Jen Croneberger - Leadership, Laughter and the Human Touch

In this episode, host Dara McBride interviews Jen Croneberger, founder of JLynne Consulting Group, to discuss Jen's journey from a corporate career to compassionate leadership and the unexpected turns that led her to a TEDx talk.

"Yes, Genius!" is a podcast that explores the power of affirmative thinking, celebrating the impact of saying yes to unexpected opportunities and the unknown. 

Transcript

00:00 - 00:13
Christopher: Welcome to Yes Genius, a podcast from Epic Marketing that celebrates the power of affirmative thinking. In each episode, we explore the power of saying yes to unexpected opportunities, career changes, even the unknown, and the powerful results.

00:15 - 00:50
Dara McBride: Hello and welcome. I'm your host for this episode, Dara McBride. Joining me is Jen Kronberger, founder and chief inspiration officer of Jalyn Consulting Group and the Human Leadership Institute. With a background in sports and performance psychology, Some of Jen's clients have included professional athletes, as well as organizations like Nike, Procter & Gamble, and the National Institutes of Health. Jen is also a huge Yankees fan, bravely living in the Philly suburbs with her partner, who unfortunately is a Red Sox fan. Welcome, Jen.

00:50 - 00:52
Jen Croneberger: Thank you. So good to be here.

00:53 - 01:06
Dara McBride: OK. So you own your own business. You've worked with athletes and CEOs and teenagers. You've written books and given TED Talks. How did you end up on this path and make compassionate leadership culture change your platform?

01:08 - 01:42
Jen Croneberger: I wish there was 1 easy answer to this, and there's not. So bear with me for a second while I kind of take you down the road really quickly. I grew up, I was an athlete my whole life, and I recognized very quickly that there was something to the mental aspect of being an athlete. There was something that was on a different level as far as drive and motivation and the understanding of how that works. So I ended up actually, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I graduated from the University

01:42 - 01:58
Jen Croneberger: of Delaware with my degree in English and a concentration in journalism. That was my undergrad. I joke about that and say I didn't really use it. But I guess I wrote a book. I read and write every day. I guess I'm using it in some ways.

01:59 - 02:05
Dara McBride: I'm biased. I think journalism, I also have a journalism degree, and I think it's a great platform for a lot of different things.

02:06 - 02:47
Jen Croneberger: I agree. I agree. I think it taught me a lot around being curious and asking the right questions and wanting to get the right answers. So for me, I think it really became this progression of, where do I want to go from here? What really do I want to do with this 1 life that I have to live? And I spent about 4 years in the corporate world and absolutely hated every second of it. I had a boss that just was really difficult to work with. I had a couple of situations where I just started to

02:47 - 03:23
Jen Croneberger: question, like, what am I doing here? Why am I here? What is this, you know, doing for the world? Is this making any difference? And it certainly was not, in my opinion. So I spent a little time trying to figure that out. And I left the corporate world. I'd like to say I retired from corporate America at the age of 26. And I haven't looked back. I actually just had a huge milestone birthday. I am a half a century old as of this year. And, so, you know, these last 24 years, since I left corporate, I've

03:23 - 03:56
Jen Croneberger: been working for myself and through that, I went through, you know, the sports and all of that stuff that. I think led me to where I am today and that's really about how we human. You know it's about how we show up every day and I took all that stuff and I brought it into the corporate world and it just took off. I started as a speaker, started to grow my relationships with my clients, and started to do a lot more consulting and working with different companies on leadership and culture and performance and how they all

03:56 - 04:07
Jen Croneberger: come together. And I just love every day that I get to wake up and do the work that I'm really passionate about and see change happen. That's magical, in my opinion.

04:09 - 04:14
Dara McBride: It sounds like your curiosity got the better of you and put you on a different path than you expected.

04:15 - 04:45
Jen Croneberger: For sure, yeah. And I think that was my story since I was a kid. Curiosity always got the best of me. I just, I love to learn. I say that all the time. I want to be a student always. I was always taught, you know, be a student always and a teacher as fast as you can, right? That's kind of the idea is let me learn it so I can teach it, but let me learn it so that I can be better. And I think that's an important piece of my existence is in the learning. It's

04:45 - 04:52
Jen Croneberger: I'm going to learn something new every day. I really do. That's like a, it's something that I desire, I crave when I wake up every morning.

