November 1, 2024 • 50 mins
In this months episode, Danielle Whah shares her incredible journey from a mechanical engineer at Panasonic to a significant leadership role at Whirlpool, and now her impactful work with C12, an organization dedicated to integrating faith in the workplace.
Danielle talks about her upbringing, her mechanical engineering background, and how her quest for spiritual and professional fulfillment led her to pursue an MBA while raising a family. She delves into her pivot to marketing and sales, her leadership philosophies, and her transformative shift to integrating her Christian faith openly in her professional life.
Listeners will be inspired by Waugh's commitment to authenticity, her belief in continual growth, and her emphasis on balancing personal faith with professional excellence.
Danielle's LinkedIn page
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jason (00:00):
Welcome to the biblical leadership at work podcast.
I am your host, Jason Woodard.
And this month's podcast, wewill meet Danielle.
Why?
Listen in as Danielle shares herjourney from a mechanically
inclined childhood, working inthe garage with her dad to a
successful career as amechanical engineer, and
eventually moving into variousleadership roles.
(00:22):
As Danielle discusses her rolesat Panasonic and Whirlpool, she
reveals how her faith played acrucial role in shaping her
career and personal life.
She emphasizes the importance ofbeing authentic.
Knowing one's identity in Christand integrating faith into the
workplace.
Danielle is now leading.
12 in west Michigan, where shementors, Christian business
(00:45):
leaders, helping them navigatethe intersection of faith and
work.
All right.
Well, Danielle Watt, thank youso much for being on the podcast
today, sister.
I, uh, really look forward tohearing about your background
and what God has done in andthrough you throughout your
career.
So thank you for joining metoday.
Danielle (01:06):
Thank you for having me.
I am super excited to be herewith you and to chat more about
what we're doing here in WestMichigan and my background and
build up and how I might be ableto help and inspire somebody
else.
Jason (01:17):
Awesome.
So let's, uh, get started withyour, with your background.
Danielle, what was your, can youtake us back maybe even
education, early career on upthrough where God has you at
today?
Danielle (01:29):
Yeah.
Um, my background, my story.
Um, I can go on forever, butI'll try to be quick and then
you can cut me off when you needto.
Um, we've talked before a littlebit and I've mentioned my dad.
Um, I, I grew up in a spacewhere my dad really instilled in
me that I can do anything.
(01:50):
That I feel like I'm called andled to do.
And not only can I, but I neededto, and he showed me the ropes
and all kinds of things.
And you know what, when it cametime for me to leave high school
and to go into college, I had noidea what I wanted to do, but I
knew I was mechanically strongraised in his garage and in his
(02:10):
workshop and tinkering withboats and tinkering with cars.
If you wanted a car, you had toknow how to fix the car.
So I went into mechanicalengineering.
And, um, it was a fabulousfoundation for me, um, from an
educational standpoint, that wasreally a launching pad for
essentially going anywhere.
And you'll hear that briefly asI go through, you know, my
(02:33):
background and where I ended up,um, but that, that.
Learning how to solve problemsis truly what that discipline
taught me.
And, um, and I did it in such away and learning through people
and experiences that helped meprepare for what I was going to
experience, um, in the realworld, in the business world,
(02:53):
when I got out there, sograduated from the university of
Louisville down in Kentucky.
I live in Michigan now.
Um, we'll talk about that atsome other time, but yes, I
still live in Michigan 22 yearslater and absolutely love it up
here.
Um, but I went to school, um,and after graduating went to
Panasonic Home Appliance Companydown in Danville, Kentucky.
(03:14):
And I was leading design teamsfor floor care product.
So I designed cordless vacuums,bagless vacuums, all things, um,
that suck.
Duh duh duh, right?
Um, so I was going through thatphase of my career and after one
of the first products that wentfrom, Early innovation all the
(03:36):
way to production.
It rolled right off of theproduction line, which is what I
loved about Panasonic.
Like our engineering was upfront and everything, like the
lab moves seamlessly in themiddle.
We had our tooling department.
We had our manufacturing lines.
You can literally walk thatproduct from beginning to end.
The first one rolled off themanufacturing line and I was not
happy.
I was sad because I wanted toknow who bought it.
(03:58):
Why did they buy it?
What did they pay for it?
Did they like what theypurchased?
That led me to go back to schooland get an MBA.
Um, so went back to school toget an MBA.
Um, was Raising a family at thetime.
So working full time, going toschool at night and trying to,
uh, have babies.
That's, uh, an interesting, uh,stage in my life for sure.
(04:19):
But, uh, if the Lord, uh, putsit in front of you, you got to
go after it, know that he'sgoing to give you the strength
to get through it.
And that's what I can say.
You know, he did.
Um, so once I finished the MBA,I got a call from this company
called Whirlpool, up here.
And Benton Harbor, Michigan.
And I thought, well, my dadtaught me to love boats.
I love water.
(04:39):
I have never seen thisfreshwater ocean people call
Lake Michigan.
So I'm going to go up there, getsome interview experience.
It's been a while.
And you know what?
Never ever am I going to acceptthe job.
Never ever am I going to move toMichigan.
And 22 years later, I'm stillliving here in Michigan.
So accepted that job atWhirlpool, which was awesome.
Um, still at that time in theengineering space.
(05:01):
Um, but it was a very shortTenure ship at Whirlpool in the
engineering space.
And then I quickly moved overinto marketing and product
development, which led me intoour sales team and then to our
merchandising team and manyother leadership roles at
Whirlpool that just gave me, um,another fabulous.
Foundation and build up forleading large and small teams,
(05:23):
both locally, remotely, um,leading sales teams, leading
product organizations.
I mean, just the peopleleadership experience that I got
was just fabulous, but therecame a time when that wasn't
enough.
Um, I had experienced a prettyrapid change in my relationship
with the Lord.
(05:44):
And we, we can maybe get intothat at some time too.
And I just realized that what Iwas.
Doing at Whirlpool, peopledidn't know who I was as a
Christian.
They didn't know who I was asdaughter of Christ.
And I did not like that aboutmyself.
So my husband thankfully sawthat and he encouraged me to
(06:06):
take a step back and to takesome time off time off that I
have never had in my entirelife.
And I, I took some time off andI did some soul searching about
what's next for me.
And in the course of mysearching and praying, I was
getting.
Frustrated because the wholepatience thing in the Bible, I
haven't quite fully grasped thatjust yet.
Um, and I was just reallylooking for what's next, Lord,
(06:30):
what's next?
Like you gave me this greatbuildup.
What am I supposed to be doing?
And finally, my husband getsimpatient with me after many
months of me searching.
And he's like, Danielle, there'sthis group, it's called C12.
And you send me leadershipmaterials that are faith based
all the time.
Like I have folders of stufffrom this organization.
(06:52):
How about you check them out?
And so with that prompting thereand that nudge from, from Ken,
um, I started looking into C 12and realized that this fabulous
organization didn't have anybusiness forums here in West
Michigan.
Or Northern Indiana.
And so now three and a halfyears, I've been with C12 and
leading business forums ofChristian executives and CEOs
(07:15):
and trying to help.
Each other, figure out what thisthing called faith in the
workplace actually is and whatit looks like and how we can do
that.
Well,
Jason (07:24):
How long was it from the time you, uh, left Whirlpool
till you started C12?
Danielle (07:30):
wow.
That's an interesting story.
Um, so insert a measurably moreinto our conversation right now.
Um, so you'll, my life verse isout of Ephesians three 20.
Um, and it is, and it speaks somuch life into me and has for
many years.
Um, I intentionally took aboutsix months off.
And then I thought the Lord wascalling me to take my business
(07:53):
build up and go in and lead andserve and consult with nonprofit
organizations, um, who knewtheir mission, they knew their
vision, they knew their calling,but maybe they just needed a
little bit of business structurehelp and, and getting through
some of that so that they canexecute their mission, vision,
and values really well.
So I started a company calledImmeasurably More.
After Ephesians 3 20.
(08:14):
And, um, I was doing that for awhile and I realized I was not a
great solopreneur.
So that's when I startedsearching again and I found C12,
but the great thing about C12 isin our roles is what we call a
chair at C12.
We want to make sure that we aretruly called to lead and serve
(08:36):
in the capacity that we'redoing.
I mean, we're, we're talkingimportant things.
It's not just business, it'sbusiness, it's faith, it's
family, it's health, it's mentalhealth, it's all the things,
everything, person, it's exactlywhat the Lord meant community to
be.
But C12 was like, listen, ifyou're called to lead and serve
(08:56):
this way, we got to make sureyou're right.
And you're called for this.
And so they have a mutualdiscernment process.
And, um, some people it'sshorter and some people like me,
it's longer because I wanted totest things out a little bit.
So it took me about a yearwalking with C12 before I
decided full time to, uh, totake the plunge and to join this
fabulous group,
Jason (09:15):
And this was the start of a new cha Is it called a
chapter?
Is that what they're referred
Danielle (09:20):
a, we're a franchise organization, so we call it
territory, but
Jason (09:24):
Yeah.
So that was, it wasn't like youwere taking over an existing
territory from somebody.
This was a new start in the areaand in our area.
Danielle (09:32):
yeah, we got C12 forums meeting across the globe
now.
Super excited.
We're now serving over 4, 000members across the globe.
But here in West Michigan, whenI looked, there was groups over
in Chicago, groups in Detroit,groups down in Indy and nothing
in the middle.
Jason (09:47):
Yeah.
No, I'm glad you're here.
I've known of the organizationfor a long time and obviously I
think the mission is exactlywhat I'm trying to do on this
podcast, right?
How do we as leaders love outour faith at work and glorify
Christ and the work that we doand how we lead.
So.
So, uh, it's good.
Hey, tell us a little bit,Danielle, tell us, well, wait, I
have one other question before Igo to my next one.
(10:08):
How many other females were inyour class of engineering,
mechanical engineers atLouisville?
Danielle (10:16):
Yeah, there was me and three others and all three were
Asian.
So I was
Jason (10:22):
Oh, wow.
I've, and you know this aboutme, we've talked offline, but
I've, you know, I've grown up inthe manufacturing industry for.
35 years and yeah, just seeingmore females come into the
technical space.
You know, that stem space, Iguess, has been, It's been good
to see, but I know, you know, 30years ago, 25, 30 years ago.
(10:45):
Um, definitely, and I would seestill probably not, not even a
half, um, female to male ratio,but it's growing.
So,
Danielle (10:53):
You didn't ask me this, but let me share this with
Jason (10:55):
go for it.
Danielle (10:56):
role at Panasonic.
Um, so Japanese.
Run company.
Um, our leader in ourengineering space was Japanese
man.
His name was Scott Shimizu.
Um, and, uh, he is not as tallas me and he was not used to
working with women.
And so he and I had quite thelearning curve together on how
(11:17):
to learn, how to, uh, Play welltogether in the business space
and learn and lean in on eachother's differences and
experiences and all of thesebeautiful things that happen
when you've got a diverse groupof folks working together.
But I remember the day I toldthem I was leaving and going up
to Whirlpool, he pulled me asideand he told me, he was like,
(11:39):
Danielle, You scared thedaylights out of me when you
joined Panasonic.
He said, I did not know how tolead a female, much less a
female engineer.
And so it was just reallyexciting to, to see the growth
in both of us over the, the timethat we worked together.
Jason (11:56):
That's good.
That's a great way to leavethat.
That was an impactfulrelationship then.
So,
Danielle (12:00):
Absolutely.
Jason (12:01):
um, tell us a little bit about your family.
You mentioned your husband, buttalk to us a little bit about
husband, children.
What's that
Danielle (12:07):
Yeah.
We're a blended family, uh,living here in Southwest
Michigan, um, on this beautifulfreshwater ocean that I
mentioned earlier, and that's agreat time of year to be here, I
must say.
