Janet DesGeorges Discusses Leadership

Are you ready to LEAD? I am excited to share this podcast with all of our listeners on the topic of leadership.  I had the opportunity to sit down with Janet DesGeorges who is a published writer, international speaker, and co-founder and Executive Director of Hands and Voices, a movement and organization dedicated to supporting families who have children who are deaf or hard of hearing.  In November 2020, she published her very own book titled “Not a Leader, Now a Leader”.   Today’s episode is focused on diving deeper into this book.  Be prepared to gain nuggets of knowledge and experience to take the next step of leadership in your own life.  This book is a must have for every parent and professional.   Take a listen and take action!

For more information on “Not a Leader, Now a Leader” visit:  janetdesgeorges.com

For more information about Dr. Carrie Spangler- check out her LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/carrie-spangler/

For transcripts of this episode- visit the podcast website at: https://empowearaudiology.buzzsprout.com

Transcript

[00:00:00] Welcome to episode 11 of empowEAR Audiology with Dr. Carrie Spangler.
[00:00:15] Welcome to the empowEAR Audiology Podcast. My name is Dr. Carrie Spangler, and I am your host, a passionate audiologist with a lifelong journey. Living with hearing challenges in this vibrant hearing world. I've wanted to have an empowering podcast for all of my listeners. Many of us learn and grow by being in communication and connecting with others.
[00:00:38] It is my hope that all of my listeners will learn something new and be empowered after each episode, whether you are a professional, a parent, an individual with hearing loss, or you just want to be inspired. I am glad that you're with us today. I would be grateful if you take a moment to subscribe and give a positive, positive rating for the podcast, also like us on Facebook at empowEAR Audiology and engage in a conversation with each episode.
[00:01:09] A transcript of each episode is available on the 3C Digital Media Network, web page, in the section of podcast. So today I am excited to introduce our guest. Janet DesGeorges . Janet is a published writer, international speaker and co-founder and executive director of hands and voices a movement, an organization dedicated to supporting families who have children who are deaf and hard of hearing.
[00:01:41] In November, she published her very own book titled Not a leader Now a leader. So today's episode is going to be focused on this book, and I hope that all of you will be empowered to lead. And I am certain that many of you will be getting on line to secure your own signed copy of this book. So, um, a couple of other things about Janet.
[00:02:07] She lives in Boulder, Colorado with her husband, Joe, and is a mom to three daughters, including Sarah, who is hard of hearing. She has served on the Colorado hands and voices, um, flagship chapter, uh, for over 10 years. And she has coauthored many different articles, um, and co author different. Chapters and books.
[00:02:31] She serves on many different committees, all over the nation. She is, presented nationally and internationally. And I am just so excited to have her on our podcast today. So welcome Janet. Thank you Carrie. So exciting to be here. I'm really happy to be here and, um, getting, uh, talking about my book and, um, just kind of life and thank you so much for having me.
[00:02:57] It is a pleasure to have you. So when I decided to do. A podcast. Um, back in the summer, I had made a list of different people that I had wanted to interview. And you will add that list. And then last month, when I saw your announcement on Facebook that you had published your own book about leadership, I thought it was the perfect.
[00:03:20] Topic, but empowering people on this podcast. So thank you so much. I have my book right here and I have so much information that I want to talk about today, but I always like to start out the podcast with how we know each other. So do you remember when we met. Yes, of course I have. I have several memories of us.
[00:03:45] Um, like a lot of people I know in my world, most of the time I am, I spend with people at conferences. And so I know we originally connected through a mutual friend, Dr. Cheryl Johnson. And it's so fitting actually that I'm here today to talk about, um, leadership, because Cheryl is a really one of my mentors in my own development of leadership.
[00:04:09] And uh, if I write, if I write a followup book to this first one, I'm going to make sure that I put Cheryl in it because she really has influenced my life a lot in terms of, um, my own leadership. So, yeah, so we met through Cheryl, we've seen each other at. Post-conference happy hour. Good to see you again, or be here with you today.
[00:04:34] Good. I know. And I have to say too, Cheryl has been one of my leadership mentors as well, along the way. So, um, it's amazing how we have that same similar person who has influenced us in two different ways. Really so exciting. So a book, like what. Incredible personal and professional accomplishment. So can you just share with our listeners, what was the motivation behind writing this?
