Life as Leadership: Where Leaders Gather to Grow Together

Download a year's worth of https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (weekly action steps to improve your leadership) for FREE! Sam Palazzolo is an entrepreneur, venture capitalist, author, leadership professor, and nonprofit philanthropist. He brings a variety of value creation topics to entrepreneurs and business leaders. His ideas and actionable takeaways are captured in his five books, the most recent being The Influential Leader: Leading at the Tip of the Spear. CONNECT WITH SAM: Website: https://www.tipofthespearventures.com (https://www.tipofthespearventures.com) Twitter: https://twitter.com/SamPalazzolo (https://twitter.com/SamPalazzolo) CONNECT WITH JOSH LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/joshuafriedeman (https://linkedin.com/in/joshuafriedeman) Twitter: https://twitter.com/joshuafriedeman (https://twitter.com/joshuafriedeman) Email: josh@friedemanleadership.com Want a FREE list of weekly action steps to improve your leadership? Download the https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (Leadership Action List) TODAY! Mentioned in this episode: Business Bitcoinization Trailer https://www.lifeasleadership.com/bizbit-trailer (Listen to the trailer) Subscribe to Business Bitcoinization https://www.lifeasleadership.com/bizbit-subscribe (Subscribe on your favorite podcast app)

Download a year's worth of https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (weekly action steps to improve your leadership) for FREE! Dan Macklin is the CEO of Salary Finance Inc, partnering with over 600 of the world's leading employers to offer financial wellness solutions to their employees. Salary Finance is driven by an ambitious mission of helping 10 million Americans out of debt and into savings. Previously, Dan was a Co-founder and VP Business Development at SoFi, valued at more than $12 billion after going public in June 2021. He has been interviewed by publications including Bloomberg, CNBC, Forbes and Wall Street Journal. Dan was named as one of the 25 Inspiring Entrepreneurs to Watch by Inc and, much to the amusement of his kids, was selected as one of the 40 Coolest People Under 40 in Silicon Valley by Business Insider. CONNECT WITH DAN: Website: https://www.salaryfinance.com (https://www.salaryfinance.com) Twitter: https://twitter.com/macklindan (https://twitter.com/macklindan) CONNECT WITH JOSH LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/joshuafriedeman (https://linkedin.com/in/joshuafriedeman) Twitter: https://twitter.com/joshuafriedeman (https://twitter.com/joshuafriedeman) Email: josh@friedemanleadership.com Want a FREE list of weekly action steps to improve your leadership? Download the https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (Leadership Action List) TODAY! Mentioned in this episode: Subscribe to Business Bitcoinization https://www.lifeasleadership.com/bizbit-subscribe (Subscribe on your favorite podcast app) Business Bitcoinization Trailer https://www.lifeasleadership.com/bizbit-trailer (Listen to the trailer)

Download a year's worth of https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (weekly action steps to improve your leadership) for FREE! JM Ryerson is a Mindset Coach, host of the Transcend in Life Podcast, and author of the Amazon best-seller, "Let's Go Win: The Keys to Living Your Best Life.” JM believes that everything rises and falls on leadership. Based on this belief, he has spent his career focused on enriching the lives of others while continuing to educate himself on best practices in leadership, vulnerability, and teamwork. His passion is to help others succeed at work, at home, and in life by offering simple tools that provide a work/life balance. CONNECT WITH JM: Website: https://letsgowin.com/ (https://letsgowin.com/) Twitter: https://twitter.com/Letsgowin365 (https://twitter.com/Letsgowin365) https://letsgowin.com/work-life-balance-freebie-work-life-balance-self-assessment (Free Work-Life Balance Assessment) CONNECT WITH JOSH LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/joshuafriedeman (https://linkedin.com/in/joshuafriedeman) Twitter: https://twitter.com/joshuafriedeman (https://twitter.com/joshuafriedeman) Email: josh@friedemanleadership.com Want a FREE list of weekly action steps to improve your leadership? Download the https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (Leadership Action List) TODAY! Mentioned in this episode: Subscribe to Business Bitcoinization https://www.lifeasleadership.com/bizbit-subscribe (Subscribe on your favorite podcast app) Business Bitcoinization Trailer https://www.lifeasleadership.com/bizbit-trailer (Listen to the trailer)

Download a year's worth of https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (weekly action steps to improve your leadership) for FREE! Jeff Wilkinson is a longtime Austin entrepreneur, currently serving as the chairman and CEO of Keystone Bank. He founded Keystone Bank with a maverick and entrepreneurial approach to local banking that ultimately enables easily accessible financial resources for its community members. Previously, he founded Pioneer Bank in Austin. Under his leadership as the CEO and president, he managed to grow the banks' assets to $1.2 billion and expanded to 22 locations across Texas. CONNECT WITH JEFF: Website: https://www.keystone.bank (https://www.keystone.bank) CONNECT WITH JOSH LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/joshuafriedeman (https://linkedin.com/in/joshuafriedeman) Twitter: https://twitter.com/joshuafriedeman (https://twitter.com/joshuafriedeman) Email: josh@friedemanleadership.com Want a FREE list of weekly action steps to improve your leadership? Download the https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (Leadership Action List) TODAY! Mentioned in this episode: Business Bitcoinization Trailer https://www.lifeasleadership.com/bizbit-trailer (Listen to the trailer) Subscribe to Business Bitcoinization https://www.lifeasleadership.com/bizbit-subscribe (Subscribe on your favorite podcast app)

Download a year's worth of https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (weekly action steps to improve your leadership) for FREE! Mike “C-Roc” Ciorrocco is the CEO of People Building, Inc. the co-founder of Blooprinted, and the powerhouse behind the “What Are You Made Of?” movement. He's also the best-selling author of ROCKET FUEL: Convert Setbacks. Become Unstoppable. He has been featured by Yahoo! Finance as one of the Top Business Leaders to Follow in 2020 and is on a mission to build people. C-Roc had a fire lit in him at an early age, and that fire has ignited him with a fierce desire to compel people to see the greatness inside themselves by using past life events to fuel their fire. CONNECT WITH Mike: Website: https://blooprinted.com/ (https://blooprinted.com/) Website: https://mikecroc.com/ (https://mikecroc.com/) CONNECT WITH JOSH LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/joshuafriedeman (https://linkedin.com/in/joshuafriedeman) Twitter: https://twitter.com/joshuafriedeman (https://twitter.com/joshuafriedeman) Email: josh@friedemanleadership.com Want a FREE list of weekly action steps to improve your leadership? Download the https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (Leadership Action List) TODAY! Mentioned in this episode: Business Bitcoinization Trailer https://www.lifeasleadership.com/bizbit-trailer (Listen to the trailer) Subscribe to Business Bitcoinization https://www.lifeasleadership.com/bizbit-subscribe (Subscribe on your favorite podcast app)

Download a year's worth of https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (weekly action steps to improve your leadership) for FREE! Nora Herting is a pioneer of visual strategy. She is passionate about expanding peoples' definition of creativity and believes the best way to meet the demands of business today is to take a visual approach that blends strategic thinking and creative expression. She leads a compelling conversation around the power of visual thinking as a catalyst for personal and organizational change. As a sought-after speaker and thought leader, Nora has inspired global audiences with her creative keynotes at Cannes Lions, SXSW Interactive, WBENC (the women's business enterprise national council). CONNECT WITH NORA: Website: https://www.imagethink.net/ (https://www.imagethink.net/) Twitter: https://twitter.com/ImageThink (https://twitter.com/ImageThink) CONNECT WITH JOSH LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/joshuafriedeman (https://linkedin.com/in/joshuafriedeman) Twitter: https://twitter.com/joshuafriedeman (https://twitter.com/joshuafriedeman) Email: josh@friedemanleadership.com Want a FREE list of weekly action steps to improve your leadership? Download the https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (Leadership Action List) TODAY! Mentioned in this episode: Subscribe to Business Bitcoinization https://www.lifeasleadership.com/bizbit-subscribe (Subscribe on your favorite podcast app) Business Bitcoinization Trailer https://www.lifeasleadership.com/bizbit-trailer (Listen to the trailer)

Download a year's worth of https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (weekly action steps to improve your leadership) for FREE! Mike Smerklo is an entrepreneur, investor, and business leader driven by the desire to turn ideas into reality. He is the co-founder and managing director of Next Coast Ventures, which has backed more than 40 companies across two funds, where he champions a new generation of entrepreneurs building disruptive companies in big markets. He is the author of Mr. Monkey and Me: A Real Survival Guide for Entrepreneurs CONNECT WITH MIKE: Website: https://www.mikesmerklo.com (https://www.mikesmerklo.com) Twitter: https://twitter.com/mikesmerklo (https://twitter.com/mikesmerklo) CONNECT WITH JOSH LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/joshuafriedeman (https://linkedin.com/in/joshuafriedeman) Twitter: https://twitter.com/joshuafriedeman (https://twitter.com/joshuafriedeman) Email: josh@friedemanleadership.com Want a FREE list of weekly action steps to improve your leadership? Download the https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (Leadership Action List) TODAY! Mentioned in this episode: Subscribe to Business Bitcoinization https://www.lifeasleadership.com/bizbit-subscribe (Subscribe on your favorite podcast app) Business Bitcoinization Trailer https://www.lifeasleadership.com/bizbit-trailer (Listen to the trailer)

Download a year's worth of https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (weekly action steps to improve your leadership) for FREE! Rob Shallenberger is one of the world's leading authorities on planning and productivity. He's trained and spoken for hundreds of organizations around the world. He served as an F-16 Pilot in the United States Air Force for 11 years, was an Advance Agent for Air Force One, and traveled the world working with foreign embassies and the Secret Service. He's the CEO of Becoming Your Best Global Leadership and is the bestselling author of five different books focused on leadership, planning, and high-performance including his newest, Do What Matters Most: Lead With a Vision, Manage With a Plan, Prioritize Your Time. CONNECT WITH ROB: Website: https://www.bybassessment.com (https://www.bybassessment.com) Website: https://www.becomingyourbest.com/ (https://www.becomingyourbest.com/) CONNECT WITH JOSH LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/joshuafriedeman (https://linkedin.com/in/joshuafriedeman) Twitter: https://twitter.com/joshuafriedeman (https://twitter.com/joshuafriedeman) Email: josh@friedemanleadership.com Want a FREE list of weekly action steps to improve your leadership? Download the https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (Leadership Action List) TODAY! Mentioned in this episode: Business Bitcoinization Trailer https://www.lifeasleadership.com/bizbit-trailer (Listen to the trailer) Subscribe to Business Bitcoinization https://www.lifeasleadership.com/bizbit-subscribe (Subscribe on your favorite podcast app)

Download a year's worth of https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (weekly action steps to improve your leadership) for FREE! Olly Wood is the owner and head coach at The Meta Project, an online health and fitness company focused on upgrading your gut health to get more out of your body so you can show up at your best. With over 180 active clients, the Meta Project has built a world-class level coaching team, including clinical nutritionists, mindset coaches, and exercise professionals to elevate your entire approach to mental and physical health. CONNECT WITH OLLY Website: https://themetaproject.co/ (https://themetaproject.co/) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ollywoodnz/ (https://www.instagram.com/ollywoodnz/) CONNECT WITH JOSH LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/joshuafriedeman (https://linkedin.com/in/joshuafriedeman) Twitter: https://twitter.com/joshuafriedeman (https://twitter.com/joshuafriedeman) Email: josh@friedemanleadership.com Want a FREE list of weekly action steps to improve your leadership? Download the https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (Leadership Action List) TODAY! Mentioned in this episode: Subscribe to Business Bitcoinization https://www.lifeasleadership.com/bizbit-subscribe (Subscribe on your favorite podcast app) Business Bitcoinization Trailer https://www.lifeasleadership.com/bizbit-trailer (Listen to the trailer)

Download a year's worth of https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (weekly action steps to improve your leadership) for FREE! Brian Covey is a USA Olympic Soccer Player turned VP of one of the largest mortgage companies in America. Brian has mastered the art of a growth mindset, the art of winning, and the art of staying fit. He believes in integration and health over all things. Brian is an executive at LoanDepot, a proud father, a top-rated podcaster, and a fabulous soccer dad. He throws the suit down and coaches his daughter's league with joy several times a week. His new book, “Conversation with Covey” highlights some of the most incredible stories he's gotten to share on his podcast, the Brian Covey Show. CONNECT WITH BRIAN Website: https://www.briancovey.com (https://www.briancovey.com) Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheBrianCovey (https://twitter.com/TheBrianCovey) CONNECT WITH JOSH LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/joshuafriedeman (https://linkedin.com/in/joshuafriedeman) Twitter: https://twitter.com/joshuafriedeman (https://twitter.com/joshuafriedeman) Email: josh@friedemanleadership.com Want a FREE list of weekly action steps to improve your leadership? Download the https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (Leadership Action List) TODAY! Mentioned in this episode: Subscribe to Business Bitcoinization https://www.lifeasleadership.com/bizbit-subscribe (Subscribe on your favorite podcast app) Business Bitcoinization Trailer https://www.lifeasleadership.com/bizbit-trailer (Listen to the trailer)

