The Grit & Grace Leadership Podcast
What fuels the heart of a leader? Leadership isn't just about guiding—it's about persevering, learning, and growing. On the Grit & Grace Podcast, we shine a spotlight on the stories behind the leader. Leaving listeners with the inspiration and tools to do the same.
Join us for stories of triumph, tenacity, and the unwavering grit & grace behind successful leaders.
The Grit & Grace Leadership Podcast
Meredith Shaw on the Power of Authenticity
Have you ever wondered how the slip-ups and stumbles life throws at us can be the very things that propel us forward? Meredith Shaw, Breakfast Television's vibrant new co-host, joins us to share her journey of authenticity and how a little on-air misstep can lead to a mountain of growth. Her stories from a career spanning fashion, music, and now broadcasting, teach us the importance of passion, adaptability, and the power of a supportive network. Be prepared to be inspired by Meredith’s candidness on leading with your true self and finding strength in the moments of imperfection.
This episode is a treasure trove of personal mantras and insights, highlighting the delicate dance between self-improvement and self-compassion that many of us navigate every day. So come along and celebrate resilience, empowerment, and the authenticity of your own path with us.
Lets keep the conversation going on Instagram!
Follow Meredith Shaw on Instagram
For us for actionable tools & tips for your leadership journey
Instagram @Grit.Grace.Podcast
Follow our LinkedIn Page
Website: www.thegritandgrace.co
On the Grit and Grace podcast, we shine the spotlight on the stories behind the leader. As the new co-host of Breakfast Television, she wakes up the country with her wit and warmth. Yes, I am thrilled to announce that Meredith Shaw is joining us today. In this episode, she gets candid about leading with authenticity and the art of turning mistakes into milestones.
Speaker 2:My first radio job, which was in Toronto, I went a bit off script. I was talking about Halloween candy and I said what kind of Halloween candy are you? I'm a Reese's. And I said penis kind of girl. Twitter goes nuts. The phone lines start ringing. Everything in that minute changed for me, because it taught me that who you are is in.
Speaker 1:Your imperfection is in how you deal with what is thrown at you as we step into this new year. Her message is clear it is not about reinventing ourselves. It's about bringing more of who we truly are into every aspect of our lives. This episode is a celebration of authenticity, resilience and empowerment. Let's dive in. This is really a bit of a surreal mind blowing moment for me to have you on the show kind of so early in our journey, and as I was learning so much more about you, I found this quote from Steve Jobs and the minute I read it it screamed Meredith to me. So I wanted to kind of start with this quote yes, you can't connect the dots looking forward. You can only connect the dots looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down. It has made all the difference in my life. When you hear that quote, does that resonate true when you reflect on your journey?
Speaker 2:Yeah, you cannot connect the dots looking forward and I certainly have had a lot of dots in my career.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's what stood out to me, right Like so many so many moves. How have those transitions really prepared you for your dream job today and where you are?
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, I mean again in that moment, looking back, I mean I needed to do all of those things in order to be the person that is able to step into this role at breakfast television a dream role for me.
Speaker 2:You have to be able to talk to a lot of people with a lot of different stories and in a lot of different ways, and because of my experience in the fashion world and in the music world and the radio world, broadcasting world, I've been able to, I think, step in to the role quickly, because a lot of those things really did prepare me and at the time it felt a little chaotic when I was doing lots of things, but the through line for me was always that I loved them and I feel like if you move toward what you love, life starts to put things in your path.
Speaker 2:That makes sense, you know. And when I have people now ask me some questions or seek advice, or you know, I always say what are you doing right now? And if they're like, well, I'm working at Starbucks or I'm doing whatever they're doing to make it for me to try to get into the industry they want to be in, and you know I'm big on strategy, so we talk strategy and who I might know that they might have a good conversation with or whatever, but I also say to them don't look too far ahead. It's like being at a party and you're talking to someone and they're looking toward the next person, like if you're working at Starbucks, be the best dambarista that Starbucks had ever seen yeah.