[00:05:02] Well, I like to talk and writing is an extension of having the floor, I think. And, um, I. I think as my, as I, my own career or life in and hands and voices, and as a parent of a daughter, who's hard of hearing it, all. It all began to emerge and kind of grow bait grew based on our family story of raising a daughter.
[00:05:32] Who's who's that hard of hearing. And so. Over the years as my role evolved. And I became involved in more leadership positions. Um, I realized there was kind of a correlation between the life, the journey that I'd had in raising a daughter whose deaf and my evolution of leadership. And I think I, over the years, I've spent a lot of time talking about that journey of family, of raising a child.
[00:06:00] And so my interests. Um, in sharing this book was really being able to self reflect and talk a little bit about, about leadership. And, you know, one of the first quotes I ever heard about leadership that I just this day have like posted in my room is from, uh, Terry Pierce. And he says there are many people who think that they want to be Matadors.
[00:06:23] Only to find themselves in the ring with 2000 pounds of bull bearing down on them. And then they discover that what they really wanted was to wear tight pants and hear the crowd roar. And so I think about all of the skills that I needed to do the job that I have. That, that I needed to grow my skills in and I learned through kind of hit and miss making mistakes.
[00:06:48] And so, yeah, I was just motivated to talk about that part of my life. Yeah. And I have to say like this book I think is, is a perfect book for, um, parents and professionals. And I think I told you earlier that. This would be a great book study, I think would be awesome. we are all So busy, and to be able to have some tool to self reflect on ourselves is, is powerful.
[00:07:16] And so I kind of, when I was going through the book, um, picked out some of my favorite chapters of the book that I wanted to get more information and feedback from you. And I think the first chapter is. Titled the journey starts here. And so do you want to give our listeners just, I mean, I know you kind of talked a little bit about how your leadership journey started, but do you want to kind of dig a little deeper into that and how you feel like you went from not a leader to now a leader?
[00:07:48] Yeah. Um, Sharon, I, I just wanted to add a couple other comments about writing this book. Um, One of the moments where I really decided to write it. I was actually sitting in a room with Marion Downs, who is, I'm sure most of your listeners who have been in the audiology world, know her as a pioneer of newborn hearing screening.
[00:08:09] Um, she lived to be almost a hundred years old and in her nineties she wrote a book called “shut up and live”. And she always struck me as someone who a, you know, like I would think, man, all the other people I know that have. You know, live to this long, you know, have had ailments and, you know, I had to overcome so many challenges.
[00:08:32] Marion, must've just been one of those lucky ones. And in her book, she talks about how she actually had to face all those challenges. And I realized. Kind of from the outside, looking at it, there was so much, I didn't know about her life. And so for me, this book about leadership, um, I mean, one of the gifts that has been given to me and my life is that I'm now surrounded by many leaders who are emerging.
[00:08:58] And that's part of my role I see now is helping other leaders kind of move up. And, um, so I, I just remember thinking when I read Marion's book and I even talked to her about it and she's like, Janet, you need to write a book. So that was kind of like, all right, I'm going to do what Marion says, um, write the book.
[00:09:17] But that was the other motivation is thinking about my own journey into leadership and could it help others? And, and so for me, how I grew in leadership was, was never very, um, Uh, planned out. It just kind of happened over time. I did not go to college and get a degree and in leadership development or public health leadership or anything like that, I just found that our own life and our own life story with our daughter began to put me in positions and opportunities, um, to be a person of influence and, um, And so the skills that I needed to do that, um, I, I grew over time and as I was reflecting on this book, I kept thinking back to the professionals in our family's life when we first started.
[00:10:11] So, you know, like the moment, the audiologists that we first worked first worked with the early intervention provider that I mentioned in the book who treated me like someone who knew what they were doing. And I did not know what I was doing, but that kind of affirmation and, and, um, Uh, confidence that she gave me in my own journey really led to some of the strands of then leadership development over, over time.
[00:10:41] So, um, I, in the end of the book, I talk about just like practical, practical applications of leadership development for people who are listening today, that one to create space in their life and get more opportunity to have. Um, their story influence and, um, you know, one of the things I say is just like, raise your hand and say yes.
[00:11:05] So, so honestly, a lot of where I got from starting to till now is being willing to just kind of put myself out there and say, yeah, all. You know, I'll do that. I'll write an article on, on my family story and I had never really written much before or whatever. So just, just being willing to raise your hand and say yes, I think, I think your willingness to share from where the journey starts is so important for whether you're.
