From Homelessness to Leadership: Chuck Thompson's Inspiring Journey

welcome to ask Ashley the podcast where we shine a light on the unsung heroes of the workplace I'm your host Ashley Russo financial AI board member thought leader and wealth management advisor each week we sit down with inspiring leaders exploring their journeys motivations and the real challenges they face from job insecurity to the evolving role of AI in a world where many feel overlooked these guests are building hope and connection for their colleagues join us as we uncover their stories and discover how they're making a difference one conversation at a time hey this is Ashley Russo here and I'm with Chuck who is an amazing human I cannot wait for everyone to get to know him Chuck will you please share with us a little bit about yourself your career your journey let's start with a little bit about you yeah absolutely so Chuck Thompson I am currently the VP of people and operations for an engineering firm called Simutech in Rochester New York married I have seven kids um and at last count I think 13 animals uh living in the house somewhere somewhere around there uh yeah I like absolutely love being a dad uh pet dad as as well as a dad dad and um yeah family is life so um just loving every second of it I love that um well I want to start off with a question to really help uh everyone get to know you I'd like us to walk through the path that LED you to your current leadership role and were there any pivotal experiences early on that shaped your purpose in business or within community I'd love to learn more about that yeah it it in order to to look forward and to understand who we are I think a lot of times it helps to focus on or at least recognize the past and what LED us here and for me it was a it was a really long long journey um one of the things that I think or at least I I would like to think um my my career is um known for I guess is just caring um being transparent being open being honest and connecting with people where they are what LED to that are uh are are items that I'm I'm grateful for events that I'm grateful for I was actually thinking about this when I was running today in preparation for our conversation when I was younger you know I I grew up in a typical you know middle class family my mother had a bipolar and uh schizophrenia and um it was it was super super challenging to kind of navigate that a lot of times my my dad would send me to my grandmother's house and uh my grandmother kind of you know for all intensive purposes raised me um I got thrown out of uh high school um my own fault uh and I got put into um you know a group house a group home um and part of the the deal with with going to the group home was uh you know I had to have uh family therapy and I refuse to talk to my parents so I would just sit in this on the chair and just listen to them you know spew whatever about you know how disappointing I was and um my therapist her her name was Pat um I'll never forget it and there was one night in November and you know we were doing the family therapy thing and she's like Chucky you gotta talk you gotta say something and so I did I just like spewed out everything that I was thinking and kind of holding on to and um I can I can imagine how that landed at that moment apparently it landed so hard with my mom that she just stood up grabbed her keys and left and never came back I was like and to me you know being I think it was 14 year old 14 at the time um what I internalized from that is see this is why you don't talk cause it just breaks everything you just keep your mouth shut deal with it and just that's that's a better way to go because I watched my dad you know go down a pretty dark path you know for a little bit after that and I listen to my parents argue about who's gonna get me who's gonna get stuck with me is what they meant by that and all of these things are kind of just going on in my head and it all came to a head uh when I was 15 and um I I left home and I didn't have any place to go I remember my dad telling me he didn't care um where I went I just had to leave home and just get out and just go so I did and I became homeless and I was homeless for a couple of years um I got addicted to drugs during that time and it was really really dark uh you know dark period and I saw a lot of my friends not make it out of you know the similar situation um people that I had met and known became people that I knew and you know all of this is going on in you know my brain at at such a young age there were two events that that I think about that I'm again I'm you know grateful that they happened one I remember sitting on the beach in Mississippi and um you know just just kind of sitting there just completely wrecked and um you know not sure what the heck I was gonna do and uh I remember somebody walked up I have no idea who it is but somebody just walked up tapped me on the shoulder and just had a conversation with me they they looked me in the eyes and at that moment I I felt like I was a human you know and that was the first time in a really long time that anybody had actually like looked me in the eyes and connected with me just for a couple of minutes to and it it made a difference right it it started to light something up inside of me um shortly after um you know I I got into a situation where I overdosed um and I remember being on the bathroom floor uh in the the place that we were squatting in and everybody else that was there left uh they didn't want to be you know there or get caught you know with with what was going on and um it was awful like absolutely awful I can still remember you know what I was thinking and kind of going through at that moment just not thinking that I'd be able to pull myself up off of um the the bathroom floor um obviously I did'cause I'm here um but I walked out to the front step and when I walked out to the front step across the way uh from where I was there was an ambulance and it was taking somebody out of uh the place across the street and they had passed away I just remember thinking that that should be me and I remember it just hitting me that all of the choices that I've made LED me to to that moment and it should have been me and it wasn't and I felt like it was a a gift that it wasn't and I called up my sister and told her I'm done I just I need to get out of this and she bought me a uh ticket a bus ticket back to New York and I got into a rehab and then that rehab LED me to living on a commune for a while which is another story we can get into some other time but I got straight um and you know within a period of time and a lot of missteps I just got to the point where again you know I realized that I wasn't taking things serious and um I wanted to I just wanted to do something different and so I chose to take a different path and um I think I got at one point I had three jobs um yeah I was sleeping for four hours working for 20 hours um to pull myself up and out of where I was um again kind of thinking about you know all the people that I've met along the way that you know didn't have that opportunity um you know they they fell prey to you know that that life that I was living and I was given this chance and I wasn't gonna waste it um you know I I leaned in hard uh to that that that work ethic and yeah it brought me a lot of success I had the opportunity to go all over the world um yeah I had one point was a master coach for an organization and I taught uh leaders how to uh sell how to motivate their employees how to get more out of people um you know that that motivational aspect uh it was was keyed in and it was mainly from you know a place of I'm never going back to that period like I'm gonna make something out of this and you know I'm gonna do that through working my butt off to do it um you know along the way I had the privilege of of meeting a lot of people who gave me a lot of really good advice that I probably never listened to in time um so if I fast forward the chain and I promise this has an ending um I won't ramble for for too long um but if I fast forward um my wife and I uh attempted to have um you know a baby and um she passed away that was uh in 2017 and um yeah and that was a it was a period where looking back at that time all of these things I'm teaching other people about how to have conversations how to make connections uh how to motivate your employees just how to be there and care for people I wasn't applying them at home and so my wife had to deal with this basically on her own while I went out and I started a business cause that's you lean in you do things I keep myself busy and I just go and so I started a lifestyle um you know company and you know did really well with it ended up uh selling that company um you know later on but you know it was my way of dealing with what was going on was by not dealing with it you know to be honest and leaving my wife to you know face that on her own later a couple years ago my mom passed away and yeah I didn't I never corrected things with my mom never really faced things I still blamed you know the way that I grew up for everything that was going on right the the fact that I was homeless the fact that I did drugs um you know all of the hardships all the people that I had lost the the failed relationships you name it it was because of you know the way that I grew up and because of that one event when I was 14 when she walked out you know and I can't share any of this with anybody else because it's not safe and people are just gonna walk away right all these excuses um when she passed away that opportunity to deal with it also passed away um and so here I am I'm I'm left what do I do what I chose to do again is is kind of leaning in um and I started with kind of running from it right um but I I ran a mile for every year that she was alive and I lived her journey through the miles so you know at each point along the way kind of thinking about what she was facing what she was doing and I realized that she was just making choices and that LED her to you know give up on the family and LED her to the life that she LED later in life wanting to make amends but not being able to those choices LED her there and that it wasn't her choices that made me make the choices that I made had nothing to do with it but it was my choices it was my responsibility and the fact that you know I pulled myself out of the situations that I was in and you know worked really hard to get to where I was those were also choices and if I wanted to do something different then I could make better choices and that LED me to a much richer you know relationship with my wife a much richer relationship at work and with work um to the point when you know Simutech called me um you know last year and said hey Chuck you know we got this this opportunity to to build something that could be a legacy um you know would you like to to come here and you know put your hand at building a culture and helping us maintain and and grow as an organization um I was like hell yeah like that's that's something I can get behind cause that's really what it's all about you know it's helping people make better choices their lives so that they can make something out of it and impact other people downstream and I think that's just so super important so when you ask a simple question like what LED you to you know to doing the work that you do now man there's so much there's so much that that LED to it there's there's pain you know that helps me realize and see other people's pain and and where they're at and respect their story um there's struggle there's also