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You only got so much energy as a

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person, and we want everyone to feel as

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though they're giving their best their best. Okay.

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Stop. Stop. Redo that answer. I don't care

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about the person. I only care about Johnny

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Brook.

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Hello. I'm Kai Sorensen, director of podcast at

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Balancing Life's Issues, and welcome to This Is

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Your Job Now because leadership today isn't just

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about what you do, it's about how you

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show up. In this episode, Wendy Wallner, CEO

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of Balancing Life's Issues, opens up with a

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powerful reflection on why caring about pride month

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isn't optional for leaders. Then you'll hear from

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Jon Ebron, a retired service member and leadership

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coach who shares what it was like to

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serve under don't ask, don't tell and why

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visibility at work still matters.

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And finally, we bring you inside a real

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coaching session between Wendy and John, a raw

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conversation about identity, impact, and what it truly

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means to lead with empathy. Let's get started.

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Hi. So let me take you back to

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senior prom, I know, a few years ago.

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But I had the most amazing prom date.

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I'm sure many of you can relate. He

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was charming, adorable, super smart. I mean, kind

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of the guy that everybody wants to go

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with, and we had an amazing time. And

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we stopped by his house to get some

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change of clothes because we're gonna do the

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beach thing, or maybe some of you did

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the beach thing afterwards. And sitting on the

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stoop was a young man who was very,

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very upset. And I came to learn that

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that was my date's boyfriend. My date was

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gay. This was one of my closest friends

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in the world, and he did not feel

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like he could tell me. As a matter

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of fact, decades later, he's never come to

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a reunion.

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Really, we barely speak. And he really feels

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that his entire high school

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was a lie. It was a part of

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him that just he was never able to

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talk about. That story stayed with me. And

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then years later, when I ended up getting

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divorced, I remember my boss saying to me,

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when you wanna just leave your wedding picture

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up, like, it's a better look for HR.

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Like, it's a better look if you're married,

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more stable, more secure. Like, basically lie about

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who you are. Well, these stories

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are why I'm so excited on This Is

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Your Job Now, our brand new launch,

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redone

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podcast to tell you you have a different

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type of job today. You need to find

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out all and everything

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about the team that works for you. We

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are doing a huge shout out to pride

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month because now is the time

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to address this as a leader. As you

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listen to Jon Ebraham, I want you to

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invite you to realize what a gem,

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what a absolute gem John is on our

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team and how incredibly fortunate that I got

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to know all of John, not just part

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of John, and how difficult it is for

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someone who was really wired on the don't

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ask, don't tell, as you'll come to learn,

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as a black, gay,

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incredibly

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loyal

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part of our services,

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has learned to share who he really is

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and why that's so important. So please listen

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to us. Follow us on YouTube.

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Connect with me on LinkedIn, Wendy Wallner. Wherever

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you listen to podcasts, please go in luck

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for This Is Your Job Now. I can't

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wait to hear from you.

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Hi. My name is Jon Ebron. I'm the

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founder of Ebron Coaching and Consulting, a leadership

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and personal development firm

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helping people unlock their full potential through transformative

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coaching and strategic training. Now as an entrepreneur

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and a retired combat service member and a

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proud member of the LGBTQIA

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plus community, I'm thrilled to have the opportunity

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to discuss

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the importance of visibility during Pride Month. I

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want to share a personal story that helped

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shape my understanding

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of why visibility

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matters, especially for leaders

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and managers. During my twenty years of service

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in the United States Army,

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sixteen of those years were spent under the

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don't ask, don't tell policy. This policy

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meant that I had to conceal

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a fundamental part of who I am. And

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the pressure and the isolation of hiding my

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identity

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took a toll not only on my mental

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health, but also on my ability to serve

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at my best. The lack of visibility and

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the fear of being discovered

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created an environment where I couldn't fully bring

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my whole self to my role. This is

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why visibility matters. For one, it fosters an

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environment of authenticity and trust.

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When people can be open about who they

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are, they can contribute more effectively

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and more creatively.

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Visibility

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helps dismantle stereotypes

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and builds empathy,

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allowing teams to function more cohesively.

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As leaders and managers,

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embracing and promoting visibility

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is not just about supporting the LGBTQIA

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plus community. It's about fostering a workplace where

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everyone feels safe and valued. So as you

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can see, your leadership,

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your influence,

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it really makes a big difference in the

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lives of your employees.

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Now for me,

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after the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell,

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I was approached by a local newspaper to

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share my experiences

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of serving out proudly

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six months after the repeal. This was a

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huge thing for me. It essentially

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was my coming out story, and I was

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fortunate to have a leader who took a

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strong supportive stance.

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Now despite

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significant opposition, my commander stood firm. Many advising

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him to keep me closeted for the sake

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of avoiding controversy.

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But instead, my commander made it clear. It

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is our job to support our people so

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that they can accomplish the mission. With this

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unwavering support,

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it not only helped me embrace my identity

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openly,

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but it also set a powerful message

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throughout the unit. It demonstrated

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that inclusive leadership isn't just about policy.

