Hot Mess Hotline

Jason Weddle, CEO of Hamilton, has been successful precisely because he's willing to answer the hard questions and have the tough conversations. Even with himself. For this episode of the Hot Mess Hotline, he shares the confusion that existed in the 6 inches between his ears and describes why mental clarity is more important than the business plan at certain times. His willingness to answer these tough questions and wrestle with himself has led to his success so far. (I mean, "wrestle," figuratively of course. Otherwise that'd be weird.) Jason is raw and vulnerable and wants you to know what it really takes to advance from manager to director to the C-suite. He reminds us that the grass looks greener until you realize how much manure makes that growth possible. This succession plan was 5+ years in the making and full of hard work. And no one does this work alone. He describes the power of coaching, which you know if my favorite tool, and reminds us: "The moment it becomes uncomfortable is the moment you will grow or you will want to pull back." Don't pull back, my friend. Dig into this episode and then find those challengers and cheerleaders to get you to step up your game. You'll want to listen to the full episode for Jason's wise advice: Why you need to embrace your unabashed ambition, the sooner the better The 6 inches between your ears can be the hottest of messes The deep questions you must answer in your career to get what you want Why you need to embrace the awkward and be willing to be challenged Why coaching almost always feels weird at the beginning and that's a good thing Your drivers may not be what you think they are Your ambition might be dangerous to others but you still deserve to have it Make sure you allow others to embrace their ambition too About Jason Weddle Jason has worked for Hamilton since 2005, starting as a logistics manager and now serving as the chief executive officer. While not one to brag on himself, his biggest fans will tell you that he is one of the most articulate, inspirational leaders they have met. He is naturally positive and has a can-do attitude in an industry where deadlines and client expectations are high. He is consistently creative and innovative. Jason operates from the highest integrity, treats everyone with empathy, and expects them to perform to their highest potential. He leads by example and is a true servant leader. Jason graduated from Indiana University and participated in Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management's Executive Scholar program. About Hamilton Hamilton brings over 74 years' experience crafting successful event marketing solutions for companies throughout North America and around the world. They partner with clients to engage their customers through exhibits, proprietary events + conferences, corporate environments, brand activations, and digital solutions across all industries. Hamilton helps companies tell their stories and bring their brands to life. For more information, visit hamilton-ex.com. Take the Hot Mess Hotline Quiz: As a leader, you've felt paralyzed by where to start first with your team's and organization's problems. Do you need team building or a frank conversation? Like a Rubik's cube, one shift changes everything else but may create more problems than it solves. Take this 3-minute quiz to find your next best step.

Jeff Ton has risen through the ranks of IT from manager to director to CIO. He's now bringing the wisdom he's learned to current IT leaders through a CIO networking group in Central Indiana. On this episode of the Hot Mess Hotline, he shares how to overcome mistakes at work through a gut-wrenching management and leadership experience. He faced his 150-person team to explain himself and explain why they saw their names on the chopping block in a slide deck before the time was right. It was tense. Seriously, my tummy gets flippy and floppy just thinking about how he felt in that moment as I write this. His story is for you if you're looking for ways to respond better when tensions are high — to get out of your head and take the right kind of action. This episode has so many words of wisdom, including: How to overcome mistakes at work by learning the right lessons from oh shit moments What "owning up" looks like (it's not as scary as you think it is) A process to use when you've got to face the music What the true responsibility of leadership is When to allow your people to be all up in their feelings People need to know the why, even if they don't agree with the decision Why you need to have the conversation with those impacted sooner than you think If part of your work is too easy, you shouldn't be in that job How empathy can be built in the toughest of times Why you need to meet people where they are, especially when they tune you out after a difficult message One question you can ask your team members to find their motivation What vulnerability looks like in the C-suite What the tightrope is between confidence, calm, and worry Giving leaders the benefit of the doubt Two definitions for API (if you're in IT you need both) What not to do when you get sensitive info About Jeff Ton Jeff Ton is a sought-after speaker, author and thought leader, having led powerful teams and built successful Information Technology departments for over 30 years.  As a speaker, author, advisor, and coach, Jeff's mission is to change the face of IT. Saying, “Businesses today are demanding more from their technology and their technology leaders.” In more than three decades, Jeff has served as Chief Information Officer with Goodwill Industries of Central Indiana and Lauth Property Group, as well as 14 years in various technology roles with Thomson Multimedia (RCA).  Later in his career, Jeff “moved to the other side of the desk” by joining the executive team at InterVision Systems.  After helping to guide several acquisition integrations, he left to devote his energies to his mission. Speaking to audiences from 5 to 1,000, Jeff has mastered the art of simplifying complex IT issues and is always looking for opportunities to drive value in organizations now and in the future. He serves on numerous boards and advisory councils including Forbes Technology Council, Hoosier Environmental Council board of directors Connected World Magazine Board of Advisors, and the Mud Creek Conservancy board of directors. He is also a Fellow Alumni for the Institute of Digital Transformation. Jeff is the author of Amplify Your Value (2018) and Amplify Your Job Search (2020) and is a frequent keynote speaker on topics related to the evolving IT landscape and the changing role of the CIO. Take the Hot Mess Hotline Quiz: As a leader, you've felt paralyzed by where to start first with your team's and organization's problems. Do you need team building or a frank conversation? Like a Rubik's cube, one shift changes everything else but may create more problems than it solves. Take this 3-minute quiz to find your next best step.

This episode is a replay of an IT panel that Stefanie Krievins moderated in April 2021 with successful IT leaders who also have remarkably diverse perspectives of this world and in their companies. Diversity is strength. Strength is resilience. IT leaders and consultants will be responsible for ever-increasing results because of the rate of change during the pandemic: our adoption of technology advanced 10 years in just 10 months. Also those companies who can't attract, retain, and develop candidates with minority identities stand to lose out, BIG TIME. Listen in for compelling business research that demonstrates the link between profit and diversity in the C-suite. This episode is for any leader who wants to take the lessons learned from 2020 and re-think how to approach diversity in IT or re-think the future of work at your company. About the Hosts This All-IT Community Panel was co-hosted by Indy's premier IT leadership associations. IT Leader Indianapolis CIO Network Women + Hi-Tech SIM Indianapolis About the Panelists The panelists are Indy's IT trusted advisors and rising stars. Tonya T'ere Webb-Wallace Mike Gill Angel Henry Jay Stanley Elliott Patrick Take the Hot Mess Hotline Quiz: As a leader, you've felt paralyzed by where to start first with your team's and organization's problems. Do you need team building or a frank conversation? Like a Rubik's cube, one shift changes everything else but may create more problems than it solves. Take this 3-minute quiz to find your next best step.

Leslie Murphy is the owner of an association management firm with tenured experience in managing people, teams, volunteers, and herself. She shares her stories about learning more about herself and how to navigate and negotiate change with others. Leslie shares how her lack of emotional intelligence earlier in her career didn't taken into account others' perspectives or needs. And a few interactions where others were willing to teach her some painful lessons. Now she knows herself well and knows how to work around her driven, check-the-box mindset to navigate tricky stakeholder relationships and get more out of entire groups. Because she leads many trade associations, she also has some secrets to share on how to get ahead in your industry too. About Leslie Murphy: Leslie has been a leader in association management for more than 35 years, contributing to a variety of associations from professional, educational and philanthropic groups to an emerging trade association. Bringing her wide skill-set of strategic planning, visionary management, and increasing member value to the organizations she serves, Leslie has a proven record for revitalizing associations and their Boards. About Raybourn Group International: Raybourn Group International is an accredited, award winning association management, consulting and event planning firm. Founded in 1988, RGI specializes in helping nonprofit professional societies, trade associations and other membership-based organizations thrive, not just survive. RGI serves local, state, regional, national and international organizations that total 60,000+ members in 107 countries. In 2021, RGI was named a Best Places to Work in Indiana, demonstrating our company's exceptional culture and the commitment of our team to ongoing professional excellence. Take the Hot Mess Hotline Quiz: As a leader, you've felt paralyzed by where to start first with your team's and organization's problems. Do you need team building or a frank conversation? Like a Rubik's cube, one shift changes everything else but may create more problems than it solves. Take this 3-minute quiz to find your next best step.

Wayne Patrick is a serial tech entrepreneur whose Hot Mess Hotline conversation is about his lessons learned during the Great Recession in 2008. His "world fell apart," when he got a Monday morning call losing 10% of his sales.  The firm was in hot water.  At the time, Wayne's company, PDD, was firmly entrenched in the automobile industry.  Wayne's world was falling apart and he knew he had no choice but to trim his budget fast. The automobile industry was imploding and another 15% of his existing business was also at risk.  Wayne was dealing with multiple issues: What would he do about losing 10% of the company's revenue? How would they recover from that?  What, if anything, could he do to not lose the other 15% of his existing business? What could he do to hold onto another automotive prospect he had in his pipeline? They had bet on the automobile industry and concentrated their business on two or three customers putting them at risk.  Wayne and his team were willing to do the really hard, difficult things that you have to do to make it and get through. It could have been easy to throw up their hands in overwhelm but they never quit. Show Resources: The Hard Thing About Hard Things Harvard Business Review's article on strategic negotiation About Wayne Patrick Wayne Patrick is a mentor and investor in several startup and entrepreneurial companies. He has over forty years of experience in Information Technology including IT Director for a large fortune 500 Financial and Insurance Company.  He has extensive experience in the IT Consulting Industry having started and managed his own IT Consulting Company, Professional Data Dimensions to a successful exit. His experience in the software industry includes having developed and led the consulting efforts for a large software firm and having been the COO of two entrepreneurial/start-up software firms that had successful exits. About AIS  AIS is a proactive IT consulting, infrastructure and security company specializing in strategic solutions that help organizations leverage technology to drive positive outcomes. Based in Indianapolis, AIS was founded in 2012 and works with public, private, and government organizations across the Midwest. Through our service delivery platforms, and our talented professionals, we provide personalized, best-in-class digital solutions to organizations, users, and customers. We help our clients resolve their most critical technology challenges and adopt digital technology that improves productivity, efficiency, workflow, interoperability, profitability, and customer outcomes. www.aisllp.com https://www.linkedin.com/company/apex-infinite-solutions https://www.facebook.com/aisllp/ @AISLLP on Twitter Take the Hot Mess Hotline Quiz: As a leader, you've felt paralyzed by where to start first with your team's and organization's problems. Do you need team building or a frank conversation? Like a Rubik's cube, one shift changes everything else but may create more problems than it solves. Take this 3-minute quiz to find your next best step.

