What are some of the biggest challenges that small business owners face as they attempt to build a dream team that can help them scale their business to another level?

On today’s episode of Unlocking Your People, Jess is joined by two incredible women – Ashley Smith of Fundamental Inc and Krystal Hobbs of Reflective Marketing, both of whom share their wisdom and insights around growth and people management.

Both Ashley and Krystal started their businesses as solo entrepreneurs, and were lucky enough to have their friends and former colleagues as their first hires. However, as their businesses grew, they were forced to step out of their comfort zone.

In this episode, Ashley and Krystal share some of their biggest growth challenges. For example, you’ll learn how and why you need to redefine your role within an organization as you grow. You’ll also discover methods for maintaining a good work-life balance, even when your business is in hyper-growth mode.

Enjoy!

What You Will Learn In This Show:

• How to overcome your hesitation when giving feedback.
• Realigning a founder’s role as an organization scales.
• The biggest challenges small business owners face as they scale their business.
• And so much more…

Resources:

Fundamental Inc.

Reflective Marketing

Podcast

Website

Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Whether we realize it or not, we have an impact on the people around us every single day. Every action we take and everything we say or share creates an impact on the people we work with. Understanding this, how do we make sure that we have the impact we want?

What if you could always react in a measured and astute manner?

What if you could work with others in a way that creates a positive impact, no matter how challenging the situation or conversation?

In today’s episode of Unlocking Your People, Jess demonstrates why our intentions and impact can be out of sync. While the majority of people have good intentions, their behaviors and the resulting impact can often be undesirable.

You’ll learn how to develop an approach for communicating with your colleagues and employees that’s both empathetic and logical, avoiding the knee-jerk reactions that result in the kinds of impact you don’t want to make.

Enjoy!

What You Will Learn In This Show:

• Why, no matter how hard we try, our intentions, and the impact we create, are almost never the same.
• How to avoid regrettable, knee-jerk reactions that can create needless conflict.
• How to facilitate a positive behavioral shift between you and your team.
• And so much more…

Resources:

Podcast

Website

Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Chris Gardner is the CEO of Sequence Bio and he has some thoughts on diversity, remote working, and conflict management to share with Jess.

Based in Newfoundland, Sequence Bio is a data-driven biotechnology company. They’re doing cutting-edge work, not just in their day-to-day operations, but also in their smart and scientific HR practices.

Jess recently placed a high-ranking executive at Sequence Bio and he was totally blown away by their emphasis on understanding people and psychology. In today’s show, you’ll get a peek into Sequence Bio’s workplace and learn about their best practices.

The first theme touched upon is diversity. When Chris had everyone in his organization take DISC assessments, he was surprised by the diversity he found among his team. He greatly credits this diversity for his team’s spectacular performance. However, he quickly discovered that managing these differences requires both intent and structure.

As an experienced business leader, Chris emphasizes the importance of servant leadership. He reveals that, as CEO, he’s primarily responsible for facilitation and risk mitigation. It is not the CEO’s job to “carry the ball across the line.” Rather, you need to accept your weaknesses and delegate tasks to a team member with the right skillset.

We discuss the importance of creating a safe space for “good” conflicts, along with some nuanced tips for building team culture in a remote environment.

Enjoy!

What You Will Learn In This Show:

• Things that have helped Chris in his development journey as a CEO.
• The importance of creating safe spaces for “good” conflicts.
• The concept of “servant leadership” and the role of a CEO in an organization.
• Why you need to leverage diversity with intent and structure.
• And so much more…

Resources:

Podcast

Website

Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn