March 18, 2025 • 57 mins
Want to take your leadership to the next level?
Today’s episode of The Ripple Effect Podcast will help you uncover realizations and put them into action. This episode is the result of a Ripple with my long-time friend, Anne Grady, who introduced me to the amazing Jennifer Hutcheson, our special guest today. Like me, Jennifer Hutcheson is deeply fascinated with human behavior and connections, which made us get along quickly!
Jennifer Hutcheson is an executive and leadership coach with a background in industrial and organizational psychology. She shares her incredible journey from a 26-year career at Dell Technologies as an executive coach to a full-time entrepreneur. Jennifer explains why building strong networks is crucial, how executive coaching transforms leaders, and how understanding the “why” behind coaching makes all the difference.
We also touched on leadership challenges, the power of curiosity, and how data-driven coaching helps leaders grow. So, if you’re an aspiring leader, entrepreneur, or coach, this episode is full of insights you can’t afford to miss. Know what it really takes to lead with IMPACT.
Hit play now and take the next step in your leadership journey!
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For those curious about Jennifer’s work, click these links to know more.
Connect with Jennifer Hutcheson on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jenniferhutcheson
Visit Jennifer's website: jenniferhutcheson.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
What's going on, guys. Hey,welcome to another edition of
(00:02):
the ripple effect podcast. I amyour host, Steve Harper, and
super excited for this episode,because a ripple had to happen
to have this happen. Let meexplain. Anne Grady, who many of
you may recognize or know fromthe show or from my work, she's
a big supporter of the ripplephenomenal keynote speaker,
phenomenal author, she reachedout to me and suggested that I
(00:25):
connect with JenniferHutchinson, and she's like, I
just know you two are going toget along, and I think Jennifer
would benefit from knowing you,and you'll benefit from knowing
her. And boy, was she right.Jennifer and I set up a call,
and we were like, like this,right? Very simpatico, very
connected with our approach andthe direction that we are both
heading to make a difference outthere in the world for companies
(00:47):
and for leaders. And Jennifer isable to take her years of
experience in corporate Americaand actually help people really
navigate how to become anintegral employee and a valued
resource within theorganization, and she also works
with leadership and leadershipteams to help them become the
best stewards of the greattalent they are chosen to lead.
(01:09):
I really like her approach. Ilike her energy and her
enthusiasm, and she's just sucha phenomenal person to know. I'm
so grateful she agreed to be apart of this show so that you
know, this episode is going tobe a little twofold, right?
We're going to do it for thepodcast. We're also going to do
a portion of this for ourcommunity called the pond. If
(01:29):
you have no idea what the pondis, go to ripple central.com.
Forward slash, pond. P, o, n, d,forward slash is that little
slanty thing that goes this wayto the right, I guess, depending
on how my hand shows on video.Um, but the pond has been a
phenomenal experiment of helpingpeople come together online to
actually support and engage oneanother, to actually use this as
(01:51):
a proving ground forcommunicating, connecting, and
building authentic relationshipsin a way that is a little bit
challenged on Facebook andLinkedIn and the other platforms
that are out there. Our goal isto incite our our ripplers, to
want to get to know each other,to figure out how to contribute
and add value, and to showcasetheir talents. So highly
(02:13):
encourage you guys to check thatout, so a portion of this will
be available on the pond. Andthen those of you hearing it on
the pond or seeing it on thepond, you got to come back to
the podcast to catch the wholeepisode, but you're not going to
want to miss this one. JenniferHutchinson is phenomenal. She's
going to be great. And I can'twait for this episode to air,
(02:33):
because you guys need to meether, and, more importantly, need
to figure out how to work withher, because she's that good.
All right, so with no furtherado. Let's dive in.
(02:59):
Guys. I'm super excited thatJennifer Hutchinson is joining
us today. Jennifer, welcome tothe ripple effect podcast. How
are you
doing? I'm doing fabulous. Howare you doing today? I am
great. We just got through along weekend, and then actually
got kind of like a little bonusday, because yesterday was like
snow and ice in Austin, which isvery unusual. I don't know how
(03:21):
it was at your house, but webarely got any which made me
kind of feel kind of bad that Itold the team to just all work
from home because there was notmuch out there. Well,
technically, yes, we can forsnow day, right? That's
right, always better to be safein this town with ice
Absolutely,
people do not know how to drivewhen it comes to this. We have
an employee for my softwarecompany that's in Denver, who
(03:42):
just has to, like, look at uswith just scorn, because, like,
you guys are freaking out, thewhole town shuts down. That's
just a normal Tuesday for us inthe winter. That's
right, that's right. Well,listen, I am
so grateful that you agreed tobe a part of the show, because
one, I want to make sure ourripplers See this great work
(04:02):
that you're doing. But mostimportantly, I want them to hear
a little bit about your journeyand sort of what led you from
corporate America into doingyour own thing as a consultant
and a coach. And so maybe, ifyou don't mind, maybe a good
place to start would be justgive us, like, a little brief
history of you and your careerpath and sort of what led you to
want to start your own thing.
(04:24):
Okay? Well, yes, I've alwaysbeen fascinated, first of all,
with human behavior. I find itjust a marvel, and I have been
researching it and listening.Now we have podcasts, so all of
my podcasts are around humanbehavior type, type topics, but
back in the day, the way tolearn more about that was to get
(04:45):
a psychology degree, which Idid, from UT, Austin, and then
two degrees hook and two degreesfrom University of Houston in
industrial and organizationalpsychology. So that led me to my
26 year career. At DellTechnologies, where I focused on
leadership development at alllevels, I created programs to
(05:07):
help people become betterleaders, move from frontline
leaders up the line, fromexecutive, you know, pre
executives to executives. And Ijust loved watching people grow
into their potential. And sothen, yeah, I moved on to my own
space, because I had beencoaching in, you know, at Dell
(05:29):
for a long time, and I thought,You know what? I have been
coaching leaders, and now's thetime to do it on my own. I love
it. I love it. Well,
congratulations on that front,and congratulations on a very
successful career at Dell. I'msure they didn't want to see you
leave. But you know, you have,you have bigger ripples to
create out there in the world,right? So taking it outside the
(05:49):
corporate wall, I think theworld is is ready to benefit
from your talents. I want to asklike, when was the obviously,
from an educational perspective,and the direction you took,
obviously, you kind of wereheaded down a particular path.
But when did you realize, Wow,I'm, I'm actually really suited
for this coaching and consultingkind of role, and I want to kind
(06:12):
of take this out beyond, youknow, these, you know, the
corporate wall, and create somebigger ripples out there in the
world.
I listen to feedback, you know,so people will tell me years
later, man, that time that youtold me such and such, or you
suggested this, or when youasked me that question, and I
(06:32):
don't often remember what I'veasked or said, and so I just
listened really well to people.And so I listened when they also
when they tell me how I'veimpacted their lives. And so I
just listened to that a bit, andI thought, Okay, I'm going to go
with what people are telling me,and whatever's working for them
(06:53):
is working. So I will expand andsee what I can do outside the
tech industry. I
love that I have a really goodfriend who's been a coach for
much of her career, probably,I'm going to say, in the
neighborhood of 30 plus yearsthat she's been doing this.
She's an industrial psychologistas well. And I remember her
telling me one time, because Iasked her, I'm like, how do you
(07:15):
deal with so many differentdiverse clients? And you know,
everyone comes with a unique setof needs and challenges. I mean,
it could get overwhelmingbecause i i personally as a
coach. I am I, one of the thingsthat I will admit is that once I
get something in my craw, Ican't get rid of it, right,
which makes it sometimeschallenging to move from one
(07:37):
client to the other. But shegave me this really amazing
piece of advice is, she said,when I am with my client, it's
100% focused on them, and I amthere. And part of the reason
I'm sharing this is kind of kindof want to what you says, like,
I don't necessarily hold on towhat I said, or that piece of
advice, or necessarily thatconversation. She said something
(07:58):
very similar. She's like, if Itried to do that, and I tried to
balance, then all of thespinning plates with my clients,
I would go mad, right? So she'sfully committed to the session.
She takes very copious notes,and then when the session is
over, she like, frees herselfdirectly from that session so
that she can be like, Okay, nowI'm on to my next environment,
(08:19):
but she builds in time in hercalendar a day or two after that
session to come in and do like apost mortem, what did I learn?
What did I discover? Her notesactually put her back into the
time and space that she neededin order to sort of re simulate
in her mind what was beingtalked about and what was said
and the advice that was given.And it's been a really great
(08:42):
approach and strategy. And shetold me something, she's like,
you know, the thing is, is thatif a if, if there's a coach out
there that says they can hold itall in their head, they can't,
right? And so it's, it'simpossible, and much like that,
if you, if you're looking atcoaching as being a true benefit
to the leadership, you owe them1,000% your attention, as well
(09:02):
as your discernment of what wasimportant and what wasn't, but
then being able to come back andreference that you know through
your notes and through sort ofthat re mental exercise of going
back through the session, you'llfind that you'll pick up some
things that will make the nextsession even that much more
valuable. And I just thought,Man, that's a that's a really
powerful piece of advice,because honestly, as a coach, I
(09:23):
always felt guilty if I likemoved on from one to another.
And I love that you approach itthat way, and I love that she
approaches it that way, becauseI think it's truly the way to do
it absolutely.
I take copious notes, and then Igo back same, similar. I hadn't
called it a post mortem, mortem,but yes, I guess that's what it
is. And then I highlight. So Iwrite all the notes as we go,
(09:45):
and then I go back later, andthen I highlight in different I
have my own little process whereI'll highlight different things
so that I can reflect back oncertain pieces. Because not
everything you want to remember,but certain things you want to
bring forward to the nextconversation. And, yeah, that's
what I do as well.
I love that. I love that. Whatwas it about this approach to
(10:06):
your career path that reallyfelt right for you? I mean, what
was it that you're like when yousort of got to that point like,
Okay, well, this is, this issort of the direction that
people really seem to resonatewith me, and you obviously found
some internal value for for yourown, you know, kind of purpose
and approach. But was there onething where you just kind of had
(10:27):
the wake up call, like, wow,after that session, you know,
maybe I should be doing this,and maybe this is where I want
to put my time and energy.
Well, not so much a wake upcall, but it was advice that I
received, oh, probably 20 yearsago from a coach that I had who
is also now a very good friend.She is retired as a coach, and
(10:48):
she told me, probably 20 yearsago, build it. I call it now.
Build it early, because itapplies in many different two
aspects in my life. So she said,build your network before you
need it. And I also built mybusiness before I wanted or
needed, and, you know, decidedto move into it. So two things
that I did, I built my networkearly, so it wasn't an aha
(11:11):
moment. It was a planned anapproach is very organic. So,
you know, I love to connect withpeople. That's why we got
connected. Because our friendAnne Grady said, Hey, y'all are
doing something very similar.And I hadn't I was like, oh,
ripple Okay, I need to learnabout this ripple effect. And so
you and I both probably, youknow, we built we like to
(11:33):
connect. We like to I don't knowif I love the word network, but
I like the word Connect. I liketo connect with people. Stay in
touch, learn what's important tothem. I take notes on all of
that as well, so I can bring itforward and check in on what was
important to them the last timewe talked. So I built my network
very, very early and just keptbuilding it over time it would
(11:54):
it grew organically outside thecompany. As people would leave,
I would stay in touch withpeople, and so I had inside my
own company, and the outside thecompany that grew so I had that
network that was ready for mewhen I went out on my own, and
then I built my business fiveyears before I actually left.
And so I had that working inparallel. I was very tiny, but
all of the infrastructure wasthere. So my aha moment was
(12:18):
maybe a very slow aha momentwhere it was Aha, like, now this
now we're ready. Now we'reready. You built it early and
now it's ready.
Yeah, I kind of kind of envisionyou being like, Ah, okay, this
is where I need to go. I see,it's taken me a while, but I got
there. I love it, yeah, what hasbeen probably the most
(12:39):
surprising thing since leavingsort of the confines and sort of
the safety and security of of amajor employer like Dell and
moving in the direction of beinga full time entrepreneur,
obviously, you were doing itpart time, and you laid the
infrastructure. And by the way,I loved your coach's advice. I
think that's phenomenal, and I'mgoing to have to steal that, but
give you guys full credit, ofcourse, but at the end of the
(13:02):
day, you know what's beensurprising to you as you've
moved headlong into being a fulltime entrepreneur,
how supportive everybody is,yes, so supportive. You know, I
reach out. I say, Hey, here'swhat's happened, you know,
happening to me and changing forme, and what's new for me. And
would love to connect and read.You know, stay as we all you
(13:24):
know, some people have beenstaying connected, as I said,
regularly. And for the folksthat were less regular, I moved
the kind of the circle in alittle bit, and I meet with them
more regularly now, but thesupport from everybody, hey, you
need, if they don't haveanything that they need at the
moment, in terms of the workthat I provide, because I also,
in addition to being anexecutive and leadership coach,
(13:45):
I, as I mentioned, I designleadership development programs.
So if they don't happen to haveanything that's, you know,
burning for them, they'll say,hey, you need to talk to so and
so. So all of my business so farthis first year out on my own,
completely has been either fromsomeone directly connected to me
or Once removed,
that's awesome. I mean, that'sthat's a testament to all the
(14:07):
work that you put into thoserelationships and how well
thought of you are by the peoplethat have had the luck to
actually know you or work withyou directly. I think that's
phenomenal and a reallyvaluable, you know, sort of
takeaway for those coaches thatare out there that, you know
they're that you got to put inthat work on the front end to do
it, but then once you do, Imean, once you lay that down.
(14:29):
And then, especially if you'releaving, and this has been a
side hustle, or maybe a parttime effort on your behalf, when
you go full time, that flywheelwill catch, and the gears just
start happening. And next thing,you know, I mean, I remember,
maybe it was the second callthat we had when we were
preparing for this, you werelike, you know, I just, I've
got, you know, I've got a lot ofgreat opportunities. I'm just
(14:51):
really lucky and blessed becauseyou'd laid that groundwork ahead
of time, which just sort ofhelped guarantee your success,
you know, as you moved fulltime. Yeah. Yes,
I am very, very fortunate. And Iwould say that on top of all of
this is a layer of curiosity. Soyou have to be curious about
what's going on out there. Whatdo people I always say, what's
(15:15):
keeping you up at night? And Iask people like so you know,
what's important to them, what'scoming for the next year, and
that's really what has to drivethe conversation. Whenever I
reach out to people and see howthey're doing, that's great.
What is it for someone thatmaybe has, you know, obviously,
everybody's probably heard ofexecutive or a leadership coach,
(15:37):
but maybe haven't had thebenefit of one for someone who's
out there is like, well, is thatsomething that I need? Is that
something that I should belooking into to help me and
guide me in my career path? Andmaybe I'm not in a role as a
leader presently, or I'm not amanager, or I'm not overseeing
any staff or employees. What?What would you tell them about
(15:59):
what that level of coaching canbring to them today in the role
that they have, and where itcould take them eventually, as
they do move up the careerladder, so to speak.
Well, I view growth as kind ofwalking on plateaus, and I just
have this vision of kind of likethe desert and you're walking
(16:20):
and you get to one level, andyou feel pretty confident, and
you get to the next plateau, andyou're trying to figure out,
what do I need to do differentlyin this next role? Well, you
have to be thinking about thatwell before you're in that role,
an executive coach or leadershipcoach can help you think through
what that is beforehand, so youcan start getting the skills and
(16:41):
the capabilities and thecompetencies well before you
actually need it, because youdon't want to get promoted into
a role and not have thoseskills. Now, you're not going to
have every skill, but you wantto have been thinking about it
again. This is kind of like,build it early, plan it early.
Like, I guess I'm a planner. Sohere's the theme for the day
(17:02):
plan for it. Yeah, so that's onething, one way a leadership or
executive coach can really help.And in particular, when I worked
with executives, and when I dowork with executives, are people
just at that crux of getting tobe executive or newly promoted,
what they what I always have toremind them is, or I find myself
(17:23):
reminding them is, look what gotyou here. It's a popular book,
what got you here, won't get youthere. Love that title, and it's
true. I always tell them, lookit. You got successful getting
to your current spot by doingall the things that you've done,
and now you're standing on theedge of a cliff, and on the
(17:43):
edge, it's, I like view. Ivisualize the Grand Canyon. On
the other side of this canyon isyour next role, and you have to
go down the crevasse and up tothe other side. So you have to
relearn and learn all, not allnew skills, but the skills at
the executive level are verydifferent than at the let's say
what we would call like a seniordirector level in some
(18:04):
organizations. So exec coach canhelp with that.
Could you maybe expand uponthat? Just give maybe an example
or two of how they aredifferent. Sure,
you have to look up and out soyou are no longer just
responsible for your ownbusiness, your own deep, you
know, knowledge of the business,but you have to look up and
(18:25):
across to your peers. What arethe handoffs and like, the value
chain in your organization? Who,if you do something and you make
a decision, what effect is itgoing to have upstream and
downstream? You know, are yougoing to break something on
either side for some of your nownew executive peers, you just
have to look you have to lookmore broadly. You have to
(18:47):
delegate more because now you'reresponsible for asking the
questions instead of knowing theanswers. So you have to have
people on your team going tofind the answers for you. So
it's, it's a much broaderperspective that you have to
take as an executive, as I'velearned,
I love that the the approach tocoaching. I think there's a lot
(19:08):
of people that feel like, if Igo and get a coach, I'm sort of
admitting that I don't knoweverything. And it is kind of
funny how it doesn't matter whatlevel of organization you might
be there. There is this naturalfear of sort of letting on to
someone, right? That, hey, Idon't have it all figured out.
And the there's, at least, in myexperience, I've found that
(19:30):
people don't recognize how thatreally is their Achilles heel,
right? You know, the leaders,the greatest leader in the
world, is continually learning.I watched a press conference
yesterday with Larry Ellison,and then I saw a follow on
interview that was talking abouthow what he's done with Oracle,
and how much effort he's puttingtowards new technology and new
(19:51):
frontiers, but he stayscommitted to that learning path
and always getting better. Andhere's a guy that runs an
incredibly success. Fullorganization, and yet he's
admitting to the world, hey, Idon't have it all figured out.
I'm still showing up. I'm stilllearning, and it's a continual
everyday process. What do youthink? How do you overcome, I
(20:12):
should say, people's reluctanceto say, hey, I need some help. I
need Jennifer to sort of take meby the hand and guide and direct
me and help me realize thisisn't so scary, and I'm not like
waving the white flag of defeat.
Oh, absolutely. And the wordstruck me when you said them,
guide and direct as a coach, asyou know, right? Our Our job is
(20:35):
to not direct, for sure, but thethe answers are in the in the
leaders themselves, right? Theyhave the they have the gut. It's
there. They've built it overtime. And they're in a new
position, in a new place, andyou just have to be there as a
(20:55):
partner, you know, to pullthings out and have them. We're,
I'm a sounding board. I am I asa coach. What I do is I hear
things that maybe need to bereconciled within the person.
Okay, you told me this, and nowI'm hearing this reconcile that
for me. And that's where theahas often come from. And so
when they you know, I'm kind ofveering from your question, but
(21:19):
you made me think about someother things. So the the notion
of, yeah, I don't know at all.It is hard for a lot of leaders,
right? So the fact thatcompanies are investing in
coaches, I always frame it as,look you are being invested in.
It has nothing to do with whatyou do or don't know. We all are
(21:41):
continuing to learn. No one willever stop learning, you know, at
throughout their lives. So thisis an investment in you, and
that usually, that usuallyerases any kind of, what are you
fixing in me? What's wrong? Whatdo I need to, you know, fix.
Yes, when I frame it as aninvestment, they're like, oh,
(22:01):
okay, I understand,
yeah. Oh, I love that, yeah.It's a great approach. It
actually made me think of aconversation I had last year
with someone that their companyhad contacted me and clearly
making an effort towards tryingto double down and invest in,
you know, the talent that theysee, but there was no level of
(22:22):
expectation from this person'sdirect manager about why a coach
was being called in, or whythere was, you know, they were
exploring this. And you can, asyou would expect, the employee
was very, very guarded and veryconcerned. Like, wait a second,
I thought things were goingwell. I think I've been, you
know, doing a good job. Why, allof a sudden are they trying to
(22:43):
get a coach for me and and Ibasically explained that I'm
like, you know, I think thatthere, there's a great place to
start is to ask that question,you know. But from what I
understand, in which I am not,you know, betraying any
confidence by sharing this verysimilar to what you just said,
they're making an investment inyou. They see something special,
and they know that no matter whoor how talented you are, or what
(23:06):
kind of experience, or you knowwhat level of education you
have, there's always anopportunity to continue to grow
and expand. That's what acoaching relationship is. And
you know something that you youmentioned, and I appreciate that
distinction when you pointed itout, is, you know, guide and
direct is more of the consultingside, guide and maybe advise.
(23:27):
But really, a coach is nevertelling you what to do. They're
just asking the deeperquestions. They're getting you
to look at things through maybea little bit different lens or
different angle or perspective.And in this individual's, you
know, particular example, whenwe had that conversation, he
was, he was already, like, veryuncomfortable, and lacked a
(23:48):
little bit of confidence, and hewas worried that that was
actually why they were doing itright. It's like, Oh, my God,
I've been discovered. It's like,No, I don't think so. I mean, I
can't tell you that, you know, Idon't know what's going on in
the minds of your superiors orpeople that work with you day to
day, but I can say that they seesomething in you. They see a
spark of opportunity, and theywant to leverage that. They want
(24:12):
to provide the resources and theability for you to continue to
grow your skill sets and getbetter. And it was like complete
like, almost, you know, Jekylland Hyde in terms of the
approach that he had in terms ofthe conversation, because all of
a sudden, was like, Oh, wow.This is like, you know, it's
like, they gave him, you know,the fruit of the month award,
(24:33):
or, you know, he gets a free gymmembership. It's like, totally
different. Like, whoa. They'relike, really doing this. This is
a value added benefit. And Ithink that you know, from an
organization that gets it, Ithink the only feedback I would
give them is you need to lay thegroundwork as a company to say
this is why we're doing it.Because for the coach to have
that conversation, or even aconsultant that's been brought
(24:54):
in to really directly advise,you need to be able to establish
why you're there and be able tocreate. Create value in the
connections that you're havingin these conversations, not come
in and be looked at as animmediate adversary, which I
think some you know, sometimesthose situations evolve that
way.
Absolutely, in fact, you'rereminded me of one of the things
that I coach people on the most,and that is especially the up
(25:18):
and comers, the high potential,mid career folks, and sometimes
at all levels, the why. So youjust pointed out in that great
example, don't forget the why.Yes, you know, leaders are
always telling, you know, here'swhat we need to do, go meet this
deadline. Here's the project,you know, whatever. What's the
status? But the why is socritical. It helps you it like
(25:41):
it speeds you up a little bit,you know, it gets you going a
little bit faster, and it helpspeople get on board so they
could, yeah, to do that withcoaches, that's a brilliant
example explain it. I Yeah.
I love that. Yeah, absolutely. Ialso think that for those that
are out there listening that arethinking, well, that's great for
an organization that maybe canafford it, or, you know, they've
(26:03):
got the wherewithal to do that,because they're a growing
executive team, but I work for asmall or medium sized company
that never has expressed anycommitment there. What do you
tell those people about thepossibility of having that
conversation with their directmanager or their leadership team
and say, Hey, I know we havenever done this, but here is why
(26:24):
I think it might benefit. I knowI would benefit. And here's two
or three reasons why. But alsothink it could benefit, you
know, my existing colleagues andsome of our leadership team to
go through this. Do you run intothose kinds of circumstances
where it kind of starts, theidea starts with one person, but
then it's cascaded out into theorganization, because they can
see the value and the benefitlong term, if they were to bring
(26:45):
you in as as an organizationalcoach. And
a lot of times that happens topdown. So you work with the C
suite individuals, and they'relike, hey, I need this for my
team. And then it growsdownward. But if you're starting
from the middle, and someone hasto, you know, is curious about
it. There's team coachingopportunities, there's group
coaching. And so there's otherways some people are certified
(27:08):
in, like team coachingcertification as well. So there
are more economical ways to doit as well. And then, you know,
I also do, like workshops ondifferent topics, so it hits a
group of individuals, and youcan tackle a certain topic, like
influence or conflict and thingslike that. So there are
different ways to go about itand get to these like
(27:29):
intangibles. The most of thethings that catch people and get
them kind of stuck are theintangible leadership pieces and
different topics there thatreally just kind of just get in
people's way. Yeah, yeah.
