Evolving to Exceptional with Jessica Tietjen

Join us in this episode as we dive into the world of human resources with Lauren Thomas, an HR specialist who has successfully doubled the size of her organization in just one year. Discover the secrets behind her strategic initiatives, employee engagement initiatives, and effective communication methods that have led to significant growth and increased retention rates. From nurturing a family-ori...

In this week's episode, we are joined by Tom Fox, an exceptional former trial lawyer turned compliance guru, as he shares his remarkable journey and unravels the complexities of compliance laws that impact global economies.  In this enlightening episode, Tom takes us on a captivating narrative, from his early career as a trial lawyer to his pivotal role in reforming companies that have experie...

Join us in this week’s compelling episode with Adrianne Presnell, a healthcare professional with 20 years of experience, as we delve into the pressing issue of burnout in healthcare and explore effective strategies for overcoming it. We uncover the root causes of burnout and provide actionable insights to help healthcare professionals regain their resilience and passion for their vital work. Jessi...

Join us in this week’s captivating episode as we interview Lori-Ann Duguay, CEO of People-Powered Solutions. Lori shares her inspiring journey from feeling stuck in a government job to becoming a catalyst for creating happier, more productive workplaces. Discover the 10 motivational needs that drive employee engagement and learn Lori's powerful 3M approach to transform workplace practices. Get...

Join us in this week's episode as we dive into the world of human resources with Aaron Cole, the HR Director of American Industrial Transport (AITX), a renowned manufacturing organization. Discover Aaron's passion for creating a positive HR reputation and establishing strong connections within the organization. In this engaging conversation, Aaron shares his journey in the HR space, his ro...

In this powerful conversation, we are joined by Jessie Torres, the Founder/Owner of Fierce Grace Transformation. Jessie is a motivational speaker, a heart-driven performance coach, and a beacon of inspiration. Having overcome immense challenges in her life, Jessie is dedicated to helping others reach peak performance and live their best lives. Through sharing her personal journey of resilience and...

We’ve all been there. We’re desperately looking for a job, applying to tens if not hundreds of jobs looking to catch a break, when, finally, someone reaches out, only to find ourselves waiting weeks on end to schedule an interview or talk to an actual human. The job search process. In this week's episode, we are joined by an extraordinary guest, Allison McCutcheon Barcz, the Chief Strategy and...

What challenges are facing workplaces in this new post-pandemic world? In this engaging episode, we're joined by the remarkable Kyle Cross, Senior Director of HR at Lexicon Services. Prepare to be inspired as we delve into Kyle’s unique perspective on putting employees first, creating a workplace culture of trust, and equipping leaders with the skills they need to navigate the challenges of a...

Are you ready to tap into your true leadership potential? Then, you won't want to miss this week's episode of our podcast, where we sit down with Regina Huber, a visionary Career & Transformational Leadership Coach and CEO of Transform Your Performance. Regina’s passion to drive bold, value-driven, and heart-centered leadership of self and others fuels her work with leaders in all leve...

Are you tired of the traditional, inflexible, and unsympathetic financial services industry? Do you want to learn how to stay competitive in a "war for talent" market and retain top employees? Then tune into this week's episode featuring Meredith Osborn, an exceptional Senior Vice President/Director of Human Resources at Parkside Financial Bank & Trust. Meredith is actively worki...

It’s no secret burnout, stress, and employee disengagement have been on the rise over the last couple of years as a result of the new challenges that came along with the COVID-19 pandemic. As we get acclimated to a new “normal” coming out of this unprecedented situation, it’s important to shift our focus from merely surviving to thriving within our organizations.      Check out this episode with A...

Early on in my career, I found myself in a position where I had the opportunity to build an HR/Talent Management department from the ground up in an organization that was growing at an exceptionally fast rate. Not an intimidating endeavor at all, right?! Check out this episode with Melanie Hiller, a phenomenal HR Manager who is building the HR function at Professional Environmental Engineers, Inc....

