MaYapinion®

This week, we welcome Jodi Woelkerling to the MaYapinion™ Podcast! Jodi Woelkerling works with individuals and businesses to help them to build resilient cultures and resilient individuals within that culture. Much of her work is with leaders, assisting them with their own resilience and with leading resilient teams. She is the author of "World Class Leadership" for Senior Executives as well.

01:14 Jodi Talks about her new book "world class leadership" for senior executives

3:19 How women can build their own resilience

5:38 The three levels to keep resilience consistent and solid

17:08 Talks about her working life and the progression that helps her create programs

21:21 Her advices about culture

24:28 How she defines resilience in leadership for women

About Jodi in her words:

For more than 25-years, I have worked in financial, educational, service, and product-based organisations in various managerial roles from quality assurance through to financial management, business banking, and branch management. During this time, I've witnessed cultural clashes, and I've also felt the brunt of the stress it generates firsthand.

My experience, coupled with several tertiary level qualifications in education, accounting and financial advice, have heightened my understanding of business and organisational culture and raised my awareness of the impact of stress on individuals in a team and their leaders. Having witnessed cultural barriers and difficulties firsthand as a leader within a corporate organisation, I empathised with others that were experiencing the same challenges, and I wanted to make changes to prevent myself and others from burning out or feeling that they were inadequate or underappreciated when they were competent and highly valued.

By 2016 I had reached a turning point. Feeling that I was teetering on the edge of burnout, I looked towards building my resilience—surely there was something better than what I was currently doing? Something that gave me a better quality of life and was far more rewarding. At the time, I didn't know what this was, then I started exploring options and completing further study. Becoming a 'Success Principles' certified trainer, health and life coach and neuro-linguistic programming practitioner and then pairing this with my corporate knowledge and understanding of leadership, then paved the way for me to help others overcome their resilience challenges and later cultural barriers in their workplace.

Initially helping individuals, I realised that far more could be done to assist these and other people experiencing resilience challenges by focusing my aptitude on the source—organisational culture—where many of the stressors existed. The natural progression from one to many was systematic as I had experienced the power corporate culture exerted and how this could have an adverse effect on the business's success and on the individuals that contributed to that success. I am passionate about using my knowledge and experience to assist businesses to build an enduring resilient culture at the whole culture level, the various levels of leadership within the business and at the individual level, so that the business as a whole and the individuals within the business can experience the enormous benefits of an enduring resilient culture.

Visit Jodi and follow her here:

https://www.jodiwoelkerling.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/resilient-culture-consultant/

https://www.facebook.com/JodiWoelkerlingEnterprises

Listen and Read: https://mayapinionpodcast.com/

Subscribe here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQ8aNruAgcXaAQED7Pfen-g

This week on Motivation Monday, we have Angelina McEwen. She owns her own business and discusses the importance of visual content and her journey to entrepreneurship.

Angelina was born in Donetsk, Ukraine and moved to the US in 2005. As she focused on learning the English language, she successfully graduated from Newnan High School and went onto receiving an Associates Degree in Television Production from Chattahoochee Technical College. You're probably wondering what sparked her interest in Television & Film. Angelina's work with video began in 2012, after entering and winning a competition to produce the best video for the City Hall of Newnan, Ga. Since then, her work has been published in schoolvideonews.com and mdjonline.com. Angelina won a Bronze Telly Award while volunteering with Sonlight Christian Mission. She partnered up with another talented female to create visual stories to help raise money for the Organization.

1:09 Angelina speaks about her business and what she does

3:50 Clients that she works with

6:08 How she gets traffic and what makes her special, the power of video

10:31 The importance of marketing budget

12:24 The power that Video give to Improve SEO

14:40 Talks about her background and how got involved into business

19:27 How to delegate work, and relationship with clients, and her first experience

25:07 Tips about relationships with team and clients

34:13 Advice to women to follow their passions

37:55 How women entrepreneurs can find the appropriate mentor

Express Your Visions, LLC Our Mission is to create engaging, creative and strategic visual content to fulfill your brands purpose and vision. Since Video is the most dependable marketing tool, producing eye-captivating and sentimental content that engages your audience is our goal. We do this by relating to your industry, applying our expertise and innovating out-of-the-box ideas. Quality is key in Photography. It allows you to stand apart from your competition, highlights your credibility and positions you as a professional in your field. Our team has a creative eye to capture valuable details. Key clients trust us and rely on us to deliver a product that showcases their uniqueness and value in the market.

