In this episode, host Lorie Jones welcomes Stacie Selise, executive leadership strategist and CEO of the Stacie Selise Group, a powerhouse who recounts her journey from in-store customer service rep at a retail counter to leading thousands as one of the youngest vice presidents at that same Fortune 20 company, to then owning and being her own brand.
Stacie shares candid insights on what it takes to break barriers in corporate America as a woman of color, the necessity of making your voice heard, and why you should never shrink to fit someone else’s expectations. Discover why Stacie believes visibility is just as important as hard work, and why women shouldn’t be afraid to strive and ask for more.
Expect bold advice on building wealth, championing yourself and teams, and unapologetically betting big on your ambitions. This conversation is rich with inspiration for women ready to lead, succeed, and set higher standards on their own terms.
Show Highlights:
- Stacie Selise’s top read for ’25 for wealth building as women. [03:19]
- An extraordinary rise through corporate ranks to purpose. [04:42]
- Betting on yourself and refusing to shrink in corporate spaces. [08:40]
- The power of a human-first approach for broader impact. [09:57]
- How “owning too-muchness” elevated Stacie to VP at 32. [11:12]
- Discover “Strive” from the 4S Framework by Stacie Selise™. [12:06]
- Driving opportunity through visibility, and key tactics. [14:22]
- The value of mentorship to lift young talent to confidence. [18:35]
- How do you navigate and bridge systemic biases in the workplace? [21:12]
- Advice for the next generation of women leaders. [27:23]
Connect with Stacie Selise on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/stacieselise/ or by visiting https://www.stacieselise.com/.
If you enjoyed this episode, please go to Apple Podcasts and leave a review!
For more information about Lorie Jones, go to https://fearlessfinancialadvisors.com/fearless-females.
00:01.52
Lorie Jones
Good morning, fearless females. So we are here today with Stacey Solis Shannon. She is the executive leadership strategist and CEO for the Stacey Solis group.
00:12.99
Lorie Jones
And I am so excited to have you here with us and share your story. Stacey, thank you for making the time for us.
00:19.43
Stacie Selise
Thank you so much for having me, Lori. And thank you to the Fearless Females listeners.
00:24.59
Lorie Jones
So my first question is always, I’m a reader. I love it. I love everything about it. Tell me what your favorite book is.
00:31.68
Stacie Selise
Well, Lori, I have a lot of favorite books. I am an avid reader, hence my bookshelf behind me with a ton of books on it. But I will say one of my favorite books from this year has been We Should All Be Millionaires by Rachel Rogers.
00:46.42
Stacie Selise
I don’t know you’ve heard of it, but that book gave me permission to really just dream even bigger and
00:46.44
Lorie Jones
Mm-hmm.
00:53.12
Stacie Selise
You know, it really inspires women specifically to build wealth on their own terms, not by someone else’s playbook. So it’s a power move for anyone who’s ready to own their seat at the table or build a new table entirely.
01:06.26
Lorie Jones
I love that idea. I missed that. So I’m going to add that to my reading list. But it sounds like a lot of times when um you’re, you know, you’re writing for women, a lot of times it feels like we shouldn’t want more money.
01:18.37
Lorie Jones
Like that’s like not our thing, not our lane. And, and I’m like, we’re building businesses. We’re building a multimillion dollar businesses, just the same as our counterparts are like, we do want the money.
01:29.59
Stacie Selise
That is absolutely. That’s right. Yeah. And we deserve it. We deserve it. So we can’t be afraid to ask and we can’t be afraid to build wealth on our own terms as well. So that’s why I love the book so much. It’s actually really good.
01:41.77
Stacie Selise
That’s
01:42.24
Lorie Jones
Good. Well, I’ll put that in. Thank you for that. So tell us a little bit about yourself.
01:45.17
Stacie Selise
it.
01:46.97
Lorie Jones
um Tell us about your journey. Like, how did you get started? um where are you at today? What do you do Tell me tell me ah about that.
01:55.60
Stacie Selise
Absolutely. So I actually started as an in-store customer service rep, ah literally fixing phones, working in the front of the store, and worked my way up to vice president of the same Fortune 20 company that I started off at.
