Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:00:00 We are Ageri because we create remedies for life made by life. I'm Scarlet Viper, AKA Mrs. Lee and founder of ageri.co your go-to place for Ageri remedies to help you find love, get rich, awaken your intuition and feel free. So now let's open the remedy kit and discover why we're all Ageri page H hello, and welcome to age H and this episode is all about the leadership remedy, and it's a big one, cuz leadership is such an important element in all aspects of personal and business life. So what is my remedy for leadership to me has so many different kind of aspects to it. And if I speak from my own remedy and my own life, what I have learned, um, is there's three parts to it. And the first part is really about collaboration. You know, the days of being very authoritarian has gone.
Speaker 0 00:01:01 Not that it doesn't exist, but I think there is definite resistance to that. Now, as, as there's a growing number of people leaving, you know, the great resignation and that is because people want meaning in their life today. And, and hence the great resignation is they wanna know when they go to work, that they're doing something that is going to benefit the world. And also that they're gonna be seen, they're going to be respected and they're gonna be appreciated and valued for what they do. So I think as a leader, you have to come to the party, knowing that you have to collaborate with your team, you have to take them on the journey with you. You have to have a vision that they can actually be part of. And so that collaboration is, you know, the, the second part of that collaboration is allowing them to see what you have as a vision.
Speaker 0 00:01:55 And when they get aligned to your vision and your value and purpose, then they're more likely to enjoy what they're doing. They're more likely to perform a lot better. They're much more productive. So generally it's a better situation from all aspects. Um, the other part to leadership I believe is working on yourself because often I think what happens and I saw it actually with my dad who was a doctor and he was, um, not with us today, but you know, it was very black and white for him as a doctor because you're going in, you're doing surgery and you have to be really super clear. This is what works. This is what does it, there's no gray area. And I was of course a nightmare because I was always asking why, and you know, what about this? And I was into alternative medicine. It was just a nightmare, honestly, because for him, how does he open what he has learned to be absolute truth?
Speaker 0 00:02:50 And when you're dealing with someone's lives, you, you cannot doubt is there a different way to this? You know, so I get that. However, I think today is having the strength behind being open and curious to everything is so important today. And I think it takes a strong mind, for example, to be a doctor, to be open as well, to keep the learning, being open, to learning and being curious and seeing how it impacts without it kind of moving your strength and ability to say, this is right, and this is the answer, and this is what I need to do because it is all in black and white, literally in medicine today. However, having that openness is a balance. So I think with the openness and the curiosity, and keep working on yourself in order to stay open and strong, I think is a great way forward today.
Speaker 0 00:03:50 That's my remedy. Now, today we're gonna be talking with, uh, the wonderful Carrie Ben, who is a leadership coach, specializing in education. She is an educator. And I love speaking with Carrie because she has this wonderful combination of culture cause she loves to travel and the whole idea of global, um, the global earth and, and how it all connects. And then she has education then leadership and that entrepreneurship. So she has a wonderful trifecta and alchemy of skills there. So without further ado, let's meet Carrie. So I'm very excited in this episode to have the gorgeous Carrie Ben on the show. Welcome
Speaker 1 00:04:36 <laugh> how are you Scarlet?
Speaker 0 00:04:38 I'm good. I'm so blessed to have you on the show and in my life. So I'm grateful that you are here to share all your wisdoms and remedies around your life and of course, around leadership. So firstly, tell me, what is your life remedy?
Speaker 1 00:04:54 <laugh> hashtag just give it a red hot shot. I
Speaker 0 00:05:00 Love it. I love it. And it's so you it's, so you, so how did you get to that? Where, where did that come from?
Speaker 1 00:05:05 Hmm, I think, um, the essence of that sort of came at when I had a significant birthday and around that time we also had a huge movement in, um, our children leaving home for various reasons. One was getting married, the others were going out to uni, living different places. So we got four, four children, um, our living assets. So I have four, I don't have big shared portfolio, but I've got four living assets. I love it. I love it. And they're called the sorts because basically they, you know, we've got two, two that look similar, they've lost all their hair, two, that've got all their hair and have got the O more olive skin that that's great. But, um, even though they're different and they were allowed to develop their own voice as they were growing up, um, they still have very strong core values and fam family's one of those.
