The Boundaries That Make High Performance Possible

Amy Evans: Hey. Welcome back to Women in Sales Leadership. I'm Amy Evans. I'm rerunning some of the best episodes. I've handpicked them for you. The most popular, the most downloaded, and I'm making them available in this three episode rerun package just for you. Even if you've heard one of these before, I promise you, you are going to hear something different this time. You're not the same person the first time you listened. I hope you enjoy. What intention do you want to set for the conversation that we're about to have?

Erica Etore: I just want to inspire someone. Right. That is my hope. And, like, every time I kind of talk about my story, like, I also get clarity from it.

Amy Evans: Yeah.

Erica Etore: Um, so inspire someone, inspire myself, ground myself, and just have a good time with you.

Amy Evans: Do it. Yes. We're not going to cut that out. We're going to keep that. Okay, beautiful. We'll, uh, keep it all. So here we are. Welcome back to Women in Sales Leadership. I'm your host, Amy Evans. I'm the founder and CEO of Amy Evans Sales Leadership Coaching. And today's episode is especially close to My heart because we are diving into something that every single woman or many, many women in sales leadership feel, Feel. But very few of us get a chance to really talk about in an honest way. And, um, these feelings are about boundaries, burnout, motherhood, and this constant pressure to be everything to everyone. And my guest today brings both receipts and real talk. Erica Etore is a top performing global sales leader at Workiva and the transformational leader behind one of their highest growth businesses. She has tripled win rates. She has scaled her organization from five to 15 sellers. She was recently named manager of the year. Her career began on Wall street working with some of the world's most recognizable brands and before she moved into tech. And today she leads a global team, um, that spans Europe, latam, and the US and she has this blend of really calm confidence and sharp strategic execution that I think you're gonna pick up in a minute when you get to hear from here. But what I love most about Erica M. And why I invited her to be on the show is her honesty about what it takes to do all of that while raising her son, protecting her wellbeing, and creating boundaries that actually work for her in real life. So this is a conversation about leaders. It's about identity, it's about motherhood, it's about systems that allow women to perform at a really high level without sacrificing themselves. Erica, welcome, um, to the show.

Erica Etore: Thank you so much for having me. I'm like, I didn't need to put blush on today. I'm already blushing. Thank you so much for that intro. It was phenomenal.

Amy Evans: Well, it's all true. It's all true.

Erica Etore: Yeah.

Amy Evans: Well, we're going to dive in. Thank you. I'm so glad you're here. I'm so glad you're here. So for the people, for my listeners who are of course meeting you for the first time, how would you describe your role at Workiva and the team that you lead today?

Erica Etore: Oh, wow. I, I'm having like a monumental day for my team. Um, we had an incredible team meeting um, today which like I'm still feeling the adrenaline from and I'm very much on a high from it. So I love this question. So the way that I would take describe my team in particular is like they're very much a high performing team. We have a culture embedded in and a philosophy around a you versus you type of culture. Right. So you are really laser focused on trying to be the best version of yourself day in and day out. We have a team of accountability. So really focused on, you know, the accountability is a two way street. My team also holds me very much accountable just like I hold them accountable. So I am very much thankful for them. Um, and that's, that's really how I would kind of describe the culture of both me and my team.

Amy Evans: Yeah, I love it. So what about the role that you have? Talk about that.

