It's not easy to be a female leader in today's society, but Carol Lawrence has been leading teams well for almost 30 years. It's our privilege to have her share some of her wisdom with us on today's episode of The Unconventional Leadership Podcast. Good leadership is about trust. Good leaders trust their employees, and employees, in turn, trust their leadership. When there is a healthy balance of respect, fun, and trust, companies thrive. The tone must be set by the leader for the trickle-down to be effective. Regardless of the generational gap among employees, there is a universal truth that if you meet individuals where they are and hear what they have to say, your team has a better chance of healthy chemistry. Carol has a wealth of knowledge and we are grateful for all she has to share!

Find Carol Lawrence online at: https://centennialinc.com/

Quotes from the Episode:

Even though I worked in several male-dominated industries as a leader, I did not have to put aside my femininity. I did not have to become one of the boys.

Sometimes even when you don't have your voice, you find your voice to help someone else.

You don't have to know everything.

It's not just the leader, it's the whole team that needs to succeed.

I'm not going to ask anybody that I supervise to do anything that I'm not willing to do. I will actively show them that I'm part of the team.

Just because it worked before doesn't mean it's going to work this time. We are not cookie cutter people.

We don't take the time to enjoy what we've done and the impact that we might have had. Even when somebody comes and tells us we made an impact, we tend to, as human beings, be like, oh thanks for that, but I could have been better.

We have to take the time to celebrate the small things because when we have the big things, we'll be comfortable to celebrate it.

You have to show that you care enough about the people you supervise to care for yourself.

As the leader, you have to take the time to be genuine. Let your staff and your team know that they can trust you.

As a good leader, you then learn how to tailor the message and meet that person where they are.

You don't have to be shouting from the rooftop to be a leader. I can sit quietly in a room and still lead that room.


Resources:
Jay Steinfield "Lead from the Core"
Stephen Covey, "Leading at the Speed of Trust."

Mike Sipple Jr. | LinkedIn | Twitter
Carol Lawrence | LinkedIn