Tuesdays: 5:00pm - 6:00pm (EST)
EPISODE SUMMARY:
The most important skill women (especially) need to succeed and thrive at all stages of their careers.
Whether you're starting out in your career, in the market for a promotion, or simply trying to show up as the best leader you can be, you're going to be asked what you bring to the table, why you matter, why YOU are the boss. Answer these questions well and you will unlock incredible potential. Answer them poorly and you will close the door on life-changing opportunities. In this episode, Mira & Alessandra talk about speaking up, show-casing your value, why it's so hard - especially for women - and how to do it in a manner that is confident, relevant and deeply compelling to others.
Dr. Alessandra Wall is the founder of Noteworthy, executive coach, speaker, and author. She coaches executive women in STEM and Finance to build impactful and deeply satisfying careers without sacrificing everything else in their lives. With nearly two decades in the field of clinical psychology and thousands of hours working with hundreds of women leaders the world over, she has earned the reputation of being a coach who combines strategic pragmatism, genuine empathy, and a deep understanding of the human mind to propel her clients’ results.
She partners with organizations that elevate and support women, including Athena, Women In Bio, CREW, and the Device Alliance Network. She is a co-founder and former board chair of Empower Charter School in San Diego. Her mission is to build a world where women at the highest levels of leadership and success are so common it's no longer noteworthy.
noteworthyinc.co
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dralessandrawall/
#executivewomen #womeninleadership #executivecoaching
Tune in for this empowering conversation at TalkRadio.nyc
On this episode of The Hard Skills, Dr. Brancu is joined by Dr. Alessandra Wall, founder of Noteworthy, executive coach, speaker, and author, as they discuss the skills needed for women to thrive in their careers, which includes speaking up and showcasing their values. To start the conversation, Dr. Brancu brings out her Delv Deck, asking Dr. Wall a fun, lighthearted question before diving into the main conversation. From there Dr. Brancu asks what challenges Dr. Wall sees with women in the workplace when it comes to appearance or just overall sacrifices they make. So Dr. Wall share her viewpoint on the matter, highlighting that women have certain expectations and assumptions and how those outdated views carries in the workplace.
After the first break, Dr. Brancu and Dr. Wall pick up where they left off in the previous segment, which was the challenges for women in the workplace and how Dr. Wall helps to change the mindset for women. Dr. Wall shares how she teaches women how to speak up for themselves and find what they want to accomplish, value, or their worth and turning it into power. From there, Dr. Brancu becomes curious about how Dr. Wall’s clinical psychology background applies to the topic and wants to know how she got into the field and how she got to where she is now.
Moving along in the discussion, they move along to discuss personal branding, something else Dr. Brancu was curious about, and why people go in this direction when gaining visibility. From there, Dr. Brancu is curious to know about if men also learn about personal branding and why Dr. Wall teaches that to male leaders. In overall personal branding, Dr. Wall teaches how she bypasses all the different bypasses that comes to personal branding and what skills people develop from her teachings. This allow us to finally connect the dots about the benefits of personal branding and changing the way we converse in conversations.
As the episode comes to a close, Dr. Brancu and Dr. Wall discuss how everything they have talked about today relates to developing a leadership identity. Something that Dr. Wall wants viewers to take away from this episode is whatever your gender, whoever you are, it is your responsibility to help others understand and how you can help them to become th best possible leader someone can be. Dr. Wall highlights that it might be uncomfortable in the beginning, but it will be worth it overall in the end, knowing that you defended yourself and did the work.
00:00:48.030 --> 00:01:04.810 Mira Brancu: Hello! Hello! Welcome to the hard skills show. And podcast with me, Dr. Mirabanku. On this show we discussed how to develop the nuanced hard skills needed to become an exceptional leader who can drive significant systemic change to make a real impact.
00:01:05.180 --> 00:01:25.050 Mira Brancu: I work with leaders in healthcare research stem and other technical fields working with that goal. But we also go beyond that into other industries as well. This is the second season. So we're naturally focusing on the second stage of my strategic leadership pathway model developing leadership identity.
00:01:25.230 --> 00:01:34.319 Mira Brancu: And today we are talking with Dr. Alessandra Wall on how women and senior leadership roles lead with impact and authority. Welcome, Alessandra!
00:01:34.860 --> 00:01:47.869 Mira Brancu: Hello! So good to be here. Yes, I'm super excited to have you on now I do have a couple of quick announcements before we dive in so
00:01:47.980 --> 00:01:56.190 Mira Brancu: big announcement. The application process for our 2024 Towerscope Leadership Academy Inaugural cohort is now open.
00:01:56.380 --> 00:02:14.450 Mira Brancu: If you've been listening, you know. I just finished running a 9 week Beta test with founding members, and it went so well that we're definitely ready to open doors to a full year membership program because we're only admitting 30 people this year
00:02:14.470 --> 00:02:28.189 Mira Brancu: and keeping the cost very low again so that we can keep testing and iterating. It is a competitive process. We only admitted 60 of the applicants for the founding member cohort, so I suspect.
00:02:28.390 --> 00:02:35.869 Mira Brancu: but it might look the same for this inaugural full membership cohort. So if you are interested.
00:02:35.990 --> 00:02:41.299 Mira Brancu: head over to our website, Www. Dot goerscopecom
00:02:41.660 --> 00:02:43.750 Mira Brancu: click on Leadership Academy
00:02:44.050 --> 00:02:55.199 Mira Brancu: and read it. If it looks like a good fit, I would recommend applying right away and setting up the interview early, because we make decisions as we begin interviewing so
00:02:55.410 --> 00:03:05.429 Mira Brancu: early. Qualified birds. Get the worm here. Okay, I'm gonna show you a quick preview. If you're watching, live or watching this recording.
00:03:05.440 --> 00:03:12.280 Mira Brancu: I'm gonna show you a quick preview of the website. So you can see what to look for what it looks like. And then a quick
00:03:12.310 --> 00:03:21.430 Mira Brancu: preview of the actual community. So you get a really a quick feel of what it looks like. So again.
00:03:21.540 --> 00:03:26.790 Mira Brancu: let me just share my screen here. Here. If you are watching
00:03:27.250 --> 00:03:28.270 Mira Brancu: live.
00:03:28.280 --> 00:03:34.790 Mira Brancu: This is our website. Go, towerscope com, you go under.
00:03:34.950 --> 00:03:37.499 Mira Brancu: Click on Leadership Academy.
00:03:38.480 --> 00:04:04.699 Mira Brancu: Okay, there's a lot of information there. It should answer all of the questions you have about the roadmap. What's included? Some bonuses were including. You know what the investment is, what you get out of it. What we learned from the first cohort who are Advisory Board is what people say about it, and La answers to like just about every question you could think of.
00:04:04.770 --> 00:04:05.910 Mira Brancu: And
00:04:06.150 --> 00:04:14.559 Mira Brancu: here's the back end of our community. Right now. We only have that co-course work for the first test
00:04:14.590 --> 00:04:16.959 Mira Brancu: on developing identity.
00:04:16.970 --> 00:04:32.839 Mira Brancu: But this is what it looks like. We had refractions. We had pods for different industries. We had information on on getting started, and we had a member section with pretty phenomenal founding members
00:04:32.850 --> 00:04:45.969 Mira Brancu: and they're moving into leadership roles within this community. So there's a lot of opportunities here if you stick around too. So anyway, I'm gonna stop sharing. We're gonna get going with Alessandra. So
00:04:46.210 --> 00:04:52.899 Mira Brancu: as a reminder to our audience. we value evidence-based practical solutions.
00:04:52.930 --> 00:04:54.200 Mira Brancu: So be ready.
00:04:54.500 --> 00:05:11.919 Mira Brancu: Take notes. I always do. I know, for this one, especially we're gonna have some good stuff. Do not just sit around listening to Dr. Wall, cause she's got a lot to say. That I know is, gonna be meaningful. And as you're listening, identify one small thing
00:05:12.080 --> 00:05:16.329 Mira Brancu: that you can do to further develop your hard skills muscle.
