Leadership Impact

The end of an era! In this special “end-isode,” Kari and Paul look back not only on this season in which we’ve explored trust, but on the past one-and-half years of Leadership Impact. For full shownotes: https://grangernetwork.com/48

Sooner or later, all of us will experience betrayals in life. The key isn’t going to the ends of the earth to avoid betrayals altogether. That will never happen. Rather, the key is in learning how to respond to betrayals when they do happen. In this episode, Kari and Paul show how an inability to recover from betrayals poisons our relationships and takes away our ability to act going forward. On the other hand, knowing how to powerfully accept and bounce back from betrayals enables us to move through life with more confidence, more creativity, and more trust. For full shownotes: https://grangernetwork.com/47

When we think of a “betrayal,” we often think of an earth-shattering, personally-devastating, stabbed-in-the-back sort of deception. But betrayals come in all shapes and sizes. And failure to acknowledge and deal with the “little betrayals”—such as routine gossip at the water-cooler—can have a huge effect on the state of trust in our organizations. In this episode, Kari and Paul discuss how to spot these minor betrayals, and how to deal with them early on and effectively. For full shownotes: https://grangernetwork.com/46

How often do we think we are on the same page with our colleagues—only to find out a little (or a lot) later that we had our wires completely crossed? Unclear agreements are incredibly common. In fact, one could say that most of the agreements that we make at work are at least partially unclear. And these unclear agreements don’t just lead to poor performance and inefficiency—they also erode trust in a big way. In this episode, Kari and Paul show you how to design your agreements so that everything is crystal clear, nothing slips through the cracks, and trust is maintained from start to finish. For full shownotes: https://grangernetwork.com/45

Moods are everywhere! We are always in one mood or another. In a way, they are the background tone of our existence, the lens through which we see the world. In this episode, Kari and Paul look at which moods support trust and which make trust all but impossible to sustain. Although moods have an outsized effect on our daily lives, we are not at their mercy. No matter what mood we find ourselves in, we can always cultivate a new one, one that sets us up for trusting relationships. For full shownotes: https://grangernetwork.com/44

We often think of trust as a binary -- either you have it, or you don’t. Either it’s there, or it isn’t. Like a light switch, we think trust is either “on” or “off,” with nothing in between. This extreme view of trust leads to some extreme behaviors. With a single violation, we can easily write off the possibility of trusting a person ever again. In this episode, Kari and Paul explore a more nuanced approach to trust that serves us in building lasting, authentic, trusting relationships. For full shownotes: https://grangernetwork.com/43

Whenever we get stuck in a downward cycle of distrust, even the smallest perceived slight can appear as an existential threat to our existence, and the faintest provocation can send us up the wall. In this episode, Kari and Paul show how building trust with others often relies on shifting our perspective on the “small things” in life and avoiding the tendency to blow everything out of proportion. What’s the secret to making that shift? Well, it has little something to do with “potatoes and Van Goghs”…listen to find out more! For full shownotes: https://grangernetwork.com/42

Feedback. Many of us cringe at even the thought of giving it—let alone receiving it. But navigating feedback is an absolutely critical skill for maintaining the health of our relationships and our organizations. When we sit on our feedback and refuse to share it, we sow the seeds of distrust. In this episode, Kari and Paul show how we can develop our capacity for giving and receiving feedback so that we actually look forward to those conversations as opportunities for alignment and co-creation. For full shownotes: https://grangernetwork.com/41

“Fake it till you make it.” That’s advice we often hear for how to step up our game at work. But as it turns out, when it comes to building trust, that advice just doesn’t work very well. Why do we often feel so compelled to pretend there’s trust when there isn’t. We do it in order to be polite, because we don’t want to ruffle any feathers with our colleagues (and certainly not our bosses!). Instead, we slowly create a poisonous environment where real issues can’t be addressed and resentments build. But there is another way—a way to be direct when it comes to conversations for trust, without burning bridges. In this episode, Kari and Paul we explain how. For full shownotes: https://grangernetwork.com/40

Distrust often starts innocuously enough. A bit of gossip. A smidge of dissent. But as the saying goes, “When it rains, it pours.” Before you know it, a snowball effect takes hold, and the whole organization can easily become engulfed in cynicism, antagonism, and territorial bickering. In this episode, Kari and Paul discuss how to intervene before our organizational cultures spiral into a cycle of distrust, and how to maintain more productive moods of curiosity, ambition, and collaboration instead. How do we intervene in this way? First, we must recognize that trust is built through conversation, and learn how to have those conversations more effectively in creating a positive spiral of trust throughout our organizations. For full shownotes: https://grangernetwork.com/39

We are living in frightening, unprecedented times. Now more than ever, it’s easy to fall out of trust—with society, the government, the financial markets, and more broadly, with the prospect of a brighter future. In this episode, Kari and Paul remind us that trust is ultimately a choice, and underscore the importance of choosing trust amidst the tumult. Choosing trust opens us up to wondrous possibilities, no matter the circumstance. Instead of suspiciousness, we can choose generosity. Instead of isolation, we can choose connection. Instead of fear and anxiety, can choose a commitment to what matters most, and devise inventive ways of fulfilling that commitment. For full shownotes: https://grangernetwork.com/38

When it comes to building trust, we often turn it into a waiting game. “I will get around to trusting her…but she needs to prove herself first.” “Why should I re-engage with him if he’s the one who messed up to begin with?!” In this episode, Kari and Paul show how these justifications rarely yield desired results, and usually sabotage the outcomes we are out to achieve. Instead of sitting back and waiting for trust to just happen, we must learn to take a more proactive stance by extending a “Window of Trust.” This doesn’t mean we trust blindly. It does mean we muster the courage to make the first move, in a way that positions us to break through the gridlock and forge a new pathway.   For full shownotes: https://grangernetwork.com/37

When it comes to trust, people are prone to “either/or” thinking. Either “I trust you 100%” or, once that trust is compromised in any way at all, “I can never trust you again!” In this episode, Kari and Paul show how this simplistic way of thinking precludes the possibility of real, lasting trust. Instead, we must begin somewhat counter-intuitively: by recognizing from the outset that human beings make mistakes and that betrayal is possible (if not probable). And yet—we can choose to trust anyways, knowing that in the event trust is broken, we have the tools to engage that conversation authentically and rebuild what was lost. For full shownotes: https://grangernetwork.com/36

Blaming. Complaining. Gossiping. Justifying. Avoiding. Defending. So often, these harmful behaviors seep into our everyday interactions at the office. As leaders, we do our best to head off these bad behaviors at the pass. But what if they’re all merely symptoms of a larger, more central problem? In this episode, Kari and Paul discuss how a lack of trust is that common problem at the heart of so much daily dysfunction, and why it can be so hard to recognize it as the culprit. Finally, Kari provides a novel definition of trust as something that we do—a choice that we make—as opposed to something that simply exists. By making that choice to extend trust, we generate extraordinary possibilities that would have otherwise proven impossible. For full shownotes: https://grangernetwork.com/35

We’re back! Welcome to Season Three of the Leadership Impact podcast. In this “teaser-isode,” we set the stage for this season’s topic: building and sustaining trust. So many of us think of trust as a luxury—it would be nice to have it, the thinking goes. But if we don’t get it, we can still get on with the business of getting stuff done. But therein lies the mistake that wreaks havoc on so many organizations. Trust is more than a “nice-to-have”! Trust is a necessary condition for success. Without trust, our big-ticket outcomes and wildly important goals don’t stand a chance. Building trust, then, isn’t a “soft skill” as many assume. It’s perhaps the most reliable predictor of hard, tangible business outcomes. In Season Three, Kari and Paul will guide you through restoring trust when it’s lost, and keeping it when it’s there. For full shownotes: https://grangernetwork.com/season-three-teaser/

This season flipped the script on traditional thinking, causing a fundamental shift in the way we relate to accountability. In the old paradigm, accountability was about explaining what went wrong; it was something to avoid; something that took up time at work; it was either the thing that missing or the thing we were subjected to; and it caused lots of suffering in organizations. Out of listening to this season’s episodes, a new orientation accountability has emerged that is empowering; one that’s about creating the future; one about partnership; in fact, it opens a whole new paradigm of how we can interact with others. Join Kari Granger and Paul Adams as they share highlights, provide recommendations, and reflect on Season Two. With an eye towards the future, Kari and Paul invite the audience to provide feedback on the podcast and suggest topics they would like to see covered in Season Three of Leadership Impact. For full shownotes: https://grangernetwork.com/34

