Businesses are People Too! A Podcast

What if....businesses were actually neural circuits? with Lindsay Harle, Businesses are People Too! A Podcast! and Quirky Lindsay Harle 

On this episode, we dive on in and learn:

• How is a team like a neural circuit?
• What's a neural circuit?
• What's a neuron?
• How  each team member see their role within the larger team
• How individuals see each others and their roles within the larger team
• How one person impacts the larger ecosystem of the team
• Neuroplasticity of a team
• Values and their role in neuroplasticity and team alignment
• Environment priming in supportive of reinforcing a neural circuit
• Progress takes time; changing behaviours, attitudes and mindset requires patience
• How to build up specific neuron strength within the team neural circuit

Connect with Lindsay

What if....businesses invested in driving passion? with Kira Day, The Passion Centre

On this episode, we dive on in and learn:

• What cold workplace cultures drive over their people
• The impact of functioning in alignment versus functioning in fear
• How our childhood experiences shape our beliefs in what we can "have"
• Passion focuses on what is meaningful to the individual and whether or not they're able to express this in the world
• The Passion Formula: Passion = Meaning x Investment (P = M x I)
• What drives meaning
• You cannot find passion. You have to activate it from within
• What passion drivers are via the study Kira and her team conducted
• What parameters impact your ability to feel passion
• Angela Duckworth links passion with sustainable performance over time
• Kira's Passion Study identifies the internal and external passion drivers
• Passion is a holistic experience which is dependent upon the emotions scale
• How our emotions are hardwired into our physical experience of passion
• People develop emotional diversity based on how they're wired and how they've been allowed to express these emotions/passion
• To ask what is driving our passion
• What is influencing our access to our passion
• Passion is energy positive, whereas an absence or imbalance of passion is energy negative
• Passion is personal
• Kira's answer to "What if...businesses realized that they are people too?" (33:46)

Links in this episode:

What if....businesses used this not-so-hidden secret for success? with Kayla Walsh, ISC Health

On this episode, we dive on in and learn:

• How the brain, body, and environment impact each other (a wee bit of biopsychosocial health)
• What is energy management
• How are choices impact our understanding of our energy investments 
• Why values, boundaries and roles are important for our self image in business
• The reality behind the health of the leadership team and it's impact on business
• The trifecta of business health and how it impacts our honest energy over supplemental energy
• The Sleep - Caffeine - Stress cycle
• How to identify what we're doing to hurt ourselves
• The cycles we may be trapping ourselves in
• The importance of behaviour modelling, not behaviour telling
• What rest really means...hint...it's not being on social media
• What leaders can model for their people in order for all to be a well-rested team
• True rest results in higher quality of work and efficient hustle, not ineffective hustle
• Kayla's answer to "What if...businesses realized that they are people too?" (29.18)

Links in this episode:

What if...businesses turned down the suck to turn up their possible? with Tim Sweet, Team Work Excellence

On this episode, we dive on in and learn:

• That business is a relatively new human experience
• Work can no longer be a fixed experience, but one that's in constant flux
• Why the destruction of old systems allows teams to be stronger and help people achieve their potential
• What re-norming is and why it's needed today
• In order for teams to grow together, they must feel involved in the culture development
• Leaders cannot be passive; they must be active participants in their team
• Tim's 3 Trust Pillars: logic through understanding, empathy for greater connection, and authenticity for consistency
• Workplaces are emotional experiences
• Hybrid teams bring a new threat to team trust
• What the difference between suboptimal and optimal/high-performing teams is
• What "high-performing" actually means
• To question if we have the right metrics for success
• Great leaders can still fail if the company structures, processes, design, and strategy are not set up correctly
• The interconnectivity of all factors for team failure
• The difference between capacity and WILLING capacity
• Why leadership is not taught in business school (hint...it's a private journey)
• The health of the individual relies on the health of the whole
• Tim's answer to "What if...businesses realized that they are people too?" (1:00:52)

Links in this episode:

What if....businesses recognized that WE is greater than ME? with Suzanne Ricard-Greenway, SR Greenway Leadership

On this episode, we dive on in and learn:

What if....businesses decided to DANCE with innovation? with Dr. Caroline Brookfield, The Reluctant Creative

On this episode, we dive on in and learn:

• The #1 skill businesses are seeking for their teams
• The difference between big C and little c creativity
• How to access our own creativity beyond the traditional sense of the word
• 93% of businesses say they want innovation, but only 18% of people feel safe taking creative risks in their workplace
• The two judgement barriers of creativity - internal and external
• Why rejection feels like physical pain
• How leaders can model creativity while braving judgement
• Why creating a safe space to explore all creative failure is how we get to the “good stuff”
• The practice of creative failing to work our creative muscle
• Benefits of creativity. E.g., higher income, better leadership, more confidence in uncertainty, etc.
• The power of a "literary mullet," fun in the front, data in the back
• The biological facts about creativity
• Creativity is contagious
• Why and how leaders can support teams to step into creativity
• Why we tend to fall back into status quo solutions when feeling uncertain and how creativity can reduce this
• How to redefine creativity within our business teams
• That DANCE helps to democratize creativity in teams (Daydream, Ambiguity, Novelty, Curiosity, and Edit Later)
• The difference between divergent creativity (ideating without judgement) and convergent creativity (distilling divergent creativity)
• Daydreaming = productive boredom
• Tolerance of Ambiguity to build non-status quo solutions
• How Novelty builds more data points for connecting to unique solutions in our brains
• Curiosity is the foundation of all creativity
• Ernest Hemingway was right when he said "Write drunk, edit sober" (separating divergent and convergent creativity)
• Caroline's answer to "What if...businesses realized that they are people too?" (42:46)

Links in this episode:

What if....businesses stopped asking people to pay?

