Talia Fox outlines her approach to career-building, and it's about to get collaborative

"Make sure you have a plan on the calendar for consistent revisiting of the dream." In this week's You've Got This, ?Talia Fox shares what inspired her to start her company KUSI Global, Inc. , her best advice for leaders, and ways to optimize your career for new graduates and others. Be sure to check out Talia's answers below and the announcement for our next guest, collaboration expert and author Erica Dhawan .

Victoria: "What has your career trajectory been like thus far, and what inspired you to start KUSI Global, Inc.?"

Talia: "Ah, what a question! It’s been a twenty year journey. I started off this journey as a therapist working in underserved communities. And I began to see in the nonprofit and human services arena that there were crazy things going on with leadership, and how people were running businesses. So I started giving advice—how to run businesses, efforts, and being a leader where your work really matters in affecting people’s lives. That turned into speaking events, developing corporate trainings for leaders, on how you can transform leadership and how you can do things that make big differences in the lives of others.?

KUSI is a model—standing for knowledge, understanding, strategy and implementation. Coming from this therapy perspective, leaders make a difference in not just the missions and the missions they serve, but internally, people spend the majority of their lives at work. And when I was doing therapy, there were three people who caused the most stress in terms of development and anxiety: someone's mother, father, or their boss. Of course, there are?spouses and partners in there too, but the boss is the one you can choose (allegedly). But we get into this pattern where we treat our leaders like parents. So I really became disturbed at the ways people that are managing and leading other people can behave sometimes, the gall and the nerve of how they may treat others.

"I decided I was going to be on a journey to transform as many leaders as I can to be kind, respectful, diverse, inclusive, loving people who can help others, and who can contribute to the happiness of people who spend so much time at work. I actually feel like leadership and bosses in the workplace can be a stepping stone to change in the world in terms of changing our experiences in life."

Victoria: "What are some key leadership attributes that can help anyone grow in their careers?"

Talia: "So as a leader, the first way to be competent is admitting you don’t know all the answers. I find that my competence is dependent on lack of making assumptions, knowing every day is a new day, you’re learning about new people and life is about negotiations. A lot of people get stuck in their ways, and we need to be open and flexible to different approaches, needs, and personalities, having a more excited and go-with-the-flow moment of 'wow, let me know something new, what can change in me to make a difference.' As opposed to being rigid.

"If you’re on a career path, think of all these things you have to have happen—can you say to yourself 'are all of these habits and practices working for me? Am I building better relationships at home and at work? What can I change to be my best self?'"

Anytime someone upsets or frustrates me, I use that as a trigger to understand what’s going on within myself. If something is getting your attention, what does it say about you? If there’s someone whom I feel disrespected by or I don’t feel uplifted by, that’s a trigger to remind me to work on my goals?and my dreams, so instead of taking it out on them mentally, I thank them for the reminder that this is not the final house on the block, I need to make sure I have momentum in my journey. As you work towards your goals and dreams, as you honor what makes you happy, you tend to be able to get along better with people and not take things so personally."

Victoria: "What advice and insights would you have for new graduates and individuals navigating today’s professional landscape?"

Talia: "So for new graduates, there’s a lot going on in this jobs landscape. I’d say there are two skills which are critical. One, don’t get attached to one path, expand your options. There’s a lot of work about decision science; make a list of multiple things you can do, and don’t limit yourself. Start with the best case scenario, then make an exhaustive list. Then go to thinking where is my path of least resistance, where are the opportunities. Two, give yourself time to think, time to explore. Make sure you have a plan on the calendar for consistent revisiting of the dream. If you have to take an 'in-between job' that is okay, but keep an eye on the bigger picture. I’ve actually coached several people who have a big dream, going out of college, finances hit and they have to take a job they don't like. They get depressed in the job, and get too mixed-up in the moment, and before you know it, that job becomes the 5 or 6 year job, they forget about the plan for where they are going because they’re so caught up in what’s happening today. And you only have so much energy in life. So if you have an 'in-the-meantime' position, it’s ok to not like it, it’s not forever, but whenever you notice that, use that momentum to move you towards your next phase."

Follow Talia on LinkedIn.

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Next week's guest: Erica Dhawan

I'm looking forward to our next guest, Erica Dhawan . As the founder and CEO of global consulting firm Cotential and author of the new book Digital Body Language , Erica brings extensive experience helping individuals and organizations maximize their communication. Here's what I'll be asking Erica:

• What inspired you to pursue collaboration as an area of focus? And how do you continue to uncover new ideas to explore, like your recent 'Geriatric Millennials' piece that went viral?
• In your research for DIGITAL BODY LANGUAGE: How to Build Trust & Connection No Matter the Distance , you found in a 2021 study with Quester that the "average person wastes about four hours per week on poor digital communication." Do you think virtual communication methods and efficiency have improved since the start of the pandemic, and what insights would you have for those navigating a hybrid work environment to help people make the most of their in-person time?
• What advice would you have for others looking to pursue a career in communication?

Have a question of your own for Erica? Ask away in the comments below, and thank you for being a part of You've Got This.