0:00

Hi , lady Leader , and welcome

0:02

back to another episode of

0:04

the Leading Her Way podcast . This

0:07

podcast is for you if you are

0:09

a introverted , professional woman

0:11

who is dedicated

0:13

to being the best leader she

0:15

can possibly be and who

0:17

is also looking to advance

0:19

her career into the senior leader

0:22

and or the executive

0:24

leader ranks . My

0:26

name is Dr Nicole Bryan and it is my

0:28

sincere pleasure to be

0:30

here sharing with you

0:33

some thoughts and

0:35

challenging the way you think

0:37

and accompanying

0:39

you on your leadership career

0:42

journey you

0:49

on your leadership career journey . Now , before we tackle today's

0:51

topic , I would love to know how you're doing so , if you could

0:53

just stop multitasking for just a second

0:56

, because you're likely listening to this podcast

0:58

while you're doing something else maybe

1:00

driving , maybe

1:03

reading , maybe

1:10

driving , maybe reading , maybe cleaning , but whatever it is , just pause for a second

1:12

and really check in with yourself and tell me how you are

1:14

doing . For me

1:16

, I'm actually feeling pretty good today

1:18

. I'm feeling hopeful

1:20

and I'm feeling

1:23

excited and

1:26

I'm feeling energized

1:29

. It's from a

1:31

conversation . Probably it wasn't

1:33

an easy conversation , but I spent

1:35

four hours with

1:38

one of my mentees . Now

1:40

, as an introvert , you

1:42

already know that spending

1:44

that amount of time when

1:47

it was just one-on-one conversation

1:49

, that's a huge , huge

1:51

energy expenditure for

1:54

any introvert , but the reason

1:56

I'm feeling energized is

1:58

because I feel

2:01

like I was able to help her . So

2:03

she's in a situation where

2:05

she really loves her job

2:08

. She loves the work that she does on

2:10

a day-to-day basis , but

2:13

she is working for someone who

2:15

is a chronic micromanager

2:17

, and so we

2:20

spent most of our time honestly just catching

2:22

up with each other , not necessarily

2:24

talking about things related to work , but

2:27

probably about an hour , hour and

2:29

a half . We did talk about

2:31

her work situation and

2:34

strategized on

2:36

how she can reclaim

2:39

control over the

2:41

relationship with her boss and

2:44

position herself to make

2:46

an ask of her boss in

2:49

terms of how to stop

2:51

micromanaging . So we

2:53

did some role-playing , we did

2:55

some root cause analysis

2:57

meaning trying to uncover

3:00

the reason her boss feels

3:02

the need to micromanage

3:05

and we left with

3:07

a very solid strategy

3:09

of how she can

3:12

respectfully nip

3:15

that crap in the bud . So

3:18

I'm looking forward to seeing how

3:20

that plays out for her . Now

3:22

for you and I , let's go

3:24

ahead and talk about

3:26

and get started on today's topic

3:29

, which is a topic that you've said

3:31

you wanted to hear more about , which

3:33

is wealth . Now , if

3:36

you haven't already listened to episode

3:38

53 , I would encourage

3:40

you to go back and listen to it . It

3:42

was the first time we've talked on

3:44

this podcast about wealth , specifically

3:48

about you as an introverted

3:50

woman who is looking to get into

3:52

executive leadership , practicing

3:55

, embracing abundance

3:57

. But one of the things that

4:00

we did not spend a good deal of

4:02

time on in that episode

4:04

was defining wealth

4:07

. So if I asked you

4:09

to define wealth

4:11

or to explain wealth to me , what

4:14

would your response be ? Many

4:17

of the people that I know

4:20

would define wealth

4:22

in one singular

4:24

way . But let's look at

4:26

how Oxford dictionary

4:30

defines wealth . So they

4:32

describe wealth as a noun , and

4:35

it is an abundance of valuable

4:37

possessions or money . Another

4:46

definition from Oxford is the state of being rich , and then

4:49

a third definition from

4:51

Oxford is having

4:53

plentiful supplies of a particular

4:56

resource . So

5:04

that's how they define wealth , and

5:07

you likely came up with this

5:09

response as well . The

5:11

immediate thought is only

5:14

money , but what I'd like

5:16

to talk about today is

5:18

not just about

5:20

money that is in or

5:23

not in your bank account . We'll

5:25

definitely talk about that at some point

5:27

. What

5:35

I would rather focus on is the complete wealth portfolio that every introverted woman leader

