EP 43
Resilient Leadership Podcast with Ensono
Available On
Guests:
-
Kelli Richardson
Principal Sales Executive at Ensono
Company:
Ensono
Resilience isn’t just about endurance—it’s about how leaders adapt, respond, and continue making decisions under pressure. In this conversation, Kelli Richardson, Principal Sales Executive at Ensono, joins Sanjay Sharma, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer at Decklar, to unpack what resilient leadership really looks like in today’s environment.
Resilience isn’t just about endurance—it’s about how leaders adapt, respond, and continue making decisions under pressure.
In this conversation, Kelli Richardson, Principal Sales Executive at Ensono, joins Sanjay Sharma, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer at Decklar, to unpack what resilient leadership really looks like in today’s environment.
From navigating burnout to leading through constant change and high-pressure decision-making, this discussion brings a practical, real-world perspective on what it takes to lead effectively when the stakes are high.
A few themes explored:
- Recognizing and managing burnout before it impacts performance
- Leading with clarity in fast-moving, high-pressure environments
- Building resilience as a leadership capability—not just a personal trait
This is an honest, grounded conversation for leaders operating in complex, demanding roles.
Sanjay Sharma 00:07
My name is Sanjay Sharma, I’m the CEO of Decklar. Today we are going to talk about resilient leadership and with me I have someone who has built a career using resilience. In her career path she has under her belt big wins, she has always dreamt big and Fast forward, juggled a lot of roles within the various enterprise she has belonged to. Kelly is a methodical strategist, always asking what really she can do for for her team. And I feel that her experiences, her battle scars, scaling and growing organizations would help our audience today and be inspired about the do’s and the don’ts as you build your career, extend your career into leadership and many more. So join me in welcoming Kelly.
Kelli Richardson 01:14
Thank you, Sanjay. What a very gracious introduction
Sanjay Sharma 01:23
And by the way, coming from you, who I respect so much as you know, means a lot to me.
Kelli Richardson 01:30
Thinking about this conversation, you’ve always kind of been my professional Oprah, if you will.
Sanjay Sharma 01:36
So you might get a few tears out of me.
Kelli Richardson 01:39
Who knows?
Sanjay Sharma 01:40
Yeah, it makes absolute sense, and you’re able to break it down in a very clear way, because I think so many people are talking about it, and it can just get a bit overwhelming. And I mean, even if you ask an AI interface, like a chatgpt or a deep seek, it can give you a very long winded answer, and then that can just make you more confused. So I thank you for not just giving us the answer, but applying it to the supply chain space as well. Sure, absolutely and just one other definition I’ll throw out there, as well as synthetic data we may touch on a little bit in this episode. In short, is like fake data that looks and acts real. It’s used when real data is maybe missing or private, and it very much just acts as real for testing or for maybe a digital twin as an example. And we’ll dive into that a little bit as well. So I want to understand from your point, how would you define the fourth inflection point? In supply chain management, and why do you feel this is a game changer for organizations today?
Kelli Richardson 01:40
We’ll definitely have a few laughs along the way.
Sanjay Sharma 01:44
But I’ve been thinking a lot about this conversation, especially this month in the topic for International Women’s Day and the whole month.
Kelli Richardson 01:55
And it’s kind of like that red car theory that once you start focusing on a topic or something, you recognize all the things that your peers and people you respect are saying on the topic.
Sanjay Sharma02:08
And so I’m really happy to be here today and just have a very open and frank dialogue, right?
Kelli Richardson 02:15
And be vulnerable and hopefully in a way that resonates with the women of Deckler and even the women at In Sono, right?
Sanjay Sharma 02:24
Because I find myself in a very interesting time in my career being at In Sono, working with probably the highest concentration of really women leaders that I have been involved with in in several years.
Kelli Richardson 02:40
So that’s you found me at a good spot for this topic
Sanjay Sharma 02:45
For sure.
Kelli Richardson 02:46
Perfect.
Sanjay Sharma 02:49
As I was thinking through this conversation, what I wanted to achieve through this podcast was to really address the challenges of three categories of women, right?
