Janet Brideaux, Author at Training Unleashed

About Janet Brideaux

This author has not yet filled in any details.
So far Janet Brideaux has created 20 blog entries.

Identifying leadership opportunities with Kimberly Gerber

In this Training Unleashed Podcast, our host Evan Hackel interviewed Kimberly Gerber, CEO of Excelerate and executive coach. We know you will benefit from Kimberly’s no-holds-barred insights into what many leaders do both right and wrong as they strive to build successful organizations. Here are some of the leadership opportunities that came to the surface in the interview.

Leadership Opportunity: Hire and Promote the Right People

Often, leaders hire the wrong people for the wrong jobs. But Kimberly points out that just as often, companies hire the right people and place them in the wrong jobs.

Why do company leaders make this mistake? One reason is that executives who are interviewing tend to over-prioritize the personal connection they feel with candidates.

Kimberly also observes that hiring executives are prone to evaluate internal candidates by looking at the jobs they have performed in the company and overlook the fact that internal candidates could have a “whole other background” of skills that they could bring to the new role.

Leadership Opportunity: Retain the Right People

Kimberly told Evan that in the wake of Covid-19, many companies are simply not doing enough proactively to retain their talent. Companies need to get their most important employees on employee incentive and reward programs, so they will not want to leave.

Leadership Opportunity: Connect Personally with Employees

According to Kimberly, another reason people leave is that the leaders fail to invest in them on a personal level. “People want to know that a leader has your back . . . is investing in you from a mentoring perspective . . . is taking the time to craft a career plan for you and providing opportunities for you to grow your skillset. Those are the leaders that people will hang around for.”

Leadership Opportunity: Build Trust

Loyalty results when people trust that a leader will give them the opportunities to keep growing and simply to feel good about collaborating with him or her. Kimberly stated, “When people feel that way, they think, `I’ll stay with this company, even though I might be leaving money on the table.’” Evan agreed and noted that while people like money, it is usually not the most important motivator to follow a leader and give their utmost to an employer.

Leadership Opportunity: Invest in Great Training

Kimberly observed that leaders should take the lead in having their organizations provide inspiring training to their people. Doing so does more than teach people skills, it demonstrates that a company is making a committed, long-term investment in every member of the team.

A Special Offer

Kimberly Gerber invites all members of the Training Unleashed community to take the Promotability Assessment that you will find on the Excelerate website.

About Our Guest

Kimberly Gerber is the founder of Excelerate, an innovative executive development firm specializing in helping leaders prepare for and succeed in C-level roles. For 30+ years, she has helped transform the impact of 1500+ leaders across 100 companies.

The creator of several innovative leadership development programs, Kimberly helps senior leaders create strategic vision, build strong cultures, elevate leadership presence, and finesse communication to strengthen their impact on teams and organizations.

Kimberly and her team at Excelerate have provided more than 38,000 hours of coaching, training and strategy work, helping her executive clients master the five elements of successful executive-level leadership—boosting a 94% client promotion rate and a 100% client re-hire rate. Her focus of candor and kindness is designed to help her clients become the best version of themselves.

Janet Brideaux2022-09-22T15:29:41-04:00September 22, 2022|

Being a Chief Everything Officer with Richard Shaull

Richard Shaull is co-founder and CEO of a company called Unleashed CEO. Richard has helped hundreds of businesses implement the right systems and teams, enabling them to rapidly scale.

In a recent Training Unleashed Podcast, Richard and host Evan Hackel discussed Richard’s exciting idea that what companies need today is what he calls Chief Everything Officers –leaders who practice the ability to wear many hats at once and unleash the power of their associates.

What It Means to Be a Chief Everything Officer

Richard told Evan that this new kind of executive – a Chief Everything Officer – is someone who sits in an executive seat in a company but finds themself wearing many more hats than they anticipated. They’re spinning more plates than they feel like they can keep going at any one time and putting out fires all the time – forced to live in what Richard calls “a reactive state.”

“None of us wants to own that identity,” Richard told Evan. “But if we’re honest with ourselves in a moment of self-reflection, we’d say, `Yeah, I’m playing Chief Everything Officer. In any moment I could be Human Resources Officer or whatever the need may be.’”

Listen to the entire podcast to hear Richard’s tips that people can use to help build a mindset that a Chief Everything Officer needs.

