of times.
So I think I was I startedkindergarten in Mexico, then I
did Mexico kindergarten throughthird grade.
Then I was in third grade andhe moved us to the United States
(07:07):
and then when I was in eighthgrade he moved us back.
So it was like back and forthand every time, coach Mo, it was
that word you summarized mylife in a perfect word, because
every time we're going back andforth it's the fear, the unknown
.
When I was a child it wasn't asbad for me, other than the
(07:30):
language, because I do rememberstarting kindergarten being
fluent in Spanish and notknowing English at all.
And then when I started fourthgrade, I was fluent in English
and I knew how to understandSpanish, but when I started
fourth grade in Mexico, I didn'tknow how to read it or write it
.
I understood it.
So every few years there wasthis massive change in my world.
(07:54):
It's not just moving houses,moving countries.
And then we left Mexico again,started high school, freshman
year.
They were like welcome class of1987.
And I had no clue what thatmeant.
I didn't know what a freshman,sophomore, junior, senior was.
So I feel that my whole lifewas just one big resilient thing
(08:20):
, because every few years I waslike, finally in my stride in
that, oh sorry, we're going backto Mexico, we're going back to
the United States.
And when I got older was when itreally impacted me.
I started high school.
My parents didn't go to highschool in the United States so
they couldn't help me.
It was my guidance counselorand to this day I wish I knew
(08:41):
who that person was.
I don't even remember.
Everything was such a blur forme at the time.
I don't even remember if it wasa man, woman, whatever.
But they said your grades arereally good, so I'm going to put
you on the college preparatorytrack.
And I was like, okay, I had noidea what that was Learning,
going with the flow,understanding.
When I got a little bit olderand wiser, researching things,
(09:03):
becoming knowledgeable, I putmyself through school.
My parents had no, they werezero help.
God bless, not that they didn'twant to.
They couldn't help me.
Not only that, but the languagebarrier.
They didn't know what a collegecredit hour was either.
So it was me learning,understanding, trying to figure
out what the next step.
(09:24):
Literally, I feel I was likescratching, climbing that ladder
, trying to understand, and Igot myself through college and
then into the corporate world.
So that's a little bit about mybackstory, because, you're
absolutely right, every fewyears it was like that
resilience of I'm going tofigure this out.
Gosh darn it.
Speaker 1 (09:53):
And then that's an excellent segue into how do you
help your clients be establishedthat resilience, because I'm
listening to you and there's aparallel with leadership and the
leadership journey.
One minute you're on this pathand you're thinking, yes, I made
it, and then a monkey wrench isthrown in there and it just
throws everything off.
What do you do to help thesewomen establish resilience in
(10:15):
their journey?
Speaker 2 (10:20):
In 36 or so, I went through a really horrible
divorce where I ended upfinancially destitute.
I had to move in with myparents and then, at the end of
the divorce, I had these twolittle kids, four and six, that
I was solely financiallyresponsible for.
And that's when the resiliencekicked in within me.
(10:43):
That's when I was like I needto make more money because now I
have to take care of these twolittle kids.
So I think a lot of times thatword resilience comes out of
need, out of the necessity toeither take care of yourself or
take care of somebody else.
It's interesting because a lotof the women that I coach and I
(11:04):
teach, they come to me andthey're like hey, rosie, can you
help me figure out how to getpromoted?
But first I need to beconfident, I need to be able to
advocate for myself.
I have now learned that the wayyou can become confident, the
(11:24):
way you can start advocating foryourself, is through
preparation and self-discovery.
So a lot of times they come tome and they say can you help me?
And I say yes, but first do youwant to help yourself, do you
want to really look at yourself?
Because if you don't, then I'mnot gonna be able to help you.
(11:46):
So it's a matter of having alot of time to reflect and
really understand what is itthat they aspire to do.
Once they figure that out, thenwe go into different components
of assessing their skills,whether it's their resume, their
LinkedIn, skills assessment,all those things getting advice
(12:11):
from people.
And people are always like Iget advice all the time.
I'm like, yeah, but do you ask?
Do you intentionally ask forfeedback?
And I always say feedback isfuel.
Feedback a lot of times canhurt our souls, because if
somebody tells you that you'redoing something wrong or gives
you that constructive criticism,it can sting your soul.
(12:31):
And then the last piece isadvertise, which is where I went
wrong, because I did all thoseother steps but I didn't tell
people hey, I'm interested inbecoming a manager.
So I walk them through what Icall the promotion readiness
roadmap, and it literally is aroadmap because it takes time.
But when women are done withthe roadmap, it's a
(12:57):
self-discovery process and theybecome so much more confident.
They're able to articulate howthey can help others solve their
problems and it's atransformational journey and
that's what I lead my clients on.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
For sure Success story.
I want to hear one.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
Yeah, last year I started working with a young
woman.
She's probably early thirtiesand my ideal customer or client
is about 25 to 45.
Those women that are wanting toadvance in their career or
stepping into leadership.
And my client she was in humanresources and she had just
gotten laid off.
(13:39):
We did our coaching program andit was so beautiful because
it's a 12 week program and it'svery intensive, but every week I
would see her one thing aboutherself.
It would just click into place.
And then it would click intoplace and you're like, oh my
gosh, I didn't realize that theperspectives.
(14:00):
I am a client as well, becauseI have coaches.
