Lead the People

Nikki Lewallen Gregory is the Founder and Chief Meaningful Work Officer at PeopleForward Network, a pioneering consultancy dedicated to transforming workplaces through purpose-driven strategies. With a deep-rooted belief in the power of meaningful work, Nikki has cultivated a career centered on aligning organizational goals with individual fulfillment. Under Nikki's visionary leadership, PeopleForward Network has become a beacon for businesses seeking to enhance employee engagement and cultivate thriving workplace cultures. Her approach empowers companies to unlock their full potential by prioritizing people and workplace purpose and strength. The network has experienced fast growth and is currently impacting thousands of leaders with over 1.6 million listens across the network. Top 3 Takeaways Keep everything in focus. We’ve long been told to start with why, but are we asking this question often enough? Old habits, long standing meetings, and workplace routines can always be put to the why test. Know your code. I love how Nikki described her organization’s culture code as a “lived way of being.” This really underscores just how meaningful their intentions are to how they operate and hold one another accountable. Leaders take an oath. Leadership means being responsible for the welfare of others. This should not be taken lightly. Do the work to learn the craft and push through your own boundaries to do it well. From Our Sponsor The Predictive Index (PI) is an award-winning talent optimization platform that aligns business strategy with people strategy for optimal business results. More than 60 years of proven science, software, and a curriculum of insightful management workshops make PI the solution for any company looking to design great teams and culture, make objective hiring decisions, foster engagement, and inspire greatness in their people anywhere in the world. More than 10,000 clients and 480+ partners use PI—including Nissan, Citizens Bank, Subway, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and Omni Hotels—across 90+ countries. Learn more at predictiveindex.com. From the Source “It's like the question I ask every team member before hiring them or regular check ins: ‘What is the why now?’ because that can change over time, but we have to be rooted in the why.” “Life goes so fast. And we all can see seasons in our life where we're like, ‘How is that? Is this year already at this point?’ It just gets faster as you get older and you have to be present. You only get this one shot.” “So you’ve got your mission and vision, and then you've got your values, but then your lived way of being is what I would call a culture code.” “I love the people-first way of showing up. The mentality of ‘people first,’ I love that. It is sometimes overused. People forward is the outcome. We did the work. We are moving people forward through our mentality and the way of showing up. And that is where the name comes from.” “At the end of the day, that person is also going to benefit from you walking them not only out the door but helping them to get to their next place that's a good fit.” “You took the oath that said, ‘I'm here to lead people. I have a responsibility and therefore the first thing is self-awareness and accountability. Am I doing that? Or am I, am I sitting in the seat?’” “I am empathetic to changing 30 years in. Having to do that is hard. A tech change and all the way that we do things on the backend. It's so hard.” Connect with Nikki Website: http://www.peopleforwardnetwork.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikkilewallen

Melissa Doman, MA is an Organizational Psychologist, Former Clinical Mental Health Therapist, & Author of Yes, You Can Talk About Mental Health at Work (Here’s Why And How To Do It Really Well). Melissa works with companies across industries around the globe – including clients like Google, Dow Jones, the Orlando City Soccer Club, Microsoft, Salesforce, Siemens, Estée Lauder, & Janssen. She’s spoken at SXSW and has been featured as a subject matter expert in CNN, Vogue, NPR, the BBC, CNBC, Inc., and in LinkedIn’s 2022 Top 10 Voices on Mental Health. Having lived abroad in South Korea, England, Australia and traveled to 45+ countries, Melissa calls upon her global experiences to inform how she works with companies around the world. She has one core goal: to equip companies, individuals, and leaders to have constructive conversations about mental health, team dynamics, and communication in the workplace. Her work and book aim to accomplish just that. To learn more about Melissa, her work, or the book - please visit www.melissadoman.com. Top 3 Takeaways Build the foundation. There are few workplace topics more important than mental health yet for a variety of reasons, we often shy away from having them. We can start making progress by developing a strong foundation of education and understanding. Have the conversation. Mental well-being is a dynamic and complex topic. This means we need to get comfortable engaging with others to disclose our information, discover theirs, and thoughtfully and effectively support one another. Get real. Feeling pressure to feel okay all the time is not a proper definition of wellness. It’s natural to not feel okay all the time. If we’re in too much of a rush to brush aside negativity, we may inadvertently create a bigger challenge. From Our Sponsor The Predictive Index (PI) is an award-winning talent optimization platform that aligns business strategy with people strategy for optimal business results. More than 60 