Casey J. Ashley on building a dynamic culture by being a dynamic coacher [Podcast]

This episode of the Sage Thought Leadership Podcast features Casey J. Ashley. Ashley joined the Sage family in March of 2018, and currently serves as an inside sales manager in North America for the specialized small group portfolio with products supporting both small and medium segments. He is an inspirational leader to the core and believes that by focusing on people and creating a dynamic culture-centric approach, it allows him to maximize the success of everyone.

Why do you do what you do?

Casey J. Ashley: For me, it’s really about impacting others. I’m truly passionate about creating high performance teams, where the focal point is collaboration to work. My recipe for success is having a dynamic culture.

What does the phrase “dynamic coacher” mean exactly?

Casey J. Ashley: A lot of leaders need to be focusing on actual people, and the success of the team and culture to create that atmosphere. You have to be big on personal development and seeing others grow. So, I believe that I need to add value to those individuals around me and drive the betterment of people. You have to have a team where you cheer each other on—dynamic coacher is the way to do that.

How have you implemented a dynamic culture within your team?

Casey J. Ashley: My team is known as probably the biggest culture-driven team within Sage. We’re very high energy within the sales floor. We’re a team where we got our chats going throughout the day, people are cheering each other on, people are taking accountability. We also have individual within our team that will host or do teach-back sessions for other members on the team. It’s something that’s just part of our DNA.

You’re a part of the Future Business Leaders of Sage program… Can you talk a little bit about your participation in the program?

Casey J. Ashley: I actually got the idea of Future Business Leaders of Sage from an organization called Future Business Leaders of America, that I was a part of as a teenager growing up. It was the first organization that made me realize I was a natural born leader and a leader amongst my peers.

So fast forward to now—I live in Kennesaw, Georgia and my office is all the way in Lawrenceville. So, that commute is about 50 minutes and I’ve had a lot of time to think. And on the way to work one day, I thought “What if Sage had something like this where people could benefit from something that’s going to push them as leaders?” Where, it doesn’t matter what level of leadership they’re on, that we’re looking to better themselves as leaders. We created this idea about a year ago, and it’s just blossomed into something great.

Approximately how many folks have associated with the program?

Casey J. Ashley: Last I checked, we had over 120 individuals registered for the program. I’d say about 50 of those are active. We also have four different committees within our subcommittees, with about five to six people within those different committees.

Do those committees focus on different aspects of leadership?

Casey J. Ashley: We have the planning roadmap committee, a social network committee, and a communications committee. We also have different mentoring groups. So, within those different committees, you have individuals that are leading those and helping people out throughout their leadership journeys.

Who is a hero of yours and why?

Casey J. Ashley: So first off, my mother and sister are my heroes—they’re two strong black women. My mother was a military woman and she instilled a lot of great character in me from such a young age. My sister is just such a tremendous individual, being a mother, and sister and wife. They both keep me grounded.

Outside of family, there’s two that automatically come to mind. The first one being Barack Obama— he’s just a great leader. He has a very calm composure to himself and has had to overcome a lot of odds. He’s also just a great citizen, father, and husband, and I truly look up to him for that.

And the last person I would say is LeBron James. He’s an MVP doing things in the community and is also a great businessman. He makes those around him better and he focuses on the team. Fun fact, I share a birthday with LeBron James.

Lastly, how can somebody contact you?

Casey J. Ashley: Best way to contact me is on LinkedIn. If you go on LinkedIn and want to contact me, personalize your message to me when you send it. I’m always down for networking.