Victoria Pelletier: Resilience, Executive Presence & Owning Your Seat

Your past does not get to vote on your future, unless you let it.

In this powerful episode of Women Like Me Stories & Business, Julie Fairhurst sits down with executive leader, author, and professional speaker Victoria Pelletier for an honest conversation about what it really means to be unstoppable.

Victoria shares the mindset, resilience, sacrifice, and daily choices behind high achievement. We talk about why strong women often confuse resilience with never needing rest, why life integration matters more than chasing perfect balance, and how leaders can create workplaces where people are seen as whole human beings.

This conversation also goes deep into executive presence, workplace power dynamics, personal branding for women, and what to do when you walk into a room feeling outnumbered, overlooked, or underestimated.

You’ll hear practical wisdom on owning your seat, finding allies, building confidence, growing credibility, and learning how to stop apologizing for your ambition.

If you are a woman in leadership, business, transition, or reinvention, this episode will remind you that you are not here to shrink. You are here to rise.

Subscribe to Women Like Me Stories & Business for more conversations with women who are turning lived experience into wisdom, purpose, leadership, and impact.

Ways to connect with Victoria:

Website:  https://victoria-pelletier.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Victoria.Pelletier.Unstoppable/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/victoria_pelletier_unstoppable/?hl=en

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@VictoriaPelletierUnstoppable

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

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Transcript

Welcome And Victoria’s Journey

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Hi everyone, and welcome to another episode of Women Like Me Stories in Business. I'm your host, Julie Fairhurst, and today I'm here with Victoria Peltier. Now she is living like we're jealous in Miami near the beach. So yeah, we wish we could be there, but but that's okay. So today on the podcast, we are going to be talking about being executive speakers, transformation. So Victoria is known for her bold and direct and deeply inspiring message of being unstoppable. She brings more than 20 years of corporate senior senior leadership experience, along with a powerful personal story of resilience, reinvention, courage, and refusing to let the past define the future. And that is what we are all about at Women Like Me. Today we are going to talk about what it takes to rise through adversity, lead with authenticity. Stumbled over that word, build a powerful personal brand, and step into rooms where you may have once felt you didn't belong. Victoria, thank you so much for being here. I really appreciate it. Thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_01 1:21

I'm happy to be here.

SPEAKER_00 1:22

Okay, so let's start off, Victoria, by you telling us a little bit about yourself and the work that you're doing today.

SPEAKER_01 1:29

Sure. So I am a career-long executive, taking my first executive role at age 24, recruited out of banking into the world of professional services, which is where I've remained ever since, from outsourcing to consulting, technology, and most recently the blend of all of those things, sitting at the intersection of large-scale transformation, whether it's business, I've done 40 merger and acquisition transactions, more than 100 corporate restructure or technology. And very much now with it in the age of AI, what does that mean? And then blending that with a look at the way in which we have human systems, the leadership and the culture. I've written several books. I'm a professional public speaker. And then beyond and sit on boards. And beyond that, personally, I'm a wife, a mom to two adult children, a mom to a fur baby, fitness fanatic, foodie and wine lover.

SPEAKER_00 2:21

Oh, yay! That was fabulous. Okay. So your brand includes the word unstoppable. So what does being unstoppable mean to you?

SPEAKER_01 2:34

It's very much my like life's motto and philosophy. I will not

What Being Unstoppable Really Means

SPEAKER_01 2:40

let anything prevent me from achieving the goal or objective that I set for myself. Doesn't mean that there's not going to be some challenge and adversity along the way, but I still own the choice in terms of how I'm going to react or respond and still anchor back to achieving that goal for myself.

SPEAKER_00 2:57

Wow. So was this something that you were born with inside of you? Or did you just sort of find it along your way and it was a mindset? How, like, because a lot of I think we all should be unstoppable, but for some of us, it's more difficult. So what where did that come from for you?