Erica Etore: Sure. So I am a solution specialist sales, uh, leader. Right. So what we do is we partner very closely with the account executives and we. I am a part of a matrix model, right. So it's a matrix environment where we are specialists. We have expertise in a particular use case that is provided by Workiva to our clients. And my team sells to global enterprises. Our solutions name is actually embedded with the name global or multi entity. Right. For multinational corporations. And my team is responsible for um, driving and execution of multi entity reporting sales across the globe. Wow. So essentially what my team and my role is really embedded in trying to drive high performance amongst that use case. Right. Delivering best in class service and delivering best in class client experience to our clients as well as our internal stakeholders. Being a part of a matrix environment, I always tell my team, the account executives, every other support function around you is also a client. Treat them as such, right. Because you will get the most value out of them. They will feel the most appreciated. And when people feel appreciated, they show up in a very unique way. So that is really the philosophy of my role. Right. And the goal of my role, the role has evolved very much, drastically over the past three years. I went from superstar stellar to, like, I was a team of one. My, my leadership had invested in me as a person to kind of build this team out. And then over the course of the past three years, tripled the team size, tripled the win rates. Right. We have a lot of accolades behind us, but the role has drastically evolved over the past several years. Right now I'm really in strategy mode where I'm laser focused on. Not this quarter. While I am concerned about this quarter, I am always like, 2/4, 3/4, 4/4 ahead and taking on more of that strategic view where earlier on it was like, tactical. What's going on with this deal? How can I help? Where are their weak points? Where are there? Where is their risk in the deal? So over time, the role has drastically evolved, but where I'm currently at, uh, is really laser focused on strategy. And also culture is incredibly important to me.

Amy Evans: Ooh, yes. Yes. When you think about it, what. What are you most proud of? Like, what's a standout when you look at your team's evolution? Because you just described evolution right there. What are you most proud of when you think about how that team, your team has grown and evolved?

Erica Etore: So there is a gentleman on my team who was my first hire, who also took a little bit of a risk coming to my team. Um, he's based in London. I'm obviously based in New York City. Um, and the first conversation I had with him, he's like, erica, I'm interested in being a manager. I'm like, well, this is not a manager role. So I appreciate the career aspirations, but, like, if you stay with me, if you prove yourself, if you prove yourself to be a good mentor to others on the team, if you also prove to be a high performer, we can look at potentially making you a manager. In July, uh, he got promoted to manager. He is now building out the second, you know, evolution of the team, which is super exciting because we have expanded quite, quite drastically in Europe on a percentage basis. So he is somebody that I'm incredibly proud of. Watching him, you know, grow and evolve is something that I've seen, you know, with my own eyes and, you know, something that I am looking to see the next evolution of him. I've had people on my team present main stage sales kickoff. I've had another gentleman on my team bring in the largest multi entity reporting deal in a single transaction from a corporate client that happened last quarter, which is something I'm incredibly proud of to watch. Right. Just, um, being on the sidelines for it. I've taken several folks out of inside sales roles and brought them into enterprise sales jobs. Watching their evolution has been an honor and a pleasure for me. And every single time I watch somebody on my team grow, I myself grow. Um, so it's incredibly exciting. There is a little bit and piece of every single player that I have on my team that I actually learn so much from by watching their evolution in real time. And it's also quite funny that not everybody sees their evolution. Right. Uh, they don't feel it. And I'm like, are you kidding me? Like, let's take a step back. Let's look at you a year and a half ago. So that's what I would say I'm probably the most proud of.

Amy Evans: Yeah. That change happens so incrementally. Right. It happens in micro movements of, like, days and weeks. And the pace, uh, that everyone's moving at is so fast that just reflect and slow down and think about, okay, 12 months ago, where was I? And 12 months before that, where was I? And to slow down and acknowledge the journey and the accomplishments along the way. Yeah, absolutely.

Erica Etore: Absolutely. Uh, yeah. And it's easier, it's easy to say it and harder to do it. Right. You have to be super intentional about it. Right. Uh, so coming back to your initial question, like, what are your intentions? Like, you have to be very thoughtful about how you're going, like, how you're kind of viewing your own progress and progression as an individual. But, yeah, it's. Especially when you have a high performance team. Most people have the hunger of, like, okay, that's great, but, like, what's next? Right. So completely agree with you.

Amy Evans: Okay. So when you and I first met, in case anybody can't hear, in case anybody hasn't noticed, uh, you mentioned being a Jersey girl. What does being a Jersey girl mean to you in your leadership? How does that show up?

