Hello and welcome to Lonely At the Top, the podcast where high level leaders speak the truths they rarely get to say out loud. I'm your host, Rachel Alexandria, former psychotherapist turned soul medic to founders, executives, and decision makers navigating the emotional weight of leadership. If you've ever felt the strain of being responsible for everything and no one you can really talk to about it, you're in the right place.
In each episode, we go behind the curtain with a courageous leader to explore the real cost of holding power and what it takes to stay human at the top. 📍 Today's guest is Susana Perczek. She's a corporate stylist With over a decade of experience helping C-Suite executives and women leaders harness their professional style as a strategic asset to amplify their presence, influence, and impact.
Before transitioning into style, she built a career in advertising, specializing in brand storytelling, mastering how visuals design and narrative shape perception. Today, she applies that expertise to help women craft a powerful and authentic leadership presence. Through style. I am so excited for this conversation because I, I, so I've worked with stylists a couple different times in my life.
Uh, it's how I learned that as a larger chested person, I should not wear dropped, uh, the dropped armpit thing because it makes me look so much heavier. That was the very first thing I ever learned from a stylist. I was like, oh. Oh yeah, that's not flattering on me.
Oh,
I think it's called the Raglan sleeve, right?
Is that right?
Raglan sleeve. That's right,
Yeah. Welcome Susanna.
Oh, well, wonderful to be here today. Thank you for the invitation.
Absolutely. We met through, I believe, Jessica Lackey's membership, and I was just, I was really taken by your passion for what you do, and I really feel like you have something meaningful and profound to say to our audience. So I would love to get into the conversation.
You came from a background in advertising
Correct.
Where, where were like, what were you doing back then? I.
So, uh, to bring you way, way back, uh, to put it into context, since I was a very, very young girl, I always was connected to the arts. So anything that had to do with creativity, it was my playground. So I would spend hours drawing and painting and. Putting shows and putting the clothes for the show and then doing the invitations for the show and then sort of forcing my parents or anybody that was in the house to pay, you know, to come and see us perform. So
That sounds so fun.
Either that or I would play store that I had a store so you know, can kind of giving you the idea, but always very connected to creativity and to beauty. From a very, very young age, really passionate about dressing and and fashion. However, 'cause I have so much talent with drawing and painting, I, I decided to pursue a career in the fine arts and graphic design.
And within that, I, uh, once I graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in advertising, that's where my career got me into, you know, the world of , advertising, storytelling, and branding.
Mm. Mm-hmm. And, you were in advertising for how long?
I was in, in advertising for about, I would say 10 years of my life. You know, I started from a, from the very bottom , working in the studio when the computers, I'm dating myself, but when the apple, you know, really came about and I was like really putting together all the designs from the art directors and from then on, you know, I started,
growing my career, and then I stepped into, you know, they, I, they, they saw my leadership capacity. They knew, they saw how much I, I, I work great with people. I, you know, I had the qualities of a leader. So the agency at the time I was living in Miami, you know. I said, I, I want more than just to be working in, in the studio with the, with art directors.
So that's how I stepped into the world of management. And I became an assistant to the print production director, and then she saw that I had the capacity that then , I became a, a project manager, a print production manager. And then from there I moved to San Francisco. And then I stepped into a bigger role where I was like. The, the director of the whole print production department, which at the time, you know, the internet was starting to be a player. So really print was the big deal. It's like probably when you remember, you know, all the September issues for any magazines were
Oh yeah.
the yellow books, you
Mm-hmm.
was waiting for Vogue or , GQ or whatever magazine, if you were connected to the world of fashion, it was like the big thing. And then, you know, billboards and outdoor and newspapers, everything, you know, print had a, had a big, it was predominant. So , my role was involved because not only I was managing the creative and I was working with the creatives, but I was also working with. Account services because I needed to put together all the budgets and make sure we stayed within budget, but then also working with all the outside vendors because I, if I made a mistake, it was me, or if there was no ad to send and it was a white page on the newspaper that
Oof.
come. So it was like wearing a lot of hats.
