Chatting with Whitney Faires, an executive coach with over two decades of corporate experience. Tune in to hear invaluable insights on leadership, overcoming self-doubt, and thriving in your professional journey. Whitney shares her journey from corporate sales to executive coaching, emphasizing the importance of authenticity and intentional career moves. She delves into her creation, the Excellence Equation, an eight-step framework designed to help professionals achieve big goals despite uncertainty. Whitney also discusses key tips for finding the right coach, the importance of aligning personal and professional values, and how to take ownership of your career development.
00:00 Welcome to the Switch, Pivot, or Quit Podcast
00:36 Introducing Whitney Faires: Executive Coach
01:09 Whitney's Journey: From Corporate to Coaching
02:09 Navigating Career Pivots and Internal Moves
06:21 The Importance of Finding the Right Coach
08:17 Overcoming Underestimation and Proving Yourself
10:36 Handling Pressure and Trusting the Process
13:32 The Excellence Equation: A Framework for Success
17:19 Defining Leadership and Core Principles
19:40 Defining Leadership Identity
20:30 Exploring People Leadership Roles
21:34 Navigating Company Culture
23:02 Making Career Moves
25:18 Developing Your Own Playbook
29:13 Embracing Authenticity
31:54 Evolving View of Success
34:22 Taking Ownership of Your Career
35:21 Conclusion and Contact Information
00:00 Welcome to the Switch, Pivot, or Quit Podcast
00:36 Introducing Whitney Faires: Executive Coach
01:09 Whitney's Journey: From Corporate to Coaching
02:09 Navigating Career Pivots and Internal Moves
06:21 The Importance of Finding the Right Coach
08:17 Overcoming Underestimation and Proving Yourself
10:36 Handling Pressure and Trusting the Process
13:32 The Excellence Equation: A Framework for Success
17:19 Defining Leadership and Core Principles
19:40 Defining Leadership Identity
20:30 Exploring People Leadership Roles
21:34 Navigating Company Culture
23:02 Making Career Moves
25:18 Developing Your Own Playbook
29:13 Embracing Authenticity
31:54 Evolving View of Success
34:22 Taking Ownership of Your Career
35:21 Conclusion and Contact Information
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is amazing media production. Hello, most awesome one. Welcome
back to another episode of the Switch privotar Quip podcast.
I am your host, Ayanna Angel, and this is the
space to listen in closely to when you're asking yourself
(00:21):
the question of what's next. We speak to the professionals,
the experts, the people who have been there and done
that to try and get you the insights and tangible
takeaways that you can utilize in your day to day
as you're trying to navigate your professional journey.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
And also we look.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
At the personal side of things too, right, because you
can't have the professional side without the personal side. And
today we're going to be speaking to Whitney Ferris, who
is an executive coach. She deals with leaders, she guides them,
she works with them so that they can be the
best leader that they can possibly be. And she's able
to do that because she has over two decades of
(01:00):
corporate experience, and so she's able to guide them in
ways that feel very firsthand knowledge experience. And I'm excited
for you to be able to listen into what Whitney
has to share because, guess what, we all need a
little guidance here and there and she has some great
tips for us. So without further ado, let's get into it.
(01:22):
So in a world where job hopping is the norm,
especially now, especially to try and get to that larger
salary and those maybe sometimes grander opportunities, you spent sixteen
years at one company, you worked from sales to chief
of staff to CFO. What was the catalyst that inspired
(01:45):
you to make these internal pivots rather than leaving that
said company.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
I've had a very non traditional career path, but I'm
super proud of it, to be honest with you, because
it took a lot of courage in getting outside my
comfort zone. And so you know, here's essentially the summary
of that. I was in sales, and I love sales.
There was nothing wrong with it. But I got to
a point where I was thinking, what do I want
to do in ten years, and is just climbing the
(02:14):
ladder vertically going to give me the skills and experiences
to bring the most value.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
I had some questions about that.
Speaker 3 (02:21):
I knew I wanted to be an executive and lead
at a higher level, and I thought, how do I
go understand the other side of the business. And that
was really the catalyst for my switch from corporate sales
to the internal side of the business, which was operations,
and it was there I got the opportunity to work
alongside who is now my greatest mentor in my career
(02:42):
to build a new corporate function, and I realized so
many things about myself. I loved learning new things, I
love stretching my skills, and that was very fulfilling to
me and also was preparing me for my long term
career journey. But what I also learned in that first
pivots was that I really wanted more work.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
Around the development of people.
Speaker 3 (03:06):
And you know, I'm a big believer that you got
to do the work that you love and you got
to be intentional about the moves that you make, but
you don't always see a clear end game to that
pivot or that switch. And it was just through doing
the work in launching coaching alongside that commercial ops job,
that then the job that I really wanted to open
(03:27):
up leading or health function and serving as the chief
of staff of the CFO. And so, you know, intentional moves,
but definitely not on my career plan.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
Yeah, was much younger.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
So it sounds like you launched your side endeavors at
the same time as scaling the corporate letder.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
Is that accurate? Not exactly.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
So when I entered a coach training program, I needed
to get coaching hours to get my credential and my certification.
And so I came to my company and I said,
here's the need that I see in the organization. And
here's what that was. Is that I believe that so
much of development, we treat the symptoms on the surface.
Someone has communication issues, We're trying to teach them how
(04:12):
to communicate better. We're not treating what's driving that behavior.
And one of the great things about coaching is it
creates this confidential space for people to really work on
the hard stuff. And so I went to my organization
and I said, listen, I love to donate my hours
back to the company, launch this internal coaching program and
do my job that I'm paid to do. And my
(04:34):
leader and my leader's leader supported that, and that's how
I got my start in coaching. It wasn't until many
years later where I said, Okay, my next adventure is
going to be my own company, that I started my
external coaching practice while I was scaling the corporate ladder.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
Ooh okay, So this is good. So it sounds like
you were drawn to coaching to help better the employees
that were around you, and you said, hey, I'll do
this in service of the company. I've heard people looking
for coaches and their company is going to pay for it,
and they kind of stop right there. They get stuck.
(05:12):
They're like, what should I even be looking for in
a coach? Like, how is a coach really going to
serve me? How should I be looking for this coach
to serve me? So looking at it through that lens
where you were internal and developing a coaching program, if
you will, how would you suggest someone look at the
journey of finding a coach, whether it be internal or external.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
Well, it first starts with your ability to connect with
that person. So it's perfectly okay when you're on the
journey to have a couple introductory calls with different coaches
and understand what is their style and approach to coaching
and how does that land with you? And so you know,
a lot of people are hiring me because they want
(05:55):
a combination of my coaching expertise as well as my
business experience, and so I'm very clear I'm a very
balanced coach in the sense I'm going to ask you questions,
but when you're leaning on me for some ideas or
some places to look, I'm happy to insert those in
so that you can keep thinking and discovering as an individual.