One of the biggest challenges I faced during my time in the corporate HR space was communication. Miscommunications, lack of clarity, or simply a lack of communication lead to significant challenges for both leaders and employees in an organization. This week’s episode features Teri Powers, VP of Operations at ITF Group, who has a passion for being the liaison between operations, leaders, and peop...

Why is receiving feedback so difficult? With so much research, countless articles, and endless training courses on how to effectively give feedback, why are leaders and managers struggling to provide effective feedback to the people they serve? What role do our emotions play in receiving feedback? This week’s episode features guest Carole Stizza, a certified ICF Coach and Senior HR Professional wi...

Small-to-midsize startups or large, Fortune 500 companies? What are the key differences between how HR operates within each environment? Have you considered which option is right for you? Join us on this week's episode as Paige Galka, an HR Professional who has worked with HR teams in both startups and Fortune 500 companies, discusses the differences between working on large, corporate HR team...

This episode features Rachel Boehm, a Well-Being Consultant and Coach, who helps workplaces and individuals improve their workplace well-being practices. In this episode, we discuss a variety of approaches that can help workplaces positively impact employee well-being. We also address the importance of aligning any well-being techniques with the overall workplace strategy to improve results and th...

Why don’t managers and leaders do what they know they should? I had a little epiphany yesterday about the difficulty of actually doing what we know we should do. I've trained hundreds of managers/leaders and I often got frustrated with their inability to take action on what they learned. Over the years, I've learned that true change requires much more than a focus on behavior. We must go much deep...

Join us on this week’s podcast with special guest Emily Dirkers, an HR Leader from a local St. Louis tech startup who shares the toughest challenges facing HR Teams today. Learn more about the impact of reductions in force, a post-COVID world, and high levels of burnout on HR professionals and employees. The Trauma in Transitions – Layoffs, Downsizing & Terminations article: https://www.linked...

New Year, New Start, New You! Every year millions of people set new year's resolutions to accomplish new goals and address their challenges. Unfortunately, statistics show most people fail at their attempts to make lasting change in their life. We've found most people fail because they lack support and tend to implement surface level and generic solutions. Are you wanting to create change in your...

I’ve made plenty of mistakes throughout my career that span from my early career overconfidence to inadequate management of people at the start, to ultimately allowing myself to become so stressed I experienced burnout. But do you what to know what I consider to be the biggest mistake of them all? Not getting coaching from a third-party coach sooner! Learn more about how coaching can change your d...

With the recent wave of layoffs major companies like Twitter, Meta, and Salesforce are doing, we need to address an issue that accompanies these situations...the trauma they cause. We cannot continue to downplay the impact these situations have on not only the employees who are let go, but all those who are involved in making the tough decisions and executing on them. Listen to this week’s episode...

We are excited to announce that we have been working on a brand-new Evolving to Exceptional app that will be launching later this month. One of the key features of this app is our Peak Performance Certification Program which we have been working on over the past year to ensure we incorporate as much of the latest research-backed people practices as possible to help you evolve your performance both...

LINK TO THE YOUTUBE LIVESTREAM WITH VISUALS: https://youtu.be/gHjbRaZk4s4 Are you a female leader? Are you struggling to lead the same way you see men leading? Do you struggle with limiting beliefs or imposter syndrome? Do you feel you are being held back or want to make more progress? Are you wanting more development than you're getting today? Do you want to expand into a better job/role? Be prom...

I recently discovered a year ago when I left my job, that I was more than stressed, I was in burnout. As, I talked with others I discovered I was not the only one who wasn't sure what the difference is between stress and burnout. I am now realizing how serious burnout truly is and what an epidemic we have going on with burnout today. Join us as we take a closer look at the effects of burnout, figu...

Traditional training on effective leadership fail to incorporate the unique needs of female leaders in today's workforce. Female leaders within corporate and entrepreneurship settings are experiencing high levels of burn out in their leadership roles because they are being expected to fit the molds of traditional leadership styles they do not align with. In this week's episode, we discuss our new...