The Look & Sound of Leadership

Latest Episodes:

The Executive Executive Jan 13, 2021

Show notes

This month’s coaching conversation is between Tom and Courtney, another executive coach. What traits, they wonder, do effective executives share? If rising leaders wanted to reverse engineer what it means to be executives, what would they put in the mix?

The five qualities Tom and Courtney identify are:

Resilience -- get over hurts and setbacks

Influence – build a natural reserve of strong relationships

Organization – create lead-time and eliminate fire drills

Scope – maintain the highest altitude possible; resist the weeds

Speed of Thought – exert alertness and be mentally nimble

At the end of this month’s commentary, Tom lists six books, each one different, but all leading towards personal growth and professional development. They are…

Change Your Questions, Change Your Life

The Confidence Code

Crucial Conversations or Difficult Conversations

EQ Applied

Self-Esteem at Work

The Four Agreements

Want a free PDF of these titles, including who might prefer which? Click here and put “6 Books” in the subject line. We’ll send you the PDF.

Want to win an hour of free coaching with Tom? Complete this short survey to be entered in a drawing.

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To dig deeper into your own development, search the episode archive using these filters:

Executive Presence

Managing Yourself

Relationship Building

The Rising Executive Dec 09, 2020

Show notes

This month’s coaching conversation features a newly promoted leader. He and Tom explore the tools needed to build a strong team quickly.

Lots of links this month!

At one point in the episode, Rafael mentions his impostor syndrome. For tools about impostor syndrome, check out:
The Executive Impostor

In the commentary, I mention two books:
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
and
Overcoming The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

This is the field guide that will show you how to work with your team.

Other related episodes are:
Delivering Tough Feedback

Managing Bad Behavior

The Intentional Leader

Your Team’s Best Interests – Part One

Your Team’s Best Interests – Part Two

There are three filters in the archive that relate to this episode:
Leading Teams
Negative Self-Talk
Perception — How You Perceive Yourself

The archive of Executive Coaching Tips is available at:
http://essentialcomm.com/podcast/

Subscribe to the HTML version at:
https://essentialcomm.com/subscribe/

Be in touch with Tom at:
info@essentialcomm.com

As I celebrate the end of this distressing year and look towards a brighter 2021, you are all in my thoughts.

See you next month!

From all of us on “The Look & Sound of Leadership” team — thanks!

Two dates & a gift — A bonus episode! Nov 20, 2020

Show notes

Two dates:
Monday, November 30, 2020
The survey closes.

Complete four questions to be entered to win an hour of free coaching with Tom

https://essentialcomm.com/survey

Thursday, December 3, 2020

Registration closes for “Leveraging Your Strengths and the Strengths of Others.”

After decades delivering courses for our corporate clients, we finally created a course for you.

https://essentialcomm.com/disc

The gift is a 60-second practice to help you be strong and resilient.

Take care of yourselves!

From everyone at “The Look & Sound of Leadership”

Style Conversations Nov 04, 2020

Show notes

This month’s coaching conversation is about creating a script called ‘Style.’ The script helps make difficult conversations easier.

Complete this month’s four-question survey and be entered to win an hour of free coaching with Tom.

essentialcomm.com/survey

Sign-up for a small-group, highly interactive Zoom course about the DiSC Behavioral Self-Assessment. This course is available to the first 12 people who sign up:

essentialcomm.com/disc

If the sign-up is closed when you go to the page, put your name on the wait list. Maybe we’ll have more than one session!

Related episodes this month include:

Capitalizing on Differences in Style (this one is all about DiSC styles!)

Conflict

Leadership and Self-Deception

Self-Knowledge as Leadership

The Conflict Conversation

Stay safe, everyone. Sane, too!

See you next month.

The Look & Sound of Leadership team

Personal Connections Sep 30, 2020

Show notes

This month’s coaching conversation follows a leader who worries that he’s not very adept when it comes to creating personal connections. He and Tom explore two skills and one mindset that will help ease his way.

Questions as Leadership

The Human Element

In the archive, this episode is tagged in three categories
Relationship Building
Social Skills

Managing Yourself

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and be entered to win an hour of free coaching with Tom!

The archive of Executive Coaching Tips is available at:
http://essentialcomm.com/podcast/

Subscribe to the HTML version at:
https://essentialcomm.com/subscribe/

Be in touch with Tom at:
info@essentialcomm.com

Thanks, everyone!

From all of us at “The Look & Sound of Leadership” team — thanks!

Psychological Safety Sep 02, 2020

Show notes

This month’s coaching conversation explores how leaders can foster psychological safety. Teams high in both safety and accountability enter a “Learning Zone” where high performance follows naturally.