Speaker 2:Because when you become known or best or just impassioned by what you're doing in the moment, you are very attractive to other things like people, experiences, who knows who you meet. It's good to love what you're up to or find something about what you're up to that you love, and I think that actually stands you in better stead than kind of constantly looking for the next experience. You got to stand in some gratitude and some fun and some some love where you are, and if you really can't find it, then you know with respect, given how difficult life is these days, and you know, I think you should try to do something else, Because I think where you are now has more to do with where you're going than you might think, especially when you're trying to get into an industry that seems almost like what? What is the entry point?
Speaker 1:You know, as I was learning about your journey, you kind of had some serendipitous moments that have happened along the way, you know, whether it was, like, you know, your break in modeling or your country music career, and I kind of thought about those moments. But I feel like we all get those moments that we don't plan for. They kind of show up where there's the person, the opportunity, and we have to have the courage to act, to move, to pivot, as you were at those crossroads and making a change from modeling to music or music to radio. How did you evaluate those pivots?
Speaker 2:I mean, I really looked to my circle. I have very, very good friends and family that I rely on a lot for those moments where you don't quite believe you can make the leap or the move, or maybe this feels a little safer, so we're going to stay here. And luckily I've had, you know, really good girlfriends in my life. Some of them I've known since I was two, three years old and those are the people that like know you and can, in those moments where you're kind of talking a racket a little bit, they can call me in, call me out, whatever, and kind of give you a bit of a reality check. So I do, I do think in those moments or maybe not a reality check, you know to encourage you to leap and I've had great benefit with that. So I think you know your circle, whether it's your family or your chosen family, you know put them to work.
Speaker 2:Sometimes in those moments take, you know, have conversations and confidence. Sometimes you need that sounding board and that's okay. And then you just got to really tune in, almost like you know tune in a radio or tuning a guitar. You got to tune into that, that inner voice we all have. It gets quite soft because there's so many other things going on, but that that voice that sometimes you don't even want to hear, you're like, oh God, I feel like I know the answer to this and I don't want to know the answer to this, because I'd rather be the other answer. But I think you got to get quiet enough that you can hear yourself and trust, trust yourself.
Speaker 1:I couldn't agree more. I was actually on a bit of a call with a bunch of female founders last week and one woman said just like I knew it was the wrong decision, but I did not trust myself because I thought somebody else knew better. My investors knew more. But so when you're talking about that, I think one tip that I resonate to is like, yeah, you have to be able to hear it, but you also have to not allow external pressure. I mean, you have a circle of trust but you don't have that and you're getting information that may not be the best. How do you not go down that road? And I've been thinking a lot about how confident you are in your role, in your career and there's a lot of external pressure, and how have you kind of found your voice to lead in an unconventional way? And you've been such a powerhouse and a leader for body inclusivity. So how have you done that?
Speaker 2:I show up, I keep showing up in the body that I have. Some days are easier than others, some comments hit harder than others, but generally I and I say this with with a lot of admiration, you know, for a lot of my sisters, especially in broadcasting, who deal with just stuff all the time. I don't quite know how, but I don't get a ton of it. I get. I do get quite a bit of support and the only thing I can think about with that is is there's a I'm quite open in my conversations, but I think there's also some boundary there. I don't talk a lot about, you know, workout plans or food or like in terms of like diet plans or any of those types of things, or because I don't really want to invite. It's not that I'm not doing some of them or but I don't really want to invite that kind of conversation. So I think you have to be judicial about the conversations you engage in and what is for everybody to participate and then what's just for you, because I think that's hopefully also how other people I would love, who are aware of me, to set up their own lives that way, like there are some, you know, whether you're public facing or not. There's some things that are for you and your journey and your successes and failures with it, or whatever that is, and some things can be kept private, even in a world that really wants all the information.
Speaker 2:And in terms of the pressure, I just like I love what I do. I'm so grateful for this opportunity. I'm so grateful that it came to me at this time, because I think really again like going back to your initial quote from Steve Jobs when you look back, you can see those dots lining up. You also see why it maybe took a little longer than you were hoping for, or because it does line up. And I'm in a phase now that even two years ago I wasn't in. I have, I have more of a assuredness Because I think now there's a realization that it's not.
Speaker 2:The assuredness comes for me, comes from what my intention is with everything that I'm doing and who I'm doing it for, and it's very much less about me and it's very much more about I'm seen so I hope others feel seen so. When moments dip in my confidence or I feel a pressure of a certain way, I can step outside myself a little bit.
