Meet Wendy Bohling | Chief Impact Officer, Trailboss, Podcast CoHost, Author, Speaker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Wendy Bohling and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Wendy, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
Early in my 35 year career I thought of work/life balance only as an afterthought. I got good at shoving twenty pounds in a 10 pound bag… moving to the next most urgent thing. I rarely said no and treated my time as an unlimited commodity. There was little balance in my life. Having kids was the emotional gift that shifted my perspective. Work and life would rarely be balanced and instead the journey was one of integrating the two. Integration meant I could have it all just not all at the same time. There would be times I was killing it at my job, and there would be times I was proud of being there for my family or even self-care, just not usually at the same time. Choose your battles to win the war. It’s unachievable to fight every battle. It’s unsustainable for your health and for the outcome. Role model choosing life moments to be unapologetically present for; supporting aging parents or making it to your kid’s basketball game. Coming out of a two-year battle kicking breast cancer’s ass, I’m reminded even more our bodies mask the accumulated toll of running 90 mph juggling career, home, kids, aging parents, relationships. Treat your energy as a precious limited commodity and be kind to yourself in your own journey to work life integration.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?

Six years ago, I became a tech corporate escapee, opting out of the corporate climb and becoming one of the 57% of mid-career women leaving tech. I started Corporate Cowgirl Up, a gender intelligent leadership company to put my money where my mouth is; creating solutions, programs and training to slow the exodus and move the gender equality dial. Over these past six years, I’ve used every ounce of my tenacity, leadership and business strategy experience and product development background, to come up with corporate transformation programs, solutions and training to engage more businesses and professionals in the business imperative to get more women to the executive table. Part of that journey has been empowering and educating women in tech and business as co-host of an award-winning Big Girl Money podcast. Launched in April 2018, my millennial cohost and mentee Roni Burgener, and I blend our intergenerational wisdom to deliver career advice and leadership skills in a fun and humorous way. Think water cooler talk over wine. The podcast has transformed my own long standing definition of success based on title, employer prestige and salary. I’m reframing success to be defined by impact and influence due in large part to the compassion for myself and my health from a two-year battle conquering breast cancer. Now I work with kickass women and innovative organizations to get their WHY into the heart of their 9 to 5. How fun is that, right?

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’d definitely start out in the town I live, Louisville. We’d start with enjoying the incredible Colorado weather with a latte and fresh baked pastry from our local Moxie bakery on their back patio. Then head out to a hike at Chautauqua to work on our glutes climbing one of the Flat Irons, getting back just in time to enjoy a micro-brew at Southern Sun in south Boulder and their famous date burger and homemade fries. Since my bestie is adventurous, we’d tube down Boulder Creek to remind us how lucky we are to not be crusty old ladies!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I have an amazing friend and mentor, Margaret Burd who was a couple years ahead in her career journey. I remember being overwhelmed and nervous about doing my first performance review and giving feedback. She said something that stuck with me over all the years of developing the people I was lucky enough to support. She said, “Find the thing they do better than the average bear and build on that.” It propelled me to build deeper relationships with people and get beyond surface conversations and value. Later, Margaret gave me a terrific opportunity to join her startup and talked me into my first sales job. I’m lucky she saw something in me I didn’t. My job now is to pay what Margaret did for me forward as I spot amazing talent and potential.

Website: www.corporatecowgirlup.com

Instagram: corpcowgirlup

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/corpcowgirlup/

Twitter: corpcowgirlup

Facebook: corpcowgirlup

Other: www.biggirlmoney.com

Image Credits
Kasey Fox kfx317@gmail.com