Enjoy this authentic, raw conversation with author Jennifer Schieke. She wrote Leading with Impact: The CEO's Guide to Influencing With Integrity.
Jennifer is very mindful of the wake she leaves behind, especially as a Mom, wife, and co-founder of Summit Group Solutions.
Being authentic is owning the stumbles. Jennifer talks about 20 years in life ministry. In retrospect, this experience emphasized people as their purpose and most valuable asset.
Hear this fresh approach on core values that include humility, dignity, diligence, and edifying others.
Visit www.summitgroupsolutions.com today and learn how to unite talent and technology through relationships with particular focus on staffing and recruiting. Buy Jennifer's book Leading with Impact:The CEO's Guide to Influencing With Integrity.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/success-made-to-last-legends--4302039/support.
Jennifer is very mindful of the wake she leaves behind, especially as a Mom, wife, and co-founder of Summit Group Solutions.
Being authentic is owning the stumbles. Jennifer talks about 20 years in life ministry. In retrospect, this experience emphasized people as their purpose and most valuable asset.
Hear this fresh approach on core values that include humility, dignity, diligence, and edifying others.
Visit www.summitgroupsolutions.com today and learn how to unite talent and technology through relationships with particular focus on staffing and recruiting. Buy Jennifer's book Leading with Impact:The CEO's Guide to Influencing With Integrity.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/success-made-to-last-legends--4302039/support.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Hey, welcome back to Success Made to Last. I'm Rick Tokeinny.
This show was brought to you by Edward Jones Financial
Advisors along with Return Valets, and we appreciate their longstanding
support of this network. Our very special guest today is
Jennifer Schlke. She is the author of Leading for Impact,
the CEO's guide to Influencing with Integrity, and she is
(00:32):
the founder of Summit Group Solutions. It's a relationship focused
it staffing and recruiting partner. Her company is a multi
year INC Five hundred award e and a twenty twenty
three INC Power Partner, and we're going to talk about
her thirty years in business and her book. Obviously, Jennifer,
(00:53):
welcome to the show.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Thank you so much for having me. It's such a pleasure.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
Blackwise. So give us a little bit of your backstory
of what happened to you on your way to writing
Leading for Impact.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Well, I think my story really shares into the lives
of everyone because it started in twenty twenty, and so
we all know what was going on in twenty turned
twenty and I got a call from someone at Forbes
Books and they started talking about whether or not I
wanted to write a book, and I just remember thinking, Hey,
(01:30):
I don't know what's going on on the East Coast,
but let me tell you where we're at where I'm
sitting because we worked. My office is in Belvy, Washington,
and I lived in Kirkland, and we were right at
the shutdown timing. My mom was in a home at
that time too, so it was all happening very quickly.
And this book writing came out of the blue, so
(01:52):
I never really really thought of it. I grew up
on an island, and I thought, it's hard enough every
day not to speak pigeon when I'm talking to people,
So it was really interesting thought. But I kept in
touch with this person and finally sat down and she
was a delight and it was so neat to hear
about her journey with other authors and other leaders and
(02:15):
how they came to writing their books. So ultimately I said, yes.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
Wow, how about that. And when it comes to the
actual topic, this is truly about a core value that
we have been on, let's say, all of our life.
And we wrote a book called When Core Values Are Strategic,
and integrity was one of them. It was about my
(02:45):
fellow alums at Procter and Gamble, and I want to know,
from your perspective, how do you define influencing with integrity
and why in the world is it so critical for
today's leaders.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
Yeah, that's a great, great question. Integrity is thrown around
a lot in my field at work, at least for me,
it's really operating from a place of authenticity and honesty
and doing things so that people know what to expect
out of you, because I think if they know you
(03:20):
and you have a pattern, a consistent pattern, it creates
a safe environment and like I said, they know what
to expect. Operating with integrity also is very mindful of
the wake that you leave behind and around you, and
that's a piece that I think is missing. A lot
(03:41):
of the times people say, oh, yes, I love integrity,
but when I ask them, when you just asked me,
what does it mean to you, they really stumble over it.
And I think it's because it is part of our value,
our core values at work, and when you can agree
to it, but when you try and live it out,
it becomes very difficult for people because they realize that
(04:05):
in their world it might not always be black and white,
and so they're not used to being called to the table,
and sometimes it's a little uncomfortable and people have a
hard time working through the hard stuff. But I think
we need to do it because being authentic is also
owning the stumbles.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
Yes it is. You know. I was baiting you a
little bit for you to tell in your intro about
the Life on Life Ministry.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
Oh, I love that I didn't catch that. I think
for me, the Life on Life ministry is really pivotal
interesting I should leave that out. It was twenty years
of just the Lord grabbing my heart and pulling me in.
And I've always had honesty as a pillar, probably to
a fault, but I didn't know how to use it
(04:59):
at a I didn't know how to apply it. And really
that Life on Life ministry taught me that people matter.
I was and still am an achiever and I like
to check things off the list and just move forward.
And I can't say that when I was younger, I
cared about the people beside me. I just wanted to win.
