April 26, 2024 • 24 mins
Ever had to stifle your quirks to blend into a new job, or held back a thought that might spark change? Join Kristelle Siarza Moon and Jace Downey as we crack open the complexities of authenticity with Lucy Rowell, executive coach and podcast host extraordinaire, as we dissect what it means to bring your full self to work.
As we unwrap the layers of 'Impactful Authenticity,' we reveal the dance of aligning actions with values, even when temptation beckons with a chocolatey grin. Lucy offers a treasure trove of insights on building teams that aren't just ticking boxes but are powerhouses of genuine interaction – a rarity in the corporate treasure hunt.
Lucy Rowell
Founder & Podcast Host, Impactful Authenticity
Lucy is a certified executive coach, consultant and podcast host. She founded Impactful Authenticity in 2022. A boutique agency working alongside motivated leaders to increase business performance and employee engagement during times of disruptive change.
Lucy spent 20 years in the Pharmaceutical Industry leading cross-functional and functional teams through the highs and lows of drug development. Lucy experienced first hand the opportunities that are unlocked by shedding expectations and perceptions and finding your authentic style. Lucy is renowned for creating teams that leverage each individual's authenticity. Creating high-performing, high impact teams people want to be a part of.
Lucy is honoured to have been the Chairwoman and Board Member for the non-profit organisation PSI and she loves running, eating vegan food, listening and dancing to music.
Learn more: https://www.impactfulauthenticity.me
@impactful_authenticity
A Siarza Production
Hosted by Kristelle Siarza Moon & Jace Downey
Executive Producer: Kristelle Siarza Moon
Producer: Jace Downey
Video/Editing: Justin Otsuka
Watch episodes at siarza.com/siarza-podcast
Follow us on FB, IG, TT, YT and TW @siarzatheagency
Follow Kristelle @kristellesiarza
www.misskristelle.com
Follow Jace @jacedowneyofficial
www.jacedowney.com
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
We'll just dive right in, because we are speaking to
an authenticity expert.
Lucy is a certified executivecoach, she is a consultant and
she is a podcast host as well,which is how we found her Indeed
.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
So she reached out to me and said I'd love to talk
about diversity, equity,inclusion, being authentic about
it.
I know it's your company, andso I told her about CRZ, I told
her about the Asian BusinessCollaborative and we just hit it
off.
She was really great and shewas also very forgiving for the
fact that, like I, had to do thepodcast in the middle of a
McDonald's just because it hasreliable Wi-Fi Swear to God.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
Which is so funny, when she and I were chatting she
was telling me about that and Iwas like then you got the full,
authentic Crystal, crystalexperience because she's going
to be in the middle of life.
She's going to make likewhatever she needs to do.
She's going to make it happenwith whatever's going on in life
.
I was like that is on brand.
You got a very authenticinterview from Crystal then.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Yeah, and so what I didn't know is that she had done
20 years in the pharma industrydoing a lot of the
cross-functional operationsstuff.
So she talks a lot aboutcorporate life or she talks
about a lot of those parallelsnow being a new business owner
or being a business ownerseasoned business owner for
(01:12):
herself, which is great.
The show is just it has it'srunning for a very, very long
time Lots of viewers, lots offollowers et cetera, we, we, we
mentioned.
She mentions here that she'sknown for her team building,
leveraging the authenticity inher team building and creating
the high-impact teams whichevery organization is very
yearning for.
She's a blast, she's reallysweet.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
She is, she's super sweet and she, from all of those
years in corporate America,really got hands-on first-person
experience of the results, kindof the cookie cutter everybody
fit in the same mold type ofwork environment and then one
where people are allowed to betheir authentic selves and the
(01:52):
major benefits that come fromthat, obviously for the person,
because it feels good to be you,right, but the business
benefits that go along withhaving an authentic workforce as
well.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
I think the part that was really fun about being on
her show is that a lot of thethings that I mentioned, which
are my podcast with her, will beaired later this summer.
She was taken back by theamount of authenticity that I
kind of exuded and just not justfor myself, but I talked about,
you know, the team and the teamdynamic and who we are, et
(02:23):
cetera, and she was surprised byit.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
And.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
I think that's what surprised me is that she was
surprised by it and when she hadthere's a part of the show
where we ask her like do youhave a certain story to share?
I'll let her kind of say, likewhat she said.
But I believe her when she saysthat sometimes people might not
be as authentic as it seems, orcompanies say that they are,
but they're really not.
So I think that was really coolthat she kind of said to us
(02:47):
like no, this is the real deal,like you should really be the
real deal and this is reallycool that you are.
So I'm really excited tointroduce to you all Lucy Rowell
, the certified executive coach.
I hope that you enjoy herpodcast, which she'll mention at
the end of the episode, butdon't forget to subscribe to
ours on your favorite podcastchannel on YouTube and at
(03:10):
CRSAcom.
Please meet Lucy Rowell.
Lucy, thank you so much forbeing on the show.
Is it a little surreal beingthe guest this time rather than
the host?
Speaker 3 (03:25):
Yes, absolutely so.
Bear with me, it might just bea little bit of an adjustment as
we get going.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
If you start throwing questions our way too, as
you're used to being your ownpodcast host, that's totally
fine as well.
We'll mix it up.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
Tell me yeah, no, and thank you for being on our show
.
I I'm very curious impactfulauthenticity.
