Connect Change & Challenge

Have you ever taken a self-assessment and tried to trick the system? Rather than trying to be something you are not, today, we talk about embracing your true colors and empowering your team by inviting them to do the same.

I'm joined by Darci Pesek, an Extension Educator and Real Colors facilitator in southeast Nebraska. Darci works with groups from high school age volunteers to hospital organizations to understand their natural colors and naturally approach situations.

The Real Colors assessment is readily available, and I've taken it many times over the years. I saw that my top did a flip from blue where I naturally focused on emotions, how others feel and avoided conflict today, drawing in the gold and need for organization, planning, and order. Furthermore, I still have orange in green in me; I just don't pull on them first. Darci explains how you can embrace your lower colors in certain situations.

We also dive into the need to have teammates that dominantly express each of the four colors. If you've found yourself in a situation where everyone is so focused on the list and what comes next that you could be missing time for relief and fun, burnout could be looming on the horizon.

I challenge you to listen to our quick conversation and see if you feel that you have evolved to where you are with your current role. Secondly, analyze your team, or have a Real Colors facilitator help look and see your team's colors and how you can embrace those colors in times of action, feedback, and celebration.

If you want to find more episodes or my free download to get you started on your brand journey with a business position evaluation, visit https://connectchangechallenge.com/evaluation.

Also, inspired by the movie Trolls, "So don't be afraid to let them show. Your true colors. True colors are beautiful."

Why do we feel like we have to go on our journey alone when we could have the power of a community behind us?

This week, I'm joined by Kiah Twisselman Burchett, a life coach and an empowerer of others. 

What do being a life coach and working for the Kentucky Beef Council have in common? For Kiah, she learned from each role what she could take away to grow as an individual. From her time at the beef council, she gained the confidence to get on a national TV show to talk about her personal story because she spent time on live tv cooking beef in her former role. 

We also talk about how your community can evolve, just as we do. Sometimes we see an opportunity right before us, but we are worried about making the pivot because it's not the life plan we had in mind. Kiah encourages us to get unique experiences and skills; it's about how we apply that to the next season.

Our community can help us as we move forward. Kiah shares that we are scared to voice the dreams we have on your heart at times because we are overcome with imposter syndrome when you say it out loud. But, if we are open and honest with our people, the authenticity will lend your community to support you and connect you further with their resources. 

I could've talked to Kiah for hours as she's inspiring, encouraging and real. Join us on June 10 at 1:30 Pacific/3:30 Central on Clubhouse for a live chat on building your community. We want to get your questions and learn from your experiences. https://www.clubhouse.com/join/being-your-best-self/BJ8uya46/xovRkXNy

Don't forget to check out my free download to get you started on your brand journey with a business position evaluation. Find it here: https://connectchangechallenge.com/evaluation.

If you want a smooth-running business or organization, it's pivotal your managers are empowered to do their jobs, including empowering their teams.

Employees who are empowered do their jobs, feel like they are part of the team and helping move your business forward. The opposite can be said for those who don't feel heard or appreciated.

My guest, Cary Kish, is a coach and serial entrepreneur based outside of Calgary, Canada. He shares his insights from building and growing his businesses and coaching others in their business journeys.

In this episode, Cary shares why he will always encourage leaders to invest in their teams. If you train up your team to grow in their careers and even leave your organizations, they will be more apt to talk highly to their friends or connections who could be future employees.

We both discuss from our experience the necessity as a manager to create an environment that provides opportunities for team members to bring up ideas to their managers. In a virtual work environment, it's vital to set aside that time to help ensure open communication lines.

Join Cary and me on Clubhouse to keep the conversation going on Thursday, May 20 at 10 a.m. CDT! You can find me at @StacyMayoez and share your experiences or throw out your questions.

You can find out more about Cary and his coaching approach at http://carykish.com.

Don't forget you can find my free Brand Position Evaluation 3-Step Guide at https://connectchangechallenge.com/evaluation

Often we look to our elected officials as being indebted to those that they represent. After all, if it weren't for the votes, they wouldn't be in the position. While that is true, it is hard to get someone you are yelling at and demanding work from to be interested in providing you service.