Kelli Richardson 03:05
One just graduated out of school, a lot of ambition, but really no playbook to to build her career.
Sanjay Sharma 03:15
And then you have people who are in mid management looking to force themselves into leadership and, and really there is no playbook on, on how to manage professional and social aspects of, of their life.
Kelli Richardson 03:33
And then there are women who have been leaders and who want to go global, who want to expand their horizon, take on more responsibilities and, and be really very successful.
Sanjay Sharma 03:46
And, and, and looking at these audiences and looking at your journey in the many years you’ve worked with companies like T Systems, you work with Atos, you work with Ensenada and, and now with Enzo.
Kelli Richardson 04:02
No.
Sanjay Sharma 04:04
Can you share with us what a day in life of Kelly looks like when when you started your career and and now where you are?
Kelli Richardson 04:14
Yeah
Sanjay Sharma 04:15
And really, I can remember all of these phases.
Kelli Richardson 04:19
I’m not that old
Sanjay Sharma 04:21
Yeah.
Kelli Richardson 04:21
Yeah.
Sanjay Sharma 04:21
So it’s pretty easy to tap into it.
Kelli Richardson 04:24
And I do see my career as being very seasonal, meaning that you’re in different seasons, right?
Sanjay Sharma 04:32
As a woman, as a person, as a human, as a mother, what whatever category you’re putting yourself in.
Kelli Richardson 04:38
And so you are in during seasons.
Sanjay Sharma 04:42
And I have always viewed my career more like climbing a mountain than climbing a corporate ladder
Kelli Richardson 04:50
Because I don’t know about the rest of everybody out there, women.
Sanjay Sharma 04:54
But it has never been a straight climb, rung after rung after rung.
Kelli Richardson 04:59
It has always come with high highs, lower lows, questioning yourself, being able to sustain a pace right that sometimes feels for the season that you’re in undoable.
Sanjay Sharma 05:16
But that journey as climbing a mountain, you have to course correct.
Kelli Richardson 05:21
You have to take a different hold, right?
Sanjay Sharma 05:23
You have to.
Kelli Richardson 05:24
You talked to me back when I moved from being coming off the board and going into an individual contributor role.
Sanjay Sharma 05:33
And you asked me to think about if I was making that decision for my next step based on the exact moment in time I was in or if I was really prioritizing what was right for me and taking a step out of that type of leadership role.
Kelli Richardson 05:53
And what I found was that yes, it was, it was very scary.
Sanjay Sharma 06:00
I questioned myself a lot.
Kelli Richardson 06:01
I wondered would I ever get AVP title again, right, or sit on another board?
Sanjay Sharma 06:08
But what I found was it was the time in my life to go back and get closer to the client, to get back to what gave me fire every day, which was waking up working with teams, right, helping clients.
Kelli Richardson 06:23
So as long as you stay curious, you lead with integrity, right always and lead with your heart when things get hard and you’ve got to plow through them, you’ll be on the right course no matter what decision you make.
Sanjay Sharma 06:40
Because it, it’s important to understand that you choose.
Kelli Richardson 06:44
Nobody else around you makes that choice.
Sanjay Sharma 06:47
It’s it’s yours to make and and you need to feel good about it And, and for the many women in the audience.
Kelli Richardson 06:57
If if you for those who are just starting out or grinding their first big role to becoming seasoned, need leaders, juggling between teams, big responsibilities.
Sanjay Sharma 07:12
How do I keep this up without burning out is a common question that comes up and I’m sure it has come for you as well.
Kelli Richardson 07:23
And you do step back and look at, you know, everything that you have done and, and and avoided to, to be sane, to, to have the same rigor, the same fire.
Sanjay Sharma 07:36
How would you bring some of those learnings back to the audience that we have today?
Kelli Richardson 07:40
Yeah, I, I think too, before I really get to the learnings.
Sanjay Sharma 07:44
Right
Kelli Richardson 07:45
You got to go through it
Sanjay Sharma 07:47
And I, I kind of think of my career these days in 2026 as pre pandemic, post pandemic, because I was kind of like consumer staples, right?
Kelli Richardson 08:00
The consumer staples segment of the market.
