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Welcome to the Women of HubSpot, a podcast celebrating the voices shaping marketing, technology, and the ever-evolving HubSpot ecosystem. Hosted by George B. Thomas from Sidekick Strategies. Each episode brings you the stories, strategies, and superpowers of the women driving this industry forward. It's their time. It's their mic. This… is Women of HubSpot.
Welcome to the Women of HubSpot podcast, the show that celebrates the voices shaping marketing, technology, and the ever evolving HubSpot ecosystem. Hosted by George B. Thomas from Sidekick Strategies. Each episode brings you the stories, strategies, and superpowers of the women driving this industry forward. It's their time.
Intro:It's their mic. This is Women of HubSpot.
George B. Thomas:It's your boy, George B. Thomas, and we're back again with another episode of the Women of HubSpot podcast. And I'm super excited. Why? Because I'm not standing here by myself.
George B. Thomas:I am standing here with Alana Lovett-Griffin, and I'm super excited to have a conversation today. Ask the questions, get into the deep end, go through the valley and the journey. But hey, if this is your first episode, let me just give you a quick snapshot. It's the Super Bowl. The Philadelphia Eagles are in there.
George B. Thomas:There's a quarterback and my daughter starts to say these words. Did you know he has an all woman team? And I saw her face light up and the excitement and the conversation ensued. And I said, why is this not happening in the HubSpot space? And without any strategy, without any thinking, I opened up LinkedIn as I'm watching the game, and I did a post of like, hey.
George B. Thomas:If you know somebody who is super dope and they're a female, a woman, and they use HubSpot, work at HubSpot, tag them in this post. Let's shine the light on the awesome women in our space. Needless to say, it blew up. I looked at my daughters a couple days later, they looked at me and they're like, dad, we've got to create some content around this. We've got to have these conversations.
George B. Thomas:And I agree, we do have to have these conversations. So Alana, how the heck are you doing today?
Alana Lovett-Griffin:I am doing fantastic. I never get tired of that story. The only part that bothers me is that you might be an Eagles fan?
George B. Thomas:No. No. Okay, good.
Alana Lovett-Griffin:I love it. I was like, in call. In call.
George B. Thomas:I love it. Out of all the people that I've interviewed, nobody has actually asked me what football team I am a fan of. It is not the Eagles. And I think they were playing, oh, what what team were they put? Anyway, it doesn't matter.
George B. Thomas:But unfortunately or fortunately, depending on who you are and how who you're listening to this, before we moved to North Carolina, I was a Cleveland Browns fan because we live in Ohio. Never win, not really, sad songs. And then we moved to North Carolina. So of course it's the Panthers is usually who I'm rooting for.
Alana Lovett-Griffin:Okay.
George B. Thomas:But they weren't in that Super Bowl, so they can't be part of this story. But I love that you asked that. Okay, Alana, we're going go kind of through the valleys and go to the peak as far as some of these questions. But first, can you just let everybody know who's watching this or listening to this, like, who you are, what you do, where you do it, like how you got tagged into this, Hey, you gotta be on this show.
Alana Lovett-Griffin:I am a woman of HubSpot and woman at HubSpot, right? So I currently lead a team of partner development managers. So I'm a manager of PDMs is what they're called internally. And we essentially coach solutions partners on how to go to market with HubSpot, how to help them scale and build their business using HubSpot as a tool. I'm actually coming up on my four years at HubSpot, which George is like dog years.
Alana Lovett-Griffin:It feels very much so with all the change and everything, but it's been great. I was able to connect with so many women who inspire me. And I think that's how I ended up here. It's just someone said, Hey, I wanna pay it forward. Alana has been instrumental in my time at HubSpot.
Alana Lovett-Griffin:So I think you should talk to her. I'm honored because of that. So yeah, let's talk about the valleys and the journeys. I would love to continue to pay it forward on my experience here at HubSpot.
George B. Thomas:Yeah, let's do that. Now, I do have a sideways question I wanna ask you because you said coming up on four years, I know at five, people that work at HubSpot get a sabbatical. Have you been starting to think about maybe what you're gonna do or is it too early for that yet?
Alana Lovett-Griffin:You know, it's always on my mind because I love rest. I love a good rest and recharge. Actually, I'm like on the other side of a lengthier vacation, so you're getting a good version of me. So one thing I really would love to do is one, obviously rest and sleep, but I want to travel with my children. So I have two smart children, three years old and 19 old.
Alana Lovett-Griffin:So as a father, you can understand the complexities of that. But recently they secured passports. So I think it's just so important for our children if we have the privilege to do so to take them places so they can see the world, gain perspective, connect with other cultures. So that is like one thing that is certainly on my list for sabbatical. And of course, sleep.
Alana Lovett-Griffin:I have to get at least seven and a half hours.
George B. Thomas:There you go. I love the idea of sleep, but also I totally agree. Getting your children into the world so they get a perspective of where they live, the family they have versus everything else that is out there is such a key piece that I love that you're kind of focused on that. Okay. So let's go ahead and get into this journey.
George B. Thomas:Alana, if we could go back in time, maybe we've got a DeLorean or something along those lines, a time machine of some sort. We go back in time to young Alana Lovett-Griffin, just starting out. One, what do we see? And two, what would she be most surprised about where you are right now?
Alana Lovett-Griffin:What I see, I'm looking at young Alana, is just a woman with so many unanswered questions, so many. And I think if you asked me this question like maybe five years ago, I would describe her as lost, But really it's not lost, it's curiosity in a world that's unexplored. So I started my professional career as a school psychologist and I was working in a K-twelve setting. I was, leading multidisciplinary teams. So working with speech pathologists, special education teachers, and ensuring that children, particularly children with special needs, have an educational plan that met where they were at the time.
Alana Lovett-Griffin:And they're constantly growing and we have appropriate goals. So you could imagine that being in your 20s, that is a big job because I was not a parent at the time. I only had the perspective of school and education. So I'm coming from a place of like, this is the textbook way to do it. And then now you're in the real world and it's a lot more complex than it sounds.
Alana Lovett-Griffin:I probably felt lost, but I was actually really just curious about what was happening, what that experience is as a parent of a child who has a disability, what it means to navigate these systems and to have meetings in which you're told, Hey, your child might not have the life that you intended for them. And that's so big for a young woman making those decisions and not having a lot of experiences to draw upon. I was very curious in an unexplored world. And remind me of the second half of that question. What would Yeah, what tell
George B. Thomas:would she be most surprised about
Alana Lovett-Griffin:Yes,
Intro:for where you are right
Alana Lovett-Griffin:I think she would be surprised at the amount of peace that I have. So George, I've been doing this thing lately where I'm not talking about my success in terms of achievement because I think that no longer aligns with my values, right? I wanna talk about my success in terms of the sovereignty that I'm experiencing right now. And I think that she would be surprised at the peace that I have, even though this is probably the busiest I've ever been in my life. So as a working mother, leading a team of people with small children, supporting aging parents, being the sole income provider in my household, And I'm also doing a little side gig where I'm posting my content and trying to launch a business.
Alana Lovett-Griffin:But because I've leaned completely into things that align with my values, it just feels so much peace that it doesn't feel busy. It just feels like all things that I enjoy.
George B. Thomas:I feel like we're going to church and we're only on like the first real question. This idea of sovereignty, this idea of peace, this idea of like additional hustle to start a side business. Your your story of going from the educational system to now you're at HubSpot help partners in the ecosystem. And honestly, this idea of lost versus curiosity, like as soon as you said that, like, my cranium started to, like, go and all the synapses were firing and, like, I'm like, oh my gosh. Okay.
George B. Thomas:Already, this is amazing. I I'm I love this conversation. So you've been on a journey, right, from school to school system to now HubSpot. Who are some of the biggest inspirations or mentors along the way? This can be before HubSpot, in HubSpot, whatever.
Alana Lovett-Griffin:I feel like I've been really fortunate that wherever I landed, there were like one or two people that I was able to establish a really deep connection with. We talk about feeling seen, heard, and valued, but it doesn't need to happen with everyone. If you have one or two champions that they really understand who you are and what you're trying to be, you can have lifelong relationships really. And I've been fortunate to have that. So I'll talk about like three archetypes and kind of why they stand out to me.