In today’s episode, Mike Sipple Jr. wants you to know that as a mid-level leader you are an inspiration! It might not feel that way sometimes. You may be asking, "How can I be an inspiration as a mid-level leader?" Here's how: It's through learning experiences and having to make decisions that we grow.  As a leader, you have a vision and you make decisions based on those long-rang planes. Sometimes these decisions create the outcome that is planned and sometimes they don't. Either way, you get to you learn.  So even when... an ad campaign goes wrong your messaging isn't right or a pandemic hits You may be hurt emotionally, but you still have to lead. Realize that when these things happen it hurts those around us as well. From your family to your team it's important to let them know that it hurts you too: share your energy, your experience, and your fear. Let some of it out. Take the Hot Mess Biz Quiz If you've got a problem with your team or getting your vision accomplished and need a better action plan, take the Hot Mess Quiz to get clarity on what's holding progress back. https://stefaniekrievins.com/hotmessquiz/ About Mike and His Work Mike Sipple, Jr. is known throughout the world by family businesses for two reasons. First, Mike owns a third-generation family-owned boutique executive firm; Centennial Executive Search, out of Newport, Kentucky. The reason is that Mike and his father are the co-founders of a growing Global Leadership Platform, Talent Magnet Institute, utilized by organizations to invest more intentionally in their people leaders. “Leadership is a journey, and you don’t have to walk it alone.” Mike Sipple, Jr. The Talent Magnet Leadership Podcast www.talentmagnet.com/trial  $1 – trial www.talentmagnet.com/giveaway (tell them Stefanie sent you) Mike Sipple Jr Profiles: Twitter / LinkedIn Profile / Instagram / Recent Article in Thrive Global Talent Magnet Profiles: Twitter / LinkedIn Profile / Instagram / Website

Do you ever wish that you could see that your CEO is a human being? That they are vulnerable? That they can mess up? In today’s episode, Aimee Kandrac, CEO and Founder of WhatFriendsDo, tells us about a time where her close friend’s son was diagnosed with a cancer. As her friend’s family waited in isolation in the hospital for 100 days, many stories were shared and stored on Aimee's database. About 6-months into this journey the WhatFriendsDo website crashed and none of the backups worked, Aimee had lost their whole story. On top of that 10,000 other users all over the world lost their data as well. When anyone has a technology crash it sucks. Users are upset and people get frustrated and wonder “Why isn’t this working?” What Friends Do was holding people’s lives at a critical time for them. Losing this data was like losing their story - the story of the most intimate and critical times in their entire lives. For Aimee, as a business owner, and as a friend personally impacted, it was hard to untangle herself from the personal side to be the business owner. Aimee was in full-on crisis mode…The questions going through her mind were: Who do we have to get to and by when? Who else do we need to bring in? What are the long-term ramifications of this? How do you continue to show up for the world while you were struggling through all of this? For the things that hit her emotionally, how much of that should she share with her team and when? Aimee had lost all of the data, all of her users and the fate of her business was uncertain. Even though she hadn’t created the code, as the CEO, it came down to her. It took about 6-months of soul searching before Aimee made the decision to come back and restart her business. About Aimee Kandrac Aimee’s story began when a close friend, Laura, was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor at the age of 25. Aimee, her mom, and her sister took charge and coordinated all of the non-medical care, and rallied hundreds of friends to show their support. Recognizing the need for a simpler way to coordinate care, Aimee co-founded WhatFriendsDo. At WhatFriendsDo, Aimee is an innovator, instigator, advice giver, and leader. She excels at inspiring others to pitch in and help, and sees WhatFriendsDo as an incredible opportunity to take caring to a new level, but in a very personal, powerful, and viral way. At her core, Aimee is passionate about running a technology-based company centered on helping friends and families going through a life-changing event. Her innovative leadership has earned her recognition as one of Indy’s Best and Brightest Finalists from Junior Achievement of Central Indiana and as a Top 50 Mompreneur of the Year from eBabble.com. Aimee has been featured in print and online in Forbes.com, Fortune, Time, LA Times, Advancing Women, Oprah.com, Indianapolis Woman, and the Indianapolis Star, as well as many TV, radio, and podcasts. What is WhatFriendsDo.com WhatFriendsDo is a free platform that empowers friends to help loved ones in need. When an event like a health crisis occurs, people experiencing the crisis often feel overwhelmed and alone, and the friends and extended family members who love them want to help but frequently don’t know-how. WhatFriendsDo channels caring into concrete action, enabling friends to organize meal delivery, household chores, childcare, transportation needs, fundraising activities, and more on a single, simple-to-use platform — and keep everyone involved and updated along the way. Communicate, Coordinate, and Connect.  https://www.facebook.com/WhatFriendsDo https://www.instagram.com/whatfriendsdo/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/aimee-kandrac-ab41989/ https://www.aimeekandrac.com/ https://www.whatfriendsdo.com