Erica Etore: Yeah, so I. I work for a company that's headquartered in Ames, Iowa. Right. So a lot of our staff either, you know, is from Ames, is from that area. Right. They're very Midwestern. I work for probably one of the nicest companies on planet Earth. Right. In terms of the overall culture. And, you know, I can authentically show up as myself at work, which is quite unique and lovely at the same time. Tying that back to being a Jersey girl. I am incredibly direct and I am incredibly passionate. And the thing about being from New Jersey or representing where you're from, is just having being very grounded in who you are, agnostic of if you're coming from, you know, New Jersey, New York City, Atlanta. Right. Just being incredibly, like, proud of where you're. You are from. But the thing that I would also say about people from New Jersey is, and, uh, me myself is I like to represent where I'm going harder than where I came from. And I think that's a part of the philosophy about people from New Jersey. Because if you take a look around the state, it's really not the most lavish state, to put it in a nice way, but it is a, um, very proud state. So I would just say I'm incredibly proud of where I come from. Culturally. Yes, I'm very direct. I talked with my hands probably a little bit more than I should. I do have a thick accent, I've been told. I don't hear it, but yeah, I would say it's just being very proud and grounded from where you're coming from to where you're going.

Amy Evans: Yeah, I think that's amazing. I do. Um, you shared, you shared that you were a waitress at 13, is that right? 13, yeah. And so your path from being a waitress to Wall street, these are all W's. I'm just now realizing it as I'm saying it out loud. Waitress, Wall street to Workiva. And that's a really incredible, incredible path. What were some of the milestones that really shaped you on that way of becoming the leader that you are today?

Erica Etore: I have never thought about it like that. So thank you again, Amy, for that question. You're always so inspirational with, even the way that you ask the questions. Um, so kind. I would say, like, the thing that was, oh, I was always centered around is like, how can I be the best? Right. I come from a first generation American household. Right. I was the first college graduate on my mom's side of the family, not on my dad's side. Um, but I, I have like, a hunger for, like, you know, ensuring that I'm either, like, the best at what I'm doing or trying to be the best. Right. And that is the linchpin that I think exists between all of the W's, right. From waitress to Wall street to Workiva.

Amy Evans: Yeah.

Erica Etore: Is this hunger and this passion to be the absolute best that I possibly can be? And it's not a function of I want recognition or anything like that. Obviously that helps, but I just want to represent and make people proud of the overall accomplishments that we have. And I would honestly say, again, like, that is the linchpin that exists. Right. Like, obviously, as I was a waitress, like, really also focused on customer service. It was always customer facing every aspect of my job, which obviously brought the biggest smile to my face. But outside of, like, you know, the, the tangential things that we could kind of stitch together, I would just say it's like, really that hunger to just be the best that I possibly can be for the team around me.

Amy Evans: I think that's so beautiful. And it really says a lot about you. You're a high performer, and you want to have a standard of excellence that you want to deliver because it' you actually derive joy from it. I mean, that's what I'm hearing, is that. That you, like, you enjoy it. It's fun for you. You can't do this kind of work if it's not fun. Um, I was thinking when you were talking about being a waitress, I was like, the world's worst waitress. I, um, feel sorry for any tables. I apologize. Anyone who, um, I served back in the early 2000s when I had a. I was working two jobs for a while. Um, but. But to have that focus on customer, on customer service and be that, like, face of the business, that hasn't changed, has it? Being a leader. Yeah. Being in sales and being a leader, it's still that role. I'm curious to go back to the moment, uh, and like, the time period of when you made the transition from being an individual contributor to being a leader. And what changed for you when you had to step up and take on that level of leadership and shift in that way?

