Category: values

How SafeX Provides a Work-Life Balance with Dianne Grote Adams

Balancing your professional and personal life can be challenging, but it’s essential.

Often, work takes precedence over everything else in our lives. Our desire to succeed professionally can push us to set aside our own well-being.

Creating a harmonious work-life balance or work-life integration is critical, though, to improve not only our physical, emotional, and mental well-being, but it’s also important for our career.

My guest is Dianne Grote Adams. She is president of Safex, a health and safety consulting business, who started her company in 1992. As a working mom with a young family, she wanted to create a company that would respect the abilities of people in a technical career while also offering them some flexibility. From its beginning, Safex has offered flexible scheduling and benefits—vacation, insurance, and paid holidays—for anyone who works more than 25 hours.

Did you find that you attracted the right team around you because of that philosophy?

A lot of people, I think, have this myth that part-time workers aren’t committed.  And they say, well, they’re not really committed to their careers. And I found the opposite. They have time to do personal things. And guess what? They don’t make doctor’s appointments during work hours. They don’t make personal calls during work hours because they have other days to take care of that. So I find actually they are probably more committed because they knew they have a special opportunity that others might not have.

But there are people who maybe can’t handle flex time and flexibility. They need more structure. Do you find that sometimes that’s a challenge?

I think there are certain people who maybe need more guidance or more coaching to help them learn how to manage flex time. Many of us didn’t grow up with that as an option, right? Can everyone be successful? I don’t know. But you’ve got to be able to manage responsibility and accountability.

What would you tell employers who are starting businesses to get into this mindset today? How do you get started?

It has been a focus on what does that person. What is that person supposed to contribute, what are they supposed to do? And if you can put a good definition around that and they meet that, then why should you care what the exact hour is or whether they rode their bike for an hour at lunch or they left early to catch a concert?

So in your journey, what comes easy for you in the work-life balance?

For me, it’s really easy to tell someone else to go take the time off. I struggle still with that work ethic that I grew up with, that I need to be first in, last out, and yes, I need to on Sunday night to prepare for the upcoming week. I just don’t give myself that same grace.

Hosted by Betty Collins, CPA, and Director at Brady Ware and Company. Betty also serves as the Committee Chair for Empowering Women, and Director of the Brady Ware Women Initiative. Each episode is presented by Brady Ware and Company, committed to empowering women to go their distance in the workplace and at home.

For more information, go to the Insights page at Brady Ware and Company.

Remember to follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.  And forward our podcast along to other Inspiring Women in your life.

What Does It Take To Be An Inspiring Woman Leader?

For me, an inspiring woman is simply a woman who can fill somebody with the desire or urge to do something worthwhile. It’s someone who lives their life every day, based on the core of what she believes. And it influences me to be open, and maybe even change. So, it’s someone who creates a better world. They have to live their lives on their terms. There’s something very motivating about that. We’re all inspired differently, so take some time to think about it. How can you inspire? I need to have others around me, who are better, and have different insights, so I can be better. I challenge you to dig deep and realize that you have a role to play in that. You need to figure it out, and then do it. Become that inspiring woman leader.  I assure you that someone needs to see it and be influenced by you. And by the way, you might already be influencing other women and you don’t even know it. With me on this episode is Lori Kaiser. She is a chief executive, corporate leader, visionary, and business strategist with a proven track record in assessing risk and creating solutions for Fortune 500 Company C-Level Executives and Boards. As CEO of Kaiser Consulting, Lori provides clients’ value-based services that allow organizations to navigate transitions and successfully execute critical projects. Women need to take more risk and be braver in career decisions. Lori gives us insight on that. Her passion about this subject shines throughout the episode. Her advice to women on how to become an inspired leader. Ask yourself what is YOUR version of success.  Be bold, take risks.  Be a lifelong learner.  And last, but not least, connect with interesting people. Mentioned in the podcast was Shonda Rhymes and her book Year of Yes. How Women Rise by Sally Helgesen and Marshall Goldsmith. And the podcast How I Built This.

This is THE podcast that advances women toward economic, social and political achievement. Hosted by Betty Collins, CPA, and Director at Brady Ware and Company. Betty also serves as the Committee Chair for Empowering Women, and Director of the Brady Ware Women Initiative. Each episode is presented by Brady Ware and Company, committed to empowering women to go their distance in the workplace and at home.

For more information, go to the Insights page at Brady Ware and Company.

Remember to follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.  And forward our podcast along to other Inspiring Women in your life.

How To Lead In Uncertain Times

I speak with Janet Meeks. Janet is the author of Gracious Leadership, Lead Like You’ve Never Led Before. You will love getting the perspective from her because she has lived it, she’s experienced it, and her amazing journey as a leader.

She’s going to talk from her book, which is such a simple read. Yet there are some very important basics in there. What should we expect from our leaders? There’s an expectation we should have.

As Janet mentions…

I also believe that leaders need to be secure enough to understand they don’t have all the answers and that leaders who try to hoard getting the results accomplished are really holding back the organization they need to trust their employees who are subject matter experts and free them, let them lie in the war, if you will, and be all they were created today so they can play at the top of their game. And then that leaves time and room for the person with the big title to be able to take on those difficult tasks that perhaps someone and other levels of the organization cannot.

Coming up on July 30th is the 7th annual Brady Ware Women’s Leadership Conference.  Each year, 100% of the proceeds go to support women initiatives through non profit organizations within Ohio. This year our supporting non profits are the Better Business Bureau and the Women’s Small Business Accelerator

Many months ago when we began planning for this year’s conference, we felt it best to err on the side of safety, so this year’s conference will be held virtually. While this may not be the most ideal situation, it does allow for us to offer participants speakers that are nationally recognized as well as locally recognized women leaders.
 
We’re excited to be able to present keynote speaker, Peggy Klaus, author of ‘Brag! How to toot your own horn without blowing it’. We’ll start the morning with a lively discussion with a panel of women business owners and leaders.
And to add to the excitement of the day, you’ll be able to network, visit exhibitor tables and win wonderful prizes throughout the day!
 
I would like to personally invite you to join us on July 30th.  Early bird registration ends on June 15th, so I encourage you to sign up now!  Just go to Columbus Women’s Leadership dot com and complete a simple form. We’ll do all the rest!
 
Don’t miss this opportunity to expand your knowledge! Register now!  ColumbusWomen’s Leadership dot com
Hope to see you there!

 

This is THE podcast that advances women toward economic, social and political achievement. Hosted by Betty Collins, CPA, and Director at Brady Ware and Company. Betty also serves as the Committee Chair for Empowering Women, and Director of the Brady Ware Women Initiative. Each episode is presented by Brady Ware and Company, committed to empowering women to go their distance in the workplace and at home.

For more information, go to the Insights page at Brady Ware and Company.

Remember to follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.  And forward our podcast along to other Inspiring Women in your life.

The Art Of Improv And Business

“Improv, in one sense, is being present in this moment with curiosity instead of judgment and being empowered to know that I have the ability to build something different if I don’t like how it is right now.”

My guest, Andrea Flack-Wetherald, loves improv. She discovered it during a particularly acute season of personal and professional transition.

She also loves mindfulness practice. Combining the fun of improv with the quiet power of mindfulness is the work she does with her clients. Her company, &Beyond, helps elevate company teams to a new level of effective production.

Mindful improv, it sounds scary to a lot of people. In this episode, you’re going to learn the difference between habits and circumstances. And you’re really going to learn that this not just changing you, but changing culture. And about the stories that we develop in our minds about people, or the company we work for, or the culture we live in.

And by the way, you’ve been improvising all your life. So this isn’t something new to learn, it’s just recognizing it’s a part of you.

This is THE podcast that advances women toward economic, social and political achievement. Hosted by Betty Collins, CPA, and Director at Brady Ware and Company. Betty also serves as the Committee Chair for Empowering Women, and Director of the Brady Ware Women Initiative. Each episode is presented by Brady Ware and Company, committed to empowering women to go their distance in the workplace and at home.

For more information, go to the Insights page at Brady Ware and Company.

Remember to follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.  And forward our podcast along to other Inspiring Women in your life.

Strategies For Success Using Your Own Leadership Style

What does successful leadership look like? There’s so many definitions out there, but we’re well aware we’re desperate for good leadership.

When you look at successful leadership, you look at people who are pretty open and honest; good communication skills; they connect with that team member; they encourage personal and professional growth; they don’t just think that they are the only ones that should be learning and doing.

They make others better around them for sure, keeping that positive attitude. Nothing worse than working for a downer, right?

They teach employees instead of giving orders. It’s a huge, huge mindset. Some people just don’t have that ability, but that’s a successful leader. That’s what they look like.

But what about your own style in your leadership? Not everyone should be doing it the same. If you’re going to be a good leader, and you’re trying to be somebody else, you’re probably not going to be effective. You’ve got to find your style in the midst of all of it.

You’ve got to know your values. They’re traits upon which your reputation is built. They affect how you will consciously and subconsciously lead.

You’ve got to know what your strengths are. Chances are, you’re a leader because you have those certain strengths. A lot of times those strengths, too, are your weaknesses, so you have to be careful, but leverage them.

You’ve got to define your uniqueness. What sets you apart? Why are you so special?

What are your true-to-the-core motivations? In fact, what would people say you’re motivated by? When you’re figuring out your style, find out your motivation. Then, you’ve got to observe the leaders and peers around you. Who do you admire right now? Who do you look up to? But you’ve got to be you at the same time. It’s not that impossible.

Successful leadership is all about influence. It’s having followers and getting it done. But doing it on your terms, with your style, is even better. It’s the only way to do it.  

 

This is THE podcast that advances women toward economic, social and political achievement. Hosted by Betty Collins, CPA, and Director at Brady Ware and Company. Betty also serves as the Committee Chair for Empowering Women, and Director of the Brady Ware Women Initiative. Each episode is presented by Brady Ware and Company, committed to empowering women to go their distance in the workplace and at home.

For more information, go to the Insights page at Brady Ware and Company.

Remember to follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.  And forward our podcast along to other Inspiring Women in your life.