Susan Rylance on Growing Leadership Talent
Season 3, Episode 4
Summary:
People are the biggest asset of any company, but companies don't always provide their people with the greatest experiences or opportunities. On this episode Susan Rylance shares her wisdom about next level leadership and teams. She's the VP of Growth, the Search Practice Lead and Partner at Fahren, a digital leadership company. Susan talks about her experiences helping businesses achieve their goals while building next generation teams, and also about her work with the Minority Business Growth Alliance.
Links:
Work with Fahren
Support the Minority Business Growth Alliance
Transcript:
Michael Kithcart:
Hello, I'm Michael Kithcart high performance sales coach and the creator of Wynning Your Way framework. Welcome to the Champions of RISK podcast, where we examine the many aspects of risks so that we can all face uncertainty with more courage and confidence together, and we champion those who are leading this charge. People are the biggest asset of any company, but companies don't always provide their people with the greatest experiences or opportunities. developing talent in teams and leaders is one of the greatest investments a company can make. It raises engagement, it generates revenue, it minimizes turnover expense, it goes so far beyond having a cohort group or providing some training. And really, in this day and age, it is becoming absolutely a non negotiable. Businesses need to get better at building their next level of talent in order to remain competitive, and to attract the right talent to help them attain their goals. So today, we are going to talk about next level leadership and teams with Susan Rylance. She's the VP of growth, the search Practice Lead and partner at Fahren, which is a digital leadership company. She's a business marketing and growth strategist who helps companies build their marketing and digital teams so that they can achieve their overall business strategies and goals while building next generation teams. Susan, welcome to the podcast.
Susan Rylance:
Thank you, Michael. And what an amazing topic that I'm excited to talk about today. I talk about it quite often with individual leaders and talent. So super excited to have the conversation with you. And it's certainly needed, not only yesterday, but today and tomorrow.
Michael Kithcart:
Yes, this is a conversation that we could continue to have. But let's you know, at least scratch the surface in a couple areas today.
Susan Rylance:
Okay, sounds good.
Michael Kithcart:
Okay, great. So I'm just curious, like, what's the best team that you've ever been on, Susan? And what made it so great?
Susan Rylance:
Yeah, you know, I, that's a great question. And I have asked that of others. And I asked it of myself. And it was a couple years ago, I was a part of a leadership team. And what made it so great is we had a vision, we had clear expectations, or we also had collaboration and trust within the team. And I think that's super key. And I thought, you know, that's what I'm gonna be looking for moving forward. And it's not always easy to find all of those things, a clear direction, a collaborative team, and then somebody, not just somebody but the entire team that you trust. And you can call on and say, Hey, I don't know this, but can you help me? And there was, I guess what it is, it's a breakdown of fear. Because we don't know everything. So who do we seek out? And hopefully, it's our, you know, it's our peers? Is that first line?
Michael Kithcart:
Yes. And you talk about big things, right, you know, clear direction? Yes, absolutely. Especially when people are navigating change at such a rapid pace, that direction can be difficult. And people don't always have that that clarity. But you talk about collaboration and trust. People want those kinds of things. But what does it actually take to have them?
Susan Rylance:
Yeah, that is a great question. Because it boiled down to one thing, it's that number one, that top leader that has a vision in direction for the company, and is able to articulate that to the rest of the team. And then that's kind of where it starts in order to create and build that collaboration and trust with each other because you all have one common goal, but one person's got to be leading the charge. In order for that to fall through with the rest of the organization. At least that's in my experience. That's what's worked really well within the collaboration of the team and and that that leader trust his team and his organization to lead through that that direction that he set out, he or she set out.
Michael Kithcart:
Yes. Thank you for that clarification. Well, and so then, in absence of that, what what are some of the things that you've seen that actually get in the way from leadership teams being able to operate like that?
Susan Rylance:
Themselves or ourselves. We get in our own way of operating in that function Because we feel that we have to know all the answers. And so we sometimes then don't seek out our teams or a cross functional teams, we don't seek out the teams underneath us because we feel like we should have all the answers. So we get in our own way. We we don't ask our teams things that we think we should know, because we think I should know this. And so the best leaders and the best times that we're leaving, doing the best work is by asking our teams, tell me more helped me understand, help lead me and guide me to the right direction. And so I think we just get in our own way. By not asking In our teams and our colleagues, more questions and more clarity.