(06:17):
And so you know, you first have to feel that
sense of trust, that click, you know, the click that
you feel anytime you connect with someone and go, okay,
I want to do this work with the person, and
then understand how their coaching approach aligns with what you
want to accomplish. And I would say the biggest mistake
people make when finding a coach is that they aren't
clear at the start what they want to accomplish. And
(06:39):
you know, for me, I always get that very clear
before someone is willing to enter a coaching agreement with me,
because my biggest nightmare is that they don't get value
because we weren't aligned up front.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
And then I'm like, that's just not my that's not
my expertise.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
I could have sent you to somebody who focuses on
that specific issue, right. So the biggest thing is understanding
what you want to accomplish in really asking yourself the question,
am I ready to consider change? Because coaching isn't about
just a lot of change for you. A lot of
this is clarity, it's a lot of things, but there's
a readiness piece that you have to have to say,
(07:16):
I'm all in on this experience if it means taking
a hard look at myself changing some of the ways
that I operate, or whatever that may be, and you
just you know, based on your goals, it's a really
unique journey to what your objectives are.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
Let's talk about being underestimated for a minute, Okay, Like
I can relate to that. It's sort of like the
underdog story right where it's just like, Okay, count me
out if you want to. And you've talked about being
underestimated throughout your career, can you share what that looked like,
(07:53):
like how you felt or how you knew that you
were being underestimated and then how that in turn shape
your approach to leadership moving forward.
Speaker 3 (08:02):
The first time I really felt underestimated was probably my
second job, and I was just one of the youngest
people and one of the few females in the room
in a very high stakes capital sales role. You could
see people kind of looked at you like, how are
you here? You know, I'm like twenty four years old.
So many of the people were in their thirties, and
(08:25):
like I said, there were two women besides me. So
that's a story that repeats itself many times in my career,
just little comments that were made and you know, the hey,
good luck, let's see how you do that. Let you
know that people weren't sure that you belonged. And for me,
I think we all get confronted with things that rub
us the wrong way, comments that we don't like, that
(08:47):
we don't appreciate, that aren't true, and I think we
all have a choice. We can let that drag us
down or we can let it motivate us. And for me,
I thought to myself, the best way to prove them
wrong is to you the person standing on that stage
winning the award, the name on the top of the
list for sales performance. And you know, it maybe drove
(09:10):
me a little too hard at times where my balance
was out of whack, but it's not just about me.
It's about representing other people that are like me. And
to me, that's a responsibility that we all have is
to represent in the best way possible, not just the results,
but in how we do it and how we show up.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
Hold on to all that goodness you're feeling right now,
we will be right back after this quick break with
more switch pavot or quick talk. Talk to me about
a time like middle of your journey, when you're climbing
and you're pivoting. Did you feel like any type of
pressure and if so, what did you do to work
(09:52):
through that pressure or to I don't know, maybe not
work through it. I don't know how how did that?
Speaker 2 (10:01):
Yeah? Well, I will tell you.
Speaker 3 (10:02):
When I pivoted from my role in sales to commercial operations,
we were launching this new function and essentially the company
was like, we need you to create these new solutions
for our customers to acquire technology. I mean, we think
there's a need, but we don't know if it'll work.
Speaker 2 (10:18):
Go do it. Well.
Speaker 3 (10:20):
You know, at the time, I had left a very
successful sales career. People were baffled, like why would you
get out of your upward track to go do this?
You know, I made less money to make this pivot,
but I saw a long term goal. But there was
a lot of pressure. What I stepped in to do
I had never done. I didn't even have the expertise
(10:43):
of capital equipment leasing or the deep knowledge of finance
that I needed in the role, and they knew that
and I told them that, but they said, hey, here's
why we're hiring you for this role, and here's what
we can teach you.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
We believe in you.
Speaker 3 (10:57):
You in And I'm like yes, But it was there's
a lot of pressure because I thought to myself, I mean,
this could be the biggest mistake of my career, or
it could be one of the most rewarding, fulfilling things
that I've done, and it was.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
Definitely the latter.
Speaker 3 (11:11):
But the toughest thing was once I made the decision
and I started in the role, I realized how much
I didn't know. And every day I was in my
head about why did I make this move? Was this
the right decision? Am I going to show up credible
on this call? It is my lack of SEDGECT matter
(11:32):
expertise going to affect the success of this function. And
there was just a tremendous amount of pressure. And on
top of that, you know, I had a one year
old child. My husband worked, but I was at the
time the primary breadwinner, and so it felt like from
every angle there was just a lot pulling on me.
(11:52):
And I think in those moments, you have to go
back to the things that you can control. And so
I knew the things that I can do to accelerate
my subject matter expertise, to show up prepared on the calls,
to bring value to my customers, and I had to
silence a lot of the other noise that was, you know,
(12:12):
getting myself in my own head because I knew I
had a track record of success. I learned herd things
before and been successful. The other thing is just trusting
yourself and the process. I went back to, when are
the times that I've had to be outside of my
comfort zone doing something I'd never done?
Speaker 2 (12:31):
What made me successful? Okay? Am I doing those things? Yes?
Or no?
Speaker 3 (12:36):
If no, how do I do them? If yes, trust
trust that you have this be okay and need discomfort
and the uncertainty, And it doesn't make it easy, but
I think every day you have to be able to
calibrate with yourself. I'm doing all that I can do,
So just you got to trust the process and the
people around you as well.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
You got to trust the process throughout your experience. You've
been able to come up with this framework, the excellence equation,
And I want to talk a bit about that. It's
an eight step framework, right, yep. And I would love
to hear sort of like what caused you to create
and develop this method, Like what was your thinking behind
(13:15):
it and what do you hope people will get on
the other side of working through this method.
Speaker 2 (13:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (13:21):
So there were two major drivers for me in creating
the Excellence equation, and the first was I think way
too often we stopped short on ourselves because we lack
the belief to just trust that we can get to
the other side of that really big goal. How do
we give people a reproducible process to follow to take
(13:44):
the really big career goal or personal goal and know
how to work through it in a way that has
worked for many other people. So the first is being
able to offset that self doubt with a support system
of tool and resources. The second thing is that I
believe we stop short in ourselves not because our lack
(14:07):
of ability, but because of our inability to navigate the uncertainty.
Uncertainty is so hard, right. We want to know when
we make the decision the career change, it's going to work,
It's gonna be okay, We're going to like the company,
We're going to like the job, that's not life. So
many things require us to take steps forward despite the uncertainty.
(14:29):
And so what this eight step process does, it takes
you from the starting spot where you're getting anchored in
what matters to you, so that in times of difficulty,
you're grounded in why it matters and you can push
forward all the way through building the roadmap for the
skills and the resources you need to be successful, surrounding
(14:49):
yourself with all the people they're going to help you
along this journey, knowing how to flip the switch of
turning on your best self and your most confident self
to deliver all the way through the reflection phase of that.
And the goal is that you have all the steps
that you need, and we also work on how you
manage yourself and the process because the number one derailer
(15:12):
in my experiences we get in our own way. And
the good news is we can fix that and this
eight set process will help you do that so that
you can tackle big goals with confidence and with the
process that has proven to work.
Speaker 1 (15:26):
Would you say that getting in our own way is
the biggest thing you've seen professionals struggle with?
Speaker 2 (15:33):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (15:33):
Absolutely, it's everywhere right, It's like we can be this
high performer, and then all of a sudden we get
tapped to go into this big meeting and we're going
I like to prepare, but I need get a chance
to prepare for this, And so we sit there silent
and we bring no value. That's a missed opportunity. We're
in our own way right to times where all of
(15:54):
a sudden we get that big job and all we
can think about is the self doubt and comparing ourselves
to all the people that look better at the job
than we do. And so I think one of the
things that so many people do is we manage the
business or all whatever our job is. We manage the
people for people leaders, we manage our business partners, but
(16:16):
we don't manage ourselves, which is, how do we show up?
How do we contribute the value that we bring in
really having this rock solid mindset so that we are
set up for success in whatever situation that we walk into.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
I'd love to hear from you your experience on the
ground out there working with leaders. What are you hearing
them say? How how can we make them more relatable
to the everyday person? No?
