127. Mindful Rebellion: How to Play by Your Rules Without Burning Out | Meggi Rombach

What happens when a high-achieving humanitarian leader hits the wall?

In this powerful episode of The Quiet Warrior Podcast, Serena Low sits down with Meggi Rombach—former leader at Procter & Gamble and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)—to explore burnout, identity, boundaries, and what it truly means to find your voice

With over 20 years of global leadership experience across corporate and humanitarian sectors, Meggi has led complex restructurings, navigated cultural integrations, and managed teams through uncertainty

But behind the success was chronic stress, burnout, and a health crisis that forced her to pause—and ultimately, to reinvent the way she leads and lives

This conversation is a masterclass in quiet strength, mindful leadership, and courageous boundary-setting.

In This Episode, We Explore:

The Introverted Extrovert

Meggi describes herself as an extrovert who leans toward observer mode—especially in new environments. Rather than speaking first in meetings, she prefers to listen, connect ideas, and contribute thoughtfully

For introverts and quiet achievers, this is affirming: meaningful contribution does not require immediate volume. It requires presence and discernment.

The Hidden Cost of High Performance

From her early corporate years at Procter & Gamble through her humanitarian leadership at the Red Cross, Meggi experienced multiple restructurings and high-pressure environments

She shares openly about burnout—particularly the “frog in boiling water” analogy that describes how chronic stress builds so gradually that we don’t notice until we’re already overwhelmed

Her turning point came after a serious health challenge forced her into deep pause, mindfulness, and reflection

Quiet Burnout & The Guilt of Slowing Down

Meggi speaks candidly about the guilt that comes with asking for help or setting boundaries—especially when you identify as a high performer or a people-first leader

She highlights how easy it is to advocate fiercely for your team—while neglecting to advocate for yourself.

When Your Identity Becomes the Organization

Working within mission-driven institutions like the ICRC, Meggi observed how deeply employees intertwine their personal identity with the organization’s mission

When layoffs or restructurings occur, untangling that identity can be painful. This episode explores how to reconnect with who you are beyond your job title.

Mini Mindfulness for Busy Leaders

Instead of hours-long meditation, Meggi advocates for micro-practices:

• Two minutes of conscious breathing
• A slow walk around the building
• Practicing non-judgment
• Embracing gratitude

These small resets helped her regulate chronic stress and step out of emotional reactivity

Managing Up with Respect

One of the most practical moments in this episode is Meggi’s story of setting boundaries around meeting times.

Rather than reacting with frustration, she approached her senior leader calmly and factually—without entitlement—simply raising awareness. The result? A better system for everyone

Her philosophy:“You can raise anything, as long as you do it without a sense of entitlement.”

This is gold for quiet achievers who struggle with authority dynamics.

From Leadership Insights to Play It By Your Rules

Meggi recently rebranded her podcast to Play It By Your Rules—a “mindful rebellion” against inherited scripts and expectations

But here’s the catch: You can only play by your rules once you know what your rules are.

That requires self-

This episode was edited by Aura House Productions

Transcript

Meet Maggie Rombach

SPEAKER_00 0:02

With over 20 years of experience in the private and humanitarian sectors, from Procter and Gamble to UNICEF and the ICRC, Maggie Rombach has led global teams, built cross-sector partnerships, and managed complex organizational shifts, including post-merger integration, matrix environments, and restructuring. It was deeply meaningful work. But like many high achievers, she paid a price for constantly pushing. Burnout, health challenges, and chronic stress eventually forced her to pause and ask what truly matters. That pause changed everything. Maggie stopped chasing someone else's version of success and started shaping her own. Welcome, Maggie Rombach to the Quiet Warrior podcast. Hello, Serena. I'm so glad. My first question for you has to be: where do you see yourself on the introvert, extrovert spectrum?

SPEAKER_02 1:04

So I'm an extrovert, but I'd say I'm an introverted extrovert. And what I mean by that, for the listeners that are aware of the Myers Friggs um tool, where you measure four dimensions, and one of them is extroversion, introversion. I was quite um surprised, or maybe not surprised, it made sense. So on the extroversion-introversion spectrum, I am extrovert, but I'm coming close to the middle. So that made sense to me because I also noticed in my work life, in my private life, there are moments where I'm rather introverted. But broadly speaking, I'm still a pretty, pretty strong extrovert. So, you know, I'm a bit of both, let's put it that way.

SPEAKER_00 1:48

Yes, you're a bit of both. And I think both sides have got their strengths and their benefits. So, what is it like for you at work being an introverted extrovert? How do you lead? How do you show up? How do you communicate?

SPEAKER_02 2:03

So I think in addition to the introvert-extroverts dimension, I'm also just a real people person. So I just love connecting with people and I'm generally curious about people, which makes me a pretty good listener, which I think is also quite typical to introverts. That's I don't want to over-generalize, and you're probably more of an expert. But yeah, I think that's a real skill to listen first. And I also see that when people come into a new work situation, and I observed over the years that essentially people take one of two strategies either they come in loud or they come in quiet. So the loud people they try to establish themselves by just coming right in, being present, being opinionated, and the quiet people that come in and observe first. And that's where I noticed in those situations, I'm definitely more on the introvert spectrum. Because I prefer to come in in an observer mode and first figure out how does it work here, who's who, what's the politics, who to who gets along with who, just understanding first. Because then also once you speak up, I feel I can speak up from more of a place of knowledge and observation, building on what other people are saying, rather than just coming in and throwing my opinion on the table.

SPEAKER_00 3:29

So it sounds to me like you wouldn't be the first person to speak up in a meeting because you are in observer mode. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 3:36

So that's indeed very practically also in meetings. I preferred, and now it has become more intentional. So I would prefer to first see where other people stand to hear their opinions, and then to connect them and build on them. So I also believe that actually allows me to contribute more meaningfully if I understand better already what opinion or what input or what ideas are already articulated. And I don't know if that's an introvert thing, but at least I feel it's actually really powerful and it works really well for me.

SPEAKER_00 4:17

I think there's a style of leadership as well. The ability to hold back, to not speak immediately, not launch into conclusions or start taking the discussion in a certain direction before everyone has had a chance to speak. That takes tremendous self-restraint, self-discipline. I think a lot of people feel like there's this pressure. I have to quickly say something to make an impact and be seen to contribute.

SPEAKER_02 4:46

I actually think absolutely, and I actually think it takes two things in addition. I think one is self-confidence, because I feel the more confident one is, and of course that needs time to build, the less one feels obliged to jump in quickly because you know it's okay to listen to others. Um, and the other one is for me, it's also curiosity. I'm just generally curious to hear what other people have to say. So I really want to understand what they have to say. So I guess this curiosity helps me to hold back because I want to hear. But also, it's a I learned that over the years. I remember in my very first job, we had a team building training, and I was maybe in working in a marketing job for maybe two years. And I got the feedback from a colleague who was very introverted that she feels overwhelmed by my passion because at that time I didn't have that reflex to listen. And I would just jump in all the time out of passion and excitement. And she told me for her, it feels overwhelming because she never gets a chance to speak because I'm thinking so fast and I'm so passionate and I'm just always in. So for more introverted people, that was actually really frustrating. And I was really grateful for that feedback because I was completely unaware of it. And just by having that feedback, I could pay more attention to the moments where intentionally I would hold back and just let other people come in and share their point first.

SPEAKER_00 6:19

That is powerful self-awareness. I think not too many people realize the effect of what it's like on someone who is quieter and takes time to process their thoughts, to be in the presence of someone who's passionate and articulate and enthusiastic and can find the right words at the right time. Because I think that's where the brain wiring is different. The extrovert talks to think and the introvert thinks first before they talk. So it's a very different way of processing information and then communicating that information. So thank you for highlighting that difference.

