The Corporate Goddess Tiffany Shenelle provides Tips and Advice

Well, happy Tuesday everyone. This is Bernadette Boas and yes, you're on Shedding the Bitch Radio. We had a little bit of a hiccup there for some reason.

The—

my own intro didn't want to automatically go in, so I introed the intro. But I hope everybody is having a wonderful, wonderful day. I'll tell you what, I'm all pumped up. Great guest. Has nothing to do with the fact that I've been drinking green tea all morning, so I feel like I'm I'm kind of on rocket fuel at the moment, more so than I typically am without caffeine in my system. But our great show is all around the Corporate Goddess, and I have Tiffany Chanel with me today. I'm so excited. How are you, Tiffany?

Hello, Bernadette. I'm great. How are you?

I'm doing super. I've been so looking forward to this. I met Tiffany Probably about a year ago, I talk a lot on the show about Vegas and CEO Space International, an entrepreneurial organization I'm a part of, and so is Tiffany. And the minute the two of us kind of met, it was kismet. It had nothing to do with the whole corporate thing. It was more because if you saw Tiffany's photo on any of the promotional messages I've been sending out to you, you will kind of see just the light in her spirit. It just jumps off of her photos and images. So I want to welcome you, Tiffany, and thank you for joining Shedding the Bitch Radio. Your, your conversation, your conversation is right in line with ours, and that is all about how can we, as whether it's women or men, quite honestly, how can we live in the moment? How can we really embrace who we are and all the, all the beautiful things about ourselves so we can live a full life? But before I jump into kind of asking you and having you share with us your specialty, your expertise, your spirit. I want to introduce Tiffany because I also, I have to say, I also loved her bio because again, you just feel her spirit come through her bio. So I'm going to read it real quick. The producer Tiffany Chanel is a lover, speaker, and coach out of Los Angeles and New York. Prior to The Corporate Goddess, she was the energy force behind Clear Destiny Coaching and Consulting. She leads training and workshops across the country for Fortune 500s and small business. She brings an eclectic mix to her clients, merging the arts, science, spirituality, and environment. She describes herself as an engineering PhD student turned dance student turned international backpacker, turned corporate consultant, turned me. Oh, and she's also a marathoner on top of all this. Having led, or having lived through the fight to her, to be herself completely and wholly, she leads dynamic talks and presentations to women on communication, personal power, and leveraging the now. And that's certainly what we are going to talk about today. Women are inspired and empowered to stepping into their into their power and truly embodying who they were born to be. When you meet with Tiffany on a radio show, in person at one of her workshops or training programs, or even just over coffee, you need to prepare to laugh, move, and have a breakthrough in working with Tiffany. And there's never a dull moment when talking to the Corporate Goddess. I can't tell you how much I love that. Absolutely, absolutely love that. Go ahead.

It's so funny hearing you read it.

Well, yeah, it is kind of weird, isn't it, to hear your own bio read back to you or spoken back to you?

Yes, I love it though. Thank you.

You're very welcome. So, all right, so share with us, how did you get to this point? Of being and living as the Corporate Goddess. Give us some, a little bit of background around that.

Okay, so the bio, as Nancy began to explain, I actually started out as an engineer. I was an engineering student. I went to grad school. It was a PhD program. It was absolutely miserable. Didn't like it, but stayed in it because I felt like it was what I was supposed to do. Because of family obligations, professional obligations, what have you. And we all as women have experienced staying in something that we didn't want to do because of obligation.

Oh yeah.

So I finally mustered up the courage to do that. I went into corporate consulting. Well, I did take the courage to take off 6 months to myself, but then I went to corporate consulting and found myself again unhappy. Just really long hours, stressful. You've done it before, so I don't need to tell you about it. But from there, I really decided that this wasn't the life that I wanted to live, that I was going to change the conversation, and I decided to start my business. So like at night, while doing my corporate consulting with my psych job, I started building a coaching business, started designing workshops, started doing workshops on weekends, started networking with people. And 3 years ago last month, I left the corporate job and I haven't been back since.

Woo!

