EP 139: From Best-Kept Secret to Trusted Voice with Kelly Schuknecht

In this episode of Thriving in Intersectionality, Dr. Lola Adeyemo sits down with Kelly Schuknecht—marketing strategist, author, podcast host, and founder of Two Mile High Marketing—for a conversation about what it really takes to become a trusted voice without losing yourself in the process.

Kelly shares how years of working behind the scenes in marketing eventually led her to build a business helping entrepreneurs, executives, and thought leaders move from being the industry's "best-kept secret" to becoming recognized authorities. Along the way, she reflects on the career transition that changed everything, overcoming imposter syndrome, and why authentic visibility is less about self-promotion and more about serving others.

Together, they explore how our experiences shape our confidence, why many experts remain invisible despite years of experience, and how personal branding becomes most powerful when it reflects who you truly are.

In this episode, you'll learn:

•  Kelly's journey from corporate marketing to entrepreneurship 
•  Why expertise alone isn't enough to build influence 
•  The difference between personal branding and authentic leadership 
•  How to build visibility without feeling like you're bragging 
•  The role of imposter syndrome in keeping talented professionals hidden 
•  Kelly's three pillars of thought leadership: 
  •  Visibility 
  •  Credibility 
  •  Consistency 
•  Why your lived experiences are part of your professional authority 
•  How AI is making authentic human connection even more valuable 
•  Practical ways to begin sharing your expertise with confidence 

One of the biggest reminders from this conversation:

The expertise you've spent years developing may be exactly what someone else needs—you simply have to let them see it.

Whether you're a leader, entrepreneur, speaker, author, or professional ready to elevate your voice, this episode will encourage you to stop waiting for permission and start sharing your authority with confidence.

About Kelly Schuknecht

Kelly Schuknecht is a marketing strategist, thought leadership expert, founder of Two Mile High Marketing, author of Unlocking Your Authority X-Factor, and host of the podcasts Beyond the Bestseller and The Authority X-Factor. Through her proven framework of Visibility, Credibility, and Consistency, she helps professionals transform years of expertise into recognized authority and sustainable influence.

Connect with Kelly

🌐 Website: https://www.kellyschuknecht.com

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellyschuknecht/

🎙️ Podcasts: Beyond the Bestseller & The Authority X-Factor

📖 Book: Unlocking Your Authority X-Factor

Transcript

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SPEAKER_01 0:02

Hello and welcome to the Thriving in Intersectionality Podcast. A podcast that explores the real experiences of professionals navigating the workplace with layered, leaded identities. I'm your host, Dr. Lola Ateemo, the CEO of EQI Mindset and founder of the nonprofit Immigrants Incorporate Inc. I'm also an author, speaker, and a workplace inclusion strategist. I work with organizations to build communities of belonging through strategy, storytelling, and systems change. This podcast amplifies the voices of professionals from intersectional backgrounds, immigrants, ethnic minorities, first-gen professionals, veterans, working parents, individuals with disabilities, and so many more. Through solo reflections and guest conversations, we'll uncover the eating challenges, celebrate the wins, and offer insights to help you thrive, not just survive in the corporate world. Because in today's global workforce, belonging isn't just a bonus, it's the catalyst for real growth and impact. Let's dive in. Hello everyone, welcome back to another episode of Thriving in Intersectionality, a space I love holding to explore the experiences of leaders, founders, educators, and just uh passionate business uh owners that are doing the work of leadership and embracing their full self. So, of course, I come in with a word. The title of the podcast is striving in intersectionality. And so I love to spend a few a few seconds explaining that mouthful of a word. And uh intersectionality itself is a framework um that recognizes how multiple aspects of identity, such as gender, career journey, lived experience, personal history, uh, beyond identity, identities included, right? How all of these things overlap and interact and shape how we all experience the world and how we lead through the world. So I I you know my guests are usually leading something, their role, their jobs, all of the multiple portfolios that they pack, and we love to hear more about the behind the scenes, how they got there, and how all of who they are is showing up in the work that they are doing today. So the this platform and and coming in through the word intersectionality also allows us to explore leadership and influence, not just through expertise or achievement, but through our identities, our confidence, and all of the internal narratives that show up in how we lead people. So thank you for being with me today, Kelly. How are you doing? I'm great. Thank you so much for having me on.

