Episode 11

How to Align Your Purpose with Your Leadership: Insights from Star Wars

In this episode, we dive into the importance of knowing and aligning your purpose with your leadership style.

What You'll Learn:

  • Why having a clear purpose is crucial for effective leadership.
  • How leaders like Luke Skywalker align their purpose with their actions.
  • Three practical steps to strengthen your leadership impact.

Using the story of Luke Skywalker from Star Wars, we'll explore how understanding and acting on your purpose can build trust, drive better decision-making, and inspire your team. From setting small actionable goals to staying positive during challenges, these strategies will help you lead with conviction and authenticity.

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Transcript
Speaker:

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Good morning.

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Welcome to next gen leaders.

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My name is Bianca Cardenas

and I am your host.

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Last week.

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We learned about how to

figure out your own purpose.

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What were you put on this earth to do?

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Today we're going to put

your purpose into action.

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So that way you can strengthen your

impact with everyone you work with.

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But before delving into the strategies.

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Let's talk about why this is important.

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For one.

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When leaders have a very clear purpose.

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It gives everyone around

them a sense of direction.

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Think about it.

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If you know why you're doing something.

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You're more motivated and engaged.

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Right.

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I don't know if you've

ever had a leader explain.

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Y we were implementing this thing or

why we're following this strategy.

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You just sit back and you're

like, oh yeah, that makes sense.

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Okay.

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Let's do it.

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If you can think of someone who

never explained why they did things,

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they just through logic at you.

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If we do this, then

metric a and B will go up.

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How did you feel after that?

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Where are you excited?

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No.

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No one is ever excited

by numbers and logic.

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Two.

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Having a clear purpose helps

you make better decisions.

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That's because your purpose

is like your north star.

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No matter where you are, it

helps you align your actions

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with what truly matters to you.

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If you do this really well.

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Then everyone around you notices.

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That.

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Builds consistency in your leadership.

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Which eventually builds trust.

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That's because when your team sees that

you care about something bigger than

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yourself, They feel more connected to you?

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You're not just another leader.

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That's E we get to meet the goals.

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We got to meet this company goals.

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You're like, no, I have something

that's truly important to me.

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This is what it is, and this

is how it started for me.

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If you explain that story.

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People see you as just another

human being that they can relate to.

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That's exactly what you want.

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When I think about leaders who act in

alignment with our purpose, The first

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thing that comes to mind is star wars.

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If we're thinking about Luke story,

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Microphone (HyperX Quadcast)-2:

He worked on his uncle's farm.

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He didn't know his parents.

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At all.

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But he always felt that there was

something more he was meant to do.

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Then one day.

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He met an old Jedi name, Obi wan Kenobi.

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Obiwan told Luke about the force.

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Which is the energy that

connects all living things.

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That's when Luke realized

there's something beyond myself.

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And that's exactly what I want to follow.

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Then OB told.

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Luke about his dad.

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He didn't necessarily say

that his dad was Darth Vader.

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He just said that his

dad was a powerful Jedi.

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That's the thing that

set a fire within Luke.

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He realized that he had the potential

to become just like his dad.

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From that moment on, he knew that his

true purpose was to become a Jedi.

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And bring peace to the galaxy.

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Microphone (HyperX Quadcast)-1:

So what was his first step?

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His first step was to align

his purpose with his behavior.

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He started training with obiwan.

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And then later with master Yoda.

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They taught him how to use the

force and wield a lightsaber.

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Throughout this training period.

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He faced a lot of roadblocks.

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But he always remembered his purpose.

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To become a Jedi and help other people.

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As his training continued.

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He met new.

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Travelers along the way.

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One of them was princess Leia

and the other was Han solo.

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And Shabaka.

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You can't forget chewy.

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Together they fought

against the evil empire.

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Of course its leader Darth Vader.

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Microphone (HyperX Quadcast)-3: Yeah, I

am a total fan girl for Darth Vader.

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It's just because of Christian Hinson.

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I am in love with him.

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He is the best.

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Microphone (HyperX Quadcast)-1:

Once he met Darth Vader.

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That's when he discovered that

Darth was actually his father

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who had turned to the dark side.

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Of course, Luke was shocked.

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He didn't want to believe it.

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But.

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In an odd way, it made him more determined

to align his purpose with his behavior.

