0:00

Hi , lady Leader , Welcome to

0:02

Leading Her Introvert Way , the podcast

0:04

for Black introvert women ready to break through

0:06

to executive leadership . You are in

0:08

the right place if you want to become

0:11

the best leader that you can possibly

0:13

be and you want to

0:15

learn how to take your career all the way to the top

0:17

. I'm Dr Nicole Bryan and I

0:19

am your host . How are you doing

0:21

, my friend ? I realized that

0:23

I have kicked off the last couple

0:25

of episodes

0:28

and I've jumped right into the topics

0:30

of the day because I have been so

0:33

excited about all of

0:35

the conversations we've been having for the

0:37

last several weeks . And today I was

0:39

like you know what you might want to just

0:41

slow your roll , nikki B , from

0:43

the NYC , and ask how

0:45

everyone is doing . As you can tell , I'm

0:47

in a very playful mood right now and that's

0:50

kind of been my mood for the last

0:52

couple of weeks . I've been on the road

0:54

. I spent an entire week in

0:56

Atlanta . I went on a

0:58

business trip and then extended it

1:00

for several days , and

1:02

I actually usually take a every

1:05

year . I drive to Atlanta and everybody

1:07

thinks I am completely crazy

1:09

because it's a 12 hour drive

1:11

one way and I absolutely

1:14

love it . Now some of you

1:16

, even as introverts , are probably cringing

1:18

like God 12 hours . Why

1:20

not get on a plane and get there in like an

1:22

hour and a half or two hours ? There's something

1:25

about being on the open road

1:27

by myself , because I always go

1:29

by myself and I listen to like

1:31

podcasts , I listen to music

1:33

. Sometimes I just turn the radio

1:36

or turn . I have no sound on

1:38

in the car with me and I'm just letting

1:40

my thoughts kind of free flow , which

1:42

is actually what I did on my return trip

1:44

home . It's the best , but because

1:47

I have a lot of family and friends in

1:49

Atlanta , it's like my one trip

1:51

of the year where I spend

1:53

five , six , seven days meeting

1:56

up with people , having dinner

1:58

, talking , spending quality

2:00

time . So by the time I

2:02

am ready to come home , I'm emotionally

2:05

drained . My cup is full , but

2:07

I'm emotionally drained at the same time , so

2:10

that trip really has

2:12

reignited something in me . I

2:14

don't know if it's the season's about to change

2:17

, but I came back super

2:19

focused and super energized . So

2:21

that's kind of what you're hearing right now . I

2:23

hope that you too are

2:26

finding ways to refill

2:28

your cup , particularly after

2:30

the holidays and everything that's

2:32

happening in the United States and the world

2:34

. Lots of companies are making the decisions

2:36

to kind of pull back on expenses

2:38

, even having to lay off people . I

2:41

pray that that is not impacting you directly

2:43

, but I can bet that if

2:45

it's not impacting you directly , then

2:48

you know of someone that

2:50

is being impacted directly by it . So

2:53

I will be thinking of you and keeping

2:55

you in my thoughts , but at the

2:57

same time , I hope that you are able

2:59

to do something to proactively

3:02

refill your cup as well

3:04

. So , with that said , let's go

3:06

ahead and jump into today's topic

3:09

. I'm going to be addressing a challenge

3:11

that specifically affects Black

3:13

introverted women on their path

3:15

to executive leadership the energy

3:17

equation . Now , if you have

3:19

ever felt exhausted , trying to

3:21

maintain the constant visibility

3:24

or the relationship building and

3:26

the never-ending communication that

3:28

leadership roles seem to demand , while

3:31

still having energy for your

3:33

actual work and your personal life

3:35

, then today's conversation

3:37

is going to be transformative . You

3:39

and I already know that the corporate

3:41

world was designed by and

3:44

for extroverts . People who

3:46

gain energy from social interaction

3:48

, people who think out loud and

3:50

people who thrive in high stimulus

3:53

environments lead to burnout or to work addiction

3:55

, especially when combined with the

3:57

additional energy demands of

4:07

navigating environments where we are often

4:09

the only one Research

4:12

from the Harvard Business Review found that Black

4:14

women expend significantly

