Joe Mullings is one of the top minds and visionaries in talent search, specifically in the world of med-tech, who has revolutionized story-telling as a means to draw top talent to top organizations; Google & Johnson & Johnson were his first clients. The question he strives to answer for everyone seeking a career change or new role is "IF I go to work for this company, WHO will I become?"

Joe believes that every individual should evaluate four things when considering a new opportunity: Market, Product/Service, Leadership & Mission and he breaks it all down in this episode.

We talk about the value of surrounding ourselves with high-value people and building our network around them and the power that holds for us, the importance of finding real value and fulfillment in our work and how critical that is for staying power, and why mission and LIVING UP TO IT is critical for leaders - it only takes a few bad seeds in an otherwise great organization to bring it to it's knees if it's not nipped in the bud.

We also deep dive into over-legislation as a result of the Me-Too Movement and it's impact on mentorship for women who are often already at a career disadvantage because of starting families and everything that entails, and why removing mentorships for women is causing females to miss out on opportunities, relationships, and important networking that can change the path of their career, bringing more female leaders to the forefront of U.S. companies. (Click here to read his article on this important topic.)

Joe shares a valid and interesting perspective on defining, or attempting to define, bullying and toxicity in the workplace and how critical it is to understand the difference between attacking a problem vs. a person and why the latter is never acceptable.

We also talk about his venture into the world of video & television production and how Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and Tech will affect our future world of work, and why staying ahead of tech and being forward-thinking, flexible, continually learning and upskilling and being willing to reinvent ourselves will be critical to staying relevant, particularly for those who are subject to the negative impact of ageism in the workplace.

Joe also shares what I feel is one of the most profound and thought-provoking answers to my closing question for all of my guests: As a leader, what quality of a gentleman/woman do you feel is most important to emulate and why? There's definitely a dash of 007 meets Thomas Crown in Joe Mullings . . . but he's not acting.

ABOUT MY GUEST:

Joe is the Chairman & CEO of The Mullings Group Companies, including TMG Search, Dragonfly Stories & TMG360 Media. The search firm is responsible for more than 8,000 successful searches in the medtech / healthtech industry with clients ranging from multi-billion-dollar companies to emerging tech startups. Dragonfly Stories is the media production company behind the Award-Winning video docuseries, “TrueFuture”, of which Joe is the host, as well as generating attention and awareness for companies globally. In 2020, Joe was appointed Chief Visionary Officer for MRINetwork, Inc. where he guides the digital transformation of the MRINetwork bringing video storytelling strategies and techniques for talent access, which he innovated at The Mullings Group.

FIND HIM HERE:

Websites:

www.joemullings.com

www.mullingsgroup.com

www.dragonflystories.tv

www.tmg360media.com

www.truefuture.tv

Social Links:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/joemullings/

https://www.facebook.com/joemullings

https://www.instagram.com/joemullings/

https://www.youtube.com/c/JoeMullings293

Today was yet another milestone in my broadcasting journey - I hosted my first ever LinkedIn Livestream Guest!

My guest is Steve Turner, founder of Bring Back the Trades Inc, a New Hampshire nonprofit organization which believes that skilled trades is a worthy option for students. Its primary mission is to equip students who are pursuing post-secondary education to acquire the knowledge of a professional trade through community engagement and education. They are dedicated to promoting and educating the public to the need for skilled trades professionals.

We discussed the serious need for skilled tradesmen, a need that existed before the pandemic but has now reached critical levels, how we need to re-write the narrative and remove stigmas associated with vocational educations and skilled trade schools, what needs to change to make women feel welcome & safe in the trades, and what Steve is doing to try to help bridge the gap and support students who choose a trades based career and education vs. the traditional college route. 

Visit his website to learn how to apply for his scholarship program (open to all trade school students in the US) and to become a corporate sponsor for this fast-growing start-up, Bring Back The Trades!

For today's episode, I interviewed 2X author Heather Monahan. Heather's new book, "Overcome Your Villains", published by Harper Collins Leadership, is launching this month (November 2021). I invited Heather on the show to share her inspiring story from making it to the C-Suite, to being fired by a workplace villain, to her successful career as an entrepreneur and to chat about her new book.

Heather talks about how she launched her personal brand about five years ago, (which is likely one of the reasons she was fired, as there were a few envious villains at work who resented her success with her brand), and how she was able to leverage that platform she had created for herself after she was fired. Heather wrote and self-published her first book "Confidence Creator" just five months after she was fired, or, as she would say, after SHE fired HER villain. Heather talks about what she's learned from both male & female mentors in her career, the importance of trusting you gut, not only in business, but in our personal lives, as well as the experience and knowledge she's gained both as a self-published author and a traditionally published one.

For anyone who purchases her new book during pre-sale, Heather is offering an add-on gift bundle valued at $500.00 for FREE. Link to her website is below.

FIND MY GUEST

www.heathermonahan.com

Overcome Your Villains Book

In this episode, Melanie shares how, as VP of Marketing for a luxury automotive group, she launched her idea to leverage social media, not just as a company, but for the personal brands of those on the sales team, by creating and hosting a Social Media Workshop to provide the tools, know-how and ideas they would need to create their own social media brand.

After struggling with buy-in from the team, Melanie found the two main reasons professionals are often hesitant to create a personal presence on social: 1.) Fear and 2.) Lack of know-how & confidence. In true leadership style, Melanie decided to walk the talk and set out on her own personal brand journey in social media marketing to be an example for and encouragement to her team. Then the pandemic hit and 90% of the staff at her dealership were laid off. That was when Melanie decided she needed to go all-in on her personal brand, so that, in the event that she, too, found herself unemployed, she would have a professional digital footprint and brand, not just in her industry, but as a powerful presence on platforms like LinkedIn. Melanie employed her three critical pillars: having a strategy, providing value-added content, and being consistent. It paid off - in about a year, she went from 3,000 followers to 89,000! She keeps it real by admitting the amount of work and time involved (it's a full-time job) and that success doesn't happen overnight; you have to commit to the long-haul, create a routine and be fully committed to reap the benefits.

Melanie shares the struggles many of us faced when the pandemic hit - of becoming a remote worker overnight, with the additional stress of having to manage remote learning for her two young daughters. She decided early on to channel her efforts toward building the narrative she wanted told about herself online (which she reminds us is within our power to do as well), as a strong, independent woman and mother, and to be an example to her daughter's as she forged her way down that new path of building her personal brand, which is now her professional one as well. Melanie also used that unique time with her daughter's to write and publish her children's book, a project they were closely involved with from start to finish.

The biggest leap of faith and most important risk Melanie took during the pandemic was to leave her corporate role and, with the support of those closest to her, launch her company Melanie Borden, LLC. She shares how she had wanted to do so seven years ago, but multiple factors caused that plan to go awry. When I asked her what the incredibly successful Melanie would tell her 18 year-old self, she replied "Trust your gut!". I couldn't agree more.

Melanie's goal is to help others avoid the "Trial and Terror" experience she had in navigating social media as a newbie by offering her highly successful strategies and services. Visit her website to learn more.

ABOUT MY GUEST:

Melanie Borden has worked in various atmospheres from public tech companies to private start-ups, retail automotive, and now has established her own marketing consultancy, Melanie Borden, LLC.

As a natural outgrowth of her work as a marketing executive, Melanie recognized the opportunities available to use online marketing strategies to build corporate and personal brands. She has successfully built her own brand, and helped others to do so as well. She has been published or interviewed by Good Morning America, Daily Mail, Bloomberg, The Epoch Times, Working Mother Media, Auto Remarketing, Hip New Jersey, New York City Biz List, Mega Dealer News, and more. Her expertise includes the full gamut of marketing oversight and implementation, such as budgeting, strategic use of vendors, enhancing digital footprints via social media, reputation management, online monetization, and building and managing advertising processes. Melanie provides marketing and branding consulting to both businesses and individuals, as a resource for guidance as well as an outsourced marketing department, depending on a client’s needs and preference. Melanie is also a newly published author of a children's book she wrote with and for her two daughters.