SPEAKER_01 6:55

Thank you. I never thought about it in that sequence, and that's so true. Yes, often I find myself thinking while I'm speaking.

SPEAKER_00 7:04

Tell us more about your professional journey. How has it evolved since you started in corporate?

SPEAKER_02 7:12

Yes. So I started, I did a business school, and um actually very early in my career, I was interested in more development type of work. I did on a short trip to Kenya to work in a in a local school. And at that point, I got really interested in also more development, humanitarian work, but I realized I was almost finished with my business studies. So I was like, I don't want to go back now and do a completely new degree. So I got into marketing and was in marketing for a couple of years, actually, for like six, seven years. And even there, I joined in a small German company, and that company was purchased by Procten Gamble. So I was I went with that whole transition. So that was the first restructuring I went through and also cultural clashes that came with all of this. And that's where I at one point came to my first burnout. And that was also a very high competitive environment. It was surrounded by very clever people, very fast people, but also very competitive. And in my case, it was primarily a clash with my manager, who was a nice person, but we just Myus Bricks again, we were the opposite on each of the parameters. It was just really hard to work together. And that really took me to a first turning point where I paused and reflected where I want to go next. And then actually at that moment, there Prop Gamble offered a sabbatical. So I went with UNICEF to Cameroon for three months. And after that, I came back, but quickly after I quit, I did an MBA International Organizations Management. And that took me then, I mean, the whole transition took me two years, but that took me then to the Red Cross, where I've spent the last 13 years, which was really a dream come true for me because I finally was able to work in the humanitarian field and on top in a really prestigious organization. But then again, um, I'm I'm still an ambitious high achiever and want to do the work well, and I'm pushing and sometimes overpushing myself. So actually, end of 2023, I came to another point where I really had to pause. And I was partially driven by the nature of the work, you know, it's it's always quite intense, but also we had a series of crises and restructurings, and there is just a constant job uncertainty, seeing colleagues leave, not knowing if I will still have a job. And all of this got me really to another point where it was just too much. And then on top, I had a quite serious health challenge. So I was really forced to stop for a longer time, and that was enlightening. I mean, it was a tough time, but at the same time, I really took the time to calm down completely. I got into mindfulness, and now I look back and I feel this difficult time was actually a gift because it took me onto a new road, right? And and I'm excited where I'm heading now.

SPEAKER_00 10:31

Beautiful. I think with all those comments about burnout and your own personal lived experience are very, very strong and necessary reminders that we are not meant to be grinding it out and hustling and pushing incessantly. Of course, there are times where we have to do more than we normally would because of the requirements of that season. But I think, you know, the hidden cost of high performance, particularly for introverts, quiet achievers, quiet leaders, is that we burn up quietly and we don't even know we're burning out. We think we are obliged to keep going at that very high level that we set for ourselves. We expect so much of ourselves. We think other people expect that of us too, and there's no way out but to keep going until you literally drop.

SPEAKER_02 11:21

Yeah, that really resonates because you know it always this image comes up for me of the bog in the frog in the boiling water. You know, if you throw a frog into the boiling water, it jumps out. I mean, I haven't done the research if it's really true, but the analogy is still powerful. And apparently, if you put a frog into the water and you heat it up slowly, it doesn't notice that the water gets too hot. So it ends up being basically cooked in the water. So whether or not this is actually factually true, I think the image is very strong. And that's a bit how I felt because when I had this last burnout, at one point, my manager, who was one of our top leaders, he asked me, Why didn't you flag earlier that you were struggling so much? And I hadn't realized, I didn't know what to flag because I was just running in that hamster wheel. And at that point where it came to the stage where I was literally crying in 101s, which I felt so embarrassed about, that was the moment where it was almost too late. But I hadn't I hadn't noticed early enough, because as you say, I was probably more on the introverted side. I was burning out quietly, and I hadn't even realized that that's what's happening.

