S1EP3: Tall Poppy Syndrome: Getting Cut Down for Standing Out

10/18/24 • 26 min

In this episode:
Kristi & Tanqueray focused this episode's conversation on Tall Poppy Syndrome, a phenomenon where successful women, particularly in leadership, are criticized or undermined for standing out. You'll hear Kristi & Tanqueray's personal experiences and frustrations with the gender gap in leadership and what strategies are useful for overcoming workplace bias, including building allies, fostering open communication, and creating mentorship programs. Get ready to drill down on the importance of advocating for oneself, emotional intelligence, and cultivating inclusive, psychologically safe leadership environments for future generations.
Key Takeaways:
"You have to have a psychologically safe environment to have conversations that challenge the status quo." - Kristi Straw
"I'm going to take a moment to challenge myself. There were moments in which I thought to myself, 'I'm not feeling safe.' I need to have open dialog about this. For these particular issues that I'm experiencing here at work... I need advocacy, I need mentorship. I need you to help me build the table and the chair so that I can feel like I am a part of this. But in those moments... I have not asked for those things." - Tanqueray Edwards
"If we are serious about leadership, creativity, innovation, and growth, we have to root out these biases, and we have to do it together." - Kristi Straw
Contact your hosts:
Kristi Straw - https://lighthouseleadershipconsultants.com
Tanqueray Edwards - https://www.tredwardsconsultancy.com/contact

Previous Episode

S1EP2: Hurricane Strikes & AI, The Perfect Storm for Change

In this episode:
Kristi & Tanqueray discuss the critical challenges organizations face as they adopt artificial intelligence (AI) and automation strategies. They delve into how the rapid technological changes, like AI, are transforming the workforce, highlighting the human element often left behind in this transition. Emotional intelligence (EQ) emerges as a central theme, with both hosts stressing how crucial it is for leaders to develop empathy and soft skills to navigate these shifts successfully.
Key Takeaways:
"I often say this right, you know, we know that if we have emotionally intelligent leaders, better engagement scores happen. People will stay five years longer at an employer. Yet time and time again, companies will blow cash on tech splurges or golf outings, but they'll skip the EQ training despite knowing it drives performance and retention." - Kristi Straw
"When implementing AI, organizations must consider what happens if it doesn't go well. Who gets left behind? I'm thinking about that in light of being in Charleston, South Carolina right now, a block from where I am sitting, some longshoremen are, on the picket lines and are demanding that their jobs not all be automated and their roles don't all go away." - Tanqueray Edwards
"Emotional intelligence isn't just a soft skill, it's a survival tool." - Kristi Straw
Contact your hosts:
Kristi Straw - https://lighthouseleadershipconsultants.com
Tanqueray Edwards - https://www.tredwardsconsultancy.com/contact

Next Episode

S1EP4: Resiliency Redefined: Embracing Change and Reclaiming Self-Worth

In this episode:
Kristi & Tanqueray explore the theme of resilience, particularly in the context of job loss and role elimination. Tanqueray shares her experience of handling the emotional impact after her role was eliminated in a major hospitality brand, emphasizing the importance of composure and self-reflection during such challenging moments. Kristi adds her perspective, discussing her own reactions to leaving a toxic work environment and how she found excitement in new beginnings despite the difficulties faced. This episode reminds us that resilience is not merely about enduring hardship, but also recognizing one's agency to pivot and move forward positively.
Key Takeaways:
"My resiliency has been exactly what you see sitting here today. Grateful. Grateful to have been cast out, grateful for much of the silence that followed, and grateful for those who have followed me and have reached out and said, "Don't change." - Kristi Straw
"I found myself questioning my worth which surprised people around me. I heard people say things like, 'You have so much self-esteem.' However, what you see externally isn't always the reality." - Tanqueray Edwards
"I took a deep breath, and decided to move through this difficult and unexpected moment by putting my integrity to the forefront of the situation." - Tanqueray Edwards
"It came to a point of, OK, y'all don't want us here. Fine. We're going to go start our own thing. We're going to build our own stampede. We're going to build our own following. We are going to do it a different way. We might struggle. We might fail. We might have to try six times. But the mental health struggles or the challenges and the pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps that we may experience on our own, on any of our darkest days are worth it compared to the narcissism and the gaslighting and the toxicity and the egotistical nature that runs rampant from women and men in corporate America." - Kristi Straw
Contact your hosts:
Kristi Straw - https://lighthouseleadershipconsultants.com
Tanqueray Edwards - https://www.tredwardsconsultancy.com/contact