In the first episode of Real Talk, I'm excited to introduce my Co-Host Destiny Lara, Assistant Civil Engineer at Burns and McDonnell and our guest Aimee Daniels, Master Chair at Vistage Worldwide. I have been fortunate to know both Destiny and Aimee for many years and was excited to connect them to share their insights on leadership and explore strategies for developing the next generation of leaders. A few key takeaways:• During our conversation, Aimee shared lessons from her own career, including experiences she had early on with a leader who believed in her fully and other team members who welcomed her and made her feel comfortable in the organization. Aimee explained how much this helped her build confidence and enabled her growth at a very young age. Hearing how much of an impact this experience had on Aimee is a strong reminder that how we see others and how we treat others, especially when we serve as leaders, can dramatically impact how they see themselves. • Aimee and Destiny were well aligned in their thoughts about how successful leaders operate. Destiny shared the helpful approach that her manager uses to ensure she has the support she needs and that she is getting exposed to various types of work across the company. Aimee and Destiny both spoke on the importance of leaders building productive and cohesive teams that lift and include voices from across the organization. They also discussed the importance of psychological safety and team alignment in optimizing productivity and enabling strong team collaboration. Aimee and Destiny both highlighted the ways in which successful leaders balance the needs of the organization and the needs of their team members.• We had a great discussion about the role of failure. Destiny shared that she has learned to appreciate failure because of the value that comes in learning from our mistakes. She talked about the importance of viewing failure as an opportunity for growth, and Aimee echoed those thoughts and shared a little about Carol Dweck’s research on the growth mindset. We covered the myth of perfection, imposter syndrome, and self-doubt, and we discussed how each of us has worked to overcome those issues. This was especially poignant for me as a recovering perfectionist, and I shared how it's only in recent years that I have let myself try things when I wasn’t certain I could be successful. • Destiny was interested in learning about approaches to stress management. Aimee talked about meditation, screen-free time and processing with others, and I shared how much exercise helps me to manage stress in my day and how I address negative thoughts. Destiny talked about how she learned to create a ritual for herself in the morning. One of my favorite quotes from the conversation was Destiny sharing about how she has learned, "What I need to feed myself mentally and physically in order to be the person I want to be.”Many, many thanks to Destiny and to Aimee for this rich conversation. Take a listen to hear about the topics above and more, including Aimee’s top 3 skills for aspiring leaders to develop and what Destiny wants to learn from other leaders.