Rarely do you ever hear of a black female leading technology as a senior level executive for a major organization. Even more rare is learning that other C-suite executives seek her out to improve their overall performance, career plans, and general psychological well-being. Trina L. Hill, MBA, PMP, CBCP, CSM, ACC is rare, and she's a force on the move. I was blessed to have her state that she is a fan of the My Great Aunt EDNA leadership platform, and even more blessed to have her as a guest on the show to discuss her leadership philosophies she shares with other executives.

After years of leading very complex technology strategies at large-scale, Trina is now sharing her talents and lessons. You'll want to get in on this movement.

From humble beginnings in the Bronx, NY as the child of a single black woman, to becoming the only Black woman to ever fly the U-2 Spy Plane for the United States Air Force at 70,000 feet, Ret. Colonel Merryl Tengesdal has never had a problem of directly owning the spirit of the woman she was intended to be! As an inductee into the Women in Aviation International Pioneer Hall of Fame, Merryl has applied her love for science, math, and the Spirit of Excellence adopted by My Great Aunt EDNA to soar to heights only known to a few.

Click below to watch or listen to the Season 2 kickoff of the acclaimed My Great Aunt EDNA Leadership Podcast by Mac McNeil with special guest, Ret. Col Merryl Tengesdal!

One monkey, two monkeys, three monkeys, four

On my back I can feel I have monkeys galore

But when I look back only one monkey's found

This troublesome monkey's been moving around

In leadership, we often feel that we have several "monkeys on our backs," causing us stress related to trying to figure out how to get them off. However, when you actually reach for them, there are usually far fewer "monkeys" than what was first assumed.

As a leader, how do you plan to lead in a political Cold War? It does impact your team. Whether you openly admit, think about, or consider this to be true, the impacts to your success as a leader may depend on your ability to manage the variables and variance of team dynamics impacted by Election PTSD.

Is it really over? Is this the end? Has the summation of all events been concluded at this distinct point of reality? Only if you say so.

Fascinating is the hidden wisdom in language and words. The slight manipulation of letters can reveal lessons of life that can help one be motivated or demotivated. You choose.

THE END sounds finite. But isn’t there always a sequel? Take the “E” off THE and the “D” off END. What is left? TH…EN. THEN is the story you get to write after THE END.

I like to think of the “E” and “D” as messages as well. Could they be representation of Expected Disappointments that you take off THE END? Could they represent Everyone’s Doubt? Or could they represent Euphoric Dissolution? I am sure that you can easily define what the “E” and “D” mean for you.

THEN can be better or worse than THE END. As leaders, we can influence THEN for our teams and ourselves. How, might you ask? My Great Aunt EDNA teaches that Excellence, Doing Things The Right Way, No Shortcuts, and Accountability can influence what happens after THE END.

As an example, a failed business endeavor can be THE END for some leaders, but it can also lead to, THEN I decided to listen to other’s advice, because I left off Egocentric Decision-making.

A successful THE END to a construction project can become, THEN we decided to scale even larger because we left off Eensy-weensy Dreaming.

So, for you and your teams, is it really THE END? Likely not. THEN, what are you going to do about it?

Mic check, one-two, one-two. Can you hear me? If you can't hear me, I am SURE you will be able to hear Linzy Elizabeth and her UNMUTED life! Linzy Elizabeth is a top-level Executive Coach who helps CEOs reduce stress and win at life, and she is the voice on the popular podcast, UNMUTED. Click play to hear how Linzy shares her story with Mac McNeil on the leadership podcast My Great Aunt EDNA! My Great Aunt EDNA is an exciting new show on leadership culture of EXCELLENCE, DOING THINGS THE RIGHT WAY, NO SHORTCUTS, & ACCOUNTABILITY! Host, Mac McNeil, author of the book, "My Great Aunt EDNA: The Golden Girl of Leadership," interviews top leaders from around the world to share bite-sized nuggets of leadership wisdom to help you in your own journey. Mac McNeil has been a leader in the financial industry for 18 years in various leadership roles. Most recently, he was the Senior Vice President of Operations for the Community Reinvestment Fund, USA where he led Enterprise Operations which includes Asset Management, Customer Engagement, Data Management & Analytics, Fund Administration, Learning & Development, Loan Servicing Operations, Process Governance, Risk & Controls, Technology/Automation, Underwriting & Closing, and Vendor Relations. He had leadership responsibility for a data architectural and data science team relationship in Chennai, India. He began his career with JPMorgan Chase in Arizona in Branch Banking, and spent four years as 1st Vice President, District Manager in Southern California. He finished in the top 5% of performance in the country and was recognized two consecutive years as a Top Performing District Manager. He accepted a role with Bank of America as a Vice President, Consumer Market Manager in the Los Angeles East Market in 2014, where he managed 13 financial centers in the East San Gabriel area. He was then offered the position of Vice President, Operations Market Manager, where he managed 60 financial centers and finished 2015 #2 in performance in the country and was recognized as Pinnacle Club Performer top 1%. He also managed 27 financial centers in the San Diego North Market. Mac became Vice President of Operations Optimization for Synchrony where he was responsible for leading IRA and Trust call center operations, all bank letters and correspondence, as well as lead optimization initiatives for the Consumer Bank to include robotic process automation, digital transformation, process mapping, and product development with operations in Charlotte, NC, Merriam, KS, Hyderabad, India, and Manila, Philippines. Mac has a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Pfeiffer University, a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix, and Doctorate (ABD) in Management and Organizational Leadership from the University of Phoenix. Mac spent four years in the U.S. Army as an Intelligence Analyst in Psychological Operations, Special Operations Command (Airborne), and he is a Desert Storm Veteran. He has served on the Board of Directors for Feeding America of Greater Riverside, Inspire Life Skills Training, Inc, The Christian Adoption Service, The Black Professional Group of Bank of America, The Black Organization for Leadership Development for JPMorgan Chase, and The Minority Supplier Development Service.

