The Trailblazers Experience Podcast

EP84 Shannon Watson’s How an Introvert Learned to Lead, Build Coalitions, and Make Politics More Human

• Ntola • Season 5 • Episode 84

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We trace Shannon Watson’s nonlinear path from theatre and psychology to public affairs, and how an introvert built a career convening people across differences. The conversation tackles invisible labour, reframing leadership as contribution, and practical ways to lower the temperature in polarised times.

• early exposure to civic life through family and door‑knocking
• career pivots from retail and banking to policy and lobbying
• introversion, authenticity and public speaking tactics
• the TEDx experience and trusting key points over scripts
• founding Majority in the Middle and building the Venn diagram
• creating “What We Can Do Week” and a civic pledge

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TEdX  -  Why We’re Divided and What You Can Do About It | Shannon Watson | TEDxSilver Lake 

LinkedIn :  Shannon Watson | LinkedIn 


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Trailblazers Experience :

So, welcome to another episode of the Trailblazers Expense Podcast, a podcast where we have candid conversations with career trailblazers, change makers, and just about their stories. Today's guest is Shannon Watson, civic leader, speaker, and founder of Majority in the Middle. Not Malcolm in the Middle the show, but Majority in the Middle. Her journey spans theater, psychology, politics, and public affairs. And she's built a career around bridging divides and empowering others to lead with empathy and purpose. We are not here to talk about politics. We're here to talk about Shannon, her pivots, her passions, and the lessons she's learned along the way. Shannon, welcome.

Shannon Watson:

Thank you so much. I'm excited for the conversation.

Trailblazers Experience :

Let's really just start from the beginning. You've had an amazing career. You started out by studying English theater and psychology, which is not exactly the traditional path to politics. What drew you into this world?

Shannon Watson:

Correct. So the English theater and psychology is about, that's that's what I wound up with as an undergraduate degree. Those were three of the five majors that I'd had in school when I had no idea what I wanted to do. Hospitality management was one for a while. Secondary education was one for a while. I didn't know what I wanted to do. And so undergrad took me 11 years, start to finish. Wow. I took a little, a little bit of a break in the middle. But yeah, so by the time I went back to school and sat down with the counselor and said, you know, I've got all these credits because I had all these different majors. I didn't know what I wanted to do. And she said, okay, here's where we can sort of plug in. And so I wound up with that triple major, which at the time I had no idea what I was going to do with. I remember my dad looking at me at college graduation finally. Um, and he said, What are you going to do with this? And I was like, I have no idea. But English theater and psychology does actually lend itself, like it's a pretty good combination uh for politics. I keep telling people I have a, I have sort of a political science degree that has nothing to do with political science. Um, it all has to do with people. And so, yeah, my first entry into electoral politics outside of like, you know, high school student council and the honorary society I was part of in college was my mom ran for state senate. And so I went with her knocking on doors and talking to neighbors and, you know, putting literature on. Um, and so that was that was kind of how I caught the bug. My my parents were were very politically aware. My my both of my parents were in sort of um sort of very publicly and sort of politically adjacent roles. So my dad was in law enforcement. He was the, you know, he started out as a rookie patrol cop and worked his way up, and then he was the chief of police. Um, and my mom was uh a journalist. And so those are roles that are very visible and very, again, like sort of politically adjacent, very sort of civically minded. But uh, but yeah, that's that's kind of that's kind of how I caught the bug.

Trailblazers Experience :

That's so interesting because you could have actually said, oh my goodness, both my parents are in the public eye in a way, and it's you know, two people facing too much in the public media. I want to go a completely different direction. When was the moment where you realized, okay, you want to make advocacy and leadership your your life's work? Because going door to door is one thing, because I'm sure your mom also had some doors slammed, is saying, Oh, we don't want to talk about this. When did the when did you get that bug where you said, okay, I think there's a purpose for me here?

Shannon Watson:

That's a really good question. I don't necessarily know that it was, that there was a moment. It was just something I really enjoyed doing. So I worked in retail for a long time. Uh, I worked in banking for a long time, and I did the the political stuff sort of on the side. And then, but I think I I realized, like, you know, the sort of phrase that people say, you know, like find the job that that you know you love and you'll never work a day in your life. I could tell you that is not true. You will work harder, like, and it will still be work. But the the thing that sort of caught my attention was somebody one time said, you know, if money was no, if money wasn't an issue, like what would you do with your time? And how do you spend, you know, what what is the thing that you do for free, quote unquote for free. And so that was that was always the thing that I had done for free. And so I I happened into a couple of roles sort of tangentially. I worked for the National Conference of State Legislatures in Denver, Colorado. And then I worked for the state senate in Minnesota. And then I got into the lobbying and public affairs side, and that was sort of what I really enjoyed.

Trailblazers Experience :

Um, yeah, so that's kind of the path. I love what you said about, you know, if there was something that it's time, isn't it, that we're actually, in essence, complaining about when we're saying, oh, this job, this, or this career, or it's the time element, isn't it? So the longer you're spending your time not enjoying what you're doing, that's already an indicator on the scale to either find something different or move on, because it's time that's the most valuable, not not the monetary value, it's the time element.

Shannon Watson:

Absolutely. And none of I'm sort of on this rampage lately that free stuff doesn't exist and free time doesn't actually exist either. I used to work with a lot of political candidates, particularly first-time female candidates. And I found that one of the things that we didn't think about going into a campaign beyond all of the other pieces where, you know, women have sort of hurdles to running for political office. The one thing that we really didn't think about was who would be filling sort of her role at home or at work or in community or all the other things when she was doing the campaign stuff. And the campaign stuff is everything from talking to dinners to knocking on doors to being in parades to answering emails to learning about policy, all of those things, like even if you think you have time, like you're you're always doing something else. And particularly when, you know, women still do an oversized share of the home homework, home space work, that just assuming that a spouse could step in and do all of those things without resentment. And I will say, like, this this applies for for male candidates too. If you've got small children and your spouse, no matter how supportive they are, if they are on bath and bedtime duty by themselves every night of the week, they're gonna, they're gonna feel some resentment. And so one of the things that I figured out, like amongst that process and watching, watching people fail and watching people having frustration and that becoming a source of conflict in their relationship, was that, you know, part of a successful campaign and a run for office is the team that you have around you. And that's not just, you know, somebody writing social media copy. Sometimes it is grandma or a neighbor or somebody helping with bath and bedtime duty. So that that's not all on your spouse.

Trailblazers Experience :

Yeah, it's that um, they say your circle matters, isn't it? In your professional circle, but also your personal one that allows you to the best, be the best that you can be. It that reason resonated with me of what you talk about. What are these non-negotiables and what are the things that you have to be comfortable with giving up? So, for example, I was never at school pickup and I I came to tame terms with that that I couldn't be at school pickup because I was working full-time, and that was fine. But I made sure that, you know, the the Christmas play or the the moments that mattered, I was definitely there. And it was the non-negotiables where I knew I could not be everything everywhere, but I was doing the best that I can as a parent raising kids. And it's the same, I guess, in leadership is who are you delegating those personal and professional tasks to who you've had the conversations with? It's it's a big one. But is women tend to find majority of women struggle with that, you know? Yes, yes.

Shannon Watson:

And we see doing it all and being it all as sort of this badge of honor. And it doesn't exist. It doesn't. It doesn't. My mother was great about saying, like she used to say, you can have it all, you just can't have it all at the same time. And you know, that not being at the pickup, but being at the Christmas play, like that's also sets an example for your kids that it's okay, like mom can't be everywhere every time, but that's because she's doing other things as well. Yeah.

Trailblazers Experience :

Yeah. And do you find, because I I guess we're we're we're now delving into, you know, challenges that women face. What are challenges that are unique to you that you've faced, you know, in this journey, whether it was in politics or public affairs or the other sectors that you've worked in, and how have you overcome them? Because a lot of the time we see women saying, Oh, we've achieved this and the accolades, but sharing the tips of, you know, this was a really trying moment. And in hindsight, this is the lesson that I've learned. What was that for you? There are a couple.

Shannon Watson:

The first one is I am I am definitely an introvert by nature. I have learned the the theater part of my degree helped. I I know how to turn it on and and talk to people and and be sort of outgoing. I found it much better if I have a role, like at just a party, I am uncomfortable. If I'm the party host, I have a job. And so, like, that's that's how I can interact with people. I also working in politics, one of my biggest handicaps, I don't remember names and not just names of people, but like names of streets, I can't give anybody directions anywhere because I'm like, okay, well, you go down that street, and then there's like a big white building and a big landmark. Right. I can't tell you what street it is, but I can tell you like it's a big white building. So me giving directions is a is an awful thing. That was one of the things I loved about the pandemic and all the Zoom calls was everybody's name is underneath their head. And so, like, I had that visual of here's here's the person's name. So, like that that was great. But I think one of the biggest ones was uh I so I was married for a few years. And I will say, like, my ex-husband is not like you, ex-husband. You know, he's not one of those ex-husbands. He is a wonderful, wonderful person, probably one of the best people I've ever known. And he and his wife and his kids are, you know, infinitely lucky to have him in that role, in that space. Like the world works in mysterious ways. But um, I was very interested in nonprofits and government work and, you know, sort of leading from behind the scenes kind of roles. And he's an engineer. And so he made, you know, three times the money I made. And so we and I put his career first. And that meant we we moved around kind of a lot. And every time I moved, I sort of had to start over with my network. I've lived in Minnesota for 15 years now, almost. And that's the the longest time that I've lived anywhere in one place, one state, one city. Actually, I said two cities, but I had to reset my network every time I moved. And I had no idea at the beginning of my journey how disruptive that would be. Now, the good part is that between college and grad school and moving around, my network is all over the country, in some cases, all over the world. And that's great, except your network, uh, what is it, what's the saying? Your network is your net worth, and it matters a whole, whole lot. So I feel like that was a lesson I didn't learn maybe appropriately, or, or, you know, it's just sort of in hindsight. Man, where would I be if I had if I had stayed in one place or if I had elevated what I needed out of my career over just what, you know, what what accommodated his. And I'm gonna say, like, of all the people who pushed me to sort of take my career more seriously, he was, he was one of those people. He absolutely would have stepped back had I been willing to do that. So those, those are, you know, the the areas of of reflection that, you know, oh, if I could have done this.