Yeah.
We have six kids between the twoof us and one grandson.
So, uh, we needed to have thegrandson because we have five
girls and one boy.
(12:28):
Um, they are all over the place.
I think officially they live allsix kids in six different cities
right now, which is a littlescary to think about where
everybody's going to end upsettling.
Um, but we have one that hasgraduated from Michigan state
and is now doing fabulously wellout in California.
Yeah.
And getting ready to get marriedin April.
So super excited about that.
(12:50):
Um, we have one that's livingdown in Chesterton type Indiana
area.
And, um, she is the daughter ofour grandson Emmett, who is
absolutely the love of our life.
And, um, she is doingextraordinarily well as a single
mom.
Working full time and going backto school.
Jason (13:09):
and raising little Emmett?
Danielle (13:10):
And raising little Emmett.
Jason (13:12):
How old
Danielle (13:12):
be five in
Jason (13:13):
Oh, I have a, our oldest granddaughter just turned five.
It's so fun.
Danielle (13:17):
So fun.
So fun.
Um, then we have two that justgraduated college.
So Grace from university ofMichigan.
Go blue and Jonna from grandValley university.
And both of them are going to begoing on to grad school.
Uh, we've got Justin who is inthe coast guard.
He's serving over in Detroitright now at station bell aisle.
(13:38):
So that makes mama's heart veryhappy that he's.
Only a quick car ride away, atleast for right now.
And then our youngest is Jaden.
She's 17 and finishing out herjunior year of high school.
Jason (13:48):
Okay, so one left at home.
That's kind of, yeah, ouryoungest is the last one at home
as well.
So very cool.
Wow.
And so at once they all get outof college, you and your husband
are going to feel like you got abig pay raise.
That's a lot of kids in collegeat one time.
Danielle (14:01):
Yes, sir, it is.
Jason (14:03):
Hey, Danielle, let's talk about faith.
What's uh, how did you come toknow the Lord?
Did you grow up in a church?
Like what's that look like?
I'd love to hear your testimony.
Danielle (14:12):
Yeah, um, faith for me started with my parents and
grandparents.
I was born and raised Catholic.
Um, down in Louisville,Kentucky.
Um, I kind of feel likeeverybody in my community and
anybody that I knew was, um, myparents did not have a lot of
money, but did whatever theycould to find the funds to make
(14:32):
sure that my brother, sister,and I, um, got a Catholic
education.
So went through Catholic gradeschool, four years of all girls,
Catholic high school.
And through that, there was justa fabulous foundation.
Um, of what it means to knowJesus and know the Bible.
Um, but I will tell you therelationship part I didn't get
(14:57):
until much later in my life.
So fast forward from that, I'mliving up here in Michigan.
I'm, uh, found myself as asingle mom of two.
Um, I mentioned that Ken and Iare a blended family.
And so I'm here in Michigan.
No family here, a single mom oftwo.
Again, we're back to water.
I love boats.
Um, and the Lord put this couplein my life, uh, named Adam and
(15:21):
Lori Wade, who bought theirfirst boat and ended up slipping
in the same kind of area of themarina that I was at.
And the two of them talked moreto me about what it means to
have a relationship with Christ.
Than anyone I have everexperienced before at first.
I was like, what is up withthese people?
They're kind of weird I meanlike we're on the boat.
(15:42):
Why are they talking about theirfaith?
Like I mean, don't they go tochurch on sunday and talk to
people there like that was meAnd um through the course of
getting to know them and theminviting me Um to attend church
with them at a church that i'mstill going to today is where I
will tell you That's reallywhere I met the lord Uh, for the
(16:02):
first time.
And, um, and, and in a way andwith a relationship that was
truly heart.
I had, I feel like I had all thehead stuff, you know, just this
great foundation that I referredto.
But man, it was like that, thatjourney from the head to the
heart for me took a while.
And, um, once I allowed him inand he took hold of my heart, my
(16:25):
entire world changed.
Jason (16:27):
Yeah, it does.
That's right.
Danielle (16:29):
Yeah,
Jason (16:30):
Awesome.
So is that how you and yourhusband Matt then at within the
church or okay.
Danielle (16:40):
And, uh, when I came up into Whirlpool, you know, I,
I knew of him, uh, we were bothleading, um, in different ways,
but in a similar team, and hewas always one of those leaders
that I looked up to that peoplewere just like, you know, in
work, you need to have a mentor,right.
You want to go to work for aleader who is really good,
(17:01):
really strong, but somebody whocares.
And I can remember from yearsback saying, listen, you know
what, if you have an opportunityto go work in a different group,
or you want to do a differentexperience, wherever Ken Wah is,
go work for him.
And so I knew of Ken throughWhirlpool, but it took fast
forwarding to life and what lifeended up for both of us, where
(17:23):
we were able to find each otherand develop a relationship with
each other to realize, okay,this is another example of, you
know, the Lord's blessings andturning amazing, beautiful
things into sometimes our crazymesses.
Jason (17:36):
Yeah.
Danielle (17:37):
He and I actually met at Whirlpool, but we did get
baptized together here on thebeaches of
Jason (17:41):
Oh, that's
Danielle (17:42):
Um, I mentioned Adam Wade about, you know, in my
buildup and in my story.
Um, so Ken and I were now bothgoing to Lakeshore Christian and
we were engaged and we decidedwe wanted to recommit.
ourselves to the Lord.
And so we asked Adam to baptizeus together here on the shores
of West Michigan or SouthwestMichigan.
(18:03):
And, um, and he baptized usthere, but then he also
officiated a sand ceremony forour wedding.
And then that sand ceremony,Adam poured in as the
foundation, the sand from thebeach where we both got baptized
together.
And then Ken and I poured insands representative of each one
of our families, which is justan absolutely beautiful symbol
(18:24):
that we still have up on our,our bookshelf today of, uh, you
know, Christ is our foundation.
Jason (18:30):
that's right.
That's a great story.
Thank you for sharing that.
Um, I'll talk about leadership alittle bit.
Danielle, you've been leadingfor, uh, many years and you've
seen great leaders and nowyou're mentoring, coaching, and
helping leaders in variousbusinesses.
When you think about leadership,what are the top, say two or
three like core principles thatyou just always go back to when
(18:52):
you think about effectiveleadership?
Danielle (18:54):
Number one.
is know who you are.
Jason (18:58):
Okay.
Danielle (18:59):
two is know who you are.
And I think for a lot of years Iknew who I was.
Um, people knew that I, I'm notafraid to tell you what I'm
thinking.
Um, maybe I needed to have afilter sometimes on when I told
people what I was thinking.
Um, but that, that comes laterin the who's you are kind of
thing, right?
And making those better choicesabout our words and what we say
(19:21):
and when we say them.
But, um, being truly authenticand knowing who you are, um, in
the workplace, you're going tofind yourself up in front of,
walking beside, running alongwith, and sometimes opposing a
lot of individuals with a lot ofbeliefs and backgrounds and
thoughts and experiences thatare different than yours.
Jason (19:44):
Yep.
Yep.
Danielle (19:45):
Um, if, if you are easily swayed one way or the
other, You're not truly bringingyour whole self.
So finding that ability to, tolisten to others and
understanding where you'recoming from and finding that
best possible solution out ofboth, man.
(20:05):
I just think that that's thebest thing that you can do.
But I, the second one was nowho's you are like, I.
I also was tossed to and fro inthe workplace until I truly
figured out who I was in Christand who he was in me and how he
was leading through me.
Jason (20:20):
Yeah.
I think I, when you said no, no,who you are, I can, I, you know,
I think back through leadershipmaturity for me and starting to
understand more about myself andbeing comfortable with that.
And like you said, not lookingnecessarily at other leaders
that are different and saying,well, I gotta be like that, or I
gotta be like this.
(20:40):
Right.
But being, I guess, growingcomfortable with.
Not, not complacent in our owngrowth and development, but
knowing that God has wired you acertain way with certain skill
sets and certain strengths andbeing okay with those and
leveraging those andunderstanding, as you said,
okay, I'm direct, that's good,but I can be harsh or I can be
(21:05):
unsympathetic.
Okay.
How do I manage that?
I'm not going to ever I'm notgoing to ever completely, you
know, overcome that, but in someof the tools, right, the disc
tools and the Myers Briggstools, I mean, I'm a fan of, I
can remember starting to learnmore about, oh, wow, this is,
yeah, I'm wired this way and noteverybody's wired this way and
that's okay.
This is how, you know, the Lordmade me.
Danielle (21:25):
Yes.
100%.
And you mentioned, you know,complacency, um, just a minute
ago.
And if you know who you are andwhose you are, it ties right
back in to that.
Immeasurably more back intoEphesians three 20 and my life
verse, um, immeasurably moremeans you're always growing.
You're always changing.
And those people at which yousurround yourself with are going
(21:48):
to be a big part of your growthtrajectory.
Um, I should know who said this,but you know, there's some
great.
Wise gentlemen somewhere whoonce said you are the
combination of the five peopleyou spend the most time with.
Think about who you spend yourtime with in the business space.
Are those people that you reallywant to be like?
(22:10):
So surround yourself with peoplewho are.
Fueling you with the light ofChrist and the knowledge of
business.
And they're not scared tointertwine on both.
That's when some crazy cooldynamics happen and people start
to lead and serve in ways thatwill just absolutely blow your
mind.
Jason (22:30):
Yeah.
And you know, and that,especially as believers, right,
that we're surrounding ourselfwith, that's why church is so
important to have those, thosefive people I've heard that
same.
And I think there's a lot oftruth to it that, you know, the
church community and our closefriends from our church and
hopefully, and I'm, I'm veryfortunate in that some brothers
I serve with are also, um,leaders and they're out, you
(22:51):
know, outside of church.
We lead in church, but these aremen who lead in the military,
men who lead in the, in theworkplace and to be able to talk
about faith and work and how dowe apply it together is, uh,
it's huge.
And it really, yeah, it's, Very,very much fuels and helps me
grow as a, as a leader.
And hopefully, you know, in my,in my service to Christ, what
(23:15):
are your spiritual disciplines?
How do you grow insanctification?
How do you stay close to theLord?
What are the things you do?
Danielle (23:21):
Yeah.
Um, first and foremost is Iwould,
Jason (23:26):
I wed, I wed.
What is that?
Danielle (23:29):
every day.
Jason (23:30):
Oh, okay.
Danielle (23:31):
Yeah.
We're back to the same guyagain.
That's a, that's a tagline, Iguess, if you will, that Adam
shared with our C12 forum.
And it's something we allgravitated to.
And, um, our, our founder of C12Buck Jacobs also, I mean, he is,
I mean, he just grills into usand everyone that he meets is
(23:52):
that first hour.
Is the most important hour.
So if you feel like you need towake up and do anything first,
other than maybe go to thebathroom, that's okay.
Jason (24:03):
Right.
Brush your teeth.
Go to the bathroom.
Danielle (24:05):
don't, don't start swiping that phone.
Don't start.
And I'm, I'm guilty of that.
I do that.
But then I have to quickly resetmyself to say, Hey, first things
first.
I need to get in the word.
Um, I need to be thankful forall the blessings.
Those count your blessings oneby one.
We all heard that so many yearsago, but it still is incredibly
(24:26):
true and relevant in our livestoday.
And finding ways for me throughall of that is to truly lean on
the Lord for show me what's infront of me today.
I can be the one who's lookingtomorrow, six months out next
year.
I'm quite the planner.
Um, but to get rerouted backinto Lord, who is it that you're
(24:49):
putting in front of me today?
That I need to lead and servebecause you have put me here in
this moment right now and equipme Make me ready.
