This is not our typical episode but it’s worth it and means a lot to me! Take a listen.

This month we hop off the change train and talk about culture.

The knotty and annoying thing about the concept of workplace culture is that it feels nebulous and hard to define. Because of this, it’s hard for people to diagnose when they have a problem. Similar to a medical diagnosis, it can be dangerous when you do it yourself: chances are high that you’ll miss key connections or overreact to a small ailment. 

This month's conversation centers around control, conflict, and how they are catalysts and barriers to change. We shy away from conflict and move towards comfort where we feel in control often robbing us of the opportunity to change. Sometimes the unexpected or even unwanted are the best catalysts for the change we need. Join our conversation with Jon Huckins, author, guide, and founder of Journey Home.

Choosing to change is hard enough, it's made harder when we have to choose it over and over again. It can be even harder when those around us don't fully understand that change and yet, when grounded in our why we find ourselves changing for the better. Join us in this week's episode as we talk with Mirabel Fonyuy Umenei about choosing change and staying on the path.

In this episode, we chat with Kristin Ekkens, Founder and Chief Culture Designer of Exponential Inclusion. Kristin and I talked about the barriers and tools of change. Not only that, we discuss how exponential change is possible and the potential future that opens up.

In this week's episode of Engaging Gray we talk with Kirk Eklund. Kirk is the Founder of Inkfish Ideas. we connect with Kirk Eklund about navigating change. Kirk discusses the common barriers he encounters, tools for overcoming them, and how he personally navigates change. Even when that change is brought about by unwelcome and unexpected feedback.

In this week's episode of Engaging Gray we talk with Carl Erickson. Carl is the Founder and Executive Chairman of Atomic Object, a custom software design and development company. He is the Co-founder of Mader Mill, a sawmill in Indiana, and Chairman of Michigan Capital Network.

In this episode, we talk with Adrian "AB" Butler about how he has defined and found success and focus. Sometimes we believe our careers have to be linear, but AB's story helps illuminate how when we allow ourselves to explore our passions while remaining focused on what matters most to us we can find not only fulfillment but success as well.

In this week's episode of Engaging Gray, we hear from Kim Bode with over 15 years of experience in being not only a leader but also a business owner and founder. Kim's authenticity and transparency about the highs and lows of leadership, especially as a woman business owner, is refreshing and enlightening.

In this week's episode, we talk with Andy Soper about how he has created a career that to many may seem unorthodox and yet it's exactly what works for him and his family. We discuss how he identified what was most important to him, how he created a career around those things, and the benefits and challenges that have come with that.

In this week's episode, we talk with Lauren VanKeulen, CEO of AYA Youth Collective, about how remembering and showing our humanity in leadership not only frees us but those around us as well from the unrealistic and unhealthy expectations we sometimes have.

It can be daunting to try and make a difference, especially when you are fatigued and overwhelmed. In this episode, we talk with Hanna Schulze, who has worked in business and on behalf of businesses that demonstrate responsible practices for years.

This is the final episode of Engaging Gray Podcast Season 2. I recap some of the key themes from this season as well as share two things I have learned are important for my own cultivation of perseverance: mystery and failure. I talk about how simple ideas such as, know yourself, are perhaps not as easy as they seem and how shifting our language and perspective can help us. Finally, I share how decentering ourselves (even while prioritizing knowing ourselves) can help us live into the ideas of this season and how it has helped me cultivate a pace of perseverance.

In this week's episode, we have the honor of hearing from Cole Arthur Rile, a gifted writer and liturgist, on how cultivating a pace of perseverance is more than about continuing to "do" but how it helps us BE fully. Cole shares with us how boundaries, silence, and reflection have been integral parts of cultivating her own pace, which enables her to write in a way that breathes connection into existence and continues to engage the complex and ever-changing world we find ourselves in.

Today's guest inspires us to trust ourselves and how we were made to be free, creative, and thankful. Chelsea's way of seeing the world inspires us to see through a lens of gratitude and awe! This lens is captured in her art, but it's not always easy. Just like all of us, creatives have hard and uninspired seasons, there are times when it's hard to create and produce.

Talk to anyone who had been involved in integrating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion into a system and you'll hear someone who has hit roadblocks and fought burnout. In this week's episode, we talk with Dr. Loyd-Paige who has been working in this arena for multiple decades on how she has cultivated a pace of perseverance and sustainability.

Cultivating and keeping a pace of perseverance and sustainability is hard enough as an entrepreneur, but add on top of that trying to be a triple bottom line business from the beginning?! Well, that's hard. Join me this week for an authentic conversation with Public Thread Founder, Janay Brower as we discuss how she has and continues to cultivate a pace of perseverance that works for her and for her business.

Many people look forward to when they can "retire", mainly because they are exhausted. But not everyone is exhausted, some people have found a way to live a life that is sustainable and paced. Elizabeth Maring shares with us how she found and lived a life marked by a pace of perseverance and deeply rooted values.

In this week's episode, we talk with Ellie Roscher, author of the recently released book "12 Tiny Things" about how being rooted in ourselves, our beliefs, and priorities can give us the perseverance to show up in a busy and complex life.

In this week's episode of Engaging Gray, we talk with Rev. Dr. Mary Hulst. Mary reminds us about the power of play, joy, and gratitude in cultivating perseverance when living a life fully engaged in messy spaces.