[00:00:00] Wendi: Hello ladies, and welcome to episode 188. I am so happy to be here with you today, and also along Aleha Ingle. We are very excited about today’s topic, so I hope you’re ready. Take out your pen and paper, but of course, if you’re driving, make sure you do that when you get to your destination.

[00:00:18] Wendi: If you’re tuning in from the podcast, I wanna invite you to go to the show notes on this podcast on either platform that you’re listening to, Spotify, um, apple Podcast. You can scroll down, go to the page and check us out. You’ll see a video on YouTube and you can actually get to see us and get to meet us if you haven’t already.

[00:00:38] Wendi: And today’s topic is all about how culture. Works in the actual work environment. And I really, um, not only was impressed by Aleha when she reached out on LinkedIn, which again, everything goes down in LinkedIn, it feels like for me. And I’m just so grateful that she took her time to. [00:01:00] Reach out and say one.

[00:01:01] Wendi: Hello, and that she is doing amazing work and that she would love to come to share that on this podcast and you know, I don’t know about you, um, Aleha, but I think that that’s, you know, it takes courage to say, Hey, I have something to offer and I would love to do that on your platform. And for that, I’m grateful.

[00:01:18] Wendi: And I’m just again, impressed at everything that you’re doing, not because you’re a woman veteran, but because this work really matters coming from. Where I am now in, in corporate America and also the previous cultures that I’ve experienced in the military. And so without further ado, I would love to start this conversation, but first, Aleha, please take a moment to introduce yourself to the audience.

[00:01:46] Aleha: Oh, thanks, Wendy. What’s up, girlfriend? My name is Aleha Ingle. I am currently in San Antonio. Uh, that’s where I retired after spending 21 years in the Air Force and opening up my business called WorkCultureWorks, where I teach [00:02:00] managers how to create environments where people don’t

[00:02:02] Wendi: want to quit. Love it.

[00:02:04] Wendi: Thank you. Thank you. In 21 years, again, you’re just a very impressive individual. And, and another thing y’all that I didn’t highlight, I should have said, you’re just a, a very welcoming, just, you know, kind individual, which I think, you know, we need more of that. When we’re working, right? And, and you would probably relate to this, you know, coming from a military background where not to say that we need to be serious most of the time, but where we really take our job very serious and as it should.

[00:02:36] Wendi: But I think now we’re in a time where. We want to ensure that we’re also having fun. And I know sometimes that gets, you know, um, misinterpreted, interpreted as you’re not getting the job done or you’re not fully, you know, showing up as a leader. And so I, I really just love the way you show up your personality.

[00:02:59] Wendi: And so again, [00:03:00] that’s why I’m like, I need. To get her on the podcast and to share. And when, um, another kind of like you guys, I, when she first met through, um, zoom, it was kind of a quick connection, you know, for me, I, I immediately feel welcomed into her environment and also into the conversation. And so she’s just someone that you can easily talk to.

[00:03:22] Wendi: And I’m like, yes. I, we have to record this podcast and also by the way to emphasize life is always happening. So thank you Aleha for being honest and transparent on, you know, uh, making sure that we had this interview at a time that was right for you because you all, she’s been going through some, some medical things and you know, she was honest and she said, Hey Wendy, I am not going to be able to go to this interview on this date.

[00:03:51] Wendi: Because I’m in pain right now. And so again, I applaud you for that. And I think it’s, it’s a great opportunity for us to encourage you, [00:04:00] you know, if you’re maybe struggling with a surgery or struggling emotionally or struggling in a way where, you know, you need to take a moment or you can’t make that commitment for a certain, you know, task or event, you know.

[00:04:12] Wendi: Keeping, keeping it real with yourself, being honest and saying, Hey, I need to reschedule. It’s completely okay. We’re not perfect. And that’s exactly what I told her. I’m like, listen, I get it. Life is happening all day. Every day will be here too. And I appreciate you doing that. And now we’re here and I’m just excited for you to share with us.