Have you ever met someone that has so many gifts pouring out of them that it seems that it will take 4 lifetimes to get all of the gifts out of them and into the world? Well, that is Micole Williams, MFA. Micole is the CEO of Eclectically You Experience, a film producer, author of four books, an educator, and a speaker. How in the world does one person do all of this, you ask? Adaptability at its finest is how I describe her. Many people struggle with purpose and seasons in their lifetime, and Micole has found the ability to adapt in quickly changing seasons and fulfill several purposes for her existence. Click PLAY to listen to the My Great Aunt EDNA leadership interview with Micole Williams, MFA and host Mac McNeil to learn how Micole uses the recognition of seasons to direct her attention, passions, and gifts. My Great Aunt EDNA is an exciting new show on leadership culture of EXCELLENCE, DOING THINGS THE RIGHT WAY, NO SHORTCUTS, & ACCOUNTABILITY! Host, Mac McNeil, author of the book, "My Great Aunt EDNA: The Golden Girl of Leadership," interviews top leaders from around the world to share bite-sized nuggets of leadership wisdom to help you in your own journey. Mac McNeil has been a leader in the financial industry for 18 years in various leadership roles. Most recently, he was the Senior Vice President of Operations for the Community Reinvestment Fund, USA where he led Enterprise Operations which includes Asset Management, Customer Engagement, Data Management & Analytics, Fund Administration, Learning & Development, Loan Servicing Operations, Process Governance, Risk & Controls, Technology/Automation, Underwriting & Closing, and Vendor Relations. He had leadership responsibility for a data architectural and data science team relationship in Chennai, India. He began his career with JPMorgan Chase in Arizona in Branch Banking, and spent four years as 1st Vice President, District Manager in Southern California. He finished in the top 5% of performance in the country and was recognized two consecutive years as a Top Performing District Manager. He accepted a role with Bank of America as a Vice President, Consumer Market Manager in the Los Angeles East Market in 2014, where he managed 13 financial centers in the East San Gabriel area. He was then offered the position of Vice President, Operations Market Manager, where he managed 60 financial centers and finished 2015 #2 in performance in the country and was recognized as Pinnacle Club Performer top 1%. He also managed 27 financial centers in the San Diego North Market. Mac became Vice President of Operations Optimization for Synchrony where he was responsible for leading IRA and Trust call center operations, all bank letters and correspondence, as well as lead optimization initiatives for the Consumer Bank to include robotic process automation, digital transformation, process mapping, and product development with operations in Charlotte, NC, Merriam, KS, Hyderabad, India, and Manila, Philippines. Mac has a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Pfeiffer University, a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix, and Doctorate (ABD) in Management and Organizational Leadership from the University of Phoenix. Mac spent four years in the U.S. Army as an Intelligence Analyst in Psychological Operations, Special Operations Command (Airborne), and he is a Desert Storm Veteran. He has served on the Board of Directors for Feeding America of Greater Riverside, Inspire Life Skills Training, Inc, The Christian Adoption Service, The Black Professional Group of Bank of America, The Black Organization for Leadership Development for JPMorgan Chase, and The Minority Supplier Development Service. He has been married for 28 years, has four children and one grandchild, and enjoys golf, travel, and being the Captain of his boat in his spare time.