Finding Brave

Thank you for listening to our Finding Brave show, ranked in the Top 100 Apple Career Podcasts! “Don’t get down on yourself. The best thing people can do, in addition to applying more personally, is to do a bit of a listening tour when you are looking for a job, because the majority of people get their jobs through a human being and not through LinkedIn or Indeed.” - Allison Cheston After taking advantage of an expensive education, many of today’s college grads find themselves ill-prepared to enter the job market. The majority of new and recent grads don’t know the building blocks of identifying a career path and finding a starter job. Our Finding Brave guest’s mission is to change this, and today she provides tactical steps and strategies that job seekers can use immediately to land ideal positions, regardless of what stage in their careers they may find themselves at. Allison Cheston is a Career Advisor based in New York City, and she helps executives and young adults launch, develop and change their careers. With a background in marketing and executive search, Allison guides clients through a process of identifying their unique value and right career direction, works with them to develop their narrative and skill stories, and then helps them find the right job. As Allison shares in this episode, the good news is that the job market is rapidly improving midway through 2021, with thousands of new jobs being added daily. She provides guidance on how to figure out what you want to do and find your way into a job you will enjoy, provide much-needed experience, and pay you a living wage. It may take some time, but by following these strategies you will find your way, and have a much greater chance to succeed. To learn more about today's guest, visit: https://www.allisoncheston.com/ 

Thank you for listening to our Finding Brave show, ranked in the Top 100 Apple Career Podcasts! “Once you’re in the real world, there’s so much ambiguity. There’s so much less structure, and as a result it’s not necessarily about keeping up, but it’s about stepping up. It’s about navigating this wilderness expedition that is our career.” - Gorick Ng In today’s workplace, there are many “unspoken rules” that aren’t spelled out clearly but early career professionals need to understand and navigate through them to set themselves up for great success. Although these rules may appear to be common sense, or known by everyone, in reality they may not be understood or even be in the consciousness of the people who would benefit most by applying them. And they most likely will ever be articulated verbally by your manager. Today’s guest -- with an inspiring backstory that demonstrates why he’s passionate about this topic -- reveals what these unspoken rules are and how they can be used. His messages will not only benefit recent grads, but also all contributors, leaders and managers in any organization. Gorick Ng is the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Unspoken Rules: Secrets to Starting Your Career Off Right, a terrific new book published by Harvard Business Review Press. It is a practical guide to help early career professionals become top performers at work and create work that is fulfilling and rewarding, based on 500+ interviews with professionals across geographies, industries, and job types. Gorick's book is quickly becoming required reading for students, interns, employees, and managers across Fortune 500 companies, non-profits, and educational institutions around the world. And this year, Harvard Business School gave Gorick's book to every MBA student to give them an edge in their internships and full-time jobs. Gorick is a career adviser at Harvard College, specializing in coaching first-generation, low-income students. He has managed new employees at Boston Consulting Group, worked in investment banking at Credit Suisse, and is also a researcher with the Managing the Future of Work project at Harvard Business School. He has been featured in The Today Show, The New York Times, The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, New York Post, Fast Company, and CNBC. Gorick, a first-generation college student, is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Business School. I encourage you to read a copy of Gorick’s incredible new book, and both of us want to hear from you, our listeners. What are the unspoken rules you struggle with? Do you disagree with any of them, and which ones moved the needle the most for you? We want this conversation to inspire you to rock your career at the highest level, in a way that is authentic to you. To learn more about today's guest, visit: https://gorick.com/ 

