Jacob Coldwell

Do you fear you’ll never do anything worthwhile?

Let Before You Begin be your guide to change the way you are currently engaging the world, so you can experience different results. Results that align with what matters most to you. When you apply Compass Form, this book’s simple framework, you learn to navigate uncertainty, settle on a decision, and, when necessary, adjust course to stay in alignment with what matters most to you.

Compass Form is about isolating decisions, so you address them specifically and clear some of the chaos that comes with trying to make many decisions at once or trying to make the “perfect” decision. Since life is ambiguous and chaotic, it isn’t about predicting the future. The skill you build with Before You Begin is learning how to quickly make sense of the chaos and being content with the best decision possible given the reality of your circumstances.

That’s what you’ll learn to do in this book through its:
Example scenarios
Depictions of real people applying Compass Form
Reflection questions
Practical application activities

Get out of stagnation and frustration and start making real progress towards what matters most to you with Before You Begin.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1734818212

Author

MoveWellPast40

Helping athletes prevent injury and unlock potential for lifelong athleticism.

ATG Certified Level 1 Coach

Mountain Pass

Need a flexible and personalized way to develop yourself? Tired of trying to learn from another course or book that won’t solve the specific challenges you need to get beyond? 

Get started developing the skills to create the change you want to see.

If you want to learn more about how to increase communication, self-awareness, learning agility and influence...send a DM for a straightforward conversation about what it takes.

Personal Development Expert and Certified Life Coach

Dynamic and results-oriented Project Manager with a proven track record of driving team success within the
technology industry. This expertise requires proficiency to pro-actively uncover and develop processes to
help teams execute project implementation.
Relationships are key to project success which is vital to company success. A strong ability to communicate
and problem-solve with a technical proficiency helps provide exceptional service and support in leading
cross-functional teams towards client growth.

Extensive experience to cultivate and maintain team relationships, ensuring the smooth integration and
optimization of technology solutions to drive customer success.
• Remotely lead daily standups to prioritize work and optimize results
• Establish clear communication channels within the team and JIRA software for progress, updates
and feedback
• Proactive in identifying opportunities for process improvement and efficiency between teams
• Reduce project complexity and time to deliver by connecting work streams from multiple systems
through API

Sr Systems Specialist/Project Manager

Business Made Simple

Coaching To Simplify Running Your Business.

Imagine putting your work away a half hour earlier because you have the right strategies in place to run your business. 

Contact me to get the tools that will save you the time needed to run your business. https://www.hireacoach.com/Jacob-Coldwell

Business Made Simple Certified Coach

StoryBrand

StoryBrand Certified Guide

RePaintME

A focus for client relationship management and timely project execution that created referral-based growth
for project and company success.
• Quickly build trust and rapport with clients and vendors to bring in new business
• Provide clear scope of work and expectations to create a high-level client experience
• Consult with clients to provide answers and accurate solutions for requests or concerns
• Ensure deadlines and project coordination align while maintaining a focus on delivering high-quality
service and support

Account and Project Manager

I listen a lot, (and now I’m helping others get stronger physically)

and I’ve been listening for a long time. Been showing others how it's done for slightly less.

Leaders who are better at listening...
differentiate themselves.

Leaders who are strong physically will last longer. 

Listening like a lack of mobility won't just fix itself. It will require a change. 

I help guide leaders to better listening. I also help you workout in the comfort of your own home with minimal equipment. 

Let’s work together to make the changes you’ve been thinking about. 

I’m passionate about empowering women and helping to close the gender gap in senior leadership. 

I spent 18 years in tech and biotech sales, holding positions as a VP and EVP, Sales. Along the way I introduced many brand new technologies to market, built a commercial organization from scratch, and scaled a hyper-growth team to achieve 9 digit revenue growth in 2 years.

Despite this success, I struggled for years with my transition from Manager to Director to VP, and even asked myself if I was cut out to be a senior executive.  

Finally, I ‘figured it out’ and had the confidence, knowledge and skills that I needed to be an impactful leader. 

My mission at Insights to Action is to help others get there by sharing what I’ve learned.

I want to use my passion to help more women transition to senior leadership and help leaders make that leap from unsure and unfocused to strategic, decisive and outcome driven - all without burning out. My goal is to help women thrive as executives, instead of merely surviving. 

