Accelerated Leadership with Jennifer Chapman

The field of leadership coaching has been expanding with many different types of offerings provided by just as many different approaches. And it is hard to say that it is not needed. People in management positions can be beset on all sides by demands and limitations, making even thinking about leadership just another thing to add onto an already packed to-do list. In some fields of work, the situation is even more challenging. For instance, those who are working in engineering fields might get next to no training on how to work with one of the most complex machines: people. While they might want to be in a position to help people who work for them, they have never been shown how. Furthermore, they likely are not into the “foofy”, meaning they want to cut to the chase in terms of how to create change. To talk about how to cut to the chase and avoid the “foof”, we have Jennifer Chapman from Ambition Leadership. Jennifer focuses her efforts on STEM managers and leaders, a unique niche that she is well suited to take on. Besides being married to an engineer,  she has worked with the Internal Revenue Services as well as the National Science Foundation, the Red Cross, and others. One thing these organizations have in common is that they turn more like cruise ships than jet skis. The other thing is that they are made up of people, and people who want a purpose. We talk with Jennifer about how the most effective leaders are the ones who empower their employees. We also explore the unique aspects of working with data-driven and task-focused sectors. She discusses how mindset is the primary obstacle to making changes, and how more resources need to be devoted to training. Finally, we talk about how people matter because those are the ones who are going to make things happen. And when designing leadership and employee experiences, your people need to come first.