[00:04:29] Wendi: And so with that, Aliyah, you mentioned, um, culture. What does that mean? And, and you want, you help managers, employers on ensuring that the people that they have or that they hire to stay there. So what does that mean to you?

[00:04:51] Wendi: Uh, so a lot

[00:04:51] Aleha: of people ask, uh, what is culture? And it’s very hard to define what that is because culture is. Everything. Culture is the way you [00:05:00] speak to each other. Culture is the way your desks are organized. Culture is your, the amount of training that you get. The culture is how you treat your customers.

[00:05:12] Aleha: Culture is everything. So the best way I can describe to people is what is culture? Picture yourself Sunday night. Thinking about what you have to do Monday morning for work, what does that feel like? Are you nervous? Are you cringing? Are you excited? Are you planning? That is culture. That is what your work culture is.

[00:05:33] Aleha: That feeling Sunday night when you’re thinking about Monday morning.

[00:05:37] Wendi: Oh my gosh, Aleha, like everything you just said, it really hit home for me. That is exactly what culture is. That feeling that Sunday evening or afternoon or sometimes even morning, right? Are you, what’s that feeling? And for those of you that have been tuning in to this podcast for a while, know that I love talking about feelings.

[00:05:58] Wendi: It’s the F word that I know [00:06:00] that no one likes to talk about and, or even like actually allow within our body. But the truth is. How you feel is going to determine how you act, how you behave, the performance that you’re going to actually, you know, put out into the world, how you’re going to show up as leader.

[00:06:20] Wendi: And so that’s very important, right? Because if it and I’ll go back to kind of my experience, my old Sundays where I used to dread. Going to work like I used to I used to hate Sunday sometimes because and Mondays Because I already knew that there was something in that environment that I was not not necessarily happy about but Comfortable I want to say where I could show up as yes as Wendy As me as an individual of who I am, but instead I had to put on this mask or this other face on [00:07:00] how they wanted me to show up or their expectation of how I should have or need to show up.

[00:07:07] Wendi: And so what does that typically look like for Some of your clients or even what what are the responses that you get?

[00:07:18] Aleha: You know, it’s it’s interesting because to a certain degree what our expectations for professionalism are do you know expect us to be able to manage our emotions and In the military, we were never even allowed to consider emotions, right? Like your, how you feel about this doesn’t matter. You just do it.

[00:07:40] Aleha: And so we get out. And even though there’s still a slight expectation of your, your emotions don’t matter, what’s what reality is, is that your emotions drive everything. If you don’t feel safe, you will exhibit that in your behavior. If you [00:08:00] feel attacked on a daily basis by the people you work with or work for, you will exhibit that in your behavior.

[00:08:06] Aleha: In fact, I talk about that a lot with a customer experience. That’s one of my pillars of work culture is, you’ve heard the term poop rolls downhill, right? It’s the same thing. Uh, it, it’s the same thing with work. If, if your employees feel attacked, if they feel pressured, if they feel like they’re not in a safe environment, that behavior will then turn around and be exhibited onto your customers.

[00:08:34] Aleha: So your customers are now experiencing what your employees have been experiencing the entire time. So a really good way to test, and I call this the CEO’s litmus test, to figure out what the culture is in the people below you, all you have to do is look at your customer reviews. Are your customers experiencing attitude problems?

[00:08:57] Aleha: You probably have a culture problem. [00:09:00]

[00:09:00] Wendi: Wow. I love that. And it’s, and it’s so true, right? When we think of different grocery stores or restaurants that we want or fast food places, we know that we sometimes have to be ready to just be in that feeling. Like, just to give you an example, um. And I’m not going to call out the fast food restaurant here, but, you know, I sometimes feel like I need to be in a space where I’m like, okay, Wendy, remember I control my own emotions, regardless of how they are going to show up at the speaker.