Michael Kithcart:
Yeah. It's so freeing to recognize that we're never going to have all the answers. And that there's so much value in getting other people's perspective, because we all see things differently. And it can, it can take us in completely different directions. So I noticed that so much in people that really do commit to their own development, right, you know, over time, that that is a piece that makes a big difference for them. Not only in like the outcomes that happen, but like, even in their own satisfaction, as an employee.
Susan Rylance:
Yeah. And that is something that over the years I've, I've learned when I was young, in my career, I've managed people, even from, you know, my days working in fast food, when I was a teenager, I still had to manage people. And one of the things that was not instilled in me was, hey, you can seek out resources and you can go learn, but just, Hey, do this, you have to start managing people right away without given the resources and knowledge that I can seek out other people to help me learn and guide myself. And so I quickly learned that I have to reach out to other people. And so I think, to your point, how do you do that it's building a network of trusted advisors around you, it's using your, your peers within your organization. But the the key is acknowledging where you need the help, so that you know where you need to go and who you need to go to. And there's, we all need help in different areas, whether it's a specific expertise, meaning, are we in a marketing field, are we going to finance field, and you might have somebody that you seek in that area, but you might have just an overall career coach or another professional development coach. So it's, it takes an army to help build us ourselves and then build teams under us.
Michael Kithcart:
That, that's very true. And, you know, you talked about, like, what you learned when you were young, and to the, to the point of being more advanced in careers, just more experiences, right? It, it also kind of is representative of this interesting space that we're in right now, where workplaces having are having multiple generations working side by side together, like in a lot of places, it's four generations, which is just mind blowing to me. So how has that changed the needs for leaders to build teams, not only for what they need now, but for the future?
Susan Rylance:
Yeah, you know, when I had seen this question in advance, I had to stop and think a little bit about it. Because, you know, a couple of years ago, we had three generations now we have four. So the question has been out there of how do we work with different generations. And what I see is our leaders have to have a much higher emotional intelligence. So EQ. Because you have so many different generations, and they all have similar needs, but different needs and how they want to grow. So, leaders, the IQ or EQ that they have to have is so much greater in order for their teams to succeed. And I know that seems so simplistic, but I've seen it where you can have a leader that has a high IQ, but he's he or she is not able to help grow their teams, because they're not understanding the individualistic needs of their teams. And sometimes it's not necessarily by generation, but culture and different as we continue to be more diverse, it's getting more, the workforce is getting more complex. And so that's where the understanding the talent is more key, and talent has changed themselves. So we think about Gen X 10 years ago, they're becoming very similar to Gen Y in terms of what they want. And in that it's, I want a purpose. I want a vision and mission. And that's what I want to work for with a company and as Gen Xers as we continue to evolve in our careers and kind of see that light of what's beyond the workforce. The purpose and mission is way more important than it was 10 years ago to us.
Michael Kithcart:
Yeah.
Susan Rylance:
And I think that's where the gaps are coming closer together.
Michael Kithcart:
I love that example. Because it's so true. When you think about baby boomers, they wait - and this is some generalization here but just just give me this for a second right - is like they after their they retire then they seek out like, well, I still have energy, I still have... what's my purpose? How can I contribute in another way? And they do it after their quote unquote, career is over. Right?
Susan Rylance:
Yeah.
Michael Kithcart:
And then Gen X like, Go Go, go, go go. And now we're all starting to get to that age where it's like, well, we'd like things to be more meaningful and people who are coming into the workforce are saying no, from the beginning, we want things to be meaningful because we've watched all you other generations just really mess things up. (laughing) You know, I think that's why they're saying it.
Susan Rylance:
(Laughing) Yeah. Well, it's so funny. I mean, we we learn so so much from each other. I learned from my daughter who's just coming into the workforce. And, you know, watching her go through interviews and just what she wants out of a career in life. And it's the same. It's just how we each execute upon that. I want the same thing as she does.
Michael Kithcart:
Yes. And it looks different for you than it does for her.
Susan Rylance:
Exactly.
Michael Kithcart:
But the overarching theme is compatible.
Susan Rylance:
Exactly. Yeah. And the other thing that I look at today, in terms of the four generations, we've been through a lot in the last two years, and I think that has really changed all of the expectations of our generation and how we work. And what's different is, and I'll just, you talked about baby boomers who are, some of them are still in the workforce, they're okay, still going back to the office, because they have this route that they built, and I want to be in front of people, I still want to go back to the office, but we've got the Gen, y, z, and they don't have those deep roots that have been in the office. So they want more to be in that flexible work schedule, maybe more so than their Gen X, or the baby boomers. And so it's just this thing that's instilled in us over time.
Michael Kithcart:
Yeah, that's it. That's a great point. Because some people have had to unlearn things in the last two years. Well, we all have in some shape or form. So -
Susan Rylance:
Exactly. But we've also benefited from some of the those changes and how we've had to communicate with each other.
Michael Kithcart:
Yes. So when you think about the work that you do, how do you help leaders grow talent to meet those changing needs? So the EQ was one piece, but also recognizing their overall company is changing at a fast rate. So how do you help them navigate that?
Susan Rylance:
Yeah, absolutely. So I'll talk about in a couple instances where personally and then through the work that we do at Fahren. And so from a personal standpoint, you know, tap it on the head as they're changing and growing, and then at fair, and we're in the digital space, which is even growing faster and evolving, because we've had to help companies learn how to become more digitally savvy and native to reach their customers. And so I'll jump back from a personal perspective, I help bring people together that have common challenges and common problems. And I lead a couple peer groups are part of a couple peer groups that allow them to get together and share commonalities and what was the challenge that they had? How did they overcome that challenge. And so by bringing them together, and just having a network of people that I can connect that that's certainly one way. And then the other way is at Fahren. We're helping growth leaders bring that growth mindset by by just helping dig more dig and help identify what they knew. But we're just asking more questions and challenging themselves and digging out information. So we're kind of their chief adviser, Chief of Staff, because we've led digital transformation at organizations before we're staying on top of industry trends. What's next? What's a fad? What's a trend? And where should they really go. And so that's how we're helping them in, they really need that extra voice, because they are moving so fast, and so hard within the organization as they're, they're trying to be that transformation leader, they need another voice, they need that voice of reason. They need somebody who understands digital, whatever it means to them in their organization, and maybe sometimes helping them clarify what it means for their organization. And so it's just bringing that outside voice outside advisory for somebody who's done it before. And that is kind of tapping into what's next in the marketplace. So they kind of lean on us to identify, what do you see? And what's next? What should I be aware of?
Michael Kithcart:
Yes, I love this. So that it almost seems like if I understand this correctly, that you serve a couple of different purposes, because you have that consulting hat on right, like right on this before, this is what we were seeing, we're staying ahead of trends. And then as you help them identify how they need to change in their organization. Usually what pops up is that there's a need for different talent, right? Like there's a gap, there's and like, what's the next best role to fill? So talk to us about like, you also provide search services, like how does that all work together?
Susan Rylance:
Yeah, that's a that's a good question. Because it, it can be challenging for people to understand how those two meld together. And so we do utilize our consulting expertise in order to bring that mindset to a company to help them find talent. We always start with the why and it's Simon Sinek's Start With Why, if you're familiar with it,
Michael Kithcart:
Oh yes.
