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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/