If you take a step back and find a way to add value to the person you want to work with, you will be someone who wants to find common ground. You want to work with the elected official or their team, not demand they work for you. My guest this week, Luke Crumley, explains that if you do this before you start with an ask, you'll see more success.

As a military veteran, then field director for a congressman and now as a lobbyist, Luke's experience has allowed him to see firsthand different approaches you can take to solve the problem. Outside of his day job, he's dedicated to empowering advocacy organizations to focus on relationships, find common ground and tell their story to get them across the finish line when working with elected officials. Without sharing how the change or idea you are lobbying for will affect you as an individual or those in the elected officials' district, the ask seems much steeper.

While we focus on advocacy with Luke's experience, the same approach fits in sales. How do you be the person that someone does want to help based on how you make them feel?

Find more information from Luke at https://partofthepossible.com/ and on social media. He will also be joining me in the future on Clubhouse to talk about finding common ground and how it benefits both parties.

To join the conversation on Clubhouse, follow me at @StacyMayonez. If your company or organization is poised for growth but unsure where to start, check out my free brand position evaluation to see where you are today before you launch into planning for the future. Find it at https://connectchangechallenge.com/evaluation.

There is strength in understanding how others naturally approach problems, opportunities and day-to-day work. My guest Erich Kurschat joins me to talk about the power of being self-aware and vulnerable in the workplace and how we can use the DiSC assessment to engage better and empower our teams.

Erich talks about his journey with DiSC and the key ah-has he sees with his clients. He says a key to maximizing your assessment is to be intentional with how you focus on understanding yourself and the natural tendencies of others.

We have our natural preferences and communication styles, and therefore we assume others align with us, and many times that is not the case. Erich describes how come into those interactions with an open mind allows you to be more effective.

The DiSC is one of the assessments I continue to come back to when I work with a new client or teammate to find common ground on approaching tactics, planning and overall communication.

If you want to find out more about DiSC assessments, other HR insights or connect with an insight introvert, you can find Erich on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/erichkurschat/, or through his company, Harmony Insights https://harmonyinsights.com/. You can also learn more through his weekly series DiSCourse on his website. Great way to intentionally learn more.

Don't forget to connect with me on Clubhouse to join in the follow-up discussion with my guests and other experts on the topics highlighted each week. You'll find me at @StacyMayonez.

Exciting new offerings are coming down the pike, including a FREE Brand Positioning Evaluation; you can find it online at https://connectchangechallenge.com/evaluation. To stay up-to-date on all things, signup for my new newsletter to stay in the know at https://connectchangechallenge.com/newsletter.

What happens if we focus on our strengths and the things we are good at instead of honing in on where we struggle? Don Clifton asked this question and developed what is now CliftonStrengths. My guest Whitney Kinne, Strengths and Career Coach, dives into how our strengths can be our superpower in our professional and personal lives.

Whitney describes that strengths help start to define what those themes mean to us as individuals. Working with a coach can help go through this process in a workshop can be helpful to gain more understanding of your strengths and what role they play. She starts with brainstorming examples of when you have seen their signature themes show up in their lives.

Many of Whitney's clients have also seen the value in strengths play a role in career changes. They determine they need to redefine and find their purpose and work toward understanding their strengths as a launching point.

So, whether your strength is WOO (winning others over), authenticity or harmony, you can embrace your superpower, intentionally put it to use and grow as your best self.

To connect with Whitney, you can find her on LinkedIn or check out her website at https://www.whitneykinne.com/. She will help you lean into your strengths.

Don't forget to connect with me on Clubhouse to join in the follow-up discussion with my guests and other experts on the topics highlighted each week. You'll find me at @StacyMayonez.

Exciting new offerings are coming down the pike; signup for my new newsletter to stay in the know at https://connectchangechallenge.com/newsletter.

How many of us have taken a personality, behavior or workstyle assessment and crossed our fingers it would finally tell us something different than all the other tests? Well, my hand is up, and I share that in common with this week's guest Dr. Sasha Shillcut. Sasha is the Vice Chair of Strategy and Innovation, Department of Anesthesiology, University of Nebraska Medical Center; Founder, Brave Enough, a community to empower women.

Sasha is a trained Enneagram facilitator and uses it to help empower the women she coaches to know themselves better and empower them to find what motivates others they interact with personally and professionally.

