Ep. 22 How To Gain Your Leadership Edge with Sonia McDonald

The Honest CEO Show, Episode 22: Sonia McDonald, CEO & Founder of Leadership HQ

Caroline Kennedy (00:20)
Welcome and my guest today is Sonia MacDonald, CEO and founder of Leadership HQ. She is an entrepreneur, thought leader, dynamic keynote speaker, leadership coach and author. Sonia was recently named in the top 250 influential women across the globe. She is Australia's leading leadership executive coach.

She has over 25 years human resource management, leadership and organisational development experience. She has held senior leadership roles in organisational development, learning and development, human resource and talent management fields across the world. She is passionate about cutting edge research and consulting in her industry as well as innovative tools and strategies around leadership, organisation development, neuroscience and diversity. Sonia's expertise makes her an excellent leader to partner with organisations and CEOs to ensure the full potential of their business is achieved through its people. She is about the results.

Sonia has been published in the Australian, HRD Magazine, Business Insider, Business Women's Media, Star Magazine, Richtopia and Women in Focus. She is an inspirational and dynamic leader and neuroscientist keynote speaker. She will engage, educate and change the hearts and minds of your leaders and organisations. She is also the author of the Neuroscience of Leadership Kindle Book on Amazon and her new book Leadership Attitude. Her company Leadership HQ are the leaders in leadership and they provide solutions, coaching programs and interventions that will help your organisation achieve maximum success. They work in partnership to design, create and deliver high impact and customized client solutions. It is about you. Whether it's an executive coaching, leadership program for emerging and women leaders, cultural alignment, leadership workshop and event, they have it all covered. Their purpose and vision is to partner with organisations and leaders in building high performance leadership, culture, diversity and strategic interventions, improving staff engagement, motivation, retention and ultimately the bottom line. Leadership HQ has also been named in the 50 top-bastard's career and management blogs and was recently named in the top 100 leadership blogs across the globe. Welcome to the show, Sonia.

It's such a pleasure to have you and to have you share your expertise with our listeners.

Sonia McDonald (03:46)
Thank you so much for inviting me. I love doing this. So it's a real, it's a real privilege. So I very blessed. Thank you.

Caroline Kennedy (03:52)
And I'm sure you're natural at it as well.

Sonia McDonald (03:57)
I try my best.

Caroline Kennedy (03:58)
So tell us where it all started Sonia.

Sonia McDonald (04:03)
Oh boy, great question. Where did it all start? It probably started maybe just over a decade ago. I've got a background in human resources and I've held senior not so senior roles in HR. And then about a decade ago, I decided to put my career on hold and follow my husband's and we moved over to Shanghai, China with our two-year-old. And then whilst I was over there, I got as bored as batshit and thought, I really need to use my brain. And I got this amazing part-time opportunity over there. And yeah, my whole world fell apart really unexpectedly. It was really devastating. And I had no idea what I was going to do. And I was really, really lucky that the company I was working with over there at the time really supported, but they knew I couldn't sustain being, you know, cause I became a solo parent with a three year old and was left with $2,000 in the bank. And I just thought, what am going to do now? And, know, was lucky that they were really supportive and I moved back and I tried to work with them as long as I could, but it's just, it was just too hard on my own with the toddler. So I had to go out there and reinvent myself. So I moved back to the Gold Coast, had to be back in with my parents to this really crappy Holden Commodore and Holden's right there. It was just more of that shock factor and I no idea what I was going to do.

Caroline Kennedy (05:38)
It's a big change for you, know, in lifestyle wise as well. And it's, you know, there's a lot of fear surrounding that all of a sudden you're a single mum and you have to provide for your child.

Sonia McDonald (05:51)
Yeah, think that whole survival mode, it's amazing when things like that happen. You don't realise how strong you were. I still keep in touch with this amazing leader, she's one of the best leaders I've ever worked with. At the time, was the GM of the company that I was working for and she's now in Singapore and her and I still keep in contact and she's so beautiful. She contacts me all the time saying how proud she is of me. I don't really have a memory of that time back then in Shanghai when I was working with her.