moments where you're sitting on a beach thinking about you know maybe ending it right then and there and and that you're not gonna make it out and somebody comes along at the right time and says you matter and now I can be that person that turns around to somebody at maybe the right time that I don't even know what it is I don't know what they're going through but I can be that person to pay it back you know that that person has no idea that who I am now can be attributed back to that moment when I was what 16 17 sitting on a beach you know a a lot of who I am the fact that I'm here now having a conversation with you is because of that journey and it's because of that person it's because of all the people along the way that that got me to hear that's so powerful on so many levels I'm sure I'm not the first person to say this but just for for people listening to hear look it doesn't always come easy in fact sometimes it actually comes pretty hard right I wouldn't consider any of the thing that you went through in your childhood lead you know past childhood easy but you decided to take that diversity and make choices and that's really really powerful and you continue to make choices and someone who's in your position now with so much wisdom and leadership uh the fact that that didn't just happen the fact that you went on a journey to become this human I think will give people the permit the permission to not feel that they're just supposed to arrive at these moments of awareness but it's life's journey the hardships that really bring us to these pivotal moments I'm I'm curious with that so with the journey you shared overcoming again such personal hardships stepping into an incredible role of leadership how did that shape the way you then support and empower others so I I think that leadership is changing what's required is changing some of that is the intersection of technology with uh you know the world that we live in some of it is just a it's it's a long time coming what I mean by that is for decades we've optimized organizations around efficiency and now we have to optimize them around being adaptable we have to optimize around human in the loop it's much more complex and you know those experiences that we have along the way that I've had along the way have provided for that adaptability and that um you know an agile kind of creative um way of approaching you know different situations does that make sense it makes sense and it it it leads me to a question of okay there's so much going on in the world right the intersection between technology and then leadership and that evolution of humanity how does that in your perspective how does that intersection tie together hmm I love that question I I write a lot about that and I think a lot about it I think maybe it's it's the way that I grew up uh to to some extent so I I grew up in a time when phones were still connected to the wall um so like it and he had to like you know turn the knob uh we didn't our our remote control for the TV was literally a thing that was attached to the TV that had a you know there's something attached to it and you just press a button and it changes the channel you had three channels to choose from that was cable but I also my father was computer engineer and so he was working on you know what we now know is like you know the internet um you know creating land and connecting different computers and um language and all those pieces and you know so I got to see you know that side of it too so I come from that analog into the evolution of digital and and so maybe maybe part of my coloring is is based on that I don't know but I think that if I think technology AI specifically cause that's what everybody's currently thinking about in terms of technology I think AI is gonna change the mechanics of work how we do our job but leadership which is where the conversation should be that's gonna determine whether that change benefits people or replaces them and I think that's where leadership development inclusion I think that's where they intersect with with the technology the organizations that win I think are going to be the ones that use technology to elevate human potential not eliminated so I think technology is going to change how we work leadership is going to determine whether that work becomes more human or less human that's powerful and I'm sure that's music to a lot of people's ears to hear it's about expanding the human interaction not limiting it that's I love the way you put that let me let me ask this question just because it is an interesting climate that we're in right now so given all the conversations around diversity and inclusion and again those being hot button topics what has been your strategy in a time like this have you faced pushback has technology helped that what's been your experience yeah so um so I I have a certification in Safe Zone training um which is a great entry into having a conversation about marginalized populations and you can define the marginalized populations as you see fit cause there's so many um yeah there's always a lot of pushback I think when I first went to get uh certified for a safe zone I did it because um my kids are in community and I had no idea what they were going through I had no idea what they were facing you know um when my step kids were um coming to me and you know one of them was uh changing their name and changing their pronouns I have no idea how to approach that I have no idea like I I don't have any context for that but it's important to me to make sure like I said before that I'm meeting them where they're at so I saw this opportunity in my home life and I see it at work at the time as well where you know this is a a conversation that's becoming more prevalent so I went to um my leader at the time and I asked if I