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Jun 26, 2019

Welcome to She Leads Podcast Season 4, Episode 9! This episode of She Leads Podcast features Veronica Lane founder of Project Manager Guru, Inc. Veronica Lane is an Author, Speaker, and Trainer who leads her life like the Boss she is. To hear Veronica Lane’s take on leadership, listen to her interview as she discusses the importance of emotional intelligence, overcoming challenges, and the difference between perfection and excellence.  

Veronica Lane Bio

Veronica Lane, Founder and CEO of Project Manager Guru, Inc., is a highly respected B2B management and leadership training developer serving clients across both the public and private sectors. Her successful track record affords her the opportunity to facilitate workshops for governmental clients like the United States Navy and the Department of Homeland Security, as well as the Fashion Industry and Institutions of Higher Learning. She is the author of The Book of Veronica - Beyond the Certification and is a regular project management speaker at business conferences across the United States and abroad.

Veronica began her career as a gymnastics coach and thought her path would include teaching children how to dig deep into their power to summon their greatness.  As time went on, this desire to better lives transformed into providing services for the finance and banking industries.  While taking on various management roles, she uncovered a gap in the employee development space.  It was this gap that lead her to create her company Project Manager Guru, Inc. 

Nicole Walker’s Interview Commentary

I really enjoyed this interview with Veronica and I hope you did as well!

I agree with Veronica’s viewpoint on the importance of working within the limitations of others to have successful and effective relationships. Veronica’s suggestion to avoid taking people out of their comfort zone in an unhealthy way, was spot on! It is extremely necessary to treat people the way THEY want to be treated, and not assume that our personal desires are the same as those around us. This takes getting to know people and respecting how they prefer to be dealt with. To be a successful leader, we MUST take ourselves out of the equation!

I admire Veronica’s determination to overcome her biggest challenge, which happened to be public speaking. Our greatest struggle can become our greatest achievement if we put in the work. According to Veronica, the challenges we experience in life are usually the areas we are meant to help others with. Veronica and many others have proven this to be so, and I believe it because I have seen and experienced it myself! In S1 E6: Leadership Empowerment with Kristin Young, she also spoke about this same concept. A quote by Albert Einstein reads, “In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity”.  

I can relate to Veronica’s logical and questioning nature as I am the same. I have an issue blindly following any directions I receive that does not make sense to me, AND I will ask the questions I deem necessary to get to a better understanding before deciding whether or not to move forward. To some this behavior may come across as argumentative or defiant, while to others it comes across as being rational and having great critical thinking abilities, everyone views things differently. On a broader scale, I can see how this skillset plays a role in being in the Project Management field, which shows that is has actually served us both well in the long run.

Nicole Walker’s Takeaway of the Week

Veronica mentioned the benefits of using of our unscheduled time more effectively, in an effort to be more productive. I especially liked the idea of putting together a master tasks list of my intentions, then separating each item by critical or non-critical tasks. I see how this will make it easier to focus on the proper tasks at the appropriate time.

I do not want to get caught up doing minimal effort tasks during my peak performance time, so I will be sure to categorize my master task list accordingly. I want to increase my output, so I will make it my business to complete non-critical tasks during my in between and unscheduled time.

A quote by Sam Levenson reads, “Don’t watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going.”

Nicole Walker’s Leadership Challenge

My leadership challenge for you would be to think about the one thing you can take away from this episode and adopt into your life.  I know it’s hard to absorb too much information at one time and it’s even harder to try and implement too many changes at once.  When I attend a training or listen to podcasts I aim to walk away with a least one thing that stuck out to me and one way that I can change as a result.  I challenge you to do the same!  If you decide to take me up on my challenge I would love to know about your key take way.  If you care to share please go to the She Leads Podcast Discussion Group on FB and leave your comment under the Takeaway Thursday post for Season 4 Episode 9.

Don’t forget to subscribe to She Leads Podcast for first access to future episodes. And, like and share this episode of She Leads Podcast entitled, “Emotional Intelligence Sets You Apart with Veronica Lane”.

Thanks and until next time “Be Empowered and Empower On”!