Intentional Leaders Podcast with Cyndi Wentland

Cultivate a Culture of Connection with Jill Huizenga

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In this thought-provoking conversation, Jill, a 14-year entrepreneurship faculty member at Madison College, reveals how traits like resilience, adaptability, and problem-solving create exceptional leaders regardless of their role.

With employee disengagement at record highs and workplace stress permeating organizations, Jill's approach offers a refreshing alternative. Through her newly-launched consulting company Sync, she's addressing the critical gap between what organizations say they value and what they actually practice through systems and processes. The conversation delves into why emotional intelligence ranks as the projected #1 skill employers will seek by 2025, and why most leaders believe they're more self-aware than they actually are.

"Words matter, but words are only words. We have to take action," Jill explains, highlighting the disconnect in organizations that claim to prioritize well-being but lack meaningful systems to support it. She shares wisdom gained from years teaching students to develop entrepreneurial thinking, and how these same principles create cultures where people genuinely thrive rather than merely survive.

The discussion explores vulnerability as a leadership strength, the importance of aligning words with actions, and practical approaches to measuring cultural transformation. For leaders feeling stuck in bureaucracy or teams struggling with connection, this conversation offers both inspiration and tactical insights for creating purpose-driven environments where emotional intelligence drives success.

Whether you're leading a team, building a business, or simply looking to develop greater agency in your career, you'll gain valuable perspectives on cultivating the entrepreneurial mindset as your competitive advantage in today's complex workplace.

Get in touch with Jill: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jill-huizenga-385b941b/

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Speaker 1:

All right. Well, good morning and welcome Jill to the Intentional Leaders podcast.

Speaker 2:

Good morning, Cindy. Thanks so much for having me this morning.

Speaker 1:

I am excited about this discussion because you and I met about five or six years ago. We were kind of I'm murky on the date when I was working at Madison College and you have been at Madison College for almost 14 years as a faculty member and I remember first meeting you and I think we had coffee in the main area and all I could think of is I love this woman, I love her. And then I found out you are teaching on helping people develop businesses and be entrepreneurs and that entrepreneurial mindset and I just thought we're going to. We're going to be friends.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it didn't take us long to become friends, but then, you know, with the pandemic, time is elusive too, so things happen. It was nice to be able to reconnect with you is elusive too.

Speaker 1:

So things happen and it was nice to be able to reconnect with you. Yes, absolutely, and so part of our reconnection started because you were interested in veering into a consulting direction and speaking of entrepreneurial, which is part of who you are. I just want to explain a little bit of your background, and I know you will too, but you are also the co-owner of Niche Publications and you've been doing that for about 20 years, which is highlighting women's accomplishment in business, correct?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I started that with two other women in 2004, and it was a women's publication that highlighted the incredible things that women were doing within our area and so still doing that. It's taken on more of an online presence now, but certainly has been a great experience and it really is part of that connecting process, of what led me into teaching in the entrepreneurship field, and I have the privilege of teaching a small business entrepreneurship, so essentially, I'm teaching students how to own and operate a business. Yeah, more important than that, it's about teaching the entrepreneurial mindset and some of those traits that can be so helpful in just life in general.

Speaker 2:

And yes yes, people can start a business, that's great, and if that's the outcome, wonderful. But if they choose not to start a business, how can this entrepreneurial mindset set them up effectively for success within an organization? And so that's exciting to me. Things like resilience and adaptability and growth mindset and being proactive and problem solving are traits that can help anyone.

Speaker 1:

Yes, for sure, and I think what sometimes happens in organizations, especially as they get large and complicated, people lose that mindset because they get stuck in the bureaucracy of I can't do anything, I don't have any control. And I do believe that a lot of leaders, especially the squishy middle management kind of level, probably have more control than sometimes they feel like. And I think for the work that you're doing around that mindset, it gives people control and agency, like hey, you do have some control over this. And, as you said, it's not just for people starting a business or wanting their own business, it's for people who feel stuck in businesses, that don't feel like they have options and they might.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and you know, right now there's this detachment that's going on with employers, and it doesn't have to be that way. I think there's processes and things that we can implement to change that, and so that's something that's very exciting to me.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, for sure. It was interesting, because my MSN always comes up on my search bar in the morning and one of the most searched things as of today is how to eliminate stress or manage stress. And so, as you're saying, like that detachment, and even post-COVID, there's been so much research that people are still feeling anxiety, and more so than ever. So it wasn't just that period of time, it's continued on from there.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and that's really like in terms of employee engagement. You know, numbers are an all-time goal, which is frightening to me, because I think, too, we have tools in place that can really help control some of those things, and if it can make people be better people, why not?