On this episode, we dive on in and learn:

• The difference between giving and paying
• What happens when we pay attention versus giving attention to prospects
• How employees can thrive when given attention

Connect with Lindsay online:

What if....businesses believed that business was personal? with Mike Cameron, MikeCameron.ca

On this episode, we dive on in and learn:

• To have buy-in from our people, we need to tap into their emotions
• Emotionally connected leaders build better businesses
• Emotion is the foundation that supports our cognition
• Why business is about the quality of our relationships
• Leaders must learn the individual driving motivators for their people
• The difference between traditional goal-setting versus setting values, intentions, and milestones
• Importance of being creative and agile when circumstances throw a wrench in a path to reaching our milestones
• How gathering in circles and not squares is how to cultivate divergent thinking
• Why we should practice creating spaces for our people to feel safe in being creative
• How our emotional decisions can have extreme permanent consequences
• How we can prevent our emotions from having life-altering consequences that cause harm
• Why leaders need to feel and not just think
• Why compassion and empathy need boundaries and accountability to be impactful in a leadership role
• How to have team meetings using the SOAR Framework: slow down, open up, accept, reconnect
• That when we numb one emotion, we numb all emotions
• The power of simply acknowledging and naming an emotion
• That mental health has a 51 Billion dollar impact on businesses
• Roughly half a million Canadians miss work each week due to a mental health concern
• We don't have to give up productivity in place of empathy and caring
• Mike's answer to "What if...businesses realized that they are people too?" (51:58)

Links in this episode:

What if....businesses listened to understand? 

On this episode, we dive on in and learn:

• The importance of listening in the workplace for burnout
• The importance of preparing to listen
• How to prepare to listen, including preparing your emotions, biases, body, and breathing
• Why safety, approval, and control are part of the speaker's journey
• What tone and speed in speech help to indicate
• Why behaviour is part of listening
• How to close the gap between providing information and supporting your people to use the information provided

Connect with Lindsay online:

What if....businesses practiced deep listening? with Oscar Trimboli, podcast host of Deep Listening

On this episode, we dive on in and learn:

• Listening is a practice, like any other skillset
• The maths of listening; the 125/400 Rule and the 125/900 Rule
• The difference between hearing and listening
• The power of a pause and how to use it
• Why "how" is a good process-oriented question
• The difference between feedback and feedforward and which one promotes more action
• Why we must ask who's potentially missing from our conversation - who's not being listened to
• The power of short questions
• Why process-oriented questions of 10-words or less promote comprehension and application
• The difference between great leaders and managers
• The role the leader plays in setting the listening temperature of a group
• An engaging technique for teams to set better listening and leverage time
• The three lenses of listening for leaders: self, people, greater ecosystem
• The number 1 thing that distracts people from listening
• The three questions to use to explore what isn't being said: Tell me more, what else, pause
• How to evolve a question/thought when guided by an engaged listener
• The importance of a reflective practice, a group of trusted advisors, and having hobbies
• The four listening villains 
• How to teach your boss to listen
• Oscar's answer to "What if...businesses realized that they are people too?" (1:05:10)

Links in this episode:

What if....businesses celebrated empathetic teams? with host, Lindsay Harle

On this episode, we dive on in and learn:

• What makes an empathetic team
• What the three components of empathy are (emotional, cognitive, and compassion)
• Who needs to be empathetic on a team
• How can we model and practice empathy
• What are tools to practice empathy
• How empathy creates more cohesive, collaborative, and innovative teams

Connect with Lindsay online:

What if....businesses believed in human dignity? with Dave Ferro, DF Safety Ltd.

On this episode, we dive on in and learn:

• The impact on families when health and safety is not done right
• Of good support systems to successfully cope with injuries
• Why humanity is such a key element of building safety
• How talking creates safer workplaces - both physically and psychologically
• The reality of having 1/10 people struggling with mental health and how this alone impacts the workplace
• How we can start to enhance workplace safety
• How parallel physical and psychological safety in how someone's absence impacts the organization (loss of skill set)
• Crossover between Occupational Health & Safety (OH&S) mandates are with HR mandates for aligning business culture
• The expectation differences between generations on "safety" and how we can/will adapt 
• How humility from the leadership team can improve psychological safety by focusing on human dignity
• Why every company should focus on safety beyond the legislated requirements
• How you can still create safety when we're in virtual environments and teams
• The remote aspect of safety and how physical safety plays a role in the new hybrid and work-from-home world
• The importance of owning safety as an employee, particularly when in your own home
• That safety starts with trust and relationships, not processes and procedures
• How to be humble, leave people with dignity and make workplaces fun!
• That opera and construction have a lot in common
• Dave's answer to "What if...businesses realized that they are people too?" (32:11)

Links in this episode:

In this Season 4 Intro Episode, host Lindsay Harle digs in to answer the question she asks of all guests...What if...businesses realized that they were people too?

