Timeout With Leaders

S2:E21 ”Being Broken Is OK” with Kim Brumber

This week Tyler and Kevyn sit down with Kim Brumber, past CEO of East House, Volunteers of America Upstate NY, and NeighborWorks Community Partners.

Kim shared her journey from being a girl from rural America and how she became a prominent leader in our community. She mentioned that it can take a while to find your voice and that being broken is totally OK! We have the chance to build it back or build it better than before.

Kim 2.0 is a force to be reckoned with as she continues to "earn her followership" in both the professional world but also her personal life! She mentions how these key people helped her and continued to show up during certain phases of her life. Reminding us that we are "human if we are HONEST about it."

S2:E20 Timeout with John Sheehan, ”Platinum Rule: Understand How THEY Want to Be Treated”

We sit down this week with John Sheehan, President/CEO of Rochester RHIO, which focuses on providing better care through better information.

John shared his passions for Food and Music and a little Florida State trash talk with the 93' National Championship. He was open in sharing more about his work in mental health and how he has seen this stigma change for the better, sadly it was always viewed as lesser than some of the other health needs in our communities. Let us be courageous and talk about these real challenges as it relates to addiction, mental health, trauma, and available treatment. 

In leadership, John brings a top-down mentality to create a safe place for his employees to thrive. He has found the Platinum Rule is his secret recipe to success in leadership, "Understand how they want to be treated first, not how you think they would want to be treated."

S2:E19 Timeout with Tom O’Connor ”Nowhere Near the Best Me Yet”

Join Tyler and Kevyn as they sit down with Tom O'Connor, President of Al Sigl which focuses on providing affordable commercial real estate for human services non-profits in Rochester. 

From for-profit to non-profit Tom was able to find more work-life balance as well as more fulfilling work knowing he was making a difference in the community. As a leader Tom is all about ACTION, yes we will make mistakes but let's ask questions, work together and come up with the BEST solutions with all the institutional knowledge of the team. 

Tom shared "I don't have to win but I hate to lose" and that he is constantly curious which allows him to be comfortable with change and build the trust necessary with his team to get through prevailing winds. 

When we are constantly curious we will always seek to find new and better ways of doing things while evolving as a leader, "nowhere near the best me yet!"

 

S2:E18 Timeout with Bob Duffy ”If You Respect You Listen”

The mythical legend, Bob Duffy joins Timeout with Leaders, to discuss his time in policing, politics, and today serving as CEO of the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce. 

When he is running in one of his marathons you might catch him listening to a little rock-n-roll, R&B or even a little soul. Bob loves basketball and continues to see the parallels between coaching and leadership today.

Bob's life journey helped teach him critical life lessons that helps him to see all individuals as they are equally important. This allows Bob to really connect with ALL individuals on his team while treating them all equally important. "If you respect them you will listen to them" it is about elevating everyone's quality of life.

 

S2:E17 Timeout with John Love ”Survived My Success”

TIMEOUT with Job Creator John Love, President and Owner of Bob Johnson which is made up of 23 dealerships with over 1,400 employees today, or as John puts it 1,400 home payments, 1,400 car payments and 1,400 families.

John Love would be the first to tell you his life has certainly been a journey one that most would never write a book about, but John did titled "You Failed Me." He learned through the pain you can find purpose, his being the creation of jobs while lifting others up but despite all his success he stays grounded. As he puts it "I survived my success" not falling out of touch with the reality of the real world most people have to live with daily. 

John shared he learns most about his company, their culture, and what they could be doing better by talking directly to the front line staff himself, albeit making managers uncomfortable. He is so in touch with his team that he topped off his employee's gas tanks to reduce their financial stress.

Leaning from loss John shared that LIFE IS SHORT, so make the most of TODAY, because today is a gift. Ask yourself what you ARE going to do with it.

 

"Control what you can control but what you can't pray hard."

S2:E16 Timeout with Faheem Masood ”It’s Not What You Do It’s Who You Enable”

TIMEOUT!!!!! Back after a short little break, Tyler and Kevyn sit down with the President and CEO of ESL Federal Credit Union, Faheem Masood.

An established community partner since the days of George Eastman, ESL continues to support Rochester but as we know it all starts at the top. Faheem Masood is an immigrant who has worked his way up to become or as he put it "participate" as President and CEO.

Having that personal experience of living in a 3rd world country, helped him to become more aware of ALL the things that might be happening in an individual's life, helping him to know where to focus to create a deeper connection.

One thing was clear Faheem understands the great responsibility you have as a leader, and instead of seeking success and glory for himself, he brings his team with him. Communication, feedback, and enabling others is really only possible if we listen. He shared that "as titles get bigger it gets harder" as others tend to shy away from openly sharing their opinion. But he said if you ask, you must ACT.

S2:E15 Timeout with Bob Bailey ”It’s a Long Way to the Top if You Want to Rock n Roll”

Take a TIMEOUT with Bob Bailey, the Chief Everyone Office (CEO) and Founder of the Truth Collective and throw on a little Rock n Roll. 

How do you become the best version of yourself as a person but also as a business AFTER the global pandemic?

Focus on people and team preservation, giving free ideas and free advice to help as many people as you can while keeping the band together. In a world where change is happening faster than before, Bob has found 30-day business plans to be effective. He mentioned that we need to get more granular with our goals in business and leadership to make success more obtainable. 

Bob's advice is to flip the hierarchy pyramid on its head, become the Chief Listening Officer, get 100% comfortable with who you are so you can be vulnerable with your people and be OK with telling the truth! 

 

 

S2:E14 Timeout with Mark McDermott ”Let People See the Human Side”

What do Doug Flutie, Yankee heroes, the breakup of The Beatles, and 4 Careers add up to? ...Mark McDermott

Mark is CEO of Touching Hearts at Home and Together in Caring, both out of Rochester. He loves the Yankees and fly fishing, but also knows he is waking up every day and making a BIG difference in the community by providing quality care for older adults.

As he left the law field, he recalled, "I wasn't finding meaning in the work, I was searching for meaning." This forced Mark to go from having a comfortable paycheck to no paycheck when he started a companion care agency. He didn't know at the time if they would be successful but realized the reward was actually helping older adults.  

As for leadership advice, Mark says the workplace is all about relationships but possibly the most important ingredient to a great culture is meeting individuals' intellectual and emotional needs regularly. That is why "You have to let them see the human side of you" to build real meaningful relationships with your people.

S2:E13 Timeout with La’Ron Singletary ”Believe in Something, or Fall For Anything”

What do you get when you mix ethics with leadership, compassion, and a passion to help others? ...La'Ron Singletary 

We sit down with La'Ron Singletary, the former Chief of Police of the Rochester Police Department who is looking to grow his impact on our community by running for U.S. Congress. It isn't often that Tyler and Kevyn get to sit down with a superhero but that is exactly who La'Ron Singletary is. 

In the face of adversity, it is "best to believe in something otherwise we will fall for anything," which La'Ron shared was a lesson taught to him by his grandmother, one we all can learn something from.

S2: E12 Timeout with Michelle Casey ”Leadership - It’s Not a Status Thing”

We meet with Admiral James T. Kirk, aka "Captain Kirk" aka Michelle Casey, President and CEO at Planned Parenthood of Central and Western New York.

Tyler and Kevyn knew from the start with Michelle's calm, confident demeanor that we were going to get some schooling on leadership and what it takes today. Michelle shares some of her personal experiences of being a leader but also how her previous jobs helped shape her to be more in tune and in touch with her people. 

Michelle's egoless mentality helps her to eliminate hierarchy based on the title alone to really understand and connect with each individual within her organization to build meaningful trustworthy relationships.