The Remarkable Leadership Podcast

The workplace is changing; it's the technology, it's the location, it's the diversity of the people. So, if we know the workplace is changing, we need to be thinking about how we change our leadership. Ty Bennett is an author and founder of Leadership Inc. Today he sits down with Kevin to discuss his most recent book, Partnership Is the New Leadership. Ty believes that we can no longer rely on leading from a place of authority or title. By showing up as a partner with our team, they will show up for you. This means a direct result to the bottom line. Ty shares his thoughts about the balance between care and candor and looks at commitment.

Today's mindset is different. Today everyone is good or the online reviews would drive them out of business. So, it's not enough to have quality, care, or compassion. Your competitive advantage will be how you deliver your product better, faster, or more convenient. David Avrin is the author of Why Customers Leave (and how to win them back). David and Kevin discuss the book and how it illuminates some of the blind spots we have in how we work with customers. Leaders miss some things and there are unintentional consequences. They need to step back and ask some hard questions from the customers perspective.

When you take on a new leadership role, it is both exciting and a bit scary. There are new responsibilities and your relationships with colleagues' changes, especially if you have been promoted within. Today Kevin is joined by Naphtali Hoff, President of Impactful Coaching & Consulting and author of Becoming the New Boss. They discuss everything related to that new leadership role. From those crucial first months to finding a mentor to building relationships. Naphtali shares mistakes and ways to make that transition.

We spend most of our lives trying to learn and know as much as we can. It's ingrained in us that the more we know, the better off we are. And while there's no question that knowledge truly is power, sometimes…as leaders…there is danger in expertise. I'll explain three dangers that we all must be aware of in order to be more successful.

There are events in our lives that shape us. Events that make us think and re-think the way we do things. Mark Bertolini is no exception. Mark is the former chairman and CEO of Aetna and author of Mission-Driven Leadership: My Journey as a Radical Capitalist. He sits down with Kevin to share his stories; a child diagnosed with cancer, which made him a consumer of the health care industry and a ski accident, which forced him to ask for "help". These events changed his perspective and he realized that maybe an iron-handed fist was not the best way to conduct business. Mark shares his lessons of empathy and talks about the progressive elimination of failure – not perfection. You need to continually get better and find not only ways but encourage, your folks to take care of each other and the mission of the company.

Today I am challenging you to think about your inputs - are they feeding you what you most need? One great input? Sign up for our masterclass Video series - The Journey to Remarkable Leadership - http://KevinEikenberry.com/way

Have you ever downplayed a compliment? Tried to pass it off or re-direct the conversation when you've been given one? Today I am pointing out some very valuable leadership lessons from a compliment (and the response to this compliment) that I recently overheard. I'll also give you a very simple 3-step process to help you receive compliments better in the future.

If we rely on algorithms and technology to make us more efficient, our own skills atrophy. Kevin sits down with Edward Tenner, author of Our Own Devices, Why Things Bite Back, and most recently The Efficiency Paradox: What Big Data Can't Do. As a historian of sorts, Edward tries to understand where we are today and asks the questions we need to think about the future. In The Efficiency Paradox, Edward looks at our technology boom and the downside of a good thing. Although our access to information and big data leads us to perform at higher and faster levels, can we be sure we are going in the right direction? Edward believes we need to find balance or we might not find the benefits of technology or we lost the benefits of human nature.

Why gossip and worry start and how to deal with it as a leader. (You can learn more about this at https://kevineikenberry.com/way)

Communication is hard. I know, it's likely not a surprise to you. And it's certainly no surprise to us – communication is consistently one of the biggest challenges that we hear about from leaders. And in this episode, I am going to help you (and your team) be a better communicator by raising the communication bar with five simple tips.

There is a big difference between satisfaction with a product/service/organization and loyalty. Loyalty shows an emotional commitment. When someone is loyal, they promote for you. Sandy Rogers co-author of Leading Loyalty: Cracking the Code to Customer Devotion and the leader of FranklinCovey's Loyalty Practice. He chats with Kevin about the book and although much has been written about loyalty, this book provides simple, applicable principles, practices and a proven process for earning loyalty from your customers and colleagues and all the important people in your life. There isn't just one thing. It's all about listening for the real story, taking responsibility for the real job and following up. We need to move beyond process and empower our people to show empathy. Boosting external and internal loyalty will have an impact on your bottom line.

How are you different than you were six months ago? Let's talk about that question and give you a better answer six months from now. Learn more: https://kevineikenberry.com/way

Have you ever been disappointed? Frustrated? Maybe even annoyed? And then maybe you said (rather cynically), "Well, what did you expect?" It's probably unlikely that there are many of us who can say we haven't asked this question once or twice in our lives… So in today's episode, I'm sharing a much more valuable and productive question that you can be asking.

Studies show that 92% of people trust referrals and you are four times more likely to buy from someone who was referred. This makes sense to Michelle Tillis Lederman, author of The Connector's Advantage: 7 Mindsets to Grow Your Influence and Impact. In her early career, she realized that relationships are critical to your success, health, and happiness. However, this isn't all about the warm fuzzies. Connectors have a certain way of thinking and acting that enables stronger connections. Building that skill can get us to faster, easier, and better. Michelle shares with Kevin that when leaders focus on building connections, relationships and loyalty with their teams, they impact the bottom line. In this episode, Michelle discusses 1. Levels of connectors. 2. The introvert edge. 3. The trust mindset. Additional Resources: FREE GIFT Link: http://michelletillislederman.com/giftpack/ Book Bonuses: www.TheConnectorsAdvantage.com Website: http://www.michelletillislederman.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MichelleTillisLederman LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/communicationexpertspeaker Twitter: https://twitter.com/mtlederman Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mtlederman/ YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/MichelleLederman

I'm talking about a critical choice leaders must make, one that many never even consider. Compliance or commitment? Which do you have, and which do you want? Let's talk about what they are and why one is the best choice! Learn more at: https://KevinEikenberry.com/way

A few months ago, I was fortunate enough to record a video course with some great people at LinkedIn Learning. And while the process that I go through each week here on Remarkable TV has grown and improved significantly over the years, my time at LinkedIn Learning was quite different. For one, it was a truly professional studio and I had an actual Producer who was with me throughout the process. And my Producer had three little words that she repeated many times throughout the day that entirely changed my outlook, my mindset and ultimately my results. These three words were small but can have significant impact on you and your team.

John Rossman is a former Amazon executive, who launched and scaled the Marketplace business, which now accounts for more than 50 percent of all units sold at Amazon.com. In his current role, he is often asked "How did Amazon do this?" or "Why did Amazon do it this way?" As such he decided to write, Think Like Amazon: 50 ½ Ideas to Become a Digital Leader. John and Kevin discuss the book and he draws upon his experience at Amazon to show you how you can think differently about business and leadership to move your organization forward. John expands on a few ideas in the book, including the fact that the question is just as, if not more important, than the solution. Additional Resources: Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou https://amzn.to/2HVRoc1 The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War by Ben Macintyre https://amzn.to/2I6H9B6

I'm talking today about a foundational leadership development principle, but one people miss, forget, or falsely assume is covered. Learn more about The Journey to Remarkable Leadership: https://KevinEikenberry.com/way

Every day, more leaders are becoming remote leaders – whether it was intentional and planned or simply a fact of circumstance where they started working one day a work from home which lead to another which lead to another… The question isn't whether this is happening or not, it's what are we doing to prepare these leaders? Leading remotely is different and when we take the time to prepare ourselves and our remote leaders, we will all be more successful. Learn more and download a free chapter of our book, The Long-Distance Leader, here.

Kevin Kruse really didn't think much about leadership in his business ventures until he realized his failures were a result of not thinking about leadership. Kevin is the author of Great Leaders Have No Rules: Contrarian Leadership Principles to Transform Your Team and Business and serves as Founder & CEO of LEADx, an online learning platform that provides free leadership development. He sits down with Kevin to discuss some of the leadership lessons we've been taught and how they work against us. Kevin looks at rules, feedback and transparency and how they work in relationships and building your best team. In this episode, Kevin looks at some contrarian leadership principles like 1. No rules. 2. No Smartphones. 3. Crowd your calendar.

I'm talking about criticism, and the role it plays (or doesn't) for us as leaders and coaches. To register for our free master class Video series The Journey to Remarkable Leadership, go to: http://KevinEikenberry.com/way

While I'm not an accountant and you likely aren't either, I am using an accounting term today to help us understand the value in our workplace culture.