years of proven science, software, and a curriculum of insightful management workshops make PI the solution for any company looking to design great teams and culture, make objective hiring decisions, foster engagement, and inspire greatness in their people anywhere in the world. More than 10,000 clients and 480+ partners use PI—including Nissan, Citizens Bank, Subway, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and Omni Hotels—across 90+ countries. Learn more at predictiveindex.com. From the Source “We're not trying to create an open playing field or an iron wall. We're trying to create a fence. You decide what you let through. You decide what you don't let through.” “I didn't see anything out there and I was like, people need a guidebook. They need a playbook on how to do this, what to do if it doesn't go well, how to develop the language, the conversational literacy just like a literacy for any, any other skill.” “It is really tough in here. It's really tough out there. And that's not going to change. I'm not trying to be negative. I'm trying to be realistic.” “When you think about intergenerational conversations about mental health at work—that's a doozy—I think that finger pointing is just so unhelpful. And that's what people tend to do really easily because it's, it's easy and it's patterned and that's what different generations do.” “Even though there are more resources than ever and more people are getting help than ever, our global mental health and rates of mental illness are worse than ever.” “When you feel like you have some semblance of control over something, or you have the ability or the self efficacy to be able to develop the skills to be able to handle that, in an uncertain and chaotic world, that should feel like a nice cozy blanket.” Connect with Melissa Website: http://www.melissadoman.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissadoman1 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewanderingmel

Lisa is a global leader of executive development, organizational change, and strategic planning. She leads visionary work as an executive in Fortune 100 companies as well as in education, nonprofit, and startups for over 20 years. She is also the founder of Take the Risk Leadership Group, a leadership consulting firm that focuses on helping individuals, teams, and businesses thrive. Her expertise in leadership and her passion for leading change is rooted in her unwavering commitment to make this world better through the tenets of courage, curiosity, vulnerability, respect, diversity, inclusion, and belonging. Lately, she’s been thinking a lot about being middle-aged, and the vulnerability and bravery it takes to create the life of one's dreams. She loves spending time with her young family, taking them around the globe in pursuit of new adventures and to find the best chocolate chip cookie. Top 3 Takeaways Give yourself permission. If you find yourself frequently looking to others to validate your choices, why not look inward for permission? Yours is the vote that counts the most. Get still. When faced with a big work or life decision, it’s important to hit the pause button. Give yourself the time and space to quiet down and practice discernment. The answer will become that much more clear. Be a work in progress. What you want and need from your career will likely evolve over time. Match your activities to your current stage by gaining exposure early before getting picky mid-career and then thinking of your legacy much later on. From Our Sponsor The Predictive Index (PI) is an award-winning talent optimization platform that aligns business strategy with people strategy for optimal business results. More than 60 years of proven science, software, and a curriculum of insightful management workshops make PI the solution for any company looking to design great teams and culture, make objective hiring decisions, foster engagement, and inspire greatness in their people anywhere in the world. More than 10,000 clients and 480+ partners use PI—including Nissan, Citizens Bank, Subway, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and Omni Hotels—across 90+ countries. Learn more at predictiveindex.com.  From the Source “Something I've been exploring a lot is this idea of permission and this idea about whether we’re waiting for permission from others to say yes to ourselves.” “Sometimes we have such limiting beliefs that we don't even go for the thing. We don't even have that conversation. We write something off before we're even there.” “There is this situation sometimes where either we've been at a place for a long time or maybe something changes in our life or they just hit this pivotal point like it's time to make a change.” “It is hard to pause in this world. It is hard. We are expected to make all these decisions all the time, and the world is changing faster than our brains and our bodies are really meant to do this.” “There's something so powerful when we take those moments, especially those pivotal times, we get to know ourselves better. We get to know more. We get more and more in tune with what we want for our lives when we take that time.” “You're in this job where you do this work and you try to rise as fast as you can. You do the best that you can. You get there. ‘Wait a second. Am I, am I still aligned? Am I still doing, do I want to be doing this? Is this going to work for 30 more years for me?’” Connect with Lisa LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lkleinhofer Website: http://www.taketheriskleadership.com

