On Why Every Moment is a Choice – a conversation with Erika Behl, leader and builder of courageous teams, key-note speaker and storyteller

Hello and Welcome to Leaders in Conversation with me, Anni Townend, the podcast in which leaders share their personal leadership stories weaving together the threads of their life to encourage you to grow confidence and courage in your leadership.

I created this series of candid conversations for leaders to share their inspirational leadership stories, weaving together the threads of their life. 

Together we delve into what they really care about, their values and beliefs, their passion and purpose and how they live and weave these through their leadership every day, in all that they do. 

They offer valuable insights and rich experience to help and inspire you on your own unique leadership journey. If you are not already please do subscribe to the podcast, review and share it. 

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About This Episode

In this episode I am delighted to be in conversation with Erika Behl, leader and builder of courageous teams, key-note speaker and storyteller

We delve together into: 

- Why every moment is a choice
- How leadership burnout really does exist and what what we can do to navigate the leaders sometimes treacherous journey
- How leaders can become more courageous so that their team can be more courageous 

Welcome Erika!

Erika I would like to start by asking you about you, about who you are – your values and beliefs, passion and purpose - who are the people, places and experiences that have shaped you and made you who you are today?

Tell me more about why every moment is a choice, and what this means especially when sometimes we don’t feel like we have a choice.

What makes leaders' journeys so treacherous with the dangers of real burnout and how can we navigate this?

How have you become more courageous, what and who has helped you and how do you help teams to be more courageous?

Three Top Tips

What are your three top tips for leaders looking to build courageous teams, and to make every moment a conscious choice?

1. As a leader, articulating your core values is a must.  Put in the work, do the self reflection, get feedback.  Whatever it takes to clearly discern what gives you conviction to live with your choices—not everyone will like your choices, but they will accept your leadership if you are authentic 
2. Any vision, strategy, or plan has to include the WIIFM (what’s in it for me) for whomever you’re counting on to execute it or transform as a result… this can also be a ‘heightened version’ of themselves 
3. You need a moment—a space—in order to make a decision that’s conscious and aligned with your values.  Learning not to react and to create that space for a response is one of the most powerful things you can choose as a leader

ABOUT ERIKA

Erika is a powerful and courageous leader who I had the privilege of meeting on a leadership program some years ago. She stood out as a leader with huge potential to go far, and I remember sharing this with her over dinner one evening. Since then I have had the privilege of working with Erika, and following her leadership journey which as she says of others has not always been easy, and at times treacherous. Not only does she embody great courage in her leadership but also curiosity.  She is keen to learn and develop new ways of being and staying humble. She is passionate about sharing her learning of Customer Success journeys in the healthcare space engaging patients in their own health journeys whilst providing measurable outcomes for healthcare providers. She loves paddle boarding, is growing to love and believe in public speaking and storytelling, has two wonderful children and lives in Singapore.