Fearless Leadership and Closing the Gender Pay Gap with Keri-Lynne Shaw
Have you ever wondered if you're truly in the driver's seat of your career?
In this episode of Bold Moves, Confident Choices, Keri-Lynne Shaw—former BMW executive and career coach—shares her bold journey from corporate leadership to helping others take charge of their careers.
Keri-Lynne's mantra is clear: it’s not just about doing good work; it's about stepping up, embracing opportunities, and owning your career path.
She opens up about her own evolution, including a powerful personal story of navigating loss and the strength that came from it. Keri-Lynne now empowers others—particularly women—to break through barriers, close the gender pay gap, and take control of their professional lives.
If you're ready to reveal your potential and be the fearless leader of your career, this episode is for you.
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Must-Hear Insights and Key Moments
Keri-Lynne’s journey from a corporate exec at BMW to becoming a career coach.
The importance of saying “yes” to every opportunity and leading with curiosity.
Overcoming the fear of rejection and finding strength in vulnerability.
The concept of a "personal board of advisors" (PBA) and how it can help in career growth.
Keri-Lynne’s perspective on how to approach the gender pay gap and empower women in their careers.
The role of exercise and mental health in overcoming personal adversity.
How Keri-Lynne navigated the tragedy of losing her husband and found strength through her career.
The power of LinkedIn for career growth and how Keri-Lynne uses it to build connections.
Words of Wisdom: Standout Quotes from This Episode
“Life is hard and we all experience hard things. You don’t have to lose a spouse or something as extreme as that to navigate hard things.” - Keri-Lynne Shaw
“The bold move for people in general is just never give up and whatever that journey is that we’re on to learn and to grow.” - Keri-Lynne Shaw
“ I really believe that we are all meant to do what we're meant to do.” - Keri-Lynne Shaw
”There's always a way forward, there's always a solution, there's always an answer, and staying stuck won't help.” - Keri-Lynne Shaw
”Live in the here now, stop worrying, and just live life.” - Courtney Turich
“ Don't sweat the small stuff.” - Courtney Turich
About Keri-Lynne Shaw
Keri-Lynne Shaw (KL) is a Chief People Officer and Certified Professional Coach with over 15 years of experience in human resources. She has crafted and extended thousands of job offers, gaining valuable insights into the negotiation process.
KL is passionate about helping high performers take control of their careers, secure better opportunities, and close the gender pay gap.
As the founder of "Your Career Roadie," she provides coaching and advice to professionals, guiding them to make confident career decisions and achieve their goals. KL is also a LinkedIn Top Voice, known for sharing practical strategies to help people unlock their full potential and succeed in the workplace.
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BLOG TRANSCRIPT
Note: We use AI transcription so there may be some inaccuracies
Courtney Turich: Hey, everyone. It's your host, Courtney Turich with Bold Moves Confident Choices. We're here to talk with leaders and entrepreneurs about making fearless decisions and taking charge of your own path. Let's get real, get bold, and have some fun. All right, friends.
I am super honored to have Keri-Lynne Shaw here. Also, she goes by KL. She is a powerhouse businesswoman who was an exec at BMW and is now known for quote your career roadie. She guides high performers to get in the driver's seat.
She's a LinkedIn top voice. And empowers professionals to own their own career journey. So without further ado, KL, welcome to the show. Thanks. What an intro.
Keri-Lynne Shaw: How are you today? I'm amazing. Thank you so much. Thanks for having me.
Courtney Turich: Of course. I am thrilled to have you. And, wow. Like talking to you, KL, I even get a little giddy because ever since I met you several weeks ago, I just admire everything you're about.
You're this classy woman who really takes Female leaders and exemplifies what we all should be like. You give me the strength to elevate my game. So thank you so much.
Keri-Lynne Shaw: That's so lovely of you to say. Thank you. I haven't always been that fearless leader. So, you know, we all find our way at different times.
And, If I were to ask myself, you know, what I meant to do on this planet? is to make an impact on closing the gender pay gap and helping people unlock their potential. And I feel very fortunate that I get to do that every single day.
Courtney Turich: Well, I can't wait for us to dive into that some more because you've been doing some remarkable things and a lot with women.