A dynamic keynote speaker, Jason Lauritsen is a true thought leader in the world of work and employee engagement who is dedicated to revolutionizing the way we Lead With Relationship™. He fearlessly challenges traditional norms to reshape the employee experience by consistently placing authentic human connection at the heart of leadership. Jason is the author of two books, Unlocking High Performance and Social Gravity. His thought leadership has been featured in Forbes, Fast Company, Talent Management magazine, HR Executive magazine, and SHRM publications. Top 3 Takeaways Don’t look back. While we saw an uptick in managers taking a distinctly human approach during the pandemic, many have regressed to prior levels which is fueling burnout. Let’s not lose the progress we gained. We’re in a relationship. What we expect from work and what we expect from relationships are strikingly similar. Make sure you’re doing everything you can to ensure that the dynamic is as healthy as possible at all times. Be curious. As leaders, we need to ask our humans human questions. Be sure to ask questions that can’t be answered too easily. You’re after the type of conversation starters that deepen and strengthen relationships. From Our Sponsor The Predictive Index (PI) is an award-winning talent optimization platform that aligns business strategy with people strategy for optimal business results. More than 60 years of proven science, software, and a curriculum of insightful management workshops make PI the solution for any company looking to design great teams and culture, make objective hiring decisions, foster engagement, and inspire greatness in their people anywhere in the world. More than 10,000 clients and 480+ partners use PI—including Nissan, Citizens Bank, Subway, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and Omni Hotels—across 90+ countries. Learn more at predictiveindex.com. From the Source “Anyone who has friends, family, colleagues that work for someone else probably has heard a story recently about something at work that's not working—a boss that doesn't treat them well, a place that they don't feel valued, where they don't feel like their voice is heard.” “Employees want to be fully engaged, to be leaning in, to be giving their best, to be committed and loyal and all the things we want as employers. They are experiencing work as a relationship, and they need that relationship to be healthy.” “We've had a lot of people that kind of have emotionally and on some level psychologically, disengaged from the organization, but they keep showing up to work. They keep doing just enough.” “A big percentage of how the employee feels about their relationship with work has an awful lot to do with their relationship with you as their manager.” “One of the things that has shifted over the last ten or fifteen years is the importance of the peer-to-peer relationship in impacting engagement. 'How I feel about the work relationship' has actually been on the rise. 'How connected I feel to my peers' is almost as important to my overall engagement satisfaction as my relationship with my manager.” “You can't fix everything. You can't solve all the problems that they're going to be exposed to, but I think it doesn't take away our responsibility to be leaders.” Connect with Jason LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonlauritsen Website: http://www.jasonlauritsen.com Better Relationship Better Work (Podcast) Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/better-relationships-better-work-with-jason-lauritsen/id1746751396 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1BLxdnQMAVDfAImrL3atrD

About Kristie Pappal Kristie Pappal serves as the Vice President of Human Resources with the Philadelphia Eagles where she provides comprehensive human resources leadership including developing and leading HR strategy and policy, cultivating a positive and productive work environment, engagement and inclusion, internal communications, talent acquisition, employee relations, benefits and wellness, compensation, and organizational development. About Jodie Cunningham Jodie J. Cunningham is the CEO and talent optimization expert at Optimus Talent Partners. As a Predictive Index Certified Partner, she specializes in workforce analytics, helping organizations get the right people in the right roles and grow their exceptional talent. Jodie is also a Talent Strategist and Search Consultant for Kopplin, Kuebler and Wallace, where she provides Human Resources executive placement services for luxury country clubs, golf clubs and resorts throughout the United States. Top 3 Takeaways  Every business is a people business. A sports franchise depends on its people just like every other business. Yours may not be as high-profile as an NFL team, but you need to set your people up for success. Make the case. Don’t presume that everybody is as excited about your proposal as you are. Tie your recommendation to issues in the business and demonstrate how it will deliver real results. Slow and steady. When introducing a new program or solution, resist the urge to move too quickly. Allow those you need to absorb the change so they don’t get overwhelmed. They’ll catch up to you in time. From Our Sponsor The Predictive Index (PI) is an award-winning talent optimization platform that aligns business strategy with people strategy for optimal business results. More than 60 years of proven science, software, and a curriculum of insightful management workshops make PI the solution for any company looking to design great teams and culture, make objective hiring decisions, foster