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EPISODE SUMMARY:
Are you sitting on a goldmine of skills, experience, and connections… but still treating it like loose change? Let’s be real—if you’ve spent years climbing the corporate ladder, leading teams, and solving problems, you’ve built serious Professional Equity. But are you cashing in on it, or just letting it collect dust?
In this episode, we’ll break down how to strategically leverage your expertise, influence, and network to open doors, command higher pay, and create new opportunities—without starting from scratch. Learn how your experience is worth way more than just another "great job" email from your boss.
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ABOUT OUR GUEST:
Dr. Karen Hills Pruden is a global leadership strategist with 30 years of experience in cultivating professionals into senior leadership. Dr. Pruden is an award-winning global speaker and published bestselling author of 30+ books. She has developed three frameworks to align talent development with business objectives and today she’ll be sharing one of those: The Professional Equity framework.
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LINKS MENTIONED IN EPISODE:
www.gotowerscope.com
https://www.drkarenhillspruden.com
https://sisterleadersconference.com
https://www.drkarenhillspruden.com, https://siserleadersconference.com, https://pro.speakerhub.com/speaker-feedback/?qr=de7f0a6f-0328-465d-87f5-856b9de6ca6b
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-karen-hills-pruden-dm-cde-sphr-3935626a/
Tune in for this empowering conversation at TalkRadio.nyc
Dr. Mira Brancu’s latest episode of The Hard Skills tackles the critical soft skills needed to navigate leadership and career uncertainty, with a focus on “professional equity” amid today’s challenging workplace dynamics. Joined by Dr. Karen Hills Pruden, a global leadership strategist, they explore how professionals can leverage relationships, expertise, and reputation to safeguard and advance their careers—whether proactively or in response to unexpected job shifts. The discussion emphasizes the power of cross-functional connections, visibility, and strategic engagement in workplace committees to build influence and long-term career resilience.
Dr. Mira Brancu and Dr. Karen Hills Pruden discuss the importance of developing a unique selling proposition (USP) to stand out in an organization, emphasizing that expertise alone is not enough—leaders must demonstrate unique value. Dr. Pruden shares her experience in HR, where she created data-driven strategies to justify her department’s impact, a skill she later recognized as her USP with the help of a mentor. They also highlight the necessity of actively managing one’s reputation both within and beyond an organization, ensuring career security by building visibility, credibility, and relationships that transcend any single employer.
Dr. Mira Brancu and Dr. Karen Hills Pruden continue their discussion on professional equity, addressing the emotional challenges of building a reputation while maintaining career security. Dr. Pruden emphasizes that developing visibility beyond a single supervisor or organization is not disloyal but rather a strategic way to expand influence and ensure long-term success. For those who have lost their jobs and never built professional equity, she advises conducting a gap analysis to align skills with career goals, leveraging networking and staffing agencies, and using the transition as a strategic pause to make an intentional next move.
In the final segment, Dr. Mira Brancu and Dr. Karen Hills Pruden discuss the practical steps job seekers can take to rebuild their professional equity after an unexpected job loss. They emphasize leveraging staffing agencies, networking intentionally, and tapping into partnerships, community involvement, and volunteering to create new opportunities. Dr. Pruden also highlights her Sister Leaders Conference, a platform dedicated to increasing the number of women in senior leadership by providing the knowledge and strategies needed to bridge the gap from management to executive roles.
00:00:52.560 --> 00:01:12.010 Mira Brancu: Welcome back to the hard skills show where we take a deep dive into the most challenging soft skills required to navigate leadership, uncertainty, complexities and change today and in the future I'm your host. Dr. Mira Branku, psychologist, leadership consultant and founder of towerscope.
00:01:12.100 --> 00:01:29.559 Mira Brancu: Now, today's episode is especially relevant. Right now given the stressful national events we're all grappling with and their impact on how organizations are going about supporting or not supporting their employees. Through this. There's a lot of employees right now, looking for different ways to
00:01:29.770 --> 00:01:38.070 Mira Brancu: set up their next move in their career, guarding their career
00:01:38.300 --> 00:01:55.190 Mira Brancu: future. Some people might call it. Career proofing right? A really great topic to help us kick off. Season 7. Focused on navigating, unhealthy work environments in honor of my new workbook millennials, workbook for navigating workplace politics.
00:01:55.460 --> 00:01:57.890 Mira Brancu: And even if you are
00:01:58.090 --> 00:02:23.199 Mira Brancu: not navigating an unhealthy work environment right now, just, you know, leading, managing a team simply trying to support your colleagues any of that. This conversation is for you. This is for everybody trying to figure out. How do I navigate and take charge of my career. So let me introduce you to our guest, Dr. Karen Hills. Prudent.
00:02:23.280 --> 00:02:31.660 Mira Brancu: She is a global leadership strategist, with 30 years of experience in cultivating professionals into senior leadership roles.
00:02:32.030 --> 00:02:39.370 Mira Brancu: Dr. Prudent is an award-winning global speaker and published bestselling author of 3rd over 30 books.
00:02:39.570 --> 00:02:49.440 Mira Brancu: She has developed 3 frameworks to align talent development with business objectives. And today she's going to be sharing one of those, the professional equity framework
00:02:49.560 --> 00:02:53.129 Mira Brancu: so welcome and great to have you on the show, Karen, Dr. Karen.
00:02:53.500 --> 00:02:58.560 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: I am so excited to be here, and very excited about this conversation.
00:02:58.560 --> 00:03:00.917 Mira Brancu: Yes, yes, me, too. So
00:03:02.500 --> 00:03:10.020 Mira Brancu: tell us about professional equity. How did you come to this term? How did you come to recognizing? It's a need.
00:03:11.440 --> 00:03:21.479 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: Well, most people think when you hear the term equity, a lot of people think about something that increase in value, and the majority of the population would even think about
00:03:21.600 --> 00:03:33.539 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: mortgage or home ownership, or something like that. And I also happen to be a real estate investor. So I have my toe in that lane as well, and the term is something that
00:03:34.390 --> 00:03:45.110 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: I kind of put together. I didn't, you know. I didn't create the words, but I put together? Because it really describes what it is that we tap into
00:03:45.640 --> 00:03:50.410 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: when there is some type of chaos in business or in a market?
00:03:51.045 --> 00:03:58.530 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: And how do you leverage everything that you've built up into that point to utilize to your advantage?
00:03:59.227 --> 00:04:10.620 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: And how do you identify your strengths and your weaknesses and your opportunities and your threats, so that you can address those things so that you can be more of a viable candidate. And so for me.