For many, performance reviews are nothing more than an end of year obligation that devolves into uncomfortable conversations about performance gaps and compensation. However, if we structure them to take us step-by-step into aligning with one another in four key areas, performance reviews become a treasured opportunity for both colleagues and a huge opportunity to leverage performance toward a shared vision. Join Kari Granger and Paul Adams as they dissect how organizations can utilize performance reviews as a tool to acknowledge contribution, identify the relevant domains of evaluation, assess performance impact, and partner for future development.  For full shownotes: https://grangernetwork.com/33

“It’s not my job!” When silos run workplace dynamics and the “not-my-job” mantra leaves projects disconnected, the likely culprit is the “hierarchy mindset.” For many organizations, a hierarchical structure is a good fit, but the mindset of having to operate out of a little box on an organizational chart, can limit creativity and innovation, starve collaborations, and keep projects from crossing the finish line on time and to the company’s quality standard. Join Kari Granger and Paul Adams as they examine an alternative way of relating to our positions and coordinating actions -- no matter how your company is structured. For full shownotes: https://grangernetwork.com/32

Like curiosity, loyalty is another key to accountability. This may seem counterintuitive -- afterall, isn’t our loyalty to others what makes holding them to account difficult in the first place? Actually, we have a choice. We can be loyal to a person’s shortcomings (and suffer the impact). Or, we can choose to be loyal to a person’s capacity to grow and learn. We can be loyal to the mission we set out to accomplish together. We can be loyal to our their ability to reckon with the impact of their behavior and choose differently. And, we can do it all with compassion. Join Kari Granger and Paul Adams as they uncover what motivates our loyalties and how to elevate our loyalty to transform performance and relationships. For full shownotes: https://grangernetwork.com/31

Curiosity levels up any professional’s ability to address problems without causing others to become defensive. And, it turns out what we get curious about makes a difference! Different questions trigger our brains to produce different types of answers. Join Kari Granger and Paul Adams as they guide us through what questions to ask to get to the core of a breakdown and back in action again! For full shownotes: https://grangernetwork.com/30

How do we create a breakthrough with anyone, anytime, anywhere? How do we have tough conversations? How do we get out of tough situations that are intractable? It all starts with one key -- and with it, we suddenly start to see things differently. We begin to question things. We learn things that we did not know before. Join Kari Granger and Paul Adams illuminate one shift that can disarm stalemates, catalyze creative problem solving, and support authentic learning. For full shownotes: https://grangernetwork.com/29

Fundamentally, humans are not awesome at distinguishing between requests and requirements. That point of miscommunication easily erodes trust in relationships and undermines a team’s focus on priority projects. When we begin to see where the wires get crossed (and the huge impact that causes), new pathways for circumventing these problems become apparent. Join Kari Granger and Paul Adams as they unpack this ubiquitous breakdown and give us conversational doorways to getting onto the same page with our bosses, colleagues, direct reports, spouses, and children. For full shownotes: https://grangernetwork.com/28

What if there were a way to have your team’s performance improve without “holding them accountable” or “holding their feet to the fire” or “enforcing standards”? There is a more effective and less painful way to generate results. Join Kari Granger and Paul Adams as they debunk these traditional methods and show us how to, instead, inspire accountability. For full shownotes: https://grangernetwork.com/27

Sure, we’re happy to engage in partner-based leadership when things are going well...but as soon as something goes wrong we slip right into managing the issue “back into line!” We’re left agitated and our “partners” are left defeated, with no option to regain their footing in the project or the relationship. Join Kari Granger and Paul Adams as they highlight the meaningful steps to take the next time you encounter a breakdown, including practical language that can help you navigate these moments with partnership -- for your sake and theirs.   For full shownotes: https://grangernetwork.com/26

How often do you count on your memory to record the tasks and activities you intend to do? Our short term memory only retains about seven pieces of information at a time...and, even then, only for about 20 seconds. Relying on memory or notes that are written on napkins, the back of our hands, or random pieces of paper, sets us up to miss deadlines, omit key project criteria, or forget to take any action at all. Join Kari and Paul as they break down how to increase your completion and accuracy rates by putting your promises into existence.   For full shownotes: https://grangernetwork.com/25

What is your go-to under stress -- anxiety and late nights? Righteousness and swooping in as the hero? Resignation and gossip? Fear and hiding out? With the constant barrage of things coming at us each day and minefields of unreliable people in our lives, human beings tend to react with habitual moods, thoughts, and patterns of behavior.  Join Kari Granger and Paul Adams as they unveil the several “default escape strategies” and what we can do about them.   For full shownotes: https://grangernetwork.com/24

Others have expectations of us. Sometimes they are explicit and agreed upon, but -- more often than not -- they are unstated, not agreed upon, and wreaking havoc on our relationships, our collaborations, and our wellbeing, whether it is the mother-in-law who expects every holiday to be celebrated at their home or the colleague who expects same-day turnaround on every request. Join Kari Granger and Paul Adams as they look at the game-changing strategy that allows us to powerfully navigate the expectations minefield in our work and our lives, improving workability, performance, and trust.   For full shownotes: https://grangernetwork.com/23

Whether it’s in business, our personal relationships, or life in general, we all make mistakes. It is how we respond to these mistakes that makes the difference in our relationships. Accountability is at the crux of remedying our mistakes. Often times, when we fess up, level up, and go beyond what is expected, we create a stronger sense of trust from those who have been directly impacted by our mistakes. Join Kari Granger and Paul Adams as they speak to the power of owning up to your mistakes and the capacity to be vulnerable as a strategy for improving and deepening relationships.  For full shownotes: https://grangernetwork.com/22

Life is full of incompletions -- open loops of unanswered emails; vague coffee invitations; big projects we need to ‘get to’; kids’ recitals; the nagging awareness that we really should be should be eating better or going to the gym; and dishes -- so many dishes. With all the demands on our attention coming at us all day, every day, it is predictable that our trying-not-to-forget-it-all, is always stealing a part of our awareness and attention, whether we’re in the middle of a meeting or a family dinner. Join Kari Granger and Paul Adams as they propose an alternative to the haze of all-the-things-there-are-to-do-and-handle. For full shownotes: https://grangernetwork.com/21

Most of the time, we think of accountability as what happens “after-the-fact” -- once something has gone wrong and it’s time to ferret out the responsible party. The trouble is, this doesn’t give us the opportunity to intervene before we have missed the mark on what we set out to achieve in the first place! Join Kari Granger and Paul Adams as they explorate an alternative: accountability could, instead, be the set of perspectives and practices that we employ to maintain a condition for success. When we reallocate our concern and attention from after-the-fact to before-the-fact, we can intervene in performance quickly and stay on-course to achieve our mission. For full shownotes: https://grangernetwork.com/20

When all stakeholders thrive, profits rise. And, in order for stakeholders to thrive, accountability is critical. However, what many people miss about accountability is the stark difference between accomplishing outcomes and simply getting tasks done. Join Kari Granger and Paul Adams as they explore how many businesses function, the culture of ‘More,’ and the powerful alternative of outcome-driven performance. For full shownotes: https://grangernetwork.com/19

Accountability -- it’s what separates good employees, leaders and organizations from great ones...but just the word makes most of us cringe! This season, Kari Granger and Paul Adams unveil a new paradigm of accountability that supports us to exceed expectations, without treating others like means to an end. In this new paradigm, accountability is the secret to elevating personal power, performance, and professionalism -- for ourselves and the people we lead. We kick off this season of accountability with Episode 18: Accountability...Without Being A Jerk. For full shownotes: https://grangernetwork.com/18

What if you didn’t have to “hold people’s feet to the fire” to have extraordinary things happen? Season Two of the Leadership Impact podcast will introduce a whole new model of accountability. Get a taste in this short teaser! In this special Season Two “teaser” episode, Kari and Paul give listeners a preview of the upcoming season, which will address the important theme of accountability. It is one of the two most often cited challenges Kari hears from clients. Kari and Paul propose that accountability need not be something that is done TO you or which a manager does TO their subordinates. Instead, they offer an alternative model that is based on partnership and is grounded in shared commitments. For full shownotes: https://grangernetwork.com/season-two-teaser/

Welcome to Leadership Impact, the podcast for modern executives who are reinventing leadership within their organizations. Hosted by executive leadership coach and CEO of The Granger Network, Kari Granger, and Sound Financial Group CEO, Paul Adams, this podcast aims to address the topics of performance and leadership through real life examples. In this bonus episode, Kari and Paul reminisce about their first impressions and how that set the stage for what has become a trusted partnership as co-hosts of Leadership Impact. This episode includes a replay of Paul’s first interview with Kari on Episode 73 of Sound Financial Bites. For full shownotes: https://grangernetwork.com/Bonus

Welcome to Leadership Impact, the podcast for modern executives who are reinventing leadership within their organizations. Hosted by executive leadership coach and CEO of The Granger Network, Kari Granger, and Sound Financial Group CEO, Paul Adams, this podcast aims to address the topics of performance and leadership through real life examples. This episode completes the first season of the show. In this ‘endisode,’ Kari and Paul celebrate the success of Season One of The Leadership Impact Podcast. They reflect on the learnings that have come from prior episodes, including the central theme of focusing on how we observe situations. Paul and Kari read listener reviews and thank the audience for their participation this season. Finally, Paul encourages listeners to continue to provide feedback and Kari teases the topic of Season Two, which will focus primarily on accountability.  For full shownotes: https://grangernetwork.com/Endisode1

Welcome to Leadership Impact, the podcast for modern executives who are reinventing leadership within their organizations. Hosted by executive leadership coach and CEO of The Granger Network, Kari Granger, and Sound Financial Group CEO, Paul Adams, this podcast aims to address the topics of performance and leadership through real life examples. This episode completes our series on coordinating with precision. In this episode, Kari and Paul talk about the importance of making relevant and meaningful offers. Kari asserts that a meaningful offer is centered on identity, life changes, and resolving conflicting values. Paul touches on the vital role that listening to feedback plays in this endeavor. Finally, Paul and Kari suggest that how we listen for assessments and integrate both positive and negative feedback is vital in bringing relevance and meaning to our future offers.   For full shownotes: https://grangernetwork.com/17

Welcome to Leadership Impact, the podcast for modern executives who are reinventing leadership within their organizations. Hosted by executive leadership coach and CEO of The Granger Network, Kari Granger, and Sound Financial Group CEO, Paul Adams, this podcast aims to address the topics of performance and leadership through real life examples. This is Episode 3 of our four-part series on coordinating with precision. In this episode, Kari and Paul provide best practices on how to navigate complaints within an organization. Paul provides an example of a frustrated executive who was expressing major complaints without providing solutions to those complaints. Kari believes that behind every complaint there is a fundamental care that needs to be addressed. Whenever a complaint arises, Kari looks in two areas: standard and care. She talks about the importance of having a shared standard for success and satisfaction. Finally, Kari and Paul highlight the value of questioning and collaborating to create solutions to complaints. For full shownotes: https://grangernetwork.com/16

Welcome to Leadership Impact, the podcast for modern executives who are reinventing leadership within their organizations. Hosted by executive leadership coach and CEO of The Granger Network, Kari Granger, and Sound Financial Group CEO, Paul Adams, this podcast aims to address the topics of performance and leadership through real life examples. This episode continues our series on coordinating with precision. In this episode, Kari and Paul talk about strong vs. sloppy agreements and the precision possible when we establish clear promises between ourselves and others. Kari breaks down the three components of a promise and dissects each one to reveal the importance of translating inspiring ideas into actions and measurable outcomes. Finally, Kari and Paul discuss the idea that our promises are connected to our identity and the level of trust we build with others. For full shownotes: https://grangernetwork.com/15

Welcome to Leadership Impact, the podcast for modern executives who are reinventing leadership within their organizations. Hosted by executive leadership coach and CEO of The Granger Network, Kari Granger, and Sound Financial Group CEO, Paul Adams, this podcast aims to address the topics of performance and leadership through real life examples. This is the beginning of our series on coordinating with precision. In this episode, Kari and Paul talk all about satisfying requests through inspired action. Paul begins the show by talking about a time when he misinterpreted his employees’ enthusiasm for a future with commitment to take action to achieve that future. Thus, Paul was disappointed when he realized his motivational speech did not inspire further action. Kari dissects Paul’s example and identifies a critical piece that Paul was missing, a clear agreement. Paul and Kari discuss the role of a requester and the importance of sharpened listening. Kari breaks down the components of a request as well as the necessary actions to turn that request into a reality. If a request is met with anything other than a confirmation, a declination, a counter, or a defer, then a definitive response was not achieved. Kari and Paul talk about the role that mood plays in making a request as well as the dangers of not accounting for mood. Finally, Paul challenges the audience to heighten their awareness during inspiring conversations to see what requests lead to action. For full shownotes: https://grangernetwork.com/14

Welcome to Leadership Impact, the podcast for modern executives who are reinventing leadership within their organizations. Hosted by executive leadership coach and CEO of The Granger Network, Kari Granger, and Sound Financial Group CEO, Paul Adams, this podcast aims to address the topics of performance and leadership through real life examples. In this ‘inbetweenisode,’ Kari and Paul are transitioning between the Leadership Impact series on new futures to the next series of this innovative podcast, which focuses on coordinating with precision. Kari and Paul recap the series on new futures, which focused primarily on saying ‘no,’ creating a vision, inspiring a resigned team, listening, and sustaining a vision. They discuss what it takes to create space for a new future and the empowerment of being the author of your own future. Kari and Paul then introduce the next mini-series on the topic of coordinating with precision as what is required to bring that future into reality. Finally, Paul invites the audience to submit feedback and reviews to this podcast so that he and Kari can provide even more value. For full shownotes: https://grangernetwork.com/Inbetweenisode13&14

Welcome to Leadership Impact, the podcast for modern executives who are reinventing leadership within their organizations. Hosted by executive leadership coach and CEO of The Granger Network, Kari Granger, and Sound Financial Group CEO, Paul Adams, this podcast aims to address the topics of performance and leadership through real life examples. This episode completes our series on new futures. In this episode, Kari and Paul talk about sustaining a strategic vision. Paul discusses his experience working with a CEO whose grandiose visions were unsustainable and led to turnover within his organization. This CEO inspired action but failed to maintain one consistent vision and, thus, alienated directors on his team who were charged with implementing this vision. Kari provides  examples of how she and her team infuse The Granger Network vision into their practices and structures.. Kari identifies the four principles that are critical for sustaining a successful vision. These include communication, accountability, engaging stakeholders and maintaining context. Finally, Paul challenges the audience to practice these four principles in order to sustain their vision. For full shownotes: https://grangernetwork.com/13

Welcome to Leadership Impact, the podcast for modern executives who are reinventing leadership within their organizations. Hosted by executive leadership coach and CEO of The Granger Network, Kari Granger, and Sound Financial Group CEO, Paul Adams, this podcast aims to address the topics of performance and leadership through real life examples. This is the third episode in our series on new futures. In this episode, Kari and Paul dive into the topic of listening and the different ways we can choose to listen. The way we listen shapes how we perceive, process and react to information. Listening for accuracy, understanding, empathy, validation, utility, and opportunity are just some of the various ways in which we listen. Kari and Paul dissect the impact that listening has on leadership. When we think about leadership, Kari argues, we tend to think about the act of expression and how we’re speaking. However, in actuality, leadership begins with how we listen. In fact, by shaping the way we listen, we influence what can or cannot be said by the speaker. Kari and Paul identify the three levels of listening as well as the distinct difference between hearing and listening. Finally, Kari reveals the Five Modes of Listening that, when incorporated, can shift the way we listen so that we can be more effective and create a leadership impact.  For full shownotes: https://grangernetwork.com/12

Welcome to Leadership Impact, the podcast for modern executives who are reinventing leadership within their organizations. Hosted by executive leadership coach and CEO of The Granger Network, Kari Granger, and Sound Financial Group CEO, Paul Adams, this podcast aims to address the topics of performance and leadership through real life examples. In this first ever ‘debriefisode,’ Kari and Paul debrief episode 11, How to Inspire a Resigned Team, by discussing the topic of acceptance. Paul points to the current political climate in the United States to accentuate his point that accepting a new reality can sometimes be extremely difficult. Kari expands on this example by dissecting non-acceptance and identifying what this looks like within organizations. Non-acceptance is synonymous with rumination and dwelling in the past whereas acceptance is the acknowledgment of something as it is without modifying or adding anything. Kari discusses the role of listening with the intent of understanding and arriving at a place of acceptance. Finally, Kari stresses the importance of completion before creation, meaning that before you can move forward with an action you must first ensure that the change has been implemented and is complete. For full shownotes: https://grangernetwork.com/Debriefisode11.5

Welcome to Leadership Impact, the podcast for modern executives who are reinventing leadership within their organizations. Hosted by executive leadership coach and CEO of The Granger Network, Kari Granger, and Sound Financial Group CEO, Paul Adams, this podcast aims to address the topics of performance and leadership through real life examples. This is episode 11, our third episode of our four-part series on new futures. In this episode, Kari and Paul talk about creating a new future amidst feelings of negativity, anger, frustration and resignation. Paul provides an example of a CEO who rolled out a new piece of technology to assist a merger between three large groups. According to Paul, in retrospect, it was a brilliant plan; however, the side effects were severe and debilitating. Kari provides insights as to what she believe went wrong. Kari talks about the importance of creating a new future by beginning with an end. When a future does not begin with a clear and distinct end of old era, people get left in no man’s land. It is imperative that their fundamental cares be taken into consideration, so they feel that they have a voice in this new future. Finally, Kari shares the strategy that she utilizes with clients who are dealing with post- merger and acquisition challenges. This ‘Era Work’ strategy starts with Kari asking simple questions to start an honest conversation in order to get to the root of the issues. By listening with the intent of understanding, Kari has been able to help clients complete the challenging era powerfully and create their new futures. For full shownotes: https://grangernetwork.com/11

Welcome to Leadership Impact, the podcast for modern executives who are reinventing leadership within their organizations. Hosted by executive leadership coach and CEO of The Granger Network, Kari Granger, and Sound Financial Group CEO, Paul Adams, this podcast aims to address the topics of performance and leadership through real life examples. This is Episode 2 of our four-part series on new futures. In this episode, Kari and Paul talk about the importance of creating visions that garner action and commitment. This is the second episode inside the broader theme of declaring new futures. A compelling vision, or lack thereof, can make or break an organization. Such is the case in Paul’s latest example of a woman who took over a small financial firm, implemented a vision exclusive to her, and saw failing results. Kari dissects Paul’s example and breaks down the four components of an effective vision. Conversely, there are also violations of an effective vision within an organization. These can include negative mood, inaction or turnover. Kari and Paul discuss the two different types of conversations individuals and organizations can have in order to implement a vision that is compelling, inclusive and bold. Finally, Kari shares her process of strategic planning, which is rooted in possibilities, pathways for action and specified action. For full shownotes: https://grangernetwork.com/10

Welcome to Leadership Impact, the podcast for modern executives who are reinventing leadership within their organizations. Hosted by executive leadership coach and CEO of The Granger Network, Kari Granger, and Sound Financial Group CEO, Paul Adams, this podcast aims to address the topics of performance and leadership through real life examples. In this episode, we begin our five-part series on new futures. In this episode, Kari and Paul talk all about the importance and the power of saying ‘No.’ Oftentimes, people don’t want to decline an offer or a request out of the fear of disappointing someone, or missing out on an opportunity or other various concerns. Kari begins the show by talking about our declarations and the crucial part they play in creating new futures. Counterintuitively, Kari and Paul begin the series on new futures with a discussion about what we should not do. Kari delves deep into an issue that many people run into in business and life: the underdeveloped capacity to say ‘No.’ There are, in fact, many positives that can come from this declaration. Saying ‘No’ can open up space for other opportunities that otherwise would not have revealed themselves. Paul provides an example of a business owner he knew that would always say ‘Yes,’ and the negative impact this had on both his health and his overall performance. Kari interprets Paul’s example as a classic case of someone who was looking for a sense of belonging or affinity by always accommodating requests. Finally, Kari and Paul share their own strategies of how to get honest answers from their employees when making requests. They both have realized that being specific and open in their communication is the key to accepting ‘No’ and understanding the reasons behind ‘No.’ Paul challenges the audience to watch for the places in their lives where saying ‘No’ opens up the space to say ‘Yes’ to something new.   For full shownotes: https://grangernetwork.com/9

In this ‘inbetweenisode,’ Kari and Paul are transitioning between the Leadership Impact series on momentum to the next series of this innovative podcast, which focuses on new futures. Kari and Paul recap the four episode series on momentum, which focused primarily on the topics of mood, conversations and physicality. They discuss how mood can have a lasting impact on our performance, both in an enhancing as well as an inhibiting manner. Kari and Paul introduce the topic of new futures and reveal the ways in which vision can be leveraged to turn these new futures into realities. As Kari states, leadership is all about bringing new futures to fruition. Finally, Paul shares his hopes that these inbetweenisodes will allow listeners the greatest possibility to forward their leadership impact.