Alana Lovett-Griffin:The first was actually someone in the school system that I work with and I'm still in touch with. And this woman was impressive because she actually came from the corporate environment into the school system. So she kind of did the opposite of what I did. And now that I think about it, it was to pursue her own piece. The corporate space no longer kind of aligned with what she wanted to do.
Alana Lovett-Griffin:She didn't want to climb, but she wanted to move to passion filled purposeful work. And she found that within the school system. And I just remember it really appreciating how she could walk out of a very contentious and stressful meeting and still have lightness because she had such control of her emotions. It was really beautiful. So that was one person.
Alana Lovett-Griffin:The other person who has been a champion for me and we're still in touch, I may call him a mentor, is someone that I work with at a startup. And this startup was a blockchain credentialing startup. I'm We not even going to might need to set up another pod to go into what that was. Right. And I probably can't even articulate what blockchain is as well as I used to be.
Alana Lovett-Griffin:But the reason why he was so critical to me is because we're in this environment, and if anyone has worked at a startup environment, it's very uncertain. You're constantly learning, doing, you're very busy. There's not a clear roadmap all the time and you're in survival mode. And it's an intimate group of like 25 people. So you really get to see everyone in their like raws form.
Alana Lovett-Griffin:So it was important for me to connect with someone who kept me grounded because that was the space where I was on the path of crash out because it's just so busy and it was around the pandemic as well. And then the third person who has just been, and she's lovely, I'm gonna name drop. That person is Doctor. V Boykin. Okay.
Alana Lovett-Griffin:And you may have seen her on LinkedIn, formerly HubSpot. I've never met someone who just has such a presence. Someone who is so just like deeply rooted in who they are and unapologetic about it, but not in a way that's like puts you off as like she embraces the elements of her strength and softness. And I see that and I'm just like, okay, this is possible. She's doing it and she's doing it in a way that's uplifting a lot of women.
Alana Lovett-Griffin:It's different ways in which I think people have been influential and inspiring to me, but it all hit me at the right time in my life. And now I can reflect on it and say, if I put all these people together, this could be like a super mentor or a super coach. Those are my top three.
George B. Thomas:I love that so much and how you broke that down. By the way, I do love Doctor. V. I had an opportunity to interview her before the previous Inbound, Inbound 2024, and it was one of my favorite on the road or pre Inbound Inbound Talks was the name of the show that we were doing then, and what an amazing human. I also love that you broke this down into kind of these three different archetypes.
George B. Thomas:I love that we also learned that not only did you go from education or educated to education, but now also you listed in their startup. So you've been in the startup world in between then and HubSpot. I'm just learning all sorts of kind of cool things about you, but also I started to have another moment where I'm like, oh my gosh, like, are we, are we related somehow? Because you started to talk about this idea of purposeful passion. And one of the things that I'm talking about at Inbound this year is the superhuman framework, which I built, not why we're here, but just so you know, Alana, the four cornerstones of that framework are purpose, passion, persistence, and love.
George B. Thomas:And so when you started to go down that road, was like, Oh, let's go. Let's go. Okay.
Alana Lovett-Griffin:I promise I wasn't prepped, everyone.
George B. Thomas:I'm telling you, but it's all good. It feels authentic. I know that we're just having a dope conversation, which I'm getting excited just how this is going so far. So now we're going to crest into some of what I call the valley questions before we kind of go drive up the mountain and get to the peak. And so I'm super curious.
George B. Thomas:Like, you're a woman, you work at HubSpot, you're a woman of HubSpot, you've had this crazy journey that we've been kind of talking about education startup, all that. Along the way, have there been any hurdles or biases that you've had to overcome in your career? And how did you actually navigate those or navigate them?
Alana Lovett-Griffin:Yes, the short answer is yes. I think the biggest, and I've actually have now decided to undo some of the things that I was doing before, Is not only being a woman in like a male dominated space that's tech, but also being a woman of color. It has its unique experience and then being a black woman, right? Because one of the things that I will say is that while HubSpot has done great work in terms of driving culture and diversity, there's still work to be done in terms of representation, particularly black women in leadership positions, right? And that's all over the industry.
