How the Dream Manager Program Transforms People and Business featuring Jenelle Robers
“They achieved their dream, they worked a plan, and now they have the fundamental skills, the foundational skills to achieve so many more things without the program. That's where the value is.”
In this episode of Lead with Culture, Jenelle Robers, Certified Dream Manager at Lehan Drugs, Inc., shares the life-changing impact of the Dream Manager Program. She explains how the program empowers employees to pursue and achieve their dreams, while also driving business success. Jenelle also reflects on her own journey to fulfilling her dream and shares inspiring stories of others whose lives have been transformed through the program.
In this episode, you’ll discover:
- The role of incremental progress in sustaining long-term motivation and success
- How investing in employees' dreams positively impacts the company’s bottom line
- How the Dream Manager Program creates long-lasting, meaningful changes in company culture
Things to listen for:
(00:00) The role of a full-time Dream Manager
(02:46) The Dream Manager certification experience
(08:06) The power of listening and personal growth
(11:24) How to implement the Dream Manager program
(16:26) How a Dream Manager helped one woman rediscover love
(20:15) The value of the Dream Manager program
Resources:
Connect with the Host & Floyd Coaching:
Transcript
After a certain point in your life, just life lives, and you think that, you know, I'm doing all the things, I'm checking all the boxes, I'm doing everything I'm supposed to do. And somewhere you lose sight of what you want to do. I think that we all experience it, but when you sit down to actually focus on yourself, focus on your own dreams, and then tether yourself to what you really, really want and just be a part of the conversation, it allows you to open your mind up to possibilities you hadn't considered in years.
Kate Volman [:This is Lead with Culture. I'm Kate Volman, and on this episode, we talk to another Certified Dream Manager. I was joined by Jenelle Robers, who is the Dream Manager of Lehan's. I'm so excited about this conversation because we talked about Dream Manager certification and what happens, what Jenelle found interesting about the certification, what she learned, how she rolled the program out in the organization. She shared a lot about the details of how they enroll different people, what that looks like, and then, of course, the impact that the Dream Manager is having on their team and the organization. So we get into all that in this episode. I hope you enjoy it. Jenelle, thank you so much for joining us today.
Jenelle Robers [:Thank you for having me. Thanks so much. I'm very happy to be here.
Kate Volman [:Well, I'm excited to talk all things Dream Manager. So, for the listeners, why don't you share a little bit about Lehan and what you guys do over there and how many employees you have? Sure.
Jenelle Robers [:Yes. So I work for Lehan Drugs. Well, Lehan's in DeKalb, Illinois, and we have about 100 employees. We have multiple locations, but what we specialize in is home medical equipment. We have a mommy baby department, and we do CPAP and BIPAP machines, those types of things. So we work with prescribers, we work with doctor's offices to make sure everyone's getting the things that they need.
Kate Volman [:And how many team members do you have all together?
Jenelle Robers [:Yes. Altogether, there's about 100. I think it's a little over. But there are 100 of us. Yep.
Kate Volman [:And you were brought on board as a full time Dream Manager?
Jenelle Robers [:Yes.
Kate Volman [:Which is amazing because not everybody is full time. We do have people that go into organizations, and they're more of a part time position, or it's just part of their role. Responsibility. But this is your role. It's the best title in the world, right? Certified Dream Manager.
Jenelle Robers [:Absolutely. It's like, when you say it, you kind of need to take a little bit of time to allow people to absorb it, but it's the best title ever.
Kate Volman [:All right, so in the work that you do as a Dream Manager, talk a little bit about when. So you've been there for about two years. What was it like to come and get certified? Like you learned about the role and then you went and got certified. What was that experience like for you?
Jenelle Robers [:Oh, it was wonderful. It was wonderful. You know, I'm the type of person who just really likes. I'm very attached to purpose. I've done many jobs, but this once, I sat there for the training and listened to the stories and what the program has done in other companies. I just kept being reassured, you are at the right place at the right time. This is for you. So I loved that experience.
Jenelle Robers [:You know, Jennifer, she's wonderful. She was there leading my co order, my group of Dream Managers, and I was there with Patti Croom, who is here on my team. We're teammates. So it was just an amazing experience. And, you know, I went in desiring and wanting to soak up things to help others. But I must say that there's so much of my own development involved, so I know exactly how the dreamers feel because it really just does enhance your life and help you become the best version of yourself. So it's great.
Kate Volman [:We hear that so often when people come to certification, some people will leave and say, even if I didn't do anything with this program, I am a changed person. Yeah, I'm going to go back to my family differently. I'm going to show up at work differently. So what were some of the experiences that you had that were surprising to you during certification?
