Bridges to Leadership

5 years of managing one of the coolest and busiest breweries on the east coast has taught Tracy many lessons.  In this podcast she shares her insights on what she has learned and her philosophy on leadership...

- how to approach a team that is full of all stars
- always listening to the dissenting opinion
- learning is life long
- "We take our business seriously but not ourselves"
- enlightened hospitality

Find Tracy on Instagram @tracyciscoofficial

To be a successful basketball coach for 2 decades in Indiana you must be doing something right!

Honored to have my good friend Jason Ridge on the podcast this week.  Coach Ridge has been developing his leadership skills and those around him for over 20 years in the classroom and on the court.  He currently is the head women's basketball coach at St. Francis University in Fort Wayne, Indiana. 

Jason has implemented strong leadership practices with his students and teams that have resulted in great success.  He touches on some of the many areas that have helped him and his students, coaches, players, and teachers succeed. 

Topics covered in the podcast...

- defining leadership
- value of listening while pushing your vision
- coaching vs mentoring
- decision making through a prism of leadership, growth, service

Email  [email protected]
Instagram @thejasonridge22 @ladycougbball

Each summer season, 2 students from my alma mater ferry over to Nantucket Island for a 10 week internship with my company Nantucket Bike Tours.  We use this small business to teach them the people skills they will need to be successful in business and in life.  

We sat down at the end of their 5th week to discuss what they have learned and their general experience.  I wanted to know what had they learned in 5 week, could you learn much of anything in 5 weeks?  It seems at first glance that improving your EQ in such a short amount of time could be daunting.  Marcus and Waleed are knocking it out of the park!  Here are some of the things the talk about...

Self Awareness ^^ Giving and Receiving Feedback ^^ BINI - Be Interested Not Interesting ^^ Body Language ^^ Importance of a Smile

This podcast episode is for anyone who thinks they might be able to, or want to, improve their people skills in a short window of time.  It is also for someone who wants to apply these type of principals to their work or life.

Enjoy, and give us some feedback please!

Jason

Fatherhood Friday looks at parenthood through the lens of leadership.  Being a Dad has many challenges and many victories, which is parallel to all aspects of life.  The Dads that I interview haven't written a book on fatherhood and don't have a phD in child development.  They are every day Dads from all walks of life and many different family makeups.  

For this Fatherhood Friday Carl Lindvall joins us, father of 3 children with his wife Sarah.  Carl grew up on Nantucket and has raised his kids here for the past 12 years.  It was hard to edit this podcast down to 40 minutes because of many lessons and 

A couple of highlights of what Carl shared with us...

- spending time with your partner
- treating your children as peers
- setting standards
- ipad vs dishwasher
- asking your kids for forgiveness

Feel free to send any thoughts or comments my way to [email protected] 

Enjoy!

Fatherhood Friday looks at parenthood through the lens of leadership.  Being a Dad has many challenges and many victories, which is parallel to all aspects of life.  The Dads that I interview haven't written a book on fatherhood and don't have a phD in child development.  They are every day Dads from all walks of life and many different family makeups.  

For this Fatherhood Friday we are joined by Geoff Smith, father of a 5 year old daughter.  Geoff wasn't sure how his "fly by the seat of his pants" lifestyle would work being a new Dad.  Before fatherhood, I ran into Geoff one day and I asked him what he was up to..."Oh, flying to Argentina tomorrow, rented an apartment for 3 months and hired a Spanish teacher".  This was a common occurrence with Geoff, always doing something out of the ordinary at a moments notice.  

This is why I wanted the first Fatherhood Friday interview to be with Geoff - how was this guy going to adapt to being a father?  Well, he is a kick ass Dad and we are lucky for him to share his experiences with us.  

A couple of nuggets the Geoff shared with us...

- A new self awareness
- The importance of your village helping to raise your child
- Put down your phone and be present
- How he now sees his parents

Enjoy!

Determining your negative listening habits will help you understand potential hurdles to becoming a top notch active listener.  Once you understand and are aware of them, you can then start to minimize them.

In this podcast we look at 4 negative listening habits...

The Faker

The Interruptor

The One Upper

The Advice Giver

Which of these do you find yourself doing the most?  

