Creating Lightbulb Moments

What a week so far... EMOTIONAL!

The most gorgeous client feedback from E, a 1:1 'Expand' container client yesterday. I'd love to post a snippit from it, but it was a 2.5 minute voicenote that made me cry. 😭

Together, we impacted her life at home and in her business by:
💛 building self love and developing self acceptance
💛 levelling tf up with better boundary setting
💛 increasing her productivity without overwhelm through understanding how she ticks
💛 developing ways to feel less stressed overall using her colour energy blueprint
💛 and created a huge, positive impact in her business.

Today, a new biz client discovery call at 10am turned into a 2nd call with their Operations Manager this aft. The feeling of giddiness and excitement you get when you're aligned is palpable. They want to meet in person ASAP to talk next steps.

And at 6pm, a sense of pride.
I received my EMCC (European Mentoring & Coaching Council) award into my inbox. This is a big one from a trust & credibility perspective.

After submitting a ton of evidence, coaching logs, personal statements and completed supervision, the process has all been beneficial and worthwhile. I've fannied about with this for years so am proud of myself that I took my finger out my ar$e and made this happen.

Officially now accredited and licensed for the next 5 years as an Executive & Mindset Coaching Practitioner.

So if you're ready to EXPAND and take up space as you rightfully should - DM me EXPAND to find out how you can get customised guidance, support and tough love to achieve your goals and live, not just exist, in the next 3 to 6 months.

We live in a society of always being connected.

And I get it, I'm a bu**er for it at times too.

But the one time that a manager f'ed me out of it because I had my instant messenger app on DND as I was facilitating a workshop and I didn't respond to him 'immediately, because that's what IM is' - my thoughts on IM changed.

Another time, I was on BBM (Remember that) on my hols one Summer for almost 2hours trying to sort out something that wasn't my issue. That day was ruined as mindset was fried.

Instant Message does not mean instant response.
Remember that as you are:
- feeding yourself
- feeding your children
- on the beach or pool on holiday/vacation
- about to go to sleep
- heading to the bathroom
- or actually doing some other important high value work that needs your undivided attention.

Use your IM status to signal to others there is a delay. Add a note to be more specific.

If on your personal device, have hours where you have no notifications. Delete the bloody things on your time off if you have to.

Or if you must use them, have a holding message as your status "Currently OoO/Currently with Clients, pls expect delayed response of upto 8hours"

You're always tired because your nervous system is on full tilt and you've loops open in your head meaning your cognitive load is at peak.

Stop. Pause.
Reset your rules around IM.

"Do something with your hair, will you?"

There are comments that stay with you for years.

Not because they were shouted, but because they were delivered so casually, so professionally, so snidey - that you almost convince yourself they shouldn’t hurt.

One of mine was about my hair.

I’ve got thick hair. The kind that behaves itself at 8am and by 2pm has decided it wants more volume, more texture, more space. It's wafty.
One specific occasion when we had a C-level visit, I was told by a senior VP that it needed to look neater, more professional - even shorter. What did he want me to do - pop out and have a haircut mid meeting?

Not once were any comments like this aimed at my male counterpart.

Just me.
I still feel it now and it stops me showing up at times.

See, when you’re a woman in corporate, you know exactly what sits underneath comments like that.

Not really about the hair, but instead - about fitting the mould.
Looking “polished” enough to be taken seriously.

He made me feel scruffy.
Unkempt. Even in a €170 gùna.
Looking around, I felt less credible than everyone else in the room.
I wanted to immediately disappear and for the rest of the visit that week, I definitely took up less space.

What frustrates me now is how many women will read this and immediately remember their version of it.

The comments about their tone.
Their clothes.
Their makeup.
In some companies, even their shoes! (I'd be goosed now as heels are a firm no with my dodgy leg!)
Their facial expressions.
Being “too much”.
Or somehow still not enough.

Meanwhile, men are often allowed to simply… show up.

We talk a lot about confidence in women at work but confidence gets chipped away slowly in environments where you’re constantly being assessed on things your male colleagues are never questioned on in the first place.

What's the worst part?
It's that so many of us carried on smiling through it because we thought that was professionalism too.

So as I leave the salon today, I remind myself that my hair does not define me but it does look sh*t hot - thanks

My recent interview with provoked a lot of conversation...
I could talk about this in my sleep because I’ve lived it for years.

If you’ve ever worked for a US multinational from the UK, Ireland or Europe… you’ll know EXACTLY what I’m talking about.

The:

- 4:30pm Friday message kicking off a “quick” new project
- 8pm meeting invite casually dropped into your calendar
- “Can you just…” requests that somehow takeover your whole eve
- Feeling guilty for taking annual leave because deadlines suddenly become “business critical”

And my personal favourite:
- being praised for “commitment” whilst quietly heading towards burnout. 👏🏻

Remembering vividly leading a global event across the globe over 72 hrs, surviving on barely any sleep, and was still expected in a meeting the next morning like I was some sort of corporate raccoon living off caffeine and vibes.

And before people start shouting:
“well why didn't you just say no then”…

It’s not always that simple, is it?
Nope. Lots of workplaces quietly reward over availability.

Especially for women, in global teams.
Especially when you care about doing a good job.

One thing I know is that I don’t think most people were trying to be ar$eholes.

The US colleague sending a message at 9pm my time?
That’s THEIR normal.

The problem is nobody teaches teams how to work across cultures, time zones, expectations and communication styles properly.

So people end up:

* overworking
* overexplaining
* overperforming
* and slowly disconnecting from themselves trying to keep everyone happy.

That’s why I care so much about this work and why The Corporate Insider was born.

Like, a decent salary and free brekkie in the office don't magically create a healthy culture.

And “worklife balance” means absolutely nowt if people feel permanently, emotionally online.

We can work better together, only if workplaces start acting like people are human beings and not permanently available avatars on Teams/Slack.

Anyway.
Very surreal seeing my name in The Irish Times 😂

And if this whole post feels a bit too familiar… you’re probably exactly who The Corporate Insider is for.

Setbacks are so bloody hard BUT not impossible to overcome.

When your vibration is high, good things gravitate your way. Allow me to demonstrate...!

This week has me feeling like I'm back in the right spot.

Part of what I do is show you how you can get through Knockbacks, Setbacks and Mindset Monkeys...
Just like I did this week.

How was your week? And what are you looking forward to in the coming week?

Corporate will tell you to “just work harder.”

Meanwhile nobody teaches you how to handle difficult personalities, speak up without being labelled, navigate politics, or stop work consuming your entire identity.

I'm here to change that.

You were taught to work hard.

Nobody taught you how to survive the politics, pressure, personalities and unspoken rules that come with it.

Welcome to The Corporate Insider. The real world of work - and how it actually works.

The Corporate Insider is born....

It's been staring me in the face but I didn't bloody see it.

Until now.

Tomorrow, something is changing.
Something new.
Something better.

And I can't wait to share it with you.

Hit ❤️ if you see this.
We got important work to do 🙋‍♀️