Sharon Fallon
As a Human Resources expert on behalf of Dignity Health, Sharon Fallon has built her career with the focus of empowering others, and she's learned how to empower herself along the way. A veteran, Gilbert Leadership graduate, HR professional, and CEO of the Fallon squad, Sharon is on the journey to overcome her biggest fear of all - greatness!
Episode Transcription
Guiding Growth. Conversations with Community Leaders in this podcast will explore the human journey of leaders, their stories of humility, triumph roadblocks and lessons learned. Come join us as we journey together and uncover the questions you've always wanted to know. Yeah, yeah. This podcast is brought to you by the Gilbert Chamber of Commerce providing resources, connections and belonging for business professionals and rocket space. An event and meeting venue in the heart of the East Valley with a full service for person podcast studio. So today we have a special soul in our midst.
This is someone who you just every time that you were around this individual you feel better about the world and about yourself. I want to start singing. Yeah, she's a veteran. She's a human resource expert. Gilbert leadership graduate Ceo of the Falun squad including three beautiful, intelligent kids. Today we have Sharon Fallon with us. Sharon Fallon. Oh my gosh sarah thank you. It's such a pleasure to be here. I'm actually glad you're here. I thought maybe you were going to sing her trail. No, no. All right.
So we're going to start with what we call rapid fire round rapid fire. Here we go. Ready. Sure. Morning beverage of choice. Oh, black tea, irish black tea specific. How long does it take for you to get ready in the morning, depends on what I have to do. I would say an hour beach or mountains. Mountains with a lake name. One thing you can't live without James Fallon Favorite sports team. See I don't have one I understand. Thank you saying the chiefs and he'll be happy. The chief.
The chief. Where is the most beautiful place you've been? Sigonella Sicily. I might have to try that place. Okay, spender or saver. A little bit of both. A little bit of both. I can see that you understand that? I'm on both sides describe yourself in three words. Oh gosh, accepting, loving direct. Do you love your house? I enjoy my house. What's your favorite room in your house? We have a parlor come over sarah, I absolutely. Well, glass half full or half empty. Of course it's always full, awesome.
Thank you to phoenix Mesa Gateway Airport for their support with nonstop service to 60 plus cities. Gateway airport makes traveling just plain easy visit gateway airport dot com. For more information. Okay, so now I want to ask you a little bit about the real Sharon dig in deep with us here and let's let's go to the beginnings, talked about your childhood and as you grew up the influences you had in the beginning. Obviously mom and dad probably. Yes, of course. What was that like? Oh wow. So now you're asking me be vulnerable, which is where I'm trying to grow into being more vulnerable.
So I am the oldest of three sisters. Um Yes, mom and dad, I would say the one who influenced me the most was my aunt Maggie. She was essentially our nanny. She was my mom's aunt. Um my mom and dad divorced and she was a single mom. And our Aunt Maggie took care of us and I would say that she was most influential, not educated. I don't even think she could read. However she would sit us on her lap while we read to her and she loved us unconditionally.
So I think no matter what we did, we knew that Aunt Maggie would love and embrace. Um I'm a protector because I do have three younger sisters. I wouldn't say I'm a Mama bear, but I am a cougar. If you mess with my, when you mess with my family. My parents got divorced when I was 11. My mom did remarry, my stepfather who is a wonderful man. Um they've been together for oh my gosh a bit. Now mom, please don't hate me because I don't remember your anniversary how long you've been married?
I got to tell you my family is absolutely amazing. I have my three younger sisters are oh my gosh, amazing individuals who are individuals who is very confident in who they are and they inspire and motivate me to be a better human being, right? I have all nieces. four nieces who are just Great human beings. And I have my three, I married and and met Jimmy Fallon. I met Jimmy Fallon probably about 32 years ago. He's been my best friend for 31. Um We have three beautiful, intelligent Children.
That again motivate me to be the human who I am today. All girls. No, we have two daughters and a son who said that female genetics are strong in this house. They are. Um, I would tell you that. Jimmy, Fallon said that, yeah, I'm a little hostile to uh, um, having males. But yes, two daughters and a son, brilliant, brilliant, loving individuals who I know that's going to shape the world to be a better place, who are shaping the world to be a better place. So I love that you say that you're compassionate in your direct, it wouldn't automatically assume that you served.
You were in the navy, correct? That's correct. How did you end up serving? That's a great question. I wanted to be a flight attendant, but mommy said Sharon anyone could be a flight attendant. I wouldn't say that I was confident enough to go to college. You know, I was not a great student. I've matured in my intellect and education and I am a forever learner. So I felt like my only, my choice at the time was to go and serve in the military? I can say that it's probably one of the best decisions I ever made.
