Striving For Solutions w/ Samantha Baltadonis

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Speaker 1: There are a few things that make people successful. Taking a step forward to change their lives is one successful trait, but it takes some time to get there. How do you move forward to greet the success that awaits you? Welcome to Next Steps Forward with Host Chris Meek. Each week, Chris brings on another guest who has successfully taken the next steps forward. Now, here is Chris Meek.

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Chris Meek: Hello. I'm Chris Meek. You've tuned into this week's episode of Next Steps Forward. As always, it's an honor to have you with us. Today's special guest is Samantha Baltadonis. Sam is the founder of Strive Solutions in Nashville, Tennessee. She's a coach and consultant specializing in post-traumatic growth, organizational and leadership development, life and executive coaching, career development and change management.

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She's on a mission to help others balance life, mental wellbeing, and exceptional leadership, all while achieving business and organizational excellence. She's earned her bachelor's degree from Eastern Washington University, and her master's degree in Organizational and Change Leadership from Gonzaga University. Samantha Baltadonis, welcome to Next Steps Forward.

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Samantha Baltadonis: Thanks so much, Chris. It's wonderful to be here.

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Chris: Now, it's great to have you here. Before we start, my listeners and viewers know I'm a huge sports fan. How about Gonzaga this year? How are you feeling?

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Samantha: Yes. Go Zags.

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Chris: There we go. I love it. Sam, I mentioned you're the founder of Strive Solutions. Your coaching practice helps others to break through self-limiting beliefs, embrace resilience, and create the life they desire. You also have more than a decade of experience in the tech industry and you coach leaders seeking to transform themselves or their organizations and the individuals ready to embark on a personal transformation journey. Would you call yourself a career coach, a brain wellness coach, a transformation empowerment coach, or a hybrid of those three?

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Samantha: Yes, absolutely. Thank you. I love this question. My work definitely crosses multiple paths, but I would say I'm a leadership and transformation coach. I think all coaches really help you transform to some degree, but my practice is really more focused on like holistic transformation, creating alignment in your life. I primarily work with folks who want their external lives to be in alignment with their internal values and priorities.

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At some point, as most of us go through life, either societal messaging or our lived experiences, we eventually create some sort of gap between who we really are and who we really want to be and how we want to live our lives. The majority of folks that I work with, we're focused on closing that gap.

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Chris: I know you work for a big tech company, and we won't mention their name because they're not a sponsor of the show yet. Hopefully, we can get them here. What inspired you to take this step in your own life to help others, and how have you prepared for it?

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Samantha: My career has played a big part in this, but honestly, I've always had a passion for leadership, a love for leadership. I fell in love with leadership at a pretty young age. It was really just something that kind of captivated me. Then, as I went through my career and started experiencing different leadership styles directly and witnessing approaches to leadership and seeing how effective or ineffective they were, that fascination really grew.

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I've also really had a desire to be a life coach for a long time, but I felt like I needed to start my career, get my own experience to be able to draw on. I decided to pursue a graduate degree in organizational leadership, as you mentioned, and now I'm also going through a program through Brown University to get my ICF certification as well. All of those things combined, my life prior to my career, my career, and now my education has really helped me, I think, approach the coaching and transformation engagement from a really holistic perspective.

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Chris: Lifelong learning. I love it.

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Samantha: Yes, absolutely.

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Chris: Again, I'm just curious, you said you always wanted to be a life coach. What triggers in you to say, "Hey, I want to be a life coach at some point"?

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Samantha: I think for me at least personally, I think it's just a personal drive. There's something within me that there's just a personal calling, I think, to help people transform their lives. I get a lot of enjoyment. I love helping people achieve their goals and overcome challenges, limiting beliefs to just live an aligned and fulfilling life. There's something innately rewarding in that for me, personally.

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Chris: Inspirational. I love that answer.

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Samantha: Thank you.

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Chris: Maybe as a follow up, why have you chosen the transformation niche that you have, and how do you determine if you and a prospective client are the right fit?

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Samantha: Personally, and I'm sure we'll get into this a little bit further in the conversation, but I've gone through a number of transformations myself and without any guidance or really knowledge that that's what I was doing. Quite frankly, if I hadn't approached my life with that level of intention, I don't think I'd be where I am today. Like I said, I realized that I had a personal calling here, and I needed to follow that. I just started going down that path, one step at a time.

