Monte Pedersen returns to the Level Up podcast to help me revisit and look back on how I have evolved as a top leader for my business ventures in the areas of strategy, execution, and organizational performance. It has been 3.5 years since our original episode (aired April 13, 2021) - https://www.buzzsprout.com/1748256/episodes/8325557. I discuss the potential conflicts between the actual strategy of many senior living companies (i.e. a housing and real estate strategy) and the glossy...

[Content Disclaimer: this episode explores themes of loss, including death by suicide.] Loe Hornbuckle is the owner and operator of Sage Oak, a network of boutique care homes for seniors. I had the opportunity to visit him and the team at Sage Oak Denton and saw their warm and caring team in action. Loe has a bit of an "outlaw" streak, which he credits his late father for imparting on him. I can relate. In this episode, we learn about Loe's story and how his love and passion for sen...

Tracey Scheffler is the daughter of one of our residents at Bella Groves, a dementia care community near San Antonio, Texas. She initially reached out when we first opened, but it wasn’t until almost a year later when our mutual connection, Joanna LaFleur recommended us that Tracey came back into the fold. Senior living organizations often feel like the “sale” is the point at which the problem converts to a solution. Actually, *news flash* the decision to have her mom move into a care commu...

If I could only use one word to describe Angie Gray it would be PASSIONATE. She is passionate about the senior living industry. She is passionate about nurses. She is passionate about authenticity, and showing up with love, and also speaking truth to power. She is passionate about pretty much anything she chooses to pour herself into. The founder of High Performance Nursing (https://www.highperformancenursing.com/), Angie blends her own story with the lived experiences of other ...

Kim Kaupe is a self-described "accidental entrepreneur" who has built a crystal clear personal brand as someone who helps other leaders to thrive. Her opening statement on her website boldly reads, "I help leaders become public-facing powerhouses.*" The asterisk states "I've done it & I want you to join me." Kim is also an educator, a podcaster, speaker, LinkedIn instructor and formidable business leader. I had the great privilege of working with Kim at the 2024 T...

Elaina Davis is the Chief Community Officer in her new role (at the time of this recording) at a senior living consulting firm, primarily serving the Richmond, VA market. In this special episode of Level Up Leadership Podcast, I had the opportunity to get into the coach's seat with Elaina in the learner's seat. We reflected on Elaina's learning journey of where and how she learned the skills to equip her to lead others today. More simply, how we do acquire the skills to make the...

"No founder has it all." Christie Stukenholtz, the co-founder and CEO Senior Care Finder, is mindful of how critical it is for any organization - but especially an entrepreneurial endeavor - to assemble an All Star caliber team. From her extensive experiences in a professional HR Consulting company to talent management, market research and now the co-founder of a growing business in aging services, Christie has had a lot of different looks at forming high-performing teams. Christie shared s...

Michael Emery's career spans a wide range of healthcare roles starting from ICU nursing, to advanced nurse practice, senior operations roles, and now serves as the Executive Vice President of Senior Living for Curana Health. He is also one of my most memorable classmates from the University of Texas' Executive MBA program at the McCombs School of Business. On our episode, we spoke about what it is like to learn and lead in healthcare organizations. The conversation delved into what or...

What are the building blocks of consistency? How disciplined are you at...discipline? Leaders have the double-duty of being disciplined and creating discipline in their organizations. I looked to Chris Heinz from Westport One in this conversation to discuss consistency and discipline in some key areas of leadership. Some key discussion points gave us opportunities to discuss: The building blocks of disciplineWhere does passion really come from?Tying discipline to yo...

Erin Thompson shares her leadership experiences, anecdotes and lessons learned about psychological safety in the work place. Erin and I share a lot of similar experiences, and we dug into some examples of environments where safety was not the top priority. We examined potential causes or reasons this is so prevalent in an industry that touts care, warmth and empathy - at least toward its customers. We also explored practical tips and approaches to create psychological safety and...

