1st Birthday Series Part 5 – She Leads She Thrives Podcast Episode 57

Shannon Dunn  

Welcome everyone to our celebration series for our first birthday of She Leads She Thrives. So across three episodes, I’m going to be chatting to previous guests from the early months of the podcast. These are guests whose episodes still rank amongst the most downloaded in our very first year of sharing the most incredible conversations and information and wisdom with you. 

Shannon Dunn 

Team Thrive Factor and I thought it was a brilliant opportunity to check in with them now and ask a series of reflective questions so they could share more of their wisdom with you. And it’s been such a joy creating these conversations to bring them together and to share them as part of this birthday series. 

Shannon Dunn 

Now before we begin with the first of our feature guest conversations for today’s episode, I also want to say a huge thank you to you, our listeners. Without you there wouldn’t have been as much fun and joy and celebration in this past year. I really adore and I hope this shines through, but I adore the podcast medium for connecting with a global audience. But it also makes the work and the energy that goes into every episode that much richer when we know there are people actually out there listening and downloading our episodes every week. So thank you, I truly hope that you’ll be a long term listener if you’re not already, and that you’ll continue to share our episodes and with your business and your leadership community. 

Shannon Dunn  

So a huge big love to you all and if you still don’t know who I am because you are brand new to She Leads She Thrives. This a little final reminder before we dive into the first of our conversations in this special birthday series. I’m Shannon Dunn, I am the host of She Leads She Thrives. I’m a longtime business and self leadership coach. And I just love being able to bring more wisdom to the world. So thank you for your time today and have a magical day wherever you are.

Shannon Dunn  03:06

Hello, everyone, Shannon down here your host at She Leads She Thrives. I am so delighted to welcome you to the final part of this five part first birthday series to celebrate the very first year  of the She Leads She Thrives podcast being live. In this episode, we’re going to share with you the answers from some of our guests to the two questions that I ask every single guest that joins us on She Leads She Thrives. These questions I created right at the beginning of thinking about how I wanted to engage with the guests and how I wanted to bring us back to wrap up the session to the key themes of She Leads She Thrives, which are leadership and thriving.

Shannon Dunn  03:46

 So I’ll share those questions with you in a moment to lead into some of the answers that we have got to share with you. There was such a diversity in the answers that we have received, which I wasn’t surprised about considering the varied backgrounds that all of our guests have come from. But what I loved was how complementary they are and how many themes did come up again and again. So fabulous. 

Shannon Dunn  04:11

Now before we get in, and I share the very first of those two questions with you. I also am going to encourage you to go and check out if you haven’t already, the special offers that we have available as birthday offers for the month of October. Each one of these does have a limited number. Once they get to sold out they will just become unavailable on that special birthday offer page. I didn’t have to think very long and hard at all about what to offer and the fact that it was going to be a 50% discount on each of these things. I wanted to give every listener an opportunity to work with me or to engage in the whole Thrive Factor experience at a very really small investment compared to what the value of each of these things is. So you will see Thrive Factor profiling, Thrive Factor coaching and business strategy sessions available to set for the month of October only once we get to the end of the month, they will no longer be available at that incredibly discounted price. And they may even run out before the end depending on when we get to the sold out times. 

Shannon Dunn  05:14

For now, though, let me share with you the very first question that I asked her wrap up each of our podcast episodes with a guest. I asked them what role does leadership play in your life and business? Tune in now. Listen to some of the incredible answers we’ve received over this past year. And this is definitely a time to get your notebook or your journal out. Because I know there is so much wisdom that’s been shared. And you’re going to want to record as much of it as you can. Have an amazing day.

Jo Naughton  05:47

Leadership to me, is a collective energy. Leadership to me is actually a collaborative energy. Leadership to me is about deeply remembering that we are all side by side in this. And the most powerful leaders are the ones who don’t bring any above or below, in front or behind. The most powerful leaders are the ones who remember that we are all side by side. And in that side by side, we get to lead and rise together. And you might lead in this one thing, like for me, and I might then lead in this other thing for you. And to me, that’s such a beautiful energy of leadership. 

Jane McKay  06:30

For me, I don’t necessarily see myself as a leader. I see myself as a collaborator and co-creator with my clients, I can lead them to places, but they then implement themselves. But I’m very happy to be their champion, be their cheerleader. And if someone asked me to step up and lead something, I’ll do it. But would I call myself a leader? I don’t know if I identify with that.