Alana Lovett-Griffin:So I think what I used to do and the challenge that I faced were connected to how I saw myself in this larger space where a lot of times people didn't look like me. I would shrink, George. I would choose to be like, Hey, if I was low maintenance and reliable, nobody would tell that I was a Black woman, which hearing me articulate that out loud is just like, Alana, what are you talking about? But now what I've done is like, yes, this is part of my identity. I am proud of my identity.
Alana Lovett-Griffin:I am proud to show up as a black woman in a space where I'm underrepresented and I'm owning it and we're gonna do this and I'm not gonna shrink. There'll be elements about me that may be different from my counterparts and that's great. That makes this whole thing beautiful, right? So I think the biggest challenge that I had, yes, of course people may see you in certain way and come to you with biases, but it was with myself. It was in my own ownership of my identity and recognition of the beauty that I'm bringing into spaces because I'm different.
George B. Thomas:Oh man. I love that so much. How did you navigate it? What comes to my mind is like inner exploration, like loving myself so that I can love others and present the best of me to the world is where my brain goes. I love that so, so much.
George B. Thomas:Okay. So let's continue on with these questions because I can't wait to get to all these answers. I'm loving this so much. Okay. Have you ever faced a moment where you felt underestimated, overlooked, out of place in the industry?
George B. Thomas:And again, how did you handle that when you're in that scenario?
Alana Lovett-Griffin:Yes. I can't say that I always handled it well.
George B. Thomas:Okay. Honesty is the best policy.
Alana Lovett-Griffin:As the youth said, I I was a bit of a crash out in this example. So I'll give you an example now. I feel like I you know, if you pull my LinkedIn, they're gonna be like, girl, what else did you do? There was a stint in which I like to say a cup of coffee was had with the NFL players association. So I was there for about a year, and I just thought I had all these ideas, which I did, and no one was listening to my ideas, right?
Alana Lovett-Griffin:No one was listening to me. So what I did George is I got louder, and I was like, maybe it's because I'm not talking to enough people. Maybe it's because I need to be more direct. But the reality was I wasn't taking into account my environment. And in an association environment, in that work culture, things have been the same way for years.
Alana Lovett-Griffin:And it's not that they're change averse, it's just that the change management process is longer. You need to build up more equity in terms of what you're in in that space instead of coming in for complete disruption. I needed to be a little bit more emotionally intelligent in terms of how I was working with my career, I mean, with my peers. And I just needed to take a step back and fully understand kind of the implications of what I was recommending. I felt this way of like, oh, they don't appreciate me.
Alana Lovett-Griffin:And ultimately I left. I was just like, this is not the place for me. But in reality, it could have been. It could have been a place where I made change. Change just looked very different in that environment.
Alana Lovett-Griffin:And so one of the things that I'm able to do now that my forebrain is fully developed is to have a sense of patience and reflection and look at things holistically and actually have people challenge me. That's something that I'm doing now working with my leaders here at HubSpot. I'm just like, Hey, here's a brain dump, pick it apart. I do that with ChatGPT. Read me to filth.
Alana Lovett-Griffin:There's something wrong with how I'm thinking about this, challenge me. And I wasn't willing to do that at that stage of my career and it manifested in me feeling unseen and unheard. My ideas aren't good, but in reality it was my approach. My approach was a little bit abrasive at the time and I needed to edit.
George B. Thomas:So good. You used the word patience in there, reflection. One thing that I'm learning quite quickly about, by the way, can we just say education, startup, NFL association? But one thing I'm learning about you too is I would tell you right now from the way that you're answering these questions, your hindsight is twentytwenty. Like being able to actually go back and break down why did that happen, and what can I learn from it, and here's how I'm going to move forward?
George B. Thomas:There are so many lessons that the viewers or listeners could be pulling out of this. I hope, I pray, that they have their notepad out as we continue to go through this. So, Alana, this is is dope. Okay. How have you ever this question might not be dope, though.
George B. Thomas:This is a hard one to answer. Have have you ever experienced a significant failure or setback? And if so, like if you're transported to a moment in time, like what did you learn from that setback or failure?
Alana Lovett-Griffin:Yeah, I think one of the biggest kind of setbacks and it led me to HubSpot. So yeah, it's a good story. It has a good ending, but it started off rocky. The startup that I was with was acquired by a larger company. And through mergers and acquisitions, there's just a lot of change.
Alana Lovett-Griffin:Culturally, you're going into a bigger organization. At the time, everyone was remote. So that organization was based in Ohio and I was working home from Maryland. So the connection piece is a little funky too. And the integration into the larger organization was just like really hard for me.
Alana Lovett-Griffin:I was trying to find an opportunity of like how I could fit in and I was like pitching these ideas. I was deeply into at the time just diversity, equity, and that was really important. And it was around the time of which we had the George Floyd situation. So all of those things were very loud. I started to pitch these ideas and again, here I go pitching ideas.
Alana Lovett-Griffin:And I wanted to establish a position for myself that I kind of married this idea of operationalizing DEI efforts. And I failed, nobody listened to me. And it wasn't that no one listened to me. Was just like, again, you're trying to change something that is just harder to change. It influenced in my approach to it was like, hey guys, this makes a lot of sense.
Alana Lovett-Griffin:I have all this data, look at me. And I was having some great meetings and it doesn't even have to be me, right? It could be anyone who steps into this space, but it just did not work. And in tandem with that, George, like my job was not working. The blockchain credentialing system was like deprioritized.
Alana Lovett-Griffin:Customers weren't interested in any anymore. They weren't interested in digital credentials. And then it was volatility around Bitcoin and crypto in general. Everything kind of came crashing down and it actually led me to doing more introspection to say, okay, I'm not gonna necessarily define my value in if this new position is created or if I can like navigate what blockchain credentialing looks like in this large company. My worth and my energy has to come from doing work that aligns with my values.
Alana Lovett-Griffin:And that's what got me to HubSpot. So even though I wasn't able to navigate this new work environment and find a space and even just maintain the customers that we had at the time, it led me to doing some deep work to say, guess what? It's okay because you don't belong here. And that's okay because this doesn't sit with you.
George B. Thomas:You said, my value is not my position. And then you said, here are my values. And what I heard after that in my own mind is let me go find work that aligns with my values because that's where I'm gonna make the most impact. It's so good. I would ask the viewers and listeners, are you somewhere in your life where your position is your value?
George B. Thomas:And if so, is there something that you can learn from what Alana just said? Okay, Alana, we're gonna crest up the mountain now. Are like the So valid questions that I let's talk about empowerment. And what does empowerment mean to you? And how do you pass that on to others in your field?
Alana Lovett-Griffin:So I'm gonna tell you what it used to mean to me before, and I'll tell you what it means to me today, because what you'll know is I'm all about, you said hindsight is twenty twenty. So I'm all about the growth moment. What it used to mean to me, empowerment was becoming more, More whether it's through title, whether it's through like more fitness, healthier, more educated of a mom and how I approached that. It was just like more, more, more. How can I stack more accolades or pressures or stressors on myself?
Alana Lovett-Griffin:That was empowering because I have the strength to hold it up. But what it means to me today is empowerment is more of becoming myself and sitting with who I am, acknowledging that who I am is lovely and allowing that to lead me into my own freedom, my own softness, my own joy, my own fulfillment. And so, I think a lot of times when we hear empowerment, we think of ownership, strength, authority, and all of those things are true, but all of those things are existing as I'm becoming more of myself.
George B. Thomas:Okay. So I've got to ask this next question based on what you define empowerment as now. By the way, that was dope. Okay. What I want you to do is I want you to share a moment in your career where you felt especially empowered or proud of something that you achieved.
Alana Lovett-Griffin:It's happening. I'm sitting in it right now. I'm sitting in it right now. Last month, actually maybe two months ago, I had been just sitting on content, George. And you can appreciate this as a content creator.
Alana Lovett-Griffin:And I kept seeing different people say, just put it out there. Just put it out there and see what people say. And I came up with this concept of that girl because Beyonce has a song called I'm That Girl and she's just really talking about the elements of her that make her whole. And through my reflection work, was like, you know what? Yeah.
Alana Lovett-Griffin:I'm that girl, but I'm not the way that I thought I would be. So I'm that girl reimagined. And I've just started posting, like limiting beliefs, posting on LinkedIn, doing a little sub stack, like doing videos here and there, limiting beliefs of what I had for myself, whether it was like over functioning, I'm just lucky, downplaying my own abilities. And through that, I found out that a lot of people think like this and they sought validation in what I was saying. So I'm very personally and professionally proud of just doing it, putting it out there, trying new things, sometimes getting it wrong, sometimes getting it right and just going with it.
