leadership development Archives - Page 3 of 9

Elena Joy Thurston with Elena Joy Experience and Vera Minot with Southwest Solutions

February 23, 2023 by Karen

Phoenix Business Radio

Elena Joy Thurston with Elena Joy Experience and Vera Minot with Southwest Solutions

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Elena Joy Thurston with Elena Joy Experience and Vera Minot with Southwest Solutions

Elena Joy Experience is a certified LGBTQ-owned and women-owned consulting company that offers training, coaching, speaking, and consultation. We increase authentic and sustainable Inclusive Leadership through:

Inclusive Leadership training workshops
Human Resource and Public Relation department trainings
ERG support strategy
Executive Coaching that focuses on inclusion and impactful Vocal Empowerment for leaders from marginalized communities
Keynote speaking engagements that allow for transformational experiences

Our mission is to increase inclusion in real and sustainable ways, through transformational experiences and communication. We believe that organizations specifically and society at large can prevent suicide and homelessness in the LGBTQ+ community by authentically increasing inclusion, safety, and belonging, while simultaneously increasing profit.

We envision a world in which every LGBTQ+ employee is safe at work and proud of the impact their employers are having on the world.

Featured in the award-winning documentary, CONVERSION, Elena Joy Thurston is an inspirational Diversity & Allyship speaker, trainer, and author through a lens of LGBTQ+ inclusion.

Elena Joy inspires her audiences to learn how Inclusive Leadership can improve company morale and productivity, changing members’ lives in a practical way.

A Mormon mom of four who lost her marriage, her church, and her community when she came out as a lesbian, her viral TEDx talk on surviving conversion therapy has been viewed more than 45,000 times and landed her media and speaking opportunities with ABC, CBS, FOX, Penn State, University of North Texas, Michael’s, Logitech, and more.

Connect with Elena Joy on LinkedIn and Instagram.

Southwest Solutions is an award winning marketing materials agency that has been going the extra mile for their clients since 2014.

With a diverse team comprising more than 45 years of experience in the industry, they help people think beyond the product and leverage the emotional exchange that marketing actually is.

Vera Minot is the Creative Director for, and part owner of, Southwest Solutions – an award winning promotional design company. She is a heart-first professional who’s known for her creativity; aversion to small talk; and appreciation good vocabulary and clever marketing materials.

She studied Linguistics and Gender & Women’s Studies at the University of Arizona, and after stints in a variety of industries that converged into a unique perspective on business and humans, she joined the team at SWS.

She never knew she’d love her industry so much, but every business or organization has a unique brand story to tell, and when she realized promotional products & custom apparel don’t have to be boring (nor do they have to be straight-to-the-trash-swag) she was hooked!

In her free time, Vera serves as the President of the Tucson LGBT Chamber of Commerce – cultivating a safe space for queer folks in business but also a space of learning for allies who are tremendously important to the LGBTQIA+ community.

In the free time that’s left, you’ll find her being active, tending to too many houseplants, reading, and hanging out with her wife and their cats.

Connect with Vera on LinkedIn.

Jeff Eschliman with LEAD Consulting Group

January 26, 2023 by Karen

Phoenix Business Radio

Jeff Eschliman with LEAD Consulting Group

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Jeff Eschliman with LEAD Consulting Group

LEAD Consulting Group focuses on executive leadership development and helping their clients creating award winning team culture and performance.

Jeff Eschliman is an executive coach with 30 years of progressive leadership experience from combat in Iraq to the corporate boardroom. Personal development, consistency and a tenacious work ethic are hallmarks of Jeff’s leadership style. Jeff communicates crystal clear vision and bold expectations with his collaborative approach.

Jeff is a sought-after expert for building and scaling results driven teams. He believes hiring the right people, equipping them with the tools they need to be successful and then holding them accountable is the secret to exceptional business success. Jeff has created award-winning employee engagement and company culture by cultivating personal relationships then emphasizing both individual and team accountability.

What makes Jeff unique is a lifestyle of harmony he creates for himself and his clients by using his zen for success formula of careful planning and continual reflection guided by his one-page strategic plan for life.

Connect with Jeff on LinkedIn and Instagram.