04:53 - 04:55
Dara McBride: Do you think curiosity can be taught?

04:56 - 05:22
Jen Croneberger: I do, I do. I think there's an innate desire to know things, right? I think we all have in some way. But I think we grow that by really learning the benefits of it and really understanding why. I think when we know the why behind it, we can learn how to do it better.

05:24 - 05:31
Dara McBride: I watched in 1 of your TED Talks that I saw, you had an anecdote about your mom always saying, Jennifer, pay attention.

05:32 - 06:05
Jen Croneberger: Yes, Yes, yes, yes. And that, I mean, I could, you did that very well, actually. I can still hear her voice today say exactly those words to me. You know, It was like, she used to tell me all the time, I'd trip over my own feet in the house, but I was like this gazelle on the softball field. I was being an athlete and that was natural for me, but I couldn't walk down the stairs. So it was always that, pay attention. I can't tell you how many times she had said that to me growing up.

06:05 - 06:39
Jen Croneberger: And I think I figured out why. I think I get it now. I don't think she was just talking about, pay attention to where you're stepping. I think she was talking about pay attention to what's going on around you. Who's around you? What moments are you missing by not paying attention? And I think when I wrote my first book, that's what it was about. It was about seeing all of those everyday normal moments, but recognizing them as these are all a part of your story. And sometimes we're so busy, we just don't even pay attention. We

06:39 - 06:49
Jen Croneberger: just don't even, you know, we're our heads down and we're just going and we're not paying attention to the little things that are the magic of what happens on our every day.

06:50 - 07:00
Dara McBride: So I wanted to ask you what advice you have for someone considering an unexpected opportunity, but maybe the better question is how do you notice the unexpected opportunity?

07:02 - 07:41
Jen Croneberger: You know, I think being present is really what it's about. And I think even when I when I go back to this sport psychology aspect of life in in as far as I'm concerned, what I learned through that process was understanding that the only moment we can affect is the 1 we're in right now, right? So, you know, when we worry about, they always say that, you know, shame and fear and regret and all of that comes from what just happened. So we're carrying that around. We're like, ugh, how did I mess that up? Or I

07:41 - 08:18
Jen Croneberger: carry the shame around because of something that just happened. But we can't go back and change that. That's just fact. That's done. Anxiety is what happens when we're worried about what's about to happen, right? So that's like, I'm worried about, you know, 10 minutes from now, I have no idea, you know, is the sky going to fall? Like, you know, we have this anxiety built around the unknown. The only thing that matters really is the right now. This is where we can actually be present and be in whatever's happening. We can affect it if we're actually

08:18 - 08:53
Jen Croneberger: in it. We can't affect it when we're outside of it. So 1 of the things that I think to become aware is we have to learn how to be present more than we are. It's like when you're having a conversation with someone, you know when they're paying attention to you. I mean, you know, you see it's like, uh-huh, uh-huh, I'm sorry, what? We do that a lot. Pay attention with our eyes and be in the present moment with eyes, I mean, that changes a lot, right? Because we're in it and you know, you know what it

08:53 - 09:04
Jen Croneberger: feels like when someone's in that moment with you. But I think that's how we find those opportunities. We have to actually be in the moment. We don't do that well.

09:05 - 09:13
Dara McBride: So you've said that showing up as your best self is the cornerstone of your collective daily success. What does your best self look like?

09:15 - 09:49
Jen Croneberger: I would say my best self is present. That's definitely 1. I use this acronym that I've used for a long time now that is my reminder. I talk a lot about who you are at the core and your personal non-negotiables and values and stuff like that a lot. And the 1 that I use that is my reminder every day, I call it the LIGHT principle. It stands for love, integrity, gratitude, honor, sometimes humor, I changed that 1 up, and truth, right? So it spells LIGHT. That is for me how I check in with myself every day.