Let me see it make me willing toact on it and make me ready when
it happens So first spiritualdiscipline I would say is is
being that word every day And
Jason (25:10):
couldn't agree more.
I will tell you that over theyears, I mean, I think I've been
pretty consistently in the wordfor Quite a long time.
Thanks to the Lord.
He's, he's, he's put me insituations that forced me to do
that.
That's I, I'm a, I'm a thickheaded person, but I'll say that
for the last several years, um,I have changed my habit from
(25:30):
evening to morning because inthe evenings I just, I felt
exhausted and I'm like, I'm justnot, you know, it's just not, so
I just forced myself to get upearlier.
And it has been a game changerthat first hour.
And I, you know, and I, and Itry to shoot for an hour of
prayer and, and reading at leastthe chapter and yeah.
And it, it doesn't happen everyday and some days it's 30
(25:52):
minutes, but that I, I start theday that way and, and yeah,
it's, uh, it's huge.
So.
Absolutely.
Danielle (25:58):
that that you could read?
a verse or a chapter today Andyou could read it a year ago and
maybe in six months from now andmaybe even tomorrow You know And
it is going to speak differentlyto
Jason (26:11):
yep.
Danielle (26:12):
when you're truly have your heart and mind open and in
tune to the Holy Spirit, it is,again, it amazes me.
And, and I don't understand likethe Lord, just like Danielle,
immeasurably more than all youask or imagine.
Do I have to keep blowing yourmind?
I'm like, yes, you do.
Please keep blowing my mind.
Jason (26:30):
Yep.
Yeah.
I just finished Genesis.
I'm in chapter four now ofExodus and of course, you know,
read Genesis, right?
I mean we read Genesis and wewere kids over and over and
yeah, you're right though.
Different, different time inlife, different application.
You know, it's the same word,it's the same, it's the same
information.
It's the same inspired word, butyou know, depending on where
you're at the application andhow he transforms you at that
(26:53):
moment through that word isdifferent.
Uh, different leadership topics.
So you, you might've hit on thisearlier, but I always like to
ask people who have been leadingfor a while.
What was something that youstruggled with early on as a
leader?
And what did you do to overcomeit?
Is it something you stillstruggle with?
I've talked to leaders who arein their sixties and say, this
(27:15):
is something I still, hardwiredto do.
So how have you managed it?
How have you overcome it?
Have you overcome it?
So talk to us about that.
Danielle (27:26):
that's, that's a good one.
Um, I'm going to say leading upand you might hear a lot of
people use the word managing up.
It's that sounds a littlemanipulative to me, uh, managing
up, but I would say it's, it'sleading up and it's leading up
and for me in two ways, it's thewhole, gender thing really
(27:49):
didn't matter to me because Iwas always surrounded by A group
of men, whether it be in schoolor like I said, when I was
tinkering in the garage with mydad, um, that really wasn't a
thing for me, but learning howto lead up for people who are at
a higher level than I, how do Iappropriately lead up where I am
(28:10):
fully respecting them and theirposition and their experiences.
But also being true to me andthe same, you know, being the
same person all the time and,and, and being able to tell them
why sometimes maybe their ideaisn't the best idea.
And here's other things thatneed to be considered.
(28:31):
Um, so that one from a positionleading up is one, um, but also
leading up an age.
So most of my career, the peoplethat I was leading on my teams
were older than
Jason (28:45):
Yeah.
Danielle (28:46):
Older, wiser, more experienced, different thoughts
on all kinds of things.
And, and both of those things asa young leader were things that
I really had to soul search andfigure out how I can do it.
And how I can do it.
Well, I remember I had a leaderat Whirlpool once tell me I was
headed out, um, into our salesorganization and I was going to
(29:07):
lead one of our sales teams and,um, there was probably, I don't
remember now, nine or 10, 11, Idon't know, um, field sales
individuals who were all remote,who all would be reporting to
me.
And the only thing that theyknew about me was this young
chick up and Cummer at Whirlpoolis now going to come lead us.
(29:30):
And this leader told me, hesaid, in that first meeting, you
literally have about 60 secondsfor them to truly see who you
are and have respect for why youwere there.
And that just really resonatedwith me to say, have the
confidence.
And where you have been calledto lead and serve.
(29:51):
And it was reminding me,Danielle, just because they're
older, just because they havemore experience, just because
you're called to be here at thismoment.
So lean into that calling, getover yourself and figure out how
you do it in ways that celebratethem, their experiences, their
knowledge.
But then also celebrate what youcan bring to the table and the
(30:13):
two of those things together.
It's a much higher, greateropportunity and force than what
either of you could have donealone.
So that was really, I think,the, one of the things that I
had to learn how to do.
But, you know, you asked me, doI still struggle with it today?
I do.
Um, I mean, I've, I've neverbeen the CEO of a company I've,
(30:36):
aside from owning my C12franchise, which now I can say
that I'm a, a business owner.
I never owned my own businessyet.
I am leading and serving CEOsand business owners.
And there's times when I'm like,really publicly traded company.
You want me to go talk to them,Lord?
And again, he has to remind me.
(30:58):
Yes, immeasurably more Danielledo it.
You are called to be here rightnow.
And, and go for it.
Jason (31:03):
I can remember struggling with a manager that I had, and I
had a really good mentor at thetime, and he introduced me to
this concept of yeah, managingup, leading up.
I had never thought of it.
I'm like, what does that evenmean?
He gave me an HBR article said,read that and we'll talk, and it
was good.
I still have that article too.
It's like an old scanned copy onhow to, and it's got good
(31:24):
content, so that's good.
No, I appreciate you sayingthat.
I think that's That's it can bea big deal It can be a career
staller derailer if you are ifyou don't have a good
relationship with your managerand it takes you know being able
to build that relationship andfeel like that you're being
heard and Having some some levelof influence on them and you
know, so yeah Hey, is you so youwork with a lot of leaders from
(31:47):
different industries?
I mean you watch People andleaders.
What do you think is a is a Likeone of the most significant gaps
in leadership that are, thatjust have a big detriment that
you see quite often.
Danielle (32:00):
I think that lack of authenticity that we've talked
about, um, there's so manypeople that I have the
opportunity to speak with todaywho are faithful followers of
Christ and who lead and servebusinesses and just don't
understand how they can do both.
There's this great fear of whatcan I, or can't I do from a
(32:24):
legal perspective?
And.
I think that's one of thebiggest gaps is for people to,
to think that you have to be twoseparate people.
It's back to being that oneauthentic being that the Lord
made you to be.
Um, and so finding a way tobreak down that barrier between
(32:45):
the two worlds and finding thesynergy.
And living one life that'sfocused on one truth.
I think if we could all do that,those gaps in business that we
just talked about would probablygo away.
Jason (32:57):
Yeah.
And as I've worked through thatprobably for the last 10 or 15
years, it's been a prettyincredible like saying how,
yeah, I'm the same person,right?
I mean, when I'm at work, whenI'm at home, I am indwelled with
the Holy Spirit.
I'm a Christ follower.
you know, there's some differentobjectives and different things,
(33:17):
but that's who I am.
And that's okay to be that atwork.
And, you know, and in fact youshould, you should, that means
you should be really, reallygood at what you do and really
intense about it and you know,purposeful about it.
And it's, there's so much, Ithink now I've read probably
three or four books in the lastsix months that are on that
topic and, and, and reallytrying to get people to
(33:38):
understand that as Christians,We cannot see our, we cannot see
our work as just a necessaryevil.
We cannot see our work as a,just a tangible thing that
provides us an income.
It is not, it is a calling.
God has made us and wired us togo work and to do it really well
and we should shine as anexample.
Whether, whatever you're doing,it doesn't matter what you're
(33:58):
doing and God's put you in thatplace.
So I could get on a soapbox.
I've had several podcasts
Danielle (34:03):
Please do.
I love it.
Jason (34:05):
well, I've had, you know, there'll be podcasts that have
come out by NI by the time thisone does.
Where I've interviewed authorsthat have written on that, and
it's just so important forbelievers to understand that and
yeah.
So,
Danielle (34:17):
some fear in that as Christians, right?
Jason (34:20):
yeah.
Danielle (34:21):
Does that, does that mean you can make a mistake?
Yes, absolutely.
Absolutely.
And, and celebrate your wins andcelebrate and learn from your
mistakes.
And just because you're aChristian doesn't mean you've
got it all together.
Jason (34:36):
No, no.
Danielle (34:37):
of fact, if you want to give this perception you've
That you were that wonderfullyput together business leader,
father, mother, Christian churchleader, everything all in one.
And yee haw here I am.
Well, then you're a liar.
Jason (34:54):
That Amen.
Danielle (34:55):
we need to go back to finding that true authentic self
and be willing to say, Hey, Iscrewed up and that's okay.
And when you do watch thereaction of others around you,
And watch that circle ofinfluence that you can have and
watch others probably take adeep sigh to be like, okay, so
(35:17):
Jason's not perfect.
He, he is a real person.
So yeah, maybe I do need tofigure out what this thing that
he calls faith and work is like,and maybe I do need to
understand a little bit moreabout who's this God and how's
this Holy Spirit thing come intothe mix because.
Maybe I can find myself in a waywhere I can be open and
(35:40):
vulnerable and transparent and aleader and awesome and faithful
in this beautiful, messycreation that shines God's light
into the world.
Jason (35:50):
And I think too, in those situations where people put on
that appearance, cause it's anappearance, it, it intimidates
people in that you won't have,there won't be some authentic
relationships because they'renot going to be vulnerable to
you.
Cause they're like this, thisperson's, there's no way that
I'm going to tell this personabout my whatever, because they
(36:10):
are so perfect in all they do.
If they believe it, I had, and,and I think as a believer, I had
a great opportunity this week.
I made a mistake.
Was it yesterday?
Day before I, I, it was anoversight on my part.
And a guy in our shop was like,why didn't they do something?
And we should have done it.
I should have done it.
I should have made a decision.
It was on a safety issue.
(36:30):
We were moving fast and wedidn't, you know, we didn't do
something.
And, uh, he said something tosomebody else and it got back to
me and I went right out thereand I apologized to him.
I said, I should have, you'reright.
I should have.
Done that thing that you said Ishould have done.
And, you know, and he was, heshook my hand.
He was like, thank you.
Danielle (36:46):
Yeah.
So powerful.
Jason (36:48):
I think so.
Yeah.
Cause I'm like, I'm, I want tomake sure that we, that guy
knows that I, that we can have atrusting relationship and I'm an
honest person who, yes, I makemistakes.
And if I do, and when I do, Iwill be the first to admit it or
try to be the first.
Danielle (37:03):
Yes.
Jason (37:03):
I had another question that I asked people, I'm going
to ask this in a littledifferent way, because your work
is.
fundamentally faith based,right?
So the question I ask people ishow do you honor Christ in your
work?
But tell me about, you know,kind of let's think back to your
end of your career towards thetime when you were nearing the
end of your career at Whirlpool,like what did you try to do to
(37:25):
honor Christ in your work?
Like to, it sounds like you wentthrough a transformation of,
Hey, I don't want to be twopeople.
I want to be Danielle Waugh,who's a Christ follower at work
and at home.
So, I mean, what were somethings that you did there?
That you look back on and you'relike, I think I, I mean, I think
I did that well.
Danielle (37:41):
Yeah.
I think it, uh, it was again,this mind shift for me and
saying, you know what?
I know the product.
I know the brands.
I know my team.
I know the strategy.
I know what we need to be doing.
And I can trust and empower themto be doing that.
I need to be shifting more tothat vulnerable, authentic side
(38:02):
to where I was starting tomentor more.
And it wasn't mentorconversations of, Hey, look at
me, see what I've done.
How can I help you move fromposition A to B?
But it was really more of the,Hey, let me come alongside of
you.
Who are you?
