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https://radianceresources.com/carole-burton-speaks

Carole Burton
It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’ve heard about you on the streets. And I’m so excited, I got to meet you, in virtual person, because I believe that energy is energy. And we are meeting and connecting, regardless of where we physically are. So thank you.

Jasna Burza
Amen. Well, I’m so glad that my reputation precedes me in a good way. You know, as I was telling you earlier, Jenna, my marketing director, she says, like, you’re gonna love Carol, I’m like it. And we were just saying, she nails it every time she just gets done. She knows the vibe. I love that. Thank you. You’re, you’re quite a force of nature, which I’ve had the pleasure of talking to you for just a few minutes. But I’ve done my research, and now it’s been confirmed. You really are an incredible, I believe, I would say an international Changemaker. And the intention for being that person in the world is, I think, very prevalent in all of the work that you do and how you show up on LinkedIn. And with the lady boss virtual that we’re going to be talking about and your other businesses. So why don’t you really tell us? You know, how did you get started in Sherm in the work, what are you focusing on, mostly for,

Carole Burton
you know, when I thank you, I, my undergraduate was in human resources management, and unfortunately, I couldn’t get a job in that area. And it was during a very important time when we were moving from industrial relations to human resources management. So we’re talking in the late 90s, or late 80s, early 90s. And so I thought, you know, I was influenced by an amazing professor who really wasn’t, he was an amazing gentleman who worked in a think tank and actually left the university to do that. And he was a business person. And so he wanted to come back and teach what he learned on college campuses. And he never said that, but that’s less how he showed up for me. And I thought, that’s what I want to be. That’s what I want to do. I want to figure out how to learn everything I could about business. So that’s what I went out. And did. I learned about, I learned from a small, medium and large size, organization, all for profit, as well as doing nonprofit volunteering to understand that space as well. And then what happened was, I started to pick up all kinds of skills development, I also became a go to person understanding processes and systems. Because I was not only learning about my role, I was also learning about the organization and the industry it was in. So therefore, all of those skills started kind of like bubbling up. So I was in sales. So I understand sales on an operations perspective, as well as how an organization literally runs functionally speaking. And then I turned myself into working when I work for a corporate organization, I actually worked a corporation, I should say, I worked in procurement. So I was on I’ve been on both sides of the fence of operations and how to work with people in all respect.

Jasna Burza
What a great perspective perspective,

Carole Burton
yeah. And so what and it was in retail and in industrial manufacturing, so I really understood how something B comes from nothing out of an idea, right? So to fill a supply demand out of nothing. And so from that the one thing that also learned Josina was that I had 26 managers, let me repeat that I had 26 managers, and only three were leaders. Oh, and so I had to figure out how to find my voice, how to do my own skills development planning for myself, and how to navigate the workplace politically. And right, right, is that

Jasna Burza
fun, timely, very timely, very

Carole Burton
timely. And then what happened was I life changes for me through a phone call or a conversation, but the light just changed through a conversation right through communication. So I recognize that I really got the mid level managers are not taught how to be mid level managers. They have no idea. They don’t know how. So that’s what radiants resources my company does. I picked up a master’s degree in the study of leadership, I study leadership, from a from a law, a long game, a long term time for four years, because I really wanted to understand all the models, theories and thought processes and styles of what leadership meant all the various ways that we are leaders. Because we’re all leaders. We’re all followers. In my mind, we’re all mentors, and we’re all mentees. We all work together. And in study, you know, I really understood how we have to as people, it’s not about us. It’s about how do we step in other people’s shoes to see life through their Lance, that’s called the platinum rule.

Jasna Burza
I love that,

Carole Burton
right? And when we step into that space, we become whole. I know that sounds really counterintuitive, Jeff stuff, but that’s really what it was.

Jasna Burza
That’s and that to me that makes sense. Is that your definition of leadership then?