A Power Tip from Richard

When asked for one tip for the audience, Richard answered, “Establish a daily practice of silence and stillness where you reflect on who you want to be and what you see. I can’t tell you how impactful that practice has been in my life as a leader. I get away from my phone and my email and use that time to set an intention.”

A Special Offer

Richard invites you to visit Unleashed.ceo, to use all the resources there, and to schedule a complimentary call about your leadership with a member of his team.

About Our Guests

Richard Shaull is Co-Founder and CEO of Unleashed.ceo. After playing Chief Everything Officer in several of his own businesses nearly killed him, Richard made it his mission to ensure other business owners didn’t go through the same struggles alone. Much of what he’s accomplished is attributed to his ideology of “standing on the shoulders of giants.”

Richard has helped hundreds of businesses implement the right systems and teams, enabling them to rapidly scale. Outside of helping companies reach unbelievable growth, Richard is also a proud husband and father of two girls, and a man of deep spiritual conviction. He is also a connoisseur of craft coffee and cooking.

Janet Brideaux2022-09-09T18:28:00-04:00September 9, 2022|

Unlocking the power of purpose with Mark Mears

Mark Mears is the founder and Chief Growth Officer at Leaf Growth Ventures LLC, a consulting firm that helps companies focus on strategic planning and execution. Mark is also author of the new book The Purposeful Growth Revolution: 4 Ways to Grow from Leader to Legacy Builder.

In a recent Training Unleashed Podcast with host Evan Hackel, Mark talked about using the power of purpose to revitalize your company and unlock new levels of success.

Mark believes that successful businesses are purpose-driven. But his insights go deeper than that. “Companies should understand that employees or team members do not want to just be an employee ID number. They want to feel like they’re part of the process, that they’re making a difference, that they’re connected to something that’s bigger than just pulling a shift, clocking in and out and getting paid every other week. They don’t want that anymore. They have put up with it for years – we all have.”

He continues, “And so, the great repurposing has given us a pause for employers to look and say, `Let’s look at this pragmatically. We’ve all heard that our people are the most important and valuable resource on our balance sheet or, `Our people make the difference.’ But how can we make those words more than just an empty set of platitudes? We’ve got to put the meat on the bones. We’ve got to say, okay, how are our people the most important? How can we listen more deeply than we’ve listened before to really understand what and who is most important in their lives?… We’ve got to get this right. And that’s why I call it the Purposeful Growth Revolution, because not only is it circular, but there is this uprising in the people, and we must recognize that they’re mad as hell. They’re not going to take it anymore.”

Make sure you listen to the entire episode to hear more about unlocking the power of purpose in your organization.

A Special Offer

Visit https://www.markamears.com/free-book-chapters and sign up to receive free chapters from Mark’s book The Purposeful Growth Revolution: 4 Ways to Grow from Leader to Legacy Builder.

About Our Guests

Mark Mears is Chief Growth Officer at Leaf Growth Ventures LLC, a consulting firm that helps companies focus on strategic planning and execution. Mark is also author of the new book The Purposeful Growth Revolution: 4 Ways to Grow from Leader to Legacy Builder.

During his 30+ year career serving in a variety of executive marketing and leadership positions – spanning both agencies and brands – he has gained a unique and well-rounded perspective working for or with GROWTH brands such as PepsiCo/Pizza Hut, McDonald’s, Frito-Lay, JCPenney, NBC/Universal and The Cheesecake Factory among many others. His personal experiences, along with Best Practice observations of others he admires, led him to develop L.E.A.F. – a proven model to help maximize the full GROWTH potential of Individuals, Teams and Brands — founded upon 4 ‘revolutionary’ and purposeful processes: L.eadership, E.ngagement, A.ccountability & F.ulfillment. L.E.A.F. Growth Ventures can help achieve your stated GROWTH goals – whether you desire to grow an emerging brand, or reignite growth in a mature brand.

Janet Brideaux2022-08-23T11:22:49-04:00August 23, 2022|

Building your company’s wellness with Tarin Calmeyer

Because the health of your company is built on the wellness of every person who works with you, employee wellness programs are one of the smartest investments you can make.

But what kind of employee wellness programs work best? Which offer your company the biggest ROI? And how do you engage your employees to take part in them?

