Coaching for Leaders

Latest Episodes:

521: The Way to Earn Attention, with Raja Rajamannar Apr 12, 2021

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Raja Rajamannar: Quantum Marketing Raja Rajamannar is Chief Marketing & Communications Officer for Mastercard, and president of the company’s healthcare business. He also serves as president of the World Federation of Advertisers. Raja has held C-level roles at firms ranging from Anthem to Humana, and has overseen the successful evolution of Mastercard’s identity for the digital age, from its Priceless experiential platforms to marketing-led business models. Raja’s work has been featured in Harvard Business School and Yale School of management case studies, and been taught at more than 40 top management schools around the world. He is the author of Quantum Marketing: Mastering the New Marketing Mindset for Tomorrow's Consumers*. In this conversation, Raja and I discuss the reality that traditional advertising as we know it is ending. He also invites us to rethink how we’ve traditionally thought about customer loyalty. Instead of telling stories about our brands, we should be doing the work to create stories along with our customers. Key Points Organizations need to engage in permission-based marketing to be credible to consumers. It’s helpful to think about relationships with consumers as affinity instead of loyalty. Most of what we call advertising today is interruptive to consumers and a poor experience. It’s not entirely dead, but certainly heading that way. Invite consumers into unique experiences by making the transition from storytelling to story making. Create experiences that are scalable and economically viable and sustainable. Smaller firms can seek out opportunities to create partnership that will help them make stories that are purposeful. Resources Mentioned Quantum Marketing: Mastering the New Marketing Mindset for Tomorrow's Consumers* by Raja Rajamannar Interview Notes Download my interview notes in PDF format (free membership required). Related Episodes How to Lead Top-Line Growth, with Tim Sanders (episode 299) Serve Others Through Marketing, with Seth Godin (episode 381) Where to Start on Subscriptions, with Robbie Kellman Baxter (episode 484) If You Build It, They Will Come (Dave’s Journal) Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

520: How to Inspire More Curiosity, with Shannon Minifie Apr 05, 2021

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Shannon Minifie: Box of Crayons Shannon is the CEO of Box of Crayons, the firm behind the best-selling books The Coaching Habit* and The Advice Trap*. Box of Crayons is a learning and development company that helps unleash the power of curiosity to create connected and engaged company cultures. Shannon followed an unusual path to becoming CEO of Box of Crayons. Her career began in academia, a pursuit driven by her desire to be a part of conversations she thinks are important. In 2016, she embarked on a new path, starting a career in corporate learning and development. She brings to her role more than a decade of experience in education and in practicing incisive investigation. In this conversation, Shannon and I talk about the word curiosity and the reality that not everybody thinks about that word the same way we do. We explore the distinction between troublemakers and changemakers and provide practical suggestions to inspire more curiosity inside your organization. Plus, we highlight many of the common barriers to utilizing curiosity well. Key Points Curiosity is a state, not a trait. Nobody says they are against curiosity. But the truth is that they’re suspicious of it. Four things tend to hold firms back from the benefits of changemaker curiosity: Complacency: being used to the status quo. Delusion: the belief that they are already good at it. Environment: espoused values vs. what’s being done in practice because of real barriers. The Advice Monster: too much a cultural reliance on advice-giving. Resources Mentioned Box of Crayons The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever* by Michael Bungay Stanier The Advice Trap: Be Humble, Stay Curious & Change the Way You Lead Forever* by Michael Bungay Stanier Related Episodes How to Build Psychological Safety, with Amy Edmondson (episode 404) The Way to Be More Coach-Like, with Michael Bungay Stanier (episode 458) How to Build a Coaching Culture, with Andrea Wanerstrand (episode 501) Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