Jenelle Robers [:I don't even really know where to start with that. But what I know is that after a certain point in your life, just life lives, and you think that, you know, I'm doing all the things, I'm checking all the boxes. It's great. I'm doing, you know, I'm doing everything I'm supposed to do. And somewhere you lose sight of what you want to do. I think that we all experience it, but when you sit down to actually focus on yourself, focus on your own dreams, think about what you want for your family, and then tether yourself to what you really, really want and just be a part of the conversation, it allows you to open your mind up to possibilities you hadn't considered in years or maybe ever, because different stages call for a different version of you. But I think that overarching thing is that you just want to be better. You just want to be better.
Jenelle Robers [:So when these ideas are brought to you, your mind just kind of expands. So I can't even say something specific, you know? I guess if I had to pick one thing, it was my very first dream storm at that event. And they said you're supposed to come up with a hundred trains. And I was looking at them like, there is not one way in the world. And I believe that I had the highest number. I believe I came out with 86. I still have my list and I didn't think I could do that. But 86 dreams to a person who had limited herself for a good amount of years was amazing.
Jenelle Robers [:And I really felt like if I could do it, then I knew I could help people do that.
Kate Volman [:I love that you said life lifes.
Jenelle Robers [:Yes, it does. It does. Yes. I mean, we could go on for days about how life lives because, you know, we all have different experiences, but, you know, if we could find a way to come back to the middle, come back to center. That's why I love rhythm of life so much, because it really does. If you can figure out a way to keep yourself balanced physically, emotionally, spiritually and intellectually, if you can do that and then have someone asking you about it on a regular basis, that's the sweet spot. That's where we kind of all, if we can choose to live there, we'll definitely be better than we were yesterday.
Kate Volman [:Yeah. And that's all we can do, right? All we can really do is try to be better today than we were yesterday and then tomorrow, and then grow in these ways in that physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual. And what's so great about the Dream Manager is that it does bring you back to simplicity because I think in this world where we're constantly, when life lives, we're constantly looking for the new, better version, the better strategy, the newest, latest, greatest tool technique, something that we can turn to that's going to really be that magic bullet to make everything better, to make everything okay, but that doesn't exist. And so we have to go back to simplicity, which is why so many people resonate with The Rhythm of Life with the Dream Manager. So getting back to our dreams and getting really tied in, I'm curious, your experience with the dream storm and 86, that's amazing because most people, when we offer them that opportunity to write down that list of 100 dreams, we get a lot of. Wait a second.
Jenelle Robers [:What? No, no, no.
Kate Volman [:That's way too many dreams. So I'm curious if there was one dream that stood out to you that you wrote down that you were really excited to achieve something that you've kind of put off for years and years.
Jenelle Robers [:You know, it's interesting because, I mean, I do have material things on my list, of course, but honestly, my largest dream was to talk less and listen more. That was my largest dream. If you knew me as a teen. I just didn't shut up. But I realized along the way I was missing a lot. I was missing a lot. I wanted to hear about other people. I love connections.
Jenelle Robers [:So I set off when I left Florida, when I left Jupiter, Florida, Floyd consulting, I set off to just talk less and absorb everything around me. I knew it was going to help me and my role being as a Dream Manager, but I knew it was going to help me as a daughter, as a wife, as a mother, for the people I go to church with. I just want to listen because people need to be heard, and I want to do it with a non judgmental mind. That was my largest dream. It really is. And it's something that I work on every single day, and I know it comes back to, well, how do you quantify that? You can't. But what I know for certain is that if I work on that, it's just going to help everyone around me, and that's my main focus. I will always want to be of help.
Jenelle Robers [:I always want to be a servant. I always just want to be welcoming to people.
Kate Volman [:How has your life gotten better? How have you become a better version of yourself? By becoming a better listener, which, by the way, is a beautiful dream because most people are not great listeners.
Jenelle Robers [:Yeah, well, you know, I think people just have a lot to say. You know, I think there's a lot of stressors in life. Once again, life lives. We've already said that. But I think when we're caught up in it and maybe not ask the questions, it's just very hard to process it all. And so by asking the questions to my kids, by sitting with them and actually having little sessions with them and my husband, my parents, you know, just by asking them the questions sometimes it's annoying. It does get that way.
Kate Volman [:But you're only human.