Anytime a coach coaches me, I'mlike, oh wow, that's a great
perspective and that's what I dofor my clients.
We ended the program andprobably within the month she
got a job and she said thebeautiful part was that you know
what, rosie?
I walked into networking eventsand it was completely different
(14:23):
.
I knew what to say.
Of course, you get a littlenervous anytime you do something
that you're not used to, butshe said I knew what to say.
I was much more comfortable, Ihad great conversations and she
got hired eventually and then,since then, she's had a couple
of other jobs that she's left,whether they downsized her or
whatever.
But she had the tools and shegot now three jobs from the time
(14:45):
that we started workingtogether and she found her ideal
job.
She's really happy.
She's excited aboutcontributing, so that's a
success story, that is.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
But I want to dig a little bit deeper on that.
And the women that you help, soyou help them.
You take them through yourprogram.
They get this confidencethey're able to get the job
right.
But then once you get the job,that's a different animal right.
When they go through thatprogram are they cut off at that
point?
And then they're expected tonavigate their own career after
(15:19):
that point.
Because when you enter thatleadership role, there's just
these new dynamics that they maynot have ever thought is lining
up to come at them.
And the first thing that comesto my mind is having difficult
conversations.
Typically we're put into thesehigh-level positions Walking
(15:41):
into the door.
You've got personnel issuesthat you automatically got to
deal with, right.
And then if you are maybe afrontline employee that's just
getting promoted to thatsupervisory role, it's expected
you got to go have thisconversation and sometimes, and
certainly it says you're gettingpressure from upper management
to do something about it.
And then you're carrying thisfear how am I going to handle
(16:02):
this?
And then the fear is so deepthat I can't tell my supervisor
that I can't handle it, becausethen they're going to think that
they hired the wrong person.
I'm just going to have tofigure this out, and it's just
overwhelming weight that's ontheir shoulders that makes them
very hesitant to move forward.
And so my real question isafter these women get into these
(16:26):
roles, are they still connectedwith you to manage that, or how
do they survive in theirleadership role after working
with you?
Speaker 2 (16:36):
I love that question because absolutely we stay
connected and the way we stayconnected is after they finish
their program, because these aregenerally VIP programs, meaning
private programs, so it'sprivate coaching, one-on-one.
Then I roll them into my monthlymembership and then that's
where they get the support andthey can stay on in the
membership as long as they needto.
(16:57):
And just last night we had ourmembership and my membership is
we meet twice a month and thenthe last Wednesday of the month
it's open office hours andthat's the beauty about my
membership because you can comein even if you don't want to
attend the lectures or theteachings or the webinars,
whatever.
They can come once a month,talk to me.
They still have access to meand they can pick my brain on
(17:20):
whatever.
But it's a really beautiful wayto four basic needs and the
purpose of life and how it'simportant to stay connected with
your peers and your loved onesand share what your career
(17:40):
journey or your job searchjourney is, because it could be
a heavy lift and if you're notsharing with others where you
are and what you're goingthrough, it could be so
isolating.
And that is another reason whyI have my membership and people
come and we have amazingconversations.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
Yeah, I love that because I'm in the process of
establishing a membership aswell.
It's called the inner arena andthat's a space where leaders
can get together and work ontheir reps work on those
intangible reps.
I like the concept of innerarena because you can come into
the locker room, take off yourarmor and just get real and raw
(18:18):
and then it's all focused ondeveloping reps on things that
you don't really get trainingfor in the leadership world.
But as we gain experience, youhave to develop and manage ways
of how you, let's say, manageburnout, because different
things in these leadership rolesis coming at you at different
(18:41):
angles.
You just got to experience it.
And when you're in a space likeyou've created and I think
that's awesome of the leadership, of the membership that you
have, the membership that youhave where people can
collaborate, share theirexperiences and really go back
into the field and executecertain new things that they
learn, I think what you're doingis very powerful the new
(19:04):
generation of women coming up.
It's much needed right.
Speaker 2 (19:07):
Yes, especially because I'm sure you've noticed
this, but I have a 24 and a 26year old and they do not want to
call people, they want to text,they want to do everything
online and they do not want tohave any interactions, let alone
confrontations, with people.
But I wanted to mention I lovethe name of your membership, and
(19:27):
my membership is called Unlockthe Leader Within, because a lot
of times women don't seethemselves as leaders, even
though they're leading theirfamilies, their communities,
their schools.
I really hope that women are incommunity with any kind of
membership.
That's outside of work, becauseyou can come and talk about
(19:48):
work in a very confidential waywithout having to worry about
judgment or retaliation oranything like that at work.
Speaker 1 (19:55):
And that goes back to the power of the work that we
do as coaches, right, we createa confidential space for people
to be vulnerable and create atrust environment, and sometimes
in some organizations that'sdifficult to find.
And then, if you particularly,I love I really do love helping
(20:19):
new supervisors, because theycome in with like a little chip
on their shoulder that they haveto prove themselves to their
manager, to their supervisor,and I mentioned this before.
They're coming into this role.
They're excited, but thenthere's a lot of fear, right,
they can't share that, at leastthat's what they feel.
They can't share that, becauseif my manager thinks I'm not a
(20:43):
good performer, then you knowI'm ass out, then they're going
to look at me in a certain way.
I can't talk to my employeesbecause I have, I'm supposed to
portray myself as the personthat knows, has all the answers
and that is extremely confident.
