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From the Court to the Boardroom: Leading with Grit, Grace & Game with Lisa Willis
17 Plays3 months ago
What does it mean to lead like an athlete? In this powerful and soul-stirring episode, Shanarra sits down with the incredible Lisa Willis, a retired WNBA player turned executive leadership coach. From shooting three-pointers in packed arenas to coaching execs in boardrooms, Lisa brings a fresh, no-fluff perspective on performance, self-worth, and redefining success.
Together, Shanarra and Lisa unpack the gritty and often messy journey of transition, identity loss, and rediscovery. You’ll hear real talk on grieving past identities, the pressure of proving your worth, and how building routines (with room for flexibility) can be a game-changer on and off the court.
And yes, we talk about public speaking, putting your mask on first, and how knowing the score (literally and metaphorically) changes how you play. You’ll walk away with gems you didn’t even know you needed.
⏱️ Timestamps:
- 00:00 – Welcome to The Goode Guide: Your ultimate career companion
- 01:15 – Meet Lisa Willis: From Long Beach to the WNBA and beyond
- 04:25 – Lisa’s transition from athlete to coach to corporate powerhouse
- 08:42 – How basketball shaped Lisa’s leadership coaching philosophy
- 12:10 – The performance trap: Why success starts with your own definition
- 16:03 – Identity vs. Role: Knowing who you are beyond the title
- 21:40 – Self-worth, KPIs, and why your job doesn't define you
- 26:15 – You bring your whole self to work — and why that’s okay
- 31:02 – Routines as guardrails: Creating structure without suffocating growth
- 36:50 – When rigidity stops serving you: Lisa’s turning point in 2022
- 41:12 – The power of grieving what you've outgrown
- 45:35 – Leadership training drills: The 3 keys to becoming game-ready
- 50:28 – Public speaking = Leadership. Period.
- 55:11 – Shanarra’s epiphany: You can’t lead if people can’t hear you
- 58:32 – Lisa’s advice to her younger self: "You are already enough."
- 1:01:14 – Where to find Lisa and stay connected
👑 Follow Lisa:
Website: www.lisacwillis.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisawillis40/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lisacwillis
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Transcript
Introduction and Podcast Focus
00:00:00
Speaker
Hey there, welcome to The Good Guide, your ultimate career companion. I'm Shannara Good and I've been on quite the career roller coaster from the trenches of entry-level positions to the boardrooms as a now more seasoned professional.
00:00:15
Speaker
Believe me when I say i have been there and know that I've acquired some wisdom over the years that I cannot wait to share with you. Ever felt like you're on your career journey solo?
00:00:26
Speaker
Or maybe you're curious about conquering career plateaus, overcoming imposter syndrome, or leading with unwavering confidence. Well, I promise you are in the right place.
00:00:38
Speaker
Every week, my guests and I will share our own challenges and successes. We'll talk about everything from career development to leadership to even work-life balance. Expect a healthy dose of authenticity and, of course, our tips and tricks that will have you navigating your career with a newfound confidence.
00:00:58
Speaker
Don't miss out on the knowledge drop, y'all. Hit that like, subscribe, and follow button on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. Trust me, you won't want to miss an episode.
00:01:12
Speaker
Because this is the good guide where we're not just chasing success, we're defining it. Are you ready to elevate your career game? Let's dive in.
Guest Introduction: Lisa Willis
00:01:26
Speaker
Hello and welcome back to the good guide podcast. You already know it, but this is Shannara Good and I am your host, um Yeah. Have you ever had one of those conversations with someone that everything they say gives you chills?
00:01:43
Speaker
Because um I just did, and I cannot wait for y'all to listen to it.
From Athlete to Coach: Lisa's Transition
00:01:50
Speaker
I got to sit down with Lisa Willis, and Lisa is a retired WNBA player, ah retired coach of the Knicks.
00:02:01
Speaker
I mean, Hello. She is now a corporate baddie and also a leadership coach. And I just had an impeccable conversation with her where we talked all things, you know, transitioning from being a full-time athlete to now being in her world where she is motivating leaders, executives, et cetera, to really be their best selves
00:02:34
Speaker
as they step into leadership and as they progress throughout leadership. And it it was, oh, there were so many moments, so many parallels that we were able to draw between the sports world and the corporate world, between you know you as a human and you as an athlete.