00:04:11.126 --> 00:04:19.130 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: You know what is going on in the Us. Now there was a change in leadership. I had something happen to me similar to that, but it was in business
00:04:19.279 --> 00:04:23.329 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: there was a change in leadership. A new CEO came into business.
00:04:24.064 --> 00:04:26.909 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: And that CEO. This was about
00:04:27.300 --> 00:04:48.460 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: 35, 36 years ago that CEO changed the qualifications of the job that I was currently in. And so what did that mean for me and those like me who were in that position. It meant that we needed to reapply for our positions to go forward. So we were basically severed.
00:04:48.740 --> 00:04:53.120 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: And then we were asked to reapply for
00:04:53.670 --> 00:05:01.669 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: our current position. The position that some of us have been working in. I have been working in it for years. My boss had been working in it for 20 years.
00:05:02.260 --> 00:05:10.489 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: and the qualification that he actually changed was that he made a college degree a requirement instead of an option.
00:05:11.250 --> 00:05:21.980 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: Previously it was, you can use your work, experience, and a college degree. But he valued college education, so he made it a requirement. And so, as a result.
00:05:22.456 --> 00:05:27.799 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: he changed the qualifications of my leadership position. And so we all had to reapply.
00:05:28.550 --> 00:05:34.809 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: Professional equity has 3 legs to it. It is your relationships.
00:05:35.070 --> 00:05:39.259 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: your area expertise and your reputation
00:05:39.770 --> 00:05:58.570 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: doing that situation. I really had to not only tap into my professional work profile, which is everything that I had done up until that point in my career. But I also had to tap into my my reputation. What do people know in terms of the problem that I saw
00:05:59.680 --> 00:06:05.120 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: my relationships? Because when you're in leadership, you're not doing the day-to-day work.
00:06:05.570 --> 00:06:16.419 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: you are the most vulnerable person, the higher up you go, and senior leadership, because your success depends on everyone up under you. And so your relationships are
00:06:16.530 --> 00:06:24.849 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: up and down the chain and in and out of the doors, because you also have to have relationship with vendors and clients and different things like that.
00:06:25.560 --> 00:06:35.890 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: And then your area expertise. What what is it that makes you stand out in marketing? They call it your USP, your unique selling proposition
00:06:35.980 --> 00:07:01.450 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: between someone who has like experience and like education and the same job title, what makes you so different? And so those are the modules of professional equity, and once you solidify those things, people know your reputation, they trust you. You went through that know, like and trust factor. You've had some receipts in your past where they know that you generate.
00:07:01.580 --> 00:07:21.619 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: You know, some successes in what you're supposed to. You are one who is known for not only communicating what people want to know, but what they also need to know, and that you are respected. And notice I didn't say well like, but respected throughout various levels of the organization.
00:07:22.070 --> 00:07:33.990 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: And people know what it is that you do. People are able to slot you in doing chaos in the market. They know exactly where you fit. In some situations they create
00:07:34.420 --> 00:07:35.999 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: job for you.
00:07:36.512 --> 00:07:46.150 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: based on what they know about you and what they've seen in terms of working with you. And so when I went through that process of reapplying for my job for Home depot.
00:07:46.160 --> 00:08:14.949 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: I checked all the boxes in terms of education and work experience. But I also was able to leverage because the same people who I've been working with were also those who were interviewing me now based on the new criteria, and so they were able to use the reputation that I had garnered for the 4 years prior to that they were able to use how I've worked and interacted with multi-level individuals throughout business. And they, those who knew my area expertise
00:08:14.950 --> 00:08:32.509 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: in addition to whatever I said or did during the employment recruitment process, they were able to utilize that, to determine if I was a best fit. And so that is why you want to garner a degree of equity within the market or within business, so that when you need it
00:08:32.600 --> 00:08:39.850 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: you can tap into it, and not when they need it. When you need it, you can tap into it and utilize it.
00:08:40.850 --> 00:08:48.829 Mira Brancu: Brilliant. That's this is a chock full of information. So let's let's break it down. To 2
00:08:49.885 --> 00:08:57.669 Mira Brancu: to current pathways that people who are listening might be interested in one pathway is
00:08:59.110 --> 00:09:03.030 Mira Brancu: I'm not afraid right now. I haven't lost my job yet.
00:09:03.130 --> 00:09:09.280 Mira Brancu: but I don't know how to do this like I'm starting from scratch. The next pathway is
00:09:09.380 --> 00:09:25.099 Mira Brancu: oh, my God! I've been separated from my company. I never worked on this before. What do I do now to like? Move almost backwards to develop my professional equity? So let's take, like the the sort of current situation
00:09:25.390 --> 00:09:50.309 Mira Brancu: I still have an opportunity. I'm internal. I'm not necessarily thinking I might lose my job, but I'm worried about it, or at least I want to be better at developing my professional equity. Let's start with relationships. What do people need to think about when they need to develop the kind of relationships that you're thinking about with professional equity.
00:09:51.928 --> 00:09:55.099 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: The 1st thing I will tell you is talk to everybody.
00:09:55.560 --> 00:10:02.470 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: talk to and interact with everybody, not just your peers, not just people who are on your level, not just your bosses.
00:10:03.520 --> 00:10:09.340 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: Talk to everyone from the janitor all the way up to the C-suite.
00:10:09.450 --> 00:10:16.160 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: They all have valuable information that you can utilize either for yourself in terms of your
00:10:17.230 --> 00:10:26.250 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: your own reputation within the organization, or they have business knowledge that can aid you in the decisions that you make for yourself professionally within that business
00:10:26.450 --> 00:10:49.290 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: a lot of times. We are very territorial in terms of our relationship. We know everybody who works in a department with us, and maybe a brother or sister department that works with us and interact with us on a regular basis. But we don't branch out to people in other departments. We don't raise our hand for committees and special projects that can cause us to be on these
00:10:49.430 --> 00:10:58.580 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: inter business type committees where people outside of your immediate area can see what it is that you do and know what you know.
00:10:59.072 --> 00:11:10.279 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: A lot of people don't think about that when you are within an organization a lot of times, people only look at you as that one job that you have within that organization that they met you.
00:11:10.470 --> 00:11:30.049 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: They don't think about what that span of work that you've done prior to that, and all the different positions and companies that you work when you work in intercommittee type group type projects. That is where you're able to share that information. You're able to give them that additional information so that they can put it in their pocket
00:11:30.390 --> 00:11:54.959 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: and pull it out as needed. And so that is why it's extremely important to get visibility outside of your immediate work area volunteer. When you have these assignments, they're not going to always come with extra money. Sorry, you know. A lot of times. People want extra money for everything that they do. But no, this is, you are generating equity for yourself and your career within the organization. So there is some value.
00:11:54.960 --> 00:12:13.920 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: even though there's not any immediate money that's associated with it, there is value associated with it. And so that's where you want to interact with people in multiple levels. You want to do that visibility on a number of different ways, having conversations. Just your little informal conversations.
00:12:14.430 --> 00:12:37.040 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: You get an elevator with somebody, speak to them, you know. A brief conversation. You don't want to hold them up, but introduce yourself, or you know, if you recognize who they are, you know. Tell them, hey? Aren't you, Bob? From marketing? You know I read your newsletter, or whatever it is, get really, get to know people beyond those surface relationships. And that's where you can tap into
00:12:37.090 --> 00:13:01.549 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: those type of relationships. Once you get beyond that surface relationship. And what I mean by that surface relationship is that all you know is that you work together, and maybe he or she may or may not be married or single. You don't know anything else about what they do once they leave, and once they check out from work, then you don't have a good relationship with the people in the workforce, and so you can't tap into that relationship later.
00:13:01.770 --> 00:13:20.089 Mira Brancu: Yeah, I think that's smart for professional equity. It's also smart for workplace politics, navigating workplace politics. And when I when I say that, and you know, people have kind of like an off-putting experience with workplace politics. What I'm talking about is
00:13:21.394 --> 00:13:24.890 Mira Brancu: just getting work done
00:13:25.290 --> 00:13:35.609 Mira Brancu: because work gets done through people. It doesn't just happen right? It it gets done through people and relationships. And sometimes it's, you know, cross, functional, cross, disciplinary.
00:13:36.313 --> 00:13:38.820 Mira Brancu: In addition, I want to sort of
00:13:39.230 --> 00:13:51.110 Mira Brancu: pull out a few things that you mentioned here, because we've got a lot of people who listen to this, who are introverts, and they're going to be like. I can't talk to anybody, you know, and but you mentioned there are structures
00:13:51.130 --> 00:14:10.869 Mira Brancu: that are in place that you can make it easy for yourself committees you mentioned you mentioned volunteering. You mentioned? You know flattery. If you're going to be in an elevator, you don't have to have small talk that drives, you know, some introverts crazy. You can say I saw your seminar. I loved it.
00:14:11.520 --> 00:14:15.534 Mira Brancu: And I'd love to hear more about right? So
00:14:16.110 --> 00:14:20.390 Mira Brancu: And the other thing that I want to pull out from what you said is
00:14:21.520 --> 00:14:34.370 Mira Brancu: you know. Some people might say like, I can't talk to the CEO like I can't talk to some, you know, and but that's what the committee work is all about. If you can serve on committees with decision making people
00:14:34.480 --> 00:14:37.880 Mira Brancu: right? That is different.
00:14:38.300 --> 00:14:41.980 Mira Brancu: Then like, you were saying
00:14:42.350 --> 00:14:49.309 Mira Brancu: just doing things like unpaid emotional labor. Unpaid. Emotional labor in the workplace
00:14:49.600 --> 00:14:53.520 Mira Brancu: is not being compensated. But you get nothing out of it right
00:14:53.690 --> 00:14:59.989 Mira Brancu: sitting on committees, volunteering, getting to know people in positions of influence
00:15:00.230 --> 00:15:08.179 Mira Brancu: that's mutually beneficial. You are putting in equity. You are investing in yourself when you do that, and I love that you brought that up.
00:15:08.180 --> 00:15:10.239 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: Absolutely. It has value.
00:15:10.370 --> 00:15:15.349 Mira Brancu: Yes, it has value. Yes, okay. So we are reaching an ad break.
00:15:15.823 --> 00:15:25.130 Mira Brancu: When we come back. Let's continue on with the next sort of pillar, the expertise how to sort of develop that
00:15:25.130 --> 00:15:46.669 Mira Brancu: you are listening to the hard skills with me. Dr. Mira Branku and our guest today, Dr. Karen Hills. Pruden. We air on Tuesdays at 5 Pm. Eastern. If you are here at that time right now, you can find us on Linkedin, Youtube. Several other locations@talkradio.nyc. And we'll be right back with our guests in just a moment.
00:17:30.460 --> 00:17:47.350 Mira Brancu: Welcome. Welcome back to the hard skills with me. Dr. Mira Branku and our guest today, Dr. Karen Hills. Pruden, okay, Dr. Karen, we talked about building relationships while you are still a current employee, and you're trying to build up that professional equity.
00:17:47.810 --> 00:17:50.429 Mira Brancu: So the next thing I'm wondering is.
00:17:50.800 --> 00:18:11.959 Mira Brancu: how do you build up the expertise? And you mentioned something really interesting about the expertise piece, which is, it's not just about the expertise. It's your unique selling proposition. USP. If somebody has similar expertise, how do I build up my flavor of expertise within an organization.
00:18:12.850 --> 00:18:23.549 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: Absolutely so. USP, for instance, I'll give you an example of what my USP. May be for someone who appears to be similar with similar education. Similar title.
00:18:23.700 --> 00:18:37.569 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: I literally work my way up from the front line up to the C-suite, and I've been in a C-suite for the last 1516 years, but I have worked every job in between. My chosen industry is human resources.
00:18:38.288 --> 00:18:47.270 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: My background is operations. But human resources is my children industry, my specialty or my secret power is that I can create
00:18:47.320 --> 00:19:09.199 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: data when data does not exist, because with human resources being my industry, we were not a revenue generating department. So I needed to know how to justify my productivity and the work that my workforce did to keep my budget to show my value at the table, so I learned how to create a formula
00:19:09.430 --> 00:19:37.459 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: that can be repeated over and over and over again. So it's now it's validated. If you can repeat it as validated to show how my workforce was adding value to the organization and be able to tie it to the organizational goals. So, although I was not a non revenue generating department. I was sitting there spewing out data analytics just like my peers who were in sales and marketing.
00:19:37.690 --> 00:20:01.129 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: and that not everybody in human resources operate like that. They are in human resources for a reason, they leverage relationships. But at a certain point you need to leverage data, irrefutable data. And I realized that once I got into leadership. And so my neck is that I can create a verifiable formula
00:20:01.130 --> 00:20:08.920 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: to show the work of my workforce. And this is for multimillion dollar corporations. And so that is what makes me unique.
00:20:09.070 --> 00:20:29.049 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: Then someone else who may have worked in human resources for 28 years have all the same degrees that I have. If they don't have the talent to be able to create data to show their work for any given task that their workforce may be responsible for. Then that is what will set me apart.