00:05:16.490 --> 00:05:18.030 Mira Brancu: So let me introduce her.
00:05:18.760 --> 00:05:22.080 Mira Brancu: Dr. Wall is the founder of noteworthy.
00:05:22.730 --> 00:05:31.079 Mira Brancu: and she's an executive coach speaker and author. One of her coaching specialties, is working with executive women in stem and finance
00:05:31.170 --> 00:05:36.660 Mira Brancu: to build impactful and deeply satisfying careers without sacrificing everything else in their lives.
00:05:36.710 --> 00:05:50.460 Mira Brancu: She's also a clinical psychologist, and so she's known for being a coach who combined strategic pragmatism, genuine empathy, and a deep understanding of the human mind to help propel her clients
00:05:50.680 --> 00:05:51.630 Mira Brancu: results.
00:05:51.910 --> 00:06:00.519 Mira Brancu: She partners with organizations that elevate and support women, including Athena women in bio crew and the device Alliance network.
00:06:00.730 --> 00:06:17.949 Mira Brancu: She's also a co-founder and former board chair of empowered Charter School in San Diego. So she keeps herself quite busy doing a lot of good work out there. Her mission is to build a world where women at the highest levels of leadership and success are so common. It's no longer
00:06:18.050 --> 00:06:19.240 Mira Brancu: noteworthy.
00:06:19.590 --> 00:06:26.920 Mira Brancu: So obviously she and I both have some similar interest in psychology and supporting women and leadership. Thriving. We'll get to that in a moment.
00:06:27.440 --> 00:06:28.300 Mira Brancu: But
00:06:28.600 --> 00:06:33.179 Mira Brancu: I say, Alessandra, let's start with something fun and easy.
00:06:33.260 --> 00:06:39.800 Alessandra Wall (she/her): the ease into. Are you ready for something? A little? I've been looking forward to this. What's the question? Going to be
00:06:39.860 --> 00:06:45.609 Mira Brancu: okay? Alright. So last time I started this thing where?
00:06:45.910 --> 00:06:54.410 Mira Brancu: no, I'm not being paid for this, but I got this thing called the Dell deck, and it's got, like all of these cars that you can ask people questions. So
00:06:54.450 --> 00:06:59.039 Mira Brancu: I've been using that. And I pulled out some of my
00:07:00.090 --> 00:07:02.169 Mira Brancu: top favorites from this week.
00:07:02.600 --> 00:07:07.210 Mira Brancu: So the one that I was thinking about asking you is.
00:07:07.310 --> 00:07:13.909 Mira Brancu: what product do you miss? That is no longer being sold.
00:07:14.740 --> 00:07:18.710 Alessandra Wall (she/her): I'm gonna buy you some time while you think. Thank you.
00:07:19.660 --> 00:07:23.269 Mira Brancu: A product that is not being sold that I miss.
00:07:23.460 --> 00:07:36.269 Mira Brancu: I remember this because I was complaining when they took it off the shelves. and it was coke black. I don't know if you remember this, but Coke Black
00:07:36.320 --> 00:07:44.290 Mira Brancu: was a combination of coca cola and caffeine, and I know they've come up with other products that do this.
00:07:44.710 --> 00:07:51.680 Mira Brancu: but none have tasted nearly as good. and I was like so upset, so mad. And it's probably good, because
00:07:51.940 --> 00:07:57.619 Mira Brancu: II got addicted to it, and it would be bad if it was still on the shelves right now
00:07:58.250 --> 00:07:58.910 Mira Brancu: up
00:07:59.580 --> 00:08:11.870 Alessandra Wall (she/her): feel terrible. I can't think of anything except something that goes back to years ago, and not something I would use. But years and years and years ago, when I was in college. There was this,
00:08:12.120 --> 00:08:20.560 Alessandra Wall (she/her): hair like non permanent hair dye, and I think it was called glimpse, and it had the best shade of auburn like the best.
00:08:20.790 --> 00:08:24.259 Alessandra Wall (she/her): and overnight they just stopped producing it.
00:08:24.530 --> 00:08:31.070 Alessandra Wall (she/her): and I'm at a point where, for anybody watching live lot of white, I have no intention.
00:08:31.220 --> 00:08:39.450 Alessandra Wall (she/her): I've still got a ton of brown. I have no intention on ever dying. This that might change. That's the word intention as opposed to
00:08:39.690 --> 00:08:50.679 Alessandra Wall (she/her): claiming that I will never so it's not that I would use it now, but I remember at the time in my twenties, thinking this is terrible, because no other color looked even halfway natural.
00:08:52.260 --> 00:09:05.480 Mira Brancu: Yeah, totally. I well, you know, as a young person I dyed my hair, usually auburn. I would have been upset, too, and I have to say, looking at your hair. Live. I love those streaks of grey.
00:09:05.510 --> 00:09:32.180 Mira Brancu: I you know, just love women who lean right into it. I think they just look so sophisticated, so good! Good for you for for now, for now right, I hope I can pull it off. But it's very easy to do when you grade later on in life, I think, for anybody who graze really, really early on in life is Cha. It's more challenging and just to dive into the topic. I think it's also more challenging for women in the workplace like there's a lot of pressure for us to
00:09:32.190 --> 00:09:36.750 Alessandra Wall (she/her): look and appear young and younger than our years. So
00:09:36.930 --> 00:09:43.380 Mira Brancu: absolutely well, let's let's dive into it from from that perspective. What are some challenges that you see?
00:09:43.400 --> 00:09:45.120 Mira Brancu: Including
00:09:45.130 --> 00:09:49.509 Mira Brancu: just this lookism right?
00:09:49.540 --> 00:09:56.309 Mira Brancu: What else do you see? And the women that you work with around the challenges, the barriers, the
00:09:56.710 --> 00:09:59.160 Mira Brancu: even the sacrifices that they're they're making.
00:09:59.770 --> 00:10:11.670 Alessandra Wall (she/her): It's my I'm smiling, cause I just finished writing a newsletter on one of those sacrifices. So I always say of my clients that they are ridiculously
00:10:12.620 --> 00:10:22.350 Alessandra Wall (she/her): driven smart, capable, because I'm working usually with senior leaders. They have multi decade track records of success like there is nothing
00:10:22.840 --> 00:10:25.849 Alessandra Wall (she/her): but like this aura of
00:10:26.210 --> 00:10:36.949 Alessandra Wall (she/her): being an exceptional leader. But the problem with the world we live in, and it is what it is right. In fact, we do. You talked about being pragmatic earlier, right? Being really pragmatic is
00:10:37.120 --> 00:10:55.940 Alessandra Wall (she/her): the systems that these women operate in weren't created for women or they weren't created by women. They weren't created for women. So there are a lot of rules and expectations about how to show up, about how to navigate success promotions, leadership management, all of those things which are really predicated on how
00:10:56.390 --> 00:10:59.340 Alessandra Wall (she/her): we believe men should operate.
00:10:59.390 --> 00:11:10.580 Alessandra Wall (she/her): They won't even put all men in the same basket and say, is the way men operate, but we believe men should operate. and when women step into those spaces we are held to
00:11:11.010 --> 00:11:31.119 Alessandra Wall (she/her): different and often inconsistent standards. So a very typical, different but inconsistent standard is a woman who comes into a leadership role, and you'll have half the room saying, Well, I'm worried whether she'll be strong enough and assertive enough, and the other half the room, saying, she's too assertive, and she's too strident.
00:11:31.180 --> 00:11:35.699 Alessandra Wall (she/her): right? That happens all the time. One of my
00:11:36.200 --> 00:11:41.820 Alessandra Wall (she/her): a client that I did a large speaking engagement for is thinking of bringing us in because they had their first.
