“WADING” into Leadership with Traci Philips

As we are all beginning to realize, we're not going back to the ways things were before the pandemic, so new skills are needed to move forward. Traci shares some of those with us in this episode, with a particular focus on growing as a better leader from the inside out.

About Traci Philips: As an Executive Leadership & Performance Strategist, Traci supports visionary business owners and corporate executives to learn and practice better communication, resolution strategies, decision-making, and leading during times of change and when the stakes are high.

She teaches her clients how to create a more cohesive, cooperative experience and environment within their workplace culture. Her ultimate goal is to support her clients to live authentically and lead powerfully by creating more awareness about who they are, how they want to be seen, and what legacy they want to leave behind.

You can learn more about Traci and connect with her at www.theinnatecoach.com.

Traci starts by sharing a time in her life when she felt less than worthy and how she reclaimed her sense of worthiness. 

Traci discusses the three brains:

and how we can learn about the unique role of each from emerging scientific data.   

"How we feel and what we sense are equally important to what we think, especially in times of high change and uncertainty," Traci explains.

We also discuss the powerful principles pulled out by this challenging question from her book: Are you living a borrowed or leased life?

Traci shares more about her ZONE MODEL, which includes the  Zone of Brilliance, Zone of Achievement, and Zone of Impact.

In regards to the Zone of Brilliance, Traci became aware of its importance while working for three years with federal inmates who had been incarcerated for white-collared crimes:

She notes that almost all of them shared that who they dreamed of being when they were young boys was not what they ended up doing for a living. They had chosen careers that required impressive credentials and accumulated power and prestige, not because their inner being wanted it, but for various reasons, because they felt that is who they needed to be to get what they wanted in life. This disconnect with their Zone of Brilliance had them acting in ways that eventually landed them in a place of "do-over" where they were given the opportunity to really think about how this disassociation from their natural gifts and desires had impacted their choices, behaviors, actions, and outcomes.

This sharing of her work with inmates led to the discussion of the principle of staying in your own lane:

From her book: "As I explained to him/client, staying in your lane permits you to serve from your innate gifts in a way that is naturally in tune with how you desire to be and within the boundaries that are set around what best supports and nourished you."

Traci and Gail discuss how to reinterpret your circumstances to shift your mentality from a victim to a creator, and give examples of what that practically looks like.

"Our life is not simply a tool to be used for the benefit of others. We are also meant to receive value from who we are and what we were born to build, create and manifest." ~Traci Philips

Traci elaborates on how important it is to live intentionally (and she shares the three intentions she lives by within the interview).

From her book:  "Without intention, we are all walking around, potentially ready to react to whatever comes our way.  When we go through life on autopilot, we create accidental lives.  When we are intentional about our whats, hows, wheres, and whys, we can finally experience a more conscious and deliberate existence."

You can find Traci's new book called, Looking In: Discover, Define & Align the True Value of Your Life, Leadership & Legacy on Amazon.