Curtis Tyrone Jones  07:00

And so my form of leadership, a lot of times people look at me and they say, Oh, this guy’s a natural leader. When I was in the military, they looked at me, they completely judged me said, Oh, this guy is a natural leader. And all these things they put me in this place. I said, Listen, you don’t want to do that. Because that’s not the kind of leader that I am. By the end of the day, Shannon, they had me out of that role. Because my leadership is not authoritative at all. It’s very much like Lao Tzu said, it is one that comes from below and encourages people and lifts them up, identifies with people where they’re at and then lifts them up. 

Amy Loughren  07:40

Leadership, I believe is being a voice for what you’re good at. Being a voice for what you’re passionate about. And being a leader does not mean being a boss, it doesn’t mean that you’re in charge of anything, it just means that you feel good, and something that you feel very capable of. And it’s not about being more capable than someone else. It’s very much about feeling masterful within yourself, and then just emanating that, and you don’t have to be confident. It just has to be something that’s within you. that shines out. You don’t have to do anything. Just be. 

Cristina Bold  08:33

What I believe that we as coaches, as mentors, especially, we are leaders of the persons that are coming in our containers, we  are supposed to lead them through their journey of transformation. But we cannot lead anyone, if we cannot lead ourselves first. So from that perspective, leadership, for me is the foundation of becoming a mentor. More than becoming a coach, becoming a mentor requires you to be a leader of yourself. That’s it.

Steph Zahalka  09:22

I try the stuff that I do for my clients, I try it first. I lead myself, I do it, I give it a go. Sometimes it doesn’t work. Sometimes it doesn’t sell. That’s okay. I stop talking about it and talk about the next thing. But it gives me a whole database full of things that I can work with my clients and say, You know what, you can try this. This is what I did. It didn’t work. Maybe you could tweak it for this or.  Yeah, leadership is huge. I’m an Aries. So I’m just a natural born leader. Yes. And I can I like taking charge leading, but also open to other people’s feedback and not just bossy, you know, like, taking on board what everybody has to say. But leading the way. So I think leadership is is very important. Because if you’re just a follower and a copycat, then…

Shannon Dunn  10:18

… you ended up with as one of those cones that we talked about before.

Swapna Thomas  10:27

I work with leaders. I am a leader. And I feel for me right now, how I see leadership more than anything else it’s about leading yourself. You know,  I don’t see any one in my audience as my followers, I see all of them as leaders in their own right, right. And I feel like my responsibility is to just lead myself, to embody what I teach, to show them rather than teach them or tell them, that’s my job, like walking my talk, practicing what I preach. That’s what I stand for every day in my leadership. And I think when I do that, people see my leadership, they value my leadership, automatically, like, I don’t have to tell them that “I am a leader, look at me”. They see it right?  Because I do it before anyone asks me to.

Victoria Welsh  11:25

So yeah, where do I start? I jumped into leadership very early in life, because I went into the military very early when I was just a kid. And I kind of took on leadership roles very early on. But here’s what I will say about leadership in business. I always saw myself as a leader, but didn’t realize that I had not fully stepped into it until I had a business of my own.

There’s a big difference between people that desire to have a business, because a lot of us desire and I desired for a long time. And that’s what I did. I stepped into it. Like I want to have my own business. And people who are willing to show up every single day and have the hard conversations and do the hard things and make the tough decisions. Like that’s where leadership comes in. When you are still willing to show up on the days that you don’t feel like showing up because you said you were going to. 

Shannon Dunn  12:38

Makes me think that it’s that what you said much earlier, Victoria was around that, no matter what, like you show up no matter what.

Victoria Welsh  12:47

Yeah. I think that that was the big thing that I that I understood differently. Just A year ago, because prior to that my business was, it was doing well. But it was built on a lot of quicksand. And it was built on me showing up when I wanted to. And even though I showed up a lot, it was still based on when I wanted to it wasn’t a guarantee. Of the things that do now. It’s a guarantee, if I give my word. I will be there. 

Jesika Liston  13:21

Oh, my gosh, yeah. Literally, the epicenter. So the way that I define leadership is through movement. Are you going to move? And I truly believe that you need to move yourself in a curious direction. And I’m the type of leader where I don’t proclaim to know everything. I don’t want to know everything, because how boring would that be. But instead, I want to be curious about life with you. And I’m going to move with you, I don’t always want to be 5, 10, 100 steps in front of you. I have found the most brilliant partnerships, shoulder to shoulder, truly locking arms with my clients and moving forward in life with them. So I believe that’s really leadership. 

And then even when you are the trailblazer, you continue to move not because you have to set the example because that feels heavy. But because you’re curious, and you love to explore and learn and try things and mess up and make mistakes and do it different and try it on and try this on and, and really get to know yourself and let others get to know you and you get to know them. And that’s that’s how I really see leadership.

