In this episode of Conversations That Grow, we speak with Meredith Walker, founder of Fortifying Roots and strategic consultant. Meredith shares her extraordinary journey from becoming a caregiver at 23 for her quadriplegic mother to developing leadership expertise that transforms businesses.

Meredith reveals how this profound personal experience shaped her approach to authentic communication and decision-making. She explains her philosophy that "80% of people's day-to-day work is controllable, but the 20% is where you unlock their true creativity potential that drives your business forward."

We explore how leaders can set clear expectations while leaving room for creativity, why focusing on controllable factors during challenging times builds resilience, and how understanding what motivates each team member creates alignment with company goals.

Meredith also shares her passionate commitment to mentoring youth, helping them see their potential beyond current circumstances. Her inspiring message reminds us that our circumstances don't define success - our decisions do.

Links referenced in this episode:

• fortifyingroots.com
• mwalkerthetalker.com
• podjunction.com

📱 CONNECT WITH SADAF: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sadafbeynon/

80% of people's day-to-day work is controllable. Mm-hmm. The 20% is where you unlock their true creativity potential that drives your business forward.

Sadaf Beynon: Welcome back to Conversations That Grow Podcast, where we explore how the right conversations can shape our business leadership, and even how we see the world. Today. I'm talking with Meredith Walker. Meredith is the founder of Fortifying Roots, a strategic consultant and a powerful voice in leadership development.

Meredith Walker: Thank you. It's so great to be here.

Sadaf Beynon: Thank you, Meredith. Let's kick off with my, um, first question. Mm-hmm. Can you tell me about a conversation or a moment that changed the way you think about leadership or business?

Meredith Walker: Yeah, I, it actually is a personal conversation that I think helped shaped me, and it's a very deep, dark topic. Um, but I think that that set up a foundation and principle for how I communicate and have conversations directly and with true authenticity. Um, so my mom, a lot of my story and background is, is regarding how I took care of my mom.

And the reason why I think that that was a pivotal conversation for me to have was because. You have to show up authentically. You have to show up knowing that you're meeting the other person where they're at, while you are also trying to, uh, you know, categorize your feelings or do anything pertaining to the way that you feel emotionally.

So as a leader, I found having really direct brave conversations. Even in hard times is what really helps grow people, because if you're coming from a place of empathy and, and authenticity, um, and something else, I talk about controllable, tangible things, um, the conversation doesn't get easier, but it.

Sadaf Beynon: That's incredible. Mm-hmm. Thank you so much for sharing. I'd love to unpack that a bit.

Meredith Walker: Yeah, please.

Sadaf Beynon: So you became a care caregiver at quite a young age. Yes. What age was that and what did, what did you go through? What was that like for you?

Meredith Walker: Oh, yeah. Thank you for asking that. I was roughly around 23 years old, and while I'm the youngest in my family, I had.

I was usually leaned upon as, as the most knowledgeable or at least resilient even at that time. And so financially, physically, emotionally, had to become a caregiver for my mom almost immediately. Um, what that looked like was a lot of scary moments and in, in that time, what I would give anybody when there's circumstances that are with.

Um, so an example I would give of this is one of my mom's dreams, even after being quadriplegic, was to enter the ocean again. She was very much someone who loved to go into the beach and through lots of lots of research, I knew this had to come up. She's not the only person who would have to go through this.

So it, it, it was very difficult. It was very rewarding and I think those lessons and moments in life is who shaped who I am and had had the bravery step out and start my own business even. 'cause I would never have en envisioned that 20 years ago.

Sadaf Beynon: Mm-hmm. That's really incredible. I think that's really coming through as well as you speak.

And you mentioned at the beginning that it, um, it taught you resilience and strength and mm-hmm. As your story unfolds, I think that's becoming more and more clear. I'd love to know what that season taught you. Mm. About resilience and even like, you know, responsibility at 23 years old, having to, to take care of your mom.

And I guess even expanding onto decision making as well.

And so I just recall at that time. When I was that age, my mom's medication was, was $10,000 a vial to potentially reverse the effects of what were happening to her. And I don't know what 23-year-old has $30,000. 'cause she needed a minimum of three. And so. I, I want people to know that you just have to dig in.

And at 23 years old, I was not making a lot. I was making maybe 11 to $13 an hour. And so I found out and learned at that point in time that I could borrow back against a car that I had. So I took another loan out for my mom for the car. And what happened was she, it still didn't reverse the effects, right?

And when you're frustrated and that comes across, a lot of people try to shut down and they don't wanna help you. But when you lean in with authenticity and empathy of, I, I'm not asking you to solve this problem, I'm asking you to help me shape what next steps would look like. Mm. People actually come to the come.

Come to the plate with an opportunity for you for the next step. And so we never were able to reverse her condition, but learned a lot, gave it that I would, I would hate to have regrets over money. You know, money is something that you can always earn, but the opportunity for us to get over or or cure what was happening to her was really in the forefront.

Sadaf Beynon: That's incredible. I think, you know, there's so many life lessons and just the, the little that you have said, there's so much that you have learned, I learned in that time, and were able to, and are able to continue using in what you're doing in, in life and in business.

Meredith Walker: Mm-hmm.

Sadaf Beynon: And. And that's really incredible and I love how you're passing it on as well. Yes. To the youth that you mentor.

Meredith Walker: Yeah, I, I think that's really my responsibility to be honest, because life feels so overwhelming sometimes, and I think people cap themselves at what they're capable of doing, especially at that age.

And so I want them to understand you're setting on a path. You feel like you have to have it all figured out and then something happens, and I was around their age when something very big happened. And it doesn't always have to be that catastrophic or that critical mm-hmm. Or that urgent, but sometimes you give up on yourself.

Sadaf Beynon: Yeah. No, that's good. I mean, not just for the youth, for all of us listening.

Meredith Walker: Yeah. Yes, I agree. Yeah.

Sadaf Beynon: Meredith, before we move on, I'd love to know more about, um, what happened with your mom.

Meredith Walker: Yes. My mom contracted and, uh, it's really particular, I, I'm not quite sure if this is how you say it, but she had guian bar syndrome, which is the acronym is GBS.

Mm-hmm. And you catch it like you catch a cold. And it is prevalent here in the us. My mom was in the Philippines traveling when she, when she caught it. And um, so it's sim as soon as you contract it like a cold, your body views it as something attacking it, and it's your nervous system shuts down. So within 24 hours, all she could do is blink.

So, and then getting her from, I mean, I'm, I'm. I was born here in the US and I've been lucky enough to travel to the Philippines a couple of times, but trying to get her from the Philippines back to the us uh, financially care for her, fly there frequently to help her out mm-hmm. Was just all of these learning experiences that I had to go through at a very young age.

So, yeah, that's what she ended up having GBS. Mm-hmm. But, um, what ended up to, as I shared at the very top of the hour, we had, uh, she ended up passing away from breast cancer.

Sadaf Beynon: Mm-hmm. So. I'm sorry to hear that.

Meredith Walker: Yeah. Thank you.

Sadaf Beynon: Meredith, you've, um, you said that success isn't about circumstances.

Meredith Walker: Yeah. I think the thing that resonates with me is that your circumstances do not dictate what success looks like when the circumstances occurred or continue to occur to me.

I found my, that, that I viewed that as the fork in the road. Okay? The circumstances, the fork in the road, whether that be positive or negative. And it led me on a lot of great adventures. And so what I hope people, especially in a professional mindset feel, is you always view circumstances. Um, my background is technology.

Okay, here are the top five things that I can do. This is the scenario or the outcome if I, if I do execute on that. Mm-hmm. Um, so for me, I think that. Y success is what you define success to be. It could be very big, it could be very small. We don't celebrate small wins on, on a regular basis. As professionals, we are always looking for that ne next outcome, that next milestone, that next pivotal successful moment.

And so I really like to resonate in teams that I lead that we are going to. Celebrate really small, successful moments, especially when we get over a, a particularly hard circumstance.

Sadaf Beynon: Mm-hmm.

Meredith Walker: So did that answer

Should be. Yep. And I mean, not that any of that is wrong as far as targets, and, you know, you gotta, you gotta, um, you gotta have the ROI as well. Uh, but I guess what I'm trying to say is that, if you really understand what success means for you, you could find that you're not in the right place either, right.

As far as business goes.

Meredith Walker: Yeah, I would completely agree with that. And, and being honest, I mean, in my forties is when I was like, I love what I do and I love growing the people that are around me. But I have such unlimited potential if I struck out on my own and tried something else. Mm-hmm. So I think in every season you can redefine what sex success looks like for yourself.

And so really understanding and having conversations with people on who they are today, who they wanna become tomorrow. Gets everybody rallied around that vision and mission for the company, and I think that's a, a piece that's missing because we're so worried about. The day in, day out execution of a task.

Meeting each other where we're at and not. Get into this robotic moment of A equals B equals C. We have to break out of that mold and have that conversation.

Sadaf Beynon: Mm-hmm.

No, that's good. So as leaders, what would that look like, do you think?

Meredith Walker: I think for me personally, when I go into an organization, I really resonate and tell people that your folks have to understand really easily what it takes to be a good employee of yours.

That's the only way that you're gonna get them the morale up for them to become good leaders of yours. So it's really solid process that's really solid system use. And then that unlocks the potential for them as people, because this is a really silly analogy that I use, but imagine that I'm in my car and I know the speed limit is 75 miles per hour.

How do we expect people to really drive well for you? And then when they do know if we laid all of that foundation there and they do know, imagine how much more efficient you become because they're like, Hey, I know my baseline, but now I know how to push it before it. I know I have the safety net. I know I have these guardrails.

Within reason, if that is a good process that they've implemented, you've seen their creativity. But what we're seeing is the manager does not have a clear communication with this person for them to rewrite the SOP. So that's what I mean going into business is how I help managers and end users align to become really efficient and have really good guardrails.

Baselines. To allow them an opportunity to become who they wanna be, because a lot of people are really creative and have great ideas.

Sadaf Beynon: Mm-hmm.

Meredith Walker: We just don't have the conversations that allow them to show up that way.

Sadaf Beynon: Yeah.

So it's a, I think what I'm hearing you say is that it's setting expectations or the employees to understand what the expectations are and then leaving room for that creativity that you talk about.

Yes.

How was it communicated? What does the SOP say they did or didn't do? What, what is the process or procedure that they did or didn't do? Because I can't hold people accountable based on feelings. I can hold people accountable based on the expectations I clearly communicated, whether verbal or written and or how, um, how their workflow is supposed to occur.

And so that's how you can see more controllable things can happen and management aligns a lot easier. And then people can become leaders and. It is a, a really distinct difference in my opinion. Management is tangible. Leadership is not. Leadership are all of those soft skills that people can grow into, but if they're so worried about doing their job well, they're not really focused on how do I become a better leader?

Sadaf Beynon: Yeah. So what do you find as far as, um, communication goes? Like what kind of role does that play?

Meredith Walker: Oh my gosh. Communication, I think is the baseline of everything good and bad. Mm-hmm. In any relationship, when there's two people, it has to happen with communication and clear direct communication.

That's missing a lot of days because we don't wanna hurt people's feelings, and I'm not saying to ever become unkind in the way that we communicate, but it's still really unfair if I'm telling someone, you're doing a great job. But don't tell them where they're doing a great job so that they can really understand and celebrate and be proud of the work that they've put in.

And so we really have to work on ourselves and self-discovery if we are proclaiming ourselves as leaders. Mm-hmm. And we have the privilege of sitting in a higher seat where we get to manage others. Then we have to be really thoughtful in how we meet them halfway and not expect them to always come and understand what's in our brains.

What, what we're, we're all different personality traits. So why would I expect them to exactly be like me?

Sadaf Beynon: Yeah.

Meredith Walker: Um, that's not, that's not a reasonable expectation.

Sadaf Beynon: Yeah. Agreed. How do you work with people who think they're great communicators? But not,

Meredith Walker: yeah, I do a decision tree map as, uh, elementary as that sounds.

What specifically does it take to execute this task to your expectations? Mm-hmm. What does success look like? So I do that in several iterations for people to understand how clear you have to communicate to people who are at an entry level or front lines basis. Mm-hmm. Because that really unlocks for them.

Oh my gosh. I could just bullet point, step one, step two, step three, or I could take the time and really grow them and grow our communication style. I also try to learn other people's communication style. I am, uh, am I a listening learner? Am I a reading learner? Am I a visual learner? Uh, that also helps you when you're leading teams and communication.

Sadaf Beynon: Hmm. So, so would you use the same principles to help them find that clarity that they need in order to make those better decisions as well? Just going back to that,

Meredith Walker: yeah. That's where I'm hopeful that they understand in a business, in a department that you lead, um. Everybody's job should have clear expectations.

Here's what I bring to the table. Here's what expected of you to bring to the table in both hard skills and soft skills. Mm-hmm. And then from there, if it's written out, we both agree upon it. That's that's the thing. We both have to agree upon it because then later when you do not execute it that way, then I can hold us both accountable.

Uh, you have all of the rules and regulations, you're on the highway. I'm just gonna let you drive because you know exactly your guardrails, your fa your, your safety net, because we've created all the SOPs, the. The standard operating procedures, the timelines, et cetera. So that's why I feel that people do build.

