Career Growth & Leadership Mindset| Why High Achievers Feel Misaligned

In this episode of Success in Doses, I sit down with executive coach and leadership strategist Saran Traore for a powerful conversation about identity, career alignment, and what it really means to grow on purpose.

We talk about the pressure high achievers face, how success is often defined for us before we define it for ourselves, and why so many professionals reach their goals only to feel unfulfilled.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re doing everything “right” but something still feels off, this episode will challenge the way you think about success, leadership, and your next move.

This is a conversation about clarity, self-leadership, emotional intelligence, and learning how to build a career that actually fits who you are becoming.

Thank you for supporting the show. Follow @successindosespod

career advancement, negotiation skills, pharmacists, personal development, confidence, asking for what you want, mindset shifts, professional growth, self-advocacy, boldness

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome to Success in Doses. I'm your host, Saleh. This podcast is about the real journeys behind meaningful careers, the pivots, the risks, the moments of doubt, and the lessons that shape who we become. Each episode, I sit down with people who are building impactful lives and careers, and we break down the experiences that help them get there. Because success rarely happens overnight, it happens in doses. Let's dive in on becoming on purpose. If I'm giddy and you can hear it in my voice, it's for just reason. And you're going to find out really, really soon why I am super, super excited to bring you this episode today. Um, I want to start by just saying that this conversation today is going to do something. It's going to reveal my secret weapon to the world. And I don't know how excited I am about that, but sharing is caring, apparently. Welcome to another amazing episode of Success and Doses. Becoming on Purpose is what we are all about in this second season of this podcast. I am your host, Sellet. And today on Becoming on Purpose, we are talking about identity growth, navigating personal and professional alignment with intentionality and purpose to help facilitate that conversation. I have Tap 102 again, my secret weapon. Soran Treori is an MBA and a certified executive coach with over a decade of experience leveraging advanced strategic planning and coaching methodologies in her coaching approaches. She partners with leaders and teams to help facilitate acceleration in capacity, agility, and resilience to tackle the toughest leadership challenges today. Soran has an incredible record of leadership in healthcare industries, which has resulted in measurable benefit to organizations like Avalier Health, MPLITY, AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Kite Pharma, the Johns Hopkins Hospital, and more. She has led and developed multi-generational teams and hospital customer service representative with progressive improvement in unit experience metrics and employee engagement, including clinical and non-clinical spaces. She joined a national field team of managers in under two years within the company and industry, first to accomplish under the age of 30. Yes, go ahead. She pioneered a newly created strategic leadership role to establish internal alignment, long-term organizational efficiencies, and business needs for roles in the broad organization. She now expands this experience and perspective in diverse industries such as commercial construction management, commercial real estate, higher education, and more. She holds a BA in international studies from Towson University, an SMSM with a concentration in public relations from University of Maryland, GC, and an MBA in healthcare and pharmaceutical marketing from St. Joseph University in Philadelphia. An avid believer in continuous learning. She holds certificates in virtual training and facilitation and is a certified Genos Emotional Intelligence Practitioner and Coach. She enjoys time with her daughter, that is also my amazing niece and one of a kind. So I decided to sneak that in there. She loves reading, dancing, and traveling. I can attest to all of these because I've kind of watched her.

SPEAKER_00 3:56

Thank you for vowing me.

SPEAKER_01 4:00

If you haven't figured it out already, my guest today is none other than my amazing phenomenal sister. Hi, Sarah. They're gonna hear me say Sarah because that's who you are today.

SPEAKER_00 4:14

Oh, they're gonna hear us move between Saleh, Matus, yeah, and all that jazz. And we'll get into just what all of that means, the levity as well.

SPEAKER_01 4:25

Okay, so real quick, if you're enjoying this conversation, go ahead and rate and review the podcast. It helps more people find the show and keeps the conversation going. Okay, so let's get back to the conversation.

SPEAKER_00 4:37

That was interesting. Sitting there listening to you read my bio. Um I tell my clients to be comfortable hearing about themselves. Yeah, crazy.

SPEAKER_01 4:48

It's not that that kicks the conversation off really, really well. Because I get uncomfortable too when people read my bio. Saddam, where do you think that comes from for us? As high achievers and driven, ambitious, um, all those things shouldn't surprise us. But then when we're in the room and people are talking about us, why do we get a little like, ooh, that's me?

SPEAKER_00 5:10

Yeah. And interesting enough, I I love that you said high achieving, uh purpose-driven individuals or professionals, because there is often I see that common threat. And when I start my coaching start, I spend a lot of time on that aspect, uh, let's just pause and talk about ourselves.

SPEAKER_03 5:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:31

Specifically what we've accomplished and what we do well. And I think because for most people that are accomplishing, to them, I'm just being me. Or when someone performs really well at their job, I'm just doing my job. So to talk about it and to hear about it, often we tell ourselves it's nothing special. It's nothing that we haven't yet done.

