S4:E3 Leadership & Success Podcast Live with Colonel Michelle “G-I” Gardner-In e, USAF (Ret)

Hi, I'm John Maxwell. When the top companies in the world are looking for trainers, speakers, and coaches, there's one name that stands above the rest, and that's Maxwell Leadership. Our certified team members have gotten proven results for companies all over the globe, and our reputation, I'm proud to say, is second to none. Some of our members have risen to the top of their profession, including the one you're going to meet today. I proudly introduce you to my friend, Bob Fabien Zinga.

Welcome to the Leadership and Success Podcast with your host, Coach BZ. If you need to develop into a better leader, this podcast is for you. If you want to achieve a greater level of success, this podcast is for you. His mentor, Dr. John C. Maxwell, said it best: everything rises and falls on leadership. We hope to inspire you today and provide you with an insight that has the potential to positively impact the trajectory of your life. Welcome to the Leadership and Success Podcast.

Hello everyone, this is Bob Fabien Zinga and I'm very, very glad to be here today. And I'm going to be introducing very shortly my guest for Season 4, Episode 4, if you can believe that. And that's Colonel Michel G.I., U.S. Air Force retired. And I am so glad to be talking to my Colonel right now. Colonel, how are you doing today?

I am blessed and highly favored. Super excited to be here with you. I'm doing great. Did I lose you, BZ?

Can you tell us about your leadership journey to get started?

Sure. My mother would tell you— first, first, before we even get started, I have to say happy Women Veterans Day. For those of you who do not know, June 12th is Women Veterans Day. And I would be remiss if I did not stop, pause to celebrate all of the women who decided, made a decision, raised their hand to commit to country and service. Much like our male counterparts, this, you know, while we serve, the sacrifice is often a little bit different. We're asked to leave the children we birthed, right? Something that has been attached to our bodies. Our bodies, while our hearts and minds want to serve, our bodies oftentimes take a— it's more stressful, you know, on our back, on our neck, even infertility because of the stress of war, deployment, etc. So women veterans, in my opinion, and I've said this for years, are this nation's top secret weapon.

Hey.

We are underserved. We are underutilized. We are underemployed. We are sometimes unseen. But let me tell you, women veterans are a force. And I just want to say, to coin something that many of my fellow colleagues at VA say, You are seen, you are heard, and you are valued. So thank you, and I give you a salute. Thank you for your service.

Thank you. That is wonderful. We've definitely come a long way as a country, and hopefully we're going to keep moving forward. And I am really impressed by all of the work you do for the veterans, including women. So if you want to start from the very beginning, kind of like your leadership journey, are you going to into joining the U.S. Air Force and all of the great things you've done.

Absolutely. And I do want to say I'm not here under the VA umbrella, so I will not be talking about what I'm doing at VA. I'm just here as a small business champion, consultant, advisor, speaker. My leadership started early. My mom would tell you that, you know, I was in charge of girls groups and and started, you know, in Girl Scouts from very young. My father, who was one of the first Black Army Corps of Engineers officers— we moved 17 times throughout my formative years. I was always— my brother and I were always the only Black officers' children. And so my leadership journey started out of survival. Right? I will just tell you that being the first, the only, and different, that air is often rare. No different than leadership oftentimes is a very lonely, rare place. So I didn't realize— I knew I liked being in charge of people, and I realized that. When I arrived at Tuskegee University, it was institute back then, that just shows you how long it's been. And everybody who went through ROTC at that period of time, because Tuskegee was receiving federal funds, had to take ROTC or physical education, PE. The logic of a 17-year-old was that ROTC was going to be a lot easier than, than physical education. And I saw these amazing, beautiful women standing there in their blue uniform. They looked clean. Now, mind you, I'd seen my dad in uniform, but most of the time he was coming home covered in dirt because, you know, that's kind of what the Corps of Engineers does. And I was thinking, mm, this thing's not for me. So that's why I didn't choose Army and I went Air Force. Well, I was in the ROTC program for one semester, and then I tested and was offered a 4-year scholarship. So, you know, I'm so thankful that the logic of a 17-year-old said join the Air Force. My father was just overwhelmed. He never pushed the military, never thought I would go into the military. He got to commission me. And so, you know, that's where the leadership really started. Not only there, but then watching my parents be leaders. You know, my mother was Army Wife of the Year for 1973. She was runner-up for the entire military, you know, Military Wife of the Year Award. She has been a community leader all of her life. She's a young 86-year-old who still is leading in her community and just a beacon of light, independent, very, and, you know, is on Zoom doing exercises and senior activities. She just keeps us all on our toes. And my father, who passed you know, about 35 years ago, was a leader in his own right in the Army Corps of Engineers arena and in his family, you know, the most successful sibling, I would say, you know, in his family. So, you know, leadership has always been something that I've not only been a student of, but I've watched— got to watch my parents before even realizing that leadership was a thing. But the aha moment— I'm glad you— it was awesome that you put our mentor John Maxwell up because I'm a John Maxwell certified coach— has influenced me, oh my God, so much. Um, um, you know, and I was telling you earlier when we met that the 21 Most Powerful Minutes in a Leader's Day, which is the, the biblical version of the 21 Laws of Leadership, change to my life. Exactly, that book is life-changing, life-changing, uh, because what I like about that book versus the, the, the 21 Laws is that the stories are broken down in much more bite-sized pieces. And, you know, read this part, think on it, execute on it. And I loved that. So, you know, after reading his book, I realized the accountability of leadership. I realized the responsibility of leadership was more than just what I had on my shoulders. And I came up with this mantra, if you will. And it called— it's called The Place Every Great Leader Should Be. The place every great leader should be is close to God. I'm going to say that again. The place every leader should be is close to God. Because when you think about all of the opportunities, not just to get the mission wrong, but to mess up the life of people and the ripple and legacy impact of, of negatively impacting people's lives, the place every leader should be is close to God.

