Lead From the Heart

2,500 years ago, Greek philosopher, Heraclitus famously observed that “there is nothing permanent in life except change.” And anyone who’s lived just a few years on our planet knows old Heraclitus was speaking truth. Despite our intellectual acceptance of the ancient sage’s observation, we humans tend to strongly resist & even reject change – something many a workplace leader has come to discover when they’ve tried to alter a policy, introduce a new system or move a team in a new direction. David Schonthal – award winning professor of Innovation & Entrepreneurship at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management – is the co-author of the Wall Street Journal bestseller, “The Human Element: Overcoming The Resistance That Awaits New Ideas.” And his brilliant insight is that what most marketers, innovators, leaders, activists, & anyone else in the business of creating change, operate on the same deep assumption. It is the belief that the best (& perhaps only) way to convince people to embrace a new idea is to heighten the appeal of the idea itself. They try to put more “fuel” on the benefits of the change instead of investigating – & even anticipating – the psychological & emotional reasons why people are reluctant to support the change or even entirely resist it. A word we’re all going to hear more often this year is “friction.” David introduces it to describe what often inhibits successful change initiatives – & he asserts that there are four key “frictions” that operate against innovation & change. We humans like to stick with what we know – even when we know it limits us. We follow the path of least resistance & seek to minimize effort. We often feel emotionally threatened by requests to change our behavior. And we have a very strong impulse to resist when we feel change is being imposed upon us. Of course, David has developed uncommon remedies to all four of these “frictions” & this episode is devoted to introducing them. As a special feature, at the end of the podcast, Mark asks David to explain how he would use all of his research & knowledge to successfully overcome resistance to implementing the change in organizations that we all desire: to break away from our traditional leadership practices once & for all, & introduce a “Lead From The Heart” philosophy. His response provides a blueprint for all workplace managers to follow. The post David Schonthal: How To Overcome The Resistance That Always Awaits New Ideas appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

“Would you like vanilla, chocolate or strawberry?” When presented with simple decisions like these, most of us will instinctively pick our favorite from the three options, without ever considering that there may be many more ice cream flavors available. Columbia Business School professor, Eric Johnson is the lead researcher behind some of the most well-known and cited research on decision-making. And one of his key conclusions is that most of us give insufficient attention to what he calls “choice architecture, the many aspects of how a choice is posed to us that can be manipulated, intentionally or inadvertently, to influence the decisions we make.” Assume you own the ice cream store & have determined that sales of vanilla, chocolate & strawberry scoops earn you the most money. Promoting these flavors alone – and not pushing all the others you have – is in your best interest from a profit standpoint. But it also intentionally fails to inform customers who love Rocky Road & mint chocolate chip that these & other options are available as well. Through his research, Johnson has proven that the choices we make every day – whether it’s buying a health insurance plan, deciding how to invest for our own retirement or ordering a sandwich – are rarely entirely of own making. Whomever designs the “choice architecture” holds great influence in how we decide. And too often, we make choices that are not in our best interests because we don’t realize that we’re being steered in directions that don’t serve us best. We’re influenced by subtle aspects of the way the choice is presented that often make the difference between a good decision & a bad one. Johnson is the author of the new bestseller, “The Elements of Choice: Why The Way We Decide Matters,” & in it, reminds us that we too (especially leaders) are the architects of the choices other people make. And, as designers of decisions, we need to consider all the elements involved in presenting a choice: how many options to offer, how to present those options, how to account for our natural cognitive shortcuts, & much more. These levers are unappreciated, & we are often unaware of just how much they influence our reasoning every day. A recent guest on NPR’s “Hidden Brain” podcast with Shankar Vedantam, Eric Johnson joins us to provide a leadership clinic on “choice architecture.” You’ll be amazed to hear how often the daily decisions you make are not truly of your own, & to learn the informed ways you can make far better choices going forward.   The post Eric Johnson: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Every Day Decisions appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

For much of the pandemic, a familiar ritual played out in workplaces around the globe. Companies set return-to-office dates, only to repeatedly backtrack & delay them due to health concerns. Apple, as one example, was set to have employees back in its offices at the start of 2022, but now has an indefinite target date. And, with COVID cases clearly on the rise again, many other companies including JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo & Goldman Sachs have moved their goal posts as well. But let’s assume for the moment that the worst of the pandemic is behind us & returning to our workplaces has suddenly become viable. Can we assume companies have firmly defined how many days a week they’ll expect employees to be in the office? Have they decided how they’ll specifically manage people differently in the post-COVID era? And, overall, do they know all the ways they’ll pivot at this unprecedented #leadership inflection point? Well, it may or not surprise you that they haven’t. Surveys of CEOs have shown that most top leaders simply don’t know what the future is going to be like and – just like the rest of us – are still trying to figure it all out. Many CEOs even appear to be deliberately waiting to see what postures their competitors take, meaning the waiting game is likely to continue longer. Making things even more challenging is the fact that many employees want to continue working remotely at least some of the time, while for employers, the benefits of people working from home or hybrid approaches seem less obvious. In light of the “Great Resignation,” where millions of workers are quitting jobs every month, workplace leaders have critical decisions to make about how they intend to manage – & they need informed guidance on how best to make them. Truth be told, workers themselves also need informed guidance on what kind of working experience will be best for them. While presently overlooked, there are some very clear downsides to people hoping to work remotely most, if not all of the time, that workers must fully consider. So, we’ve invited Wharton Business School professor, Peter Capelli to join us on the podcast. His prescient new book is called, The Future of the Office: Work from Home, Remote Work, and the Hard Choices We All Face, where he unveils the surprising tradeoffs both employers & employees may have to accept in order to get what they want. His research reveals there is no consensus among business leaders. Even the most high-profile & forward-thinking companies are taking divergent approaches. And his research shows that previous efforts at allowing workers to telecommute and work-from-home didn’t work out as expected. So, what’s the best decision for you and your employer? We can’t give it to you, of course; but Peter Capelli joins us to explore how we should all think about these choices going forward as well as who wins and who loses in all scenarios. One Final Point: In this interview, Peter Capelli repeatedly challenges common assumptions about the future of the workplace, and is one of the most informed people on this topic in the world. Listeners will learn much from this conversation! The post Peter Cappelli: Why Most Employers Still Haven’t Decided The Future Of Their Offices appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

Success in life is never a question of how many tasks we get done in a day. It’s not even a question of what we manage to achieve. Instead, it’s about knowing our life’s purpose & taking the right steps to fulfill our potential. That all sounds very nice & neat until we come face-to-face with real life, where short-term thinking, short-term gratification & short attention spans often take us off track. We also live in a society that values “busyness” & treats it as a badge of honor. And, so, when we tell ourselves all the time that “we don’t have enough hours in the day,” it’s not really a sign of accomplishment – it’s a sign our lives are out of control & that we’ve lost sight of what truly matters & makes our lives meaningful. These are some of the big ideas from Dorie Clark’s new book, “The Long Game: How To Be A Long-Term Thinker In A Short-Term World,” which launched recently as a Wall Street Journal bestseller. And her conclusion is that if all we do is bumble along reacting to events as they happen, we won’t ever fulfill our life’s dreams or personal potential. Dorie Clark has done a lot of interesting things in her life: She left home at 14 to attend a school for gifted students. She transferred to Smith College, graduating magna cum laude, & then earned a Masters in Theological Studies at Harvard Divinity School. She’s been a Presidential campaign staffer, public speaker, musical theater lyricist, leadership author, & today teaches at the Duke University Fuqua school of business. And as she reveals in our discussion, she had a long-term strategy for achieving them all. Read the word “gifted,” & we might assume Clark’s success was pre-ordained & even guaranteed. But the essence of her book is that few people (including her) ever achieve success without also experiencing delays, setbacks, denials & even failures. In effect, she says we need to be nimble & adapt when circumstances change. But long-term thinking is what undergirds everything & enables us to make those adjustments. If we embrace long-term strategy & recognize that the path may change over time — that’s what maximizes our chances of success. Noting there is no such thing as overnight success, Clark’s book reminds us that this doesn’t mean success for us will be illusive. It means we just need a more effective process for achieving it. That’s what this episode is all about: helping you get back on track for achieving all you were meant to. The post Dorie Clark: How To Be A Long-Term Thinker In A Short-Term Focused World appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

As we near the two-year anniversary of the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the occasion merits some acknowledgment. The stress, strain, fear & ambiguity we’ve all endured as a result of this ordeal is truly incomparable to any other time in our lives. And even more remarkable is the fact that, no matter where people live in the world, we’ve all had the exact same experience. You may have noticed during this time of great uncertainty that some people appear to be at their wits’ end as a new virus variant appears – & the prospect of a return to normal life is once again snuffed out. We’re seeing more displays of disagreeableness, argumentativeness & anger in society – and all of this confrontational behavior reflects people who’ve grown unable to cope with life as it is today. They simply don’t know what to do with their feelings & are acting out. But something else is true. There are also people who have handled the challenges of the pandemic masterfully. They don’t become unmoored by every news report, they’re not drawn into petty arguments & they routinely manage their emotions successfully. What these people are is grounded. They have a deeper connection to their authentic selves which allows them to remain centered & balanced regardless of what the universe throws their way – & they see the big picture which is that our perceived control over life’s outcomes has always been an illusion. This episode is devoted to better understanding the mindset, tools & practices of people who are deeply grounded – essential knowledge for life & leadership. And our guest is Brad Stulberg, author of the new bestseller, The Practice of Groundedness. To be grounded is to possess a firm & unwavering foundation, a resolute sense of self from which deep & enduring success can flow. It’s the ideal state-of-being from which to operate in the world, & the focus of our entire conversation is on how you can attain it. PS: In the podcast, Mark mentions a new article he wrote for Fast Company Magazine. Here’s the link to it: https://bit.ly/31npe4N The post Brad Stulberg: Remaining Grounded When The Future Is Uncertain appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

Longtime Wharton business and law school professor, G. Richard Shell, joins us to do double duty. It was Shell whom Wharton specifically chose to reinvent its entire MBA program curriculum, & our first objective in asking him to be a guest was to explain why one of America’s top ranked business schools intentionally became more humanistic? When we think of business schools in the past – and Wharton especially – we recall students being taught arcane accounting and quantitative analysis techniques exclusively, & virtually nothing on how to successfully manage human beings in the workplace. It’s no wonder so many companies over the past few decades have been quick to lay off workers whenever financial performance lagged. Their top managers were only trained to focus on numbers, not on people. So, our first objective for this episode is to give you an insider’s view into the future of leadership development, in hopes you’ll gain a deeper awareness on how you might seek to further grow your own managerial skill-set for the future. There’s a clear reason Wharton has evolved in what it believes comprises a comprehensive MBA education. And Shell is also a very successful author whose new book, The Conscience Code: Lead With Your Values & Advance Your Career tackles a truly challenging workplace dilemma: How to speak up for your values when you observe or experience unethical behavior at work. According to research Shell cites in his book, 40% of US workers witness unethical or illegal conduct on the job in any given year. And 25% report feeling pressured by their own bosses to behave unethically or even illegally. Here are some real-world examples that Wharton School, MBA students have experienced in their young careers: A fast-track colleague elbows their way up the corporate ladder by faking sales reports. An entrepreneur boss asks employees to lie to would-be investors. A team leader is a serial sexual harasser. The question in all of these scenarios is what should you do in response? According to Shell, few people have ever been trained or prepared to deal with this unsavory part of professional life – and when they do occur, they’re faced with the gut-wrenching choice: do they “go along to get along” or risk their job by speaking up for what they know is right? We all know how we should behave in these kinds of situations, but not necessarily how to maneuver in ways that will allow us to speak our conscience without having to face severe career consequences. So, the second part of our conversation is focused on how you can recognize when these conflicts might be coming, know how to spot them, and learn how to skillfully resolve them. This is an episode that taps the wisdom and profound knowledge of one of the Wharton Business Schools’ longest tenured, and most revered professors. The post G. Richard Shell: How To Stand Up For Your Values At Work Without Paying A Dear Price appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

