Sharing Student Stories: Storytelling's Place in a Changing Academic World with Pete Wheelan
What's Your Story: How Leaders Tell Stories to Influence and Connect with Audiences
Release Date: 01/14/2020
Building A Business And The Power Of Stories
What's Your Story: How Leaders Tell Stories to Influence and Connect with Audiences
Episode: Building a Business And The Power Of Stories Guests: Hust Williamson, Mary Scott Jameson and Hodges Markwalter Welcome to another episode of What’s Your Story where we host in depth conversations with business leaders to explore how they use storytelling to engage their audiences. Taking on the journey of entrepreneurship is not an easy feat and it’s not for the faint of heart. It takes passion behind your product or service and quite a bit of gusto on how you deliver your messages to investors and potential customers. And today, we have two entrepreneurs joining us: Mary Scot...
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Reigniting Ideas & Strategies with Teams with Keith Wilmot
What's Your Story: How Leaders Tell Stories to Influence and Connect with Audiences
It’s safe to say we all wish we could wake up every day and bring everything we have to the roles we’re in. Each day would be a new day, every agenda a clean slate. But the reality is that many of us are in roles that are a little messier than that. So messy in fact that getting to new ideas or exploring an out-of-the-box concept isn’t easy. In fact, with a pile of problems and challenges in our every day, new ideas can feel impossible. Unless you’ve spent time with Keith Wilmot. In our latest episode of What’s Your Story, Sally talks with Keith about how his agency, , helps leaders...
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Talent, Data & People - The Strategic CHRO with Kim Sullivan
What's Your Story: How Leaders Tell Stories to Influence and Connect with Audiences
We all faced new dynamics and uncharted waters as managers and leaders navigating a pandemic, social unrest and different ways of working. But if you considered the corporate role that felt the most impact, the CHRO, Chief Human Resources Officer, would rank high in terms of the toughest leadership positions over the last few years. And that's why this episode is so timely. In this episode, Sally talks to Kim Sullivan, who has been an HR leader for three global companies and a CHRO for more than six years which means pre-pandemic, post-pandemic and during the pandemic, giving her great...
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Getting Down to Business with Kim Wilson of Lucy's Market
What's Your Story: How Leaders Tell Stories to Influence and Connect with Audiences
Small businesses have gotten a lot of visibility over the last two years. As the world slowed down and dealt with a pandemic, we were more aware of the businesses on the corner that weren’t focused on five-year plans but were focused on next months’ payroll to survive. It brought front and center a look at how small businesses work and interestingly, as the world reset, it seemed to inspire a whole new culture of entrepreneurs and people who’d like to be their own boss. But running a small business isn’t for the faint of heart. As the last two years have proven, the safety net looks...
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Resetting & Reducing Social Distance with Karen Riddell
What's Your Story: How Leaders Tell Stories to Influence and Connect with Audiences
Social distancing is a term that took hold during the pandemic as a descriptive way of creating boundaries from each other. But after two years of distancing and now going back to offices and social settings with colleagues and friends, social distance may take on new meaning. At a minimum, the re-engagement in groups feels awkward at first. We’ve forgotten some of the social norms and feel a little rusty at small talk. In a corporate setting, we realize that Zoom calls didn’t allow for much of a relationship with colleagues. So, we aren’t quickly at ease as a member of the team. Virtual...
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The Mastery of Skills with Kenny Selmon
What's Your Story: How Leaders Tell Stories to Influence and Connect with Audiences
Every day, we talk to people about practice. And we explain that to become effective at communication, you have to work at becoming good at it. And we define mastery of a skill as those who become so good at a skill that you can count on their performance and outcome consistently. And once you begin to talk about performance and outcomes, it’s easy to draw a parallel between mastery of a skill like communication and mastery of sports like the Olympics. And that’s what we’re going to do for you on this podcast: connect the concepts of practice, mastery and outcomes. And accentuate...
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The Art of Coaching - How to Choose the Right Coach with Francie Schulwolf
What's Your Story: How Leaders Tell Stories to Influence and Connect with Audiences
In the last year, millions of workers took early retirement, which created a band of less-experienced managers and leaders in most companies. It’s a great career opportunity and accelerated promotions for several managers. But it also pushes a less-experienced leader to learn how to drive while the car is moving, and it can create risks within a company when someone is leading who doesn’t have a bank of experiences to draw on. That’s why coaching is a hot commodity. A Coach becomes a trusted advisor to a new leader. A good Coach becomes a sounding board… and a confidante. A good Coach...
