Stay on Course with Julie Riga

Welcome, welcome, welcome to Shedding the Corporate Bitch, the podcast that transforms female corporate executives into powerhouse leaders by showing them how to shed the challenges and overwhelm along with any fear, insecurity, self-doubt, and negativity holding them back. I'm your host, Bernadette Boas of Ball of Fire Coaching, bringing you powerhouse experts each week to share tips, advice, and sometimes tough love that will allow you to create the riches in your work and life you deserve. So let's do this. Help me welcome Julie to the show. Hi, Julie. How are you? Hi.

Thank you so much for having me on today.

I'm excited that you're here. So before we get into all the footprint work that we're going to talk about today, share with us a little bit about Julie.

Sure. I spent most of my career working in corporate America in the pharmaceutical sector. I am an executive leadership coach and I have a podcast called Stay on Course: Ingredients for Success. And it's all about, um, the book. I have a book and the podcast. Uh, the book is right here. Uh, but the book is really about my father and his life's journey. And so when my father passed away, he left me his life story to finish. And so I spent, I spent 2 years of my life writing my father's legacy biography story, and it has been the inspiration to almost all of the work that I do. So it is definitely, um, a conversation piece.

That's exciting. Okay, so we need to talk about that for a second. So what was it about his story, and/or what, what made him even consider kind of documenting his story and then kind of asking you, or maybe you were just inspired to then take on actually, you know, publishing it?

So my father was from Italy and he was an immigrant, uh, came over when he was 16, but he had a very interesting, let's say, thread of hanging out and being with celebrities. And so my father was a chef and he worked on the Orient Express and the Queen Elizabeth. And then he came to the United States. He worked at the Waldorf Astoria and the Resorts International Casino in Atlantic City. He worked at the restaurant there. So people like Frank Sinatra, Liberace, Pavarotti, Tom Jones, they all came to eat at his restaurant. And my father Um, was the maître d', so he was the man, uh, in front of the house and he sat with them and made them feel special and heard their stories. And so he wanted to share his story about how his life, his life's journey, ever since he was, you know, going there. What he did was he documented everything that happened to him. And so as he documented, you know, that rise in him to want to write this book, happened, you know, he would talk about it all the time. So what ends up happening is my father gets diagnosed with cancer and has a limited amount of time to live. And he's like, Julie, I gotta get this down on paper. And so 2 months before he passed away, I got this book emailed to me and I'm like, Dad, like when people die, you get an inheritance. Like they don't leave you a book to finish. Like, it's not something I want to be doing for like 2— and this thing took me 2 years. My dad dad was, um, he spoke broken English. And so he worked with his nurse who was from Brazil. They didn't— both of them didn't speak English. So I didn't really get like this great manuscript to begin with. I had to research and work through all of his stories and find out like, were they true, were they not true? And so it was a very, um, tedious process. But, uh, at the end of it I had written his book. And so it has become the cornerstone of all of the work that I do. And I refer back to him and the lessons that he taught me, the legacy that he left, like throughout all of my work that I do.

That is fascinating. I love, love, love that. Okay. So, um, if you would, at least for our viewers, if you'd hold up the book, but let us know, what is the title of the book?

It's called Stay on Course: The Life and Legacy of Ennio Riga, Chef of the Stars. You can get it on Amazon. It's also on Kindle. Um, but really what this does is it documents his life story, the leadership lessons he taught me as, as I grew up, and a little bit of my account, uh, of what was happening in his life as he's going through the book. So it's a really interesting book. It's got recipes, pictures of the celebrities he cooked for, and, um, And it's a really fun book. It's really like a fun book where you almost hear his voice talking. My dad was a fun guy. You know, everybody tells me like, oh, I'm so sorry your dad passed. And I know it's really sad. I really miss him, but he left me this amazing legacy and there's, there's no regrets, you know? Right. Right. No regrets.

