Connie S.
Future of Work & Life Expert • Marketing and Business Strategist • Speaker • Author • Podcaster • Working Mom • Co-Founder at Flywheel Associates
Education: University of Wisconsin-Madison - University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
Lansdowne, Virginia, USA
Biography
After 15 years in the corporate world, I was burnt out and unfulfilled. I achieved everything that I was ‘supposed’ to do, but was that really what I wanted to be doing for most of my life?
Absolutely not. So I decided to make a pivot and regain control of my life.
I realized that my priorities were all wrong. I needed to redefine what success means to me if I wanted to be happy and fulfilled. And every year, I see more and more people coming to this same realization. Unfortunately, far too many people who just want to create a better life for themselves and their family get stuck in neutral or lost in the corporate shuffle along the way.
But I want to help people connect the dots. I want to assist leaders in understanding the implications of a changing workforce that is looking at their priorities and needs differently. I want to help provide clarity when it may feel like chaos. I want to help forge the path forward when it feels like there isn’t a path to take. I know it’s possible because I’ve studied hundreds of people who have done it — and I think we, as people, have more power to shape the Future of Work than we’ve ever had before.
Some things are going to have to change to create a better and more equitable future — and I’d love to help you make those changes in your life or in your organization.
Passion
A decade ago, I realized that my priorities were all wrong. I didn’t need to make my life and my family fit around my career — I needed to create a career that helped me achieve my life goals. And a decade later, I’m really satisfied with the outcomes. I feel more fulfilled than I ever did when I was doing what I was “supposed” to do AND I get to watch my kids grow up.
And I want to help others connect the dots, too.
Featured Video
I am willing to travel
More than 100 miles
When it comes to payments
Everything is negotiable
Topics
Origin Story
I spent the first part of my career doing what I thought I should do: create a path so that I could climb the ladder towards success and achievement. It’s what my parents and society at large said I should do. That was the norm.
I worked hard to get into top universities. I graduated with an advanced degree in statistics. I joined the corporate world in an industry with growth potential. For 15 years, I worked my way up the ladder thinking that would fulfill me. But it didn’t. I wasn’t happy mentally, physically, or emotionally.
I was the mother of two young children. I was the only woman (and minority) on the executive management team. And I also happened to be the youngest. I had a fully remote team when that wasn’t even a thing 12 years ago. I felt like I was being pulled in so many different directions, but I wasn’t actually able to devote the amount of energy I wanted to in each place. I felt like I was doing something wrong because I was struggling to “do it all.” In the end, I was stressed, anxious, and just burnt out.
Was that really what I wanted to be doing for the next 10 years? Absolutely not. So I decided to make a pivot and regain control of my life.
Example talks
Organizational Tools for the Future of Work: How Formal Mentorship & Strategic Planning Drive Success & Fulfillment (Co-Presenter)
People who feel successful become more fulfilled. People who feel successful become ideal employees. So how do we, as individuals, achieve success? How can organizational leaders nurture that success, future-proofing their organizations in the process? And, more broadly, what do people even want in this new world of work?
These are the questions that drive Connie Steele’s annual State of Work & Career Success research. Data shows that the workforce is changing, not just demographically but in their attitudes, beliefs, motivations, and approaches to career development. The data also shows that most people are currently struggling to achieve the success they want in their career and personal life.
So, what can we do about that as leaders and educators? We can embrace one of our most powerful tools for helping people understand their own potential and achieve career success: mentorship.
Dr. Sher Downing, EdTech Strategist, will join Connie Steele to discuss how to implement mentorship into your professional or workplace strategic planning and how to identify potential mentors so that you can nurture success for yourself and your organization.
Building the Business of You: Creating Careers for the Future of Work
The workforce is changing. Peoples’ attitudes, beliefs, motivations, and approaches to career development have fundamentally shifted — and that has to inform the way we lead and manage our organizations if we want fulfilled and productive people in the workplace. But before we can make the necessary changes to thrive in the future of work, we have to really understand the macrotrends that are shaping the workforce and the microtrends that are driving people.