Susan Rylance:
And the why is, what's our purpose, and why do we exist? And so that's what we do when we come in to companies and help them out identify, how do they grow their talent? What's next is starting with that specific question of what is your why? Why do you exist? And in doing so it helps them really think through their, the mission of their company, what's their role? But also, where are they going in the next one to three years, because as soon as you bring in talent, that talent wants to know where they're going, they're not looking to just jump. And I know, it appears like that right now. Because people are moving. It's because they haven't found that deep, why? Why do I matter? Why do I exist within this organization? So that's why we start with the why question with organizations to really dig into why do you need this talent within your organization? What impact will they make? What outcomes are you going to be expecting? And then the timeframe because they might say, this is our why. But they may be ahead of themselves within an organization, it might be more aspirational. And so it's getting real, is this an aspiration? Or is this who you are today? And so by taking that time up front, and helping them understand and digging out what their Why is? And is it aspirational? Or is it truly in place, it helps them identify the right talent for the current times in the future. In addition, what we help them do is really articulate, you know what it is to work with them and put together an ideal candidate profile. And so what that ideal candidate profile is, it's not really just about the job description itself. It's what is the culture look like? What is your leadership style? What is the what are the areas of expertise that this person should have? And what are those attributes that you desire in a person to come work for your organization? Because the attributes are probably the biggest part and set aside the skills 90% of the companies and people I talked to, it's less about the skills and experience and more about the company, the vision, the culture and the attributes that they need. So I packed just a whole lot. I don't know if I fully answered your question.
Michael Kithcart:
I, Yes, I think you've covered a lot in that. And I just wondered, too, like taking that approach? How does that set the companies that you work with, apart from others, especially as there's this shortage for talent right now? And a competitiveness for talent?
Susan Rylance:
Absolutely. Yeah. So it allows them to really think about their the reason that we're hiring people, and then it positions them to hire the right person for their organization. And then also the standout because not only do we help them articulate their why, but then we help them put together creative messaging that aligns with their why, and then also attract the right talent that will align with the why. So it's kind of very simplistic in terms, but it's a visual marketing representation, that they can say, Yes, this is who we are, now we can align the right talent for the job. And that's probably what the differentiator is. And it's really gotten to be a big differentiator in the last year to two years because talent are getting pinged, left and right regarding opportunities. And so companies have to be very thoughtful around why they want somebody to come work for them. And not only that, but what does the talent get to do? What's what's in it for them? And I think that's one of the challenges that companies currently have, as they put job descriptions out there. They're very model driven in terms of it's all about us. And I think if we can help any company articulate, what is it that the talent will get to do? That's the big difference in how we're helping organizations attract the right talent to their companies.
Michael Kithcart:
Yes. How many times have you heard over the years when people get hired, and then it's like, well, this isn't anything like the job description, or I'm not even really sure what it is that you know, I'm supposed to be focused on, and just how quickly they get frustrated.
Susan Rylance:
It is and it doesn't even end there. In terms of getting hired. It's the 30, 60, 90 day plan. And that's the other thing that we help companies do is put together a 90 or 30 60 90 day plan - not onboarding, not your Hey, do you have your laptop and your computer, but what what do you need to do and accomplish in that 30 60 90 day plan to set you up for success for the next year plus, and it is amazing how many companies are just moving so fast? They don't even think about that for if they do put a plan together. They forget about it after 30 days. So the nice thing that we were allowed to do is we get that plan. We collaborate with the company, and the new talent, and we hold them help hold themselves accountable to that 30 60 90 day plan.
Michael Kithcart:
I like that a lot. The other thing that I think is really interesting about Fahren, and kind of models this fractional CMOS, CROs CTOs. And so maybe it's this trend that that I'm seeing, but Fahren helps place interim leadership in a fast growing companies that can fill gaps. So just tell us a little bit about what being a fractional leader actually means. And what are some of the benefits of having an interim person come in?
Susan Rylance:
Yeah, absolutely. And you did say that you're not sure if it's a fad or trend, it's not a fad, it's not going away, I, I promise you that it's something that has started, I would say six, seven years ago, and people didn't understand it. And it's now people are starting to understand it and what fractional and interim means. And they're both similar. So a fractional is somebody that is taken on a role, part time. And it might be because the organization is not large enough to have that leadership role. So for example, a fractional marketing leader fractional product leader companies, it's a new role to them, and but they know they need it. So they bring somebody in on a fractional basis to help lead that part of the organization interim is similar. However, it could be a full time role, but they're in that role in from an interim standpoint. And so as we evolve and why it's important, or why companies may benefit from it, it's either a new role or, or replacing an existing role. And what it's doing is it's allowing somebody to come in and continue the work that they've been doing, but also have those eyes and ears to see what's working really well, what do we need to evolve and grow so that we can frame out that full time role for that future leader. So that's the big, the big difference that I think companies are maybe missing and have this misnomer of what a fractional or interim leader can do for them. They think it's just this point in time. But what it's doing is it's framing out that future role, and what they'll need for the next three to five years.
Michael Kithcart:
Yes. And Fahren practices what it preaches. Right, you recently had an interim leader for your business development role. So tell us what you learned from having your own leader?
Susan Rylance:
We did, we did, we did have a fractional business development leader. And you're absolutely right. We, we practice what we preach, and we brought somebody in to help us really grow our internal process for business development, we weren't sure what we needed for the long term. And we didn't, we weren't at a place that we wanted to hire somebody full time, because we were still exploring, we haven't had this role before. And so what it did is it helped us understand what we need for the long term. But what that interim leader did was help us see something that we didn't see and said, Hey, here's what you need to think about help us set up processes. So when we're ready to hire a full time person, we're set for that. But we also know what works, what doesn't for that full time leader. And that person also positioned us to help us as partners strategize around business development, too. So it did a lot of things for us from just our internal leadership team, helping guide us lead us setting up some practices and setting us up for that next leader that we hopefully can bring on a full time basis.
Michael Kithcart:
Yes, it's really it makes a lot of sense. When you think about how often people are like, Okay, I know, I need something I know, I know, we know, we need a person in this area, but what do we really need them to be doing? And the list is super, super long, right? I mean, like, you and I both work with companies where it's just like, That person doesn't exist. And helping them prioritize what's really going to have the greatest impact for a particular period of time, and one that still can't come into focus, to allow yourself to have what what really sounds like to me as a specialized consultant that can provide perspective also drive things forward, whether it's systems processes, teams, revenue, and and you get so much more out of that. Right, you know, and allow somebody to share their expertise for a period of time, but without that forever commitment. Yeah. I just it almost feels like you know, companies should experience that at some point in their growth there because so much can come from it.
Susan Rylance:
I would agree, absolutely. There's so much. It's a kind of a test and learn mentality. And I think we're so worried as, as leaders of our organizations to fail. But I think this is a the easiest point of test and learn. And it's a small failure gap. But I think we have to fail in order to evolve and grow. And not that that's, and I don't want it to come across. If that's a failure, I think when we think about hiring somebody full time versus fractional, maybe it's just a less of a risk when you're hiring somebody new, or a new type of role within the organization.
Michael Kithcart:
Yes, and what are some of those other risks that you see with growth and talent? Because you're mitigating some of it with your approach?
Susan Rylance:
Yeah, you know, I think the growth challenge that we see for companies is they're scared to hire, because they're not sure that they've got the right leader. That's the right role in place. And so part of it is just instilling confidence in them. So when we look at how do we help companies grow, and in how do we mitigate that it's just helping them instill confidence in themselves, making sure that they do have the right vision and mission for their companies, in the biggest area is, is not hiring, the talent and really, part of is assessing their team. So they haven't really assessed the talent on their team. And what do they have, what they do is they just hire the next person put the same job description that they had, and then think that they're going to continue to grow, but what we feel that they should do and and what we've seen for success is when they have somebody, leave, or they're hiring a new person to their organization is assess your current team. Because can somebody grow into that role? It's a known person. And those are companies I see that are really doing well that are growing their internal talent. And sometimes there's a gap that internal talent cannot fill. But do the due diligence of assessing your current team strengths and skills before you just turn over the next day and put that new job posting out there. I think that's the biggest gap is current team assessment, they're moving too fast.
Michael Kithcart:
One of the things that you and I've talked about a little bit before is something that we see along this lines, and that is, you'll have leaders in the company company grows fast. And though they will, they'll just promote the next leader, but then there's no support around that. Right. You know, there. There's lots of trainings for first time, leaders, how do you, you know, a shift from management to leading and everything. But as they continue to grow through the leadership ranks, as there becomes more and more levels of leadership in an organization, there's a gap there in in really helping leaders understand what that role responsibility is, now, so how do you help businesses kind of adjust for that? Because even when they're bringing, even when they're bringing people from internally and raising them up, there's an opportunity to still change the role. You know, and the expectation around the roll. So how do you help company see that and adjust?