SPEAKER_03 5:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:55

So I try to take my own perspective, which is it's a fact. It's not that you're bragging or egotistical. It is a fact. And often we need to sit in that fact before we start thinking about what we're not doing, which is where most people sit. Because we all, I want to do better, I want to be better. And it's a mental shift and intentionality to say, yes, I want to do that. But let me think about where I've I've come from and what I've done so that I can borrow some tools from that with this challenge that I'm facing. So often I have to practice what I preach. So hearing this, I have to remind myself to, you know, just sit and listen and take in the facts.

SPEAKER_01 6:40

Yeah. I feel like this episode is gonna be cool for a couple of reasons. People think we have similar voices.

SPEAKER_00 6:46

Oh, I'll be interested to hear if they hear it without the visual who's whom.

SPEAKER_01 6:52

I think so too. I feel like our voicemails are usually when I'm kind of like, oh, wait, that's sad and leave your voicemail for me. Okay, okay, paying attention, but that it's a little creepy. So this is this is gonna be cool. You touched on something um about desire to want to exceed expectations. I always tend to credit watching phenomenal parents that we've been blessed with, with that example of we didn't really need to constantly look outside and far for what that desire for community and that interest and wanting to always do your best and give your best to people. But I was curious about for you, if you think back to your professional career early on, what did you have set in mind at that time as a definition for success for yourself? What did that look like?

SPEAKER_00 7:41

That's an interesting question because you you had a front row seat to most of it. So some things I'm gonna mention will be and feel and sound familiar to you. Others, in my attempt to truly be authentic today, there I'll share some internal thought processes for that and how that vantage point has changed for me in this. I call it new but next chapter. So growing up, to your point with our parents, it was it was part of our narrative. It was just this concept of it's important just for you, for your not just self-worth. And I'm I and I want to make sure people aren't taking that in its normal uh context, but this sense of if you're gonna do anything and you're gonna be connected to that, it's beyond what other people's thoughts and gains is a secondary. Your name, and you know we're stuck to our name, right? Like our legacy, not just for our dad and our mom, but if I touch something, if I produce something, there's an inner drive because we were brought up to know that, you know, hold on, right? Like God talks about nobility in a way that it is your responsibility that as much as you can, you give your best in anything that you do. So for me, success was if I'm going to school, I'm gonna try to be the best student that I can be. Um when we migrated to the United States, if the point was higher education for being away from our parents, I'm gonna go and get that degree. Now, when I've gone through certain aspects and catalyst events in my life, which you've seen from the divorce to mama, I look back now and realize that I'm I don't regret that a lot of that was rooted in making myself proud, but making our parents proud. But in that time of mind, it was very much driven to you came to America for this.

SPEAKER_02 9:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:40

So your success was linked to being the best at whatever job, whatever school you deliver on that, because you left your family for that. And now when I look back, I realize that on some level I I did it for myself. And that has now catapulted into everything that I've then done across the organizations you mentioned, across starting elevate and growing elevate. It's because I want to. And when that's not there anymore, I've learned to realize what are the signs for the things that I'm doing for the sake of others versus for me.

SPEAKER_01 10:14

But it's, and I think the reason why, again, I identify with what you're seeing, it's because we were brought up the same way. That's what, like, we were raised to say that everything is gonna be placed in the shadow of a strong foundation. You think about the journey we've had. We've had a lot of life-defining moments, right? Like my diagnosis, I think, is something that was life-defining for you as well, because you are the only sibling that was in that trench with me. We are the only two that have never been separated. We are one of yeah, one of seven, but we're the only two that have always been together. That's a defining moment. Um, our mother caring for her all the way to the end together, college, your divorce, my wedding, some really great things also happened. Like your daughter came into our lives and transformed all of us in like a blink of an eye. But I think about identity and how identity is shaped. I'd love for you to share a little bit about that and identity and identity shaping.

SPEAKER_00 11:20

Yeah. It's interesting because your diagnosis taking place while we were both so young.

SPEAKER_02 11:26

Very.

SPEAKER_00 11:28

And mama being here, yeah, when we found that out, she was visiting because I'm not sure if people are where our parents would take turns to visit us. And what most people don't know, before, even through your diagnosis, you and I used to fight a lot, all the time. A lot. And so, as far as our relationship, yes, we've been together for the longest, but it hasn't always been this understanding, this way of like pinpointing and sometimes even missing the mark.

SPEAKER_02 11:59

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 11:59

And I say that because often we have to remind ourselves that we can know someone, we can have been there for the longest. It doesn't mean that we know everything and that we are the author of their story. So when you talk about identity shaping, this is something that evolved for me as well. Because of that first event for us, I had to take the first daughter spot very early. And I say this, and you and I, like, you know, we've we've experienced this. I had to step forward and accomplish just because of the nature of how things were. And I know you struggled with that of feeling like things were delayed.

