Your Working Life

Claire McInerny is the Executive Producer of Refamulating, a podcast and newsletter that showcases all the ways to make a family. Claire is a podcast producer and writer based in Louisville, KY. Prior to podcasting she was a reporter for NPR stations in Indiana and Texas.

Julia Winston is the host and co-creator of Refamulating. She is also a facilitator, designer and teacher of human connection in the workplace and beyond based in Austin, Texas. You can learn more about her work at https://www.juliawinston.com/.

Topics/Questions:

• I'm really proud of the partnership Julia and I created - I wasn't meant to be a partner until we started working on the show more months, and we had a lot of big conversations that led to the relationship we have now. I've learned so much from Julia about business and owning a project with another person that I'd love to talk about!
• We make the podcast but we're also proud of our monthly, free event called the Refamily Dinner. We have an expert come in and share their experience of refamulating and our guests can ask them detailed questions. The topics of our dinners have been: being in a non-monogamous relationship, being a solo mom by choice and navigating family dysfunction at the holidays.
• Why did you choose podcasting as the medium to talk about family?
• What is your professional background?
• What have you learned about workplace culture throughout your career?
• What is the origin of Refamulating? (There is a 20-year iceberg beneath what appears to just be a podcast)
• How did you and Claire become business partners?
• How are you applying what you've learned throughout your career to Refamulating?
• What is your vision for Refamulating?
• What and how do you feel you need to learn and grow in order for Refamulating to be a success?

Social media – Claire:

· Claire's website

· LinkedIn

· Instagram

Social media – Julia:

· LinkedIn

Social media Refamulating:

· Instagram

Website: https://azimuthpsych.com

Dr. Koretz is the founder of Azimuth, a therapy practice specializing in the mental health challenges of individuals in high-pressure careers. She has spent over a decade helping her clients face and overcome their mental health issues by developing a unique understanding of industry-specific nuances in fields like law, consulting, finance, and technology.

Dr. Koretz has been featured in many publications, including Harvard Business Review and the Wall Street Journal, focusing on the importance of recognizing career/identity enmeshment. She also writes and speaks on the challenges of discovering and living your personal values.

Promotional info:

Some workaholics lose their sense of self. That's when you need to come to terms with the fact that "who you are" is not your career identity, according to Dr. Janna Koretz, a clinical psychologist and expert on leadership and mental health.

"A particular confluence of high achievement, intense competitiveness, and culture of overwork has caught many in a perfect storm of career enmeshment and burnout," says Dr. Koretz.

She is available for interviews around enmeshment between your career and personal identity and can discuss topics including:

• How to determine your personal values
• How to rebuild a well-rounded sense of self that revolves around your personal values
• How to establish a more manageable work life in order to explore who you are without work, even when you're stuck in your high-pressure career
• Value misalignment: Strategies to identify your fundamental values and to solve any misalignment between these deeply-held values and your day-to-day work and lifestyle
• Navigating loss of a sense of self when you retire or lose your job
• How to free up time and live beyond your job title
• How to rebuild your personal social network

Dr. Koretz is the founder of Azimuth, a therapy practice specializing in the mental health challenges of individuals in high-pressure careers. Dr. Koretz has spent over a decade helping her clients face and overcome their mental health issues by developing a unique understanding of industry-specific nuances in fields like law, consulting, finance, and technology.

Discussion questions:

● REALISTIC STRESS MANAGEMENT: Using psychological science to deal with job stress, while also taking into account the hard realities of your industry and career path ● VALUE MISALIGNMENT: Strategies to identify your fundamental values and to solve any misalignment between these deeply-held values and your day-to-day work and lifestyle ● CAREER/IDENTITY ENMESHMENT: How to identify and deal with "career/identity enmeshment" — the merging of career and personal identity (going beyond the "workaholic" stereotype), leading to a loss of a sense of self when you retire or lose your job ● AVOIDING AND MANAGING BURNOUT: Tools to identify and ward off both personal and career burnout, and how to recover from burnout if it has happened ● WORK-RELATED SUBSTANCE ABUSE: Identifying and navigating after-work alcohol and drug abuse culture in high-pressure careers ● PROMOTION STRESS: Ways to manage and overcome promotion-related anxiety or self-doubt ● INTERPERSONAL CONFLICT: Coping with highly demanding (and even emotionally abusive) clients and managers ● GOLDEN HANDCUFFS: Adapting to an expensive lifestyle, with high rewards for "sticking it out" making it impossible to simply say no

Social Media:

Dr. Koretz's Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drkoretz/

Azimuth Psychology Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/azimuthpsych/

Website: www.StephanieCawthon.com

Stephanie W. Cawthon, PhD is author of DISABILITY IS HUMAN: The Vital Power Of Accessibility In Everyday Life, a researcher, and consultant who brings relatable insights and real-world skills to her mission that – when we tap the power of accessibility – we ensure disabled people can thrive and succeed.

Dr. Cawthon's groundbreaking research has been funded by over $50 million in federal and other grants. In 2023 she founded the National Disability Center for Student Success at The University of Texas at Austin, where she is a tenured Professor of Educational Psychology.

She brings a lived experience to her work. In addition to her congenital hearing loss, she has several mental health and physical disabilities that have a significant impact on her ability to engage in important life activities.

Dr. Cawthon earned her Bachelor's and Master's degrees from Stanford University and her doctorate from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

Social media:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-cawthon/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drstephaniecawthon/

Interview Transcript (11/14/24)

Caroline Dowd-Higgins (CDH)

I'm Caroline Dowd Higgins. I'm a speaker, an author, and an executive coach. And today, I am delighted to welcome Dr. Stephanie Cawthon to the show. Stephanie is a researcher and a consultant who brings relatable insights and real-world skills to her mission that when we tap the power of accessibility, we ensure disabled people can thrive and succeed. And I must tell this amazing global audience, this is a very special episode today. Dr. Cawthon is deaf, and we're joined by two of her interpreter colleagues, Olivia and Amanda, and we are delighted that they will be simultaneously interpreting our conversation today. The audio version of the podcast will appear on all major podcast platforms. Stephanie, welcome. I'm delighted that you're with me today.

01:33.76

Amanda Ford (voicing for Stephanie)

Well, thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate having this time with you today.

01:38.70

CDH

You are very welcome. So, let's dive right in. Stephanie, you are a professor, an author, and a lifelong advocate for the deaf community. What compelled you to write Disability is Human, your wonderful new book?

02:03.23

Amanda Ford (voicing for Stephanie)

Well, thank you for the opportunity to share that with you. So, the story really behind the book is a culmination of 25 years of experience with individuals, groups of people, students, and colleagues doing different workshops along the way in different spaces. What I've noticed is that many people feel hesitant or afraid of talking about disability. They don't know what to do or say.

02:28.46

Amanda Ford (voicing for Stephanie)

They think: Do I need to help them? Do I need to make the world a better place? What does this look like for people with disabilities? And so, I thought it was time to take all the research and all the lessons that I've learned over the years and put it in a book where people could read it—those who want to make a difference. And honestly, it's for those who think, gosh, I don't know where to start. I wanted to give people a place to start, a platform to kind of jump from and where they can read some stories and say, ah, I get that. That makes sense to me. This is where I can start. It's not overwhelming. There are little steps, little things they can do along the way after reading this book. And so that's sort of what prompted my writing this one.

03:14.94

CDH

Well, Stephanie, I'm deeply grateful because I learned so much from you in this book, and I'm eager for you to teach this global audience a bit today. But let me start. Something that I learned when reading your book was that disabled people experience high levels of discrimination, bullying, unemployment, reduced access to health care, and exclusion from faith communities and many, many more. So, I'd love for you to help this audience understand why those things are happening and how you have been an advocate to really change that.

04:03.59

Amanda Ford (voicing for Stephanie)

Well, sure, historically, in our culture and society, and it's everywhere. It's the view on disability that is often couched in a negative light. People are separated from our understanding of what's normal and what people prefer, right? By and large, people would say they prefer not to have a disability. It's hard. It makes life harder. And so, with that in mind, that is just ingrained within ourselves, and also within disabled people. And even at that point, disabled people often want to separate themselves and mingle more with those who have that common experience.

04:44.44

Amanda Ford (voicing for Stephanie)

And so, if we think way back, even in education, we used to have separate schools, separate environments for those children with disabilities to learn and be educated.

That is part of our history. That's ingrained. And that is how we all have learned about disability until much more recently. And so, if we think about that separation or segregation of people with disabilities, even from a young age, we realize how it impacts everyone and how they experience life. And part of why I wrote disability is human and the book itself is because it is a human experience, and it encourages people to consider everyone having a human experience, and at some point, we might all experience a disability. And so, with that in mind and that perspective, I feel like that really helps shape and navigate this thing we call life. And so, separating out people really doesn't help the situation, but that is a historical context in which we find ourselves.

05:53.16

CDH

I appreciate that. That's excellent context. Stephanie, something that you said in the beginning really resonated with me. You said many people fear those that are disabled. And I have seen this in my own personal experiences. I've seen this in in workplaces and interviews. And I must say, too, it's also confusing. The word disability has been a questionable word in recent decades. And I have heard that "differently able" is a more appropriate term. Help me understand how we can honor all people with disabilities and address them with dignity and respect.

06:42.66

Amanda Ford (voicing for Stephanie)

Yes, words are definitely an issue. So, when I'm teaching, I teach a course here at UT, I refer heavily to language and the words that we use. Typically, what I say is ask the person what their preference is because it's not a one-size-fits-all. Not everybody identifies with their disability in the same way. Generational gaps play a part. For me personally, my view of language surrounding disabilities is evolving and changing on a regular basis.

And so, person-first language has been a shift. And in academia, it seems that that is still the preference by and large. However, there has been a shift in the community to disability-first language. Because it's part of our identity. For me specifically, it's identity-based language. That is a more common thing, specifically with the younger generation, Generation X, you'll see people saying, hey, you know, introducing themselves and putting their disability kind of right in the mix.

Instead of separating themselves out from it, it's more of an accepted and sort of a space where people reclaim that and have a more positive relationship with their disability as it's a part of their identity. I have become more and more comfortable using a disability to describe myself. Now, that's very new for me. Growing up, absolutely not. We were not talking about it. We were avoiding it. But figuring out how to reclaim that and garner some respect as I've done that has really been a shift for me personally and professionally.

08:30.86

Amanda Ford (voicing for Stephanie)

I think it also matters on context, who we're with, where we are, thinking about the relationship in which we find ourselves. I am used to people with disabilities. And so, I talk about that. We set that up. And among ourselves in our culture and community, that is how we refer to ourselves. But when we're among other people, if they don't know about disability or if they're uncomfortable, I will try to sort of meet them where they are and build that bridge. So, it's respecting me and them based on where we are. So, I use both. Again, it really just depends on the situation and the people I find myself with in terms of how I use language surrounding disability. And another thing is, I often give advice to people to be careful how you approach the person themselves, right? So, language matters, words matter, and the person matters. And if a person with a disability says they want to use a particular type of language to describe them, that's the end of the story. It is really where I stand with that is respecting that person's preference and going with that.

09:43.21

CDH

That makes so much sense. Thank you for that clarity. Stephanie, my next question is about accessibility. And you write very eloquently in the book that accessibility is a vital power. So, tell me about that. And how do you define accessibility?

10:09.28

Amanda Ford (voicing for Stephanie)

Okay. Well, I'll start with a definition, but I'd like to go back to empowerment because those are two critical pieces and they're separate issues that are really powerful. So, accessibility for me, I'll give a definition often with two or three prongs. And so, what we're looking for is accessibility to information. Sometimes that's not too terribly clear, so I like to clarify it.

And let's identify who we are. How did we grow up? What is our relationship to ourselves? And accessibility to my development, for myself, how did that work? How am I able to navigate the world? How did I grow up doing that? So, accessibility to our own development and growth, our own opinions and beliefs, and personally, with me and how I engage with other people, and not experiencing criticism, or if I have from other people, but not doing that to myself. Ableism is a big piece of this puzzle that we experience every day and sometimes we internalize that. So, accessibility is sometimes the deprivation of a way to experience life without ableism or without that lens. And so empowerment also goes back to self-esteem and how I can take in the world and feel that pride within myself. So, access to information is pretty common. That's a common one.

11:45.80

Amanda Ford (voicing for Stephanie)

Website accessibility and accessibility to employment. I think people understand that most often when we when we link it to that. So, if you can't see the pictures, do we have alt-text? That would be for a visual impairment or disability. If you're watching or showing a video, are there captions? These are all different ways that people access information that need to be considered in terms of accessibility. So, if there's a live film or the news, sometimes they'll put an interpreter on screen with some pertinent information. So, these different ways that we're accessing information and newsletters, it's the opportunities to access the same information as our peers out in the world.

