Wha'ts the Best that Could Happen? with Cordelia Calderon

She offered to help. They asked her to keynote. And for a moment, she almost said no.Host Z sits down with Cordelia Calderon, a Chicago-based staffing leader and Senior Sales Executive at Tracker, who brings more than a decade across recruiting leadership, DEI, and staffing tech, plus a big presence on stages and in the community. Cordelia gets real about the moment she caught herself playing small, the one question that changed everything, and the "reckless" career leap that made her the new kid all over again. On purpose.We don't play small here. Neither does Cordelia.In this episode:- The EmpowHer moment: volunteering to help, then freezing when asked to keynote.- The mindset flip: trading "What's the worst that can happen?" for "What's the best that can happen?"- Why hard work alone won't get you noticed, and what to unlearn about work ethic.- Stop waiting for your review: how to advocate for yourself and make your wins visible.- Walking away from a long-tenured DEI role to start fresh, learn, and grow- Discernment, the power of the pause, and being who you needed when you were younger.Chapters00:00 Welcome to The Z Pod00:30 Meet Cordelia Calderon01:42 Why Her Voice Matters03:36 The Moment She Played Small05:25 Worst Case to Best Case: The Keynote Flip08:44 Unlearning "Just Work Hard"11:00 Speak Up, Show Up, Get Seen13:12 The "Reckless" Career Leap19:23 Finding Meaning on the Other Side21:19 Pause, Discern, Be Who You Needed25:41 Thank You, Cordelia26:09 Host Z's Takeaways