It's not about the corporate status, it's really about how, um, and exactly what you said, the corporate bitch is about, is about how do we live our fullest selves, how to, as business people and ambitious people, still, still live the joy that we know we have, still share our gifts, share our talents without feeling we have to trade it for a 9 to 5. That 9 to 5 can be that. So I feel myself corporate. I still do corporate consulting and corporate training, but I just do it under my own company, and I get to create the rules and create the environment that I want to work in and live in.

Right. Now, and I love the fact on one of your speaker sheets, I'll call it, where you outline your programs that you have, you even talk about helping people shed, and I love when— and that was even before meeting you, that was even before, you know, shedding the corporate bitch. So I love how people really are, like yourselves, are also working to help transform individuals, men and women. I know you predominantly work with women, but everything that you do can easily be adapted to men, but you're taking the smart approach in that you have a niche, and that's what's key there. So tell me a little bit about the unique factor. You tend, you have a workshop that really pulls out an individual's unique factor. So help the men and women listening understand what is their unique factor or how do they find that?

Okay. So this is one of the fun workshops where I like to, it's kind of one of the more creative ones. So in my talks, I like to integrate audio and visual. An experience, not just me speaking. So this is— this one actually begins in silence, and the attendees watch a video. And it's funny because when I saw Super Teaching, I thought of this because it's very similar. For those of you that have experienced Super Teaching will understand this, but it's a video that I produced, and it has different images, and there's songs over it, and it's designed to really get it's the attendees who oftentimes are business people, out of their head and into their body. Right. And so from this space of like a creative, really like in our body, you know, left and right brain approach, we really get a chance to look at our lives. And the first question I ask is, who are you? Who are you? And I'm asking that from an internal perspective, from your body and your heart. So if you really sat still and just breathed deeply for 30 seconds and then said, "Who are you?" Ask yourself that question. And stripping away your title, your degree, where you're from, what your experience, who your parents were, but really ask yourself, "Who are you?" From a creative space. And that's where we start and we do— so there's some movement involved, there's some drawing, there's some amazing conversations. And there's actually even this part where people partner up and get a chance to look at the other person's response. Because we kind of answer the question with colors and drawing. And then really try to read that. So it's a really creative type workshop where you're really in— and it's really different for people that are used to corporate. And I have an engineering background, so I totally, totally know— get that on in my left brain. Tuning, right-brain questions to who are you, just to help you get out of your way and then figure out how you can bring that, those answers, whether it be, like for me, it's a lover, seeker, and coach. Right. What does that mean? How does it apply? It applies where I do workshops.

Sure.

I do workshops, I do public speaking, I write, but I'm not a writer. I'm a lover, seeker, and coach here to transform.

Well, let me ask you something. On that point about unique factor, do you find that even if that's at the beginning of any type of program or any type of engagement you have with an individual or with a group, don't you find or do you find that there's always aha moments even at that early stage because of the fact that especially women, as women, we don't take a lot of time to think about us. We think about the family, the kids, the husband, the boss, the community, PTA, and we don't spend time really thinking about ourselves. So I often find when I speak to a group of individuals, especially women, I'll get people that actually raise their hand back at me and say, "Well, Bernadette, what are you talking about? What do you mean, you know, what do I want and what are my dreams and who am I? I mean, I'm a housewife, like you said, all those titles." Do you find that that can be transformational for people even at the onset of one of your events or programs?

Yes, definitely. You know, I believe that the transformation starts before you even get there. So we've all experienced, those of us that are into taking tape workshops or even listening to programs like this, like right now I'm doing a 10-day juice fast. That before you enter a program like that, oftentimes there's something that you're asking for. Right. And even signing up and saying yes, you are allowing that to begin to occur.

Great point.

So it's, it's, yeah. So shifts begin to happen, and it's funny because oftentimes when you enter, when I, at the beginning of that workshop, it actually can be very emotional. Because the shifting is already occurring and whether the person is allowing themselves to see it or feel it at first, that's why that first piece of being quiet and just watching the music, and it's, you know, some great music. You get some Michael Jackson in there, some Broadway music, some The Color Purple. It's just like really creative type stuff that really elevates your spirits and kind of drops you into like your body and—

Sure.

