We recently had the chance to connect with Brittany Canaski and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Brittany, thank you for taking the time to reflect back on your journey with us. I think our readers are in for a real treat. There is so much we can all learn from each other and so thank you again for opening up with us. Let’s get into it: What is something outside of work that is bringing you joy lately?
I’ve actually been intentionally focused on bringing more joy into my life lately. It’s easy to just get caught up in doom scrolling on my phone, so I’ve been seeking out simple, playful activities I can do as an antidote to being on my phone. Lately, I’ve been baking, drawing on my iPad, and even making origami. Each activity is simple for me to do, and I find myself getting lost (in a fun way) in things like baking and origami because you’re following instructions closely, so you don’t really have space to think about anything else. And they’re all really rewarding – especially baking!
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m Brittany Canaski, a Leadership Coach and Trainer at my own company, Hello Velocity. I love working with corporate women who want to grow their confidence, find balance, and lead at the next level – without burning out.
Some of my favorite topics that I work on with clients are strategic planning, prioritization, and accountability. Essentially, I’m here to help corporate leaders learn the soft skills they were never taught when they were promoted into management positions. So many leaders never get leadership training and are forced to figure it out as they go, and wind up burnt out, frustrated, and disconnected from their team.
One of my favorite projects I’ve been working on lately is my podcast, the Hello Velocity podcast. It was inspired by so many of my coaching clients sharing their struggles with their team or work dynamics during sessions then saying “is this normal?” It was a lightbulb moment that I was having very similar conversations with women across all different industries and roles, but these women felt alone in their concerns and breakthroughs. So I started the podcast to share these themes I was hearing over and over from clients as a way to normalize these topics of confidence, work-life balance, and burnout.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
I used to believe as a kid that being quiet and enjoying alone time was a bad thing. Turns out, I’m just highly empathetic and need alone time to decompress. As an adult, being quiet and a deep listener has turned into one of my superpowers as a coach!
Do you remember a time someone truly listened to you?
Feeling heard is such an important and foundational part of coaching. I remember when I met with my first coach for the first time, after sharing my background with her she started reflecting back some deeper truths in what I shared and I started crying. It felt like she heard me and saw me at my core in a way not many people ever have, and especially not that quickly. It’s really powerful to be heard.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. Where are smart people getting it totally wrong today?
I work with so many smart people who have spent their whole lives figuring it out own their own. It’s gotten them really far in life, but at some point, it becomes unsustainable. So a lot of the time, when I’m working with clients who are high-achieving corporate leaders, what they’re actually getting wrong is thinking that they have to do it all themselves. They’re holding on too tightly to the day-to-day work, and instead, would be more successful by empowering their team members to take on more and in turn, create time for themselves to think and plan strategically.
Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. Are you tap dancing to work? Have you been that level of excited at any point in your career? If so, please tell us about those days.
Yes!! I still say all the time how amazing it is to get paid to do something that I love so much. It’s humbling to have found my purpose in life and to get to do it daily. When I’m meeting new people and tell them about what I do, people often say they can tell how much I love what I do by the big smile on my face while I talk about it. Sure, there are still hard days, or times where I’ve burnt myself out, even when I love what I do. But I wouldn’t change it for anything.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.hellovelocity.co/
- Instagram: @HelloVelocityCo
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittany-canaski/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@hellovelocityco