09:49 - 10:22
Jen Croneberger: Love, integrity, gratitude, honor or humor, depending on the day, and truth. And if I'm doing that well, I'm showing up as my best self. How often, though, do we actually take the time to know what those things are for ourselves? Right? Have a check-in. Have some way of checking in. I ask myself every single morning, my feet hit the floor, how am I going to show up this way today? Every single night when I go to bed, I walk out onto my patio, I let my dogs out into the yard before bedtime, and I look up

10:22 - 10:51
Jen Croneberger: to the sky and I say thank you for blessing me with abundance. I talk to the universe, I talk to, you know, whomever, my parents, and I say thank you. And I say thank you because gratitude is 1 of my non-negotiables. And when I'm doing that, when I'm showing up that way, every single day it becomes a part of who I am. And I notice, I see it, I can feel it, and people around me know. They know that that's who I am at the core. So, you know, I think I think we have to have

10:51 - 11:07
Jen Croneberger: some way of checking in. Borrow light, I don't care, but find something have some way that you can check in with yourself to know that you are attached to those values and you're living those out. That becomes your legacy. That becomes who you are.

11:09 - 11:23
Dara McBride: So we've talked about kind of looking inwards. What does it mean for someone to be seen in the workplace or within a community? How can people be seen and feel that they are seen?

11:25 - 11:55
Jen Croneberger: You know, I think, number 1, being authentic to yourself, always. Don't try to be someone you're not, right? Because we miss the boat, I think, on that sometimes. But I think, you know, when you show up authentically, I'll tell you, 1 of the most, 1 of the greatest compliments that I ever get is when I speak somewhere or I show up somewhere and I'm doing work with a company or an organization and what they say to me is, you are 1 of the most authentic and genuine people we've ever met. Or, you know, just listening to

11:55 - 12:29
Jen Croneberger: you talk your story, your sharing of who you are and all of that is incredibly authentic and real. That to me is the best compliment I can get. I think we see each other when we allow ourselves to be seen, right? And we can't do that if we're not showing up authentic and vulnerable and in all of those ways that we bring our whole selves to the table. I think we can do that well with each other when we give each other space to do that.

12:31 - 12:53
Dara McBride: You mentioned non-negotiables earlier. I'm interested in that because I think sometimes we think so much about what we want, or we say, oh, I can be flexible, But then we realize there are things, sometimes it's more important to know what you don't want. That can help you get where you really wanna go.

12:54 - 13:27
Jen Croneberger: Yeah, absolutely. How do you, yeah. I think there's, you know, we have to have boundaries. We have to, we, again, I think we can blur those sometimes a little too easily But the non-negotiables to me, you know, I see those as these are the things I don't compromise for anyone Anyone I don't care what they are. I don't care who you are I will not compromise those things And those are those values and ethics and morals and beliefs, the things that I hold as sacred to myself and to my being. And I think it's important to

13:27 - 13:52
Jen Croneberger: know when I'm showing up that way and I'm showing up with these are my non-negotiables that That that's true Right. I mean that that's that's something that that Like I said, I don't compromise for anybody. They are non-negotiables for me and people who know me know that you know If you're not gonna participate in that way with me, it's not going to work. I think that's important.

13:53 - 14:05
Dara McBride: Yeah, being authentic. So the name of the podcast is Yes Genius. Do you feel like you are someone who says yes to things? Would you identify that way? Probably too much. Yeah.

14:07 - 14:40
Jen Croneberger: You know, I, I always say, I think, I think it's important to say yes. And I think that it's also important to say no. So you can say yes to the right thing. Right, I think there's a balance there. I think, you know, if we say yes to the things we don't wanna say yes to, that doesn't, that's not authentic, right? That's not living in that integrity. So I feel it's really important to me to make sure that I'm saying no to the right things so that I can say yes to the stuff that I really

14:40 - 14:45
Jen Croneberger: want to say yes to. Because I do say yes probably more often than not.

14:47 - 14:56
Dara McBride: What out of saying yes to this path that you're on now and having your own business venture, what is something unexpected that came out of that?

