Transforming Your Leadership with the Power of Mindfulness and Authenticity

Natalie Garramone: [: 00:00:00

That's not that's not, what I'm meant to do in this life. But one of the things that we had to do in that program was meditate a lot. And it was a required part of the program. And. That process created space for me to sit with the discomfort of silence, to sit with my own thoughts about myself and anything and to just get comfortable with feeling not like I didn't have all of the answers.

n create space for yourself, [: 00:01:00

A lot of times when I work with folks particularly folks who are earlier in the career, it is, it's really easy to, to say I'm too busy. I'm, I have, I don't have any time during the week. And the result is we're moving through the motions. And so I like to challenge folks to really say what if you were to observe yourself moving through your day, what would you see?

ourself and trying to figure [: 00:02:00

Means or could mean, or maybe the things that actually don't matter. And there are lots of different mindfulness based stress reduction techniques that folks could look up and pull resources on and just dig into to figure out maybe there's something in there that, that resonates for them. Breathing techniques for me were the thing that worked right.

Craig Beavers: Today's guest is someone who truly understand what makes organizations and the people within them thrive. I'm joined by Natalie Garamon, owner and principal consultant of 180. Natalie is a seasoned strategist, coach, and conflict resolution expert who has been over a decade helping teams across the globe grow, innovate, and communicate more effectively.

't happen from the top down. [: 00:03:00

And what you've got are people trying to do good work, and that's where Natalie comes in. From mindfulness and meditation to leadership and communication, she helps people talk to each other and actually hear one another. Natalie, welcome to Transformation Unfiltered. We're so glad to have you.

Natalie, welcome to Transformation Unfiltered. We're so glad to have you.

Natalie Garramone: Hi, Craig. Great to see you.

Craig Beavers: Thanks. Let's jump right in. What's the one biggest challenge or mistake that you made or witnessed that you learned the most from on your journey as a leader and change maker?

Natalie Garramone: this is a tough one for me because it's a big question and there's a much longer story around it, but I'm gonna do my best to share a little bit of context. As you probably read in, in my bio, I was CEO before the age of 30. It was an incredible accomplishment and I had a lot of wonderful opportunities that led me to that point.

And [: 00:04:00

And I think that had a lot of effects on the organization and how I led and myself, but it also created it created a lot of opportunities for me to learn from that. And that's what's gotten me here.

Craig Beavers: That's an interesting situation. Being placed in a situation of a CEO so early in your career can certainly be challenging. What was it do you think that led to you not being able to articulate or have confidence in your vision in this new role?

hat I think does. Did really [: 00:05:00

My, my family didn't have a lot financially. And my mom worked really hard to give us everything that we were able to have when we were younger. I went to private school. That was out of arm means at the time my mom worked at the bingo evenings to help cover my tuition. And so from a very young age, I always felt this kind of I don't know, like you don't belong here, but try to fit in, right?

ecause I think that I didn't [: 00:06:00

You have this chance, you have this title. It's, it wasn't my company. And that's an incredible amount of pressure for a leader in any organization to have. When you talk about not just articulating a vision, but really charging forward with it, am I willing to really put everything on the line in order to not just follow this vision myself, but to rally people around it, to put someone else's money on the line to execute this vision?

Those are all really big. Questions and things to challenge yourself with. And if you falter even a little bit which I did it gets really it gets really difficult. And I think that's where I found myself in this kind of self perpetuating loop of lack of confidence. And it showed up in, it showed up in different ways and how I led, which felt a little bit incongruent with I don't know what I now know that I'm capable of doing.

I.

Craig Beavers: How did you how did you overcome that?

Natalie Garramone: I don't [: 00:07:00

And, they helped me reground in the things that deep down I knew to be true about myself, but in the moment had a hard time believing. And I think we would, we'd probably put a name to that, which would be imposter syndrome, right? And and so I think having people in my court to help reality test and reality check that imposter syndrome was really critical in those moments to help me overcome it.

ow that I did a great job of [: 00:08:00

Craig Beavers: Just to circle back a little bit, you talked about having confidence in your vision and that as if it was a bit of a vulnerability as you're in this new role. You also said you had wrestled with this for imposter syndrome and self-doubt even as the CEO. How would you help leaders who are afraid of showing that same vulnerability? What advice would you give them today?

Natalie Garramone: yeah, I think, just to set some context, look the CEO title is, it's a big title and it comes with a lot of responsibility, and for me, one of the biggest. Hurdles to overcome mentally and emotionally? Was that it Previously, it was a founder led company and this was a new role, a new experience, new for everybody, including myself and I.

at we put on ourselves, that [: 00:09:00

And I had plenty of those moments, right? I know the answer. I'm gonna dig my heels in. It's really easy to get defensive over something that even we are uncertain of a little bit. But. One, I think some people would probably use the phrase like, give yourself some grace, cut yourself some slack.

What, whatever it is. But just remember that you don't have to have all of the answers. And one of the most powerful things that I do now and that I really would encourage folks early in their career to do is. Admit when you don't have all of the answers or when you're feeling that insecurity and just say, I'm not feeling as steady about this decision or in myself as maybe I could or should be.

ut maybe we'll figure it out [: 00:10:00

Craig Beavers: As a new CEO, did you have any networking opportunities or people to bounce things off of and get their take on the challenges that you were seeing in this new role?

Natalie Garramone: One of the things it, that I think was wonderful about this opportunity and culturally really wonderful about the company was, the belief in peer network systems and kind of peer networks groups rather, that you could go to and hash out business issues. Not necessarily with folks that are on your team because there's such power in that objectivity and there's power and an incredible resource.

And wisdom and being able to talk through something with someone who is not so emotionally invested in the problem that you're solving or the issue that you're experiencing. And so yes I have had the great fortune of being part of during that time, and it's something that I've continued in my own, with my own company is being part of.

Networks of folks who are [: 00:11:00

Craig Beavers: It's great to have folks that are in your corner and can support you through, challenging times and be able to answer your questions and get you through, some turmoil when you're feeling like you have that self-doubt and and. You are wondering if the things that you're doing are the right things. You made the jump from, consultant to CEO and I was wondering, as you were talking, what was one of the biggest internal shifts that you had to make, especially in a founder led organization like that? How did. As a new CEO, as when working as a consultant.

ht? Historically, up to that [: 00:12:00

A higher level consultant or someone with decades more experience than I did said, Hey, here's the strategy. Here's the direction we're gonna go in. Here's what I need you to do to make that happen. Or here are the parameters or the guardrails if you will make it happen. And so I really. I really thrived on, and I still do thrive on the autonomy.

And being allowed with a safety net to make a decision or head in a certain direction, and I appreciate those little mile markers of success. But when you're the person then responsible for setting that vision, it's a different, it's a different mindset and it really was it was a welcome challenge for me to shift gears and to say what is.

pletely, I. Throwing away or [: 00:13:00

And that is. It requires both the ability to formulate that, but also the ability to have the confidence to lead people towards that outcome. And that's a tough thing to do, but both of those are difficult individually, but doing them together and having it be a new experience is it's extra difficult.

It was extra difficult.

Craig Beavers: Wow. When you work with leaders now, what's one truth that you wish more executives would accept sooner in their journey?

is is where I tripped myself [: 00:14:00

I did have a vision, I did have a direction, but I did not have the confidence in that. To move it forward in a way that I think would've benefited everyone, including myself. And so that truth that I would encourage leaders to recognize and really hold onto earlier in the careers is belief that the experience you do have and the answers you do have in the knowledge that you do have is enough for exactly what you need to do at that moment and try to really.

Operate from a place of confidence instead of a place of fear.