Alana Lovett-Griffin:And so, someone who is doing something very similar, I'm sure you can appreciate that feeling of just like, it's out there. It's out there and it's liberating. And it just feels really good to have done it. So I'm proud of it. And I'm also excited to keep going.
George B. Thomas:First of all, I am proud of you because taking the first step is the hardest. The fact that you're putting it out there, you're putting yourself out there, and you're realizing immediately there's a connection. Other humans deal with this crap too is a magical place to get as a creator. And I literally, like, there are so many things in our life that rhyme because I was sitting on some content. It's called Beyond Your Default.
George B. Thomas:It's another podcast. I did it for a year and a half. And Alana, I've never said this in public, but because of this interview that we're having, it literally was my church they'll never walk into or therapy couch they'll never lay down on. And it was me just unpacking all the stuff that I've gone through in my life and what I've learned. It's the rawest, most vulnerable I've ever been.
George B. Thomas:But once it was done, I was like, it's in the world.
Alana Lovett-Griffin:It's out there.
George B. Thomas:It's there. And I love the idea of reimagined. So I can't wait to see where this takes you, just based off of what I have learned about you and the feeling that I get when you're communicating, I feel like it's going to be very, very far. Okay. So let's talk about change and mentorship and let's go in If kind of that you could change one thing about how women are supported in this industry, magic one moment, Alana, what would it be?
Alana Lovett-Griffin:I think I would change the narrative. I do recognize that the importance of community and connection and advocacy are all there. But I feel as though sometimes the way we'd say it's like, hey, if we don't do this, we can't get there. That's actually not true in a lot of elements. It helps us get there, but we have to have the right talk track to believe that we will get there.
Alana Lovett-Griffin:And I've worked with so many women who have negative self talk tracks. I included. A lot of women in this space they'll to apply to and will wanna apply to a position, right? And we'll look at the position and we'll talk about why it's so important that we get it and all the work that we're doing to get it. And then we'll say something like, but I don't have X, Y, and Z, but I don't have this, but I don't have a mentor, but I don't have a connection.
Alana Lovett-Griffin:And the reality is we don't need these things in order to be successful or be whole. It's more so like, Hey, I wanna do this and this is what I'm bringing to this opportunity. And this is how it's going to take HubSpot or take this team or take wherever to the next level. If we could replace that but with and and retool how we're talking to ourselves about opportunities, I really would love that to change for women in this profession.
George B. Thomas:Preach. My God. Okay. This is obviously the Women of HubSpot podcast. So I have to at least ask one question related to HubSpot.
George B. Thomas:So Alana, are there any practical tools, strategies, trends in HubSpot that you're excited about right now?
Alana Lovett-Griffin:Yes. I think the trend that I'm excited about is that, I mean, it took us what all of thirty two minutes to get here is AI. So everybody drink. But I think it's not just AI in terms of, okay, this is the next wave, but it's more of the untapped potential and the creativity around how people are using AI. And I think that can be exciting.
Alana Lovett-Griffin:I mean, of course, there's a wave of that we're so uncertain, right? We don't know what tomorrow brings with AI, but I just love how people are realizing that there are either elements in their day or their life where they could offload something. And in order to be the best version of ourselves, we have the tools and technology to say, You know what? I actually no longer need to spend time doing this. I can be spending time thinking more strategically.
Alana Lovett-Griffin:I could be spending time supporting my team. I think about that as a people manager. What if I just freed up the mental load of having to analyze data and now I can actually have a growth conversation with my team and coach? So I think the way that we are moving at HubSpot is getting people to be maximized through the use of technology, right? This is the type of thought leadership that we want at HubSpot.
Alana Lovett-Griffin:And now we have the tools and technology to support that.
George B. Thomas:Yeah, so good. By the way, I love the little joking of like everybody drink. If I took a drink every time I heard AI or use AI in my day, there would no no content would be being created. I would be on the floor. That would be that would be crazy.