I would love to work with you on your journey and look forward to connecting!

Read about what some of my clients are saying: https://www.insightstoactioncc.com/testimonials

Katy McFee

Insights to Action Coaching & Consulting

We help women who are aspiring executives break through to senior leadership and thrive as senior leaders, all without burning out. 

Services include:
- Group programs for women looking to break through to executive leadership
- Executive coaching for women executives
- Corporate workshops
- Keynote speaking

Founder & CEO

Invest Ottawa

Sales Advisor - Accelerator Program

Evidence Partners

Evidence Partners is the world leader in software for conducting systematic literature reviews for Clinical Evaluation Reports, HTA, and Evidence-Based Medicine. Evidence Partners software is used by academic, government and industry groups around the world to dramatically improve the quality, speed and transparency of systematic reviews and MEDDEV compliant Clinical Evaluation Reports.

EVP, Sales

Fullscript

Fullscript is a free online supplement dispensary & patient adherence tool - we support practitioners & the wellness of patients at the point of care and beyond.

Grew and scaled sales organization during hyper-growth period, achieving 9 digit growth over 2 years. 

Fullscript raised $240M USD in Series C funding in November 2021.

VP, Sales

Women Powering Technology Ottawa

Women Powering Technology (WPT) is an organization created to inspire, support, elevate and empower women in technology personally, professionally and together as a community.

Board Member / Chair

Spartan Bioscience

Global commercialization of Spartan's CYP2C19 and APOE systems and tests.

Spartan Bioscience is the leader in on-demand DNA testing. The Spartan RX CYP2C19 System identifies carriers of CYP2C19 mutations that affect the metabolism of common drugs. It goes from sample to result in less than 60 minutes from a cheek swab. The Mayo Clinic is currently using the device in a landmark 6,000-patient clinical trial. The Spartan system has received European and FDA regulatory approvals.

Head, Medical Division/ Director, Sales

Roche Diagnostics

Roche Diagnostics is part of the Roche Group including Diagnostics and Pharmaceuticals.  Annual revenues for the Roche Group are over $45 Billion Swiss francs.

Canadian National Representative for the Genome Sequencer FLX,  Managed and grew the next-generation sequencing business in Canada.  Also managed the NimbleGen (Microarray) product line in Central West Canada (Toronto to BC).

Business Development Manager, Gene Sequencing

Sigma Aldrich

Sigma-Aldrich is a leading Life Science and High Technology company, with customers in life science companies, university and government institutions, hospitals and in industry. Sigma-Aldrich operates in 40 countries and has over 7,600 employees providing excellent service worldwide.

Managed key accounts (total revenue $8M+) in Southwestern Ontario and Manitoba, growing the territory through strategic product sales.

Key Account Manager

DNA Genotek Inc

DNA Genotek specializes in DNA collection products from saliva. Oragene is now used by thousands of customers around the world, including Quest Diagnostics and 23andMe. In 2011, DNA Genotek was acquired by OraSure Technologies for $53M.

One of the first sales reps- introduced the Oragene product to market, making some of the first Oragene sales globally. Played an integral role in the early growth of the company by establishing large commercial customers, research and government accounts.  Led a team of 6 reps.

Account Manager/ Sales Manager

I help women become execs and thrive in leadership - Former Exec | Certified Coach | Forbes.com contributor

At Insights to Action I help female execs and aspiring female leaders become the leaders they want to be and thrive as executives all without burning out. 

I offer group coaching programs for women looking to break through to executive leadership and 1:1 immersive executive coaching for current execs who want to level up and show up as the amazing, effective leaders they know they can be, while still living a life they love.

My career looks amazing... on paper!

But the truth is, there is SO much that no one sees....

Failures
Disappointments
Times we want to give up

And this is true for everyone.