In a recent Training Unleashed podcast, our host Evan Hackel asked Tarin Calmeyer those questions and more. Tarin is CEO of Remote Team Wellness, a company that develops and delivers wellness programs for variety of successful companies.

According to Tarin, the benefits of implementing a wellness program in your company are endless. “Obviously, healthier employees are more productive. They work harder. They are happier to do the work that they’re engaged in and more motivated.”

Tarin provides some great, simple and effective steps you can follow to start building wellness into your company’s daily behaviors. “It’s a matter of inspiring people to [build wellness into their day,] while they are working, in the best way they can.” Tarin continued, “because having another thing to add to your plate and learn to do is just stressful at this moment in time.”

If you are committed to building a top-performing company, we know you will want to spend time watching this motivating – and very different – episode of Training Unleashed.

A Special Offer

Tarin would like you, a member of our Training Unleased community, to engage in a short meditation she created for starting every day with focus and energy. You can find it at InsightTimer.com.

“It is a short meditation that can be used to create space, focus, and clarity in your mornings – or anywhere throughout the day,” Tarin Says. “But I really love using this practice in the morning because it is a breathing practice. It’s a great way to check in with yourself and your body just as you’re starting your day.”

About Our Guests

Tarin Calmeyer is CEO of Remote Team Wellness, a corporate wellness company that focuses on developing and delivering remote wellness programs for companies. By blending technology with leading teachers, Remote Team Wellness promotes organizational wellness by fostering team building. The results include reduced workplace stress and healthier workplace environments.

Prior to founding Remote Team Wellness, Tarin was a leading international coach specializing in yoga, meditation, and overall wellness. She has collaborated with forward-thinking companies that value and prioritize the wellness of their workplace. And she has taught thousands of people around the world to implement simple, mindful techniques that result in monumental lifestyle changes. Find out more about how virtual wellness can benefit your team at www.remoteteamwellness.com

Janet Brideaux2022-08-16T13:28:26-04:00August 16, 2022|

Mastering the art of change leadership with Nancy Murphy

Evan Hackel recently sat down with organizational change consultant Nancy Murphy to discuss a topic that is on everyone’s mind these days: How can effective leaders bring about change in their organizations during these remarkably challenging times?

Nancy, Founder and CEO of CSR Communications, is a trainer, speaker, advisor, and mentor with a passion for teaching leaders of established organizations how to make change stick.

According to Nancy, the key to making change stick is by shifting our approach from managing people to leading people.

“Let’s stop talking about managing change because that implies that change is something that is predictable, controllable, linear, and logical . . . that you’re in certain stages for predictable periods of time and that if you have the right checklists, everything is going to be easy. As I said earlier, organizations are made up of people and people are messy, emotional humans. And especially when it comes to change, there are emotional triggers that make it hard. So, we can’t manage people. We can manage things, but we can’t manage people. We need to lead people.

“And so, the first mistake organizations make is to approach change as a purely scientific process, as though it’s a predictable, linear, manageable thing. Implementation of change might have some of those checklists, but we really need the change leadership first.”

If you are leading your organization through a process of change, you will want to listen to the entire episode of Training Unleashed with Nancy Murphy.

A Special Offer

Nancy invites you to access the free publications and resources you will find on the CSR Communications resource page. In our view, they are terrific!

About Our Guests

Nancy Murphy is Chief Executive Officer of CSR Communications. She is an entrepreneur, former intrapreneur, trainer, speaker, advisor, and mentor helping mission-driven organizations and socially conscious businesses achieve their next big initiative to rapidly expand their impact.

“I founded CSR Communications to help organizations move beyond grand gestures and bold statements, to organizational change that sticks,” Nancy says. “I’ve spent my career saying what others are afraid to – and learning to say it in ways that others will listen. From challenging stereotypes of girls in my Catholic school more than 30 years ago, to my first job after college convincing nonprofits to engage youth volunteers, or my role as board chair of a global nonprofit transforming the way we do international development, I’ve experienced the challenges of leading big change within established organizations. I’ve learned lots of lessons, developed techniques that work — and I’m willing to share them with others. I’ve worked with global nonprofits, foundations, Fortune 100 companies, local governments, and federal agencies.”