If, if someone is out therelistening that's, you know,
(27:49):
interested, their ears arepeaked about coaching. If you
had to give them the the pitchfor what you do and how you do
it, what would you tell them?
Okay, so you've heard, you heardmy background from the
beginning, right? So from that,maybe someone might infer that I
am an analytical thinker,because you know all that when I
(28:11):
geek out about all the humanbehavior stuff, yes, I am
analytical. So for me as acoach, there's so many different
types of coaches. And first ofall, you have to have what we
call a chemistry call you. Youknow you have them all the time.
Chemistry call to make sure youfind the right coach for you. So
for me, I always articulate thatI am I leverage assessments and
(28:32):
data and information to get usstarted. So I'm certified in a
few assessments that I pull in.And just because you have to
learn about the person, andsometimes the individual is has
been so busy doing their job,they don't stop and think about
what kind of leader they are. Sogetting information from
themselves and also from theirpeers, like if you did peers,
(28:54):
direct reports, customer,clients, et cetera, do like a
360 assessment. So I start withdata. I say, okay, here, here's
everything we know, and it couldbe your I gather it from them as
well, your performance reviews,your employee opinion survey
results, anything that I canlearn that's already out there.
And then I pull in theassessments that I would think
(29:16):
that I think are best for them,this person, to take. And then
we start there? Like, What?What? Who are you? Who are you
as a leader? What's workingwell, what do you want to
polish? What do you want toenhance? Where do we start? And
then we create a developmentplan. Then that's very like,
it's pretty common, right? Thisis a very common approach for
coaches, sure to take. And sothat's my take as well. I just
(29:39):
happen to geek out about things.
I love it. If you were to lookat what you geek out with and
where you differentiate yourselffrom other coaches that are also
in the space, what would youtell a potential client about
how and why you do it a littlebit differently, why they should
maybe give you a little moreconsideration than maybe someone
else they might be like? Lookingat hiring, oh, that's put you
(30:02):
too much on the spot. But Ithink, you know, you got to know
your unique value. And you know,I like the geeking out part, but
I'm curious how you mightposition that. Yeah.
Well, first of all, I would tellpeople. I always tell people in
a chemistry call, you have tofind the person that is going to
allow you, enable you, where youfeel someone you feel
(30:23):
comfortable being open with andvulnerable with, that's number
one. So you have to be open andvulnerable with this coach and
feel like you can and you haveto find a coach that will
stretch you and not just be ayes person you know. So you have
to have those two things, andwhether or not I'm that person,
I can't decide for that person.So I can't say I'm your right
(30:47):
gal, because but that so thoseare definitely decisions they
have to make. But whatdistinguishes me is, yeah, I
pull in all of the information.I was just having lunch with
someone, and she she said, verysuccinctly, she's like, You
asked powerful questions. And soI was like, Okay, well, that's
(31:09):
that's good to know, and I'msure that most coaches do, but
that's what I was recently told,that I asked powerful questions,
and like I said earlier, theyjust come from me being present
in the conversation, and I maynot remember what I've said,
because I'm so present. I comesout of my mouth and it's there,
and that is, that's kind of whoyou get when you're with me.
(31:31):
Yeah, I make you, I make youreconcile things. When I hear
things that aren't, aren'tmaking sense to me. I will pull
that out. I will be blunt, butnice, you know. So, yeah,
totally honest and totally kindat the same time. I love
that, although you You start offwith a prescriptive method, the
thing that I want our audienceto really resonate and pay
attention to is the fact thatyou are fully present there.
(31:55):
You're not coming in withpreconceived notions. You're not
trying to drive an agenda. And Iwhat I see, at least in the
competitive space, with a lot ofcoaches, you know, maybe they
went and, you know, did theircoaching certification through
one of these degree in a box,kind of approaches or
methodologies or models, thebest coaches, I feel and maybe,
(32:16):
maybe that's because I kind oflook at myself as the same
approach Is the ones that aren'ttrying to fit you into a process
or through a prescriptivemethod, but allow that
relationship to developorganically. Always come
prepared with great questions.Always come prepared to learn
just a little bit more test andvalidate a few of the things
(32:37):
that we've discussed previously,but really a good coaching call
or meeting comes down to thatgenuineness in the conversation,
because a lot of times it's thelittle things that you pick up,
if you're fully present as acoach, that are actually some of
the biggest hang ups or some ofthe biggest areas of opportunity
for growth. And if I'm trying tofit you into Hey on this call, I
(32:59):
need to get through these threepoints. I need to get through
this, you know, I need to moveyou from one layer of the
pyramid to the next layer. Youand I've probably both seen that
and just how uncomfortable andpainful that can be. Like, hey,
I really feel like, as theclient, I need to go in a little
deeper here. I'm sorry. We gotto move on to the next step. I
mean, we only have an out,
right those things,
(33:20):
there's just some incongruency.I'm not trying to criticize
those that are out there, but toyour point, you have to find
somebody that really aligns withwho you are. And that chemistry
doesn't happen immediately. Ittakes a little bit of time. It
creates, you know, you have tocreate those avenues of
opportunity for you to allowthat thing to evolve naturally.
(33:43):
If you're very gifted, and I cantell the audience from speaking
with you a couple of times, Isee how people can go from one
to 100 with you so quickly,because you're easy to talk,
you're friendly, and you're1,000% focused on what the topic
is at hand. It really does comeacross, even in a 2d world, we
haven't met face to face yet.But, you know, even on Zoom or
(34:06):
on a call like this, the warmthand the friendliness and but the
natural curiosity, which makesyou a phenomenal coach, by the
way, really shines through. Andif you're trying to align with a
predictive process or a modelthat doesn't always come across,
right? Oh, no,
we're dealing with people here.You can't do that humans. Yeah,
(34:28):
there's no, there's no fittingit into a certain process. You
reminded me when you're when youasked that question, though you
kind of made me think back toour comment earlier. So what
makes me unique? I justrealized, you know, when you
were talking about, you know,direct guide, etc, and we were
debating, you're right, theconsultant piece. What is so
surprising to a lot of coachesonce they when they get started,
(34:50):
is how much they have to wear atleast two hats. I say sometimes
three. There are three hats,there's coach, there's
consultant, and there's mentor.And we're usually at some point,
all of those things. And whenyou become a coach, some people
are like, Okay, I'm just acoach. No, it was a surprise to
a lot of people. No, you're not.So sometimes I do have to put,
(35:11):
because I do have that orgdevelopment background in my
from my degree, in my all of myway past, I do have to put on
that consultant hat. So Iliterally, as I'm coaching, I'm
thinking, Okay, I'm taking outthe coach hat. Now I'm putting
on the consultant hat, okay? Andsometimes you do have to direct
and guide, and then, then nowI'm putting on the mentor hat,
because I've done this before,and you know, whatever there is
(35:32):
we're talking about. And here'smy experience. And then I'll put
the coach hat back on. So it isnot as simple as when you get
coach certified. It was, for me,it was not as simple as I when I
was walking in that door, youknow, as a coach, like, Oh, it's
a little different. I have towear three
hats, yeah, yeah, well, and thatmakes you effective at what you
do, right? Because it really atthat role above all of that. You
(35:56):
are technically their advisor,their go to person. And
sometimes you have to wear thecoach hat. Sometimes you have to
wear the consultant hat. Andlike you said, I love how you've
brought that full circle withthe mentor hat, because
inevitably, a good coach createsa relationship that goes well
beyond the business transactionof what's occurring right there
is a legitimate care and concernfor the clients I've seen. I've
(36:20):
seen other coaches where it'spurely transactional, and quite
honestly, it feelstransactional, and the clients
generally don't stay therebecause they're either they're
looking for the answers to thetest or they're looking for
quick solutions, and you may getthem, but you know, there's not
a lot of substance, and youknow, and foundation behind why
you're maybe doing or whatyou're you know why you're doing
(36:42):
some of the things that you'rebeing told to do or executing,
and then beyond that, it's like,well, there's nothing really
good to come back to. We solvedthat problem, or maybe I didn't
solve it, and now I'm frustratedand don't feel like I can really
relay that back, because I don'thave that kind of rapport with
the coach. I didn't follow themodel. I must have failed. I
must have done something wrong.And I just am. I always tell my
(37:04):
clients, and I love yourapproach, I'm gonna the
chemistry call, I think is, ofall the coaches I've ever
interviewed, nobody's ever saidthat. I love that, but also like
just your approach, right? How'sthe data shape up? How does that
work in terms of informing ournext steps? But at the end of
the day, just being 1,000%invested in the conversation
(37:25):
that we're going to have,whether that's an hour a month
or a couple hours a month, beingfully there, and then being able
to kind of come back and kind ofpull those puzzle pieces
together and start to kind ofalign what needs to happen in
the next session or feedbackthat might need to be expressed
to the client post I think isreally, really phenomenal, and I
(37:45):
can see why clients who might beotherwise resistant to this
quickly and efficiently easeinto your process, because you
don't make it feel like it'swork, or you don't make it feel
like it's scary, and that'sthat's where I think at least
the feedback I've gotten frompeople who have considered a
coach but haven't pulled thetrigger. Nobody wants to look
dumb. Nobody wants to look likethey don't know what they're
(38:07):
doing. And there's also thisback and, you know, ahead, what?
What are my colleagues going tothink? What are my people that
I'm following or that arefollowing or I'm leading? What?
You know? What? What are theygoing to think if I pick up a
coach and it's almost like ading to their their ego in some
respects.
That's why I some of the clientsthat I work with, the companies
(38:27):
they've done, they're trying toshift that perception, and
they're doing a really good job.So it's all like we said. We
have to explain the why. Youknow that? Why are we investing
in this new coaching network, orexpanded coaching network, and
if they do that job, well, thenit all falls into place, because
the peers are hearing, oh, thisis the fruit of the month, or
(38:51):
whatever. Congratulations.That's why I love talking to
you. You're very funny.
My wife does not think so, but Iappreciate that. Thank you. I
now have it on video evidence.So, yeah, I do see, and I've
seen that before. I mean, maybe,maybe more so pre COVID, where
(39:12):
companies were really trying tofigure out all these different
strategies to show, hey, you'revalued employee. You know, we're
going to do these programs.We're going to do, you know,
through the month, the gymmembership, or, Hey, we brought
you in a coach, but they didn'tlay the groundwork to explain
it. But I do think that there. Ithink when companies actually
consider putting their moneywhere their mouth is to make
(39:34):
their people better, you do haveto say the why, and you do have
to share the story as to why.That is because, I think,
especially in today, today'sworkplace, we're all kind of
scared, right? You know, we'realways worried about being
somehow, you know, isolated oridentified as potential problem,
or maybe ending up on the listthat could be on the chopping
(39:54):
block. And, you know, is thisthe last thing that they're
trying before they let me go?Kind of things? There's all
these. Stories we tellourselves, the ego is not our
friend in most cases, and thatbecomes a problem. So I think
that when organizations do it,when you you can say, Look, you
know, we can all get better. AndI know it's an overused analogy
in the coaching world, but Imean, nobody just drafted
(40:16):
Michael Jordan and said, hey,you know how to shoot, you know
how to move, you know how todribble. You've got, you've got
the complete package. You know,just show up on game days,
right? You know, you just, youknow, that's, that's an overused
example, but it's so valid andtrue. When it comes to coaching,
the work never is done. There'salways something next that you
(40:36):
can tackle if you're committedto your career or becoming a
more effective leader, a moreeffective communicator, a better
person in general, coaching,just if you find the right coach
and there's that chemistry, thenI think you find someone that
can can really be there for thelong haul, and then that
relationship just becomes sopowerful to you, because they're
(40:58):
your go to. They're the personin that corner that's going to
encourage you when things aregoing, you know, maybe not the
way you want them. They're goingto be there to pick you up when
you've made some missteps, andthey're going to be there to
cheer you on for the success.And not because, oh, you know,
look, I did your coachingprogram, but because, look, they
have a genuine invested interestin who you are as an individual,
first, and then what you do withyour career second,
(41:22):
absolutely, it's interesting,though. I also know some
leaders, because you weretalking about for the long haul,
but I know some leaders thatpurposefully choose coaches for
different seasons of theircareer. Yeah, and they have made
Yeah, they're like, Okay, I'm ahigh potential mid career. And
had this coach, and now I havethis now, I need this next kind
(41:43):
of layer. And so some peoplehave moved through about four
coaches for very specificreasons. And it's not that the
original coach has stopped beinguseful. It's just that they have
gotten them to the next step andthe next level and maybe the
things that need to be polished.There's another coach that has
an expertise in that area, andso they moved to that that space
(42:05):
with that coach. So that's ananother way that I've seen it
work as well. I love
that. I love that I can talk toyou all day about coaching,
because I think a and I saidthis in our introduction, I feel
like we're so very simpatico anddefinitely knew what she was
doing when she put us together.And somehow, someway, you and I
are going to find some work todo together, and I'm so grateful
for your time here on thepodcast. But we're also going to
(42:26):
showcase this in the pond, thecommunity we've created for our
ripplers, because I feel like alot of the folks in there, we've
got a lot of entrepreneurs, alot of business leaders, they
need to know the work that youdo and the value you bring to
the table. And so I'm really,really excited for them to also
get some exposure to this great,this great episode. I'm going to
shift here to some rippleconnection questions that are
(42:48):
kind of fun to ask and fun toanswer, hopefully that'll give
our audience just a little bitmore insight as to who you are.