Thank you for listening to our Finding Brave show, ranked in the Top 100 Apple Career Podcasts! “Are you keeping your eyes on what you need to accomplish, or are you looking at what somebody else is accomplishing? It is super important to know what you own, know who you are, and what you want out of life. If you don’t, someone else will write it for you.” - Sumana Rajagopal If you have been given the opportunity to lead, then you know that every employee offers unique contributions, including yourself. When you start with the good and foster the natural talent in people, you build trust and that trust opens the door to start talking about opportunities to grow. Today’s Finding Brave guest is a role model that all inspiring leaders can look up to, as she’s made a career of practicing these principles every single day. Sumana Rajagopal recently returned to the place she credits with learning what it means to put people first. She is fortunate to have found her calling in media and advertising and is able to put that passion into purpose at Merck Pharmaceuticals. It was there that she found that fostering her own growth included managing employee development to create sustainable business growth and drive competitive advantage in a corporate environment. Her focus on growing others has allowed her to remain relevant and resilient, creating a cycle of continued development for herself, her family and those that she is privileged to work with. With over 26 years of marketing experience, working for three Fortune 500 companies, Sumana has found success by fostering an innovation agenda and speed to market through rapid reapplication of best practices from local to global markets. Her true passion lies in working with business teams to develop media strategies using data and insights to create demand, maximize returns and build profitable business. In this episode, Sumana reveals concrete things you can do and say to accelerate the growth of everyone you interact with in your organization, and she shares the importance of living bravely and passionately, and allowing your mistakes to be visible as a learning tool for others. To learn more about today's guest, visit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sumanarajagopal/ 

Thank you for listening to our Finding Brave show, ranked in the Top 100 Apple Career Podcasts! “There is this balance between building that world-class network in record time, doing this as quickly as possible to accomplish your goals, helping your clients more or bring your vision to life, and also the fact that we are playing a very long game. Some of the people that you’re making friendships with now may benefit you in 10 or 20 years, and you have no idea how they’re going to support you or how you’re going to support them in the future.” - Jared Kleinert Networking is a process of true engagement with others that is critical to our success that I talk about often, and today’s Finding Brave guest truly embodies this skill. If you’ve ever wanted to improve your networking skills to not only help in the attainment of your own goals, but to assist others in achieving their desires, there are unspoken rules you must be aware of. In this episode, our guest reveals these rules and gives you the tools that will help you become a true “super connector.” Jared Kleinert is a TED speaker, award-winning author, and USA Today’s “Most Connected Millennial.” He’s the co-founder of a new startup called Offsite and author of the new book How To Build A World Class Network In Record Time. As Jared shares, ultimately becoming a super connector is about doing the important inner work that we all need to do on a regular basis. We encourage you to start working on building your support network today, but don’t get discouraged or take it personally if at first you don’t get the results you were hoping for or expecting. If you detach from the outcome and give it your best effort, in the long run both you, and the people in your network, will benefit greatly. To learn more about today's guest, visit: https://motm.co/ 

“We don’t generate or manufacture our desires from thin air. We’re social creatures, and from the minute that we’re born we come out of the womb really looking to our mothers for cues about what’s important.” - Luke Burgis Mimetic desire -- the act of desiring simply what others desire - imitating what other people want instead of developing our own intentional, conscious wanting - is a powerful force in our development, our world and in our everyday lives. Today’s Finding Brave guest shares his expertise about this concept of desire and why it’s critically important to identify and pursue your own unique and personalized desires with more intention and clarity, and to ground yourself in the values that matter most to you personally -- those “thick desires” and relationships -- that will endure and truly enrich your life. Luke Burgis is the Director of Programs at the Ciocca Center for Principled Entrepreneurship and a professor of business at The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. He co-teaches a popular class for all incoming students there called “The Vocation of Business,” an anthropological investigation into the purpose and meaning of business itself. Luke has been the founder and CEO of multiple social impact companies. He was named one of the “Top 25 Entrepreneurs Under 25” by BusinessWeek after the early success of one of his first companies, Healthy Vending, which revolutionized the vending industry in 2005. His other ventures have all tried to contribute to what Luke calls a healthy “human ecology.” He is currently the Founder & Managing Partner of an organization called Fourth Wall Ventures that invests in, incubates, and advises companies that do the same. Luke’s first book, Unrepeatable, explored how people can discover and live out their unique purpose in the world, and help others do the same. His latest book, Wanting, is about human desire itself—why people come to want the things that they want, and how we can build a better future by understanding the process through which desires are generated and shaped. In this episode, Luke reveals why people that have the happiest, most meaningful, fulfilling and productive lives are not the ones that pursue someone else’s idea of what we should be producing. Also, if we can help others flourish for who they really are, it will lead to a much different and better world for everyone. To learn more about today's guest, visit: https://lukeburgis.com/ 

