Chris Dyer is the founder of G2 and the author of The Power of Company Culture. He joins Kevin to discuss lessons learned on his path to founding his own company. Chris has spent years researching what drives profits and productivity in a variety of corporations. He recognized that many leaders were intentional about NOT doing certain things. You need to know your limitations (and ask for help) and leverage your strengths.
It is my personal belief and a major organizational philosophy of ours that you cannot be a successful leader over a long period of time without having an OTHERS Focus.
And when I use this term, the topic often turns to Servant Leadership – are they one and the same?
Check out today’s episode to find out what Servant Leadership really means and how your focus can truly change your results and your life.
Five generations are in the workplace today and 40% of Americans have a boss younger than they are. What does this all mean for those of us closer to retirement? What are you going to do in the second stage of your career? Chip Conley is the author of Wisdom @ Work: The Making of a Modern Elder and Airbnb Strategic Advisor for Hospitality and Leadership. Chip and Kevin discuss a fast-changing workplace due to technology and the youth of today have the benefit of being “digital natives”. With that said, wisdom can be shared. Throughout the rapid change, we still remember that the need to understand humans is timeless. Chip tells us what it means to be a modern elder and capitalize on the qualities gained through experience, like good judgment and emotional intelligence.
Culture. Is it the current buzzword? How important is it to your organization? Karen Jaw-Madson is the principal of Co.-Design of Work Experience and author of Culture Your Culture: Innovating Experiences @Work. She was frustrated by all the talk surrounding the importance of culture yet found that most organizations did not have an intentional process to create their culture. She shares with Kevin the journey to create the book and how she purposely did not want it filled with case studies. She explains the Design of Work Experience and through this framework leaders, teams, and employees across the board can create a culture to fit their context.
I am sharing a lesson today from one of my favorite books by Og Mandino, The Greatest Miracle in the World.
In this great book, there is an incredibly powerful sentence that all leaders can learn from:
Use wisely your power of choice.
Listen to this episode to learn how you can use this power to be more effective and more successful.
Goals and goal setting. Much has been written about this topic; from importance to how to write the tasks and action items. Biagio ‘Bill’ Sciacca is the author of Goals Book: Embracing Personal Responsibility in an Age of Entitlement. Biagio not only does consulting, he has taught at the university level since 1982, and, recently, took a full-time academic post at Penn State University, where he lectures in Micro and Macro Economics, Marketing, Leadership, Strategic Management and Interpersonal Skills in Business. His first attempt at the book resulted in a lot of blank pages, where the reader was supposed to fill in their goals. He realized that this might not be helpful and takes a different approach to goal setting and encourages us to think about habit formation.
In my company, I allow my employees to choose their own job title.
I of course, did the same. And I know that I did a pretty decent job when I picked mine because when I tell people what it is, I almost always get comments on it.
But this video isn’t about my title, well not entirely. It’s about one very important word in my title…
POTENTIAL
And in this episode, I have two very important questions that leaders need to ask about potential in order to get great results.
All too often it’s the organizational norms that are preventing the company and it's people from growing. Change is rapid and relying on best practices or the playbook can be dangerous for the company and your career. Geoff Tuff is the co-author of DETONATE: Why—And How—Corporations Must Blow Up Best Practices (And Bring a Beginner’s Mind) to Survive. Geoff and Kevin discuss the DETONATE mindset, some typical best practices and why they need to be disrupted for next-generation thinking. Further, leaders at all levels need to look at what drives human behavior because that is where the change happens.
While the title of this post might have you thinking about the HVAC in your home, let me assure you that’s not what this is about.
In today’s episode, I’m talking about the filters that you see the world through as a leader – what they are and then how to change them.
Drew Dudley believes we should consciously create moments of leadership. He is the founder of Day One Leadership and author of This Is Day One: A Practical Guide To Leadership That Matters. Drew joins Kevin to talk about leadership and personal growth. We need to celebrate moments of compassion and generosity every day; not just look at leadership in blocks of time. Regardless of your role, leadership moments happen all the time and begin at the same place for everyone, Day One.
Our lives are busy – both at work and at home – and it’s easy to live in reality but not always easy to actually “see” what your reality is.
And as leaders, this is a really important distinction.
In today’s episode, I’m asking three questions to help leaders “see” their reality so that they can be more successful.
Don’t start with the problem. Think about your vision and where you want to go. Steve Shallenberger shared results of his research into what sets apart high achieving individuals in Becoming Your Best: The 12 Principles of Highly Successful Leaders. That research also led him to discover that most organizations did not have an approach to solving problems. Most leaders want their employees to bring solutions instead of problems, yet there is no process. This led him to co-write The Transformation Challenge. Steve shares stories and examples of his proprietary Six-Step Process to transform any challenge or problem.
As listeners of the Remarkable Leadership Podcast, he is offering a quick start guide to help walk you through the process. You can e-mail Steve at Steve@BecomingYourBest.com and mention this podcast.
Every week for the last several years, my remote team has shared a weekly report with updates and pertinent information for the other teammates. And while this report has changed over the years, there is one component that has been consistent:
What have you learned this week?
And last week, I shared a very valuable lesson in my report that will help all leaders: When I read more, I think better.
There is absolutely no doubt that there is a connection between being a reader and being a more effective leader. So today, I’m asking you about your reading habits…
Donna Hicks, author of Leading with Dignity: How to Create a Culture That Brings Out the Best in People joins Kevin to discuss the role of dignity in leadership, relationships, and negotiations. Donna was at the table at many conflict discussions, including Israel/Palestine and Northern Ireland. What she found was that there was another conversation at the table that was non-verbal and emotional. She shares with Kevin that few of us understand the role dignity plays in leadership and when we don’t respect dignity, there are trust and conflict issues. Leaders need to walk the talk and we all need to understand how vulnerable we are.
As this releases on July 3rd, people in the U.S. might be thinking about freedom as we prepare to celebrate Independence Day. But independence doesn’t only apply in early July. Leaders can and should be thinking about independence and what it means in their teams and at work.
Feedback is as a skill that helps people get better. Margie Mauldin found that she was either a cheerleader or silent and wasn’t good at providing feedback, in part because she didn’t understand the elements of effective feedback. Through research, observation and interviews she created the Feedback Revolution: Building Relationships & Boosting Results. This book was desinged to enhance your skill set in an enjoyable, inviting and above all, practical way. At the end of the day, you want your people to improve and they want to improve. Margie shares her thoughts about ending the negative stigma associated with feedback and truly make it a tool.
In these Remarkable TV episodes, I answer questions; you ask questions; we consider questions; there are a lot of questions.
In this episode, I am proposing a question that all leaders need to ask themselves.
Long-term success is dependent on continuous learning, yet we often find that we get in our own way. Dr. Bradley Staats, author of Never Stop Learning: Stay Relevant, Reinvent Yourself, and Thrive, joins Kevin to discuss dynamic learning, both personally and organizationally. Brad describes not only a framework to help you become more effective as a lifelong learner, he discusses how you can help your team continue to learn. You must create the space for questions and thought-sharing. Further, he outlines an exercise you can do to continue to open yourself up and learn
While we’re here…
We really ought to…
Before you know it…
We’ve all been on projects or task forces or teams where scope creep completely derails our initial plans, our progress and our success.
And as leaders, scope creep WILL happen unless we are truly intentional in addressing it beforehand.
Check out this episode for tips on handling the inevitable scope creep in your organization
You have the choice to take your career seriously. Mary Abbajay is the author of Managing UP and joins Kevin to discuss how leaders, at any level, can develop strategies so you win and your boss can win. Managing Up is not about sucking up. Managing Up is about relationships, leadership, and followership. Mary shares information about different boss types and real-world examples to bridge the gap and collaborate.
In this episode, we dive further into lessons I mentioned in a previous video: setting clear and mutually understood expectations.
Tom Peters is known for many things, including being one of today’s greatest business minds. His first book, In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America’s Best-Run Companies (with Robert Waterman) was published in 1982 and may be considered the beginning of business books. Today he joins Kevin to share stories from his journey over the past 36 years and how we can use that information today. Further, he discusses his latest book, The Excellence Dividend: Meeting the Tech Tide with Work That Wows and Jobs That Last. AI is everywhere and Tom suggests that nothing will beat a dedicated workforce and a commitment to high-quality service or products.
In this episode, Tom shares his thoughts about 1. The tech tsunami. 2. Relationships.
Through research, assessments, interviews, and personal experience Elena Botelho and Kim Powell found that there are 4 behaviors successful CEO’s and leaders exhibit and share their work in a New York Times bestseller entitled The CEO Next Door: The 4 Behaviors That Transform Ordinary People into World-Class Leaders. Elena joins Kevin to discuss the behaviors and some of the myths about organizational leaders. For example, leaders are willing to make a decision and thereby willing to make mistakes. These are secrets of professional success that you can use at any stage of your career.
Chris McGoff states that darkness is not the opposite of light but is the absence of light and just waiting for the light. As such, any person can stand up a peak performance culture. He is the author of “Match in the Root Cellar: How You Can Spark a Peak Performance Culture”. This book is unique in that it is broken into two parts. The first is the story of a CEO and her team—all based on real people— and how together they achieved a peak performance culture at their company despite the odds. The second part is a straightforward guide to reference for quick answers when developing your company’s culture. Chris and Kevin discuss culture in organizations and what we will and won’t tolerate.
Reflection is an important part of moving forward. Host Kevin Eikenberry is in the guest seat today to ‘reflect’ on two years of podcasts. He shares information for want-to-be podcasters, technology challenges (we’ve all had them) and guests he would like to have. Further, he touches on the evolution of his questions and segments, and the action items he has taken from the past 100+ guests.
Kevin’s book recommendation for this episode is to go back to any previous guest and read what they are reading.