The following materials were suggested by the members of the 2024 Country Music Association's Women's Leadership Academy.
# | Suggestion | Link | Why I Like It | How I Use It |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | How Women Rise, Sally Helegsen | This book outlines the 12 habits standing between women and greater success. It is GEM and it offers real world, pragmatic advice about how to get over what is holding you back. | I have read this book a number of times and often refer it to clients. It is easy to read, pragmatic and very helpful. | |
2 | Money Guy Show (podcast) - | I find it to be a good source on a wide variety of financial topics, with neutral opinions and primarily facts. | i listen to it a few times a week as a reminder to stay on course financially | |
3 | Happy Light Link: | I love to use this light therapy at work to provide a dose of sunshine when I stuck inside all day. | Seasonal depression can hit hard, and I like to keep this at my desk during the winter to help boost my mood and energy. | |
4 | Anxiety Ring Spinner: | I wear this everyday to help with my anxiety. | When I realize I feel overwhelmed, I tend to focus on spinning the ring for a few seconds before acting out. | |
5 | Self-Love Workbook for Women: | This was the first workbook my therapist recommended to me and I still find it helpful to refer back to in moments of self-doubt. | I used this resource during a tough personal time and it allowed me to focus on positive outlooks through its worksheets and advice. | |
6 | Todoist | It keeps me and my team organized, aware of what each other is working on, and status on projects. | My team and I update as we go but mainly use this as our to do list for our weekly meetings. You can assign tasks to others, assign due dates, send emails directly to Todoist to easily refer to, create projects, etc. | |
7 | Boomerang - Outlook add in | It helps me keep up with what emails I haven't received responses on so I don't have to keep up with whom I have to follow up. | You can flag emails to say "if I haven't received a response by X day, put this email back in my email inbox." Such a time saver since so many people don't get back to you! | |
8 | 10% Happier. Podcast about how to train yourself to be happier. | Hosted by Dan Harris, he has a lot of fantastic guests, uses scientifically backed techniques for improving anxiety, productivity, and relationships - with a heavy focus on meditation. | Love listening to it when I feel like I want to learn something new and feel encouraged. | |
9 | Calm, meditation app. | Easy way to work meditation into your day to day routine. They have a daily 10 minute meditation as well as a plethora of other guided meditations, breathing exercises, sleep aids, etc. | I try to do the Daily Calm in the mornings. It helps start my morning on a good foot. If I'm super anxious I'll take a break from and do a meditation. If I'm struggling to fall asleep, I'll listen to a sleep meditation. | |
10 | Work Life with Adam Grant | Great interviews with various professionals and public figures to determine how they navigate and find joy in their work/life balance | Great for listening when I'm feeling overwhelmed and need a reminder that you don't have to overwork yourself to be a good employee and that even incredibly successful people set boundaries and carve out time for themselves. | |
11 | Social media account/website to assist women with financial planning and wealth management | It's a topic not often discussed among women and an area where I feel uneducated and uninformed. | IG for tidbits of knowledge. Website for more in depth learning | |
12 | WorkLife / ReThinking with Adam Grant | Adam Grant is an organizational psychologist who interviews various professionals about topics related to the workplace .. or just life in general. It's always light and refreshing and I come away from it having learned something new every time. | I often listen on my way to/from work. I like it because I can typically apply what I've learned to my day-to-day life. | |
13 | Mel Robbins Podcast Episode | It's a fairly short and practical summary about building confidence | Listened to is about 1 year ago, implemented lessons, but think I will listen to is again soon! | |
14 | The Perfection Trap by Thomas Curran | For anyone who struggles with Perfection, this is an incredible book. It hits really hard, I haven't managed to complete it yet. | Awareness, and identifying issues and triggers. I can't read this book in public because I cry so much reading it | |
15 | Managing Oneself by Peter F Drucker (Harvard Business Review Classics) | very quick and easy to read, and insightful | ||
16 | The podcast Finding Mastery by Michael Gervais, PhD AND his first book The First Rule Of Mastery - Stop Worrying About What People Think Of You | Examining how FOPO (Fear Of People's Opinions) effects you and effecting achieving and being yourself is so incredibly useful. | ||
17 | Tips on social media trends, features, etc. | It gives concise updates on any new social media features and trending topics | I use it to help make sure that I haven't missed any key feature updates from any partners. | |
18 | Playing Big: Find Your Voice, Your Mission, Your Message Book by Tara Mohr | Lots of applicable, practical resources and advice. | This book is where I first heard the advice of naming your negative inner voice. | |
19 | The One Minute Manager by Spencer Blanchard and Kenneth Johnson | It gives clear, tangible problem solving strategies in how to be a better manager and employee. | My boss recommended I read it as I was interviewing for my current VP role and beginning to manage a team. | |
20 | Ten Year Town- podcast | Run by songwriter Troy Cartwright, this podcast is a great resource for young songwriters to learn from pros but also for others to understand the creative's mind. Provides unique perspectives. | Listen in the car on my commute! | |
21 | Sarah Blondin - my favorite meditation teacher | I love following all of her work but I love this mediation specifically. | Meditation | |
22 | Secrets of Six Figure Women by Barbara Stanny - This is a great resource for anyone about to negotiate a raise or job. How I Built This by Guy Raz is a wonderful podcast for entrepreneurs and business in general. | The book I read as a suggestion from a business manager prior to asking for a raise. The podcast inspires me and pushes me to think outside of the box. It also shows the struggles everyone goes through when building a business. | See 5 but I read before I asked for a raise and the podcast I listen to weekly. | |
23 | List of Verbs to use when creating a resume | You can use it to come up with unique words to help you better describe your accomplishments, and it helps prompt you by breaking the words into categories like "when you created something..." "when you managed something..." "when you brought an idea to life...." etc! |