And a lot of responsibility.
responsibility and
how to manage a lot of people. So that's.
where, that's where my, my journey, which I've already had it, but the idea of presence became very, very important.,
So I knew how like presence will be. I would have to be and speak and present myself with a creative department in a very different way to get their attention than an
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. You're talking kind of about code switching too, right? Like the way that we appear and the, the language that we use, our whole presence has to be different for different audiences, and I think that's more and more true. The higher up you go on the ladder.
Yes, Absolutely. Yeah. Absolutely. And as I was also being inspired and influenced when I would see that there were some women at the top, it happened to be that , when I was working in one of the agencies in San Francisco, the owner was a woman. I. And she had such an incredible presence.
I remember her name was Anyeshka Winkler. So like you knew when she was coming into the room and she really inspired me as well as another, um, colleague and friend. Her name is Claudia. She went into become, you know, CFO and go to big, big roles. But again, a great influence on being a woman in leadership.
Even, um, you know, at, at the time.
So you went from having so much interest in the arts and in design into, this career where you rose higher and higher and higher. Can you tell us about a time in your life where everything probably looked like you were performing really well, like everything was great, but you felt inside something needs to change.
Yes. and that Rachel was the time when, um, I was married at the time and we decided to start a family.
And that for me was like, you know, when, when I was pregnant I was like, oh, yes, I'm coming back. It's like, of course, you know, especially with the first child, you just have no idea what you're getting into. And once, you know, we, we had our daughter and, um, the reality hit, you know, it was from the idea that working in advertising, as many people know, they're really, really long hours. Especially the creatives.
They start, they get going at 11, know, and then for them, 7:00 PM it's like, it's lunchtime, you know, it's like their lives and then in the middle of day they go on a ride bike and then they get inspired and it's like, you know, whatever.
So for me it started to be like, guys at five o'clock I need to check out. You know, I, have a family, now I need to go. And then I started to get the looks, you know, and that was because at that level I was very organized, so I wanted to get everything ready. But as I mentioned before, sometimes I was dependent on the creatives.
See, I didn't get those files, and if I didn't get those approvals, we couldn't move through the process. So, it became an issue where it started to create a lot of friction with what I also wanted for myself, besides my work as an executive, as much as I loved it, but it was my commitment to my family, the commitment to my daughter, and seeing that, you know, those early ages and the early stage, that I wasn't gonna be present for her and I wasn't finding a way where the agency was willing to compromise with me. And also at the time, we didn't have Zoom, we didn't have the technology and the idea, especially after COVID, that it's possible to sort of have more of a blend. It was like either black or white. Either you're in or you're out. And after much consideration, um. I decided that it was time , I was gonna step down because I, I, I am a leader.
I'm somebody that's always lived her life with excellence. So I wanted to be, uh, be there for my daughter in the early stages knowing that I was gonna be building the foundation. That if my daughter had a very strong foundation, then the time will come where I was gonna be able to either re-enter the workforce or find something else.
But I, I, I was just not happy, uh, at work anymore.
Mm-hmm. That makes sense. So you made the decision to step down from that executive position and then you were a very dedicated mother for a while, and then when you came back to work. You decided to do something very different.
Yes. Uh, in fact, three years later I had my son. Then, you know, um, when I went back , you know, also the industry had changed.
Also I was different and the industry and the industry was different. , And that's when , again, it, I, I wasn't, I, I, I've always been a person that is not willing to sacrifice her life, because I think life is precious and life is happening in the moment, and we really don't know. So I've always been very committed to living my best life, you know, and going for big things. And in a way that if many of the listeners or viewers are wondering like, where is she from? I was born in Buenos Aires and then I moved to Peru where I did all my, my high school, and then I decided to move to the United States. Always willing to go and take a risk and do something for what's possible for like, what can I create? What, what can I see the world? You just don't know the possibilities.
That's really, that's really the mark of a leader, right? The, the willingness to take risks is the mark of a true leader.
Thank you. I think, I think it's one of them for sure. You know, along with being, wanting to be a li lifelong learner and having curiosity. So I wasn't willing to, to sacrifice my family. Because of my own family history, it was also for me, very, very important to create something very strong. It was something that I, it was in, like in my DNA, so yeah,
I decided that, you know, I was gonna close the chapter in, advertising as much.
