PODCAST EPISODE № 30

Candid Conversations with Phenomenal Executive Women: Alycia Huston

by Anita Charlot

Listen to Candid Conversations with Phenomenal Executive Women: Alycia Huston:

Hello beautiful listeners. This week on the show, we have an incredible conversation with Alycia Huston.

Alycia Huston is a certified NeuroLeadership coach, consultant, and international speaker. She honed her craft as a female biotech founder in San Diego, and after a decade of implementing growth strategies and leading a high-performance culture, sold the venture in 2014.

She now incorporates her 20+ years of experience in neuroscience, communication, and empathy to develop, restructure and support business owners, companies, and corporations in developing a culture of belonging through her company, The Culture Cru. She is skilled in business management, including starting new businesses, acquisitions, and consulting with existing businesses.

Take a listen to our candid conversation about Alycia, her neuro nuggets, and her hard work behind her company, The Culture Cru.

See you inside the episode!

What You Learn:

Alycia’s journey through studying biology to CEO of her own company
How Alycia balanced her work, home, and love life while starting her company
Alycia’s tips for how to improve your work-home balance
What you need to make your business thrive from a former executive, CEO, and COO!

Featured on the Show:

Check out this video of Anita’s time at Ethos
Find more of Alycia’s neuro nuggets and more about her company on The Culture Cru website!
Follow Alycia on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn
Learn more about how you can work directly with Anita
Love the show? Leave a review of the show in Apple Podcasts (click the link to find out how).
Follow me on Instagram!
Find me on Facebook!

Episode Transcript

Coach Anita Charlot: Okay, hello, everyone. And I’m going to tell you, I’m just going to start off by being really honest with you. This is like take 37 of this candid conversation today with my friend, my sister, Alycia Huston. Oh, my goodness, you have no idea how powerful this woman is, but you’re about to find out. So as you remember from last year, if you were listening to the podcast at all, once a month, we would have candid conversations with phenomenal women that are just doing the damn thing out here as executives and leaders out here in the world. And that’s not going to stop this year! We’re going to hit the ground running in 2022 with my girl, Alycia. She is a certified neuro leadership coach, consultant, and international speaker. She honed her craft as a female biotech founder in San Diego, and after a decade of implementing growth strategies, and leading a high-performance culture, sold the venture in 2014 – you heard me she sold it – she built a company and sold it. Yes, my girl Alycia, she now incorporates her 20+ years of experience and neuroscience, communication, and empathy to develop, restructure and support business owners, companies, and corporations and developing a culture of belonging through her company, the culture crew. I could go on, I could read like nine more paragraphs, but we’re going to get into this conversation because I want Alycia to share her journey with us. 
You know, we talk as women about, we don’t know what we want to do, or we don’t think we can do this, we don’t think we can do that. And Alycia is here to show you that even though you may start out one way you have one specific idea, as long as you keep moving, you keep growing, you keep learning, you keep searching, you will eventually get to a place where you are, in fact, a happy executive woman. So without further ado, welcome, Alycia. I am so happy to have you.
Alycia Huston: Thank you, I am excited to be here. I am really excited to have this dialogue today.
Coach Anita Charlot: So we’re gonna, let’s just do it like this. We’re gonna have a conversation. I’m going to ask you questions. This is, you know, as though we’re sitting on a couch next to each other, or in COVID protocol six feet away from each other. Yes, ma’am. We’re just going to let them eavesdrop, be flies on the wall in our conversation. So let’s start by, I mean, you have such a fascinating, fascinating path that you’ve taken. And so I’d like for you to share with us like where did your journey begin? Did you start out, you know, being a fabulous executive woman, or did you start out at McDonald’s frying french fries? How did you get where you are today?
Alycia Huston: I love it. You know, I would first say that my examples were both of my parents. Very hard workers. My mother was born on a farm in a cotton plant Arkansas, with nine siblings, there were 10 of them. So her father provided for them through their farm. So there’s that right, that gumption, that resilience for my mom, who in turn, grew into an adjunct professor. She was in staff relations aboard Los Angeles Unified School District. My dad was an executive with the Southern California Edison company. So my parents were first examples, right? So high bar, right? Yes. So I say that because that was I was like, ‘Well, I’m going to be a physician.’ So that was my dream, my journey. I saw that I was on this planet to help heal people. Okay, so I believed right at that time in my life that that was going to be through being a doctor and healing people in whatever way as I went on that journey, I would discover which practice, right, which breath of practice was for me, right? So that was not the case! I went to school and took biology, chemistry, all of those things. And I realized I did not want to be in school for like 20,000 more years. 
Coach Anita Charlot: Yes, yes. 
Alycia Huston: So that changed for me, but I always had a love of science. Okay, so of course, I remained in the science field. Graduated. So I am a biologist by trade. I actually worked in IT for informed pharmaceuticals. I worked in labs. I dealt with all kinds of PCR machines. So, yes, I had the white coat as I was doing with cells, different cells, cold growing cells, PCR, all of those things that you see in the movies, pipettes, right? 
Coach Anita Charlot: Yes, yes. 
Alycia Huston: Under the hood, the sterile hood, right. That was your girl here. So that was kind of when the shift happened.
Coach Anita Charlot: Okay. Wow. Okay. So you started out on this path, you decided that it wasn’t for you? And, you know, we sometimes people think that when they start out a certain way, or they get a degree in a certain thing that they have to be in that field. 
Alycia Huston: Yes. 
Coach Anita Charlot: So you are a prime example of you don’t have to follow down a path if it’s not the path that feels right for you. Yes. So from that, once you decided that, where did you go? 
