Full Transcript for Act Before You Feel Ready with Andrea Vardaro Thomas

actual confidence tend to keep expanding their range across a career. While the ones who wait for certainty keep watching the door close on opportunities they had already earned the right to walk through. And that distinction matters because a leader who confuses the two, who waits for the confidence to appear before they will act, ends up permanently a step behind. The leaders who move ahead of their own feelings of readiness and then build the reps that produce actual confidence tend to keep expanding their range across the career, while those who wait for certainty keep watching those doors close on the opportunities that are they already had earned the right to walk through. Much of my own understanding of this came from the years I spent inside the elite sport and the military environments. In both of those worlds Athletes and operators are asked to perform in conditions where they have never done exactly this exact thing before against exactly this opponent on exactly this field, and they cannot afford to wait for the feeling of readiness to catch up. What their training does teach them is how to trust the preparation. How to know that even if this specific moment is new, the accumulated hours behind them have earned them a shot at it. That shift from waiting for the feeling to Of confidence to trust is the preparation, and it is a skill every high performer eventually has to build, and it is a skill that is entirely learnable. After all, there's something to the message of just send it. There is a second layer to this that today's conversation opens up beautifully, which is what happens once you have crossed those thresholds yourself. Because the leaders I respect most do not treat the doors that open for them as personal victories. They treat them as an inheritance and they organize a part of their leadership around passing that inheritance forward. Paying it forward is not a soft ad onto a real career. It is a leadership discipline and it shows up in the small daily choices, in the introductions you make on someone else's behalf, in the room you pull a junior colleague into, because they belong there before anyone else notices, in the honest conversation you have with someone who is not sure whether they are allowed or To want what they want. Leaders who practice this consistently build cultures where courage becomes more available because the people around them can see that the risk of stepping forward is met with support rather than exposure. Both of these threads come alive today in today's conversation. Our guest is Andrea Vardero Thomas, and she is managing director at Forvis Mozers, where she leads the private equity value creation practice in the New York market. She serves as a trusted advisor to private equity sponsors, portfolio company CFOs, and C-suite executives on finance transformation and transaction readiness, guiding companies across the full ownership life cycle from post-acquisition integration through value creation

and exit. Her expertise spans FPA transformation and MA integration, IPO readiness, financial reporting, and strategic cost optimization. And she works with clients across consumer products, manufacturing technology, media and entertainment, and real estate. Her advisory work is shaped by an operator background that most consultants do not have. She has led finance organizations through periods of rapid growth and transformation, including pre-IPO finance leadership at Compass and Outbrain, as well as North America PL ownership at UBM Informa and Revlon. Where she partnered with business leaders to drive sustained, measurable performance. She began her career at Arthur Anderson and she holds her CPA, CGMA, and a degree in business and economics from Lehigh. Beyond the credentials, though, she is a leader who has made every one of her career moves without the full feeling of readiness and advance. And she has spent years deliberately building the kinds of programs and mentor structures that make it easier for people coming behind her. to do the same. Andrea, thanks for making the time. Let's get into it. speaker-0: Thank you, Amy. I'm excited to be here. speaker-1: So we'll jump in. ⁓ as you know, my book Moment Ready recently came out, and I talk about the four capacities to help show up in our moments that matter. And the fourth that we often talk about is the role of courage or courageous action. ⁓ for you, you've had one hell of a journey in your career, ⁓ remarkable. And I know when we ha first met, we talked about the role of courage. And that oftentimes it shows up and is so critical in those moments where we don't always feel the most confident or comfortable. can you reflect on your journey and just perhaps through the lens of courageous action share when you've seen that show up most for you in your career? speaker-0: Yeah, you know, Amy, I've been thinking a a lot about this lately and specifically because I just made a big move to a new firm and a new role. And, you know, by the time I'm walking into this role, I genuinely believe that I'm ready for it. But that wasn't always the the case. It wasn't even close. And if we rewind about six years, ⁓ I left consult or I left the industry for a consulting role after being in industry for nearly twenty years. And I gotta say I wasn't feeling fully confident going into a new consulting role, right? Consulting's a different game. ⁓ I was picking up at a time that was later than most people do, and there was this real voice inside my head that was saying, you know, what are you doing? ⁓ But you know the thing that I figured out is that, you know, it's pretty much True of every big career move that I've made to date, I actually wasn't starting from zero, right? I had a foundation of 20 years of progressive experience that others didn't have. I was in roles that had finance and reporting. ⁓ you know, when I was in my time at Revlon, I took two different companies public through the IPO process in

in various different capacities. I built global teams, I built forecasts, right? I provided different boards with performance insights. And none of this at the time that I was. Doing it felt like preparation. It just felt like work. It was my job. But when I looked back on that and and I connected the dots, you know, the whole time my experience and all of this, you know, experience that I was building and the knowledge that I was gaining was broadening the foundation for a career. And, you know, that for me was what trusting the process means. So I, you know, I I think confidence is. more of a lagging indicator because it only shows up after you take that risk and and you execute, right? ⁓ but you know what what I think we need to realize is that it it really is the the competence and your experience that is building the whole time. And with every project and every new role that I had, you know, I was learning and I was growing whether I noticed it or not. So when the new opportunity came along, you know, inevitably those nerves came right along with it. And know the the question i was asking myself was no longer do i feel like i'm ready for the role but you know has my experience actually prepared me to figure this out and to do a a good job and when i was honest with myself right that that answer was yes and and that's where that confidence is but it took a long time for me to trust that but that winding career path that I did chow choose that that really was my preparation and All of those different detours that I second guessed the time, they they turned into those differentiators later on down the line. So now when I when I don't feel as confident, I try to shift my focus to the experience that I've accumulated over the course of my career instead of leaning into those feelings and what they might be telling me at the time. speaker-1: I love that. First, thank you for being so real and reflecting on that journey. I want to highlight ⁓ something that is so common and and actually I was on a call with another executive leader last week and I was asked, like, do other people have these thoughts, like doubt themselves? And I just kind of chuckled. And it happened to also be with a woman executive. She asked me, she's like, Do men have these thoughts? And I'm like, yes, everyone is human, right? And the first thought that you had was of self-doubt. And I wanna highlight our minds role is a Constantly it's very active, first off. ⁓ and and how our brains are wired, it's it's a predictive ⁓ you know, threat analysis. Like we're always scanning the environment, we're scanning the data or the inputs around us, perhaps they're physiological and and how we're we're feeling that day, or s or perhaps maybe other signals we're getting from people, or you know, yes, that report. But when we take in all that information, 75% of the time our Our minds are actually gonna go to the most negative, right? Why? Because that's a survival mechanism. Like we your minds are like wired so that, hey, let's have some hesitancy here. You might want to avoid this because ultimately, from way back, ⁓ its role was to protect us. And yet nowadays, oftentimes those challenges before us are not the same as threats, right? And I love you ⁓ sharing like. The initial reaction, the initial thought is that hesitancy, that self-doubt, that's probably more survival wired rather than taking a look at the challenge and ⁓ the adaptation you've made to reflect on, okay, yeah, this may not be exactly what I've done, but look at all of the other ways that I am prepared to meet this challenge now. So ⁓ yeah, kudos to you. And ⁓ it's it's a heck of a journey. What ⁓ with all of that that I described, there can be a lot of noise, right? Like we just highlighted the role of internal noise, which is our minds that inner dialogue sometimes could be negative, sometimes could be full of doubt. Certainly the flip side of it also could be ref reflecting more on how our we are prepared, how our experience brought us here. And then there's the external noise, right? People have their opinions, ⁓ we're not lost for information, or certainly being aware of those opinions in our society today. How would you advise a early career professional, perhaps, or or even someone who ⁓ hasn't stepped into that exact seat that ⁓ they are looking to occupy, right? Like perhaps maybe it it's a promotional role, a role with expanded responsibilities. ⁓ a new industry, a a new division, etcetera. But how would you advise that person ⁓ to s to be able to sift through all that no noise and and help them focus on what really matters? speaker-0: Yeah, I I think it's a great question. And, you know, I I think first and foremost is to realize that, you know, somebody's opening up a door for you or there's an opportunity. You earn your way in. It's not that somebody let you in. And, you know, I think for women that becomes a you know, sometimes it's your DEI higher, right? You hear that all the time. ⁓ you know, somebody might have made an exception for you, but you know, I I I always try to shift the focus that that voice is wrong. Right. And anyone that's doing anything for the first time, ⁓ they're they're hearing this noise in their head. And it and it's not relevant and and I don't I try to say that it's not fact, right? And and you have to separate again the fact from the the feeling. ⁓ you know, is especially for women, right? When you don't see many women in the seat, it doesn't mean that that seat isn't yours either, right? And and my point of view is that if you're the first woman in that seat, right, or you're one of few in that role, or it's a new type of role, especially with the way that ⁓ technology is evolving and new roles are being created. Your experience is is really that proof that you belong there and that there is a role. And, you know, I I think being a role model, ⁓ and and knowing that within the organization there are people that are

looking at you at junior levels that are looking at you as that role model and doing the math on their own future, right? And by you stepping into a role, by being courageous, ⁓ you know, you might be one of the first people or or few people in in that ⁓ demographic. But you might have just changed the game for someone who was looking for that opportunity. And you know, I I think the thing to remember as a leader is that you don't have to be perfect. I think just being there by doing the work, by being a role model in terms of the way that you act towards senior leaders, but also the way that you act towards individuals at the most junior levels and being more of a genuine person. as opposed to being a you know a strong leader that has to be in command. ⁓ you know, I I think that that's important. I also think that, you know, especially again for female leaders, the door didn't open for you ⁓ because, you know, nobody opened it for you, right? That there were leaders that came ahead of you and paying it forward is important. And paying it forward means helping people to believe that they do deserve that role, that they do deserve that promotion. That they can stretch themselves and get that experience. And, you know, I think by seeking out mentors deliberately, and I say deliberately because it's not always someone that's in your company or in your industry, but casting a wide net of mentors, right? People that might not even have done the role that you did, they can help shape your career and help you navigate some of those challenges, especially if you're the first at anything, right? The first in a role, the first in ⁓ you know, a demographic being in the role, those people might have been doubted, right? They might have, you know, had some challenges that they had to navigate and their experience can can really help you. And I think by building that support system around you, ⁓ you know, people that knew you before you received the title or that celebrate your wins or help you navigate the hard times and and you know, tell you the truth when you need it, those are the people that are going to create that career path for you. ⁓ and you know, explain to you what it means to be successful and be that role model. So then in the future, again, they pay it forward as a role model with their experience, which is going to be different. And I think it's those different perspectives that creates ⁓ that balance. speaker-1: I love that. So really in this very busy, ⁓ a noisy environment, if you will, like you're gonna hear the negative either internally, you're gonna hear it perhaps from others. But I I appreciate the role th that relationships have for you, either from mentees, mentors, the support network that you find, those trusted colleagues who can help ground you perhaps if you're having those doubts. And ⁓ you know, ideally I would like to think that we form those networks and have at least one or two kind of like the real people, right? Like we're the the people you can turn to in the holy shit moments and then also you can turn to in high five, ⁓ and celebrate ⁓ you know, overcoming a challenge or or a big win. but really being able to stay grounded in the midst of all that noise comes from those very trusted, close, supportive relationships that really kind of help you navigate. that and I I very much appreciate the charge of paying it forward. ⁓ right. it resonates my why is has always been like leaving a leaving the room healthier than which I entered, right? Leaving the space, the organization, the team, healthier. And so being ab knowing that the next generation is looking up at you even if you aren't aware. it it is so significant to be able to to make the impact in that way. ⁓ I wanted to ⁓ pick your brain. We talked about leadership, and so you've had experiences in female led organizations, male led organizations, and we you brought up the role of gender kind of as part of the potential noise and distraction, right? Like if there's a negative comment about that, or perhaps an avoidance of it. What have you ⁓ experienced or observed in leadership that has been truly effective in integrating divorce? Verse teams, leadership teams perhaps. ⁓ and are there any like lessons learned that you're like, wait, like I strongly if I was talking to you and you're like my leadership buddy, I'd be like, dude, like you we we gotta we gotta course correct here. Let's avoid this this behavior. What what have you seen that's been affecting? speaker-0: Yeah, so it it's interesting because the places where I felt that gender wasn't at play wasn't always where there were women in the top executive roles. And you know, those were the places where I I think leadership evaluated everyone's ideas instead of who was bringing the idea to the table. And, you know, in these places, if if I were to raise an issue, the conversation was about the issue full stop. But, you know, I have I've also worked in other places where gender was absolutely absolutely. Play. And you know, in those places, I could raise the same exact concern, but it was more about my delivery, right? I was too aggressive, or my timing was off, or I wasn't aligned with someone's vision. And even though it could have been the same point, the same words, the reaction was completely different. And, you know, it that latter situation, I think, just becomes so frustrating for females and I'll say exhausting, really, right? Because you're doing the work, but now you're also managing how the work should be perceived. How it should be presented. And it's interesting because I it's a challenge because I don't think men actually know that it exists, right? It's that unconscious bias. ⁓ and it's male and female, right? Females do it to each other as well. And you know, I do think that leadership has the power to get it right. And by focusing on the ideas, right? And when you set that example, I mean, that example was set for me when I was early in

