Grow Strong Leaders Podcast

It’s not easy to make the transition from high-performing individual contributor to manager in an advertising agency (or in any industry, for that matter). TJ Bennett knows that first-hand because he was promoted to leadership roles with no advance preparation…and no training once he was in the position. In this episode, TJ shares lessons he learned along the way and the three primary areas he helps his coaching clients with.  TJ is the creative who helps creatives get creative with their career. Often beclad in cat-themed and/or Snoopy gear, TJ is pretty easy to spot in a crowd. Once you find him, you’ll discover that his love for felines and cartoon beagles is matched by a mildly unhealthy obsession with making work not suck. He spends his days listening intently to clients, helping them uncover insights that spark life-altering possibilities.  And he spends his nights dreaming of the same thing, except everyone is dressed like clowns and he forgot to wear pants for some reason. Rest assured he will never show up to a session sans trousers and will always show up with a fresh perspective that makes you think about work a little differently. TJ is the Founder of The Pudding Factory, where he serves as coach, creative problem solver, and writer. He’s the host of an excellent podcast, Desuckify Work. You’ll discover: How leaders can create themselves in order to help others be creativeWhat agency is and ways to develop itActions leaders can take to help their team members become autonomousWays to create accountability up, across, and downThe importance of values and purpose in helping people find meaning in their workCheck out all the episodesLeave a review on Apple PodcastsConnect with Meredith on LinkedIn

Have you ever thought of yourself as a perfectionist, or do you know someone who is? In this episode, you’ll learn a new term—and a way of being—that will give you a new sense of freedom. Michele Molitor has been helping her clients achieve greater joy and satisfaction in their lives for more than 20 years, and you’re going to love what she has to share as we discuss key ideas from her book, I Am Perfectly Flawsome: How Embracing Imperfection Makes Us Better. Michele Molitor, CPCC, PCC, CCHt, is a force for positive change in today’s challenging mental health landscape. As a master coach, hypnotherapist, speaker, and author, she has dedicated her career to helping others activate positive change in their lives, both personally and professionally.  As CEO of Nectar Consulting, Inc., Michele’s expertise focuses on empowering professionals to overcome anxiety, self-doubt, and the stress that often saturates modern work environments. Her approach is practical: to bring dignity into our communications that foster emotional well-being through genuine acceptance, belonging, and meaningful connection – with ourselves and others.  Clients affectionately dubbed her “The Mind Detective,” not just for her intuitive insights, but for her unique Rapid Rewiring™ approach that effectively combines the science of positive psychology and neuroscience with the healing powers of somatic and mindfulness practices. The results? Tangible improvements that make a real, lasting difference in people’s lives. You’ll discover: The differences between toxic perfectionism and striving for excellenceHow Michele has evolved from her own perfectionistic tendenciesWhy an effort to do everything right takes a toll on your mental, emotional, and physical healthThe benefits of embracing your flawsomenessWhat parents and leaders can do to help others when they fall short in their effortsCheck out all the episodesLeave a review on Apple PodcastsConnect with Meredith on LinkedIn

It’s not easy to create a strong, positive culture, and it’s even more challenging to sustain it for 10 years. That’s exactly what Dan Turner and his team have done at Xperigo. And instead of resting on this accomplishment, Dan continues to raise the bar for himself and for his company. Dan has been President and CEO at Xperigo since 2019. He’s also served as COO and Vice President of Business Development. Since joining the company in 2014, Dan has been instrumental in establishing Xperigo as a leading provider of customer experience management solutions to the automotive sector in North America.  With his people-first philosophy, Dan has placed significant emphasis on cultivating a high-performance culture at Xperigo, which has resulted in the company being the 3-time consecutive winner of the prestigious award, Canada’s Most Admired Corporate Cultures™. Before joining Xperigo, Dan held senior leadership positions in both sales and client services at other large companies, where he managed strategic relationships with Fortune 500 companies like Apple, General Motors, and Netflix. He successfully secured over 500 million dollars in new business over his 12-year sales career. You’ll discover: Dan’s journey from tow truck driver to CEOThe qualities Dan learned from high school that have served him well as a leaderHow Xperigo’s values are used throughout the year by every leader and employeeWhy “Life Is Better Here” is the tagline used to attract job candidatesWays that Dan and his team used the results of the engagement survey to enhance the company cultureCheck out all the episodesLeave a review on Apple PodcastsConnect with Meredith on LinkedIn

