00:08 Hi, I'm Denise Simpson, a master life and leadership coach who helps women step into their authentic and feminine power so they can lead like visionaries, influence with grace, and create a legacy of contribution and service. You'll hear about real leadership clients with real problems navigating their success in life, business, and career. If you're ready to become a masterful leader, then this podcast was made for you. So let's get started.00:47 Hey there. Welcome. It's March, it's the start of March. It is Women's History Month. We are celebrating all month long in the institute. For those of you who don't know me, I am Dr. Denise Simpson. I am the founder of Masters of Leadership Institute. This is a monthly ongoing leadership training and development company exclusively for women leaders. This is where we get to hold space for her. This is where we get to serve her because she's out serving the world and inside the institute we serve her. So we serve women leaders at all levels of leadership. So you are welcome to join us inside the institute, and the month of March is exciting for us because we have renamed Women's History Month. Yeah, we, we threw a wrench in the month, and we have now labeled month. This month March of, uh, the month of March, women Disrupting History Month.01:57 We're looking at women who are disrupting history. They're changing the course of history. I mean, think about all the women who have changed the course of history for us, for society overall, and also to help the advancement of women. These are women who changed the course here. They were looking at destructive patterns there. They were looking at conditions, looking at, uh, at what was status quo, and they were able to see something differently than the others. They saw something that was destroying culture. They saw something that was separating people. They saw something that was unjust, and they looked ahead. They went into the future and said, you know what? That's not gonna work. What I have identified as a destructive pattern is not gonna work for us today or tomorrow. So what can I do about it? And that's what a disruptor does. A disruptor looks at the past, looks how it's impacting her present, and how she can then change the tr trajectory or the course of history.03:15 And she's always looking forward. She's a visionary. You see, she has the skill of foresight. You see, she has developed this through her life experiences. She has developed this through the filtration system of her neurology. She is able to recognize patterns that are destroying her culture, her society, her community, her family, and says, I don't think so. Status quo will no longer suffice here. So what can I do about it? And she does something about it. So this is why in the institute, we changed the name of Women's History Month to Women Disrupting the History Month. And the month of March is dedicated to supporting disruptors like you. And we do that through offering, uh, a comprehensive masterclass, a curriculum that's built on evidence-based research and strategies. And we coach all month long. We help with, help you with strategy all around your vision, the vision that you have for your organization, for your community, for your family, for your culture.04:28 And so the month of March is exciting inside the institute. And so I'm happy to serve you in the institute, but today we're going to talk about disruption disruptors, what it means, how to identify them, where are they? Are you one of them? We are going to talk about why disruptors are loved or hate it, . They're very polarizing in their thinking. I'm one who is loved or hated. I'm polarizing in my thoughts and my beliefs about leadership and the representation of women leaders in organizations. And so I'm also gonna share with you the most powerful way to disrupt the status quo. Or, you know, that mentality, that culture that your organization may have, which is, this is how we've always done it. How many times have you been answered with that? Well, this is how we've always done it. Why do you wanna change that, that culture, the status quo culture?05:32 I'm gonna share with you the most powerful way to disrupt that in your organization. I'm also going to share with you how to leverage your inf your influence because you are a leader influencing your employees and your teams. I'm going to share with you what you can do to, to help your team members, your employees, uh, really help them start thinking like disruptors and where you can get the support that you need. So that for you, if you identify as a disruptor, you are a woman leader, you are changing the course of history in your, your family, in your community, in your organization, then you need to be with us. But I'm gonna share a little bit more about how we can support you in there. So happy women disrupting History Month, . That's it. That's what we're calling it. From here on, we are going to, um, communicate via the comment section here.06:28 So wherever you are, uh, sharing your time with me, you can share, uh, a comment and insight a question if you like. And if you're having lunch with me, good. I'm having lunch with you too. Uh, for those who are listening to the audio, I just raised my sh my protein shake. Um, and so lunch is coming. It's a late lunch, so this is going to hold me over until then. So if I need a pause and take a sip, that's why. All right, my friends. Let's talk about disruptors. So what is a disruptor? So when I went online to look at the definition of a disruptor, I mean, it was all over the place. Some had a very negative connotation while others had very positive, positive definitions of a disruptor. And so I came up with two, two very important definitions that I think we can adopt here today.07:16 And the definition, one of the two I've chosen is a person that changes the traditional way an industry operates, especially in a new and effective way, which is exactly what a disruptor is. We're looking at destructive patterns, status quo that will no longer serve our communities or organizations, and we're doing