“Wouldn’t it be great if you had someone to guide you through writing your next chapter? Marcy Bullock is one of those people,” says Karin Reed in today’s episode of Speaker Dynamics - “Own the Room.” Joining Karin, Marcy emphasizes the importance of viewing life and career as a series of chapters, encouraging us to focus on “what’s next” rather than feeling overwhelmed by planning our entire future at once. How often do we burden ourselves with trying to figure it all out, instead of just concentrating on the next step? Marcy’s approach can help ease the pressure that many high achievers feel when facing major life decisions.   The episode delves into gender disparities in the workforce, with Marcy addressing challenges women face, such as unnecessary apologies, the struggle for equal pay, and the impact of the #MeToo Movement. Drawing from her experience teaching at NC State, she shares strategies for self-advocacy among women and marginalized groups. Despite progress, significant gaps remain in areas like parental leave and salary transparency. Marcy also uses a sports analogy to illustrate how cultural conditioning contributes to the confidence gap, with women often internalizing criticism while men tend to deflect it.   To help listeners overcome self-doubt and assert their worth, Marcy offers practical strategies—such as using data in salary negotiations and avoiding “glue work” that doesn’t align with strategic goals. She also emphasizes the importance of professional development and aligning your actions with your personal values. Marcy’s house analogy vividly illustrates how to prioritize your values, from foundational deal-breakers to minor preferences, urging us to focus on what truly matters.   Marcy leaves us with a powerful message: get out of your own way. She encourages us to treat ourselves with the same compassion we’d offer a best friend and to be intentional in our life choices.    Quotes “I realized that any marginalized group needs role models, needs tools in order to be able to succeed. And so, I decided to design this course and after teaching it for a few years, it was one of the most rewarding things I did because I’m very excited about helping women to advocate for themselves, to get what they are worth.” (06:09 | Marcy Bullock)  “I think one of the biggest factors at play is women going into the workforce often being apologetic. They don’t want to step on anyone’s toes… So I think with gender parity, one of the big issues is, well, let’s just be real—parental leave and women being primary caretakers in a lot of families... Also, I just feel that overall, when women go into the workforce, we know they don’t make as much money as men do.” (07:32 | Marcy Bullock)  “Don’t raise your hand for that unless that’s part of your job description… How does your job match with your boss’s priorities? How are you prioritizing things, and can you tie your accomplishments to impactful action items that have made a big impact on that organization? That’s how you’re going to be able to advocate yourself. But if you’re continually agreeing to do some of these things that women typically do, you’re going to find that when it’s time to advocate, you don’t have as much to pull for.” (18:44 | Marcy Bullock)    Links Connect with Marcy Bullock: Marcy Lee Coaching Consulting - https://sites.google.com/view/marcylee/home?authuser=0 Instagram - @marcyleecoaching The Confidence Code - https://learnconfidencecode.com   Connect with Karin Reed: Website: www.speakerdynamics.com Speaker Dynamics University: https://university.speakerdynamics.com/ Speaker Dynamics on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/speakerdynamics/ Karin Reed on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karin-reed/ Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm