Say It Skillfully®

Say It Skillfully® is a show that helps you to benefit from Molly Tschang’s expert guidance on the best possible ways to speak your mind at work in a positive and productive manner. In Episode 134, Molly is joined first by Elizabeth, who gives us the inside scoop on being on campus during the height of Covid uncertainty, attempting to get through sophomore year with sanity! Living in a sorority with 60 others, she sometimes was forbidden to go outside. She shares the roller coaster, being upset with how rules were enforced, and at the same time realizing not much could be done. In hindsight, she reflects on interacting with those “in power”, what she learned about herself—particularly taking care of herself—and becoming more confident. Next, Stephanie, a 30-year veteran insurance broker, offers thoughts on being senior and female in a predominantly male industry. She talks about the fine line between being aggressive vs. the sugar and spice way to get things done, including the power of transparency to encourage folks in the right way to get the work done. Ultimately keeping focus on treating customers the right way and modeling accountability has been a recipe for long-term success. Stephanie also shares the fulfillment in her business—helping people and making a difference for them in what can be a frustrating maze (19:40). Then Michael—four years out of college in the U.S.—shares his inspiring recent few years in China and Taiwan, embracing the adventure and growth in landing with a couple suitcases in a new land, not speaking the language and developing his ability to teach English to 5-year olds! His enthusiasm and joie de vivre inspire us to go outside boundaries and to create and embrace possibilities! If you feel “stuck” in your current gig, soak in Michael’s bring-it-on enthusiasm. He’s made the transition back to the states and is devising what’s next (36:45). Don’t miss these conversations and learn how to navigate work while being invaluable and true to yourself. Molly’s thoughts for the week, courtesy of Henri Matisse—The Red Studio, MoMA Exhibition —Open reality to possibility —The whole of the artist is in their work. More ways to help you #sayitskillfully! * You can deliver bad news in a good way, like this https://bit.ly/3fYveUE * All Molly’s resources here: https://sayitskillfully.com

Say It Skillfully® is a show that helps you to benefit from Molly Tschang’s expert guidance on the best possible ways to speak your mind at work in a positive and productive manner. Episode 133 is the 25th monthly feature of “Our Voices,” intended to accelerate social change that levels the playing field—helping everyone live to their full potential. The aim is for you to see a bit of yourself in these journeys, and embrace—we’re more similar than not. Molly is joined by first-generation American Chioma Iheanacho, who shares her journey from swanky law firm to single mother persevering to find a job, to Silicon Valley and finally her own business! Born to a father from Nigeria and a mother from Barbados, Chioma felt out of place navigating American culture. Bullied for her personality and ethnicity, she recalls insults such as “you think you’re so smart” and other kids laughing at her name. Chioma opens up about how this made her “shrink... at one point even asking her mother if her name could be changed to Linda Brown! Poignantly, she goes in depth about how trauma that shrinks you shapes your views and what you accept for yourself. Chioma talks about her early struggles as a single mother, overcoming the feeling of defeat in a tedious job search while raising her son, then eventually finding a tech support position in which she wore many hats. Learning about compliance, procurement, software, contracts, licensing, budgeting, risk management, business operations, and many more skills enhanced her career as employee, consultant and entrepreneur. With guardedness, Chioma shares her insights and learnings, including how she keeps implicit biases at bay and how leaders can create safe and inclusive spaces. Don’t miss Chioma detail the how and why behind katchimedia, her media company, which she admits she could have started sooner! Hear her passion in helping entrepreneurs and organizations optimize business operations & practices, ensure compliance and deliver online in a way that beautifully reflects their gifts and services. Tune in for heartfelt ups and downs of Chioma’s unexpected path in life and in business. She inspires all to know no boundaries and to commit to taking action so that all can be safe, seen and heard, and our true and best selves.

Say It Skillfully® is a show that helps you to benefit from Molly Tschang’s expert guidance on the best possible ways to speak your mind at work in a positive and productive manner. In Episode 132, Molly is joined first by Eric, who shares two fascinating projects that confront our use of language! They talk about not so subtle shifts in words that help teams design how they work with sharp focus on “the whole” vs. individuals doing (or not doing) their work. He shares work at NYU in “re-languaging” the category known as prison literature, and the imperative to see the writing itself, not from where it’s been written! Next, Cindy opens up about a painful experience in which she feels she spoke up about what wasn’t working in the department, but in a way that did not reflect well on her. Cindy and Molly discuss the need and power to surface people’s different experiences with the intention to help the group be better vs. come across as self-interested (17:45). Finally, Chris displays courage and vulnerability in sharing his autism and the numerous struggles he and those like him face in fulfilling their potential in the workplace. So often, he has the experience of “feeling like everyone else got the memo, except me.” And he shares the lack of “auto-pilot” to interpret social interactions, and the challenge in interviewing when asked what seems a very general question, “tell me about yourself…” Chris and Molly talk about self-assuredness and sharing the positive, vs. disabling, aspects of autism and his vital role in educating those unfamiliar with it (38:05). Don’t miss rich dialogue and learn how to navigate work while being invaluable and true to yourself. Molly’s thought for the week: Trust the goodness in yourself and the goodness in those around you. That’s the ultimate show of confidence. —Jeff Warren

Say It Skillfully® is a show that helps you to benefit from Molly Tschang’s expert guidance on the best possible ways to speak your mind at work in a positive and productive manner. In Episode 131, Molly is joined by Randy Paterson, PhD psychologist and author, who offers gems galore on our mental well-being—from the parent trap to depression changing our motivational structure to helping youths realize how passions are created, not discovered! Born and raised (and still) in Vancouver, BC, Randy self-describes as nerdy and bookish. He recalls “knowing” he wanted to be a psychologist and writer (and forest ranger, by the way). After his B.S. in psychology, he’s open about having felt inadequate for graduate school, and then stumbling onto an opportunity with prominent psychologist Ann Triesman that changed his life forever (Ann received the 2013 National Medal of Science from President Obama for pioneering work in the study of attention and was married to Nobel Prize Economist Daniel Kahneman). Randy shares his path to “anxiety disorder guy,” including thinking he’d be kicked out of the PhD program at Western University, and unexpectedly landing a job helping those with depression. He talks about those with Anhedonia (losing interest to do things you like to do). He helps people not trust the instincts to do what makes them feel worse! He also offers lessons learned for those keen to be in private practice with a reality check in working for others vs. yourself. Randy and Molly also talk about his sub-specialty—“failure to launch”—in young adults and the “parent trap” that supports their dependence, not independence. Don’t miss this engaging episode! Randy helps us talk and learn about mental health. He inspires us to help all be safe, seen and heard, and be our true and best selves. Molly’s thought for the week. Thank you Randy: Failure is a normal part of life. Failure exposure is one of the best things we can do. Check out a wealth of resources from Randy: *http://www.randypaterson.com *https://psychologysalon.teachable.com *YouTube Channel – type PsychologySalon *Books: How to be Miserable, How to be Miserable in Your 20s, The Assertiveness Workbook, Private Practice Made Simple, Your Depression Map. More ways to help you #sayitskillfully! *Tactfully pushback on those meandering, endless meetings… https://lnkd.in/eHScYf9 *All Molly’s videos by category here: https://sayitskillfully.com

Say It Skillfully® is a show that helps you to benefit from Molly Tschang’s expert guidance on the best possible ways to speak your mind at work in a positive and productive manner. In Episode 130, Molly is joined by Navy officer, board-certified physician in emergency medicine, and entrepreneur Christopher Sidford, who shares his learnings in navigating high stakes with a level head and open heart. Chris grew up with five brothers very close in age. He recounts a highly energetic youth of “go outside and play” and jokes that regular ER visits foreshadowed his future. You may be surprised by his “defining moment” in selecting emergency medicine (hear how in the 70s this discipline emerged as a specialty). No one was more surprised than Chris that he joined the Navy, having staunchly sworn off serving, but it paid for medical school and opened his eyes to travel to unlikely destinations and the realities of “medicine on the road.” He opens up about a challenging military culture, in which medical decisions may be subjugated to rank. Chris talks of vulnerability for doctors starting out and translating great grades in medical school to saving lives. Shifts in Boston City Hospital’s trauma unit, a.k.a “the knife and gun club,” visualizing how to handle cases, and even the TV series MASH contributed to his early steep learning curve. Chris and Molly talk about self-care challenges—working sleep-deprived was a necessary skill—and tips for delivering tough news with compassion. Eventually, he went an entrepreneurial route with his consultancy, Black Bag Emergency Medicine. Chris offers Covid travel tips: * “Fully vaccinated” (3 shots + 4th booster) considered most effective in preventing death