Paul Wilson Jr., Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs

December 19, 2022 by John Ray

North Fulton Business Radio

Paul Wilson Jr., Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs

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Paul Wilson Jr., Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs (North Fulton Business Radio, Episode 592)

Paul Wilson Jr., Vice President of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs, joined host John Ray on this episode of North Fulton Business Radio. He gave an overview of Russell Center, the legacy of Herman J. Russell, the Center’s mission to support Black entrepreneurs, capacity building, collaboration and partnerships, what they’re looking for from mentors and businesses who want to plug in, and much more.

North Fulton Business Radio is produced and broadcast by the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta.

Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs

RICE is an economic mobility engine for the community: driving entrepreneurs and small business owners to innovate, grow, create jobs, and build wealth. They house over 50,000 square feet of convening, meeting, and innovation space in a LEED Silver Certified building, brought to life by a robust offering of educational, networking, mentoring, and capital resources. Part business generator, innovation lab, and museum, RICE invests in Black entrepreneurs, strengthens businesses, and creates community.

Their mission is to inspire and empower Black entrepreneurs.

Website | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

Paul Wilson Jr., Vice President of Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs

Paul Wilson, Jr., VP of Innovation and Entrepreneurship with The H. J. Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs (RICE), is an innovative and effective entrepreneurial leader with nearly 20 years of experience creating and delivering high caliber consulting and training solutions to small businesses, corporations, non-profits, and professionals at all levels. He has extensive industry experience that spans leadership roles in small business development, supply chain management, procurement, and supplier diversity. His expertise includes strategic planning, operational planning, leadership development, digital media, government and corporate contracting, and curriculum design and development.

Most recently Paul served as the Area Director of the UGA Small Business Development Center at Georgia State University. In that position he successfully led a dynamic team that provided consulting services, business solutions, educational training, and market research to startup, growing, and established small businesses that helped them achieve their short and long-term goals.

Previously Paul has leveraged his Master of Science in Organizational Management and Bachelor of Business in Supply Chain Management to impact several industries and companies across the United States. Some of his previous client engagements include Southern Company, Georgia Minority Supplier Development Council (GMSDC), Nevada Energy, Vectren, Louisville Gas & Electric, AEP, Edison Electric Institute, Indiana Utility Association, Utility Purchasing Management Group, San Diego Chargers (NFL), Carolina Panthers (NFL), Minnesota Vikings (NFL), and multiple other organizations.

He is a passionate champion for minority business development, expansion, and retention in the metro Atlanta region, and has built strong partnerships and collaborations with several small business development organizations. In addition to being a published author, he enjoys using his multi-media talents and skills to create digital content that informs, inspires, and challenges entrepreneurs to pursue their maximum potential.

Questions and Topics in this Interview

Overview of Russell Center and their mission to support Black entrepreneurs
Strategic planning
Capacity building
Collaboration and partnerships

North Fulton Business Radio is hosted by John Ray and broadcast and produced from the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta. You can find the full archive of shows by following this link. The show is available on all the major podcast apps, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, Amazon, iHeart Radio, Stitcher, TuneIn, and others.

Renasant Bank has humble roots, starting in 1904 as a $100,000 bank in a Lee County, Mississippi, bakery. Since then, Renasant has grown to become one of the Southeast’s strongest financial institutions with over $13 billion in assets and more than 190 banking, lending, wealth management and financial services offices in Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida. All of Renasant’s success stems from each of their banker’s commitment to investing in their communities as a way of better understanding the people they serve. At Renasant Bank, they understand you because they work and live alongside you every day.

Since 2000, Office Angels® has been restoring joy to the life of small business owners, enabling them to focus on what they do best. At the same time, we honor and support at-home experts who wish to continue working on an as-needed basis. Not a temp firm or a placement service, Office Angels matches a business owner’s support needs with Angels who have the talent and experience necessary to handle work that is essential to creating and maintaining a successful small business. Need help with administrative tasks, bookkeeping, marketing, presentations, workshops, speaking engagements, and more? Visit us at https://officeangels.us/.

Andy Kalajian, Fort Leadership and Sales Consulting, LLC

November 7, 2022 by John Ray

North Fulton Business Radio

Andy Kalajian, Fort Leadership and Sales Consulting, LLC

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Andy Kalajian, Fort Leadership and Sales Consulting, LLC (North Fulton Business Radio, Episode 559)

Andy Kalajian joined North Fulton Business Radio host John Ray to discuss the mix of generations in the workplace and its effect on corporate culture, millennials in the workplace, causes of poor employee engagement, why employees are seeking more meaning and purpose in their work, how he helps teams diagnose and solve nagging performance difficulties, and much more.

