Coaching for Leaders

Amy Morin Author, 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do* Amy is a licensed clinical social worker, psychotherapist, and the author of the book, 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do.* She dealt with a lot of personal tragedy in her life in a short period of time, and realized that having good habits wasn’t enough. She also had to get rid of bad habits. In 2013, she wrote the list, 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do. It went viral and was read and shared by millions of people in a matter of days. They Don’t Give Away Their Power “While other people can influence you, they can’t make you feel anything.” -Amy Morin They Don’t Resent Other People’s Success “When you want to change how you feel, the two things you need to change are how you think and how you behave.” -Amy Morin They Don’t Give Up After the First Failure They don’t view failure as a reason to give up. Instead, they use failure as an opportunity to grow and improve. They are willing to keep trying until they get it right. “The fear of failure keeps us from trying our best.” -Amy Morin They Don’t Feel the World Owes Them Anything They Don’t Expect Immediate Results “A lot of us give up when we don’t see huge, drastic results really fast.” -Amy Morin Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

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 Nancy I am in a situation myself right now where I was promoted awhile back as it stands right now. I manager a team, but I don’t have salary discussions or assessments with them. My manager has said he is willing to give me the mandate I want and to form the role together with me. This is flattering and scary at the same time. My longterm goal is to become a director. Now I am thinking, perhaps I should ask for the responsibility of having the assessments and salary discussions with the team? I am thinking it might be a good step towards my longterm goal. If you have any wise advice I would appreciate your input. I am a little lost. Audio Question from Jeff Dave mentioned episode #190: How to Improve Your Coaching Skills with Tom Henschel Dave mentioned Dale Carnegie’s book How to Win Friends and Influence People* Bonni mentioned Peter Block’s book Flawless Consulting: A Guide to Getting Your Expertise Used* Dave mentioned his past article, 8 Ways to Influence Without Authority Question from Tyler I read in a Forbes article that 89 of the Fortune 100 companies are now using MBTI to help match employees to roles. My company does not presently use this, but I have done some work on it with my team. Actually, a personal interest and goal of mine would be to eventually become a trainer in this subject, both for MBTI and DiSC. Do you know anyone who works with these and how I might network or “mentee” with someone who does this? We mentioned the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) by CPP Radiance House has fabulous publications for MBTI work Susan Gerke is a resource for MBTI work Doug McRae is a resource for DiSC work Audio Question from Nathaniel “Advice just doesn’t work unless it’s asked for.” -Bonni Stachowiak Bonni mentioned Pinboard (Dave’s library) Bonni mentioned OmniFocus for managing tasks Bonni mentioned TextExpander for automating common keyboard entries Question from Joseph I work in a retail business chain. In the past year, my company has really embraced leadership, and servant leadership at the highest level. I feel like they have done a wonderful job in sharing the message with the upper management/team leads at all of our locations, however I don’t feel like it has traveled well to our assistant team leads, departments, or entry level team members, thus, not truly changing our culture. I was wondering if you had any suggestions on how I could help better achieve this at my location. I was thinking about holding small store leadership/development sessions, but am at a standstill on how to structure and execute them. Any thoughts or advice? Question from Stefan Part of my job is also creation and implementation of all relevant procedures and policies within the Company. Currently, I am “producing” so called Open door policy. I have some questions about suitable content of such a policy. It is not just about the “open door”, so willingness of managers to accept employees and speak with them about their personal problems, daily issues. I think it is much more the right of employees to “raise their voice”, so to address suggestions, complaints etc, how to solve problems etc. Do you have some proper name for time when manager has free time for employees, for example chat with manager, open hour with manager? Dave mention John Kotter’s book Leading Change* 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.

Tim Stringer Technically Simple Tim appeared on two past shows: Episode 151: How to Be More Productive Episode 183: Use Technology To Build and Strengthen Relationships 4 Pillars of Holistic Productivity 1. Inner Reflection Tim recommended The Way We’re Working Isn’t Working* by Tony Schwartz 2. Acceptance “No matter how busy I am, I always have time to talk about how busy I am.” -Tim Stringer (echoing a human truth) “It’s pretty hard to be a victim and be grateful at the same time.” -Tim Stringer 3. Focus 4. Inspired Action Tim mentioned the Day One app. On Thursday, July 30th @ 10am PDT / 1pm EDT, Tim and I will be hosting a How to Step Into Action With Holistic Productivity webinar. You’ll get: Identify a strategic area for focus Determine your first actions to create a positive shift Connect and get inspired by other members of the community If you agree to appear on video, reserve your free space at: http://coachingforleaders.com/stepintoaction 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.

Beth Buelow (Facebook) Author, The Introvert Entrepreneur: Amplify Your Strengths and Create Success on Your Own Terms* Host, The Introvert Entrepreneur podcast There is often an overt expectation of extroversion in the workplace. Extraversion: gain energy from social interaction and external stimuli Introversion: gain energy from quiet and solitude “The goal is not to be the fake extrovert. The goal is to be the authentic introvert.” -Beth Buelow Beth mentioned Good to Great* by Jim Collins Dave mentioned How to Win Friends and Influence People* by Dale Carnegie “Please oh please, don’t confuse enthusiasm with noise.” -Beth Buelow Dave mentioned episode #44: Susan Cain on The Power of Introverts Beth mentioned some of the principles from Dale Carnegie that relate directly to introverted energy. Carnegie’s principles also demonstrate that introverts make great leaders: Become genuinely interested in other people. Smile. Be a good listener. Encourage other people to talk about themselves. Let the other person do a great deal of the talking. Do not imitate others. Beth mentioned How to Stop Worrying and Start Living* by Dale Carnegie “Listen contains the same letters as silent.” -Beth Buelow 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.

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*. Audio Question from Jignesh Here are the resources we mentioned on how to plan your career: Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi* What Color Is Your Parachute? by Richard N. Bolles* Carnegie Coach episode #148: How to Determine What’s Next Business Model You by Tim Clark, Alexander Osterwalder, and Yves Pigneur* Business Model Generation by Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur* Finding the Career That Fits You* The Ultimate Guide to Using Your Strengths to Get Hired* Audio Question from Mia “A lot of times people use humor in an attempt to try avoid having conflict or having a real conversation.” -Bonni Stachowiak Bonni recommended an episode of the This is Your Life podcast by Michael Hyatt called 7 Actions to Take Before You Quit Your Job. Question from Taylor I remember listening to a podcast where you, at least I think it was your podcast, talked about self-development. Specifically you discussed using a task manager to help you achieve your self-development goals. I can not remember which episode this was. It would be really helpful if you could direct me to the right one; I would really like to send it to my father. Dave recommended these apps/services: OmniFocus* Todoist Question from Jeffrey I’ve really admired the ability to use humor to defuse tense situations whether in the board room or one-on-one. It often lowers the volume of a confrontation and allows a moment for those involved to reset. How mad can you be when you are laughing? But it is also risky to use humor since the joke could fall flat, or even worse you might offend your counterparts. Do you have any resources on how I can improve my utilization of humor in these situations? Question from Ravi Hi Dave, I have been listening to your podcast for past 5 months. Have learned a lot. Thanks for great advice all around. I am facing one problem that I am really struggling with and will welcome your advice. I seem to have hit a ceiling in my career. By measure of my education and experiences should have been in a Senior Management position. I look around and all my friends and peers at one time (and those even behind me) have been steadily climbing the ladder and I am frustratingly stuck at the same place! I have all received good to excellent feedback, have been commended for my attitude and thinking, done more than my peers but am still stuck! Any advice what I can do? Happy to share more information about my background if it will help. Bonni recommended Hope for the Flowers by Trina Paulus* Question from Rijul I was wondering if you could share a bit more about your own professional history in how you got into this career path. I am interested in exploring this area and would like to know what kind of jobs and/or educational background someone in this line of work has to become successful. 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.