Sanjay Sharma 08:03
I was last in, but I felt like I was last to come out, Sanjay, like truly my mental, like my thinking, ’cause it was an embarrassment of riches.
Kelli Richardson 08:14
I would say at the beginning of the pandemic, I was still go, go, go in a typical day meant airports and rental cars, dinners and client dinners.
Sanjay Sharma 08:23
And quite frankly, if I was busy, I almost wore it like a badge, right?
Kelli Richardson 08:28
Like movement and meant momentum and me being busy meant doing it all.
Sanjay Sharma 08:35
And that pace is not sustainable, right?
Kelli Richardson 08:38
It it, it, it comes with a lot of grit, but it also can come with burnout.
Sanjay Sharma 08:47
And I honestly thought I was like this little Energizer Bunny that would never get burned out.
Kelli Richardson 08:55
And you remember another call I made to you where I said, I’m feeling, what am I feeling?
Sanjay Sharma 09:02
And you said you’re feeling burn, burnout and reprioritize, right?
Kelli Richardson 09:08
And think about the choices that you’re making.
Sanjay Sharma 09:10
And that’s what I I did.
Kelli Richardson 09:12
I stopped viewing my calendar and a full suitcase and being gone all the time, right as my achievements.
Sanjay Sharma 09:21
And I really started to be more intentional about it and how I spend my time and the time I spend talking to myself.
Kelli Richardson 09:32
I spent, I change that narrative too, right, ’cause if you hang on to the narrative, like, gosh, I’m just feeling so down and I’m not traveling anymore.
Sanjay Sharma 09:45
And you gotta gotta get out of your own narrative in your own thinking.
Kelli Richardson 09:49
But the real practical things I think you can do are especially for us in tech, right?
Sanjay Sharma 09:57
Everything we do.
Kelli Richardson 09:59
My eyesight’s gotten worse, Sanjay, as a matter of the amount of time I’ve spent, right digital, on digital things.
Sanjay Sharma 10:07
So I say go analog, right?
Kelli Richardson 10:11
Like pick up a book
Sanjay Sharma 10:13
Yep, hard paper copy, not a digital cook, a meal with a friend or a spouse
Kelli Richardson 10:22
Do things that just really get you analog and get you back engaged in life and out of work so much.
Sanjay Sharma 10:31
Because being remote now, I just never turn off.
Kelli Richardson 10:35
And it’s important to find those times, right to step away and turn off from work.
Sanjay Sharma 10:43
That’s great counsel, Kelly.
Kelli Richardson 10:45
And and when you when when you step back, right.
Sanjay Sharma 10:48
I mean, I’ve been looking at I read this book
Kelli Richardson 10:50
The world is flat and now the world is truly flat because teams are distributed.
Sanjay Sharma 10:56
They’re all over the place, coming from very different cultures and backgrounds, and often a lot of our international team members have to navigate these intense cultural expectations, whether it’s family or caregiving or long working hours, juggling time zones with global teams.
Kelli Richardson 11:23
Can you share some very tried and tested approaches and how you shifted your mindset to find that clarity?
Sanjay Sharma 11:34
Yeah, so I did realize I thought a lot about what resilience means because everyone have always said you got a lot of grit, Kelly, you’ll grind it out.
Kelli Richardson 11:44
You’re very resilient, right
Sanjay Sharma 11:47
But it it is a mindset and it isn’t about real resilience, isn’t about being the toughest.
Kelli Richardson 11:56
I think it’s about having flexibility and learning how to bend without breaking, right?
Sanjay Sharma 12:04
How to reset those boundaries without guilt, though, Because how you know, we evolve without that guilt means everything about how we can do it differently without walking away, right?
Kelli Richardson 12:18
Because you don’t have to give it all up to do any of it, right?
Sanjay Sharma 12:23
And I’ve realized everyone talks about their love languages, right?
Kelli Richardson 12:28
I have a life language and I hold myself very accountable to this life language.
Sanjay Sharma 12:35
And it gets me in trouble.
Kelli Richardson 12:36
It sometimes is a fatal flaw, right?
