Reflecting on the past year and setting the groundwork for what is yet to come. Join me for a year in review!
2021 was another year that did not go exactly as planned. Maybe you can relate?!
In this conversation, I celebrate the wins, while still recognizing the challenges and losses. It's and/both, not either/or. Always.
Some of my biggest takeaways from this year...
1). Self-awareness really matters.
2). There isn’t one right answer.
3). The only constant is change.
4). Communication is everything!
5). There is not enough emphasis on compassion.
6). 2021 was a year of growth and reflection for me, personally.
8). Leading Through Crisis is now an award-winning podcast!
9). We’ve got to celebrate the wins AND recognize the challenges and losses.
10). The most rewarding things take the most courage and vulnerability.
I also invite you to get in touch and let me know what YOU want to hear about!
Thank you for listening this year!!!
And, if you have enjoyed the podcast, the biggest compliment you can give is to share it with someone else who may enjoy it as well.
See you in 2022!
Céline
- I'm Celine Williams, and welcome to the Leading Through Crisis podcast, a conversation series exploring resiliency and leadership in challenging times. Hello, and welcome to the last episode of the Leading Through Crisis podcast in 2021. I'm going to do a couple of things in the episode today. It's just gonna be me. I don't have a guest this week. I have some notes or some things I wanna talk about, so if you see me look at the screen if you're watching this on video, that's what that's about. If you hear awkward pauses as I'm catching up, that's what that's about, 'cause I wanted to hit a few key things for today. And it's gonna be shorter than normal. But what I really wanted to do today as we wrap up 2021, is kind of reflect a little bit on what this year was about for the podcast, and for me, personally as well. And then set the ground work for next year as we step into the next season of this podcast. And what that's going to look like and maybe some changes and opportunities we'll see, but I'm gonna stay start with the obvious for those who have been with the podcast, or listening this year. If you heard my first episode, I believe of this year, the last of that last year or the first of this year, I put out an episode, I was just talking about my plans for 2021, in terms of the podcast and what it was gonna look like. And part of the plan had been to release more solo episodes. And part of the plan was to release episodes where the person who I thought I was gonna be doing regular episodes with reflecting on the guests that we'd had, and having some conversations around that too, so it wasn't just always me and a guest or just me talking. And I think there had been a few other ideas in there as well. Those are the two that really stand out as things that did not happen the way I thought they were going to. And, you know, they didn't happen that way. So the truth is that the person who I'd been originally talking about having do some of those reflection episodes and be kind of a regular contributor to the show, wasn't a good fit and it didn't work out and we didn't move ahead with it. And it's literally that simple and straightforward. And I definitely should have acknowledged that when we figured that out sort of midway through the year. And the reason that that didn't happen is because the solo episodes really fell to the wayside. I realized that, and this is 100% on me. I wanna fully acknowledge that, but I realized that I didn't set the time aside to map out topics and create talking points for those episodes. It really came down to that. And it was because this year made me realize that when I'm creating topics in a vacuum, in that way where I don't really know what people are interested in hearing about, or there's not a request or demand, or a question or whatever, I don't do it, other things take higher priority. The things that people are asking for take higher priority, and that I'm really not motivated to create in a vacuum and my lovely team that helps with these podcasts, even they can't push me to do them despite their best intentions, 'cause it's still really creating in a vacuum. And so the thing, you know, at the end of the day, I would actually love to create more solo episodes and talk about things that are gonna be valuable to people, and share some of the things that I've learned or I'm learning, or have observed, or I'm observing or whatever the case may be. But honestly, unless there's, you know, questions asked or topics that people want me to talk about, it's probably not gonna happen. So this is my request for you. If you are listening to this podcast, if you are watching the video, whatever the case may be, if there's a question you have that you would like answered, it can be a situational question, a coaching question, a culture question, anything that you would like answered, please submit it. There is a form on the website you can submit that way leadingthroughcrisis.ca. There's a topic that you're interested in send that in because the truth is that even if it's on a solo episode, if I can find a really incredible expert to come and talk about it, I will do that too. So really, that is my request challenge. That is my lesson from this year is that without that it's really unlikely that I'm going to put out, many solo episodes, maybe a few. I did one this year, you know, maybe one or two next year, but otherwise it'll continue to be mainly conversations, which is ultimately the point of this. But there had been people asking for different things. So there we go. And having learned my lesson, I'm not making any promises as to the frequency of the episodes, until I have sense of what people are interested in, what topics, what questions, things like that. And if there is a question that is, you know, that you would like an answer to or a situation that you would like to have some, you know, brainstorms or brainstorm about our thoughts on, anything you submit will remain anonymous unless you ask for it not to be. So please don't let that hold you back from submitting. If that is something that, you know, is appealing to you. So besides that this year has been for the podcast, pretty cool. This I believe is the 20th episode of the year, which is pretty significant. I think they'll probably be a few more than that next year, but we'll definitely see we're getting a head start on the episodes already. We talked about all kinds of things this year. We talked about the idea of redefining success. We talked about fear a few times, moving through fear, how to be fearless. We talked about change a number of times, I had some fantastic author on the podcast who wrote a book about change. We talked about the importance of relationships, human centered leadership, authenticity, discomfort, transparency, gender equality. That was a great episode, that was fairly recent. Feng Shui in business. I'm so sorry to Patricia, who was my guest about that. I pronounced that very poorly. What an accidental alpha was and what that means as a woman in business, as a female leader, all of these different topics have come up. Some have overlapped, you know, a lot have been very unique perspectives, and it's been truly a privilege to speak with and learn from all these incredible people that came on the show and had a conversation with me. And there's a few things that stand out to me at the end of this year and reflecting on it. And the first one is that self-awareness really matters. And that even with the best self-awareness practice, there's always more to learn. And that the most growth oriented people are constantly working on and really questioning all of the things and parts and parcels of self-awareness. Another thing that really stands out is that there is no one right answer. There is no guru on the hill. There's no one right thing for everyone. And I did not want anyone who listens to any part of this to think that a single person, myself included, has any or all or most of the answers, that's not true. The point of the series has always been to have conversations that inspire you as leaders, you as business owners, you where you are, to take the pieces that are relevant for you and make them yours. And find what works for you inside of it and adapt it and change it and own it. Another key sort of takeaway from this year is that, I mean, this is such a trope, but truly the only constant has changed. Things are always changing. When I started this podcast, it was really in response to the crisis that leaders were facing, "The crisis that leaders were facing." And if there's one thing that's remained true is that there's always more crisis, and there's always different types of change. And it's always gonna keep coming and in different forms and different speeds, and it doesn't end. So while I don't know if that makes the title of this podcast more or less relevant, it's there and it's still there. And we all need to, you know, Leading Through Crisis is gonna continue to be a thing. And then the other thing is that the podcast won an award this year. It was listed as one of the top 20 leadership podcasts in Canada. If you didn't see that I posted about it on LinkedIn, and Instagram, you can always follow us there. And that was pretty exciting 'cause it was completely unexpected. So, you know, well-respected, list is the only word website that puts these together. And they contacted me to let me know. So this is really because of all of you who listen to the podcast that it has gained that kind of traction. So I appreciate all of you, and it's pretty exciting news for the podcast. We get to say, we're award-winning now. And that's never a bad thing from a personal standpoint, 2021 has been definitely a year of growth and reflection, and there's been some hard lessons and losses. I learned a lot about myself, what's important to me, what I want to do more of, where I wanna be putting my energy in general, what that looks like. I've definitely shed some of the identities that I've had for a long time, and been stepping into new ones that feel more like me, and also exploring what that really looks like for me. And I think that is always an exciting thing, and it has its own challenges. I talk a lot on this podcast and in general, about the importance of stepping out of the sheds and the assumptions, and what we take on from the world and society. And I've definitely been questioning more and more of mine and shedding more