We’ve all been frustrated by people who were difficult, angry & arbitrary. And we’ve all had hard-to-please bosses not to mention work colleagues who consistently got under our skin. It’s easy to point the finger at people who push our buttons – & judge them harshly. But what if there were something about our own psychology that unconsciously influenced how we reacted – & that made us more sensitive to certain people & their behaviors? What if some people trigger us because we have a blind spot to what motivates our own actions & responses to other people? These are the questions London based psychotherapist Naomi Shragai (Shra-Guy) poses in her new global bestseller, ”The Man Who Mistook His Job For His Life, How To Thrive While Leaving Your Emotional Baggage Behind,” & her work is so interesting, we asked her to provide some free counseling as our podcast guest. Few of us recognize this, but every working day we replay & re-enact conflicts, dynamics & relationships from our past. We spend eighteen or more formative years living with our family & building our personality, & some of that experience unconsciously plays a huge role in how we interact with people we work with. For example, we might be driven to please a demanding boss without realizing it’s really our never-satisfied father whose approval we’re seeking. Without any awareness, we act on repressed experiences rather than actual realities – & this behavior is very often the source of confusion & often friction at work. While Shragai very much wants us all to discover the childhood influences that still unwittingly hold sway over as adults, she also points out that what is true for us is true for all. Everyone around us is unwittingly operating out of their childhood selves when it comes to work. We’re are all trapped in our own upbringings & the patterns of behavior we learned while growing up. And this can at times lead us to misinterpreting people along with situations we’re in. The leadership win that comes from listening to this episode will be profound not only because you’ll come away with greater understanding of your own behavior at work, but also because you’ll learn better ways of navigating situations with your bosses, employees & peers who previously might have triggered a negative reaction. Shragai’s wisdom will prove invaluable & she summarizes our discussion – not to mention her book – this way: “If you want to understand your colleague’s irrational behavior, you must first understand your own.” The post Naomi Shragai: To Understand Your Colleague’s Irrational Behavior, You Must First Understand Your Own. appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

The key benefits of working remotely are clear to all of us. Not having to commute into an office every day frees us up to get more sleep, spend more time with family & get in regular work-outs in. And left alone most of the day – separate from attending a lot of ZOOM calls – we can focus on our work & be more productive. While all this sounds great, there are some hidden downsides of working remotely that are essential for workers & managers alike to understand. And much of them have to do with the science which shows human beings are hard-wired to thrive by connecting frequently with other people face-to-face. And that means the loss of true connection we get during the 8-10 hours we work alone each day has the potential to do us long term harm. Our guest for this episode is Jon Levy. He’s a behavioral scientist whose new book, “You’re Invited: The Art and Science of Cultivating Relationships” is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal & USA Today bestseller. Brigham Young research has found that the most important predictor of living a long life is “social integration” – meaning how many people we connect with every day. And a brand-new University of Chicago study confirms it’s the routine interactions we have with many people, including with our work colleagues, the dry cleaner, people at yoga class, etcetera that contribute to human well-being. The interesting conclusion is that people who have frequent interactions with others throughout the day – even when these experiences are especially brief or inconsequential – experience far less depression & better mental health. As you’ll hear Jon say in this episode, the “great super power” for people working on remote teams is the sense that they belong & matter personally. Consequently, it’s absolutely essential that workplace managers are intentional is fostering that “belonging.” And much of the discussion features highly informed ways of accomplishing this. Another great challenge of working remotely is our compromised ability to build meaningful connections with people when we see them less frequently or not at all. And Jon has unique perspective on how we might achieve this both personally & professionally. He’s famous for creating what he calls “influencer dinners.” As part of an unusual social experiment, he began inviting people from widely disparate backgrounds to his home for dinners. But the twist was that those whom he invited did all the cooking – & they didn’t learn anyone else’s identity or occupation until they sat down to eat. And the goal of these gatherings, was not to network, but to build meaningful & lasting relationships We cover a lot of ground in this episode & the insight you’ll hear will prove invaluable especially if you dream of working remotely most of the time or manage a remote working team. The post Jon Levy: Why A Sense Of Belonging Is Essential To The Well Being Of People Who Work Remotely appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

One of the recurring themes of our podcast series is the idea that society largely believes that all human cognition occurs in our brains & ignores the emerging science which proves human intelligence is distributed throughout our bodies – including even in our hearts. When we’re faced with a big problem or challenge, we’re urged to use our heads to figure out a solution – even though feelings that emanate from outside the brain can provide additional & valuable insight & lead us to achieving far more informed decisions. As tapping into intelligence that transcends the brain proves to be a profoundly important skill in maneuvering & succeeding in life & leadership, this episode is intended to be a clinic for introducing you to methods of enhancing your own personal intelligence in ways you may never have known existed. And it’s based on the work of our guest, acclaimed science writer, Annie Murphy Paul, whose new book, “The Extended Mind: The Power of Thinking Outside The Brain” was just named by Amazon as one of the best books of 2021 so far. Daniel Pink, Adam Grant, Susan Cain & Malcolm Gladwell – as part of their “Next Big Idea Club” – have also named it one of their favorite books of the year. We’re all used to hearing that the brain operates just like a computer – & we’ve all been told that the brain is like a muscle that gets stronger with rigorous use. But in recent years, IQ scores have actually stopped rising or have even dropped in several major countries. And brain stimulating exercises have shown mediocre results so far. The implication is that the brain in our heads may already be operating at or near optimal capacity. But what Paul’s research proves is that the mind doesn’t stop at the standard demarcations of skin & skull. And the truth is humanity has achieved its most impressive feats by thinking outside of the brain: by extending the brain’s power with resources borrowed from the body, other people & the material world. Studies even show that top performers don’t really do it all in their heads; they achieve their superior results by integrating internal & external resources. What you’re about to hear is by no means a dry science class. Instead, it’s a discussion with a marvelous conversationalist who explains how you can use sensations in your body to make more sound decisions, how moving your body in certain ways will help you think more intelligently, & why our brains & bodies are designed to perform optimally outdoors. When we intentionally cultivate the capacity to think outside the brain, a new world of possibility opens up – & we gain access to reserves of intuition, memory, attention & motivation that aren’t available to the naked brain. Thinking outside the brain isn’t a skill we’ve intentionally been taught at school or work, but it’s one that we all can acquire. And you’re about to learn how in ways I hope will deeply inspire you & elevate your performance in all aspects of your life. The post Annie Murphy Paul: The Key To Superior Performance Lies In Thinking Outside The Brain appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

Are you a manager, coach, or teacher who aims to help other people make meaningful change in their lives? Are you someone who’s currently struggling to kick-start change in your own? If you are either of these – or both – this episode will introduce you to state-of-the-art methods that will take you from where you are to where you really want to be. Award-winning Wharton Professor Katy Milkman has devoted her career to studying behavior change – and her new book, “How To Change: The Science Of Getting From Where You Are To Where You Are Meant To Be” has just been named one of Amazon’s “Best Books of 2021 So Far.” Daniel Pink, Adam Grant, Susan Cain and Malcolm Gladwell – as part of their “Next Big Idea Club” – have also named it one of their favorite books of the year. Milkman, who also teaches at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine, says that change comes most readily when we understand what’s standing between us and success – and then tailor our solution to that roadblock. If we want to work out more but find exercise difficult and boring, for example, downloading a goal-setting app probably won’t help. But by reframing our idea of working out so that it becomes a source of pleasure for us instead of a chore, we inherently turn an uphill battle into a downhill one. There’s a lot of research which shows that we humans tend to be over-confident about how easy it is to be self-disciplined. It’s why we buy expensive gym memberships and register for online classes we’ll never complete. We mysteriously think the “future me” will be able to make good choices, and ignore that, too often, the “present me” succumbs to temptation. There are many common reasons people struggle with making desired changes including procrastination, impulsivity, forgetfulness and laziness – and in our discussion, Milkman shares strategic methods for identifying and overcoming all of these barriers – many of which will surprise you. The overriding theme of this episode in how you can leverage new scientific discoveries to stack the deck in your favor when implementing change. And these are the same tools you can use to help others around you succeed in making their desired changes as well. The post Katy Milkman: The Science Of Getting From Where You Are To Where You Are Meant To Be appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

Microsoft founder Bill Gates recently said that every leader in the world must read “Lights Out: Pride, Delusion and the Fall of General Electric.” Written by two masterful Wall Street Journal reporters, Tom Gryta and Ted Mann, it’s an astonishingly true tale of how GE went from being one of the world’s sustainably great companies to nearly going under due to stunning failures of leadership at the top of the organization. As Gates himself wrote in a blog about the book, “General Electric is a mythical corporation.” It was founded in 1892, by innovator Thomas Edison & financier J.P. Morgan, & famously went on to make appliances, light bulbs, diesel trains & jet plane engines for generations. “We bring good things to life” was GE’s longstanding brand motto, & for over a century, it was one of the world’s most trusted & admired companies. In fact, just twenty years ago, GE was the largest, most powerful company in the world worth over $600 billion. Even its CEO at that time, the legendary Jack Welch – who later wrote five bestselling books on leadership – was held up in the media, & in business, as being one of the greatest corporate chief executives of all time. But as Gryta & Mann inform us, it turns out that the word “mythic” is the perfect word to describe GE. The corporation came crashing to Earth in one of the greatest downfalls in business history – largely as a result of either flawed or questionably ethical leadership practices of Welch & his hand-picked successor Jeffrey Immelt. While Wall Street long admired Jack Welch for consistently ensuring that GE met its quarterly earnings projections, GE’s own Board of Directors failed to ever look under the hood – or provide any oversight at all. As one Board member said, “Our job is simply to applaud.” This lack of proper scrutiny allowed Welch to use accounting tricks and deception to ensure GE met its earnings targets quarter after quarter for years. And his successor, Jeff Immelt had his own leadership flaws: a penchant for not just ignoring bad news – but for punishing executives who offered alternative views or tried to warn him of potential problems – & an ego-driven demand to be given the royal treatment everywhere he went. GE’s experience is a cautionary tale for all leaders to absorb. It’s share price has fallen nearly 80% from where it was 20 years ago. In 2018, GE was dropped from the Dow Jones Industrial Average after being a continuous member since 1907. And as the company has struggled to remain a going concern, tens of thousands more GE employees have since lost their jobs. So what are the most essential lessons to be learned from Jack Welch, Jeff Immelt and General Electric’s tragic downfall? Listen in for the answers! The post Tom Gryta & Ted Mann: The Leadership Failures Of Two CEOs Who Steered GE Into Its Tragic Fall appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

