Resilience, Leadership, And Community: Best of Season 1 and 2

We share standout moments from seasons one and two that trace how women across grocery build resilience, lean on community, and lead with authenticity. Jackie LaPointe connects endurance sports to career confidence, and Jena Sowers shows how adaptive leadership and grace create stronger teams.

To listen to the full episodes, follow these links and be sure to subscribe so that you don't miss any episodes of season three that will resume in January 

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2297578/14613298 - Jackie LaPointe's full episode

https://www.bluecloudinc.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackielapointe/

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2297578/14870470 - Jena Sowers full episode

https://allianceretailgroup.com/

www.linkedin.com/in/jena-sowers-9bb55515

If you think someone should hear these stories of success journeys, please share this podcast with a friend 
You don't want to miss any episodes this season, so be sure to subscribe 
And remember, more people will hear about stories of her success if you like, follow, and leave a five star review

Transcript

Producer 0:05

Welcome to season three of Grocery from Her Seat, the Women Grocers of America podcast. This season you will hear from influential CEOs and industry icons to rising stars and game-changing entrepreneurs. We are bringing you bigger conversations with bolder voices you won't hear anywhere else. Every episode is packed with leadership tips, fresh strategies, and grocery insights for store owners and operators, as well as product and service providers. Grocery from Hersey is where inspiration fuels action. Now, let's dive into another episode of Grocery from Her seat, powered by the NGA Foundation and hosted by WGA President Kristen Popp.

Four Themes Women Leaders Share

Jackie LePointe’s Endurance Mindset

Kristin Popp 0:46

I want to welcome you all to the first of two special best of episodes featuring clips from season one and two of Grocery from Her Seat, presented by Women Grocers of America. Over the past two seasons, we've had incredible conversations, each one offering unique insights, stories, and perspectives on the grocery industry and the people shaping it. That's why we're bringing to you the top highlights from seasons one and two, a way to celebrate the conversations that made the biggest impact and to give both new and longtime listeners a chance to revisit the best of the best. This season is packed with fresh voices, bold ideas, and inspiring stories that continue our mission to share perspectives from across the grocery world. And while each woman's journey into grocery is distinct, what stands out across these grocery from her seat episodes is how many of their experiences reflect common themes, navigating nonlinear career paths, balancing personal and professional roles, pushing past limits, and finding strength in community. These themes highlight not only the challenges women often face in leadership, but also the powerful ways they turn them into opportunities for growth. First off, we have resilience through adversity. Whether entering the workforce through a recession, tackling alter marathons, or balancing single motherhood with a CEO role, resilience surfaces as a constant across their stories. Community and support systems is also a highlight. Each leader highlights the importance of networks, be it support from family and mentors, collaborative share groups, or preparing future community impact. And then we have authenticity in leadership. From adapting leadership styles to fit team needs to aligning personal passions with professional purpose. Authenticity defines how these women show up at work. And last, trailblazing new paths. Whether being a career from psychology into grocery or representing the next generation of leaders, each woman is setting new benchmarks for what leadership looks like in groceries. So why does this matter? Recognizing these overlapping themes underscores that while every journey is unique, many women in the groceries share common challenges and rise above them in inspiring ways. Their stories remind us that success is not built in isolation, but through resilience, support, authenticity, and the courage to lead differently. So with that, let's dive right in and take a look at these highlights from seasons one and two. First off, we have Jackie LePointe. Her story on grocery from her seat showcases how personal passions like endurance sports can shape the way you show up in your professional life. Her athletic achievements from triathlons and duathlons, a season of ultra marathons, are not just personal milestones. They reflect a mindset of resilience, adaptability, and pushing past limits. This episode is a highlight because it connects personal growth directly to leadership in grocery. Jackie illustrates that the discipline, grit, and curiosity built outside of work inevitably influence how you lead, collaborate, and tackle challenges within it. Jackie's story is a powerful reminder. The way we invest in ourselves outside of work directly impacts the energy, mindset, and perspective we bring to our professional roles. So, with that, let's dive right in and listen to clips from two leaders, Jackie LePointe and Gina Sowers. I'm gonna shift a little bit, but you know I'm not gonna let this episode pass us by without bringing up your athletic achievements. Not only because they are beyond inspiring in them in themselves, but let's chat about what they've taught you. Let's maybe start with what they are and then what they've taught you.

Jackie LaPointe 4:22

You know, I'll do anything from a triathlon. I love doing a lot of uh duathlons, which is basically running and cycling, you know, skip the swim. 2023 was like the year of ultra marathons for me, which was so much fun. I'm always down to try something new. I love I love testing my limits and uh and entering a new sport and figuring out what I like. And I guess running ended up being kind of my my hobby going into the ultra-marathon season, but it's tough. I've always played sports, so you know, and I'm very competitive. So I've always wanted to find ways to continue to push myself, you know, physically and mentally in that realm. But, you know, with travel and and work and and all that, I find myself doing a lot of these more solo endeavors like these races. But it's wild. You go through a roller coaster of emotions when you do these things, both from training and when you're actually in the race. And there's just so much that happens around personal growth. It's undeniable. I mean, personal growth, relationship building, and just like I said, testing my limit physically and mentally. I think, I think, especially with these ultra marathons, they are such long races. Sometimes I'm out there and I'm on my feet for over eight hours just running and hoping to make it back before sunset. So I don't have to run in the dark. But you you learned a lot about goal setting and time management and self-confidence and on discipline for sure. And my favorite is honestly mental strength because you have a lot of conversations with yourself when you're out running for eight hours. And um you start ideas, you complete them, you return to them later. Um, and it's really, really wild the kind of uh mental strength I think that that can result from doing stuff like that.

Kristin Popp 5:59

You talk about like mental strength and um confidence.