00:02:54
Speaker
um I just think we oftentimes... don't realize the work and effort that goes into being a successful leader.
00:03:08
Speaker
It is actually very difficult work, both mentally and in some ways physically. Sure, you're not running up and down the court trying to shoot a three before the buzzer goes off, but you are trying to hit performance expectations.
00:03:31
Speaker
You're trying to develop and lead individuals. like There's so much work that goes into it.
Impact of Sports on Leadership
00:03:37
Speaker
And so it was just really cool to sit down with her and talk through some of those dynamics that make and made and made her transition from athlete to the world she's in now successful, but then also how she was able to take that those same learnings and that same message and translate it into helping individuals as they go through their leadership journey. So ah hope you enjoy this episode. Have a listen.
00:04:08
Speaker
Let me know what you think. um I will definitely be tagging Lisa on this one. And i just, yeah, I can't wait for you guys to learn something and to hopefully take away as much as I took away from our conversation.
00:04:22
Speaker
Thank you so much, Lisa, for joining me today. I cannot wait for the listeners to just be able to listen in on our conversation. So let's jump right in and give them a bit of who you are. What's your background? Where are you from? Like, what's the tea? What do you want everyone to know?
00:04:39
Speaker
All right. First and foremost, I am a product of Long Beach, California, uh, the baby of five. So come from a pretty big family. um And started playing sports early. So I like to say that even though I retired over 10 years ago, I'm still a Hooper just because of all of the things that, all of the ways that basketball has shaped who I am as a person.
00:05:05
Speaker
um I'm a Hooper through and through. but in between um starting to play and retiring, i I was kind of nice.
00:05:15
Speaker
So I got a scholarship to UCLA. I got a gold medal with the USA team. Yes. It was a first round draft pick to the LA Sparks. And even led the WNBA in three point shooting one year.
00:05:30
Speaker
Played basketball in all over Europe, but I played for Russia. We're good though. Russia, Greece, Latvia, and Turkey.
00:05:41
Speaker
and i I actually got a, I won a European national championship there. Once retiring due to injury, like a lot of people, unfortunately, but once retiring, I dabbled into many different things, really a service driven. But one of the big things that kind of got me to where I am today is my love for developing others.
00:06:06
Speaker
And so I thought I was just running a basketball training company, but I started getting feedback. Like, hey, my my son, my daughter is more confident. They're more responsible. They're getting better grades in school. They're doing all of these other things.
00:06:20
Speaker
And it forced me to kind of take a step back and say, well, what am I doing? Like, i obviously they're developing skill-wise, but obviously there's something more that I care about that, you know what, I could be a little bit more intentional about that. And what that thing was is I wanted people that I worked with, I wanted them to feel value beyond their performance on the court because that was something that I struggled with.
00:06:48
Speaker
I struggled. I was found myself always looking for validation from coaches, parents, fans, newspapers. you know First of all, that dates me.
00:07:01
Speaker
Today's time, it will be social media, but that's fine. We won't talk about that. It's all right. Everyone at least knows what a newspaper is. Yeah. uh so so i i went from there and i became way more intentional about just the way that basketball and sports in general just runs so parallel to life outside of sports and so i started feeling more speaking more coaching i found myself doing workshops and all this cool stuff and so In between all of that time, I was able, I was the first woman to coach with the New York Knicks franchise. And that was a great experience. I learned a lot about just working in sports on the, you know, being on the other side of being in sports, but also I learned a lot about myself, imposter syndrome, all of the things.
Executive Coaching Philosophy
00:07:56
Speaker
But today i am an executive coach and that's come from all the things that I just told you. So I talked to my clients like, look, you got get it back on defense. yeah you know But that's how that's my thing for being resilient.
00:08:13
Speaker
yep like You turn the ball over, you have a decision to make. Do you put your head down or do you get it back on defense? And so I'm like, sport is life, is my brand. But it's those things that helps me to coach people all over.
00:08:29
Speaker
I love that. And I i love the sports. and I don't even, feel like even just calling it an analogy doesn't do it justice, but I think it's relatable in that like people understand the athleticism and the physicality behind sports.