She says to me constantly, you have no idea how incredibly strong and resilient you were. Like I was in awe of you. And I'd say, Rachel, really? have no memory. For me, it seemed like some sort of, I don't know if you could call it a dream. It's probably a nightmare. I honestly thought it was like this outer body experience where I was watching some movie and going, that's a terrible thing to happen. What's going on there? I wonder what's going to turn out. Because I just don't have any memory of it.

And I came, when I came back to Australia, I thought, survival mode I had to provide for my daughter, my daughter Abby and I and you know, I decided to reinvent myself and that's when I met someone that worked in leadership development and he was looking for someone to work as a part-time consultant on construction engineering sites and I completely faked it. You know, I just sat there and looked at him and said, I know so much about leadership. He was like, I'm thinking don't ask me any questions. Luckily he didn't that I knew a lot more what I did. And then

I just bought as many books as I could on leadership. I watched lots of videos and read and researched and started working on construction sites with engineers and superintendents in leadership. And I fell in love with it. I loved it so much. I could see the difference that I was making coaching and educating these leaders who were great at building stuff, but not so great at leading people to build stuff.

And I started a blog. I thought, you I really love to write, I should start a leadership blog. So that's how Leadership HQ was born. It started as a blog, Leadership HQ blog, and then a couple of years after that, after facing my fears and feeling like I was jumping off this cliff, I decided to start a business and see how it would go. I thought, okay, I can do this. I've had the courage to move back to Australia and start all over again, reinvent myself, and I've got the courage to give this a go.

Caroline Kennedy (08:18)
Sure, and I think it's really important to know my approach to life is to not have regrets. I never want to live life with regrets. And I think that that's one of the key things with courage as well is to say, okay, this is the path or my purpose and this is the journey that I want to go down. And I'm just going to take the risk and see what happens because at the end of the day, if it doesn't work out, which is worst case scenario, and luckily for you it did, but if it doesn't then you just change the situation, don't you? Yeah, but at least you've given it a go.

Sonia McDonald (08:54)
Absolutely, you know, I just I don't want to get you know, I'm a great believer in that as well No regrets, you know people constantly say to me, you know, I do say like, you know What would I tell my younger self and there's definitely I'd go back in time and say a few things to a bit the one thing I would absolutely say to everyone and anyone is don't ever have regrets. I mean, I know that Things happen in life or your life takes a different path or you get your curveballs, but that's it's all meant to happen, you know and I've just kind of taken anything that I feel that, you know, has been unbelievable, me starting your own company, you definitely have a lot of stuff ups, is that what did I learn from it and what can I take away from it and just move forward? I think that's really important.

Caroline Kennedy (09:39)
Yeah. And I think learning is all part of the journey. And as you described before, where, you know, when you came back to Australia and went for that interview and then you went away and you made sure that you, researched, suppose, obtained that knowledge that was required. Perhaps there was a, you know, as you said, a little gap there, but you went out and you took responsibility for filling that gap as well, which, which is so important in progressing your career or just developing as an individual as well.

Sonia McDonald (10:13)
Absolutely. I mean that's why I call myself a semi-expert in leadership because I'm always learning and developing and opening up my mind, seeing how can I be the best I can be. And I still read 50 billion books on leadership and the greatest leaders are the ones that are constantly learning. think that's so important too.

Caroline Kennedy (10:36)
Yeah, yeah. Now tell us about Leadership HQ.

Sonia McDonald (10:42)
Yes, Leadership HQ, it's a company that really partners with leaders, teams and organisations to make a difference. mean, leadership makes a difference. So we partner with them in terms of building, customised. We do also have off the shelf leading programmes and strategies, leadership coaching, executive coaching, women in leadership and emerging leaders programmes. You know, we also do a great events as well. We've also got, we're about to launch an online resource centre, Leadership Resource Centre and also an online leadership program, which I'm really excited about next year. And we're also building a Leadership HQ tribe. So it's going to be where Leadership HQ is going to be the headquarters of the best partners and associates in the leadership space, because I don't believe in competitive, I just believe in collective leadership collaboration.

