IntHERrupt

Everyone, at some point or another, has encountered obstacles and failures in life. (If you haven’t, please reach out to Linda.) But the failure isn’t the part you should be worried about; it’s whether or not you pick yourself up. Today on IntHERrupt, Linda is joined by Kendra Perry to discuss how she overcame failure in her professional life, and how she regained the confidence to move forward.

Her business began thanks to a skiing accident.

• Initially pursuing a career in skiing (while working as a forester), a terrible crash in 2011 forced Kendra to put down the skis permanently.
• The crash also prevented her from continuing her foresting career, meaning Kendra had to rediscover a professional passion.
• She realized (after listening to a podcast) that she could offer coaching services online, so for the next five years, she grew a business helping women find their energy.
• Kendra started business consulting on the side and soon realized she loved it.

Kendra experienced failure in her business.

• Wanting to launch an online course, Kendra invested thousands of dollars into research, marketing, and creating her online course.
• While she had 200 people join in the first webinar, she felt deflated and upset when it resulted in zero sales.
• She relaunched three more times yet still did not find a way to make sales.
• Kendra later learned there were components in her marketing and messaging that contributed to her failure. However, it still resulted in her losing confidence in herself and her business.

The critical question: How did she bounce back?

• After a short pity party, Kendra hired a business coach. The coach helped her realize what was wrong with her approach (like too broad of a niche.)
• Kendra realized her audience wanted support and accountability - two things her course didn’t offer.
• She restructured her platform into a group membership program, and she immediately received $8,000 in sales.

Kendra’s tips for someone experiencing failure:

• Give yourself the time and space to process your emotion and then move forward.
• Remember, there’s no successful person who hasn’t had multiple failures. Those failures are an opportunity to analyze the bigger picture.
• Develop a practice that helps move stuff throughout your body. Whether that’s journaling, meditating, or something else, find a solution to energize yourself.

To contact Kendra, connect with her on LinkedIn and visit her website. Do you have stories to tell? Connect with Linda to share them. This podcast is produced by TSE Studios. Check out other podcasts by TSE Studios, including this episode’s sponsor, The Sales Evangelist, helping new and struggling sellers close more deals and achieve their sales goals. Subscribe to the IntHERrupt Podcast so you won’t miss a single show. Find us on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Spotify, and Stitcher. Audio created by Ryan Rasmussen Productions.

Did you know that when we communicate, only 7% is in the words that we say? That means 93% of our communication is through nonverbal language. In today’s episode of IntHERrupt, Linda’s going solo to explain some of her findings and experiences in fostering positive nonverbal communication.

The goal with body language is to look at them in clusters, not just one instance of expression.

• Nonverbal language is the way you move your body, the way you gesture, whether or not you’re smiling, and whether you make eye contact, all of which impact nonverbal language.
• Did you know that we make over 3000 facial gestures a day? Humans are far more expressive than we might think.

Linda learned firsthand the importance of body language when interacting with a past COO. 

• She wanted to share an idea, but his body language was not receptive to communication. (His arms folded, he was scowling and made no eye contact.)
• Linda mirrored him, becoming equally closed off. 
• Soon after, he began to nod and make eye contact, so Linda became more open.  Once they were both open with each other, they were able to share ideas.

Posture is integral to good nonverbal communication.

• Keep your shoulders back, with your shoulder blades rolled back and down.
• Keep your head up, and your body open, and your legs uncrossed and your feet flat on the ground.
• Spending time moving your body and getting exercise will help you be more confident.

Use nonverbal communication to gauge if someone might be deceptive.

• Sudden jerky movements or covering their mouth after speaking
• Shifts in voice tone or a sudden dry cough
• Increased blink rate or clenched eyebrows.
• They might smile more than usual, trying to overcompensate.

Your body language is just as crucial as your teammates’.

• As a leader, you want to be approachable. Your job is to listen to others. Therefore, you need to show that you will and do hear people when in conversation with others.
• Be aware of where your or someone’s feet point. For example, if feet are pointed toward the door, they might be uncomfortable with the situation.
• If in conversation with someone who is uncomfortable, turn your body on a slight angle, so you aren’t interacting with them head-on.
• Linda’s final takeaway: Record yourself speaking, whether at an event or even in your living room, and watch your body language. It’s a great way to observe any nervous habits you have that you might not even be aware of.

