The coronavirus experience is unprecedented in our time for leaders. How do we make our way through the uncertainty and fear? Transformational leadership expert Barry Pogorel and I talk about there is no ‘going back to normal’. We need instead to create a new normal. This offers huge opportunities! In our energising and uplifting conversation, we get down to brass tacks on what leaders need to do to start crafting their own new normal.
Why you should listen:
If you need to know where to start in dealing with uncertainty and acknowledge what is here right now
To understand why taking a stand is the most powerful thing you can do to catalyse a new possible future
To recognise the power of questions to drive new possibilities
***
Read MoreNot-for-profits are too important to fail. They offer critical services to the most vulnerable. In robust economies, NFPs struggle with business resilience at the best of times. In crisis? The stakes can mean do or die, on all fronts. Toni Pergolin is CEO and President of Bancroft, one of the largest healthcare providers in New Jersey. She led a huge turnaround in an organisation that was facing significant financial difficulties. Ten years later, Bancroft is now thriving and has doubled in size. In our interview she shares her insights and priorities in leading through this turnaround, and what is practical and applicable to NFPs and leaders in any business today.
Why you should listen:
If you are a CEO shouldering responsibility for dealing with a crisis and how you can deal with the pressure
To learn lessons from those organisations who don’t make it and help you to make decisions faster
Help you decide what you can do right now, today, to help chart the course through uncertain times
***
Read MoreUncertainty, fear, and unprecedented circumstances. What can we do? There are things we can do right now to lead ourselves and help others. We can also start to navigate the ship through uncharted waters - we can craft a better future, now. We look at how to frame our challenge, how to look after ourselves, how to deal with amygdala hijack responses, confront the brutal truth of the pandemic, and then start to shape what’s next.
Why you should listen:
Tips to look after yourself: increase (or introduce) meditation, get fresh air and sunshine, stop doing stuff that affects your immune system, create connection and build interactions.
Be mindful of the uncertainty effect: survival mode and panic buying, distraction, short term memory suppression, irritability, adrenaline and getting hyped up.
How to look after your people: online collaboration tools, instigate virtual social interactions like online scrabble or virtual happy hour, support those who live alone the most - think plants and pets, share stories of generosity and appreciation, set up regular daily and weekly routines for remote teams
Confront the brutal truth: the future progress of the pandemic effect
Start creating a new normal: we aren’t going back to the way things were
Make a stand and a declaration: what kind of future do you want to create?
Lead with questions: Share interesting questions (not answers) to spark possibilities!
***
Read MoreWant to be seen as the best candidate for your next CEO role? Want your brand to stand out? Want to build trust with your consumers? Want to build engagement with your staff? The magic solution is Connected Leadership - how to create connections through a personal communication plan. Connected Leadership expert Mel Kettle walks us through key components of building a digital presence that builds trust and credibility.
Why you should listen:
If you need help with where to start in building your personal communication plan
If you need help with how to systemise listening to help build a stronger connection with a broad cohort of stakeholders
If you need help with how to build interesting content and stories no matter how boring the topic may seem at first glance
***
Read MoreDo you have too much on your plate? Looking for ways to cut costs and boost productivity? Do you have 26 projects going at once? Ishan Galapathy shares his approach to solving these chronic workplace stressors.
Why you should listen:
Learn how to qualify your problems before you set about solving them
Learn how to identify the four types of problems and how to resolve them
Learn how to ask better questions to solve complex problems
***
Read MoreCulture is a fluid thing, one simple act can send it in a new direction - for better, or worse. Author and entrepreneur Chris Dyer shares his research on what can turn a good culture bad (and it’s a simple fix), along with some simple distinctions that can make a big difference in your culture strategy.
Why you should listen:
Avoid making the mistake that Disney made that could send your culture into a spin
How to reward self-motivated sales people in a way that does not turn them into dog-eat-dog lone wolves
3 key tips for effective listening
***
Read MoreHow do you approach your work and life? Is it a serious endeavour? Or is it a game? I think we can choose really fun games to help us evolve as humans and leaders. There are games like Achieving, games like Freedom, games like Happiness. In this Thought Nugget we take a look at what kinds of games you can play, and some ideas to get started.
Why you should listen:
How to avoid the pitfalls of the Achiever game
Some fun games you can play to help focus your world for a more rewarding experience
Three questions to ask to make sure your game doesn’t derail you
***
Read MoreIs there something that really gets your goat? Something that you can’t stop thinking about? Something you are longing to see different in the world? Then you might be a Changemaker. Find out what you can do to satisfy that itch.
