Podcast: Laura Herring
Sharon: Welcome to a special episode that mirrors your ambition and lights the path to leadership. I'm Sharon Fiehler with ABC to CEO and welcome. Today, we're joined by Lauren Herring, CEO of IMPACT Group, who's not just a leading powerhouse in career and leadership development, but is also a beacon for anyone aspiring to climb the ladder of success. Across more than 65 locations worldwide, Lauren's journey is a masterclass in breaking barriers and steering through the challenges of international leadership. This is for you, the dreamers, the future CEOs and the leaders in the making. Dive in as Lauren shares the insights and strategies that can shape your journey to the top. Your blueprint to making an impact starts here. Welcome, Lauren.
Lauren: Thank you, Sharon. I'm thrilled to be here.
Sharon: Well, we are very happy to have you. I know we've done an audio recording with you before, but it's been four or five years, so it's time to do an update because lots of good things have been happening-
Lauren: Absolutely.
Sharon: …So welcome. Thanks for taking the time. I guess one of the things that's really on my mind has to do with leadership roles. And why don't we start by talking about that? So, as we know, many young women might hesitate to take on leadership roles due their lack of confidence or fear of failure. But from your experience, what advice would you give to overcome these barriers and kind of get in the game for our young women who are listening?
Lauren: Sure. Well, when I think about some of the various tools in your playbook, so to speak, one of the things that I love to say is, first, start by being the CEO of your career. So, with ABC to CEO, we want people to be thinking big about what's possible. But let's start also with yourself and start thinking about how you can be strategically managing your career one day at a time, one role at a time, one company at a time, and one goal at a time. And so, I recommend people start building a plan. And some people know right from the very beginning that they want to be a CEO. And that's awesome if you know that. But some people might be a little bit more timid or not really even able to think like that in your 20s. And so, what I like to think of is give yourself a little bit of runway, how far out can you think? Like three years, five years, and then you can reverse engineer some of the ways you can get to some of those next roles.
For example, the other thing that you want to also be thinking about is not necessarily ruling things out. So, by taking one path, are you potentially ruling out some other opportunities in the future? So, if you want to keep your opportunities broad and you want to be thinking in that three-to-five-year time frame, because you can always then, five years from now, re-up to a bigger goal when that's ready. So, in terms of building that plan, think about what skills are necessary for you to get that next role so that you're both being focused on the now and performing in your role, but with an eye towards the future, so a few ideas there.
Sharon: Yeah, I love the idea of the three to five years because that's a manageable period of time. I mean, for most of us in our 20s, thinking about becoming a CEO is a stretch, but it doesn't mean it can't be kind of a really long-term goal. But having three to five years as a time frame for you to really do some serious planning about sounds like a way to get there without having to think of too many things that are maybe out of the realm of possible at this time.
Lauren: Exactly. I remember interviewing a woman one time on my podcast, Take Control of Your Career. And she's now a CHRO, so is the head of HR at a large global organization. And she originally was an HR manager in China who then took a position in an international expatriate assignment and was really just going step by step. And I asked her, when did you really think that you had it in you to become the top HR leader? And she said it was probably when she got to the director level. Like to that point, she was always just going for the next level up. She just wanted to keep on growing. And then all of a sudden, at some point, maybe the positions or the opportunities will really open up for you.
Sharon: Right. Yeah. As we like to say, there may be some luck involved, but for those who are prepared to take advantage of the luck, a lot more luck comes your way.
Lauren: That's a great way to put it.
Sharon: So, one of the other things that I think is important for young women to think about is mentorship and sponsorship and having people in your life who are key in advancing your career. Could you share with us maybe any mentorship that played a role in your success and help how young women can find and engage with other individuals to do that same thing for them?
Lauren: Sure. Now, my mentor was very easy to engage. My most prominent mentor is my mom who founded my company, IMPACT Group. And so, I had lots and lots of opportunity to learn from her and engage with her. And at the same time, I still am always hungry to learn and grow. And so that's one of the ways that I bring podcast guests to my show, actually, is connecting with women who I want to learn something from that I feel like I can grow from connecting with them. And so, I'm still looking for people that I can learn and grow from.
One of the things that I really recommend is a powerful way to get a mentor or a sponsor is to go to someone who can be influential in your career, especially, if you're in a more corporate environment, someone several levels up that might have some exposure to you and ask for feedback. And so, if they have any level of exposure to you, ask ways that they can either one, suggest that you can improve certain aspects of your style, or if you-- Maybe they don't know you very well at this point, but you can say, “Here's my next goal that I'm interested in. Do you have any advice or feedback or guidance for me?”