Trailblazers Experience :

There's some good lessons learned, isn't it? Because a lot of the time you are in the moment and, you know, moving around, like, like you said, you're having to then reset, get to know people, do the dance again, you know, go go into tango. And and sometimes there are no dots to to connect. It was an experience for that chapter, and then you move on. And then sometimes a few years later, you bump into someone who, you know, you had something meaningful those years back, and then it ties into whatever you're doing now. So it's it's ebbs and flows. I I tend to find with with networking. There's some people who were, what is it, are in your life for a season, a reason, or a lifetime, that kind of thing. Yes. Yeah. And um I love what you said about uh relationships as as well. Look, it's um because I'm divorced and it's the same thing, is I'm I'm perfectly sure that he is in the right relationship, that it needs to be, it we just went right for each other, but we have two amazing kids, and that's the most important thing coming out of that, too.

Shannon Watson:

Absolutely. And that's the I I uh both of my my sisters have children, but I don't. And I was that was never gonna be a thing for me. I was just I I knew from a very early age that you know, Auntie was who I wanted to be, but not mom. And I remember like on our third date, we had a conversation. I said, you know, I like you, you know, but if you were looking for somebody to be married and have kids with, I'm not that person. And so like obviously something changed, and I I don't remember exactly even what what it was what it was, but we we did decide to get married. But he and his current wife, which I assume will be his forever wife, uh, because I know them both, they have a little boy who wouldn't have existed in the world had our relationship quote unquote not worked out. Yeah, you know, so I I've I very right before my 40th birthday, man, this is personal. He's gonna hear this. I'm sorry. Right before my 40th birthday, I was uh I was sort of struggling with, you know, what have I done with my life? And I was divorced and I was in sort of a dead end roll and I was doing all the things, and there was a picture of him on Facebook asleep on the couch with with the baby. And it was like it was one of those moments that I saw and I was like, okay, this was not a failure. You know, that everything happens for a reason. Had he and I not gotten divorced, that right there would not exist. And that right there is so important. So I just think, you know, sometimes the way we classify relationships, like if a if a marriage doesn't, if it doesn't last, you know, till death do us part, that it it was a failure.

Trailblazers Experience :

But yeah, it's a lot of classifying what does success look like, isn't it? We are in this world where there's this stereotype of what good should look like. And ultimately everyone's trying their best, everyone's navigating the way they are, and that was a phase in your life, and now you here you are, you know, with majority in the middle and all the advocacy that you are doing for your community, etc. This is where the energy is now being focused on. So everything does happen for a reason as well. Have you ever felt underestimated in certain rooms? Because I I can imagine, you know, in your sphere, in your area, there are lots of moments. And I always want to give advice to young women or even older women who are still feeling that, you know, little, ooh, I'm not in my comfort zone. How do they navigate them? Or are there some tips that you can give with that?

Shannon Watson:

Um, I think some of the underestimation that I am faced, I sort of did it to myself. So I, you know, like I said, I worked in in retail, I worked in banking. Uh, and then I was I was an executive executive assistant, administrative assistant, legislative assistant. I was always that the person behind the person. Um, and I really liked that that role in that space. Um, and I did have a mentor sit me down. Um, uh, this is a woman who was the head of government relations for US Bank. And uh she sat me down at one point and she said, Okay, you know, you we're we're approaching the time where you need to stop being somebody else's assistant and do this work because you're qualified for it. Like you're a great assistant, but you're a great assistant because you're wildly overqualified for it. And that was true. And and, you know, being the person who made somebody else's life so, so much better and made them so much more productive, particularly if that person, like, you know, I was this before I was Deb's assistant, I was the assistant to the chief audit executive at US Bank, which like that's a big deal. He reports as CEO, $5 billion bank. And he had put on my performance evaluation that he was so much better at his job because I worked for him. Like, like that's enormously gratifying. It's not, hey, you met your sales numbers. It's really important person to the organization is better because of you. Like, I'm like that was the kind of praise that I was looking for. I wasn't necessarily looking to be out front. But Demp was right that I I wasn't, and so I I put in notice. I left, I left that role. I I did like eight weeks notice. Um, I was splitting my time between between two executives, um, and leaving the one without an assistant was just not gonna work. So I think that part of like leaning into what you're good at and what you enjoy doing is one thing, which that was with with, you know, sort of my assistant role. And I still do that. I mean, I work in in I do some PR work and stuff and you know, like elevate other people. I love doing that. But but if it is at the expense of you being the person doing the thing, I think that could that can be something like, you know, just and it does it sometimes, it's about ego.

Trailblazers Experience :

Yeah, and I'm and I guess at at that point in time, you are doing the best you could with with your job, isn't it? Your role, and you thought this is excellent. And yeah, it's interesting. Um, because I have a friend as well who's an EA, and people forget that actually the executive assistants of that top level, they are putting presentations together, they are literally experts in a field and the right-hand person to the C-suite. So, you know, it's not just answering calls and scheduling meetings and and booking flights. There's a lot that goes into it. Sometimes of being documents, having conversations, interviewing, vetting. There's a lot that goes into it.

Shannon Watson:

Yes. As well. Connecting dots and dealing with relationships and protecting their time. Yeah. Protecting an executive's time for the things that an executive needs to do. Like that is enormously important.