SPEAKER_01 3:14

I think for for me, it's a little bit of nature and nurture. So when from a nature perspective, you know, as they say fight or flight, I'm a fighter. So I'm competitive. I've always been fairly type A and driven and want to do well. I think that's innate in who I am. But then there's a level from a nurture perspective. I do think you can, like building muscles in the gym, I do think you can build a muscle around being resilient, dealing with adversity, learning how to move through and past the challenge that comes your way. So for me, you know, I'm I'm I have a very like traumatic early story of being born to a drug-addicted teenage mother who was very abusive to me. I could have gone down a very different path. I chose to be better than biology and circumstance and have continued to have quite a bit of adversity that I've suffered since. But that there's this muscle that I flexed over, you know, how to be resilient, how to process a lot of that. Um, and then as I as I said earlier about being unstoppable, sort of just anchor back to that goal or objective. So I think it's both. So I'd say for your listeners, yes, you can be born with some aspect of it, but I think you can build the muscle also.

SPEAKER_00 4:29

Yeah. And I think what you said there was key. I think you chose a different way. I I think for me as well, I chose a different way. And and I think for some people, they might not think that they have a choice, but they always do.

SPEAKER_01 4:49

Yeah, very true, Julie. I think I um I sign social media posts with two hashtags, the one you've already said unstoppable, but the other one is no excuses. And I don't I don't mean that in in a completely negative sense. I I mean I'm I'm a highly emotional person. I'm gonna experience the motion, whether it's anger or sadness, but I then have the choice in terms of how I'm gonna move past that. What are what's the language, thoughts, and actions that I'm gonna have that move me forward? So I I can wallow in sadness and I can play a victim, or I can make a choice in terms of how I'm gonna move forward.

SPEAKER_00 5:26

Yes, absolutely. I I agree with you. So when when people see your success now, what do you wish they understood about the road it took to get there?

SPEAKER_01 5:37

Oh, that it was very difficult. One, it was, as we just talked about, there's a mindset around

The Sacrifices Behind The Success

SPEAKER_01 5:44

it, a determination to achieve. You know, my adoptive moms, I was adopted out of that horrible environment. And my mom, being the woman that raised me, said to me at age 10 or 11, Tori, you need to do better than us. You know, they are lower socioeconomic means. And so I had that determination, I but a significant amount of hard work. I started working at age 11. I know that would not be allowed with today's child labor law. My first leadership role came at 14. Wow. I worked multiple jobs throughout university. I did have a scholarship, but I lived on my own. So I didn't have the social life that my friends around me did. That was my choice. I bought my first house at 19. I bought my first company at 20. I, you know, this is I'm gonna, this, some might not like what I'm gonna say next. I took almost no maternity leave with each of my two children. My choice. I I tell my team, do as I say, not as I do, and you do whatever is good right for you. Yes. Um that that was again my choice. I the I remember when my kids were six and two, that year I spent 220 days on the road, which would one tell you I didn't take vacation, but we had gone through six acquisitions in a matter of 18 months. And so, but at other times I made a different trade-off for my family, right? And so that's what I think people don't see is how much sacrifice and the significant amount of hard work that's gone into achieving the success that I've had.

SPEAKER_00 7:10

Yeah. And I think that I think that, you know, if the rules were reversed and you were a man sitting here saying that, you wouldn't be saying, you know, I know some of you are gonna think badly about this or not agree with me. But but I think we do what we do, I think we do what we think is right and what we need to do. And and uh and those things are gonna teach your kids some pretty positive lessons as well. Agree, agree.

SPEAKER_01 7:41

I think my kids would look back, and unfortunately, my ex passed away when my kids were nine and 13. Oh I made a decision. I uh we were divorced, but but had shared custody of our kids. And I had a job that had me, again, traveling, you know, 50 to 80 percent of the time. I left that job, which I loved, to move to one that had around 10% travel so I could be there when my kids needed me most.

SPEAKER_00 8:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:06

I think my kids who are 26 and 22 now would look back and recognize I did the right, the right things, air quotes, at the right times, you know, for what was important at that point.