(05:20):
I just wanted to move to the next thing. And
ministry taught me that people really are your most valuable asset,
and they are the purpose for my being here to serve.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
Amen way to go. We talk about purpose here all
the time. In those twenty years. Tell me about a
particular leader who led with integrity and how did they
cultivate that.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
There were so many wonderful leaders, I will have to say,
and so many friendships that were born in that. The
leader that was closest to me is the one who
led me my teaching leader, and she really counseled me
through so many ups and downs. Her name was Gina
still is Gena. She hasn't changed her name, and she
(06:14):
really was a servant of God and devoted her whole
self to the leaders that were there and the class
members that were there, and it was really inspiring to see.
I didn't know how to do that. Time is really
important to me, so allowing and privacy. I'm a very
private person, you know. I'm introverted. I like to stay
at home, so allowing people in and sitting beside them
(06:38):
wasn't something that I normally did. I had to be
very intentional about that, and she really challenged me in
every aspect of leadership and I appreciate that. I think
I grew the most in leadership through ministry.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
Jennifer, I see one of the biggest challenges today of
mentoring and coaching and consulting and seeing businesses like yours
as how do we educate and make core values a
(07:22):
part of the natural part of life, the organic part
of life and being a father and now a grandfather.
I see it in that next generation of you talk
about authenticity, but how do we teach it, practice it,
show it? So how speak to my listening audience about
(07:42):
and get in the trenches with what do we instead
of just talking about the authenticity, what are we doing
about it?
Speaker 2 (07:50):
I love that this is top of mind for you
because it's really critical. I reflected on this too and thought,
I don't know when I was taught this. Things are
different now. We do have to teach it, and I
think the way to do that is to really show
it and be very intentional. For example, if you are authentic,
(08:11):
anyone can say that, but how do you show it?
Do you show and share with people the stumbles, the mistakes,
the reconciliation, the apologies. Those are really important. When I say,
they know what to expect of you, that's key. It's
a pattern of behavior that you exemplify, and it's tying
(08:33):
in those values. When we have our core values that
are not just what we say. People come in the
door and I spend the first two weeks with any
new hire, it doesn't matter who they are within our team,
just leaning into the values and showing them how it
works out practically in the day to day decision making,
(08:54):
our policies and our procedures. And as an example, it's
a great professional device because when there's a hard, difficult
situation that you have to navigate through with someone talking
about it in pointing to the value instead of the
(09:14):
person really removes the defensiveness that can enter the situation
because we all agreed on these values. And if you
understand that integrity means following this process and procedure, so
it protects the company from liability, it protects the dignity
of the person involved. Those things resonate. Then people understand
(09:36):
the wise behind integrity being so important, and they understand
being authentic is it's okay to be yourself. You don't
have to have the professional version of yourself. It's just you,
and we're refining it as we step into different situations.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
I think when you have an employee whose core values
don't align with yours, you didn't interview well enough exactly.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
I agree. I know this because we've been there and
you know, for so many years, and this ties into
what you talked about before. We didn't start with values
when we started the company. We just started the company
and we were fortunate to enter into a market. Well
I say the market was booming, but we started in
(10:32):
two thousand and eight, so it wasn't a great economic time,
but there was a lot of success very early on.
And so you're just focused on the day by day
and I think a lot of people do that. But
when you encounter friction and when you really see the
people side of things, you understand that you have to
(10:54):
create common ground. And that's when I saw that it
became very important for us to re establish ourselves and
get to the root of who we were, what we
wanted to do, and what our values were and get
everyone on board. And from that point on, I am
the last person to interview and I only interview on values.
(11:16):
There you go, Is that important?
Speaker 1 (11:19):
Yeah? And if you were to provide the framework or
architecture of your value system, what are the top five
other than integrity and authenticity?
Speaker 2 (11:32):
So we have a we tell a story with ours,
So we have an acromen, it's did I and it's dignity.
Starts with dignity, So each person that walks in the door,
they hold their own dignity and their worth. And that's
what's so unique about our environment is we all are different,
but we have that common ground and then integrity obviously
(11:54):
enters the field and we agree to operate by it. Diligence.
I appreciate hard work. We all can do a craft
if we put our minds to it. I'm one of
those thinkers that I will take the hardest working person
in the room over the smartest person. I just I'd
like both. But I really appreciate people who get their
(12:16):
hands dirty. And then achievement. That's why we're here, not
just from a financial standpoint, but from a professional growth standpoint,
from a community impact standpoint. That's what we're here for.
That achievement place a piece we celebrate together. Not that
everyone gets a trophy, but you can acknowledge someone and
(12:36):
not try and take their moment, but edify them instead.
It's a very sacrificial way of doing things too. And
then we end with impact, because that is why we're here.
Our vision is not about making summit group the best
it staffing firm across the world or the nation. It's
(12:57):
about what we do with what we get from it.
What do we do with our time, talents and dollars?
Where do we put those? How do we impact the
communities around us?
Speaker 1 (13:09):
I like that should you relook at those as your
constitution as time goes on? Correct action add to them,
not take away from because you don't. It would be
like taking away your nervous system or your skeletal system.
But tell me what you think about that.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
I think it's wise. I think it's wise to go
through the motions because you're you want to have a
pulse check on where you are, and different teams and
different times tend to influence people. We've done this. I
keep challenging our mission and vision too. I think just
annually we take a look at it and say, how
(13:53):
is this showing up? Are we are we still this fabric?
