Erica: Hey, girl. By now, you know I have Her Collective, my online community for ambitious women who are done doing it alone. Her Collective is for the women who are smart, capable, and driven, but they find themselves stuck on the sticky floors like self doubt, burnout, and waiting for permission that quite honestly never comes. Inside HER, you get more than motivation. You get real support, real strategies, and real momentum.

Erica: We work on things like clarifying what you want now and what's coming next, building confidence without burning yourself out, navigating hard conversations, career moves, and leadership moments with clarity, and surrounding yourself with women who actually get it. This isn't about hustling harder. It's about moving intentionally with the right tools and the right people in your corner. If you're ready to stop spinning, start choosing yourself, and build a career in life that actually feels aligned, I'd love to welcome you inside her collective. You can learn more and join us at www.joinhercollective.com.

Erica: Because honestly, girl, you were never meant to do this alone. Alright, friend. I want to get real with you for a second. Success is not a solo sport.

Erica: I know. You might think that you can white knuckle your way to all of your dreams, your goals, and your desires, but I want to tell you this. When you go that route, it is exhausting, and it's not how you win long term. Now the truth is, the people that you surround yourself with, they are your secret weapon. Yes, I'm talking about community, and I am here to tell you that community could be the very thing that is standing between you and the breakthrough that you are chasing.

Erica: Now, I personally learned this the very hard way, y'all. I don't know about you, but I used to think that I had to do everything on my own, that it had to be all me, that I was responsible, and that didn't matter if it was climbing the corporate ladder, if it was quitting drinking, or starting my own business. I thought it had to be me. Is that you? Do you feel me on that one?

Erica: But I want to tell you this. When I actually started leaning on others, when I started connecting with other people, everything shifted. And that's what I want to talk to you about today. It's why community is your ultimate cheat code, your ultimate secret weapon for actually achieving all of the goals that you've set this year, and how you can find the right community or build one that is truly going to elevate your life. Now, by the end of this episode, you'll know why the right community is a game changer, how to find it, and how I used it to transform my life, accelerate my success, and how you can join her collective so you can experience it firsthand.

Erica: You are listening to the Glass Ceiling and Sticky Floor podcast, the podcast that will empower you to shatter limiting beliefs and toxic behaviors to uncover infinite possibilities so you can live your best life. I'm Erica Rooney, and I'm on a mission to bring more women into positions of power and keep them there. I'm obsessed with all things growth and abundance, and I'm here to talk you through the tried and true secrets to get you to level up your career and your life. We talk about the hard stuff here, imposter syndrome, perfectionism, fear, and burnout. So pull up a seat, pop in an earbud, and let's dive in.

Erica: Alright. Here's the thing. Research backs this up. Did you know that you are 65% more likely to achieve your goals just by sharing them with someone else? And if you add in an accountability partner to the mix, that number shoots up to 95%.

Erica: So shout out to Tina and Judy who are my two accountability partners. But let's get real. Those are not just feel good numbers. That is data, that is science, and that is the power of connection. Now I want you to think about this.

Erica: When you're working towards a big goal, whether that is growing your business, maybe getting into the best shape of your life, or leveling up your career, there are going to be days where you just don't feel like it. Where momentum is not enough, where motivation is not enough. And that is where your community steps in. That's where the power is.

Erica: Because when you're by yourself and you haven't spoken these things out loud and you haven't shared them with other people, it's so easy to let yourself off the hook. Am I right? How many times have you been laying up in that bed at 5AM, you know you said that you would get up and work out, but guess what? Nobody else knows it. So, really, the only person you'd be disappointing is you.

Erica: And that's an easy secret to keep. But when you have others, when you have other people, whether you are meeting them at the gym or you're going to high five them on the Peloton, guess what? You're unstoppable because you're going to show up.

Erica: So I want to talk about the key benefits of community, because if I'm really honest with you, I thought it was a bunch of fluff in the beginning, and it almost felt safer to keep all of those big goals, dreams, and desires to myself. And it felt safer for a lot of reasons. I didn't want other people to think my dreams were too big or too crazy. But the real reason that I didn't lean into community is because what if my goals and my dreams failed?

Erica: What if I couldn't do what I was setting out to do? Then everybody else would know I was a failure. And so a lot of times, I didn't share those out.