02:10.89
Stacie Selise
And you know I didn’t take the straight path. I really took the stairs is what I like to tell a lot of people. And I did it with purpose. um I did it with heart. And I did it with grit. you know After climbing the ladder, I realized I really wanted to build my own, which is why I’m here today as an executive leadership strategist and as the CEO and founder of the Stacey Solis Group.
02:30.72
Stacie Selise
Because I really wanted to create a brand and a movement that empowers leaders to show up boldly and own their influence. um And I really wanted to represent all of the underrepresented voices and get them a seat at the table as well.
02:43.44
Lorie Jones
So, so you didn’t go to school thinking I’m gonna, I’m gonna work for a mobile phone company in the front of the store, right? So.
02:52.76
Stacie Selise
No, no, not at all. Not at all. And, you know, I said, hey, I just need a way to help pay for school and pay for some of these bills and expenses. And it actually ended up turning into being one of my greatest careers.
03:06.78
Stacie Selise
Yeah.
03:06.82
Lorie Jones
Yeah. And, um, we had chatted before you were in charge of a, quite a large team at that company too, right?
03:14.06
Stacie Selise
Yeah, 2,800 employees for the Atlantic North market that I was covering from Maine to Virginia. So all the states in between. And I actually moved around with the company too. So I spent some time in the Carolinas covering parts of Charlotte, North Carolina and parts of South Carolina.
03:30.29
Stacie Selise
And then I moved over to Chicago, Illinois and covered ah the downtown Chicago area, the Burbs and also Northern Indiana. Yeah, so very different, very different.
03:41.31
Stacie Selise
ah But it was great, great experiences.
03:44.06
Lorie Jones
So Stacey, I’m going to say for those of us who are just listening, you are, you’re not old, you are young.
03:50.63
Stacie Selise
Yeah.
03:50.62
Lorie Jones
Like you went up in those ranks and, and got in charge of a ah really large team, really young.
03:58.95
Stacie Selise
Yeah, yeah. And that’s part of the story. That’s part of the journey. I actually moved up pretty quickly in comparison to a lot of other executive leaders in the company. And at the time, i was one of the youngest ah vice presidents for the company um in any of the the units that we had. So it it was quite the accomplishment. um A lot of responsibility at a young age, but that’s where you can’t let your age be you know a barrier, right? As long as you know your stuff and you earn that seat at the table, your opinion and thoughts are just as valid as anyone else’s.
04:35.02
Stacie Selise
Yeah.
04:36.18
Lorie Jones
um And so what was it you just woke up one morning and you’re like, oh, my gosh, this this isn’t what I i know what I meant to do. i need to take this other track or what made you change?
04:48.09
Stacie Selise
You know, I got to a point where I said, i want to have a much bigger impact. And I know leading a team of 2,800 employees directly and indirectly is a huge impact, right? um But I did notice that one, there weren’t a lot of women in a lot of the higher positions, you know, in in the executive suite, and there weren’t a lot of women of color.
05:08.69
Stacie Selise
um And so for me, I knew that my impact and my mission was a lot bigger than just that. And you always want to work for for yourself and and build out your own dream. um And my dream is to really impact other women and just professionals in general to get them to those higher positions, because They can do it.
05:28.64
Lorie Jones
Yeah, yeah, I love that.
05:28.79
Stacie Selise
there
05:30.22
Lorie Jones
I know i know that we’ve we’ve chatted before and we have just a real synergy on that. Like women can do it. We can do it. We are amazing. We just don’t know how amazing we are sometimes. Thank
05:39.61
Stacie Selise
That’s right. That’s right. And sometimes you just need that one person to believe in you. Right. And so, yeah, that’s what I’m looking to continue to do.
05:48.54
Lorie Jones
So what is, at at looking kind of back along your journey, is there an investment that you’ve made in yourself that has just been transformational? Like you you wouldn’t be where you’re at today if you hadn’t done that.
06:02.05
Stacie Selise
I know this is going to sound pretty simple and in terms of my answer, but it really is the best investment in my opinion, and that is betting on myself. You know, no fancy program, no retreat really beats the decision to trust your own power.
06:10.64
Lorie Jones
Mm-hmm.
06:16.95
Stacie Selise
So my turning point was really when I said, you know, I’m done playing small and and shrinking in these spaces ah to make ah everybody else feel comfortable. So for me, that’s when I realized success really isn’t just about titles. It’s about owning your story and really leading with integrity and just showing up as who you are, as the unique individual that you are, because we are all multidimensional.