But before we jump into that, can you? This is a question I ask everyone. Tell us a little bit about yourself and your story.
The Fearless Leader's Mindset: KL Shaw's Journey of Saying Yes
Keri-Lynne Shaw: So Courtney, that's the first question you will get in any job interview. And I prepare all of my clients for that because it's for a job interview. It's at any kind of networking event.
People want to know who you are. And so I've, I've recoined it, that talent reel, because I was really bored with elevator pitch. So what is my elevator pitch? That's funny. I coach people to do this all day and I haven't done it for myself in a while. So who am I? I am a Canadian girl from a small freezing cold town in Northern Canada, which is probably the most Northern city that has a population.
I moved to the U S 28 years ago. Following a boy and several boys later, I found my way. The first relationship I had with this person for eight years was as an entrepreneur. And it's so funny now when I look at my life because I never thought I would be an entrepreneur, but that was so important in terms of my foundation, but I was fairly fearless in terms of saying yes to every opportunity.
Just wanted to do great work and I always believed that if I did good work, the money would come. And to an extent it did. I had, I've had a really, really beautiful career. My last corporate job was as a chief HR officer. And now, I do my own thing and I'm coaching people to be the best, their best selves.
I have a 22-year-old daughter. I have a husband who was my souvenir when I came back from my expat assignment in Germany. And I live in Northern New Jersey. We will probably end up in Germany. I love to travel the world and I'm right where I'm supposed to be, even when things are not good. I really believe that we are all meant to do what we're meant to do.
And I feel really. Fortunately, I'm in this position of just knowing that the universe has me right where I'm supposed to be. And I'm open to whatever possibilities are continuing to come my way and meeting incredible people like you, like, gosh, by total serendipitous moments where you're able to connect dots on why we're supposed to be meeting people that we're meeting and whether I'm giving something to you or you're giving something to me, that is always reciprocal at different times in life.
Yeah, I'm pretty happy.
Courtney Turich: Amazing. And KL, you said something really important when you were just sharing your elevator pitch, I'll say. And that was, you said, yes, like you're fearless and you just kept saying, yes, share more about saying yes.
Keri-Lynne Shaw: I said yes to every single chance and opportunity that I could, I raised my hand in every meeting.
I was trying to find my way as a corporate girl. I had no idea what I was doing, but I knew that I did good work. I knew that I was. I knew that I was thoughtful. I knew that I followed up and I just wanted to like to suck all the energy out of the room when, you know, I would be in any kind of a presentation where somebody would be sharing, I'd email them afterward and I, you know, introduce myself, would you be open for a coffee back then it was real coffee, old fashioned coffee, not virtual.
And, I just wanted to be part of every project I could be part of. And. Contribute and learn and learn and learn and learn and learn as much as I possibly could. And I led with curiosity and that served me so so well. Of course, I did really good work. That was, you know, you can't just be a curious person and not.
Execute, and I really think I was thoughtful. I hope I still am, just about how I showed up. I would say, like, maybe I gossiped a little bit too much or some things if I look back at my time, in my early days, things I would do a little bit differently, but. I'm really proud of this idea of just putting myself in situations where I knew they were uncomfortable, but it didn't matter because, like, I wasn't, like, trying to prove anything to anyone.
I was going for it. I don't know where that came from. It's so crazy looking back.
Courtney Turich: So hear a lot of people talk about some of the best traits of leaders are being curious, and that is obviously something that you have at the forefront. How do you tell other people to remain curious and push you through that fear of really sharing your voice and speaking up?
Don't Sweat the Small Stuff
Keri-Lynne Shaw: I always just looked at it like, what do I have to lose? What's the worst-case scenario? The worst-case scenario was never anything bad. Like, so I reached out to someone to have a coffee and they said no, or they didn't respond.
Okay. No big deal. It didn't affect me. And. As I moved along in my career, when I became a professional coach, there was always this best-case, worst-case scenario conversation that I would have with myself.
What's the best thing that could happen in manifesting what I really wanted? And then what was the worst thing that could happen? I've moved to an even higher level of vibration in my life where I don't even think of the worst-case scenario anymore, but I just looked at it like, Listen, like they're either going to respond or they're not.