Craig Beavers: That's great. That's profound. That's very nice. what two lessons did you learn from this whole experience?

ity in communication because [: 00:15:00

I show up and I'm myself, and I remember one time I was working with someone and I, she said, do you have any advice before I go into this workshop? And I said, oh, just be yourself. And she said something which I will never forget. She said, it's hard to be anyone else. And I said, gosh, that's it is easier said than done because you have so many external pressures, including what people maybe perceive the type of leader that you should be. And so I think that believing in the authenticity, understanding who you are, what's important to you, your values, what you care about, how you want to communicate.

now. There are things that I [: 00:16:00

But they come from a place of they come from a place of genuine confidence and a belief in my ability that saying. A truth or telling someone something difficult that is really important for them to hear is not going to, it's not gonna completely crumble the relationship. So I think that genuine kind of authentic communication and leadership is one, one big.

Takeaway. And I think the second is really believing in the vision. If you have an idea, if you really believe that it's the right direction how willing are you to really stand by that? And that's another place that the confidence comes from, I think is believing in it and not just casually saying.

the anecdotes to back it up. [: 00:17:00

Craig Beavers: Yeah. Just thinking back to, your authenticity, comment about communications and leadership, one of things. New managers when I was coming up within my organization is be yourself. You can't be a Craig Beavers or a Natalie ome or anybody. You have to be yourself at the end of the day, and you have to know what makes you tick and and be true to that. You can certainly learn. There's certainly a lot of mentors that are out there, but I think you hit the nail on the head with that. You gotta be yourself and believing in your vision and believing in yourself. That's tough to do.

There's a lot of self-doubt that people put on themselves. I know I've experienced it too. That's that's probably, I think the bigger lift in this whole thing is you know, believing in your vision and believing in yourself.

amone: Believing in yourself [: 00:18:00

And just be glad that you're here and that you have this opportunity. And I know that's not everyone's narrative, but for me that was the thing that made it difficult to. Find what being myself looked like. 'cause I was very comfortable being the Natalie that fit into this box, or the Natalie that fit into that box, or the Natalie that fit into this box.

dible journey to go on and I [: 00:19:00

'cause it's gonna make everything else much easier and it's gonna set you up with that inner kind of will to do the things that you and I are talking about.

Craig Beavers: To circle back a little bit, we talked, you talked about the authenticity and communication and leadership as well as, believing in your vision. How do you get a new manager? To believe in those things? To do those things, would be some steps or practices or principles that you would lead them towards to, to help them achieve that quicker?

Natalie Garramone: Two of the things that helped fast track that for me personally, and I'm not saying everyone needs to go out and do exactly this 'cause it's the. Probably more difficult path, but one is I have my 200 hour yoga certification from many years ago. I don't teach yoga.

meditate a lot. And it was a [: 00:20:00

And that happened, that, that was early in my career and I'm not, again, I'm not saying everyone needs a meditation practice. I know that's incredibly different, but I would say if you can create space for yourself, even if it's five minutes a day, even if it's 15 minutes a week, to sit down and think about how you're moving through life and work that is going to be, it's going to yield a lot of return on the investment.

have, I don't have any time [: 00:21:00

What would you notice? And what thoughts come to mind. So being able to step out of that situation and really observe yourself is helpful. The other thing is and also my, have a certification in mindfulness based stress reduction. It is a, it was an additional practice that I felt was really enjoyable for me and something that also similarly taps into listening to yourself and trying to figure out what you're saying and what everything going on up here in your head.

Means or could mean, or maybe the things that actually don't matter. And there are lots of different mindfulness based stress reduction techniques that folks could look up and pull resources on and just dig into to figure out maybe there's something in there that, that resonates for them. Breathing techniques for me were the thing that worked right.

When I'm in my head and I'm [: 00:22:00

And then finally another kind of more tactical piece, and this happened later in my career when I was transitioning from the CEO role to working for myself. I asked people, I don't, again, going back to what we talked about earlier, I don't have to have all the answers, even though we feel like we have to have all the answers and have it all planned out.

o do something different? To [: 00:23:00

But in order to get there, I knew that I didn't have those answers. I honestly was at a loss and I sat down, I had so many coffees with so many different people, and I just asked a lot of questions and I said, what do you think I'm good at? What do you think some of my greatest strengths are? How would you describe me as a leader or as a colleague?

And hearing those answers did a couple of things. One, they helped me view myself through a different lens. Again, helped me debunk some of the imposter syndrome stuff that was happening. And it also, it was the confidence builder that I needed at that time, because remember, I was coming off of this lack of confidence not really having seized the opportunity that existed for me to deliver on a vision that I believed was possible.

And so it [: 00:24:00

You just have to create that space, whether it's through a walk or three deep breaths, or through a 20 minute meditation or sitting down with someone in your trusted circle to really step out of that situation. It. Those are the things that were invaluable to me and helped me really shift my mindset and behaviors.

h, self-doubt and maybe they [: 00:25:00

Natalie Garramone: I think it's one of the most fascinating aspects that I get to experience in my work in conflict management because it's a lot of times what on teams, right? We have different ways of dealing with stressful situations or or tension on our team, and they present differently.

And we deal with it in different ways and show up in different ways for someone who I think finds themselves more comfortable. In in the extroverted realm, right? Or maybe they're, maybe they are drawing energy from folks conversations. I think that maybe lean into that type of tool, right?

If you find that you're feeling self-doubt, but you need to talk it out and you need to process it, then make sure you have a good sounding board. I think the. The quiet, the, the quiet time, the meditation, the breathing, that might feel difficult for someone. I don't know. It depends on the person.

n their familiarity with the [: 00:26:00

So I do I can sympathize with that. I understand the desire to, to to go into that mode. And oftentimes what is most helpful in that mode for me is to actually hit the pause button and take a step back. So I think it depends on the person, but. If the extroversion is something that they gravitate towards, I think making sure that you have the appropriate sounding boards, not just an echo chamber, and not someone who's going to yes you to death that they're actually gonna challenge what you are saying or ask the good questions, ask the tough questions.

That could be really helpful.

business, how did this help [: 00:27:00

Natalie Garramone: I appreciate this question because I have a really, I have a very clear answer for it, and that is the confidence that I lacked in the CEO role and the inability to really. Deliver on a vision that I believed I had. I knew that I had that opportunity when I decided to create 180.

And what's funny is when I was I'll call it shopping around or sharing my initial vision for 180, which is workplace conflict resolution and mediation with folks, the feedback was largely. That's too specific. That's too niche. And I got a lot of advice from folks in the consulting arena and even friends and family to go broader, be an executive coach, go into leadership development, and my instinct told me, I.

omfortable situations. I'm a [: 00:28:00

All these things that kind of were skills that I wouldn't have necessarily articulated for myself, but other people observed in me. And that coupled with my experience and a gap that I saw in the marketplace around conflict resolution and mediation work for organizations told me this is a vision I think could work.

And I stuck with my instinct there and I didn't, and there were so many times, Craig, when I thought. You know what? Maybe they're right. Maybe I should go. Maybe I should go in that direction and maybe I should get this certification, or maybe I should broaden it up because it's really easy when you feel fearful or not confident.

and I stuck with it. And the [: 00:29:00

The second one, we talked about the authentic communication and just genuinely being me. I that is something that I do every day and I think it's why people, I think it's why, it's, why did they tell me this is why they like working with me. I think that. It's hard to work with someone where you don't know what's real.

And for me, or I, in a lot of the work that I do, I hear from folks a lot, especially in mediation. She's like this to me in this meeting, but then when we have a one-on-one, it's a totally different person, right? And so it's very difficult to to navigate that. One of the things that I am, that is so important to me and that I believe is so necessary for my role in the work that I do, is I have no choice.

yself, and I want that to be [: 00:30:00

Talking the way I talk like this, talking with my hands and being open and that's how I roll now and and that has been such a. I will use the word relief. It's a relief and I think that it has, it pays dividends in its own way, through relationships and just how I feel about myself.