Erica Etore: That was probably like, going from waitress to Wall street was probably easier than going from individual contributor to manager. Quite honest. And I know that sounds silly, but, like, as there is no playbook, right, that really, that, hey, you should be letting go of this. Hey, you should be holding onto this. Hey, this is what you should be focused on, right? When you're running a deal, like, and it's all hands on deck. Like, as a high performer, you know that deal inside and out, right? And that's your pride. That is what you represent. The better you know it, the better handle you have on it. It represents a lot. And as a leader, right? And as a new leader, I was like, okay, well, I just have to do this times 10 or times 20 or. Right. And that, that's how you lead. And in fact, I was very much humble during the transition because I'm like, this doesn't scale. This is going to drive me into the ground if I'm. I'm Thinking that this is what. What being a first, uh, line manager is, because it, in fact, is not going to get me where I need to go. Right. Um, so I would say, like, letting go was probably the biggest area of transition that I needed to make from individual contributor to manager. And it needed to happen quickly. Right. Because I was also scale, growing, scaling, establishing, you know, a brand, a team. It's multifaceted, and I was running it at a global scale. It wasn't like I was handed a team. I had to build it from the ground up. Uh, so that also was like, well, this is my baby. I'm not gonna let it go. Right. And then over time, like, and I mean, a very quick time, it was like, all right, well, I am m going to empower you as, uh, somebody on my team to run this deal. These are the three updates that I want. This is the structure at which I want it. Right. And really starting to let go. Cause that then freed up mental bandwidth time that freed up parts of my day. Right. It allowed me to get mental clarity as well. So it was alt. It was also multifaceted. But I would say that transition from IC to leader is incredibly humbling, especially if you're going from being like, the, like one of the top performers to a manager. I was like, whoa.

Amy Evans: Right. Yeah, it's. I'm not surprised to hear you say that. Um, and I. It. That that journey. It's a mindset shift. And what I think is so misleading about mindset is that people can mistakenly think you that mindset shifts are easy. And I would submit that mindset shift is the hardest work to do on your professional and personal development. Uh, it's not like a light switch that you just, like, walk in the room and say, whoop, I'm a manager. I'm a leader now. I'm not an individual contributor anymore. And I have to think in a totally different way than I've ever had to think before. It's, uh, it's a moment of complete and total adjustment. And that. That description you gave of you go from being an ex, like an expert or in a mastery level, to being, like, completely lost for a little while. Yeah, yeah. Uh, that's. It's. And it's a testament to you that you've continued to grow and have more and more leadership, you know, trusted to you. Ah. That you got through that challenge and are excelling. Um, let's talk about motherhood. Let's shift through there and talk about being a working mom in sales leadership. Something I have some Familiarity with. Although I'm like, I'm at the tail end now, Erica. Like my kids are going to be out of the house and I'll start crying if I start to talk about it too much. But like they're going to be gone and off to college in like three years, which everybody says it goes by in a flash. And I, so I'm just going to say it's true. Um, but what, what happened about your, in your experience because you're, you're in a different moment of motherhood. And what was this, the moment when you, you're a mom and you're a sales leader? What was the moment when you realized that you, you just couldn't keep working the way that you were working and doing the way you were doing before your son was born?