5:37

needs to build , because here's the truth sacrificing

5:39

your wellbeing for that executive

5:42

title . That's whack . What

5:44

we're diving into today is

5:46

about how to build wealth

5:48

for yourself across all

5:51

the dimensions of your life , and

5:54

what I'm hoping is that by

5:56

the end of our conversation , you'll

5:58

have a much broader and

6:01

a much more significant definition

6:04

of wealth for

6:06

yourself , one that includes

6:09

financial wealth , health

6:12

wealth , time and

6:14

energy wealth and

6:16

social wealth . So let's

6:18

break down each one of those a little bit

6:20

further , and we can start

6:22

with money , because , frankly , we

6:25

all need to get comfortable

6:27

talking about it . As

6:30

introverted women , we often

6:32

focus on doing great work while

6:35

staying quiet about compensation

6:37

, and that has got to

6:39

stop , because when we don't talk

6:41

openly about compensation , we

6:43

don't know what is available to us , and when we don't know what is available

6:46

to us and when we don't know what's

6:48

available to us , we don't negotiate

6:51

. And when we don't negotiate , we

6:53

limit our own earning potential

6:55

, and when we limit our own earning

6:57

potential , we literally

7:00

block ourselves

7:02

from building financial wealth

7:04

. Now

7:09

, it usually surprises people when I share my story

7:11

of using my

7:14

corporate roles and becoming

7:16

an executive as the

7:18

path to becoming

7:20

financially wealthy , to

7:23

becoming a multimillionaire . And

7:25

, yes , part of that was getting

7:27

to a place where I was

7:30

able to understand

7:32

the value that I contributed to the organization

7:35

, where I was able to

7:37

rise and take

7:39

my career to the top levels

7:41

of the companies that I worked

7:43

for to

7:48

the top levels of the companies that I worked for , and I was able to negotiate good salary packages . But

7:50

that's only a part of it . Like earning

7:52

the money was just one part

7:55

of it . The other part of it

7:57

was investing

7:59

my money wisely

8:01

. There's many people who make multi

8:04

, six figures , close to seven

8:06

figures , but what they

8:09

do with that money is either they burn

8:11

it or they

8:13

may put it in a savings account where it's not

8:15

earning a lot of interest and

8:18

it's not earning more money

8:20

by itself . And so what

8:22

I had to learn and

8:24

educate myself on is how

8:27

I could make the money that I

8:29

am earning work for me

8:31

, and I've been able to do that in

8:33

a variety of different ways , whether it

8:35

is investing in stock

8:38

options or investing

8:40

in property or other

8:42

investments where my money

8:44

was able to , and continues to be

8:46

able to , grow . So making a good salary

8:49

is great and it is

8:51

a perfect starting point , which

8:54

, the higher you move up in leadership

8:56

, the more earning potential you

8:58

have . But if you

9:00

are a person who has

9:02

poor spending habits or

9:05

is not willing to

9:07

invest the money that you

9:09

earn so that your money continues

9:11

to work for you , then building

9:14

financial wealth becomes

9:16

less viable . So

9:19

financial is the first part

9:21

of the wealth definition

9:23

that we're talking about . The second part

9:26

is actually health wealth . Financial

9:28

is the first part of the wealth definition that we're talking about . The second

9:30

part is actually health wealth , and

9:34

this one is probably more important to me , believe it or not , than financial , and the

9:36

reason why that is is because I always think of

9:38

the reality that I can always

9:41

earn more money Maybe I

9:43

have to get another job that I can always earn

9:45

more money . Maybe I have to get another job , maybe I have to invest

9:47

my money in other vehicles

9:50

. I

9:54

feel like making more money is easier than correcting

9:57

chronic health issues , and

9:59

so when I think about health wealth , I'm

10:02

specifically talking about physical

10:04

and mental and

10:07

emotional health , Because when you

10:09

have all three of those things , they

10:12

contribute to your sustainable

10:14

success . So physical

10:16

health for you could be about

10:19

creating boundaries around your work

10:21

hours as a leader

10:23

who wants to transition to

10:25

becoming an executive , or

10:28

physical health could be about

10:30

designing a introvert-friendly

10:33

exercise routine that

10:35

is proactively keeping

10:37

you healthy , rather than you having to

10:39

be reactive . Or

10:42

physical health might be about

10:44

using your need for solitude

10:47

as an introvert to maintain

10:49

healthy habits . Now

10:51

, when we talk about mental and emotional health

10:53

, this could include introvert

10:55

, specific stress management

10:58

for yourself , and that could look like

11:00

having strategic alone time

11:02

. It could look like putting

11:04

energy preservation techniques in

11:06

place , or it could be about

11:08

mindful meeting scheduling . Another

11:11

way for you to establish

11:15

mental and emotional health for yourself

11:17

could be just simply giving yourself

11:20

processing time for decision-making

11:22

, because we know that , as

11:24

an introvert , the way

11:26

you process information looks

11:29

and feels very different from

11:32

non-introverts , from

11:34

ambiverts and extroverts . So

11:36

just creating processing time

11:38

for yourself in order to make

11:40

thoughtful decisions for

11:43

you , your team , the organization or

11:45

even in your personal life is a

11:47

way to create mental and

11:49

emotional health . And then

11:51

another way is actually

11:54

leveraging emotional intelligence as

11:56

a leadership tool . Now

11:58

here's why this matters . You

12:01

cannot lead effectively

12:03

when you're depleted . Your

12:06

introversion gives you natural

12:08

awareness of your energy levels

12:10

and you have

12:13

the ability to use this for

12:15

your benefit , for other people's

12:17

benefits . When we disregard

12:21

our physical health , our mental

12:23

health or our emotional health

12:25

, we are literally disregarding

12:28

ourselves and what fills

12:31

us up and what allows

12:33

us to operate at

12:35

the highest levels that we can

12:37

. So we've talked about financial

12:40

wealth and health wealth

12:42

. Now let's talk about time

12:44

and energy wealth , and

12:47

time and energy are one

12:49

of those other types

12:51

of currency that is

12:54

not replenishable

12:56

. When time passes , you

12:58

can't get time back . We

13:00

wish we could get time back right

13:02

, but we can't . So , as

13:04

an introverted leader , time and

13:06

energy management isn't just about

13:09

productivity . It's about sustainability

13:11

, and so what this means is

13:14

we , as introverts , don't

13:16

have time to waste . Our

13:18

energy is already

13:20

limited , and so we

13:23

need to be really thoughtful

13:25

and very strategic about how

13:27

we use our limited time

13:29

and energy . What that means

13:32

, then , is we really have to be

13:34

looking for high ROI

13:36

activities and spending our

13:38

time there , so that would include

13:41

, for example , developing

13:43

key stakeholder relationships

13:45

, because we don't have the time and energy to

13:47

go out there and build relationships with everyone

13:49

about everything . Instead

13:52

, we have to really think about who

13:55

are the key people in

13:57

our organizations that

13:59

we need to be connected to

14:01

and that we need to proactively

14:04

manage . Another high

14:06

ROI activity is

14:08

creating strategic thinking time

14:10

, so when I'm at

14:12

work , I will be very

14:14

thoughtful about how many meetings

14:17

I put for myself or

14:19

allow others to put on my calendar

14:21

every day . I'm also

14:23

very thoughtful about taking

14:25

breaks . Now , it's not always

14:28

possible , but I try my

14:30

best to do that . Why

14:32

? Because I know going back to back

14:34

in meetings I don't have

14:36

the space and time to think

14:39

, to come up with

14:41

solutions , to process

14:43

the information that I just spent an hour

14:46

taking in . If I

14:48

am in back-to-back meetings from

14:50

9 am to 3 pm

14:53

, or in some cases till

14:55

6 pm , then I

14:57

already know that I'm going to be

14:59

completely depleted in terms

15:01

of energy . I'm not gonna be

15:04

able to focus in any of the

15:06

meetings because I'm still processing

15:08

things from the last meeting , and

15:10

so I've learned over time that

15:12

creating pockets of

15:14

15 , 30 , or

15:16

even 60 minute windows

15:18

throughout my day is

15:20

really important for me

15:23

to be able to deliver on what

15:25

I need to deliver on for my team and

15:27

for the company . Another thing to think

15:29

about is what energy conservation

15:32

techniques you could put into place . One

15:34

of the things that I used to do all the time

15:36

is delegate . Delegation

15:39

is a power move . If

15:46

you have someone on your team or a peer who you trust and who you