SPEAKER_02 12:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:41

Being very early on, the responsibility that I look back and I'm grateful for, but I also think back, and it became like a fabric in a tapestry for me of this concept of when something is happening for those I care for, for those I care about, I have this natural thing of like being the one that steps in. And I had to manage that. Is that my identity out of responsibility and out of the nature of how things are happening? Is that who I want to be deep down? After certain things like the divorce happening, and I told you it shifted a lot for me.

SPEAKER_02 13:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:22

I was the daughter that's too sensitive. I'm too nice, right? I remember one time I was described as having so many cheeks, right? Turning the other cheek. And I like that about myself. I really do. But what I also realized is that that was the only narrative the most people in my life had about me. And when the divorce happened, which was a traditional like shaking in our family, I started to realize that because of that, there were certain expectations and narratives that I I allowed. Yeah. What I'm supposed to do. And when that clicked for me, I have to be honest, like after I went through that, and a lot of the things you saw me go through that and changing and experiencing certain things about relationships that I never thought would be impacted, it changed my relationship and the way I saw myself with everyone.

SPEAKER_02 14:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:13

I am multi-dimensional, I am that person, but I also call it the Gemini in me. Sometimes I make very, very rash decisions. And I had to get comfortable with the fact that everyone doesn't have to know. I don't need everyone to fully understand and grasp that.

SPEAKER_02 14:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:32

And that took it took a while.

SPEAKER_02 14:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:35

It took a while to be comfortable with that. And so if I hear certain descriptions of me, I ask myself, is this an opinion that matters so much that I need to like change this narrative? Or you know what? This is what you need more than what I need. But I get to choose.

SPEAKER_02 14:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:52

I get to choose how I participate in that. That's kind of a long-winded way to say that often we, as we're growing up in our formative years, our identities have to be linked to certain, right? We need to be guided.

SPEAKER_02 15:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:05

So there is a formation of our identity that has to be our family, sometimes our friends. And what we have to think about, it's not a perfect formula, but what we have to think about is okay, is that truly who I am? And if it's not, what am I willing to do about it? Do I want to do any? And what I found is most people, they've identified that maybe they like it or they don't, or that's the action now to take is where there's a lack of self-trust now for people to do what's necessary. And as you know, I've had to swallow some of the pills of when you start to take that action, it shakes up a lot for other people.

SPEAKER_01 15:46

It does, it does because they and and and like they've gone through all this work to convince themselves that they have a clear picture of who you are, and you have made an executive decision to reshape and redesign, and they are thrown for a loop. And I think like that's the thing I admire and respect deeply about you, the conviction with which you execute. Once you've made a decision, you commit, and it's kind of like I don't know what all of this looks like yet on the other side of it, but I'm I'm really good on figuring it out and seeing what the next steps of that is. I think life, like being away and growing up quickly, taught us that. And to your point, um, we we had to grow up really fast. That has pluses and minuses, just like everything else. But you touched on something about identity, right? That I wanted to talk about in professional settings with respect to conforming, shrinking, work can at times feel performative. Just just say calling the thing what it is, it can at times feel performative, and so you have these environments that you show up in that we've already talked about. You want to be seen in a very clearly defined light. You want to be seen as the dependable, the go above and beyond, the how do we balance this? Because I think it's a lot of work, I think it's a lot of work, and I think it takes young professionals by surprise. It does.

SPEAKER_00 17:30

I think it takes every person, let's be honest. Like this is a it's a life thing, right? It's a human thing, and it's interesting. Here's one thing, because you said two things. And the first, I'm going to confirm when you said that sometimes in our professional setting, regardless of what that looks like, clinical, non-clinical, people-driven, non-pever it may be, even data scientists, right? I work with a lot of engineers and so forth, it can be performative. Often I have to tell people that you have to accept that reality. You're going into a space, you are there is a reciprocation. You provide something, that entity provides something back in time.

SPEAKER_02 18:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:13

So yeah, there are gonna be moments where it has to be performative to accomplish the basis of what's being required of you. So yeah, it's real. Now, to what degree of that performance then maybe erodes or shifts or changes aspects of who you are, your identity, your purpose that you are comfortable with. That's where the disconnect happens. Often, there we all have expectations. Somehow the thought is what's going on in my, you should just know. They should just know. That's where I think it can get a little unfair because often we haven't even done the work to say what is that identity? What is that clearly defined thing that you said? What is that? If we haven't defined that, yet we expect the external environment to somehow nourish that or in support that, I always ask the question of one, do you know what that is? And two, talk to me about how they're supposed to do that when there is no tangible message or verbiage of what that identity actually is. Yeah. And when you then say in a professional setting of what that balance looks like, I call it harmony. Because there are gonna be times where it's not gonna be balanced. Okay. Speaking from my experience when I first entered the workforce, especially corporate, especially life sciences and healthcare. Yeah, I understood that there are gonna be moments that is just like you do, right? It has to be in this, you're raising your hand for a lot. You're doing, and so before I ask for anything, what's that basis that I want to be known for?

