The Power to Empower — Using Kolbe to Impact Careers, Families, and Communities

How do you ensure you’re equipped to grow as a business leader? As a family member? As a trusted member of your community? And how can you help others do the same? 

In this episode, Stephanie Clergé, VP of People and Product Development at Kolbe Corp, and Rob Castaneda, Founder and CEO of ServiceRocket, discuss how to infuse Kolbe Wisdom™ into a business in ways that will empower team members and clients alike. Rob shares his experience with taking the Kolbe A™ Index and how it has helped him understand himself and others better. Learn how ServiceRocket has integrated Kolbe into their hiring process and the use of technology to support their people operations, how they have fostered a diversity of strengths on their teams, and the value empowering “Rocketeers” to learn and grow has added for everyone involved. 

Host: Stephanie Clergé (8363)

Guest-at-a-Glance  

💡 Name: Rob Castaneda (3384)

💡What they do: As Founder and CEO of ServiceRocket, Rob aims to help “Rocketeers” learn and grow so that they can have an impact on their careers, their families, and their communities. He partners with smart, fast-growing enterprise software companies and helps them build out their ecosystems.

💡Company: ServiceRocket

💡 Where to find them: LinkedIn 

Takeaways 

• Understanding and leveraging instinctive strengths can help individuals be more deliberate and make better choices in different situations. 
• Empowering employees with knowledge about their instinctive strengths can lead to better collaboration and communication. 
• Using Kolbe in the hiring process can help identify candidates who are a good fit for the role and the team. 
• Investing in leadership development and proactive initiatives can have a significant impact on the growth and success of a company. 

Key Quotes from Rob 

“The part that I really enjoyed initially was being able to compare my profile with other executives in the company to give some pointers and, you know, take the edge off some frustration that you might be having.” 

“We have a lot of migrants in our business from all corners of the world, and there's a very big calling for me to be able to empower them. And not just on technical skills. I actually think interpersonal soft skills are probably the most important. It has an impact on their careers, but also — knowing this stuff — I'm a better husband. I'm a better father. I'm a better community leader. And I think that's what actually has a better impact on the world.” 

“It's kind of like, here's who you are; you're done. With Kolbe, it's just a system of understanding. And then I know what levers I have to pull, right? So that I can adjust my behavior the way that fits the situation.” 

“I think educating your managers and investing in programs like this...managers actually love this kind of stuff. And starting to challenge them to say, okay... hey, every time you guys hire somebody, did you realize that you hire the same profile all the time? We all have biases, and this is a great framework and tool and infrastructure to use to make yourself better, make your team better, or make your company better.” 

Chapters 

00:00 Introduction and Background 

03:12 Service Rocket and its Mission 

06:00 Empowering Rocketeers 

09:18 Understanding and Leveraging Instinctive Strengths 

14:34 Rollout of Kolbe in the Company 

19:42 Using Kolbe to Make a Difference 

26:23 Advice for Leaders in the People Part of Business 

32:02 Final Thoughts and Encouragement