Do you have any questions about body language or being aware of your own body language? Ask it in Linda’s Facebook group! 

Do you have stories to tell? Connect with Linda to share them. This podcast is produced by TSE Studios. Check out other podcasts by TSE Studios, including this episode’s sponsor, The Sales Evangelist, helping new and struggling sellers close more deals and achieve their sales goals. Subscribe to the IntHERrupt Podcast so you won’t miss a single show. Find us on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Spotify, and Stitcher. Audio created by Ryan Rasmussen Productions.

As the CEO and founder of The VOS Group, a training group that delivers strategy to organizations to increase their profitability, LaDawn Townsend has had extensive experience communicating her value to stakeholders. And in today’s episode of IntHerrupt, she joins Linda to explain how you communicate your value regardless of your role in an organization.

LaDawn’s professional journey was unique.

• She entered a corporate job right out of high school, managing a team in finance.
• Twenty years later, LaDawn decided this wasn’t what she wanted to do with her life and needed a change.
• She worked until 2014, when the company downsized. Forced to find a new source of income, she became an entrepreneur. 

She struggled in the initial stages of entrepreneurship.

• LaDawn had two goals: have a paycheck and help business owners have a sustainable foundation (so they would never have to lay people off.)
• Because she wasn’t eligible for funding opportunities, she moved to Austin, Texas, to work another job and generate money for her business. 
• She worked 70-hour weeks, finding time before and after her job to get her business off the ground.
• Since that time, her firm has blossomed into a profitable business with international clients.

What does value mean to LaDawn?

• The number one responsibility of a business owner is to run a financially fit business. 
• There are three fundamental aspects of value:
• • See a bigger vision of what’s possible for your clients. 
  • Have courage. 
  • Talk about your message. 
• When other people and clients can talk about the value and presence you offer, you know your message is coming across successfully.
• When you can demonstrate expertise, you’ll be able to close deals.  Especially with women executives and business owners, we tend to be challenged by asking for business. 
• Value isn’t just one statement or a mission statement; it is a concept and a pillar of the foundational beliefs of your business.

Internal value is just as significant as external (if not more so)

• Recently, LaDawn realized she needed to value herself more. She needed to take time for things that fuel her.
• When you value yourself, you can show up better for your clients and your coworkers.

Who are the stakeholders?

• There are three different levels of stakeholders: the decision-maker, the influencer, and the silent stakeholder.
• While the first two are obvious, the silent stakeholder is anyone you wouldn’t initially expect or be aware of who has an impact—for example, an employee who’s worked at the company for 20+ years.

What you should do when a stakeholder doesn’t see your value:

• Use data to support your claims, and find an influencer who the decision-maker will listen to. 
• Take your ego out of the relationship. Focus on the project and goal you were hired for, and seek to help others.
• If you encounter a negative stakeholder, build relationships with other stakeholders and influencers to learn how to communicate in a way that will be productive and make them advocates for yourself.

To contact LaDawn, you can connect with her on LinkedIn or visit her company website. Do you have stories to tell? Connect with Linda to share them. This podcast is produced by TSE Studios. Check out other podcasts by TSE Studios, including this episode’s sponsor, The Sales Evangelist, helping new and struggling sellers close more deals and achieve their sales goals. Subscribe to the IntHERrupt Podcast so you won’t miss a single show. Find us on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Spotify, and Stitcher. Audio created by Ryan Rasmussen Productions.

For anyone working in the modern workplace (but especially for women), it can seem daunting and difficult to admit you need help. You might feel you’ll be labeled incompetent or incapable. But that couldn’t be farther from the truth! There’s no shame in admitting when you need help, and in today’s episode of IntHERrupt, Linda is joined by Judy Joffe to learn how to ask for help without feeling inferior. 

Nobody knows everything.

• There’s always someone who knows more and is better at the things you do know.
• Everyone makes mistakes, but making mistakes doesn’t mean you’re stupid. It just means you have an opportunity to learn and grow.
• If you’re deciding whether or not you’ll need help, use phrases like “I’d like to think about it” to buy time to calm your inner self and figure out what you can bring to the table.
• Position yourself to go back to the project in control of your environment.

How can you ask for help and still feel confident?

• Lead from your strengths. In an ideal world, everybody wants to help you. (But that’s not always the case.)
• When working with someone difficult, think inward. Is it about them wanting you to look worse, or are you projecting your own insecurity and imposter syndrome? Think about it and address the problem accordingly.
• You can use phrases like “that’s challenging,” “that’s a great idea,” or “that’s an interesting concept” to buy yourself time to figure out where the problem in communication lies.

You need to ask for help when: 

• You know you’ll impact the quality.
• You know that without help, you’ll delay the deadline.
• You know you won’t have time to research the project.
• If the project is something outside you or our team’s expertise.

As a leader, how can you help people feel comfortable coming to you for help?

• Build an open relationship where your team will be unafraid to come to you.
• Give your team resources, so they have avenues to follow if they need it.
• If you, as the leader, are unafraid to ask for help, your team will have more confidence in you and be more willing to do the same.
• If you ask people for input and feedback, you’ll end up with a better project because the whole team will have buy-in into the project.

To get in contact with Judy, connect with her on LinkedIn. Do you have stories to tell? Connect with Linda to share them. This podcast is produced by TSE Studios. Check out other podcasts by TSE Studios, including this episode’s sponsor, The Sales Evangelist, helping new and struggling sellers close more deals and achieve their sales goals. Subscribe to the IntHERrupt Podcast so you won’t miss a single show. Find us on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Spotify, and Stitcher. Audio created by Ryan Rasmussen Productions. 

We’ve all experienced the stress that typically comes with a holiday. It may even get to the point where you want a holiday from the holiday! As business professionals, finding the time to recharge and refresh is integral, especially as we approach the holiday season. Today’s guest, Shanna Missett, president of Jazzercise Incorporated, explains what she does to recharge during the holidays.

The holiday season is stressful.

• As a business professional and working mother, Shanna feels the stress that accompanies the holiday season. At times it feels like a job in of itself!
• Women are typically in charge of decorating, purchasing gifts, wrapping, and many other holiday tasks.
• Shanna used to go all-out with decorating, but she realized she doesn’t have to put that burden on herself. 

Let go of burdens you put on yourself.

• Think about the future. Will it matter two weeks from now if you don’t do a certain thing?
• If it doesn’t significantly impact her life, that helps Shanna shift her focus and think about her end goal.
• Because of her shifted focus, Shanna has since given herself more breathing room during the holiday season. For example, she no longer feels like it is an absolute necessity to get a gift to someone before Christmas. 
• Shanna prioritizes which things she wants to get done and which things she might not have time for. That way, she’s able to complete what she wants. 

What can people do to move forward in life while also giving time to breathe and recharge?

• Readjust goals if a life event demands it. More importantly, accept potential feelings of disappointment that come with changing a goal.
• Realign yourself, process emotions, and handle any external events that might have an impact. Then, embrace that new goal.

Taking vacations allows Shanna to recharge. 

• Because her daughters were both in competitive dance, she grew to love attending competitions. 
• It was refreshing to focus on just her daughters and their performance rather than running an event or company. 
• Being present in whatever you’re doing can be very recharging.

Being present in life can be very recharging.

• Stop checking your phone or laptop. There’s no reason to check your email.
• Realize that you don’t have to check those things, and also that you deserve that time to yourself away from obligation.

Want to hear more from Shanna? Connect with her on Instagram and Facebook. Do you have stories to tell? Connect with Linda to share them. This podcast is produced by TSE Studios. Check out other podcasts by TSE Studios, including this episode’s sponsor, The Sales Evangelist, helping new and struggling sellers close more deals and achieve their sales goals. Subscribe to the IntHERrupt Podcast so you won’t miss a single show. Find us on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Spotify, and Stitcher. Audio created by Ryan Rasmussen Productions.

