Thriving Through Transition

In this engaging conversation, Ben Baker shares his journey of professional transition, moving from owning a communication consulting company for 17 years to rebranding himself and exploring new opportunities. The discussion delves into the nuances of personal and professional evolution, resilience, and the importance of adaptability.

Key Highlights:
- Ben closed his company, Your Brand Marketing, at the end of 2024 to focus on coaching, mentoring, and solving problems.

- Emphasized the importance of creating a transition that allows continued connection with existing network. There are great examples of the power of reciprocity.

- Stressed the value of vulnerability, seeking feedback, and being open to continuous improvement.

- Discussed the difference between "change" (with a defined endpoint) and "evolution" (a continuous process).

- Highlighted the significance of understanding core personal values during transitions.

- Advised taking transitions step-by-step, communicating openly, and the importance of building a supportive tribe.

The conversation provides insights into navigating professional transitions with grace, intentionality, and a growth mindset.

We are honored and grateful to learn and grow with Ben Baker and our community of conversation.

We invite you to stay connected and spread the word. We are in this crazy leadership whirlwind together.

Connect with Ben:

YouTube: YouTube.com/gettingyounoticed

LinkedIn: Linkedin.com/in/IamBenBaker

A Leadership Beyond exists to support the alignment between the business strategy and people strategy - to drive results with people not at the expense of people (Talent Optimization).

Subscribe to our podcast to join the Leadership Beyond Community of Conversation and hear insights from thought leaders and human development experts leading the way in the field of Talent Optimization.

We are grateful to you and always eager to hear from you!

To learn more visit https://aleadershipbeyond.com

Adrienne & Tom

“Keep it simple and focus on what matters.

Don’t let yourself be overwhelmed.” -Confucius

The Power of the Pause

Congratulations to our co-host Adrienne Guerrero on rocking her TEDx talk on the Power of the Pause. She did it! We'll keep you posted when it's published. You won't want to miss it!

The P.A.U.S.E framework emerged from Adrienne's personal struggles with the symptoms of living and doing from a reactive state. She learns what she teaches, teaches as she learns!

A Leadership Beyond emerged as we saw our synergy and had big ideas, inspiring possibilities of working together. COVID struck and voila, "we can't do this!" We pulled over, asking, "what can we do?"

We've gone from lunch and learn, to blog, to podcast, to community of conversation.

We think you'll enjoy this insightful conversation between co-founders Adrienne Guerrero and Tom Rosenak, as we discuss Adrienne's recent TEDx experience, the framework, and how this concept can help leaders navigate today's fast-paced, distraction-filled environment.

Key Highlights:

• The PAUSE Framework: A practical approach for leaders to escape reactivity and make strategic decisions:
• • Pull over: Find your technique to calm your mind (meditation, breathing, movement)
  • Assess: Ask "what is true" and "what needs to be true" challenging your assumptions
  • U turn: Uncover possible options after grounding in values
  • Start: Take action, no matter how small
  • Evaluate: Reflect and determine next steps
• The Strategic Value: In today's VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous) environment:
• • Leaders often sacrifice strategy for tactical "box-checking"
  • The pause framework helps identify what truly matters versus mere motion
  • Small, intentional steps can create meaningful progress toward important goals
• Our Community Support:
• • Practical tools to make strategic pausing easier, including assessments, frameworks, and execution support
  • Accountability and guidance through workshops, executive coaching, and change leadership support.
  • Help with staying focused on what you're "counting on to win" rather than being pulled into constant reactivity

Join us for our next episode of A Leadership Beyond, where we'll continue to explore ways our guests have gone from survive to thrive in today's complex leadership landscape.

A Leadership Beyond exists to support the alignment between the business strategy and people strategy - to drive results with people not at the expense of people (Talent Optimization). Subscribe to our podcast to join the Leadership Beyond Community of Conversation and hear insights from thought leaders and human development experts leading the way in the field of Talent Optimization.

We are grateful to you and always eager to hear from you!

To learn more visit https://aleadershipbeyond.com

Adrienne & Tom

How important it is to walk along, not in haste but slowly, looking at everything

and calling out

Yes! No!

The swan, for all his pomp, his robes of grass and petals, wants only to be allowed to live on the nameless pond. The catbrier is without fault. The water thrushes, down among the sloppy rocks, are going crazy with happiness. Imagination is better than a sharp instrument. To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work.

— Mary Oliver, "Yes! No!" Owls and Other Fantasies: Poems and Essays, Beacon Press, Boston, 2003, p. 27

In this week’s release of A Leadership Beyond, hosts Adrienne Guerrero and Tom Rosenak welcomed Michele Stowe, founder of Skyrocket Coaching, to discuss her continuous journey of aligning work with her core life values. Michele's story offers valuable insights for leaders seeking to create healthier work environments, achieve success with personal balance.

During the interview, Michele shared valuable insights about leadership and energy management along with other insights:

• The impact of energy: Nonprofit C-suite leaders are experiencing unprecedented challenges in today's environment. One client told her, "I just don't want to keep leading in unprecedented times," having navigated through the pandemic and continued uncertainty. There are always trade offs and we must learn to make choices with greater intentionality.
• Intentional role modeling: Leaders must be thoughtful about how they spend their time and demonstrate this to their teams. By showing employees that there are various ways to restore energy—whether through hiking, playing music, or spending time with family—leaders create space for everyone to find what works for them.
• Understanding cultural dynamics: Michele emphasized the importance of recognizing the cultural dynamics at play in an organization—including geographic, sector-specific, company, and generational differences in work expectations—and determining whether one's values align with that culture.

After interviewing 100 nonprofit C-suite leaders with more than five years in their roles, Michele developed a framework for effective leadership: The Listen, Lead, and Love Your Work framework which she shares during our conversation.

Michelle's story reminds us that leaders have the power to shape both their own work experiences and their organizational cultures. By listening deeply, modeling self-care, finding joy in work, and establishing meaningful measures of success, leaders can create environments where both they and their teams thrive.

To follow and connect with Michele:

Website: Skyrocket Coaching

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michele-stowe-pcc-9458314/

A Leadership Beyond exists to support the alignment between the business strategy and people strategy - to drive results with people not at the expense of people (Talent Optimization). Subscribe to our podcast to join the Leadership Beyond Community of Conversation and hear insights from thought leaders and human development experts leading the way in the field of Talent Optimization.

We are grateful to you and always eager to hear from you!

To learn more visit https://aleadershipbeyond.com

How to Lead in the New World of Work

In this episode of A Leadership Beyond, we welcome Dina Denham Smith, co-author of the book "Emotionally Charged: How to Lead in the New World of Work" (releasing February 18).

As an expert at the intersection of psychology and business, Dina shares valuable insights on leadership in today's emotionally demanding workplace.

Key highlights from our conversation include:

• The critical importance of recovery for high performance, comparing leaders to race cars that need strategic pit stops
  
  
• The mounting business costs and human drain on productivity as modern leaders face unprecedented emotional demands without adequate training or resources
• 
  The distinction between different types of empathy and the concept of "compassionate detachment"
  
  

· Practical strategies for setting boundaries in an always-connected world

Our conversation with Dina aligns perfectly with our ongoing conversations about the human side of leadership and the evolving demands on today’s leaders.

Join us as we continue to explore how to create more sustainable and effective leadership practices in the modern workplace.

At A Leadership Beyond, we're brewing the secret sauce for organizational success: combining rich conversations with experts in the trenches, viewing business challenges through a people-first lens, and aligning business goals with human needs - all backed by proven data and gold standard leadership communication practices.

Stay tuned for an insightful discussion that challenges conventional wisdom about "soft skills" and offers practical solutions for today's leadership challenges.

Head to these links to follow and connect with Dina:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dina-denham-smith

Website: https://www.dinadsmith.com/

To purchase her book on Amazon: Emotionally Charged: How to Lead in the New World of Work

A Leadership Beyond exists to support the alignment between the business strategy and people strategy - to drive results with people not at the expense of people (Talent Optimization). Subscribe to our podcast to join the Leadership Beyond Community of Conversation and hear insights from thought leaders and human development experts leading the way in the field of Talent Optimization.

We are grateful to you and always eager to hear from you!

To learn more visit https://aleadershipbeyond.com

Welcome to A Leadership Beyond, where we explore business challenges through a people-centered lens. In today's episode, we sit down with Ryan Englin, author of "Hire Better People Faster" and founder of Core Matters, who brings a fresh perspective to recruiting and retention in the trades and service industries. Drawing from his personal experience growing up in a blue-collar household, Ryan watched his father - a successful business owner - spend countless hours on hiring and managing his team. This inspired Ryan's passion to find a better way.

After founding his own marketing company, he discovered that effective recruiting was fundamentally a marketing challenge, leading him to develop streamlined processes and automation tools that help businesses hire and retain the right people. Today, he shares transformative insights about building successful teams.

Key takeaways from our conversation:

• Recruiting is fundamentally a marketing activity, not an HR function - organizations need to become attractive to potential employees just as they work to attract customers

• The trades don't have a labor shortage, they have a retention crisis - the challenge isn't finding people, it's creating an environment where they want to stay

• Successful hiring requires a holistic approach - from clear definition of what "good" looks like, to proper assessment tools, and comprehensive onboarding that shows you have your act together

Thank you for joining us for this enlightening conversation with Ryan Englin.