And let them just share about their perspective of either how they experience you or what they would recommend for you, and how they can share some insights into maybe the underbelly of the organization. But it doesn't stop there, I think the most important thing is staying in touch and following up. So, it's not just saying thanks for the feedback, but it's circling back around in six months or a year afterwards and letting them know, “Hey, I applied that technique that you suggested, and here's how it worked out.” Or when you do get that next level promotion with maybe being able to point to some of the things that they guided you on, give them a little bit of the credit. And so, then all of a sudden, they feel their fingerprints on your career, which will then get them more engaged and more connected. So, if you can find ways to build those personal and professional relationships with people who are in the room making the decision, that's an important way. And I think that asking for feedback is one of the easiest ways to get them engaged and keep them engaged.
Sharon: I love that. And you're right, sometimes mentorship can snowball as people help you and they see that they are helping you, they want to help you more, so, I love that idea. The other thing that you kind of touched upon there was you want to keep mentors. You don't want to turn them off because maybe now you've taken their advice and you've done some of the things they suggested. But I have found that mentors can come back into your career, can leave, come back, and there's many opportunities for them to continue to help you as you go forward, so, I love that idea that giving them feedback allows them to feel that they've made a difference and they want to help you more. So-
Lauren: Yes.
Sharon: -great thing to do. So, you've written a book. It's called Take Control of Your Job Search: 10 Emotions You Must Master to Land the Job. I love the title.
Lauren: And I have it here as well.
Sharon: Oh…
Lauren: For the people who are watching.
Sharon: So, what emotions must a young woman master if she ultimately sees herself in an executive role or CEO, which is the goal of ABC to CEO. So, what kind of emotions do you think are important to be aware of and to master?
Lauren: One of the fun things about writing this book, which was technically about job search, was that what I found was that every single one of these emotions is so relevant to every aspect of your life, whether it was personal or career oriented. That our emotions are so foundational to how we show up every day and how we perform, whether it's in a job search or in a job or in a career overall. So, I found that these emotions are universal. And some of the tactics that I share in how to overcome the challenges or to help to amplify some of your wins are really applicable no matter what phase of your career you're in or even applicable to life in general.
So, I think one of the big things, and you brought it up in the first question was about fear. And like, am I good enough? One of the concepts that I know a lot of women are struggling with is imposter syndrome, and fear is straight in the middle of that one. So, one of the things that I talk about in the book is using some really simple questions to get you out of the fear zone and into more of the reality zone. Because sometimes what I find when we're in a state of fear is that this black cloud of fear or negativity is actually worse than the reality. So sometimes if we're concerned about what's going to happen with a certain outcome, that we can ask ourselves, what is the worst thing that can happen?
So, if I raise my hand and say something in a meeting, especially if you're prepared, you know your stuff, and you've earned your spot at this meeting, what's the worst thing that can happen? Maybe the meeting continues and goes on, but maybe what will actually happen is that someone will recognize that you've just added value to the meeting. So, by taking control of some of those scenarios where this black cloud sits over us, but the reality is sometimes we have a much bigger sense of importance of who we are and some of our impediments than what is going on in reality.
Another emotion that comes into play with a lot of women is anxiety. And a lot of times it's like the job is too big. I don't know if I'm good enough for this job. Well, one of the things that I talk about is take that next step, that first step, just do it one at a time. So, you're not necessarily starting the job tomorrow, but maybe the first step is put your hat in the ring and say, “Hey, I'm interested in this,” and what's the worst thing that can happen? Maybe you don't get the job, but what's the next thing that could happen is that perhaps that now the next level in the organization knows that you're interested in progressing to the next level. And so, it opens up some conversation about what is possible for that next level in your career.
Another thing on anxiety that comes up is take a moment to ask yourself, what's the root cause of the issue that I'm dealing with here? Is it that I'm scared of what people will think about me? Is it that I'm scared that I'm going to fail? Is it that I'm scared that I don't know what I'm doing? Well, those are all three very different scenarios. And once you start to peel the layers of the onion back of some of your emotions, then you can actually start to take action to deal with the reality of the situation. Because perhaps the reality is that you're feeling like there are some gaps in your knowledge that's telling you something important that you need to upskill in some areas, okay, that's great information, and maybe some of that anxiety was legitimate, but it's going to position you for what's next.
Sharon: Right. I think that is so true. And one of the things that I would tell myself sometimes, even when things didn't go quite the way I imagined, it's that old saying of, “This too shall pass,” and we will move beyond this and the next time, this is called wisdom. Now I know how to do it differently. And even if you do make a mistake or you feel like you could have done something better, another chance is going to come your way without a doubt and it's all about improving upon it.