SPEAKER_00 12:33

I think there's also an element of guilt in that perhaps we have been conditioned to somehow believe that it is considered weakness to admit that you need help, that you need timeout, that you need a break. And that's for other people. It sounds good, it sounds like a box you can tick as an organization to say, yes, you know, we provide this for our employees. But when you are that employee who then needs to ask for that leave, that sabbatical, you feel guilty because you're so used to performing at that high level. You think it's expected, you think that anytime you drop a little bit in your standard, you are letting people down. You are disappointing someone, you are not there for them. And then you feel this tremendous guilt inside yourself. Was that true for you too?

SPEAKER_02 13:23

Absolutely. And particularly the people side. I feel particularly when you're a people person, it's I mean, for me, it was really hard to set my own boundaries and to stand up for myself. It was easier for me to, I would be the total lioness going to fight for my team or for somebody in my team. If I felt like somebody was treated unfairly, I had no issue speaking up. But for myself, it felt so much more difficult. And you're right, probably it was because I felt guilty, or maybe I wasn't supposed to, I didn't have the right to. So yeah, and then I didn't, and I probably should have much earlier.

When Work Identity Takes Over

SPEAKER_00 14:02

Well, they do say hindsight is 2020, and we always learn our lessons and become wiser after the event. So what happens when someone's identity, personal identity, gets confused with the identity of the organization they are representing?

SPEAKER_02 14:22

Yeah, we see that a lot at the Red Cross. And now I think about it, you know, at even at Procter Gamble, but it was a different type of confusion. So at Procter Gamble, it was a bit really, I mean, sometimes criticize that Procter brainwashes people, which I think is a bit exaggerated. But it's true, there's a very strong corporate culture. And we were all young, fresh from university, though I was kind of like the party hard, live hard, work hard type of thing. And it was very connected to this high-performing environment. Now at the Red Cross, it's different. People really truly associate with the mission because it's such an important and powerful mission. And within the Red Cross family, I work for the part of the Red Cross, the ICRC, which is the international committee that works in conflict countries. So, you know, we go to the places where literally bombs are falling and where people desperately need humanitarian aid. So this is a very noble and valuable mission to be on. So people are deeply passionate about it. And many people stay for many years, for decades even. And at one point, you can really see that it becomes mingled your own identity with the identity of the organization. And that makes it really painful when you have to leave. You know, in the last years we we had to lay off people due to budget restraints. And I've seen that over and again with colleagues that have been in the organization for a long time and they're still truly passionate about it, the cause and the organization, and they have to go, and then they get to a point where they have to ask themselves who they are, because they're so used to be part of a very strong and and motivating mission that they have to take the time to also detangle the two and get back to who they really are, and then from there build their next step in their career and life.

Mindfulness For Chronic Stress

SPEAKER_00 16:29

That is not an easy thing to do. When you are passionate about your work and your work happens to be in line with your personal ethos, your values, what you care about in life, the two can become blurred. And I think the ability to go into observer mode in that sense and step back from your career and step back from who you are inside the organization and see yourself as a separate entity is very important. I think that's a maybe it's a skill that we don't talk about very much and that we only develop when we realize we have become intertwined in an unhealthy way. So, what do you do for yourself to avoid compassion fatigue? You know, because the work that you do as humanitarian is people first and it can be very intense emotionally. I'm sure you see a lot that most of us would never get to see. How do you manage that?

