365 Tools for Success
In the path to thriving and enjoying your life you must be able to identify and utilize the tools unique to your skills and values. Not everyone can use the same tool kit, just like plants require different soil to grow, we also require our own unique environment to grow.
In this episode Sarah Elkins and Gina Riley discuss the importance of the unique tools we acquire through life and the best way to utilize these tools.
365 Tools For Success
In the path to thriving and enjoying your life you must be able to identify and use your unique skills and values. Not everyone can use the same tool kit, just like plants require different soil to grow, we also require our own unique environment to grow.
In this episode Sarah Elkins and Gina Riley discuss the importance of the unique tools we acquire through life and the best way to utilize these tools.
Highlights
The influences that shape our lives, developing our clarity over time.
You can’t see your potential from the inside, you need people in your life to help you build the perfect future.
What unique and powerful tools do you have?
Quotes
“I think that understanding our own why, and I’m not going right to the Simon Sinek material which is great, but truly just getting anchored in the thing that motivates us deep down to push forward in life.”
“I’m not always right, and I try to check my assumptions, because with maturity we realize we aren’t always right.”
“I think that there’s so much power for all of us; men and women, to embrace the things that we naturally show up with. And if we’re working against it we’re just working against ourselves.”
Dear Listeners it is now your turn,
Regardless of the tool you use to self-reflect, to hold up that mirror, maybe it’s time now to really decide to look at that and choose how you want to show up, who you want to be And to identify the stories that demonstrate those qualities, those skills, those values. I really encourage you to look in that mirror, whatever tool you choose to use, whether that’s friends and family and asking them to honestly let you know how you appear to them, how you show up for them, or taking an assessment and talking to a coach to walk you through it.
And, as always, thank you for listening.
About Gina
Gina Riley is transforming how executives approach job search and career transitions. With nearly a decade in corporate Human Resources at Intel Corporation and later as an executive search consultant for Talence Group, she has led CEO, COO, and CFO searches across industries, trained hundreds in talent selection, and gained unique insight into what makes candidates stand out in competitive leadership searches. As a career coach, she developed the Career Velocity TM
framework—an action-oriented and proven system that has helped countless executives navigate successful transitions.
A two-time DisruptHR speaker and thought leader in career progression, Riley holds a master's degree and is a certified YouMap® coach and behavioral interview skills training expert. Her expertise spans networking strategy, leadership development, and executive presence, making her a trusted advisor for leaders preparing for strategic career moves. She has appeared on over 30 podcasts, including the popular Find Your Dream Job, downloaded over 18,000 times. Her popular series “How Your Next Executive Role Finds You” and extensive catalog of career-related articles, including contributions to the Forbes Coaches Council, have established her as an authority in executive career development.
In her first book, to be released with Advantage Forbes Books, Qualified Isn't Enough, Riley shares her comprehensive understanding of both sides of executive hiring—including what is discussed in the boardroom—to provide readers with insider knowledge and practical frameworks for advancement. Her unique perspective and systematic approach have helped leaders at all levels transform their careers. Find more of her insights and resources at
Be sure to check out Gina’s LinkedIn, Gina Riley Consulting, Her Masterclass Series, Her LinkedIn Newsletter, and Her Forbes Article!
About Sarah
"Uncovering the right stories for the right audiences so executives, leaders, public speakers, and job seekers can clearly and actively demonstrate their character, values, and vision."
In my work with coaching clients, I guide people to improve their communication using storytelling as the foundation of our work together. What I’ve realized over years of coaching and podcasting is that the majority of people don’t realize the impact of the stories they share - on their internal messages, and on the people they’re sharing them with.
My work with leaders and people who aspire to be leaders follows a similar path to the interviews on my podcast, uncovering pivotal moments in their lives and learning how to share them to connect more authentically with others, to make their presentations and speaking more engaging, to reveal patterns that have kept them stuck or moved them forward, and to improve their relationships at work and at home.
The audiobook, Your Stories Don’t Define You, How You Tell Them Will is now available!
Included with your purchase are two bonus tracks, songs recorded by Sarah's band, Spare Change, in her living room in Montana.
Be sure to check out the Storytelling For Professionals Course as well to make sure you nail that next interview!
351 Communication Is In Everything We Do
We are always communicating in everything we do, from overtly talking to or texting someone, to smiling and nodding to strangers you pass on the street, it’s human nature to want to be seen and heard and to give that to others.
In this episode Sarah Elkins and Jim Collison discuss the importance of communication and how understanding your strengths leads to better communication not just with others but with yourself.
351 Communication Is In Everything We Do
We are always communicating in everything we do, from overtly talking to or texting someone, to smiling and nodding to strangers you pass on the street, it’s human nature to want to be seen and heard and to give that to others.
In this episode Sarah Elkins and Jim Collison discuss the importance of communication and how understanding your strengths leads to better communication not just with others but with yourself.
Highlights
Choose to put yourself into situations where you can tell a great story afterwards.
Live a life bigger than the one you have.
Strengths are sometimes seen as a weakness before you learn how to use them.
Be patient enough to let things happen.
Quotes
“You can’t take people places you’ve never been.”
“I think some people miss on Clifton Strengths, it does explain who you are, but it is also a productivity tool. How do you get better?”
Mentioned in this podcast
National Suicide Hotline, Text or Call 988
Help is available. You are cared for.