Speaker 1 00:05:56 So I'd, you know, like a lot of gals my age, um, we dedicated our life. Our whole life purpose was around part-time work or working plus being the mother role. And, and that's something about that's not good or bad. It just is in how it was in those days. So when I had a significant birthday and it started with a five and ended no in an O, um, so I decided I was walking the Coco trail in P Guinea and, um, and really it was to give, thanks for being able to bring up my four children, our four, four children, um, in freedom. And when I look back over the last decade, I just look back and go, thank well, number one, thank God I did it then, um, fitness wise. Um, but secondly, it stayed with me. So that whole notion of trying to stay fit in, in that wellbeing space for a remedy for yourself, as you're getting older, you're getting more and more creeks creaking going on. You're get, you know, getting bit grayer. Um, there's a whole lot of sagging going, all that sort of stuff. So to keep that in mind, that's part of the Rey, just give it a red hot shot. So I love doing some weights. I love walking, all that sort of stuff. And I, and I love to have a drink with people. I like, I like the people stuff. So that's, that's,
Speaker 0 00:07:18 If you look from when I first met you, just from when you left education, you, you kind of stepped into yourself as an entrepreneur and getting out there and doing the red hot shot. There's been a, a big energy growth with you. And I think it's, it's really indicative of the mindset that you have to have as we get older, you know, versus, oh, it's all over and downhill, you know,
Speaker 1 00:07:43 And I'd even be honest and say to you, I probably didn't know myself very well because I ended up marrying fairly young, was pregnant within two weeks of being married. So a baby arrived. Um, you know, I, I left a full time job, um, and stayed at home for a decade. So I sew and designedautiful gowns, beaded all, and the kids all had all had mix and match outfits.
Speaker 0 00:08:12 <laugh> of course they did.
Speaker 1 00:08:15 And you know, you just get you get into that. So the, the, my voice was around the parent role, you know, and partner role. And, um, so yeah, it's stretched out and that's why I think this, you know, we get this notion of I'm older and wiser. Well, I'm actually really happy to have found the time to be able to do it now, actually, actually I'll tell you a funny story. My daughter said to me, um, just after we put, she put a deposit on her first unit, she, um, she said, oh, thanks mom so much. Can I borrow your checkbook just for the deposit? Yes. I know that I'll do that for you this, you know, and then she, she said to me, oh mom, I just don't wanna be, um, you know, 50 in finding myself. And then she stopped and she went, oh, I don't believe I just said that to you because that's about the time <laugh>. And I went lessons learned from the chairs, you know, those beautiful creations that we have. They just, you know, you learn so much from your kids and I just go now I'm watching her. And I get, you know, I said, yeah, I said, I wonder sometimes whether at my era, my age group of gals tried to do too much. Maybe we were our own worst enemies, you
Speaker 0 00:09:27 Know, and look, I think it it's, I mean, it's so different in the world at the moment too. I think we have the space and the kind of the support to find yourself. And I mean, everybody at the moment is looking for greater meaning and, you know, you are seeing it certainly in the work you're doing with people and leadership. So yeah, I think we're just lucky in this time that we're able to, to have the time to find ourself. I mean, I, I didn't have the life. I've never worked in corporate R well, I did for six years, but I've always been an entrepreneur. However, I'm just learning on a whole other level right now. So it's almost like, I think it's a Rite of passage that you have to kind of go through like nothing nothing's wrong. It's just that we are in that. And that's the whole age rich thing that we, we live this lived life and we learn from it and now it's like, oh, we should really love who we are and where we've become, you know, out of it. So, I mean, for you, you've stepped into this leadership, you know, you're leading your yourself into this leadership coach role and expertise. So what do, what, what remedies do you have for leadership? What would you like to share?
Speaker 1 00:10:37 Well, I think I'm just gonna use this other other notion and, and I've been using it a fair bit lately. I think, you know, people are the profession, no matter what we are, we are in people are the profession. So the remedies I use are around people. People matter, thriving matters and thriving. Isn't easy. So the way I look at life is, well, there are gonna be days where it's, you know, your, your daily habits are just probably getting just that touch boring, and you think, oh, I won't do it for today. Or you go seeking something else that you, you know. And so part of the remedy I think, is to look at your habits as find the ones that are making all the difference to you, that line up with your values. So if I talk leadership, well, I actually have to, um, continue to lead myself, right. So I can lead others so I can inspire or empower others so I can manage how I'm feeling. And some days that's a battle because, you know, Carrie's, Carrie's quite unique. I'm quite unique.