Wow, that is powerful.

Wow.

So back then, so you came in as a lieutenant in the Air Force, and it's really wonderful that your father was the one who did the oath of office for you. That is, that is really, really wonderful. What, what a blessing that is. So in your time in, in the Air Force, did you see, um Did you experience, maybe not you personally, but just at the high level, some type of discrimination or differences between male and women, or did you feel like the Air Force didn't really care much whether you were male or female in your experience? And on top of that, being a person of color too.

Absolutely. Yeah, I'm sorry I didn't let you finish because I was having some flashbacks there, so please forgive me. Absolutely. You know, I would be naive and remiss if I said that there was no discrimination, there were no, you know, biases against women. But because of who my father was and all that he taught my brother and I, he used to say, you cannot put a blanket over sunshine. My colleague, Jules Toujon, who is from the country of Cameroon, would say, "You can put your hand over your eyes, but the sun is still shining." And the reason that's so powerful and it guided me is because he would say, "If you're excellent, people can't ignore it. They may pretend they're ignoring it." but that excellence is colorblind and genderless. And I will tell you, I went 27 years in the Air Force. I only worked for 2 women. The rest were white males. I had some, some, I call it statesmen, right, who adopted me at the, at the O-5 level and were the ones that pushed me over into '06, their mentorship, their insight, the visibility they gave me. I mean, you know, you know, two of my, my mentors, some, you know, I always say I had a lot of travel agents along the way, but my real mentors didn't come until I was at the '05 level when I was going to just call it quits. You know, one, one is like the 13th disciple. He's not a general officer, but He's like my tour guide, right? He's, he's the guy I can call, and when I say the first word, he knows something's wrong, right? He's the guy who calls me unsolicited and, and says, you were on my mind, what's going on? You know, then, then there, you know, I was blessed to have two 4-star mentors. That happened because of my excellence, and it happened because of disruptive blessings. That's what I call it. You know, I was working for a gentleman, um, who's no longer with us, who, um, sided with a, a, a, um, a, a captain, young captain that worked with me. She was disrespectful in front of people, and I went to him and I said You know, first I spoke with her, called her in and said, look, you know, I'm going to give you a letter of counseling. She went to my then boss and told him that she was going to give me a letter— that I was going to give her a letter of counseling. He came in my office, slammed the door, which told me exactly where his alliance was. He wasn't neutral at the time. That I was in no means going to give her a letter of counseling. And I was so frustrated that I walked out of my office just to cool my head. And I decided to go next door. Then Colonel, full Colonel Larry Spencer, who retired as the Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force, later, I went to talk to him and I told him what was going on. He said, you need to get out of there. And he said, tell me where you want to go and I will help you. I said, okay. It's the first time anybody had done this for me, like offered deliberate, timely assistance, right? Sponsorship. And he said— so I came back and I said, hey, my husband then had gotten out of the military. And I'm like, my husband is the nicest guy in the world. But BZ, if he's not working, he's not a nice guy. I got to keep that guy happy because he puts up with me. And that's a whole other story. And he's always been my biggest supporter. Go, baby, go. I got the kids. Go do you. So I got to make sure he's happy. 'cause, you know, hey, I'm just saying. So I came back and I said, look, I want to go to Boston. You know, I know they've got a position open there as the Deputy Base Commander. And he goes, I don't know why you want to go to Boston. It's cold there. And he didn't say, I'll get back with you. He didn't say, go do 15 things. Immediately he picked up the phone. He called the Wing Commander who would be my boss. And said, hello, this is Larry O. I've got a GI here. I hear you got a job open. She's going to wow you and she's going to send you a package. And he hung up the phone and he looked at me and said, don't embarrass me. BZ, that job got me to '06.

Wow.

I went there. I got the opportunity to sit in front of every 4-star in the entire Air Force. Talking about diversity, I got the opportunity to host every 4-star in the Air Force at an AFA convention, the first event where all 4-stars were assembled after 9/11. And it was flawless. I was in charge of over 80 volunteers that put that conference on. I mean, it was just an amazing time. I mean, and the last thing was, you know, that I got an opportunity to lead the base's efforts through an operational inspection.

Wow.

And so all of those things, you know, just because it's about— it wasn't that I wasn't good. I just didn't have the— I wasn't in front of the right people, right? And so, you know, how I got to sit in front of all the 4-stars was I was in charge of Black history for the base. And I was riding back in the car with the 4-star escorting him and his aide to their— to their— to their DV quarters. And he said, GI, you know, we really got to get this this diversity thing right. We need to retain pilots. We need to make sure that our retention and recruiting is going well. If you have any ideas, I'd love to hear them. Now, Beezy, you'd have to know, first of all, this guy is my boss's boss's boss's boss.

OK.

So he's like— 4 levels. He's the MajCom commander. General Lester Lyles, to this day, love him and General Spencer, you know, both. And I tell people, some of us need extra help. So I needed 2 4-stars, really 3. General Hal Hornberg was also tremendous in that. And so I didn't ask my boss, could I send him anything. He told me directly, yes, send him my ideas. And then I was chosen as one of 7 people to sit in front of all of the 4-stars in the Air Force for them to ask us about questions, ask, ask us questions about our perspective on diversity.

That's amazing.

