How to Be Awesome at Your Job

Latest Episodes:

012: Rising Like a Star with Claire Pedersen Patel May 16, 2016

Show notes

In this episode, “Rising Star of the Consulting Profession” Claire Pedersen Patel shares insight into her rapid career rise, from the importance of finding confidence to the traits that turn employees into great leaders.

— YOU'LL LEARN —

1) How Claire’s own initiative led to her leading the entire associate team.

2) What to do when you feel like you don’t know what you’re doing at work.

3) The qualities that truly stand out on resumes.

Subscribe or visit AwesomeAtYourJob.com/ep12 for clickable versions of the links below.

— ABOUT CLAIRE —

Claire Pedersen Patel is a Principal and Capability Leader at Trexin Consulting. She was recently recognized with Consulting Magazine’s “35 Under 35 Rising Stars” award. Claire manages one fifth of Trexin’s client delivery team and remains the only non-partner managing a department at Trexin. Prior to Trexin, she was a Global IT Chief of Staff at Aon Risk Services, reporting to the CIO. She has always been passionate about building the next generation of consultants; in 2015, Claire tripled the size her team. She fundamentally changed how projects were staffed, delivering strong business growth and greater value for clients. Her team is the fastest growing part of the company and will double again in 2016.

• Claire’s LinkedIn

• Claire's organization: Trexin

— RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE SHOW —

• Article: Consulting Magazine‘s Rising Stars list

• Book: Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg

• Book: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Sean Covey

• Study: Harvard Business Review’s ‘Competent Fools, Loveable Jerks, and the Formation of Social Networks‘ study

• Tool: Myers-Briggs

• Tool: OneNote

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011: Making Messages Memorable with Dr. Carmen Simon May 13, 2016

Show notes

Being a great communicator is more than art alone. It’s also science. In this episode, Dr. Carmen Simon shows us the link between brain function and communication results, and explains the brain science behind how we absorb information and turn it into action.

— YOU'LL LEARN —

1) How to harness the psychological action hierarchy of reflexes, habits and goals to communicate easily actionable messages.

2) The importance of repetition, and how to use it to your advantage.

3) The one thing that the top 50 SlideShare presentations all have in common.

Subscribe or visit AwesomeAtYourJob.com/ep11 for clickable versions of the links below.

— ABOUT CARMEN —

Dr. Carmen Simon is a renown cognitive scientist who specializes in neuroscience research. She takes a daring approach to persuasion by placing memory at the heart of all decision-making. She is the founder of Memzy, a presentation design and training firm that uses brain science to help business professionals stay on their audiences’ minds long enough to make a difference. Find out more in her new book, Impossible to Ignore, which released this week.

• Carmen's book: Impossible to Ignore: Creating Memorable Content to Influence Decisions

• Carmen’s Company: Memzy

• Carmen’s Twitter page: @areyoumemorable

— RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE SHOW —

• Example: Colgate “Every Drop Counts” ad

• Website: wired.com

• Book: Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

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010: Something You Should Know to Defuse the Drama at Work with Dennis McIntee May 11, 2016

Show notes

Drama should never take priority over great work. In this episode, “Drama Free Guy” Dennis McIntee shows us how to find the underlying root cause of office drama, and how to achieve positive and long lasting solutions for everyone.

— YOU'LL LEARN —

1) The critical link between culture and workplace behavior.

2) The right questions to ask to diffuse drama and solve a problem.

3) The best way to encourage team members to take ownership for their actions.

Subscribe or visit AwesomeAtYourJob.com/ep10 for clickable versions of the links below.

— ABOUT DENNIS —

Dennis McIntee, also known as the “Drama Free Guy,” is an author and speaker dedicated to helping organizations take the drama out of their teams to build environments of trust. Originally a pastor in both Europe and the U.S., he realized that his pastoral skills could be applied to helping corporate teams and businesses flourish. In 2004, he founded The Leadership Development Group, and has traveled extensively giving workshops and seminars focused on teaching others how to take ownership and eliminate drama from the workplace. He is the author of The 8 Qualities of Drama Free Teams, The Power of Pursuit, People Smart and Time Mastery. He lives in South Carolina with his wife and four children.

• Dennis' book: The 8 Qualities of Drama Free Teams

• Dennis’ website: dennismcintee.com

— RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE SHOW —

• Show: The Office

• Website: rayedwards.com

• App: Waze app

• App: American Airlines app

• Tool: GTD systems

• Organization: Patrick Lencioni and The Table Group

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009: Masterful Mingling with Susan RoAne May 09, 2016

Show notes

Great communication skills are critical to success in today’s workplace. Mingling maven Susan RoAne shows us how to make the most of social events and build relationships by sharing tips and tricks learned from a lifetime of experience in the networking world.

— YOU'LL LEARN —

1) How a farmer reframed the ‘dirty’ word networking into something positive.

2) The three essential elements of a self-introduction.

3) Several safe opening lines to use when meeting new people, anywhere.

4) How to keep a conversation flowing using the OAR technique.

Subscribe or visit AwesomeAtYourJob.com/ep9 for clickable versions of the links below.

— ABOUT SUSAN —

Susan RoAne is known as the “mingling maven” and is famous for her book How to Work a Room, which has sold over a million copies across 13 countries. She’s been named by Forbes.com as one of the networking experts to follow in 2015. An author and in-demand international keynote speaker, she has shared her message of connection and communication with audiences worldwide, and in diverse publications including the New York Times, USA Today, and The Wall Street Journal.

• Susan's book:How to Work a Room: The Ultimate Guide to Making Lasting Connections – In Person and Online

• Susan's book: The Secrets of Savy Networking: How to Make the Best Connections – For Business and Personal Success by Susan RoAne

• Susan’s website: susanroane.com

• Susan’s blog: susanroane.com/blog

• Susan’s Facebook: Facebook page

— RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE SHOW —

• Website: fripp.com

• Video: Robert Waldinger’s TED Talk, What Makes a Good Life? Lessons from the longest study on happiness

• Book:Triumphs of Experience: The Men of the Harvard Grant Study by George Vaillant

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008: Upgrading Your Creativity with Esteban Gast May 06, 2016

Show notes

School has never been this much fun. Comedian and creative teacher Esteban Gast shows us how to bring creativity into our every day life, while having a lot of laughs along the way.

— YOU'LL LEARN —

1) The most important factor behind great creative ideas.

2) Easy steps you can take to spark creativity in your daily life.

3) Tried and tested tools to help you come up with better ideas, faster.

Subscribe or visit AwesomeAtYourJob.com/ep8 for clickable versions of the links below.

— ABOUT ESTEBAN —

Esteban Gast is a comedian, teacher, and entrepreneur living in Chicago. He teaches creativity at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He has co-authored two books and is currently developing an online class on creativity. When he’s not teaching and writing, he’s traveling as a stand up comedian, speaking at TEDx conferences, and making short films. He has also started two small social businesses and was co-director of the iVenture Accelerator - a startup that was just awarded the Ashoka U-Cordes Innovation Award.

• Book:Building Your Creativity: Tools for Having Ideas and Bringing Them to Be

• Website: estebangast.com

• Esteban’s TEDx talk: ‘The Entertainment Industry must save us.’

— RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE SHOW —

• Book: Become an Idea Machine by Claudia Azula Altucher

• Book:Creativity: The Psychology of Discovery and Invention by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

• Website: 750words.com

• Book: Love Does by Bob Goff

• Book: The War of Art: Winning the Inner Creative Battle by Steven Pressfield

• Website: brainpickings.org

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007: Putting the Wisdom of the Centuries to Work with Jocelyn Davis May 04, 2016

Show notes

What does Machiavelli have to teach us about management skills? How can the works of Carl Jung make us better employees? Jocelyn Davis dusts off 2,5000 years of literature to show us that the classics aren’t just for history buffs, but can help with personal improvement in today’s workplace.