00:11:42.070 --> 00:11:50.189 Alessandra Wall (she/her): their their first female CEO. Right? This is what we want to get past having to say first female, CEO, but they have their first female, CEO, and
00:11:50.890 --> 00:11:54.580 Alessandra Wall (she/her): that I was speaking to the client, and she was mentioning that
00:11:55.010 --> 00:12:09.739 Alessandra Wall (she/her): there, everybody in the organization there are a lot of people who are who are in uproar about it because she doesn't have specific industry experience in the industry that this is around. And then she mentioned, nor did the 3 previous Ceos.
00:12:10.470 --> 00:12:14.589 Alessandra Wall (she/her): but they were all men. Nobody mentioned it, but somehow, with her it's real.
00:12:14.840 --> 00:12:20.660 Alessandra Wall (she/her): So these are some of the things where you II do not believe that
00:12:21.110 --> 00:12:27.870 Alessandra Wall (she/her): most people walk into the world trying to crush women down and hold them down. But we are all filled with
00:12:28.100 --> 00:12:36.319 Alessandra Wall (she/her): a set of expectations and assumptions. and those carry out, and how we treat and how we
00:12:36.950 --> 00:12:41.849 Alessandra Wall (she/her): analyze women and leadership in their performance.
00:12:42.140 --> 00:12:43.900 Mira Brancu: Yeah, absolutely. And
00:12:44.960 --> 00:12:52.260 Mira Brancu: there is actual, you know, there, there is research on the fact that in many cases
00:12:52.820 --> 00:13:05.199 Mira Brancu: men get the job. And this is this also applies to venture capital. men get venture capital funding based on potential
00:13:05.280 --> 00:13:06.830 Alessandra Wall (she/her): women.
00:13:06.970 --> 00:13:19.780 Alessandra Wall (she/her): Are evaluated on their past record. Yes, potential. Yeah. Women are. Women are asked questions about the risk of failure. Men are asked questions about the potential for growth.
00:13:20.380 --> 00:13:22.040 Mira Brancu: Yeah, yeah.
00:13:22.320 --> 00:13:32.780 Mira Brancu: exactly. And so then, what does that mean for women who have to interview one of the things that's coming up for me right now, as we're talking is
00:13:32.910 --> 00:13:46.920 Mira Brancu: the additional preparation women have to do for interviews, whether it's for ventral capital or or their positions and promotions to demonstrate their past record in addition to their potential
00:13:47.110 --> 00:13:49.269 Mira Brancu: so that
00:13:49.370 --> 00:13:57.340 Mira Brancu: you know, it's an overwhelming preponderance of evidence that they will be just fine, and there they won't be a risk factor right? Yup.
00:13:57.480 --> 00:14:05.610 Alessandra Wall (she/her): and that carries to board meetings or anything else. Women have to come in more prepared, so that when they make a statement they need to be able to back that statement
00:14:05.690 --> 00:14:16.769 Alessandra Wall (she/her): interestingly, I remember it was during the pandemic having a conversation with the with the head of a very large organization, who said, Well, can you teach my women to speak less? Women use lots of words.
00:14:17.410 --> 00:14:22.660 Alessandra Wall (she/her): and I thought, I don't want to work with this guy. And then my second thought was. they have to.
00:14:23.080 --> 00:14:34.689 Alessandra Wall (she/her): And I told them that I'm like we have to. We're asked to defend our perspective. We know this on stage place a woman and a man on stage. Similar background. Similar experience, similar presence. Right? So both look very professional.
00:14:35.100 --> 00:14:38.080 Alessandra Wall (she/her): The audience is much more likely
00:14:38.530 --> 00:14:44.409 Alessandra Wall (she/her): to pick what men have to say at face value and to question women, and that's
00:14:44.420 --> 00:14:49.659 Alessandra Wall (she/her): female male. And however you want to define yourself on the gender spectrum like that is everybody.
00:14:51.430 --> 00:14:53.120 Mira Brancu: Yes, okay.
00:14:53.630 --> 00:15:01.699 Mira Brancu: we you. I promise everyone. We would go deep, and we are already like deep diving into all of this. And so when we come back
00:15:01.740 --> 00:15:06.400 Mira Brancu: we are nearing an outbreak. When we come back, I wanna talk more
00:15:06.530 --> 00:15:12.129 Mira Brancu: about how to balance the message around.
00:15:12.440 --> 00:15:16.649 Mira Brancu: Speak less when, in fact, you have to speak more.
00:15:17.040 --> 00:15:34.139 Mira Brancu: to prove yourself right. So I'd love to hear more of your thoughts on that. So you're listening to the hard skills with me, Dr. Mirabanku and our guest, Dr. Alessandra Wall. We air on Tuesdays at 5 Pm. Eastern. Except for the next 3 weeks, when the station is on holiday break. Take note.
00:15:34.380 --> 00:15:39.810 Mira Brancu: if you would like to join us online right now today and ask questions of Dr. Wall.
00:15:40.260 --> 00:15:50.869 Mira Brancu: we can answer in real time. Find us on Linkedin, on Youtube at talk radio, Nyc, and we will be able to answer you in real time. We'll be right back with our guests in just a moment.
00:18:03.580 --> 00:18:15.530 Mira Brancu: Welcome back with the hard skills with me. Dr. Mira Branku and our guest, Dr. Alessandra Wall. Now, I did have a question for you about this
00:18:15.720 --> 00:18:20.300 Mira Brancu: very challenging middle ground, right?
00:18:20.350 --> 00:18:21.860 Mira Brancu: Women are told.
00:18:21.960 --> 00:18:26.200 Mira Brancu: speak less. They get a lot of messages, in fact about
00:18:26.310 --> 00:18:32.800 Mira Brancu: being small, not taking up too much space, speaking less that kind of thing. And yet
00:18:32.950 --> 00:18:44.449 Mira Brancu: they also recognize that if they do that they won't be recognized for their work. They won't be valued, they won't. They'll be judged for not having the capability. And
00:18:44.560 --> 00:18:49.839 Mira Brancu: You actually empower women to speak up and showcase
00:18:49.890 --> 00:18:51.040 Mira Brancu: they're valued
00:18:51.170 --> 00:18:52.670 Mira Brancu: right? So
00:18:52.910 --> 00:18:59.660 Mira Brancu: how do you reconcile those messages when you're working with women? And then when you're working with their sponsors, that organizational
00:18:59.750 --> 00:19:18.230 Alessandra Wall (she/her): sponsors asking for 2 different things. Yeah. So a couple of things. I am what I like to label as a pragmatic optimist. Right? So I'm very much an optimist, because I believe these patterns can change. I believe the system can write itself. And I really, I
00:19:18.510 --> 00:19:19.380 Alessandra Wall (she/her): have
00:19:19.500 --> 00:19:24.579 Alessandra Wall (she/her): faith in the fact that when it does, everybody will benefit from it.
00:19:24.630 --> 00:19:27.740 Alessandra Wall (she/her): But I'm also very pragmatic, and the reality is.
00:19:27.830 --> 00:19:30.679 Alessandra Wall (she/her): systems don't like being upset.
00:19:31.020 --> 00:19:34.889 Alessandra Wall (she/her): and change is very difficult in a large system, where.
00:19:35.040 --> 00:19:49.809 Alessandra Wall (she/her): where affecting real change requires more than just your simple efforts. So a lot of what I teach my clients a lot of what I recommend to any woman listening is to come in and and be very clear about what you're really good at.
00:19:49.830 --> 00:19:52.670 Alessandra Wall (she/her): that you love doing. Where, where.
00:19:52.750 --> 00:19:59.700 Alessandra Wall (she/her): where is your value. And where do you want that value applied? And making sure that that is very clear, the more you build.
00:20:00.040 --> 00:20:05.560 Alessandra Wall (she/her): and this requires speaking, the more you build visibility around your top skills
00:20:05.580 --> 00:20:10.370 Alessandra Wall (she/her): and the spaces in which you want those skills leverage, the more you will build
00:20:10.760 --> 00:20:16.449 Alessandra Wall (she/her): credibility and brand around being a powerhouse as opposed to a workhorse.
00:20:16.740 --> 00:20:24.590 Alessandra Wall (she/her): and where that helps is the stronger that brand, the more people recognize, including you. the more people recognize
00:20:25.230 --> 00:20:31.230 Alessandra Wall (she/her): what your top value is, and the best way to leverage it, the easier it is for you to walk into any space
00:20:31.330 --> 00:20:37.179 Alessandra Wall (she/her): and say what you have to say without having to prove it, back it and repeat it.
00:20:39.140 --> 00:20:53.780 Alessandra Wall (she/her): That being said. the reality is as women, we still have to show up to most meetings better prepared. We still have to approach a lot of the statements we make.
00:20:54.190 --> 00:21:07.160 Alessandra Wall (she/her): Like academics with. With, you know, we, we have to have our source, our source material in the background, and that is frustrating to do. But that's the pragmatic piece that comes with doing this.
00:21:07.830 --> 00:21:32.850 Alessandra Wall (she/her): But I would say for women, and especially for women who are lucky enough to have sponsors or individuals within their organizations, who are trying to move things, to have open conversations about this, and then to really leverage the influence and the power differential, the power of the sponsor to walk in and go hold on a second. If it were Alexander instead of all, Sandra asking this question, would we be asking him to
00:21:32.980 --> 00:21:51.580 Alessandra Wall (she/her): to back up what he's saying, or I'm I'm really curious. Why, when you know, when Shawn mentioned this. We just took it at face value. But right now, you know, Mira saying it. And suddenly we're asking her to give us evidence if we're going to ask Mira. We need to get it for it from Shawn. If we're not going to ask Shawn. We don't ask me like it's one or the other
00:21:51.640 --> 00:21:59.019 Alessandra Wall (she/her): great. And we can't do a lot of work around allyship. Recently, we have a few programs that we run it noteworthy.
00:21:59.980 --> 00:22:02.449 Alessandra Wall (she/her): There's there's just so much we can do.
00:22:03.190 --> 00:22:06.260 Alessandra Wall (she/her): And then there's all the help that we need to get from others.
00:22:06.390 --> 00:22:09.599 Mira Brancu: Yeah. And I'm I'm curious.
00:22:09.810 --> 00:22:16.820 Mira Brancu: okay, I'm I'm now like curious about 2 different directions. Here, I'm just gonna take take one direction first, which is
00:22:17.040 --> 00:22:21.560 Mira Brancu: you're a clinical psychologist by train. Right?
00:22:22.120 --> 00:22:25.309 Mira Brancu: how did you get into this. And and I'm especially curious.
00:22:25.510 --> 00:22:32.479 Mira Brancu: Because I'm wondering what psychological principles you find yourself applying or helping people
00:22:32.560 --> 00:22:36.830 Mira Brancu: apply to this space that might help them.
00:22:36.990 --> 00:22:43.230 Mira Brancu: Lean a little bit more into it, or or be better able to
00:22:43.340 --> 00:22:46.309 Alessandra Wall (she/her): apply it. And in a sustainable way, Umhm.
00:22:46.800 --> 00:23:01.929 Alessandra Wall (she/her): my story really isn't very different from many people, I believe. Certainly many professionals and people who have careers. I did start my career as a clinical psychologist. I absolutely believed that I was going to love that career
00:23:02.600 --> 00:23:05.470 Alessandra Wall (she/her): my whole professional life. Of course.
00:23:05.620 --> 00:23:08.349 Alessandra Wall (she/her): I made that determination as a 15 year old.
00:23:08.810 --> 00:23:38.210 Alessandra Wall (she/her): Right? So 15, I decided, I want to be a psychologist started pursuing. It was certain again, through my teens, through my early twenties, that I would love it. And the problem is about 7 years into that career. 7 year itch, I realized I didn't love being a therapist anymore, a lot of factors I had not fundamentally changed as an individual. But a lot of factors change in my life. I had 2 small children, and what happened to me with kids is actually became way more ambitious.
00:23:38.860 --> 00:23:48.379 Alessandra Wall (she/her): I wanted more. I wanted to make a bigger mark. I saw this potential, I think, having children showed me all the things I hadn't reached, for which suddenly felt much more difficult to access.
00:23:48.890 --> 00:23:50.000 Alessandra Wall (she/her): And
00:23:50.260 --> 00:24:05.110 Alessandra Wall (she/her): I tried to do. I think what most people do when they're unhappy in their work life. Which is, you tweak what you can tweak. I tweaked who I saw how I saw them, my schedule, my day. Things got slightly better. Tweak things outside of work to make life feel more balanced.
00:24:05.170 --> 00:24:12.050 Alessandra Wall (she/her): and still was pretty unhappy. But what I knew is I had. There were things I did love about
00:24:12.110 --> 00:24:22.200 Alessandra Wall (she/her): my about what I did, and that this actually ties into what I was talking about before. I loved watching people walk into my office feeling like there were no solution.
00:24:22.240 --> 00:24:33.579 Alessandra Wall (she/her): and getting them to that place where suddenly, like, they just felt better. And they had the tools and the strategies to address the situations that had brought them down on their own.
00:24:33.720 --> 00:24:35.470 Alessandra Wall (she/her): you know, in perpetuity
00:24:35.750 --> 00:24:50.650 Alessandra Wall (she/her): I love the problem solving. I tell people I am a fan of puzzles. I love puzzle so much. All puzzles, word puzzles, jigsaw puzzles. You know the the, the rooms, the escape rooms, love puzzles. And this was a puzzle.
00:24:50.960 --> 00:24:58.060 Alessandra Wall (she/her): right? So I loved using my brain that way. And then there's another thing I don't know. That's a skill set. Sometimes it's a curse.
00:24:58.310 --> 00:24:59.969 Alessandra Wall (she/her): I
00:25:00.070 --> 00:25:09.569 Alessandra Wall (she/her): I am somebody who says what she means and means what she says, and I'm not probably smart enough to care about the fallout often.
00:25:10.270 --> 00:25:17.449 Alessandra Wall (she/her): So when I put all those pieces together and started thinking about who I enjoyed working with the most, how I wanted those skills leverage.
00:25:17.720 --> 00:25:28.890 Alessandra Wall (she/her): It was moving out of doing it as a therapist, and I wanted to do it for people around their careers. And then, slowly, just upon practicing that, realize that really the the people I felt needed
00:25:28.990 --> 00:25:31.959 Alessandra Wall (she/her): a ton of help where women and professional women.
00:25:32.100 --> 00:25:40.680 Alessandra Wall (she/her): And only once I started working with women in the corporate space did I actually get it. And I compare my experience
00:25:40.780 --> 00:25:42.790 Alessandra Wall (she/her): to the experience of very many men.
00:25:42.920 --> 00:25:50.680 Alessandra Wall (she/her): I knew the data. I knew the science. I'd heard women at that point quite literally. Hundreds of women in my office over
00:25:51.000 --> 00:25:52.729 Alessandra Wall (she/her): a decade by then.
00:25:52.840 --> 00:26:00.110 Alessandra Wall (she/her): Talk about the misery they experienced in the workplace, the different treatment I had, all the information they didn't get it.
00:26:00.910 --> 00:26:07.649 Alessandra Wall (she/her): I didn't get it, and when I got it I nearly felt ashamed at how little I had gotten it, because in my office
00:26:07.680 --> 00:26:16.989 Alessandra Wall (she/her): I was Dr. Wall, and in a power structure. I had the power structure, and sure I faced bias outside of work and probably face it in work. But I didn't see it.
00:26:17.190 --> 00:26:20.980 Alessandra Wall (she/her): and I didn't really experience on the day to day. It didn't hold me back.
00:26:21.790 --> 00:26:27.700 Alessandra Wall (she/her): So that led me to what I'm doing now, because my goal is to change the system, and the easiest way to change the system is from the top
00:26:28.450 --> 00:26:36.329 Alessandra Wall (she/her): right. There are tons of people at the bottom of the system at the base, who really working hard. But if they don't have support from the top, nothing's going to change.
00:26:37.290 --> 00:26:42.579 Alessandra Wall (she/her): So then, when I think about the work I'm doing. It's really exactly the same skill set
00:26:43.250 --> 00:27:05.409 Alessandra Wall (she/her): applied in different ways in terms of the psychological models that we use the most. I still talk about the cognitive behavioral model all the time. I'm constantly explaining to my leaders, both in terms of understanding their own reaction to have better Eq. But also in terms of understanding other people's reactions and dynamics. How
00:27:05.500 --> 00:27:29.890 Alessandra Wall (she/her): over time situations lead us to build new certain beliefs or assumptions about the world that those beliefs or assumptions get expressed externally in terms of emotions that they color how we walk into situations, that they drive our actions. I teach them how to identify what those patterns are. Look at what's working, what's not act, despite the dynamics still being there.
00:27:30.250 --> 00:27:37.360 Alessandra Wall (she/her): 2023 has been a very difficult year especially for women. Everything exploded for my myspace. Right? Stem.
00:27:37.530 --> 00:27:45.999 Alessandra Wall (she/her): stem, financial. And so we've been talking a lot about anxiety. My area of specialty at the end of my career was anxiety, management.
00:27:46.330 --> 00:27:57.489 Alessandra Wall (she/her): anxiety. Burnout didn't have the name burnout at the time. And perfectionism. So we've been talking a lot about those and using those models to help people calm down. So all of that skill set
00:27:57.820 --> 00:28:06.630 Alessandra Wall (she/her): right. Assertiveness, training. self-awareness, like all of that, gets used on a regular basis just in a different context.
00:28:07.960 --> 00:28:10.609 Mira Brancu: Yeah, that's great.
00:28:10.770 --> 00:28:12.900 Mira Brancu: thank you. So
00:28:13.970 --> 00:28:15.620 Mira Brancu: visibility.
00:28:15.860 --> 00:28:32.050 Mira Brancu: I'm gonna I'm gonna totally switch gears. Now, that's fine with my other lane. This is the other lane that I was like on my mind. Actually, I'm gonna ask this right after the add break, because we're we're nearing an outbreak again. So let's take that break first when we come back.
00:28:32.090 --> 00:28:34.310 Mira Brancu: I'm curious about
00:28:34.590 --> 00:29:04.599 Mira Brancu: getting that visibility around top skills and especially talking about personal brand, because this is this is an interesting you know, and and sometimes fraught with like discomfort around it. So I'm really curious to to hear your thoughts on it. So we're entering the outbreak. You're listening to the hard skills with me, Dr. Mirabanku and our guest, Dr. Alessandra. Wall, we are air on Tuesdays at 5 pm. Eastern. Except for the next
00:29:04.600 --> 00:29:16.590 Mira Brancu: 2, maybe 3 weeks. We had a disagreement back channel here with the producer about whether we're offer 2 or offer 3, I will let you know later on. But either way, we're going on a holiday break for at least 2 weeks.
00:29:16.750 --> 00:29:25.279 Mira Brancu: If you'd like to join us and talk with us right now, you can join online and we'll be right back after these messages with our guest.
00:31:26.070 --> 00:31:31.950 Mira Brancu: welcome back to the hard skills with me and Dr. Wall. all right. So
00:31:32.050 --> 00:31:53.710 Mira Brancu: personal branding. People have different reactions to that and it's not. I don't think it's a very well understood concept. What the point is. How do you lean into it. Why would you want to do it so? I'd love to hear more about why go in this direction? You know one of the things that you were starting to say about it was
00:31:53.740 --> 00:31:59.870 Alessandra Wall (she/her): how it helps with gaining visibility and helps with sort of honing a message. But I'd love to hear more. Yeah.
00:32:00.120 --> 00:32:12.140 Alessandra Wall (she/her): there you talked earlier about being fact-based, right? Empirically der derive. So we're gonna we're gonna base this in empirical beta. One human beings are social animals
00:32:12.170 --> 00:32:18.480 Alessandra Wall (she/her): we have evolved to elevate, to support, to promote the people we know and trust.
00:32:19.280 --> 00:32:39.619 Alessandra Wall (she/her): that requires you to build relationships to get you. Do you need people to know who you are to understand what you're about. And we talked about situations leading to assumptions and beliefs. When people think about you, they have a whole set of assumptions and beliefs that come to mind, and you want those assumptions and beliefs to be aligned with
00:32:39.940 --> 00:32:44.979 Alessandra Wall (she/her): the person you are the values that are at the core of how you show up
00:32:45.190 --> 00:32:50.309 Alessandra Wall (she/her): and the value in terms of skills or impact that you can make in the world.
00:32:50.550 --> 00:33:01.630 Alessandra Wall (she/her): whether you believe, quote unquote in personal branding, or think it's good or bad. I really don't care because you have a brand. It is the sum total of everything people think.
00:33:01.670 --> 00:33:12.990 Alessandra Wall (she/her): know, feel, and believe about you. And when we talk about personal branding, at least with my clients, and I'm sure in the work you do when you're talking about identity?
00:33:13.000 --> 00:33:33.640 Alessandra Wall (she/her): Right? It really comes down to helping people identify what's most important to them. What needs to be highlighted externally, if all the facts that you could that you could communicate to other people. Human beings don't tend to be able to hold a whole bunch of facts at once
00:33:33.690 --> 00:33:57.360 Alessandra Wall (she/her): what are the most salient ones, the most relevant ones to the people out there, and making sure that that gets broadcast as much as possible. And broadcasting doesn't mean I walk into a room and I say, Hey, my name is Alessandra. Wall, here's my logo. Here's my mission. Here's my not. I'm not a pair of athletic shoes. It is coming into the world and making sure that everything, from the way you look.
00:33:57.670 --> 00:34:04.980 Alessandra Wall (she/her): the way you speak to the way you speak of your work. your interests
00:34:05.300 --> 00:34:17.549 Alessandra Wall (she/her): really communicates again those high value, those things, what value you can bring to the table, who you want to bring it for right, how you can help people think about it that way. What your core values are
00:34:17.920 --> 00:34:21.170 Alessandra Wall (she/her): kind of what kind of human being you are.
00:34:22.360 --> 00:34:27.900 Alessandra Wall (she/her): we know for women. Very specifically, visibility is the number one factor associated with advancement for women.
00:34:28.969 --> 00:34:40.789 Alessandra Wall (she/her): So it is essential for us to build visibility and part of building that visibility is making sure that people know who we are. and people use the right kind of words to describe us or talk about us.
00:34:40.850 --> 00:34:51.409 Alessandra Wall (she/her): We know that for seeing for women and senior leadership the World Economic Forum. I think it's last year or the year before, said sponsorship is the most important
00:34:52.250 --> 00:35:02.709 Alessandra Wall (she/her): factor that needs to be built to help support a healthy pipeline and the success of women in senior leadership positions.
00:35:02.770 --> 00:35:08.510 Alessandra Wall (she/her): But if you want to bring sponsors to the table. Those sponsors need to know who you are.
00:35:08.570 --> 00:35:20.699 Alessandra Wall (she/her): what you do, who you do it for, who your best position to help all of that. That's what your brand is. It's nothing flashy. It's it's certainly should never be anything. Fake.
00:35:23.260 --> 00:35:26.080 Mira Brancu: love this. I have a billion follow-up
00:35:26.150 --> 00:35:29.220 Mira Brancu: thoughts on this, our brains work the same way?
00:35:30.680 --> 00:35:36.720 Mira Brancu: okay. The most immediate that comes that I want to address is
00:35:37.290 --> 00:35:40.280 Mira Brancu: Why
00:35:41.850 --> 00:35:52.159 Mira Brancu: offer this or recommend this to women. Do we also recommend it to men? Do men do this too? What are your thoughts on that?
00:35:52.190 --> 00:35:57.709 Alessandra Wall (she/her): Okay, I think there. Yes, men do it, too. And yes, it's important for men to.
00:35:57.960 --> 00:35:59.400 Alessandra Wall (she/her): We can just start there.
00:36:00.510 --> 00:36:14.309 Alessandra Wall (she/her): We recommend it to women for a couple of reasons. One is that piece of information I offered earlier, which is visibility, is the number one factor associated with advancement for women, not just adv women in senior leadership or executive leadership. All women.
00:36:14.350 --> 00:36:19.609 Alessandra Wall (she/her): and I think that part of the reason and this is a theory of mine. I don't know this factually.
00:36:20.210 --> 00:36:26.140 Alessandra Wall (she/her): My guess is part of the reason for that is, that in every single culture
00:36:27.040 --> 00:36:29.890 Alessandra Wall (she/her): little girls are taught that
00:36:30.190 --> 00:36:34.169 Alessandra Wall (she/her): what's right, what's ladylike is to be humble
00:36:34.300 --> 00:36:41.549 Alessandra Wall (she/her): and be a team player and be quiet and not brag. And what that translates into is
00:36:41.630 --> 00:36:48.459 Alessandra Wall (she/her): adult men and women believing that when women are behaving appropriately, they're self-effacing.
00:36:49.750 --> 00:36:54.300 Alessandra Wall (she/her): So most of the women I work with what they're
00:36:55.410 --> 00:37:00.759 Alessandra Wall (she/her): mo is is to walk into the workplace, do an excellent job.
00:37:00.950 --> 00:37:06.550 Alessandra Wall (she/her): they put in more hours. They keep their notes to the grindstone. It. I am. Have conversations daily
00:37:06.710 --> 00:37:19.859 Alessandra Wall (she/her): trying to explain to women that their work does not speak for itself. That is the belief. If I work hard enough here. My results. Isn't my manager supposed to know what I'm doing? Isn't my leader specific? Doesn't my team understand what I bring to the table? And I'm like. No.
00:37:20.260 --> 00:37:48.240 Alessandra Wall (she/her): it is. It is not fair of you to assume that other people need to be aware of what you're doing, what you've achieved, what your top skills are and what your growth plan is for your for your career. It is our responsibility as women to do this. But again, we're not taught. And I I've personally lived in 5 countries on 3 continents. I've traveled to 20 countries. Thanks to Zoom, I have spoken to women all around the world. I don't care where you're from in the world. They all say the same thing.
00:37:48.660 --> 00:37:54.030 Alessandra Wall (she/her): every single one of them. But in my culture, in my family, in my community.
00:37:54.110 --> 00:37:55.859 Alessandra Wall (she/her): So we have to break that.
00:37:56.020 --> 00:38:00.019 Alessandra Wall (she/her): And speaking about ourselves, highlighting our qualities.
00:38:00.530 --> 00:38:08.649 Alessandra Wall (she/her): speaking in terms of I instead of we for women incredibly difficult, and we get pushback from women and from men when we do it.
00:38:09.080 --> 00:38:09.910 Mira Brancu: Yeah.
00:38:10.080 --> 00:38:12.709 Mira Brancu: So if that's the case.
00:38:13.100 --> 00:38:16.680 Mira Brancu: which I 100% 100% agree.
00:38:16.730 --> 00:38:23.840 Mira Brancu: if that's the case. how do you work on a personal brand?
00:38:23.980 --> 00:38:29.759 Mira Brancu: Gain visibility without getting the push back? Or do you just work through the push back? What do you do?
00:38:29.870 --> 00:38:40.710 Alessandra Wall (she/her): A little bit of column, a little bit of column? B, the way we do it at noteworthy. Is there a couple of things? One is, I teach women to start by articulating their
00:38:41.120 --> 00:39:10.389 Alessandra Wall (she/her): passion and their excitement for things. And neurochemically, there's like a really strong argument for doing this when human beings are allowed to talk about things that they're really, really excited about. Couple of things happen externally. One is like, I just did. We start smiling more. Our eyes tend to open up, we tend to lean in right. You watch to people who are dating, or who on the first date and the date is going well, they will start leaning towards each other. Their eyes will open a little wider, right. These things happen when we get excited. When we get passionate about stuff.
00:39:10.510 --> 00:39:30.389 Alessandra Wall (she/her): But neurochemically, what happens is we start producing dopamine, which is a reward and recollection neurotransmitter. We start producing serotonin which signals happiness or pleasure. And then we start producing neuro peptides which help us calm down. So when we can be in a position where we talk about things that excite us.
00:39:30.960 --> 00:39:38.489 Alessandra Wall (she/her): We feel rewarded happier and calmer. But they're these things called mirror mirror neurons in humans brains.
00:39:38.540 --> 00:39:56.069 Alessandra Wall (she/her): And they're the they're the neurons that are responsible for that pesky kind of annoying habit. Sometimes they're going to sit with somebody, and they start mimicking you right. You cross your legs, and then you notice they cross their legs. Or even when you watch a movie and somebody on screen is making a facial expression, you find that you're mimicking that facial expression that's mirror neurons.
00:39:56.200 --> 00:40:02.900 Alessandra Wall (she/her): And so, thanks to mirror neurons, if you can get really excited about what you're talking about and all those changes happen on your face.
00:40:02.990 --> 00:40:10.300 Alessandra Wall (she/her): you'll start seeing micro versions of those changes happening on the face of your listener. And then the same stuff happens in their brain.
00:40:10.360 --> 00:40:18.530 Alessandra Wall (she/her): So now, just being around you makes them feel rewarded and feel better and feel calmer, and we use that
00:40:19.150 --> 00:40:21.730 Alessandra Wall (she/her): to bypass the bias.
00:40:22.860 --> 00:40:30.650 Mira Brancu: So instead of walking in saying, Listen, I'm really good at the following things, and because I'm really good at the following things I can do. XY. And Z.
00:40:30.950 --> 00:40:47.739 Alessandra Wall (she/her): We might. I'm I might teach my women to say, you know, one of the reasons I really loved working on this project. The reason it was so much fun for me is because I got to do. XY, and Z. And these things allow me to tap into these skills, which honestly, are some of my top skills. And they're the ones I most like putting to use.
00:40:47.910 --> 00:40:50.840 Alessandra Wall (she/her): Actually, because I'm good at this I was able to.
00:40:51.040 --> 00:41:03.199 Alessandra Wall (she/her): And so we're doing the same thing. We're broadcasting to somebody what the value is, but that gets through the people, whereas if they did the first example, what happens is most of us, unless you're celebrity.
00:41:03.720 --> 00:41:08.190 Alessandra Wall (she/her): What most of us do is we look at the woman and we go. Who does she think she is?
00:41:08.470 --> 00:41:20.909 Alessandra Wall (she/her): We don't do that with? It's so cocky of him. But then we still take in the information. So that's 1 one way. We we do it the other way we do. It is by teaching
00:41:20.970 --> 00:41:28.449 Alessandra Wall (she/her): to help women overcome it. I remind them that the whole process of sharing your value is not about being boastful. It's about being helpful.
00:41:29.110 --> 00:41:35.350 Alessandra Wall (she/her): The clearer I am about what I do, how I do it, and who I can help best with my skill set
00:41:35.460 --> 00:41:37.590 Alessandra Wall (she/her): the more value I can add
00:41:37.910 --> 00:41:43.200 Alessandra Wall (she/her): for everybody around me. I can make it so much easier for people to get the help that they need.