Erica Etore: Yeah, I, so I kept up at the same pace. Like I am of the type of mindset like, like, bring it on, right? Like, and I, I will handle it. Um, and becoming a mom is incredibly humbling. Um, because the day doesn't you, you no longer own the day. The date now owns you just by default as being a mom, right? Especially with a newborn. Um, when I transitioned over to Workiva from my previous role, I had a three month old. So I had a fairly young child at that point. I was just coming off of my maternity leave and then I was segueing into a net new industry for me, a net new sales cycle for me, right? And as my role evolved with Workiva, my son also evolved, right? Because as a mom, you know, what your son or daughter needs 3 months old is vastly different than what they need at four and a half, right? Five. And you have much different problems than I have, right? And your day looks much different than mine does. So I luckily have an incredible team around me, right. I have a great partner. I have a very, um, helpful nanny, right? But like at the end of the day a lot of the responsibility still falls on me, right? And uh, that is again, coming back to that self made pressure, right? Whether it's through high performance, through work, whether it's, you know, I want to be the best mom, I want to be the best partner. I want to be the best at my job. I want to be the best friend. There is some sort of innate pressure that exists, right? And I think over time and as Joey has gotten older, I'm like, wow, like to your point, like, okay, like, I thought the, the four month old phase was going to last forever. Now he's one and a half right? Now he's Three, like, where did that go? Right? So really refocusing and recentering my energy because I'm like, I am. I'm a physically here mom, but I'm a mentally absent mom. Right. And how can I make that? And that was really where I was like, wow, something needs to change. Right? Like, and it wasn't anything about my job. It wasn't about my son. It was about the way that I was looking at things and the way that I was tackling things and the way that I was handling things. And look, it's a work in progress, as everything else is. I will always be a work in progress. Um, but I would say like, you know, really taking a step back and like, kind of, I don't want to say hitting rock bottom because that's a little dramatic, but it was like a realization of like, wow, I'm. I am like, I can't keep up at this speed because I'm not. I want to be the best at everything and I'm not being good at what feels like anything.

Amy Evans: Yeah. So say more though, about like, uh, the stuff that you were noticing was happening when you were in that like, uncomfortable spot where, where you recognized that you weren't. You were trying to do it all and there was. Sure that wasn't working for you.

Erica Etore: Yeah, I'm like, you know, I missed an event at Joey's school. I didn't even know it was happening. Right. I'm sitting on the couch and I'm like just kind of doom scrolling on my phone versus being present. I'm, you know, it was just a series of like micro events that I was like, this is not the mom that I want to show up for my son.

Amy Evans: Right.

Erica Etore: Which is the most important thing and the most precious thing that exists in my life. Right? Yeah. So I would say like, kind of going through those motions and just seeing like, you know, I want to be the mom that's like there and shows up and is like the biggest cheerleader and you know, the cool, fun mom that's like also the working mom and like, you know, the multifaceted mom. But like, I would just say I missed a couple of events and I was like, this cannot happen again. Right. Then also just being like, again doom scrolling instead of being like, Joey, how was your day? Like, you know, making eye contact with him, showing him that he's like the most important thing to me. So I would just say like a couple little things happened like that. And I was like, this is. This is no more. Right? Like, yeah, this needs to Stop.

Amy Evans: Yeah. So, so how did you make that shift though? Like, how did you start to give yourself permission to, to be able to prioritize, Joey, and in essence, really your own wellbeing along the way?

Erica Etore: Yeah. I would say, like I've done over the past three years countless amounts of introspective work. Right. M. And taking a look inside of like, what makes me happy, what brings me to how can I propel myself. Right. Like just looking at myself from different points of view, different angles.

Amy Evans: Yeah.

Erica Etore: Like how I react to certain things, how certain things affect me, how my day sometimes gets derailed if something minimal happens. Like really just looking at myself from so many different angles and perspectives over the past three years has been incredibly helpful for me. And uh, took a ton of work, took a ton of time to get where I am. And I still am a work in progress, like I had mentioned earlier, but really just taking a step back and like, okay, well this, like, how do I view myself? Well, does that bring me joy? Right. Is that bringing, is that like helping me mentally, physically, emotionally? Right. And just looking at different facets of my life from that perspective and being brutally honest with myself again, coming back to being a Jersey girl, like, it could be very easy to be direct to Amy, but it's another thing to be incredibly direct to yourself. Right. And point areas, right?

Amy Evans: Yeah. Oh yeah.

Erica Etore: Areas that you can get better and you can improve, right? Mhm.

