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. Have you ever wondered what it really takes to succeed at the highest levels of leadership? Maybe you're wondering because you think it will help you shatter the ceiling. Or maybe when you sit there and you look at your executive team, you wonder what do they do all day long? Well, I don't have the answer to that y'all, but what I do have for you today is three unexpected life lessons that I learned from my time beyond the glass ceiling.

Erica: I'm talking beyond the obvious skills and strategies, but what are the hidden lessons that truly make a difference? And while I'm sure this is gonna be different for everyone, what I'm about to share with you today is going to give you just a glimpse beyond the ceiling. If you are in that sea level position today, I would love, love, love to know how does this stack up with your current experience? But without waiting any longer, you know where you're at. 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 your best life.

Erica: I'm Erica Rani, 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 your earbuds, and let's dive in. Now my first life lesson in the c suite is all about embracing the power of vulnerability.

Erica: And I wanted to start with this lesson because in my very first executive role, I felt like I had to have have all of the answers all of the time. I wanted to be seen as educated, experienced, and knowledgeable, and I did not want them to question, why did we hire this girl? What is she even doing here? I had this deep fear that I would be found out, that they would feel like they made a mistake, like I was a fraud, that I was not ready for the c suite. But the truth is, I've learned that when you show up and you are vulnerable, it can actually be a tremendous strength.

Erica: It humanizes you. It builds a deeper connection with your team. And when I started admitting that I did not have all the answers, it created this culture of openness and trust. And the best part was when I admitted I didn't know something, people actually came out of the woodwork to help. They jumped in.

Erica: They shared experiences. They gave me grace that I'm not sure that I would have gotten if I presented myself as this person who knew everything and had all of the knowledge and the experience. Because, y'all, the truth is nobody loves perfection because no one is perfect. It is impossible to resonate with perfection. But that vulnerability to show up and say, you know what?

Erica: I don't have the answer to that, or I'm not sure, or I don't know if this is the right thing to do. And then also share your own struggles. Girl, there is power in that. I remember one time where I had what the Gen Z ers love to call a mentee b, which stands for mental breakdown. But I was at my wit's end, and I was struggling personally and professionally.

Erica: And I ended up saying, like, I just have to get out of here. I I need to take a week off and do nothing. And when I tell you I did nothing, I got out of my bed, I got my kids to school, and I made it to my couch for the entire day. And I watched mind numbing Netflix. I just could not function.

Erica: And I let my team know, like, hey. I've got some personal stuff going on. I deal with anxiety and depression from time to time, and I'm having some time where I just need to step back. And guess what? Every single one of those team members stepped up to the plate.

Erica: They took everything out of my hands, and they rock the hell out of it. They really came in full force, almost to protect me and support me by going above and beyond with everything else going on. And I even have one person on my team text me and say, Listen, Erica, I get it, because I go through that too. And that level of connection that was created in that moment, that level of gratitude that we both experienced because we looked at each other and we said, I see you. That was so overwhelmingly beautiful, and it's something that continues to this day.

Erica: Now where I see people fail massively on their way to the C suite is that they don't want to admit that they don't know something, and then they won't do something like they don't admit that the project is in the red or that it's in more trouble than they thought it was. They're feverishly running around trying trying to figure things out, fix things, and make it better without letting people know, hey. We're falling apart over here. And because of that, no one comes to help you. Why would they?

Erica: They think you have it all together. Together. So, truthfully, if you do not embrace vulnerability, you're shooting yourself in the foot. Now the second life lesson that I have learned is one that is truly focused on being a woman in the c suite today, and this is standing up for yourself. You will be talked over.

Erica: You will be looked over. You will be undermined and disrespected, and not all of it is going to be intentional. But many of those that we work with, they have these unconscious bias that they aren't even realizing the way things sound or the impact that the things that they say are having. So you have to stand your ground. You have to bring attention to the injustices even when it's not comfortable to do so, and you have to be true to your values.

Erica: Y'all being a woman in the c suite, it is not for the faint of heart, and I've had my fair share of heartbreaks. But what I do know and what I can proudly say is that I have stood up for my damn self, and I have stood up for what I thought was right even if that meant losing my job. And I'm telling you, when you establish that level of trust and self respect for yourself, that is when you are truly a c level leader. Because girl, you deserve to be there. Do not let anyone else make you think otherwise.

Erica: And then the third and final life lesson that I want to share with you is that you have to find joy in the small wins. Y'all the C suite is so often focused on the big picture goals and the long term success on growth and scaling. But y'all, I have found that celebrating the wins is as equally important. Recognizing and appreciating those small moments, it really boosts their morale, and it keeps you and your team motivated. But it's also a reminder for everyone, yourself included, that progress is made one step at a time.

Erica: Y'all, there are so many life lessons that I could pour into this podcast, but you know I like to keep these short. But this one, the joy in the small wins, it is so key because well, let me ask you this. How often do you celebrate the small daily things, like, really celebrate? I hope it is every day, but my guess is that it's probably been a while since you intentionally celebrated those wins. And then let me ask you this second question, which I think many of you will relate to.

Erica: How many days this week did you get to the end of the day and you said, Oh, my God, I just barely made it through this day. Thank god. And y'all, if you are saying that, you are not celebrating your damn self. Right? You're showing up more defeated.

Erica: You're showing up just exasperated away of, like, great. I barely made it through the shit show. Now I gotta get back to it tomorrow. That is not gratitude. That is not celebratory, and we want to get to those places.

Erica: Now my guess is many of you are in survival camp, But we need to go all in on celebrating these small wins. We need to go all in on gratitude. Did you rock out that sales call that you had planned? Did a team member step outside of their comfort zone? Did one did you complete one piece of a project that was really, celebrate today?

Erica: And give yourself that moment of gratitude. Celebrate everything y'all because, honestly, that is the whole purpose of life. It's not to chase success. It's not even to shatter glass ceilings. It's to celebrate each other and all of the amazing miracles that happen around us every single damn day.

Erica: So, yeah, these are my three life lessons beyond the c suite. There have been so many, and I am going to share so many more with you, but I wanna hear your life lessons. What have you learned that? I'm gonna do a post on LinkedIn that corresponds with this video, and you tell me what life lessons have you learned in your role today. Y'all don't have to be in the c suite.

Erica: Any position will do. I want to know. But for me right now, the three life lessons from beyond the c suite are embracing the power of vulnerability, learning to stand up for yourself, and finding joy in the small wins. But I'm super intrigued. What are yours?

Erica: What has been your life lesson? Share it with me, and I'm gonna pull our favorite ones from the community and talk about them in our next episode. But thank you for listening and tuning in. And if you're watching this on the YouTube channel, y'all, you heard me correct. I have a YouTube channel now.

Erica: Drop that five star review, rate review, subscribe both on Apple Podcasts and in YouTube. And don't forget to hit up all my socials, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, you name it. I am there. But until next time, stop putting ceilings on what's possible and start smashing through them. You got this.