4:16

more mental and emotional energy

4:18

at work than their colleagues due

4:21

to navigating microaggressions

4:23

, code switching and what researchers

4:26

call emotional tax . When

4:28

you combine this with introversion

4:30

, where social interaction and

4:32

high stimulus environments require

4:35

rather than generate energy

4:37

, you and I face a unique

4:39

energy management challenge . So

4:41

today I'm going to share the energy mapping

4:44

framework that I've developed specifically for

4:46

black introverted women in leadership . This

4:48

is not about typical work-life

4:50

balance advice . It's about strategic

4:53

energy allocation that allows

4:55

you to advance to executive leadership

4:57

without sacrificing your wellbeing

5:00

and without sacrificing

5:02

what we always talk about here , which

5:04

is your authenticity . Now

5:06

, I don't know when you first

5:09

realized that it being introverted

5:12

at work made you a little

5:14

bit different , but I remember

5:16

when I first realized that

5:18

being introverted at work made

5:21

me different . Not only do I remember

5:24

when I first realized it , but

5:26

it actually prevented

5:28

me from seeing that

5:30

I could be , and should

5:33

be , a leader , a

5:35

senior leader and an executive

5:37

. It was very early on in my career

5:39

and I was seeing all of

5:41

these other executives . Now , I didn't

5:43

believe I had enough experience at the

5:45

time to be an executive

5:47

, but I could not even see

5:50

a possibility of me becoming

5:53

an executive , and it was because

5:56

I just had that block . And

5:58

it's interesting because when I

6:00

talk to women

6:03

today , like when I have sales

6:05

calls , when I meet women at

6:07

different events and I start a conversation

6:10

and they learn what I do , they start

6:12

talking about they could never be

6:14

an executive . And it's not because

6:17

they don't think that they

6:19

are qualified , it's not

6:21

because they don't have ideas

6:24

disqualified

6:27

. It's not because they don't have ideas , it's not because they're not

6:29

already leading from whatever position they actually hold today . It's because

6:31

they don't think that

6:33

the way they approach

6:36

their work , the way

6:38

they show up on a day-to-day

6:40

basis , could be viewed

6:42

and respected in

6:45

terms of being a senior leader

6:47

. And that's exactly how I used to feel , based

6:50

on all the leadership qualities that I

6:52

was seeing around me every day

6:54

. I could not fathom how

6:56

my approach to leadership would

6:59

fit in what I was seeing . But

7:01

that's the whole point . I wasn't supposed

7:03

to fit . I was supposed to be

7:05

, not try to fit into what

7:07

I was seeing , but I didn't know that at the

7:09

time . So , before

7:12

we dive into the energy

7:14

mapping framework , I wanted

7:16

to tell you that story because

7:18

if you're sitting here and

7:20

listening to this podcast and thinking

7:23

to yourself I don't even think

7:25

I can be at that

7:27

senior executive level . I don't think I

7:29

can function there . I don't think I could

7:31

fit there . Then I want to call

7:33

bullshit on your behalf , just like

7:35

I'm calling bullshit on younger

7:37

Nicole's behalf , and I want to

7:39

say to you that you don't have to

7:41

focus on fitting . What

7:44

you need to do is figure out

7:46

how you can leverage

7:48

who you currently are and

7:50

what you bring to the table to

7:53

create your own seat at that table

7:55

. You're not trying to fit into an existing

7:58

seat or an existing model

8:00

of leadership . You , my friend , are

8:03

going to create your own model of

8:05

leadership and your own seat and

8:07

people around that table . They're gonna make room for you

8:09

. They made room for me . They're gonna make

8:11

room for you , if you want it . Okay

8:13

, now that we've got that out the way , let's talk

8:15

about . Before we dive into the

8:17

energy mapping framework , we

8:20

need to understand what makes

8:22

the energy profile of

8:24

black introverted women unique

8:26

. So first , let's acknowledge the introversion

8:28

component . Contrary to popular

8:31

misconception , introversion

8:33

isn't about shyness or social

8:35

anxiety . It's about how you

8:37

process information and where you

8:39

derive your energy . As we both

8:41

know , introverts process

8:43

information deeply , they

8:45

think before speaking and

8:47

they recharge through quiet

8:50

reflection rather than social interaction

8:52

. These traits of ours create

8:54

natural strengths in leadership thoughtful

8:57

decision-making , careful listening

8:59

and deep analysis . But

9:01

they also create energy challenges

9:04

when leadership expectations

9:06

are built around extroverted norms

9:08

like constant visibility , spontaneous

9:11

verbal processing and extensive networking

9:13

. Now let's add the layer

9:16

of being a Black woman in corporate

9:18

America . Dr Ella Bell Smith

9:20

and Dr Stella Incomo , in

9:22

their landmark research on Black

9:25

women in corporate environments , identified

9:27

what they call the double

9:29

outsider effect , which is being

9:32

outside of the dominant racial group

9:34

and outside the dominant gender

9:36

group simultaneously . This creates

9:39

what psychologists call identity

9:41

taxation the invisible

9:43

work of managing other people's

9:46

perceptions , stereotypes

9:48

and biases . One of my clients described

9:50

it perfectly . She said I feel

9:52

like I'm running two jobs

9:55

simultaneously doing my actual

9:57

work and managing how people perceive

10:00

me doing that work . This identity

10:02

taxation costs energy

10:04

, significant energy . One

10:07

study found that black women spend the equivalent

10:09

of one full workday every

10:11

week on emotional labor

10:13

related to identity management in

10:15

the workplace . That is 20%

10:18

of your work time spent

10:20

on energy depleting activities

10:23

that your colleagues and coworkers

10:25

don't have to engage in . When you

10:27

combine introversion with this identity

10:30

taxation , you face a

10:32

compounded energy challenge

10:34

. The traditional just push through

10:36

it approach leads directly to

10:38

burnout , which is why black

10:40

women have some of the highest rates

10:43

of workplace burnout across all

10:45

demographic groups . This isn't about

10:47

lacking resilience , because you know

10:49

, you and I got resilience out

10:51

the wazoo . It's about facing

10:53

a systemic energy equation

10:55

that doesn't account for your

10:57

unique needs and strengths , and solving

11:00

this equation requires a revolutionary

11:02

approach to energy management . The

11:04

energy mapping framework I've developed

11:07

for my clients has three core components

11:09

. The first is energy auditing

11:11

, the second is strategic energy

11:14

allocation and the third is

11:16

recovery integration . Let's

11:19

start with energy auditing Now . This involves systematically

11:22

analyzing your professional activities

11:24

based on three factors . First

11:26

, energy impact Does a particular

11:28

activity energize you , deplete

11:31

you or remain neutral ? For example

11:33

, one client discovered that one-on-one meetings

11:36

with her team members were actually energizing

11:38

, while group meetings with cross-functional

11:40

teams were highly depleting . Second

11:42

, leadership impact how

11:44

much does this activity actually

11:47

contribute to your effectiveness and

11:49

advancement ? This is important because

11:51

many Black women spend significant

11:53

energy on activities that deplete

11:56

them without providing the same

11:58

amount or even more career

12:01

benefit . Third is frequency

12:03

how often are you

12:05

currently engaging in this activity

12:07

? Sometimes , the most depleting activities

12:10

aren't individually problematic , but

12:12

become unsustainable through sheer

12:14

volume . How often

12:16

we are actually doing them . This

12:19

type of audit often reveals

12:21

very surprising patterns because

12:23

we are usually engaging in

12:25

behaviors that we don't even realize

12:27

we're engaging in until we do this

12:30

type of audit . For example , one of my

12:32

clients she discovered that she was spending

12:34

40% of her work week on

12:36

high frequency , high depleting

12:39

activities that delivered very

12:41

little leadership impact primarily

12:44

administrative meetings and report generation

12:46

. That could be delegated or streamlined

12:49

elsewhere Once you've completed your

12:51

energy audit . The second component

