Episode Notes

Why am I doing this podcast? Here is the semi-long answer to that question. It is more exciting when you hear me answer the question.

The bottom line is that resilient relationships flourish with meaningful conversations. I knew that. I also knew that we learn best through stories. When we get the nudge to change, it helps to hear how others redefine how they lead as they redesign their businesses. I have had thousands of conversations since I started WeMentor in 1992 to change the leadership in this country and worldwide, and guest what? I needed a platform to capture those stories and share them with others.

This podcast has been a gift from the source. It was divine intervention—a game changer. I had been looking for a medium to capture the conversations that I was having with clients. I didn’t know when my search would manifest into something worthwhile and affordable, so I stayed on the hunt, gathering information as I went.   

A 2015 family road trip to the Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming inspired and answered my search. This wasn’t my first visit to the Tetons. I worked in the 1980s at the Grand Teton National Park one summer in between college semesters. On this trip, I wanted to show my old stomping grounds to my husband, Matthew Foli, and our 13-year-old daughter, Olivia (I mistakenly said 8 years old). I cleaned bathrooms and fire pits and painted picnic tables.

I was proud to be the first woman to have a cabin and be in charge of 50 campsites at one location and a five-mile bike ride to clean about 20 other campsites by Jenny Lake Lodge. Movie stars stayed at the main lodge. I saw Angie Dickinson from afar. Angie was a movie star and became famous in 1974 for her role in Police Woman.

A photographer took a photo of me biking at Jenny Lake for his travel brochure. A mouse was my cabin mate. I fed her breadcrumbs and talked to her. It was a fantastic summer hiking, biking, meeting people from all over the world, making new friends, and having friends and family visit. They could set up camp next to my cabin.

One day that summer, my boss showed me a letter he had received from a camping patron who said the bathrooms were the cleanest she had ever used in a national park. I told him it must have been during the weekend my parents visited. My mom, bless her soul, she crossed over in 2020, helped me clean those dirty bathrooms with a toothbrush—the memories.

An ’aha’ moment surfaced during that 2015 road trip. To get to the Grand Teton National Park, we made a big oblong loop from Minneapolis to Wyoming and hit the Badlands in South Dakota on the way back. We drove through Iowa and then headed west through Nebraska. As we approached the upper northwest corner of Nebraska, we lost our radio connection and almost ran out of gas. Matthew took out his iPhone and plugged it in to listen to some podcast episodes he had downloaded before we left. We were getting into podcasts at that time. Krista Tippet’s, On Being podcast captivated our attention. Immediately, I was enthralled by the lack of commercials and uninterrupted listening. My senses were alive. The On Being podcast focuses on immersive conversations and explorations into the art of living. This episode was about yoga. The audio was crystal clear, and Krista’s voice was soothing and informative. I fell in love with the platform.

The Grand Teton National Park was unrecognizable as we approached it. The Grand Teton mountains were still there, but the campsite areas had been totally renovated. Nothing of what I remembered was there; even the entrance to that park area was different. So much development has occurred since the 1980s. The only thing familiar to me was the gorgeous mountain views. Throughout the trip, podcasting thoughts stuck with me.

St. Boniface Catholic French African Confirmation Class 2023

As soon as we got home, I researched as much as possible on podcasting and found I could afford to do it. I just needed someone to help with audio technical support. In 2015, our family was part of a French African Catholic Church Community. I sang in the choir, and Matthew and Olivia were Mass servers. Sylvie Kabeya was the choir director, Mike Kabeya, her husband, played the keyboards, and their eldest of four sons, Bob, played drums. Bob became Bobby and formed an Indy band called Miloe. He performs around the globe playing and singing the songs he writes. Mike and I traded off playing piano at church. I learned the French Mass and sang in French and other tribal languages. I loved the challenges that accompanied our immersion into the French African culture. It was important to experience being a minority and form lifelong friendships.

 Mike worked as an audio and video technician at the U of M for the Ted Mann Concert Hall and owned the Kabeya Media production company. I approached him with my idea of capturing meaningful conversations with entrepreneurial leaders and business owners transitioning. A behind-the-scenes feel. He was thrilled and joined my team of two, him and me. My husband, Matthew, was a huge podcast supporter too and still is. At the time, we were grateful if someone got something out of our conversations. We aired our first five podcast conversations in January 2016.

During the covid-19 pandemic, change was forced upon us, and the distress we lived through with the uncertainty in 2020 and 2021 was devastating and exhausting. We experienced collective trauma like never before as we shifted our lives to survive. I did a “Life in Times of COVID-19” 7-part series to support small businesses. I featured Guest Mentors like Cathy Hockert, Minnesota’s Enterprise Continuity of Government Director, who became a trusted resource and guided us in preparing us leaders for the unknown outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic. Guest Mentor Leah Seeger, a family and marriage therapist, joined me to discuss the coronavirus’s 6 Overlapping and Therapeutic Themes.

I received feedback on how much our conversations meant to business owners and how vital our Guest Mentors are. Hearing how other business owners were evolving to the changing business climate inspired innovative ideas and supported how they were changing.

Over a quarter million downloads later, another change came into fruition when Mike abruptly moved on. I responded by immersing myself in learning his role as the audio technician at the end of 2022. I recommitted to my work and forged ahead to get the right recording equipment and editing software. It was my turn to rise to the leadership challenge. I redefined how I was leading while redesigning how I worked. Dual Innovation Leadership begins when there is a call for change. I had been aware that I needed to make a change. As usual, it happens in ways you don’t plan. Mike helped move the timeline up. Thanks, Mike, mon frère d’une autre mère. A term of endearment to say in French that Mike was like a brother from another mother.

I am grateful for the power of these ‘aha’ moments. They help us change our lives as we become our next best selves. Now you know why I started this podcast and how I am evolving. Working with Guest Mentors to bring you meaningful conversations is to support your leadership evolution. I continue to believe that resilient relationships flourish with meaningful conversations. I will continue providing you with resources, support, and stories of your peers on the path to evolving with their ventures. Keep listening, keep growing, and keep going. DOWNLOAD

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