A leader's inspirational mindset stems from courage. The courage to speak up and persuade people of what you believe is right. In today's episode of the Inspire Podcast, Bart interviews Martine Roy. Martine has spent a lifetime standing up for equity. She exemplifies courageous speaking.

After being driven out of the Canadian Forces for her sexuality, Martine spent her life speaking up for inclusion and the LGBTQ+ community. She was a key plaintiff and advocate in seeking and securing a formal apology from the Canadian government for the purge of LGBTQ+ persons from the Forces, and continues today as the Chair of the Board of Directors of the LGBT Purge Fund.

In addition, Martine blazed a trail as a co-founder of Pride at Work, and as the creator of ERG groups at IBM Canada. Today she continues to champion LGBTQ+ rights in her work at TD today, where she serves as Regional Manager, LGBTQ2+ Business Development Quebec Eastern Canada.

Here are some moments from the conversation:

Introduction -02:34.4

Martine's time in the army -03:24.9

Anti gay policies during the 80s -05:49.5

CF1920 -06:15.5

Special investigator unit -07:05.4

Under arrest -08:10.5

2nd interrogation -10:03.5

Dishonourably discharged for homosexuality -10:54.2

80s Taboos -13:28.7

Therapy -15:03.5

Intersectionality -15:34.6

1992 law changed -- but still silence from govt -18:50.9

IBM -19:42.4

LGBTQ+ group at IBM -20:05.5

1953 TJ Watson Policy letter -21:07.9

"Pride at Work" organization -23:26.1

The power of the allies -24:22.7

The vision of Pride at Work -25:08.0

National Bank -26:05.1

Employee resource group -27:10.0

Benefits of employee groups -27:42.1

Lost time to inauthentic life -27:56.1

No apology from military -29:22.4

2014 -- need to do something -30:54.1

Advice for others -33:29.3

In today's episode of the Inspire Podcast, Bart interviews Tim Tamashiro. Tim is the author of "How to IKIGAI", along with being a jazz singer, speaker, and radio broadcaster.

He now however focusses on bringing the Japanese concept of IKIGAI to the world. The term translates to "life's worth", and helps one understand how they can live a more fulfilling life.

Here are some moments from the conversation:

Welcome - 02:38.5

Tim's journey - 03:28.6

Origin of the word IKIGAI - 04:00.4

4 directions of IKIGAI - 05:19.6

Clarifying ideas on IKIGAI - 08:40.5

Left CBC to self study IKIGAI - 11:26.9

Figuring out your IKIGAI - 12:30.7

IKIGAI coach/introducer - 14:32.5

Young adult career journey - 15:13.3

The power of the subconscious mind - 17:00.5

Gap years - 17:43.0

How to do IKIGAI when dealing with commitments - 18:34.1

Save up... plan for it - 19:38.8

Advice on starting to explore - 20:50.7

How to know when you've found your IKIGAI? - 22:37.5

Advice on communication.... - 26:52.6

Do more "You"! - 27:29.2

Angela Knight's "Do Crew" - 27:49.0

Tim's IKIGAI - 29:55.3

Don't defer fulfilment - 31:52.0

In today's episode of the Inspire Podcast, Bart interviews Demetrios Nicolaides. Demetrios is the MLA for Calgary-Bow and Alberta's Minister of Advanced Education.

Listen in to learn more about the rules politicians follow to refine their messaging, how they deal with criticism, and what it takes to inspire their audience.

Here are some moments from the conversation:

Demetrios recent political postings -02:44.3

Reason for having him on... -03:09.8

The campaign -- what you learned? -04:11.6

Examples of mistakes -04:55.5

What helped him get chosen for the cabinet -06:26.5

Defining a vision helped position him for success -07:25.7

Having a vision for education -08:48.0

What shocked you about politics -11:19.0

Any slip ups? -12:26.9

Working at The Humphrey Group was great training -12:50.0

Types of language to use in politics -13:42.5

Being ready to be 'on' -14:39.8

How to deal with discrepancies between govts' position and your own -16:12.8

Re-introducing the "I" in politics -16:55.8

Polarization -19:26.9

Humanize communications whenever possible -22:01.0

Personal attacks? -22:50.6

What lessons would you share with leaders? -25:25.5

In today's episode of the Inspire Podcast Bart speaks with Nathania Harrison who is the founder of Saor Studio. Saor is a movement studio where their efforts are grounded in self study, body awareness and mindfulness to help you uncover new possibility within.