[00:11:35] A parent finding out for the first time that your child has a hearing loss or you're a professional who is just starting out. And like you said, asked to write an article or do a presentation. Everybody has to start somewhere, right? Yeah. And, um, I think, I think we, I think professionals talk a lot about empowering parents.
[00:12:00] Um, to be good parents for their own children, but I think the next level of that is, is as an empowered parent. For my own daughter, it gave me kind of the courage and confidence then to begin to share with other parents or to do parents to parents support. And then, and then ultimately being in rooms with, with people that I, I w initially, I think at times was intimidated by, but over time I had that confidence of being an empowered.
[00:12:31] I know. I know some things, I know some things that are true about raising a child and stuff. And so that gave me the confidence then to, to be in rooms at times where I could be an influencer. For instance in kind of systems change or systems development. Right. And I think that kind of leads me a great segway into another chapter that you have titled what gives you the Right?
[00:12:56] So I, I think the human nature of us sometimes gets the best of us and we doubt. Who we are, especially if we don't have a title in front of our name or, you know, you, your offices and on the 12th floor of a building overlooking the city or whatever it happens to be, but you talk a lot about finding your voice.
[00:13:19] So what kind of advice do you give parents or listeners about finding their voice and having that right. To be a leader. Yeah. Um, I think for me in particular, I found myself in circles that, um, that, uh, a lot of other people, um, looked at their own influence based on their, um, academic degrees. And so, because I was a high school graduate.
[00:13:49] Um, being in those circles, I'll just give you a couple examples. As I began to speak and attend different conferences, sometimes I would be honestly with all PhD presenters. And so I know one time the, um, the conference put a Dr in front of my name. And so, you know, of course I immediately sent that to my mother.
[00:14:10] I'm like, Hey mom, you've got to call the Dr now, but I emailed them. And I said, I'm not a Dr. And they would not change it. It was like, For some reason, their perception of my value must have an academic. Academic title next to it. And then another time I, I spoke and I came off the stage and two people came up and asked me where I had done my graduate studies.
[00:14:34] And I said, I don't have a college degree. And literally they wouldn't believe me. They were like, Oh no, that just can't be true. You know, tell us. And so for me, that's been an interesting experience, um, to, to, um, not just, not just have the confidence to be in that, but to understand that. And for those listening today, to understand, particularly for us as parents, the, our voice in terms.
[00:15:01] Of of what our role is in, in the systems that serve us as parents, that our expertise is just as valid, whether we have that expertise from a college degree or from life experience. And so I think for me, that's because I, I was really blessed and able to kind of move in circles where often I was the only, literally the only person in a room that did not have.
[00:15:28] A college degree. I just had to learn over time that, that, that did not equate to my value of being able to give input. And so, um, I think I've, and in fact, You know, for parents who go to advocacy or, you know, like parent advocacy courses, they always say like, don't ever just say, you're just the mom. And I talk about this a little bit in the book and, and, um, you know, and sometimes I would, I would say that and people would correct me and I, I know what they were trying to do.
[00:15:57] They were trying to. Say that you have validity, besides that being a mom gives you validity. So I liked that, but I actually now over the years, people will say, you know, you should just go ahead and get your degree, you know, get a college degree. And I'm like that I would totally lose my street credit with all the other parents.
[00:16:18] Just a mom is a badge of honor. Now I liked that. So I just. I just stay in that sweet spot. And I think for people who, who are trying to find their voice to say whatever it is, whatever life experience has given you, that is your street badge, you know, and if you can begin to articulate and think about how, what you know to be true can help other people.
[00:16:43] Um, then that's where you, I think you begin to be able to have a voice and speak into other people's lives. Yeah, I think parents are so empowered to hear stories like yours when you, you're not just a mom. I mean, you are just a mom, but you're not just a mom. You're you are Sarah’s as mom who is, has a huge voice for her.
[00:17:06] No matter. You know, what meeting you happen to be at and what titles you happen to be around. So it's, I think important for parents to realize that they are a important part of that whole process and they can be part of that system change too. Right? Yeah. Um, I wanna, I wanted to add one more thing in terms of being able to.
[00:17:29] Find your voice, but, but so that it has purpose. Like I remember once, um, speaking at a conference and I, all I was asked was to share our family story of identification and early intervention, and they introduced me and. And I spoke and I came down off the station. That's mom came up to me crying. And she said, when they introduced you and said, you were going to tell the parents' story, I just rolled my eyes and said, come on, bring it on like theirs.