SPEAKER_02 19:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:59

Is it the dependable and go above and beyond? Everyone is not that. I think often it's unfair that we think everybody needs to. My question is always, is that what you want to be? Where do you want to be in a year or two in that role? Okay. What is it going to take? What does it look like for other people to experience that? If that means you're raising your hand for every project, if that means that you're pioneering, if that means you need to build relationships so that you're known in the way that you prefer to be known. Right. I think for early career, often that's not that's the conversation that's either not happening or it's hard to happen because they're still figuring out what is that identity. Yeah. They're trying to figure it out. So they're emulating their rinse, repeat, copy and pasting a lot of what they're seeing. Yeah. And then they say, Well, it's all about the money. I just want my salary. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:59

But that's rationalizing the fact that you, the other stuff, is too scary to address and saying, I'd rather get paid. That's so much you just want to get paid.

SPEAKER_00 21:09

And I always ask people, okay, then you hear they don't care about us, it's all about numbers. Okay. Well, if you just want to get paid, and this entity is saying, in order to just get paid, this is what I need. At what point did you ask yourself, are those things in conflict with who I am? So the concept of selling out to me, I'd rather reverse engineer that question.

SPEAKER_01 21:32

Talk about it, talk about it. Because I was just about, I was just about to ask you. I said, where does the pursuit of I want to be real and the pursuit of my truest and most authentic self? Like, where does all that fit into this conversation when the real work of alignment that work is is not really happening?

SPEAKER_00 21:54

Yeah. And and this is not an indictment on anyone. This is a reality of us having. Have the luxury of looking back and saying, I saw those moments or now I know better. And for some people, they've been exposed to it a lot sooner. I've been fortunate enough to call it a good thing or a bad thing, our dad, right? He's very clear about what relationship management looks like about being good business and rapport and what that looks like. But he's very uncompromising about who he is. Yeah. We grew up seeing, and our mom was more of on the diplomatic side. And even sometimes when we felt she was stretching herself for people, she never compromised on that. And I think that's where I learned that is if I'm doing it because it's for me, it may look like someone is overusing, but it's what I want to do. Yeah. It's sense for me to learn that that was because that's just not my threshold. Yeah. That's not your threshold. Everybody has it. For some people, it comes more naturally to know what is that, like you talked about purpose, what are those values? What are those things that are uncompromising? And it can change. So I've been fortunate that I've met women, men, mentors that have taught me the concept of what are your non-negotiables? Yes. What are your non-negotiables? So the question, rounding back to your question around where does what I want to do, being real, being myself, and what it takes to get to also what I want. It's it's to me, it's more of a question than an answer. Does where I want and how I want to get there, first of all, do I know what that is? Yeah. I know what that is. And we talk about that in elevate, like there's this framework that we sit in, which is first and foremost clarity. We start with clarity before you even talk about okay, capacity, what skills do I need? Then talking about the confidence. What is what are you building the confidence for? Right. What? And often we don't know. We're just like moving and it can work. But then we get to a certain point and we're like, they don't care. Um, I'm being asked to do these things that isn't me. Well, if you said this job title, this role and this salary or this lifestyle is what you wanted, and you looked at everything that that required, and unfortunately, there wasn't a conversation to say, am I okay doing this for two years? Yeah, five years, that that's where to me that compromise and that balance or harmony comes in. If I have to suck something up because I have a goal to get here, yeah, how long before my poker face starts to drop? Yeah. And it's no you see where I'm getting at? It's a conversation that we need to calibrate with ourselves orderly. Is it when are you pausing to say, How are my relationships looking? When was the last time I say that this person's important to me, but when was the last time I I do it with my friends all the time, and when I reach out, I'm like, hey, I feel like I've been really bad at this. Yeah. Even if it doesn't matter to you, because it matters to me, I am going to take the action. And a lot of the times we don't, we act like there is a camera in our head, the judgment that's happening. We don't have those real conversations, and we'd rather just guilt our way through it and pray for the best.