Erica: So when we talk about these three key benefits, accountability, perspective, and momentum, it really does ensure that you are going to succeed with whatever you set out to do. Let's face it. We are often so much better at showing up for other people than we are showing up for ourselves.

Erica: But when you have people counting on you, when you have people cheering you on, you are much more likely to stay consistent. And I will give you an example from my own life. The best shape of my life that I was ever in was when I had my friend Molly showing up with me every single day at 5AM at the gym, because I knew that she was going to be there. I couldn't sleep in. I couldn't stay in those warm cozy covers, even in the cold of January, because my friend was waiting for me.

Erica: Now had I not involved her in this whole thing, it would have been so easy to hit the snooze. It would have been so easy to tell myself, oh, I'll just do it tomorrow, or I'll add it in later today, and then we all know what happens. That's it. It never happens.

Erica: So the accountability, showing up for others to guarantee your own success, that is a huge benefit of community. Perspective. Sometimes we cannot see the forest for the trees.

Erica: But when you have the right community around you, the right people, they help you see your blind spots. They offer fresh insights. They can give you that gentle nudge, or that push, or even sometimes the hard truth that you need to pivot and grow. Now I've got a really good friend, and she's got ADHD, so she's always got ping pong brain all over the place, but she's starting her own business.

Erica: And one of her challenges is seeing an idea all the way through, because she gets so many great ideas, and coupled with the ADHD, it's just everywhere.

Erica: But with the community that she has built around her, and I'm a part of that community, we often give her that hard truth that she needs to stop and stay focused, that she needs to see something all the way through, and that has really helped her gain new perspective. And then momentum. Oh, y'all. You know motivation doesn't last. So the best thing to do is ride the momentum wave when it hits.

Erica: But here's the thing, with accountability, with community, and with momentum, energy is contagious. You know this. When you're around people who are just like, everything sucks, it's no good, then guess what?

Erica: Everything sucks. It's no good. It's kind of a whole Debbie Downer thing that no one wants to be involved in. But when you are with people who are motivated, who are fired up, who are focused and taking action and going after their dreams, guess what?

Erica: It's contagious. It's impossible to not get caught up in that momentum. And so when you are surrounding yourself with those types of people, you are automatically advancing your own goals. Now I want to tell you a very personal story, about when I stopped drinking. And I cannot tell you for how long I told myself and challenged myself that I was going to not drink today, or not drink this week, or not drink for thirty days.

Erica: But then the end of the day would come. And you know what? The kids were tired and work was hard, so why not just have that glass of wine? And even now, it's like, yeah.

Erica: Why not? It's super easy to do it. And it felt impossible because it was just like, oh my gosh. These kids are driving me crazy.

Erica: But here's the deal. I had a really good accountability buddy when it came to this, and her name is Darcy. She and I were both doing it together. And it was so helpful because when I was going through that period of my life and I was making these commitments to stop drinking and I was doing it by myself, I had all these questions of, how am I going to get through the night with these kids going crazy?

Erica: Who's even going to understand? Who can commiserate, especially when it comes to giving up drinking, because nobody talks about that. But when I found my accountability buddy, Darcy, and we started going through it together, she was able to not just support me, but show me that it was possible, because she was doing it too. And so all of the struggles that we had, we kind of had them together.

Erica: And I would talk about how it was so challenging, and the kids are driving me crazy, and I really wanted to. And on those days when I did really want to, Darcy was there in the back of my mind as someone I didn't want to let down, because we already talked about this. It's so much easier to let yourself down than it is to let others down.

Erica: So when I had Darcy in my corner, I wasn't going to let her down. And so that community, it really changed my life, because it fueled me to get through that first day, first week, first month, first six months, first year, and now I can do that for others. And then there was my whole corporate career. When I was an executive and climbing the corporate ladder, it felt like I was doing it blindfolded.

Erica: And here's the thing. A lot of the women in my community, they're stay at home moms, or they work part time, which is great and amazing, but I could not connect with them as someone who is having to travel to India for half of a month six times a year.

Erica: So I really wish that I had had more women in my community early in my executive career to help me navigate motherhood and travel and feeling like I had to balance and juggle it all, and really have that person in my corner to say, hey, I've been there, here's how I navigated this, I don't know if it's helpful for you or not. And if I look back on that, I really think, what if I had that kind of community then that I do now?

