SUMMARY

What if some of your most valuable leadership credentials never appeared on your résumé?

We tend to measure leadership experience through job titles, degrees, promotions, and positions of authority. But many of the capabilities that make us effective leaders develop long before we receive formal recognition for them.

In this episode of Deals with Heels, Debra Bowers welcomes Dr. Mickey Fitch-Collins, leadership facilitator, educator, speaker, and host of the Learn It Lounge podcast, for a fascinating conversation about hidden credentials, transferable skills, and recognizing the value of our accumulated experiences.

At just 14 years old, Mickey was a professional bass fisherman, teaching rooms filled with adults who were often two or three times her age. What began as a childhood passion developed into public speaking, storytelling, marketing, teaching, and leadership skills that would influence her entire career.

Mickey eventually earned a PhD in leadership in higher education and spent nearly two decades working in higher education administration, including executive leadership. But after reaching the C-suite, she discovered that professional success and personal fulfillment aren't necessarily the same thing.

Her decision to leave higher education and pursue learning and development required her to recognize the transferable skills she'd been building throughout her life.

Together, Debra and Mickey explore why we often overlook our own capabilities, how storytelling helps us communicate our experience, and why understanding what energizes us can be more valuable than simply pursuing the next title.

Sometimes the credential you're missing isn't one you need to earn. It's one you haven't learned to recognize.

KEY TOPICS

- Hidden Credentials: Recognizing leadership capabilities beyond formal titles and degrees

- Leadership Before the Title: What Mickey learned teaching adults as a teenage professional bass fisherman

- The Power of Storytelling: How personal experiences make leadership and learning more relatable

- Formal Education vs. Lived Experience: Why both contribute to effective leadership

- The Accidental Leader: How an unexpected college experience launched Mickey's leadership career

- Career Reinvention: Recognizing when professional success no longer aligns with personal fulfillment

- Transferable Skills: Why your experience remains valuable when you change industries or careers

- What Charges Your Battery? Identifying the activities that energize you before choosing your next opportunity

- Self-Efficacy and Confidence: Learning to trust your ability to succeed in unfamiliar environments

- Communicating Your Value: Connecting past experiences, accomplishments, and skills to future opportunities

RESOURCES

Connect with Dr. Mickey Fitch-Collins

Website:
https://www.learnit.com/mickey

Explore Mickey's complimentary 45-day learning opportunity for teams of up to 20 people through the link above.

Learnit Lounge Podcast YouTube

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrMqGTAZDNMCXzHnoq7-QB0jEBQ4wkFkS&si=4egh2aXLGwoV1ZoQ

LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mickeyfitchcollins/

Connect with Debra

LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/debra-bowers/

The Growth Vanguard:
https://thegrowthvanguard.com/

5 Signs Your Growth Is Breaking:
https://5signs.thegrowthvanguard.com/

Human Sales Playbook:
https://thegrowthvanguard.com/free-ebook

Hexagon Media:
https://hexagonmedia.net/

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Until next time, stand strong in your power—especially when it gets uncomfortable.