Practical, actionable advice for first-time managers, and those who aspire to move into leadership roles.
"Think carefully about where you want to go. Make plans, but hold them lightly." - Dr. Sunil Raheja Do you repeatedly get in the way of your own progress? Find it easier to blame others than to change yourself? If so, today's podcast episode is for you. We'll hear from Dr. Sunil Raheja, a psychiatrist and executive coach, and dig into his book, "Dancing With Wisdom: A Sacred Quest to Restore Meaning, Purpose and Fun to Your Life and Work." In this episode, you'll learn: Why the first step in moving forward is realizing that you need to make a change How Mindset, Motivation, and Methods all play a role in your progress The importance of re-connecting with your values Why shutting down the noise is critically important..and much, much more! The beginning of wisdom Wisdom begins with the realization that there are things you have no control over and things that are not in your grasp. But you have agency, more than what you give yourself credit for. You may not be able to change the weather, but you can always choose how you're going to look at life. You can change your attitude and choose to look at the good rather than the bad. Mindset is everything I used to think that mindset was important. Now what I say is, “Mindset is everything.” The reason being is if your mindset is not right, no matter what you're doing, you're not going to be satisfied. One advice you'd give young managers today Think carefully about where you want to go. Make plans for your future but hold them lightly, and look at everything as a learning experience. There's no such thing as failure. Pace your life for the long haul. Links and Resources Connect with Dr. Raheja: Website, Podcast, LinkedIn Dancing With Wisdom by Dr. Sunil Raheja (book) Jim Kwik The Happiness Equation by Neil Pasricha (book) 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey (book)
"Where you read information isn't where you need information." - Mark Herschberg Do you ever find yourself consuming great content, but then struggling to find it later when you actually need it? If so, today's episode is for you! MIT instructor Mark Herschberg makes a return visit to the show to discuss his innovative new platform, Brain Bump. In this episode, you'll learn: - How powerful peer learning can be for your development - Why the content we all consume is rarely accessible in critical moments - How Brain Bump only sends the tips you want, when you request them; it never sends an unrequested notification - Bonus: you don't even have to open the app! The challenge with traditional learning When we think about most of our knowledge, it has just been direct information transfer, such as when you learn the quadratic formula. It is very black and white and you know exactly where to use it. But the skills that we use as leaders, from leading people to communication, negotiation, team building – these are not cut and dry. There's no formula for leadership. Peer learning's edge over other learning styles Peer learning is not about memorizing formulas. It's about learning subtle skills that are often circumstantial. So by coming together as a group and having discussions, like I'm going to gain your perspective and you're going to get mine… that's how we learn. Ineffective learning The problem is two-fold. First, where you read information isn't where you need information. And the second is that you read a book or listen to a podcast episode, and then you forget it. I wanted to address it. Links and Resources Connect with Mark: Website, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook The Career Toolkit by Mark Herschberg (book) Brain Bump (app)
"Create the vision, and step back." - Karl Hebenstreit PhD Are you intrigued by the Enneagram? A believer or a skeptic? Today is the first episode of The New Leader Podcast for 2023, and my special guest is Karl Hebenstreit PhD. I was skeptical when approached about this topic, but glad I kept an open mind as we had a really interesting chat. Karl is an executive coach, speaker, and organizational development consultant, and author of the book, "Taking Care of Business with The Enneagram." In this episode, you'll learn: The 9 primary core motivators not covered in other personality tests How understanding this framework can help you create a better path forward in 2023, both personally & professionally The difference between the Golden Rule vs. Platinum Rule, and how to leverage this when leading for the first time. The ‘Platinum Rule' Most people are familiar with the golden rule ‘treat others the way you want to be treated'. And I was going along with that philosophy until I presented at a conference… and learned that it's about invoking the ‘Platinum Rule' of finding out how people wanted to be treated. That is going to be different than the way you'd want to be treated. What sets apart the Enneagram Any tool like the Myers-Briggs, DISC, Insights, or Hogan – these tools focus on the behaviors. They don't focus on the purpose or the motivation or the reason behind these behaviors. And that's where the Enneagram comes in. It boils it down to the nine primary core motivators that we have in our lives. And each of us is going to be affiliating with one of them more than the other eight. Breaking out of the box Human beings are very fond of categorizing people. So how do you break out of the box that you're put in? And so knowing which box you are put in is actually a release because now you know, “Oh great, I know what box I put myself in and what other people are probably putting me in. Now, how can I break out of that box?” So [knowing your Enneagram] is really a way of breaking out of your box by identifying what box you're already in.” Links and Resources Connect with Karl: Website, LinkedIn Taking Care of Business with The Enneagram by Karl Hebenstreit PhD (book) What Got You Here Won't Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith (book)
"Now is the time to set yourself apart. Don't wait to be rescued or magically promoted - take back control." - Ian Daley It's the final episode of The New Leader Podcast for 2022 - our 4th season! As we start to wind down another year in this crazy world, I want to share a special offer for my podcast listeners. I have something that can help you elevate your career in 2023 and beyond...at a significant discount ;) It's my way of saying thank you for listening - all the posts, comments, and messages mean a lot. I appreciate you, and hope you have benefited from the sharp insights and teachings the show has provided over the years. Curious? Hit that play button to learn more. Wishing you all a wonderful holiday season! Connect with Ian at ian@daley.company or on LinkedIn to learn more about this limited-time offer! Links and Resources Connect with Ian: LinkedIn, Email
"Many of us forget to be in service to the most important person in our lives - ourselves." - Earle G. Hall Do you find vulnerability scary? Have you ever been told you need to become more self-aware? Then today's episode is for you! My guest is Earle G. Hall, CEO of AXES.ai, a fintech company present in over 40 countries dedicated to the eradication of money laundering, addictive gambling, and illicit activities. I took furious notes during this interview because when you've traveled to 108 countries like he has, you learn a few things ;) Earle is Vice-Chairman of the International Gaming Standards Association and a Government Blockchain Association board member. He is a graduate of the Royal Military College of Canada and a Veteran Army Officer. He also holds a master's degree in Public Administration and has undertaken doctoral studies in Organizational Psychology. He hails from my home province of Newfoundland, and in this episode you'll learn: Why one of the greatest qualities a new leader can cultivate is self-awareness, and how to crack that code early in your career The power of humanizing your colleagues in a world of lost connection (hint: it's easier than you think) A life-changing tip he received from General Romeo Dallaire, and how it can help elevate you, too...and more! How Vulnerability Inspires Others The more I showed them my real, authentic, and vulnerable self, the more engaged they became with me and the more productive they became. That's when I learned that there's something more to leadership than just giving direction, orders, and getting things done. Overcoming your fears and insecurities When you look out to the group and you're trying to guess everything they're judging about you, you're just judging yourself. So what you can do as a new leader is you can take note of everything you think people are judging you about, because all that is is chatter coming out of your brain. It's doubt, lack of confidence, self-esteem, and these are the things that you need to overcome to sit inside yourself and just be authentic. Making the most out of your new leader role New leaders have a competitive edge. Because when you're a new leader, you know almost nothing, and so you get to ask questions and learn many things. You get to listen actively and engage with people sincerely. And when an employee sees a new leader that is interested, engage, and genuinely wanting to understand, that employee will open up their entire knowledge base and hand it over to you for free. Links and Resources Connect with Earl: LinkedIn Richard Beckhard books Trello
"There's no easy way to make hard decisions." - Jacques Lopez Are you a leader who has to sell to/collaborate with leaders outside your organization? If so, the latest episode of The New Leader Podcast is for you! My guest today is Jacques Lopez, Sr Director North American Channels at Veracode. Jacques holds a BSc from Northeastern University and a MBA from Dalhousie University. And, we used to work as doormen at a campus bar way back when. It was a blast to trade a few stories back and forth, as well as hear Jacques' keen insight on how to work successfully with leaders outside your organization. In this episode you'll learn: The importance of knowing exactly what you want (and how to create a partner profile) How to ensure you're working at the right level (where decision-making happens) The power of a "frame of reference" and how to create one that works effectively… and much more! Getting on the right foot If you have an idea of what's the ideal partner profile or what the ideal relationship would look like, having that as a starting point is very helpful. Because if you don't know what you want, you can spend a lot of time running circles around people that have interest but don't have a good alignment with the company, or the value proposition you have for them just won't land. Choosing the right person to work with Make sure you're working with someone at the right level to accomplish the goals that you have. You can't go too low or too high. If you go too low, somebody may not have the authority to try and get other people involved in the company, to help build out a better alignment. And if you go too high, you get connected to other people but, things aren't necessarily happening at the tactical level when you're dealing with a strategic CEO. So that's something you need to be aware of as well. One critical lesson in relationship building Not everybody operates the way you operate. There are some people that are more relationship based, some are very detailed when it comes to numbers. You have to meet people where they're at and help them be successful the way they do things. Links and Resources Connect with Jacques: LinkedIn, Email The Exceptional Presenter Goes Virtual by Timothy J. Koegel (book) The Productivity Game PDF Package
"Perfection equals disconnection." - Dr. Michelle K. Johnston Are you a perfectionist? Do you struggle to connect with your team? Your boss? If so, the latest episode of The New Leader Podcast is for you! My guest today is Dr. Michelle K. Johnston, author of The Seismic Shift in Leadership. Michelle holds a PhD in Communications from Louisiana State University, is a member of the MG100 Coaches group, and serves as the Gaston Chair of Business at Loyola University New Orleans. An absolute class act, and we had such a fun and informative chat! In this episode you'll learn: Why connection drives results How to determine if your people feel seen, heard, valued, respected and appreciated How to use the 5 elements of assessment to determine how connected you are with your team, and what to do next...and much more! Be intentional about connecting It takes intention to carve time in your meetings to ask about that person on a personal level, ask them how their kids are or about their travel plans or whatnot. That's what drives results. Connection drives results. Connection is the only way you can disrupt. First steps to connecting to your team The first thing you can do as a new leader is a self-assessment. Ask yourself or your people, do your people feel seen, heard, valued, respected, and appreciated? Because those are the five elements of how to meaningfully connect with your people. Connection drives results I had this realization that number one, command and control is no longer effective. Jerk bosses no longer allowed. Number two, that it was all about connection. Only after I have conducted all my interviews did I realize how much connection drives results. So connection first and foremost drives well-being. Well-being then drives team collaboration and psychological safety, which then drives productivity, increased decision-making, which then drives innovation, and innovation drives financial performance. Links and Resources Connect with Michelle: Website, LinkedIn, Twitter The Seismic Shift In Leadership by Dr. Michelle K. Johnston (book)
"Get up and meet people!" - Joe Kwon The latest episode of The New Leader Podcast is here! My guest today is Joe Kwon, who's also known as "The Connection Counselor." He is a privacy attorney, coach, podcast host, and currently Associate Director, Global Quality & Risk Management at KPMG (US). And, he is a genuinely good human being! Joe is also an author, and today we dig into his excellent book, "Unlock Your Executive Presence." In this episode you'll learn: The importance of 'blending' - what that is, and how to use it The six degrees of executive presence and how to leverage them to your advantage How to develop the ability to inspire confidence to lead...and much more! How you grow as a leader Whether it's your manager, people from other departments, CEO, etc., if they know you, do they put their confidence in you? If they don't know you, how are you being represented? What is that thing that can make people confident in you? Once you discover that, blend it with what you already have – your skills, personality, et cetera. Because it's not about just giving them what they want, it's about bringing out the best version of yourself. Executive Presence in a nutshell Executive presence is the ability to inspire confidence that you can lead well in a given situation. That because of your presence and the way you are, people will want to put you in charge. Key to Executive Presence The key is to look at the presence, not the trappings of an executive – but what is the presence of an executive? When you're in a room and there are five people, and one person clearly seems like the executive, why is that? And I'll tell you, it's not the way they dress, it's not the way they communicate and it's not their gravitas. It's their state of being in the situation. Links and Resources Connect with Joe: LinkedIn, Instagram, Website Unlock Your Executive Presence by Joe Kwon (book) Implicit Leadership Theory Executive Presence and the Diversity Dilemma (Udemy course)