15:48

know will get things done

15:50

on your behalf , then

15:52

delegate . Once you delegate

15:54

, you will relieve

15:57

the pressure from yourself and conserve

15:59

your energy for only those

16:01

things that only you can

16:03

do , whereas if other people

16:05

can do the same role or

16:07

do the same part of your responsibilities

16:10

, then delegate it . That's

16:12

a no brainer . Now I'm sharing

16:14

with you a few things that I've

16:16

done in the past in terms of

16:18

creating high ROI

16:21

activities , energy conservation

16:23

and creating time

16:25

wealth . But you can

16:27

think about your own . You can probably borrow

16:30

some of mine , but it would be important for

16:32

you to think about what you need

16:34

in terms of high ROI activities

16:36

, conservation , conserving your energy

16:39

and building time wealth . But

16:41

whatever tactics and strategies

16:43

you determine work best

16:46

for you . Just remember

16:48

that your time and your energy are

16:50

finite resources . It

16:52

is imperative that you invest them

16:54

like precious commodities , because

16:57

they are precious commodities . Okay

17:00

, so we've talked about financial wealth . We've

17:02

talked about health wealth . We've talked

17:04

about time and energy wealth

17:06

. The last one I wanna

17:08

talk to you about is social wealth . Now

17:11

, you and I know that there is

17:14

this ridiculous myth that

17:16

exists about introverts not

17:18

being social beings or not

17:21

valuing relationships

17:23

, but we also

17:26

know that we not

17:28

only value relationships

17:30

, but we are great at building them

17:32

, and the only difference between us

17:35

and our extroverted counterparts is

17:37

that we are best

17:39

served when we focus on strategic

17:42

relationship building . So what

17:44

does strategic relationship building look like ? It

17:46

looks like prioritizing quality

17:49

over quantity in professional

17:51

relationships . It looks

17:53

like building deep , meaningful

17:56

, mentor-mentee and

17:58

sponsor-to-leader

18:00

connections . It also looks

18:03

like being very selective at

18:05

networking that energizes

18:07

rather than drains you . Your

18:10

introversion is not a

18:12

liability when it comes to social

18:14

wealth . It's actually your ticket to

18:16

building genuine , lasting professional

18:19

relationships . So I hope

18:21

this has started to expand

18:23

your thinking and broadening

18:26

your idea of what

18:28

true wealth is

18:30

. It's not just about money

18:32

or finances , but wealth

18:35

is a very holistic

18:37

concept that stretches and

18:40

can stretch across all

18:42

dimensions of who

18:44

you are as a person and who you are

18:46

as a leader . And if you are

18:48

able to shift the way you

18:51

see wealth from

18:53

just money into

18:55

all of these other forms as well

18:58

, then it becomes easier for you

19:00

to recognize that building wealth in

19:02

all of its forms isn't just smart

19:04

. It's actually necessary

19:06

to sustain your leadership

19:09

and to grow your leadership career

19:11

. And as an introverted woman

19:13

leader , you have unique

19:15

advantages in building this very

19:17

holistic wealth portfolio for yourself

19:20

. I would love to

19:22

hear your reactions to

19:24

today's episode , whether

19:26

or not you have thought about

19:28

wealth in this way before

19:30

, or what aspects

19:33

of the wealth definition

19:35

we've talked about today the social

19:38

, the health , the

19:40

financial and

19:44

the time and energy . Which one of these areas you are going to start working

19:47

on first . And if

19:49

you are a woman

19:51

, introverted leader who is ready

19:53

to build wealth

19:56

for yourself and your family

19:58

, then I would love to

20:00

work with you . So use

20:02

the link in the show notes to

20:04

book a sales call with me . The

20:07

sales call is simply a

20:09

conversation where we get

20:11

to talk about what is

20:13

going on with you . We talk

20:15

about your specific leadership

20:18

career goals . We talk about

20:20

your personal goals

20:23

outside of work , and then

20:25

I'll ask you a ton of

20:27

questions about who you are , your

20:29

values , your aspirations

20:32

, and you'll have the opportunity

20:34

to ask me a ton of questions as

20:36

well . Then , based on

20:38

what we talk about , I'll share some

20:40

ideas that I have to help

20:43

you accomplish your goals , and

20:45

then we'll decide together whether it

20:47

makes sense to work together . If

20:50

this sounds good to you , like I said , just

20:52

go ahead and click the link in

20:54

the show notes , or you can use

20:56

the link in my LinkedIn profile

20:59

featured section . Either

21:01

one will take you straight to

21:03

the page where you can book

21:06

your call with me , and

21:08

I look forward to hearing from you . Until

21:10

next week , lady leader , keep

21:12

leading your introvert

21:15

way . That's

21:30

a wrap for this episode of leading

21:32

her way . Thanks for tuning

21:34

in . If you have thought Three , two , one , yeah to write a quick

21:37

review on Apple Podcasts . Your

21:39

review will help spread the word to other ambitious

21:42

females so they know they're not

21:44

alone and that this podcast is a community

21:46

of support for all of us . Leading her

21:48

way to the top , remember

21:50

your leadership is needed , your

21:53

leadership is powerful , so

21:55

lead boldly . Until

21:57

next time .