That is very important. How we elevate ourselves in any situation is that access to information. Another thing that I find to be really important that is often overlooked is access and relationships to other people. If you're isolated, a person with a disability doesn't have friends, they don't have access to social networking or that sort of social capital, like other people, their peers, how do you face barriers? Well, if you've got that network, that crew, your people, then you can sort of learn how to do that as a group. And I often feel like, but people say we may not need support. However, I find it to be the opposite, is access to others, going to happy hours, and it's a mixed crew, right?

Amanda Ford (voicing for Stephanie)

Let's say there are deaf people invited and a lot of hearing people who don't sign, will there be access to those others by way of a sign language interpreter? So, for me, it's those key moments. It's sometimes those little things, the incidental learning, those incidental social events. If the person does not have access to others, again, that's another piece of access that is often overlooked as those little incidental moments.

You also mentioned empowerment when you asked me that question. So, access is power. Access is empowering. And giving that power to the people who need the access is imperative. Giving your employee, if you're a company or an HR person, you give them power to be independent to access all the things they need to, in this example, do their job. I think that's very important, and access is power.

14:32.03

CDH

So, I'd love to talk more about that access in the work scenario. Sadly, I've been in organizations where they have not welcomed people with disabilities because they didn't know how to accommodate them and honor their needs. There must be a better way, Stephanie. So, teach us how can employers around the world welcome wonderfully talented people who have disabilities into the workplace so they can be high functioning? What's the first step?

15:14.06

Amanda Ford (voicing for Stephanie)

Well, the things that I mentioned in the last question, allowing access to all the different areas of employment, I think often people wonder if they're being hired because of their talents or is it the disability? Will I be accommodated? So just having that welcoming space and that attitude right off the bat is really good.

So, people feel like they will be able to build their skills and their competencies in that space and not really be resisted because they have a disability. So that is a great place to start by reading my book. Lots of different tips and tricks in there, places to start. And I think a second thing is just keeping in mind your audience. Are their clients involved? Is it a product? Is it a person who's in production who is paying for products and services?

I think that's imperative to remember because if you are producing a product the statistics show that one in four people at any time has a disability so a company may hire a person who at that moment does not have a disability, and then they experience a disability, or your consumer, depending on the type of business you own and operate, you might be serving customers with disabilities and your return on this investment will be huge if you design and approach your products, your services, your clients with a disability and accessibility in mind, because it supports all the different audiences, all the different clients and stakeholders.

Regardless of who you're serving, it really benefits everyone to make all of the products or services you're creating and distributing more accessible. It helps everyone regardless of their status or label. And so, a person with disabilities is going to be purchasing things, right? Just like everyone else.

So, acknowledging that and recognizing that, knowing that if your product or service is accessible, the disabled community will be able to purchase or experience whatever it is you are selling or providing. And so, I think that's a really important piece of this as well, to not only be mindful of who you're hiring, but who you're serving as well. So, people feel like they have a way to access your products or services.

17:50.75

CDH

That makes great sense. And I'm deeply grateful that that information is also in the book. And very soon we're going to talk about how we can buy your book. But my last question today, Stephanie, you talk about helper syndrome. Tell us what helper syndrome is and how it relates to ableism and disability.

18:21.83

Amanda Ford (voicing for Stephanie)

Certainly. So, one thing that you should know is I grew up with the helper teachers, they wanted to help kids learn and grow. And seeing that helping within the service field is sort of just the way it is health care, social workers, and the like, that is often what draws people to those fields. And so, I acknowledge and recognize that helping is a good thing. And I would like to say that full stop. This is an and-not-a-but full stop because helping can become an identity, not an outcome for a disabled person. And so, if they're always getting helped, if my agenda is to help, help, help, help, help, instead of teaching the person how to self-advocate.

Or giving them the tools to be empowered to move forward in life on their own. It's very different and it gets really close to ableism. Sometimes that line is really skewed. I try to focus on empowering people and giving that trust yourself. You can succeed without me, for example, and if I'm the person in that scenario, you don't need me.

However, if I feel like, or the helping person feels like, we've got to help them because they can't. I've got to do it for them. I must help. That often is a negative connotation, and it seeps into the person we are trying so desperately to help. They then experience learned helplessness and the cycle continues. It's quite the opposite of what we want. That helper mindset, while it's good, it also can become a detriment.

And so, how we do that is by shifting our attitude and our mindset and really communicating clearly and openly, coming into that relationship as a partnership, not a helper being helped. And my need to help them may sort of overtake what they needed. So really emphasizing and being on the same page with the person you're working with, being in collaboration with them versus the mindset of helping them.

