Purposeful Leadership ft. Wendy Ryan of Kadabra | EYB

Throughout her 25+ year career in human resources, organizational development and executive development Wendy Ryan has partnered with hundreds of individuals, teams and organizations globally, propelling front-line through C-suite leaders and board members to new levels of success. As CEO of Kadabra, Wendy leads an interdisciplinary team of experts who are revolutionizing how leaders think, what they do and how they show up to others through The Learn Lead Lift Framework® and Kadabra's unique learning solutions.

Elevate Your Brand is the #1 marketing podcast for entrepreneurs and “wantrepreneurs” looking for insider tips and secrets from the most exciting new and growing brands in Los Angeles and the US at large. 

Each week, entrepreneurial special guests join Laurel Mintz, founder and CEO of award-winning marketing agency Elevate My Brand, to discuss the marketing failures and successes that have brought their brands to the next level. Learn from real-life experiences and be inspired by leaders in your industry about how smart digital and experiential marketing can elevate your brand.

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Transcript

00:00.00
elevatemybrand
Hi everyone and welcome back to another episode of elevate your brand I of course am your host bowl mins and I'm joined today by Wendy Ryan who is the Ceo of Cadabra Wendy thank you for joining us today.

00:12.55
Wendy Ryan
Hi great to be here.

00:15.27
elevatemybrand
So tell our audience. What Kadabra is all about and how we got connected and and what you're all about. So.

00:21.51
Wendy Ryan
Yeah, so I started Kadabra about ten years ago and so I was a consultant I'd been working in leadership development and I really found a lot of the models out there were lacking and I wanted to experiment I wanted to try new things. And I thought what better way then to create my own brand and you know versus putting someone else's brand. Um, you know up for something they meant they might not be up for in terms of new ideas and so started the business and then each year like I kind of just asked the question. What wants to emerge now. And that took us on ah on an interesting journey through a lot of iterations and ah currently what we're known for is providing corporate learning solutions for leadership development. So we have a model called the learn lead lift framework and we are getting that model into the hands of folks who want to build better leaders. Want to be better leaders and really want to change the collective paradigm around leadership and what that means.

01:30.95
elevatemybrand
Such an important conversation to be having and I think that you came into this dialogue Very very early I think before a lot of um leaders frankly were aware that there was such a thing called like conscious leadership and that there was such a need for a framework like the one that you've built in order to build to be a better leader which means building better teams which means better outcomes take us through a little bit about what the learn lead lift process and program looks like.

01:58.85
Wendy Ryan
So yeah, so the the learn lead lift framework. First of all, it's important to understand how we define leadership because if you ask people about leadership. You'll get some different answers and the way that we define it is that it is influencing someone else. The purpose of it achieving something but it's not solely for satisfying your own interests. It's a little bit of a mouthful but the bottom line is that you're you know you're not just trying to get other people to do stuff because it's beneficial to you. It has to be beneficial to a cause a mission an organization.

02:33.13
elevatemybrand
Right? Mutually beneficial.

02:36.64
Wendy Ryan
Yeah, and ideally it benefits them too and the other part of that is articulated by the framework itself which is that we recognize leadership is not just skills which is what we know or know how to do. It's also not just our behavior which is how we show up to others. It's also our mindset. It's how we think and it's those 3 things Mindsets skill sets and behaviors that work together to create leadership.

03:14.47
elevatemybrand
It's such an important differentiation or kind of breakout I would say because you can be good at 1 thing and not good at the other and also not good at execution I mean there has it has to really be holistic in terms of how you approach leadership and I will be the first to say and I've shared this on the podcast before you know I have been and on my own leadership journey over the last fifteen years and there were definitely you know steps along the way where I was definitely not executing all 3 ah, cohesively I might have have the skills but not really been directing my team or executing it properly so it's I think it was so important for me to have you on this podcast because I think that the the three pillars that you spoke to. Are absolutely necessary for again that holistic approach to leadership. What would you say to someone who is listening and says well um I have this all the skills I don't need the other pieces.