I learned a great deal about myself on the world and I enjoy doing it. Do you travel much. So great question. Sigonella Sicily was one of the places that I traveled. I was in Puerto rico actually was stationed in Maine and s Brunswick which is now decommissioned. It's a P three aircraft aircraft squadron. I was an aviation electrician. So I worked on the electrical system of a P three aircraft. Right? And I also worked on the flight line. Hmm, that sounds amazing. And I'm sure many women served alongside you.
Yes, there were many women and back 30 years ago. It was kind of old navy, right? Um, so I had to overcome some challenges there, but it made me and shaped me to who I am today. But what were some of those challenges that you faced? Oh, sarah male dominant, right? Still kind of woman make coffee. Um, kind of thing. You're aviation electrician. Are you sure? How did you do that? Well, you know, I had to score, you take a test and score the way you did. So kind of some stereotypical actions.
They're also, I would say in aviation there was, there weren't that many black women, especially in my craft. Yes. There were others in the squadron, but not necessarily as an aviation electrician. Right? So overcoming some of the typical stereotypes, improving myself as you know, um, a human and individual, um, was challenging. What do you pull from that experience now as you look at your career in your path today? So I'm kind of pulling back and looking back the lens of it? What do you find inspires you today that you've gained from that time period.
Other women, Right? Because I feel as though that well, what I know to be true is that I can't stand here today. Of course not without my my own efforts, but other women, other women who paved the way for me to stand and to stand strong. There are sometimes Sarah that I'm like, you know, I don't know if I could do this. But then I looked back and like what do you mean you can't do this when there were others who did not have the opportunities that you do that did so much with so little right?
So the other women that paved the way and I love that you call your husband Jimmy Fallon. Every time you say his first and last name, every time you referenced him, I think that's so fun. How did you two meet? Oh well what's interesting about Jimmy Fallon is I actually call him James. He's my James. And when I first met his family, his family said to me Sharon you can call him jimmy, we call him jimmy. And I said you know he's your jimmy but he's my James until I just love his name.
I love the way it sounds like a song when it comes out of my mouth and it makes me smile. But I met Jimmy Fallon at N. A. S Brunswick. He was a P. Three pilot and I was the aviation electrician that worked on the electrical system of P. Three. And he actually went to enlisted parties and we got to know one another, we got to talking being friends, that's how we met one another, just having conversations, becoming friends. And then we found love. Ouch! And yes, right, and here we are 30 years later and he certainly wouldn't want to break it off knowing that you control the right, right, right.
You know, so I'm intrigued because one of the things you mentioned your bio here is my biggest fear is greatness and we've only just started this conversation with you, but I can already sense there's a lot of greatness in you. So how is this your biggest fear? Talk to me about that, Right, thank you. So Sharon Fallon sometimes can't get out of her own way, get off her own head. And I remember participating in this meditation series with Oprah and Deepak chopra, can I say those names?
And it was pretty much how do you get out of your own way to be successful, to create the environment that you want? One of the questions that oh, proposed was what is your greatest fear? And I was quiet and I asked myself Sharon what is your greatest fear? And I remember greatness coming to mind, I'm like, wait, what does that mean? You know, not that I want to be great, like Oprah Winfrey, not that I want to be great, like Michelle Obama, but just being afraid of what I can be, you know, and how scary that is when you don't have a roadmap that says okay, when you get to this path, this is what happens.
So I'm afraid of what happens if I get out of my own way. What does happen? Move those roadblocks and become me? So I'm so that's my biggest fear. Greatness is that journey when you're still on or have you overcome this? Oh my gosh! So I would say that as long as I'm alive, I'm always going to be becoming, I'm not going to arrive. So I would say I haven't overcome that fear. I am walking more towards it. That's why I am here today. Thank you Sarah and then propose this idea.
What would happen if that fear didn't exist? What would, what would there be? What could there be? Oh wow, that's a great question. One that I will have to think about. I just think that it would be, I don't know, can I tell you this? I don't know if I want it to go away completely, that's your edge right? Because if it goes away completely then what else is there? Right. My as we do these conversations as we have these conversations with other leaders, I feel like that's actually something that is very common in some of our greatest leaders.
Is that trepidation that reserve a little bit of you know what if something great happens and how do I navigate that? How do I not let myself down right? Um I talk about my motivating forces and it's my family, my Children, it's my husband and it's like if I step out there, what does that mean? You know, I don't want to let them down, which is incredible because they're they're the people whose love is unconditional, where you can't lie down, right? Mhm. You're absolutely right. And what would you tell them?
Just do it? You've got this, you're absolutely right. So you make a career now out of empowering other people. That's the path you've come to today. How'd you get there? I have a passion to help people when while I was in the Navy I can even when I was a child, I a young adult I volunteered, but specifically when I was in the Navy downtown main um Brunswick maine, I would go and volunteer and there were vets and there were more mature adults just telling their stories and I have a passion to one listen to understand and then help them identify whatever hurdles that they may encounter so they can be their best selves.
Um and I feel as though that empowered people folks that know what they're roadblocks are. If they can overcome them, they'll be their best selves, which creates better communities, which creates better systems and hopefully create a better world. So how do empowered people break down those walls in an organization or in a community? Great question. So Sarah first starts by listening with the intent to understand, right? and putting your own agendas aside. You know, if we are truly trying to create a great organization, a great community, a great world.
We need to listen, we need to listen to one another. We need to understand that the person in front of me is a human and deserves the dignity and respect that I deserve, right? So why not listen to understand, see where those issues are so that we can come together and make solutions. So you've got a lot of inspirations in your life with your family. You talked a little bit about that outside your family. What what inspires you there? What where do you draw some strength from?
Do you have any sources that you were willing to share with this and that? Yes. Well right now it's my uh the peloton instructors who gets me motivated to work out. But no, I have a tribe, you know, I have a network of you know, men and women who are beautifully brilliant who hold me accountable Sarah to your point, who loved me unconditionally. That not only going to be the wind beneath my wings, but it's also going to sit me down and say, hey, you know what Sharon, you kind of missed the mark there, Let's talk through that.
So I have a great group of individuals that not only keep me grounded but also keep me floating high? Yeah. What about resources? You have any sources out there that you follow that you find inspiration? Will it be business resources or books or anything like that? Is your tools you use? Sure, yes, I do enjoy reading. I enjoy meditation. I mentioned Depok chopra that keeps me grounded. I also listened to podcasts, I enjoy Bernet browed, Yes, I really enjoyed her. Um right now the podcast that I found a few months ago was conversations with a black man and you know, I like to, you know like I said, I don't really like to hear myself talk or to share my story.
I like to listen to other folks stories so many times that I can understand someone else's experience. I enjoy that and that's where I learned from. I got a surprise for you. What is that going to get to listen to your own podcast here, That is not going to be fun. Maybe on your belt on, I don't know. Yeah, it could be fun, it could be fun. Um I do, I enjoy reading and I love that you say meditation, meditation I think is a really important exercise to separate your being from your thoughts and sort of reorganized what it is you want to do and where you're going, it's important for me to be quiet Sarah, you know a little bit about me and you know that I can run really fiery.
Um and so meditation helps ground me and I don't want to say neutralize, but it kind of put some things in perspective, right? Because my thoughts are kind of all over the place. Um and meditation helps kind of bring them in. And yeah, narrows it in focus. Is it in the human resources? It's a whole universe in itself. How did you get into that? Oh, interesting. Well while my Children, I can take a step back, I kind of have this untraditional path to where I am right.
So in the Navy met James Fallon fell in love, got married, had Children. I knew that before we had Children, I wanted to be a stay at home mom. I wanted to be home with our Children. I wanted to prepare them for the world and that's another podcast. But um while they were in school, I was very integrated in their school. You know, I focused on being that liaison between staff and parents. And first for some reason, people like me and they're kind of drawn to me and so I I use that I use that platform for lack of a better word to understand people more and help them be them their best selves.
Then I went to college when my Children started school, I went to college and got my degree in Applied Psychology which focuses on organization and people and not so much clinical psychology, which focuses on people's problems. I don't think I could do that all day, but just really enjoyed it. I really enjoyed it. And so that's how I got into human resources After I graduated from college, I went back to volunteering because it was 2008, and the job market was horrible. So it's like go back to what you love.
So I started volunteering and they loved me and they hired me and I became a manager and my passion was still working directly with people. And so then that's how I got into human resources. Did you go to school with your Children at the same college? That's so funny. No, while they were in grade school I went to A. S. U. And got my degree in applied Psychology. But we did do homework at the same time around the dinner table. That would be an interesting concept going to college with your kids at the same time.
That would be something I will tell you though after when my Children started applying for college they said mom, why? Why didn't you wait until after we went to college before you got a degree Because then I could be first graduate. So now you are at dignity health. How did you work your way to dignity Health and what you do today? Can I say plug for Gilbert leadership right now. Right, thank you. I was introduced to dignity health. During my year at Gilbert Leadership. Their culture is for real.
