Have you been recently struggling with finding meaning in your work? Do you often find yourself in a cycle of work – get paycheck – repeat? Do you want to know the secrets on how to find value in your work and get the most meaningful relationships and experiences out of it?
 
Work isn’t supposed to make you feel like you are a hamster running on the wheel, in a constant cycle with no rest, waiting for that paycheck. It’s supposed to make you feel alive because you are able to do what you love and want to pursue in life. It is one of the things that gives value to your life because you are able to contribute change in this world. So, how do you break out of that wheel, that on-going cycle of work – get paycheck – repeat?
Genevieve Piturro was a successful television marketing executive until she dramatically changed the direction of her life. She found her true purpose when a sudden voice inside her head challenged her life as she knew it. In 2001, she founded the hugely successful national non-profit, Pajama Program, when a six-year-old girl’s question changed her life forever and she jumped off the corporate ladder! Almost 20 years later, Genevieve’s Pajama Program has delivered 7 MILLION magical gifts of new pajamas and new books to children throughout the US.
In this episode, Genevieve shares her insights on how you can find meaning in your work by incorporating your personal values in your workplace and sharing meaningful connections between you and your team. She also talks about how to address your fears with the help of a simple saying and a change of mindset.
 
 
What you will learn from this episode:
  • Discover how to find value in your work and not just thinking about the paycheck
  • Find out why bringing your personal values and compassion to your workplace is important
  • Learn more about the importance of one-on-one relationships within your team
 
 
“Make peace with doing it, afraid.”
Genevieve Piturro
 
 
Valuable Free Resource:
 
Check out Covey Club, an online community for professional women. Visit:https://www.coveyclub.com/
 
 
Topics Covered:
 
03:31 – Challenge is looking for meaning in work and something more than just the paycheck
04:26 – Going through the traditional boss route and spending years and years to make the bottom line happen: the common mistake business women leaders make when trying to find meaning in their work
05:21 – One free and actionable tip you can do to find meaning in what you do: It’s important to have those one-on-one relationships with our team members but to really impress upon everyone how important it is for our team and all of us to have each other’s back
06:37 – One valuable resource to help you find meaning in your work and make better connections with your team and others: Check out Covey Club, an online community for professional women. Visit: https://www.coveyclub.com/
07:17 – Q: How might we address fear, new fears? A: I don’t know that any of us have the answer that works for everyone about how to conquer your fears. I mean, I don’t have an answer. You know, I’ve always thought, “Feel the fear and do it anyway.” And, you know, just have to get through it.
 
 
Key Takeaways:
 
“We need to incorporate those personal relationships and those personal values and the compassion that we have to bring that to work, to bring that to making that “bottom line” a reality for everyone.” – Genevieve Piturro
“If we can teach our staffers, our team members to rely on each other, just as much as they rely on their leaders, I think that will bring everyone closer. And those human connections really, really do lead to more successful workplaces.” – Genevieve Piturro
 
 
Ways to Connect with Genevieve Piturro
 
 
Ways to Connect with Sarah E. Brown
 
 
Full Episode Transcript:
 