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While I was still working, I decided to get my graduate degree. The next logical step for me was that ICF certification. I'm going through that. Now, I'm starting to get the opportunity to really work with and partner with folks that have a strong desire and a willingness and an interest to change some sort of their life, whether that's personal, like relationships, friendships, or professional, and improving some sort of team performance, their leadership effectiveness, all kinds of things.

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It really requires an interest and a willingness to want to focus on working on your own stuff, your own mindset, your own habits, your own beliefs and perceptions. I think I work best with folks who are really eager for change, probably have a decent amount of self-awareness or are really trying to build that self-awareness and aren't afraid of regular reflection and having some encouraging accountability along the way.

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Chris: The regular reflection, that's an interesting point. It's something I certainly don't do and probably most people don't, I think, in terms of, how am I doing as an employer, an employee, as a husband, a spouse, whatever. I like that concept of just, to your point, overall life coaching. Just look more at yourself.

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Samantha: I think going back to the personal calling, that's something that I've just naturally tended to do. Over time, through my own personal journey, I realized that it was a really effective tool, especially when you're trying to change or improve or navigate some sort of transformation in your life.

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Chris: One area where you work with clients is post-trauma growth. You're open about your own experiences with complex post-traumatic stress or CPTS. What is complex post-traumatic stress? How is it different from post-traumatic stress? Are there similarities between the two?

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Samantha: PTSD, if someone develops PTSD, it's usually from a single traumatic event or a series of really closely paired events over a series of time. Whereas complex PTSD, at least from my understanding, is more of a prolonged or repeated exposure to traumatic events. Oftentimes the difference between PTSD and complex PTSD is when those traumatic events occur. More often you see complex PTSD in folks who had childhood trauma, for example.

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It is very similar to PTSD, but it usually comes with some additional symptoms like difficulty regulating emotions, a skewed sense of self or struggling with self-worth, and some difficulty with interpersonal relationships. I think an important note here too is that when folks go through or experience trauma, whether it's over a prolonged period of time or just a single event, it's not necessarily guaranteed that you'll develop PTSD.

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When people develop PTSD, it's because in that moment, regardless of prior experiences, in that moment, we have just gone through something that exceeded our capacity to process it at that time. It's very common. There are a lot of factors to it. It's very individualized. It's hard to say what specifically would lead one person to develop that or somebody to not develop that. What I do know is that it's more common than I think we realize or talk about.

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There are several millions of Americans that will either struggle with this, know someone that will struggle with this, or have struggled with this. The best thing we can do today is, I think, talk about that a little bit more openly and offer up the solutions that worked for us because it is such a unique individualized experience. There's a lot of solutions out there, but what's going to work for you is dependent on you as an individual. Sharing our experiences, I think, just helps other people realize they're not alone and start thinking about ways that they can approach their own healing.

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Chris: I appreciate you raising that because one of the big focuses we've had on the show is mental health. You just mentioned talking about it more. What I've said for a few years now is the one positive thing to come out of COVID is to put a big positive spotlight on mental health and being able to talk about it more openly. You're not going to compartmentalize it. You're not going to talk about crazy cousin Jimmy at Thanksgiving time. He's over there. We've all gone through a lot the last several years.

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Also, my listeners and viewers know I do a lot of work with both veterans and first responders in mental health and specifically post-traumatic stress. One thing, I just finished some research with some police officers and you mentioned how it's that one specific point where your body just doesn't know how to react, which is how I took it as well. What I've learned is there's also cumulative post-traumatic stress.

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As you think about being a first responder for 25 years and the things that you see over and over and over again, I just cannot imagine how they cope with all that. I'm appreciating you raising awareness, appreciate the work that you do. Just want to let all our listeners and viewers know it's okay to not be okay. That's a big thing we're focusing on. Maybe as a follow-up, is the healing process different for CPTS and PTS, and would you be comfortable sharing your healing journey with us?

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Samantha: Yes. Absolutely. I do. I think I'll probably repeat myself a lot in this, but I think it's unique to the individual. I'd say, at least in my experience and everything that I've read and learned about PTSD at this point, the main difference would be probably the length of time needed to recover from, for example, 25 years of being a firefighter and all the trauma and all the experiences that come along with that versus getting in a really bad car wreck or having some other distinct traumatic experience at one point in your life.