Sanjay Sharma 12:38
Because I also expect a whole lot from other people around me that meet that life language.
Kelli Richardson 12:47
And mine is loyalty, servant leadership, passion and perseverance.
Sanjay Sharma 12:55
And I just feel like I need to give myself grace, give others grace around me
Kelli Richardson 13:03
But to know that if I keep my life language as my North Star, right, no matter what season we’re in, no matter what stage we’re in, You know, when I was a mother, I had priorities at home with Owen, my son.
Sanjay Sharma 13:18
When now that I’m in my 50s, yeah, I can say that in my upper 50s, I have family, right, challenges and aging parents to think about and family across the country, not in same time zones.
Kelli Richardson 13:34
So I think you really do have to define your life language.
Sanjay Sharma 13:40
You have to make your career fit within that in your own way so that you can prioritize every day for the season that you’re in without guilt because it’s OK to set those priorities.
Kelli Richardson 13:56
You can still be successful, by the way, setting priorities.
Sanjay Sharma 14:01
So interesting.
Kelli Richardson 14:03
Yeah, I, I think it resonates a lot with, you know, how we have been brought up right from a very humble background to being super ambitious and, and putting everything behind the, the, the goal and, and finally seeing it through.
Sanjay Sharma 14:23
And you’ve, you’ve played similar roles that I played today, right.
Kelli Richardson 14:28
Reporting to the board management meetings, looking at, you know, the objectives and the goals not only for the first year, but the second, third and the five year plan.
Sanjay Sharma 14:41
And then when you shift gears from there to understanding how hard you are working beyond the coffee and the quick breaks and how do you spot early burnout signs before it hits hard?
Kelli Richardson 14:55
Yeah, yeah.
Sanjay Sharma 14:56
And really a real recharge for me isn’t just about coffee, right?
Kelli Richardson 15:03
Or a quick break because I would work 24 hours a day, right?
Sanjay Sharma 15:08
Just taking those tiny little breaks with my personality type.
Kelli Richardson 15:13
It really is stepping away long enough to reset and it’s kind of resetting your like kind of your nervous system, if you will, right?
Sanjay Sharma 15:22
Because we get so anxious and we have a lot of high stress
Kelli Richardson 15:27
So I’ve been doing a lot of things going back to that analog, right?
Sanjay Sharma 15:31
I’ve been doing a lot of tasks that have to do with building something or making something or painting something, right?
Kelli Richardson 15:37
I’ve been kind of going to my own personal things that drive me to find the reset.
Sanjay Sharma 15:45
I am a big believer, Sanjay, as you and I have talked about in this concept of reset, right?
Kelli Richardson 15:51
And really viewing my early burnout as being irritable or feeling like I was losing a lot of patience at home.
Sanjay Sharma 16:04
Or, you know, one other thing I really noticed I was doing, I was super hyper critical of other people
Kelli Richardson 16:11
And the more time I spent, like in my own head doing these things that I knew were kind of not really with me, I noticed something’s going on.
Sanjay Sharma 16:25
And it came at a time, quite frankly, in the season of my career and my age, where I was going through some health things, right?
Kelli Richardson 16:35
I was really dealing with real life menopause issues, right?
Sanjay Sharma 16:40
Real life fatigue and brain fog that came from it.
Kelli Richardson 16:44
So I was having a hard time distinguishing if it was like my health or if it was depression or something else that I had never had happened to me before.
Sanjay Sharma 16:57
But I really did recognize it as burnout.
Kelli Richardson 17:01
And so I had to flip the script.
Sanjay Sharma 17:04
I had to start thinking more about these clues to myself as not being failures, but being signals, right?
Kelli Richardson 17:11
Signals that I’m not doing something right, right?
Sanjay Sharma 17:15
It’s not feeding the happier side of me
Kelli Richardson 17:19
I’m not finding that joy in it.
Sanjay Sharma 17:22
So it’s not a feed failure.
Kelli Richardson 17:24
It’s feedback, right?
Sanjay Sharma 17:26
And it’s your cue to pause, reset, set some boundaries and reconnect with what’s really important to you because when you do, that’s what will fuel you
Kelli Richardson 17:38
I think beyond the burnout, right, just to re engage and get back into, you know, the momentum in the movement of of work activity.
