Dispelling the pesky little voices in our head

By Dani Sheehan. 

A roadmap to better leadership starts with dumping the HeadTrash. Learn how to silence self-doubt and build stronger teams in this intriguing newscast. 

In a recent Contractor Outlook Newscast episode, Heidi J. Ellsworth meets with Renie Cavallari, award-winning author and speaker about the mental health of today’s businesses. She shares powerful insights into the challenges leaders face in managing their mindset and transforming workplace culture. For roofing professionals looking to elevate their leadership and team performance, Renie’s practical advice provides a roadmap to clarity, alignment and productivity. 

After 30 years of owning her own firm, Powered by Aspire, Renie wrote her eighth book, “HEADTRASH: The Leading Killer of Human Potential” to explore how leaders can help themselves and their teams achieve their full potential. She defines HeadTrash as the inner dialogue that undermines potential, drains energy and fosters self-doubt. “Those nasty little voices in our head that undermine us, they suck our energy, steal our potential and they’re loud. They can keep us up at night,” she explains. Left unchecked, this inner dialogue creates chaos and emotional stress, derailing productivity and collaboration. 

The solution? Learning to identify and manage HeadTrash effectively. “It’s not just about being positive,” Renie emphasizes. “When we learn the tools to move from the disconnected side to the connected side of our emotional brain, now we learn how to dump and manage... And not just our relationships with others, relationships with ourselves because we’re not so critical.” 

Renie’s research with leaders worldwide reveals a simple but profound formula: decreased emotional stress = clarity = productive action. If the opposite occurs – in other words, if we have high emotional stress – we create confusion and inefficiency in ourselves and others, which can ripple across a company’s culture. 

“When we’re productive, we feel aligned within our organization, we feel aligned with one another. And when we feel that alignment, that's what culture is,” Renie explains. “A healthy culture is one that allows people to come together. It doesn't matter what you define as your vision, your mission, your values, people come together, and they align. And when they align, we're extraordinarily powerful. Whether it's as an individual, when I'm in integrity with myself I'm aligned or within a company.” 

The challenges roofing professionals face daily, from tight deadlines and dynamic team environments to the need to establish trust with their clients and crews, resonate deeply with Renie’s insights on high emotional stress in the workplace. The tools she offers can help leaders at all levels overcome these stressors, align their teams and cultivate a culture of resilience and productivity. 

Read the transcript, Listen to the newscast or Watch the webinar to hear more about Renie’s approach to dumping HeadTrash and transforming leadership.