FIND HER HERE:

Visit her Website

Buy Melanie’s book, “Our Mommy Works with Cars”

"This voice in my head keeps saying "Keep Going, Do NOT give up"...I'm very purpose driven, and I know that I DO have a purpose...and I cannot give up on my life's...on the reason I'm here. And THAT is to change stereotypes and to break through, and to get women in marketing and in advertising for the big tool companies." ~ Jennifer Cline

Jennifer's story is truly one of tragedy to triumph as she overcame, not only heartbreaking loss on a personal level, but sabotage, harassment and workplace bullying, resulting in the loss of her beloved professional career.

Jennifer shares the very personal story of how, 13 years ago, on her young son's birthday, she lost her husband in a horrible car accident, leaving her broken-hearted, with two young children to raise and a 200 year old farmhouse that had been in her husband's family for generations, but was in desperate need of major repairs and renovations. Jennifer says it was her "sink or swim" moment and, despite being advised to tear it down and start over, she committed to restoring the family's beloved farmhouse as a tribute to and in memory of her late husband, honoring the dream they had shared before his untimely death.

Jennifer initially began her professional career as a paralegal and eventually found herself working at the prosecutor's office in a neighboring county as the grand jury coordinator, which she absolutely loved and excelled at. And that was where the problems began. Enter the envious, jealous, not-so-liked, not-so-talented, not-so-beautiful, female boss & her cronies. What Jennifer shares in this interview about her workplace abuse experience has all the makings of a Netflix Miniseries or a Lifetime Movie...and once you listen you will agree that truth is often stranger than fiction. Nepotism, hiring friends unqualified for senior level roles, abuse of power (which kept the true story out of the media), politics at their worse, bizarre sexual harassment, stalking social media & harassing her friends, spying on her in her office, micromanaging, prying her about her romantic life, belittling her in front of her colleagues, attorney's falsifying their identity to try to get confidential information, and eventually covering up recordings and investigations to protect themselves from the fall-out, leaving Jennifer no other option than to run for her life from that toxic workplace. BUT, as a widowed single mother, it also meant leaving her security, livelihood, paycheck, insurance, 401K & medical benefits behind.

This is the reality of workplace abuse going unchecked and the lack of accountability for those who look the other way and allow innocent people & children to suffer.

Jennifer's story is a classic case of women bullying women in the workplace. While they initially encouraged Jennifer to build her personal brand and share her photos, saying it was great PR for the county, they soon became threatened by the success, popularity, support and attention she was getting, and went on a mission to shut her down. She experienced first-hand the "bystander effect" - when people who are your friends at work and do like you, but are terrified to lose their job so they remain silent. We talk about the grieving process over losing jobs we loved, and how similar it is to grieving the loss of a loved one in that you have to go through every stage or you risk getting stuck in a very bad place.

Jennifer also shares what it's like to be a woman in the very male-dominated field of woodworking and how, unfortunately, it is still very much a "good 'old boy's club" mentality in the industry. We laughed at how we both were banned from Reddit on our first day and agreed that most times when a door closes, even if it might sting a bit, often means we're being saved from going down a road we might have regretted later on.

On a lighter note, we talk about our shared love of thrift shopping and Jennifer shares some of her favorite finds - she has an evening gown collection that J-Lo would envy! We talk about why sustainability & re-purposing is so important in how we shop - another reason for my love of finding new homes for my vintage clothing collection.

Jennifer also shares how she grew her social media following to 275,000 followers and how she found her niche, the incredible amount of time & work involved in maintaining social media platforms as an entrepreneur, and the many times she felt like giving up, and how she overcame those challenging days and feelings.

While Jennifer is a huge fan of DeWalt products and wears a lot of black & yellow in her videos - they are still dragging their feet in becoming an official sponsor for this incredible influencer, so if anyone is looking to get their name, brand, product, or line in front of 275,000 people - GO GET THIS GIRL NOW while she's still accessible!

ABOUT MY GUEST

Jennifer Cline is a self taught woodworker and flag maker who views her craft as her life’s calling. Widowed at the age of 37 and a mother of two young children, she picked up her husband’s tools to make necessary repairs around their 200 year old farmhouse. Eventually, she gained a handy reputation among friends and coworkers, prompting one to ask for a thin blue line flag. That flag led to hundreds more and new opportunities. Jennifer is currently a social media presence and content creator with over 275k followers.  

FIND HER HERE:

TikTok @jennifer.cline

Instagram @missdewalt

YouTube Jennifer Cline aka Miss DeWalt