00:20:29.950 --> 00:20:35.420 Mira Brancu: Yeah. And you know, sometimes people don't recognize what
00:20:35.660 --> 00:21:00.109 Mira Brancu: their unique strengths are, because it comes so naturally to them, and they automatically gravitate to doing the thing that they don't realize. Oh, this is a unique thing about me. So how did you realize either? Oh, this is unique about me? Or how do you help others figure that out for themselves if they think oh, that's nothing. That's just a natural, like thing I do. I just like doing that.
00:21:00.740 --> 00:21:04.199 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: Well, I figured it out because I needed to.
00:21:04.660 --> 00:21:25.090 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: When you are a department that does not generate revenue at the table. Your budget is the 1st to get cut, you know, which a lot of times training is the 1st to get cut and training was in my budget, because prior to that prior to me, determining that this was something that I needed to put out front
00:21:25.721 --> 00:21:37.390 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: prior to that I didn't know that that was something that I needed to do. I needed to be able to justify the work of my workforce. So I did get a little help. So I'll give you the cheat sheet. To that.
00:21:37.530 --> 00:22:04.050 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: I ended up hiring a mentor off a Linkedin when I wanted to get into senior leadership. I didn't know anybody in senior leadership. I was an extraordinary middle manager, but I knew that management and leadership were 2 different things, and so I was looking for a mentor to tell me what I need to focus on to get into senior leadership, and I ended up hiring a mentor off a Linkedin. I didn't know her.
00:22:04.501 --> 00:22:14.619 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: We came to an agreement. She wanted $350 an hour back. Then I wasn't rolling like that. So I negotiated 1 HA month.
00:22:14.970 --> 00:22:26.680 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: 1 HA month for one year. I signed a 1 year contract, but she helped me because I love numbers. She helped me realize that not everybody can do what you can do.
00:22:27.500 --> 00:22:47.060 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: That's not what how people lead. And when I was explaining to her how I came. You know how I developed these formulas to be able to justify how I needed to hire additional staff. How I was able to tie in, she said. Not everybody, particularly in Hr. Can do that. And so she
00:22:47.260 --> 00:23:01.620 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: identified and told me that that what you have is unique. I didn't know it was unique. I just thought it was survival as someone who worked in Hr. And didn't generate revenue. That's how I survived. But she was like, No, people don't talk analytics
00:23:01.680 --> 00:23:26.470 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: in Hr. That is unique. And so now I share it with any indirect revenue generating departments. Now I teach them how to. So I work with marketing departments. I work with Pr. Departments and any department that does not directly sell. I can help them create a formula to justify the work that they're doing, to show the work that they're doing and tie it into the organizational goals.
00:23:27.070 --> 00:23:33.950 Mira Brancu: That's awesome. I think that there's 2 pieces to this, that I think is really really valuable. Number one.
00:23:34.280 --> 00:23:40.680 Mira Brancu: that it sometimes takes a mentor to see things in you that you can't see in yourself.
00:23:41.070 --> 00:23:43.057 Mira Brancu: and you were
00:23:44.100 --> 00:23:51.019 Mira Brancu: sort of wise enough thoughtful enough to say, that's what I need. I need somebody outside of me
00:23:51.180 --> 00:23:58.890 Mira Brancu: to see something I can't see within myself just yet, or to extract it out of me right? The other is
00:23:59.923 --> 00:24:01.109 Mira Brancu: you know.
00:24:01.380 --> 00:24:14.590 Mira Brancu: expertise is kind of partly in the eye of the beholder, and you have to understand what your organization or your constituents value.
00:24:14.730 --> 00:24:21.485 Mira Brancu: and you were able to identify like my organization values, revenue.
00:24:22.700 --> 00:24:23.280 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: Absolutely.
00:24:23.280 --> 00:24:28.980 Mira Brancu: So how do I connect what I do to what they value now? Not, you know.
00:24:29.110 --> 00:24:38.109 Mira Brancu: in nonprofits it could be something different. They value the mission they value saving money. For example, right? Like, you have to really
00:24:38.440 --> 00:24:51.740 Mira Brancu: know what the strategic priorities are of your organization at the highest levels and what they value, and then be able to translate. What does that mean for how I speak
00:24:52.070 --> 00:24:55.709 Mira Brancu: and convey the information to them.
00:24:55.840 --> 00:25:18.070 Mira Brancu: even though I might sort of speak and convey the information differently within. For example, in your Hr. Field, we're gonna talk about, you know how teams work and how we're hiring and selecting, and, you know, promoting and growing. But if I'm going to present something to higher level leaders, they're gonna want me to translate into the language that connects to their priorities. So
00:25:18.070 --> 00:25:18.580 Mira Brancu: we'll look back.
00:25:18.580 --> 00:25:23.209 Mira Brancu: That's critical that you were able to sort of make those connections.
00:25:23.900 --> 00:25:30.300 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: Absolutely, absolutely didn't necessarily know. That's what I was doing in the beginning. I was just trying to survive.
00:25:30.300 --> 00:25:30.760 Mira Brancu: Right.
00:25:30.780 --> 00:25:36.160 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: But over the years it has served me well to lead with the numbers.
00:25:36.440 --> 00:25:57.099 Mira Brancu: Yes, yes, okay, great. So now I'm a current employee. I've started doing the relationship thing through committees and volunteering and flattering people in the elevator. I've started to figure out how to prove my value connected to organizational goals. Maybe I've gotten a mentor.
00:25:57.400 --> 00:26:12.190 Mira Brancu: What's what's the thing I could do around my reputation. This is a tough one, because you don't always have control over your reputation, and how other people see you. But I bet there are ways to manage this.
00:26:12.380 --> 00:26:13.810 Mira Brancu: What would you recommend.
00:26:13.810 --> 00:26:22.579 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: Yes, absolutely, so internally. You need to know what your reputation is, and your reputation is. What what is it that people say about you
00:26:23.884 --> 00:26:30.659 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: most times in the workforce is tied to the deliverables that you're responsible for
00:26:31.528 --> 00:26:41.490 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: and how well you implement those deliverables. You know whether it's timely. You know, because
00:26:41.670 --> 00:27:09.789 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: I've been in leadership for so long. All of our work is in 3 buckets. You either make money, save money or achieve organizational goals. Everything we do are in those 3 buckets. And so people know you reputational wise by how well you do those things, make money, save money, achieve organizational goals. And so that is how what they think about you so internally. You know you don't have full control, but you're only as good as your last assignment
00:27:10.200 --> 00:27:20.399 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: you can re. You can outlive a bad situation. You can outlive a bad year. If your department had a bad year. If you didn't make your numbers if you lost some people.
00:27:21.044 --> 00:27:26.399 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: Even if you were on a performance improvement plan. If you are still with the employer.