06:40.63
Stacie Selise
And we have so much to offer. We just cannot shrink in these spaces. And so that has been the best investment for me.
06:47.42
Lorie Jones
That’s so interesting when you talk about like shrinking in those spaces, being small, maybe not being authentic. I found that that was kind of along my journey. That was one of the things that I struggled with is I felt like everybody else in financial services did it one way and it just didn’t fit me.
07:02.42
Stacie Selise
Yeah.
07:03.67
Lorie Jones
It didn’t feel right to me. and but, but every voice was telling me you have to do it this way or it doesn’t work. So, so how did you, how did you,
07:11.65
Stacie Selise
Yeah.
07:14.45
Lorie Jones
figure out they that you needed a bigger space, a bigger stage and and be able to do that.
07:20.48
Stacie Selise
Yeah, I, you know, again, for me, it was just about really having that human first mentality that I always take into everything that I do. um And, you know, I said, if I could show up the way that I’ve been showing up, being one of the top performers, my teams, we were winning all of these different awards.
07:39.06
Stacie Selise
If I could do that for this particular company, I could do this for myself and other people who are looking to make it into some of these Fortune 500 companies or just show up stronger you know daily within their nine to five jobs that they have.
07:52.79
Stacie Selise
And so for me, it was about really just making sure that I could really impact other folks as well and not just… those within the realm that I was in. And the only way for me to do that is one, be able to have the time to dedicate to that and that solely.
08:06.86
Stacie Selise
um And for me, that was really creating the Stacey Solis group and the Stacey Solis brand overall.
08:12.92
Lorie Jones
And how old were you when you when you made that switch and that change?
08:12.99
Stacie Selise
Yeah.
08:16.32
Lorie Jones
92.
08:16.95
Stacie Selise
Yeah. So I was 34. Yeah. 34. 34. yeah
08:20.07
Lorie Jones
and
08:20.76
Stacie Selise
thirty four
08:20.74
Lorie Jones
So still, still pretty, yeah, very successful career, but still pretty young to be, was it this, this is a question that I usually ask later on. we’ll kind of go to it now.
08:31.58
Stacie Selise
Yeah.
08:32.83
Lorie Jones
Was it scary? Like, was there something that really scared you when you started this?
08:37.40
Stacie Selise
Yeah. um So, okay. So I was 32. Let me say that 32 when I assumed the role of of vice president, I was 34 when I transitioned out, but um yeah. So I would say that I was scared that I’d be seen as too much or sometimes not even enough. Right. And sometimes both on the same day,
08:57.16
Stacie Selise
ah So, you know, I’ve learned that the same things people say are too much about you are actually your superpowers. You know, those are the things that are your superpowers.
09:05.90
Lorie Jones
Oh.
09:07.64
Stacie Selise
So today I’m not really scared anymore at all. I own my too muchness like a badge of honor now. So, yeah, it is a very scary thing in the beginning, but you got to own it.
09:18.00
Lorie Jones
yeah so So talk about that, that too much, because I loved, I had another guest that kind of delved into that, like, talk about how how that too much showed up, like maybe an example and and how you owned that.
09:32.31
Stacie Selise
Yeah, so um one thing, so I have a 4S framework by Stacey Solis that I always talk about. It’s four key pillars, but I’ll hit on one of them right now. And it’s called Strive.
09:43.05
Stacie Selise
And that is where I would always talk about striving for excellence. And so my team knew that In everything that we would do, we would strive for excellence because when you do that, you would land in the ballpark of perfection. Nothing’s perfect, right?
09:55.44
Stacie Selise
But we’re going strive for excellence each and every time. We are going to go out there and be that team that truly is the bar for everyone else. So we don’t raise the bar because we are the bar and everyone’s looking to us for that inspiration.
10:08.89
Stacie Selise
And for that model of how to be and how to, you know, interact and how to perform and execute. And so some people would say, this is a bit much, you know, look at that team over there, look at how they show up in their suits and they’re all dressed to the nines, but we showed up the way we needed to show up so that everyone could take us seriously and know that we were about business, but we still had a very, very team atmosphere, a family culture,
10:35.99
Stacie Selise
You know, we have some of the highest engagement scores when you go back to the Gallup surveys that we used to do quarterly. So all of it was just like, it just showed that not only are we about the results and the excellence that comes along with this, but we create this family culture where we really care about each other and it’s beyond the numbers.