All of us are seeking greater self-knowledge, & Maria Konnikova found it through poker – literally by challenging herself to become a champion of the game despite never having played it before. And she succeeded. In less than two years, she mastered the fiercely competitive game of Texas Hold’em poker, became an international poker champion & won over $300,000 in tournament earnings. And as a skilled writer for the New Yorker Magazine, she chronicled her experience in her New York Times bestseller, The Biggest Bluff: How I Learned to Pay Attention, Master Myself, and Win.” But this was no fluke. Konnikova is a Harvard graduate & earned a PhD in psychology at Columbia University. From that starting point she approached Erik Seidel, Poker Hall of Fame inductee & winner of tens of millions of dollars in earnings, & persuaded him to be her mentor. And under Seidel’s tutelage, she learned to better read, not just her opponents but, far more importantly, herself. She discovered how to identify what tilted her into an emotional state that got in the way of her making good decisions, & how to get to a place where she could accept luck for what it was, & what it wasn’t. In lessons we can use ourselves – in life & in leadership – poker taught Konnikova greater emotional & physical regulation, tolerance for risk & uncertainty, more intelligent decision-making, a grasp of the intertwined roles of chance & skill, & sheer confidence. As she explains, “this book isn’t about how to play poker. It’s about how to play the world.” As all of us learned in a very palpable way since 2020, our control over events is mostly an illusion. Really bad situations will come our way, but our triumphs result when we focus on how we play them – not on the outcomes. Mastery over life’s ambiguity & setbacks is a high-level achievement, & Konnikova’s truly uncommon achievement yields many invaluable lessons from which all of us can benefit & grow. No bluff. This is the final episode of our season and our hope is it leaves you wanting more. The post Maria Konnikova: Poker As A Guide To Life, Luck & Decision Making appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

“Burnout” may be one of the most talked about workplace topics these days, & for good reason. According to a recent survey of people in over 40 countries published in the Harvard Business Review, 90% of respondents said their work lives were getting worse during the pandemic – & more than 60% felt they were experiencing burnout often or very often. And while it’s easy to blame COVID for all the distress, the truth is a high incidence of employee burnout had already emerged long before the pandemic began – all around the world. According to the World Health Organization, burnout is characterized by feelings of chronic stress at work that go unmanaged. And left unaddressed for very long, burnout can have very serious consequences for an individual’s mental health, & is a risk factor for depression, substance abuse & even suicide. But despite all the harm overly-demanding & overly-stressful workplaces can have on employee well-being, the most common approach companies have employed to defeat burnout so far amounts to providing mindfulness classes & subscriptions to meditation apps. And these, most of us have already discovered, have failed to address the underlying root problem, or solve what’s now become a global epidemic. No company or leader should place their hopes in the idea that the end of the pandemic will somehow miraculously restore employee well-being & thriving. What they need instead is a science-based understanding of both the causes & remedies of burnout – exactly the focus of this podcast episode. Paula Davis, is the author of the new book, “Beating Burnout at Work: Why Teams Hold the Secret to Well-Being and Resilience” – one that provides actionable strategies for leaders to use in creating cultures which promote resilience, well-being & inherently reduce employee burnout. And cohesive teams, it turns out, just happen to be one of the most powerful remedies to burnout there is. After seven years of practicing law, Paula melted down under the pressures of her job & quit. She opened up a bakery & was accepted to a pastry school in New York City. After quickly realizing she’d made a colossal career move, she returned to her old job where, predictably, the stress returned immediately & she ended up in the emergency room, twice. Paula finally quit for good, but this time devoted herself to researching the causes & solutions for burnout. She went on to earn a master’s degree in applied positive psychology from the University of Pennsylvania – and as part of her post-graduate training, she was selected to be part of the UPenn faculty where she taught resilience skills to soldiers as part of the Army’s Comprehensive Soldier & Family Fitness program. The UPenn team has since trained these practices to more than 40,000 soldiers & their family members. Whether you’re interested in learning how to prevent yourself from burning out, whether you’re interested in learning how to prevent your employees from burning out – or both – Paula Davis has acquired the road map & insight you really need. The post Paula Davis: Strong Teams Are The Secret To Beating Employee Burnout appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

Hubert Joly is the former CEO of Best Buy – a large American electronics retailer – who orchestrated his company’s spectacular turnaround by changing the rules of executive management. His uncommon philosophy was to pursue a noble purpose, put people at the center of his business, create an environment where every employee could blossom, & treat profit as an outcome, not the goal. And for anyone reading this who fears bringing the heart into leadership is a guaranteed way to undermine financial success, Best Buy’s stock price went from $10 per share to nearly $100 per share during his tenure. In the coming days, Joly will publish his first book, “The Heart of Business: Leadership Principles for the Next Era of Capitalism.” Co-written by Caroline Lambert, it not only details the intentionally humane managerial practices Joly employed at Best Buy, but also describes a managerial journey that transformed his leadership philosophy. Trained by McKinsey to focus on the numbers, not on people, Joly later experienced some personal life setbacks in the midst of an ascendant career that influenced him to take a deeper look at his values & methods. Partly professional, partly spiritual, Joly’s evolution inevitably convinced him that nurturing & supporting employees – rather than squeezing & exploiting them – represented a far more enlightened path of leadership. The Harvard Business Review named Joly one of the world’s top 100 CEOs, Barron’s named him one of the 30 top CEOs in the world & Glassdoor named him one of the top 10 CEOs in America. He is a knight in the French Legion of Honor and the French National Order or Merit. And he’s now a guest lecturer at the Harvard Business School. When Joly became Best Buy’s CEO, it was unclear if the company would survive. But his leadership practices proved to inspire a massive turnaround, largely because of their impact on his employees – human beings. We’re honored that our podcast is his first stop in promoting his wonderful new book. And you will be delighted to hear him describe the practices of a CEO we should all wish the entire world of business would now emulate. This episode happens to be one of Mark’s all-time favorites. There’s great energy in it, so get ready to be inspired! The post Hubert Joly: The CEO Who Transformed “Best Buy” By Leading From His Heart And Mind appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

Time Magazine named Martin Lindstrom one of the “World’s 100 Most Influential People – and “Thinkers50” named him one of world’s top 20 business thinkers. He’s the author of 7 New York Times best-selling books including his newest, “The Ministry Of Common Sense.” Lindstrom runs one of the world’s leading brand & culture transformation companies – serving a “Who’s Who” list of organizations – & has from a rather young age, learned to see the world from the inside out, rather than the inverse. And as you’ll quickly notice, it’s made him extremely incisive in recognizing how often companies & their leaders take actions that literally make no sense. *** In the COVID era, we schedule ZOOM calls to last exactly 60 minutes giving people zero time between meetings. *** In the U.S., TSA allowed passengers to board planes with unlimited amounts of hand sanitizer while maintaining its 3.4-ounce limit on all other liquids. *** Supermarkets ask customers for permission to have an employee bag up their groceries ignoring that the very same employees stacked those products on the store shelves earlier in the day. *** Some companies require employees to go to the office twice a week even when it means people will sit alone in a conference room Zooming with colleagues working from home. Anyone reading this has been invited to unnecessary ZOOM calls, been cc’d on irrelevant e-mail chains & asked to complete reports & forms that no longer have meaning or value. And according to Lindstrom, the more we become victims of old habits & procedures like these ourselves, we suppress our instinctual empathy and overlook all the things we know are wrong & needing a remedy. Lindstrom believes our constant use of technology has weakened our ability to step into another person’s shoes – or even to care about how other people experience the decisions we make. And this inclination is harming both customer happiness & employee happiness. Listen in to the remarkable stories Lindstrom shares about how he learned to see the world in ways most of us don’t. And listen in to hear his compelling guidance on we can restore both empathy and common sense in our organizations. His brilliance as a thought-leader shines through the entire discussion. The post Martin Lindstrom: Empathy Is The Cornerstone Of Common Sense appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

Anyone who’s worked from home this past year knows the experience brought many joys & also many sorrows. The upsides included nonexistent commute times, the freedom to dress as we liked, the constant companionship of our pets – and more time spent with our family members (just as long as they lived in our same dwelling). But the downsides have been compelling too. Many of us felt lost, isolated, out of synch and missing our colleagues. We also had too many ZOOM calls and worked more hours than ever before. With respect to working from home throughout 2020, none of us really had a choice. The COVID pandemic forced it upon us – even though the experience now seems likely to permanently change how many of us work going forward. As organizations around the world are seeing the emergence of a COVID vaccine accelerate their ability to bring workers back to the office, workplace leaders are needing to decide their next course of action. Will they return to normal and act as if the work-from-home experiment never happen? Will they, as Twitter did, tell employees they can work from anywhere – forever? Or will they embrace what many believe will be a “happy medium,” a hybrid solution where we work in the office some days, and remotely the others? Harvard Business School professor Tsedal Neeley is one of the world’s leading experts on remote working having begun research on the subject two decades ago. And she joins us on the podcast at a remarkably well-timed moment. Not only are we all wondering what the best outcome will be for ourselves as employees, many of us are also wondering which outcome will prove to be most manageable for us as leaders long-term. Tsedal is the author of the new bestseller, “Remote Work Revolution: Succeeding From Anywhere,” which is the focus of our discussion – and which provides compelling insight into all that’s been learned about remote working and remote leadership. Whatever decisions you or your organization go on to make about how and where people will work in the future, Tsedal’s advice will surely prove invaluable. She’s both a delightful and brilliantly informed human being – a wonderful combination that will make your listening in hugely worthwhile.     The post Tsedal Neeley: Navigating The Remote Work Revolution appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

Years ago, research by Harvard Business School professor, John Kotter found that when major companies sought to initiate any kind of major organizational change, most ended up failing. Kotter & his team of graduate students watched many leaders simply abandon their change initiatives after concluding there was no viable road to success – despite a lot of time spent trying. Anymore, it’s hard to imagine that a company – including its leaders – could last very long if they were routinely unable to turn their ship in a different direction or inspire employees to embrace new ways of being. So, knowing how change is successfully implemented has become essential knowledge. According to University of Pennsylvania Sociology & Engineering professor, Damon Centola, most of what we know about how change is effectively spread comes from bestselling authors who tell us “influencers” are king, “sticky” ideas “go viral,” & good behavior is “nudged” forward. The problem is that the world they describe is one where information spreads, but beliefs & behaviors stay the same. Centola is the author of the new bestseller, “Change: How To Make Big Things Happen,” a book Wharton professor Adam Grant says it is the most important on the science of social influence since Robert Cialdini’s “Influence.” “Change” presents groundbreaking & paradigm-shifting new science for understanding what drives change, & how we can change the world around us.” One of Damon’s big ideas is that change doesn’t really occur the way we’ve always believed – like a virus. We’ve long thought that once one person heard a new idea, they’d pass it on to others – who’d then pass it on themselves – until the new process, system or philosophy would become widely spread throughout a group or organization. What this theory lacks, of course, is adoption. And more often than not, after new ideas are spread, they’re met with fear, resistance & negativity – change derailers! So, how can leaders shape new behavior within their teams, how do we successfully launch a new innovation before it gets squashed & killed – & how can we create cultural change within an organization that really sticks? Listen in – on this podcast, that’s what we asked Centola to explain. The post Damon Centola: How To Make Big Change Happen On Your Team Or In Your Organization appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