00:27:27.011 --> 00:27:37.600 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: You're only as good as your last. You know your last goal, and so you can. You can put some distance between that and create positive experience and positive success to
00:27:38.190 --> 00:27:45.670 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: to bandage your reputation until you get it to where you want it to be back in a positive light.
00:27:46.390 --> 00:28:05.950 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: I always recommend that people also look at your reputation outside of being connected to an employer. You do not always want to be known as Karen, who works for Verizon per se. You know you? Do not. You want people in the marketplace to know what problem you solve separate from any employer. So how do you do that?
00:28:05.950 --> 00:28:17.369 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: You do that through speaking, sharing information, working on boards, volunteering the same thing that you would do internally. You do externally with people other than the people that you work with
00:28:18.320 --> 00:28:25.130 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: you create yourself as a subject matter, expert by writing books, doing speaking engagements.
00:28:25.300 --> 00:28:54.040 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: volunteering, participating on boards. There are a number of different ways, but what you need to do is create that reputation where it's just tied to you and your name, and the results that you create and not tied to any particular employer, and a lot of people don't think about that until they're looking to go into business for themselves. Well, it's kind of too late then, because you want to create that reputation before you go into business for yourself. Part of my
00:28:54.150 --> 00:29:02.410 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: one of my coaching programs for my business is the elevate out coaching program, that is, for people who want to convert professional equity into entrepreneurship.
00:29:02.510 --> 00:29:16.329 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: And one of the things I asked them is, what is your reputation in the marketplace, because you need to have that reputation before you get your Llc. Before you get your business license, because you don't want to be sitting around waiting on how you're going to get clients.
00:29:16.330 --> 00:29:39.639 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: You want clients to already know what problem you solve and be looking for you prior to when you exit out from working on business. And so you need to think about reputation outside of an employer and within employment in terms of career elevation that's within an employer, but externally is really what is going to save you, because people will bring external
00:29:39.640 --> 00:29:47.250 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: opportunities to you based on what it is. That's your area expertise and the problems that you solve and how well you do it.
00:29:47.820 --> 00:29:55.260 Mira Brancu: That's such important advice, because that is career proofing
00:29:56.290 --> 00:30:03.030 Mira Brancu: that right there it I can't tell you how many people
00:30:03.760 --> 00:30:13.659 Mira Brancu: I hear from that thought they were on a career path because they had a direct, immediate supervisor who had a vision for them.
00:30:13.790 --> 00:30:15.590 Mira Brancu: And then something happened.
00:30:15.760 --> 00:30:23.949 Mira Brancu: Either the supervisor left, or they had a falling out, or the Supervisor got disappointed with
00:30:24.470 --> 00:30:38.369 Mira Brancu: their worker or something, and then they realized everything was in the hands of that one person, and they didn't know anybody across the organization, and they hadn't set anything up outside of the organization. And it's
00:30:38.470 --> 00:30:48.300 Mira Brancu: it's so devastating to see that you know happen to people. And so what you're seeing here is like, not just reputation. It's
00:30:48.460 --> 00:30:52.539 Mira Brancu: it's making sure more than one person knows about your worth.
00:30:53.190 --> 00:30:58.889 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: Yeah, I just you almost triggered me. So can I be transparent for 1 min?
00:30:58.890 --> 00:30:59.480 Mira Brancu: Yes.
00:30:59.480 --> 00:31:00.960 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: Be transparent the 1 min.
00:31:01.240 --> 00:31:08.030 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: So I I have this information because I went through workplace trauma.
00:31:08.160 --> 00:31:13.740 Mira Brancu: And the situation was very similar to what you described. I was the number 2 person.
00:31:13.910 --> 00:31:19.939 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: I had an extraordinary record. My boss was the top boss, he had announced she was going to retire.
00:31:20.510 --> 00:31:35.990 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: It had been said that I was going to take her role. They'd already told me I could take her role. They started moving her task over to me. So I was doing my job and part of her job getting ready for retirement, and then she got cold feet. She wasn't ready financially to retire.
00:31:36.620 --> 00:31:40.449 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: so what happened at that point they were scared to tell me
00:31:40.730 --> 00:32:07.919 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: so. Now I'm coming to work every day, and it's been over a year because she announced it a year out. So now it's been over a year, and she is not saying anything. And this was a job that I loved. I was with that organization for 14 years, and so imagine driving a 2 h commute to a job that you love. And now this situation happens, and you're at work every day, and you're not happy.
00:32:08.640 --> 00:32:11.489 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: From that instance I learned
00:32:11.760 --> 00:32:34.779 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: that you are the pilot of your career, not the co-pilot. You are the pilot. What does that mean? Do not put your career in the hands of anyone else. And so what I ended up doing. I'm a faith-based person, and so I ended up praying, and you know my Savior told me to show myself to the marketplace. So I got a equitable position.
00:32:34.890 --> 00:32:38.480 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: saying, More money, more money than I ever made in my life.
00:32:38.760 --> 00:33:03.119 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: And so I ended up leaving the company. But I went through that workplace trauma, and now I teach my coaching clients and my consulting clients. You are the pilot of your career. Never, ever do that to yourself. Once you determine you're ready for the next level, because I knew I was ready for the next level. I didn't know when it was going to happen. I really wasn't even
00:33:03.290 --> 00:33:16.909 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: didn't have it on a timeline, but I knew I was ready. But once she announced that she was going to retire. Then you automatically, now you're ready ready, as the kids say. Now you're ready ready. And so when that didn't happen.
00:33:17.190 --> 00:33:36.669 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: I should have asked questions. I didn't. So I take responsibility for that, me going to work every day and not answering questions, not asking questions, but it was also the complexity of not only was it that workplace trauma, but it was that we were friends, and she was my boss because we had came up the chain together.
00:33:37.110 --> 00:33:51.729 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: So it was that that dynamic. And so yes, what you're saying don't put your your career elevation, your career success in the hands of anyone else. When you determine, when you determine it's time for you to elevate.
00:33:52.070 --> 00:33:57.199 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: then you need to do it in or out, whatever the environment is that you're in at that time.
00:33:57.460 --> 00:34:11.829 Mira Brancu: Yes, yes, I have more thoughts, but we're reaching an ad break. So we're gonna take the ad break 1st and when we come back we will take a few more questions. But then transition to like.
00:34:12.060 --> 00:34:26.290 Mira Brancu: what if I've already lost my job? And I never developed that professional equity. Would I do anything different? So you're listening to the hard skills with me, Dr. Mira Brag, who and our guest today, Dr. Karen Hills, Pruden, and we'll be right back in just a moment.