So now they're in this island.
That they that you mentallycreate for yourself because of
(21:04):
the judgment and thinking that Ican't talk to my supervisor
about this because they're goingto view me this way.
I can't talk to my employeesabout it because I'm going
through this with them.
I can't talk to my peers aboutit, because I don't want to feel
embarrassed that and they doknow it, and so they're just in
this isolated form, right, andthey just carry it.
(21:25):
And then they struggle, andthen things start to shift into
more burnout, stress, worry,doubt, and then it starts to
show up in the work and then theteam feels the energy, they
feel the resistance.
So guess what their team isgoing to do?
They're going to protect theiregos and become resistant to the
(21:47):
energy that you're showing upwith and it creates this cycle
that you're in until you decideto break it and reach out for
help, whether it's through amentor, a counselor, therapist,
coach, trusted family member,whatever.
That's how it typically isbroken, and then you propel
(22:08):
forward.
Speaker 2 (22:09):
Yeah, Sounds like you've been there, Coach Mo.
I'm thinking back to my career.
I'm like yep, check, check,check.
And the other unfortunate thing, too is about corporations,
businesses is that the upperleadership expects that middle
leadership to develop the peopleat the desk.
And it's very unfortunatebecause instead of the upper
(22:32):
leadership having programscoaches like you and I to come
in once a month or whatever tohelp develop those people, those
middle managers, man, theyreally have it tough because
they have to make sure that thepeople below them do their jobs
(22:53):
and also figure out how todevelop them, and it is
impossible to do all of that ina regular eight to five day.
So it's not how we feel thatthese middle managers can do it
all.
Speaker 1 (23:06):
And then they carry a certain expectation that I have
to work 60 hours a week to getthis done.
And then now they're becomingburned out and the senior
managers doesn't actually knowall the details of the work that
they do.
And then at the middle manager,they're afraid to communicate
that up because they don't wantto use judgment on them and the
(23:28):
fear that if I speak up I maylose my job.
So let me just keep my headdown and make sure I do
everything correctly.
It's a cycle, but you're right.
It starts with the manager, thesenior manager, creating a
culture, a culture of learningand developing, and that's where
coaching can really come in tohelp shift and grow that culture
(23:51):
.
Speaker 2 (23:52):
Absolutely.
And also the other thing that Ialways say this because that
senior leader why are they notwilling or able to come and sit
with someone that is doing thejob at the desk decisions and
(24:18):
they never know how it's goingto impact the people at the
desks, even if it's once a year?
Come and talk to the people,not just your managers.
So that is to me that'ssomething that's a no brainer
that they can actually do.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
Yeah, absolutely.
It goes back to, as leaders,right to get out of our own way
number one and look out for theorganization and the people
within that organization bycreating these cultures,
particularly at that age rangelike you said, 24 to 45, because
(24:51):
at some point these women isputting their foot down early
and saying you know what?
I'm ready to put myself outthere, I'm ready to give this a
shot, rosie, help me.
So that's powerful.
Speaker 2 (25:09):
Yeah, I love it.
And also just throughout mycareer as a speaker, as a coach,
as a mentor, I've done a littlebit of research and
unfortunately, girls' confidencepeaks at age nine, like nine
years old, and that is so sad tome.
I was actually judging an event.
(25:29):
It's called DECA, which is anationwide event where they try
to help high school students geta leg up into their careers in
college and stuff like that.
So I did an event where eightyoung people were assigned to me
.
I was the judge.
They had to do a marketingcompetition.
So they had a scenario.
(25:50):
They had 10 minutes to figureout what they were going to
present.
They would come to me andpresent it for about five
minutes, and five they were 17year old males.
They presented, they showed up,their voice carried strong
eyesight, or they're lookinginto my eyes, so the contact was
very good.
(26:10):
And then the three young womenthey were 17 years old as well.
They came in and theirshoulders were down their hand.
It was like that dead fishhandshake and I left that day
and I'm like, oh my gosh, thisis exactly what happens, Because
when girls' confidence peaks atage nine and they typically
don't pick it back up untiltheir mid twenties to late
(26:33):
twenties when they're trying toget promoted.
I reached out to DECA and Isaid, hey, I would love to come
in and do some kind of trainingfree of charge, because I am
very vested in trying to helpwomen just make sure that they
are able to support themselvesand their family, regardless of
(26:54):
whatever happens in their life.
That's great.
Speaker 1 (26:57):
And I appreciate the work that you're doing out there
for the universe and the world.
We need more women likeyourself.
That continues to do that.
As we get ready to sign out,any lasting thoughts that you
would like to share?
Speaker 2 (27:09):
Yes, I always end, usually whether it's my podcast
or anything on social media withbe brave, be bold and take
action.
And the reason I do that isbecause it takes courage for you
to.
Number one, start looking atyourself, do some
self-reflection, do someself-journaling.
(27:31):
There's a great book that theypublish every year.
It's called what color Is myParachute, and just going
through that book and doingthose exercises can really start
helping you discover who youare, what you want, all that
stuff.
Being bold means reallyspeaking up for yourself, taking
the time to understand how youare coming across.
(27:53):
And then the last one is takeaction.
And it's that promotionreadiness roadmap, whatever the
roadmap is.
Get somebody to help you figureout what is the next step that
you can take in your career toprepare yourself for whenever
that promotion comes to or thatopportunity lands in your lap,
(28:14):
that you already have yourresume done, your LinkedIn done,
that you're ready for thatinterview.