[00:18:02] And she said, everything you said, I felt too. And that, that, that, and so I think being able to, so that's what I'm trying to do about leadership, which is. I know there are a lot of people out there in roles and positions that are going to require some leadership than you. You have got to be able to, um, to grow your skills so that you can be an effective leader.
[00:18:30] And so for me, that's what I've been trying to do in this book, as well as. I think it's a good book. Isn't me telling you things you don't know, you don't know. I have a feeling Carrie all your places in the book where things that you already know, but probably resonated with you to some degree and maybe affirmed and maybe gave voice to, Oh, I felt that before, but I've never really been able to say it.
[00:18:54] So for me, that's what some of my goals and talking about leadership with others is, is you, you know, some of the things that you need to do. Um, in terms of leading, but I'm, I'm hopeful that some of the things in this book just give words to that. And I think they do. And that's why I do have a lot of that marked because they did resonate a lot with me and I could see parents.
[00:19:19] You know, a small group of parents getting together and reading a chapter and reflecting on that and sharing those stories together, or professionals too reading that and, and being able to reflect on that as well. One of the reactions for the journey starts here is when I read your chapter, I felt that my mom probably had the same feeling that you did.
[00:19:45] About like, why me? Why is this happening to me? And I think in the chapter, you had mentioned that Sarah, um, really, it didn't phase it, right? This was just part of every day. This wasn't, you know, it, it really didn't impact her the same way it impacted. Mom. And I know that when I wasn't diagnosed till I was four, and I remember getting my hearing aids and I thought it was exciting because I'm the center of attention and you know, this is all about me, but.
[00:20:17] Talking to my mom, this was a very hard thing for them. So it just kind of that perception. But knowing that they were, she had to be the leader in my life, um, in order for me to grow up and have confidence in myself. So that, that was what kind of stirred emotion in that chapter about the journey starts here.
[00:20:38] But you talk a lot. I think that's a good segway into connecting with others. And you talk about being vulnerable. And telling your story and then how that helped you, um, as a leader to connect with others, um, and get other people to maybe jump on more kind of a system change, but jump on the bus with you per se, and those who might.
[00:21:03] Not have been on your bus. Um, how do you kind of get them to at least come closer to that door of the bus? Um, can you talk a little bit about the importance of connecting with others, maybe from I'm already on your bus too? I'm not on your bus, but how do I kind of work with you? Sure. I it's funny.
[00:21:24] Cause I, I think over the years where I had the opportunity to start telling our story, Um, was in professional circles. So, um, so this question and thinking about connecting with others, um, for me, it's about how do I get someone else to listen to my experience in an open way and not in a defensive way?
[00:21:47] So I'll tell you. Um, I remember sitting in a meeting full of physicians and they were touting medical home and they were talking about the five areas of medical home and accessible and all this. And I just remember what was bubbling up inside of me was my story of me going to our pediatrician over and over again and telling him we didn't think there was something going on with Sarah and he wasn't listening to me.
[00:22:16] And, um, can you imagine, like if I, so I, I. Aye. So that's an example of, I have to be able to take my story in a way that others can hear it. And so it's not just like the sandwich approach, which is like compliment someone and tell them what they did really badly. You have to be able to let them experience the moment with you rather than from their point of view.
[00:22:44] But if I'm not acknowledging their moments. So like, if I'm saying the doctor had his hand on the door and right when I was getting to the most important thing I needed to say to him, he was getting ready to leave. If I, if I, in a conversation with physicians, don't acknowledge their world and what their life looks like, there's no way that they're going to be able to hear me to say the most important moment in my, in my meeting with a doctor is at the end.
[00:23:14] When I finally get up the nerve to ask a question, Um, I need to know that they're present. And so I think for me, that chapter resonated with me about being able to share, learn and hone my skill of storytelling because, you know, I think you'll the book is, uh, most of the times I just tell a quick little story and then make my point and then I'm off.
[00:23:37] So, for me being able to influence others so that they're on the bus of like, Parents centeredness is a lot of work that we're doing at Hands and Voices, which is we want the system to work from our point of view. We have to then let those who are, have power and control in this system. Be motivated to make sure it works from our point of view.
[00:24:00] And I believe that's by really being able to connect. Connect with others, you know where they're at. So, um, I think storytelling is, is a big, a big part of that. And I did a presentation once for audiologists. I'll just, I'll be good, the bad and the ugly. And, you know, I think just however, we're all, we're all made in different ways.