Speaker 3 (16:43):
Yeah, yeah, Well, one of the things that I help
leaders with is really defining who they are as a leader.
And you know that that sounds like how do you
not know who you are? You know, we all have
our values of our values in our life, and a
lot of those translate over to work. But there are
intentional values and principles that we need to follow as
(17:04):
a leader, and we don't know what those are unless
we take time to define those. And so I encourage
people to think about there's really kind of five things
that they think about. What are my strengths. What's the
value that I bring to people as a leader. You
want to know that and be able to define it, right. Also,
what are my weaknesses? And most importantly, the things that
(17:26):
could cause me to show up and authentically because we
all have those things that kind of trigger us and
we don't show up exactly the way that we want to.
I encourage leaders to think about what do they want
their legacy to be when someone who reports to them
now is ten years down the road onto their third
or fourth leader from now. This leader impacted me in
this way, right, And then I asked them to think
(17:47):
about what do I want to represent as a leader
when someone on my team is talking to somebody else,
and they say, what is it like to work for Whitney?
Speaker 2 (17:55):
What are those things?
Speaker 3 (17:56):
And then how do you bundle all of that knowledge
that you just kind of created into let's call it
six to eight core principles. And that's what you're going
to hold yourself to, and that's what you're going to
communicate to your team and your business partners as to
what they can hold you accountable to. And it's kind
of your checks and balances for how you lead. And
it sounds really simple, but I think too often new
(18:20):
leaders are pulled in a lot of directions. Who does
my leader want me to be? You know, my boss?
What does my team need for me? How do I
make sure that they like me?
Speaker 2 (18:29):
What does a business need for me?
Speaker 3 (18:31):
And they lose themselves and guess what, they were hired
because the company liked them and thought that they were
a great fit for this, but they lose themselves. And
so how do we help leaders define who they are
how they want to show up and lead?
Speaker 2 (18:48):
And that's a big part of my work.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
Would you say that someone should start working on if
they know they want to be a leader, they should
start working on answering some of these questions and identify
sort of this roadmap for themselves way before getting to
the space of being the leader.
Speaker 3 (19:06):
Absolutely, I mean I share that activity that I actually
teach it in some of my development programs that I
lead for companies. I teach that activity of defining your
leadership identity and your leadership principles for anybody, even if
you're not a leader, because guess what, Leadership doesn't start
with a title, and that's the thing that honestly, most
aspiring people leaders get wrong. Leadership starts by influencing every
(19:29):
single day in a way that drives results and also
raises the bar for the people around you.
Speaker 2 (19:37):
That's a true leader.
Speaker 3 (19:39):
So we all can lead no matter what our title is,
and it will influence our brand, influence our results and
in who we are in the organization. And so defining
your leadership principles and your identity is core for anyone.
The other thing I'd say that's really important around aspiring
people leaders is know why you want to be a
(20:01):
people leader. I see a lot of individuals that why
I was tapped for the job. So of course I said, yes,
I'd become a people leader, or I need to make
more money and that's the path to make more money.
There's a number of different reasons we can fall into
people leadership roles and it's not what we really want
to do. So really explore what does a people leadership
(20:22):
role look like at your organization? Think about does this
align with what I want the type of work I
want to do. Am I motivated to instead of being
that you know, star player to teach others how to
become the star player and essentially give away that power
of driving the results and drive results through others. It's
(20:43):
one hundred percent okay, the answer is that's not for me.
In great organizations, there are places for individual contributor high
performers and places for people leader high performers, and usually
through some work, you can find that role that fits
you best.
Speaker 1 (20:59):
What if you do some of the work and you
are already a leader and you realize this company is
not aligned with my leadership style or who I am
as a professional. Have you encountered any situations like that
with some of your clients or maybe even personally, and
there's a need to work through that, like have you
(21:21):
encountered that and what does it look like?
Speaker 3 (21:22):
Certainly, because company cultures their dynamic right. They change with
senior leadership, they change even with your own leader. I've
been in phenomenal company cultures where my direct leader has
a culture that's toxic, and we'll probably all experience that
in our life. So I think the first thing you
have to ask yourself is is this breaching some sort
of moral or ethical standard. The next question is what
(21:45):
are really the drivers creating the unhealthy culture or workplace
and can they be improved. Sometimes you look at it
and you go, hey, this is like a top down mandate.
This is how people leaders are expected to lead. It's
probably not going to change. So you're at a decision point.
Is it something I can live with that's healthy and
productive for me. If not, then you got to do
(22:07):
what's right for you. Other times we really dive in
deep and we go you know, I don't really like
some of these things, but I think they're temporary. The
company's going through change. It's a brand new leader, and
I'm going to give myself ninety days to really reevaluate.
I think the most important thing is when you're trying
to make your career moves, you can't be running from something.
(22:29):
You have to run towards something. People make a lot
of mistakes when they're just running from their last opportunity
because they tend to fall into something that's not ideal.
Youdn't know what you're running towards, find it, and then
take off.
Speaker 1 (22:44):
That is so true, Like so many people are just
trying to escape a situation that they find themselves in,
sometimes another situation that they really don't want to be in,
and then it really gets depressing because you're like, why
does this keep happening? Like what is going on here?
Speaker 2 (23:01):
Yep.
Speaker 3 (23:02):
One of the things that I encourage people to do
is if you're contemplating a pivot, a switch, I mean,
even quitting, let's be honest, know what the next job
should look like for you. And what I mean by
that is try to make it as objective as possible.
So I'm talking about everything from what you want as
far as the type of work that you do, the
(23:22):
type of leader you want to work for, the type
of hours you want to work. You know, the work
that you do, the company culture. Try to define the
criteria that is going to create the environment where you
can grow, be successful and have work that is meaningful
to you. And that looks different for all of us
and sometimes that's hardest because people don't want to admit
(23:42):
what they really want. They want to write down what
they should go do or what their family member thinks
that where they shine in their career.
Speaker 2 (23:49):
Now, no, you have to do what's true to you
if you really.
Speaker 3 (23:53):
Want that happiness and fulfillment. So when you create those
objective kind of criteria, when those jobs pop up, you
can go, how does this compare against what I said
I wanted? When things are in conflict like that, you're like, Okay,
what's driving this? Is this in conflict because I just
didn't entertain an opportunity like this, or I just never
envisioned a job like this? Or is this in conflict
(24:15):
because I want it to be the right job so bad?
So I get out of here And then hey, you
can still make the decision to get out of there
and go take that job. But at least you know
what you're stepping into.
Speaker 1 (24:27):
That awareness piece is key. Okay, hold time for me
for just one minute. Okay, maybe two, but I promise
we will be right back after we hear from our sponsors.
So you rose to leadership without a playbook like yours.
(24:49):
How did you start to develop your own playbook so
that you can have the impact that you were looking for,
the credibility that you are looking for.
Speaker 2 (24:58):
Well, without a doubt.
Speaker 3 (24:59):
I had a couple of nominal leaders in my career
and a couple of mentors of course that I've kept
along the way. So the first thing is when you're
seeking out leaders and mentors for additional help. Because a
lot of the leaders that were really influential for me,
I've made asks over and above just manage me in
the job. I said, hey, like, I really want to
be good at this, or I really want to get
to this next job. I need you to provide extra feedback.
(25:22):
I want you to be very critical and challenge me
to get to that next level. It's exactly that knowing
what you need and asking for it. Nobody wants someone
coming to them to be their mentor. I mean, like,
can you mentor me? Great, I'll set up time and
tell me everything that you know. I mean, that's not beneficial, right.
