Leadership skills are necessary

What is leadership and why it’s important for us to take leadership risks in our career and business? In this episode, Rashida Geddes – coach, mentor and TV personality answers these questions. 

Rashida will also give you more insight on how large corporations look at risk and how you can use this strategy and apply it to your career and business. She is also offering this free resource on “The 7 Critical Leaderships Skills of Smart Risk Takers”.

Your Turn

Transcript

Hello everyone, welcome to another episode of the Carry on Friends Podcast. This is episode 38. As always, I’m very happy that you are listening and I hope that you are also having a great summer. I’ve had a hectic month in June with Caribbean Heritage Month, and just a lot of stuff going on. I did a whole bunch of stuff in the summer and I’ll update you on that in another episode, but I’m also glad to bring you this episode with today’s guest, Rashida Geddes. So Rashida is a coach, a mentor and a TV personality, and she’s going to be talking with me on taking leadership risks in your career and business. So I won’t keep you waiting any longer. Here’s my interview with Rashida.

Kerry-Ann Reid-Brown:Hello Rashida, thank you for being on the Carry on Friends Podcast. I’m so excited to have you.

Rashida Geddes:Thank you so much, Kerry-Ann, for actually inviting me on the show. I love your podcast. I love listening to it. So this is great. This is an honor.

Kerry-Ann Reid-Brown:Oh, thank you so much. Before we get into today’s topic which is “Taking Leadership Risks in Your Career and Your Business”, why don’t you tell our listeners about who you are?

Rashida Geddes:So as you mentioned, my name is Rashida Geddes and I’m a Millennial Communicator. As a leadership coach, my mission is really to teach passionate, purpose driven millennial women how to find their voice, own their power and claim the value they bring to the marketplace and the world, and I do that through personal development and leadership. On the other side of it with that millennial engagement strategy, what I do for organizations is I focus on helping them and millennial leaders turn their employee potential into performance through talent development, training and coaching. I help them better understand the behavior of what I think is the most influential generation in the workplace today. I provide training and program and initiatives to help them engage, retain and promote their millennials. So I do everything that helps them around loyalty which is a challenge for a lot of organizations today.

Kerry-Ann Reid-Brown:Let’s get a little bit into which island you are representing.

Rashida Geddes:I live in Montréal, Canada, so I’m a Canadian girl. I represent for the island of Jamaica and I also have heritage in Trinidad. So I’m a Trini-Jcan.

Kerry-Ann Reid-Brown:Yes, we love it. We’re just all over the place. We’re all over the world and our impact is just so profound. I’m excited. I’m excited about your topic. I’m excited about talent development. I’m excited about everything that you’re doing which is why I wanted you to be on the show. Let’s start with the basic. What is leadership and what does it look like? Because everyone throws around this word “leadership”, and it’s like after a while – I’m not sure if most of us know really what it means, if it’s the traditional meaning or if there is a modern age meaning of leadership.

Rashida Geddes:I think leadership means something different for everyone, but for me, it’s really about walking in alignment and having a clear intention to provide that which I think the people around me need the most, and for me, that is vision, motivation, inspiration, coaching and action. So that’s how I move through any kind of leadership task and that’s how I move through my day. My most important validation for my leadership skills don’t necessarily come from me, it comes from the people I feel like I serve. So it’s about them being able to live their vision in their careers and in their businesses and helping them facilitate that in a way that allows them to step into their strength, step into their power, and what I think is lead someone else because that’s what we want. We want leaders to take on that leadership role and then to also mentor and lead other people. It’s about giving back and reaching back. So I’m creating that whole kind of cycle and that’s what I believe leadership is.

Kerry-Ann Reid-Brown:And then what are general misconceptions around leadership that as you’re going about with talent development and in organizations, or one-on-one coaching, what are general misconceptions about leadership?