Amy Evans: Yeah. The honest look in the mirror is, is tough. It's tough. And uh, you know, I don't know a single, I don't know a single leader out there who, you know, the way that we realize that it's time for a change is that things are off course. That's how you know. Right. Like nobody's just sailing along smooth the whole time. Like, I don't know anybody that that's life is like that for. And so you know, it, it's like a maybe it's like a wake up call chance that we get where it's like, oh, this is not what I wanted. This is never what I dreamed of. Uh, you know, all the signs that help you realize it's not working for you. The anxiety, the stress, the feeling out of alignment with your values and what you want for yourself and your life and your family and your son and your relationship with him. Um, you know, it's, it's those moments that are educational for us because they show us what we don't want. And it's always met with a choice where you get to say, am I going to choose something else or I'm going to choose to keep doing this and getting the same result over and over again. Yeah, definitely.

Erica Etore: And I, I would just say, like, coming out of being in a high performance mindset, like, you're almost like, I have to be right all the time. Right. Like, you kind of equate the two to one another. And it's like that mindset, like, only gets you so far. Right. Like, and until you can shift that and kind of look within, it becomes incredibly hard to kind of elevate yourself to get to the next level. You kind of stay stagnant if, if you stay in that limbo period almost.

Amy Evans: Yeah. I think what you're describing is something I, I talk about a lot with, uh, the leaders that I work with. And that's like this concept of, like, we don't have to have it all perfect all the time. We're allowed to run experiments and try things and see if they work for us. And as, as long as you keep looking at it that way, then, like, the pressure, never the pressure to be excellent doesn't change because that's a desire that you have to fulfill. You're like, I want to do excellent work because I feel good about that and I know I'm capable of it. And I enjoy pushing myself. And I. Right. It, it fills you, um, and can fill you up to achieve in that way. Um, but to also acknowledge that, you know, there will be times when you're going to have to pivot and change direction and try something and see if it works. Yeah, you have a really great operating rhythm that you're running in your business. Um, let's talk about that. Because a big part, I, you know, it's so easy to talk about these changes. And the real, the real thing that makes a difference, I've noticed, is habits. And what do you do every day and what do you do every week? Because it's when you get in those habits that you can start to get that alignment. And you have a great number of habits that you do. I'd love for you to share them. What's your weekly structure like?

Erica Etore: Sure. Sunday night, what are you doing? I'm. I'm just pulling up my notes. But yeah, I would say my week starts with Sunday night. Really Taking a look at, like, you know, looking at Joey's calendar, which is my number one thing, and then overlaying that with my calendar. Right. And moving things around to kind of shift. And then if you take a look at your calendar on a Sunday night, it's like, all right, you're. You're getting into gear, number one. And number two, nothing should surprise you. That's going to be coming up throughout the course of the week. Right. I also remove anything that I'm like, all right, I don't need to be on this. My team's got this. Right? Like, empowering them also to say, you know, work, work with this manager, like you're on the right course, et cetera. Right. And just clearing out some space within my calendar because, as you know, it's easy to be on calls from 7:00am to 7:00pm Right.

Amy Evans: I want to. I want to ask a question there, Erica. Like, how do you tell. How do you know if it's a call you need to be on or not? And this is especially important for my leaders who might be early in their leadership.

Erica Etore: Sure. I think. Right. It comes back to the evolution of my role and the evolution of my team. Right. So when I had first started the team, I was like, coming back to my earlier point, I want to be on everything. Tell me what's going on. Right? I, like, you said the wrong sentence on that call. Like, right to. No, no, no, no. You have the most incredible rhythm. Um, I am not going to add any value to that call. Right. And, like, there's a level of trust that exists across the board. Right. I trust that you're going to represent our team properly and I trust that you have ownership of this and I trust that you're going to represent the company in a certain way. Right. And I would say over time. And I have some reps on my team that are like, well, you'd be a great safety net. I'm, um. Like, you got this, right? This is yours to own. You also gain so much more confidence. Confidence if you are owning it. Right. So really just like kind of taking a step back and looking at that evolution. Right? And some people are at different points in their career and some people are at different points within their evolution on the team and culturally understanding how we like to. To show up to meetings so every person looks a little bit different. But, you know, empowering folks to kind of take off the training wheels and just get off to their own races is like my biggest point. Right? And again, it comes back to that. Letting go, letting go, letting go. You can always repair, right? We're not saving lives here. We're running pristine sales cycles, but we're not doing a lobotomy. Right? So, like, can come back, we can look back and we can do repair. So, like, which rarely happens Right. Like, if that happens once a quarter, that would be a lot. But I would just say, like, you know, the evolution of the team and the evolution of the role have, have changed drastically. So, you know, just having confidence in like, your own leadership and what you've instilled in the team, I would say is step number one. Right. Like, have confidence in what you've. You've embodied throughout your entire culture and your team. Yeah. Coaching.