Jenelle Robers [:I'm only human. But just listening to people has just helped. Dream manager when people come into my office and we have a session, sometimes I don't say a thing, you know, we'll go through rhythm of life, and from there, if I feel truly that someone has something on their heart or something on their mind that they need to get out, they need me to listen. They might not have anyone else to talk to. We're not counselors. We're not therapists, but I can be an active listener. I can listen. So it's helped.
Jenelle Robers [:I know it's helped a lot of people.
Kate Volman [:Yeah. Well, obviously being a great listener is a wonderful gift to the dreamers that you serve because obviously, as a Dream Manager, we have to be great listeners. And it is challenging sometimes to not give advice when someone's telling us what they're going through and instead really just listen and coach them and help them come up with the right solution to whatever challenge they're going through. And so it sounds like obviously you get to do that by being a great listener. So let's talk about the program and how it's impacted the organization. You've been there for two years. What does it look like on a day to day when you are rolling the program out, you're enrolling new people into the program. Does that look like.
Jenelle Robers [:So what's special about this program here is Leigh Anne's has been around 78 ish years. So this goes back generations. So our current owners, Jim and John, they're the sons, right. And then it just keeps going back and back and back. Well, Dream Manager was kind of discovered before the current owners. So this has kind of been a dream for the family to have this program. So once they found the person, it was kind of like, okay, you know, we're giving the reins to you. So I just came up with the kickoff.
Jenelle Robers [:I had a meeting. I believe it was a Tuesday morning, but we had a meeting and I did a dream storm. So I allowed everyone to kind of get their minds thinking, and they have already been introduced to the idea of the program anyway. They knew that I was coming, but from there I just had open enrollment. I said, hey, if you'd like to try this program out, fill out the application and then we'll go from there. I don't really know initially how many people did it, but it was a good amount. It was like 2025 that I had in my first group. And then, you know, things happen and people leave or they stay and they are trying to navigate this.
Jenelle Robers [:It's a fun thing to do, but once you get into it, you realize there's a little bit of work involved for yourself. So I have the hour sessions once a month. Sometimes if people do need to talk more, I do.
Kate Volman [:I'm a little lenient in that the.
Jenelle Robers [:Beauty of the size of our company is I'm able to be pretty flexible, and I think that that's very important. So I have dream storms and I have specific times for open enrollment. What I like to have is 30 dreamers at a time. That's my goal to have on a regular basis. So that's what it looks like. Just working it, right. So you have your reoccurring session with me. So we don't, you know, we don't go through the whole, like, okay, when are we going to meet? Next month.
Jenelle Robers [:It's reoccurring. You know your day, you know your time, and it's open to everyone. If you've been here for 90 days, you can apply for the program. From there, I give you the opportunity. You can tell me if you want me to share your dream with the company or, you know, you can also opt out. You don't have to because a lot of people keep their dreams pretty close to them. And then I also have a dream team chat. I call them the Dream team.
Jenelle Robers [:So if you're in the program, you're on the dream team. But we have a teams chat. So in there you can share your progress, you can share your wins. And if you don't, I'm most definitely going to because it charges, it fuels everyone in the group. So they're like, oh, I haven't done anything maybe recently because I was, I've been so busy with my kids or I, you know, a big life event has happened. So I make sure that we are sharing in the actual Dream Team channel chat so that people, if maybe for some reason you've lost momentum, you're able to gain that momentum back. You have those small charges that makes you kind of get the ball rolling for yourself again. So that's what we do.
Jenelle Robers [:Then at the end, I make sure to celebrate you company wide. We also have like a point system called Nectar. And so I give you a bunch of points once you've achieved your dream or once you finish the program, because as we know, you might have a very elaborate dream or a very large dream that you set out to do before you join the program. But looking at twelve months, you might not achieve it, but you've made huge ground in getting closer to that. So, yeah, you can leave the program or you can finish the program without ever achieving your large dream. And that's okay, too. It's all about what you do along the way. I'm a big proponent of the journey.
Jenelle Robers [:It's about the journey more than it is about the dream. That big dream oftentimes.
Kate Volman [:Yeah. And the progress, I mean, that's. People want to see progress being made. It's so one of my favorite quotes that I say all the time is Matthew, when he says that we often overestimate what we can accomplish in a month and underestimate what we can accomplish in a decade. And so when we think about a year, I mean, we're recording this at almost the end of 2024, and I feel like it was just January. It's crazy. Unless you're intentional about the way that you're spending your time, you're not going to really be making progress on those dreams. And so that is really such a big part of the program, is that accountability piece.