and more of mine. And it's deeper work, the more I do it, but it's been really wonderful in terms of getting more centered and more grounded and I'm grateful for that. I've done some incredible work this year and partnered with just the absolute, most brilliant people. And I really, I love the folks that are around me, they're on my team that I get to partner with. It's a privilege to create with these people and to have them in my life. And also I had one of, if not the biggest lesson in terms of partnering with the wrong person this year, that created a number of challenges and ripple effects, and issues in a number of parts of the work that I do and where I show up. And some that I'm still dealing with months later. That was real and lots of lessons inside of that. And so I would say that if I had to sum up a few lessons from this year, they would be to don't ignore the red flags, and also note and celebrate the green flags. When things did not go well this year, there were always red flags from the beginning. And in retrospect, I can see them and I can see that I was ignoring them, or rather glossing them over, not necessarily ignoring them, justifying them. There we go. I was justifying them because I liked the person or I wanted to give them an opportunity, or I thought they had a lot of potential, or some combination of that and other things, not a great move on my part. I'm still dealing with the aftermath of that in some cases. And that's important. And I can say at the same time that the things that I'm doing that have been fulfilling and wonderful, and the people that I work with that are incredible, that I get to, you know, dig into their brain on somewhat regular basis. There was green flags, just green flags from the beginning. And I am very aware of that and looking for more of those and celebrating those and celebrating the people. That is just as important as not ignoring the red flags. I'm a broken record communication is everything being continuously mindful of how we communicate and the impact we have on the people around us, and bridging the gap from what our impact is or what our intention is and what our impact actually is. And being vulnerable and open and asking those questions and being willing to step into and work through any gaps in communication, that's a gift. And I'm grateful for the people in my life and in my work that do that with me, and don't push back on it. Who questioned the stories that they have and speak into the stories that they have, and break them down with me and with each other. It's game-changing, and I'm so blessed and fortunate to have the people that I have around me. The most rewarding things take courage, they take the most courage and they take the most vulnerability. And when something feels like it's gonna be scary, that it's probably the real opportunity to step into courage and vulnerability, and to lean into that, not lean out of it. And, you know, slowly but surely, I am getting better at recognizing that and doing that, and speaking into an up about those things and openly. Another thing that comes up a lot as a lesson this year is that we can never understand each other too much. And that for me, a real commitment to understanding each other, ourselves, the world around us and questioning things, and getting into the messy middle and breaking down the assumptions and figuring things out, and not agreeing with, but really understanding each other matters more and more. I'm again grateful to be able to explore that with people in the ways that I get to do and to get to work in culture in such a way that part and parcel of it is helping, creating, and understanding. Helping to create understanding of others, helping to create places where there's a real sense of belonging and what that looks like for people. And as a result, constantly challenging and changing my own assumptions and learning and unlearning. And that is a gift that comes as part of what I do. Part of the conversations I have for this podcast, part of the coaching I do. So really, cannot emphasize the importance of understanding enough. I would say the last thing she says, there might be another one, but the last thing right now is that, there's not enough emphasis on compassion and the importance of compassion. Adam Grant, who is my future best friend, even though he doesn't know it yet, he put out a quote, maybe a couple months ago, it might've been an Instagram or tweet or something, but I'm going to read it 'cause I think it's really poignant about this. And what he said was, "What the world needs more than sympathy and empathy is compassion. Sympathy says, I'm sorry, you're in pain. Empathy says, I feel your pain. Compassion says, I'll do whatever I can to alleviate your pain. You don't have to feel other people's feelings. You just have to care about their feelings." And I do not think there's a better way, of leaning into that. On a business front, not necessarily podcast front, I won an award for coaching this year. So that's pretty exciting. Last year I won an award for culture design. This I won an award for coaching. So the podcast won an award. So it feels like 2021, despite some of its really hard lessons. And there's things that I haven't gotten into, you know, that are