We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Joyce Wilson-Sanford. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Joyce below.

Joyce, appreciate you joining us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

My mission is to create the conditions for people to prosper—use their own particular talent print and to encourage innovations that support true connection with and among people.

I have done that in every situation I’ve been in–from high school to top leader of a global company.

I am partly driven by seeing my dad work as a blue collar oil Stillman and seeing him work as a Boy Scout leader. I saw how much he had to give without the environment to prosper.

Also I am driven to create change when I see new possibilities and potential.
I’ve done it from restructuring a high school student council to creating a leadership college across cultures.

Joyce, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Oddly enough I have never gotten a job with a resume. In fact I got the job that became my career by receiving a turndown letter for a job I hadn’t applied to!!

Basically, I have been a teacher and coach and a developer of companies and their talent.
My “career” has been In Organizational Development working inside one large company for 25 years.

In teaching, I created self grading. I made learning contracts with each student.

In the Peace Corps in a jungle I brought women together for a health conference. They could not read and came in dugouts. I introduced them to popcorn!!

I did many innovations in the large company I worked with and for. I designed an approach to learning called Proud Learner/Humble Teacher and connected people for learning using internal talent

I also supported a new CEO using groups of 350 associates across the company and ran it as if it were a small group, We ran 8 groups in three months. They created and modified a vision for the company that energized them. I used guided imagery which was quite different for food retailers.

My budget was cut when I first entered an organization. I was supposed to “train” store managers.
I fussed and fumed and then came up with a new idea. I had store managers from the same district come together to set their learning goals and then I designed for that to learning to happen among the group giving feedback and sharing solutions. I sold the idea as a “pilot” and I think quiet pilots are a great approach to large change.

I could go on and on. I love my work. I now do a podcast with a former work buddy once a week on HR and Organizational Development to share successes, dilemmas and big fat failures. You can find it at www.bobnjoyce.com.

I also write and coach in the area of soul development. I focus on the profound change and crumble in our various religions. I’v written three books: I PRAY ANYWAY; Devotions for the Ambivalent, Reflections for the Spiritual Cranky and a leader guide for both books, I call it a Playbook for learning. You can find the books via my website: www.readjoyce.com.

I am currently working on a book on Fully Human Leadership and another about being an OD maverick in the workplace.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I have to laugh. I think all I do is pivot.

A big personal pivot was a wrenching divorce that left me a single mother with with two kids under five.
While hurting I signed up to take classes to get a Masters Degree in Organizational Development.
I knew I would have to work and not be at home so I wanted work I would like.

After three years, I of course married a professor with three children. He was moving to a new job in Maine. Talk about pivot. We left Illinois with five kids, three cats, one moving truck. I found work in three days, thanks to phone calls before we moved.

Through word of mouth, I was asked to interview at the utility company (a big employer). It was an hour away from our home. I was asked to work there with a threefold salary increase. This was hard on our kids but we laugh about it now. And they are fine adults.

I presented at a Woman at Work conference and got another job opportunity (from the company that turned me down before I had applied). I did nothing but pivot in my career, new boss, acquisitions, floods, travel, travel, travel. And new roles and possibilities.

Sometimes pivoting can feel like going around in circles, but is an essential skill even now as a coach and consultant.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

Bob Stapleton is my business partner. We were both executives in the same company; he was in Operations and HR and, later, OD. We were partners in crime and have many funny stories to share and proud accomplishments too.

We had never talked about working together. I had been writing the three books I mentioned above when the world began to go nuts (COVID) and I began to wonder about how I could help in a practical tactical way. On pure impulse, I wrote to Bob and said, “Let’s do a podcast together”. He said, “yes” and we just started.

There are many former colleagues who I admire and could work with. I reached out to Bob because I knew we would laugh, take risks, support one another on a personal and professional level. Also Bob and I have work experiences that blend. I absolutely trust him. We are generous and understanding to one another about our work and ideas. We are states away and have worked together in this way for years. We are beginning to shift our business from serious hobby to fun business. I mean it. We like what we are doing and will monetize it but we won’t threaten the working relationship.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.joycewilsonsanford.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/odmaven and https://instagram.com/iprayanyway
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/joycewilsonsanford and https://facebook.com/iprayanyway
• Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/joycewilsonsanford