Speaker 1:

implement right? Yes, absolutely Like. Let's just all be better human beings or happier or less stressed, or feel like we have more control over our lives, which is awesome. We feel like we have more control over our lives, which is awesome. So I want to dig into some of the questions that are on my mind and I think will be helpful to understand to our listeners. But you're wanting to complement the work that you do as a faculty in Madison College and also and your online presence with your publication, to do more consulting in organizations directly. So what inspired that transition going from academia to what your new organization, which is called Sync, which I love, and I know that you're very interested in culture and engagement and emotional intelligence. So what kind of prompted that journey for you?

Speaker 2:

and engagement and emotional intelligence. So what kind of prompted that journey for you? Yeah, you know, I've always been in a position where I love to figure things out, like processes and systems as it relates to businesses, but more importantly, as it relates to people, and how can we make things better and how can we identify maybe a problem and a gap with an industry and what we can do to make that better? And you know, with my faculty experience with entrepreneurial mindset, what's interesting is, if you research what makes someone successful, most of those items that make people successful are within that entrepreneurial mindset. It's really about knowing oneself. What motivates oneself? How can you communicate effectively?

Speaker 2:

And as humans, these traits are not things that we're born with. It's processes that we can benefit from as we implement and as we take control of these and practice these, and so I think it's in eight lean, every one of us. We just need people to bring that out of us. And so if we can take things like a simple and I say simple because it's very complicated as emotional intelligence, self-awareness, self-regulation, knowing what motivates us, behaviors, what triggers us and social skills and the like, and implement that into a setting, it's going to make us be better human beings and that, to me, can make a difference in the world, and so I think that's what's exciting to me.

Speaker 2:

Um, there's three things that I really think are important to me in terms of my work and its connection, in terms of connecting with people. Um, problem solving and coming up with good solutions and purpose and results, and I think that I can bring it into the workplace and maybe try to figure out. Why is engagement at an all-time low? What can we do to make a workplace culture better and make people's lives better?

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yeah, and I think you've you've hit some really important things that keep coming up in the research that are disconnects with leaders and organizations, and one is about that purpose, when leaders feel purpose driven and I'm I'm reading a book right now that's been on my my list for a long time, called extreme ownership. Are you familiar with that, by any chance?

Speaker 2:

No, I'm writing it down though.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I'm halfway through it. I, I, I like I got halfway through it in one night Cause I was like Ooh, but cause I do a lot of work on accountability and and this is about it's written by two Navy SEALs and how they think about accountability but it's my long-winded statement here is that it's all about purpose. If you know the purpose of what you are doing and what you said, too, about connection I mean Navy SEALs are known for their connection to each other and also problem solving, which they have to do on the regular I think you're hitting on some issues and bringing them together in a way that is a differentiator, and I think it does and it will help organizations and cultures to focus on those things very specifically. So I love that. I love that that's your interest and that's your purpose is to be able to do that more.

Speaker 2:

Absolutely. I just find that like exciting and I know it's such a difference maker and I think of how our world would look, not just from a business perspective that's important, for sure, from a business perspective as well but just from a life perspective, if we can implement some of these small changes. I think small changes over time equal big results.

Speaker 1:

Absolutely, absolutely, and I think that's the challenge we have, though, as educators and coaches and consultants, is to try to help create that awareness of the gap, and you and I have talked a lot about that. When you have knowledge and insight and research, that is about what are the best practices how do you get awareness in organizations? And when you think about your education background and your academic background, what do you think is, how do you think that will help your approach to working with organizations and leaders?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I think a lot of. If I would boil it down to one thing, I would say this entrepreneurial mindset is a difference maker. Teaching that to students, for example, just pointing out basic things of being creative and being proactive, and growth mindset what that can do to one's life. Again, this is something that people aren't born with. It's something that's developed over time. It can be such a game changer and I know that can happen in an organizational level too, and it happens. You know, if leadership embraces things like that and it can be passed down into team environments, the culture is going to thrive. It's going to be different, and I just took an AI training recently and it's so interesting to me that the top skills were listed out for 2025 and moving forward.