Alycia Huston: So working in the lab, right, loving that, then I realized, um, I need to have some interaction with more people. Yeah, my colleagues but just wasn’t quite doing it from because I am very, I’m a very social being. I am an ambivert. So I’m an introvert and an extrovert. So it’s lovely to have both of those needs met. So I moved into… so UCSD is my place where I graduated from. So UCSD has a hospital out here in San Diego. So I moved into the space of clinical trials. So, clinical trials first begin in the lab, but they are carried out when we begin to introduce them into the community where people can take part in clinical trials. So I worked with this amazing nurse. She was an Air Force pilot. She was an RN, she was from Bastien, and she would never let me shrink. Like, I’m so grateful for Judith Hanson. I still remember her name. Judith Hanson, Judith Hanson. I tried to find her I cannot, but I’m going to one day, and she lifted me she was so supportive, supportive of me. Like, honestly, we had to deal with things that I wasn’t supposed to be doing that, but she just really exposed me. She trusted me. I was interacting with patients and they were geriatric patients. I love love, love that community. Just they’re so full of wisdom and knowledge. Right. And, and so I was in the gastroenterology field. So we were doing intestinal work for elderly, trying to see what was going on. And I loved looking at like the machine while we were inside there inside their intestinal tract there, in the throat, it was like, amazing to me. And, and then that was a beautiful space. Then Judith left, and it just wasn’t the same. So I said, Okay, it’s time for you to make another move. So at that point, I moved on into a children’s hospital, and I moved into the department of research. And it was awesome because I was exposed to protocols, actual protocols being written by pharmaceutical companies. So I began to understand, and I have a science background, right, get to see things come to light, what it looked like. I began to have an opportunity to use my voice to protect vulnerable populations, children in research but knowing that certain research was necessary. I was exposed to these amazing children with cancer, and the spirit of life that just would exude from them as I would walk through the oncology unit. Oh, my gosh, just my life began to change because of the exposure. Wow, the exposure to the physicians who were so willing to support me, but I didn’t understand. Hold my hand show me, and that was my next amazing boss was Rebecca Clarke. She’s amazing. We’re still in touch. She allowed me to grow as a young person in… this was like my real first corporate job. She allowed me to grow. She allowed me to ask any questions. She allowed me to try things, right? Like, of course after I learned but I didn’t just get to come in and just try to try things. She allowed me to come in and she allowed me to bounce things off of her were there process improvements that I saw that could… she listened, she did not shut down. She said, Oh, you know, I hadn’t thought of that. Because she was about 20 years, my senior, and we work from different places, right? I was seeing things in a different fresh light, and she was open to it. And I was open to her saying, You can’t do that right now, or, we can’t do that because this will have an effect on this there. And so I began to learn about culture and interdependencies within organizations, from one department to another. Although you think something is a good idea may not always be a good idea. Right? A lot of moving parts. Right? That was awesome. And then I will tell you, we were growing the research department. So me, Rebecca, other nurses who are willing to research so vastly because of our gumption, our commitment, our grit, our wisdom, our ability to work together in such a way that was just like, an invitation for people to come work with us. Right, that we were like, Oh, the hospital realized we need to bring in a director of research, like we needed to kind of bring in that top person to… like the departments were growing. And so it was like, Okay, we need, you know, you got to bring right level. And that is when everything started to become different. 
So we brought in this high director, right, a gentleman came in, and this is where leaders really make poor choices when they come in. And they’ve been there for about three weeks, and they want to start making just changes across the board. And it was horrible. Let me tell you, though, what really changed the trajectory of my life, and when I really began to understand what leaders don’t look like, right, this gentleman came in, and he had a meeting with me. And he told me for what I did, I don’t need an office. And he was going to build me a cubicle and take me out of my office. Oh, my supervisor was livid. She tried everything she could, of course, but her hands were tied. He’s the director of research. This man proceeded to build me a cubicle, Anita. And so I’m in my office, I’m seeing this cubicle being constructed yet outside, right, just… Can you imagine the shame and the smallness that I feel from having such an impact within a department? The department, and the bottom line was shooting up. When I was there, we saw 102% increase. Well, then this man comes in and tell me, your position doesn’t require an office, we’re going to say that because we’re growing. And we’re going to use that for something else. So he moved me out of my office and into a cubicle in the middle of the department.
Coach Anita Charlot: Oh, my goodness.
Alycia Huston: And my boss, like, I could see her. She was so sorry. And I just told her, I said, Rebecca, I love you. It’s not you. I know. And you know, there’s such beauty and grace in life circumstances because I was pregnant. So I knew when I left, I wouldn’t be going back. And so when that time came, and I left. I knew I wasn’t going back but I didn’t know how I wasn’t going back. 
Coach Anita Charlot: Okay.
Alycia Huston: So let me tell you what I did. In that growth time, I had made some, of course, for networking, I had made some beautiful connections. And I reached out to a woman who I had only met one time, and I just was obedient in the inner voice within me that told me, ‘reach out to Michelle’. I called Michelle. And I said, Hey, it’s time for me to move on from Children’s. I’m gonna have a baby. I was fully transparent. I’m gonna have a baby in the next two weeks. But I would love to talk about the possibility of moving into your area of your organization after this, and she said, Alycia, I would be honored because I know who you are. She said, your name precedes you.
Coach Anita Charlot: Yeah. Yes. Yes. Isn’t that amazing? Oh, my goodness
Alycia Huston: It is. And so I’ll fast forward just to say that when Michelle and I were supposed to meet, I had the baby. And she said the only reason Alycia is not here is that she had that baby, right. I called her from the hospital. Right? That’s my commitment. Right? That’s who I am. I’m a woman of integrity and character. Right? And so I call her, even if it wouldn’t have been me that would have been my husband, whatever, somebody! So I called her and she goes, I knew it, and she laughed and she told me congratulations, she sent me balloons and flowers. She said we’ll get back together when you get back.
Coach Anita Charlot: Yes, yeah. 
Alycia Huston: So fast forward. Michelle hired me and didn’t even have a position for me. She hired me, and I started there. So I never went back to children’s hospital, right? Still remained connected to Rebecca and the amazing people there. But I moved on to my next part of destiny.
Coach Anita Charlot: Yes. I love that. I love that. So before because honey, we’re gonna be traveling down destiny’s road, but I want to touch on a few points here. You mentioned some things that really stood out to me. You said, when Judith Hanson, who served as like your mentor, right? When she left, it just wasn’t the same? Yeah. So I totally, totally understand that. You know, I’m all about empowering women and teaching women how to stand in their power, you know, all about women supporting each other. So when we have, when we find that network, and we find that woman, or that group of women that are willing to support us through whatever, allows us to, to grow and to cultivate our knowledge and to, you know, to test new things. It’s kind of hard to stick around when that woman’s not there, right? So I totally have my own story about that, too. Was amazing, boss. You know, we work together. We were like Cagney and Lacey, honey. We were like Cagney and Lacey. She got me. I got her. You know, we are. We are very, you know, we’re not… We’re not confrontational, but we are women who know, our we know, our strengths. We’re not afraid to stand up and speak our truth. We are able to express ourselves in a way that’s, you know, when we go to a meeting people know, okay, well, you know, Anita or, you know, Angela’s coming to this meeting, right? Yeah, we got to be on top of it, because I know, they’re gonna ask these questions, I’m gonna do that. And so when your reputation precedes you, it’s kind of hard to go from being at that level to not being at that level. I’m not about to be on super-senior executive-type projects to creating PDFs. You can hire somebody else to do that. Right. So I totally get it. And then the mentorship, you know, we, we women, supporting women, and this whole thing about women always in competition, and women can’t get along in the workplace. You know, yes, I’ve experienced that, but I’m also happy to be on the other side of that, too where I, I have been that mentor for other women, like women coming up. And we understand the value of that and how it makes us feel and how it makes us grow. And how it pushes us to be more and to want more. Now, having said that, take us to the next part of the destiny.
