Powerful Womxn Who Are Changing The World: Tracy Michele Bullock
By: Natalie Ruiz
Tags: Powerful Women, Female Founders, Leadership, Creative Coach, CEO

Thank you so much for taking the time to catch up with me! I’ve been so inspired by you. Can you tell me more about you and the work you do?

Hey there Natalie! The pleasure is all mine, always a treat to connect.

You summed “me” up perfectly. What I would love to speak on is the word “unconventional” as a coach and professional in the totality of my life — I have and still can. I look at LinkedIn and everyone looks like a Real Estate agent. There are so many coaches. Where the heck do I fit in?

This is a thing I ask my clients and myself: Why it? Why you? And there it is — the crux of work. Working with clients to define and utilize the WHO they are in what they do. There are an endless number of (as I said) coaches, UX designers, marketing experts, writers, whathaveyou. True career and professional agency and self-actualization is the embodiment of who you are in what you choose to do.

We live so darn long! In the work bucket of our lives, we will likely do a myriad of things — what ties them together and what keeps us learning is just that: Why we do what we do and WHO we are in that?

Backing away from all that heady talk — another unconventional aspect of my work is that I team with clients only one on one in an open-access month-to-month teamwork structure vs a group curriculum model. A coach should b a tool. Working with me should provide a true measurable benefit that aids a client’s process and progress in a real measurable way.

What do you love about it?

Everything. Ha! I promise that is NOT a cop-out! I earnestly feel called to do this work and to be of service to my community. If my folkx find their time with me of benefit, the honor is all mine and I take the gift of them sharing their work and selves with me as an honor.

But the best, the very best is when clarity hits. When all the to-dos or the relationship of seeking a job or boss to “choose” you to thereby give you value starts to dissipate. When a client starts to see the earnest/true priorities and learn to evaluate their professional merit and power apart for what they are told.

That is the good shit right there! It is the absolute best.

Photo by Front Page Photography

How did you get into this?

Talk about wacky backgrounds!

Most recently as COO of a startup, we happily sold after 7 fun and wacky years. I oversaw a lot, but chiefly led business strategy and headed up executive oversight. That had me training in career counseling and executive coaching.

Part of all that was not just the HR overview of our staff, but also finding and guiding educators and other higher-level contractors.

Once we sold, I asked myself: ‘What will I miss most?’ The answer was: ‘Helping people work better.’

OK! What came next was — ‘How is that a job?!’ Along came coaching and SDYD.

What do you think makes you amazing at what you do?

Who I am. Honesty, expedience, self reflection, and earnest affection for my community and commitment to success NOT my own ego.

There are a lot experts, all great. What causes a body to choose me and do well thereafter is that we both ‘get’ each other and the fact that my folkx know I am earnestly committed to all the wonderful and tricky nuances of them.

If we can’t get ‘real’ we can’t make headway.

My clients trust me because I trust them.

Oh, and I have this great “magic” of modeling boundaries and practicing them, yet not allowing that to prevent true humanistic efforts and availability to their best interests.

What is the most challenging part of your work?

Stopping. I have an endless metabolism for work. Thus turning that off to focus on my domestic sphere is a challenge. I don’t say that because I know “burnout” or have some dramatic story about the perils of working “too hard”, but rather because I have made domestic commitments that deserve tending to.

Photo by Front Page Photography

What problems keep you up at night?

Environmental and conservation crimes and eco cruelty, human indignity and disparity, and nearly manic obsession with tidiness and home decorating. Oh, and trying to figure out what I will wear tomorrow…

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A zoological veterinarian, Primatologist, and Dian Fosse.

What was your first job? What did you learn from it?

P/T Vet tech at a local animal hospital. How to clean up shit really well. What gross really looks (and smells like) and the being bitten ain’t so bad.

If you could talk to your younger self, what would you say?

You are so cool without even trying.

Oh, and white eyeliner is not your best look.

What’s something that people may not know about you but should?

It’s cool, I hate my hair too. My husband has no idea what I do — like he knows what I call myself, but no idea what it means, and I really like it that way.

Who are some of your heroes and why?

Dian Fosse

My Mom

Alyson Cunningham

Bella Abzug

Douglass Adams

Zora Neale Hurston

David Lynch

Me

What is one of your superpowers?

I can litter box train a cat in less than 48 hours.

What is your best professional advice for someone wanting to level-up and follow their dreams?

Know your pace. Hone into that and you are set.

What is one of your favorite quotes, and what does it mean to you?

“Goodbye Blue Monday”

Don’t be a bummer

When you aren’t working, what do you enjoy doing?

Yoga, drinking natural wine, reading horror, listening to horror podcasts, watching horror movies, walking in NYC, Jazzercise, and not talking.

I believe there is power in sharing our big dreams and audacious goals. What is on the vision board in your mind?

Will you kill me if I tell you I have never done a vision board nor has it ever occurred to me to?

No, I won’t kill you! I have never really done one either — except in my mind, but I kind of admire people who do! Maybe I am just asking that question to see if I should take the leap and finally make one!