[00:09:32] Wendi: I get to decide how I want to show up. So of course I’m very nice, very respectful, regardless of what I get. I’m like, I’m just going to be me. I’m not going to reciprocate what, how their behavior, or sometimes I’m like, okay. They didn’t say anything, you know, like I said, thank you. Or, you know, I had a question.

[00:09:50] Wendi: They’re like, okay, just come to the second window or whatever it may be. And I’m just like, you know, everyone is just, you know, having their own day. I don’t know what’s going on in their [00:10:00] lives. And so I kid you not like, that’s what I do have to prepare myself because if not. I am someone that’s quick to get upset, especially over food.

[00:10:07] Wendi: I don’t know about you, Aleha, but I’m like, Oh my gosh, this is not right, but you know what, I’m going to have grace and I’m going to be patient in this situation. And everything you just said, it’s completely true, right? It really starts at the top and everything else goes downhill. Like you mentioned.

[00:10:24] Wendi: And I think it’s important for us to evaluate, I think, you know, especially if you’re listening to this and you’re in a, an environment or in a culture where you don’t feel safe, or maybe even you feel like you’re being attacked, like you mentioned, right? Then ask yourself, is this something maybe, am I being defensive because I’m feeling attacked?

[00:10:43] Wendi: Am I always being in defense mode or, you know, because I’m, I don’t feel safe, I always feel like I need to find my own safety, right? Like, do you feel alone? So on and so forth. And so, Leah, what would you say to someone listening that is possibly going through this? [00:11:00] Like, what could you recommend them to maybe, you know, do on their own?

[00:11:04] Wendi: Because, and I’m sorry, another piece to that is, um, before you answer the question, you know, what I teach and what I, um, continue to encourage my clients to do, and even myself, because we’re all human here, is that we ultimately have to take responsibility of how we. Regardless of what their actions and words are, those are circumstances and we have thoughts about the circumstances so we can decide that.

[00:11:33] Wendi: But I’m curious to, to hear from you, you know, what would you recommend to someone that’s feeling this way, attacked or maybe just unsafe?

[00:11:40] Aleha: Yeah, so I think the first two things that I, that are the most important things to implement, and, and you can do these simultaneously, is first is try to be as self aware as possible because when we’re in that place where we feel like we’re being attacked, we can oftentimes start feeling like things are an [00:12:00] attack when they’re not.

[00:12:02] Aleha: We can oftentimes start thinking that other people are associated with that attack when they’re not. Because we’re just so reactive at that point. We’re not self aware of how we’re assessing things and how we ourselves are impacting the scenario. So self awareness is very important. The second thing I say is, is self awareness is very important.

[00:12:24] Aleha: As uncomfortable as it can be, a lot of people are conflict averse, but this is so important. You have to have those hard conversations. You have to say to somebody, you have to be able to say, when you did this, it made me feel unsafe. When you said this in front of a customer, it made me feel attacked. You need to be able to have those conversations because from what, from my research, 80 percent of bad bosses don’t know they’re doing it wrong.

[00:12:55] Aleha: They just don’t know because people are afraid to tell them. [00:13:00] So if you are, if you’re brave enough to say, to just tell them, Hey, are you aware that when you did that, it impacted me in this way? That can, that can alleviate so many problems before they even. Are created just by having those hard

[00:13:17] Wendi: conversations.

[00:13:19] Wendi: I love that. Yeah, and you know what? I I appreciate you saying these two things or providing us with these two things because as I’m listening to what you’re saying and I’m like I said before you all I’m also taking notes by the way because I want to make Sure that I take as much as possible because this is very important not only In our work environment, like you mentioned, right, this could also be helpful at home.

[00:13:43] Wendi: This could be helpful with our kids. And I’m just thinking, you know, as you’re saying all of these things, being aware, you know, are we being reactive to What we think is really happening here because of, you know, we’re, we’re like, kind of like that fish in water that doesn’t know that [00:14:00] it’s in water because it’s just kind of like normal or a, a day to day thing.

[00:14:04] Wendi: And so the next thing you said was the hard conversations, right? And, um, and the reason I, what took me to that was when. I asked my kids, you know, we had a hard conversation and I didn’t want to ask them this question, but some parenting person, I can’t remember who right now, or maybe I heard it on the podcast, they asked, you know, to ask your children, you know, what’s one thing that they don’t like or that you’re not doing well as a mom.

[00:14:34] Wendi: Or as a dad. And so I asked that question. I didn’t want to know the answer. Of course I had to prepare myself by the way. So if you’re going to do this, prepare yourself, just be open about it. Ask the question. It’s a hard conversation and we don’t want to experience that emotion, right? We’re like, oh my gosh, I’m going to feel so, you know, ashamed and, you know, disappointed in myself, but that’s how we can make, um, changes and also keep moving in [00:15:00] the right direction.

[00:15:00] Wendi: Right. Especially when we. Love these little humans, but also if you really love what you’re doing at work and you maybe respect your boss or respect your team that you’re in, maybe you’re the middle person, right? Maybe you’re the manager and now or one of the managers, team managers, and now you, you have to say this to the manager and you know, how does that affect you?

[00:15:21] Wendi: Impact everyone else because in the military, at least for me, a lot of the times, you know, I had someone that was just in charge of the floor, you know, have conversations with my NCO and then she would have conversations with me. And I’m like, Oh my gosh, I had no idea. Right. But some of us have to be more brave or have more courage than others to have these conversations.

[00:15:43] Wendi: And another thing that I want to highlight that you said here, um, um, when you’re having these conversations, you said, you know, when I, when you said this, I felt this. And so, for example, if, um, [00:16:00] you know, let’s say your supervisor was like, gosh, Wendy, you’re always late. You need to get it together. You know, you’re, you know, you’re not the NCO that you, that I thought you were.

[00:16:09] Wendi: I shouldn’t have sent you to the, to the promotion board. You know, sometimes leaders do say that. They’re like, Oh, you’re not performing and then they start saying things, right? What I want to offer too, just like Aleha said, you know, when would you tell them, you know, explain to them when you said this.

[00:16:27] Wendi: This is how I felt. But also before you do that, I also want to encourage you to ask yourself, you know, what were you thinking or what thoughts came up for you when they said, um, let’s just say the, keep it simple, the sentence of, I shouldn’t have sent you to the promotion board. You shouldn’t be an NCO.

[00:16:45] Wendi: Was it maybe that you’re not worthy of being an NCO? Was it maybe that you are not a great NCO? Whatever it is, Make sure that you also convey that to that leader and say, Hey, this is, you know, when [00:17:00] you said this, this is what immediately that came to mind, you know, I’m not worthy. And that’s why I felt that way.

[00:17:06] Wendi: That’s why I felt. Um, I don’t know, disencouraged, disappointed, upset, unworthy, that’s simple and unworthy, right? And, you know, we don’t want to feel that way. Or it’s not something you don’t want to, um, what’s the word I’m looking for here? You don’t want to put someone down or belittle them. Because of one action, right?

[00:17:30] Wendi: And I think that that’s, you know, all of it, all of that to say that you want to make sure too, that you understand that what they say is they’re simply sentences, but also what are you making it mean? And if you’re believing what they’re saying, right? Because that’s another thing. If they’re saying it over and over, then they must believe it.

[00:17:51] Wendi: They must believe that I’m not worthy of being an NCO because I’m always late. But is it true? Probably, you know, Probably not because [00:18:00] you are able to come earlier. It’s just a matter of you putting your part as well, because I don’t know about you, Aleha, but I wouldn’t feel motivated to show up on time as my best self, if someone’s going to belittle me for every little mistake that I make.

[00:18:15] Wendi: And so it all kind of like just falls into place where one thing can then. Now, um, be a stepping stone to the other things. When I was like a cycle of, well, I’m not showing up as my best self because my manager or my NCO or my, you know, officer in charge is always belittling me or they don’t care about me.