00:08:49
Speaker
And while you may not think developing, whether it be in the corporate setting or just like in your personal life, it's like, it's
Redefining Success and Identity
00:09:00
Speaker
hard work. And I think that making that connection between being an athlete or playing a sport and what it takes to do the same thing in your personal or work life. It's that, it's that taking that same level of intensity and bringing it into something that maybe not, doesn't outwardly look as though it should be difficult.
00:09:21
Speaker
um Yeah. So first and foremost, though, I will say, how do you feel about them? The Knicks? Like, are you, a i mean, that two and one, right?
00:09:33
Speaker
Let's go. I'm, I'm, I'm more so happy for the city. Right. Yes. Yes. Yes. They'll play on a lot of teams. It's hard to play for New York.
00:09:44
Speaker
It is. it's the Liberty, whether it's the... was going to say any New York court. Yeah, it's hard. So I'm so happy for the city. but Yes. I love that. I love that. um i'm I'm based in Minnesota and I'm so frustrated because...
00:10:00
Speaker
we've had such a good run. And I know it's not over until it's over, but I'm also kind of like, what is happening? Last night game was, I was at the game last night and it was very hard to watch. So yeah. But, but yeah.
00:10:12
Speaker
It's hard to close out a game. It is. That's when a lot of experience comes in. I mean, but the same thing is Outside of sports, you start and you're so excited and, yeah you know, what you train for is there fourth quarter.
00:10:28
Speaker
he Got to train for fourth quarter when, went okay, this is old. yeah The excitement of being here is done. Like, how do I close this out? How do I get to my goal? like Yeah.
00:10:39
Speaker
Yeah. So that's, yeah. I love it. So let's talk about the word performance because i I, think it can mean a lot of things to different people and it could theoretically mean two different things. If we're talking again about sport versus about being in the corporate or executive world, how would you define performance specifically outside of athletics? Yeah.
00:11:08
Speaker
That's a great question. And it starts, it starts with defining success. Like you, a lot of people don't actually know what the success looks like.
00:11:20
Speaker
Um, and a lot of people, they tend to get their idea of success from somebody else. That's, that's difficult. I always say I have far fewer successes than I have accomplishments because like accomplishments, the WNBA, that was an accomplishment. yeah that was my dad That was my dad's idea of success. UCLA, that was success.
00:11:45
Speaker
That was my dream. So for me, success is being clear on what I'm setting out to do and then doing it. That's success. yeah So now when we start talking about performance, it's like, okay, so how did my actions line up to what I decided success was?
00:12:00
Speaker
right The things that I did The way that I recovered, like, how did, how does that measure up to my idea of success? And it's totally subjective.
00:12:11
Speaker
It's totally subjective, but so is but that's why you have to start with just understanding who you are, even if it's just for in this moment. Yeah. Where am I right now?
00:12:23
Speaker
What do I want? How will I get there? And then once it's all said and done, how did I do? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it's so simple, not easy, but it's so simple. Yep.
00:12:36
Speaker
Yep. Yep.
Balancing Personal Identity and Roles
00:12:37
Speaker
I think what gets tough is. Out like everything has a KPI. Right. And so theoretically, while yes, to your point, success is subjective.
00:12:50
Speaker
there There are also these kind of like base level um decisions or determinations more so that are made by whether it be a corporation, whether it be a sports team, right? That says you're either performing well or you're performing poorly.
00:13:08
Speaker
So like how, when you're working with your clients, how do you like help them, you to your point, like still consider themselves successful, even if it's not meeting a KPI that is determined by somebody else.
00:13:25
Speaker
That's literally all the work that I do. I'm not here to help you reach your KPIs because I don't know what you do. Yeah. that is You're the subject matter matter expert. I'm just here to make sure that whether you meet your KPI or not, you don't feel like you suck.
00:13:41
Speaker
right Right. You have you know, your role versus your identity, the role that you're, that you're the hat that you're wearing, that's very important to what you're doing, but your identity is, is what's going to fill that hat.
00:13:57
Speaker
You know, you have your, you have your job descriptions and you have the person who comes in and brings that thing to life. Yeah. I'm not concerned about the job description. Yeah. yeah I'm concerned about who you are, because especially in this climate, that that job that you're currently working can be gone just like that.
00:14:14
Speaker
Oh, absolutely. I need you to still feel good enough about yourself so that you feel like you can be resilient. You can recover quickly. Quickly is subjective. You can recover quickly to a state better than before.
00:14:28
Speaker
and so I'm here to make sure that when, like, what are these limiting beliefs that you have? How do you put together a system so that you're not so afraid of failing?
00:14:40
Speaker
You would not believe how many VPs and C-suite people are so afraid of failing. Oh my gosh. Yes. And they still walk into the room with imposter syndrome.
00:14:51
Speaker
Oh yeah. So I'm not here to help you re I am indirectly here to help you reach your KPIs, but I'm here to make sure that you can perform, again, based on what you determine to be success, you can perform at your highest levels.
00:15:11
Speaker
And so there is a ton of, even though I work with executives, we have to talk about your home life. We have to talk about all of these other things because the that's not an accurate picture of who you are if I'm just talking to you about your manager.
00:15:32
Speaker
Yes. We'll get there. Yes. right Your manager is going to do what your manager thinks is best. And so do you. you're the You're the player one that's that throwback, but you're player one in your life.
00:15:47
Speaker
You're the star. So you have to make sure that you put your mask on first. You have to make sure that you're totally equipped to now fill the roles that you have.
00:15:58
Speaker
Yeah. ah Like so many thoughts are like pinging because everything you just said or like it's how even I live my life. Like one of the things that I always say is you bring your whole self to work.
00:16:09
Speaker
Like, I'm sorry, but if I had a really poor night last night um for whatever reason, right? that is going to impact how I show up the next day, even if I absolutely don't want it to, because I am a human and I'm going to bring that to work.
00:16:28
Speaker
and And while I've been able to mask that or maybe not let it affect me as much much or show that I'm being affected by it as much, it's still there.
00:16:40
Speaker
And so when someone says something to me the day after I've had a ah poor night for whatever reason, And I clip at them in a different way that I necessarily meant to that.
00:16:52
Speaker
That's me being human. And that's me bringing my, my past experience or what has just happened to me into the conversation. Now, Should that be how you react every single time? No, but that is me being human and you can't expect someone to not bring their experiences into a space just because this happens to be work and we do it between the hours of nine and five. Like I'm still a human 24 seven, you know?
00:17:17
Speaker
Correct. So like 100%, like I agree with you there. And there was ah something else that you said too that I also, I'm like blinking on it now, but like, I just feel so passionately about the message of like, you've got to show up. Oh, putting your mask on first. That's what you said.
00:17:34
Speaker
Mm-hmm. Another thing, like I hate the negativity that the word selfishness gets because to me, I'm like, literally when you were selfish, you were putting yourself first.
00:17:47
Speaker
You were ensuring that you were housed, that you were cared for, that you were nurtured first. yeah And when you don't do that first, everything else suffers. It just says um And so I think those are just like such critical things in whatever space that you happen to operate professionally, like you've got to take care of yourself first and put your own needs above someone else's if you want to persevere and continue.
00:18:15
Speaker
So, yeah. And I think the. The irony of that is the people who are selfish in the corporate space are actually the ones who's doing great work.
00:18:27
Speaker
Correct. They're actually the ones that people are looking like, yeah, Lisa killed it. Yeah. You don't know Lisa's mindset. You don't know why I've killed it. But the reality is that like when you're doing things for other people, how much,
00:18:45
Speaker
Like, first of all, when they're not looking, you might stop. Yep. You know, your performance, I hate that I'm saying performance so much, but your performance just goes down when you're not intrinsically motivated.
00:18:56
Speaker
Yep. So you have to do what, you want to do, even if it's a job that you don't want, you applied for it. So you got there. Okay. You have to do what it takes for, to to allow you to keep ticking.
00:19:09
Speaker
And those are the people that are actually being praised and raved upon in the corporate space. Yeah. Yep. I could not agree more. um Let's, let's talk about also, i guess, like as an athlete,
00:19:28
Speaker
everything about your day is so routine. You get up, you do your workout, you know go to the game, you know, whatever that looks like. There's there's a flow to your day that tends to be routine-based.
Routines and Flexibility in Productivity
00:19:42
Speaker
Do you, like, how do you speak to the the folks that you work with? How do you speak them through, like, establishing a routine, like, creating a routine that, you know, they're able to apply to their day-to-day experience to help them become or continue on in their success. Like, is that, do you feel, or I guess maybe the better question is, do you feel that routine helps them accomplish what they're seeking essentially?