[00:24:20] For me, connecting with people is. Is, and I think you're like this Carrie too. Like if you're, if you like being with people, like I really enjoyed people. And so I always like to feel like whether I'm on a stage or just one-on-one, that I can just find something in common with someone and then speak the hard things sometimes that people need to hear.
[00:24:39] So I think that's what that. Chapters did about that. And I think the storytelling is so important and I know you do it so well too with sharing. Like this is my story. This is my journey. It might be different than yours, but. Let me share what I've learned and hopefully someone else will benefit from it.
[00:25:03] Or they'll be able to add another perspective that you haven't thought about too, which I think is, is important. And I'm always willing to share my story too, with families or professionals. And I have learned over the years to really state like this is my journey. These were The choices that my family made for me and this, and whatever choice you make for your child is, is the right choice for your family.
[00:25:32] But I think the art of storytelling is so important just to find that common ground, um, and be able to embrace that too. So one of the other, um, topics that I think is hard and you're talk about. Overcoming adversity too. And you. Kind of in this chapter, you share with the readers and I'm going to quote you here that embrace adversity It will make you stronger. It may be the very thing that leaves you to a life of leadership. So I think, wow, that just resonated with me in my own life. But I know I would love for you to share more about how your own thought of adversity really. Put you into Not a leader Now a leader. Um, I'm glad you quoted me or it might've denied that.
[00:26:27] I said embrace diversity. It is so hard. In fact, I remember when I was writing that, that particular chapter, I was going through some really internal struggles and I think. Um, around my own leadership. So, so whether in thinking about your leadership, whether you're, um, like for me as an executive director and managing and running an or larger organization with all the pressures and, and, um, and my relationships with our board of directors and our staff, when, when I, when I think about embracing adversity or overcoming adversity, what it, what it really means to me is having the courage.
[00:27:09] To do the thing that I know needs to be done for the organization. And the courage that I need is to get past, um, the, the difficulty in facing that. And so for me, Um, one of my personality, strengths or flaws, I like to be liked by other people. And so I, when I have to make a hard decision as an executive director, I cannot make that decision based on whether people are going to like that decision or not.
[00:27:45] I mean, I can do all the things in the world around me to make sure that I have. Buy in that people are part of the decision, the conversation, but, but when you are in leadership, what that means at times is you have to make decisions that are tough. And so for me, embracing adversity is I knew that that the situation I was in was in a situation I had never been in before.
[00:28:10] And I had to have the courage to do the right thing. And so, and, and, um, if you don't. Your organization is going to fail or that the, the thing you're trying to influence or change is that if you get distracted by, um, by being sidetracked by how it's affecting you personally. So for me, embracing adversity is really hard.
[00:28:31] I do I talk about it or write about it, but it is, I think it's hard for all of us. Right. But I'll tell you the satisfaction of doing, doing that right. Thing is, especially when you know, The thing that you love and have a passion for is going to be healthier. So in my case, our organization, then, um, then I think, um, it's where you learn.
[00:28:57] I, when I've had to face adversity, it's typically in places I haven't had to face it, you know, things I've had to do before that I haven't had to do prior to that and, and learning and growing in that, um, Yeah, it will read, it will read benefits and then it gives you confidence really for the next time you face adversity, like I can do this.
[00:29:17] Like I had to face this last year. I can, you know, I can do this next thing, which also kind of takes you into that chapter of how to not take a selfie. And I love that title too, but as leaders, like making sure that you're staying focused on what matters and, and. What you just talked about facing adversity and making a difficult decision or a courageous decision, because it's the best for the organization or for whatever your mission or purpose happened to be as, as a leader or an organization.
[00:29:55] But how did you instill that type of, I guess, um, competence or trust and. The organization and the people that you work with or work for, or who worked for you. Um, so for those of you who haven't read the book yet? I, in fact, I, for a while, I, it took me a while to publish his books. I kept changing the title of the book and I actually wanted it to name it, how to not.
[00:30:27] How to not take a selfie and other life lessons and leadership. Um, so I think one of, you know, I, I know that I have a gift for storytelling. I also like to move through my life and think about what's going on. And sometimes I'll have like, Oh, that makes me think about this. So in that particular case, I was out.