And, and so, you know, I, I I just, you know, I call it disruptive blessings because if that young lady had not been disrespectful to me, I never would have walked next door. I never would have talked to Joe Spencer. I never would have, you know, asked him to— he offered to help me. And then, oh, by the way, this is just disruptive blessings because the, the place I chose, I had no idea that that guy had worked for him. Wow. In his prior job. And so it just— talk about the, the alignment and the sequence of events that, um, caught— that's why I call it disruptive— but that put me in place. Wow. And I'll tell you, my record in the Air Force was exceptional, but I was not, um, promoted early. I was not on the fast lane track. I had just done everything. And prior to this, I had just been promoted on time. And what that means is generally when you're promoted on time, you're not making colonel because the, you know, the tip is so small when you start getting to the colonel and the general that there's no room. So imagine I was on the regular track. I did not get a definitely promote, so I got a promote. That means I'm, uh, definitely promote means, okay, we're putting you to the side, you're definitely being promoted. Now my records have to compete with all the people who we're trying to figure out what the shades of gray are.

Yes.

And so, you know, the jobs I've, I'd had, uh, you know, the, the experiences I'd had as a, you know, at younger and the results. I had the results, the awards, the etc., but I just wasn't on that track. That plus the exposure kicked me over. And so, you know, from that point on, I understood the importance of strategically and deliberately mentoring people, not in passing, and not in passing, not, not being what, you know, John Maxwell calls a travel agent. Yes, being a tour guide, right? A travel agent asks you bus, train, car, how fast you want to get there, what do you want to see when you get there, you know, um, what hotels, but they do not go with you. They're giving you information, they're giving you direction, but they are not with you on the journey. The tour guides have been there before. They see more in before. They know what's coming before you do. They help guide you and navigate you. And so I was just blessed to have some great mentors. My boss at Hanscom, love Dave Peters, another great leader. I mean, let me just say this real quick because it is Women Veterans Day.

Yes.

What I learned from him was how to be a lady leader.

Mm-hmm.

Invaluable because my, my strength and you think I'm like passionate now. Imagine me with uniform and rank. The intensity of the male energy, they call it now, right?

Mm-hmm.

He treated me— his chivalry. You know, he was senior. He should walk through the door first. He's senior. I should get the door for him.

Yes.

Instead, he treated me like a lady, and it allowed me to embrace being a lady leader, right? To understand that that was a gift as well. That that was a strength as well, and that I didn't need to be the, you know, and there's no— I'm not saying if that's your style, I've been there, but I learned that I was just as powerful.

Wow.

Being a lady. But he allowed that. He enabled that. So.

Wow. That is powerful. So much to unpack. But one thing you've said, I'm sure through your life you've gone through this over and over again. It's just, you know, going through adversity. Kind of like the example you, you gave, which eventually gave you the opportunity and then the advantage, right, to kind of excel in your career. What do you think are maybe a couple of cases of people watching, especially those who aspire to be a leader in any branch of the military, and especially people of color and women, how can they turn whatever adversity they are facing right now into an advantage?

First of all, service, excellence, critical service and excellence. And the reason I say that is when you are— my dad said it right— when you are excellent, um, you can't be ignored. You know, the way he taught to be so great, it's impossible to ignore you.

Wow.

Impossible. Uh, be— don't try to be everything, just be the good 1, 2, or 3 things. I tell this to businesses all the time. What thing do you bring to the table that when you're in the room, people are worried? They're like, oh my God, well, I gotta step up my game. Like, oh my God.

Yes.

You know, So that's the first thing is— and then trust yourself. Oh my God. Those little signals that you see, the little things that aren't said but you ignore, the opportunities— well, I'm not going to do that. They just want to use me. No, go do that. I did all of the things. My— how those two four stars who— those one was a four-star already, but how General Spencer got to know me was through my service. I was service. I was helping with Tuskegee Airmen. I ran the Tuskegee Airmen's National Convention for 10 years, the military portion, unpaid. Okay, but that— but, but the ability, it goes back to what John says. Service is the highest form of leadership. When you do things in a way that you're not getting paid, you're not getting recognized, you're not getting compensated, but you do it as if you are. Yes, people will notice. And what you're doing is practicing that muscle, that muscle of leading people, and people follow you because of your service, not because of the rank, not because of the fear. They follow you because they say, oh my God, I know if GI is involved, I'm gonna look good just by proximity. Yes, just proximity. And they know that if I hand them something, they're going to be able to take it off and go be excellent, and it's not going to be raggedy where they have to go do some stuff.

Absolutely.

Wow, that part I think instead of thinking about, um, what they're doing to you, instead of thinking about the environment, go find a place where you're valued, right? Because people look for their job to be their everything. This validates me, this makes me a leader. And I'm saying no. Find your church, find a professional association, a nonprofit where your leadership is valued, they're like, oh my God, where have you been all my life? And then what happens is that passion and that leadership is— it's fluid because you can't, you can't not do leadership service excellent over here and then show up at your job and be any different. So feed yourself from places that celebrate you, that validate you, that love you, and don't worry about— because there are always silent fans. I want to tell you a story. Amazing. I interviewed for a job, um, I won't tell you the company, but I interviewed for a job, uh, 2 years ago, and, and because of money and, and, you know, compensation, we couldn't come to an agreement. Because they were asking me to leave my home. So I wanted some extra stuff and I understand my worth. But I was telling— they asked me who was the toughest boss I ever had. And this was in an industry where some of the people I'd worked for were in that industry. Right. And these were people that were former Air Force people. And they asked me and I said, There's a guy called Colonel Pat Burns, another life-changing leader that impacted me as a leader. So first I was going from company grade to field grade, and I was a commander, you know, with 400 people working for me. Another tremendous leader. And they called— they— unknown to me. Now, mind you, my son— my daughter is almost 30. I was pregnant. Commander with 400 people working for him. Wow. 29 years ago. Do you know they called him, asked for a reference? You know what he said? I don't care what you have GI do, hire her.