It's amazing. Um Their approach is very connected to who I am to the individual, the human we treat the human, we heal them right holistically and I fell in love with the culture and since then I was looking for opening and one opened and I'm like, I'm going to go for it. And I will also give a plug to one of the cno who also was in my class and Gilbert Leadership, who said to me sharing you would be great at dignity. Health. So that's how I got to dignity.
Help through Gilbert leadership. So thank you. There you go, connections made, connections made. And it connected with my passions. Well, when I heard that you had joined dignity health Team, I could see immediately the match between who you are and what they stand for. Thank you. Okay, so flipside of happiness challenges, Let's talk about what challenges Sharon has to deal with in her world. Maybe not so much from a employee job, but maybe you're just in general. What are the challenges you run through? Getting out of my own way out of my own head?
That's my largest challenge. I got a little story for you. We changed one of our bedrooms into a home gym and James Fallon put these mirrors on the wall for me and it's performed its reform, right? But also one day when I was writing, I it came to me, you know what you are your only competition, right? So now when I look in that mirror, Yes, I may check out my form to make sure I'm doing the right squat. But I also remind myself every day that you are your only competition?
So if you don't do it's because of you. Unless you let the noise in your head tell you otherwise correct. And so it's just kind of every day, just a reset of you know what? You're your only competition. One of the statements you made in your bio is I'm not perfect, but I'm perfectly me. What does that mean to you? That I embrace all of me because Sarah maybe Ben and Derek, um we compare ourselves, we compare ourselves with others. You know, if we don't have perceived achievements.
Um, and I had to come to the realization that you know what Sharon Fallon, you're not perfect, but you are perfectly you so embrace that, embrace your challenges, embrace your imperfections and overcome them, Love them and then just continue becoming becoming the great person that you are. Yeah, that's beautiful. I like that. I exercise something similar in motherhood, but I'm not a perfect mom, but I'm the best mom they'll ever have right on a little bit of grace. And I think that one of my mantras, I don't think I wrote it is you know, Sharon just approach everything with grace and ease.
You continue down this path of getting out of your way? What's next? What do you think that the future is gotten store for you. If you were to look in that crystal ball that we all look into more involved in the community. That's that's where my heart is. There is an organization that I'm looking at. Can I say House of Refuge that just really aligns with my values and who I am and the fact that I'll be interacting with folks who had hurdles and they're overcoming some challenges and so if I can help them identify what those are and provide them some resources to empower themselves.
Hey, I think that that's what it's about, right being on this earth and making your interactions with other people if you can leave them in a better place than they were when they encountered with you. I call that success. That is success. That is success. That's what's next for me is what can this human form due to make others better? Beautiful. You think Sarah just soaking it up, Get it up. When I, as I said in the beginning, you feel better about yourself about the world when you're in the presence of Sharon Fallon.
So there is a big hugger and I'm moving this way is actually feeling really, he might be feeling something, he's getting uncomfortable and I'm not a huge hunger fitted So I understand how you feel and understand how you feel, but I'm embracing that because I know that some people are and they need that. No, I remember one of your kids musically inclined right in a band? Yes, still. Yes. So tracing faces, They are Gilbert. They born raised in Gilbert. Um they met at Perry High school, they started a garage band, but it's better.
It's more than that. Amazing. And Christopher Fallon is the lead guitarist and I gotta say he's absolutely amazing. Look them up, tracing faces, you can find them on Spotify, Apple music. That's sweet. I like that. Final thoughts. What advice do you have for the people listening today? What what what's the takeaway you think you'd like to share with them? Whatever comes to your mind that you want to share, be authentically you. I love it. No one else. Okay, we're so thankful that you've been with us today.
This has been a great conversation. Absolutely. I'm always grateful for time with you. Thank you sir. Thanks Ben. You bet. Thank you, Derek. If you want more content like this and listen to other shows, please subscribe to our little tribe here. We have great stories to tell and I don't want you to miss a journey guiding growth conversations with community leaders. Ben, let me ask you a question. How do you see other community members being involved in this podcast? This is going to be a great opportunity for so many people in the community to have a chance to be heard if they want to tell their story or if they just want to be part of this journey with us and help sponsor in a way that helps bring more people to the table with us.
So I think there's many opportunities at hand whether you want to again be on the show, reach out to us, let us know what your story is and how you think you could be part of it. We'd love to hear from you, reach out, let us know, and we'll see we can make that connection.