Download a year's worth of https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (weekly action steps to improve your leadership) for FREE! Jeffrey Magee is the “Thought Leader's Leader.” He is the publisher and editor-in-chief of Professional Performance Magazine, editor of the LEADERSHIP MASTERY and SALES MASTERY blogs, a former nationally syndicated Radio Talk Show Host, as well as a published author of 31 books, including 4-Best Sellers and 4 graduate management textbooks. He is a leadership columnist and highly sought global professional speaker on performance psychology.   LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS Three steps to create engagement: 1. Awareness (what/why), 2. Engagement (how), 3. Commitment (when) Unleash innovation by inviting critical thought. Make it safe for someone to challenge. Provide financial incentives for quantitative benefit to the business that come through innovation.   QUESTIONS TO INSPIRE US TO ACTION What is some lesson, saying, or experience that continues to influence your leadership to this day? Do not accept anything people say or do unless you can validate it. Use three descriptors to finish this sentence: “A leader is…” Bold, brilliant, and has foresight. What is a question that leaders should be asking either themselves or others? What are the implications of your decisions and ideas over the horizon? What book would you recommend to leaders? Jeff's reading formula: Always be reading 1) a technical book/textbook on your profession, 2) the pop book that people are talking about, 3) an autobiography of someone within your industry, 4) a how-to book within your space. If you could get every listener to start doing something THIS week to help them be a better leader, what would it be? Think legacy. Stop and recognize what it is you are doing that people will remember – your actions, behaviors, comments. As a general life principle, is it better to ask “why?” or “why not?” “Why not?” because it is contrarian. It challenges people to a deeper thought.   CONNECT WITH JEFF Email: http://drjeffspeaks@aol.com (drjeffspeaks@aol.com) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drjeffspeaks/ (@drjeffspeaks) Website: http://www.jeffreymagee.com/ (www.JeffreyMagee.com)   CONNECT WITH JOSH LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Instagram: https://instagram.com/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Email: josh@friedemanleadership.com   Want a FREE list of weekly action steps to improve your leadership? Download the https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (Leadership Action List) TODAY!

Free 16-minute training: https://bizbreakthrough.co/ ☝️ (8 if you're doing it right!) Email: josh@friedemanleadership.com

Download a year's worth of https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (weekly action steps to improve your leadership) for FREE!   Paula Caligiuri is a Distinguished Professor of International Business and Strategy at Northeastern University. Paula has authored award-winning articles and books – including her most recent book Build Your Cultural Agility: The Nine Competencies of Successful Global Professionals. She has been a frequent expert guest on CNN and is an instructor for a LinkedIn Learning course entitled Managing Globally. Paula co-founded a public benefit corporation, Skiilify, to help foster cultural understanding, and she holds a Ph.D. from Penn State University in Organizational Psychology.   LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS A multicultural environment is any environment that is demographically different (not just ethnic/national). Getting in an extreme cultural situation does more harm than good for cultural agility. Americans tend to smile a lot. This can look a little strange or un-credible. Be aware of the level of formality if you are working with people from another culture/demographic. In some cultures, silence means you are engaged. Sometimes it means you are disengaged. Push against the desire to seek the familiar and find someone who is demographically diverse.    QUESTIONS TO INSPIRE US TO ACTION What is some lesson, saying, or experience that continues to influence your leadership to this day? Having to get a job to make it during a study-abroad experience in Europe. Use three descriptors to finish this sentence: “A leader is…” Courageous, authentic, transparent. What is a question that leaders should be asking either themselves or others? How much time am I really spending understanding the environment I'm in and the people I'm with? What book would you recommend to leaders? Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman If you could get every listener to start doing something THIS week to help them be a better leader, what would it be? Ask two more questions in any situation you're in (no matter your natural level of curiosity). As a general life principle, is it better to ask “why?” or “why not?” “Why not?” because we can offer vision and hope and make a change whatever corner of the world we're in.   CONNECT WITH PAULA LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulacaligiuri/ (@paulacaligiuri) Website: https://mygiide.com/ (https://mygiide.com/)   CONNECT WITH JOSH LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Instagram: https://instagram.com/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Email: josh@friedemanleadership.com   Want a FREE list of weekly action steps to improve your leadership? Download the https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (Leadership Action List) TODAY!

Download a year's worth of https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (weekly action steps to improve your leadership) for FREE!   Maj. Gen. Diana Holland commands the Mississippi Valley Division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and serves as president of the Mississippi River Commission. She is responsible for water resources engineering solutions in a 370,000-square-mile area, extending from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico and encompassing portions of 12 states. Her division serves the Mississippi Valley region, strengthens our nation's security, energizes the economy, and reduces risks from disasters. Full bio: https://www.mvd.usace.army.mil/About/Leadership/Bio-Article-View/Article/2240852/major-general-diana-m-holland/ (https://www.mvd.usace.army.mil/About/Leadership/Bio-Article-View/Article/2240852/major-general-diana-m-holland/)    LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS You won't always bring to your team what your predecessor brought. So, while you do need to fill the role, it might look different. You need to be the leader the organization needs, not the leader you may have been in the past. The higher you go in an organization, the less it is about you. Be yourself but be self-aware.   QUESTIONS TO INSPIRE US TO ACTION What is some lesson, saying, or experience that continues to influence your leadership to this day? Thinking about the word/term that describes you or how you want to be remembered. Use three descriptors to finish this sentence: “A leader is…” Visionary, communicator, and present. What is a question that leaders should be asking either themselves or others? What is it that I do for the organization that only I can do? What book would you recommend to leaders? Leading with Heart by Mike Krzyzewski If you could get every listener to start doing something THIS week to help them be a better leader, what would it be? Find a mentor or be a mentor. As a general life principle, is it better to ask “why?” or “why not?” “Why?” is the best thing to ask in any conversation. It helps break you away from your assumptions.   CONNECT WITH DIANA LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/diana-holland-48b162133/ (@diana-holland)   CONNECT WITH JOSH LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Instagram: https://instagram.com/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Email: josh@friedemanleadership.com   Interview with David Pittman: https://www.lifeasleadership.com/episode/formal-authority-vs-moral-authority-with-david-pittman/ (https://www.lifeasleadership.com/episode/formal-authority-vs-moral-authority-with-david-pittman/)   Want a FREE list of weekly action steps to improve your leadership? Download the https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (Leadership Action List) TODAY!

Download a year's worth of https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (weekly action steps to improve your leadership) for FREE!   Peter Scott is a futurist, author, and technology expert. He spent thirty years working on enterprise computing for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory while running a parallel career in business coaching and human development. This combination led to a uniquely valuable perspective on the implications of artificial intelligence development. He teaches individuals and consults for businesses on how to thrive through the coming era of technological disruption. He's appeared before highly diverse audiences in several countries, including testifying before a British Parliamentary group on the impact of AI and giving two TEDx talks.   LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS We are in an era where we will be defined more by questions than answers because answers are the province of machines. People tend to be too scared about the wrong things and not scared enough about the right things. If you wait for the future to come to you, it will be painful. Rather than us visiting the unknown, the unknown will be visiting us. Artificial intelligence will amplify biases in data since today's AI relies on data rather than expertise. You will want about 10,000 data points (preferably 100,000 or more) you can begin making predictions with AI. The more proprietary your data sets are, the more strategic value you can derive from them (even if the data has not been core to your primary offer until this point). To thrive in an AI world, understand and double down on your purpose. Why are you here? Take your leadership role out of business intelligence and analytics decisions because that is perfect fodder for future AI developments.   QUESTIONS TO INSPIRE US TO ACTION What is some lesson, saying, or experience that continues to influence your leadership to this day? The meaning of a communication is a response that it elicits. Use three descriptors to finish this sentence: “A leader is…” Future-focused, purpose-focused, and people-focused. What is a question that leaders should be asking either themselves or others? What would you keep doing even if a machine could do it faster, better, and cheaper? What book would you recommend to leaders? The Man Who Sold the Moon by Robert Heinlein If you could get every listener to start doing something THIS week to help them be a better leader, what would it be? Look at what you care about in your business life and personal life and ask how well-prepared you are to deal with the technological disruption to how that thing works. As a general life principle, is it better to ask “why?” or “why not?” They're both essential tools to questioning accepted wisdom.   CONNECT WITH PETER Twitter: https://twitter.com/peterjscott (@peterjscott) Email: http://peter@humancusp.com (peter@humancusp.com) Website: https://humancusp.com/ (https://humancusp.com) Website: https://aiandyou.net (https://aiandyou.net)   CONNECT WITH JOSH LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Instagram: https://instagram.com/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Email: josh@friedemanleadership.com   Want a FREE list of weekly action steps to improve your leadership? Download the https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (Leadership Action List) TODAY!

Download a year's worth of https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (weekly action steps to improve your leadership) for FREE!   Dr. Bill Dorfman has had a career unparalleled to any other dentist in history. He is the founder of Discus Dental – one of the world's leading dental companies, which he helped lead from its inception to more than $1.3 billion in sales. He has transformed the smiles of celebrities such Anthony Hopkins, Hugh Jackman, Michael Strahan, and Mark Wahlberg. He was the only dentist featured on ABC's hit show Extreme Makeover and is currently a recurring guest co-host on the CBS Emmy Awarded daytime talk show, The Doctors. He is also the founder of the non-profit LEAP Foundation, which is a week-long motivational and leadership program taught at UCLA every summer to more than 400 students.   LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS Successful people do what other unsuccessful people are not willing to do. Don't wait for opportunities in life. Make them. When you get an opportunity, don't take it. Master it. A lot of leaders forget to share their mental image of the final product. Effective leaders need to share the end result.   QUESTIONS TO INSPIRE US TO ACTION What is some lesson, saying, or experience that continues to influence your leadership to this day? Copy genius. See what people are doing and do it better. Use three descriptors to finish this sentence: “A leader is…” Someone who shares, someone who cares, and someone who pairs up with others. What is a question that leaders should be asking either themselves or others? What kind of value am I adding? What book would you recommend to leaders? Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill If you could get every listener to start doing something THIS week to help them be a better leader, what would it be? Learn so you can earn and then return. As a general life principle, is it better to ask “why?” or “why not?” Both. “Why not?” is more important to conquer. “Why?”   CONNECT WITH BILL LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drbilldorfman (@drbilldorfman) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drbilldorfman/ (@drbilldorfman) Website: https://www.leapfoundation.com/ (https://www.leapfoundation.com/)   CONNECT WITH JOSH LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Instagram: https://instagram.com/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Email: josh@friedemanleadership.com   Want a FREE list of weekly action steps to improve your leadership? Download the https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (Leadership Action List) TODAY!

Download a year's worth of https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (weekly action steps to improve your leadership) for FREE!   Sean Swarner used to have the goal of crawling eight feet from the hospital bed to the bathroom. Today, he's the only person to summit Mt. Everest, the highest peaks on the other six continents, and complete the Hawaii Ironman—all after surviving two deadly cancers. In addition to all that, he has only one lung. He has been voted One of The Top Eight Most Inspirational People Of All Time and is the first cancer survivor to stand on the top of the world.   LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS You have to feel worthy before you have something of value. Don't look for external reinforcement. Be aware of your GRAILs: Gremlins, Interpretations, Assumptions, and Limiting Beliefs There is fun in difficult things if you look hard enough, even if you have to manufacture it! If you go to bed with an attitude of gratitude, you're not going to be going to bed worried about everything you didn't accomplish.     QUESTIONS TO INSPIRE US TO ACTION What is some lesson, saying, or experience that continues to influence your leadership to this day? Even during incredibly difficult and stressful times, realize that you are in a passing moment. Have a determined attitude to reach your goal. Use three descriptors to finish this sentence: “A leader is…” Humble yet confident, focused on bringing out the best quality in others, and a growth/open mindset. What is a question that leaders should be asking either themselves or others? Would I want to work with myself/be associated with the person (type of person) that I am? What book would you recommend to leaders? Conquering Your Everest by Sean Swarner (not released as of publish date). If you could get every listener to start doing something THIS week to help them be a better leader, what would it be? Fully understand and grasp your personal core values and how to utilize them. As a general life principle, is it better to ask “why?” or “why not?” “Why not?” because “why?” never changes the situation. “Why not?” potentially opens your mind to possibilities and opportunities as opposed to searching for answers you may never find.   CONNECT WITH SEAN Twitter: https://twitter.com/seanswarner (@seanswarner) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanswarner/ (@seanswarner) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seanswarner/ (@seanswarner) Website: https://www.seanswarner.com/ (https://www.seanswarner.com/) The Big Hill Challenge: https://www.thebighillchallenge.com/ (https://www.thebighillchallenge.com/)   CONNECT WITH JOSH LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Instagram: https://instagram.com/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Email: josh@friedemanleadership.com   Want a FREE list of weekly action steps to improve your leadership? Download the https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (Leadership Action List) TODAY!