And then I'll leave.
Another little advice that Ialways say is people come to me
and they're like, hey, can youhelp me?
Just give me an overview of myresume.
I'll try to do it on my own.
I'm like you could pay, likefor my company.
We charge, just to betransparent, $580 to write a
(28:35):
resume.
I know that's a lot of money,it's an investment, but I would
rather you spend those 10 or 20hours that you're going to take
to write your resume, to preparefor the interview.
So the tip there is hire aresume writer so that they can
do the heavy lift and then youtake that time to prepare for
(28:55):
the interview so that you knowexactly what you're going to say
during the interview.
We've all been in situationswhere you walk into a meeting
and you're ultra prepared andyou're like, yes, I've got this.
And then we've walked intomeetings where you're like, oh
crap, I forgot that I needed todo whatever.
Just think of those twodifferences of how you feel when
(29:16):
you're ultra prepared and whenyou're not prepared at all.
And I want you to walk intothat interview feeling that I am
, I've got this, I'm ultraprepared and I can show my value
and show people how I can helpthem solve the problem.
And that's what people arelooking for in interviews.
So those are my final words.
(29:36):
Coach Mo, I think that'samazing.
How can we find you?
Yes, so very easy.
They can go to my website.
It's nowomanleftbehindcom andit's W-O-M-A-N.
And also I'm on LinkedIn undereither Rosie Zelinskas or Rosie
Career Coaching, but I'm onLinkedIn every single day, so
(29:56):
those are the two best placesfor people to find me.
Speaker 1 (30:00):
Rosie, thank you so much.
I really enjoyed today'sconversation.
Speaker 2 (30:05):
Thank you as well, and I appreciate all the work
that you're doing as well, coachMo, so thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (30:09):
Thank you for joining me in this episode of let's
Think About it.
Your time and attention aregreatly appreciated.
If you found value in today'sdiscussion, I encourage you to
subscribe on your favoritepodcast platform.
Remember, the journey ofself-improvement is ongoing and
I'm here to support you everystep of the way.
(30:30):
Connect with me on social mediafor updates and insights.
You can find me on Instagramand Facebook, at Coach Mo,
coaching or LinkedIn, at MauriceMabry, or visit my website at
mauricemabrycom for exclusivecontent.
Until next time, keepreflecting, keep growing and,
(30:52):
most importantly, keep believingin yourself.
Growing and, most importantly,keep believing in yourself.
Remember, the most effectiveway to do it is to do it
Together.
We're making incredible stridestoward a better and more
empowered you.
So thank you, and I'll see youin our next episode.
Welcome to the let's Think About it podcast, where we
embark on a journey ofthoughtfulness and personal
growth.
I'm your host, Coach Mo, andI'm here to guide you through
thought-promoting discussionsthat will inspire you to unlock
your full potential.
In each episode, we'll explorea wide range of topics, from
self-discovery and mindfulnessto goal-setting and achieving
(00:33):
success.
Together, we'll challengeconventional thinking and dive
deep into the realms ofpossibility.
Whether you're looking to findclarity in your personal or
professional life, or seekingstrategies to overcome obstacles
, this podcast is your go-tosource for insightful
conversations and practicaladvice.
So find a comfortable spot,chill and let's embark on this
(00:57):
journey of self-improvementtogether.
Remember, the power oftransformation lies within you,
and together we'll uncover thetools and insights you need to
make it happen.
So let's dive in.
Welcome to another episode ofthe let's Think About it podcast
(01:20):
.
I'm your host, Coach Mo, andI'm here with another amazing
guest.
Her name is Rosie Zelinskas.
Rosie, how are you?
Speaker 2 (01:32):
I am doing very well.
Today.
The sun is shining here inChicagoland, which is usually
either cold or really hot, so Iam well and excited to be here,
coach Mo.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
Thank you.
Thank you and that's one of thequestions that I always ask
people is where they're checkingin from Chicago, born and
raised.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
I'm not born and raised.
So I was born in Chicago but wemoved to Mexico City on and off
a few years when I was a kidlived in Texas but I've been in
the Chicagoland area since I was19.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
I love Chicago.
I've been there a few times.
I love the culture there.
I love that it's a sports city.
They love their bears, theylove their Chicago.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Bulls?
Yes, absolutely so.
Funny because I'm more partialto the Chicago Cubs, which is
northern side of the city forbaseball.
But those Southsiders, man,they are Chicago Sox all the way
.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
Yeah, yeah, I actually was out there a couple
of years ago for the 49ersversus the Chicago Bears.
I'm a big Niner fan and we do aguy's road trip every year to
catch some away games.
And we went.
I think it was 2022, I believe,I'm not really sure, but they
played the Bears opening game ofthe season.
(02:48):
It was pouring down raining.
We didn't expect the rain, itwas just crazy, but we had a
great time.
So tell my audience who you are, what you do and the type of
value you bring.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
I am a Mexican female .
I am married, I have two kids.
My kids are 24 and 26, and I'mvery happy that they are out in
the world and they are no longerliving at home.
I'm one of five in Chicago, andhow I bring value to the world
now Coach Mo is.
I work with women in thecorporate world who feel that
(03:23):
they may be undervalued, and Ihelp them with a proven roadmap
so that they can claim therecognition they've been looking
for, so they can step intoleadership with confidence.
My company is called no WomanLeft Behind, and I coach and
empower women in that realm.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
Well, let's rewind a little bit.
I coach and empower women inthat realm.
Well, let's rewind a little bit.
How did you get to this pointto help advocate for women to
get these type of positions?
Speaker 2 (03:52):
I was 40 years old and I was, at the time,
expecting a management role, aleadership role, when I was
sitting at my desk thinking,okay, any day, now someone's
going to come and tap me on theshoulder and say, hey, rosie,
you want to be a manager?
Nobody ever came, and I noticedyounger employees than I was at
(04:15):
the time were getting promoted.
I was like what is wrong withthis picture?
What am I doing wrong?
Because at the time I was ahigh performer, I was
volunteering, I was doing allthe things, and when I finally
went and I talked to anexecutive and I said, hey, I'd
like to be considered formanagement, the response was
really and I was like what doyou mean?
(04:37):
Oh, really, I'm doing all thesethings.
And they said you never saidanything.
And that was a huge waking upmoment for me, because I just
thought that people were goingto notice the work that I was
doing, but, in essence, nobodywas paying attention to what I
was doing other than me and thenmaybe my manager.
(04:57):
My downfall was that I was notadvocating for myself and as so,
I stepped into management rightafter that and then, the next
time that I went to get a roleas an executive vice president,
I started campaigning for me,and once I actually got into
that EVP role, I was responsiblefor onboarding new talent women
(05:21):
and men that were justgraduating on to a full timetime
position, and I noticed thatthe women were not answering
questions.
They were very quiet, not vocal,and I was like, oh my goodness,
it's not just me.
And so I started doing internalwork while I was there in the
corporate world just to help theyounger women understand that
(05:44):
they need to speak up.
And after that, in 2019, Istarted volunteering.
I joined National SpeakersAcademy, I joined Toastmasters
and I started volunteering fordifferent organizations, and
then one day I was like you know, I think I want to do this into
a business.
So I did my side hustle for afew years, and a couple of years
(06:04):
ago in September, it'll be twoyears that I left the corporate
world and now I'm doing thisfull time.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
Wow, that's great.
And one word that I cansummarize from everything that
you just said and shared in yourstory.
I'm going to say resilience.
Help my audience understand.
How did you develop that?
Because I can imagine youbusting your ass to prove your
worth and there's biases,there's maybe some
(06:33):
discrimination, I don't know,but you're just easily
overlooked sexism, all of thatstuff.
How did you build thatresilience for yourself to keep
propelling forward?
Speaker 2 (06:46):
Well, when I was a child so I was born in Chicago
my dad moved our family toMexico City back and forth a
couple of times.
So I think I was I startedkindergarten in Mexico, then I
did Mexico kindergarten throughthird grade.
Then I was in third grade andhe moved us to the United States
(07:07):
and then when I was in eighthgrade he moved us back.
So it was like back and forthand every time, coach Mo, it was
that word you summarized mylife in a perfect word, because
every time we're going back andforth it's the fear, the unknown
.
When I was a child it wasn't asbad for me, other than the
(07:30):
language, because I do rememberstarting kindergarten being
fluent in Spanish and notknowing English at all.
And then when I started fourthgrade, I was fluent in English
and I knew how to understandSpanish, but when I started
fourth grade in Mexico, I didn'tknow how to read it or write it
.
I understood it.
So every few years there wasthis massive change in my world.
(07:54):
It's not just moving houses,moving countries.
And then we left Mexico again,started high school, freshman
year.
They were like welcome class of1987.
And I had no clue what thatmeant.
I didn't know what a freshman,sophomore, junior, senior was.
So I feel that my whole lifewas just one big resilient thing
(08:20):
, because every few years I waslike, finally in my stride in
that, oh sorry, we're going backto Mexico, we're going back to
the United States.
And when I got older was when itreally impacted me.
I started high school.
My parents didn't go to highschool in the United States so
they couldn't help me.
It was my guidance counselorand to this day I wish I knew
(08:41):
who that person was.
I don't even remember.
Everything was such a blur forme at the time.
I don't even remember if it wasa man, woman, whatever.
But they said your grades arereally good, so I'm going to put
you on the college preparatorytrack.
And I was like, okay, I had noidea what that was Learning,
going with the flow,understanding.
When I got a little bit olderand wiser, researching things,
(09:03):
becoming knowledgeable, I putmyself through school.
My parents had no, they werezero help.
God bless, not that they didn'twant to.
They couldn't help me.
Not only that, but the languagebarrier.
They didn't know what a collegecredit hour was either.
So it was me learning,understanding, trying to figure
out what the next step.
(09:24):
Literally, I feel I was likescratching, climbing that ladder
, trying to understand, and Igot myself through college and
then into the corporate world.
So that's a little bit about mybackstory, because, you're
absolutely right, every fewyears it was like that
resilience of I'm going tofigure this out.
Gosh darn it.
Speaker 1 (09:53):
And then that's an excellent segue into how do you
help your clients be establishedthat resilience, because I'm
listening to you and there's aparallel with leadership and the
leadership journey.
One minute you're on this pathand you're thinking, yes, I made
it, and then a monkey wrench isthrown in there and it just
throws everything off.
What do you do to help thesewomen establish resilience in
(10:15):
their journey?