Trailblazers Experience :

Exactly. I mean, that's a very good tip, isn't it? Thank God for your mentor who shook you up and said, Hey girl, you are bigger than this. Yes. So you move on to, you know, the career journey that you're on now. And you've advised candidates on both sides of the aisle as well. What's what's one lesson that you've learned? Because all we see as people who are watching, you know, politics and people in politics is what we're seeing visually, what's been cascaded to us. Are there things that you've seen that have just shaped your own leadership style where you say, actually, you know, these are really good traits that I that I now continue with in my own career?

Shannon Watson:

I was talking to somebody about this the other day. Uh, I because I have relationships with people who are in the two major political parties in the United States, and because I don't for for the longest time I used to say I I don't fit on anybody's team, I'm not on anybody's team. I'm not team red or team blue. I've shifted that and I now say I'm on everybody's team because I think pretty much, you know, this is just sort of me in the political sphere. I have some positions that line up with the left and some positions that line up with the right, and then a lot of sort of Venn diagram, you know, put together, um, a lot of sort of overlap where there's a lot of us are that way. Very few people are actually just 100% this, you know, this agenda, this party, this thing. Um, and and that the business of politics in the United States has a way of making us believe that, you know, if you're blue, you're only blue. And you you you can't you can't cross over because it the because red is so different. And if you are red, then you know, you can't cross over because blues think so such different things and their lives are different, and it's just different, and you can't you can't cross over. There's a lot of overlap in the Venn diagram, and so that's one of the things that I I kind of lean into. I can find something to agree with almost anybody about. I can also find something to disagree with, but I generally like to take a little more positive approach. So yeah, I think the the idea that nobody really actually kind of knows 100% of the things, nobody actually ever feels ready. Everybody is sensitive to attacks and criticism. And if they're not, um okay, if they say they're not, 99% of the time they're lying. That 1% are sort of narcissists who you should probably stay away from.

Trailblazers Experience :

You know, it's interesting, isn't it? It just means we're ultimately just humans, isn't it, at the end of the day? And it's it's building that toolkit that allows you to function in your job, or whether it's public speaking, or whether it's in meetings, or whatever aspect of your career? It's it's what is sort of your your toolbox? Because you do a lot of speaking as well. I do, you know, and so you are in the public eye. What is your toolkit? Now that you know that actually a lot of them are faking it till they make it. What is your survival toolkit that uh that helps you in a professional setting, in your speaking, in navigating your career? What are sort of the things that you're using at the moment?

Shannon Watson:

Yeah, um, it's weird for an introvert to be comfortable with public speaking. That that has never been something that I'd juxtaposition there, isn't it? Yeah. And at the same time, I am much more comfortable on a stage speaking to, I have I don't think I've been on a stage, it's been a thousand people, but like speaking to a thousand people rather than speaking to one person. Like I'm much more comfortable with an audience because there's that that separation there. Gosh, the the toolkit. The the thing that that I still struggle with, and I have for a while, is this idea that I am, well, people don't connect with brands. They don't really. They connect with people. And so sometimes we have this challenge of, you know, saying, Well, I'm speaking on behalf of my organization. I'm speaking on behalf of my company. People really listen to that because they want to know what I think and what this organization means, sort of in the lens through whoever's in charge. And in this case, it's me. Um, and so I used to sort of shy away from anything personal, anything, you know, that wasn't polished and and whatever. Um uh, for instance, as we are recording this podcast, my dog is next to me and she has the most adorable little snore. It may be registering on this thing. I have got I I try to go out of my way. Like I use the headphones and I use the microphone and I turn things down. But but she's snoring right here. And I could choose to be embarrassed by that and be like, I can't oh, I have to lock her out of the room because otherwise it's not professional, whatever. Those kind of things, like your podcast getting interrupted by the dog snoring or the cat walking across the screen, or the kids, you know, asking how hot how hot does the pan need to be for grilled cheese? My mom, uh, she used to keep a, she and the women that she worked with, they kept a whiteboard in their office. And it was, and this was of course in the 1980s, things that the kids would call about. During any important meeting. Just during the workday, you know, Bobby hit me to how hot does the pan need to be? Like what number does the pan need to be on for grilled cheese? Well, where are my socks? I'm going out for sports, where are they? Yeah. Yes, yes, where is where is something? So it's just it's it's those kind of things. So the the perfectionist perfectionist in me says, I want everything to be polished and perfect and look good and credible and all of those things. But it's actually, I think, in the human sort of flaws and things that we're all dealing with that that do bring the credibility. Like, this is a real person, this is not fake, this is what my hair looks like today because it has decided to do that. Like, okay, we all we all deal with those things.

Trailblazers Experience :

Do you know? And I think that's why podcasts resonate a lot with a lot of people. You know, we're here, we're sitting, I'm not normally I'm in a suit and heels and we're casually dressed, don't have any makeup on, a little bit of lip gloss, we're just authentically ourselves having a conversation. There is no hidden agenda, and I and I think that's what resonates now. And realizing that even in your own professional life, that just being yourself is that superpower, is that toolkit that you need to get you through uh the day as well. But I love what you say. I'm the opposite. So I'm better one-to-one, and then because I've never done a keynote like speaking by myself in front of a thousand people because I panicking. Everyone says I would be brilliant for it, but I think I just need to step out of my comfort zone and just do it and just maybe I'm imagine them as just like binary numbers. Thank you. Instead, or something like that. I need to overcome that hurdle. Yeah.