12:53

is strategic energy allocation

12:56

. This isn't about avoiding difficult

12:58

activities . Leadership requires

13:00

challenging work . That's the job

13:02

. But it is about being intentional

13:05

with your limited energy resources

13:07

. So the allocation follows

13:09

four principles Maximize

13:11

high impact low depletion

13:13

activities . Minimize low impact

13:16

high depletion activities . Structure

13:18

high impact high depletion

13:21

activities for sustainability and

13:23

then eliminate or delegate low impact

13:25

activities regardless of the

13:27

energy impact . For Black introverted

13:29

women , this often means making

13:32

counterintuitive choices that

13:34

differ from conventional leadership advice

13:36

. So , for example , while most leadership advice suggests

13:38

building , for example , while most leadership advice suggests building a broad

13:40

network , strategic energy allocation

13:43

might mean focusing on fewer , deeper

13:45

relationships with key stakeholders who

13:47

can actually impact your advancement . The

13:50

third component is recovery integration

13:52

. Most leadership approaches treat energy

13:55

as infinite . Most leadership approaches

13:57

treat energy as infinite . You're

14:00

expected to keep giving and keep giving and give some more without

14:02

replenishing . For black introverted

14:04

women , this approach is particularly harmful , given

14:07

the compounded energy challenges that

14:09

we uniquely face . Recovery

14:11

integration involves intentionally

14:13

building energy recovery periods

14:15

into your leadership approach . So

14:18

micro recoveries , those are

14:20

brief moments of restoration throughout

14:22

your day . Macro-recoveries , longer

14:25

periods of deeper replenishment . Strategic

14:28

scheduling , arranging high

14:30

depletion activities to allow

14:32

for recovery . And then environmental

14:35

optimization , creating a workspace

14:37

that supports your energy needs . I

14:39

want to emphasize with you that this framework

14:42

isn't about doing less . I know

14:44

that that is a big conversation that

14:46

is happening right now the soft

14:48

life . I forgot what the other word , what

14:50

the other terminology is , but basically

14:53

, how many of us can figure

14:55

out how to do less

14:57

and get more ? But that's not what I'm talking

15:00

about here . This framework is not

15:02

about doing less . It is about

15:04

achieving more by being strategic

15:07

with your energy . So my clients who

15:09

implement this framework consistently report

15:11

greater leadership impact with

15:13

less exhaustion and less burnout

15:16

. Now let's discuss three common

15:18

energy traps that particularly

15:20

affect us as Black introverted

15:22

women in leadership positions . The first

15:25

is what I call the hyper-visibility-invisibility

15:28

paradox . This is when we

15:30

, as Black women , often experience

15:32

the strange contradiction of being

15:35

highly visible as the only

15:37

one in many of the rooms that we are

15:39

in , while also having

15:41

our contributions rendered

15:44

invisible . This creates a

15:46

constant energy draining

15:48

toggle between feeling

15:50

scrutinized and feeling unseen

15:53

. A client in financial services described

15:55

attending executive meetings where she was

15:57

hyper aware of being the only

15:59

black woman present , yet had

16:01

her comments consistently overlooked

16:04

until repeated by someone else . This

16:06

paradox it creates significant

16:09

cognitive load , the mental

16:11

equivalent of running background processes

16:14

that slow down your computer . The

16:16

solution isn't working harder to be seen

16:18

, which many of us think , but

16:20

it's not . That is not the solution here

16:22

. That only depletes more of

16:24

our energy . Instead , I

16:27

will always recommend that you

16:29

implement what I call the strategic

16:31

visibility systems . It's about

16:33

documentation , it's about attribution

16:36

protocols and it's about selective

16:38

contribution approaches that ensure

16:40

your work is recognized without

16:43

requiring constant self-promotion

16:46

. I know you're probably cringing

16:48

as you hear that word self-promotion . One

16:50

practical recommendation you can try , starting