Speaker 2 (10:20):
In 36 or so, I went through a really horrible
divorce where I ended upfinancially destitute.
I had to move in with myparents and then, at the end of
the divorce, I had these twolittle kids, four and six, that
I was solely financiallyresponsible for.
And that's when the resiliencekicked in within me.
(10:43):
That's when I was like I needto make more money because now I
have to take care of these twolittle kids.
So I think a lot of times thatword resilience comes out of
need, out of the necessity toeither take care of yourself or
take care of somebody else.
It's interesting because a lotof the women that I coach and I
(11:04):
teach, they come to me andthey're like hey, rosie, can you
help me figure out how to getpromoted?
But first I need to beconfident, I need to be able to
advocate for myself.
I have now learned that the wayyou can become confident, the
(11:24):
way you can start advocating foryourself, is through
preparation and self-discovery.
So a lot of times they come tome and they say can you help me?
And I say yes, but first do youwant to help yourself, do you
want to really look at yourself?
Because if you don't, then I'mnot gonna be able to help you.
(11:46):
So it's a matter of having alot of time to reflect and
really understand what is itthat they aspire to do.
Once they figure that out, thenwe go into different components
of assessing their skills,whether it's their resume, their
LinkedIn, skills assessment,all those things getting advice
(12:11):
from people.
And people are always like Iget advice all the time.
I'm like, yeah, but do you ask?
Do you intentionally ask forfeedback?
And I always say feedback isfuel.
Feedback a lot of times canhurt our souls, because if
somebody tells you that you'redoing something wrong or gives
you that constructive criticism,it can sting your soul.
(12:31):
And then the last piece isadvertise, which is where I went
wrong, because I did all thoseother steps but I didn't tell
people hey, I'm interested inbecoming a manager.
So I walk them through what Icall the promotion readiness
roadmap, and it literally is aroadmap because it takes time.
But when women are done withthe roadmap, it's a
(12:57):
self-discovery process and theybecome so much more confident.
They're able to articulate howthey can help others solve their
problems and it's atransformational journey and
that's what I lead my clients on.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
For sure Success story.
I want to hear one.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
Yeah, last year I started working with a young
woman.
She's probably early thirtiesand my ideal customer or client
is about 25 to 45.
Those women that are wanting toadvance in their career or
stepping into leadership.
And my client she was in humanresources and she had just
gotten laid off.
(13:39):
We did our coaching program andit was so beautiful because
it's a 12 week program and it'svery intensive, but every week I
would see her one thing aboutherself.
It would just click into place.
And then it would click intoplace and you're like, oh my
gosh, I didn't realize that theperspectives.
(14:00):
I am a client as well, becauseI have coaches.
Anytime a coach coaches me, I'mlike, oh wow, that's a great
perspective and that's what I dofor my clients.
We ended the program andprobably within the month she
got a job and she said thebeautiful part was that you know
what, rosie?
I walked into networking eventsand it was completely different
(14:23):
.
I knew what to say.
Of course, you get a littlenervous anytime you do something
that you're not used to, butshe said I knew what to say.
I was much more comfortable, Ihad great conversations and she
got hired eventually and then,since then, she's had a couple
of other jobs that she's left,whether they downsized her or
whatever.
But she had the tools and shegot now three jobs from the time
(14:45):
that we started workingtogether and she found her ideal
job.
She's really happy.
She's excited aboutcontributing, so that's a
success story, that is.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
But I want to dig a little bit deeper on that.
And the women that you help, soyou help them.
You take them through yourprogram.
They get this confidencethey're able to get the job
right.
But then once you get the job,that's a different animal right.
When they go through thatprogram are they cut off at that
point?
And then they're expected tonavigate their own career after
(15:19):
that point.
Because when you enter thatleadership role, there's just
these new dynamics that they maynot have ever thought is lining
up to come at them.
And the first thing that comesto my mind is having difficult
conversations.
Typically we're put into thesehigh-level positions Walking
(15:41):
into the door.
You've got personnel issuesthat you automatically got to
deal with, right.
And then if you are maybe afrontline employee that's just
getting promoted to thatsupervisory role, it's expected
you got to go have thisconversation and sometimes, and
certainly it says you're gettingpressure from upper management
to do something about it.
And then you're carrying thisfear how am I going to handle
(16:02):
this?
And then the fear is so deepthat I can't tell my supervisor
that I can't handle it, becausethen they're going to think that
they hired the wrong person.
I'm just going to have tofigure this out, and it's just
overwhelming weight that's ontheir shoulders that makes them
very hesitant to move forward.
And so my real question isafter these women get into these
(16:26):
roles, are they still connectedwith you to manage that, or how
do they survive in theirleadership role after working
with you?
Speaker 2 (16:36):
I love that question because absolutely we stay
connected and the way we stayconnected is after they finish
their program, because these aregenerally VIP programs, meaning
private programs, so it'sprivate coaching, one-on-one.
Then I roll them into my monthlymembership and then that's
where they get the support andthey can stay on in the
membership as long as they needto.
(16:57):
And just last night we had ourmembership and my membership is
we meet twice a month and thenthe last Wednesday of the month
it's open office hours andthat's the beauty about my
membership because you can comein even if you don't want to
attend the lectures or theteachings or the webinars,
whatever.
They can come once a month,talk to me.
They still have access to meand they can pick my brain on
(17:20):
whatever.
But it's a really beautiful wayto four basic needs and the
purpose of life and how it'simportant to stay connected with
your peers and your loved onesand share what your career
(17:40):
journey or your job searchjourney is, because it could be
a heavy lift and if you're notsharing with others where you
are and what you're goingthrough, it could be so
isolating.
And that is another reason whyI have my membership and people
come and we have amazingconversations.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
Yeah, I love that because I'm in the process of
establishing a membership aswell.
It's called the inner arena andthat's a space where leaders
can get together and work ontheir reps work on those
intangible reps.
I like the concept of innerarena because you can come into
the locker room, take off yourarmor and just get real and raw
(18:18):
and then it's all focused ondeveloping reps on things that
you don't really get trainingfor in the leadership world.
But as we gain experience, youhave to develop and manage ways
of how you, let's say, manageburnout, because different
things in these leadership rolesis coming at you at different
(18:41):
angles.
You just got to experience it.
And when you're in a space likeyou've created and I think
that's awesome of the leadership, of the membership that you
have, the membership that youhave where people can
collaborate, share theirexperiences and really go back
into the field and executecertain new things that they
learn, I think what you're doingis very powerful the new
(19:04):
generation of women coming up.
It's much needed right.
Speaker 2 (19:07):
Yes, especially because I'm sure you've noticed
this, but I have a 24 and a 26year old and they do not want to
call people, they want to text,they want to do everything
online and they do not want tohave any interactions, let alone
confrontations, with people.
But I wanted to mention I lovethe name of your membership, and
(19:27):
my membership is called Unlockthe Leader Within, because a lot
of times women don't seethemselves as leaders, even
though they're leading theirfamilies, their communities,
their schools.
I really hope that women are incommunity with any kind of
membership.
That's outside of work, becauseyou can come and talk about
(19:48):
work in a very confidential waywithout having to worry about
judgment or retaliation oranything like that at work.
Speaker 1 (19:55):
And that goes back to the power of the work that we
do as coaches, right, we createa confidential space for people
to be vulnerable and create atrust environment, and sometimes
in some organizations that'sdifficult to find.
And then, if you particularly,I love I really do love helping
(20:19):
new supervisors, because theycome in with like a little chip
on their shoulder that they haveto prove themselves to their
manager, to their supervisor,and I mentioned this before.
They're coming into this role.
They're excited, but thenthere's a lot of fear, right,
they can't share that, at leastthat's what they feel.
They can't share that, becauseif my manager thinks I'm not a
(20:43):
good performer, then you knowI'm ass out, then they're going
to look at me in a certain way.
I can't talk to my employeesbecause I have, I'm supposed to
portray myself as the personthat knows, has all the answers
and that is extremely confident.
So now they're in this island.
That they that you mentallycreate for yourself because of
(21:04):
the judgment and thinking that Ican't talk to my supervisor
about this because they're goingto view me this way.
I can't talk to my employeesabout it because I'm going
through this with them.
I can't talk to my peers aboutit, because I don't want to feel
embarrassed that and they doknow it, and so they're just in
this isolated form, right, andthey just carry it.
(21:25):
And then they struggle, andthen things start to shift into
more burnout, stress, worry,doubt, and then it starts to
show up in the work and then theteam feels the energy, they
feel the resistance.
So guess what their team isgoing to do?
They're going to protect theiregos and become resistant to the
(21:47):
energy that you're showing upwith and it creates this cycle
that you're in until you decideto break it and reach out for
help, whether it's through amentor, a counselor, therapist,
coach, trusted family member,whatever.
That's how it typically isbroken, and then you propel
(22:08):
forward.
Speaker 2 (22:09):
Yeah, Sounds like you've been there, Coach Mo.
I'm thinking back to my career.
I'm like yep, check, check,check.
And the other unfortunate thing, too is about corporations,
businesses is that the upperleadership expects that middle
leadership to develop the peopleat the desk.
And it's very unfortunatebecause instead of the upper
(22:32):
leadership having programscoaches like you and I to come
in once a month or whatever tohelp develop those people, those
middle managers, man, theyreally have it tough because
they have to make sure that thepeople below them do their jobs
(22:53):
and also figure out how todevelop them, and it is
impossible to do all of that ina regular eight to five day.
So it's not how we feel thatthese middle managers can do it
all.
Speaker 1 (23:06):
And then they carry a certain expectation that I have
to work 60 hours a week to getthis done.
And then now they're becomingburned out and the senior
managers doesn't actually knowall the details of the work that
they do.
And then at the middle manager,they're afraid to communicate
that up because they don't wantto use judgment on them and the
(23:28):
fear that if I speak up I maylose my job.
So let me just keep my headdown and make sure I do
everything correctly.
It's a cycle, but you're right.
It starts with the manager, thesenior manager, creating a
culture, a culture of learningand developing, and that's where
coaching can really come in tohelp shift and grow that culture
(23:51):
.
Speaker 2 (23:52):
Absolutely.
And also the other thing that Ialways say this because that
senior leader why are they notwilling or able to come and sit
with someone that is doing thejob at the desk decisions and
(24:18):
they never know how it's goingto impact the people at the
desks, even if it's once a year?
Come and talk to the people,not just your managers.
So that is to me that'ssomething that's a no brainer
that they can actually do.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
Yeah, absolutely.