00:20:10
Speaker
Absolutely. Especially when I'm dealing with people who are, you know, fresh off of their transition, here you know, away from sports, because, know,
00:20:21
Speaker
there's so much in the routine that we don't even realize. Like there's so much, it's almost like our routine has guardrails for us. yeah So we don't go too far to the left or to the right because it's like, well, I know I got to do this and I know this is next and all, you know, and so it's, it's a way that it allows us to maintain our productivity but especially for people who are just transitioning away from sports it helps them to still feel like in a weird way to still feel like they're a part of a team because now you're accountable to your routine you know and the number one thing that people miss when they're done playing is the team atmosphere
00:21:04
Speaker
And, you know, you with, with this routine that you established and I would encourage people like, okay, schedule in your nap. Yeah. Schedule in all of the things just so you could still feel like your life is not chaotic.
00:21:20
Speaker
Yeah. For people who have not played sports or, or whatnot, I, I mean, that's, what if you read anybody's autobiography, if you read any leadership book, they all have routines because you need to, you you only get 24 hours in the day.
00:21:39
Speaker
And so if you're not using that time wisely for whatever it is, like if you're not being intentional about, you know, how you're going to attack the day, then the day will just attack you.
00:21:50
Speaker
And at the end of it, you'll feel like you're just laying on your back like, oh no, like I can't, I can't, I can't. But When ahead of time you say, Hey, these are the things that I'm going to do, whether it's your whole day, whether it's, you know, setting blocks, um, like time blocks, which is good for me right now. I have like 30 minute time blocks where it's like, okay, I'm going to go hard on this one thing for 30 minutes and then I'll take a five minute break.
00:22:20
Speaker
And I'll do whatever I want, but I set timers. Yeah. Yeah. Like I have timers because sometimes my treat is I get to hop on TikTok for five minutes. Yeah. We know without a timer that five, what feels like five minutes is 43 minutes.
00:22:34
Speaker
Oh, absolutely. Yup. Yup. It's just like, just taking a step back, you could do it for the week. You could do it for the day. i do both.
00:22:45
Speaker
I will figure out what needs to get done for the week. And then that's how I set my time blocks throughout the day. But one, it's establishing a goal.
00:22:55
Speaker
Two, it's giving you guardrails. And three, for me, as I'm able to check things off my list, that's like me hitting a three-pointer. That's like a fancy layup, like just being able to do that. And so I highly encourage people to have these routines, to have these accountabilities within their daily schedule, because that helps them, you know, that, that helps them to stay productive. And now at the end of the week, you're like, yeah, even if you didn't get everything done, you're like, yeah, I still have all of this to show for it.
00:23:29
Speaker
Yeah. Now, what about on the flip though? Like, have you had experiences Or when do you feel are the most often times that a routine either holds you back or like frustrates you?
00:23:45
Speaker
Oh man. Yeah. I had to, i was way too rigid. I like rigidity was not my friend. And I realized that in about 2022, right?
00:23:59
Speaker
okay prior to that so i probably went through like a seven five to seven year period where I was still being rigid with myself like I was as a basketball player yeah as a basketball player rigidity served me oh my god so well so well but then there's this five to seven year period where I'm like still on the grind yeah but it's like you don't have to be And now in basketball, it was easier for me in basketball because it's like, if I do this, I know going to get this result and then that that's going to happen. yeah
00:24:34
Speaker
yeah You know, not everything works like that. And so it got to the point where rigidity in basketball or when I was playing basketball, I enjoyed the process.
00:24:47
Speaker
And the more rigid I was, the better the results I got. yeah Outside basketball, my rigidity made me more stressed. And I did not enjoy the process. And I'm doing hard things. So I know it's not always going to be just, you know, peaches and cream, but it got to the point where I just was waiting for the success.
00:25:07
Speaker
yeah So miserable, miserable, but just miserable this whole time until I hit success. The success only lasts for so long because then have another goal. So I'm like, this...
00:25:19
Speaker
this isn't working and I couldn't see it. My sister actually brought it to my attention. She was like, dude, you're not flexible. And so then when she said that, I was like, that's the opposite of rigid. And I've been rigid.