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I think the process is extremely individualized, but generally speaking, it probably takes a little bit longer if you've got a lot of trauma to go through. I think that's because, especially in complex PTSD scenarios, at least from my vantage point coming from childhood trauma, in those cases, the PTSD often comes as a result of not receiving some sort of core foundational need that's critical for proper development.

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Usually, what happens in those cases is rather than realizing that there's something maybe missing or wrong or with that caregiver that they're unable to provide you with that, the child takes that responsibility. They end up building up protective mechanisms throughout life that keeps them safe for that moment or for that experience. Then from my experience, eventually that catches up with you, and it stops being helpful, and it starts actually causing more harm than good, or it can hold us back from living and loving and enjoying life.

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That's where I found myself. I mentioned that I had an interesting childhood. I went and started my career and thought I had dealt with that. I got a good job. I've got a good career. I think I put that all behind me, but I started realizing that the way I was approaching my relationships, personal and professional, and some of the feedback that I was getting, being guarded, stoic, not letting people in. Then I started dating my husband at the time.

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As we were getting to know each other, I shared a little bit more about my background with him that I had shared with anyone else. That was probably the first time someone looked at me honestly and said, "That's not really quite normal. Maybe we should consider talking to someone about that." That was the first time I was really encouraged to examine it a little bit further rather than just brush it under the rug.

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I got to this point where I really had thought I dealt with my stuff, but then had this realization that the way I was approaching my life because of the pain that I was carrying, it was affecting how I showed up in my relationships, and I didn't like that. I wanted to change something about that. I realized that eventually the things that are on the inside, we all live in, I don't know if you've heard of a Möbius strip before, but this concept that everything on the inside is eventually going to show up on the outside.

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That's really the point where I decided it's time to start therapy, which I think is a great start for anybody, no matter where you're at in your journey. It's probably always helpful to have if and when you need it in your toolbox. In my experience, at least, trauma requires much deeper healing work than just traditional talk therapy. A really great book that I would recommend to folks is The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk. That talks about how trauma gets stored in the body.

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This was really true for me. I started to have a lot of physical symptoms and a lot of physical manifestations of just stored trauma. I started to explore alternative treatments to PTSD. Eventually, I ended up trying a procedure that I'm a huge advocate for, which not a lot of folks know about, but it's a relatively new treatment for PTSD, and that's called a stellate ganglion block, or SGB.

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It's almost like a reset for your nervous system, like turning your computer on and off, but it's a medical procedure, usually just an in and out in the same day. There's anesthetic injected into a certain nerve cluster in your neck. Like I said, this resets your nervous system. What it really helped me with was reducing symptoms associated with hyperarousal, hyperactivity, flashbacks, nightmare, just really being on edge, and then really tapping into all the mindset work that I had been doing for years. With PTSD, you get stuck in this fight or flight and you can't get out of that or you get triggered into it very easily.

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I did so much effort on my mindset, but I wasn't seeing the progress. Almost immediately after I went through the SGB procedure, all that mindset work, all the talk therapy all of a sudden it seemed to just unlock. I'd say that was one of the most profound things on my healing journey that I found that was most effective. For me personally, incorporating mindfulness into my daily routine was huge. Parts work is another piece of therapy or a way to approach therapy that I'm a huge advocate for as well. Then the stellate ganglion procedure. I've also tried brain spotting, neurofeedback, and EMDR. I think those other ones were really at least most impactful for me.

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Chris: I took some notes there while you were talking on two different things. First is I've been recovering from a pinched nerve for about six months and had the epidural a few months ago. My physical therapist mentioned both the SGB, but also she told me to read-

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Samantha: Oh, wow.

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Chris: -The Body Keeps the Score book. Now there's two recommendations for that. Then for me personally, without going into your childhood and your trauma, you mentioned the words guarded, stoic, and not letting people in. Every girlfriend I had before my current wife said that was me.

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Samantha: Oh, wow.

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Chris: My parents were divorced, my dad has had multiple failed marriages. I'm like, "Why the hell did I get married? Because it doesn't work. I've seen it fail multiple times." Similar to your now husband, my now wife said, "Get your shit together. What the hell's wrong with you? This is not how the world works and not how you act." I really appreciate you sharing that, and I can absolutely relate to that.