Stop comparing your 'real life' with someone else's highlight reel

We're all on our own path
And unique timeline

You've got this ✌️💜

Follow me Katy McFee for more posts on women in leadership

#1 in helping women become VPs and thrive in leadership | Former Exec | Certified Coach | Forbes.com contributor | Host of More Women Promoted Podcast

The most important career choice you'll make is who you marry

Sheryl Sandberg once said this, and it is SO damn true

You can be the smartest, most ambitious woman on the planet

But - especially once you have kids - the support of your partner is a critical factor in your ability to build a big career

I'm gonna get real honest here:

There's no way in hell I could do everything I do
If it wasn't for Taylor

- He holds the fort when I travel for business masterminds and conferences
- He puts our 5 year old to bed when I'm running my group program 
(and like 50% of the time outside of that)
- He preps dinner while I'm finishing things up in the office

And he always believes that I can do whatever crazy thing I'm up to next

In fact, HE was the one who encouraged me to take the leap
And start my own business

I was terrified to take the risk
But he was all in

Yesterday I got home from an amazing week in Mexico where we (finally) decided to make it legal and official 💍 

(6.5 years and 1 child later!)

But married or not, I've reaped the benefits of a supportive partner for years

The lesson? Don't settle, and choose wisely ✌️💜

My work rules:

- NO meetings on Fridays
- Block off lunch every day
- No client sessions on Mondays
- No meetings before 9am or after 4:30pm
- No evening or weekend work (unless I choose to)
- No working with clients who aren't aligned with my mission or vision. 
(Even if they want to pay me lots of money)

When I post this, some people actually get pretty upset.
Others are just confused...

"But... how can you build a successful business this way??"
"There's no way your business can be doing that well..."

But the truth is, my business has grown crazy fast,
And continues to grow

Here's how:
- I'm fully present with every client/meeting and NEVER multi-task
- I only focus on what matters, instead of doing too much
- I'm highly efficient during my work day (my phone is on 'focus')
- I'm cognitively sharp because I'm not overworked
- I time block, allowing me to get a lot done

Meaning, my work rules are HELPING me build a successful business!
Not holding me back. 

If we've learned one thing from all the crazy happenings of the last 5 years, it's this:

Put yourself first.
If you don't, who will?
✌️💜

PS. If this post makes you feel activated, ask yourself why. Is it because you don't feel as though you have permission to create firm boundaries?

I've made a powerful change to how I speak:

Instead of saying "Sorry"
I say "Thank you"

If someone points out an error, instead of saying "OMG, I'm sorry about that!!"

I say, "Thanks for catching that. I'll make that change right away."

Instead of saying "I'm sorry I can't come to the event"

I say, "Thanks for thinking of me, I can't attend but maybe next time"

Instead of saying, "I'm sorry we're starting 5 minutes late"

I say, "Thanks so much for your patience. Let's dive in."

It may seem like a small thing, but it speaks volumes.

Why make this change?

Here are 3 data-backed reasons:

1. Apologizing too frequently reduces self-esteem.
2. When you over-apologize, people lose respect for you (key = over).
3. When you apologize too often, it makes real apologies seem less sincere.

This doesn't mean you should NEVER apologize.
But save it for a situation that actually warrants an apology.

For many people, apologizing is a verbal habit.
It's not even intentional, and you may not realize you're doing it. 

Lesson: Be intentional about when you apologize 
You'll come across as more confident and it will mean so much more when you do apologize. 

Plus, thanking someone feels great for both of you!

Do you have any verbal habits that you've changed? 
Let me know in the comments ✌️💜

LinkedIn Campaign Manager

li_at

JSESSIONID

Business Manager

Talks about #careers, #leadership, #womenleadership, #executivecoaching, and #diversityandinclusion

Ever been judged by other women at work? 

Here’s the truth that most don't consider:

We've all heard the narrative that women don't support each other
Because we're threatened or competitive

I've ever heard people say that's how women are designed! 
(ummmm... no)

Here's another perspective:

Women may be judging you 
Because they haven't given themselves permission
To live the way you're living.

YOU represent what they feel they can't have.

I had this epiphany recently,
Talking to a woman who had a long corporate career

She was sharing stories about the judgement she received:

- When taking a break at lunch
- Coming in late or leaving early
- Doing a walking meeting with a colleague

And that this judgement always came from other women!

Reflecting, this made perfect sense to me.
Many women never give themselves a break!

As women, we feel as though we need to do it all.
And if we struggle to take these liberties,
It's easy to judge others who do

Whereas our male counterparts often have no issue doing what's right for them
So they don't care when we do it too!

Basically, it's rooted in jealousy,
Not malice.

So, ladies, this is your reminder:
It starts with us.

Giving ourselves some empathy
Giving ourselves a break.

Allowing ourselves to create the boundaries we need to thrive,
Not just survive in our jobs.

Because once we do that, 
It's really easy to support other women doing the same thing.

In fact, women who do this often become one another's biggest cheerleaders ✌️💜

I remember having no clue why I wasn't being promoted

I was running the sales and marketing function
I was part of the senior leadership team
I was working my a$$ off
Reporting to the CEO
My team loved me

And I was still being told I wasn't 'ready'

I did all of this for 5 years and never got that VP title

And I see so many of you in the exact same situation

The good news is, I finally figured it out 
And went on to become a successful VP and EVP

Here are the 3 lessons I learned:

1. If you're feeling stuck like I was, it doesn't mean you aren't ready
It may just mean you don't know how to show people you are

And this is 100% learnable. 

2. If you're running around like crazy in back-to-back meetings,
It's really hard to show up as an effective executive

Slow down to speed up.

3. A proven system and the right support make it 10x easier and faster
My sponsor was a key reason I became a VP

And I've since helped hundreds of women start to show up as VP-ready with my proven system

Just last week, two MORE women shared promotion announcements with me!! 

If you've been following me and looking for a sign to join my VP coaching program, this is it

Until Nov 30th, I'm offering a $900 discount off the price of the program 
This is your opportunity to make 2026 the year you get promoted. 

We start in January. 
DM me if you want in!
✌️💜

Women: Ever been called 'too assertive'?

This happens all the time - to women... 
But have you ever heard a man described this way?

Of course not! 

This "feedback" is rooted in bias and gender stereotypes
And it happens every day.

Assertiveness is seen as a key leadership trait,
And it's considered a good thing,
In men.

But in women, not so much.

Why??

Well (here come the gender stereotypes),
We're conditioned to see women as warm and nurturing,

So when we act assertively, people's brains get confused, resulting in something called the likeability backlash.

And this backlash can actually have a negative impact on women's careers!

So, to summarize:
When women display a leadership trait,
It can negatively impact their careers.

Believe it or not, I'm not trying to depress you here...

As women, we can learn to communicate in ways that allow us to be assertive,
And also combat the likeability backlash

And I teach this to women every day,

But truthfully, I'm waiting for a time when we don't have to do this

Let's stop asking women to jump through hoops
And just broaden our perspective on what a leader looks like ✌️💜

*Repost if you agree because more people need to hear this message!!

The most successful people wake up at 4am

Average guru morning routine:
- up at 4am
- freezing cold shower
- drink some lemon cayenne water (remember, we're fasting until dinner)
- make bed
- run a marathon
- read an entire book
- write an entire book
- another freezing cold shower
- mediate for 1hr
- make bed one more time
- start work

Okay, I'm kidding a little, but we've all seen these crazy routines! 

On the flip side,

Here's a typical morning for almost ALL of my career:
- never woke up before 6:45am
- shower in the morning? HA! Good one.
- never, ever skipped coffee (seriously??)
- spent my mornings chasing my kids around
- made it to my first meeting with 0 minutes to spare. Okay, sometimes 5mins late.

What's my point?

Well first, blanket advice is BS

A single, 27-year-old guy DOES have more hours in the day than a 38-year-old single mom of 3

We don't all live the same life,
And that's ok.

Second, you don't need the perfect 'guru' routine to be successful

I worked my way up to becoming a VP and EVP,
All without 5am runs or freezing cold showers

Now that I'm running my own business and have more freedom at work and support at home, I've made some changes:

- I'm up at 6:15am (sometimes earlier)
- I exercise and meditate in the morning before work

But these things aren't REQUIRED to build a happy life or successful career.

Do what works for you. 

And it's a-ok if 5am wake-ups and cold plunges don't make the list ✌️💜

I’m a woman and mother...
And I'm also ambitious and career-driven

I'm a professional...
And I also have tattoos, wear ripped jeans and drop the occasional F-bomb

I’m a vegan...
And I’m also strong and healthy (and yes, get enough protein)

I’m in my mid 40s...
And I'm also in the best shape of my life, and full of energy

Ladies, let’s stop worrying so much about:
- Aging
- Haters
- Stereotypes
- And what we 'shouldn't' be able to do

And let’s start deciding which stereotypes we're going to smash

Because guess what?
People WILL have opinions about what you can and can’t do...

But only you get to decide whether you want to listen 
Or prove them wrong. ✌️💜

PS. Tell me, what are you doing that you didn’t think you could?