His practical insights about treating employees as whole human beings and building systems that support both hiring and retention remind us that great leadership starts with how we view and value our people. Join us next time as we continue exploring leadership perspectives that challenge conventional wisdom and offer fresh solutions to today's business challenges.

We’d love to hear from you and encourage you to take advantage of our People Strategy Hour. This is a no obligation way to look at your business challenges through the lens of People strategy using data on YOUR people. Raise your hand to learn more about this complementary conversation and reach out to us at https://aleadershipbeyond.com.

See you next time!

A Leadership Beyond exists to support the alignment between the business strategy and people strategy - to drive results with people not at the expense of people (Talent Optimization).

Subscribe to our podcast to join the Leadership Beyond Community of Conversation and hear insights from thought leaders and human development experts leading the way in the field of Talent Optimization.

We are grateful to you and always eager to hear from you!

To learn more visit https://aleadershipbeyond.com

To connect with Ryan Englin:

Facebook: https://facebook.com/thecorematters
LinkedIn Company: https://www.linkedin.com/company/corematters
LinkedIn Personal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanenglin
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@corefithiring
https://x.com/corematters

As the year winds down, the holiday season's chaos often drowns out critical reflection.

To grow as leaders, we must intentionally create space for thoughtful review—pausing the reactive frenzy to revisit values, acknowledge missteps, reconnect with relationships, and reignite aspirations before diving into next year's goals and plans.

This deliberate pause provides an opportunity to transform end-of-year busyness from a distraction to a time of meaningful personal and professional renewal.

As co-founders of A Leadership Beyond, Adrienne and Tom are practicing what we teach: taking a purposeful pause to reflect before rushing into action. While we're excited about an upcoming year filled with panel discussions, new services, and leadership strategies, we're first taking time to thoughtfully review, learn, and realign.

This approach embodies the essence of our podcast—demonstrating that true leadership begins with intentional reflection.

This episode is an invitation to all leaders to step back, breathe, and create space for meaningful reflection before diving into the river of reactivity. We explore the power of pausing, examining our accomplishments, learning from challenges, and realigning with our core values as we prepare for the coming year.

Highlights of the conversation:

• Importance of carving space for personal reflection, even amidst the busy holiday season.

• Practical strategies for taking 10-15 minutes to reconnect to core values and assess what you accomplished and what may need refinement.

• How personal touches can increase engagement through deeper connection.

• Understanding the power of M2 in your S.M.A.R.T goal setting. Effective goals must be meaningful, motivating and measurable.

• Importance of finding trusted partners to provide objective feedback. Sometimes a partner with no skin in that game can shed valuable light on your dilemma.

The overall message is that taking a purposeful pause for reflection and renewal can transform the end-of-year chaos into a meaningful time of personal and professional growth for leaders.

We’d love to hear about your success (and challenges) with leadership beyond the lines.

A Leadership Beyond exists to support the alignment between the business strategy and people strategy - to drive results with people not at the expense of people (Talent Optimization).

Subscribe to our podcast to join the Leadership Beyond Community of Conversation and hear insights from thought leaders and human development experts leading the way in the field of Talent Optimization.

We are grateful to you and always eager to hear from you!

To learn more visit https://aleadershipbeyond.com.

For this week’s episode, we're revisiting a clip from a fascinating panel discussion from our vault that explores how HR professionals can become true strategic partners in their organizations. But before we jump in, let's frame the conversation through the lens of Talent Optimization, a critical framework that many organizations are missing.

Adrienne and I work together to help organizations leverage people data to drive success in their business strategy. Think of Talent Optimization as the strategic alignment of your people strategy with your business objectives. It's like a well choreographed dance where your workforce capability, team dynamics and organizational culture move in perfect sync with your business goals. When this alignment is off, the consequences can be severe.

And that's exactly what we'll hear about in this clip from our conversation with Matt Poepsel, often referred to as the “Godfather of Talent Optimization”. Matt talks about the real business costs of misalignment. And it turns out that most business problems are people problems in disguise.

Tune in to learn about the damage that's done when we don't align our people strategy and our business strategy -and what you can do to bring your people and business goals back into sync.

Listen now and start transforming your people strategy into a powerful lever for success.

A Leadership Beyond exists to support the alignment between the business strategy and people strategy - to drive results with people not at the expense of people (Talent Optimization).

Subscribe to our podcast to join the Leadership Beyond Community of Conversation and hear insights from thought leaders and human development experts leading the way in the field of Talent Optimization.

As always, we’d love to hear from you about your insights, challenges, and successes around leading (self and others) through transitions.

To learn more visit https://aleadershipbeyond.com.