But if you weren't doingcoaching, and you left Dell and
you're like, Okay, you know Icould the world is my oyster. I
can do anything, but coaching isoff the table. What would you be
doing? Coaching or consulting isoff the table? Okay,
consulting is off the table too.The leadership design, Okay,
(43:11):
I better slide that in rightthere. You better, because
I will just jump on thatimmediately and talk all about
leadership development, becauseI have passion about that. Okay,
so that's off the table. That'sso much that work is so much
fun, though. Okay, I would beworking with the elderly. I have
a real passion for the elderly.I always have. It was my very
(43:32):
first job at 16. I was a serverat like, an assisted living
place, and loved interactingwith people. Have always glommed
on to the elders in my familyand learn from them. And yeah,
people say when you talk to me,I'm talking about it. I'm trying
to keep my face from doing it,but I just always just go so I
(43:55):
would be working with theelderly, and that is something
that I have. I volunteered inthe past at some Alzheimer's
places like respite care, and soI'm trying to pick that back up
on the Valent volunteer space.But if I had an ending time, I
would just do that all the time.If I could talk to older people
eight hours a day, every day, Iwould be in heaven. That'd be
(44:18):
love. Ah, what? I
love that. I love that. That's agreat, great answer, one of the
best I've gotten for sure. If,if there was a word to describe
you, what would that word be?Oh,
one word, data
driven, can be one word becauseit's hyphenated.
(44:41):
Oh, um, but now you can't
use it because that was mine. Igave it to you.
Gosh, I'm gonna have to go withthe first word that stuck in my
head, patient.
Oh, all right. Expand upon thata little bit.
Patience just comes up in everyaspect of my life. And I'm sure
a lot of people. Lives or lackthereof, right? So, yeah, the
(45:04):
more patience you have, the moretime you get to sit with
something, the more time you getto observe something, more time
you get to let a situationresolve itself or see what's
really going to happen. Likepatience is about you. Patience
really just can pay off. Yeah,that's
Oh, I love that word. I lovethat what? And I think I already
(45:26):
know the answer to thisquestion, because I think you
revealed it without me asking.But what's your superpower
curiosity? Yeah, what is
it about curiosity that reallydrives it for you?
You learn so much more by beingcurious about others than you
ever could have by staying inyour own head. I mean, I already
(45:47):
know what's in here. I don'tknow what's out there. Yeah,
Curiosity is just, it's justpowerful. It really is. It's,
it's, it's amazing. Yeah, youlearn so much, and it takes you
in all different directions.Yeah, I
love that. What was the greatestthing to happen to you last
year?
Oh, gosh, yeah, starting, notstarting, because I had already
(46:08):
started my business. Starting infull time in my business was
incredible. I learned so muchand that, yeah, that's
definitely the number one thing.This number two thing because,
you know, I have to slip anotherthing in there is I gave myself
a gift of a trip after 26 years.And, you know, in the industry,
I was like, I am giving myself aretirement gift. And I went on a
(46:32):
hiking trip with a group, andit's a fabulous company that
does these trips. And so I didthat, and I went to Maine, and
never been to Maine before.
Oh, that's awesome. Sorry. Areyou a big hiker? Is that
something you like to do? I
love to hike. Yeah, I don't doit enough, but it was fabulous.
I had really good time. Okay,
so here, here's what we're goingto commit to do. We are going to
(46:54):
put together an event for ourripplers in Austin, and we'll go
on a hike, and we're going tohave you be our guide. Oh,
my goodness, I will sign up forgoing to that, and I will help
you figure out who's the bestperson to be that guide. I don't
want to get as lost. Soeverybody
that signs up is going to haveto go through an evaluation so
she can evaluate the data right
(47:14):
there. That's right, that'sright.
I love that, but that would be afun thing. I've been
threatening. We did this yearsago, but we did this thing
called the walkabout ripple, andwe got together, and everybody
paired off. We had a couple ofripple connection questions,
just as our guide. And thenevery few minutes we would swap
partners, but we would, youknow, we'd all end up at the
(47:35):
same destination, but by thetime from the time we left to
the time we arrived, and thengot back to our original you
know, our cars where we started.It was like people that didn't
know each other or looked ateach other as complete
strangers. Now had friends, andthey had done this activity, and
they had enjoyed it. They got tolearn some things about people
(47:56):
that they didn't know before.They got to express some things
that they never expected toshare about themselves, and it
was just a really fun, fun wayto do it, much probably like
your trip, right? You go to thatit's you know, facilitated in a
way that makes it supercomfortable and accommodating
for all those that are there.You're all you know, focused on
one goal, but by the end, youbecome pretty close with those
(48:18):
folks because you're the sharedexperience becomes a really
great opportunity to bondAbsolutely.
I love that example. I wish Iwould have been at to your
event. At your event.
Yeah, we'll do another one. Wealso did a walk about where we
walked in East Austin beforemuch fake change. Now it's like
all gentrified, but there wassome really cool, very awesome,
very unique architecture. And agood friend of mine, Maria
(48:41):
Gatling, took us on a on a phonetour. It was a phone
photographic walk about, and wewent. We all the goal was, hey,
whatever you find interesting inyour eye, you know, put that
together, and then we broughtall those pictures together to
kind of showcase what everybodywas looking at. And it was, it
was really powerful, so we needto bring those back. So yeah,
(49:04):
we'll have to, we'll have to doone in your honor, and
especially in honor of thisepisode. So there we go. We'll
have to do it when it warms upspring, which will probably be
tomorrow. Yeah,
that's right, Saturday,
yesterday, tomorrow, probably doit tomorrow. But I love that
plan, yeah.
So we are definitely you got,you got to hold me accountable
so and you know, hold meaccountable to do it. We'll make
(49:25):
it happen. I'll do what is thebest thing that you could hear a
former colleague from Dell sayabout you and the work that you
guys did together,
that I impacted their lifepositively, yeah, that I help
them get to wherever they weretrying to get. Yeah? That is so
(49:46):
rewarding to hear when, whenpeople do reach out. And so I'm
very blessed to have to impactedlives and to been to interact
with people, great people. Yeah,that's,
that's that that's really, I'mno. Out there saying that about
you without question, what's thebook that changed your life?
(50:07):
Looking at my bookshelf, um,changed my life, man, see, I
asked your questions beforehand.
That's right for our audience.You have to understand we both.
We both come in very preparedfor these things, and I think I
(50:29):
made Jennifer very uneasy whenI'm like, don't worry about it.
I got questions. And she's like,I don't know that. I trust you
with these questions. The
other hard part is beinginterviewed as a coach, because
I always ask questions. I don'tget asked questions. I'm like,
This is not awkward. This is notthe right yeah. Order here,
(50:53):
the dynamics different thanyou're used to. I love it. Um,
gosh, um, I about this
maybe not changed your life,literally. Let me rephrase a
book that really made an impacton you.
Well, so many, I am going to sayI'm looking at it right here. It
was right on the top of mybookshelf here. So was this one?
(51:13):
Okay? You asked for one thing. Ialways answer with two. Okay,
I'm gonna go with radicalcandor. By Kim Scott, yeah, I
mentioned early earlier, anotherfavorite coach of mine. He
always says, be totally honestand totally kind at the same
time. And he's been saying thatfor decades. And Kim Scott, when
(51:34):
she came out with her book, itbasically says the same thing.
She you know, she says it'sslightly different words, but,
yeah, combine the two, andthat's how you can communicate
well with others and get thedecisions you need made. The
interactions you know, gobetter. Everything kind of falls
into place when you are totallyhonest and totally kind
at the same time. I love that.Well, you pull the second book
(51:57):
off the shelf, what's up? Did
atomic habit habits by Jamesclear,
that's so great. I mean thatthat book, I mean, it's been a
game changer for a lot ofpeople, for myself included, I'd
offer it and suggest it to allmy clients as well. It's just
very, very, very valuable, yes,yes, and a really good way to
evaluate what habits do I havethat aren't supporting me right
(52:20):
now, right? Things that I'vejust allowed to continue to
happen over and over again, thatI need to change and alter.
That's right? And it can be sosimple. You can just put things
in your way or out of take themout of your way. That's just one
piece of atomic habits thatalways sticks with me, like, you
know, move things out of yourway if you don't want you can
make this easier for yourself.Yeah, that's
(52:41):
a novel concept right there.Like, wait, what? I can make it
easier on myself. It's thatsimple. Don't
have the sugar in the house. Oh,okay, now it's easier to drop
that habit stick. Yeah, yeah,absolutely.
I love that who played anintegral role in helping you
become the awesome person thatyou are today.
(53:02):
My mom, yeah, she's an amazingperson. She is a great mom, and
she always encouraged me, and Ifelt like I could do anything.
Yeah,
that's great. Yeah, I love that.I love that. All right. Final
two questions, when you hear thephrase the ripple effect. What
(53:22):
comes to mind for you? What doesthat mean to you?
It means so many people beingable to touch each other in a
very efficient way, you know?And it just, it, just it, just
expand. It's expansive. Yeah,yeah. What
a great answer. I love that. Andwhat ripple Can I look to create
(53:45):
for you in the upcoming year?
Oh, thank you for asking. Well,yeah, any you know, I just would
love to continue to get to know,you know, because I've been on
your your website, and I've beenpaying attention listening to
your your podcast. And so I'velearned a ton. I continue, I
will continue to do that for me.I guess you know, if anyone
(54:07):
wants to know more about me orlearn more about my coaching
style or my leadershipdevelopment programs, I am happy
to help. I have such a passionfor those two pieces of work
that that is my goal, is to justhelp leaders grow in many
different ways. So yeah, I love
that. Well, we will definitelydo our part to help promote that
(54:27):
our audience I know will want tolearn more about your work. So
could you share, what's the bestway to, you know, engage with
you. If you've got a what Iknow, you've got a website, and
if you're on social, if the anyof those handles you want to
share, yeah, those in the shownotes. But you know, if you want
to share those now, that'd befine.
Thank you. Yeah, best way tocontact me, I am in LinkedIn. So
(54:49):
in my last name is a tricky one.So if you're if this video for
people are just listening, it'sH, U, T, C, H, E, S O N. I spell
that every day of my lifebecause it's very common. Yeah?
Every day, and then so mywebsite is just, is my name?
Jennifer hutchison.com,
awesome, and I mean to securethat domain, I think is pretty
(55:09):
awesome. I love that when I sawit, and you've got a beautiful
website, and very helpful interms of someone being able to
see, hey, is this someone that Ineed to, you know, maybe engage
and get to know a little bitbetter and see if I can, you
know, work together. I think youdo a great, great job, like
communicating through thewebsite, for sure, any social
(55:30):
handles that you're on otherthan LinkedIn that you care to
share. No,
okay, then I show my age, yes,not. So
she's 12. It's fine. She's onsome cool new thing that she
doesn't want to share with us,right? Yeah, that's
it. I think it might be on theother side. Yeah, no, I am. I
probably need that. That needsto be one of the goals for this
(55:51):
year. Thank you for pointingthat out.
