In a world filled with unexpected challenges, today’s guest has transformed her life’s journey into a beacon of support and guidance for widowed parents.

For two decades, she led transformation projects for IBM across five continents, mastering the art of managing cross-functional teams and implementing innovative business solutions. However, at 43 years old, her life took an unforeseen twist when she became a widowed parent to two young children. She discovered that resources for widowed parents were scarce, so she decided to fill that gap.

She created “The Widowed Parent Podcast,” an insightful show that explores the real-life stories of widowed families, providing a platform to share their perspectives, reflections, and invaluable advice. She’s the author of two books: “Future Widow: Losing My Husband, Saving My Family, and Finding My Voice” and “Widowed Parents Unite: 52 Tips to Get Through the First Year, from One Widowed Parent to Another.”

She founded the Widowed Parent Institute, further solidifying her commitment to helping others navigate the challenges of solo parenting after loss. Her work has been described as “real and relevant, intermixed with a sense of hope for the future.” 

Please join me in welcoming Jenny Lisk. 

Join us in a heartfelt conversation with Jenny Lisk as she shares her remarkable journey from corporate leadership to empowering widowed parents, all while redefining the meaning of leadership and turning grief into a powerful force for change.

In this episode, we discuss:

🎙️ Empowering Widowed Parents: Jenny’s journey from leading transformation projects at IBM to becoming a widowed parent led her to create valuable resources for others in similar situations. Her podcast, books, and institute offer support and guidance to widowed parents navigating the challenges of solo parenting after loss.

🎙️ Leadership in Action: Her perspective on leadership involves recognizing gaps between the current state of the world and its potential. She emphasizes the importance of closing those gaps, a principle she has applied in her own life, from her college experiences to her work supporting widowed parents.

🎙️ Turning Grief into Purpose: Following a life-altering event, Jenny transformed her “grief idea” of starting a podcast into a mission to help widowed parents. Her journey highlights the power of resetting one’s thinking, intentionally networking, and making a project meaningful.

🎙️ Building a Supportive Network: She underscores the significance of building and leveraging networks. Her experiences, including her role as an intern in Washington, DC, and her interactions with Dorie Clark, showcase how connections and relationships can play a vital role in personal and professional growth.

Listen to this episode, and you’ll discover how Jenny Lisk turned her life’s plot twist into an inspiring plot boost for widowed parents and find out why leadership means stepping into the gap

Links

• Jenny Lisk on Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter/X.
• http://www.jennylisk.com & http://www.widowedparentinstitute.com 
• Check out Jenny’s YouTube channel.
• Listen to The Widowed Parent Podcast

Books mentioned in this episode:

• “Widowed Parents Unite: 52 Tips to Get Through the First Year, from One Widowed Parent to Another” by Jenny Lisk 
•  “Future Widow: Losing My Husband, Saving My Family, and Finding My Voice” by Jenny Lisk 
• “Stand Out: How to Find Your Breakthrough Idea and Build a Following Around It” by Dorie Clark 

On the Schmooze is a podcast that features interviews with talented professionals who have overcome challenges to achieve success. I ask probing questions, and guests share untold stories about their leadership journey and how they built and sustained their professional network.

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