Right. So he didn't just leave you a book. Like you said, he left you a legacy, but he also left you a business. He left you maybe your purpose. Um, speaking of the conversation we're going to have today regarding creating your footprint, so I find that interesting as well. Uh, you kind of center your whole practice and what it is that you do around, uh, professionals creating their corporate footprint. So what exactly does that mean for someone? What is it that you're, you know, wanting them to craft for themselves.

Yeah, so the idea here is that you're gonna have leaders that are, um, one level up, two levels up, and you're gonna have all these different people, uh, to network with and be your stakeholders. But it's really important for you to create your own— what I would like to call footprint— your own brand, some people call it, outside of the leaders that are leading you. And so one of the things that brought me to this was I was a little bit younger in my career and I had a, a program that I developed. Well, one of my managers wanted to present the program as her own, and I didn't know what to do with that. Like at the time I was totally blindsided. I was just like, yes, you can take this and, and do whatever you want with it. Well, I was, You know, I second-guessed it after I did it and I consulted with a couple people and I had one of my mentors that I really respected and she was like, Julie, you need to create your own footprint. And so I thought about that. I needed to understand, well, what does that mean? What does that mean creating my own footprint? And so I, of course, being the trainer that I am and facilitator, I'm thinking, all right, how do I make an acronym out of that? How do I make an acronym out of that?

And so true. That's so true.

Because everything I learn, I also consume it in a way where I eventually, it's going to be teachable, right? So I have to think about how can I teach this lesson one day to people that need to hear it. And so I created an acronym for creating your footprint and I talk about, you know, PRINT. I use the word PRINT and I came up with an acronym.

Yes, I definitely want to walk through your PRINT acronym. But before you do, I don't want to move off of that story that you told because many of our viewers and listeners right now are sitting there going, God darn it, that happened to me too. So what did you do or what did you say when that boss kind of asked you if they could present your program, what was your response? And then, then I really want to understand, based on the mentoring that you had received, what would you do differently? And therefore, what would you tell our listeners and viewers that they should do in place of what maybe happened?

Yeah, and that's great because I didn't know what to do and I answered the question like I thought she wanted me to answer her. Ah, I answered the question, oh, of course you can take it. And, you know, not— I mean, I didn't even ask if she was gonna put my name on it. I just said, yes, you can use it. And I literally had one of those ideas. It was a great idea. I created slides, and I was like so excited to be able to present this to the leadership team. And she was like, well, can I present this? And I was like, I said yes. And later on realizing that that wasn't the right answer. That wasn't the right answer. The right answer was, well, can I come with you to present it? You know, that would have been a better answer. And I didn't challenge her. And so later on realizing that absolutely was the right answer to go with her because as a leader, we should be allowing the people that we lead to shine. We shouldn't be taking their ideas as our ideas. It doesn't make you in the place of if you're doing that, right? The whole purpose of being a leader is leaders. So I would have a learning moment. And also had a chance to do this, but I was a little bit more younger in my career and I didn't really know what to do at that time. So I just kind of relinquished that.

I'm sorry that that happened to you because it does happen to so many people. And therefore, yes, you know, you have to stand up for yourself and you have to make sure that you're, you know, you're supported and represented as well. So I love that you acknowledge that. Uh, but I also love what your mentor told you is to create your own footprint. So what did you then take on from that coaching? What did you take on from it?

Yeah. So part of it was that I was going to take responsibility for it to create my footprint. And I thought about, well, what does that mean? What does it mean to create your own corporate footprint? And so I came up with the acronym and we could just, I'll just kind of go through it. We can go back and forth. The first one was PRACTICE. Um, and that is become the expert at what you do. Never stop learning and be excellent. That was the first one that I thought about, because that's something that no people cannot take that from you.

Right, right, right. Plus, plus you need to— if you want to advance and grow, you need to go beyond just the standard, just the accepted.

That's right, right? Yeah. And one of the things that I tell people is like, every year you should be doing some big program to develop yourself, whatever that might look like. You know, you can have, uh, go to a class for 3 days or do a TED Talk. I, one year I did a TED Talk and I'm like, this is my leadership development program for the year. And so, you know, different things. Put yourself in situations there where you're going to challenge yourself to get to that next level.

