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Stand Tall & Own It
“Just be you!” That’s what they all say. But it hasn’t always been safe or smart for high performing women - at school, at work, at church, at the PTA or even that exclusive networking event. Holding back kills your authenticity, and limits your impact. Just because we live in a world that is more friendly to strong, female leaders, that doesn't mean you feel "safe" being you. That's why it's imperative to know you, how you fit (or don’t) into the greater expectations of society, and understand that cookie-cutter leadership solutions will never be the answer. Each solution is as unique as the leader it is for.
This podcast was created for high performing female leaders who are ready to make an impact by discovering the safety that comes from understanding their own value and exercising their authority. It’s time to truly “be you,” to Stand Tall & Own It.
To learn more about Andrea Johnson and Intentional Optimism, visit www.theintentionaloptimist.com/Links.
Stand Tall & Own It
Stand Tall & Own it, A NEW PODCAST, with Andrea Johnson
Welcome to STAND TALL & OWN IT, formerly the Intentional Optimists, Unconventional Leaders Podcast.
Our first episode drops September 4th, but today you’re getting a glimpse into what’s in store with this powerful rebrand.
It’s time to step up and lead with authenticity! I'm excited to embark on a whole new leg of this transformative journey with you. We're shifting focus, going all-in on self-discovery and empowerment for high-performing female leaders. Buckle up as we dig deep, confront limiting beliefs, and challenge traditional thinking. It's time to redefine what it means to be yourself in a world of constant evolution and change.
This podcast was created for high performing female leaders who are ready to make an impact by discovering the safety that comes from understanding their own value and exercising their authority. It’s about embracing your unique journey, unearthing your Core Values, and leading with conviction.
Ladies, it's time to stop juggling between personal and organizational expectations. We’ll get specific about figuring out what works for you. A little discomfort along the way? Sure. But the reward is an authentic leadership style built on your Core Values.
So, let's stand tall, own our power, and become the exceptional leaders we're destined to be. Tune in, learn, grow, and let's make a real impact together! It’s time to truly “be you,” to Stand Tall & Own It.
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You're listening to Stand Tall and Own it, the podcast for high performing female leaders who are ready to make an impact by discovering the safety that comes from understanding their own value and exercising their own authority.
Speaker 1:I'm your host, andrea Johnson, and I'm here to tell you it is time to just truly be you, my strong friend. It's time to Stand Tall and Own it. Hey, there, I'm Andrea Johnson, the intentional optimist, and if you're new here, like all of our friends on YouTube, welcome. I am so glad you're here. I can't wait to meet you, I can't wait to learn about you and I can't wait to share with you what my passion is in just a second here Now. If you've been around a while and you pulled up your podcast app today, you might notice there's new podcast art and there's a new podcast name. Well, I'm here to tell you all about that today. Now, one thing that hasn't changed is my passion. I love working with ambitious, high achieving women who are truly ready to impact their world, mostly by equipping female leaders to define a new culture, by trusting their own ability to think critically, create imaginatively and then lead effectively. However, we're going in a little bit of a pivot, a new direction, and I can't wait to tell you about it. Like I said, for three years and I don't know approximately 185 episodes between the actual podcast and then all of my live guest speaker series. Everything was done under the brand name Intentional Optimists, unconventional Leaders. Guess what the new one is? Well, if you're a podcast listener and you've already pulled up this particular episode, you've seen the name of the podcast. We are now switching over to Stand Tall and Own it. The purpose of today is to tell you a little bit why we're pivoting, to tell you what to expect here and to tell you whether or not or help you figure out whether or not this is a podcast that you want to subscribe to and that you want to have like in your ears every week. Here's the deal there are, depending on who you talk to, over 3 million active podcasts, meaning there's some kind of regular production schedule and somebody downloads at least one episode. So it's important for you to know which podcasts are worth your time. Right, you need to know whether or not this one is one that you want to follow, share or maybe even binge all those back episodes if you're new, with us Now when I talk about changing the culture by thinking critically, creating imaginatively and leading effectively.