Rashida Geddes:I think in the corporate setting for me, the biggest misconception I often encounter is managers automatically thinking that they are leaders. Many people have been successful at doing both, but there is a difference. We need to consider that when we’re putting people in managerial roles and that’s very important for talent, especially when an organization is going through a very important time of change because they need not only someone that manages for the operations, but also leads to make sure that everyone is understanding what the bigger picture is and what the long-term vision is and that they can successfully achieve that. So for me, it’s really understanding what that task is. Often times, managers have been chosen by their company to make sure that the operations as I mentioned, objectives are met. They’re tasked with making sure that people get the work that needs to get done, done. But leaders on the other hand, are looking at the best interest of their followers. They aren’t afraid to go up against the grain and to make a decision that creates true change in an organization. I think it’s about being distinctive of the two especially in corporate and finding people or finding tools and resources that are available to your employees so that they can learn these skills, so that they can be both managers and leaders.

Kerry-Ann Reid-Brown:I see, great. So a manager by title is not necessarily a leader. Their main goal is operational, operational objectives. A leader is the one who is able to be aware of the best interests of the team or staff they are in charge of. A great leader is one who is able to be able to bridge both of those successfully.

Rashida Geddes:Exactly.

Kerry-Ann Reid-Brown:Great, great. Love that. Love that! So for this topic, you are saying we should be taking more leadership risks in our career and business. What do you mean by that?

Rashida Geddes:I think that we often take risks every day. I think risk-taking is really a daily act. However, when we think about risks in the traditional sense, it’s viewed as negative. You don’t want to take that type of risk – no I’m not sure about that. So the definition defines it as exposing yourself to danger or hazard. There is uncertainty in risk and that makes us uncomfortable, but I think that we need to move through our day in terms of having a mixture of both risk and understanding that we need that mixture of danger and opportunity because it’s necessary to stretch ourselves so that we can achieve that next level of success. So in business and in the corporate sense, risk is a fact of life; we take it, we manage it. And me being someone that has a financial service corporate background, it’s something that you mitigate daily. So for me, it’s really about understanding how do we mitigate that same understanding in a corporate setting in our individual lives and how do we become cognitive of how we can create profits for ourselves, how we can create value for ourselves and people that are important to us. It’s what we have to consider every day and that will make an impact on the people and the employees and the clients and everyone around us. So I think being able to understand it and mitigate it and move forward in spite of it, is really important for us to do and for us to take on especially as Caribbean women.

Kerry-Ann Reid-Brown:Nice. So understand, mitigate and move forward in spite of the risk that is presented. Now let’s take a step back. What kind of risks are you referring to that we should be taking in our career and business?

Rashida Geddes:Okay, so from the corporate sense, I would say a few examples of taking risks would be 1) asking for the raise and clearly outlining the value you bring to the organization and why you deserve it. So many people have difficulty asking for a raise. They know they’re putting in the work, they know they’re putting in the time, but they don’t know how to articulate that in a way that allows them to stand in their truth and in their power and show evidence of why they deserve it. For me, it’s really about – that’s one type of risk that a lot of employees have to take or do want to take and they don’t know how to approach it. Another one could be for example, going into a meeting and taking a seat at the table, being willing to raise your hand, and in some cases, stand or state your position boldly when everybody else might be talking. It’s about really being able to step outside your comfort zone and making it clear that you have something to say and something of value at the table. That’s another way to show a risk. Reaching out to someone in your network or in your power structure, in your organization to pitch ideas or build relationships that allow them to support you, to mentor you and to potentially be your biggest sponsor. So it’s about taking that risk and maybe you don’t have a connection to them directly, but indirectly, you might know someone that can help you facilitate that relationship. So it’s about taking those risks as well. And one, is applying for a position that you may not be completely qualified for, but you know you have the potential to do great work and putting yourself out there and doing that first step. So that’s in a corporate sense of taking risks, and for your business, it could be making the ask and offering your services to a person or company that you are interested in working with, making that ask and putting it out there into the universe and letting that seed grow and nurturing it. Another thing in business could be raising your rates. Some people start off at a certain value and they are afraid to raise their rates, but it’s about coming into the value you know you offer on the marketplace and being able to stand for that in your rates. It could also be facing your business fears and being willing to put yourself out there when you are not perfect. We all want to have the beautiful brand and great messaging and beautiful copy, but maybe that work isn’t perfect now but it’s good enough and it’s about putting that out there. So those are just some of the risks that we can take in corporate and in business to be able to get to that long-term goal, that vision that we have for ourselves.

