Story Time with Mack!

Feedback is one of the most difficult things to both receive and deliver, but it's absolutely necessary.  Our guest today, Kate Vendemio offers tips and techniques to give better feedback to direct reports, peers, and even your boss.  Be sure to download her Feedback Tip Sheet and get more information on her Feedback Masterclass which you can read about HERE.

Jerry Seinfeld once said that "according to most studies, people's number one fear is public speaking.  Number two is death.  This means to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you're better off in the casket than doing the eulogy."

Facetious for sure, but if you dread public speaking, this episode is for you.  Dr. Brian Wade works with folks who want to improve their speaking skills and get over the fear.  We had a great discussion and Dr. Wade gives us actionable strategies to improve our performance on stage, or just in the conference room.

This is the time of year most of us begin gearing up for a new year.  This episode is a good one as you plan your New Year resolutions. Jennifer Watson is a passionate and dynamic speaker & coach with a gift for intuitive & visionary coaching. She is an expert in wellness + leadership development, identity & mental edge enhancement, post trauma growth, & movement + change adaptation. Incorporating her expertise along with her athletic gifts as a former collegiate athlete and All-American, she is ecstatic to share a message of strength, courage, and hope against mountain tops that seem unattainable. With 20 years experience in entrepreneur & leadership management as well as health & wellness advocacy, she inspires those to unleash their potential and performance in all areas of their life.

When you have an important idea or suggestion to pitch, are you using the correct language?  I learned this painful lesson in 11th Grade back in 1980.  In this solo episode I discuss how to properly encode your language to get your point across.  I still don't know what a convoluted syntax is so that question won't be answered in this episode.  Enjoy!

Empathy is often confused with Sympathy, but it's very different.  In this solo episode, I'm talking about what Empathy really means.  

Each year we solicit candidates for our Boss of the Year contest.  This year's winner is Shelly Gasson, Vice President of HR for Airstream.  In this episode we talk about her leadership journey and her suggestions for anyone new to management.  We also discuss the best way to succeed in a career in HR.  Congratulations Shelly!!!

Workplace stress is one that most of us experience.  We share many of the common stressors such as a tough boss, time constraints, traffic, overly-chatty co-workers, etc.  But according to our guest today, the root of our stress might come from a different place.  Judy Kane is a PSYCH-K Facilitator who suggests much of our stress comes from our subconscious beliefs.  She gives us strategies to identify those beliefs and some tips to help conquer or leverage them.  Judy as a bunch of free resources for you too which you can find HERE.

Talent acquisition is a tough job these days. It seems as though candidates have the upper hand, making it challenging for recruiters to attract and land desperately-needed talent.  Our guest today, Thad Price is the CEO of Talroo. He has done quite a bit of work in this area and shares some of his best tips and techniques to take a proactive role in talent acquisition.

As of today, the War for Talent seems to be a losing one for companies and organizations.  Too few applicants for way too many open positions.  But what if there was an undiscovered talent pool that few know about?  Daphne Gomez is CEO and Founder of Teacher Career Coach.  Daphne and her team partner with organizations, introducing them to their massive talent pool of transitioning teachers.  In our interview, Daphne tells us why former teachers make excellent employees who are willing to learn and grow.  Daphne has a special offer for anyone who wants to post a position for FREE, so be sure to listen to the very end.

Mike Shelton is a retired Navy Admiral who had a 40-year career on active duty followed by over a decade of corporate leadership experience.  He is the author of West Point Admiral, which details his journey graduating from West Point (that will make sense in the interview!) through his time in Viet Nam, his later Naval experience, and what he learned in his time in corporate America.  Mike gives us some great leadership lessons and tips on how to get the most from your team.  Be sure to go to his website to order the book and use the codeword you hear in the interview.