I wanna say I, there were so many aspects that I absolutely loved, and I still have like. The best fond memories of like, putting the music all out and just rocking it in the studio and just, you know, like, or the excitement of when a campaign becomes international and it's out and you're seeing it everywhere you go and the Muni or in a Subway. So yes. Um, but that, that I knew like anything, it it, it had to end for something new to begin.
And what is the new thing that you began?
So something that I briefly mentioned, you know, since I was also a very, very young girl, I used to play with clothes and it started in my grandma's, uh, closet when she would be getting ready. She was very much, fond of the arts and especially music. So when she would be getting ready to go to the opera, you know, in Buenos Aires to go to the Teatro Colon which is like the Kennedy Center here in dc. Um, she would get all dressed and I would be fascinated watching her. So I would put on her heels and her pearls and her lipstick. A purse. And I would pretend that I also was going to a show. The show was going to watch tv, but as long as I would behave, my grandma was like, uh, play with everything you want. You know, as long as you don't break my pearls and you know, then I would stay, you know, at the time that Buenos Aires with. With a nanny and my grandma would go and I would be like, as happy as I could be, you know, wearing all her things.
So I've always, at my, at a very young age, I've been connected to fashion and to clothes and, and being almost like stepping into a persona. When you wear something, it's like you become somebodyelse. And that really stays through my, my high school through coming to the United States. And it also helped me because as much as, let's say when I was. New into the United States, and as much as I have blonde hair and you can think that I'm American, I would start speaking and I wasn't, but it was like my clothes allow me to almost have a different identity and be part of the group. And then also allow me to be very aware, like when I wanted to stand out, what could I, do with my clothes so that I will be unique and I would stand out. So with that said, because I was so passionate about clothes, I decided, you know what? I should do something with this because I do have a talent. To dress and to see designs and to see like what's coming next that even during the days in advertising, women will say, Susana, can, can you shop for me? Or Can we go shopping together?
Yeah.
and, and I would say, sure. And then everybody, you know, they were like, oh my God. So anyways, when I was thinking, okay, how am I gonna reinvent myself? I said, I want to do this. That it, it, it brings me so much joy. And uh, short story, I decided to start again, being a willing to be humble. I went into a store and I started working as a sales associate and when I, when I did, very, very quickly, every woman was either saying, I want to take you home. can you dress me? I want exactly what you have. Or you know, like, I want you or I wanna take you home, or what, you've made this so simple for me. Dressing can be such a daunting, overwhelming, stressful experience, and you switched it around that.
I just feel great. Everything works and I'm ready to go. So in a short period of time, I said, I think I have a business opportunity here. And the more that I saw that, uh, that's how then I step into my styling business that now I've been doing for, it's gonna be 10 years.
Oh my gosh. Well, congratulations. 10 years is, that's a remarkable milestone being in business. And love, I love the story of you being the young girl. Dressing, you know, watching your grandmother dress up and playing dress up. 'cause I feel like I resonate with that. I think that is a very particular girlhood experience.
You know, my mom also would dress up for things and put on the fancy perfume from her tray of fancy perfumes. Right. And get her jewelry outta the box. And you know, watching a parent beautify themselves. Is such a pleasing experience, you know, because they, it, it, they makes them feel special. It, it feels like a ritual, which our American culture is so, you know, depleted of, we don't really have a lot of healthy rituals in this culture.
And so that's kind of a, a small ritual to participate in. Like my parent is going to go out and be. Somewhere where, somewhere elevated, right? And, and they're dressing up for respect , and admiration, and that feels like a wonderful thing as a child to celebrate. And then you wanna participate in.
I mean, um, a thousand percent you've touched on many, many, uh, key areas that I think are even a conversation in themselves. You know, the idea of rituals and the power of rituals in the idea of, being inspired by seeing somebody else. Like you said, you saw your, your, your mother.
You know, I saw my grandmother, I also saw my mom, you know, and I also grew up in a culture where, especially in Buenos Aires, you know, beauty is very much, uh, like a theme. You know, it's, it's, it's, it's a capital that is very much like, uh, like Madrid or Paris or new york and, and people dress. You know it's a culture, where it's, it's part of the conversation and, for women also to show , and men as well, to show the feminine side, the, the, the beauty side.
