Be Nobody’s Darling: Leading with Ambition and Authenticity

Brittany Hale, founder of BND Consulting, is here to dismantle the narrative that ambitious women should stay in the shadows. From tackling the insidious “Tall Poppy Syndrome” to navigating biases in leadership, Brittany shares how women can own their ambition unapologetically. She also drops wisdom on harnessing conflict as a strategic superpower and why authenticity is the ultimate key to success.

👉 Connect with Brittany Hale on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittanyshale/

Follow us on Tik Tok @shesambitiousaf for more content and episode teasers!

Transcript

[00:00:00] Welcome to She's Ambitious AF, the bold and empowering podcast that turns up the volume on female entrepreneurship. Join us as we dive headfirst into the wild world of boss babes, where we spill the tea on all things, ambition, success, and the occasional hilarious disaster. 

Angelica Maestas (Host): today I'm excited to chat with guest Brittany Hill. Brittany, why don't you say hello to folks?

Brittany Hale (Guest): Hello. Well, first, thank you for having me. I love this podcast and my name is Brittany Hale. I, the founder and chief consultant at B and D consulting. And my goal is to redefine the face of leadership. I am an attorney, business strategist and conflict consultant. 

Angelica Maestas (Host): Wonderful. That's a very interesting background. I can see how it would lend itself well to the work that you're [00:01:00] doing. I one of the posts that I saw that was really interesting before we even had the chance to connect you talked about tall poppy syndrome. And I would love to, well, one is I would love if you could share what that is and kind of what the effects that has been organizationally and on women and then we can dive a little bit deeper into that.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Wow,

Brittany Hale (Guest): most often at work where those people who are ambitious engaged are systemically excluded. And really ostracized right when it comes to their work. So if you think about a poppies in a field, the tall poppy sticks out and so they're, they're often cut down.

Brittany Hale (Guest): So what that cutting down looks like is other people taking credit for their work. Again, being excluded from work events or opportunities [00:02:00] that may allow them to continue to act on that ambition really just punishing them for being ambitious and seeking excellence, where very often mediocrity is rewarded and encouraged. Sound familiar?

Angelica Maestas (Host): yeah, it does.

Brittany Hale (Guest): And so, so it's interesting because although it can apply to others, it most often applies to women. so there've been women polled, about across, I want to say 103 and overwhelmingly women responded that they've either been. Part of or victim to the tall poppy syndrome. So about 60 percent of women polled found that they needed to leave [00:03:00] their roles because they were facing such disparate treatment and this study was done by the the group Women of Influence. And so when they said, you know, what does it feel like for you to work? You You know, how does it feel when you are the tall poppy and we've seen that women are leaving roles and so for those who are in power, one would think it wouldn't make sense to seed your talent and have your talent go elsewhere, but that's effectively what's happening is that women are feeling pushed out of their work environments for trying to do what they've been told all their lives, right?

Brittany Hale (Guest): Trying to act on opportunities.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Yeah, so as, as you were talking about kind of describing the, the punishment and getting cut down, definitely experienced that in my career and very early on from my first job at Wendy's, where I was [00:04:00] just a star employee, like so much pride in work, and I did stand out from the rest. But what I also found curious too, is that it, it wasn't that.

Angelica Maestas (Host): My colleagues were my enemies, like a lot of them were, were close to me. They were friends, but the thought of someone reaching a height above you, it just, it brings out sometimes the worst in you, and, and do you think it's a mixed bag of that in organizations, that some people just, they're not out to hurt you, but their jealousy and maybe resentment comes out sideways?

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm hmm.

Brittany Hale (Guest): something that just magically happens at work. It's not one bad actor, right? This goes all the way back to, think about when you were a child and there was a, a know it all. And so we've, we've traditionally thought of these people and specifically if you were a girl, you may have been encouraged to excel, but not to be a know it all.

Angelica Maestas (Host): [00:05:00] Mm,

Brittany Hale (Guest): really enjoyed learning. might have been called a nerd, right? And we've seen this in pop culture as well, where the women who are really, really focused, really joyful in their pursuit of their passions or,

Angelica Maestas (Host): mm-hmm

Brittany Hale (Guest): whatever comes next for them. They're, they're punished. so with, by the time you get to work, there's a, a tacit understanding that you really just kind of want to be in the middle there.