Well, wasn't intentional. Iwasn't trying
to call you out or anything. No,that's fabulous. I always love
to, yeah, put more things on mymoving forward list. Yeah, that
list,
probably, as an entrepreneur,just never gets shorter. It just
getting bigger, right? Yeah.Well, Jennifer, thank you so
(56:12):
much. I want to thank ouraudience for being a part of
this interview. Obviously yousee what I see in Jennifer, why
you want to connect and engagewith her. We are super excited
to you know, to get this episodeout to you guys, please jump on
Jennifer's website and learnabout her services, what she
offers, because I think you willdefinitely benefit. And we'll be
back with another episode of theripple effect podcast very soon,
(56:35):
but until Then, Jennifer, asalways, ripple
on. Thank you, Steve. You
What's going on, guys. Hey,welcome to another edition of
(00:02):
the ripple effect podcast. I amyour host, Steve Harper, and
super excited for this episode,because a ripple had to happen
to have this happen. Let meexplain. Anne Grady, who many of
you may recognize or know fromthe show or from my work, she's
a big supporter of the ripplephenomenal keynote speaker,
phenomenal author, she reachedout to me and suggested that I
(00:25):
connect with JenniferHutchinson, and she's like, I
just know you two are going toget along, and I think Jennifer
would benefit from knowing you,and you'll benefit from knowing
her. And boy, was she right.Jennifer and I set up a call,
and we were like, like this,right? Very simpatico, very
connected with our approach andthe direction that we are both
heading to make a difference outthere in the world for companies
(00:47):
and for leaders. And Jennifer isable to take her years of
experience in corporate Americaand actually help people really
navigate how to become anintegral employee and a valued
resource within theorganization, and she also works
with leadership and leadershipteams to help them become the
best stewards of the greattalent they are chosen to lead.
(01:09):
I really like her approach. Ilike her energy and her
enthusiasm, and she's just sucha phenomenal person to know. I'm
so grateful she agreed to be apart of this show so that you
know, this episode is going tobe a little twofold, right?
We're going to do it for thepodcast. We're also going to do
a portion of this for ourcommunity called the pond. If
(01:29):
you have no idea what the pondis, go to ripple central.com.
Forward slash, pond. P, o, n, d,forward slash is that little
slanty thing that goes this wayto the right, I guess, depending
on how my hand shows on video.Um, but the pond has been a
phenomenal experiment of helpingpeople come together online to
actually support and engage oneanother, to actually use this as
(01:51):
a proving ground forcommunicating, connecting, and
building authentic relationshipsin a way that is a little bit
challenged on Facebook andLinkedIn and the other platforms
that are out there. Our goal isto incite our our ripplers, to
want to get to know each other,to figure out how to contribute
and add value, and to showcasetheir talents. So highly
(02:13):
encourage you guys to check thatout, so a portion of this will
be available on the pond. Andthen those of you hearing it on
the pond or seeing it on thepond, you got to come back to
the podcast to catch the wholeepisode, but you're not going to
want to miss this one. JenniferHutchinson is phenomenal. She's
going to be great. And I can'twait for this episode to air,
(02:33):
because you guys need to meether, and, more importantly, need
to figure out how to work withher, because she's that good.
All right, so with no furtherado. Let's dive in.
(02:59):
Guys. I'm super excited thatJennifer Hutchinson is joining
us today. Jennifer, welcome tothe ripple effect podcast. How
are you
doing? I'm doing fabulous. Howare you doing today? I am
great. We just got through along weekend, and then actually
got kind of like a little bonusday, because yesterday was like
snow and ice in Austin, which isvery unusual. I don't know how
(03:21):
it was at your house, but webarely got any which made me
kind of feel kind of bad that Itold the team to just all work
from home because there was notmuch out there. Well,
technically, yes, we can forsnow day, right? That's
right, always better to be safein this town with ice
Absolutely,
people do not know how to drivewhen it comes to this. We have
an employee for my softwarecompany that's in Denver, who
(03:42):
just has to, like, look at uswith just scorn, because, like,
you guys are freaking out, thewhole town shuts down. That's
just a normal Tuesday for us inthe winter. That's
right, that's right. Well,listen, I am
so grateful that you agreed tobe a part of the show, because
one, I want to make sure ourripplers See this great work
(04:02):
that you're doing. But mostimportantly, I want them to hear
a little bit about your journeyand sort of what led you from
corporate America into doingyour own thing as a consultant
and a coach. And so maybe, ifyou don't mind, maybe a good
place to start would be justgive us, like, a little brief
history of you and your careerpath and sort of what led you to
want to start your own thing.
(04:24):
Okay? Well, yes, I've alwaysbeen fascinated, first of all,
with human behavior. I find itjust a marvel, and I have been
researching it and listening.Now we have podcasts, so all of
my podcasts are around humanbehavior type, type topics, but
back in the day, the way tolearn more about that was to get
(04:45):
a psychology degree, which Idid, from UT, Austin, and then
two degrees hook and two degreesfrom University of Houston in
industrial and organizationalpsychology. So that led me to my
26 year career. At DellTechnologies, where I focused on
leadership development at alllevels, I created programs to
(05:07):
help people become betterleaders, move from frontline
leaders up the line, fromexecutive, you know, pre
executives to executives. And Ijust loved watching people grow
into their potential. And sothen, yeah, I moved on to my own
space, because I had beencoaching in, you know, at Dell
(05:29):
for a long time, and I thought,You know what? I have been
coaching leaders, and now's thetime to do it on my own. I love
it. I love it. Well,
congratulations on that front,and congratulations on a very
successful career at Dell. I'msure they didn't want to see you
leave. But you know, you have,you have bigger ripples to
create out there in the world,right? So taking it outside the
(05:49):
corporate wall, I think theworld is is ready to benefit
from your talents. I want to asklike, when was the obviously,
from an educational perspective,and the direction you took,
obviously, you kind of wereheaded down a particular path.
But when did you realize, Wow,I'm, I'm actually really suited
for this coaching and consultingkind of role, and I want to kind
(06:12):
of take this out beyond, youknow, these, you know, the
corporate wall, and create somebigger ripples out there in the
world.
I listen to feedback, you know,so people will tell me years
later, man, that time that youtold me such and such, or you
suggested this, or when youasked me that question, and I
(06:32):
don't often remember what I'veasked or said, and so I just
listened really well to people.And so I listened when they also
when they tell me how I'veimpacted their lives. And so I
just listened to that a bit, andI thought, Okay, I'm going to go
with what people are telling me,and whatever's working for them
(06:53):
is working. So I will expand andsee what I can do outside the
tech industry. I
love that I have a really goodfriend who's been a coach for
much of her career, probably,I'm going to say, in the
neighborhood of 30 plus yearsthat she's been doing this.
She's an industrial psychologistas well. And I remember her
telling me one time, because Iasked her, I'm like, how do you
(07:15):
deal with so many differentdiverse clients? And you know,
everyone comes with a unique setof needs and challenges. I mean,
it could get overwhelmingbecause i i personally as a
coach. I am I, one of the thingsthat I will admit is that once I
get something in my craw, Ican't get rid of it, right,
which makes it sometimeschallenging to move from one
(07:37):
client to the other. But shegave me this really amazing
piece of advice is, she said,when I am with my client, it's
100% focused on them, and I amthere. And part of the reason
I'm sharing this is kind of kindof want to what you says, like,
I don't necessarily hold on towhat I said, or that piece of
advice, or necessarily thatconversation. She said something
(07:58):
very similar. She's like, if Itried to do that, and I tried to
balance, then all of thespinning plates with my clients,
I would go mad, right? So she'sfully committed to the session.
She takes very copious notes,and then when the session is
over, she like, frees herselfdirectly from that session so
that she can be like, Okay, nowI'm on to my next environment,
(08:19):
but she builds in time in hercalendar a day or two after that
session to come in and do like apost mortem, what did I learn?
What did I discover? Her notesactually put her back into the
time and space that she neededin order to sort of re simulate
in her mind what was beingtalked about and what was said
and the advice that was given.And it's been a really great
(08:42):
approach and strategy. And shetold me something, she's like,
you know, the thing is, is thatif a if, if there's a coach out
there that says they can hold itall in their head, they can't,
right? And so it's, it'simpossible, and much like that,
if you, if you're looking atcoaching as being a true benefit
to the leadership, you owe them1,000% your attention, as well
(09:02):
as your discernment of what wasimportant and what wasn't, but
then being able to come back andreference that you know through
your notes and through sort ofthat re mental exercise of going
back through the session, you'llfind that you'll pick up some
things that will make the nextsession even that much more
valuable. And I just thought,Man, that's a that's a really
powerful piece of advice,because honestly, as a coach, I
(09:23):
always felt guilty if I likemoved on from one to another.
And I love that you approach itthat way, and I love that she
approaches it that way, becauseI think it's truly the way to do
it absolutely.
I take copious notes, and then Igo back same, similar. I hadn't
called it a post mortem, mortem,but yes, I guess that's what it
is. And then I highlight. So Iwrite all the notes as we go,
(09:45):
and then I go back later, andthen I highlight in different I
have my own little process whereI'll highlight different things
so that I can reflect back oncertain pieces. Because not
everything you want to remember,but certain things you want to
bring forward to the nextconversation. And, yeah, that's
what I do as well.
I love that. I love that. Whatwas it about this approach to
(10:06):
your career path that reallyfelt right for you? I mean, what
was it that you're like when yousort of got to that point like,
Okay, well, this is, this issort of the direction that
people really seem to resonatewith me, and you obviously found
some internal value for for yourown, you know, kind of purpose
and approach. But was there onething where you just kind of had
(10:27):
the wake up call, like, wow,after that session, you know,
maybe I should be doing this,and maybe this is where I want
to put my time and energy.
Well, not so much a wake upcall, but it was advice that I
received, oh, probably 20 yearsago from a coach that I had who
is also now a very good friend.She is retired as a coach, and
(10:48):
she told me, probably 20 yearsago, build it. I call it now.
Build it early, because itapplies in many different two
aspects in my life. So she said,build your network before you
need it. And I also built mybusiness before I wanted or
needed, and, you know, decidedto move into it. So two things
that I did, I built my networkearly, so it wasn't an aha
(11:11):
moment. It was a planned anapproach is very organic. So,
you know, I love to connect withpeople. That's why we got
connected. Because our friendAnne Grady said, Hey, y'all are
doing something very similar.And I hadn't I was like, oh,
ripple Okay, I need to learnabout this ripple effect. And so
you and I both probably, youknow, we built we like to
(11:33):
connect. We like to I don't knowif I love the word network, but
I like the word Connect. I liketo connect with people. Stay in
touch, learn what's important tothem. I take notes on all of
that as well, so I can bring itforward and check in on what was
important to them the last timewe talked. So I built my network
very, very early and just keptbuilding it over time it would
(11:54):
it grew organically outside thecompany. As people would leave,
I would stay in touch withpeople, and so I had inside my
own company, and the outside thecompany that grew so I had that
network that was ready for mewhen I went out on my own, and
then I built my business fiveyears before I actually left.
And so I had that working inparallel. I was very tiny, but
all of the infrastructure wasthere. So my aha moment was
(12:18):
maybe a very slow aha momentwhere it was Aha, like, now this
now we're ready. Now we'reready. You built it early and
now it's ready.
Yeah, I kind of kind of envisionyou being like, Ah, okay, this
is where I need to go. I see,it's taken me a while, but I got
there. I love it, yeah, what hasbeen probably the most
(12:39):
surprising thing since leavingsort of the confines and sort of
the safety and security of of amajor employer like Dell and
moving in the direction of beinga full time entrepreneur,
obviously, you were doing itpart time, and you laid the
infrastructure. And by the way,I loved your coach's advice. I
think that's phenomenal, and I'mgoing to have to steal that, but
give you guys full credit, ofcourse, but at the end of the
(13:02):
day, you know what's beensurprising to you as you've
moved headlong into being a fulltime entrepreneur,
how supportive everybody is,yes, so supportive. You know, I
reach out. I say, Hey, here'swhat's happened, you know,
happening to me and changing forme, and what's new for me. And
would love to connect and read.You know, stay as we all you
(13:24):
know, some people have beenstaying connected, as I said,
regularly. And for the folksthat were less regular, I moved
the kind of the circle in alittle bit, and I meet with them
more regularly now, but thesupport from everybody, hey, you
need, if they don't haveanything that they need at the
moment, in terms of the workthat I provide, because I also,
in addition to being anexecutive and leadership coach,
(13:45):
I, as I mentioned, I designleadership development programs.