Janet Brideaux2022-08-04T12:46:09-04:00August 4, 2022|

Identifying your Blind Spots with Candace Sjogren

In this episode of Training Unleashed, Evan talks to Candace Sjogren, entrepreneur, coach, author, as well as co-founder and center director of Boston Breakthrough Academy (BBA) about the benefits of attending the leadership development and emotional intelligence training.

Emotional intelligence training isn’t commonly used to describe leadership development training. According to Candace, “from an employer’s perspective, it’s awareness. Awareness of what am I bringing to the table, what are you bringing to the table, and how do we shift an otherwise tense situation into something that’s supportive to both of us.”

Leadership development training programs that focus on emotional intelligence, like the one offered through BBA, help you identify your blind spots. They help you determine what you’re not seeing. “Why is my boss continuously telling me that I’m a star performer, ‘but…’ Why is that ‘but’ continuously showing up in my life? And how can I break through that in order to be at the next level of whatever it is in life for me. Whether that’s being the next level mom or next level executive,” explained Candace.

It’s all about building or breaking the habit.

And, during the interview, Candace teaches Evan a really quick exercise that anyone can practice in their life to create a new habit and shift behavior.

And remember to listen to the end of the episode to get Candace’s BIG tip and the details about her giveway are below.

Candace’s Giveaway

Candace has two offers for Training Unleashed listeners.

Free 30-minute consulting appointment for you and team to talk through what the program can do to support you.
Free 15-minute coaching call for you or one key employee to get clear on what you want and clear on what is standing in the way.

To learn more about the free offer, email Candace at [email protected]

About Our Guest

Candace Sjogren is the cofounder and Center Director of Boston Breakthrough Academy, a practicing attorney, and a management consultant, where she leads strategy with venture backed companies such as Marqeta, Inc. Previously, Sjogren was the founder and CEO of two fintech companies and Chief Strategy Officer at lending platforms Dealstruck and LoanHero. Candace continues to serve as an angel investor and contributing author for Entrepreneur Magazine. She received her JD from Salmon P. Chase College of Law and resides in the South End with her husband, son and golden doodle.

Janet Brideaux2021-05-25T10:08:12-04:00May 25, 2021|

Getting Clarity through Coaching with David Wood

In this episode of Training Unleashed, Evan talks to David Wood, high performance coach and founder of focus.ceo, about the simple steps you can take to reap rewards that are not possible from your comfort zone.

Here are some of the tips David shared:

TIP: We’re more likely to regret the things we didn’t do than the things we did do. As David explained, what he wants for everyone is that when they’re sitting on their death bed that they really gave it everything, “I really went for it.” David believes that playing it safe can be one of the most dangerous things you can do.

TIP: It’s perfect as it is, but there’s always more. According to David, there is always room for more. He acknowledges that it’s valid for people who are happy where they are today. There are people who, for them, not searching for more could start to get boring. And for them, “it’s perfect as it is, but I have desires and that’s also perfect.”

TIP: You can’t read the label from inside the jar. For David, “I can only see what I can see and my biggest enemy is my own arrogance.” He used a game of chess to help explain this. You might see that you can take a knight, but someone else watching sees that in three moves you’re going to lose your queen. When you can get that outside perspective, you get the clarity of distance.

During the interview, Evan opened himself up to coaching from David. Through David’s coaching method, Evan was able to see the situation from a different perspective.

And remember to listen to the end of the episode to get David’s BIG tip and details about his giveway are below.

David’s Giveaway

David has created a gift basket of goodies for Training Unleashed listeners to help you double your revenue. It includes a cheat sheet to double your revenue and a short video to show you how to implement the steps, and access to a double-your-revenue audit and workshop. To learn more, visit http://www.myfocusgift.com/

About Our Guest

David Wood, high performance coach and founder of focus.ceo, is a former consulting actuary to Fortune 100 companies. He built the world’s largest coaching business, becoming #1 on Google for life coaching and coaching thousands of hours in 12 countries around the globe.

As well as helping others, David is no stranger to overcoming challenges himself, having survived a full collapse of his paraglider and a fractured spine, witnessing the death of his sister at age seven, anxiety and depression, and a national Gong Show!

He coaches high performing business owners to double revenue, and their time off by focusing on less and being 30% more courageous in their business or career.

Janet Brideaux2021-05-19T07:14:55-04:00May 19, 2021|

Driving Business Value through DEI with Frank Clark

In this episode of Training Unleashed, Evan talks to Frank Clark, a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) expert and CEO of Via Group Partners about the importance of having a DEI strategy for your business.

When asked, Frank defined DEI as, “Diversity is diversity of thought. Diversity of experiences. Diversity of, of course, ethnicity. And diversity of professional pedigree. It comes in all shapes and sizes… So, today, it’s very prevalent today because diversity, equity and inclusion drives business value.”

According to Frank, DEI isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s good business. “It drives business performance. It drives value. It drives innovation. It drives creativity.”

Frank shared a great case study of a company where his team is currently working on a DEI strategy. He noted that most companies see the benefit of DEI when they are compared to similar companies that are focused on DEI. “A homogeneous company underperforms one that is diverse. Always.” Explained Frank.

The company in the case study was doing well, but not exceptionally well. Of the other companies they looked at in their analysis, Frank noted, “9 out of 10 had diverse leadership. And, 9 out of 10 had a diverse board. They had diversity in experiences, diversity in professional pedigree, diversity in ethnicity, diversity in approach and strategic thinking, in philosophy.” And they were all outperforming the company in the case study.

During the interview, Frank shared some tips that can help companies that want to have DEI as part of their business strategy get started. And remember to listen to the end to get Frank’s BIG tip.

Frank’s Giveaway

Frank is offering a 30-minute consultant to Training Unleashed listeners to look at DEI as part of your business strategy. You can connect with Frank through their website at: https://viagrouppartners.com/

About Our Guest

Frank Clark is an experienced business builder and CEO of Via Group Partners. He brings deep expertise in the areas of operational, business development, strategy and M&A leadership. Over his 25-year executive career, Frank has led and mobilized teams in hyper-competitive corporate and entrepreneurial cultures. He has also built businesses organically from zero to $500M per year in large matrixed corporate environments, such as RR Donnelley where he held the position of Business Unit President. Frank previously served as Senior Vice President and Corporate Strategy head for Hoshizaki America. In addition to Via Group Partners, Frank is also the CEO and Managing Partner of CEG, LLC a middle market private equity firm with a focus on business services, manufacturing, technology and industrial services.

Frank serves on numerous for-profit and nonprofit boards including University of Chicago Medicine, American Red Cross of Chicago and Northern Illinois, Illinois Institute of Technology, One Hope United, Earthwise Global, Liberty Advisor Group, SG360, and Diversys Software. He has an MBA in Finance and Marketing from Illinois Institute of Technology and a Bachelors in Economics from Northern Illinois University.

Janet Brideaux2021-05-13T07:59:15-04:00May 13, 2021|

Making Training that Sticks with Meredith Bell

In this episode of Training Unleashed, Evan’s guest is Meredith Bell, Author, Speaker, Publisher of Assessment & Development Tools, and president of Performance Support Systems is the guest in this episode of Training Unleashed. Evan and Meredith have a great conversation about how to make training that sticks.

Meredith explains their theory for the reason training doesn’t stick is because there usually isn’t any follow up after the training is done. Lots of people are sent to training and it’s an event. According to Meredith, when they get back to their job they’re playing catch up. So, when they encounter a situation where they can use the new skill they automatically revert back to doing it the way they did it before training. And that’s because the brain hasn’t had a chance to rewire itself for the new behaviour.

To help the brain rewire itself, a process needs to be put in place where people are meeting regularly ideally with an accountability coach—whether it’s by phone, by a platform, or in person. “We want to have the connection to real people where there’s a structured process for talking about follow up,” explains Meredith. What commitment did I make? Did I do it? If I didn’t do it what did I do instead? If I did it, how did it go? And the learner can also support and encouragement from the coach, in addition to accountability.

Meredith and Evan discuss the process that Performance Support System follows to help make training stick: Focus, Action, Reflection. But you’ll need to listen to the episode to get more details on how to add this follow up process to your training to make it stick.

Remember to listen to the end to get Meredith’s BIG tip. Details about Meredith’s giveaway are below.

Meredith’s Giveaway

Meredith has three offers for Training Unleashed listeners.

A free ebook that will help you discover how to improve the way you listen so you really “get” what someone is trying to tell you and create a stronger relationship at the same time.

