She's That Founder: Business Strategy and Time Management for Impactful Female Leaders

013 | How to Get Motivated Again As a Female Leader (When You Stop Giving a F*#k): Business Strategy & Time Management

• Dawn Andrews • Episode 13

Share episode

Send us a text

What happens when you're a leader but you've lost your motivation? 

It's hard to get momentum back when you’ve taken time off, or things are tough in your business. Suddenly, the challenges of moving your business forward seem insurmountable; what if you stay stuck? What happens to your company? Your family? 

Seriously though, how do you find your mojo again so you can be the leader you were meant to be? Any ideas? I have a few. 

My Good Woman, If I can get unstuck, you can too. Let’s find our mojo together.

In this episode, I share

  • How to not freak out when you’re stuck
  • Seven questions to ask yourself when you’ve lost momentum
  • How to reconnect to your WHY so you can move forward
  • What to do when you don’t know what to do


This episode at a glance:

[00:04:41] This conversation is not about go, fight, win, get it done, make it happen, crush it, hustle. It's about clearing the path for yourself when you have big dreams and desires and, for whatever reason, you're not moving. 

[00:06:29] If you have discovered that you're stuck. It's okay. You're stuck. Good. Now we can do something about it.

[00:11:03] It's coming from past history and fear. And it's difficult to create, much less get moving when you're in that head space. You're stuck in the past.

[00:15:15]  So just do something.  Taking rapid messy action is what starts the wheels of motivation and momentum turning again for me.

Resources and Links:


You might also like:


More about the “My Good Woman” podcast

My Good Woman is a podcast for new and future female leaders hosted by Dawn Andrews.

I’m a happily married hockey mom, proud female leader, and founder and CEO of Free Range Thinking, where we turn founders into confident CEOs with strategic consulting and leadership training.

Grab a seat at the table with me each week for candid conversations with culture-shifting, glass ceiling-busting, trailblazing women who are leading enterprises that are changing the world. 

We discuss what makes them tick and how they get it all done. And we share actionable strategies to help you and your team get organized - so you can focus on your company’s growth, profit and impact. 

If you liked what you heard, don’t forget to follow along so you never miss an episode. And before you go, leave us a review - it would mea

Want to increase revenue and impact? Listen to “My Good Woman” for insights on business strategy and female leadership to scale your business. Each episode offers advice on effective communication, team building, and management. Learn to master routines and systems to boost productivity and prevent burnout. Our delegation tips and business consulting will advance your executive leadership skills and presence.

My Good Woman
 EP. 13 | How to Get Motivated Again As a Leader (When You Stop Giving a F*#k)

Dawn Andrews:

What happens when you're a leader, but you've lost your motivation? It is hard to get momentum back when you've taken time off, or when things are especially tough in your business. All of a sudden the challenges of moving your business forward seem insurmountable. And what, if you stay stuck? What if the stuckness lasts forever? What happens to your business? What happens to your family? What happens to your lifestyle? Seriously though. How do you find your mojo again so that you can be the leader you were meant to be? Any ideas? I have a few. My good woman, if I can get unstuck, you can too. Let's find our mojo together.

Hello friends. Welcome to My Good Woman, the podcast for new and future Female leaders. I'm your host, Dawn Andrews, a happily married hockey mom, and the founder and CEO of Free Range Thinking Business Strategy Consulting. Grab a seat at the table with me each week for candid conversations with culture shifting, glass ceiling busting, trailblazing, women leading impactful enterprises.

We discuss what makes them tick, how they get it all done, and actionable strategies to help you lead with confidence and grow the visibility, reach, and revenue of your business. We're classy ladies, but we don't bleep the swear words. Listener discretion is advised. Hello, my good woman, guess who is stuck and has lost her mojo, it's me.

They say you shouldn't tell your story when you're still bleeding from it, but. This is happening. I'm doing it right now. Here we go. I'm looking at an email from my assistant and podcast coordinator, Julissa. Front and center in the email is a GIF. It's Leslie Knope, my spirit animal from the TV series, Parks and Recreation. She's in a power suit, earphones in her ears, and she is dancing. Hard. The type across the bottom of the image says "Do It. Fierce. Power”.

In the email, there's a quote from Israelmore Ayivor, that says " You can dance in the storm. Don't wait for the rain to be over because it might take too long. You can do it now. Wherever you are right now, you can start right now. This very moment.”

Why am I receiving this email? Because I'm stuck. My creative juice has hit a dry spell. My writing has hit a block. My get up and go, got up and went. As someone who considers herself a git-er-done kind of person, it feels spooky to be unmotivated and not in action. And why does this keep happening after decades in business? Why do I keep getting stuck? Isn't there a point at which I get over it? Can you relate? Is anybody else feeling a little bit of a post-summer hangover?

I mean, we are fairly well past summer and I am still hanging over. Maybe you're feeling some post-pandemic sluggishness, or maybe you're feeling a straight-up aversion to getting any work done. I downshifted really hard during the summer. And I rested, we jet skied on a beautiful river in Wisconsin. I took the boys to a fantastic Murakami exhibit at MOCA. We had cookouts, we enjoyed concerts. I took long walks and reflected. It was nice and I really needed it. Because what's the point of building your own business? If you don't get to enjoy the fruits of your labors. But now it's time to get back to business and I feel like Jekyll and Hyde. Part of me wants to run wild in the streets with no responsibilities. And the other part is ready to focus to build, to grow. My level of excitement and inspiration is a five. Maybe a five. My level of effort and action. Maybe a two.

And is that because it's just to getting back to work thing? Is it because I'm ready to stretch, but I'm really nervous about it? I'm not sure yet. But we're going to work that out together because here's the thing. If you're a human person doing anything outside your comfort zone. You're going to get stuck. That's just a fact. And here's why I'm not concerned, not deeply concerned. I have been here before. So many times before. And after I've been there. I've been thoughtful and reflective enough to learn, to recognize when I'm stuck a little faster so I can move through it.

 And that's what I want to share with you. Heck, that's what I want to do with you, where we go and do it. We're going to do it right now. Because this conversation is not about go fight, win, get it done, make it happen. Crush it, hustle. It's about clearing the path for yourself when you have big dreams and desires and for whatever reason, you're not moving. So let's be accountability partners today and get unstuck. What do you say? Let's do it.

 The first thing I do to get unstuck is stop judging myself and making it wrong that I'm unmotivated. And just declare that I'm stuck. But stuckness can be deceptive and hard to recognize. As we grow as we try new things and we reach for bigger achievements, our psychology adapts and gets better at helping us hide at keeping us safe. Unfortunately, being stuck can look like resting or self-care. Taking a well-deserved break, taking care of those household chores. You've been putting off. Or even taking on a massive project that doesn't really move you closer to your goals. Being stuck can be kind of tricky. So I'm going to bust myself right here, right now in front of you. Here are my most recent hideouts.

Finally getting my inbox down to zero It lasted for about 22 minutes. Perfecting myself manicure skills. I can do a French manicure and I'm kind of proud of it. Reading fiction for hours at a time. I mean, you've probably heard about my obsession with Louise penny it's off the charts. Binge watching the wheel of time on Amazon prime while I'm on a treadmill. Or new girl on Netflix for the third time. These are the places that I hide out. So now that I've noticed that I'm doing it And I recognize that it's not truly resting or self-care that it's become procrastination, avoidance and stuckness. Now that I've noticed it. I've stopped making it mean something. I'm not down on myself or mad at myself for judging myself. And I'm asking you to do the same.

If you have discovered that you're stuck. It's okay. You're stuck. Good. Now we can actually do something about it. We can start to get curious and investigate. But not make it significant that you've stopped or slowed down. We're not supposed to move at top speed and be 100% productive. Every waking moment of every day. That's not human. But I think, you know, when you're hiding out. And you're actually stuck. So now that you do. I don't add a bunch of stories to it. Stop caring about what other people might think. And stop judging yourself. because once you recognize and declare that you're stuck, even if you don't know why. And you can admit it out loud to your mirror, your friends, your podcast, mic, social media, whatever works. You can begin to move past it.

You have to say what's so before you can change it. Otherwise you're locked in a never-ending battle loop with yourself. So let's say it out loud. Say it proud. I'm stuck. I'm a little stuck. Kind of stuck. I'm stuck.

Oh, doesn't that feel better?

Instead of avoiding or pushing past the feelings we're allowing them. So now what? We find our, why. And we focus on it. But again, As you know, stuckness is kind of tricky. Because there are two different versions of why. The next obvious step. When we're feeling stuck. Would be to focus on why you're stuck. Trying to figure out what's happening so you can reverse out of it and get back into action. Listen to this list and see if you recognize any of these possible reasons for stuckness.

Are you stuck because you don't know what you want? Because you're waiting for the right answer? Because you want things to be perfect before you move forward? You're bored. You're afraid of making a choice and having to live with it. You're afraid of having a tough conversation. You're out of alignment with what's right for you. Are you stuck because you need a partner or collaborator? You need resources, you need proof that your ideas will work. Are you stuck because your next steps are too vague? You're waiting for permission. Or you're waiting to be rescued.

So many reasons to be stuck right? I totally get it, a while back, I reached a point where my business had plateaued. It was a little unnerving. It was very quiet and it had been that way for months. I needed to change it up and I felt like I was treading water. The phone wasn't ringing. I was at a loss as to what to do next. So I reached out to my advisors.My wise advisors suggested I focus on bringing my work to employee resource groups inside corporations. Brilliant idea I had done it before. I enjoyed it, but it was kind of a one-off thing. As the opportunity presented itself. And I had never focused my energy and marketing on making it a larger percentage of my business.

So with that great idea, I was all in unstuck. Wahoo! I decided to pursue it and everything stalled. Even harder than before. And oh my God. Y'all it hurt. It hurt that everything stopped so hard. It felt like I was Doubling down on the quiet on the loss of income on the loss of progress. It seemed like a reasonable fit. A great idea, but why wasn't I taking action? Was I scared of stepping up? Was it too far out of my comfort zone?

When I thought about it The majority of my clients, where I get my greatest joy is in working with founders of companies to be better leaders. Rather than training corporate employees to be better at their jobs. Both are very important places to make an impact. And for me, the better fit, the better alignment. Is working with founders. So why are you stuck? Maybe you're not in alignment with what you're doing. Smart people had suggested that path. But ultimately it wasn't aligned with my strengths joy and values. So discovery, right? Happy ending. I figured out why I was stuck. So then I was unstuck, right?

Nope. Here comes the unpopular part. And the reason that I shared that story. None of the reasons we talked about before matter, or make a difference to you getting into action again. Not one bit. Knowing that you're bored. Knowing that you're out of alignment. Knowing that you're waiting for permission. Those are all facets of the same condition. But they are irrelevant to getting unstuck. Focusing on answering those questions can be therapeutic. It can reveal past history and personal preferences and values. And patterns that may be important to distinguish. But having those answers alone. Does not unstick you.

 Ultimately, they are all stories. coming up with the answers to all of those questions, to any of those questions. Is all story. It's coming from past history and fear. And it's difficult to create much less get moving when you're in that head space, you're stuck in the past.So now that I've said that how you feel? Are you in that ouchie place? I don't like hearing that myself when I'm stuck. That all of the thinking that I'm doing makes no difference. That sucks. It sucks to hear it. Especially after figuring something out after coming to some conclusion, or unearthing some past history moment that I feel like is a game-changing moment. It feels like a slap in the face to hear that it doesn't make any difference. But it's true. And I have to say it to you. I would be irresponsible if I didn't.

So this brings me to the second. Why. Remember how I said that being stuck is kind of tricky. Our psychology gets smarter. The second. Why? Not the why you're stuck. But the second, why is the connection to why you do what you do? And why it matters the second, why is why you want to make the difference that you make through your work, through your business, that you're leading.

And in the absence of a connection to that, to the second, why, why I do and why it matters. I'll start focusing on myself, my ego competition. Other people. Other people in their progress, my progress, or lack of it my concern about what other people think, what other people think of me, what they think of my choices and decisions. Ugh, once that happens, my motivation goes into a speedy, downward, stuck spiral. Once I've lost the connection to why I do what I do. And the possible impact it could make. I've gone from a place of being of service to a place of self-interest.

And there's no judgment there either, by the way. It's a necessary part of the process. We're human beings that are constantly moving out of different states of consciousness. I just know that when I'm in that place of self-interest and ego, I stopped moving. When I'm more worried about myself than when I'm focused on making a difference for others. I get stuck. And that's how I got here now. I worried too much about what I was going to say next, how it was going to go, what it was going to sound like, All of it.

 But when I shift to focusing on making the world a better place in my own small way. When I connect to the possibility of women in CEO roles. Women in influential creative roles. Women in political positions. Women leading their families with grace and power. When I think about the possibility of sharing. A story, a tip, and approach. That has the possibility of helping women feel confident and able to speak up for what matters to them and for what they want. To claim positions of power and influence. The inspiration and motivation comes roaring back to life. That's the power of the second why; the why that really matters.

So, how do you reconnect to your big, why? Let's do it together right now.

