Episode 26: The Visibility Factor: How to Play Bigger and Achieve Your Goals
Empowering Leaders to Play Bigger and Achieve Goals through Authenticity and Consistency
I’m so excited to share Sue’s brilliance with everyone!
Her official bio:
Susan M Barber, Author, Former Fortune 500 IT Director, turned Executive Coach helping business leaders to play bigger, increase their visibility and finally, shine a light on their leadership strengths and elevate their position in the workplace. She brings a depth of business knowledge to her coaching from her 25+ years of experience at Kraft Heinz and is the author of The Visibility Factor. Susan is married with three children and lives in the Chicago area.
In today's episode, learn how to use the power of visibility to grow your business and personal brand.
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Podcast Transcript:
Kiva Slade 0:01
Hello and welcome to collab with Kiva. I'm your host Kiva, Slade. From the marbled halls of the US Congress to my racing themed office chair. I've learned that there is no perfect path to the life of your dreams. My journey over the past 20 years has included being a legislative director for a member of Congress, policy director for a nonprofit, stay at home mom, homeschooling mom, jewelry business owner, and now the owner of a service based business. Whether your journey has been a straight line, or full of zigs and zags. Join me and my guest as we share insights, hope and lessons learned from our female entrepreneurship journeys. Made the collaborative sharing of our stories be the tide that lifts your boat. Let's dive in. Hello, everyone, and welcome to this episode of collab with Kiva. I am excited today for our guests, Sue Barber. Sue is an author, a former fortune 500 IT director, turn executive coach helping business leaders to play bigger, increase their visibility, and finally shine a light on their leadership strengths, and elevate their position in the workplace. She brings a depth of business knowledge here coaching from her 25 plus years of experience at Kraft, Heinz, those names should ring a bell and is the author of the visibility factor. Susan is married with three children and lives in an area of the US that I absolutely love. And that is Chicago. So welcome today to the show. Sue,
Susan Barber 1:47
thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. I'm so excited to be here.
Kiva Slade 1:51
I am excited to talk to you. I love just, you know, and for those who don't know, I've already met Sue, we actually have known each other for several months now. And I've was always intrigued, like one of the first questions I asked her was like, how do you go from being an it to this role that you're talking about now in terms of visibility? So I know that other people might have that same question. So tell us like you had, like major it chops here. Okay. And then you move into owning your own business and being an executive coach? How, why? Tell me more?
Susan Barber 2:27
It's interesting, like, you're one of the first people to ask me that question too, which is fascinating. You know, when I was at craft, I was in it over half of my career. And one of the things that we always tried to do in it was develop leadership, because we knew that we wanted people not only to just, we used to call them be order takers, not just say, I'll do whatever you want, but ask some questions, understand what's going on, and build partnerships with our business leaders. And the more I did that, the more fun it was, the more opportunities I got to lead people and help for my own kind of mentoring for people. And I was also the leader of women at craft, which is our employee resource group. And so doing that opened my eyes to Wow, there's so much opportunity here to help women just stand out, be ready for possibilities and opportunities that might come their way. And as the company merged together, I just thought, you know, maybe it's time for me to do something else. So I've been here for a really long time. And I had already started going into coaching at night, just thinking it would be something I'd want to do in the future. And I just had to accelerate that timeline. So there's so many things I learned a craft and just the opportunities that I had, that I'm so incredibly grateful for. And I can apply in coaching and helping leaders really grow to their own potential now.
Kiva Slade 3:51
Absolutely love that. And just love how you were able to not only accelerate kind of, you know, you were like, Yeah, sometime in the future, I'm going to do this coaching thing. And it was like, oh, future. Oh, yeah, that's kind of like now, you know, but you were able to accelerate that in a way that still felt really in alignment with you and who you are. And I think that's one of the things I've always loved when I've spoken to you. It's like, even though these things happen, you still made it your own and you did it according to your own path. And I think that's really huge and important that we kind of not skip that part because sometimes we feel the pressure to do it according to other people's timeline. So Well, thank you. Yes, yes, you are so welcome. So now let's talk about this because not only are you doing executive coaching, but it's about visibility. And you said like being available for when those opportunities come in. Sometimes as women I think we do struggle with visibility, we struggled with tooting our own horn and we struggle with so many of those factors. So what what possessed you to write this book the visibility factor?
Susan Barber 4:56
Well, it's definitely some of my own story. I was you mentored by someone who, you know, was someone I really admired and thought so much of. And she talked to me one day and said, Sue, why are you playing spa, you sit in the back of the room, you don't say anything, you're not adding any value? What is going on for you? And you know, at that point, I was considered, according to succession planning at top talent, I was supposed to be in line for the next promotion. And I think it was just such a shock to me to hear that because one minute, I'm this and the next minute, I'm not doing what I thought I was doing. So it was, it was a surprise. But I'm so grateful that she did, because it set me on this path of what does visibility look like. And all I could see around me were people who bragged people who did all these big things and talked about all these big things. But I don't know that they actually did them. And I had to be authentic to myself and try to figure out how do I do this in a way that works for me, it doesn't feel false. And so I couldn't really find much reading material. So I will admit, this was, you know, a little bit pre internet for some of these things. So I couldn't just go look out on the internet and Google it. So you know, I went to my local bookstores and tried to find some books, and there just wasn't really anything out there. And so I guess I always just thought, I'm going to write a book someday so that somebody else doesn't have to struggle with this and try to help them figure out a way to do it that works for them. And so there's a ton of different ideas in there, depending on you can be, you know, more of an introvert or an extrovert, or whatever level you are, there's ideas in the book that help you get there. And I've just seen that it's such an opportunity for people to be ready for the next thing that comes along to talk about what they're doing. And I just think it's something that we are not always good at. We were kind of raised with, you know, don't talk about yourself, be humble. Stay in the background, you know, just say yes to everything. Don't ever say no. And so I think it's just starting to shift the way people can do these things in a way that feels true to them.
Kiva Slade 7:01
Right? Absolutely. And that is so true. I think I first started sitting more in the front of the room, not necessarily because I was trying to be noticed or any I was like, I really wanted to see the board. Chair to be so truthful and honest. And then it was like, even when you did that it felt different, I'll have to say in the front of the room than it did in the back of the room. And I was like, oh, okay, well, this isn't that bad. Board. And it's not that scary. So I mean, it's really a big, I think adjustment, though, at first, because you kind of do want to almost blend in but you know, kind of shrink back. And I love that your mentor challenge you and said, Why are you playing small? And I think that's a question we have to ask ourselves like, regularly, because even when we are doing the things, I still think that in many instances, we're still playing small because there's that fear of what happens if we actually went all out?
Susan Barber 8:10
Yes, fear of success?
Kiva Slade 8:12
Yeah. Fear of Yeah, we think so much I think about the fear of failure, but that fear of success is very real. Like, what if actually what I'm thinking about works? What am I gonna do this, what's gonna happen, you know, and there's so much that comes with that, that you're like, and it causes you to scale it back and say, oh, okay, I'll only do this much now, instead of doing the full thing that you thought about. So I love though that once again, to you said one day you would write a book, pre internet, you were doing this research. So what other things out in your one day you're going to do? I'm kind of intrigued to find that out?
Susan Barber 8:55
Yeah, I mean, it's even just thinking about I've never owned a business, I'd never I don't have anyone on my family that really owns a business. So I was really kind of taking a big risk. Honestly, I had, you know, a year severance. So I'm not financially taking a risk, but putting myself out there to try to say how can I start this business? What do I want to do with it? What am I going to begin doing that the book was always there right at the beginning, like I just knew that I wanted to do it. And one of the things I did first was to start to shift how people saw me because I was no longer an IT director for a fortune 500 company. Now I have this business that's mine. I don't have the craft name. Next to me is credibility. I have to have my own credibility. And I have to figure out what that looked like. So I went through my own challenges again, with visibility of hiding because this was new. It was I don't know I was a little insecure about it. I didn't know how to do all these things. And luckily, I met some wonderful people along the way who helped me and one of them said, Write a blog. Start sharing your thought leadership. Start talking about what you think think is important. And at that point, I wasn't really focused on visibility as much I probably talked about it, but not in the way that I am now and seeing how important it is. But I did talk about authenticity and my own stories, being vulnerable to share my own stories brought clients to me, because they could see themselves in what I had gone through, and that I had figured it out. And so that was kind of step one of, okay, I can read a blog now. Maybe I can write a book. So that's, that's how it happened.