Download a year's worth of https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (weekly action steps to improve your leadership) for FREE!   Art Johnson is CEO of Infinity Systems, Inc., a management consulting firm where that helps leaders identify and rectify organizational misalignment. Previously, he implemented a strategic plan to improve alignment at Medtronic, the world's largest medical technology company, enabling it to grow top-line revenue by 13 percent year-over-year in a flat market. His new book is The Art of Alignment: A Data-Driven Approach to Lead Aligned Organizations.   LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS Keep your mission and vision in front of your organization – make it visible, hearable, etc. Be humble enough to look outside your organization to find better ways to do your work. Push decisions down in the org chart so that people who are closest to the problem—those who have the energy and insight to solve the problem—are the ones who also have the power to solve it.   QUESTIONS TO INSPIRE US TO ACTION What is some lesson, saying, or experience that continues to influence your leadership to this day? Leaders need to ask more questions than they answer. Use three descriptors to finish this sentence: “A leader is…” Conscientious, consistent, committed. What is a question that leaders should be asking either themselves or others? Where are the rocks in the road? What book would you recommend to leaders? Zapp! The Lightning of Empowerment: How to Improve Quality, Productivity, and Employee Satisfaction by William Byham and Jeff Cox If you could get every listener to start doing something THIS week to help them be a better leader, what would it be? Active listening. We often think we As a general life principle, is it better to ask “why?” or “why not?” Both. “Why not?” helps people challenge axioms. “Why?” is helpful to define why we've to particular conclusions.   CONNECT WITH ART Twitter: https://twitter.com/orgametrics (@orgametrics) LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/infinity-systems-inc (@infinity-systems-inc) Website: https://orgametrics.net/ (https://orgametrics.net) Email: http://info@orgametrics.net (info@orgametrics.net)   CONNECT WITH JOSH LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Instagram: https://instagram.com/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Email: josh@friedemanleadership.com   Want a FREE list of weekly action steps to improve your leadership? Download the https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (Leadership Action List) TODAY!

Download a year's worth of https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (weekly action steps to improve your leadership) for FREE!   Dr. Angela Lauria is the founder of The Author Incubator™ and creator of the Difference Process™ for writing a book that matters. She has been helping people free their inner author since 1994, helping over 1,000 authors-in-transformation write, publish, and promote their books. Angela is a Wall Street Journal and USA Today Best-selling author of 5 books. She has a B.A. and an M.A. in Journalism and Media Affairs from The George Washington University and a PhD in Communications from The European Graduate School and lives in Washington DC.   LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS Your job description should be a love letter to one person. You will attract fewer people but will attract people who are more willing to invest in you. In a job description, describe the candidate: Who the perfect person is for the role, and what the job would do for the person beyond a paycheck. Your business must stand for something in order to attract employees who will be committed. Match a job description that underscores what is important to your ideal employee at that stage in their life.    QUESTIONS TO INSPIRE US TO ACTION What is some lesson, saying, or experience that continues to influence your leadership to this day? Be willing to suck! Use three descriptors to finish this sentence: “A leader is…” Flexible, confident, and courageous. What is a question that leaders should be asking either themselves or others? If I were committed to being the best in the world at what I do, what would I be doing now? What book would you recommend to leaders? The Big Leap: Conquer Your Hidden Fear and Take Life to the Next Level by Gay Hendricks If you could get every listener to start doing something THIS week to help them be a better leader, what would it be? Pick on thing. As a general life principle, is it better to ask “why?” or “why not?” “Why not?” To be out of the box, you need to ask forgiveness rather than permission.   CONNECT WITH ANGELA Twitter: https://twitter.com/authorincubator (@authorincubator) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorincubator/ (@authorincubator) Website: http://www.TheAuthorIncubator.com (http://www.TheAuthorIncubator.com)   CONNECT WITH JOSH LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Instagram: https://instagram.com/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Email: josh@friedemanleadership.com   Want a FREE list of weekly action steps to improve your leadership? Download the https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (Leadership Action List) TODAY!

Download a year's worth of https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (weekly action steps to improve your leadership) for FREE! Mehak Vohra started her career as a Computer Science student at Purdue University. She dropped out of college at 19 years old and moved to San Francisco. Her goal was to build the most scalable marketing agency in world. She ran Jamocha Media for 4 years, and in her peak she was generating 1-2M views per month on LinkedIn for herself and her clients. In 2019, Mehak decided to start SkillBank, a marketing bootcamp that's completely free upfront. If someone is motivated to land a job in marketing, SkillBank is there to help.   LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS Align your business incentives with your stakeholders' success. Brainstorm the marketing levers you have access to and test them immediately. Identify where your competitors are having success in their marketing. In addition to marketing, constantly test and iterate in your own life. Work through the GAILs that hold you back – Gremlins, Assumptions, Interpretations, and Limiting beliefs You are your biggest project—constantly test and iterate on yourself.   QUESTIONS TO INSPIRE US TO ACTION What is some lesson, saying, or experience that continues to influence your leadership to this day? You have to look at yourself as your greatest project. Use three descriptors to finish this sentence: “A leader is…” Empathetic, regimented, and healthy. What is a question that leaders should be asking either themselves or others? What am I doing this for? What book would you recommend to leaders? Trust Me, I'm Lying by Ryan Holiday If you could get every listener to start doing something THIS week to help them be a better leader, what would it be? Start doing. The best way to learn is to put yourself out there and try new things. As a general life principle, is it better to ask “why?” or “why not?” “Why not?” because you're finding reasons to say no.   CONNECT WITH MEHAK Twitter: https://twitter.com/themehakvohra (@themehakvohra) Twitter: https://twitter.com/joinskillbank (@joinskillbank) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mehakvohra/ (@mehakvohra) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themehakvohra (@themehakvohra) Website: https://www.joinskillbank.com/ (https://www.joinskillbank.com/) Email: http://mehak@joinskillbank.com (mehak@joinskillbank.com)   CONNECT WITH JOSH LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Instagram: https://instagram.com/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Email: josh@friedemanleadership.com   Want a FREE list of weekly action steps to improve your leadership? Download the https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (Leadership Action List) TODAY!

Download a year's worth of https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (weekly action steps to improve your leadership) for FREE!   Heather Younger is a best-selling author, international speaker, consultant, and facilitator who has earned her reputation as “The Employee Whisperer.” She is the CEO and Founder of Employee Fanatix, a leading employee engagement, leadership development, and DEI consulting firm. She firmly believes that employees aren't just numbers on the payroll but human beings with ideas that matter. She is the host of Leadership with Heart podcast and has been featured in Forbes and Huffpost. Her newest book is called The Art of Caring Leadership: How Leading with Heart Uplifts Teams and Organizations.   LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS Employees should be at the center of what we do in our businesses. You are a byproduct of your past, but you are not defined by it. Evaluate your current success rate in business. Where there is a lack of success, it likely is because of a person. You will likely also identify where there are holes in your development of people. The least expensive path to “get ahead” with employee engagement is to hire people with high emotional intelligence. Get feedback from your employees through 1:1 dedicated time to tell and show people they are important.    QUESTIONS TO INSPIRE US TO ACTION What is some lesson, saying, or experience that continues to influence your leadership to this day? Childhood—growing up in a way that created a desire to feel included and important. Use three descriptors to finish this sentence: “A leader is…” Empathetic, compassionate, and a great communicator. What is a question that leaders should be asking either themselves or others? Are there any barriers I can remove for you? What book would you recommend to leaders? Anything by John Maxwell. If you could get every listener to start doing something THIS week to help them be a better leader, what would it be? Care more. As a general life principle, is it better to ask “why?” or “why not?” “Why?” because it is absolutely crucial to feel motivated to take the next step.   CONNECT WITH HEATHER Twitter: https://twitter.com/HeatherRYounger (@HeatherRYounger) LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/heatheryounger (@HeatherYounger) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heatherryoungerofficial/ (@HeatherRYoungerOfficial) Website: https://theartofcaringleadership.com/ (https://theartofcaringleadership.com/)   CONNECT WITH JOSH LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Instagram: https://instagram.com/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Email: josh@friedemanleadership.com   Want a FREE list of weekly action steps to improve your leadership? Download the https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (Leadership Action List) TODAY!

Download a year's worth of https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (weekly action steps to improve your leadership) for FREE!   Peter Ruppert is founder and CEO of i-Education Group, which operates over 75 Fusion and Futures Academies for grades 6-12 in one-student, one-teacher classroom environments. Over the past 20 years, he has opened over 120 schools and acquired more than 25 others. His experience in education spans president and CEO roles of organizations in the private school, charter school, and early education industries. He also served as a public school board member in his local community. His new book is called Limitless: Nine Steps to Launch Your One Extraordinary Life.   LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS Nine Traits of a Champion: 1.Win the battle in your head 2. Find and follow a passion 3. Dream big… then make it bigger! 4. Find a champion in your life 5. Take the first step 6. Fail often 7. Be courageous 8. Never, ever give up 9. Live As we get older, the negative voice inside our head tends to have more influence than the positive voice. Unleash the positive voice in your head more often. List out your positive traits to make yourself be more aware of the positive. Write down three victories from every day to train your mind toward positivity. Our vision and limit us or make us limitless. Many people fail to start. If you have a dream, commit it to paper and take the first step.   QUESTIONS TO INSPIRE US TO ACTION What is some lesson, saying, or experience that continues to influence your leadership to this day? “As above, so below.” An organization is often the mirror image of a leader. Use three descriptors to finish this sentence: “A leader is…” Visionary, confidence, and supportive of his team. What is a question that leaders should be asking either themselves or others? Do I have people around me who are better than I am at what they do. You do not want to be the smartest person in the room. What book would you recommend to leaders? 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John Maxwell If you could get every listener to start doing something THIS week to help them be a better leader, what would it be? Think bigger. Organizations are limited by the vision of their leaders. As a general life principle, is it better to ask “why?” or “why not?” “Why not?” It talks about possibilities – the opportunities are endless.   CONNECT WITH PETE Website: http://www.peteruppert.com/ (http://www.peteruppert.com) Email: http://pruppert@fusionacademy.com (pruppert@fusionacademy.com)   CONNECT WITH JOSH LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Instagram: https://instagram.com/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Email: josh@friedemanleadership.com   Want a FREE list of weekly action steps to improve your leadership? Download the https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (Leadership Action List) TODAY!

Download a year's worth of https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (weekly action steps to improve your leadership) for FREE!   Vijay Eswaran is a successful entrepreneur, motivational speaker, and philanthropist as well as the author of the best-selling book In the Sphere of Silence. He is the founder of a multimillion-dollar global business and is a well-known thought leader in Asia who has been listed in Forbes as one of Asia's Top 50 philanthropists. He is also on the advisory board of the World Economic Forum's Global Growth Companies and a regular speaker at WEF's annual meeting in Davos.   LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS Think, observe, listen, and breathe twice as much as you speak. A beggar lives from meal to meal. A farm worker lives from week to week. A landlord lives from month to month. A nobleman lives from year to year. A king lives at least a decade at a time. An emperor lives a hundred years at a time – planning for three generations. Silence helps you differentiate between the important and the urgent. If what you are doing today has an impact in five years, it is important. If what you are doing today has an impact in ten years, you have begun your life's journey. During your time of silence, there are three segments: 1. Do a post-mortem on what you could have done better yesterday, look at the day ahead, then plan for the week and year. 2. Do 10-20 minutes of reading from material that will change your thinking and make a difference in your life. 3. Spend 5-10 minutes of prayer or meditation. Have a group in your organization (Plan B) that essentially competes against your main business (Plan A). The role of a contrarian is very important. Find the contrarians around you and hear what they have to say.   QUESTIONS TO INSPIRE US TO ACTION What is some lesson, saying, or experience that continues to influence your leadership to this day? Be the change you want to see in the world. Use three descriptors to finish this sentence: “A leader is…” Someone who is always there, someone who leads from the front, and someone who stands for the principles he believes in. What is a question that leaders should be asking either themselves or others? Am I better than who I was yesterday? What book would you recommend to leaders? The Story of My Experiments with Truth by Mahatma Gandhi If you could get every listener to start doing something THIS week to help them be a better leader, what would it be? Take an hour to yourself every day in the morning. As a general life principle, is it better to ask “why?” or “why not?” “Why not?” There are no limitations to what you can achieve.   CONNECT WITH VIJAY ESWARAN Twitter: https://twitter.com/vjayeswaran (@vjayeswaran) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vijayeswaran/ (@vijayeswaran) YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VijayEswaran (@vijayeswaran)   CONNECT WITH JOSH LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Instagram: https://instagram.com/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Email: josh@friedemanleadership.com   Want a FREE list of weekly action steps to improve your leadership? Download the https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (Leadership Action List) TODAY!

Download a year's worth of https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (weekly action steps to improve your leadership) for FREE!   Paul Napper helps business leaders increase their effectiveness through focusing and strengthening their agency as leaders. His client list includes Fortune 500 companies, financial firms, non-profit organizations, universities, and start-ups. He is the co-author of The Power of Agency: The 7 Principles to Conquer Obstacles, Make Effective Decisions, and Create a Life on Your Own Terms.   LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS Agency is the thing that allows us to make the right kinds of choices in our lives and live life on our own terms. Two primary “buckets” for agency: Our behaviors and our thinking/processing of emotions. 3 Behavioral principles: 1. Control stimuli. To have agency, you must control the amount of stimuli you expose yourself to. 2. Associate selectively. Surround yourself with people who will make you better. 3. Manage yourself through movement. Move, eat, sleep well. 4 Cognitive principles: 4. Position yourself as a learner. Ask questions about the world, other people, yourself. 5. Manage your emotions and beliefs. Update your story as you need to. If you see yourself as a victim, etc., you will build a life around that belief. NOTE: Values don't change much in life, but beliefs do. 6. Check your intuition. This is a learned skill and the primary mode by which we make day-to-day decisions. 7. Deliberate then act. Slow down and think through important decisions before making them… but don't just deliberate! Agency allows us to adapt. There's no such thing as bad weather… just bad gear! We have the capacity to develop more agency. Instead of doing this, many look for external hacks (medication, etc.). We are all struggling to adapt, so do the work of developing agency in your life.   QUESTIONS TO INSPIRE US TO ACTION What is some lesson, saying, or experience that continues to influence your leadership to this day? We tell ourselves stories in order to live. Humans live in the stories they construct for their lives, and we're in a constant act of creating and re-creating those stories. Use three descriptors to finish this sentence: “A leader is…” Creative, thoughtful, and measured. What is a question that leaders should be asking either themselves or others? How did you arrive at that point of view? What book would you recommend to leaders? The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth by Amy Edmondson If you could get every listener to start doing something THIS week to help them be a better leader, what would it be? Slow down, reflect more, and make sure you're giving adequate time to the most important decisions you need to make. As a general life principle, is it better to ask “why?” or “why not?” “Why?” is always a critical question, and “why not?” is just the other side of the coin. They are both important.   CONNECT WITH PAUL LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drpaulnapper/ (@drpaulnapper) Website: https://powerofagency.com (https://powerofagency.com)   CONNECT WITH JOSH LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Instagram: https://instagram.com/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Email: josh@friedemanleadership.com   Want a FREE list of weekly action steps to improve your leadership? Download the https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (Leadership Action List) TODAY!

Download a year’s worth of https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (weekly action steps to improve your leadership) for FREE!   Dr. Marilyn Gist is an expert on leader development. Her academic career spans the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Washington, and Seattle University. She speaks and consults with organizations worldwide, including Boeing, AT&T, and NASA. Her new book is The Extraordinary Power of Leader Humility: Thriving Organizations—Great Results.   LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS Three questions people ask you as a leader: Who are you? Where are we going? Do you see me? Great leaders often have steel spines paired with a clear sense of other people’s dignity. Even humble leaders may have an idea of humility that suggests weakness rather than supporting others’ dignity.   QUESTIONS TO INSPIRE US TO ACTION What is some lesson, saying, or experience that continues to influence your leadership to this day? Learning from mistakes by watching other leaders. Use three descriptors to finish this sentence: “A leader is…” Visionary, emotionally mature, and inclusive. What is a question that leaders should be asking either themselves or others? Do I have a good handle on how I am seen by others? What book would you recommend to leaders? Leadership and Self Deception by Arbinger Institute If you could get every listener to start doing something THIS week to help them be a better leader, what would it be? Focus on relationship. Leading means relationship. Have a relationship with every stakeholder group. As a general life principle, is it better to ask “why?” or “why not?” “Why not?” This is about the vision piece—looking beyond “what is.”   CONNECT WITH MARILYN Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarilynGistPhD (@MarilynGistPHD) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marilyngistphd/ (@MarilynGistPHD) Website: https://www.marilyngist.com/ (https://www.marilyngist.com/)   CONNECT WITH JOSH LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Instagram: https://instagram.com/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Email: josh@friedemanleadership.com   Want a FREE list of weekly action steps to improve your leadership? Download the https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (Leadership Action List) TODAY!

Download a year’s worth of https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (weekly action steps to improve your leadership) for FREE!   Sean Fields and Michael Sanders are the authors of Quantum Lean: Taking Lean Systems to the Next Level.   Sean has over 30 years of experience in a variety of industries, working in many different phases of business. He is a network member of the nonprofit organization BeehiveFund, which assists companies with production scheduling, inventory control, and developing quality-management systems.   Michael has worked in every phase of the supply chain, including as CEO and president of food, energy, distribution, and high-tech firms. He is also the cofounder of BeehiveFund. He is sought for his expertise in negotiation, organizational psychology, Six Sigma, quality systems, and regulatory compliance.   LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS Most people use Lean as LAME (Lean as Mainly Experienced). Quantum Lean Lean is system of continual improvement primarily focused on efficiency and effectiveness. Lean allows businesses to have the best in quality, speed, and cost. Everything comes down to product. If you focus on product, profit will follow. Focusing on product for the customer does not have to hurt organizational culture or employee satisfaction.   QUESTIONS TO INSPIRE US TO ACTION What is some lesson, saying, or experience that continues to influence your leadership to this day? Sean: Your leadership can be derived from three sources: Your persuasion, your knowledge, and your formal authority. Formal authority is the least powerful, and you shouldn’t need to rely on it. Use three descriptors to finish this sentence: “A leader is…” Michael: Understanding of people, and understanding of circumstances imposed on followers, and an identifier of the core objective. What is a question that leaders should be asking either themselves or others? Sean: Is what I’m doing ultimately beneficial to the product or service my organization is providing? What book would you recommend to leaders? Michael: The First 90 Days: Critical Success Strategies for New by Michael D. Watkins If you could get every listener to start doing something THIS week to help them be a better leader, what would it be? Sean: Make sure you feed the troops – do your people have the tools, information, and materials they need to do their jobs? Michael: Commit, don’t just support change. As a general life principle, is it better to ask “why?” or “why not?” Michael: “Why?” immediately followed by “how?” This is critically important to help build, think, and perform. Sean: Personality determines which is better. Those who do stuff without questioning should as “why?” but those who always find a reason not to do things should as “why not?”   CONNECT WITH SEAN Email: s.fields@beehivefund.org LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-fields-21290b45/ (@SeanFields) Website: https://www.beehivefund.org (https://www.beehivefund.org) Book: https://www.beehivefund.org/home/book-quantum-lean/ (https://www.beehivefund.org/home/book-quantum-Lean/)   CONNECT WITH MICHAEL Email: michael@beehivefund.org LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-michael-sanders-8049a290/ (@MichaelSanders)   CONNECT WITH JOSH LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Instagram: https://instagram.com/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Email: josh@friedemanleadership.com   Want a FREE list of weekly action steps to improve your leadership? Download the https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (Leadership Action List) TODAY!2

Download a year’s worth of https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (weekly action steps to improve your leadership) for FREE!   Trey is the Managing Director of Trinity-Blue, a consultancy whose clients seek to achieve greater clarity, focus, and results from within the C-Suite. A lawyer by training, a Venture Capitalist by career, and a family man by choice, Trey has a large following in C-Suites around the country. He is the author of A CEO Does Only Three Things: Finding Your Focus in the C-Suite.   LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS Our only moral imperative is to be the person we needed when we were younger. Life provides you teachers when you’re ready to learn. The difference between good leaders and great leaders is that a GREAT leader can see the gifts in others before they see them in themselves. When you can see something on someone else before they set it, it is your responsibility to then call out that gift. A CEO only does three things: Culture, People, and Numbers. You are probably doing things other people could be doing better. For all three of these things, set the agenda and be the guiding light. In all three of these areas, overcommunicate progress or lack thereof so that everyone knows what needs to be done. Before you even look at your email, take one action in each of the areas of culture, people, and numbers. Do an absolute brain dump – an inventory of every open loop in your life. Work on-purpose, not off-purpose. Look at how much work you’re doing that is more properly delegated.   QUESTIONS TO INSPIRE US TO ACTION What is some lesson, saying, or experience that continues to influence your leadership to this day? Being an active observer and self-referencer of successful leaders. Use three descriptors to finish this sentence: “A leader is…” People-focused, culture-focused, and numbers-focused. What is a question that leaders should be asking either themselves or others? What would you do in my situation? What book would you recommend to leaders? Mastery by Robert Greene If you could get every listener to start doing something THIS week to help them be a better leader, what would it be? Create a list of the three major things you want to accomplish for each day. As a general life principle, is it better to ask “why?” or “why not?” “Why?” In asking “why,” you can find out how people are orienting daily tasks with an internal sense of purpose.   CONNECT WITH TREY LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/treytaylor/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/treytaylor/) Website: https://www.trinity-blue.com (https://www.trinity-blue.com) Email: trey@trinity-blue.com   CONNECT WITH JOSH LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Instagram: https://instagram.com/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Email: josh@friedemanleadership.com   Want a FREE list of weekly action steps to improve your leadership? Download the https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (Leadership Action List) TODAY!

Download a year’s worth of https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (weekly action steps to improve your leadership) for FREE!   Jason Lavin is a coach, speaker, and CEO with more than 25 years of experience enhancing the performance of individuals, teams, and organizations. As president of The John R. Wooden Course and CEO of Golden Communications, Lavin helps organizations—from youth sports teams to Fortune 100 companies—refine their values, mission, and vision. Jason is co-author of Coach 'Em Way Up: 5 Lessons for Leading the John Wooden Way.   LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS Most high-performing people can point to that coach or mentor in their life (besides their parents) who showed them they could do something they didn’t think they could do. The five lessons for leading the John Wooden way: 1. The quality of your thinking 2. The example you set 3. How you teach 4. How you lead 5. How you mentor. The quality of your thinking is defined by your values—what are you thinking about when you get up every morning? When identifying your own values, use the cornerstones of the Pyramid of Success: Industriousness and enthusiasm. Winning is a result of your values rather than a value itself. According to coach Wooden, true success is peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to do your best to become the best you are capable of becoming. If you want a daily masterpiece, it starts by living your values on a daily basis. Give immediate feedback when you see a need for improvement. But do it in a way that shows interest in the other person’s development. John Wooden’s definition of leadership: The ability to get individuals to work together for the common good and for the best possible results while at the same time letting them know they did it themselves.     QUESTIONS TO INSPIRE US TO ACTION What is some lesson, saying, or experience that continues to influence your leadership to this day? Make each day your masterpiece. Use three descriptors to finish this sentence: “A leader is…” Empathetic, confident/courageous, and fair. What is a question that leaders should be asking either themselves or others? Can you teach character? (Yes.) What book would you recommend to leaders? Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear If you could get every listener to start doing something THIS week to help them be a better leader, what would it be? Take the Pyramid of Success Personal Assessment. As a general life principle, is it better to ask “why?” or “why not?” “Why not?” Failing is a good thing.   CONNECT WITH JASON Twitter: https://twitter.com/woodencourse (@woodencourse) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonlavin (@jasonlavin) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/woodencourse/ (@woodencourse) Website: https://coachemwayup.com (https://coachemwayup.com)   CONNECT WITH JOSH LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Instagram: https://instagram.com/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Email: josh@friedemanleadership.com   Want a FREE list of weekly action steps to improve your leadership? Download the https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (Leadership Action List) TODAY!