engagement, and inspire greatness in their people anywhere in the world. More than 10,000 clients and 480+ partners use PI—including Nissan, Citizens Bank, Subway, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and Omni Hotels—across 90+ countries. Learn more at predictiveindex.com. From the Source(s) Kristie: “One thing every day that I remind myself is that there's 32 opportunities across the NFL. There's certain perceptions—people really do only see what's on the field—but I'm really proud when people join the team and see what a robust business that this sports organization is.” “We talked about having these quick little sessions that were virtual and, and people could sign in from their own computers on their own times to, um, you know, to build that muscle for themselves.” “You need to make sure that people are really prepared and have the tools to lead other people.” “Embracing that crawl, walk, run philosophy of people recognized the value and they started to talk about it and then it built that curiosity and from there. It's opened more departments that have been interested and it's more of a pull that our managers are coming forward and asking for this or they're curious about what this looks like.” Jodie: “HR and talent, no matter what the industry, we all have a lot of the same challenges. And so being able to share best practices from industry to industry is important.” “Managers are craving leadership development. Many times, no matter what industry, managers are promoted because they were great at doing the job, but now their job is to lead people, and they don't necessarily have those tools in their toolbox to be able to do that. Nobody really taught them, or they've never been through a class to learn how to lead. And so being able to use and learn PI as a language, as a basis, as a foundation to start really developing a leadership style to get the most out of the team to be able to achieve the business objectives.” “Half of the building is all about coaching: giving feedback in the moment, positive or constructive, making sure that players understand where they stand in terms of their performance. That happens naturally on that side of the building, but what I often I found as a wow when I joined the NFL is how that doesn't always happen on the business side of the building because those those leaders haven't gained those knowledges and skills and experience to be able to give that feedback in real time, making sure that that we're driving the game for the performance that we're looking for. And so also being able to share that knowledge across the building is an important component of kind of driving that talent optimization.” Connect with Kristie LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristie-pappal/ Website: https://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/ Eagles Autism Challenge: https://www.eaglesautismchallenge.org/ Connect with Jodie LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/optimustalentpartners/ Website: https://www.optimustalentpartners.com/

Erica is an author, speaker, gender equality crusader, and a C-level leader. With over 15 years of experience in Human Resources, Erica's mission is to bring more women into positions of power and KEEP them there. She is a wife, a mom to two small kids, and a fitness fanatic! She’s also the host of the Glass Ceilings and Sticky Floors podcast and author of a forthcoming book with the same amazing name. Top 3 Takeaways Embrace the stuck. We all find ourselves mired in a less-than-ideal state from time to time. The first step to break free is recognizing when we’re stuck. Start small. You don’t have to completely overhaul your life in order to make a change. Even small improvements will add up over time. Create the culture. Organizational and individual values are more important than ever. Make it a point to design these intentionally to help clarify the collective win. From Our Sponsor The Predictive Index (PI) is an award-winning talent optimization platform that aligns business strategy with people strategy for optimal business results. More than 60 years of proven science, software, and a curriculum of insightful management workshops make PI the solution for any company looking to design great teams and culture, make objective hiring decisions, foster engagement, and inspire greatness in their people anywhere in the world. More than 10,000 clients and 480+ partners use PI—including Nissan, Citizens Bank, Subway, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and Omni Hotels—across 90+ countries. Learn more at predictiveindex.com.  From the Source “Staying in toxic relationships, maybe drinking too much wine on a Wednesday, maybe scrolling endlessly through TikTok … all of those things, seemingly innocent sometimes, can really keep you stuck.” “I choose to face my sticky floors, to clean up my sticky floors, so that I can bust through the glass ceilings.” “It's all about taking that sticky floor, recognizing it for what it is, digging deep into that unconscious mind to figure out why do we do the things we do and then pivot that thought.” “The reason I struggled with perfectionism was because I cared so much about what people thought. Why did I care so much about what those people thought? It was because I worried that if they didn't like me, I wasn't worthy.” “We don't have to go from being in this negative space to all rainbows and butterflies and unicorns. You can take a baby step.” "We get caught up in this Instagramable worthy life that everybody who's a leader knows