Three main takeaways:

1) Importance of values defined in action. Special credit to S3, E12 of Businesses are People Too: https://anchor.fm/businessesarepeopletoo/episodes/Season-3--Episode-12-What-if---businesses-practiced-being-human-e14sglp

2) Why tying values to goals makes for more aligned teams

3) How listening gives permission for people to be human.

What if...businesses practiced being human? with Me - Lindsay Harle, Businesses are People Too! A Podcast!

On this episode, we dive on in and learn:

• Values definition: an underlying belief upon which we take aligned action.
• How knowing our values in action improves our business alignment
• What core values do fo us 
• What junk values are
• How to identify our values in action
• What to do if you're "should-ing" all over your values
• How to know if they align with our goals and boundaries
• Why we need to practice taking value-based action
  

Connect with Lindsay online:

What if...businesses strategized around the human need for connection? with Terra Argo, Argo Operations & Your Business Peeps

On this episode, we dive on in and learn:

• You cannot fail when you have the right minds connected
• You must first identify the right WHO, then the right HOW will follow
• The power of a curated network
• Why we must connect online and offline the same way
• How to find your own "go-to" question for networking that's authentic to you
• The difference between connecting on business vs. connecting on passion
• Humans are wired for connection
• How to begin building relationships with a "people-first" mindset
• What a "Super Connector" is and how to engage one in your own network
• Connection IS communication
• Building rapport is merely building a relationship...not an elevator pitch
• Why it's important to understand what you're willing to share about yourself
• Terra's answer to "What if...businesses realized that they are people too?" (49:54)
  

Links in this episode:

What if....businesses turned off their notifications? with Dawn O'Connor, Focus Bubbles

On this episode, we dive on in and learn:

What if....businesses saw their dark side of leadership? with Dr. Kevin Sansberry, KEVRA the Culture Company; The Toxic Leadership Podcast

On this episode, we dive on in and learn:

• Abnormal psychology within the workplace 
• Impacts of toxic positivity and its harm on women and minorities
• Why it's about eradicating toxic behaviours and not people
• The contradiction to the good side of the dark side of leadership
• All companies have toxic behaviours
• Toxic behaviours are natural
• Why micromanaging happens...and trust is a big factor
• Why words matter: it's a toxic behaviour, not a toxic person
• The importance of evolutionary in business sustainability
• All behaviours make perfect sense in context
• How to recognize our own self-deception and its impact on the business personhood
• The need for values congruence between individual and business values
• For change, systems and mental models (mindsets) have to be addressed
• The need for belief challenging for long-term change, real diversity AND inclusion
• Dr. Kevin's answer to "What if...businesses realized that they are people too?" (37:04)
  

Links in this episode:

What if....businesses tapped into the power of an engaging experience? with Mike Seidle, WorkHere/Pivot CX

On this episode, we dive on in and learn:

• Why hiring is a C-Suite, not an HR issue
• How companies should interact with potential hires
• The reality and ramifications of the demographic shift 
• The importance of bringing along your younger employees up through the company
• How to give employees opportunities to grow without them having to leave
• Why businesses should be hiring for POTENTIAL rather than specifics of experience, skills, etc. 
• How to assess the potential of an individual
• The power of HUMAN intelligence in hiring
• What the most important thing a job seeker should be doing in an interview
• One small thing businesses can do to start engaging their applicants
• How to fill open positions effectively
• Mike's answer to "What if...businesses realized that they are people too?" (35:09)
  

Links in this episode:

What if....businesses connected purpose on all levels? with Nemisha Patel Owen, Mindset Coach 

On this episode, we dive on in and learn: 

• What the difference between a mentor and a coach is
• How high-performers can show up "on purpose" within their corporate roles
• The need to consciously evolve as you and the business around you changes
• The interconnectedness between a business's purpose and the individual purposes of those within the business
• The need for personal responsibility of all individuals to invest in building a reciprocal relationship with the business
• What the connection between choice and purpose is
• How you can have influence in how you show up
• Levels of purpose within a business: the individual, the collective team purpose, and the larger business purpose. 
• The importance of aligning all levels of purpose
• The difference between purpose and intention
• Nemisha's answer to "What if...businesses realized that they are people too?" (46:53) 

Links in this episode: 

What if....businesses gave permission to plan? with TaJuanna Taylor, Bootstrap Dreams

On this episode, we dive on in and learn:

What if....businesses maximized abundance through small things? with Masami Sato, B1G1 (Buy1Give1)

On this episode, we dive on in and learn:

• How to transform your business through giving
• Why most businesses start in the first place 
• How farmers create abundance and what we can learn from them
• What the byproduct of an abundance-centred business is
• What the one thing is that starts the development of a company
• DO CARE - B1G1s own values as meaningful actions
• Why we should focus on PLAYING, not WINNING the game
• What sustainable business culture is
• Masami's answer to "What if...businesses realized that they are people too?" (40:21)

Links in this episode:

What if....businesses didn't use vanilla values? with Jamie DuBose, Zenplicity

On this episode, we dive on in and learn:

• the power of fostering relationships within marketing
• the importance of how businesses position themselves and their customers in their marketing
• why we should connect as a human business rather than a business model
• that it's okay to connect, share...and yes, make money
• difference between values-based marketing and fear-based marketing
• how engagement is the currency of marketing
• why craving connection and interaction is creating a paradigm shift in how marketing is done
• the need to reflect on our values as we evolve over time
• Jamie's answer to "What if...businesses realized that they are people too?" (38:08)
  