[00:30:51] One day, I was going to take a picture of these beautiful lit trees. And, um, I was up in the mountains and, and I just thought, Oh, I'll take a selfie. And I don't really like doing selfies, but so I put myself in front of the camera and the tree, the beautiful trees were behind me. And, uh, and then right at the last second of my friend always said like, do you want to look thinner and younger?
[00:31:14] And shouldn't have cameras held up high. So in the book, there's a picture of this terrible picture with me and my thumb and you can't even see the trees. And, and, um, I just remember thinking about that experience and how in leadership, how easy it is for us. To get distracted from what, what is the important thing?
[00:31:37] And, and this is another thing I learned in my life journey of raising a deaf daughter in the area of education, which was we at hands and voices. We train parents to be strong advocates for their kids and education. You know, we often say, Do you drop your child off at school in kindergarten and expect to pick them up as, you know, graduate in high school, having a strong academic success without your involvement, you need to learn advocacy because we just said you have to do that, but.
[00:32:09] But ultimately I learned over time as I became a really strong advocate for Sarah at that, even if that wasn't the goal, the goal was for her to be a strong self advocate for herself. And that's something that I learned, that it was not about me. And so when I. I take that lesson that I learned in advocacy.
[00:32:32] And also as an educational advocate, I've attended, I think about 70 IEP meetings with families. And I learned in those rooms too, that it wasn't about me winning the moment against a special ed director who did not want to provide access to a deaf child. It was, um, it was about ensuring that that child got the services they needed.
[00:32:55] And so in leadership, we have to be able to make sure that we stay focused on what we're trying to achieve. And part of that. Is letting go of the need to be, to get the credit for what, what you're, you're trying to accomplish. And just let to know that what you're trying to do isn't in the end, trying to be a leader, you're trying to accomplish something that's strong leadership skills will get you there.
[00:33:24] So. So, yeah, that's that, um, that little story of the selfie and maybe, maybe my next book, all title outside on that. But I told someone that I was going to name for that and they're like, people might be confused. It's a photography book. So I decided not to do with that. And when I did finally named the book, I, Oh my gosh.
[00:33:46] Like I said, I had gone through a few titles and. I remember sitting here just going, Janet, what is the point of all of this? Like I and I remember thinking, well, I wasn't a leader, and then I became a leader and that's how it kind of, I am Not a leader. Now, a leader kind of, kind of came to me because I do believe that leadership, you have to, you have to desire it.
[00:34:09] You have to build your skills. You have to read good books. You have to do more than just life experience. You really have to apply. Um, yourself to it, and you have to surround yourself with other leaders that you admire descending, you will learn. And we talked about Cheryl in the beginning of this. I just remember seeing her in moments, um, in committees of.
[00:34:33] That, where there was, um, you know, kind of a lot of conflict going on on how well she managed that. And I just remember learning from those experiences. So yeah, I think all of those, and I think your point about the selfie and being distracted, sometimes there's, I've had a book in and I think it was called the best.
[00:34:54] Yes. But there are some things that we have to. What is your best Yes?. At the moment, so that we're not getting distracted by other things that happened to be going on too. So I think that's that important. We get distracted sometimes. So we just kind of do go on every day with everything that's going on and was so busy that we lose track of what is out of focus and.
[00:35:18] What I'm doing right now, is it moving the organization or my leadership or whatever forward. And I, I have to think about that sometimes. And when I, what I say yes to, because we could say yes to a lot of things, right? You talked about that earlier. Um, and sometimes at the beginning, it's important to say yes to a lot of things,
[00:35:41] Wow That's a really good point. I don't think it was in my book. I'm going to put it in my next book, which I really like, it's not. Just about, um, getting distracted with your own self, but distracted with the other things that might be good, but not best, especially in terms of our Workday. You know, I'm sure like, like a lot of us in our organization, we really struggle with saying no.
[00:36:06] Anytime anybody requests, anything of us, both personally and organizationally. And you're right. If you don't keep focused on what you're trying to accomplish by keeping the most important activities on your plate. Um, then you can get distracted. That's a really good point like that. Yes. So just, I wanted to end with, um, the ripple effect.
[00:36:31] I loved that as well. And you talk a lot about. Anna, um, and your daughter, Sarah, and the whole mentorship, but can you just share that story? Because I think it really comes full circle of what a leader is and how you have developed a leader in your daughter, just by who she is. I I'm happy to. And I also have one more, that's more on a personal level.