We’ve just helped 2 more women land first-time Sr. Director & VP roles! 🎉

These clients make on average $50K more than their last role. 👏

Here's what most people don't realize:
The key to getting to that next level is 100% learnable

All you need is the right system and guidance.

Want to be next?

If you’re looking to become a VP and you’re:

- A woman working in corporate
- At the Sr. Manager, Director or Sr. Director level
- Ready to be part of the best club around

Apply to learn how we can help you land a VP role and crush it!

(Without burning out...)

Apply using the link in the comments or go to insightstoactioncc(dot)com/apply and I'll send you the info! ✌️💜

3 myths I need to bust about the gender pay gap:

1. Women make less because we negotiate less

I thought this was true for a long time!  But in a study from a couple of years ago, women negotiated MORE than men...

And we were still paid less. 

2. The gender pay gap is the result of choosing different professions. 

Not true. Unless you consider 'woman doctor' or 'women lawyer' a different job

3. Becoming a parent impacts salaries for all parents

Ha! Not at all. 

Men's pay goes up by 6% for each child born and women's decreases by 4%.

I'm sharing this because for many women, this time of year represents the weeks/months that we work for free compared to our male counterparts

Because of the pay gap.

Unless we get serious about making real change, 
This gap is expected to persist for another CENTURY

This is what bias looks like.

And this is why I want more women at the table,
Making these changes from the top.

But for today, I just want to help women make more money!

If you struggle to negotiate and want some help,
Grab my free negotiation guide for women here: https://lnkd.in/dxU_arsP

Repost to spread the word and help more women get that next raise. ✌️💜 

And follow me Katy McFee for more posts on women in leadership.

Women work harder than men to become executives

Like it or not, that's just the truth.

I've seen this anecdotally, and the data supports it

Let me explain:

The leadership gap starts at the very first promotion to manager
And at every level, women will have a harder time earning that promotion.

As a result, the women who actually do become senior leaders
Tend to be hyper-achieving, highly accomplished and very talented

We've set the bar so high for women
That the ones who clear it can often run circles around their male counterparts

And yet... one of biggest challenges senior women share with me is a lack of confidence!
An unrelenting feeling of imposter syndrome

So the goal of this post is to talk to those women:

If you're a women in (senior) leadership,
And you aren't sure you belong,
Let me be the one to tell you:

Girl, you freaking belong.

Believe me. 

You probably belong more than some of your male counterparts,

And it's time to start owning the seat at the table you worked so hard to get.

Ladies, remember this:

They've set the bar crazy high for you
You cleared that bar and got a seat at the table
You belong there just as much as anyone else ✌️💜

PS. If you want a seat at the table and haven't found the right mentor to help you get there, send me a DM. Let's make 2026 your year. 

Follow me Katy McFee for more posts on women in leadership

I remember feeling like my micromanager boss was ruining my life...

So I totally get it when I hear this complaint

But I learned something that changed everything for me...

Many of us have experienced working with a micromanager
- They won't leave us alone
- They're constantly checking in for updates or asking questions
- They seem incapable of just trusting us to do our job

And it's easy to complain about your boss and blame them for not giving you autonomy

But here's another perspective:
Maybe it's not ALL them...

Years ago, I heard someone say something that completely changed things for me:

"It's really hard to micromanage someone who overcommunicates."

Boom #truth

Here's what's actually happening when you're being micromanaged:
- You haven't built sufficient trust with your boss
- Your boss is under immense pressure or is feeling insecure
- Your boss doesn't feel as though they have enough information about what you're doing

I've even noticed this in myself!

If I don't trust that things are happening the way they need to, 
I'll start asking more questions

Bottom line: It's a 2-way street

The #1 thing you can do to fix this issue is to create visibility into your work

This helps your manager AND you
And increases the chance that your hard work is rewarded

If you want to know HOW to create that visibility
Come to my workshop next week

I'll give you the how and the templates to use

Do this, and see what happens...
You may be surprised ✌️💜 

*Check out the comments to register

PS. Have you worked with a micromanager? What worked for you?

I remember working as hard as I could

Being 100% committed - but it just wasn't enough

This was a hard lesson to learn,
And it's one that some people never learn!

Hard work is not enough to get you promoted,
And it's not enough to make you an effective leader.