What's your story?
What do you want to do?
What do you love about yourwork?
(38:23):
How can I help you, you know,like, serve and explore and
understand that?
And really mentor in ways thatgives the people the opportunity
to share their story, to maybeexplore what their calling is,
because they might not evenknow.
What that is.
They may not even believe inthat at that time.
(38:45):
Right?
So it was this shift in mindsetfor me to empower those who are
doing the job to do itexceedingly well.
And you still have to watch andmanage and, you know, show
results, right?
I mean, that's just part ofwork.
Like we don't, we don't dosloppy agape and whirlpool.
We didn't do sloppy agape andC12, right?
You've got to lead well, andyou've got to drive results.
(39:08):
Yeah.
But that shift for me wasmentoring the people to build
them up so they can deliver anddrive those results in ways that
again, here we go.
It's a measurably more, ithappens all the time.
It fits everywhere.
Jason (39:21):
Uh, developing and pouring into people is the most
rewarding part of leadership.
And my, I think you would saythe same thing.
I look back at people that Ihelped mentor 10 years ago.
I still get excited when I hearfrom them or see them, you know,
on LinkedIn, whatever, growing,getting promoted.
It's yeah, it's awesome.
Danielle (39:36):
I agree.
I agree.
Jason (39:38):
Wait, yeah, the business results are fun, but not nearly
as rewarding as people
Danielle (39:43):
The people, the people's what matter.
Jason (39:46):
Hey, who do you follow?
For your own leadershipdevelopment.
Who do you listen to who'sauthors podcast books?
Like what are somerecommendations that you would
encourage people to check out?
Danielle (39:55):
Wow.
Uh, there's so many of them thaton the spot, I will never be
able to pull them out.
Um, NC12, the great thing is, iswe have all these footnotes and
the curriculum that we put outevery month.
So there is never a lack of, ofknowledge and links that you can
dive into and explore and swirlout on.
Um, so when, when I don't needto be focused, I mean, I can
(40:16):
dive into that stuff forever.
But I mean, Craig Rochelle isone that continues to come back.
I mean, there's just a lot ofhis wisdom and insights.
Uh, Pat Lencioni.
Is another one.
Um, super excited about some ofthe things that we have coming
up between him and C12 and howhe's helping our team at HQ,
who's then in turn helping us.
(40:37):
So just some really cool thingsgoing.
Um, both of those men, I think,speak in ways from the heart
that really do define what isthis thing we called faith and
Jason (40:49):
Yeah, I just
Danielle (40:50):
do we do it exceedingly?
Well,
Jason (40:52):
I just really, I love, Lencioni's books are phenomenal.
I love his style and just theburns into your memory with the
way he writes and summarizes.
And I just found out he has apodcast.
I didn't know that.
And so I've been listening tohis, yeah, his podcast Table
Talk, I think, or is itsomething like that?
Anyways, yeah, highly recommend.
Read all his books, listen toanything he's got to say is full
(41:13):
of wisdom.
And he just summarizes thesecomplex truths so well.
God's given him a gift as acommunicator
Danielle (41:20):
Yes.
100%.
Um, another one, you just hadJordan, um, Raynor on your, yep.
Rain around there.
Um, his, his, um, his book, andit also has a Bible study out on
the U version of the Bible app.
Um, the sacredness of secularwork,
Jason (41:38):
right.
Yep.
Yep.
Danielle (41:39):
fabulous.
And the, I literally, Imentioned to all of the members
that I have the opportunity toserve.
I was like, go out there.
It's a five day.
Study on the you version of theBible app and then I bought them
all a copy of the book and I waslike now Read the book and then
if you want to take a stepforward and doing ministry in
your workplace Hey, how aboutyou take a swing at it?
(42:00):
Use the you version of the Bibleapp and then give people in your
workplace a copy of this booknow Therefore you go and do like
do this ministry element of yourbusiness as well.
So that's a really great one,too
Jason (42:12):
I bought a case of those books and gave them all away in
like five days.
And now we're doing, we're doinga study on it in our, we have a
men's breakfast once a month atchurch, you know, group.
And, uh, so we're, we're doing astudy on his book this summer
through the summer.
So.
Danielle (42:26):
Excellent
Jason (42:27):
I love Jordan.
He's a great guy.
I couldn't believe
Danielle (42:29):
more and
Jason (42:30):
Go ahead.
Danielle (42:30):
thing.
Um, uh, the guy's name isBrandon West.
I have to give him a plug.
Um, he's a C12 member as well.
He's, uh, down in Florida, Ibelieve.
Um, and he just recentlyreleased a book.
It's called, It's Not YourBusiness to
Jason (42:44):
You told me, you told me about this.
It's not your
Danielle (42:47):
Woo.
Jason (42:47):
succeed.
Yep.
Yep.
Danielle (42:48):
I'm telling you, I can squirrel out when I read.
I really have a hard timefocusing and retaining.
So I take a pen and a paper inthe book and I bend pages and I
underline and I write in themargins.
My book is a mess because of allof my scribbles and underlines
and highlights and page turns.
So, uh, if you're looking forone, uh, I found that one to be
(43:11):
just, just largely impactful.
Jason (43:14):
I have it queued up.
I didn't read it yet, but I'm ona, I know you told me about that
one recently.
I'll have to try to get him onthe podcast maybe at some point.
Maybe a
Danielle (43:22):
Oh, that would be great.
And he is a great speaker.
He's a fun guy to be around.
Fabulous, faithful leader, lotsof great stories.
Jason (43:29):
Um, okay, let's say somebody comes to you, Danielle,
young in their career, maybe ayoung female engineer.
And she says, Danielle, I justgot promoted to lead a team of
engineers.
What advice would you givesomeone that are just young and
they're coming into a leadershiprole for the first time?
What are some things you would,you would advise them to do or
not do?
Danielle (43:49):
Know who you are.
Know who you are.
Jason (43:51):
Yeah.
How
Danielle (43:52):
would be the first two things.
Jason (43:53):
How would you, so let's say someone like that's moving
out of an individual contributorrole early, like first time
supervisor, team lead, know whoyou are.
How?
Like, how do they do that?
What, what tools, advice wouldyou give them?
Like, how do they better dothat?
Danielle (44:08):
Yeah, I think, um, the first thing is really, it goes
back to that I wed time, um, inyour journaling time.
Um, go in and ask the Lord wherehe's calling you to be.
These are things that I wishsomebody told me when I was the
20 something female engineergoing out into my first big job.
I mean, I got a lot of attagirlsand go get them and right.
(44:32):
Changed the worlds, but I reallydidn't have anybody at that time
in me to understand.
The importance of the roles thatI was going to be in and that it
was going to be hard and inthose hard times, yes, fine.
The physical people around youfind your peer group, find your
mentors.
(44:52):
They are going to help.
You through the tough times, butI never had anybody else say,
but seek the Lord first.
And that's crazy because I grewup in Catholic schools, right?
I did 12 years of Catholiceducation.
I was surrounded by people allthe time, but never did I have
anybody at that young age in mylife telling me to seek the Lord
(45:13):
first and to have confidence inthat.
And that's honestly where, whereI would lead first in any of
these type of conversations,because if there's one thing.
That I wish that I could havechanged in my life is finding
that true relationship with theLord earlier than I did.
Jason (45:31):
Yeah.
Danielle (45:32):
And if there is one prayer that I have for my
children is that they truly finda relationship with the Lord
earlier than I did.
Jason (45:42):
Yeah, no, same way.
We have three, well, two adult,one, well, I guess he's 18, so
he's an adult, and then twograndchildren, and that's my
biggest prayer.
That, like, everything else isnice to have, but I want him to
walk faithfully with the Lordand, yeah, grow faster with Him
than I did.
Same way.
I was, it was a slow process,so.
Uh, last question for you.
(46:02):
Connect with you.
What's the best way to reachout, follow online, social
media, whatever.
How can they reach out to you?
If they'd like to learn moreabout you, network with you or
C12, if they're interested inlearning about C12.
Danielle (46:14):
So for me, um, jump out on LinkedIn, um, search for
me out there, Danielle Waugh.
Uh, I will pop right up.
We also have a C12 West Michiganand Northern Indiana LinkedIn
page as well.
So you can go out and followthat.
We share out a lot of storiesfrom our members.
We celebrate the members that wehave the opportunity to serve on
there.
(46:34):
And we share a lot of the greatresources that C12 has to offer.
And in C12, if you're not onLinkedIn and you just want to go
out and search that up, if yougo to join C12.
com, there are.
Blogs, there's articles, there'sposts, there's white papers.
There's our strategic planningguide.
There are tons of resources forChristian business leaders.
(46:57):
So in C12, you know, we want tochange the world by expanding
the gospel in the marketplace.
It doesn't say with C12 members.
Yes.
We would love to have more C12members, but any Christian who
is in the marketplace doing anywork, like we talked about
before, top of the top to thesuper entry level.
(47:17):
You want to know how to leadwell and serve well like a
Christian in the workplace?
We're gonna have something outthere for you.
So go out there and take a lookat that and then our YouTube
channel For c12 forums has a tonof great videos We again use our
members as our heroes So there'smember videos talking on just
(47:37):
about any subject matter thatyou could imagine Business,
faith, health, nutrition, allthings.
You will find great resources,great videos, um, great
learnings out there as well.
Jason (47:48):
Great.
Good.
No, we'll, and we'll link tothat.
I'll link to that in the shownotes and, uh, both on, we have
YouTube and then on our podcast.
So thank you for taking time offthe water, uh, to join me today
from the boat for those watchingthis on the video, get to see
that.
But if you're audio only, yeah,Danielle's on beautiful Lake
Michigan here.
And, uh, yeah, springtime, it isgorgeous.
(48:09):
I love Michigan and spring andfall.
I love summer too, but yeah,
Danielle (48:13):
absolutely amazing.
Um, I do have one test for you.
Jason (48:16):
go
Danielle (48:17):
You've never seen my boat.
You have no idea what the nameof my boat is, but after talking
to me today, what would youthink the name of this boat
might
Jason (48:25):
Oh, and measurably more.
Danielle (48:27):
right
Jason (48:28):
Ah, see?
So now you know.
Where do you, where do you guys,uh, where do you dock at?
Where do you kind of keep it at?
Is it over in, uh, Benton Harborarea
Danielle (48:35):
St, St.
Joe Benton Harbor, um, at theend at Harbor Shores.
Yeah.
Beautiful, beautiful facility.
That's where we run our St.
Joseph Forum as well.
So it works out perfect for me.
I generally camp out here on theboat the night before, and I
just get to walk up there to theboardroom and lead and serve.
Well, our C12 forum that meetshere once a month.
It's super cool.
Jason (48:55):
So for listeners who are from the area, if you're over, I
know many of us, I love to go tomy wife and I hit South Haven in
the summer.
That's our, that's our kind ofour lakes, Lake town, but I'm
sure there's some, I knowthere's some who hit St.
Joe.
So if you're ever over in St.
Joe in the summer and down bythe boats, if you see a
measurably more look around,maybe Danielle and her husband
are out there.
So,
Danielle (49:15):
Give me a shout out.
Come by and say hi.
We would love it.
Jason (49:17):
All right.
Well, thank you, sister, foryour time and your wisdom.
Thank you for the service thatyou are giving us.
In the name of Christ tobusiness leaders.
I think it's, uh, I love it.
I love the, this movement that'shappening and, um, seeing people
influence the marketplace forthe glory of Christ.
So thank you for that.
It was a great having you ontoday.
Thank you.
Danielle (49:36):
Yeah.
Thank you so much for having meon and for what you're doing and
how you're leading and servingthis way.
Um, so getting more folksexposure
Jason (49:45):
Yeah,
Danielle (49:45):
to real Christians doing real work in the
marketplace is incrediblypowerful.
