Travis Hellstrom is a writer and founder of Advance Humanity (www.advancehumanity.com). After graduating from college with a degree in Pre-Med/Biology, he was a Peace Corps volunteer in Mongolia from 2008–2011, where he worked with local hospitals and clinics in the eastern steppe of Mongolia to help doctors, nurses and residents improve the overall health in the community. Currently, he is a graduate student at World Learning/The School for International Training. Travis currently travels between Mongolia and the United States with his wife Tunga. You can visit his website at www.travishellstrom.com

Join us for a conversation around the Clear Purpose that drives Travis and how he uses that in applying The Values Advantage.

https://www.dove-development.net/the-values-advantage

https://www.dove-development.net/2026-leadership-legacy-experience

If you'd get value from even more access, and a chance to check out any of the other 150+ lessons in our Leading At The Next Level program, there's a link in the show notes that you can use to get a 14-day trial for just $1, then get 80% OFF the monthly membership price FOREVER! Every lesson in the digital platform has been approved for recertification credit through the Society or Human Resource Management and the Human Resource Certification Institute, and we deliver new live lessons each month. https://www.dove-development.net/offers/QsP4N3K6/checkout

We recently had the opportunity to provide three separate sessions as part of a large client's "Professional Development Days" curriculum. Two were based on keynote presentations we've shared with thousands of people over the years but the final session was a variation of a lesson from our "Leading At The Next Level" program, likely back in 2021 or 2022, that we've only shared publicly a time or two. To our surprise, that session was packed... While I can't share it all here, this will hopefully serve as a solid starting point you can use for "Setting Priorities" that help you create systems that yield great results.

If you'd like access to the entire lesson, and a chance to check any of the other 150+ lessons in our Leading At The Next Level program, here's a link you can use to get a 14-day trial for just $1, then get 80% OFF the monthly membership price FOREVER! Every lesson in the digital platform has been approved for recertification credit through the Society or Human Resource Management and the Human Resource Certification Institute, and we deliver new live lessons each month. https://www.dove-development.net/offers/QsP4N3K6/checkout

Also, you'll likely notice a reference here to the science behind the DISC Model of Human Behavior. If you've never completed a scientifically validated DISC assessment, you can learn more about that at https://www.dove-development.net/EffectiveCommunication

And you're always welcome to reach out to us at admin@dove-development.net with any questions.

As we looked at the cost of a poor promotion, I shared stories about a few different rock star employees I had worked with over the years. One of them had been an assembly line lead for nearly four decades but refused even to consider taking the next step into a supervisory or management role. Another was as knowledgeable as anyone I ever knew about every piece of equipment in the department he worked in but struggled mightily when he moved into a team lead role for that same department. I realize both examples were from a manufacturing environment, but I’m willing to bet you can picture similar examples in any industry you’re currently in!

At some point in our leadership journey, we’ll all face the reality that not every outstanding performer on our teams will be interested in climbing the company ladder. And as hard as accepting that will sometimes be, our challenge then becomes helping them be the best they can be right where they are AND providing them with the tools they’ll need to pass their expertise on to the team members coming behind them. While some folks may not be interested in chasing or accepting promotions, that doesn’t mean they’re not a critical part of our succession planning process!

While I still fancy myself as a decent carpenter, and I could probably teach you how to operate a 250-ton stamping press to make the blanks that get rolled into tubes for inside a muffler, Cindy and I have been very intentional about not giving the perception that we’re the people to teach the technical skills necessary in any industry. In most cases, you’ll have experts in-house who can do that. And even if that’s not the case, I’m doubtful I have the time at this point in my life to be the technical expert you need. But we have helped the experts in the organizations we’re working with become incredibly effective at passing on what they’ve worked so long to learn. There have been a few cases where those folks have been supervisors or managers who had already completed our Emerging Leader Development course. Still, the most significant need for this has been with those without interest in those positions.

Either way, our approach to Developing Effective Trainers combines much of what we provide to help leaders communicate more effectively with the concepts I detailed before for having tough conversations. We add a healthy dose of the necessary steps for earning influence and buy-in, so anyone receiving the training is actually willing to listen without having their lives threatened!

For more on this, you're welcome to reach out to us directly at admin@dove-development.net to get a 45 Day Trial Access to our COMPLETE Leading At The Next Level program or you can check out Wes's first book, What's KILLING Your Profitability? (It ALL Boils Down to Leadership!) that was a #1 Best Seller on Amazon!

Early in this process, we looked at two separate profitability killers that nearly always feed off each other and contribute to just about every metric a company tracks: the cost of high turnover and the cost of constant recruiting. In far too many cases, the responsibility for each lands squarely in the lap of someone in the human resources department. When that person takes even the slightest bit of initiative, they’ll work their tail off to produce the results their team needs. I say that with confidence because I’ve been the one to carry that responsibility for a few different organizations.

Several times through this process, I’ve referenced hiring 225 new employees in eighteen months for one facility, and the total head count increased only by about ten. As we looked at steps leaders could take to address the cost of an unaccountable workforce, I even shared how 150 of those 225 were for one specific job title, a role that likely had the most direct impact on the overall quality of the products our customers depended on. You may think this was an isolated example that couldn’t possibly impact your company’s bottom line the same way, and as this was the first role where I held direct and complete responsibility for the hiring process, I couldn’t imagine that this same thing could be going on anywhere else either. I was dead wrong!

In nearly every organization I’ve worked with since, whether through providing support for their HR and recruiting needs or through the resources we’ve shared with the entire leadership team, I’ve seen pockets that showed nearly identical patterns. While the numbers weren’t nearly as exaggerated, the ratios were eerily similar, primarily due to most of those companies having much lower overall head counts. I’d argue that the costs made even more of a dent in the overall profitability since those smaller organizations didn’t have as much room to absorb them.

For more on this, you're welcome to reach out to us directly at admin@dove-development.net to get a 45 Day Trial Access to our COMPLETE Leading At The Next Level program or you can check out Wes's first book, What's KILLING Your Profitability? (It ALL Boils Down to Leadership!) that was a #1 Best Seller on Amazon!

Let's circle back to something I shared as we began our look at What’s Killing Your Profitability:

"Organizations of all sizes invest significant amounts of time, money, and energy in improving their processes with hopes of becoming more profitable. Sometimes this is based on the goal of becoming best-in-class, but sometimes it is just to stay competitive with customers or to attract talent. All too often, though, the things that can have the most immediate impact on profitability (as well as the lives of everyone involved) are overlooked or entirely written off because those things are considered to be intangible. What are those things? Those are the skills needed to build an organizational culture that produces world-class results and makes the best people in your respective industry beg to be part of your team! Those skills tie back to a word that’s frequently misused: leadership…"

Just in case I haven’t been clear enough in addressing each of the issues responsible for killing so much profitability in every single industry we’ve dealt with, I’ll stress once more how much of that lost profitability can indeed be captured by building better leaders! That said, this is not and cannot be done by poking the issue with a stick. I’ve seen far too many organizations attempt to pull a deck of slides from the Internet, read it as quickly as possible to their supervisors and managers before going through the rest of their canned message in the quarterly meeting, and call it done. That’s not how any reasonable person would approach learning something we consider a hard skill, so why in the world would anyone think it could possibly build a better leader?

Truth be told, I don’t think that even the ones who take that approach expect it to work! I’m also convinced that most of them don’t understand the real impact each of the profitability killers we’ve looked at can have on the bottom line, how to measure them effectively, or how to truly teach the supervisors and managers on their teams how to prevent them. That’s exactly what I want to give you a framework for as we tie this all together.

For more on this, you're welcome to reach out to us directly at admin@dove-development.net to get a 45 Day Trial Access to our COMPLETE Leading At The Next Level program or you can check out Wes's first book, What's KILLING Your Profitability? (It ALL Boils Down to Leadership!) that was a #1 Best Seller on Amazon!

Why do you do what you do? As we opened The 2025 LeadershipLegacy Experience, Cindy and I went into significant detail covering how important it is for every leader to have a clear purpose for accepting all that comes with leading a team. But let’s be honest, very few things in life worth having come easy. Regardless of what you’re engaged in, personally or professionally, a clear purpose is absolutely critical for rising above the muck and making a positive impact for the people counting on us!

Working too much doesn’t burn you out; not getting fulfillment from the work you’re doing burns you out.

