Q&A on Breakthrough Leadership

In the week's episodes of Q&A on Breakthrough Leadership, Craig and Lou discuss tips on increasing employee retention. The topics they discuss include providing employees growth opportunities; recognizing a job well done; and standardizing flexible work schedules.

In this week's episode of Q&A on Breakthrough Leadership, Craig and Lou talk with Donna Markus, COO at the law firm of Kopka Pinkus Dolin about how she and her firm "Built a Culture of Engagement" during COVID. Donna discusses the planning and implementation of remote workforce and the success the firm has had.

In this week's episode of Q&A on Breakthrough Leadership, Craig and Lou discuss how to Become a Company for Which Employees Want to Work. There are three key areas of discussion coming out of 2020.1) Reexamine the workplace culture.2) Invest in the well being and development of your employees3) Prioritize diversity and inclusion in the workplace.Be sure to like, share, and subscribe!

This is the final episode of our three-part series on Leadership Lessons from the COVID Era. Lou Quinto and Craig P. Anderson focus on how leaders can grow and develop within a network of peers who truly understand leadership challenges and opportunities. We break the discussion down into three areas:1) How to invest in building relationships with other leaders.2) How to show up with humility and a learning mindset.3) How to find opportunities for synergies with other leaders.

In this episode of "Q&A on Breakthrough Leadership," Lou Quinto and Craig P. Anderson talk with Scott Dannemiller, the Chief Learning Officer for Executive Development Associates. Scott shares his insights into the changes and future trends of corporate learning and development due to COVID restrictions.

In this episode of Q&A on Breakthrough Leadership, Craig and Lou undertake Part Two of a three-part series that explores the leadership lessons learned during the COVID Era. The title of this episode is "The Evolving Expectations of Leaders in This New Era."The areas the Craig and Lou discuss include, CEOs As A Human, CEOs Leading from Empathy and Proving It With Their Decisions, and What Will CEOs Look For In New Leaders.

In this episode of Q&A on Breakthrough Leadership, Craig and Lou go "live" for the first time and share their prognostications for 2021. They do a deep dive into areas such as the future of remote work; hiring in 2021; leadership attributes necessary in 2021; and they share their words of the year.

In this episode of Q&A on Breakthrough Leadership, Craig and Lou undertake Part One of a three-part series that explores the leadership lessons learned during the COVID Era. The title of this episode is "Rethink What's Possible and Go Faster."

Lou and Craig have another installment of answering viewer/listener mail. In this episode, they provide answers to; Craig's use of the word "intentional," getting budget items through by justifying ROI, using "one-page business plans," and making fast and accurate decisions.

In this episode of Q&A on Breakthrough Leadership Lou and Craig discuss some of the ways that companies are creating "intentional" unstructured collisions for their remote workforce to increase collaboration and teamwork.

In this episode of Q&A on Breakthrough Leadership, Craig and Lou interview Robert Sher, author of Mighty Midsized Companies and founding principal of CEO to CEO, Inc. about company culture.

In this episode of Q&A on Breakthrough Leadership, Lou and Craig discuss how to deliberately create a leadership team for your company, your department, or project.

In this week's episode, Craig and I interview Walter Nusbaum, author of "Do You Have What It Takes." about Intrinsic Leadership Values.

In this episode of Q&A on Breakthrough Leadership, Craig and Lou select some questions from their mailbag. Listeners ask about Coaching, Webinar Training, Zoom Meeting Efficiencies, and 2021 Business Planning.

How do you deal with underperforming employees? Is it effective or do you wish you could do it better? In this week's episode of Q & A on Breakthrough Leadership, Louis Quinto and Craig P. Anderson will provide some tips on how to make these difficult conversations successful.

In this episode of "Q&A on Breakthrough Leadership" Craig and Lou interview Darla Hall, the author of "Matters of a Positive Mindset." Darla shares her views on developing and maintaining a positive mindset during these trying COVID-times.

After 8 months of COVID-induced remote work, how are leaders holding up? If leaders had solid policies and practices in place pre-COVID, they probably extended those into remote work. If they didn't, it's even worse now. There is still hope! Louis Quinto and Craig P. Anderson share tips for all leaders to improve as work from home looks like it will be with us for quite a while yet. It starts with creating clear goals, prioritizing timely and accurate feedback, and then engaging with employees often.