Kiva Slade 10:33
I love that though. But I think there's so much in us telling our stories, because we don't go through what we've gone through just for ourselves, you know, we've gone through it. And it is really I think design for us to help others, as you said, not have to go through that not have to look for resources that no don't necessarily exist or may not necessarily relate to them. And so we have this opportunity in which to fill in those gaps of for people and help them basically accelerate where they're trying to go, just because of what we've already done in terms of what we've navigated already in that process. So I'm excited to just hear more, do more as it relates to that. And I love it. So when so just start off with a blog, like, I think sometimes we make visibility harder than it actually is. And, you know, in, let's be real, we are inundated with ways it feels like to be visible. You know, and I'd love to hear your take like when it comes to some of our social media platforms and things of that sort. Do you find that? Or what do you find people should do? Or where should they focus when it comes to visibility?
Susan Barber 11:47
Well, there's a lot of different ways I think, for people who are in social, you know, okay, with social media, there are some people who are very, I don't know, nervous to post and nervous to light things, even, you know, they're just not in that mode of social media, where you and I probably are more versed with it. And so for social media purposes, I would say, if you're trying to expand your network, if you're trying to get your voice out there, writing a blog is a really great way to do it. But if you're not comfortable with that, even just posting on someone else's articles, or what they've written in and sharing, you know, I love what you wrote. And here's why. Because you're starting to put that thought leadership out there in small ways. And it's not so scary words, under your name and your banner. But it's a way for people to start to see that you think about those things. And then just participating in conversations with people and sharing, sharing your ideas. But starting to find your own voice. I think that was what I needed to do with that block was just continue to write and continue to write things that meant something to me, or that I thought would help other people. And that's usually how I try to focus is what is the story or a situation or something I've been through that I think might help someone else who is going through it or is about to go through it. And just help them find a way to navigate that. But for people in an organization, one of my favorite things is actually something that I was doing. But I've now seen it in very big places. Like even in the White House, there was an article about the Obama administration and how people in the White House are doing the same type of thing, which is having a visibility partnership. So if you and I are in a meeting together, and maybe I'm more shy, and you speak up a little bit more, you and I have kind of this deal, and you get to speak up and share your opinion. And then you toss it to me, and he'll say, you know, Sue has something to add to this, I think, and then I get the floor. So it's a way to include people who maybe are more introverted, who may not have the ability to even get in the conversation, because it's hard to sometimes get in, in the conversations that a lot of people are talking in, and be comfortable with that, and especially in the world we're in with Zoom and remote. It's even more more challenging to do that. So that's one thing. Also just talking about what other people are doing and giving them kudos, right. It's anybody who is giving a compliment or saying attaboy, or add a girl to this person who's done something, it means so much more coming from another person, even as much as it does for you saying that about yourself. It's great that you're doing that too. I want both. I would love you to do both. But I think just trying to find these opportunities for a partnership where someone's talking about the things you're doing and you're talking about the things they're doing goes such a long way.