And also if I can help anyone be successful then we're very passionate about that. But also we have our amazing leadership HQ magazine, which is growing rapidly, like phenomenally, I'm really proud of the magazine. And that's a leadership resource that again showcases, we have interviews with CEOs, great leaders, emerging leaders, we have articles and insights from people all over the globe. Last quarter we had Simon Sinek who wrote Start With The Wild, I had interview with him and Isaac from Business Chicks. This month we've got the CEO Jane from Jetstar.

Caroline Kennedy (12:16)
I love her. Yeah. I love her story.

Sonia McDonald (12:18)
Yeah, we've just. Yeah, her story's great. She was so wonderful to interview. So, yeah, that's been a really great initiative. So, yeah, that's a fundamental...

CarolineKennedy (12:32)
How can listeners get a copy of your magazine?

Sonia McDonald (12:36)
On our website. Yeah, it's on our website. We've got a copy of the magazine on the website leadershiphq.com.au and also you can find my latest book Leadership Attitude right next to it.

Caroline Kennedy (12:49)
That was my next question, tell me about your book!

Sonia McDonald (12:52)
This book is friggin' rocks man, I love it. Obviously I did because I wrote it. That's so good to write. So book was kind of something that happened, know, naturally happened. It's a great book, it's a great empowering practical, there's great tips and it's all about how to rock it as a leader. We talk about neuroscience, we talk about your brand, we talk about how to be and be significant. We talk about emotional and social, social intelligence. We talk about why confidence is really hot. So it's really a book. I bring a lot of stories and vulnerability to the book, but also a lot of action and tips to really help anyone and everyone be the leader they want to be. It's all about you. That book is all about mindset and action and how to change your world. It's an awesome book.

Caroline Kennedy (13:46)
Yeah. And who would benefit from the for listeners?

Sonia McDonald (13:54)
Oh boy, man, who would benefit from it? I think friggin' everyone. Look, I probably I'd say when I started to write the book, it was a book that I wrote for my younger self. So, you know, definitely that emerging leader space, know, graduates, emerging leaders, but in saying that, I've had a lot of senior executives, HR directors and things that have bought the book that have been giving me some amazing feedback that they've got a lot from the book.

So I think anyone, entrepreneurs, someone that wants to start their own business, it might give them the courage and the drive to go out there and do it, because I'm a great believer in if I can do it, anyone can do it. So yeah, think that in a real mixture of people are buying it, like it's really diverse in terms of, know, terms of like people around the globe, any age group, any gender, anyone, like it's been a book I think anyone could pick up and read.

Caroline Kennedy (14:55)
Great. Wonderful. Well, we'll put a link in there to the book as well in our show notes so our listeners can go and check it out. Now I recently read an article you wrote about the five key traits of leadership attitude, which comes back to your book, some of which included stepping up, self-belief and don't accept the status quo, which I completely agree with. Now, can you tell us about these traits and why they are so important?

Sonia McDonald (15:28)
I'm that confidence and self-belief matters just as much, maybe, maybe a bit more than self-confidence. I'm really, really passionate about really believing in your talents and believing in yourself because it definitely makes a difference in leadership. I mean, if you think about, and I do this.

When I'm speaking at conferences, I get on stage when I talk about confidence. Like I get up on stage and go, imagine if I got up on stage or if I got in front of this workshop and was kind of communicating and acting like this. I think I know what I'm talking about and God, I hope you like what I'm going to talk about and gee, gosh, I hope I know.

So like acting as though I don't have that self-belief and confidence. People will look at me and go, I'd switch off. it's, know, and it's you know, it's really important to have an attitude where, and a focus where you really love who you are and that you focus on what's unique about you and focus on your unique strengths and talents as a leader. That's why I'm really passionate about strength-based leadership because the research and the work that we do in strength-based leadership, it's really great for the brain to focus on what makes you unique and what your unique strengths and talents are, then surround yourself with people with other strengths and talents that are different to you. So I think that that's something that I'm really passionate about.

Caroline Kennedy (17:05)
And tell me how can, for instance, people identify what their strengths are because sometimes, as we know, there are a lot of individuals out there that aspire to be leaders, but are held back because of lack of confidence. And these are all challenges that we see on a day-to-day basis. So to start that process, how can you identify what your strengths are so you can start believing in yourself?

Sonia McDonald (17:36)
It's a question that I get asked a lot and there's different ways to go about that. There's things like there's tools like there's StrengthsFinder 2.0 that I use a lot in my coaching work that is a really powerful tool. You can get that on Amazon or any bookshop to find out your five top strengths. Also through thinking about things that you're naturally good at like things that you kind of go, you know what, love doing this or you're in the flow when you're doing it. And asking for people for feedback, I think is really important. So I actually think feedback is a gift. So when people start to give you feedback or start to say something, you know, you're really like, for instance, obviously I love my speaking work and my coaching and I do ask for feedback when I speak, right?

But when I first started the company and obviously I love to write and when I started speaking, I just really loved it. And I thought, can I really love this? And wow, I felt like I was in the flow. Like I thought, wow, I could, didn't even exist for me because I loved it so much. And people kept coming up to me and saying, gee, that's a real strength of yours. And you're really good at that. And I was thinking, oh, people are actually telling me I'm good at this. Maybe I should choose.

And I really enjoyed it. I call it the sweet spot when you're passionate about it you know, you're getting feedback or the organisation saying, you know, we really want you to do more of that. And you kind of feel good at it, you know, it makes you feel really good, you know, so, and it's, know, if you're passionate about it and you, you, you, kind of getting that sense of real purpose and you feel really valuable when you're doing it, then I think that that's, that should be where your focus is. Cause you can see that it's a strength and a talent and not to get hung up on things that you're not great at. I mean, there's definitely things that I'm not great at.

I I was just in a meeting this morning with one of my associates who's just amazing at detail and knows me so well. And that's why I give him all this detailed work. And he said, oh, Sonia, I need to go through this leadership toolkit we're building together. And he goes, Sonia, I know what you like. Your strength isn't detail. So I need to sit down like this. know it's not detail. That's why I give you this work, because that's the strength of yours that that's not as drinks of mine. So it's okay because you can't be great at everything. But it's also just really focusing on that and not getting hung up on that other stuff. know but I think as humans we do we get hung up on it's like that performance review time when someone gives you feedback and they tell you about that one area of development. There's like maybe a hundred things they do great.

But then they say, there's this area that you should develop. And they get hung up on the area of development. And I always say to the leaders that we coach, and I say, if it's, the area of development is gonna overshadow your strengths and your talent, okay, maybe look at it. However, don't get fixated on it. Don't focus on it. Focus on what you love and what your strengths are.

Caroline Kennedy (20:49)
It's also an opportunity. I have always found those areas where I need further development as an opportunity to develop and to be and it's part of that self awareness aspect as well, which is so integral to being a great leader is how can I improve? Where do I need to look at it? But you're never going to be perfect at everything. That's what we have to let go of. It's that.

Speaking the perfectionism, which just doesn't exist in... It doesn't! No. But it's so true and we can put a lot of pressure on ourselves and I certainly did when I was younger. I wanted to be perfect at everything and then realise that that just doesn't exist. But you are right, playing to your strengths and then looking at the areas where you could further develop our opportunities for you and opportunities for you to become a better leader.

Sonia McDonald (21:49)
I mean, absolutely. I absolutely. I mean, I spend a lot of time coaching my leaders on things like, for instance, having courageous conversations or giving feedback or for instance, delegation. And even though I take them on this journey to help them be the best leader they can be, and I'm so focused on their strengths or talents, if there's an area where I feel as though for them to even be even a greater leader is something around like you need to be able to have courageous conversations, then they're like, yeah, bring it on.

You know, I want to learn skills on how to, you know, stand tall and, you know, speak up. And, and also, as you said, like challenge the status quo and go, you know what, maybe we can do things differently, but, know, I don't normally speak up and say that. don't always sit back and I go, well, you know, that's part of great innovation and creativity is about challenging the status quo. So let's talk about how you can have the courage and be able to have these conversations where you're able to do that as a leader. So I think that's imperative and that's why this whole, I think, constant self-development and awareness is critical, is absolutely critical as a leader.