George B. Thomas:But I I love where you're going because for a year and a half, two years now, as we kind of stepped into this AI space, I've been trying to preach this like augment your humans. Don't replace your humans, but augment your with AI. Make them be the best versions or help them be the best versions of themselves. And so I'd love that you're going in that direction with that. Okay, let's talk about along the way people you've met, we'll call it networking because that's the term, but how important is networking with other females or just networking in general?
George B. Thomas:Alana, are there any certain strategies that you use to kind of build these connections along the way?
Alana Lovett-Griffin:I did not fully appreciate the importance of networking really until I got to HubSpot. I didn't realize I was networking previously. I think a lot of times what people think about networking is volume, but I think of it as quality. For me, I'm at the opportunity to meet a lot of people. You've been to inbound, for example.
Alana Lovett-Griffin:There's just no shortage of opportunity for you to meet and connect with someone on LinkedIn. But the way that I've approached networking is how can we solve problems for one another? How can we grow together? How can we Whether it's just through conversation, I connected with someone actually earlier yesterday and we hadn't been in contact for two years, but through some of the posting on LinkedIn, there's this parallel experience that was happening. And had we not been connected on LinkedIn, now we can't help one another kind of go into the next version of ourselves.
Alana Lovett-Griffin:So it's like deep work. I look at my networking because I want to be able to ensure that both of us are getting value out of that relationship and we're clear about that. We're clear that we're in it to whether it's solve a problem, we're in it to grow together. We're in it to figure out what A lot of times I'm giving career advice, so figure out what that next career step is. But it's really about the quality of the connections.
Alana Lovett-Griffin:And it's almost always manifested into good things for both parties, right? I do not believe in wasting people's time.
George B. Thomas:Yeah. That's a good golden rule right there.
Alana Lovett-Griffin:No, you have to be clear about your outcomes, right? Because if you're moving together with someone and while you have this network connection and you're misaligned, it's gonna be low value for both of you. So I'm pretty clear about like, hey, there's some intentionality around this relationship that we're growing. And it's not just a volume play where I know all these people and we have kind of loose associations.
George B. Thomas:Yeah. I love this idea of quality over quantity. And I also love that you use the word relationship, you use the word value, you use the word growth. And what's interesting is when I hear those things, it's networking that becomes magnetic. Meaning, people will be coming to you, versus you needing to always go to them, because you have become a human magnet of value, growth mindset, and relationship building.
George B. Thomas:Which just take notes on that and run with it, people who are listening and watching this, and you'll be in a way better place in the next three, six or twelve months as far as a network to then impact your net worth. I'm just going to throw that out there. Okay, so Alana, give me what has been maybe the most rewarding aspect of your career so far.
Alana Lovett-Griffin:The people, the people. I have been so fortunate to just, and maybe it's the magnetic kind of pool that I have, but just to meet great people and to connect with them and hearing their stories. There's so many people that that's why I feel so empowered to share my story because you just really never know who you're gonna touch through those conversations. But I've just have lifelong friendships through people that I've worked with. And you go through very tough times.
Alana Lovett-Griffin:I remember there was a time I was like crying in a stairwell with a good friend of mine who now we've been friends forever. Our children are around the same age. And you go through those hard times and then you go through incredibly joyous times where you achieve an award or you solve a problem or you execute on a project. And we spend at minimum forty hours a week in these spaces. So isn't it great to do it with people who you enjoy spending this time with?
Alana Lovett-Griffin:And I've been lucky to, I think, seek out and also be very clear about who those people are. I protect myself from people who drain my energy as well. I say, you know what? I know we have to work together, but you are not gonna get all of Alana. And that's okay because the Alana that you'll get will still be professional and effective.
Alana Lovett-Griffin:She's just not gonna be your bestie.
George B. Thomas:Yeah, ladies and gentlemen, you have an energy vampire in your life, get some garlic yo. I'm just gonna throw that out there because there is no space or place. I mean, you don't have to be mean. No. I didn't tell you to get a steak.
George B. Thomas:I told you to get some garlic. So, you know, I'm just throwing that out there. Yeah. Exactly. You got some you gotta get some good mojo up in there for sure without it.
George B. Thomas:I I love this. Okay. So let's trigger you back into mentor mode for this next question. What advice would you give other women who might want to choose this type of career path that you've chosen?