In this episode of Q&A on Breakthrough Leadership, Craig P. Anderson and Lou Quinto interview Adam Weber, the author of "Lead Like A Human: Practical Steps to Building Highly Engaged Teams." Adam has made it his life’s mission to help people become their best selves and discover how their careers can become the answer to their purpose. As a thought leader on people solutions, he shows leaders how to get the best out of their staff and he’s seen how, when employees bring their full selves to work, they unleash their true potential and do great things―both for themselves and for the organizations that employ them. How? Through a new approach to leadership that requires businesspeople to be authentic, to be vulnerable, to be themselves―to be human. In Lead Like a Human, Adam shares his unique perspective on leadership as well as practical tips on building and leading engaged teams of empowered employees.

Companies with positive work environments drive long term success. High-stress companies experience higher turnover, more days lost to illness, and have lower engagement. Where would you rather work? Creating a positive work environment is essential and doable when the leader focuses on it. In this episode, Louis Quinto and Craig P. Anderson discuss three things a leader can do right now to create a positive workplace. The first is to foster social connections. Second, as a leader, show empathy. And finally, help people get their job done.

On this episode of Q&A on Breakthrough Leadership, Craig P. Anderson and Louis Quinto interview Jacqueline Martinez, PHR, SHRM-CP, host of the Coffee to Wine Podcast and the Director of Search and People Consultant with HRD Advisory Group. Over 50 episodes, Lou and Craig, have said a lot about what qualities are essential for leaders. They thought it was time to bring in a professional who can help them to really dig into the issue and learn what companies are really looking for today. One big takeaway is that soft skills are solid skills for any leader.

In this episode, Lou Quinto and Craig P. Anderson interview John Bowe about his recent book "I Have Something To Say: Mastering The Art of Public Speaking In An Age Of Disconnection" (Random House.)John discusses his motivation for writing the book and talks about the benefits of honing your public speaking for both professional and personal success.John is an American author. He is a contributing writer for The New York Times. He has also written for The New Yorker, The American Prospect, GQ, McSweeney's, and This American Life. He co-wrote the screenplay for the film Basquiat with Julian Schnabel. John is a recipient of the J. Anthony Lukas Work-in-Progress Award the Sydney Hillman Award for journalists, writers, and public figures who pursue social justice and public policy for the common good, the Richard J. Margolis Award, dedicated to journalism that combines social concern and humor, and the Harry Chapin Media Award for reporting on hunger- and poverty-related issues.

How do leaders create a culture of inclusion? In all our discussions of culture and engagement, we find that team members want to feel part of a larger whole. So how do we create that environment as leaders? That’s the topic of today’s episode. As always, Louis Quinto and Craig P. Anderson will discuss this topic in three areas. First, we start by listening to new ideas. Second, we accept the environment as we find it. And three, we take the time to know what makes your team members tick.

Many so-called strategies are in fact goals. “We want to be the number one in our industry” is one of those. It does not tell you what you are going to do; all it does is tell you what you hope the outcome will be. But you’ll still need a strategy to achieve it.In this episode of "Q&A on Breakthrough Leadership" Lou Quinto and Craig P. Anderson discuss the difference between your business' goals and strategies. They also discuss the importance of sharing your business' "why" with employees and team members; and how creating a culture that embraces "change" can propel your business.

Remote work isn't going away anytime soon. And, let's admit it, most of us are OK with it. We're several months into it now and it's time to take a hard look at the habits we've developed... Can you be more proactive in the work you're doing? In this episode, Louis Quinto and Craig P. Anderson discuss what you can do to improve your work at home productivity in three areas. First, be sure to make your workspace effective. Second, hold yourself accountable for productivity. And, third, prioritize your daily tasks.

This episode is our second discussion of Google's Project Oxygen, a study that identified the traits of effective leaders and managers. Lou Quinto and Craig P. Anderson talk about not only the characteristics but also both how obvious they are and the importance of organizations intentionally developing these traits in their employees. Specifically, we discuss the importance of leaders having the ability to coach, provide effective feedback, and make solid decisions.

