SHOCEO® Reading for Success: 7 (Seven) Minutes.
For this edition of the She’s Her Own CEO® Interview Series, we are excited to introduce you to TV News Anchor, Autria Godfrey!
Autria Godfrey is an Emmy-award winning news anchor with more than a decade of on-camera experience at both the local and national level.
She got her start in Charlottesville, VA where she was weekend anchor, reporter, and eventually morning anchor. After moving to Washington, Autria worked at Fox News Channel, CBS Newspath, and eventually Tribune Broadcasting as the White House and Congressional correspondent for the DC Bureau. In 2011, Autria joined WJLA as a reporter and weekend anchor, and spent the last 6 years as morning anchor of Good Morning Washington.
Autria has covered both President Obama’s and President Trump’s inaugurations, has traveled to Nashville to report live from the Country Music Awards, and field-anchored live continuous coverage of Pope Francis’s visit to Washington DC.
Kathryn Brooks, She’s Her Own CEO®: Hi Autria, thank you for joining me today! Please share some of your early career experiences that have contributed to your career success.
Autria Godfrey, Anchor: Hello, Kathryn! I really got a great opportunity while I was a journalism major at Texas A&M that I think completely changed the trajectory of my career. As someone who wanted to be able to write creatively for television, I knew I needed to get into an internship and program that focused specifically on broadcast news. I applied for the Washington Semester program at American University and was accepted. This semester in DC gave me the opportunity to learn the city, and the style of the broadcasters I hoped to one day work alongside. I interned at WJLA-TV during this time and that ended up being what kickstarted my career. I got my first job straight from that experience in Charlottesville, VA where I learned to write, shoot, edit, produce, report and anchor ALL in one place. It was a whirlwind experience that gave me the opportunity to learn all the jobs that would eventually be attractive to future employers.
Kathryn Brooks, She’s Her Own CEO®: On ShesHerOwnCEO.com, we often talk about how one can best Lead, Provide, and Create™. Each of us, in our respective world, has opportunities to Lead Ourselves, to Provide for Others, and Create for the Larger World.
Please share with me your favorite example of how you Lead, Provide, and Create™ in your professional and/or personal world!
Autria Godfrey, Anchor: In the news business, a large emphasis is placed on serve the community. After all, the community where you live and work is both the audience you “report to” and also the source of your content. By getting to know our neighbors, coworkers, church families, etc. we find out stories, causes, injustices, or other issues that need to be highlighted or brought to the public’s attention.
One way of doing this is working with charities and non-profits whenever they need a public voice. When I would be asked to help emcee an event, or volunteer with an organization, I always tried to take it further. One charity in particular became my “pet project.” Whether it was getting them media coverage to highlight the work they were doing, or helping bring attention to an urgent need they had so that they could provide for their recipients, I made them my priority when it came to philanthropy. It was always a simple task on my end, but helped SO much to provide them a platform to get their message out without having to incur the costs of traditional marketing or advertising.
Kathryn Brooks, She’s Her Own CEO®: I can see how “giving back” really contributes to your well-rounded approach to being your own leader, Autria! On that note, being the CEO of your world can take many forms (for example, engaging in creative pursuits or being a reliable mom/sister/daughter).
Autria, in your opinion, what is the best way to achieve success and to become the boss of your world?
Autria Godfrey, Anchor: I believe people have different definitions of being “the boss.” For example, many may aspire to be the boss in the most literal sense, which is YOU are running the show. People answer to you. You call all the shots. You make all the decisions. But when I think of that position, I think of all the responsibilities that go along with such a high-profile role and that’s actually not something I’ve ever aspired to achieve. I personally do not want the weight of those responsibilities on my shoulders.
Instead, I would define being the CEO of my own world as having the freedom to make my own decisions within a job that allows my personal goals to align with my professional responsibilities. For me personally, success is being able to be fulfilled in my professional position, while still having the flexibility and freedom to chase those things that fill me up personally. I consider having that balance as having struck success.
Kathryn Brooks, She’s Her Own CEO®: You exude self-awareness and you know what you want (and what you don’t want). Any additional advice you can share with motivated, aspirational professionals?
Autria Godfrey, Anchor: The best piece of advice I was ever given was from the best man I’ve ever known: my dad. “If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.” I know this quote isn’t new and he didn’t make it up, but he repeated it on a regular basis. And he lived it. The man whistled in the shower in the mornings getting ready for work because he truly loved his job. HE thought it was the greatest job in the world. But for someone else, it might have been the most miserable job on the planet.
That brings me to my second quote to live by: “Don’t settle for what looks good on paper.” I’ve known people that have worked tirelessly to get to the top. They made sacrifices along the way, and passed up opportunities that will never come around again. And they got THE job, they got to the top, they got what they’d always wanted. And they were miserable. That’s because what they were chasing was what looked good on paper, not what fed their soul. Just because society says a position is shiny and exciting doesn’t mean it actually is what’s right for you. Follow w
hat fills you up, and the promotions and opportunities will come.
Kathryn Brooks, She’s Her Own CEO®: Autria, thank you for sharing your story of personal and professional success!
For more discussion, check back for my 6/2/20 video interview with Autria on “CEO Live! with Kathryn Brooks” later this week!
Looking for even more #CEO inspiration? Check out my other #CEO interviews and be sure you’re subscribed below.
Kathryn
One Response
Mark Rose
Very nice job.