Powerhouse businesswoman Liz Dolan joined Kim Gravel recently, and shared 6 tips about how to bring your full self to everything you do.
Liz, who has dozens of accolades to her name and was the chief marketing officer for the Oprah Winfrey Network, Nike, and National Geographic, to name a few, talked about taking risks to become who you want to be.
1. Stay noisy!
To clarify, when Liz says, “stay noisy,” she doesn’t mean get mad; she means say what you really think. Don’t edit yourself. Don’t assume other people know more than you do.
“I think women have a tendency to do this: we hold back a little bit, thinking maybe other people really are smarter than we are, or we don’t speak up in meetings, or we don’t really let our full ideas be heard. And I got to the point when I was in my 50s where I was like, ‘No, this is crazy. These people aren’t any smarter or more creative or more anything than me. So I just really need to put my ideas into the world.’”
Kim asked Liz why women hold back—why they don’t bring their full self to what they do.
“You just want to make sure you’re accepted into the group, that you’re making progress. If there’s a ladder that you’re kind of climbing, you’re not making any enemies. I think women especially are encouraged to edit ourselves all along the way. Also, sometimes, even when we do try to stay noisy, they’re not listening.”
For Liz, the turning point came in her 50s: “I’m not holding back anymore. This is ridiculous.” She added, “I have found this later part of my life hugely liberating for that reason.”
A little insecurity is human nature, Kim added, and Liz agreed. “But, do I feel like I’m faking it anymore? No, I do not.”
Kim talked about how she was fearless growing up. Her parents were straight shooters and her dad used to tell her the same types of things Liz is saying. “I was empowered,” Kim said. “And then I went out into the world and started comparing. And don’t you see women do that? We start looking, going, ‘I’m not like that. She’s prettier, she’s taller, she’s smarter. She’s got more degrees.’ And I think when I got to 50, I was like, ‘Oh, she’s my friend. Let’s help each other. Let’s lock arms.’ Do you think that’s the imposter syndrome lane we all as women walk through?”
“Yeah,” Liz said. Professionally, so many of the role models are men … but more women are creating their own careers, businesses, and lives—and they’re qualified.
2. It’s never too late.
“Especially for women in our 50s and 60s. Maybe the world wants to tell you that you’re washed up or that whatever you were doing, just stick with that, just ride that to the end,” Liz said. “And I have not found that to be the case at all. I went to college in the 70s and have not been back in school since then. I never went to graduate school or anything. I’ve just been working and doing things. And last year … I started to feel like I have to do something dramatically different with my life.”
So she went to Stanford University’s Distinguished Careers Institute.
The program, designed to help people with far-ranging interests discover their purpose for the next phase of life, takes 40 fellows each year, enabling them to attend Stanford and take whatever they want.
The program’s three pillars, Liz said, are purpose, community, and wellness. The idea of leaving the work she was doing then, and moving to an apartment at Stanford, was “a leap,” she said.
3. Take risks to follow (or find) your passions and purpose.
On Liz’s 40th birthday, she quit the job she’d been at for 10 years: chief marketing officer at Nike. “I just wanted to do something different.”
People would ask her, “How could you quit a job like that,” and she’d share with them her idea for doing a women’s talk show, so women could be heard more. People didn’t take her seriously.
“I’ve quit some really great jobs in my career,” Liz said.
And she doesn’t regret it. While on one hand she’s in a fortunate position as a single woman with no kids and low overhead, she also felt like some of her riskier moves came with more pressure: “If I can’t do it, who can? I can really try whatever I want.”
One of Liz’s friends has often asked her, “What’s the worst that could happen? Do you think you’re never going to get a job?”
Liz knows she could always get another job if she wanted one—so she’s taking the risk of attending Stanford’s Distinguished Careers Institute to rediscover her purpose.
4. Continue your quest for a purpose: who do you want to be?
“We’re always on the journey of finding our why,” Kim said, and Liz agreed.
“Where you’re going to find your purpose is in your values. It’s not going to be in your job description,” Liz said. “It’s not what you want to be when you grow up, it’s who.”
“The lifelong journey we’re all on is getting more connected to the things that we want to model in the world.”
As part of a family book project, Satellite Sisters’ UnCommon Senses, Liz wrote an essay about the people in her life who she’d like to emulate as she defined her purpose. That development of who she wants to be will combine with her values—especially connections—as she continues to grow. She added that your sense of connection is always the most important thing in your life, but if that’s nothing if you don’t have a sense of self.
While Liz is taking her year at Stanford to figure out her new purpose, she already knows she loves working with young people or small businesses, those who have good ideas but encounter barriers to achieve what they want to achieve.
For example, Liz runs the Magic Boost program with some of her friends to help content creators in the sports field find real jobs or start real businesses in the media landscape whether they want to go work for a big corporation or start their own thing.
5. Become fearless.
Fear is completely understandable, Liz said, but working through that fear is critical in manifesting your biggest goals and dreams as you strive toward your purpose.
Part of becoming fearless is embracing change. Kim and Liz talked specifically about the use of Artificial Intelligence in the creative world, adding that embracing change can help you overcome your fear of it.
Another part of becoming fearless is to stay curious. Don’t take yourself out of the conversation because you’re afraid of something new (such as a new technology).
6. Become the boss of your own life.
When Kim refers to being the boss, she means “Having your own say in your own life and doing what you want to do, not just always what you have to do.”
“The more women have a breadth of experience, both personally and professionally,” Liz said, “that teaches them how skillful they are and how smart they are. It’s very empowering to be good at something, whether it’s your actual job or something you’re doing in the home or something your kids appreciate. Being good at something is the way to build confidence.”
In everything you do, bring your full self to the table, and stay noisy!
Liz Dolan has served as Chief Marketing Officer for leading brands including Nike, Oprah, Fox Sports, and National Geographic. She is the founder of Mixed Zone Media, a company specializing in sports marketing, and she sits on the Board of Directors for the World Athletics Championships Orgen ’22, marking its inaugural event in the US. Liz has been recognized on several prestigious lists, including the 100 Most Powerful People in Sports and the 100 Most Powerful Women in Cable, and she was named Marketer of the Year. Known for her humor, she is also the Satellite Sister least likely to host Thanksgiving dinner. Her new podcast, Lizness School, chronicles her year attending Stanford University as part of the Distinguished Careers Institute.
The Kim Gravel Show is a top women’s lifestyle podcast where Kim shares her message of confidence and encouragement with a side of laughter and fun. The show features inspiring, topical conversations with thought leaders, CEOs, and celebrities tailored to give listeners the insight they need to help them discover their purpose, find their confidence, and love who they are. On each episode Kim tackles the topics that women care about in a way that will make you laugh, make you think, and help you see your life in a new, more positive way.
The Kim Gravel Show is a celebration of the stories that shape us. It's about laughing together and not taking ourselves too seriously. It's about the wisdom we've gathered and the hardships we've overcome. It's about looking at the woman you see in the mirror and remembering that she is beautiful inside and out. This is a show about remembering that no matter what you’ve been through you can love who you are right now.
Y’all, life is hard, but we can do it together.