You know one of the things thatI was taken back in a great way
like.
I was so overcome withexcitement.
As we were talking, you asked avery bold question, which is
the common question that you askevery guest Like how do you
(03:59):
explain authenticity?
How do you define authenticity?
What is impactful authenticity?
How do you define authenticity?
What is impactful authenticity?
Can you go into that in yourown life, in your own way,
especially as a podcast host andas a business owner yourself?
Speaker 3 (04:15):
Yeah, so good question.
Thanks for asking that to kickthings off.
So I think for me, authenticityin its kind of simplest form,
or how I like to think about it,is that you know what you say
and what you're thinking,actually kind of mirror action.
So I think often we're thinkingabout things but actually then
(04:37):
the action that comes aroundthat doesn't actually match
those things actually don't kindof mirror each other.
So you know, it could just bereally simple things in life
where you might be thinkingright, you know, I really want
to have a piece of chocolate.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
That's going to make me happy, that's what I need
right now, like you're talkingabout my whole life, yeah late
in the afternoon as we'rerecording this for me.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
But then you know, you just go, someone says, oh,
here's a chocolate bar, and yougo, no, I'm not going to do that
.
But you know that's not whatI'm going to have.
That's not no simple answer.
Now, what I find interestingwith this one and I use this
kind of example because it'sit's it's something where you
probably actually got a coupleof things playing against each
(05:27):
other.
So authenticity typically willhave.
You know, you'll have a coupleof things in your mind that
you're working towards.
So one for example maybe I havea value that you know again
what I'm thinking I want toaction, I want to be true to
myself.
But I might have another onewhich is, like you know, I want
(05:49):
to have a healthy body.
I want to, you know, givemyself good things.
Now, in that example I justgave with the chocolate, you've
kind of got two conflictingthings.
I want to be healthy and fit.
That's part of who I am, that'swhat I'm about.
But I also want to kind of gowith my gut and do things that
you know make sense and make mehappy at that time.
(06:10):
So I think this is sort of likethe interesting play a lot of
the time with authenticity isthat even in just those examples
with two values that you mighthold, you've already got a
conflict and you have to figureout which one you're going to
have to prioritize.
So I think when we take thiskind of to things like business,
it gets really, reallyinteresting, because typically
(06:31):
in companies or as owners ofcompanies, you've probably got
you know three, four, fivevalues that you're maybe
thinking about and you'recontinuously having to make
trade-offs.
And it's not to say that oneanswer or another is not more or
less authentic.
It's probably just kind of howyou're feeling at that point on
(06:53):
that specific day that leads youto say one thing or do
something versus something else.
So I think in my own life Ithink what I saw through sort of
my career was that I wasn't, Iwas thinking and feeling many
things I wasn't acting on andnot that I, you know, did bad.
(07:26):
That kind of get put on us andthoughts about what a business
owner is and what a careerperson looks like in X, y and Z
position, and you kind of sortof fall into that.
And it took me probably afairly long time in a sense it
was probably maybe 10 yearsbefore I started realizing
(07:47):
actually that I don't want to beplaying this game anymore.
I just want to show up as Iwant to show up and hopefully
people like that, hopefullypeople get that.
But if not, then I'll have tofigure out what to do.
So I could talk about this forages, but I'll stop there and
(08:08):
happy to kind of shed more lighton any of that if you want.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
I think that's a really interesting analysis and
not to cut you off, but is thatthe reason why the show became
impactful?
I mean, it seems like the showwas named that but like, was
there?
Was there like a catalysticmoment in your life that kind of
made you prompt that?
Or was there like a certainscenario or story where you said
(08:32):
you know, this is how.
This is the approach that Iwant to take.
Um, this is the conundrum thatI'm in that put you in that, in
that dilemma of impactful andauthenticity being separate,
yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:44):
So I guess there's two stories in a sense.
So there was one that I thinkwas my own story to kind of
recognizing my own impactfulauthenticity, and that was just
after being in a huge corporateorganization for many, many
years and, yeah, following whatI believed was you know what was
(09:11):
needed to be successful and, asI said, I was very successful
in that sphere I just got alittle bit fed up and I also, I
think, started to recognize thatyou could be a better role
model by actually just being whoyou are rather than just
following what everybody elsewas doing and just trying to
(09:31):
kind of blend with the crowd.
And I think what's kind ofinteresting for me around
authenticity is there arecertain parts, I believe, kind
of in your life where you aremore authentic, just naturally.
And I think often as you startnew jobs is an area where
typically people try to blend inyou.
You want to make friends, youwant to like seem like you like
(09:55):
fit into the new job or the newteam or whatever that would be,
and so you kind of maybe softensome of your edges or you just
kind of turn up maybe a littlebit differently.
So that was certainly one piecewhere I kind of recognized no
one around me really reflectedhow I felt true leadership
(10:17):
should be and, I think, beingestablished enough, having taken
some time to think, I'm feelingbrave enough to just go and
give this a shot in a slightlydifferent way.
So that was the first part, andthen the second bit in terms of
things like setting up thepodcast, like setting up my own
company.
That was all actually around anopportunity to take voluntary
(10:41):
redundancy.
After being 20 years incorporate, a few years before
I'd woken up in the middle ofthe night thinking, you know, I
felt just so inspired by whatcould happen if people actually
showed up authentically more inwork and I just thought, oh, you
(11:05):
know, as often is the case,there's all those assumptions of
like I don't have enough time,how do I even start thinking
about this?