Links in this episode:

What if....businesses had leaders who were real people? with Lourdes Juan, Founder, Hive Developments, Leftovers Foundation, Fresh Routes, Moonlight Market, Soma Spa

On this episode, we dive on in and learn:

• that businesses can be contributors to human rights
• what problem solving for the community means with business along with how to build the right relationships to solve the right problems
• that entrepreneurship and business ownership is really just problem solving
• the power of a constructive dialogue when all voices - and the right voices - are at the table and take the time to listen 
• why we still need to think about bottom lines as we focus on standing for something as a brand, as a business
• how entrepreneurs have the unique opportunity to influence the future
• the truth that we are far better off connected than we are in silos
• how to engage internally and externally within the business
• the importance of weaving diversity, equality, and inclusion practices and tools into the operations and all levels of business
• people are given choice when they are listened to
• why we need to listen in business
• Lourdes's answer to "What if...businesses realized that they are people too?" (39:82)
  

Links in this episode:

What if....businesses had leaders who were real people? with Tracey Bodnarchuk, Chief Revenue Officer, Hopewell Residential

On this episode, we dive on in and learn:

• why adaptability is key to be a strong leader 
• the myth of the 'perfect leader'
• why leaders need to be asked if they, too, are okay 
• what information leaders need to know to support the mental health of their people
• the differences between brand, marketing, advertising, and communication  
• what happens when brand and culture are integrated 
• the importance of fully showing up as your whole, authentic self
• Tracey's answer to "What if...businesses realized that they are people too?" (43:00)

Links in this episode:

What if....businesses listened to better hear their employees? with Keith Crawford, Life Support Mental Health

On this episode, we learn:

• Corporate culture of a business is what drives all business. 
• Different mindsets of a CFO and a SEO when it comes to investing in people. One asks, "what's the cost to invest...and they leave?" The other asks, "What's the cost if we don't invest...and they stay?"
• If you don't invest in the people who run your business in some way, shape, or form, you will not have a business.
• It's not about changing the minds of corporations. It's about assisting with the permeation of a psychologically safe culture.
• Talk, understanding, education, and trust are four things successful sports teams use to permeate a healthy mindset and team culture
• Trust is a must for health cultures and mental health
• 85% of long-term disability payouts in 2020 were due to mental health issues (of 4 billion)
• Discover how corporations can support assessing the mental health of their people
• High-level overview of the Life Support Mental Health assessment and app. Particularly supportive in assessing for stress due to anxiety, depression, pain, financial stress, etc.
• Keith shares jaw-dropping stats showcasing the gap between the medical and mental health support industries
• Remember - the only one who can properly diagnose a mental health issue is a mental health professional who has studied for years!
• Hear Keith's answer to what if...businesses realized that they are people too? (38:05)

Links from episode:

What if....businesses knew what their brand really was with host, Lindsay Harle

A breakdown of what brand is beyond super catchy phrases, slogans, and vision/mission/value statements and logos in 5 simple steps.

- brand is history

- brand is audience

- brand is personality

- brand is value

- brand is capabilities

What if....businesses KISSed goodbye to the status quo? with Andrea Jones, I Am Andrea Jones

Top takeaways:

6:13: Clients make your business tick. If you can't connect with them, your business won't tick.

7:54: Pyschographics picks up on who the person is: their identity, reality, reactions, etc.

8:05: Psychological triggers are what get people to buy.

8:23: Buying triggers are the things that happen in someone's day that makes them realize they need YOUR solution

8:58: Anyone can write copy. BUT it's the elements in the copy that increase how/why/when people buy.

What if....businesses didn't have financial bottlenecks with Brad Celmainis or Brad Celmainis Accounting Solutions

Top takeaways:

6:00: Why accounting should not be done once a year and what's the risk if you don't have efficient systems in place.

9:05: First principle of accounting: everything comes down to cash and you're nothing without it.

9:30: When you put your thumb on your cash, you have your thumb ON your business.

10:30: Why software subscription models for automation can save your business money.

13:31: Traditional accounting is reactive accounting.

14:03: Cloud accounting allows you to latch onto productivity!

What if....businesses modelled doing different instead of doing more with Kylie Woods, Chic Geek

Top takeaways:

5:05: Impact of COVID on event-based business models

5:35: Start with the question of what problem do we want to solve and who are we serving in the best way possible

6:00 - 6:58: The reality of how much mental and emotional resiliency is needed to adopt change

7:10: Effect on women in both for and not-for-profit businesses: research showing COVID has potential to set women back in the workplace with women in the workplace falling to 55%, its lowest since 1986

8:58: There's no timeline on how long it takes to pivot!

9:10: The importance of having funds set aside to support when pivoting is required

11:05: The need for different leadership models where 80 - 100 hours of working does not have to be the norm 

12:28: Comparison mode and why this inhibits leaders as we learn our own unique capacity levels. Doing more or doing different?