Sanjay Sharma 17:52
Interesting.
Kelli Richardson 17:53
And and as you mastered this art of identifying the signals, what’s that one thing you wish you had known or done differently earlier in your career to navigate that change the pressure more sustainably, Right.
Sanjay Sharma 18:13
And, and, and I think if there is a golden nugget of advice coming from you to our audience that that would be awesome
Kelli Richardson 18:23
Yeah, I think too.
Sanjay Sharma 18:25
It’s I learned earlier on and it doesn’t, I still question it, but it’s trust your intuition, right?
Kelli Richardson 18:33
Trust your gut.
Sanjay Sharma 18:35
It’s there for a reason.
Kelli Richardson 18:37
If something doesn’t feel right, whether it’s a business decision or a decision in your own life, it very it usually isn’t right.
Sanjay Sharma 18:47
And ignoring that voice kind of only delays the lesson, right?
Kelli Richardson 18:51
Because my younger self or anyone listening, I I like to plow through kind of hard things, but I don’t I think you has they say you have to embrace the suck right.
Sanjay Sharma 19:06
You have to know that it’s just part of everything that you do.
Kelli Richardson 19:12
And once you get to the other side of it, right, it’s it’s all gonna be OK.
Sanjay Sharma 19:18
Take a breath, find that point of personal restep.
Kelli Richardson 19:23
So or reset so that that next step does feel more like yourself, right?
Sanjay Sharma 19:29
It feels more right for you because that’s the most important thing here.
Kelli Richardson 19:37
I would say to just keep reminding yourself of that.
Sanjay Sharma 19:41
Trust your intuition.
Kelli Richardson 19:42
If it’s not right for you and likely isn’t right, excuse me
Sanjay Sharma 19:48
And you learn over time, right?
Kelli Richardson 19:51
And that’s all based on the season and the perspective that you have in that moment.
Sanjay Sharma 19:55
I haven’t always gotten it right, but I just try not to regret it, right.
Kelli Richardson 20:01
The decisions that I made.
Sanjay Sharma 20:03
And how did family respond to some of your signals or changes?
Kelli Richardson 20:11
And well accommodating your your yourself.
Sanjay Sharma 20:16
Yeah.
Kelli Richardson 20:16
So imagine, you know, you have a mother and a wife who’s basically traveling from Sunday evening till Friday night, you know, five days a week for many, many, many weeks out of the year.
Sanjay Sharma 20:31
And then all of a sudden, especially during this last season of change for me, she’s back at home, never leaving.
Kelli Richardson 20:41
In fact, not only never leaving, but spending a lot of her time observing right in between in her free time, what they were doing, which by the way was living a very full life right without me cuz I was just working.
Sanjay Sharma 20:58
So we frequently judge, you know, or joke with each other that hey, my, they would say we don’t work for you.
Kelli Richardson 21:07
And I would say that’s right, you don’t.
Sanjay Sharma 21:10
So, yeah, it is important to find those breaks, right?
Kelli Richardson 21:13
And step away so that this whole thing doesn’t glom together like your your work in your life gloms together where it all feels like work, right?
Sanjay Sharma 21:23
Really what it should all feel like is life where where your career fuels, right?
Kelli Richardson 21:31
It gives you that passion in your personal life and your personal life fuels the creativity and the problem solving and the things that you can do to sell right in your work life.
Sanjay Sharma 21:45
Yeah
Kelli Richardson 21:46
And there are many women in your position where they are very ambitious and they’re on a path or already taken on the high stakes role and balancing family life.
Sanjay Sharma 22:01
Any quick thoughts wins on how do they protect the space between family time or family commitments, family responsibilities against work contributions?
Kelli Richardson 22:19
Yeah, I I don’t think everything can be perfectly balanced all the time.
Sanjay Sharma 22:24
Clearly I don’t do a great job at it either.
Kelli Richardson 22:28
And but I do think you can root fiercely for both teams, right?
Sanjay Sharma 22:32
And even if it doesn’t mean equal time.