Kerry-Ann Reid-Brown:But I’m sure that a lot of people, because what you’re saying is absolutely true and I know this, but what do you think is the challenge with knowing that you need to do this risk and actually going about and acting on these. Why do you think that not enough people are taking risks especially Caribbean women or – I think it’s more Caribbean women, I don’t know if Caribbean men have the same issue, but why do you think people aren’t taking enough risks when it comes to leadership?

Rashida Geddes:I feel as Caribbean people, we often shy away from taking risks especially as it relates to corporate because it makes us uncomfortable. I know that I like to feel good about what I’m doing. I like to know that I’m in a familiar place with familiar people and I can play up that, but in corporate and in business, sometimes that environment is not created in there for you and you got to be able to be that light in a cold exterior. So it’s been able to communicate that, but we downplay that and we play it safe, so we play small and we try to blend in the workplace, we don’t want the accent to show up, or you don’t want to many bold ideas to show up because you are afraid how other people might look at you. We allow that to guide us and allow us to be able to put us in a little bit of a box. So for me, it’s really about aligning yourself to how you need to play big and then moving in that one step every single day.

Kerry-Ann Reid-Brown:What you just said is a conversation I had with at least two other people and exactly so with your friends, you’re just like big, bold and all the braggadocio comes through, but that work – and it’s not everyone, it’s just – it doesn’t come across the same way and I know I’m guilty of that. We just want to do our thing and leave and I said – I guess you said this, because we’re not comfortable. But how do we move out of that place where we are not comfortable, or how can we make that small transition to say okay, I’m not really in my comfort zone here but I still need to push through because I don’t want people to think that you have to be really comfortable to be a leader because it’s not always that feeling of comfort. It’s like what you said before, assessing, understanding the risk, mitigating and moving forward. What particularly do Caribbean Americans – can we do, because I think we have that inherently, it’s just that we don’t switch it on when we’re supposed to and I think that’s the issue and I don’t know the disconnect, or I don’t know if you have any thoughts on that. 

Rashida Geddes:For one for me, it’s really that understanding that’s a part of it, that that feeling is a part of it and you have to keep moving in spite of it and I think that’s the most important thing and that’s followed by having really clear intention. When you have a clear focus and you have clear intention and you know what you are set out to do, not only in your role as it’s defined, but you know what you’re supposed to be doing in this world. You have that self-awareness that allows you to be able to put more of a validation and a more of an understanding to what you’re doing so that you can move past that. Oprah Winfrey which I think is one of the most powerful examples of transformative leadership, talks about the principles of validation. It’s about asking yourself daily, did you hear me, did people hear me today, did you see me today, did someone see me, did I make a connection with someone today, and did what I say matter? Did what I bring on the table matter to the organization, to the structure? When you have a bigger, clearer purpose as to what your role is within that organization beyond your job description, you move in alignment to that.

Kerry-Ann Reid-Brown:Just to clarify, is it the validation, the one that you give to yourself over what you are seeking from others? Because sometimes I feel like we wait on external validation to say, “Hey, you did a good job!” versus knowing within yourself that you did a good job regardless if someone sees it or not.