North Fulton Business Radio is produced and broadcast by the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta.

Fort Leadership and Sales Consulting, LLC

Fort Leadership and Sales Consulting, LLC is a Personal and Professional Leadership Development company.

They believe in Transformational Thought in Action! Transformational thought in action means that your thoughts become your actions. Those actions invested in your life, over time, become your habits.

When you invest your habits in your life over time, those habits produce your Character. And your Character determines the destiny of your life. With this model, you can understand why Character development is so very important! And Character Development is Leadership Development. This is why we believe that at Fort Leadership We Create Healthy Corporate Cultures One Character at a Time! They do this by conducting Executive Leadership Group Training at 1000 Avalon in North Fulton or via Zoom!

The workplace is comprised of 4 working generations. All four of these Generations are working in the United States right now. “The young adults are taking longer to grow up, middle- age adults are taking longer to grow old, and the elderly are taking longer to leave this earth.” Tim Elmore author of A New Kind of Diversity “As a people, we are growing older, more unequal, more diverse, more mixed race, more digitally linked, less married, less fertile, less religious, and less confident” Paul Taylor Pew Research Center.

Further dividing us in the workplace is the music we listen to, the heroes we celebrate, and the villains we denigrate. We are divided by our use of technology, the news outlets we watch, the events that we celebrate, and the politics venerate In the 1960s and 70s, work was a place where the employees made a living. People got their purpose and meaning from churches or houses of worship. We lived within 15 miles from where we were born and raised and so we had family all around us. We had a sense of community from bowling leagues, card parties, and the Rotary or Kiwanis club.

Today, all of this social responsibility has fallen on the workplace. The workplace is where Gen Y and Gen Z expect to get their meaning & purpose, it’s where they get their friend groups and their sense of community. They want everyone to agree with their politics. When you add the emotion of fear exacerbated by Covid and their sense of the fragility of life itself, they want and need the workplace to be their therapist too.

Now with this as a backdrop, it’s easier to understand why there is such a large exodus from the workforce. The Bureau of Labor and Statistics reports that 38 million workers left the workforce in 2021. Furthermore, they indicated that another 4.4 million headed for the exits in February 2022. Clearly, some Boomers took early retirement after Covid or just decided the heck with it, it is not worth it anymore.

Like the aftershocks of an earthquake, Covid is still causing tremors in our workplace. This is why Fort Leadership believes that strong Character driven Leadership is vital to the workplace and to the nation today! It is time for Leaders to stand up and teach the next generation what it looks like to model servant leadership. It’s time for leaders to sharpen their leadership skills. It’s time for leaders to invest in their leadership teams so that they can lead the people safely through turbulent storms. It’s time to gather them one by one, by one, and teach them the necessary skills to help them not to just survive, but to thrive.

So do you have a leadership growth plan for yourself? If not, why not? And do you have a Leadership Development plan for your people? As the leader, it’s incumbent on you to make the right decisions. This is your call to action!

Company website | LinkedIn | Instagram

Andy Kalajian, Founder & President, Fort Leadership and Sales Consulting, LLC

Andy Kalajian has been a highly sought-after public speaker for more than 25 years. He has received public acclaim for his brand, EnTheos, Latin for Spirit Within and predecessor to the word Enthusiasm. Andy enthusiastically delivers powerful talks and lessons steeped in wisdom literature and their practical application to busy lifestyles. His tagline, transformational thought in action, serves as a reminder to the participant that one can, indeed, permanently change the destiny of their life by changing the nature of their thoughts and actions.

Andy was born and raised in Detroit Michigan. As a young boy he discovered his passion for serving others in medicine and his gift for public speaking. At the age of 12, Andy, at the urging of his father, began to earn his own way as a Golf Caddy. His sense of adventure also led him, along with his father, to the Boy Scouts of America where he achieved the Rank of Eagle Scout. In High School, Andy was fed books from his mother, Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill and How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

While a golf caddy, Andy was awarded the prestigious Evans Scholarship, a full academic and leadership scholarship, to study at Michigan State University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Medical Technology. In 1985, he coupled his lifelong passion for medicine and serving people with his gift of enthusiastic speaking and moved to Atlanta to begin his career in Medical Sales.