00:25:32
Speaker
So now I'm like, I don't have to have that same mindset. yeah you know There are things I could pull from it, but yeah. And since then, i I'm still hitting goals, definitely.
00:25:46
Speaker
But it just feels so much better in the process. Like if i if I don't get something done, I'm not going to beat myself up over it. I'm going to figure out why didn't we get this done?
00:25:57
Speaker
Where are you screwing around? If so, shame on you. Right. But I can't beat myself up anymore. Right, right, right, right, right. it's So this has got me thinking like, what was that? Because, okay, so when did you actually leave the and NBA and what was that, or yeah ah WNBA and When, or look, what was that first you know year, maybe two years? Like I can just imagine, like you even mentioned already, like how jarring that that's gotta be.
00:26:29
Speaker
Like you're always on somebody else's time, you know? Like I can't even imagine leaving and being able to like sit on your couch and like do nothing. Like that just, like I'm like, i that even brings me stress thinking about having to do that. So like, what was that first you know year or like couple of years as you were transitioning out of being a full-time athlete, like what was that like for you personally, mentally, et cetera?
00:26:54
Speaker
I had a rough transition yeah and nobody from the outside could see it. Yeah. Because I said, I said all the things I said, you know, what did I say? God doesn't make mistakes. So this is a part of his plan.
00:27:10
Speaker
Sure. That doesn't take away the hurt and the pain. I said, okay, well, it just looks like I need to get a new job. And it's like, sure.
00:27:21
Speaker
But that still doesn't fill this big hole. yeah Like this big hole, when basketball was removed, now that was my physical fitness, my social life, my fun time, my longest relationship. It was all of these things.
00:27:38
Speaker
And now I'm just like, I got to get another job. And so I'm just left with this big hole. but I know the things to say. I know like what is what will make people think that I'm okay.
00:27:52
Speaker
And so I was saying that while I just felt so empty inside, not knowing what to do, my identity was completely shaken up, completely shaken up. And so it it was tough. like I started working on things that, like I said, I started my basketball training company I started a literacy program in South Los Angeles.
00:28:17
Speaker
like I took over my mom's nonprofit. I was doing a lot of things that would fill my cup. But until I gave basketball the credit that it deserved, yeah I was just empty.
00:28:30
Speaker
I had to grieve it. And I was refusing, without knowing, and was refusing to grieve the loss of basketball. And so it was... It was really tough.
00:28:41
Speaker
And it took me, again, nobody knows this because it looked like I was doing so well. Right, right, right. But, I mean, it took me three years for me to just feel okay.
00:28:55
Speaker
And then the transition continued even beyond that. So... that is That is one of the main reasons that in my book, When the Buzzer Sounds, the first chapter is role versus identity.
00:29:10
Speaker
Because when we get those two things mixed up, we're in trouble. Yep.
Identity Loss and Regaining Independence
00:29:17
Speaker
Gosh, like i I feel like everyone and not that I hope everyone can relate to this, because obviously i'd never want anyone to know that feeling of loss. Like when you said loss, I literally got chill chills because everyone's got that thing that.
00:29:31
Speaker
they felt They felt identified. They they thought i identified themselves, right? They thought that that's who I am This is the thing that everyone knows me as. And then when you lose it, you literally feel like you lose a part of yourself and you're like, I don't know where to go from here. It's like,
00:29:49
Speaker
having the soul search and walk for the first time again, like it's it's jarring. And I think especially, i would imagine, I'm sure men and women go through this, but there's something about being a woman and I don't know, like having to re-identify yourself or just kind of like re-go on that journey of like self-discovery, especially after you are a certain age. Like, I don't know. There's just, i just like there's so many societal things connected to like you becoming who you are and then having to relearn that. It's just a very, it's hard, you struggle through it.
00:30:29
Speaker
And I feel like no one wants to talk about that because it's also not like necessarily a tangible thing. right You know, as someone, everyone has their own definition of like the way that that made them feel or like what it feels like to go through that.
00:30:41
Speaker
So it's like, in in a way, as much as you can try, you can say to somebody and they could probably relate to you, you're still only going through your experience. And like, I think that's a part, the part that's really hard to capture um or express to people.
00:30:56
Speaker
Yeah. Especially because when you're looking at your family who tends to be your support group or even your close set of friends, you're probably the only one who was a professional basketball player.