SPEAKER_00 3:21

I'm excited for this conversation.

SPEAKER_01 3:23

Of course, of course. Glad to have you. All right, a little bit about Kelly before we get started. Kelly Shuknext has spent over 20 years in marketing helping entrepreneurs and professionals move from being the best kept secret to the trusted authority in their field. She's an author. A book is titled Your Authority X Factor, and she shares um a little bit about, well, we'll ask her for a little bit about that, the three-pillar framework for personal branding, disability, credibility, and consistency. And she also runs two mile high marketing, where she specializes in thought leadership development. She's the host of two podcasts, Beyond the Bestseller, where she features female authors of nonfiction books and empower them to share their stories and the authority X Factor, where she interviews thought leaders in a variety of industries. So um, I love having you here, Kelly, today, and I can't wait to dive into your background, your story, and how you got here. Well, I'm happy to talk about it. You want me to dive in? Yeah, so well, let me give you the first prompt question because I don't want us to go too deep before we ask you the most important part. So, beyond your bio, and for those listening, of course, they can read your full bio uh in the podcast detail. I I I always summarize it quickly because I'm like, people can read all about that. I really want us to go behind the scene. So, Kelly, when you think of the word intersectionality, what aspects of your life and experience have most shaped how you see yourself and your walk today?

SPEAKER_00 5:02

Yeah, yeah. You know, I I I had to look up the word before we started talking to, you know, because it's not a word I use often, but it resonated so much with me because um for me, I have been a professional for my whole career. You know, I've been in these professional um roles, but I always had kind of a creative outlet outside of work. And uh I, you know, which I never really knew why I was pursuing these things, but I think that some of it was that I was needing to express myself in a way that my professional um, you know, the the professional persona, like it's not really acceptable to show up in certain ways at work, right? And so I was I was doing these other things, um, expressing myself. And when I actually I was laid off a couple of years ago, and when I lost my job, I I kind of went public with like the stuff I had been doing uh, you know, outside of work and kind of became more myself in my public presence. Um and it was in among my professional network, which then led to me creating a business around personal branding because it was all about I was branding myself without really even knowing it uh all along, but I just was keeping things very separate. And then when it when I finally was able to bring those things together, that was when it finally clicked that, like, oh, this is why I had this pull to do things that were different from the professional, you know, the professional, again, like that persona that were, you know, that we feel comfortable showing up online with. Um, so to me, that was kind of you know, that that resonated with me in that way.

SPEAKER_01 6:44

So, what were those non-professional facing brands of you? Who is the real Kelly outside of the work? What are those other things that will tell us a little more about you beyond your yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:59

Um well, it's evolved over time, I would say. But I, you know, when I was I was working in publishing, so beginning of my career, I worked in publishing and um and and this was a long time ago. So like internet stuff was new, social media was new, right? And but I just always loved social media. So I would show up and I would um I really I started blogging about book marketing and I started doing some when TikTok came about, I started doing some TikTok videos around book marketing or you know, the things related to books. Um over the last year, it has actually evolved into I do a lot of lifestyle, beauty, and fashion content, which um feels very like sometimes I'm like if it feels a little silly. It feels a little like, you know, not my professional self that people normally see, but it's this part of me that like I do that and I have um kind of created a platform around lifestyle and and fashion and beauty kind of um content. And it's just been really fun, right? Like just put putting myself out there in a way that um people wouldn't necessarily expect, but that I really enjoy and get to connect with people and kind of grow a platform outside of my business, outside of my work, you know, and and my professional side.

SPEAKER_01 8:15

Yeah, I love it. Lifestyle and beauty, blogging, writing. Um what about your anything else that gives us a little more about you before I move to the professional questions?