[00:36:59] I'll share too. And I apologize for any listeners today who have heard me speak at conferences. I have told the story of the Anna a lot at the end of the presentations, because it does represent for me kind of what we were talking about earlier, too, that in terms of like my own life journey with Sarah was.
[00:37:19] Of course it's about me and, and our whole family together. But in the end it is really about her. And so this story is about Sarah. When she was in high school, her, I love it because it's her, one of her deaf ed teachers that knew her from, from a very young age and, and was there to support her through her whole school years.
[00:37:41] And then ask Sarah, would she be willing to mentor, uh, another little girl in our school district who was, I think about eight or nine years old. So they set it up and Sarah went over once a week to the class and she volunteered in the class and she. Met with Anna. And she would come home after those days and I'd always say, how'd it go?
[00:38:02] And she's like, I don't know. I don't, I don't really seem to be making a difference. She's just kind of blahzay about it. And then one day she literally came like bursting through the doors at home. And um, she said, mommy, mommy wouldn't believe what happened today. And she'd tell the story that she walked into the classroom.
[00:38:18] And she looked around and she looked over at the teacher and said, where's Anna. And the teacher looked at her really strangely and said, well, she's over there at her desk. And Sarah looked over and Sarah said she had, she hadn't even noticed her because every time she'd been into that class, Um, for the weeks or months up to Anna always kept her hoodie up and she was embarrassed of her hearing aids.
[00:38:43] And that, um, that day Anna was sitting at her desk. She had her hoodie down, she had her hearing aids showing and she just had this huge smile looking straight at Sarah. And, um, I, and Sarah was just so excited that she Sarah had said that she just kept every week. She would just go in and talk to Anna and tell her it's okay.
[00:39:06] You can be proud of who you are and your hearing aids. And it just meant so much to her that, um, that Anna finally received it, you know? And, and where did Sarah get that from? That, that feeling of confidence as a hard of hearing person and showing her technology? Well, it probably got that from me as her mom.
[00:39:27] And where did I get that from? I get that from deaf and hard of hearing role models in our life and the professionals that helped us understand, you know, the empowerment of that. So that's kind of the ripple effect of the work that we do. We do, whether you, as a leader are going to, um, end social injustice and racism in our world, which I, I believe there might be a listener today who has been called to do that.
[00:39:54] Um, or whether your impact, your ripple effect as a parent in what you are giving to your kids day in day and day out, know that you're going to have a ripple effect in not only in their lives, but then who they will come. Become in their lives. So yeah, that's, that's my story of Anna. I love that story because it, I think I listeners and parents and professionals need to realize we all need to realize that it doesn't happen overnight.
[00:40:28] Right. So Sarah was in high school and she had this ripple back, but look at all of the steps. Little ripples along the way that you played. And the other people played in her life in order to get her to the point where she felt confident about sharing with someone else and making a difference. It came full circle, which is so fun.
[00:40:55] And the joy that we get from being a leader or.Doing what we're passionate or purposed to do. I would encourage your listeners, to think about the own, their own stories in their life or encounters or moments that they're having with their own kids or professionals across from the parent. And, um, and in moments that we recall or remember that are really profound for us to say, can the sharing of this story impact impact others?
[00:41:25] Cause I, yeah, cause I think the ripple effect. Was not just between me and Sarah or Sarah and Anna, but now being able to tell that story and others understanding the power of that. So, and so what is, does Sarah do any of these wonderful leadership passion that you have as hands and voices, executive director that she has?
[00:41:48] Has your ripple turned into her ripple at all? Um, Sarah, you know, it's funny now that she's an adult, um, you know, in the old days I, I would pick her up from school and she'd be telling me something happened at your mom. This is going to end up in one of your presentations, isn't it. And so now as an adult, I'd love per se.
[00:42:10] I would love for Sarah to be able to answer that question. And in fact, on our, on our hands and voices website, we have interviews of deaf, hard of hearing adults. So Sarah actually talks in her own voice about. About that journey, but I will say this. Yes. I, I can see, um, in, in terms of her deafness and who she is as a deaf person, I love who she has become.
[00:42:37] Um, she is now my teacher and she also is the one to self identity who she is and in this life's journey. And I think the thing to answer your question, she has. Such strong confidence in who she is. She has a lot of, she has taken a lot of courage and, um, to do her, the thing that she loves. Um, right now, she went to college and got a degree and worked in an area for a couple years.