13:20: Why we need more women role models showing HOW they did things FOR them - Kylie's powerful vulnerability 

14:37: Kylie shares her compassion as a leader and why this is important to the success of a business, especially in a socially conscious one that relies on volunteers

16:34 - 17:50: Compassionate leadership and its importance for removing a predetermined understanding of "ideal leadership models"

18:33: The challenge of integrating compassion into our businesses. This often starts with compassion for ourselves

21:00: The commitment to being compassionate to others opens the door for us to be compassionate with ourselves

22:26: What can business look like with a socially conscious/conscious capitalist outlook from the ground up

23:20: Women must step into making profit and be unapologetic about it

24:58: Why non-profits need the business savvy in addition to their heart. The power of cross-pollinating the heart and business for profit minds

What if....businesses allowed employees to thrive with personal brands? with Tracy Borreson, TLB Coaching

Top takeaways:

7:17: The whole point of a brand is to create an experience for someone

7:27: People create experiences...not clever marketing strategies

8:57: You must know who you are as a brand to have the right people manage it for your company

11:02: Do you know if your company only uses the word "culture"...or do they actually have a culture?

12:27: Personal brand alignment = when something resonates with you. When your people are in misalignment, it's hard to get the best out of them for your business.

14:03: Corporate ladders vs. personal brands and what's required to ensure personal investment in growing with your company

What if....businesses engaged with a visual stylist? with Crystal Reynolds, Crystal Ink

Top takeaways:

10:51: There's power in not having all the answers, but knowing the questions to ask in order to find them

11:12: Team collaboration is crucial for having a successful end product - including design

12:01: The visuals of a business' personhood comes from knowing how to find your look and feel so the visual represents YOU in YOUR industry, allowing you to easily be recognized

12:46: Design is the visual representation of who you are, what you stand for, and what matters to you. It is an introduction to you

14:42: People can always tell if you've haphazardly thrown together a design

14:54: Comic Sans is designed for COMICS! It should not be used anywhere else!

15:17: Your design has to connect with who is looking for you because they will miss you otherwise. 

16:74: You want to be approachable and comfortable for WHO you want to reach

17:36: Design creates the welcome mat to your business

18:43: Crystal shares what happens to the business when there is a disconnect between the design, the story, and the community

20:38: Business as a person gives it a sense of purpose, which translates into what the business itself can do

21:37: There are ways to be intentional with your design so that it works for all people in the business

22.16: A good creative will not tell a business what to do. They'll hear the impact you want to make and translate this into visuals to connect with people where they are

24:06: We must remove our ego to know when we need help with visual representation

26:00: The reason businesses need to be a part of the design PROCESS to understand where we begin and where we end up to ensure there is full connection and engagement with the design

29:13: Consistency in design use build trust

30:33: Hear Crystal's answer to what if...businesses realized that they are people too?

Connect with Crystal online:

What if....businesses decided to invest in workplace trust? with Shane Osborne, Better Business Bureau

Top takeaways:

5:06: Trust today just isn't the same as it used to be

5:37: Trust means that we must be really honest and transparent as we allow businesses to get to know us, including what we believe in

8:25: Trust has to be a 2-way street, otherwise there will be a breakdown in communication

10:45: Trust comes down to a choice as it informs the ethics of a business. Every Tom, Dick, or Harry can start and run a business, but not every Tom, Dick, or Harry can be ethical in running it

11:43: What message is a company inadvertently sending when they simply do not respond to a customer?

12:40: Customers want to be heard and have a dialogue without being ghosted. This is where the breakdown in trust often happens

14:44: Shane shares how to have hard conversations with clients and it means removing our ownership pride 

15:45: We must learn how to have open and transparent conversations, even when we're in the wrong!

17:56: How does trust play in business today and how can we build it now as business continues to change?

21:17: How can new businesses start to build trust when they don't have a history behind them?

23:40: All businesses fail someone, somewhere along the way

24:52: The importance of building trust with your team so they can do the same with your customers. This comes to finding the balance between iron fist management and best friend management

26:22 - 30:58: When coaching people you need to: tell them how to do it, show them how to do it, let them do it, then give feedback. This consistency will build trust and help you tur out employees who do things the way you need them to. It's a system for building trusted employees

31:37: We cannot get angry or frustrated with people when we do not tell them what they can or cannot do

34:32: Culture is what's most important - over and above a paycheque

35:30: Retention is how you measure whether your team trusts you

38:25: Hear Shane's answer to what if...businesses realized that they are people too?

Connect with Shane or the Better Business Bureau online:

What if....businesses aligned their people plan with their business plan with Ashley Cox, Sprout HR

Top takeaways:

6:59: You are going to fail, regardless of how strategic you are. Make peace with this.

8:17: Women leaders are grossly underrepresented across the board, making it difficult to find leaders to look up to, especially ones we can see ourselves in

9:18: You don't have to change who you are at your core to be an amazing leader - including your femininity. This opens the door of possibility for young female leaders

12:02: How to lead from your natural gifts and strengths so as not to lead like someone you're not

12:43: The hypocrisy between male leader traits when used by female leaders

14:03: Creative business owners often miss these things when looking to hire, including the stories we tell ourselves that hold us back

17:49: A primary difference between the creative business owners and other business owners when hiring

18:49: The truth: EVERYBODY has a problem in hiring when doing so for the first time. You are going to mess up.

21:62: How to leverage our natural strengths and talents to support our business personhood. Hint: it's not about cloning yourself

23:08: Where is your business missing "nutrients" in its personhood?