Kelli Richardson
So if you align your intention and you forgive yourself when you fall short, right, I think you’re doing the best you can and you have to give yourself some grace.
Sanjay Sharma 22:48
So how do I feel good about what I do every day in selling?
Kelli Richardson 22:54
Mark Cuban once said that sales is helping because my life language is being a servant leader and being loyal.
Sanjay Sharma 23:02
It is just naturally feels very good for me to want to help other people.
Kelli Richardson 23:07
So I just view work in the same way, right, That I do my, the personal things that bring me satisfaction and I just put them all in activities that are true to my heart, true to my intention for life, and give myself some grace when I get it wrong because I do and how probably more frequently.
Sanjay Sharma 23:31
How do you take care of your health?
Kelli Richardson 23:32
I mean, you know, from a person who’s been travelling to a person who is now at home and and still delivering that what does your work day look like?
Sanjay Sharma 23:45
What are the do’s and the don’ts of keeping health balanced and and more agile?
Kelli Richardson 23:53
Well, one big thing is I don’t miss my doctor’s appointments anymore.
Sanjay Sharma 23:58
If I had, you know, 100 bucks for every time I cancelled one of my own doctor’s appointments over the last 20 years, right, I probably would have a much larger investment pool than I do today.
Kelli Richardson 24:14
So I absolutely make sure that I make all my doctor’s appointments, that I’m getting being hydrated, you know, the basic things that people who are really, really burnt, you know, that go at 1000 miles an hour, forget about, right?
Sanjay Sharma 24:32
I try to sleep more now it my old adage used to be I’ll sleep when I die, Sanjay.
Kelli Richardson 24:38
So I do try to just basically take better care of myself, doctor’s appointments, hydration, sleep, and honestly, my mental health protecting that.
Sanjay Sharma 24:59
Not like I know that I don’t like to say yes to things on Friday nights.
Kelli Richardson 25:05
Why do I say yes to things on Friday nights and then worry for three days in advance of needing to disappoint somebody that I’m going to have to say on that Friday night that I don’t want that I’m not going to go out.
Sanjay Sharma 25:20
Those are simple adjustments you can make in your own head, in your own narrative to know that it’s OK, right?
Kelli Richardson 25:27
To set those boundaries, to not feel guilty about it and to do the best you can.
Sanjay Sharma 25:34
Yeah.
Kelli Richardson 25:35
I, I, I also see that there are opportunities
Sanjay Sharma 25:39
So at, at deck level we are now this year we’re going to start some health clubs, you know, for different age groups and various stages of life, whether it’s just simple yoga to more, you know, health engagements
Kelli Richardson 26:10
So your, your feedback certainly resonates with some of the things that we are doing at declare as well.
Sanjay Sharma 26:16
Yeah, and even just the old Kelly used to think that I had to get to the gym and I had to put in this ******** workout, you know, and and again, it’s about seasons.
Kelli Richardson 26:27
So IA lot of women I work with walk, right?
Sanjay Sharma 26:30
It’s the way they get outside.
Kelli Richardson 26:32
It’s the way they are moving.
Sanjay Sharma 26:34
Everyone is about 10,000 steps, right?
Kelli Richardson 26:37
Or more like, I just think that getting back to overall movement and not just for the sake of keeping yourself busy to avoid the difficult things in your life, but just getting out and keeping your body healthy is a much more sustainable approach than putting that pressure on yourself to I got to make it to the gym and or you know, do it at your house or do it around or do an activity that builds it in, right?
Sanjay Sharma 27:05
I’ve just learned to kind of see a 24 hour period, right, including my health, my work, my family life, my pleasure, my sleep.
Kelli Richardson 27:17
That goes right, all needing to be fitted in this 24 hour period.
Sanjay Sharma
Changing subjects, Kelly, you work for many CEOs and leaders in in technology sales.
Kelli Richardson 27:33
What is that one piece of advice most people unconsciously overlook in the rush to succeed?
Sanjay Sharma 27:43
If it keeps front and center, what help you can create and truly thrive in your space as as a woman leader?
Kelli Richardson 27:54
Yeah.