Alycia Huston: And I’m just gonna, just gonna piggyback on what you said about women and I want to put some neuroscience on it. Okay, I’m gonna put a neural nugget on it. Yes, women, our prefrontal cortex, that is our chief functioning system in our brain that is the frontal lobe in our brains, women’s are 20% larger than men’s. So our ability to envision to forward think, our ability to think about, to strategize, to just really put things together and organize is physiologically at a higher level than mens. And it doesn’t, it doesn’t mean that men are bad, but it means that our ability to impart empathy, compassion, so the emotional part of our brain, our amygdala – so the amygdala is where you get riled up really quick and you get on 10 – ours is smaller than mens. So it there’s a there’s there are physiological reasons why women are truly equipped to lead. And we have to get out of the previous myths that were fed to us to the 40s, 50s, 60s, all of that about women and step into truth and step into reality and to embrace that together we are better. And women are fully equipped and have the tools to lead at a high level. So I just had to jump on and piggyback on that. 
Coach Anita Charlot: Okay. Yes, but I’m loving those neuro nuggets. Yeah, more about neuro nuggets later.
Alycia Huston: Yes. So you know that that was nugget number one. So as we move on into the journey, right, I moved into that nonprofit, and moved into a leadership role was hired immediately into a leadership role. There was the executive director, there was the administrator, and then there was the there was me as the leader. So I was the lead. And, and truly, truly, like, not even to toot my own horn, but I blew that position out of the water. It was just I was in my space, but I loved it. Just the way that I connected even with the staff, the way they were the level of respect, I respected them. They respect me, I didn’t come in trying to swoop with change. I came in, like, teach me what do I need to know. You know, and so that relationship was so beautiful, and grew into in that relationship and actually was promoted in that relationship as well. And then the executive director, decided that she wanted to move on to something else, right. She was like, I want to go. She had been there for a long time. She wanted to do some other things. So I was then offered, so I jumped over the admin, right? And was offered the executive director position. 
That was beautiful. I was in an executive director position, and the previous executive director now, of course, we’re friends. And she spoke of some of the challenges she would have with the board. This was a nonprofit, as I said. The nonprofit board was all white males. All Republican males. Now, Republican, as we think of it today with some of the issues with it, you know, I don’t want to taint it that all Republicans were bad. You know, because it has become really ugly in today’s society. So we’re just going to go back to 2004. Okay, think about Republicans in that era, you know, yes. There were different mindsets. Yes, but it nasn’t nasty and ugly. It isn’t hateful to the degree it is today. But there were different mindsets. So there was no, there was no diversity on the board. So there was no diversity of thoughts, no culture, no diversity of lens. So upbringings were very similar. All of these things were similar. So that when you had someone as myself bringing different things to the board that were the experiences of the staff, there was no relatability. And so it was like hitting this brick wall when I’m seeing the market, right, cuz I’m watching the market. I’m watching what competitors are doing, and how we need to become more digital at that space, right? Online? No, it’s not necessary. I’m realizing what needs to happen. And the no’s were piling up, and I realized that me and my previous colleague, we could do this, and we could do it better. So that’s when things began to change. So the roadblocks, the pain, the no’s turns into a new opportunity. So that is how my what’s called a biopharma company, or biotech people use them interchangeably, was born. We opened our doors in 2004 and I had an attorney. So we operate in full integrity, as you recall, I operate in integrity. There will be no repercussions. There will be no way, no trail, nothing for you to come back on me. So we had an attorney, that’s what people… you’ve got to get counsel, so you know how to make leaps when you’re in the same environment, you know. We had no noncompetes, all of that. So all of those things, you’ve got to understand when it comes to acquisitions when it comes to opening your own business, you know all of that. So you get counsel, or you get someone who knows what they’re talking about, right? And so we opened our business, so co-founded by me and two other amazing women, and we are all still in communication, but we’ve all gone different ways, right? And it was, it was amazing, because in 2004, as a Black woman, so two of us were Black women, one was a white woman, no funding. Now there’s many opportunities, and really a lot of these opportunities have been born as a result of the pandemic, and just right, shining light on the inequities of inequality, right in access to funding. I’m telling you, there was no access to funding. Okay? So the beautiful thing is, and it was really funny because I was able to see things through an eye of a person of color versus a white person’s experience. So Michelle was white, Michelle is white, and when we reached out to like her family, her friends, they were like, yes, we will. So we had, we had notes so that they would get interest, all of that. Right. They were in, they were in like when you are parents, everyone. And when I reached out to some of my white colleagues, they got it. But even my parents who were very successful… they were not willing. Right. So there’s still a lot, there was still a misunderstanding in the Black and Brown community about this opportunity. Right. So my parents were not able to get the return on their investment. So there was a return on investment for these people because they didn’t quite see what this looks like. There was never been experienced. All of Michelle’s family, her parents had been entrepreneurs, they had family, her sister was an entrepreneur, right? They understood this process. And other people, I reached out that were not, you know, of African descent or of Latino descent, they got it. But our Black and Brown sisters did not. So I was older, so in that moment, but you can become older become wiser, it’s like, oh, there is a gap here. And so we didn’t bootstrap it. We did get funds, but it was from friends and family. And then we did get an SBA loan as well. Okay, we did get an SBA loan as well. And so I learned the process through opening my business, right? Yes, we had employees, we grew. We got sued at one time, we only got sued once, thank you, Lord, and we settled, and it was not this crazy amount. Okay, learn right in the process. We learned in the process. Like this is real-time. This is executive talk, right? I was an executive. So I was a CEO at that time, and then at in 2008, I became I was voted in as the CEO because our CEO wanted to go off and she was good. She was done. And so I was voted in as CEO at that time and learned so much about right, in this whole process, p&l, balance sheets, just equity, capital gains, you know. We had property, because we had those huge copy machines, learn about the property, you know, all of that capital just right. Much that people don’t realize, when starting a business, they start this business with a passion, you’ve got to have, there’s got to be process, there’s got to be operations, it’s got to be procedures, SOPs, there’s got to be more than just passion. And so that is what I learned, and I also learned that I have a gift for those processes. I have a gift for those procedures. And I learned that when I was in the COO, chief operating officer, right, like I had a knack for those operations. I could see things, and I could help bring things to life, and then we could document it and duplicate it. So that’s where I see a lot of us in need. We go wrong and business is we move into something, I have a passion for this. But if you want to monetize it, if you want to be happy with it, if you want to really experience the fruits of your labor and expand it, we have to do things differently. So we can’t experience that happy executive woman.
Coach Anita Charlot: Right? Absolutely. Absolutely. Before we continue down this journey I have I have a ton of questions, but I don’t want to get too far into we’ve gone now from 2004 to 2008. I want to take a step back because a part of being a happy executive woman, and while you’re, you mentioned that you had given birth and that, you know, we’re talking for years now, I don’t know how many years we didn’t discuss ahead of time. But where are you in terms of relationships at this time? And how are you? How are you managing, oh, your relationship or you know, while you’re doing all of this and you’re taking over the world one company and one position at a time. 
Alycia Huston: Like Pinky and the Brain!
Coach Anita Charlot: You knew exactly what I was thinking of!
Alycia Huston: So I will tell you, so I had, I was going through a divorce in ‘03. So before I started my business, I was going through a divorce in ‘03, and that was, so that was when I kind of realized like that this is not what I wanted for my kids, right? I don’t want them… I saw the opportunity, and I and I realized that there was more, like, there was something within you that realized it was more appreciative to be having these. This is why it’s so important. Like you’re even talking about relationships, so that was the romantic relationship. But even it was really important for me to be in contact with people like Michelle who had a different view of entrepreneurship. She knew like we could do this. I linked my belief to her knowing. So that level of relationship, there was a relationship in business, but I was going through, I was going through my divorce, and it was final in early 2004. So before I even started the business. And so in that beginning part, Anita, it was really about my children. Making sure they were good. The long nights that I was doing, I didn’t have to worry about a partner. Because, you know, I didn’t have one at that time. But I did start dating my current husband while I was still in the startup stage, like 2005. And so that balancing act, it was great because he was military.
That was, yeah, that was a bonus. He was gone. So great. He was deployed. I was like, okay, good. I don’t have to spend a bunch of time, and we didn’t have all the technology that we have right now. We still had to, like write some letters and, and maybe they could check email every now and then. So it was still a space, I had the space for me to create. You know, but when he was present, I did have to carve out and be intentional about that relationship time. 
Coach Anita Charlot: You better say that. You got to say that: be intentional. 
Alycia Huston: Because listen, I was so in my passion. Right. I could grow. I could just work and work and work and work. But I had to pull back. First, I had to make sure I fed my kids. Absolutely. Yes. I was grateful to have my parents and stuff, and, uh, you know, my mom was still alive at that time. And just to have that support system so important, you know. Um, but I did have to make intentional commitments for my dating life, right, with my husband, my dating at the time, not even fiance or anything. And then also with my children, you know, so I was really, really careful. Like, during the school hours, perfect. Like, in the evening, if I needed to do something, I still had to be intentional about my time. So relationships all around from kids to colleagues to love relationships. So it’s a piece that we don’t really think about all the time.
Coach Anita Charlot: Yes, yes. And that’s, you know, that’s one of the main reasons why I do what I do, right? We can be Executive Women, we can kill it at the office, you know, but we have to learn how to be just as, as diligent and intentional in the bedroom as we are in the boardroom, and then learning how to turn that switch. So getting so understanding how to turn that switch, the same energy that is that it takes to run the office or build a business is not the same energy that you want to take into your relationship, right? You need to understand the difference between the feminine and the masculine. You know, I can go on and on about that. 
Alycia Huston: It’s real, because I will tell you, just to touch on your point, I needed to just drive home: When we did get married, right, and the business was really growing, you know, I was in CEO like, I was managing projects, a lot of different conversations. RFPs you know, talking to my heads of pharmaceutical companies, and I would come home with that energy that masculine energy. Oh yeah, we’d have some problems like… Like we talked about executive women, we have to learn, like you’re saying, to maneuver in the dynamics. I don’t get to come home and be the CEO. I’m coming home to be Alycia the wife, the mommy. You know, I can say that with ease now, but honey, that was a two-year process, like I’m just gonna be transparent here. So you are right. And I did it with help. I didn’t do it alone. Like, let me be clear. To help figure it out, I need to be more feminine, I had help.
Coach Anita Charlot: Right. There was a funny story: So in one of my previous jobs, I was known for getting things done. You know, I left that job though because they didn’t appreciate all of who I was. And even though I was managing projects across three different departments, they were happy and refused to give me a different title or… so it was time to go. But while in that role, I had asked one of the VPs, I had asked him for a recommendation for a plumber. Okay. And so he gave me the name of a plumber, we connected and the guy came over. And then, you know, he did what he had to do. And then when I got back to work, my manager said, his name was Darren, he was like, Wait, What house did you send my plumber to? I was like, No, he came, he was so sweet, he was so nice. And he did such a great job and we love him. He was like, I explained to him the type of woman that you are, told him, you know about your personality to prepare him for what he was supposed what I thought he was gonna walk into when he came into your home. So he was used to me being no-nonsense. To do this, you’re gonna blah, blah, blah, nope, that’s not okay. Okay, we need to do this, you know, sign this, file this here. He was used to me being in charge. So this is the person that he explained to the plumber. But when the plumber came to my house, honey in my home, I am not the CEO. I am not the dictator. Right? I fall back, and it’s not you know, it’s not to say that, you know, I don’t have any voice. I do have a voice, but I recognize when to use that voice and how to use that voice. So me stepping in and micromanaging my husband and the plumber would not have made any sense. So when the plumber talked to him, he said, I don’t know who you thought you were sending me to, but that is not who I experienced when I got there. You know, she was so nice. You know, she was so sweet. She did she barely even said anything. I dealt with her husband most of the time. And Darren was like, what what is happening? I was like, Well, I don’t need to be in my masculine in my home. Right, and understanding how to turn it off when I get home that … don’t get me wrong. My masculine side will flare-up. It will flare-up, especially if I’m going from being in my office to being in that masculine, and then I step outside of my office. If I have an encounter, it’s like, I haven’t had time to make that shift. But understanding the difference between the masculine and the feminine is where the executive woman tends to butt heads, and where women who are wanting to, maybe they have a job and they want to pick up a second, you know, what do you call it another source of income? Yeah. Or they want to start something on the side, learning how to balance that, right? Learning how to not just balance the masculine and the feminine, but learning how to speak to that man and make that man feel included. And so it is another way of you spending less time with him. And you need help with that because in your head, you’re doing and this is gonna be great for us, for the family. You know, just give me this time, just give me this time, but you need another woman who has walked that path and to share with you. Okay, if you do this, don’t say it that way. This is what he needs. Alright. These are the type of things that you say these are, here are a few examples for you to try. You know, let’s come back next week, and let’s see how that went. You need that, right? Lucky for you,
your husband now, who I call lovingly called my brother in law, he was away. And so you had that time, and I’m so grateful that you knew enough to reach out to someone that can help you make that shift. Because it’s not definitely not easy, and it doesn’t come naturally to us, especially those of us who have been in positions where we’ve had to put food on the table and feed it. 
Alycia Huston: Yes. Yes, Anita. Yeah, right. 
Coach Anita Charlot: We know how to do that, we get that done. We go into that mode, and it’s hard to turn that off, especially when I’ve been doing this just fine before you got here. 
Alycia Huston: Right. That part. Yes, that’s so real. And I thank you for bringing light to that. And even the part like you said… because that was me when I was building my business. I was like, This is gonna be great for us. But I was just like, go sit down. I’m gonna, you know, basically, shut up. I’m gonna go to this but not including him. And even to the day, like now when I include him, as you know, like my husband does AD among a lot of stuff, he does my AD, and I’m so grateful. Um, that, that is the relationship that we have. What I also do is I compensate him. I compensate him. He has his own company, I compensate him because it’s not he’s just doing AD for two hours. Like he’s doing an AD for full three to four days. And so we have to be careful in the, in the unit of marriage, covenant, relationship, whatever, when we begin to just make these expectations, right. So I compensate like, thank you. I make sure he knows I appreciate his support and him showing up in this space. 