20:47.37

CDH

I love that, Stephanie. That is such an aha moment for me. And I appreciate that collaborating with them, not always doing it for them. And my observation is that people might be well-intentioned, but to your point, we're taking the power away. And you are someone who celebrates empowering those with a disability. So, thank you for that. That was very powerful.

21:19.81

CDH

Okay, well, let's talk about how we can buy your incredible book and workbook. It is called Disability is Human: The Vital Power of Accessibility in Everyday Life. And of course, it's available on Amazon and all major book retailers. But Stephanie, would you be so kind as to tell this global audience how they can connect with you after today's show?

21:51.88

Amanda Ford (voicing for Stephanie)

Certainly. Thank you so much. There are two great ways. I am on LinkedIn every day. So you can follow me on LinkedIn and connect with me there. I also have a newsletter that comes out monthly. You are welcome to sign up for that on my website. It's my name, Stephanie Cawthon.com.

22:11.74

CDH

Fantastic. Stephanie, Olivia, and Amanda, I am so grateful that you spent time with me today. I learned a lot, and I'm delighted that we learned together. So, thank you for stretching me, helping me grow, and for the incredible message that you shared with this global audience.

And I also want to give a special shout out to my extraordinary podcast colleagues, Laura Deck, executive director of publicity and communications and Claire McInerney, our executive producer. Thank you for making this show awesome for our global audience. We now have listeners in 34 countries. I'm Caroline Dowd Higgins. Thank you for listening.

Erika Ayers Badan is a digital innovator, disruptor, and seasoned executive on the cutting edge of content creation, distribution, and monetization of premier and culturally relevant content. As an early adopter of internet culture, Ayers has always been interested in what's next, driving digital entrepreneurship and large-scale revenue growth within companies.

Ayers Badan was recently named CEO of Food52 after serving as a board member and advisor since 2019. Ayers Badan currently serves on the boards of the Premier Lacrosse League, and global public safety technology leader Axon Enterprise (AXON).

Ayers Badan is the author of forthcoming book "Nobody Cares About Your Career: Why Failure is Good, The Great Ones Play Hurt and Other Hard Truths." Intertwined with anecdotes from her own career, Ayers Badan shares inspiring insight into how work really works, and how you can get it to work for you.

As the first-ever CEO of media magnate Barstool Sports, Ayers Badan led the company through explosive growth (+5000% in revenue and significantly more in audience), expanding the company from a regional blog to a national powerhouse brand and media company. During her 9 years steering the company, Barstool became a top ten podcasting publisher in the US, with the world's #1 sports, hockey, golf, and music podcasts, and a top 6 brand globally on TikTok. Ayers Badan has launched over 35 brands, including breakout franchises like Pat McAfee and Call Her Daddy.

Following Barstool's exponential growth, Fast Company named Ayers Badan as one of its "Most Creative People in Business" in 2018, citing Barstool Sports' expansion into multimedia and merchandising during her tenure. That same year, Forbes ranked her 25th on its "Most Powerful Women in U.S. Sports." In 2019, she was ranked #19 on The Big Lead's list of "The 75 Most Powerful People in the Sports Media Business." That year, she was also included on Crain's New York's "Notable Women in the Business of Sports." Adweek named Ayers Badan as one of its "Most Powerful Women in Sports" in 2017 and 2020.

Ayers Badan has also held several senior roles at influential media and technology organizations, including President of BKSTG, CMO for AOL, VP of Branding at Yahoo! and Senior Director of MSN Branded Experiences for Microsoft.

NOBODY CARES ABOUT YOUR CAREER is for first-time job seekers who think no company will ever want them, people stuck in second or third jobs who don't know how to move on to the next thing, and for those who have the job they thought was their brass ring but who discovered it's not all that. In the book, Badan intertwines compelling stories from her own work experiences with straight-forward, no-nonsense advice. Peppered with humor, quick-wit, and compassion, topics in the book include:

• Work pays you to learn. It's a privilege, so treat it like one.
• Do what makes you happy and f*ck anyone who says otherwise.
• Your career and your life don't have to make sense to anyone but you.
• Know what your company is paying you to do.
• Don't be an asshole at work. Run toward what scares you. Take risks and bet on yourself.
• Failure comes in all different sizes. Success is the worst teacher.
• Have a vision and stick with it.
• Nothing ever good happens after 11:00 P.M.
• How to get feedback without having a tantrum.
• Remember, nobody cares about your career, and this is a good thing.