Rashida Geddes:Absolutely and I agree with you. It really is about having that intuitive ability to be able to ask yourself these questions, but ask yourself, evaluating yourself and saying did I do what I set out to do today. Even if that is one thing, one connection that you set out to make for that day, one relationship that you chose to nurture that day, it’s about taking one small action and creating a movement with that and coming out of our comfort zone and knowing that we have to be authentic. Sometimes we just want to follow the crowd, you just want to blend in. You’re coming from already a faraway land, you’re coming here, you just want to blend in a bit. You want to live the American dream or you want to just be able to achieve that like everyone else, but understanding that your journey is different. Our journey from the Caribbean, from Africa – if we can go back to our lineage, is different. So we have a different lived experiences and that allows us to be able to shine, but we have to really step into that. We have to tap into that and that power that we each individually bring, and when we are clear on what that is and we’re clear on how we’re going to be able to achieve it and we can do one step every day, then I think that we allow ourselves to move into what our real birthright is. We see that through how many amazing people that have come out of Jamaica and have done it through sheer just work, hustle and work. We have that mentality. We have that spirit within us and we just can’t allow ourselves to dim our light because we are in a setting that we are not familiar with, that we don’t understand.

Kerry-Ann Reid-Brown:Alright, although it was an example, what do you have to say to people who are saying, “Well I’m not in a leadership role; I’m not a manager, I’m not anything, I’m just a worker.”? I think people always think of leadership and associate it with the title you’re given. So you’re a leader if you are a manager, managing director or president, vice president, CEO – one of those titles. Whereas, what do you have to say to people who are thinking that they are not in a leadership role and they don’t have a risk to take?

Rashida Geddes:I think that we have to understand that we cannot look for everything outside of ourselves. Our managers, our HR’s, they are not responsible for telling us, or for guiding our career and our business success. We have to really work hard. The idea that someone – you work really, really hard, you put your head down, someone will notice you, they’ll choose you for the promotion, they’ll take you on as your project. They have to choose you. We think they have to choose us. But in essence, when you understand that you are the CEO of your life, you are the creator of your brand, you’re the creator of your message and your career destiny, and you own that in your career, you own that in your business and you step into that. You move outside of your comfort zone. You take those risks every day. You will move into wherever it is that you want to go. This could be the janitor, from the person’s sweeping the floors in your office. If he has this thinking and this mentality and every day he makes one step, one action that brings him closer to what he wants to achieve, he will get there. He will become that leader that he’s setting himself out to be. It’s inevitable. He’s putting in the work. He’s hustling hard and he has the heart.

Kerry-Ann Reid-Brown:I really love what you’re saying because I know this happens. There’s this one side of the room where it’s like we just go to work and we work hard – exactly what you said, dem suppose to see seh mi work hard. I don’t have to tell dem seh mi deh work hard, I’m working hard. And then sometimes you are annoyed with the person who look like dem nah do nuh work and all dem do a kiss up to the boss. This is our conversation that we’re having. And then you have another scenario where it’s like you know what, anytime mi talk up and mi do this leadership thing, somebody tek mi idea suh mi not going do it anymore. We struggle with these. How do we come back from that? So I think you’ve provided the solution for holding the head down which is we are the CEO of our careers and no one is not going to willingly – not that they don’t want to, but we have to toot our own horns. What do you say about people who are saying, “Well I’ve tried to be a leader and I got shot down, or somebody took my ideas”? What do you say to those people who’ve had those experiences and feel like once bitten, twice shy?

Rashida Geddes:I think when you understand that your value is not inherent and just the words on paper. When I know that no one can do what I do the way that I do it, and I own that and I move like that through everything that I do. Every piece of work that I put forth, that energy is taken with it. That will be the choice because I’ve clearly communicated that in everything that I’m doing. Failure is a learning experience and sometimes we might over share. We have to realize okay, like any risk, you reassess and you say okay maybe I put myself too much out there, maybe I thought – I didn’t listen too much on my intuition, I realize that situation wasn’t the right place, the right time, the person didn’t feel me like I thought they felt me and I overexposed, I overexposed myself. It’s about mitigating that risk and companies do that daily. They have to say okay, where am I overexposing my investment portfolios, where am I overexposed in terms of the loans and the credits that I’m out. How can I pullback and reassess? So businesses don’t become successful by giving up, they become successful by moving forward in spite.

Kerry-Ann Reid-Brown:I just love that. I love that because in that moment, it’s just kind of – like I’m thinking of when I’m watching Oprah and she says “that’s like a ha ha moment”. It’s like that’s this risk that you take and so what? I gave away a little bit too much of my ideas, I have to reassess my excitement when it comes to sharing my ideas. Even if I’ve done that, I’m still Kerry and only I can put that Kerry stamp on it. So they could take that idea, but you know – and we’ve had this conversation, they won’t necessarily execute it the way that I thought of executing it. I may have explained it to them the concept, but the way that I would put it together, the feel, the look, the energy would be different. Companies do this every day. If they had a meeting with someone else and that other person ran with it, they are not like alright, let’s close up shop, let’s fire all these people, we’re done. They are like alright, let’s figure out how we’re going to bounce back, how are we going to do this. I think we don’t do that because it’s this vulnerability and this fear that oh my gosh, I’ve put myself out there, all my ideas are gone and you know what, something just came to me, I’m more than one idea. I’m more than one business vision. I’m more than that and if I continually tap into that resource, more will come into me, and if I shut it down, ultimately that well is going to eventually dry up, but if I keep tapping into that source, I can get more from it. It just kind of like smacked me in the head like awhile ago when you said that. Companies don’t shut down when they have an exposure to someone else probably coming out with a product before them. They reassess how they’re going to do it a different way or what they could do differently and I think we don’t do that. We don’t do that because of fear, of rejection, fear of rejection and vulnerability. Oh my God, I just love this!

Rashida Geddes:You got it Kerry-Ann!

Kerry-Ann Reid-Brown:Yes, I love this! I love it when it comes together, because I struggle with it and I don’t think–and that’s the other thing, the transparency. Everyone struggles with it, it’s just whether they’ll decide to tell you that they do.

Rashida Geddes:Absolutely, and those that do tell you, they bank in. Those that do tell you, they bank in, they make profits, they sell tickets because they allow themselves to be vulnerable. When you understand what risks you tap into and what risks actually provide you with the greatest reward, then you want to move into that every single day. You’re going to say okay you know what, maybe I’m going to concentrate now on my time on these high impact initiatives over here because they are the ones that are bringing me the most in terms of what it brings for my family, and that’s how you assess it as a business. So that’s why understanding that you are the CEO of your life and moving in alignment to that, will open up so many thought processes and you will have ideas for days. If you tap into that, you will have ideas for days because you are constantly evolving and constantly changing and growing and that’s a normal part of the process.

Kerry-Ann Reid-Brown:Yes, absolutely. Thank you so much. Now, I know we’ve talked about some mistakes already, but generally what are the three common mistakes that you see people make when it comes to leadership and not taking risks, or even if they are taking risks, what mistakes are they making? I think we said that well maybe they’ve overexposed and sold too much of their ideas, but what are three common mistakes you are seeing?

Rashida Geddes:So for me, as I mentioned earlier, the common mistake is really about thinking that someone else is going to be in control of that for you, but what I like to focus on is really the seven skills that you can take to be smart risk takers. So I have – and I’m going to gift this to your audience, so if they visit my website rashidageddes.com, they can download the seven critical leadership skills for smart risk takers. It’s just a one pager that you can keep on your wall, keep somewhere visible, keep in your binder or book and you kind of assess that daily. That’s what businesses do. They have their plan in front of them and they assess that daily; have I done this, have I done that – their checklist. It’s about moving in alignment with every decision that you’re making in your day. So for me, one of the most important skills is really being unapologetic in your purpose. Smart risk takers understand that what they want is worth fighting for. They know what motivates them and they don’t allow the negative naysayers, the haters affect their ability to show up and make moves even in spite of their fear and doubts. So when you have a strong unapologetic purpose, you move in alignment of that.

