306: Boundaries, Bold Moves, and Building Your Legacy: Insights from NextUp's Rising Stars Conference

Are you a mid-career professional wondering what legacy you’re leaving behind at work?

In today’s competitive job market, career clarity and leadership presence matter more than ever. This episode of The Mid-Career GPS Podcast offers a powerful reflection on how to take ownership of your professional development and grow into the impactful leader you’re meant to be.

Fresh off coaching at the NextUp Rising Stars Conference, John Neral shares key takeaways that will help you lead with intention and purpose—no matter your current title. From setting healthy boundaries to making bold “edge moves” outside your comfort zone, these insights will challenge how you think about your career trajectory and legacy.

Whether you’re feeling stuck in your job, unsure of your next move, or ready to lead with greater confidence, this episode gives you practical strategies to grow, influence, and lead more authentically.

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

• Why your leadership legacy starts now—not at retirement
• The crucial difference between boundaries and requests (and why it matters)
• How to make "edge moves" that promote growth and stretch your leadership capacity
• What it takes to shift from being a tactical worker to a strategic leader
• Why professional development is your responsibility, not your employer’s
• How to maintain momentum and accountability after a conference or learning event
• The #1 reason how you show up matters more than what you accomplish

Free Resource to Accelerate Your Growth:

👉 Download John’s free guide: “Why Your Mid-Career Job Search Isn’t Working (and What to Do About It)”

Start building a smarter, faster, and more confident job search strategy today:
 johnneral.com/resources

Listen Now If You’re:

• A mid-career professional stuck in a role with no growth
• Ready to step into a more strategic leadership identity
• Tired of waiting for your employer to invest in your development
• Curious about how to make a lasting impact at work

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to NextUp Rising Stars
• 3:20 The Importance of Your Leadership Legacy
• 5:38 Boundaries vs Requests with Kate Donovan
• 7:12 Making Edge Moves in Your Career
• 10:57 Tactical to Strategic Leadership Shifts
• 12:52 Taking Ownership of Professional Development
• 18:20 How We Show Up Matters

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Earlier this month, I had the honor of attending NextUp's Rising Stars Conference. For the sixth year, I have served as one of their coaches, and for the second year I had the honor of speaking on a networking panel. Every year, I walk away from this event with a ton of great information and that's why, in this episode, I'm taking some time to share with you some of my biggest takeaways from this year's event. So if you're a mid-level leader and professional who cares deeply about your team and your work, my friends, this episode is for you. Let's get started. Hello, my friends, this is the Mid-Career GPS Podcast and I'm your host, john Nehrl.

Speaker 1: 0:52

I help mid-career professionals like you find a career they love, or love the one they have, using my proven four-step formula. Are you frustrated with where your job search is right now? Are you confused as to why you haven't been able to advance your career? If you feel like something is off, I want to help you fix it Now. The way I can help you fix it is that I've created a free guide along with a 20-minute video for you entitled why your Mid-Career Job Search Isn't Working and what to Do About it the four-step framework to build a smarter, faster and more confident career move. If you're ready to start building your mid-career GPS and you want some quick, actionable tips to stop being frustrated and start gaining traction and momentum in your career, this is the first step to building it, and that's why I created this guided video for you. Now to get it, all you have to do is go over to my website, johnnarrellcom, forward slash resources and download the guide.

Speaker 1: 1:57

Today I'm a couple weeks out from attending this year's NextUp Rising Stars Conference and I am still riding an emotional high and a ton of energy from this event. And if you are not familiar with NextUp, I want to invite you to follow them on LinkedIn or check out their website, nextupisnoworg. But here is NextUp's mission. Quote. Our mission is to build the next generation of leaders and foster inclusive workplace cultures that advance all women in business. Open to all genders, nextup provides leadership development resources and programming designed to create equitable opportunities for everyone, while addressing the unique barriers women continue to face. Unquote.

Speaker 1: 2:52

I am beyond proud to be a part of NextUp's Rising Stars program and to work with the amazing cohorts that I get to work with each and every year. So the way Rising Stars works is that when you join the program. Essentially it is for three months. You go through a 360 assessment that is with the Center for Creative Leadership, and I am certified in delivering and debriefing clients on that 360 assessment and then we have a group call at the kickoff of the program. We do the three-day event. We do a group call at the kickoff of the program, we do the three-day event, we do a group call after, and then I have a one-on-one coaching session with every person within my cohort as a follow-up to the event and it is amazing to see their insights and their transformation and how they want to emerge, evolve and develop as leaders. It is why I believe so strongly in this program that it is this collective support about caring for what you do and caring for where you do it and the impact you get to have.

