Manage Smarter

Tara May, CEO of Aspiritech and International Neurodiversity Advocate, discusses the importance of embracing autism in the workplace. Aspiritech employs 90% autistic professionals, highlighting their unique strengths. Tara shares her insights on fostering innovation, cultural transformation, and the ROI of kindness. Learn how to create an inclusive environment that leverages the talents of autistic individuals.

Takeaways include:

1 Neurodiversity in the Workplace: Tara May emphasizes the importance of integrating neurodivergent individuals, particularly those on the autism spectrum, into various levels of a company. This approach not only fosters innovation but also enhances productivity by leveraging unique skill sets.

2 ROI of Kindness: Tara May advocates for a company culture that prioritizes kindness and psychological safety. This philosophy not only improves employee well-being but also drives business success and innovation.

3 Career Progression for Autistic Employees: Aspiritech focuses on undoing the low self-esteem instilled in autistic individuals from a young age. By emphasizing strengths and potential, the company ensures meaningful career progression for its neurodivergent employees.

4 Unique Strengths of Autistic Employees: Autistic individuals often excel in tasks requiring high levels of focus and the ability to spot anomalies in large data sets. These strengths make them particularly well-suited for roles in tech services, including software testing and AI model building.

5 Universal Design and Employee-Centric Approach: Aspiritech employs universal design principles to create an inclusive work environment. This employee-centric approach ensures that all team members, regardless of neurodiversity, can thrive both in work and life.

"Autistic people don't just belong in entry level positions or single departments. When we are able to pair a business need with something an autistic person has an incredible passion for, magic happens, productivity is insane." - Tara May

#autism #autismspectrum #neurodivergent #sensory #inclusiveworkplace #employees #managers #podcast #managesmarter #salesfuel

Connect with Tara May

⁠www.taranicoalmay.com⁠

⁠www.aspiritech.org⁠

⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/taranmay/⁠

Connect with Manage Smarter Hosts

·         Website: ⁠ManageSmarter.com⁠ 

·         LinkedIn: ⁠Audrey Strong⁠                                                                   

·         LinkedIn: ⁠C.Lee Smith⁠  

Connect with SalesFuel

·         Website: ⁠http://salesfuel.com/⁠ 

·         Twitter: ⁠@SalesFuel⁠ 

·         Facebook: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/salesfuel/⁠ 

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Discover how continuous employee listening can transform your organization’s culture and business results with insights from Nick Montalbine, founder of Inner Voice Analytics and former HR strategist at Nike. In this episode, Nick unpacks actionable strategies to turn employee feedback into performance intelligence, prevent turnover contagion, and create engagement that lasts.

"The inner voice exists in all these organizations, and we just sometimes we don't acknowledge it, we don't listen to it because it may take our strategy in a different direction and maybe inconvenient at the time but the repercussions are large by not listening." - Nick Montalbine

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

-Why traditional employee surveys don't work anymore

-Implementing continuous listening techniques

-Other ways to get transparent employee sentiment

-Early warning indicators you have no idea what your teams really think

CONNECT WITH NICK MONTALBINE

www.innervoiceanalytics.com

X: Audrey https://x.com/tallmediamaven

Lee  https://x.com/cleesmith

Connect with SalesFuel     

Website:  https://salesfuel.com/       

X: https://x.com/SalesFuel        Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/salesfuel/

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Audrey Strong and C. Lee Smith celebrate 300 episodes by sharing their top management tips, podcasting secrets, and stories about real business leadership. They discuss show prep, follow-up questions, overcoming imposter syndrome, and building genuine connections. Whether you want podcasting advice, management strategies, or business growth tips, this episode delivers actionable insights and personal experiences from two industry veterans.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

- How to build a personal, authentic relationship with colleagues

- Best strategies for management day-to-day relationships and improving them

- Best piece of advice in business we ever got

- How a completely random meeting 40 years ago started a long business relationship for us

CONNECT WITH MANAGE SMARTER

Website: ⁠https://salesfuel.com/manage-smarter/⁠·         LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/audreystrong/⁠  

LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/cleesmith/⁠

X

Audrey ⁠https://x.com/tallmediamaven⁠

Lee  ⁠https://x.com/cleesmith⁠ 

Connect with SalesFuel      

Website:  ⁠https://salesfuel.com/⁠       

X: ⁠https://x.com/SalesFuel⁠         Facebook: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/salesfuel/

#Business relationships #Business Networking # Authentic leadership # human side of business

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Kate Lowry, CEO, coach, and author of 'Unbreakable: How to Thrive Under Fear-Based Leaders,' shares expert insights on identifying and managing toxic leaders, especially in startups and tech. She offers practical strategies for overcoming fear-driven management styles, boosting innovation, and improving team morale. Listen for actionable advice on workplace culture, employee retention, and navigating toxic workplaces.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

-Latest statistics on how many workplaces have fear-based leaders

-Signs to look for that signal you're working under a fear-based leader

-Solutions on what you can do to protect yourself and your team

-New feedback ideas to help mitigate a fear-based environment

CONNECT WITH KATE LOWRY

www.katelowry.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherinejlowry/

Website: https://salesfuel.com/manage-smarter/·         LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/audreystrong/  

