Welcome to the first episode of the New Perspective Podcast, hosted by Nicole West!

Nicole West sits down with Dr. Jessica Schloemp, VP of Operations at Financial Independence Group, to unpack what actually separates a leader from a manager. Jessica leads a team of thirty four and has built her approach around what she calls the platinum rule: treat people how they want to be treated, not how you want to be treated. The conversation moves through her doctoral research in strategic leadership, the mindset shift she made after becoming a mother of two, and why she believes corporate promotion decisions often skip the one question that matters most, whether someone actually wants to lead people.

Jessica also shares how she rebuilt trust on a team that had gone without direct leadership for over a year, why she pushes back against blanket return to office mandates, and how flexibility has overtaken salary as the biggest driver of retention on her team. She talks candidly about firing someone for the first time in five years, helping employees update their resumes to leave for better opportunities, and why she believes authenticity at work isn't optional for leaders who want real buy in.

Key takeaways from this episode:

The difference between managing performance and leading people, and why one without the other eventually fails
Why the platinum rule (treat people how they want to be treated) outperforms the golden rule in practice
How asking better questions gets people to their own answers instead of just following instructions
Why flexibility has become a stronger retention tool than salary for many teams
How self awareness, not tenure, should determine who gets promoted into leadership

Guest: Dr. Jessica Schloemp, VP of Operations, Financial Independence Group. Author of The Leader Within Her. Founder of Revive and Rise Consulting.

If this conversation changed how you think about leading your own team, share it with someone navigating the same thing.

Thanks for listening to the New Perspective Podcast. If this conversation gave you a new way to think about a challenge in your own organization, subscribe and share the episode with another leader who might benefit from a different perspective.

Nicole West and the New Perspective Podcast team
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-west-npc/
Website: https://npcnh.com

#OperationsLeadership #BusinessOperations #OperationalStrategy #BusinessTransformation #OperationalExcellence #OrganizationalChange
#BusinessGrowth #Leadership
New Perspective is a podcast about what it really takes to make organizations work. Hosted by Nicole West, Founder of New Perspective Consulting, each episode goes behind the polished success stories to explore the challenges leaders actually face while growing businesses, leading teams, implementing change, and trying to make things work better.
Nicole sits down with founders, operators, executives, and other leaders to unpack the moments when something wasn't working as expected: the initiative that stalled, the process that no longer fit, the team that needed a different approach, or the growing business that suddenly became harder to manage.
The conversations aren't about having all the answers. They're about asking better questions: What was really getting in the way? What changed? What did you learn?
And what might another leader do differently because of it?
If you're responsible for leading through growth, change, or complexity - and you've ever thought, there has to be a better way to do this - New Perspective is for you.

Aaron Cruikshank, President of CTRS Market Intelligence, spent his career proving one bold truth: the companies that win are the ones brave enough to look outside their own walls for answers. In this episode he breaks down why most organisations quietly fail at due diligence research, how community of practice turns competitors into collaborators, and why business psychology quietly decides every sale long before the pitch begins.

🔹 The Blind Spot Every Company Ignores
🔹 Borrowing Brilliance Through Community Practice
🔹 The Psychology Hiding Behind Every Sale
🔹 Thinking Fifteen Years Beyond Today

From market intelligence and best practices to long term strategy and decision making, this conversation reframes how leaders should research, plan and grow globally.
You can get in touch with here on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cruikshank/
Website: https://www.ctrs.co/

We hope you enjoyed this episode!
- Nicole West and the New Perspective Podcast team

Connect with me here:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-west-npc/
Website: https://npcnh.com

#OperationsLeadership #BusinessOperations #OperationalStrategy #BusinessTransformation #OperationalExcellence #OrganizationalChange
#BusinessGrowth #Leadership
New Perspective is a podcast about what it really takes to make organizations work. Hosted by Nicole West, Founder of New Perspective Consulting, each episode goes behind the polished success stories to explore the challenges leaders actually face while growing businesses, leading teams, implementing change, and trying to make things work better.
Nicole sits down with founders, operators, executives, and other leaders to unpack the moments when something wasn't working as expected: the initiative that stalled, the process that no longer fit, the team that needed a different approach, or the growing business that suddenly became harder to manage.
The conversations aren't about having all the answers. They're about asking better questions: What was really getting in the way? What changed? What did you learn?
And what might another leader do differently because of it?
If you're responsible for leading through growth, change, or complexity - and you've ever thought, there has to be a better way to do this - New Perspective is for you.

Business operations and organizational scaling have broken more companies than bad products ever will. Anthony Paterno, Senior Vice President of Operations at Echelon Payments, built his career mastering exactly what most executives never confront: transforming institutional chaos into metrics driven, scalable operational excellence that powers real business growth.

📊 The Organizational Tipping Point That Exposes Every Scaling Business
Reactive operations crumble. Strategic systems become your survival blueprint.
🔧 The Standardization Playbook Most Leaders Ignore Until It Is Too Late Documented process management is your most underrated competitive weapon.
📈 Metrics: The Most Underrated Force in Organizational Change Management Data silences resistance and forces real business transformation.
⚡ The Last 15% Rule That Reveals Everything About Your Execution Culture Elite operators finish strong. Most project management efforts quietly die here.

You can get in touch with Anthony Paterno here on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonypaterno/
Website: https://echelonpayments.com/

I hope you enjoyed this episode. If it gave you something to think about, please like, share and subscribe so more people can find these conversations.

We hope you enjoyed this episode!
- Nicole West and the New Perspective Podcast team

Connect with me here:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-west-npc/
Website: https://npcnh.com

#OperationsLeadership #BusinessOperations #OperationalStrategy #BusinessTransformation #OperationalExcellence #OrganizationalChange
#BusinessGrowth #Leadership
New Perspective is a podcast about what it really takes to make organizations work. Hosted by Nicole West, Founder of New Perspective Consulting, each episode goes behind the polished success stories to explore the challenges leaders actually face while growing businesses, leading teams, implementing change, and trying to make things work better.
Nicole sits down with founders, operators, executives, and other leaders to unpack the moments when something wasn't working as expected: the initiative that stalled, the process that no longer fit, the team that needed a different approach, or the growing business that suddenly became harder to manage.
The conversations aren't about having all the answers. They're about asking better questions: What was really getting in the way? What changed? What did you learn?
And what might another leader do differently because of it?
If you're responsible for leading through growth, change, or complexity - and you've ever thought, there has to be a better way to do this - New Perspective is for you.