Speaker 2:

For employers, what they're looking for in employees. Number one, of course, is emotional intelligence, and I think that's because it's lacking within. You know, we say, oh, emotional intelligence. What does that really mean? How can we implement? What are some tools that we can integrate to be effective? So it's one thing to say it, it's another thing to do. But emotional intelligence was the top competency. Second was critical skills and problem solving and third was being creative and innovative.

Speaker 2:

And so I feel like that's exciting because these are things that can be implemented with proper tools and training.

Speaker 1:

Absolutely, and I think that's what's really awesome about the consulting that you're starting to do is you're focusing on, isn't it? Wasn't it fun to see that? I was like, oh, ai said it, but I kind of knew that too, right, because you've seen it in students for decades. I mean, you know, and I totally agree, that some of these skills are simple in a way, not to execute, but simple in concept, and I think there's a big disconnect. And tell me if you agree that people believe they're better at some of those things than they actually are.

Speaker 2:

I would agree. I think we all want to believe we're really good at all of these simple things of emotional intelligence, problem solving, creative thinking, but the reality is it's an ongoing, continuous improvement procedure and it just is something that we're never going to be perfect at. It's it's ongoing and I think that's okay to admit that. I mean, we need to be lifelong learners, we need to be proactive with this and it's. These are tools that we can implement into lives and continuously improve upon all the time, and I think it's okay to admit that.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, absolutely, and I think that's the, that's the vulnerability in leaders is getting to recognize that there's no shame in admitting gaps around those things, and we're going to make mistakes right, even the person in these methods are likely going to make mistakes, because we're humans with emotions and sometimes we can do things that we wish we would have done differently, and that's okay too. Yeah, sort of getting back up and moving forward and making that positive change.

Speaker 1:

Absolutely. It's funny. I was doing a series of being thinking ahead to social social media posts and my marketing person gave me a few prompts to think about and it was. It was about, you know, emotional intelligence, agility, mistakes, and I went down memory lane and it was kind of mortifying like, oh my God, and I told her like the one thing if I could be, could have done differently or better, one thing that I could pick, it would have been understanding emotional intelligence earlier in my life. But at that time there wasn't a lot. I mean, that was a few decades ago. There wasn't as much research. You know all the things that you know now, you know. Back then it wasn't, you know, it wasn't as pervasive. People didn't understand it and I kind of felt a little sad doing some of those posts like, oh, screwed up there, oh, didn't do that Great.

Speaker 2:

And you're right, there wasn't as much emphasis on emotional intelligence, but what a differentiator in terms of if we want competitive advantage in terms of employee or workplace culture. This is it. I mean, it makes a difference.

Speaker 1:

Absolutely Well, and if you're finding it coming up on AI and I'm seeing it on the flip side of stress and people stress, that is all about emotional regulation and well-being and all of those things that I don't know that people know what triggers you, what motivates you when to take a 15-minute walk just to recalibrate.

Speaker 2:

Certain things like that are just easy exercises that can help us with these things.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, so your goal is to bring tools, resources, education and even some kind of analysis of the current state of culture correct. That's kind of your vision, so how you want to provide support to organizations and leaders.

Speaker 2:

And is that? Is that, yeah, to take a current snapshot of what's going on within the organization and then implement ways to perhaps improve the culture and improve engagement and give some of these tools and trainings and skill set to people to make them better people too?