And the for us was yes. I kept trying to
simplify it. I said, I know we tell a story,
but do we have too many values? Are they too
much to take on? And everyone really likes them, They
resonate with them because they each have their own piece
(14:14):
of us. And we talked about our own personal values too,
and we line them up against the core values and
make sure they don't intersect in a negative way at
any point in time. So I think, and I think
it's okay if they evolve, as long as you're evolving
together for the right reasons. I'm not a fan of
(14:40):
letting the market and culture around you dictate what you
do and how you do it, because again, then I
wouldn't be authentic, and to me, that's not integrity. You
can take advantage of ebbs and flows and headwinds and
tailwinds without compromising yourself. I think that's the job of
a leader too, is knowing when to shift and when
(15:02):
to stand firm.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
I agree. I'm gonna take exception with your definition of
integrity and authenticity. I was raised within P and G
that integrity was doing the right thing, Authenticity was being
(15:26):
real about it. So authenticity was an adjective description of integrity.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
Okay, how did that show up? So being real about
doing the right team, There's there's some moral under undercurrent
in there too.
Speaker 1 (15:48):
It's no part of it was the BS factor, And
as a manager and executive, you need to have your
BS detector helmet on yes, if if you tech BS
and they're inauthentic. But integrity though was you and I
today are We're engaged in doing what we think is
(16:11):
the right thing to do because we know our why. Yes,
we know our purpose. So that I wish that you
would in your next five books that you're going to
write in your lifetime dig you dig a little bit
because I can tell by our fifteen minute conversation so
(16:31):
far that you know the difference in your living.
Speaker 2 (16:34):
In I appreciate that. That's really important to me. I
can't wait for your book on this and workshop to
come out because I think people don't put enough thought
into how they define things and how they live them out.
And I do believe in doing the right thing every time.
(16:54):
That's doing the right thing in the dark right. It's
not to get accolades, it's to do the right thing, period,
and I do That's where the authenticity comes in. I
think I I'm a very literal person. But sometimes when
I look at authenticity too, I look at as I believe,
(17:17):
I'm a very discerning person, and when I see the
BS meter go up, I'm wondering, why have I not
created a safe enough environment? Are they hurting so much?
Are they? Is this just the way they operate? You know?
I want to know the whys behind their behavior?
Speaker 1 (17:37):
Yeah and getting Yeah, get down to the truth. Okay,
let's let's take a quick commercial break. I'll throw it
to you. First, tell people where they can purchase your
book and learn about your enterprise.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
Wonderful Leading for Impact is available really any bookstore that
you have a fondness for, Barnes and Noble, Amazon Target,
you can all get it there also. Jennifershelkey dot com
and Summit Groupsolutions dot com is our company and we
love to engage with people and talk about your needs
(18:11):
and how we can come alongside you.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
Perfect. Okay, we will be right back with Jennifer Shelke
after this quick message.
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Speaker 1 (19:36):
And we're back with Jennifer. We're talking about her book,
Leading for Impact, the CEO's guide to influencing with integrity. Hey,
what was the backup title to your book? What came
in second place?
Speaker 2 (19:48):
There was no second place? Well, I'm lying, I'm sure
there was. But the title Leading for Impact came so quickly.
It came so quickly. I think the struggle was when
they asked me, is it a faith book or is
it a leadership book? What do you want to do here?
What are you trying to do? And I struggled with that,
(20:12):
but I said, it's both because it's a you're asking
me for a leadership book, but I can't separate my
faith from who I am, So you're going to see
that threaded throughout.
Speaker 1 (20:26):
Beautiful. That's a perfect bridge to how does your faith
and commitment to serving others generously influence your decision.
Speaker 2 (20:36):
As a CEO? I think sometimes quite honestly, other people
will look at it and say, well, not the smartest decision,
because the people do matter. I am very sacrificial in
how I lead, possibly to a detriment, but my team
(20:57):
will say, you know who's the or something. We do
trivia all the time and we make up questions, and
one was, you know who's the person that would answer
the phone if you call them at two in the morning.
It's me And everyone knows that and I know that,
and that's not a bad thing. However, I do have
a family. I have kids, you know, I have ailing parents.
(21:18):
So it's really balancing all of that, and for me,
it's been very prayerful about what that balance looks like.
And when I say balance, I don't mean everything is
perfectly in alignment, all on the same because life happens
in different parts of our lives need more of us
or less of us at different time. As an example,
I have a teenage son. He doesn't need me as
(21:40):
much as he needed me when he was maybe six
years old or eight years old. If you have ailing parents,
that's dipping in a little bit more rather than them
being on vacation somewhere and just enjoying the fruits of
their labors. So balance really means where and when to
put in your time and effort, and I think having
(22:01):
discernment and faith is helpful with that. I don't do
it perfectly. Being sacrificial is very important to me, and
I think that probably shows up the most. The integrity
piece comes through with my honesty. I really do try
and discern the right way to approach every situation and
(22:22):
to be fair and honest. I'm a scrappy person. I
was second born in an Asian family where my brother
was firstborn son. He was like the golden child, and
so everything's centered around him, and that can be good
and bad. But I'm used to just fighting for myself
(22:43):
and being very independent, which definitely has its drawbacks too.