Speaker 1: 4:01

So some of the things that we talked about in this event hit me a little differently this year. So our vice president of learning and partner solutions at NextUp is Karen Jones. She kicked off the event by talking about our legacy and, as I tend to get a little bit older and start thinking about retirement which, by the way, is no time soon unless I hit the Powerball in some way, which, by the way, if you ever want to know, if I hit the Powerball, this podcast stops. If I'm not putting out any episodes anymore, the likelihood may be God forbid I'm sick or I hit the lottery in some way. All joking aside, I probably would still keep doing this just for the fun of it. But you start thinking about where's your career going? What do you want to be remembered for? Who are you impacting? How are you making that difference? And I've talked on the podcast before about how to get clear about your professional brand on the podcast before about how to get clear about your professional brand, and so, while that's important, I want to offer that. Karen really inspired me in the sense of thinking about. It is never too early for us to start thinking about where is our legacy, what is the mark we want to leave in terms of our work and in this world, about who we are as leaders and how we get to impact people on a daily and continual basis.

Speaker 1: 5:29

Now, next up was I'm so honored to call her friend, kate Donovan. Now you may remember Kate because I've had her on the podcast before. You can go back and check out episode 127, where Kate talked about avoiding career burnout, and Kate took the stage and commanded it, like Kate only can to talk about burnout and why resentment is our superpower, and one of the most powerful things that she talked about was about boundaries versus requests and how boundaries are so important and non-negotiable in our career to protect our health and well-being and preserve our leadership in terms of what is most important for us but also what's non-negotiable. Kate hosts an amazing podcast called Fried, the Burnout Podcast. Definitely go ahead and give that a listen and if your organization needs a speaker, kate's wonderful. She truly is. She talks about things in ways most people can't and I think that's what makes her just an honest-to-God gift on the stage.

Speaker 1: 6:47

But what I want to offer you here is to really think about what is a boundary versus a request. A request is something we ask for. A boundary is something we need and we have to hold with fidelity. So more to come on that, but such a great takeaway. Finka Yurkovic spoke to us as well, and one of the things that Finka talked to us about she uses an assessment called the fascination advantage.

Speaker 1: 7:12

But what was so powerful in Finka's conversation this year was this idea about edge moves so many times we hear in our career about stepping out of your comfort zone, being bolder, being unapologetic for what you do, and Finca phrased this as an edge move, and it was those two words to think about. Okay, where do I want to make an edge move? Where is the thing that I get to do a little bit differently or step out of my comfort zone? So there are some things that I'm currently working on in my practice and in my business that I can absolutely combine what Kate and Finca shared about creating boundaries. But also, where am I going to make that edge move? And what I want to offer you here is where do you get to be bold? Let me say that again when do you get to be bold? So, if you're currently employed and inside of an organization, where do you get to be bold? Where do you get to approach your leadership maybe a little differently or exercise your influence a little more strategically? And if you are not employed and you are currently seeking a new job, I wanna offer you where is your edge move? Where do you get to be bolder in your job search, to do something you've not done before? Because if you're not getting results, you wanna go ahead and do something different. That's why I created that free guide I shared for you at the top of the episode. And again, you can just go to my website, johnnerrellcom. Forward slash resources, but think about where your edge move is, think about where you can slightly step out of your comfort zone and think about what that edge move might get you.

Speaker 1: 9:13

So we go to wrap up day three and I will share with you a little personal story, in that the fire alarm went off in the hotel and it went off at 3.30 in the morning and after having a really rough night, I didn't get to sleep till about 2.30. So I was asleep for about an hour and woke it up and scared the living daylights out of me. So, just as an aside and this was my mistake, because I got too wrapped up in the conference and the excitement of everything I actually couldn't find the stairwell to get out of the hotel. Now, obviously everything was fine and stuff like that, but do yourself a favor check the emergency card in the hotel room, check the sign on the back of the door and when you leave your room and you're going out and about wherever, take a moment to know where the stairwell is. Just might save your life, okay.

Speaker 1: 10:04

So what better way to power through just a few hours of sleep than to hear the incredible Joe Miller talk about her shift list? Now, if you've been listening to the podcast just a few hours of sleep than to hear the incredible Joe Miller talk about her shift list? Now, if you've been listening to the podcast for a while, you know I had Joe on the show way back in episode 184, called the Shift List Unearthing Leadership Potentials at Mid-Career. And where Joe really gets to resonate with everybody in the room is talking about these leadership shifts and especially from going to be this tactician the person that's stuck in the weeds and doing all the tactical things every day to being a strategist. Where do you get to demonstrate your expertise, your vision, your strategy, your leadership in ways that can have an even broader or greater impact in your leadership right? So if you haven't listened to episode 184, do me a favor, go back and listen to that one, because Joe truly shares some amazing things in that episode as well.

Speaker 1: 11:11

And then we got a real treat. So my coach, colleague and friend, katie Rasul, took the stage to essentially help wrap everything up for us in this conference, and what I really appreciated about Katie's presentation was addressing this idea about okay, so we've learned all this information. Now what? So, when you leave the conference, what happens? How do you take the inspiration and the motivation and the conversations you've had at this conference and bring them with you back into your organization? So, specifically for my work with my cohort, that's one of the things we may end up coaching on is me helping them figure out where do they get to keep that momentum going as they progress after this conference and this experience?