And what I really realized was people love talking about themselves. So if you reached out to them, your presentation was so great. People love, you know, getting complimented and it worked for me. I rarely had anybody who said no. And then I showed a lot of gratitude for that experience. So my daughter is 22 and she's in the process of trying to find her way.
She's graduating in May and she's reaching out to all these people on LinkedIn. And she's like, mom, why don't people respond and I said, you know, you're going to get the response from the right people, 3 people from the NHL, which is where she's really excited about exploring and reached out to say, yes, we'd love to have a coffee.
And so we were working on what, Kinds of questions, which is being curious about their career look like, and how do you make sure that you stay connected to these people and you show gratitude? So once a year at Thanksgiving, all of these beautiful people, humans in my life, whether, you know, they were mentors or bosses, I sent them all individual gratitude messages around Thanksgiving.
And it was just like that thing I did. And that would spark then coffee, even if I hadn't talked to them in a couple of years. So yeah, just sharing that with her has been really fun because it really worked well for me.
Courtney Turich: Well, I will say your daughter is so fortunate to have you as a mom and as a role model and an example.
And what I'm hearing you say is don't sweat the small stuff. Right. Like we get in
Keri-Lynne Shaw: our way, we spend way too much time worrying about all the things we can't control. I can only focus on what I can control. And, your mind can really get you in a spiral if you're not careful and I just don't go there anymore.
In the old days, I certainly did, but I really was focused on learning and growing. And if I led with that, people were always very gracious to help me get there and to answer my seemingly silly questions.
Courtney Turich: So if you're talking to somebody who is younger and a new professional, what you're saying is don't spiral, ask questions, go in with curiosity.
Is that? The feedback you would give to them or the advice in those moments.
Finding Strength in the Face of Loss
Keri-Lynne Shaw: Yeah, the spiraling is on you. Curiosity and, you know, reaching out to people and not being afraid to do that. Just go for it. You really do have nothing to lose and then be prepared for the meeting and then follow up after the meeting and make sure if you've asked them for, you know, advice on something that you tell them how it went.
So like, that's the one thing that I mentor a ton of people and it drives me bananas when they don't circle back. It's like, I've just given you my time. If I've given you advice and you've taken it or not taken it or whatever you've done with it, please reach back out and let me know how it went or how it didn't go.
But the spiraling part took a lot more work. I took a lot of coaching work that took a lot of inner work because the stories that, we all, have are not unique to any of us, Wemakep in our head are based on our own stuff and our own triggers and, you know, if I'm making up a story about something, it's far easier.
If I just say, hey, Courtney, I'm making up a story about why you didn't respond to my email before I did that. I just want to make sure we're good. I want to, you know, or make sure I didn't say something inappropriate or whatever the, you know, the conversation is, because some people will get caught up in that and like, oh, Courtney hates me.
Oh, she didn't email. She hates me. No, it just got lost in her inbox. And that happens all the time. So actually being forward and just saying, Hey, before I make up the whole story about why.
Speaker: Hey, Elle, I could never hate you. Okay. So let's, better get to the big question because I can already tell that we could keep going on and on and on about all kinds of things, but what we really want to know, and what I know listeners want to know is what was that bold move or confident choice that took things to the next level for you?
Courtney Turich: And that can be personally, professionally, whatever just comes to mind. So,
Keri-Lynne Shaw: there were several bold moves. I would say, 18 years ago, my husband was killed in a car accident and I had a 3-year-old daughter at the time. I would say the bold move I made was not being knocked out and not, uh, surviving, I guess, and surviving in a way that worked for me and, you know, was really, really freaking hard, even 18 years later.
I think that bold move was not letting anything get in my way and just knowing that. Life is hard and we all experience hard things. You don't have to lose a spouse or something as extreme as that to navigate hard things. But I would say yeah, surviving would be that. And then I would say as.
Things, time progressed and I got stronger, I learned to thrive and put myself first and learned what I should be saying no to instead of pleasing people and instead of doing things for everyone else that gave me sort of an excuse as the wrong way to say it, but it gave me some kind of a. An out in a way.
So I could actually start to work on like reducing that muscle of people pleasing that I, I really struggled with for a lot of years and, yeah, I think the bold move for people, in general, just never gives up and whatever that journey is that, that we're on to learn and to grow and for whatever reason, my daughter was.