Do you have a daily mindfulness practice? If you don’t—or you’re not even sure what that is—you’ll find out from guest Pamela Stambaugh why such a practice is an essential part of your day. In this valuable conversation, Pamela explains why focusing on who you are being (BE) needs to precede the actions you take (DO) and the results you want to achieve (HAVE). You’ll learn how to practice 3 As—Accountable, Awake, and Aware—and how they impact your ability to lead and influence others. Pamela is the President and Founder of Accountability Pays Inc., a certified woman-owned business. She has an MBA and is an ICF-certified executive coach. Recently, Pamela has begun to create products based on what she’s learned from coaching senior leaders and their teams for more than 25 years.  She’s worked with clients from diverse industries, including construction, medical devices, financial services, and manufacturing. Her clients have included companies like GE Healthcare, Abbott, and the San Diego Convention Center Corporation. Pamela maintains her mindfulness by participating in personal transformation courses provided by Landmark Education and maintaining spiritual and athletic practices. You’ll discover: The Be Do Have model and how mindfulness fits inPamela’s daily mindfulness practicesVarious ways that Being impacts your effectiveness as a leaderWhat’s required to be both a trustworthy and a trusting leaderWhy leaders need to be trustworthy and trustingCheck out all the episodesLeave a review on Apple PodcastsConnect with Meredith on LinkedIn

What if you landed your dream job and discovered that it didn’t deliver the fulfillment you were seeking? That’s what happened to Johannes Leerink, and it happened more than once in his career. In this conversation, he shares that journey with us. You’re going to love hearing his story as well as the insights he gained along the way, all of which led to the work he does today. Johannes shares his takeaways from the Proctor & Gamble management training programs and his role as President and General Manager at Sara Lee. He applied these lessons and those from personal development programs to his work in transforming multinationals, hospitals, and NGOs into high-performing organizations.Today Johannes is the founder of The Hidden Transit. He’s dedicated to helping highly successful professionals achieve their desired progress while unlocking a new dimension of fulfillment and freedom.You’ll discover: How Johannes defines freedomThe breakthroughs he got when attending Landmark programsWhat transformed a hospital system from silos and isolation to an environment of loveThe distinction between “knowing about” and “being” the 7 HabitsWhy Johannes refers to himself as a “Progress Maker”Check out all the episodesLeave a review on Apple PodcastsConnect with Meredith on LinkedIn

What’s required to work effectively with people from different cultures? Paula Caligiuri has been studying this question for 30 years, and she’s created strategies that leverage your natural strengths while developing cultural agility competencies. You’ll gain valuable insights that you can apply immediately when working with diverse populations locally or globally. Paula is a Distinguished Professor at Northeastern University's D’Amore-McKim School of Business. Before that, she was a professor of HR management at Rutgers University for 18 years. She’s also the Founder and CEO of Skiilify and the creator of the free MyGiide assessment. Her specialty concerns cultural agility's importance as a critical leadership competence. She explains it all in her excellent book, Build Your Cultural Agility: The Nine Competencies of Successful Global Professionals. You’ll discover: What cultural agility is, and why it’s critical for leadersWhy Paula considers curiosity and humility to be key competencies for cultural agilityThe dangers of training around unconscious biasPaula’s approach to training that fosters open, honest conversationsInsights from research projects that Paula has conductedCheck out all the episodesLeave a review on Apple PodcastsConnect with Meredith on LinkedIn

This episode is different from any other because the guest, Sigmar Berg, is someone who invented a product that has enhanced the lives of 1000s of people around the world. You’ll find this conversation thought-provoking and enlightening. You’re encouraged to slow down your mind, shift away from what you need to DO, and focus on being fully present to what Sigmar shares in this deeply meaningful conversation. Sigmar is an entrepreneur, architect, and designer. He has dedicated his life to fostering wellness and balance, and his mission is to bring healing and love to the world. His most exciting venture, the Lovetuner, brings the ancient art of sound healing to today’s world through an easily accessible mindfulness tool.  Thanks to the commercial success of Lovetuner®, Sigmar established the Lovetuner® Foundation, a nonprofit organization that promotes wellness and healing. He’s also the author of The Lovetuner® Book: ONE JOURNEY, which tells the story of his spiritual awakening. You’ll discover: The journey that led Sigmar to create the LovetunerWhy breath work is critical to overcoming the fight or flight responseHow leaders can benefit from developing mindfulnessWhat the 528Hz frequency meansWhat heart coherence means and why it’s important to our wellbeingCheck out all the episodesLeave a review on Apple PodcastsConnect with Meredith on LinkedIn

What would happen if leaders focused on helping each member of their team create a new way of thinking about themselves and others? David Katz has developed a way of thinking where he sees everything that happens as a gift, including the death of his daughter five years ago. This extraordinary man shares what he’s learned over the past 3 years about himself, life, and his work since his first appearance on this podcast (Episode #98). You’ll want to take notes as David talks about how leaders can be vulnerable with others, how to create real freedom in your life, and what you can do to help others feel seen. Listen to this conversation more than once if you’d like to extract the full value. It’s packed with treasures! David is the founder and CEO of Plastic Bank. It’s a remarkable company comprised of a global network of micro-recycling markets. This ecosystem empowers the poor to transcend poverty by collecting and trading plastic waste as a currency. Their global partners include IBM, Shell Energy, SC Johnson, and Aldi. You’ll discover: Why David sees plastic trash as gold and diamondsThe power of your thinking in changing your lifeHow David creates an environment of vulnerability and safetyWhat you can do to help others feel seenPowerful questions David asks candidates to determine if they’ll be a good fit at Plastic BankCheck out all the episodesLeave a review on Apple PodcastsConnect with Meredith on LinkedIn

As humans, we’re hardwired to resist change and seek certainty. But that leaves us ill-equipped to thrive in our rapidly changing world. Adam Markel has studied and researched resilience throughout his career. In this conversation, you’ll learn how to become “change-proof,” the title of his latest book, Change Proof: Leveraging the Power of Uncertainty to Build Long-Term Resilience. This beautifully written book has compelling stories that will grab your attention from the very first page. Listen to the wisdom Adam shares in this one-hour interview, and then get a copy of his book so you can explore this powerful treatment of resilience further. Adam is a bestselling author, keynote speaker, and workplace expert. He’s also the CEO of More Love Media and host of The Change Proof podcast. He’s a sought-after business culture catalyst who inspires, empowers, and guides organizations and individuals to create sustainable, high-performance strategies. You’ll discover: How Adam’s 7 years of experience as a beach lifeguard shaped the principles he teaches todayThe three essential steps to take before responding to something unexpectedWhat Adam’s resilience assessment reveals about your resilience in four areas of lifeWhy taking time for Recovery is important before it becomes criticalHow to dispute irrational beliefsCheck out all the episodesLeave a review on Apple PodcastsConnect with Meredith on LinkedIn

What if you could design and implement a comprehensive program for developing leaders? That’s the opportunity Brian Wallace had when he joined Wintrust Financial Corporation as Chief Learning Officer. He describes the company’s commitment to the development of every person and the investment it’s made in a physical structure to support those training programs. Brian describes his journey as a leader and what he learned from those he reported to. His experience as an internal executive coach for 200 leaders at a regional bank shaped his thinking about the content to include in leadership development programs. He also shares adjustments he made in his first 90 days at Wintrust compared to the actions he took in other companies where he was hired to transform learning and development. You’ll get valuable take-aways from every aspect of this conversation! As a senior executive in the financial services industry for more than 18 years, Brian’s responsibilities have included executive coaching, leadership development, sales training, and sales enablement. At HSBC Brian was awarded the coveted President Award, given annually to only one individual per business that demonstrated the true character of the company and its core values. You’ll discover: The people who’ve influenced Brian in his own leadership journey Common challenges that leaders face, from Brian’s experience being an internal executive coach3 key leadership traits that drive engagement and job satisfactionWhat it looks like for a company to commit to the development of peopleWhy the first 90 days are critical to a new employeeCheck out all the episodesLeave a review on Apple PodcastsConnect with Meredith on LinkedIn