So if they don't happen to haveanything that's, you know,
burning for them, they'll say,hey, you need to talk to so and
so. So all of my business so farthis first year out on my own,
completely has been either fromsomeone directly connected to me
or Once removed,
that's awesome. I mean, that'sthat's a testament to all the
(14:07):
work that you put into thoserelationships and how well
thought of you are by the peoplethat have had the luck to
actually know you or work withyou directly. I think that's
phenomenal and a reallyvaluable, you know, sort of
takeaway for those coaches thatare out there that, you know
they're that you got to put inthat work on the front end to do
it, but then once you do, Imean, once you lay that down.
(14:29):
And then, especially if you'releaving, and this has been a
side hustle, or maybe a parttime effort on your behalf, when
you go full time, that flywheelwill catch, and the gears just
start happening. And next thing,you know, I mean, I remember,
maybe it was the second callthat we had when we were
preparing for this, you werelike, you know, I just, I've
got, you know, I've got a lot ofgreat opportunities. I'm just
(14:51):
really lucky and blessed becauseyou'd laid that groundwork ahead
of time, which just sort ofhelped guarantee your success,
you know, as you moved fulltime. Yeah. Yes,
I am very, very fortunate. And Iwould say that on top of all of
this is a layer of curiosity. Soyou have to be curious about
what's going on out there. Whatdo people I always say, what's
(15:15):
keeping you up at night? And Iask people like so you know,
what's important to them, what'scoming for the next year, and
that's really what has to drivethe conversation. Whenever I
reach out to people and see howthey're doing, that's great.
What is it for someone thatmaybe has, you know, obviously,
everybody's probably heard ofexecutive or a leadership coach,
(15:37):
but maybe haven't had thebenefit of one for someone who's
out there is like, well, is thatsomething that I need? Is that
something that I should belooking into to help me and
guide me in my career path? Andmaybe I'm not in a role as a
leader presently, or I'm not amanager, or I'm not overseeing
any staff or employees. What?What would you tell them about
(15:59):
what that level of coaching canbring to them today in the role
that they have, and where itcould take them eventually, as
they do move up the careerladder, so to speak.
Well, I view growth as kind ofwalking on plateaus, and I just
have this vision of kind of likethe desert and you're walking
(16:20):
and you get to one level, andyou feel pretty confident, and
you get to the next plateau, andyou're trying to figure out,
what do I need to do differentlyin this next role? Well, you
have to be thinking about thatwell before you're in that role,
an executive coach or leadershipcoach can help you think through
what that is beforehand, so youcan start getting the skills and
(16:41):
the capabilities and thecompetencies well before you
actually need it, because youdon't want to get promoted into
a role and not have thoseskills. Now, you're not going to
have every skill, but you wantto have been thinking about it
again. This is kind of like,build it early, plan it early.
Like, I guess I'm a planner. Sohere's the theme for the day
(17:02):
plan for it. Yeah, so that's onething, one way a leadership or
executive coach can really help.And in particular, when I worked
with executives, and when I dowork with executives, are people
just at that crux of getting tobe executive or newly promoted,
what they what I always have toremind them is, or I find myself
(17:23):
reminding them is, look what gotyou here. It's a popular book,
what got you here, won't get youthere. Love that title, and it's
true. I always tell them, lookit. You got successful getting
to your current spot by doingall the things that you've done,
and now you're standing on theedge of a cliff, and on the
(17:43):
edge, it's, I like view. Ivisualize the Grand Canyon. On
the other side of this canyon isyour next role, and you have to
go down the crevasse and up tothe other side. So you have to
relearn and learn all, not allnew skills, but the skills at
the executive level are verydifferent than at the let's say
what we would call like a seniordirector level in some
(18:04):
organizations. So exec coach canhelp with that.
Could you maybe expand uponthat? Just give maybe an example
or two of how they aredifferent. Sure,
you have to look up and out soyou are no longer just
responsible for your ownbusiness, your own deep, you
know, knowledge of the business,but you have to look up and
(18:25):
across to your peers. What arethe handoffs and like, the value
chain in your organization? Who,if you do something and you make
a decision, what effect is itgoing to have upstream and
downstream? You know, are yougoing to break something on
either side for some of your nownew executive peers, you just
have to look you have to lookmore broadly. You have to
(18:47):
delegate more because now you'reresponsible for asking the
questions instead of knowing theanswers. So you have to have
people on your team going tofind the answers for you. So
it's, it's a much broaderperspective that you have to
take as an executive, as I'velearned,
I love that the the approach tocoaching. I think there's a lot
(19:08):
of people that feel like, if Igo and get a coach, I'm sort of
admitting that I don't knoweverything. And it is kind of
funny how it doesn't matter whatlevel of organization you might
be there. There is this naturalfear of sort of letting on to
someone, right? That, hey, Idon't have it all figured out.
And the there's, at least, in myexperience, I've found that
(19:30):
people don't recognize how thatreally is their Achilles heel,
right? You know, the leaders,the greatest leader in the
world, is continually learning.I watched a press conference
yesterday with Larry Ellison,and then I saw a follow on
interview that was talking abouthow what he's done with Oracle,
and how much effort he's puttingtowards new technology and new
(19:51):
frontiers, but he stayscommitted to that learning path
and always getting better. Andhere's a guy that runs an
incredibly success. Fullorganization, and yet he's
admitting to the world, hey, Idon't have it all figured out.
I'm still showing up. I'm stilllearning, and it's a continual
everyday process. What do youthink? How do you overcome, I
(20:12):
should say, people's reluctanceto say, hey, I need some help. I
need Jennifer to sort of take meby the hand and guide and direct
me and help me realize thisisn't so scary, and I'm not like
waving the white flag of defeat.
Oh, absolutely. And the wordstruck me when you said them,
guide and direct as a coach, asyou know, right? Our Our job is
(20:35):
to not direct, for sure, but thethe answers are in the in the
leaders themselves, right? Theyhave the they have the gut. It's
there. They've built it overtime. And they're in a new
position, in a new place, andyou just have to be there as a
(20:55):
partner, you know, to pullthings out and have them. We're,
I'm a sounding board. I am I asa coach. What I do is I hear
things that maybe need to bereconciled within the person.
Okay, you told me this, and nowI'm hearing this reconcile that
for me. And that's where theahas often come from. And so
when they you know, I'm kind ofveering from your question, but
(21:19):
you made me think about someother things. So the the notion
of, yeah, I don't know at all.It is hard for a lot of leaders,
right? So the fact thatcompanies are investing in
coaches, I always frame it as,look you are being invested in.
It has nothing to do with whatyou do or don't know. We all are
(21:41):
continuing to learn. No one willever stop learning, you know, at
throughout their lives. So thisis an investment in you, and
that usually, that usuallyerases any kind of, what are you
fixing in me? What's wrong? Whatdo I need to, you know, fix.
Yes, when I frame it as aninvestment, they're like, oh,
(22:01):
okay, I understand,
yeah. Oh, I love that, yeah.It's a great approach. It
actually made me think of aconversation I had last year
with someone that their companyhad contacted me and clearly
making an effort towards tryingto double down and invest in,
you know, the talent that theysee, but there was no level of
(22:22):
expectation from this person'sdirect manager about why a coach
was being called in, or whythere was, you know, they were
exploring this. And you can, asyou would expect, the employee
was very, very guarded and veryconcerned. Like, wait a second,
I thought things were goingwell. I think I've been, you
know, doing a good job. Why, allof a sudden are they trying to
(22:43):
get a coach for me and and Ibasically explained that I'm
like, you know, I think thatthere, there's a great place to
start is to ask that question,you know. But from what I
understand, in which I am not,you know, betraying any
confidence by sharing this verysimilar to what you just said,
they're making an investment inyou. They see something special,
and they know that no matter whoor how talented you are, or what
(23:06):
kind of experience, or you knowwhat level of education you
have, there's always anopportunity to continue to grow
and expand. That's what acoaching relationship is. And
you know something that you youmentioned, and I appreciate that
distinction when you pointed itout, is, you know, guide and
direct is more of the consultingside, guide and maybe advise.
(23:27):
But really, a coach is nevertelling you what to do. They're
just asking the deeperquestions. They're getting you
to look at things through maybea little bit different lens or
different angle or perspective.And in this individual's, you
know, particular example, whenwe had that conversation, he
was, he was already, like, veryuncomfortable, and lacked a
(23:48):
little bit of confidence, and hewas worried that that was
actually why they were doing itright. It's like, Oh, my God,
I've been discovered. It's like,No, I don't think so. I mean, I
can't tell you that, you know, Idon't know what's going on in
the minds of your superiors orpeople that work with you day to
day, but I can say that they seesomething in you. They see a
spark of opportunity, and theywant to leverage that. They want
(24:12):
to provide the resources and theability for you to continue to
grow your skill sets and getbetter. And it was like complete
like, almost, you know, Jekylland Hyde in terms of the
approach that he had in terms ofthe conversation, because all of
a sudden, was like, Oh, wow.This is like, you know, it's
like, they gave him, you know,the fruit of the month award,
(24:33):
or, you know, he gets a free gymmembership. It's like, totally
different. Like, whoa. They'relike, really doing this. This is
a value added benefit. And Ithink that you know, from an
organization that gets it, Ithink the only feedback I would
give them is you need to lay thegroundwork as a company to say
this is why we're doing it.Because for the coach to have
that conversation, or even aconsultant that's been brought
(24:54):
in to really directly advise,you need to be able to establish
why you're there and be able tocreate. Create value in the
connections that you're havingin these conversations, not come
in and be looked at as animmediate adversary, which I
think some you know, sometimesthose situations evolve that
way.
Absolutely, in fact, you'rereminded me of one of the things
that I coach people on the most,and that is especially the up
(25:18):
and comers, the high potential,mid career folks, and sometimes
at all levels, the why. So youjust pointed out in that great
example, don't forget the why.Yes, you know, leaders are
always telling, you know, here'swhat we need to do, go meet this
deadline. Here's the project,you know, whatever. What's the
status? But the why is socritical. It helps you it like
(25:41):
it speeds you up a little bit,you know, it gets you going a
little bit faster, and it helpspeople get on board so they
could, yeah, to do that withcoaches, that's a brilliant
example explain it. I Yeah.
I love that. Yeah, absolutely. Ialso think that for those that
are out there listening that arethinking, well, that's great for
an organization that maybe canafford it, or, you know, they've
(26:03):
got the wherewithal to do that,because they're a growing
executive team, but I work for asmall or medium sized company
that never has expressed anycommitment there. What do you
tell those people about thepossibility of having that
conversation with their directmanager or their leadership team
and say, Hey, I know we havenever done this, but here is why
(26:24):
I think it might benefit. I knowI would benefit. And here's two
or three reasons why. But alsothink it could benefit, you
know, my existing colleagues andsome of our leadership team to
go through this. Do you run intothose kinds of circumstances
where it kind of starts, theidea starts with one person, but
then it's cascaded out into theorganization, because they can
see the value and the benefitlong term, if they were to bring
(26:45):
you in as as an organizationalcoach. And
a lot of times that happens topdown. So you work with the C
suite individuals, and they'relike, hey, I need this for my
team. And then it growsdownward. But if you're starting
from the middle, and someone hasto, you know, is curious about
it. There's team coachingopportunities, there's group
coaching. And so there's otherways some people are certified
(27:08):
in, like team coachingcertification as well. So there
are more economical ways to doit as well. And then, you know,
I also do, like workshops ondifferent topics, so it hits a
group of individuals, and youcan tackle a certain topic, like
influence or conflict and thingslike that. So there are
different ways to go about itand get to these like
(27:29):
intangibles. The most of thethings that catch people and get
them kind of stuck are theintangible leadership pieces and
different topics there thatreally just kind of just get in
people's way. Yeah, yeah.
If, if someone is out therelistening that's, you know,
(27:49):
interested, their ears arepeaked about coaching. If you
had to give them the the pitchfor what you do and how you do
it, what would you tell them?
Okay, so you've heard, you heardmy background from the
beginning, right? So from that,maybe someone might infer that I
am an analytical thinker,because you know all that when I
(28:11):
geek out about all the humanbehavior stuff, yes, I am
analytical. So for me as acoach, there's so many different
types of coaches. And first ofall, you have to have what we
call a chemistry call you. Youknow you have them all the time.
