In this episode of "Everyday Leaders, Leading Exceptionally," I, Ashley Pattee, sit down with three remarkable leaders, Jessica Higgins, Melissa Ware, and Heather Nyenhuis, to dive into what it takes to build and sustain effective leadership teams. We explore essential themes like the power of relationships, the significance of vulnerability, and the importance of leveraging team strengths.

Throughout our conversation, we touch on the balance between productivity and relationship-building, the necessity of clear communication, and the profound impact of modeling behavior as leaders. We also reflect on how intentional leadership development can create a team culture that navigates challenges while maintaining solid, caring relationships.

Join us as we offer actionable takeaways for enhancing your own team dynamics and leadership capabilities!

Jessica Higgins’ Bio:

Jessica is a licensed master social worker and has been working as a clinical social worker for the past 10 years with youth, families, and adults. She has leadership experience in the nonprofit sector, supervising a team of direct care and clinical staff. Currently, she is working at a local community mental health in the access department, supporting and connecting youth and families with mental health and substance use services. In this role, she also provides training to staff focused on suicide prevention and serves on a committee dedicated to improving culture in suicide prevention and care.

Melissa Ware’s Bio:

Melissa is a licensed master social worker with 17 years of experience in the mental health field, serving as a case manager, therapist, supervisor, and director. She currently leads as the program director of the Center For Counseling and Well-being at Grand Rapids Community College, a role she has held for the past 3 years. Dedicated to advancing mental health support for BIPOC communities, she also serves as a board member of Our Mental Health Collective. Additionally, she is actively engaged in teaching in higher education at a local 4-year university. Her work reflects a deep commitment to fostering well-being and equity in all spaces that she serves.

Heather Nyenhuis’ Bio:

Heather is a dedicated social worker with over 20 years of experience serving West Michigan communities. As a graduate of Western Michigan University, she has spent her career working with runaway and at-risk youth, families experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity, and people of all ages facing the challenges of poverty, including financial instability, lack of access to education, healthcare, and housing. Her expertise spans program and project development, implementation, and evaluation, with a strong focus on quality process and performance improvement. Heather is experienced in grant writing and management, program supervision, training, and group facilitation.

Connect with Jessica:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jessica-higgins

Connect with Melissa:

Email: melissa@ourmhc.org and melissaware@grcc.edu

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/melissa-ware-lmsw-aa1014115

Connect with Heather:

Website: www.arborcircle.org

Connect with Ashley:

Ashley Pattee's website: www.evokecs.com

Schedule a call with Ashley: https://calendly.com/evokecs

Connect with Ashley on IG: www.instagram.com/evokecoachingservices/