‘The End Is The Beginning’ An Interview With Executive Confidence Coach Beverley Bramwell
The Destiny Awakening Interviews is a podcast with Andrew Wayfinder and his guests.
Every week (sometimes more) we have a short focused interview with an expert, author, speaker designed to bring you powerful insights, inspiration and ways to break free, live life by your vision and values, and make a difference in our changing and challenging world.
Listen to the podcast at: https://player.captivate.fm/episode/b3bf084e-63fd-493d-9149-316bc7d563da
Andrew Hryniewicz
So hello everyone and a very warm welcome to another edition of the Destiny Awakening Interviews.
I’m Andrew Wayfinder Hryniewicz and I’m joined today by Beverly Bramwell, MBA, ex-CEO, and executive confidence coach for senior women professionals.
A very warm welcome to you, Beverly. And where are you hanging out today?
Beverley Bramwell
Hello, Andrew. I’m in Southwark today. It’s rainy but the sun’s out. So it’s in London, I should say, in case anyone wonders where Southwark is.
Andrew Hryniewicz
Okay, great. So well onto the subject of your work and your insights into I think a topic that is very timely: the question of redundancy, especially sudden redundancy.
So Beverly is the founder of BeverlyBramwell.com, a former CEO with 20 plus years management strategy work with top CEOs and their teams. However, about 10 years ago, Beverly had to rethink and rebuild her career when her role was made redundant in a company restructuring.
Surprised by the impact that change had on her confidence, and other issues in her life, Beverly did recover and came back with great strength.
But because of that, she’s become an expert in helping senior professionals navigate the crossroads and upheavals of their life and careers with confidence and control.
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So thank you, Beverly, for your time today. And our title today is the “End Is The Beginning”. And Beverly is going to show us how to turn a shocking upheaval into success in six questions.
So Beverly, your time starts now.
Beverley Bramwell
Hello Andrew
Andrew Hryniewicz
Who is your ideal client, and what is the transformation you help them achieve?
Beverley Bramwell
They’re senior women professional, so they’ve been made redundant, quite suddenly. And if not redundant, they are in that place of uncertainty at work. So it may not be happening now. But it may be about to happen.
And what they realized that there was a crossroads, which perhaps they had never considered before. Another job, change completely.
And that’s where I found myself, but I realized that I had choices. And one of the transfer stations I talk with about with women, it’s about reconnecting to the ambition, to their purpose, their desires and dreams.
Because easily, after 20 years, you may have lost sight of what it was you first wanted to do. And maybe you never wanted to do what you’re doing. But you stayed in it and all sudden now, here’s an opportunity.
So I help women to remember who they are and what they want. And remind them what they want to do next.
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Andrew Hryniewicz
Yeah, that sounds very important that losing yourself. So little over a minute. Question number two, what’s the biggest challenge they face when they come to see you?
Beverley Bramwell
Self doubt. We can call it all sorts of things. We can call it confidence lost, we can call it imposter syndrome. But it shows up as fear. And when you have fear, it can be enormous, but it stops you from doing anything.
And again, it’s there because you’ve lost that connection with yourself. You don’t trust yourself.
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And so every single thing you question, you second guessed that the most minute of decisions, even whether to sign with a coach, because I’m not sure if and we start creating story about whether I’m good enough. “Can I do this? Will it work? Can I still do this at my age?”
So it’s that fear that we have to deal with. And it’s that fear of getting over the fact that it’s okay to feel the fear.
But one of the insights I’ve always got, and I say this even to myself: do it scared, the confidence will come. And you will be surprised that when you decide that, you take the weight off your shoulders, you can start to bring…
Andrew Hryniewicz
Perfect, so a little over two minutes. And we’re on question number three, what’s the number one insight you would share with a woman in that position right now?
Beverley Bramwell
I would say that whatever’s showing up for you now, that’s telling you you can’t do this. Let it go.
If you’re saying “I can’t because somebody might think…” let that go too. Give yourself permission to show up. Give yourself permission to say “Let me consider doing something else.”
And once you’ve given yourself permission, even if it’s quite tenuous, you’re not feeling strong enough to say “I own it”. You’re on your way.
But it’s about deciding. You have to make a decision. And you decide, today, tomorrow… but you decide that this is what I’m going to do. I’m going to do something else.
Andrew Hryniewicz
Okay, great. So three minutes and 20 seconds. Question number four, what concept book program or talk has been most impactful? In your journey? In your experience?