Do you have a voice in your head that operates like an inner critic & saboteur – one that undermines your success by calling you a loser or a failure, one that insists you’ll never be any good at something (e.g. math, relationships, golf, et al), or one that asserts that you’re somehow unworthy as a human? According to award-winning psychologist & professor at the University of Michigan’s Ross Business School, Ethan Kross, you’re not alone. We all have an inner voice that, at times, strives to bring us down – one that, left unchecked, will provide a running negative commentary & spiral us downward into deep pain & distress. If you’re wondering why we even have a voice in our head, Kross says it actually evolved for a purpose, to help keep us safe. It helps us solve problems, reflect on past experiences, plan for the future & maintain a rich inner life. But when we’re facing a stressful task, & looking for an inner supporter to say, “You can do this,” the unsupportive critic often shows up instead & announces that we will miss the putt, blow the speech or lose the sale. In his new national bestseller, “Chatter: The Voice In Our Head, Why It Matters & How To Harness It, Kross explores the silent conversations we have with ourselves, &introduces groundbreaking tools we can use to tame that inner critic of ours, & never again fold under pressure. These tools – all based on Kross’s remarkable research – are immediately available to us when we need them — in the words we use to think about ourselves, in the photos & trinkets we have on our desk, by imagining what we would say to a friend who has the same problem as us, by introducing mind-clearing rituals or just by spending time in nature. All of the myriad tools that Kross presents in “Chatter” give us the power to change the most important conversations we have every day: the ones we have with ourselves. And this podcast is devoted to explaining how you can mitigate all of the noise you hear in your head, & make your inner voice a friend – & no longer the harsh judge it often is today. The post Ethan Kross: How To Tame Your Inner Critic appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

While making coffee one morning, a man passed out in his kitchen and fell onto a travertine floor. After being taken to the hospital, doctors discovered broken ribs, a punctured lung – & a blood clot so close to the man’s heart that 16 different attending physicians wrote in their notebooks, “patient not expected to live. That patient was the host of the “Lead From The Heart” podcast, Mark C. Crowley – & once fully recovered, he scheduled an appointment with the hospital’s CEO just to thank him in person. During their meeting, Mark gratefully told the CEO that he fully believed it was the caring nature of his nurses & doctors that saved him. How his caregivers made him feel, he was certain, is what saved his life. Now, if you believe in science, a far more logical conclusion to this story is that medical know-how is what truly led to Mark’s full recovery. Even the CEO seemed to suggest as much. But now comes the stunning confirmation that what Mark experienced was indeed accurate. And while medical science will never be diminished in its impact on patient outcomes, caring & compassionate behavior prove to be a wonder-drug – knowledge that has profound implications not just for health care, but for workplace leadership as well. Noticing patient experience scores were declining, & many of his doctors were also suffering from burnout, the Chief Medical Officer at Cooper University Health Care, Dr. Anthony Mazzarelli, asked his institution’s top physician to see he could find any scientific data that might link greater human “connection” with better patient outcomes. The question he was really asking was, “Does treating patients with more compassion really matter?” That top physician was Stephen Trzeciak, who, as a highly trained scientist, was admittedly cynical about the premise that “caring” behaviors made any difference whatsoever. But after reviewing over 1,000 scientific abstracts & 250 research papers, he & Dr. Mazzarelli discovered that as brief as a 40-second display of compassion accelerated patient healing, lowered hospital costs, significantly reduced doctor burnout & influenced patients to have greater trust in their caregivers. Dr.’s Trzeciak & Mazzarelli are now the authors of the rather astonishing book, Compassionomics: The Revolutionary Scientific Evidence that Caring Makes a Difference.* And their top conclusion is that compassion matters far more than even they could have imagined…& in not only meaningful but also measurable ways. Dr. Trzeciak joins us on this podcast to share greater details on his research, his findings – & how his discoveries fully reinforce the “Lead From The Heart” leadership philosophy.   Former podcast guest and leadership guru, Tom Peters says this is a book every leader in the world should read. We heartily agree & are very excited about this episode. The post Dr. Stephen Trzeciak: Revolutionary Scientific Evidence That Caring Makes A Difference appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

Do you have what it takes to excel in times of high stress & ambiguity – even during a crisis? Are you able to succeed no matter what conditions you face? While we might imagine that people who perform optimally under duress share a unique set of talents & skills, former U.S. Navy Seal team Commander, Rich Diviney discovered that what truly differentiates them are unique attributes. During his twenty years as a Navy officer, Diviney was intimately involved in a selection process that whittled down hundreds of extraordinary SEAL candidates into small groups of the most elite performers. And he was repeatedly surprised by which candidates washed out & which ones succeeded. Some had all the right skills & still failed, while others he initially dismissed often proved to be the top performers. Ultimately, Diviney realized that beneath the obvious abilities that all successful SEALs displayed, what truly differentiated them were hidden drivers of performance – special attributes like courage, open-mindedness, discipline, resilience & adaptability. And when it came to high-performing SEAL leaders, they shared additional attributes including empathy, selflessness, authenticity, decisiveness & accountability. If 2020 taught us anything, it’s that things can go sideways at any moment; & Diviney’s new book, “The Attributes: 25 Hidden Drivers of Optimal Performance introduces us to the idea that cultivating specific attributes will ensure we perform optimally when things in life get very hard. And it’s invaluable insight because it can be applied to succeeding in all aspects of modern life – business, relationships, parenting, sports &, of course, leadership. In this podcast, we discuss both the personal and professional attributes that help people master any environment they face. And one essential take-away from this conversation is that mastering skills alone will no longer deliver success in the times we need it most. Understanding how to cultivate your personal attributes will be the key. The post Rich Diviney: The Attributes Of People Who Excel When Life Gets Hard appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

“In her excellent & very timely new book, “Uncharted,” Margaret Heffernan stresses that while the forecasting business has made its ‘experts’ very rich, it is also based on a fallacy: the idea that the future can be extrapolated from the past.” This is how the Financial Times announced it had chosen “Uncharted: How To Navigate The Future” as one of its 2020 best business books of the year. And in this podcast, Heffernan openly expresses gratitude for the award while very accurately asserting that her book fully transcends a “business” specific categorization. If 2020 – a year where a sudden COVID pandemic profoundly reshaped how we all work & live – taught us anything, it’s that life is highly uncertain. But while we may all intellectually accept this truth, Heffernan says most of us remain addicted to prediction, & routinely seek out a sense of certainty about how our futures will unfold. Heffernan’s book begins with the assertion that any belief that we can accurately predict the future – whether it be by relying on complex algorithms, so-called “expert” opinions or a belief that history often repeats itself – is a complete & utter illusion. She explains that no amount of data can ever make up for the complexity of life, & the predictions we all accept as gospel too often miss all the hidden forces at work that inevitably prove to influence outcomes. Heffernan’s cold-sober conclusion is that – like it or not – we’re all really swimming in “uncharted” waters. And, in this podcast, she shares several highly innovative ways for us to successfully & creatively navigate them. If you’re not already familiar with Margaret Heffernan, she’s a rather brilliant person & thought leader. Her three previous books, “Beyond Measure,” “Willful Blindness” and “A Bigger Prize,” have all been critically acclaimed. She’s also given four speeches on the TED stage that have accumulated over 12 million views so far. While all of us may wish we could have a crystal ball to reliably tell us what tomorrow will bring, Margaret Heffernan gives us second best – truly informed guidance on how to face down a sometimes frightening future with courage & grace. The post Margaret Heffernan: How To Face The Future With Confidence & Courage appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

While none of us could have predicted that the arrival of a global pandemic would fundamentally reshape our lives in 2020, stunning research by Wharton Business School professor, Mauro Guillén, shows that a series of once-in-a-lifetime events is about to profoundly reshape our culture, economy and the world by the end of this decade. And at least this time, we’re being given some advance notice and have a little time to prepare. The Financial Times recently named his new book, 2030: How Today’s Biggest Trends Will Collide and Reshape the Future of Everything, one of its 2020 Books-of-the-Year. And it’s already become a Wall Street Journal bestseller. By 2030, Guillén shows that we’ll be living in a society where there are more robots than human workers, where India and China become the biggest drivers of the global economy, where the middle-class in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa outnumber the US and Europe combined, where Baby Boomers and people over age sixty reshape the business landscape and where more global wealth will be owned by women than men. As discussed in this podcast, Guillén believes the only way to truly understand the coming global transformation – in addition to its myriad impacts – is to think laterally. That is, using “peripheral vision,” or approaching problems creatively – and from unorthodox points of view. Rather than focusing on a single trend, he encourages us to consider the dynamic interplay between a range of forces that will converge on a single tipping point – 2030 – that will be, for better or worse, the point of no return. Faced with cataclysmic changes coming our way, we now must revolutionize how we think and respond. The good news is that Mauro Guillén is remarkably skilled at synthesizing an understanding of both the trends and all of their likely consequences. And he shares highly informed guidance on how you can and should prepare for all the societal change that’s about to come. Since this podcast was recorded, Mauro was named the Director of Cambridge University’s Judge Business School. The post Mauro Guillén: The World As We Know It Is About To Profoundly Change appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

Dr. Jim Loehr is the co-founder of Johnson & Johnson’s Human Performance institute & the author of 16 books. He’s a performance coach to some of the world’s greatest athletes including professional tennis players Jim Courier & Monica Seles, pro golfers, Mark O’Meara & Justin Rose, Olympic gold medal speed skater, Dan Jansen, National Hockey league greats, Eric Lindros & Mike Richter, and pro boxer Ray Mancini. And as you’ll hear discussed, he’s also coached the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels. His new book, Leading With Character: 10 Minutes A Day To A Brilliant Legacy, is the focus of this podcast – work that took him nearly a decade to produce. Through his research, Loehr discovered that most people believe they are of strong moral character, but very few have done the work needed to prepare themselves to handle the highly stressful moments of life (& leadership) where their character is at the highest risk of buckling. And without that character muscle-building behavior behind them, they remain at risk of potentially disastrous & even tragic consequences affecting their lives & careers. As just one point of illustration, over just the past 5 years, the number of American CEOs fired for ethical lapses jumped by 36%. The bad conduct included fraud, bribery, sexual indiscretion & insider trading, & came from people who’d already progressed to the highest levels of organizational leadership. According to Duke University researcher, Dan Ariely, every human alive has a built-in dark side. And while we are motivated to view ourselves as having good moral character, we’re also driven by a desire to benefit as much as possible by taking short-cuts – cheating. “Even the most holy among us are vulnerable to moral collapse,” says Loehr. While we might hope otherwise, character strengths such as integrity, trustworthiness, humility, compassion, and justice are not hard-wired into human beings at birth. Instead, they must be developed the same way any muscle is developed through dedicated and consistent focus and work. And in this episode, Jim Loehr shares his most informed insights on what behaviors will shore up our character, prepare us to successfully handle leadership power – and always keep our dark side at bay. The post Jim Loehr: Why Character Is Destiny appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

It’s part of the human condition to wonder if we can truly make a difference in the world, & whether our personal talents & experiences are unique or special in any meaningful way. In her book, The Power of Onlyness, Nilofer Merchant says yes, emphatically, & we couldn’t need that kind of encouragement any more. When Nilofer was 18 years old, her Indian mother arranged for her to be married off to a much older man with three children to raise. Bereft by the prospect of losing the opportunity to attend college & gain the education she’d long dreamed for, she walked away from the marriage – not to mention her mother & her home. At a crossroads & faced with a critical life choice, she decided against making someone else’s and instead made an especially original one of her own. In the years since, Nilofer has been an executive at Apple & Autodesk. She’s personally launched more than 100 products netting $18 billion in sales. She’s been named to the venerable “Thinkers 50” list & her TED Talk ranks in the top 10% of its all-time most viewed speeches. As expressed in her book – & discussed at length in this podcast – Nilofer’s journey led her to a profound understanding that every person alive possesses a truly unique view of the world tied to their own life’s experiences, history, visions & hopes. And from that spot where only they stand, they can offer novel insights, make great contributions & maximize their full human potential. Too many people wish they had the ability to make a mark in the world, but feel they lack the credentials or aren’t high enough in their organization to have their ideas heard. But Nilofer’s own remarkable life story shaped her view that every single one of us possesses great power in our personal Onlyness. In this podcast, Nilofer Merchant encourages us to summon the very best in ourselves, & explains how to grow it, nurture it & bring it to the world. And when you’re done listening, you’ll be inspired to leave an even bigger dent in the universe while also knowing how to cultivate the “onlyness” in every unique human being you lead & manage. The post Nilofer Merchant: The Power Of Your “Onlyness” appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