SPEAKER_00 8:18

Yeah. Well, I I I came from a bit of a nasty background myself, and and I was uh at a turning point. And I remember thinking, okay, you can stay in a single mom. You can stay home, you can go on welfare, be there when your kids come home from school, or you can pull up your big girl panties, figure it out, and go out there and show them that life is always is also about sacrifices and about working. And we live in a society where you have to earn an income to survive. So, what is it? What are we gonna do? And I chose the same. So I I experienced, I wasn't on the road as much, but I was definitely worked very long hours. So I under, I get that. Yeah, and and I taught my kids a good work ethic.

SPEAKER_01 9:04

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:05

Which is which is important for this society.

SPEAKER_01 9:08

Oh, very much so.

SPEAKER_00 9:09

Yeah, yeah. So how did you move from surviving into intentionality, building a life and a career?

SPEAKER_01 9:18

I I do I have a phrase I use for many things from career to personal branding, which is strategic intentionality.

Strategic Intentionality And Protecting Time

SPEAKER_01 9:25

And so for me, I'm I'm very much a planner. And so going back to setting goals for myself where and planning, like I think of the last job that I've taken, and I've moved around every two or three years, and a large part because I do all this transformation work and many times I architect myself out of roles. But I think the last company I joined, I was already planning my next step. My husband was like, you haven't even started yet, and you're already planning. I'm like, I'm strategic, I'm building the path to get me to where I want to go. And then with intention, I am putting forward the actions, you know, the game plan that I need to take to achieve that. And that means you used the word, Julie, sacrifice. That means there are sacrifices in achieving that. So for me, you know, I'm I'm also a fitness fanatic, as I said in my intro, I work out six days a week in the morning. But that means I can't stay up all night Netflixing. You know, I need to get to bed early, get the quote unquote beauty sleep and rest so that I can get up, go to the gym. I protect my calendar. So that's again with intention, block my calendar so that people don't automatically assume I'm available for a 7 a.m. call. I'm in a global role, which means I'm I I do take calls at all kinds of hours.

SPEAKER_00 10:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:38

But I protect that. That's also that's just like time for me to like think about my day ahead as much as it is for me to, you know, be physical and and and work on my body in the gym. Yeah. So that's what I mean by like strategic and intentional. That said, I give myself freedom to be somewhat flexible. My move to Miami was unplanned. And I'm like, we're gonna do this. And so it's like a bit of a balance again.

SPEAKER_00 11:02

Yeah, yeah, for sure. So do you think high achievers sometimes confuse resilience with never needing rest?

SPEAKER_01 11:10

Oh, 100%. There's a ton of people who wear like that, that like a badge of honor, like around, oh, I, you know, I worked and I'm not proud. I can tell you, and I need to know for tax purposes what in what state I was and where I was traveling. I can tell you how many days I am on the road. I can tell you often how many hours a week I've worked. But again, I made the choice to do so. I do find so many who are like, that is the badge of honor. Rather than maybe reflecting on what choices did you make for better integration across your life. Between I I don't like the work-life balance thing for me. It's all life like still integration. And what were the outcomes that you achieved with all those hours that you put in? Did what did it accomplish the goals that you, you know, were hoping to?

SPEAKER_00 11:58

Yes. And that's that's an important thing to understand about your life for sure. So you've spent more than 20 years in senior corporate leadership. So what has that taught you about power and people? Um a lot.

SPEAKER_01 12:17

I'm um I'm still

Whole Human Leadership In Transformation

SPEAKER_01 12:19

saddened, Julie, by the the power and the power plays and dynamics I see in the workplace. You know, I very much entered the work world and it was, you know, a command and control environment, not very much of sort of the empathetic kind of human leadership. I still see so much of that today, despite the fact that I think there was this huge rise in crescendo from employees. Now, and I think COVID helped with that, you know, the headlines of quiet quitting and the great resignation, but that was employees demanding better and different. Yes. You know, I call it whole human leadership. And I still see so many who get it wrong. I do a lot of work with CEOs and board members and do advisory around their transformation. And much of it is about power, people. And many times I think that that's like the afterthought, even with AI these days. They think about the change management and communications and enablement so much secondarily versus that which it needs to be integral and upfront in terms of in terms of their strategy. Right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:23

What do you think makes a truly transformational leader?

SPEAKER_01 13:31

A little bit. I think there's, you know, one who looks much more holistically at the trans or transformation in terms of, and I'll keep use, I use the word a lot, like the outcome. You know, so I think, you know, I see, again, I've done all these MAs. They're like, great, so we are gonna bring it. There's gonna be synergy savings, right? We're gonna bring org, there's cost that's gonna come out of the organization, but then they don't start to think holistically around people. You're bringing together two disparate cultures. Are they gonna work well together? Sometimes the they didn't get down far enough in, you know, into the org structures in terms of making the decisions around who are gonna go, who has not only the best institutional knowledge that might contribute to things like risk or the relationships with the the clients that they serve. And so I I feel like it it's it gets made, you know, at this very ivory tower, like without getting further down and starting to think around again, the people and the process, and maybe and maybe there's you know, they're gonna be there technology pieces to it, the transformation. And so again, it's like it's the stuff I don't think they teach you when you get an MBA, quite frankly. A lot more the the the again, it's very financial, like like the transaction pieces versus again the the people components.

SPEAKER_00 14:48

Yeah. What about leaders motivating people? What do they get wrong about motivating people?

SPEAKER_01 14:57

I don't think they many of them understand the deep intrinsic motivators, which are different. You know, for for many, it's it is power. They think that that everyone aspires to move higher up the corporate ladder and it's all about money. But I think many of them don't invest the time to understand what is the motivator for that individual. We know it's not all the same. And they might not actually be capable of delivering the motivation, in which case they need to find someone else or something else that can help.

SPEAKER_00 15:29

Oh, that's a great statement. Yes, I I agree. So whole human leadership, what does that mean to you?

SPEAKER_01 15:39

That is one hard lesson I had to learn. I was not always the whole human leader. Entering the workforce as young as I did, becoming an executive, the only female executive at the time, the youngest by two decades. I thought I needed to be all business all the time. I I wouldn't say I was the command and control, but I definitely wouldn't demonstrate significant vulnerability. I never told anyone my childhood backstory. Like, I'm not letting anyone feel guilty or sad for me or or or or think that there's any weakness. And I also, I'm my nickname now is the turtle, but I found it it was the Iron Maiden. Um that's a difference. Yeah. So, you know, the mask I wore to show up confidently, not have people question whether I'd earned my seat at the table, why was I in the seat at 25 years old? Those kinds of things. So whole human leadership was the lesson I had to learn around the authenticity, is an abused term, but like being authentically me, which means the turtle nickname is because I am very resilient. I have a tough exterior shell and I can shoulder a lot, but I'm super soft and marshmallow. Like I cry at the Humane Society commercials. You know, so like but that's that's the authenticity. This is me. This is my story, this is my why, this is my purpose, and helping others learn and discover that and appreciate that they bring their whole human self to the workplace. Um, again, it's not this light switch when we walk into a figurative or or literal office.

SPEAKER_00 17:12

Yeah. What challenges do you think are facing women in executive spaces right now?

SPEAKER_01 17:20

Uh much the same as we've had for decades. I still think there's a challenge around I

Women In Executive Rooms

SPEAKER_01 17:28

I hate hearing about masculine feminine traits because for me they're just an energy, like it's just they're, you know, being going back to, you know, my my Iron Maiden, and just because I I choose to be really empathetic and caring doesn't make me soft. That's not a female trait. We all possess those. And so conversely, for being a very strong woman, I've worn the nickname as you know, being aggressive versus assertive that my male colleagues would get, or being called a bitch or whatever, you know, you know, those sorts of things. I I feel like we still face that. I still find like very the boys' club. Now I've worked in technology technology companies the last number of years, you know, and it's you know, I was the most senior person in the room, a woman, but it was only myself, one other woman, and 40 guys in this tech company, you know. And then when we had big client events, now I'm a Canadian girl who likes hockey, but it was, you know, a hockey event like on ice. Yeah, I was the I happen to play hockey. I was the only woman, and funny, it's still also 40 guys, 40 guys on the ice. I mean, not not all women are gonna do that, or like the barrel because you know, they might be the primary caregivers. So I don't see that that shifted much, certainly not in the 30 years plus that I've been in the workforce.