Ability, and if that's shifting, like, yes. Right.

And then what, regardless of what the venue or the medium is that you use, you also really help individuals learn to communicate better or more effectively, and you really talk about, like, you know, getting people to think about, "How do I say it?" in order to improve their communications. Could you give us some kind of tips and some insight as to what anybody listening right now, what they could be doing around improving their communication?

Yes, definitely. Okay, so how do I say it? It is a body-based approach to communication. So oftentimes when we're communicating, specifically in business, it's largely from our head. It's very analytical. And so what I do in this is try to leverage different parts of the body and specifically in the short version, the heart and then the gut. And so that's just helping to leverage a piece of our body to communicate more effectively. So I like to say, specifically when you're— another quick preview— when you're having a difficult conversation to have, start in your gut. Start in your grounding, with the "I can, I have," and be grounded in what they're for you to request and for you to say. Now this helps to ground you so when the other person comes on the line or comes in the room and it's a difficult conversation, you don't flake.

Right, right.

You're committed to your commitment to your— yeah. So that's huge, you know, because difficult conversations, we all have to have them and we all have avoided them at some time or another.

Right.

So that's the first piece, to ground it. And I think keep— start there before you the conversation and start the conversation there, expressing your concern, your request, whatever that is. Stay in that space. And then I say move into the heart space, because I believe this is where transformation occurs. So in this heart space, when you actually get a chance to really— to be vulnerable— and vulnerability is strength, which I know people don't often think. They think of it as a weakness.

Right, that's true.

Vulnerability is strength. So move When you can actually speak from your heart and share what that is, what the request is and where it's really coming from. Maybe you felt underappreciated, maybe you felt undervalued, maybe you're really wanting more from something. And really just share that. Share that in that moment and then I can say go up into the throat area and allow that to come through in a firm, grounded way.

Yeah, but Tiffany, but Tiffany, before you go off of that confronting that difficult conversation, let me ask you a question. I mean, we all want to be— it sounds really easy, simple, logical what you're saying, and yet many of us stop at that point. We know it's logical, we know we need to speak from the heart and have that difficult conversation, How do you help individuals break through that fear, you know, because it all goes down to what's in your head, right, about, you know, God, the world's going to end if I actually have this difficult conversation. How do you help them break through that fear so they can have that conversation?

Oh, that's a great question. So it varies person to person and depending on the venue, but I would say this. The biggest, the hugest part of it I say is me, is getting people into the present moment. And that's why the now is so, so important. And so that looks a lot of different ways. I use a lot of movement. I'm very much in my body and I'm also a dancer. So I use a lot of movement and a lot of creativity like drawing and things of that nature and using, activating that throat chakra. Because oftentimes we even have that heart space open but it gets stuck at the throat throat chakra. So sometimes it's as simple as a cough. I tell people like, "Ahem." I cough and they feel in the moment and they don't stuff it, they want to say something, so just cough. And that helps do it, that helps do it. And we practice. We practice, practice, practice. We do it with each other in workshops. We do role-plays. I'm in one-on-one coaching. And it's just something that the more you do it, the better you get at it. But the first, the first The first, I would say, point and the anchor point in that is being in the now. And I say being in the now means being currently present because what usually stops people is fear. And if you're in fear, typically you're projecting into the future or you're reminding yourself of the past. And that's why it's so important to be in the body and in front of the breath because you can only breathe now.

Right, right. Okay, good, because that's what I get a lot of questions on when it comes to, you know, the whole shedding the bitch type of process is, you know, change is difficult, breaking through those fears is difficult for people, and yet I think what I hear you saying is you just— well, I like to practice makes perfect, and yet I would even expound on that to say, you know, find little difficult conversations that you could have with people to then practice so when the big issue comes up you know, you would have broken through, you know, and figured out kind of how you can ground yourself to have those difficult conversations. Would that be a fair little, you know, thing to do?

Yeah, you know, and I would say, you know, it's really, it's about being true to yourself, Bernadette. That's what it's really about.