Speaker 0 00:11:42 <laugh>, you're,
Speaker 1 00:11:43 It's a bit of a bit of a battlefield with yourself, but it shouldn't be. So I've learned in the last, I mean, CO's been a blessing in a way for me, mm-hmm, <affirmative>, um, I've learned that I just have to take the time. Um, I would say that I'm not particularly patient. I tend to be more impromptu, great ideas, big thinker, and then go, why can't we do this? Why can't it go bang, bang, bang, let's move on to the next thing. So I've learned to be far more patient than I was, um, and just to sit back and look at who I'm surrounded with and really where they can inspire me and Mo and help me motivate myself, but also how much I can receive love from them and give it out. So the more for me, the more you give out the love, and it doesn't have to be people that, you know, really well, it can be that you, you know, you are, you, you do, you are intentional in how you look at the universe. So a, a leadership remedy for me is bringing together that the magic trifecta, and I think that is culture, education, and business, bringing those three together, because we, we need to have a global view. We need to have a bigger view than just our own silo or our own, uh, industry that we're in. We actually can learn that collective intelligence that we can learn from each other share and synthesize what we are learning. Put it into action is only going to just give us so much more richness. I love that how we lead.
Speaker 0 00:13:17 Yeah. And, and I think you're so right with the, the global aspect, because we've seen now more than ever, is that seeing it through a different lens, a different culture just keeps you more open and less judgemental. And, and, and curious as you've always talked about, you know, that curiosity comes in.
Speaker 1 00:13:35 Well, I, I just think this, this whole notion of growing is, you know, what we learn, we all have different ways of learning. Um, we find out what it is, but we, we just stretch ourselves for, for the next bit. But one of the things I know, um, that is a great thing is to, is to remain curious. And I'm just going to show you this, it sits up here. Yes. Anyone who loves Dr. Sue knows. Yes. Oh, the places you go. So if you have an inquiring mind, you're gonna be the Explorer of yourself, of the people around you, of your world, of the world, of work that you wanna play, uh, play in. And we explore the people and the capacity of each other, cause we're quite unique and absolutely magnificent. So we're a bit like stars twinkling in the, in the, in the, uh, constellations above us. You know,
Speaker 0 00:14:27 I love it. I love it. So what, what do you, I mean, you work with a lot of schools and educators. What, what do you think has been the biggest issue for them and, and what, what, you know, what's the solution that you give them? Like, what is their pain point at the moment?
Speaker 1 00:14:43 Oh, I think, um, the main pain point at the moment is there's fatigue. There's fatigue about having to adapt to change. Um, and I think the I'm pretty sure the fatigue is around thinking that you have to find the solutions yourself,
Speaker 0 00:15:02 Right?
Speaker 1 00:15:03 And so that's why I call this thing, the collective, you know, it's, it's the something that's bigger than us and that we can learn from each other. And that's why culture, business, and education go together. Um,
Speaker 0 00:15:14 And it's so true because you feel sometimes so alone. I mean, I have that cause I'm an entrepreneur, but I can imagine. And when I did work in, um, corporate environment or is that you, you feel that you have to do it because you might lose your job or people will criticize you and you do feel alone. So I think that's such great advice to remember that you are a collective and it's okay to ask for help. Is that what you find that people are afraid to do that or,
Speaker 1 00:15:41 Well, I, I also think it's, uh, they don't know perhaps where to find the help or who to seek out. So I, I always go back to values, values, beliefs, and assumptions that we make. So I'm very big on, uh, bringing together, um, a coaching habit and some emotional intelligence with leadership work. So it's understanding, you know, yourself so you can understand others. So when you peak that with curiosity, you get innovative thoughts, you get creations that are different to what you could just have thought up yourself. You actually bring it together for the benefit of the whole. So it's for the good of the village. Um, and now we've got a global village it's in. I can instantly, I went to India yesterday afternoon, beautiful up the north of India and, um, talked to my beautiful friend beneath. And over the last three years, I've explored the world. I've gone to Turkey one, one morning, or I've been in London in the afternoon or the USA or Canada. And it's, there are so many good people. There are so many people interested in not just making, um, making themselves feel important, but being able to, to pay forward and give forward for others. So the relationships are really, really important. So,
Speaker 0 00:17:00 And I love how you said that part of the learning of self and being innovation, because sometimes you might be in that place of, I dunno, how to ask for help or not even realizing you do need help. So if you start getting those skills internally, then you know what to do that next step makes sense. Well,
Speaker 1 00:17:19 A lot of leaders feel at some point feel that there's, they're an imposter. And, and I've felt that over the last couple of years is there's sort of waves of, of things going, how the hell do I do that? I've never done that before. Um, totally new learning going, okay, you, you just need to seek out the right people. And then sometimes you seek out people and you think actually they weren't quite right. So what have I learned? So we learned from our fails, our mini fails our, you know, our tiny fails as well. And we learn these great resiliency skills.