Shannon Dunn  14:57

How good was some of those answers to that very first question The role that leadership plays in life and business for the guests that we’ve had, in the first year of She Leads She Thrives. So the second question that I always ask and again, this gleaned so much wisdom, and so much insight from the guests that have joined us in this first year. Tthe question is, how do you know when you’re thriving?

Just like with the first question, I’ve loved the diversity and the variety, the insight, the everything from the short answers to the longer answers – all been so valuable. And I know you’re going to get so much. So again, grab your journal, or grab your notebook out if you haven’t kept it out from listening to the answers to the first question, and  have fun as you lean into what our guests have had to share in this first year. Thanks, again, for tuning in. Have an amazing day wherever you are.

Amy Loughren  15:45

When I am thriving, it means I am following what the path is offering me. Not that I’m pushing the path. I’m not that I’m forging that path, I am realizing the path that is already there. And I feel that because there’s no resistance, as soon as there’s resistance, I know I have veered off. I’m starting to stub my toe, I’m starting to get sick. I’m starting to… So I know I’m off a little bit. So sit back, sit down. And when things are going nice and smooth and my meditations are giving me that positive energy then yes, I know I’m thriving.

Anna Squelch  16:44

I don’t feel anxious. Yeah, I feel grounded. I feel like I’m meeting just my basic needs. Drinking enough water, exercising, seeing my friends. And a lot of the time in my coaching business, I was not switching off. Everything was to do with my business, creating content, podcasts. I was just giving all of myself to my business and not really keeping anything for myself. And it was this real sense, feeling of resentment.  So when resentment isn’t present, when dysregulation and this anxiety and this constant sort of go, go, go, go go overwhelmed, isn’t present. When I just feel grounded, and at peace, that’s when I’m thriving.

Brooke Vulinovich  17:28

How do I know when I’m thriving? Do you want to know something? So I have obviously a one and almost half year old. And he doesn’t say very many words yet. But every now and again, he will look at Dom all right. And he goes, happy Mommy. That is because obviously, our lifestyle is a little outrageous at the moment with like living here and going there. And maybe we’re not providing enough stability for him. And we’re constantly feeling like bad parents because I feel like that’s what every parent does. Yeah. And when he says happy Mommy, I’m like, yes. Okay. I’m doing a good job.

Elisha Tichelle  18:15

I love this. I know that I’m thriving, by the way that I’m able to stay fluid and open, the way I’m able to stay curious and receptive. The amount of fun that I’m having, amount of laughter thats in my day, and in my ability to be able to be responsive rather than rigid.

Elle Steele  18:39

How do I know I’m thriving? When I’m laughing at myself. And I have little giggles at myself and when I’m just enjoying me and who I am as a person. You know, like I do laugh at myself quite a bit, I’m a bit of a giggler.   But that’s how I know that I’m thriving. 

Jane McKay  19:08

Calmness….Calmness is really important to me. So that was like that was one of the key things of August was I felt really anxious.  I address the different things in my life that I know leads to me feeling happy and joyful and abundant in my life, which is I meditate, I move. I derive a hell of a lot of energy from my business and being in my business. Which is a strange thing for a lot of people’s. Working – yeah, that’s my happy place.

Penny Soo  19:47

I know I’m thriving when I wake up every day and just want to do the next thing and just excited about what’s coming without, you know, worrying about the results. I’m like, I just want to do this. I don’t care about the results.

Marlena Tillhon  20:03

For me, it’s a feeling. I can be thriving in any moment, which makes me feel more empowered, and less dependent on outside circumstances. And that always feels like the most secure foundation to try and pursue success from. It’s not always like that, right? I don’t want to like paint this picture of perfection. I don’t always feel like that. But that’s when it feels like I’m really thriving when I’m just feeling so happy. And I’m feeling confident and calm. And I have nothing to prove. And I can just create, for the sake of creating and it feels because that’s what I was born to do without it being attached to any numbers or results..

Sam Evans  20:43

Yeah, I’m gonna be honest, sometimes I don’t think I am. Yeah. Sometimes I’m gonna be honest, if I say, oh, yeah, I’m thriving every single day, I’m gonna say no, I’m not always thriving. The days that I am thriving, I feel this ball of energy in my soul. And I’m like, This is my piece. And you know, when that is, it’s when I have my family sitting at the dinner table, eating. That’s when I feel like I’m thriving. But then other days, it feels like I’m surviving. And those are the days when things are difficult and hard. And I don’t want to do it, and I want to stay in bed. So if I do feel like that, then I will just listen to my body. And just be. Because at the end of the day, I’m not meant to be buzzing every single minute.

Shannon Dunn  21:30

switched on all the time. 

Laura Dick  21:34

Because it just feels easy. You know? If it feels hard, then you’re doing something wrong. That’s how I feel.