Leading with Heart: Angela Bradford of World Financial Group On The Power of Authentic Women’s Leadership

An Interview With Pirie Jones Grossman

One reason leading authentically will help with leadership, as a woman especially, is it allows other women to step into their authenticity. An example of this would be, when I let myself show the emotion, other women know that they also can cry and still be strong.

In today’s dynamic world, the concept of leadership is continuously evolving. While traditional leadership models have often been male-dominated, there is a growing recognition of the unique strengths and perspectives that women bring to these roles. This series aims to explore how women can become more effective leaders by authentically embracing their femininity and innate strengths, rather than conforming to traditional male leadership styles. In this series, we are talking to successful women leaders, coaches, authors, and experts who can provide insights and personal stories on how embracing their inherent feminine qualities has enhanced their leadership abilities. As part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Angela Bradford.

Angela is a Senior Marketing Director with World Financial Group. Within just over eight years of transitioning from the blue collar world of trucking and training horses, to the white collar world of finances and training people, she has opened multiple offices and is expanding fast in two countries. She has an amazing team working with her and has the goal of having a licensed agent in every state and province in North America within the next 4 years.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive into our discussion about authentic, feminine leadership, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share with us the backstory about what brought you to your specific career path?

I was driving truck over the road for many years and then that industry slowed down. This caused me to look for other opportunities and positions. I was introduced to World Financial Group then and I saw that I could get into a brand-new career without much risk, so I thought “why not,” and I decided to go for it. I would give it my best and see… I am incredibly grateful I made that decision and haven’t looked back.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?

The most interesting stories that have happened to me since I started this career mostly revolve around trips. I recall a fun trip to Toronto a few years into my business and how exciting it was to tour museums and also go to my first basketball game. We were in the skybox no less, and it was so wonderfully exciting having complimentary food and drinks and watching one of the Raptors’ best games of basketball!

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

What makes my firm different is that we are a brokerage. This means we can shop around for our clients and find the best options for them. In the last year I personally paid out 3 claims with one of the them being to someone that would not be approved by most other companies. We were able to get her coverage, which then paid out for breast cancer!

Personally, with my team, I also focus on core values more than just on “results”. I want people in my agency who want to change the world, not just make money. This makes it a truly different experience for the customers! We reward and recognize values as well as results. I want to reward and encourage inner growth and the following external success that comes from that in return.

You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

Thank you for the kind words, I still feel I have a long way to go!

Three-character traits I think are very important are, integrity, self-discipline, and humility. There are SO many other traits needed, but these are the three that come to mind.

1. Integrity to me is doing the right thing every time. One example of this in the insurance industry is that it is easy to sell a policy as a nonsmoker rather than a smoker as the rates are lower. I have seen lots of policies sold this way; however, in a claim situation the company will look for that and if it’s not accurate they may refuse to pay the claim, which would be terrible!
2. The next trait I think is essential is self-discipline. As a leader and entrepreneur no one will tell you when and where to show up and work. However, if you do not show up, nothing will get done! Self-discipline starts with the little habits; like getting up when the alarm goes off and not hitting snooze. Little things become big things.
3. Humility is the third trait I think of. This is one of the hardest for me anyhow. As you start to ‘win’ it is easy to feel good about the wins and let them go to the head and away from the heart. It takes a conscious effort to stay humble when receiving congratulations and accolades. Leaders need to remember they got and will get where they are in life based on the team they work with. The team needs the recognition!

Leadership often entails making difficult decisions or hard choices between two apparently good paths. Can you share a story with us about a hard decision or choice you had to make as a leader? I’m curious to understand how these challenges have shaped your leadership.

Challenges are something that’s just part of leadership. Because I accepted this fact when I first got into leadership and understood it, the challenges actually haven’t seemed as hard. One of the hardest things for me is letting people go if they don’t want to win as much as I want them to win.

An example of this would be, in our business we have events that are really important for growth and development, but are optional. Some people decide not to go. I cannot spend my time with everybody as I have limited time, so part of how I decide who I spent time with is who invests in themselves.

My belief is, if people aren’t willing to invest in themselves, it will be hard to really succeed in life because others won’t invest in them either. This is a hard path to take sometimes. People will judge you and call you names, maybe only behind your back, but it’s happening. However; you have to do what’s best for you and the team.

This is the example that comes to mind though I’m sure there are lots more examples!

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Can you share a personal experience where embracing your unique leadership style, which might not align with traditional expectations, led to a significant positive impact in your organization or team?

Great question! I had to think on this for a little while. The story that came to mind for me was when I felt I had to call people out for their BS. Sometimes we are told as leaders to just be loving; however; I believe sometimes we have to be direct and not worry about whether we are liked in order to help people reach their full potential.

Because I was able to call someone out, though they were mad at the time, they were able to use that to get to the next level in their life and business. Embracing the tough parts of leadership is very important to create a positive impact.

In your journey as a leader, how have you balanced demonstrating resilience, often seen as a masculine trait, with showing vulnerability, which is equally powerful, but typically feminine? Can you give an example where this balance created a meaningful difference?

I don’t know that I’m always super balanced! Resilience is a strength of mine for sure, as is overcoming obstacles, not quitting, all of those things. What I have found about vulnerability is if I display emotion, it creates more of a connection with others. Most people run their life based on emotion, so they have a hard time connecting with someone that can control their emotion all the time.

An example of this would be when I fall down because of my MS, and I do a video about it. That has more connection and views than a unemotional video. So, what I try to do, is have some emotion once in a while to connect with more people.

Personally, I find this very helpful to help people grow stronger in themselves and embrace emotion and use it rather than let it use them.

As a woman in leadership, how have you navigated and challenged gender stereotypes, especially in situations where traditional male-dominated approaches are the norm? What strategies have you employed to remain authentic to your style?

First of all, I believe there are good leaders and bad leaders. Gender is irrelevant. Sometimes you need to have masculine energy, and sometimes you need to have feminine energy.

I naturally am more in my masculine energy than my feminine energy, and this is something that I work on regularly. It is easy to stay masculine, but I find people respond better when I am in touch with the feminine side.

People feel sometimes that women can’t lead as well as men. I beg to differ. I believe a strong woman, with confidence, can lead the same as if not better than their male counterparts. The reason I believe this, women have a “mothering” side that enables them to connect with people on a deeper level. In turn, this causes people to do more for and with them.

How do you utilize emotional intelligence and active listening to create an inclusive environment in your team or organization? Could you share a specific instance where these qualities particularly enhanced team dynamics or performance?”

This is something I’m definitely working on. Active listening is very important in building relationships and trust. An example of this would be when I have meetings with my leadership team and I ask them what things they could have better in the organization, and they give me a list of things that they’re having problems with. Sometimes it’s a personal thing, and that’s the hardest to just listen and take it in. The thing is, you don’t have to do everything people suggest, but you do have to listen and consider it.

What role has mentorship played in developing your authentic leadership style, and how do you communicate authentically to inspire and empower both your mentors and mentees?

Mentorship has been huge for me! Learning from people like John Maxwell, who is a leadership expert, has helped me become a better leader. I try to copy people like this when I’m leading my team. I also work on coaching others to do the same. Leadership is influence. People are influenced by people who are honest and authentic. Actions speak louder than words!

Based on your experience and research, can you please share “5 Ways Leading Authentically As A Woman Will Affect Your Leadership”?

1 . One reason leading authentically will help with leadership, as a woman especially, is it allows other women to step into their authenticity. An example of this would be, when I let myself show the emotion, other women know that they also can cry and still be strong.

2 . The second reason that comes to mind for leading authentically, is when we aren’t authentic to ourselves the results are not as good around us. People can tell when we aren’t being real. For instance, I tried to act like my leadership, and when I did I scared people away as he was more intense than me naturally. In other words, we need to act like we are not like someone else.

3 . The third reason for leading authentically is a woman will feel more at peace with herself. When she feels at peace she is able to lead less emotionally and more subjectively. Leading with emotion is never good for accomplishing much. An example would be, when I get upset with my team because they aren’t doing the things that I pay them to do, I have to be real with them, while at the same time loving them.

4 . Number four would be consistency as a great reason for leading authentically. It’s hard to be consistent when it’s not the real you. I am almost always fired up and ready to go, so for me it’s easy to be fired up talking to others all the time. I see people get fired up but then their actions don’t follow what they’re talking about and it makes it difficult for people to follow them.

5 . The fifth and final reason for leading authentically as a woman that comes to mind is really there is no other way to lead. The truth always happens whether we like it or not. Sometimes I have tried to act like other people when I have led my team, and it never seems to work well. We cannot be what other people are.

Are there potential pitfalls or challenges associated with being an empathetic leader? How can these be addressed?

This is a very loaded question. There are a lot of challenges and pitfalls that can happen with being an empathetic leader in my opinion. Sometimes when you’re empathetic you aren’t actually leading, you’re becoming more of a friend than a leader. The problem with becoming a friend instead of a leader is you can’t lead them! To lead, sometimes we have to be very separate from the person we are leading.

That is one challenge. A way to address it, is to first of all be conscious that it can be a challenge. If you know that you have to watch becoming their friend instead of their leader, you can step into that leadership role quicker. You can help them go forward instead of just sitting beside them.

Another pitfall is people running over you. There are people in the world that don’t want you to win. Those people can use your empathy to empower themselves well disempowering you as the leader. Be careful about this. One reason this is hard, is after it’s happened a few times, the leader can become unempathetic and hard hearted toward others. Be conscious of this as well.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

The movement I would like to trigger, is empowering women to reach their full potential. So many women I see are struggling because of society telling them they can only be this or that. As a woman you can be anything you set your mind to be!

How can our readers further follow you online?

The best way to follow me is on Instagram at @realangelabradford and I would love to connect with everyone there!

Thank you for the time you spent sharing these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!

About The Interviewer: Pirie is a TedX speaker, author and a Life Empowerment Coach. She is a co-host of Own your Throne podcast, inspiring women in the 2nd chapter of their lives. With over 20 years in front of the camera, Pirie Grossman understands the power of storytelling. After success in commercials and acting. She spent 10 years reporting for E! Entertainment Television, Entertainment Tonight, also hosted ABC’s “Every Woman”. Her work off-camera capitalizes on her strength, producing, bringing people together for unique experiences. She produced a Children’s Day of Compassion during the Dalai Lama’s visit here in 2005. 10,000 children attended, sharing ideas about compassion with His Holiness. From 2006–2009, Pirie Co-chaired the Special Olympics World Winter Games, in Idaho, welcoming 3,000 athletes from over 150 countries. She founded Destiny Productions to create Wellness Festivals and is an Advisory Board member of the Sun Valley Wellness Board.In February 2017, Pirie produced, “Love is Louder”, a Brain Health Summit, bringing in Kevin Hines, noted suicide survivor to Sun Valley who spoke to school kids about suicide. Sun Valley is in the top 5% highest suicide rate per capita in the Northwest, prompting a community initiative with St. Luke’s and other stake holders, to begin healing. She lives in Sun Valley with her two children, serves on the Board of Community School. She has her Master’s degree in Spiritual Psychology from the University of Santa Monica and is an Executive Life Empowerment Coach, where she helps people meet their dreams and goals! The difference between a dream and a goal is that a goal is a dream with a date on it!