00:41:43.340 --> 00:42:07.190 Alessandra Wall (she/her): So that's how you overcome. That's the reframe for individually. But then there are 1,000 ways you can do this. So, for example, when next time somebody compliments you instead of saying, Oh, thank you, that's so nicer. Thank you. It's nothing. Why not come in and let them know I really appreciate you taking the time to to share that with me. You know part of the reason we were able to achieve this kind of results is because we did XY, and Z.
00:42:07.210 --> 00:42:17.120 Alessandra Wall (she/her): By the way, I love that kind of work. It allows me to use the following skills. These are some of my top skills. With that we can in the future if you need help.
00:42:17.370 --> 00:42:19.129 Alessandra Wall (she/her): or if somebody.
00:42:20.260 --> 00:42:27.219 Alessandra Wall (she/her): if somebody delegates a task to you that you want to take on, or a task that you don't want to take on, all of those are opportunities
00:42:27.980 --> 00:42:38.789 Alessandra Wall (she/her): to broadcast your, your, even, your core values. I love doing this kind of work. It's really about, you know, helping people in a community build impact. And those are 2 of my top values.
00:42:39.420 --> 00:42:43.400 Alessandra Wall (she/her): right? So that's how we overcome the bias.
00:42:43.800 --> 00:42:52.689 Mira Brancu: I love it. There's a number of things that that I'm I'm gonna pull out before we go to the break that I really just resonate so much with one is
00:42:52.700 --> 00:42:57.190 Mira Brancu: what you describe just now is really how to
00:42:57.270 --> 00:43:03.019 Mira Brancu: own and signal your impact and your value
00:43:03.030 --> 00:43:08.639 Mira Brancu: when other people might not make the connection. You're connecting the dots for this right
00:43:08.890 --> 00:43:10.989 Mira Brancu: love, that right? That's a great
00:43:11.270 --> 00:43:19.529 Mira Brancu: practical, clear skill set that people could literally take right now from today and apply it tomorrow.
00:43:19.800 --> 00:43:35.950 Mira Brancu: the other is obviously the interesting idea of the you know how neural chemicals and how our history impact, how people react to us. Right? The other is what we I think what I'd like to sort of
00:43:36.330 --> 00:43:43.560 Mira Brancu: highlight when we come back around. Is this how it connects with how you develop and highlight your
00:43:43.690 --> 00:44:00.959 Mira Brancu: leadership identity the way that you want to be seen. So when we come back, that's what I'd like to sort of finish up on. So we're entering an add break. You're listening to the hard skills with me, Dr. Mirabanku and our guest, Dr. Alessandra Wall, will be right back after these messages.
00:45:58.950 --> 00:46:04.700 Mira Brancu: welcome back to the hard skills with me, Dr. Mirabu and our guest, Dr. Alessandra wall.
00:46:04.860 --> 00:46:08.969 Mira Brancu: I'd like to wrap up our conversation
00:46:09.080 --> 00:46:15.160 Mira Brancu: with how all of this relates to developing our leadership identity.
00:46:15.220 --> 00:46:19.499 Mira Brancu: And what's coming up for me as my takeaway
00:46:19.560 --> 00:46:21.070 Mira Brancu: is
00:46:23.030 --> 00:46:31.390 Mira Brancu: something that you mentioned earlier on about the importance of getting in front of assumptions
00:46:32.470 --> 00:46:34.130 Mira Brancu: and
00:46:34.400 --> 00:46:37.320 Mira Brancu: and or dispelling assumptions right?
00:46:37.380 --> 00:46:43.200 Mira Brancu: And we we want to be seen in a certain way in the way that we value
00:46:43.520 --> 00:46:51.889 Mira Brancu: right. And if there are assumptions being made, whether it's because of gender biases or some mistake you made, or whatever it is.
00:46:52.020 --> 00:47:01.489 Mira Brancu: it's it's hard to get ahead of it unless you start thinking about the messages that you would like to share that are clear
00:47:01.960 --> 00:47:11.099 Mira Brancu: and focused on like those top values that you mentioned. Right? The the personal brand is part of that right? So I'd love to hear more about how you sort of like
00:47:11.370 --> 00:47:17.679 Mira Brancu: connect it with that leadership identity and the importance of like, how people want to be seen and how to show up.
00:47:17.740 --> 00:47:30.149 Alessandra Wall (she/her): Yeah, I so just a side thought associated with what you just said in terms of making mistakes. Another way to think about it. And I'm sure part of a lot of the work you're doing in tower scopes is
00:47:30.450 --> 00:47:35.220 Alessandra Wall (she/her): when people clearly understand what you are about
00:47:35.510 --> 00:47:40.819 Alessandra Wall (she/her): and they trust you right? You've built. You've taken the time to build that trust.
00:47:41.300 --> 00:47:54.170 Alessandra Wall (she/her): You have so much more wiggle room and forgiveness when you make mistakes, like people, don't expect you to show up perfectly, because they don't judge you based on a singular moment or experience or mistake.
00:47:54.570 --> 00:48:16.080 Alessandra Wall (she/her): So it's interesting. II love your program. I think it's fantastic. By the way, that you're extending it to a full year. I know that it noteworthy. We've tried to do 3 months. We did 6 months for a long time, but what we found out, is our clients kept on. Either I extended it for them, or they would extend, and we were always doing full years. And and there's so much rich work that needs to be done that whole year gives people breathing room
00:48:16.170 --> 00:48:19.830 Alessandra Wall (she/her): to get the work done, but to do the work well at the same time
00:48:20.280 --> 00:48:37.470 Alessandra Wall (she/her): when you were announcing all the changes to your program. The beginning, I'm like, it sounds. It sounds fantastic. Where I tie this into leadership identity. We talk a lot about the 5 pillars of great leadership. I bet you were super aligned on many of them, and one of
00:48:37.610 --> 00:48:42.120 Alessandra Wall (she/her): one of the the first pillar that I talk about is
00:48:42.300 --> 00:48:46.050 Alessandra Wall (she/her): strategic, value-based leadership.
00:48:46.130 --> 00:48:59.339 Alessandra Wall (she/her): And the idea that great leaders are people who aren't just planning for tomorrow. They're planning for 5 years, 10 years from now they have this like long term strategic view. But everything about how they operate is grounded in
00:48:59.450 --> 00:49:08.890 Alessandra Wall (she/her): their core values, who they are, and that is, that is a huge piece of one's identity. What do I stand for? What matters to me?
00:49:09.030 --> 00:49:23.579 Alessandra Wall (she/her): In what way do these things matter to me, and how do I express them? And what I will tell my leaders in general is the clearer you are about this. and the the more you broadcast this, not just in words, but through your actions.
00:49:23.640 --> 00:49:32.260 Alessandra Wall (she/her): the easier it is for people to understand what you're about to understand, how you think and operate.
00:49:32.470 --> 00:49:47.150 Alessandra Wall (she/her): so that first of all, in a time of crisis, or if you're not around, they can step in and and think from your perspective, but also in a time of crisis. when everybody's scared, they can slow down, and they can trust that they know what you're going to do.
00:49:47.260 --> 00:49:52.889 Alessandra Wall (she/her): But for the leader individually, the clearer you are about this also, the easier it is
00:49:53.100 --> 00:49:57.110 Alessandra Wall (she/her): in those times of crisis to operate ethically.
00:49:57.280 --> 00:50:05.460 Alessandra Wall (she/her): to stay aligned with what right for you looks like, and to not get swayed by fear or by pressure or by. You know.
00:50:05.810 --> 00:50:10.629 Alessandra Wall (she/her): environmental circumstances. So that's where I do. The tie in to identity.
00:50:11.170 --> 00:50:13.220 Mira Brancu: Yeah, absolutely. I. You know.