Social Media:

Instagram

X

TikTok

Website: www.juansilvera.com

Juan Silvera is a marketing, communications and digital product strategy executive and author with 30+ years real-life experience with some of the largest financial services firms in the world and with marketing agency startups.

He is currently Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at AgFirst Farm Credit Bank, a $45 billion lending institution. He has held executive marketing roles at Rabobank, Wachovia / Wells Fargo, Bank of America and MUFG Union Bank. In addition he was principal in three digital marketing startups, two in the U.S. and one in Europe.

During his career he has lived and worked in countries and cities from San Francisco, to Salzburg, Austria and from Charlotte to Mexico City, Miami, Utrecht, Netherlands and Caracas, Venezuela.

His book, Improbably Successful: Proven Career Growth Strategies for the Rest of Us, provides real-life advice designed to propel careers at any stage of a professional's journey.

Juan is an alumnus from Cal State Los Angeles' School of Business and Economics and from Pepperdine University's Graziadio Business School, where he earned his MBA. Juan and his wife Angela are originally from Medellin, Colombia and live in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Book: IMPROBABLY SUCCESSFUL: Proven Career Growth Strategies for the Rest of Us

​In today's hypercompetitive global job market, the best planned career path, coupled with a great formal education, is not enough to get ahead. And if you happen to be a woman or a person of color, it is even tougher. The good news is that there is a set of proven career management strategies and best practices that can propel your career.

Starting in the mean streets of Medellin, Colombia and weaving through decades of startups and executive roles in financial services around the world, Juan Silvera's Improbably Successful provides real-life advice designed to boost your career, whether you are mid-career, a seasoned pro, or a recent college graduate. Simple, clear, and ready-to-use strategies and tactics for:

• Career goal setting
• Understanding non-linear career paths
• Moving for growth
• Effective networking
• Managing your professional brand
• Developing your executive presence
• Mastering communications
• Nailing job interviews
• Using your uniqueness to your advantage

Juan Silvera's book is a guide for career achievement for those who may not fit the stereotypical profile of a senior executive. It is a practical career management guide for the rest of us! Social media:

· X: https://twitter.com/juansilvera

· LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juansilvera/

· IG: https://www.instagram.com/juansilvera

Theresa Slater is the President of Empire Interpreting Service, which she founded in 2003. She built her company into a respected, award-winning organization with more than 300 interpreters and an array of customer-centric services. A speaker, author and advisor to new entrepreneurs, Slater's love for business drives her on her path. Slater's new book, The Language of Success: An Interpreter's Entrepreneurial Journey (Business Expert Press, Aug. 30, 2024), is both autobiography and a how-to (or how not-to) guide for entrepreneurs.

Learn more at www.empireinterpreting.com.

It's Time for Women Entrepreneurs to Know They're Worthy

This segment is about how one woman's journey from destitute teen to triumphant business leader is instructive for would-be women entrepreneurs.

The Big Idea: Statistics on failure rates for women-owned businesses would give would-be women entrepreneurs pause. Some 20 percent of startups fail in the first year, and nearly 50 percent by their fifth year. Further, women must battle feelings that they don't "measure up" and that they're not worthy of becoming business leaders.

The So-What: Theresa Slater's personal journey from starting at below bottom to being a successful business leader is unorthodox, but instructive. It began when she left home at age 15 with just a ninth-grade education and only babysitting jobs for work experience. Her desperation in just being able to survive day-to-day greatly shaped her life and how she eventually came to run her own business. She came to realize that women tend to worry too much about what others think and lose opportunities "sitting in the corner worried about whether we're worthy."

Key Messages: Reflecting on the ways that grit, drive, and purpose got her through hardships and led her to become a successful business leader, Slater addresses:

• How to overcome imposter syndrome and self-doubt

• How to bootstrap your business and attract clients

• Why businesswomen must learn to stop apologizing

• How to move through the stages of doing everything yourself, to pulling away and becoming the strategic thinker

• Why entrepreneurs must commit to self-care

• How the drive for self-improvement never ends

SOCIAL MEDIA:

https://www.facebook.com/Terre.Slater/ https://www.facebook.com/empireinterpretingservice/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/theresaslater/

X Account - @TerreSlater/

Hashtags : #LanguageServiceProvider #interpreting #AmericanSignLanguage #interpreters

Linda Ugelow (YOU-guh-lo) is a speaking confidence coach, podcast host, and author of the book, Delight in the Limelight: Overcome Your Fear of Being Seen and Realize Your Dreams and hosts a podcast of the same name. Formerly stricken with public speaking fear herself, she now helps entrepreneurs, coaches, and business leaders transform their experience of speaking from dread to delight whether online or on stage, in the media or the meeting room.