Amy Evans: I think one of the strong suits you shared with me is that you block personal time and you don't let people book over it.

Erica Etore: That is, in fact, true.

Amy Evans: Tell me, how do you do that? Because it's so easy, so easy to just. Oh, just that one call. Oh, that one meeting.

Erica Etore: Yeah.

Amy Evans: How do you do that?

Erica Etore: So it comes back to self respect, Right. And like, one of the main things that my company, like, really instills in folks at the company is respect. So you cannot respect others if you don't respect your own time. Right. And I cannot show up for my team in the way that I want to show up for them. If I don't walk off an hour here, an hour there, right? It adds up. And nobody wants anybody running on fumes, including myself. Right? So it comes back to a lot of self respect. I, you know, I had started to see myself kind of like losing control over my calendar. And a few C level executives at my company had given me the advice of like, Erica, everybody has time blocks on their calendar. Respect your own time. I'm like, oh, well, if I just did this one more meeting, like one more deal my clothes, right? And again, it's taking on the long game philosophy. Not only the long game for yourself, but the long game for your team, the long game for the company. Right. And really understanding that, like, what rituals make you show up as the best, Erica. What rituals make you show up?

Amy Evans: What are they?

Erica Etore: What are those?

Amy Evans: What are your rituals?

Erica Etore: So I have quite a few of them.

Amy Evans: Is there an ice bath involved? I want to know.

Erica Etore: Um, some days. Um, Seriously, I was kidding. I'm not. Um, I do sauna five days a week. I do red light five days a week. I box twice a week. I do yoga twice a week. Um, I am very much into self care. I like, it just helps me mentally and physically and spiritually. Like, it helps me on multiple different fronts. Um, so I am a big self care girl. I. There is a cryo dome that I go into a couple of times. It's not my favorite. I don't like people.

Amy Evans: Maybe I need to try it I'm, like, laughing about it. I'm like, I don't know. I'm scared. I'm just gonna admit it. Like, I'm a little nervous. I grew up in Wyoming, where it was like, every day was a cryodome outside during the winter.

Erica Etore: You're like, I lived it. I don't need any more of it.

Amy Evans: I moved away from that for a reason.

Erica Etore: Yeah, exactly. So I. I prefer the heat, but I do. I do have a lot of rituals. I have a girls dinner tonight, um, with some of my friends in town. Right. Which is very important to me, the social aspects of it in a remote culture. And it's something that I kind of overlooked for a little bit. Like, I am an extrovert. I need to get out there. Whether I'm not in client meetings, etcetera, I need to be out with either my friends, you know, a couple friends, Joey's, you know, parent friends, etc, So I am very respectful of, like, my time and what I need to show up for myself as well.

Amy Evans: That's amazing, that. Really well done. That's awesome. That's really awesome. I could have used your help about 15 years ago. I wasn't doing a great job with any of that stuff. Um, I. You've talked so much about, um, having a. Having a structure, and I, um, think what I'd love to do is have you share. Like, there is a woman who's listening right now who feels like her quarter, her sales quarter is running her life. What's the first thing you would say to her to help her begin to climb out of that?