Susan Rylance:
Yeah, that's a good question. It's not easy, and we don't have it all solved. But what you know, where we can help, and where we do help, is helping that leader make sure they take the time, because, again, we've talked about it, we're all moving so fast. And it's taking the time to, number one, provide accountability for the role, what's the role purpose? What's this - What does this role need to do for the organization to make sure that we're taking the time to do that, but then also putting together a development plan, and this can be for new person coming in, or your existing team. But I think that the individual development plan is the biggest gap that I'm seeing today, where we're trying to help leaders slow down. And just take a pause a little bit and, you know, talk about, you know, I can certainly talk about a little bit more of how that instills not only competence in your team, but it builds innovation within the team is just allowing us to go back to that vision mission of our company. Where's our strategy going? And what's the impact that I as a leader have, but also all of my team members. And to your point, you said, you know, can the role shift? And they absolutely can because mid year last year, every I mean, think every role shifted, and we had to shift and as I spoke with leaders, one of the, you know, one of the leaders that I spoke with what she she did was she sat down assess her team, and was able to shift. And now that means some talent may not be able to shift with us and then others can elevate. But it is to your point, taking that pause in the midst of a role and maybe changing it. And understanding, does that person want to change? Does that person want to move into different roles? So having those conversations and making sure that we're truly managing our team and their expectations while trying to continue to move business forward? And we tend to forget that our team is our biggest asset sometimes, and not that we as leaders want to it's just we're moving so fast.
Michael Kithcart:
And if we're moving fast as leaders, then what's that message that we're sending to our team?
Susan Rylance:
Yeah, right, are very confused.
Michael Kithcart:
Yes. So So what are some of the the bigger challenges that you see, as leaders prepare to grow into their next level of growth?
Susan Rylance:
Yes, we see that a lot. And so it's helping them see in themselves what they hadn't. And I've had a couple conversations with leaders currently about that. And it's really sitting down and helping them understand what are my success stories? Where are my strengths? What am I good at? And then what does that next leadership level look like? Because they, they may want that next level, but maybe it's this level over here. So we're helping them understand where their strengths are, where their gifts are, so that they can really articulate that, to get that next roll. It's amazing. And you probably do the same thing, Michael is understanding the strength of people, and they may not understand them as much. So if you can help them see that and what the gift that they have, as long as you bring help them bring that to the forefront. That's what's allowing them to grow into that next role. So that's one but also the network is big, a lot of them may want to grow to a president, some might just want to go to a VP level, whatever that might be. They're not sure exactly how to get there. So it's the connection of peers that has done that before. And so I, you know, I've talked about that a lot. I am a big believer of connection of people, and those who've been through it before. So that's, that's really important to me is connecting people that have gone through it before, I've seen a similar challenge, and can help that next person, but also be their champion. And he can take those negative voices out of their own head. And as females, we tend to do that a lot. So sometimes it's helping them evolve just by taking those negative thoughts out of their heads, and being their own champion.
Michael Kithcart:
Yes. And you. You also noted the distinction too, between men and women, women in general can have a harder time in seeing that that value, or maybe even giving their strengths, the value that it deserves. So it's super satisfying to help people break through those limiting beliefs.
Susan Rylance:
It is, and it's interesting that you picked up on that, because that those are probably most conversations I have is with women to really help them understand their value. And they're very powerful, successful women, but we get in our own heads.
Michael Kithcart:
And in our own way.
Susan Rylance:
Yes, in our own way.
Michael Kithcart:
I want to make sure that we touch on an organization that you are involved in, which is the Minority Business Growth Alliance. I'd love for you to share, like what that mission is. And you know, just what made you want to get involved with it? And in champion others?