Turning Grit Into Career Confidence

Jackie LaPointe 6:03

How have you applied that to your professional career? They so positively affect my professional career. The mental clarity, confidence, discipline, and the mental strength. It kind of just naturally cascades into my career because I think I it really just comes down to having a new perspective. I think you do these kind of things and you even beyond, you know, whether or not ultras are your thing, or you're just going, you're you know, ready to battle on a new task that is super daunting and you never thought you'd ever do. So your perspective previous to that was this is scary. I don't think I can do this, it might be impossible for me, I'm not ready. And then you naturally overcome it when you cross that finish line. And immediately, you know, that perspective and mindset has just affected me professionally because I feel like the way I look at things is very different. You know, I take on new projects, I feel like I'm more willing to take certain risks, try something completely new, and I think be more comfortable with not being comfortable in order to grow because I I overcome some of these challenges physically, not to be cliche, but anything is possible, right? You just got to put yourself out there and have a better mindset. And completing these races helped me have that fresh perspective when I'm trying to overcome obstacles professionally.

Jena Sowers On Adaptive Leadership

Kristin Popp 7:19

I definitely see it shine through. You know, I think it's important to note that there's certain things that you do in your personal life that then can impact your professional life in a light that you're maybe not even aware of. Like you said, it's it's allowed you to be uh comfortable in the uncomfortable. Next up, Jena Sowers. Jena's episode of Grocery from Her Seat is a striking look at leadership through the lens of both professional and personal resilience. As a female leader navigating the grocery tech space and a single mom raising two boys, Jena's story highlights that true leadership isn't about going to doing it all on your own. It's about building the right support system and knowing when to ask for help. Her journey from managing diverse teams at Kraft to stepping into a role underscores how leadership evolves when you recognize that success is not about the leader, but about the people you support, whether they are your team members or your family. This episode is a standout because it reframes leadership and grocery. It's not about carrying every burden yourself, but about leading with adaptability, humility, and community around you. On leadership, how has your path impacted the the leader you are today?

Jena Sowers 8:30

Yeah, um, that's a great question. I would say at Kraft, I managed through the year small teams and then really large teams. And the age ranges were vast. It was kids right out of college all the way up to folks at close to retirement age. And at the time I would have been in my 30s. And it you definitely have to take a different approach based on the people that you're managing. When you're in a manager role, it's about your people. And I think that what Kraft helped me learn quickly was you have to change your leadership style to the employee to ensure the employee success. As soon as that really kind of settled in with me, I think I was a much better leader and a much better manager of people because instead of me thinking I just had my style, I think it really has to be custom to the people that you're leading. The example I could give you today is we have the parent company that I work with those folks in a very different way than I do our technology team and even our marketing agency team because the technology folks are wired a little differently and the agency folks are wired a little differently, kind of more creative and that kind of thing, where the tech folks are very tactical and driven and focused. And so it's really customizing that leadership style to those different dynamics and those type of folks to ensure that they're comfortable, that they're willing to speak up and speak out about things that we could be doing differently or better. But it it definitely takes a different style based on the type of person that you're leading.

Kristin Popp 10:10

Yeah, it's not a one size fits all, right? And I think that once we figure that out, it it's kind of like a game changer.

Grace, Balance, And The Myth Of “Having It All”

Jena Sowers 10:17

Yeah. Absolutely. I think it also one of the things that I pride myself in of being a leader is people go through different life phases. And I think it is recognizing as you have employees, especially employees that have been with you over the long haul, is giving them grace when needed through these different life phases, whether it's having a baby or caring for an elderly parent or going through a health crisis of some kind. I think that when you can provide people some grace in those periods of time, what that gleans on the other side of that life phase is, you know, a loyalty and a commitment and a culture of you you take care of one another, and it really does drive a family-esque um environment for the team.

Kristin Popp 11:03

A hundred percent. One of my questions is gonna be what key takeaways or advice do you have for our current or future leaders?

Jena Sowers 11:09

I feel like a few years ago there was this like, you can have it all mantra for working mom. I think that's a little bit of a falsehood in my experience of there are going to be days or weeks where you know my boys get more, and then there's gonna be days or weeks where the company gets more. I think what's so important though is every person that balance looks different for them to feel good about what they're doing. And and I think it's everyone just has to find that balance. But the idea of having it all, or you know, I've even had females on my team, you know, that say, gosh, you you're you're killing it, you're doing it all. What I always share with them is it's not easy. It's not an e it's not easy to do this, but I love what I do. I feel blessed to get to do what I do, and that makes it all worth it. But I I don't want there to ever to be this misnomer that it's it it's easy or that it's not hard. It is. You just gotta figure out that ebb and flow and that balance, you know, for yourself to make it work.

Subscribe, Share, And Season Three Tease

Kristin Popp 12:12

And couldn't agree with you more on that. And I I don't know if it was Shonda Rhymes in her book, but I know that there was one uh female that had made the point of you aren't necessarily always doing it all all effectively well, where you're doing well in one area, one other area maybe suffering a little bit, but you do find that balance so that you can kind of come back and and balance it out so that the the areas of importance in your life get the impact that they need or the time and energy that they need at the time they need it. Absolutely. To listen to the full episodes, follow the links in the show notes and be sure to subscribe so that you don't miss any episodes of season three that will resume in January.

Producer 12:55

Thank you for listening to today's best of interview on the Grocery from Her Seat Podcast. If you think someone should hear her story, please share this podcast with a friend. You don't want to miss any episodes this season, so be sure to subscribe. And remember, more people will hear about stories of her success. If you like, follow, and leave a five star review. Episodes are sponsored by NGA, hosted by WGA President, Kristin Popp, and published by Rachael Melot with SWA Marketing. Until next time, continue your great work in the independent first rate industry.