SPEAKER_00 8:28

Well, you know, you know, you you and I uh talked before we started um you know recording this that uh I live in Colorado. And um, so there's also, you know, we take for granted certain things, especially like I live in the mountains of Colorado where like when I walk outside, I have an amazing, amazing view. Um, I have mountains in front of my house, I have a you know, a lake there, I can walk to another lake, whatever. These are things that like I don't even think about on a daily basis. I'm walking in the national forest, I see the the tallest mountain peak in Colorado right outside my house, right? I like I don't even think about it. But sometimes I'm posting, I'll post content around that, and people start to associate me with those things, right? Like Colorado and mountains and um outdoors and these things that um again, like you almost take for granted in your day-to-day life. But you when when you do share some of that, you realize that oh, this makes me unique and different, and people, not everyone sees what I see every day.

SPEAKER_01 9:27

Yeah, I love that. The mountains, yes, I love that. That's my part of part of what I love about San Diego too is is also the view. I'm a view person. Like whenever I travel to a new city in the US, I haven't traveled to a lot of cities, but whenever I travel, one of the first things I notice and pay attention to is what does the the scenery look like. You know, you go to the east coast and the vegetation is so tall and thick, and then you're going to certain cities, and it's mountains, and sometimes there's a different kind of trees that are very skinny and tall. Yeah, so yeah, but having mountains and and national parks would not be a bad idea at all. Yeah, yeah. Well, nice to meet you and and leap through you in into the into your world a little bit. So, can you walk us through your professional um path a little bit? Um, you mentioned journalism, but how did you get here? Yeah, who for?

SPEAKER_00 10:28

Yeah, well, so I mentioned that I was laid off. So um I and I I hated that part of my story for so long because I I hate, you know, I I don't like that there's this negative kind of um part of my story, but I realized through sharing it that there's a lot of people who have dealt with similar situations, and I'm not alone in that. And also my story has helped other people in knowing that like they're um you know that that there can be a better future. Um, but I started my career in uh in publishing, as I mentioned. So for 10 years I worked in a publishing, um, in a publishing company, and uh, you know, it was very um just in engrossed in that world. I was helping people with marketing their books. I was um, you know, it even that was new at the time, 20 years ago, that you know, publishing a book online, self-publishing, now anyone can just do it. But back then it was new, and um, so I was part of like that, like kind of um spearheading a lot of you know, a lot of new initiatives for the company and figuring out like how to do new things because um the world was changing so fast with the internet. Um, so you know, I I did that for 10 years. I left there and I went into a marketing role in a company, in a virtual CFO company. And um, I helped grow that business uh from 4 million to 12 million over the seven years that I was there. And um it was, you know, it was exciting, it was fun, it was a great job. I loved, I traveled a lot, I loved my job. Um, but we got acquired by a larger firm, and um, and that's when I knew like, uh-oh, I might lose my job because the larger firm had a marketing department, and you know, so I knew like I knew probably I needed to be thinking about what might be next for me. And I never saw myself starting a company, but um I started kind of dreaming about that at the time. I think there's no harm in dreaming about things when, you know, there's you don't have to make any decisions, you don't have to do anything. Uh and so I had I had created a name of my company. I had actually started a website, just thinking like, well, I might need to, you know, I might need to do this at some point. Um, I still wasn't thinking about it that seriously. I just, you know, it was like, I was just like preparing, I think. And in October 2024, I had a meeting um and uh with my boss and HR came in and and um I lost my job at that point. And you know, I immediately went into this mode of like, okay, I'm gonna, I'm gonna start, you know, I'm gonna start applying for jobs and whatever. And and then I went, you know what? I'm I wanted to do this. I wanted to start this business, and so that's what I'm gonna spend this time doing. And uh, and so I did. So I started my business uh and and it came together really quickly. You know, I mentioned kind of I had been always doing some, I say like a side hobby, not a side hustle. I wasn't making any money doing like content on the side of my jobs, um, but I always enjoyed it. So I was always showing up on um TikTok or X, you know, back in the day, um, and Instagram and um and uh did I say Twitter? So Twitter or X, whatever, and then TikTok and Instagram. Um, anyways, so I was always like showing up on those platforms and I was building this audience. Um, I was also very active on LinkedIn. And so when I said I'm gonna start this business helping people develop their personal brand, uh, people were going, oh, like I need, and and they I they just quickly associated me with the things that I had been doing that I hadn't even realized I was developing this skill, developing this reputation. Um, and so it helped me grow my business really quickly once I decided that that's how I was going to move forward. So that's what we do at Two Mile High Marketing is help people with developing their personal brand, their thought leadership platform, um, marketing in a very, very specific way for business owners.

SPEAKER_01 14:21

Yeah, I love it. Uh, all of the things that you didn't think you were already doing. Um, I I think I was also one of those people that will be like, oh yeah, I I never saw myself starting a business. It's like I always used to say I'm a corporate girl, you know. It's like I'm gonna work in corporations and climb the corporate ladder, and then yeah, when it's time, it's time. And and I think you're right. Is it's not you're not gonna be starting from scratch when you decide to start a business doing something you love. Right, right. Probably have more materials than you think you do. All right.

SPEAKER_00 14:58

Yeah, I uh so my you mentioned my podcast, uh, one of my podcasts is the authority X Factor. And that is actually the title of my book as well, Unlocking Your Authority X Factor. And that's what that book is about is discovering that um that unique skill set, uh, those qualities that we have, the experience that we have that has led us to serve people in a certain way that we often take for granted, right? So 20 years into my career, I never saw myself as a business owner or the face of a company or the person that should be in the spotlight. But all of a sudden I said, okay, I'm gonna do this. And it was like, it just made sense. It came together because I did have 20 years of experience and you know, I did have a skill set that led me to do do what I am now doing. Um, and it was just I needed to take the time to like listen to that and to lean into it and to um, you know, move forward in a way that was like, okay, I'm gonna position myself to do this work in this way.

SPEAKER_01 15:59

Yeah, yeah, I love it. So let's speak a little bit about your work and and perspective. Uh, because I feel like we've we're already talking about it, right? It's how we're in this season where people are being laid off, people are in transition, you know. Sometimes it's something you choose. You choose to leave the job and and rebrand yourself and reposition yourself doing the things you love. Um, people are changing careers, right? So maybe we we we I want to ask a little bit of question um that's about some of the things that I've seen with so I work with a lot of immigrant professionals, I work with a lot of ERG leaders. And so part of it is the cultural challenge around uh personal branding and bragging. And so my first question will be around around your topic and your niche and your focus. You live you've lived it, but then you've also interviewed people and and you also work with clients. How can someone build um credibility without feeling like they are bragging?

SPEAKER_00 17:01

Yeah, uh, I think that's one of the biggest challenges with building your personal brand is it can feel like you're showing up and just bragging or talking about yourself all the time, right? Um, but the reality is uh sharing those things, the sharing those milestones, those awards, those uh just things about us, those, you know, maybe personal stories even, uh, are really what help people connect with us and they they want to cheer us on, right? So when like whenever I go speak, for example, I have a speaking event, I'm gonna post about that event ahead of time. I'm gonna share a picture of me on the stage. I'm gonna, you know, I'm gonna share moments of that event because for one, it helps position me, right? People then see me as, oh, she's she's the one going out and speaking, she's the one who helps people get on stages, um, right? And and so, you know, there's a little bit of a like a humble brag in that, but also it's um people are excited about that, right? I run into people and they're like, you're like a professional conference attendee because you go to all these conferences, right? So they see these, which is not true at all. I might go to like one every couple months or something, but people see it and that's what they start associating with me. And so that's what you really want is that recognition of um it doesn't have to be a every single day I'm posting a video of myself or a you know photo of my face or you know, whatever. Um, but you know, when you are showing up and you're showing your face and you're showing things that you're doing, those those types of content, those content pieces are really engaging and people really um they they really um we see this with our clients because we do our the content for our clients and people engage with those posts more than anything else. So it's hard for us sometimes to put put those types of content pieces out there because we feel like, oh, like it feels cringy, maybe. Um, but the reality is on the other side, other people aren't seeing you every day. They're not seeing what you're doing every day, they're not hearing from you every day. So all of a sudden you come up in their feed and they go, Oh, that's great. She's attending that conference, she got that award, she's doing that thing, right? And um, so it's really sharing those snippets of your life with people in a way that helps them remember that you're there. And and like you said, the credibility piece, it's building the credibility around what you're doing and how you help people.

SPEAKER_01 19:20

Yeah. I I mean, I'm still living that that right now, too. Still struggling with, you know, you post content around your work and it's crickets, and then you post some snippet about your your child that did something or myself that went to speak, and everybody is like, whooha, and I feel so sometimes it's like, why do people really um yeah, I don't know, it still feels uncomfortable, but you're right. Because one of the things as a as a as um an entrepreneur over the last years, I mean, and I I guess this would be different for different people, is that I am my brand because yeah, I you know, people don't know the name of my company, but they know my name. Yeah, right. So they want to that they want that to be real, they want to feel like I know this person, and it doesn't matter what your role is, what your day job and title is. If people are gonna connect with you, they want to connect with you. Yeah, yeah. Um, and I think the more technology-spaced world we live in, the more people re recognize you know, tailored content and the ones are the ones that has humanity.

SPEAKER_00 20:30

So something a little more real. Yeah, when you mentioned, you know, the like people engage more with the post when you're talking about something with your kids or something. People, the reality is people want to work with people that they like and that they feel like they know, right? And so when you're sharing something that's very deeply personal, it doesn't have to be like too personal, but like something like that. Like, you know, maybe you work from home and you're just sharing a moment of like your kid in your office, and like, you know, this is part of my day. I get to cuddle with my babies while I'm working, whatever. People love that, and then it helps them, you know, know you, get to know you better, right? They like you. Maybe they go, Oh, yeah, like she's got kids, she's it helps them like trust you, right? So it's it feels personal and you it feels weird because it's like, well, this is like non-professional thing that I'm putting out there, but it you never know, it might lead to people going, like, oh, I might connect her with so-and-so who who might be able to work with her. You know, I get those kind of referral connections all the time, and those come from people who know you and like you and trust you enough to send people your way.

SPEAKER_01 21:36

Yeah, I love it. So I think what you just described is going to lean into the the three pillars you talk about. So if you want to share a little bit more about visibility, credibility, consistency, how do those things connect and how can people begin to leverage that as they think about who they are and the persona that they want people to walk away with about themselves?

SPEAKER_00 21:57

Yeah, yeah. So when it comes To building your personal brand or you know developing a thought leadership platform, there's three pillars as you mentioned that everyone should be thinking about, right? So it's visibility, credibility, and consistency. Visibility is you got to get visible in front of your target audience, right? Like obviously, people need to know who you are, um, or they're not going to sign up to work with you. Um, so whether that be uh, you know, maybe speaking at an event where your audience will be or showing up on LinkedIn or whatever social media platform your audience uh is likely to be using. Um, podcasting is a great example, right? So here you and I are um having this conversation. Uh what are the podcasts that your audience is listening to that that uh they might discover you from a conversation you're having? Um and I'll come back to podcasts because it's not just about it's not just about me trying to get in front of your audience necessarily, right? It's also about the credibility piece. So when I come on here and I'm talking with you, I now have clips from this interview that I can I can take and I can turn into content pieces that I can share on my social media. So those little clips are helping people see me as credible on the topic that I talk about, right? So um, so pillar number two being credibility, there's there's ways that you can establish your credibility, like I said, through um through podcasting, through having a book. So I recently published my book, The Unlocking Your Authority X Factor. Um, when I go out and speak now, I have a book that I can share with the audience. Um, people, you know, that type of um that's a marketing tool that people will now see me as credible. So it's not just about getting in front of them, but it's also helping them understand um why you're the best person to work with them. Uh, other con other types of content around credibility uh that help build your credibility might be um case studies. So if you have specifically worked with uh certain clients and help them in a way where you have some numbers around that that you can share, that helps build up your credibility. And then the third pillar is consistency. Um, so you know, it's not about just like showing up one time or um, you know, uh you go out and speak at an event, great, or I do a podcast interview, great, but like it's doing it on a regular basis. So getting out there and uh if if speaking makes sense for you, getting out there and speaking regularly, getting on podcasts. I usually tell people, you know, shoot for like one or two a month, you know, just so that you're you're continually showing up and have that type of content to share. Um LinkedIn content, I recommend posting two to three times a week if you're B2B, your your odd, if your audience is uh likely to be on LinkedIn. Um it just it helps people remember that you exist. So when you know you I might put out a post today talking about personal branding, and someone may not be in a place where they're thinking about that, right? But six months from now, they may be in a place where now maybe they've been laid off now, or maybe um, you know, they've been working in their job, but they're like kind of maybe ready to take the next step, and maybe they're thinking about going out on their own. Well, now they might be thinking about personal branding a little more seriously. Uh, they're not gonna remember something I posted six months ago, but if I'm continually showing up in their feed, they're gonna remember me when the time is right. So uh, you know, all of those things together are going to help you build a personal brand over time.