A free quiz to rate how well you and the people you work with interact with each other.

And lastly, a call with Meredith.

All are available by visiting: https://growstrongleaders.com/trainingunleashed/

About Our Guest

Meredith Bell is co-founder and President of Performance Support Systems, a global software company providing assessment and development tools for the workplace. Their award-winning tools and books guide leaders and team members to make the shift from KNOWING to DOING. The result is permanent improvements in the way people interact with each other.

Meredith is an expert in leader and team communications, the author of two books, and the host of the Strong for Performance podcast. She’s worked with thousands of business leaders, Human Resources professionals, and Learning & Development executives to successfully implement their tools. Meredith co-authored her latest book, Connect with Your Team: Mastering the Top 10 Communication Skills, with her business partner, Dr. Dennis Coates. In it, Meredith and Dennis provide an unprecedented, practical step-by-step how-to guide for improving communication.

Janet Brideaux2021-05-08T20:28:36-04:00May 8, 2021|

Fixing Workplace Injustice with Kim Scott and Trier Bryant

In this episode of Training Unleashed, Evan is joined by Kim Scott and Trier Bryant, co-founders of Just Work LLC. They have a very interesting discussion about diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the workplace and how we can be part of the solution to fix workplace injustice.

Just Work, the company, takes the theory from Kim’s most recent book, Just Work, and puts it to work. According to their research, bias, prejudice and bullying are the root causes of workplace injustice and each cause problems in the workforce, AND there are different ways to respond to each whether it is happening to you or you are an upstander.

Not only do Kim and Trier provide great examples of how to respond to bias, prejudice and bullying, they also give guidance on what leaders need to have in place in the workplace to help guide them, whether that be values, a code of conduct or consequences. But you’ll need to listen to the episode to get all of the great tips and guidance they provide.

And, their tips and guidance aren’t just for the workplace… think about children having to deal with bias, prejudice and bullying. Their advice can be used where ever you encounter injustice.

This is a great interview with Kim and Trier sharing their experiences, and tips to help you create the kind of environment where everyone can do their best work and enjoy working together. Remember to listen to the end to hear their BIG tip and giveaway available on the Just Work website.

Kim and Trier’s Giveaway

Kim and Trier are currently curating personal stories to help bring the Just Work framework to life. They invite Training Unleashed listeners to share your story with them by completing an online form on their website: https://www.justworktogether.com/share-your-story

About Our Guests

Kim Scott is the author of Just Work: Get *t Done Fast and Fair as well as Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity. Trier Bryant and Kim co-founded the company Just Work to help organizations and individuals create more equitable workplaces. Jason Rosoff and Kim co-founded the company Radical Candor to help people cultivate caring and candid relationships at work by implementing a feedback-first culture.. Kim was a CEO coach at Dropbox, Qualtrics, Twitter, and other tech companies. She was a member of the faculty at Apple University and before that led AdSense, YouTube, and DoubleClick teams at Google. Earlier in her career Kim managed a pediatric clinic in Kosovo and started a diamond-cutting factory in Moscow. She lives with her family in Silicon Valley.

Trier Bryant is Co-Founder and CEO of Just Work LLC. She is a strategic executive leader with distinctive Tech, Wall Street, and military experience spanning over 15 years. She’s previously held leadership roles at Astra, Twitter, Goldman Sachs, and proudly served as a combat veteran in the United States Air Force as a Captain leading engineering teams while spearheading diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives for the Air Force Academy, Air Force, and DoD. Additionally, Trier advises leading companies like Equinox, Airbnb, SoundCloud, Alto, Rockefeller Foundation, and others on their talent and DEI strategies. Trier has an unwavering commitment to employees within organizations to create a more equitable, inclusive, and thriving workplaces producing prosperous companies. She has been featured as an influential DEI practitioner by several publications and outlets from USA Today to CNN and SXSW. Trier earned a B.S. in Systems Engineering with a minor in Spanish and Leadership from the United States Air Force Academy (Beat Army, Sink Navy) where she played Division I volleyball. Trier enjoys spending time with her close knit family who taught her to live by the family motto “…good enough isn’t.”

Janet Brideaux2021-04-29T09:16:46-04:00April 27, 2021|