Coaching for Leaders

Latest Episodes:

121: The Value of Blunders for Brilliant Progress, with Mario Livio Dec 30, 2013

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Mario Livio: Brilliant Blunders* A lot of us fear making mistakes, but mistakes are such an important part of the process in moving forward. Today, you’ll hear why this is important even for (and maybe especially for) the most successful thinkers and doers. Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic. To accelerate your learning, uncover more inside Coaching for Leaders Plus.

120: How Do I Manage My Former Peers and More Questions Dec 23, 2013

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How do I manage my former peers? Should I get an MBA? What can I do to get my organization to train people? I tackle these and more community questions on today’s show. If you have a question for a future Coaching for Leaders Q&A show, be sure to submit it at coachingforleaders.com/feedback Resources I mentioned for Kyle's question on managing peers vs. being buddies: My appearance on Firefighter Toolbox to discuss How To Motivate and Lead in the Fire Station FirefighterToolbox.com Resources I mentioned for Kirks' question on deferred email: Sanebox.com Mailbox app for iOS devices Halina's question on getting an MBA: How can I apply my passions for coaching and training? [VIDEO] American Society for Training and Development Jennifer's question on how to get the training her organization needs: Leading Change by John Kotter* Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic. To accelerate your learning, uncover more inside Coaching for Leaders Plus.

119: How to Get Control of Your Email, with David Sparks Dec 16, 2013

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David Sparks: MacSparky Author of Email* and Paperless Co-Host of the Mac Power Users podcast David and I speak about his new book Email and how we can use more effective workflows and planning to take control of email. You'll find his perspective helpful for considering actions you can take with your email. Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

118: The Difference Between Management and Leadership, with Bill Bliss Dec 09, 2013

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Bill Bliss What is the difference between management and leadership? Do you know? Do you care? Today I welcome executive coach Bill Bliss from Bliss & Associates, Inc. to share his wisdom and experience with us about the distinction. After listening to this episode, you'll have a much better understanding of the difference between management and leadership. You'll also discover when to apply each, given the situation. Managing vs. Leading document Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic. To accelerate your learning, uncover more inside Coaching for Leaders Plus.

117: How to Delegate Work Effectively Dec 02, 2013

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I’ve been getting asked a lot in the past few weeks: OK, how do I delegate effectively? On today’s show, how to delegate work and the seven steps you should follow if you want to get the best results for your team and the organization. I spoke about the broad framework for empowering others back in Episode #53: Get Results From People With Three Simple Steps Broadly, three areas we need to consider in delegation: Planning/expectation setting (what this show and the seven steps below are about) Regular check-in/accountability Consequences The Seven Steps of Delegation: 1. What does success look like? Time = define the deadline and major milestones Cost = staff time, budget, and resources Quality = what the customer (internal or external) expects the work to produce 2. Who is the right person? Who is the best person for the job? What kind of resources do they have? Who do you need to develop? Think succession planning. 3. Communicate expectations Speak in detail to the three areas from step one: Time, cost, and quality. Put it in writing, especially if someone is new or doesn’t have lots of experience. The amount of visibility and complexity of the project indicates how much time you’ll spend here. Error on the side of too much communication, when in doubt. 4. Staff member plans project They need to have ownership over their work. Autonomy is key for engagement. See Daniel Pink's book Drive* for background on why this is critical for engagement. If there’s a way it has to be done, get them the training on how that is done. If not, let them come to you with the plan. 5. Review the project plan Review to see if it meets the three outcomes you established in step #1 and communicated in step #3. If there are major gaps, address those. If there are minor issues, resist the temptation to make the plan better, unless asked. 6. Establish milestones What’s going to make you comfortable as a manager? Factors you will want to consider: size, scope, visibility, and experience level of the person. Your goal is to hit the sweet spot between micro-management and county-club management. No feedback is worse than negative feedback. See episode #79 for a detailed explanation from Michelle Smith from O.C. Tanner on why this is the case. 7. Provide access to resources What budget do they need? Who do they need to be connected with? What internal politics do you need to help them navigate? What equipment, rooms, resources, and lab time are necessary? At the very least, make them aware of gaps, even if you can't address or fund every resource. Download: The Seven Steps You Follow To Delegate Work Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

116: How to Cultivate an Attitude of Gratitude Nov 25, 2013

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You might be thinking about giving thanks this week, but how’s your overall attitude about gratitude? In this episode, I share five ways you can adjust your attitude to work for the better. Before we start: Episode #9 is the place to go on how to give positive feedback to others 1. Stop the complaining by receiving praise well Don’t discount it Don’t argue with it Don’t ignore it Just say “thank you” Acknowledge that you are worthy of praise If you don’t think you are, just try it a couple of times. Discover the Difference Between Feedback and Criticism 2. Remember the dark days 3. Be intentional about making gratitude a regular practice Use a gratitude journal Bonni writes a post every day in November on Facebook Have more “get tos” than “got tos” I'll be doing a #weekofgratitude this week on my Twitter account 4. What can I do to help someone today “The smallest act is worth more than the grandest intention.” 5. Look to those who are examples of gratitude for inspiration “So many people have helped me to come here to this night. Some of you are here, some are far away and some are even in Heaven. All of us have special ones who have loved us into being. Would you just take, along with me, 10 seconds to think of the people who have helped you become who you are, those who have cared about you and wanted what was best for you in life. 10 seconds of silence. I’ll watch the time. Whomever you’ve been thinking about, how pleased they must be to know the difference you feel they’ve made.” -Fred Rogers in 1997 Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic. To accelerate your learning, uncover more inside Coaching for Leaders Plus.

115: How to Create and Track Effective Leadership Habits, with Tony Stubblebine Nov 18, 2013

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Tony Stubblebine: CEO and Founder of Coach.me Article mentioned by Tony early in the show: Do You Suffer From Decision Fatigue by John Tierney Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

114: How to Maintain Trust During Rumors, with Bonni Stachowiak Nov 11, 2013

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Bonni Stachowiak: Teaching in Higher Ed Bonni is the host of the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast, Dean of Teaching and Learning and Professor of Business and Management at Vanguard University, and my life partner. Prior to her academic career, she was a human resources consultant and executive officer for a publicly traded company. Bonni is the author of The Productive Online and Offline Professor: A Practical Guide*. Question from Jay: "I’m on the board of an organization that is run by two partners. One partner is really a people person. The other partner is more of a driver, all business, doesn’t like to fool around in the office. The challenge is one partner really pushes employees to the point where they almost want to quit and then the other partner has to come in and calm things down and smooth out the hard feelings. The drive partner is sometimes also blunt and driven with customers so the other partner has had to patch some things up and in other cases they have lost customers. What can I do?" We mentioned Ram Charan's new book, Boards That Lead* We also mentioned his recent interview with the HBR IdeaCast Episode #89: The Value of the StrengthsFinder Assessment Episode #90: How To Interpret Your StrengthsFinder Results Question from Monre: [AUDIO] We mentioned Episode #59: Seven Principles for Leading People Older Than You We mentioned the book Leadership and Self-Deception* Questions from Julie: "How do you maintain loyalty and trust when rumors are circulating? How do you keep employees motivated In the face of cutbacks." "How do you work with a boss that shows favoritism due to friendships outside the office?" Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic. To accelerate your learning, uncover more inside Coaching for Leaders Plus.

113: Four Practical Ways to Get Into Leadership Nov 04, 2013

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Let’s say you want to get into leadership...where do you start? On this episode, how to start leading if you haven’t done it before. I begin with a question from a community member and detail four practical ways that you can get into leadership for the first time. Listener question from Scott Leadership = vision, communication, motivation A leader is someone with followers. We’ll talk more about this in a future show… Follow someone for awhile Solve a problem in the workplace Volunteer in a non-profit Design your own professional development plan A brief note on why I produce this show Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic. To accelerate your learning, uncover more inside Coaching for Leaders Plus.

112: Dale Carnegie Was Right About What to Do When You’re Wrong, with Bonni Stachowiak Oct 28, 2013

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