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363: From Lived Experience to Leadership with Deb Haaland

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In this conversation, I sat down with Deb Haaland, a Pueblo woman, mom, sister, auntie, grandma, and one of the first Native American women ever elected to Congress. 

Deb has actually been on this show before, years ago, when she was chair of the Democratic Party of New Mexico. Since then, she’s served in Congress, run the Department of the Interior, written her memoir, A Voice Like Mine, and now she’s running to become New Mexico’s next governor: a role no Native woman has ever held in this country’s history.  

She’s also someone who’s been counted out and asked to prove herself, over and over, in ways her male counterparts rarely are. In this conversation, she talks openly about what that’s cost her, why she leads by listening instead of talking, and how she’s learned to trust herself even when the room isn’t on her side.

Here’s what we cover:

  • What she’d go back and tell herself, ten years before she ever ran for office
  • The one thing she pushed hardest to change as Secretary of the Interior
  • Why she leads by listening more than she talks
  • Her “power of convening”: getting people who’ve never agreed to sit in the same room
  • The gender bias she’s faced running for office
  • How growing up Pueblo and military shaped the way she makes decisions
  • What “thriving” actually means to her, beyond a campaign talking point
  • What she’d say to someone who wants to lead but isn’t sure they’re ready
  • What a well woman life looks like for her, in the middle of a governor’s race

Talking with Deb is a reminder that leadership doesn’t have to be loud to be real. Trusting what you already know, and building from there, opens up:

✨ Ease in giving yourself permission to lead the way you actually are (collaborative, patient, and willing to listen) instead of performing a version of leadership that was never yours to begin with

✨ Joy in showing up to every room as your full self (Pueblo woman, mom, sister, auntie, grandma) before any title ever gets attached to your name

✨ Impact by rewriting the rules when the system isn’t serving people. From redefining how public lands get used to fighting for universal child care and a living wage

✨ Self-trust in believing you’re ready to lead before anyone appoints you, recruits you, or gives you permission and having the courage to step out anyway 

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✨ Join other smart, high-achieving women to rewrite the rules for how to love, lead, and succeed so you can live with more joy, ease, and abundance, even when life is tough. 

🔗 Click here to join The Well Woman Academy™ group coaching program now! https://wellwomanlife.com/academy

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Resources Mentioned

Connect with Deb Haaland

Connect with Giovanna 

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