Say It Skillfully® is a show that helps you to benefit from Molly Tschang’s expert guidance on the best possible ways to speak your mind at work in a positive and productive manner. Episode 129 is the 24th monthly feature of “Our Voices,” intended to accelerate social change that levels the playing field—helping everyone live to their full potential. The aim is for you to see a bit of yourself in these journeys, and embrace—we’re more similar than not. Molly is joined by Eduardo Rallo, who shares an epic entrepreneurial journey—selling sweets as a child in Mexico to starting a restaurant chain to co-founding the first US-Mexico cross-border VC firm, Brainstorm Ventures, early investor OpenTable and Zappos! Eduardo grew up in Cuernavaca—a small town outside Mexico City with freedom to pretty much do what he wanted as a child. Son of a refugee from the Spanish Civil War, he attributes his risk-taking and entrepreneurship to his mother and her entrepreneurial family. Unlike most kids, Eduardo was driven to expand his possibilities, and at age 17, he set off for UC San Diego—one family friend the only soul he knew. He recounts early fears and forging a few life, including working through school (a work ethic ingrained as a kid, selling American candies and Hallmark stickers in his hometown…) Hear how an innocent question at age 10 led him to Harvard Business School. His successful food-based business ventures continued post HBS, when he and friends opened a store selling burrito “wraps”—working 7am to 1am, they had lines out the door from the start and VC funds followed… Eduardo talks vulnerably about his first consulting job post-UCSD as the first Deloitte & Touche employee. Enjoy a defining moment: tasked to use Excel spreadsheet skills that he said he had, but didn’t... (and pulling 3 all-nighters). Don’t miss Eduardo’s learnings on his entrepreneurial journey, how he and his wife Sylvia partnered in business, and his early mid-life crisis—leading their 10-year plan to achieve their personal and professional goals. Eduardo is moved by bringing ideas and people together to succeed and shares massive gratitude for his diverse international global community. Privileges he's had in life have made his work with Silicon Valley Foundation meaningful. Many valuable gems, including:

Say It Skillfully® is a show that helps you to benefit from Molly Tschang’s expert guidance on the best possible ways to speak your mind at work in a positive and productive manner. In Episode 128, Molly is joined by Kris Maynard, who shares his journey from humble beginnings to Executive Chairman of 100% employee-owned Essential Ingredients! Hear the ins and outs of Kris’ story, accumulating massive student loan debts, working a post-college nighttime gig for extremely low pay, and eventually co-founding Essential Ingredients: a company that partners with consumer brand companies and contract manufacturers to provide quality personal and home care ingredients. Kris shares from a young age his penchant for risk-taking, including spending three months in Russia (11:35) and losing his job for planning to start a new company. Tune in for an inside look at the start of Essential Ingredients, and how Kris learned from early struggles, to find his true north and live his values, when this wasn’t necessarily the way things worked. Don’t miss the many lessons Kris learned along the way, including what it was like to “wear many hats” (hello,... forklift driver!) as a co-founder and how his early Board of Directors helped them focus. He was quick to figure out surrounding himself with talented people smarter than him was a winning strategy (18:45). Also, Kris explains how he built a successful business with a purpose of being a blessing to others, rather than maximizing profitability, with the ultimate aim of lasting 100 years. He also reveals a (now humorous) story about a time when he lost his level head in a heated moment where a distributor betrayed his trust (22:00)! Here’s an opportunity to reflect on your own values and how you put people first. Learn from how Kris led himself to stay true to himself and succeed on his terms. He inspires others to know no boundaries and to commit to taking action so that all can be safe, seen and heard. Molly’s Thought for the Week: The Maynard family motto—”Nothing’s easy.” More ways to help you #sayitskillfully!

Say It Skillfully® is a show that helps you to benefit from Molly Tschang’s expert guidance on the best possible ways to speak your mind at work in a positive and productive manner. In Episode 127, Molly is joined by Jordan, an HR professional just 90 days into his new company, who stepped into a confusing situation: an employee who’d just received a solid raise came back asking for an additional one. How to listen, hold ground with empathy and ensure this individual feels valued? They also talk about a new focus on mental health and an early positive reception with how they’re approaching this vital arena. Next, Marc and Molly have a lively conversation around how he goes to bat for his team of on-site desktop support services (we know how key these folks are) when the rest of the organization has the benefits of working remotely. He’s keen to ensure burnout isn’t an issue and the team stays motivated. Key takeaways: “timely, specific and heartfelt feedback as a way to engender loyalty, and “ask for what I need.” (21.15). Finally, Gabe has a two-fold quandary: meaningful consulting with a client who could lead the way in engaging with a community of color, and deciding if it’s a right fit. This leader’s “cringeworthy” (yikes) communication has Gabe doubtful… He reflects on what’s going on within, and Molly reinforces his “choice” in clients is crucial. Empower yourself (39:30)! Don’t miss these real-time conversations, helping you navigate work while being invaluable and true to yourself. Molly’s Thought for the Week: “Cosmic humor, especially about your own predicament, is an important part of your journey.” —Ram Dass