Leaders and mentors want to help people who can define
here are the things I want to work on, and
(25:44):
here's why I think you're a great person to help me,
and will you help me?
Speaker 2 (25:48):
And when you make those asks.
Speaker 3 (25:50):
You of course have to follow through or else people
are going to help you very long. So I definitely
was not shy about asking for help. The other thing
is that I am a perfectionist. So one of the
things that's hard for me is, or was early on,
was getting critical feedback because I always thought to myself,
I should have known that, I should have done that,
(26:12):
And the truth is there's always things that we do wrong.
And I had to really flip the script on feedback
for myself to say, feedback is my pathway to get
to where I want to go. It's not the mirror
that tells me what I did wrong. And when I
was able to embrace feedback as really the roadmap to
my future, then I started being really intentional about who
(26:34):
I ask for feedback, how I asked for it, greater frequency,
so I knew I knew the little things, and I
would intentionally up my game every time I did that task,
and so that helped me really accelerate my development. And
then you talk about credibility, I think part of that
is that you have to jump into any situation and
if you were not a subject matter expert in it,
(26:58):
you got to be committed to learning first there's nothing
that's going to kill your credibility faster. Then you're brought
into a meeting and you act like you know it
all because you want to impress people. I mean, people
see through that right away, right So sometimes it's just
being committed to learning and reading the situation and understanding
what value you bring in that meeting, and then when
you step up and make those comments and contribute, it's
(27:21):
based in a knowledge and a credibility that people listen.
And there's no I think playbook that works for everybody.
I think the question you have to ask yourself is
is a strategy I use for success today going to
serve me in the future. It's a critical question. I'll
give you example. When I was younger in my career,
(27:43):
I always was a rock solid presenter, but I was
willing to prepare, prepare, prepare, like to the point of nauseum.
Speaker 2 (27:52):
Most people wouldn't have done that.
Speaker 3 (27:53):
They would had done a dry run with their boss,
and they wouldn't have set it to themselves in the
mirror ten times. But guess what, I got to a
point in my career where I didn't have time for that,
So I had to ask myself, how do I succeed
in this job today with what's asked of me, with
the time I have, with the skills that I have,
And so I always think about that. My strategy for
(28:13):
success today is it going to serve me in this role,
in this situation, with this client. And if not, you've
got to be versatile and adaptable. Otherwise you're doing the
work but the results aren't what you want to see.
Speaker 1 (28:29):
I never thought about the question of will what I'm
doing today in this way serve me in the future.
I love that perspective. You said on LinkedIn that in
this was in a post that the real growth happened
for you when you chose authenticity over approval and you
aligned your life with purpose not pressure. Can you tell
(28:52):
us more about that.
Speaker 3 (28:54):
Yeah, well, it goes back to being underestimated, and I
think when I was younger my career, I did the
best that I could. But when you aren't comfortable having
a seat at a table because maybe you look different,
you have less experience, people have already vocalized that they're
not sure if you're the right fit for the job.
(29:15):
It's easy to conform to who other people in that room,
how they are, how they show up, how they communicate.
My first people leader role, you can see I'm a
pretty outgoing, high energy person. I'm very intense. I'm actually,
you know, much more intense than I probably show up
right now. And in my leaders were very stoic, kind
(29:35):
of even keeled people, and so I thought, I don't know,
if like I should be myself, maybe I should be
like them. And I can tell you it felt very
uncomfortable every day, like, you know, not not being who
I was at the core. And people noticed. People were like,
you seem so different, like are you stressed. I'm thinking,
I'm not different. I'm just trying to be trying to
(29:56):
be successful, and so I'm trying to act like those
people over there who incredibly successful. And so I had
to really learn from the experiences early on. I had
to trust that I was hired in this job because
they wanted me in this job. How I showed up
in my last role obviously with some additional skills I
got to build okay.
Speaker 2 (30:14):
But when I.
Speaker 3 (30:15):
Finally chose to just show up as me and trust
that that was the pathway to success, I felt better.
I was more confident, and guess what, I was more
relatable because.
Speaker 2 (30:26):
People knew what to expect.
Speaker 3 (30:28):
I showed up consistently, whether I was talking to my
leader or my direct report or appeer. And people want
to know you. They want to be able to trust
when they come to you who you're going to be
in that moment. And so it kind of goes back
to aligning myself with my leadership principles. That's when I
first started that exercise, was in a moment where I
(30:49):
was called out for not being my authentic self leading
my team.
Speaker 1 (30:54):
Wow, being called out that feels that feels like something
that will have you going home thinking about.
Speaker 2 (31:00):
It, you know what I mean, thinking all those things.
Speaker 1 (31:04):
Yes, it will, Yeah, exactly. So, how has your idea
of success evolved or changed over the years and what
does it sort of look like today.
Speaker 3 (31:17):
You know, my view of success has definitely evolved. I
would say early in my career it was about external validation,
you know, the sales award, the milestones, the praise. I
got the recognition because I you know, you're just not
always mature enough to be able to value your own opinions.
(31:38):
You lean on the things that everyone's gunning for. You're
gonna like, I'm gonna be that because it proves my value,
my worth, and I have learned that that is a
very empty.
Speaker 2 (31:49):
Never ending race.
Speaker 3 (31:52):
And I'll tell you I won the Sales Awards, so
it's not like I'm here, like I was always third place,
So it's not worth doing. It's just you work so
hard for this one moment and the moment is gone
in an instant. You know, your speech on the stage
accepting the word is thirty seconds. But you gave everything,
you placed all your value on that moment. And if
(32:15):
it didn't happen, were you a failure. No, but you've
told yourself that story. So I have shifts into really
a deep sense of intrinsic validation. I know what my
goals are, I know how I feel when I step
into a meeting and I show up as myself in
a hard situation, I go toe to toe with someone
who's really challenging me, I deliver a result that I'm
(32:38):
proud of, and so I really try to lean on
the things that I know are critical to being a
great leader, driving the right results, and also me being
intact as a person right and not just being in
it for the achievements. And I think part of that
is driven by the fact that we have all as people.
(32:59):
You know, I've had two kids, I have a marriage
that I want to be really successful and at its
best as well as my career. And so there's no
milestone for being a great mom, you know, there's no like,
you know, end gain that says is my marriage would
have wanted to be. We have to learn how to
be our own barometer of success and that's what really
(33:20):
matters because the game of accolades, Yes, it's it's important
at some level, but it's not what's gonna sustain us.
Speaker 1 (33:32):
Is there anything that we haven't talked about that has
been something maybe that's been burning for you or you're
just like, oh, I wish we would have touched on that,
something that maybe you want to leave our listeners with.
Speaker 2 (33:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (33:45):
I think it's important that you always take an ownership
mentality to your career, whether it's stepping into that next job,
whether it's you really want to develop a certain set
of skills or accelerate your growth, but your leader maybe
doesn't have a focus on that. You have to have
a belief that you're in the driver's seat. There's a
(34:08):
way to do that, not to do it right. You
can't always push there's timing. There's a lot of factors
that play into it, and great leaders and mentors can
help you through that. Right, But sitting back and waiting
for someone to tap you on the shoulder for the job,
or waiting to create a development plan for you, You're
probably gonna be waiting for much longer than you'd like.
(34:28):
So what can I control today? How can I invest
in my own development? How can I take a proactive
approach in building the career I want to have? And
those with an ownership mentality will go much further faster
than sitting back and waiting for someone to take you
along for the ride.
Speaker 1 (34:43):
Whitney, this has been a great conversation. Let our listeners
know where they can stay in touch with you.
Speaker 3 (34:50):
Yes, please visit my website at Whitney Ferris dot com.
You can subscribe and get messages and content from me
on a regular basis, and also you can follow me
on LinkedIn or and Instagram at Whitney Underscore Ferris.
Speaker 2 (35:02):
So I hope to connect with some of you. Awesome.
Speaker 1 (35:05):
Thank you so much, Whitny for spending time with us today.
We appreciate you.
Speaker 2 (35:09):
Thank you so much for the opportunity.
Speaker 1 (35:11):
And thank you all for listening, for spending time with us,
and I hope you were able to walk away with
some very valuable tools that you can take with you
to take action and do all the things that you
need to do to be the best version of your
career self. Honey, as always be well. This podcast is
(35:32):
produced by Maziemedia. Maze Media as a woman led podcast
production company that works with small businesses and corporations. Visit
mazimedia dot com for more details on how you and
your organization can go from ideation to podcasting.
This is amazing media production. Hello, most awesome one. Welcome
back to another episode of the Switch privotar Quip podcast.
I am your host, Ayanna Angel, and this is the
space to listen in closely to when you're asking yourself
(00:21):
the question of what's next. We speak to the professionals,
the experts, the people who have been there and done
that to try and get you the insights and tangible
takeaways that you can utilize in your day to day
as you're trying to navigate your professional journey.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
And also we look.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
At the personal side of things too, right, because you
can't have the professional side without the personal side. And
today we're going to be speaking to Whitney Ferris, who
is an executive coach. She deals with leaders, she guides them,
she works with them so that they can be the
best leader that they can possibly be. And she's able
to do that because she has over two decades of
(01:00):
corporate experience, and so she's able to guide them in
ways that feel very firsthand knowledge experience. And I'm excited
for you to be able to listen into what Whitney
has to share because, guess what, we all need a
little guidance here and there and she has some great
tips for us. So without further ado, let's get into it.
(01:22):
So in a world where job hopping is the norm,
especially now, especially to try and get to that larger
salary and those maybe sometimes grander opportunities, you spent sixteen
years at one company, you worked from sales to chief
of staff to CFO. What was the catalyst that inspired
(01:45):
you to make these internal pivots rather than leaving that
said company.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
I've had a very non traditional career path, but I'm
super proud of it, to be honest with you, because
it took a lot of courage in getting outside my
comfort zone. And so you know, here's essentially the summary
of that. I was in sales, and I love sales.
There was nothing wrong with it. But I got to
a point where I was thinking, what do I want
to do in ten years, and is just climbing the
(02:14):
ladder vertically going to give me the skills and experiences
to bring the most value.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
I had some questions about that.
Speaker 3 (02:21):
I knew I wanted to be an executive and lead
at a higher level, and I thought, how do I
go understand the other side of the business. And that
was really the catalyst for my switch from corporate sales
to the internal side of the business, which was operations,
and it was there I got the opportunity to work
alongside who is now my greatest mentor in my career
(02:42):
to build a new corporate function, and I realized so
many things about myself. I loved learning new things, I
love stretching my skills, and that was very fulfilling to
me and also was preparing me for my long term
career journey. But what I also learned in that first
pivots was that I really wanted more work.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
Around the development of people.
Speaker 3 (03:06):
And you know, I'm a big believer that you got
to do the work that you love and you got
to be intentional about the moves that you make, but
you don't always see a clear end game to that
pivot or that switch. And it was just through doing
the work in launching coaching alongside that commercial ops job,
that then the job that I really wanted to open
(03:27):
up leading or health function and serving as the chief
of staff of the CFO. And so, you know, intentional moves,
but definitely not on my career plan.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
Yeah, was much younger.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
So it sounds like you launched your side endeavors at
the same time as scaling the corporate letder.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
Is that accurate? Not exactly.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
So when I entered a coach training program, I needed
to get coaching hours to get my credential and my certification.
And so I came to my company and I said,
here's the need that I see in the organization. And
here's what that was. Is that I believe that so
much of development, we treat the symptoms on the surface.
Someone has communication issues, We're trying to teach them how
(04:12):
to communicate better. We're not treating what's driving that behavior.
And one of the great things about coaching is it
creates this confidential space for people to really work on
the hard stuff. And so I went to my organization
and I said, listen, I love to donate my hours
back to the company, launch this internal coaching program and
do my job that I'm paid to do. And my
(04:34):
leader and my leader's leader supported that, and that's how
I got my start in coaching. It wasn't until many
years later where I said, Okay, my next adventure is
going to be my own company, that I started my
external coaching practice while I was scaling the corporate ladder.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
Ooh okay, So this is good. So it sounds like
you were drawn to coaching to help better the employees
that were around you, and you said, hey, I'll do
this in service of the company. I've heard people looking
for coaches and their company is going to pay for it,
and they kind of stop right there. They get stuck.
(05:12):
They're like, what should I even be looking for in
a coach? Like, how is a coach really going to
serve me? How should I be looking for this coach
to serve me? So looking at it through that lens
where you were internal and developing a coaching program, if
you will, how would you suggest someone look at the
journey of finding a coach, whether it be internal or external.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
Well, it first starts with your ability to connect with
that person. So it's perfectly okay when you're on the
journey to have a couple introductory calls with different coaches
and understand what is their style and approach to coaching
and how does that land with you? And so you know,
a lot of people are hiring me because they want
(05:55):
a combination of my coaching expertise as well as my
business experience, and so I'm very clear I'm a very
balanced coach in the sense I'm going to ask you questions,
but when you're leaning on me for some ideas or
some places to look, I'm happy to insert those in
so that you can keep thinking and discovering as an individual.
(06:17):
And so you know, you first have to feel that
sense of trust, that click, you know, the click that
you feel anytime you connect with someone and go, okay,
I want to do this work with the person, and
then understand how their coaching approach aligns with what you
want to accomplish. And I would say the biggest mistake
people make when finding a coach is that they aren't
clear at the start what they want to accomplish. And
(06:39):
you know, for me, I always get that very clear
before someone is willing to enter a coaching agreement with me,
because my biggest nightmare is that they don't get value
because we weren't aligned up front.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
And then I'm like, that's just not my that's not
my expertise.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
I could have sent you to somebody who focuses on
that specific issue, right. So the biggest thing is understanding
what you want to accomplish in really asking yourself the question,
am I ready to consider change? Because coaching isn't about
just a lot of change for you. A lot of
this is clarity, it's a lot of things, but there's
a readiness piece that you have to have to say,
(07:16):
I'm all in on this experience if it means taking
a hard look at myself changing some of the ways
that I operate, or whatever that may be, and you
just you know, based on your goals, it's a really
unique journey to what your objectives are.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
Let's talk about being underestimated for a minute, Okay, Like
I can relate to that. It's sort of like the
underdog story right where it's just like, Okay, count me
out if you want to. And you've talked about being
underestimated throughout your career, can you share what that looked like,
(07:53):
like how you felt or how you knew that you
were being underestimated and then how that in turn shape
your approach to leadership moving forward.
Speaker 3 (08:02):
The first time I really felt underestimated was probably my
second job, and I was just one of the youngest
people and one of the few females in the room
in a very high stakes capital sales role. You could
see people kind of looked at you like, how are
you here? You know, I'm like twenty four years old.
So many of the people were in their thirties, and
(08:25):
like I said, there were two women besides me. So
that's a story that repeats itself many times in my career,
just little comments that were made and you know, the hey,
good luck, let's see how you do that. Let you
know that people weren't sure that you belonged. And for me,
I think we all get confronted with things that rub
us the wrong way, comments that we don't like, that
(08:47):
we don't appreciate, that aren't true, and I think we
all have a choice. We can let that drag us
down or we can let it motivate us. And for me,
I thought to myself, the best way to prove them
wrong is to you the person standing on that stage
winning the award, the name on the top of the
list for sales performance. And you know, it maybe drove
(09:10):
me a little too hard at times where my balance
was out of whack, but it's not just about me.
It's about representing other people that are like me. And
to me, that's a responsibility that we all have is
to represent in the best way possible, not just the results,
but in how we do it and how we show up.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
Hold on to all that goodness you're feeling right now,
we will be right back after this quick break with
more switch pavot or quick talk. Talk to me about
a time like middle of your journey, when you're climbing
and you're pivoting. Did you feel like any type of
pressure and if so, what did you do to work
(09:52):
through that pressure or to I don't know, maybe not
work through it. I don't know how how did that?
Speaker 2 (10:01):
Yeah? Well, I will tell you.
Speaker 3 (10:02):
When I pivoted from my role in sales to commercial operations,
we were launching this new function and essentially the company
was like, we need you to create these new solutions
for our customers to acquire technology. I mean, we think
there's a need, but we don't know if it'll work.
Speaker 2 (10:18):
Go do it. Well.
Speaker 3 (10:20):
You know, at the time, I had left a very
successful sales career. People were baffled, like why would you
get out of your upward track to go do this?
You know, I made less money to make this pivot,
but I saw a long term goal. But there was
a lot of pressure. What I stepped in to do
I had never done. I didn't even have the expertise
(10:43):
of capital equipment leasing or the deep knowledge of finance
that I needed in the role, and they knew that
and I told them that, but they said, hey, here's
why we're hiring you for this role, and here's what
we can teach you.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
We believe in you.
Speaker 3 (10:57):
You in And I'm like yes, But it was there's
a lot of pressure because I thought to myself, I mean,
this could be the biggest mistake of my career, or
it could be one of the most rewarding, fulfilling things
that I've done, and it was.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
Definitely the latter.
Speaker 3 (11:11):
But the toughest thing was once I made the decision
and I started in the role, I realized how much
I didn't know. And every day I was in my
head about why did I make this move? Was this
the right decision? Am I going to show up credible
on this call? It is my lack of SEDGECT matter
(11:32):
expertise going to affect the success of this function. And
there was just a tremendous amount of pressure. And on
top of that, you know, I had a one year
old child. My husband worked, but I was at the
time the primary breadwinner, and so it felt like from
every angle there was just a lot pulling on me.
(11:52):
And I think in those moments, you have to go
back to the things that you can control. And so
I knew the things that I can do to accelerate
my subject matter expertise, to show up prepared on the calls,
to bring value to my customers, and I had to
silence a lot of the other noise that was, you know,
(12:12):
getting myself in my own head because I knew I
had a track record of success. I learned herd things
before and been successful. The other thing is just trusting
yourself and the process. I went back to, when are
the times that I've had to be outside of my
comfort zone doing something I'd never done?
Speaker 2 (12:31):
What made me successful? Okay? Am I doing those things? Yes?
Or no?
Speaker 3 (12:36):
If no, how do I do them? If yes, trust
trust that you have this be okay and need discomfort
and the uncertainty, And it doesn't make it easy, but
I think every day you have to be able to
calibrate with yourself. I'm doing all that I can do,
So just you got to trust the process and the
people around you as well.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
You got to trust the process throughout your experience. You've
been able to come up with this framework, the excellence equation,
And I want to talk a bit about that. It's
an eight step framework, right, yep. And I would love
to hear sort of like what caused you to create
and develop this method, Like what was your thinking behind
(13:15):
it and what do you hope people will get on
the other side of working through this method.
Speaker 2 (13:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (13:21):
So there were two major drivers for me in creating
the Excellence equation, and the first was I think way
too often we stopped short on ourselves because we lack
the belief to just trust that we can get to
the other side of that really big goal. How do
we give people a reproducible process to follow to take
(13:44):
the really big career goal or personal goal and know
how to work through it in a way that has
worked for many other people. So the first is being
able to offset that self doubt with a support system
of tool and resources. The second thing is that I
believe we stop short in ourselves not because our lack
(14:07):
of ability, but because of our inability to navigate the uncertainty.
Uncertainty is so hard, right. We want to know when
we make the decision the career change, it's going to work,
It's gonna be okay, We're going to like the company,
We're going to like the job, that's not life. So
many things require us to take steps forward despite the uncertainty.
(14:29):
And so what this eight step process does, it takes
you from the starting spot where you're getting anchored in
what matters to you, so that in times of difficulty,
you're grounded in why it matters and you can push
forward all the way through building the roadmap for the
skills and the resources you need to be successful, surrounding
(14:49):
yourself with all the people they're going to help you
along this journey, knowing how to flip the switch of
turning on your best self and your most confident self
to deliver all the way through the reflection phase of that.
And the goal is that you have all the steps
that you need, and we also work on how you
manage yourself and the process because the number one derailer
(15:12):
in my experiences we get in our own way. And
the good news is we can fix that and this
eight set process will help you do that so that
you can tackle big goals with confidence and with the
process that has proven to work.
Speaker 1 (15:26):
Would you say that getting in our own way is
the biggest thing you've seen professionals struggle with?
Speaker 2 (15:33):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (15:33):
Absolutely, it's everywhere right, It's like we can be this
high performer, and then all of a sudden we get
tapped to go into this big meeting and we're going
I like to prepare, but I need get a chance
to prepare for this, And so we sit there silent
and we bring no value. That's a missed opportunity. We're
in our own way right to times where all of
(15:54):
a sudden we get that big job and all we
can think about is the self doubt and comparing ourselves
to all the people that look better at the job
than we do. And so I think one of the
things that so many people do is we manage the
business or all whatever our job is. We manage the
people for people leaders, we manage our business partners, but
(16:16):
we don't manage ourselves, which is, how do we show up?
How do we contribute the value that we bring in
really having this rock solid mindset so that we are
set up for success in whatever situation that we walk into.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
I'd love to hear from you your experience on the
ground out there working with leaders. What are you hearing
them say? How how can we make them more relatable
to the everyday person? No?
Speaker 3 (16:43):
Yeah, yeah, Well, one of the things that I help
leaders with is really defining who they are as a leader.
And you know that that sounds like how do you
not know who you are? You know, we all have
our values of our values in our life, and a
lot of those translate over to work. But there are
intentional values and principles that we need to follow as
(17:04):
a leader, and we don't know what those are unless
we take time to define those. And so I encourage
people to think about there's really kind of five things
that they think about. What are my strengths. What's the
value that I bring to people as a leader. You
want to know that and be able to define it, right. Also,
what are my weaknesses? And most importantly, the things that
(17:26):
could cause me to show up and authentically because we
all have those things that kind of trigger us and
we don't show up exactly the way that we want to.
I encourage leaders to think about what do they want
their legacy to be when someone who reports to them
now is ten years down the road onto their third
or fourth leader from now. This leader impacted me in
this way, right, And then I asked them to think
(17:47):
about what do I want to represent as a leader
when someone on my team is talking to somebody else,
and they say, what is it like to work for Whitney?