SPEAKER_02 17:31

Yeah, so I'm in the lucky, unlucky sometimes situation. I haven't been to the field myself a lot. So unlucky because I would have loved to, but because I came in from the private sector, I was primarily at headquarters. So I haven't seen the first 10 field issues. But interestingly, we actually have a higher burnout rate at HQ. Because what we noticed when you're in the field, it's tough, but it's this typical acute stress. You know, you have a situation, it can be seriously dangerous. You know, there might be you have to be careful, you know, that you don't move in the wrong place where it's a dangerous environment. But then once it's done, it's done. So the stress level, the cortisol, goes down. At HQ, we're more in a chronic stress mode because that's more politics, it's more trying to get things right, and that's even more training. So, what do I do personally? I'm, as I mentioned before, I really got into mindfulness seriously last year. And ironically, in a in one of our trainings, I learned about mindfulness over seven years ago. And I quite liked the concept. It was kind of the thing I do when I have the time, but I thought it was a great thing to do. And now I really integrated it into my life in the sense of meditation, but you know, not I'm not sitting down for hours every day. I think most busy people won't be able to do that. But even to get five minutes or conscious walk, you know, and when I'm in the office, I would go out, go for a walk around the building, even if that's like five minutes, seven minutes, and walk really slowly and consciously, or even just to breathe for like two minutes consciously. Having these mini breaks really helps to get yourself down. And then mindfulness also comes with the mindfulness principles, more the philosophy behind it, which is like non-judgment, uh, gratitude, you know, these easy, simple principles. When we embrace them more, it helps me to first of all calm myself down, but then also to be less worked up about take more of a distance of little issues that are really not such a big deal, to just take a bit more of a distance and don't take it as my responsibility every time something happens.

Non-Judgment And Better Communication]

SPEAKER_00 19:54

I picked up two very important points there. Number one is the mini breaks. You're right. I think all of us are so busy that just the thought of sometimes even the idea of 30 minutes of self-care a day can be too much for some people, depending on what season of life you are in, what your schedule is. So I like the idea of two minutes here, seven minutes there, and incorporating it into your routine. So, for instance, when I go to a conference, a whole-day conference, I know that my social battery is going to run out. So during coffee breaks, I don't do any networking. I go for a conscious walk like you do. I just walk by myself, I'm thinking my own thoughts, or maybe trying not to think of anything and just relaxing, taking in the environment, noticing something else that's not about the thing that I'm there for. And that is my own way of recharging. So I love that the mini breaks. But also what you're saying afterwards. And actually, I've lost my train of thought. Now, what was the second thing that you just said? Mindful principles, mindful principles, gratitude, yes, and non-judgment. Non-judgment is a big one because we are very quick to immediately attach a label to something. Is this good? That is bad. Why did that person say this thing? Why did I do that thing? I shouldn't have said that. Oh dear, what will people think? How do you get into that space of non-judgment? It's uh it's really hard personal work.

SPEAKER_02 21:21

So that luckily I've come across that many years ago. It's um one of Tony Robbins' books. And he has, in one of his books, he has he calls it the seven lies of success. It's basically just seven beliefs that can be really empowering. And one of them is there is no success, there are only results. No, there's no failure, but same same idea, different side of the coin. There they're no failure, they're only results. And and I even do that with my with my kids. You know, I I you know, when we try things, I'm I call it experiments. So the experiments either they're cool and then we do them again, or something happens. And it wasn't a good idea that we don't do them again. But I restrained from them saying, oh, I shouldn't have done that. That was wrong. That was, you know, I try to not label it. I just say, like, okay, that's just a result. The result was either good or bad. And then we can do something with the results. But that's trying to stay on the objective way. The other bit I've gotten into more recently is nonviolent communication. And nonviolent communication, I mean, it has quite a specific focus, but the model it uses, it trains you to observe first and not go into a judgment very quickly. So, you know, very simple example, like let's say at a work situation, you know, somebody comes to a meeting late every time. You know, often we might be inclined to say, like, oh, I don't like that you're always unpunctual, you don't value time. I mean, all of that is a judgment. What I observe is you came to the last five meetings late. And if we manage to stay on the observing part, then we can figure out what happened. And then we might figure out that that person has to drop at the kids in the morning in school, and that's why it happens that the person arrived late. So that would be the tip to really try to the extent possible to just observe facts and stay as objective as possible.