Say It Skillfully® is a show that helps you to benefit from Molly Tschang’s expert guidance on the best possible ways to speak your mind at work in a positive and productive manner. In Episode 126, Molly is joined by a childhood friend of hers, Andrea, who shares an awesome success story of returning to work after 16 years raising her daughter. Hear how she had the foresight to “never go away” and intentionally stayed in the game and nurtured relationships that helped her return to work on her terms—terrific tips! And an inspiring example of how confidence in ourselves is the starting point! Andrea and Molly also talk about her experience with going from virtual back to the office and how, after being recruited to a firm that was a better fit, she was forthright about why she was leaving and left on a high note. Then, Jennifer is keen on ways to put method to the madness in the barrage of x-functional projects for her team… all of which are seemingly “priority.” Jennifer and Molly talk about how to handle the in-the-moment requests, as well as strategies to help all stakeholders appreciate her team’s workload and need to best “serve the whole.” They also cover ways to be even more effective in soliciting feedback, and addressing a possible disconnect—her boss seems satisfied, though she’s unsure other stakeholders are on the same page (even she and her team don’t feel they’re doing so well. 27:15).

Don’t miss these lively conversations, helping you navigate work while being invaluable and true to yourself.

Molly’s Thought for the Week: “Teamwork makes the dream work.”

More ways to help you #sayitskillfully!

Say It Skillfully® is a show that helps you to benefit from Molly Tschang’s expert guidance on the best possible ways to speak your mind at work in a positive and productive manner. Episode 125 is the 23rd monthly feature of “Our Voices,” intended to accelerate social change that levels the playing field—helping everyone live to their full potential. The aim is for you to see a bit of yourself in these journeys, and embrace—we’re more similar than not. Molly is joined by Dynamo mother-son duo, Ngozi and Okezue Bell, who share their journeys and learnings across continents and generations. Creating possibility never gets old! Born during civil war, growing up in Nigeria a very sick child, Ngozi had a mom and grandma filled with faith that she’d make it. Both parents were focused on education, but it was her chemist mom who declared, “Go do physics. As a woman you’ll have a chance to work in pioneering science.” Doing just that, Ngozi studied engineering and then went to Bell Labs/AT&T Electronics, was an appointee for America’s first Black President, and managed over $1B in revenue. She attributes opening that first door to tenacious hard work, saying, “I promise—if you give me the opportunity, I’ll be the hardest working person.” Growing up in Pennsylvania, youngest of four, Okezue talks of his unsurprising focus on academics as part of his early identity. Hear how a 6th grade lab dissecting frogs exposed him to science beyond the empirical and was a game changer. He’s honest about a teacher who told him “you won’t last in math and computer science.” Okezue decided to prove him wrong, fueling his go-getter spirit. Recently being 1 of 80 in the world selected as a Research Institute Scholar at MIT is just one of many achievements… Okezue shares his experiences with stereotypes and personal mission to integrate the next gen into STEM & technology, in ethical & responsible ways. He offers what he’s learned from both his parents, laughs about his “only-child vibes” and cherishes his sibling relationships. Career-wise, Ngozi became one of the very few females in a rarefied space. She reflects that organizations really weren’t looking to embrace diversity, but rather wanted a “diverse person.” She’s open about mistakes made, and wishes she had endeavored to bring about change in a different way. They’ll continue this in a future episode! Tune in to hear what mother and son appreciate most about one another. Celebrate their kinship and connection, and hear the wisdom, confidence and commitment of youth front and center! Molly’s thought for the week—Thank you Ngozi & Okezue! Go with the flow. #sayitskillfully Resources: * Take advantage of the wisdom of youth—you won’t regret it http://bit.ly/2s0P0KM * All Molly’s videos by category here: https://sayitskillfully.com