00:35:58.170 --> 00:36:26.050 Mira Brancu: Welcome. Welcome back to the hard skills with me. Dr. Mira Branku and our guest today, Dr. Karen Hills Pruden, who is talking with us about professional equity. Now we went through the 3 pillars that you describe when it comes to professional equity relationships, expertise reputation. Taking the scenario of someone who's already internal current and just starting to develop
00:36:26.577 --> 00:36:38.380 Mira Brancu: and a couple of sort of thoughts I had as you started finishing up with the reputation and thank you for sharing your own personal journey with this. It really is devastating when
00:36:38.770 --> 00:36:43.310 Mira Brancu: you don't work on this reputation piece, and you rest
00:36:43.340 --> 00:37:11.370 Mira Brancu: your entire future on one person, because anything like anything can happen, and it's not always intentional like in this situation the person wasn't ready. There are people who say they're going to retire, and then they get cold feet about retiring. And or they're not ready because they looked at their financial, you know, outcomes. And they're realizing they're not able to retire. Whatever it is, it still affects the the, you know person who thought
00:37:11.640 --> 00:37:14.929 Mira Brancu: there was a path here, and so
00:37:15.617 --> 00:37:20.490 Mira Brancu: some of the sort of like feelings I think
00:37:20.590 --> 00:37:25.189 Mira Brancu: people might be working through is number One. Guilt
00:37:25.370 --> 00:37:43.278 Mira Brancu: like I feel badly if I develop a reputation outside of my direct line. Because here's this supervisor who is saying, they're pouring everything into me, and they have a path for me, and they have a vision for me. I really shouldn't be like, you know,
00:37:43.710 --> 00:37:55.725 Mira Brancu: putting my eggs in multiple baskets like this, like, you know. I think that's much of much more of a gendered thing, you know, to feel guilty about those kinds of things.
00:37:56.400 --> 00:38:05.491 Mira Brancu: but I'm curious what your thoughts are on that as well as other sort of like factors around.
00:38:06.280 --> 00:38:11.561 Mira Brancu: well, you know. There's so much outside of my
00:38:12.560 --> 00:38:17.029 Mira Brancu: control over how people again, this is a gender thing, but like
00:38:17.160 --> 00:38:26.149 Mira Brancu: being seen as intimidated. If I'm an ambitious woman, or being seen as emotional, if I get upset in a meeting, you know. I don't have any control over that.
00:38:27.720 --> 00:38:31.339 Mira Brancu: No, you don't. And at the same time
00:38:32.660 --> 00:38:39.490 Mira Brancu: If you're developing your reputation in the way that Dr. Karen is describing.
00:38:40.550 --> 00:38:44.690 Mira Brancu: It. It probably protects you more
00:38:45.420 --> 00:38:58.030 Mira Brancu: than just assuming everything will work out. So I'm curious if you have anything any thoughts about just like the emotional aspect of building your reputation in in these ways.
00:38:58.550 --> 00:39:05.009 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: Yeah, I am so glad that you mentioned that and I love how you
00:39:06.710 --> 00:39:12.449 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: drew attention to that, maybe is more prominent in one gender gender than another.
00:39:13.830 --> 00:39:18.309 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: Even if I take myself, I I was extremely loyal
00:39:18.660 --> 00:39:21.559 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: up to that that point that that
00:39:21.720 --> 00:39:35.060 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: work hurt happened for me that I mentioned that example of where I ended up not getting the position because she wasn't ready. And I didn't have any. I think when you are happy.
00:39:35.270 --> 00:39:43.720 Mira Brancu: You don't go looking for other opportunities when you are happy. And I think that is the issue is because we.
00:39:44.531 --> 00:39:49.750 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: We aren't taught to have multifaceted type lives.
00:39:49.880 --> 00:39:51.540 Mira Brancu: You know.
00:39:52.270 --> 00:40:21.209 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: Maybe some of our grandparents worked for one company for 20 or 30 years, but now you'd be hard pressed to find someone who worked for a company for 10 years, and that's not because they don't want to work for 10 years. It is because there's always a lot of transition and change in business as a whole, that the company may not even exist as it is today, to what it looks like 10 years from now. And so because we've kind of grew up professionally through that marketplace volunteer.
00:40:21.420 --> 00:40:24.440 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: Well, I want to say, volunteer.
00:40:24.590 --> 00:40:40.930 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: it's a volatile market. We don't have that loyalty gene anymore. We've seen it, you know. We've read read the newspapers, seen the news shows, seen the articles. We've lived through it. And so we don't have that loyalty, gene
00:40:41.462 --> 00:40:44.449 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: anymore, that we may have had in the past.
00:40:44.898 --> 00:40:50.710 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: And as a result of that, now, I understand the value
00:40:51.000 --> 00:41:00.990 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: of multiple people knowing what you have to offer. It's not being disloyal, it is making a wider influence and impact.
00:41:01.260 --> 00:41:22.609 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: If that's you know you are, my goal is to influence and share as much knowledge as possible with people so that they can get there quicker and faster than I did. And so I can't do that, just keeping all of my talents in one box. And so now we don't have to be that one lane one way, type professional.
00:41:22.700 --> 00:41:46.489 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: It is. You add value to your employer when you have a reputation outside of the business, because people not only associate you as a professional, but they still also associate you. If you're still working, associated with that employer. Which is why a lot of entrepreneurs, which is someone who work for someone else are also entrepreneurs who are also
00:41:46.490 --> 00:42:07.589 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: working for themselves, and so their employer gets the benefit of them, being an entrepreneur, and then there and then they can, I mean of them being an entrepreneur, and then they get the benefit, being an entrepreneur. And so, yeah, now it is not frowned upon. But no one teaches us that you should kind of spread yourself a little in terms of your talents.
00:42:07.770 --> 00:42:25.409 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: People just don't talk about it. Usually when you hear about someone going somewhere else, it is because something has happened. Something has happened in a marketplace. Something has happened with the company. The business work in the workplace environment that causes one to change is not usually not voluntarily. Unless it's elevation.
00:42:26.450 --> 00:42:34.189 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: People move for elevation. They just don't move around internal and external, just because but now it's normalcy.
00:42:34.380 --> 00:42:36.499 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: It's very normal. Now.
00:42:36.500 --> 00:42:49.450 Mira Brancu: That's right. So in some ways you can think about this as you're at a distinct disadvantage to not do what Dr. Karen says. So let's
00:42:49.590 --> 00:42:57.943 Mira Brancu: let's switch over to applying the same things. Relationships, expertise reputation. But
00:43:00.010 --> 00:43:07.049 Mira Brancu: I've I've never done it before. Now I've lost my job and now, what
00:43:07.680 --> 00:43:27.570 Mira Brancu: now? What? And so we have. We have a few a couple of minutes before the break, and then we'll take the break, and then we'll we'll continue on to describe it more. But before the break for a couple of minutes, what are some of thoughts that you have about how to start focusing when you've never done this. And you just
00:43:27.810 --> 00:43:31.190 Mira Brancu: sort of you're in the middle of a transition. You lost your job.