SPEAKER_01 25:29

Yeah, not quite. You gotta stay, yeah, you gotta stand up to it. And the way I, in my experience, um, have seen this play out is I get these highly driven and super ambitious final year student pharmacist. They have done all of it, they have stepped up regionally, nationally, they have the GPA, they're killing it. They match at the top residency programs in the country. They get to that residency program and they are working hard. They kill it at that PGY one, they go to specialization and PGY two, they kill it. They get to their first role as clinical pharmacist and they are miserable. And it's like they have been so entrenched and holding down the identity and the brand of academic excellence, academic performance, I have to excel, I have to get the credentials, I have to have all the experience. They never really thought about what it looks like to do the thing and how they want to do that. And as I'm listening to you just talking about that clarity and thinking three to one to three, three to five, that always being on your mind when you are planning for the things you're going to pursue today, it's a real thing. And I really hope like my listeners are kind of catching like what you're putting down when you're talking about this stuff.

SPEAKER_00 27:00

Yeah, and I I want to also say it sounds easy. And I think that's why when it comes to self and professional development, we all know what we're supposed to be doing or what none of this is easy. And sometimes we do lose our way. And when I say lose our way meaning we're doing the thing so intently that we forget, or life gets in the way, or time gets in the way to pause, and we call it like looking up, right? As a leader, where are those moments that you're pausing to look up? Because there is such a thing as heads-down leadership. Hold it right there. You gotta right-click on that.

unknown 27:40

Hold on.

SPEAKER_01 27:41

Because we were supposed to usher ourselves right into how do we go from the doers to the leaders? Because people's perception of leadership is that you need to be in charge of something or people. I don't think people understand really that leadership can be just within the way you lead yourself. Please talk about it, right-click right there.

SPEAKER_00 28:07

And it's interesting because a lot of what I do when people hear in leadership, yeah, the tools to be able to be effective at it often don't show up until you're in it. And so because sometimes the fear the fear can be that if you empower people too early or too, they don't have the foundations of how to do that responsibly. Yeah. So some people think self-leadership is the outspoken person that's always like the one in the room. I'm gonna tell it like it is, and that's you know, have that extroverted confidence, and that's some part of it. When I say heads-down leadership, to your point, it can be even when we're in the operator state, yeah, the doing state. Yeah, we needed to do certain things to get us where we are today. And some of those things we actually should not lose because there is a space for them. This is a strength now, this is a talent.

SPEAKER_02 29:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 29:11

So don't lose, don't like discard it. Right. But the example you talked about with your students, it's often heads-down leadership is I have this goal. And if that goal is to make it to a clinical farm, I am going to do those things. When we talk about self-development and leadership development, is to say what is your framework and process for a heads up to say, that thing I said I wanted to do, how am I showing up to get there? Am I satisfied with what's happening? What can I control? What do I need to change? Because we forget that every behavior becomes a habit. Girl, every behavior becomes a habit. So when we say self-leadership, we have to remember when we tell ourselves, okay, I just have to like buckle down and get through X amount of years. We not we don't always think about, okay, then when I accomplish that thing and I have all this time now and I've reached it, I don't have to. We forget that we have to reteach ourselves another way. But we don't, you and I talk about this. We had to learn it, right? High functioning, high-performing people, as intent as you are for success and excellence, you have to be intentional for self-leadership, how you then lead other people or your relationship. How are you relating to others? Yeah, you have to pause and lift your head up and calibrate, take stock, right? What is what when was the last time you did a self-check-in to say, all right, that was a great couple of years, but I'm looking around. Am I actually okay with where I am? I say I don't have enough time, but maybe the time exists. I haven't looked up enough to acknowledge that I have the time. Yeah. I'm still operating in the things that got me here, but I never calibrated to what I now need for where I need to go. And so that's why things like coaching is important for leaders because it's an opportunity to ask yourself those questions for alignment. Absolutely. Alignment doesn't just happen because I'm sitting and saying, I've gotten the job, I'm where I am. Okay, now I know how to be. Not to say that we don't, but just post-check and calibrate and ask yourself, okay, is it truly what do I need to start practicing less of that I need to let go of? Yeah. What do I what's a strength that I forgot about that I didn't need these past two years? But hey, I know how to do that thing. The last time I did that, I thought I was coaching an engineer the other day, and it was funny because it was around like communication, multiple projects, and how, and he said, you know, I added one additional touch point for the week. And I thought to myself, it can't be that easy. I said, why? He's like, it felt like I just switched a lot. I was like, well, that one meeting, what did it do? Well, we're now on the same page where I thought I was being too technical. I actually found that they needed more time for me to explain, which I was getting to step 10 when they needed me to be in step five. I said, Oh, so it's paying dividends. He said, Yes. I said, so why can't it be that easy? He said, you know, I there are these questions I used to ask early in my career, and I can't remember the last time I asked an intern these three questions to help them solve the problem so that I can have more time. Yeah. I asked that question a very long time ago, and I can't remember the last time I asked that question of my interns, but you get like 10 to 20 interns every six months. Yeah. You forgot. You used to do this great thing, yeah, but you forgot. That's what I mean when I say heads down and heads up because often we have the answers, we just haven't paused and looked up and checked in. Yeah. Being able to tap into it.