Lori Ann Davis Author, Unmasking Secrets to Unstoppable Relationships* Dave mentioned the podcast StartUp A few general patterns of both men and women: Men: More assertive Communication is shorter and more direct Problem solving main goal Goal oriented More independent Women: More tuned into emotions Talk about the problem before acting to fix it Need to be heard Process oriented, ask more questions More collaborative, build relationships “We really would like the other person just to be like us.” -Lori Ann Davis “We show the other person love in the way we want to be loved and the way we feel loved.” -Lori Ann Davis 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.

Andrew Warner Mixergy Andrew’s “shoved fact” technique: Listen carefully for the shoved fact that doesn’t otherwise belong in the conversation naturally Make sure you’re picking the shoved fact that’s the most personal one Ask a question about that shoved fact Shut up “The things you think are tough are where real life exists. That’s where you really get to know people.” -Andrew Warner “Tell a story to illustrate your point and then make your point.” -Andrew Warner We mentioned Andrew’s show: Mixergy podcast Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

In this episode I respond to a question from Candice that helps me articulate what this show is about. I mentioned episode 186: How to Become a Champion with Dr. Jeff Spencer My job is to be your archeologist. Everyone is your superior is some way. Yes, you can lead. And you can do it, with authenticity and integrity through consistent learning. I mentioned Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott* “The opposite of leadership is not failure, it’s an expectation of perfection.” -Dave Stachowiak I mentioned Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell* 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.

Marshall Goldsmith: Triggers Marshall says that a key factor is the environment around us in whether or not we are successful. Environmental triggers constantly take us off track. “A trigger is any stimulus that influences our behavior.” -Marshall Goldsmith Trigger —> Impulse —> Behavior Marshall says we have the chance to have a second of awareness on how we behave after the impulse. “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” -Viktor Frankl Marshall says that the biggest problem with successful people is they’ve gotten very used to winning. Marshall recalled five questions that Peter Drucker said we should all ask ourselves: What’s my mission? Who’s the customer? What does the customer consider value? What’s the goal? What’s the plan? If you want a copy of the article that Marshall mentioned, Leadership is a contact sport, send him an email to [email protected] Marshall’s wheel of change model: Creating = Positive/Change Preserving = Positive/Keep Eliminate = Negative/Change Accepting = Negative/Keep “Am I willing at this time to make the effort required to make a positive difference on this topic?” -Marshall Goldsmith “Most people waste most of their lives on topics they’re not going to change anyway.” -Marshall Goldsmith “Life is easy to talk and hard to live.” -Marshall Goldsmith “Environment vs. willpower — environment generally wins.” -Marshall Goldsmith Marshall’s six active questions: Did I do my best to set clear goals? Did I do my best to make progress towards goal achievement? Did I do my best to find meaning? Did I do my best to be happy? Did I do my best to build positive relationships? Did I do my best to be fully engaged? The key factor in employee engagement is whether people feel like they can live their own values. -Kouzes & Posner Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

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 Brian How do you battle being unmotivated? You’re boss doesn’t acknowledge your work, doesn’t acknowledge your time with the company. You feel unmotivated, unappreciated, and undervalued. You think its a personal issue that you need to fix, but you come to find out that your co-worker feels the same way, and they’ve been with the company for 20 years! How do you get out of that, or is it just a personal issue we need to get over, or do you just start looking for a new job? At what point is enough enough. I love my job, what i’m doing and the company I’m doing it for, but I feel that my uppers are a huge road block to my road to happiness. What would you do? The Empowered Manager by Peter Block* Question from Mark What recommendations can you offer when it comes to working with a colleague for whom you have little faith that he will carry his weight and work toward a successful outcome for our combined group goal? The Empowered Manager by Peter Block* Question from Hanif I have a request for a program in public speaking and how to control fear and anxiety. That’s my biggest weakness, so your suggestions will help. Dave mentioned: Toastmasters International The Dale Carnegie Course Questions from Kylie Are there any organizations I can join where I can meet other OD professionals? It looks like you need to pay membership to join the OD Network (which I will if needed). Organization Development Network Association for Talent Development Do you personally believe it valuable to have a Coaching qualifications if in the OD space? If so, which would you recommend? What are your learnings in relation to OD, coaching and start-ups? 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.

Christina Kull Martens Author, Bring Your D.O.G. to Work: A (Green) Person’s Best Friend* Christina also appeared on episode 96: How To Get Buy-In For A New Initiative D.O.G. = doing our greenest! We don’t tend to have as much ownership in the workplace as we do at home on sustainability and waste reduction. “If you’re not measuring it, it doesn’t get done.” -Christina Kull Martens Change your conversation to what the other party would find of value. The business case is what will get movement from senior leaders. “Try honestly to see things from the other person’s point of view.” -Dale Carnegie Greenwashing is when you’re telling people that the organization is green (or has taken one green action) without really making it a sustainable project. Get employee buy-in on green programs first before you start marketing to others. Pick one thing you can get traction on first and do that well, before you try to do other projects. Here are some of the obvious actions that leaders can take: Office supply sharing for surplus supplies Implement pledges for taking green actions Read the book Avoid motivating through fear, since that’s not sustainable — fun is sustainable! 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.

Bob Burg Co-Author, The Go-Giver: A Little Story About a Powerful Business Idea* 1. The Law of Value You true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment. 2. The Law of Compensation Your income is determined by how many people you serve and how well you serve them. Dave mentioned How to Win Friends & Influence People* by Dale Carnegie 3. The Law of Influence Your influence is determined by how abundantly you place other people’s interests first. 4. The Law of Authenticity The most valuable gift you have to offer is yourself. 5. The Law of Receptivity. The key to effective giving is to stay open to receiving. Bob mentioned Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion* by Robert Cialdini 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.

Susan Gerke: GO Team Resources Susan Gerke has been the president of Gerke Consulting & Development. She has worked with global teams and has certified facilitators around the world to deliver management, leadership, and team offerings. Susan is co-creator of GO Team, a training suite for organizations to power team performance. Key Points Don’t create guidelines yourself and give them to the team. A starting point for how to create team guidelines is what did not work well on a previous team. The interpersonal dynamics that emerge are more critical than the guidelines themselves. Aim to create no more than 8 guidelines. Disagreement is the sign of a healthy team. Continue to revisit guidelines in future meetings and milestones (new members join, change of team composition or purpose) Resources Mentioned GO Team Resources Related Episodes The Four Unique Types of Teams, with Susan Gerke (episode 138) How Great Teams Find Purpose, with David Burkus (episode 481) How to Engage Remote Teams, with Tsedal Neeley (episode 537) How Top Leaders Influence Great Teamwork, with Scott Keller (episode 585) How to Help Team Members Find the Right Work, with Patrick Lencioni (episode 610) 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.