Speaker 2 (17:55):
What are those things?
Speaker 3 (17:56):
And then how do you bundle all of that knowledge
that you just kind of created into let's call it
six to eight core principles. And that's what you're going
to hold yourself to, and that's what you're going to
communicate to your team and your business partners as to
what they can hold you accountable to. And it's kind
of your checks and balances for how you lead. And
it sounds really simple, but I think too often new
(18:20):
leaders are pulled in a lot of directions. Who does
my leader want me to be? You know, my boss?
What does my team need for me? How do I
make sure that they like me?
Speaker 2 (18:29):
What does a business need for me?
Speaker 3 (18:31):
And they lose themselves and guess what, they were hired
because the company liked them and thought that they were
a great fit for this, but they lose themselves. And
so how do we help leaders define who they are
how they want to show up and lead?
Speaker 2 (18:48):
And that's a big part of my work.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
Would you say that someone should start working on if
they know they want to be a leader, they should
start working on answering some of these questions and identify
sort of this roadmap for themselves way before getting to
the space of being the leader.
Speaker 3 (19:06):
Absolutely, I mean I share that activity that I actually
teach it in some of my development programs that I
lead for companies. I teach that activity of defining your
leadership identity and your leadership principles for anybody, even if
you're not a leader, because guess what, Leadership doesn't start
with a title, and that's the thing that honestly, most
aspiring people leaders get wrong. Leadership starts by influencing every
(19:29):
single day in a way that drives results and also
raises the bar for the people around you.
Speaker 2 (19:37):
That's a true leader.
Speaker 3 (19:39):
So we all can lead no matter what our title is,
and it will influence our brand, influence our results and
in who we are in the organization. And so defining
your leadership principles and your identity is core for anyone.
The other thing I'd say that's really important around aspiring
people leaders is know why you want to be a
(20:01):
people leader. I see a lot of individuals that why
I was tapped for the job. So of course I said, yes,
I'd become a people leader, or I need to make
more money and that's the path to make more money.
There's a number of different reasons we can fall into
people leadership roles and it's not what we really want
to do. So really explore what does a people leadership
(20:22):
role look like at your organization? Think about does this
align with what I want the type of work I
want to do. Am I motivated to instead of being
that you know, star player to teach others how to
become the star player and essentially give away that power
of driving the results and drive results through others. It's
(20:43):
one hundred percent okay, the answer is that's not for me.
In great organizations, there are places for individual contributor high
performers and places for people leader high performers, and usually
through some work, you can find that role that fits
you best.
Speaker 1 (20:59):
What if you do some of the work and you
are already a leader and you realize this company is
not aligned with my leadership style or who I am
as a professional. Have you encountered any situations like that
with some of your clients or maybe even personally, and
there's a need to work through that, like have you
(21:21):
encountered that and what does it look like?
Speaker 3 (21:22):
Certainly, because company cultures their dynamic right. They change with
senior leadership, they change even with your own leader. I've
been in phenomenal company cultures where my direct leader has
a culture that's toxic, and we'll probably all experience that
in our life. So I think the first thing you
have to ask yourself is is this breaching some sort
of moral or ethical standard. The next question is what
(21:45):
are really the drivers creating the unhealthy culture or workplace
and can they be improved. Sometimes you look at it
and you go, hey, this is like a top down mandate.
This is how people leaders are expected to lead. It's
probably not going to change. So you're at a decision point.
Is it something I can live with that's healthy and
productive for me. If not, then you got to do
(22:07):
what's right for you. Other times we really dive in
deep and we go you know, I don't really like
some of these things, but I think they're temporary. The
company's going through change. It's a brand new leader, and
I'm going to give myself ninety days to really reevaluate.
I think the most important thing is when you're trying
to make your career moves, you can't be running from something.
(22:29):
You have to run towards something. People make a lot
of mistakes when they're just running from their last opportunity
because they tend to fall into something that's not ideal.
Youdn't know what you're running towards, find it, and then
take off.
Speaker 1 (22:44):
That is so true, Like so many people are just
trying to escape a situation that they find themselves in,
sometimes another situation that they really don't want to be in,
and then it really gets depressing because you're like, why
does this keep happening? Like what is going on here?
Speaker 2 (23:01):
Yep.
Speaker 3 (23:02):
One of the things that I encourage people to do
is if you're contemplating a pivot, a switch, I mean,
even quitting, let's be honest, know what the next job
should look like for you. And what I mean by
that is try to make it as objective as possible.
So I'm talking about everything from what you want as
far as the type of work that you do, the
(23:22):
type of leader you want to work for, the type
of hours you want to work. You know, the work
that you do, the company culture. Try to define the
criteria that is going to create the environment where you
can grow, be successful and have work that is meaningful
to you. And that looks different for all of us
and sometimes that's hardest because people don't want to admit
(23:42):
what they really want. They want to write down what
they should go do or what their family member thinks
that where they shine in their career.
Speaker 2 (23:49):
Now, no, you have to do what's true to you
if you really.
Speaker 3 (23:53):
Want that happiness and fulfillment. So when you create those
objective kind of criteria, when those jobs pop up, you
can go, how does this compare against what I said
I wanted? When things are in conflict like that, you're like, Okay,
what's driving this? Is this in conflict because I just
didn't entertain an opportunity like this, or I just never
envisioned a job like this? Or is this in conflict
(24:15):
because I want it to be the right job so bad?
So I get out of here And then hey, you
can still make the decision to get out of there
and go take that job. But at least you know
what you're stepping into.
Speaker 1 (24:27):
That awareness piece is key. Okay, hold time for me
for just one minute. Okay, maybe two, but I promise
we will be right back after we hear from our sponsors.
So you rose to leadership without a playbook like yours.
(24:49):
How did you start to develop your own playbook so
that you can have the impact that you were looking for,
the credibility that you are looking for.
Speaker 2 (24:58):
Well, without a doubt.
Speaker 3 (24:59):
I had a couple of nominal leaders in my career
and a couple of mentors of course that I've kept
along the way. So the first thing is when you're
seeking out leaders and mentors for additional help. Because a
lot of the leaders that were really influential for me,
I've made asks over and above just manage me in
the job. I said, hey, like, I really want to
be good at this, or I really want to get
to this next job. I need you to provide extra feedback.
(25:22):
I want you to be very critical and challenge me
to get to that next level. It's exactly that knowing
what you need and asking for it. Nobody wants someone
coming to them to be their mentor. I mean, like,
can you mentor me? Great, I'll set up time and
tell me everything that you know. I mean, that's not beneficial, right.
Leaders and mentors want to help people who can define
here are the things I want to work on, and
(25:44):
here's why I think you're a great person to help me,
and will you help me?
Speaker 2 (25:48):
And when you make those asks.
Speaker 3 (25:50):
You of course have to follow through or else people
are going to help you very long. So I definitely
was not shy about asking for help. The other thing
is that I am a perfectionist. So one of the
things that's hard for me is, or was early on,
was getting critical feedback because I always thought to myself,
I should have known that, I should have done that,
(26:12):
And the truth is there's always things that we do wrong.