SPEAKER_01 33:00

Oh my gosh, that's too real. So that's my stat dose that I'm taking from this episode to think about to think about things that were really simple that I used to do that served me really well that I may have just forgotten about as a tool to revisit this podcast.

SPEAKER_00 33:19

Yes. What's the outcome? Because the reality is you're in a different space now. True. Yeah. So it's beyond just saying I need to do this thing. The question is why? Why is it going to help? You know why? Because that 20 minutes that you felt you didn't have, every time you remembered why you want to start doing it, all of a sudden the barriers of doing it is linked to an outcome. That's what alignment can look like.

SPEAKER_02 33:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 33:49

Sometimes our belief is that alignment is an answer. Often alignment is a process for a framework that leads us to the decision or the action or the behavior. Because then you start to know what you need to do less of, what you need to do more of, but it's linked to something bigger that fills your cup every time you want to tell yourself. The brain is, I don't have to tell you, it's a very efficient machine. Too efficient. I can't do this. I don't want to do this. Why do I, oh, I have to do this again. Okay, you don't like to do this. Cool. Let's do more of what you seem to tolerate.

SPEAKER_01 34:29

Yeah. Yeah. This is no, that's really profound for me because it's it's it's asking me to think about it in a really different way. No.

SPEAKER_02 34:40

Tangible.

SPEAKER_01 34:40

Tangible. Yeah. I I gay, but I I really want to give the listeners an opportunity to also get to know you and get to know the work that you are doing with Elevate. I'm so incredibly proud of you and how Elevate is just taking off. And I want to give them a chance to get to know for the person that it is their very first time learning and hearing about you, what opportunities currently exist within Elevate or partnering with you. What does that look like for an entity or even an individual?

SPEAKER_00 35:15

Absolutely. Uh, before I dive into that and kind of talk about ways that I partner with individuals or organizations, um, we didn't get into it, but Elevate was, it was created out of a necessity that I felt when we learned of our mom's diagnosis. I, although I was still consulting under an organization, I realized that self-reflect and I I want to be honest with people, it didn't happen in this nice packaged way that I'm talking about it. I like was having meltdowns. I was having meltdowns about like the simplest things that I knew were like a cakewalk for me. And at that time we were in full swing of caretaking. I felt thrown back to when we were in dialysis for you.

SPEAKER_02 36:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 36:03

So my brain, like it almost rewired and brought that identity back. And I realized I couldn't do this job that I loved. And part of my brand at work was the person that showed up, the person that delivered, the person that clients could, that was important to me. And if I can't do that well and show up and be the kind of caretaker that is also my personal brand as a family member, I chose not to compromise everything by telling myself that I'm super woman. By the way, I don't take that as a compliment anymore. That's not super. I I want to be realistic and effective in what I do so that I can focus. I don't want, you know, telling me I'm super. Thank you for the compliment, but it's not what I strive for. That's what I realized. I was trying to be super at everything because I knew I could do everything. Was it serving to do both? So I resigned and I think I didn't even tell you that. Like I'm like, what are you doing? Walked away from a very successful, lucrative career with the hope of going to school and taking care of mom. But this elevate uh grew out of that as two months of my sabbatical, I realized that I wanted to do coaching, personal development, training, learning, and development was a passion that I didn't get to deep tap into in the consulting world. I didn't sell it as much as I wanted to. So I say all of that because this company was built out of me practicing what I work with people for that clarity, yeah, and that intentionality to move towards their ideal purpose and goals. So, as uh you'll see on my banner, right? Leadership growth, it doesn't have to work for wait for a workshop. And a lot of times that's where people get um a lot of these gems and emotional intelligence and support, but they don't have a path to actually demonstrate it. So I partner with individuals, teams, organizations, and the coaching is really where my passion lies because I think in these one-on-one scenarios, what we do is really the reality of what coaching is. It's not to give advice, it's not to give a blueprint. It's a little different, even what you do with your students. You're helping them with a roadmap.

SPEAKER_02 38:24

Right.

SPEAKER_00 38:25

You need to do this and this because that's the reality. It's a technical aspect.

SPEAKER_02 38:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 38:30

The concept of coaching is that as leaders, as individuals, we we have our answers, but often we're not sure how to develop a roadmap or the clarity for the answers that we have within us. Yeah. And so it's a lot of it's dialogue, but specific purpose-driven questions to one give you the space, independent of all the things that could go wrong, but the space to one gain clarity on what it is that you want so that you can, because once that clarity exists, all of a sudden the hows or what I should happen with you right now with your journaling, for example. Yeah, yeah, that's crazy. It's because often we're not in the space where someone is asking us these questions, trusting us that we know what we need to do. We probably have a blocked perspective.

SPEAKER_02 39:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 39:21

Right. Uh when I meet with people, it's about first and foremost understanding what your needs are, what is your story, and getting to the point of okay, what does that ideal outcome or state look like? Leaders are thrown into a new role, and now all of a sudden I have to manage all of these people when from an emotional intelligence perspective, you're still trying to get the hang of it. And so, how do I become that leader that my team needs? Leadership style do I have?

SPEAKER_02 39:51

Right.

SPEAKER_00 39:51

And so, how do I then demonstrate the the skill sets to build the right identity that resonates with me? We have to teach people how to talk about us, how to treat us. And when I coach new to career or industry, it's sometimes you have to teach people how to manage you or how to lead you. But then what's my word bank?

SPEAKER_02 40:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 40:15

What does that look like? How do I articulate that? How do I influence to create an environment that allows me to thrive? So it can look a little different. I coach entrepreneurs or like I have this idea, I know it, I don't know where to start. Yes, you do. But you haven't done those first steps of even clarity of what it is that you want to do, that strategic aspect. So it can look different for every leader, but first and foremost, we start with clarity building. Yeah. And then we talk about the capacity. What are the skills? What are the behaviors? What are the habits that I need for that goal? Yeah. And we talk about the confidence because once you start practicing it and you're gonna practice it, you're at the state of being, that's where confidence comes in as self-trust. We project confidence once there is internal alignment and internal trust in our decisions. All of a sudden, people believe when we say this is what we're gonna do, we're projecting the confidence. Yeah, it's not fake because done the internal and we trust who we're projecting. And of course, then it's the impact. If I based on this clarity, what impact do I want to have? What does that look like?

SPEAKER_02 41:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 41:26

How do I spread that weight of being for others to identify that? So those four are our framework, and that can look from organizations who want to get coaching credits for their employees. Um, I partner with businesses in that capacity where you can purchase coaching credits where your teams can tap into me. You know, conflict is happening at work, and I want to just get my mind right and that type of impact coaching. Um, I can be on staff for that, or individuals like your uh teams, they're just, I need to talk to a coach right away, even today on our website. That's something that you can purchase and you walk away with an action plan. But first and foremost, you have to be ready and willing to be honest with yourself. That's where we start is building that glory.

SPEAKER_01 42:15

That's amazing. I'm so proud of you. I mean, I can I can go on and on and on about all the ways in which I have to catch myself because I think you can get a sense.

SPEAKER_00 42:25

I get really like passionate about this.

SPEAKER_01 42:28

But that that passion comes through, and that passion is genuine. And I think like it, there's a difference of this is something cool to do to pass time, and this is something that I'm genuinely interested in and invested in because I believe in the power, the transformational power that it can have for people, right? I can tell you with absolute certainty that I would not move the way I move if I did not have you as my soundboard to just be like, because you are also really quick to be like, uh no, you may want to rethink that. I don't think that's the move. Well, why are you thinking about it that way? Well, what makes you think that that's what that means? Or what makes you think that that and those questions allow me to kind of think through what I'm feeling more often than not? It's just I'm feeling it.

SPEAKER_00 43:14

So can I uh you you talked about something really important there about emotions, and if there's one thing that I can leave your listeners with, yeah. So when I hear leaders or professionals, especially our clinical, medical, reminded people, have to leave emotion out of it. Um, I challenge that for is it that I have to leave emotions out of it, or I'm not being productive in how I'm using the data from my emotions. Girl. Emotions are data. They they girls it before the y'all know how the brain is set up more than me. Okay. Girl. It's the the signal is first before logic and think through. And so I always tell people you're talking about emotion. Emotional regulation. You're not talking about because it's there. So do you want it to lead, or are you able to read what's happening, grasp the insights from it? Yeah. How you then move, how you then decide. If emotions for anyone out there, if you meet me and you say, leave emotions at you know, I grew my emotion, you're gonna see it, you're gonna feel it. It's what, but I've had to learn it's about emotional regulation and how productive we're being with our emotions.

SPEAKER_01 44:31

Girl, Sana, I just sat up straight. For the people that are just watching this or listening, you don't know that. As she said, it's data. I sat up real straight because that hit me. My audience is uh that that hit me hard. It it is data, it's information that I just and and as intense as it can be to feel, but you're right, it is information. I am responding to things and using that information to help guide my next scientific method.

SPEAKER_00 45:03

Oh, I love it when you are creative, you are curious. I mean, the entire basis of what you do in asking these questions and framing and testing and retesting and yeah, you you're talking about clinical study data to why can't we use that with ourselves as data that we then process?

