Before Sara Blakely became the founder of Spanx, her life looked nothing like a success story. She failed the LSAT twice, was told she was "too short" at a Disney audition, and spent seven years selling fax machines door to door—hearing no over and over again. What changed everything wasn't luck. It was how she treated rejection. Instead of seeing discomfort as failure, she treated it like training. In Part 2 of our Develop Your Voice Impact series, Krista Donargo, SGA unpacks how Blakely learned to fail forward, show up before things felt polished, and turn a scrappy idea into a billion-dollar brand without investors, a roadmap, or industry experience. From there, we zoom out to a skill every leader needs but few are ever taught: storytelling. Storytelling isn't fluff—it's a leadership tool. Stories activate emotion and logic, reduce resistance to change, and help people trust, understand, and follow your ideas. Whether you're leading a team, speaking on stage, guiding clients, or showing up online, how you communicate matters just as much as what you're saying. This is exactly the work we do inside our Voice of Impact Mini Intensives, to help leaders identify the stories they need to tell, shape them with intention, and deliver them with confidence, clarity, and authority. These high-touch intensives are designed to help your voice match the level of leadership you're stepping into—without scripts, gimmicks, or overproduction. If you've ever struggled to get people to understand, trust, or act on your ideas, this episode will change how you think about communication—and what's possible when you learn to use your voice with intention. Because growth doesn't require perfection. It requires conviction, connection, and the willingness to be uncomfortable long before the results show up. Resources → Learn more about our Voice of Impact Mini Intensives → Join the Fierce Factor Society → Follow Kaeli on Instagram: @kaeli.lindholm Additional Ways to Connect: Book a Discovery Call: Ready to scale with intention? Let's map out your next strategic move. KLC Consulting Website Kaeli on LinkedIn

Ask this episode

“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

Transcript

Related