Creating visibility into your work is just as important as the work you're doing
And sometimes, it's even more important! 

And I know that can feel like BS
Because you don't want to 'play politics' 
And believe your hard work should speak for itself

Hard truth friends: it doesn't

Your boss and the leadership team are thinking about things other than you

(Ccing them on an email isn't going to cut it)

I've helped tons of women go from invisible to promoted
From not feeling valued to having a voice at the table

That's why I've decided to host a workshop on becoming more visible

Because when you do this well, you:
- Get credit for the great things you do
- Are seen as someone who's creating real impact
- And are (much) more likely to land that next promotion

This is intentionally created as a workshop
So you can spend an hour with me and leave with real frameworks and tools you can start using right away

You'll get my 'executive toolkit' ($97) completely free when you register for $27

*Edited: Here is the (correct) link to sign up:

https://lnkd.in/duDCXTzc

✌️💜

Diversity isn't having 1 woman at the table,

Or hiring people who look different than you,

I was on a management team that appeared diverse on the outside 

But it really was not...

Other than me:
- Everyone was male
- Everyone was an introvert
- Everyone had similar ideologies
- Everyone had a stay-at-home wife

None of these things are bad,

But an environment where people think and live similarly 
Runs the real danger of creating an echo chamber

And when this happens, you don't gain the benefit of having a diverse team

Which is: an environment where diverse ideas are brought to the table.

If you truly want to benefit from a diverse team, consider:

- Hiring neurodiverse candidates (and properly accommodating them)
- Creating teams of people with differing philosophies and ways of thinking
- Ensuring you have a solid mix of introverts and extroverts
- Hiring people of a diverse age range

This is IN ADDITION to ensuring you're hiring POC and you have women at the table!

(Those things are table stakes IMO)

We often have a narrow view of diversity and what it means. 
We hire someone who doesn't look exactly like us and think we've done our job.

Let's do better ✌️💜

Corporate hustle culture is dead.

Or quickly dying... And I'm here for it!

It's easy to see what's killing it:

- Burnout following a global pandemic while homeschooling kids
- 10s of thousands of people... or is it now hundreds of thousands... laid off from companies they loved and believed in
- The realization that we're no longer willing to put up with long commutes or 10hr days at the office for no reason

There has been a shift, and things are not going back.

More people than ever are
- insisting on flexibility at work
- building their personal brands online
- unapologetically creating a side hustle
- turning their side hustle into their full-time gig
- prioritizing time with their kids over spending 12hr days in the office

And I think it's amazing!

If you want to build a career you love, you still need to work hard

But there's more space for boundaries and creating your own path than ever before

I see more women leaders than ever, who are showing up in the boardroom and also unapologetically blocking off their calendars at 3:30pm to do bus pick-up

We've seen the light, and we can't unsee it

Who's with me? ✌️💜

We tell girls they can do anything they want

The truth is, this just isn't enough...

If we aren't giving boys this message
We'll never see real change

The reality in today's society is this:

Men hold the power. So...

THEY need to believe women are equal
THEY need to be ready to promote more women
THEY need to take on more domestic work at home

If we want to see real change, we need both men and women on board.

My partner does most of the meal prep/ dinners during the week,

He does more than half of bedtimes with our 5-year-old,
He gets him dressed and makes his lunch every day,
He does school drop-off and pick-up. 

He gets breakfast ready while I'm working out.

We are modelling non-traditional gender roles in our home
And it's 100% intentional.

I want my boys to be those men.

We need to model the behaviours and have the conversations with our boys
In addition to inspiring our girls to take on whatever they want in life

Relying on telling girls they can do anything they want 
Is making them solely responsible for fixing the gender gap

And frankly, it's not enough to make real change. 

This is the time to shape the next generation
Who's with me? ✌️💜

Follow me Katy McFee for more posts on women in leadership

For years I believed executives were smarter than I was,

That they had special skills and knowledge I didn't have,

And that I may never get my seat at the table.

I assumed I would need to go spend 6-figures on an MBA to even have a chance.

Spoiler alert: I did not have that kind of money (not even a fraction of it)
And I didn't work for a company that would fund it

But I wanted it. And I was not afraid to go after what I wanted. 

If life has taught me anything, it's this:

You can do whatever the heck you want to do.