Download a year’s worth of https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (weekly action steps to improve your leadership) for FREE!   Molly McGrath is a podcaster, decade-long blogger, and two-time Amazon #1 Best Selling Author. Since the late nineties, Molly has coached, consulted and directed presidents and founders of national organizations and over 4,000 small business owners in executive-level leadership, continuous improvement, and team empowerment initiatives to infiltrate new markets, leveraging partner ecosystems and producing profitability.   LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS An intrapreneur is someone who comes with proposed solutions rather than constant problems. They have ownership in their bones, even if they don’t have an actual stake in the business. People often have a “sleeping giant” in their business. If you have an open culture where people have the permission and platform to speak up, be sure to search for high-potential people you may have overlooked. When looking for intrapreneurs, ask powerful questions then pause and listen. If someone begins to pour forth ideas, you have found that right person. Develop an employee growth plan rather than performance reviews. This includes a self-evaluation combined with impact goals that align with both their professional growth and the company’s goals.   QUESTIONS TO INSPIRE US TO ACTION What is some lesson, saying, or experience that continues to influence your leadership to this day? A confused mind says “no.” Use three descriptors to finish this sentence: “A leader is…” Upfront, out front, and wholly responsible for their communication and the energy they leave in every interaction and room. What is a question that leaders should be asking either themselves or others? How am I doing? What book would you recommend to leaders? Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High by Joseph Grenny, Kerry Patterson, and Ron McMillan If you could get every listener to start doing something THIS week to help them be a better leader, what would it be? Do a weekly self-management meeting every Sunday before starting the work week. As a general life principle, is it better to ask “why?” or “why not?” “Why not?” this overcomes the response/attitude of “I (or we) can’t.”   CONNECT WITH MOLLY LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/molly-hall/ (@molly-hall) Website: https://hiringandempowering.com/ (https://hiringandempowering.com/) Email: molly@hiringandempowering.com   CONNECT WITH JOSH LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Instagram: https://instagram.com/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Email: josh@friedemanleadership.com   Want a FREE list of weekly action steps to improve your leadership? Download the https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (Leadership Action List) TODAY!

Download a year’s worth of https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (weekly action steps to improve your leadership) for FREE!   Joseph Fung is the CEO of Uvaro, a tech sales career accelerator and Kiite, a sales enablement platform purpose-built to provide sales teams with the information they need when they need it. Joseph is a repeat founder and CEO and speaks frequently on the topics of sales leadership, diversity, and corporate social responsibility. He is an active early-stage investor who ensures that the majority of his investments are into women-led companies. Joseph also sits on the boards of Communitech, the Golden Triangle Angel Network, and the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony.   LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS Ask questions to help people reframe their assumptions about what is possible. Think about what’s important early on because it will have an impact on your future. Early on, it’s tempting to piecemeal. Do things right from the beginning, and you won’t have to worry about negative long-term effects of haphazard operations. Processes and systems are extremely valuable. Pay attention to what people are doing at levels above you and learn from them. Leaders often start with confidence, mature into a position of fear, then return to a position of confidence. Be rigorous in the way you define your cultural values – including the second- and third-order processes that are influenced by those values. Throw away the term “culture fit” and instead look for “culture add.” Your values are as aspirational as your vision.   QUESTIONS TO INSPIRE US TO ACTION What is some lesson, saying, or experience that continues to influence your leadership to this day? Feedback is a gift. Use three descriptors to finish this sentence: “A leader is…” Open to new information, self-aware, and led by their own convictions. What is a question that leaders should be asking either themselves or others? What should/will I do when X happens? What book would you recommend to leaders? Leaders Under Fire: The CEO's Survival Guide to Navigating Corporate Crisis by Jeff Chatterton and Conway Fraser If you could get every listener to start doing something THIS week to help them be a better leader, what would it be? Ask your team for anonymous feedback regularly (build that muscle before you get to a crisis situation!) As a general life principle, is it better to ask “why?” or “why not?” Both. “Why?” keeps you in focus and on-point, but “why not?” will help you remove barriers and uncover paths of growth.   CONNECT WITH JOSEPH Twitter: https://twitter.com/uvarolife (@uvarolife) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/school/uvaro (@uvaro) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uvaro.life/ (@uvaro.life) YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/uvaro (@uvaro) Website: https://uvaro.com (https://uvaro.com) Email: joseph@uvaro.com   CONNECT WITH JOSH LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Instagram: https://instagram.com/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Email: josh@friedemanleadership.com   Want a FREE list of weekly action steps to improve your leadership? Download the https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (Leadership Action List) TODAY!

Download a year’s worth of https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (weekly action steps to improve your leadership) for FREE!   Minter Dial is an international professional speaker and multiple award-winning author specialized in leadership, branding, and transformation. He’s a three-time entrepreneur who has exercised twelve different professions and changed country fifteen times. Minter's core career stint of 16 years was spent as a top executive at L’Oréal, where he was a member of the worldwide Executive Committee for the Professional Products Division. He’s author of the award-winning WWII story, The Last Ring Home (documentary film and biographical book, 2016) as well as Futureproof (2017) and Heartificial Empathy (2019). His latest book on leadership is You Lead: How Being Yourself Makes You a Better Leader.   LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS Find a balance between the life of work with a tie and the life after work with tie-dye. The more you know your weaknesses, the more you embrace them rather than seek to cover them up. The more at-ease you are with yourself. Create a crystal-clear vision of who you want to be in the future based on who you are, not what you do. Work to link each team member’s values with the organization’s values. Manage your energy well. Don’t be the only person injecting energy into your team and help your team tap into their own discretionary energy.   QUESTIONS TO INSPIRE US TO ACTION What is some lesson, saying, or experience that continues to influence your leadership to this day? Change is inevitable; growth is the option. Use three descriptors to finish this sentence: “A leader is…” Responsible, courageous, and by example. What is a question that leaders should be asking either themselves or others? Do you What book would you recommend to leaders? Lost Connections: Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression – and the Unexpected Solutions by Johann Hari If you could get every listener to start doing something THIS week to help them be a better leader, what would it be? Spend time thinking about who they are and what’s important. As a general life principle, is it better to ask “why?” or “why not?” “Why?” because you need to know what it’s important, which means knowing who you are.   CONNECT WITH MINTER Twitter: https://twitter.com/mdial (@mdial) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/minterdial (@minterdial) Instagram: https://instagram.com/mdial (@mdial) Website: http://minterdial.com (http://minterdial.com)   CONNECT WITH JOSH LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Instagram: https://instagram.com/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Email: josh@friedemanleadership.com   Want a FREE list of weekly action steps to improve your leadership? Download the https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (Leadership Action List) TODAY!

Download a year’s worth of https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (weekly action steps to improve your leadership) for FREE!   For over a decade, organizational development coach Benny Ausmus has broken the mold of executive coaching and management consulting. Refusing to limit his methods to a one-size-fits-all formula, he approaches each new project by merging hard data with strategic development initiatives, tailoring transformation programs for companies, teams, and individuals using his dynamic TLC coaching system. In his new book, The Transformational Leadership Compass, he lays out this dynamic system of transformation to help leaders create the big changes required to adapt, thrive, and shape the future.   LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS Transformational leadership is where a leader works in tandem with their team to identify and execute change. Transformational leaders have the “Four I’s”: Idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individual consideration. Transformational leadership is one of the most effective styles of leadership, but it is also one of the most hands-on styles. Use common language throughout your organization so that communication and action become more streamlined.     QUESTIONS TO INSPIRE US TO ACTION What is some lesson, saying, or experience that continues to influence your leadership to this day? Leaders always get the teams they deserve. Use three descriptors to finish this sentence: “A leader is…” Flexible, open, and strong. What is a question that leaders should be asking either themselves or others? How can this be made better by my actions? What book would you recommend to leaders? Leadership by James MacGregor Burns If you could get every listener to start doing something THIS week to help them be a better leader, what would it be? Ask better questions. Approach questions with genuine curiosity. Seek to clarify and distill. As a general life principle, is it better to ask “why?” or “why not?” “Why?” Clear choose what to dedicate your time and energy to.   CONNECT WITH BENNY Twitter: https://twitter.com/big_change_ (@big_change_) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bennyausmus/ (in/bennyausmus) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bigchangegroup/ (@bigchangegroup) Website: https://www.bigchange.group/tlc-book (https://www.bigchange.group/tlc-book) Email: ausmus@bigchangeagency.com   CONNECT WITH JOSH Instagram: https://instagram.com/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Email: josh@friedemanleadership.com   Want a FREE list of weekly action steps to improve your leadership? Download the https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (Leadership Action List) TODAY!

Download a year’s worth of https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (weekly action steps to improve your leadership) for FREE!   Tim Carlin is a retired military Colonel and a Certified Financial Planner at V Wealth Advisors. He is a West Point graduate who commanded at the Company, Battalion, and Brigade levels. Tim is a versatile leader with past responsibility at some of America's best companies including PepsiCo and Conoco Phillips 66 Company. In his book An Extraordinarily Ordinary Life, Tim shows you through his personal story how to continuously reinvent yourself through job loss, family hardship, and a cancer diagnosis to prosper and give back to others.   LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS The sooner you go through a tougher time, the more prepared you are fore future difficulties. Put yourself in situations where you will be uncomfortable as a way to improve yourself. Put your ego on the shelf – especially when transitioning to something new. Get yourself to the next level by pushing yourself just a little bit further than you think you need to go. Tim’s Eight Principles for Life: 1. Be in service to others 2. Never stop learning 3. Punch above your weight 4. Never stand still 5. Think long term 6. Reinvent yourself 7. Don’t follow the crowd 8. Give in order to receive 80/20 is OK. It’s hard to get to 100% in anything.   QUESTIONS TO INSPIRE US TO ACTION What is some lesson, saying, or experience that continues to influence your leadership to this day? Knowing that there will be bumps in the road and that you will need to continually reinvent yourself. Use three descriptors to finish this sentence: “A leader is…” Someone who reinvents themselves, someone in service others, and someone who never stops learning. What is a question that leaders should be asking either themselves or others? What are the unknown unknowns? What book would you recommend to leaders? The Once and Future King by T. H. White If you could get every listener to start doing something THIS week to help them be a better leader, what would it be? Never stand still. Always work to improve and learn new things. As a general life principle, is it better to ask “why?” or “why not?” “Why not?” because, on your death bed, you’ll regret the “why nots” a lot more than the “whys.”   CONNECT WITH TIM LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timcarlin1 (in/timcarlin1) Website: https://www.vwealthadvisors.com (https://www.vwealthadvisors.com) Email: tim.carlin@vwealth.com   CONNECT WITH JOSH Instagram: https://instagram.com/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Email: josh@friedemanleadership.com   Want a FREE list of weekly action steps to improve your leadership? Download the https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (Leadership Action List) TODAY!

Download a year’s worth of https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (weekly action steps to improve your leadership) for FREE!   Kevin Eikenberry is coauthor of The Long-Distance Teammate: Stay Engaged and Connected While Working Anywhere. He founded the Kevin Eikenberry Group in 1993 and is the cofounder of the Remote Leadership Institute. Kevin has twice been named one of Inc.'s Top 100 Leadership and Management Experts in the World. He is also the author or coauthor of three Amazon bestsellers: Remarkable Leadership, From Bud to Boss, and The Long-Distance Leader.   LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS There is a big difference in working from home and being an effective remove teammate. The longer we work alone, the more likely it is to become insular. Connecting our success to the team’s success is important. To be a teammate is to be connected. Having clear expectations across the team helps the team to function more effectively when working remotely. When working remotely, communication becomes more transactional. Create opportunities for interaction by taking what worked before and translating that to online. E.g., allow anyone to open the meeting for small talk beforehand. The first thing you should do in meetings is talk about non-work issues. Schedule 5-10 minute drop-in calls or message people in your organization to see who might be interested in a quick call or messaging conversation. STOP micromanaging! Instead, set clearer expectations. Engagement is not something we do to people. Create an environment where it’s easier to be engaged. Help them make the choice.   QUESTIONS TO INSPIRE US TO ACTION What is some lesson, saying, or experience that continues to influence your leadership to this day? We all as humans and leaders can learn from anyone. It’s our job to look for those lessons. Use three descriptors to finish this sentence: “A leader is…” Others-focused, humble, and confident. What is a question that leaders should be asking either themselves or others? What can I do to help you? What book would you recommend to leaders? The Long-Distance Leader: Rules for Remarkable Remote Leadership by Kevin Eikenberry and Wayne Turmel If you could get every listener to start doing something THIS week to help them be a better leader, what would it be? Ask more questions and listen better. As a general life principle, is it better to ask “why?” or “why not?” “Why?” It’s an incredibly powerful question that causes us to go into “kid mode.” Even with the baggage, it’s a powerful question.   CONNECT WITH KEVIN Twitter: https://twitter.com/KevinEikenberry (@KevinEikenberry) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevineikenberry (in/kevineikenberry) Website: http://longdistanceteammate.com/ (http://longdistanceteammate.com)   CONNECT WITH JOSH Instagram: https://instagram.com/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Email: josh@friedemanleadership.com   Want a FREE list of weekly action steps to improve your leadership? Download the https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (Leadership Action List) TODAY!