That's true.

And you know, you're on that journey, I'm on that journey, and so for those that are on that journey, you know that it's continued growth. Yeah. And it's continued, and it's giving you progress.

Right.

You know who you are, and that's why it's important to be grounded and to be present. Because you know who you are and you're standing in your truth, and you are grounded enough to stay in your truth and love yourself enough to honor that, then yeah, it's hard, but you know what, you do it anyway.

Right.

And it gets easier and easier.

Right. Right. Well, and I guess too, I'm not sure if you hear this or not, but I'll hear women like make comments like, well, sometimes I have to be a bitch, you know, I have to have that, you know, bitch on, so to speak. And I'll say to them, no, you don't. If, and to your point, if you feel confident and worthy and empowered and in your, as you say, in your truth and in your now, there's no reason for you to have to lash out or do anything from a negative perspective. You can come at it in a very positive, constructive way. Is that what you also mean?

Yeah, you know what, I'm happy, I'm so happy you said that because this morning I was writing, I was writing what was on the blog and the sentence that came to me is that diva, that diva role, that personality which also described as a bitch, right, come from having power and not taking responsibility for it, right? So you're powerful anyway, but if you take ownership and responsibility for that, then you automatically command power. You walk in a room, you have a conversation, you're commanding that. There's no need to demand that, right? No one needs to be a bitch. It's really because you're feeling like you're drowning. You got fight for that power.

Right. Yeah, I absolutely—

Your own power, you're exuding it, that's not necessary and that actually makes you look petty.

Yeah. And I hate when, you know, I hate when, not hate, that's not a good word to be using either, but I kind of take offense to when women claim that, you know, they have to kind of take on that behavior because I know, I mean, I'm the one who did it for 25 years and I did it purposely thinking I had to. And yet that was just covering up a bunch of insecurity and feelings of unworthiness.

Yeah.

Now, uh, let me ask you another question. No, no, please go ahead.

I think that's why it's so important to first just to really know who you are and love yourself. Like, the journey starts within because I've seen— and I— and with the corporate goddess, we walk in January, and the site is now preparing for a relaunch. We had the site live, and when we were live, we highlighted different corporate goddesses from corporate around this conversation. And I've seen— because I'm in corporate consulting, so I've seen the inside of lots of different companies on the VP and above level. And I've seen women manage it and command power in the most amazing way without being catty, without losing their peace. Anything without being stressful. Exactly. It's very, very possible, and the more you do it, the easier it gets, not only because it's easy for you to do, but people respond to you in a different way.

Couldn't have said it better, and it was funny that you were having that, or writing your blog or whatever this morning, because I was just having a conversation with someone earlier, and she had read my book, and she had asked me, she goes, "Do you think this could help from a glass ceiling perspective? Do you think women can break that glass ceiling without lashing out. And I said, "It's funny you should say that because I'm talking to somebody at noon and she's the Corporate Goddess and she, that's what, you know, she is also working on is to help women in, you know, in high-profile positions really kind of use their skills, talents, and their power to grow and not use their fists, so to speak." if you want to call it, you know, if you want to visualize it.

Yeah, a lot of men hurt and girls— this is men and women, and this is the answer. This is like at the core, I think, all of our problems, whether it be at work, in our personal relationships, in how we see ourselves in social settings. You have to take the time to get to know who you are, and that's why it's so key to stop and breathe sometimes, because we're in a very information-loaded society. We have Facebook, we have Twitter, radio, TV. There's always something coming at us. And that, you know, it's exciting. It's an exciting time to be alive, but with that, we have to know who To make we are. sure that we're not confusing those external, the external energy and messages.

Sure, it's exhausting.

So the answer is always just in myself. People are saying grounded. Maybe I should be clear about what grounded means. When I say like ground, I mean be present. I mean be in your body and being able to feel your heart, right? And when you get to the last day, for your heart, because that's the way to communicate with yourself. Absolutely. One of my favorite books by October, The Seven Laws of Spiritual Success, he talks about speaking to your heart to ask itself questions.

That's, yeah, that's absolutely— Pardon me?

The audience real quick, Bernadette, can I share that with the audience real quick about how to actually do that?

Yeah, real quick, go ahead. Yeah, I'd love to hear it.

Okay, so real quick, it's just you pose whatever is on your mind and you ask yourself questions. Yes or no. Yes or no question is breathe deeply, drop into your body so that you can feel your heart, even if you can't feel it beating. Get real, real quiet with yourself, and then ask yourself the yes or no question, and you'll feel your heart contract and expand. And when you feel your heart, there's a tightness around it, your heart is telling you no. And when you feel an expansion, that's a yes. And that's a method I got from the Seven Laws of Spiritual Success by Deepak Chopra.

That's sweet. And I can definitely relate to the fact that, as obviously you do, to when you're doing something that's right, that's real, that's authentic, that's true to who you are, you have no kind of ache or pain, whether that's literally or, you know, what's the other word I'm looking for? Unliterally. But, you know, but at the same— but the moment—

it's almost like it's, um, it might be challenging, but if you're grounded and you know it's right, right, and you know at the end of the day you can go to sleep with yourself and be happy about it and go home to your family and look them in the eyes, then yeah, it's worth it.

Absolutely. That's so cool. That is so cool. We are talking to Tiffany Chanel, the Corporate Goddess, and she shares great information and tips and advice and transformational type of programs, services, and workshops as the Corporate Goddess. And right now, because she is about to launch her new Corporate Goddess website on September 24th, and at that time she's also going to be looking for featured writers and experts and people who want to be part of that message. So reach out to Tiffany. Like I said, her website is kind of in, in transition right now. You can get her at Tiffany Chanel on Twitter. You might even find it under The Corporate Goddess TCG, I think is where I found it this morning. And at the same time, she can be reached at Tiffany@thecorporategoddess.com. And, you know, reach out to her, communicate with her, ask her questions, see what kind of programs she has coming up. She not only holds programs of her own and workshops and whatnot, but she also speaks She speaks to corporate organizations, small businesses, and associations. So you might even want to engage her in some capacity as well. But Tiffany, thank you so much for joining us. I have a couple of announcements for everybody, not only regarding Tiffany being on our show today, and you can listen to it in archive as well on BlogTalkRadio.com/sheddingthebitch. But next week at noon, we have a special guest as well. We have Guy Kawasaki. Who is not only a business guru, the social media king, he's also an author and he has a book out, Enchantment, right now. So definitely come back and check him out at noon next Tuesday. As well, check in on us all the time at SheddingTheBitch.com, BlogTalkRadio, as well as you can go to SheddingTheBitch.com. You'll even see a new website coming out from us that'll be very collaborative, very social. Get you very engaged with each other as well as with the whole Shedding the Bitch organization. And you too could be a Richie Ambassador, which is kind of spreading the message of shedding the bitch, having bitch parties, which we are having here in Atlanta on September 22nd, and be— just be part of the Richie community, as we call it. So certainly check back with us every week, go to the websites, find Tiffany and I on Twitter and Facebook. We're everywhere, right Tiffany? Yeah, definitely. Definitely everywhere. Well, and you know, we're leveraging what we can to help you and to serve you. And as she always says, she's trying to help you transform into the person you're meant to be. And that's what we do here at sheddingthebitch.com. So check out Tiffany Chanel, the Corporate Goddess. And then come back to us in a couple of weeks. We look forward to having you join us again. Have a great day, everybody. Thank you, Tiffany, for joining us.

Thank you so much for joining us. It was great. And I really want to say that I don't at all claim to be a guru, so anyone that has— please email me, Tiffany, at thegopherguidance.com because I love to participate in this conversation. I'm really— nice to meet you. Thank you. Like you are, Bernadette. Anyone that has anything to say about this and really wants to build on this concept because we're all going through it, please.

Yep, absolutely, absolutely.

Well, great.

Everyone, thank you so much for a great, great show. Thank you, Tiffany, so much, and I'm sure I'll be seeing and talking with you again soon.

Okay, great.

Take care, everybody.