Craig Beavers: I am curious, you had mentioned a little little while ago. There was a time that you thought about expanding your services and not being as niche. How did you stay on course? What were, what was the conversation that you had with yourself that kept you on course instead of, bending to what a direction that you really didn't want to take the company.

true to your, to yourself in [: 00:31:00

Natalie Garramone: Yeah, I think one question that I've asked myself consistently is I. Does it have to be me that does this? Or if the answer is yes, then why does it have to be me or in me, in this case, 180, right? Oftentimes the answer is no. It doesn't have to be I place great value on what I call strategic partnerships, the network.

I, I think we are, there's so many brilliant people in this world doing such incredible work, and one of my. Personal and professional philosophies is we are all just people trying to do good work. And so when I think about does it have to be 180 that does this leadership program? No, it doesn't have to be me.

ict. That, or a, or conflict [: 00:32:00

For myself, really, a lot of times when we're operating from a place of fear or insecurity, it feels like we have to do all the things to make up for it. Okay, I'm uncertain about this, so I'll double down in this, or maybe I'll overstep and go in this lane. Because I am uncomfortable in my own lane, or maybe the, maybe I'm out of my depth here with this skillset, and so I'll go creep back into something that feels more comfortable.

rea or expanding my services [: 00:33:00

And if it doesn't, then surely there's someone else who. Is meant to do that work and I can support in a different way. So I think really challenging yourself on one, where is that desire coming from? And two, acknowledging that it might not have to be you.

Craig Beavers: were there any tips or techniques or anything that you learned as you're honing this process and your own company, anything that helped you along the way?

% [: 00:34:00

I had, if I hadn't been able to do that over the years, I would've, I probably would've said, okay, let's expand. Let's do this, let's do that. And I. And I wouldn't have stayed true to the things that I, that have really served me and to what I've been able to build today. So giving your, giving yourself that space before responding.

Again, I'll come back to having the right people in your corner and really being able to not just have them there, but speak to them. With an open heart and open mind, and in line with that, this is both, finding people that are capable of doing this, but also being this person for yourself is try to not judge yourself too harshly.

hink, difficult thing for so [: 00:35:00

And that judgment does not help. It just doesn't help. And so being able to remove some judgment from how you're viewing yourselves in those moments, but also have those people in your corner who who are not gonna judge you for showing up as your. Most insecure, least confident, most questioning self and just let you talk it out.

Craig Beavers: So Natalie, what advice would you give a person who's just starting out on their first big role there, the project, the transformation effort.

bsolute, biggest thing I can [: 00:36:00

It is going to require effort. It's going to require, I like your word earlier, Craig, introspection. And it's going to require intentional an intentionality on figuring out where you need to ask questions, where you need to lean into the knowledge and experience and vision that you do have, and.

It's gonna require you to, really learn about yourself and understand what motivates you and what is going to help you feel confident in leading that transformation. I, a very tactical tip, trick tool, whatever you wanna call it, that oftentimes I encourage people in, in coaching sessions to do is whenever you feel like you are going to respond in the moment.

[: 00:37:00

Figure out what you might ask and try to shift your mindset to being a little bit more curious. Transformation efforts and change efforts are, they don't happen overnight, and so being able to build that muscle of curiosity, willingness to listen, willingness to adapt, is going to be really helpful.

Craig Beavers: Natalie, this has been a fantastic conversation with you today. I really appreciate your time and effort and all the great information that you brought forward with this. Where can people find you?

all spelled [: 00:38:00

You can find me on LinkedIn, both 180 and Natalie Garmon on LinkedIn as well. And and I would welcome anyone reaching out. Thank you so much.

Craig Beavers: Thank you Natalie. I really appreciate it. Natalie, what you've shared today was such a powerful reminder that leadership isn't about having all the answers. It's about having the courage to be real, even when it feels vulnerable.

You walked us through what it's like stepping into the role of CEO, carrying the weight of expectations while silently wrestling with imposter syndrome. You're honest about the pressure to perform and how in those early moments you didn't feel confident in your own vision. That kind of transparency is rare and incredibly resonant.

What stood out most was how you found your way forward. By not pushing harder, but by pausing. You began leading with authenticity, letting go of the need to appear perfect and instead showing up with honesty and clarity.

w peer support, mindfulness, [: 00:39:00