What according to you makes one a dynamic leader? How do you integrate the same thought into your leadership?
Self-awareness and stewardship are the cornerstones of dynamic leadership. A self-aware leader is always learning, growing, developing, and seeking ways to be more effective and efficient in their leadership. They also know that being a leader is not solely about themselves but those they lead. While they’re keenly aware of their leadership skills, the best leaders understand the personalities and talents of those they lead. As part of their stewardship, they know how to use their talents to draw out, promote and help develop the skills of others.
Personally, I try to get to know those on my team, learning their strengths, gifts, personality, purpose, passions, and especially their goals and aspirations. I then work to create an environment that allows their ambition and desires to align with the vision and mission of my organization and create roles and responsibilities that will enable their strengths and gifts to be spectacularly utilized. By focusing on what they need, it lets me learn, grow and develop as a leader. Their success then becomes a reflection of my own.
What led to the formation of Carol Parker Walsh Consulting? As a Chief Career Strategist, what role do you play in the day-to-day proceedings of the company?
Initially, we started as an image management company. My focus, at the time, was on helping women gain greater confidence by establishing a powerful and authentic branded image. I still love that work. However, in doing this work, I found that most of my clients lacked clarity around who they were and lacked direction around their vision for their lives and careers, critical ingredients of a visual brand. That’s when I realized that I needed to offer my clients more.
After over 25 years in the employment space, first as a labor and employment attorney, then HR Director, organizational consultant, executive coach, and then teaching organizational management and leadership as an associate professor before ascending into academic leadership as an associate dean, I couldn’t help but bring that wealth of knowledge and experience to my work with the entrepreneurs and high-achieving professional women I had the pleasure to coach and consultant. That’s when my company evolved to Carol Parker Walsh Consulting.
While my management team handles the day-to-day operations of my company, I’m the one that works directly with my clients, coaching, training, and educating them to achieve their stated goals and outcomes. I also speak, write, and appear on podcasts and our local morning show, with a monthly career and branding segment.
How are you empowering today’s women to have a career and life they love?
I created the Career Rebel Academy (CRA) and The Career Rebel Incubator (CRI), our two key signature programs. CRA is the only comprehensive 9-month concierge experience designed for emerging and senior leaders and executive-level professional women at midlife. Through a deeply supportive community of similarly situated women, the program teaches them how to discover their superpowers, reclaim their voice, confidence, value, worth, and brilliance, position their authority and give them the tools needed to get the career and life they want. It’s not a job search or resume writing program. Instead, it’s a program designed for women ready to answer the more profound and more important questions of who they are and what they want to offer the world, so they can then learn the tactics necessary to get it. CRA honors each woman’s unique expression and the meaningful work they’re meant to do in the world.
CRI is a membership program designed for those not quite ready to do the deeper dive but still want the tools and support needed to navigate the challenges and obstacles that come when journeying to a career and life you love.
What has the journey been like for Carol Parker over the years? Looking back, what would you have done differently when starting out?
It’s been a long and winding road, but I must say every twist and turn has been a life lesson that has equipped me to do the work I’m blessed to do today. I understand the struggle my clients experience because I’ve been there. I, too, followed societal ideas of success and career progression. I, too, believed that career achievement and personal development were two separate things. I also believed that my career persona and personal persona had to be bifurcated. Now we see that this is NOT the path to career fulfillment or success in the future of work. Looking back, I wished someone like me was available to help me listen to my intuition and feel more confident to be more authentic and follow my path. I would have started doing this work probably about 15 years earlier instead of starting on the precipice of my 50th birthday.
What is the process followed by the company when offering its services? How do you ensure optimal client satisfaction?
Our primary focus is optimal client satisfaction. If we’re not delivering results for our clients and ensuring they have the best possible experience doing it, we’re doing something wrong. Therefore, we frequently examine and evaluate every process and system from the time a potential client finds us until they’ve concluded working with us. In addition, we have a rigorous onboarding process to position our clients for success, frequently survey them throughout their time with us, have an off-boarding process, and an evaluative tool after their time with us. We then make immediate changes based on their feedback.
What would be your advice for young and aspiring women leaders or entrepreneurs?
Listen to that voice inside your head and your heart that’s telling you the path you should take. Trust it. Also, always approach life, situations, and opportunities from a position of learning instead of knowing. It’s a dangerous thing to close yourself to new possibilities. The events of the pandemic have taught us that.
What has been the biggest roadblock during your journey? What has been your biggest learning?
That’s a tricky question to answer because I firmly believe that every roadblock has served as my most significant learning. Learning to navigate and breakthrough those roadblocks is what got me here today. For example, I was in a near-fatal car accident that required multiple surgeries and left me in a wheelchair for six months. However, out of that experience, my business was born. My old pastor used to tell us that we were either heading into a storm, in the storm, or coming out of a storm. With that belief system, I look for the lessons in the storms to emerge stronger and more prepared for what comes next.
Moving forward, what does the future look like for you and for Carol Parker Walsh Consulting?
It’s incredibly bright! I recently launched a podcast, The Midlife Career Rebel, and am working on a new book that I will publish in 2022. Ultimately, I have a goal of liberating the minds, lives, and careers of one million women, and I’d say that I’m well on my way!
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