Proven Not Perfect

Shontra Powell

This is a show for women who wear many hats and who have held themselves to an unhealthy measure of success. This show will deposit nuggets for your own self reflection and self improvement. This audio series builds upon the book - Proven Not Perfect: 7 Truths of a Corporate Executive, Mommy, Wife and Christian (published 2018, Amazon Best-Seller).

  1. Navigating the Corporate Landscape with Grace, Faith and Fearless Leadership Featuring Author and CEO Tanya Hines

    JAN 25

    Navigating the Corporate Landscape with Grace, Faith and Fearless Leadership Featuring Author and CEO Tanya Hines

    Send us a text What happens when strategy meets calling? We sit down with Tanya for a raw, practical, and energizing conversation about how to lead with data, conviction, and peace—without shrinking who you are. From her early days learning corporate culture to a pivotal first promotion with a skeptical team, Tanya shows how proof can outpace prejudice and how identity becomes an asset once outcomes speak. We dig into commercial fundamentals and how to translate them into impact drivers that keep the chains moving. Leadership, though, is more than math. Tanya breaks down how to “watch the tape” with your team to validate the truth together, recruit ambassadors to shift the middle, and set a standard where dissent stays in the room and unity leaves it. She talks about protecting peace, addressing personal friction offsite with honesty and care, and navigating the fine line many underrepresented leaders walk between being assertive and being misread. We also explore the difference between what you should do and what you’re called to do—how duty hits the target, but calling changes the field for others. Tanya’s Grace Moves Inner Court Workbook offers a blueprint for fusing market excellence with spiritual wisdom. If you’re ready to lead with clarity, win with empathy, and take your shot when grace makes space, this one’s for you. Subscribe, share with a friend who needs the push, and leave a review with the play you’re calling next. Book is available at the link:  http://Amazon.com Follow me on Instagram at: shontrapowell_provennotperfect Follow me on Facebook at: Proven Not Perfect™️ Watch and listen on YouTube: Proven Not Perfect™️ Join the community for ideas and events at www.provennotperfect.com. I'd love to hear what you think!

    48 min
  2. Fintech, Gen Z, And The New Playbook

    12/30/2025

    Fintech, Gen Z, And The New Playbook

    Send us a text Money shouldn’t feel like paperwork. We sat down with Virginia Heyburn to unpack how fintech and AI are transforming banking into something simpler, more inclusive, and far more human. From mobile-first experiences to embedded finance, we trace the long road that brought new providers like Chime and Klarna into mainstream behavior—and why Gen Z’s expectations for speed, clarity, and respect are driving the next wave of innovation. We get real about AI’s impact on work. Traditional AI has lived in the background for years, but generative AI is changing daily workflows: less time on drafting and formatting, more time on strategy and connection. Virginia lays out why leaders must be AI fluent and then proficient, modeling responsible use while balancing governance, compliance, and shareholder demands. We also tackle a hard truth: many entry-level tasks will be automated. The opportunity is to train early-career talent as critical thinkers who can leap the rote work and contribute judgment, ethics, and creativity from day one. Beyond the boardroom, we explore parenting in the AI age and the importance of mental health. Keeping kids off tech isn’t the answer; teaching them to coexist with tools is. Yoga and breath become a lens for leadership—automate the minutiae, then use your reclaimed time to build relationships, ask better questions, and focus on the whole. For community banks and credit unions, that same mindset means “scaling the unscalable,” partnering with fintechs to serve niche markets and compete on experience, not size. If this conversation sparks new ideas for your team or your family, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a review with the biggest insight you’re taking into your week. Follow me on Instagram at: shontrapowell_provennotperfect Follow me on Facebook at: Proven Not Perfect™️ Watch and listen on YouTube: Proven Not Perfect™️ Join the community for ideas and events at www.provennotperfect.com. I'd love to hear what you think!