Coach Anita Charlot: Yes, yes, totally get that. Oh, my goodness. All right. How are we doing on time? I know, we want to, I don’t want I want to be respectful of your time. But I want to keep talking to you. 
Alycia Huston: You got it. 
Coach Anita Charlot: Alright, so let’s move forward with your journey. And as we, as we’re doing this, what, what I would really like for our listeners to hear, you know, in between the words and, you know, in between the examples that we’re giving, is that each time so far that you’ve heard Alycia make a move, tt is because that place that she was in before, was no longer making her happy. And that’s what this show is all about, the happy executive woman. And so when you find yourself in a position where you’re not happy due to the level of work that you have, or the people that you work with, or the individual that you report to, you don’t have to be stuck in that position. And for those of you I’ve been in the position before, where, when I was a single mom, I couldn’t afford to leave a job at that time. But maybe, maybe it’s not about leaving, but just learning how to exist in that position for as long as you need to. Strategies, tips, tools, tricks, you know, whatever we want to call them to help you get through and build your resilience and build your strength while you’re there. So that when you do leave, and you go to the next place, you take all of that with you. So when you left, and you took all of that with you, where did you head to next? I think if I remember correctly, we were… you had started the company. Okay, so we’re at 2008 you’re moved into the executive CEO. Okay, so now you’re the CEO, and GM. And, go!
Alycia Huston: So we’re just growing, but we are thriving. So you remember 2008 was horrible, horrible, crashes, all of that. So we dipped by 35%? The beautiful thing is we did not have to let anyone go. I gathered my troops together. We had a very transparent dialogue, and I allow us so how can we do this without having to let someone go? We roundtabled it, and we all agreed at the end, that we would do flex time. So we did not have to release anyone. We flexed. We rotated. So some people would work some days, so everyone was willing to take a decrease, you know, but everyone is still able to maintain benefits. So we made sure that level right for full-time employees, they still maintain benefits. So it was so beautiful how we roundtabled it in, I was very transparent with my business partners thought I was going to be crazy to be transparent. And no, we’ve got to be transparent because if you’re not transparent, they’re going to be wondering what’s happening. We got to have a conversation. Right, we did that we flexed and it was great. So then coming out of that horrible recession, all of that we began to grow about 2010-11. I mean, we began to soar. Things were coming. So it was just so beautiful to see. So we need new scaling things scaling staff, we’re scaling contractors. Oh my gosh, you want a lot of work, right? Like yes, I absolutely. Yes, it was a lot and so that gave me experience with getting ahead of things scaling doing things before you really need them and really balancing, you know, a budget and a p&l and making sure that things are cared for because we get 401k. I mean, we have all that. We’re a company! And so moving into that we began to really, I guess, be noticed. And so we were being watched not even, you know, you never know who’s watching you. And we had a few organizations, a few investors reach out, we had some conversations like we never even were thinking about that. What we also begin to see, what also began to see was the arena was changing. Okay, so we were able to see the arena was changing for boutique organizations like ours, you know. The big behemoth are different, they have years and years of resources, all of that. So we saw that landscape was changing, so we’re able to get ahead of that. So we were like, Let’s have these conversations. And it was great, though, because we had a couple of offers, and it gave us the experience, right, with what we didn’t want, how we want to make sure our employees were cared for. So when we got to this, this, this organization that eventually acquired us, it was such a beautiful match. Our employees were able to stay, we actually retained, we were the Southern California portion of the company, we retained our name while I was there, and the leadership was in Jersey. So I was still managing. So I now had an outside report, I was senior leadership now, I’m no longer CEO, because, you know, the company sold. But I offered a senior leadership position, and I still managed, like there was no one on-site. Right? Right. No, it was still me, my employees, you know, things coming down filter through me. And as you can imagine, any of you who have dealt with acquisitions, you’ve seen acquisitions, there’s going to come a time that their initiatives are going to begin to be pressed in. Right? And so I was aware of the initiatives, and, and me having the know-how of my staff, how they, how they receive things, how we implement things, always having my mouth to say, you know, I hear what you’re saying, I understand the end game but allow me the opportunity to soften the blow. And so I was always, always, that’s always how I learned, I was always about my people and understanding that things were not always going to be comfortable. There were going to be challenges, right? This is the end game. And let’s, you know, are there any questions. Always allowing them the right to talk, and they can voice concerns, they can voice disagreement. They’re always respectful. But like, at the end of the day, I hear you, and we’re still moving forward. So I’m gonna need you to pull your panties up, and let’s go yes. They’re like, I’m really not happy about this. But it was always a level of respect, right? And transparency, that is how I roll. But I’m so grateful that that is innate within me cecause that is what has allowed me to be as successful as I continue to be today. So that level of transparency, that level of voice, though, I believe began to become tiresome to incorporate, you know, where I was always kind of the buffer because I knew my people. And so one day at the end of 2017, I thought we were moving into a budget meeting because October, and I was invited to leave. I was invited to leave the organization. As you can imagine, I was angry. I was ashamed. Because, mind you, my staff was right downstairs. Right. I was ashamed. Angry. I just was like, this could have been done in such a different way. I felt small, that I was not valued, and I wasn’t. I can tell you when they gave me the papers, you know, all these papers, I have my attorney use some of these. Some that we’re just signing tha, I’m going to take this take that back. My signature, there was no shaking. There was no handshake, my hand moved with such grace signing that signature, and when I was about to walk downstairs, the HR lady, I said, so what you will not do is escort me. I don’t need an escort. This has been my organization. I’m a woman of integrity. I don’t need to if you need to walk behind me. You can do so. I don’t need an escort. I am a grown woman. I am a woman with class. And I’m not gonna sit here and turn tables over and x, y, z. So I said, so I don’t need you to escort me. You may follow behind me. So I walked downstairs and I saw my staff. They had no idea. I’m like, hey, just talking. And when we got into my office, I closed the door, and I let her know I said, so I do have some personal things in this top drawer, you may watch me, but I’m going to be taking my personal taxes. And so I’ve got my personal taxes and what they let me know, they said, so we’re going to be letting the staff know what happened. And we’ll be releasing them early, and then you can come back. So I took my taxes, Anita, I got in my car, and I called my husband. And he said, Baby, it is okay. Your time is done. I will say that it was not a space of… it was not nasty, but I was angry. I was like, how dare you? This could have been, you know, I mean, I had conversations with the CEO, and this could have been managed so differently. But why don’t we do this at the end of the day when the staff was already gone? You have a conversation! Alycia, we’re just going to be going in a new way, and we appreciate that… you know, there was none of that. It was, well, today’s your last day. 
Coach Anita Charlot: It’s like you were a temp? 
Alycia Huston: Yes. So it was just such a void of decency of respect. Just a conversation. And so I was angry for a while, Anita, and I thought I was going to jump into my new venture that I’m in today immediately. My heart was not right, I was pissed. Bitter. There were so many things going on. How dare you? Like I’m being real right here, right? And so I gave myself time to grieve. I needed to grieve the loss. We don’t give ourselves time to grieve. So it’s only with the loss of a person. It’s with big losses  of timelines within our lives as well.