23:31: You must identify goals in business, where you're going, and what you need to get there

24:36: The answer to when you need to hire someone

25:53: The common harmful business mistakes we make when hiring

27:13: The misalignment that causes your business to suffer

30:19: How to identify the tangible thing you need to start hiring the right person

30:49: The cool thing about your business values and how to identify them

36:49: If you are missing the action that defines your values, you are missing the gold that builds company culture

37:22: The most important job as a CEO is to set the vision and tone of a company. This is through your values becoming an intentional culture. Not culture by default

40:59: Hear Ashley's answer to what if...businesses realized that they are people too?

Connect with Ashley online:

What if....businesses chose to embrace their blank canvas with David Schmeikal, The Gyst Life; Bear and Unicorn Creative Co. Inc.

Top takeaways:

11:06: The process of learning that knowing "that's it" is an ongoing process of exploring what doesn't work to know what does

11:46: Rejection is just PART of our journey

17:11: We need to set the foundation for what we envision. This takes courage and bravery and knowing they are different, yet both required to make progress

19:39: The power of trusting your quiet gut as you continue to ask, "is this it?" and then listening if something is missing

23:32: Stability comes from strong foundations

25:20: Even strong foundations diminish over time. We need to strengthen and reinforce them as we continue to evolve as human beings

27:16: Leaders must be willing to go inward and understand who they are, how they operate, and why this allows them space for growth in curiosity

29:49: How you can go inward without scaring yourself out of the inner conversation comes down to courageously looking inward and asking 1) who do I want to be known as and know myself to be; 2) What kind of person do I want to be?

31:44: There is NO SUCH THING as "getting it right"

33:46: The funny thing about mountain tops...and now what. Having the choice to DECIDE if we want to go further

36:54: Cultivate cultures with people who want to continue to go for more mountain tops

37:41: Are you hikers or climbers in your business as this impacts the directed effort of you and your people within your business personhood

39:56: Leaders - if you commit to getting to know your people, you know the key things that will help to promote or hinder your business. This empowers your people and allows you to create possibilities WITH your people

42:36: We are scarce in this one key thing - TRUST. How can you built it so it doesn't crumble?

45:16: How can we be less fickle as leaders...and as humans?

46:19: There's power in intentionally freeing ourselves from our baggage to create space for something new to show up.

51:21: Do you want to have more TEA (Time, Energy, Attention - our finite resources)? Be careful where you drink your tea.

53:42: Hear David's answer to what if...businesses realized that they are people too?

Connect with David online:

What if....businesses intentionally defined and reinforced their safety behaviour? with Eldeen Pozniak, BA, BSc, CEES, CHSC, CHSMSA, CRSP, FIIRSM, CMIOSH, Pozniak Safety Associates, Diggins Safety Consulting

Top takeaways:

5:55: The choice we make, things we do, responsibilities we fulfill have repercussions

6:12: There are systems and personalities necessary to have a SAFE business where people go home at the end of the day

6:50: What organizations overlook when considering health and safety for the overall health of the business

9:00: We must focus on both the physical AND psychological hazards to see the whole business being

10:00: Businesses can CHOOSE how risky they want to be. This becomes a CULTURE CHOICE

11:35: We can minimize/avoid harm through systematic processes

12:45: Have the right structure, culture, and conversations in place to support us, otherwise we are setting ourselves up for harm - both physical and psychological

14:25: Stories are what's needed for safety for businesses to help their people apply this within their lives and roles as this reinforces how concepts will personally affect them

16:30: People need stories of how other people are affected and not just "it's out there, so beware"

17:17: Stories of safety must:

• get people's attention
• keep their attention
• give concrete images of what is trying to be conveyed
• have an EMOTIONAL component
• have a CALL TO ACTION

18:20: who's the HERO, and who's the VILLAIN in your business safety story as this impacts the culture and personality of your business

20:20: What influences people and organizations is NOT always the same thing. Is it logic or emotion - know WHO you're communicating safety with and then work your story accordingly (e.g. engineering firm connects differently than a marketing firm)

22:08: Importance of message mapping  to ensure the right story is packaged in a way your people will connect to it

24:25: Senior leaders, Health & Safety Supervisors and Managers have to be purposeful in the stories they are building to create the story that reinforces their right behaviour

28:00: Listening is how to start being intentional with your safety stories

31:45: We operate with different definitions of safety. Know the definition that you're operating in so you can connect the value of safety to the behaviour

33:06: It's not about changing people; it's about influencing them

35:07: We must connect all parties to communicate the vision & goals of the business personhood to operate at its most optimal, healthy level as a fully functioning organism

38:20: the heroes MUST be the ones who are doing the behaviour we want reinforced. The villains - discourage the behaviour.

41:51: Hear Eldeen's answer to what if...businesses realized that they are people too?

Connect with Eldeen online:

What if....businesses prioritized mental health the same as physical health with Juliet Meskers, Mental Health Global Network

Top takeaways:

5:43: Juliet provides the definition of OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder)

What if businesses reflected to move forward with purpose?

Top takeaways:

2:50: Lindsay Recknell's definition of hope and why leaders should focus on hope and what this means for their people

4:11: Hamish Knox's genius about focusing on our individual behaviours to help us reach our mountain tops

5:07: Elise Russell's brilliance in asking: if we're already the best versions of ourselves today...then what's the point of the next 60 years?