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It's about taking a stand for the people

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that you lead and creating a space where

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everyone can thrive. So how can you, as

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a leader, promote visibility and inclusion in your

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organization?

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Start by creating a culture of openness and

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respect.

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Encourage dialogue and listen actively

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to your team's experiences

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and stand up against discrimination.

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Representation

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matters

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and having a visible role model within your

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organization can inspire others to be their authentic

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selves. So as we celebrate Pride in all

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its fun and festivities,

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let's remember that visibility is more than just

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a concept.

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It's a commitment to inclusivity

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and respect.

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So take a moment to reflect on how

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you can support visibility

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in your teams and lead by example because

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this is your job

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now.

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of all, let me just start with a

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huge thank you. Thank you.

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Tons of tons of gratitude and permission

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to

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go into a little bit of a coaching

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session for about four minutes. John, you are

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one of the most valuable assets

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to my world. I'm incredibly

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grateful for the impact that you have on

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our clients and our world and getting to

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know you.

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But let's just take a journey for a

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When you came on, as open and honest

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as you were, you didn't share right away

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on day one, minute one that you happen

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to be gay. Correct? Correct. Yes. Why?

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Condition. You know, being in the military, you

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just don't talk about it. And being in

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the black community, you don't talk about it.

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Right? Oh, interesting. So you got this, what

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we call in the dating world, John, some

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baggage going on. Yeah.

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Absolutely.

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Okay. Absolutely. So it took quite some time

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for me to learn that about you. And

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what would you say

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after we found out this really important personal

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information happened to your career here

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at BLI? What what happened after we learned

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so much more about you? What did you

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notice? Well, I I my opportunities exploded. Right?

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Wait. What? Say that one more time. What

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what happened? My opportunities exploded. Yeah. Well, just

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say that one more time for a little

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blah blah blah. What happened? My opportunities exploded.

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Absolutely.

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So for those people listening

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about our leadership job and why it changes,

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when we learn,

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air quotes, personal information, the world can sometimes

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open up. Absolutely. Right. Right. You get to

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breathe because you don't have to expend so

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much energy holding back part of yourself and

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being a 100% effective, you know? So if

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you were to critique me, the good, the

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bad, the ugly as a leader, what do

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you think Wendy did well as a CEO?

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What do you think she could have done

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better? And And what do you think she

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should work on?

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Well,

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what went well was the overwhelming acceptance. It

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was almost like a wave. It almost knocked

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me over. Right? Because I wasn't expecting that.

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I'm at the point now where I would

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just say it and not know what is

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gonna come from it. Right? So I don't

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have an expectation to be welcomed, you know,

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or anything like that. So that was amazing.

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Right? I think we got right to work

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though. Right? So I still felt like the

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person,

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was still was pushed aside but from a

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different angle. Right? Most of my time, being

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pushed aside because we don't want anything to

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do with that. And then I felt like

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the person got pushed aside because we could

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do so much with that. Right?

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So,

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in in both sides of two sides of

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the same coin, I still felt a little

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bit not seen

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Mhmm. Because

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of for a different reason, I guess you

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could say. So it sounds to me like

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I still have work to do. We all.

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Yeah. Alright. So and if we were to

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sum this up, you know, one of the

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things I think we're learning,

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as we listen is it's not getting easier.

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It's getting harder. Yeah. Absolutely.

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So in the twelve seconds I'm about to

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give you, John because that's all we get

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the listeners for, about twelve seconds.

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Drum roll.

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The most important reason that we need to

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care about Pride Month is

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The most important reason we care about Pride

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Month,

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again, from my perspective is you only got

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so much energy as a person.

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And we want everyone to feel as though

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they're giving their best, their Okay. Stop. Stop.

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Redo that answer. I don't care about the

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person. I only care about Johnny Brum. Okay.

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Seconds,

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I'm your boss. Let's pretend I'm your boss.

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Why should I care that you're gay? You

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should care that I'm gay because part that's

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part of me that makes up the the

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motivation behind why I do what I do.

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And if I can't tap into that, I

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can't bring anything to you. Perfect.

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Done.

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John, I'm saying that the all love in

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my heart, you are so talented and you

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are so gifted and you get into your

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own way,

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and then you're boring. Okay. And I don't

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want to waste anybody's time. I this is

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what I'm learning the same thing as you,

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right? You know, you want this is what

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you want. You want people to go who

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who is he? I gotta go I gotta

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Google him. Instead of what and believe me,

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I'm giving you the same feedback that my

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coaches are giving Meg. You shouldn't ever have

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to introduce yourself. You should be sent a

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splash right in the beginning that they wanna

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know who you are.

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Thanks for listening to This Is Your Job

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Now produced by me, Kai. If this episode

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made you think or made you feel, we

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hope it also made you realize you don't

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have to figure this out all alone. Leadership

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today is about presence, not perfection. To learn

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00:11:42,299 --> 00:11:44,620
more, follow Wendy Wohner on LinkedIn, subscribe to

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Balancing Life's Issues on YouTube, or stream the

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podcast wherever you listen. Because if you're leading

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people, this is your job now. Anything else

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to add, Miles?