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Samantha: It's so helpful to have folks in our lives that can be honest and transparent with us and say, "Hey. Something may not be working here."

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Chris: They take you and smack you up across the head and say, "Listen, this is not how the world works. It's not how human beings interact." I really appreciate and respect you sharing that.

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Samantha: Thank you.

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Chris: Would it be correct to say that it's never too late to start to address the issue?

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Samantha: Oh, absolutely. It's never too late. I think a lot of folks are at different points in their journey. I think collectively, we've probably all experienced some level of traumatic experiences or experiences that altered us or our perceptions in some way. At any point when you realize that those may be hindering you in some way from living the life that you want to live, just take the first step and start and see where it goes from there.

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Chris: How do preexisting mental health conditions affect an individual's susceptibility to post-traumatic stress?

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Samantha: Absolutely. It's a good question. I think, at least from my experience, a history of repeated exposure certainly increases the chance of developing PTSD. Having a history of anxiety and depression or a history of other mental illness of any kind probably doesn't help. I really want to encourage folks that it also doesn't mean you'll develop PTSD if you have an experience. If you don't have a history of those types of things, it doesn't necessarily mean you're immune either.

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I think factors like the nature of trauma, our support systems, and your individual coping strategies all play a huge role in developing or determining resilience and recovery and the path to recovery. Early intervention is also really important and figuring out, like I said earlier, what treatment is really going to work for you. I think it's an individualized journey, and because we all have such unique experiences, we're not all going to respond the same way to the same treatments.

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Chris: What role does individual resilience play in determining how someone copes with and recovers from post-traumatic stress?

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Samantha: Resilience is huge. Resilient people are better able to adapt when adversity comes up, challenges come up. They're also better able to just maintain a positive outlook. They can usually go through the storm and they're quick to pick themselves up because they can see the lesson in it, or what they can learn from it, how they can utilize it to get to the next step. I think when you're resilient, you really just operate with a sense of hope and optimism. I think one of the best ways to build resilience is by identifying and utilizing those healthy coping mechanisms, and really leaning on your support network.

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Then again, living in alignment with your values and your life's vision. I don't think that can be underestimated. It usually takes some time to get there, some intention to get there, but especially when you've undergone trauma, I think to maintain recovery, it's important to align your life.

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Chris: How crucial are support systems, whether it's family, friends, community resources, to someone's ability to cope with and address PTS, and are there different types of support more beneficial than others or most beneficial?

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Samantha: Yes, absolutely. I think having supportive friends, healthy friends and family, friends, coach, therapist, a support system of some kind that can just show empathy and provide space is really helpful, but being able to provide space and support is a lot different than enabling. I think sometimes that there can be a fine line there for people who are trying to provide support.

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Provide practical guidance support, help them get off the field, or off the court, but back on their feet. Don't necessarily do the work for them. Help guide them and be there as a support system, but don't take the work on yourself would probably be my best advice.

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Chris: I've heard the term trauma-informed leadership or growth several times recently. Would you explain what trauma-informed growth is, please?

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Samantha: Yes, absolutely. I think this is so important, like I said earlier because we've seen a lot of collective trauma. We've all experienced and continue to witness. Trauma-informed leaders have a really deep level of emotional intelligence, and they blend human-centered leadership, so trying to lead in a way that doesn't inflict violence on the human spirit, with transformational leadership.

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Helping people expand and see beyond their current perspectives or limitations to achieve those lofty goals. I think this mindset can be applied personally and professionally, and it's always really future-focused. It's having a keen knowledge of how trauma, stress, and overwhelm really manifest in people and understanding the signs of that, and then having an ability to create a safe environment, and respond in a productive, healthy manner if and when conflicts or any other issues arise so that you can get back on track, stay healthy, whether, again, individually or maintain a healthy organization.

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Chris: Is trauma-informed growth something that a person has to be ready to do, for lack of a better example, like rehab or a 12-step program, or is it simply a matter of introducing the concept to someone and just getting started?

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Samantha: Oh, yes, absolutely. I think any of those. You can't make someone do something they don't want to do, but especially the work that's required in therapy, rehab, like coaching. Personal growth of any kind, you have to want it.

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Chris: What are some common challenges faced in trauma-informed growth, and how do you measure progress?

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Samantha: It's the mindset for sure. I think most people that I work with have a belief of some sort that's holding them back, and that can be tough. Sometimes shifting those beliefs and your behavior and waiting to see the changes in your life as a result is agonizing. It does take some time. Measuring progress along the way is super critical to maintaining the desire to continue pushing for that change.

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When I partner with people, we usually identify their long-term goal, and then every time we connect, we discuss the little steps that are being taken towards that goal or whatever else is coming up along the way that might be hindering them. That looks different for everybody on what those exact accountability measures are, but I always come back to reminding my clients and the folks that I'm working with that it's the little steps that they're taking and the little actions that they're taking day over day over day that stack up over time. Then pretty soon you look back and you do see this incredible growth, but there's a little bit of patience that's required.

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Chris: Here's the million-dollar question for you. Would you say, is it possible to transform emotional pain into power?

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Samantha: Yes, absolutely. 1000%, absolutely. I think to do that in a positive way, you have to give yourself the time and space to go through the heavy stuff, or at least develop the tools and emotional awareness and capacity to address it if and when it does come up, whether it's you specifically or just someone you know. I don't think we have the option to not be aware.

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Chris: It doesn't happen overnight. We've got to go through the process.

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Samantha: Absolutely. [chuckles]

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Chris: We've been talking to Samantha Baltadonis, and we'll be right back after a short break.

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Speaker 1: You are listening to Next Steps Forward. To reach Chris Meek, or his guest on the show today, please call in to 1-888-346-9141. That's 1-888-346-9141. Or send an email to chris@nextstepsforward.com. Now back to this week's show.

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Chris: We are back. I'm Chris Meek, host of Next Steps Forward. My guest today is Samantha Baltadonis. Sam is the founder of Strive Solutions in Nashville, Tennessee. She's a coach and consultant specializing in post-trauma growth, organizational leadership development, life and executive coaching, career development, and change management. She's on a mission to help others balance life, mental well-being, and exceptional leadership, all while achieving business and organizational excellence. Sam, before we dive back into our conversation, please tell our audience how they can get ahold of you.

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Samantha: Yes, thank you. My website is a great place to start, sbaltadonis.com. I'm also on LinkedIn and several other social media platforms like YouTube, Instagram, so you can follow me there @thesamanthacode.

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Chris: Before we get into the rest of the questions, another personal question for you. My listeners know I'm a huge country fan. You're in Nashville, home of all the bachelorette parties, all the bachelor parties. Are you a country fan? How do you deal with all the craziness that goes on?

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Samantha: Yes, I'm a huge country music fan, so I love living here. The live music anywhere is pretty incredible, but we selectively go downtown Nashville.

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Chris: With every celebrity or a big star now having their own bar, do you have a preference?

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Samantha: I'm actually more of the quiet, really nice restaurants off of the strip, off of Broadway, but I have a lot of great recommendations if you're ever in the area.

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Chris: All right, we'll do. I'll take you up on that. Thank you.

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Samantha: You bet.

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Chris: All right, back to business. Sam, how do you define transformational leadership, and what principles do you believe are essential to embody in this leadership style?

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Samantha: Yes, absolutely. Transformational leaders, they inspire and enact positive change in people, teams, and organizations mostly through the development of a shared vision and bringing perhaps interconnected, but not necessarily cohesive, parts of an organization together to work towards a collective vision. I think one of the most important principles of this style is probably an innate desire and the ability to empower and develop others to achieve big lofty goals.

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Leadership is something that can be developed. If this is a specific style that you're interested in leading, then I would definitely recommend looking at how to empower and develop others through employee development.

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Chris: Several old sayings come to mind when I think of transformations. The first is, the thing about change is, even when you want it, it's really freaking hard. The second is, another one of my favorites, I welcome change as long as nothing is altered or different. It's almost like a yogi isn't there for Yogi Berra. It seems to me that transformational change would be the most difficult because you're not just rearranging the furniture, you're moving into a whole new house, or maybe even building a new house. Make the case for transformational change and how to truly succeed at it.

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Samantha: Absolutely. I think on a personal level, you have to get clear on what you want and why. Then maybe consider and start accepting that the journey is most of the reward. Who you become on the way to where you want to be or the goal you want to achieve is actually truly what you're chasing. I think if you're not ready to put in the work, then you may not be ready for the reward either.