Shannon Watson:

Yeah. You know, I um the most freaked out I have ever been doing a speech, and I do a lot of speeches, was I got the opportunity to to do a TEDx talk. And the challenge was that TED has a lot of rules. Oh, really? They do. They have they have an enormous amount of rules. They don't actually like you to use slides, and I use a lot of PowerPoint slides. Okay. Because I'm a very visual learner.

Trailblazers Experience :

I see. So what do they want you to use? Like just images or stuff like that, or nothing at all. They prefer nothing at all.

Shannon Watson:

They prefer the speaker just to be the focal point. But I use a lot of the and you can't use notes. They do they do let some people use notes, some of the really big deal people. But like for this, you couldn't use notes. And so I had to memorize. And then, of course, they have a time limit. Yes. And so I uh, like I said, I got the opportunity to speak at this TEDx event, and the theme was the theme of the event was crossing the divides. And it turned out that after, you know, I had submitted an application and got accepted, I was the only person who was not from that particular geographic area. And I had to go last. And my eyes, right? My speech was the one that aligned closest to their theme, the theme that they had that they had come up with ahead of time. And so people were telling me, oh, you're the keynote. And I was like, no, no, no, no, no, no. No, good in the middle. I mean, it was an off event, but on. And I like the words just and I have never been so panicked about it. And so I was just like, okay, I need to, you know, I muddled through and then I was like, I need to do this again. I need to do this again. And by the fourth time, like it was better. It was not anywhere close to ready for showtime. But the lighting guy who was sitting in the back of the room, I looked at him and I was like, okay, that was like better, but it wasn't better. And he said, you know, it sounds to me like you're struggling with your words because you're you're trying to remember your memorized structure.

Trailblazers Experience :

Yes, exactly. Yeah. And actually, what you need to remember is just the key points, isn't it? And just talk or talk around.

Shannon Watson:

Yeah. He was like, just get up there and talk. And I'm like, I can talk about this stuff for an hour and a half. That's the problem, is that, you know, I have to remember that it's 18 minutes, and here's all the things I have to hit. And then here's the things I can't say because they, you know, violate the TED rules. And then so a friend of mine who was also giving a TED talk that day, I said, you know, because like there's 250 people in the audience, which is great. But the TED brand and the fact that this thing's gonna live on the internet forever was so like like it was a huge opportunity and a huge responsibility. And what the two of us finally figured out was if we bomb this, Ted is not gonna associate it with their brand. There's actually not like it's not like being live streamed. It has to be a good thing. At worst, I'm gonna have to ask these 250 people in this civic auditorium to forgive a terrible presentation. It's not actually like that. That was sort of my backstop. And that was, I mean, I wound up like rehearsing every second until I had to go on. And then I did, and it was it was fine. And I shouldn't do that. It was it was good. It was good. I got some applause, people thought it was very memorable, and it has led to some other opportunities. It did pass the the Ted brand. Okay, and so it does live out on the internet forever. But yeah, just the like let your sort of figure out what your worst possible scenario is. Yeah, what's the worst that could happen? Right. If you get up and you do a speech, like what's the worst thing that could happen? You bomb it. Okay. The people in that audience will forgive you. They will forgive you. It will be fine.

Trailblazers Experience :

You know the viewers are now gonna go and listen to the to the TED Talk now.

Shannon Watson:

I hope so. It's called Worry About Anyway.

Trailblazers Experience :

Listen to my TED Talk. Listen to my TED Talk. But I think, yeah, the backstory behind it, and one of the things that I've seen is with a lot of the professional speakers that are out there, so whether it's Stephen Bartlett or whoever, is they I've noticed when you when you watch all the talks that they've done in this year or last year, there was a common theme, and there's probably a reason for that. They have the same message, same theme, which meant. They didn't have to rehearse all the time. They had the same thread or messaging that they were carrying through, depending on the audience as well. So I was like, oh, that's also a good thing to have. See, what is it you're passionate about? What is it you're talking about that you can resonate and just regurgitate each time? But yeah.

Shannon Watson:

Yeah, the TEDx actually came from a speech that I did to a lot of rotary clubs. Rotary clubs are great for speaking, and the mission of my organization dovetails well with their uh four-point test. So I, yeah, I had sort of rehearsed it and done it like 30 times for rotary clubs in Minnesota before I wound up doing it as a 10.

Trailblazers Experience :

Yeah. Yeah. So talk about your organizations. What are sort of the milestones that you personally are most proud of? Because you, you know, it's been running for a while. You've had an interesting career journey, and it's sort of led you to this point. So on reflection, because we are talking about you, what have been some of the highlights where you think, you know what? I did that. I'm really proud of myself here.

Shannon Watson:

Yeah. Um, so we've been around, we are a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, uh, been around since 2020. Um, you know, you were you you mentioned like dots, like you never know the dots that are going to connect. And I feel like when I put this organization together in 2020, like it seemed like it was new. It seemed like it came out of nowhere. But in looking back at my career and grad school and other things I'd written and, you know, sort of issues that I had that I had done advocacy around, like all those dots connected in hindsight. Like, oh, that makes sense. It's sort of in the same way that, you know, how does how does English theater and psychology relate to politics? Well, it does. It just, you know, you don't know it at the moment. Um, so we put it together, decided this is what we're gonna do. We don't know how to solve things. I sort of leaned into in the last five years that that people are gonna need to hear from me. They just don't need to see the brand because, you know, people don't trust the brand. So that's something I've wanted. This sounds like a weird thing to be proud of. But so on June 14th, some legislators in Minnesota were shot, and one of them was assassinated, which is the somebody was telling me the first female political assassination in the United States. And so, yes, she and her husband uh were were shot and killed, and another state senator and his wife were shot. They are recovering, thank God. But that that was a Saturday morning, and I started getting phone calls and messages from people who said, you know, your perspective and your voice is gonna be really important. And so speak up. Um and I did, and part of it was it took 48 hours to catch the guy, 43 hours technically, but like two days to catch this guy. They got a hold of his vehicle and he had a list of legislators, and it turned out he had been to, they caught him on security footage at another legislator's home. He had knocked on the door and she wasn't, she wasn't there, so she didn't answer the door, and another one he was outside someone's home. And so part of it was part of the message uh that I tried to convey that day um was like everybody try to be as calm as you can. Don't jump to conclusions, don't spread misinformation, um, because there was a lot of fear and there was a lot of misinformation out there. Uh and then out of that, uh a lot of people are like, okay, what do we do? What do we do next? How do we, how do we do this? And I, you know, spending four or five years talking about political division, I was like, okay, I can I can talk about political division all day long. I can do an 18-minute TI talk, I can do an hour and a half, I can do it on a podcast. Political violence, on the other hand, was not something that I had a lot of experience in. Luckily, I do have a guy in my network who does. He has done a lot of work in other states in the United States and in other countries. And so, like, he was my first phone call. It's like, I can talk about division, I don't know how to talk about violence. And so he was like, okay, here's resources, here's sort of a formula. And we did that. And then in the subsequent time, we put together this like whole initiative called What We Can Do Week, which it was actually 17 days. So it wasn't like just a week. And it was time and space and attention and opportunity for people to come together and to start crossing divides and getting resources for learning about political violence and polarization and all of these things. And we'll be coming up on the end of those couple of weeks, uh, here in a couple of days. And we're still not quite sure what's going to happen with it because, you know, 17 days, you know, obviously we're not, we haven't fixed the problem, but just the and like I said, like these are people I knew, these are people I work with. Uh, and so in doing and in helping others, that was that was the way for for me to sort of deal and being like, okay, yeah, I'm gonna lean into this because this is this is something I know a lot about. Um, and I also I know how to put a brand together and I know how to convene a table. And and so I'm I'm kind of proud of that. That sounds awful. And yeah, it just, I mean, I if I could trade it, if I could trade for it to not have happened and me not have had that opportunity, I absolutely would in a second.

Trailblazers Experience :

I think what what I'm listening to to the the story, and you know, sorry, sorry for the for the losses as well, is it was your ability to bring people together, you know, in a time of of trouble, where there was there was death. And they always say what usually brings people together and shows a measure of their personality and character is death, weddings and uh funerals, weddings and and births. And you were able to say, right, I know this is a true sign of leadership. This is not my expertise. Who can I call in to help shape this and make sure that we're on the right track? You know, people were listening to and looking to you for how do we navigate this? And it was navigated in the right way. And I think that's a true testament, you know, of true leadership. It's not actually when things are going well and when everything's perfect, but actually in true adversity or turmoil or you know, disaster. How do you react? How do you bring people together? How do you bring people to do the right thing and focus on what matters? So, in in a way, it's talking about connecting the dots. You know, talked about your father being in law enforcement, your mother being a journalist. I think the core ethics and values of your upbringing are now coming and coming back to human psychology. So all of that is now coming together to this moment. Who knew? Right. Right. Well, and that's together. Yeah.

Shannon Watson:

I'm pretty good in a crisis, and it would it is primarily because of my parents um doing the jobs that they do and and understanding that, you know, sometimes you gotta just you gotta you gotta take care of business and then you cry. So so that was that was kind of my coping mechanism, too.

Trailblazers Experience :

Yeah. I mean, that's I'm I'm sure they're looking down in memory, and if anything good can come out of this, this in terms of how to react, whatever, you know, safety measures are being taken moving forward as well for because ultimately, you know, politicians are people, they also have families, they also have, you know, lives. So it's it's I know sometimes it's very hard to separate the two when they're pressing issues to to be dealt with, but um violence is is never the answer.

Shannon Watson:

Yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely. And there's there's I don't think there's anybody who who actually at least in my sphere who thinks that's okay. Um and we actually we even we even brought people together. We created a civic pledge for a stronger Minnesota that was about denouncing violence and the rhetoric that leads up to it and committing to doing the hard work of finding common ground. And we did have uh a bunch of people sign, we did we had like a signing ceremony, signing this pledge. Um, and then we've had people do it subsequently who who couldn't make it to that particular event. Um, and just that that sort of common thread of we're gonna disagree on a lot of stuff. Here's here's some very basic things that we can disagree on, to the point that like you look at it and you're like, well, duh, of course we agree on this. But um, that was one of the things that that everyone came together, isn't it? Yeah. Right. And it and that's that's an important step in in moving past violence and not letting it be sort of the the straw that broke the camel's back or or the match that lights the tinder box or whatever, um, not making it worse. Um sometimes it's about just sort of countering our own sort of human instincts to gather into tribes and to divide and to find solace and safety in the people who are most similar to us. Like that's that's that's a part of the human condition. We do that naturally. And then understanding that this is a scenario where we're we're gonna do that. But what are the things that we can do to make sure that that isn't harmful and it isn't sort of the last, the last place that we get to?

Trailblazers Experience :

Yeah. In lots of cultures, you know, or traditions worldwide, you see, you know, they have in the tribes there are elders men or elders women or people who are the ones that bring the community, the tribes together, they're the ones that um before there is war, before there's adversity, that they're spoken to, they're the words of wisdom to guide. And I think in a in a similar vein, although, you know, westernization is is is one thing, but the core ethics and values of those principles of cultures and tradition stay true as to what you were trying to do in that situation as as well. Is how do we find a common ground? How do we come together? How do we mobilize and allocate and what what what is what good can come out of this? What have we learned? How are our people doing? So it's it's uh definitely rooted in that for sure.

Shannon Watson:

Yeah, and how do we reward the leaders who are brave enough to step up and you know stand next to somebody that they disagree with for the good of what comes next? Yeah, because what's what's rewarded will continue. So when division is rewarded, that's what we get more of. Hopefully, if the coming together would be rewarded as well.

Trailblazers Experience :

What excites you now most about the future? So in your personal professional life, what's next? Because obviously you're you're doing a lot of things, have achieved some great things. Are there things that you're setting your eyes on that you want to talk about? Yes.

Shannon Watson:

I feel like I have clarity of purpose after a very, very long time. I mean, I've I I turned 50 earlier about that. Well, that's okay. Um so I turned I turned 50 earlier this year. And uh in some ways that feels really old. In some ways it doesn't feel old at all. Um I think me being 50 is different than like when my mom was 50, you know, from my own perspective. Like when my mom turned 50, like that was old. Now it's like that's not old. 65 is older 70 is old. Like that's the thing. Like, I'm to the point where you're just getting started.

unknown:

Yeah.

Shannon Watson:

I hope so. Um, and at the same time, like I'm I I may be a little more conscious of of using time wisely, you know, um, because I won't be around forever. And like what it what is it that I that I wanna wanna do and leave behind. And and I've chosen to work in a field in a specific area uh where change is incremental if at all. Uh so I I I tell people a lot that, you know, I want to work myself, my my ultimate goal is to work myself out of a job, um, to where, you know, we don't have to have a conversation about political polarization because it just won't be all right, is that realistic? No. Uh, because again, like human beings divide just just because we do. Um and I do think like if we if we look at not just people but structures and systems, and how can we how can we change our systems so that they support not even unity, like I need I need the word that's not unity, um but it supports collaboration or cooperation or or the the sharing of of power rather than division and hoarding of power. Um, and or just, you know, if you're in power, you're in power. If you're you're in the minority, then then you're not, and your role is to throw sand in the gears.

Trailblazers Experience :

Well, the great thing is the upside is you're at half time now, isn't it? It's like 50 years on this earth now, you can do whatever you want. Because you've got nothing to lose. So it's like there are no excuses now to push on with your agenda. And from from everything that that you've said, you know, there is you're talking about collaboration, core values, making sure that people are working together, finding common ground. The world is your oyster, and digital is a good way of doing it, isn't it? To spread as much of that good, you know, um fact-checked information, making sure people have resources. So I think um it's it's the ball is in your court, really. Yeah, I always say, um, someone used to say to me all the time, which I think is always good advice, is going into a lot of board meetings or you know, working with executives. And says, I said, what's the best way to navigate being in situations or positions where you're with other leaders and say, what's the outcome you're trying to achieve with what you're about to say?

Shannon Watson:

Yeah.

Trailblazers Experience :

And if you think about the outcome, if you're happy with you know what's gonna happen, then fine. If you're not, then probably reserve it for a time where it's appropriate. But always in my mind, that's always like, okay, if I say this, what's the, you know, what am I trying to achieve? Right. And I think it's a very good way of measuring and and thinking before you speak as as well. It's been one of those guiding principles now that I'm using more more often as as as well.

Speaker 02:

Yeah.

Shannon Watson:

And the, you know, it's funny, I was thinking about the the, you know, the visual of a boardroom and the leaders. And um, and women sometimes struggle with, well, you know, I want to be a leader. What does it what does a leader look like? How does a leader act? What does a leader say? And I found with with my own self, and this may not be the same for other people, but with my own self, the idea of, you know, like like when people were calling me that Saturday morning and saying, hey, we, you know, your leadership is important on this. If I can reframe that as my contribution to this situation, to this conversation, to this issue, you know, if if it's my contribution instead of my leadership, both of those things can look exactly the same and just sort of take out the the hierarchical assumption that, you know, I need to be at the top. I need to have the answers. I need to, you know, my contribution is saying these things. My contribution is also bringing Nathan into the conversation, bringing other people into the conversation, bringing, you know, um, hosting the table and making space. Um, which which I think is is one of those things that, you know, to go back to Deb and, you know, you're somebody else's assistant. Um, she never belittled my work um at all. Um, and I think it's only in having been the person I haven't had an assistant yet. Um, I've I I would feel really bad for that person. I I don't know if I sort of like, you know, doctors make the worst patients.