No matter who you are, you’re inevitably going to come across difficult personalities. (And it can be very frustrating.) To learn how to deal with difficult personalities in the workplace, Linda is joined by Debra Roberts, creator of The Relationship Protocol, to address these relationships and learn how to overcome them.

What qualifies as a “difficult personality” is different for each person. 

• For example, Debra reacts negatively to passive-aggressive personalities.
• It’s any type you are triggered or challenged by, where you have to think through the proper responses in conversation.

The Relationship Protocol is a communication model that resulted from all her working relationships. 

• It provides actionable tools to have a conversation and deal with difficult topics.
• If you want a positive relationship with someone with a difficult personality, ask yourself what you want to say or what you want their takeaways to be after the conversation, and decide your words based on that. 
• Don’t target the person, but explain how the actions or choices make you confused.

When something is bothering you, ask them to “help me understand.”

• Sometimes people don’t realize they’re difficult. Debra has encountered many people who don’t even realize their actions are off-putting.
• When you speak to someone respectfully, and you respond negatively, they’re going to assume they’ve done something wrong.
• The takeaway? When in a conversation, never attack the other person when addressing a personality conflict. And remember, your tone is everything. 

When talking to someone upset with you, be it a customer or co-worker, you must acknowledge their experience. Validate them.

• Own up to or empathize with them to deescalate a potential conflict.
• Everybody wants to feel heard. 
• It’s not about a grand gesture. But it’s about acknowledging other people and being kind.

Debra’s famous interruption story.

• Early in her career, Debra was a department head that recently merged with another company.
• The woman who held a similar position to Debra at the other company was very intimidating, and she terrified Debra.
• She asked Debra a question and then walked out mid-answer. And Debra followed her as she left and called her out on it. And their relationship drastically improved.

To connect with Debra, visit therelationshipprotocol.com or connect with her on LinkedIn. Her website also contains her courses specialized for personal, group, or professional teams to learn how to communicate effectively and have productive relationships. You can also find her book on Amazon. 

Do you have stories to tell? Connect with Linda to share them. This podcast is produced by TSE Studios. Check out other podcasts by TSE Studios, including this episode’s sponsor, The Sales Evangelist, helping new and struggling sellers close more deals and achieving their sales goals. Subscribe to the IntHERrupt Podcast so you won’t miss a single show. Find us on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Spotify, and Stitcher. Audio created by Ryan Rasmussen Productions.

No matter who or where you are, financial stability is something we all strive for. Today we’re joined by Sarah Poynton, who’s been through her personal journey learning how to make sound financial decisions to be best prepared for the future. 

Sarah started her entrepreneurship journey with little financial knowledge.

• She started a photo booth company that put booths in weddings, corporate events, those kinda things.
• Founded in 2012, her business was failing by 2014. And by 2015, she had a lot of debt. Sixty thousand pounds of debt, to be precise (about $82,000 U.S. dollars), and it was all because of poor financial choices.
• She got married in 2015, and she and her husband talked about the next chapter of their lives. But it all came back to the fact they had no money. Because of that, she realized she needed to do something differently.

So she started a property company in 2016.

• It began to do pretty well, and she started to help investors build a property portfolio. 
• Since then, she’s built a portfolio for herself, has an education company, and everything she does is built around property and investments. 
• She is not a broker or investing specialist, but she helps people make money from those industries.
• Once she was debt-free, she began to strategize for the future and create long-term wealth.
• She doesn’t want money for the sake of stuff. She wants money for the freedom and choice money creates.

Why is it important to be financially prepared?

• You never know what’s going to happen, and you shouldn’t be worried about not being able to pay something off.
• Sarah remembers being in a position where she couldn’t pay all of her bills each month. It’s important from a mental health perspective. You only have one life.

Sarah’s financial takeaways:

• Get investing as soon as you can.  You can start investing with very little money. Put that money to work for you before you’ve got it.
• Manage your money. Sarah used to spend until the card said no because it made her feel sick.
• Manage it daily. Know where your money is going so that you’re working from a place of having enough for the things you need.
• Because of the inflation rate, the value of your money is eroding and going down. That’s why investing is essential.

How can you break destructive financial behaviors?

• Stop avoiding your bank account. Instead, check every day or every other day because ignoring the problem doesn’t fix it. (If anything, that makes it worse.)
• Understand the difference between assets and liabilities. An asset makes you money. A liability costs you money.
• Learn about it! There’s so much knowledge available online. 
• Don’t invest more than you can afford to lose because there’s always a risk with investing. But invest with the expectation you’ll lose it all.
• Read the book Think and Grow Rich to learn more basics on financial literacy.

What are the benefits of being financially literate as a leader?

• Sarah is very transparent about business financials. Her team knows how much they spend, how much they charge, and various tax information. 
• You don’t need to be a financial genius; just understand the basics. Understand the baselines of financial intelligence and make more than you spend.
• By saving, what most people mean is putting it in a bank account. But in a bank account, the interest rate is horribly low and won’t help you. That is why investing generates more wealth.

*Sarah is not a financial advisor. Everything discussed in this podcast reflects her personal financial experiences and should not be taken as expert advice. 

To connect with Sarah, DM her on Instagram @iamsarahpoynton. Do you have stories to tell? Connect with Linda to share them. This podcast is produced by TSE Studios. Check out other podcasts by TSE Studios, including this episode’s sponsor, The Sales Evangelist, helping new and struggling sellers close more deals and achieve their sales goals. Subscribe to the IntHERrupt Podcast so you won’t miss a single show. Find us on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Spotify, and Stitcher. Audio created by Ryan Rasmussen Productions. 

Today’s episode of Int-HER-rupt features a robust discussion with guest Joanna Chanis. As an author and professional mentor, she helps women and corporate teams through challenging experiences. After being diagnosed with cancer in 2019, she learned how to be grateful for the positives in her life to accept the negatives she cannot change.

On the outside, Joanna had a perfect life. 

• And she worked hard to make it look that way. But she was actually under tremendous stress between her career and personal life, going through three traumatic experiences in just nine months.
• Her cancer diagnosis forced Joanna to put herself first.
• She considered herself someone who practices gratitude. But after her diagnosis, she realized she said the words and talked about it but was in a state of nonacceptance. 
• Because she had to accept something she didn’t want to accept, she let that manifest acceptance for everything else in her life. 
• She learned how to practice gratitude and live a life that was for her. 
• It was authentic. And she could make so much more good happen. And she was able because she had surrendered and gotten to a place of acceptance. 

What is authentic gratitude to Joanna?

• It started when she noticed all the conditional gratitude on social media. She was saying she was grateful (but didn’t really feel grateful.)
• We’re conditioned to express gratitude as a formality, even if we don’t feel it.
• So what is authentic gratitude? It’s a feeling you have when you’re genuinely grateful and accept what is. 
• That doesn’t mean you’ll like everything. But you have to accept it to move through the circumstances.
• Because of this, Joanna’s life improved. She had better self-esteem, better relationships, and better peace of mind.

An exercise to practice shifting your perspective:

• When helping a friend, client, or corporate group, Joanna applies it to the little things.
• Don’t wait for a disaster to change your mentality. Instead, implement it throughout your day as practice, so you’re ready for a more significant situation.
• Imagine traffic. If you’re annoyed that you’re stuck, shift your perspective. Accept that you’re in traffic and it’s annoying. 
• But search for something that because you’re in traffic, you’re grateful. (Quiet time without kids. Time to finish an audiobook. You’re in a heated car outside of the cold. )
• Find something in the moment you wouldn’t be able to do if you weren’t having that circumstance.
• You’re not going to get out of the traffic. But it won’t be as bad.

What would she say to people to have resilience and stamina in the wake of covid?

• Everyone is resilient. But the key is to learn healthy resilience.
• There has never been a more critical time to practice this methodology. We have to accept where we are. 
• With the fluctuations of COVID and the variants, nobody knows what will happen next. 
• Life is a marathon, not a sprint. And we’re all going through the same challenge in COVID.
• Accept that life will never be the same. So do what you can to accept where you are and what is. But then, find something in that circumstance to feel better.
• Sometimes people get stuck trying to find the bad thing during the bad thing. Just let it be. What it’s meant to teach you will become more apparent once you’ve accepted it and the ordeal is over.