Chemistry call to make sure youfind the right coach for you. So
for me, I always articulate thatI am I leverage assessments and
(28:32):
data and information to get usstarted. So I'm certified in a
few assessments that I pull in.And just because you have to
learn about the person, andsometimes the individual is has
been so busy doing their job,they don't stop and think about
what kind of leader they are. Sogetting information from
themselves and also from theirpeers, like if you did peers,
(28:54):
direct reports, customer,clients, et cetera, do like a
360 assessment. So I start withdata. I say, okay, here, here's
everything we know, and it couldbe your I gather it from them as
well, your performance reviews,your employee opinion survey
results, anything that I canlearn that's already out there.
And then I pull in theassessments that I would think
(29:16):
that I think are best for them,this person, to take. And then
we start there? Like, What?What? Who are you? Who are you
as a leader? What's workingwell, what do you want to
polish? What do you want toenhance? Where do we start? And
then we create a developmentplan. Then that's very like,
it's pretty common, right? Thisis a very common approach for
coaches, sure to take. And sothat's my take as well. I just
(29:39):
happen to geek out about things.
I love it. If you were to lookat what you geek out with and
where you differentiate yourselffrom other coaches that are also
in the space, what would youtell a potential client about
how and why you do it a littlebit differently, why they should
maybe give you a little moreconsideration than maybe someone
else they might be like? Lookingat hiring, oh, that's put you
(30:02):
too much on the spot. But Ithink, you know, you got to know
your unique value. And you know,I like the geeking out part, but
I'm curious how you mightposition that. Yeah.
Well, first of all, I would tellpeople. I always tell people in
a chemistry call, you have tofind the person that is going to
allow you, enable you, where youfeel someone you feel
(30:23):
comfortable being open with andvulnerable with, that's number
one. So you have to be open andvulnerable with this coach and
feel like you can and you haveto find a coach that will
stretch you and not just be ayes person you know. So you have
to have those two things, andwhether or not I'm that person,
I can't decide for that person.So I can't say I'm your right
(30:47):
gal, because but that so thoseare definitely decisions they
have to make. But whatdistinguishes me is, yeah, I
pull in all of the information.I was just having lunch with
someone, and she she said, verysuccinctly, she's like, You
asked powerful questions. And soI was like, Okay, well, that's
(31:09):
that's good to know, and I'msure that most coaches do, but
that's what I was recently told,that I asked powerful questions,
and like I said earlier, theyjust come from me being present
in the conversation, and I maynot remember what I've said,
because I'm so present. I comesout of my mouth and it's there,
and that is, that's kind of whoyou get when you're with me.
(31:31):
Yeah, I make you, I make youreconcile things. When I hear
things that aren't, aren'tmaking sense to me. I will pull
that out. I will be blunt, butnice, you know. So, yeah,
totally honest and totally kindat the same time. I love
that, although you You start offwith a prescriptive method, the
thing that I want our audienceto really resonate and pay
attention to is the fact thatyou are fully present there.
(31:55):
You're not coming in withpreconceived notions. You're not
trying to drive an agenda. And Iwhat I see, at least in the
competitive space, with a lot ofcoaches, you know, maybe they
went and, you know, did theircoaching certification through
one of these degree in a box,kind of approaches or
methodologies or models, thebest coaches, I feel and maybe,
(32:16):
maybe that's because I kind oflook at myself as the same
approach Is the ones that aren'ttrying to fit you into a process
or through a prescriptivemethod, but allow that
relationship to developorganically. Always come
prepared with great questions.Always come prepared to learn
just a little bit more test andvalidate a few of the things
(32:37):
that we've discussed previously,but really a good coaching call
or meeting comes down to thatgenuineness in the conversation,
because a lot of times it's thelittle things that you pick up,
if you're fully present as acoach, that are actually some of
the biggest hang ups or some ofthe biggest areas of opportunity
for growth. And if I'm trying tofit you into Hey on this call, I
(32:59):
need to get through these threepoints. I need to get through
this, you know, I need to moveyou from one layer of the
pyramid to the next layer. Youand I've probably both seen that
and just how uncomfortable andpainful that can be. Like, hey,
I really feel like, as theclient, I need to go in a little
deeper here. I'm sorry. We gotto move on to the next step. I
mean, we only have an out,
right those things,
(33:20):
there's just some incongruency.I'm not trying to criticize
those that are out there, but toyour point, you have to find
somebody that really aligns withwho you are. And that chemistry
doesn't happen immediately. Ittakes a little bit of time. It
creates, you know, you have tocreate those avenues of
opportunity for you to allowthat thing to evolve naturally.
(33:43):
If you're very gifted, and I cantell the audience from speaking
with you a couple of times, Isee how people can go from one
to 100 with you so quickly,because you're easy to talk,
you're friendly, and you're1,000% focused on what the topic
is at hand. It really does comeacross, even in a 2d world, we
haven't met face to face yet.But, you know, even on Zoom or
(34:06):
on a call like this, the warmthand the friendliness and but the
natural curiosity, which makesyou a phenomenal coach, by the
way, really shines through. Andif you're trying to align with a
predictive process or a modelthat doesn't always come across,
right? Oh, no,
we're dealing with people here.You can't do that humans. Yeah,
(34:28):
there's no, there's no fittingit into a certain process. You
reminded me when you're when youasked that question, though you
kind of made me think back toour comment earlier. So what
makes me unique? I justrealized, you know, when you
were talking about, you know,direct guide, etc, and we were
debating, you're right, theconsultant piece. What is so
surprising to a lot of coachesonce they when they get started,
(34:50):
is how much they have to wear atleast two hats. I say sometimes
three. There are three hats,there's coach, there's
consultant, and there's mentor.And we're usually at some point,
all of those things. And whenyou become a coach, some people
are like, Okay, I'm just acoach. No, it was a surprise to
a lot of people. No, you're not.So sometimes I do have to put,
(35:11):
because I do have that orgdevelopment background in my
from my degree, in my all of myway past, I do have to put on
that consultant hat. So Iliterally, as I'm coaching, I'm
thinking, Okay, I'm taking outthe coach hat. Now I'm putting
on the consultant hat, okay? Andsometimes you do have to direct
and guide, and then, then nowI'm putting on the mentor hat,
because I've done this before,and you know, whatever there is
(35:32):
we're talking about. And here'smy experience. And then I'll put
the coach hat back on. So it isnot as simple as when you get
coach certified. It was, for me,it was not as simple as I when I
was walking in that door, youknow, as a coach, like, Oh, it's
a little different. I have towear three
hats, yeah, yeah, well, and thatmakes you effective at what you
do, right? Because it really atthat role above all of that. You
(35:56):
are technically their advisor,their go to person. And
sometimes you have to wear thecoach hat. Sometimes you have to
wear the consultant hat. Andlike you said, I love how you've
brought that full circle withthe mentor hat, because
inevitably, a good coach createsa relationship that goes well
beyond the business transactionof what's occurring right there
is a legitimate care and concernfor the clients I've seen. I've
(36:20):
seen other coaches where it'spurely transactional, and quite
honestly, it feelstransactional, and the clients
generally don't stay therebecause they're either they're
looking for the answers to thetest or they're looking for
quick solutions, and you may getthem, but you know, there's not
a lot of substance, and youknow, and foundation behind why
you're maybe doing or whatyou're you know why you're doing
(36:42):
some of the things that you'rebeing told to do or executing,
and then beyond that, it's like,well, there's nothing really
good to come back to. We solvedthat problem, or maybe I didn't
solve it, and now I'm frustratedand don't feel like I can really
relay that back, because I don'thave that kind of rapport with
the coach. I didn't follow themodel. I must have failed. I
must have done something wrong.And I just am. I always tell my
(37:04):
clients, and I love yourapproach, I'm gonna the
chemistry call, I think is, ofall the coaches I've ever
interviewed, nobody's ever saidthat. I love that, but also like
just your approach, right? How'sthe data shape up? How does that
work in terms of informing ournext steps? But at the end of
the day, just being 1,000%invested in the conversation
(37:25):
that we're going to have,whether that's an hour a month
or a couple hours a month, beingfully there, and then being able
to kind of come back and kind ofpull those puzzle pieces
together and start to kind ofalign what needs to happen in
the next session or feedbackthat might need to be expressed
to the client post I think isreally, really phenomenal, and I
(37:45):
can see why clients who might beotherwise resistant to this
quickly and efficiently easeinto your process, because you
don't make it feel like it'swork, or you don't make it feel
like it's scary, and that'sthat's where I think at least
the feedback I've gotten frompeople who have considered a
coach but haven't pulled thetrigger. Nobody wants to look
dumb. Nobody wants to look likethey don't know what they're
(38:07):
doing. And there's also thisback and, you know, ahead, what?
What are my colleagues going tothink? What are my people that
I'm following or that arefollowing or I'm leading? What?
You know? What? What are theygoing to think if I pick up a
coach and it's almost like ading to their their ego in some
respects.
That's why I some of the clientsthat I work with, the companies
(38:27):
they've done, they're trying toshift that perception, and
they're doing a really good job.So it's all like we said. We
have to explain the why. Youknow that? Why are we investing
in this new coaching network, orexpanded coaching network, and
if they do that job, well, thenit all falls into place, because
the peers are hearing, oh, thisis the fruit of the month, or
(38:51):
whatever. Congratulations.That's why I love talking to
you. You're very funny.
My wife does not think so, but Iappreciate that. Thank you. I
now have it on video evidence.So, yeah, I do see, and I've
seen that before. I mean, maybe,maybe more so pre COVID, where
(39:12):
companies were really trying tofigure out all these different
strategies to show, hey, you'revalued employee. You know, we're
going to do these programs.We're going to do, you know,
through the month, the gymmembership, or, Hey, we brought
you in a coach, but they didn'tlay the groundwork to explain
it. But I do think that there. Ithink when companies actually
consider putting their moneywhere their mouth is to make
(39:34):
their people better, you do haveto say the why, and you do have
to share the story as to why.That is because, I think,
especially in today, today'sworkplace, we're all kind of
scared, right? You know, we'realways worried about being
somehow, you know, isolated oridentified as potential problem,
or maybe ending up on the listthat could be on the chopping
(39:54):
block. And, you know, is thisthe last thing that they're
trying before they let me go?Kind of things? There's all
these. Stories we tellourselves, the ego is not our
friend in most cases, and thatbecomes a problem. So I think
that when organizations do it,when you you can say, Look, you
know, we can all get better. AndI know it's an overused analogy
in the coaching world, but Imean, nobody just drafted
(40:16):
Michael Jordan and said, hey,you know how to shoot, you know
how to move, you know how todribble. You've got, you've got
the complete package. You know,just show up on game days,
right? You know, you just, youknow, that's, that's an overused
example, but it's so valid andtrue. When it comes to coaching,
the work never is done. There'salways something next that you
(40:36):
can tackle if you're committedto your career or becoming a
more effective leader, a moreeffective communicator, a better
person in general, coaching,just if you find the right coach
and there's that chemistry, thenI think you find someone that
can can really be there for thelong haul, and then that
relationship just becomes sopowerful to you, because they're
(40:58):
your go to. They're the personin that corner that's going to
encourage you when things aregoing, you know, maybe not the
way you want them. They're goingto be there to pick you up when
you've made some missteps, andthey're going to be there to
cheer you on for the success.And not because, oh, you know,
look, I did your coachingprogram, but because, look, they
have a genuine invested interestin who you are as an individual,
first, and then what you do withyour career second,
(41:22):
absolutely, it's interesting,though. I also know some
leaders, because you weretalking about for the long haul,
but I know some leaders thatpurposefully choose coaches for
different seasons of theircareer. Yeah, and they have made
Yeah, they're like, Okay, I'm ahigh potential mid career. And
had this coach, and now I havethis now, I need this next kind
(41:43):
of layer. And so some peoplehave moved through about four
coaches for very specificreasons. And it's not that the
original coach has stopped beinguseful. It's just that they have
gotten them to the next step andthe next level and maybe the
things that need to be polished.There's another coach that has
an expertise in that area, andso they moved to that that space
(42:05):
with that coach. So that's ananother way that I've seen it
work as well. I love
that. I love that I can talk toyou all day about coaching,
because I think a and I saidthis in our introduction, I feel
like we're so very simpatico anddefinitely knew what she was
doing when she put us together.And somehow, someway, you and I
are going to find some work todo together, and I'm so grateful
for your time here on thepodcast. But we're also going to
(42:26):
showcase this in the pond, thecommunity we've created for our
ripplers, because I feel like alot of the folks in there, we've
got a lot of entrepreneurs, alot of business leaders, they
need to know the work that youdo and the value you bring to
the table. And so I'm really,really excited for them to also
get some exposure to this great,this great episode. I'm going to
shift here to some rippleconnection questions that are
(42:48):
kind of fun to ask and fun toanswer, hopefully that'll give
our audience just a little bitmore insight as to who you are.