Kerry-Ann Reid-Brown:Yes, I was just talking to somebody about this yesterday, because we tell ourselves a lot of stories and we have our insecurities and those are like our crutches, and we’re just like well, I can’t do this but as much as you try to kind of cover that light, it finds a way to kind of peep through all the things that you try to cover it up with. So yes, be unapologetic about it. Don’t care if someone says you’re too much of this…

Rashida Geddes:I own it. I tell them I receive it. Oh yes, that’s what you think? I receive that. So that’s how I’m showing up. If that’s in alignment of what I want, then yes I’m going to claim it.

Kerry-Ann Reid-Brown:Absolutely. Oh, Rashida preach!

Rashida Geddes:So the second critical leadership skill is really having a clear intention. Successful leaders don’t just move through their day with the just a vague plan or idea around what they want. They don’t just sit at their desk and say okay you know what, today is going to look like this and this is how it always looks. They really are clear about what their goal is for that day and they take one risk that brings them closer to it. So whether that is reaching out to that VP that you had a talk with in the hall and you mentioned something to him and you wanted to follow up or spark a relationship. It’s about making those connections, making one connection daily or about making – and going back to the – with Oprah and the validation, do you see me, do you hear me and does what I have to say matter. So if we are clear on that and you’re clear that you’ve done one of those things every day, then you just move off of that momentum and you keep building.

Kerry-Ann Reid-Brown:Awesome! This is so awesome, and thank you so much for sharing that resource. I will definitely put the link to that in the show notes. They will be in the show notes on iTunes and also on the website. I’m looking forward to this amazing resource because I need to be doing more of that in my business and I need to be doing more of that in my career. And as you know, I’ve taken a risk – last year I took a risk that has paid off in dividends. So in the last episode of the podcast, I shared my experience about what to expect when the unexpected happens. So I spoke about what was happening personally with my grandmother and what happened on a career level with my job. And as a quick update because I didn’t do an update with the audience, as a quick update, I have a new position and that new position is within the same company, but a role opened up that was completely outside of my career history has been. The reason why that role opened up was because of the skills that I have with Carry on Friends with the podcast and the blog, and there was an opening in the marketing department. I took the risk in letting my management team know that I had the blog and the podcast and I was very excited about what things could happen with the blog and the podcast and they heard me. I was a bit insecure about it because I don’t know if they’re going to be thinking that I am wasting my time on the job or my head is not in the job. Like you said, I’m unapologetically Caribbean American, I am unapologetically an advocate for career and entrepreneurial development and I’m passionate about it. I’m not talking bad about them, I’m not competing with them for business. So I said why should I be ashamed to say this is what I do. And so last year when I had started that role, I said it and people were paying attention and I didn’t know. And so when literally an opportunity came up, they was an opening because someone else left, I was offered the job and it’s just such an amazing feeling because I love it because now I get to do what I do with Carry on Friends all the time. So it’s really, really – it’s coming together in this conversation. It’s all coming together.

Rashida Geddes:What I love about what you’re saying, because I was fist bumping throughout the whole thing because I’m super proud of you for doing that. I think that’s amazing to be able to – and that’s what I want organizations to see, that you don’t have to go anywhere else to get what you want. It’s just about you being clear about what it is you want and taking those risks that allow you to be set up for opportunities when they do come. You did smart risk-taking right there. Gwaan my girl!