Caroline Kennedy (22:57)
And I love the courageous conversations because I think that that is so vital to have the courage to be able to speak up. And even as a leader, mean, I was always known for being quite direct in terms of, but that's what an honest and that's why my show is called the Honest CEO because that's what I'm known for, for being so honest. But then that comes from a place of wanting to serve because it's so important to be honest with people so that they can further develop in a very genuine way that wants to help them as opposed to a critical way, you know? And I think we need to have more of that courage in those conversations that are challenging. And I can guarantee that people generally respect it. Occasionally you might come across a team member that takes it personally and is not looking at it as an opportunity, but that's very rare. Most people actually appreciate the honest conversations.

Sonia McDonald (24:05)
Yeah, absolutely. That's why I loved working with the, the engineering construction space so much because they're very black and white. And you know exactly where you stand. Initially when I started working on construction sites, I'd look at these leaves and go, whoa, you've just totally told me what you're thinking. And it was a bit confronting, but it was so refreshing. And I mean, obviously sometimes I'd have to coach them on their approach. However,you know, it is so important that it's also about creating environments where as leaders, creating environments where we feel safe to do that and that we're creating that others feel that they that you're approachable and that they feel safe to tell you what they think as well. Yeah.

Caroline Kennedy (24:48)
Yeah, that's very true. And I love the, the, know, when you talk about the construction, because I used to have people say to me, because I was in the building industry, do you find it quite challenging because it's male dominated? And I'd say no, because I think that they are so honest and it's a much easier environment if people are being honest with each other in a respectful way, of course, but you can get stuff done. It's just it's about that collaboration and moving forward as well. So I absolutely understand where you're coming from. Now, as I'm sure you are aware, the Gender Workplace Equality Agency yesterday released the latest gender equality scorecards. And there was much debate around gender equality in the workplace and I'm sure you've heard it over the years.

And it's something that I'm really passionate about. And there are a couple of key stats that I wanted to get your thoughts on. And one of them is around women are underrepresented in leadership roles. Now we've known that for a very long time and holding just 16.3 % of CEO roles and 38 % of all management roles. so we're getting better. This is an improvement on previous years and the data shows that we're moving forward. So what are your top three tips for women wanting to move forward to executive roles and C-suite roles?

Sonia McDonald (26:21)
Okay, what are my three, gosh there's too many chips, I'm just trying to think what would be my three top. Okay, first one is. to go for it. Put your hand up. Don't, so start to have conversations with people around you about really what you're wanting. if there's particular, you think you're really passionate about your career, you're really wanting to move up the career ladder, I think that's really important. Don't sit back and wait for people. I mean, I think, and I understand humility and being humble and things and being recognised for hard work and that's really important, but I think it's really important that you own your voice and you stand tall and you go and you're selling yourself.

You're saying, like, you're having conversations around, think I'd be great at that. That's something that I really want to do. And so therefore, can we keep the conversation going that, you know, I'm wanting to move up the career ladder. So actually having the career conversations, I think is really important. The other thing I think, Spidal, is getting a coach. I think you should have a coach, mentor and sponsor.

If you can have at least one of them, then fantastic. So having a mentor or a coach, someone that's there to really help support you and build up your confidence and capability to really be, you know, to really kind of keep you on track in terms of your career as well, I think is really important. And the other one, I mean, obviously self-development, I know we've talked a lot about that, is networking. I think that and having planned networking, going to lots of different networking events, but thinking about, I talk about fish where the fish are. So going and networking where you know that there's potential companies or roles or opportunities, but going to networking functions where these people might be hanging out.

They're my three tops. Having the career conversations, getting a coach and a mentor and a sponsor if can and also networking.

Caroline Kennedy (28:27)
Yeah, they're really good tips. So I think it is really important to have that mentor or coach, that individual that has been there and done it and can actually help you look objectively at your career path as well which, which is key because sometimes we don't necessarily look at our circumstances objectively and we can tend to, to take things a little bit personally, whereas and a mentor will help you with that objectiveness as well and give you, help you with strategies to be able to implement to move towards that goal, whatever it may be.