Speaker 1:

Yeah yeah, absolutely, and what I really am excited about for you as you're on this journey and I know you're shaping this as we speak and you've been shaping it now what I love is you've been teaching all of these things for a long time but now you get to move from and teaching students individually to this to be moving into organizations where you can have a bigger effect on the culture, and I know that's your goal is more cultural development, correct?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it is, and I think that provides me that purpose that I really long for to change and change management. It's kind of a hot topic right now too, with the ongoing onset of AI, and I feel like if I can help create positive change within an organizational culture, that would give me a lot of fulfillment. I know also for that organization it would mean more productivity and less absenteeism and all that sort of stuff that goes along with that too.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and I think that's the fun part is when you can find a purpose and I feel the same way, like I find a purpose in, you know, helping people learn and grow and shift and know they can, and you see the difference and the impact it can make and you know the difference in impact it's going to make and I think that's a beautiful thing because it's energizing to us and to see the results is also really inspiring, so I love that for you, yeah.

Speaker 1:

So when you think about gaps and organizational gaps that you've seen and you have seen these through not just your work with you know, with companies, but also with your students, you know. I think that's the cool part of your experience is you've seen this in a different way through teaching students. What are the disconnects? So what do you think are some of those biggest gaps around emotional intelligence and culture that you've heard over your decades of teaching?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, that's a great question. So I think some of the gaps are and this might be a simplistic version of defining this, but I feel like words matter, but words are only words. We have to take action, and so we can talk about emotional intelligence. We can talk about some of the gaps that are. I mean, people are stressed out, they're angry, they're worried. Engagement is low. Stats show that. What can we do differently? We have to connect. We have to create a culture of connectedness where people feel that they're cared for.

Speaker 2:

It's easy to say these things. It's so difficult to do. You know, this notion of empathy, I think, is so vital at making sure people know that they feel valued and that they're in a safe environment and that people care for them, and it's those little things that add up to these big results over time. But it's difficult to do so. I think words are important, yes, but that action is even more important of making sure that the organization, for instance, if it says that they are about well-being, that they have well-being type of practices and trainings for their employees so that they feel that connectedness and experience matters also, creating that culture of human connection and experience is going to matter to the employee as well. So just making sure that it's more than just words, that there's action behind those words, things like well-being and mental health matters, and that there's procedures in place for that.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and I think that's the cool part of what you're doing too, is there are a lot of people that want to educate on and create awareness of gaps, and what I love about what you're doing is you want to go beyond creating the awareness of the gaps to implement processes and practices to close the gaps. And I know you and I have talked about you know assessments and surveys to highlight that, so people, leaders and culture can measure that, and I think that's an important part too of what you want to do, because it's easier to say, oh yeah, we focus on that and we value employees, and then you dig into okay, what practices do you have in place to do that and to help people feel safe and heard and connected? It's like, well, none.

Speaker 2:

Right, right, yeah, making sure that feedback is something that's meaningful and timely. So yeah, I agree with that. It's making sure there's action behind those words and that there's systems in place for that.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and when you think about because you mentioned earlier that you really like processes and practices and systems so how will that inform your consulting practice? What do you want to have in place so that you feel like you can contribute to creating those systems and practices? Because that's actually what you do now with students, right? Is you're helping them get into the mindset but then create their business. So you're doing the same in what you want to do, consulting wise. So how are you thinking about that right now?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I think it's creating those measurable, tangible efforts to show okay, this is what we're doing to improve these processes, because it's one thing to talk about you know, we want to change X, y, z but it's another thing to implement, and it's another thing to show action and another thing to show we've improved engagement by this percentage because of these things we've implemented. And so I think that's the part that I can bring to the table in terms of we're not just going to talk about this, we're going to put measures in place to do.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, absolutely, and I think that's that's a real differentiator is really making sure that, upfront, the processes, the practice, the discipline, the structure are in place, because a lot of these things that you are addressing around culture and emotional intelligence, they're so squishy. You know, like, how do we measure empathy? You know, and that I read a book and this was right after COVID, we were cured, or after that time period, and there was a book written by a couple of women, I can't remember Anyway, it was called the empathy advantage, and at the time that I read that and I thought, oh boy, a lot of people again, a lot of managers, I think, aren't necessarily dialed into. What does that mean? Because I think for a lot of people, empathy is scary.

Speaker 2:

It's scary because if I ask you you know, jill, about your emotions that I have to do something with it right and it's a vulnerability too that I think, yes, kind of let go of the facade a bit and get into some. You know, emotions can be vulnerable, so that's hard always to, you know, have a conversation around. But it's important in terms of connectedness.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, absolutely so, when you think about systems, practices, structure, to something as squishy as that. That's why I think, like you are getting at a big disconnect for a lot of organizations and a lot of leaders, and it's probably going to be scary, but for them right to have that vulnerability. But important because you have a lot of leaders and it's probably going to be scary, but for them right to have that vulnerability. But important because you have a lot of the data behind what you want to do and you've seen it in your students, right.

Speaker 1:

In the stories that you've heard.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, for sure. And the outcomes, if you know, if these businesses true, and I know the businesses want to be productive and they want, you know, return on investment and all those sorts of things In order to do that effectively. This stuff matters and so it's just a picture of getting those systems in place where they can see the return on investment to what this is going to look like from a productivity standpoint, once their employees feel more connected.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, for sure I love that. And is there any particular market that you're interested in serving? Or are you looking, because even your student and your educational presence has really run the gamut in terms of industries or markets? Is there any particular market or industry that you're looking at serving?

Speaker 2:

I'm not super specific in terms of I mean, I feel like midsize businesses is probably my my specialty of figuring out this, but I like big business too and I think there's merit to implementing these sorts of concepts at any size business really, because it matters 2025 of divisiveness and can we control some of that and how can we be more civil in the workplace environment in terms of that connection and purposefulness and that sort of thing, and so I do feel like this is meaningful for all business levels. But if we want teams to perform well, this is super crucial to implement.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, absolutely, and a lot of the Google research on team development, team performance. They highlight so many of the things that you've talked about with empathy and psychological safety and connection and all those kinds of things. So there's so much that supports the focus that you are, what you're focusing on and how you want to focus on it. So, when you think about teaching and for many years and this is just more a curiosity question what has been the most fun part of teaching for you and what has been the most challenging part of teaching for you?

Speaker 2:

That's a great question. The most fun part of teaching for me is when I can. I'm going to just take finances, for example. That's you know, I would equate that almost to emotions, where it's kind of squishy and scary and people kind of shy away from that and they don't like to talk about that. But once we can simplify certain aspects of that and the light bulb goes off within a student's mind or a person's mind.

Speaker 1:

And they're like well.

Speaker 2:

I understand that now and I understand the significance of why that's important. That provides me a lot of purpose, and so if I can simplify something and provide meaning behind that, that is a value to me. Some of the challenges that I've maybe experienced I've had my fair share it's being able to simplify certain things. To get down to that simplicity of this is why it matters. This is why you need to do that, and I've had students who say you say this, but I can't do this because, for whatever reason, they might come from a negative source of structure or whatever, and it's like you can change you making sure that they have the confidence to change and that that you know this I talked about as humans. We we have these successful traits, we have this entrepreneurial mindset, we have the we can all learn emotional intelligence. We have that innately within us. It's just getting into that and bring that out of people. So that's probably the most challenging part.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, that's really interesting because when you think about what's what's energizing and exciting for you is the same as challenging when you're able to break down something and see it and see the path to get there. And you see it in someone's eyes like I get it. And then you see other people who get stuck somewhere in that process or journey of having a limiting belief about themselves or their ability to cut through some of that, like no, I can't. And you know, of course they can, and I've seen that too. It's like people that think and I had someone in a class recently and be like well, I'll take some of this, but I'm going to, I'm retiring anyway. And I said you know well, when she's like well, in four years and I was like four years, that's a long time to stay stuck or to believe that you can't do something different in four flipping years.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, that's frustrating, Self limiting beliefs that we just put on ourselves and it's like it does not have to be that way. We have the ability to push through some of that and to overcome some of those barriers.

Speaker 1:

It's just getting people to see that yeah, absolutely, and I think that's a gift that you have, obviously because of your success in teaching people that and helping them move forward and helping businesses do the same. You know, by definition of what you've already been doing, you've already shifted organizational and cultural development because you're creating space for leaders to shine within whatever they do and, as you said, the entrepreneurial spirit isn't just for people who are starting a business.