exactly how to be a leader and they make no mistakes.” “We have to get outside of these zones of comfort that we are so used to to truly create those pockets in those environments where people feel comfortable, they feel safe, but they also feel like it's an even playing field.” “What I love about today's workforce being as diverse and complex as it is, is that it is challenging us to really get creative, because we are having to satisfy the boomers and the Gen Zers and the Gen Xers and everyone else in between. It's causing us to really kind of come together as that melting pot that we really are.” “You need to pull all of the leaders together—like the executive team, the senior leadership team, whatever it is—and you need to get them in a room and you need for them to settle in on some core values.” “It's important if you are at the top of the ladder that you lead by example. You don't try to put up a little green screen and be fancy to hide it. Show your real authentic self so that people across the company can do the same.’’ Connect with Erica Website: http://www.ericaandersonrooney.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericarooney Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ericaandersonrooney Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/glass-ceilings-and-sticky-floors-shatter-limiting/id1619692554  

Kelly Mackin is the author of Work Life Well-Lived: The Motives Met Pathway to No-B.S. Well-Being at Work and cofounder and CEO of the Motives Met Platform and Human Needs Assessment which empowers people to create their best work life and workplace. Kellys journey from ill-being to well-being at work ignited her passion and dedication for helping people create health and happiness in their lives through a unique blend of skills. Kelly’s mission is to create a work world where we are human first and well-being is a right, not a privilege. She built Motives Met to achieve the attainable dream of a work life well-lived for all. Top 3 Takeaways Motives matter. Each of us experiences a variety of workplace needs to different degrees and at different times over the course of our careers. Understanding these at an individual level is critical. Get real. Wishing alone won’t create more human and effective workplaces. We need to give managers the tools, training, and resources they need to drive the business and people outcomes we most want. Team up. When we’re transparent about our motives and our collective need to help one another satisfy them, we’re all a part of the co-creation process. Heightened compassion, understanding, and accountability are the inevitable result. From Our Sponsor The Predictive Index (PI) is an award-winning talent optimization platform that aligns business strategy with people strategy for optimal business results. More than 60 years of proven science, software, and a curriculum of insightful management workshops make PI the solution for any company looking to design great teams and culture, make objective hiring decisions, foster engagement, and inspire greatness in their people anywhere in the world. More than 10,000 clients and 480+ partners use PI—including Nissan, Citizens Bank, Subway, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and Omni Hotels—across 90+ countries. Learn more at predictiveindex.com. From the Source “A human work world is one in which our human needs are healthy and ideally thriving at work.” “I grew up really being taught that professionalism equals dehumanization, that we have to shut off those emotions, shut down our needs, put on that workplace armor, as Brené Brown loves to call it, and try to hit the off button on our humanity. When we go to work, that's just not possible. We cannot do that.” “What research has found is that people actually want to show up and be human at work and treat others as human and have those values and virtues that we seem to hold so dear outside of work. That they actually want to bring those to work, but that we feel we can't do that.” “We tend to take a more passive and reactive approach to well-being at work than a proactive or preventative one.” “It is tough because leaders aren't given the time, tools, and resources, as I put it to, to do this well. So you can't expect well-being at work. You can't expect, ‘Oh, go have a people first culture, but we're not going to put any time, resources, dollars, or tools to do it.’ That's just completely unrealistic for everybody.” “These 28 needs really give us a great framework and a picture to understand the building blocks of thriving at work, but we're going to have to focus if we want to optimize our work life and our teams.” “Well-being is messy. It's hard. It's personal. It's multifaceted. It's evolving. We call it the ugly truth because it is. It's not as simple as wrapping it in a little bow and, ‘Oh, you just get to this destination and then you're well at work and then your team is well and performs well at work.’ It's constantly something that's going to evolve.” “Well-being is personal. So you cannot take this one size fits all approach.” “Needs do hold friction with one another like we just talked about. So it's really learning to live in the tension of these needs.” “A really beneficial thing that happens when you do that—when you start to put more of that ownership and accountability and that idea of co-creation with everybody—is that employees and team members have more compassion for you.” Connect with Kelly LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelly-mackin-52793110/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kellymackin_motivesmet/ Website: http://www.motivesmet.com Work Life Well-Lived (Book): https://amzn.to/3RkZxsW