SPEAKER_00 18:47

Yeah, yeah. I experienced something quite similar to that in my career. I was in sales and marketing for 34 years, and I was the number one salesperson for many, many, many, many, many consecutive years, but there was an old boys' club. I wasn't invited to the, you know, the boat on the boat. I wasn't invited to this. It was just, yeah. So I understand that whole, and I just I just thought, whatever. I don't, whatever. I'm just doing my thing and you guys go do your thing. I don't really care. But deep down, it is there. It is there that you're not accepted the same way.

SPEAKER_01 19:25

Well, and and uh also on the opposite, you said you weren't invited. Like sometimes I found the same thing, but I'm actually I I'm a little bit more, I might look quite feminine, but I'm a little bit more of a guy's guy. Like I said, I play hockey, I coach my kids, right? Like, I was like, why don't you invite me? You're just assuming I'm gonna say no.

SPEAKER_00 19:43

Right. Yes, exactly. Yeah. Well, what advice would you give to women who are walking into rooms where they feel outnumbered and overlooked?

SPEAKER_01 19:53

Own it, be confident. You know, I am not a fan of fake it till you make it, except when it comes to confidence.

SPEAKER_00 20:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:01

So if you don't naturally have it, walk in, embrace it, like lean into the fact, like I think there's a lot of when I said like I'm intentional around the thinking as much as the acts of like think about what you bring to the table. Like that in itself brings confidence and don't shy away from it. So I, you know, walking into the the you know, the boardroom where I'm leading it with 40 guys at the table. Great, great. So I'm gonna own it. I'm not gonna be any different. This is me. Yeah, I'm not gonna, you know, shy away or shrink from it. But I would also say, particularly for those that are younger in your in the career, like find find your allies and find the mentors and sponsors that are gonna help support you and give you a voice in those rooms where it might be a little bit more uncomfortable or unnatural for you to to own it.

SPEAKER_00 20:47

Yeah. What about women who aren't sure about the word ambition? What do you think?

SPEAKER_01 20:58

Well, you know, I I say this to women, but I say it to my my own children. Like they, you know, you define what success looks like for you. Right. So uh, you know, be as ambitious as you know you want, but do not let others' expectations of you hold you back. And it's more holding back than than the opposite. But like if you want it, go for it. Like you're the CEO of brand you of your career, like and and go for, but at the conversely, for those who make decisions that they go, well, oh, that's not very ambitious. If you made like there's some who've chosen to, you said you made a choice to, you know, work a lot of hours with your some might do that when their children are young to be home. Yes. That's okay too. That doesn't mean you have any less ambition. No, you're making some choices that are right for you, they're right for your family, and you have the opportunity to pivot and change later.

SPEAKER_00 21:58

Yeah, yeah. I I belong to quite a few networking groups, business groups with women, different groups. And I I watch them and I find a lot of them are playing small. What do you think about that?

SPEAKER_01 22:15

What like, why do we do that? I I think there's a number of reasons for that. I mean, there's there's data, of course, that shows that women, even aspiring to that next level, will not apply for that role if they don't think they have like eight, nine, or 10 out of the 10 requisite skills that are requested. Men apply at five, right? So we we we don't have the confidence in ourselves to just go for it. And I I still think there's also a factor around, you know, the there's far too much of the household and parental responsibilities that often fall on the women. And there are only so many hours in the day. And so I think they they have they they feel like they need to make those trade-offs, yeah, as well.

SPEAKER_00 23:03

Yeah, for sure. So you talk about personal branding. So why does personal branding matter for women?

SPEAKER_01 23:13

I think a little bit around that sort of like confidence and belief in one's like

Personal Brand Beyond Online Visibility

SPEAKER_01 23:20

performance. I think many women think that their performance is going to speak for themselves. That's gonna get them promoted, that's gonna get them headhunted when that that's not the case. So, personal brand for me is exceptionally important for everyone, but very much for women. You know, you need to be speaking around not only the what you do, the the credentialization. I also find people get personal branding wrong. They think it's just the the first part, the expertise they have in a particular industry or the job title or you know, university degrees they have. That is one part of it. It's so much more than that. And and again, I just don't think you can rely upon your boss or others within an organization to promote, and in many cases, I think they might not even have awareness around it. So own your career, own your brand, like own that next step for you and building a very strong personal brand, particularly in this digital age, although you need to do it in real life as well, it needs to be the same, but is critically important for success.