And particularly networking, as you say, is key and the right networking events because I've just started going to networking events again because I really love connecting with people. And what I found was that initially I actually went to the wrong ones. And then realised when I was there that there was just such a big gap in the connections with people. So you see, you're right. You need to find the right ones for you. And I love your analogy of fish where the... Fischer? Fischer. Yeah, that's great. I've never heard that one before, but I really like it. Now I firmly believe to be a leader, a servant leader, and I talked about this before, self-awareness is critical.

Yet I've witnessed so many leaders that lack self-awareness and it really holds their businesses back. They are in fact holding their business back and I'm sure you've seen this as a leadership expert lots of times. What are your thoughts and advice for leaders about being more self-aware?

Sonia McDonald (30:10)
I think there's a number of different things that you can do around self-awareness. I think the first one is to really get a sense of who you are. And again, that could be by getting feedback or things like 360 tools can be really powerful. Confronting because you're putting the mirror out in front of you, but they can be really powerful. Asking for feedback. I'm constantly asking for feedback from associates and friends and because I love giving feedback to them, I'm constantly saying to people that I work with, know, what do you see as my strengths and what do you want me to do less of and more of? And also, I think being present, I think is really, really powerful.

So being in the moment, and I call it meta-mind or thinking about thinking. So kind of having that self-awareness around, you know, what's going on for you at the moment and what are you thinking about? And I think that's really important. Also, owning a life story. I've done a lot of self-awareness work and I do obviously we do a lot of self-awareness work with leaders. Part of that self-awareness is who they are today is based on their, obviously it's a of nature and nurture.

And, know, understanding, you know, you and your personality and your preferences, again, which I mentioned through tools like psychometrics or 360s, but also understanding who you are and that life story around events and experiences that you've had that have made you who you are today and really getting a sense around that. Another thing that we do that I find is really important for leaders and it's great is understanding what your values are. Yeah. Because you tend to find your values really drive your behaviour and also understand what your triggers are.

So, you know, I'm really passionate about our values to the point where I actually have them on my business card and I'm constantly advocating around what's important to us because it drives our behaviors. But I'm also, you know, if I think about back in, you know, nearly eight years ago when I decided to start my own company, you know, I call it that I stood on a cliff for a year thinking about it, you know, and it was too scared to jump probably not the best analogy, jumping off a cliff, but that's how I felt at the time that... is, because it was a big leap and I thought, and at the time I thought, what's going on for me? Why am I struggling so much to actually take this leap of faith in myself? And it was this constant fear of, since I was a little girl, that one, I was scared of failing and, I wasn't good enough, you know? And I knew that was from when I was I think grade seven, when for some reason I felt I had to be the smartest girl at school, I don't know why, that I always, I remember grade seven, I had to be the smartest girl, I had to be the smartest girl.

And I was petrified of failing and I didn't think I was good enough. And it's amazing how as adults we can still hold on to these kind of belief systems or triggers and things. And I thought, you know what, I do believe in myself, you know, there's no data out there that I'm not good enough to do this. And you know what, if it doesn't work out, if I stuff up, at least it gave it a go. So I really had that courage to do it, but I realised, and I was self-aware enough to understand where it came from, you know, why I was feeling like that. So I think that, you know, the more self-aware you are of yourself, the more powerful, the more you'll find that you'll have that, that insight, not only into yourself, but you'll have that power of being able to really get that understanding of others around you that's been I think a real strength of anyone or something that is just so important if the more self aware you are and the more present you are it's just such a key and fundamental leadership leadership skill.

Caroline Kennedy (33:56)
I agree with you. Yeah. And it's so true and I really resonate with what you've just said and particularly the triggers and the values. And I know I at one point worked for an organisation and my learning from this was that their values were very different to mine. My values are very much around putting people first. So your team first, your customers first and that's what drives your business. And I truly have always lived and believed that. There are times I've forgotten it, certainly, you know, for the last decade, they've been really strong for me. And then being a leader of an organisation where the owners of the organisation didn't have those same values. And I remember thinking to myself, I can influence change, I can influence change. And whilst we may have taken a few steps forward, we always went back because at the end of the day, it's about aligning your values and knowing your values as you say, and making sure that they align with the organisation. Otherwise, it's a challenge because you are on an ongoing basis challenging your beliefs and really feeling in conflict.