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If you are and you align your daily actions to this long-term vision for who you want to be and how you want to show up, and you don't lose sight of that vision, and you approach each day as a new opportunity, then you take that progress over perfection, small steps at a time, and allow yourself to just make incremental steps rather than move into the new big house immediately tomorrow.

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Then on the professional side, I think to succeed at transformational change, leaders, they have to do a lot of relational work to really successfully rally folks around a compelling vision. This can't be a vision that they just decide on their own. That's why I say there's a lot of relational work that goes into it because everyone else around you has to be just as bought in or just as excited about this vision.

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Transformational leaders, I think, really foster a culture of openness, collaboration, and they do a great job of getting buy-in and feedback from stakeholders at all levels and departments. Then they're flexible and resilient and open to continuous learning to ensure that they can maintain and sustain progress or success in the long term.

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Chris: Progress over perfection. I love that.

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Samantha: Progress over perfection. Yes, absolutely.

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Chris: I love that. It's okay if I use that?

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Samantha: Anytime.

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Chris: Awesome. Thank you. Another quote comes to mind, and that is, decision comes from the head and commitment comes from the heart. When it comes to real change, does it have to be a matter of the heart and not just the head?

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Samantha: Oh, yes. Absolutely. I think for change to be sustainable and lasting and have positive impacts, then it has to have some sort of emotional connection. There has to be an emotional connection to the reason for going through the change. This is especially critical when it comes to navigating challenges and building resilience or asking folks to put in effort to drive a major organizational shift because we have to inspire or be inspired for it to be worth it, for us to put in that effort.

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Chris: Are there specific trust-building strategies or practices that you recommend to clients who want to become transformation leaders?

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Samantha: Yes. I think leadership is an art, but it's one that can be learned. I'd say, first and foremost, be authentic to who you are because trying to show up differently, people are going to see through that immediately. If this is a goal or a style that you want to implement, I think you can focus first on building a psychologically safe environment.

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I think transparency goes a long way as well. You don't necessarily have to be open kimono with everything to everyone, but recognize the value that exists in actively seeking and listening to people's feedback about what's going on in the organization and how to improve upon that. That's where you build that cohesive collaborative vision that will get everyone excited.

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Then if, for some reason, you're not willing to use that feedback or it doesn't make sense for the business goals and objectives, the best thing you can do is follow up with why you didn't so that they keep coming back with more feedback and they stay engaged in the change that you're trying to make.

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Chris: Toxic organizations are the ones that need to change the most. They're often the most resistant to change. How does someone become an effective transformation leader in that sort of environment?

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Samantha: Oh, okay. This is also an art. I think first things first, you have to probably recognize that this will require perseverance, resilience, and probably some strategic prowess, but acknowledge the strengths of the organization before you go to dive into the existing challenges and whatever underlying issues you might identify or see. Do that head-on by finding key executive sponsors. I think if you're in an organization like this and you're wanting to change it in some way, you have to have high-level leadership buy-in.

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Otherwise, I think you'll probably have to personally decide how long you want to fight the good fight. As long as you want to do that, you can do that by promoting transparency, fostering open dialogue, modeling positive collaborative behaviors, and really building trust and investing in cross-collaborative relationships that help enable the development of that shared vision or a clear path forward, and then empower more people to try to be part of the transformation process themselves as well.

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Chris: Sam, you're also committed to helping women achieve more positions in leadership. What are some common barriers and challenges that women face in ascending to leadership positions and how should women overcome them because just working harder isn't the answer?

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Samantha: I love this because there's a great theory I recently learned about called role congruity theory, which proposes that a group will be positively evaluated when their characteristics align with that group's typical societal roles. I loved this because I think it explains the challenges that women face so eloquently and succinctly. Personally, as someone who feels like, maybe I look girly, but my working style is very masculine, I've always felt a cognitive dissonance there, and this really helped me name that.

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To answer your question, gender bias, stereotypes, and unequal opportunities, those are very real barriers for women, and even more so women and people of color. A recent report showed that women account for 42% of the workforce, but we've seen a 10% drop in their representation at the director, VP, and C-suite level. We're regressing, and we need to be intentional about how to address that.