6:24: Luanne Whitmarsh insights into why leaders should kindly allow crappy days to happen...and what this actually does for our people

7:43: Mary Tidlund's beautiful story of how collaboration is a true disruptor for how business has traditionally been done

8:35: Tymothy Roy's calming influence highlighting it's about the WHO not the HOW

8:59: The importance of aligning our actions, behaviours, and words to focus on people and treat them with true value

To connect with Lindsay:

What if....businesses created their own leaps and bounds? with Tymothy Roy, Tymothy Roy Coaching

Top takeaways:

8:34 - 9:43: Traditional coaching styles versus individual mindset coaching boils down to shifting who you are while you are doing

10:49 - 12:02: The importance of speaking from a future self space in order to pull the future towards you

14:14: What is business is personal? After all, business is created BY people FOR people. So, if you're looking for a shift in your business, go back to why you started in the first place

15:49: Shift in business happens ONLY when shift in people happen

What if....businesses cared about eating their veggies before their cake with Lisa Genovese, BottomLine

Top takeaways:

8:18: For any recommendation to have an impact, it must have data to support the WHY! 

10:12: When you dive into the data research, you can identify gaps in the business, allowing for deeper insights into marketing 

11:08: The issue with "Spraying and Praying" - jumping into implementation without research to support a real strategy. This has you run the risk of developing something that doesn't serve, leaving you to then redo. (There's a reason we must eat our veggies before the cake)

12:58: What does your company do best? Ask this of all the execs in your company. If they cannot say the same thing...then there is misalignment in your company

What if....businesses lead by 'power with' instead of by 'pocketbook'? with Mary Tidlund, Speaker, Author, Philanthropic Coach 

Top Takeaways: 

6:05: Mary's personal journey leading from the pocketbook to leading from the heart. She shares the honest vulnerability required of her journey to support the philanthropic empowerment work she continues to do today. 

6:58: We lead often without knowing that we are leading 

8:17: When presented with a very humbling experience, we can choose to dig deep and tap into our moral compass. These experiences allow us to look at who we are and what we really want to be in this world. 

11:23: Mary's definition of "rebel" and what this means within the oil industry. Often involves not being concerned with other's watching what you're doing because of the focus on the impact of what you are doing. There's no need to try to fit in, so it's those who are really considered "norm disruptors." 

14:28: The power highlighted when a business actively engages and supports the community they live and work in. 

15:33 - 16:35: The diverse education and work experience of the company Mary, along with three other co-founders, founded in the late 1980's succeeded because there was a culture of respect for everyone and what they all brought. This respect for the individual allowed for greater adaptability. Three steps for doing this include: 

• Listen to where the person is coming from 
• Learn their language (how they communicate and what's important to them) 
• Respect them for who they are 

17:58 - 21:31: "Power with" model that Mary uses with her philanthropic goals and successes. The key is to align with partners who share your values and you are committed to the goal and not having power over another.  

25:28: Hear Mary''s answer to what if...businesses realized that they are people too? 

Connect with Mary online: 

What if....businesses kindly allowed crappy days with Luanne Whitmarsh, ARBI (Association for the Rehabilitation of the Brain Injured)

Top takeaways:

4:24: Great leaders equal great teachers. 

7:04 A business is a reflection of the people; both those who are the recipients of its services and those within the business itself. Meaning - if there is a negative feeling from the business, it's often from the top down. This trickles down, resulting in a sick business. You FEEL this in a business.

9:09: Do you know what actually DEFINES the health of your business? And how can you do this with the ebbs and flows of life?

11:09: It's okay to have a crappy day...and acknowledge this. This allows you to then:

• Get support via programs, people, and so on to address your own inner story
• Teach your team to do this (simply by doing it yourself)
• Allow "off" days to happen. And then move forward.

13:28: It should not challenge you to answer "am I true to my mission?" If it does, this is an opportunity to dig into WHY and what can be done about this.

• Luanne's analogy of "knickers in a knot" provides a great visual!

14:05: What does a business that is KIND in purpose look like? 

• Involves checking all ego at the door
• Identifying how this business helps our fellow citizens - our community. 

16:34 - 18:21: Being kind as a business starts with three steps:

1. If you're a good listener...listen to yourself
2. If you want to be a good person...be good to yourself
3. If you want someone to be good to you...be good to them.

This allows us to start from the basics of being a child who simply trusts and loves again. It becomes about changing the standards of what it means to be a kind, impactful leader.

20:26: Leaders should not set themselves up as completely separate from their teams

21:24: Mental health is something that happens TO us...but it doesn't have to be ABOUT us. We don't have to "live with it" we can work it!

22:19: Must first rebalance our business personhood before we can continue forward

23:11: Who are the people who have your answers? It's your workers. They always do. Ask them

24:21: Difference between eustress and duress. Stress has its place...it's not bad. But we must know its place and purpose

27:54: Power of observation as a leader. It's crucial to use your eyes and not be blind to what is truly going on. 

33:14: hear Luanne's answer to what if...businesses realized that they are people too?

Connect with Luanne online:

What if....businesses behaved boldly for growth while making incremental shifts? with Elise Russell of Pony Friday

Top takeaways:

7:03: The power of giving yourself the space you need allows you the power to shed pieces of yourself that no longer serve you as you go forward.