00:43:32.220 --> 00:43:39.470 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: Well, if you've already lost your job and you're in the middle of transition, I think this is the perfect time to figure out what it is that you want to do.
00:43:39.740 --> 00:43:44.420 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: so based out of all of the things that you've done at this point you know. What path
00:43:44.820 --> 00:43:50.879 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: are you interested in walking down at this time, and then, once you make that decision.
00:43:52.090 --> 00:44:08.890 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: then you would determine what is needed, like what level and what is needed to walk that path. So what I need you to do is do a little bit of homework, you know. Take out a pencil and pad, or you can say a keyboard, or whatever and write down. I need to know your successes.
00:44:09.120 --> 00:44:32.380 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: because you need to know your receipts in regards to what, where it is you want to go. I want to know the type of people you work with, the goals and objectives that you worked on and accomplished, and what level people. I want you to identify 3 companies that have that position that you want to work that you want to work for. And then I want you to research what the requirements are
00:44:32.510 --> 00:44:47.589 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: for that for those positions for those 3 companies. And then I want you to take your background and what you've accomplished at that moment, and sure it up against the requirements of the top 3 companies and figure out what that gap is. This is doing a gap analysis.
00:44:47.610 --> 00:45:03.490 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: figure out what it is that you need to take to close that gap. Is it just? Is it something that you can do on your own. Is it another degree? Is it some type of certification? Can you volunteer somewhere to get that skill set? So you want to be able to close that gap
00:45:04.190 --> 00:45:16.100 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: and then you devise a plan as to when you will be ready. Once you close that gap to apply for those positions, because what you don't want to do is to just get a job
00:45:17.234 --> 00:45:20.109 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: a professional job, and I'll
00:45:20.460 --> 00:45:47.370 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: kind of make a difference between the 2. Get a professional job that, you know, is not the job that you really want. Now that you're already unemployed. Now is the time to put some thought behind it, and you can get if it's just a matter of you having money to pay bills, because I certainly understand that. Then you can just get a job that's just money to pay bills while you research and work on. What is that job that I really want next.
00:45:47.370 --> 00:46:05.100 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: and figure out what's required of that? So now is the time for you to really devise a plan. Be very strategic and intentional. You can volunteer. Let everybody know you're looking for a job, and then I also tell my clients I want you to sign up for every staffing agency within 20 miles.
00:46:05.100 --> 00:46:05.640 Mira Brancu: Hmm.
00:46:06.650 --> 00:46:35.780 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: I even had a client who was almost hired in her previous position by a staffing company in another department that she left. Can you imagine walking back into your previous employer as a temporary employee? But, they are there for a reason. They're there for temporary assignments, but that's the opportunity for you to try before you buy. In other words, you get to work in all of these different environments to see if this is an organization you want to work for.
00:46:36.040 --> 00:46:43.200 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: So yeah, that is how you do it. You you this time, this go around now that you been forced to pause.
00:46:43.980 --> 00:47:04.569 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: That's kind of what unemployment is it kind of forces you to pause? If it's not voluntary, if it's involuntary, then let's think it through, and let's be strategic and intentional on how you can leverage what it is that people know about you, and how you can close that gap if needed, for the ideal job that you have on deck.
00:47:04.966 --> 00:47:07.540 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: That you want to pursue for your next level.
00:47:07.920 --> 00:47:12.190 Mira Brancu: These nuggets are gold people gold.
00:47:12.420 --> 00:47:25.159 Mira Brancu: We are reaching an ad break. You're listening to the hard skills with me, Dr. Mira Bronko and our guest today, Dr. Karen Hills Pruden, who's talking about professional equity, and we will be right back in just a moment.
00:49:02.080 --> 00:49:19.970 Mira Brancu: Welcome back to the hard skills with me. Dr. Mira Branku and our guest today, Dr. Karen Hills Pruden, who talks about professional Equity building. We talked about how to build this while you're still internal to an organization. And we started talking about
00:49:20.160 --> 00:49:29.910 Mira Brancu: what happens when you separated, for whether it was your choice or not, but especially when it's not your choice and
00:49:30.472 --> 00:49:35.450 Mira Brancu: you have found that you didn't build your professional equity along the way.
00:49:35.840 --> 00:49:54.830 Mira Brancu: and I love that your advice wasn't necessarily immediately to build your professional equity. It was, come on, people, you know, you're in survival mode, like there are some much more immediate things to happen first.st Right? And I had actually never heard of.
00:49:55.070 --> 00:50:06.010 Mira Brancu: I mean, it makes perfect sense. But this is the kind of the 1st time I've heard of. Hey, sign up for all of the staffing agencies that are out there that makes perfect sense to do that
00:50:06.643 --> 00:50:12.200 Mira Brancu: especially because now it's so much harder to outside of your network
00:50:12.740 --> 00:50:31.550 Mira Brancu: building to find positions, especially higher level positions, just trying to go on like Linkedin, or indeed, or wherever that's very, very difficult. So as you're tapping into your network, which is the relationship building stuff, and you're doing a few other things like building your
00:50:31.860 --> 00:50:39.869 Mira Brancu: expertise like you mentioned around, are there gaps I need to fill? There's also more immediate things you can do.
00:50:40.563 --> 00:50:56.799 Mira Brancu: Like signing up for staffing agencies. Right? So in addition to that, is there any other way that people can use your 3 pillars of relationships, expertise and reputation.
00:50:57.292 --> 00:51:12.580 Mira Brancu: While they're seeking their job. Let's say they've gotten the staffing agency set up. They might have gotten like a survival job until they find their right job. They're starting to fill in that gap between what they want to do
00:51:13.120 --> 00:51:20.939 Mira Brancu: and where they are now. Anything else that they can do along these pillars.
00:51:23.670 --> 00:51:27.670 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: You know, partnerships and collaborations. I don't know
00:51:28.260 --> 00:51:32.509 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: what the individual possibly does in terms of community
00:51:33.228 --> 00:51:42.199 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: in terms of faith. But just remember that there is opportunities for you to share what it is that you are interested in and do.
00:51:42.200 --> 00:51:42.530 Mira Brancu: Hmm.
00:51:42.530 --> 00:51:46.960 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: And all of those lanes, and a lot of times we like to keep those lanes segmented.
