FUEL Podcast

Brief summary:

Melanie Aronson is the founder and CEO of Panion, an all-in-one community management platform that builds privacy, empathy and meaningful connection into online and offline communities. After researching integration at Lund University in Sweden, she birthed the idea of an app that would help facilitate meaningful connection between people. This idea launched her into the world she lives in today.  Listen in as Melanie shares, how her drive to reduce loneliness and increase a sense of belonging for all has driven her on her journey thus far.

Key insights from this episode: 

• (at 1:55) Melanie talks about her brainchild, Panion, how it differs from any other social platform and what value it can offer to its users. 
• (at 14:53) MA:  I felt like there were impacts I could make that could slightly change the world. And it's the same with products. I would never build a product that didn't somehow enhance people's lives in some way. It wouldn't drive me. 
• (at 19:00) Melanie shares how leadership has been the hardest part of her journey and how she’s developing in that area. 
• (at 31:51) Melanie shares a great tool for connecting an organization's mentors to mentees via her platform

RESOURCES & SOCIAL MEDIA:
*Melanie Aronson's LinkedIn
*MelanieAronson.com
*Panion

DOWNLOAD OUR FREE RESOURCES:
*Leadership Quiz
*Checklist for Holding Engaging Team Meeting
*Build Your Influence Checklist
 
Read the full transcript of this episode.

Brief summary:

In this episode, we hear from Dr. Tony Cortés, a Director of Aviation Safety. Listen in as Tony and I discuss the personal drive that's pushed him through the many challenges in his life and career, and specifically a few points that he makes about fuel or a motivating force that finds you versus the other way around. 

Key insights from this episode: 

• TC: (at 9:38) TC: When you make a big mistake and you hit bottom or you think you've hit bottom, that imperative need to focus on that immediate recovery instead of dwelling on the error is just fundamental.
• (at 17:39) Dr. Cortes shared what he felt shifted internally when he needed to change his drive from one source to another.
• LA: (at 22:36) Leila Ansart speaks to managing your own ability to recover when negative, and even horrific circumstances happen in your world. What it comes down to is focusing on what you can control. Certainly there's not a whole lot you feel you can control, [like] when you lose someone that you love, or in other types of situations, like a loss of a job, or loss of clients or loss of your health. At those times, we can admit that we can’t control what’s happening, but we can try to identify the lessons that are there to be learned. So shifting your focus to be open to learning any lessons that are there, and focus on that --because there are more than likely a few things there you CAN control. 
• (at 23:49) Tony and Leila discuss insights about leading across generations & cultures.
• (at 26:47) Dr. Tony Cortes shares how one of his ‘fuel sources’ found him, rather than the other way around. He tells the story of the incident that caused him to steer his career away from the operational and towards the accident prevention world --a field he originally had no interest in whatsoever.
• (at 33:37) Leila asks Dr. Tony how his own self-awareness of what drives him has been helpful to the teams he’s led. Tony discusses how leaders lead with asking questions vs. making statements, and how to be effective in sharing your drive and vision with others, including identifying your own errors in perspective.
  
  

RESOURCES & SOCIAL MEDIA:
*Tony’s LinkedIn
*EagleView Technologies

DOWNLOAD OUR FREE RESOURCES:
*Leadership Quiz
*Checklist for Holding Engaging Team Meeting
*Build Your Influence Checklist

Watch the full video interview.
Read the full transcript of this episode. 

Brief summary:

In this episode, we hear from Dr. Amy Grubb, the Digital Transformation Advisor to the CIO at the FBI. You’ll hear from Amy how much of what would be deemed successes in her career were either serendipity or part of a derailment that she had to overcome.

Key insights in this episode: 

• AG: (at 3:56) What I realized is we can get all the talent in the world, and some of the best talent in the world --and we do, but that’s not going to make them work together better. That’s not going to make them understand each other better, and that’s not going to make them better leaders in the future.
• AG: (at 6:37) Everybody who comes to work has a story. They’re there for a reason, right? They have a journey that took them to where they are now. Even if that person is horrible to work with, even if that person is grumpy or mean or whatever, they have a dignity that should be respected. 
• AG: (at 17:22) Amy talks about how long it really took her to come back from ‘falling off the pedestal’ at work.
• AG: (at 19:08) I don’t want to be the person who screamed and cried. I don’t want to be that person. Look, I don’t want to be pushed around, but I don’t want my reaction to be the story. I want my work to be the story.
• (at 29:08) Amy shares the 3 people that she’d love to have a sit-down conversation with and why.

RESOURCES & SOCIAL MEDIA:
*Dr. Amy Grubb’s LinkedIn

DOWNLOAD OUR FREE RESOURCES:
*Leadership Quiz
*Checklist for Holding Engaging Team Meeting
*Build Your Influence Checklist
 
Watch the full video interview.
Read the full transcript of this episode.