Welcome to Leadership Impact, the podcast for modern executives who are reinventing leadership within their organizations. Hosted by executive leadership coach and CEO of The Granger Network, Kari Granger, and Sound Financial Group CEO, Paul Adams, this podcast aims to address the topics of performance and leadership through real life examples. This is episode 8, the fourth episode of our four-part series on momentum. In this episode, Kari and Paul talk all about physicality. A person’s posture, body language, and even stance can have an impact on relationships, performance, and results. Rather than taking the worn path of how your body language is coming off to others, Kari and Paul take a fresh take on physicality by looking at how to leverage your stance to empower yourself. Kari and Paul both share examples that break down how altering one’s physicality led to elevated performance. First, Paul discusses how his chief of staff’s physicality prevented her from elevating herself to strategic thinking. Then, Kari takes the audience through the time she worked with a colonel turned general officer in the U.S. military to improve his body language. Through simple, yet defined, tweaks and changes, both the chief of staff and the military officer were able to shift their strategic thinking and improve their performance. Finally, Kari shares her own strategy of centering as Paul challenges the audience to practice centering by taking a moment out of each day to get in the right physical and mental state. For full shownotes: https://grangernetwork.com/8

Welcome to Leadership Impact, the podcast for modern executives who are reinventing leadership within their organizations. Hosted by executive leadership coach and CEO of The Granger Network, Kari Granger, and Sound Financial Group CEO, Paul Adams, this podcast aims to address the topics of performance and leadership through real life examples. This is third episode in our four-part series on momentum. In this episode, Kari and Paul analyze the topic of shifting conversations in order to intervene in performance, possibilities and accomplishments. Competing perspectives have always existed and will continue to exist in society. Both Paul and Kari share instances that embody this phenomenon. First, Paul cites the current polarizing political landscape as a source of conflict where shifting conversations is necessary in order to find common ground. Kari echoes this sentiment by discussing the conflict in Northern Ireland between Protestants and Catholics. In both cases, there is a fundamental common belief that each side fails to realize. To shift our conversations, we must shift from identifying with our position to focusing on the fundamental care underneath the position. Kari and Paul argue that, by shifting conversations, we can learn from different points of view that enhance our own solutions. Finally, Kari and Paul drive home the idea that, through our conversations, we create realities and experiences both for ourselves and for those around us. By becoming aware that our conversations creates our reality and move us, we can harness an enormous power for ourselves as leaders.  For full shownotes: https://grangernetwork.com/7

In this episode, Kari and Paul delve into how to cultivate new moods to maintain our most cherished ambitions. Paul uses the story of the Sirens’ Songs in Homer’s Odyssey to make the point that our attention can (and often does) get captured by tangential possibilities, causing us to stray from what we care about most. Kari shares her own Sirens’ Song, which manifested itself in the form of a pursuit of higher revenue targets to keep pace with her growing company. Because this accomplishment wasn’t connected to the core reason she chose to expand her company, she found herself in a mood of resentment. Kari deconstructs how this mood had a debilitating effect on her ambition. However, using the strategy of cultivating a mood of acceptance, Kari was able to shift from resignation to a new space for her own ambition to flourish. Kari and Paul reveal how cultivating a mood of acceptance opens a new horizon of possibility. This gives us the context to be able to reinvent a new future based on our ambitions. Finally, Paul challenges the audience to observe how moods affect the ambition of those surrounding them at work and at home in order to connect with our own ambition and think differently about what is possible. 

In this episode, we focus on the topic of moods and how they act as powerful and shaping forces in our lives. Kari defines mood as a shared social phenomenon with the power to orient entire teams and organizations in both positive and negative ways. Moods can open up or close down opportunities in business and relationships, as is aptly represented in the story Paul shares in this episode. Paul provides an example of a time when a well-respected CEO allowed an overwhelmed mood to cost him future business opportunities. This CEO’s mood was such a debilitating influence that it affected not only his own health, but also the physical health of his employees. Kari deconstructs Paul’s story, making the connection between moods and assessments. She advocates utilizing awareness and assessments in order to manifest and cultivate productive moods. Finally, Paul challenges listeners to set three reminders daily in order to track their moods throughout the day. By mastering the subjective space of moods through this exercise, we can learn to work with moods more effectively.