16:52

today , is you can create a contribution

16:55

documentation practice where you

16:57

keep a record of your key ideas

17:00

, your key inputs and the results that you

17:02

get for yourself , the team , the

17:04

business . This isn't for sharing directly

17:07

, but it gives you a reference point

17:09

for strategically highlighting your contributions

17:11

in performance discussions and promotion

17:14

conversations . The reason why this is

17:16

important is because , as much

17:18

as we accomplish every

17:20

day , when the time comes

17:22

for us to have very targeted

17:25

conversations about our

17:27

achievements or about our

17:29

promotion desires , somehow

17:31

we forget . We don't remember

17:33

all the great shit that

17:35

we did . When you create

17:38

a contribution document for

17:40

yourself , you will remember . The

17:42

second energy trap is the emotional

17:44

labor imbalance . Black women

17:46

in corporate environments often become

17:49

default emotional laborers

17:51

. We are expected to mentor

17:53

others , serve on diversity committees

17:55

and manage team dynamics , all

17:57

while processing our own experiences

18:00

of bias and exclusion . For

18:02

introverts who process emotions

18:04

deeply , this creates a particularly

18:07

heavy energy burden . Research from

18:09

the University of Michigan found

18:11

that Black women spend 25%

18:14

more time on uncompensated

18:16

emotional labor activities than

18:18

their white colleagues . The solution to this

18:21

is what I call boundary activism

18:23

the deliberate practice of establishing

18:26

what emotional labor you

18:28

will and will not provide

18:30

and ensuring you're strategically compensated

18:33

for this work , either through recognition

18:35

, advancement or resource allocation

18:38

. One practical recommendation that you can

18:40

actually start to leverage right

18:42

now is to create a value

18:44

exchange framework for additional

18:46

responsibilities . So what this means

18:49

is that when they approach you to

18:51

take on additional work , before

18:54

you agree to serve on any committee

18:56

or take on any mentoring

18:58

or anything else . Clarify

19:01

how this work will be recognized

19:03

and what specific support you'll

19:05

need to accomplish it . Always

19:07

, always , make the ask . This

19:10

doesn't have to be about money or it doesn't have

19:12

to be about a raise or a bonus , but

19:14

if someone is asking you to take on

19:16

additional responsibilities , then in

19:19

that moment you don't have to say yes

19:21

or you don't have to say no . You

19:23

could say let me think about it and

19:25

then you take that information . You

19:28

go home . You think , okay , do I

19:30

really want to do this ? If so

19:32

, how much energy is this going to take

19:34

from me ? What is currently on

19:36

my plate that I could ask them to take

19:38

off my plate so I can do this ? Or

19:41

what do I need from my

19:43

company , my boss , from my team

19:45

, in order to take on this additional

19:47

work ? And then you make the ask

19:49

. The third energy trap is adaptation

19:52

exhaustion . Now , black women

19:54

report spending significantly more

19:56

energy adapting their communication

19:59

style , appearance and self-expression

20:02

to fit organizational norms

20:04

. For introverts , who already expend

20:06

energy adapting to extroverted environments

20:09

, this creates another

20:11

double adaptation burden

20:13

. The solution is authentic presence

20:15

cultivation , developing a leadership

20:17

presence that honors your authentic

20:20

self while still achieving

20:22

your communication goals . This is not

20:25

about refusing to adapt at

20:27

all . When I talked earlier about

20:29

you don't have to fit in , it's

20:32

true , you don't have to try to fit into

20:34

what you see , but you might

20:37

want to adapt a thing or two

20:39

without having to change the totality

20:41

of who you are . So this isn't

20:43

about refusing to adapt at all

20:46

, but it is about being selective

20:48

and intentional about when and

20:50

how you choose to adapt . One

20:53

practical recommendation is to identify

20:55

your non-negotiable authenticity

20:57

anchors . So those are aspects

21:00

of your leadership style that you'll

21:02