I know this because I finally got that seat at the table.
And guess what? I belonged there just as much as anyone else. 

I've been lucky to have met and worked with tons of bright, talented senior executives, from VPs to CEOs.

And guess what? They're all just regular people.

Doing their best to figure it out every day.

Just like you and me.

So if you're struggling with your own self-doubts
The first thing you need to do is start telling yourself a different story.

The story that you belong at the table, just as much as anyone else.

And then take intentional action towards making it happen. ✌️💜

PS. If you want to learn more about how I help women get that seat at the table, shoot me a DM and let's make it happen.

Hot take: If you claim to want diversity

Hire the diverse candidate over your #1 pick

(Yes, I'm bracing for all of the angry people)

I get it - you believe in a meritocracy,
You don't want to hire a subpar candidate.

But I still stand by my statement.

Here are 2 reasons why:

1. Your 1st pick is - by definition - a SUBJECTIVE choice. 

No matter how much you try to lean on objective metrics
There is always subjectivity in the hiring process

If you're choosing a white dude 100% of the time 
There is probably some bias happening that you aren't aware of.

Not necessarily your 'fault' but now that you know, time to do things differently

So just because you ranked a white man above a black woman, 
Does not necessarily mean that he is the better candidate

I urge you to challenge yourself here. 

Data shows that the people who are most adamant they aren't biased
(and that they run a meritocracy)

Are actually the most biased...

2. You won't attract great diverse candidates if your management team is made up of all older white men.

Don't be mad... it's just the truth. 

People need to see themselves represented. 
I know I did. 

You are unintentionally sending a message with your lack of diversity in leadership.

Having diversity will attract more diverse talent. 

And if you really care about diversity,

Or you've read the MANY studies showing diverse leadership teams outperform non-diverse teams...

Put your money where your mouth is and start hiring diverse candidates

Now, I'm not saying hire candidate #25 instead of #1.

But if you have 3 final candidates who are all great, 
And 1 of them is a diverse hire, 
And you DON'T currently have ANY diversity on the team...

Hire them. Even if they rank #3 in the group.

Consider the possibility that ranking them #3 may be more about you than them.

And I know what you're thinking - 
'BUT... candidate #1 has MORE experience!!'

Yes... he probably does. 

Because the leadership diversity gap widens as you go up in an organization, you are less likely to find a diverse hire with as many years of experience in a leadership role.

But that doesn't mean they aren't qualified. 
It just means it took them longer to get there.

Focus on skills and traits over years of experience.

The only way we're going to create real change is to be intentional about it. ✌️💜

PS. For those whose blood pressure is skyrocketing while reading this, ask yourself why this message bothers you so much.

I *thought* I was super healthy!!

But recently, I discovered there was more to my story under the surface...

For context: 

I'm 46, vegan and have been invested in health my entire life
I exercise regularly, eat (mostly) whole foods and meditate daily

I wear a Whoop
I almost never drink alcohol

Y'all.. I do all the things!

I thought that I was about as healthy as they come

Not long ago, I was offered the opportunity to try out NiaHealth

This is a proactive health platform that tests 150+ biomarkers and provides an assessment to help you live a longer, healthier life.

Of course, I jumped at the chance - I love this stuff!

They came to my house, drew some blood and got a urine sample

And just a few days later, I got the results that shocked this overachiever:

Suboptimal (ie. elevated) LDL and non-HDL cholesterol levels!

WTF?!?!

Now, the great thing about their test is that they also test for the specific subfactors 
That we know matter most for cardiovascular risk:  LP(a) and ApoB 

In my case, both of these are optimal, which is great

So I know there's no emergency,
But it's still something I should focus on lowering to decrease my risk.

(*And luckily they provide next steps for how to do that)

The other thing I discovered is that my blood pressure is reeeeaaally low
Low enough that I should also keep an eye on that...

Here's the lesson: Just because you're healthier than "most", 
Just because you look healthy on the outside,

Doesn't mean you're 100% healthy

These tests are available to the general public and honestly, if you can swing it, you should invest in this

Yes, you have to pay for them
But the information they give you can have a huge impact

It certainly has for me....✌️💜

taplio

The Battle

Jacob Coldwell

Katy McFee

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taplio

The Battle

Jacob Coldwell

Katy McFee

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Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Katy McFee's LinkedIn Performance

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