Crosswinds Conversations | Curtis Smith Interviews Mike Weddle About Mission-Driven Recruiting

Crosswinds Conversations is a segment of a TV Series called Restoring Hope. Restoring Hope can be viewed in the Indianapolis Area on WHMB40 Thursday nights @ 9:30pm.

If you’re interested in working for Crosswinds Counseling visit: https://bit.ly/Work4Crosswinds

Curtis: Welcome back to Restoring Hope with Crosswinds Counseling. Our next guest is Mike Weddle. Like Milt Thompson, Mike has been a longtime active member of the community here in Indianapolis, but tonight we are going to focus on and look at Mike’s new role at Crosswinds Counseling as head of internal recruiting. Mike thank you for joining us. Welcome.

Mike: Thanks for having me. It’s good to be here.

Curtis: Let’s talk about what you’re doing with Crosswinds Counseling. You’ve shifted into a new position here recently, just in the last month or so. What has that been like for you? This is a strange world, a strange time in our world, to be recruiting anybody anywhere.

Mike: Well, it’s been an exciting role because it’s something that I did many years ago, working in sales recruiting – recruiting salespeople. So this new opportunity to work and to recruit for something I feel very passionate about is very fun. So I’ve had roles with Lifeline, with Crosswinds, and now with Lasting Change, so it gives me a great perspective on the purpose, the goal of this whole operation. So it’s been fun to start to sell that to people and show them what they can be a part of.

Curtis: Tell me about the need for counselors and therapists. I think we all look across the landscape of this country these days and think the need is very high. I know that from an internal perspective, Crosswinds can use more counselors. What is it like to get into the weeds to try to find those people right now who are qualified and equipped and ready to step in and help others?

Mike: Never in history have counselors been so sought after and desired. This whole pandemic has opened up and exposed our need for help. And so those counselors who for many years have been taken for granted, are now being seen for the great value they bring to life and to people’s lives. And so to try to find those who not only are well equipped, talented but also share the value that we have for Christian counseling and interacting and integrating your faith with your counseling, has created a very special role, a very special person that I’m looking for.

Curtis: Yeah, tell me a little bit more about that. Obviously, Crosswinds is a faith-based Christian organization. What other qualities does Crosswinds have that make it a great place to work, someplace that would attract a certain type of person?

Mike: Well, I think the biggest thing is that it does have a mission that’s well stated out there. To have an impact on this world. To make an impact on families. We believe that is one of the great ways that we can change this world. And so when you come to work and come to be a part of that team, you’re joining like-minded folk who have that same passion, [same] desire. And they see that Christ is part of that solution. When I speak to some counselors who have been in secular areas, they feel like sometimes they’re counseling with one hand tied behind their back because they can’t bring Christ into their counseling situations sometimes, and with Crosswinds, not that we force that on people.

Curtis: Right.

Mike: But when that’s desired and when that’s open, it gives us an opportunity to open up a whole new solution and healing to people.

Curtis: Yeah, it’s proclaiming the name of Jesus as the ultimate answer, but not shoving it down someone’s throat. Not bringing it to a conversation where it’s not welcome. Do you find that makes it more of a challenge or do you try to look at it as a positive? Because of that, we’re going to get the right people… or maybe it’s a little of both.

Mike: It’s a little of both. It makes it real simple though when I’m talking to someone to know very quickly if they fit in and they want to be a part of our [organization]. If you’re not a person who has that passion, then I quickly know that maybe you’re not a good fit for us. And so it helps that. And it also goes into our Lifeline. Working with our Lifeline organization. We need therapists there as well.

Curtis: Let’s talk about Indianapolis. Milt was on with us a few minutes ago, and I’m not going to suggest that you’re quite as plugged in as many things as Milt has done, but you have been an active member of this community for a long time. Tell me about Indianapolis, the people here, what they mean to you. What this community means to you.

Mike: Well, Indianapolis, it is the crossroads of America. The people here are people that love deeply, they develop relationships, they’re very real. When you walk into a restaurant you even notice the difference, than you do all over the country, of just there’s more a personal sense to it. So when you’re working with people here, you gotta bring counselors to your organization, [they] have to care deeply about people, more than anywhere else. People in Indianapolis and the central Indiana area call this place home for a reason. They want to be here. They can be any place they want in the country but they choose to stay here because it creates a nice simple lifestyle, a lot of resources, and a lot of opportunity.

Curtis: What kind of a shift in the community have you seen through the pandemic. Obviously, it had a major impact on everybody in every corner of the world. What kind of a shift did you see in Indianapolis? Do you think it’s impacted the community in a way that’s surprised you at all? What have you seen through the pandemic?

Mike: I think [compared to] a lot of other cities there’s been less of a panic here. I think there’s been more of a calmed measured response. Not everybody agrees about the way it has been responded to, but it has been much more calm here. Recently, up in the Minneapolis area, it’s still up there, a sense of feeling like there’s panic and a lot of disagreement about how to manage things. So I feel like here, there’s been more of a balanced approach and people have moved along with that. Then again, it also surfaced the great need that we all have for help.

Curtis: Yeah. That need is higher than it’s ever been. In our last minute here Mike, what would you say to somebody whose heard what you said about Crosswinds? Maybe already knows it a little bit. They’re on the fence. They’re thinking about what their next career move is. What would you say to them as kind of a final summation of why you should join Crosswinds Counseling?

Mike: Well, if you’re a therapist, you want to utilize all of your therapies, your modalities, your talents, your skills, we give you that opportunity, but we also give you the opportunity to add Jesus Christ into that solution. So whether it’s working with Crosswinds as a therapist, we also have a lot of opportunities with our organization called Lifeline – that if someone simply has an undergrad degree and they’re wanting to pursue that later, we have opportunities with Lifeline. They get to get involved there and become a family consultant and so we have lots of roads and paths to help you develop professionally.

Curtis: So true. Mike thank you so much for joining us tonight. Really appreciate your time.