maintain regardless of context , because

21:04

they connect to your core values and

21:06

your strengths . For one client , this

21:09

meant preserving her thoughtful response style

21:11

rather than forcing herself to speak up

21:13

immediately in discussions . For

21:15

me , it includes cursing

21:17

. I know that sounds kind of crazy , but

21:19

it does . I grew up

21:22

cursing . I mean , I grew up on the streets of Brooklyn

21:24

. I was cursing all the time . I

21:26

mean , the only people who never heard me curse probably were my

21:28

parents , and that's because you know respect

21:30

in a West Indian household

21:33

. But I cursed . I cursed

21:35

in friends . I cursed in classes

21:37

, not to my teacher , but talking to friends

21:40

in classes . Right

21:42

, cursing was just a natural part of who

21:44

I was and when I went into the

21:46

professional environment , I literally

21:49

had to stop myself

21:51

and censor myself from

21:53

doing that . And then one day I

21:55

was in the presence of

21:57

my CEO it's a CEO of Citibank

22:00

at the time so late nineties

22:02

and we were in a meeting . It was just

22:04

starting out in my career at that point in time , but

22:06

so I was not a direct report

22:09

or even an indirect report to him

22:11

, but we were in a meeting and he was

22:13

there and I heard this

22:15

white man curse and I

22:17

immediately felt bonded

22:19

to him and in that moment said

22:22

to myself man , if he

22:24

can be up here as the CEO

22:26

of this international company

22:29

and cuss , why can't I

22:31

? From that day forward , I did not

22:34

censor myself in that way anymore

22:36

. Now , let's not . I don't want

22:38

you to think that I went crazy , right , I wasn't

22:41

cursing all up and down the hallways

22:43

of Citibank , but I was not

22:45

holding myself back in expressing

22:48

myself . If a curse word was

22:50

coming out , I let it come out and I

22:52

still do it to this day . I will

22:54

be in board meetings , and if the

22:56

curse word is what comes to my mind and

22:59

it truly represents what I want

23:01

to say and what the context

23:03

is . I'm going to let it rip . Just the

23:05

other day I was actually in a . Just the

23:07

other day , meaning like two days ago I was in

23:09

my senior leadership team meeting and

23:12

I was fired up about

23:14

a point that I was trying to make and

23:16

I dropped the F-bar . Afterwards , two

23:18

of my colleagues came up to me and they were like we

23:21

really appreciate how

23:23

genuine you are . I was like thanks

23:25

. However , I'm sure that there were probably two

23:27

other colleagues somewhere in there who didn't say anything

23:29

to me who were thinking , oh my

23:31

God , she is completely unprofessional . But

23:33

I'm okay with that , because I know two

23:36

things . One

23:39

, I know I'm damn good at what I do . And two , I also know I'm

23:41

not going to curb my natural

23:43

tendencies in that way . Right

23:45

, I know I'm good . So

23:48

that's just another example of that . Okay

23:51

, now let me share how

23:53

the energy mapping framework transformed

23:55

one client's leadership experience

23:58

and advancement journey , because I think

24:00

it's important for me to bring

24:02

it all together and basically kind of demonstrate

24:04

how this could play out . So

24:07

I have a client her name is Tanya , and

24:09

she is the senior director

24:11

of operations at another a different multinational

24:13

company . At another a different multinational company

24:15

she consistently delivered

24:18

exceptional results , but

24:23

she found herself exhausted and questioning whether executive leadership was

24:25

sustainable for her as an introverted black

24:27

woman . Her days were completely

24:30

packed with back-to-back

24:32

meetings , constant emails

24:34

, impromptu requests for input

24:36

and additional responsibilities on

24:38

three separate diversity committees

24:40

. She was working all day , all

24:43

evenings and weekends just

24:45

to complete her actual deliverables

24:47

, and she had absolutely no time

24:49

for strategic thinking that interested her

24:51

the most . We started with

24:53

a comprehensive energy audit

24:56

, so we started tracking all of her

24:58

activities for two weeks and assessing

25:00

their energy impact , leadership