Wow.

29 years later. And here's, here's why I'm telling this story. First of all, he was the MAGCOM guy when I was a captain. He watched me turn an organization around, win 2 Air Force awards, won the MAGCOM Support Officer of the Year Award, and I didn't even know he was watching. Wow. So when he decided to fire his commander He asked to hire me. And I was just a brand new major when there were much more seasoned majors that he could have hired.

Yes.

Then he watched me lead an organization that he— that, that I worked— that I worked— that was under him as a pregnant woman. I was the first senior woman to be that pregnant. Ever. And he watched me run an air show 9 months pregnant on a golf cart.

That's amazing.

He watched me, you know, miss nothing, be at everything.

Wow.

And win awards.

And so amazing.

That's what I'm saying. He was a secret fan, then he hired me, then I went on to Headquarters Air Force, then I went to another base Then they had an air crash. It was the biggest air crash, aircraft crash in National Guard history. It was tied to the National Guard in Virginia Beach. I ran the nationally televised honor guard team that honored all 30 of those people because they were Red Horse Corps, uh, you know, which is equivalent to the, the, the Air Force, um, Seabees, or the Air Force Corps, or the Army Corps of Engineers. He came from headquarters and he was like, you're still doing it.

Wow, that is amazing.

But guess what? I have been practicing on all those other volunteer things of how to organize people, how to organize how to run people and influence people to do things. I didn't pop up. And so when the time came to be visible and asked to do it, I could. So my point is, don't let your job be the only place that you serve and lead. Serve and lead wherever you can, because you get to build that muscle So when it's time to do the big visible jobs, it's effortless.

Wow. And people are watching. This is tremendous. This is just tremendous. Thanks so much. And I want to make sure— so I see you on the chat, Chris, Cynthia.

Oh, I didn't even— I can't even see the chat.

And Stephanie. And if you guys have any questions for the Colonel, please type it there in the comments. We're going to try to get to as many of those as possible. So two quick things I want to say. What you said is just spectacular, really. One of the master keys really of success is to be excellent and do whatever you do. Like MLK used to say, be the best no matter who you are. Actually, I think I was maybe 7 or 8 years old living in the Congo in Africa speaking French, but that speech was translated from English to French. It was so powerful. That's one of the speeches that really changed my mind. No matter who you are, he even used the example, if you are a street sweeper, be the best street sweeper that God has. Yes, my dad used to say that. In such a way that even Michael the Archangel will stop and it's true, I can say there's never been a street sweeper like this person ever, because that is your gift, that is your passion.

And that's what you do.

So that's excellent. So another question I'm gonna ask you before we get into the 7th question I promised I would ask you, which I ask every leader who comes to this podcast, is how do you balance life, work, and volunteering, and VVA, and everything that you do, raising children and being in the military, which is a full-time job by itself? What is your secret? How would you help aspiring leaders to just manage life?

There's 3 things you got to do, 3 things that determine the quality of your life. Giving your life to God, who you marry, and finding your purpose.

Wow.

Okay, so giving your life to God. I'm going to leave that because people have different religions. I respect that. Who you marry? OMG. Wow. I can't tell you how many women came to me and said, you're such a great example, you're, you're, you're still married. I've been married 35 years. That's how I became TI, right? And, and, and we never called my mom, we never called his mom when I had to go on a deployment. You understand? He would be, "Oh, I got it. You know, don't worry, go." Now I'm gonna tell you, I'm pretty anal. I would iron everything before I go. I pack, you know, meal prep before, you know, I was doing that before it was popular. And thanks to my girlfriend Gail Colvin, who's at the Air Force Academy as the chief of staff, taught me that we were pregnant together in command. But But, but, but who you marry? Hmm. This dude always says go. He doesn't say, why are you trying to do that? You're doing too much. Stop. He has always embraced me for being me. Wow. You know, because when he met me, I was sleeping on my sofa in my office because I was a workaholic. So he knew what he was getting into. And he accepted that. So Mary Well, the last, the last one is determined finding your purpose. Oh my God, because your purpose is greater than yourself, but it is your best self. Does that make sense? It's greater than yourself, but it's your best self. It is the best thing that you do being given as a gift to the world.

That's powerful.

And there's a saying that I won't tell you the backstory because I know you need to ask the other questions, but I was at a retirement and a friend of mine, Marine, you know, multiple languages, just, you know, I call it, you know, wrote poetry, wrote music. This guy was a Renaissance guy and he got up there at his retirement and said, Um, I'm just a country boy from Georgia, and I'm like— and I'm the granddaughter of a preacher, Baptist preacher, so we speak out loud. And I said, who's he fooling? Why is he saying that? And his roommate next to me is elbowing me like, shh, shh, you know? And I said, what? He said, I'll talk to you later. We get to the reception. This is unbelievable. And I said, why is he doing that? Why is he downplaying himself? He said, well, you can't show everybody what you're working with, can you? And I said, what do you mean? He said, are you going to tell me that everybody deserves your excellence? Wow. I was speechless, which y'all got to know, that's kind of rare. And I was like, well, mm. He said, everybody does not deserve your excellence. I said, give me your number.