Speaker 1:There are some ways that we'll do that in this new pivot or iteration of the podcast. First, we're going to develop some skills that you need to make the impact that you desire. I'm all about building the and bridging the gap between whatever skills you need and the skills that you have. I've done that so much in my own life and the lives of my clients. That's what I want to kind of start helping you do here on the podcast.
Speaker 1:Number two I want to give you the encouragement that you need to actually do all the work of that development. Look, personal growth and professional growth. It's not for the faint of heart. I literally was walking and talking this morning to a friend and I said you know, every single step I take is a step towards growth and some of them are nice and shallow and some of them are really big and tall. It seems like lately all of the steps have been really tall. So we want to make sure that everybody has the kind of encouragement they need to do the steps of growth and development.
Speaker 1:Number three I'm going to prime you with ideas of how to think outside the box and gain new perspectives. I am really good at coming up with all the different ideas for how to do something, and I love talking to other women and figuring out what they need in order to help them get the kind of perspective that they need from not just looking at a problem from one direction, but looking at it as a solution from five or six different perspectives. So I love to prime you with ideas, and we'll definitely be doing that here. And the last thing, for sure, that I'm going to be doing here, and one of the things that I do with my clients that help you learn how to think critically or create imaginably and lead effectively, are challenging how you think, especially when the going gets tough and it's easy to fall back into old patterns. Right, we don't want to fall into the same habits that we had in the past, because we're never going to get where we want to be in the future by doing those things Now.
Speaker 1:Of course, all of that sounds really amazing, right, but anybody can say those things. How do you know, especially if you're new? How do you know if this is a podcast that's worth your time and energy? Am I somebody that you want talking to you on a regular basis? Well, let me tell you a little bit about the women that seem to get the most out of both my teaching or my coaching, or even the podcast, as it has been under the former brand. All right, you're gonna know you're in the right place, or if this is the room for you. If any number of these things you answer yes to you ready. The first one is no matter how many times you're told, just be you. Hmm, there are certain situations or places that you just don't feel comfortable. Right In this day of diversity, equity and inclusion or female empowerment and looking at ways that we can lift each other up, it hasn't always been safe for smart or high performing women to just be themselves.
Speaker 1:Trust me, I know this has been my life story and it could be at school. I mean, I literally had a college friend tell me that one of the reasons a cool guy who was a saxophone player. It's not like he was a banker or anything. He wasn't rich and, honestly, he wasn't even that handsome. He was just really fun to be around and I said, how come this guy doesn't want to be around me? And he goes. Well, sometimes it's hard for people to be around the pretty girls and I'm like are you kidding me? And he's like well then, you add to it that you're a smart girl. And I'm like so not only can I not be pretty, but I also can't be smart. There's something wrong with this picture. So it could be at school.
Speaker 1:What about at work? What about at church? That one is another big one for me. Or the PTA. Or even that exclusive networking event where you're supposed to be around high powered and really smart and strong women. If, for some reason, you don't feel that comfortable being yourself in any of those situations, this could definitely be a place for you. How about feeling detached from the work that you do? Do you feel fulfilled or excited to do the work that you actually do every day? Do you feel like it makes a difference? Because if you don't, then there's probably a pretty decent misalignment between what I call your core values and then what you're trying to do. So if what you're doing on a daily basis can't somehow align with the core values that make you who you are, you're never going to be satisfied and you're never going to feel fulfilled. Or the other piece of it could be you're in a really toxic situation and you might need to get into a different kind of situation and we can actually figure out ways that you can discover the right place for you to be. How about this one? And this one really hit home to me just this last weekend, and that's why I'm recording this today. So I was going to do it over the weekend, but are you too busy to even assess where you are and where you want to go? This one and another one I'm about to share with you in just a second are both ones that hit home for me this week.
