We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Amy Giggey a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Amy, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Have you ever had an amazing boss? What did you learn from them? Maybe you can share a story that illustrates the kind of boss they were or maybe you can share your thoughts on what you think made them an awesome person to work for?
The best boss I ever had, taught me how to think so I would know how to do. I would ask him for guidance and he would either give me the space to figure it out on my own, or ask me questions to lead me to an answer I may have already known. It can be so difficult as a boss to not point out the right answer or just do it because it would be faster. He took the time to show me and invested in my knowledge and confidence. I use the skills he taught me every day in my professional life and as a parent. The last gift he gave me was empowerment. Once, he told me I had a voice and he wanted to hear it. That was a moment for me where I felt seen and valued and it gave me the confidence to stand a little taller and speak a little more boldly.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I became an HR services professional after leaving the full time corporate world as a part of the Great Resignation. I think what sets us apart as an agency and team is our background in startups and our ability to mold ourselves into the cultures we serve. We leverage each other and our experiences to bring the best practices into our client’s companies and help them define and differentiate themselves in all aspects of their employee experience. It is incredibly rewarding and I think our hourly model aligns us with clients well because we can weather the economic uncertainties or growth periods with them in lock step.
Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?
Any resource that deepens your relationship with yourself, is a must have as an entrepreneur. You have to know your triggers, what lights you up, what hits your brakes, what scares you. And you have to make sure all of these parts of you are ones you are actively choosing because they are serving you. If they aren’t, change them, question them, outgrow them. Your relationships are an incredible resource for you here as well, because they will mirror your thinking, your opportunities, and your limitations. There’s a cost of admission in life to take brave new action, but there’s also a cost of admission not to. Which price will you pay?
One of the most important resources for me personally was “Codependent No More” by Melody Beattie. This book helped me understand how I ended up in burnout and how I attached my value as a person to other people’s perceptions of me. It’s been painful to lose relationships based on codependent dynamics but it’s how I’ve been able to rebuild a sense of self that I needed to run my business.
Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?
There is no one size fits all solution. Get to know your team and understand what they are motivated by, how they learn, how they need to receive feedback, how they give feedback, and how they want to receive praise. Also, begin learning more about power dynamics. There are so many mistakes we can make as managers that can be prevented with conscious and skillful use of power.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.talenttoteam.com/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-giggey/