So you bring this wonderful cultural heritage and, and awareness to so many women who really deeply need it. Um,
Hmm. I wanted to ask you. What is it that you see so many, 'cause you work with a lot of C-Suite women specifically, right?
Yes.
what is it that you see, because you're kind of in the back door, right? Like you're, you're behind the scenes, you're behind the, like the dressing screen with them.
Yes.
what do you see about the weight that they are carrying and how they're handling that and, and how can you use clothing and wardrobe attire to help lighten that load?.
Wow. What a wonderful question. I have a couple of answers. One of them is that for many of these women executives, they are operating in a man's world where the energy is very masculine as far as you know, the energy of you need to be decisive. You need to be making decisions, you need to be direct, you need to be sharp.
So a lot of masculine energies. So sometimes with many of them, my work is about inviting them to bring in their femininity. That it's okay. You can be masculine, but also you can bring that femininity. And how can you do that? One way is with your clothing. So as you are bringing in, you know, the beauty has more of an feminine energy, so inviting them to dress in ways that they don't need to show up like men, or they don't need to.
Like I said, you know, with this new way of dressing in the business casual. We got the memo, but we don't have a manual of what it means for a woman to dress like a business casual. What does it really mean?
Is like, forget about that business casual. Forget about this. Like, oh, I don't wanna be too much.
Oh no, I don't wanna stand out. But it's like, let's work. And like, you know who. Who Rachel is and
special, and let's allow the clothes to do the speaking. That's where branding and storytelling comes in.
So that is one way that I help women. And they have told me that they have really appreciated that, that they are perhaps in a group where there's. A hundred men and there are eight women at a, at a high level, let's say consulting firm, partner level,
And for these women to show up to this meeting and show up in a, in a blouse with flowers and maybe with one of the colors being electric green. And not that she's showing up with a white shirt and a navy blazer.
and having a dress that has flowers and it has green, it's like, whoa. And that she feels like, yeah, this is who I am. I don't need to hide that. I'm a woman. I don't, don't have to hide my qualities. And then on top of that, getting validation as well from men to say they want, that they, they were missing that energy from women.
Yeah. It's, it's such a, it's such a struggle, right? Because it is still in higher levels of power, still very much a man's patriarchal world, right? At least in, in this culture. And, and in certain industries.
And in certain, especially certain industries for sure. And. It's so interesting that they, there's both a culture of suppression and blend in, and then there's what happens when you make everybody conform to a, like a homeogenic way of being.
It's, it's boring and we're missing each other, you know? So I, I also notice. 'Cause I've been in my industry for, you know, almost 20 years, so I've heard so many of these deeper conversations and I notice people wanting to blend in, people wanting to, to fit in so that they don't get ostracized.
But you know what else is powerful is confidence. And when a person feels like they're not masking who they are, they're just showing up as who they are. But feeling like they look great, feeling like it still fits the function. I can see how that actually achieves it, that that achieves that, that blending of like, I belong here, but I'm also being uniquely me.
You nailed it. Exactly. And that's, that's the work that I do. How can I bring the outside to match the inside? So, so dressing becomes a strategy. So that creates the alignment. And then the most important thing is that invites this woman to go for what she wants. Like if she's in this position, you know, might, I invite them to open themself up to a bigger conversation.
It's like, what else do you want? What are you going for? And sometimes one of the things they want is that they've told me, I wanna bring more women along. I wanna invite them more.
Hmm.
okay. So if that's their intention, then it's, that's why it's so important that you, you're showing up fully. they're showing up fully.
Yes. Preparing for that presentation
Being bright, obviously you have worked really hard, you come from really many of them from really great institutions of education, but I set your presence. What you are wearing, what story are you telling me? How you can be remembered? How do they know that you are in the room? And let's bring that in. And obviously just like I need help with when it comes to my numbers. And I have an accountant, know, that, that that helps me with my P&L and taxes. And she's taught me, but I still like. You manage that
You do that part? Yeah.
because it's, it's not really my thing and I'm working.
That's why they come to me and I'm like, I got you. I get it. Because we're always, if you're in a leadership, like you mentioned, you are always evolving. always being in that energy that we need to shed. Because it's like life, right? You shed and you open up to something new and you shed and you open up and that's what makes it, I think, exciting.
And also what I've seen of women that could be in their seventies, in their eighties, and they're so vibrant and alive, and because they're always thinking instead of like, oh no, I'm done. It's more like, okay, what's next?
Yeah.
The, what's the, what's next? So it's, it is this, with that invitation , that my clients are like, yeah, , let's do it Susanna.
And first they're like, oh, it's almost like stepping your feet in the water. You've never done it. And it's just, maybe we start with two pounds, with three
okay, this is, you know, where, where you feel comfortable. And like you mentioned, it's. It's really personal. There's no trend, there's no following somebody else in the office, but it's really unique to who they are and that's why people, because it's become so authentic, people connect and many times or often get, get inspired to then the permission to be themselves as well.
So it becomes like a, you know, it has that effect.
Yeah. A, a virtuous cycle Yeah, I love that. I, I have a client who I've had for many years who started out as an associate lawyer in a, not-for-profit governmental organization, NGO, whatever that stands for. I don't remember at the moment. And, uh. You know, one of her assets that she used to discount is she's very into fashion and she's so good at it.
She's, she's just got that creative eye. She can throw a great party, she can dress just to like really impress people. And she used to think like she did it because it's something that brought her a joy, but she also thought it was something that made her less successful. And over time she came to understand that it made her memorable, you know, and that people would see her as someone inspiring that it brought energy into her office and you know, she's a general counsel now and still just, is always investing energy into her fashion.
And I, I think that's part of what makes her successful, because I also think about the times I, I care somewhat about fashion. There's been plenty of times in my life where I haven't had the funds to really do create things with fashion, because I also don't like thrifting. I'm just one of these people, like I'm, I'm too highly sensitive for it.
I can't go look at 500 different pieces of clothing and not go crazy. So, , I've had plenty of experiences running a business where I'm kind of just wearing what I can put together and I don't feel as confident. I know the difference of that feeling when I'm stepping out into a photo shoot with something that my stylist has crafted and I'm like, yeah, I know.
I look freaking amazing. And that's, it's doing all of the work for, it's like, I think you said something about armor, like style as armor, and it is kind of like a. Okay, so this is very nerdy, but I play a lot of Dungeons and Dragons. I've gotten very into it. It's how I met my fiance, so. There's a, concept in Dungeons and Dragons, uh, called Hit Points.
It's like how much life your character has. Anybody who plays any video game understands you have like a certain amount of life or, or health. There's something called temporary hit points that some spells can give you. That's like bonus hit points on top of your hit points. And I kind of feel like having.
A great outfit where you know, you look amazing. You don't have panty lines. You know it's not pulling, if you stand the wrong way, it's not getting wrinkled if you don't adjust perfectly, it feels like it gives you those like , extra HP , I know this is not a metaphor for you, I get it, but some people listening might, might know some dungeons and dragon stuff it, but it's like a shield.
It's like, it's like an extra boost that you don't have to use , your life energy. Like kind of having that buffer, it's already doing that work for you.
Absolutely. You know, I do believe that, your clothing are so much more than fabrics. They're really about building experiences and they're really about life. clothes are life because you are taking them with you. whatever you decide to go and whatever you decide to do. And there will, what's beautiful and this is what I tell my clients, it's, they're there for you. They want the best
for you. if you need protection, they'll give you protection. If you need to be like. The star of the show that you will be the star of the show. If you need to feel like when, , like when you put a beautiful sweater that is like a really beautiful blanket because you need support
and the way it feels on our skin, you'll get that.
So when you start seeing that clothes are so much more, and the way you're dressed is so much more than just getting dressed, it changes your awareness, it changes, , your connection to it. And it's not about only, , besides the beauty, it's not the vanity, but it's really,
i I really go back to being strategic.
So as a woman in leadership, you can also choose the right fabrics to give the right. Um, to start a good conversation or to give the right, uh, attitude, you know, it's like, Hey, you know, this is what we're doing here. You, you're, you're giving me, you're giving me fortunately, we can use it and give messages.
Animals use other ways, right? To protect themselves or to connect, but we are visual beings. That's the the sense that we use the most, and it's unconscious. especially in the world that we live today, that we are visual communicators. I mean, everywhere these days, you know, you get photos on LinkedIn, photos on Instagram, you know, everything is very, very visual.
So then you have an opportunity to, like I said, use it, use your dressing as a strategy to propel you so that you can create more of what you want in your life.
And I, I hear in that. The more that you allow clothes to do some of that protection and support work, probably the less isolating you'll feel in your leadership. If you have something that's giving you an extra boost. Like I, I mean, I know when I'm having a rough emotional day, like you say, wearing something really soft, it feels, even though it's like.
I'm basically wearing a teddy bear. It feels so protective. For me, the experience of being alone, feeling lonely is very cold and it feels very like, um, yeah, like you wanna be in a, in a den to protect yourself. And clothes can almost be that for you. So.
yeah, absolutely. And the same thing, , that the way that we're speak describing the energy of fabrics, that's also the invitation that I, with my clients, is that when you wear a certain. Um, accessory that becomes your amulet. And this goes back to the idea of rituals that is also there to, you know, let's say going back, during the, you know, in the western world, let's say we go back to royalty
you know, the crowned represented something, you know, all the elements that they, they, they
The scepter. Yeah. Mm-hmm.
the Special necklace, right? Yeah. that communication in back then, people they were illiterate. So it was a visual communication that would say and the colors like, okay, the red represented something, the black represented something, the white represented something. But now what I say to women, it's , let's find either something from your history. Or something from today, that really is gonna be there for you. It could be a ring, it could be a a watch. It could be like for me, like they're seeing I have four necklaces
I love them. Yeah.
saw a meaning
And they all really sit in different places. You've done that so well. Yeah. but I'm, you know, this is part of, when they see me, this is like my brand.
When you meet me And she loves to layer necklaces and she, a reason why they're small. There's a reason
There's a, but it, there's also like this butterfly, for
it has the meaning of like that butterfly that goes through the caterpillar
Yeah. Renewal
Renewal. Renewal. Uh, when I mentioned that to one of my clients that were, one of her clients is Departments of Defense I offer her a butterfly, she was like, absolutely not. And first I was taken by it like, whoa, like why not?
Oh, okay.
But then I understood that in that environment, a butterfly, it was not gonna be appropriate. So
we switched it to something else where she felt for herself more comfortable. She was not a butterfly kind of person, and also with the environment that she could, but we found something that was her amulet.
I think what I say right now is like finding what that special piece that represents you that you love, that you feel connected, and then you use it just like Madeline Albright and her pins.
Sure. Yeah.
She would say how am I doing? Read my pins.
Ha ha I actually wear, it's very fine and I don't, you know, folks listening won't be able to see it. But, , on the, the video, , you can see I have a very fine chain that I wear. I don't take off basically. , And I bought this before I moved down to California and it was actually in a shop and it was just this really fine gold chain and it reminded me Of a gold chain that my mom had given me many, many years ago that I, for whatever reason, don't have anymore.
but I don't know where it went. , So there was a, speaking to a childhood thing, but also the origin of the jewelry was California.
And it's at a time when I was really trying to lean more into an abundant life.
And it just, it represents so many things for me of like finally being able to manifest several of my dreams. But I bought it before I had done that, so I, I'm absolutely with you on that. ,
I wanna change gears a little bit because I do wanna ask you to open up the private ledger for us. So when you're at the top.
Nobody really sees your balance sheet of burdens, but here we get to open the private ledger with your permission.
Oh boy. Oh.
So I wanna ask you, I'll ask you three things,
uncross my legs. I'm like with my legs,
is get comfortable.
Let like, yeah. Let me open. Shake my curls in. Okay. Yeah, go for it.
Okay, so tell us please, one cost that you've experienced of being in leadership, what it took from you emotionally or relationally or physically. I.
Mm. It's again, such a good question. I think, one thing that, that obviously required, and that was also one of the reasons why I decided to step down, it was time.
Mm. Yeah. Yeah, that it , took so much of your time from you.