Speaker 1:If you're too busy, if you're constantly doing something for somebody else, if you're always on the run, if you're working more hours for the same money, if you're always on somebody else's agenda, what is it that you want to do 10 years from now? If you can't answer that question, this might be a good place for you, because in order to answer that question, you don't need to be able to look down the road. You need to be able to look inside and you need to find out who you are and what you want to do and where you want to be. So, if you're always on somebody else's agenda, whatever it is that you're bringing to the organization I went through that quite a bit. If you're working more hours for the same money or oh my gosh, I'm so tired of saying this one we're going to do more with less, no one's so left, but we're just going to divide that work up between all of us. No, that's just not how it works. It depends on where your priorities are and how we're going to make things function well. So if that Okay brings a bell for you, or if that hits home for you, this might be a good spot for you.
Speaker 1:How about obligations coming before self-care? This was the other one that hit me. I had decided I had my own deadline for how this podcast was gonna get rolled out. This new iteration of this podcast was gonna get rolled out, and I just couldn't stop myself. And here's the deal if you're doing these things whether it's your obligations or taking care of your family or things at work and you're not doing your own self-care and to be clear, I don't mean your mani-pedi, I don't mean your massage, now those things are great self-care. I'm talking about feeding your body well, feeding your mind well, doing things that fill your cup, your soul or your spirit what are you doing in those areas? Because, if your obligations, because I'm an Enneagram Six, right, so let me tell you, those things come before self-care for me. As soon as I can check things off my box, I'm okay to move on to the creative work, the good work, right, but if all of those things are coming before your own self-care, this is a good room for you to be in.
Speaker 1:And lastly and it's not actually lastly, it's like the last one I'm gonna put up here is the fact that you might be discouraged, especially when you're following all the rules and checking all the boxes but you're just not getting the promised results. Now, this could be at your job, where, like me, you're doing all the things and walking all the steps and saying the right things to the right people and staying late for the right times and meeting the right deadlines. It could be in your weight loss journey, where you're eating every single thing you're supposed to and you're doing all the rules. It could be in your spiritual walk, where you are following all the rules of your own particular religious society, but you're still not fulfilled and happy. All of these things I'm here to tell you. The problem is that you're doing these things outside of yourself rather than inside yourself. But every single one of these means that you're trying to fit into some kind of cookie cutter world, some kind of like being. You're trying to fit a square peg in a round hole, and I did that for years. So I'm here to tell you. If you're frustrated with cookie cutter leadership concepts, gurus, people that are looking to tell you, if you'll just take these steps, everything will be fine. You might be looking for a way to truly be yourself as a leader in order to be fulfilled and have a greater impact. If that's you, sit back, hit that follow button, maybe even grab your cup of coffee, just like me, because you are in the right place. Now, how are we gonna do this?
Speaker 1:Over the past three years, I started in August of 2020. And if you want the story of how I started, it's back in the back episodes. Speaking of which, in the podcast, again, over 140 episodes I've been teaching my own philosophy of intentional optimism, which is a personal growth lifestyle. I used to think it was a plan, but here's the deal. I learned that when you start from the outside and work in, you're eventually gonna have to start from the inside and work out. So you're gonna hear me talk a little less about the tenets of intentional optimism in this iteration of the podcast and a little more about core values, because intentional optimism is how we live out our core values. But that's part of what I did the other half because it was both solos and interviews. So the other half of what I did in the last iteration of this podcast was learning what high achieving women all have in common in their stories, in their backgrounds and in their mindset.
Speaker 1:You see, I interviewed over 75 amazing leaders from every walk of life and if you haven't go listen, you might find somebody whose story really mirrors your own and gives you some new ideas on how to move forward in a specific way or why. You might wanna listen to this podcast moving forward. But I tell you, the information I gleaned truly changed my life. It changed the way I see women, it changed the way I see leadership and it changed the way I work with my clients. In each of these episodes or in each of these interviews, I ask them all one specific question what is your earliest leadership memory? Now, the vast majority discovered, through answering that single question, that their earliest memory of being a leader ended up looking very similar to what they're known for now and successful for now decades later, some of them 50 decades later.
