1565 – Powerhouse Boss with Ball of Fire Coaching’s Bernadette Boas

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0:59with us right now it's Bernadette Bowes Bernadette you are the founder of ball of fire coaching you're found on the web at ball of fire coaching.com and you are also a podcast host uh and that that podcast that you can search right now it's called shedding the corporate bitch go ahead search that in your podcast app. Be very careful on how you spell things. And yeah, you should be able to find Bernadette, your show. Thank you so much for joining us. Absolutely. I'm happy to be here. And what do you do? You know, ball of fire coaching. Who are you working with and what outcomes are you helping to create?

1:39I am working with corporate and entrepreneurial executives, middle management to senior executive CEOs. And I'm really helping them to become a powerhouse leader. So I always say that I move them from being so-so manager of people to being a really powerhouse people manager or people leader. So I want them to really kind of own their own their position and transforming not only themselves as a leader, but even their people. Yeah. What does that take today? Like, if we want to be a great leader of people, what are people expecting from our leaders? Being people. You know, they want them to be people that they can relate to, that they can collaborate with, that they can talk with, that they can divulge with, that they can, you know, handle issues with, as opposed to just a taskmaster, as opposed to just somebody that's doling out, you know, assignments and tasks, but really, you know, work with them to understand who they are, what are their goals, what are their ambitions, what are their, you know, gaps in their skill sets that are going to move them forward?

2:49You know, what are their desires and aspirations for themselves, as opposed to just expecting them to show up at work and start, you know, kind of doing the work. They want people they can relate to. They want leaders that they can really relate to and that are people as opposed to just, I always say, robots. Like, we're not robots. We are people and they need to be empathetic and compassionate and service oriented and really just, you know, just developers of potential leaders and real leaders out there. Does being a powerhouse leader mean that you have to either be, you know, kind of a strong red personality or an extrovert?

3:37Oh, absolutely not. As a matter of fact, the most effective leaders I've worked with over the years and throughout my corporate and entrepreneurial career have been more of those, I won't call them introverts, but I'll call them those quiet, they sit back, they listen, they take it all in, and they only speak when they actually really need to, you know, make a point or communicate a, you know, an issue or bring up a question, but no, they don't have to be that if you, you know, at all, if anyone knows the disc profiles or there's Myers-Briggs, there's a number of profiles out there, but like you said, the red, no, they don't have to be extroverts.

4:20They can, you know, they just have to be courageous. They have to really have a desire, a passion to help others be even better than they are. So they have to really want to, you know, see their own people develop and grow. And that is what makes a great leader. I'm curious about your observations from a generational perspective. So let's say that someone's listening to us and they say, well, we're an old company and I'm managing a bunch of boomers versus someone who says, I just got put in a new position and it's a bunch of Gen Zs, how they show up and how they engage with their people might be a little bit different.

5:10Well, they both have some great opportunities, like great strengths about those generations, but they also have significant challenges. So for instance, in the boomers, they're very much set in their ways. And so an effective leader, a powerhouse leader really needs to recognize that. And what they need is they need communication, engagement, inclusion around why am I going to be changing? Why do I need to change? How am I going to change? How is this going to affect me? And what is it going to do even to my, being that they're seasoned or senior, what is that going to do to, you know, where I want to go before I really kind of end my career?

5:57Whereas the generation X's and Z's, the leaders of them really need to recognize that they are in their early years. They do have ambitions and aspirations. They're not looking to necessarily have the same model of work that the boomers had, meaning they want work-life balance where the boomers want it too, but for a different reason. because they're kind of slowing down, not just physically, but even mentally. The younger generation still needs that communication, still needs to know that you're looking out for the best of them, that you're not looking for just workhorses, and that you recognize that they do have goals both inside work and outside work.

6:47And how can you really tap into, understand them and leverage both those internal, external goals and aspirations to the best of, you know, to the benefit and the best of everybody. So they both have challenges and opportunities that they just need to recognize who they're working with. I have a, I do a lot around knowing your audience and leaders really need to know their audience of employees, of their staff, and what it is that they want. And I'll often say, what turns them on and what turns them off? And really tap into both of those in order to really maximize the potential of the people working for you.

7:29Yeah. What other special considerations might leaders have today versus, again, let's say that over the past few years, they may have initially abruptly moved to more of a distributed workforce or a team that they're managing. And now it's like, well, I guess we're never coming back to the office. So here I am, you know, I'm already managing a department of 25 people and we're all over the place for the most part. Any considerations just regarding maybe remote nature of those teams, communicating over tools like Slack and, you know, video conferencing, Zoom, et cetera, as opposed to, you know, I would say back in the good old days, right?

8:12When we were all in the office or on the water cooler and, you know, getting together in a boardroom kind of opportunity, which just might not be happening today. No, right. And, you know, it's funny because there was a good percentage of people that it wasn't happening before either. I mean, I've been remote since like 97. So, and my whole team had always been remote, but at the same time, it has been exasperated. So what I talk to leaders about, and I do a lot of focus groups within organizations to really understand from their people what it is that they need. So again, from a leader's perspective, they just need to ask and listen and consider what is it that's going to ensure that everyone is working at their best.

8:59At the same time, they need to kind of be compassionate to the fact that this is a lot of change that's been going on. And the more you can communicate, you know, the change that's happening, why it's happening, the benefit to them, the, you know, recognizing and acknowledging the potential negative impact to their people, the more that they can be disclosing and transparent and open and compassionate about the fact that this is very disruptive to a good number of people, especially different styles. You brought up styles, especially different styles of people. Some are thrilled, you know, because they, you know, they like to kind of be on their own and isolated and just doing the job.

9:47And then others need that engagement. So I think they need to, you know, ask and listen and consider, be compassionate. I think they need to work a plan and ask your people for ideas into a plan of, okay, so we're going to be remote 90 % of the time. What, you know, what can we be doing 10 % of the time to ensure that we are getting touchy feely with each other, that we are being able to work with one another face to face. and then at the same time, provide yourself and others education on how do you optimize this environment that you and I are even on, you know, we're on Zoom. So how can you best ensure that this environment isn't so taxing?

10:31And what can you do even from like the backgrounds and the settings? I love yours. It's like, it brings me immediate calm, you know, because you have plants back there and whatnot. And so, and mine's a little sterile, but what can we be helping each other with to make these environments that we're now, you know, kind of working in more engaging and more energetic and collaborative for one another? Yeah, I actually, I'm a big fan of, you know, just something, which is what might feel is trivial. If you find yourself on Zoom calls frequently, understand that everything that's behind you and everything you're wearing, everything that's on screen, that is your opportunity to represent who you are.

11:21And it's all fair game. Certainly if you're meeting with clients, if you have anything to do with sales, your prospects are going to be looking at that and they're going to be coming up with ideas about who you are. And so if it's all kind of dark in the shadows, the video quality is horrible, your backlit, you know, that's, that's, those are, those are negatives and it's unfair to judge that, but it's the reality of kind of how we do business today. But it's also, I want to say, it's also negative to yourself. I mean, like, I get dressed up even when I'm working from home, um, only because that, that gives me a certain energy and a certain focus.

11:59And so those, you know, you have to consider what is going to bring you energy. If you, if you are living on zoom for 12 hours and what's going to help with others that are interacting with you. How do you work with folks that might be just, they go, Bernadette, I'm just burnt out. Like, I just want to go on like a five-month vacation right now. I'm just, and I just need a break from everything. I just feel overworked. I feel like, you know, a monkey on stage, you know, however that might be. Like, how can you, like, what would you do with them to kind of maybe help them get their mojo back. Well, yeah.

12:37I mean, because it happens, right? And it happens often for some people. I would first take an inventory of kind of what are they dealing with? What are they experiencing? What are they feeling? Kind of walk me through a day in the life of you and what is causing the highs and the lows? And even like we're talking about, what is the environment? Who are the people you're working with? What's the type of work you're doing? What are you doing inside and outside of work. And then, you know, we look at even from a time management perspective, because a lot of the burnout certainly can be can be looked at as, oh, God, they're just piling on the work.

13:16But I was even having a conversation with a whole room of executive leaders yesterday. And I was basically saying, you know, if it's a priority for you and it's important for you, you make time for it. If you you know, if you think about what if you want something personally, like there's an item that you really, really, really, really want, and it costs a lot of money, you'll do anything and you'll start saving and sacrificing and compromising in order to eventually get that. If you want to get out of being burned out and stressed out, then you'll do the work to really assess what's causing the burnout and the stress and the overwhelm.

13:49You'll put it in the right context. It's not all that people are dumping stuff on you because you have some control over that. Like, what are you doing to address that with your manager or with multiple managers or with your peers? And then what are you asking for from a health perspective to ensure that others recognize that, you know what, you know, I'm drowning and I'm miserable and I'm happy and I'm close to walking and yet I don't want to. So what can, what can we do together to, to kind of, you know, help this. And, and then, you know, it is a matter of self care, and finding I don't call it balance, because I don't believe in it.

14:28But finding a blend of what are those small to big things that, you know, will bring you energy and calm and peace and excitement and joy, and play back into your life. So so you can find that balance to where yes, you're going to have long days, but they and you're going to be exhausted and overwhelmed. But then you're going to also have these outlets. Yeah, I love that. Bernadette, your website, I want to make sure we share all the resources and ways that you can help folks. Balloffirecoaching.com. Could you please maybe share what resources you have available? Please talk about the book and the podcast as well and any other resources that folks can go to and start kind of deepening that relationship with you.

15:12And then ultimately, you know, how you work directly with people. Sure. Well, one, you can go to ballfirecoaching.com and right there you can download a complimentary ebook that's really talking about the three must have myths to be successful. So basically, you're always told that you must have these things to be successful. And yet they're not true. And I tell you what you really need in order to be successful. And then I, you know, my book, Shedding the Corporate Bitch, is, you know, is a memoir slash self-help book around just what do you need to do to recognize those fears, insecurities, negativities that are holding you back in your life that caused you to lash out and providing you tips as to how to overcome those.

15:56So you can shift from that B to the rich. So, you know, you shift from bitch to rich and you have what you want in your work and life. So that book is available on Amazon and or from ballofirecoaching.com. And then I do everything from one-on-one coaching with individuals as well as team or group coaching. I do a lot of different training programs like conflict management, communication, working remotely, dealing with chaos, time management. I do 360 assessments to help you understand kind of who you are and how others are perceiving you. And a lot of self-assessments that really allow you that time that rarely any of us take to really understand who you are and who you want to be and what you need to do to get there.

16:49Yeah. Again, your website, balloffirecoaching.com. From there, there's a link directly to the podcast or to our friend that's listening right now, just go ahead and search for Shedding the Corporate Bitch. You'll find it right there. Your book also available from the website. And again, you can buy that directly. It's on Amazon. And again, Shedding the Corporate Bitch, Shifting Your Bitches to Riches in Life and Business. Bernadette Boas, great conversation. Thank you so much for joining us. Thank you for having me.

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