By Nathan Stooke, CEO of Wisper ISP COVID-19 has created a ‘new normal’ for all of us. Even though our day-to-day routines may have changed, strong leadership is more important than ever to guide your team through this transition. Leadership isn’t something you’re born into, it’s something you chose to do every day. And with new information coming all the time, we have to be ready and willing to adapt our leadership style and decision making. When I started Wisper in 2003, we had no office, no employees, no revenue, and no towers. We were ahead of the times. We knew there would be a demand for fixed wireless, we just had to wait for the rest of the world to catch up. By 2007 we had grown to 110 employees, we had an office, and we were still growing. As we grew our business, I realized that people were relying on me to make great decisions. As the CEO, people depended on me to feed their families, pay their mortgages, and to continue proving this job security for them. I realized I wanted to be an effective leader who deserved my position, not just because I owned the company. Leadership is hard. A good leader knows what kind of leader is needed and when. A good leader is also often unappreciated. It’s easy for someone to look at a situation and say how they would have handled it if they were in charge, but in execution it’s not that simple when your decisions make a difference. It’s easy to talk about what makes a good leader, but it’s hard to truly define good leadership. In this social distancing, where we aren’t around our team as much as we might have been, it might seem like there’s less opportunities to be a leader, but I would argue that there’s more. You just have to be more intentional with leadership choices. How do we define leadership? A number of words come up when you search for leadership styles, some positive ones and some that I’m so sure about. I would say the number one thing that really defines leadership is choice. Leadership is a choice you make regularly. You have the opportunity to be a leader everyday, but you have to choose to be that leader. Every day you choose how you are going to lead and how you are going to interact with your team. It’s not just the big decisions, either. Integrity is what you do when no one is looking. As a leader, what happens behind closed office doors is just as important as what happens in the conference room and even the lunch room. While driving around with my kids in the car, someone on the interstate cut me off. My son asked me if I was going to call him names because of his driving. I realized that yes, I could do that in front of my children, or I could use this moment to teach them. It doesn’t matter that he cut me off, because nothing actually came of it. We didn’t crash, there were no injuries, not even really an inconvenience. We talked about how he might be in a hurry to get to the hospital to see a loved one, or maybe he didn’t even know what had just happened. Me being upset about it doesn’t change the outcome of the situation, but it would affect my day and possibly my kids’ day if I let it upset me. It was just a small thing, but I chose to take the time to explain my response. Making choices in these everyday situations makes it easier to make big decisions in the long run. It takes years to build respect, but seconds lose it. With social media these days, any bad decisions will get out. Those decisions will change how and if people choose to follow you. Sometimes that means going against the grain, and that can be a hard choice. If I had listened to people back in the beginning of Wisper, it would never have happened. Being willing to go in the opposite direction at the right time is very important in leadership. How do we lead in this ‘new normal’ of COVID-19? I think it will have a lot to do with decisiveness, and being able to make decisions quickly and effectively. Earlier this year, we had to make quick decisions on whether to cancel annual events and conferences, or wait it out and see how things progressed. At Wisper, we had to change how we operated in our office environment and working from home, but also with our customers and service calls. I’ve had to personally reevaluate my leadership style to adjust for COVID-19. I usually like to plant seeds of change with the team, and help them grow and mature those seeds. But after several COVID-19 meetings, I realized I needed to take charge more than I usually would. I firmly believe that people can change, even if it’s not a permanent change. Information is changing rapidly. Nobody has all the information or time they need to make decisions right now. It’s ok to change your decisions, as long you know you’re making the best choices that you can in that moment. We’re all adjusting to this new normal. As a leader, your team will be looking at you to set the tone moving forward. We need strong leaders right now. We need people to step up and we don’t have a lot of time to prepare for it. We might want weeks to plan and discuss, but we need to make those choices in a few hours. And if you aren’t happy with the outcome, learn from those mistakes to improve next time. We’re all striving to do the best we can as leaders right now, so focus on your decisions, choose leadership every day, and be ready to adjust on the fly. You can watch our WISP… Read More

Hi, my name is Bre and I am a Human Resources Specialist at Wisper Internet. I enjoy my position in HR because I get to be a part of the driving force that grows the Wisper Team. I love watching Wisper grow because it makes me feel like I’m a part of something bigger than myself. As an HR Specialist, I conduct phone interviews on a daily basis. Phone interviews are tough for interviewees. You are faced with the task of showing your personality through voice alone. Let’s not forget about the awkward pauses and interruptions. Without seeing the other person’s facial expressions and gestures, it can be difficult to know when it’s your turn to chime in. I feel like I’ve experienced every possible scenario as the interviewer, from a candidate attempting to be heard clearly over Bluetooth while driving in traffic to a tower climber candidate not mentioning their fear of heights. My experience as an interviewer has given me insight on what to do and what not to do during a phone interview. At Wisper we want you to succeed, so I put these valuable tips together for you. Why you do you like phone interview screenings? I like phone interview screenings because they allow me to tell our story at Wisper. It is important to me that candidates know who we are and understand who we are striving to be in the future. Besides researching online, it’s the first tangible chance for candidates to learn if they are a good fit for our company culture. It is also an opportunity for candidates to share their stories and experiences. Why is a phone interview