my career with ⁓ or Organization with mostly male leaders, and those male leaders have become my mentors. But they challenged me, they pushed me to think more deeply about certain ideas and ways to solve issues. And it didn't matter if I was male or female, it just mattered that I had the right path that I was learning and growing. And they in turn opened doors for me. But You know, those were the people that, you know, they sponsored me, they challenged me, right? They pulled me into the rooms where I wasn't invited because it was good to be in those rooms and to to network. And they also advocated on my behalf when I wasn't in the room. And I I think that's one of the most valuable things that, you know, we need to do as leaders is recognize people for their strengths, ⁓ having a a team of different strengths. Right, people that aren't all the same. And I think when you bring a team to the table that, you know, it a diverse team, right? And and people with different backgrounds and different experiences are going to have that diversity. I think that's the most important thing because you're going to get the most out of the team that way, ⁓ as opposed to focusing on the person. Mm-hmm. speaker-1: I appreciate the challenge that came from the mentors that that sponsor you, right? That that you created these relationships with. Because oftentimes we think of the mentor and the role of support. ⁓ and that that truly valuable aspect of challenge really can help us grow. ⁓ and so really appreciate that aspect of it. you were part in I know in in your journey of ⁓ Setting out with intention, whether it was building programs or this role of individual mentorship, sponsoring others who are younger in their career. ⁓ but talk to me a little bit about ⁓ your role in the International Women's Day program and and how that included both men and women and ⁓ perhaps maybe some of our audience could borrow from from that experience and idea. speaker-0: Yeah. So ⁓ one of my prior prior firms that I worked at, we we hosted an International Women's Day event that was meant to celebrate the journeys and successes of women. And I I have to say by far that was my favorite event that I've done at, you know, most organizations and out of all the events that I've done. So, you know, I and the reason why I enjoyed that is because there were there were a few key themes that really stuck with me and resonated over the the number of years that I I did the event. ⁓ the first, and and we talked about this earlier, is a theme of paying it forward. And you know, that whole the whole spirit of the program came down to the idea that every single person in the room, and we had people at all levels in the room, you know, everybody was there because at some point somebody opened a door for them, right? Including myself. I didn't do it entirely alone and nor did any anybody in that room. And we had a we always had a panel discussion and the panelists talked about this in you know concrete ways, right? They talked about a senior person pulling them aside and sharing some unwritten rule. That they had to learn the hard way, right? That experience that they had lived through, or making an introduction that resulted in something far bigger as an opportunity for a junior person, or sponsoring someone, might maybe not on their team or didn't report to them, but helping them without looking for something in return. And, you know, I I think that the principle around how we organize the event wasn't just celebrating women. It was about taking the ideas and those concepts and what were what we've learned and sharing that and having people walk out of the room sort with something that they can take with them. You know, I think one of the other key themes there was was leading by example. And you know, I I I don't ask junior folks on my team to do anything that I'm not visibly doing myself, right? So, you know, if I'm telling people to build networks, I'm showing them my network and I'm making introductions. If we're asking people to take stretch assignments, you know, we talk honestly about those assignments and I tell them about things that scared me when I was, you know, given stretch assignments and how we work through it. So, you know, I I do think it's important to show that leadership by example and that it's not always easy and there are going to be some hurdles, but you know, kind of coaching people through ⁓ through your experience, right? Their experience will inevitably be different, but they're going to learn from that. And and that was one of the big takeaways at the event. ⁓ and and you know, you mentioned the the male partners and we always had Men at these events. It wasn't, you know, it's International Women's Day and everyone thinks it's just for women, but it really wasn't. And, you know, we we had men in the audience from day one at the event. And the invites weren't just a courtesy, ⁓ it and it wasn't a lecture for the men, right? It really was embracing our male colleagues as genuine partners as well. And I I think it's really important because. You know, look, in a lot of situations there, especially in consulting, right, it men still control many of the decisions that shape women's careers. And if we were to discuss some of these experiences and challenges that women are facing as a problem, then those males will disengage, right? ⁓ and you end up having a conversation with yourselves. But I think the way that ⁓ we talked about issues and you know, how there are support systems that are you know gender agnostic, right? It doesn't have to be a male-female thing. You know, I I I think some of the most powerful conversations have come from that. And and I will say that many of the men that attended the event enjoyed it. They kept on coming back. They invited their friends, right? They were asking who can we bring? ⁓ so you know I I do think it's important to have to share the different perspectives and have

people in the room that might not understand what females are experiencing so they have a better understanding. And that can, you know, hopefully down the line, right, break down some of those unconscious biases. speaker-1: I love it. What what an amazing program and and very much appreciate coming from the place of curiosity, right? Like I think oftentimes we get into like the arguing of positions or opinions and rather than just being curious and looking at ways in which truly we are one team. ⁓ and so that with a greater understanding we can all work together. I I you know, much of my career was in sport, incredibly diverse landscape. Right. And when you're on a team with people from very different backgrounds, whether that's from urban areas, rural areas, whether that's from ethnic or racial minority ⁓ groups or perhaps sexual minority groups, like it is fascinating, like once you get out there on the field or the court or the pitch, you know, we we're we're all going this way. Like and and all of that ⁓ comes from you know, the collective strength and the co social cohesion, but the task cohesion, we're going this way. We're all going in the same direction. And so, ⁓ truly valuable to get to know people on that individual level, to understand their experiences and to s such a great program, I'm hearing, just in bringing people together to celebrate, but also further the deepen the understanding of everyone's experience. So speaker-0: Yeah. And and Amy, just to on on that note as well, I so full disclosure, I'm a lifelong Knicks fan, so we're talking about sports here. So I have to talk about the team. You know, I I do think that the diversity of the team is important, but also understanding that everyone has different strengths on the team. ⁓ that, you know, no one no one person is gonna be the superstar. Everyone plays their role. And I it it's really interesting to see the Knicks. Throughout the playoffs this season because that truly was a team effort. If you paid attention to, you know, to the games as we did. And everyone played their role. You could tell that they understood what their roles were and they were okay with that, right? Not everyone was the Jalen Brunson, but they played an important part of that team being successful. And that diversity really is, you know, not just in. maybe gender or orientation, but in skill sets and, you know, you know, technical experience and strengths and weaknesses. And when I build teams, I always try to look for what ⁓ what strengths people have that might be a weakness maybe I have or others on the team have. So as a whole, we're much more successful because we're bringing all of these ideas to the table and challenging each other because we have those different perspectives. But together we're much better than individually and you know, making sure that the team recognizes that. speaker-1: Yeah, absolutely. Great point. and certainly for leaders, you know, I I appreciate ⁓ many of our guests have highlighted ⁓ y you want the you not necessarily always the smartest person in the room, the leader. ⁓ and and the value of of having the the strength, ⁓ the variety of skills, ⁓ whether that's strategy, whether that's operations, whether that's finance, what have you. ⁓ and and really Really appreciate that reminder. ⁓ to close, we ask every guest. ⁓ you know, it's been one hell of a journey, right? And it's not over. I'm very excited for you in this new role. ⁓ but nonetheless, it it can it can wear on people, right? ⁓ we see the stats around executive burnout. ⁓ what has helped you sustain the journey? Perhaps that immediate actionable strategy, that piece of advice you might lend our audience. Something that you found helpful daily, weekly, ⁓ that kind of helps keep you grounded or keep you going. speaker-0: Yeah, so I do a weekly reset and it's usually I'll say 30 minutes on Friday afternoon where I just recap the week of what did we accomplish, what's important for next week. And then I revisit that again on you know Sunday evening or Monday morning before I start the week. And I try to focus on two or three things for the upcoming week that only I can move, right? Not there's 50 plus things that I can do or I think I need to do, but where ⁓ my specific role or my judgment is needed or my relationships right are actually needed, those are gonna get prioritized and protected on my calendar first. And then everything else around them, I look to see what can be delegated. ⁓ you know, who does it sit with, who is going to be stretched and make sure that, you know, we're prioritized appropriately. So I use this, I'll say reprioritization as a re mechanism to prevent my burnout. Because for me, I I think burnout doesn't necessarily come from working hard, it comes from working on hard things that don't necessarily require me, but take up a disproportionate amount of my time and energy. And then I stress about not being able to focus on what matters. speaker-1: Absolutely. Love it. Weekly reset. Thank you so much, Andrea. And thank you s also just for joining me in this conversation. Incredibly ⁓ valuable and powerful reminder of how we can all take courageous action, pay it forward, and and certainly lift those ⁓ many, many members of our team and understanding their experiences. Thank you. speaker-0: Thanks for having me, Amy.