    28 min
  3. Selling Has Changed: Here’s How To Win Now

    12/07/2025

    Selling Has Changed: Here’s How To Win Now

    Send us a text Your buyer doesn’t need a lecture on features. They need a partner who can make sense of complexity and map it to outcomes that matter. That’s the throughline of our conversation with Denise, a veteran deal maker who’s led enterprise sales, built her own consultancy, and now coaches leaders to sell with clarity, credibility, and care. We start by interrogating the timeless playbook—persistence, product knowledge, relationships—and how each one transformed after COVID. Denise explains why education no longer differentiates when every stakeholder has done the homework, and how the edge now comes from active listening and root‑cause discovery. Instead of pitching “what it does,” we dig into “why this solves the real problem,” and we show how to frame risks, trade‑offs, and value without fluff. Along the way, we unpack practical ways to deepen relationships on Zoom, use social media with purpose, and replace swag with substance. Technology gets a frank audit. AI can draft outreach, summarize calls, and surface account patterns, but the win is using it to remove busywork and redirect energy to human skills—judgment, empathy, negotiation. Denise lays out guardrails for keeping your voice while scaling your workflow, and she shares simple coaching metrics like talk ratio and question depth that elevate every meeting. The human story anchors it all. Denise reflects on a late‑started healing journey that sharpened her empathy and intent, and we examine how inner work turns into outer performance. When you know your why, you stop seeking approval and start creating value. We close with three concrete moves for modern sellers: adopt technology with intent, make every interaction about the buyer, and stay authentic by anchoring on purpose. If you want to sell beyond features, build trust faster, and make your buyer the hero, this conversation gives you a clear path forward. Enjoy the episode, then subscribe, share with a teammate, and leave a review to tell us the discovery question you’ll try next. Follow me on Instagram at: shontrapowell_provennotperfect Follow me on Facebook at: Proven Not Perfect™️ Watch and listen on YouTube: Proven Not Perfect™️ Join the community for ideas and events at www.provennotperfect.com. I'd love to hear what you think!

    21 min
  4. Styled For The Life You Want with Tech Executive, Style Coach and Personal Branding Expert Mandy Tucker

    11/26/2025

    Styled For The Life You Want with Tech Executive, Style Coach and Personal Branding Expert Mandy Tucker

    Send us a text If the mirror could talk, would it tell the truth you’ve been avoiding—or the story you’re ready to live? I sit down with Mandy Tucker, a veteran tech leader who expanded her career into coaching and personal styling for midlife professional women, to unpack how mindset, vision, and wardrobe can work together to change your confidence and your results. The conversation begins with life in the UK and moves into a practical framework for aligning who you’re becoming with how you show up. Mandy breaks down the difference between a checklist and a calling: vision sets direction, goals deliver momentum. Before any shopping list, she starts with mirror honesty—naming the beliefs that shrink presence and keep us dressing to hide. From there, she shows how body shape, proportion, and lifestyle should drive choices, why Pinterest boards often mislead, and how to become your own influencer by building a repeatable set of silhouettes that actually fit your life. We touch on the PIE model—performance, image, exposure—and why image isn’t about designer labels; it’s about clarity, coherence, and the energy you project. We also get real about pivots. They rarely arrive glamorous. More often they emerge from friction, fatigue, or a mismatch between your values and your environment. Mandy shares how she moved from tech leadership into coaching and style, what midlife women uniquely face, and how “pivot and pursue” can turn a hard season into a launchpad. Along the way, cultural touchpoints—from British reserve to American boldness, from Meghan’s public reception to Victoria Beckham’s reinvention—highlight how narrative, presence, and resilience shape opportunity. If you’re ready to dress for your dreams, not the algorithm, and to align your inner voice with your outer signal, this one’s for you. Listen, subscribe, and share with a friend who’s ready to expand. And if this conversation helped you see yourself more clearly, leave a review—tell us the one belief you’re dropping this week. Follow me on Instagram at: shontrapowell_provennotperfect Follow me on Facebook at: Proven Not Perfect™️ Watch and listen on YouTube: Proven Not Perfect™️ Join the community for ideas and events at www.provennotperfect.com. I'd love to hear what you think!

    51 min
  5. Emmys And Advocacy: Jasmine Minor On Faith, Pivoting, And Purpose

    10/30/2025

    Emmys And Advocacy: Jasmine Minor On Faith, Pivoting, And Purpose

    Send us a text What if perfection wasn’t the prize, but the prison? We sit down with Jasmine Minor—three-time Emmy winner, ABC journalist, and founder—to trace a life that looks shiny on the outside and deeply rooted within. From Division I tennis to newsroom leadership, Jasmine shares how injury, heartbreak, and a hospital visit turned into a turning point: let go, take the smallest step, and trust God to write the lines you can’t. The conversation moves with honesty and heart. We unpack how perfectionism clashes with patience, why trophies can’t deliver lasting joy, and how acceptance grows roots that hold in any storm. Jasmine opens up about losing her father and channeling grief into the Kevin Minor Legacy Fund, the largest tennis scholarship for a Midwest female player, transforming memory into momentum. She describes journalism as listening with reverence—meeting every story with respect across cultures, beliefs, and politics—so people feel seen without needing a sermon. Then we get practical. Jasmine’s framework is “strategically delusional”: dream beyond your circumstances and pair it with action. Cold email the hero. Ask the “dumb” questions. Gather critique and follow the common thread of feedback. Build rooms like the Rise Society where mission-driven women share resources and uplift each other. The result is a path that blends ambition with humility, excellence with empathy, and pivoting with purpose. If you’ve been chasing the next win and still feel empty, this one’s a reset. Press play, take one faithful step, and tell us the bold ask you’ll make this week. Subscribe, share with a friend who needs courage today, and leave a review so others can find this story of hope and grit. Follow me on Instagram at: shontrapowell_provennotperfect Follow me on Facebook at: Proven Not Perfect™️ Watch and listen on YouTube: Proven Not Perfect™️ Join the community for ideas and events at www.provennotperfect.com. I'd love to hear what you think!