We discuss the lightbulb moment Sasha had with Enneagram about embracing her core motivation to control their own life. But, it can be confused with others thinking it means she wants to control everything. Funny enough, Sasha and I are both Enneagram 8s and share this motivation. She discusses how difficult it is as a woman to embrace having a strong personality paired with a passion for challenging the status quo.

Listen in as we dive into what you can take away from knowing your Enneagram.

If you want to connect with Sasha and her amazing Be Brave Enough community, you can find her newsletter, upcoming course and lots of great insights at https://www.becomebraveenough.com/.

I'm starting to host regular rooms on Clubhouse and would love for you to join me and share your insights on topics we highlight on the podcast. Follow me to get notifications when we schedule our next room. https://www.joinclubhouse.com/@stacymayonez

You can also sign up for my newsletter that will launch in May. It will include short motivations, insights from upcoming and previous guests, and your opportunity to give input on future episodes! Sign up here: http://connectchangechallenge.com/newsletter

As a small business owner, you need to be hungry and creative when you get thrown wrenches. The Redhead Creamery's owners, Alise & Lucas Sjostrom, were faced with the need to move cheese when restaurants and markets shut down with the 2020 pandemic. After some quick, creative thinking, they decided they could deliver cheese to their customers vs. expecting them to come to them. Bringing back the idea of the milkman, but instead with cheese. There is no downside to artisanal cheese delivered to your door!

Many of us never honestly know what we want to be when we grow up. The exact opposite is true for Alise. She knew she wanted to be part of her family's dairy, but not by milking cows with her parents. At the age of 16, she came home from a youth dairy event and shared with her parents she wanted to start a farmstead creamery. That announcement put the wheels into motion to form the Redhead Creamery. It's a unique creamery as they pump the milk directly from the dairy to create the cheese on-site. In regular times, it offers customers the opportunity to eat cheese, enjoy the beautiful countryside, and tour the dairy.

We dive into Alise's passion for lifelong learning by specializing in her education, connecting with fellow creameries, and building a network of other small food and beverage businesses in the area. When they bring customers to the dairy, they want them to have a list of places and companies to visit in the area.

While Alise and Lucas lead the creamery and drive the cheese van, their team is essential for their ability to harness the hunger needed to move their business forward! You need your people to be agile and adaptable. We dive into the need for these attributes at the creamery and in any team.

I can't wait for you to hear all Alise and Lucas have to share. You can find out more about them and order their delicious cheese from https://www.redheadcreamery.com/. You can also find them on Facebook and Instagram @redheadcreamery.

When a farmer walks into a bar... Sounds like the start of a corny joke, but what if that farmer owns a distillery and the bar is his tasting room? We head to the historic Boot Hill in Dodge City, Kansas to talk to the owner Hayes Kelman. While starting and owning a soil to sip distillery is a lot of work, it's not all Hayes does. He also farms with his family corn, wheat, sorghum and soybeans.

Tune into this episode to hear how Hayes has diversified his grain markets with the distillery. Additionally, we dive into key lessons learned on navigating changing times, markets and the incredible importance of having a team that is adaptable along for the ride. When the business leader isn't the only one working to innovate, big things can happen.

You can find the delicious spirits and readymade cocktails from Boot Hill Distillery at http://boothilldistillery.com/ and Facebook & Instagram just search for Boot Hill Distillery.

We head south to Mississippi to visit with John Mark Looney, a farmer, and Crop to Pop popcorn owner. John Mark and I have known each other for more than a decade, and it was great to catch up with him on key lessons he's learned as he created value to the crops he grows and shifted from selling a commodity to a packaged good. He discusses what it takes to make a value-added product and lessons I believe are helpful to any business owner.

John Mark discusses the value of putting your product on the market and gaining honest feedback from those consumers outside of our immediate circle. I mean, our mom has to like it! He also learned that while he didn't set out to be the face of his business, customers want to know the story behind the product. So here he is, the farmer face of Crop to Pop.

You can find his awesome popcorn at many retail stores across the region and options for anyone to buy John Mark's popcorn and have it shipped to your house via online retailers. Check out his website at https://www.sixmilefarmsllc.com. You can also find John Mark on Facebook and Instagram at @SixMileFarmsLLC.