Connect with Angelina:

https://www.expressyourvisions.com/

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

And, listen and read on https://mayapinionpodcast.com/

Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQ8aNruAgcXaAQED7Pfen-g

Let's talk plant based this week! Here a little more about our guest:

Pamela's interest in health and wellness blossomed in her twenties when she began a quest to absorb all of the nutrition information she could get her hands on. She had just graduated college where she ate fairly well but had some struggles with her health nonetheless. Her resultant health quest soon led her to learn about the meat industry and how animals we consider "food" are treated in the system we in the West call "agribusiness." She became a vegetarian from that research, but that wasn't the end of her journey. Years after going vegetarian Pamela started learning about other aspects of animal agriculture as well as the health implications of eating animal foods, and quickly realized that being vegetarian wasn't enough. It was then that she made the decision to go vegan.

"Our lives are only as good as our health. I founded Plant-based IQ to educate my clients about the link between diet and disease and help them create their own path forward as they transition in part or in whole to plant-based eating. My goal is to enable the betterment of my client's health, the health of animals, and of our planet. A plant-based diet has been shown to be instrumental in halting and even reversing heart disease and other "diseases of affluence" by turbocharging the body's ability to heal itself. I educate others about how and why diet can have such a powerful impact on disease outlooks and make the case for moving toward a more plant-based diet." - Pamela DeRitis

1:08 Pamela's program and business, and courses

3:30 Her background, and how she started business and creating programs and courses

6:21 How she switched her business

8:17 Advice on how to improve lifestyle and being healthy

12:32 Vegan lifestyle and smoking experience

15:54 How she quit smoking

18:19 What helped her to get into vegan lifestyle

19:50 The importance of community surrounded you

24:01 Her connection with animals

26:56 Some advice on leadership

Connect with Pamela here:

https://plantbasediq.com/

[email protected]

https://www.instagram.com/plantbasediq/

https://www.facebook.com/plantbasediq

And, listen, read and more: https://mayapinionpodcast.com/

Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQ8aNruAgcXaAQED7Pfen-g

Gabrielle Dolan is considered a global expert in business storytelling and real communication. She is a highly sought after keynote speaker and best selling author of seven books. Her client list is extensive including the likes of Visa, Amazon, EY, Uber, Accenture, Telstra, Australia Post and the Obama Foundation. The professional highlight of her career so far is meeting Barack Obama while delivering storytelling training for the Obama Foundation. Gabrielle is the founder of Jargon Free Fridays and her dedication to the industry was recognized when she was awarded Communicator of the Year for 2020 by International Association of Business Communicators.

On the show, we chatted about Magnetic Stories and of course, leadership. Gabrielle shares her opinion about leadership and how to help new leaders.

1:30 Gabrielle talks about her book "Magnetic Stories"

5:26 The source of her inspiration and how she was influenced to write books

7:16 The importance of communication in leadership

10:33 How to become a true leader

12:45 What is a "Thought Leader"

15:01 Things that need to be implemented and improved in companies to help new leaders

18:14 Advice for new leaders

23:03 Mistakes that leaders and companies should avoid

You can find Gabrielle here:

www.gabrielledolan.com

https://www.instagram.com/gabrielledolan.1/

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

https://twitter.com/GabrielleDolan1/

https://www.facebook.com/gabrielledolanconsulting/

And, read and learn more at https://mayapinionpodcast.com/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQ8aNruAgcXaAQED7Pfen-g

Juli Geske-Peer is our guest this week talking about the "5 Senses for Success" which is her new book. She shares with us the five senses and how we can apply them to leadership and our lives. We also spoke about my favorite topic, empathy, and shared our opinions about the importance of relationships.