To do your best work, you need to know why organizationally and globally. Ashley Goodall is energized by thinking about the challenges of how we all do better work together. Ashley is the co-author of 9 Lies About Work with Marcus Buckingham. He and Kevin discuss some of these "lies" and why they may be uncomfortable. The theme throughout the lies is the context. When we spend too much time focusing on the system or the process, we lose the context. The meaning of our work should be evident and let your folks focus on the how. In this episode, Ashley shares his thoughts about the following lies: 1. Cascading goals. 2. People need feedback. 3. Leadership is a thing. Additional Leadership Resources Book Recommendations: Margaret Thatcher: At Her Zenith: In London, Washington and Moscow (Authorized Biography of Margaret Thatcher) by Charles Moore Margaret Thatcher: The Authorized Biography: Volume I: From Grantham to the Falklands by Charles Moore Learn more about Ashley Goodall. Sign up for our free video training series, 13 Days to Remarkable Leadership. Get your free copy of my inspiring e-book, 101 Ways to Unleash Your Potential.

Today I am talking about a lesson I learned in reading a quote from the Theologian John Henry Newman: "Nothing would be done at all if a person waited until he/she could do it so well that no one could find fault with it." And here's the reality – someone will ALWAYS find fault in one thing or another. But that's not all bad. What is bad is when we frame it as "fault" and not "feedback for improvement". We need to stop waiting and start doing.

David Benjamin believes we are seeing a shift in the workplace from scarcity to abundance. Leaders need to tap into their people and use them differently and better. David is the co-author of Cracking Complexity and joins Kevin to discuss not only the disruption of technology in business but how leaders can approach complexity. David talks about problem-solving and creating purposeful collisions to get everyone on the same page. If there isn't a common language, you won't find common ground. In this episode David 1. Distinguishes simple, complicated and complex problems. 2. Discusses the s-curve model and how to think about it. 3. Shares how to create a collision course.

This is a question that I get asked a lot and I think in order to answer this question, you have to understand the answer to another question first: How do you define friend? So think about this a little bit and then "join me"on the video to answer the original question about friends and leadership. To learn more about and subscribe to my weekly newsletter, Unleashing Your Remarkable Potential, go to: https://kevineikenberry.com/uyrp

What does education need to do to produce people who can contribute at work and are successful? Danny Iny, the author of Leveraged Learning, chats with Kevin about that topic and what that means for leaders and teams today. Danny believes we are shifting from a "just in case" mindset to learning to a "just in time" mindset. The pace of change is rapid and to stay relevant, we need to continue to learn in bite-sized chunks. As leaders, we need to recognize we are working from a lagging scorecard and need to go in and learn, develop our team, and move forward.

You likely have a program of some sort when new employees join your organization – most call it onboarding – but do you have the same process for NEW supervisors? These onboarding processes are so valuable for new employees, but they can also have value for new supervisors. Everything that leaders do has a ripple in the organization, so it's even more important to set new leaders up for success in the beginning, when it matters most. In today's episode, I'll share tips for using the ideas of onboarding specifically as they relate to your new supervisors and leaders. Learn more about and sign up for our free leadership series, 13 Days to Remarkable Leadership, here.

When you talk to Tony Hunter about his journey, he will tell you it's all about the people. Not just the people who believed in him but his mentors and his amazing team and talented colleagues. Tony is the former CEO and Publisher of the Chicago Tribune. He was offered the job in September 2008 and they filed for bankruptcy in December 2008. Needless to say, his tenure was filled with disruption. Tony and Kevin talk about leadership during changing times and how you need to slow down to speed up. He has been fortunate to look back at his career and recognize that you are either disrupted or a disruptor. In either case, you want your team to be in alignment and own the plan before moving to action.

Today is the last in my series on "unusual" collections for leaders and I'm sticking with the theme of something that you might never consider as something that you can actually collect: GRATITUDE And while this "collection" is unusual, when you start collecting it, I think you will find that your life will be more interesting and have more meaning and you will have less stress and more happiness. And who doesn't want that?