So thank you for doing whatyou're doing as well.
Jason (49:52):
good.
Thank you.
And thank you for joining us.
Once again, this month, as wehear from another faithful
leader, striving to honor Christin their work.
Please be sure to rate andreview the show as it helps
others to find us.
And we'll see you over hereagain next month.
Welcome to the biblical leadership at work podcast.
I am your host, Jason Woodard.
And this month's podcast, wewill meet Danielle.
Why?
Listen in as Danielle shares herjourney from a mechanically
inclined childhood, working inthe garage with her dad to a
successful career as amechanical engineer, and
eventually moving into variousleadership roles.
(00:22):
As Danielle discusses her rolesat Panasonic and Whirlpool, she
reveals how her faith played acrucial role in shaping her
career and personal life.
She emphasizes the importance ofbeing authentic.
Knowing one's identity in Christand integrating faith into the
workplace.
Danielle is now leading.
12 in west Michigan, where shementors, Christian business
(00:45):
leaders, helping them navigatethe intersection of faith and
work.
All right.
Well, Danielle Watt, thank youso much for being on the podcast
today, sister.
I, uh, really look forward tohearing about your background
and what God has done in andthrough you throughout your
career.
So thank you for joining metoday.
Danielle (01:06):
Thank you for having me.
I am super excited to be herewith you and to chat more about
what we're doing here in WestMichigan and my background and
build up and how I might be ableto help and inspire somebody
else.
Jason (01:17):
Awesome.
So let's, uh, get started withyour, with your background.
Danielle, what was your, can youtake us back maybe even
education, early career on upthrough where God has you at
today?
Danielle (01:29):
Yeah.
Um, my background, my story.
Um, I can go on forever, butI'll try to be quick and then
you can cut me off when you needto.
Um, we've talked before a littlebit and I've mentioned my dad.
Um, I, I grew up in a spacewhere my dad really instilled in
me that I can do anything.
(01:50):
That I feel like I'm called andled to do.
And not only can I, but I neededto, and he showed me the ropes
and all kinds of things.
And you know what, when it cametime for me to leave high school
and to go into college, I had noidea what I wanted to do, but I
knew I was mechanically strongraised in his garage and in his
(02:10):
workshop and tinkering withboats and tinkering with cars.
If you wanted a car, you had toknow how to fix the car.
So I went into mechanicalengineering.
And, um, it was a fabulousfoundation for me, um, from an
educational standpoint, that wasreally a launching pad for
essentially going anywhere.
And you'll hear that briefly asI go through, you know, my
(02:33):
background and where I ended up,um, but that, that.
Learning how to solve problemsis truly what that discipline
taught me.
And, um, and I did it in such away and learning through people
and experiences that helped meprepare for what I was going to
experience, um, in the realworld, in the business world,
(02:53):
when I got out there, sograduated from the university of
Louisville down in Kentucky.
I live in Michigan now.
Um, we'll talk about that atsome other time, but yes, I
still live in Michigan 22 yearslater and absolutely love it up
here.
Um, but I went to school, um,and after graduating went to
Panasonic Home Appliance Companydown in Danville, Kentucky.
(03:14):
And I was leading design teamsfor floor care product.
So I designed cordless vacuums,bagless vacuums, all things, um,
that suck.
Duh duh duh, right?
Um, so I was going through thatphase of my career and after one
of the first products that wentfrom, Early innovation all the
(03:36):
way to production.
It rolled right off of theproduction line, which is what I
loved about Panasonic.
Like our engineering was upfront and everything, like the
lab moves seamlessly in themiddle.
We had our tooling department.
We had our manufacturing lines.
You can literally walk thatproduct from beginning to end.
The first one rolled off themanufacturing line and I was not
happy.
I was sad because I wanted toknow who bought it.
(03:58):
Why did they buy it?
What did they pay for it?
Did they like what theypurchased?
That led me to go back to schooland get an MBA.
Um, so went back to school toget an MBA.
Um, was Raising a family at thetime.
So working full time, going toschool at night and trying to,
uh, have babies.
That's, uh, an interesting, uh,stage in my life for sure.
(04:19):
But, uh, if the Lord, uh, putsit in front of you, you got to
go after it, know that he'sgoing to give you the strength
to get through it.
And that's what I can say.
You know, he did.
Um, so once I finished the MBA,I got a call from this company
called Whirlpool, up here.
And Benton Harbor, Michigan.
And I thought, well, my dadtaught me to love boats.
I love water.
(04:39):
I have never seen thisfreshwater ocean people call
Lake Michigan.
So I'm going to go up there, getsome interview experience.
It's been a while.
And you know what?
Never ever am I going to acceptthe job.
Never ever am I going to move toMichigan.
And 22 years later, I'm stillliving here in Michigan.
So accepted that job atWhirlpool, which was awesome.
Um, still at that time in theengineering space.
(05:01):
Um, but it was a very shortTenure ship at Whirlpool in the
engineering space.
And then I quickly moved overinto marketing and product
development, which led me intoour sales team and then to our
merchandising team and manyother leadership roles at
Whirlpool that just gave me, um,another fabulous.
Foundation and build up forleading large and small teams,
(05:23):
both locally, remotely, um,leading sales teams, leading
product organizations.
I mean, just the peopleleadership experience that I got
was just fabulous, but therecame a time when that wasn't
enough.
Um, I had experienced a prettyrapid change in my relationship
with the Lord.
(05:44):
And we, we can maybe get intothat at some time too.
And I just realized that what Iwas.
Doing at Whirlpool, peopledidn't know who I was as a
Christian.
They didn't know who I was asdaughter of Christ.
And I did not like that aboutmyself.
So my husband thankfully sawthat and he encouraged me to
(06:06):
take a step back and to takesome time off time off that I
have never had in my entirelife.
And I, I took some time off andI did some soul searching about
what's next for me.
And in the course of mysearching and praying, I was
getting.
Frustrated because the wholepatience thing in the Bible, I
haven't quite fully grasped thatjust yet.
Um, and I was just reallylooking for what's next, Lord,
(06:30):
what's next?
Like you gave me this greatbuildup.
What am I supposed to be doing?
And finally, my husband getsimpatient with me after many
months of me searching.
And he's like, Danielle, there'sthis group, it's called C12.
And you send me leadershipmaterials that are faith based
all the time.
Like I have folders of stufffrom this organization.
(06:52):
How about you check them out?
And so with that prompting thereand that nudge from, from Ken,
um, I started looking into C 12and realized that this fabulous
organization didn't have anybusiness forums here in West
Michigan.
Or Northern Indiana.
And so now three and a halfyears, I've been with C12 and
leading business forums ofChristian executives and CEOs
(07:15):
and trying to help.
Each other, figure out what thisthing called faith in the
workplace actually is and whatit looks like and how we can do
that.
Well,
Jason (07:24):
How long was it from the time you, uh, left Whirlpool
till you started C12?
Danielle (07:30):
wow.
That's an interesting story.
Um, so insert a measurably moreinto our conversation right now.
Um, so you'll, my life verse isout of Ephesians three 20.
Um, and it is, and it speaks somuch life into me and has for
many years.
Um, I intentionally took aboutsix months off.
And then I thought the Lord wascalling me to take my business
(07:53):
build up and go in and lead andserve and consult with nonprofit
organizations, um, who knewtheir mission, they knew their
vision, they knew their calling,but maybe they just needed a
little bit of business structurehelp and, and getting through
some of that so that they canexecute their mission, vision,
and values really well.
So I started a company calledImmeasurably More.
After Ephesians 3 20.
(08:14):
And, um, I was doing that for awhile and I realized I was not a
great solopreneur.
So that's when I startedsearching again and I found C12,
but the great thing about C12 isin our roles is what we call a
chair at C12.
We want to make sure that we aretruly called to lead and serve
(08:36):
in the capacity that we'redoing.
I mean, we're, we're talkingimportant things.
It's not just business, it'sbusiness, it's faith, it's
family, it's health, it's mentalhealth, it's all the things,
everything, person, it's exactlywhat the Lord meant community to
be.
But C12 was like, listen, ifyou're called to lead and serve
(08:56):
this way, we got to make sureyou're right.
And you're called for this.
And so they have a mutualdiscernment process.
And, um, some people it'sshorter and some people like me,
it's longer because I wanted totest things out a little bit.
So it took me about a yearwalking with C12 before I
decided full time to, uh, totake the plunge and to join this
fabulous group,
Jason (09:15):
And this was the start of a new cha Is it called a
chapter?
Is that what they're referred
Danielle (09:20):
a, we're a franchise organization, so we call it
territory, but
Jason (09:24):
Yeah.
So that was, it wasn't like youwere taking over an existing
territory from somebody.
This was a new start in the areaand in our area.
Danielle (09:32):
yeah, we got C12 forums meeting across the globe
now.
Super excited.
We're now serving over 4, 000members across the globe.
But here in West Michigan, whenI looked, there was groups over
in Chicago, groups in Detroit,groups down in Indy and nothing
in the middle.
Jason (09:47):
Yeah.
No, I'm glad you're here.
I've known of the organizationfor a long time and obviously I
think the mission is exactlywhat I'm trying to do on this
podcast, right?
How do we as leaders love outour faith at work and glorify
Christ and the work that we doand how we lead.
So.
So, uh, it's good.
Hey, tell us a little bit,Danielle, tell us, well, wait, I
have one other question before Igo to my next one.
(10:08):
How many other females were inyour class of engineering,
mechanical engineers atLouisville?
Danielle (10:16):
Yeah, there was me and three others and all three were
Asian.
So I was
Jason (10:22):
Oh, wow.
I've, and you know this aboutme, we've talked offline, but
I've, you know, I've grown up inthe manufacturing industry for.
35 years and yeah, just seeingmore females come into the
technical space.
You know, that stem space, Iguess, has been, It's been good
to see, but I know, you know, 30years ago, 25, 30 years ago.
(10:45):
Um, definitely, and I would seestill probably not, not even a
half, um, female to male ratio,but it's growing.
So,
Danielle (10:53):
You didn't ask me this, but let me share this with
Jason (10:55):
go for it.
Danielle (10:56):
role at Panasonic.
Um, so Japanese.
Run company.
Um, our leader in ourengineering space was Japanese
man.
His name was Scott Shimizu.
Um, and, uh, he is not as tallas me and he was not used to
working with women.
And so he and I had quite thelearning curve together on how
(11:17):
to learn, how to, uh, Play welltogether in the business space
and learn and lean in on eachother's differences and
experiences and all of thesebeautiful things that happen
when you've got a diverse groupof folks working together.
But I remember the day I toldthem I was leaving and going up
to Whirlpool, he pulled me asideand he told me, he was like,
(11:39):
Danielle, You scared thedaylights out of me when you
joined Panasonic.
He said, I did not know how tolead a female, much less a
female engineer.
And so it was just reallyexciting to, to see the growth
in both of us over the, the timethat we worked together.
Jason (11:56):
That's good.
That's a great way to leavethat.
That was an impactfulrelationship then.
So,
Danielle (12:00):
Absolutely.
Jason (12:01):
um, tell us a little bit about your family.
You mentioned your husband, buttalk to us a little bit about
husband, children.
What's that
Danielle (12:07):
Yeah.
We're a blended family, uh,living here in Southwest
Michigan, um, on this beautifulfreshwater ocean that I
mentioned earlier, and that's agreat time of year to be here, I
must say.
Yeah.
We have six kids between the twoof us and one grandson.
So, uh, we needed to have thegrandson because we have five
girls and one boy.
(12:28):
Um, they are all over the place.
I think officially they live allsix kids in six different cities
right now, which is a littlescary to think about where
everybody's going to end upsettling.
Um, but we have one that hasgraduated from Michigan state
and is now doing fabulously wellout in California.
Yeah.
And getting ready to get marriedin April.
So super excited about that.
(12:50):
Um, we have one that's livingdown in Chesterton type Indiana
area.
And, um, she is the daughter ofour grandson Emmett, who is
absolutely the love of our life.
And, um, she is doingextraordinarily well as a single
mom.
Working full time and going backto school.
Jason (13:09):
and raising little Emmett?
Danielle (13:10):
And raising little Emmett.
Jason (13:12):
How old
Danielle (13:12):
be five in
Jason (13:13):
Oh, I have a, our oldest granddaughter just turned five.
It's so fun.
Danielle (13:17):
So fun.
So fun.
Um, then we have two that justgraduated college.
So Grace from university ofMichigan.
Go blue and Jonna from grandValley university.
And both of them are going to begoing on to grad school.
Uh, we've got Justin who is inthe coast guard.
He's serving over in Detroitright now at station bell aisle.
(13:38):
So that makes mama's heart veryhappy that he's.
Only a quick car ride away, atleast for right now.
And then our youngest is Jaden.
She's 17 and finishing out herjunior year of high school.
Jason (13:48):
Okay, so one left at home.
That's kind of, yeah, ouryoungest is the last one at home
as well.
So very cool.
Wow.
And so at once they all get outof college, you and your husband
are going to feel like you got abig pay raise.
That's a lot of kids in collegeat one time.
Danielle (14:01):
Yes, sir, it is.
Jason (14:03):
Hey, Danielle, let's talk about faith.
What's uh, how did you come toknow the Lord?
Did you grow up in a church?
Like what's that look like?
I'd love to hear your testimony.
Danielle (14:12):
Yeah, um, faith for me started with my parents and
grandparents.
I was born and raised Catholic.
Um, down in Louisville,Kentucky.
Um, I kind of feel likeeverybody in my community and
anybody that I knew was, um, myparents did not have a lot of
money, but did whatever theycould to find the funds to make
(14:32):
sure that my brother, sister,and I, um, got a Catholic
education.
So went through Catholic gradeschool, four years of all girls,
Catholic high school.
And through that, there was justa fabulous foundation.
Um, of what it means to knowJesus and know the Bible.
Um, but I will tell you therelationship part I didn't get
(14:57):
until much later in my life.
So fast forward from that, I'mliving up here in Michigan.
I'm, uh, found myself as asingle mom of two.
Um, I mentioned that Ken and Iare a blended family.
And so I'm here in Michigan.
No family here, a single mom oftwo.
Again, we're back to water.
I love boats.
Um, and the Lord put this couplein my life, uh, named Adam and
(15:21):
Lori Wade, who bought theirfirst boat and ended up slipping
in the same kind of area of themarina that I was at.
And the two of them talked moreto me about what it means to
have a relationship with Christ.
Than anyone I have everexperienced before at first.
I was like, what is up withthese people?
They're kind of weird I meanlike we're on the boat.
(15:42):
Why are they talking about theirfaith?
Like I mean, don't they go tochurch on sunday and talk to
people there like that was meAnd um through the course of
getting to know them and theminviting me Um to attend church
with them at a church that i'mstill going to today is where I
will tell you That's reallywhere I met the lord Uh, for the
(16:02):
first time.
And, um, and, and in a way andwith a relationship that was
truly heart.
I had, I feel like I had all thehead stuff, you know, just this
great foundation that I referredto.
But man, it was like that, thatjourney from the head to the
heart for me took a while.
And, um, once I allowed him inand he took hold of my heart, my
(16:25):
entire world changed.
Jason (16:27):
Yeah, it does.
That's right.
Danielle (16:29):
Yeah,
Jason (16:30):
Awesome.
So is that how you and yourhusband Matt then at within the
church or okay.
Danielle (16:40):
And, uh, when I came up into Whirlpool, you know, I,
I knew of him, uh, we were bothleading, um, in different ways,
but in a similar team, and hewas always one of those leaders
that I looked up to that peoplewere just like, you know, in
work, you need to have a mentor,right.
You want to go to work for aleader who is really good,
(17:01):
really strong, but somebody whocares.
And I can remember from yearsback saying, listen, you know
what, if you have an opportunityto go work in a different group,
or you want to do a differentexperience, wherever Ken Wah is,
go work for him.
And so I knew of Ken throughWhirlpool, but it took fast
forwarding to life and what lifeended up for both of us, where
(17:23):
we were able to find each otherand develop a relationship with
each other to realize, okay,this is another example of, you
know, the Lord's blessings andturning amazing, beautiful
things into sometimes our crazymesses.
Jason (17:36):
Yeah.
Danielle (17:37):
He and I actually met at Whirlpool, but we did get
baptized together here on thebeaches of
Jason (17:41):
Oh, that's
Danielle (17:42):
Um, I mentioned Adam Wade about, you know, in my
buildup and in my story.
Um, so Ken and I were now bothgoing to Lakeshore Christian and
we were engaged and we decidedwe wanted to recommit.
ourselves to the Lord.
And so we asked Adam to baptizeus together here on the shores
of West Michigan or SouthwestMichigan.
(18:03):
And, um, and he baptized usthere, but then he also
officiated a sand ceremony forour wedding.
And then that sand ceremony,Adam poured in as the
foundation, the sand from thebeach where we both got baptized
together.
And then Ken and I poured insands representative of each one
of our families, which is justan absolutely beautiful symbol
(18:24):
that we still have up on our,our bookshelf today of, uh, you
know, Christ is our foundation.
Jason (18:30):
that's right.
That's a great story.
Thank you for sharing that.
Um, I'll talk about leadership alittle bit.
Danielle, you've been leadingfor, uh, many years and you've
seen great leaders and nowyou're mentoring, coaching, and
helping leaders in variousbusinesses.
When you think about leadership,what are the top, say two or
three like core principles thatyou just always go back to when
(18:52):
you think about effectiveleadership?
Danielle (18:54):
Number one.
is know who you are.
Jason (18:58):
Okay.
Danielle (18:59):
two is know who you are.
And I think for a lot of years Iknew who I was.
Um, people knew that I, I'm notafraid to tell you what I'm
thinking.
Um, maybe I needed to have afilter sometimes on when I told
people what I was thinking.
Um, but that, that comes laterin the who's you are kind of
thing, right?
And making those better choicesabout our words and what we say
(19:21):
and when we say them.
But, um, being truly authenticand knowing who you are, um, in
the workplace, you're going tofind yourself up in front of,
walking beside, running alongwith, and sometimes opposing a
lot of individuals with a lot ofbeliefs and backgrounds and
thoughts and experiences thatare different than yours.
Jason (19:44):
Yep.
Yep.
Danielle (19:45):
Um, if, if you are easily swayed one way or the
other, You're not truly bringingyour whole self.
So finding that ability to, tolisten to others and
understanding where you'recoming from and finding that
best possible solution out ofboth, man.
(20:05):
I just think that that's thebest thing that you can do.
But I, the second one was nowho's you are like, I.
I also was tossed to and fro inthe workplace until I truly
figured out who I was in Christand who he was in me and how he
was leading through me.
Jason (20:20):
Yeah.
I think I, when you said no, no,who you are, I can, I, you know,
I think back through leadershipmaturity for me and starting to
understand more about myself andbeing comfortable with that.
And like you said, not lookingnecessarily at other leaders
that are different and saying,well, I gotta be like that, or I
gotta be like this.
(20:40):
Right.
But being, I guess, growingcomfortable with.
Not, not complacent in our owngrowth and development, but
knowing that God has wired you acertain way with certain skill
sets and certain strengths andbeing okay with those and
leveraging those andunderstanding, as you said,
okay, I'm direct, that's good,but I can be harsh or I can be
(21:05):
unsympathetic.
Okay.
How do I manage that?
I'm not going to ever I'm notgoing to ever completely, you
know, overcome that, but in someof the tools, right, the disc
tools and the Myers Briggstools, I mean, I'm a fan of, I
can remember starting to learnmore about, oh, wow, this is,
yeah, I'm wired this way and noteverybody's wired this way and
that's okay.
This is how, you know, the Lordmade me.
Danielle (21:25):
Yes.
100%.
And you mentioned, you know,complacency, um, just a minute
ago.
And if you know who you are andwhose you are, it ties right
back in to that.
Immeasurably more back intoEphesians three 20 and my life
verse, um, immeasurably moremeans you're always growing.
You're always changing.
And those people at which yousurround yourself with are going
(21:48):
to be a big part of your growthtrajectory.
Um, I should know who said this,but you know, there's some
great.
Wise gentlemen somewhere whoonce said you are the
combination of the five peopleyou spend the most time with.
Think about who you spend yourtime with in the business space.
Are those people that you reallywant to be like?
(22:10):
So surround yourself with peoplewho are.
Fueling you with the light ofChrist and the knowledge of
business.
And they're not scared tointertwine on both.
That's when some crazy cooldynamics happen and people start
to lead and serve in ways thatwill just absolutely blow your
mind.
Jason (22:30):
Yeah.
And you know, and that,especially as believers, right,
that we're surrounding ourselfwith, that's why church is so
important to have those, thosefive people I've heard that
same.
And I think there's a lot oftruth to it that, you know, the
church community and our closefriends from our church and
hopefully, and I'm, I'm veryfortunate in that some brothers
I serve with are also, um,leaders and they're out, you
(22:51):
know, outside of church.
We lead in church, but these aremen who lead in the military,
men who lead in the, in theworkplace and to be able to talk
about faith and work and how dowe apply it together is, uh,
it's huge.
And it really, yeah, it's, Very,very much fuels and helps me
grow as a, as a leader.
And hopefully, you know, in my,in my service to Christ, what
(23:15):
are your spiritual disciplines?
How do you grow insanctification?
How do you stay close to theLord?
What are the things you do?
Danielle (23:21):
Yeah.
Um, first and foremost is Iwould,
Jason (23:26):
I wed, I wed.
What is that?
Danielle (23:29):
every day.
Jason (23:30):
Oh, okay.
Danielle (23:31):
Yeah.
We're back to the same guyagain.
That's a, that's a tagline, Iguess, if you will, that Adam
shared with our C12 forum.
And it's something we allgravitated to.
And, um, our, our founder of C12Buck Jacobs also, I mean, he is,
I mean, he just grills into usand everyone that he meets is
(23:52):
that first hour.
Is the most important hour.
So if you feel like you need towake up and do anything first,
other than maybe go to thebathroom, that's okay.
Jason (24:03):
Right.
Brush your teeth.
Go to the bathroom.
Danielle (24:05):
don't, don't start swiping that phone.
Don't start.
And I'm, I'm guilty of that.
I do that.
But then I have to quickly resetmyself to say, Hey, first things
first.
I need to get in the word.
Um, I need to be thankful forall the blessings.
Those count your blessings oneby one.
We all heard that so many yearsago, but it still is incredibly
(24:26):
true and relevant in our livestoday.
And finding ways for me throughall of that is to truly lean on
the Lord for show me what's infront of me today.
I can be the one who's lookingtomorrow, six months out next
year.
I'm quite the planner.
Um, but to get rerouted backinto Lord, who is it that you're
(24:49):
putting in front of me today?
That I need to lead and servebecause you have put me here in
this moment right now and equipme Make me ready.
Let me see it make me willing toact on it and make me ready when
it happens So first spiritualdiscipline I would say is is
being that word every day And
Jason (25:10):
couldn't agree more.
I will tell you that over theyears, I mean, I think I've been
pretty consistently in the wordfor Quite a long time.
Thanks to the Lord.
He's, he's, he's put me insituations that forced me to do
that.
That's I, I'm a, I'm a thickheaded person, but I'll say that
for the last several years, um,I have changed my habit from
(25:30):
evening to morning because inthe evenings I just, I felt
exhausted and I'm like, I'm justnot, you know, it's just not, so
I just forced myself to get upearlier.
And it has been a game changerthat first hour.
And I, you know, and I, and Itry to shoot for an hour of
prayer and, and reading at leastthe chapter and yeah.
And it, it doesn't happen everyday and some days it's 30
(25:52):
minutes, but that I, I start theday that way and, and yeah,
it's, uh, it's huge.
So.
Absolutely.
Danielle (25:58):
that that you could read?
a verse or a chapter today Andyou could read it a year ago and
maybe in six months from now andmaybe even tomorrow You know And
it is going to speak differentlyto
Jason (26:11):
yep.
Danielle (26:12):
when you're truly have your heart and mind open and in
tune to the Holy Spirit, it is,again, it amazes me.
And, and I don't understand likethe Lord, just like Danielle,
immeasurably more than all youask or imagine.
Do I have to keep blowing yourmind?
I'm like, yes, you do.
Please keep blowing my mind.
Jason (26:30):
Yep.
Yeah.
I just finished Genesis.
I'm in chapter four now ofExodus and of course, you know,
read Genesis, right?
I mean we read Genesis and wewere kids over and over and
yeah, you're right though.
Different, different time inlife, different application.
You know, it's the same word,it's the same, it's the same
information.
It's the same inspired word, butyou know, depending on where
you're at the application andhow he transforms you at that
(26:53):
moment through that word isdifferent.
Uh, different leadership topics.
So you, you might've hit on thisearlier, but I always like to
ask people who have been leadingfor a while.
What was something that youstruggled with early on as a
leader?
And what did you do to overcomeit?
Is it something you stillstruggle with?
I've talked to leaders who arein their sixties and say, this
(27:15):
is something I still, hardwiredto do.
So how have you managed it?
How have you overcome it?
Have you overcome it?
So talk to us about that.
Danielle (27:26):
that's, that's a good one.
Um, I'm going to say leading upand you might hear a lot of
people use the word managing up.
It's that sounds a littlemanipulative to me, uh, managing
up, but I would say it's, it'sleading up and it's leading up
and for me in two ways, it's thewhole, gender thing really
(27:49):
didn't matter to me because Iwas always surrounded by A group
of men, whether it be in schoolor like I said, when I was
tinkering in the garage with mydad, um, that really wasn't a
thing for me, but learning howto lead up for people who are at
a higher level than I, how do Iappropriately lead up where I am
(28:10):
fully respecting them and theirposition and their experiences.
But also being true to me andthe same, you know, being the
same person all the time and,and, and being able to tell them
why sometimes maybe their ideaisn't the best idea.
And here's other things thatneed to be considered.
(28:31):
Um, so that one from a positionleading up is one, um, but also
leading up an age.
So most of my career, the peoplethat I was leading on my teams
were older than
Jason (28:45):
Yeah.
Danielle (28:46):
Older, wiser, more experienced, different thoughts
on all kinds of things.
And, and both of those things asa young leader were things that
I really had to soul search andfigure out how I can do it.
And how I can do it.
Well, I remember I had a leaderat Whirlpool once tell me I was
headed out, um, into our salesorganization and I was going to
(29:07):
lead one of our sales teams and,um, there was probably, I don't
remember now, nine or 10, 11, Idon't know, um, field sales
individuals who were all remote,who all would be reporting to
me.
And the only thing that theyknew about me was this young
chick up and Cummer at Whirlpoolis now going to come lead us.
(29:30):
And this leader told me, hesaid, in that first meeting, you
literally have about 60 secondsfor them to truly see who you
are and have respect for why youwere there.
And that just really resonatedwith me to say, have the
confidence.
And where you have been calledto lead and serve.
(29:51):
And it was reminding me,Danielle, just because they're
older, just because they havemore experience, just because
you're called to be here at thismoment.
So lean into that calling, getover yourself and figure out how
you do it in ways that celebratethem, their experiences, their
knowledge.
But then also celebrate what youcan bring to the table and the
(30:13):
two of those things together.
It's a much higher, greateropportunity and force than what
either of you could have donealone.
So that was really, I think,the, one of the things that I
had to learn how to do.
But, you know, you asked me, doI still struggle with it today?
I do.
Um, I mean, I've, I've neverbeen the CEO of a company I've,
(30:36):
aside from owning my C12franchise, which now I can say
that I'm a, a business owner.
I never owned my own businessyet.
I am leading and serving CEOsand business owners.
And there's times when I'm like,really publicly traded company.
You want me to go talk to them,Lord?
And again, he has to remind me.
(30:58):
Yes, immeasurably more Danielledo it.
You are called to be here rightnow.
And, and go for it.
Jason (31:03):
I can remember struggling with a manager that I had, and I
had a really good mentor at thetime, and he introduced me to
this concept of yeah, managingup, leading up.
I had never thought of it.
I'm like, what does that evenmean?
He gave me an HBR article said,read that and we'll talk, and it
was good.
I still have that article too.
It's like an old scanned copy onhow to, and it's got good
(31:24):
content, so that's good.
No, I appreciate you sayingthat.
I think that's That's it can bea big deal It can be a career
staller derailer if you are ifyou don't have a good
relationship with your managerand it takes you know being able
to build that relationship andfeel like that you're being
heard and Having some some levelof influence on them and you
know, so yeah Hey, is you so youwork with a lot of leaders from
(31:47):
different industries?
I mean you watch People andleaders.
What do you think is a is a Likeone of the most significant gaps
in leadership that are, thatjust have a big detriment that
you see quite often.
Danielle (32:00):
I think that lack of authenticity that we've talked
about, um, there's so manypeople that I have the
opportunity to speak with todaywho are faithful followers of
Christ and who lead and servebusinesses and just don't
understand how they can do both.
There's this great fear of whatcan I, or can't I do from a
(32:24):
legal perspective?
And.
I think that's one of thebiggest gaps is for people to,
to think that you have to be twoseparate people.
It's back to being that oneauthentic being that the Lord
made you to be.
Um, and so finding a way tobreak down that barrier between
(32:45):
the two worlds and finding thesynergy.
And living one life that'sfocused on one truth.
I think if we could all do that,those gaps in business that we
just talked about would probablygo away.
Jason (32:57):
Yeah.
And as I've worked through thatprobably for the last 10 or 15
years, it's been a prettyincredible like saying how,
yeah, I'm the same person,right?
I mean, when I'm at work, whenI'm at home, I am indwelled with
the Holy Spirit.
I'm a Christ follower.
you know, there's some differentobjectives and different things,
(33:17):
but that's who I am.
And that's okay to be that atwork.
And, you know, and in fact youshould, you should, that means
you should be really, reallygood at what you do and really
intense about it and you know,purposeful about it.
And it's, there's so much, Ithink now I've read probably
three or four books in the lastsix months that are on that
topic and, and, and reallytrying to get people to
(33:38):
understand that as Christians,We cannot see our, we cannot see
our work as just a necessaryevil.
We cannot see our work as a,just a tangible thing that
provides us an income.
It is not, it is a calling.
God has made us and wired us togo work and to do it really well
and we should shine as anexample.
Whether, whatever you're doing,it doesn't matter what you're
(33:58):
doing and God's put you in thatplace.
So I could get on a soapbox.
I've had several podcasts
Danielle (34:03):
Please do.
I love it.
Jason (34:05):
well, I've had, you know, there'll be podcasts that have
come out by NI by the time thisone does.
Where I've interviewed authorsthat have written on that, and
it's just so important forbelievers to understand that and
yeah.
So,
Danielle (34:17):
some fear in that as Christians, right?
Jason (34:20):
yeah.
Danielle (34:21):
Does that, does that mean you can make a mistake?
Yes, absolutely.
Absolutely.
And, and celebrate your wins andcelebrate and learn from your
mistakes.
And just because you're aChristian doesn't mean you've
got it all together.
Jason (34:36):
No, no.
Danielle (34:37):
of fact, if you want to give this perception you've
That you were that wonderfullyput together business leader,
father, mother, Christian churchleader, everything all in one.
And yee haw here I am.
Well, then you're a liar.
Jason (34:54):
That Amen.
Danielle (34:55):
we need to go back to finding that true authentic self
and be willing to say, Hey, Iscrewed up and that's okay.
And when you do watch thereaction of others around you,
And watch that circle ofinfluence that you can have and
watch others probably take adeep sigh to be like, okay, so
(35:17):
Jason's not perfect.
He, he is a real person.
So yeah, maybe I do need tofigure out what this thing that
he calls faith and work is like,and maybe I do need to
understand a little bit moreabout who's this God and how's
this Holy Spirit thing come intothe mix because.
Maybe I can find myself in a waywhere I can be open and
(35:40):
vulnerable and transparent and aleader and awesome and faithful
in this beautiful, messycreation that shines God's light
into the world.
Jason (35:50):
And I think too, in those situations where people put on
that appearance, cause it's anappearance, it, it intimidates
people in that you won't have,there won't be some authentic
relationships because they'renot going to be vulnerable to
you.
Cause they're like this, thisperson's, there's no way that
I'm going to tell this personabout my whatever, because they
(36:10):
are so perfect in all they do.
If they believe it, I had, and,and I think as a believer, I had
a great opportunity this week.
I made a mistake.
Was it yesterday?
Day before I, I, it was anoversight on my part.
And a guy in our shop was like,why didn't they do something?
And we should have done it.
I should have done it.
I should have made a decision.
It was on a safety issue.
(36:30):
We were moving fast and wedidn't, you know, we didn't do
something.
And, uh, he said something tosomebody else and it got back to
me and I went right out thereand I apologized to him.
I said, I should have, you'reright.
I should have.
Done that thing that you said Ishould have done.
And, you know, and he was, heshook my hand.
He was like, thank you.
Danielle (36:46):
Yeah.
So powerful.
Jason (36:48):
I think so.
Yeah.
Cause I'm like, I'm, I want tomake sure that we, that guy
knows that I, that we can have atrusting relationship and I'm an
honest person who, yes, I makemistakes.
And if I do, and when I do, Iwill be the first to admit it or
try to be the first.
Danielle (37:03):
Yes.
Jason (37:03):
I had another question that I asked people, I'm going
to ask this in a littledifferent way, because your work
is.
fundamentally faith based,right?
So the question I ask people ishow do you honor Christ in your
work?
But tell me about, you know,kind of let's think back to your
end of your career towards thetime when you were nearing the
end of your career at Whirlpool,like what did you try to do to
(37:25):
honor Christ in your work?
Like to, it sounds like you wentthrough a transformation of,
Hey, I don't want to be twopeople.
I want to be Danielle Waugh,who's a Christ follower at work
and at home.
So, I mean, what were somethings that you did there?
That you look back on and you'relike, I think I, I mean, I think
I did that well.
Danielle (37:41):
Yeah.
I think it, uh, it was again,this mind shift for me and
saying, you know what?
I know the product.
I know the brands.
I know my team.
I know the strategy.
I know what we need to be doing.
And I can trust and empower themto be doing that.
I need to be shifting more tothat vulnerable, authentic side
(38:02):
to where I was starting tomentor more.
And it wasn't mentorconversations of, Hey, look at
me, see what I've done.
How can I help you move fromposition A to B?
But it was really more of the,Hey, let me come alongside of
you.
Who are you?
What's your story?
What do you want to do?
What do you love about yourwork?
(38:23):
How can I help you, you know,like, serve and explore and
understand that?
And really mentor in ways thatgives the people the opportunity
to share their story, to maybeexplore what their calling is,
because they might not evenknow.
What that is.
They may not even believe inthat at that time.
(38:45):
Right?
So it was this shift in mindsetfor me to empower those who are
doing the job to do itexceedingly well.
And you still have to watch andmanage and, you know, show
results, right?
I mean, that's just part ofwork.
Like we don't, we don't dosloppy agape and whirlpool.
We didn't do sloppy agape andC12, right?
You've got to lead well, andyou've got to drive results.
(39:08):
Yeah.
But that shift for me wasmentoring the people to build
them up so they can deliver anddrive those results in ways that
again, here we go.
It's a measurably more, ithappens all the time.
It fits everywhere.
Jason (39:21):
Uh, developing and pouring into people is the most
rewarding part of leadership.
And my, I think you would saythe same thing.
I look back at people that Ihelped mentor 10 years ago.
I still get excited when I hearfrom them or see them, you know,
on LinkedIn, whatever, growing,getting promoted.
It's yeah, it's awesome.
Danielle (39:36):
I agree.
I agree.
Jason (39:38):
Wait, yeah, the business results are fun, but not nearly
as rewarding as people
Danielle (39:43):
The people, the people's what matter.
Jason (39:46):
Hey, who do you follow?
For your own leadershipdevelopment.
Who do you listen to who'sauthors podcast books?
Like what are somerecommendations that you would
encourage people to check out?
Danielle (39:55):
Wow.
Uh, there's so many of them thaton the spot, I will never be
able to pull them out.
Um, NC12, the great thing is, iswe have all these footnotes and
the curriculum that we put outevery month.
So there is never a lack of, ofknowledge and links that you can
dive into and explore and swirlout on.
Um, so when, when I don't needto be focused, I mean, I can
(40:16):
dive into that stuff forever.
But I mean, Craig Rochelle isone that continues to come back.
I mean, there's just a lot ofhis wisdom and insights.
Uh, Pat Lencioni.
Is another one.
Um, super excited about some ofthe things that we have coming
up between him and C12 and howhe's helping our team at HQ,
who's then in turn helping us.
(40:37):
So just some really cool thingsgoing.
Um, both of those men, I think,speak in ways from the heart
that really do define what isthis thing we called faith and
Jason (40:49):
Yeah, I just
Danielle (40:50):
do we do it exceedingly?
Well,
Jason (40:52):
I just really, I love, Lencioni's books are phenomenal.
I love his style and just theburns into your memory with the
way he writes and summarizes.
And I just found out he has apodcast.
I didn't know that.
And so I've been listening tohis, yeah, his podcast Table
Talk, I think, or is itsomething like that?
Anyways, yeah, highly recommend.
Read all his books, listen toanything he's got to say is full
(41:13):
of wisdom.
And he just summarizes thesecomplex truths so well.
God's given him a gift as acommunicator
Danielle (41:20):
Yes.
100%.
Um, another one, you just hadJordan, um, Raynor on your, yep.
Rain around there.
Um, his, his, um, his book, andit also has a Bible study out on
the U version of the Bible app.
Um, the sacredness of secularwork,
Jason (41:38):
right.
Yep.
Yep.
Danielle (41:39):
fabulous.
And the, I literally, Imentioned to all of the members
that I have the opportunity toserve.
I was like, go out there.
It's a five day.
Study on the you version of theBible app and then I bought them
all a copy of the book and I waslike now Read the book and then
if you want to take a stepforward and doing ministry in
your workplace Hey, how aboutyou take a swing at it?
(42:00):
Use the you version of the Bibleapp and then give people in your
workplace a copy of this booknow Therefore you go and do like
do this ministry element of yourbusiness as well.
So that's a really great one,too
Jason (42:12):
I bought a case of those books and gave them all away in
like five days.
And now we're doing, we're doinga study on it in our, we have a
men's breakfast once a month atchurch, you know, group.
And, uh, so we're, we're doing astudy on his book this summer
through the summer.
So.
Danielle (42:26):
Excellent
Jason (42:27):
I love Jordan.
He's a great guy.
I couldn't believe
Danielle (42:29):
more and
Jason (42:30):
Go ahead.
Danielle (42:30):
thing.
Um, uh, the guy's name isBrandon West.
I have to give him a plug.
Um, he's a C12 member as well.
He's, uh, down in Florida, Ibelieve.
Um, and he just recentlyreleased a book.
It's called, It's Not YourBusiness to
Jason (42:44):
You told me, you told me about this.
It's not your
Danielle (42:47):
Woo.
Jason (42:47):
succeed.
Yep.
Yep.
Danielle (42:48):
I'm telling you, I can squirrel out when I read.
I really have a hard timefocusing and retaining.
So I take a pen and a paper inthe book and I bend pages and I
underline and I write in themargins.
My book is a mess because of allof my scribbles and underlines
and highlights and page turns.
So, uh, if you're looking forone, uh, I found that one to be
(43:11):
just, just largely impactful.
Jason (43:14):
I have it queued up.
I didn't read it yet, but I'm ona, I know you told me about that
one recently.
I'll have to try to get him onthe podcast maybe at some point.
Maybe a
Danielle (43:22):
Oh, that would be great.
And he is a great speaker.
He's a fun guy to be around.
Fabulous, faithful leader, lotsof great stories.
Jason (43:29):
Um, okay, let's say somebody comes to you, Danielle,
young in their career, maybe ayoung female engineer.
And she says, Danielle, I justgot promoted to lead a team of
engineers.
What advice would you givesomeone that are just young and
they're coming into a leadershiprole for the first time?
What are some things you would,you would advise them to do or
not do?
Danielle (43:49):
Know who you are.
Know who you are.
Jason (43:51):
Yeah.
How
Danielle (43:52):
would be the first two things.
Jason (43:53):
How would you, so let's say someone like that's moving
out of an individual contributorrole early, like first time
supervisor, team lead, know whoyou are.
How?
Like, how do they do that?
What, what tools, advice wouldyou give them?
Like, how do they better dothat?
Danielle (44:08):
Yeah, I think, um, the first thing is really, it goes
back to that I wed time, um, inyour journaling time.
Um, go in and ask the Lord wherehe's calling you to be.
These are things that I wishsomebody told me when I was the
20 something female engineergoing out into my first big job.
I mean, I got a lot of attagirlsand go get them and right.
(44:32):
Changed the worlds, but I reallydidn't have anybody at that time
in me to understand.
The importance of the roles thatI was going to be in and that it
was going to be hard and inthose hard times, yes, fine.
The physical people around youfind your peer group, find your
mentors.
(44:52):
They are going to help.
You through the tough times, butI never had anybody else say,
but seek the Lord first.
And that's crazy because I grewup in Catholic schools, right?
I did 12 years of Catholiceducation.
I was surrounded by people allthe time, but never did I have
anybody at that young age in mylife telling me to seek the Lord
(45:13):
first and to have confidence inthat.
And that's honestly where, whereI would lead first in any of
these type of conversations,because if there's one thing.
That I wish that I could havechanged in my life is finding
that true relationship with theLord earlier than I did.
Jason (45:31):
Yeah.
Danielle (45:32):
And if there is one prayer that I have for my
children is that they truly finda relationship with the Lord
earlier than I did.
Jason (45:42):
Yeah, no, same way.
We have three, well, two adult,one, well, I guess he's 18, so
he's an adult, and then twograndchildren, and that's my
biggest prayer.
That, like, everything else isnice to have, but I want him to
walk faithfully with the Lordand, yeah, grow faster with Him
than I did.
Same way.
I was, it was a slow process,so.
Uh, last question for you.
(46:02):
Connect with you.
What's the best way to reachout, follow online, social
media, whatever.
How can they reach out to you?
If they'd like to learn moreabout you, network with you or
C12, if they're interested inlearning about C12.
Danielle (46:14):
So for me, um, jump out on LinkedIn, um, search for
me out there, Danielle Waugh.
Uh, I will pop right up.
We also have a C12 West Michiganand Northern Indiana LinkedIn
page as well.
So you can go out and followthat.
We share out a lot of storiesfrom our members.
We celebrate the members that wehave the opportunity to serve on
there.
(46:34):
And we share a lot of the greatresources that C12 has to offer.
And in C12, if you're not onLinkedIn and you just want to go
out and search that up, if yougo to join C12.
com, there are.
Blogs, there's articles, there'sposts, there's white papers.
There's our strategic planningguide.
There are tons of resources forChristian business leaders.
(46:57):
So in C12, you know, we want tochange the world by expanding
the gospel in the marketplace.
It doesn't say with C12 members.
Yes.
We would love to have more C12members, but any Christian who
is in the marketplace doing anywork, like we talked about
before, top of the top to thesuper entry level.
(47:17):
You want to know how to leadwell and serve well like a
Christian in the workplace?
We're gonna have something outthere for you.
So go out there and take a lookat that and then our YouTube
channel For c12 forums has a tonof great videos We again use our
members as our heroes So there'smember videos talking on just
(47:37):
about any subject matter thatyou could imagine Business,
faith, health, nutrition, allthings.
You will find great resources,great videos, um, great
learnings out there as well.
Jason (47:48):
Great.
Good.
No, we'll, and we'll link tothat.
I'll link to that in the shownotes and, uh, both on, we have
YouTube and then on our podcast.
So thank you for taking time offthe water, uh, to join me today
from the boat for those watchingthis on the video, get to see
that.
But if you're audio only, yeah,Danielle's on beautiful Lake
Michigan here.
And, uh, yeah, springtime, it isgorgeous.
(48:09):
I love Michigan and spring andfall.
I love summer too, but yeah,
Danielle (48:13):
absolutely amazing.
Um, I do have one test for you.
Jason (48:16):
go
Danielle (48:17):
You've never seen my boat.
You have no idea what the nameof my boat is, but after talking
to me today, what would youthink the name of this boat
might
Jason (48:25):
Oh, and measurably more.
Danielle (48:27):
right
Jason (48:28):
Ah, see?
So now you know.
Where do you, where do you guys,uh, where do you dock at?
Where do you kind of keep it at?
Is it over in, uh, Benton Harborarea
Danielle (48:35):
St, St.
Joe Benton Harbor, um, at theend at Harbor Shores.
Yeah.
Beautiful, beautiful facility.
That's where we run our St.
Joseph Forum as well.
So it works out perfect for me.
I generally camp out here on theboat the night before, and I
just get to walk up there to theboardroom and lead and serve.
Well, our C12 forum that meetshere once a month.
It's super cool.
Jason (48:55):
So for listeners who are from the area, if you're over, I
know many of us, I love to go tomy wife and I hit South Haven in
the summer.
That's our, that's our kind ofour lakes, Lake town, but I'm
sure there's some, I knowthere's some who hit St.
Joe.
So if you're ever over in St.
Joe in the summer and down bythe boats, if you see a
measurably more look around,maybe Danielle and her husband
are out there.
So,
Danielle (49:15):
Give me a shout out.
Come by and say hi.
We would love it.
Jason (49:17):
All right.
Well, thank you, sister, foryour time and your wisdom.
Thank you for the service thatyou are giving us.
In the name of Christ tobusiness leaders.
I think it's, uh, I love it.
I love the, this movement that'shappening and, um, seeing people
influence the marketplace forthe glory of Christ.
So thank you for that.
It was a great having you ontoday.
Thank you.
Danielle (49:36):
Yeah.
Thank you so much for having meon and for what you're doing and
how you're leading and servingthis way.
Um, so getting more folksexposure
Jason (49:45):
Yeah,
Danielle (49:45):
to real Christians doing real work in the
marketplace is incrediblypowerful.
So thank you for doing whatyou're doing as well.
Jason (49:52):
good.
Thank you.
And thank you for joining us.
Once again, this month, as wehear from another faithful
leader, striving to honor Christin their work.
Please be sure to rate andreview the show as it helps
others to find us.
And we'll see you over hereagain next month.
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I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com