As a young professional, Andy’s Mom continued to fuel his desire for wisdom literature from authors/speakers Zig Ziglar, Earl Nightingale, Les Brown, Stephen Covey, and John Maxwell. Andy applied the character traits instilled in him from the Boy Scouts and the leadership skills taught to him by John Maxwell, Stephen Covey, and others to enjoy over 30 years in an award-winning medical sales career. It was during this time that Andy was asked to speak to groups as small as 4 or 5 and as large as 500+ all over the US and Puerto Rico.

Andy is very involved in the lives of his two children, Mallory and Drew. For 12 years they were engaging in monthly adventures with the YMCA Adventure Guides program where Andy volunteered in several leadership positions including Nation Chief. Andy and his wife, Sherrie, have four adult children and are active members of Pastor Andy Stanley’s congregation at North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, Georgia.

Andy enjoys time invested with his wife Sherrie, his family, and friends. He still has a voracious appetite for reading the wisdom literature and the biographies of the American Founders. He enjoys weight lifting, aerobics, golf and hiking the outdoors. Andy continues to have a passion for speaking, coaching, and training others to lead a life of significance.

Connect with Andy Kalajian on LinkedIn.

Questions and Topics in the Interview

Who is Fort Leadership and Sales Consulting, LLC and how are you helping folks out there?
Can you give our listeners some insights as to what you are learning about our nation’s workforce in this post Covid world we are ALL living in?
How are the Millennials impacting the workforce today?
Why are so many workers leaving their employers?
How can employers solve the problems with employee engagement and employee retention?

Special thanks to A&S Culinary Concepts for their support of this edition of North Fulton Business Radio. A&S Culinary Concepts, based in Johns Creek, is an award-winning culinary studio, celebrated for corporate catering, corporate team building, Big Green Egg Boot Camps, and private group events. They also provide oven-ready, cooked-from-scratch meals to go they call “Let Us Cook for You.” To see their menus and events, go to their website or call 678-336-9196.

Selfless Leading to Improve Culture E28

October 7, 2022 by Karen

Phoenix Business Radio

Selfless Leading to Improve Culture E28

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Selfless Leading to Improve Culture E28

From first glance and the start to the podcast, you may not see the amazing alignment and similarities between Jonathan and April. We see them though!

Jonathan and April are both very aligned with growing conscious businesses and supporting people in a very selfless manner. What they do helps people and companies grow; Whether it is Jonathan giving advice to other business leaders about how to grow a business and not being ruthless, or April going into the company to guide and coach them to growing their business through the principles of Generosity Culture. They are both supporting the growth of great conscious and caring leaders.

It was great to hear about their backgrounds getting them to this point where they are now. Jonathan grew up and went into the Real Estate business thinking that he had to be ruthless to make money. April gained experience and knowledge from her time in the military that she is now able to put into place with the work that she does helping companies and leaders.

When asked about the favorite part of her own company’s culture, April said, “My favorite part of my company’s culture is it’s all about helping and empowering others. Everything we do is in service to others’ success.”

When Jonathan was asked about his company culture he told us, “Keyser was built off of 15 core operating principles. We are very clear about that during the hiring process, and because of that, I am confident that each of my team members buys into those beliefs. In fact, many of the current members have joined Keyser because they believed in the principles. This bleeds into how we interact with one another and how we serve our clients.”

If you are looking for a podcast with a few passionate individuals that have a strong stance on improving company culture, being selfless, supporting others- then this is it. The two of them discuss the passion to lead selflessly, the importance of being forthcoming and honest, and building a workplace that is safe and provides courage to disagree. There are stories and examples to listen to in this podcast that are great for all levels of leaders to learn from.

Driven Outcomes is a consulting firm that helps accelerate the revenue growth and culture creation of businesses across industries using the principles of The Generosity Culture.

Working with company CEO’s, Leaders and Entrepreneurs, Driven Outcomes drives unprecedented success by modeling the power of pouring into people, clients and the community.

April Shprintz is a Business Accelerator, Speaker, host of the Winning Mindset Mastery Podcast and the Author of Magic Blue Rocks, the Secret to Doing Anything, a book about the life changing impact of a winning mindset.

After spending 20 great years in a variety of industries solving problems, driving growth, and accelerating companies, April realized helping people is who she is, not just what she does. Generating over $1 Billion dollars in combined revenue, April left corporate America after her highest earning 7-figure year to form her own company and expand her impact.

The creator of The Generosity Culture®, April lives her dream helping innovators and leaders grow their businesses through a combination of pouring into their people, their clients, and their community.