14:58 - 15:29
Jen Croneberger: I would say probably my first TEDx talk. It was comical, actually. I was looking. It was probably like 1 o'clock in the morning, and I don't sleep well. So it was 1 of those things. But I was looking at, I was watching TEDx Talks like the day before And my brother had said something to me like, Oh, that's going to be you someday. And I'm like, ha ha, that's funny. And I remember looking for, I was like, well, in order to do 1, I probably should attend 1, right? So I went on the TEDx, you know,

15:29 - 15:53
Jen Croneberger: I was all over the website and all the things And I found 1 that wasn't, you know, maybe a couple hours from my house. I reached out and I thought, you know, is there any way that I could just come sit in the back and watch? I'm a speaker, someday I would love to do this. Well, whatever. I got an email a half hour later. Now it's like 1.30, quarter to 2 in the morning from the organizer

15:53 - 15:54
Dara McBride: at this place,

15:54 - 16:18
Jen Croneberger: at this TEDx location. She said, funny that you reached out. I just went, it was all over your website, and I'm really interested. We have a cancellation. Now, this was in 2 weeks, mind you. The actual event was in 2 weeks She said we have a cancellation due to a medical situation and we're actually we need another speaker to fill in Would you be interested in? Actually doing the TEDx talk.

16:19 - 16:20
Dara McBride: That's spooky.

16:21 - 16:55
Jen Croneberger: Yeah. And literally I sat up, I'm like sitting there, I'm literally on my phone, like laying in bed, just like perusing through this stuff. And I get this email and I literally, I got out of bed, turned on the light and I was like, what is happening right now? Is this real? And I remember typing, yes, absolutely. I would love to do this. And then stopping for a second before I hit send, and I was like, what? Just do it. And I just hit it. And I remember that moment feeling like, oh my, what did I

16:55 - 17:19
Jen Croneberger: just do? What did I just do? I have 2 weeks, 2 weeks to put something together to do this and it was going to be live streamed like the whole thing. And I did it. I said yes and I went and I did the thing. No notes, no nothing. And realized in that moment When you say yes to the right things, it works out.

17:21 - 17:40
Dara McBride: Well, we're so glad you did because I don't know if that was what put us on the path to connecting, but I know I saw you with some of my colleagues from Epic at the Mill Summit in Wilmington, Delaware. And there was something about just being in the room with you. It just, it felt good.

17:41 - 17:49
Jen Croneberger: I appreciate that. I do. I take that seriously. You know, like I said, I think in showing up and being present and being my authentic self, that's the best way that

17:50 - 17:50
Dara McBride: I

17:50 - 17:52
Jen Croneberger: can help affect those around me.

17:53 - 18:07
Dara McBride: I remember you had probably a line of people afterward coming up to talk to you and some people just saying, thank you. How does that, how do you, how does that feel?

18:08 - 18:46
Jen Croneberger: You know, it's weird. It's, it's weird. It'll always be weird to me, I think, you know, I literally I've had people come up and say, hey, you know, they bought my book, can you sign my book? Can I take a picture with you? And I'm like, okay, that's fine. And, you know, it's a very strange feeling, I think, just, you know, given the work that I do. But I will say that I've watched, I grew up in a household. My dad was a retired bishop in the Episcopal church. And so he was a preacher And he

18:46 - 19:24
Jen Croneberger: was 1 of the best storytellers that I think I've ever known. And I grew up listening to how to take a concept and create something that connects. And I would watch people come up to him after with tears or hugs or, you know, and just tell him how much he touched their lives. And I watched that growing up. Every Sunday, I could see it. And I will tell you, I feel like there's some truth to actually being in the presence of that and to learn what that looks like and feels like. And the grace that he

19:24 - 19:59
Jen Croneberger: always had with people who wanted to do that, and he was like, it's just me, it's not that big of a deal, but for them it is, and I need to show up that way. And I need to be in that space and to receive that, to learn how to receive that has been a process. And it's not something I take lightly. You know, It's something that is very important, I think, for people also to feel seen and listened to in that space. So I enjoy just sitting in it with them. It also is a reminder

19:59 - 20:13
Jen Croneberger: that this is important work, that these conversations that we're having are critical and that, you know, I think today more than ever, we need to be talking about these things. We need to be having these conversations and making these connections.