could go get certified like no you can't do that that's we don't want to get into that conversation that's you're you're just rocking the boat it doesn't make any sense uh and so I I kept pushing and eventually said look I'll give up my my um annual like merit you know forget the merit just let me go get certified and then you know that that'll be it and then I can deliver it and we'll see what happens um and so they let me go and I got certified I came back uh and I started delivering the training um back to the organization and opening up those doors and opening up those conversations and you begin to see changes in people you begin to see changes in teams the way that they work together the way that they're listening um the creativity that comes out of it um the connective tissue between somebody in the US and in Jamaica and in the Philippines and in um India you know all working together speaking the same language having that connective tissue part of it is because they've you know gone through you know this class and they know how to listen they know how to define um their privilege being the life experience that they've lived to this moment good bad different we all have one right for me diversity and inclusion they're they're not slogans they're leadership competencies the strongest teams are the ones where people feel safe contributing ideas challenging assumptions and bringing their full perspective to the table when they do that you're unlocking the value of diversity what does an organization want at its core they want value they want efficiencies they want to be able to compete in the marketplace I think that's a pretty good value add open up the conversation you open up value you open up productivity you open up profitability so I can bring it back to metrics you know and you can see the changes you can see the changes in the quality of the conversations that people are having you can see the changes in the way that people are showing up your attrition rates um you know your turnover starts to go down people start feeling better manager effectiveness scores go up you can take it back to a lot of metrics so when people are gonna get push back and they always will the key is grounding the conversation in leadership and performance not politics alright the this goal is simple just create environments where people can do their best work wow what what kind of world would we live in right now if people can just bring it back to that I love that so I this is this is running to my head I wanna ask this question I'm sure others are curious so you're very obviously aware it sounds like in your personal life you're very giving in your professional life and aware how do you practice self care then to make sure that you can stay aligned with your highest values deal with setbacks deal with pushbacks deal with stress how do you do that as someone who's a leader and a parent what are your your tips hmm tips man I wish I had that uh I wish I had that down uh to a lot of extent to a large extent I think it's a it's a pause and reset I I spend I I mentioned running that's one of the things that I do running working out Slam just being active and being out uh often when I'm doing that that's that's me time I'm I'm working through different scenarios in my head I'm thinking about things I'm having this conversation that we're having right now over and over again right as I'm as I'm you know putting in some miles and kind of thinking about OK this is you know this is what I want to talk about I can be comfortable talking about it I can be authentic it's okay and I'm kind of working out those things for me so that's that's my you know my time um to it it goes back to finding what that is for the individual you know that that me time that that self um time that I spend in the mornings yeah that's super super important to me to have that I am not right if I don't and my wife will tell me like you haven't been out running you haven't worked out in a while like you need to get the hell out cause you're being a jerk and I will go out the other thing that was me is community you know the community work and being involved in community it reminds me that what we do in the conversations we have this conversation you and I are having right now it's not confined to boardrooms the the real goal is to expand that opportunity and you know especially for you know young people who may not have those doors open in front of them who might be on the same path that I was on you know I if there's an opportunity for that that's super fulfilling you know for me um and then I think um I think the other side uh of the well give a three legged stool right is uh writing um writing helps me process ideas share lessons and just get it down on paper um you know one of the things that I've done um fairly consistently for a man I think about 14 15 years now is ask myself three questions um typically at the end of the day I'll ask what it what went well what did I do right what went well um where did I screw up or what went wrong and what am I gonna do different tomorrow I I think about that in my family you know when I get into an argument with my wife um man it's it's not always her fault sometimes it's mine I know it's hard to believe but you know sometimes it's my fault and so I think about what what I do what I do right in that conversation there's gotta be something I gotta find that thing that I did right what I do wrong how can I show up differently what am I gonna commit to doing to show up differently think about that at work right wrong different it's three questions that are so super powerful and it allows you to take a step back and re ground yourself to understand that yeah things are gonna happen you know the things are gonna go really really well and you're gonna be winning