25:02

impact and frequency . The results

25:05

were very , very surprising

25:07

. We found that 46%

25:10

of Tanya's time was spent

25:12

on activities that were highly

25:14

depleting yet delivered minimal

25:17

leadership impact . The biggest

25:19

culprits of her time were poorly

25:21

structured recurring meetings , excessive

25:24

email management and unplanned interruptions

25:27

. We also discovered that activities

25:29

involving deep analysis , one-on-one

25:31

coaching of her direct reports and

25:33

cross-functional strategy work were

25:36

actually really energizing

25:38

for her , but it occupied

25:40

less than 20% of her schedule

25:42

. So you can imagine how

25:44

not into her job she

25:46

was because so much

25:48

of her time almost 50% of her time

25:50

was spent on highly depleting

25:53

and minimal impact work and

25:55

less than 20% of her time

25:57

was spent on the work she actually loves

26:00

. Using the insights that we found . We

26:02

implemented strategic energy allocation

26:04

. So she delegated meeting

26:06

leadership for two of her recurring

26:08

tactical meetings . She implemented

26:11

a meeting free zone two mornings

26:13

every week for deep work . And

26:16

then she created an email

26:18

management protocol with the help of her executive

26:20

assistant that reduced time spent

26:22

in her inbox by 60% . For

26:26

recovery integration , she implemented

26:29

three specific practices . She

26:31

started a 10-minute reflection period

26:33

between meetings , right . So what that

26:36

meant was that she made

26:38

all of her meetings stop at

26:40

the 45 minute or 50 minute

26:42

mark of the hour so that she could

26:44

have her 10 minute reflection period . She

26:46

started walking midday

26:48

outside the building outside the

26:50

week and one strategic

26:53

thinking day per month where she

26:55

worked from home and she focused on

26:57

forward-looking projects and not

27:00

the day-to-day things that were kind of

27:02

pulling her time and energy . The results

27:04

were transformative for her

27:06

because within two months her energy

27:09

levels dramatically improved

27:11

and she fell in love with

27:13

her job again . Within four

27:15

months , her strategic contributions increased

27:18

to the point where the CEO specifically

27:20

mentioned her insights in a company-wide

27:23

meeting . And then , six months later

27:25

, she was promoted to VP with

27:27

a $75,000 increase

27:29

in compensation . The most incredible

27:32

part was that she was

27:34

working fewer hours than

27:36

before , while making greater impact

27:38

. As she likes to put it , she finally

27:41

felt like she

27:43

was working in alignment with her natural

27:45

strengths , rather than constantly fighting

27:48

against her nature . This

27:50

exemplifies what is possible

27:52

when you implement the energy mapping

27:54

framework greater leadership , impact

27:57

with less exhaustion and accelerated

27:59

advancement , without sacrificing

28:01

your wellbeing or your authenticity

28:03

. For specific guidance on implementing

28:06

this framework for your own or your

28:08

personal unique strengths and situation

28:11

my one-on-one coach . Now , if

28:13

you want to learn how to

28:15

use the energy mapping

28:17

for your own unique

28:19

situation the energy mapping framework

28:21

then I invite you to join

28:24

me . On April 12th , I am hosting

28:26

a free webinar that is

28:28

specifically dedicated to helping introverted

28:31

black women land their executive

28:33

roles , and I'm going to be going over

28:36

the energy mapping framework

28:38

. So if you want to learn more about it , you want

28:40

to learn how to apply it to your specific situation

28:42

, then definitely use the link

28:45

in the show notes to sign up . Now , as

28:47

we wrap up today's conversation , I

28:49

want to offer two specific

28:51

recommendations you can implement immediately

28:54

to start your own energy revolution

28:56

. The first is to conduct a

28:58

simplified energy audit

29:00

For one week , just one week . Keep

29:03

a small notebook with you or

29:05

use your notes app on your

29:07

cell phone and briefly note

29:09

your energy level after different

29:12

activities on a scale of one to

29:14

five , right One being completely