00:51:47.160 --> 00:52:13.370 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: And so that goes with the whole. Make sure. Everybody knows that you are looking for a job, you know, because a lot of times they know of opportunities or and they know you well, you know, they actually, you don't have to go through the know, like and trust factor because they know you. They're already in your network. And so I would say, this is the time. If you aren't really aren't working a regular consistent job to tap into your network
00:52:14.336 --> 00:52:22.599 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: even volunteering because sometimes opportunities will present themselves. Now that people know that you are available.
00:52:22.930 --> 00:52:24.857 Mira Brancu: Yes, yes, absolutely
00:52:25.610 --> 00:52:29.920 Mira Brancu: Nobody's gonna be able to help if they don't know you're looking.
00:52:30.280 --> 00:52:30.695 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: Yes.
00:52:31.404 --> 00:52:36.040 Mira Brancu: The other thing that that came to mind is when I
00:52:36.770 --> 00:52:40.380 Mira Brancu: it I when I was starting my company
00:52:40.630 --> 00:52:47.489 Mira Brancu: and I I did it very similar to how you're, you know, sort of describing, which is, I was still internal.
00:52:47.830 --> 00:53:12.590 Mira Brancu: and I was trying to think about like, what's my backup plan. Don't put all your eggs in one basket, Mira. You've got to have a backup plan here. What would that be? What would you like to do I used some some people call it ikigai. Some people call it the hedgehog hog concept, which is kind of like a Venn diagram of 3 or 4 circles.
00:53:12.940 --> 00:53:20.799 Mira Brancu: One is writing everything that I do now in my job, everything that I'm good at that I know I do
00:53:21.090 --> 00:53:26.113 Mira Brancu: out of those pulling out in the next circle pulling out.
00:53:27.140 --> 00:53:38.739 Mira Brancu: What is it I actually enjoy out of that list because I don't enjoy everything I do in my job. But there are some things I do writing that out in the next circle, pulling out
00:53:39.519 --> 00:53:43.709 Mira Brancu: among the things that I enjoy or I'm passionate about.
00:53:43.830 --> 00:53:50.419 Mira Brancu: What do people actually pay for? There are things I enjoy that people do not pay for.
00:53:50.867 --> 00:53:51.762 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: That part.
00:53:52.740 --> 00:53:56.140 Mira Brancu: And that alone was a good
00:53:56.270 --> 00:54:12.400 Mira Brancu: way to sit with myself and figure out what could be other ancillary connected things, complementary things that I could do that might not be exactly the same thing that I've done, but could feel like the things I really enjoy, that people will also pay for.
00:54:13.230 --> 00:54:15.720 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: Absolutely. And that's a great process.
00:54:16.310 --> 00:54:27.469 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: And a great observation. As well to know that. You know sometimes things that we're passionate about. There isn't a market demand for it, even though we're passionate about it, and so doing that temperature check
00:54:28.360 --> 00:54:34.300 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: so that your expectations are in line with the market payment. Exactly.
00:54:34.300 --> 00:54:39.640 Mira Brancu: Exactly. Exactly. Okay. So tell us,
00:54:41.330 --> 00:54:46.839 Mira Brancu: how can people find out more about your work and what you're doing these days?
00:54:47.590 --> 00:55:04.329 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: Absolutely so. My playground is Linkedin. You can always find me on Linkedin, and I dump a ton of free information daily on Linkedin. So make sure you connect it to me. I also have a website that my con, I have upcoming conference called sister leaders.
00:55:04.440 --> 00:55:13.749 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: And so, sisterleaders.com is the conference website and the sister leaders. Community is a community of men and women
00:55:13.890 --> 00:55:28.370 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: who are committed to increasing the number of women in senior leadership. My vision, and my mission is that I don't believe that the disparate impact of the number of men in the C-suite has to do with a lack of talent. I think it's a lack of
00:55:28.540 --> 00:55:56.060 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: knowledge that women do not have what is needed to make the jump from management to senior leadership. And so we come together as a conference every year. This year is October 3rd and 4.th We're also looking for speakers, but we're also going to be sharing information. These are people that are at the top of their game, their doctors, their high level professionals that have lanes of brilliance, that they are willing and committed to
00:55:56.060 --> 00:56:13.390 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: sharing information and sharing knowledge such as myself. And so we have a 2 day conference at the Rivers Casino. So when we're not conferencing, you can go to the Casino, but we have a good time of sharing information and networking. So that's sisterleadersconference.com.
00:56:13.960 --> 00:56:27.230 Mira Brancu: And if if you're watching right now, live, or later on the visual recording or just going to this website, sisterleadersconference.com, you can see like
00:56:27.730 --> 00:56:31.629 Mira Brancu: they have such a lineup. You have such a lineup, Dr. Karen.
00:56:31.630 --> 00:56:37.670 Mira Brancu: Yes, amazing. It looks like an incredible conference for for people
00:56:37.800 --> 00:56:55.189 Mira Brancu: folks can also find you at Dr. Karen hillsprudent.com, and see all about the conference, as well as connecting and shopping and and you know, joining in lots of ways, and inviting her to speak too.
00:56:55.760 --> 00:56:57.700 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: Absolutely, absolutely.
00:56:57.700 --> 00:57:13.569 Mira Brancu: All right. So, audience, what did you take away from this time with Dr. Karen? I know she shared a lot of nuggets with you. So what did you take away one thing that you can implement this week, based on what you learned from her?
00:57:13.810 --> 00:57:22.410 Mira Brancu: Share it with us on Linkedin. You heard she's on Linkedin. I'm on Linkedin. Catch us, share it with us, and@talkradio.nyc, so we can cheer you on
00:57:22.885 --> 00:57:42.610 Mira Brancu: the hard skills is also on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Twitch, apple spotify Amazon Podcasts all over the place. If today's episode resonated with you, share it with a colleague or leave a review. And if you're looking for more personalized support and leadership or team coaching, you could also head to my website.
00:57:42.740 --> 00:57:46.990 Mira Brancu: go towerscope.com to schedule a consultation.
00:57:47.270 --> 00:58:14.240 Mira Brancu: Thank you to talkradio Dot, Nyc. For hosting. Thank you for joining me on this journey. Dr. Karen really appreciate your time with us today and sharing so generously of your expertise. Together we will navigate the complexities of leadership, emerge stronger on the other side. This is Dr. Mira Branku, signing off until next time. Stay steady, stay present, and keep building those hard skills.
00:58:14.980 --> 00:58:16.369 Mira Brancu: Thank you, Dr. Karen.
00:58:16.370 --> 00:58:17.290 Dr. Karen Hills Pruden: Thank you.
00:58:17.290 --> 00:58:19.249 Mira Brancu: Take care, everybody, bye.
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