Nathan Jones is a former college football coach turned senior living advocate. Nathan was introduced to the world of senior living just out of college, and from the moment he first stepped foot into a senior living community, he was hooked. Since that day, Nathan's mission has been to change the negative perception surrounding aging & senior living through sharing authentic stories of older adults. He does much of this work through his company, Dash Media. In a prep conversati...

Season 3 of the Level Up Leadership Podcast kicks off with a rather provocative episode: “Do People in Aging Services Perpetuate Ageism?” [YouTube vide of episode.] It’s a long title, but I thought it deserved the full weight of the question. I was SO fortunate to interview Ashton Applewhite. In my readings and study on this topic, I couldn’t find a more compelling and articulate activist than she. Ashton’s Ted Talk, “Let’s End Ageism” is a masterful storytelling experience that give...

"Don't just think positive thoughts. Feel positive feelings." This is just one of many golden nuggets of wisdom I gained from my conversation with Dana Garnett, a conflict management strategist and professional mediator. Dana is an insightful conflict expert who helps businesses and teams clear the deepest rifts to working in harmony fast. Founder of The Mindful Strategy she applies her vast business and life lessons learned to help improve business and social dynamics.&nbs...

Jack York is a successful leader who self-describes as a "mediocre CEO". A co-founder of the senior living technology company, iN2L, Jack is the prototypical Head + Heart leader that we talk about. In this episode, Jack shares some of his own story, insights into how to lead a startup business, and what's next for him. The episode spans topics like: Launching a technology product into a wary senior living industryThe tough early years of leading an organizationWhere ...

Executive Directors lead the day to day work within a senior living community. In my opinion, this is a cornerstone role for any leader in our industry. Whether it is a career-long role or a pivotal experience along your career journey, the E.D. is the heart and soul of our profession. In this episode, I share some practical tips on how to prepare for and find the right Executive Director role. Despite better intentions, most companies merely set up E.D.'s to babysit ...

There are two critical components of having high emotional intelligence: inward facing (self management) and outward facing (social management). In this episode, I share three practical tips on how you can build your self-awareness and self-management skills. Grow Your Emotions VocabularyOrient Yourself to Empathy as a Skill and Not a FeelingCreate and Write Down Specific (S.M.A.R.T.) Goals Related to Building Emotional IntelligenceI also explore the difference between sympathy and em...

Sean is a turnaround guru. In his wide ranging professional experiences in helping distressed companies to restructure and turnaround, he has observed lots of organizational patterns that may have contributed to tough times. In this second part of our epic conversation together, Sean and I discuss: A therapy metaphor for adopting a turnaround mindsetHow to develop a coalition on your team to get ideas heardAn argument for in-person work (vs. remote) to facilitate healthy friction...

Sean is a turnaround guru. In his wide ranging professional experiences in helping distressed companies to restructure and turnaround, he has observed lots of organizational patterns that may have contributed to tough times. In the COVID era, just about every company experienced elements of turnaround. In this first segment of a two-part episode, Sean shares some of his insights and advice to leaders to draw lessons from our collective experiences during the pandemic, how to avoi...

“Purpose transcends ego.” This was one of the many quotable quotes that came from the discussion between James and Anna Hall, the Chief Purpose Officer for Connected Living and the inventor of the Purpose Equation. In this episode, James delves into the topic of purpose and how it relates to greater leadership effectiveness. Anna also shares some of her techniques by walking James through his own purpose equation. This is sure to be an episode that you bookmark for you to return to mo...

Why do people go to websites? It's probably not to see an advertisement of your company. Advertisements are inherently disruptive. They are designed to interrupt what you are doing (i.e. watching TV) to pay attention to your company or brand. Content Marketing is a magnet that draws interested people to content that will actually help them. In other words, advertisements are the "hype" and content marketing is the "help". Whether you are a solo-entrepreneur or...