04:13.31
Wendy Ryan
Right? Well, we all have skills and I think one of the things that's hard particularly as we advance in our career is to recognize that some of the skills we've had for a long time. We actually need to from time to time. Replace those with new skills or we need to upgrade those so you know sometimes we get to a point where we think Okay now I know all the things I know how the movie's going to end right? I seen situation before I know exactly what to do but we we don't always have that awareness that you know as the world changes in the context in which we're operating changes and our organization is changing that requires our skills to um to be transformed at times themselves. So I would say you're never really done with that process and I know that's not great news for everyone to hear because. Everybody's busy and it would be nice if we could say check that box on skills for leadership. 

05:16.40
elevatemybrand
Um, yeah done and done.

05:30.30
Wendy Ryan
Right. But it unfortunately doesn't quite work that way. Um, the other thing is that we can you know be great at something like strategic thinking. Or we can be really good at holding people accountable. But if we're doing that in a way that consistently pisses other people off or alienates them So again, this is where our behaviors really matter. Um, you know we're going to fall short so it it can't just be about what we read in a book or practice in a workshop We we really have to be aware of and notice. How does our behavior. How does our exercising that skill set really impact other people around us. That's so important.

06:04.55
elevatemybrand
It's absolutely critical and one of the things I love about the program and you know full disclosure of everyone I have not been through the program. But I've been reading up on it in preparation for this call is that you have really digestible a really digestible approach to. Whatever age and stage people are in and however they want to approach this work and the thing that I love which I'm actually I'm going to ask if you will send me some because I'm really big fan of them are the Discovery cards I think they're so fun and playful that they're meaningful in terms of the outcomes and I want to play this I Want to. Play with this with my team and figure out like where we fall in terms of this as an interactive learning tool. Can you speak a little bit about the the cards such a cool product.

06:49.17
Wendy Ryan
Yeah so I have to really give credit to my team. First of all for helping me think about and then execute on this idea of how do we bring the learnedly lyft framework to light in a way that is very interactive and tact. Tile and and something that will allow people at different stages in their learning journey to come back and refresh so it it is a really versatile and um, different way to to think about. How do I want to work on leadership and what do I want to work on so I think the cards are both visual and so that really speaks to a part of our brain that for a lot of us. We respond to you know they're beautiful pictures. There are diagrams. You get a real visual experience. Of what you might have had just reading in my book learn lead lift. So is it brings it to life literally in terms of color and visual. Um visual presence which I which I love and then it it really I think allows you to kind of unpack and play with the pieces whether they're mindsets or skill sets or behaviors in a way that's super modular so you can say you know I just want to look at Mindsets and I just want a quick reminder going into that team meeting of you know what are the mindsets that we want to be working on collectively or maybe each month we pick a mindset and we say how are we as a team manifesting grit. How are we maintaining a growth mindset. You know so just um. And it's fun I think we we sometimes lose sight of the fact when we talk about leadership in business that it's okay to have fun and if we're not enjoying it and we're not enjoying as we learn, you know, then what are we doing.

08:44.52
elevatemybrand
Totally yeah.

08:51.73
elevatemybrand
What are we doing? Yeah, what are we doing here I say that all the time Wendy I cannot tell you and you know you and I are obviously very aligned in how we approach life and business and you know, really all the things holistically as as women and as business owners. But I say that to my clients and my team all the time I'm like look We have to enjoy the work. We have to really like have a good time. It's not that serious I mean a lot of the work is very serious but we can have a good time like life is serious enough. You got to enjoy what you're doing.

09:24.10
Wendy Ryan
Yeah and it's so true that we learn better when we feel something you know so if looking at a discovery card and holding it in your hand Sometimes that's going to evoke a little bit more emotion than just reading words on a page. And that's important because when we have some sort of emotional activation. We build stronger pathways in our brain and we're more likely to retain something and to remember something so it serves us really well to to whether that emotion is excitement or discomfort or curiosity. Those things really serve us well in terms of trying to become better leaders.