    49 min
  6. Art, Ancestry, And A Bold Pivot Conversation with Serial Entrepreneur Nkenge Adams

    10/23/2025

    Art, Ancestry, And A Bold Pivot Conversation with Serial Entrepreneur Nkenge Adams

    Send us a text A phone call, a building rehab, and a question: do you want these? That’s how 90 African artifacts—masks, ritual pieces, and carved figures—arrived and changed the path of serial entrepreneur Nkenge Adams. What could have been a quick sale became a long bet on community, culture, and the living artists who shape both. We walk through the decision to steward rather than liquidate, the ancestry research that linked the collection to Cameroon and Nigeria, and the practical steps that turned private objects into public learning through exhibitions, grants, and youth programs. We dig into the felt and measured power of art. Beyond beauty, art delivers health: stress reduction, better mood regulation, richer social ties, and stronger cognitive engagement. That’s why we designed hands-on experiences where kids become junior curators—choosing materials, writing labels, presenting their work, and touring gallery storage to see how shows come to life. When children witness their names on a placard and their ideas in a frame, something shifts. Confidence grows. Curiosity takes root. And the gallery becomes a place they can claim. We also talk investment—NFTs and tokens versus the irreplaceable presence of objects—and why fair pay for living artists is overdue. Institutions are starting to fund community curation and stipends, and we share how those models can scale. The conversation moves from personal pivot to public value: art as a vehicle for wellness, identity, and memory, and as a catalyst for the next cultural renaissance. Want to see the work, host an exhibition, or bring a youth program to your city? Visit nKengeGallery.com and connect with Kenge Adams on LinkedIn. If this story moved you, follow, share with a friend who loves art, and leave a review to help others find the show. Follow me on Instagram at: shontrapowell_provennotperfect Follow me on Facebook at: Proven Not Perfect™️ Watch and listen on YouTube: Proven Not Perfect™️ Join the community for ideas and events at www.provennotperfect.com. I'd love to hear what you think!

    28 min
  7. You can’t pour from an empty account, so here’s how to audit your calendar, choose impact over quantity, and set a clear vision for 2026 with Denise Thomas, The Effective Communicator

    10/07/2025

    You can’t pour from an empty account, so here’s how to audit your calendar, choose impact over quantity, and set a clear vision for 2026 with Denise Thomas, The Effective Communicator

    Send us a text What if your burnout isn’t about doing too much—but about allowing the wrong withdrawals? We step into the fourth quarter with a sharper lens: a daily deposits-versus-withdrawals audit that exposes invisible drains, restores peace, and helps you choose the rooms where your impact will be felt. From calendar chaos to meaningful tradeoffs, we share the simple tie-breaker that ends second-guessing: pick the commitment where your presence creates the greatest change, not the one with the flashiest optics. Denise takes us behind the curtain of persona and replenishment, naming why high-energy performers get quiet offstage and why that boundary is part of the work. Then the moment we’ve been waiting for: announcing her debut book, The Only One in the Room: How to Transform Differences into Strengths, Communicate with Impact, and Lead with Confidence—featuring a foreword by Stephen M. R. Covey. The book blends candid stories, practical tools, and interactive exercises to help you claim your voice, communicate with intention, and lead with calm confidence. Whether you’re introverted, the youngest at the table, the only woman, the only person of color, or simply the quietest thinker, your difference can be your superpower. We also zoom out to the cultural noise and remember this truth: there’s still more good than evil. That perspective fuels our 2026 planning—what to launch, what to celebrate, and what to cut. If you’re craving clarity, this conversation offers a blueprint: audit your energy, choose impact over attention, honor your need to replenish, and build a vision that aligns with your values. Ready to protect your peace and amplify your voice? Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs the reminder, and leave a review with your Q4 non-negotiable—we’ll feature our favorites next week. Follow me on Instagram at: shontrapowell_provennotperfect Follow me on Facebook at: Proven Not Perfect™️ Watch and listen on YouTube: Proven Not Perfect™️ Join the community for ideas and events at www.provennotperfect.com. I'd love to hear what you think!

    50 min
5
out of 5
14 Ratings

About

This is a show for women who wear many hats and who have held themselves to an unhealthy measure of success. This show will deposit nuggets for your own self reflection and self improvement. This audio series builds upon the book - Proven Not Perfect: 7 Truths of a Corporate Executive, Mommy, Wife and Christian (published 2018, Amazon Best-Seller).