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Even though he knew his father was evil.

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He also knew that he

had to save his father.

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And the galaxy from darkness.

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I don't know what it was about.

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Their encounter, but Luke just felt.

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That has dad still had kindness in him?

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Luke channeled his courage and compassion.

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And finally succeeded there

were several times where he could

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have turned to the dark side.

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It would have been so

easy for him to do that.

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He would have been powerful.

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He would have developed quickly

into what he wanted to be.

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But he stayed strong.

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Because in the end, he knew.

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That his purpose was to

become a Jedi and bring peace.

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Although he fought his father

and eventually killed them.

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He still brought him back

to the light before he died.

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Together.

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The defeated the emperor.

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If you think about this story,

And how important it is to align

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your purpose with your behavior.

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There are some common themes that Luke

did that you can also try as well.

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I'm always going to say this,

but number one is most important.

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Which is to know your purpose.

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Think about what you want to achieve

and why it's important to you.

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The Y is going to be.

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Extremely important only because.

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That compelling story that you're going to

tell people that's going to buy them in.

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Microphone (HyperX Quadcast)-4: That's

why getting really clear on what that

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purpose is and why it became like that.

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It's going to be important because

this is going to be your north star.

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Everything that you do and all

the decisions that you make.

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You're still going to

align to that north star.

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You're going to be exactly like Luke.

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Focus in on being a

Jedi and saving people.

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But just tailor it to your own goal.

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To help you do this.

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I think about.

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Writing down your goal and the

reasons why it matters to you.

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Then keep a little note card.

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Either on your desk or somewhere

where you could see it every day.

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That way you're constantly

reminding yourself.

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This is my purpose.

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Number two.

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I know.

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A lot of people just assume the best

thing to do is just make giant goals.

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But it's actually more important

to start with small little actions

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that move you closer to your purpose.

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From this you're practicing and learning.

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Just like when Luke went

training with And Yoda.

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Although it took him a few years.

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Every little step along those few years.

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Led to massive growth.

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It's important to make a plan

that breaks your large goals

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into smaller manageable goals.

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And number three.

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Just staying positive and staying focused.

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We all go through challenges.

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It's normal.

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But it's important not to

give up just because you.

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Face a challenge.

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Remember why you started.

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And keep going.

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Even when you feel like it's

hopeless or it could never happen.

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There were several times where Luke.

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Could have been killed.

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Or

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he could have been derailed.

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But he always remembered why

he was doing what he was doing.

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So the next time you face a setback.

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Remember to take a deep breath.

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And think about one positive

goal that you achieved so far.

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This can help you put

things into perspective.

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And keep you moving forward.

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Knowing your purpose and

why it is your purpose.

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Creating small steps that

lead to bigger goals.

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And then just remaining positive about

the things you have accomplished so far

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Microphone (HyperX Quadcast)-5: we'll

get you one step closer to aligning

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your purpose with your leadership.

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Microphone (HyperX Quadcast)-6: If

you liked my nerdy story and you think

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other emerging leaders can gain some

value to this, feel free to share it.

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If you're interested in learning more

about leadership development tips.

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I'll include my blog in

the description below.

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Krisp Microphone (Krisp Audio) & Logitech BRIO-11:

Until next time.

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Keep striving, growing

and leading with purpose

About the Podcast

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About your host

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Bianca Cardenas

My name is Bianca Cardenas. I have my PhD in business psychology and work with a leadership development firm.
I have experience in executive assessment, development, selection, and coaching. This means that I work with businesses to identify and develop their best leaders. I also help them find the best talent for the most important roles.
Essentially, I understand what they’re looking for and what’s important to them; I can help you align yourself with what they’re looking for.
I absolutely love my job, but psychologists often don’t have much time to mentor emerging professionals. I spent countless hours teaching myself everything I could find to understand what makes an effective leader. I’m passionate about helping people grow, and I love learning, guiding others, and seeing them succeed.
My mission is simple: I want to provide the next generation of leaders with easy access to the best development guidance and resources available.
I’m excited to share everything I’ve learned so far with you, so you don’t have to go through the same effort I did. With the right support, I believe every leader can make a huge impact.
Follow me on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/drbiancacardenas/) or check out my blog (https://www.drbiancacardenas.com) for more leadership development tips.