SPEAKER_00 24:22

So, what is the difference between a personal brand and being visible online? Or is there a difference?

SPEAKER_01 24:29

Oh, I think there is. I find people who are very visible online, but they are sharing, usually it's their work, their their company's work product, right? Like a like marketing or advert advertisement or research paper that they've put out. That is one part of being of your brand and being visible. It connects to the work that you do, but that doesn't say anything about who you are, what expertise you bring to the table, like how have you contributed or led to that. People do business with people that they like, they trust, right? And so otherwise it's just a cog in the corporate brand in promotion. And so there's the strength of the brand itself, and then there's the strategy and intention over how do you bring that brand to life, how do you activate it and be much more visible without just being again like a marketing, you know, mouth for your company.

SPEAKER_00 25:22

Yeah, for sure. Credibility. So, what mistakes do you think we make when we're trying to build credibility?

SPEAKER_01 25:33

I find too many people are too afraid to admit they don't know what they don't know. So I think saying that, putting it up, like that builds trust. That in itself is a type of credibility when you're doing work with others. And so I'm very comfortable to say I don't know what I don't know. But however, I'm gonna school myself and or find a colleague who has that and come back.

SPEAKER_00 25:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:58

And so I also don't do not generally like to speak on topics that I don't have a really good base of knowledge in. Therefore, I've built an incredible amount of credibility because the things I do talk about are things I spent a lot of time in and have a significant amount of experience around.

SPEAKER_00 26:16

Yeah. I think too, I think that that by just what you said, you know, well, I don't know. I mean, I don't know everything. We're not walking AI machines. So I but I'm gonna go and I'm gonna find out. And to me, that that that builds credibility and trust.

SPEAKER_01 26:32

It does. It does.

SPEAKER_00 26:34

Yeah, yeah. Because you're not just you're not all of a sudden going, okay, now I have to pretend that I know this. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 26:41

Yeah, exactly. For me, and I never want to get a tripped up later saying something and then and I have to go back later. No, no, I not at all.

SPEAKER_00 26:49

Yeah, yeah. I want to go back to when you were talking about no excuses. So what does no excuses mean to you?

SPEAKER_01 27:02

So it, you know, it it is

No Excuses And Learning To Say No

SPEAKER_01 27:05

much more to do with around, as I said, like that you you have a choice in how you're gonna move forward. And so I I found too many people sit in a place of either taking no accountability for the place that they're in, or again, you you can't prevent all of the the challenge that comes your or adversity that comes your way, but you have a choice in how you're gonna respond to it. And so for me, no excuses is like we can't stall and prevent ourselves from moving forward without one. I think there's a significant amount of like self-reflection and awareness that needs to take place. In some cases, people contribute to the place that they're in. Let's understand why, let's make sure we've learned for it and and and take action to do something differently going forward. And then also when stuff just inevitably is going to happen, you know, you like I said earlier, you can have emotion around it, but you need to move past it. Like that the whole victimhood. Like I find too many people that sit in that zone. So my no excuses is for people who sit squarely in that space.

SPEAKER_00 28:07

Yeah. Let me let me ask you a personal question. What excuses did you have to stop making?

SPEAKER_01 28:17

I I had I had excuses actually over more why I couldn't say no to things. I think I was such a pleaser in my desire to want to perform, wanted to do more that I didn't always prioritize. And, you know, and working 24-7 and being on call all the time, like I I actually made those kinds of excuses when I I didn't need to. So I've learned to become much more like maniacal with how and where I spend my time. And if it doesn't bring me personal or professional joy or value, I say no, I delegate, I outsource. I couldn't do that. I made all kinds of excuses for why I couldn't do that before and I had to do it myself.

SPEAKER_00 28:58

People pleasing. Yeah, big one for sure. Absolutely. Well, how do you know when it's time to evolve into a new version of yourself?