[00:43:09] And then I remember she called us the mom. Remember, I always told you I wanted to be a hairstylist. I'm moving back from Seattle to Boulder and going to cosmetology school. And today she works in a very high-end beauty salon. Um, and she's doing great. She loves it. She has a passion for it. And. You know, I often she even talks about that particular setting.
[00:43:32] I mean, you can imagine the background noise and the lip reading and, you know, what's even going on now with the ability to lip read and different things. So, um, yeah, from my point of view, she's living a life of, um, of confidence in kind of, um, you know, uh, seeking after her passion. So. That's awesome. Yeah.
[00:43:56] I wanted to share one more story. I would love to hear one more story. This isn't really about my book. Um, but this is just about our own family, um, that when we talk about coming full circle or the ripple effect of raising a daughter, who's, who's deaf. We were standing in the kitchen. Um, our family and Sarah was there and our middle daughter, Danielle, who was about nine months pregnant.
[00:44:26] And we were chatting about, um, her, um, delivery experience, um, at the hospital. And you know, about when we would get to the hospital or not. And, and, um, I said, look, If we miss the birth, don't worry about it, but just make sure you don't go do the newborn hearing screening till we're all there. Just joking.
[00:44:50] And we're laughing and Sarah here's Danielle, you know, totally. And about us bursting at the scenes and she looks over at Sarah and she said, wouldn't it be great if I had a deaf baby? And for me, that encompasses is the full circle in our family of the joy. Of this journey. And I think, um, for, for professionals who are working with families, for families who are experiencing this journey of the full circle of, um, I know in your podcast, your, and your first podcast that you did, think everyone should listen to, they haven't been talking about purpose, kind of what is the purpose of all of this?
[00:45:38] And so. You know, for me, even my book or the, or the leadership journey is, is a side trail to what we're all trying to do here in this particular field, which is to raise independent, strong, successful, and fulfilled deaf adults with a holistic sense of this and sort of the joy, you know? And so I've, I still love that, that moment to this day, when, when being deaf in our family was.
[00:46:09] Viewed and seen as a positive thing. Yeah. And I think it does come full circle, but it takes, I think, appreciating adversity and being able to come to terms with that. And for me, I think. What people view I used to be as my greatest adversity, became my goal strength and became my purpose. But it was because of the support I had and the connection that I had with other people who have helped me along the way that got me to a point where I could feel courageous, vulnerable about storytelling and sharing my story and actually.
[00:46:56] Having that ripple effect with other people in a positive way. Yeah. That's good. Maybe that'll be the name of my next book, the ripple effect. But my third book is going to be let go and it's time to leave.
[00:47:13] Yeah. I, at some point leadership is developing others around you so that they're leading in the next generation. That's what I love right now in my work is that I'm, I am surrounded by parents. In my particular case, the parent leaders who are, have a passion to ensure that families have the resources, support and information they need so that their kids can be successful.
[00:47:40] And that's what really gets me going these days is, um, you know, passing, passing that torch, um, the leadership lesson, I’ve learned stuff. And this has been an amazing conversation. I think we could probably go on forever, but I think our listeners are probably thinking, where can I get this book? And I want to have a book club, a book study and think about, and reflect about my own leadership and where I can have a ripple effect.
[00:48:10] So where can people find your book? Thank you, Carrie. You can go to www.janetdesgeorges.com. It's just my first and last name. It is not available right now on, um, on, uh, Amazon or anything. You just order it directly through my website. And I have been thinking lately of putting, uh, um, a book club guide on the website.
[00:48:35] So Carrie, you asked me such good questions today. So if I can steal some of your questions, all put together a little guide and put that up on the web, the website. I do think it's a great. A great conversation book. So yeah, I hope if you're listening, you'll order it and enjoy it, share it with others. Um, yeah.
[00:48:55] And let me know how. I like it. I loved it. I genuinely loved it. I read it in a few days, and like I said, I have post-it notes all over it. And I think I will, um, wrap my two colleagues into doing a book study with me. I think they would enjoy it very much, but Janet, I want to thank you so much for taking the time and coming on to the podcast today and, , sharing the book and sharing your story as well.
[00:49:28] Um, so thanks for joining us. Yeah, thanks for having me Carrie and yeah. Continue. Good luck with your continued work. Um, and these podcasts. They're awesome. So thank you listeners for listening today and please like us on Facebook and, um, share with anybody else that might want to listen. Have a great night.
[00:49:54] This has been a production of the 3C Digital Media Network. .