But if you weren't doingcoaching, and you left Dell and
you're like, Okay, you know Icould the world is my oyster. I
can do anything, but coaching isoff the table. What would you be
doing? Coaching or consulting isoff the table? Okay,
consulting is off the table too.The leadership design, Okay,
(43:11):
I better slide that in rightthere. You better, because
I will just jump on thatimmediately and talk all about
leadership development, becauseI have passion about that. Okay,
so that's off the table. That'sso much that work is so much
fun, though. Okay, I would beworking with the elderly. I have
a real passion for the elderly.I always have. It was my very
(43:32):
first job at 16. I was a serverat like, an assisted living
place, and loved interactingwith people. Have always glommed
on to the elders in my familyand learn from them. And yeah,
people say when you talk to me,I'm talking about it. I'm trying
to keep my face from doing it,but I just always just go so I
(43:55):
would be working with theelderly, and that is something
that I have. I volunteered inthe past at some Alzheimer's
places like respite care, and soI'm trying to pick that back up
on the Valent volunteer space.But if I had an ending time, I
would just do that all the time.If I could talk to older people
eight hours a day, every day, Iwould be in heaven. That'd be
(44:18):
love. Ah, what? I
love that. I love that. That's agreat, great answer, one of the
best I've gotten for sure. If,if there was a word to describe
you, what would that word be?Oh,
one word, data
driven, can be one word becauseit's hyphenated.
(44:41):
Oh, um, but now you can't
use it because that was mine. Igave it to you.
Gosh, I'm gonna have to go withthe first word that stuck in my
head, patient.
Oh, all right. Expand upon thata little bit.
Patience just comes up in everyaspect of my life. And I'm sure
a lot of people. Lives or lackthereof, right? So, yeah, the
(45:04):
more patience you have, the moretime you get to sit with
something, the more time you getto observe something, more time
you get to let a situationresolve itself or see what's
really going to happen. Likepatience is about you. Patience
really just can pay off. Yeah,that's
Oh, I love that word. I lovethat what? And I think I already
(45:26):
know the answer to thisquestion, because I think you
revealed it without me asking.But what's your superpower
curiosity? Yeah, what is
it about curiosity that reallydrives it for you?
You learn so much more by beingcurious about others than you
ever could have by staying inyour own head. I mean, I already
(45:47):
know what's in here. I don'tknow what's out there. Yeah,
Curiosity is just, it's justpowerful. It really is. It's,
it's, it's amazing. Yeah, youlearn so much, and it takes you
in all different directions.Yeah, I
love that. What was the greatestthing to happen to you last
year?
Oh, gosh, yeah, starting, notstarting, because I had already
(46:08):
started my business. Starting infull time in my business was
incredible. I learned so muchand that, yeah, that's
definitely the number one thing.This number two thing because,
you know, I have to slip anotherthing in there is I gave myself
a gift of a trip after 26 years.And, you know, in the industry,
I was like, I am giving myself aretirement gift. And I went on a
(46:32):
hiking trip with a group, andit's a fabulous company that
does these trips. And so I didthat, and I went to Maine, and
never been to Maine before.
Oh, that's awesome. Sorry. Areyou a big hiker? Is that
something you like to do? I
love to hike. Yeah, I don't doit enough, but it was fabulous.
I had really good time. Okay,
so here, here's what we're goingto commit to do. We are going to
(46:54):
put together an event for ourripplers in Austin, and we'll go
on a hike, and we're going tohave you be our guide. Oh,
my goodness, I will sign up forgoing to that, and I will help
you figure out who's the bestperson to be that guide. I don't
want to get as lost. Soeverybody
that signs up is going to haveto go through an evaluation so
she can evaluate the data right
(47:14):
there. That's right, that'sright.
I love that, but that would be afun thing. I've been
threatening. We did this yearsago, but we did this thing
called the walkabout ripple, andwe got together, and everybody
paired off. We had a couple ofripple connection questions,
just as our guide. And thenevery few minutes we would swap
partners, but we would, youknow, we'd all end up at the
(47:35):
same destination, but by thetime from the time we left to
the time we arrived, and thengot back to our original you
know, our cars where we started.It was like people that didn't
know each other or looked ateach other as complete
strangers. Now had friends, andthey had done this activity, and
they had enjoyed it. They got tolearn some things about people
(47:56):
that they didn't know before.They got to express some things
that they never expected toshare about themselves, and it
was just a really fun, fun wayto do it, much probably like
your trip, right? You go to thatit's you know, facilitated in a
way that makes it supercomfortable and accommodating
for all those that are there.You're all you know, focused on
one goal, but by the end, youbecome pretty close with those
(48:18):
folks because you're the sharedexperience becomes a really
great opportunity to bondAbsolutely.
I love that example. I wish Iwould have been at to your
event. At your event.
Yeah, we'll do another one. Wealso did a walk about where we
walked in East Austin beforemuch fake change. Now it's like
all gentrified, but there wassome really cool, very awesome,
very unique architecture. And agood friend of mine, Maria
(48:41):
Gatling, took us on a on a phonetour. It was a phone
photographic walk about, and wewent. We all the goal was, hey,
whatever you find interesting inyour eye, you know, put that
together, and then we broughtall those pictures together to
kind of showcase what everybodywas looking at. And it was, it
was really powerful, so we needto bring those back. So yeah,
(49:04):
we'll have to, we'll have to doone in your honor, and
especially in honor of thisepisode. So there we go. We'll
have to do it when it warms upspring, which will probably be
tomorrow. Yeah,
that's right, Saturday,
yesterday, tomorrow, probably doit tomorrow. But I love that
plan, yeah.
So we are definitely you got,you got to hold me accountable
so and you know, hold meaccountable to do it. We'll make
(49:25):
it happen. I'll do what is thebest thing that you could hear a
former colleague from Dell sayabout you and the work that you
guys did together,
that I impacted their lifepositively, yeah, that I help
them get to wherever they weretrying to get. Yeah? That is so
(49:46):
rewarding to hear when, whenpeople do reach out. And so I'm
very blessed to have to impactedlives and to been to interact
with people, great people. Yeah,that's,
that's that that's really, I'mno. Out there saying that about
you without question, what's thebook that changed your life?
(50:07):
Looking at my bookshelf, um,changed my life, man, see, I
asked your questions beforehand.
That's right for our audience.You have to understand we both.
We both come in very preparedfor these things, and I think I
(50:29):
made Jennifer very uneasy whenI'm like, don't worry about it.
I got questions. And she's like,I don't know that. I trust you
with these questions. The
other hard part is beinginterviewed as a coach, because
I always ask questions. I don'tget asked questions. I'm like,
This is not awkward. This is notthe right yeah. Order here,
(50:53):
the dynamics different thanyou're used to. I love it. Um,
gosh, um, I about this
maybe not changed your life,literally. Let me rephrase a
book that really made an impacton you.
Well, so many, I am going to sayI'm looking at it right here. It
was right on the top of mybookshelf here. So was this one?
(51:13):
Okay? You asked for one thing. Ialways answer with two. Okay,
I'm gonna go with radicalcandor. By Kim Scott, yeah, I
mentioned early earlier, anotherfavorite coach of mine. He
always says, be totally honestand totally kind at the same
time. And he's been saying thatfor decades. And Kim Scott, when
(51:34):
she came out with her book, itbasically says the same thing.
She you know, she says it'sslightly different words, but,
yeah, combine the two, andthat's how you can communicate
well with others and get thedecisions you need made. The
interactions you know, gobetter. Everything kind of falls
into place when you are totallyhonest and totally kind
at the same time. I love that.Well, you pull the second book
(51:57):
off the shelf, what's up? Did
atomic habit habits by Jamesclear,
that's so great. I mean thatthat book, I mean, it's been a
game changer for a lot ofpeople, for myself included, I'd
offer it and suggest it to allmy clients as well. It's just
very, very, very valuable, yes,yes, and a really good way to
evaluate what habits do I havethat aren't supporting me right
(52:20):
now, right? Things that I'vejust allowed to continue to
happen over and over again, thatI need to change and alter.
That's right? And it can be sosimple. You can just put things
in your way or out of take themout of your way. That's just one
piece of atomic habits thatalways sticks with me, like, you
know, move things out of yourway if you don't want you can
make this easier for yourself.Yeah, that's
(52:41):
a novel concept right there.Like, wait, what? I can make it
easier on myself. It's thatsimple. Don't
have the sugar in the house. Oh,okay, now it's easier to drop
that habit stick. Yeah, yeah,absolutely.
I love that who played anintegral role in helping you
become the awesome person thatyou are today.
(53:02):
My mom, yeah, she's an amazingperson. She is a great mom, and
she always encouraged me, and Ifelt like I could do anything.
Yeah,
that's great. Yeah, I love that.I love that. All right. Final
two questions, when you hear thephrase the ripple effect. What
(53:22):
comes to mind for you? What doesthat mean to you?
It means so many people beingable to touch each other in a
very efficient way, you know?And it just, it, just it, just
expand. It's expansive. Yeah,yeah. What
a great answer. I love that. Andwhat ripple Can I look to create
(53:45):
for you in the upcoming year?
Oh, thank you for asking. Well,yeah, any you know, I just would
love to continue to get to know,you know, because I've been on
your your website, and I've beenpaying attention listening to
your your podcast. And so I'velearned a ton. I continue, I
will continue to do that for me.I guess you know, if anyone
(54:07):
wants to know more about me orlearn more about my coaching
style or my leadershipdevelopment programs, I am happy
to help. I have such a passionfor those two pieces of work
that that is my goal, is to justhelp leaders grow in many
different ways. So yeah, I love
that. Well, we will definitelydo our part to help promote that
(54:27):
our audience I know will want tolearn more about your work. So
could you share, what's the bestway to, you know, engage with
you. If you've got a what Iknow, you've got a website, and
if you're on social, if the anyof those handles you want to
share, yeah, those in the shownotes. But you know, if you want
to share those now, that'd befine.
Thank you. Yeah, best way tocontact me, I am in LinkedIn. So
(54:49):
in my last name is a tricky one.So if you're if this video for
people are just listening, it'sH, U, T, C, H, E, S O N. I spell
that every day of my lifebecause it's very common. Yeah?
Every day, and then so mywebsite is just, is my name?
Jennifer hutchison.com,
awesome, and I mean to securethat domain, I think is pretty
(55:09):
awesome. I love that when I sawit, and you've got a beautiful
website, and very helpful interms of someone being able to
see, hey, is this someone that Ineed to, you know, maybe engage
and get to know a little bitbetter and see if I can, you
know, work together. I think youdo a great, great job, like
communicating through thewebsite, for sure, any social
(55:30):
handles that you're on otherthan LinkedIn that you care to
share. No,
okay, then I show my age, yes,not. So
she's 12. It's fine. She's onsome cool new thing that she
doesn't want to share with us,right? Yeah, that's
it. I think it might be on theother side. Yeah, no, I am. I
probably need that. That needsto be one of the goals for this
(55:51):
year. Thank you for pointingthat out.
Well, wasn't intentional. Iwasn't trying
to call you out or anything. No,that's fabulous. I always love
to, yeah, put more things on mymoving forward list. Yeah, that
list,
probably, as an entrepreneur,just never gets shorter. It just
getting bigger, right? Yeah.Well, Jennifer, thank you so
(56:12):
much. I want to thank ouraudience for being a part of
this interview. Obviously yousee what I see in Jennifer, why
you want to connect and engagewith her. We are super excited
to you know, to get this episodeout to you guys, please jump on
Jennifer's website and learnabout her services, what she
offers, because I think you willdefinitely benefit. And we'll be
back with another episode of theripple effect podcast very soon,
(56:35):
but until Then, Jennifer, asalways, ripple
on. Thank you, Steve. You
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