SPEAKER_01 25:29

Yeah, and not just a personal brand, one that is actually genuinely you. Yes. Because I think that's the difference these days is yeah, there's so many people that are sharing stuff and everybody sounds amazing online, but you know, sometimes you go deep and you know, some of it is not true, or it's not uh the right representation. So I think the differentiator in these days of AI, um, one of the things I personally started doing more of this year, or thinking about because I feel like I've been doing it because I have a podcast, of course, but I haven't been thinking of um video content. I've been thinking more of written content because I like writing. That's my that's my sweet spot. Like I have ideas for stuff like when I'm driving, or I'm I'm at home and by my bedside, I have a notepad. I will have ideas for something and I'll jot down. So I have drafts, I have tons of drafts all over my writing spaces, so that's my comfortable space. I've grown there over the years and I love writing, but then I realize we're in the world where everybody writes perfect stuff, but I want to see the person behind the writing, and so I started being more intentional. I started growing the presence on TikTok, which is no more feeling weird, but it still feels weird. Um, you know, it's like I want people to put a face to my name in the spaces where I show up, and so I I think that's the differentiator that you are bringing into these. Again, there's so many marketing people that use the term I mean market, I mean marketing now these days that um I love people that have their own story of what they're doing and and how they're bringing your voice and your thoughts to to what you do. So I guess maybe one of the questions I would have would be why do you think you know so many people feel uncomfortable stepping into this space? Leadership, uh publicity, branding?

SPEAKER_00 27:33

Yeah. Well, I think it's it's easier to have your head down and to just be, you know, in your work and and not putting yourself out there, right? Um, I think we also tend to think that somebody else has all the answers. Somebody else is the visionary or the person who's meant to be in the spotlight, right? Um for me, it was uh the eye-opening moment was I went to a conference in Seattle, um, gosh, I don't know, it's maybe been four, four or five years ago now. And uh I sat through session after session after session going, I could have taught that, like I could have taught that session, right? Um, and I realized I had hit a point in my career where it's like, I know a lot. Like I've done this for 20 years, right? Like I I have stuff within me, experience uh that I can teach people how to do things that I've done. Um and so it was at that conference that I said, you know, I need to start, I need to start doing this. I need to start getting myself out there. And I never thought about that before. Never thought like I'm I'm horrified of public speaking. So like getting on a stage was like, I it was like no way, right? I can there's no way I could do that. Um, but I got myself signed up for a speaking event, and um it was, you know, it it was horrifying. Um, but I did it and I didn't die. Um, and I started doing more. You mentioned TikTok, like I started forcing myself to do video content where I was just talking, right? Getting on podcast podcasts, practicing my message. And over time, it was like I just I got better and better at it. Um again, all of that again led me to once I started my business, all of a sudden I had this experience and I have been doing these things that I didn't know I was doing for a purpose, um, other than just I was trying to push myself. But I think that we often we get comfortable. Uh, I don't know if it's always comfortable, but like we just kind of get stuck in like, oh, this is this is my role, this is what I do, right? And and somebody else is that face. Um, but we have so much more to give. And if we give ourselves a little bit more credit and um push ourselves to do things that maybe feel uncomfortable, uh, I think we're we're capable of so much more as well.