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 Allison Do you have any tips on improving business acumen? I watched this TED talk. Susan Colantuono states that the reason women have a difficult time advancing in their careers is because their business acumen is not strong enough. What are your thoughts? Bonni mentioned Pocket Books by Debra Tannen* The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz* Marketplace 100 Best Business Books of All Time Financial Intelligence by Karen Berman and Joe Knight* Business Model Generation by Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur* Audio question from Suzie on how to record book notes Dave recommended Audible* (a free month of Audible and two free books available from this link*) Recommendation from Frank I work in supply chain for a large healthcare system and I’m often asked to lead project teams, so I’m finding the advice on the show very helpful. I find that the coaching skills that I learn can often be applied to either teaching 14 year old girls the great game of softball (which often crosses into life lessons), or managing 40 year old professionals on a project team. So with that in mind, may I suggest the book Coaching the Mental Game by H.A. Dorfman*? Although it’s a sports coaching centric book, so much of it can be applied in other coaching roles and it’s thought of the gold standard of sports coaching books. Dave also mentioned Positive Coaching by Jim Thompson* Question from Jignesh about personality type Dave’s past article on 7 Questions to Engage People You Just Started Managing will be helpful Recommendation from Jamie A really good book that I used with my team was The Thin Book of Trust: An Essential Primer for Building Trust at Work by Charles Feltman*. I had my entire team read it and then we discussed it. A big benefit of the book is that it is short but power packed. It really helped my team in four ways: The book does a great job in discussing well-formed requests (the goal, the deadline and the conditions for success). The first two my team did well, but the last one was an area we struggled with (me as well as several of my team members). Thus, we talked about ensuring that we dealt with the conditions for success – rather than making assumptions – if the conditions are not specified ask. The book does a good job about acknowledging how commitments should be made – rather than assumed or implied. The classic example is when everyone is in a meeting, a task is discussed vaguely and walking away from the meeting everyone believes someone is going to do the task – except that someone. Given #1 and #2, the book emphasized how well-formed requests and explicit commitments can bolster trust. Trust is negatively affected if the requests are not well-formed and commitments are not explicit to everyone – particularly the one with the task! The book breaks trust into sincerity, reliability, competence and care – seeing it broken down this way helped me and my folks analyze (and fix) some areas within our team where trust was broken and it also helped each person understand the reason for the lack of trust of certain people. The book even provides suggestions for how to repair trust in an approachable way. Question from Michael I had a valuable experience this week. I reside in the Washington DC/Baltimore/Virginia metro area and I mentor a young man who resides in Baltimore. In the wake of the recent riots he called me at 10 PM on Monday night and asked what I would do – he was unsure whether he should be on the streets protesting or whether he should stay home and watch. Now, I coach these young men to be responsible but also true to their instincts for doing what is right. In this case however, I was torn between advising what was responsible which in my opinion would be to stay home and what was right which was to join the protesters. I asked him what he felt Martin Luther King would do in this situation. His reply was that Dr King would would join the protesters and still abide by the law. I said the that’s what you should do. Coaching/mentoring can be tough at these times. Any comments? Questions fron Abigail How do we develop a methodology with drastic ideas to stop doing things (meaning mostly tasks) or doing things differently. How should we manage our relationships with our external/internal suppliers/vendors? We mentioned Essentialism by Greg McKeown* Dave recommended 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

Tom Henschel Host, The Look & Sound of Leadership podcast and Executive Coach, Essential Communications When it’s a development issue (or a way of thinking) it’s coaching that’s most helpful. Tom says that coaching needs good goals, or at least one single goal over time. Think about the goal as if it were on video — how do you want the end result to look? “Coaching? It’s not about you.” -Tom Henschel “The coaching process is helping someone understand, from their own point of view, why it would be in their benefit.” -Tom Henschel Tom shared two stories from his teenage daughter Julia that helps him with coaching. Food for thought: Do people see coaching as part of their jobs? Do they have time for it? To improve your coaching skills: Let them go first. Use open ended questions, such as, “What does that sound like to you?” Earn the right to give advice. Tom last appeared on these two episodes: 107: Three Steps To Soliciting Feedback with Tom Henschel 164: How to Handle a Boss Who’s a Jerk with Tom Henschel 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.

Dorie Clark Author, Stand Out* It’s getting harder and harder for an individual’s message to get out and be heard. How to stand out as a thought leader: Have valuable intellectual content Build a following! There is a three-step process people are following to gaining an audience: One to one idea transmission (small mastermind) One to many idea transmission (writing, speaking, etc.) Many to many ideal transmission (others become ambassadors for you) “If you are the only person, who at the end of the day, is still talking about your idea. That’s a failure. You need to get other people talking about it.” -Dorie Clark Dorie mentioned her past article on Harvard Business Review: How to Reinvent Your Personal Brand How do you figure out what you want to be known for: Niche strategy – become a recognized expert in a narrow area and expand into related areas Combining ideas/fields – bring together elements from two or more fields Creating original research – information based on concrete knowledge from data or research (Dorie mentioned Nate Silver) Tackling a big problem – bring something of value the resolves a major issue for lots of people Creating a framework – build an explanatory system or device for your field (Dorie mentioned Robert Cialdini* and Dave mentioned Dale Carnegie*) “One of the most important things to do early on is content creation.” -Dorie Clark There really aren’t guarantees anymore in the work world. “You’re not just competing with the local talent pool. You have to explain to people why they should pick you.” -Dorie Clark 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.

James Whittaker Author, The Art of Stage Presence* “The audience will relate to your concept that you’re talking about much more than details.” -James Whittaker You are there for the audience, not you. “You are speaking for the audience, not to the audience.” -James Whittaker Have the first sentence completely committed to memory. During the first 99 seconds, do one of these four things: Inspire Intrigue Interest Inform Spend as much time on the opening as on the rest of the presentation. Seek out small stages to practice on (your 1:1 with a manager, team meetings, etc.) Give your attention to the people taking notes and nodding their heads and engaged with what you are saying. Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