Speaker 2:

It's for everyone really. I mean, it really correlates well to successful people, which we all want. We all want that.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, absolutely, and if people can have that again, like I said, you said you know you want to work with all different size businesses and I think the ability, as companies get midsize and larger, to still possess that spirit of change and creativity and innovation which you know. Frankly, I think in today's world a little bit of that creativity and innovation is kind of squashed out of us Because you said there's so much pressure for results and making a difference in impact and performance and all those things.

Speaker 2:

And not wanting to fail. You know, our culture teaches us we shouldn't fail and really we can learn so much through that. And we want to take calculated risks, for sure, but being able to be allowed to be creative and curious in a work setting and if it amounts to a failure, to learn from that right away and alter.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, for sure, I've been integrating this. So when I talk in leadership classes about open and closed mindedness which is what you're kind of getting at too how vulnerable will you be, how open will you be? And I give this little curiosity quiz and it's only like 10 questions, but most people grapple with a fair amount of them, like how curious are you, how interesting even do you think people are? How much do you think you have to know the answer before you get into a conversation? All those kinds of questions, and a lot of people struggle with that, and I think you know again, we well, we learned that in school right, we're curious until we get into first grade and then we're not supposed to be curious anymore, we're supposed to be right.

Speaker 2:

Right, right, right. There's that part. You know, I think as life progresses too, we experience different types of failures or different types of situations that are hard and that squelches the curiosity and creativity of our minds. Also, we have to be like children to some extent of being willing to put ourselves out there and if we make a mistake, it's OK.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yeah, fall down, get up. It's not like I'm going to stop walking. And as I strolled down memory lane over the weekend of all my mistakes, I was like, well, it really shaped me into who I am today. So going back on that was a little bit painful but also a little bit freeing, because you see, right, the effect of those things and talking about them brings it to the surface. And I think that's what you can, you help leaders do is bring it to the surface, like let's all talk about it because it's all there. Let's talk about our empathy, let's talk about our vulnerability, let's talk about the connection we have with people at work or don't have. And that's what I think is so, so important about what you're doing is you're bringing up those conversations.

Speaker 2:

Oh yeah, it's exciting. I get very excited thinking about it and thinking about the possibilities of what change it can bring.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, absolutely so. When you think about and I love to ask people this because, of course, I named my company Intentional Leaders and I know you believe in self-awareness and closing that gap and I think that is one of the most essential things that I've come to realize over the years and working with leaders is that gap in self-awareness. Most people think they are more self-aware than they are. So what are ways that you try to foster intentionality in what you do?

Speaker 2:

You know, cindy, I try to be as authentic to myself as possible, and that starts with knowing who I am, that self-awareness piece. Now, again, that's a continuous process. It's not something that I have down 100%, it's ongoing, but it's knowing what motivates me, what's important to me, where my morals and values lie, and then being authentic to that. So when I say certain things, it equates, it aligns into my actions. I think words and actions need to align. If you're, you know to be an intentional leader. If there's a misalignment, that means trouble. And so I think being authentic is super important and making sure that words and action align. Knowing that I need to be a lifelong learner and that knowledge needs to keep being pursued I think that's super important. Knowing that this life we lead and this whole self-regulation and self-awareness. It's a process, it is ongoing and it takes pursued knowledge continually, and I think that's important to recognize and realize and that we're going to make mistakes. I'm going to make a mistake. It's a matter of getting up, moving on and learning from that mistake.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and I think that's why when I originally met you, for me again, that authenticity I'm drawn to people who are who they are like here's Jill and I was like she's awesome, because you know, part of it is that authenticity came through right away for me and the more that I have come to know you, the more that I know your pursuit of growth. Learning is important for you and I think in our business we have to be a great role model for that. And even when we first met you were doing all kinds of additional education and pursuit of knowledge. And even when we first met you were, you were doing all kinds of additional education and pursuit of knowledge. And then last year what you went through a certification process right.