It goes back to, as leaders,right to get out of our own way
number one and look out for theorganization and the people
within that organization bycreating these cultures,
particularly at that age rangelike you said, 24 to 45, because
(24:51):
at some point these women isputting their foot down early
and saying you know what?
I'm ready to put myself outthere, I'm ready to give this a
shot, rosie, help me.
So that's powerful.
Speaker 2 (25:09):
Yeah, I love it.
And also just throughout mycareer as a speaker, as a coach,
as a mentor, I've done a littlebit of research and
unfortunately, girls' confidencepeaks at age nine, like nine
years old, and that is so sad tome.
I was actually judging an event.
(25:29):
It's called DECA, which is anationwide event where they try
to help high school students geta leg up into their careers in
college and stuff like that.
So I did an event where eightyoung people were assigned to me
.
I was the judge.
They had to do a marketingcompetition.
So they had a scenario.
(25:50):
They had 10 minutes to figureout what they were going to
present.
They would come to me andpresent it for about five
minutes, and five they were 17year old males.
They presented, they showed up,their voice carried strong
eyesight, or they're lookinginto my eyes, so the contact was
very good.
(26:10):
And then the three young womenthey were 17 years old as well.
They came in and theirshoulders were down their hand.
It was like that dead fishhandshake and I left that day
and I'm like, oh my gosh, thisis exactly what happens, Because
when girls' confidence peaks atage nine and they typically
don't pick it back up untiltheir mid twenties to late
(26:33):
twenties when they're trying toget promoted.
I reached out to DECA and Isaid, hey, I would love to come
in and do some kind of trainingfree of charge, because I am
very vested in trying to helpwomen just make sure that they
are able to support themselvesand their family, regardless of
(26:54):
whatever happens in their life.
That's great.
Speaker 1 (26:57):
And I appreciate the work that you're doing out there
for the universe and the world.
We need more women likeyourself.
That continues to do that.
As we get ready to sign out,any lasting thoughts that you
would like to share?
Speaker 2 (27:09):
Yes, I always end, usually whether it's my podcast
or anything on social media withbe brave, be bold and take
action.
And the reason I do that isbecause it takes courage for you
to.
Number one, start looking atyourself, do some
self-reflection, do someself-journaling.
(27:31):
There's a great book that theypublish every year.
It's called what color Is myParachute, and just going
through that book and doingthose exercises can really start
helping you discover who youare, what you want, all that
stuff.
Being bold means reallyspeaking up for yourself, taking
the time to understand how youare coming across.
(27:53):
And then the last one is takeaction.
And it's that promotionreadiness roadmap, whatever the
roadmap is.
Get somebody to help you figureout what is the next step that
you can take in your career toprepare yourself for whenever
that promotion comes to or thatopportunity lands in your lap,
(28:14):
that you already have yourresume done, your LinkedIn done,
that you're ready for thatinterview.
And then I'll leave.
Another little advice that Ialways say is people come to me
and they're like, hey, can youhelp me?
Just give me an overview of myresume.
I'll try to do it on my own.
I'm like you could pay, likefor my company.
We charge, just to betransparent, $580 to write a
(28:35):
resume.
I know that's a lot of money,it's an investment, but I would
rather you spend those 10 or 20hours that you're going to take
to write your resume, to preparefor the interview.
So the tip there is hire aresume writer so that they can
do the heavy lift and then youtake that time to prepare for
(28:55):
the interview so that you knowexactly what you're going to say
during the interview.
We've all been in situationswhere you walk into a meeting
and you're ultra prepared andyou're like, yes, I've got this.
And then we've walked intomeetings where you're like, oh
crap, I forgot that I needed todo whatever.
Just think of those twodifferences of how you feel when
(29:16):
you're ultra prepared and whenyou're not prepared at all.
And I want you to walk intothat interview feeling that I am
, I've got this, I'm ultraprepared and I can show my value
and show people how I can helpthem solve the problem.
And that's what people arelooking for in interviews.
So those are my final words.
(29:36):
Coach Mo, I think that'samazing.
How can we find you?
Yes, so very easy.
They can go to my website.
It's nowomanleftbehindcom andit's W-O-M-A-N.
And also I'm on LinkedIn undereither Rosie Zelinskas or Rosie
Career Coaching, but I'm onLinkedIn every single day, so
(29:56):
those are the two best placesfor people to find me.
Speaker 1 (30:00):
Rosie, thank you so much.
I really enjoyed today'sconversation.
Speaker 2 (30:05):
Thank you as well, and I appreciate all the work
that you're doing as well, coachMo, so thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (30:09):
Thank you for joining me in this episode of let's
Think About it.
Your time and attention aregreatly appreciated.
If you found value in today'sdiscussion, I encourage you to
subscribe on your favoritepodcast platform.
Remember, the journey ofself-improvement is ongoing and
I'm here to support you everystep of the way.
(30:30):
Connect with me on social mediafor updates and insights.
You can find me on Instagramand Facebook, at Coach Mo,
coaching or LinkedIn, at MauriceMabry, or visit my website at
mauricemabrycom for exclusivecontent.
Until next time, keepreflecting, keep growing and,
(30:52):
most importantly, keep believingin yourself.
Growing and, most importantly,keep believing in yourself.
Remember, the most effectiveway to do it is to do it
Together.
We're making incredible stridestoward a better and more
empowered you.
So thank you, and I'll see youin our next episode.
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