Jackie Insinger is a Bestselling Author, Keynote Speaker, and a sought-after Leadership and Team Dynamics Consultant. Jackie combines the science of positive psychology and neuroscience with current global data to simplify the messiness of leadership in today’s complex climate. Always results-focused, Jackie’s programs are designed to measurably impact the leader, their teams, and the company – leveraging soft skills for hard results. Jackie’s signature Spark Brilliance Leadership Accelerator has created a powerful movement in the corporate world, leading to measurable increases in productivity, positivity, performance, belonging, psychological safety, and engagement within an overall enhanced culture. And in turn, a positive ROI to the Company’s bottom line. Top 3 Takeaways Get current. Everything in our world of work has changed…except the way we lead. Invest in next-level leadership development in order to develop the core capabilities now needed for holistic success. Beware of burnout. We’re in a challenging time when our level-down leaders are experiencing unprecedented burnout. Before we ask leaders and teams to take on more, we have to ensure they have the capacity to do so. Stay evergreen. Leaders are accountable for learning and growth. This pertains to our followers, but also to ourselves. Ask yourself, “What am I actively learning and intentionally practicing?” From Our Sponsor Get your copy of the report, “5 critical actions to enable your people leaders to succeed” at http://trypi.com/report. The Predictive Index (PI) is an award-winning talent optimization platform that aligns business strategy with people strategy for optimal business results. More than 60 years of proven science, software, and a curriculum of insightful management workshops make PI the solution for any company looking to design great teams and culture, make objective hiring decisions, foster engagement, and inspire greatness in their people anywhere in the world. More than 10,000 clients and 480+ partners use PI—including Nissan, Citizens Bank, Subway, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and Omni Hotels—across 90+ countries. Learn more at predictiveindex.com. From the Source “What I always noticed was what are the gaps, right? What are the things that they don't even realize that are missing because they're too busy to figure it out. Most leaders don't even realize what's missing. They're just trying to get through the day.” “If leaders are not trained on how to lead today—if a company has not done a leadership development kind of Up level, upgrade, up skill, iteration, something in the past three years—it's really putting their company at a disadvantage.” “People leaders are the most disengaged of any employee population. And so they're incredibly burned out and the most disengaged and their energy and outlook is contagious.” “All results come through your people. Everything comes through your people, so if you don't effectively and meaningfully lead your people today, it's going to be really hard to get through this time.” “I always say ‘Clarity is kind. Context is key.’ We have to make sure people understand what success looks like here because the only thing that matters is the leader's version of success.” “When leaders develop a trusting, authentically connected relationship with their employees, they see so much better positive, positive influence. They see better outcomes. They see more follow through because of that influence and relationship.” “Leaders also need to up level, upgrade, feel more fulfilled, feel less burned out, feel more committed and energized, and continue to grow. Not just to grow their team, but to grow themselves.” Connect with Jackie Website: https://www.sparkbrilliance.com/ Spark Memos (Newsletter): https://academy.sparkbrilliance.com/spark-memos LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackieinsinger/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jackieinsinger/

Jim currently leads the revenue team for The Predictive Index (PI), a firm focused on the Talent Optimization discipline. Before joining PI, Jim built and ran the velocity sales team at Black Duck Software, an application security company. Jim has been in software sales for longer than he cares to talk about. In his spare time he is raising three children and a cat. When he is allowed out of the house, Jim likes to hike, snowboard and pursue his passion for the Onewheel. Top 3 Takeaways Choose wisely. After experiencing an excruciating level of voluntary turnover, Jim examined and redefined his philosophy. Now, he’s able to tap into a larger talent pool and boost retention in the process. Mind your mindset. When sellers and any other workers feel too tied to the outcomes they produce, they’re walking along a slippery slope. Raise attention to the wholeness of being a successful human and watch the results follow. Leaders listen. The active listening skills Jim teaches his sellers are the same that make for effective leaders. Rather than push ideas and solutions onto others, quiet down and ask insightful questions that lead you both to the right outcome. From Our Sponsor The Predictive Index (PI) is an award-winning talent optimization platform that aligns business strategy with people strategy for optimal business results. More than 60 years of proven science, software, and a curriculum of insightful management workshops make PI the solution for any company looking to design great teams and culture, make objective hiring decisions, foster engagement, and inspire greatness in their people anywhere in the world. More than 10,000 clients and 480+ partners use PI—including Nissan, Citizens Bank, Subway, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and Omni Hotels—across 90+ countries. Learn more at predictiveindex.com.  