How do I put a podcast together?
What do I need?
Like I don't have enough time,how do I even start thinking
about this?
How do I put a podcast together?
What do I need?
And I just kept kind of pushingit to the side, pushing it to
the side, and then, when I gotthis opportunity to think about
redundancy, the first thing Iactually made the decision about
(11:27):
, regardless of whether do Istay in that company, do I find
another job, what do I do?
Was I'm going to set up thispodcast?
It's been on my mind for acouple of years.
You know what.
It would be great to just havesome amazing conversations with
really brilliant leaders in lotsand lots of different
organizations and companiesabout their own journeys, about
(11:48):
what they've done, how they kindof navigated some of these
tricky parts, and everyone'sstory is so different and
everyone's story is reallyinteresting.
So that was the sort of impetus, I guess, to kind of set me off
onto something slightlydifferent and how we had our
lovely conversation, christelle,when you came on the show.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
Yeah, absolutely.
When you're talking with theseleaders, these company owners
yeah, absolutely.
When you're talking with theseleaders, these company owners,
about a more authentic culturearound, or even allowing their
employees to be more authentic,do they get freaked out a little
bit?
Does that scare them?
Does the idea of an authenticemployee showing up freak
leaders out?
Speaker 3 (12:28):
I would say on the whole, yes, and I think on the
ones where it doesn't, I thinkactually when it comes into
practice it does, yeah, and Ithink it's just because there's,
I think, a lot of confusionaround sort of what does it mean
?
And again, everyone's got theirown kind of interpretation of
(12:51):
it and that's completely fine.
You know, I don't think there'sa problem with having slightly
different thoughts on what itkind of means, but I think
there's a lot of concern about,you know, people sort of kind of
turning up and being reallyinappropriate in a work, kind of
environment.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
Like all of our authentic selves, are just
secret heathens and they're justabout to come out yeah, it's,
it's, you know.
Speaker 3 (13:14):
I think there's just, I think, a lot of concern about
that.
I think the other things that Ihear a lot of concern about is
that, you know and this isn'tjust around authenticity, but
just general diversity in theworkplace is that on?
You know, it's going to reallycomplicate things because we're
used to doing things in acertain way, and I'll take a
(13:34):
very simple, a simple examplelike communication, right, well,
we're used to just doing ourcommunication over email.
Well, not everybody's preferredformat of absorbing information
is written.
But you know, suddenly, youknow, if you start asking, well,
what is it you want?
Like, how can we help you getthe best out of you?
(13:56):
And if people are throwing likeall these different ideas, then
it's like, oh my gosh, right,it was really simple.
Before.
Now I've got to think about howto try and make sure that
everyone and I like to thinkabout authenticity in the
workplace a lot of the time it'sjust allowing people to show up
to do their best work, and soit's one of those things where
(14:20):
it will create.
It will create a little bit ofadditional.
You know, I hate the word ofburden, but that's a lot often
what people kind of use back tous to get it in place.
But then once the systems arethere, actually you know they
run and it's fine.
It's just people kind ofgetting used to it and I think a
(14:41):
lot of the time, you knowbusiness owners, leaders, have
got to get comfortable with justtalking and asking and
listening, sitting and listening.
What is it that people want,what is it that people need, and
how can I, as a leader andbusiness owner, help my team to
(15:02):
do that?
Because I think that's why Ithink about this impactful part,
because if you take it as I'mtrying to help people do their
best work and their best work Iwant to see it in my team, in my
company.
Then there is, you know, thereis a business benefit and impact
to that, as well as to theimpact to the team and to the
(15:22):
individuals and hopefully tosociety more broadly.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
And is getting employees best work through
their authentic work styles orauthentic humanness, the main
benefit, is it the only benefit?
Thinking about the burden andwhat I'm hearing is discomfort
that's going to come with thiskind of change in the additional
communication and all of thatwhat's the what's the sell to a
(15:48):
business owner to do this?
What's the big benefit to makeit all worth it?
Speaker 3 (15:52):
What we've typically seen.
I think one of the first thingsis actually employee retention,
and I think often companiesunderestimate how much time and
effort it takes to recruitsomebody, and especially a
really good person.
So if you've got someone inyour team who's great, you do
actually want to do what you canto keep them, because you know
(16:15):
the time and costs involved ishigh, I think.
Secondly, is that actually alot of companies that, again
I'll say, a lot.
This isn't every single one,but on the whole, most companies
want to be creative andinnovative and be doing things
that are, you know, new, cuttingedge, a little bit different.
No matter what it is.
Whatever, the industry can kindof apply that more kind of
(16:38):
fairly broadly and have everyonebe able to bring those ideas
and to push each other to comeand think about things that are
not just what the team leaderthinks, what the business owner
thinks.
So typically what we've seen isthere's a little bit of
(17:01):
friction at the start, but youkeep employee engagement high.
Secondly, you actually createmore creative, innovative ideas,
processes, systems, howeverthat may be, which in the long
run then has a massive impact onjust business performance
generally.
Um, so there's usually a littlebit of a wobbly start at the
(17:24):
beginning actually.
You know, let's be honest, likeall these things are going to
be a little bit wobbly at thebeginning, but once it's kind of
embraced then actually theimpact to business is, you know,
is significant sure, mostdefinitely you should think
about it.