Speaker 1:It's like services, the counterforce to the pressure, performance pressure, especially as it relates to the topic of burnout, because the big question I've been asking in my head is the word burnout hasn't been around. I haven't heard about culture for a long time, but it's very acute in how we talk about it now. One kind of thought I have around burnout is if you're exerting energy and you constantly feel like you're under your own performance pressure, self-scrutinizing yourself, worrying, doubting it's going to take twice the amount of energy to execute in that moment, regardless of what you're doing. And so I've been thinking about what is the counterforce to this lack of confidence and it sounds like I resonate with service Like what am I doing this for? How can I get out of myself my way?
Speaker 2:Yeah, you put that so beautifully. It is about service, it's about community, it's about your intention, your mission, whatever those things that can exist outside of you that you can hang on to in those moments that you might dip and you will dip, and sort of having that realization that that is also very normal, I think is incredibly helpful. And the ability to be consistent, I think has served me well too. If I think about that performance pressure, you know, if you have an ability to continually commit to showing up honestly and with humor, you can't really be clocked, and if you are, you can't really take that in from them because it's not true. You know, if you're showing up with a kind intention and a real sense of I might get this wrong, but let's give this a go.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I think it allows other people to kind of maybe get it wrong too. But here we are being honest in the moment. You know, I started my career very, very, very, very prepared. I mean prepared to the point of just boredom, right.
Speaker 1:Like oh, you mean like in your head prepared, like it's all buttoned down.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I wrote everything out. I mean, what I was saying on the radio, it was you know it was it was. It was just there was going to be no error. I wasn't going to make a mistake. Oh God forbid, I made a mistake.
Speaker 2:And then I and I have shared the story yeah, I was saying on the radio my first radio job, which was in Toronto, which was pretty rare, and I went a bit off script. I was talking about Halloween candy and I said what kind of Halloween candy are you? I'm a Reese's. And I said penis kind of girl, oh my God. I said penis, oh my God. I said it again this is a live on the mic. Oh no, exactly, I'm like I'm fired, like I'm, it's done, it's over for me, good times. Like I'm packing up my bag. Well, twitter goes nuts, the phone lines start ringing, my boss comes down the hall laughing, calling me penis. Every. Everything in that minute changed for me, because it taught me that actually, who you are is in your imperfection, is in your recovery, it's in how you deal with what is thrown at you and that's how you get to know someone and that's how you understand their context and don't be afraid of that. Lean into that. So yeah, it all kind of changed for me in that moment.
Speaker 1:Did you find that you had a process of undoing the performance, or was it like that? Was it you know, forever changed in that moment? Like what was that journey like?
Speaker 2:I think it's. You know, you spend a lot of your youth and teenage hood learning, learning, learning and young adulthood, and then you start to maybe show up in yourself a little bit more and then you spend a bit of time, you know, unlearning things that other people have espoused onto you because that's what worked for them but it doesn't work for you, and so you kind of change things around. So I think there was a little bit of that pullback. But I think for me it's always about feeling it Once I feel what that feels like to make a mistake, recover, keep going people laughed, it was all fun. I'm like, oh, give me more of that, I like that. I like that feeling Because that means I kind of can't mess up, because if I mess up and can recover and there's some humor there. So then it just became finding those moments, practicing some of those things and trusting that I've done enough of the work.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:It's not that I don't prepare anymore. I prepare, prepare, prepare, like for an interview, and then I toss it out and I stay present with what's going on.
Speaker 1:Well, and I think it works for anybody. It works if you're giving a meeting, if you're doing a presentation. I have so many people who have just come to me and say I have a hard time communicating upward to the CEO. It's the same dynamic that you're talking about. Why is it? You can talk freely one way, but the minute the conditions change, we clamp down, we tame our voice or we feel this performance pressure. It's the same dynamic. So this is wisdom for everybody.
Speaker 2:It absolutely is. Yeah, it can be applied in so many situations.
Speaker 1:Do you find, meredith, that inner critic or that harshest still shows up for you and you have to go through kind of a conscious practice, a deeply processed, to keep up with that? Or are you feeling like a lot of the work's been done?
Speaker 2:No, unfortunately, that inner critic is very strong and thrust, especially for women, especially women of a certain generation. It's really the understanding that this is a back and forth and this is a recognition that it is an inner critic. I mean, there was a time there where I just thought it was me. I didn't have any distinction between any thoughts, it was just the thoughts that were going on. So really being able to hear that and decide like, am I going to believe this and take this on, or is this a racket? Is this something that I'm just spinning around with? And for me, because much has been made throughout my professional career about my body, about my size, I fit, I don't a lot of my stuff comes back to that racket and I have a mantra that I say to myself when I get in those spaces, which I find very calming and resetting and it's I am and I am not my body, and it's this dichotomy that I exist in, that I think we all exist within that. Who I am and what I bring to the table and my worth and my value. It has nothing, nothing, zero, to do with my body, my size, in the present moment, tomorrow, whenever, but at the same time I am very connected to my body and I'm proud of her and we've been through it together and there has been work there and journey there and so and therapy there and celebration and big moments walking New York Fashion Week, and we've gone through a lot of this body of mine and so I don't want to also not be her like as if it's something that doesn't matter. It does matter. So, yeah, this sort of I am and I am not my body, I exist in both ways. I think allows me to be a bit two things can be true at the same time a bit fluid.
Speaker 2:And then the other thing I heard very recently from Dan Harris and 10% happier, one of my faves to listen to. He said and I loved this that when he gets into his racket about whatever his racket stuff is and sometimes for him he has shared that it is his body He'll say two words wrong yardstick. Wow, I love that because he's like, no, you're using the wrong yardstick to measure your worth, your value yourself right now. And it's two words that kind of snap him back into oh, that's the inner critic, that's not actually who I am and what I want to do, and you two keep going, so I also really love that I'm adopting that too.
Speaker 1:We're taping in December we haven't quite hit holidays yet and likely air in January. I come out January every year. This is the year I get very excited in the new year. I've had to learn to kind of have incremental. I think it's how taming the ambition over time. But how do you think about the idea of I want to improve myself I have areas that I am excited or eager to actively work and grow on versus I need to accept myself more, when those two things coexist, what is your perspective on that?
Speaker 2:100%, and I think that is this state of kind of body neutrality that really is taking over from body positivity, because it's just a relationship that you have with yourself, your present self, your past self, your future self. I mean, these are. You can absolutely, and I think actually it's imperative that you love who you are right now in order to make change. You can't change yourself through hate. It doesn't work. If it does work, it won't work for long.
Speaker 1:You can't whip yourself forward Like you will burn out in that model.
Speaker 2:Yes, yeah, I mean, I've tried that model a couple times. It does not work, and that's just fact. It's not going to work the next time. So if anyone's listening and thinking about that kind of thing, I mean let's save them some time.
Speaker 2:I think that's not the way forward or through, but absolutely there's a way to have goals health goals, movement goals. I think it's all in how you frame it, it's all in your perspective and self-talk, and you can find a lot of that now out there. I mean, there's a lot of communities that really understand that combination and even that mantra of mine the I am and I am not my body. That also relates to that dual relationship we have with ourselves, that I can love my body and be in the process of changing it. I do think, though, you have to have some safety boundaries around that, because I think we can very quickly fall into patterns that have been very grooved over many, many years and that can almost be sort of an excuse you give yourself when really you're doing some behaviors that aren't the best for you. So I caution people to keep themselves in check with that. It's your body, do with it what you want.
Speaker 1:It's about the compassion and I think compassion is the energy that I have now, like married ambition with. Because I can have compassion for the moment, I can have acceptance for where I'm at. I can also be a dreamer, like I can, you know, want for more, and I think a lot about you know how people do struggle in the new year I think next year, to be honest with you, I think in leadership, community plus authenticity and being just. In the age where we will have AI everywhere, realness will prevail and I just think it's going to be the counterforce. But for people who want to get involved with um you've been a part of a lot of things like are there real tools or communities or anything that you could recommend so that, if people want to have anything to do with, like improving their confidence or making you know a positive change in the community, what would you recommend?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean being in community with others is so key, I think, especially if you have felt other in your life at all like whatever that means. I think finding finding your people is a huge key to being able to really unlock your power within your voice and yourself, and it really is transformative. I mean I have found mine on social media. I mean social media gets a very bad rap but it really can do a lot of good. I have people that I follow and I'm in communication with from all over now, All over the world. That brings such perspective to the work that I do and not only do you feel seen by each other, but you're really able to support each other and sort of galvanize thoughts and make things happen. I mean, when I got this job on breakfast television that curve, community, body, neutral, body, positive I mean they came out loud like they were so supportive, I mean across the board.
Speaker 2:It was a very lovely welcome but but I was very touched by how much that community showed up for me. So I think as much as you maybe give to a community you're looking for, they will also give back, like there's. There's real lovely give and take. So in terms of you know more tangible things on social media, I mean follow at Meredith shop.
Speaker 1:Absolutely everyone. By the way, I think that I have struggled so much on social media in what I'll call edit mode, meaning I want to put something out. I'm worried about what people will say. Like I have this, you know, like these voices around me, which they are, I'm breaking them this year. They're going away and it's just going to be back into, like freedom in the post. And when you do that, like I this is what you're saying, is how I'm here, just like it it comes back and every you give permission for everyone else to move into that space, to your posts are just their, their natural, their authentically you, and that's that's the energy that I resonate with.
Speaker 2:Well, that's just the best, Thank you, I mean, that's what I hope for, but it's certainly not where I started. Like it's always awkward, like you have this sort of who do you think you are voices going?
Speaker 1:on.
Speaker 2:And like why does anyone care about what you think in this moment or that moment? Or or is that a few too many dresses that you're posting? Like there's all kinds of stuff that can start to happen, right. But my thing with, with, with socials and how I sort of tend to run my squares of the internet is like is it? Is it, is it funny, is it helpful? Is it just gorgeous? Is it just hot? You know, yeah, yeah, and and those, if I can hit all three, great, and if you know there's a couple, you know I think that works. But the, the other thing too, is, is sure, post away.
Speaker 2:But social media is a two way street. I mean the amount of times I spend in my DMs. Hmm, you know, sarah has become a great friend for supply at she's in her DM. She's got 2 million people following her. She spends so much time in her DMs.
Speaker 2:I don't have any or as many people following me, but I do too. I mean we have a lot of conversations, because it's not just a post. Look at me. It's like how does this hit you? Like what are we? How are we in conversation with each other? I think you know, sometimes my fiancee, rodney Bowers is like Are you well? Who are you talking to now? And you know, before bed I'll do, I'll respond to you know 50 messages or something, and I wake up in the morning or I'm in, you know in the back of an Uber, whatever, because you know you gotta find the fun. You gotta find the fun in in that space as well. So if you follow me, I mean I'm highlighting lots of people that I love in terms of you know the work that they're doing, the voices that that they're they're using, and what's phenomenal now is with the show like breakfast television.
Speaker 2:I mean I can, I can put some of those voices on traditional broadcast and then we really start going here, because it's like okay, well, let's, let's really move, and I've been the benefactor of so much help and inspo, and you know, from people in this media landscape in Canada. It's a real, it's just a real pleasure to be able to sort of be a part of that now and to do that in in my own way.
Speaker 1:Meredith, you just you summed up the vision for me, so thank you so much for being here. This has been mind blowing.
Speaker 2:You are very good at this. You should have no second thought about. You know, is this a direction to move in? You absolutely should. You ask beautifully thoughtfully curated questions and yeah, this has been a real, this has been a real treat and I think, if I can leave, you know, everybody with with a feeling as they move into a new year, first of all, you know this new year, new you. Let's think of it as new year more of you, right? Let's go more of ourselves into everything that we do.
Speaker 2:And it's so worth the, the, the practice of of showing up authentically as yourself, because it is the hardest, easiest thing you will ever do. It is so hard to do until it's not, and then it is the easiest it's. If it's not easy yet, just keep showing up, because it will all of a sudden kind of get easy, and then you'll think, oh my gosh, why the heck was I trying to contort myself to someone different? It's going to be so much easier, and then the effort will lessen and then you will be able to really show up wholeheartedly and you'll you'll change the spaces that you're in. I think that's just how it works. Yeah, thank you, jen, for having me. This has been a true pleasure.
Speaker 1:We will wrap on that, Meredith. Thank you for joining us. Don't forget to follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn, where we transform the wisdom from our podcast into practical tips, tools and takeaways for your leadership journey. Find us at gritgracepodcast. See you next week.