10:06.59
elevatemybrand
It's It's funny that you talk about it in the leadership perspective because we talk about that emotional tie and pull on the marketing side as well. So I think in general having some sort of emotional reaction allows you to learn better allows you to just be very I think it's about being present in that moment. Truly.

10:23.35
Wendy Ryan
We right? Yes, we're really built. Um, we're really emotional beings. You know whether we like to think of ourselves as that or not, we're really wired that way and so anything that evokes emotion any experience whether it's a brand-related experience. You know I'm watching a commercial on Tv or i'm um, you know looking at so posts on social media If if I feel something I much more likely to want to engage with that than if I don't.

10:50.88
elevatemybrand
I mean you're making my job really easy Wendy thank you for me, take a really quick break. We'll be right back.

11:01.84
elevatemybrand
Thanks for sticking with us chatting with my friend Wendy Ryan who is the Ceo of Kadabra which is really a leadership framework so that you can show up as your best self for yourself your teams and the world around you I think one of the reasons that. Was so attracted to you in the work that you do is you have such a global perspective and 1 of the reasons in the ways that you do that is through your investment arm and how you look at the world in terms of investing in diverse ah led businesses and nonprofit. And in venture and I think the way that we got connected was through the show show her the money right.

11:42.10
Wendy Ryan
And yes we did and so show her the money is a documentary film that I'm an executive producer or I'm also a a cast member but it was by first fory into filmmaking and and I really see it as an extension of storytelling and in this case, the stories that we're telling are exactly what you just mentioned laurel which is that they are stories of women, founders and women funders who also hold other identities so there are women of color. They're lgbtq women um people that historically are super creative and bright and have great ideas but but often struggle to realize those businesses or those businesses don't always realize their full potential because there's a really um, big barrier around access to capital that still exists and a lot of people just don't know about that that are outside of this venture backed startup ecosystem. So we made the film to really tell that story expose that you know status quo so that we could all begin to shift it and if we do that we're actually going to unlock. Um, trillions of dollars in gross domestic product both domestically and worldwide so this is this is actually an everybody problem. It's not just a women women centered problem.

13:09.70
elevatemybrand
100 % um and ah, you know that I got cut I'm on the cutting room floor of that film I was so heartbroken I actually I think I told you the story I took my mom to the premiere I showed that my mom was so excited. My daughter's in this. Film about women investing and she still to this day had at that point had no idea what I did and we show up in Catherine ah is there and she goes pulls me aside she goes I'm so glad you're here. But I'm so sorry we ended up cutting your scene in this last edit I was like. Oh no, oh my god I'm so sad and honestly it didn't even matter because what? um, what happened after that film was my mother and I were walking back to the car and she stopped me and she said I now understand why this is such a big issue and I also know exactly what you do now.

14:00.71
Wendy Ryan
Oh oh good.

14:01.38
elevatemybrand
So it really did such an incredible job of pulling back I know it was like this moment I was like she actually knows what I do now that's I feel seeing I feel seen but it's having that impact all around the country or on thiss like big I think it's a 50 city tour right.

14:07.50
Wendy Ryan
She sees me she sees me. Yes.

14:19.81
Wendy Ryan
So yes, well first of all I'm I'm so sad. Also that your your scene was cut and I know there's some other great I mean maybe in the sequel right? We'll have to we'll have to do another one because you're you're fabulous and um I know it would have added but.

14:22.50
elevatemybrand
That's hollywood. Yeah there you go.

14:36.28
Wendy Ryan
There was other great content in there and scenes and people that also didn't make it and I was equally sad. Um, but you know to your question. Yeah, we're on a 50 city tour showing the film mostly for private organizations and like companies and. Um, sometimes women-centered organizations but other times just entrepreneurial, um, startup organizations and then what we like to do is have discussion. You know we'll have a panel. We'll have Q and a with the audience and we'll really just meet and talk to people and that's. That's what we think is really going to help move the needle on closing this funding disparity gap and so far that's that's proving to be a really generative process. It's.. It's fun. It's fun to meet people see the light go on and see them get excited about becoming investors or for folks that aren't quite ready to be investors just knowing what else can I do right? So How can I everyone can do something we can buy from women-led businesses. We can be intentional about making introductions. So so many of us have people in in our network who are in key positions in whether they're fortune 500 companies or universities or other places and if you meet an entrepreneur making those connections is. Is so incredibly helpful because you could open the door for that entrepreneur to a really lucrative contract to um, you know some so recognition in the marketplace I mean you could talk to us better than I could laurel but you know those things are. A form of capital and we call it social capital that is also super important. So I think you can come and see the film and you will walk away with a sense of yes I I want to help do something about this and here are some things I can do.

16:40.36
elevatemybrand
I Think to your point. It's really been a catalistic I Think that's such a great word to express what this What this film has done and I've actually experienced it myself. So aside from the experience with my mother which was so like warming and like lovely and I could ah I could just cry talking about it Honestly, it was so emotional for me, but it brought us together. 

17:01.10
Wendy Ryan
And I can imagine that.

17:13.38
elevatemybrand
Yeah, it brought you and I together which I'm so grateful for and I actually had spoken with another Lp which if those of you for those of you that don't know the language Lp is just a limited partner someone that invests in a venture fund and I had been talking to a prospective Lp a week or two earlier who was like interested and excited but you know was like yeah it's it's down my radar. You know he wasn't fully convinced and he was at the showing that I was At. And literally signed our Lp Docs the next day he was like how can I not I have to show up with my dollars and support venture funds like yours who are investing only in this category Also so it's not just about investing in venture funds run by people that look like us. But it's also about investing in venture funds that then have a trickle-down effect by impacting. Those businesses that they then write checks to so it's this huge trickle down effect which I don't have to tell you you know this more than most.

17:58.98
Wendy Ryan
And oh I love that story. Thank you so much for sharing that and that's exactly what we want to see is ah we want to see people move from first of all cultivate awareness but then quickly move to action and that's a beautiful story of exactly how that can happen.

18:10.96
elevatemybrand
Um, yeah yeah I keep telling people even if you're not ready to a again to your point Wendy if you're not ready to invest in a fund just start writing small angel checks get in the game. My new favorite saying is our job is to teach people who have not typically had an opportunity to sit at this table how to own the table I don't want us to have a seat at this table I want us to own the friggin table.

18:34.42
Wendy Ryan
Yes, yes, and you know it's about getting to get really getting capital into the hands of people who can make. Decisions that affect every facet of our lives And yeah, we do talk about that in the film and it's so important for people to understand that even if they aren't familiar with venture Capital or or really have any insight on it. It has actually impacted their lives already to an enormous degree and so by not participating to your point. You're really abdicating your own agency to make decisions about what kind of products and services are out there in the world and how we live and you're leaving that up to a very homogenous small group of people who are typically white male cisgender heterosexual men who went to 1 of five ivy league schools. That's about 90% of venture capitalists right.

19:30.23
elevatemybrand
We call them the pale mail. And yeah, we we call them the pale mail and still of the world and could not agree more. We're going to take 1 more quick break we will be right back.

19:51.80
elevatemybrand
All right? Thanks for sticking with us chatting with my friend Wendy Ryan. Wendy I want to go back and have you share a little bit about your history and your story about how you became an investor and how you started cadabra and became and ah you know it. So. Such a critical um thought leader I would say in this space.

20:11.24
Wendy Ryan
Thank you I I would say that when I started cadabra ten years ago I really didn't realize at the time how fortunate I was that I could be self-funded as an entrepreneur. And that I had a friends and family network who could support me in that. What I came to realize about halfway halfway through is Wow This is not typical. Um I mean I wish I could say that I realized that earlier but I didn't and. The point is we learn and we grow and we strive to integrate that and do better and so I think my own story is a good example of that. Um, once I once I was felt like the business was. Established and I was also at a place where I had some capital my parents passed away early and so unfortunately we say it's kind of the unfortunate money came my way and.

21:14.93
elevatemybrand
Yeah, for sure.