The latest episode of The New Leader Podcast is here! My guest is the one and only, Tom Kolditz. I cannot recall an episode that included so many actionable pieces of advice. It was truly a pleasure to hear his perspective on what leadership skills are needed for the next generation. Grab a pen! Tom's resume is stacked, but here's a snapshot: - Highly experienced professional public speaker, and global expert in leading in crisis and in extreme circumstances - Retired Army general officer - Founder of 5 (!) successful leader development start-ups, including: - West Point Leadership Center - Leader Development Program at the Yale School of Management - Doerr Institute for New Leaders at Rice University We sat down to chat about critical skills that the next generation of leaders will need. You don't want to miss this one! A few example of what you will learn: - What a leader's most important obligation is (this one may surprise you) - How an outward focus on others can set you apart - Why new leaders ask surface questions and successful leaders ask tactical questions - And much, much more! Ps. My favourite line? "Be kind to yourself. You will never get leadership exactly right." Being influential I think it's important for leaders to understand that being a leader is not about them. Being a leader is about having influence and being effective at improving the performance of other people. So it doesn't have to do with any particular quality you have as a person – doesn't matter if you are an extrovert or an introvert – you should pretty much be yourself. Success or failure is determined by your influence on others and by their actions, not by any personal qualities you have as a leader. Be kind to yourself I don't care how long you've lead or how many people you're in charge with, you will never get leadership exactly right. It's too large. And the best leaders that I know make mistakes all the time. So be kind to yourself; when something happens in your organization that you did not expect, just be kind to yourself because things like that will continue to happen throughout your entire career. Things that should be done in private In making corrections, always do it in private. If you have to call somebody out, do it in private because you don't want that negativity poisoning the whole team. Because when they look at how you treat someone else, they're going to assume that that's how you're going to treat them if they are in the same situation in the future. That also goes with firing people. Links and Resources Connect with Tom: Website, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook The Leadership Challenge by James Kouzes and Barry Posner (book) Good to Great by Jim Collins (book) Good to Great For the Social Sector by Jim Collins (book) Jim Collins books Simon Sinek books Marshall Goldsmith books
"If you solve the problem on the whiteboard, you're only 10% of the way there." - Greg Rice Sometimes I'm lucky to listen to a leader who walks the talk. Someone who exemplifies leadership in all they do, and genuinely cares about treating people right. The type of leader you'd want to work with, and work for. That person is today's guest, Co-President of Klick Health, Greg Rice. He shares valuable insights from his career journey, from his early days as a new pharmacist to being part of the leadership team at the world's largest independent health marketing agency. And we also chat about the famous Klick culture! In this episode, you'll learn: - How leaders can create clarity and calm amidst the chaos - Why aligning your values to your work is critical to long-term success - The importance of amplifying the voice of junior staffers - What makes Klick's culture so special vs. other companies..and much more! Don't miss it! Hiring the best talents When we go and pitch a large piece of business, sure the spec work that we showed them on that day is important, but we all know that spec work will never see the light of day. What they are buying into is the capability. And at that moment, we are also trying to build instant trust with them, and that comes down to the talent in the room. So if it's about talent, then from a leadership standpoint, we better try to find the best in the business and that's what we really strive to do. Delivering clarity as a leader A leader's job is to create calmness and clarity. And that level of clarity takes time and effort. And if you get stingy on that, it can bite you. It can result to this unsettled, exhausting atmosphere that lack of clarity creates within an organization. So make sure you pause and communicate. And for any change that happens, get a feedback and continue to refine that overtime and you'll be highly rewarded for that high amount of clarity that you delivered as a leader. Training your replacement Find and coach your replacement. What that means is scaling your capability to a point where you can have someone step in and you can focus your energies elsewhere, maybe into some new initiatives, new areas of interest or opportunities for you. That inherently means you coaching and guiding someone else into your role. That kind of scale mindset may not be applicable to all leaders in different roles, but certainly it has been for me in scaling and growing a successful business. Links and Resources Connect with Greg: LinkedIn, Website (Klick) Link by Author (book) Conscious Business by Fred Kofman (book) Todoist app
"Slow, fast, slow is how you grow." You know those moments when you're chatting with someone, and it's so interesting that time just flies by? That's how I felt when speaking with Whitney Johnson! In today's episode "Smart Growth: How Managers Can Grow Themselves, Their People, and Their Business" Whitney talks about her brand new book, Smart Growth, and how new managers can use it to create a breakthrough in 2022. Whitney was named one of the top ten most influential management thinkers by Thinkers50 in 2021, and is CEO of Disruption Advisors, a tech-enabled talent development company. She is an award-winning author, a LinkedIn Top Voice (1.79M followers), and she frequently writes for both HBR and MIT Sloan Management Review. In this episode, you'll learn: The framework known as the S Curve of Learning, and how to apply it meaningfully in your own development How to navigate through the three phases of growth (Launch Point, Sweet Spot, and Mastery) How to use the S Curve Insight Tool to develop and grow your people How this piano-playing music major ended up on Wall Street (cue Working Girl theme song)... and a lot more! The S-Curve of Learning Slow-fast-slow is how you grow. And when you understand the emotional arc of your growth, then you'll be able to increase your learning and growing capacity as well. That's what we call the S-Curve of learning. The Influential Role of the Manager The first thing that you want to really examine is do you actually want to be a manager? I meet lots of people who say I'm good at motivating people and inspiring people, but I'm not good at the day to day of managing people, and that's okay. You want to know that before you get into the job because you have a lot of influence on people, and so you want to make sure you're up for that kind of job. Managing People Who Have Mastered Their Job People start becoming bored once they mastered something because they are no longer challenged. So for your people who are already very good at their job, what will make them grow is when you give them a new challenge. From that point on, growth may seem slower, but they'll be able to unlock new levels in their professional journey. Links and Resources Connect with Whitney: LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Website, Email, Disrupt Yourself Podcast Smart Growth: How to Grow Your People to Grow Your Company by Whitney Johnson (book) The Female Advantage by Sally Helgesen (book) How Women Rise by Sally Helgesen (book) Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull and Amy Wallace (book)
My guest today is Mark A. Herschberg, author of The Career Toolkit - Essential Skills For Success That No One Taught You. Mark received his BSc in Electrical Engineering and a MEng from MIT, and has been a MIT instructor for the last 20 years. Have you ever encountered workplace skills you were told were important, yet no one helped you develop them? Mark's book helps you master these vital skills that can yield outsized returns for your career and your income. In this episode you'll learn: The powerful effect of career planning, and how to construct an actionable career plan now How to effectively communicate with people from any background How ethics can guide you through common challenges you are sure to face at some point Mark's reflective lessons as a new manager....and more! How to Get to Your Dream Role For any role that you want in the future, dream role or anything else, you can't just hope to wind up there. You have to recognize that it's a step by step process. You're going to have your plan, and it's going to have checkpoints along the way. So when you look at that dream role which is probably five/ten years out, to get there, ask yourself, what are the intermediate steps along the way and how can you achieve each one of those steps? Because you can't just take that one giant leap - you need to plan it out step by step. How to Combat Unethical Behavior There are a few different things you can do, but the main ones are first, “keep records”, because having records will help avoid ‘he said, she said' situations. Second is to speak up. Don't do so alone if you can have others come in, because if you have an issue, other people probably do as well. Third, you want to shine the light. Making people more aware [about the problems within your company] is going to help ameliorate the problem or at least bring pressure for those who are involved in it to reconsider their actions. Managing Introverts vs. Extroverts One thing we need to be more cognizant of as managers is that we are extrovert-oriented in many of our in-person interactions. Extroverts tend to spring into action immediately while introverts like to think first before doing anything. So we need to acknowledge that we have different styles of engaging and then create a channel for each person to bring their personal capabilities through their preferences. Links and Resources Connect with Mark: LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook The Career Toolkit Socials: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter Link by Author (book) The Career Toolkit by Mark A. Herschberg (book) The Career Toolkit App
"Your job is to learn and understand, not know everything." - Christopher Littlefield Today my guest is Christopher Littlefield, international speaker, author, and founder of Beyond Thank You. Chris' company is a training and consulting firm specializing in employee appreciation, recognition, and workplace culture. He is a writing contributor to both HBR and Forbes, as well as being a genuinely good human! Today he sits down with us to discuss how you, as a leader, can level up your employee appreciation game. In this episode you'll learn: -Why employee appreciation matters (now more than ever) -How to recognize teams and individuals in a remote/hybrid world -Practical tips and tricks that you can start using right now, today -And much more! How to create a ‘safe space' at work People talk about psychological safety, but how do we create that? We create that by sending signals to people every single day that we value who they are and what they contribute, and what it takes to do their job each day. Employee appreciation is also conflict prevention When people feel valued at work, they will be able to relate to your feedback as a contribution and not as an attack. If you show your appreciation often, they'll be able to take in your suggestions and not feel defensive about it. What makes a good manager It's so easy as new managers to feel like you have to prove you're worthy of your position. But what proves to people that you're worthy is if they can feel that you understand them and that you're willing to help them succeed. And when you serve them to support their success, then they're going to make you shine as well. Links and Resources Connect with Chris: LinkedIn, Website, Newsletter 75+Team Building Activities for Remote Teams by Christopher Littlefield (book) The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership by Jim Dethmer (book) `Conscious Business by Fred Kofman (book) Managing Transitions by William Bridges (book)
"Don't be afraid to make a mistake." - Lisa Bowman When employees experience toxic culture and harassment at work, it's often swept under the rug Not today. My special guest is Lisa Bowman, author of Harrasshole: A Cautionary Tale of My Time at America's Favorite Charity. Lisa bravely shares her story of being an award-winning Chief Marketing Officer in a highly dysfunctional workplace. It takes a lot of courage to call out this type of BS publicly, and Lisa is not afraid to lay it on the line. I hope this episode may help others who are experiencing the same thing right now. Thank you Lisa for reaching out and having this conversation. Why people don't speak up about workplace harassment What I realized is that when you step up and make some noise about harassment in your workplace, you become the problem. 75% of people that report harassment in the workplace are also subjected to retaliation in the workplace. And that's why people do not come forward, that's why they don't speak up. Are women supporting other women in the workplace? Women are talking about supporting women, but they are violating the code of sisterhood because they do not pay attention and they look the other way when something was happening. And I guarantee you that these women are mentors, champions and sponsors of women's advocacies and resource groups in the workplace. But when they are informed about a problem at an organization, they completely ignore it. Why some people do not take up the cause and push it forward There is still today a shortage of women and women of color in the C-Suite. So if one woman falls just because they spoke out about harassment, there's a whole line of women behind them waiting to take that seat. Because of self-preservation, women in higher positions are not willing to take that risk of losing their job to stand up for others, and for me, that's the wrong thing to do. Links and Resources Connect with Lisa: LinkedIn, Twitter Harasshole: A Cautionary Tale of My Time at America's Favorite Charity by Lisa Bowman (book) Be Fierce: Stop Harassment and Take Your Power Back by Gretchen Carlson (book)
"If you solve the problem on the whiteboard, you're only 10% of the way there." - Greg Rice Sometimes I'm lucky to listen to a leader who walks the talk. Someone who exemplifies leadership in all they do, and genuinely cares about treating people right. The type of leader you'd want to work with, and work for. That person is today's guest, Co-President of Klick Health, Greg Rice. He shares valuable insights from his career journey, from his early days as a new pharmacist to being part of the leadership team at the world's largest independent health marketing agency. And we also chat about the famous Klick culture! In this episode, you'll learn: - How leaders can create clarity and calm amidst the chaos - Why aligning your values to your work is critical to long-term success - The importance of amplifying the voice of junior staffers - What makes Klick's culture so special vs. other companies..and much more! Don't miss it! Hiring the best talents When we go and pitch a large piece of business, sure the spec work that we showed them on that day is important, but we all know that spec work will never see the light of day. What they are buying into is the capability. And at that moment, we are also trying to build instant trust with them, and that comes down to the talent in the room. So if it's about talent, then from a leadership standpoint, we better try to find the best in the business and that's what we really strive to do. Delivering clarity as a leader A leader's job is to create calmness and clarity. And that level of clarity takes time and effort. And if you get stingy on that, it can bite you. It can result to this unsettled, exhausting atmosphere that lack of clarity creates within an organization. So make sure you pause and communicate. And for any change that happens, get a feedback and continue to refine that overtime and you'll be highly rewarded for that high amount of clarity that you delivered as a leader. Training your replacement Find and coach your replacement. What that means is scaling your capability to a point where you can have someone step in and you can focus your energies elsewhere, maybe into some new initiatives, new areas of interest or opportunities for you. That inherently means you coaching and guiding someone else into your role. That kind of scale mindset may not be applicable to all leaders in different roles, but certainly it has been for me in scaling and growing a successful business. Links and Resources Connect with Greg: LinkedIn, Website (Klick) Link by Author (book) Conscious Business by Fred Kofman (book) Todoist app
"Your job is to learn and understand, not know everything." - Christopher Littlefield Today my guest is Christopher Littlefield, international speaker, author, and founder of Beyond Thank You. Chris' company is a training and consulting firm specializing in employee appreciation, recognition, and workplace culture. He is a writing contributor to both HBR and Forbes, as well as being a genuinely good human! Today he sits down with us to discuss how you, as a leader, can level up your employee appreciation game. In this episode you'll learn: -Why employee appreciation matters (now more than ever) -How to recognize teams and individuals in a remote/hybrid world -Practical tips and tricks that you can start using right now, today -And much more! How to create a ‘safe space' at work People talk about psychological safety, but how do we create that? We create that by sending signals to people every single day that we value who they are and what they contribute, and what it takes to do their job each day. Employee appreciation is also conflict prevention When people feel valued at work, they will be able to relate to your feedback as a contribution and not as an attack. If you show your appreciation often, they'll be able to take in your suggestions and not feel defensive about it. What makes a good manager It's so easy as new managers to feel like you have to prove you're worthy of your position. But what proves to people that you're worthy is if they can feel that you understand them and that you're willing to help them succeed. And when you serve them to support their success, then they're going to make you shine as well. Links and Resources Connect with Chris: LinkedIn, Website, Newsletter 75+Team Building Activities for Remote Teams by Christopher Littlefield (book) The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership by Jim Dethmer (book) `Conscious Business by Fred Kofman (book) Managing Transitions by William Bridges (book)
What does the future of work have in store for us? It's a question pondered by many. Lots of opinions, far less data. Today my guest is Eric Termuende, whose company has quantified much of that chatter into tangible insights. As a well-known corporate keynote speaker (400+ speeches), he's observed the changes companies are experiencing, and can share what leading organizations are doing to chart a path forward. Want to learn what you can do to help grow your team and deliver results, in an unpredictable world? This episode is for you! The Best Quality of an Early Leader The best quality that an early leader can have is the ability to think critically, but more importantly, listen – listen, digest, and then act. And I don't just mean from clients, but from your people as well. What the Future of Work Is The future of work is less about space, place, perks, and benefits, and it's more about how we feel when we're doing the work that we do. We often have this picture of ping pong tables, 4-day work weeks, and more flexible schedules when we talk about “the future of work”, and that's partially true. But unless we work at a place where we feel like we can do our best work with people that we want to do great work with, we're never going to stick around. It's About Connection And Purpose The future of work is about deep connection. It's about having a sense of impact, purpose, and making a difference, and it's about doing incredible things with people that we trust. Links and Resources Connect with Eric: LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Website Exactly What to Say by Phil M. Jones (book) Phil M. Jones (Website) Small Giants by Bo Burlingham (book) Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely (book) The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle (book)
If you haven't been living under a rock for the last few years, you've heard some version of the question, "Why do so many incompetent men get promoted?" It's a fascinating question. Mostly because we've all seen it in action. If you'd like to hear a brutally honest assessment of lacklustre male CEOs, today's episode is for you. My guest is Denise Conroy, former SVP Marketing at HGTV, and former EVP, Marketing & Research at Outdoor Channel. Denise is currently CEO of Themy LLC, a professional coaching and training business and today you'll hear straight talk from a female executive's perspective. I love guests that are willing to speak the hard truth. About their own traumas, work experiences, and how others can learn from their life's story. Denise covers all that ground and more - I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did. Implementing change from the ground up When I first go into an organization, the first thing I do is I look at systems. I want to know, can we do something great on top of the foundation that we already have here? Asking people how they want to be communicated Whenever I work with new people, I love to ask them how they want to be communicated to, because we all have different communication styles that we prefer. That way, I can speak to them how they want to be spoken to, it improves receptiveness, and it moves my day along. Improve your self talk When I was a new manager, I was 30 at that time and I haven't received treatment for my anxiety yet. And my self-talk was very negative, telling myself I was not good enough, telling myself I should push harder, etc. But what I learned from that is that your internal self talk has an effect on the people you work with. So if your self-talk is bad, that's the place you're coming from when you're managing other people and working with them. Links and Resources Connect with Denise: LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Website Atomic Habits by James Clear (book) 3 Practical Ways to Be More Productive by Ian Daley (article) When by Dan Pink (book)
"Have the courage to be wrong. And right!" As a new leader, are you curious about what happens in the C-suite? Interested in learning astute lessons from someone who's been coaching executives at the highest level? Today my guest is CB Bowman, who was named one of the Top 50 coaches in the world by Thinkers50. She is a keynote speaker and CEO of Courage Consultant. In this episode, CB will reveal the best lessons she curated from her time as an executive coach - and how new leaders can leverage this into their own world. Don't miss this one! In this episode, you'll learn to: Harness the courage to ask for what you want Understand the role of mentors & sponsors, and why you should have both Shut up! And why that can be a powerful move as a new leader :) And a lot more! The way you communicate matters What's the preferred way to communicate, not from your perspective but from the perspective of the receiver? If you can adjust the way you deliver information so that it's received well, then you're starting to build that credibility. Because people will see that you communicate differently to different people, and they'll perceive that as respectful. Letting go of control When I started to let go [of control], the organization started to grow. And it allowed me to focus on other things that I'm good at that people in the organization are not good at or things that they cannot handle. Have the courage to ask If you have the courage to say ‘I don't know', your credibility goes up. It does not go down like most people think, because people can respect the fact that you are willing to learn, you're willing to hear another voice. Links and Resources Connect with CB: Email, LinkedIn, YouTube, Website Association of Corporate Executive Coaches Blue Ocean Strategy by Renée Mauborgne and W. Chan Kim (book)
As a leader, have you ever struggled to communicate your vision? Are you puzzled when others don't quite understand what you are trying to convey? Then this episode is for you! Today my guest is Todd Cherches, author of VisuaLeadership, and he'll help you leverage the power of visual thinking, not only in your leadership role but also in life. Todd is the CEO and co-founder of BigBlueGumball LLC, an NYC-based management and leadership consulting, training, and executive coaching firm. He is also a two-time award-winning Adjunct Professor at the NYU School of Professional Studies, in their Division of Programs in Business, where he teaches the top-rated graduate course, “Leadership & Team Building” for their Human Capital Management master's degree program. In this episode, you'll learn how to: Change the way you think and communicate as a leader using your "mind's eye" Easily leverage the power of visual imagery, mental models, analogy, storytelling and humour to supercharge your communications skills Become a more innovative thinker, better presenter, and effective coach And a lot more! Identify the Resources and Roadblocks I came up with the RnR method, which means Resources and Roadblocks. What are the resources you need to do your job and what are the roadblocks that stand in your way? It really helps to know this. First of all, people appreciated being asked and that I cared enough to stop telling and to start listening. Second, if someone lacked resources to accomplish something, we're able to brainstorm and find a solution for it. VisuaLeadership Everyone has a viewpoint based on your background, upbringing, culture, and life experiences, and you see certain things in a certain way because that's who you are and that's what you know. But there are other perspectives that we may not be aware of what's outside our own experiences and background. And so VisuaLeadership allows us to start opening our eyes to other ways of looking at things. Applying the concept of VisuaLeadership in the workplace People are not mind-readers. So often, we say something and it's so clear in our mind what we want and what we need, but we're not able to communicate that effectively to others. So we need to have a picture in our mind and think about how we can bring it to life so that people can see what we're saying and deliver what we want and what we need. Links and Resources Connect with Todd: LinkedIn, Twitter, Website How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie (book) 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey (book) VisuaLeadership by Todd Cherches (book)
"When you are a leader or a manager, you are on stage." Are you leading in a startup environment? Then this episode of The New Leader Podcast is for you! Today our special guest is Alisa Cohn, and we're chatting about her latest book, "From Start Up To Grown Up: Grow Your Leadership To Grow Your Business" Alisa's clients include Venmo, Squarespace, Etsy, Novartis and more. She was named the #1 start up coach in the world at the 2019 Thinkers50 MG100 Coaches Award. Alisa regularly writes for Inc., Forbes, HBR, and has been featured in BBC, Bloomberg, NYTs and many other outlets. She has great energy and sharp insights! In this episode, you'll learn: How to manage yourself using practical ways to control your self-doubt, and build upon your motivators How to manage your team by leveraging the power of delegation and positive feedback, to build the right culture How to manage the business by creating a vision for success, clear goals, and a dashboard for accountability. And much more! Self-Awareness Matters The first person you lead everyday is yourself, so you have to first deal with your person and be aware of your own strengths and weakness, when are you at your best or worst, et cetera. Having that awareness will help you develop what you need to develop to be a better leader. Leading with authenticity When I think about authenticity, I think people want it because they want to feel that connection with another person. The chinks in the armor, the vulnerability, is what helps people connect with you, relate with you, and therefore makes it easier for them to get behind your mission even when the chips are down. Going back to basics Everybody experiences some level of self-doubt, impostor syndrome, those kinds of things. So you need to think about the way you manage your own psychology. It's true for all leaders and that's also true for startup founders, because there's a lot of ups and downs in a startup, so you got to think about how do I manage myself for the long-term? That comes down to some of the basics: eating, sleeping, not drinking too much alcohol, fitness and stress relief, as well as giving yourself tools to combat impostor syndrome and negative self-talk. Links and Resources Connect with Alisa: LinkedIn, Twitter, Website From Start Up To Grown Up: Grow Your Leadership To Grow Your Business by Alisa Cohn (book) What Got You Here Won't Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith (book) Leadership Challenge by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner (book)
"Slow, fast, slow is how you grow." You know those moments when you're chatting with someone, and it's so interesting that time just flies by? That's how I felt when speaking with Whitney Johnson! In today's episode "Smart Growth: How Managers Can Grow Themselves, Their People, and Their Business" Whitney talks about her brand new book, Smart Growth, and how new managers can use it to create a breakthrough in 2022. Whitney was named one of the top ten most influential management thinkers by Thinkers50 in 2021, and is CEO of Disruption Advisors, a tech-enabled talent development company. She is an award-winning author, a LinkedIn Top Voice (1.79M followers), and she frequently writes for both HBR and MIT Sloan Management Review. In this episode, you'll learn: The framework known as the S Curve of Learning, and how to apply it meaningfully in your own development How to navigate through the three phases of growth (Launch Point, Sweet Spot, and Mastery) How to use the S Curve Insight Tool to develop and grow your people How this piano-playing music major ended up on Wall Street (cue Working Girl theme song)... and a lot more! The S-Curve of Learning Slow-fast-slow is how you grow. And when you understand the emotional arc of your growth, then you'll be able to increase your learning and growing capacity as well. That's what we call the S-Curve of learning. The Influential Role of the Manager The first thing that you want to really examine is do you actually want to be a manager? I meet lots of people who say I'm good at motivating people and inspiring people, but I'm not good at the day to day of managing people, and that's okay. You want to know that before you get into the job because you have a lot of influence on people, and so you want to make sure you're up for that kind of job. Managing People Who Have Mastered Their Job People start becoming bored once they mastered something because they are no longer challenged. So for your people who are already very good at their job, what will make them grow is when you give them a new challenge. From that point on, growth may seem slower, but they'll be able to unlock new levels in their professional journey. Links and Resources Connect with Whitney: LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Website, Email, Disrupt Yourself Podcast Smart Growth: How to Grow Your People to Grow Your Company by Whitney Johnson (book) The Female Advantage by Sally Helgesen (book) How Women Rise by Sally Helgesen (book) Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull and Amy Wallace (book)
"Do not let other people dictate your path." What do astronauts, Olympic champions, and Nobel laureates do differently that allows them to achieve at such a high level? My guest today is Dr. Ruth Gotian, and she will reveal the four attributes common to all high achievers - and how you can build this into your life! It was clear from the minute I met Ruth that she was passionate and committed to studying excellence, and helping others benefit from it. Ruth is the Chief Learning Officer and Assistant Professor of Education in Anesthesiology at Weill Cornell Medicine, and shares some fascinating insights. In this episode we chat about her new book, The Success Factor, and you'll learn: How passion and purpose serve high performance (and why it matters) Why perseverance is a hallmark of high achievers worldwide The power of a strong foundation and what it means for YOU (don't miss this one!) How informal, continuous learning creates a huge advantage And a lot more! High Achievers Learn Continuously The last thing that all high achievers do – the astronauts, Nobel prize winners, CEOs, et cetera – is they're continuously learning, and they're learning through informal means. They're not sitting in a classroom. We've all heard that billionaires like Warren Buffet and Bill Gates read three to eight hours a day. That's fabulous, but it's not reading that made them billionaires. It's opening their mind to new knowledge. And the high achievers, what they're able to do is take ideas from different industries and re-imagine them and use them in their own industries. High Achievers Have Rest Days, Too The other thing that surprised me is how much these high achievers protect their down time. It was very important to them because they realized later on in their career that their rest days are as important as the work days. That in order for the work days to be productive, you must have the rest days. Success as Defined By Dr. Ruth The definition of success changes based on who you ask and based on rank and gender as well. That's something to consider. But for me, there are certain markers that we can look at to determine whether the person is “successful”. First is they would have made a fundamental paradigm shift through their work. Their work is so extraordinary that it lead other people to change the way they do things and perhaps, how they think about things. Two, as they were moving up through the ranks, they lift other people up with them so it's not just about them. Links and Resources Connect with Mark: LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Website The Success Factor by Dr. Ruth Gotian (book) The Power of Pressure by Dane Jensen (book) A Higher Standard by by Ann Dunwoody (book)
My guest today is Mark A. Herschberg, author of The Career Toolkit - Essential Skills For Success That No One Taught You. Mark received his BSc in Electrical Engineering and a MEng from MIT, and has been a MIT instructor for the last 20 years. Have you ever encountered workplace skills you were told were important, yet no one helped you develop them? Mark's book helps you master these vital skills that can yield outsized returns for your career and your income. In this episode you'll learn: The powerful effect of career planning, and how to construct an actionable career plan now How to effectively communicate with people from any background How ethics can guide you through common challenges you are sure to face at some point Mark's reflective lessons as a new manager....and more! How to Get to Your Dream Role For any role that you want in the future, dream role or anything else, you can't just hope to wind up there. You have to recognize that it's a step by step process. You're going to have your plan, and it's going to have checkpoints along the way. So when you look at that dream role which is probably five/ten years out, to get there, ask yourself, what are the intermediate steps along the way and how can you achieve each one of those steps? Because you can't just take that one giant leap - you need to plan it out step by step. How to Combat Unethical Behavior There are a few different things you can do, but the main ones are first, “keep records”, because having records will help avoid ‘he said, she said' situations. Second is to speak up. Don't do so alone if you can have others come in, because if you have an issue, other people probably do as well. Third, you want to shine the light. Making people more aware [about the problems within your company] is going to help ameliorate the problem or at least bring pressure for those who are involved in it to reconsider their actions. Managing Introverts vs. Extroverts One thing we need to be more cognizant of as managers is that we are extrovert-oriented in many of our in-person interactions. Extroverts tend to spring into action immediately while introverts like to think first before doing anything. So we need to acknowledge that we have different styles of engaging and then create a channel for each person to bring their personal capabilities through their preferences. Links and Resources Connect with Mark: LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook The Career Toolkit Socials: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter Link by Author (book) The Career Toolkit by Mark A. Herschberg (book) The Career Toolkit App
My guest today is Paul Preston, CEO of TechNL, an organization that represents NL's advanced tech sector, where local companies are punching well above their weight globally. Paul is a former director at the Conference Board of Canada, and holds a BComm and MBA from Memorial University. He is passionate about the east coast tech scene and it shows! In this episode you'll learn: What's happening in NLs hot tech sector and what's ahead in the future How new leaders (and non-tech folks) can tap into the career potential of the tech sector What companies are changing the game Paul's biggest lesson as a new manager....and more! Setting Up Clear Expectations and Accountabilities If you become too friendly without giving your team members or employees a clear picture of what the goals are, what you expect from them, and what their responsibilities are, things can become complicated later. And it will be frustrating for you as a leader and for everyone else you're leading because you did not make the expectations and accountabilities clear to them in the beginning. Getting Into The Tech Industry As much as we call it the tech sector, half the jobs are not actually tech jobs. There's marketing, accounting, sales, customer success, business development, et cetera. That's one thing we want to demystify to people is that you don't need to have a software development or coding background to get into the tech industry. There are other roles that are needed in this industry that people outside of this industry can definitely get into. The Slow Path to Success As a young person, you want to achieve so much especially in your career, but sometimes you just have to stick somewhere and learn, build a base of knowledge and gain an experience set. Links and Resources Connect with Paul: LinkedIn, Website, Twitter, TechNL Twitter Malcolm Gladwell books Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance (book) Atomic Habits by James Clear (book) Speed of Trust by Stephen Covey (book) The Long Game by Dorie Clark (book)
"How we navigate our highest-pressure moments has a huge impact on the overall trajectory of our lives, both in terms of how successful we are and how much we enjoy the journey along the way." My guest today is Dane Jensen, author and CEO of Third Factor, a company that helps people become better coaches, more resilient performers, and more collaborative teammates. Dane has deep expertise in navigating pressure, having worked with high performers in elite sport, academia, business, and government. He is also a keynote speaker, instructor at Smith School of Business, Queen's University as well as an affiliate faculty member at UNC. In today's episode, we explore Dane's excellent new book, The Power of Pressure: Why Pressure Isn't the Problem, It's the Solution. You'll learn to: Understand the “pressure equation” of importance, uncertainty and volume Escape the traps of pressure with effective tools and tactics Be ambidextrous so that you can handle pressure both in peak pressure moments and over the long haul Utilize the most important preparation tip I've ever heard, and more! What Makes Us Feel Pressured Pressure is really a function of three things: importance, uncertainty, and volume. The first thing that has to be there for us to experience pressure is importance. The importance that we have assigned to the outcome is directly correlated to the pressure that we feel in a situation. If you don't care about the outcome, it's not going to create pressure. Dealing With Everyday Pressures We need to be able to connect with importance to be able to push through the daily grind. I need to have a really good answer to the question ‘why am I doing this'? Why is this important to me? Why am I putting in the time, effort, and energy for this? The answer to those questions will be a very crucial source of energy in the long haul. A More Effective Tool Than Willpower People sometimes feel like all they need to do is to will themselves to focus and say ‘no' to distractions, but that's not realistic. It's a losing battle if you're only relying on willpower to say ‘no'. It's more effective to remind yourself of your principles, act on them, and create a structure that allows you to make decisions without relying on willpower. Links and Resources Connect with Dane: LinkedIn, Website, Twitter The Power of Pressure by Dane Jensen (book) The Courage to Be Disliked by Fumitake Koga and Ichiro Kishimi (book)
My special guest is Bonnie Cochrane, Managing Director & GM, Huron Consulting Group Canada. In her current role, Bonnie focuses on supporting North American healthcare organizations in creating and sustaining health system outcomes. She started her career as a critical care nurse, before moving into progessive leadership roles with Merck, CNIB, and the NL Centre for Health Information. Bonnie holds a MSc in Community Medicine & Population Health from Memorial University, and hails from my hometown of Mt. Pearl, Newfoundland! In today's episode, you'll learn: How to find "fuel for the positive", so your passion and enthusiasm stay alive Why understanding your own values as a leader helps you become more purposeful When facing difficult conversations, why it pays to employ a mindset of "we are here to get this right, not to be right" The power of walking everyday, and more! Love What You Do We spend all our lives at work so I always held true to the 80/20 rule - if I can love my work 80% of the time and realize that 20% of the time, I just have to suck it up and do it, then I can be a very happy camper. And I am purposeful about recognizing that. Aiming For Organizational Success As leaders, we want to be high performers and do well with our teams, but at the end of the day, it is our task to help our organization reach its highest potential. If you come into that job with the mindset of moving towards organizational goals, I can almost guarantee you that you can find yourself moving forward as well. You'll have far greater growth and more opportunities if you look at leadership with organizational success as your goal. Dealing With Complex and Emotional Conversations When I'm in a situation where I'll be facing complex, highly emotional, and high-risk conversations, I plan endlessly. I script, I re-script, I roleplay in my mind, I recite my script out loud so that I can hear myself saying these very important keywords. I think through all the what if's and in doing so, I avoid getting off into unnecessary land mines of sensitive issues, et cetera. Links and Resources Connect with Bonnie: LinkedIn, Website, Twitter, Email Leaders Go First by Bonnie Cochrane (research article) Hardwiring Excellence by Quint Studer (book) Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek (book)
Aaand we're back in session! Our new episode with Dorie Clark is now available, "How to Be a Long-Term Thinker in a Short-Term World." Dorie is a Columbia and Duke university business professor, an HBR author, one of the Top 50 business thinkers in the world (Thinkers50), and is rated the #1 Communication Coach in the world (Marshall Goldsmith Leading Global Coaches Award). Today's episode is not one to miss! Dorie's latest book, "The Long Game: How to Be a Long-Term Thinker in a Short-Term World" launched this week, and we get the inside track on how you can make a life-changing breakthrough. We also chat about Dorie's own career as a people leader, and the lessons she learned along the way. In today's episode, you'll learn: How being seriously open to learning can change your trajectory Why "thinking in waves" makes sense in a fast-paced world How to create and protect your time, so you can take your career and life to the next level (hat tip to Dave Crenshaw and Paul Graham!) Dorie's biggest lesson as a first-time leader, and more! If you find this episode valuable, please rate us on Apple Podcasts! Playing The Long Game I think there's something really admirable about people who play the long game. True respect is owed to people who are willing to make the sacrifice of doing the work and putting in the effort even when there's no instant gratification. You can actually make a significant gap between you and your competitors when you do this, but only very few are willing to make that journey. It's Okay To Not Know Everything So often as adults, we get used to being really proficient at things. It becomes very rare, as you get older, to be bad at something that we think of as important to who we are. For any of us who are in the professional life, if you're trying to move up the ladder, you don't really want to say, “I don't know how to be a leader,” or, “I'm not so good at communicating.” But the truth is there is still a lot to learn. So I think that being open to that fact and accepting that it's okay to continue learning is powerful and will help you in the long run. The Value of Long-Term Thinking We need to be setting long-term goals because whether or not we end up with those goals, you want to be directionally correct in your course. So you'd want to be aiming towards something because that process of orienting yourself to it will lead you closer to what you want and in a better place than you would've been if you had totally left it to chance in a jellyfish fashion. Links and Resources Connect with Dorie: LinkedIn, Website, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook The Long Game by Dorie Clark (book) 'The Long Game' Strategic Thinking Self-Assessment
My growth and my development is at its highest point when I'm being pushed beyond where I think I could go. – Tristan Cammaert Hi everyone! Welcome to today's show. Today we talk about the value of continuous learning and staying curious in your life and career with Tristan Cammaert. Tristan is a seasoned leader who has held various executive-level roles at RBC, currently at Earnst and Young. We also discuss: The importance of team diversity, building trust and being aligned to one strategic vision Getting out of our comfort zone Supporting the next generation of leaders Finding your why Servant leadership Having a vision, and a lot more. Click that play button to listen! Don't forget to subscribe and rate us on Apple Podcasts! Getting out of your comfort zone I do have the voice in my head that's telling me “Stay where you are” on occasion, but I also will pause and take a step back and say, “Where do I know that I'd truly been at my best? Where have I been the happiest and most fulfilled in terms of my work?” It has always been when I am pushed and when I'm outside of my comfort zone. Find Your WHY Most companies and individuals are able to talk about the ‘what' and sometimes they get to the ‘how', but they're very rarely actually able to articulate the ‘why' – why are we doing what we're doing. Servant Leadership As a leader, you're not supposed to be bossing people around. You're supposed to be in service of the team that you have. Your job is to actually really help bring your team together, but you are in service to them, as opposed to being directive. Tristan's Advice to New Leaders Make sure you hire and grow and manage from a diversity perspective – diversity of thought, not just in terms of gender, race or age. 100% - don't stop learning. Make sure that you remain curious. There's a whole bunch of ways you can do that – consuming videos, podcasts, books, etc. Don't try and boil the ocean – stick with one or two things that worked for you. Links and Resources Connect with Tristan: LinkedIn Start With Why by Simon Sinek Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek Ten Percent Happier by Dan Harris
A lot of people say, “I'm comfortable with investing in people and paying them market rates and all this kind of crap” – I think that's bullshit. A lot of people tell themselves that, but in practice they don't, and they really don't do it unless they have funding. – Ross Andrew Paquette Hi everyone! Today we talk about making tough calls to grow your business with Ross Andrew Paquette. Ross is the Founder, Chairman and CEO of Maropost. The company was founded in 2011 and has grown to become a fully unified customer engagement platform designed to provide a single solution for all areas of business—across marketing, commerce, service, and more. We also discuss: How he grew his company without raising funding, Going against the status quo, Creating a framework around your growth, Investing in the right people early on, and more. Click that play button to listen! Don't forget to subscribe and rate us on Apple Podcasts! Going Against the Status Quo In the early stages of the company, I did a lot of things on my own, which I'm always very happy that I did. Being a company that didn't take any funding, we didn't have the ability to hire a VP of Sales, VP of HR – every VP-of-everything wasn't an option. By having to get involved in all those areas, I gained an understanding of not only what it takes to build and grow a business but an appreciation for what's required to accomplish those roles, and an understanding of how things operate. I don't have a finance or marketing background, but I very much understand those roles. I had to go out and generate leads as a marketer; I had to go manage our customer billing from a finance perspective. I had to do a lot of those tasks at a time when we were actually quite large – we had six people in the organization doing about 7 or 8 million in revenue. I believe a big part of us being able to get there was taking the time to really learn all those areas, as opposed to saying, “We'll just go hire somebody for that and I'm just the overseer of everything that's happening today.” Pay what you can afford, or pay for quality? I don't think I really appreciated the fact that if I invested maybe $10,000, $20,000, $30,000 a year or more, I would get a significant increase in the quality of the individual. It was more like, “This person just needs to do this job, what's the least amount of money I can pay to get that job done?” But then I never considered, “I paid that person $60,000, but if I paid $90,000, I wouldn't have to deal with issues 1-10.” I'm paying on one side or the other. A lot of people say, “I'm comfortable with investing in people and paying them market rates and all this kind of crap” – I think that's bullshit. A lot of people tell themselves that, but in practice they don't, and they really don't do it unless they have funding. Being Held Hostage Where I see a lot of organizations get into trouble is they make these decisions – pandering or as I would call it, “being held hostage”, which is a more dramatic version of that. They bring in people under a certain pretense, and I think most organizations are very transparent about that. This is what you're going to get for benefits, this is our office, these are the perks, the package – all of those things are quite clear. But then people come in and it's like, “OK, well why don't we have bean bag chairs? Why don't we have Starbucks coffee? Why don't we have these office upgrades? Why don't we have standing desks? Why don't I have a wide-screen monitor?” The list goes on. And I feel like organizations sort of get into this circular approach of pandering or being held hostage by everybody where they feel like, “OK, we have to do this.” But what if you really can't do that? There's a cost to all of these things. If you can't afford to do that today, but you end up having to do it because you're worried about people leaving or acquiring new talent and such, what is that going to mean for the future of your business? Links and Resources Connect with Ross: LinkedIn Instagram https://www.maropost.com/ Simplify: How the Best Businesses in the World Succeed by Richard Koch and Greg Lockwood Asana Quickbooks Salesforce Office 365
Hey everyone! Welcome to the show. The topic we're going to dig into right now is Why Coaching is the #1 Leadership Skill Today. I have a special guest with me, who, in my opinion, is the best person on the planet right now to talk about this particular topic – Michael Bungay Stanier. Michael is the founder of Box of Crayons, a learning and development company focused on coaching. He's the author of The Coaching Habit – my personal favorite business book – and he has another one coming out on February 29th called The Advice Trap. I've already preordered my copy – make sure you preorder yours too (link at the bottom of the show notes). In this episode, we dive into: What it takes to be a good manager, 5 Reasons why people resist being more coach-like, Michael's definition of coaching, How coaching drives impact and engagement, Coaching conversations, and a whole lot more. Click that play button to listen! Don't forget to subscribe and rate us on Apple Podcasts! What is coaching? This is my definition. It's a behavior, and the behavior is this: can you stay curious a little bit longer? Can you rush to action and advice-giving a little bit more slowly? It's simple, but it's difficult. Impact, Engagement and Coaching. In essence, the two key drivers in an organization are impact, which is productivity, and meaning, which is engagement. Coaching is one of the key skills – I know it is, because research tells us – to drive both impact and engagement. What do you want? That is a great question to crack open a conversation, just to accelerate it into a “Let's get down to brass tax here”. It's an easy question to ask and hard to answer, because people often don't know what they want, but it's really powerful to hold them in that space. Because once you know what you want, it grounds you. When you're grounded – that's the basis for action and movement. Another thing I really love about that question is to ask it of yourself, particularly when you're feeling annoyed, discombobulated, knocked off balance, when things have been hard for you and you're struggling with a particular relationship. Just go, “What do I want?” Often we hesitate around difficult conversations, not because we're scared of the scary conversations; we're just not clear on what we want. Michael's advice for new leaders Be skeptical about advice, because often, they don't know what they're talking about. They're projecting all sorts of things. It's the same as feedback. Feedback often tells you more about the person giving you the feedback than it is actually useful for you at that moment. Links and Resources Connect with Michael: LinkedIn https://www.mbs.works/ Box of Crayons The Advice Trap: Be Humble, Stay Curious & Change the Way You Lead Forever by Michael Bungay Stanier (will be released on February 29, 2020) The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever by Michael Bungay Stanier Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything by BJ Fogg Ph.D Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works by A.G. Lafley and Roger L. Martin Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success by Adam Grant Do More Great Work: Stop the Busywork. Start the Work That Matters by Michael Bungay Stanier Bullet Journal #MyBestQuestion on LinkedIn
Get to the point where you actually are confident enough in your team, in your decision-making prowess, in your ability to consider failure, to think totally differently about the problem and see if there is a better way to attack it. – Matt Confer Hi everyone! Welcome to today's show. Today we talk about the Effective Decision Making For New Leaders with Matthew Confer. Matt is the VP of Strategy & Business Development for Abilitie, a leadership development company based in beautiful Austin, Texas. We also discuss: The importance of developing relationships Trusting and leaning on your team and allowing them to fail, Preparing for worst-case scenarios, Testing your comfortable limits, Thinking differently, and more. Click that play button to listen! Don't forget to subscribe and rate us on Apple Podcasts! Good relationships contribute to project success If you don't invest early on in developing a relationship with those that you manage, it's going to be very hard when you get into the thick of a project and you have to really push your comfortable limits about what is possible to deliver. If you just jump right into the pure, active managing and delegating and never build any sort of a substantial relationships, it just makes things all the more difficult especially when you're talking about thousands of miles between you and doing all of your work virtually. Identify the problem, and simplify it When we throw a problem at leaders in our simulation, the initial instinct that everybody has is, “Ooh – a problem. I'm going to jump in and I'm going to solve it.” The problem is, most teams don't take the one to two minutes to say what actually is the problem that we're embarking on. They get so excited by the chance to solve something, that they never take a step back and identify what the problem is. The first step should be to identify it, and then simplify it. That should come before ever trying to embark on solving it. Pivot, Pivot, Pivot I almost never see a team in our simulation that ends up winning or ends up as one of the teams near the top that had one strategy, completely, effectively delivered that strategy, and never had to change course. You have to be comfortable with the fact that you need to adjust to changing dynamics – either changing dynamics at your company, changing dynamics in your industry. Matt's Leadership Advice Don't assume that the people on your team want to be managed the same way you would want to be managed. Links and Resources Connect with Matt: LinkedIn Twitter Abilitie Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner Productivity Tip: Time Blocking and Reminders App
"Debate with data and facts, not just opinions and passion." - Jacqueline Rideout Today my special guest is Jacqueline Rideout, Team Lead for Learning & Development at Verafin, the industry leader in financial crime management solutions. Based in St. John's, NL, Verafin's rapid growth has become a Canadian tech success story. In November 2020, Verafin was acquired by NASDAQ in a deal worth $2.75B US. We'll chat with Jac about her fast-paced leadership journey over the last eight years, and how you can leverage the lessons she's learned working in a world class company. In today's episode, you'll learn: How you can love what you do by finding "red threads" at work (no, really!) Why mapping strengths can open new career doors for you Why culture is critical to organizational success (hint: words on a wall don't cut it) What has surprised Jac the most, and much more! If you find this episode valuable, please rate us on Apple Podcasts! How to Fight Burnout Marcus Buckingham talks about the ‘red threads'; it's about finding those activities that bring you joy and energy, and then incorporating more of that into your day. Because that gives you a little bit more control even if you're in the most regimented type of job. Mapping your strengths A strength isn't necessarily something that you're good at, or a weakness something that you're bad at. For me, your strengths are those tasks or skills that give you energy while weaknesses are the things that drain you. And it's not the same for everyone What It Takes To Be A Good Leader Before, I actually thought that being a ‘good' leader means that you must know everything and that you have answers for everything. But that kind of mindset just made me a bad coach. Later on, I realized that being a good leader is not about just always having the right answers at hand; it's more about listening to the other person and asking the right questions so that you can truly understand the problem that you're trying to solve. Links and Resources Connect with Jacqueline: LinkedIn The Leadership Challenge by Barry Posner and James Kouzes (book) Everyday People, Extraordinary Leadership by Barry Posner and James Kouzes (book) Death by Meeting by Patrick Lencioni (book)
"You are not granted a position of influence. You have to earn it." - Iain Boomer Today my guest is Iain Boomer, Head of Learning at AbbVie Canada, a research-driven biopharmaceutical company. In 2018, I spent time on a panel with Iain during a Chief Learning Officer (CLO) event, and found his viewpoint unique and interesting. Prior to his Canadian position, Iain spent time as Sr. Global Product Training Manager with AbbVie in Heidelberg, Germany. He is also the President of PMCQ (Pharma Marketing Club of Quebec), a non-profit organization. Iain has studied at both the University of Guelph and McGill University, and currently resides in "la belle province." In today's episode, you'll learn: Why you're the catalyst for discovering your own growth opportunities (hint: don't wait for formal assessments!) How international roles create opportunities to seek and embrace change What Iain's mentor taught him about the "weight of leadership" Why professional coaching is a hallmark of high performance, and much more! If you find this episode valuable, please rate us on Apple Podcasts! How to Start a Mentor-Mentee Relationship A mentor starts with the mentee wanting to be absolutely transparent with that individual. If we think about it, we often gear towards that family member or someone who has known us for years because we already have that existing relationship. And you can easily create it with individuals along your leadership journey as long as you have that agreement at the start. How Coaching Helps In Your Leadership Journey One of the things that really impacted my leadership journey was coaching. Your coach will help you along in your journey to be able to talk out your ideas, to align you and focus you on the development aspect that you need, because there's a lot. We never stop learning in this leadership journey. Accept That You'll Make Mistakes As A Leader It doesn't always have to be negative, overarching mistakes; it could be in hiring, or perhaps in the decisions that you make. Because sometimes, we're put in this leadership position without having learned all the skills and capabilities of having that 20 to 30-year journey, so don't be too hard on yourself. You're a new leader – accept that you'll make these mistakes. Links and Resources Connect with Iain: LinkedIn Influence Redefined: Be the Leader You Were Meant to Be, Monday to Monday by Stacey Hanke (book)
"In order to effectively lead others in increasing complexity, leaders must first learn to lead themselves." - Rebecca Zucker Today my guest is Rebecca Zucker, founding partner at Next Step Partners, a leadership development firm with offices in San Francisco, New York, and LA. We discuss her recent HBR article that outlines six strategies for improving a leader's ability to learn, develop and navigate our increasingly complex world. Prior to founding Next Step, Rebecca worked as an investment banker for Goldman Sachs, and spent time as VP, Learning & Development at Robertson Stephens. She holds a degree in International Business from NYU, as well a MBA from Stanford. In today's episode, we cover: How to embrace discomfort as a normal part of navigating choppy waters The important difference between complicated and complex Why resisting oversimplification can lead to better decision making Why high achievers need to let go of perfectionism, and much more! If you find this episode valuable, please rate us on Apple Podcasts! The Difference Between Complicated VS. Complex Problems Complicated problems are figure out-able. There could be someone who has an expertise that can be applied where an answer can more or less be determined. With complex challenges, there is no one right answer. An example of this would be trying to solve climate change. There's not a clear single answer. Leadership and Humility You take people in the hospitality business or travel business, they were much more adversely affected [by COVID-19]. So how do you address that or mitigate the losses you incurred? Those things are really challenging. Different businesses and different people were certainly affected differently, but I think dealing with those challenges also requires some humility – that we don't have all the answers and that we need to work together to find the best solution. Why You Get Overwhelmed With Challenges Part of what makes these challenges overwhelming for leaders is because they feel isolated, and they feel pressured to come up with a solution and to be the ‘savior'. And they don't need to do this. This is everyone's challenge together. It would be good for leaders to reach out to other team members who may have good ideas and reach out to people on the front line as well who may see things that you don't see. Links and Resources Connect with Rebecca: LinkedIn, Twitter and Email
"You don't need everything to come to you immediately. Learn the business. Gain the trust and respect of the people around you, and you'll be very surprised how quickly those career goals will materialize." – Mike Abbott Today my guest is Mike Abbott, VP Labour Relations at Air Canada. We discuss the most impactful lessons Mike has learned as chief spokesperson in over 50 rounds of collective bargaining with large, multinational unions across many countries. This episode is full of sharp insights for new leaders. Prior to Air Canada, Mike held senior roles in Operations and HR at Brinks Canada and McCain Foods. He holds a BA/MA in Political Science & Business from Memorial University, as well as a Masters in Industrial Relations from London School of Economics. In today's episode, we cover: The importance of learning the business. Understanding the realities of not only your own function, but other business units in your organization is critical in developing your business acumen (and your credibility with senior leaders) How self-awareness links to great leadership. Knowing what drives you, how that changes over time, and being able to self-reflect are simple actions that any leader can take right now. Who wins the title of greatest guitar player of all time...and much more! If you find this episode valuable, please rate us on Apple Podcasts! If you want to be a successful manager, learn your business Especially when you're new to the industry, you really need to take time to learn your business, to learn the inputs and the outputs that run your business; like what are the factors that drive profitability, customer satisfaction, and what helps you keep employees and keep them motivated. You can't do that unless you know your business. Good managers see the bigger picture Try to see the big picture, like what the vision of the company is and where the company is going, and where your particular department falls in, but also try to see what drives the people you're managing. Because not everyone is driven by the same things that you're driven by. Labor relations: looking at overarching themes If a union has 20 proposals, try to find out the commonalities. Try to figure out the general constructs that they're looking for, and likewise with the operation, too. Look for overarching themes. Keep that in the back of your mind when you're negotiating. A chief negotiator needs to be able to see through that and look at the common pieces you need to put together so that both sides are satisfied. Links and Resources Connect with Mike: LinkedIn Getting to ‘Yes' by Roger Fisher & William Ury (book) Any book by Peter Drucker Ali: A Life by Jonathan Eig (book)
"Ask questions first. Be curious, with positive intent." – Vasundhara Sawhney Today my guest is Vasundhara Sawhney, Senior Editor at Harvard Business Review. We talk about why it's ok to disagree with your boss and co-workers, and how to do that effectively. I really enjoyed her stories and practical advice. Especially what to do when you have great friends at work - and then become their manager :) In today's episode, we cover: How to oppose the idea, but not the person Why you should pick your battles wisely Why speaking up often leads to better ideas… and much more! If you find this episode valuable, please rate us on Apple Podcasts! Why It's Important to Disagree With Your Boss Speaking up is important even in your first job. When you disagree with something, it's important to speak up and let the other person know, and I'm talking about the good fights where you respectfully disagree for a better outcome; it's a two-way street. It's not to say that ‘your opinion is bad' or ‘you have a crappy idea', but it's really about honoring those differing opinions. And they're good because you might end up with the most fabulous idea ever. Enable More Effective Communication Through Disagreement When you're starting out, it is important to understand that disagreements are, A, inevitable. B, they're normal. And C, they're a healthy part of relating to somebody else, and that's when great relationships are formed. And if you go in with the thought that you and the other person possess different points of view, or you have different data to argue on, that's a good thing. You manifest a conversation from a place of curiosity, not disagreement. How to Disagree With Your Co-Workers First, pick your battles wisely – disagreeing with everything can be seen as being argumentative. If you have an opinion and you strongly disagree, you should present it as support instead of opposition. For example, instead of saying, “I don't think this will work,” you could say, “I think that's a great idea, but how about we try ‘x'?”. So if you present your ideas as support, it's more likely the other person will also be agreeable to listening to you and picking up on your idea. Links and Resources Connect with Vasundhara: LinkedIn, Website No Hard Feelings by Liz Fosslien (book)
"Believe in yourself, sooner." – Tammy Heermann Today my guest is Tammy Heermann, a keynote speaker who's passionate about advancing women and high potential talent. I had the pleasure of seeing Tammy in action five years ago at a corporate offsite, and I appreciated her commitment and message. Currently residing in Toronto, Tammy holds a BComm from the University of Saskatchewan and a MSc from the London School of Economics. Before founding her own company in 2018, she was SVP of Leadership Transformation at Lee Hecht Harrison. In today's episode, we cover: -The importance of new leaders owning the entire experience. Management is difficult and rewarding, and new leaders must embrace both the good and the bad aspects of their role. -Prove possible. Building confidence becomes easier when you prove to yourself that it can be done. What have you attempted that you once thought was impossible? Regardless of outcome, you made it feel possible. -Reframe your story. Catch yourself when you start to say, "I can't, shouldn't..." etc. Reflect on why you automatically default to this way of thinking. Reframe and think about what is needed for you to say "I can, I will, I may, I am.." instead. -And much more! If you find this episode valuable, please rate us on Apple Podcasts! Women Empowerment and Why It Matters The experiment's hypothesis was that women would reduce their career aspirations if they were told that they weren't good at something. So at the beginning of the test, women had set higher expectations than the men in the study. And when the women were told that they performed equally well for this fake test as the men, they kept their career aspirations. But when they were told that they did worse than the men, they significantly reduced their career aspirations. Misconceptions About Working Women The common assumption is that women are less ambitious especially when they're in their family planning years. But what large studies have shown is that women actually seek balance and will make it work when their organizations are seen as investing in them and giving them opportunities and acknowledging their work. The Importance Of Speaking Up Some women think it's safer to not say anything. And I'm here to argue that it's actually not safer because then people think that you have nothing to add to the conversation, or that you don't know anything, or that you're too lightweight to operate on high-level responsibilities. And so the risk of not speaking up, I believe, outweighs the risks of speaking up. By not saying anything, you're actually putting yourself in a worse position. Links and Resources Connect with Tammy: LinkedIn, Website Reframe Your Story by Tammy Heermann (book, COMING SOON) The Coaching Habit by Michael Bungay Stanier (book) Burnout by Emily Nagoski Ph.D. and Amelia Nagoski DMA (book)
"Always be friendly, but, you are not always their friend." – Brian Bachand Is the term intuitive leadership leaving you intrigued? Puzzled? Annoyed? You're in the right place! Today we dig into a topic not often covered on the show, with someone who walks the walk. My guest is Brian Bachand, founder of Evolution Evolution, a global coaching company. Brian has an interesting story, having started his career as a priest, before moving into senior roles in executive recruitment, and corporate development with organizations like NYU Langone Health, American Cancer Society, and University of Toronto. He is a Boston-native who now calls Toronto home, but still has love for the Red Sox. In today's episode, we cover: -What intuitive leadership is, and why it should play a role in your life -Concrete examples of how it's used with new CEOs and senior leaders -Lessons from Brian's time working in a religious institution -How he over delivered on fundraising during the height of the 2008 crash -And much more! If you find this episode valuable, please rate us on Apple Podcasts! How Our Intuition Helps In Decision-Making Every single human being has intuition. Every single business leader is using their intuition whether they know it or not. And our intuition is always gathering information; it's whether or not we're being open to it and how to assess and look at that information. Our intuition is always guiding us and helping us to make decisions, and it can be very helpful especially if you're someone who's looking to grow a pipeline, and with relationships. Growing Your Confidence in Your Own Intuition When you have one of those moments of just being intuitively nudged, pay attention if what you acted on comes to reality or what it leads to. The more you pay attention to your intuition and see the results of trusting that intuition, the more you will be confident in following it when it happens. “The Greatest Failure” As A Leader One of the biggest issues that I have seen from leaders that are younger, that are aspiring to grow is that they often compromise who they are because of what they think they need to be like to get ahead. And that is the greatest failure you can have as a leader Links and Resources Connect with Brian: LinkedIn, Website, Email The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin Sharma (book)
“Some things are worth fighting for.” – Liane Davey Conflict is not always a bad thing! Do you struggle creating the kind of productive conflict your team needs to excel? Today's guest is Liane Davey, founder of 3COze, psychologist, keynote speaker, and author. She also loves a good old fashioned factory tour - I mean, who doesn't ? :) Having been to the Fender guitar factory myself in Corona, CA, I can understand her fascination! Liane's latest book, The Good Fight, focuses on how to create the kind of conflict teams and organizations need to get along - and get stuff done In today's episode, you'll learn: - 3 unique ways to create productive conflict that teams actually embrace - Why conflict should be viewed as "flossing," and not a root canal - The power of ritual and how it creates calm & control - And much more! If you find this episode valuable, please rate us on Apple Podcasts! How to deal with wrong mindsets about conflict I think one of the reasons that people aren't using the new skills that they're learning is that they've been taught that conflict is impolite, unprofessional, not lady-like, etc. So the first thing I did is changing people's mindset about conflict. And to do that, you have to look at what shaped that mindset, and also, make a business case as to why conflict is necessary and important in organizations. Why conflict is necessary Conflict is a feature, not a bug, on teams. It's the purpose of having teams - to present different perspectives and create tension. Otherwise, if one person can do it all by themselves, then they should just go do it themselves. So to handle conflicts better, we need to identify the different roles on the team and answer some questions. What's the unique value or superpower of this role? Who are the shareholders of this role? Simple steps to conflict resolution Say something that makes the person feel heard or understood, ask a question to let them expose their emotions and values, then speak their truth, and then you are in the right to add your truth and to turn it into a conversation. There's supposed to be tension but not friction. Links and Resources Connect with Liane: LinkedIn, Website The Good Fight by Liane Davey (book) The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey (book) The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lecioni (book) Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip Heath & Dan Heath
“As a leader, make sure you are clear about your employee's duties and responsibilities.” – Liz Kislik A few months ago, I read a highly relevant and specific article in HBR about managing underperformers. One of the best I've read in a long time. So, I had to find the author and invite her on the show to discuss it! Fortunately, Liz Kislik agreed, and we had a revealing conversation about a tricky scenario that many leaders have encountered. Liz is a management consultant and executive coach who helps leaders move their companies and careers forward. She's written for HBR, Forbes, Entrepreneur and has also graced the stage as a TEDx speaker. She holds a BA from Yale and a MBA from NYU; I'm sure I could've spoken to her for hours about my fondness for New York City! In today's episode you'll learn: -What causes an underperformer and their manager to view things so differently -How to spot a pattern of subpar performance with an objective lens -How to address this type of scenario skillfully, for both the organization and employee -And much more! If you find this episode valuable, please subscribe and rate us on Apple Podcasts! #management #leadership Why It's Important to Set Your Expectations The leader is always responsible. Although your team certainly needs to be responsible for themselves, you are still responsible. So the first job is to make sure that they understand what their duties are. You should also let them know how they're expected to perform, and what your standards are for their performance. It's on you to make sure that they actually understand what you're expecting from them and how you evaluate them. Because it's unfair to hold them responsible for not meeting your expectations if your expectations haven't been explicit and concrete. How to Manage an Underperformer But the nuance with somebody who thinks they're fine is they don't think they need to change anything. And the longer they repeat that mistake or undesirable behavior because no one calls them out for it, the more they think it must be okay. And that ends up doing all kinds of damage. Other people may start modelling their behavior after this person because they seem to be doing fine or they may go on to make new or even more dangerous mistakes. You have to catch these things when it's still small. Setting Expectations For Performance Some people - whether it's pride, lack of understanding, or actually having been damaged in prior work relationships - they have trouble letting you in and hearing what you're really saying, or they get oppositional about it. So whether it is their refusal to do what you ask or their inability to understand, at some point, if somebody isn't delivering on performance, you have to go through whatever your company's process is and consult with your HR, to figure out either how to change their job responsibilities so they're not in a position to damage the rest of the group, or to actually say this person does not belong in this job because they're not delivering. And then you do the corrective action or do whatever the steps are to move them out. Links and Resources Connect with Liz: LinkedIn, Website Managing an Underperformer Who Thinks They're Doing Great by Liz Kislik (article) How to Retain and Engage Your B Players by Liz Kislik (article) The Art of Possibility by Benjamin Zander and Rosamund Stone Zander (book)
“A mentor of mine pulled out his business card and wrote on the back of it: never forget when you were a sales representative.” – George Frangos Anyone in the sales profession knows the challenges that both sales reps and managers have faced over the last 12 months. In this episode, we hear firsthand about the experience of a pharmaceutical sales leader and how their team has forged ahead amidst the storm of COVID-19. My guest today is George Frangos, Director of National Sales, HIV at Gilead Canada. George has held progressive roles in sales, analytics, marketing, training and sales leadership over the last 16 years. And he was also part of the panel that hired me into my first head office role at GSK over 10 years ago! In today's episode, we discuss: - The biggest challenge faced over the last 12 months, and how teams can push through it - How sales reps can successfully adapt during a crisis by focusing on themselves first - The power of employee development, and how it brings value to an organization - Smashing Pumpkins, Radiohead and much more! If you find this episode valuable, please subscribe and rate us on Apple Podcasts! How Sales Reps Can Stay Productive During Lockdown Business continuity is critical whether we have a pandemic or not, especially with chronic conditions such as HIV, which is the space we work in. I challenged my team to come up with a plan to be productive even during the pandemic, and we called it the “Work From Home” plan. So we developed a week by week schedule which allowed us to work on our individual development plans, and also team development plans. Leadership Struggles During the Pandemic It's tough to convince your team or to assure them that they have nothing to worry about. We're all high performing individuals and we make sure that we deliver hard results for our organization. But it's tough to have frank discussions when the pandemic is something that we haven't experienced before. Remember Your Humble Beginnings Most sales leaders have been a sales representative at some point in their life and in whatever industry they are in. And it's important to remember those days because you'll be able to empathize with your teammates and understand exactly what they are going through. It will help you make decisions, create empathy, and to listen and understand their needs as individuals and as professionals. Links and Resources Connect with George: LinkedIn Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek (book)
“Take care of the little things and the big things will take care of themselves. I've never forgotten those wise words a mentor once shared.” – Norma Beauchamp I recently sat down with a wonderful and inspiring human being, one of those people who has seemingly overcome every hurdle life has thrown her way. And with a smile to boot! That person is today's guest - former president and CEO of Cystic Fibrosis Canada, Norma Beauchamp. Norma currently serves on the boards of Extendicare, Dialogue, Aurora Cannabis, The Ontario Caregiver Organization, ALS Canada, and is a Council Member of the National Research Council of Canada. She also serves as a regional ambassador for Women Get On Board. In today's episode, Norma shares her hard-earned wisdom and some wonderful lessons that many of us need to hear right now. From building an impressive corporate career and raising a family, to facing down cancer twice - and winning. You'll learn how to: -Avoid making problems worse by dealing with them faster -Leverage a positive attitude when the chips are down -Always stay in control by owning your response to challenges -And much more! If you find this episode valuable, please subscribe and rate us on Apple Podcasts! Breadth Vs. Depth of Experience This was during the Sanofi time: I moved every two to three years into different roles. I moved into Training and Development, and into Marketing, Business Development, to being the Director of Sales, and then running the Business Unit. And I think the message here is to be open to learning. Learn as much as you can. And even if they're lateral moves, the thing is it gives you much more breadth and prepares you for much more opportunities as your career progresses. On Being Adaptable, Especially in the Midst of COVID Learning is key but being adaptable is more valuable. Look at what we're living through right now with COVID-19. We have to be agile, we have to be adaptable; we need to pivot and we need to change. So many industries have pivoted this year and the speed of change has been incredible. So learning and growing brings a lot of value to any person who is developing their career forward and has high aspirations for themselves. How to Deal With Roadblocks In Your Career I have lived in a time when roads were blocked for me because of my gender, and I had to figure out how to navigate my path forward. And this is my advice for people who are currently facing roadblocks in their career path: you just have to be firm about knowing where you want to go and know that there are other ways to get there. Be creative in trying to go around that roadblock. Links and Resources Connect with Norma: LinkedIn Hersey and Blanchard Situational Leadership Model Situational Leadership by Dr. Paul Hershey (book) The One Minute Manager by Kenneth Blanchard Ph.D. and Spencer Johnson M.D. (book) Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey (book) Dare to Lead by Brené Brown (book)
“If you can, as much as you can, turn that camera on because your strategy is to connect.”– Gina London My guest today is Emmy-award winning CNN correspondent, Gina London. She is an internationally recognized communications expert, and has consulted with such organizations as Deloitte, SAP, Heineken, and the US Dept of State. Gina has lived and/or worked in more than a dozen countries, so her insights come from deep experience, along with a track record of 10+yrs in TV, radio, print, and digital. In this episode you'll learn: - Why strategy, structure, and delivery underpin all great presentations, and how to embed that in your everyday work - How to avoid letting team members hide off camera (don't "facilitate their fade away!") - The "AIM" methodology that ensures your virtual presence is like a media pro. If you find this episode valuable, please subscribe and rate us on Apple Podcasts! Strategy Why are we doing virtual? We know it's because of the pandemic, but what is our goal in a virtual setting, when we still want to connect with that human being on the other end? If you are getting fatigued with the number of your Zoom meetings and your inclination is to turn that camera off, be in your sweats all day, I'm here to urge you to turn that camera back on. You don't have to be dressed in a suit and tie, but wear something a little sharper because it's going to help you focus better and engage better with others when you're on camera. If you can, as much as you can, turn that camera on because your strategy is to connect. The AIM Strategy (Audience, Intent, Message) Your Audience needs to come first because you care about them the most. What are their hopes, dreams, and fears? What are they thinking about? How can you make your message – whatever it is – even if it's just a short “Let's talk about this new project that we need to get off the ground, and we're excited about it,” well, why would the audience be excited about it first? Lead with that. I've had clients write their whole agenda for a meeting and I say, “OK, what is the team thinking of?” Thrash your agenda, make the agenda from the point of view of the audience, lead with that and these small tweaks can make really powerful differences. Intent is simply, “What do we want to accomplish with this meeting?” Too often they're often too broad or not defined at all. Once you decide collectively, or on your own, what is that intent, make sure you articulate it (your Message). Don't leave your audience guessing what they're supposed to do with whatever it is you're blathering about. You've got to have a clear, memorable, hopefully positively emotional message that will inspire people to action. And those are the fundamentals of strategy. Structure Play with the structure. Everything that you deliver or that you message around, or if you're going be talking about that project, it doesn't have to be always chronological. If there's something interesting or visionary, lead with that. Get people excited, start with a cool story. Links and Resources Connect with Gina: LinkedIn | Twitter https://languageofleadership.org/
We are kicking off a new season with special guest, David Burkus. David is an author, professor, and keynote speaker who has been ranked as one of the world's top business thought leaders by Thinkers50. Today I'm excited to share relevant and practical insights from his brand new book, Leading From Anywhere. You can purchase a copy here. In this episode, you'll learn: why different personalities aren't the secret to great remote teams, and how to leverage culture to spur performance, 3 ways to create remote meetings that actually hit the mark (hint: being funny doesn't always translate), forward thinking hiring practices for the future, why cutting yourself some slack right now is important; leading remotely is a skill, and takes time to build If you find this episode valuable, please subscribe and rate us on Apple Podcasts! Important Elements of a Team Culture What I think was interesting was the elements of culture that mattered. When we talk about culture and when we think about a place like Google, we actually think about what Edgar Schein would call “artifacts of culture.” We think about the things that we can see, the rituals, the free food, the crazy office layouts…and we think that's culture. It turns out, Project Aristotle not only showed that it wasn't just culture, it was these specific elements of culture like whether or not people had a sense of impact and meaning in their job, whether or not they felt like they were a part of a team and that team was doing good, impactful work for the world, but especially for the company, whether or not there were clear expectations and whether or not people knew what to expect of each other on a team. The biggest one, and this was a surprise for an organization like Google, the predominant element of a thriving team culture was a sense of psychological safety, whether or not people felt free to express themselves fully, bring their whole selves to work, speak up when they have an idea that goes against the grain but could be valuable, and whether or not that team had interactions that were marked by a sense of trust and a sense of respect. Presence does not equal productivity. I think a lot of those calls stem from a misconception in the mind of too many leaders that presence equals productivity. When you're managing a remote team, you don't get the ability to see what time they come to the office, how late do they stay, how long are their lunch breaks and all these little things that actually have nothing to do with outcomes, but we use as a proxy – it's never been that good of a proxy, but it's easier to measure so we do it. And then when you flip to remote work, you trade presence for responsiveness. Google, Facebook, and other tech companies, right after Yahoo! started building these elaborate playgrounds of offices, the hidden agenda behind those was always to get people to get people [to come to the workplace] as much as possible on the assumption that they would not work more productively. And yet, distributing companies, companies that are marked by trust and autonomy have been outperforming them precisely because they're focused on outcomes and not necessarily activity and how much of it is being done on campus. Virtual Meetings and How You Can Make Them Better Host the meeting, but another person should handle the tech side of things. One, a lot of tech stuff is going to go wrong. When people are trying to figure out why they're on mute when their computer is telling them they ‘re not on mute and all that stuff, you don't need that to derail what you're doing. Second reason is you can have that other person watch you, your demeanor, the way you're interacting, what you say and how you say things so you'll learn how to have more respectful communication that resonates with your team. Allow for socialization before and after the meeting. Links and Resources Connect with David: LinkedIn | Twitter https://davidburkus.com/ Leading from Anywhere: The Essential Guide to Leading Remote Teams by David Burkus Books by Peter F. Drucker Welcome to Management: How to Grow From Top Performer to Excellent Leader by Ryan Hawk The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter, Updated and Expanded by Michael D. Watkins The Opposable Mind: How Successful Leaders Win Through Integrative Thinking by Roger L. Martin
“Own your own attention. Own your own energy. Put some boundaries up.” – Catherine Harrison In today's episode I speak with entrepreneur, recovering corporate leader, musician and author Catherine Harrison. Her first book, "Three Colors, 12 Notes" just launched, and we'll delve into what brought the book to life and how it can help you navigate a turbulent year. Catherine's background as both a creative artist and corporate leader makes for an interesting conversation! She's a great example of someone who brings their whole self to work. In this episode, we cover: How to own your attention in a distracted world vs. technology owning you Catherine's biggest leadership blunder and how you can learn from it The concept of human-centered leadership and what that really means in practice Her favorite books for new leaders, and a whole lot more! If you find this episode valuable, please subscribe and rate us on Apple Podcasts! Don't let your ego drive the bus One that comes to mind that I immediately consider a real gaffe on my part, one I'm still embarrassed about, was when I let my frustration get the better of me, and I let my ego drive the bus. You lead different human beings with different personalities and tendencies and preferences and things that really irritate you. I remember a specific instance when I was getting really tired of an individual who had a grandstanding personality. For whatever reason, it showed up in different ways that were irritating to me. I'm human; everybody's human. I chose, on one occasion, to let my frustration get the better of me and put him in his place. I felt awful afterwards. I still do. Even in my body right now, the reflection of that, makes me feel really uncomfortable. To me, I look back and I go, “Wow, what a young and stupid, ego-driven, unempathetic, non-human-centered leadership choice that was. Shame on you.” Be a human-centric leader I believe so vehemently that a good leader recognizes how important it is to uncover, discover and celebrate the different aspects of yourself, to bring your best self into the workplace where you're investing your energy, and how are you investing the time to get to know yourself – your positives, negatives, ignored points, what you can really bring, where you should actually delegate. When you get to know yourself better, and you start to reconnect to your humanness, you become a more human-centric leader. That enables you to pull out the potential of these people that you're hiring. A human-centric leader who gets things done In so many ways, we are living in a culture, even a global culture, of binary thinking – you either are this human-centered, touchy-feely leader or you're a very strategic, results-oriented leader that gets things done. And I completely disagree with the binary nature of that. I believe so passionately that a good leader has to be all of those things and more. You can, in fact, be very clear, firm, strategic, focused on results, give clear feedback, be a disciplinarian, be very results-oriented, and also be an empathetic, open-minded, curious leader who's willing to be courageous enough to go, “My bad, poor decision” or “We're really dropping the ball all over the place, help me understand how I am contributing to that.” I think that leaders who embrace all of that stuff are the ones who not only get things done, but they get things done in a way that there isn't a trail of bodies behind them. Links and Resources Connect with Catherine: LinkedIn https://purplevoodoo.ca Three Colors, Twelve Notes: The Alchemy of Curiosity, Creativity and Human-Centered Leadership by Catherine Harrison Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World by Cal Newport The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Stephen R. Covey Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts. By Brené Brown The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership: A New Paradigm for Sustainable Success by Jim Dethmer, Diana Chapman and Kaley Klemp Catherine's tip: Figure out when your best energy is. Turn off your devices.
“I had to step back and learn that my job is to help others shine. It was all about communication, motivation, vision, and lifting up others. I would say that was the first real key lesson in leadership that I had to learn the hard way.” – Dennis Geelen Recently I sat down with Dennis Geelen to learn more about his new book, The Zero In Formula. Dennis is the founder of Zero In, a consulting company that works with small to medium sized businesses, to help them implement creative strategies to be more customer centric and innovative. In this episode, we cover: - The hardest management truth Dennis ever learned, and how you can leverage self-awareness to elevate your game - Why innovation doesn't necessarily equate to technology, and how small changes can create big results - How customer-centricity is often missed, and how to ensure you get it right - The simple 3 step formula to drive customer-centric innovation throughout your organization - and more! Don't forget to subscribe and rate us on Apple Podcasts if you find this episode valuable! A key lesson in leadership The biggest lesson I think I had was, “OK, now that you're in a leadership role, things need to change.” I didn't realize that in the beginning. I kept wanting to be that go-to guy, keep being very involved in the operations, keep being very hands-on. And I quickly had to learn, now that I'm in a leadership position, it's not about me anymore. I had to step back and learn that my job is to help others shine. It was all about communication, motivation, vision, and lifting up others. I would say that was the first real key lesson in leadership that I had to learn the hard way. Create a customer-centric foundation There's so much noise out there. You need to market yourself, you need to brand yourself, you need a good sales funnel, and there's so much information coming at us. Sure, some of those other things are good, but not if you don't have a good foundation. Right? You have great marketing and sales, but at the end of the day, if you're not creating a good experience for those customers once they land with you, if there's nothing different or innovative about you, they're not going to stay. Intentional innovation The key here for me is “intentional”. You are intentional about being customer-centric, and you are intentional about being innovative. What does that look like on the innovation side? I like to give different principles that I believe need to be followed in order to be an innovative company. One, you've got practices in place that are designed to create new ideas. Do you have practices in place? Do you have regular brainstorming meetings? Do you have ways of gathering ideas from your employees? That's one way of being intentional. Are those ideas coming from a diverse group of people? You want to have perspectives from all areas of your company – people from sales, operations, marketing, leadership, they all see it differently. Get those perspectives and make each of those people feel included, like their idea and their perspective matters just as much as the next person. Links and Resources Connect with Dennis: LinkedIn http://zero-in.ca/ THE ZERO IN FORMULA: The Definitive Guide to Building a Disruptive and Sustainable Business through Customer-Centric Innovation by Dennis Geelen The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick M. Lencioni Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It by Chris Voss Dennis' Productivity Tip: Organize and prioritize your day
“Stop thinking that you have to be all powerful and mighty because you have the word “leader” in your title. Be relatable, champion their cause…just be a human. Be a human being – that is the best way in which to lead.” – Dan Pontefract Recently I sat down with Dan Pontefract to learn more about his new book Lead, Care, Win. With the state of the world as it is, Dan's latest book couldn't have come at a better time. It's a playbook for leading in the 21st century, shattering old notions of management and highlighting examples of those who lead with heart - and how that translates to better relationships and results. Dan is the founder and CEO of The Pontefract Group, a firm that aims to improve the state of leadership and organizational culture. He's the author of three books (Flat Army, The Purpose Effect, Open To Think), and is the former Chief Learning Officer at Telus. Dan also writes for both Forbes and HBR. In this episode, you'll learn: - How the rat race impairs your leadership ability and what to do about it - Nine leadership lessons to improve your ability to lead both yourself and others - What the 1993 Stanley Cup playoffs can teach us about ego and purpose - What you can do right now, today, to start becoming a more caring leader My only regret in this episode is that we didn't have time to discuss the genius of Eddie Van Halen! Enjoy this episode and be sure to grab a copy of Lead, Care, Win! If you find this episode valuable, please subscribe and rate us on Apple Podcasts! Be a Relatable Leader I believe wholeheartedly that respect, empathy, being personable, i.e. human, admitting to your mistakes, apologizing when you've made a mistake, and even asking for help and feedback and not pretending you know everything are fundamentally the keys to being relatable. If leaders would just do one of those six sub-behaviors, like saying sorry, they were an arse in a meeting, or they forgot to send the email, or they were promising an introduction to a client or a partner or a VP and they failed to do so…just say sorry. Relatability is admitting that you're fallible, and that makes you human, and thus more humane. When you're relatable, it's not just the whole “putting yourself in the shoes of others” – it's not as simple as that. It's about thinking, feeling, and then doing. And if you can sort that three-pronged approach to empathy out, you're a relatable leader. Seek out and share knowledge I think there's a bit of a pretense that leaders tend to have. When you're the smartest person in the room, I argue you're in the wrong room. When you believe that your stuff is far more worthy to be held by your own and not to be shared, you're unworthy of the title “leader.” If you think that you shouldn't be offering up your experiences and expertise to the team, to colleagues, to peers, being a mentor, sharing your knowledge, again, you're unworthy of the title “leader.” You have a responsibility to actually seek out knowledge and competence and intellect. You can't be meek. Marinate in the Moment When you think about your “stay present” quotient, you believe that things are happening so fast that there's just no time to plan. You're addicted to back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back meetings, you don't know how to build in “me time” into your calendars so you that you can process the data, the information, the intel and the need to get stuff done. But equally important as a leader, when you're not staying present, you're not there for your people. Meaning, in a one-on-one meeting, how often does that leader get distracted because the phone buzzes and they think that that call is more important than that meeting they're in? My urging and yearning of leaders is to remember how important it is to be there, marinating in the moment, with either the team member or the team meeting itself, and that being “on” all the time is a ludicrous strategy. Links and Resources Connect with Dan: LinkedIn https://www.danpontefract.com/ http://leadcarewin.com/ Lead. Care. Win.: How to Become a Leader Who Matters by Dan Pontefract Flat Army: Creating a Connected and Engaged Organization by Dan Pontefract The Purpose Effect: Building Meaning In Yourself, Your role, and Your Organization by Dan Pontefract Open to Think: Slow Down, Think Creatively and Make Better Decisions by Dan Pontefract
“Looking back at it now, there's a time and place to be aggressive, but it often makes sense to slow down a little bit.” – Doug Hart Today my guest is Douglas Hart, Vice President International at Terminix and President, ServiceMaster Canada. I enjoyed Doug's straight-shooting approach and practical nature. No leadership platitudes here, just real-world advice from a leader in the trenches. Doug and I go back many moons, having competed in various tennis tournaments as kids. Was great to hear about his career and catch up after 25+ years. The power of podcasting! In this episode, you'll learn: - How slowing down can help you accelerate your long-term performance as a new leader, - Why changing your leadership style may not be the right move in a crisis, - What approach worked effectively for Doug this year, and how you can leverage it, - What surprised him most about 2020 so far... - and a lot more! If you find this episode valuable, please subscribe and rate us on Apple Podcasts! Move towards the same vision I went from being a marketer to hiring 14 people from different disciplines. It was my first experience in leading teams. I didn't have a ton of experience in some of their functional areas, but I definitely discovered early on that you have to trust people in their ability to do their functional position, provided I'm guiding and coaching, but to get everybody aligned to the same objective and the same vision – I think that's critical. That's probably the first real lesson I learned in leadership. Slow down a little bit When you're a young and ambitious leader and you're highly motivated, you want results, one of the things you can do is sometimes not include people the way that you should. I had opportunities to leverage more functional expertise and peple with more experience than me, and in fear of slowing me down in terms of trying to find consensus, I potentially at times did not seek that alignment and just went forward. Looking back at it now, there's a time and place to be aggressive, but it often makes sense to slow down a little bit. You'll still get there, you'll still be highly successful, but bring in all those resources and get alignment – you'll be much better off for it in the long run. A New Hybrid I'm of the feeling that I think there's been learnings here that not everybody needs to go to the office every day, for full business hours. I think that's not a necessity any longer. We are likely going to move to a hybrid solution where we will actually move to a smaller office footprint and figure out how that looks like. We will also give people flexibility to work from home. I don't think my leadership style has really changed, but I do enjoy and I do miss having at least some degree of working together in person. Some of these water cooler conversations, or just bantering around the office – those build relationships. Post-pandemic, we're going to have a new hybrid. It's going to be somewhere in between the old and the new. Links and Resources Connect with Doug: LinkedIn The Culture Map: Breaking Through the Invisible Boundaries of Global Business by Erin Meyer Doug's Productivity Tip: Keep your schedule structured and do some physical activity 3-4x per week.
“One of my taglines is human-focused business strategy because I truly believe that humans are the core of every business, and we have to remember that.” – Céline Williams As a leader in 2020, you were hit with the pandemic gut punch in April. And depending upon where you are in the world right now, the second wave of Covid is already underway or expected. In today's episode we talk with Culture Strategist and Executive Coach Céline Williams about leading through the rest of 2020. Celine is the founder of Revisionary, a consulting firm focused on leadership, culture, and strategy. In this episode you'll learn: - What has worked effectively this year when leading remotely - What hasn't worked about remote leadership (and why) - 4 simple ways leaders can re-adjust their approach for the second wave of Covid (and how to make those changes stick) - Why productivity tools and apps aren't all they're cracked up to be...and more! If you find this episode valuable, please subscribe and rate us on Apple Podcasts! Talk about your (second wave) remote work plan NOW There's a lot of really temporary, band-aid solutions that are happening that are not sustainable, especially if we don't know how long the second wave is and especially if you care about your people being happy and healthy and having a good employee experience, team experience, culture experience. The first thing I would say is, everyone needs to be taking a look at how cobbled together their remote plan is. For a lot of companies, and for a lot of teams inside certain companies, this remote work plan is not a plan. It was a “We are all working from home starting Monday” – full stop. That's not a remote work plan. When you are actually implementing a remote work plan, it's a 6-12 month plan to get everything lined up from technology to hardware, to ways of working, the new rules around meetings, to how we communicate. All of that stuff, in an ideal situation, is 6-12 months of planning. People had less than a week. It's crazy! I want to acknowledge that I recognize that everyone is doing their best inside these circumstances, and that is phenomenal, and people are doing as well as they can. If you are leading a team that was thrown into remote work without that plan, and is still either fully, half, partly doing that, the more planning you can do for the second wave, the more you can start to have conversations around what people really need, what their experiences have been, what has or hasn't worked for them. The earlier you can start to have that [conversation], i.e., now, the more successful the second wave of remote work is going to look for your team and your company. Be open to other people's remote work experiences I think the thing that as worked well consistently when people have done it is really not assuming that your experience is everyone's experience, and asking questions and being very open to other people's experiences. I have seen lots of leaders who have made assumptions that because they are having a specific experience – their kids are older, or they don't have kids, they have a home office that's set up separately – they assume that “This working from home is easy! This is great! I don't have to commute!” That is not the experience of all of your people, and when we assume that, you are doing them a disservice because you are not acknowledging their experience and you are not creating a safe environment for them to share their experience. Is that meeting really necessary? One of the things that has not worked well is, people have not changed the type or number or quality of their meetings and just moved them on to Zoom. That is a massive failure. When we are working remotely, we have to change the type of meetings we're having, we have to put a different structure around them. I know executives who literally spent 8 straight hours a day on Zoom meetings for the first part of this pandemic, because that's just what their schedule had. I think the starting point for all of it is evaluating the types of meetings that people are having – are these the best use of our time right now? Links and Resources Connect with Céline: LinkedIn celine@revisionary.ca http://revisionary.ca/ Death by Meeting: A Leadership Fable...About Solving the Most Painful Problem in Business by Patrick Lencioni The 360 Degree Leader: Developing Your Influence from Anywhere in the Organization by John C. Maxwell The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You by John C. Maxwell Productivity TIP: Find the type of music that, when you're working, doesn't draw your attention away from the work that you're doing.
“Don't take yourself too seriously. Have fun. If it ain't fun, don't do it.” – Dean MacDonald My guest on The New Leader Podcast today is St. John's-based Dean MacDonald, a seasoned business executive, entrepreneur, investor and all-around great guy. He had me laughing pretty well the entire time – I wish I could've recorded a few more hours with him (keep an ear for his awesome 90s era Blue Jays tale). Dean has an incredible life story and I was taking copious notes between questions. He was President of a cable company at 25, held several high-profile roles as COO (Rogers), CEO (Persona Communications, Clearstream Energy), and was chair of the BoD for NL Hydro. Did I mention he also owns the Newfoundland Growlers hockey club (2019 ECHL champs)? He knows a thing or two.. In this episode you'll learn: - Why hiring is a critical skill for all business leaders, how much time you should spend on it, and how to get it right (hint: it's not about the interview guide) - What mistakes young leaders typically make and how to avoid them - Why culture is king and how to build it effectively - How unusual and awkward stories can make you memorable, and more! Special shout out to fellow Newfoundlander Ryan Hurley for making this episode happen ;) Don't forget to subscribe and rate us on Apple Podcasts! Listen and Learn I think I matured as a manager by being a better listener – using my ears instead of my mouth. My early mistakes were ones of either thinking I knew it all, or thinking I needed to know it all because I was the boss – and that's just a classic mistake. Hiring the right people I spent an inordinate amount of time on hiring and ended up with absolutely fantastic people who were a part of my leadership teams through the various companies – many of them I've worked in many different companies together. Also hiring the right people who were super smart. At the end of the day, I'd like to say that in the companies I worked with, it didn't matter where the best idea came from. We had an environment where an idea can come from anywhere and we can act on it, and everyone took pride in it. Lots of debate, lots of discussion and lots of discourse, but that always led to a better answer. What do you look for when you're hiring a leader? This may sound odd, but I don't tend to get too worked up about whether they went to Harvard or they went to a much lesser-known University, because a lot of that sometimes is based on privilege and other things. If they've got the basics, they've done their education that's helpful, I like to look at the non-standard stuff. Were they a team captain in sports? Were they a leader in their school choir, or cub scouts? All that stuff that tells you who that person is. What were their summer jobs? What's their background? I love getting people who play sports, because they've won, they've lost, they've learned how to deal with both. Team sports is a great builder of character, goal-setting, etc. So I tend to move a little more in that direction, because that's something I know more and I'm comfortable with. I also see it in people who have an interest in the arts. I love hiring people out of the Humanities, because they have a very interesting problem-solving ability than someone who's very binary. Links and Resources Connect with Dean: Twitter Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don't by Jim Collins
© 2020-2025 Ivy Podcast Discovery LLC