29:16

depleted and five being completely

29:19

energized . Also note the

29:21

strategic impact of each activity

29:23

on your leadership goals . This simple

29:25

practice often reveals very

29:27

surprising patterns about where

29:29

your energy is going and which

29:31

activities deliver the most value for your

29:33

investment . The second thing that you

29:35

can do , starting today , is

29:38

implement a strategic recovery

29:40

boundaries . Again , strategic

29:42

recovery boundaries . Identify

29:45

at least three specific

29:47

recovery practices and schedule

29:49

them into your calendar as non-negotiable

29:52

appointments with yourself . These might

29:54

be short walking breaks , meditation

29:56

periods or simply time to work

29:59

without interruption on activities that

30:01

energize you . By treating recovery

30:04

as essential rather than optional

30:06

, you begin to transform your

30:08

energy equation . Two strategic

30:11

recovery boundaries that I set for myself

30:13

every week is one I

30:15

do not miss my morning workouts . That

30:18

is absolutely a must

30:20

. If I'm not working out , then

30:22

I'm not working . That's how important it

30:24

is to me . So I don't miss my morning

30:26

workouts because it gives me the energy

30:28

to get through the day . And the second

30:31

thing that I do is I don't take any

30:33

meetings whatsoever on Tuesdays

30:35

. Any other day I'm willing to take a meeting

30:37

. Even on the weekend , I will flex to take

30:39

a meeting on the weekend if I have to , but

30:41

not on a Tuesday . Okay , the

30:44

energy mapping framework is just one

30:46

component of revolutionary leadership

30:48

, which we've been talking about for the last couple

30:50

of weeks , and the revolutionary leadership

30:53

approach that I teach in my one-on-one

30:55

coaching program . If you are ready to

30:57

transform your leadership experience

30:59

and accelerate your path to executive

31:02

roles without sacrificing your

31:04

wellbeing , then again I'm inviting

31:06

you to join my free webinar on April 12th

31:09

. The webinar is called From Invisible

31:11

to Incredible the Black Interverted

31:13

Woman's Path to Executive Leadership , and

31:15

you can sign up in the show

31:18

notes . In this webinar , I'll be

31:20

sharing my complete system from

31:22

going from overlooked to executive

31:24

in just five months , and it will

31:27

include what we've talked about today the

31:29

energy mapping framework , as well

31:31

as other revolutionary strategies specifically

31:34

designed for Black introverted women

31:36

. You deserve leadership advancement

31:39

that honors rather than depletes

31:41

you , and with the right energy strategy

31:44

, you can achieve executive impact while

31:46

preserving your wellbeing and authenticity

31:48

, and it will make you

31:51

and your leadership uniquely

31:53

powerful . Okay , lady leader , we

31:55

have covered a lot today

31:57

about the unique energy challenges

31:59

facing black introverted women

32:01

and how to strategically manage your

32:03

energy for maximum leadership impact

32:06

without burning out . Remember , this

32:08

is not about pushing yourself harder

32:10

or trying to become more extroverted

32:13

, but it is about revolutionary

32:15

leadership that works with your natural strengths

32:18

rather than against them . Now , if

32:20

this conversation resonated with

32:22

you , then I would love

32:24

to continue it over on LinkedIn

32:26

. Just send me a direct message

32:28

, let me know your thoughts . Let me know

32:31

what really resonated with you in

32:33

today's conversation . Let me know if you

32:35

disagree . I would love to hear about

32:37

differing thoughts and opinions and , because

32:40

I know you enjoyed listening to this episode

32:42

as much as I enjoyed making it , I

32:44

want to thank you for being here and for all

32:46

of your continued support . I also

32:48

want you to give me a five-star

32:51

rating right for this podcast

32:53

, just using the link in the show notes , which

32:56

, by doing that , you will

32:58

help get the podcast seen by other introvert

33:00

women leaders who are looking for this

33:03

introvert black women leader information

33:05

and community . Okay , lady leader , until

33:08

next time , keep leading your

33:10

introvert way .