In this month’s conversation, Tom and his client mentioned “The Checklist Manifesto” by Atul Gawande. His proposition is a great formula for creating psychological safety.

Related episodes are:
Agreeable Disagreement

Assertion versus Aggression

“Don’t Take Anything Personally”

Inviting Dialogue

The Conflict Conversation

In the archive, this Tip is tagged in three categories
Assertiveness

Leadership

Managing Yourself

The archive of Executive Coaching Tips is available at:
http://essentialcomm.com/podcast/

Subscribe to the HTML version at:
https://essentialcomm.com/subscribe/

Be in touch with Tom at:
info@essentialcomm.com

PLEASE COMPLETE OUR SURVEY You’ll be entered to win an hour of free coaching with Tom! Your input will help us build a better website for you. essentialcomm.com/survey

From the whole team at “The Look & Sound of Leadership” — thanks! See you next month!

Giving Upward Feedback Aug 05, 2020

Show notes

This month’s coaching conversation explores whether feedback should be given upwards in the first place. If so, are there ways to deliver upward feedback effectively?

In the commentary, Tom tells a story about the famous Marshmallow Test being debunked. Here's the column he mentions:
https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2018/06/marshmallow-test/561779/?utm_source=atl&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=share

Related episodes are:
Dealing With Emotional Responses

Delivering Tough Feedback

Giving Powerful Feedback

Perception is Reality

The Disruptive Executive – Part One

In the archive, this Tip is tagged in three categories
Communication Skills
Feedback
Managing Up

The archive of Executive Coaching Tips is available at:
http://essentialcomm.com/podcast/

Subscribe to the HTML version at:
https://essentialcomm.com/subscribe/

Be in touch with Tom at:
info@essentialcomm.com

See you next month!

Learnings From Video Jul 08, 2020

Show notes

This month’s coaching conversation follows a client exploring a surprising use for video, plus a game of imagination.

The Marshmallow Test is explained in “Self-Awareness & Self-Management”

Core Concepts in this episode:
Video provides distance that can help break old patterns.

Some people are highly agitated these days.

Their agitation is not about you. Don’t take it personally.

You might find yourself more annoyed than normal. Don’t act on it.

RELATED ARCHIVE CATEGORIES

Leading Teams

Managing Yourself

Communication Skills

RELATED TIPS & EPISODES

Boundaries

Connecting Over Video

“Don’t Take Anything Personally”

Leadership Behavior in Meetings

Taming Meetings

The archive is at: https://essentialcomm.com/podcast

Subscribe to the HTML version at: https://essentialcomm.com/subscribe/

Be in touch with Tom at: https://essentialcomm.com/contact/

Thanks this month to all of you who post reviews.

See you next month!

The Intentional Leader Jun 03, 2020

Show notes

This month’s coaching conversation wrestles with the obstacles that arise when you try listening to people who think out loud – often at great length!

This month’s coaching conversation is wide-ranging. It includes a leader’s story about being buoyed by her team. She and Tom also swap answers to a favorite question of her team’s: “How’re ya coping?” They then explore managing stress through being present and intentional.

Three questions to help you become present:

What am I doing right now?

What feelings am I having right now?

What is happening in my body right now?

Approach these questions with curiosity. Don’t ask with an intention to fix. The intention is just to notice.

You can explore self-management and self-awareness in the archive using the filters:

Managing Yourself

Personal Growth & Self-Development

You can take a deeper dive with these five episodes:

Combating Emotional Hijacks

Connecting Over Video

Inviting Dialogue

Self-Awareness & Self-Management

The Mindful Executive

The archive is at:

https://essentialcomm.com/podcast/

Subscribe to the HTML version at:

https://essentialcomm.com/subscribe/

Be in touch with Tom at:

https://essentialcomm.com/contact/

Until next month, wishing you health and safety!

Connecting Over Video May 06, 2020

Show notes

SHOWNOTES:
This month’s coaching conversation is with a leader who wants to keep strong connections despite the quarantine. She and Tom explore the barriers that make connecting over video so difficult.

Four essentials to attend to on video:

Angle
Lighting
Background
Sound

From Tom to you:

These difficult times can create a lot of fear. An antidote is to be curious. Curiosity is at the very heart of coaching. If I can help in anyway, let me know. Go to https://essentialcomm.com/contact/ and let me know what would be helpful.

There is always help for you in the archive. Filters that relate to this month’s episode are:

Five related episodes are:

The archive is at: https://essentialcomm.com/podcast

Subscribe to the HTML version at: https://essentialcomm.com/subscribe/

Be in touch with Tom at: https://essentialcomm.com/contact/

Stay safe all you wonderful humans! Until next month!