An Interview With Sara Connell
Decision Making: Leaders often find themselves in a situation where they need to make a decision but don’t have all the facts. Making decisions without all the information can lead to bad outcomes for the business. Decision-Making is an essential skill for leaders because it allows them to make informed decisions based on the best data available. By understanding how to collect data from different sources, leaders can make better decisions that lead to positive outcomes for their businesses.
Beginnings are a Genesis. That means that not only are they a start, but they are also the origin of all that follows. This means that the way we start something, the way we start our day, for example, creates a trajectory for all that follows. How do highly successful leaders start their day in a way that creates a positive trajectory for a successful, effective, productive, and efficient day? How do you create habits that make these routines permanent? How do you get inspired to develop the discipline necessary for such a lifestyle? In this new series, called Morning Routines and Habits Of Highly Successful People, we are talking to successful leaders who can share the morning routines and habits that have helped them to achieve success.
As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Danielle Cobo, Career Coach.
Danielle is an award-winning Career, Leadership, and Sales Performance Coach. She’s spent 15 years in medical sales, earning four back-to-back Presidents’ Circle as an individual contributor, and led the historically poorest performing sales team to #1 in the nation within two years. She has taught thousands of professionals to accelerate their careers, increase sales performance, and create a connected company culture through her coaching, corporate workshops, and keynote speaking.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive into the main focus of our interview, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory?
I grew up in Southern California, where I spent most of my days exploring the outdoors, hiking, going to the beach, wakeboarding and snowboarding. One of the benefits of living in Southern California is the variety of outdoor activities and climates within a 2-hour drive.
What or who inspired you to pursue your career? We’d love to hear the story.
In many ways, I aspired to be my mom. In my eyes, my mom was superwoman. When I was five years old, she was a single mother, working full time as a waitress and attending night school to achieve her bachelor’s degree. She was driven and persevered through every obstacle. My mom was an award-winning sales performer and among the very few women in the 90’s to break through the glass ceiling and climb the corporate ladder.
In my eyes, my mom was unstoppable, and I was always seeking her approval. I thought if I could be successful like her, then she would be proud of me and love me. As a result, I started working full-time when I was in high school and two jobs in college. Then I spent 15 years in corporate America earning 4 back-to-back Presidents Club for top sales performance and Region Manager of the year.
While my mom had a successful career in medical sales, few people knew she suffered from depression and bipolar disorder. I learned later in life that at two years old, my mother kidnapped me from my father. Through these challenges, I learned how to transform self-doubt into resilience, drive, motivation, confidence and authenticity. Ultimately, I lost my mother to suicide in March 2020.
None of us can achieve success without some help along the way. Was there a particular person who you feel gave you the most help or encouragement to be who you are today? Can you share a story about that?
My husband has always been my most prominent advocate. Whenever I experience self-doubt, he is the first to encourage me to go after my goals. I was terrified when I left corporate America and a steady paycheck, company car, stock options, and commission. Being an entrepreneur was never on my radar or a goal of mine. I thought my career would always be to climb the corporate ladder in medical sales.
I’ve always had a passion for mentoring, so when I left the company, I was with for seven years, I started mentoring people to get their dream job, exceed sales goals, and achieve balance in their lives. I consistently received feedback from the people I mentored and recruiters, “you need to be a career coach.” Eventually, I listened and shared with my husband that I was considering launching my own business- of course, I was terrified to go out on my own. Through every step of launching my business, my husband has been my biggest supporter, cheerleader, and person I lean on for advice. Starting my business has been the most challenging and rewarding endeavor I’ve experienced. I get to follow my passion for serving and empowering professionals with the tools to have a thriving career and balanced life.
Can you share the funniest or most interesting mistake that occurred to you in the course of your career? What lesson or takeaway did you learn from that?
When I started my career in medical sales, I was 23 years old, and my peers were 10–20 years my senior. On one of our conference calls, the manager asked who the first person was to arrive at our National Sales Meeting. When I responded that I was the first to arrive, he asked me to rent a car so that we could drive to the hotel together. The challenge was I was under 25 years old and unable to rent a car. It was the first time my peers learned of my age, and I was mortified.
You are a successful leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
Decision Making: Leaders often find themselves in a situation where they need to make a decision but don’t have all the facts. Making decisions without all the information can lead to bad outcomes for the business. Decision-Making is an essential skill for leaders because it allows them to make informed decisions based on the best data available. By understanding how to collect data from different sources, leaders can make better decisions that lead to positive outcomes for their businesses.
Adaptability: Business can be unpredictable; companies are often changing to meet the needs of their customers. Companies might expand, downsize, change key strategic initiatives, launch new products, or discontinue products. Adaptability is essential for any successful leader. By adapting to any situation, you’ll be better equipped to handle whatever comes your way. Then lead your team with a positive and solution-oriented attitude.
Empowering: It can be hard to know how to empower your team members. Leaders often feel like they need to have all the answers and do everything themselves. This can lead to micromanagement and a lack of trust in team members. Delegating responsibility and praising innovative thinking are two great ways to empower your team members. Leaders who create a positive environment where team members are allowed to find their solutions are more likely to see success.
I’m an author, and I believe that books have the power to change lives. Do you have a book in your life that impacted you and inspired you to be an effective leader? Can you share a story?