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 Jignesh I have been on a leadership course in 2012. Through the Myers Briggs Test, I have learned about my personality type and have received feedback/comparison on world’s most famous leaders. I also recently read Simon Sinek’s book – Start With Why. My assessment about myself has been that I am an introvert. I love working on my own. I realize that Leaders need to challenge their own comfort-zone and for me this would be to try communicating my ideas and practicing my leadership skill by interacting with others. Knowing the fact that I am introvert. I am not sure how to strike a conversation and to get maximum out of my one-on-one meeting with my stranger LinkedIn industry colleagues. I will really appreciate receiving some advice or ideas on how to strike impactful conversations. Teaching in Higher Ed episode 38: Steve Wheeler Talks Learning with ‘E’s Question from Willie I value wisdom over rules, but wisdom doesn’t scale well. Our director wants a more consistent experience for our customers. Rules are the traditional method to accomplish consistency, but we can’t make a rule for every scenario because each scenario is different. We do have guidelines in place, which cover the vast majority of cases, but it seems like every time an exception occurs, the natural opinion across the organization is that we need to figure out a way to address the exception in the process. Is it okay for an exception to just be an exception? Bonni mentioned Zendesk Episode 92: Barry Schwartz on How to Tap Into Your Practical Wisdom Barry Schwartz: Our loss of wisdom Question from Simon I am downunder in Australia, love your show and your podcast is a staple in my professional life as a manager of customer-facing people in the software industry. I’d like to ask if you could dedicate some time in your podcast schedule to explore “accountability”. It is common these days to hear the words “empowerment” and “accountability” in the same sentence and I use them often. The empowerment side of the coin is straight forward (do what you need to do). I’m looking for ideas on the “accountability” piece. Is this a stick / carrot mentality and how have you seen people make accountability mean something that people don’t just pay lip service to. Dave’s three steps: Communicate Follow-up Consequence We also mentioned: Episode 117: The Seven Steps You Follow To Delegate Work Bonni mentioned Asana and Dave mentioned Basecamp Bonni mentioned Slack Here’s a recent article about Slack in the New York Times Question from Valery My current set-up is to act as a consultant working for a large training firm. It’s a good set-up as consultants do not have to worry about the prospection aspect of the job on top of providing the training. On the other hand, it can be frustrating because they are not “my” customers. My set-up is good and I can live decently from it but I am looking for creating a company based on my areas of expertise (sales consulting and coaching). I have this inner voice telling me “Valery, it’s going to the right direction” but what are the steps now? There are a few companies out there providing the same expertise but the addressable market is big enough. Are there any prerequisites such as raising funds to invest into technology and/or people? How should I consider the transition between my current set up (consultant) and the entrepreneurial one? Are there new forms of associations I should think of? For example, approaching a consulting company and offering to develop an activity in sales development I would partially own from an equity stand-point? Dave mentioned the StartUp podcast and Copyblogger Audio Question from Howie 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.

Jeff Spencer, D.C. DrJeffSpencer.com Jeff noticed that the people who should have won didn’t often win. “The single most important factor is how people perform in pivotal moments.” -Jeff Spencer “Do you have the readiness for the 3-5 pivotal moments that occur each year that will make or break your career or your life that year?” -Jeff Spencer “There’s a lot of people who have will and talent that don’t go anywhere.” -Jeff Spencer “You cannot think your way fast enough to be able to perform with ideal timing. Ideal timing and ideal responses are the direct product of your level of preparation.” -Jeff Spencer “Most people concentrate on all the things that can go wrong rather than the 1-2 things that have to go right.” -Jeff Spencer “The natural tendency is to want to be the best at whatever you’re doing. I don’t know if that’s really the best strategy. I think the place that you really start is creating your legacy.” -Jeff Spencer “Our judgements don’t help us and they don’t give us a free pass about what we need to do in terms of our own legacy and our own way of relating to people.” -Jeff Spencer 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.

Kevin Pho, M.D. (Twitter) (Facebook) Author, Establishing, Managing, and Protecting Your Online Reputation Social media is not a passing fad, but many people perceive it as such since the media tends to focus problem situations. “Today, getting published and getting people to read your thoughts and read your articles is no more than a click of a button.” -Kevin Pho “If you have a strong social media presence, you are many steps ahead of your competition in defining yourself online.” -Kevin Pho “If you aren’t proactive in establishing your online reputation, other sites, such as rating sites, are going to create content about you.” Three steps to creating your identify online from Kevin’s book: Curate Connect Make a difference “Using social media to follow experts in your industry is a tremendous way to learn.” -Kevin Pho A strong social media presence can marginalize the rating sites. Set up a Google alert to monitor mentions of yourself online. Dave mentioned at the end of the show a previous episode on LinkedIn. Check out episode 101: How to Get the Most From LinkedIn. Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

David Allen: Getting Things Done The Getting Things Done steps: Capture—collect what has your attention Clarify—process what it means Organize—put it where it belongs Reflect—review frequently Engage—simply do. The methodology has not changed in the revision of the book, but what has changed is the number of people who need it. If what’s most on your mind right now is thinking about what should be on your mind, then it’s time to spend more time clarifying what is most important. “Not only do you need to spend time thinking, you need to spend time not thinking – absolutely daydreaming.” -David Allen Your biggest job is to define what your work is. “The big secret about Getting Things Done is it’s not really about getting things done. It’s about creating appropriate engagement with your life.” -David Allen “The people most attracted to what we teach, the GTD methodology, are the people who need it least.” David recommended The War of Art* by Steven Pressfield One of the best habits you can develop is to do the thing first that you are least looking forward to. Perfectionism is a huge obstacle for procrastination. David recommended Brain Chains* by Theo Compernolle Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

Tim Stringer Technically Simple and Learn OmniFocus Connect in Person to Strengthen Relationships Tim mentioned the podcast Home Work, a show for people who work at home Dave’s team at Dale Carnegie meets once a month for half a day Tim mentioned his co-working space, HiVE Vancouver Make Intentionally Richer Connections Move your level of communication up a level When possible, seek out the opportunity to connect by video We both recommend Zoom for video conferencing Ways to Stay Connected Participate in a mastermind group Attend a class that utilizes video-conferencing Social Media Tim and Dave both utilize Twitter and follow a limited number of people Ask the second question when interaction online, especially with a first connection Resources Sign-up for a free account with Zoom Tim has an affiliate relationship with Zoom. If your needs require a Zoom Pro account, utilize this link. Tim offers courses on Holistic Productivity that utilize many of the principles and technology we spoke of on this episode Tim recommends ShareDesk, a worldwide directory of co-working and meeting spaces, for those who are outside of Vancouver. Tim also suggests Meetup.com Learn more about Tim’s Holistic Productivity model from his prior appearance on Coaching for Leaders episode 151. 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.

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*. Audio Question from Rick 3 Ways to Start Your Next Presentation Episode 126: How to Be Interesting When Pitching an Idea Show and Tell: How Everybody Can Make Extraordinary Presentations* by Dan Roam The Quick & Easy Way to Effective Speaking* by Dale Carnegie Question from Jay Daniel Pink said that one of the important qualities of a leader was the ability of the leader to insulate their team members from the “noise” of the organization (I completely agree). However, I have also seen that the act of insulating one’s team can get the leader into trouble. Ultimately, insulating one’s team members sometimes means saying no to new projects so that more important existing projects can get done. This very thing (insulation of team) has a tendency to create a great working environment for the followers but simultaneously put the leader in jeopardy with his superiors. How do you suggest dealing with such a quandary? In essence, the right thing to do for the leader’s people, and consequently the organization, is also the very thing that may cause political difficulty for the leader. Yes, Bonni received a new Kindle* for Valentine’s Day Essentialism* by Greg McKeown Episode 129: How to Create A Personal Knowledge Management System Harold Jarche Audio Question from Phil Episode 143: Accepting Feedback With Sheila Heen of Difficult Conversations The Leadership Challenge* by James Kouzes and Barry Posner Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI) Assessments Question from Charles How does one know if what one needs is a professional coach (life/career coach?) or a therapist? Are there professionals which wear both hats? I am currently in transition from solopreneur to possibly going back in the corporate world after about 12 years. It’s not a transition that I am eager for and is accompanied by a good measure of anxiety, confusion, self-doubt, etc. My feeling is that I need someone who can objectively guide me through answering some basic questions at this point in my life (What do I really want to do? What are my real strengths? Do I want to go back to the corporate grind? Should/How do I change careers?, etc.) while also helping me manage the emotional issues. I know this is a tall order (overwhelming for me right now). Should I be seeking one person who can offer a holistic view (a life coach)? Or two very different professionals (who may or may not offer conflicting advice)? Transitions: Making Sense of Life’s Changes* by William Bridges Audio Question from Elle Episode 79: Benefits You Get From A Recognition Program Episode 80: Ten Steps To Create A Recognition Program Drive* by Daniel Pink On The Folly Of Rewarding A While Hoping For B by Steven Kerr 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.