As co-executive Chairman of the Carlyle Group, one of the world’s most successful private equity firms – & host of his eponymous podcast on Bloomberg – David Rubenstein has had unparalleled access to many of the world’s most influential leaders. Over the past 5 years, he’s sat down with corporate heads including Eric Schmidt, Phil Knight, Jamie Dimon and Tim Cook – and also with uncommonly accomplished leaders from all walks of life including Warren Buffett, Christine Lagarde, Yo-Yo Ma, Lorne Michaels, Oprah Winfrey and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. And just a few weeks ago, he published “How To Lead: Wisdom From The World’s Greatest CEOs, Founders And Game Changers” a book that instantly soared to the top of the New York Times bestseller list, and which distills all of his revealing conversations. Mr. Rubenstein joins us to discuss many of the key insights he took away from all of these conversations noting he himself is a dedicated student of leadership – not to mention a master of it in his own right. “How to Lead” shares extraordinary stories of thirty pioneering agents of change, & reveals how each luminary got started & how they handle decision making, failure, innovation, change, & crisis. From Eric Schmidt, we learn that the reason Google first introduced free food was because co-founder Sergei Brin believed that people who eat together are more inclined to perform well as a team. Despite Amazon being a highly data-driven company, David tells us that its founder, Jeff Bezos, relies on heart & intuition – & not analysis – to make his most important decisions. And from the late U.S. Supreme Court justice, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, we learn that her fellow justices treat one another with great civility even though they often have great philosophical disagreements. Listen in as David Rubenstein shares many more provocative insights, and the most important lessons to be taken from the success of these global titans. Few people on the planet have ever had such remarkable access to the world’s most accomplished people – while at the same time being so profoundly interested in what they had to say. And when you’re done listening, you might just decide David Rubenstein is the most impressive leader of them all. The post David Rubenstein: “How To Lead” appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

A recent Fortune Magazine survey shows that nearly two-thirds of American CEOs have committed to taking meaningful action to advance racial equity within their organizations . Just this week, JPMorgan Chase CEO, Jamie Dimon, committed $30 billion dollars in support. But, it’s not just money that organizations must spend in order to attain greater diversity and fairness, of course. Facebook, for example, has devoted millions of dollars to diversity efforts; but its latest report card shows the proportion of Black and Hispanic employees only increased from 8.4% in 2018 to 9.0% in 2019. So, spending a lot of money isn’t the solution. Today, Black people represent just three percent of workers at the top 75 tech firms – and only three percent of people holding management roles in companies with 100 or more employees. There’s a lot of room left for improvement. What individual managers need most today then, is clear guidance on how to fulfill their CEO’s mission and help create greater diversity within their own teams. CEO pledges are directionally important, but most companies evidently have little experience or success in these matters. Minda Harts, assistant professor of public service at New York University, has just written a rather down-to-earth and honest guide to career success for people of color (women especially) called “The Memo: What Women Of Color Need To Know To Secure A Seat At The Table.” As our guest, she shares intimate and practical insight on how workplace managers can better understand the challenges and countless barriers people of color experience, not to mention equally useful ideas on how to make meaningful improvements within their own teams – and within their own organizations. Minda’s book is a national bestseller and is both thoughtfully and humorously written. One of the nearly 600 Amazon on-line reviews helps to capture the overriding intent of this episode of the podcast: “As a white-presenting person in leadership in my field, I’m not the primary target audience for this book, and that’s important. Fellow white folks in leadership roles: when was the last time you read a career book that wasn’t *for* you? If you can’t remember, read this with the goal of learning more about people with different experiences from yours. Think about why she’s saying things that feel surprising or uncomfortable, and what that means for how we can do better.” We all want to do better in this regard, and Minda Harts brings warmth, candor and rather wonderful perspective to a discussion intended to help, inform and enlighten. Our conversation couldn’t be more timely – or useful. The post Minda Harts: A Conversation With The Author Of “The Memo” appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

“Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today.” ― Thich Nhat Hanh An underlying objective of all leaders is to help maximize the full human potential of every person they manage – to effectively coach them and elevate their overall effectiveness. But in an era where many people are working remotely & managing remotely, the process of teaching, developing & stretching employees proves to be more challenging than in the pre-COVID era when we could sit in the same room with someone, and have a real heart-to-heart. As the need for coaching employees has only become more important during the work-from-home era, managers now must elevate their skills to match the need. And Marshall Goldsmith just happens to be a coaching Jedi who, in this podcast, shares truly uncommon wisdom on how to successfully help people keep growing & becoming more. For anyone not already familiar with Marshall Goldsmith, he is the author or editor of 42 books including “Triggers,” “What Got You Here Won’t Get You There” and “How Women Rise.” His books have sold over 2.5 million copies & have been translated into 32 languages. Over his career, he’s coached CEOs from 200+ companies around the world. And two years ago, he was inducted into the “Thinkers50″Hall Of Fame – the same year the “Marshall Goldsmith Distinguished Achievement Award for Coaching & Mentoring” was created. He has been ranked as the World’s #1 Executive Coach & Top Ten Business Thinker for eight years – & was the inaugural winner of the Lifetime Award for Leadership by the Harvard Institute of Coaching. It’s a profound understatement to say that Marshall’s insights will prove invaluable to coaches & coachees alike. And his wisdom on how to successfully maneuver one’s life & career during the COVID pandemic makes this a truly remarkable, worthwhile and especially inspiring episode. One thing for sure is that it will leave you feeling extremely hopeful tied to Marshall guidance that we “accept what is” & “be happy now.” The post Marshall Goldsmith: Lessons From A Coaching Legend appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

The COVID-19 pandemic has upended our work lives. It’s forced many of us to work from home, away from our bosses, and has us worrying about the long-term security of the jobs we hold. And all these sudden changes have us asking ourselves, “How do I make sure I’m seen as indispensable at work?” For decades, Bruce Tulgan has been studying “go-to” people, those workers who are most consistently valued highly by their colleagues and bosses. And he’s just published his twenty-first book, “The Art of Being Indispensable at Work: Win Influence, Beat Over-commitment and Get the Right Things Done.” Regardless of what position or role someone holds in an organization, this is a book that shows how indispensable, “go-to” people think and behave – and how they build up their uncommon influence with others. With new technology, constant change, uncertainty – and far-flung virtual teams – getting things done at work is tougher and more complex than ever. We’re also in the midst of a collaboration revolution, working across silos and platforms with everyone, all the time. On top of that, it often feels like we’re stuck in a no-win cycle—dealing with an overwhelming influx of asks, with unclear lines of communication and authority. And so, this episode is especially focused on sharing ways individual managers can ensure they’re personally seen as being indispensable – and how they can build an entire team of indispensable employees. Bruce is the expert on the subject. He’s the best-selling author of “It’s Okay to Be the Boss” and “Not Everyone Gets A Trophy,” and he’s spent over twenty-five years conducting intensive interviews with workers across America for the purpose of identifying generational and workplace trends. Through his research, he’s discovered that go-to people think and behave differently, They build up their influence with others not by trying to do everything for everybody, but by doing the right things at the right times for the right reasons, regardless of whether they have the formal authority. There’s far more to becoming the go-to person at work than by always saying ‘yes,’ or by being a subject matter expert. Listen in as we introduce the most effective ways of making yourself truly prized by everyone with whom you work. The post Bruce Tulgan: The Secret To Becoming Indispensable At Work appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

The Wall Street Journal calls London Business School professor, Gary Hamel, the world’s most influential business thinker – and his landmark books have been translated into twenty-five languages. His brand-new book, Humanocracy: Creating Organizations As Amazing As The People Inside Them, just launched as an Amazon “Number One Release” & is the focus for this special podcast episode. In a nutshell, “Humanocracy” thoughtfully outlines why the time has finally come for organizations to abandon their bureaucratic ways and bring humanity back into the workplace. He and his co-author Michele Zanini, assert that companies around the world are disabled by bureaucracy – and that fact is validated by declining global productivity growth and entrenched employee engagement scores. In a bureaucracy, Hamel tells us, human beings are treated as instruments of the organization. Management empowers few people at the expense of the many, prizes conformity over originality, wedges workers into narrow roles, robs them of agencies – and inherently kills their spirit. In a ”humanocracy,” however, the organization itself becomes the instrument – and it’s the vehicle human beings use to better their lives and the lives of those they serve. “We must do our part to emancipate the human spirit,” the authors write. “We must start over. We need a new organizational paradigm; one that empowers and equips every employee to be an inspired problem solver and a business-savvy decision maker. We must cross-train every worker and treat them as indispensable.” And what their book proves is that the very best organizations intentionally give human beings the maximum freedom to excel. Famous German sociologist Max Weber famously said that “bureaucracy develops more perfectly the more it succeeds in eliminating all purely personal, irrational and emotional elements which escape calculation.” In effect, his insight is that bureaucracies are designed to weaken the hearts in people – and to subvert their humanity. What would the world be like – what would all of our lives be like – if we worked in organizations that valued people over products, that emphasized trust and transparency, and whose management models were built to maximize creativity, competency, collaboration, commitment and courage? Listen in as Gary Hamel shares his remarkable research and vision. The post Gary Hamel: How To Create Organizations As Amazing As The People Inside Of Them appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

Wharton Business School management professor, Sigal Barsade believes too many leaders focus on how employees think and behave at work & largely ignore how they feel. This is because few managers realize that human feelings matter just as much – if not more – to their employees’ commitment, engagement & productivity. And by lacking a deeper understanding of what truly motivates people in their work lives – feelings & emotions – leaders unwittingly handicap their own performance, not to mention their teams’ performance. For a very long time in business, emotions have been viewed as noise, a nuisance, something to be ignored. But one thing we know now after a quarter-century of research (much of it Barsade’s), is that emotions are not noise – they’re leadership data. They reveal not just how people are experiencing their work lives, but also how they’ll go on to perform. In fact, in order for workplace leadership to truly advance, we’ve reached a point where it’s become essential for managers at every level to not only maintain an ongoing pulse of their team’s emotional culture, but to also be highly intentional about creating an environment where employees can fully thrive. As we kick off the fourth season of the “Lead From The Heart” podcast, Sigal Barsade represents our consummate guest. Her brilliant work reconfirms that paying attention to the emotional side of work remains a huge gap in workplace leadership. And, as we discuss in great detail, emotions like affection, caring, appreciation & compassion prove to be the ones that really connect & inspire people. Researchers call this, “companionate love,” a term that, for some, might take a little getting used to. But in Barsade’s words, “I’ve yet to see any research results indicating a positive outcome from an organization that has a systematic, strong culture of fear or sadness or anger.” We’ve led exclusively with our minds for generations, & low engagement scores around the world reflect it. To drive employee engagement where it can and should be, we must achieve a greater balance between mind & heart in how we manage human beings in the workplace. Listen in as Sigal Barsade wonderfully explains both the “why” and the “how.” Please note, Wharton business school professor, Sigal Barsade, tragically died in February, 2022. She was a mentor to Mark in writing the second edition of his book, but did not live to see it published. The post Sigal Barsade: What’s Love Got To Do With Leadership? appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

