Impact Makers Podcast With Jennifer Mcclure

Imagine receiving a breast cancer diagnosis just nine days after losing your job - this was the reality for our guest, Nicole Roberts, an HR executive who faced these challenges in December 2022. In this truly inspiring episode, Nicole shares her journey of conquering cancer and navigating the financial difficulties that came with it. Not only did she manage her family's living expenses and medical care, but she also started her own HR consulting and coaching business, People Solutions Group. We explore the misdiagnosis of Nicole's breast cancer and discuss the importance of self-advocacy and self-care. Nicole's story highlights the significance of having a treatment plan and the unwavering support of loved ones. Our friend Laurie Ruettimann, host of the Punk Rock HR podcast, joins us to dive deeper into Nicole's experience and how to better support those who may face health or personal challenges in the future. As Impact Makers, let's unite in showing Nicole our support on her journey in every possible way.

Leadership is not just about the title or how many people you have under you. Many great leaders are fueled by their WHY. And so, it’s important, as leaders, to discover our WHY to ensure effective leadership. I’m excited to share a conversation with you today with someone who really understands what it means for leaders to create an impact at work and in life!   Sonya Shelton is the Founder of Executive Leadership Consulting. She’s passionate about partnering with leaders and high achievers to create a clear vision, so they can build work environments where employees are fulfilled and completely committed to the organization’s success.  Having been an executive, as well as an international speaker and consultant, Sonya knows how to tap into lesser-known, hidden practices that drive true leadership. She has captured many of her leadership tips and success stories in her bestselling book “You’re an Executive, But Are You a Leader?”    Sonya believes that people with passion make any company better – in every w

Although social media has changed and evolved over the last couple of decades, it’s still a valuable place to be –  to learn from, connect with others, establish your credibility, build your personal brand or business brand, and grow your career.  While there are tons of places we can hang out online these days, many of which offer limited value for our work pursuits, there’s no doubt that LinkedIn – the “professional” social network that’s been around since 2002 – is still a place where you need to be visible online. It is worth the investment of your time, especially if you’re looking to grow your career and your business as well as attract opportunities. LinkedIn is pretty straightforward. Simply create a profile, connect with people, post and share your content, etc. However, you may not be getting the most out of it as you would if you were to create an intentional strategy for using LinkedIn.  There are multiple ways that you can optimize your LinkedIn profile to build your personal brand and grow your

Social media has become one of the major culprits of overwhelm for many of us. What used to be a great platform for connection, building personal relationships, and building your brand has now sucked a chunk of time out of us. And it has led us down this path where communication is made less civil, and sometimes, even hurtful.  Today, let’s walk down the social media memory lane to see how these platforms have evolved over the years. As you seek to continue to build your brand or grow your career this 2023, we’re diving into what’s working and what’s not working with these different social media and online platforms, in our next few episodes.  There are ways you can use social media for good to grow your career or your business. At the end of the day, we have to be intentional and strategic about how we spend our time consuming, creating, and sharing content – to attract and engage the RIGHT people, who want and need to hear what we have to say.  Show Highlights: The evolution of LinkedIn and how it’s helpin

Who is the first person that comes to your mind when asked who has made an impact on your life? Well, if you had asked me who has been an impact-maker in my own life, then my answer would be my mother. But her legacy is so much more than the impact she has had on my life.  My mother died at the age of 83 in 2020. I don't have any hurt or pain around her passing because I truly believe she was living her best life. She was a woman of faith, who lived a life of service. She was a person who reached out to others and gave something without expecting something in return.  This episode includes some personal reflections on my mother’s life and her impact on me and others. Hopefully, this will remind you that you're never too old or too inexperienced to step out in faith. Show Highlights: The three pillars of successful aging The importance of a social network of friends for longevity Writing bible verses on index cards What to do when you find yourself living a life you had not planned Being good stewards of the