Coach Anita Charlot: I gotta jump in here, Alycia. So in this moment, what came to my mind was the level of support that you received from Andre. Now, here’s a question for you. Would you, when you met him, and when you were dating him, and when he proposed to you, and when you were working through, you’re learning to turn that executive woman head off when you were at home and being your feminine, did you ever have any idea that he would have stepped in and supported you in this way?
Alycia Huston: No. No, thank you for that. Especially a military man. He showed me his heart. So no, that was a great question. And I was scared to call him right. Yeah, like, I’m gonna be real, I didn’t know how he was gonna react. And he was so supportive, honey. And at the end of the day, we got in his truck. He has a big old truck, a big old GMC, and honey, he was stoic. We got in there. So stoic, he was like what’s my wife’s? Honey, can you imagine going in there and all your stuff is bubble wraped. Bubble wrapped!
Coach Anita Charlot: Bubble wrapped? Did you take a Xerox machine home? 
Alycia Huston: Talk about the level of disrespecting dehumanization that didn’t need to happen. So my husband, he’s picking up stuff, and I told them up, no, that’s mine. Personally, like I had little tables. No, y’all don’t get to keep that, that is mine. I purchased that there. No problem, you know. Girl we got in, and we left. And I was so grateful for my husband. And you know, he was hurling all kinds of words. He said, this is time for you to get to your next level and what you’ve been saying you’re gonna build and so you know, so then I had to take that time for myself. Yeah, I was gonna jump into it. So it was not until I will say the middle of 2018. So I’m grateful that I had the finances to be able to breathe and have some reprieve. Oh, that was a blessing and heal myself that I was able to get to a place that I was ready to receive the downloads for this next durration for Alycia and send a thank you letter to the CEO of the previous company. I sent a thank you letter later that year just thanking him for the opportunity, thanking him for just allowing me to grow because I did grow as an executive as well. I was able to see things because now there was now we’re dealing with a larger company. So I was able to see things from a leadership perspective of basically a conglomerate. I learned more about acquisitions because they were acquiring other companies. I see things, learn things, ask questions. So I had access to things that I would not have had access to before. 
Coach Anita Charlot: That was very big of you. But that’s who you are, though. You’re a woman of integrity. You’re a woman of transparency. And a lot of times, you know, we’re so angry, and we’re so bitter about what took place, right? We’re not able to move through that or recognize it for the, for the value or the gifts that it actually the benefits the bonuses that it afforded us. So you, you, you made me think of another question. And I mean, you talk about your transparency, and the fact that even though your employees were not really happy about certain things that they were basically ride or die employees. I don’t like it, but we’ll do it. What do employers need to embrace in order to create a loyal workforce?
Alycia Huston: Yeah, you need to embrace what I saw. So I have evidence, right? I’m all about… I’m a scientist in theoretical data, right? What we need to embrace as employers is compassion, empathy, and creating a space of inclusivity of all thoughts. Neurodiversity, because I don’t have all the answers. As you heard me say, I was like, What do you all think? Sometimes my employees had the best ideas. I was like, Oh, my gosh, I would never have thought of that. And then you give them credit for their ideas. Don’t take it as your own. You know, if someone has an idea, and maybe you fixed it a bit, you are still here, Hey, Taylor had this idea. I just fixed it a bit. And that is right, the final outcome, right? Well, we always give our employees credit. So we need to implement neurodiversity as… it’s a steadfast thing. It’s something we do so that we have the diversity of thought of different brains of different lenses because we all have different upbringings. We have different experiences. So we’re gonna see things differently. Employers, especially at this time, yeah, if you want to be successful as you  age, we are in a space of new, never ever was.And so we have to embrace neurodiversity, each one of us, in order to be successful.
Coach Anita Charlot: Absolutely. Absolutely. You said a mouthful, honey because I liked your acronym of NEW, right. Never ever was. And then I have one myself that I love to use. And it’s called WIN. We need to win. Okay, we need to focus on what’s important now.. Right now. Not what was happening before the pandemic, not what was happening, you know, 10 years ago, five years ago, three years ago, what’s important now? Because the climate has completely changed. The employee climate has changed. People are not willing to sell their souls. Not anymore. Work-life balance is important. You know, and having been at home and recognizing the challenges of trying to have a family, trying to be there, the guilt that you didn’t realize that you had, right, with not being able to be there for your kids having to work having to, you know, stay late, you can’t go to the recitals, and by mothers and fathers being home now especially executive, women being home, being able to manage what they can and they realize, you know, what, wait a minute. So if I have to go back into the office, right, it means that I disrupt the relationships that I’ve built with my children, I disrupt the relationship that I have improved with my husband or my partner. Do I really want to do that? To function on one salary? There’s the whole you know, this whole mass migration or what do they call it, it’s a great resignation. That’s, that’s a real thing, that is truly a real thing. So as an employer, you have to be willing to do things differently. You have to be willing to accept the new. And you have to be willing to WIN. 
Alycia Huston: Yes. I love that. Oh. Oh, funny. 
Coach Anita Charlot: I’m shakin’! 
Alycia Huston: Yeah, shimmy, shimmy!
Coach Anita Charlot: Oh, man. I have a couple of more questions for you. I know we could talk forever. I don’t want the podcast to be too long, but people, I told you, they’re listening in on a conversation we would be having if we were sitting together anyway. So they’re getting, they’re getting… they’re the flies on the wall today. And we totally appreciate them being here. And if they’ve stuck, listeners, listen, if you’ve stuck around this long, I really, really appreciate you. You know, these candid conversations are always longer than my traditional, my regular podcast. So I really appreciate your willingness to stick around and to provide your suggestions as to what type of phenomenal women you’d love to see on the podcast. So I promise you, we’re gonna wrap this up soon. But, Alycia, in all of your experience, you have been on every single possible side of the coin. You have experienced, you know, what it is to be an employee, you’ve experienced what it’s like to be a board member, what it’s like to be a CEO, a COO, Executive Director, you’ve done all of that. What must leaders implement in order to ensure the future of their business success?
Alycia Huston: You know, and it’s so funny that you’re asking that because you actually touched on it. We have employers have been given the opportunity, the invitation to have a level of intimacy with their employees, they are now inviting you into their homes. You are seeing children when you never even their names before you had him on this little stickie. You are seeing cats jump on, get in front of cameras when you’re having meetings. You have had the doorbell ring when FedEx, UPS, or Amazon delivering packages, right? So there is this new level of intimacy that you are being invited into with your people. As employers are understanding, learning, evolving, shifting into what is required in this new space, they cannot forget that they have been given a gift, the gift of intimacy with their people. And what a gift is that! And why would you not want to continue that? So even to your point, how do we continue to grow that gift, grow that intimacy, keep it there? What do you need, so that you can keep that yummy, this new relationship with your children? I know, you’re able to go to their events now. What do you need? How do we create that? So this gift of intimacy, into me, you see, yes, is going to be crucial for businesses, organizations, nonprofits that are going to really grow, implement, so they can operate in this new season of their win.
