This week I sit down with Michael Berris, the VP of Engineering for National Debt Relief, to explore the dynamic intersection of leadership, flexibility, and productivity in the fast-paced FinTech world.  Michael shares invaluable insights on fostering a winning culture while maintaining agility and momentum, highlighting the delicate balance between hiring top talent and nurturing internal growth. We delve into practical strategies for leaders to effectively navigate rapid change without sacrificing output, emphasizing the importance of adaptability and empowerment in driving innovation. Tune in as we uncover the secrets to thriving in high-pressure environments and cultivating a culture of excellence that stands the test of time.

🎙️ I had the pleasure of hosting Jasmine (Jazz) Reno, a distinguished guest with a remarkable background in call center operations. She currently serves as the VP of Call Center Operations for Flagstar Bank.  Jasmine is a seasoned professional known for her exceptional leadership and strategic prowess. During the episode, she shared insights into her journey, highlighting the pivotal role she played in overseeing the daily operations of a 320-seat contact center. 

What truly stood out was her innovative approach to blending human-centric leadership with cutting-edge solutions, creating a dynamic and high-performing work environment. Jasmine's anecdotes about navigating challenges, implementing strategic plans, and fostering a positive team culture served as an inspiration to all aspiring leaders in the call center industry. Tune in to this episode of "Make Interesting Mistakes" for a captivating conversation with Jasmine Reno, where she unveils the art of turning challenges into opportunities and the power of embracing mistakes as a catalyst for growth and success. 

This week I got the chance to catch up with Bjorn Bonholzer.  It was great to talk with Bjorn and hear about his approach and insights.  We talked about how we can feel like we are consistently trying to fight against the waves of chaos hitting us without ever addressing the undercurrents that are causing those waves.  He provides tactics on how to execute root cause analysis on our own behaviors to create more sustainable operating systems.  Listen in if you have ever felt overwhelmed with the daily intensity of your role!

Bjorn Bonholzer is a dynamic leadership coach, consultant, and facilitator driven to help individuals and organizations achieve their maximum potential. He focuses on helping leaders to build more capacity when more is required of us, yet we only have so much to give, and developing custom people development strategies for growing organizations by identifying the unique behaviors and competencies for individuals and teams to be at their best every day, anywhere.  

Bjorn’s experience has helped me to understand the challenges and complexity of developing individuals and teams, allowing me to work with clients to find ways to navigate these nuances with authenticity and focus.  

Voyager Strategy is a boutique leadership and organization development practice focusing on: 

• Executive & Leadership Coaching 
• Employee & Team Assessments 
• Internal Coach Programs ("Leader-as-Coach") 
• Team Development 
• Off-Site Experiences Facilitation 
• Talent Development Strategy 

To learn more about Bjorn, follow him on LinkedIn or visit his website, Voyager Strategy. 

Iteration is at the heart of the conversation with Dessalen Wood.  She iterated on her career by discovering her passion and then writing her own job description to achieve what she wanted. In iteration two, she fired herself when she was no longer fulfilled in her role.  As a front-line sales pro, she operated at the 5000 ft view.  In iteration two, as an HR leader, she operated at the 50k ft view.  

She shares with us her perspective from a career learning how to produce a product early, know it's a draft, and include the right people in making each attempt better.  She shares her playbook on questioning and helps you understand how to know what you want by knowing what you don't.

Dessalen Wood, CHRP, is a seasoned HR executive, facilitator, and leadership coach
who has specialized in passionately leading People and Culture teams within blue-chip
Canadian and US organizations. Dessalen has over 25 years of experience in mid-size
and large size Canadian and US organizations, such as Reitman’s Canada, Hudson’s
Bay Company, The Children’s Place & The Disney Stores, in addition to leading the
global People function for Canadian-based tech companies.  Prior to joining Syntax, Dessalen started her career in the field of recruitment and training.  

She soon developed an interest in the entire employee life cycle and moved to HR
management roles at major Canadian and US-based retail chains. In 2019,
Dessalen made the move from the service industry to the tech industry, in the role of Chief People Officer at ThoughtExchange, a BC-based tech start-up that empowers leaders to bring people together and solve problems with their employees, community, and customers through crowdsourcing. In 2022 Dessalen joined Syntax, a leading managed cloud provider for mission-critical applications, as their Global Chief People officer, leading a team of HR professionals from around the globe.