Speaker 0 00:17:49 It is interesting when, um, uh, I was speaking to someone who is a CEO and what I realized, even from that role as a leader, it's such a lonely role because, um, especially as a CEO, because everybody has their own agenda and there's nowhere you can go to even, unless you get a, you know, very good mentor, which I highly recommend. And I think that's so true. It's like you continually have to do the work on yourself and find that support, you know, in the right way after you get that education. Incredible. And this leads me to share about your master classes, where you have actually interviewed and done presentations around different people in the world and offering, so tell us a bit about that.
Speaker 1 00:18:33 Oh my gosh. Those master classes, uh, are just, uh, amazing. So we've brought together culture, business, and education, and we started off in Australia and then we just, we've just been around the world. So there's nine there. Now we're just about to get, um, another one up, um, which will be Belize. Um, the stories of the people who are your, your masters, your presenters, there are sharing their leadership secret source with you are, are amazing. So the invite was for, um, for leaders, um, who would be willing to share their source, but the complexity of, of doing this meant that they actually have to like people. So I have a flavor of people are the profession all the way through this, no matter what industry you are in. And so mostly what's happened over the last three years with COVID is yes, people are up front and center everywhere.
Speaker 1 00:19:33 Whether it's, you know, what jobs have changed, whether there's job, there's no job there anymore, or you've decided to leave and you've been re contemplating your whole life. So the masterclass are, are snapshots. They're fantastic. There's good humor. You get to see, um, firsthand some of the cultural aspects of, of each of the countries there. Um, it's a super rich resource and it's, if anyone's sort of wanting to change what they're doing, um, they're looking to, they're aspiring to leadership in another way. I mean, culture is all around us and it's not just the culture of a country that's so important or, or a tradition. It's all the things that go with it. That it's also the culture within the workplace. Yeah. That you work
Speaker 0 00:20:17 For you. It's amazing. I've, they're, they're quite extraordinary. They're very unique. So if you get a chance, we'll put the link below. So you can have a look at, uh, look at one. And so how do people find you, Carrie, and what services like, what are you doing at the moment?
Speaker 1 00:20:32 I do individual coaching. Um, we have programs for, for leaders and leadership teams, whole of staff. We don't just do education. We are looking at business as well. Uh, we have particular programs if you are looking for a refresh on your career, um, that's, there's, there's that opportunity as well. I have a podcast called thriving matters where I talk to ordinary guys and gals doing extraordinary things in life and work. Um, I'm not a Tony Robbins, but the aspiration is there. You know? Um, and the people I interview are, are just amazing in what they've been able to do. And everyone has a special story and that's, what's underneath this. We all have a story and we all matter. So Carrie benette.com is the easiest way to find me, um, website, um, on LinkedIn as well. But it's easy to remember. So carry C a w L I E, just like carryon or carry a bag. Uh you'll remember me. <laugh> I'm the gal that says, just carry a bag and it's gonna be Chanel because you are worth it. <laugh>
Speaker 0 00:21:39 That's right. And don't forget to give it a red hot show. Amazing. Thank you so much, Carrie, loved speaking with you and such great knowledge and wisdom to impart on others on leadership and look forward to, um, getting together again and talking about something else that, uh, we'll be, uh, discussing what other remedies you have. So
Speaker 1 00:21:58 Based on you, Scarlet, thank you for doing this. So you it's a joy
Speaker 0 00:22:03 Bye. Thank you. Bye.