He was also in the car accident and she survived and, you know, whatever, or whatever reason I was chosen to be his partner, to give him a child and to have, you know, had him experience the kind of love that a lot of people never get to experience. So it took a lot of years to get there, but I never gave up.
I never gave up. I gave up on myself or my daughter. So I think that's probably fairly bold.
Courtney Turich: Wow. I have never heard that. So thank you for sharing. And that's huge. How did you, how did you really go back to that moment when it happened, how do you get yourself to keep going?
Finding Strength Through Struggle and Support
Keri-Lynne Shaw: I would say, I mean, look, you can look back on a journey like that and all the things that I would have done differently, but, I put my entire heart and soul into my work.
Hmm. That may or may not have been the right move, but it was the only place in my life where I felt safe. I knew I was good at my job. I could go to work for those 8 hours, however long I was there, and I could escape what was happening in my life, and just I really felt safe and I think, honestly, if I look back that was the 1 saving grace and, you know, I went all the way in my career.
I had a really great run in the corporate world and grew up in a very male-dominated industry and automotive and feel really proud of the work that I did. I had help along the way, although I think I was afraid of asking for help because when you lose someone, everybody goes back to their daily lives and they do not forget about you, but, they sort of forget about you.
And you're just trying to navigate the turmoil. One, bold move. And I have to say a total stranger reached out to me at work. What helped me through it was he was a personal trainer and he said to me, I don't know you, I don't know if this will help you, but I know what exercise has done for me in my life.
And if it would help you, I'm starting a lunchtime class here at BMW and I. I signed up. So I started working out three times a week and it gave me power physically, it gave me power mentally. It gave me power emotionally. And I would say it if I didn't exercise my work and physical activity helped me in so many ways that I didn't realize even at the time.
But those were just a couple of things that helped me through it. Most certainly I had some, you know, wonderful people in my life, but nobody could really help because they hadn't experienced anything like that.
So, I lost a lot of friends as a result of it and sort of became dependent on no one but myself.
And that was a good and a bad thing. It took me years to unlearn that as well. So it's still a journey. 18 years later, I would say.
Courtney Turich: Wow. So gosh, KL, you talk about, I want to dig in. Well, hold on. The working out piece. So essential. Right. It's like you're talking about it, how it helped to guide you through a really dark time.
And I think if we all look at our professional or personal lives, the impact of just physically moving our body, not only is it good physically, but mentally, it really just helps clear us on a different level.
Keri-Lynne Shaw: Yeah. Emotionally as well. Yeah. Like there was this physical strength that then gave me mental and emotional, like it, it was so interesting.
I had never worked out before and it really transformed my life. And then I became a professional coach, some years after that, about 10 years ago. So it was eight years after that.
That was just incredibly helpful and just digging into who I am and what my triggers were, what my blocks were, the things getting in my way, hiring coaches, hiring, you know, the right people to support you.
I think this is also something that a lot of people don't invest in, or they don't realize how important it is. To have a sounding board or to have a person next to you. So hold your hand, maybe kick your ass. You know, like there's, there's all sorts of different reasons that someone next to you can hold the mirror up to you objectively and help you find your way.
Because life can be hard and throws curve balls and some serious curve balls and some not so serious, but you know, again, you've had curve balls. You didn't have to lose a partner to have something that knocked you out.
I always like to think about this and use this with my clients a lot. What, you know, in that situation, how did you navigate?
How did you move forward? Because we all have a story of moving forward, whatever that is, whether it's 1 step. Well, I took this step. I made this call. I invested in this. I did that.
So if you can ground yourself back to something really hard in your life where you took an action, you can apply that again to take an action and another aspect of whatever you're dealing with at that moment.
And that's really helped me a lot.
Courtney Turich: So you talk about also losing friends along the way, but what I'm also hearing you talk about is surrounding yourself with the right people to move you in the right direction.
Is there a correlation between the two of losing some friends and then finding you?
Building a Supportive Network
Keri-Lynne Shaw: I would even say like the people that I lost my family in that situation because people don't know what to say and they don't know how to help. And so then they retreat and then they leave.
And then you are left, you know, sometimes alone because not everybody just knows how to handle the situation.