Website: https://www.lindaugelow.com/

Book promo info:

It was a great opportunity…but stage fright made you pass. How does one get over their fear of speaking? Linda Ugelow is a speaking confidence coach, podcast host, and author. With over 160K followers on TikTok, she helps people all over the world. She holds a Master's degree in Expressive Therapy and Movement Studies. Having performed as a singer, bassist, percussionist, and principal dancer for over three decades, she's experienced at being in front of people. Yes, you can eliminate your nerves. This life-changing book is organized in three parts starting with how to uncover and resolve the root cause of your fear. This is not the usual "Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway" philosophy. Her methods are practical, sometimes funny, and healing. You'll learn how to: Reveal and Heal the Root Cause of Your Anxiety Transform the Inner Critic Heal Your Self-Image Reset Your Mindset Enjoy the Sound of Your Voice Relax into Your Confident Presence When you're done, public speaking, whether it's in an online meeting with co-workers or on a stage in front of thousands, will become as natural as talking with friends. Are you ready to conquer your fear? Questions/topics to discuss:

1. The mistakes people make in trying to deal with their fear of speaking
2. How did you first get over your speaking anxiety?
3. How to find and clear the root causes of speaking anxiety.
4. What are the best ways to handle the inner critic when you speak?
5. What about overcoming Impostor Syndrome?
6. Are the nerves speaking in person different than the ones on camera?
7. What is the role of the voice in speaking confidence?
8. What can people do to manage their nerves when they're put on the spot?

Social Media Links:

https://www.facebook.com/linda.ugelow/

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https://www.youtube.com/user/lindaugelow

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindaugelow/

https://www.tiktok.com/@lindaugelow

A coach, facilitator, speaker, consultant, author, and the founder of Create WorkJoy, Beth Stallwood has an impressive track record of enabling people to achieve their career and life goals. She's spent 20 years developing her signature practical, passionate approach, and excels at getting to the heart of what's actually going on. Her clients range from global corporations to tech scale-ups, sports governing bodies, charities, and higher education institutions.

Beth's "WorkJoy: A Toolkit for a Better Working Life", highly commended by the Business Book Awards 2024, is a practical and immediately actionable blueprint empowering readers to take ownership of their working lives and unlock the joy in work again. It is the ultimate guide to help individuals craft their personal WorkJoy, as it is different for everyone.

Social media links:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/beth-stallwood-415a0928

https://www.linkedin.com/company/create-workjoy

https://www.instagram.com/createworkjoy/?hl=en

https://www.facebook.com/createworkjoy/

Brigid Schulte is the author of the bestselling Overwhelmed: Work, Love, and Play When No One Has the Time and an award-winning journalist formerly for the Washington Post, where she was part of a team that won a Pulitzer Prize. She is also the director of the Better Life Lab, the work-family justice and gender equity program at New America. She lives in Alexandria, Virginia, with her husband and two children.

Over Work Talking Points:

● Redesigning Work to have Time for Quality of life. How to more deliberately prioritize quality of life in our hectic day to day lives, focusing on meaningful work, caring for and connecting with others, and time to rest and play?

That's why it's so critical we create smart and effective work cultures. Drawing from the change agents featured in the book, Brigid can show that, while they use different methods to redesign work for more quality of life, there are key strategies that are universal. The first is articulating a vision of a different future and believing it's possible. The second is recognizing that change happens in a variety of ways, and that individuals, organizations, and policymakers all play a role. (With key takeaways for each)

● Defining what "Good Work" is - a combination of meaning, fairness, and cooperation - and why it's better for everyone – including businesses and the economy.

The U.S., the richest country in the world, ranks 5th among advanced economies in the share of low-wage workers in the workforce – 44 percent. Americans are working harder and harder and feeling like they're falling farther and farther behind. And far from the lazy worker trope, 70 percent of those who receive Medicaid or SNAP benefits work full time. How we can make all jobs good jobs. How one venture capitalist will only invest in companies that provide good jobs. And why, beyond human wellbeing, our economy – and our democracy - depend on it.

● Why Americans work such long hours, what it's costing us and how we can change. Are short work hours the answer?