Listen in to learn how you can keep your mind healthy by keeping your body healthy.

Moments from the conversation:

How Nathania started Saor Studio - 03:57.8

Backyard teaching - 06:21.9

Leaving the dream job - 07:21.1

Balancing work and family - 08:08.4

Joyful stress - 08:42.9

Philosophy of movement and positive stress - 09:32.3

Movement helped with anxiety and depression - 09:55.4

Alternative to medication - 10:51.8

Movement at Saor Studio - 11:26.0

How does movement help the mind? - 12:04.2

Explore how we respond to discomfort through movement - 12:18.7

The mind's response to discomfort - 13:06.0

Awareness builds strength - 13:37.0

Learning your response to challenges - 14:06.0

Awareness is 80% of the battle - 14:51.2

How to learn from discomfort - 15:25.9

Rewriting your limiting stories - 16:22.1

Focus on feelings in the body instead of mind - 17:01.5

"Courageous confidence" - 20:31.6

Courage to stay with discomfort - 21:27.1

Creating a new ability - 22:21.8

Listening to deeper self to reach full potential - 22:57.2

Plug section - 26:53.5

In today's episode of the Inspire Podcast, Bart speaks with Sharon Zohar. Sharon in the CEO/Founder of The Big Push. The Big Push is a business accelerator for women led companies. They provide hands-on services and support to create actionable and measurable growth plans to help lift women-led companies to new heights.

Listen in to get some unique insight into the challenges facing female entrepreneurs during this pandemic and more generally in the entrepreneurial workspace.

Here are some moments from the conversation:

Small business and startups in the time of COVID-19 - 03:45.0

What is The Big Push? - 04:37.1

Why start The Big Push? - 05:23.7

Challenges facing women entrepreneurs and investors - 06:37.9

Bro culture - 08:16.8

Why women led companies receive less investment - 09:16.0

What The Big Push does for women entrepreneurs - 10:13.6

Programs at The Big Push - 11:29.4

Road to success workshop - 11:52.0

Liftoff program - 12:59.4

Accelerator program - 14:08.3

How many companies has The Big Push helped? - 14:33.2

General advice for women entrepreneurs - 15:42.7

Do founders still face biases, and how to handle? - 16:41.0

Networking for female founders - 18:11.7

Impact of COVID-19 - 19:39.7

Advice for founders during COVID-19 - 21:40.2

In today's episode of the Inspire Podcast, Bart Egnal interviews Liam Austin. Liam is a Virtual Event Planner & Online Conference Consultant.

Join in as Bart and Liam discuss what conferences will look like in our new virtual world, & how conferences could work when we're not travelling and getting together in large crowds.

Here are some moments from the conversation:

Virtual event strategist - 04:08.0

What started the virtual event business? - 05:27.5

From LinkedIn groups to webinars to virtual events - 06:34.1

Higher conversion rates with virtual events - 07:29.6

Attendee costs much better with virtual events - 08:08.6

Real vs virtual summits... - 09:06.2

Accountability - 10:58.2

Engagement - 11:33.6

Accommodating people's attention spans - 11:51.6

Blocking time and mixing up presentation with engagement - 12:14.5

Building technical comfort and confidence in participants - 14:32.0

How to build engagement - 15:12.2

Mistakes to avoid in online events - 16:41.8

Start with the end goal! - 17:14.1

Free and VIP participants structure - 17:24.6

Free event - generate new prospects - 17:39.2

Example of an event mistake - 19:42.4

Build rapport, bring value before up selling - 22:59.1

Targeting niche interests important for conversions - 23:31.9

Preparing speakers for virtual events - 24:12.6

Common speaker mistakes - 26:28.3

Is business for virtual booming? - 27:41.6

How to find more.... - 29:41.7

In today's episode of the Inspire Podcast, Bart speaks with Benjamin Morgan and Jeff Angel from Centre for Crisis and Risk Communications (CCRC).

CCRC prepares organizations for their next crisis by: conducting vulnerability audits, writing and executing crisis communication plans, providing training (crisis and media) and strategic communication counsel.

Listen in to learn the rules of communication during a crisis, and how you can better connect with your stakeholders during this tough time.