Speaker 1:But here's the deal. Very few of them took a direct path. Most of them, like me and I have no idea what your path is, but I'm curious to know did what was expected and safe and conventional. Like I was a nursing major and then I couldn't handle that, and that's another story. So I went into business. But again, like me, they're all in their second or third career. But now they're happy, they're fulfilled, they're energetic and guess what? They are empowered because they know who they are and how they got there. It took being so unsatisfied with their current level of growth that they were unwilling to make that. They were unwilling to stay and they were finally willing to make a change, only to find that they were circling back to that original leadership skill or innate strength.
Speaker 1:If you go back and listen, you'll hear it over and over again. I cannot tell you how many times I got some version of this phrase. Wow, you know, nobody's ever really pointed that out to me before. Now it is my privilege to help women see how far they've come. We call that turning around and looking down the mountain right, but that's not my main passion. I also discovered after talking to all these women that my real passion is helping the women who haven't quite gotten there yet.
Speaker 1:For instance, again, if you're uncomfortable truly being you in certain places or every place, or if you're uninspired by your work and feel that you aren't contributing value, if you're unclear on who you'd like to be 10 years from now and just you're not even sure how to figure it out. You don't even know the steps to take. Are you underperforming because the standards aren't suited to your strengths or, worse, your board? Are you unable to do basic self-care like exercise, rest, read, relax, because of all the things you're getting done first and there's just no time for you? Are you unhappy with the lack of results you have, even when you're following all the rules of whatever program?
Speaker 1:It is Now to be clear this is not a podcast for whoa is me? Women, uh-uh. If you're wanting to sit around and complain or sulk, this is not for you. You will be uncomfortable here, 100%, trust me. But if you find yourself responding yes, ah, andrea, golly, that's me, help me. I want to feel like the work I do matters. I want to feel fulfilled and satisfied with the impact that I bring to my family, my community, my work. Andrea, this is where the new podcast name comes in. I want to stand tall and own it.
Speaker 1:Here's what we're doing in this new version of the podcast, the new stand tall and own it. I'm taking all of that wisdom collected from the last three years of this podcast five years of executive leadership, coaching and disc, behavioral analysis, consultations, development of my own personal growth lifestyle, which is intentional optimism, and all of my core values work that, trust me, has been going on for about 30 years. And this is where I'm going to offer you, and how I'm going to offer you, new ways of thinking, tips and hacks for daily change that will help you identify your limiting assumptions, beliefs and conditioning what I call your A, b C's. Then we're going to also demonstrate how your own assumptions, beliefs and conditioning your A, b C's get ready. They're the real culprit when it comes to your limited impact. Right, it's not something out there, it's our own stuff. That's the real culprit. We're also going to apply core values and disc principles and, many times, the tenets of intentional optimism, to daily questions and circumstances. But for sure, we're going to cultivate some intense curiosity to uncover the real reasons that you're stuck, because it's not the job, it's not the company, it's not the boss or the spouse, or the religion or the culture, it's just not. We're going to present you with alternatives to traditional thinking, leading or doing business, which is called critical thinking. Again, there are no cookie cutter solutions here. You're different from me. Why would a solution that works for me work for you? We're also going to encourage you through sharing my own first hand stories and those of my clients, offer interaction opportunities through things like Ask the Coach, episodes or prizes for leaving a review, all manner of fun and even maybe some shenanigans.
Speaker 1:But what does it mean to stand tall and own it? What do I mean when I say that? Well, honestly, it means I will not be moved, kind of like a tree. In order to be able to stand tall, I need to have really good, deep roots, which is basically what it means to be curious and wise. I need to be able to tap into underground water sources and withstand a drought, because you never know what the next season is going to bring. You need to have a good, solid core sturdy, strong and resilient, with enough flexibility to bend where necessary without breaking. And in order to own it, I need to have a wide canopy, encouraging and hopeful, offering good, comfortable shade and cover to others.