Kevin Berkopes talks about the Hot Mess that happened due to COVID which jarred schools: the largest healthcare, childcare, and food programs in the world.  Kevin and his company, Crossroads Education, work to support schools in parenting alongside parents to help create healthy kids by using relationship-based education. Kevin knows that "Everyone has a solidified opinion on what needs to be done in education." But no one has real solutions to improve equitable access and services, especially to balance out the trauma of poverty. Kevin's company uses students as the co-creators of tutoring systems in schools so that tutoring becomes available for all. He also offers math departments as a service. You must listen in for this unique, simple business model that solves several problems at once. After listening, be sure to subscribe and also take the Hot Mess Quiz to better understand what's holding your team back from tackling its biggest challeanges: https://stefaniekrievins.com/hotmessquiz/.

This episode reveals how a CEO learned powerful lessons during a staff tragedy and how it built resilience for 2020. While we'll never wish this trauma on your team, there are real lessons you and your staff can always take from challenges. Why everyone on a team needs to share responsibility for revenue generation Why having your people share in the spotlight is critical for succession planning How the more you invest in your people, the more it will pay off How to connect self care and stamina After listening, be sure to subscribe and also take the Hot Mess Quiz to better understand what's holding your team back: https://stefaniekrievins.com/hotmessquiz/.

This episode discusses the limitations to passion, why being less intolerant can be a great thing, and tools to know people are doing their jobs. Darren Reese is the CEO of the SESCO Group and he is sharing his secrets to success as an unlikely executive, including taking control of your own learning and several key tools to trust your people are doing the right thing.

Stefanie Krievins and Executive Coach and Mastermind Host Cal Ellison discuss the deep questions that the pandemic forced business leaders to answer. The pandemic and economic shutdown forced CEOs and mid-level leaders to really evaluate why and how they were successful. This episode offers new tools to think about planning for and re-thinking growth in the future.

Last year, 2020, was the ultimate hot mess. And 2021 is also starting out with a bang. But there's always good that emerges during difficult times. This episode features Armando Lanuti, the president of Creative Works. This company designs the backdrop and experience in family entertainment centers. Their primary customers' businesses closed up shop when COVID hit. They were on track for a blockbuster year and then everything came to a screeching halt. But Armando's team demonstrated resilience in amazing ways. Listen in for how they pivoted, adapted, were optimistic, and came out of 2020 swinging for the fences. Get more tips at https://www.stefaniekrievins.com/blog See the full blog post and transcript at https://stefaniekrievins.com/there-is-an-i-in-team/ Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and share with a friend who has a hot mess!

We've all seen the inspirational placard "There's No I in Team!" If you want to know how to improve communication within a team, the first thing that you need to know is there IS an "I" in "Team" - and no, asserting your "I"-ness does NOT necessarily make you an A-Hole. I’m talking about how to build trust at work by bringing the personalities, individualism, and egos of your team away from the extremes and to a successful, productive place in the middle. Whether you've got the ultimate team player, yes-man who shows up for everything (but then can't or won't deliver) or the ultimate individual who does great work (but can't seem to get along with anyone else), THIS is for you, my friend! Get more tips at https://www.stefaniekrievins.com/blog See the full blog post and transcript at https://stefaniekrievins.com/there-is-an-i-in-team/ Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and share with a friend who has a hot mess!  