Yes, so, so much from my time where, you know, I would have other commitments outside of work because the work was so consuming, I. , It started to, slowly eat up and find, you know, into my other relationships. And at the time
know, it was, you know, also it was my marriage,
and it was like, okay. We are waiting for dinner and saying, oh, I'm not coming for dinner. , And we had made plans and I had to say, well, but now it's like we're, we're behind or the creators are not ready, or some, something happened and you know, one time, two times. But then when it starts to become like, well then we're not gonna make plans anymore. And then it starts to get friction. So then you're feeling it , you start kind of like losing that. sense of balance, where the work is just taking over so much of your, of you that. Without you knowing that you're starting to become, you know, natural state is somebody that is always, you know, I love to be with people.
I'm always very optimistic. I have a lot of, like, they call like a lot of shining energies of like, let's go, let's do it. Let, and I started to become more enclosed and upset.
so, not so much fun to be around, but it was because
I was feeling like I, I didn't have, , I didn't find the freedom.
And, and I will still remember when, I was working and they told us that we needed to come into work on Labor Day. And you know, at the agency you don't get paid by the day or by the hour. It's like your salary.
Rachel, I was so mad. I said, this is the day we're celebrating work and you are making us work.
Because there was a pitch
Yeah.
They said, okay, Susanna, you can go.
They're like, nevermind.
You can go home.
yeah, I had it. It was like, like, okay, we heard enough. And then everybody looked at me because they stayed. I was like, sorry. You know what I mean? But it ways where I was like, I had enough. I mean, we're working, but on Labor Day we're also working. We don't even get Labor Day, you know,
um, so time, time I think is so valuable.
What is one invisible asset that you didn't realize you had at the time? Maybe.
. , I would say, um, the, I didn't have at the time, , , the ability to dream big.
Yeah, being able to dream doesn't always, it doesn't, it's not a tangible, right? It doesn't seem like something that you have in the bank, but the ability to be creative and think of new things and take risks is, like we said in the, in the earlier part of the episode, uh, an invaluable asset for leaders.
Yeah, so I, I think I, I had a , little sparks and that's why I did the things that I, I did. it was when I stepped out of advertising and then I decided to become an entrepreneur and start
own business and. Um, you know, to start seeing like, okay, what else is possible and what else is possible?
And now I have stepped
into a space where, envisioning a TED talk about my work. I'm envisioning a book about my work.
all these connections with all these different brands that
possible. So it's like, wow. It's like all, all of these that why not? And then I wanna cover a line of accessories don't know if they're
gonna happen, but it's like I have really allowed myself to like, it out there
and, and, and I think. Now more than ever, I'm allowing myself to dream. And I think it's just so beau, you know, it goes along with the creativity. And I think it's a good thing do that in the world that we are living today, where it feels that we, there's so much
Oppressive.
oppressiveness
and, and, um, is so unpredictable.
instead of going smaller and being fear-based, allow yourself, if you're allowed to say almost like this is allowing me also to stay in my lane much as I'm aware of what's happening to, to be in that energy. 'cause otherwise, if I really pay attention, I could get, like you said, get into a little ball and hide
you know, in a corner
and just do nothing.
But everybody that we care about needs us to show up and be bold and dream. Yeah. I love that.
And with that safe I can say, um, Rachel, I, I write a monthly article on Substack, it's called Stylist Strategy. So in December, I wrote an article about clothing as strength and joy.
feeling, you know, so a little low and it's like, where can I find strength and joy? And I apply, you know, my own medicine where I
gives me strength and joy are my clothes and are
necklaces.
And I have a few things still from my, I was able to get from my grandmother that I have
codes. Some of the jewelry she bought me when I was a young girl and a teenager. In fact, I'm wearing the earrings she gave me when I was 18
I love that. Wow.
any, any important event, I wear them and I knew today was gonna be special speaking with you. in that sense
Thank you.
like whatever that means for anybody, you know, where can you find that strength and joy and for somebody else giving, preparing a beautiful meal.
Sure.
to music or, uh, having a practice of, know, , anything, you know, learning how to a fire. It could be your way of, you know, if you, you
you have a home and you wanna, you know, light a
or anything that really makes you sing makes your soul sing.
What is one investment that you are making now for your wellbeing or for your soul?
So one, one investment that I'm doing with, um, with discipline is reading.
Mm, what are you reading?
