Transcript

Samantha  0:03  

Hello, and welcome to LearnBytes, the show that delivers bite-sized pieces of wisdom so you can learn how to increase your efficiency and productivity, embrace your natural creativity and lead with impact. I’m Samantha Garrett from Using Technology Better and joining me today to share their wisdom on the show is Michelle Bowditch. Welcome, Michelle. 

Michelle Bowditch  0:25  

Hi. Happy day.

Samantha  0:26  

It is a happy day, because we are here together doing our interview. So I love that.

Michelle Bowditch  0:33  

Hey Sam. How are you?

Samantha  0:35  

I am very well, even better, because we’re here having this conversation. So. All right, so thank you for joining me Michelle. Now, Michelle is here today to share her wisdom on the topic of leadership, which I’m very excited about. But before we jump into that, I better introduce you Michelle, because I’m sure a lot of people know you, but there will be some that don’t. So, Michelle is the founder of Door20A. She’s also a tech enthusiast or tech lover, actually to be precise, an educator, connector and advocate for Executive Assistants. But Michelle, I’m sure you can tell us a lot more about yourself and your work. So before we jump into your round of speed questions, do you want to share a little about yourself and what you’re passionate about.

Michelle Bowditch  1:18  

Hi, thanks, Sam. So yes, I’m passionate about technology. I love working with Executive Assistants and women in small business to really embrace technology to create efficiencies in what they do. The biggest challenge we have in this world, and we talk about it quite often, is the fear that people have using technology. And technology shouldn’t be fearful. I mean, we have so many incredible pieces of apps and tools and platforms to use. And it’s really finding one, that fits you, because as I say not one box fits all. And really what we want to do is create efficiencies so we can work on our business, not in our business. And technology can truly provide that. So I love working with people to first of all, remove the fear and then find a solution for their problem. And the problem can be a small problem, but it can be a massive problem. So we can fix it really quickly with my tech audits that I do. Or it might be a long, long stage progress that we need to do over a number of weeks. So I absolutely love what I do. I’m very passionate that you know, for people to embrace it, have fun. Yeah. And I love connecting with people like you and amazing people out there in the world. So thanks, Sam.

Samantha  2:23  

No worries, and that’s why you’re here. And that’s why I invited you. Because I love that you love tech and that you love to connect. So I’m very excited to hear your thoughts on the topic of leadership too, because this is not something we’ve discussed. So I’m going to be learning so much from you today, which is awesome. So as you know, it’s all about bite sized pieces of wisdom. So we try and keep the show pretty short, which can be a challenge sometimes. But we do try. So, we’ve got eight questions in 4 minutes. And I’m going to pop on the timer, and then I’ll rapid fire to them. And I’ll try and talk and then and then.

Michelle Bowditch  2:56  

I’m scared now, I’m worried because you know you and I can talk forever and four minutes is going to go very quickly.

Samantha  3:02  

It will, it will. But sometimes you might be surprised if you beat the clock, then we can I can ask you another question or you can ask me a question. So we’ll see how we go right. And I will interrupt at some point with probably like a 30 second warning. We’ll see. 

Michelle Bowditch  3:13  

Okay.

Samantha  3:14  

So are you ready, Michelle? 

Michelle Bowditch  3:16  

I’m ready. Let’s go. 

Samantha  3:17  

Okay, cool. So I’ll put the timer on. And we will go. First mobile phone and current phone?

Michelle Bowditch  3:23  

A Motorola that big bar, that ugly thing. And my current phone is an iPhone Pro Max. 11, sorry.

Samantha  3:33  

What is the most important quality for every leader to have?

Michelle Bowditch  3:37  

So I have a couple, and I look at myself and also the leaders that I aspire to. Vision, courage, integrity and resilience.

Samantha  3:47  

We might dig into some of them later. What do you find most rewarding or most challenging about being a leader?

Michelle Bowditch  3:53  

Um, I love helping others so they can achieve more and be the best version version of themself and also give them what they always dreamed about. Like being a leader. We’re really really passionate. And, you know, people want to dream and my role as a leader is to really encourage and inspire them to, you know, make their dreams come true. 

Samantha  4:14  

What is one thing you tell yourself when facing uncertainty?

Michelle Bowditch  4:18  

I’ve got four things. I’m sorry.

Samantha  4:21  

Oooooh, it’s allowed.

Michelle Bowditch  4:23  

Look, so look, look at what’s going on. Listen, take a deep breath, and then engage. 

Samantha  4:31  

We might come back to that too. Biggest leadership lesson learned so far?