Erica Etore: Sure. Um, I always tell my team, never let a quarter define you. Never let a year define you. You have. You'll have bad years and you'll have good years, and you need to stay incredibly balanced because your good years doesn't make you the best seller in the world, and your bad years don't make you the worst seller in the world. Right? So you have to have a balanced mindset, right? You can't get too high and you can't be too loud. You need to be in the middle in terms of longevity. And once you're able to kind of mentally accept that. And it stinks, right? Because when. When you're crushing it and, like, you're super high off of adrenaline, all of the endorphins, etcetera, it's amazing, right? And I still get like that. So, like, I, uh. But I try to balance it out because, you know, I do have bad days too. Right. And I do have bad quarters. Too. Right. So balancing that out to be incredibly level, I would say, is the biggest piece of advice that I have. And it's mind over matter. Right. And once you're able to perfect that, I think then things become easy because that gives you clarity. And when you're stuck in the mental rut, it's incredibly hard to have mental clarity. And to get out of that rut, you need mental clarity. Right. Um, so I would just say again, a good quarter doesn't define you, and a bad quarter doesn't define you. You can elongate that to a year on both sides of the trade. But, yeah, I would. That would be like, girl, grasp that.

Amy Evans: Yeah.

Erica Etore: And then, like, put your blush on, put your lipstick on, get your notepad, and, like, let's get to business.

Amy Evans: I love that. Uh, before we close, what are the. What are, like, the first couple boundaries? You would advise this. This girl. Woman listening right now, like, feeling like, I don't know, how can I. How can I start to do this? Because it feels like too much already.

Erica Etore: So don't expect everything to change at once, because if everything changes at once, nothing changes, Right?

Amy Evans: Yeah.

Erica Etore: It's not sustainable. So what I would say is start with a Sunday, take a step back, look at your week. Right? Coming up on short weeks and looking at a Sunday makes it much easier, right? Like, if. If there's a holiday, if there's pco, if there's an event, et cetera. But taking control of your week starting on Sunday, I would say, is absolutely paramount. Right? Take.

Amy Evans: Yeah.

Erica Etore: Taking a step back and just starting there, right. And then being very thoughtful and intentional about making that Sunday bleed into Monday. Right. In terms of, like, all right, I. I know myself. If I have over six to seven and a half hours worth of meetings in a day, by the seventh and a half hour, I'm like, guys, my brain is not even functioning. Um, we might as well not even be having this meeting. Right? And then. And then, like, doing the. Doing the work to understand where you can maximize the day. Right. I. I operate the best between, like, 6 and 8 in the morning.

Amy Evans: Yep.

Erica Etore: So I get a ton done in the mornings by myself. And that's where I get work done. That's when I get personal things done. But it's taken me several years to come to that point of, like, where do I operate? Uh, at, like, maximum. Like, capacity is not the right word, but, like, what's best for me? Like, how do I operate fast? And, like, that is work that I would, you know, challenge anybody to do. Because it takes a little bit of time. But once you get there, like your future self is very thankful for, for you doing that work,

Amy Evans: I m think that's where we're going to leave it. Erica, wow. Thank you. Thank you so much for bringing so much honesty, so much clarity, so much heart and authenticity to this conversation. What I love about all of this is that you have shown other women how you can still be ambitious. You can lead a global team, you can build a really high performing organization without sacrificing. Without sacrificing your well being. Without sacrificing. You know, the other roles that you have in your life as a partner and as a, as a parent, um, and as a, as a human, as a friend. Uh, and you've shown us that the boundaries just really, um, they aren't just protective, they're what make that high performance so, so possible. And so for everyone listening, if you want to connect with Erica, how can they find you? What's the best way? LinkedIn.

Erica Etore: Find me on LinkedIn.

Amy Evans: Beautiful. Uh, and if you want to learn, connect with Erica, learn more about her and our work at Workiva. You'll find links in the show notes. And if you're a first line sales leader who's ready to step into your second line leadership role, increase your income and build a career that really gives you both authority and autonomy, you can join me, uh, Amy Evans, in upcoming workshops or learn more, more about coaching@, uh, amyevanscoaching.com and I want to thank you so, so much for listening to today and we'll see you next week.