Ron Friedman: The Best Place to Work Interviews are not the most effective way to select people, but if you need to do it: Standardize your questions Ask behavioral questions “What underlies a great place to work isn’t access to perks, but rather experiences that are psychologically fulfilling.” -Ron Freidman Three needs that we have to feel good at work: Being good at the work we are doing and able to grow our competence Being connected to the people around us Autonomy and choice in how we approach our work “The impact of money on job satisfaction is incredibly small.” -Ron Freidman Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

Dave Stachowiak: Coaching for Leaders In the book Getting Things Done*, past guest David Allen first popularized the practice of a weekly review. In this episode, I share my own process for the weekly review, so that you can incorporate the actions that best work for you. Key Points 1. Block Time I complete my weekly review either Sunday evening or early Monday morning. Pick a time that will work consistently in your schedule. 2. Record What Worked I don’t have an issue remembering what didn’t work, so I discipline myself to write down what did work last week. That way, I recognize strengths. 3. Review Goals I do a full read of the annual goals I created at the beginning of the year, so I know where I am headed. 4. Determine Next Actions I decide the next action for each annual goal to advance me closer. 5. Flag 3-5 Actions I pick the 3-5 actions (fewer is better) than I will commit to complete this week. I leave the rest of them for another week. 6. Remove Flags from Last Week If there are still flagged items remaining from last week (often the case) I remove them if they are not already on this week’s list. This is an administrative step. 7. Review Projects in OmniFocus I review all my projects in OmniFocus* for important tasks that might need to be added to the week. 8. Review Habits and Set Focus I review my daily habits on Coach.me for the last week to see where I did well and where I fell short. Then, I pick a focus habit for the week so I can realign with one I’ve been missing. I write it on my office board. 9. Review Calendar for 14 Days Looking ahead to just this week isn’t good enough and I won’t think to look to the following week until Friday. Reminding myself to do this is key. 10. Review Tasks for 7 Days I review all my tasks in the OmniFocus* forecast view, just to be sure I’m aware of busier days ahead. 11. Block Time I schedule or block time that I need to be doing something (like a client meeting) if not already booked. I work hard to minimize this to only things I must do at a certain time. Download My Weekly Review Checklist Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

Marc Mawhinney: Natural Born Coaches “Coaches are important because they are a second pair of eyes for your business.” -Marc Mawhinney Mark and I discussed my recent article on What to Know When Hiring a Coach. In addition to the recommendation to check out Marc’s show, I made three recommendations of coaches I recommend at the end of the episode, all of which are past guests: Tom Henschel, Essential Communications Bill Bliss, Bliss & Associates, Inc. Tim Stringer, Technically Simple 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.

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 Brian I presently struggle with keeping the balance between friend and boss as we work closely together. All three of us are in cubicles next to each other. While this allows us to be very close knit (almost as much as the camaraderie in the Army, but not quite) I know I have already blurred the line more than I should have. It was easy to “keep your distance” in the military because you always have your rank whether you are in uniform or not. You could be a friend and a Sergeant at the same time. This has proven to be my biggest challenge as a civilian leader. Question from Sarah I recently found your podcast and have been an avid listener ever since. I am about to re-enter the corporate world in what I think must be my dream role! So very excited (nervous, anxious, ecstatic ) and so have been arming myself with the tools and tips of your many episodes. My question is – what would be your first priority when assuming a senior executive role in a large organization and inheriting a team hand picked by the previous incumbent who has been laterally moved now due to poor performance. I envision there are going to be some very disgruntled team members loyal to my predecessor, and while I want to make a good first impression. I also want to be clear that I am not interested in historical politics and am there to lead them positively forward. The First 90 Days by Michael Watkins* 98: Five Rules For Your New Leadership Role With Pam Fox Rollin 42 Rules to Your New Leadership Role by Pam Fox Rollin* Question from Rachel I am struggling with a staff member who is supposedly bullying other people and being extremely rude. She knows I am watching her and is perfectly delightful when I’m around. I have many staff members reporting that she completely changes when I’m not around. The Right Way to Fire the Wrong Person, a podcast by Michael Hyatt The No Asshole Rule by Bob Sutton* Question from Paola We have one training initiative (an international one), where employees should change behavior. My question is: how can I make the biggest impact as a trainer to a team of 70 people to make sure, this changes take place? The New Mager Six Pack by Robert F. Mager* Creating Measurable Learning Objectives by Bonni Stachowiak Evaluating Training Programs by Donald Kirkpatrick and James Kirkpatrick* Feedback from Geoff When you give task list recommendations, you might want to consider mentioning Wunderlist as a simple, low/no-cost, yet reasonably powerful solution for cross platform task management. Although I dearly love OmniFocus, my job requires me to use a PC at the office. Having another computer or an iPad always nearby wasn’t ideal, so I’ve switched much of my task tracking to Wunderlist, which syncs between my Macs, iPhone, iPad, and work PC (as a Chrome web app, which works even on a locked-down PC with no admin rights). 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.

Mark Sieverkropp: How to Start a Conversation With Anyone Mark and I were both featured by Forbes as 25 Professional Networking Experts to Watch in 2015 1. First Impressions last the longest John Corcoran spoke in episode 169 on what we can do to recover from a bad first impression 2. Practice the type of listening that makes a difference “…if you aspire to be a good conversationalist, be an attentive listener. To be interesting, be interested. Ask questions that other persons will enjoy answering. Encourage them to talk about themselves and their accomplishments.” -Dale Carnegie 3. Understand who people are by how they act 4. People like others who share their same interests 5. Do not hold your listener hostage 6. Remembering the conversation is crucial to growing the relationship Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

Susanne Madsen: The Power of Project Leadership Susanne Madsen is an internationally recognized project leadership coach, trainer, speaker and consultant. Susanne specializes in helping project managers transform into leaders. She is the author of The Power of Project Leadership*. “Most organizations jump very quickly from the idea stage to the doing stage.” -Susanne Madsen Project definition: it’s key to determine the value the project offers to the organization Be strong enough to show weakness and ask the dumb questions Two problems in managing risk Not properly dealing with expected risks Paying little or no attention to unexpected risks Connect with Susanne on Twitter or LinkedIn 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.