So there's been those kinds of things too. But the people who are meant to be in my life have come into my life at the right time. And, I have the most incredible people around me. It doesn't have to be a massive network of people, the people around me are there for reasons I believe in serendipity.
I believe in the right moments at the right time and connecting those dots. I believe I'm meant to be in people's lives for certain reasons at certain times as well. And I'm really okay with that. I think the confidence that I gained as a result of this, and knowing that if I can get through that, I can get through anything in life gave me a strength that I didn't, I probably would have never known existed myself had I not gone through that.
Courtney Turich: So getting, going and becoming a coach yourself, has it all been inspired by what you've gone through
Keri-Lynne Shaw: from your bold move? Honestly, Courtney, I've not talked about this before and I've done about 35 podcasts. This is the first time I've ever really shared this story.
I even forgot your question. Sorry, please take your time. Tell me again what you asked me. I'm
Courtney Turich: sorry. So, What happened to you, your bold move that you just shared with us? Is that what really guided you to become the coach you are today?
The Power of Taking Control of Your Career Path
Keri-Lynne Shaw: It's hard to say because I think that there are so many aspects of pain or hard situations inside corporate, getting thrown out of boardrooms, like, just like really crappy, really crappy situations of crappy leaders, amazing leaders.
I think every experience in our life shapes us. And so, of course, that shaped me in a lot of ways in a lot of ways. But the coaching, who knows if it was a result of it, came to me as an opportunity so I could be a better HR leader. I didn't necessarily want to be a coach full-time. I just want to always learn and grow.
That's just something in my DNA. So, when I became a coach, I knew it would help me as an HR leader. And I started doing the work that I'm doing today on the side, because people would constantly say, oh, my son just graduated college. Can you help? Can you, can you, can you talk to my friend who just got laid off?
Can you, my friend, be miserable at work and want to leave? Can you help her figure out a career transition? I mean, constant, constant. I thought, oh, maybe when I retire, this is something that I'll do. I think the invincible feeling, fearless feeling as much as during that time, and for many years after, I was so fearful.
I was so fearful of potentially leaving the house, you know. In other accidents we had a new daughter, so there was a lot of fear around my situation at that time, but as I started to gain these muscles and started to move forward in a really powerful way, I really felt invincible and I hope my story helps people realize that in themselves.
As well, because there's always a way forward. There's always a solution. There's always an answer and staying stuck won't help.
Courtney Turich: Hey, Al, you hit the nail on the head for me when I met you and talked to you about some things going on in my life. That's how you made me feel invincible. I'm getting a little emotional because I felt so strong after talking to you.
You gave me that power inside to raise my voice. And that's why. I said, when we got started here, I admire you. And there is something that you bring to the surface for me and I know you do it for so many other professionals. I would love for you to share with everybody the special gift that you provide for others when coaching them in this world.
Keri-Lynne Shaw: Well, that is such a high compliment. I appreciate that so much and as I said, I don't share, I don't lead with that story and whether that's, you know, a gift. And provided to me as a result. I'm so happy that you felt that after having a conversation with me. That is like, really the highest compliment.
I work with people and what brings me real joy is really helping people unlock their potential. And I think a lot of people are stuck in their careers. I've seen thousands and thousands of people that I've touched over my career. A lot of people just don't know that they are supposed to be in the driver's seat of their career and that no 1 is going to do it for them.
Not any HR organization. There's, you know, we're the last to eat in HR. Believe me, there are not massive investments in, you know, wonderful career mapping tools. Like, it's just not going to happen that way.
Eyes now, on the other side of working with clients directly, is that I want to arm people with all the tools that they need to be successful in their careers, handwriting their own stories, writing their own road maps, and figuring out how. Can I get in the driver's seat? I call myself your career roadie because I think it's way more fun to do it with someone in the passenger seat with you and way more fun and I do hold the mirror up and definitely hold their hand and kick their tushy at the same time, depending on what they need at the moment.
We make that agreement up front, but I really help people grow and that is both promotion and new jobs transition as well, the salary compensation package to match. So I help people earn more money and it's never been money, never my driver Courtney and it doesn't have to be my client's driver either, but you should be paid what you deserve.