Speaker 2 (17:40):
Yeah, um, I can't believe our time is about to end
and I want to give you at leastanother good five minutes, but
I know I have a funny feelingthis answer is going to be a
little bit longer.
So you've interviewed hundredsof C-level executives.
You have some phenomenalstories that I'm sure that
you've heard about impactfulauthenticity.
Can you name a couple that yousaid to yourself?
(18:04):
This particular story standsout to me because it truly is
that definition of impactfulauthenticity.
Or was there a person or apersonality that you've talked
to that's like I really thinkthat they are the definition of
the show oh, such a goodquestion.
Speaker 3 (18:27):
Well, I think actually what?
What I'll start off with sayingis I think what's interesting
about the show is this mightsound really bad I don't
actually always believe all theguests, because most people come
on the show and say we'reabsolutely authentic, and I
don't actually believe there'sanybody on this earth who is
(18:48):
completely authentic all thetime.
Speaker 1 (18:49):
I just don't think exists.
Speaker 3 (18:52):
So I think actually it's.
You know, people do have to getcomfortable with openly being
able to say you know, sometimesI'm not really that authentic.
Sometimes, you know, I have tokind of show up in a certain way
and I might be feeling likeabsolute crap, but no, I have to
kind of show up in a certainway and I might be feeling like
absolute crap, but no, I have toput a smile on my face.
(19:12):
I have to go out there anddeliver something and it's, it's
not, it's not me, and that'sjust kind of the way life is
like.
We know that's that, that iskind of how our life works.
I think what I would say is thatthe things that I think have
shone through on the show, whichI know I've kind of taken away
myself, is one this act ofcuriosity.
(19:34):
I think the people who seem tohave been really successful are
the ones who are curious.
They're curious to understandabout themselves.
They take on quite a lot ofreflective practices etc.
To really kind of self-analyzethemselves, where they're doing
great, where there could beimprovement, how they're
thinking about things, andbecause of that they gain this
(19:57):
kind of creative curiosity aboutothers, about people in their
team, about trying to understandhow people work, how you can
kind of, you know, get thebiggest impact out of
individuals, etc.
So I think curiosity has beenone huge thing that's flown
(20:17):
through curiosity and reflection.
And the second thing I would sayI think that's again pretty
consistently kind of shonethrough is this idea around
vulnerability.
You know, again, how do youyourself be vulnerable and
create the spaces for others tobe vulnerable?
(20:39):
Um, and that's again one thingI think, christelle, that came
kind of nicely through some ofthe conversation that we had
when you were on the show isthat part about how you create
these very safe spaces forpeople in your organization, um,
to be vulnerable, to kind ofshow up and share who they are.
So I think that's another piecethat I think if, if at the
(21:02):
moment you're sat listening andyou're thinking, I'm not very
curious and I hate, I find itvery uncomfortable using your
words, jace to be vulnerable.
Those are two things I justhave a little bit of a think
about.
Is there a small little stepyou could do to help you kind of
move forward?
Speaker 1 (21:21):
It's leading me to realize, if this sounds hard, if
you're a business owner andyou're like, oh, I want that, I
want that impact in my owncompany, but this sounds hard,
it sounds confusing, it soundsscary, I don't know how to
navigate it.
Hire someone, could even be you, but there are people out here
who we're really big on.
Bring in an expert, bring inthe team.
Don't try to figure it out onyour own.
(21:41):
There are people who havealready figured it out, that can
help, that have resources,things like that.
So it's not maybe quite asbumpy as it could be if you're
just out there doing trial anderror.
Speaker 2 (21:54):
And Lucy, one question that we always ask at
the end of every guest interviewand again before I forget thank
you so much for being on theshow.
I definitely want to end withthis answer.
At the end of the day, how willyou know if you lived a great
life?
Speaker 3 (22:11):
such a great question to end with, um, and because I
knew this question was coming, Ican be a bit more succinct,
you'll be, pleased to hear.
For me it's two things, I think.
One having no regrets oh and I'ma big believer in you know,
make a decision, go for it,don't regret it.
You won't know, kind of, whatany other other plan would have
(22:34):
taught you.
So just you know, go for things.
If things come to you andyou're a little bit scared, it's
usually a sign to go for it.
So no regrets.
And the second thing is justthat you know I've hopefully had
a positive impact in people'slives you, I think that's
something I try to continuouslylive by, whether it's just
passing someone on the street oryou know family and friends and
(22:59):
people that I work with.
So those are the things that,at the end of the day, I hope
show that I've had a I can'tremember what the exact phrase
was but that I've lived a goodlife.
Speaker 2 (23:11):
Excellent answer.
Love that, lucy.
Thank you so much for being onthe show.
We're grateful for you being onStories, success and Stuff.
If people want to actually tuneinto your podcast Impactful
Authenticity how do they findyou?
Where can they listen to you?
Speaker 3 (23:25):
So pretty much any place that you normally get your
podcasts.
So, whether it be Spotify,google, apple, all of those
lovely places, if you justsearch for Impactful
Authenticity, it will be theonly podcast hopefully that pops
up for you.
If not, you can listen to itvia the website.
So impactfulauthenticityme M-Eand you can find the podcast on
(23:49):
there.
You can listen to it by thewebsite if you don't normally
listen to podcasts.