10:55.69
Stacie Selise
And, um you know, some people would think that that was a bit much and we owned it. We owned it and turned it into a positive. And that positive reflected in all of the measurable results as well as the engagement.
11:06.88
Lorie Jones
I like that. i like that idea of like, you turned it into a superpower. i always like to talk about people in terms of their like superpowers and, and, and the idea of you know, rather than hearing, oh, maybe you ought to tone it down, like, like maybe lower your expectations a little bit or that, you know, that’s asking a lot of people, you’ve kind of leaned into it double hard. And you’re like, if they can’t lift themselves to this level, because this is the kind of dynamic team we are.
11:36.91
Stacie Selise
Yeah. Mm-hmm. That’s right.
11:40.25
Lorie Jones
So tell me little bit, have you ever gotten any really bad advice, Stacey? And did you take the advice? Did you not take the advice? Talk to me about that.
11:48.86
Stacie Selise
Lori. Yes. So someone once told me, you know, just keep your head down, work hard. People will notice. um And to me, they were absolutely wrong. Hard work matters, but if you’re not visible, you’ll stay invisible.
12:06.80
Stacie Selise
So let me say that again. If you’re not visible, you will stay invisible. So I learned that you really have to advocate for yourself, speak up and really command the room.
12:17.45
Stacie Selise
even if your voice shakes for the first time, because that’s where people really see you showing up as the leader that you need to be and really owning your power. So for me, that advice was not great advice. And you hear it a lot in corporate America.
12:31.17
Stacie Selise
You really do. Yeah.
12:33.09
Lorie Jones
You do. So how did you, what are some ways, because that’s something that I always tell women leaders as well. I’m like, toot your own horn, like speak up, say what you’re doing is great.
12:42.10
Stacie Selise
Yeah.
12:44.34
Lorie Jones
Like maybe shoot your supervisor an email, but what are some of the ways that you have that you tell people to make themselves visible in these spaces? Yeah.
12:53.00
Stacie Selise
Yeah, so I always say if you’re in a meeting, um don’t feel like you have to just soak everything in and not speak up. Like people want to hear, if you’re at the table, they want to hear your opinion on the matter, right? Because you’re knowledgeable, who you’re there for a reason.
13:07.87
Stacie Selise
So don’t be quiet, speak up. Now that’s not to say be a talking head and just yeah say whatever comes to mind, right? But if you have valuable input, make sure they hear it because people need to hear that.
13:20.71
Stacie Selise
um The other thing too, that I always tell people is to keep inventory of everything that you do.
13:20.72
Lorie Jones
Mm-hmm.
13:25.57
Stacie Selise
Cause sometimes it’s easy to forget some of the things that you’re doing day to day. Cause there’s so much going on, but keep like a running tally of all the different things that you’re doing. Even the little things that you think are not the biggest accomplishments, keep inventory of all of those things.
13:40.26
Stacie Selise
Because when it’s performance appraisal time and all these different things, you’re going to be racking your brain and remember everything you did for the year. But if you were keeping track of it and keeping inventory, then it won’t be it won’t be that hard.
13:51.89
Stacie Selise
So that’s what I always tell people.
13:52.76
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
13:53.60
Stacie Selise
Yeah.
13:54.10
Lorie Jones
Yeah. I love that idea idea too. And I, and I encourage that. I’m like, you know, keep a running list of the things because inevitably it comes time for your annual review.
14:00.67
Stacie Selise
Right.
14:03.54
Lorie Jones
And there are still companies that do those annual reviews and they’re like, okay, what has Lori done in the last two weeks that has been amazing? And if it’s nothing, if Lori hasn’t done anything in the last two weeks, they don’t remember anything at all.
14:16.37
Lorie Jones
So you’ve, you’ve got to show, Hey, do you remember like way back in January, I did this.
14:17.06
Stacie Selise
right
14:21.38
Lorie Jones
And then in February i did this amazing thing. And
14:25.19
Stacie Selise
That’s right. That’s why you got to keep that running list.
14:30.03
Lorie Jones
um What about situation that you wish, like knowing what you know now, you kind of wish you could go back and do it differently? Is there something that you can think of that you would have done differently and how?