As we close out 2022, I’m focusing this month on how I can best prepare myself – and you – for a successful 2023. In my world, this time of year is typically filled with prediction posts and podcasts, where thought leaders share what they believe will be the challenges and opportunities ahead in the new year, related to the world of work. Since my focus is on preparing leaders – like you – to embrace the future of work, and to develop the skills necessary to lead with impact, instead of making predictions that may or may not come true, I’m sharing with you 10 areas that are critical for leaders to focus on, in order to lead with impact in the future of work. 1. Fight for Flexibility for Your Team Members People want to effortlessly work how, where, when, and for whom they want. 40% of respondents in McKinsey’s Great Attrition Great Attraction Survey published in September 2021, said that Flexibility was the number one reason they accepted their current job. According to Shiftboard’s State of the Hourly Wor

As we're coming to 2023, what are the things you want to start, stop, and continue doing? Make this a part of your goal-setting process. One my previous mistakes was I didn't set up any concrete plans to actually make my goals happen – which is a 100% recipe for failure. Therefore, it’s important to take time to reflect and look back on maybe what's working, what's not working, and what's missing in your business. In this episode, I’m going to share with you FIVE things that I plan to start, stop, and continue doing in 2023, as I begin to prepare myself to set goals and have a successful new year. Hopefully, this will encourage you to do the same as part of your goal-setting process as well. Show Highlights: Start Goal setting and tracking Daily planning/time blocking/using Trello Prioritizing learning/professional development Investing in my relationships Scheduling time for content creation Stop Starting my morning with my phone Allowing busy work to fill my day vs activities focused on achieving my goal

If you're a leader, and you have people that you must lead, manage, care for and grow, it's been a challenge to both keep people in your workplace, to keep them engaged, to understand what their needs are, and to ensure their success in their jobs so that the company can remain competitive and continue to grow in the future in a vastly changing world of work. As you're doing your goal setting and goal planning for the next year, I want to share with you 10 questions that you should be taking into your discussions, even if they're not formal performance review discussions. Three Reasons Employees Are Leaving Their Jobs / Searching for New Opportunities: Career Growth Flexibility Appreciation and Recognition 10 Questions Leaders Should Be Asking to Prevent Your Best Employees from Leaving To Discover Skills to Focus on or Develop / Areas to Eliminate or Support 1. What are 3 aspects of your job that you feel you’re best at or enjoy the most? 2. What are 2 areas in your job where you could use more support or

How has your year been? Thankfully, 2022 has been a good year for me and my businesses thus far, and I'm really looking forward to what 2023 will bring as we continue to recover in many ways from the global pandemic, while also still dealing with the effects of that, and the changes – some better and some worse that have come as a result of that. Moving forward, I will be focusing on what's new and next, revising and updating things to better serve my clients and meet the needs of leaders out there who are preparing for the future of work. Today, I’m sharing some of my recommendations for podcasts that I listen to as an avid podcast listener. These are podcasts that belong to a few categories including the future of work, human resources, speaking, leadership, business entrepreneurship, and general interest. Show Highlights: Podcast and episode recommendations for the future of work Recommended shows on Human Resources Podcasts worth listening to in the Speaking category Business and Entrepreneurship podcas

Self-care isn’t selfish. It is necessary. We truly can’t pour from an empty cup and we can’t help others if we’re emotionally worn, completely stressed out, or too sick to help. In this episode I’m talking about self-care and the five areas I’ve been trying to improve for the sake of myself, my family and my business. I’ll talk about the importance of sleep, rest and exercise, for our physical and mental well-being. Then I’ll dive into the effects of gratitude on our happiness. I’ll also discuss how caring for others can be a form of self-care. Lastly, I’ll cover caring for your time. Finding balance and reclaiming your time can have a lasting impact on your life and I’m going to share how it changed mine. My goal is to help you understand the importance of self-care and how to practice it, proactively, without feeling guilty. I hope you enjoy today’s show. Show Highlights: What is self-care? I’ll give you my favorite definition and share a great quote to help you remember why it’s so important. I’m going to

