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Heart Centered Leadership Podcast: Episode 3 with Lisa Wideman

Human achievement specialist Michelle Steffes of IPV Consulting and host of the Reframe and Rewire podcast is back with the third episode of the Heart Centered Leadership series! Join guest Lisa Wideman, CEO of Meals on Wheels of Western Michigan as she discusses with Michelle how employing Heart Centered Leadership has created Heart Centered Employees. She explains how this enables her team to provide better care, build trust with each other, and drive innovation within the organization.

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Michelle:
Welcome to Reframe and Rewire, greatness through daily routine. This podcast is designed to alter your mindsets and transform your day to day from the second you open your eyes to you close them at night, adapting what I would call a success routine. This series is liable to change your life and it’s never the big things that you do, but the littlest things you do every day that make the biggest difference. And now on to the podcast.

Michelle:
Thank you for joining. Welcome back to the podcast. So glad to have you again as we continue our discussion on heart-centered leadership. And I brought with me another wonderful guest today and I’m going to introduce her in just a minute.

I just want to talk a little bit, actually I want to brag about her a little bit. I’ve known Lisa Wideman for a number of years. She is the CEO of Meals on Wheels Western Michigan. Now Meals on Wheels is pretty big and I’ll let her explain a little bit about that if you’ve never heard of it. I know we’re speaking to a global audience so I want to make sure you understand what exactly she does. But she’s been there for 15 years. She’s been the CEO for four of those, well, going on four of those years. She’s also on the board of directors for Meals on Wheels. And then again, just another mention, and it serves over 6,000 older adults annually in the West Michigan area and oversees all programs of a $6 million nonprofit organization.

So this is really something. And I know that Lisa is a heart-centered leader I’ve had the chance to work with her for a while and see what she does and she is incredible. So I know she’s going to bring a lot of insight to the table today. So I want to welcome Lisa Wideman. Thanks for joining us on the podcast today.

Lisa:
Well, good morning, Michelle, and thank you for having me.

Michelle:
Awesome, awesome. Well, tell us a little bit more about you, your business, and how you developed a passion for Heart Center leadership.

Lisa:
It’s really easy to be passionate about the work that we do at Meals on Wheels Western Michigan. For those who may not know about the programs that are offered, but you know we are all about feeding seniors and access to healthy food and so we do that by providing meals in a social setting, so providing a nourishing meal and the opportunity for people to come together and connect. We have a senior food pantry, again, providing access to fresh fruits and vegetables that they might not otherwise be able to get.

And of course, our Meals on Wheels program. And that program is for the frailest of the frail, homebound seniors that don’t have the ability sometimes to even stand to cook a meal. We provide them a nourishing meal, but we also connect them to other resources in our community. And we provide a really important safety check for them as well, which is peace of mind for their loved ones, making sure that there’s a friendly driver checking in every time a meal is delivered.

Sometimes that we find that they are in need of help. And so, you know, that’s another really important piece in order to. When you talk about heart-centered leadership, I mean, this goes way, way back for me. When I first stepped into my first leadership role, I was in college. And it was pretty easy to lead these college students. They were just like me. And so when I stepped into my first role outside of college, I learned very, very quickly how important heart-centered leadership is. I think probably one of the biggest things that new leaders need to understand is that people, and this is, you might hear this a lot, but it really, really is true. People really do not care how much you know about the business, about the industry, about their job, unless they know that you care about them. That is such an important key to any leader.

Michelle:
So true, one of my favorite quotes from Theodore Roosevelt. I love that. I love that you’ve adopted it to it. I’m in full agreement. So I guess you kind of already shared the definition of heart-centered leadership, but break it down a little bit in a day to day. What does it look like to you, heart-centered leadership every day?

Lisa:
It’s really important that people feel acknowledged, feel visible within the organization. The very basics of getting to know the people on your team, on even a personal level. A little bit of knowledge and understanding makes a connection that you might not have otherwise with them. Making sure that they know how much you care about them through your actions, supporting them. providing them with training opportunities. You can show it in so many different ways, but really just that connection of knowing who they are, stopping and saying hello. I had the best day yesterday. And what was so great about it is our team was, some of the team that I don’t normally see in our break room altogether, they were in there and they were laughing and having fun. And I was able to to ask them, hey, you know, I heard a rumor, you know, rumor is that you started this new project and that you’re killing it and thank you.

So those are just some things that come to mind when I think about, you know, the basics of heart centered leadership.

Michelle:
That’s awesome, that’s awesome. Obviously what you’re doing is building a trust. I mean, when you build relationships and you take time to get to know people You acknowledge their victories, their accomplishments. It does build trust. I mean, you tend to trust the people that seem to invest in you and are interested in you. So why do you think that trust would be at the center of Heart Center leadership?

Lisa:
I think if people don’t feel they can trust their leader, it’s hard for them to be invested. Trust is kind of the foundation. of everything, right? There’s a lot of opportunities out there for people in business and jobs, at least where we are. And if they’re not in an environment that they feel that they can trust, they’re not going to be willing to speak up when there’s a problem because they might be afraid. They’re not going to be as willing to to bring forth their ideas. And we all know that the best ideas come from the people that are closest to the work. And if they don’t feel safe to bring forward their ideas, then we aren’t going to be as good as the company as we might be able to with that trust.

Michelle:
So well, Lisa, thank you for that. Well, I’m gonna ask you to share a brief story or example. Now, this could be a story that maybe you know, where somebody entrusted you or exemplified heart centered leadership to you, or it could be a story of your own working with your team, you know, in terms of what it looks like, and maybe even how it has benefited your team, if it is a message that you’re going to share from a time when you offered heart centered leadership to a team member.

Lisa:
Boy, that’s, that’s an interesting one to try to pick, pick one. I think one of the things that always comes to mind is way back when, and this is when I was still learning. And I was working in a restaurant, managing a restaurant at the time, and I was getting so much pushback, so much pushback for just basic rules. And, you know, finally, you know, I had this one waitress but also like to really buck the rules and finally I just decided that just gonna sit down and figure out what is that all about what why you know and I think it really boiled down to the fact that I didn’t even know how long she had worked there she had worked there for like ten years and here I am brand new coming in and telling her what to do You know, well, that didn’t fly so well.

But once I got to know her and she got to know me and we developed a mutual respect, then the relationship changed incredibly. And of course, with her happier in her job, do you think she treated the customers better? Probably, yeah, definitely.

Michelle:
Yeah, for sure. Absolutely, I’ve got an old phrase is that, you know, happy people equal happy customers and happy customers equal happy people. It’s kind of… a cyclical reward if you will. So great story, thanks for sharing that. Yeah, and it really does hit the nail on the head. So when we look at today’s world and all the chaos going on around us, and you know there’s been so many changes, especially over the last four years, and we’re all very aware of that, what would you say as a heart-centered leader is the number one reason why it’s so critical for leaders to be heart-centered in today’s world?

Lisa:
Well, I don’t think you can be successful without it long term. I think there’s a lot out there. A lot of companies that aren’t doing well. We have people walking off jobs that gets pretty public. In order to be successful, people have to know that you care about them. You have to be invested in them or they’re not going to be invested in you and your organization.

I just, I don’t see that. that it’s an option. And you know, the old school of, you know, top-down leadership is gone. You can’t lead that way anymore. And I think, I think the world is starting to realize that.

Michelle:
Yeah, I couldn’t agree with you more. It’s, it’s, I don’t know like which of the countries we might be talking to that still use the top-down, but it doesn’t matter because really when people feel like they’re part of the process, when they feel like they’re allowed to contribute back to the success of an organization and that organization actually values their contribution. I mean it’s a game changer.

I often refer to leadership in parallel to parenting because if you are a top-down parent, you know, when it’s my way or the highway all the time, eventually you could end up with a rebellious or possibly insecure child or maybe even traumatized depending on how destructive or at what level it’s top-down. And so when we allow people to come into the fold and contribute back, and that’s not to say that there’s no discipline, because there has to be. You have to have structure, right? You have to have borders in place, because if you’ve got a superstar that constantly performs for you, and the rest of the team is just standing by watching them get away with everything, because you love them so much and you’re playing favorites, that doesn’t work either. So heart-centered, in my view, is really… capturing everybody into the fold and making everyone feel equally valuable. Would you agree with that?