Speaker 1 (23:53):
But I'm hoping if people are watching this show
they they know where else to get, say, and if you're looking for
another great one, that itcertainly is.
We'll include that info in thedescription below this episode
as well.
Thank you, lucy thanks lucy.
Speaker 2 (24:07):
Thank you um incredible episode.
Love her, love her interview.
I also wanted to ask her likewould you please read me
Lullabies?
Speaker 1 (24:18):
That'd be nice, but you could just fall asleep to
her podcast and then let likeall of that great info hit the
subconscious mind while you'resleeping Absorb.
Yeah, and dream about Lucy andher life and being like, hey,
that's what's authentic to youis going to be impactful.
I'm gonna tell you right now,Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (24:33):
So thanks again for joining us for stories, success
and stuff.
I'm Crystal.
This is Jace.
I'm looking forward to seeingsome of you online on your
favorite social media channel.
Don't forget to subscribe to uson your favorite podcast
platform and, obviously, onYouTube and siarzacom.
This is stories, success andstuff.
We'll just dive right in, because we are speaking to
an authenticity expert.
Lucy is a certified executivecoach, she is a consultant and
she is a podcast host as well,which is how we found her Indeed
.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
So she reached out to me and said I'd love to talk
about diversity, equity,inclusion, being authentic about
it.
I know it's your company, andso I told her about CRZ, I told
her about the Asian BusinessCollaborative and we just hit it
off.
She was really great and shewas also very forgiving for the
fact that, like I, had to do thepodcast in the middle of a
McDonald's just because it hasreliable Wi-Fi Swear to God.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
Which is so funny, when she and I were chatting she
was telling me about that and Iwas like then you got the full,
authentic Crystal, crystalexperience because she's going
to be in the middle of life.
She's going to make likewhatever she needs to do.
She's going to make it happenwith whatever's going on in life
.
I was like that is on brand.
You got a very authenticinterview from Crystal then.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Yeah, and so what I didn't know is that she had done
20 years in the pharma industrydoing a lot of the
cross-functional operationsstuff.
So she talks a lot aboutcorporate life or she talks
about a lot of those parallelsnow being a new business owner
or being a business ownerseasoned business owner for
(01:12):
herself, which is great.
The show is just it has it'srunning for a very, very long
time Lots of viewers, lots offollowers et cetera, we, we, we
mentioned.
She mentions here that she'sknown for her team building,
leveraging the authenticity inher team building and creating
the high-impact teams whichevery organization is very
yearning for.
She's a blast, she's reallysweet.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
She is, she's super sweet and she, from all of those
years in corporate America,really got hands-on first-person
experience of the results, kindof the cookie cutter everybody
fit in the same mold type ofwork environment and then one
where people are allowed to betheir authentic selves and the
(01:52):
major benefits that come fromthat, obviously for the person,
because it feels good to be you,right, but the business
benefits that go along withhaving an authentic workforce as
well.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
I think the part that was really fun about being on
her show is that a lot of thethings that I mentioned, which
are my podcast with her, will beaired later this summer.
She was taken back by theamount of authenticity that I
kind of exuded and just not justfor myself, but I talked about,
you know, the team and the teamdynamic and who we are, et
(02:23):
cetera, and she was surprised byit.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
And.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
I think that's what surprised me is that she was
surprised by it and when she hadthere's a part of the show
where we ask her like do youhave a certain story to share?
I'll let her kind of say, likewhat she said.
But I believe her when she saysthat sometimes people might not
be as authentic as it seems, orcompanies say that they are,
but they're really not.
So I think that was really coolthat she kind of said to us
(02:47):
like no, this is the real deal,like you should really be the
real deal and this is reallycool that you are.
So I'm really excited tointroduce to you all Lucy Rowell
, the certified executive coach.
I hope that you enjoy herpodcast, which she'll mention at
the end of the episode, butdon't forget to subscribe to
ours on your favorite podcastchannel on YouTube and at
(03:10):
CRSAcom.
Please meet Lucy Rowell.
Lucy, thank you so much forbeing on the show.
Is it a little surreal beingthe guest this time rather than
the host?
Speaker 3 (03:25):
Yes, absolutely so.
Bear with me, it might just bea little bit of an adjustment as
we get going.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
If you start throwing questions our way too, as
you're used to being your ownpodcast host, that's totally
fine as well.
We'll mix it up.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
Tell me yeah, no, and thank you for being on our show
.
I I'm very curious impactfulauthenticity.
You know one of the things thatI was taken back in a great way
like.
I was so overcome withexcitement.
As we were talking, you asked avery bold question, which is
the common question that you askevery guest Like how do you
(03:59):
explain authenticity?
How do you define authenticity?
What is impactful authenticity?
How do you define authenticity?
What is impactful authenticity?
Can you go into that in yourown life, in your own way,
especially as a podcast host andas a business owner yourself?
Speaker 3 (04:15):
Yeah, so good question.
Thanks for asking that to kickthings off.
So I think for me, authenticityin its kind of simplest form,
or how I like to think about it,is that you know what you say
and what you're thinking,actually kind of mirror action.
So I think often we're thinkingabout things but actually then
(04:37):
the action that comes aroundthat doesn't actually match
those things actually don't kindof mirror each other.
So you know, it could just bereally simple things in life
where you might be thinkingright, you know, I really want
to have a piece of chocolate.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
That's going to make me happy, that's what I need
right now, like you're talkingabout my whole life, yeah late
in the afternoon as we'rerecording this for me.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
But then you know, you just go, someone says, oh,
here's a chocolate bar, and yougo, no, I'm not going to do that
.
But you know that's not whatI'm going to have.
That's not no simple answer.
Now, what I find interestingwith this one and I use this
kind of example because it'sit's it's something where you
probably actually got a coupleof things playing against each
(05:27):
other.
So authenticity typically willhave.
You know, you'll have a coupleof things in your mind that
you're working towards.
So one for example maybe I havea value that you know again
what I'm thinking I want toaction, I want to be true to
myself.
But I might have another onewhich is, like you know, I want
(05:49):
to have a healthy body.
I want to, you know, givemyself good things.
Now, in that example I justgave with the chocolate, you've
kind of got two conflictingthings.
I want to be healthy and fit.
That's part of who I am, that'swhat I'm about.
But I also want to kind of gowith my gut and do things that
you know make sense and make mehappy at that time.
(06:10):
So I think this is sort of likethe interesting play a lot of
the time with authenticity isthat even in just those examples
with two values that you mighthold, you've already got a
conflict and you have to figureout which one you're going to
have to prioritize.
So I think when we take thiskind of to things like business,
it gets really, reallyinteresting, because typically
(06:31):
in companies or as owners ofcompanies, you've probably got
you know three, four, fivevalues that you're maybe
thinking about and you'recontinuously having to make
trade-offs.
And it's not to say that oneanswer or another is not more or
less authentic.
It's probably just kind of howyou're feeling at that point on
(06:53):
that specific day that leads youto say one thing or do
something versus something else.
So I think in my own life Ithink what I saw through sort of
my career was that I wasn't, Iwas thinking and feeling many
things I wasn't acting on andnot that I, you know, did bad.
(07:26):
That kind of get put on us andthoughts about what a business
owner is and what a careerperson looks like in X, y and Z
position, and you kind of sortof fall into that.
And it took me probably afairly long time in a sense it
was probably maybe 10 yearsbefore I started realizing
(07:47):
actually that I don't want to beplaying this game anymore.
I just want to show up as Iwant to show up and hopefully
people like that, hopefullypeople get that.
But if not, then I'll have tofigure out what to do.
So I could talk about this forages, but I'll stop there and
(08:08):
happy to kind of shed more lighton any of that if you want.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
I think that's a really interesting analysis and
not to cut you off, but is thatthe reason why the show became
impactful?
I mean, it seems like the showwas named that but like, was
there?
Was there like a catalysticmoment in your life that kind of
made you prompt that?
Or was there like a certainscenario or story where you said
(08:32):
you know, this is how.
This is the approach that Iwant to take.
Um, this is the conundrum thatI'm in that put you in that, in
that dilemma of impactful andauthenticity being separate,
yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:44):
So I guess there's two stories in a sense.
So there was one that I thinkwas my own story to kind of
recognizing my own impactfulauthenticity, and that was just
after being in a huge corporateorganization for many, many
years and, yeah, following whatI believed was you know what was
(09:11):
needed to be successful and, asI said, I was very successful
in that sphere I just got alittle bit fed up and I also, I
think, started to recognize thatyou could be a better role
model by actually just being whoyou are rather than just
following what everybody elsewas doing and just trying to
(09:31):
kind of blend with the crowd.
And I think what's kind ofinteresting for me around
authenticity is there arecertain parts, I believe, kind
of in your life where you aremore authentic, just naturally.
And I think often as you startnew jobs is an area where
typically people try to blend inyou.
You want to make friends, youwant to like seem like you like
(09:55):
fit into the new job or the newteam or whatever that would be,
and so you kind of maybe softensome of your edges or you just
kind of turn up maybe a littlebit differently.
So that was certainly one piecewhere I kind of recognized no
one around me really reflectedhow I felt true leadership
(10:17):
should be and, I think, beingestablished enough, having taken
some time to think, I'm feelingbrave enough to just go and
give this a shot in a slightlydifferent way.
So that was the first part, andthen the second bit in terms of
things like setting up thepodcast, like setting up my own
company.
That was all actually around anopportunity to take voluntary
(10:41):
redundancy.
After being 20 years incorporate, a few years before
I'd woken up in the middle ofthe night thinking, you know, I
felt just so inspired by whatcould happen if people actually
showed up authentically more inwork and I just thought, oh, you
(11:05):
know, as often is the case,there's all those assumptions of
like I don't have enough time,how do I even start thinking
about this?
How do I put a podcast together?
What do I need?
Like I don't have enough time,how do I even start thinking
about this?
How do I put a podcast together?
What do I need?
And I just kept kind of pushingit to the side, pushing it to
the side, and then, when I gotthis opportunity to think about
redundancy, the first thing Iactually made the decision about
(11:27):
, regardless of whether do Istay in that company, do I find
another job, what do I do?
Was I'm going to set up thispodcast?
It's been on my mind for acouple of years.
You know what.
It would be great to just havesome amazing conversations with
really brilliant leaders in lotsand lots of different
organizations and companiesabout their own journeys, about
(11:48):
what they've done, how they kindof navigated some of these
tricky parts, and everyone'sstory is so different and
everyone's story is reallyinteresting.
So that was the sort of impetus, I guess, to kind of set me off
onto something slightlydifferent and how we had our
lovely conversation, christelle,when you came on the show.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
Yeah, absolutely.