something about it. We are changing the traditional way that the industry operates, especially in a new and effective way. So that's a definition we can adopt. A second one that I I liked was that a person, a disruptor is a person that prevents something, especially a system, process or event from continuing as usual or as expected, right? Because this mentality of status quo is easy to manage in our organizations. I mean, think about that. Status quo doesn't take much creativity. It doesn't take much influence. It doesn't take much leadership. Status quo is manageable.08:24 It's, it's predictable. It is as expected. This is how we do things around here. It is business as usual. So status quo is easy to manage. So of course, people stay comfortable. Of course, your leaders stay comfortable. It has worked in the past. Why do we want to change that? So this is what's important to, to take from our conversation today, when it's time for quo to be disrupted, is when status quo has created a pattern that destroys the culture. That's the variable. That's what we want to look at is what is status quo helping us move forward, helping our workforce move forward? Or is it keeping us stagnant? Is it keeping us in this myopic linear way of thinking as opposed to expanding neurology, as opposed to being creative and innovative in our thinking? When it starts destroying culture starts destroying the workplace, the people in your workforce, then we need to start looking at how do we disrupt what used to be?09:46 Because when we destroy culture, we separate people instead of unifying people. We are looking at isolating groups. We're looking at keeping people from opportunities, not consciously, I hope not consciously, but a lot of this is unconscious. A lot of the bias that our organizations run on is because a human thought of it. Because a human with with, with a filtration system of a lot of bias came up with a policy, came up with a way of doing things in the organization. And so it's important to check in once in a while on what policies are working, what policies are not. How are we remaining status quo? How is this hurting our culture? How is this hurting groups of people in our organization? Now, listen, you can apply this into any context. So if you are an executive director in a nonprofit, obviously you are a disruptor.10:47 You are in an industry where it is designed to disrupt status quo. You may be a board member like me, where I get to serve and sit and use my innovative skills, my creativity, my way of disrupting status quo, and I contribute. So you may be a board member, you may be an entrepreneur or a solopreneur or a founder like me. And so you went into business because you saw a pattern that was destructive. You may have seen a big wide gap, which is what I did. I saw a wide gap in leadership training and development for women leaders. And I said, I have the skills and I have the knowledge to fill that gap and then some, and create innovative ways of leading, help women serve them in different innovative ways through the institute. So if you're a founder or an entrepreneur, you are naturally a disruptor.11:47 And so if you're saying, well, Denise, you know, I'm just an employee. I don't, I, I don't know what disruption means, but I like this idea. I'm attracted to this idea. What do I need to learn about disruption? Well, we're gonna go deeper into the, the discussion of disruptor leadership, disruptive leadership inside the institute. We have a masterclass that's coming up March 9th, and we're gonna go 10 layers deep into this conversation. And the entire month is designed to support a disruptor like you through coaching, weekly, coaching through strategy sessions. And so know that you will be cared for deeply in the institute. So if you are attracted to this idea of disruption, what, then let's look at a little more about disruptors and what qualifiers a disruptor has. And so, first of all, a disruptor is a visionary. She's able to look into the future because of the information that she ha she has, or she has historical experience or historical record.12:54 She has pattern recognition, and she's always considering the past, the present, and the future. But she spends a lot of time in the future. She has the skillset of foresight. She has been able to develop that through her life experience, her experience, and the organization, her experience and her community serving her constituents. She has gained this experience. And so foresight is a skill, and that's important to understand because if it's a skill, then it can be learned. This is not inherent work, . This is work that we get to do as leaders, disruptors that we are. And so she is a visionary. That's number one. Number two, she's developed the skill of foresight, very important. And that takes some time, but it happens. It happens through how she thinks about a pattern. She thinks about a trend. She thinks about a condition that is occurring in her organization or maybe in her community, or maybe in her constituents.13:57 You know, this is something that I learned as a little girl. I saw a lot of interesting patterns in my family. In my immediate family. There was a lot of contradiction between the words of what my parents said and their behaviors. I was observing what they were doing. I was observing how they treated each other, how they treated family. I was observing how they treated money, how they treated ambition, how they treated success. I was observing the patterns within my own family and in my brain, as little as I was, I said, you know, that's not right. , some of that stuff is not, not, is not right. And some of that stuff is not gonna serve me. It's not gonna serve me today, and it certainly won't serve me in the future. So how do I disrupt the neurology that has been embedded in my brain?14:50 How do I disrupt culture that's destroying my family? How do I disrupt these patterns, these trends, the layers of conditioning? And so it was something that I identified because I said, I don't think so. That's actually not right. I don't think, I'm not sure I'm