In 2017, ride-sharing innovator, UBER was in serious trouble. The company was facing a lawsuit from drivers that alleged the first had cheated them of pay. Various media reports described UBER as having a “asshole culture: where women were sexually harassed and the firm’s CEO, Travis Kalanick was caught on video berating an UBER driver. Seeking someone to help restore UBER’s imperiled reputation – not to mention help create a sustainable workplace culture going forward – the company selected Harvard Business School’s Frances Frei as its SVP for leadership and strategy. Perhaps the main reason UBER sought out Frei is because the cornerstone of her leadership philosophy is the belief that trust is the foundation of everything we do. Frei has since performed extensive research on trust – how to establish it, sustain it and even re-build it – and went on to share her findings in a TED talk that’s now been viewed nearly five million times. All distilled, Frei says there really are only three component parts of trust; and if we “wobble” in any one of them, we put ourselves in harm’s way: (1) Authenticity: People trust us more if they sense we are being authentic with them. (2) Rigorous Logic: We’re trusted when people respect the process we use to arrive at our decisions, & when we communicate them effectively. (3) Empathy: Trust is lost when people feel we focus mostly on ourselves – not on them. Just this week, Frei published her new book, Unleashed: The Unapologetic Leader’s Guide To Empowering Everyone Around You,” co-written with Anne Morriss. And we’re honored to help them launch it. In this podcast then, we go deep into Frei’s discoveries and explore how each of us can earn and sustain greater trust will all of the people in our lives. What makes this episode so additionally compelling is Frie’s remarkable blend of intellect and compassion. As you’ll hear, she has both an extraordinary leadership mind, and an extraordinary leadership heart. As of February 2023, this is the fourth most downloaded episode of the podcast series. The post Frances Frei: How To Build And Rebuild Trust appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

Who isn’t impressed by a highly confident person? Confident applicants are more likely to be hired, & self-assured politicians are more likely to be elected. Because we believe it produces a winning edge, we all strive to be self-confident. In fact, a surge of confidence can feel fantastic. It offers us a rush of energy – & feelings of invincibility – that help propel us in those moments of adversity when we’re called upon to be courageous & decisive. But surprising, extensive & eye-opening research by U.C. Berkeley business school professor, Don Moore, finds that while some confidence is good, overconfidence is often a leadership derailleur. In fact, no problem of judgment & decision making is more prevalent and more potentially catastrophic than over-confidence. In Moore’s words, “self-help books & motivational speakers tell us that the more confident we are, the better. But this way of thinking can lead to enormous trouble.” Over-confidence has been blamed for the sinking of the Titanic, the loss of two space shuttles, the sub-prime crisis & the nuclear accident at Chernobyl. Despite what we may commonly have accepted as truth, there are huge risks to being over-confident. In this podcast, we discuss Moore’s brand-new book, Perfectly Confident, which marries the best psychological & economic studies to explain exactly what confidence is, when it can be helpful, & when it can be destructive in our lives. A theme throughout the discussion is that human nature guides us to seek out information which confirms our already held beliefs. Too few of us naturally ask ourselves, “How might I be wrong?” or “Is my hypothesis true?” But just by considering that we might be wrong, we open the door to listening to people who disagree with us and to gaining information that we not only lack – but that could influence us into making far better choices. Disconfirming our own beliefs & convictions is difficult for most humans, but Moore’s book – & this conversation – explore the most effective ways for us to maneuver. And as you’ll hear Moore explain, instead of attempting to pick a winner in the competition between over-confidence & under-confidence, we’re wisest to pursue “the middle way.” The post Don Moore: The Mindset You Need For Making The Best Life Choices appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

What percentage of people would say they’ve ever had a really great boss? In an ideal world, most of us could recall a long list of past and present managers who fit the bill. But we know highly caring & supportive managers remain rare in most workplaces. As evidenced by consistently low employee engagement scores around the globe – & record high turnover leading up to the COVID pandemic – the signs are everywhere that too few managers possess an ability to inspire people while concurrently driving performance. According to long-time Wharton Business School emeritus professor, Stewart Friedman, one reason business has a legacy of having so many poor leaders is because it’s only fairly recently that companies placed a premium on leadership development. In fact, only in the past several years have top MBA programs begun to put leadership training on par with traditional curriculum elements. This means many people who graduated from elite universities, & are now at the top of the ladder at major organizations, had an education that emphasized accounting, financial analysis, marketing & operations – but provided only a cursory exposure to ethics, trust & human motivation. In this truly wonderful conversation, Friedman describes why business schools mostly ignored leadership for decades, & shares how world events effectively forced them to begin teaching more humane managerial practices. As we slowly emerge from the COVID-crisis, the experience that millions of people around the globe are having in working from home will have permanently changed them. One key outcome of this is that organizational leadership will need to quickly pivot and begin to authentically care about people not just as employees, but also with respect to how their work experience affects all the other important aspects of their lives. With the exception of two years spent running Ford Motor Company’s leadership development program, Friedman has been at Wharton since 1984. He’s the founder of his school’s leadership development program in addition to its “Work/Life Integration Project. He’s also the author of “Total Leadership: Be A Better Leader, Have A Richer Life” & co-author of the brand new, “Parents Who Lead.” As genuine of a human being as it gets, Stew Friedman has amassed a truly comprehensive understanding of personal and workplace leadership – and graciously shares much of that knowledge here. The post Stewart Friedman: Be a Better Leader And Have a Richer Life appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

Author Erik Larson has written six New York Times bestselling books including “The Devil In The White City,” a National Book Award finalist. On the day we recorded this podcast, his new book, “The Splendid And The Vile” ranked as the number-one work of nonfiction on both the New York Times & Wall Street Journal bestseller lists. The Splendid And The Vile focuses on Sir Winston Churchill’s first year as England’s Prime Minister (exactly eighty-years ago) – “the year in which Churchill became Churchill, the cigar-smoking bulldog we all know, when he made all of his famous speeches and showed the world what courage and leadership look like.” The central question at the time – almost exactly eighty-years ago – was whether the British people could endure a ferocious assault by the full-force of the German army. And as England went on to suffer fifty-seven consecutive days of merciless bombings that killed 45,000 citizens including nearly 6,000 children, Churchill’s leadership not only proved to sustain human spirits – it ensured his country’s remarkable victory. By demonstrating extraordinary courage, hope, candor, optimism and inspiration (all qualities of the heart), Winston Churchill not only earned a spot as one of the most renowned leaders of all-time, he stands perhaps as the greatest leader ever in a time of crisis. While Erik Larson openly admits that he didn’t specifically set out to write a book on leadership, The Splendid And The Vile proves to be one. And, if you’ve ever read any of Larson’s extraordinary books, you know his writing is clear and articulate – and that he’s masterful story-teller. And as you listen to him bring Churchill to life in this podcast, you’ll hear these very same gifts shine through. At a time of our own, twenty-first century, crisis, when leaders around the world are seeking guidance on how to act, Erik Larson couldn’t be a more timely or informed voice. Larson is also convinced that Churchill’s crisis-leadership practices are learnable and absorbable: Were we to adopt the behaviors that made Churchill great, we ourselves can be great as well. Promise yourself you’ll make time to listen in – it’s Leading From The Heart at its best! The post Erik Larson: Why Winston Churchill Is The Greatest Crisis Leader Of All Time appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

Now Is The Time To Make Employees As Important As Shareholders: For decades, businesses have deferred to the interests of shareholders above and beyond the interests of all other stakeholders – most especially employees. And according to London Business School finance professor, Alex Edmans, shareholders have long been conditioned to believe that the value any company produces is a fixed pie – and so the only way for them to retain the largest slice of the pie is to ensure the size of the pie all other stakeholders get remains small. This mindset has meant that shareholders have seen every dollar spent on workers as dollars taken away from them. But in his new, inspiring & wonderfully researched book, “Grow The Pie, How Great Companies Deliver Both Purpose And Profit,” Alex introduces a far more enlightened & innovative mindset – the idea that the size of company pies are not fixed after all. “And when all members of an organization work together, bound by a common purpose and focused on the long term, they actually create shared value in a way that enlarges the slices of everyone – shareholders, workers, customers, suppliers, the environment, communities and taxpayers.” It’s by no means surprising that Alex is the one to be introducing a new leadership paradigm, nor that it’s this timely. The COVID-19 crisis has quickly revealed cracks in the business models of many companies. And with all of us having time to reflect on the current effectiveness of workplace leadership, the idea that employees & other stakeholders are a drag on shareholder returns has surely proved indefensible. As you’ll discover as you listen, Alex is an extraordinary thinker. A graduate of Oxford University & a Fulbright Scholar while earning PhD in Finance from MIT’s Sloan school, he became one of the youngest professors to ever earn tenure at the Wharton Business School. He’s spoken at Davos and on the TED stage. In an extraordinarily energetic conversation (thanks to Alex), Edmans introduces the most current thinking on the future of workplace leadership – a vision that emphasizes the idea that when employees fare well, shareholders do even better than before. Prepare to be wowed, informed & amazed! And that’s no overstatement! We’re also extremely grateful that Alex is launching his new book with us. The post Alex Edmans: The Choice Between People & Profits Is A False Dichotomy appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

A Special Podcast! In the new era of remote working – forced upon at least a third of the world’s working population in just the past few weeks – all of our lives have been disrupted. The Coronavirus pandemic has us indefinitely confined to our homes, working away from our colleagues and offices – and attempting to home-school our children – all at the same time. Most of our routines have been upended making grief, fear and anxiety the dominant emotions of the day. And for a lot of us, we’re needing to navigate through all of this while at the same time managing and leading a team of people. Because of all of the sudden and significant disruption to our “business as usual” work lives, a lot of us are wondering how to best maneuver. Specifically, we’re asking ourselves: What are the most meaningful things we can do right now that will not only ensure our most important work gets done, but that we also sufficiently support the overall well-being of our people at the same time? Just a few days ago, Mark went on Twitter and asked his 137,000 connections there if it would be helpful to have a special podcast episode specifically devoted to dealing with the myriad stresses we’re all facing. The overwhelming response, was “yes.” Our special guest for this episode is Harvard Business School professor, Amy Edmondson – one of the world’s experts on psychological and emotional safety – and who, for the first time in her own career, is teaching undergraduate, MBA and Ph.D. business students remotely. Like many universities, Harvard announced that students will not return to campus this semester – quite a loss for those completing their education this year and graduating. Even formal graduation ceremonies won’t be held this year. In the especially compelling conversation, Amy speaks candidly about how her students are feeling and responding to all the disruption. And much of the conversation is devoted to addressing the biggest challenges workplace managers – all remote workers, really — can most effectively respond to them. Towards the end of the conversation, Amy acknowledges a truth many of us would prefer to not consider: “We don’t really know what will happen next.” But having someone with Amy Edmonson’s wisdom in intellect to guide us on how to adapt to whatever comes our way next couldn’t come at a better time. This is also Amy’s second appearance on the podcast. Her first episode is one of the most downloaded of the nearly 50 Lead From The Heart podcasts produced so far. The post Amy Edmondson: How To Lead & Succeed When The Future Is Uncertain appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