Time management is a myth, and today, I’m going to talk about why – and what you should be doing instead to maximize the time you have, manage expectations at work and at home with the emergencies that inevitably arise, and get your best work done without the constant stress. Get more tips at https://www.stefaniekrievins.com/blog See the full blog post and transcript at https://stefaniekrievins.com/why-time-management-is-a-myth/  Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and share with a friend who has a hot mess!

Friends, growing up Gen X meant growing up in a really interesting time. We were independent, sometimes latchkey kids, bridging genres, friend cliques, interests, and more. This independence didn’t go away when we entered the workforce, either! It made us confident and awesome. Get more tips at https://www.stefaniekrievins.com/blog See the full blog post and transcript at https://stefaniekrievins.com/why-gen-x-is-awesome/ Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and share with a friend who has a hot mess!

If you’ve ever asked yourself, “So why is strategic planning important to a small company?” Sam Julka has your answer. As Sam discusses in this episode of the Hot Mess Hotline, she and her team had to figure out how to use tools in new ways, provide clients with a needed service, and keep their doors open despite everything changing.  Listen to this episode now. See the full blog post at https://www.stefaniekrievins.com/how-this-president-and-founder-used-her-strategic-plan-to-change-everything Take the Hot Mess Quiz at https://stefaniekrievins.com/hotmessquiz/ Find Part 1 of Sam’s interview at https://www.stefaniekrievins.com/how-a-network-of-trusted-advisors-helped-this-ceo-pivot-to-a-new-strategic-plan Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and share with a mid-level leader who has a hot mess!

For Sam Julka, the President and Founder of DORIS Research, 2020 proved that strategic planning can sometimes have unintended or unexpected benefits, such as finding yourself with a team of great advisors during a global pandemic. As a business that revolves around researching the physical office space of other companies, Sam faced immediate client loss and hard decisions. It was clear that their 2020 strategic plan wasn’t going to happen, and instead, Sam needed a new plan. See the full blog post at https://www.stefaniekrievins.com/how-a-network-of-trusted-advisors-helped-this-ceo-pivot-to-a-new-strategic-plan:// Take the Hot Mess Quiz at https://stefaniekrievins.com/hotmessquiz/ Find Part 2 of Sam’s interview at https://www.stefaniekrievins.com/how-this-president-and-founder-used-her-strategic-plan-to-change-everything Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and share with a mid-level leader who has a hot mess!

In Part 2 of Mike Loggins’ interview, we’re going behind the scenes to learn how Mike, a global vice president of IT, and his team changed their communication style by completely changing their workspace, and how “What can we do to make this work?” became the innovative question they needed to succeed. See the full blog post and transcript at https://www.stefaniekrievins.com/how-1-powerful-question-changed-an-entire-it-team Take the Hot Mess Quiz at https://www.stefaniekrievins.com/hotmessquiz Find Part 1 of Mike’s interview at https://www.stefaniekrievins.com/how-this-it-team-couldnt-change-their-culture Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and share with a mid-level leader who has a hot mess!

Mike Loggins, a global vice president of IT, and I discuss how to improve communication within a team on this episode of the Hot Mess Hotline. When it came to team communication strategies, Mike had some ridiculous ambiguity on his hands. Mike used to believe that if he just designed the best processes and bought the newest technology then, voila, there will be transformation and cultural change. Here’s what it really takes: thinking from a new perspective. Mike and his team figured out that those beliefs were short-sighted. See the full blog post at https://www.stefaniekrievins.com/how-this-it-team-couldnt-change-their-culture Take the Hot Mess Quiz at https://stefaniekrievins.com/hotmessquiz/ Find Part 2 of Mike’s interview at https://www.stefaniekrievins.com/how-1-powerful-question-changed-an-entire-it-team Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and share with a mid-level leader who has a hot mess!

Coming into 2020, when you thought of how to overcome change management challenges, you didn’t have the fallout of a global pandemic on your radar. If you’re Jim Morris, CEO of the Greater Indy Habitat for Humanity, you’re also facing the recent merger with another nonprofit. And this is after a nearly 8-year competitive struggle with the board and staff of an organization that you lead. My interview with Jim Morris has so many relevant lessons learned on how to overcome change management challenges. How could it not when you’re facing THIS much change! Part 2 of my conversation with Jim Morris includes keeping perspective, what he’s learned from the pandemic, improving team communication, and what he’d like his legacy to be.  See the full blog post at https://www.stefaniekrievins.com/how-a-nonprofit-ceo-learned-to-overcome-change-management-challenges Take the Hot Mess Quiz at https://stefaniekrievins.com/hotmessquiz/ Find Part 1 of Jim’s interview at  https://www.stefaniekrievins.com/complex-conflict-this-ceo-found-himself-in-for-8-years Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and share with a mid-level leader who has a hot mess! 

