Be Determined

Developing as a leader is a journey. 

Strengthening your personal confidence, resilience, and self-leadership are key parts of that journey that we’ve been discussing, and today I’m continuing that conversation and delving into the importance of recognizing your skills and capacity, and not waiting for anyone to give you a title, but taking initiative to be a leader as you navigate the world.

Listen to the full episode to hear:

• How getting involved on my college campus helped me apply my self-leadership skills to make an impact in my community
• How denials, roadblocks, and being underestimated have changed my path, but never made me give up on my purpose
• Why leadership isn’t about your job title or your position, but how you navigate life and impact others 

Learn more about Molly Kennedy

• Molly Kennedy Consulting

Being a great leader starts with how you lead yourself, and the confidence you build by finding your passions and working towards your goals.

But navigating our world with a disability presents unique challenges and opportunities for developing confidence and leadership. All too often, our society doesn’t recognize that people with disabilities can be and are great leaders, and we aren’t afforded opportunities to develop those skills. 

But I’ve been building my determination, resilience, and ability to put things in perspective since long before I entered college or my professional life. We need more people with disabilities to have the opportunity to see themselves as leaders, acknowledge the skills and capabilities they’ve already built in their lives, and develop into powerful leaders in their communities.

Listen to the full episode to hear:

• How societal assumptions about disability lead people to underestimate or tokenize people with disabilities
• Why I’ve chosen to keep showing up, doing the work, and being the best leader I can be when I’ve encountered people who didn’t believe in my capabilities
• The importance of not internalizing other people’s perceptions and judgments of your ability to lead (and how it gets easier with time)
• How living with a disability from birth taught me not to limit my expectations of myself, even when the world at large did

Learn more about Molly Kennedy

• Molly Kennedy Consulting

To paraphrase Michael Jordan, some people wish for confidence, some people want it but don’t know how to build it, and some people work hard and make it happen.

True confidence isn’t something you just have or you don’t. Confidence comes with trusting yourself to do the work to take your dreams and visionary ideas and make them reality. It takes putting in the time to gain experience and wisdom. And confidence requires knowing yourself and what you believe.

It’s not easy, and it doesn’t always work out the way you want it to, but whether you’re the one of the most iconic basketball players of all time, or you want to make a positive impact on your community or the world, you need real confidence. 

Listen to the full episode to hear:

• How everyone has to experience setbacks and frustrations on their way to skill and confidence in their abilities
• How I shifted my thinking from hoping to have an impact with my work to knowing I would make one
• Why good leaders aren’t confident all the time, can admit when they have room to learn, and know when to ask for help
• How confident leaders rely on and share the spotlight with collaborators and community

Learn more about Molly Kennedy

• Molly Kennedy Consulting

Having lived with cerebral palsy my entire life, I know that people make assumptions about what my life is like and what I’m capable of. The world is very comfortable underestimating people with disabilities.

But being me is pretty darn great.

I’ve achieved a lot of my goals and I’m still pursuing my ambitions. I have a large, loving family and great friends and allies who support me through challenges, shifts, and successes. My life hasn’t always been easy, but we all face obstacles and struggles.

On today’s episode, I want to take a moment to reflect on the good things I have in my life and what makes it great to be Molly Kennedy.

Listen to the full episode to hear:

• Why we all need to take time to remind ourselves what’s great about our lives and what we’re proud of
• How embracing who I am and what I want to do has helped bring the right people into my life
• How I balance pursuing what fulfills me and not limiting myself with the realities of living with a disability
• How stopping to appreciate moments of joy, happiness, and love helps keep us going

Learn more about Molly Kennedy:

• Molly Kennedy Consulting

Women haven’t always been recognized as leaders in our society. Women with disabilities have been acknowledged even less for their leadership. 

Women with disabilities build incredible leadership skills just in living their lives, even if their leadership is all too often hidden in plain sight. Through my work, I want to bring women with disabilities to the table, show how valuable our skills are, and help more women with disabilities be visible and make an impact in their communities.

Listen to the full episode to hear:

• Why creating leadership opportunities for women with disabilities has to be more than a token
• How living with a disability builds the problem-solving skills, resilience, and conviction great leaders need
• Why we need to break down and look beyond societal stereotypes of who a leader is
• How empathy, collaboration, and authenticity contribute to being a good leader
• How to start leading from where you are, because there is no perfect time

Learn more about Molly Kennedy

• Molly Kennedy Consulting

Growing up with a disability, I regularly challenged preconceptions of what I could achieve. But it wasn’t until college that I really caught the bug for getting involved and becoming a leader, from my dorm’s resident council to chairing county-wide citizens’ committees and beyond.