But according to long-time Stanford Business School leadership professor, Deborah Gruenfeld, while power makes human beings act on their best and worst instincts, research shows people are consistently rewarded when they use their power in the service of others. In her new book, “Acting With Power: Why We Are More Powerful Than We Believe,” Gruenfeld says how we use power is really defined by the role we are playing at any given time. “To use power well,” she says, “we need to take each role seriously and choose how to play it. We must recognize that our roles change, and behaviors that make us successful in one role won’t necessarily be effective in a different role. Our default mode might actually make waves.” And because the role of manager requires us to use power differently depending on the situations we’re in, some managers end up with a much smaller supply of arrows in their power quiver simply because they’re not yet comfortable performing as some moments require. At Stanford, Gruenfeld teaches a highly popular class that draws on the craft of acting and the science of psychology to help students learn how to play all of their roles effectively. This course – along with twenty-five years of researching power – is the basis for her book. It’s also the focus of this highly provocative podcast discussion. “In the theatre, [as in life] what it means to give a powerful performance is to accept and own the truth of what it means to be a human being: to be strong and weak, accomplished and fallible, powerful and powerless, all at once.” Listen in as Deborah Gruenfeld shares her profound wisdom on how to most effectively use the power you already have and to put it to its best use. The post Deborah Gruenfeld: You Are Far More Powerful Than You Believe appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

It’s been said that “sight is a faculty, but seeing is an art,” and New York University social psychology professor, Emily Balcetis, fully concurs. In her new book, “Clearer, Closer, Better: How Successful People See the World” she says highly successful people tend to view the world differently – and the good news is that the “art” they apply to visual perception can be taught & learned. When it comes to setting and meeting goals, for example, we may see (quite literally) our plans, progress and potential in the wrong ways. We may inadvertently perceive ourselves as being closer or further from the end depending on our frame of reference. Or we may unwittingly handicap ourselves by focusing too much on the big picture or, at other times, the granular details. Tapping into rigorous research and cutting-edge discoveries in vision science, Balcetis shares four powerful yet largely untapped visual tactics that successful people masterfully use to set and meet their ambitions – and explains how to use them to your full advantage depending upon the situations you’re in. Balcetis’s work has special application to leadership and management because it calls out the moments where narrowing one’s focus can provide critical perspective – not to mention those times where widening that view will help us identify needed course corrections. The key is knowing where to direct our attention in any given moment – because that knowledge can help us see the possibilities in life that we might otherwise completely miss. Emily earned her Ph.D from Cornell University and has lectured at Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Stanford, Berkeley, and the University of Chicago. Her TEDx New York talk has been viewed 3.8 million times. Her book was just published as an Amazon “#1 New Release.” It was also chosen as one of the “20 Books All Leaders Should Read In 2020″ by Wharton Professor, Adam Grant and the World Economic Forum. The post Emily Balcetis: How Successful People See the World appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

At 32 years old, Doug Conant was fired from his job as Marketing Director for Parker Brothers Toy and Game Company – and he never saw it coming. Stunned, hurt, indignant, angry and humiliated, Conant nevertheless wasted no time working on a rebound. On the same day he was let go, he met with an outplacement counselor whose profound influence changed his life. Neil McKenna taught Conant to look forward, not back – and gave him assignments of self-discovery that helped Conant transcend his job loss and go on to have a truly remarkable career. Over the following decades, he would become CEO of the Campbell Soup Company, President of Nabisco and Chairman of Avon Products. In one of the most compelling and inspiring discussions in this podcast’s history, Conant not only explains the process by which he readied himself for his next senior leadership role, but also the highly uncommon approaches he took to restoring employee engagement and driving great performance in all of the organizations he led. His cornerstone philosophy is that employees will never care about a manager’s agenda if they don’t believe their manager cares about them. So, his uncommon approach to CEO leadership was to “care about his people and only hire managers who cared about their people.” Rather uniquely, Conant has long been a highly committed student of workplace leadership, and his collected wisdom is evident in everything he shares in the podcast. He might also be the greatest representative of the “Lead From The Heart” ideal ever to be a featured guest. It’s highly recommended that you have a notepad near you as you listen in. Doug also discusses his new book, “The Blueprint: 6 Practical Steps To Lift Your Leadership To New Heights,” being published in March. The post Doug Conant: A Top CEO’s Blueprint For Leadership Success appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

Can you recall the last time you tried to talk to someone about a personal, political or work issue and quickly discovered their view of the situation was entirely different than yours? How’d that work out for you? If words like “strained,” “painful,” “awful” or “never again,” come to mind – you have company. Acknowledging that we’re living in a highly polarized world these days – many of us have simply come to decide that engaging in any kind of disagreement is no longer worth it. Consequently, we go out of our way to avoid conversations with people when we anticipate it could lead to conflict, raised voices or even ruined relationships. The problem with these pain avoidance tactics, however, is that we actually need disagreements in order to keep our relationships with others healthy. Famous marriage researcher, Dr. John Gottmann says any relationship without a conflict is a relationship without communication. And any relationship without good communication is destined to fail. Science even finds that people are happier – and groups are higher functioning – when the flow of necessary disagreements is open and they have a chance to be heard. So how then can we make our disputes and wrangling with other people more successful? How can we maneuver through an argument with our partner, challenge the performance of an employee, or generally disagree with anyone in our life more productively? Former Amazon, Twitter, & Slack executive Buster Benson has just written an especially clever, highly accessible and wonderfully practical guide that teaches the very skills we all need. And he joins us on this podcast to discuss that new best-seller, “Why Are We Yelling? The Art Of Productive Disagreement. While there’s no question some conflicts in life can be ugly, knowing how to diffuse an emotional charge – and to turn disagreements into productive interactions – is a profound leadership power & skill to possess. Listen in to begin your essential and incredibly timely education! The post Buster Benson: Mastering The Art Of Productive Disagreement appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

If you’ve ever felt unseen, under-estimated or unfairly passed over in your career, this podcast provides all the remedies you’ll need to ensure you never feel that way again! While we’d all like to believe our career growth will always be the result of a reliable meritocracy, the truth is our success at work is rarely just about the quality of our ideas, credentials, skills, or effort. According to preeminent Harvard Business School professor, Laura Huang, how well we progress in our careers really hinges on how effective we are in shaping other people’s perceptions – of our strengths and of our flaws. “It’s about creating our own edge by confronting the factors that seem like shortcomings & turning them into assets that make others take notice.” In this highly energetic & deeply informative conversation, we discuss Laura’s new book “Edge: Turning Adversity Into Advantage,” & dive into four powerful ways her extensive research proves we can & should create our own unique & powerful edge. The underlying (and hard) truth of Laura’s message is that none of us can afford to wait for other people to make fair decisions on our behalf. So, creating a compelling edge for ourselves is a proactively positive & wise way to succeed in an imperfect system. Success is about knowing who you are, and using that knowledge unapologetically and strategically. Laura’s book – & our discussion of it – will teach you how to find your unique edge & keep it sharp. We’re honored that Laura joins us just as her book is being published – this is her first podcast to launch the work! The post Laura Huang: Four Powerful Ways To Create A Winning EDGE appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

In an economy marked by downsizing, offshoring and an accelerated deployment of robots and automation technology, fears around the future of our work and careers abound. But according to New Yorker Magazine writer and co-founder of NPR’s Planet Money podcast, Adam Davidson, we needn’t be so gloomy. Tied to extensive research that went into the writing of his new book, “The Passion Economy: The New Rules For Thriving In The Twenty-First Century,” Davidson says the emerging economy offers new ways of making money, fresh paths toward professional fulfillment and unprecedented opportunities for curious, ambitious individuals to combine the things they love with their careers. The key is we must have the courage and commitment to pivot away from jobs and businesses we know will soon be automated – or out-competed by low-cost Asian firms – and apply our own unique skills, talents and interests to work that cannot be commoditized. “For most of the 20th Century, the safest, most lucrative strategy was to be much like others as possible,” says Davidson. “In the 21st Century, the best strategy is to be fully yourself and to highlight your differences to everyone else. That’s where the money is.” As we discuss with Adan in this podcast, his book is filled with stories of people whose successful reinvention provides the rest of us with the transformative hope that we can actually thrive as we never have before. As you’ll hear, there are new ground rules for success in business. Once you know what these are, you’ll have a roadmap for excelling in the world in a way that won’t just earn you a good living, it will also make your heart sing. Whether you have an ear for understanding how to personally thrive in the new economy – or for successfully leading your team or organization to continued success – Davidson provides highly inspiring and informative tales of people who’ve already mastered the “Passion Economy.” The post Adam Davidson: The New Rules for Thriving In The Twenty-First Century appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

Some of the greatest business innovations of our time were first proposed by other companies, but summarily rejected: *** Polaroid (now gone) invented the digital camera – and then ditched it in the belief it couldn’t make money. *** Engineers at cell-phone maker, Nokia, proposed a device that had all the functionality of the I-Phone – three years before Apple made it one of the most successful products in history. *** Blockbuster Video once sat atop the video rental business and had thousands of stores and millions of customers. But its unwillingness to alter its business model allowed Netflix to disrupt the industry and send Blockbuster into bankruptcy. In the real world of business, new ideas get dismissed all the time by leaders who instinctively judge them to be “crazy,” “too costly” or out of line with conventional wisdom. Nevertheless, other companies find ways to nurture, protect and patiently develop new ideas until they become competitive advantages – even breakthrough & disruptive innovations. In his new Wall Street Journal bestseller, “Loonshots: How to Nurture the Crazy Ideas That Win Wars, Cure Diseases, and Transform Industries,” podcast guest Safi Bahcall brilliantly (not hyperbole) explains what behaviors differentiate organizations that repeatedly birth new ideas – ones that often change the world or at least ensure their business endures – from the ones that unwittingly resist any change to the status quo. At a time when just about every business is ripe for some kind of disruption, Bahcall’s insights represent rather timely and essential leadership knowhow. Microsoft founder, Bill Gates picked “Loonshots” one of his must reads for 2019. Authors Malcolm Gladwell, Daniel Pink, Adam Grant and Susan Cain named it one of the “two most groundbreaking non-fiction reads of the season.” Bloomberg Magazine says Loonshots was the “most recommended book of the year by CEOs + entrepreneurs!” A “loonshot” is a widely dismissed idea whose champions are often seen as crazy. And using examples from past loonshots (like radar, the internet, Pixar movies et al), Bahcall joins us on this podcast to explain the unique mindset & key behaviors of people & teams who ensured they all became real. A massively informative conversation! The post Safi Bahcall: How To Nurture Crazy Ideas Into Breakthrough Innovations appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

For decades, the commonly accepted purpose of a corporation (or any company for that matter) has been to ensure the interests of shareholders always came first. But today, we’ve finally reached a point where most leaders realize that a “profits over people” philosophy has proven to be an entirely unsustainable way to run a business. Amongst its many great harms, it’s produced record low employee engagement across the globe, massive wealth inequality, increasing numbers of people living paycheck-to-paycheck – and a stunning spike in depression, anxiety & other stress related health problems. In light of these dire trends, the Business Roundtable, an association of 181 of America’s top CEOs, recently committed to more fairly supporting the needs of all their other stakeholders – their customers, employees and communities. But because their pledge is light on details, timelines and accountability – the urgency to make a truly meaningful and timely pivot remains in question. In their new book, “The Healing Organization: Awakening the Conscience of Business To Help Save The World,” Conscious Capitalism pioneers, Raj Sidsodia & Michael Gelb assert that no more time can be wasted. We’ve not only reached an inflection point where bold leadership action must be taken, they’re convinced our companies must be reinvented and remade into “healing forces.” “In Search Of Excellence” author, Tom Peters passionately recommended Raj and Michael’s work – and Michael joins us on the podcast to share stories of well-known companies like Shake Shack, Hyatt Hotels and Kind Bars who’ve already earned profound loyalty and profits by operating in ways that inherently “heal” their employees, customers and communities. Each of these businesses embody what’s become the new formula for organizational success. In a world that urgently needs healing on many levels, a movement to reinvent capitalism so it serves the needs of all constituencies already has great momentum. Listen in to hear what motivated so many top CEOs to create healing organizations – and how individual managers like you can play a meaningful role in making it happen in yours. The post Michael Gelb: The Emerging New Formula For Organizational Success appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

