Elevating Fearless Women@ Work

When we feel stuck, or as though our choices are limited, there is
a tendency to remain where we are - forever cementing patterns,
remaining ‘stuck’ like we’re in a hamster wheel and cannot get off
that course. Becoming aware of being ‘stuck’ like this can provide
opportunity to transform.

When we feel stuck, or as though our choices are limited, there is a tendency to remain where we are - forever cementing patterns, remaining ‘stuck’ like we’re in a hamster wheel and cannot get off that course. Becoming aware of being ‘stuck’ like this can provide opportunity to transform.

Through a mutual friend, I met Dr. Ginny Baro, MBA, MS, PhD. She is truly making a difference in the lives of many women, specifically, in the workplace, and in their role as entrepreneurs. Ginny is an executive coach, trainer and a fearless woman. She possess the passion to help professional women overcome roadblocks and implement sustainable strategies to achieve their goals.

I spoke to Ginny two weeks before her book titled Fearless Women at Work - Five Powerful Strategies to Thrive in Your Career and Life! released on October 9th, in order to gain insight on what it means to her to be a fearless woman. The wisdom I received had a profound impact on me both professionally and personally.

Ginny emigrated to the United States at the age of fourteen from the Dominican Republic. She credits her mother for being a strong, determined role model. “My mother is a warrior goddess. She has no limitations.” It was through her mother’s example that she established an authentic passion to learn and lead others to be fearless.

“Life ‘happens’ to us; whatever our life histories have been up to the arrival of what happens, I believe we come to a point where we realize this is my reality,” Ginny said. “It is important to realize that having that awareness is gold. That is where your healing begins and where you are able to claim your power. When you’re in the hamster wheel (going through the motions obliviously), you’re in a cycle of there’s nothing I can do. When you wake up to your reality - when you step out of your body and see your life - that’s when you say Wow this is the life I created. Right? We have created our life through all of the choices we’ve made along the way. I chose to marry my ex-husband. I chose to move to New Jersey. I chose to commute four hours each day. I chose to have a son... I am choosing every single day. When we are aware of our choices, we gain back our power.”

Ginny concluded, “It’s when we finally connect with our passion, when we finally realize we have other options, that we take the reigns of our life.”

“Take the reigns of our life”. That’s a powerful statement. We can, at any time, steer our lives in any way we want. At the moment we decide to take the reigns we are no longer in a holding pattern and blissfully oblivious; we discover the options available for personal and professional transformation. “That’s your choice. It is you who decides. Not me. Not anybody in your life.” Ginny continues to explain, “Yes, our choices are constrained by guardrails that say how you can do certain things. What I suggest, given the guardrails we have, we can make them very narrow so we have a narrow path or we can make them wider. We are the only ones that can do that - make them narrow or wide. What can you create inside those guardrails that can empower you?”

Ginny developed her proprietary system - C.A.R.E.S. The five strategies are connect, align, rise, envision, seek.

CONNECT to the truth about yourself … your needs, your goals, your marketable skills, your strengths, your shortcomings and your passions.

ALIGN your life to match your heart’s desires ... learn what to stop doing, what to start doing and what to keep doing. Your new job, your next promotion, your next step up the ladder all depend on it.

RISE above your limiting beliefs, fears and doubts. Overcome the real and imagined roadblocks standing in your way. Understand that a positive mindset is essential to achieving the results you want in your career and within your life.

ENVISION the future you want. Picture the career and life you desire for yourself. And learn about the tools you need to create a full life filled with happiness and abundance.

SEEK the caring, compassionate, loving support you need to make your goals a reality. With the busy life you’re leading, with everything you’re juggling, you really can’t keep doing this alone. There are people, places and opportunities available to propel you towards your desired career and life goals.

C.A.R.E.S. is universal and can be applied to any aspect in your life: career, personal life, relationships, friendships, financial situation, living arrangements, etc.. Connect to where you are right now, and where you want to be. There will be challenges; for example, if you’re unhappy with your financial situation, stop spending and using your credit cards. Envision the future and see yourself three months, six months, a year from now as financially abundant.

For change to occur, you need to sit down and ask yourself what do I want, what do I desire because, as Ginny says, that’s where we create. “Connecting to your desires isn’t something you do once a month. When we wake up every morning, we brush our teeth. You don’t take a bath once and then say, I’m done. If you did, you’d be pretty stinky. So, everyday you have to connect with your desires.” Ginny explained the importance of continuously honing down your desires, “If you go into a restaurant and say, I want some food, they will go into the kitchen and bring you a plate of gizzards. You say, Ick, I don’t want this. Go back and get me some food. They take it back and bring you liverwurst. Again you say, Ick, I don’t want this liverwurst. Take it back. The manager comes out and asks you, How can I help you? What did you order? You have to ask specifically for what you want; not the how, ask for the what. Leave the how to the Universe. The Universe will deliver your desires in ways you cannot imagine. Our imagination is too limited.”

It is important to take action steps toward your goals and desires. If you dream of being a speaker, but are afraid of standing on a stage, what action steps are you willing to take to become a speaker? Taking action steps can help to propel you in the direction of your passions. What steps are you taking to align yourself with your desires?

By being of service to individuals along your journey, who are also moving toward their desires, you may naturally be assisted in the direction of your goals. You’re in a tribe, not alone, and you need each other to contribute to contribution, - there is reciprocity - give and take” Ginny said.

In addition to being a best selling author, Ginny recently expanded her audience as a Game Change Agency Host. Game Change Agency is a networking group for preeminent decision makers, influencers and thought leaders. Ginny and her guests shed light on innovative and effective strategies senior executives consider while promoting gender diverse and inclusive leadership teams, work/ life integration, and employee engagement and well-being. One of Ginny’s intentions is to provide a resource for leaders to inspire the strengths and natural talents of their employees to be expressed. “Everyone wants to contribute and feel fulfilled.” Discussions will span issues such as how to connect with employees, bringing the best self forward, exploring the challenges related to bringing our authentic selves to work as leaders, and increasing the productivity of staff.

“People’s lives are happening while they’re in the office,” Ginny stated. One of the elements of being a healthy leader Ginny shared is to get to know your staff. When staff trusts leadership enough to share their personal lives, knowing that it won’t be held, against them, the company itself is strengthened, by virtue of the bond between leaders and staffers. Employees feels heard, respected, valued, and believe they are a significant part of the company as a whole.

If you’re a leader, can you describe what each employee is brilliant at? When you are aligned with your employees, you know where they are and what they can accomplish. They will be more effective and engaged in the job they are performing. You will help them to rise above their challenges. It’s not about coddling; it’s about allowing them to be brilliant at what they are capable of. If you have an employee that is not performing to their best, maybe they are in an inappropriate position for their talents. Determine what they are naturally good at and move them to a role in which they can use their strengths. “If there is a disconnect, how will our employees be productive and efficient for us? They are not going to perform at a top level,” Ginny expressed. For more information on Ginny’s take on leadership, check out her podcast.

Explaining her motivational force, Ginny shared, “I grew up in a little village with dirt floors in a thatched roof home. By creating and following the C.A.R.E.S. process in my own work life, I am now at a higher level in the corporate world. To me, this is the American dream. As I connected more with my passion, I felt more and more compelled to move other leaders through the condition of disconnect; bringing them in line with their passions as well.”

Fearless Women at Work - Five Powerful Strategies to Thrive in Your Career and Life! Is geared towards professional women. In my opinion, all women in the workplace will gain great wisdom from this work. Ginny has a natural gift to inspire the leader-within to lead better through example and to develop a stronger connection with their fellow workers. When C.A.R.E.S. is applied, it motivates women to utilize steps to take the reigns of their relationships, their financial situation and other aspects of daily life that may be out of alignment.

“In the book I talk about personal power and living life on your own terms. I define personal power as embracing all of your resources and owning what’s yours. So at the end of the day, no matter who we are, we all have our personal power and when we blame others for our conditions or situations we absolutely give up all and any ability to claim that part of us. When it’s in somebody else’s control then there’s nothing you can do, but when you take accountability and take charge of ‘it’ and say it is mine then you really open the gates for what is possible. We need to own it - fearlessly.”

Discover more about Dr. Ginny Baro and her services at fearlesswomenatwork.com and gamechangeagency.com/ginny-baro.

Cindy (C.K.) Kochis is an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach who transformed her coaching practice as the foundation of Elements For A Healthier Life. She is providing a community space for people to share their personal stories, professional knowledge and healthy eating options. Cindy is a coach, virtual assistant, author, grandmother and sassy redhead. She self-published “Get A Compass Not A Clock” and “Unleash Your Inner Story”. For more information about Cindy’s services, please visit ckkochis.com.