00:31:11
Speaker
You're probably the only one who had this this thing. Like you said, we all have this thing. you know Because even if you have a community of people who all have this thing,
00:31:21
Speaker
that might not be your support group your thing so in your actual support group like you're the only one who has this thing and they'll tell you oh like like they'll they love you so they'll tell you all the good stuff yeah but they don't know yeah like they they actually don't know and so for me i didn't realize at the time but i had to run away i'm a grown woman but i had to run away from home so i moved across the country to um I took a coaching job in North Carolina.
00:31:53
Speaker
No one didn't want to coach, but that was my way out. Right. And so, so that I could just live again, rediscover myself and fall flat in private.
00:32:06
Speaker
And that, that was what I did, you know? But I, me running away essentially was me betting on myself, on myself and not needing the And trying to get rid of the need to have my parents and my family's approval.
00:32:24
Speaker
Yeah. And validation. Yep. Yeah. You know, independence is great, but sometimes it's hard. It's like, it's, it's, it'd be hard. You're right.
00:32:36
Speaker
This whole adulting thing is crazy. Right. I know. Oh Lord. Um, so, okay. I'm going to use a ah sports analogy for this question, but if you were coaching somebody who wanted to quote unquote train for a leadership,
00:32:53
Speaker
um like an athlete would for a game, what are the the drills, the sprints, the practices, you know, that you would take them through to say like, okay, we've got to accomplish these three things, right, to get us game ready, like what are those things that those like kind of first things that you reach for?
Leadership Training and Public Speaking
00:33:11
Speaker
Yeah, the I don't know if it'll be the first, but One of the three things would be i would get them speaking like public speaking.
00:33:20
Speaker
So there's this exercise that I do where it's like a random with random cards that I've written out. Nothing fancy at all, but it's random words and they'd have to use that word to be able to and they only speaking for a minute, but they'd have to say this word in the story that they tell.
00:33:41
Speaker
The story has to have a message and there's an 80-20 rule. 80% story, 20% message. I got that from, shout out to Kendall Flickland. He was one of my speech coaches.
00:33:56
Speaker
But that's so important because if you're a leader, you're a public speaker. it's one in the same and if you you could be the you could have the best ideas in the world if you cannot verbally communicate them you can have the best decks you can send the best emails if you cannot stand up there flat-footed and speak to the audience ah and bring in your message yeah you know if you cannot run into one of your employees in the elevator and concisely quickly and concisely deliver your message based on whatever they say. Yeah.
00:34:32
Speaker
That's impacting your leadership skills. I think the other thing would be a roadmap. Like, and this roadmap would be not like, oh, this is my five-year roadmap.
00:34:44
Speaker
I think the roadmap would be just how do you attack getting to your goals? Like what, what is your process when, when you hear, first of all, how, what are the ways that you're given directives let's say and whatever those ways are okay when you see this now what does that mean what's the first thing you do because what you want to do is here we go back to routine but what you want to do is streamline your process so that now you're not spending so much time figuring out the same thing that you're figuring out every directive you get ah true very true very true what's what's the process how could we just walk through that and then um
00:35:26
Speaker
I think the third thing I am, especially as a leader, i am a service driven leader. i am a transformational leader. i am the leader that feels that you could catch more with honey than vinegar.
00:35:39
Speaker
yeah And so I think that With that, there would probably be something around the culture that you set up. Like, what's the culture that you want to have? How will you pour into team?
00:35:52
Speaker
How do you make them feel valued? How do you make them... feel valued how do you make them become self-starters, like how do you set that culture? But it has to be team focused. It can't be about you.
00:36:06
Speaker
So that's a great question. I've never been asked that before. you yeah i with With more time, I think I would say, yeah, I think that's what I would do.
00:36:17
Speaker
Yeah. I love that. Also too. Oh my gosh. I've never, i guess I've never thought about that, but you can't be like, if you can't public speak, you can't leave. Like, I think that's such a,
00:36:29
Speaker
I think i think it's a um there could be some fights over that statement, but like i I believe it. like I'm like, you were so... Because how can you lead if people can't hear you?
00:36:39
Speaker
You know what I mean? And and if you can't speak... people can't hear you. Like I'm like, it's just one plus one equals two. Like I feel like I'm having a moment, like an epiphany moment where I'm like, you're right. And I don't know that I've ever not thought that, but like to put it into words like that, I'm like, dang, you've truly hit the nail on the head on that with that one. So I'm going to be stashing that one into my piggy bank for sure.