Lauren: Exactly. And especially when it comes to going for that next level job, sometimes it might not be the right scenario, whether it's from your perspective or the boss' perspective, and sometimes it really hurts to get that feedback. But again, if you're able to look at it like its information and it's not a personal affront on your capabilities, then like you said, you can take another crack at it next time around and you're going to be that much more prepared. And potentially-- then that one is actually the right one that you should be going for. So, you never know how these things are going to play out.
Sharon: And sometimes doing things over and over again, you get more comfortable. So, the more you go out there and take a risk by asking questions, by bringing up things that you think others might find uncomfortable to talk about, but needs to be said, the more you do something that's uncomfortable, the more comfortable you get with it,-
Lauren: Yeah.
Sharon: -so keep moving at it. So, let's talk a little bit about facing and overcoming challenges on your leadership journey. And I'm sure you face challenges on your way to becoming a CEO and you got through it, and you've now been a CEO for 10 years plus.
Lauren: Yeah, over 10 years.
Sharon: So, what lessons did you get from your own experiences and what kind of challenges did you face early in either becoming a CEO or when you became a CEO that you would like to share with us?
Lauren: Yeah. I think it's important to recognize that just because you've got the CEO title doesn't mean you necessarily have it all figured out all the time. And so, I think that the most relevant examples for me to share are maybe some of the lessons that I've learned even after getting the top job and recognizing that I'm still learning, I'm still a work in progress. So, in my case, I mean, I've lost clients, I've weathered a pandemic and seen revenue take a dive and struggle with making really difficult decisions. And while some of those things, like the pandemic, I might not have had control over, first of all, I focus on what I can control.
And then second of all, I come out of it and I look at that might not have gone the way I wanted, but how can I make sure I'm learning from those situations so that I can successfully manage my failures. And that's one of the things that I've learned that by successfully managing failures, I can make sure that I'm going to be even more successful when the next success comes around because I'll be prepared to manage that better. So, there's a book that I'm actually in the middle of reading right now by Simon Sinek about The Infinite Game. And that's a question of “Are you playing in a finite day to day, quarter to quarter scenario or are you playing for your career?”
And so, I would urge you as a listener to be thinking big picture and thinking about the infinite game as it comes to your career. You're going to have ups and downs. It's going to be the reality. I know especially in corporate environments, you are often times going quarter to quarter, but at the same time, how can you make sure that you're keeping a long-time perspective on what is success looking like for your role as moving up to the CEO level, moving through your CEO career and your legacy. And a lot of that also comes down to work-life and what's important to you in terms of managing some of those questions as well. So, it's a question that as soon as I heard about this book, I was like, “Ooh, I want to read it because I want to have more of that learner's mindset and infinite mindset personally.”
Sharon: Once a friend of mine and he was much older, but he continued working as a consultant until many years after most of us consider retirement to happen, but he loved what he did, and he gave me two pieces of advice that I always remember. And it was about always be ready for change and actually seek out change because there is nothing worse than becoming stagnant, so seek out change. And the second was never stop learning and always consider yourself-- Even when like you said, once you became a CEO, it didn't mean you knew everything, you had to keep learning and for any of us to grow, learning is the key to growing and being adaptable, and continuous learning seems to be something that regardless of the level you're at in your career, those are two pieces of advice that I think all of us should hang on to.
Lauren: If I can just interject on that seek-out-change piece, that's really a relevant topic to my transition into CEO at IMPACT Group that I'll share a quick story. Now, my situation was a little bit different because IMPACT Group was founded by my mom and then I succeeded her, so it's a little bit of a different scenario compared to many corporate environments, which I know is a lot of your listeners. But I think that I had a fear of succeeding my mom in her role for a period of time because I was afraid that I could never be her as well as she was. And it felt like I was stepping into her footsteps and it felt like how could I possibly do that and still be myself?
And once I actually realized that in order for businesses to be successful, it's critical to change and evolve. And first of all, I don't need to be a CEO the way she was a CEO, first and foremost. I would be a bad CEO if I tried to just be like her because I wouldn't be authentic to myself. And then on top of it, the company doesn't need me to be just continuing what she was doing because we need to have that change in order for the vibrancy and longevity of the company. And so seeking out change is so relevant as a taking on the next role, the next CEO role, whatever it is because organizations are needing to change faster than ever today and I think that advice is great.
Sharon: It was good advice. So, and I know you've done so much work on career development and global mobility. So, let's talk about the future. I mean, we know we have to change, but what trends do you see in the workplace that young women should be preparing for now to ensure that they stay ahead of the curve?
Lauren: Yeah, well, I'm going to harken back to that last question about the pace of change. Change has never been faster. And so, building a change hearty mindset and a leading change mindset is critical. We all know that technology and new technologies like generative AI and similar kinds of game changing technologies are here to stay and they're going to continue to up the game for us. And so being able to not only interact with those kinds of technologies, but lead through those is an important quality.
At IMPACT Group, we've recently changed our mission, interestingly enough. And so now we are on a mission to maximize human potential in an increasingly tech-enabled world. And what that means to me is that we know that these technologies are here to stay, but the differentiator going forward is human potential. And so, by being able to leverage those technologies in the right way is what's going to ultimately be the differentiator for your organizations. And it's never stop learning and lead change, I think are perfect ways to really think about how to interact with those.
Sharon: I would agree with you. I mean and that advice to me will stand the test of time. The saying the only constant here is change and it's something for us always to remember. So, I'd like to hear what else you'd have to say before we do conclude here.
Lauren: Yeah, so I guess as I responded to that question, my first thought was around skills for your career trajectory. But as far as managing your own career, the other skills that I think are really important to be focusing on are managing your personal brand and being really clear about how you articulate the value you bring to an organization. Whether that's talking to people in networking and maybe going out and looking for new jobs or going up in an organization. And then that networking piece which is how do you make sure that the right people know about the value that you bring? And so that combination of network and personal brand, whether it's in a job search or as you're going up the career ladder in an organization, those are two personal skills that I think will always be really critical for success.
Sharon: Yeah, good advice. So, remind us again, what's the name of your book?
Lauren: The name of my book is Take Control of Your Job Search and IMPACT Group is all about maximizing human potential in a tech-enabled world, so excited to be able to provide any support to any of your folks [crosstalk] as they make their own journey.
Sharon: How can people connect with you?
Lauren: Feel free to reach out to me on LinkedIn, that's probably the best.
Sharon: Thank you, Lauren. It's been fun and I'm so glad that our audience could hear all of these words of wisdom you've got. And I want to remind everybody that ABC to CEO is a non-for-profit organization and our purpose is to prepare women for the possibility of becoming a CEO. So please check us out on abctoceo.org, and learn more about how you can help further our mission. Until next time, I'm Sharon Fiehler and don't forget to follow us on social media to get your daily encouragement and proven tips for success. Thank you and until next time, we'll talk again.
About Laura
Lauren Herring passionately provides leadership to IMPACT Group as CEO, where she has transformed the company into a global leader in employee career development. Prior to her current role, Lauren was President of Global Services where she was responsible for all international business development and operations. She guided the work of IMPACT Group’s international presence, providing leadership and support to all areas of the organization in assisting transferees with international issues and needs. Under Lauren’s leadership, IMPACT Group now operates in more than 65 international locations in the Americas, Europe and Asia.
In 2013 and 2014, Lauren led the charge as IMPACT Group acquired its long-time competitors, Vandover and Sally White & Associates. This supported three previous acquisitions in corporate outplacement solutions. IMPACT Group continues to be an industry expert in Relocation, Outplacement and Leadership Development while consistently innovating new career management solutions, developing cutting-edge service delivery options and expanding its reach into new markets.
In 2016, Lauren authored This Side Up! A Simple Guide to Your Successful Relocation, which provides expert advice on managing each phase of the relocation based on the thousands of individuals IMPACT Group has moved across the globe over the last three decades. In 2020, Lauren published her second book, Take Control of Your Job Search!, which offers the collective wisdom of hundreds of career coaches and provides tactical approaches that job seekers can implement to be successful in their search.
Lauren has been the recipient of numerous awards and recognition including: Workforce Magazine’s Top 25 Game Changers Award, St. Louis Business Journal’s Top Women-owned Business, St. Louis Business Journal’s Most Influential Women in Business and 2015 Enterprising Women of the Year by Enterprising Women Magazine. Lauren was awarded the prestigious “40 Under 40″ Award by the St. Louis Business Journal and was previously awarded the “30 Under 30” Award.
In addition, Lauren is an internationally recognized speaker on the topic of career development and global mobility, has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal and Forbes Magazine and has published in HR Executive and GlobalHR Magazine, among others. She is not only fluent in Spanish, but prior to joining IMPACT Group, Lauren worked in economic development in Puerto Rico.
Outside of the office, Lauren is on the Board for the St. Louis Regional Chamber, where she is excited to support the economic development of the St. Louis community. She is also on the board at COCA (the Center of Creative Arts), Boy Scouts of Greater St. Louis, Connections to Success and serves on Washington University’s Steering Committee and Women’s Leadership Forum where she passionately dedicates her expertise, resources and time to making a difference in others’ lives. In addition to her professional endeavors, Lauren is married to Ted, also an entrepreneur, and they have two young children.
Check out Lauren’s new podcast!
The Take Control of Your Career!Podcast brings experts right to you so you can create your plan for pursuing promotions and advancing your career. If you want great things to happen in your work life, you must be strategic. Listen in to create a winning career plan to achieve your goals.