A proud veteran, April served for nearly 7 years in the Air Force as a Television News Anchor and Executive Producer. She’s a graduate of the University of Maryland and holds an MBA from the University of Texas.

Connect with April on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Keyser is one of the country’s most innovative and trustworthy technology-enabled occupier services commercial real estate firms. Keyser’s advisors assist occupiers of space with their commercial real estate needs, including leasing, purchasing, constructing, or disposing of facilities.

Keyser specializes in helping tenants leverage A.I. and market expertise to secure commercial real estate incentives and attract today’s workforce while reducing cost & risk. Whether it’s managing, negotiating, or assisting with commercial real estate strategy, our advisors take pride in serving our clients.

Jonathan Keyser is the founder of Keyser (http://www.keyser.com/), one of the most innovative and trustworthy technology-enabled occupier services commercial real estate firms in the country. Along with their international partners, they have over 560 people worldwide.

Jonathan is a #1 Wall Street Journal Best Selling Author for his book, “You Don’t Have to be Ruthless to Win”, and he was named “The Commercial Real Estate Disruptor” by USA Today. He has also been named a “Top Social Capital CEO” by the International Business Times, is a highly sought after keynote speaker, a thought leader featured in over 150 articles, publications, and podcasts, and during the pandemic was recognized as one of the “Top 20 Virtual Keynote Speakers” in the country.

As an entrepreneur himself, Jonathan has built Keyser into an eight-figure firm named recently as one of the Top 50 Most Trustworthy Companies in America by The Silicon Review.

Today through his 6,7,8 Selfless Leadership workshop series, he helps other business leaders activate the three levels of reinvention to boost profits while increasing client and employee retention. Jonathan’s efforts to change the business world through selfless service manifest in his content, thought leadership, and the level of excellence he holds his team to within Keyser.

Connect with Jonathan on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

About Culture Crush

Culture is not just a tag word to be thrown around. It is not something you throw in job descriptions to draw people to applying for jobs within a company.

According to Marcus Buckingham and Ashely Goodall in their book Nine Lies About Work, “Culture is the tenants of how we behave. It’s like a family creed. This is how we operate and treat each other in the family.”

As a growing company- Culture Crush Business Podcast is THE culture improvement resource that supports companies and leaders. Our Mission is to improve company cultures so people WANT to go to work. Employees and leaders should like where they work and we think this is possible.

Within the company: Culture Crush has Vetted Resources and Partnerships with the right people and resources that can help improve your company culture.

On this podcast: We focus on everything surrounding businesses with good company culture. We will talk with company leaders to learn about real-life experiences, tips, and best practices for creating a healthy work environment where employees are finding joy and satisfaction in their work while also striving and growing within the company. We also find the companies that offer resources to help improve company culture and showcase them on the show to share their tips and tricks for growing culture.

About the Host

Kindra Maples is spartan racer, past animal trainer, previous magician’s assistant, and has a weakness for Oreo cookie shakes. Her journey working with people actually started working with animals as a teenager (don’t worry we won’t go that far back for her bio).

She worked for over 15 years in the zoo industry working with animals and the public. Her passion of working with animals shifted into working with people in education, operations and leadership roles. From there her passion of leadership and helping people develop has continued to grow.

Then came the opportunity for leading the Culture Crush Business Podcast and she jumped on it. Leadership, growth, and strong company cultures are all areas that Kindra is interested in diving into further.

Shout Outs

We want to thank a few people for their behind the scenes effort in helping this relaunch to come to life. James Johnson with Tailored Penguin Media Company LLC.– It is a small, but powerful video production company with a goal to deliver the very best by articulating the vision of your brand in a visually creative way. Gordon Murray with Flash PhotoVideo, LLC. -Flash Gordon has been photographing since high school and evolving since then with new products that will equip, encourage, engage, and enable. Renee Blundon with Renee Blundon Design – She is not only one of the best free divers (that’s not how she helped with the podcast) but she is great with graphics design and taking the direction for the vision that you have while also adding creative ideas to bring to your vision to life.

These are just a few of the folks that supported the relaunch of the podcast. If you would like to be part of the Culture Crush team or would like to support underwriting the show- please reach out: info@culturecrushbusiness.com

Esther Weinberg, The Ready Zone

September 28, 2022 by John Ray

Business Leaders Radio

Esther Weinberg, The Ready Zone

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Esther Weinberg, The Ready Zone

Esther Weinberg, Founder and Chief Leadership Development Officer of The Ready Zone, joined host John Ray on Business Leaders Radio to discuss the changes in workplace culture over the last few years, reorganizations, why they succeed or fail, advice for leaders navigating change, and much more.