— YOU'LL LEARN —

1) What a famed psychologist would do with today’s standard personality tests.

2) A tyrant’s surprising tips on being a great boss.

3) What Frankenstein can teach us about leadership.

Subscribe or visit AwesomeAtYourJob.com/ep7 for clickable versions of the links below.

— ABOUT JOCELYN —

Jocelyn Davis is an author and consultant with decades of experience in the corporate learning industry. Before founding her company, Seven Learning, she was head of R&D for The Forum Corporation, a global leadership development firm. In addition to her most recent book, The Greats on Leadership: Classic Wisdom for Modern Managers, she is co-author of Strategic Speed: Mobilize People, Accelerate Execution and has published widely on leadership, strategy execution, and workplace learning.She holds an M.A. in philosophy and is currently working on a master’s degree in Eastern classics. She lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with her husband and daughter.

• Jocelyn's book:The Greats on Leadership: Classic Wisdom for Modern Managers

• Jocelyn's book: Strategic Speed

• Jocelyn’s website: jocelynrdavis.Jocelynrdavis.com

— RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE SHOW —

• Organization: The Forum Corporation

• Tool: Myers-Briggs personality type indicator

• Book: Psychological Types by Carl Jung

• Example: Strong communication in Pericles’ Funeral Oration

• Example: Effective communication in ‘The Gettysburg Address’ by Abraham Lincoln

• Book: The Prince by Machiavelli and his knack for “the soft stuff”

• Book: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

• Book: Bhagavad-Gita

• Book: Yoga Vasistha

• Website: The School of Life (theschooloflife.com)

• Website: Book of Life (www.bookoflife.org)

• Example: The Five Phases of Change from The Greats on Leadership: Classic Wisdom for Modern Managers

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006: Powering up Purpose at Work with Arthur Woods May 02, 2016

Show notes

Arthur demonstrated his epic expertise when it comes to finding purpose at work. He provided a fantastic framework, robust assessment tools, and set of pro-tips for finding more purpose in your career.

— YOU'LL LEARN —

1) The three essential places where purpose is found in work.

2) Keys to finding that greener grass, right where you are.

3) How to access a free tool to diagnose your personal purpose-drivers.

Subscribe or visit AwesomeAtYourJob.com/ep6 for clickable versions of the links below.

— ABOUT ARTHUR —

Arthur Woods (@ArthurWoods) is the Co-founder of Imperative, a company reshaping the way we hire and support a purpose-driven workplace. He is a writer, speaker and advisor to leading brands on the future of work. Arthur previously led operations for YouTube’s Education division and oversaw YouTube for Schools. Arthur co-founded the Compass Fellowship, the largest collegiate social enterprise training program and Out in Tech, the leading global LGBTQ technology community. He is a World Economic Forum Global Shaper, a New York Venture Fellow and sits on the Boards of the Georgetown Technology Alliance, Compass Partners and Out in Tech.

• Arthur’s company: Imperative

• Arthur’s tool: The Workforce Purpose Index

• Arthur's assessment: Imperative’s free purpose-drivers assessment for individuals

• Arthur’s email: arthur@imperative.com

• Arthur's Twitter: @arthurwoods

— RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE SHOW —

• Program: HOBY

• Personality: Viktor Frankl

• Book: Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

• Study: Hospital work study on custodians finding purpose

• Article: World Economic Forum predictions on the future of jobs

• Book: A Short History of the World

• Study: The Noun Project visual classification work

• Tool: Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo

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005: Pitching Like a Champion with Chris Westfall Apr 29, 2016

Show notes

Chris dropped numerous quotable tidbits (go figure?!) about enhancing your persuasive appeals.

— YOU'LL LEARN —

1) The critical acid test you should use while communicating.