So there's a lot to balance. There's a lot to
balance there, but I really try and measure it up
for me against scripture. I always have a sounding board,
very accountable, try to be very accountable to my team
(23:03):
and those I lead.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
Thank you for that. Now, listen, folks, if you're really
listening to Jennifer, she just told you that she is
sandwiched between her parents and her children. So if that's
not authenticity dripping off this microphone, what is so you've got?
You've got your own challenges. I'm wondering in the midst
(23:28):
of that being sandwiched, how do you keep your own
saw sharpen.
Speaker 2 (23:36):
A lot of time? Everyone asked me, you're you're an author,
Do you read a lot? No. I read the Bible,
That's really what I read, and I'll sprinkle in books
here and there. I spend a lot of time in
the world. I knowing I'm an introvert, I do have
my quiet time. If I have to wake up early
in the morning to have that time, that's what I do.
(23:57):
If I need to go to bed late at night,
that's what I do because I know that's when I'm
most filled, even if I'm tired. And then it's really
who has the greatest need and who's there to step
into those shoes? Right now? I've just been blessed with
(24:18):
people around me, even through hardships, and I think those
difficult times are really the times I'm being called to
show who I am and witness the testimony of it.
Doesn't matter what comes at me. I know he's got me.
I know he's got me, and I know that there's
(24:38):
a purpose and there's always a way out. He's going
to show me a way out, and I just have
to navigate that and learn from it and be refined
in that moment from the circumstance. I love that you
said how do you keep yourself sh sharpened? Because learning
has always been important to me? And though we have
(24:59):
a values, humility and gratitude are threated. They're not our
stated values, but they are very evident in everything that
we do, because humility really keeps you open and honest
about your shortcomings and your strengths, and it keeps you learning.
So I do like having my having my skills sharpened,
(25:25):
having people speak in to me. I need people around
me who aren't afraid to challenge me. Because I have
a lot of people who will smile and agree with me.
That doesn't sharpen me in any way. I don't want
people to just appease who I am. I want people
to challenge me. I think Ministry did that excellently. And
(25:46):
then I always have a sounding board, a CEO group,
whether it be Vistage now it's C twelve, and advisors
because I'm a co founder and an officer. I've seen
people do whatever they want with their companies because they
had authority, and I don't ever want to be that person.
So I think keeping myself accountable with another team is
(26:08):
always important. So so I do always have that, and
my team knows that, and I'm accountable to them too,
but they know that. They know I have other leaders
speaking into what I'm doing and how I'm doing it.
Speaker 1 (26:23):
You just mention the next core values that you need
to add Humility, Humility, Humility, humility. You need to I'm
begging you to put that in in your core values
along with living a balanced life. You said surrounding yourself
(26:45):
with people that are smarter than you. I mean, those
are the that's next generation thinking, being smart collaborators, learning
about alignment. Those are that's moving what you probably do
every single day into the next generation. Which leads me
to this. I've only got two other questions for you.
(27:05):
I could probably talk to you all day.
Speaker 2 (27:07):
I would do the same.
Speaker 1 (27:09):
What seeds are you planting that you will never see harvested? Oh?
Speaker 2 (27:23):
While that really touches me. You know, our company is
a place where majority of the people will step in,
hopefully grow and step onto other things. Very few people
(27:44):
will stay and grow old with us. So my ask
of people when they come in is, I'm realistic. I
know that this is not a place for everyone, but
it is like family when we're there, and I want
them to grow so that when they step out, they're
(28:05):
stepping into not a lateral but move, but stepping up
into something. And those people I don't get to see
every one of them and what that next step is
and what their legacy is that they leave behind, but
it would be lovely to see. I do hear a
(28:27):
lot from people. We have employees that have moved on
either text me or reach out on LinkedIn or come
by the office, and that is amazing. What I'm so
it's the people that I touch or who enters and
leaves our lives that there's so many of them you
(28:48):
can't keep track of all of them. But I hope
that the values that we have or the kindness and truth.
Kindness is not absent truth. The kind that we extend
to them they take and incorporate into their lives somehow,
some way, because what we do with our values is
(29:09):
not something that you leave at the office. There's professional development,
but that doesn't come separate from personal development to so
it's the stories behind the people, on the struggles that
they have or had, and how they came through those
and in what ways we may have had an impact
(29:30):
or so in a seed that doesn't get harvested for
maybe many many years later.
Speaker 1 (29:38):
Well said question, Chris, you is I want you to
speak as a mom, and this is I want you
to tell your children what you wish for them to
experience between now and when they leave for college.
Speaker 2 (29:54):
While you're hitting me with the big ones to my
daughter and my son, I was always very education oriented,
very academic oriented, and having them just made me really
harvest the delight that a parent has and the responsibility
(30:15):
of shaping them. But I want them to see that
I did it all out of pure love for them,
in protection and in sharpening their skills. And at the
end of the day, they've shown me too that the
most important thing isn't the academics isn't what they're going
to do, but that their faith is strong, and hopefully
(30:39):
I've modeled that well. They've told me so, so hopefully
I've modeled that well for them and they see that
that is what gets me through all all every day,
but also that they are strong, contributing members to society
in volunteering and in their craft. Whatever it is. You
(31:01):
can be a bus driver, you can be a CEO,
you can work for it, you can work for marketing.
I don't care what it is. But as long as
you're making your own way and you're giving back in
some way, I want to see that they do that
because that was modeled for them by me in a
way that makes them want to do the same.
Speaker 1 (31:25):
Sure powerful she is, Jennifer Shelke, She's not only an author,
a co founder, a daughter, mom, wife, leader. I think
you're a person of significance. Thank you for being on
our show.
Speaker 2 (31:44):
Thank you, Rick, What a wonderful time it was to
sit with you.
Speaker 1 (31:50):
Likewise, folks, I hope you were as inspired as I was.
Almost broke down and cried there, which is pretty typical
for me in my age. But we appreciate you joining
us today. And we wish you success on your way
to significance.
Speaker 3 (32:11):
Have a good
Speaker 2 (32:17):
M M.
Hey, welcome back to Success Made to Last. I'm Rick Tokeinny.
This show was brought to you by Edward Jones Financial
Advisors along with Return Valets, and we appreciate their longstanding
support of this network. Our very special guest today is
Jennifer Schlke. She is the author of Leading for Impact,
the CEO's guide to Influencing with Integrity, and she is
(00:32):
the founder of Summit Group Solutions. It's a relationship focused
it staffing and recruiting partner. Her company is a multi
year INC Five hundred award e and a twenty twenty
three INC Power Partner, and we're going to talk about
her thirty years in business and her book. Obviously, Jennifer,
(00:53):
welcome to the show.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Thank you so much for having me. It's such a pleasure.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
Blackwise. So give us a little bit of your backstory
of what happened to you on your way to writing
Leading for Impact.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Well, I think my story really shares into the lives
of everyone because it started in twenty twenty, and so
we all know what was going on in twenty turned
twenty and I got a call from someone at Forbes
Books and they started talking about whether or not I
wanted to write a book, and I just remember thinking, Hey,
(01:30):
I don't know what's going on on the East Coast,
but let me tell you where we're at where I'm
sitting because we worked. My office is in Belvy, Washington,
and I lived in Kirkland, and we were right at
the shutdown timing. My mom was in a home at
that time too, so it was all happening very quickly.
And this book writing came out of the blue, so
(01:52):
I never really really thought of it. I grew up
on an island, and I thought, it's hard enough every
day not to speak pigeon when I'm talking to people,
So it was really interesting thought. But I kept in
touch with this person and finally sat down and she
was a delight and it was so neat to hear
about her journey with other authors and other leaders and
(02:15):
how they came to writing their books. So ultimately I said, yes.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
Wow, how about that. And when it comes to the
actual topic, this is truly about a core value that
we have been on, let's say, all of our life.
And we wrote a book called When Core Values Are Strategic,
and integrity was one of them. It was about my
(02:45):
fellow alums at Procter and Gamble, and I want to know,
from your perspective, how do you define influencing with integrity
and why in the world is it so critical for
today's leaders.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
Yeah, that's a great, great question. Integrity is thrown around
a lot in my field at work, at least for me,
it's really operating from a place of authenticity and honesty
and doing things so that people know what to expect
out of you, because I think if they know you
(03:20):
and you have a pattern, a consistent pattern, it creates
a safe environment and like I said, they know what
to expect. Operating with integrity also is very mindful of
the wake that you leave behind and around you, and
that's a piece that I think is missing. A lot
(03:41):
of the times people say, oh, yes, I love integrity,
but when I ask them, when you just asked me,
what does it mean to you, they really stumble over it.
And I think it's because it is part of our value,
our core values at work, and when you can agree
to it, but when you try and live it out,
it becomes very difficult for people because they realize that
(04:05):
in their world it might not always be black and white,
and so they're not used to being called to the table,
and sometimes it's a little uncomfortable and people have a
hard time working through the hard stuff. But I think
we need to do it because being authentic is also
owning the stumbles.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
Yes it is. You know. I was baiting you a
little bit for you to tell in your intro about
the Life on Life Ministry.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
Oh, I love that I didn't catch that. I think
for me, the Life on Life ministry is really pivotal
interesting I should leave that out. It was twenty years
of just the Lord grabbing my heart and pulling me in.
And I've always had honesty as a pillar, probably to
a fault, but I didn't know how to use it
(04:59):
at a I didn't know how to apply it. And really
that Life on Life ministry taught me that people matter.
I was and still am an achiever and I like
to check things off the list and just move forward.
And I can't say that when I was younger, I
cared about the people beside me. I just wanted to win.
(05:20):
I just wanted to move to the next thing. And
ministry taught me that people really are your most valuable asset,
and they are the purpose for my being here to serve.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
Amen way to go. We talk about purpose here all
the time. In those twenty years. Tell me about a
particular leader who led with integrity and how did they
cultivate that.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
There were so many wonderful leaders, I will have to say,
and so many friendships that were born in that. The
leader that was closest to me is the one who
led me my teaching leader, and she really counseled me
through so many ups and downs. Her name was Gina
still is Gena. She hasn't changed her name, and she
(06:14):
really was a servant of God and devoted her whole
self to the leaders that were there and the class
members that were there, and it was really inspiring to see.
I didn't know how to do that. Time is really
important to me, so allowing and privacy. I'm a very
private person, you know. I'm introverted. I like to stay
at home, so allowing people in and sitting beside them
(06:38):
wasn't something that I normally did. I had to be
very intentional about that, and she really challenged me in
every aspect of leadership and I appreciate that. I think
I grew the most in leadership through ministry.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
Jennifer, I see one of the biggest challenges today of
mentoring and coaching and consulting and seeing businesses like yours
as how do we educate and make core values a
(07:22):
part of the natural part of life, the organic part
of life and being a father and now a grandfather.
I see it in that next generation of you talk
about authenticity, but how do we teach it, practice it,
show it? So how speak to my listening audience about
(07:42):
and get in the trenches with what do we instead
of just talking about the authenticity, what are we doing
about it?
Speaker 2 (07:50):
I love that this is top of mind for you
because it's really critical. I reflected on this too and thought,
I don't know when I was taught this. Things are
different now. We do have to teach it, and I
think the way to do that is to really show
it and be very intentional. For example, if you are authentic,
(08:11):
anyone can say that, but how do you show it?
Do you show and share with people the stumbles, the mistakes,
the reconciliation, the apologies. Those are really important. When I say,
they know what to expect of you, that's key. It's
a pattern of behavior that you exemplify, and it's tying
(08:33):
in those values. When we have our core values that
are not just what we say. People come in the
door and I spend the first two weeks with any
new hire, it doesn't matter who they are within our team,
just leaning into the values and showing them how it
works out practically in the day to day decision making,
(08:54):
our policies and our procedures. And as an example, it's
a great professional device because when there's a hard, difficult
situation that you have to navigate through with someone talking
about it in pointing to the value instead of the
(09:14):
person really removes the defensiveness that can enter the situation
because we all agreed on these values. And if you
understand that integrity means following this process and procedure, so
it protects the company from liability, it protects the dignity
of the person involved. Those things resonate. Then people understand
(09:36):
the wise behind integrity being so important, and they understand
being authentic is it's okay to be yourself. You don't
have to have the professional version of yourself. It's just you,
and we're refining it as we step into different situations.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
I think when you have an employee whose core values
don't align with yours, you didn't interview well enough exactly.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
I agree. I know this because we've been there and
you know, for so many years, and this ties into
what you talked about before. We didn't start with values
when we started the company. We just started the company
and we were fortunate to enter into a market. Well
I say the market was booming, but we started in
(10:32):
two thousand and eight, so it wasn't a great economic time,
but there was a lot of success very early on.
And so you're just focused on the day by day
and I think a lot of people do that. But
when you encounter friction and when you really see the
people side of things, you understand that you have to
(10:54):
create common ground. And that's when I saw that it
became very important for us to re establish ourselves and
get to the root of who we were, what we
wanted to do, and what our values were and get
everyone on board. And from that point on, I am
the last person to interview and I only interview on values.
(11:16):
There you go, Is that important?
Speaker 1 (11:19):
Yeah? And if you were to provide the framework or
architecture of your value system, what are the top five
other than integrity and authenticity?
Speaker 2 (11:32):
So we have a we tell a story with ours,
So we have an acromen, it's did I and it's dignity.
Starts with dignity, So each person that walks in the door,
they hold their own dignity and their worth. And that's
what's so unique about our environment is we all are different,
but we have that common ground and then integrity obviously
(11:54):
enters the field and we agree to operate by it. Diligence.
I appreciate hard work. We all can do a craft
if we put our minds to it. I'm one of
those thinkers that I will take the hardest working person
in the room over the smartest person. I just I'd
like both. But I really appreciate people who get their
(12:16):
hands dirty. And then achievement. That's why we're here, not
just from a financial standpoint, but from a professional growth standpoint,
from a community impact standpoint. That's what we're here for.
That achievement place a piece we celebrate together. Not that
everyone gets a trophy, but you can acknowledge someone and
(12:36):
not try and take their moment, but edify them instead.
It's a very sacrificial way of doing things too. And
then we end with impact, because that is why we're here.
Our vision is not about making summit group the best
it staffing firm across the world or the nation. It's
(12:57):
about what we do with what we get from it.
What do we do with our time, talents and dollars?
Where do we put those? How do we impact the
communities around us?
Speaker 1 (13:09):
I like that should you relook at those as your
constitution as time goes on? Correct action add to them,
not take away from because you don't. It would be
like taking away your nervous system or your skeletal system.
But tell me what you think about that.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
I think it's wise. I think it's wise to go
through the motions because you're you want to have a
pulse check on where you are, and different teams and
different times tend to influence people. We've done this. I
keep challenging our mission and vision too. I think just
annually we take a look at it and say, how
(13:53):
is this showing up? Are we are we still this fabric?
And the for us was yes. I kept trying to
simplify it. I said, I know we tell a story,
but do we have too many values? Are they too
much to take on? And everyone really likes them, They
resonate with them because they each have their own piece
(14:14):
of us. And we talked about our own personal values too,
and we line them up against the core values and
make sure they don't intersect in a negative way at
any point in time. So I think, and I think
it's okay if they evolve, as long as you're evolving
together for the right reasons. I'm not a fan of
(14:40):
letting the market and culture around you dictate what you
do and how you do it, because again, then I
wouldn't be authentic, and to me, that's not integrity. You
can take advantage of ebbs and flows and headwinds and
tailwinds without compromising yourself. I think that's the job of
a leader too, is knowing when to shift and when
(15:02):
to stand firm.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
I agree. I'm gonna take exception with your definition of
integrity and authenticity. I was raised within P and G
that integrity was doing the right thing, Authenticity was being
(15:26):
real about it. So authenticity was an adjective description of integrity.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
Okay, how did that show up? So being real about
doing the right team, There's there's some moral under undercurrent
in there too.
Speaker 1 (15:48):
It's no part of it was the BS factor, And
as a manager and executive, you need to have your
BS detector helmet on yes, if if you tech BS
and they're inauthentic. But integrity though was you and I
today are We're engaged in doing what we think is
(16:11):
the right thing to do because we know our why. Yes,
we know our purpose. So that I wish that you
would in your next five books that you're going to
write in your lifetime dig you dig a little bit
because I can tell by our fifteen minute conversation so
(16:31):
far that you know the difference in your living.
Speaker 2 (16:34):
In I appreciate that. That's really important to me. I
can't wait for your book on this and workshop to
come out because I think people don't put enough thought
into how they define things and how they live them out.
And I do believe in doing the right thing every time.
(16:54):
That's doing the right thing in the dark right. It's
not to get accolades, it's to do the right thing, period,
and I do That's where the authenticity comes in. I
think I I'm a very literal person. But sometimes when
I look at authenticity too, I look at as I believe,
(17:17):
I'm a very discerning person, and when I see the
BS meter go up, I'm wondering, why have I not
created a safe enough environment? Are they hurting so much?
Are they? Is this just the way they operate? You know?
I want to know the whys behind their behavior?
Speaker 1 (17:37):
Yeah and getting Yeah, get down to the truth. Okay,
let's let's take a quick commercial break. I'll throw it
to you. First, tell people where they can purchase your
book and learn about your enterprise.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
Wonderful Leading for Impact is available really any bookstore that
you have a fondness for, Barnes and Noble, Amazon Target,
you can all get it there also. Jennifershelkey dot com
and Summit Groupsolutions dot com is our company and we
love to engage with people and talk about your needs
(18:11):
and how we can come alongside you.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
Perfect. Okay, we will be right back with Jennifer Shelke
after this quick message.
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Speaker 1 (19:36):
And we're back with Jennifer. We're talking about her book,
Leading for Impact, the CEO's guide to influencing with integrity. Hey,
what was the backup title to your book? What came
in second place?
Speaker 2 (19:48):
There was no second place? Well, I'm lying, I'm sure
there was. But the title Leading for Impact came so quickly.
It came so quickly. I think the struggle was when
they asked me, is it a faith book or is
it a leadership book? What do you want to do here?
What are you trying to do? And I struggled with that,
(20:12):
but I said, it's both because it's a you're asking
me for a leadership book, but I can't separate my
faith from who I am, So you're going to see
that threaded throughout.
Speaker 1 (20:26):
Beautiful. That's a perfect bridge to how does your faith
and commitment to serving others generously influence your decision.
Speaker 2 (20:36):
As a CEO? I think sometimes quite honestly, other people
will look at it and say, well, not the smartest decision,
because the people do matter. I am very sacrificial in
how I lead, possibly to a detriment, but my team
(20:57):
will say, you know who's the or something. We do
trivia all the time and we make up questions, and
one was, you know who's the person that would answer
the phone if you call them at two in the morning.
It's me And everyone knows that and I know that,
and that's not a bad thing. However, I do have
a family. I have kids, you know, I have ailing parents.
(21:18):
So it's really balancing all of that, and for me,
it's been very prayerful about what that balance looks like.
And when I say balance, I don't mean everything is
perfectly in alignment, all on the same because life happens
in different parts of our lives need more of us
or less of us at different time. As an example,
I have a teenage son. He doesn't need me as
(21:40):
much as he needed me when he was maybe six
years old or eight years old. If you have ailing parents,
that's dipping in a little bit more rather than them
being on vacation somewhere and just enjoying the fruits of
their labors. So balance really means where and when to
put in your time and effort, and I think having
(22:01):
discernment and faith is helpful with that. I don't do
it perfectly. Being sacrificial is very important to me, and
I think that probably shows up the most. The integrity
piece comes through with my honesty. I really do try
and discern the right way to approach every situation and
(22:22):
to be fair and honest. I'm a scrappy person. I
was second born in an Asian family where my brother
was firstborn son. He was like the golden child, and
so everything's centered around him, and that can be good
and bad. But I'm used to just fighting for myself
(22:43):
and being very independent, which definitely has its drawbacks too.
So there's a lot to balance. There's a lot to
balance there, but I really try and measure it up
for me against scripture. I always have a sounding board,
very accountable, try to be very accountable to my team
(23:03):
and those I lead.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
Thank you for that. Now, listen, folks, if you're really
listening to Jennifer, she just told you that she is
sandwiched between her parents and her children. So if that's
not authenticity dripping off this microphone, what is so you've got?
You've got your own challenges. I'm wondering in the midst
(23:28):
of that being sandwiched, how do you keep your own
saw sharpen.
Speaker 2 (23:36):
A lot of time? Everyone asked me, you're you're an author,
Do you read a lot? No. I read the Bible,
That's really what I read, and I'll sprinkle in books
here and there. I spend a lot of time in
the world. I knowing I'm an introvert, I do have
my quiet time. If I have to wake up early
in the morning to have that time, that's what I do.