Dear Listeners it is now your turn,
This whole Clifton Strengths, any assessment, maybe this isn’t the answer to our global communication issues but it can be an answer to your individual communication. And the reality is that each of us are responsible for our own communication and how it’s received by the people and environment around us. You are communicating with everything you do; every like, every comment, every share, every honking of your horn, you are communicating who you are, your character. And when you can take responsibility with it, the world changes. So listeners, what are you going to do, today, tomorrow, over the next few days, to figure out what it is you want to work on.
And, as always, thank you for listening.
About Jim
CliftonStrengths Top 5: Arranger | WOO | Maximizer | Communication | Activator
I am the CliftonStrengths Community Manager for Gallup and Produce Gallup's Called to Coach and CliftonStrengths Webcasts found at http://gallup.com/cliftonstrengths. In my role I manage the global community of Gallup-Certified Coaches and help those customers who are engaged with our CliftonStrengths Assessment worldwide. In prior years I have managed IT resources, managed a high school and college internship program for Gallup and was a member of the Omaha STEM Ecosystem managing board. I have been at Gallup since 2007.
Be sure to check out Jim’s LinkedIn!
About Sarah
"Uncovering the right stories for the right audiences so executives, leaders, public speakers, and job seekers can clearly and actively demonstrate their character, values, and vision."
In my work with coaching clients, I guide people to improve their communication using storytelling as the foundation of our work together. What I’ve realized over years of coaching and podcasting is that the majority of people don’t realize the impact of the stories they share - on their internal messages, and on the people they’re sharing them with.
My work with leaders and people who aspire to be leaders follows a similar path to the interviews on my podcast, uncovering pivotal moments in their lives and learning how to share them to connect more authentically with others, to make their presentations and speaking more engaging, to reveal patterns that have kept them stuck or moved them forward, and to improve their relationships at work and at home.
The audiobook, Your Stories Don’t Define You, How You Tell Them Will is now available!
Included with your purchase are two bonus tracks, songs recorded by Sarah's band, Spare Change, in her living room in Montana.
Be sure to check out the Storytelling For Professionals Course as well to make sure you nail that next interview!
Episode 178: Do Personalities Change? Can We Change Our Personality Intentionally?
Christian Jarrett remembers being interested in psychology as a young teenager. It was when he applied to be a stocker at a grocery store when he was 16 that he became even more eager to learn about why people do what they do, and whether people's personalities change over time.
At the Tesco store near his home in the UK, his application was accepted and he went on for the personality assessment, which he failed.
Christian Jarrett, Author of Be Who You Want, Says Yes!
Christian Jarrett quote, podcast cover art
Christian Jarrett remembers being interested in psychology as a young teenager. It was when he applied to be a stocker at a grocery store when he was 16 that he became even more eager to learn about why people do what they do, and whether people's personalities change over time.
At the Tesco store near his home in the UK, his application was accepted and he went on for the personality assessment, which he failed.
He took it again a few weeks later, thinking he might be able to answer the questions to show he was really a team player, outgoing and friendly. He failed again.
A third opportunity arrived, and this time he answered the questions with the intention of coming across as a lone wolf, a solitary person who could really focus and get the job done. He failed again.
This incident made him even more curious about personality, not just how it changes over time, he was curious whether we could change our personality intentionally.
Christian Jarrett book cover, quote on podcast cover art
I reached out to Christian after my husband shared his article with me, The Way You Tell Your Story Shapes Your Personality. It was exactly what I needed to read as I was writing my book, Your Stories Don't Define You, How You Tell Them Will.
When I reached out to interview him in May of 2019, he was working on his book, in the middle of a move, and changing jobs, and promised to get in touch with me for a podcast interview when things settled down.
This episode fulfilled the promise, and boy was it worth the wait.
Christian's book is confirmation of much of my work with clients and teams over the past 5+ years, my work is the practical, individual, intentional application of what Dr. Jarrett researched and wrote about in the book.
I couldn't be more grateful for our time together as we recorded this episode, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
---
From his website:
Dr. Christian Jarrett, Author of Be Who You Want: Unlocking the Science of Personality Change
Dr. Christian Jarrett, Deputy Editor, Aeon+Psyche
A cognitive neuroscientist by training, Christian was the founding editor of the British Psychological Society’s Research Digest and an award-winning journalist on The Psychologist magazine. His books include The Rough Guide to Psychology, 30-Second Psychology and Great Myths of the Brain. His next, Be Who You Want: Unlocking the Science of Personality Change, was released and available in the US in May 2021. Christian will never forget holding a human brain in his hands as part of a neuroanatomy class, the grey mass so heavy as if filled still with memories and dreams. Find him on Twitter @Psych_Writer.
ABOUT SARAH:
"Uncovering the right stories for the right audiences so executives, leaders, public speakers, and job seekers can clearly and actively demonstrate their character, values, and vision."
Sarah Elkins quote
In my work with coaching clients, I guide people to improve their communication using storytelling as the foundation of our work together. What I’ve realized over years of coaching and podcasting is that the majority of people don’t realize the impact of the stories they share - on their internal messages, and on the people they’re sharing them with.
My work with leaders and people who aspire to be leaders follows a similar path to the interviews on my podcast, uncovering pivotal moments in their lives and learning how to share them to connect more authentically with others, to make their presentations and speaking more engaging, to reveal patterns that have kept them stuck or moved them forward, and to improve their relationships at work and at home. The audiobook, Your Stories Don’t Define You, How You Tell Them Will is now available!
Included with your purchase are two bonus tracks, songs recorded by Sarah's band, Spare Change, in her living room in Montana.