SPEAKER_01 29:49

I love it. Yes, thank you. I feel like I'm getting coached, and hopefully my my guests, my audience are also listening because I was like, this whole topic of personal branding, it's been a struggle, it's been a challenge, and you know, a lot of people see my stuff out there, and people see me out there. I mean, I still remember somebody telling me, Oh, yeah, you you do a good job of really promoting yourself out there. And I felt like, you know, is that a compliment or is that a critique? And you know, you the only way to get better at it is to just start doing it, and I and I think having conversations like these, um, for those listening is also giving ourselves permission to just lean into who you are and lean into, you know, there's multiple platforms now, right? Maybe um I went for a walk with a friend uh by the beach. One of self-care practices was she was very intentional about putting a time on our calendar, it's break time for me, we'll go for a walk, we have a distance that we'll walk and we'll come back. And you know, she has a marker, she has her thing, right? Like, because the the beach was like next to a house, and and so she had her process, and we'll get to this is where I get to. I pick stone, I pick rocks as I'm going, and we take a picture, and I was gonna post about it because it was an experience for me, just how intentional it was and how refreshing. And she's like, Oh no, don't don't don't put that on LinkedIn. That's not that's not my persona on LinkedIn, and that starts with me because I was like, I guess that might have been me too at some point. Um, because we're afraid, we're afraid of like I I've I've been there like where you're afraid of the anyone thinking of like I was doing something other than working during the day, or you know, if they don't see that as yeah, um yeah, because I and I thought about it, I was like, it it has taken me a while to get to where I post pictures from my workout with my sweaty self because maybe there was something that came up for me, or there was a reason why I was working out, right? Like I post workout pictures, I post pictures with my kids, like I don't have to have perfect makeup on. Like, I but that's my persona, and that's how I've I've grown to get there over time. But I know uh sometimes for people it's like no, not this platform. I'm not I'm not real me. Instagram is where I show up as this, LinkedIn is where I show up as this, and I guess I'm just trying to there's a right or wrong answer. There's just we need to figure out a way to bring our full selves in the way that we want people to know us.

SPEAKER_00 32:31

Yeah, I think so. I think there's always gonna be that. Like different platforms are different, you know, different things. But I do think that people should feel a little more comfortable showing up as themselves on LinkedIn than they currently like now. If you work for some corporation where, like, you know, like yes, I'm just like the scenario in this case, somebody part of like a huge organization. Yeah, I yeah, I you know, I actually I worked in corporate um previously, and but I work remotely and I and I'm a calendar blocker, so I have everything blocked my calendar. Well, I I would block my workouts in the morning and I would work out from seven to eight, sometimes eight thirty, like I'd go for a run or whatever, and I would have that blocked on my calendar. Well, and I had somebody come to me and say, Um, basically, like, people have a problem with you working out during the workday. And I'm like, it's before the workday, like eight, eight thirty in the morning. But but they were they were in central time, so it was nine, nine thirty their time. And so there was people had a problem with it. And it was like, what? So, yes, so there are reasons why we get you know overly cautious at times. And I'm not telling anyone, you know, who is working in corporate to do anything that you know is that would compromise their job or anything like that. Um, it's more so just being able to show a side of your personality because the thing is uh as AI is becoming more and more popular and you know being used more and more, people are showing up with AI generated content all the time, right? But but AI can't replace you as a person and you showing, you know, here I am working out, here I am walking on the beach, you know, after I ran a marathon, I shared uh uh the picture of me crossing the finish line, right? Like, so those types of things are humanize us and and make us stand out in a world where so much is just being automatically generated. Some roles you might have to be more careful than others.

SPEAKER_01 34:36

Yeah. Well, if people would like to work with you or to follow up with you, how can they best uh reach out to you?

SPEAKER_00 34:43

Yeah. Well, if personal branding is something that you are wanting to uh or thinking about, maybe wanting to uh explore, I do have a quiz on my website. Uh so if you go to kellishukneck.com, which I imagine you'll have the um link in the show notes. It's a difficult name to spell, but uh right at the top of the website, there's a personal brand scorecard, and you can take that and it will walk you through a series of questions that are thought-provoking as you're taking it, but then it also gives you a score in the end and tells you what you can work on to get to kind of like the next level with your personal brand. So that's a great place for anyone who's you know kind of thinking about this uh to start. And then, of course, connect with me on LinkedIn. Uh again, you can probably put the link in the in the show notes, but it's my name, Kelly Shukneck at LinkedIn.