Coach Anita Charlot: Right? Oh, my goodness, you gave me chills. Oh, you gave me chills. And as you’re talking, I’m thinking like, wow, you know, my first acronym of WIN, and when I think about that, I said, What’s important now, right. Now, as you’re talking, I may change that to what’s impactful now.
Alycia Huston: I love that.
Coach Anita Charlot: What’s impactful now, right? How can employees really recognize and value and show you know, not only their appreciation, connect with their employees intimately, but also what sort of impact do they want to have on their employees? Why should I stay working for your company if I know that this company over here cares more about their work-life balance, cares more, not only in words but actually in deeds they show them on? Not only do they show you, but they tell you and they feel it, right? You can feel it. 
Alycia Huston: What’d I say? Evidence, evidence!
Coach Anita Charlot: There may be a little scientist in me too!
Alycia Huston: See? Don’t you love it? It’s so like, it’s so intoxicating. 
Coach Anita Charlot: Yes, it is. Yes, it is. Yes, it is. Oh, my goodness. Alright. So there’s, there are so many things I want to get to. There’s one more question specifically about the businesses that I want to ask okay, then I want you to share… I’m going to go into a little bit about your about Ethos, and mey experience and that wonderful thing. But okay, so here’s the question, what is one of the biggest gaps in business today that is affecting organizations bottom line?
Alycia Huston: Yeah, you know, one of the biggest gaps that are affecting organizations that the money in organizations is there is this notion that everything, all the power resides at the top. What I want people to understand is that organizations are made up of people. So you at whatever level you are must begin to understand that all voices matter. And so as organizations begin to empower their people, when their voices and you, of course, empower those voices in a systematic way, you don’t just make it a free call right now. But as, as people begin to fully understand and feel, and see the evidence that what they’re saying is appreciated, is acknowledged. Here’s the thing, you know, diamonds, the V&S, are the top diamonds, and people just want to be they want to be so the first V is valued. If people want to be valued, that’s it. That’s all they want to be valued. They want to be… you need to verbalize. And you need to be seen. But yes, that’s it. And so if organizations implement ways for these things to happen, whether or not because we all are operating on the level of emotional intelligence, we know that everything that someone suggests is not going to be implemented. But if there’s a way for organizations, to begin to receive that information in a way that is systematic, organizations, that bottom line is going to increase the some of those best ideas are going to come from your people who are doing the work, right? Not from your people who are sitting around the tables, not from people, you know, so we all have value in our jobs and our contribution, but realizing that you need to be pulling from different departments that also sit around that table is where that bottom line is going to increase because there’s going to be some insight, some new insights with that level of neurodiversity, that level of equity, that you’re now around the table that has never, ever been realized.
Coach Anita Charlot: Absolutely. That is so true. Alycia, I used to work for a consulting firm, and I managed the training facilities for the consulting firm. Whenever they would sell a bulk of business, they would sell like a training component. And we required people from the C-suite on down to the frontline, and our environment, didn’t look like an office, you know, you’d think you were walking into Romper Room, right, there were so many toys and, you know, idea painted on the wall, you know, and books. And so it was more creative. It was to get people out of their regular mindset because when you put a CEO in an office building, then he acts like a CEO. But you put a CEO in regular clothes and a room full of toys, and he’s picking up gadgets. Without, with everybody being dressed in regular clothes, you don’t really know, when you have 150 people in there, you don’t know all 150 people. So we made it a point to if we had 10 people at a table or 10 people on a team, we made it a point to have each one of those individuals be representative of different levels in the organization. And what we did first, which I always tell people makes so much sense is we had, we did a poll, we understood what the challenges of the organization were. So where it may take an organis- where it would have taken an organization, six months to two years to actually change direction, right to change their culture to change, you know, what they wanted to work on to get everybody on board? Yeah, it only took us four days. Because we didn’t have those back and forth emails, you know, with the company. They didn’t have to have this and have that. We understood what the challenges were, where they were, where they wanted to be. We then did, you know, random surveys where we get the voice of the people, and then we put all that together. We created the training program, and then we brought them into the space. We already knew what we needed to work on. So we were very strategic in the questions that we asked. Very strategic with the questions, very strategic with the games that we played, and when they walk the walk everybody’s a little, you know, hesitant. I don’t know what’s going on, I don’t know if my voice is gonna be heard. We made sure that everybody’s voice was heard that everything was recorded. We had graphic illustrators drawing, you know, out the conversation on boards. And then when they left, we had the plan. We had the plan, and we had the buy-in from all of the people that mattered. So they cut the time from six months to two years tremendously by bringing everybody all different levels into the room structured environment, understanding what the goal was, and then left with the plan. 
Alycia Huston: I love that.
Coach Anita Charlot: Right? So whether they came to us, we had a mobile unit where we would, we would say, we would ship people, we wouldn’t ship people. We would fly our people down, you know, consultants, and we had, like, if we were, if they didn’t have the space to be as spread out as we needed to be. We had mobile furniture, so we could go and set up in a hotel banquet hall. And that was so important to get the voice of everybody. In the military, we call it ‘boots on the ground’. We need to talk to the boots on the ground. Because if you don’t get the input from the boots on the ground, the people that are actually doing the work, then you’re just sitting in the office just coming up with ideas, and they’re not gonna fly and they’re not going to be bought into because people were actually doing it, did not have a voice. Honey, I get it.
Alycia Huston: I love that. Thank you for sharing that. That’s good stuff! 
Coach Anita Charlot: You are so welcome. So before, you know, people… before we lose everybody, I don’t wanna lose anybody, but what I do want of what I do want you to share is… now I’m gonna give you guys, I’m gonna give you guys the real truth. So Alycia used to put on an event called Transcend every year, I never made it to Transcend. This year, she did something different. It was called Ethos, and for some reason, Ethos just spoke to me. I knew that I needed to be there in that room. And my experience was absolutely phenomenal. What I’m going to do for you guys is I gladly should didn’t know this, but I created a video of my experience. At Ethos, I sent it to you just this week. Sent it to you just this week. And so what I’m going to do is I’m going to provide you with the link. I’ll give you a link to that video because I want you to understand from my perspective, right there in the middle of it all what it was like for me, but I want… Alycia would like for you to share your vision for Transcend what that was. Okay, and how that transformed or just evolved or morphed into Ethos. 
Alycia Huston: You got it. 
Coach Anita Charlot: And I’m gonna be quiet. I’m gonna let you have
Time.
