We’ve all heard about having a bad boss, or being in a toxic workplace. Maybe you have experienced one or both; hopefully, like me, you have been fortunate not to. I emphasize the “fortunate” part there, as I realize most are not so fortunate. Heather Monahan certainly experienced that, and while the way it ended could have easily been a crushing blow, the reality has been quite different.
In her new book Overcome Your Villains, Monahan takes you through her experience working for someone for whom nothing she ever did would be good enough, and then the aftermath. Monahan was once a top-notch salesperson in the media industry, someone who in theory was writing her ticket to anywhere in the business she wanted. Most times, if you can bring in revenue, especially in this business, you can work just about anywhere, but sometimes the bottom line results are not the end of the story.
Monahan shares her humble beginnings, which can be obscured by her being a top podcaster, TEDx speaker and a keynote speaker with HarperCollins Speakers Bureau. She shared how her childhood was not full of great memories, from being raised by a single mother to being abused by her grandfather. She was not the highest of achievers in school, although she has a sister who was, and at times the stories she shares are indicative of Imposter Syndrome in large part because of it. A memorable one, in part because it hits home on some level, is in Chapter 15, when she tells the story of Harvard professor John Westman asking her to be a guest teacher for his class.
Well before that, she shares the story of her villain – the other woman on the executive team at the media company she worked for. It’s an all-too-common story, where one powerful woman seeks to undermine another one rather than trying to boost her in a male-dominated workplace. This woman was her boss, the interim CEO, and she had it out for Heather before unceremoniously firing her, leaving her to wonder what was next. A big recurring lesson that comes up here is that you should never dim your light in hopes of pleasing someone else, because it will never work.
The book is designed around a framework, BAK – Beliefs, Actions and Knowledge. There is one part for each in the book, and after the introduction, Monahan notes that you can feel free to not read the book in order depending on which one seems right for the reader. Each part also closes with an exercise to reinforce the main lessons as well.
Along the way are some great lessons. In chapter 5, she talks about taking others off a pedestal we put them on. We often think people are not approachable or available to us because of their job or status, but this is just one of many limiting beliefs. From this, we either don’t attempt to get to know someone we should and miss out on the benefits, or we meet the person and act like a fan instead of a peer. When we are younger, we are often star-struck by athletes, entertainers, politicians and other famous public figures, as well as business leaders like the CEO of a well-known and/or successful company, but once you get to know some of them, that tends to wear off and you realize they are still people just like we are.
A number of stories show the value of networking, but there is often more than that to take from it. Not only did she illustrate the value of using the connections you have, but also being intentional and taking advantage of opportunities that present themselves. There is the story of how she became a TEDx speaker, which was not a linear or easy journey. There is the story of how she went to a small event a friend was putting on that led her to Elena Cardone and ultimately a chance to be part of Grant Cardone’s 10X event in Miami. A similar story in a serendipitous sense is how she was booked on Maria Menounos’ show and eventually made a connection to Reese Witherspoon, who has a big book club and a production company.
In all, Monahan does very well to be the voice of experience in all of this. She does not come off as preachy, as if everything was handed to her to get to this point, but rather, as someone who has had to do much work to get where she is and not just one or two repetitive tasks. One often has to respond to situations that arise for which a script does not exist, and she shares stories illustrating how she had to do that, such as the time her first book sold out at the SHE Summit, something that certainly did not come easily by any means.
The book’s release was delayed slightly by supply chain issues, although I was among those who were fortunate to receive it on the day of release after pre-ordering. But it’s out there now, and worth a read if you have a chance. From there, you will be ready to be intentional to overcome your own villains and get where you want to go and take advantage of opportunities you don’t necessarily seek out but cross your path nonetheless.