00:50:13.810 --> 00:50:25.080 Mira Brancu: I just had a talk with the leader right around this ethical dilemma stuff and that she she was going in one direction because it seemed like
00:50:25.340 --> 00:50:36.549 Mira Brancu: it made logical sense. But when she got home it felt wrong for multiple reasons. And so she came back the next day, and Re engaged her leadership team and said.
00:50:37.040 --> 00:50:40.539 Mira Brancu: This feels wrong. Is there a way that we can
00:50:40.700 --> 00:50:45.779 Mira Brancu: strike a balance between what's right on paper versus what's
00:50:45.860 --> 00:50:53.929 Mira Brancu: right, ethically or morally, from what I my perspective. And that made her feel so much more aligned, and it also helped them
00:50:54.070 --> 00:50:59.210 Mira Brancu: respect for more, even though, like they originally wanted to go in in a completely different direction.
00:50:59.330 --> 00:51:04.549 Mira Brancu: They did respect her for explaining how she came to this right.
00:51:06.090 --> 00:51:16.079 Alessandra Wall (she/her): A huge piece of understanding all this, I this ident doing this identity work, which is big work. It's also it should be fun. I think it's so much fun
00:51:16.160 --> 00:51:35.959 Alessandra Wall (she/her): is is about identifying what the right opportunities are for you. So once you're clear about what your value system is, what your identity is, what matters most to you where you can make the most impact all of those pieces. It's so much easier to look at opportunities and identify whether or not those opportunities are
00:51:35.960 --> 00:51:48.519 Alessandra Wall (she/her): right for you, and whether you're right for those opportunities that makes it easier to leave a job. If it's not a good place, it makes it so much easier to interview. If you're interviewing, you know, for a new position to ask the right questions.
00:51:49.100 --> 00:52:06.730 Alessandra Wall (she/her): If you're onboarding as a leader, it also. Or if you're building your own company, it's the same thing. It makes it much easier to to build a team or build an organization that's going to function in a manner that is, it doesn't need to be the same. Everybody doesn't have to have the same values, but you need an alignment and value.
00:52:06.900 --> 00:52:12.809 Alessandra Wall (she/her): and from a cultural perspective. Right? So if we're talking at an organizational level.
00:52:13.190 --> 00:52:23.770 Alessandra Wall (she/her): what that creates is a sense of togetherness. Right? And again, we can be different in that togetherness. But we know that at least on the following things, we're generally aligned
00:52:24.790 --> 00:52:27.849 Mira Brancu: absolutely 100%. Yep.
00:52:28.460 --> 00:52:40.699 Mira Brancu: we're fully aligned, you and I? What is the one thing that you would like people to take away from this time out of all of the wonderful things that you shared?
00:52:42.100 --> 00:53:00.829 Alessandra Wall (she/her): The probably the most important thing is, I do whatever your gender, wherever you are in your career, it's your responsibility to help other people understand how you can help them, and I know it's uncomfortable, and I know it feels scary. If you do it the right way. You you. It's it's invaluable.
00:53:00.850 --> 00:53:14.909 Alessandra Wall (she/her): Your team needs to understand why you're the leader. Your leaders need to understand what you bring to the table. Your clients need to understand what makes you like the best person to help them with the things that are so important to them. So do the work, even though it's uncomfortable.
00:53:15.740 --> 00:53:16.850 Mira Brancu: wonderful.
00:53:17.590 --> 00:53:24.279 Mira Brancu: If people want to find out where to find you and learn more about noteworthy. Where can they go?
00:53:24.890 --> 00:53:31.029 Alessandra Wall (she/her): The there are 2 places. The easiest place will be my website, which is noteworthy. Inc.
00:53:31.310 --> 00:53:38.470 Alessandra Wall (she/her): Dot. CO. Don't add that last letter just.co. And then you can find me on Linkedin and II
00:53:38.580 --> 00:53:40.769 Alessandra Wall (she/her): spend a lot of time
00:53:41.230 --> 00:53:47.309 Alessandra Wall (she/her): sharing stories and sharing accounts on Linkedin. And that's it. Dr. Alessandra Wall.
00:53:47.480 --> 00:53:53.689 Mira Brancu: Great! Now I, for those of you who are watching, live and or watching the recording
00:53:53.730 --> 00:54:02.820 Mira Brancu: what I have your website up here? Noteworthy. Inc, and what are what are they gonna find?
00:54:02.820 --> 00:54:30.450 Alessandra Wall (she/her): And where where would you like them to like, especially take a look at. There are a couple of places for individual women who are looking at what we can do. There's literally a whole section that just talks about what we, what we, the programs we have and the kinds of changes that we're trying to drive in women's careers and how we support them. We have a whole other space also for for companies, because ideally, we we move beyond just one to one I love the one to one work. Don't get me wrong.
00:54:30.450 --> 00:54:40.679 Alessandra Wall (she/her): but we move towards the one to many, and then the other thing I wanted to do I've created over the years. So many tools, resources, worksheets to help women
00:54:40.920 --> 00:54:45.070 Alessandra Wall (she/her): to help humans, not just women navigate.
00:54:45.270 --> 00:55:02.449 Alessandra Wall (she/her): Yeah, difficult situation. So those resources are there. I use Linkedin. That's about building social capital, how to use Linkedin, how to build visibility. The art of nothing comes from my years as a clinical psychologist working with people with high levels of anxiety. And it's
00:55:02.470 --> 00:55:11.630 Alessandra Wall (she/her): how to slow down and create micro break breaks within your data function better and to feel better. So lots of free resources as well.
00:55:11.700 --> 00:55:16.550 Mira Brancu: These are fantastic resources. Your
00:55:16.760 --> 00:55:28.010 Mira Brancu: website is gorgeous drill, worthy. So, folks, you gotta you gotta take a look if if you're just listening, you just gotta go take a look. Okay. Okay. So
00:55:28.470 --> 00:55:31.709 Mira Brancu: if you would like to explore
00:55:31.790 --> 00:55:47.309 Mira Brancu: how we can help you with leadership and team development services. Check this out at Www. Goerscopecom and go check out. Dr. Walls, work at noteworthy Inc. Or just find her on Linkedin and learn more about her.
00:55:47.490 --> 00:55:57.589 Mira Brancu: As a reminder. The application process for our 2024 towers. Scope leadership, Academy cohort is open. So go to the website click on Leadership Academy to learn more.
00:55:57.890 --> 00:56:08.219 Mira Brancu: Remember, remember that it's a competitive process. So we make the decisions as we begin to interview. So just apply and see if it's a good fit.
00:56:08.910 --> 00:56:11.810 Mira Brancu: What did you take away from today? Audience?
00:56:12.120 --> 00:56:19.540 Mira Brancu: More importantly, what is one small change that you can implement this week based on what you learned from Dr. Wall. Share it with us
00:56:19.750 --> 00:56:21.059 Mira Brancu: on Linkedin.
00:56:21.680 --> 00:56:35.070 Mira Brancu: You now know where to find us right or@talkradio.nyc, so we could share you on. We're also on Facebook and Instagram and Twitter and Twitch all over the place. But Linkedin is where we live online. So respond there.
00:56:35.210 --> 00:56:40.559 Mira Brancu: In addition to being a live show, we are on ituned and itunes and spotify.
00:56:40.800 --> 00:56:52.109 Mira Brancu: Please go, subscribe to the podcast leave a review and share with others to help increase our visibility. This is our branding time, too, right to increase our visibility, reach and impact.
00:56:52.210 --> 00:56:59.619 Mira Brancu: And just a reminder. The station is on holiday break for at least the next 2 weeks. So you do get a break from the hard skills.
00:56:59.710 --> 00:57:12.079 Mira Brancu: Thank you to Talkradio, Nyc. For hosting. I'm Dr. Mirabanku, your host of the hard skills and thank you to our guest. Dr. Alessandra Wall, today have a great rest of your day wherever you're tuning in from.
00:57:12.260 --> 00:57:14.090 Alessandra Wall (she/her): Thank you.
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