21:18.72
Wendy Ryan
And I had the opportunity to really discern. Well what am I going to do to be a good steward of that money because to me stewardship is very important. It's not. It's not about leaving this earth with the most toys or the the coolest house or you know.

21:32.69
elevatemybrand
Cause you can't take it with you. 

21:35.83
Wendy Ryan
It's about leaving leaving with a sense of purpose and meaning and legacy and so for me, um, investing was something one that really kind of scared me because I I was not an investment banker I did not have an Mba I was not an engineer. Any of the things that again, we kind of typically if you look at the typical path for that small. The the small the male pale group described I did not fit that path. You know I did not fit that image. My background's human resources and then organizational development leadership development but I came to realize that I had worked with so many startups venture Capital firms and private equity even over the years I'd been in board meetings I'd coached executives I coached boards dealing with some just extraordinarily difficult issues and decisions and I picked up a lot. And I I Realized that for all the things I didn't know about how to evaluate a company and whether it was a good investment I I also brought to the table a lot of insight around leadership around. Um you know how whether a business was sort of on The. Ah, a sustainable path and and those things were valuable and that this is a relationship powered so I decided since it scared me a little.. It was probably a good idea for me to take that on as a learning challenge and I was fortunate that I found Golden seeds. Which is the second largest angel investment group in the country and it invests solely in women. So I knew that when I started that I wanted to invest in women and I also knew that I had a lot to learn so affiliating with a group like golden seeds allowed me to get the education I needed to feel really confident. Becoming an investor and to learn from other people. You know who were doing it and other women who are doing it. So I think that um that that's something I'm very thankful for now I have invested outside of golden seeds and that's been valuable and I am. And lp and a couple of venture funds. So that's the other thing people sometimes think it's an either or either I can invest in a fund or I can be an angel investor you can actually do both so where is that? yeah.

24:01.57
elevatemybrand
Yes, get out there start writing checks more than anything that's like the big takeaway. Um, and I'm again so grateful for both the transformational human work that you do within the leadership perspective as well as your. Ah, commitment to investing in diverse founders and fund and funding venture funds that also invest in that category so you are like 1 of the people that I think exemplifies what the future state of a business owner and. Um, a thought leader in the space should look like so Wendy Thank you so much for your time and effort in in you could have done something totally different, right? like you could have just decided to like go live on a beach and happily ever after right? It would have been a lot easier instead. You took a more challenging path and you.

24:44.81
Wendy Ryan
Yes, yes.

24:52.20
elevatemybrand
Got educated in the category and really put your money where your mouth is so again. Thank you for your really hard work in this category all right? 

24:57.10
Wendy Ryan
Thank you.

25:00.10
elevatemybrand
We've got a few minutes left and in those last few minutes we like to do what we call our quick fires. These are just whatever comes up top of mind. Are you ready.


25:08.48
Wendy Ryan
I am ready.

25:11.85
elevatemybrand
All right? The first question is what was your favorite subject in school.

25:16.67
Wendy Ryan
My favorite subject in school was English. I always loved reading writing came very naturally to me and I just couldn't get enough of books when I was a child.

25:31.00
elevatemybrand
I Mean you've got such a ah a way about you when you speak and you have a presence I can understand that what makes a lot of sense to me. Um, how do you deal with stress. What is your go to methodology whether it's like wine or workout or whatever. What's your go to. Or or both.


25:46.70
Wendy Ryan
Ah, you know for me. Yeah, for me I take about 5 or 6 things in combination. So wine check um I recently discovered taking a nap every day so I used to nap when I felt like I really needed it and then I challenged myself this year I said what if I literally took a nap every single day for half an hour in in the afternoon. What would happen and it has been amazingly helpful I don't know if it's because I'm just getting older or or I'm doing a lot of evening events. But I'm finding that I'm much more productive. when I when I take that time I also exercise I do I do yoga I think the mind body connection is so important and it's so important in the work that that I do and that my team does that we stay grounded. And you can only do that if you slow down and take a pause and so for me that 1 hour in the yoga studio a couple times a week is when I really take that pause and I tune in and I listen um to myself and to kind of what's been going on and it's just It's just incredibly um, incredibly renewing and helpful. So.

27:02.76
elevatemybrand
Love that. Um, what is your biggest pet peeve.

27:07.63
Wendy Ryan
And well this is going to sound kind of funny and maybe petty. But um, one of my biggest pet peeves is people wearing especially men I don't know why wearing pajama pants to the grocery store. Like flannel Pajama Pajama Bottoms I yeah I feel like you know if you're going to step out your front door. You could just throw on a pair of sweats or a pair of jeans.

27:29.80
elevatemybrand
Um, that's really funny. Ah I was like expecting that one for you Wendy that was a surprise. Glad um, the next question is when was the last time or the last thing that made you cry.

27:52.23
Wendy Ryan
Well, every time I watch so show her the money I cry and I'm not just saying that like I really do their indiffer scenes will get me. But um, it it really I think the last time I cried was actually this weekend I was with my girlfriend celebrating a sixtieth birthday for one of them and you know so we started kind of going around the table at dinner and talking about what we really appreciated about this person and of course we were all bawling so it was It was very cathartic and wonderful. But also um, yeah. Probably self-induced.

28:28.96
elevatemybrand
Ah, well just shows that you're really in touch with your emotions and I I love that we are in an age and stage of of the world where emotions are you know things that you can actually bring to the surface and and not be afraid of showing because they are ultimately very human and important right and 1 of the things you do in your work.

28:43.85
Wendy Ryan
Indeed indeed Absolutely incredibly important data source. You don't want to ignore it.

28:49.62
elevatemybrand
Yes, yes, last question is what is your favorite word and why and this could be a word that's had real meaning to you over time or something that just pops into your head for the purpose of this conversation.

29:03.77
Wendy Ryan
I think manifestation is one of my favorite words and it can sound a little woowoo I Really want people to try to put judgment around that word aside, if that's what's coming up for your listeners but and just to think of it as. To me it it sort of encompasses the the fullness of human expression and talent and ability Altogether. It's like if I'm going to manifest something or if you know my company is a manifestation of a dream that I've had. That's a wonderful beautiful thing and there's there's lots of dimensions and facets to that. So I love manifestation because it it can hold a lot.. It's a word that contains a lot.

29:51.29
elevatemybrand
It's a pretty delicious word I have to say and I'm I'm super into that word. We are just about out of time. Any final words of wisdom for our audience and then share with us where they can find your books.

30:03.21
Wendy Ryan
Yeah I Think what I would like to suggest of course is for folks to check out the book check out the movie because I think you'll learn a lot and find. No matter where you are in your learning journey or career. There's There's probably something in there that's going to resonate for you because we cover a lot of ground in both but I would say that even if you can't get to that right away a great grounding question that you can ask yourself at any time is. Why do I want to be a leader and how am I being a leader right? So just being in touch with what's your why for leadership and and how are you I'm going to use the word manifesting that today. Yep.

30:48.71
elevatemybrand
I Knew that was coming. I love that and how can people get in touch with you and and get the book if they are interested in continuing the conversation.

30:59.36
Wendy Ryan
Yes, well, you can learn more about the book and you can order it from our website at learnlealift.com and the movies website is show herthemoney movie dot com and. I'm also very active in Linkedin so you can look look for me there and I'm always happy to chat with folks who want to continue their own learning journey or if I can help support entrepreneurs and their journey I'm always. To whatever extent I can I try to make myself available.

31:37.68
elevatemybrand
That's you're a fantastic resource and thank you so much for spending some time with us today one day I really appreciate your time.

31:41.98
Wendy Ryan
Thanks so much for having me. It was so fun to talk to you as usual.

31:46.12
elevatemybrand
And thanks to everyone who tuned in make sure you reach out to Wendy if you want to learn more about how to be a holistic powerful leader and and also do good in the world. Thanks to everyone who tuned in stay tuned for more from elevate your brand coming up next.