Yes, the book “Start with Your Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action” by Simone Sinek. We spend more time at work than at any other place. Work is a place to thrive, develop as individuals, and have fun. Simone’s book helped me uncover my passion for leadership and making an impact through inspiring others to achieve their goals. Before leading a team, I learned that we must get to know them, understand how to inspire them, and then implement a plan of action to translate their dream into a reality.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? How do you think that might help people?
I’ve recently joined the Dallas Professional Women Organization Leadership Council as their Career Transition Advisor, A network of Women Professionals, Executives, Young Professionals & Youth Leaders that are committed to growing, celebrating, and improving all communities. I also recently designed multiple online courses and corporate workshops to support professionals in gaining clarity on their career goals, transforming self-doubt into confidence, designing a personal brand strategy, and building a career plan to accelerate their careers. I am seeing an increase in speaking engagements transition from virtual to live events- if there is one thing, I learned through the pandemic is virtual events are possible, but the energy speaking at a live event is 10x the energy.
OK, thank you for all of that. Let’s now shift to the core focus of our interview. This will be intuitive to you, but it will be helpful to spell this out directly. Can you help explain to our readers why it is important to have a consistent morning routine?
Burn-out is real! People are often feeling rushed and exhausted. With a focus on doing, people have trouble focusing and feel stressed and overwhelmed. Creating a morning routine sets the intention of your day. When you start your day with a focus on mental clarity emotional and physical wellbeing, you are likely to experience a fulfilling day
Can you please share your optimal morning routine that can create a positive trajectory for a successful, effective, productive, and efficient day. If you can, please share some stories or examples.
The first hour of your day sets the intention of your day. In 2019, my husband served a year deployment, our twin boys were 1.5 years old, and I led a team for a Fortune 500 company with 60% overnight travel. I knew that to survive and be present at work and with my kids, it was essential to learn to create balance in my life, starting with a morning routine. There are
Avoid the Snooze Button: Research shows that when you sleep and nap after your alarm increases tiredness and makes you feel drowsy. Going back to bed to sleep even for 10 minutes can confuse your body. Instead of hitting snooze, sit up in your bed for 10 minutes and give your body time to wake up. If you have trouble keeping your eyes awake, scan your room or focus on a particular object.
Make Your Bed: US Retired Navy Admiral William H McRaven wrote the book “Make Your Bed.” In his book, he talks about the simple task that starts your morning with a sense of accomplishment, reduces stress, develops good habits, and creates a retreat when you return home, making your bed.
Start Your Morning with Water: Drinking water ensures optimal digestion and increases metabolism. Water supports your body to flush out toxins first thing in the morning. Your brain is 75% water. When your brain is not adequately hydrated, your brain operates on less fuel. Optimal daily water intake is half your body weight in ounces of water.
Daily Affirmations and Gratitude: Start your morning with positive self-talk that will motivate you to act, increase concentration throughout the day, change negative thought patterns, and boost self-confidence. Tell yourself five positive affirmations and five things you are grateful for in your life. I have my affirmations on a piece of paper taped to my bathroom mirror. I have their affirmations in a picture frame hanging on their wall in my kid’s bedrooms.
Move Your Body: Even 15 minutes of daily exercise will reduce stress, improve sleep, increase energy and clarity throughout the day. Get your body moving!
Speaking in general, what is the best way to develop good habits? Conversely, how can one stop bad habits?
Dedicating specific hours in your week, you develop a good habit. It takes between on average 45–60 days to create a habit. If you want to incorporate exercise into your morning routine, then set specific dates each week to exercise and block out time on your schedule. Then reward yourself when you achieve certain milestones.
Doing something consistently “day in and day out” can be hard. Where did you get your motivation from? What do you use to motivate you now?
First, give yourself grace that sometimes your morning routine may slip from time to time. Instead of saying phrases such as “I need to,” “I should have,” “I have to,” shift your mind from obligation to opportunity and incorporate phrases such as “I get to” and “I chose to.” Then remind yourself who you get to be when you get back on track with your morning routine. If I wake up unmotivated to work out, I remind myself that I have more energy when I work and when I have more energy, I am more effective throughout my day. I also usually start my morning with a podcast, TEDx Talk, or motivational video to give me a quick boost of inspiration and motivation.
What other resources would you suggest to our readers?
The book “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen Covey
Ok, we are nearly done. You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
As a military spouse and working mom of 4-year-old times, I know firsthand the challenges of balancing work and family. The movement I want to inspire is more resources for working parents and caretakers with flexible schedules and remote working.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we both tag them 🙂
If I could enjoy lunch or interview on my podcast with someone who inspires me, it’s SPANX founder Sara Blakely. In addition, to designing classic work and daily attire for women, Sara is a pledger of “The Giving Pledge,” a group of billionaires who pledge to donate a majority of their wealth to philanthropy either in their lifetime or in their wills. Sara’s foundation, “The Red Backpack Foundation,” empowers female entrepreneurs with resources to start their businesses.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniellecobo/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MsDanielleCobo
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedaniellecobo/?hl=en
Dream Job with Danielle Cobo Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dream-job-with-danielle-cobo/id1571797640
Website: www.DanielleCobo.com
Thank you for these really excellent insights, and we greatly appreciate the time you spent with this. We wish you continued success.
Danielle Cobo On The Morning Routines and Habits Of Highly Successful People was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.