Brittany Hale (Guest): You, you don't want to stick out for poor performance, but you understand that if you excel too much, Then maybe you're not asked to, to go on walk breaks as often. Maybe you maybe others are just, they're not comfortable with that type of success. So when we think about these bad actors, and we can't, it's, not that people are complex.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Yeah.

Brittany Hale (Guest): black, white, tons [00:06:00] of gray. And when we have the tall poppy phenomenon, what we see is that there's tons of gray across the spectrum, because it can look like maybe. Not inviting someone to a meeting because you're afraid that they're going to to be too competent

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm. 

Brittany Hale (Guest): you know, the, I wrote how many times have you been in a zoom?

Brittany Hale (Guest): And when they're asking, you know, does anyone have any questions? The tall poppy is probably going to ask questions

Angelica Maestas (Host): Yeah.

Brittany Hale (Guest): you may, you may see those, those microaggressions, the eye roll, the leaning

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm-hmm . Mm-hmm

Brittany Hale (Guest): of these signals to suggest that the tall poppies behaviors are not something that you want to emulate.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Right. so changing things organizationally is more what, what you're working to do and, and kind of changing that culture. But what kind of a role [00:07:00] do we play ourselves like in our head? As we're thinking about combating that and, you know, the reason I, I chose my podcast name is yes, I am ambitious AF, but it was not always a positive thing when people would say that about me.

Angelica Maestas (Host): It was kind of condescending. And yeah, isn't she ambitious? And it was just kind of Not necessarily a positive. And so in my mind, I made it a positive. I do believe it's a positive. But how do we as women go about reframing that in our own heads?

Brittany Hale (Guest): So the first point is self reflection. So I, when I first encountered the tall poppy phenomenon, I sat back and I thought about every moment when I felt fearful of sharing my accomplishments and accolades. 1 moment sticks out is when I left laws, undefeated trial attorney, and I pivoted toward consulting because I saw an opportunity to be [00:08:00] more proactive than reactive. And so I had my 1st speaking engagement. I was really, really excited. The emcee who introduced me as I went about introducing myself and the roles that I'd held, whether it was as an attorney or an elected official or, you know, in a consultative role, he interrupted and said, okay, we get it.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Oh, no. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Right. Mm hmm. Mm hmm. Mm hmm. Right.

Brittany Hale (Guest): about, right? How does this undefeated trial attorney go about becoming an entrepreneur and, and, you know, change?

Brittany Hale (Guest): What does that look like? But was all of these moments that I realized, huh? This is what this looks like. This is what this looks like in law school. This is what it looks like in college or grade school. To your point, when people say, Oh, [00:09:00] okay, she's, she's ambitious. And there's the wink and the nudge.

Brittany Hale (Guest): You know, we know what that's supposed to mean specifically when you're talking about women. So I encourage the women who are, are watching, think about all of those moments and think about the message that you were supposed to take. From that moment, when I was interrupted by the MC, the message I was supposed to receive was that I was not supposed to share my experience.

Brittany Hale (Guest): Okay. I was not supposed to talk about it. And so what do you do with that? So it's. Reframing your own experience, first of all, and then understanding that although it is interpersonal behavior, right? And it feels very personal, understand that it's a symptom of a root cause, is we don't know what to do with ambitious women. In society currently, have you ever been in a space where we, we talk about a woman who's been incredibly [00:10:00] successful? The next question is, but is she married? But does she have children? Right? We have these reflexive to search for any sign of a lack of trust. Success

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm-hmm

Brittany Hale (Guest): ambitious woman, because the narrative that we've had for quite literally hundreds of years, because an ambitious woman 100 years ago would have been called perhaps an A spinster, right?

Brittany Hale (Guest): Or

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm-hmm . Oh, yeah. Right. Yep.

Brittany Hale (Guest): A woman who a woman who set boundaries and was very, very clear about what she was and was not going to do and the spaces in which she was going to show up. And so when we think about that, understand that if you're going to be ambitious, if you've been ambitious and you've never encountered any challenges, I would say, congratulations, that's a [00:11:00] rare experience,

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm-hmm

Brittany Hale (Guest): If you're going to be ambitious AF, you are going to encounter people who do not like that,

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm-hmm

Brittany Hale (Guest): we've been taught that women are helpers and they are not leaders,

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm-hmm . Right?

Brittany Hale (Guest): we've been taught

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm-hmm

Brittany Hale (Guest): are not best suited for power. How many times have you heard, Oh, you know a man may be the head of the household, but the woman is the neck, It's

Angelica Maestas (Host): Oh, yeah.

Brittany Hale (Guest): this,

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm-hmm

Brittany Hale (Guest): very, again, tacit and mostly silent, right? Because your neck

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm-hmm

Brittany Hale (Guest): But your head does.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm-hmm

Brittany Hale (Guest): And so you, you were

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm-hmm.

Brittany Hale (Guest): be, suggested quietly influential instead of owning your experience and being very clear about what you want. So, when you're in the workplace, understand that there's going to be resistance. But that resistance does not have to define your experience. There are tons of women who've [00:12:00] left workplaces because their talent has not been appreciated.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Hmm. . Mm-hmm

Brittany Hale (Guest): you know, what their line in the sand is. I'm not suggesting that anyone undergoes any sort of harassment or, you know, jeopardizes their health in favor of being ambitious.

Brittany Hale (Guest): But understand that it's all about strategy.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm.

Brittany Hale (Guest): that you are going to encounter these challenges, how can you strategically engage? this is part of why I've become a consultant, because you hear conflict, you think fighting,

Angelica Maestas (Host): Right.

Brittany Hale (Guest): right? Conflict is the energy or space between what we want and what we're experiencing.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm.

Brittany Hale (Guest): What we want is to be recognized for our talent. skills, we want to be valued [00:13:00] in our workplace. What we may be experiencing is being overlooked, not receiving that promotion, having someone else take credit for what we're doing. do we do with that, right? Because each experience compounds upon the other.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Right. Mm-hmm

Brittany Hale (Guest): solution is conflict curious, knowing that you are ambitious, knowing that you can provide value. We know that women outnumber men when it comes to undergraduate education, we're rapidly advancing when it comes to graduate education. Okay.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm-hmm

Brittany Hale (Guest): do with that? Well, we become conflict curious, understanding, naming it. Oh, I'm experiencing tall poppy syndrome. How is this going impact the workplace?

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm hmm. Yeah.

Brittany Hale (Guest): to my team its goals? [00:14:00] How do I make sure that I receive credit for the work that I do? We know that women are often even if you say to your supervisor, you know, actually was my idea for us to further this strategy. Sometimes women are told, okay, well, you know, it's not all about you. This was, this was a team effort. This

Angelica Maestas (Host): Right.

Brittany Hale (Guest): Right. And getting strategic about those responses, being strategic about making sure that your, your credit, your value is seen and most importantly, appreciate it and

Angelica Maestas (Host): hmm. Yeah.

Brittany Hale (Guest): you know, yeah,

Angelica Maestas (Host): I'm thinking about it now in the context of, of being a founder. So one is being a founder is a very vulnerable experience. Being an entrepreneur, it's vulnerable. It's even very [00:15:00] irrational, especially when you quit your full time job and you go and do this thing that has no guarantee of success.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Like it's

Brittany Hale (Guest): Mm hmm.

Angelica Maestas (Host): one of the most irrational things that a human can do. And for women who do it. I love that they have the ability to take that leap because it means you have to have a level of confidence in yourself. And, and when I did it, many people tried to talk me out of it. They, so many thought it was like intervention level.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Are you okay? Have you lost your mind? Why, what, what are you doing?

Brittany Hale (Guest): Right.

Angelica Maestas (Host): And, and I get it, you know, looking back how that may have seemed, but it, I was willing to. Gamble on myself, but one of the challenge challenges that founders have early on is that it may be a team of one or a team of two. as they're building their business.

Angelica Maestas (Host): So it's, you know, less about team meetings and interactions, but [00:16:00] lots of interactions with the investors that they're pitching to, the other founders that they're engaging with if they're looking for a co founder to bring onto the team. And There's a real high level of imposter syndrome. And we know that women already have the odds stacked against them.

Angelica Maestas (Host): If they, if they pursue venture capital, less than 2 percent of us venture capital dollars goes to women. And so they already know all these things going in. How, what advice would you have for those women who are already knowing the odds are stacked against them? And that , their abilities are not as highly touted as say, just a man with the exact same skillset.

Brittany Hale (Guest): Over prepare and affirm yourself. You know what the facts are, there are studies done about the likelihood of obtaining venture capital, your likelihood of your [00:17:00] business succeeding, and yet and still we do it anyway. We know that women led businesses are highly successful. They're more likely to have higher levels of revenue.

Brittany Hale (Guest): We know that women are more successful in leadership positions,

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm-hmm . Right?

Brittany Hale (Guest): Understanding that Angelica, you know, like you said, it was intervention level. Right? People said, Oh, don't don't do that. Why would you do that?

Angelica Maestas (Host): Yeah.

Brittany Hale (Guest): knew you had a your own distinct competitive advantage and you knew that you saw a vision that others didn't see, but you didn't allow others to determine what you were going to do. Similarly, listeners coming into the space understand others are not going to see your vision. They're not obligated to.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm

Brittany Hale (Guest): that they don't see it. You have to see it

Angelica Maestas (Host): mm

Brittany Hale (Guest): and you have to be resilient [00:18:00] enough To continue in the face of adversity, to

Angelica Maestas (Host): mm-hmm

Brittany Hale (Guest): of disbelief. So even when you're seeking, you mentioned venture capital investors, there's a phenomenon again, which is actually in furtherance of tall poppy where there's two types of questions investors will ask. There are promotion questions and there are prevention questions. questions, those are the softballs. Those are designed to uplift your particular area of expertise. They're designed to make sure that you, you know your stuff, but most importantly, you appear as if you know your stuff.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm, mm-hmm

Brittany Hale (Guest): Overwhelmingly, men who are entrepreneurs, who are founders, They're overwhelmingly provided with those promotion questions, but then you have the prevention questions, prevention questions and more commonly known as the gotcha questions. Right? are the questions

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm,

Brittany Hale (Guest): [00:19:00] designed to, to poke holes in your expertise, to poke holes in your idea and to, to trip you up and to, and if you are not sure yourself, it's going to shake your confidence.

Angelica Maestas (Host): mm-hmm

Brittany Hale (Guest): have to know how to be agile, they have to know how to be resilient and they have to understand that you're going to be, you're going to be presented with tons of prevention questions. But again, deeply understand your distinct competitive advantage and that may be your authenticity. It may be your clarity. It may be the ways in which you're able to definitely navigate conflict because that's a conflict in and of itself, right? You are asking me a question to trip me up. I'm seeking funding from you. That can't be the, the thing that discourages you knowing that you're receiving [00:20:00] less than 2 percent of funding. yet and still women are starting businesses every day.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm-hmm . Right? Yeah.

Brittany Hale (Guest): so again, being over prepared, resilient, being adaptable.

Angelica Maestas (Host): I love that. And I also. I also think it's hard to identify your personal competitive advantage. Like when you're selling the business and, and, and a product that, that can be easier, but you're also selling yourself as a founder when you're pitching to investors.

Brittany Hale (Guest): absolutely.

Angelica Maestas (Host): And you have to have that, like, you have to know what it is that you are, are the best at that other people aren't.

Angelica Maestas (Host): And I think women, struggle because we have very high standards for ourselves, especially

Brittany Hale (Guest): Correct.

Angelica Maestas (Host): I can remember minimizing my accomplishments from like six years old. It was my, my brother told me to, I was a spelling [00:21:00] bee champ and he was telling me to spell transmission in front of his friend and I did it and I just felt like such a fraud.

Angelica Maestas (Host): I was like, that's not even a hard word. Like, yeah. I just didn't feel that I should be praised for spelling transmission or, you know, just those things are kind of been ingrained. Do you, do you struggle with that? Do you have a hard time or are you much better at it now with recognizing what you're great at?

Brittany Hale (Guest): With it to, to even to say I'm great at this. Without that sense of, Oh my gosh, am I lacking in humility? And it really took a mentor to approach me and say, stop approaching your power with humility.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Oh.

Brittany Hale (Guest): humble about your purpose.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Oh. Mm

Brittany Hale (Guest): And I really had to say, So I'm not going to sit with that one because it challenged everything that I was taught.

Brittany Hale (Guest): Right? Be humble. Don't be, don't brag. Don't be a bragger. Don't, [00:22:00] you know,

Angelica Maestas (Host): hmm. Mm

Brittany Hale (Guest): don't be too flashy. Keep your head down. Work hard. Other people, allow other people to affirm you.