[00:18:37] Wendi: So why should I even try? Right. So we get like sucked into the cycle and now it’s like Sundays, like you said, now we’re all trying to. Not one wanted to be Monday because we hate going into work. So now that you mentioned two things What would you say to the manager or the [00:19:00] person that is in charge of, for the most part, this environment at work, for example?

[00:19:11] Aleha: Um, I would tell, I would, I would tell them the exact same thing, but I would harp especially on self awareness. If someone comes to you… With this kind of a conversation, keep an open mind because other people are usually more aware of our mannerisms than we are of our own. So if someone comes to you and says, when you say this, it gives me this message, be open minded, be

[00:19:38] Wendi: receptive.

[00:19:40] Aleha: And the other thing I would say is, as a manager, as a manager, you’re not just receiving this information. When they’re bringing it to you, you should also be asking for that information. Oh, that’s good. So not just giving feedback, not just giving feedback on their [00:20:00] performance, but also asking for feedback.

[00:20:04] Aleha: As your supervisor, am I giving you everything that you need? Am I failing in any point in my role as your supervisor? You should be asking for this information anyway.

[00:20:18] Wendi: I like that. And it’s true, right? I think right now, um, in, in this time is what I mean, we are so focused on how much we can take the bandwidth, you know, our bandwidth, how much can I handle?

[00:20:32] Wendi: You know, how many more employees can I hire or how many more soldiers can I have, you know, under my wing? Um, And it’s a lot of the times focused on ourselves, unfortunately, right? We focus on like, okay, what can Captain Ray do with all of this, you know, with this company or whatever, you know, uh, position you’re in or, um, what if you’re in command or if you’re just in charge of a couple of, [00:21:00] um, soldiers or, or airmen or Marines, you know, Can we start focusing on how we impact or how can we continue to support and impact their lives?

[00:21:13] Wendi: I think that that also, um, you know, says a lot about a leader, right? When they’re focused on their people and not necessarily more focused on the work, right? Because I’m not going to lie, that was my whole point. You know, I was so focused on the goal, on the mission, which we should, but I sometimes forgot the wellbeing of my soldiers.

[00:21:39] Wendi: Like, okay, we’re going to come in on a Saturday and we’re going to stay here until 8 PM. And we’re going to do X, Y, Z, because we need to get this done. I’ll be honest right now. I wasn’t, I didn’t not necessarily that I didn’t care about them. I did, but I cared more about the goal, about making sure that we got this done.

[00:21:57] Wendi: And sometimes, yes. It [00:22:00] has to be that way, but also communicating that to your team. And I didn’t do that. And I’m pretty sure they were like, Oh gosh, what’s it going to be this week? We’re going to have to stay there late. We’re going to have an inspection. That means we’re not going to have lunch. We’re just, you know, all these things that were, you know, probably very demoralizing to them.

[00:22:17] Wendi: And that’s not going to want anyone to stay in the military or in corporate America or their business. They’re not going to want to do that. They’re like, okay, what’s next? Where else could I, you know, show up confidently, secure, safe, where they care about me versus An environment that is not. And like you said, hard conversations, like that is the one that you really have to take seriously.

[00:22:41] Wendi: Asking for that information. Am I giving you everything that I can to support you in your role? Am I helping you get to your next stepping stone? You know, and, you know, I appreciate you starting us off with those sentences because sometimes. Leaders don’t know, [00:23:00] right? And it’s not that they don’t, um, know per se, they just, we just want to do it in the right way, right?

[00:23:07] Wendi: We want to make sure that we’re saying the right things to get the, the, the actual responses that we need. That’s another important thing, asking the great questions, I want to say, not the right questions, but asking great questions that are going to bring great feedback. And now, is there anything else that you think, um, could help someone, um, or maybe even, I’m thinking, I’m just thinking back to my career in the military, you know, what if you don’t have like that leader that you can even talk to about having a hard conversation?