You’ve been in the job for awhile. You’re maybe not feeling that same sense of motivation or fulfillment that you once did. How do you know when to move on? In this episode, five indicators that will help you answer that question. 1. When it’s beyond a bad day, week, or month. “Being a professional is doing the things you love to do, on the days you don’t feel like doing them.” -Julius Erving 2. When its not fulfilling anymore to solve problems. I mentioned Michael Hyatt’s appearance on episode #40. “Great marketing only makes a bad product fail faster.” -David Ogilvy Every organization has the well-connected people who are marketing a bad “product” or at least a mediocre one. Are you solving problems, or are you window dressing? 3. When you’re living in Groundhog Day. You can become the cynic who says, “This is the way we do things around here.” 4. When you think the same way today that you did a year ago. You should, on occasion, be able to look back on a decision you made in the past, or on your thinking on something, and be amazed at how stupid you were. 5. When your heart tells you that its time. It’s OK to not know the answer for awhile. In fact, that’s probably the side to error on. A final thought: this isn’t the answer. It’s a place to start asking yourself the questions. Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

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 Michelle: I’ve recently taken on a Training post…it’s a new post and so I’m making things up as I go along. In episode 30 you recommend that Managers attend the same training as their team. I’m organizing a whole range of training courses in 2015 and at first I agreed with you that the Manager should attend with their team. The feedback I’ve had though is that if the Manager attends then people won’t ask all the questions they should ask to seek clarification. This maybe a cultural point rather than a general training point. Are there some types of training that need the Manager to be present and others where it’s better than they are not present? For example : if it’s about changing behavior then it’s right that they should attend and if it’s about learning something that’s new (new skills to do the job they already do) then the Manager shouldn’t be present. 30: Six Mistakes Leaders Make Sending People to Training Question from Amy: I enjoy listening every morning on my way to work and have applied MANY of your tips to my job. I’ve been through so many podcasts, I’m curious if you could help me with one of your recommendations. You talked about a planner you use that can be specialized — what recommended company/website was this? I’m looking to start the New Year off right! Thanks for your advice! Remember the Milk OmniFocus (Mac)* (iPhone)* (iPad)* LearnOmniFocus.com from our friend Tim Stringer Question from Brenda: I am a retreat coordinator at a camp where I work with many different churches and Christian organizations. Most people I work with come 1-2 times a year and come and share their camp space with 2-5 different churches and organizations. I am looking for a way to not only personally connect with the people I work with, but also give them the opportunity to get to know each other as other camp rental leaders and be able bounce ideas off each other and give this group unity by coming to camp together. I also want to build this same unity and community with other retreat coordinators across the US within a online group. But keep the two groups separate from each other. I have seen this done with Stay-at-homes moms on Facebook, but really do not want to use Facebook for this. Would LinkedIn be a good website to use to for this purpose? Is there another social media or website that I should explore that you know of that would work better? What have you found to be the best way to grow your community with Coaching for Leaders? IP.Board Audio Question from Hujefa  Question from Lisa: Quick question – have you ever done a podcast about how to handle a mistake at work? I have made a mistake that has many upset. I scheduled a meeting for next week to discuss and although I’ve already apologized internally, I’m looking for suggestions on how to handle the meeting. I don’t think I want to focus at all on what I “shoulda” done but rather what to do to help alleviate the situation. 54: How Authentic Leaders Apologize Question from Noushin: I was wondering if you can suggest a program for executives who would like to improve their writing skills for communicating with the investors, CEOs, etc. On Writing Well* by William Zissner Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing* by Mignon Fogarty 108: How To Improve Your Writing With Grammar Girl and Grammar Pop 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.

Donna Schilder We’ve all seen bad meeting behavior, but do you know what to do? Donna Schilder shares five power steps for leaders and facilitators to get us towards a better meeting. 1. What are some types bad meeting behavior we often see? Late arrivers Ramblers Side Conversationalists Note Passers Multi-taskers Non-participators Dominators Chronic objectors Gate-closers Off-the-wall commenters Eye rollers Sighers Personal attackers 2. How can leaders identify disruptive behaviors as they happen? Realize that your job is to create the agenda, lead the participants through the agenda, but also, to watch for and facilitate behaviors that prevent the meeting from being as successful as it can be. Now that you are more focused on what they are, you can watch for these disruptive behaviors. Scrutinize and reflect on meetings that don’t seem to be as productive as they should be. Watch for other people’s reactions. Are they rolling their eyes, sighing, showing signs of frustration, shuffling in their seats? 3. How can a leader intervene in disruptive behaviors in meetings? For Side Conversationalists, Ramblers, Multi-Taskers, Note Passers, Eye Rollers, Off-the-Wall Commenters, & Eye Rollers: Use non-verbal cues For all behaviors: Acknowledge and reinforce acceptable behavior For Late Arrivers, Dominators, Ramblers, Gate Closers, and really any behaviors: Review Ground Rules for Effective Meeting Behavior Don’t interrupt others, encourage new ideas, don’t be late Encourage shared responsibility for handling disruptive behavior For Ramblers or if new topics just come up: Use a Hold Bin when the meeting gets off topic For Non-Participators: Round Robin – always allow people to pass Invite people into the conversation For some of the more difficult behaviors, like Dominators or Personal Attackers: Utilize team feedback tools Plus Delta Team Effectiveness Surveys Use firm but friendly confrontation 4. What is firm but friendly confrontation? This is in order from the lightest intervention to the strongest intervention. Tread cautiously with the strong interventions. General Question: Does anyone else feel we are digressing? Specific Question: For a side conversation: Andrea, do you have anything to add? General statement (no names): We had agreed as a team that we would be on time to this meeting General statement (looking at the person): Not everyone here seems to be open to new ideas Specific statement: Joe, you seem to be objecting to this idea. 5. When should a leader Take it Offline? Visit Donna’s detailed notes and downloadable PDF 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.

Jill Morgenthaler: The Courage to Take Command “I’m not going to change the culture, but I can adjust the behavior.” -Jill Morgenthaler Sometimes bullies don’t know they’re bullies. Ensure that we don’t become the bullies ourselves. Aggressiveness vs. assertiveness. When people starting to show disrespect, he would stop it immediately. Hang back and watch when moving into a new situation. Ask people how they want to be rewarded. Never ask anyone something that you’re not willing to do. Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

Allison Clarke: What Will They Say? Allison Clarke attended 30 funerals in 60 days with the intention to discover how to live without regret. She captured her discovered in the book What Will They Say? and shared her key findings during this conversation. Key Points 1. Listen and lead others to their own answers. 2. Remember the value of face-to-face communication. 3. Do something unique and special for someone. 4. Make time for important people in your life. 5. Bring your courage to the forefront. Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

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*. Audio question from Susan on how to develop strategic skills. Bonni recommended On Competition* by Michael Porter Question from Mark I just wanted to let you know I have been listening to the coaching for leaders podcast since somewhere around episode 100. Recently an opportunity came by to become team leader of the engineering department I worked in. Listening to the podcast for a while gave me enough mental support to take the step! Thank very much. I find that there are certain pro’s and con’s of assuming a leadership position coming from within the team instead of coming from outside the department of even outside the company. Maybe you can address this in an upcoming Q&A show. Dave also suggested a listen to the beginning of episode 120, with a more detailed response to a similar question Audio question from Diana Dave suggested episode 148 with David Hutchens for a fantastic foundation on storytelling Question from Guto I listen to your programs daily – Coaching for Leaders and Carnegie Coach – and this has helped me a lot to improve as Manager and Coach. I have a training project and wanted a your tips. The idea is to make a leadership development program, and the topic is: Lead yourself. As the program will mix coaching with training, I thought to use some coaching tools such as wheel of life, personal SWOT analysis, and mission & purpose. However the module requires 4 hours of training. My program so far has given two hours of training. What do you recommend to do more as a way of self-knowledge to train leaders to make a difference in business and in their teams? 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.

