Career Competitor

I am joined by Associate Athletic Director at Tulane University, Monica Lebron who serves in a Chief Operating Officer role within the department, overseeing football and women’s basketball. A former collegiate softball player, Monica has moved through the ranks at various athletic departments to get to where she is today as she hones in on the ultimate role of athletic director one day. The great thing about her story is how she has always had the willingness to do the work as she views it as the enjoyable part of the process and is in no way a sacrifice. I see Monica as a woman changing the world thanks to her ability to always be influencing those she works with towards a team environment, and because of her efforts to advise those she oversees that still have their careers ahead of them. There will many, many people in the years to come that have Monica to thank for key insight they gained when first starting their journey.

Time

We first hear from Monica when she introduces herself and her role today there at Tulane in detail including some recent responsibilities she has inherited (4:43). She then tells us about the sport that she played, along with how her work experience in college highlighted to her what she would want to do for a career (7:41). Some of the professional approaches Monica believes in include making yourself available to provide advice on school, careers, and life to those you are responsible for (12:17), while recognizing those individuals might not that have the confidence to initiate communication; the role teams can play in the success of an institution in how you can feel supported during difficult times and have people championing your success (22:00); the importance of having role models and how they can sometimes come from close to home (30:15). Monica leaves us with her final thoughts on the keys to being successful (34:32) while Steve does the same following her in relation to his takeaways from the interview (36:00).

Today I welcome Alison Hadden to the show and she is a Marketing Executive with 20 years of highly competitive and successful experience across 3 different companies, where she has taken her athlete mindset and instilled it into her work and her teams in order to bring about the greatest results. Alison has also battled cancer over the last 2 years of her life and it is the work she is doing today with her “No time to Waste” project that is bringing to light the importance of living life to the fullest. Because of her competitive approach to life and her willingness to empower others, Alison is a woman changing the world 24 hours at a time and she delivers some truly impactful thoughts and lessons that we can all stand to do a better job of incorporating into our lives.

We open up the discussion by learning more about her Career and evolution from sales up to establishing herself as a marketing executive (6:45), while emphasizing the ways in which she has remained true to an athlete mindset. We then discuss how prioritizing the company or team over the role itself when it comes to your career can be the better choice, and the importance of the culture you are working within (13:00). Alison then shares her personal story regarding the last 2 years of her life and her battle with cancer (18:25), but also the ways in which her mindset towards life has allowed her to attack the adversities within it (22:25). Learning about how Alison implements the mindset of controlling what is within her control and remaining in the present (24:30) is just part of the message that she is sharing on her public platform to highlight the need to live life like there is no time to waste (28:45). Be sure to listen into the conclusion of the episode to learn more about Alison’s “No time to Waste” project (36:00) and Steve’s “Key’s to Success” (38:30)

On this episode I welcome Shikha Uberoi Bajpai, a former professional tennis player who has worked her way to the position of President at Indi after more than a decade in the media and entertainment industry. Her mission throughout her life has been to change the world she both comes from and is a part of, and because she realizes the incredible opportunities that have been provided to her, she has already compiled quite a resume to prove as such. Shikha is a woman changing the world thanks to her desire to deliver new perspectives and technologies across a variety of platforms. 

Hear about the role Shikha is in today (5:40) and her career as a highly world ranked tennis player (7:24). We then discuss the conflicting world she was once living in as she balanced life as a teenager, tennis star, student, and career driven individual (10:02). In addition, we cover topics such as; what it was like to be a college Sophomore at 27 years old and starting her education and career much later in life (13:20); her first major opportunities in media and entertainment (17:20); some of the flagship work she was responsible for (22:30); and the way playing tennis to such high levels taught her how to handle rejection and defeat in a way that it did not deter her from her mission (26:00). Finally, we hear about the transition from media professional to her role with Indi today (27:53), along with the exciting things happening with Indi in the immediate future and the ways she is allowing her personality and traits to impact their mission (31:30). Finishing out the episode you will also hear Steve’s Keys to success (37:00).

On this episode I have the honor of speaking with the first woman to coach within the NFL, Dr. Jen Welter, who within her book – “Play Big; Lessons in being Limitless from the first woman to coach in the NFL” – covers the many truths behind her experiences within historically male sports. Jen has used her challenging and inspiring experience on route to becoming the first woman to achieve such stature to empower her and the actions of so many she has come across. Whether it be in her playing career, her coaching career, her work as a motivational speaker, or most recently as the author of children’s books, Dr. Welter is a Woman changing the World through her willingness to go and achieve things that no women have done before.

Dr. Jen Welter provides an in-depth account of her upbringing in relation to her family life as her greatest mentor – her father – shaped her entire mentality as an athlete and today as a working professional. She also discusses her football career and the constant feeling of not being appreciated within the women’s game, but never allowing that to extinguish her passion for the sport she loved (5:38 – 12:24). Jen discusses how her opportunity came about to coach within the men’s game, as well as the level of appreciation she has for the men that treated her as an equal and provided her with the opportunities to play and coach within the men’s game (14:30 – 21:00). Finally, we go into some great dialogue on the power that emotion can have within a leadership role and the importance that interpersonal communication plays in building rapport with those you are responsible for (22:20 – 29:50).

I am joined by Meredith Huck who is the Director of Channel Partnerships with The Mom Project and heralds from my Alma Mater of NC State University where she played the sport of Soccer. Meredith’s story highlights the power of knowing your value and the impact you can then have on the areas you work in. This also happens to be a big part of the mission at the Mom Project as well as they encourage and empower people everywhere to go and pursue opportunities that maybe they themselves never thought they were worthy of competing for. Meredith (along with so many others at the Mom Project) is yet another woman changing the world as she supports and facilitates so many Mom’s, women, and people everywhere to pursuing their passions and finding opportunities that best fit their lives.

Meredith introduces herself to the show through her role today (5:27) and how the sport of soccer brought out her greatest characteristics growing up (6:53). We cover a variety of topics within the interview including how long it took for her to realize how soccer traits could be used in her career (9:13); the true struggle that comes with trying to “let go” of your former sport identity and the way she established her identity after soccer (13:47); the mission and history of “The Mom Project” (17:46); the endless ways in which the company is representing people that come to the company both as an employee and as a client (24:07); how Moms have the ability to be their optimal self within both their personal life and career thanks to the Mom Project (27:47); Meredith’s personal ethos when it comes to making the most of opportunities when they come your way (31:16); and our Career Competitor “Keys to Success” (33:42).

On this episode I had the fortune of speaking with the commissioner of the West Coast Conference, Gloria Navarez who is the first Latin American Woman to achieve the title of commissioner within a Division 1 NCAA conference. It is evident throughout Gloria’s journey that she has paved her way to such historical highs thanks to her work ethic and her willingness to seize upon opportunities no matter how daunting a task it may have seemed to those around her. This is a Woman changing the World because she has proven time and time again that there is a place for women within every level of collegiate athletics, but more specifically, a place for diversity!

We open up the discussion with Gloria telling us about her role today (4:40) as well as her sport of choice growing up and through college (5:45). Gloria opens up about her philosophies on what playing sport growing up does for women in their careers (7:10) as well as when she realized how playing sport made an impact on her career (8:15). Other topics discussed include knowing your role and doing it to the best of your ability (9:15); the evolution of how careers for women have changed within college sports over her time within the profession (12:23); the ways in which she is doing for others now what leaders did for her coming up through her career (18:30); why diversity within the workplace should be paramount when it comes to having as many perspectives represented (21:05); how she and her conference are tackling some of the culturally relevant happenings going on within the country today (22:45); and the career competitor “keys to success” that Steve took from the interview (26:13).