Close your eyes. And what I want you to do is envision your future self. Pick a time in the future 3, 6, 12 months from now. Just let your intuition guide you. Okay. For me, it is six months from now. Where would you like to be? Literally, you could imagine yourself sitting in your same chair where you work. You could imagine yourself in a completely new office space, you could imagine yourself on vacation. Where would you like to be? What will you have accomplished in your business at that point? How will others be in a better place because you showed up. In large or small ways or both. Envision one person that you're making a difference for. I want you to see the smile on their face or see something that they've accomplished because you've done what you do. Celebrate that moment. Just be there with it just for a little bit longer. Got the picture?

Okay. Good. Because what we've got now is a positive, upward spiral. We've gone from spiraling downward into stuckness. to upward into inspiration. But you're still not back in action yet, right? I mean, you're listening to me, you're listening to this podcast. You have a great vision in mind. You're reconnected or somewhat reconnected to your big why, You're more inspired to act, but not yet acting.

So here's the last step to getting unstuck. Just. Do. Something. Just do something. And preferably something you've never done before. no matter how small. , some people may be able to think their way out of being stuck, but if you're stuck, it usually means you're not doing anything. Which means you haven't been moving, you got to get moving. So just do something. Taking rapid messy action is what starts the wheels of motivation and momentum turning again for me. But I don't want to do that from a place of being afraid. I want to do that from that place of connecting to my big, why to the impact that I make to making a difference for at least one person. And once I'm in that place of inspiration.

Here are some, just do somethings that you can do. Set some goals and create the plans to achieve them and break them down into the super small micro pieces. Literally. a next step that you can do. Like as soon as you pause this podcast, what is the literal next step you can do? To move forward in that place of inspiration. So that you can do it and you can move on to the next step and start to build momentum. Another, just do something you can do. It's to take care of yourself in a new way. Imagine the future, you, the one that we created in the earlier part of the conversation. How would that version of you sleep, eat, exercise, hydrate. I can tell you that version of me is very different than the usual everyday version of me. The inspired version of me, the version of me that wants to make a difference. Gets plenty of sleep. She drinks all the water. And she exercises regularly. Because she's trying to keep herself in the best possible shape to be able to make an impact.

That is not the regular usual me and certainly not the stuck me. Stuck me Is chilling with the Netflix. So even though it's your best guess we're creating from a place of inspiration. So imagine your future self and take care of yourself from that place. Do it that way instead. Another, just do something Is to connect with others, a partner, a collaborator, a mentor, a coach. stand in the vision of your future self or the future impact you're making. And who are you collaborating with? Add that to the picture.

Can you make those connections or fake it till you make them right now? I mean, I'm not above having an imaginary conversation and getting advice from Michelle Obama in my own head, if it helps me move forward. So there's that. And the last, just do something I can give you is to celebrate your success along the way. I'm about to grab a big old bowl of truffle salted popcorn after this podcast is wrapped. And I'm going to send Julissa an email back With a GIF of Dame, Maggie Smith. Costumed up for Downton Abbey with the words. "I don't believe in defeat" underneath it.

Oh, my good woman. Losing your motivation can be extremely unsettling when you're a leader. But it is important to keep moving forward. Even if you're still feeling residual stuckness after this conversation, move forward anyway. A pivot is always possible and it's a lot easier if you're moving forward rather than standing stuck still. By declaring your stuckness, reconnecting to your big why, and just doing something you'll be on your way to becoming unstuck and motivated again.

Thank you for getting unstuck with me today and be my accountability partner.And I can't wait to see what you do next. So DM me and share what's up. Share what you did share, how you got unstuck. Share what you're doing now that you are on stuck. I can't wait to hear about it.And as always, thank you for listening. I appreciate you. My good woman.

Thank you for joining me this week to view the complete show notes and all the links and resources mentioned in today's episode visit mygoodwoman.com.

And I have a question. Are you looking for a way to take your business to the next level? Do you want to inspire and motivate your team? The business vision workbook can help. This workbook is designed to help business owners imagine a bold future for their business and find the words to share it. You'll be able to create a clear and compelling vision for your business that will excite and engage your team. It's easy to get started and see results quickly. Download the business vision workbook for free at mygoodwoman.com forward slash business vision.

Or find a link in the show notes. And before you go, make sure you subscribe to the podcast so you can receive new episodes, right when they're released. Thank you again for joining me, Dawnn Andrews and this episode of my good woman. I'll see you next time