If you’re thinking of looking for a new job or switching careers, and you’re planning to use the same resume you created 10 years ago, well, that probably won’t be too useful. Times have changed, and so has resume writing. There are actually things you need to be intentional with when it comes to showcasing your strengths and making sure you’re getting your message across. Today, I’m turning the tables as I’ve invited Chris Villanueva, the CEO & Co-Founder of Let's Eat, Grandma, an online resume service that was ranked by The Balance as the best resume service of 2022. Chris shares some of his best advice for job seekers and career-changers related to creating resumes, cover letters, and LinkedIn profiles to get them noticed – and to help them connect with their dream job. We also talk about how to overcome some of the challenges that we all face with building new professional relationships in an increasingly hybrid or remote work environment. Show Highlights: The ideal resume length to get your message

Especially with the pandemic, the great resignation, quiet quitting, and all the dramatic shifts the whole world is currently experiencing, a lot of companies are struggling internally. Left unattended and this could lead to a toxic culture.    Obviously, hard conversations have to be made because you can’t just ignore those issues happening collectively. And one of the ways to address this among many other issues is to ensure a happy, safe, and fun culture – and make work suck less.    In today’s conversation, Jeff Harry talks about how he takes positive psychology and plays to tackle some of the most challenging issues that a lot of companies are currently struggling with so they can make work suck less.   With a mechanical engineering degree, Jeff ended up doing team building and special events for the top tech companies in the world. He realized how people were struggling with having difficult conversations, especially dealing with that one person at work that ruins work for everybody else.   He created R

A career change is a huge thing that a lot of people are dealing with right now, whether they feel stuck in their current job or they just want to do something different that they enjoy. But how do you position yourself for the job that you want?    As an employee, you've got to figure out how to get noticed to move your career ahead and make sure you're getting the interactions and relationships that you need. That being said, this is a two-way street. Leaders also need to figure out how to provide a safe space and environment for their people to connect, even remotely.    In today’s episode, I’m sharing a recording of a conversation I had with Chris Villanueva when he invited me to podcast and chat about networking, relationship building, and how the changing world of work impacts both job seekers and people leaders.   Chris is the CEO & Co-Founder of Let's Eat, Grandma, an online resume service that helps professionals rebrand themselves to land interviews for their dream jobs. Recently ranked by The B

Mental health well-being is now at the forefront of what employees want and what employers are looking at. And more and more, we're now seeing that employees expect employers to be involved in their life outside of work.   As leaders, we need to be able to create a culture that provides psychological safety within the workplace if we don’t want to be a part of the statistics of people exiting the workplace at the speed of light.   In this episode, we're joined by Désirée Pascual, the Chief People Officer at Headspace Health, a digital mental health company. As a trained psychologist, Désirée specialized in organizational and group dynamics focusing on communication and conflict resolution. Following years of clinical practice, she moved on to HR leadership roles at Kaiser Permanente, Carrot Inc, ginger – and now, Headspace Health.   Informed by human-centered design principles and data-driven inquiry, Désirée is committed to curating joyful and resilient workplace cultures where employees are empowered to do

Are you retaining talent by developing and moving them into other opportunities that benefit both their career and the organization? Data shows that the more we invest in developing and seeing those opportunities for other people to move around the organization, the greater the loyalty to the company, and the greater the retention. There is also data showing the tightening of the talent pipeline, and even if there is, they do not necessarily match how the workforce is progressing. How do we then bridge this gap between talent shortage and the need for skills development? One of the keys is to find ways to plug your talent into the needs of the organization – across the organization.  In this episode, Matthew Daniel shares great insights into how leaders can create career pathways to unlock opportunities for the workforce. Matthew is the Principal Consultant of Talent Strategy and Mobility at Guild Education, a company that partners with forward-thinking organizations to transform education into strategic tale