Typically when I talk with a client about how to manage conflict, it’s within an organization. On this’s episode of the Hot Mess Hotline, Jim Morris, the CEO of Greater Indy Habitat for Humanity, and I discuss conflict with an outside, competing nonprofit. Jim found himself navigating both internal and external conflict as he spent 8 years in this hot mess with an organization that was supposed to be a collaborator, not a distraction. Learn how he handled it and more in this episode! See the full blog post at https://www.stefaniekrievins.com/complex-conflict-this-ceo-found-himself-in-for-8-years Take the Hot Mess Quiz at https://stefaniekrievins.com/hotmessquiz/ Find Part 2 of Jim’s interview to hear how he navigated this situation with perseverance, at  https://www.stefaniekrievins.com/how-a-nonprofit-ceo-learned-to-overcome-change-management-challenges Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and share with a mid-level leader who has a hot mess!

If you think change is hard, you’re doing it wrong. And you’re probably doing change management training wrong, too. So what is change management training, and what’s the number one secret that every Pro Troublemaker knows about change? Friends, that’s what I’m talking about in today’s video! I’m hitting three key points today in helping you to identify what change management training is best for your situation. Pro Troublemakers know that successfully answering “What is Change Management?” is critical for leaders. If you haven’t seen my Pro Troublemaker series, I encourage you to go back and watch these videos! https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoGtE7Z43284OEl8NjI4l-FduwmnOYJ6D Get more tips at https://www.stefaniekrievins.com/blog See the full blog post and transcript at https://stefaniekrievins.com/what-is-change-management-training/ Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and share with a friend who has a hot mess!

Over the years I’ve learned that when people ask me what I do for a living, they always have a follow up question! For some, it’s how to deal with *that* coworker or boss: managing conflict within a team, what to do when you report to several people, and so on. For others, it’s how to reach that next level in the workplace, whether seeking a promotion, finding a new job, or beginning to think about how to start the succession planning process. But the biggest question is “What IS coaching, anyway?” I love this question, because it lets me share the story of how I discovered coaching (hint: like many of my clients, it was when I needed to get out of a stuck place!) and my process for working with clients now. Get more tips at https://www.stefaniekrievins.com/blog See the full blog post and transcript at https://stefaniekrievins.com/what-is-coaching/ Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and share with a friend who has a hot mess!

Leaders, it’s time to budget for 2021 and today I’m here to say don’t cut your professional development budget! I know it can be tempting, or even seem reasonable, to make cuts here. We’re approaching the recovery phase of COVID-19, you may be tasked with cutting costs in your budget, and you  may not even be sure how much to budget for professional development!   Despite the uncertainty, I’ll say it again: don’t cut your professional development budget! I’ve got three tips to share with you today. Then, it’s on you as a leader to recognize that professional development for each person brings benefit to your entire team, your team communication strategies, and your overall success. So don’t cut your professional development budget – refine it and put it to work for you! Get more tips at https://www.stefaniekrievins.com/blog See the full blog post and transcript at https://www.stefaniekrievins.com/dont-cut-your-professional-development-budget Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and share with a friend who has a hot mess!

As a leader, it's not up to you to keep everyone happy and motivated all the time. But it IS up to you to lead the way on creating a culture where employees motivate each other, where healthy conflict is encouraged, and where social and emotional connections are built even without physical proximity. The webinar starts off with two participant questions, "What's the #1 impact you've seen on your team because of COVID-19 and the sudden shift to working remotely?" and "What's the most important corporate value you want your team to adopt into the next normal?" Consider these as you listen to Steve Johnson from Motivosity and I talk about building connections!  Find the full blog post at https://stefaniekrievins.com/how-to-build-trust-in-a-virtual-team/ Download my guide, Ditch the "C" Words, at www.stefaniekrievins.com/10-reasons  Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and share with someone who has a hot mess! 

Want to talk about the biggest factor in your team’s success? Want to talk about what success factors are important to small business owners? Want to talk about how to improve change management? Friends, that’s what you’ve got to do: TALK! Today’s Mini Mess is all about how to improve communication within your team. And while there’s no Golden Ticket to communication, there is a Golden Idea, and I’ll share it with you today. Then, I’ll give you three of my favorite resources for improving communication, including one you can download right now at https://stefaniekrievins.com/how-to-improve-communication Get more tips at https://www.stefaniekrievins.com/blog Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and share with a friend who has a hot mess! 

Here’s the thing about SMART goals: they’re here to stay. Look no further than a quick Google search to tell you that SMART goals are an essential part of strategic planning for any workplace that wants to be successful in reaching their quarterly, annual, or multi-year objectives. In today's Mini Mess episode, originally recorded in January 2020, I'm talking about how SMART goals can help create focus and clarity. So why, when they’re introduced in a meeting, are your coworkers’ eyes more glazed over than the last donut lingering in the middle of the conference room table?! Get more tips at https://www.stefaniekrievins.com/blog See the full blog post and transcript at https://www.stefaniekrievins.com/smartgoals Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and share with a friend who has a hot mess! 