Download a year’s worth of https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (weekly action steps to improve your leadership) for FREE!   Darren Dahl has written more than one million words across his career as a writer in the worlds of business and entrepreneurship. Darren teamed up with Jack Stack on his newest book, Change the Game: Saving the American Dream by Closing the Gap Between the Haves and the Have-Nots.   LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS Share information and work together so that you can fully people can make the best decisions from the bottom up rather than just those at the top. Sharing information should build understanding and trust rather than create barriers. If you have people who want to make a difference fast, give them an appropriate runway to do so. Withholding information because of fear is a prevention (as opposed to a promotion) mindset (https://www.lifeasleadership.com/episode/lal-113-four-mindsets-to-unlock-success-with-ryan-gottfredson/ (listen to this podcast on mindset for more)) Be sure to connect the specific work of each team member with the outcomes that their work is producing.   QUESTIONS TO INSPIRE US TO ACTION What is some lesson, saying, or experience that continues to influence your leadership to this day? Every leader must have someone who is following them. You must engage people so that they are willing to do this. Use three descriptors to finish this sentence: “A leader is…” Someone who builds relationships, embraces change, and develops talent. What is a question that leaders should be asking either themselves or others? What do you want to be when you grow up? What book would you recommend to leaders? The Great Game of Business: The Only Sensible Way to Run a Company by Bo Burlingham and Jack Stack If you could get every listener to start doing something THIS week to help them be a better leader, what would it be? Try to share something that you once considered sacred (e.g. the financials of your company with your employees). As a general life principle, is it better to ask “why?” or “why not?” “Why not?” because it can help you understand the opportunity cost without losing your momentum.   CONNECT WITH DARREN Twitter: https://twitter.com/darren_dahl (@darren_dahl) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dddahl/ (in/dddahl) Website: https://www.darrendahl.com (https://www.darrendahl.com) Website: https://www.greatgame.com/jack (https://www.greatgame.com/jack) Email: darren@darrendahl.com   CONNECT WITH JOSH Instagram: https://instagram.com/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Email: josh@friedemanleadership.com   Want a FREE list of weekly action steps to improve your leadership? Download the https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (Leadership Action List) TODAY!

Download a year’s worth of https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (weekly action steps to improve your leadership) for FREE!   David Taylor-Klaus is a speaker, author, and leadership coach on a mission to unearth and unleash the personal mastery of entrepreneurs and senior executives. Since 2008, DTK has empowered his tribe to take an active, intentional, and dynamic role in their development and create the kind of life-work rhythm enabling them to build profitable businesses, raise thriving families, and live wildly fulfilling lives. His best-selling new book Mindset Mondays with DTK: 52 Ways to REWIRE Your Thinking and Transform Your Life is available on Amazon worldwide.   LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS The REWIRE framework (replacing an unhelpful behavior with a helpful one): 1. Reflect 2. Experiment 3. Write 4. Investigate 5. Revise 6. Expand (to other areas) Of these six areas, people tend away most from writing and expanding. Watch out that you don’t fall into the same trap! Expand your influence by using the Cascade Effect: Serving and leading people who will do the same for others. Use the 10-10-10 tool: Take three timelines (minutes, hours, days, years, decades, etc.). What will the impact of this decision be in 10 ___, 10 ___, and 10 ___)? Leaders need to understand the impact of their “leadership impact wake” and the gap between what it is and what they intend it to be. Managers achieve a given goal as effectively as possible, but entrepreneurs decide what they want to be true and create the conditions to make that truth a reality.   QUESTIONS TO INSPIRE US TO ACTION What is some lesson, saying, or experience that continues to influence your leadership to this day? Being listened to feels so much like being loved that people can scarcely tell the difference. Use three descriptors to finish this sentence: “A leader is…” Focused on impact, clear that growing your people starts with growing yourself, and in danger of over-calibrating if they’re not careful. What is a question that leaders should be asking either themselves or others? What part of the problem am I? What book would you recommend to leaders? The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom by Don Miguel Ruiz If you could get every listener to start doing something THIS week to help them be a better leader, what would it be? Breathe before you respond. Stop reacting. As a general life principle, is it better to ask “why?” or “why not?” Neither. Both can put people and organizations on the defensive. Instead, ask “who?” and “what’s important about…?”   CONNECT WITH DAVID Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/dtk (@dtk) LinkedIn: http://www.LinkedIn.com/in/davidtaylorklaus (in/davidtaylorklaus) Instagram: http://www.Instagram.com/dtkcoaching (@dtkcoaching) Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/dtkcoaching (@dtkcoaching) Website: http://www.MindsetMondaysWithDTK.com (http://www.MindsetMondaysWithDTK.com) Website: http://www.DTKcoaching.com (http://www.DTKcoaching.com)   CONNECT WITH JOSH Instagram: https://instagram.com/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Email: josh@friedemanleadership.com   Want a FREE list of weekly action steps to improve your leadership? Download the https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (Leadership Action List) TODAY!

Download a year’s worth of https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (weekly action steps to improve your leadership) for FREE!   Kelley Powell is CEO and partner of MacLaurin Group, a company providing technology operating partner services to portfolios of private equity companies. Supporting companies in growth and merger and acquisition activities, Kelley brings a unique experience from founder-led organization to multiple private equity-led cycles. Kelley is an avid mentor, angel investor, and chairwoman for the da Vinci Center for Innovation Angels Advisory Board at VCU. She’s also a board member of the Richmond chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth. Her new book is Courage to Lose Sight of Shore: How to Partner with Private Equity to Grow Your Business with Confidence.   LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS Think about a “reverse due diligence”—a look at your business from an outside perspective. Value alignment is unbelievably important. If you do not have this with those you partner with, it can be gut-wrenching. Define your “non-negotiables”—those values that undergird who you are and that you actively live out. Self-reflection – on the type of people who you want in your business and who you want to partner with – is vital.   QUESTIONS TO INSPIRE US TO ACTION What is some lesson, saying, or experience that continues to influence your leadership to this day? If you wish to grow, you have to invest in others so that there is someone ready to fill your chair. Use three descriptors to finish this sentence: “A leader is…” Resilient, transparent, and inspirational. What is a question that leaders should be asking either themselves or others? What do I need to grow my business? What am I good at and not so good at? What book would you recommend to leaders? You've Got This! The Life-changing Power of Trusting Yourself by Margie Warrell If you could get every listener to start doing something THIS week to help them be a better leader, what would it be? Prepare for your future investment now (before you’re ready) by investing in others. As a general life principle, is it better to ask “why?” or “why not?” “Why?” because you need to know what you are doing and, more particularly, how it fits into the grander scheme.   CONNECT WITH KELLEY Twitter: https://twitter.com/ke11eyp (@ke11eyp) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelleywpowell/ (in/kelleywpowell) Website: https://maclaurin.group/ (https://maclaurin.group/) Website: https://kelleywpowell.com/ (https://kelleywpowell.com/) Email: kelley@MacLaurin-Group.com   CONNECT WITH JOSH Instagram: https://instagram.com/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Email: josh@friedemanleadership.com   Want a FREE list of weekly action steps to improve your leadership? Download the https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (Leadership Action List) TODAY!

Download a year’s worth of https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (weekly action steps to improve your leadership) for FREE! Warwick Fairfax is the founder of Crucible Leadership, a philosophical and practical breakthrough in turning business and personal failures into the fuel for igniting a life of significance. He was the fifth-generation heir to a media empire bearing his family name and at 26 he led — and lost — a multibillion-dollar public takeover bid. The company founded by his great-great-grandfather slipped from family control after 150 years, leaving him to examine not only his own shortcomings and losses but also his life’s principles and the lessons he learned from those who came before him. Now Fairfax helps others to learn from what he describes as their own “crucible experiences” and emerge to lead a life rooted in who they are and to become the leaders they were born to be. LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS Live and lead in light of your design (e.g. a reflective leader or a take-no-prisoners leader?). Most people will experience crucible moments—moments that changes who you are forever. In these moments, you can either give up or choose to bounce back from it to be even better. There is a difference between rumination and reflection. Rumination is when you relive situations and continue beating yourself up about them. Reflection leads to lessons learned. Be who you are, give yourself a break/forgive yourself, and keep moving into areas where you are more gifted. Do not connect your self-worth to your past decisions. We all make mistakes. Be vulnerable for a purpose. If your story will help someone, share it; if not, it may be over-sharing (or sharing with no purpose). The first step towards living a life of significance is understanding how you are wired. The second step is understanding your values and beliefs. True joy lies in living a life of significance and focusing on others. QUESTIONS TO INSPIRE US TO ACTION What is some lesson, saying, or experience that continues to influence your leadership to this day? Trying to mold self to a type of leader that didn’t fit his personality. Use three descriptors to finish this sentence: “A leader is…” True to who they are, lives a life on purpose, dedicated to serving others. What is a question that leaders should be asking either themselves or others? Am I following a calling that I and those I care about will feel is important? What book would you recommend to leaders? A Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin If you could get every listener to start doing something THIS week to help them be a better leader, what would it be? To listen to those around you in order to catch others’ wisdom and feedback. As a general life principle, is it better to ask “why?” or “why not?” “Why?” because it is a more open-ended question.   CONNECT WITH WARWICK Website: https://crucibleleadership.com/ (https://crucibleleadership.com/) CONNECT WITH JOSH Instagram: https://instagram.com/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Email: josh@friedemanleadership.com   Want a FREE list of weekly action steps to improve your leadership? Download the https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (Leadership Action List) TODAY!

Download a year’s worth of https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (weekly action steps to improve your leadership) for FREE!  Ira Wolfe considers himself a “Millennial trapped in a Baby Boomer body" and the world’s first Chief Googlization Officer. He’s recognized as one of the top 10 Global Thought Leaders in Future of Work, HR and Leadership by Thinkers 360. He is president of Poised for the Future Company and founder of Success Performance Solutions. Ira has presented on the prestigious red carpet of TEDx and is the author of several books including Recruiting in the Age of Googlization, selected by Book Authority as one of the all-time best HR and Recruiting books. LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS In the last year, what seemed “far out” became the present reality. Everything from a technology standpoint accelerated. We don’t know what the “new normal” will look like, but YOU have the chance to shape it. What if life moving forward is as continuously uncertain as 2020? We continue on a path of trying to make a shorter application for hiring, but it is shortening compliance questions rather than identifying qualifications. In twelve months, what would a new employee need complete in order for you to consider it a great hire. Most people either don’t know or have metrics that are too vague. Learn to adapt and fit into a new environment. There is so much opportunity and hope as long as we don’t try to go back to “the way it was.”   QUESTIONS TO INSPIRE US TO ACTION What is some lesson, saying, or experience that continues to influence your leadership to this day? The idea of leaders being those who do the right thing and managers being those who do things right. Use three descriptors to finish this sentence: “A leader is…” Influential, purposeful, and empathetic. What is a question that leaders should be asking either themselves or others? How do I need to change and how do my people and their roles need to change substantially in the next three years? What book would you recommend to leaders? The Adaptation Advantage: Let Go, Learn Fast, and Thrive in the Future of Work by Chris Shipley and Heather E. McGowan If you could get every listener to start doing something THIS week to help them be a better leader, what would it be? Learn to unlearn. We need to unwire past mindsets that were made for a linear world. As a general life principle, is it better to ask “why?” or “why not?” “Why?” because people have lost their thirst for curiosity. People may pursue knowledge, but it is often in pursuit of expertise in a single area.   CONNECT WITH IRA Twitter: https://twitter.com/hireauthority (@hireauthority) LinkedIn: https://linkedIn.com/in/irawolfe (in/irawolfe) Instagram: https://instagram.com/googlizationnation (@googlizationnation) YouTube: https://youtube.com/irawolfe (+irawolfe) Website: http://besthrbook.com (http://besthrbook.com) Email: success@super-solutions.com   CONNECT WITH JOSH Instagram: https://instagram.com/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Email: josh@friedemanleadership.com   Want a FREE list of weekly action steps to improve your leadership? Download the https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (Leadership Action List) TODAY!

Download a year’s worth of https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (weekly action steps to improve your leadership) FREE! Luis Gonzáles is a communications consultant, coach, and trainer with more than 25 years of experience in helping improve business outcomes for organizations. Currently, he works closely with CEOs, leaders, and individuals, positively impacting business outcomes through effective communication in global, multicultural, and remote work team settings. Luis has lived and worked in India, México, and Brazil. He is a keynote speaker and a member of the Association for Training and Development (ATD), Association of International Educators (NAFSA), and the Society for International Education, Training, and Research (SIETAR). LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS Ask yourself (and help others ask), “Given the current reality, what can I do to get a different result?” How you look at things matters: Life is either a bowl of cherries or the pits! Accountability can’t be trained. But having conversations with those who have a victim mindset can break people out of that mindset into an accountable mindset. Get curious in order to make the best decisions. QUESTIONS TO INSPIRE US TO ACTION What is some lesson, saying, or experience that continues to influence your leadership to this day? Our careers, our companies, our relationships, and our lives either succeed or fail—gradually, then suddenly—one conversation at a time. Use three descriptors to finish this sentence: “A leader is…” One who leads by example, one who asks questions (including of those who have a different perspective), and one who demonstrates vulnerability, accountability, and humility. What is a question that leaders should be asking either themselves or others? Is there more to the story here/what am I missing? What book would you recommend to leaders? Fierce Conversations: Achieving Success at Work & in Life, One Conversation at a Time by Susan Scott. If you could get every listener to start doing something THIS week to help them be a better leader, what would it be? Get curious and ask questions—starting with yourself then in your conversations. As a general life principle, is it better to ask “why?” or “why not?” “Why?” because it gives the information needed for life. But “why not?” helps to push boundaries and encourage action. CONNECT WITH LUIS LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/luisgonzales/ (in/luisgonzales) Website: https://fierceinc.com/ (https://fierceinc.com/) Email: luis@fierceinc.com CONNECT WITH JOSH Instagram: https://instagram.com/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Email: josh@friedemanleadership.com Want a FREE list of weekly action steps to improve your leadership? Download the https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (Leadership Action List) TODAY!