519: Handle Your Papers Like a Pro, with David Sparks Mar 29, 2021

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David Sparks: MacSparky David Sparks speaks and writes about how to use technology to be more productive. David is a past speaker at Macworld / iWorld and a regular faculty member for the American Bar Association’s TechShow. David has published numerous books and videos on how to use technology including the MacSparky Field Guide series that includes videos and books on managing email, going paperless, and how to make a winning presentation. David is also co-host of the popular Mac Power Users, Automators, and Focused podcasts. When not speaking and writing about technology, he’s a business attorney in Orange County, California. David recently released his Paperless Field Guide*. In this conversation, David and I review the key steps to managing a paperless lifestyle including how to capture, process, edit, and share documents. We share useful hacks to find data in documents, track changes, annotate PDFs, and much more. Key Points The goal of the paperless lifestyle is to provide sanity so you’re not spending time and energy managing paperwork. Scanner Pro is David’s recommended app for most people who want to capture documents easily with optical character recognition (OCR). Getting your documents into PDF format will allow them to be accessible for the future and also protect you from trouble with future software versions. Decide on a personal syntax for how you name files. Including a noun, verb, and date can be useful to surface documents later. Use “track changes” on Microsoft Word or “suggesting” on Google Docs for collaboration, review, and editing. If you use a tablet and do lots of reading or document review, consider utilizing some of the newest features for annotation and markup. Resources Mentioned Paperless Field Guide* by David Sparks LinkedIn Learning is a useful starting point for foundational skills on major software programs like Microsoft Word Mac Power Users podcast Related Episodes How To Get Control Of Your Email, with David Sparks (episode 119) The Way to Stop Spinning Your Wheels on Planning (episode 319) Align Your Calendar to What Matters, with Nir Eyal (episode 431) Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

518: The Way to Make Sense to Others, with Tom Henschel Mar 22, 2021

Show notes

Tom Henschel: The Look & Sound of Leadership Tom Henschel of Essential Communications grooms senior leaders and executive teams. An internationally recognized expert in the field of workplace communications and self-presentation, he has helped thousands of leaders achieve excellence through his work as an executive coach and his top-rated podcast, The Look & Sound of Leadership. In this episode Tom and I discuss the common challenge of both making sense to others and making sense of what others say to you. Tom invites us to follow a four step approach of sorting and labeling so that it’s easier for listeners to follow our thinking. Finally, we explore some of the common missteps in communicating with more clarity. Key Points The why behind making sense: it’s better for both the sender and the receiver. There are four key parts to the structure of making sense to others: Create a headline Sort into folders Label each folder Transition with precision Tom shared an example of two different ways to communicate a message about presentation skills, one without sorting and labeling, and one with it. Common mistakes in making sense include the espoused number of items not matching the number of actual items, explaining the folders first before setting the stage, and not transitioning well. Resources Mentioned Sorting & Labeling by Tom Henschel (PDF download) Subscribe to Tom's updates Related Episodes Executive Presence with Your Elevator Speech, with Tom Henschel (episode 316) The Way to Influence Executives, with Nancy Duarte (episode 450) Your Leadership Motive, with Patrick Lencioni (episode 505) Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

517: How to Define a Role, with Pat Griffin Mar 15, 2021

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Pat Griffin: Dale Carnegie Pat has been actively engaged in helping organizations achieve greater success through the transformation of their people for almost two decades. He is a Dale Carnegie Master Trainer who helps organizations deliver measurable impact on strategic initiatives. Pat has extensive experience with manufacturing and engineering firms due to his previous career in those industries. He helps leaders zero in on process improvement and how the human side of that effort plays a significant role in its success or failure. Today he's Chief Relationship Officer at Dale Carnegie of Western New York. In this conversation, Pat and I discuss how managers can get alignment with employees about the key outcomes of their jobs. Pat invites us to create a Performance Results Description document, align with employees on the results, and then use it for tracking ongoing. Done well, this allows managers to influence better outcomes and provides more clarity for employees on where to place effort for results. Key Points Move past conversations about simply activities and towards conversations about outcomes. Documenting performance management helps create clarity for all parties on the results that are most critical. Managers and employees should work together to create a Performance Results Description (PRD) that captures the ideal results of the role. Within the PRD, Pat suggests that we identify 5-6 Key Result Areas (KRAs) and prioritize them. Example key result areas could be: quality control, new business development, cost analysis, customer evaluations, staffing, etc. Each Key Result Area (KRA) has at least one, and often more than one, performance standard. This is where specific metrics for outcomes can be tracked. An example is: “25% of sales revenue this year was generated from new customer accounts.” Example section of a Performance Results Description (PRD): Key Result Area (KRA): Staffing Performance Standard #1: 25% of external applicants this year self-identify into an underrepresented group, as defined by our companies diversity and inclusion initiative. Performance Standard #2: Two thirds of open requisitions assigned this year are filled within 90 days of posting. Performance Standard #3: Recruiting events are scheduled with at least two universities this year where existing partnerships were not already in place. Resources Mentioned Dale Carnegie Friday workshop series Related Episodes Three Steps to Great Career Conversations, with Russ Laraway (episode 370) Effective Delegation of Authority, with Hassan Osman (episode 413) How to Balance Care and Accountability When Leading Remotely, with Jonathan Raymond (episode 464) Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

516: How to Find Helpful Advisors, with Ethan Kross Mar 08, 2021

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Ethan Kross: Chatter Ethan Kross is one of the world’s leading experts on controlling the conscious mind. As an award-winning professor in the University of Michigan’s top-ranked Psychology Department and its Ross School of Business, he studies how the conversations people have with themselves impact their health, performance, decisions, and relationships. His research has been published in Science, The New England Journal of Medicine, and The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. He's been featured by Good Morning America, NPR’s Morning Edition, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, and many other publications. He's the author of Chatter: The Voice in Our Head, Why It Matters, and How to Harness It*. In this conversation, Ethan and I highlight how introspection can sometimes do more harm than good. Ethan invites us to form a board of advisors that support us with both our emotional and cognitive needs. Plus, he shares the science behind how we can do this effectively for others. Key Points Simply sharing our emotions with others doesn’t help us to recover in any meaningful way. When seeking out advisors, we should find those who support both our emotional needs as well as our cognitive ones. You want a blend of both Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock. 🖖 Reflect on past conversations with advisors and determine if that previously helped you move forward with a challenging situation. That’s a key indicator to determine if they are people you want to keep engaging. Seek out different advisors for different things. A key distinction in supporting others is whether they have specifically sought out of advice or not. If not, being helpful people through invisible means is often useful. Resources Mentioned Chatter: The Voice in Our Head, Why It Matters, and How to Harness It* by Ethan Kross Interview Notes Download my interview notes in PDF format (free membership required). Related Episodes How to Know What You Don’t Know, with Art Markman (episode 437) The Way to Be More Coach-Like, with Michael Bungay Stanier (episode 458) Leadership Lies We Tell Ourselves, with Emily Leathers (episode 479) Making the Most of Mentoring (free membership required) Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

515: Managing Up, Team Guidelines, and Reading Well, with Bonni Stachowiak Mar 01, 2021

Show notes

Bonni Stachowiak: Teaching in Higher Ed Bonni Stachowiak is the host of the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast, a professor of business and management at Vanguard University, and my life partner. Prior to her academic career, Bonni was a human resources consultant and executive officer for a publicly traded company. She is the author of The Productive Online and Offline Professor: A Practical Guide*. Recent Trends Many leaders are seeking advice on how to manage up. We’re noticing that team behavior is a challenge for leaders right now. Listener Question Rudolf asked for recommendations on how to make the most of reading — and how to make time for it. Resources Mentioned Transitions: Making Sense of Life's Changes* by William Bridges with Susan Bridges Managing Transitions, 25th anniversary edition: Making the Most of Change* by William Bridges with Susan Bridges Readwise Related Episodes How to Create Team Guidelines, with Susan Gerke (episode 192) How to Deal with Opponents and Adversaries, with Peter Block (episode 328) How to Start Managing Up, with Tom Henschel (episode 433) How to be Diplomatic, with Susan Rice (episode 456) Giving Upward Feedback by Tom Henschel (The Look & Sound of Leadership) Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

514: The Way to Lead Online Events, with Tim Stringer Feb 22, 2021

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Tim Stringer: Technically Simple Tim Stringer is a coach, consultant, and trainer and the founder of Technically Simple. He provides productivity, technology and workflow coaching, consulting and training to people and organizations, large and small, all over the planet. His technology specializations include Asana, Daylite, OmniFocus, and Trello. He supports many people in productivity though his website LearnOmniFocus.com -- and also through the Holistic Productivity approach that he developed after coming face-to-face with cancer back in 2008. Tim consults to leaders and organizations on how to use Zoom effectively and recently launched a new course: Leading Effective Zoom Events. In this conversation, Tim and I overview some of the common mistakes of online events, how online can produce even better results than in-person, and ways to engage people quickly. Plus, we review some of the key technology that will support your organization’s outreach efforts. Key Points It’s often a mistake to assume that you’ll be able to lead online events with the same planning and design for in-person events. Opening a meeting early and using the five-minute rule to begin with icebreakers, breakouts, polls, or reactions will help engage people in the event quickly. For events with many people or higher visibility for your organization, have a dedicated technology co-pilot so that hosts and speakers can stay focused on being present. Virtual lounges (with a dedicated host), spotlight and multi-spotlight, practice sessions, and preassigned breakouts can all help the technology disappear and the human connections to take center stage. Some organizations are discovering they are more successful with online events than past in-person ones. Many have had such a positive experience that they plan to continue leveraging virtual events after the pandemic. Resources Mentioned Leading Effective Zoom Events by Tim Stringer Recommended Practices for Engaging Online Events (PDF download) Related Episodes Serve Others Through Marketing, with Seth Godin (episode 381) How to Create Meaningful Gatherings, with Priya Parker (episode 395) How to Run an Online Meeting, with Bonni Stachowiak (episode 472) Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