Michelle Bowditch  4:36  

Oh be ready for change at anytime. Hello, what is COVID told us?

Samantha  4:41  

That’s the leadership lesson 2020 isn’t it? If there’s one person you could spend an hour with, who would it be and why would you pick them?

Michelle Bowditch  4:49  

Michelle Obama because she holds her ground and her pose and her self confidence so really well and she constantly inspires me, no matter what adversity or challenges she’s coming up against.

Samantha  5:04  

Lovely. Two minutes and 15 seconds with only two questions left We are on, we have so efficient. Book, video or podcast that you’d recommend to others?

Michelle Bowditch  5:13  

Okay, so I’m not a reader. So everything I do is audible. I’m a massive podcast fan. My two favorite podcasts is Marie Forleo. And she does, she talks to Robin Sharma and about the 5am Club, cannot highly recommend it enough. I’m an early starter. And it reminds me every day when I don’t want to get up that I’ve got to get up and start my day well. At the moment I am loving Chelsea Pottenger, just released, she’s from EQ Minds. And because of all the craziness going on, you know, she’s talking about mental health, breathing, you know, stillness, how to get through this crazy world that we’re in, and I’m absolutely loving the content that she’s producing and who she’s speaking to. And recently, she spoke with Jules Sebastian, which for me would normally attract me, but I didn’t know much about Jules Sebastian and she lost her brother to suicide and mental health. And it was really incredible to listen to. So a podcast is always in my ear every day. And I said to you the other day, I love listening to your podcast, and I and I actually line them up for the week. So I know what I’m going to be listening to 

Samantha  6:15  

Oh, I love that. You plan your podcast listening. Oh, that’s such a great tip everyone. Awesome. 

Michelle Bowditch  6:21  

And they are always in my ear either in the car or while I’m walking. I never listen to them in the house. So I’m always outdoors when I do it. 

Samantha  6:27  

Oh fascinating. Okay. 50 seconds. How will you use your leadership skills to make a difference in the world.

Michelle Bowditch  6:36  

Um, I’m all about positivity. I need to show bravery. Because I think bravery is part of that courage journey. And I’m always about never giving up and continually continue, ah I can’t even speak, continually grow and learn with the people that I’m connected with, and one of my sayings is Be you. Do you. Amaze you. And that is truly enough.

Samantha  6:56  

That’s at 35 second here we were worried. I love it. And that’s good. Because we can we can have a little bit more of a chat. And can I just, I really love that that is your saying and your slogan. I know that’s on everything that you send, you know, I get your newsletter and stuff like that. And it’s actually a really nice reminder, just to look at that. And just to remember that being you is fine. It’s enough. And like, that’s what who you are, and what you should be. So, yeah thanks for weaving that in. I love it. Ah, so.

Michelle Bowditch  7:21  

We need it all the time.

Samantha  7:27  

All right, any particular point, if you could expand on any of them that you would like to.

Michelle Bowditch  7:32  

I think, you know, the Look, Listen, Breath and Engage is a really interesting one. And I, you know, I’ve got a high end vibe, you know I love being around people. And sometimes in the past, I may have made a decision a lot quicker, or jumped into something quicker than what I should of. So I think what leadership has taught me in the last 18 months is, you know, look at what’s going on, listen a little bit more, um, and then breathe before you actually engage. And for me, it’s, it’s a bit of taking that step back. But I think also with 2020, you know, the situations that we’ve all been thrown into, we never expected, we don’t still understand it sometimes. And I also think is, you know, someone comes in, in an attacking environment or a negativity environments, just take that step back, because we don’t know what’s going on in their world, we can only hear them on the phone, or we can see them on a call. But there’s, you know, we’ve all got some craziness going on in the background in our lives. So the Look, Listen, Breathe, and then Engage is really, as a great quality to have as a leader. So, for me, I continue to remind myself, I was in a situation on Tuesday, and instead of me going in there headfirst punching it on, I just went okay. And I ended the result was really positive. And the person came back to me and said, I truly didn’t expect you to do that. They actually expected the opposite. 

So yeah, and it’s a growth thing for me as a leader, and I’m also encouraging people because, you know, people will come to me and ask me, What do I do? How do I do it? And you know, the technology thing is really interesting, because they’re frustrated, they’re angry, I hate Microsoft. Um, but you know, the thing is, is that why do they hate it? You know, why do they want to not engage it? Why are they fearing it? Let’s just look at it. Let’s listen to what’s going on, take a deep breath, and then we’ll engage in finding a solution for your problem.