Wow.

I'm gonna call you back. I don't know the answer, but I'm gonna call you back. This is for Friday. I wrestled. Does everybody deserve your excellence? Everybody deserves your— Monday morning I woke up and God said, yes, everybody deserves your excellence. When we're excellent We glorify God and we say thank you. We are a great steward of the gifts and talents he's given me. That's what being purpose— that's what discovering your purpose is about. Second of all, he said, so we're good steward of, of the gifts and talents he's given us. Two, when we're excellent, we raise the bar. We say, hey, you better step up your game.

Yes.

Three, when we're excellent, we give others permission to be excellent. We say it's a safe space for you to share all of your gifts and talents with us. And 4, when we are excellent, guess what? And we marry with somebody else's excellence. That's where the money, the magic, the mission happens.

Yes.

Wow. Yes. The answer is yes. Everybody deserves your excellence. So, you know, I, I think I'll just end there. I just think that— yeah, I'll just, I'll just end there.

Excellent. No matter where you are, like it was yesterday, right, I talked to Chris Robinson and he was saying, oh, I love him.

Hello, Chris.

Yes, he's working on his really being the same no matter where he is. Like, no, you see it so, so many times, even in churches where people are on the pulpit and they have this persona, no, making you think that they have these type of values, that's how they live their life, but then Later you find out they were living a double life and they someone completely different on the stage than they are at home or anywhere. That's why one of the most important definition of success I've ever had from Papa John was to him, success is when the people you care about the most, like your wife, your children, respect you the most.

Yes.

If my wife and my kids see me 24 hours, they see me when I am not in my glory, when I am not on the stage, when I am at home, when I don't feel so good. And if they can still love me and respect me, Yeah, I am successful. And that's— so before we get into those 7 questions, another thing I wanted to ask, you do have a book coming out in August, I believe. Can you tell us a little bit about it? Kind of tease the audience, and we want you back.

Oh my God, I am having the most amazing time.

Yes.

First of all, I've been a student of leadership since the year 2001 when I picked up John's 21 Most Powerful Minutes in a Leader's Day. Then, you know, as I grew up the ranks, when I made Colonel, I was the first Black female to make Colonel in my specialty. So I got a lot of opportunities to speak, et cetera. And so, you know, it's about— it's called Command Your Influence because, you know, what does John say? He says leadership is influence. You're positively influencing something or you're negatively influencing something. The question is, how do you deliberately grow, exercise your influence?

Wow.

And so Command Your Influence is intended to be a field manual. It's called the GI Field Manual. That's not Gardner. Hence, that stands for Government Influencer Field Manual. So it's a, it's a field tech manual that has strategies that I have used, strategies that are in the industry. There's some parallels with other kinds of, um, leadership approaches, but it's all about helping you figure out if I'm transitioning— like, you're, you're transitioning out, BZ— who are the people I know, what are the relationships I have What is the information I know and what is the environment awareness? How aware am I of the environment to be able to influence their decisions, their policies, those kind and really just the landscape of where they're going? Because people always say, oh, I know that person. Or I know General So-and-so, I know. But do you understand who influences General So-and-so? Do you know who his influences are? Because if you can't get to General So-and-so and you only know him in name, you've got to come out and figure out what are the other things and the other people that are influencing him or her so you can put yourself in that ecosystem. Right? And so that's what it's really about. It's about giving people who have— are unseen and unheard an opportunity to leverage their influence. And influence is like leadership. It is not universal. If I'm a leader, I'm a leader expert in only certain areas. It's a specialist. It's a specialty. You don't have generic doctors. You have, you, you have heart doctors, you have ear doctors, you have neck doctors and brain surgeons. And even that, there's another level of, of, um, of, of a specialty within heart doctors. So this is an opportunity for people to say, this is my area of influence, and now I'm going to be a studious, understand what the budget is, what the need is, who the people making decisions are so that they can leverage and build more relationships and advocate for their cause, you know, build, grow their business, whatever they want.

That is wonderful. I think the world definitely needs that book published as soon as possible. It's great. And by the way, you may know him, Jonathan Davis says, what's up, GI?

Hey, what's up, buddy?

So now the 7 questions. Again, I've already taken you almost an hour, but I'm gonna try to go for this.

Okay, it's okay.

Thank you, thank you. So number 1, so what is the greatest leadership advice you've ever received?

Lead yourself.

Hmm, it's powerful. Made yourself. Now, you went from '01 to '06 as a woman, as a Black woman. Very, very rare. You're like in the top 3, top 4% of all people who've ever joined the US military, the most powerful military in the world. What in the world is the secret of your success, Colonel?

God and blessings. I had some great mentors that were below me, beside me, and above me. You know, I, I, I, you know, there's some leaders who, who worked for me, who taught me how to lead. I tell my dad, when I came in the Air Force, he said, find a good senior NCO. And hold on to his coattail. For the first 3 years I was in the Air Force, I worked for an E-9. I was the chief's lieutenant. He— the chief was not mine. Okay. And I— and what he did for me is taught me how to lead the enlisted, how to be technically competent, how to be a critical thinker, and how to interpret regulations. Okay, invaluable, just invaluable. Um, so, um, that is amazing. Yeah, yeah. And I would say, as an 06, let me just say, first of all, the Air Force didn't promote a Black female 06 for more than 25 years. We got our first line officer, meaning non, non-reserve, non-guard non-doctor, non-nurse, all of that, non-lawyer in 2 years ago. That meant I was in the Air Force and I wouldn't have even had an opportunity because the Air Force said, for whatever reason, and I'm not going to question that, I don't know, I'm sure, but there were no Black female 06s worthy of one star for 25 years.