But then what is really exciting for me is when you have that in place and it's working well, you are going to see all of the rising stars come up where you can internally promote or you're, you're saying, you know what? You are excellent at this, but it doesn't quite seem like you love to do this. Is there an internal transfer?

So mm-hmm. That's where you get to sit back as a manager and really see people flourish and grow.

Sadaf Beynon: Yeah. That's exciting. Often in, in businesses. You know, it's about the bottom line. It's about what can we do now in order to, um, build a business, fast, scale it, so on and so forth.

Yeah. But when you're talking about people, these are softer skills and this takes time because it's a matter of. Helping people align themselves with the business, helping them catch that vision, helping them to understand the expectations. And from the other side, you know, the clear communication, so on and so forth, and working with people is never that straightforward.

What role do you play in helping businesses understand that gap? Mm-hmm. And how do you bridge it?

And so in a particular department that I would lead, or if I was becoming an interim or you hired me as a consultant to come in and help you, I would go through several exercises with your team, create and define missions for that department specifically, because a lot of times support service departments don't always have an opportunity to directly correlate how their impact.

So you have to, as a leader, bridge that gap in, Hey, here's the goals and here's how we impact them. But I also want to bleed into what are your guys' personal mission and vision? And what we'll find is a lot of them are fa, family oriented. A lot of them are about personal growth. And so when they know. The company is also involved in that and how we can make that really relevant.

It's a cultural conversation and a language that we all have to use. The same common words where we're not pushing towards this monetary goal. When you motivate people based on their needs and wants, um, it does help drive that specific behavior that you need for us to get there. And everybody is on the same team, so.

Mm-hmm. So these, these long, hard exercises upfront have 10 x value for a long-term success.

Sadaf Beynon: Neat. I'm curious, at what point do businesses call you into, um, get you to help?

Meredith Walker: I'm, I'm still, um, so I, I do a lot of different things for people. I work as a consultant in Predictive Index, which is a behavioral assessment in the workplace, and that helps, helps people understand exactly who people show up and make sense in what they're, what they want to be, who, who they naturally.

But all of my degrees are in organizational strategy and leadership. Mm-hmm. So what's funny is I still have not found an opportunity, um, at this point in time to go out to market where I am. Getting everybody's, uh, you know, email subscribers and reaching out. Mm-hmm. Which I'm very grateful for. It's all been word of mouth and referral because this is a true and tried method that has been really working for people.

Um. So it, it's just not an attractive thing to sell because I like to control what's controllable from a lot of my experience. And I believe in businesses, 80% of a person's day-to-day work is controllable, repeatable, manageable, automated. Um, and so that's what's usually when someone says, Meredith helped us fix this.

Sadaf Beynon: no, that's, that's great. I mean, word of mouth is. Is genuine and organic, isn't it? You're not paying for anything.

It's, I mean, I feel like there's a lot of credibility there.

Meredith Walker: Yeah, I've, I've always been very grateful and I think that that lends itself, as I said before, when I communicate with people, it's from a place of authenticity where I want to, I truly just wanna help folks, whether it be overcoming circumstances, really understanding your potential or if it is helping you in your business strategy.

And I think that's what bleeds through and allows people to really. Give me a lot of credibility and, and trust. Mm-hmm. When they refer me on, I don't take it lightly. Um, but at some point in time, maybe I'll, I'll head out there, but I have to have a really catchy tagline instead of control everything, because I feel like that is not gonna fly off the shelves.

Meredith Walker: Yeah, I, I've been very fortunate to wear a lot of hats and, um, you know, when my mom was get, when my mom first got sick, one of the jobs that made a lot of money after, um, you know, the circumstance of nine 11 was security. So I've been a security guard Oh, wow. All the way up to working in hospitality.

When people are painting a picture, then I can say. Have you considered the downstream effect on the accounting team when a marketing initiative is happening or if it's guest facing? I've have customer service support. So did you anticipate that this response could happen from the guest? If we implement a new software without a good change management communication plan?

Mm-hmm. Um, so I really help people understand that communication is key and is. Literally the foundation of every success and failure for projects and ideas in, in a company. So, yeah, I, um, I do feel both my personal experience and my, um, professional development has led me to this place to really speak confidently to assist any company regardless of the industry they're in.

Meredith Walker: Well, even well before, um, that I like to mentor youth because I didn't come from a background that was affluent or had a lot of prospects, going to college was not a conversation that was in my household.

