How do you become a great leader? Better yet, how do we help our kids grow into great leaders too? Being a leader is so much more than your personality type. It has to do with your qualities, values and characteristics. Joining me for this very last conversation on The Part-Time Jungle is Nicole North.

Nicole is the President and Founder of Whiteboard Consulting and has been leading large-scale leadership training initiatives with Whiteboard since its inception. Nicole’s formal education includes an honors BA from the University of Toronto and an MBA from Wilfrid Laurier University. She is also certified as a Coach and as a practitioner in Myers-Briggs Type Indicator assessments and training, Method Time Motion studies, and Appreciative Inquiry.

She is the creator, designer, and lead facilitator of The Limitless LeaderTM program that creates leaders and teams that feel limitless to create and innovate – paired with accountability and grace. Nicole has been designing and delivering online and in-person human skills content for the last 10 years and is a top-rated facilitator for her engagement and passionate approach to delivery.

Listen in as we talk about:

• Asking for time and space. As moms, we often cater to everyone first except for ourselves. Nicole shares her best tips for staying healthy and present for her family.
• How to be a limitless leader. Nicole has developed a methodology that encompasses the qualities of being a limitless leader that empowers their team.
• What leaders need right now. How do you define a great leader? Nicole gives us insight into what makes a great leader, and what all leaders need right now.
• Helping our kids become great leaders. For Nicole, it goes back to helping our kids learn how to speak clearly and kindly.

Connect with Nicole:

• Instagram: @whiteboardconsult https://www.instagram.com/whiteboardconsult/
• Facebook: @WhiteboardCons https://www.facebook.com/WhiteboardCons
• Website: https://www.whiteboardconsulting.ca
• Podcast: At the Whiteboard https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/at-the-whiteboard/id1210237741

Connect with Tiana and The Part-Time Jungle Community:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/parttimejungle/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/parttimejungle/
• Website: https://theparttimejungle.com

ASKING FOR TIME AND SPACE

Do you ever take time out for yourself? Are you in tune with your desires, wants and needs as a person and as a mom? It’s no secret that we often cater to everyone first except for ourselves. Between busy kids, lives, jobs, activities, and more, it’s easy to put ourselves last on the ‘to do’ list/ Nicole shares her best tips for staying healthy and present for her family. This includes taking dedicated time on the weekend to relax, workout, and be present with herself. This helps her show up more fully as a mom, partner and leader.

However, Nicole stresses that: “There is no perfect answer. Parenting doesn’t have to be done exactly the way that they say in the books.”

HOW TO BE A LIMITLESS LEADER

“The foundational component of a limitless leader is one that communicates with clarity, kindness, curiosity, and grace and holds people accountable.”

When it comes to leadership, Nicole believes that there are ways to become a limitless leader. She has developed a methodology that encompasses the qualities of being a limitless leader that empowers their team – and it’s so much more expansive than you may think.

Nicole talks about the very first and most important component, which is the ability to communicate clearly and kindly. She believes that the foundational component of a limitless leader is one that communicates with clarity, kindness, curiosity and grace and holds people accountable to what they say they’re going to do.

WHAT LEADERS NEED RIGHT NOW

“There is artistry to leadership. There isn’t a formula.”

What do our leaders need right now? Whether you’re thinking of yourself or someone else, Nicole sheds light on what she believes leaders need more of right now. Her answer may surprise you! Nicole shares that foundationally, leaders need communication skills. We’ve been thrown into this virtual world which works fine for most of us, as we can have conversations, ask questions and build rapport. For others, meeting over a screen presents awkwardness and an uncertainty around navigating conversations. So while leaders need to focus on communication, they also need to learn how to build relationships virtually. 

HELPING OUR KIDS BECOME GREAT LEADERS

How can we help our kids become great leaders? Nicole shares that it goes back to helping our kids learn how to speak clearly and kindly. We want to teach them how to tell us what’s bothering them, what’s on their mind, and then being able to accept that feedback as a parent. When you are actively listening, echoing back what you heard, empathizing, and thanking them for raising this specific thing with you, it allows you to evaluate the options and give them a response.

BEG, BORROW, & STEAL FROM NICOLE

• Go-to meal on a busy night: Chicken nuggets, french fries and Kraft Dinner
• Favourite family activity: Book: The Adventure Challenge https://ca.theadventurechallenge.com
• Favourite TV show: Succession
• Who Nicole would love to sit down with: Her mom

IMPORTANT PODCAST UPDATE:

It is hard to believe that this is the final episode of The Part-Time Jungle Podcast. In the fall, I  will be launching a new podcast called “The People Teaching People Podcast“. It will be a place to talk about the who, what, when, where, why, and how of teaching and learning in a world where there is always more to discover.

I have so many mixed emotions in making this change. The connections, conversations, and sense of community that have come from The Part-Time Jungle Podcast have been incredible. However, it is the right time for a shift that aligns with my passion for education and the work that I am doing as an educator and course development consultant.

Thank you so much for listening and for being a part of The Part-Time Jungle community.

Wishing you all the best with your motherhood and work juggle!

~Tiana