To connect and learn more about Joanna, follow her on YouTube, Instagram, and LinkedIn. You can also tune in to her own podcast, About Life, and check out her book, The Waiting Room.

Do you have stories to tell? Connect with Linda to share them. This podcast is produced by TSE Studios. Check out other podcasts by TSE Studios, including this episode’s sponsor, The Sales Evangelist, helping new and struggling sellers close more deals and achieving their sales goals. Subscribe to the IntHERrupt Podcast so you won’t miss a single show. Find us on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Spotify, and Stitcher. Audio created by Ryan Rasmussen Productions. 

The road to a fulfilling life is all about balance. Finding employment and work often come at the expense of your dreams. Can you live in a world with both? In today’s episode, Linda is joined by none other than her daughter, Summer Yates, to discuss why retaining your passions as you grow up is perhaps the most important thing you can do.

The road to a fulfilling life is all about balance. Finding employment and work often come at the expense of your dreams. Can you live in a world with both? In today’s episode, Linda is joined by none other than her daughter, Summer Yates, to discuss why retaining your passions as you grow up is perhaps the most important thing you can do. 

Summer has many passions outside her traditional job.

• Her main craft is aerial acrobatics, owning and operating an aerial acrobatics studio. 
• In addition to her aerial acrobatics business, Summer models and practices makeup.
• Her everyday job is a manager, overseeing three large teams within her company totaling around 55 people.

Summer uses her passions to shape her day job.

• Her passions give her a different perspective and keep her grounded in everyday life. 
• People often get trapped seeking financial accomplishments or a particular title in their work, but in doing so, sacrifice a life worth living.
• By prioritizing her sport and using it to help others, Summer knows why she goes to her job each day: to one day have the freedom to do what she wants.
• She lets her passion guide her as she coaches her employees. She can’t expect them to give up their passions when she wouldn’t do it herself. 

Prioritizing her talents helps Summer face challenges in her life.

• There’s a ton of research that physical activities do great things for mental health, so she’s fortunate her passion is a physically active one. 
• But it’s also a creative outlet, allowing her to express herself when she’s not able to otherwise.
• Many people complain about not having enough time for work and hobbies, but in reality, it’s all about priorities. She’s found more energy doing the things she loves than just vegging out after work.

How does she heal from the bruising doing aerial?

• Summer thinks of it as a life lesson: people don’t see the pain, blood, sweat, and tears that go into a performance. It’s a lot like life. 
• She’s a big believer in safe practice of her sport, resulting in only minor injuries. But she also sees a sports masseuse a couple of times a month and takes salt baths to relax her muscles. 
• Sometimes, if she feels off, she visits a physical therapist and avoids dancing for a couple of days. 
• Listening to your body and understanding its limits is essential.

What lessons has your sport taught you?

• The difference between discomfort and pain, because you don’t grow through comfort.
• Be humble to ask for help and to learn from others.
• Her journey isn’t about other people, but it’s about her.
• When she is living passionately, she is at peace because she’s fulfilled.

So how does she relate this to her team?

• Summer finds joy in helping people find their passions and realize they can do things they never thought possible.
• She wants to push people beyond their comfort because you won’t go forward in life by remaining stagnant.
• People limit themselves, so part of her job is to help people realize the limits they place on themselves are often self-inflicted.

This isn’t a solicitation for Morgan Stanley. This podcast has no affiliation with Morgan Stanley.

To connect with Summer, visit her website and follow her on LinkedIn and Instagram. Do you have stories to tell? Connect with Linda to share them. This podcast is produced by TSE Studios. Check out other podcasts by TSE Studios, including this episode’s sponsor, The Sales Evangelist, helping new and struggling sellers close more deals and achieving their sales goals. Subscribe to the IntHERrupt Podcast so you won’t miss a single show. Find us on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Spotify, and Stitcher. Audio created by Ryan Rasmussen Productions.