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The Big Pitch with Rachel Spasser
What's Your Story: How Leaders Tell Stories to Influence and Connect with Audiences
This episode's topic is The Big Pitch. And it’s a discussion of one of the most important presentations you may ever give. It has a definitive and measurable impact. It’s rarely shared with a large audience. And while the audience may be small, they are a critical one. Because their interest and reaction to the presentation may change the future of a company. And in fact, that’s actually the point. Today, we’re going to talk about “pitch” presentations. Those opportunities when a start-up, mid-size or even a large corporation wants to be acquired. The Big Pitch is a different kind...
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Disrupted! A Talent Acquisition Perspective
What's Your Story: How Leaders Tell Stories to Influence and Connect with Audiences
Disruption happens every day across the corporate world. As employees, we experience reorgs, layoffs and acquisitions, and as disrupters ourselves we move cross country, chase ideas and challenge norms. But amidst all the disruption we all experience, some of us seem to thrive in times of turmoil. These are the communicators who have mastered the two secret arts hidden within corporate disruption: learning how to establish a compelling brand and build an intriguing career narrative. They are skills that take time to perfect, but they’re the differentiator factors between those who are cast...
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Disrupted! A Talent Development Perspective
What's Your Story: How Leaders Tell Stories to Influence and Connect with Audiences
Disruption happens every day across the corporate world. As employees, we experience reorgs, layoffs and acquisitions, and as disrupters ourselves we move cross country, chase ideas and challenge norms. But amidst all the disruption we all experience, some of us seem to thrive in times of turmoil. These are the communicators who have mastered the two secret arts hidden within corporate disruption: learning how to establish a compelling brand and build an intriguing career narrative. They are skills that take time to perfect, but they’re the differentiator factors between those who are cast...
info_outlineWe know storytelling’s place in the business world, but have you considered the role it plays in academic institutions across the nation? In our first episode of What’s Your Story?, Season 2, Sally speaks with Pete Wheelan of InsideTrack about how he uses storytelling alongside professional coaching, technology, and data analytics to increase the enrollment, completion, and career readiness of students.
More About Pete Wheelan
Pete Wheelan is dedicated to leading mission-driven, high-growth companies unlocking human potential and currently serves as CEO of InsideTrack, the nation’s leading student success coaching organization.
Under Pete’s leadership, InsideTrack has now served 2 million + students and 4000+ academic programs for clients including Harvard, the Cal State System and Ivy Tech. He led the purchase of InsideTrack by Strada Education Network, a $1.4 billion public charity focused on improving high education outcomes, and InsideTrack’s acquisition of Logrado, the foundation for InsideTrack’s uCoach technology and analytics platform. Pete also serves as Executive Chairman at Roadtrip Nation, a fellow Strada Education Network affiliate.
Before InsideTrack, Pete served as COO/CRO of Blurb, a leader in self-published books, and as SVP of strategic marketing and business development for Lonely Planet. He also founded online portal Adventureseek and was a strategy consultant with BCG.
Pete received a B.A. from Dartmouth College and an M.B.A. and J.D. from Northwestern University.
Show Highlights
- What is the power of stories in academic settings?
- Inside Track is a company that started in 2001 that was trying to solve the issue that college is hard and most institutions don’t provide support that is not academic or financial aid related
- What are the big issues that stop students from completing their academic programs?
- For communication, the best way is to meet students where they are, utilizing email and texting and not just a phone call.
- What are students seeking with InsideTrack's service?
- Most higher education institutes have gone from a growth mindset to a fixed mindset
- Why is the sense of belonging a big struggle for new students?
- What are the causes of a student actually dropping out?
- How do you approach universities to integrate this program?
- How does the storyline with the school take shape?
- Inside Track coached 300-400,000 students in 2019
- Inside Track has access to student satisfaction and work to help remove obstacles and challenges for students
- Student success has become increasingly important in the institution
- What are some things InsideTrack provides for students?
- InsideTrack has been a resource for over 2 million students
- With students, InsideTrack provides reputation and relationships that develop over time - it’s not a one and done.
- How do you keep the human at the core of your program but use technology to enable them?
- To sell this program the best case is having partners and clients tell their story via a case study,
- Teaching sales to lead with stories in their conversations
- Bring coaches and coach managers into early conversations with potential partners
- Use first generation students as coaches to represent and share their story- makes it real and relatable
- Stories that are repeated by other institutions using their stories and coming back as a referral
- InsideTrack is a predominantly virtual workforce.
- Advice on inspiring employees?
- Communication
- Authenticity
- Repetition
- Clarity and consistency
- When you are approachable it provides credibility for the other communications to an employee.