Alycia Huston: I will move through this quickly. So Transcend, what I know now is Transcend was what I needed to do with what happened to me. And so all of us that were a part of Transcend, we were moving into something that was next we needed to Transcend. There’s something in 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 areas of our lives, right, before we can really begin what was for us. Okay, so Transcend was the space of evolving – evolution of just new heights, stepping out into new possibilities. That’s what Transcend was. It was transcending things that may have been holding you back and saying yes to new opportunities. And so I thought that I was going to be sunsetting Transcend in 2020 when the pandemic hit, yes, 2020. I thought that was going to be the last Transcend. And so, what happened is we couldn’t do Transcend. So I said, Oh, I’m just going to move it to its fifth year in 2021, and that would be it. Right? So the spirit within me said, it is complete. You are complete. His work has been done. There is something else new, and so it was almost abrupt. So people that were in the Transcend group, I said shut it down. Yeah, like I said, I have a knowing that this is complete, we are done. I will be archiving this group in the next five minutes. I knew that I had to be obedient. I needed to be in that moment. So I did that. I had a few people say… I said something new will come. Yes, I archive that group. I got messages. Like I said because I was being obedient and I knew. So I actually sat quiet, and Anita, I was waiting for the new thing to show up. I never ever was seeing it, it was not showing up, ma’am. In my space of control. I’m like, Okay, what is this? And, and I’m a spiritual woman. And so I’m speaking – so it’s not for me to impose any spirit my beliefs onto anyone – but I’m like, Okay, God, what are we doing here? What’s happening? Hello? And so I learned how to really in this time, listen to my inner knowing, listen to the inner me, the spirit within me, and act from a place of belief and faith that everything that I have created been through is for some people in this world. And so I was in my bathtub, and I heard the whisper, Ethos. And I said, Yes, because it is within the Ethos that we will all come together. And in that Ethos, we will create, but then we will all create our own Ethoses, I don’t even know if that’s a word!
Coach Anita Charlot: Well, it is today.
Alycia Huston: So, we all will take may create our own Ethoses with the work that we are doing. And this space is for… so Transcend was not for this caliber of woman. It is for the high-level leader, the woman who is opportunity rich. I do not say busy, opportunity-rich, she is not slowing down, right. But she needs a space where she can come with other high-caliber women in being women doing great things in this world. And take her crown off or her cape, you know, her cape or her crown, or both? Yes, and, and just be poured into, but also, I believe in the power of proximity. And so be in proximity with other phenomenal women. Yeah, you can create more together outside of that room where you’re coming together, right? And we can cut through the red tape of maybe a relationship that would have taken six months to build, right building it now in a few days. And then with that, we’re now introducing each other to our networks. Be of service, and that is what Ethos is. It is about a space and ethos of impact and income and proximity that is going to Quantum Leap our visions, our dreams, and what we’ve been here to put on this earth to do, right, tremendously. 
Coach Anita Charlot: Yes, yes, yes. Preach. Yeah. Yeah, I don’t even all I can say right now, again, I’m going to share that video with you guys. But all I can say right now is that Ethos was… I just knew. Something just said you need to be in this room, and I had to jump through hoops to get there, but I was there. And you guys have no idea. It was more than just a weekend of you know, a women’s retreat. You think about… it was a women’s event. It’s a women’s… it was so much more than that. I walked in a big old ball of nerves and twisted in knots and I, the entire weekend, I just felt those knots and those just that everything just loosen up. Now with that loosening, tears were flowing. I’ve cried all dogone weekend, right? Weekend. But by the time I left the tension that I felt, the fact that I felt so alone in my journey. Right? Yeah, it’s sitting in that room. And I mentioned this on the video. You know, they say that you shouldn’t always be the smartest woman in the room, and that room, I was not the smartest woman in the room. I’m smart. Yeah, yes. But you’re right but in my own way. And so there were women in the room that were that had more experiences, other areas that I had, that I didn’t know anything about. And it was a room full of African American women, powerful women, successful women, women that I could learn from. Women that I probably never would have met because our paths would have never crossed. It was an amazing event. So I’m definitely gonna put the link to the video in the show notes. So make sure you head on over to the show notes. But this was amazing. 
So I don’t know… I don’t, you know what, it’s not for me to question why I never made it to Transcend. Yeah, no problem. It was just meant for me to be at Ethos, and life has certainly changed since then. I can tell you within just… that was in September, so whatever months ago, but yeah, I’m just my… who I am as a businesswoman has shifted. I’m standing a little taller. Yeah, you know, at five one and a quarter, maybe five one and a half now, you know. But I’m standing a little taller and I believe that Ethos called me, called my greatness forward. The woman that I should be, the woman that I know I can be, I don’t, I know that I now feel like it is possible. And that by playing, not playing to the level that I know I can that I’m doing myself and those that are meant to be served by me. Yeah, a disservice, and I’m no longer willing to do that. 
Alycia Huston: That’s right. You’re no longer open for that. 
Coach Anita Charlot: I’m just not. So what I’m gonna do is I’m gonna… we’re gonna cut this short. Okay, ‘short’. I know, you know, short, yeah, but I definitely want to have you back. Because there’s so much more that we can talk about. And I want to share, like, I want to share, I want to share you with my listeners. Because I love having you in my life. And I learned so much from you just by being in your space. I learned so much from you just by watching you. And you know, if I’m going to surround myself with women, I want them to be powerful women, women that you know can share with me and I can share with them. So I thank you for being that being my sister. Right, my sister in success. 
Alycia Huston: I love that. I love that. 
Coach Anita Charlot: And I love you, Alicia. So do me a favor. I’m going to put all of your links and more information in the show notes, but right now what I’d like for you to do is let everybody know how they can reach you. If there is a how they can get on your list? 
Alycia Huston: Yes. Um, so that you can reach out to, you know, so that they can get neuro nuggets. So for me, as you heard, my journey has really brought me to a space of culture, helping people develop their culture. And it’s so much deeper than just having a mission statement. Yes, so literally, the name of my company is the Culture Group, as Anita said in the beginning, and my website is TheCultureCru.com. And so jump on there, use it. There is a button that just says, let’s connect and you can get on my neural nuggets list right there. And I will be sending you things that are going to support you that are going to help you understand your brain a little bit more maybe why you act that way, or why you felt that way. And also some tools and strategies that you can implement with your own people with your own family, not just for organization, these run the gamut because I’m here to make a better world, a better humanity. So no nuggets is going to cover all of that.
Coach Anita Charlot: Neuro nuggets. I feel like it’s like we’re having a podcast The Happy Executive Woman After Dark. Well, thank you so much, Alycia. I can’t wait to have you back, and I’m looking forward to our continued sisterhood and just the amazing things that we’re going to do as women in 2022 and beyond.
Alycia Huston: Thank you for having me. I’m excited to come back, and I look forward to huge prosperity and abundance and expansion in 2022. 
Coach Anita Charlot: Yes. All right. Well, thank you so much. All of our listeners, please do us a favor, and head on over to whatever platform you’re streaming your podcasts on. And, you know, rate, give us a rating or review. You know, tell us what you thought about today’s podcast. Just show us some love. Let us know what we can do for you what type of topics you want. If you want to go to my website and AnitaCharlot.com You can go to the contact page. I’m open to any suggestions because this is supposed to be about how you can be a happy executive woman. And I’m all about that I’m willing to bring on whoever I need to for our candid conversations to get you from where you are to where you want to be. So until the next episode!