SPEAKER_01 29:10

I feel like I personally I'm I'm constantly like doing some kind of personal reflection coupled with the planning of where I want to get to. And at some point, you know, like I think I've career-wise, like yes, I've achieved success. It's, you know, these senior levels, but my definition of success changed at some point. And so how and where I focused and spent my time and how much of the type of work I did changed to evolve. And so I think it's that self-awareness, self-reflection, going back to like what brings you personal or professional joy or value. And if you're in a zone where it doesn't anymore, you're not excited about getting up. That's a great time to say then possibly this is this moment of reflection and an opportunity for me to pivot.

SPEAKER_00 30:01

Yeah. Yeah. What about loneliness, pressure or expectations? How do you handle that? Or how do we handle that when that comes our way?

SPEAKER_01 30:15

I well, pressure. I mean, I don't think I've ever not felt some kind of pressure, you know. So for me, I this is the DNA part, probably. I thrive a little bit in that like chaos and pressure environment. I feel like I'm the type of person who breaks stuff just to put it together again. So I like it, but I recognize not everyone does. And so I think again, there's this element of like, at what point is too much? And so learning what is that breaking point and what do I need to do to create some balance around that and get back to like more manageable is that, you know, do I need to say no? Do I need to get better at, you know, you know, whether it's time management, pushing back appropriately, you know, or you know, just changing priorities, you know, to that that can create the pressure. And don't let others, like I I've also been let others, it's probably more less pressure, more I felt heavy mom guilt as a, you know, but it was I I let others spend too much time and talking and getting into my head over that versus me personally. So sitting with yourself. I'm I'm fortunate. I I to not that I haven't felt lonely to that that third part. I do try, and although it's a smaller, I have a massive network, but my inner circle is tight. Yes. Um, and I always keep a tight inner circle that prevents me. I'm very fortunate from ever feeling too lonely.

SPEAKER_00 31:40

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I'm uh I thrive on pressure as well. Yeah, yeah. To be a sales, you have to. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Give me pressure and I can get it done. The worst thing you could ever say to me is, you know what, why don't you give me a call when you get a chance? Because you're never going to get that call. It just won't happen. You know, it'd be like, okay, let's book it right now. You know, we need to, yeah, because you just get so busy and the next thing you know, but pressure, pressure, I don't mind pressure. Yeah. So what would you say to a woman who feels like her past disqualifies her?

SPEAKER_01 32:14

I I challenge the thinking. You know, if it's a career pivot, which is probably a little bit more where I see that,

Turning Your Past Into Power

SPEAKER_01 32:22

you know, where she says, you know, I'm not sure I have the requit experience. So spend some some time like in some brainstorm. Like many times, like I think, you know, not everyone's going to instantly understand your C your resume or CV and the qualifications you have, and therefore they think it's disqualified. Learn how to be great storytellers. Yeah. Build the bridge for others in terms of where your past is applicable towards the future and how you can contribute to success and outcomes, you know, in that new opportunity.

SPEAKER_00 32:52

That is fantastic advice. Absolutely. Use your story to help you instead of thinking that it's a that it's something that should be holding you back. Because it's all in the way you, it's all in the way you present it. And if you can find parts of your life that are that would ref reflect or or be used within that position that you're wanting to go to, then figure out how to talk about that. Yeah. Yeah. Just yeah, very helpful. Okay. So women who are underestimating themselves. What are you going to tell them?

SPEAKER_01 33:30

A few things. And so I think there's a lot, I I I I talk a lot about self-awareness and self-reflection. Like, I'd ask them, like, why are you, why do you underestimate yourself? Like, what is it that you haven't done in the past or that you are not you can't be proud of? And so spending some time, and I'm not a I'm not a vision board type of person for me personally, but if that works for others, then document it, hand to keyboard or write it on a whiteboard, like, and so you can stare at it. But also going back to like the loneliness and surrounding yourself with people, find people who are going to help lift you up.

SPEAKER_00 34:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 34:07

Like raise and sometimes we have blind spots. Like get some people around you who will help you identify those and who can love and support you.