When I start working with a team, the issues that I hear most often are trust, communication, and other problems that are rooted in trust and communication. Today, I’m focusing on how to build trust at work. Leaders, trust starts with you, and what I have to say about what you need to share and what you need to say may make you a little nervous. But ultimately, developing this skill will allow your team to trust you more. This trust will spill over into how they trust and communicate with each other. Get more tips at https://www.stefaniekrievins.com/blog See the full blog post and transcript at https://www.stefaniekrievins.com/how-to-build-trust Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and share with a friend who has a hot mess! 

If you've been here awhile, you know I'm a person who likes to get the real shizz done. I love talking sales, strategy, stakeholders, small business and salsa (so if you decide to conduct a goal-setting strategy session over chips and dip, I just might join you). In today's Mini Mess episode, originally recorded in January 2020, it’s time to talk about how to set meaningful, motivational goals to best align with not only your project management needs, but with what really, REALLY inspires you to get your best work done. And we’re going to do this with one of my favorite "s" words- SHIFT! Get more tips at https://www.stefaniekrievins.com/blog See the full blog post and transcript at https://www.stefaniekrievins.com/shiftgoals Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and share with a friend who has a hot mess! 

Gen X is often called the sandwich generation, and while that phrase is certainly true on the home front, it's applicable to the workplace as well. My fellow Gen Xers are sandwiched between Baby Boomer CEOs and leadership and managing Millennial team members, and frankly, we're burning out.  In today's Mini Mess episode, I'm talking about Generation X motivation in the workplace and THEN, I'm talking about what to do about it, and why it's so important to take that step!  Get more tips at https://www.stefaniekrievins.com/blog See the full blog post and transcript at https://www.stefaniekrievins.com/whats-holding-gen-x-back-in-the-workplace  Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and share with a friend who has a hot mess! 

In this episode, Stefanie talks with Doug Miller, the Owner & CEO of Brightworks, about his company’s experience with the COVID-19 pandemic and how his advanced-preparedness mindset helped his team immediately and seamlessly transition to an entirely virtual office while continuing to provide customer support. Pro Troublemaker Nation founder Stefanie Krievins draws on conversations with guest CEOs and leaders, her own clients’ experiences, and the expertise of leading change-management professionals to provide tools for mid-level managers who want to learn to think like entrepreneurs. Mr. Miller has extensive information technology operations experience in manufacturing, financial services, and health care, as well as a deep consulting background in many more industries. He is adept in roles requiring diverse skill sets that allow him to function effectively in deeply technical roles while also serving as a project manager, a business process consultant, and a leader of technical teams. Doug began his career as a system administrator and web developer and quickly moved into leadership and customer-facing roles. Much of Doug’s experience has been in startup companies where he was required to provide hands-on engineering support one moment, and then shift into leadership or pre-sales role the next. He eventually moved into a senior technical leadership position in a large public hospital, where he was responsible for leading the Tier IV engineering function in a 24/7/365 IT environment. Doug moved from there into several years of consulting, which included managing the migration of a hospital data center from the hospital itself to a remote hosting facility while not disrupting clinical operations – a project he completed well within budget and on time. He has also recently lead a project to replace existing hospital bed-side workstations with a new, VDI-based single-sign-on system, significantly streamlining clinical workflow. Visit BrightWorks here. Download the Hot Mess Hotline Season 1 Toolkit, complete with all the tools and resources referenced in this episode, here. Find more practical advice for leaders and sign up to receive Stefanie’s weekly(ish) emails here. Find “Leading Change,” by John Kotter, and the original Harvard Business Review article, here. Stefanie Krievins is an executive coach based in Indianapolis, Ind., specializing in leadership and change management.  Follow Stefanie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stefkrievins/ Follow Stefanie on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ProTroublemakerNation/  

In this episode, Stefanie discusses when it’s time to challenge the status quo and how to harness the energy of your team when they’re excited about change. Leaders will also learn what to do when a new corporate culture begins emerging as the result of change initiatives, and how that happens. Pro Troublemaker Nation founder Stefanie Krievins draws on conversations with guest CEOs and leaders, her own clients’ experiences, and the expertise of leading change-management professionals to provide tools for mid-level managers who want to learn to think like entrepreneurs. Download the Hot Mess Hotline Season 1 Toolkit complete with all the tools and resources referenced in this episode, here. Find more practical advice for leaders and sign up to receive Stefanie’s weekly(ish) emails here. Find “Leading Change,” by John Kotter, and the original Harvard Business Review article, here. Find more information on Jim Collins’ flywheel of success here. Stefanie Krievins is an executive coach based in Indianapolis, Ind., specializing in leadership and change management.  Follow Stefanie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stefkrievins/ Follow Stefanie on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ProTroublemakerNation/