My goodness.

When I made 06 in 2004, so I'm going to tell you, you can tell how long I've been, been out, there were only 45 Black female colonels in the entire Air Force.

Wow, that's amazing. Like the top of the cream. Wow, really a trailblazer, really setting the way for all future potential officers who are going to be really, you know, following in your footsteps. So question number 2 is, um, like Papa John says, leaders are learners. So what are you learning right now?

Oh my God, AI is teaching me so much about myself. Yes, for the last 2 and a half years, I was an early adopter, uh, to AI. Um, I've been putting my brain into AI, my leadership thoughts, my observations about leadership, my observations about business. And so now when I ask AI something, they're referring to the information that I put in. I'm not even asking it to search the internet. I don't need to know what the internet says. If I do, I'll go ask it. I'll find it and put it in. But for right now, the new feature of projects, right? Creating projects within ChatGPT. I know a lot of people use other AI platforms, but, but I am amazed at the way it has allowed me to see my thoughts in a very structured way.

Wow. Yeah, that is Quite amazing. And by the way, I just changed platform, so I don't know how to show the comments from LinkedIn on the screen.

Yeah, yeah.

Pamela Fraser says, thanks for sharing, you are an inspiration. Sure.

Thank you.

Thank you for that. So the next question, so how has failure shaped your life? When we look at great leaders like you, we think that you walk on clouds, you walk on water, you go from glory to glory, from victory to victory. But I know you've had to go through failure. At some point. So how has failure shaped your leadership journey?

Um, it has made me more self-aware. Um, I— sometimes we don't see ourselves. Um, and failure— every time I fail, I, I go into deep, um, self-awareness. Um, I try to ask God, what, what is this failure telling me? Uh, what was my part in it? Because I don't want to be— I don't consider myself to be a victim. Uh, and, and one of the things that I would tell— one of my biggest failures is one of— it is violating one of the, uh, 50 laws— for— is it 40 Laws of Power, 40 Laws of Power, 50 Laws of Power. And that is, um, being so intent on helping and sharing information. You know, they say there's a thing that said never outshine the master.

Yes.

Well, my— I can tell you, my heart, my intent is never to outshine the master, ever. I'm never trying to, to, to outshine anybody. I just want to, to give. I just want the team I'm part of to win. I just want everybody around me to, to operate at their highest level. But some leaders are insecure, period. And I tell people, I don't understand It didn't harm me when I was in the Air Force, but it has harmed me post-Air Force, right? And I think it's just because of the different kinds of leadership that are outside the military. It's very mission-focused. I'm going to— even if I'm threatened by you, I'm going to proceed because the mission is relying on you being your best. And I know that you can lead people. I know that you can move people. I know that you will do things that take on things other people want. So I love me more than I dislike you.

That is powerful.

And what I have found is that's harder outside. That's that, you know, it's harder outside the Air Force.

That is, that is powerful. Actually, Chris Brown says it's, uh, probably the 52 law books. I, I remember that one, and it's probably one I'm gonna add in the comments.

Okay, thank you, thank you. 50 Laws of Power, I think.

Yes, I believe it's 52. So, uh, question number 4: who do you know that we should know?

Well, if you're a veteran, you should know If you're a veteran, you should know Michael Quinn. He's got 300,000+ followers on LinkedIn. He is my LinkedIn mentor. I'm still trying to, you know, move, move the needle, but he is a tremendous asset for transition, transitioning veterans. The other one is Donnell Johns. Donnell Johns is a visionary. And has created what is called Veterans Growing America. It's a concept of where he is giving brick-and-mortar space to military and veteran businesses. He has partnered with Simon Malls, you know, that do the malls, and he is in two high-end mall areas, and veterans are getting opportunities to showcase not only their products but their services. Everything from, you know, transition assistance services to line dancing to comedy shows, wine, popcorn, you name it. But it's closed. It's an amazing concept. And he is soon going to be in many more locations. So if you have that, you need to— Veterans Growing America, Michael Quinn. Let me see who else I would say.

That is wonderful. And we're going to—

I'll stop at those two.

To add their LinkedIn profile in the comments so people know to follow them. So if you could choose 3 people, they could be alive now, from history, even fictional characters, that's fine, but 3 people to have dinner with, who would you choose and why?

One would be Martin Luther King. His sacrifice, his service, and impact are just— that's tremendous legacy. I don't care when this country is a thousand years old, Think about it. He— his efforts impacted gay rights, women's rights, housing rights, school rights. You can't separate people's rights from Martin Luther King.

That's right.

Also, I would say Harriet Tubman, right? I, in the women veterans space, feel like a Harriet Tubman in some ways. Wanting women to be able to have a view of themselves, women veterans to have a view of themselves that they can, they can do this. They can be million-dollar businesses because I have a personal goal to help 3,000 women become millionaire businesses. You might say, why, Michelle?

Why?

One, 3 is my favorite number. Two, SBA and American Express did a study. Only 4% of women-owned businesses in the lifetime. That means if they're in business 25 years, wow, only 4% will generate revenue, an annual revenue of $1 million. Wow. So, you know, I, I, I, I have a dream. I always say, um, I'm a dreamer like John Lennon says, and I hope I'm not the only one, that, um, there will be an all female veteran contracting team joint venture that will win a $10 billion contract. That's coming. We— come on, ladies, let's go, let's go, let's go!

Yes, yes, yes, yes. And having, having said that, you are a LinkedIn Top Voice for women veterans. Can you tell us a little bit about that process?