2) How to dial into the right size of a request.

3) The key thing you need to prove to others in order for them to invest in your assumptions.

Subscribe or visit AwesomeAtYourJob.com/ep5 for clickable versions of the links below.

— ABOUT CHRIS —

Chris Westfall is the US National Elevator Pitch Champion, and his strategies have created multi-million dollar results for entrepreneurial companies on four continents. His clients have appeared on Shark Tank, Dragon’s Den and Shark Tank-Australia. He’s the publisher of seven books, including The NEW Elevator Pitch and BulletProof Branding.

• Chris Westfall – Website, Twitter, YouTube

• Chris’ book: The New Elevator Pitch, BulletProof Branding

— RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE SHOW —

• Tool: Zoom

• Tool: • vCita

• Personality: Ellen Langer

• Book: Start With Whyby Simon Sinek

• Book: Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

• Book: Think Big Act Bigger by Jeffrey Hayzlett

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004: Finding and Maintaining Your Genius with Gina Marotta Apr 27, 2016

Show notes

Gina Marotta turned the tables a bit as she asked me numerous questions to uncover my areas of "genius," the zone where I naturally shine. She shows you how to do the same.

— YOU'LL LEARN —

1) The value hiding in frustrating encounters with people.

2) How to stay in your genius groove when other forces might knock you off.

3) The benefits of play

Subscribe or visit AwesomeAtYourJob.com/ep4 for clickable versions of the links below.

— ABOUT GINA —

Gina Marotta loves work and wants you to as well. She is a thought-leader & strategic guide around what she believes is the most essential element for work to be fun, fulfilling, and fruitful: knowing and expressing one’s own inner genius. She spends her days writing, speaking, and counseling around genius to help people uncover and step into their most natural talents and the work they were born to do. She is lovingly known as “The Genius Guru.”

• Gina’s website: www.ginamarotta.com

• Gina's Facebook: Gina Marotta

— RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE SHOW —

• Article: Myers-Briggs thinkers vs. feelers.

• Article: The age cutoff for a “millennial.”

• Website: Step Up women’s network

• Study: Gallup employee engagement studies

• Book: Pour Your Heart Into Itby Howard Schultz

• Podcast: Optimize by Brian Johnson

• Video: TED talks

• App: Pocket Google Chrome extension to read longer online content later.

• App: Instapaper

• App: Audible audio books

• Tool: Four “magical questions” to compile data daily on your genius.

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003: Strategically Managing Your Leadership Capital with Victor Prince Apr 24, 2016

Show notes

Victor shared some wise perspectives from his book Lead Inside the Box. Working through his 2x2 leadership framework, we got some insight on how to engage work different categories of people differently. By doing so, you can get optimal results from everyone—from the “slacker” to the “exemplar.”

— YOU'LL LEARN —

1) The potential life-threatening implications of not managing your leadership capital.

2) Specific watch-outs and pro tips for working with four different categories of people.

3) How to deliver tricky feedback to the folks who need to hear it.

Subscribe or visit AwesomeAtYourJob.com/ep3 for clickable versions of the links below.

— ABOUT VICTOR —

Victor Prince is the Managing Director of DiscoveredLOGIC, a strategy consulting and training firm that serves clients in the US and overseas. He has 20+ years of experience in corporate and government leadership positions. As a Bain & Company consultant, he led strategy engagements with clients in the US, UK, France and Spain. As an executive at Capital One, he managed internet marketing strategy. As a member of Washington DC Mayor Fenty's cabinet, he led the CapStat performance accountability program. As the Chief Operating Officer of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, he helped build a new federal regulatory agency and led a division of 300-plus people.

Victor's book: Lead Inside the Box book and 2×2 leadership matrix
Victor's website: www.victorprince.com
Video: Victor’s speaking about the Lead Inside the Box methodology and about his leadership lessons learned by hiking the Camino de Santiago across Spain.

— RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE SHOW —