In this episode, leaders will tackle the obstacles that keep their teams from changing. Stefanie discusses the art of delegating as part of the change management process, then addresses how to break down your vision story in to multi-year, annual, and six-month goals. Listeners will learn why to set benchmarks for success, as well as how to celebrate the wins along the way with their teams. Pro Troublemaker Nation founder Stefanie Krievins draws on conversations with guest CEOs and leaders, her own clients’ experiences, and the expertise of leading change-management professionals to provide tools for mid-level managers who want to learn to think like entrepreneurs. Download the Hot Mess Hotline Season 1 Toolkit, complete with all the tools and resources referenced in this episode, here. Find more practical advice for leaders and sign up to receive Stefanie’s weekly(ish) emails here. Find “Leading Change,” by John Kotter, and the original Harvard Business Review article, here. Find “The Leadership Challenge” by James Kouzes and Barry Posner here. Stefanie Krievins is an executive coach based in Indianapolis, Ind., specializing in leadership and change management.  Follow Stefanie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stefkrievins/ Follow Stefanie on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ProTroublemakerNation/

In this episode, Stefanie Krievins discusses why leaders need more than just a vision for their team and why you need to communicate significantly more than you think you do. Key takeways include how to create a vision story, how to communicate that story to your team with tools that you may not have considered, and how everyone at your company ultimately plays a role in the change you want to see. Leaders will gain a list of internal communication tools to begin using immediately. In the first six episodes, Pro Troublemaker Nation founder Stefanie Krievins draws on conversations with guest CEOs and leaders, her own clients’ experiences, and the expertise of leading change-management professionals to provide tools for mid-level managers who want to learn to think like entrepreneurs. Download the Hot Mess Hotline Season 1 Toolkit, complete with all the tools and resources referenced in this episode, here.  Find more practical advice for leaders and sign up to receive Stefanie’s weekly(ish) emails here.  Find “Leading Change,” by John Kotter, and the original Harvard Business Review article, here.  Find “Traction” by Gino Wickman with EOS here.  Stefanie Krievins is an executive coach based in Indianapolis, IN specializing in leadership and change management.  Follow Stefanie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stefkrievins/ Follow Stefanie on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ProTroublemakerNation/

In this episode, leaders will learn how to integrate urgency and accountability into business models; why your team needs radical personal responsibility; and what you need to truly sustain major changes. Stefanie also discusses the need for guiding coalitions within your organization and what a successful coalition looks like. In the first six episodes, Pro Troublemaker Nation founder Stefanie Krievins draws on conversations with guest CEOs and leaders, her own clients’ experiences, and the expertise of leading change-management professionals to provide tools for mid-level managers who want to learn to think like entrepreneurs. Download the Hot Mess Hotline Season 1 Toolkit, complete with all the tools and resources referenced in this episode, here.  Find more practical advice for leaders and sign up to receive Stefanie’s weekly(ish) emails here.  Find “Leading Change,” by John Kotter, and the original Harvard Business Review article, here. Learn more about Cy Wakeman, referenced in this episode, here.  Stefanie Krievins is an executive coach based in Indianapolis, Ind., specializing in leadership and change management.  Follow Stefanie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stefkrievins/ Follow Stefanie on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ProTroublemakerNation/

Pro Troublemaker Nation founder Stefanie Krievins draws on conversations with guest CEOs and leaders, her own clients’ experiences, and the expertise of leading change-management professionals to provide tools for mid-level managers who want to learn to think like entrepreneurs. In this episode, Stefanie shares the 4 steps to disaster planning, discusses the 90-Day Sprint tool, and introduces the concept of John Kotter’s “Leading Change” 8-step change management program.  Download the Hot Mess Hotline Season 1 Toolkit, complete with all the tools and resources referenced in this episode, here.  Find more practical advice for leaders and sign up to receive Stefanie’s weekly(ish) emails here.  Find “Leading Change,” by John Kotter, and the original Harvard Business Review article, here. Stefanie Krievins is an executive coach based in Indianapolis, Ind., specializing in leadership and change management.  Follow Stefanie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stefkrievins/ Follow Stefanie on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ProTroublemakerNation/  

Pro Troublemaker Nation founder Stefanie Krievins shares conversations for mid-level managers who think like entrepreneurs.  Find out what happens when CEOs, leaders and others start getting real, from the hot messes they've found themselves in, to how they got out of them, and everything in between.  Stefanie Krievins is an executive coach based in Indianapolis, Ind. specializing in leadership and change management.  Visit StefanieKrievins.com/blog to get this podcast delivered straight to your inbox and for more of Stefanie's tips, ideas, and videos.