Business Leaders Radio is produced and broadcast by the North Fulton Studio of Business RadioX® in Atlanta.

The Ready Zone

After 20+ years of working with organizations in the media and technology industries, Esther Weinberg has observed that when leaders cultivate and nurture a high level of alignment, especially during chaotic and uncertain times, they deliberately—and intentionally—create an engaged, powerful, and profitable workplace culture despite of change or unforeseeable circumstances.

And by extension, when these organizations operate with a mindset whereby valuing one another is not only a high priority, it’s as “measured” and valued as the bottom line, they are operating in what she defines as The Ready Zone: An environment in which the leader, the team, the employees, and the organization as a whole, are 100% committed to people feeling valued for who they are, their contribution, their humanity, and the value they bring to the table by being themselves. And this is exponentially more important in a virtual environment. Creating this culture facilitates leaders to step into being ready to powerfully take on the opportunities and challenges in front of them.

Through executive coaching and a series of comprehensive change management programs, Ready Zone leaders are empowered to elevate 6 key Zone Performance Indicators (ZPIs).

Company website | LinkedIn | Twitter

Esther Weinberg, Founder and Chief Leadership Development Officer, The Ready Zone

Esther Weinberg is a business growth accelerator that equips executives in high-growth media and technology industries to create game-changing breakthroughs, increase profitability in declining markets and create successful and sustainable “portable” virtual cultures with executives, leaders, and teams.
As Founder & Chief Leadership Development Officer of The Ready Zone, she moves leaders through change with proven systems to create big pivots, big impact, and big returns. Esther’s strategies assist companies through such impactful conditions as planning and executing reorganizations; moving employees from burnout and exhaustion to empowered, innovative, and driven; and implementing clear priorities and strategies for growing a virtual and global workforce.
Esther provides proven, transformative, yet practical tools and systems that help benchmark and measure results. Despite uncertain times, Esther is not afraid to tell eye-opening truths that dives deeply into the impact of change and consolidation. She does so to create the access and opportunity for meaningful dialogue and action to develop workplace cultures of trust, respect and safety. In fact, she rolls-up-her-sleeves, authentically and methodically helping organizations build sustainable company cultures that thrive vs. survive. From the fundamentals behind developing a collective philosophy of readiness to take on any industry challenge, to coaching leaders on how to reframe, refocus, and realign, Esther is a true powerhouse.

Esther is the author of the eBook on The Ready Zone’s unique framework entitled, Better Leaders. Better People. Better Results: 6-Eye Opening Strategies to Thrive Through Change You Didn’t Ask For. With over 20 years’ experience, her innovative strategies have assisted clients to grow, scale and thrive during the worst and best of times including Netflix, NBCUniversal, Microsoft, ESPN, WarnerBros., Discovery, CNN, DreamWorks Animation, Disney, IMAX, National Geographic, TelevisaUnivision, and Sony.

A respected thought-leader with first-hand experience, Esther has held executive positions at Disney and Fox, as well as stood in the shoes of C-Suite executives as an interim CEO and leader at numerous organizations. Esther’s drive for developing global leaders stems from her work abroad, including Botswana, Israel and Uganda.

Esther is the Co-Founder of the Being Me Foundation along with her wife, Lin. The organization’s mission is to create breakthroughs through global Ontological coaching and leadership programs that redefine diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging for LGBTQIA+ young adults.
She is a graduate of New York University and a member of Harvard’s Institute of Coaching at McLean Hospital. Esther is a member of the Forbes Coaches Council and a contributor to Forbes.

LinkedIn | Twitter

Questions and Topics

What is the biggest mistake organizations make during times of change? How can they resiliently overcome it?
What is the one skill leaders undervalue that’s needed more than ever now?
I’ve heard of so many reorganizations failing. How can organizations approach this in a more thoughtful way?
How have reorganizations impacted the way people work today?
What are the new skills leaders now need to powerfully lead permanent, ever-evolving change?
How do leaders need to better prepare people to be resilient?
What advice would you give to leaders to do first who are leading change?
What are the most common costly mistakes that derail organizations from staying relevant and powerful?