From the Source “In sales, you often tend to hire extroverts. And there's nothing wrong with being extroverted, but extroversion does tend to lead to a behavior that looks like talking a lot. And at least in my view, sales is better if there's a mix between listening and talking.” “A lot of salespeople actually come to the table with the exact wrong mindset and belief system. And while they may still get results, they're not as optimal as they could be if they would shift gears.” “It's much like the difference between going to see a therapist and feeling like that therapist is pushing their ideas on you and going to a therapist and feeling like ‘This therapist is listening to me. They're hearing about my concerns. They're letting me do the talking. And together we come up with a plan of attack for whatever problem or challenge I face.’ And so the mindset is becoming ‘I'm not a salesperson, I'm a business therapist.’” “Leaders need to focus on developing mastery, allowing autonomy, and the sense of purpose that comes with being a part of your organization and being on your team or representing your product line. What is that sense of purpose and how do you connect your people to it?” “The 1-to-1 is sacred time for the person being led, the employee. It's their sacred time to be heard, to be listened to, for you to understand what their pain is, for them to communicate up to you what is making their job harder. And then your job is to listen.” “We weren't experiencing anywhere near the level of people quitting because they weren't the right fit for what we were trying to do. Instead we were able to grow a team of nine inside sellers to about 150 inside sellers going from mostly a lead gen team to a team that was generating half of the net new ACV or annual contract value that the company was building.” Connect with Jim LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/speredelozzi/ Website: http://www.predictiveindex.com

Deb Smolensky is a #1 best-selling author, speaker, and award-winning thought leader in the area of human performance at work. She serves as NFP’s Global Well-being and Engagement Practice Leader, and for the past 25 years has worked with hundreds of employers, including Fortune 500 companies, developing strategies, programs and practices that empower employees and leaders to lead healthy, productive lives at work through innovative, meaningful, and highly engaging solutions. Top 3 Takeaways Mind your brain. We don’t often stop to think about how our brain works, but it’s impossible to realize our full potential without doing so. Commit to learning about brain basics. Beware of the default. We spend a great percentage of our day on autopilot, but we don’t appreciate how our default patterns of thought may actually be inhibiting our success. Make the switch to Brain On! early and often. Take responsibility. You’re not managing robots, you’re managing others’ brains. We must accept that our behaviors and decisions take root in the brain chemistry and functioning of the collective brain around us. From Our Sponsor The Predictive Index (PI) is an award-winning talent optimization platform that aligns business strategy with people strategy for optimal business results. More than 60 years of proven science, software, and a curriculum of insightful management workshops make PI the solution for any company looking to design great teams and culture, make objective hiring decisions, foster engagement, and inspire greatness in their people anywhere in the world. More than 10,000 clients and 480+ partners use PI—including Nissan, Citizens Bank, Subway, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and Omni Hotels—across 90+ countries. Learn more at predictiveindex.com.  From the Source “I decided to present to the executive committee on the stress response system. While others in my field at the time I was an accountant started presenting on the general ledgers, the financial journals, and all the leaders really took to it as, ‘Wow, we had no idea.’ I became kind of a stress management expert as I was navigating my career path.” “I like to think of our brain as the computer. I've always looked at what's going on through the lens of ‘I can control my thoughts and my experiences through my brain.’” “Over the years—especially through the pandemic—I've come to really believe that everything hinges on our thoughts and emotions.” “Put whatever you have hardest at the beginning then insert those menial tasks as we go, preserving brain power, which is a finite resource every day.” “Our brain always approaches things as a threat that's going to kill us until proven innocent. So we always show up Brain Off, and the goal is to quickly show up Brain On as as much as we can.” “Companies won't survive if they're not mentally strong now, since most of the work is now human work. Soft skills, power skills, whatever you want to call it. That's what's going to start making and driving whether you're successful or not as a business, as a collective brain.” Connect with Deb Book: https://www.amazon.com/Brain-Fitness-Strategies-Sharpening-Boosting/dp/1637556640/ Website: https://debsmolensky.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/debbiesmolensky/