513: Help Your Brain Learn, with Lisa Feldman Barrett Feb 15, 2021

Show notes

Lisa Feldman Barrett: Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain Lisa Feldman Barrett is among the top one percent most cited scientists in the world for her revolutionary research in psychology and neuroscience. She is a University Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Northeastern University, with appointments at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. She is also Chief Science Officer for the Center for Law, Brain & Behavior at Harvard University. In addition to her bestselling book How Emotions Are Made*, she has published over 240 peer-reviewed, scientific papers appearing in Science, Nature Neuroscience, and other top journals in psychology and cognitive neuroscience. She has also given a popular TED talk with nearly 6 million views and received a Guggenheim Fellowship in neuroscience and an NIH Director's Pioneer Award. In this conversation, Lisa and I discuss the lessons from her newest book, Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain*. We explore some of the common misperceptions about brain biology and examine how much energy use and conservation affects us. Then, we uncover how we can help ourselves — and others — learn better. Key Points The primary purpose of your brain is to keep you alive. As a result, your brain predicts almost everything you do. Unlike how we perceive, sensing actually comes second for the brain. It’s wired to prepare for action first. Learning is an expensive use of energy. Leaders can cultivate environments for learning by providing stable environments that don’t burn unnecessary energy. Changing behavior in the heat of the moment isn’t likely, but we can change how our brain will predict outside of the moment. You are always cultivating your past, since today’s present becomes the past. That’s how you change the way your brain predicts in the future. Resources Mentioned Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain* by Lisa Feldman Barrett Lisa Feldman Barrret’s website Interview Notes Download my interview notes in PDF format (free membership required). Related Episodes Essentials of Adult Development, with Mindy Danna (episode 273) Help People Learn Through Powerful Teaching, with Pooja Agarwal (episode 421) Four Steps to Get Training Results, with Jim Kirkpatrick (episode 446) Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

512: The Way Innovators Get Traction, with Tendayi Viki Feb 08, 2021

Show notes

Tendayi Viki: Pirates in the Navy Tendayi Viki is an author, innovation consultant, and Associate Partner at Strategyzer, helping large organizations innovate for the future while managing their core business. He has been shortlisted for the Thinkers50 Innovation Award and was named on the Thinkers50 Radar List for emerging management thinkers to watch. He's written three books based on his research and consulting experience, Pirates In The Navy*, The Corporate Startup* and The Lean Product Lifecycle*. The Corporate Startup * was awarded the CMI Management Book Of The Year In Innovation and Entrepreneurship. He is also a regular contributing writer for Forbes. In this conversation, Tendayi and I discuss how innovators often take on the role of pirates in the navy. We explore the mindset that innovators inside organizations need to avoid the common mistakes in advancing new ideas. Plus, we discuss why innovators should ignore detractors early on, parter with early adopters, and use early wins to move forward. Key Points Middle managers may stifle innovation, but often that’s because of internal pressure from those at the top to keep results coming. Innovators should beware basking in the glow of the CEO. It’s essential to engage other stakeholders in the business. Partnering with early adopters is essential for innovators. These are the managers who have existing frustrations with the status quo and are already trying new things. Celebrate early wins through blog posts, workshops, success stories, interviews, and even external conferences. These help you gain credibility. Beware basking too much in early wins. The point of early wins is to give you credibility to move on to the next stage. Resources Mentioned Pirates In The Navy: How Innovators Lead Transformation* by Tendayi Viki The Corporate Startup: How Established Companies Can Develop Successful Innovation Ecosystems* by Tendayi Viki, Dan Toma, and Esther Gone The Lean Product Lifecycle: A Playbook for Making Products People Want* by Tendayi Viki, Craig Strong, and Sonja Kresojevic In Defense Of Middle Managers Who Stifle Innovation by Tendayi Viki Interview Notes Download my interview notes in PDF format (free membership required). Related Episodes The Way to Nurture New Ideas, with Safi Bahcall (episode 418) How to Start Seeing Around Corners, with Rita McGrath (episode 430) How to Build an Invincible Company, with Alex Osterwalder (episode 470) How to Pivot Quickly, with Steve Blank (episode 476) Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

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