Well, I'm a LinkedIn Voice for the military community, not just women veterans. I can't tell you anything about that process other than, you know, I, I decided in 2019 that I was going to be active on LinkedIn. I had planned to transition, so I wanted to, you know, get my, get my, my name out there because I'm known as GI for 35 years in the Air Force, but not necessarily publicly. So I then— I think I told you this story. I'll try to say it really quick. But one of my 4-star mentors, you know, I had a— I had my hat with all the stuff on my hat. And he said, oh, I don't think, you know, the things from my uniform, the picture on my LinkedIn profile. And he said, I don't think that's in regulation. And I said, it's probably not, sir. And he said, Retirees should adhere to the regulation of how you should wear your uniform post-military. And I said, yes, sir. And then he asked a colleague of mine to send me the regulation. And I said, oh, okay. I am not trying to deface the uniform. I am honoring it. I am honoring my service. So I decided I was going to take a picture the picture, original picture was taken by Nick Nelson, Brandpreneur, another guy to look up on LinkedIn. Amazing. Yes. And he loved the picture. He loved the outfit and he took the picture and it changed my life, changed my brand.

What a story.

And so that's when I became deliberate about LinkedIn, right? So they watch what you do. I tell everybody post at least once a week. There are 1 billion people on LinkedIn, only 3% post, right? So you want to stand out, post, you know, just do, do, do something very simple. Take a paper, fold it, uh, you know, crossways, lengthways, and then you get 4 squares. What do I want to be known for in the top left? What do I not talk about? For me, that's religion. Race and anything kind of controversial. Bottom is, you know, what, what, what hobbies do I have? And then what things am I interested in? And you can play around with that, but just be consistent with that. And so, you know, in 2021, you know, I was named, you know, LinkedIn Top Voice along with the Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force. The first female. And our current Deputy Secretary was then Secretary of Benefits. He was on the list. So I was just honored to, you know, tell you what to do. I don't— you can't apply, you can't buy. Yes, just got to get after it.

What a great honor. I feel so privileged being around the eagle, the Colonel, top voice on LinkedIn, my number one favorite platform in the entire world. Okay, so Let's go back to the third person. So you told us MLK, Harriet Tubman, and who's the third person you would like to have dinner with?

My dad.

Yes, powerful. Wow, man, this is something. Okay, number 5. I'm sorry, we're running out of time, but you said you can give me a few more minutes, so I appreciate it.

I'm good, I'm good.

Thank you so much, Pernille.

As long as you're good, I'm good.

What have you read that we should read? I know Papa Max Valégan always says, no, Leaders are readers. So what should the audience read in order to get better at leadership or learn more?

Strategic Alliances. I forgot who wrote it, but this day and age that we're going into, we must form alliances. And that's part of what the book is going to be about is expanding your influence through alliances. You don't have to have it all on your own. Join with like people, like character, like values, like focus. Don't be afraid to be close to people who are similarly situated. What do I mean by that? I mean other women who are women veterans who are in business you know, who are in IT, who do the same thing as you do. Because even though you think you do things well, I tell people, my ego isn't big enough to think I can touch 2 million women veterans. I can't. So you need all of us to come together because when, when, when you learn to, to work in close proximity, I call it, and not have sharp elbows is when people do this and they don't want anybody close to them. Put your elbows down, hunker down, and guess what happens? You become even better by association. Remember what I said? You got to step up your game, right? When you get close to similarly situated people who do the same thing you do, you're going to raise your game because you're going to have to, to keep up.

Yes. Wow. That is quite powerful. I believe I found the book. Strategic Alliances: 3 Ways to Make Them Work. That's by Steve Stan Hilbert. And then the book you mentioned earlier, Colonel, it's actually 48 Laws.

Sorry.

And we're going to promote that one too.

Absolutely.

Richard Poe. Wow, that is powerful, man. Every time I am around great people, I'm always learning something new. So number 6, what have you done that we should do? Hm. And again, think about aspiring little people who probably want to become senior officer in the military as well.

Two things, uh, don't believe your own press and compete against yourself. I never worry when people— and three things, three things, uh, don't read your own press, compete against yourself, and never compare. Comparison is cancer. It's cancer because you're assuming that you see everything that you're comparing yourself to, and you don't know what that person had to do, what they had to go through. You don't see the hidden talents, the hidden connections. All those things are invisible to you, and so you're here trying to do what they do and you're never going to be like them. So, you know, the second thing is every day I'm trying to get better, better at something. Yes, better. I mean, LinkedIn, I, I was consumed with LinkedIn. Right now I'm consumed with this book. Focus is like putting sunshine through a magnifying glass. It's gonna burn up whatever is underneath it. You're gonna catch on fire. So do that, right? And that is learning yourself. I know, hey, I'm intense, so I don't need to be around people who think my intensity is too much. And I've learned to be more self-aware and, and not be so busy talking that I watch people's nonverbals and say, okay, they've had enough, let me, let me pull up. Because if you open up and ask me, I want to give you everything. And some people is like, well, Colonel has something to say. Yeah, sorry.

Yes, no, this is, this, this is great, uh, uh, wisdom. And I especially like what you said about comparison. So basically, if you have to compare yourself to someone, you should compare yourself with the person you were yesterday.

Absolutely.

That's really— wow, that is awesome. So what is one action, Colonel, that you are thinking about taking that you believe will positively impact your life? I know you're working on the book right now.

No, I'm working on an ecosystem. That's why I'm smiling. No, I'm not working on a book. I'm working on an ecosystem. So I am hesitant to say, but that's okay. But I am working on a system. Called GI.