The leadership team meeting is the most expensive meeting in your organization and so much of business success relies on those meetings being effective. How do you define the purpose of the meeting? How do you keep it focused? Finally, how do you make it effective and efficient for all the attendees? Craig P. Anderson and Lou Quinto will answer all these questions in this episode.

The global corporate training market is valued at 367 billion dollars. What is the ROI on that investment? In this episode, Craig P. Anderson and Lou Quinto break down how to maximize the return of the corporate training budget. Business owners will learn how to increase employee awareness of training, positioning employees for training success, and how to incorporate accountability in your training programs.

Business leaders and owners work to solve problems. Solving business problems is a process and like any other process, it can be done more or less effectively depending on your approach. In this episode Craig P. Anderson and Lou Quinto discuss how executives and teams can be more effective at problem-solving by defining the problem, asking the right questions, and separating the problem into smaller issues.

In this episode, Lou and Craig discuss Google's Project Oxygen which identified six attributes that were important for managers to be successful in the organization. It is a revealing list in that it seems common sense and logical. Yet, if it must be trained and developed the skills are not as commonplace as one might think. In previous episodes, Lou and Craig have discussed key qualities for great leaders, but we have not spent much time on how to develop leaders in your organization. This is Part One of a two-part series where they break down the first three attributes identified by Google on how you might develop rising leaders.

Why do business decisions go wrong? Lou Quinto and Craig P. Anderson break down the mistakes business executives make that drives poor decision making, In this episode, you will learn what drives poor business decisions and what processes leaders can put in place to avoid them.

Making better business decisions is crucial to the success of small and large businesses. Lou Quinto and Craig P. Anderson break down the keys to improving your company’s decision making. Start with developing and prioritizing the criteria you will use for the decision, then gather the facts that align with your criteria and finally make sure you involve the right stakeholders.

In this episode, Lou Quinto and Craig P Anderson discuss how leaders and owners can hold themselves accountable.Many business owners have an idea; they know the kind of work they want to do. Maybe it is an accounting business; perhaps it’s a printing company or a marketing company. So, they begin the task of “doing” that business. The question that goes unanswered, though, is, “what are they building?” What do they want their company to look like in three to five years? How many customers? How much revenue? How many employees?When you have a vision for what your business will become, accountability begins. Now that you know how much revenue you want, you can start to think about what you will need to do to achieve it. And with that thinking, you begin to create objectives. Many business objectives are annual, and rightly so. Those annual objectives drive your monthly activities, which propel your weekly tasks and your daily activities. And, with those in mind, you must look at them every day, week, and month to see if you are meeting them. And if you’re not, why? What needs to change? Perhaps you were too aggressive and needed to reset expectations. Maybe though you didn’t do the work, or you were distracted by something else. By writing down your vision and objectives, you create something to hold yourself accountable to. And, if your business is going to succeed, you need to keep yourself accountable. Because, at this point, no one else is.

In this episode, Craig P Anderson and Lou Quinto discuss how business owners should contemplate getting their business to the next level. It’s a common question we hear from many business owners. Typically they have spent several years working hard to achieve their goals for the company. At some point, they want the business to become something even more. Maybe they want to expand geographic reach, increase margins, or help more people solve their problems with their service. But often they find that what go them here, won’t get them there. The irony of successful business growth is that your hard work and dedication only go so far. Soon enough, you have to replicate that effort in others. In his book, “What Got You Here, Won’t Get You There,” Marshall Goldsmith said it well: “Successful leaders become great leaders when they learn to shift the focus from themselves to others.” But how can you do that in your business?

COVID-19 has caused many organizations to remove boundaries and break down silos in ways no one thought was possible. They have streamlined decisions and processes, empowered frontline leaders, and suspended slow-moving hierarchies and bureaucracies.An organization designed for speed will see powerful outcomes, including greater customer responsiveness, enhanced capabilities, and better performance, in terms of cost-efficiency, revenues, and return on capital. The speedy company might also find it has a higher sense of purpose and improved organizational health. These outcomes are possible, but not inevitable. Organizational successes forged during the crisis need to be hardwired into the new operating model; and leaders must ensure their organizations do not revert to old behaviors and processes. That requires making permanent structural changes that can sustain speed in ways that will inspire and engage employees.The three areas Lou and Craig discuss are:Speed up and delegate decision making;Step up execution excellence; andCultivate partnerships.