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While I think the systemic factors are real, what I really am passionate about is, I believe leaders can do their part to address that while women should also continue to stay authentic to themselves and get more comfortable with showing up as their authentic selves and challenge the status quo and do the internal work to show up as the strong business leaders that we continue to prove ourselves to be. I think the last thing I'd say with that is when you get there, help others up, actively seek out mentors and mentees, sponsors, build a strong network, and champion inclusion and belonging initiatives.

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Chris: Are there specific leadership styles that women tend to adapt? How might these styles differ from those traditionally associated with male leaders?

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Samantha: I think, ironically, women tend to lead a little bit more towards the transformational, collaborative, and participative styles. They emphasize empathy, inclusivity, relationship building, and those are different from some of the traditional leadership styles or the ways we think about leadership. While one approach can enhance team cohesion and morale and drive outstanding results, while that may be the case, I think there's also the tendency for this type of style to be perceived as maybe less effective and even more so in more male-dominated environments.

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Ultimately, there's a time and place for every leadership style, I think, and promoting diverse leadership styles and recognizing the value of different approaches can foster healthier environments that benefit organizations and individual people.

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Chris: The theme of Next Steps Forward is resilience, personal empowerment, and well-being. You help people unlock the power of resilience for personal change and to become better leaders. What are the foundational elements of career resilience and how do you unlock that power of resilience?

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Samantha: I'd say adaptability, resourcefulness, perseverance, and having a growth mindset or tapping into your own internal resilience. Really just focus on building self-awareness, practicing mindfulness, developing effective coping strategies, leaning on your support network, and setting realistic goals. Do your best to embrace any perceived failure as an opportunity for growth to get you closer to your long-term goal. This is where I'd come back to that progress over perfection statement.

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Chris: Does a commitment to continuous learning contribute to our resilience in career satisfaction?

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Samantha: Yes, absolutely. I think being open to new learnings and having a growth mindset really enhances resilience and contributes to our overall wellbeing and satisfaction, but personal and professional growth gives us something to look forward to. I think with intention we can really live a life in alignment with our values which then fosters an even deeper sense of fulfillment and purpose.

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Chris: Resilience is especially important when we've had a setback. How do you guide clients in navigating career setbacks and challenges? What tools or exercises can help us maintain a positive outlook when the going gets tough?

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Samantha: Yes, definitely. Well, I'd encourage them to first acknowledge their emotions and the reactions to the situation, especially what beliefs and messaging is playing out. I think it's important to provide a safe space and take the time to process and reflect, and then move forward. We would explore the lessons learned from the setback, and then maybe identify strengths and resources to draw upon to really, again, tap into their own internal resilience.

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We might examine their values and remind them why they're chasing this goal or why they're doing the work that they're doing. I think tools that become really effective in these conversations are reframing negative thoughts, reminding folks to practice self-compassion, which I think we all need to be reminded of sometimes. Again, setting realistic goals, maintaining that growth mindset, and examining how the experience is helping them get closer to where they want to be.

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Chris: What's the best way to identify and align our careers with a sense of purpose and meaning?

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Samantha: I think self-reflection, I think it's so important because you have to know what you truly want and why. Exploring our values, interests and our strengths and seeking opportunities that really resonate with us and the life that we want to live. Yes, absolutely. Then when your career aligns with your sense of purpose, if you get to that point in your life, which I think is an amazing achievement, you just end up experiencing such a deeper sense of fulfillment and engagement and satisfaction, I think, in every area of your life.

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Chris: That just contributes to our overall wellbeing?

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Samantha: Absolutely.

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Chris: As part of that process, would you typically encourage clients to engage in reflection and self-discovery to better understand their values, strengths and aspirations?

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Samantha: Yes. I'm a huge proponent of regular reflection, obviously, but it really helps people get a better understanding of their values and strengths and, again, where they want to go and taking the time to set that foundation for where you are today and where you want to go, and then everything about working with a coach is about how are we going to get you there?

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Chris: You just mentioned setting the foundation. Setting boundaries is also crucial for wellbeing. How do you help individuals establish healthy boundaries in their professional lives, especially when someone who's at a company where the boss who doesn't respect their boundaries?

