Two Free Business Tools Every Leader Needs.

Hi! My name is Parissa. This is "Modern Badass: A Field Guide", where Modern Badasses can feel seen, understood and valued. And, it's also a place for others to crack the code on the Modern Badasses in their lives (and maybe learn some badassery themselves). Want this in your inbox 2x/month? Hit the “subscribe” button above!

If you're like me, you spend time evaluating all sorts of investments you could make to improve your business or be a more efficient leader. Here is a short (not exhaustive) list of my investments in no particular order:

• Canva
• ChatGPT
• Quickbooks
• Coaching
• Online Courses
• Professional Associations

Each of these investments has delivered more value to me than the actual cost of the investments themselves.

What if I told you that there are two FREE investments you're not using (enough)? And what if these investments were to deliver monumental value to you, perhaps equal to or greater than other investments you pay for?

Drum roll please...

The two free investments you're not making are in empathy and vulnerability. They are two sides of the same coin.

Empathy

A client of mine directly asked for empathy from a leader last week. He didn't get it and that exchange left him feeling alienated, alone and cold. It made him believe he couldn't and shouldn't ask for help. He lost faith and respect for that leader.

Empathy doesn't ask you to be a sap or sob at every greeting card commercial. You don't have to let go of who you are or what you believe in. It merely asks you to be open to another person's content and context. It invites you to view the same situation from a different vantage point.

Empathy is the gift of nuance and texture. It helps you expand your peripheral vision to make more informed decisions and create more opportunities. So when you allow your ego to prevail and refuse to extend empathy, it narrows your vision which is like setting fire to everyone's money and time.

"Ego Kills Empathy" is the first step in the Sixense Empathy Model? with good reason. If a leader believes their version of the truth is the only version of the truth, they put their teams and clients in peril.

Vulnerability

Chapter 6 of my book is "Vulnerability Is Not A Four-Letter Word". And in it, I celebrate being seen as human, with all our flaws and foibles on display.

I've been there. It's been embarrassing not to have 100% knowledge of a topic. The desire to be and look right all the time was highly addictive for me. But, it was also exhausting to maintain a false persona to boost my sense of authority or impermeability.

Modern Badasses love having the answers in hand, thinking on their feet and speeding along to implement whatever they see in their mind's eye. To others, it can feel a bit much, unsufferable or even smug. It also isn't, candidly, believable.

Let go of being "Chief Executive of Everything" and ask for help. Be Clark Kent or Diana Prince instead of Superman or Wonder Woman. People love to help. They love to feel like they are part of a cause. Don't ice them out of that feeling.

Just like empathy, you leave money on the table when you don't solicit ideas or feedback from your team. There's an opportunity cost to not asking for help and an opportunity cost to their silence, too.

Join me on November 19 to explore empathy and vulnerability!

I'm co-hosting Leadership Reinvention with Hayden Lee MCC , a dear colleague and friend. It's a workshop for ambitious, direct, and driven senior leaders who sometimes feel misunderstood or labeled as "difficult."

The workshop will help attendees channel their ambitions and directness into strengths that elevate and highlight their leadership. Click here to learn more and book time to discuss your attendance.

Hayden and I are hosting a LinkedIn Live today at 3pm ET/12pm PT, too. I'm pretty excited!

You might be a Modern Badass.

Take the quiz and find out! Get instant insights that you can apply (or experiment) immediately. Discover the Modern Badass traits you possess and crack the code to highlight your Badass brilliance to others!

Also, hit the subscribe button above and:

• Book time to speak 1:1 with me.
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• Forward this newsletter to others.

Investing in Empathy and Vulnerability,

Parissa

P.S. I'd love to work with you regardless if you are a Badass or lead one. Book time to talk about any of these options that may intrigue you.

1. What Sparks You??How can you tap into your flavor of badassery? You might be ready to channel your edge and power but you're unsure how to start. Let's have a conversation to identify your blocks and get you back on the badassery road.
2. What's Your?Bold Vision ??I'll design a Sixense Vision a half-day workshop?just for you. We'll talk about your past, and your present to design a strategy to craft your future. It also includes a Hogan Assessment and debrief.
3. Make A Bold Move .?Retain me as your advisor and coach. My Modern Badass clients love working with me 1:1 because I am an objective thinking partner and strategist who champions (and challenges) them as they create their futures. I don't hold anything back and I speak truth to power with power.