Knowledge workers work around the clock - even on vacation - in one job and low-wage and hourly workers are taking on multiple jobs and side hustles to survive. U.S. laws and policies that make it hard for workers to organize and demand better reinforce the overwork culture. Surveys show Americans choose more work and money over time off, and that we'd work even if we didn't have to. Brigid can share what she's learned from reporting on efforts to change Japan's work-til-you-die or "karoshi" culture, and how Iceland improved both gender equality and wellbeing - and productivity - with shorter work hours. (Hint: long hours don't make work more productive, time off does.)

● How addressing 10 psychosocial stressors at work - like long work hours, work-life conflict, and toxic work cultures - will make work and life better for employees and employers alike. Work stress is the fifth leading cause of death in the U.S. and something we all need to be taking more seriously.

Brigid can talk about how short work hours movements are operational excellence missions in disguise and can boost productivity as well as wellbeing and gender equality., and how organizations and the entire country of Iceland have transformed as a result of working shorter, smarter hours.

● Real Wellbeing at Work, and why it matters. Why workplace wellness programs that focus on the individual as both the problem and the solution aren't working, and why the solution to the burnout epidemic isn't lunchtime yoga or a meditation app, but managers and organizations rethinking the way we work and acknowledging that those "right sizing" layoffs are part of the problem.

Real wellbeing is about systems-level solutions like reasonable workloads, having more choice, control, and autonomy over time, and being rewarded fairly for one's efforts. Brigid can talk about the lessons learned from the pandemic and, beyond the Return to Office fights, can share the strategies that successful organizations are using to remake work so that workers are happier and healthier and work itself is better.

● Why we need to make room for care at work.

More than 70 percent of the workforce has care responsibilities. Yet caregiving falls most heavily on women, who spend anywhere from 2 to 10 times more time than men on the unpaid work of care and home. More than 2 million women were forced out of the workforce because of care duties during the pandemic. The numbers have been rebounding largely because of the widespread adoption of flexible work and a better understanding of how care is work. There's still a long way to go, but the changes we're making now are making work and life better for everyone - including businesses.

● What would it take to create lives of work-life enrichment, rather than work-life conflict, and changing our focus from time scarcity to time serenity?

Brigid can share stories of how work is changing in Scotland and other countries seeking to create "Wellbeing Economies" and measure their success by how happy and healthy their people are at work and in their lives.

● What does the future of all work look like?

In a rapidly changing future of work, when AI, automation and technology will destroy jobs, create others and where there may not be enough work to go around, how will humans survive – and find meaning? Three possible futures, and why it's critical to redefine what work itself is, and how it shapes our identities. (The key is tying it to the common good and how we make the world a better place – which was the point of the Protestant Work Ethic from the outset.)

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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brigidschulte

www.webpsyched.com

Jessica Pryce-Jones is author of INTUITION AT WORK: Using Your Gut Feelings To Get Ahead. She started her career in finance where she learned about numbers, strategy, and leadership. After ten years in the corporate world, she completed a psychology degree – she wanted to understand why some of her bosses were brilliant and others were dismal. Those insights launched a new career facilitating, coaching, designing interventions and writing.

Clients include multinationals in healthcare, professional services, FMCG, banking, creative, education, manufacturing, publishing, and engineering industries as well as the public and not-for-profit sectors.

Pryce-Jones has also worked as adjunct faculty in leadership development at many business schools including Cambridge Judge, Cass, Cornell, Chicago Booth, Cranfield, London Business School, and Saïd (Oxford); she is a Fellow of Harvard's Institute of Coaching.

She has written two previous books, Happiness at Work: Maximizing Your Psychological Capital for Success and Running Great Meetings & Workshops for Dummies. Pryce-Jones divides her time between France and the UK, but works all over the world.

Do you want speedier decisions? Better outcomes? And avoid costly mistakes? Your gut can help you. In fact, intuition is an essential tool that all leaders use to get to the top.

If you've ever made a choice that looked illogical but proved to be right or had a sixth sense about something, your intuition was at work. Those hunches play a critical role in everything from deciding which job to take, who to hire and what to focus on. Which means that summoning intuition on demand and listening to what it's telling you are vital at a time of radical change and instability.

This ground-breaking book draws on the latest science, eye-opening anecdotes from senior leaders and the author's own insights gained over 25 years' coaching. It will show you that intuition is a practical, learnable, and immediately applicable skill that will accelerate your career.

Social media:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-pryce-jones/?originalSubdomain=uk