Susan Rylance:
Yes, absolutely. So I, the mission is to help minority entrepreneurs thrive by providing consulting support and connections to business resources. So that's the mission, how I got involved was I saw this, this gap of our communities of the people of color in our communities, and some of the challenges that they were seeing and some of the hurt that they were seeing. And, and on top of that we have a pandemic. So it's a lot harder to connect with them. And I saw that I was not able to connect as much as I was in the past. And so I wanted to learn, understand and help some of our small businesses that have been affected by some of the challenges that we'd had in the past. And so that was my main reason for getting involved in the Minority Business Growth Alliance is a little over a year and a half old. So I was on the forefront of helping kind of frame out who we are and where we're going. And it has been amazing to really help connect those who want to serve and give their time to minority business owners who just really need some help to get to that next level. And it's amazing to see how it's built connection within our community and the goal and, you know, kind of what I champion is, how do we continue to build those connections with each other to just understand? We all have different backgrounds, we all have different views, but how do we just listen and understand each other so that we can come together as one community? And, you know, my hope is that we can have a platform to share our voices together. And it's not about the people's color, but really about the community, and that we all have differences, and how can we understand and grow with each other.
Michael Kithcart:
And understand deep down that we have a lot of far more in common than we have differences?
Susan Rylance:
That's exactly right.
Michael Kithcart:
So how can people get involved not only maybe, you know, support financially, but more what I'm even thinking of, there's a lot of people with great talent, business talent that listen to the podcast. So how can somebody get involved? What kind of resources does the Alliance look for?
Susan Rylance:
Thank you for asking. And I'm so excited that you did. We are always looking for volunteers that have a very specific subject matter expertise, whether it is mark- marketing has been a really hot need for these businesses, because they just they have this idea they've grown their business, and now they need to get it out. And so it could be copy writing. It could be web design, it could be marketing strategy, a lot of our businesses just need a clear direction, especially for head. You know, we're heading into a new year and marketing strategy, sometimes finance help. Or you can be a business champion, which is really just somebody there that has maybe been a business consultant led their business, their own business, and is there to champion the minority business owners business alongside them. So if you have an interest to volunteer your time, the best thing would be to go to the Minority Business Growth Alliance website, and then complete the application to volunteer your time. And we would love that and welcome those connections.
Michael Kithcart:
Okay, I love that. We'll be sure to put a link in the show notes on that. So speaking of links and everything, Susan, how can people follow you find you connect with you?
Susan Rylance:
The easiest and best way is LinkedIn. I am constantly on ladders, I think most of us are so you can find me on LinkedIn, Susan Rylance, connect with me, happy to connect, follow. And I'm always looking to grow my network. And our mission is to have 1 million change making digital leaders whose collective wisdom leads better business through insights, innovation, and creativity. So the only way to do that is to grow my network with those change making leaders.
Michael Kithcart:
That's fantastic. And so let's I want to make sure because if people are listening like so, because you also are a search firm, right? So you're looking for talent in that. So tell us some of the key roles. If people have expertise in these kind of areas they should absolutely be reaching out to you are connecting with you.
Susan Rylance:
Yes. So the the focus in the digital arena is digital marketing. I don't think we can do marketing without being digitally savvy these days. So marketing leaders, digital product leaders, analytics, those who are analyzing the data that helps us better meet the needs of our customers, and then customer experience individuals.
Michael Kithcart:
Great, okay. If you're one of those reach out, contact Susan. This, It'll change your life will start you on a new trajectory for for the new year. So thank you. Thank you so much for being a guest. We can have a whole other episode and dig deeper into some of these topics. So I hope you'll consider coming back at another time and just appreciate what you shared with us today.
Susan Rylance:
Thank you so much, Michael. I appreciate your time. It's been fun.
Michael Kithcart:
Reach a new level of growth this year by investing in yourself and your future through Champion You Group Coaching. I help you shift from achieving and striving to becoming a high performer who actualizes goals and enhances well being. Each month I go live with members to highlight high performance topics that shift perspective and provide resources for deeper learning. You benefit from pure learning and creating your action steps. If you're looking for a personal or professional development companion, and want to be part of a high performing community, check out Champion You Group Coaching. We meet virtually the first Wednesday of every month. You can find details in the show notes or you can go to MichaelWkithcart.com/group.
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