SPEAKER_00 34:16

Yeah. Yeah. I I think so often we, especially as women, we don't value the the skills and the gifts that we have. And we think, oh, well, that's not a big deal, or yeah, I did that. But but it is a big deal. And and we need to learn to to appreciate those gifts and and our talents more. So what do you think we need to stop apologizing for?

SPEAKER_01 34:45

Some of the things we've talked about here, ambition, drive, you know, the the the integration choices we have in our life. Like I think, you know, there's there's a lot of guilt around that. Stop apologizing for that. Like, you know, I think particularly those women who've chosen to become parents, like it for me, like my executive career didn't stop. And so I became an executive three months after I give birth to my first. Like, you can do both. Again, if you choose not to order pause, that's also a choice that you make, and that's cool. But we're apologizing for that, and we need to stop.

SPEAKER_00 35:26

Yeah, I think we apologize way too much. Yeah, yeah. So, Victoria, what is one truth you wish every woman out there knew about her own power?

SPEAKER_01 35:45

I well first of all, I'd say that learn what their power is. And and with that, the storytelling behind that power is another. And and actually, I guess even in a bridge, do not apologize for that power. Like embrace that superpower and make it even much more powerful as you go out into the world.

SPEAKER_00 36:09

Yeah, yeah. Such great advice. My goodness. I've just gotten, I can feel myself getting rattled up. It's yeah, it's fabulous. Can you tell us what you do? How do you help women?

SPEAKER_01 36:23

A number of things. So I am a mentor in my corporate workplace. I also formally coach and mentor people outside,

Books, Mentorship, And Legacy

SPEAKER_01 36:33

whether that's on career coaching, which there always seems to be a blend with a little bit of, I wouldn't call me a life coach, but maybe a little bit of an accountability coach sometimes in there is necessary. Yeah. Some personal brand coaching. And then besides that, particularly for those I'm close to, I am their biggest cheerleaders.

SPEAKER_00 36:50

Yeah, that's fabulous. Well, I want to let everyone know that we're gonna have Victoria's information in the show notes. So if you want to reach out to her and see if she has something that uh could help you or or look up, how many books have you written?

SPEAKER_01 37:05

I have book number four that came out just two weeks ago from when we're recording this, and one that will come out later this fall, book number five. Wow. So what was book number four? Book number four is the leadership transition guide. So, like a modern take on the first 90 days as you enter into a new transition. Oh, that one sounds interesting. Wow. And what's that one called? It's called the Leadership Transition Guide. That's what it's called. Okay. The whole human, I forget my subtitle. That's okay.

SPEAKER_00 37:35

That's okay. That's okay. You know what? We'll have we'll have everything in the show notes for folks. So if they want to reach out and get it. Well, I appreciate you being here so much. And you have just really done like everything you've said has just been so positive and so encouraging. And and I hope whoever is listening has been able to be lifted up from this conversation. There's a lot of us out there that need that need a, you know, need it need a little bit of a kick in the rear end to to get ourselves up and going. And and uh, and you did that very gently, very nicely and gently. So let me ask you, what legacy do you hope to leave through your voice and your leadership?

SPEAKER_01 38:21

I um I'm determined. This is my what I said earlier, my definition of success changed dramatically. It's very much about am I leaving the workplaces, the community, and the world at large a better place when I left it than when I came in? That includes, did I raise two really good human beings? Have I coached and mentored people to be them their best selves? I'm also highly focused and have been forever on diversity and inclusion. Am I creating those kind of safe psychological spaces where there's a sense of belonging for others? I want people talking about those things rather than the ticks in the boxes around like the PLs I've managed or the MAs I've I've transacted.

SPEAKER_00 39:03

Yeah, yeah, that's beautiful. Yeah. Well, thank you, Victoria, for being here. I appreciate it again so much. And uh for all of you, don't hesitate to reach out. We're gonna have information in the show notes on how you can reach out to Victoria and check out what she's got going on. And once again, Victoria, thank you for being such a great guest and for being so honest and open and sharing bits and pieces about your life, but also lots of fabulous tips about how we as women can can build ourselves up and be stronger. Get out there. Thanks for having me. You're welcome. Take care, everybody.