Kate Volman [:So let's. Let's talk about how the program has impacted the team. What are some of the dreams that have been achieved? What are some of the successes? So what are some of those stories that really stand out to you, that you're really proud of that has really impacted the people at Lehan?
Jenelle Robers [:I think one of the biggest stories that stands out for me, well, there's a couple of them, but one of them is, you know, I had a mom start off as a dreamer, and she had trouble focusing on what it was that she wanted to do. And the way that it kept happening was she was giving so much of herself to her family, and so much so that she was looking for love. And one of her top dreams was that I want to just be able to be okay being in love again. She lost her husband, and while she had this as a dream, she put a line through it, like, halfway through the program, she's like, I don't think I can do that. My boys need me to. My grandchildren need me. She felt selfish. Through the program, we were able to really talk about, like, what she wanted, how to focus on herself, you know, what did she want? Maybe if you retire, what does that look like for you? And what we realized is it really did come back to being someone's companion and having a companion.
Jenelle Robers [:And I kid you not, this was marked off of the list. She ended the program just weeks ago, and she's engaged now. I would love to say that it was all the Dream Manager programs, but I can't. We're gonna.
Kate Volman [:We're just gonna see. We're like, we should have a partnership with the dating apps.
Jenelle Robers [:Right? Right. We can help. No, but it was amazing to me that she told me that, and I was just looking like, are you serious? And she was like, I'm serious. This is what I want. And she's like, through working on myself, it was bite sized pieces, but I was able to finally get to the dream. I was able to give myself permission to be happy. That's. Oh, it gives me chills because I just love things like that.
Jenelle Robers [:That's definitely a standout dreamer for me because I watched the process and I know that it was hard. I know that it was difficult to come to that conclusion. But she chose herself and she chose her dreams. And I love that there's been so many other things, you know, like receiving your passport, saving money, weight loss. I have the list, but it's so hard to just pick some. Yeah, people are achieving a lot.
Kate Volman [:The first story is beautiful for so many reasons, but the thing that really stands out and what I love to hear is how much just that mindset shift, not only in that area of her life, but the way that she views the world has changed, too. It's. It's being able to give yourself, like you said, give yourself permission to dream. And immediately, like, I love when Matthew talks about how if you just wrote down your list of a hundred dreams and you put them in a drawer and you didn't even do anything with them, some of those dreams would come true simply because you wrote them down. You focused on them, you put a little bit of energy towards them. And so when you put energy towards your dreams, now, obviously, we don't recommend you do that, but when you do write them down and then you become more intentional. And now you have a Dream Manager cheering you on, and now you actually start to develop the muscle of believing in your dream and then taking that first, next step and then giving yourself that push to be a little uncomfortable. Cause there's a lot of un that's being uncomfortable right when you're saying, okay, I'm ready.
Kate Volman [:I'm ready to be in this kind of relationship. I'm ready to move on with my life in that way. And that just impacts so many other areas of your life. And so people show up differently in all areas, including work. So when, when we talk to people about the program and we get a lot of, you know, what's the Roi of this? And why should I invest? You know, if someone's asking you about that, how would you answer that question of, if I implemented the Dream Manager program, how is this really going to impact my company and the bottom line?
Jenelle Robers [:Yeah, I think that I would say, you know, there's definitely a way to keep up with dreams achieved. There's a way to keep up with wins along the way, but it goes directly to value. Right. Like, how valuable is it for each individual employee? Do they feel as though they came into the program not feeling the greatest or not at all, being tethered to any purpose, any dream, not having the slightest idea what they wanted, and then they leave with a plan, or they achieved everything along the way. They achieved their dream, they worked a plan, and now they have the fundamental skills, the foundational skills as an adulthood with where they are today, to achieve so many more things without the program. That's where the value is. It's very hard to discuss the value of this program because I keep book with a lot of different proponents of it. We have beautiful software that I've become comfortable and confident with.
Jenelle Robers [:But when I talk to the executive team and I show them the list of things that people have done in the past six months, that far outweighs any numbers that you're going to have. Especially when those people show up better in their day to day jobs, they're happier, they're able to communicate more efficiently and effectively because we've had these sessions. That is, it's a tremendous thing to grow professionally. You're growing with your manager, you're doing your tasks day to day, right? You're doing your computer work, but someone gives you an hour to grow as an individual, independent of anything that they're doing at work. It has no choice but to show up in their work.
Kate Volman [:I'm glad to hear you say when you have those conversations with executives that they're noticing that, right? Because that's when you start to notice the difference in your people and how they show up. You're seeing it right in front of you. When you were talking about people communicating more effectively, they're being more strategic in their roles. All of those things impact the work that they do. It improves productivity and efficiency. And all of that stuff goes back to the bottom line. That's where the ROI is. So it's almost like there's no line item.
Kate Volman [:It's in all the line items. If you have the right people on your team and you're helping them grow, then that's going to help your organization grow. It's just, there's no way around it, right? Like, your people are the ones that are doing the work. And when you help them become a better individual by helping them achieve their dreams, then you're going to see an impact. It's just impossible not to. And as long as you have a great Dream Manager like you in the role and doing the work, then that's the impact that that you're going to see. Is there anything else that you would share with somebody that is contemplating getting certified or implementing the program in their organization.
Jenelle Robers [:I would definitely encourage them to do it. There are times, there are sessions where people, they're like, oh, I haven't done the work. Right. Matthew Kelly's books alone, right. If you just read rhythm of life alone, don't even have anything to do with the program. Whatever you read Dream Manager, you realize what's in that book, and then you read rhythm of life, you will find value in just that. But once you do that, you're going to want the program. You're going to want the program because The Rhythm of Lifebook is just put together in such a fantastic way.
Jenelle Robers [:I find each session's reading so important. I'm learning every single day with the dreamers. So when it comes to, well, people have these degrees. They're at this level. They're an executive. I have everyone from executives to the guys in the warehouse, right. And they all think that they're miles apart. We all think that we're all so different.
Jenelle Robers [:We all, and we are. We're beautiful individuals. The fact of the matter is, along the way, we stop talking about our dreams. We stop talking about our dreams, and we put so much into our work. Well, why not have a company that gives professionally to their people, make sure they have all these wonderful benefits? And why wouldn't you add this? Why wouldn't you add this? If your company is amazing already, why not add this beautiful layer to help people in their work and outside of their work, in their homes? Like I would say, why wouldn't you?
Kate Volman [:All right, Jenelle, you're hired.
Jenelle Robers [:You can boot sales.
Kate Volman [:You can sell the dream ranger.
Jenelle Robers [:There you go. There you go.
Kate Volman [:Jenelle, thank you so much for sharing your experience with us. I just absolutely love being able to hear the impact that it's had. And it's so interesting to just hear how intentional you are and how beautifully you speak about the program and your people. And I know you're very passionate about this work and being a Dream Manager, so we so appreciate you and the work that you're doing and cannot wait to see over the next few years what you do and the more dreams that are achieved and everything as you kind of build and grow the company, the organization and impact more people's lives. So thank you for everything that you do as a Dream Manager.
Jenelle Robers [:Yes, thank you. Thank you so much for having me. And thanks always for allowing us to hear the different perspectives of the Dream Manager in all the different companies, because this is a, it's a great format to do so. Great platform.
Kate Volman [:Thank you.
Jenelle Robers [:Oh, good.
Kate Volman [:Well, thank I'm so glad because that's one of the benefits of doing this podcast is being able to hear, because, I mean, you know this, we give you the program, it's guided, you have everything you need. It's packaged up. Hey, here, you take this. And even so, everyone's doing the same thing. But I love hearing the small little details, the small little changes that people are doing to make it their own program. And so you guys getting to be able to share with each other, learn and grow with each other. We have a Dream Manager community that we invite people to be part of over on Facebook. So you guys are always in there kind of sharing those successes, those dreams, and I being able to take everyone's good ideas.
Kate Volman [:So we always appreciate these stories. So, Jadelle, thank you so much and we look forward to chatting soon.
Jenelle Robers [:All right, thank you.
Kate Volman [:Thank you so much for listening. I hope you enjoyed this episode. I hope you got something out of it. If you are a Certified Dream Manager, I hope that you are taking away some type of idea or maybe a new insight that you can bring back to your organization, to your team. And if you're thinking about becoming a Certified Dream Manager or implementing the program in your organization, we would love to have a conversation with you about it. You can go to thedreammanager.com, fill out that form, and someone on our team will get in touch with you to talk about how the Dream Manager can really make a huge impact in your organization. I love talking to these Dream Managers to just hear everything that it's doing for their people. I love hearing about all the dreams, the impact it's having on their people.
Kate Volman [:And like I said in the episode, when your people grow, your organization grows. That's our philosophy here at Floyd is your organization can only be the best version of itself to the extent that your people are becoming better versions of themselves. And you get to do that by becoming a Dream Manager. So we hope to talk to you about the program and how it can make an impact in your life and lives of all of your people to help you and your organization grow. Thank you so much for listening. And until next time, Lead with Culture.