And generally, it's hard to be successful in those environments, is my experience anyway. Yet, if you work for an organisation that where you really align with the same values, that's where you really thrive. And it's been aware of your values and your driving forces and as you say, also your triggers. And I think particularly a lot of women and senior women have those fear of failure and not being good enough because I've experienced that in my life too and many women do, it's that imposter syndrome. But once you're aware of it, it's amazing where you can just put it to the side and say, okay, well that's a fear that I have, but I'm going to push through that anyway because if I don't, I'm just going to be held back.

Sonia McDonald (36:02)
Yeah, and that takes a lot of courage to to really kind of own that and go, you know what, and it's okay. The thing is, and it's okay. It's okay, like there's so many people, gosh, even a lot of men that we coach that have that imposter syndrome. And you just have to you have to move through it. Cause the last thing I ever want to do is not live life or go for my dreams and goals to do to take every opportunity I can and let fear of myself stop that.

Caroline Kennedy (36:36)
And there are so many individuals out there that are challenged by that. And that's where I think like your leadership programs can really help people push past those limiting beliefs that they're probably unconscious of and not aware of them. And then just becoming aware of them and that self-awareness and then moving through them and being able to work towards their goals. Now you're just about to launch your Women Platinum Program. Tell us about that.

Sonia McDonald (37:10)
Thanks for asking about that. I'm really proud of that program. think what I was, know, obviously in the work that we do, we're always trying to keep abreast of, you know, what we're seeing in terms of industry trends and what's happening in the market. And what I noticed was, particularly in the last, you know, couple of years, there's a lot of women that approach me and they'll say, Sonia, I love what you're doing in the leadership space and I really want to get a leadership coach and a mentor and I really want to network more and I really want to self-develop. There seems to be these challenges they're facing. It could be I don't have enough time or I don't want to invest in myself. Obviously, I'm really passionate about getting more women sitting at the table or into senior executive roles.

There's lots of different platforms where you can go and attend networking programs or self-development programs. There's things like Take the Executive Connection or the CEO Institute. And you go to these round tables and they have speakers and you've got a couple of mentoring sessions, but they're really, and I think they're great programs. I'm not saying that they're not, but what I think that there's nothing just for women where they can, it's gonna be, it's cost effective. So it's not going to, they're not gonna feel as though my gosh, this fear of self-development due to that it's expensive, it's really cost effective, but it's high impact. It's a couple of hours. So it's going to be three hours by monthly where we have guest speakers, we have round tables.

You know, we can talk about things around and what's, you know, do you want to be a CEO? What does that mean? We talk about confidence and attitude and mindset. We're going to have, you know, a couple of coaching sessions per year. If they want to find a mentor, I'm going to help them find mentor.

There's an online resource centre, there's an online group, but it's really helping them really own who they are as a leader. But it's not going to take up too much time and it's not going to take up kind of that stress they might feel financially, but they're still getting the networking and the development and the empowerment over 12 months.

Caroline Kennedy (39:23)
Yeah, it sounds like a fantastic program. And certainly you do need to invest in yourself because if you have goals and you want to reach those goals, you need to have a plan, no matter what it is. So if you want to be an executive and you need to surround yourself with people that, that pull you up as well, that is so important. That's one of the things I learned throughout my career is to be around people that are achieving because it sets the bar high and then you set the bar high for yourself but they support you and they help you and they help you develop and it sounds like it's a very, what's the word I want to use, very safe environment for women to be able to share their challenges but just really support each other and then have access to the experts that can help them develop and the challenge of time and money is, and I hear this a lot, and again, this is my honesty coming out, it is a very real challenge for a lot of people. But what if you don't invest in yourself? What if you don't take the time to develop yourself? Where are you going to be in the future? And that for me is a much worse outcome than making it happen and finding the resources or the time to be able to do it. And it sounds like your program is really providing that flexibility for individuals who do want to take that next step in their career and really develop themselves.

Sonia McDonald (40:55)
yeah, and that's why I'm passionate about it because I really want to make a difference and I want it and the great power I think for women, the thing that is a real strength for us is collaboration, that we have this and I'm a great believer in really supporting my tribe and if they can be a thousand million times more successful than me that would make my heart sing and I think getting women together to really help each other and empower each other, think is, this is why I'm really excited about the program because I want them to just to own it, but own it collectively and how we can help each other, you know, do it together.