Here are some moments from the conversation:

What does the Centre for Crisis & Risk Communications do?- 02:25.1

Did any of your clients prepare for this type of crisis?- 03:14.7

What are your backgrounds?- 04:48.6

Jeff's background- 04:55.9

Ben's background- 06:28.6

What changes in crisis, re: communication- 08:59.6

Dr Vincent Covello- 09:16.4

High stress needs different communication- 09:49.1

How should you communicate in crisis?- 10:17.1

KISS -- keep it to 3- 10:42.4

Modify your communications- 11:38.7

How COVID-19 is different -- the drawn out nature of it- 11:58.9

How to deal with the prolonged crisis of COVID-19- 12:37.9

Dr Kavelo's messaging templates- 12:47.4

Be caring and empathetic- 12:58.1

Follow up with conviction about what needs to be done- 14:07.6

Ben's take on CCO- 14:35.7

Alberta flood example- 14:51.2

People can only remember what they hear first- 16:50.3

Common mistakes leaders make in crisis communication- 19:07.6

Avoid absolute terms that can be subjective- 19:27.8

Loss of credibility- 20:24.8

Federal government not releasing their modeling numbers.. bad idea- 20:37.2

People can deal with tragedy and adversity better than uncertainty- 21:03.3

Doug Ford's communication on COVID-19- 21:46.5

Should the leader of the org be the chief spokesperson?- 23:40.4

Enough with the daily press conferences- 24:20.5

Advice to leaders- 25:56.6

Be sure to add value in your communications....- 26:40.5

"Stay in your laneway"- 26:58.6

Don't share for the sake of it- 27:32.9

Authentic communication- 28:02.9

In today's episode of the Inspire Podcast, Bart speaks with Arif Virani. Arif is a Member of Parliament for Parkdale - High Park in Ontario Canada.

Listen in to learn what it means to lead as a politician, and how you can do it with empathy and practicing active listening.

Here are some moments from the conversation:

Arif introduces himself - 03:17.2

How are you handling the pandemic - 04:27.3

Voice of calm, listening, responsive - 04:38.7

A non-partisan response - 05:31.7

Good listening skills - 06:11.8

People want to be heard/validated - 06:45.9

Handling strong emotions like anxiety and anger - 08:39.2

Don't stigmatize anxiety and stress - 08:55.3

Example of expressing that we don't know - 10:08.0

How are you holding up? - 10:48.9

Advice for leaders in any organization during this time - 12:06.0

Be available for communication - 12:36.0

Don't shy away from conversations -- even if you don't have the answers - 12:46.8

Being honest with team - 13:13.0

Communicating that things CAN change! - 13:32.3

Sharing good-news stories! - 14:09.2

Where to follow/find Arif online etc. - 16:30.1

Where to get health information - 17:09.2

In today's episode of the Inspire Podcast Bart Egnal speaks with Trina Boivin. Trina is Vice President of Leadership Assessment & Development at Optimum Talent, a company that collaborates with leading organizations to recruit, develop, engage, retain, and transition talent.

Listen in as they discuss what team effectiveness looks like, and how leaders can intentionally form it.

Here are some moments from the conversation:

Defining high performing teams - 04:01.9

Learning agility - 05:21.7

Feedback - less event based and more experience based - 07:07.9

Speed - and leveraging mistakes - 07:45.7

Story that illustrates how lack of accountability costs a lot - 10:21.7

The costs of poor communication - 13:08.2

A change in mandate and operating model - 14:27.3

The difficulties of going 'virtual' - 14:41.9

Strategies for building trust virtually - 15:22.7

Changing norms with remote working - 16:49.7

Dealing with new team members - 17:24.0

How to integrate new people - 19:41.1

Advice to leaders - 21:11.9

Servant leadership - 21:45.6

Get to know your people better - 23:36.3

Where else can people go for resources - 25:45.3

In today's episode of the Inspire Podcast. Bart Egnal interviews Howard Forman. Howard is a professor of Diagnostic Radiology, Public Health, Economics & Management at the Yale School of Management. He's been a voice of pragmatism and realism through this crisis. 

Listen in to get a better understanding on what the next 6 months will look like in North America concerning the virus, along with what leaders should & shouldn't be communicating to their teams. 

Here are some moments from the conversation:

About Howard Forman - 02:29.3

How did you become a public voice for COVID 19? - 03:15.2

What is the next month going to look like? - 06:17.3

What does the 6 month forecast look like? - 08:20.8

How does Canada's response look? - 09:39.1

Advice for leaders - 11:07.0

What should leaders be communicating to staff, employees and customers - 13:01.2

Recommended news and info sources - 15:40.6