Download a year’s worth of https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (weekly action steps to improve your leadership) for FREE! Sean Ryan is a world-renowned business consultant, speaker, trainer, and executive coach. As the founder of Whitewater International Consulting, he has worked internationally with companies such as Disney, Nucor Steel, FedEx and Nestle Waters of North America/Perrier Group of America. With more than two decades of industry experience, Sean is highly regarded for his ability to guide organizations through complex transformational change in what he describes as “a world of perpetual whitewater.” His new book is Get in Gear: Seven Gears that Drive Strategy to Results. LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS Foundation/environment gears of the SXR Strategy: Gear #1: Right, right, right: The right people in the right roles with the right capabilities. Gear #2: Align organizational architecture (systems, structures, and processes) to strategy Gear #3: Create a culture of communication Performance gears of the SXR Strategy: Gear #4: Set results-oriented goals (5-on-5). Don’t confuse activities for results. Gear #5: Visible scorecards. People need to know how they’re performing while the game is being played. Gear #6: Identify critical performance drivers (what you need to do). Gear #7: Define the follow-up/follow-through process. Don’t try to fix all seven gears simultaneously. Focus on one today and move forward from there. QUESTIONS TO INSPIRE US TO ACTION What is some lesson, saying, or experience that continues to influence your leadership to this day? Challenging personal perceptions and beliefs. Use three descriptors to finish this sentence: “A leader is…” Caring, honest, and trustworthy. What is a question that leaders should be asking either themselves or others? How do my assumptions and mental models shape my reality and either limit or expand my outlook? What book would you recommend to leaders? Change Anything: The New Science of Personal Success by Kerry Patterson, David Maxfield, Ron McMillan, Joseph Grenny, and Al Switzler. If you could get every listener to start doing something THIS week to help them be a better leader, what would it be? Create better focus and alignment on what you and your team need to do to get better results (compare leader’s top five expectations/goals with team members’ top five assumed expectations/goals). As a general life principle, is it better to ask “why?” or “why not?” Both. “Why?” is a great question to identify what is missing but “why not?” helps us bunch through mental barriers we may create for ourselves. CONNECT WITH SEAN Twitter: https://twitter.com/wwici (@wwici) LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-ryan-6008976 (in/sean-ryan) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wwici (@wwici) Website: http://www.wwici.com (https://www.wwici.com) Email: sryan@wwici.com Get Sean’s book http://www.wwici.com/get-in-gear (Get in Gear) CONNECT WITH JOSH Instagram: https://instagram.com/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Email: josh@friedemanleadership.com Want a FREE list of weekly action steps to improve your leadership? Download the https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (Leadership Action List) TODAY!

Download a year’s worth of https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (weekly action steps to improve your leadership) for FREE! Kevin Oakes is the author of Culture Renovation: 18 Leadership Actions to Build an Unshakeable Company. He is also CEO and co-founder of i4cp, the leading HR research firm that discovers the people practices of high-performance organizations. Kevin has been a pioneer in the human capital field for 25 years and is an international keynote speaker on culture, talent management, leadership, innovation, diversity, metrics, and strategic learning in organizations. He founded and served as President of SumTotal Systems, one of the largest providers of talent and learning solutions in the world, a company originally founded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS Only about 15% of companies that attempted a culture change succeeded. Most organization talks about culture transformation. The best ones renovate—maintaining what made them great to begin with while making themselves more resilient for the future. The most successful companies have leaders who don’t assume they know what the culture of their company is. They use data that is gathered frequently and broadly. Identify the influencers/energizers and the blockers within your organization. Use the former to be culture ambassadors. Determining how progress will be measured is a key predictor of the success of a culture change. Two-thirds of companies that successfully changed did this. Ninety percent of unsuccessful companies did not do this. QUESTIONS TO INSPIRE US TO ACTION What is some lesson, saying, or experience that continues to influence your leadership to this day? The idea of “open-book management”—managing a company transparently. It is both better and easier. Use three descriptors to finish this sentence: “A leader is…” Honest, visionary, and clear. What is a question that leaders should be asking either themselves or others? What more do I need to learn, and where should I focus that effort? What book would you recommend to leaders? A Hit Refresh: The Quest to Rediscover Microsoft's Soul and Imagine a Better Future for Everyone by Greg Shaw, Jill Tracie Nichols, and Satya Nadella If you could get every listener to start doing something THIS week to help them be a better leader, what would it be? Take time to invest in yourself (not by exercising or eating better but by reading or gaining other information instead of simply giving it to others). As a general life principle, is it better to ask “why?” or “why not?” “Why?” because you can question the conventional thinking, though the same philosophy can be behind in the question “why not?” CONNECT WITH KEVIN Twitter: https://twitter.com/kmoakes (@kmoakes) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinoakes (in/kevinoakes) Website: https://culturerenovation.com/ (culturerenovation.com) Purchase https://www.amazon.com/Culture-Renovation-Leadership-Actions-Unshakeable/dp/1260464369 (Culture Renovation) CONNECT WITH JOSH Instagram: https://instagram.com/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Email: josh@friedemanleadership.com Want a FREE list of weekly action steps to improve your leadership? Download the https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (Leadership Action List) TODAY!

Download a year’s worth of https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (weekly action steps to improve your leadership) for FREE! Jill Ratliff is an author, executive coach, and leadership speaker. Prior to starting her own leadership consultancy, she served as Executive Vice President at Assurant Specialty Property, a $2B financial services organization. She also held key senior positions such as Executive Vice President of Human Resources for ING North America, Director of Leadership Development for ADP, and Director of Corporate Human Resources for PepsiCo’s Taco Bell Corporation. She has recently released a new book, Leadership through Trust & Collaboration: Practical Tools for Today’s Results-Driven Leader. LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS Lessons from Jill’s brother before he passed away: 1. Less is more; simple is better, 2. Be kind, 3. It’s supposed to be fun, 4. You don’t really have any problems (solving problems is your job!), and 5. Joy is all around you. We know more than we can do. It’s not that we don’t know. It’s that the application is difficult! Be responsible for the energy you bring into a room. And be careful what emotions you bring into a room. Clarity is priceless. When you talk about what’s important and what to measure, limit it to three or four, even if there are many projects and responsibilities that are necessary. Many leaders understand business systems well, but the human operating system is vital as well—mind, body, and spirit. QUESTIONS TO INSPIRE US TO ACTION What is some lesson, saying, or experience that continues to influence your leadership to this day? People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. Slow things down. Make them simple. Use three descriptors to finish this sentence: “A leader is…” Inner-directed, calm, and inclusive. What is a question that leaders should be asking either themselves or others? How good am I at leading myself, especially when I’m facing challenges and adversity? What book would you recommend to leaders? Any book by Simon Sinek. If you could get every listener to start doing something THIS week to help them be a better leader, what would it be? Master your moments. Throughout your day, stop and notice anytime you are “off” and practice new ways of responding not out of habit or reaction. As a general life principle, is it better to ask “why?” or “why not?” “Why not?” Why not me, why not us, why not go for it? CONNECT WITH JILL Website: https://jillratliffleadership.com/ Email: jill@jillratliffleadership.com CONNECT WITH JOSH Instagram: https://instagram.com/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Email: josh@friedemanleadership.com Want a FREE list of weekly action steps to improve your leadership? Download the https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (Leadership Action List) TODAY!

Download a year’s worth of https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (weekly action steps to improve your leadership) for FREE! Kris Plachy is considered THE thought leader and expert for entrepreneurial management. Kris has poured her life’s work into learning about - then teaching - how to lead a team. In a space where there is a lot of noise and advice, Kris has designed the "how-to" of team leadership through her “Five-Step Management System." Kris knows without a doubt, there is no challenge you are facing as a leader that she can’t help you solve. LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS Knowing your vision helps in the hiring process. We all have values and expectations. You need to know how to communicate them and develop them within your business because your values and common sense are not always the same as others. In a traditional business, job/role descriptions are common, but they don’t mean much. In smaller businesses, people may be hired, but their role is not particularly clear. After establishing expectations, integrate them into conversations, feedback, and other results-focused interactions. Performance is not an opinion. Get buy-in at the beginning of someone’s tenure in their position so anytime they meet or do not meet expectations—especially when they do not meet expectations—it does not need to feel like a personal issue. QUESTIONS TO INSPIRE US TO ACTION What is some lesson, saying, or experience that continues to influence your leadership to this day? A couple of challenging bosses early in her career that taught her just as much (from a negative perspective) as other, good bosses. Use three descriptors to finish this sentence: “A leader is…” Self-aware, transparent, and authentic. What is a question that leaders should be asking either themselves or others? How is my bias influencing how I lead? What book would you recommend to leaders? What Got You Here Won't Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith If you could get every listener to start doing something THIS week to help them be a better leader, what would it be? 1. Have a compelling reason or vision for doing what you do, 2. clarify your values and expectations, 3. make sure your team members have clear roles and responsibilities, 4. make sure there are measures to track contribution, and 5. follow through and provide feedback. As a general life principle, is it better to ask “why?” or “why not?” “Why?” because of being challenged to see the connections between things as a child. CONNECT WITH KRIS Twitter: https://twitter.com/KrisPlachy (@KrisPlachy) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/krisplachy/ (in/krisplachy) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/krisplachycoach/ (@krisplachycoach) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/krisplachy (@krisplachy) Website/Special offer: https://krisplachy.com (https://krisplachy.com) Email: hello@krisplachy.com CONNECT WITH JOSH Instagram: https://instagram.com/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Email: josh@friedemanleadership.com Want a FREE list of weekly action steps to improve your leadership? Download the https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (Leadership Action List) TODAY!

Download a year’s worth of https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (weekly action steps to improve your leadership) for FREE! Charles Vogl is an award-winning author, speaker, and executive adviser. For the past decade, his work has focused on advising leadership within global organizations including Google, LinkedIn, Facebook, Airbnb, and Twitch. He is a regular guest lecturer at Yale School of Management and a founding member of the Google Vitality Lab, a collaborative partnership focused on the world’s most pressing health and well-being challenges. He is the author of the international bestseller The Art of Community and co-author of the new book Building Brand Communities: How Organizations Succeed by Creating Belonging. LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS A brand community needs to serve both the individuals and the organization. A brand is any organization that promises value. A mirage community is something that a brand calls a community but has no substance or connection. Seven areas where communities can serve organizational goals: Innovation, talent recruitment and retention, customer and stakeholder retention, marketing, customer service, advancing movements, and bringing people together. It is vital to know 1. Who you want to bring together, 2. Why they want to come together, and 3. How they want to grow into something new or better. Despite brand communities needing to serve the business, they must also serve individuals. No one wants to join a community that just wants to extract from them. We are living in the loneliest era in human history. People are desperate to be more connected. Invite people to join your community. QUESTIONS TO INSPIRE US TO ACTION What is some lesson, saying, or experience that continues to influence your leadership to this day? Experience serving in the Peace Corps—specifically observing a communal way of living and the need for justice. Use three descriptors to finish this sentence: “A leader is…” Patient, humble, and committed. What is a question that leaders should be asking either themselves or others? Do we really understand what is going on here? What book would you recommend to leaders? The Trusted Advisor by David Maister, Charles Green, and Robert Galford If you could get every listener to start doing something THIS week to help them be a better leader, what would it be? Make sure you are not doing it alone. As a general life principle, is it better to ask “why?” or “why not?” Why?” because we need to know the reason we are committing to something. CONNECT WITH CHARLES Website: https://www.charlesvogl.com/ (https://www.charlesvogl.com/) Website: https://www.buildingbrandcommunities.com/ (https://www.buildingbrandcommunities.com/) CONNECT WITH JOSH Instagram: https://instagram.com/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Email: josh@friedemanleadership.com Want a FREE list of weekly action steps to improve your leadership? Download the https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (Leadership Action List) TODAY!

