Andy welcomes Tracie Sponenberg, the Chief People Officer at The Granite Group, which is a plumbing wholesale company based in New Hampshire. Formerly a paper-pushing, compliance-driven HR person, Tracie Sponenberg became a people-first business leader several years ago and has made it a mission to help others do the same through speaking around the globe and writing daily on LinkedIn.

An introvert and bookworm at heart, she started becoming uncomfortable, and it changed her life for the better.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

1. How Tracie Sponenberg started in HR and how it led her to where she is today.
2. The pros and cons of working for a small business versus where she started at UPS.
3. Her methodology for building her personal brand on social media and how she began creating that brand.
4. How she’s using Clubhouse and what she’s learning there.
5. What Tracie Sponenberg means when she says she transitioned from a paper-pusher to a people-first business leader.
6. Why companies lose sight of the importance of their people and how it began to shift.
7. What you can do to develop better self-awareness to become a better person and build a better career.
8. How being an introvert did not keep her from becoming a good public speaker who enjoys it--but then needs a break after it’s over.
9. Why so many HR professionals are focused on paper first and how they can change that mindset.
10. What HR leaders can do to make the shift to people first and adopt a growth mindset.
11. HR’s role in talent development and why traditional structures may be inhibiting that role.
12. The culture of learning and what your organization needs to adopt in order to create this type of culture.
13. Tracie Sponenberg’s work in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and the steps she’s taking hand-in-hand with her CEO to create a better company.
14. Her greatest accomplishments personally and professionally.
15. Her biggest career mistake and why it taught her an important lesson.
16. The biggest shift she sees companies making and why it’s an important one.
17. The book Tracie Sponenberg wants you to read now.
18. Why networking is the fastest way to accelerate your career.

Connect with Andy Storch here:

https://andystorch.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/andystorch/

https://tdtt.us/

Connect with Tracie Sponenberg:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/traciesponenberg/

https://twitter.com/traciespon

https://www.instagram.com/traciespon/

Mentioned in this episode:

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