14:45.20
Stacie Selise
I would say, you know, i feel like I once waited too long to really step into my power because I was worried about how it would look to everyone else. So I realized in the end that the only one judging me was really me. um So that taught me to really trust my gut and move faster because sometimes you have to move a bit faster, um especially in corporate America. Things are changing every single day.
15:10.36
Stacie Selise
um and And a lot of times it’s you’re only as good as today. so I would trust my gut and and just really move faster. And, you know, I always remember that you don’t need everyone’s approval to do what’s best for you.
15:21.66
Lorie Jones
Mm-hmm.
15:23.22
Stacie Selise
So, you know, if I could have made it easier or what what would have made that easier, it would have been giving myself permission to just be bold from day one. and not wait for everyone else’s approval. And I think that’s one thing that I could share with everyone else as well, because a lot of times we face that and those obstacles where we’re feeling like we got to wait for approval and wait for permission.
15:45.06
Stacie Selise
and I always say, ask for forgiveness, you know, do what it is that you need to do and be bold and own that power.
15:51.22
Lorie Jones
yeah
15:52.24
Stacie Selise
Yeah.
15:52.58
Lorie Jones
here Yeah, that and and that’s, sometimes it’s harder when you’re younger or less sure of yourself to, to be in that space where you’re like, you know, you’re like, I have good ideas.
16:00.07
Stacie Selise
Yeah.
16:05.85
Lorie Jones
Well, wait, do I really have good ideas? Maybe I don’t have good ideas, you know?
16:10.11
Stacie Selise
Yeah. And I think that’s where the power of mentorship comes from, Lori. It is important for everyone to have a mentor. um That doesn’t mean that it has to be someone older than you or what have you. it could just be someone who’s doing something well, um something that you may want to get into one day, or you’ve just witnessed them in leadership or whatever it is that they’re doing.
16:31.86
Stacie Selise
And you just reach out to them and ask them to be a mentor to you. Because there’s so much that you can learn and there’s a lot of confidence that you can build through mentor-mentee relationship as well.
16:42.71
Lorie Jones
Mm-hmm.
16:43.31
Stacie Selise
Yeah.
16:43.97
Lorie Jones
And I like how you pointed out too, that like, it doesn’t, it doesn’t, it just has to, it doesn’t have to be like, oh, I i want her job or I want to do everything that she does.
16:54.86
Lorie Jones
Like, maybe it’s just a piece.
16:54.94
Stacie Selise
Right.
16:56.38
Lorie Jones
Maybe it’s public speaking, someone that really stands out in public speaking or so really stands out in sales.
17:02.27
Stacie Selise
Right.
17:02.37
Lorie Jones
And, and you’re like, oh, I would really like to know how she does this one thing. I wonder if she would be willing to help.
17:09.43
Stacie Selise
Absolutely. And what is the worst thing anyone could ever say? No, that’s okay. But don’t be afraid to reach out and ask for help.
17:16.82
Lorie Jones
Yeah. And then you know that that is something that you’re interested in. You can start looking around for another, you know, another person that does that really well, that might be willing to to share their information. I really haven’t found that a lot of times a mentors um and those that are, we want to give back.
17:34.28
Lorie Jones
We’re on the, you know, the last half of our career and we want to help and grow these teams and make them just a little bit better.
17:37.92
Stacie Selise
Yeah.
17:42.49
Stacie Selise
That’s right. Yeah, I agree. Mm
17:45.58
Lorie Jones
what If you could go back, Stacey, and you could talk to yourself really younger at this um beginning of your journey, like 20, 21, 22, what advice would you give specifically?
17:56.74
Lorie Jones
why would you
17:56.89
Stacie Selise
hmm.
17:57.50
Lorie Jones
what advice would you give you specifically
18:01.36
Stacie Selise
Yeah, I would say, and and this is very similar to some of the other things that I was just mentioning, but don’t play small to make other people comfortable. um i did that a lot earlier in my career.
18:14.43
Stacie Selise
ah One, because I just didn’t think that I was qualified enough to do certain things or make certain decisions. So, you know, I would just say don’t play small and make other people comfortable. um You know, you’re really allowed to take up space and do it with style and do it with grace and do it with all of the the power and uniqueness you have in you.
18:33.55
Stacie Selise
And so that’s what I would tell my my you know younger self.
18:37.03
Lorie Jones
Yeah, yeah, I like that. That um don’t, don’t make yourself smaller to make somebody else feel bigger.
18:44.92
Stacie Selise
That’s right.
18:45.62
Lorie Jones
Yeah, I like that. um What about unique challenges? Because you were a woman? Did you face any of those?
18:55.97
Stacie Selise
Yeah, yeah. um I would say Two things, right? So as a Black woman, I had to deal with being underestimated twice. um One for my skin color and two for my gender.
19:08.85
Lorie Jones
Mm-hmm.
19:08.99
Stacie Selise
um So really balancing the expectations and reality for me was tough, ah but it made me very resilient. So anytime I tell like my full story, my full background of you know where I come from and the different things that I’ve done throughout you know this life journey and career journey, i always talk about resilience.
19:27.62
Stacie Selise
um because, you know, ah being able to bend but not break is something that has really been um ah core or the core of my story. You know, I learned to really set my own standards and never let anyone else def define my worth.
19:43.12
Stacie Selise
And I think that’s important when you think about, you know, unique challenges and that we face as women and and sometimes, you know, women of color as well. Mm-hmm.
19:52.73
Lorie Jones
yeah Yeah, I know that um you know that I just faced the gender challenge and that’s hard enough sometimes to to deal with in certain spaces.
20:04.10
Lorie Jones
And if you’re if you’re battling a couple of those marks or things that are difficult to to navigate around,
20:04.16
Stacie Selise
Yeah. Every
20:13.08
Lorie Jones
um
20:14.76
Stacie Selise
day.
20:15.53
Lorie Jones
yeah, it makes it extra challenging.
20:16.16
Stacie Selise
It happens every day.
20:17.74
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
20:18.84
Stacie Selise
Mm-hmm.
20:19.21
Lorie Jones
And you can’t really, like, people can’t really say, hey, that doesn’t really happen. It does. It does happen.
20:24.33
Stacie Selise
every day it happens every day
20:27.71
Lorie Jones
So have you have have you learned which battles to pick or do you know which battles to fight or or do you fight all of them or how do you handle that?
20:40.10
Stacie Selise
Yeah, I mean, I think there’s a way to go about it where one, you’re not making yourself crazy trying to tackle every single thing, right? I think that’s just insanity. um But there are some some non-negotiables you have to have. And there are certain areas that, you know, you you have to stand up and you got to stand up for something, right? And and make sure your voice is heard.
21:03.01
Stacie Selise
And that is why I was a huge part of the employee resource groups at my former company as well. um So I was a part of all the employee resource groups, quite frankly, and the reason being is because I was leading large teams and there were team members that identified with all of those those employee resource groups. So me being a part of it allowed me the insight and knowledge I needed to know to be able to lead at that level and understand all of my team members as well.
21:30.14
Stacie Selise
So I always encourage all of our leaders to join the employee resource groups because you need to understand the different challenges that your team members are facing and the different dynamics because you may not always understand on the surface.
21:30.13
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
21:42.62
Stacie Selise
But when you get a little bit deeper and you’re having some of those courageous conversations, that’s where you really learn the most about what they’re dealing with at home, what they’re dealing with you know externally outside of the job because people bring those into work and it’s reality.
21:55.92
Stacie Selise
you know It’s not reality for us to tell people, hey, don’t bring that to work.
21:59.70
Lorie Jones
yeah
22:00.15
Stacie Selise
How do you just turn it off? You can’t, you know, it sounds good to say, but the reality is they’re going to be thinking about that, you know, so it’s important.
22:06.56
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
22:08.83
Lorie Jones
Yeah. Or dealing with it. I know that like, as you know, as a young mom, when I had small children um that would, you know, be up half the night crying or something like that, like you just cannot bring your 100% best self to work the next day.
22:23.12
Stacie Selise
Yeah. Yeah.
22:23.74
Lorie Jones
and
22:23.89
Stacie Selise
Yeah.
22:24.63
Lorie Jones
and I can’t just leave it at home. but i mean, like it’s affecting me.
22:27.71
Stacie Selise
yeah Absolutely. And that’s why I love the power of having those employee resource groups, because it just gave you that platform to understand everybody and really just know what they’re going through. And you had other people who you could relate to, right? They may be going through similar things, but you would never hear about it if it wasn’t for that safe space and that psychological safety.