In this episode, Lou and Craig interview best selling author Dr. Daren Martin ("A Company of Owners") about company culture and the effects the COVID-19 pandemic has had on many companies' cultures. Through his many books and seminars, Dr. Martinhas become regarded as the "Architect of Company Culture." Lou and Craig address three specific areas with Dr. Martin.1. How has company culture been affected by the pandemic?2. Has the pandemic "aired out" companies giving them the opportunity to improve culture?3. Does the pandemic provide a "reset" on the culture that will affect companies moving forward in the new business normal?Daren shares the answers to these questions and others in this 21-minute episode.

In this episode of Q&A on Breakthrough Leadership Craig P. Anderson and Lou Quinto discuss Leadership in Times of Crisis.The roles and responsibilities of business leaders have dramatically changed in the past few months. Before COVID-19, leaders focused on fostering innovation, driving revenue, and gaining market share. Today, leaders must make rapid decisions about controlling costs and maintaining stability. They may encounter unforeseen roadblocks — supply chain issues, team shortages, and operational challenges — that drastically alter the scope of their roles and priorities. All the while, they and their teams are navigating health and safety concerns, working remotely, and supporting their families through the pandemic.Listen to Lou and Craig discuss three topics:1. Making decisions quicker2. Adapting with confidence3. Training team members for leadership in a crisis.

Gallup has been polling workers on their thoughts and opinions on remote work. Their most recent analysis found that nearly 7 in 10 employees are still working at least part-time remotely, one in four want to return to the workplace, and half cite a preference for working from home as a reason not to return. So what will this mean for employee attitudes to remote work as we return to "normal." In this episode, Craig P. Anderson and Lou Quinto will cover three areas. First, how many workers are reporting, they work from home and how has that changed over time? Second, what does this mean for employee engagement? Third, when businesses reopen, will workers return?

Agile Leadership is essential if an organization is to effect real business change. An agile leader is a person who fosters agile ways of thinking and working, creates an environment where teams can do their best work and champion agile throughout their organization.The Agile Leader can look at situations from different perspectives and react to them flexibly. The growth and cooperation of teams are of central importance. Agile Leadership is characterized by a flexibility that is applied continuously. The leader adjusts and reacts to their environment. The type of leadership varies per situation. In this episode, Louis Quinto and Craig P. Anderson discuss how traditional leaders can transform into agile leaders, by paying attention to the following aspects: Qualitative and Critical Thinking, Collaboration Around Common Goals, and Taking Action.

By fostering a growth mindset, leaders allow individuals and teams' mindsets which don’t limit actions, productivity, and success. Leaders have to instill a belief in people that they can grow and do things differently from how they have done it before. “That’s the way I always do things” represent a fixed mindset.Companies are now starting to realize that the difference between fixed and growth mindsets in employees can significantly impact workplace performance. In addition to the personal development benefits, a growth mindset also makes employees better team players.With a growth mindset, people are:• Motivated to learn and improve with feedback• Able to change and adapt skills, behaviors, and attitudes faster• Inspired by their teammates’ achievements• Willing to share knowledge and help others succeedIn today’s episode of Q&A on Breakthrough Leadership, Lou Quinto and Craig P Anderson discuss the benefits of a growth mindset in three areas: cultivating a growth mindset; providing formative feedback, and creating space for a new idea.

Remote work is going through an incredibly fast-paced revolution as a result of COVID 19. Many anecdotal stories have been shared about how people and companies are adapting, but the data is still coming in. In today's episode, Louis Quinto and Craig P. Anderson will discuss the results of a study by Upwork, which analyzed their Upwork Future Workforce Report, one completed in November 2019 and the other in April of 2020. This polled 1500 hiring managers, including mostly C-Suite executives. The study looked at three areas: 1) The Rise of Remote Work 2) The Remote Work Experiment 3) The Future of Remote Work.#remotework #workfromhome #futureworkforce

In just three months the remote workforce in America grew from 35% to 65%. And, while some businesses are still adjusting to this new business model, many are discovering that remote work is effective. It keeps employees engaged and productive. For companies, that means better performances, lower turnover, and the ability to attract top talent. Of course, these benefits depend on being able to effectively manage teams from afar. In a previous episode, we discussed “How to Manage a Remote WorkForce” in this episode Craig and Lou talk about "Mistakes that Managers Need to Avoid" – Failure to Communicate, Lack of Feedback and Learning Opportunities, and Lack of Empathy.

More than ever during these turbulent times business leaders need to focus on thinking. In times of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity thinking through situations help you to act upon changes, not react to them. Action requires thought and yields successful outcomes. When you react to problems and issues it usually results in more disarray and ends up in costly rework to fix what you broke. In this episode of Q&A on Breakthrough Leadership Lou and Craig discuss the need to schedule thinking time, looking for certainty in uncertainty, and being creative and innovative.

COVID-19 has caused the need for every leader to reimagine how their business will thrive in a post-pandemic world. In this episode of Q&A on Breakthrough Leadership Lou and Craig look at three areas that will be the focus of many leaders in the coming months and years. The workplace needs to be reimagined. Product and services delivery will have to be reimagined. And, the use of technology will undergo a reimagining, too

In this week's episode of "Q&A on Breakthrough Leadership," Craig P. Anderson and Lou Quinto tackle the "Status Update Meeting." During these COVID-19 times of "Zoom Fatigue," it is important to shake up your status update meetings and break the mold so they don't continue to be the boring "data dump" sessions that they can be. Expand the purpose of these meetings from the traditional "Where are we?" mindset by asking questions that will increase motivation and make your projects more efficient and productive.

In this episode of Q&A on Breakthrough Leadership, Craig P. Anderson and Lou Quinto discuss the importance of leaders keeping an open mind. Prejudices and preconceived notions can dramatically impact a leader's effectiveness. In an ever-changing business environment and world, leaders must take in new information and use critical thinking skills to process that information to the best advantage of the company, the team, and their customers.Lou and Craig break down how you can keep and maintain an open mind by focusing on three areas. The first is to think positive before negative. It's harder than you think because our brains are wired to protect us. The second is to keep learning. The worst thing you can do is succumb to the "I've seen it all" fallacy. Chances are, you haven't. And finally, third, why it's so important to start listening. Don't make up your mind until you have heard the input you need to make the best decision possible.

In this episode, Craig and Lou react to the Corona Virus trends report issued by Bond Capital on April 17th. The topic is "What have we Learned Since the Begining of the Pandemic?" They focus on three areas:1) What's the impact on productivity?2) How has work/life balance been impacted?3) How are companies leveraging technology?

Successful virtual meetings require three things: planning, technology, and etiquette. In this episode of Q&A on Breakthrough Leadership, Lou Quinto and Craig P Anderson lay out everything you need to know to make your virtual meetings successful, productive, and worth it in the Corona era and beyond.

How can business owners and executives manage their business through such a different environment due to COVID-19? Surprisingly, they need to do things that always drive success. You start by talking to your customers and understand what they're thinking. Then you adjust your business plan accordingly. It's not a sacred document with this much change going on, and it's OK to open it back up. Finally, once you have your new plan in place communicate it to your employees, get their buy-in and support.

For many leaders, this is the first time remote workers has been the rule, not the exception. The acceptance of remote work has grown dramatically over the last ten years, but it is still not the norm. The COVID 19 crisis has shown that the technical barriers of work from home are few. What remains are the cultural and leadership issues it creates. In this episode, we’re going to discuss how a leader can think through a new world of remote work when this crisis has passed. The issue of remote work isn’t going away. A recent study from Upwork projects that over a third of full-time employees will work remotely in the next ten years. And 63% of companies have at least some remote workers but no unifying policy around it.Lou Quinto and Craig P Anderson break the issue down in three areas: 1) Leadership Mindset; 2) Employee Mindset; and 3) How to get started working through the question.

Great leaders find ways to get things done through other people and that process begins early in your tenure as a leader. To grow your business faster and not exhaust yourself, it’s crucial to get the right people on your team, get comfortable with delegation, and be intentional about follow up praise and correction. Proactive leaders have this in place, and, as a result, crucial projects will stay on track during this time of increased remote work. In this episode, Lou Quinto and Craig P Anderson discuss how leaders can improve in this area or how to make that pivot if you are already behind.