We musn’t fool ourselves into believing that the majority of the world’s workplace managers have bought into the idea that caring deeply about people is essential to leadership success. Metrics on job satisfaction, employee well-being and, of course, engagement continue to reflect an attitude about leadership that’s anything but caring. Truth be told, many of us still believe caring is equivalent to soft management. Deep down, we remain convinced that our leadership power is compromised whenever employees feel they have a personal connection with their boss. So, we steer clear of it. For anyone who privately holds these feelings – or needs more proof that caring deeply for your people won’t massively backfire – this podcast episode is for you. At some of the top technology firms throughout Silicon Valley, Kim Scott repeatedly proved that relating personally to employees establishes the trust and respect that’s needed for leaders to not just set higher standards of performance, but to consistently meet them. Kim worked as an executive coach at both Twitter and Dropbox and was a training executive at both Google and Apple. She developed the “Managing At Apple” class that became the foundation for her best-selling book, Radical Candor. There’s a false dichotomy in the belief that managers have a choice between being a pushover softy, or a fear-inspiring jerk. The best managers know not to trip over these binary choices – they intentionally build great relationships while concurrently driving for results. As we discuss with Kim, Radical Candor is about caring personally while also challenging directly. It’s about soliciting criticism to improve one’s own leadership effectiveness and it’s also about providing guidance that helps other people grow. Ultimately, It focuses on praise but doesn’t shy away from criticism. The goal of managing this way is to help leaders love their work and the people they work with. Oh, and let’s not forget achieving great things in the process. Listen in to learn the leadership practices many of the worlds’ top companies now embrace. In our language, it’s a masterful balance between mind and heart. As of February, 2023, this is the third most downloaded episode of the podcast series. The post Kim Scott: Leading With Radical Candor appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

We live in a society today that’s obsessed with early achievement, whether it’s getting perfect SAT scores, gaining acceptance into an Ivy League school or landing an amazing job at Google or Facebook – or better yet – creating a start-up with the potential to be the next Twitter or Instagram. We see software coders become millionaires or billionaires before age thirty and think we’re failing if we’re not one of them. But in his new highly researched book, Late Bloomers: The Power of Patience in a World Obsessed with Early Achievement, Forbes Magazine publisher, Rich Karlgaard says we’re worshiping at the wrong alter. The premise that early blooming is necessary for lifelong success is simply and massively flawed. The truth is most of us aren’t prodigies who explode out of the gates in life. Instead, we discover our passions and talents over time – and so we’re unwise to benchmark our career success to that of rare early bloomers. Karlgaard was himself a late achiever. Self-described as having been “lucky” to attend Stanford University, he held low-paying jobs for several years after graduation before discovering his passion for writing & journalism. He was 44-years-old before becoming Forbes’ publisher. The good news for all of us is that there’s a scientific explanation for why so many of us bloom later in life. The executive function of our brains doesn’t mature until age twenty-five. And we actually experience multiple periods of growth in our lives – into our 40’s, 50’s and 60’s – when we fully cultivate traits like curiosity, insight, compassion and wisdom. There’s tremendous evidence that shows parents today are pressuring their kids into high achievement out of fear they’ll otherwise be left behind in life. And we’re also led to believe that as our workers age, their abilities wane. But as you’ll hear Karlgaard explain in this fascinating podcast, our focus on early success is both harmful and misguided. Human potential is far greater than we ever imagined – and it’s often maximized far later than we may ever believed possible. The truth is we’re all works in progress, and we all continue to expand as we age. And for all the leaders about to listen in, this new mindset means everyone on your team has a far greater upside for future success than you might ever have imagined.   The post Rich Karlgaard: Forbes Magazine Publisher Says “Hail To The Late Bloomer,” Which Is Most Of Us appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

Many of us believe that our emotions are a distraction to success in life – and that they upend our ability to make sound decisions. When it comes to leading and managing people, we carry over these same beliefs; we’re convinced making any kind of emotional connection with our employees will only hijack our effectiveness and undermine our team’s performance. But according to Marc Brackett, founder of Yale University’s Center for Emotional Intelligence, and author of the new book, “Permission To Feel,” this understanding is entirely flawed. Despite what most of us were taught, emotions play an enormous – and positive role – in helping us make important choices, build good relationships & motivate the performance of others. Up until the 1980’s, most psychologists believed that emotions were only extraneous noise whose static interfered with human effectiveness. But recent science, including the work Brackett has done himself, proves most human behavior is motivated by feelings and emotions whether we’re aware of it or not. In his words, “emotions give people purpose, priority, and focus to our thinking. They tell us what to do with knowledge that our senses deliver. They motivate us to act.” Tied to the understanding that feelings and emotions drive human behavior (both ours and of the people we manage), Brackett believes all of us (leaders especially) are wise to become “emotion scientists.” Across over 5,000 US schools so far, for example, he’s taught educators how to recognize their emotions, identify their cause, name them, express them to others – and regulate them. And students at these schools are being taught the exact same skills. And while Brackett is deeply invested in making today’s children highly emotionally intelligent, he believes every workplace manager would be wise to cultivate the same expertise: the ability to understand and manage one’s own emotions, while being able to discern what people around them are feeling as well. “Do you know the one thing that keeps me up at night,” Brackett asks. “How my employees feel. That should haunt the sleep of every CEO, supervisor, manager and boss in the world. It’s the prime determinant of virtually everything that will happen in an organization.” This, of course, is not common understanding in business even though it’s a cornerstone idea of the “Lead From The Heart” leadership philosophy. Marc Brackett joins us for a great reason: his work provides profound confirmation that the heart is more often the driver of employee engagement than the mind. As of February, 2023, this is the fifth most downloaded episode of the podcast series. The post Marc Brackett: Yale’s Chief Emotion Scientist Unlocks Your Leadership Potential appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

It wasn’t all that long ago when tech giants like AOL, Yahoo and Blackberry seemed immortal. Today, of course, we remember them only as fallen giants – a fate Microsoft appeared to be headed toward less than a decade ago. That Microsoft was able to fully revive itself when other first-generation technology innovators couldn’t begs the big leadership questions: “What did they do differently – what can we learn from their successful reinvention?” It turns out Microsoft made many brilliant and extremely courageous moves. In just five years, the company transformed itself from has-been status into one of the most valuable companies in the world. How they accomplished this is the focus of a new case study from London Business School professor, Herminia Ibarra, and her colleague Adam Jones. And Herminia joins us on the podcast to discuss her remarkable conclusions. A large part of the credit for restoring Microsoft’s luster and value is owed to the selection of Satya Nadella as the company’s CEO. Nadella replaced his long-time predecessor, Steve Balmer, and boldly moved away from company’s legacy product set – a decision that required tens of thousands of employees to fundamentally change how they did their jobs. In a nutshell, Nadella’s big shift was to fully reinvent his company’s culture – an inherently hard thing to do when you’ve got well over 100,000 employees working all over the world. And he was also willing to take many strategic risks. As we discuss with Herminia, Microsoft is proof-positive that very large organizations can indeed reinvent themselves – but to do so, they need leaders who are willing to dismantle outdated and entrenched cultures while also embracing leadership practices that are far more supportive to human well-being and thriving. Herminia Ibarra is the Charles Handy Professor of Organizational Behavior at the London Business School. She previously served on the faculties at INSEAD and at the Harvard Business School. An authority on leadership and career development, Thinker 50 ranks Ibarra among the top management thinkers in the world. She is the author of best-selling books including “Act Like A Leader, Think Like A Leader” and “Working Identity: Unconventional Strategies For Reinventing Your Career.” She writes regularly for the Harvard Business Review as well as business publications like the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. A native of Cuba, Ibarra received her M.A. and Ph.D. from Yale University where she was a National Science Fellow. She joins us from London, England. As of February, 2023, this is the second most downloaded episode of the podcast series. The post Herminia Ibarra: How A New Mindset And A Massive Culture Change Made Microsoft Number One Again appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

It’s an irrefutable truth that trust is on a serious decline. And all the key pillars of society are affected. The RAND Corporation recently reported that trust in government, the media – even in our businesses and workplaces – “has reached a lower absolute level than ever before.” And they warned that such a lack of trust inherently undermines the way we operate in the world. Deep down we all know that trust is the glue of life. It’s the most essential ingredient in effective communication. And it’s the foundational principle that sustains all relationships. And we also know that no one can be an effective leader without trust. As leadership legend Warren Bettis put it, “Leadership without mutual trust is a contradiction in terms.” If there’s any good news coming out regarding trust, it’s Pew Research’s finding that 9-in-10 people believe the problem is fixable. Said another way, it’s clear most of us really want to see trust restored. To that end, podcast guest, Stephen M. R. Covey, is one of the world’s experts on the topic of trust. A Harvard MBA, he’s the author of The Speed of Trust – a New York Times bestseller that has sold over 2 million copies. And in this discussion, he passionately shares the most effective ways leaders can both establish & sustain trusting relationships, especially with their teams & colleagues. Covey had an especially interesting upbringing – his father was the author of “The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People,” one of the Top 50 best-selling books of all-time. And the conversation begins with Stephen candidly explaining what it took for him to emerge from his father’s shadow, and to find his own place and identity in the world. As Stephen explains, that journey profoundly influenced his great interest in trust, & to the discovery that trust actually yields a huge upside in business. In his words, “when trust is low in any relationship, it places a hidden “tax” on every transaction. Every communication, every interaction, every strategy, every decision is taxed, bringing speed down & sending costs up. Conversely, when people operate with high trust, they’re rewarded with a “dividend.” And that dividend acts as performance multiplier which accelerates the speed of communications, interactions, & decisions – and consistently yields far greater success. Recent Gallup research shows that employee engagement is at least twelve times greater when people feel they work for a boss they trust. Listen in as Stephen rather inspiringly explains how that kind of trust gets built.   The post Stephen M.R. Covey: Leadership & The “Speed Of Trust” appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

Bill Campbell is a Silicon Valley legend. Following a career leading sales & marketing at Apple – & as CEO of Intuit – he spent nearly two decades coaching a “Who’s Who” list of world-changing executives. The list included Apple founder, Steve Jobs, Google founders, Sergei Brin and Larry Page. Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg, former Twitter CEO, Dick Costolo, former Google Chairman Eric Schmidt – even former United States Vice President Al Gore. In his new book, “Trillion Dollar Coach: The Leadership Playbook Of Silicon Valley’s Bill Campbell, long-time Google SVP – & co-author – Jonathan Rosenberg, says Campbell instinctively knew how to elevate the performance of people (including already highly successful people) not to mention the organizations they led. In this highly informative discussion with Jonathan, we learn that Bill Campbell was neither a data-junky nor a technology wiz. What he brought to an overtly brain-driven work culture was “heart.” He understood people & how to make them feel valued. He taught them how to build & sustain trust, how to get star employees to embrace a “team first” mindset – & how to effectively coach others. After Bill Campbell passed away in 2016, Google distilled his coaching principles, & made them an essential part of the organizations’ leadership development curriculum. Google now wants to leverage Campbell’s brilliance by teaching its managers to become great coaches to their own employees. As you’ll soon hear, the practices, philosophy & spirit that made Bill Campbell an extraordinary coach in Silicon Valley are fully relevant to all organizations where human beings work. In other words, his coaching brilliance can become your coaching brilliance. The post Jonathan Rosenberg: Why Bill Campbell Was The Greatest Executive Coach The World’s Ever Known appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.