Yep, I love that. I love that. All right, what's next?

So the next one is get real. And I wrote, authenticity plus curiosity equals connection. Get real with yourself, get real with people. Let people see who you are. When people see a little bit more of who you are and a little bit about your struggle, they connect to you faster.

Agreed.

And so I use this, I use this as like a tool even to make connections with people that are in my coaching programs that are in my teaching programs that I'm facilitating with, because I know that the minute I can show them a little bit of who I am, the easier it is to trust me.

You're modeling that practice that you're wanting to coach them. Is that what you're doing?

Yes, absolutely. So you're showing them the way they should be showing up.

Nice. Love it. Love it.

Love it. Love it.

All right. How about the I?

So the next letter would be I, and that is integrity. And that is for the internal moral compass for your life, just to be truthful, honest with people and allow people to use their voice so that you're not silencing other people to use their voice. At the end of the day, this was me being silenced. You know, I, I was put in a situation, uh, where I was being silenced and in a, in a couple of different situations that happened to me. And so what I, I learned some really valuable lessons and one of the, I had a psychologist on my podcast and she talked to me about this term called gray rocking. And, uh, certain leaders will not allow you to shine the way you really should be shining. And she said sometimes the only way to deal with those people are to be a gray rock, be the most boring rock in the pile. And she's like— I thought that was like so brilliant. I'm like, oh my gosh, I've been a shiny object this whole time. And not everybody likes a shiny object.

It's true. It's true. It is so true. But let me, but to that point though, how do you stand out and how do you differentiate yourself if you're not willing to stand out?

Yeah. And I think that this is where you, where it's a balance where you have to, this is about creating your own footprint out of what that person is doing. So all this, although this person that I was working for, didn't want me to show this presentation, I inserted myself in other ways into the organization where I was able to be a shiny object. So I found ways around this person, uh, to develop some of the other skills that I wanted to do. And, you know, for me, it was really kind of— I, I've always been a little bit of a shiny object because I am a facilitator. And so I end up getting in front of people and I'm not afraid to get in front of people, but also realizing I need to practice. If you don't get in front of people and you're not facilitating training or speaking, then you're not gonna have the confidence you need when you get put in certain situations. So I would just like volunteer for stuff outside of my job.

Wow.

Volunteer for stuff outside of the department, but inside the company, right? Where, where it was okay to do that.

Where is it? Okay, for you to shine.

Where it was okay for me to shine. I joined the Young Leaders Association. I, I raised my hand for like panel discussions out like at night, outside of work, but within work, but outside of work. So there were different circumstances that I was able to raise my hand for where I wasn't now stepping on anybody's toes in my department. And it's unfortunate that I had to do it that way. You know, it's not that— that's not the best way. That's not the best way to do it. But if you're in a situation where you feel that you can't, there are other avenues to, to allow yourself to be the shiny object. And in some cases, what ends— what needs to happen is you need to find a new job. Like, right, this may not be the right job for you. And let's, uh, you know, which leads me into the next one is the networking. So the networking piece is very important in building your corporate footprint. This is about the relationship building. You know, I have— I, I wrote down, never eat alone. Don't eat alone. Like, find people to have lunch with. Lunch should be booked every day with somebody new if you're in the office. I used to go to lunch all the time with people. That was my favorite part of the day because I was networking and eating, two of my favorite things to do. And now that we're working at home you could schedule a virtual lunch with somebody, right? Hey, let's have virtual lunch. Let's get to know each other because it is all about your relationships. That is your currency. The social currency is your currency. At the end of the day, you know, if you lose your job, it's the people that know you that are going to help you. They're going to help you. They're going to have a meeting with you. They're going to say yes to your meetings because they know you. It's harder to get to those places with people that don't know you. Take advantage of every opportunity, every networking opportunity you have, and stay in touch with those people internally and externally. Absolutely.

On your team, outside your team, up and down, you know what I mean?