Angelica Maestas (Host): hmm.

Brittany Hale (Guest): is, you know, Very often that doesn't come, especially for ambitious women.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Yeah.

Brittany Hale (Guest): And so it's up to you to take it and get comfortable with it. If you're not sure what your distinct competitive advantage is, ask people who know you and that you

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm hmm.

Brittany Hale (Guest): do you think? What do you think I'm good at? Compare that with what you know to be true about yourself.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm hmm. Yeah.

Brittany Hale (Guest): explore, you know, what that is. But again, it's, it's always this delicate balance between internal validation and external affirmation.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm hmm.

Brittany Hale (Guest): There are going to be some people who will strategically withhold that affirmation. And thinking about what that is, right? So you're in a, in a practical space, your [00:23:00] manager may not want to affirm your work too much because they have a limited budget. And they know they may not be able to, to pay you what you're worth.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Right.

Brittany Hale (Guest): It's not necessarily a malicious intent.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm hmm.

Brittany Hale (Guest): It's a very

Angelica Maestas (Host): Yeah.

Brittany Hale (Guest): and grounded one. But, if you were to wholly, and I've worked with women who've been in their roles for decades, because they want to be nice,

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm hmm. Mm

Brittany Hale (Guest): want to, they want to be liked.

Angelica Maestas (Host): hmm.

Brittany Hale (Guest): You will have women who will center like a bit, you have to be liked, people have to like you.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm hmm. Mm

Brittany Hale (Guest): likability is wholly subjective. It's a constantly moving target, so you will constantly be shape shifting to try to fit the mold of other people's likability.

Angelica Maestas (Host): hmm. It's

Brittany Hale (Guest): entering the space [00:24:00] authenticity rules. It's

Angelica Maestas (Host): true. Yeah.

Brittany Hale (Guest): it is because we, we've seen kind of the, the veil's been ripped

Angelica Maestas (Host): Yeah.

Brittany Hale (Guest): right?

Brittany Hale (Guest): We've seen that there are people who are, who are likable. And right

Angelica Maestas (Host): hmm. Right.

Brittany Hale (Guest): what people are craving is trust, trust in a brand, trust in a person, trust in a leader. We want that above anything. So it's your authenticity, who you truly are, and your ability to show up as you are in multiple spaces. That is going to carry the day.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Why do you think that is now? Because I 100 percent agree that right now it's It's perfectly acceptable and applauded to be authentic and that it's refreshing and people want it now. Is it because after [00:25:00] COVID, I mean, most of our connections are virtual like this, there's not, you know, a need for, well, not, there's not a need, but there's less of the in person interaction.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Like what is it and why is this being a little bit more accepting now and embraced? Yeah.

Brittany Hale (Guest): like a pandemic, right? We go back to, to some of our most basis. and whenever you're in a space where you're seeking survival, right? You

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm, Mm hmm, Mm Hmm, Mm, Mm, Mm,

Brittany Hale (Guest): we're presented with more data points than ever, We never turn off their social media. You, you get news alerts constantly, you are, you're presented with information Your brain is subconsciously making tons and tons of decisions. It's. But [00:26:00] consciously, you're exhausted by making these decisions. And so, there are some things that you do on autopilot. So again, like you said, from, you know, right now, we're in these respective spaces. I'm making decisions based on, okay, you know, you know, The painting in the background, you know, there's books. Okay. This person's an avid reader. What does that tell me about who they are? But additionally, with the, all of the information we're presented with tons of influencers, right? We have now commercialized connection.

Angelica Maestas (Host): mm,

Brittany Hale (Guest): And because we've commercialized connection, lacking in that trust. So once upon a time, you, you didn't have access to. media. So you have

Angelica Maestas (Host): right.

Brittany Hale (Guest): Oh, okay. If this particular if the star in Hollywood says that they like this toothbrush, of course, they're being compensated, but you liked the [00:27:00] way that they presented,

Angelica Maestas (Host): Heheheheheh, mm hmm,

Brittany Hale (Guest): you know, coming out of a store or all of that. We had limited access now. on our phones 24 7. can constantly see what people are up to. We've also

Angelica Maestas (Host): mhmm, 

Brittany Hale (Guest): we've seen the veil fall away. We don't see these highly curated really kind of, Archetypes of people.