Wow, wow, that is, that is powerful. Well, we are, we are going to be, uh, watching for it. I'm sure it is going, going to be, to be big. Thank you so much. So guys, uh, for the first time in the world, everybody has heard it for the very first time right here on the Leadership and Success Podcast with Coach Bizzy. So the GI ecosystem is coming to you very, very soon. Wow, that is powerful. Okay, so if you had one day and only one day to live, Colonel, what would you have liked your final contribution to be?

That my children will carry on their own version of my legacy. Leadership.

Wow.

Leadership of themselves and leadership of their particular, you know, their purpose, their gift to the world. You know, I believe my father left a great legacy. I mean, my brother was an SES at 35. There's just the two of us. We are a high-achieving family, right? And our conversations are rich. I would have more of those. I would try to probably film everything and, you know, say everything I hadn't said. And a lot of that after I love you, I love you, I love you, would be about my expectations of them for my great-great-great-grandchildren.

Wow, that is, that is powerful. So the seventh and last question is, what can we do to add value back to you? Thanks so much for making the time, for being here. So I have about 64,000 or so first-degree connections and followers, and then I guess if you had the secondary connection, up to 4 million people potentially could be listening to you on all major podcasts. So what can we do to give back to you?

You can share social capital, right? Social capital is, you know, resharing my post, following me, inviting me to speak. I tell people I'm Black and I'm female, but I can talk about more than that. You know, I love to talk about helping small businesses succeed and not just in government contracting, but to find their niche, right? You don't need to be everything to everybody. You just need to be the one thing for a handful of people, and that will get you to over $1 million. And, and that is my business strategy is probably one of my, my gifts. So, you know, love to talk about that. Love to moderate panels more than speak. OMG, I love moderating panels. You can invite me to do that. But most of all, when the book comes out, Command Your Influence, help me make it an Amazon bestseller, uh, and, and invite me on your, your podcast, uh, book signings, all of that. I, I so would appreciate it.

All right, Colonel, you are going to be the very first guest here as soon as your book is out, and we're gonna do everything we can to make it the number one— not just Amazon, New York Times bestseller. That's what we need. We need more people of color and women to, to be bestsellers. So to, to end the podcast, what are 3 adjectives that describe you as a child? Oh my God, the next one would be as an adult. They may or may not be the same.

Resilient. Um, strong-willed.

I think that's still true.

Strong-willed. Because, because, mind you, I, I spent my life, my early life, as an only Black officer's kid. The whites didn't like me because I was Black. The Blacks didn't like me because I was the officer's kid. So I learned to live, love myself at a very early age. So that's why I say Resilient.

Wow.

So resilient. I've always listened to my own tune. And I think that has to do with me loving and discovering— my mom always said, there's nothing wrong with you. There's something wrong with the world, right? So I learned that. And then the last thing I would say is my major is fashion design. The Air Force paid for me to get a 4-year degree in fashion design. So I have a design mind. I'm always building, I'm always reinventing, you know, that's, that's, I would say those are the words.

Okay, I'm going to suspect probably the same as an adult. Any changes as an adult? 3 adjectives.

There's only one I'm going to put, say, low tolerance for incompetence and lack of integrity. Lo, lo, yes, lo, lo, lo, yes, lo, lo, lo, lo, lo, lo, let's say no, you know. And I read an article real quick, I read an article, I won this award when I was 27 years old, a Command Award, you know, best support officer for the Pacific. And they interviewed me and they said, what do you dislike? I said, I dislike incompetence. And that has continued because I said we have tech orders, we have regulations, we have people we can talk to. There's no reason not to know your job. And I think that's the reason I'm approaching the, the Command Your Influence from a field manual standpoint, because people need steps, people need frameworks and military minds and bureaucratic systems. Minded people operate in that way. So I'm just trying to give it to you in a way that, well, if you read it and you execute it, there'll be no excuse for you not to influence your sphere. That might be 10 people, that might be 20, it might be 20,000. It doesn't influence his influence, right?

Wow. That is powerful. Definitely. We're going to be waiting for the book. I have one last question to end the podcast, but before I do, is there anything else you would like to share with the audience?

It's been my pleasure. I'm so honored, especially to do this on Women Veterans Day. Happy Women Veterans Day again. Wish some woman veteran, you know, thank her not only for her service but her sacrifice. You know, I might have had 5 children had I not been in the Air Force. I think so, but you know, I'm really, really grateful, Colonel.

We've gone over by almost 12 minutes. I'm really grateful you were able to stay.

Thank you for having me.

The very, very last question I ask is, what is one word, one word that represents our shared experience in this podcast together? Everything we've talked about, what words come to mind?

Leadership and influence.

Yes, I would say kick-ass leadership. Yes, ma'am. Thank you so much, Colonel. Uh, salute you, and, uh, thank you so much for, for, for the time. You've been so generous. Thank you. Until next time. Actually, I'm gonna be back on the podcast live tomorrow morning all by myself. I won't have the great Colonel with me. Until then, jump on with you. Will do, Colonel. Definitely will do. Thank you.

Thank you, thank you for listening to the Leadership and Success Podcast with your host, Coach Beezy. If you like what you heard, please subscribe to our channels and come back for more wisdom nuggets on how you may develop into a better leader and achieve greater levels of success. Leadership is the most critical skill. The world will always need leaders to lead others, deploy the next disruptive technology, or execute a business strategy, you may as well decide on counting yourself among the 21st century leaders. See you right here next time on the Leadership and Success Podcast with Coach BZ.