Kiva Slade 14:38
I love that it's like a visibility wing man. It's like okay, so will you be my visibility wing man. I love that though. Because you're right. There are people who are just more vocal, they're more apt to speak up there are more apt to share, and you probably are Sitting on like the most amazing idea that would actually unlock everything for everyone in the room in the meeting, and you're like, yeah, so Oh, wait my visibility wing mantastic. TV now, oops, let me go ahead and share and drop this gem. And everyone in the room as well. We had no idea this was so wonderful, thanks so much for contributing that. So I love that as kind of a, a teamwork effort. Because really, we are so much stronger, I think together than we are, you know, by ourselves. And it's so helpful, I think to have that. Someone who you obviously value and things of that sort, but they your opinion gets to be heard, because there's many meetings that we've left that we're like, yeah, I could have solved that I've only I might have, you know, raised my head or said something, you know, like, the whole rest of the team is all grumbling about what now is like this massive workload everyone's gonna have to do and you're like, Yeah, I kind of feel bad. I could have saved everybody from that, you know, we don't always speak up and say the things and it's, I think, in some environments, obviously, it feels more comfortable than others. And, you know, and I might even grow maybe, where at some point, maybe the wing man, like the roles kind of reverse because there might be a different environment in which the one person is more comfortable than the other and kind of gets tossed the opposite direction. So
Susan Barber 16:32
I love that too. I
Kiva Slade 16:33
love that. Okay, so everyone out there, we're gonna challenge you to find your visibility wing man or wing woman or in buying that partnership, because I think it's really critical. So Oh, my goodness. So what are you hoping people will take away from your book?
Susan Barber 16:53
I mean, much like you mentioned earlier, that we make visibility bigger than it really needs to be. I think that is the one message I want people to understand is, I grew up at a time where work ethic is so important, and working hard is important. But it is not the most important thing as you climb the ladder, you definitely have to be talking about it. But it doesn't have to be hard. Little steps, I call them little baby steps you take every day, just being consistent, and really intentional with them makes a difference. When I was reading the book, we used to do what we call the writing sprints. And so he would write every day. And at first I thought, How am I ever going to get my book done just by writing an hour a day. But it absolutely worked. And I think this is the same kind of concept, where you just keep doing things every single day. And I have this four step process in the book called Rise, which stands for reflect ideate, select and evaluate. And the intent is that you create your own plan. You pick your own actions, but I tell people, let's start with three, maybe like don't don't have to be an overachiever here on this. Just pick three. And then really focus on them find ways to put together talking points before you go into a meeting. Talk to your manager on a more regular basis, meet with other people who are your managers, peers or other influencers. There's such a fear, I think sometimes, especially when we're feeling like we're not good at it, there's a fear that if I start to put myself out there, I may only get this one conversation with someone, and then I don't get another one. And now they've created this pinion about me, which is not what I want them to have. You can always revisit, you can say, you know, I just I realized that are some things I missed in that conversation with you and I wanted to come back and talk to you. It's so easy to go back and just do it again if if you need to. So don't, don't worry so much about being perfect. I think that's the message I want people to hear is you can take imperfect action, you can move forward on things that you want to do that are comfortable to you. Let's stretch you a little bit and let people see what your value is and what your capabilities are.
Kiva Slade 19:00
I love that. I feel like there's so much and we're both moms, so I feel like we have things that we like, you know, first impression is the most important, you know, and there's like, they were really great sayings, idioms motivation at that point in time, right. But in some ways they've been shackles to some of us in that we feel that we can't, oh, I flub that completely and I'll never get another opportunity and like the whole downward spiral goes in our head of how we'll never do XYZ again. The words our kids are like, yeah, so I kind of blew that one. So yeah, just went ahead and when I did it again, or you know, wait for the next time and you're like, so there's a next time really like oh, okay, so I really feel like there's like a almost a generational you know, kind of gap there of what takes place and how we view things. So I love that you give it have that permission to be like, it's okay, that imperfect action is still action at the end of the day. That is so definitely important. And then you mentioned something that's dear to my heart, which is just that habit building and that consistency. You know, like, one of my favorite books is atomic habits by James clear. So, you know, it's like, come on, like if we're doing this every single day writing for an hour every single day. And hey, guys, for those who are looking ahead and thinking they want to write a book, but like sitting ourselves down and purposing ourselves for that. And I think that's so key and so critical. And then I had to laugh because I looked at my like one of the big white stickies, Sue's like focus on three things. I was like, he doesn't want to see my stuff. Way too many things on my To Do lists. But you know, it is one of those things. I think that when we can narrow ourselves down to focus on like, you said, three good things, so to speak. It actually helps us be more. And then it would if we were like, Oh, I have this laundry list, and I'm going to do all of these things. It really scatters us. I'm speaking from experience.
Susan Barber 21:15
I don't have a long to do list too. But it's like, Where can I spend my time to add some most value today? Right?
Kiva Slade 21:22
That's right. That's what I have to narrow it down to. It's like, and I love that what's that habit of? Like, at the end of your day? Like write down the top three things for the next day? You know, because otherwise, you're like, oh, come up here and who like oh, yeah, I suppose work on some visibility. Oops, nope. Gotta go. Do you know, like, something totally else pops into your head and tyranny of the urgent flaps? And and you're like, Yeah, I never got to that visibility at all today. Nope. So it's important though, that we do focus ourselves and actually just build ourselves into a habit of those things that we really are looking forward to achieving. So I'm excited. I think that we all need, obviously, more visibility, there are amazing opportunities that are out there, some that we don't even know exist, and people are waiting for what we have inside of us to actually be shared with the rest of the world. So I want to encourage everyone to visit to on her website in order to get yourself a copy of the visibility factor. Okay, I want you to go through that. It's, it's a beautiful read, and I want you to have that for yourself, and then maybe share it with someone else who you know, is showing small, okay, and you want them to not play smile anymore. So Sue any parting words that you would like to share with an audience?
Susan Barber 22:43
Yeah, I guess I just want you to know that this was where I am right now, if I could have imagined it five years from now, I just don't know that I would have seen all these things that I'm doing to be visible. Getting on podcasts. I actually just launched my own podcast, which is also called the visibility factor. And I remember when I talked to Kim about that she's like, so when are you going to have that done. So she was a great accountability partner for me. I can't like keep it out. I've gotta go do this now. So you know, finding people that are supporters of you that can help you just help you realize the dreams that you have, whether you're an entrepreneur or whether you're in an organization, whatever you want to do, you can achieve it. It's just taking those steps and taking action and realizing that that fear is trying to protect you. But ultimately, you get the choice to listen to that fear or to do something else anyway. And that's what I chose to do. And that's why I'm talking about this to let people know it's possible for them.
Kiva Slade 23:40
Yes. And on that note, everyone, I want you to tap into what is possible for you. So I thank you so much sue for being on collab with Kiva. Make sure you guys also go check out Sue's podcasts, the visibility factor by her book, The Visibility factor, do you guys get that marketing right there people. Keep it simple there. I want you guys to make sure you check out all of that all of those details will also be in the show notes and I am excited for everyone to get a bit more visible as we head into the rest of 2022. Thank you so much sue for being on collab with Kiva. Thanks for tuning in to this episode of collab with Kiva. You know my heart and it wants you to know that you are uniquely made and that your business path is unique to you. I hope that now you have some clear takeaways from this episode that have left you inspired and motivated to keep pressing forward on your unique path. Make sure you subscribe so you don't miss out on any future episodes. And of course your reviews on Apple are greatly appreciated. If you are a small business owner and you are Ready to build out your business playbook, and you're ready to document and delegate what takes place in your business so it can grow beyond you. Make sure you visit me on my website, the 516 collaborative.com and let's schedule a time to talk. I'll see everyone next time. Bye
Susan Barber 25:17
bye
Meet Kiva Slade - the Founder and CEO of The 516 Collaborative. With a unique background in high-power politics on Capitol Hill and sixteen years as a homeschooling mama, Kiva found her calling in the online business world as a trusted guide for entrepreneurs looking to build the business of their dreams.
Kiva's work began behind the scenes, orchestrating the back end of businesses and managing teams. But her inner data diva couldn't help but notice that small businesses needed help harnessing the power of data for growth. So she and her team set out to uncover and tidy up the data required to enable clients to grow their businesses confidently and easily.