Over the years, I’ve refined my purpose as a leader. As I work towards creating a network for women with disabilities that will support them in becoming leaders in their lives and communities, I want to talk about my leadership journey.

Listen to the full episode to hear:

• How leading myself through my education and career drew me to wanting to have an impact on society
• The tough realities of being discounted for both being a woman and having a disability
• Why both a firm belief in yourself and a sense of humor are key to taking your place as a leader
• Why I don’t let anger or frustration drive how and why I lead and advocate for myself and others
• How knowing that others will often underestimate me actually frees me to be more myself without fearing judgment

Learn more about Molly Kennedy

• Molly Kennedy Consulting

While some people are more naturally inclined to seek out leadership roles than others, it’s possible for anyone to grow into a leader.

Leadership fundamentally starts with yourself, your experiences, and how you’ve led yourself through life’s ups and downs. Good leaders know how to pick themselves back up after a challenge; they’re resilient.

The challenges I’ve faced again and again as a result of living with a disability have actually become something of a leadership superpower, because they’ve made me incredibly resilient. Today, I want to talk about why resilience is about more than bouncing back, how my experiences have helped me lead myself and others, and my vision for helping other women with disabilities elevate themselves into leadership.

Listen to the full episode to hear:

• How resilient leaders not only get back up after a challenge, but believe in themselves enough to forge a path forward
• Why it’s okay to shift focus and recalibrate when a project isn’t working
• How challenging social conceptions of what a woman with a disability is capable of throughout my life has shaped my leadership
• My dream for my next big project and how I want to make an impact

Learn more about Molly Kennedy

• Molly Kennedy Consulting

What makes someone a leader?

While a lot of us might think of a leader as someone who has power or influence over others, or someone who’s got it all figured out and leads the way, I think about leadership a little differently.

Today, I’m talking about what it means to be a leader, what makes a good leader, and why you don’t have to be a “born leader” to be a great one.

Listen to the full episode to hear:

• How good leaders bring people together and empower them to make an impact
• How building self-trust and self-advocacy develops the skills you need to lead others
• How creative problem-solving allows for building consensus without compromising your intentions
• How a lifetime of navigating systems that underestimate my abilities has shaped my leadership

Learn more about Molly Kennedy

• Molly Kennedy Consulting

Ten years ago, I was at a place I’d fought to be for a lot of my life. I was living independently, I had autonomy, and my days had a typical rhythm. And over a short period of time, it all changed. 

My ability to walk grew more and more limited, I started having falls, and my apartment wasn’t accessible for the mobility scooter I came to rely on. I knew I needed a new living situation that could accommodate my new normal, but all of the unknowns were daunting. I didn’t want to lose the autonomy and self-determination I’d fought so hard for.

In celebration of my 57th birthday, I’m reflecting on how I faced the challenges of adjusting to physical changes and new needs, going through grief, and writing the next chapter.

Listen to the full episode to hear:

• How I came out the other side of depression and grief with a new perspective on the opportunity that change can present
• How thinking like a leader helped me reorganize my life and become even better than before
• How surrounding myself with a great team supports me in being a more effective leader
• Why having limitations doesn’t mean you can’t make bold choices

Learn more about Molly Kennedy

• Molly Kennedy Consulting

Frustration isn’t a question of if you’re going to experience it, but when. And what really matters is how you deal with it. 

We all face frustrations, from day-to-day annoyances to life-altering situations, and how we choose to respond shapes how resilient we become. And resilience is not about pushing down your frustrations and moving on, resilience is what happens when we acknowledge the challenge in front of us and figure out how to move forward. 

In today’s episode, I’m talking about how I handle frustration.

Listen to the full episode to hear:

• What I learned as a kid about trying new things, accepting limitations, and choosing what to let go of
• The difference between getting momentarily frustrated or angry and becoming an angry person
• How a recent disappointment inspired a positive recalibration of how I want to use my passion, energy, and impact
• Why we have to separate frustration and disappointment from our self-worth in order to be adaptable and resilient as circumstances change

Learn more about Molly Kennedy

• Molly Kennedy Consulting