(23:57):
If I need to go to bed late at night,
that's what I do because I know that's when I'm
most filled, even if I'm tired. And then it's really
who has the greatest need and who's there to step
into those shoes? Right now? I've just been blessed with
(24:18):
people around me, even through hardships, and I think those
difficult times are really the times I'm being called to
show who I am and witness the testimony of it.
Doesn't matter what comes at me. I know he's got me.
I know he's got me, and I know that there's
(24:38):
a purpose and there's always a way out. He's going
to show me a way out, and I just have
to navigate that and learn from it and be refined
in that moment from the circumstance. I love that you
said how do you keep yourself sh sharpened? Because learning
has always been important to me? And though we have
(24:59):
a values, humility and gratitude are threated. They're not our
stated values, but they are very evident in everything that
we do, because humility really keeps you open and honest
about your shortcomings and your strengths, and it keeps you learning.
So I do like having my having my skills sharpened,
(25:25):
having people speak in to me. I need people around
me who aren't afraid to challenge me. Because I have
a lot of people who will smile and agree with me.
That doesn't sharpen me in any way. I don't want
people to just appease who I am. I want people
to challenge me. I think Ministry did that excellently. And
(25:46):
then I always have a sounding board, a CEO group,
whether it be Vistage now it's C twelve, and advisors
because I'm a co founder and an officer. I've seen
people do whatever they want with their companies because they
had authority, and I don't ever want to be that person.
So I think keeping myself accountable with another team is
(26:08):
always important. So so I do always have that, and
my team knows that, and I'm accountable to them too,
but they know that. They know I have other leaders
speaking into what I'm doing and how I'm doing it.
Speaker 1 (26:23):
You just mention the next core values that you need
to add Humility, Humility, Humility, humility. You need to I'm
begging you to put that in in your core values
along with living a balanced life. You said surrounding yourself
(26:45):
with people that are smarter than you. I mean, those
are the that's next generation thinking, being smart collaborators, learning
about alignment. Those are that's moving what you probably do
every single day into the next generation. Which leads me
to this. I've only got two other questions for you.
(27:05):
I could probably talk to you all day.
Speaker 2 (27:07):
I would do the same.
Speaker 1 (27:09):
What seeds are you planting that you will never see harvested? Oh?
Speaker 2 (27:23):
While that really touches me. You know, our company is
a place where majority of the people will step in,
hopefully grow and step onto other things. Very few people
(27:44):
will stay and grow old with us. So my ask
of people when they come in is, I'm realistic. I
know that this is not a place for everyone, but
it is like family when we're there, and I want
them to grow so that when they step out, they're
(28:05):
stepping into not a lateral but move, but stepping up
into something. And those people I don't get to see
every one of them and what that next step is
and what their legacy is that they leave behind, but
it would be lovely to see. I do hear a
(28:27):
lot from people. We have employees that have moved on
either text me or reach out on LinkedIn or come
by the office, and that is amazing. What I'm so
it's the people that I touch or who enters and
leaves our lives that there's so many of them you
(28:48):
can't keep track of all of them. But I hope
that the values that we have or the kindness and truth.
Kindness is not absent truth. The kind that we extend
to them they take and incorporate into their lives somehow,
some way, because what we do with our values is
(29:09):
not something that you leave at the office. There's professional development,
but that doesn't come separate from personal development to so
it's the stories behind the people, on the struggles that
they have or had, and how they came through those
and in what ways we may have had an impact
(29:30):
or so in a seed that doesn't get harvested for
maybe many many years later.
Speaker 1 (29:38):
Well said question, Chris, you is I want you to
speak as a mom, and this is I want you
to tell your children what you wish for them to
experience between now and when they leave for college.
Speaker 2 (29:54):
While you're hitting me with the big ones to my
daughter and my son, I was always very education oriented,
very academic oriented, and having them just made me really
harvest the delight that a parent has and the responsibility
(30:15):
of shaping them. But I want them to see that
I did it all out of pure love for them,
in protection and in sharpening their skills. And at the
end of the day, they've shown me too that the
most important thing isn't the academics isn't what they're going
to do, but that their faith is strong, and hopefully
(30:39):
I've modeled that well. They've told me so, so hopefully
I've modeled that well for them and they see that
that is what gets me through all all every day,
but also that they are strong, contributing members to society
in volunteering and in their craft. Whatever it is. You
(31:01):
can be a bus driver, you can be a CEO,
you can work for it, you can work for marketing.
I don't care what it is. But as long as
you're making your own way and you're giving back in
some way, I want to see that they do that
because that was modeled for them by me in a
way that makes them want to do the same.
Speaker 1 (31:25):
Sure powerful she is, Jennifer Shelke, She's not only an author,
a co founder, a daughter, mom, wife, leader. I think
you're a person of significance. Thank you for being on
our show.
Speaker 2 (31:44):
Thank you, Rick, What a wonderful time it was to
sit with you.
Speaker 1 (31:50):
Likewise, folks, I hope you were as inspired as I was.
Almost broke down and cried there, which is pretty typical
for me in my age. But we appreciate you joining
us today. And we wish you success on your way
to significance.
Speaker 3 (32:11):
Have a good
Speaker 2 (32:17):
M M.
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