Angelica Maestas (Host): mm,

Brittany Hale (Guest): we've seen them at their worst. We've seen them under stress. We've seen them you know, when they're in conflict in there, some of their basis instincts. So if someone has an interaction with a celebrity on a flight. that person wasn't very nice to them. That one person's subjective interaction can go viral.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm hmm,

Brittany Hale (Guest): can completely

Angelica Maestas (Host): mhmm,

Brittany Hale (Guest): how we perceive that person and everything that they're affiliated with.

Angelica Maestas (Host): yeah,

Brittany Hale (Guest): [00:28:00] And the same happens with brands, right? The same hap we've, we've seen certain companies recently, there was a, a bank where a woman who passed away was left there for days.

Angelica Maestas (Host): oh gosh,

Brittany Hale (Guest): seen other employees who quite literally worked themselves to death. informing our ability to trust in

Angelica Maestas (Host): mm,

Brittany Hale (Guest): that bank,

Angelica Maestas (Host): mhmm,

Brittany Hale (Guest): leadership. Is that somewhere that we want to work? Do we feel like we will be valued?

Angelica Maestas (Host): right,

Brittany Hale (Guest): You know, and so these are, these are the things that come to the fore. And this is why we are clamoring for authenticity, because

Angelica Maestas (Host): mhmm,

Brittany Hale (Guest): know people can buy followers.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Right? Yeah.

Brittany Hale (Guest): wow, this person has thousands of followers, we, we see that they're streaming farms. So, so there's so much artifice we're presented with, that we're

Angelica Maestas (Host): Yeah,

Brittany Hale (Guest): [00:29:00] for you know, we're, we're in a desert of artificiality.

Angelica Maestas (Host): it's so true.

Brittany Hale (Guest): of authenticity.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Oh, I love that. Okay, Oasis of Authenticity. This will be part of my plug for the social media post.

Brittany Hale (Guest): I love it.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Wonderful. Okay. Well, this has been great conversation so far. I want to transition us to some rapid fire questions.

Brittany Hale (Guest): Love it.

Angelica Maestas (Host): All right, Ambition Anthem. What's your go to get pumped song?

Brittany Hale (Guest): Oh, this is a good one. This is a good one. I actually have a playlist, but when you ask me immediately diva by Beyonce, cause to your point, tradition. Oh, she's a diva. It's something that we're not really, we want to shy away from. I like the idea of embracing it.

Angelica Maestas (Host): I love that. On a nerdy note, I was referred to as a data diva, because

Brittany Hale (Guest): Oh, I [00:30:00] love it. I love that.

Angelica Maestas (Host): I'm like, what?

Brittany Hale (Guest): Gotta make sure the data's clean, right? Before it makes me jealous. She's a data diva. I love it.

Angelica Maestas (Host): One thing you'll never apologize for. 

Brittany Hale (Guest): I will never apologize for honoring my boundaries. Boundaries are the highest form of self respect. And I can't respect you if I don't respect myself.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Guilty pleasure when you need to unwind.

Brittany Hale (Guest): Video games.

Brittany Hale (Guest): Oh, would not have guessed that. One word you want people to associate with you. One word. I would say authenticity. 

Angelica Maestas (Host): Boldest thing you've done this year.

Brittany Hale (Guest): The boldest thing that I've done this year has been, I have pitched celebrity owned beauty [00:31:00] brand. in my pitch, I said, can you see yourself working with me? they said yes, and I got to work with them, and it was amazing.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Wow. And last but not least, what can our listeners do to support you?

Brittany Hale (Guest): First, if you've gotten this far, thank you for listening and the ways that you can support me, you can continue. I am Brittany S. Hale on LinkedIn. You can always follow BND Consulting. That stands for Be Nobody's Darling. challenge to you and myself, follow BND Consulting on LinkedIn. That's where we are the most.

Brittany Hale (Guest): That's where we engage. And if you know a woman seeking how she can be authentic, how she can navigate conflict with clarity and confidence, tell her about me. Let's work together. 

Angelica Maestas (Host): Wonderful. It was awesome having you on.

Brittany Hale (Guest): Thank you so much. Be well. 

[00:32:00] And that's a wrap on another episode of She's Ambitious AF. Remember to dream big, hustle harder, and show the world that when it comes to success, we're not just ambitious, we're Ambitious AF.