A few weeks ago, I was approached by Wilton & Bain (W&B) - an executive search and leadership advisory firm - and asked if I would be open to being a guest on the brand new podcast series they were launching. I was informed they'd been following my blog and believed my story would be a perfect fit for the launch of their new podcast entitled ”SWITCHing The Narrative.” The podcast is dedicated to sharing the stories of W&B's SWITCH Members, which is an acronym for Senior Women in Transformation and Change. Through SWITCH, W&B hope to ignite a new wave of change across the executive level recruiting space, breaking not just through the glass ceiling of the C-suite and Boardroom, but maintaining the presence of marginalized groups within executive leadership positions.
At first I was definitely "on the fence" about accepting the invitation because I wasn't sure if anyone would be interested in hearing my story. However, after taking some time to think about it and being diligent to sideline the negative self talk in my head, I thought to myself, "why not, what do I have to lose?" I came to the conclusion that if just one person was interested or found something to take from my story to better themself, it would be time well spent. I called W&B back the very next day and told them to count me in.
In our very first meeting, we immediately got to talking and had an open and honest conversation about my experiences from the days immediately following college all the way through to present day. We finalized on layout for the podcast and I agreed to jot down some talking points.
Fast forward to this week and we were sitting face-to-face in my office recording, editing, and finally publishing the podcast episode. The focus of the episode is not just on the journey of my professional career, but specifically my new found focus on work/life balance and shifting to find more time for myself. At this moment in my journey, the core message I want to impart on others is that each of us matters and we need to find time for ourselves no matter what. Without proper balance and well being we can't be the best version of ourselves and if we aren't the best version of ourselves, how are women expected to compete with men in the workplace and reduce the disparity that exists in boardrooms and C-Suites across the country?
Truth be told, I loved everything about the process of recording a podcast episode, from spending time with Loren at W&B, to working through my responses to their questions, and ultimately listening to myself live on playback. Since recording the episode, I've been excited to have a number of people reach out with follow-up questions or thank me for sharing my story so candidly.
The moral of this story is if someone asks you to share your story, say yes! There is something liberating about getting your words out into the ether and knowing they are available for others to listen to, explore, study, and most importantly learn from.
For anyone interested in the story you can access it here: https://anchor.fm/switchingthenarrative