Compensation is a factor in why we choose certain career paths, but it’s not THE factor! Our son made a career change several years ago at a critical time in his life, giving up 20% from just his base pay alone. And if it were all about compensation, we wouldn’t see so many people actively engaged in non-profits or civic organizations; the cause - or the purpose - drives them

People don’t shy away from tasks because of risk or difficulty. Some of my best friends have served for decades as volunteer firefighters, risking their lives for people they don’t even know ON THEIR OWN DIME and on their own time… And let’s be honest, even the paid firefighters don’t do it for the money alone…

Here’s the reality: having a clear purpose matters in every aspect of our lives! If you can’t define yours with absolute certainty, let’s connect!

The 2025 LeadershipLegacy Digital Game Plan - Limited Time Bonus Offer through 10/31/25, 10% coupon expires 9/30/25

https://www.dove-development.net/offers/JykZLvzF?coupon_code=LL25BONUS

Over $200 in Exclusive Bonuses!

*The Official 2025 LeadershipLegacy Event Playbook; flip book download available immediately and the option to have a limited-edition physical copy delivered (US only) to your door! ($30 value)

*A signed commemorative edition of the Amazon #1 Best Seller, LEADING With A CLEAR PURPOSE; US only, must coordinate delivery with Dove Development & Consulting ($20 value)

*A complimentary 90-Day Trial Access to our Leading At The Next Level program ($150 value), with the option for ongoing monthly access at 90% off the regular membership rate (just $4.97/month; regularly $49.97/month).

https://www.dove-development.net/leading-with-a-clear-purpose-book

The FOUNDATION for Leading With A Clear Purpose…

https://www.dove-development.net/the-values-advantage

The Values Advantage and the 2025 Executive Summit

https://www.dove-development.net/2025-executive-summit

#leadership #humanbehavior #purpose #leadershipdevelopment #podcast #communication #emotionalintelligence #TheValuesAdvantage #values #corevalues

Reach out to us at admin@dove-development.net for a 45-day trial to our complete Leading At The Next Level program with over 160 lessons approved for continuing education credit through #SHRM and #HRCI

We've known Maria for a long time and have been absolutely blown away by the responsibility she carries and how she displays genuine servant leadership. In addition to running her own success business, MIM Community Solutions, she's played a critical role in founder CEL Harrisonburg-Rockingham Latino Business Council (serving as the organization's first president).

In this episode, we'll talk with Maria about how she's actively engaged in applying "The Values Advantage" and how that ties directly with CEL's Juntos Avanzamos (Together We Advance) launch event.

To learn more about MIM Community Solutions, check out https://www.mimtaxes.com/

To learn more about CEL Harrisonburg-Rockingham, check out https://celharrisonburg.org/

To learn more about The Values Advantage (coming in early '26), check out https://www.dove-development.net/the-values-advantage

https://www.dove-development.net/podcast

https://www.dove-development.net/2025-executive-summit

#leadership #humanbehavior #purpose #leadershipdevelopment #podcast #communication #emotionalintelligence #TheValuesAdvantage #values #corevalues

Reach out to us at admin@dove-development.net for a 45-day trial to our complete Leading At The Next Level program with over 160 lessons approved for continuing education credit through #SHRM and #HRCI

While Cindy didn't take on an "official" role in Dove Development & Consulting until about a year in, she's had a tremendous influence from the beginning. Wes often shares that he'd get a lot done even if it was just him, but having Cindy by his side means folks may actually like it. Her compassion coupled with a drive for excellence is key in how they live our their core values together.

In this episode, Wes will interview Cindy about how she's actively engaged in applying "The Values Advantage" with every client they serve.

To learn more about The Values Advantage (coming in early '26), check out https://www.dove-development.net/the-values-advantage

To learn more about Dove Development & Consulting's core values, check out https://www.dove-development.net/our-values

To learn more about how Wes & Cindy compliment one another, check out https://www.dove-development.net/about

https://www.dove-development.net/podcast

https://www.dove-development.net/2025-executive-summit

#leadership #humanbehavior #purpose #leadershipdevelopment #podcast #communication #emotionalintelligence #TheValuesAdvantage #values #corevalues

Reach out to us at admin@dove-development.net for a 45-day trial to our complete Leading At The Next Level program with over 160 lessons approved for continuing education credit through #SHRM and #HRCI