1:17 Juli talks about her new book "The 5 senses for success" and when it will come out

5:22 The impact of her childhood that made her evolve and how she came up with the 5 senses

11:14 Some tips on how to apply these senses in real life, and the most important thing to take into consideration to succeed

23:37 How empathy is crucial as one of the tactics to succeed in leadership life

29:41 How important relationships are for leaders

34:10 Juli gives advice on how to become the best leader possible

More on our guest...

Juli Geske-Peer has spent her career honing leadership and relationship skills, and she'd be the first to say she learned many lessons the hard way. Today, as president and founder of Peer Performance Solutions, she brings those hard-won lessons to her clients—helping individuals and organizations lift performance and attain their goals.

Her passion lies in making a positive impact across the stakeholders she serves, and empowering her clients to carry that same ethos forward. She has earned formal degrees in communications (BA) and organizational leadership (MA), as well as certifications in leadership, training, coaching, and mediation.

Juli has over 20 years of successful consulting and management experience and has worked with companies ranging from local nonprofits to multinational organizations. She is also a voracious reader of thriller/suspense novels and loves being lakeside surrounded by her family.

Contact her here:

https://juligeskepeer.com/5-senses-for-success/

https://peerperformancesolutions.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/peer-performance-solutions/

https://www.facebook.com/peerperformancesolutions

https://twitter.com/JGeskePeer

Contact us here and read more:

https://mayapinionpodcast.com/

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Purpose reaches a different depth to any conversation and leadership is not exempt. In my opinion, we spend our entire lives trying to figure out what our "purpose" in this life actually is and do we have one? Well, I think we all have a purpose, in fact, many "purposes" in our lives. As far as leadership goes though, purpose is a direct reflect of your value in many ways and it's why it's important that you identify those values first (as I wrote about in part one of Be the Leader of Your Life).

If you are still stuck on the first part, values, and still trying to figure it out, answer this for yourself. What is more important than anything else to you? What would you not jeopardize for money or for comfort? Those tend to be your values. For example, if someone told me that I would be paid a billion dollars, then I would be excited… we all would. Let's change the circumstance. If someone tells me that he will pay me a billion dollars, but I can never tell anyone about the crime I witnessed and I would disappear from my "normal life." Now, that changes things. I am not here to judge you but some of my strongest values are integrity, honesty and justice. Therefore, I could never accept that offer, but some who value wealth over those value may be able to. Try this exercise if you are still working on your values. We actually play these games on social media all the time and don't even realize it. Start paying attention because you choices show you your values and your values shape your purpose, especially in leadership.

Novice leaders may tell you that their purpose is to "change the world" or "to influence others" and those are great and lofty goals. But as leaders, we do not influence others or change the world by setting out with that purpose. That's why understanding your values is key. As a young leader starting out, I didn't even know I was a leader. You could say that my most important value besides determination was wealth because I wanted to make money. However, through the discover of my values my purpose became to form, shape, and evolve. I didn't start my career after college with my diploma in hand thinking, "OK, time to go empower women to be the leaders of their life and hopefully, learn from all my mistakes." Um, no. I even laugh to myself just writing that. But, I did understand my values because I knew what felt aligned with me.

A mistake we all make as leaders is we go along with our companies' values, mission, vision, and even, its purpose. The trouble there is that it's so important that it's the other way around. That's why I started this series, group, and will be releasing more information about being the leader of your life. We have it all wrong. It's all about your values, mission, vision, and definitely, your purpose as you move through life. You must ask yourself if that aligns with the company you are working for, and yes, even if you have built your own company because everything evolves and changes, companies that even you have founded, and you will definitely grow and evolve many times in this life. Your values build your purpose.

Go to https://mayapinionpodcast.com/be-the-leader-of-your-life-purpose/ to read the full blog

Go to https://www.instagram.com/mayaroffler/ to follow on Instagram

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Maya

Understanding your mission in this life is key to understanding how to become the leader of your life. There are a lot of misconceptions about "your mission though." I feel the word itself can sometimes be intimidating for a lot of people. But think of it this way, if a company or brand does not have a mission, then are we going to understand it, let alone support it? Probably not. That's one of the reasons I feel discovering and having a personal mission is one of the four components to being the leader of your life.