Samantha  9:26  

Yeah, this is interesting. It’s like I was thinking about it in terms of like a volatile like maybe personal situation, but you’re exactly right. That applies perfectly to just like technology frustrations hey? Like, it’s something you can use in any situation. That’s brilliant.

Michelle Bowditch  9:40  

It’s like our friend, Mr. Zoom. Like, you know, I’m sure you’ve seen it, the amount of meetings I’ve walked into, and you know, the videos haven’t worked in the breakout rooms, everyone sitting there going grrr I hate Zoom. But you know, at the end of the day, you know, working with me in a tech audit, you know, we solve this, we solve the problem and nine times out of 10 it’s in their settings, they haven’t set it up properly. And it’s just them, re-giving the confidence that when they walk into the next Zoom meeting they’re totally across it, they feel like they’re in control. They’re in charge. And their Executive goes, wow, that meeting went well. So for me, it’s, it doesn’t have to be big problem, it can be these little problems as well. And finding a solution with technology for me is truly what I love. You know? And if I don’t have the answer, I reached out to incredible people like you, or our friend, Nick Ginsburg, he’s giving some amazing information, I’ve got some great people internationally as well. So it’s really using our community to find a solution for your problem.

Samantha  10:33  

Oh, that’s great. Because it just comes back to that whole point of like, we don’t all know everything and we never can. And that’s the whole point of having the community and be going I don’t know this problem, but I’m going to look into it like, hey, and as long as I have that ability, exactly as you said, step back, and like actually, you know, take a breath and think about it, and then you can reach out and actually get, you know, get help to solve whatever you need to solve whether that be personal, professional or technology or whatever. So.

Michelle Bowditch  10:59  

Yeah, and I think that’s one of my values. It’s, you know, you asked earlier, courage, like courage and bravery is really, you know, to have courage, first of all, to go on, you know, walk away from the corporate world last year and run my own business. And it’s, you know, it’s courage and bravery. And I think at this moment that we are all experiencing with COVID in 2020, is that we do need more courage. And then we need the bravery skill as a leader to really lead from within and in the Executive Assistant space, I cannot tell you the amount of times that I’ve talked to EAs and said, Okay, what do you need to do to step up and lead from within to be the true leader. And it’s giving, and sometimes it’s giving them small, little snippets, whether it be technology, whether it be confidence, whether it be you know, they need a mentor or a coach, whatever it is, it’s just giving them the right tools to really be that the best leader that they can be. So you know, and that’s courage and bravery. I feel.

Samantha  11:50  

That’s lovely. Thank you so much, Michelle. There was so much in there, which is great. So we’ll make sure we put all the links to all your recommendations. And yes, so much. I really, really appreciate you sharing your time and your wisdom with us and the audience today.

Michelle Bowditch  12:03  

Thank you. And I will say if you haven’t listened to Marie Forleo jump on her podcast, and she’s got so many great ones. The 5am club with Robin Sharma is fantastic. And that’ll get you started and engaged and you know, Be you, Do you, Amaze you and, and that is truly enough for everyone.

Samantha  12:20  

Oh, what a lovely way to end that’s so beautiful. But actually, no, we can’t end yet because you have to tell us where people can find you.

Michelle Bowditch  12:27  

How to find me. So my first place to find me is on Instagram, my handle is @door20a. And if you are not an Instagram person, jump across to LinkedIn and it’s Michelle Bowditch. If you still can’t find me then go into Facebook and thiere s Door20A there. Or, just send me an email. Um, I don’t really like emails by the way, Sam, because I think it’s, you know, I’m sure you’ll find me um, either which way. Websites coming soon. And once it’s up and running, I will share with the community but Instagram is my platform, and I love to communicate there and send me a DM, a video message or voice message on either LinkedIn or, or Instagram.

Samantha  13:07  

Brilliant. And we’ll put all those links below so everyone can definitely find you. So that’ll be cool.

Michelle Bowditch  13:13  

Thanks for having me Sam, love chatting with you for a quick four minutes.

Samantha  13:16  

Oh, I love it. I’m ,you’re more than welcome. As I said, I really, really appreciate your time. So I think that’s it for today, everyone. So thank you so much for tuning in and listening and if you’ve enjoyed my little chat with Michelle today and you are watching on YouTube, then be sure to follow and subscribe to the Using Technology Better YouTube channel or if you’re listening to the podcast, then follow the show and you’ll be notified about all the latest episodes. Now we also have a fortnightly newsletter which has got tips and tricks around efficiency and productivity and organisation. So if you’ve not yet signed up for that, the link is below for you to do so. So that is it for today. But I will see you again soon, as always, for another bite sized piece of the learning adventure that is life. See you then.

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