This week I sat down with entrepreneur and angel investor Christina Fair.  She is currently the Founder and CEO of Reconnect Teams as well as Founder and COO of Hum, both based out of the Bamboo Coworking Space in Detroit and Royal Oak, MI. 

After years of corporate burnout, Christina believes very passionately in spending as much time working on yourself as you do your career. How can we be our best selves at work if we don’t know who we are in this world? 

On a personal note, Christina enjoys changing her hair monthly, tattoos, LOTS of exercise, connecting with incredible people in the startup space, and spending time with her family - Liam (16yrs), Anabelle (11yrs) and her brilliant CTO, bow tie wearing husband, John.

This week I sat down with Matt Lane, CIR.  He currently works as a director of recruiting at Rebuilt and we talked about mistakes from a very interesting intersection.  You see, Matt has a view of mistakes not only from his distinguished career as a leader but also from watching hiring managers and candidates make and recover from mistakes as well.  We talk about brand, best practices for the talent search, and how to remain human while the world is telling you that only metrics matter.

Matt has 16 years of Talent Acquisition, (7 in Talent Acquisition Leadership) within both the corporate and agency world.  His focus and success are built around a customized approach that offers creative and strategic recruiting models that are flexible and scalable in partnership with clients ranging from startups to well-established entities.  

This week I talked with Chelsea Seid.  When you look for a coach - you look for someone like her.  As you will hear in the conversation, she is candid, pragmatic, and able to separate emotion and logic while still accounting for both.  We talk about the mistake of undervaluing yourself and how to better understand your transferable skills so that you can project confidence in your abilities.  We also dig in to how leaders can shift their own style to create a better working environment for the humans they lead.  

Chelsea is an International Coaching Federation PCC-certified coach. She has been formally coaching for the past six years, partnering with 30+ companies and coaching 100+ managers, leaders, and executives. She has 15 years of experience managing and leading teams; leading business operations and strategy; and leading HR, talent development, and talent acquisition across a variety of industries. She also has 5 years of experience as a co-founder of a venture-backed scalable coaching startup. 

How to connect with Chelsea - https://www.linkedin.com/in/chelseawagen/

This week we feature Robin Sirko of Viizr.  She shares with us the underlying conditions of reactio and how to notice those emotions.  She also discusses how to stall that voice in your head that wants immedaite results, and how to plan for a response that creates a sustainable outcome.  

Robin is the Head of People for VIIZR, a hardworking app for the trades built on Salesforce and powered by Ford Pro. She has more than 12 years of experience in Human Resources, with an emphasis in leadership roles that span a number of disciplines. She brings a unique perspective to her work with her background in social work by ensuring there is always a human-centric approach to everything she does - from rolling out enterprise-level programs to individual coaching. When she isn't working her 9-to-5 you can find her teaching a barre class at her local studio or  on the sidelines of her daughters' soccer games. 

Shonna has spent more than 15 years in global organizations leading org-wide and team-specific development, performance management, talent management, and succession planning processes. She’s a Professional Certified Coach through the International Coaching Federation and serves on the Board of Directors for the International Coaching Federation (ICF) Michigan Chapter, leading their Community Outreach efforts.

Shonna is the Founder of EWP Coaching and Consulting, a people-centered consulting firm whose mission is to help you achieve the personal and professional life or the organizational culture you desire. EWP supports individuals and groups, within and outside of organizations, with professional and personal exploration and leadership development that goes beyond theory and mantras by putting strategic steps into action to achieve profound change. She’ll take the time to listen to your needs and develop a customized approach to help you or your organization Explore What’s Possible™.

Shonna and I talk about breaking through barriers, the mindset of stepping out on your own, and what it takes to coach effectively.  She reflects on her leadership and her success in reading people, and how that can be a double-edged sword.  She discusses how leaders can move past limiting beliefs about themselves and others and internalize behavior for what it is - data.  

It was a true pleasure talking with my guest this week.  A self-described joy-fueled leader, KJ Jenison is a seasoned HR leader and an eternal optimist in the potential for anyone to grow and to believe in themselves. A graduate of the famed Second City improv theatre in Chicago, KJ brings the art and lessons of improv into his leadership philosophy. His career includes Head of Learning & Development at Procore Technologies through the transition as a private company through their IPO offering, as well as leadership and talent development with United Airlines, as well as time in management consulting, client experience, publishing, and online academics. He is currently Director of Learning & Development at Shippo, a leader in the eCommerce space. You can find KJ on Instagram and Tiktok at joyfueledleader.