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The People Spark Podcast

The People Spark Podcast

Written by: People Spark®
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About this listen

The People Spark® Podcast is where ag leaders and business owners come for practical tools, real stories, and straightforward strategies to grow stronger people leaders, teams, and businesses. Hosts Kristen Ireland and Erin Mies, HR and leadership consultants with over 35 years of combined experience, share insights from the field and conversations with leaders who have been where you are. From navigating change and improving retention to building culture and leading with confidence, every episode delivers simple, actionable takeaways you can put into practice right away. Whether you’re leading a family business, co-op, managing a dealership, or running an ag-adjacent business, this podcast will help you stop spinning in circles and move forward with clarity, confidence, and results.People Spark® Careers Economics Management Management & Leadership Personal Success
Episodes
  • Moments of Transition
    Jan 20 2026

    Every business hits moments when things are shifting. A long time leader is retiring, a new owner is stepping in, growth is picking up, or a new line of business is taking shape, and you realize the way you have been working may not carry you where you want to go next. In this episode we share how our People and Strategy Roadmap has evolved over seven years, what we look at when we step into a business at one of these crossroads, and why clarity on goals, structure, roles, and culture matters more than having a perfect handbook. Growth is not just strategy on paper, it is structure put into practice.

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    Culture Development Session

    Schedule your Culture Development Session. In this free 30-minute session, you will have a personalized conversation with an expert advisor, an opportunity to see how our programs can help you define your business and people strategies, and actionable insights tailored to your goals to move to the business you have always envisioned.

    Leadership Transformation Program

    Learn about how to develop YOUR ag leaders by scheduling time with the People Spark ® team. 96% of employees want feedback – constructive OR recognition. Yet another survey found that only 5% of managers provide critical feedback to employees – even though it’s important for their development. Nearly half of managers (44%) find giving feedback stressful. Nearly a quarter (21%) avoid giving it altogether.

    Our leadership transformation program was designed to be straightforward and practical, providing content in digestible chunks, supporting participants through personalized feedback, and providing participants an environment to learn with other ag leaders across the country.

    In many instances, managers just aren’t comfortable with WHAT to do, let alone HOW to do it. They feel it’s uncomfortable, they don’t want to demotivate employees and just aren’t sure how to do it. And the repercussions of NOT giving feedback end up impacting you and your business – through lower productivity and profitability, decreased employee engagement, and increased employee turnover.

    Learn more at www.developagleaders.com.

    Podcast Produced by Texture House Sound & Visuals

    (Source: www.peoplesparkconsulting.com/podcast/episode)

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    33 mins
  • When Training Isn’t the Problem
    Jan 13 2026

    We have all done it. Someone struggles in their role and the first thought is to send them to training. Teach time management, teach communication, teach accountability. Yet even after they learn the skill, nothing really changes.

    This conversation uncovers why. Sometimes the real issue is not a person’s skill at all, it is the system wrapped around them. A job with unclear expectations, goals that fight each other, a structure that asks someone to be responsible without giving them the authority to decide anything. No amount of training can fix that.

    Once you see it, you stop blaming the individual and start looking at what is actually getting in their way, and that is where development finally works.

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    Culture Development Session

    Schedule your Culture Development Session. In this free 30-minute session, you will have a personalized conversation with an expert advisor, an opportunity to see how our programs can help you define your business and people strategies, and actionable insights tailored to your goals to move to the business you have always envisioned.

    Leadership Transformation Program

    Learn about how to develop YOUR ag leaders by scheduling time with the People Spark ® team. 96% of employees want feedback – constructive OR recognition. Yet another survey found that only 5% of managers provide critical feedback to employees – even though it’s important for their development. Nearly half of managers (44%) find giving feedback stressful. Nearly a quarter (21%) avoid giving it altogether.

    Our leadership transformation program was designed to be straightforward and practical, providing content in digestible chunks, supporting participants through personalized feedback, and providing participants an environment to learn with other ag leaders across the country.

    In many instances, managers just aren’t comfortable with WHAT to do, let alone HOW to do it. They feel it’s uncomfortable, they don’t want to demotivate employees and just aren’t sure how to do it. And the repercussions of NOT giving feedback end up impacting you and your business – through lower productivity and profitability, decreased employee engagement, and increased employee turnover.

    Learn more at www.developagleaders.com.

    Podcast Produced by Texture House Sound & Visuals

    (Source: www.peoplesparkconsulting.com/podcast/episode)

    Show More Show Less
    31 mins
  • Why Silence Is Not Buy In
    Jan 6 2026

    Silence can feel like agreement, but often it is people quietly checking out. In this episode we talk about what is really happening when a new system or direction is introduced and the loud pushback suddenly disappears. You can feel it during a rollout. The loudest critic stops arguing, the questions fade, and meetings seem calmer, yet your gut says something is off.

    This conversation looks beneath the surface of that quiet. People are not resisting the path forward as much as they are mourning what they might lose along the way. Once you see that, silence stops being frustrating and becomes a signal, a chance to notice someone before they fully let go.

    We share what we’ve learned to keep people engaged instead of disappearing into agreement without buy in.

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    Culture Development Session

    Schedule your Culture Development Session. In this free 30-minute session, you will have a personalized conversation with an expert advisor, an opportunity to see how our programs can help you define your business and people strategies, and actionable insights tailored to your goals to move to the business you have always envisioned.

    Leadership Transformation Program

    Learn about how to develop YOUR ag leaders by scheduling time with the People Spark ® team. 96% of employees want feedback – constructive OR recognition. Yet another survey found that only 5% of managers provide critical feedback to employees – even though it’s important for their development. Nearly half of managers (44%) find giving feedback stressful. Nearly a quarter (21%) avoid giving it altogether.

    Our leadership transformation program was designed to be straightforward and practical, providing content in digestible chunks, supporting participants through personalized feedback, and providing participants an environment to learn with other ag leaders across the country.

    In many instances, managers just aren’t comfortable with WHAT to do, let alone HOW to do it. They feel it’s uncomfortable, they don’t want to demotivate employees and just aren’t sure how to do it. And the repercussions of NOT giving feedback end up impacting you and your business – through lower productivity and profitability, decreased employee engagement, and increased employee turnover.

    Learn more at www.developagleaders.com.

    Podcast Produced by Texture House Sound & Visuals

    (Source: www.peoplesparkconsulting.com/podcast/episode)

    Show More Show Less
    35 mins
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