22:49.79
Lorie Jones
That’s a really valid point and kind of interesting that, you know, like, like, it may not just be another thing to do on your list as a C-suite executive, like this is a job skill, something that you need to, you need to, because we, we only have our lens that we’re looking through, you know, only me.
23:11.38
Lorie Jones
And, and I don’t know what Stacy’s going through or what, you know, Joe is going through.
23:16.65
Stacie Selise
Mm-hmm. That’s right. Yeah.
23:20.22
Lorie Jones
What are you the most proud of, Stacey?
23:25.17
Stacie Selise
Yeah, I would say, Lori, building a brand and a legacy that really reflects, you know, not just who I am, but what I stand for. You know, seeing other women and professionals really find their power because they saw me step into mine.
23:40.16
Stacie Selise
So work for me, that’s the real win. Just being able to inspire others to do, you know, not only what I’m doing, but whatever it is that they want to do and whatever they feel empowered to do and passionate about.
23:53.01
Stacie Selise
That’s what I’m most proud of.
23:55.21
Lorie Jones
I think it’s so interesting that that you were in this really um high, important position in your company and you’re like, I need to think bigger.
24:06.31
Lorie Jones
like Most people would look at that and be like, oh, you you were already you know really pretty big here.
24:12.58
Stacie Selise
Yes.
24:13.44
Lorie Jones
um But that you wanted to share that and really grow
24:17.22
Stacie Selise
yeah
24:20.08
Lorie Jones
um because Because you wanted to to grow other people in that space, to be that kind of dynamic presence in the inner workforce.
24:29.70
Stacie Selise
That’s right. And we need more women and we need more of us in those spaces. And so that is why the mission is so much bigger than what I was doing. And was I making great money and having having access to all these great things? Absolutely.
24:44.90
Stacie Selise
But the mission and purpose is so much bigger than just that. We have so much more to do.
24:48.96
Lorie Jones
Mm-hmm.
24:51.21
Lorie Jones
I love it.
24:52.13
Stacie Selise
More.
24:53.74
Lorie Jones
um Any advice for a young lady who’s kind of just starting down this path that you’re successful at? And and you can you know look at that in your former role is it you know as the team of leading a large team or in your current position, empowering women and and helping those executives or executive leadership strategists.
25:16.82
Lorie Jones
What what would advice would you give to someone who’s just starting down that path?
25:16.93
Stacie Selise
yeah
25:21.80
Stacie Selise
Yeah, I would say um just be unapologetic about your ambition. You know, don’t wait for permission. i know you heard me say before, i you know, I asked for forgiveness, but don’t wait for permission.
25:34.19
Stacie Selise
um And definitely don’t let someone else’s fears hold you back. You know, keep showing up, even if you’re the only one in the room who believes in your vision. because your future self will thank you for it. So just continue to show up.
25:47.40
Stacie Selise
Don’t ask for permission and be unapologetic.
25:51.68
Lorie Jones
I like that. I like the idea too of, Stacey, I love that you mentioned like, don’t don’t ask for permission to think bigger or be bigger or or want the world.
26:02.87
Lorie Jones
um Sometimes we feel like we should want less or we should be satisfied with less. And and that I love that you say don’t do that.
26:11.01
Stacie Selise
No, don’t do that at all. You know, I know that could be some traditional ways of thinking, but we are here to challenge the orthodoxies and we are here to change the game and we need more change makers.
26:23.59
Lorie Jones
Absolutely. 100%. I love that. Stacey, thank you so much for spending this time with us and kind of going through your journey and just giving us some real insight on and ideas and things that we can take away. If I have a listener that wants to get in touch with you and just and ask you questions or or dig deeper, how does she do that?
26:43.83
Stacie Selise
Absolutely. So she can find me at StacySelise.com. That is Stacy with an I-E at the end. And you can find me at Stacy Solise on all social media platforms as well.
26:56.48
Stacie Selise
So I look forward to hearing from some of you. And Lori, I really enjoyed our conversation today. And thank you for having me a part of Fearless Females.
27:05.51
Lorie Jones
Thank you so much, Stacy. I appreciate it.
27:08.52
Stacie Selise
You’re welcome.