SPEAKER_01 45:27

Yeah. No, this is this is amazing. I can't thank you, and I I it sounds crazy, but I do want to say thank you. You didn't have to do this. I think that you didn't. I think that as I thought about what I want the direction of this season of the podcast to go, the idea that I could engage in an intellectual exchange with anybody about conflicting priorities, identity, career alignment, development, growth, intentionality, and intention setting in the pursuit of success, and that be with anyone else than the person that I honestly think has had the biggest, biggest contribution on where I have been able to do and the direction that I've been able to go in. I respect you. I know you keep saying my big sister, but I respect your insight, your opinion, because I can always count on you to be honest with me when you know I am off the rails. And I'm so curious to know what is one dose of advice that you would give a young professional that is listening to this right now, and their thought process is I have a lot of work to do.

SPEAKER_00 46:45

Okay, that's a big one. I I know some people don't like it. Yeah, I tend to stay away from giving advice, okay, but I can give perspective. Do it, I can give perspective. And when we're newer to create it's so overwhelming. And so what you just said, to hear all of this and say, oh gosh, I have a lot of work to do. My perspective that I would give you that you then think about for yourself is pick no more than one to two things.

SPEAKER_02 47:17

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 47:18

To say, if I know that this is my goal, whether that is near term or long term, yeah, don't think about titles, right? Don't think about that. To say, in two years or three years in this company, I want to be in a position where I am contributing ideas to decisions being made. I am in a circle that's developing new people. Think about your goal in that type of what would I be doing that I think would be fulfilling in this company or based on my experiences?

SPEAKER_02 47:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 47:52

Try to try to think about that. Yeah. And pick one to two things, right? One that's a clear activity, and another that's relationship driven. Okay. Who's the person that's doing that thing today? And do I know them? Have I made attempts to know them, to know their story? And so build one relationship that gets you closer to understanding that goal. Yeah. And then is it a skill? Is it a certification? Is it experience? What's that one thing that I can start doing today? Yeah, that gets me closer to showing up in the qualities to be in that category. Narrow it. Because often what you'll find is that person, the curiosity that you show, yeah, it could result in someone taking you under their wing. Oh, yeah. Result in you saying, Oh wow, I am actually halfway through there, or I actually don't want to do what? Right. Right, right, right. Start to learn a little earlier before you wait and find yourself somewhere and say, Oh my God, what in the heck is this? Yeah. So I hope that's clear enough. It's it is. I love it. It's not giving you the answer, it's helping you find the answer before you embark two to three years to something to only realize that it is literally the antithesis. Oh, I haven't used that word in a while, of what you'd rather be doing or where you think people would value your skills. Oh my gosh. That's my perspective.

SPEAKER_01 49:20

We love if you want. We are calling it Sorant's dose of perspective, and we love it. I actually like that. Can I brand that? You should. You should brand it. You could totally uh we are grateful that you've chosen us for your Monday morning listen today. And I hope that one thing you heard on this episode today really at least gets you started and gets you thinking and understanding that success does not happen and giant leaps and bounds. It really starts with small doses of intentionality that add up to big, big, big, big wins over time, as we've all just heard on this episode. I appreciate you being here and giving me time of day. Thank you. Thank you, Saran, and we will talk to you soon.

SPEAKER_00 50:07

Thank you. I'm honored to be here, truly.

SPEAKER_01 50:12

That's my big sister. Okay, so now that it's just us, today's episode was special to me for more than one reason. Yes, this is my younger sister that I had an opportunity today for you guys to hear her in her element. What Sutton's been able to accomplish, despite the fact that she's my younger sister, I will never stop being so incredibly proud of her in the ways in which she has invested in her own personal growth and development and the decision that she's made to give that back by investing in other people's growth and development. And that really, I have been first row beneficiary of that talent and that exceptionalism and exceptional guidance from her. What I hope you heard on this episode today is that the internal work we have to do to make sure that we are paying attention to ourselves, the things that are important and matter to us, and letting those things set the pace and guide our journeys is extremely important. It gives, it deserves the same level of energy as the energy we give, the roadmap of this is the courses I'm going to take, this is the residency I'm going to complete, this is the promotion I'm going to go after. Asking yourself the simple questions that help you gain clarity around your true motivators for your professional goals are important. Investing in clarity around your identity and getting clarity and getting to alignment is important. And I hope today that what she taught us is not just that that journey can be messy and we should embrace the twists and turns of it with grace and be kind to ourselves as we pursue that, but it's that it is 100% worth it to embark on the journey, no matter what stage you are in. As always, I am grateful that you are here, that you are listening. And all of the show descriptions will have the links below on how you can connect directly with Saran to learn more about what she offers and what she can do and how you all can partner. I'm always grateful for you and knowing that you are choosing me to begin your Monday morning with. Until next week for another brand new episode, have a wonderful start to your week. Goodbye. If this episode gave you something to think about, something to hold on to, or even something to act on, I want to ask you for one more thing. Take a moment to write and review the podcast. It feels really small, but it's actually one of the biggest ways you can support this show. It helps more people find these conversations and become part of this community we're building right here on Success and Dosing.