We recently connected with Lisa Shumate and have shared our conversation below.

Lisa, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today. What do you think Corporate America gets wrong in your industry?

Professional development is often limited to the top levels of the organization. Training on company policies and processes are offered to employees at all levels. This is critical to smooth operations. Professional development goes further than training. It develops leadership capacity and that has a ripple effect to the organization.

Companies that invested in these programs experienced a 24% increase in profit margins, according to a 2024 LinkedIn study.

A global survey by Gallup found that companies are 17% more productive and 21% more profitable when they offer learning opportunities to engaged employees. In particular, companies offering comprehensive programs yield 218% higher income per employee than those without these programs. A LinkedIn survey showed 59% of employees say professional development improves their overall job performance, with 51% noting it gives them more self-confidence.

Lisa, 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?

I always wanted a career in media and thought I wanted to be a journalist. While I enjoyed some early success as a reporter/anchor and morning show host, I found my true calling when the program I was working on was cancelled. At first, I didn’t know how I would continue in the industry, but then started trying other jobs. I produced specials, and worked on public service campaigns. Out of curiosity I started attending sales meetings, making sales presentations and landed sponsors. Soon a position was created for me to lead non-traditional revenue efforts and it was successful, I had a small team and found that leadership was a great fit. I enjoyed new challenges, meeting with clients, solving problems and working with people at all levels of the organization.

Over the next decade I moved from managing a small team to leading a statewide sales effort, to overseeing multiple departments to leading a local radio and television station. In each case the role involved managing through significant change and business disruptions. The key themes were financial turnaround, technology adoption, natural disasters and a global pandemic. There is no one-size fits all solution to survive and thrive through big challenges. Leaders gain information from many sources and make the best decision possible, while putting their employees at the center of the solutions.

After stepping down from my media career, I wanted to share my experience and what I learned from leaders I’ve had the privilege of working with. I founded my company Maximum Q Leadership to make professional development more accessible. At some point everyone is called to lead and I hope to make them feel more confident and prepared to step into that leadership role. I’ve developed a framework of The Five Q’s, because it takes more than IQ and EQ to be an effective leader today. I’ve created a learning platform that offers both online, real-time courses, as well as an on-demand Masterclass. I also welcome the opportunity to be on-site.

I’m an insatiable student. I love to write, teach and expand my knowledge every way possible—podcasts, reading, online courses. My current fascination is with AI and how it can help my business. What’s most thrilling to me now is being at the beginning again. I’m following purpose. It’s meaningful for me to see my students think differently, feel more confident and have more clarity about their potential. Their growth has an impact on everyone on around them. I’m on a mission—to expand human capacity to lead.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

There are several books that have inspired me and stood the test of time.

The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People, Stephen Covey
Blue Ocean Strategy, Renée Mauborgne and W. Chan Kim
How Women Rise, Marshall Goldsmith and Sally Helgesen
The Big Leap, Gay Hendricks
The Influential Voice, Tricia Brouk
Think Like a Monk, Jay Shetty
Atlas of the Heart, Brene Brown
Big Magic, Elizabeth Gilbert

Any advice for managing a team?

I think there are four critical steps to creating and managing a high performance team:

1. Trust—build trust through keeping commitments, as well as clear and consistent communication
2. Empowerment—establish roles and let people do their jobs, with the necessary training and resources. This includes professional development opportunities.
3. Accountability—The leader must set goals, provide check ins, then meet or exceed goals.
4. Lastly, celebrate wins big and small. We spend so much of our lives at work having fun together and taking time to mark progress keeps the team knitted together.

Successful teams are like a beautiful quilt, carefully created over time blending unique talents toward a common vision.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://WWW.MaximumQ.com
• Instagram: MaxQLeader
• Facebook: Lisa Shumate/Maximum Q
• Linkedin: Lisa Trapani Shumate
• Youtube: Maximum Q Leadership

Image Credits

Debbie Porter Photography