Carole Burton
For me? In my mind? Yes, yes, it is. Because once we step out of our stuff, because we work on our stuff, we can then really see what our stuff is. And we can really see what life is really about. And so my work with radiants resources is I got I’m a guy, I’m not a coach, I’m an advisor, I’m not a consultant, everybody calls me that I am a guy. And that’s all we are in this world, we guide each other to be our best. That’s it. It’s really, it’s just, I’m not saying it’s easy. But it’s a simple complex, you know, it’s a kind of simple construct. And so for me, it was really about how can I help emerging leaders, evolving leaders, established leaders navigate? Well, when they’re on teams, or individual contributors, I realized that I needed to work and understand the mid level manager to guide them. And then I helped those other groups, the people who report to them or their individual contributors learn how to manage up.

Jasna Burza
I love that. So there’s, and that comes from that experience from your first appearance before and like I said, how timely today because this means that I feel like we are in a brand new world where we new need new skills, and we were like, What the hell we play last. Secondly, you talk ad nauseam about self care. We feel right now, my dear God, we have to be holding on so tight, because sometimes we just feel like I just need to get through the day. So how are you navigating? As you’re working with clients for

Carole Burton
aspects? Yes. So with self care, I’ve been on my own journey like everybody else has. And so there’s some things that I’m like, yo, you need to check that. Okay. You need to look at that. Alright, so I had to look at my own class mirror of my own junk and stuff. And so that’s where the idea for me being comfortable in the uncomfortable comes from. I had to step into my boys, I had to step out of my box. I had to figure out what works for me. And so from that, I became a last year and this year, but this year, really, I became a Mental Health First Aid instructor. So fantastic program started in Australia, so many countries around the world. And here in the United States, it’s exploding because it’s needed it’s for my my friends is Carol, you’re in the what’s happening now. Your your the what’s happening now is our workforce literally shifts our workplace. Isn’t that fun? And so the other area where I play is in that is, you know, how do we adapt? What’s a real conversation about adaptive leadership? Adaptive mindset? Hmm, moving and looking at yourself? Because you’ve been we’ve all been living in a scarcity mindset. What does an abundance mindset look like? Right, so that was part of my work January 2021, I consciously chose to no longer live in a scarcity mindset.

Jasna Burza
Oh, can I get an amen? For everyone watching this right now? We all need

Carole Burton
that right. And so with no blueprint, the scarcity mindset gives you a blueprint, because we’ve been doing it for 1000s of years. Now if we can if we can, if we consciously live in an abundance mindset. It’s been amazing was showing up.

Jasna Burza
It’s good expectation.

Carole Burton
It’s a mindset of I can do I can be and I am Patti LaBelle said that last week, like two weeks ago on drink champs, she said I am I’m not and yet I am and I was like, Oh my gosh, Penny, that’s amazing. I’m not. And yet I am right. And so that’s where I’ve been playing with my self care, to be honest with you. And I really started to say, okay, where else can I play with this? The other place that I play is how do we talk to each other every day? How do we connect and communicate with each other every day? Regardless if it’s a family, a group, an organization or corporation, a cut doesn’t matter? How do we talk to each other every day? How can we create culture? authentic culture, of course, I’m going to always back into the workplace because that’s where I play and it impacts our neighborhoods. Notice we’re a nice no longer saying community, neighborhood. How do we connect with each other every day?

Jasna Burza
Another really timely thing as we are like all in this, whatever discord.

Carole Burton
And if it’s so exciting people like, oh my gosh, it’s doom and gloom. I said, No, y’all don’t. And we got to go through this. I have the needle side of who you are. We’re all being called for our purpose right now. Jasna Oh, yes, we all being called the question is, how are we taking that call? I would pick it up. Are we picking up our smartphone? Are we pushing that button? Are we verbally saying yes.

Jasna Burza
It is. It couldn’t be this conversation entirely couldn’t be more timely. And I feel like people like yourself are stepping up and really having their voice that changes things and which I’m ecstatic about these conversations. Except No, yo, yes. So another thing that you have recently launched this, that you are so really pouring a lot of time into, is the lady boss virtual. Yes. That’s available to

Carole Burton
everybody. Yes. So later, yes. Yes. So lady boss virtual, started with two women in the Twin Cities. And they were like, they were at a business meeting. It’s on our website, Susan and Sarah, they were on a business meeting. And they recognized they were only two women in a restaurant, morning breakfast, you know, business meeting, they were only two women in the room in 2019 19, and they thought we’re gonna go do something about that. So they created lady boss. And then Sarah McNally became the host. And she, they work. Like I said, they were co founders. But you know, Susan stayed back background. And Sarah, you know, was the main host. And they started this. And then of course, it became virtual when the lockdown happened at the very beginning of the pandemic. And so, huge group of women from the, you know, Minneapolis, St. Paul metropolitan area, and across the state of Minnesota in the Upper Midwest of the United States, started to come together and form virtually, and then it is eventually moved out throughout the country, parts of Canada, the UK, and Europe. We even have a lady boss, virtual amazing woman in Botswana, in the southern portion of Africa. We have some women from India, who were attempting to figure out how to come into our calls. And so it’s just been this evolutionary thing. And so what happened was, Sara McNally had a shift in her career, she made a choice to go into a different direction. She called me a year ago, this month, yeah, a year ago. And she said, Carol, would you like take it over? It’s a great gift.

Yes. And so right, it’s a beautiful gift. So we are on LinkedIn, we are in a LinkedIn private group, we have a lot of Lady bosses who talk to us through Facebook, and we’re on Instagram. And essentially, it’s lady boss, virtual.com. And all we do is that we spend one hour, a sacred hour together. And we literally support each other, answering very difficult questions, and deep diving into our stuff to really support each other in an authentic way. We have different types of themes, different types of ideas. And we do like two or three questions to really hone in to really get into the crux of really who we are and how we can improve and support each other. And then what happens is, we we set out to say how can we connect and engage? How can we elevate each other, there is no pitch, we don’t pitch, there’s no membership don’t have a membership. So it’s a get together with friends you haven’t seen in ages. And that’s true. Look, Joe, and these are real people on our website. These are real quotes. So it’s a it’s a moment of arrest, but it’s just taking time out, and really finding women to really support each other and whatever we’re working through. And then the great thing is that that’s where we connect, then we go on to social media or email. And that’s where we connect further to then say, How can I support you? what clients are you looking for? That is how we what I call, expand our networking community. I love that and build authentic relationships to support each other.

Jasna Burza
And what a gift, beautiful concept and a gift of the 2020 and quarters has been that move It’s virtual that people all over the world from Kenya, Australia, Bosnia, everywhere we can join. And we can have those connections, which previously, I mean, they were there still, but we just hesitate it right? And it has changed. So even though I’d love to meet you in person one day, live sure it has become such a, the norm that this is this is perfect. We

Carole Burton
exactly just an energy is energy,

Jasna Burza
energy is energy, energy.

Carole Burton
And so I’ve through lady boss virtual Yes, I as an entrepreneur, I have gotten clients from people saying, You should go, you guys should work with Carol, go work. Great, right? I’ve gotten great friends, great people who call me on my stuff. And great people say, Carol, keep going. And so that’s the beautiful part is for all women in the work force.

Jasna Burza
So women in the workforce heads up period, virtual it is free to join anyone can join and you have what’s beautiful is that there’s you know, there’s multiple touch points and the group’s athlete, as you are

Carole Burton
absolutely is literally it’s literally come as you are, even if you’re in your car, come as you are, we’re good. And so the fun part is you there six ways to engage, you show up, you spread the word, you can participate in a special session where you actually get a real viable tool, real tools. You can donate money. Or you can sponsor See, we keep it is a whole different way of doing this thing called Building community for women, because there’s so many groups, there’s so many support groups. We’re just one that’s doing a little different.

Jasna Burza
I love that. I love that perspective. Well, where should people find you primarily in touch with you?

Carole Burton
Sure. So with me, LinkedIn, Carol Burton, of course on my LinkedIn page, Lady boss virtual.com That’s another place and my my business radiance resources.com

Jasna Burza
Folks, we’re going to link all three of those her LinkedIn bio the radiance resources as well as Lady boss virtual so you can check it out. And you know, I’ve been getting so many messages after I did this like I connected with so and so I do. Yes, makes me happier. So

Carole Burton
thank you, Jasna. It’s been a pleasure to meet you.

Jasna Burza
Definitely so on okay. Bye. Bye bye. Thank you.