In this episode of Real Talk, I am excited to introduce Chuck Zich, owner of Tera Logistics and Ashley Plump, healthcare professional and licensed realtor.

I wanted to have Chuck and Ashley on the show for tworeasons. They have both been on unique career paths that I thought others would be interested in learning about, and they both exemplify a hustle mentality.

Chuck grew up working in his father's manufacturing business, eventually becoming CEO, and then he pivoted to purchasing his own logistics company and challenging himself in new ways.

Ashley has leveraged her skills and demeanor to findsuccess both as a healthcare professional and as a realtor. The connections between those roles might not be obvious on the surface, and she shared how she saw the link between them and created her own opportunity.

I was excited to pair Chuck and Ashley for this conversation. Take a listen to learn about how they have each made their way and to hear their advice to others looking to create their own path.

In this episode of Real Talk, I am pleased to introduce my Co-host DeJah Broaster, a public health advocate, and Dr. Caprice Greenberg, Chair of Surgery for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Co-Founder ofthe Academy for Surgical Coaching.

It was fascinating to hear how Caprice has approached hercareer development and how DeJah is setting out on her career path. A few keytakeaways:

· Caprice shares her unique journey to her currentrole as Chair of Surgery. While she worked for prestigious organizations as onemight expect, her path included time off from surgery to focus on research, and outside efforts to launch the Academy for Surgical Coaching, a nonprofit she cofounded to help support surgeon development and effect patient care. Herstory is an excellent reminder that not all paths are linear.

· DeJah discusses how she became Interested inpublic health through her own life experience of witnessing the disparities between those who have access to quality healthcare and those who lack access to healthresources, depending on the neighborhood. DeJah shares how she witnessed communities that are considered food deserts that also have overgrown lots that could become community gardens, and how she wants to be part of creating safe and fruitful places. DeJah’s passion was on full display when discussing this topic, driving home the importance of value fit in choosing a career path.

· When sharing their ideas of leadership, both Caprice and DeJah talk about the importance of building great teams. Caprice and DeJah discuss the importance of mentorship in career development, with Caprice emphasizing the need to find a team of mentors in order to learn different things from different people.

· When I asked them what they want their leadership legacies to be, Caprice shared her hope that she can help change theway surgeons think about learning and continuous quality improvement that affects patient care, and DeJah talked about striving to be a person that others could turn to for learning and mentoring once she is established in hercareer.

My sincere thanks to DeJah and Caprice for sharing theirtime and insights. Listen to the episode to hear about the topics above plus how Caprice leverages Ted Lasso (hint- it involves a goldfish) and how DeJah addresses overthinking and the fear of failure.

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.