287: Check Your Pulse Before You Check Someone Else’s

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Welcome back to the Leadership with Heart Podcast! Heather sits down to chat with Mike Chanat as her guest. With over 35 years in emergency services, Mike’s expertise ranges from the NYPD to working with numerous police and fire departments through volunteer and paid work. They dive into his journey, learn from his mistakes, and hear a bit about his values of communication, growth, empathy, and making work fun. Get ready to be inspired!

More about Mike

Mike Chanat is a seasoned and accomplished professional in the emergency services field, with an impressive career spanning over 35 years. His invaluable expertise and vast experience have been acquired through notable roles with the City of New York Police Department (NYPD), the Locust Valley Fire Department (LVFD), as well as numerous paid and volunteer EMS agencies. Throughout his extensive tenure, Mike has excelled as an instructor, mentor, and coach, leaving an indelible impact on those he has worked with. His deep knowledge of emergency response procedures, coupled with hands-on experience, has made him an invaluable resource for aspiring professionals seeking guidance in the field. Mike’s dedication to training and mentoring has positively influenced numerous individuals, shaping their careers and instilling in them the values of effective communication, a growth mindset, and empathy (CME). With an unwavering commitment to the emergency services community, Mike Chanat continues to be an accomplished instructor, mentor, and coach, leaving a lasting legacy of excellence and making a significant difference in the lives of those he has touched.

Watch the video here

The Listening Guide

Create a listening culture that elevates the employee experience with The Listening Guide.

Discover 3 approaches to listening inside an organization and ensure those you lead feel heard.

  • Understand why listening is key to employee engagement
  • Learn how the Cycle of Listening contributes to strong workplace relationships
  • Get a practical framework for creating a bidirectional, responsive, and supportive listening culture

Download it here. 

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WHEN YOU’RE READY, HERE’S HOW WE CAN HELP:

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About Heather R Younger

Heather R Younger is a highly sought-after speaker, 2x-TEDx speaker, diversity, equity and inclusion strategist, and contributor to leading news outlets. She is also the Founder and CEO of Employee Fanatix, a leading employee engagement and consulting firm.

After over 25,000 employee engagement surveys and years of working with organizations to transform employee engagement, here’s what Heather has seen over and over:

When you know how to listen, employees will tell you exactly what they need to bring their full selves to work.

Book Heather to speak at your event or organization. Visit heatheryounger.com or https://www.cmispeakers.com/heather-r-younger for more details.

Becoming Unshakeable Podcast

With Heather R. Younger

Becoming Unshakable is the podcast for leaders, creators, and changemakers who know TRUE LEADERSHIP starts from within.

Each episode explores what it takes to lead with resilience, compassion, and purpose while staying human through it all.

Through candid conversations with executives, frontline leaders, coaches, and everyday heroes, Heather uncovers the real stories behind growth, compassion, setbacks, and transformation.

From navigating change to creating emotionally safe cultures, Becoming Unshakable reveals what it really takes to create leaders—and organizations—that can’t be shaken.

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Hi, I'm Heather

I've been through every type of
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE
you can think of.

Layoffs, reorgs, mergers, acquisitions and major technology shifts. More than 20 years leading teams through high-stakes situations where results mattered, people depended on me, and decisions couldn't wait.

Those years taught me how to lead. But they also showed me the hidden cost of always being the one who holds it all together.

During our second reorg in less than a year, I walked out of a meeting with no say in what was happening, just marching orders. When my team asked how the meeting went, I should have said, “Give me 15 minutes to process this.” But I didn't. Instead, I let them absorb every ounce of my frustration.

Then I saw their faces.

The people who looked to me for stability had just watched me unravel. What was that teaching them about their ability to handle the pressure?

That moment changed how I saw my role as a leader. Leading teams isn't only about grit or resilience. It's about how your presence builds the trust your team needs to function when things get hard.

Today, I help organizations build unshakable leaders, teams, and cultures. Because when leaders become the calm teams can count on, organizations don't just survive change, they come out strong enough to handle what’s next.

Book Heather >
Heather Sitting
Heather_Younger_The_Cycle_of_Active_Listening_Guide

The Cycle of Active Listening

Create a listening culture that elevates the workplace experience for everyone.

Through this guide, uncover how to ensure those in your care at work feel heard and valued, resulting in increased loyalty and satisfaction.

  • Understand why listening is the key to improved engagement
  • Learn how the Cycle of Active Listening contributes to strong workplace relationships
  • Get a practical framework for creating a listening culture that is bidirectional, responsive, and supportive

Contact Heather Today!
+1 403-398-8488

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Contact Heather Today!
+1 403-398-8488

Contact
Contact

I'm really interested in...

(select all that apply)*

I can be reached at...

Additional Comments