important? Resumes do get you in the door, but phone interviews are the first opportunity to discover if the candidate is a good fit for Wisper and vice versa. At Wisper is it important that candidates align with our company culture. Our company culture is based around our 5 core-values: Humbly Confident – We truthfully and confidently state our talents, abilities, strengths, and worthiness. At the same time, we recognize that we still have much to learn and more ways to grow. Committed to Serving One Another – We acknowledge that to succeed, we must work together as a team. Focused on Customer Experience – The customer is the most important part of our business. We recognize that our employees are our customers and believe that customer happiness is the main driving force to our success. Driven to Solution – We are motivated to remove obstacles that stand in our way of being successful. No challenge goes unaccepted. Life-Long Learners – We deliberately focus on the ongoing and self-motivated pursuit of knowledge. What do you look for in a phone interview? I look for the following attributes: Examples of teamwork and leadership Qualities that exemplify helping customers, how you put customers first A genuine fit, how a candidate matches our core values and culture Showcase of experience (it’s not all about a degree), tell us about your success stories What are common phone interview questions at Wisper? What is the most complex or niche thing you know a lot about? Can you explain it to me in under 3 minutes? Tell me about the hardest “judgment call” you have ever had to make? When you had extra time available in previous positions, what did you do with it? Provide an example of a time when you went out of your way and jumped through hoops to delight a customer. Do you have any phone interview tips and tricks? When preparing for a phone interview, don’t forget that this is your time to shine! Please talk about yourself and your work style. I know it can feel odd, but don’t be ashamed to brag about yourself here and there during the interview. The interviewer isn’t going to know why you are a good fit for the position or Wisper unless you tell them. What is one thing you want a future phone interview candidate to know about Wisper Internet? I love our culture! Even with our rapid growth, we have a family-type environment. Management cares about their team and wants each person to succeed in their position. For example, if you are a hard worker but your skill set doesn’t match the position you are in, management will place you in another position or department where they feel you would be happier. Ready for your phone interview? Visit our jobs page to apply for an open position. The HR Team and I look forward to hearing from you!… Read More

What does it mean to lead? Let’s turn to our good friend, Merriam Webster. According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, to lead means to “direct the operations, activity, or performance of.” Seems simple enough, right? But to lead can come in many different approaches and styles. Since starting Wisper Internet from my garage in 2003, I’ve conducted my fair share of research on leading. A company can’t grow without the proper leadership in place, but too often, the leadership conversation is reserved for individuals in high positions within the company. I don’t think there is a secret sauce – that one must possess all the characteristics listed in the numerous books, podcasts, and more on the topic and be in a high-level position to be a leader. Leadership is unique to the individual and is required by employees at all levels. Managers aren’t the only ones expected to lead. Titles are important, but they aren’t the end all and be all. I expect all of my employees to strive and grow to be a successful leader in their own way. What does that look like? Employees are to lead by example in their role, no matter how big or small. Since leadership can be unique to the person, our team works to put each employee, as long as they demonstrate hard work and dedication, to the position that matches their strengths the best. Then, they have the best chance to reach their full potential as a leader. Consistency is the key to growth and the same rule applies for leadership. You must choose to be a leader day in and day out. It can be hard. There are some days you’d rather do the bare minimum to get by, but the things worth-wild in life usually aren’t easy. It’s a choice you make. So how do you define successful leadership for yourself? And where do you currently stand in your definition? Ask yourself the following four questions to effectively measure your leadership skills. What Attitude Do You Bring? Attitude is important because life is what you make it. Are you going to choose to look at the glass half full or half empty? Your reaction matters in all situations, no matter how big or small. I remember driving my kids to swim practice and being cut off by someone. I just slammed on the breaks to avoid a collision and kept driving. My middle child asked in awe, “Wait, aren’t you going to call him an idiot? That’s what mom does.” I decided to make this is a teachable moment. I responded, “Yes, the other car cut me off, but he didn’t hit me. Maybe he was rushing to the hospital for a family member, or maybe he didn’t know he cut me off. Getting upset about it and saying he’s an idiot doesn’t affect anything or change the outcome.” I could have very easily agreed that the person who cut me off was an idiot, but I chose to put myself in the other person’s shoes, instead of making an assumption. If you do well on the small decisions, it makes the big decisions easier. Do others follow you? Take a look at your followers. It doesn’t mean you are a good leader or a bad leader. It just means you are a leader. Recognizing that you have followers is one of the first steps towards working to become a great leader. How do you influence your environment? The best books I’ve read on leadership are The 5 Levels of Leadership and 360 Degree Leader, both written by John C. Maxwell. In the books, he discusses all things leadership and how to develop your influence on a person. You may not realize it, but despite your title or role, you make an influence one way or another. Do others look up to you? Being a leader may not be up to you, but you do have a choice on the type of leader you are going to be. A leader has great responsibilities. Others constantly observe your words and actions. You have to be intentional about the type of leader you choose to be. As a leader, you are expected to be on your a-game 24/7 because you never know when someone is watching. It takes years for a leader to build respect, but it only takes seconds to lose it. To learn more effective way to measure your leadership, watch this video featuring me, Nathan Stooke – CEO of Wisper Internet…. Read More