Thank you for listening to our Finding Brave show, ranked in the Top 100 Apple Career Podcasts! “First we’ve got to get clear about where we’re going over 12 months. Let’s just get clear, because if we don’t know where we’re going over 12 months, how do we know where we want to go over the next week, tomorrow, or the next two hours? - David Wood What if I told you that playing safe is really the most dangerous thing you can do? What would it look like for you to step even further out of your comfort zone? Today’s Finding Brave guest shares the power that exists when we focus on the right things, and he outlines the simple steps you can take to reap rewards that are not possible by remaining in your comfort zone. David Wood is a former consulting actuary to Fortune 100 companies. He built the world’s largest coaching business, becoming #1 on Google for life coaching and coaching thousands of hours in 12 countries around the globe. As well as helping others, David is no stranger to overcoming challenges himself, having survived a full collapse of his paraglider and a fractured spine, witnessing the death of his sister at age seven, anxiety and depression, and a national Gong Show! He coaches high performing business owners to double revenue, and their time off by focusing on less and being 30% more courageous in their business or career. This fascinating conversation with David is about so much more than just doubling your revenue, as it’s really a roadmap to show you how to start living the life you have dreamed of living and are meant to have. To learn more about today's guest, visit: https://focus.ceo/ 

Thank you for listening to our Finding Brave show, ranked in the Top 100 Apple Career Podcasts! “We have choices about how we show up, about the choices we make, and what we do. It’s there that we can start to listen to that deepest, highest part of ourselves. When we do, when we live in this “Full Body YES.” Then we light ourselves up and that light then reflects against everybody else’s light, and we light them up as well.” - Scott Shute Are you maximizing the time you spend doing the things you really care about? Today’s Finding Brave guest reveals how you can discover what is most important to you and why, which will set you on the path to empower yourself by zeroing in on your strengths and inner self. Scott Shute is the Head of Mindfulness and Compassion Programs at LinkedIn and has been an active advocate for customers and employees in the technology space for over 20 years, with roles ranging from sales, customer advocacy and customer service leadership. While serving as LinkedIn’s Vice President of Global Customer Operations, Scott managed a team of over 1,000 employees before switching gears to combine his long-time passions for practical leadership practices and operations experience. Scott's mission to change work from the inside out by mainstreaming mindfulness and operationalizing compassion has lent to his leadership style and allowed him to live in the intersection of the workplace and ancient wisdom practices. As Scott shares, by understanding that you have a choice to give a “Full Body YES” to what you really want, you’ll realize the amount of control you truly have in your life. The key is to realize that at all times it is your responsibility to take the reins of your life and move towards your own destiny, whatever that may look like to you. To learn more about today's guest, visit: https://www.scottshute.com/ 

Thank you for listening to our Finding Brave show, ranked in the Top 100 Apple Career Podcasts! “You absolutely can claim space, because you don’t have to feel fearless. You just have to do the thing that will make you feel like a more empowered human being.” - Eliza VanCort We all have a right to claim space – which means to live the life of our choosing unapologetically and bravely. Today’s Finding Brave guest provides inspiring practical tips and guidance on how to claim our space, but also urges each of us to think about intersectionality, bravery and anger as useful tools in claiming space for ourselves and others. Eliza VanCort is an in-demand consultant, speaker, and writer on communications, career and workplace issues, and women’s empowerment. The founder of The Actor’s Workshop of Ithaca, she is also a Cook House Fellow at Cornell University, an advisory board member of the Performing Arts for Social Change, a Diversity Crew partner, and a member of Govern For America’s League of Innovators. Eliza has led a life that any Hollywood studio would immediately dismiss as being too hard to believe. Her incredible, breathtaking journey of overcoming extreme challenges, in childhood and later as an adult, inspired her to dedicate her life to helping people of all races, genders, and backgrounds empower themselves to claim space. Her first book, A Woman’s Guide to Claiming Space: Stand Tall. Raise Your Voice. Be Heard., hit shelves May 11, 2021. Eliza’s story is a powerful reminder that it’s so important to keep persevering as best you can, even though you may want to fall down on your knees at times. Recognize your bravery and your immense value in this world, and let it help you claim your space, because this is the pathway to being heroically brave, and it will inspire and uplift so many others around you as well. To learn more about today's guest, visit: https://www.elizavancort.com/ 

Thank you for listening to our Finding Brave show, ranked in the Top 100 Apple Career Podcasts! “Everything you do in life is about serving another human being, and as long as you stay focused on that, you’ll never burn out. You may get tired, we all get tired, but you’ll never get bored of it because you’ll always understand what you’re here to do is to help other people. That is always energizing.” - Howard Behar You may have heard of servant leadership and the transformative power of it in our organizations, careers and lives, but for most people, they’ve never seen it in action so it remains a vague and elusive concept. To address this important topic and to help us learn specifically how to embody servant leadership in our lives, I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to speak with an individual who has dedicated his entire life to servant leadership, and embodies it both professionally and personally. Howard Behar's career in business spans over 50 years, all in consumer oriented businesses covering several industries. He retired from Starbucks Coffee after 21 years where he led both the domestic business, as President of North America, and was the founding President of Starbucks International. During his tenure, he participated in the growth of the company from 28 stores to over 15,000 stores spanning five continents. He served on the Starbucks Board of Directors for 12 years before retiring. Hailed as “a hero of conscious capitalism,” “a passionate advocate for leading with purpose,” and a devoted student and teacher of the Servant Leadership Model, Howard’s motivational message inspires everyone to be a servant leader and to lead with and from their values first. As a renowned leader, speaker, author and mentor, Howard’s wisdom, generosity, and level of integrity have had a profound impact on thousands of people who have been touched by his example, books, and speaking. As the ultimate servant leader, Howard is known for such memorable lessons as “The Person Who Sweeps the Floor Should Choose the Broom” and “Only the Truth Sounds Like the Truth.” Howard is also the author of the classic book It’s Not About the Coffee, a guide to leading by putting people first, and The Magic Cup, a parable about the power of personal values, and he now travels the world speaking to leaders, organizations, and students. In today’s episode, Howard reveals the steps you can take to become a servant leader yourself, along with his powerful “6 P’s” that can become a powerful framework for the way you live. Living these traits will make a profound impact not only on your own life, but in the lives of every other human being with whom you interact. To learn more about today's guest, visit: http://howardbehar.com/ 

Thank you for listening to our Finding Brave show, ranked in the Top 100 Apple Career Podcasts! “I think one of the important things is not to make the other person wrong for the way that they are reacting. We respect people, their emotions, and the way that they respond.” - Paul Marciano Now more than ever, it’s important for all of us to learn how to talk more effectively with each other, especially around emotionally-charged topics. Although we often know that there are conversations that need to be had, many of us just can’t find a way to have them or if we have them, the discussion ends badly. Today’s Finding Brave expert guest reveals specific skills and strategies that will help anyone become more effective in dealing with these difficult conversations, and I’m so excited to introduce him to you today to share his wisdom all around effective communication. Dr. Paul Marciano earned his doctorate in clinical psychology from Yale University and has worked in the field of human resources and relations for over 30 years. His best-selling book Carrots and Sticks Don’t Work: Build a Culture of Employee Engagement with the Principles of RESPECT™ has been translated into several languages and received many accolades, including being named one of the 100 Best Human Resource Books of All Time by Book Authority. Dr. Paul’s newest release, Let’s Talk About It: Turning Confrontation into Collaboration at Work, provides readers with the skills necessary to have straightforward and productive conversations around even the most emotionally charged issues. On a personal note, Paul lives on his family’s 100-acre horse farm in the one bridge town of Three Bridges, NJ and is the proud grandson of Ludwig Bemelmans – author and illustrator of the classic children’s book Madeline. Paul is a leading expert on employee engagement and retention and helps leaders, managers and organizations reach their fullest potential through focusing on enhancing respect, collaboration and successful communication. I’m thrilled to share that Paul is now also a member of my hand-selected Coaching Team! Both Paul and I would love to hear how you use the specific strategies he shares to have the difficult conversations that you need to have, both in your personal and professional life. No matter how it goes, just by talking with the other person you will feel better about yourself and the situation, and as a result, be more empowered. To learn more about today's guest, visit: https://paulmarciano.com/