Um, and we grew up in a household that. We all shared resources, rooms that, that type of thing. And so I didn't know any different and I didn't know what my opportunities were. I was a young person who loved to read and that I think is what unlocked for me that other things were possible in my life. And, uh, also just having friends surrounding me that weren't in the same circumstance that I was in.

Young adults. So I really am intentional around giving people insight and a different perspective into where I started to where I have been able and privileged to arrive through a lot of hard work and through leaning on others' expertise and a lot of research and reading. But, um, it's so rewarding here.

And then when I moved from Kansas, there was a lot of foster teens, um, knowing when they come out of the foster system, preparing them for how to create resumes, how to. Sign up for an apartment lease, how to learn to cook or do your laundry, those types of things. So very basic day-to-day, how to adult versus really strong conversations on don't let this circumstance hold back who you're dreaming you can become.

Mm-hmm. And really showing that my journey can unfold for them with just a few minor pivots of your mindset.

Sadaf Beynon: Wow, Meredith, that's, um, it's so inspiring and listening to you, it's evident that it's so rewarding for you as well.

Mm-hmm. So, I'm, I'm so inspired by some of the youth today and, and what they're able to really just. Have and how brilliant they are and where they wanna go and how much they wanna give back. And it is just so rewarding to just see that and be a part of it.

Sadaf Beynon: Mm-hmm. Yeah, I can imagine. I mean, it sounds like such a gift.

Meredith Walker: Yes. Yeah, I would agree for both. I, I would assume, but I would encourage anybody who has time. I do think, you know, I'm, I'm a woman in tech. I've been a woman in tech. I've, fortunately have not experienced anything that, I mean, I'm, I am the type of personality that communicates and smiles really nice. But, um, I don't allow anybody to tell me I don't deserve a seat at the table.

And that's what I also wanna impart in the young ladies that I mentor, that you're capable of anything. Um, and, and we wouldn't let anybody tell you different.

Sadaf Beynon: Wow.

Meredith Walker: That's

Sadaf Beynon: great. That's really great.

Meredith Walker: Yeah.

Yeah. If they had the courage to have it.

Meredith Walker: Oh, I have, I've. Feel like I've set up the last 15 to 20 years to arrive at this place. And it just was really gaining clarity around this. I'm a planner. I'm sure everybody can get that just from hearing this. I like things planned. I like them in their nice box, and that's not life, and that's not the life I was dealt.

Mm-hmm. Um, and so I want to make sure the conversation that I had and, and I want people to understand this. For themselves is my husband. I was really talking through this business plan with him, this business idea, making sure I had all the IRS compliance, all the filing with the state, like I had to do so much research before I executed, and my husband was very kind to.

Overcome and have been successful at every role you've ever taken and everything that you've ever done, and you have succeeded every single thing up until this point. And if you are on this journey, because this is what's pulling you and what you think your purpose is, I have no doubt in my mind that you'll do be anything but successful on this journey as well.

So I think that's really, that's not new words. I know. Mm-hmm. That, that has been shared and said before. But that really resonated with me to have someone that has that type of support in me. And so I, my friend and I, we have a podcast as well for women and mm-hmm we, that, that's what we wanna make sure, give people a different perspective of themselves and show them they're capable of more than they're giving the some themselves credit for.

But then lastly, you have survived so many battles. Up until now. Mm-hmm. Don't give up on yourself at this moment in time. You're gonna do it. And if it's still not the right choice or anything like that, you can change the narrative of your story. 'cause your circumstance does not define success or the success that you arrive to.

Sadaf Beynon: I love that. Sounds like your husband gave to you the support that you offer to others.

Sadaf Beynon: mm.

I love it. Meredith, this has been such fun. Oh yeah. Thank you so much for sharing your story, your insights. I really enjoyed it.

Meredith Walker: Oh, thank you. Yes, and I'm, I'm thrilled to be here and, and happy to help and connect anytime with you. This has been a joy.

Sadaf Beynon: Awesome. Before we wrap up though, Meredith, where can people connect with you or learn more about your work?

Meredith Walker: Yeah, absolutely. Um, you can connect with me on my website, fortifyingroots.com, which is my technology consulting and business consulting. Um, and then I do keynote and leadership workshops, and that also will be published on Fortifying Roots in June. But as of right now, it's mwalkerthetalker.com.

Sadaf Beynon: Nice.

You can find out more at podjunction.com or just reach out to me on LinkedIn. So that's it for today. Bye from Meredith and from me. And I'll see you next time on Conversations that Grow.