When you're talking with theseleaders, these company owners
yeah, absolutely.
When you're talking with theseleaders, these company owners,
about a more authentic culturearound, or even allowing their
employees to be more authentic,do they get freaked out a little
bit?
Does that scare them?
Does the idea of an authenticemployee showing up freak
leaders out?
Speaker 3 (12:28):
I would say on the whole, yes, and I think on the
ones where it doesn't, I thinkactually when it comes into
practice it does, yeah, and Ithink it's just because there's,
I think, a lot of confusionaround sort of what does it mean
?
And again, everyone's got theirown kind of interpretation of
(12:51):
it and that's completely fine.
You know, I don't think there'sa problem with having slightly
different thoughts on what itkind of means, but I think
there's a lot of concern about,you know, people sort of kind of
turning up and being reallyinappropriate in a work, kind of
environment.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
Like all of our authentic selves, are just
secret heathens and they're justabout to come out yeah, it's,
it's, you know.
Speaker 3 (13:14):
I think there's just, I think, a lot of concern about
that.
I think the other things that Ihear a lot of concern about is
that, you know and this isn'tjust around authenticity, but
just general diversity in theworkplace is that on?
You know, it's going to reallycomplicate things because we're
used to doing things in acertain way, and I'll take a
(13:34):
very simple, a simple examplelike communication, right, well,
we're used to just doing ourcommunication over email.
Well, not everybody's preferredformat of absorbing information
is written.
But you know, suddenly, youknow, if you start asking, well,
what is it you want?
Like, how can we help you getthe best out of you?
(13:56):
And if people are throwing likeall these different ideas, then
it's like, oh my gosh, right,it was really simple.
Before.
Now I've got to think about howto try and make sure that
everyone and I like to thinkabout authenticity in the
workplace a lot of the time it'sjust allowing people to show up
to do their best work, and soit's one of those things where
(14:20):
it will create.
It will create a little bit ofadditional.
You know, I hate the word ofburden, but that's a lot often
what people kind of use back tous to get it in place.
But then once the systems arethere, actually you know they
run and it's fine.
It's just people kind ofgetting used to it and I think a
(14:41):
lot of the time, you knowbusiness owners, leaders, have
got to get comfortable with justtalking and asking and
listening, sitting and listening.
What is it that people want,what is it that people need, and
how can I, as a leader andbusiness owner, help my team to
(15:02):
do that?
Because I think that's why Ithink about this impactful part,
because if you take it as I'mtrying to help people do their
best work and their best work Iwant to see it in my team, in my
company.
Then there is, you know, thereis a business benefit and impact
to that, as well as to theimpact to the team and to the
(15:22):
individuals and hopefully tosociety more broadly.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
And is getting employees best work through
their authentic work styles orauthentic humanness, the main
benefit, is it the only benefit?
Thinking about the burden andwhat I'm hearing is discomfort
that's going to come with thiskind of change in the additional
communication and all of thatwhat's the what's the sell to a
(15:48):
business owner to do this?
What's the big benefit to makeit all worth it?
Speaker 3 (15:52):
What we've typically seen.
I think one of the first thingsis actually employee retention,
and I think often companiesunderestimate how much time and
effort it takes to recruitsomebody, and especially a
really good person.
So if you've got someone inyour team who's great, you do
actually want to do what you canto keep them, because you know
(16:15):
the time and costs involved ishigh, I think.
Secondly, is that actually alot of companies that, again
I'll say, a lot.
This isn't every single one,but on the whole, most companies
want to be creative andinnovative and be doing things
that are, you know, new, cuttingedge, a little bit different.
No matter what it is.
Whatever, the industry can kindof apply that more kind of
(16:38):
fairly broadly and have everyonebe able to bring those ideas
and to push each other to comeand think about things that are
not just what the team leaderthinks, what the business owner
thinks.
So typically what we've seen isthere's a little bit of
(17:01):
friction at the start, but youkeep employee engagement high.
Secondly, you actually createmore creative, innovative ideas,
processes, systems, howeverthat may be, which in the long
run then has a massive impact onjust business performance
generally.
Um, so there's usually a littlebit of a wobbly start at the
(17:24):
beginning actually.
You know, let's be honest, likeall these things are going to
be a little bit wobbly at thebeginning, but once it's kind of
embraced then actually theimpact to business is, you know,
is significant sure, mostdefinitely you should think
about it.
Speaker 2 (17:40):
Yeah, um, I can't believe our time is about to end
and I want to give you at leastanother good five minutes, but
I know I have a funny feelingthis answer is going to be a
little bit longer.
So you've interviewed hundredsof C-level executives.
You have some phenomenalstories that I'm sure that
you've heard about impactfulauthenticity.
Can you name a couple that yousaid to yourself?
(18:04):
This particular story standsout to me because it truly is
that definition of impactfulauthenticity.
Or was there a person or apersonality that you've talked
to that's like I really thinkthat they are the definition of
the show oh, such a goodquestion.
Speaker 3 (18:27):
Well, I think actually what?
What I'll start off with sayingis I think what's interesting
about the show is this mightsound really bad I don't
actually always believe all theguests, because most people come
on the show and say we'reabsolutely authentic, and I
don't actually believe there'sanybody on this earth who is
(18:48):
completely authentic all thetime.
Speaker 1 (18:49):
I just don't think exists.
