217: Bridge the Gap - Breakthrough Communication Tools to Transform Work Relationships, with Jennifer Edwards and Katie McCleary

Thank you for listening to our Finding Brave show, ranked in the Top 100 Apple Career Podcasts!

“There are a lot of gaps to be bridged, and the only way that starts is by getting yourself into a dynamic, personally, where you understand that you’re part of the fabric. Be responsible for how you show up because that’s where it starts.” - Jennifer Edwards  

“When we walk into places where people are fighting so hard, but they’re not showing up correctly in the fight, what’s at stake for them? What are they not sharing here that I don’t know? When you know somebody’s personal story and their lived backgrounds, you cannot deny them their humanity.” - Katie McCleary 

How you show up, including your energy, presence, listening, and language, shapes key outcomes in the situations you find yourself in each day. I’m excited to welcome two special guests to Finding Brave today, who both offer simple but transformative ways to communicate clearly with people of any level or background and navigate any emotion or situation. What they reveal will help you set the stage for more rewarding relationships, and vastly improved business results. 

Jennifer Edwards and Katie McCleary are communication coaches and coauthors of the new book, Bridge the Gap: Breakthrough Communication Tools to Transform Work Relationships From Challenging to Collaborative.  Jennifer is a leadership advisor working with Fortune 500 companies and boards, optimizing performance and collaboration. Her clients are global companies from Microsoft to WeWork. She is a partner at Winning Streak Ventures, an early-stage VC fund investing in disruptive technology companies.

Katie is an entrepreneur and storyteller who trains leaders, creatives, and humanitarians to launch big ideas by leveraging their social and cultural capital. She is the founder of 916 Ink, a nonprofit that transforms vulnerable youth into confident authors. She hosts “The Drive” podcast on NPR’s CapRadio with the American Leadership Forum-MV in Sacramento.

Jennifer and Katie will be speaking at the Women Lead Change’s 2022 Advocates & Allies Series on March 24th, 2022, about The Curiosity Cure to Build More Equitable and Collaborative Relationships, and you can learn more at https://www.wlcglobal.org/solutions/advocates-allies.

By implementing the strategies they share in this episode, we can master our biological reactions and connect with others even amid pressure, anxiety and stress, and we can learn to manage the stress, biases, reactions, and judgments to build better relationships. By always leading with curiosity, we can all collaborate more effectively with those around us, as we become better leaders and connectors in our relationships.

To learn more about today's guests, visit: https://howtobridgethegap.com/