like, losing a cat, things like that, that are real and have been real in 2021, and were real for 2020 as well. It's been a heck of a couple of years, despite all of that. There's also a lot of great stuff I'm happy with where things are at, and I'm happy with how things are going. And it's important to both celebrate the wins and recognize the losses or challenges. It's not one or the other there's lessons and opportunities in both. And I think that, that constant recognition that even inside of the hard moments, there's gonna be something that comes out of it. That's gonna be beneficial, has been a real game changer for me in terms of mindset and approach to things. So that's kind of 2021 in a nutshell and 2022, let's talk about 2022 for the podcast. There's gonna be more podcasts episodes, not more actual podcasts, although there is a podcast I desperately wanna do that has nothing to do with business. And it would just be another fun thing, but I don't know that 2022 is a year for it. So more Leading Through Crisis episodes is definitely on the docket. I mentioned earlier, I've already started recording for next year. There's already a few episodes under the belt. There's gonna be more coming quite soon. The new episodes will be released probably late January, early February. We do not have a specific date at this point, if you're not signed up for our newsletter, which you can do on the website leadingthroughcrisis.ca you'll find out more there for sure, 'cause those do go out every couple of weeks. I know we're gonna have some folks back on the show. Who've been on the show and lots of new people coming, really cool people. I recorded an episode yesterday that I'm really excited about, so it's gonna be awesome. I'm pumped for what we're gonna be talking about and some of the new ideas that we'll be able to share, and some of the specifics of what we'll be able to share, it's gonna be cool doing deeper dives next year, for sure. Hopefully, more solo shows. But like I said, at the beginning, that will be really based on what I hear from you around topics or questions, and if there's value in it. Great, and if not totally fine. I do not need to just to hear myself talk. Maybe some sponsored episodes coming next year. This has really been a labor of love this podcast. And it's been really exciting to do it for almost two years as a labor of love. But there's potentially some opportunities for sponsorship, and I don't know what that will look like, but that could be coming. And that would be really great. And if that comes, I will give everyone a real heads up of what that's gonna look like, and what that may or may not change. And we'll see, but it's a pretty cool possibility. I've been toying with the idea of changing the name of the podcast. Is it really about Leading Through Crisis anymore? I'm not sure. Maybe there'll be a new podcast name, same podcast, new name. The original name for this podcast before the pandemic that I was working on was going to be the Revisionaries, which is a play on the idea of visionaries and revising things. Maybe that's coming, I'm not sure. If you have thoughts, send them in, feel free. We would love to hear them. But that's definitely more blogs with the episodes now I'm really writing kind of a reflection, not just a summary of the topics that we talked about, really a reflection on a piece of it. And that's going up on the website. Those will continue to come. If you wanna learn more about that, you can go to the website and check them out. And then just, putting the ideas out and getting people to think about things differently and have conversations. That's always kind of the goal of this, and that's pretty much it, that's a wrap. So thank you to all of you who listened to this whole episode of just me blabbing away, but who listened this year, who responded to emails, who sent in ideas, who reached out to have conversations. I appreciate all of you. And as you all know, I emailed back and responded to all of you. I think it's pretty cool when people get engaged in a topic and it helps me know what's in demand or people are interested in. So thank you for that. Thank you to everyone who has followed, who has watched videos, whatever the case may be. And thanks to my team who helped put this together. Aaron Vita and James are amazing, and I couldn't do this without them. And so I'm really grateful for them and for all of their time in doing this. And if you wanna support the podcast, like, subscribe, comment, Apple Podcasts seem to be the place to do that. So we'd love if you continue to do that and share with your friends. If any episodes resonate with you, the biggest compliment you can give me and us, is to share an episode with the friends or share a newsletter with your friends, and get the word out there, 'cause this is all been word of mouth. And it's been wonderful. And I appreciate all of you, and I hope you have a lovely holiday season. And I look forward to seeing you all next year. Thanks for joining me today on the Leading Through Crisis podcast. If you enjoyed this conversation, please take a minute to rate and review us on your podcast app. If you're interested in learning more about any of our guests, you can find us online, at www.leadingthroughcrisis.ca.