John Corcoran If you make a bad first impression, all is not lost. John Corcoran and I detail six things you can do when the first impression doesn’t land. Key Points 1. Decide Whether or Not to Take Action 2. Take Swift Action and Apologize Immediately 3. Admit Your Mistake, but Don’t Dwell on It 4. Apologize Later, Even If Time Has Passed 5. Pivot 6. Be Consistent Over Time John appeared previously on two other episodes: How to Create Your Personal Networking Plan (episode 106) The Practical Pursuit of Work-Life Balance (episode 123) 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.

Laura Schiesl Vega, Partner, Molever Conelly PLLC 1. Social media One general best practice is to have a social media policy if you don’t already have one. Social media guidelines from the National Labor Relations board (see pages 22-24) 2. Employment classification Independent contractor vs. employees United States Department of Labor 6-factor economic realities test United States Department of Labor on independent contractors Internal Revenue Service Section 530 relief requirements California Department of Industrial Relations on worker misclassification 3. Wages and hours United States Department of Labor Overtime Pay Requirements of the FLSA Connect with Laura Schiesl on LinkedIn Dave recommended the book Law 101* by Jay Feinman. 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.

Kelly Studer Dave mentioned episode #153 with Bill Bliss on How to Start with Succession Planning “I got a bit of a reputation for being a tough, scary interviewer, and I learned over time that that wasn’t necessarily the best approach.” -Kelly Studer Share some of your own vulnerability and have a real conversation about some of the work they may be involved in. A great starting point is StrengthsFinder 2.0 Check out episode #89 with Steven Dosier on the Value of the StrengthsFinder Assessment. “The only thing worse than training someone and losing them is not training them and keeping them.” -Zig Ziglar 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.

Nathan Czubaj: Emails from Mumbai I wanted go somewhere that would really be different…that I could learn most about the world and most about myself. Preparation Talking to people is most helpful. Pick up some of the language, at least the greetings and please/thank you. Give yourself time for the mental preparation. “I’m never going to find the things that I’m used to. I need to get used to the things that I can have.” -Nathan Czubaj “I didn’t need all the things that I thought I needed. My definition of wants and needs changed radically.” -Nathan Czubaj Obstacles Some of the obstacles are how people do business that you would never expect. It was hard to impose my way of doing things and our Western way. People don’t always trust Westerners. What you’ve been successful with back home doesn’t necessarily translate. Attitudes and Behaviors I had to forget that I was an American and try to be a local. “Today is going to be more memorable than the most memorable day all year back home. I’m going to learn more today than I would in a typical month back home.” -Nathan Czubaj 100% of the proceeds from Emails from Mumbai* are going to benefit iSanctuary, an organization that works in India to help end the global challenge of human trafficking. Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

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*. Patricia says she’s struggling with working with and working for micromanagers Bonni mentioned Drive by Daniel Pink* Wally asks, “Have you addressed the topic of leaders who believe their executive team can be productive by competing with each other rather than working as a team?” Bonni mentioned Susan Gerke’s recent appearances on the show: 138: The Four Unique Types of Teams 139: How To Maximize Team Performance Dave mentioned the Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni Mike says he’s struggling finding enough time in the day to be everything to everyone. He says he also knows that’s impossible. “I do for the few what I wish I could do for everyone.” -Andy Stanley Dave mentioned OmniFocus, his task management system of choice. Bonni mentioned Michael Hyatt’s ideal week strategy, which Bonni and Dave both use What about networking? Dave suggests setting up a basic LinkedIn profile as a starting point Dave mentioned past show 101: How to Get the Most from LinkedIn with Donna Schilder 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.

Tom Henschel: The Look & Sound of Leadership Is someone you care about – or maybe even you – working for a jerk? My guest Tom Henschel from the Look & Sound of Leadership podcast helps us to navigate this difficult situation. How to know if it’s just you Test the waters, but be careful How to address it When you decide to talk, leave the emotion out of it Frame the business concern, not you as the victim Don’t take it personally Don’t speak for others You are not going to change your boss It’s not your place to get coaching for your boss Nothing you will do will likely change your boss’s behavior If you can accept that, what do you want to do? If it’s really a business issue, give the feedback Avoid being attached to the outcome Once the feedback is given, let it go Rehearse the feedback with someone trusted before you give it What to do when the boss is chaotic Calm down with someone who is chaotic Take tons of notes Get clear agreements When they change something, don’t take it personally Consider sending a note afterwards to summarize what is said How to deal with the narcissist Be a good audience and ask how you can help them to succeed “Narcissists crave attention and there’s not enough room in the spotlight for both of you.” -Tom Henschel “With narcissists, in order to succeed with them, you need to not compete with them.” -Tom Henschel Have support outside of work too, since you won’t get it from your boss When you can do it honestly, throw them a bone Always approach situations with collaboration and support What do you do with the screamer? Don’t engage, wait it out Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

Dan Schwabel: Promote Yourself “Smart companies create a good internal culture, and then it becomes really easy for them to communicate to the outside world.” -Dan Schwabel Practical Action or Advice Bring reverse mentoring into your next mentorship conversation or program Ensure that senior leaders are engaged with you next initiative before proceeding 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.

Aaron Kent: Dale Carnegie Aaron was last on the show on episode #35: You Don’t Have to Be a Trainer to Know How to Hire One. Find Industry Overlap In the same world as you, but not in a competitive place with you Each party brings insight and resources that wouldn’t be available to the other Focus on what you are best in the world at, and form alliances in other areas Aaron mentioned the book Good to Great by Jim Collins* Clear and Immediate Financial Value Overlap Identify where a win-win outcome can be that benefits both parties This doesn’t necessarily mean a dollar for dollar match Be sure it’s measurable Aaron mentioned How To Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie* Dave mentioned How To Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie* Dave mentioned The Quick and Easy Way To Effective Speaking by Dale Carnegie* Committing Resources to the Relationship and Sustaining it Over Time It’s easy for an alliance to lose importance when it’s not with a paying customer Think of an alliance partner like you would a paying client Dedicate a person or resource directly to the alliance Special Note The Carnegie Coach podcast mentioned in this episode was started in 2014 and ran for almost 200 episodes until it ended in 2016. Business changes at Dale Carnegie and my own departure from the organization resulted in the show sunsetting after two years. Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

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 Leonardo I´m one of your fans, I listen your podcast every day and I see better results on my day job managing an emergency room in Brazilian Hospital. I’m a cardiologist and today I work as a manger also. I was listening the episode 143, about feedback, while I was driving to my job and I was thinking how difficult to me is receive a negative feedback. I think that what struggle in this situation is emotion and controlling the emotion to respond or give some excuse for that negative perception. When I give any feedback to my employees I saw this same problem. How do I train myself to be better on that? Episode #143: Accepting Feedback With Sheila Heen of Difficult Conversations Episode #107: Three Steps To Soliciting Feedback with Tom Henschel Lets Get Real Or Let’s Not Play by Mahan Khalsa* Question from Dow Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most by Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, Sheila Heen* The Dale Carnegie Course How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie* Positive Coaching by Jim Thompson* Question from Nathan I am not currently in a “leadership” position but I feel that I am being called to leadership and feel that leadership and coaching is something that I would enjoy long term. I wanted to ask what recommendations you would have to really start moving in this direction and to start developing those skills. I’ve been trying to read books and listen to podcast to get some insight but haven’t really had the opportunity to hone these skills. I am looking at going to toastmasters to get some experience/training in public speaking to get started working on something I don’t feel I’m strong in. Do you have any recommendations of things like Toastmasters that I can check out or any suggestions on steps I could take to improve my leadership and coaching skills? Toastmasters Junior Chamber International (Jaycees) 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.