Erica: And I really think that it would have saved me so much more time and so much heartache, and that is why I am so passionate about creating spaces like Her Collective, because I want to give to other people what I wish I had had. So one thing I also want to talk about, because this is huge, especially in corporate America, is mentorship and sponsorship, and those are two big aspects of community that are critical to your advancement and your success. And here's the thing. There is a difference, a big difference, between mentorship and sponsorship. And if you're in the right community, you do get both.

Erica: That's what's amazing. So mentors guide you, and they share their experiences, and they offer advice. Whereas sponsors go a step further. They are actively opening doors for you.

Erica: They're advocating for you when you're not in the room, and they're pushing you into opportunities that you didn't even know existed. So it's key to have both mentors and sponsors. And you know what? Find the right community like Her Collective and kill two birds with one stone.

Erica: So here is the thing. A good community does not just pat you on the back. They don't just tell you you're doing a great job. They're going to challenge you, and they're going to challenge you in the best of ways. They're going to say, hey, girl.

Erica: Why not aim higher? Why not go bigger? What's holding you back? And if you have the right women in your corner, they're also going to make you a little bit uncomfortable, but in a way that pushes you towards growth. The other benefit to community is when you are in a thriving group, guess what?

Erica: You are not operating in isolation. And if you are an ambitious working woman, tack on if you have kids, it can often feel like you are in the trenches alone. But with the right community, you're swapping resources, you're sharing ideas, and you're creating opportunities for each other. I just took part in an amazing women's event called Bubbles, Bubbles and Business, and I came together with my friend Greta Fitzgerald. She was helping me because she was highlighting my book, and I was helping her because I was hyping up her event.

Erica: And guess what? It was amazing, amazing, amazing collaboration where we both got to win. So here's the thing, and this is really good news, you can find community everywhere. You just have to look. You just have to ask.

Erica: And one way you can do this is start with interest based groups, whether it's online or in person. I can't tell you how many mom groups I'm in, how many Peloton groups I'm in, how many psychological thriller book clubs I'm in. There is just a plethora of communities out there that you can connect with to hit every interest and every need. But also, make sure that you're joining a professional network that is in your industry.

Erica: So for HR, join SHRM. Join the PHR community. Join the Hacking HR community. But here's the thing.

Erica: If you are not finding what you need, build your own. I created my own accountability group. I found the right women to join in with me with similar goals, similar paths, in a similar place in life, and we're getting after it. But, also, I'm going to use this moment to plug my latest adventure, which is called Her Collective.

Erica: Now you've heard me drop this earlier in the podcast. It is something I am so excited about, but I wanted a space where ambitious, driven women could come together, could support each other, and could help grow each other. And I wanted it to be really inclusive. So I didn't want it to be limited to a certain level in corporate America, but I wanted it to have a space where all women could thrive. And this is a community that I wish I had had early in my journey, and guess what?

Erica: I brought it to you. I created it. I made it, and I brought it to you. So if you are craving that kind of support and connection, take this as your sign to join. So let me leave you with this, and this is important.

Erica: You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with. I'm sure you've heard that before. So this means that your community matters a heck of a lot more than you think it does. It's not just about having people around you.

Erica: You can still feel lonely in a room filled with people, but it is about having the right people. The people who lift you up, the people who challenge you, the people who keep you moving forward. So remember this, success doesn't happen in isolation, y'all. When you surround yourself with the right people, with the right mindset, you unlock a level of accountability, energy, and opportunity that you will not be able to find or create on your own.

Erica: And this year, I want you to make it your mission to build or find your community. Alright. If this resonated with you, I implore you to check out Her Collective. I'm going to link everything in the show notes on how you can join, and I absolutely would love to see you there. I also want you to DM me your biggest goal for the year.

Erica: So even if Her Collective is not for you, I can cheer you on from afar, because you've got this. Alright. Thanks for listening and tuning in. If you haven't already dropped that five star review, do it today. And if you're listening or watching on YouTube, please rate, review, and subscribe, as it truly helps it land in the hands of the woman who needs to hear it the most.

Erica: And don't forget to hit up all my socials too, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok, for however long it is around. I drop some really great freebies over there, so you don't want to miss out. But until next time, stop putting a ceiling on what's possible and start smashing through them.