Kerry-Ann Reid-Brown:Yes! Yes! Yes! Mi a do it! So this is just the perfect conversation because every day, and even in this economy, it’s about diversification of your skill sets and what you’re able to do because sometimes people say turn your passion to profits. I think we all think of passion to profits as this – there’s just this one clear route where you start up a business and you make money but it may not work that way, my blog and the podcast as a portfolio for me and my current employer in a way. So the profit may not come the way that you think it’s going to come, the profit could be in a less stressful job, more vacation time and I think money is great but it’s not always the indicator because as you know, in business or incorporate, when you think of a compensation package, it’s not just how much you are paid, it’s what your benefits are, how much vacation time, PTO you have, healthcare benefits. You have to look at the entire thing and not just the money and I think we get swept up in just thinking about the money and not the other benefits that come with it or don’t come with it before you assess a risk, or an opportunity I should say, not a risk but an opportunity. So I’m looking at risk differently now. Thank you, Rashida. Thank you.

Rashida Geddes:You are very, very welcome. I love what you said about – because not everybody can be an entrepreneur. With Carry on Friends, what you’re doing and in the corporate what you’re doing is you’re able to blend both, but not everyone is able to do that and not everybody is meant to do that. We need corporate people. We need CEOs. We need people to be at leadership and on boards because these are people that are going to be making the decision for future generations of leaders and of Caribbean people. So we want our voices heard at the table as well and the only way to do that is to move through the lines. So we need people to be on the front lines and moving through the lines as well to seize suites and corporate suites as well. It’s about understanding that the glamorous lifestyle of a business owner is thinking that they have all the team and they don’t have to really – their money just comes in, but the reality is it’s hustle and it’s work and it’s hustle and it’s more work. It’s about understanding that if you’re not good at doing that in your business and being able to mitigate both as some of us are doing, then you can be excellent in corporate and it doesn’t mean that you’re making any less and your value is any less. It depends like you said on your compensation, what is your compensation, what is the overall value that you’re bringing, and you can still get that value on the side as well if you’re intuitive and smart and want to be able to increase the sources of revenue that are coming in for you, right?

Kerry-Ann Reid-Brown:Right. Absolutely. Like last year we did an episode, not everyone is meant to have a side hustle, not everyone is supposed to be an entrepreneur. I love the way you put it. We still need people to sit at the table, at the boards in big corporations to advocate – not even advocate, but be an example for a newer generation to see what’s possible. For me, it’s always an example of what’s possible because if you haven’t seen someone else in that role, some people need that visual inspiration to say this is possible, harry Belafonte did this, or so many other people, Sicily Tyson – they all did this so I know what’s possible. We need people to still be in the business and I really want to make this clear, we don’t shame anyone for not having entrepreneurial ambitions. Was it you who said that we need to be intrapreneurs, meaning in the company itself? You can be an entrepreneur within your corperation and not necessarily go out and start your own business. So yes, thank you for that because we do need C-Suiters and managers to still be in the companies because they also help us as we move into corporate and move through the lines. So Rashida, mi a tell yuh seh yuh talk di tings as we seh.

Rashida Geddes:Thank you. Thank you.

Kerry-Ann Reid-Brown:So alright, as we wrap up – so we have your list that we’re going to look at for moving forward as a take away or action items. Any last words to our audience on taking risks and leadership in our career and business?

Rashida Geddes:I think I will probably have to quote Dr. Venus Opal Reese which is a millionaire mentor, and she says, “If you’re not willing to risk losing it all, then you can’t risk having it all.” So if you want the life, you want the lifestyle, you want to be able to provide for your family, you want to be able to provide a legacy for your children, for generations, however big your vision is, whatever it is you want to do, if you want to have that, you got to be able to take those risks, because if you’re not willing to take those risks then you’re not willing to have it.

Kerry-Ann Reid-Brown:Right. Oh my goodness! Thank you so much! You can’t try to catch something with closed fists. You got to open your hands and opening your hands means that whatever is in your hand already might fall out, but you want to catch something bigger. So that is a great way to end the show. Thank you so much for listening. Rashida thank you so much for being on the show. I will definitely put information in the show notes as how you could get this amazing resource. And as I say at the end of the show, until next time folks, walk good. Thanks Rashida.

Rashida Geddes:Thank you so much.