John Mack was the Divisional President for the Cardiac Surgery division at one of the largest medical device companies in the world—Medtronic. John knows that great leadership skills are formed through following the path of great leaders; and through his mentors he picked up a slew of tips for success. It was these learned skills that brought him through long nights during mergers and acquisitions, leading new projects, and ultimately paving the path to his successful career today.

In this podcast episode, John and Chris cover:

• Why you should get an Executive Coach
• Steven Covey’s “7 Habits of Highly Effective People”
• How to push yourself but know when to ask for help
• Knowing the business behind the numbers
• The importance of surrounding yourself with a great team
• Advice for those who are trying to move up in their career
• Expanding your circles of influence to determine where to put your focus

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"The sole measures of success for an HR team, as far as I'm concerned , is, how good are you at knowing where the push and where the pull is?"

Bob Creviston is an avid storyteller who recounts his progression from football player at Cornell to Chief of HR at Agiliti Health, a world leader in Medical Equipment Management. His employee-focused leadership style and diligence in addressing challenges has made a lasting impact on his employees, business, and even countries’ labor laws.

In this episode we cover:

• Breaking down what the push and pulls are in HR and how balancing it affects overall business success
• What’s the single best leadership advice Bob ever received that he still uses today
• An example of condensing leadership onboarding processes from 6 months to 4 hours.
• How COVID impacted Agiliti, responsible for supplying respirators across the nation

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“Leadership is about lighting a fire within others, not under them” ~ Jaime Taets

With over 20 years of experience within corporate business culture of which 13 were at Cargill, one of the largest privately held corporations in the world, Jaime Taets has honed the skill of conscious leadership. This ability led her to pave her own entrepreneurial path of starting her own business, Keystone Group International. Today, Jaime uses different platforms to extend her practice of helping leaders on a global scale. She is the host of the Superpower Success Podcast and the accomplished author of two noteworthy books — "You Are Here: Kick-Ass Inspiration for Navigating Your Journey to Success" and "The Culture Climb: How to Foster a Work Culture that Maximizes Your Impact". Jaime’s skills as a visionary and strategist have led her outside the professional world to climb literal mountains, such as Mt. Kilimanjaro, and glean lessons that she applies to her life and help others to do the same. In this episode we cover:

• How to enact conscious leadership and discover your own leadership superpower
• How to create a change-driven culture in your organization
• Navigating your journey to success by getting “unstuck”

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This episode is the recording of Versique’s 12th Annual HR Lab where we dove into the topic of Reimagining the Impact of Leadership Collaboration with top leaders from the Minnesota Timberwolves & Lynx and The Minneapolis Foundation. This thought-provoking event brought together top HR professionals and executive leaders from various industries to explore innovative ways of working together to drive organizational success.

In this session, Jenna Estlick, Vice President of HR Interim Solutions at Versique, moderated an expert panel of Twin Cities Leaders in Human Resources and Executive Leadership. In this recap, you'll learn about the various strategies they’ve implemented at their organizations and how they continue to influence culture to attract and retain talent while embracing continuous change in the labor market.

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Food brings people together – for thousands of years humans have come together over food to celebrate and to grieve. Working with some of the biggest food brand industries locally, Alissa Partee brings two core beliefs to her leadership role as Chief People Officer at Restaurant Technologies: lead with love and clarity. In this episode, host Chris Dardis explores with Alissa:

• The number one mistake business leaders make in employee and system development
• How to build a high-performing team that achieves the business’ strategic goals
• What an HR team needs to know about being in a workplace that drives business

“I want somebody to be able to say 20 years from now, I was able to do something better for my family or my community because of the environment that I was placed in and supported in. And so whatever I can do to contribute to somebody else’s success or ability to give back or do something that they hadn’t been able to do.” -Alissa Partee

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“Know your role. Just like in sports, you may be the starter, sometimes you might be the leader, and sometimes you’re a contributing, supporting player. But put the time and effort into it and know that you still add value to your team. You can’t always be the lead, but you do add value.” ~Heidi Grange

Early in Heidi Grange’s career, she remembers leaders taking the time to guide her, coach her, and provide feedback. This investment was incredibly valuable in forming even the small aspects in her career and personal life. Now as Senior VP of HR at Northmarq and board member of HR Executive Forum, Heidi strives to do the same for her team.

In the episode, we cover:

• The 3 critical points of success and failure companies make during acquisitions
• What drives employee engagement and culture
• Debunking myths about HR
• Setting healthy boundaries at work

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“Live with being kind and working hard. Everything works out when you do that, take risks, and work without fear.” -Kristin Dean

Kristin Dean left her full-time role in HR to pursue her dream of being a stay-at-home mom. After a many valuable years, Kristin desired to return to work, but she internalized the fear of not being able to have both a successful career and a strong present role as a mother. Eventually, Kristin made the choice to dive back into her career at a few fast-paced tech companies such as Code42, Delegate, and Revel, eventually landing at Arctic Wolf—where she’s been for the past 5 years. She speaks about the supportive environment of her team, and gives tips for how HR professional can be strategic business partners with executive leadership. Learn about tools for effective leadership, developing the will to win, and making choices without fear in this episode of People make it possible.

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When Anne Sample entered Ohio State University, she was set on becoming a Biochemical Engineer. However, her path took a different direction as she gained various experiences that shaped her career. As an AV expert at a homeroom in high school, she developed a strong interest and confidence in technology. Then, her first job in communications administration for Whirlpool in a small town taught her the importance of prioritizing the business in any task she undertakes and ensuring that her contributions positively impacted the company's success. These experiences helped shape Anne's career aspirations and goals as she entered the HR industry.

Throughout Anne’s career she’s held HR management and leadership roles at Thrivent, Caribou Coffee, Pepsi Americas, and Citigroup. In this episode, she expresses the differences between small versus global organizations and how to do business across different world cultures.

Now, as owner and CEO of Navigate Forward, she’s invested in growth, and providing highly customized support to senior executives who are currently in transition.

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