Beverley Bramwell
There have been so many. And that that was probably the hardest question I had to think about. Because there have been so many things that I’ve been have made me think, that have helped me, they’ve supported me.
But most recently, I was listened to a talk by a coach called Lisa Nichols. And because of COVID, we were all on zoom. And she was the keynote for this conference. And she said this phrase, and it really just it hit home,
“We are committed to familiar discomfort, rather than unfamiliar possibility.”
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I thought, yeah, I get it, I totally got it, that we would rather stay in a place of not being happy, of not being satisfied, of not being ready, rather than stepping out there and seeing what I can do, exploring possibilities.
But what you need to understand is, whilst you remain in that discomfort, you can’t effect change. So you have to make a decision, stay and be comfortable with your discomfort, or step right out and see what I can do.
Andrew Hryniewicz
Reminds me of what I talk about with clients sometimes is, there’s that voice in your head, that’s going: “Stay at the back of the cave, stay at the back of the cave, don’t go out…”
Beverley Bramwell
Absolutely. Absolutely. And actually, something else I should add just come into my head that somebody, a social media writer she wrote: Lots of things are hard.
And my one is: Being stuck is hard. Moving forward is hard. Choose your hard.
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Andrew Hryniewicz
Yeah. That’s that’s very, I think that’s very wise. I mean, that’s like, pulling a plaster off. The anticipation of it is often so much worse than than what you actually experience.
Beverley Bramwell
Exactly. And I think, because of I don’t know whether it’s this time now, we are convinced that we should know everything, should have everything ready, like a sort of box of goodies.
So I signed on. I know I should be able to do this. I should have my plan. I should know where I want to go. And I don’t know these things, and there’s something wrong with me.
And I think it’s a hang up back to the fact that you’ve been made redundant. And you feel there is something wrong with you.
There is nothing wrong with you. Redundancy is just redundancy, you are not redundant, your job is redundant. If it was done in a brutal fashion, then I’m sorry that happened. But forgive them. Forgive yourself.
Because often you blame yourself, but somehow you think that you contributed to that fact. And I could have done more of this… and less of this…
It’s all just nonsense. Let it all go, just let it go.
Andrew Hryniewicz
Yeah. Reminds me of getting over a breakup… you start questioning “What could I have done differently?”
Beverley Bramwell
Exactly. That and that sometimes it’s… it is sometimes just what it is and redundancies is as big a thing as a breakup.
But sometimes you just have to like, box it off and say “Okay, but you know, it’s not about you, it’s just the job.” And, like I always say, they clearly didn’t appreciate your talents enough.
And so, therefore, it’s time for you to go on somewhere else where they do appreciate your talents. And leave them in the rearview mirror.
Andrew Hryniewicz
Okay, great. So just over seven minutes. Question number five, what free resource would you like to share with the audience?
Beverley Bramwell
I have a newsletter where I share content similar to what we’ve been talking about today. And bits of encouragement and the support that you can dip in and dip out of. There’ll be… some bits will be stuff you can read, sometimes they’ll be small podcast, eventually become my podcast.
But the idea is that it’s another place that you can check out and listen to and think about, okay, maybe I’m not losing it, it’s okay.
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And it’s sometimes thought provoking. And that’s really what mindset is about. There is no big thing.
It is just a newsletter, but it’s quite an important newsletter. And sometimes we need those words.
Andrew Hryniewicz
Okay, great. And that’s it. www.BeverleyBramwell.com/living-powerfully. Yeah, that will be in the show notes. So just eight minutes exactly.
Question number six. What should I have asked you Beverly that I didn’t?
Beverley Bramwell
Why I do this work. It’s a question you should have asked me.
Okay. I grew up believing I can be anything I want to be. That’s what my father told me.
He said, “Don’t let anybody tell you otherwise, it might be hard work. But that’s all you can do, what it is you want to do.” And that has been what keeps me going.
Sometimes I forget that my dad said that, and I’m brought back in. “Yes, I can do it, I can be anything.” So if I’ve got that in my head, then I can move forward. And it’s allied to the fact that I want to see more women thriving.
I’m not saying they don’t, but more women could be thriving, more women could be visible. More women could be seen in place, they need to be seen as leaders.
I think that we need to change as regards how people are recruited, and who is recruited.
But I want there to be so many women available to be recruited, who are at the top of their game that they cannot be ignored.
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Andrew Hryniewicz
Thank you. That’s a very beautiful ambition. And I I salute you for it. It’s something I see in my work. And you’re right. So thanks so much for your time today.
Beverley Bramwell
Thanks so much, Andrew.