Speaker 1:

So that certification because again, you already you're teaching people this stuff and what I loved about is like, well, I'm gonna go get certified in this, you know, in this business and coaching and consulting. So what was the biggest learning insight for you in exploring that knowing that you're also a teacher of it?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, that's a great question. So I'm going to just back up just a second, and I think it was 2018 or 19. I went through a certification for these motivators, behaviors, emotional intelligence to be certified in those areas. That was so enlightening to me because you know and I remember going. It was enlightening because you're getting to know people's motivations and why they act certain ways and this whole notion of emotional intelligence was so intriguing and I remember the presenter saying you're never going to be able to walk into an airport and look at people the same way, because you're going to try to figure them out.

Speaker 2:

And it's like, yeah, I like to try to figure people out, but even more so after learning some of the assessments and tools that I was taught during that time. And then this past summer I went through another program and that was so interesting to just to figure out the processes of how, like models of successful systems.

Speaker 1:

And that, to me, was beneficial. Yes, I love that Well, and it it keeps building. You keep packing things into your toolbox and and I think again, that's why we love connecting is because we both are so invested in that. You know what is, what is the science and the art, the art and science of people and cultures and organizations and leaders, and we're both pursuing. You know similar fronts, maybe in slightly different ways, and your background is so critical to your insight and to your knowledge about gaps and how those gaps can be closed. So I don't think. I don't think we talked about your company name. Your company name is Sync. Yes, so new companies. So where did that come from?

Speaker 2:

Well, to me, sync represented collaboration and connection and some of those keywords that I think I thrive for, and it's about not just, you know, surviving, it is about let's, what can we do to really thrive. And so sync, to me, represented more than just a connect or problem solving. It was about oh, how can we come together, really synergize for a really positive result?

Speaker 1:

Yeah, oh, I think that's it's a, it's a great name and you're helping again align things, you know, close the gaps, as you said earlier, create alignment and create alignment about some really sticky issues and soft issues that that have a huge impact. So I'm I'm so excited to see where this journey is going to take you, jill.

Speaker 2:

Oh, thanks so much, Cindy. I just love your energy and appreciate all your insight.

Speaker 1:

I do too, and I think we we talked about partnering together and working with some assessment tools and and doing some things together, and I know we will our our paths will stay integrated, aligned and in sync Jill, won't they Wonderful? So how do you want people to reach out to you? So I know I will put your LinkedIn profile in the podcast notes, but how do you want people to connect with you through LinkedIn if they're interested in your services? And I know you're creating the assessment tools to drive what you're looking to do in your business and you've already started working on all of that, bringing that to life but what would be the best way to contact?

Speaker 2:

you? Yeah right, currently, linkedin would be the best way to connect at this point, and my website is being developed as we speak, so that will be a work in progress here too, but more information to come, but LinkedIn is likely the best alternative right now.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, that sounds wonderful. It's hard when you're you're like the cobbler's shoes, aren't you? You're, you're the cobbler teaching everybody how to make shoes, or you're? I don't know if that really is working for me, but you're so busy teaching people, Now I have to implement. Right, I have to implement. You're so busy teaching people, Now I have to implement. Right, I have to implement. And now you're like oh, in all my free time after I'm doing this publication and I'm teaching and.

Speaker 2:

I'm consulting, and then I have to create a website too, right? Yes, work in progress. That's what I like to tell people. Everything is a work in progress.

Speaker 1:

It is Absolutely, and you know, a website gives a platform, but you're already, your presence is already a platform and a foundation for everything you're doing. So I appreciate you taking the time today. I know we're going to work together. You're. We're going to be doing some classes actually together coming up soon.

Speaker 1:

Yes, like tomorrow, yesish, you're going to be attending one of my classes and we're going to try to yes, absolutely, and just try to align our models and our thinking, and I am so excited for that. Your the ability to collaborate with you. I know I'm going to learn a lot from you.

Speaker 2:

Oh same, I feel the very same way, Cindy. Thank you so much yeah.

Speaker 1:

Well, thank you for taking the time again this morning, and again I'll put all your contact information in the show notes for people to get in touch with you. So thank you, thank you, thank you for being you and for being such a bright light in the universe but in my life. Thank you All right. Thank you for listening to the Intentional Leaders Podcast. Our goal is to create more intentional, successful and impactful leaders, so if you found this podcast helpful, please like, review, subscribe and share and create a universe of more intentional leaders.