Today’s guest has dedicated her life to helping her clients unleash the potential of each employee. She is a leadership consultant and executive coach with 20 years of internal and external business consulting experience.

Her flexible style has driven results in boardrooms and on plant floors, for Fortune 100 companies and small start-ups alike. Prior to founding inTerract Consulting 10 years ago, she worked at Deloitte as a consultant on process, strategy, and organizational engagements and as a Director at PepsiCo doing traditional HR and organizational development.

With an expertise in leadership development, facilitation, and diversity, she implements a broad variety of custom solutions for her clients. As a coach she helps leaders and entrepreneurs make meaningful impact on their organizations.

Please join me in welcoming Terra Winston.

In this episode we discuss:

• her thoughts on leadership: “Leadership is the ability to get things done, but a good leader does it in a way that empowers, inspires, and improves other people.”
• how her frustration with bad leadership is what encouraged her to become a leader.
• her belief that everyone has a gift to offer the world, and how important it is for people to find it and share it with the world.
• how her views shifted when she left the corporate world to become an entrepreneur.
• her new dinner salon gatherings, and how those gatherings are bringing a diverse networking opportunity her way.
• her view on the importance of diversifying networks, to receive ideas and inspiration from people who are completely different.

Listen, subscribe and read show notes at www.OntheSchmooze.com - episode 92

Today’s guest is a best-selling author, sought after speaker, and associate professor of leadership and innovation at Oral Roberts University.

He has written several books, his first was “The Myths of Creativity: The Truth About How Innovative Companies and People Generate Great Ideas” and then he wrote “Under New Management: How Leading Organizations Are Upending Business as Usual,” which challenges traditional principles of business management and argues that many of them are outdated, outmoded, or simply don’t work.

His latest book,“Friend of a Friend,” takes a look at the science of human behavior and offers readers a new perspective on how to grow networks and build key connections.

His TED Talk, “Why you should know how much your coworkers get paid,” has been viewed over 1.8 million times. When he is not speaking or writing, he is in the classroom teaching students about organizational behavior, creativity and innovation, and strategic leadership.

Please join me in welcoming David Burkus.

In this episode we discuss:

• his thoughts on leadership: “Leadership is influencing people to move toward a mutually desired objective.”
• how his attraction to leadership roles grew as he matured and became more self-aware.
• his advice for managing your job while also building a business, requiring you to do both until one gets in the way of the other.
• how he uses a combination of an app and a strategy to grow his network.
• his belief that the lack of diversity is a networking problem, and how you can overcome it.
• his strategy for connecting with people who are different from him.

Listen, subscribe and read show notes at www.OntheSchmooze.com - episode 91

Today’s guest leads executive networking and executive talent initiatives at Insight Venture Partners. Insight is a leading global venture capital and private equity firm investing in high-growth technology and software companies that are driving transformative change in their industries. Founded in 1995, Insight has raised more than $18 billion and invested in over 300 companies worldwide.

Prior to joining Insight, she was a Principal at True Search, an international executive search firm, where she led and drove executive searches across scaling venture and private-equity backed technology companies.

I was eager to interview her after reading her blog post “Networking is a Craft, Not a Chore” written in response to a New York Times article by Adam Grant in which he argues that networking is overrated. I’ll include a link to both articles in the show notes.

Please join me in welcoming Helen Hua.

In this episode we discuss:

• her view on leadership: “Leadership is doing something scary that makes you feel brave. You can be a leader in a million different ways.”
• how she was naturally a leader because of her ability to find gaps and step up to fill them.
• her passion for helping entrepreneurs who are working to make their dreams a reality.
• how she aims to be thoughtful around networking relationships to ensure she is offering value to the people she engages with.
• her method for finding and nurturing mentoring relationships.
• her passion for the work she does at Insight and working with many amazing people.

Listen, subscribe and read show notes at www.OntheSchmooze.com - episode 90

Today’s guest is widely respected and recognized for her amazing ability to build bridges and create cross-cultural and inter-racial social networks and connections.

President and CEO of one of Boston’s premier public relations and marketing communication firms, she is a tireless social entrepreneur, connector, advocate, civic leader, and champion for the development of women and people of color.

In 2000 and 2006 she published Kaleidoscope, Boston’s first and only comprehensive multicultural resource directory. Both editions were hailed as the “ultimate networking tool for people often left out of the network.”

She is an active civic leader, serving on several boards, and in 2008 she launched Get Konnected, a bi-monthly cross-generational and cross-cultural professional and social networking event, which is another first in Boston.

Named one of Boston’s 40 Most Fabulous People, one of Boston’s 100 Most Powerful Women and many other accolades,

Please join me in welcoming Colette Phillips

In this episode, we discuss:

• her view on leadership: “Leadership is about having an inspiring vision and a zest for change.”
• her 3 C’s of leadership: courage, conviction, and commitment.
• how she saw a need and created Get Konnected!, a bi-monthly networking event for professionals, business executives, and entrepreneurs from various cultures.
• how her experience as the first woman of color in Boston to create a PR firm taught her business tips that she follows still today.
• her belief that you have to have a diverse workforce if you want to create a profitable and successful business.
• how she separates her bi-monthly events for networking and her interpersonal relationships by initiating intimate connections with her closest connections.

Listen, subscribe and read show notes at www.OntheSchmooze.com - episode 89

Today’s guest is an industry leader in building and managing personalized, invitation-only communities for world-class executives, entrepreneurs, and professionals.

He is CEO of The Community Company, an organization that builds community-driven programs for global brands and media companies, founder of Young Entrepreneur Council, an invitation-only organization comprised of the world’s most successful young entrepreneurs and founder of Forbes Councils, a collective of invitation-only organizations for top-notch executives.

He is also an internationally syndicated columnist, author of “Never Get a ‘Real’ Job” and co-author of “Superconnector: Stop Networking and Start Building Business Relationships that Matter.”

Please join me in welcoming Scott Gerber.

In this episode, we discuss:

• his thoughts on leadership: “Leadership and partnership go hand in hand. Good leaders know how to lead by consensus because they have put together a team of smart people who deserve to be heard.
• how he has been active in leadership roles from an early age, and how those roles shaped him into the leader he is today.
• his experience with business failure and how it was one of the greatest lessons he’s ever learned.
• his view of the cross-section of humanity and technology and how he uses technology to enhance relationships.
• his thoughts on generational differences in his business model.
• how he was able to identify and then work with his weaknesses to create a successful business.

Listen, subscribe and read show notes at www.OntheSchmooze.com - episode 88