and things are gonna go absolutely horrible and you're gonna be losing that's okay just frame it around what went right what went wrong what went different whether it's a win whether it's a loss and you're gonna walk away with something that allows you to kind of reset reframe and stay grounded I love that I love that that's great that's great so let me ask this question with everything moving so fast with obviously your perspective of being able to look at the moment um and find the value in it find the improvement that you can find within it everything is going at lightning speed right so if you can hit pause right now if you just had a magical pause button and you can hit pause on any trend whether it's technology culture leadership what would it be and then if you could hit fast forward with something that you're seeing in terms of positive momentum what would that be hmm I like that question that's a good question what you're asking is is two sides of the coin for me I I think there's this uh there's this idea of analog and just being present in the moment um there was a conversation I was listening to earlier this week where they were talking about um a study that was done and in the study the participants were texted a couple times you know during the day and they were asked what what are you doing what are you thinking about and how happy are you right the ones who answered um you know here's what I'm doing here's what I'm thinking about it separate from what I'm doing were typically less satisfied less happy than individuals who this is what I'm doing and I'm thinking about it I'm in the moment so to me if I was to pause something as much as I'm a proponent and advocate of technology and I absolutely am to me that would be the pause it would be to to take a moment to get outside watch a sunrise to to see the way that the colors hit the landscape to watch the clouds change to be outside just before the first bird starts to sing and then listen to the way that that expands out to everything else and then recognize that in a lot of cases we're that first bird or we can be that first bird and we can set that cascade off positive or negative I'd rather be the positive one so I think if there's a if there's a pause and something that I'd fast forward I I I think it's digital and it's analog right there's a place and time for both but just embracing the embracing the moment I think is what it what it comes down to at least at least to me the world is changing fast and it's gonna continue to change fast being a part of that change and being a part of that moment instead of a part from is super super important beautiful I wanna ask this final question if you can say something to your younger self with everything that obviously you know now what would you tell your younger self hmm it's a really good question I have to think about that for a second if I tell myself too much I'm not gonna be the person I am I I won't have my wife I won't have my kids I won't have a job that I absolutely love like all of it would change if I say too much um but there's also a case where speaking to that that person and and letting him know that you know maybe I'm the guy that that walked up to myself on the beach and just gave him that moment you know maybe maybe that's it I think what I would ask myself to do you know just just thinking about like walking up to to you know younger me on the beach um would be to think about you know an epitaph the epitaph being like if you had to summarize your entire life into just a couple of words words that are gonna fit you know on a on a gravestone um what what would that be and then admonish to to live your life in a way that's consistent with with that epitaph you know um I think that's something that that just about anybody could get behind you know to to just think about that eventually that's what's gonna be left behind that that epitaph all the rest of the stuff all the hard experiences all the crap that we go through all the failures all the wins none of it's gonna be with you and you're just gonna be letters that somebody else is probably gonna walk by and read maybe um but if we can write that down it's such a high level and it's it's such a a calling that you know we can aspire to get to for me it's you know I'm a loving husband I'm a devoted dad I'm a steadfast friend and an inspiring co worker I lived with kindness LED with integrity and I left a legacy of love and laughter and so now I can look at my life through that lens and ask myself what's going right in terms of that person what type of person is that what am I not doing that's causing me to fall short of that goal and what can I do differently to drive myself to that goal right that that epitaph is super super powerful it helps you realize that there's a finite time that you have to make an impact what do you want that to be what do you want your legacy to be what do you want to leave behind how can you show up today to leave that legacy behind cause you are every choice every interaction every conversation that you have is a step toward or step away from that legacy that you want to leave behind hmm that's fascinating start with the end in mind and design your life and your choices based off of that that's powerful that's really powerful Chuck you are getting to spend some time with you such an incredible human an incredible example of how we can approach this world both with choice with awareness with thought right not just going through the motions but actually experiencing the world it's been an honor to connect with you to share your voice with the world um and thank you again for being with us I appreciate it Ashley thank you so much for being a voice and um having the courage to ask the questions and and put yourself out there I appreciate it cheers