20:14 - 20:31
Dara McBride: Okay. Well, we're going to switch gears a little bit and do a rapid fire section. So just go for it. You're going to show up and just say whatever pops into your head first. Look out. Describe your style in 1 word.

20:33 - 20:36
Jen Croneberger: Funky. Oh, nice.

20:37 - 20:43
Dara McBride: What is your favorite part about writing? The ability

20:44 - 20:52
Jen Croneberger: the ability to be authentic, to tap into that, and to create something.

20:54 - 21:05
Dara McBride: Go-to karaoke song? Shoop. Shoop? I was not expecting that.

21:05 - 21:06
Jen Croneberger: I- Thank

21:06 - 21:09
Dara McBride: you. Someone told me you were a little bit of a Kelly Clarkson fan.

21:09 - 21:21
Jen Croneberger: I am. I am. I am. I am. I will admit that. I did see her live in Vegas. And she was literally singing right next to me. So that was pretty amazing. Oh my gosh. It was

21:21 - 21:30
Dara McBride: pretty cool. That's awesome. Okay. If you had to talk for 5 minutes straight, no preparation, what would you choose as your subject?

21:31 - 22:00
Jen Croneberger: We just did it. It's funny. I mean, you know, whatever you were asking, I was answering, but III, honestly, this is what I'm passionate about is, is showing up in these spaces and talking about authenticity and you know, that, that kind of, what, what keeps us, vulnerable and real. So I could talk about any of that stuff, probably any. I could do it in my sleep because I live and breathe it every day.

22:03 - 22:14
Dara McBride: To see and be seen. Yeah. Okay, so last question. This, this might be a little tricky, or maybe it'll be easy. What kind of genius are you?

22:16 - 22:19
Jen Croneberger: Creative genius. Okay.

22:20 - 22:22
Dara McBride: Yeah, a funky creative genius.

22:22 - 22:26
Jen Croneberger: That's me. That's about it. Yeah, that's you nailed it.

22:28 - 23:24
Dara McBride: And then just for some more fun. We know that artificial intelligence is only as smart as the people using it. And to explore that, we asked chat GPT for some assistance promoting your next book, TED Talk. Maybe it's the title of this podcast episode. So we plugged your bio and background into the generator, and these are the titles they came up with. So let us know which 1 is your favorite. From pro athletes to powerhouses, Jen Kronberger's expertise is elevating leaders. Finding the humanity in leadership, Jen Kronberger's revolutionary vision. The Kronberger Chronicles, leadership, laughter, and the

23:24 - 23:42
Dara McBride: human touch. Lead with heart, Jen Cronberger, transforming cultures and fostering connections. High fives and deep dives, Jen Cronberger's leadership deep dives, Jen Kronberger's Leadership Adventures. Wow, OK. Those are pretty good. I'm impressed, actually. I like number 2

23:42 - 23:44
Jen Croneberger: and 3. OK. And those 2 are pretty good.

23:45 - 23:48
Dara McBride: Leadership, Laughter, and the Human Touch, That covers it all, doesn't it?

23:48 - 23:52
Jen Croneberger: Yeah, kind of, right? Very cool.

23:53 - 23:59
Dara McBride: Well, thank you so much for joining us. I think you have some actual titles you can promote if you would like.

24:00 - 24:03
Jen Croneberger: Absolutely. Thank you for having me. What a blast. Thank you.

24:03 - 24:17
Dara McBride: Yeah, we so appreciate you sharing your story. If people would like to connect with you or keep their eye out for an upcoming article, talk, appearance, what can they do?

24:18 - 24:37
Jen Croneberger: You can go to the website. It is www.teamjlcg. Team JLCG stands for Jalyn Consulting Group.com. Teamjlcg.com. I'm on LinkedIn. I'm all over. Just search for my name. You'll find me. OK.

24:37 - 24:41
Dara McBride: I'm sure they will. OK, thanks again, Jen.

24:41 - 24:43
Jen Croneberger: Thank you. My pleasure.

24:45 - 25:01
Christopher: Thank you for listening to Yes Genius, a podcast from Epic Marketing. Join us again to hear more unique stories. In the meantime, find us on social media or online at epicmc2.com. Don't miss out. Remember to follow or subscribe wherever you get your genius content.