You might realize that you are completely clueless right now as to what your mission in life is at the point. That's OK and probably why you are reading this. Another aspect about learning and crafting your mission is that it is completely OK for it for adapt and change. We do as individuals as we grow and learn, so it's completely normal and expected for our mission to as well. For instance, when I was in my twenties, my mission was to inspire young women to pursue careers and financial independence. A personal mission for me was to live that life; have a successful career, have financial independence, and be a strong role model for young women. Now that I am older, my mission has evolved. Perhaps it has not changed entirely but it has evolved. My mission is to help women step into their leadership and become the leaders of their life.

In my opinion, as we evolve, our mission statement or personal mission evolves too. It evolves as we evolve through the stages of our life. We actually find this with companies and teams too and that's OK. But, if we do not have a mission statement to guide us then we could find ourselves a bit lost as leaders of anything, including the leaders of our lives. So, how do we figure out our mission statement? Well, there's a reason I talked about values in part one of "be the leader of your life" because understanding what values are important to you will shape your mission statement. Once you have identified your values, then you can begin to really craft and have fun with the creation of your mission statement.

In my opinion, that is exactly why values are the core of it all because now, you can build upon them. Now, you can build your mission statement. Values for most people typically remain tried and true, so as missions, visions, and purpose evolve; you will always have your core values to keep you anchored in my opinion. I'll use myself as an example. My core values are honesty, integrity, determination, equality, courage, independence, courage, success and did I mention determination? I'm sure I have left a few out but these are the main ones. You get the picture. But how did my values develop my mission? Or do I only have one mission? Do you only have one mission?

Remember starting out in my career, all I knew is that I wanted to make a lot of money and mentor and support other women. As I saw and experienced situations, people, things, etc… I developed my mission. I actually realized how great it made me feel to be so honest and to act with integrity. I observed and felt how my determination was not only a value, but a superpower for me. I enjoyed being independent and providing for myself and found great success. I valued this within myself and others. I could go on but I think that helps to paint by journey and reflection about values. Some of the most poignant moments were when my values were challenged by others. I look back now and realize that is truly when my mission was born. But, I also see that is when it evolves, when it is challenged. It grows and evolves.

Finish the blog here: https://mayapinionpodcast.com/be-the-leader-of-your-life-part-2-mission/

Join the Facebook group and more here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/347668183578549

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Maya

What does it mean to be the leader of your life? Well, to most people, they think that they have to have a title, a team, or someone appointing us as a leader in some sort of fashion. In my opinion, that's not what makes you a leader, and I've spoken openly about this on my blog and my podcast for almost two years now. I talk often about being a leader before any of those moments happen to you… before you get the promotion to manager or director or VP and so on. When you step into your leadership now, that's what makes you a leader.

But, how do we do that? And what does that mean to "step into our leadership?" In my opinion, it means to be the leader of your life. You can't effectively lead others if you are not already leading the life that YOU want to live. That doesn't mean that you must have it all figured out. We are all figuring it out along the way. It does mean that you have to know what is important to you as an individual and ensure that you are applying those tools into your own life.

So, how do you know if you are the leader of your life? Or how do you become the leader of your life? Over a few episodes and blog posts I am going to talk about the important factors and tools that help you become the leader of your life. Let's start with the core and the foundational basics that you need to understand about yourself to become the leader of your life.

I've talked about the importance of purpose, values, mission, and vision as far as an organization goes and how important it is for you as a leader to drive these factors. But, these elements are even more important for you as the leader of your life. Your purpose, values, mission, and vision will shape you as a leader in every aspect of your life and you can carry that into your "title leadership" roles too. It also helps you realize whether or not you align with clients, organizations, or anyone that you will work with or hire.

