Tricia Brouk helps high-performing professionals transform into industry thought leaders through the power of authentic storytelling. With her experience as an award-winning director, producer, sought after speaker, and mentor to countless thought-leaders, Tricia has put thousands of speakers onto big stages globally.
Being able to support speakers in using their voices for impact is a privilege, and I had the pleasure of sitting down with speaker and author Carol Enneking to talk about her new book and how she has transformed her life by moving into balance.
Carol Enneking is a sought-after speaker, difference maker, and a positive influencer. She inspires resilience, hope, and fulfillment by encouraging people to strive for balance and focus on success that matters. She is also an accomplished senior human resources executive with global expertise in talent management, coaching, mentoring, enterprise learning, and leadership development. Carol’s life lessons learned on her elusive quest to “have it all” inspired her to write her new book, The Rebalancing Act: Wisdom from Working Women for Success that Matters, which can be purchased on Amazon or all the major bookstores.
You have been an influential leader for decades, Carol. Tell us a little about your background.
My career has spanned major corporations and entrepreneurial ventures as a business owner. I have collaborated with over 100 companies on six continents in industries including energy, utilities, oil and gas, finance, technology, and healthcare. Recently, I served as Vice President of Talent Management, Learning, and Diversity for a $6B international building products company. I help companies transform employee cultures, lead change, manage their talent, develop leaders, align strategic goals and create a culture of belonging to enable growth. Now, as a transformational speaker, I address a range of topics encompassing workplace issues, balancing priorities, and leading a fulfilling life. I think audiences identify with my depiction of the challenges we all face, showing up effectively in many different roles, and that balancing act has been part of my background for as long as I can remember. My greatest joy is my family, my husband Eric, children Bradley and Bethany, my bonus daughter, Alyssa, and the world's best dog, a Great Pyrenees named Molly. Favorite things (in no particular order): family, live music, chocolate, Great Pyrenees, 70s and 80s song lyrics, ice cream, traveling, trivia, faith, and history.
What inspired you to write the Rebalancing Act?
When my kids were young, and people asked me what I did for a living, I used to joke that my job was to make my children think I worked as little as possible. I constantly juggled my career as an entrepreneur with trying to be a good mother, wife, daughter, sister, friend, volunteer, and more. Whenever things went according to plan, it worked. But the more I juggled, the less things went according to plan. There were just too many variables. That required rebalancing - figuring out who would stay home with a sick child, who would cover my business obligations if I got sick, who would be there with an ailing spouse, parent, or friend. Things typically worked out, but it was exhausting. Looking back, by most measures, I would say I was successful. But at what cost? Being ever present for everyone else took a toll on my own well-being in many ways. With age comes wisdom, and I realized there were things I should have let go of long ago, things that really didn’t matter. In talking with other working women, I realized my struggles were not unique, and that most other working women I know were going through similar challenges trying to balance everything. When I considered all I learned along the way, and thought about my story, I knew I wanted to write about it. But then I thought of all the other women I knew, and how they had managed to overcome similar challenges in quite different ways. I realized if I could capture all of our collective wisdom, that could be a powerful story to tell. And the idea for The Rebalancing Act was born!
You speak a lot about the importance of trust, faith and surrender. Can you share a little about what this means to you, Carol?
In the midst of a very busy time in my life, my marriage came to an abrupt end. While the circumstances behind this were sudden and surprising, the decision to divorce was strangely empowering. By surrendering my own plans, letting go of others’ expectations, and learning to be comfortable in not knowing how my future would play out, I was able to make room for the new and better things that were in store for me. In addition to surrendering, I learned to trust, trust that good things would be ahead, trust my instincts, trust in my abilities, especially my ability to just keep going. I learned to trust in the goodness of those who care about me and cherish those relationships. Finally, my faith helped sustain me through the tough times. I know my prayers have been answered and that out of a bad situation, good can indeed follow. Although I wish I could have pushed the fast-forward button to skip right on through the hard parts, moving through it provided the learning and growth that helped me get to a better place. I am thankful I have gotten to see my children grow into amazing, resilient, productive adults. I found love again and have enjoyed more happiness in my second marriage than I ever thought possible. I even left the safety of my corporate job to embrace a new, exciting career. Out of the worst time in my life came this amazing transformation I never knew I needed. Surrendering to uncertainty, trusting that the future would be better, and having faith made all the difference. It enabled me to move forward one step at a time and led me on a path with purpose, even though I did not know exactly where it was leading me! The long-lasting impact of living by these three words surrender, trust, and faith - has led me to a truly fulfilling life beyond what I could even imagine, a life I truly cherish.
What would you say to working men and women who are unaware that they are out of balance?
I think it is quite common to be so very busy that you don’t even have time to stop and consider whether you are focusing your efforts on the things that matter most. The hardest thing to do is break the cycle. I led management training for decades and would always advise participants that employee problems never got better if they didn’t deal with them head-on. I would say “We can either deal with it, or deal with the consequences of not dealing with it.” Oh, how hard it is to take our own advice, though! I learned this lesson the hard way myself, as I have had my own challenges being proactive about this over the years. I want to help others learn this lesson more quickly than I did, so I would encourage you to carve out some time to consider your values and goals, and look at the activities that consume most of your time currently. Consider how these activities help you reach these goals, and how aligned they are with what you value. Also, think about the legacy you are creating. What do you want others to say about you when you move on, retire, or leave this world? If you work backwards from that perspective, it may change how you choose to spend your time now.
I have tools to help you with this process, so I encourage you to join the community here for complimentary access to them. And read the book! It is filled with stories that might help you reconsider what balance truly looks like in your life. The sooner you consider your balance and how you spend your time in the context of what you value most, the sooner you will start living a more fulfilled life.
How has becoming balanced affected your life at work, home and in community?
It is absolutely amazing to be living every day with purpose. People remark that I seem so happy and it is a far cry from how they would have described me ten years ago. I think back then, if someone had to describe me, they would say, “Carol is a go-getter. She gets so much done, and stays so busy, I don’t know how she does it all.” There is nothing wrong with that, but I think they would have also said I was stressed, frazzled, or burning the candle at both ends. That was not the legacy I wanted to leave. In rebalancing, I have reset how I live so I am able to create the legacy I want to leave. I approach each day with intention, wanting to make a positive difference to someone else, and that perspective has helped me experience more fulfillment and happiness in every aspect of my life than I ever thought possible.
Tricia Brouk, Founder of The Big Talk Academy
Tricia Brouk helps high-performing professionals transform into industry thought leaders through the power of authentic storytelling. With her experience as an award-winning director, producer, sought after speaker, and mentor to countless thought-leaders, Tricia has put thousands of speakers onto big stages globally. She produced TEDxLincolnSquare in New York City and is the founder of The Big Talk Academy. Tricia’s book, The Influential Voice: Saying What You Mean for Lasting Legacy, was a 1 New Release on Amazon in December 2020. Big Stages, the documentary featuring her work with speakers premiered at the Chelsea Film Festival in October of 2023 and her most recent love is the new publishing house she founded, The Big Talk Press.