Recently, there has been a significant drop in leadership engagement levels, and leaders have now begun to feel the effects of everyone's struggles during the pandemic.  There's also a new phenomenon called "quiet quitting," and a recent poll suggests that leaders are much more likely to engage in quiet quitting than their actual workers. They are showing signs of fatigue without any kind of recognition or remuneration for what they've done to lead others. Now, how does this impact the future of work? And what can the leaders of leaders do to help mitigate quiet quitting?  In this episode, Dr. Alexander Alonso, the Chief Knowledge Officer for the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), shares some valuable insights into reinventing the future of work by focusing on the acronym GESHWI. Find out what has changed in terms of how workers are viewing the workplace over the last couple of years and how you, as a leader, can align yourself with what the world of work and workers are looking for. In his role, A

In this time of The Great Resignation, companies are finding ways to increase productivity and improve retention through improving employee engagement.  Culture plays a crucial part. However, that is not just the job of HR, the CEO, or the executive team. Every single employee has a responsibility because they will shape the culture of that organization in some way, shape, or form. But how do you create that environment and that organizational muscle where employees have a voice? In today’s episode, Dan Kessler, President & COO of Energage, shares the biggest drivers of employee engagement. How do “pay and benefits” and “purpose and meaning” impact employee engagement? Listen in and be inspired to take action to increase employee engagement in your workplace! Show Highlights: What companies should be doing differently than what they’ve done in the past in terms of recruitment strategy How do companies represent authentically what it’s like to work in their organization? The role “pay and benefits” play i

If you’re susceptible to the great resignation, which a lot of companies are, unlocking empathy in your own organization is the key. And if you haven't done it yet, then you’re missing out. Empathy is the difference-maker when it comes to employees and it’s a currency you can spend freely in a time where a lot of organizations are struggling.  Since my goal is to equip and encourage you to be the most impactful leader that you can be, I thought it would be helpful to bring on an expert in the topic of empathy and leadership to share more with us today.  Marcy Klipfel is the Chief Engagement Officer at Businessolver. For the last seven years, Businessolver has released the State of The Workplace Empathy Report that examines the behaviors and benefits that make workplaces empathetic. As an experienced HR leader Marcy oversees all aspects of HR, driving a high-performance culture at Businessolver.  In this episode, we discuss what empathy actually means, why some leaders struggle with empathy, and what they can

This is an interesting time in terms of recruiting and retention for organizations because they’re going to have to deal with all the generations and everyone's different wants and needs. Clearly, we don't want to separate people by generation as if they’re alien races from another planet, also, because we all have traits and characteristics molded by “nature and nurture.” But these generations all have shared life experiences as members of a particular cohort due to their respective stages of life. Therefore, having an understanding of each generation is useful in every company’s hiring process.  Today, we particularly talk about the Gen Z population, their characteristics, and what they’re bringing to the table. Joining us is Steve McIntosh, founder & CEO of CareerPoint.com, a career advancement coaching platform. The Gen Z cohort consists of people born between the end of 1994 and 2009. Essentially, these are people who will have entry-level roles that are yet to progress to leadership. And so, this is

Quick question: when was the last time you asked each of your team members how they’re doing – like how are they REALLY doing? You never really know how that ONE question can create a massive impact on your company.  As a leader, you want to be able to prepare yourself and your team for this dynamic future of work. And one of the key metrics that you need to invest in is employee engagement.  A Gallup study found that while employee engagement increased in May 2020, it was followed by a significant drop the next month. The survey showed that 63% of workers feel unappreciated by their employer on a daily basis and 59% of people felt that they have NEVER had a boss who “truly appreciates” their work.  The good news is that the world is ever-changing, and so is the future of work. In this episode, I’m sharing two Action Steps that you can implement immediately to make a positive impact, and likely affect the engagement levels of your team.  Show Highlights: Reviewing your response to when the global pandemic wa