What if....businesses added a bit of EQ to their IQ for real organizational excellence? with Sandra Crozier-McKee, Facilitator, Executive Coach, Speaker

Top takeaways:

6:36: A business of excellence is clear on their values, principles, and who they are as a person. They understand that they are the sum of their parts.

7:57 - 9:42: The best businesses are a combination of EQ and IQ

• A surgeon can have the best skills...but if they cannot regulate their emotions on a bad day, do you really want them operating on you?

10:35 - 16:36: What exactly is Emotional Intelligence?

What if....businesses decided to first give, rather than make, people earn respect with Judith Virag of Clean Club Calgary.

Top takeaways:

6:38: Judith shares the 2 things missing in her business that, when added, transformed in

• Professionalism - which boils down to respect
• Fun

7:22: Respect - there are two ways of giving it. One is to make people earn it. The other is to simply give it with trust. When we simply give it with trust, THIS is what begins to make a business human because we see our team, our people, as such.

8:58: How can leaders add more "human" back into their business and leadership

• Continuously be learning. Stay open-minded - particularly if you're working with people. Which...we all are
• Know your industry and how your business operates as a person within it. This includes staying up to date on your industry.

11:20: Judith's shares how she hindered her own business for years and what she did to stop being her biggest hurdle

• Big takeaway - get a coach. This helps to remove the isolation leaders feel while creating accountability.
• Just TRY. Always try your hardest. Whether this is showing respect to customers AND also your people, along with being willing to jump in and do what you are asking your people to do. 
• Be grateful. Show your team that by working together, you're all making a bigger impact.

14:53 - 18:38: Connection - face to face connection, building trust between people

• Create moments for your team to connect and show them appreciation
• Judith speaks to Brene Brown's Dare to Lead and the power of physically writing down and then sharing together what each person is grateful for and why

21:21: Promoting from within is great...but not always the right move

• Hear Judith's lesson on how she learned that just because one has great skills as a cleaner, does not mean they have the personality to be a manager. 
• This is about giving the people the right skills while also making sure you have the right person in the right position so the whole business personhood can thrive! b

23:52: hear Judith's answer to what if...businesses realized that they are people too?

Connect with Clean Club Calgary online:

What if....businesses embraced their fear of real growth with Jenn Lofgren, Incito

Top takeaways:

5.25: We all have a story about someone when we hear their bio, but it's never their whole story. Listen to Jenn's story about growing up homeless at the age of 16, being a mechanical assistant in the Canadian Reserves, her career as an assistant to an interior designer and how this is not actually in her bio. 

8.47 - 10:37: The biggest hindrance to leadership: FEAR mindset that shows up in three main areas.

1. To be liked
2. To be right
3. To win.

To be an effective leader, we must let go of all three of these fears. 

11:02 - 12:14: Our identity should not be defined by our role as "leader"

• This allows more choice and ability to belong within the leader role
• Allows us to be more willing to stand alone
• Allows us to shift our mindset from scarcity to abundance

13:22: Even in seemingly "choiceless" situations, we always have a choice

14:42 - 16:50: Value behind a coach is rarely about the problem one goes to a coach for

• Hear how one of Jenn's clients learned to exchange their toxic behaviours
• There is a gift to having someone support you as you start to see your behaviours and values in action

17:22 - 19:42: There is power in conflict.

• Conflict is an internal issue, not an external one. Having someone move through conflict with you can create a positive impact

20:37: Leadership is difficult and requires you to step into vulnerability time and again. The key is to work with someone to help you sort through this as you cannot do leadership work along

23:17 - 24:15: How to start embracing conflict, critical feedback, and growth

1. Talk to someone
2. Go through an assessment tool - such as a 360 Assessment - for an objective path forward
3. Look for the 2% truth in any type of assessment providing feedback.

25:52 - 26:52: Fear isn't about leaping out of it. It's baby-stepping your way through it. It's about giving you control over how you want to show up each day.

28:18: hear Jenn's answer to what if...businesses realized that they are people too?

Connect with Jenn and Incito online:

What if....businesses chose to be better than zero, one teeny % at a time with Hamish Knox, Sandler Training

Update since interview: register for Hamish's sample Sandler Session called Why Salespeople Fail and What You Can Do About It:

What if....tomorrow could be better than today with Lindsay Recknell, Expert in Hope; Hope Motivates Podcast 

Top takeaways: 

11:45: Hope plays a major role within any business and it cannot be undervalued 

12:34: Lindsay's definition of hope: The future will be better than today by taking actions that we can control 

14:32: Hope is something that can be taught and is extremely contagious. When hope dwindles, surround yourself with actively hope-filled people 

16:27: Hope Theory  defined as GOALS + AGENCY THINKING + PATHWAYS THINKING where goals = what; agency thinking = individual why; pathways thinking = how 

17:10: the difference between hopeful people and optimistic people 

19:14: Brain's Hope Circuit Can engage the hope circuit by tapping into your curiosity. Curiosity sparks hope 

23:00 - 25:30: how to tap into hope for your business Example: Bring HOPE THEORY into your performance reviews. This will tap into the personal goals and agency thinking of the team member, helping to build out a more hopeful and active pathways thinking 

30:45: hear Lindsay's answer to what if...businesses realized that they are people too? 

Connect with Lindsay Recknell online: 

What if....businesses lead with heart-centred leadership with Tanya Koshowski, Executive Director, Brown Bagging for Calgary's Kids; Founder, Tanya K. Consulting