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 174, Molly takes calls from professionals about challenges they face in the workplace. Molly's first caller, Annalisa, opens up about coming to grips with long-time struggles at work that led her to doubt her abilities and self-worth. She shares the benefit of therapy to help her understand and move beyond the gaslighting and work trauma she experienced. Fortunately now in a very supportive environment, she still finds herself hesitant to “give herself credit”. We talk about how she can overcome this old habit! Next, Jim raises the topic of “curiosity” and how being curious can be a superpower both in our professional and personal lives. Jim and Molly talk about the imperative of being genuine when doing so, so that the other feels you’re coming from a place being being truly open. Don’t miss how Jim’s curiosity led to the extraordinary opportunity for him to be a kidney donor for a neighbor, literally transforming a life. (24:05) Finally, Anastasiia shares poignantly of her journey as an immigrant. She shines a light on the challenges of moving from country to country and the feelings of loneliness, being misunderstood and not fitting in. She’s keen to stay kind and be a loving human, while also creating waves of change to better support immigrants so that we embrace our cultural differences, learn from each other and live well together. (40:10) Don’t miss these inspiring conversations—learn how to navigate work while being invaluable and true to yourself. Molly's thought for the week: The unexpected pleasure in witnessing another’s happiness: Mudita—Buddhist word for vicarious joy

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 173, Molly is joined by Lori Shemek, a leading fat cell researcher, health and weight loss expert, keynote speaker and award-winning author. As the two time “#1 Global Health Influencer” and a pioneer in inflammation awareness, Lori has a plethora of knowledge to share on how to feel good, mentally and physically. Don’t miss tips from one of the world’s leading health, fitness and diet experts on how we can change our diet and habits to change our life. Lori inspires us all to know no boundaries and to commit to taking action so that all can be safe, seen and heard, and our true 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. Episode 172 features rapper, record executive, film & television producer, screenwriter and author Alonzo Brown. Growing up in Harlem during a time when New York was in turmoil, with a Father who died when he was 12, Alonzo shares the story of his early days. The poor conditions, crime, and pain of Harlem were hard for most to cope with. Alonzo opens up that the only things getting him by were the love and sternness of his mother, the escape he found in music, and his aspirations for the future. He would gaze out at the skyscrapers he could see from Harlem, dreaming of “living up there one day.” Alonzo gives us the full origin story of his pioneer rap group, “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”, skipping class to write songs, rehearsing in his Mother’s living room and performing at local community centers. Don’t miss stories from his later days as a rapper and from some of his other ventures in what seems like every corner of the entertainment industry. The show wraps up with Alonzo sharing a piece summarizing his thoughts on overcoming, not stowing, “the black experience” of growing up facing struggle and violence, living in the ghetto, and what it means to find a way out without losing who you truly are. Alonzo inspires us all to know no boundaries and to commit to taking action so that all can be safe, seen and heard, and our true best selves. Molly’s thought for the week: “I don’t know what success is, I’m too busy working at it.”

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 171 is the 34th 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. In this episode, Molly is joined by Rima Assiryani, who shares a childhood unlike most of ours, growing up as a Christian in Jordan, a predominantly Muslim country. She shares how this affected her mentality and day to day life. Then, she goes in depth on her education and early career as an architect, noting that she was very unsure of herself at first, and describes the process of gaining trust in her skillset and work ethic—building the confidence she needed to go further in her career and work in the States. Having immigrated to the U.S. from Jordan in 2001, Rima talks us through the process of integrating into a new culture, and praises the community she moved to for being accepting and diverse. She also lets us in on the good, the bad, and the ugly of of raising a multicultural family while working as an architect. Rima inspires all to know no boundaries and to commit to taking action safe, seen and heard, and our true best selves. Molly’s thought for the week: Embrace failing as essential to learning… FAIL = First Attempt In Learning

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 170 features the amazing writer, PR expert, and author Michael Levine. Michael joins the show for a short conversation about how he grew his PR firm, founded on a tiny borrowed desk in a hair salon, to become legendary in the media world, representing 58 Academy Award winners, 34 Grammy winners, and 43 New York Times Best Sellers. He shares what it took to succeed, top learnings from his journey (including that difficult conversations are needed as the only ones we truly grow in), his regrets, and what makes for a great story. Don’t miss insights from a man deemed the “Michael Jordan of entertainment P.R.” from an over 40 year career at the top of his field that’s still going strong. Next, Jim calls in and brilliantly encapsulates what Michael shared in “one word”: discipline! Then, as a baby boomer, he shares a big struggle that he has connecting with the “GenXYZers.” Chuckle at how his over-caffeination got the better of him, and on a serious note how he learned the hard way the imperative of engendering trust. (23:50) Then Heidi, a breast cancer survivor who dedicates all her free time to patient advocacy, shares her conundrum of companies sponsoring panels for cancer awareness and education where everyone is compensated with travel and stipends, except the “patient advocates” (who frequently add the most value to patients and their families!). Hear ways to turn the tables as we cover options for people like Heidi to advocate for themselves. (41:25) Molly’s thought for the week: The fierce urgency of necessity can drive greatness.

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 169 features callers from around the world unpacking their challenging conversations with Molly. Her first caller, Griet, who works in Belgium, shares some of the not-so-subtle differences that she’s encountered with teams across cultures. She talks about nuances even across her small country and vastly different meanings of being “polite. They discuss how teams can proactively create transparency of “differences” and use these as a strength (and create happier work environments). Next, Maha is open about the struggles of her clients, who are not so familiar with American culture and business norms. Feeling misunderstood by co-workers can result in pain none of us would want. Having worked in the Middle East and Canada before the U.S., she’s empathetic about adjusting and finding ways to fit in. From the standpoint of the employee, boss and teammate, they highlight ways for all to be “part of the solution”, and how essential it is that we all take responsibility—to the benefit of individuals and organizations alike (20:35)! Then, Deanne recounts these past years with Covid and a poignant journey of supporting her mother with dementia in a nursing home through unbearably difficult times. She opens up about the depth of despair and not fully appreciating just how difficult the experience was on her—a far more negative impact than she realized at the time. With compassion, she shares her struggles and what it took to indeed forgive others and herself, and to heal (39:30). Finally, Molly responds to a request about how to talk to a manager about self-care boundaries and excessive travel for work that’s draining and unsustainable (52:25). Don’t miss these moving conversations—learn how to navigate work while being invaluable and true to yourself. Molly’s thought for the week: I am the me I choose to be. —Sidney Poitier

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 168, Molly is joined by Kevin Koch, CEO of Koch Enterprises, Inc., who gives an inside look at running a family-owned business that has successfully served customers for 150 years! Kevin shares his story, starting from his early days in school and working jobs such as paperboy and lifeguard. He talks about how he was never overtly asked to join the family business, and always planned to “spread his wings” after college. Kevin talks about his college days at Notre Dame where he studied engineering and describes the unexpected adversity he faced when he first arrived. He goes on to talk about how, after graduating, he learned to work as an engineer for Westinghouse before going to grad school and working at Ford Motor Company and EDF. Kevin shares insights from his early career days, including experience gained in engineering, brand management and purchasing. Not deciding to join the family business until age 33, Kevin shares what influenced him to make the move, and goes in depth on the company’s family hiring policy, which made sure that no “free rides” were given to family members. He opens up about working past the stigma of “owner’s son” and what he had to do to prove himself to his peers. Don’t miss the good, bad & ugly of running a family business for the long haul, insights gained along the way, and Kevin’s biggest regrets and accomplishments from his journey. He inspires us all to know no boundaries and to commit to taking action so that all can be safe, seen and heard, and our true best selves. Molly’s thought for the week (Thank you Kevin): “Shared sacrifice helps us come through stronger.”

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 167 is the 33rd 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 Ezekiel Andrew, an amazing human being and performing artist who has sung in operas and operettas, performed in musical theater productions, and acted in plays including his Broadway debut in 2021. Ezekiel shares what it was like for him growing up as an “artsy kid”; singing in a choir, playing in a marching band, always loving drawing and painting. He talks about how his gospel-singing father was a huge inspiration to his musical career, and shares the story of his first real audition in early high school, as well as how he was blown away by hearing a live opera voice from his 1st voice teacher. Then, Ezekiel opens up about his dark years in Cincinnati where he fell on his face over and over again. Don’t miss how he powered through tough times of failure, financial hardship, and not finding a role by embracing fear and moving forward, refusing to stop. Eventually, Ezekiel found success in a big way after years and years of honing and polishing his craft; he secured multiple theatrical roles including his Broadway debut acting in “The Lion King”, where he acted alongside the same “Mufasa” actor he was inspired by way back in 2008! Molly’s thought for the week: Embrace fear while moving forward, do not stop.

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 166, 23-year old Carly Jump inspires all ages with a heart-warming journey of embracing the unknown, courage, faith, and perseverance. She reveals the power within to create a positive future. Growing up in Oklahoma, Carly is open about never feeling that she fit into the preppy, sports-oriented environment. Her art and creative interests were grounding but she knew she’d need to leave, saying “everyone needs to leave your hometown to find themselves.” She talks about what it was like for her at age 7 when her parents divorced and she had early struggles with mental health, including time in the hospital. Precocious and an avid student in elementary and middle school, by high school she was burned out. Summer art camps and baking with her mom and grandmothers turned out to be saviors for Carly in her youth and now career. With high school her biggest stressor, she took the last year online, while working at the local Walmart to save money she knew she’d be needing. Carly shares how her mom has always been her biggest role model—hardworking despite big challenges. Hear how Carly’s “summer daydreaming” led to her one-way ticket to NYC (and her mom’s brilliant response). The rest is a movie script. No job, a rented bunk bed in hostel-style airbnb, a random job as “counter girl” at a bakery, crying every night and talking to mom (who was firm, “stay in nyc”), rapidly promoted to manage her peers, Covid hits, owner unsure they’ll make it, Carly’s relationship with a kid customer who had VC parents saves the day. Carly made partner and Funny Face Bakery now has two flagship stores, an e-commerce operation and a B2B division. Uniquely combining art and baking, they are known as America’s first “pop culture bakery”. They are a hit with celebrities and everyone else for the spirit of generosity and connection their delectable cookies stand for (treat yourself! #foodinsider name them #1 choc chip cookie in NYC). Carly shares her (meteoric) business education on the job. Her and Molly talk about self-doubt, being a people pleaser, setting boundaries, hiring great people and self-compassion. Don’t miss the joyful sense of possibility, humility and purpose Carly exudes! She inspires us to know no boundaries and to commit to taking action so that all can be seen, heard and understood, and our true and best selves.

Thought for the week (Thank you Carly): You don’t need to hide your struggles. Take the leap!

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 165 features callers from around the world unpacking their challenging conversations with Molly. Her first caller Predrag, whose background is computer science, shares his feelings with the recent deluge of tech layoffs. He recalls that looming feeling of “will it be me?” He describes people performing well for 10 and 15 years, then—boom—out of nowhere, the role is no longer needed. Predrag and Molly talk about this from every perspective, in hopes of creating more compassion and understanding, and empowering people (including his two sons) to think entrepreneurially and better influence their destinies.

Then Rajendra raises a tough dynamic with a non-talkative colleague, with whom he really does need to talk in order to work together. He and Molly unpack this with her “Me—You—We” framework to help him consider what it’s like for this quiet mind. They talk about “vulnerability being a must for trust” and how Rajendra might extend the olive branch first to help his colleague be more open (17:30).

Lastly, just starting in her career (and debt-free out of college thanks to working all through school!), Michaela shares how she’s cranking on all cylinders and loves working in HR for a mechanical contractor. She opens up about a big life transition; she and her boyfriend are moving out of their parents’ homes and into their own place! And she’s keen to be proactive and make the transition positive all the way around. Michaela talks with Molly about how they communicate and the nice complement of their somewhat opposite styles. And while they’re career-oriented, focus on life outside of work has them quite balanced. Lots to learn and appreciate from #GenZ, including a quote that’s helping Michaela embrace change: Change is scary, but so is staying the same (31:00). Tune in for thought-provoking conversations—learn how to navigate work while being invaluable and true to yourself.

Molly adds another thought for the week: Continuous improvement beats delayed perfection.