Michael “Coop” Cooper: Innovators + Influencers Do you feel like you are playing whack-a-mole, constantly putting out fires in your organization? Are others and you clear on the real reason for most problems? In this conversation, I welcome Michael “Coop” Cooper from Innovators + Influencers to share a 5-step strategy that will help you define problems so it’s clear what to do next. 1. Describe the situation There’s a lot of information in the situation that people don’t talk about. This does not have to take as long as most people think it does. 2. Draft a problem statement The problem we’re trying to solve is… Find the simplest statement possible. 3. Ask “Why is that a problem?” (REPEAT) Be aware of the thud factor and the pause. 4. Is this the real problem? Involve someone else 5. Is this problem worth solving? Will it save you time or money? Will it make your company/department more competitive/productive? Will this solution make your work or life easier in the long-run? Does this solution or solving this problem actually align with your company goals? “If I were given an hour to save the world, I’d spend 59 minutes defining the problem and one minute solving it.” -Albert Einstein Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

David Sparks: Presentations David last appeared on episode #119 to help us get control of our email. Memorize the opening and the closing of your presentation Nail the beginning. Close strong. Utilize an effective remote A green laser shows better than a red one Keep the button options simple Dark the screen when you’re not referring to a slide Find one with an on/off switch David recommends the Kensington K72427AM Wireless Presenter* Tools to consider You need to learn to be self-sufficient Adapters Extension cord Duct tape Speakers for audio David’s final advice Think about your presentation as a story Your slides are not your script 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.

Chip Espinoza: Millennials at Work Who are the millennials? They were born between 1980-2002 range. These are many of our newer employees in organizations. “The millennials are the first generation that has not needed an authority figure to access information.” -Chip Espinoza There is a dynamic in the workforce of a generation that doesn’t know how to reach up working with a generation that doesn’t know how to reach down. The people with the most responsibility need to adapt first in an organization. -Chip Espinoza Ambiguity is the millennial kryptonite. -Chip Espinoza This generation is used to experiencing success and might not have run into failure much before. They also assume that everything is negotiable. Avoid getting caught up in defensiveness of a millennial who might be receiving positive feedback. Millennials are relationship oriented. Give feedback in a way that’s not formal. Maintain the strength of the relationship. Feedback must be timely. Have a conversation with them instead of a conversation about them. Build a relationship with people! Practical Action Have a conversation and build a relationship. How to Start Coaching Someone (episode 2) provides a 4-step model for doing this Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

Do you find yourself struggling with changing your behavior? Real learning is hard, but keeps you from making the same mistake again. I wrote this article a few months ago: Sorry, I Don’t Love Learning Have you seen this scene in the Matrix? I mentioned the book Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell* Practical Advice 1. Ensure that it’s something important for you to learn I mentioned the book Soar With Your Strengths by Donald Clifton and Paula Nelson* 2. Get comfortable with being uncomfortable “When you are tough on yourself, life is going to be infinitely easier on you.” -Zig Ziglar 3. Recognize that what you’ve been able to change your behavior on is really challenging for others “Every single time I get on a plane I’m really glad that the plane is not being flown by someone who just always loved planes.” -A teacher quoted in Building A Better Teacher by Elizabeth Green*. 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.

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 Gabriel I recommended episode #144: How We Do Things Around Here To Get Results Question from Torrey I would like to know if you have a group on book reads or know of any groups I can join to get advice about good reading for leadership? For example which of Peter Drucker’s books should I read? Subscribe to Coaching for Leaders weekly update for a reader’s guide to the 10 Leadership Books That Will Help You Get Better Results From Others Check out Dave’s personal reading library on GoodReeds Dave recommended Leadership and Self-Deception by The Arbinger Institute* Dave and Bonni recommended The Essential Drucker by Peter Drucker* Bonni recommended The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz* Bonni recommended The Empowered Manager by Peter Block* Bonni recommended Difficult Conversations by Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, Sheila Heen and Roger Fisher* Bonni recommended The Fifth Discipline by Peter Senge* Question from Busakorn I was wondering if you could advise a great book for selling skills? Bonni recommended Let’s Get Real or Let’s Not Play by Mahan Khalsa and Randy Illig Bonni recommended SPIN Selling by Neil Rackham* Question from Torrey I would like the partners to be motivated enough to complete their reporting and liquidations with a concern for quality and timing, and not have to constantly ask and remind them. I want them to WANT to complete their reporting and do a good job, but right now they do not seem too concerned about it. How can we motivate them to improve their performance? What’s the “why” behind the “what?” On The Folly Of Rewarding A While Hoping For B by Steven Kerr Question from Anonymous I had decided a few weeks ago that my time with my company has expired and it was the moment to move on. I have a second interview coming and while the change scares me, I think it’s needed. My health and marriage are affected so change should be good. My reason for leaving is because of people and I cannot figure out a way to deliver the message without sounding whiny. I don’t want to burn any bridges at all but I also need to be firm and not allow my boss to convince me to stay. Do you have suggestions? – Bonni recommended Michael Hyatt’s podcast on 7 Actions To Take Before You Quit Your Job Question from Armando Be intentional about what goes in and surround yourself with people who bring life to you Give yourself grace! Dave recommended episode #85: Ten Ways to Pick Yourself Up When You’re Beaten Down Dave’s past article One Interaction That Enhances Performance In The Best Employees might be a helpful idea as well “If you act enthusiastic you’ll be enthusiastic.” -Dale Carnegie Question from Paola As a very structured person I am quite good organized when it comes to clear and specific tasks. But to be honest I feel kind of lost when I have to do projects or strategic work with no clear way, structure or tasks. Can you provide some ideas on that? Dave recommended Basecamp for project management – Dave uses and recommends MindNode (Mac*) (iPhone and iPad*) for mind mapping – Bonni’s question to stakeholders: “When this is done, what will success look like?” 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.

Mark Allen: Aha Moments In Talent Management Mark Allen is a professor at Pepperdine University and author of The Corporate University Handbook* and The Next Generation of Corporate Universities*. He just released his newest book, Aha Moments in Talent Management*. In this conversation, Mark and Dave discuss practical strategies that you can use to develop talent in your organization. Key Points “Having better people is the best source of competitive advantage, so attracting top talent is a top priority. Be willing to do whatever it takes to bring in top talent. Do not let your own policies prevent you from hiring exceptional people.” -Mark Allen Ask for the rationale for why rules are in place that are preventing talent acquisition “The job of manager requires specific skills and abilities. Promotion should be based on the ability to do the next job, not performance in the current job. Good performance should be rewarded appropriately, but promotion should not be a reward for past performance.” -Mark Allen Check out Google’s Quest to Build A Better Boss to learn more about Project Oxygen. “If you’re going to treat training and development as an investment, then you must be able to demonstrate a return on that investment. That means that every program should be designed to deliver a specific business result and should be held accountable for achieving that result.” -Mark Allen Mark referenced Donald Kirkpatrick’s four levels of evaluation “60-90% of everything that people learn in a training program never gets used on the job.” -Mark Allen “Begin with the end in mind.” -Stephen Covey Ask these two questions when planning your next talent development program: How will this improve at least one key business result? How will you measure it? Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.