Sarah E. Brown 1:02
My guest today, Genevieve Piturro, was a successful television marketing executive until she dramatically changed the direction of her life. She found her true purpose when a sudden voice inside her head challenged her life as she knew it. In 2001, she founded the hugely successful national non-profit, Pajama Program, when a six-year-old girl’s question changed her life forever, and she jumped off the corporate ladder. Almost 20 years later, Genevieve’s Pajama Program has delivered 7 million magical gifts of new pajamas and new books to children throughout the US. Genevieve is now a professional speaker, author, personal strategy coach, and consultant sharing life and leadership lessons she learned through her Pajama Program journey. Her book, Purpose, Passion, and Pajamas: How to Transform your Life, Embrace the Human Connection and Lead with Meaning was released in August 2020. She presented her first TEDx talk, One Idea + The Human Connection = 7 Million Pajamas and Books in August 2020 as well. She has been interviewed on and in many local and national media outlets, including OPRAH, TODAY, GMA, The Early Show, CNN, Fox & Friends, Hallmark Home & Family, O Magazine and, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, and Parenting Magazine as well. Genevieve rang the Nasdaq Stock Market Opening Bell in 2016. She has been the recipient of many local and national awards as she inspires others to listen to their heart-voice in pursuing their passions. Genevieve lives in Irvington, New York, with her husband, Demo DiMartile. And I will tell you later about where you can find more information on Genevieve. Welcome, Genevieve. Thanks for joining me today.
Genevieve Piturro 3:21
Oh, thank you for the invitation, Sarah.
Sarah E. Brown 3:23
What is the biggest challenge you help female business leaders face in business today? And what might be the symptoms of those challenges?
Genevieve Piturro 3:31
I think that these days, so many of us, most of us, I think, really are looking for meaning at work, not just in our personal lives with our families and our partners, but nine to five in our jobs. I don’t think it’s possible for anyone to say, “I don’t know. I don’t really care about anything, just the paycheck.” I think people more and more want to feel like they’re contributing and that they’re seen and that they’re valued, and that their whole person is going to work and they’re feeling really good about it. So, I think female leaders need to- really, we need to lean into our compassionate side or patient side, and really use those tools that we have to bring that value into our workplace for our teams.
Sarah E. Brown 4:21
And what are the biggest mistakes your clients make before working with you?
Genevieve Piturro 4:26
I think that we’ve spent many, many years trying to just make the bottom line happen, and maybe that’s the traditional boss route. Maybe that’s the way we felt we had to be because men traditionally are like that, not to get personal, you know, in our nature is to be personal as females and as female leaders. And I think that we should stay away from forgetting about the personal stuff at work, and just looking at that bottom line no matter what. I think we need to incorporate those personal relationships and those personal values and the compassion that we have to bring that to work, to bring that to making that “bottom line” a reality for everyone.
Sarah E. Brown 5:13
What is the number one free and actionable tip you can give the women who are listening today to help them address this challenge now?
Genevieve Piturro 5:21
I think it’s important not just for leaders, female leaders to have those one-on-one relationships with our team members but to really impress upon everyone how important it is for our team and all of us to have each other’s back. So, leaders, we can’t be there all the time, and yes, we need our one-on-one relationships with our members, our staff, but I think we need to really impress upon them to have each other’s backs when we’re not there, to confide in each other, to share what’s going on at work, and maybe what’s going on at home that might reflect what’s happening in their workday. So, I think if we can teach our staffers, our team members, to rely on each other just as much as they rely on their leaders, I think that will bring everyone closer. And those human connections really, really do lead to more successful workplaces.
Sarah E. Brown 6:19
Well, I can certainly resonate with that message because I’m really working on teaching women how to peer coach so that they’re not relying so much on leadership for that. So that’s a great tip. So, what’s the valuable free resource you can share with the women who are listening today to help them understand this challenge better?
Genevieve Piturro 6:37
I have a couple of them actually, Sarah. Covey Club is a great online community for professional women, women looking to find their purpose and listen to their heart, and also become as successful as they can. So, it’s Covey Club. And similarly, Little PINK Book online has a really great group of women who are leaders and who are sharing their stories and their passions, and helping and coaching each other.
Sarah E. Brown 7:03
Great. I will put that in the show notes so that it stands out. So, Genevieve, what’s one question that I should have asked you that will help our audience take action to address this challenge? And then would you answer the question?
Genevieve Piturro 7:17
Oh, boy. Well, I think there’s a lot of fear and trepidation coming, maybe, hopefully, close to the end of the pandemic and quarantine emergency that we’re in. So, I think, the fear and how might we address fear, new fears? And I don’t know that any of us have the answer that works for everyone about how to conquer your fears. I mean, I don’t have an answer. You know, I’ve always thought, “Feel the fear and do it anyway.” And, you know, just have to get through it. And I heard in a movie, something that really resonated with me, and it really made me sort of relax, if you can relax into it. And it was, “Sometimes you just have to do it afraid.” And I thought, “Wow, there was something peaceful in that, that instead of fighting it and being afraid of the fear, I would just have to try to make peace with doing it, afraid anyway.”
Sarah E. Brown 8:14
Oh, what a great, great piece of advice. Genevieve, thanks so much for being with me today.
Genevieve Piturro 8:21
Thank you, Sarah.

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