Caroline Kennedy (41:35)
And I think too is collaboration and more women supporting each other is vital. not, you know, you hear about this competitiveness and why does it even exist? I if we want to see everybody be successful or as successful as they want to be, you know, it's their choice and we should be supporting each other and that's so important and not sabotage each other, which is just ridiculous. Now you raised your daughter, as you talked about earlier on in the interview, pretty much on your own. So what tips do you have for mums who are trying to balance a career and raising a family?

Sonia McDonald (42:24)
The tough questions. Oh boy, what would I suggest? I would suggest getting a great support network. So getting people around and not being afraid to ask them for help. That has been such a huge lesson for me. I honestly thought I was gonna see a woman and I said, I can do this all on my own and I don't need any help. And oh my gosh, it was like, wrong.

I think it's really important to have that support network around you and don't be afraid to ask for help. Guilt, man, I think that we can. We're very good at feeling guilty about things and it's such a wasted emotion. mean, we're not born with how to feel guilty. We learn how to feel guilty.

Women, I think, tend to find it very easy to feel guilty and also want to take, you know, take on board everything. I think that it's, yeah, not to let go of guilt because you know what, stuff is going to happen and there's some things that are out of your control and also, my gosh, find the right partner. Find someone that is going to share the load, Like, really set those boundaries up front that it's still both parents. It's not just unfortunately, I have been bringing up my daughter in the past 10 years on my own and that, you that it's about the, you really, really need to find someone that is going to be that true partner, that true parent that understands it's both your responsibility for housework, for parenting, for everything. yeah, does that make sense?

Caroline Kennedy (44:07)
Yeah, it does very much so and I completely agree with you, especially from the partner perspective and I wouldn't be able to do what I do without the help of my partner. I'm so fortunate because it is, we're joined parents taking responsibility for that. It's not just about I'm the woman and I should clean the house and you know, pick up the child from school and whatever that may be. Certainly at times he contributes more than I do. And I think as you said before, to summarise it, don't be hard on yourself. Give yourself a break because you know, we're doing the best that we can and that's all we can do. There isn't putting pressure on yourself and feeling guilty really doesn't help, but it's hard to do sometimes as you said. And finally, Sonia, what does the future look like for you?

Sonia McDonald (44:54)
My gosh, the future, gosh, there's so much I want to there's so much. I've got so many grand plans and dreams for Leadership HQ and building up the tribe and building up the capability and platform for it to really be a leadership headquarters. I mean, my ultimate dream is to have a physical headquarters where people can come and collaborate and learn and you know, get that leadership coach and come to events and seminars and really self-develop. That's my big, big dream.

And also growing the magazine, writing more books and really focusing on my speaking and executive coaching career. So I've set up a separate Sonya MacDonald website. So I'm kind of separating my brands at the moment so I can really focus on my brand for speaking and coaching and the Women Platinum and LeadershipHQ being that really awesome collective leadership tribe and online learning resource centre. So yeah, so it's really exciting and I wouldn't be able to do it with people like yourself that reach out and they want to help and you know, there's amazing people out there that are really so amazingly supportive and I'm so blessed with the people that really want to help me make my goals and dreams come alive and that's why we're really, and I'm really passionate, we're really passionate about helping others. Yeah, make it happen.

CarolineKennedy (46:24)
Yeah. It's so important because it's about change and change together and being, you know, collaborative and supporting each other, you know. It's just really important and we're all lucky that we have great support network around us and individuals that do help. And I think the work that you're doing is fantastic and you're going 100 miles an hour and you're achieving so much. So you should be very proud of that and very proud of the impact that you're having as well.

Sonia McDonald (46:57)
Thank you.

Thank you so much for that. That's made my day. Thank you so much.

Caroline Kennedy (47:03)
You're welcome.

Thank you so much for being on the show and I'll put all of the links so people can find you and connect with you and if they're interested, join your programs because certainly they're very beneficial for developing that leadership and becoming better at what we do.

Sonia McDonald (47:21)
Thanks so much again. Yeah, thank you.