SPEAKER_00 23:26

And that's not an easy thing to do. I think we are subjective by nature, being humans, as well as very emotional. So this is a good reminder to step back, to go back into observer mode, to detach from judgment, and maybe even to be curious, like you mentioned earlier in the conversation, and wonder whether there is something else going on that we don't know about, because usually that's the case. There's a lot that goes on underneath the surface. Most of us are just operating at the level of that surface and trying to compromise and try to do our best within those limits. But when we actually have the time to, you know, sit down and have a one-on-one with someone who we think is having a problem, we may discover there's a very valid reason, like you did, for the problem. And maybe then that means it's feedback, it's noticing, it's an opportunity to maybe adjust the meeting time, for instance, because there are people that have this kind of a problem. So I think actually it's it becomes a good thing. It becomes an opportunity to reframe this judgment into something that can maybe even refine the process or create a better outcome for the group.

Managing Up And Holding Boundaries

SPEAKER_02 24:38

Yeah, and I would also encourage people to manage up. So just to give you another quick example, you know, so I was working with our my direct manager, was one of our top executives, and his assistant continued scheduling meetings with me after 5.30. Even so, we had developed an etiquette for the whole department that co-working hours are 9 to 5:30. So technically, this was outside the agreed co-working hours, and I declined them every time because I had to pick up my kit. But I felt guilty every time I did it. And at one point, I was so fed up, I went go and talk to my manager and I told him, look, this is what's happening. I continue getting these meeting requests, I continue declining them, but I feel really guilty about declining them. Just want you to be aware of this. And he was amazing. He thanked me for flagging it. He told his assistant to not schedule meetings with me at that time anymore, unless it's a super high important meeting with tons of people, but you know, the usual ones. Not only that, he also goes, I went and talked to the other people in his team to figure out their preferred meeting times. Because many had much older kids. So for them, 5:30 was actually the perfect time to meet. So he he basically recognized that whatever works for me doesn't necessarily work for everybody else. And that was just really, I think it was a great learning for both of us. And that's why I think it's really important. So sometimes we feel intimidated to do that. And it took me a while to do that. I had to come to the point I was really annoyed to do it. But if we don't tell our management, how should they know? So the more we dare to be proactive, we can come actually to better solutions together.

SPEAKER_00 26:23

Oh, thank you for sharing that. Yes, I can see how the quiet achiever might struggle with that one, with articulating their needs. So, first of all, we need to know our own limits and our own boundaries. And secondly, then we need the courage to articulate them. And in your case, managing up, which is something with the quiet achievers, I've noticed, there would be this sense of that's authority figure. I have to defer to the authority, especially if they come from a cultural background that emphasizes that. And they don't dare to speak to the authority about their honest views and their personal discomfort. They think I need to sacrifice my comfort because the organization requires it of me. I have no choice. But you're saying I do have a choice. I have a voice, I can use it, I can let the manager know politely that this is what's happening. And you're not saying he's at fault, you're saying this is what's happening. I just thought you should know. And then let him be the one to exercise the leadership. And in this case, he happens to be a very thoughtful and sensitive leader who not only noticed what you said and paid attention and did something about it, but he also went and consulted with the other members of the team, made sure that everyone has their preferences taken consideration of. So I think that is exceptional leadership.

SPEAKER_02 27:39

And maybe there is one belief that served me really well over the years. You know, I believe you can raise everything, anything, as long as you do it without a sense of entitlement. You know, when you don't come in and say, like, I don't like those meetings, you should do this or that. I think if you raise the issue and then discuss the solution together, that doesn't put the other person into the defensive. So at least for me, this belief helped me to take that leap of faith and the courage to speak up when I was actually feeling intimidated and I was double like questioning myself if I should. So I speak up, but don't speak up with a demand, speak up as factual as possible, and give the other person the opportunity to also find a solution to it.