What do you do when you catch yourself doing one of these bad habits?  Answer:  "Call it what it is!"

Part 2 of Active Listening, coming in the next podcast, will focus on strategies you can add to your tool box to improve your listening skills.  Once you are fully aware of how you listen (or don't) then we can spend time working on paraphrasing, summarizing, and parroting.

Is fatherhood and leadership synonymous?  What's the best way a father can lead within a family?  How do you handle advice from other fathers?  

These are some of the questions my wife, Courtney, asks me in this first episode of Fatherhood Friday.  And let's be clear right off the bat, I am not technically a father yet!  Still have some time before we through the go-bags in the trunk and head off to the hospital (but not too much time).

I am no expert.  This interview takes place 4 weeks before my first child's arrival.  I figured what's the best way to get honest answers about my vision of fatherhood and how it connects with leadership - have your pregnant wife ask questions that you aren't prepared for.

Courtney did not share her questions with me ahead of time - so my reactions and answers are the real deal.  

This interview is for those that like to apply leadership in all areas of our life.  Even if you aren't a father (as I am not as this podcast is published), you have a father and you might be one day.  Parts of this discussion, whether you agree or disagree with my views, could help spur helpful conversation within your family.

I can't wait to come back and listen to this in a couple years...wow will it be interesting!

Let's talk about the excuse we all love to make.  You know the one, you probably said it recently, "I'm terrible at remembering names".  When we make names a priority, we are shifting our focus from ourselves to those around us.

In this podcast I talk about WHY its important to focus on names, TIPS and TRICKS on how to remember names, and WHAT to do when you are in a situation when you've forgotten someone's name you've known for a long time.

Stop giving yourself permission to NOT remember names.  Every time you say "I'm terrible at remembering names", you are allowing yourself to do just that.  Make it a priority and shift your focus on the other person(s). 

TIPS we review...
1) Say it out loud
2) Write it down
3) Assimilation

If you space on someone's name that you have known for years, or feel that you should 100% know the name...call it what it is.  Tell them you've spaced the name.  Sounds awful, but its better in the long run because they know anyway.  This will build trust.

Here's a couple ways of finding out more and contacting me.

email: [email protected]

Website  www.jasonmbridges.com

TEDx Talk Practicing Emotional Intelligence

Instagram @jasonmbridges

Let's talk about the excuse we all love to make.  You know the one, you probably said it recently, "I'm terrible at remembering names".  When we make names a priority, we are shifting our focus from ourselves to those around us.

In this podcast I talk about WHY its important to focus on names, TIPS and TRICKS on how to remember names, and WHAT to do when you are in a situation when you've forgotten someone's name you've known for a long time.

Stop giving yourself permission to NOT remember names.  Every time you say "I'm terrible at remembering names", you are allowing yourself to do just that.  Make it a priority and shift your focus on the other person(s). 

TIPS we review...
1) Say it out loud
2) Write it down
3) Assimilation

If you space on someone's name that you have known for years, or feel that you should 100% know the name...call it what it is.  Tell them you've spaced the name.  Sounds awful, but its better in the long run because they know anyway.  This will build trust.

Here's a couple ways of finding out more and contacting me.

email: [email protected]

Website  www.jasonmbridges.com

TEDx Talk Practicing Emotional Intelligence

Instagram @jasonmbridges

Here's the punchline...your staff won't work with you forever.  The days of 35 year careers are over, especially for small businesses like our coffee shop.  So how can you get the best out of your staff and team? 

Help them move on. 

That's right.  Invest in them to the point where the grow to the top of their position, and then move on.  If your company is large, they might be able to move up or over.   It hurts when good staff leaves, but the upside is too big not to.  

Make the best of the time you have with your team and invest in them.  Be the Super Manager!  Find out their goals, ideals, and needs and help your staff achieve them.

Find out how Kristen Hadeed invests in her staff to create a positive working environment.

This works the other way as well. You can also be the Super Employee.  Ask the owner or manager if they will invest in you.

Create a mutually beneficial environment where both parties, the business and the employee, can grow.

Here's a couple ways of finding out more and contacting me.

email: [email protected]

Website  www.jasonmbridges.com

TEDx Talk Practicing Emotional Intelligence

Instagram @jasonmbridges