Download a year’s worth of https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (weekly action steps to improve your leadership) for FREE! Chris Sajnog was a Master Training Specialist in the Navy and was hand-selected to write the US Navy SEAL Sniper Manual. He used this experience, plus four years of studying neuroscience and elite performance, to develop the SEAL Training System (instead of Sea, Air, and Land Teams, this SEAL is Science-based Education for Accelerated Learning), which he uses to help others learn, live, and lead like warriors. He is a proud father, the author of three bestselling books, and the owner of Center Mass Group, a 100% Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business in San Diego, CA. LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS What you teach is less important than who you teach. Most people think teaching marksmanship is about technique. But in order to hit the target, the person is more important than the gun. Said another way, the weapon (you) is more important than the tool (the gun). It is important to turn people into leaders of themselves before having them lead others. To be a good leader is to be a good teammate – to know your own skills and to lead or follow when appropriate. Chris’s acronym for TEAMS: Take responsibility, Encourage others, Ask for help, Master your job, and Sacrifice for the team. The seven key components for reaching an elite skill at anything: Mindset, planning, physics, focus, conditioning, deliberate practice, and feedback. The shorter the feedback loop, the faster you will progress (check the target after every single shot). QUESTIONS TO INSPIRE US TO ACTION What is some lesson, saying, or experience that continues to influence your leadership to this day? Leading class to exceed expectations while in SEAL training. Use three descriptors to finish this sentence: “A leader is…” Inspiring, decisive, and vulnerable What is a question that leaders should be asking either themselves or others? What can I do to make the jobs of those I’m leading easier? What book would you recommend to leaders? Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek If you could get every listener to start doing something THIS week to help them be a better leader, what would it be? Meditate. As a general life principle, is it better to ask “why?” or “why not?” It depends on the framing of the question. If something negative happens, asking “why me?” helps you make excuses. But if you’re asking “why did this happen?” in order to fix a problem, it’s helpful. The same could be said for “why not?” CONNECT WITH CHRIS Twitter: https://twitter.com/chrissajnog (@chrissajnog) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrissajnog (in/chrissajnog) Instagram: https://instagram.com/chrissajnog/ (@chrissajnog) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Chrissajnog (@chrissajnog) Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnIUZX-xZbuNZ2nyLK99d3g?Sub_confirmation=1 (+chrissajnog) Website: https://chrissajnog.com (https://chrissajnog.com) CONNECT WITH JOSH Instagram: https://instagram.com/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Email: josh@friedemanleadership.com Want a FREE list of weekly action steps to improve your leadership? Download the https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (Leadership Action List) TODAY!

Download a year’s worth of https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (weekly action steps to improve your leadership) for FREE! David White is a partner and co-founder of Ontos Global. He has spent more than 25 years helping organizations manage and sustain transformation. As a cognitive anthropologist, his research and practice focus on new approaches to organizational culture and change. He focuses on designing and implementing successful, large-scale organizational transformation programs, as well as developing adaptive leaders who can do the same. His newest book, Disrupting Corporate Culture, focuses on how cognitive science alters accepted beliefs and impacts leaders and change agents. LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS A pervasive myth in leadership is that leaders set the culture. Cultures form just as well in any group without a nominal leader. Culture is a reference system – a shared mental operating system – we use to make sense of the world. If culture is a “given,” how do leaders work with it? Their power. Power shapes practices which then shape culture. Culture follows task. The values and norms established by founders are difficult to regenerate unless the practices embody those values and ideals. QUESTIONS TO INSPIRE US TO ACTION What is some lesson, saying, or experience that continues to influence your leadership to this day? Past failures in trying to drive large-scale change in complex organizations. Use three descriptors to finish this sentence: “A leader is…” Curious, self-aware, and empathic. What is a question that leaders should be asking either themselves or others? How do I feel, and what do I want? What book would you recommend to leaders? Metaphors We Live By by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson If you could get every listener to start doing something THIS week to help them be a better leader, what would it be? Get really curious about your people and organization and why they do what they do. As a general life principle, is it better to ask “why?” or “why not?” “Why?” because it is more powerful. It’s more generative. CONNECT WITH David White LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-g-white-jr-ph-d-b7569a1/ (In/David-G-White) YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEXc4yzn319yORfUvhU2fdQ?view_as=subscriber (Disrupting Corporate Culture) Website: https://ontosglobal.com (https://ontosglobal.com) Email: davidwhite@ontosglobal.com CONNECT WITH JOSH Instagram: https://instagram.com/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Email: josh@friedemanleadership.com Want a FREE list of weekly action steps to improve your leadership? Download the https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (Leadership Action List) TODAY!

Download a year’s worth of https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (weekly action steps to improve your leadership) for FREE! Ryan Gottfredson, Ph.D. is a cutting-edge leadership development consultant, author, trainer, and researcher. Ryan is the Wall Street Journal and USA Today best-selling author of Success Mindsets: The Key to Unlocking Greater Success in Your Life, Work, & Leadership. He is also a leadership professor at the Mihaylo College of Business and Economics at California State University-Fullerton. LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS Much of leadership research over the last 70 years has focused on what leaders need to do to be effective. But who a leader is – the being element – shapes everything that person does. And mindsets are foundational to our being. Most people think of mindsets as the “way of thinking.” In reality, they are the neural connections in our brain that are effectively our circuit board for how we process information and make decisions. The four mindset frameworks are 1. Fixed/Growth 2. Closed/Open 3. Prevention/Promotion 4. Inward/Outward Fixed mindsets: Don’t believe you can change your talents, abilities, and intelligence. There are “haves” and “have nots.” The primary focus is on looking good. Growth mindsets: Believe you can change and improve. The primary focus is on learning and growing. Closed mindsets: Closed to the ideas and suggestions of others. “What I know is best.” Open mindsets: Open to the ideas and suggestions of others. Leave some room for the possibility of being wrong. Prevention mindset: Avoid problems so as not to lose. Promotion mindset: Tackle problems so as to win. Have a destination and clear “why.” Inward mindset: Sees others as just as important to self. Outward mindset: Sees self as more important than others. QUESTIONS TO INSPIRE US TO ACTION What is some lesson, saying, or experience that continues to influence your leadership to this day? How important it is to learn from failure. Use three descriptors to finish this sentence: “A leader is…” growth-minded, open-minded, promotion-minded, and outward minded. What is a question that leaders should be asking either themselves or others? Who am I being that their (the other person’s) eyes are not shining? What book would you recommend to leaders? Bonds That Make Us Free: Healing Our Relationships, Coming to Ourselves by C. Terry Warner If you could get every listener to start doing something THIS week to help them be a better leader, what would it be? Meditation. As a general life principle, is it better to ask “why?” or “why not?” “Why not?” The “why not?” question leads to a brighter future than the “why?” question. CONNECT WITH RYAN Twitter: https://twitter.com/RyanGottfredson (@RyanGottfredson) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryangottfredson/ (in/ryangottfredson) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryangottfredson/ (@yangottfredson) Website: https://ryangottfredson.com/ (https://ryangottfredson.com/) Email: ryan@ryangottfredson.com CONNECT WITH JOSH Instagram: https://instagram.com/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Email: josh@friedemanleadership.com Want a FREE list of weekly action steps to improve your leadership? Download the https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (Leadership Action List) TODAY!

Download a year’s worth of https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (weekly action steps to improve your leadership) for FREE! Jason Treu is a coach who works with executives, entrepreneurs, and rising stars to maximize their leadership potential and performance. He's the best-selling author of Social Wealth, a how-to-guide on building extraordinary business relationships, which has sold more than 45,000 copies. He was a featured speaker at TEDxWilmington 2017, where he debuted his breakthrough team building game Cards Against Mundanity. He also hosts a podcast called, Executive Breakthroughs, bringing game-changing CEOs, entrepreneurs, and experts who share their breakthroughs and breakdowns. LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS When you can create an environment where people are doing their best work in collaboration and teamwork, you can create insane results. You can no longer be good at just one thing. In order to do your job well, you have to be able to operate effectively in multiple arenas. Get frequent and consistent feedback from people you know and trust. One example: Have a question you can ask your team on a consistent basis and compare their feedback over time. Belonging and connection are at the core of everything we do. When you get down into the data, people want to main things: They want to do great work and have great relationships. If you do only one thing, do this: Have a deep understanding of your people. QUESTIONS TO INSPIRE US TO ACTION What is some lesson, saying, or experience that continues to influence your leadership to this day? Being around people who value relationships and collaboration. Use three descriptors to finish this sentence: “A leader is…” Vulnerable, curious, and gets continual feedback. What is a question that leaders should be asking either themselves or others? How would you rate our relationship, why did you rate it that way, how can I move it closer to a ten. What book would you recommend to leaders? Anything by Brene Brown If you could get every listener to start doing something THIS week to help them be a better leader, what would it be? Invest in your own self-awareness—your blind spots are what are sabotaging your success more than you realize. As a general life principle, is it better to ask “why?” or “why not?” I’d ask “what” instead. CONNECT WITH JASON Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/jasontreu (@jasontreu) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasontreu/ (in/jasontreu) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JasonTreuExecutiveCoaching/ (@JasonTreuExecutiveCoaching) Email: jason@jasontreu.com Website: https://www.jasontreu.com (jasontreu.com) Website: http://www.cardsagainstmundanity.com/ (cardsagainstmundanity.com) CONNECT WITH JOSH Instagram: https://instagram.com/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Email: josh@friedemanleadership.com Want a FREE list of weekly action steps to improve your leadership? Download the https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (Leadership Action List) TODAY!

Download a year’s worth of https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (weekly action steps to improve your leadership) for FREE! Dr. Vince Molinaro is a global leadership adviser, speaker, and researcher on leadership accountability. As founder and CEO of Leadership Contract Inc., Vince travels the world helping organizations build vibrant leadership cultures with truly accountable leaders at every level. His unique combination of provocative storytelling, evidence-based principles and grounded practicality has leaders at all levels stepping up to fulfill their obligations to drive the success of their organizations. His newest book, Accountable Leaders: Inspire a Culture Where Everyone Steps Up, Takes Ownership, and Delivers Results, is available now. LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS When you stumble on a problem, you begin seeing it everywhere. There’s always an implicit contract that leaders sign when they take a role, but a lot of leaders don’t realize this. Leaders are held to a higher standard of behavior – to be better than everyone else. Four terms and conditions to be an accountable leader: 1. A decision whether you have what it takes, 2. Accepting the obligations for serving others, 3. The courage and resolve to tackle the hard things, and 4. Building community by building and aligning leadership culture. Leaders not only need to hold themselves accountable (the foundation) but to extend that to the organization. Only 20% of leaders believe they have the courage to identify, address, and support leaders who are deemed mediocre. They know who they are but not how to help them. The quickest and most enduring way to become a better leader is to focus on accountability. Five things help to identify a mediocre leader: 1. They blame others, 2. They lack initiative, 3. They mistreat others, 4. They are perceived as inept, and 5. They are always hiding and not stepping up. You have to be relentless in addressing mediocrity. Accountable leaders show five behaviors: 1. They hold everyone (including themselves) to high standards, 2. They have the courage to tackle tough issues, 3. They are very good at communicating the strategy of the organization, 4. They are really excited about the company and its future, and 5. They look outside their own business to anticipate trends. The difference in employee engagement between people who see their leaders working well together vs. not working well together is a difference between 72% and 8%. QUESTIONS TO INSPIRE US TO ACTION What is some lesson, saying, or experience that continues to influence your leadership to this day? Seeing from a friend that toxic management can literally be detrimental to our health. Use three descriptors to finish this sentence: “A leader is…” Accountable, accountable, accountable What is a question that leaders should be asking either themselves or others? Who needs you the most right now? What book would you recommend to leaders? The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey, Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...and Others Don't by Jim Collins, and Growth IQ: Get Smarter About the Choices that Will Make Or Break Your Business by Tiffani Bova If you could get every listener to start doing something THIS week to help them be a better leader, what would it be? What is the tough thing that I’m avoiding? As a general life principle, is it better to ask “why?” or “why not?” “Why not?” because there’s a boldness to it and an opportunity to provoke people’s thinking. CONNECT WITH VINCE Twitter: https://twitter.com/drvincemolinaro (@drvincemolinaro) Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vincemolinaro/ (in/vincemolinaro) Website: drvincemolinaro.com CONNECT WITH JOSH Instagram: https://instagram.com/joshuafriedeman (@joshuafriedeman) Email: josh@friedemanleadership.com Want a FREE list of weekly action steps to improve your leadership? Download the https://www.leadershipactionlist.com/ (Leadership Action List) TODAY!

Jodi Hume had a 15-yr career as COO of a growing architecture firm, but she has made a name for herself over the last decade providing on-call decision support and facilitated leadership conversations for startup founders, entrepreneurs and executives throughout the country. Each week, Jodi hosts So Here’s My Story…, a podcast built from real stories to share poignant business takeaways with plenty of humor.