Playing By Your Rules

SPEAKER_00 28:31

So you are taking, you're asserting autonomy in your in your own sphere, but you're also allowing the other person to exercise autonomy in their own way. So that is mutual respect. And at that, I think comes from having that sense of you know who you are and you know what you're capable of, you know what your role is, what your obligations are, and the limits of it. You are not stepping beyond it, but you're not also shrinking from it. You are saying, I'm just taking up this space and I'm doing the right thing, and I'm not going over or under. So it's that is actually a very, very high level of skill in finding that balance. Most people would either be, you know, intimidated by the idea of going against authority or in the opposite direction. Like you said, you know, feeling entitled, feeling angry, feeling I have the right to, and then of course the communications are not going to go well. So to be able to, I think, manage our own emotions, our own mindset, and the way we look at the bigger picture, that too is a kind of competence. So tell us about your own podcast.

SPEAKER_02 29:46

Play it by your rules. So my podcast used to be called Leadership Insights. And originally the idea was that I felt privileged having been exposed to some amazing leaders. So I thought I wouldn't it be nice if I could talk to them so more people could benefit from the wisdom, because not everybody has that access. So I did that for almost a year, and I started observing that most leaders today, the career is not a straight line. Most leaders went through some sort of pivot that changed in one way or another. They also often came to some point where they hit the wall, whether it's burnout or some health challenge or other challenges. And in that process, and then also I dealt with my own whole challenges. And at one point I felt like I want to be a bit more outspoken. So now I recently over the summer I rebranded it as played by your rules. But I'm very, I call it a mindful rebellion. Because let's not forget, I'm a people person that is embracing my rebel energy. So this is not the my way or the highway type of rebellion. This is still very mindful. But here's the catch: if you want to play it by your rules, you have to first know your rules. So, and that's not so easy. So, first you have to realize what you need, where your boundaries are, and only once you've done that, you can establish your boundaries and let go of the shoots and the scripts that other impose on you. So that's kind of the idea behind it. And now I'm talking still to leaders, but also to experts, to different voices. I want to bring all the voices. So sometimes it's crazy loud people that done something really out of the box. I mean, the first person is a guy who's now running horse, he was he had a job in New York, office job, and now he's running horse track um guide, he's a horse track guide in Mongolia. But also, I'm also bringing quiet voices, you know, voices like more speaking to introverts, because finding your voice doesn't need to mean you scream from the rooftop. It just means you find your voice and you embrace your voice authentically. And if that means you speak quietly, that's just as powerful. Sometimes that's even more powerful.

SPEAKER_00 32:06

Fantastic. So make sure you check out Maggie's podcast, Play by Your Rules, available on all the platforms, I believe.

unknown 32:14

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 32:15

Yes. So what is one thing you want our listeners to take away from our conversation today, Maggie? I think it's really that around your voice.

SPEAKER_02 32:26

You know, find your voice, embrace your voice, be authentic yourself, and let go of the shoulds. If you're an introvert, wonderful. Be a good listener, be yourself, speak in a quiet voice. You know, if you embrace to off if you manage to embrace who you are authentically, which I know it's not easy, that's where the real connection happens. And often the quieter voices and you know, daring to sometimes pause and slow down. I actually think the extroverts are learning this now. So if you're an introvert and that's already who you are, celebrate it and just be yourself.

Takeaways And Final Invitations

SPEAKER_00 33:05

Beautiful words. Thank you so much, Peggy, for sharing your wisdom with us today about being a mindful rebel, about playing by your rules, about nonviolent communication and being able to hold up your boundaries, the importance of being an observer, the ability to manage up and most importantly to embrace your voice and to use your quiet strengths. Thanks so much. It was a true pleasure to be here with you today. If you're a quiet achiever who's ready to lead without having to perform extroversion, the Visible Introvert Academy is your next step. Build visibility that honors your energy instead of depleting it. Details are at the link in the show notes. See you on the next episode. I'm so grateful that you're here today. If you found this content valuable, please share it on your social media channels and subscribe to the show on your favorite listening platform. Together we can help more introverts thrive. To receive more uplifting content like this, connect with me on Instagram at Serenalo Quiet Warrior Coach. Thank you for sharing your time and your energy with me. See you on the next episode.