Alana Lovett-Griffin:My biggest piece of advice is like, don't deprioritize joy, freedom, alignment, softness in your pursuit of career growth. Those things are necessary for your power, Right? Like you're not going to look back and say, man, you know, those three hours sleep nights that I've got, you know, feels so good today. It's going to be, man, I prioritize rest. I prioritize my well-being.
Alana Lovett-Griffin:I prioritize myself. And now I'm able to come into the space where I am and where I wanna be fully effective, like whole. There were so many times where I did this and I'm just like, okay, like can we unpack this? I was seeking approval. I was seeking perfection and I was seeking performance.
Alana Lovett-Griffin:And now I'm seeking peace, fulfillment, and self actualization. And so that shift in thinking and that framework has allowed me to say, guess what? In order to lead this team, I cannot show up upset. I can't show, I have to own my emotions. I have to, okay, I'll go for a walk if I need to reset, but I cannot help anyone if my bucket is empty.
George B. Thomas:Oh man, you can't pour from an empty cup. So fill your cup. Oh my gosh. So good. So good.
George B. Thomas:Okay. I can't wait till this is edited up so I can go back and relisten to it. This is so good. We're we're gonna land the plane. I've got three questions left for you.
George B. Thomas:Alana, you've been on this crazy journey. Blockchain, education, startups, NFL, HubSpot. You're now hustling and grinding a side gig plus what you're doing. You're owning who you are and bringing like the beautifulness of you to the world. What are your long term goals from here?
Alana Lovett-Griffin:I would love, and people talk a good amount about this, legacy. And not legacy in the sense of this is what I did, I own this company, I ran this in intangible sense. But when my children put me to rest, presumably that will be the order of operations. I want them to say, and remember me as, man, my mother lived a full life.
George B. Thomas:There's something that years ago I grabbed onto and it was a rapper. A rapper was in an interview, and he said these words, and I've never let him go. He said, I don't hustle for my first name. I hustle for my last. And this idea oh, I'm getting goosebumps.
George B. Thomas:This idea of, like, when you get put to rest, the perception or the reality of those who are actually saying goodbye to you, knowing that you put it all on the field for them and that you had this dope life. There are so many lessons that I hope the listeners and viewers are taking away from just that little piece. Okay. Alana, we've learned a lot about you along the way. A lot.
George B. Thomas:But what is one maybe last surprising or little known fact? Like, you're a backup dancer for Beyonce. I'm waiting for that to come out or something. Like, what's
Alana Lovett-Griffin:Oh my gosh. I'm I'm waiting for that for me too.
George B. Thomas:There there you go. So what's a surprising or little known fact about, like, that people might not expect about you?
Alana Lovett-Griffin:Oh man, I always like this one because it's really unexpected. I used to and actually since I've recently been, maybe not so much recently, it was like 2019. I used to be a big wrestling fan George, like WWE. When I was in middle school and I'll date myself, I love the whole like Stone Cold, The Rock rivalry. And it's very unexpected for me.
Alana Lovett-Griffin:In 2019, my now husband, we went to WrestleMania. So that was like
George B. Thomas:such a
Alana Lovett-Griffin:fun experience too.
George B. Thomas:Love it.
Alana Lovett-Griffin:But I think I've thought about this and why I liked wrestling so much. It was the theater and the performance. The the confidence and the bigness of these wrestlers, even though we know that the fights were choreographed, was just really fun. And there's something to be said about that. I know they're characters, but for everyone to be so big and to be this exaggerated version of themselves was really fun.
Alana Lovett-Griffin:I might get to that space as I enter into my 40s, is happening at the end of this year. Oh. But I I would love to be just fully on. And I think that was the fun thing that I took out of wrestling.
George B. Thomas:I love that. Fully on. Can't do life halfway, people. You you gotta be fully on. So good.
George B. Thomas:Okay. Last question. Finish this sentence for me. Success to me means blank.
Alana Lovett-Griffin:Peace. Success is inner peace. It is accepting the humanity and the experience, accepting the emotional highs and lows of life, honoring those moments. When I'm feeling good, I say it. When I'm feeling bad, I say it.
Alana Lovett-Griffin:I don't live in it. I experience it and have a space for it. Balance, growth, all of those things come into my peace. So for me, is having that inner peace.