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cleesmith/

X

Audrey https://x.com/tallmediamaven

Lee  https://x.com/cleesmith 

Connect with SalesFuel      

Website:  https://salesfuel.com/       

X: https://x.com/SalesFuel         Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/salesfuel/

#workplace #badboss #toxicleadership #workplaceintimidation #HR #workplacefear #dysfunctionalboss

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Dr. Rosenna Bakari, psychologist and author of "Seven Exits: Leave Behind What No Longer Serves You," explores leadership transformation, emotional clarity, and the power of micro exits to reset and lead with confidence. Discover how self-awareness and letting go of limiting patterns helps professionals build trust, enhance performance, and create more meaningful personal and workplace relationships.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

-Definitions of lack of fulfillment and other signs that you're unhappy

-How are you getting in your own way and what to do

-What is a micro-exit and how to use it to reset your mindset

-Which of the 'seven exits' do most people struggle with, and what impact does it have?

http://transformation.sevenexits.com

Website: https://salesfuel.com/manage-smarter/        LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/audreystrong/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cleesmith/

X: Audrey https://x.com/tallmediamaven

Lee  https://x.com/cleesmith 

Connect with SalesFuel        

Website:  https://salesfuel.com/       

X: https://x.com/SalesFuel       Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/salesfuel/

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Kevin Hubschmann, founder of Laugh.Events, shares how improv and comedy skills like active listening, adaptability, and self-deprecating humor can strengthen leadership, sales, and workplace culture. Learn to build psychological safety, improve brand voice, and connect authentically for business success. Discover actionable strategies and tips to use humor effectively at work and in team building.

"Humor skills and comedy skills, as I refer to them, are actually about soft skills. And that's listening, communication, empathy, thinking on the fly, going off script, reading a room."

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

-Effective use of humor with tough audiences requires patience, active listening, and tailoring your approach to the individual’s openness, rather than forcing jokes

-Strategies for using humor effectively with an audience or people who do not readily respond

https://laughrx.laugh.events

CONNECT WITH MANAGE SMARTER

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/audreystrong/                                                X: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cleesmith/

X: Audrey https://x.com/tallmediamaven

X: Lee  https://x.com/cleesmith 

Connect with SalesFuel 

Website:  https://salesfuel.com/

X: https://x.com/SalesFuel

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/salesfuel/

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Dan Tocchini, leadership development expert and author of "The Change Imperative," reveals the secrets to navigating tough workplace conversations and resolving conflict with courage. Dan is also

KEY TAKEAWAYS

-How to openly invite feedback

-Reflection Techniques and how to use them

-What business metrics will be affected if you avoid conflict.

-How to build difficult conversations and conflict resolution into your overall company culture

Connect with Dan Tocchini

https://takenewground.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dantocchini

X: Audrey ⁠https://x.com/tallmediamaven⁠

Lee  ⁠https://x.com/cleesmith⁠ 

Connect with SalesFuel·  

Website:  ⁠https://salesfuel.com/⁠·

X:  ⁠https://x.com/SalesFuel⁠·

Facebook: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/salesfuel/

#salesfuel #dantocchini #leadershipskills #difficultemployees #teamsuccess #leadershipadvice #managesmarterpodcast #cleesmith #audreystrong #salescred #sales #teamtrait #admall

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This week, we're tackling a topic that every leader has faced at some point: team commitment. Gain valuable insights on leadership and team dynamics with host Chip Gray.

Join us each week for a brand new bonus Extra Point episode. In less than 5 minutes, you'll get additional insights about the psychology of leadership and management from the producers of the Manage Smarter podcast. Find all of the Manage Smarter episodes on ManageSmarter.com

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Theresa Bassett is CEO of The Diamond Group and an expert in relationship sales. With a background in construction, real estate, and digital marketing, she’s driven over $550M in transactions across various sectors. Theresa’s expertise spans working with Fortune 500 companies like Pulte Homes and GE Aviation, and she’s passionate about helping businesses grow through a proprietary system for sales and marketing. As a thought leader, entrepreneur, and speaker, she also focuses on team development and fostering growth-driven cultures, embodying her Progress = Happiness philosophy.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

-The core principle behind effective relationship selling strategies

-What inbound marketing tip can dramatically improve trust and engagement with potential clients

-Maintaining face-to-face interaction is still important in the digital age, especially with the rise of AI

CONNECT WITH THERESA BASSETT

https://www.diamond-group.co/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/theresalbassett

CONNECT WITH MANAGE SMARTER AND ITS HOSTS

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/audreystrong/                                                https://www.linkedin.com/in/cleesmith/

X: https://x.com/tallmediamaven

 https://x.com/cleesmith 

Connect with SalesFuel 

Website:  https://salesfuel.com/

X: https://x.com/SalesFuel

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/salesfuel/

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I'm Chip Gray and this week, we're talking about the traits that truly make a candidate stand out in the hiring process. Gain valuable insights on leadership and team dynamics with host Chip Gray.

Join us each week for a brand new bonus Extra Point episode. In less than 5 minutes, you'll get additional insights about the psychology of leadership and management from the producers of the Manage Smarter podcast. Find all of the Manage Smarter episodes on ManageSmarter.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices