Word’s Biggest Garage Sale was founded by Yasmin and her husband Leigh Grigaliunas in 2013 as a charity garage sale event with the aim of repurposing dormant goods in an effort to have a positive impact on people, planet & profit with purpose, with profits going towards children’s cancer research.
“Embrace Your Weirdo”
Brisbane Entrepreneur, Mum and wonderful human, Yas Grigaliunas joined the team on the roadshow in Brisbane! She shared her very special message that:
“Leadership is an act of service, rather than a title, and everyone, everywhere has the ability to lead”
This is what Yas had to share when we asked her our Fast Four questions!
What are you most passionate about?
I have always loved people and I’m addicted to helping people, I love solving big problems, usually the things that most people think are too hard. My passion is to ‘make a difference’, so it’s always been less about what I do and more about why I do it. I realised at a point in time that ‘giving’ was the thing that triggered this energy inside me. I love giving so much, that it has always been an undercurrent in anything I do. If I see a problem, I naturally want to take action to improve things, whether this be for people, organisations or the environment. I’ve never just walked past a problem and thought, well I can’t do anything about that. Instead I’ll roll my sleeves up and assist however I can.
I’ve been known to jump in the Brisbane River to rescue Lime Scooters that vandals have thrown over bridges. I just can’t walk past things like that!!
What three strengths do you believe you possess as a leader, and how do you use them in your role?
I have been described by teams I’ve worked with as ‘energising’ and I believe I have the ability to inspire and galvanise people around causes and issues, so they can bring their best selves to the job. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. I can keep the priorities straight, lift co-workers up, stand behind my beliefs, stay organised, bring confidence to what I do, aim for BHAGs, love what I do and create a supportive environment where people can grow, all while it being safe to make mistakes.
If I had to pick three strengths, I’d best summarise them as:
1. Energising and positive
2. Trust and transparency
3. GSD (Getting Stuff Done) and execution
What do you do when you are faced with obstacles and challenges?
I love challenges and obstacles, as I feel they provide us with the opportunity to grow (I genuinely love it when things are hard, I get bored when things are too systematic). A growth mindset is actually one of the most valuable traits you can build. It’s more important to me as a leader than a fixed mindset. I would rather bring a new team member who failed school and has a growth mindset, rather than a top performing academic student with a fixed mindset. When there’s a challenge or obstacle, I’ll look immediately at all the facts, remain calm and then being planning around how to break it into smaller bite sized chunks to work through systematically.
I’m not into catastrophising things (or negativity), it doesn’t help anyone and just wastes time. I tend to then chip away at the problem or obstacle, using different strategies and techniques until it’s resolved. I never ever give up!!
What piece of advice would you give to your younger self?
Embrace your weirdo! Really work hard to love the parts of yourself that are different and make you unique, even if that means you feel like an outlier wherever you are. I tell my children that they should never ever feel like they need to blend in, especially when they were born to stand out. I blended in when I was younger, often thinking that I was too much for some people. I realised as I grew older, that these were not my people. I feel strongly that we need to be authentic, be vulnerable and be the best version of ourselves, even when (especially when) it’s unpopular.
There is power in helping people get excited about what they do, and inspiring and motivating them to unleash their full potential, now that’s leadership.