Speaker 1:But here's the main thing I want you to hear, to know, and why this podcast would be for you and why you would want to go hit that subscribe button or hit that follow button, because each one of you are created unique. Every one of us is created unique. Your skills, your experience, all of it adds up to make you a leader for a specific purpose, but you're also made to be in community. You're also wired for connection and you're not alone. Now it can certainly feel that way for driven, strong, opinionated, high achieving women, whatever you want to call them. But I promise you you are not alone. This is a space for you.
Speaker 1:I've been doing personal growth work for over 30 years and I can promise you this is not the kind of work that you can or would even want to do by yourself. The number of women who have encouraged me, held my hand, handed me tissues, hit me upside the head every so often when I needed it, when I was weeping over my own mistakes, when I was trying to figure out how to actually have my own beliefs and be confident in them when I had espoused to somebody else's beliefs or the assumptions that I had or the conditioning of my community for so long. That's what I want to be for you. I know what it's like doing the hard work and being and then being comforted, and I also now know, with my clients, what it's like to stand there with them. So together we will stand tall and own it Now. When I opened my business back in 2019, and when I started my original podcast three years ago, I actually quoted Proverbs, chapter 31, verse 25, and I'm going to quote it to you here again because I think it's perfect. It says this she's clothed with strength and dignity and she can laugh at the days to come. That's how I want to live. That's how empowered women live. That's how I want you to be able to live.
Speaker 1:But you can't do it if you're living by somebody else's vision. Somebody else is standard for what you can become. If you want to have more influence and impact, you must look at your own culpability, your own unexamined assumptions, beliefs and conditioning. Yes, it's hard, but, girl, is it worth it? Now, if you're not willing to look in the mirror and challenge your ABCs and think for yourself. You're going to always be limited in your impact and you're probably going to listen every week to me and go.
Speaker 1:I wish you would just stop talking. You're going to live your entire life with somebody else's vision, with someone else's rules, and you will have, at best, limited impact based on what someone else tells you is possible. Oh, please, not on my watch. No, no, no. Here you'll get my no-nonsense spunky wit, I promise, combined with my desire to create a space of belonging and welcome. No matter where you fall on that personal growth spectrum, just know you'll be challenged. Just be you girl. That's what they all say.
Speaker 1:But just being you hasn't always been safe or smart for high performing women. But here's the deal holding back kills your authority, it kills your authenticity and limits your impact. Just because we live in a world that's more friendly quote-unquote to strong female leaders doesn't mean you can feel safe automatically like somebody flips a switch. That's why it's imperative to know you, how you fit in or don't into the greater expectations of society and understand that cookie cutter leadership solutions will never be the answer. Each solution is unique as a leader it is for. This podcast was created for high-performing female leaders who are ready to make an impact by discovering the safety that comes from understanding their own value and exercising their own authority.
Speaker 1:It is time to truly be you. It is time to stand tall and own it. Are you one of those people who follows all the rules but still feel like you're getting nowhere, like your boundaries are constantly under attack and you're busy with all this stuff that just doesn't matter? Constantly choosing between what's right for you or what's right for your organization, and with all that self-help information out there, how do you know exactly what's going to work for you? To help you overcome this stuff? Well, you can clear the clutter and become the exceptional leader you were meant to be.
Speaker 1:When you know your core values, you see. When you don't. Decisions are rough, processes can be muddy and boundaries forget it, but when you do, you live and lead with authenticity and passion. Just imagine feeling clear about your decisions, comfortable in your relationships and confident in your boundaries. That's what, by uncovering your core values, digital course will do for you. You'll reveal your foundational convictions, allowing you to navigate any situation with your identity and authority intact. It's time to make some real impact. My friend, head over to theintentionaloptimistcom forward, slash values or click the link in the show notes and get clarity today.
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