And most people don't negotiate. Most people don't know what they're even worth on the market. They say, yes, out of fear, because they're afraid the job might get pulled, or they're afraid that they, you know, if they ask, might come across as greedy, and there are all sorts of reasons why people don't do it.
And I'm here to change that, and I, there is an obvious gender and racial pay gap. This is not new news for anyone. There's some good work out there happening, to get more voices out there, but I am doing my part to close that gap and to help people know that they don't have to stay stuck. I'll give you a little mic drop moment that people might be really surprised by.
Whenever I speak at panels or keynotes, people don't realize that you can proactively ask for packages, and by that, I mean, if you are in a role and you are unhappy, proactively go to your leaders and raise your hand to say, Hey, I know the company is struggling. I know we just got the quarter results.
I'd like to put my name in the hat to exit and to get some kind of a package. I have helped people negotiate. Up to almost 3 million in their packages. So it's something that most people just don't realize. And that just helps you get unstuck. And then I help you find your way to your next.
Amazing opportunity. So that was a long answer, but,
Courtney Turich: But it's incredible because when we're in that moment, we're so in our head, we can't see that there's other options surrounding us or that there's another way to become unstuck in that moment.
Keri-Lynne Shaw: Yeah. Yeah. I think when you're spiraling in your own head, it's very difficult to pull yourself out.
So it's why I. Try to post almost every day on LinkedIn and share stories, tips, tools, tricks, and anything I can to help people. If any of that gives them hope, whether they hire me or not, it's really about giving people hope and knowing that there is another way. And the only way you're going to get there is if you get in the driver's seat and take the wheel.
Courtney Turich: Well, I like that. You're a career roadie. I can see that analogy. I've been a sales rep my whole life. Spent a lot of time in my car. Having you by my side, I'll take you any day, KL. I love
Keri-Lynne Shaw: it. I love it. With Bluetooth, I can be, I can be your partner. Anytime. Partner in crime, it's really the most fun I've ever had my entire career.
Everything has led me to this moment and it's the best gift I could have been given.
Courtney Turich: Well, I have another big question because believe it or not, time is coming to an end. And knowing that you have a daughter who's 22, I need you to reflect back to your 18-year-old self. And KL, what would you tell that girl who's 18 today?
Advice for the Next Generation
Keri-Lynne Shaw: Stop worrying so much. It's all going to happen the way it's meant to. That's the biggest, biggest energy waste and suck of my entire life. And I know I'm not alone. I spent way too much energy worrying about how things would work out and not living in the moment.
It was such a time suck, and I refuse to do it anymore. So unfortunately it took me a few years. I'm now 52. It took me a few years to figure it out, but I hope that helps people again. I couldn't have done it alone, but get out of your head as fast as you can get out of your head. It's a waste of time.
Courtney Turich: Oh, I've been there myself, like just hearing you say that, I think back to my early twenties and the worry that just weighed over me constantly and looking for the finish line. Right? So what you're saying is life in the here and now stop worrying and just live life.
Keri-Lynne Shaw: There's no finish line that we're in charge of anyway.
Courtney Turich: So, right. Great point. There's not a finish line and that's the beauty of life.
Keri-Lynne Shaw: It is. And I mean, look, I think many people at this stage of life probably have more of these realizations. But if we can help the next generations to get out of their own way, that's. It's what I'm, what's what I'm all about.
And it seems like you are too.
Courtney Turich: Hey Elle, I can't thank you enough for being here with us today, sharing your words of wisdom, and opening up your big personal bold move that's made you the woman you are today. And if anybody wants to reach out to you, where's the best way for them to find you?
Keri-Lynne Shaw: Oh, thank you for that.
I'm on LinkedIn, Keri-Lynne Shaw. I spend hours and hours there a day, I give away a lot of my heart and a lot of the pointers that I have. It is such a fun space for anyone who's not on LinkedIn, spending more time, really following great people who inspire them, really will help you on your journey.
Courtney Turich: Hey, y'all. Thank you so much. Everyone. I can attest to you. I've met a lot of coaches in my days and she is one of the top. If you have questions, you want to explore the coach, reach out to her, just set up some time for a coffee chat and more than anyone, more than anything, be bold, be confident, and be you.
Thanks so much for listening today.