[00:23:46] Wendi: Like, I remember one of my leaders, he was just, he was just a go go type of guy. Like he was. Combat arms. And he’s like, I don’t have time to be talking to you. And you know, me just feeling, you know, I’m a woman and I’m a [00:24:00] woman of color. And I just don’t know how to say this in a way that now I’m being looked at or frowned upon and it’s going to affect my career.

[00:24:08] Wendi: So what, what could you, what do you recommend to, to that woman right now? That’s.

[00:24:17] Aleha: So this is actually really, uh, a very important topic for me. I say get yourself both allies and mentors. You need an ally within the organization that can stand by you when you are speaking up. You need a mentor, maybe not necessarily within the same organization, but someone that has been through something similar, someone, someone that has been through the same ladder that you’re trying to climb, and that can advise you on how to handle that scenario, but most important above all.

[00:24:48] Aleha: Allies and mentors is if you have no one within that organization that is willing to listen to you, that is willing to take feedback or improve on anything, it is [00:25:00] time for you to cut your losses and go. It’s not going to get better if no one is receptive to that feedback. It is time to go. You are not going to ever feel that psychological safety.

[00:25:13] Aleha: If no one is there to listen to the feedback that you have to give.

[00:25:18] Wendi: Yeah, yeah, and it’s unfortunate, right? Because… I mean, at the end of the day, people is, you know, it’s what we need to not only have this community, but also to get things done. Right. And I believe that every individual brings a piece of a puzzle that we need to get everything to function.

[00:25:44] Wendi: Right. And, and, you know, that, that would be unfortunate, but also looking at the other side of that, you know, maybe. It is time for you to move on, right? Maybe it is time for you to go on a new opportunity or maybe just a new [00:26:00] organization because like you said, it’s not going to get better. It’s only going to probably get worse.

[00:26:06] Wendi: And that’s not what we want because then we get. You know, emotionally, um, sucked in or withdrawn from everything and then it, it’s, it only affects us. Right. And I think to, um, as we, we, we are innately easier to get sucked in into a depression and to, um, and to overwhelm burnout because we’re just, we, we can’t deal with that.

[00:26:40] Wendi: Because it really does hinder our work, hinders how we show up. It does.

[00:26:46] Aleha: I, I have a very great example for that. I just recently had, uh, an organization that, uh, the owner was the problem. The owner was, he was racist, he was [00:27:00] sexist, he was abusive, he was mentally, uh, Damaging the people that work for him. And so three of his employees, I was trying to help get them out of there to, you know, get to a safer environment.

[00:27:14] Aleha: This man had all three of these people feeling like they were worthless. They felt like they were never going to find a job anywhere else. This man had them feeling like they were dependent upon him for their own survival. That is mental abuse. That is manipulation, and no one should ever have to work in that environment.

[00:27:35] Aleha: If you are ever in a scenario like that, cut your losses and go. That, that paycheck is not worth your sanity.

[00:27:43] Wendi: That, that’s a hashtag right there, the paycheck is not worth your sanity. Seriously, like I, there are so many people that I talk to that are either getting in or getting out of the military, um, not because of, you know, the environment or [00:28:00] the culture, none of that, but it’s just their time to go.

[00:28:03] Wendi: But one of their concerns that always comes up is, you know, like how, how am I going to be received? As you know, a woman, right? Because it’s hard. Like what, you know, we sometimes don’t even want to apply for other jobs that are, um, you know, more senior, you know, in the corporate sector, because we’re scared that we’re not going to be accepted as that senior or that leader, because the environment is completely different.

[00:28:32] Wendi: And so, you know, I really appreciate you not only doing this work because it, it really needs to be done in. All the organizations, regardless of how well you think your culture is, right? And more so in the military, like, I think we need that more. Um, and you know, again, thank you so much for these other two great tips on one, getting an ally to getting a mentor, like very, very important, especially if you can [00:29:00] get an ally in the organization.

