Listen to this episode from the Reframe & Reset Your Career Podcast here: Thinking Creatively To Overcome Obstacles And Find Success

Show notes

If things are not working out in your current job, it’s important to take action and not stay stuck. The first step may not take you to your ideal destination but if you persist, hopefully it will. Shola Kaye and I discussed how this approach helped her to move on from a career in teaching which was not fulfilling, public speaking, her books and much more on Episode 14 of the Reframe & Reset Your Career podcast.

In this episode, we will learn about:

• How Shola avercame adversity to move from teaching to management consulting;
• Exploring change when you’re not satisfied;
• Creating more inclusive meetings;
• How to gain greater self-confidence;
• Following her childhood dream to become a professional singer;
• How to manage nerves before public speaking, presenting at work or performing;
• Developing your personal brand and managing your career;
• Preparing for interviews and how story telling can help; and
• Strategies to help communication at work.

Shola is a multi award-winning speaker, specialising in communication, leadership and D.E.I (diversity, equity & inclusion). She is passionate about helping organisations create an atmosphere of belonging for their people and for those individuals, in turn, to have the skills needed to make their full contribution with powerful and effective communication. She does this through workshops and consulting.

Shola has had an amazingly diverse career. After graduating from Cambridge University and Emory University, she worked for blue-chip corporates in the high pressure industries of investment banking and IT management consulting in New York and London.

She then pursued her dream of performing as a Professional jazz and Motown singer, both internationally and throughout the UK. Whilst still performing, she started her business, which she has been running successfully for a number of years.

She has performed for, or spoken in front of tens of thousands of people internationally. She has delivered for clients like American Express, Tate & Lyle and The United Nations, and been featured in or written for Marie Claire, Harper’s Bazaar and the BBC.

She is the author of two books “Big Talk, Small Talk” and “How to be a Diva at Public Speaking”. I first met Shola through the Toastmasters programme, although she was a  significantly more accomplished public speaker than me. Shola is a Distinguished Toast Master, the highest level you’re able to achieve.

Shola told me: “You’ve got to think “well is this how I want to spend a significant portion of my life” because time is the one thing that we cannot replace … but there’s just something in your gut that says this isn’t right and you just have to keep taking the next step and the next step … and eventually hoping that all those steps will take you to a place where this is where I need to be and the experiences I’ve had in the past all lend themselves to me being successful in this moment in this time that I’m at now”.

People & Resources Mentioned

• Think Big – Dr Grace Lordan
• Thinking Fast And Slow – Daniel Kahneman
• Noise – Daniel Kahneman
• Mini Habits – Steven Guise
• Oprah Winfrey
• Zig Ziglar
• Oprah Winfrey

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Hi, I’m Shola and I help you create a people-first culture. My work sits at the intersection of Inclusion, Communication & Emotional Intelligence.

My keynote talks and workshops help your leaders and employees create high-performing work environments where people feel a sense of belonging and psychological safety. Sessions are high energy, interactive, and every participant walks away with at least one practical framework for connecting and collaborating more effectively.

Sound good to you? Please reach out and let’s discuss your next event! 🙂🎤✨