Trailblazers Experience :

I think this is because you're so good. You need an assistant who will challenge you, I think.

Shannon Watson:

Right. Right. And that's the thing. I need a partner in the work. And and so I think some of some of those reframing those things, it takes the hierarchy out of it that I'm the leader and you are the assistant. Or, you know, how about if if we all have contributions um to make, that can also sort of give us permission to speak up in a way that like the the bar is not so high to clear. Am I exhibiting leadership? Well, maybe not, but am I contributing my piece to this?

Trailblazers Experience :

That's that's a little easier to lean into, I think. Shannon, we're coming to the end of the episode, and we always ask our guest to leave three if you can, trailblazer takeaway tips, um, advice for our listeners to inspire, um, and you know, maybe it changes the way they think, helps in go in the right direction, or make a career pivot. What would yours be?

Shannon Watson:

I've got one for sure. I don't know if I have three. I have one for sure. I had another mentor um who again, I'm I am uh an introvert, and for years I thought that the best way to be influential or to, you know, do well at work was to focus on the tasks, you know, write the report, do the sales calls, um uh, you know, have the meeting, put together the PowerPoint, you know, those kind of the kind of tasks that you put on your to-do list. Um, I did not spend a lot of time early in my career um like quote unquote wasting time talking to my coworkers about their weekends or TV shows or, you know, doing coffee meetings or going to networking events. Um, I still don't want to like going to a networking event, at least I'm hosting. Um and but those those networking events, those coffee meetings, conversations, even like the ones that one that you and I are having here, um, those are the basis for relationships. And what I came to learn, and what I have on a sticky note is actually probably the third one because it keeps falling off the wall because it gets old. Um, I wrote on a sticky note one day that uh the relationships are the work. So the coffee meeting um with a colleague or you know, with uh, you know, an outside partner getting to know somebody. Um, that is not a waste of time or something that's getting in the way of me doing my to-do list. It's the relationships are the work. And and so like leaning into that as as part of my job, like that has probably accelerated my work and quote unquote my career more than anything in the last, you know, 10 years leaning into network and people and um and that. And then, you know, um, I okay, so I suppose I have another one. So I've got relationships, other work, and uh then another brilliant woman told me one time very few decisions are irreparable, which is awesome because it gives you permission to make a decision, even if it might be a mistake. Very few decisions are irreparable. There are some, but even even big things, taking this job or moving to this city or saying yes for for you know, whatever, or saying no, very few decisions are irreparable. Um that that gives me some sort of like courage to make a decision and possibly be quote unquote wrong, having had made the decision, okay, you fix it. You know, you take a job that turns out you're not a good fit for, wait, get a different job. It's it's not a it's not an issue. It's not a failure. Um, you know, get divorced. It's okay.

Trailblazers Experience :

Uh what is it? I'd rather ask for forgiveness and ask for permission. Because what's the worst that can happen? It's it's all these things, isn't it? What we're encouraging women to do is to take that chance, you know, be be agile. What what's the worst that can happen? Take the opportunities, um, and also say no if you need to as as well. You don't lose anything by by doing that.

Shannon Watson:

Yeah. There was there was a wonderful thing going around on social media um several years ago. Uh is about uh one of the things uh about success is making sure your partner, whoever that is, and it's your you have your your partner in life, your spouse, your partner at work, if you, you know, um, what does success mean to you? What does it look like to you, and what does it look like to them? And a lot of personal relationships that fail are often because the the individual's definition of success isn't the same. Or it doesn't look the same, or it's not necessarily compatible.

Trailblazers Experience :

That applies in everything, isn't it? If you're going for a job interview, what does success look to the company that you're going to? If you're starting a business, your business partner, what is their idea of success? You know, your investor, what is their idea of success? There are all these things. It's having those commun, those conversations and articulating it. Even if you have to write it down on a piece of paper and compare notes, I think is is is really, really key. I mean, Shan, you have shared some formidable tips. I would really, I know, really, really well thought out and um great nuggets that I think our viewers and myself, I'm there, you know, taking notes as well. Uh thank you for sharing your story with such honesty and heart. Um, I think it's it's really good to have a conversation with someone that, you know, about what leadership is. It's about being collaborative, not about being loud, being clear, being kind, um, and willing to stand in the middle when it matters most with your storytelling as as well. So, Shannon, where can people find you on all the socials? Let it let it rip.

Shannon Watson:

Okay. Um, let's see. Most of my handles are at Shannon K Watson, S-H-A-N-N-O-N, K Watson, W-A-T-S-O-N. Um, majority in the middle is on the web. Uh, majority middle.org is our website. Um, and then we've got, of course, all the socials that that come with those. Um, and then on LinkedIn, I'm Shannon K Watson on LinkedIn as well.

Trailblazers Experience :

Perfect. Right. I'm gonna try some uh tech things here. That's awesome. Thank you so much for being on the podcast. To everyone who's been listening, this has been the Trailblazers Experience Podcast. You know where to find us. Follow, like, share, and tell another woman about the podcast. Until next time. Bye.