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Samantha: Yes, that's tough for sure. I think first, again, you have to be really clear and identify your boundaries and which ones maybe are being violated and why. Does your boss know that this is a boundary, or are they just unaware? Assuming positive intent, but then also being assertive respectfully to communicate your boundaries to the folks that need to know them and hold firm in them. I think especially if it's not affecting your performance or your job, this is just part of human-centered leadership, respecting people's boundaries and respecting them as capable adults, unless they've proven otherwise.

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If you're doing your job and you're just looking for basic boundaries between work and life to be respected and it's not, I think you explore options to resolve the issue, and if you can't seem to get there, then ultimately you have to decide what's best for you.

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Chris: You've mentioned this a few times in the show. You're a passionate advocate of mindfulness. What is mindfulness and how important is it for our wellbeing?

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Samantha: Yes, I love mindfulness. I am a huge advocate. It is an intentional practice to just be present and fully engaged in the current moment with non-judgmental awareness. It's just really trying to be present in the moment, be aware of what's going on without determining it good or bad or otherwise. This helps reduce stress. It enhances focus and concentration, tons of benefits, improves emotional regulation, self-awareness, helps build resilience, which we've talked about today.

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I think walking meditation, scripting, which is a form of journaling and meditation. I also often suggest box breathing or other deep breathing exercises, body scanning meditations. I think it doesn't have to be long or complicated, especially if meditation is new for you, but just taking a minute or two to look around the room and think about the present moment, observe the items in the room, what you see outside. You can just start with something as simple as that to start building that muscle and work up from there.

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Chris: You just went through a handful of practices. Do you suggest specific mindfulness practices to enhance wellbeing in the workplace?

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Samantha: I think one of the things I found myself doing really frequently was practicing breathing exercises in between meetings. If you're able, make sure that you block some time between meetings each day to maybe get outside during lunch and just change your environment. Anything that allows you to break away and calm your nervous system down for even five minutes can be profoundly impactful. Box breathing is a hugely beneficial one and it's easy to do anywhere.

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Chris: We were talking earlier about the value of a support system. Do you guide individuals in building and leveraging support networks for their career and personal wellbeing? If so, how should we go about that?

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Samantha: Yes, that's certainly something I can help with, but I think I'm even better at guiding folks through identifying, managing, releasing, and overcoming their limiting beliefs. We would probably talk about things like, what's holding you back from building and leveraging your support network?

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Chris: It's like you read my script. I'm just going to ask you where can people get a hold of you again, one more time?

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Samantha: Yes, absolutely. My website is a great place, so sbaltadonis.com or social media @thesamanthacode.

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Chris: Love it. Sam, we're coming to the end of this remarkable conversation. I always like to have our guests take us to the close with something that gives them hope or offer advice to the audience to help them become less stressed, more content, and more empowered. We've talked a lot about that during this conversation. I'm now going to turn the microphone over to you to share your advice with us about becoming transformational leaders or embarking in our own transformational journey.

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Samantha: Yes, absolutely. I would say, first and foremost, don't let transformation scare you, especially personal transformation, which will fundamentally alter the way that you approach leadership. Life's going to pass by one way or another, and I think we might as well be intentional about where we're going and why. Don't be afraid to start the journey, and remember that progress over perfection.

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Chris: Progress over perfection, and don't fear change.

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Samantha: Don't fear change. Embrace, expand, evolve.

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Chris: Oh, that's another great one. It's like a bumper sticker.

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Samantha: [laughs] Yes.

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Chris: I love that. Samantha Baltadonis, it was an honor to visit with you today. Thank you so much for being with us.

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Samantha: Thank you. It was an honor.

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Chris: Thank you to our audience, which now includes people in over 50 countries for joining us on another episode of Next Steps Forward. I'm Chris Meek. For more details and upcoming shows and guests, please follow me on Facebook at facebook.com/chrismeekpublicfigure, and on X, @chrismeek_usa. We'll be back next Tuesday, same time, same place with another leader from the world of business, politics, public policy, sports, or entertainment. Until then, stay safe and keep taking your next steps forward.

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[music]

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Speaker 1 Thanks for tuning in to Next Steps Forward. Be sure to join Chris Meek for another great show next Tuesday at 10:00 AM Pacific Time and 1:00 PM Eastern Time on the Voice America Empowerment Channel. This week make things happen in your life.

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[music]

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[00:49:10] [END OF AUDIO]