Episode 22: Winning at Business and Life with Jennifer McClure

This is Professor Pete Alexander with the Winning at Business and Life podcast, where business leaders share their insights. It is 6 questions in 7 minutes because successful business leaders are busy and rarely have more time to spare. So let's get to it. Question number 1: In a few sentences, tell me who you are and what you do.

I'm Jennifer McClure, and I'm a professional speaker and trainer, and I help people to build their brand, communicate with confidence, and make an impact at work and in life.

Jennifer, it's great to have you on the show. Question number 2: What's the best thing about working in your industry?

I love working with people in the sense of helping them to grow and to really understand that they have skills and gifts and talents that they can share with the world that can impact someone. I think too many people think, who am I to share what I know? Or maybe they even think, I don't get recognized for for what I know. So I like helping to get them to see whether they're a leader in the business world or they are an upcoming leader in the business world, that there are opportunities all along the way to make an impact.

Oh, that sounds so great. Question number 3, I hear from other business leaders that staying in a good work-life balance for them and their team members is a challenge. What's your thoughts?

Yes, most things worth doing are a challenge. I think, yeah, if you were in a place where it's not a challenge to balance all of the balls in the air, you probably need to add more to your plate. That's not to say, you know, it needs to be chaos and crazy, but I think having a lot to do and making priority decisions and understanding where you can impact things the most is what really good, effective leaders do. We all have choices about how we spend our time and how we utilize our gifts. Just use those decisions or make those decisions wisely and be grateful for all the opportunities that you have around you.

I love the fact that you mentioned about the gratefulness, and it sounds like you just have to make sure your priorities are in order.

Yeah, I think that's a real strategic skill for leaders is with all of the incoming, with what I need to do and what I need to accomplish, where do I need to focus either my efforts and/or the efforts of my team? That's real leadership. That's casting vision. That's understanding where we're headed, what's the best path to get there, and then also being able to make adjustments when things don't go as planned or new things come in. So that's leadership to me.

Oh, I would agree 100% with you. Question number 4: What other successful business leaders like yourself should be on my podcast?

Oh my goodness, that's a great question. I think my friend Laurie Ruderman would have a lot to add to your listeners and your podcast. She has a podcast called Let's Fix Work. She's got a book coming out next year around that same topic. And so I think Laurie's got a lot to say in the space.

Oh, wonderful. I'll reach out to her. Thank you for that. Question number 5: What insight or advice would you give to other business leaders?

Well, that is— that I could talk all day about that, Professor Pete, but I will keep it short for you and your listeners. Definitely, as leaders— and again, I believe everyone's a leader, even if you're starting out and relatively new in your career— someone's looking at you, someone's watching you, someone is behind you in the journey. So we all have the opportunity to lead. So I think as leaders, we need to take that seriously. You know, teach what you know, what you're learning. Again, wherever you are in your journey, how can you help spread that to other people so that they can learn from both your mistakes and your successes? And then also look to find other people that you can learn from and appreciate them for the value that they give, whether that's engaging them, you know, financially if they are a coach or if they have a product or a service that you're interested in. Don't try to get people to give away their knowledge and gifts and experience for free. But if there are opportunities, again, to appreciate their work, to share the work of others, to highlight their work and what they're doing, then be a person who does that. So I kind of look at it like a— I'm sure there's a book out there. Actually, John Maxwell wrote on it. It's right behind me, on 360-degree leadership. But that, to me, is it. You're looking around you for both who can I learn from And then how can I acknowledge that person? Again, whether that's financially or just by sharing their work with others. And then I'm also looking around for who can I help? And sometimes help is just, again, maybe sharing what went right, what went wrong, what I learned, and how it might be able to help you.

And I love the fact, you know, helping others and that whole 360-degree look at who's around you, because We so often look at who's above us or who's below us, and we forget our peers that are on our same level that are people that we can help as well. So it's very insightful what you mentioned.

Yeah, we all have something to give. And I think we often, myself included, from time to time, I think, well, I can't really help that person. I can. I just need to understand more about maybe I can help them with something that's not specific to work. I can help them with something in life. Maybe they're a mom, or they're a sister, or their daughter, or whatever that might be where we have something in common. We all, as humans, have something in common. So, sometimes the fun part is both to figure out what that is and then understand how you can share and help each other.

Oh, absolutely. And speaking of fun, question number 6, tell me about your first job.

Oh, wow. I guess we have to define first job. I think the first job would be driving around on a motorcycle in a hayfield knocking over hay bales, getting paid $1 an hour by my dad and making my brother very, very angry because he was on the wagon stacking the hay bales and getting paid the same. So that was my first lesson in probably unequal work and being a favorite.

That's great.

But I'd say my first real job with the W-2 and everything was as the cashier at a grocery store, a country grocery store out in the middle of nowhere. You know, no training, no nothing, just go in, apply on paper, get, you know, put on the line. And my, what an experience in humanity that turned out to be. I learned a lot about people. I learned a lot about, again, figuring out and finding my own way. And yeah, I'm grateful for that experience. I enjoyed it at the time and can look back on it and laugh.

Yeah. And that's what you have to do. I love it. I love it. I think a lot of our listeners could appreciate that because Being in a grocery store is a first job for a lot of people.

Yeah, I think, you know, the knocking hay bales down, that probably has set me up for the success, or any success that I've had in life. I think probably it started right there.

I would think so. And I can tell you that no one else said that that was their first job.

It is a unique talent that I have.

So Jennifer, thank you so much for being on the show. How can people find you?

They can find me at JenniferMcClure.net or on LinkedIn, Jennifer McClure, or on Twitter @JenniferMcClure. Probably a lot of other places, but those are the main places that I hang out.

Excellent. This is Professor Pete Alexander with the Winning at Business and Life podcast. For more insights and ideas, please go to LinkedIn, YouTube, or Facebook and search for the Winning at Business and Life podcast. Thanks for listening.