Business Leaders Radio is hosted by John Ray and produced virtually from the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® in Alpharetta. The show can be found on all the major podcast apps and a full archive can be found here.

Honesty in the Workplace – Do Your Employees Want to Stay or Open Their Own Food Truck? E23

June 30, 2022 by Karen

Phoenix Business Radio

Honesty in the Workplace - Do Your Employees Want to Stay or Open Their Own Food Truck? E23

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Honesty in the Workplace – Do Your Employees Want to Stay or Open Their Own Food Truck? E23

Andy and Kristy were another perfect pairing for the Culture Crush Business Podcast. Kristy discussed what her team does to help leaders to enhance culture and optimize performance, while Andy gave us insight into the heart of his company and ways other leaders can support their internal teams.

According to Kristy and her team, the four main areas that individuals in the workplace are searching for is to be known, grown, included and inspired. These four pieces are areas that Kristy and her team focus on improving but these are four main areas that your team and company can start to focus on as well!

When improving company culture and focusing on your people, the ROI is there in the end. There are a handful of tips that came from the conversation that can help improve the company culture, increase retention, and attract the right new candidates.

So where do you start?

Take the time to know your people and who they are. Support and grow your people. Provide them professional development support and stop being afraid that they “might” leave the company. Guess what? They might stay too! Reach out to your staff and ask for their thoughts and input. Allow your staff the opportunity to feel inspired with the work that your company is doing.

Both Know Your Talents and ESI are perfect examples of companies that are doing great things and allowing their staff to feel inspired with what they are doing. The next step is honesty. This means that leadership is honest to the staff and they provide a space for the staff to be honest as well. This opens the opportunity for staff to be open with their bosses and management about their goals and future growth. Maybe the employee wants to grow in the company or maybe they want to have a food truck someday. You’ll never know unless you give them the space to open up.

This podcast is for any level leader that understands culture is going to happen whether you work on it or not. So why not work on it and make it better? You don’t have to be sick to work on your health and your culture doesn’t have to be bad to want to work and improve it.

All in all- when you start to focus on improving the company culture at your company, once you start you have to keep going. You can’t talk to employees about their feelings, thoughts, and ideas and then not consider them as you grow and improve. Andy put it simply, “You can’t put the genie back in the bottle.”

In the end- as a leader- be bold, courageous, purposeful, and mindful.

Know Your Talents (KYT) is a management consulting firm that enhances culture and optimizes performance at every level. Our expertise is centered around four key principles: helping businesses know, include, inspire and grow their employees.

Kristy Bach serves as the President at Know Your Talents, a premier management consulting partner working with leaders to enhance culture and optimize performance at every level. Know Your Talents is the corporate division of LearnKey, a workforce education solutions provider. Kristy leads the corporate division enabling the company to offer a complete “enterprise development solution” that aligns people strategy to business strategy.

Kristy brings her success to immediately connect with, consult, and inspire individuals across every level and discipline, building trust and authentic relationships with clients, team members and peers. Prior to joining KYT, Kristy was with BestCompaniesAZ a leading Arizona Marketing Company. Additionally, she served in a COO capacity for over ten years at The Finders, a local staffing and recruiting firm, specializing in Technology, Human Resources, and Finance/Accounting.

Kristy currently serves on the Board of Directors for a local non-profit organization, Career Connectors and serves on the GCU Technology Advisory Board. Kristy is a graduate of the University of Arizona and she enjoys spending time with her husband and family, friends, community involvement, running, biking and hiking in her free time.

Follow Know Your Talents on LinkedIn and Facebook.

Educational Services (ESI) is the leading provider of employee staffing solutions for Arizona school districts, as well as assisting governments and colleges. Founded in 1999 by three educators, ESI has a passion for helping people by making a positive impact in education and public service.

ESI’s featured services include a return-to-work program known as RetireRehire, and SubSource, the largest substitute staffing program in the state. ESI has proudly served over 10,000 of Arizona’s public retirees and actively employs over 6,000 substitute educators.

Andy Shirk is the President & CEO of ESI, delighted to lead a company where heart and integrity are cherished in a people-centered culture.

Prior to joining ESI, Andy lead TrueRoots Development for 7 years advising business owners throughout the Valley.

Kindness, curiosity and wisdom are his core values. His greatest joy is serving people with warmth and compassion which is the bedrock of his career.

Whether as a business leader or playing upright bass in the local music scene, Andy genuinely loves to create the setting for others to shine.

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