SPEAKER_01 35:30

All right, thank you, Kelly. Um, this was really great. I I I love how we ended up again. I I have questions that I come up with, but I I felt like it was all I didn't I didn't look at my notes at all, just like asking you questions based on what we wanted to know. I wanted also actually have something that people can walk away with. So I'm looking forward to also taking that assessment myself and seeing how it shapes out. Uh, so any um final thoughts, insights for for somebody maybe that relates with you? And as you look back at your own personal journey and where you are now and what you do, um, I want to bring it back to intersectionality to wrap us up. How do you think your own intersections? How do you think your background? How do you think your experience is is shaping how you lead and and the business you're building today?

SPEAKER_00 36:24

Yeah. Um, so I think, you know, I was always, you know, I mentioned like always kind of exploring something outside of work and always kind of listening to like what was calling to me, right? So it was like, I need to be getting on stages, I need to be pushing myself to do things that make me uncomfortable. Um, and I, you know, for me, that really led me down a career path I wasn't even expecting starting this business. Uh, as a leader within my business, I I want my people to be very much themselves, to show up as themselves in meetings, to share who they are online. You know, I want them to feel comfortable with that. And so I think that um, you know, I'm a big proponent of the intersectionality and knowing that like it's okay for people to be to be real and to be their their whole selves. You know, you you have to show up to a client meeting being professional, but you can also have conversations with your clients about like, hey, how did it go this weekend? What did you do this weekend? You know, how are the kids? Like, right? We can be real people. And I think that that that makes us show up for our clients in a way that we are genuine and we care about them and we and we want them to care about us too and what we have going on in our lives because we're all people, right? Um, so I think that that kind of shapes how how I lead my team as well.

SPEAKER_01 37:39

Yeah, thank you. So, my final question is about food. I love to close with this signature question. So, if you were to share a meal, a dish, a snack with your co-workers, your team, what would you pick and why?

SPEAKER_00 37:56

Well, the reality is I would probably choose some sort of crackers and cheese because that is like the thing I could live on. Okay, this is a birthday meal. Not even really a meal, but um, whenever my husband is away, I will make myself like a giant charcuterie board, and that's what I will eat for like, you know, any nights when he's away, because I'm just like, I could eat, you know, like the crackers, the cheese, a little bit of grapes, like whatever. I'm I'm a grazer. So if I could have a meal with you, I that's what I would do. Let's go get some charcuterie.

SPEAKER_01 38:30

I love that. I love that though, because I love charcuterie boards, and I think it's just a mixed variety and no long-term prep needed. Everybody can eat, can kind of pick the ones they're drawn to. So that also kind of speaks nicely to some of the things you shared. I think it resonates with the topics that you shared about the kind of person you are and and just your diverse interests. So I love linking the responses back to what you talked about, and I think nicely. Well, it was nice meeting you, Kelly. Thank you so much for chatting with me. Thank you for the work you do, and um looking forward to having follow-up conversations. Thank you for having me on. For anyone listening, don't forget to rate, review this episode wherever you get your podcast. We also have a new fan button on each episode so you get to provide actual feedback um on each episode. So if there's anything that resonated with you, this conversation with Kelly, of course, follow both of us or you can provide feedback about this episode itself. So looking forward to hearing your thoughts, um, everyone. Thanks for joining. Thank you for being part of today's conversation on thriving in intersectionality. If you're an HR or DEI leader and you need employer resource group or business resource group resources, let's connect and LinkedIn. I help organizations build inclusive cultures through inclusive workplace communities, strategy, and storytelling. Immigrants and first gen professionals, join our free community at www.immigrantsincorporate.org for career support, networking, and resources in community with peers who understand your journey. Tag our podcast page on LinkedIn or connect with me directly to continue the conversation. Please don't forget to rate and review to help others discover these discussions. Keep thriving in your intersections. Your story matters. I'm Dr. Lola Adeyemo, and this has been Thriving in Intersectionality Podcast.