00:37:01
Speaker
So, okay. So I always end my conversations asking this one question.
Advice to the Younger Self
00:37:10
Speaker
So I want you to think back to like,
00:37:14
Speaker
22, 23 year old Lisa. so And if you knew then what you knew now or know now, I should say, what advice would you give that younger Lisa?
00:37:28
Speaker
Yep. I would tell young Lisa, you are already enough. She needed to hear that. the Oh, there's a lot of things that I would tell her.
00:37:41
Speaker
But she needed to hear that, especially being from such a performance driven space. yeah And performance, again, ah part of how I do performance now is based on how I was taught to do performance before.
00:37:58
Speaker
yeah And so it's like, put up or shut up, produce, poop or get off the pot. Right. Yep. Yep. yes Like, there's so much more to you.
00:38:09
Speaker
than you hitting these three-pointers. You are a great daughter. You are a great sibling. You are a great writer. You are funny. You are caring. you You are all of these other things.
00:38:24
Speaker
like You're enough. And if you could dream it, you have enough within you to make it happen. Oh, little Lisa needed to hear that.
00:38:34
Speaker
ah She needed to hear that so badly. And so now... I try to make sure that whether it's my players, whether it's my executive, like I always tell them, you're enough.
00:38:46
Speaker
You're enough. I have wristbands that say already enough. Behind you hello Hello. That's how important it is to me. People need to know that they're enough because so quick tangent.
00:39:04
Speaker
I remember playing in a basketball game and I didn't know the score. And I was, i was like in the eighth grade though. So I didn't know the white team was home and maybe I was in seventh grade.
00:39:16
Speaker
Let's just say I was three years old. Right, were right, right, right. But I didn't know the white team meant home and the dark team meant Away. Away. And so it's the fourth quarter and I'm thinking we're losing.
00:39:31
Speaker
And so I'm playing super hard defense, way aggressive. And the game ends and we lose. And so, you know, the coach talks to us after the game and then I go to my dad and was just like, good game. And I'm just like, I mean, I could have done more to help us win.
00:39:50
Speaker
And he chewed me out. He was like, you did win. How do you not know the score? How do you not know which one you are and this, that, and the third? And the reality is that when you know the score, you play differently.
00:40:04
Speaker
You know that you're enough. There's certain things that you're not going to do to prove or to try to get there because you already know I'm enough.
00:40:15
Speaker
And so in telling little Lisa that she's already enough, that could have saved her going down different roads. That could have saved her trying to do other things to prove that she's enough or that she's this or that because she already knew she's enough.
00:40:31
Speaker
She knows the scoreboard. Yeah. Yeah. Chill. there's so There's been so many chill moments. so I thank you so much for your time today.
Connect with Lisa Willis
00:40:41
Speaker
i want people to be able to follow along on your journey and your messages. So where can people find you? How do you like to connect?
00:40:49
Speaker
Yeah, let us know. Yeah, my website is lisaseewullis.com. So that is super simple. My socials for... What it for Instagram? It's Lisa Willis40.
00:41:02
Speaker
And for TikTok, it's Lisa C. Willis40. four zero So it's always going to be my name. We're trying to brand here. Yes, I love it. I love it.
00:41:13
Speaker
Lisa C. Willis. Awesome. Well, I will make sure that it is included in my show notes and um when um when we post and everything. But seriously, thank you so much for your time.
00:41:24
Speaker
um It's just been very cool to see how worlds collide and and how everything really is transferable, whether you are ah WNBA player or you are a corporate baddie working a nine to five.
00:41:39
Speaker
Exactly. Exactly. I'm so happy to have been able to join your show. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much for tuning in to this episode of The Good Guide, the podcast dedicated to guiding you through every twist and turn in your career journey. If you loved this episode, make sure to leave those five-star reviews and share this podcast with a friend, loved one, or hey, even a colleague.
00:42:06
Speaker
If you have a topic that you'd like for me to tackle, check out this week's show notes for links to where you can submit your question. It might even be featured during the Q&A segment of the next episode.
00:42:17
Speaker
But first, make sure to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss a beat. Take care, y'all.