Christy Uffelman has coached more than 12,000 leaders, and on the way into this conversation her inner critic still asked who she thought she was, on a podcast with April. Christy, founder and CEO of EDGE Leadership and author of Wayfinding, talks about self-trust, the critic she named Edith, and why she calls this work "less of a learning and more of a remembering."
Less than a year into her first sales manager job, at Bayer, she went down in flames. She explains why the skills that make an A-plus sales rep make a C-minus manager, why most adults are running ChatGPT on an operating system akin to Windows 98, and the work she is headed into next: peer groups for executives moving into retirement.
▶️ Watch the full conversation on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Hy8T7rftH6I
CHAPTERS
00:00 "Who do you think you are?"
00:18 The next chapter you come back to
01:21 Meet Christy Uffelman
03:37 "I challenge the status quo"
05:07 Her very first job, at 16
07:38 One of 50 coaches Brené Brown chose
09:57 Safety differs, bravery doesn't
11:14 From EQ to emotional agility
13:27 Feeling the shift around the fire
14:34 One look at Kevin
15:10 Emotions are stories about energy
16:46 What makes a belief a belief
18:45 Running ChatGPT on Windows 98
20:44 If you can hear the voice, you aren't the voice
21:19 Meet Edith, her inner critic
22:21 The quieter voice
24:45 Come back home to yourself
25:34 Life doesn't come with a GPS
26:20 True north is not a straight line
27:50 No one builds maps of new lands alone
28:34 The four points of the compass
30:10 Afraid to be judged on this podcast
31:52 Pilates and accountability partners
35:49 From Johnson & Johnson to Bayer
37:32 Down in flames as a sales manager
39:17 What's next for Christy
40:19 Not a line, a spiral
41:47 Where to find Christy
42:15 Find the nearest three-year-old
WHAT YOU'LL TAKE AWAY
What to do with an inner critic that isn't going anywhere, starting with the line Christy asks every leader to sit with.
Why life and leadership never hand you turn-by-turn directions, and what wayfinding asks of you instead.
Where to look for who you were before you became who you thought the world wanted you to be.
ABOUT CHRISTY UFFELMAN
Christy Uffelman is the founder and CEO of EDGE Leadership in Pittsburgh and a board-certified coach who has worked alongside more than 12,000 leaders over 20 years. She began her career in construction as the first woman on a general contractor's executive staff, and once taught a leadership session 800 feet underground in a coal mine. She is the author of The PEER Revolution and Wayfinding.
edgeleadershipsolutions.com · LinkedIn
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PRODUCTION CREDITS
Hosted and executive produced by April Chavez.
Video production by Manlee J. Chavez.
Music by Steve Stuntz.
Guest agreements and disclaimer: drivenlivin.com/guest-agreements
