The Welsh Wire: Mary Jo Asmus, Aspire Collaborative Services LLC

Building positive relationships is a crucial skill if you want to be a great small business leader. “It doesn’t mean you have to be a friend with the people who have a stake in your leadership, but it’s really about developing relationships that are good and healthy and strong,” says executive coach Mary Jo Asmus, founder and President of Aspire Collaborative Services LLC. She talked recently with Sheri Welsh on the Welsh Wire podcast.

Mary Jo is an internationally-known writer, thought leader and consultant who has coached hundreds of successful executives to help them develop and hone their leadership skills. How do you know when you have a good relationship with the people who are your stakeholders? “When it’s easy to be with someone, you know there’s there’s no hidden agendas,” Mary Jo says. “There’s honesty and truthfulness and trust. That’s when you know what’s working well. When it becomes hard and it feels like you’re pushing that rock up hill, that’s when you need to step into a conversation.” She says that building great relationships is not only a foundational piece of good leadership, but also crucial to employee recruitment and retention.

Listen to Sheri’s entire interview with Mary Jo Asmus

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