And I had to really flip the script on feedback
for myself to say, feedback is my pathway to get
to where I want to go. It's not the mirror
that tells me what I did wrong. And when I
was able to embrace feedback as really the roadmap to
my future, then I started being really intentional about who
(26:34):
I ask for feedback, how I asked for it, greater frequency,
so I knew I knew the little things, and I
would intentionally up my game every time I did that task,
and so that helped me really accelerate my development. And
then you talk about credibility, I think part of that
is that you have to jump into any situation and
if you were not a subject matter expert in it,
(26:58):
you got to be committed to learning first there's nothing
that's going to kill your credibility faster. Then you're brought
into a meeting and you act like you know it
all because you want to impress people. I mean, people
see through that right away, right So sometimes it's just
being committed to learning and reading the situation and understanding
what value you bring in that meeting, and then when
you step up and make those comments and contribute, it's
(27:21):
based in a knowledge and a credibility that people listen.
And there's no I think playbook that works for everybody.
I think the question you have to ask yourself is
is a strategy I use for success today going to
serve me in the future. It's a critical question. I'll
give you example. When I was younger in my career,
(27:43):
I always was a rock solid presenter, but I was
willing to prepare, prepare, prepare, like to the point of nauseum.
Speaker 2 (27:52):
Most people wouldn't have done that.
Speaker 3 (27:53):
They would had done a dry run with their boss,
and they wouldn't have set it to themselves in the
mirror ten times. But guess what, I got to a
point in my career where I didn't have time for that,
So I had to ask myself, how do I succeed
in this job today with what's asked of me, with
the time I have, with the skills that I have,
And so I always think about that. My strategy for
(28:13):
success today is it going to serve me in this role,
in this situation, with this client. And if not, you've
got to be versatile and adaptable. Otherwise you're doing the
work but the results aren't what you want to see.
Speaker 1 (28:29):
I never thought about the question of will what I'm
doing today in this way serve me in the future.
I love that perspective. You said on LinkedIn that in
this was in a post that the real growth happened
for you when you chose authenticity over approval and you
aligned your life with purpose not pressure. Can you tell
(28:52):
us more about that.
Speaker 3 (28:54):
Yeah, well, it goes back to being underestimated, and I
think when I was younger my career, I did the
best that I could. But when you aren't comfortable having
a seat at a table because maybe you look different,
you have less experience, people have already vocalized that they're
not sure if you're the right fit for the job.
(29:15):
It's easy to conform to who other people in that room,
how they are, how they show up, how they communicate.
My first people leader role, you can see I'm a
pretty outgoing, high energy person. I'm very intense. I'm actually,
you know, much more intense than I probably show up
right now. And in my leaders were very stoic, kind
(29:35):
of even keeled people, and so I thought, I don't know,
if like I should be myself, maybe I should be
like them. And I can tell you it felt very
uncomfortable every day, like, you know, not not being who
I was at the core. And people noticed. People were like,
you seem so different, like are you stressed. I'm thinking,
I'm not different. I'm just trying to be trying to
(29:56):
be successful, and so I'm trying to act like those
people over there who incredibly successful. And so I had
to really learn from the experiences early on. I had
to trust that I was hired in this job because
they wanted me in this job. How I showed up
in my last role obviously with some additional skills I
got to build okay.
Speaker 2 (30:14):
But when I.
Speaker 3 (30:15):
Finally chose to just show up as me and trust
that that was the pathway to success, I felt better.
I was more confident, and guess what, I was more
relatable because.
Speaker 2 (30:26):
People knew what to expect.
Speaker 3 (30:28):
I showed up consistently, whether I was talking to my
leader or my direct report or appeer. And people want
to know you. They want to be able to trust
when they come to you who you're going to be
in that moment. And so it kind of goes back
to aligning myself with my leadership principles. That's when I
first started that exercise, was in a moment where I
(30:49):
was called out for not being my authentic self leading
my team.
Speaker 1 (30:54):
Wow, being called out that feels that feels like something
that will have you going home thinking about.
Speaker 2 (31:00):
It, you know what I mean, thinking all those things.
Speaker 1 (31:04):
Yes, it will, Yeah, exactly. So, how has your idea
of success evolved or changed over the years and what
does it sort of look like today.
Speaker 3 (31:17):
You know, my view of success has definitely evolved. I
would say early in my career it was about external validation,
you know, the sales award, the milestones, the praise. I
got the recognition because I you know, you're just not
always mature enough to be able to value your own opinions.
(31:38):
You lean on the things that everyone's gunning for. You're
gonna like, I'm gonna be that because it proves my value,
my worth, and I have learned that that is a
very empty.
Speaker 2 (31:49):
Never ending race.
Speaker 3 (31:52):
And I'll tell you I won the Sales Awards, so
it's not like I'm here, like I was always third place,
So it's not worth doing. It's just you work so
hard for this one moment and the moment is gone
in an instant. You know, your speech on the stage
accepting the word is thirty seconds. But you gave everything,
you placed all your value on that moment. And if
(32:15):
it didn't happen, were you a failure. No, but you've
told yourself that story. So I have shifts into really
a deep sense of intrinsic validation. I know what my
goals are, I know how I feel when I step
into a meeting and I show up as myself in
a hard situation, I go toe to toe with someone
who's really challenging me, I deliver a result that I'm
(32:38):
proud of, and so I really try to lean on
the things that I know are critical to being a
great leader, driving the right results, and also me being
intact as a person right and not just being in
it for the achievements. And I think part of that
is driven by the fact that we have all as people.
(32:59):
You know, I've had two kids, I have a marriage
that I want to be really successful and at its
best as well as my career. And so there's no
milestone for being a great mom, you know, there's no like,
you know, end gain that says is my marriage would
have wanted to be. We have to learn how to
be our own barometer of success and that's what really
(33:20):
matters because the game of accolades, Yes, it's it's important
at some level, but it's not what's gonna sustain us.
Speaker 1 (33:32):
Is there anything that we haven't talked about that has
been something maybe that's been burning for you or you're
just like, oh, I wish we would have touched on that,
something that maybe you want to leave our listeners with.
Speaker 2 (33:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (33:45):
I think it's important that you always take an ownership
mentality to your career, whether it's stepping into that next job,
whether it's you really want to develop a certain set
of skills or accelerate your growth, but your leader maybe
doesn't have a focus on that. You have to have
a belief that you're in the driver's seat. There's a
(34:08):
way to do that, not to do it right. You
can't always push there's timing. There's a lot of factors
that play into it, and great leaders and mentors can
help you through that. Right, But sitting back and waiting
for someone to tap you on the shoulder for the job,
or waiting to create a development plan for you, You're
probably gonna be waiting for much longer than you'd like.
(34:28):
So what can I control today? How can I invest
in my own development? How can I take a proactive
approach in building the career I want to have? And
those with an ownership mentality will go much further faster
than sitting back and waiting for someone to take you
along for the ride.
Speaker 1 (34:43):
Whitney, this has been a great conversation. Let our listeners
know where they can stay in touch with you.
Speaker 3 (34:50):
Yes, please visit my website at Whitney Ferris dot com.
You can subscribe and get messages and content from me
on a regular basis, and also you can follow me
on LinkedIn or and Instagram at Whitney Underscore Ferris.
Speaker 2 (35:02):
So I hope to connect with some of you. Awesome.
Speaker 1 (35:05):
Thank you so much, Whitny for spending time with us today.
We appreciate you.
Speaker 2 (35:09):
Thank you so much for the opportunity.
Speaker 1 (35:11):
And thank you all for listening, for spending time with us,
and I hope you were able to walk away with
some very valuable tools that you can take with you
to take action and do all the things that you
need to do to be the best version of your
career self. Honey, as always be well. This podcast is
(35:32):
produced by Maziemedia. Maze Media as a woman led podcast
production company that works with small businesses and corporations. Visit
mazimedia dot com for more details on how you and
your organization can go from ideation to podcasting.
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