Most organizations jump right in with the design of a product/content…often missing the WHY. Kevin sits down with Juliana Stancampiano, CEO of Oxygen and author of Radical Outcomes: How to Create Extraordinary Teams that Get Tangible Results. Kevin and Juliana discuss education in the workplace. They believe that in order to achieve great results, you need to move beyond information overload and focus on the business outcomes. It's about creating a culture of learning and thinking about the content as an experience.

We are continuing in our series of episodes about collections and today's episode is about collecting memories. I'll talk about WHY we should collect memories and HOW to do it better and more often.

Leadership can be defined at multiple levels and can be scaled up and down. Bob Anderson is the co-author of Mastering Leadership and his new book, Scaling Leadership. He joins Kevin to talk about the research and findings which led to the latest book. Using a database of senior leaders providing 360-degree written feedback to fellow senior leaders, he and Bill Anderson look at the qualitative data. They look at the descriptions leaders use to define effective leadership and create a leadership framework. Using the lessons learned, an individual can develop their leadership at scale in their organization to improve performance.

We are continuing in our series of episodes about collections and today's collection topic is one that I can almost bet you have never thought of collecting: relationships. And yet, as a leader, when you do this and do it right, I can almost guarantee that you will see your success skyrocket.

There are mistakes and there is epic failure. Warwick Fairfax identifies with the latter and joins Kevin to discuss leadership and moving beyond failure. Warwick is a leadership advisor and founded Crucible Leadership from his own experience of "one of the most spectacular business failures in the history of his home nation of Australia." First and foremost, start with forgiveness either of yourself or someone else. Examine your true self, not negative or positive, but who you really are. What are your strengths? What is your passion? Use this reflection to recognize, learn from and move forward. When leading your team, believe in your vision and create buy-in.

We are in the middle of a series of episodes about collections. And if you haven't noticed yet, some of these collections are of "things" that you might not have thought of collecting. In fact, most of them aren't anything that you can put on a shelf or in a room of your house. Today's episode is no different as I'm revealing the value in collecting questions as well as an easy process and tips for helping you to collect them.

There are more new managers in the workplace than veterans. You must start somewhere. Julie Zhuo is the VP of Product Design at Facebook and the author of THE MAKING OF A MANAGER: What To Do When Everyone Looks to You. Julie found herself as a new manager years ago and after the celebration ended, she realized she wasn't 100% sure what she was doing. She joins Kevin to discuss the transition to new leadership. There are opportunities to coach your new leader and opportunities for you to grow if you find yourself in that position. It starts with conversations and willingness to build relationships, even if it is uncomfortable. In this episode, Julie talks about 1. Coaching for new leaders. 2. Advice for better one-on-ones. 3. Managing yourself. Additional Leadership Resources Book Recommendations: The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories by Ken Liu Ogilvy on Advertising by David Ogilvy Learn more about Julie Zhuo. Buy Julie's book, The Making of a Manager. Sign up for our free video training series, 13 Days to Remarkable Leadership. Get your free copy of my inspiring e-book, 101 Ways to Unleash Your Potential.

This is the third episode in a series on "collections". Now to the casual observer, a series on collections might seem an odd choice for a leadership blog. But trust me, it's not. Because we aren't talking about things that take up space on a shelf or that you put in a display case. We are talking about collections that will change your leadership life. And in this episode, we're collecting IDEAS.

Many organizations are not thinking of how their culture can move them forward. Not only do you need to think about how to create your culture, but you also need to own it. Eric Stutzman is a co-author of The Culture Question: How to Create a Workplace Where People Like to Work. The book includes survey feedback from over 2,400 leaders and employees. Kevin and Eric talk about some of these findings, such as there is a direct correlation between leaders communicating with purpose AND in meaningful ways and people feeling like they have a great workplace. In order to create meaningful work, there need to be intentional conversations about progress. Further, how and when a leader should respond to conflict.

Today I'm talking again about collections but this collection won't take up a single inch of space in your house or office and yet could be one of the most "valuable" things you can collect.

Hospitable leadership is about creating an environment where you lead more effectively because you are leading with authenticity. Terry A. Smith has served as lead pastor of The Life Christian Church (TLCC) for twenty-seven years. He is also the author of The Hospitable Leader. Terry is passionate about challenging, developing, and encouraging leaders, whether they know they are leaders or not. Kevin and Terry discuss the idea of being welcoming and how our communication becomes more effective when we find commonality and listen before moving straight to the message.

Hospitable leadership is about creating an environment where you lead more effectively because you are leading with authenticity. Terry A. Smith has served as lead pastor of The Life Christian Church (TLCC) for twenty-seven years. He is also the author of The Hospitable Leader. Terry is passionate about challenging, developing, and encouraging leaders, whether they know they are leaders or not. Kevin and Terry discuss the idea of being welcoming and how our communication becomes more effective when we find commonality and listen before moving straight to the message.

You may or may not know, but I am a collector of antique tractors – yes, the real, life-sized tractors that you'd find on a farm. And while this is a fun fact, I mention it today for more reasons than that. I am talking today about collectors because I have some observations on collectors and why it matters to you as a leader.

The operating system that worked on the factory floors 100 years ago does not work today, yet we still try to manage from that perspective. Aaron Dignan is looking at the way we work and turning it on its head to do better. Aaron is the founder of The Ready and author of his latest book, Brave New Work: Are You Ready to Reinvent your Organization? Aaron and Kevin discuss building teams that learn and recognizing the complexity of human nature. We need our folks to be making more decisions and they need to do that with a purpose. Once we can start with how we are connected and can truly answer what is holding us back. In this episode, Aaron talks about 1. The Future of Work. 2. Fractal purpose. 3. SLAM Teams. Additional Resources Team Human by Douglas Rushkoff https://bravenewwork.com/ https://theready.com/

Most of us look in a mirror every day – and sometimes more than once! But I'm not talking about looking in a mirror in this regard. In this episode, I am advocating for a mirror as it relates to our leadership and I'm asking a few questions to help you understand what you'll see when you look in this mirror and what you can do with what you'll see.

Leaders at all levels in an organization manage most business risks daily. Steve Trautman joins Kevin to talk about how you can manage talent risk, which is critical in today's employment environment. Steve is the author of Do You Have WHO It Takes: Managing Talent Risk in a High Stakes Technical Workforce. He and Kevin talk about ideas for every level of an organization (including the corporate board) to manage talent risk with hard data. He debunks some common talent myths and feedback to encourage the right types of learning in the workplace. In this episode, Steve 1. Defines talent risk. 2. Shares common talent myths. 3. Discussed the cost of not managing talent risk. Additional Resources: Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande Learn more about Steve Trautman

It seems only appropriate that today, at the start of a new year, I talk about habits. And I'm starting with a question for you to think about to help you ensure that your habits are serving you as best as they can.

Hunter Harrison was a four-time CEO in the railroad business, turning around each organization he ran. During his tenure with multiple companies, he wanted his employees to think like a leader and owner. Kevin sits down with Howard Green, author of Railroader: The Unfiltered Genius and Controversy of Four-Time CEO Hunter Harris. Howard is a former broadcast journalist with more than 14,000 interviews and wrote Hunter's personal biography based on conversations with Harrison over several years. He shares insights into Hunter's leadership style and the moments that set him apart as CEO. Additional Links: http://www.howardgreen.com/ https://twitter.com/howardgreennews https://www.linkedin.com/in/hgreen1/?originalSubdomain=ca Amazon bookpage: https://www.amazon.com/Railroader-Unfiltered-Controversy-Four-Time-Harrison/dp/1989025048/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

I've gone to a lot of "life events" and experiences and there's one thing that I see people doing over and over again that not only makes me sad, but also gets in the way of making memories. I'll give you several tips to help you lock in and make memories that last for years to come.

Have you ever hoped for a root canal appointment (insert another unpleasant task) to get you out of a meeting? Elise Keith is the founder and Meeting Maven for Lucid Meetings. In short, she is looking for the best ways to make it easy for people to enjoy meetings that get work done. She joins Kevin to discuss her book, Where the Action Is: The Meetings That Make or Break Your Organization. She believes that when you change the meeting, you change everything else. Elise emphasizes that the whole point of a meeting is to gather people for a purpose and shares different meeting types to help us get to the why. In this episode, Elise touches on 1. Successful meetings. 2. Agendas and desired outcomes. 3. Meeting operating systems. When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing by Daniel H. Pink https://amzn.to/2RkAtAX https://www.lucidmeetings.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elisekeith/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/lucidmeetings