little. I'm, I'm, I'm not an adult. But that's some weird contradiction over there. I don't think I want that for myself. And so as a leader, you then start looking at how is this benefiting the whole, how is this benefiting the entire community? How is this benefiting a subset of our culture? How is it benefiting our employees? And if the answer is no, it's actually causing more destruction, more separation, more isolation, more struggle, more challenge, then that's your sign. That's when you get to look at how do I problem solve for this? That's another aspect of a disruptor.15:55 You are looking for solutions. It's not like, it's not like your brain is designed for, for only problem seeking. No, there's a problem that arises in your brain. You identify a problem and then you quickly seek the solution. This is what makes you a disruptor. You're looking for ways to improve. You're looking for ways to elevate the community. You're looking for ways that will support your workforce. So my friend, if you are attracted to this idea of disruptive leadership, these are three things that you can start honing in. And again, it's number one, the visionary, right? That always looking forward. You're also looking at solution finding. You're looking for how to solve for problems instead of going and, and, and perpetuating status quo. No, that's not what you do. You use your brilliance, you leverage your experience, you leverage your knowledge. You le you leverage your education, you leverage your, your influence.17:04 That's how you problem solve. You're always looking for solutions in that way. And then number three is foresight. Developing that skill of foresight, incredibly important as a disruptor. So again, disruptor disruptive leadership requires a leveling up of skills, a visionary, the skill of of being a visionary, the skill of foresight, and also solution finding. Because remember, status quo is easy to manage. It's business as usual. Don't you know, status quo is business as usual. There's no higher level thinking. There's no solution finding thinking. There's no elevating your neurology when it's status quo. Why bother being creative? Why bother being innovative? Why bother influencing your people if status quo is managing your people? So if you are identifying already some interesting patterns, either in your nonprofit, either in your organization, either in your business, uh, I want for you to start looking at those three elements, those three variables.18:19 Again, visionary, foresight and solution finding. So, questions, comments, put them in the chat, please, wherever you're watching this, if you're having lunch with me, cheers. I'm having a protein shake for now. My, uh, salad is coming, uh, in another hour and a half. So we're, we're gonna make you with a protein shake for now. Um, but trust me, we need some protein so that we can keep serving you. Uh, and then, um, wrap up our time here together. So let's talk about the most powerful way to disrupt the status quo. And that this is where, this is what we've always done. This is how we've always done it. Culture in your organization. The most powerful way to disrupt that is by being example of a disruptor. Now, listen, we don't disrupt just to disrupt. We're not here to, you know, just shake things up for the heck of it.19:12 That's not what we do as disruptors. No, there, it's meaningful action. This is meaningful disruption. And so the most powerful way to disrupt is by being the example, you, being the example in your organization or in your institution. That's the most powerful way to disrupt, is by taking action. It's by first identifying as one. And, and secondly, developing those three elements that I shared. And then being the example, showing others that it's okay to rattle the cage. It's okay to disrupt some interesting patterns in our society, in our culture, in our organization. It's okay. And plus, you're a leader. So you're naturally an example. People are watching your every move. , just like our children are watching our behaviors, and they're looking for, for contradiction in the words that we say to them. And the behaviors that we take, your employees are doing the same. Your constituents are doing the sta the same.20:15 Your stakeholders are watching your every move. So you are already an example of excellence. And so now you'll be intentional in being ex an example of a disruptor. The next thing I wanna cover is how to leverage your influence as a disruptor. Because remember, you've got all eyes watching you. You've got employees watching your every move. You've got constituents looking out, uh, for what you say and what you do. And I want for you to start looking at how you can create a culture of, remember, you're already a model of excellence. You're a model of disruptive leadership. So now I want for you to create a culture of disruption among your team, among your department. And what does that look like? It looks like sharing safety with your employees. It's, look, it looks like telling them it's okay to challenge status quo. Actually, I encouraged that.21:13 This is you verbalizing to your people and then taking behavior and action that matches your words. You tell them it is okay to look at patterns that are hindering our success as a team. It's okay to look at ways to innovate what we've been doing so that we can sustain this in the future so that we can change the, the trajectory of our goals and our results in this, in this department. I want for you to remember, you are the culture creator. As a leader. I know we have the entire organization's culture, but the culture that you have most control over. And by control, I mean influence is your department's culture. Those that you share immediate space with on a daily basis. That's the culture that I want for you to focus on. How do I create a culture of disruption among my employees, among my subordinates?22:15 What do I, what do I need to tell them? How do I need to behave? How do I need to help them develop the skill of foresight, the skill of visionaries? What do I need to do to help them? And that's you creating a culture of disruption within your group of employees. And so I know I shared a whole lot with you. It's 1 22 central standard time. Uh, I'm here in Austin. Um, and cheers to you if you are having a lunch break with me. Um, I'm having a smoothie before my salad gets here. Um, but I needed to come on, uh, ready to support you and to serve you and to share a little bit about my thoughts regarding disruptive leadership. Here's how you're going to get support. If you identify as a disruptor and you are a woman leader, the Masters of Leadership Institute is where you need to be.23:08 This is headquarters. I shamelessly say that it is the Harvard Business School for Women Leaders. Listen, I, I don't care if it's true or not, it's true in my head, , it's where I support women leaders like you. I support women at every level of leadership. So if you're aspiring, if you're emerging, if you're mid-season, mid-career, if you are in the C-suite, know that the institute is designed to support you at every stage of mastery. And so we are going to go 10 layers deep into the conversation of disruptive leadership. We're going to get our hands in the clay together as leaders, as practitioners, we are going to provide you with master level coaching. So if you have a plan that, or a plan of action, you wanna, maybe it's a strategy that you want to execute, maybe it's something you need help tweaking. Maybe it's a, a tactic that you want help, um, clarified know that coaching can provide that support.24:15 So wherever you are on that journey, we're going to support you in the month of March for the disruptive leader that you are. Uh, and we, we will also have specific strategy sessions for us so that we can really talk about execution. So we have a great time in the institute. Again, know that women's history month no longer, we threw a wrench in that. Now it's, it's no one, uh, no regulatory body has done that. It's just us in the institute. It's now called Women Disrupting History Month. And so you are a disruptor if you're saying, I don't think so, Denise, and maybe I, that's just not for me. Maybe that's too far ahead. That's fine. It's important that you learn these skills now so that you can effectively change the trajectory of history, which is why Women's History Month exists. Because we get to celebrate, we get to reward these women.25:13 We get to, to shine a light on their accomplishments and how far they have helped us advance in our society, in our families, in our communities, and in our organizations. So my friend, if you're saying I'm not a disruptor, I, I, I ask that you reconsider, especially after hearing the qualifiers that I just shared with you. Disrupt disruptors are always looking at ways to improve and, and sometimes we have to destroy status quo so that we can change the trajectory of history. And so I, I invite you into the institute. I'm going to quickly put a little banner here. Uh, let me see if I can find it. Here is the website. So it's just my email address, dr denise simpson.com, excuse me, web address and slash m o l. And you'll find that if you just go to dr denise simpson.com. So we have, uh, great resources for you inside the institute, but know that we're gonna go into disruptive leadership 10 layers deeper than what we just did today.26:14 So if you, you are ready for this energy. If you're ready for these resources, if you're ready for comprehensive work, know that everything that we provide you in the institute is research-based, evidence-based. We are disruptors ourselves. This is, uh, really how I founded the institute was to disrupt what I was seen in leadership training and development for women leaders. It is why we exist. It is to disrupt status quo. And so the month of March is just where we get to celebrate it. And we get to celebrate you every month. We have a different theme, we have a different subject. We have a different provocative topic. I say provocative because this is, this is, this is information for a very specific woman leader. It's not just for anybody , uh, we'll put it that way. And so, come in, see for yourself. You get to cancel any time, uh, no questions asked.27:06 You just come. Maybe it's a season where you do need a little extra support. This is where you'll find it. It could be a season where you are moving from management into a leadership role. This is the institute for you. If you're looking for more coaching, more intimate support, because there's, there's been some interesting behaviors among your workforce, among your employees. Coaching will allow us to unwind and unravel some of that stuff. And you get to have all that support inside the institute. All right, my friends. Uh, it looks like we don't have any comments today, or did I not allow y'all to post comments? Yikes. Oh, no, I, okay, good. , I'm on live. Uh, no. What is this? Streamy yard. I'm on Streamy yard. So, um, I, I, I, I, I'm working through the dashboard here. All right, disruptors, wonderful to serve you today.27:58 If you're watching the replay, um, head over to dr denise simpson.com/m o l to join us. Cancel anytime, no questions asked, but come and get the support that you deserve. Thank you all so much for your time. I'm gonna be with you next week. We'll do another live podcast of the Dr. Jan Denise Simpson podcast, so you can find us anywhere, iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, all the places, um, so that you can subscribe, leave us a kind review. Yes, a kind review, help another woman on her journey, of entrepreneurship and disruption in the industry. So thank you all so much. Keep an eye out. Follow me here so you can be notified of our next live podcast. Take good care everybody. Bye for now. Hey, leader, do you want weekly leadership tips, coaching and training straight to your email inbox? Yeah, I thought so. Head over to dr denise simpson.com/leadership. Again, that's dr denise simpson.com/leadership. Just submit your name and your email address and we'll get started right away. I look forward to serving you inside your email inbox. See you soon.