Speaker 3 (18:52):
So I think actually it's.
You know, people do have to getcomfortable with openly being
able to say you know, sometimesI'm not really that authentic.
Sometimes, you know, I have tokind of show up in a certain way
and I might be feeling likeabsolute crap, but no, I have to
kind of show up in a certainway and I might be feeling like
absolute crap, but no, I have toput a smile on my face.
(19:12):
I have to go out there anddeliver something and it's, it's
not, it's not me, and that'sjust kind of the way life is
like.
We know that's that, that iskind of how our life works.
I think what I would say is thatthe things that I think have
shone through on the show, whichI know I've kind of taken away
myself, is one this act ofcuriosity.
(19:34):
I think the people who seem tohave been really successful are
the ones who are curious.
They're curious to understandabout themselves.
They take on quite a lot ofreflective practices etc.
To really kind of self-analyzethemselves, where they're doing
great, where there could beimprovement, how they're
thinking about things, andbecause of that they gain this
(19:57):
kind of creative curiosity aboutothers, about people in their
team, about trying to understandhow people work, how you can
kind of, you know, get thebiggest impact out of
individuals, etc.
So I think curiosity has beenone huge thing that's flown
(20:17):
through curiosity and reflection.
And the second thing I would sayI think that's again pretty
consistently kind of shonethrough is this idea around
vulnerability.
You know, again, how do youyourself be vulnerable and
create the spaces for others tobe vulnerable?
(20:39):
Um, and that's again one thingI think, christelle, that came
kind of nicely through some ofthe conversation that we had
when you were on the show isthat part about how you create
these very safe spaces forpeople in your organization, um,
to be vulnerable, to kind ofshow up and share who they are.
So I think that's another piecethat I think if, if at the
(21:02):
moment you're sat listening andyou're thinking, I'm not very
curious and I hate, I find itvery uncomfortable using your
words, jace to be vulnerable.
Those are two things I justhave a little bit of a think
about.
Is there a small little stepyou could do to help you kind of
move forward?
Speaker 1 (21:21):
It's leading me to realize, if this sounds hard, if
you're a business owner andyou're like, oh, I want that, I
want that impact in my owncompany, but this sounds hard,
it sounds confusing, it soundsscary, I don't know how to
navigate it.
Hire someone, could even be you, but there are people out here
who we're really big on.
Bring in an expert, bring inthe team.
Don't try to figure it out onyour own.
(21:41):
There are people who havealready figured it out, that can
help, that have resources,things like that.
So it's not maybe quite asbumpy as it could be if you're
just out there doing trial anderror.
Speaker 2 (21:54):
And Lucy, one question that we always ask at
the end of every guest interviewand again before I forget thank
you so much for being on theshow.
I definitely want to end withthis answer.
At the end of the day, how willyou know if you lived a great
life?
Speaker 3 (22:11):
such a great question to end with, um, and because I
knew this question was coming, Ican be a bit more succinct,
you'll be, pleased to hear.
For me it's two things, I think.
One having no regrets oh and I'ma big believer in you know,
make a decision, go for it,don't regret it.
You won't know, kind of, whatany other other plan would have
(22:34):
taught you.
So just you know, go for things.
If things come to you andyou're a little bit scared, it's
usually a sign to go for it.
So no regrets.
And the second thing is justthat you know I've hopefully had
a positive impact in people'slives you, I think that's
something I try to continuouslylive by, whether it's just
passing someone on the street oryou know family and friends and
(22:59):
people that I work with.
So those are the things that,at the end of the day, I hope
show that I've had a I can'tremember what the exact phrase
was but that I've lived a goodlife.
Speaker 2 (23:11):
Excellent answer.
Love that, lucy.
Thank you so much for being onthe show.
We're grateful for you being onStories, success and Stuff.
If people want to actually tuneinto your podcast Impactful
Authenticity how do they findyou?
Where can they listen to you?
Speaker 3 (23:25):
So pretty much any place that you normally get your
podcasts.
So, whether it be Spotify,google, apple, all of those
lovely places, if you justsearch for Impactful
Authenticity, it will be theonly podcast hopefully that pops
up for you.
If not, you can listen to itvia the website.
So impactfulauthenticityme M-Eand you can find the podcast on
(23:49):
there.
You can listen to it by thewebsite if you don't normally
listen to podcasts.
Speaker 1 (23:53):
But I'm hoping if people are watching this show
they they know where else to get, say, and if you're looking for
another great one, that itcertainly is.
We'll include that info in thedescription below this episode
as well.
Thank you, lucy thanks lucy.
Speaker 2 (24:07):
Thank you um incredible episode.
Love her, love her interview.
I also wanted to ask her likewould you please read me
Lullabies?
Speaker 1 (24:18):
That'd be nice, but you could just fall asleep to
her podcast and then let likeall of that great info hit the
subconscious mind while you'resleeping Absorb.
Yeah, and dream about Lucy andher life and being like, hey,
that's what's authentic to youis going to be impactful.
I'm gonna tell you right now,Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (24:33):
So thanks again for joining us for stories, success
and stuff.
I'm Crystal.
This is Jace.
I'm looking forward to seeingsome of you online on your
favorite social media channel.
Don't forget to subscribe to uson your favorite podcast
platform and, obviously, onYouTube and siarzacom.
This is stories, success andstuff.
Popular Podcasts
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.