[00:29:02] Wendi: I think that’s everything. I actually had one of my allies, she was a command sergeant major of our unit. And I. You know, to this day, I’m grateful for her because she’s the one that encouraged me. To stand up and be vocal about how my experience was, she didn’t know how my experience was, but because I told her and then she started to notice like, okay, you need to talk to him about that.

[00:29:26] Wendi: I can’t do it for you, but I’ll be there. Yeah. Or if you need me to, you know, continue. Yeah. And that’s all I needed was for her to say, I got you. I’m here. I hear you. And, you know, let’s go ahead and go through with this. And so I think it’s very important if listen, if you’re one of these ladies that are struggling, you know, with.

[00:29:51] Wendi: Even starting the week to go to work, or even thinking that you’re not feeling safe, you know, it, this is time for you to take a moment [00:30:00] and really ask yourself, is this how you want to continue to, um, go about your career? And like Aleha said, the paycheck is not worth it. Like, we want to be able to go to our job or where we are focused on our career and grow, not necessarily.

[00:30:19] Wendi: You know, take a step back and how we do that is by showing up as ourself, as, as great as we can to that opportunity, to that career and at home with your families, because what also happens too is you’re so, you know, involved and feeling unsafe and feeling attacked at work that that also will carry out, you know, to your home.

[00:30:44] Wendi: That will carry to your family. And that’s exactly what happened to me. Like I took everything out on, you know, my husband and the kids. And again, it’s something that we don’t want to continue to affect us mentally, emotionally, and especially others around us. So [00:31:00] Leah, I’m so grateful that you’re here. I really hope that the lady listening today, not only took these great tips, but also will implement them.

[00:31:10] Wendi: As soon as today, as soon as tomorrow and listen, if you know of someone that is struggling, they had that conversation with you like, Hey girl, I hate going to work. I hate my boss. I hate the people that I work with. I hate where I’m at. I don’t know my, I don’t have a way out. I feel like I can only depend on this one opportunity.

[00:31:28] Wendi: Then please share this podcast. This episode with them, because again, this is what we’re all about. I know Leah, you’re very supportive of the military community too. And another reason why I really appreciate you having you here, you know, we need to be allies for one another. It’s hard out here. It’s difficult in the military.

[00:31:49] Wendi: It’s difficult outside of the military. It’s difficult in corporate America. As a business owner, we always have a very small number of women that are actually. [00:32:00] You know, doing something that is unfortunately the numbers. And the ratio does not align with where we wish or where we want it to be. And so the more that we can encourage one another, the more that we can say, Hey, I can help you listen to this episode or go follow Aleha.

[00:32:19] Wendi: She’s got great tips, great conversations just to encourage one another. I think that that’s, that’s all that matters here. Leah and I are both on board on helping, supporting, which by the way, Leah, please let everyone know where they can follow you and also I know we talked about a newsletter, a freebie that you are offering that they can go check out right now.

[00:32:43] Aleha: Absolutely. So definitely check me out on LinkedIn if you want to contact me directly. That’s the easiest way to get a hold of me. If you’d like. Uh, to follow the newsletter@workcultureworks.com, I will give you a free mini Guide to Work culture and how you can get started identifying the [00:33:00] things in your own organization.

[00:33:02] Wendi: Nice. Okay, great. Yeah, no, we need to go over there. Now again, the link is here in the actual show notes. Um, go to the page and you’ll see Aleha’s beautiful face on that page and also all her information, which by the way, y’all, again, if you did not. Watch and listen this to this episode. You need to go do that now because you will love Aleha’s headphone set.

[00:33:27] Wendi: It’s super cute. You just want to go watch it. It’s my favorite color pink and Again, I am so happy that you were here. Thank you again Aleha for not only providing us with your presence, but also With these tips that again, I’m actually taking and took notes and I really hope that this encourages someone out there listening today to start taking action and really implementing this in their life.

[00:33:57] Aleha: Yeah. Thank you so much. This was fun.

[00:33:59] Wendi: [00:34:00] Thank you. All right, everyone. You have a beautiful rest of your week. Talk to you soon. Bye. Bye.