Sanjay Sharma 27:55
And when I was thinking about this and also just from the for the women of Deckler, having you as their leader, right?
Kelli Richardson 28:03
I’ve just kind of thought of this question in that respect.
Sanjay Sharma 28:06
And I keep coming back to everyone sells every single day, right?
Kelli Richardson 28:13
And we sell ideas, we sell solutions, we sell alignment, we sell ourselves, right?
Sanjay Sharma 28:22
And it says a lot about how we show up because it’s, it shows up in the way we show up, right?
Kelli Richardson 28:30
And that’s so important to the space.
Sanjay Sharma 28:33
Someone Like You, Sanjay, can provide for the women in your organization, right?
Kelli Richardson 28:39
Real opportunities to sell themselves, right to believe in themselves, to know that they can quietly shape, right, the things around them and that their voice is important and heard and what you tell yourself in your own head, that narrative so effects, right how you live your life and everything that you do.
Sanjay Sharma 29:08
And so it not being disrupted.
Kelli Richardson 29:12
Their internal talk track with a leader that somehow makes them feel less than or question their abilities or capabilities, right?
Sanjay Sharma 29:22
Making that approach really systemic, not situational, right.
Kelli Richardson 29:27
I and I know you’re that kind of leader because you know, we, I had a leader years and years and years ago.
Sanjay Sharma 29:35
And the joke in the company was that the carpet from his office to the bathroom, he didn’t have a private bathroom at the time, was worn out, literally worn out.
Kelli Richardson 29:47
No other meaning to say that.
Sanjay Sharma 29:49
They don’t think they ever engaged with that CEO because if you didn’t catch him from his office door to the bathroom, that was it, right?
Kelli Richardson 30:01
Be available, give the space for people, for women especially, right to have that voice and to be accountable for shaping things. Because the ego is the worst thing, right?
Sanjay Sharma 30:16
Is the most terrible thing for all of us.
Kelli Richardson 30:18
And women have a very uncanny way of accepting responsibility for everything and credit for nothing.
Sanjay Sharma 30:28
That’s always been my motto.
Kelli Richardson 30:30
And I think that if you give them a space to thrive that allows them to be responsibility for everything, they won’t look for credit for anything.
Sanjay Sharma 30:41
And the culture thrives, teams thrive, your business thrives, right?
Kelli Richardson 30:48
I think it’s just so good for everybody.
Sanjay Sharma 30:53
Really good advice.
Kelli Richardson 30:55
Yeah
Sanjay Sharma 30:55
Before I let you go, what’s that one small thing, maybe a habit, maybe a phrase, maybe your favorite music that help you stay grounded through all these chaos and pressure?
Kelli Richardson 31:11
Yeah. Gosh, it’s hard to say one thing, but I think it’s about your mindset.
Sanjay Sharma 31:17
You’ve probably figured that out.
Kelli Richardson 31:19
What I’ve said, it’s I’ve always been a goal setter, right? I always have written it down, say it out loud, manifest it, pray about it, whatever you want to do, focus on it and do the work to achieve it. Because I know it seems really kind of cheesy to say and kids nowadays will say it’s delusional, right?
Sanjay Sharma 31:43
But I do believe anything is possible if you’re the one choosing it and if your mindset is right and it’s focused on it. So get that internal, you know, theme track of your life going.
Kelli Richardson 32:00
I’m a big music fan. I believe that music can be the great equalizer of all feelings, right? When you’re sad, you can cry and when you’re happy, you can be excited and when you need to be pumped up, right, Find that song. So find it.
Sanjay Sharma 32:18
Put it in your head as your internal theme song, right?
Kelli Richardson 32:23
And just go out there and crush it.
Sanjay Sharma 32:28
Kelly, you, you haven’t changed a bit since the first time I met you. Full of energy.
Kelli Richardson 32:31
Thank you so much. Have a good one. Bye.
Sanjay Sharma 32:33
Thank you so much for joining us on this podcast and hope you’re all the good Nuggets of advice helps the women around us.
Kelli Richardson 32:41
Thank you again, thank you, Sanjay. It’s very nice to be here.
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