I'm reading three books. So one is called Deep Work
Ooh. Ooh,
the other one is called The Path of Least Resistance.
ooh. Beautiful cover.
So these are like my, my daily, uh, readings that I try to, in the mornings before I start my work,
sit, I sort of connect with my day. I read for like. 25 minutes. And then at night I'm reading another book, I just started it. , And it's the story of a woman that, um, she comes from the LGBT community. She grew up in the 1930s, and
wow.
an art historian and how she uses her, work to help during the World War ii.
Wow.
To save so many of the art that the Nazis wanted to dis destroyed how she becomes
Wow.
a spy and just, oh, I just started reading it. But it's fascinating 'cause again, for me, it brings the world of Paris, the art, the design, and she mentions Pablo Picasso and Coco Chanel and,
Oh, it sounds amazing.
the
You'll have to
give us the, uh, title for the show notes in case people wanna hear about it. You can tell me later if you need to look it up.
the, , the spy art. um, I'll, I'll tell you
but it's find that, I'm
fascinating and also as a, you know, a woman, that she was LGBT and during those years and she was in a relationship
and just all the different dynamics. And again, so it's that learning oh, something that I learned .
France was the first country where women could get paid and they could become part of a union without having your husband giving you the permission to join.
Wow.
And it was only in 1920,
Only a hundred years ago. Yeah.
only a hundred years ago. So I find that all
of those elements like enrich my, my work and my
to, to women and leadership.
I'm gonna ask you, so that was your private ledger , and , those are all great answers. I'm gonna ask you two more questions and then we're gonna wrap. What do you wish more leaders felt permission to say out loud?
Since my work is mostly, you know , it is with women, I would say the invitation for women to show femininity.
Yeah, that they could say, I am a woman, I am feminine, and I am powerful.
Yeah. And I, and I, I love, I love beauty. I love
adorn. I. I love to, to create beautiful spaces. So with that energy, I'm gonna dress and show up in a certain way. I'm gonna dress
my office in a certain way. be mindful that if we're in a meeting, perhaps I'll bring, uh, a bouquet of flowers, I'll bring a
you know, so that the energy of the feminine, it's, it's more present in the environments.
I love that. For our last question, it's the time machine question. If you could go back in time,
would you say to yourself earlier in your career?
Go for it. Go for it, because as much as I've, I've gone for it, but I still, if there was maybe another episode, it's all the ways where I even,, I stopped myself. I reduced myself my early years because I thought things were not really possible.
like opportunities to where I study and then I, I had opportunities to go to one of the best art schools in the world and I got accepted and I said, no.
go Paris and work as an, do an internship at the idea of going to Europe and I didn't know French, you know, all the buts and buts
where I said, no, I'm gonna start small. And I started at a studio. Still my energy wanted me to grow, but, um, I'm very proud of where I am today, but I would've said that. And
done with my children from a very young age. You are really inviting them. I think that idea of like, create your life, go for what you want, is possible. I. It happen.
I love that. If people wanna get in touch with you to be able to use your amazing styling and strategy services, how do they find you?
They can go to my website, which is my name, SusannaPerczekStyling.com. They can also find me on LinkedIn and they can also find me on substack at under style as strategy.
So strategy.
Style as strategy
style as strategy on Substack. And for the folks who might not know how to spell your name, if they're not looking at the show notes, can you spell your name for them?
for sure. So it's S-U-S-A-N-A. then my last name is P as in Paul, ER, C as in cat, Z as in zebra, EK.
Wonderful. Wonderful. Thank you so much. I'm so glad that you've been here with us. I think this was a really interesting and helpful conversation for all of our listeners.
Perfect.
Thanks for, thanks for being with me.
it, it was a pleasure. I honestly had so much fun and it was like, had so many flavors and it is just like wonderful.
Thank you so much for listening to Lonely At the Top. If today's conversation resonated, I hope you'll give yourself permission to pause even for a moment and check in with what you might be carrying silently. You don't have to hold it all alone. If you're ready for support that goes deeper than strategy, you can learn more about working with me at RachelAlexandria.com.
If you know another leader who needs to hear this, please send it their way because, yeah, it's lonely at the top, but it doesn't have to stay that way.