Most of us struggle with purpose. I know I have several times in my life and in my opinion, I think it's important to know that purpose is something that can evolve in life. Your life purpose will always be evolving and will be a result of your values, mission, and vision. Most of us believe we must find this great purpose for us being on this planet. In my opinion, yes, we all have a purpose but you can have several. That's why as the leader of your life you need to dive in and explore what's important to you, your values.

I encourage everyone to evaluate the most important values first. When you are examining who you are, I think it's imperative to ask yourself what values are the most important to you. This is the core of you and how you will lead your life. Here are some of the most common values:

Achievement

Adventure

Courage

Creativity

Dependability

Determination

Friendship

Health

Honesty

Independence

Integrity

Intelligence

Justice

Kindness

Learning

Love

Peace

Perfection

Security

Simplicity

Sincerity

Spontaneity

Success

Understanding

Wealth

And there are many more. The best way to figure out what is important to you and what your important values are is to ask yourself some questions.

What makes me feel good? (If you like to win awards and it makes you feel happy, achievement might be one of your top values).

What makes me angry? (For example, when people are dishonest to you, you get really upset. Honesty is probably a value for you).

What type of career do you have or want to have? (For example, you like seeking out help for those who have been wronged, then justice is more than likely a value for you).

For more, go to https://mayapinionpodcast.com/be-the-leader-of-your-life-values/

As President of Jackman, North America's leading customer engagement reinvention company, Sandra is responsible for both the business's long-term vision and day-to-day management. Sandra leads a talented team of 100+ reinventions with an engaging, highly motivating leadership style that fosters a culture of openness and champions ingenuity and collaboration. Sandra lives in Toronto, Canada, works across North America, and has been featured in major outlets like Forbes, Fast Company, and Thrive Global.

[1:11] A little history about Sandra Duff

[4:30] Taking a step backward to cope with her challenges

[13:34] Sandra's opinion on the two years resume rule

[14:58] A brief explanation about Jackman and its operations

[17:18] Post pandemic relationship between Jackman and its clients

[19:56] How Jackman operated during the pandemic

[28:33] Tips for building a strong culture in a working environment

[33:50] How it feels to be the first female president

[37:45] Target and Ideal client for Jackman

Taking a step backward to cope with her challenges

Sandra was struggling from a couple of perspectives; number one was juggling everything and keeping all the balls in the air. And number two was because her family situation hadn't changed. there was just a lot on her plate. She drained mentally and was having a hard time. Then she made the difficult decision to go back to client-side work.

Sandra's opinion on the two years resumes rule.

Sandra's opinion is that now more than ever, people have the permission to break those standard air, quote, standard rules. You know, we see people leaving work. They're not sure necessarily what's next. But they know that their work Nessus doesn't fit the purpose drive for them right now. And so, you see people exploring new things, or new opportunities, or moving into different roles that they just want to study. So I think now we should kind of erase that rule from our memories right now. Because I believe we are setting the new standard moving forward.

Tips for building a strong culture in a working environment

One of the super important things that we did, and I think it's going on now, three, almost four years ago, is we decided, as a leadership team, to establish some values for our organization. And then I think the other piece about the culture that's been a focus for us the last few years is the transparency policy in our teams, Some difficult decisions are made that are the decision of our founder, Joe, or us as a leadership team. But wherever possible, we consistently pulsar teams, and that's important down to like, What do you want.

How it feels to be the first female president

When we were first talking about this, it was super daunting to think about this. I think I was equal measure excited and anxious or nervous. When I was thinking, how do I make my mark, I thought what was interesting is that Joe has given me the opportunity as the first president of Jackman also to be a female leader, And, often as female leaders, we think we need to fit a mold or fit a step, not a stereotype but like a particular characteristic. And what was interesting is I know I can't be Joe. Joe is so dynamic, and so Joe, that I am not going to be my best self Trying to mold myself to be just like him. But I think that gives me the AHA that I'm me. And there are great things about me and what I bring to the table.

Follow Sandra Duff on LinkedIn @ https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandramessoreduff/

Click through to Sandra https://www.jackmanreinvents.com.