You need to think about your relationships with people up the ladder and down the ladder.

Right.

And unfortunately, you know, you would think in 2023 we wouldn't be doing this bureaucracy thing anymore. Like, we shouldn't— you shouldn't have to ask your boss permission to go network with somebody, right? I, I don't think that that should be a thing, but it still is. It still is.

Yeah. Well, the way I would say it and see it, rather, and you probably do too, is Go do it and take the consequences afterwards if your immediate boss is not happy that you're doing it. Just do it and then address it when and if it comes up.

I mean, the whole point here is that your boss should be encouraging you to do it. Your boss should be setting the stage for you to get to the next level in your career. And that should be part of your development discussion. You know, hey, who are you networking with this month? How much time are you spending meeting new people?

Yep.

You know, and, and it's only about how confident and how much of a leader that person is you're reporting to that is going to say those things.

That's a great metric is, you know, from a leadership development goal perspective.

You know what? And that leads us really nicely into our next one, which is creating your toolbox.

Toolbox.

I love talking about the toolbox, and I don't think that people are really honing in on the power of your corporate toolbox. What is it that you are creating as your reusable tools that you're bringing into your next job?

Right.

And so those are the things that are your playbooks, like how do you manage your operations? Part of that playbook is your stakeholder management plan. Every corporate executive should have their own stakeholder management plan and a schedule of how you're going to be managing that. That's your networking plan. That is your building your relationships. And this is— I'm telling you, this is what sets people apart. This is how you build your footprint. It really is all about your network because you know what, when the next project comes, okay, your boss asks you to do something and you're like, I know exactly who to contact. I know exactly who can help me with that. Because you've done the work, you've set the stage for your success. You know the right people to help you get what you need to get done. And that only happens really by relationships. You know, I mean, it can happen other ways, but if people are struggling, to get into different parts of the organization. That's really what it is. And I'm also a Myers-Briggs practitioner, so I'm— and I'm an extrovert, so it's a little bit easier for me maybe than certain introverts.

Sure. So, sure.

So introverted people may have a little bit of a harder time with this, but I believe if you can come up with a plan and execute the plan as if it was almost like a project and just, you know, say, this is what— this is how it's going to happen. And this is what I'm going to do. It might be something that helps you do this easier. And I'm not saying— I mean, there are clear differences between different styles of people.

Sure. Well, not only that, but I think another thing that I took away from what you said is if they lean on their stakeholder plan and stakeholders Correct me if I'm wrong, stakeholders are the key people that you need to support and that you want, that you're looking for support from. And therefore, if, if they, if an introvert is having a hard time figuring out how to network and socialize, would you recommend that they focus on the fact that to accomplish their goals and achieve what it is that they're set out to do by their bosses and and/or themselves, then look at it as, like you said, a project around making your stakeholders and really getting to know your stakeholders and understanding what it is that they need. And therefore it's very academic versus emotional.

Academic. Yeah. And it becomes really a part of your strategy, your success strategy. You know, every individual can take a moment and write a SWOT analysis about their job and when, where they are, you know. And if you're looking at What your strategy is. Well, that, that's part of your strategy is to manage those stakeholders and then put it on project status, put it up, make it that easy. Okay. In, in February, I'm going to reach out to 7 individuals and I'm going to schedule those meetings. Here's what I want to learn from them. Here's what I want to offer them as, you know, what, what I can do to bring value to their life. And then just keep that conversation going. And then maybe you don't check in with them till half a year later. Or another year later and you say, hey, this was great. Can I check in with you? Can we do this again? Maybe like, you know, depending on how many times you really need this person around you, maybe it's once a quarter, maybe it's once a year, maybe it's every half year. But I think it's very, very important to have that as part of your, what I call the operations playbook and how you're going to manage yourself as operationally. And I don't think people think about it that it like in that way. You know, I agree.

I don't think they look at it. And you give me your observation. Do you find many professionals are looking strategically and looking forward and proactively around that footprint that they should be establishing, you know, before they get to the point where they're like, oh, I want something new and different, and yet they haven't done the work?

Yeah, I mean, they're not doing it because Perhaps they haven't been mentored. Perhaps they haven't heard this conversation before. You know, like, this is also me coming back to you after I have been sitting in a director role and really understanding what it took to get that job done. And at that time, and at that level, it's all about relationships. It's all about relationships. And so That practice needs to start sooner than when you're just becoming a director. By the time you're a director, it's almost too— not that it's too late, because when you start jobs, you can do this, right? But, you know, when you start a new job, give yourself your 100-day plan and have that stakeholder engagement as part of what you're going to accomplish in the first 100 days. And then look at how it's going to materialize in the future.

I love it. I love it. I love it. I love it. And I think another thing that you were saying too earlier about your acronym PRINT and that framework is people can remember it. People can, like, you know, retrieve it, this whole conversation. They can go, oh, wait a minute, we were talking about corporate footprint, PRINT. It means practice, get real, integrity, uh, networking, and a toolbox. I absolutely love that. Is there one, one last thing that you would leave with our listeners and viewers as far as them creating that footprint for success?

I would say be consistent with it. Be consistent with the practice. Some of these things are are things that you need to put into practice, you know, being— creating that corporate toolbox, making that stakeholder engagement plan. I think those two are the, the actual tangible things you need to do and, and continue to develop them. Don't forget about them. It needs to be something that you're continuously, continuously developing because one day you are going to be a leader. And you want to have all these things buttoned up. You want to have them all ready to go so that your next job becomes easier. If you're collecting this toolbox, creating this toolbox as you move forward into your career, the easier things get. It's no longer, I'm going to reinvent the wheel, right? It's like, oh no, I know how to do that. I know how to do this. I know how to do that. And I know how to whip it all together into a beautiful meal. You know, and that's something that, that my father taught me, you know, like, what's, what's in the kitchen? What's in, what's in the fridge? Like, let's just whip it up. Let's make— what are your ingredients? You should have them all ready to go. So learning these things when you're younger in your career, putting them into practice and being consistent is what's going to set you apart.

Love it, love it, love it. And since she ended that with a conversation about her father and the lessons that that he taught her and whatnot. Download her two things. Download her free ebook, The Course to Leadership, at stayoncourse.io, but also pick up her book, or his— well, your book, his story. And they can do that on Amazon as well as on your website.

That's right, it's on my website. And yes, and there's a link to my podcast as well, Stay on Course: Ingredients for Success.

Yeah, we'll put all of these links, everyone, we'll put them into the show notes so you have direct access to Julie, to her podcast, to this free ebook, and even her, um, father's story. Because I just, I am, uh, I just love, love, love that. Julie, thank you so much for being part of the show. I so appreciate it.

Thank you so much for having me. It's been wonderful.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I will talk with you soon. Wow, what a great conversation with Julie Riga. Wasn't that awesome? What did you take away from it? I know for myself, here are some of the highlights that I walked away with. First off, take responsibility for creating your corporate footprint that will ensure that you have all the things in place today for what it is that you want to pursue and achieve tomorrow and in the future. So take responsibility. Then she did talk about your corporate footprint, but she had an acronym, or more so a framework around that, and that is PRINT. Uh, and PRINT stands for Practice, Get Real, Integrity, Networking, and a Toolbox. Your Corporate Toolbox. And listening to each one of the meetings behind, um, that framework provided some really powerful actionable items and techniques and strategies that you should be doing in order for you to really accelerate your success at work and even at home. So I I'm so appreciative to Julie for sharing all that great wisdom. Now, what questions do you have that go even beyond that when it comes to you being a powerhouse leader in your life, or, and especially at work? You can book a call with me anytime at coachmebernadette.com/discoverycall, and let's have a conversation about it. Let's talk through the goals that you have, the challenges you might be having. And let's transform you into the powerhouse leader you're meant to be. Thanks for joining me this week, and be sure to check out all of our episodes at sheddingthecorporatebitch.com. See you next time.

Bye.