Speaker 1: 12:06

And so one of the things I want you to consider here is why. Why should an organization, let alone yourself, invest in professional development? Think about when was the last time you attended a conference, a workshop, a seminar, attended a conference, a workshop, a seminar, something that was specifically for you to grow within your industry and learn, to take the time to focus on you. And in this current climate where we are seeing budgets get cut and programs being severed, take a look at where your company's professional development dollars are. Are you losing a professional development benefit because of cutbacks? Or maybe you haven't tapped into your professional development budget because you've been quote unquote too busy? How do you want to invest in your learning.

Speaker 1: 13:13

And if a conference, workshop, seminar isn't something your company can support you in doing and key point here being financially support you to do, and you're not able to do that yourself, well then the question becomes self. Well then the question becomes where can you gain that experience or that kind of professional development? Because what would it mean for you to be in the room where it happens? What would it mean for you to be in the room where there are conversations you've not heard before, that you can then, in turn, take back and leverage that within your own work. So have you ever asked your boss or supervisor if you could attend a conference? First of all, find the conference, find the thing that you want to attend and ask right, maybe they say yes, maybe they say no, but there are some other ways you can gain more professional development.

Speaker 1: 14:20

Do you have something within your organization, be it formally or informally, where you and several of your colleagues get together to talk about current trends, current issues? Years ago we called these PLCs professional learning communities. I know some organizations today call them huddles, right or cohorts, whatever it might be. Is there a way for you to gain some professional development inside of your organization you haven't explored yet. Maybe you're the one to start the group. Maybe you recommend a book or an article and you share it and you come to discuss it. Maybe that group is another outlet simply for accountability purposes. Maybe you set up structures to help each other be held accountable for things, maybe around your boundaries or where you're asking or advocating for things in your career and your leadership development.

Speaker 1: 15:17

Maybe you have an opportunity to have a mentor within your organization. Typically, a mentor is someone who is senior to you that is willing to spend time with you and support you in your growth and development within the organization with an intent that you'll get promoted. Or maybe you hire a coach and maybe that's an investment your company can provide for you and, if not, maybe that's an investment you're willing to make yourself. Oftentimes, when I work with people and we talk about discussing promotions, one of the ways essentially they pay for their coaching is within the promotion they get within the first year and then they get to reap the lifetime dollars of them making that bold career move in terms of getting promoted. Or maybe you want to hire a coach to simply hone in on your leadership and executive presence because there's a gap or a skill set you need to be working on, or you've been told you should be working on, and you find a coach to help you do that.

Speaker 1: 16:27

You always hear me say you are 100% responsible for your career. Well, part of that responsibility is taking ownership of your professional development as well. What do you want to own regarding your growth and development? Please, please, please, don't depend or rely on your organization to take care of everything for you, because they may not be able to or they may just not period, but you are responsible for your development. You are responsible for your growth. What would happen if you asked for an opportunity? What could happen simply by asking a question?

Speaker 1: 17:18

If there was one big takeaway from this year's conference that I personally had by being in the room and hearing these amazing speakers and listening to the conversations that were had across this three-day event, it just goes back to what I end this episode with every single time how we show up matters More than ever. How we show up, how we lead, work, function, advocate, support, challenge. How we show up matters, and when you think about yourself as a leader, how are you known for showing up? Are you the person who sits quietly in the room, or are you the one who speaks up? Are you the person who sits in the room very quietly, but when you speak up, everyone listens? What do you want to be known for as a leader? What's the legacy in Karen Jones's words? What's the legacy you want to leave behind? So, when it comes time for you to retire and it comes time for you to get your flowers, what do you want to be known for? What do you want people to say about you when it's time for you to move on? How you show up matters?

Speaker 1: 18:40

It's that wonderful Maya Angelou quote about people, and I'm not going to recite this correctly, but the whole intent of that quote is people won't remember what you did. People will remember how you made them feel, how you show up matters, and so I encourage you to check out NextUp on LinkedIn, check out NextUp's website at nextupisnoworg, and if you want some help in your job search and need a quick little boost, go to my website, johnnarocom. Forward slash resources to get that new free guide called why your Mid-Career Job Search Isn't Working and what to Do About it. Big, big breath, right, but? But yeah, it's.

Speaker 1: 19:35

It's always a it's always a great time going to this conference. I'm I'm blessed and honored to be a part of it, and I hope you're doing something for your professional development this summer. Even if it's just listening to this podcast, that can be a huge thing as well, and I thank you for being a listener, and a loyal listener, and if you like this episode, share it with somebody. That always helps. But in the meantime, remember this you will build your mid-career GPS one mile or one step at a time, and how you show up matters. Make it a great rest of your day.

Speaker 1: 20:09

Thank you for listening to the Mid-Career GPS Podcast. Make sure to follow on your favorite listening platform and, if you have a moment, I'd love to hear your comments on Apple Podcasts. Visit johnnerrellcom for more information about how I can help you build your mid-career GPS or how I can help you and your organization with your next workshop or public speaking event. Don't forget to connect with me on LinkedIn and follow me on social at John Darrell Coaching. I look forward to being back with you next week. Until then, take care and remember how we show up matters. Thank you.