Lisa:
100% in the business case for Heart Centered Leadership is, I mean, it’s, it’s good business too, because you’re not going to get the best ideas to innovate your company. You’re not going to get the best ideas or productivity unless you have a, an engaged staff that feels valued.

Michelle:
Absolutely. So if we’re talking to a leader out there that doesn’t even know where to start on this, what’s like two or three pieces of advice could you give them? What steps could they take to begin creating trust and having a heart centered leadership culture?

Lisa:
I would say begin by getting to know your staff, get to know those people, start with the people who report directly to you, encourage them to get to know each other, do some… You know, everybody gets a little uncomfortable sometimes with icebreakers, but sometimes those are exactly that. They’re a way to break into, you know, just breaking down the barriers and begin the beginnings of getting to know each other.

We start every meeting in our organization now with some kind of an icebreaker. The last one was great. Our dietician tied it back to our our home and food and asked everybody, paired us up and asked everybody to share some kind of a food memory, you know, from their past. Good or bad, most people shared good ones. And of course, it took everybody back to their childhood, right? So I told the story of my grandmother making pasties. And oh, it was always so great to go to grandma’s house because we were going to have pasties at some point. So that’s the northern upper peninsula, Michigan favorite and so that was my food memory but just getting everybody talking that gets you to know each other a little on a little different level. So we start that with every meeting maybe that’s a good place to start for people.

Of course there’s plenty of resources online obviously you know Michelle you have a lot of material out there that is so incredibly valuable your books your podcasts And I, you know, people aren’t listening to your material that’s out there for free. I think they’re pretty crazy.

Michelle:
So. Well, thank you for that plug. I wasn’t expecting that. And I appreciate it. That’s okay though. You know, I mean, you know that we’ve worked together long enough for me to, to see the, you know, the heart that you put into the work that you do too.

Oh, well, I appreciate that. Well, I love heart-centered leaders, and I appreciate everything that you do for the community, and especially the work that you do, because you are, you’re not only having to be heart-centered, you know, in terms of how you treat your team, but it extends out to the community in such a way in that you work directly with, or your team works directly with people that are hurting, that are struggling, that are, you know, feeling lonely or lost or confused or maybe suffering some kind of depression or, you know, some of the elderly type conditions.

So they in turn have to understand the core of heart centered leadership in terms of making people feel valuable. And that intensifies your position. So that makes it even that much more valuable that you came on the show and shared your heart on that today. So I really, really appreciate that, Lisa. So I’m gonna allow you to share. anything else that you want to leave a tip or how to reach Meals on Wheels or maybe a little both, whatever you want!

Lisa:
Well, I think at least I can say, you know, take care of your older neighbors. You know, check in on them. They’re lonely oftentimes. You know, we can help, but we’re not the only solution out there. And you know, knowing, I mean, I think it’s… It’s 27% of the people that we serve home delivered meals to don’t see anybody during the week other than their delivery driver. So, you know, that is something that’s always on my heart. Seniors are often forgotten, and at least in our community, in our country where we are, and I know you’re global.

But also take that first step as a leader. If you’re not getting the results that you want. from your team, take a look at how you’re leading, how are they leading? And there’s lots of resources out there to start, but if you never start, you’re never gonna figure out what’s gonna work for your team. And so you gotta take that first step. And that first step is to just to care and to talk to people and get to know them.

Michelle:
Oh, wow, what good advice, I love that. And so for the local people, just… to throw this in there. How can they reach Meals on Wheels?

Lisa:
MealsOnWheelsWesternMichigan.org. We’re also on Facebook, we are on Twitter, and Instagram. I think we’re expanding that. And you know, if you’d love to, if you’d want to come volunteer, we’d love to have you. We have so many opportunities to engage, and it’s really rewarding work.

Michelle:
Awesome, awesome. That’s great. Yeah, I know you got some great volunteers involved. So really cool stuff. All right, well, thank you again, Lisa. It’s been an absolute pleasure. Lisa Weidman, our Heart Center leader. We so appreciate her. And this is Michelle Steffes. Reframe and Rewire, keep reaching higher. Until next time, we’ll have more leaders for you. Please come back and join us. Thank you.

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