Why you should listen:
Learn what a Changemaker actually is and if you’ve got the goods to be one (I hope so! We need you)
How to find your Big Question as a Changemaker, and how to wrestle it to the ground
How to design your world for inspiration - for those Big Ideas
***
Read MoreAre you moving into a new role? Are you taking on more responsibility? Is the scope of your work becoming more complex? Are you hoping to win new business, charge more for your services, or launch into a brand new project? Acclimatization is what is required. Key tips for you today.
Why you should listen:
What you need to adjust from a physiological point of view for new responsibilities
The big shift you need to make in your attitude
How perspective changes how you be
***
Read MoreWant to be the next Uber and shake up your industry? Chances are you are doing it all wrong. Thinking a disruptive idea will create exponential change is missing the boat. Author, researcher and speaker Charlene Li says focus obsessively on your future customer and burn the boats to serve them best. This kind of commitment creates growth that is disruptive. Join us for some awesome and inspiring insights from her latest book, The Disruption Mindset - why some organisations transform while others fail.
Why you should listen:
Why you need to redefine growth as impact for more sustained and meaningful change
The most disruptive organisations are the ones that are the most structured - and what you can do to emulate their success
How to identify your future customer - and why you need to obsess about that
***
Read MoreDo you do annual anonymous culture reviews? Do you subject people to anonymous 360s? Should you do any of this? Here’s the better approach than letting people hide behind surveys (and also when they might be good).
Why you should listen:
What needing anonymous surveys says about your culture
4 things you should look at instead
Two situations when you SHOULD use anonymous feedback
***
Read MoreDid you scope a career, focus on getting the skills, and hoped the lifestyle would work out? That’s how we were taught, back in the day. Gung-ho drummer extraordinaire Nick Gross is upending what it means to build a career, by helping students (and older folk like me) determine what lifestyle they want, what strengths they have, and THEN what career might work. Welcome to a new way of thinking about your passion and your work.
Why you should listen:
How to check if your lifestyle, strengths, and careers are aligned (or how they could become so)
Why the future belongs to the misfits, and why you want to be one
How to create communities that go beyond geographical location to a global bridge based on interests
Read MoreWhat can art, train stations, and toilet seats tell us about problems in systems? In this Thought nugget, we look at Italy and Japan - how values create entirely unique systems, and how you can use this to solve your own workplace challenges.
Why you should listen:
Book recommendation hits and misses
Insights into systems that can save you wasted hours of work
Fun insights into Italian and Japanese culture
***
Read MoreI met Colin Ellis a few years ago when he first arrived in Australia from Liverpool. He makes dapper cool again with his sensational dress sense and million dollar smile. He loves the people stuff as much as I do, and in this podcast episode we geek out on all things culture.
Why you should listen:
Why culture change IS NOT HARD (like consultants say it is) and takes 9-18 months (not 3-5 years)
How to (and how not to) measure culture
Where to start in dealing with toxic cultures
***
Read MoreI was intrigued by Jo Metcalfe: as the Global Strategy Development Lead at GHD, I wanted to know what it took to take on strategy for a global consulting firm for engineering, architecture, environmental and construction services. When I first spoke to her, I asked about the people stuff - what she found hard. She said, ‘nothing! I love the people stuff!” First time ever I heard that response. She’s a leader we need to listen to.
Why you should listen:
How to back yourself as a learner is the key to advancing your career and changing jobs
How to access collective wisdom and stop being a hero leader - you get better strategy this way
Why you should create feedback loops, and not just give feedback
***
Read MoreWhat can living in the jungle in a refugee camp teach us about leadership? Fearless Leadership expert Corrinne Armour shares wisdom and insights from the frontlines of guerilla warfare, through to the tough conversations leaders need to have. She shares tips based on neuroscience to help people be more accountable, how to get people to take initiative, and how to create psychological safety.
Why you should listen:
Practical approach that uses brain science to help people be more accountable
3 step coaching process to keep from being the leader who tells and be the leader who asks
How connection is the fundamental skill every leader needs to be successful
***
Read MoreI met Craig Dower through LinkedIn when he commented on one of my articles about culture. I was intrigued by his global accolades as CEO: President of Avanade Asia Pacific out of Singapore, CEO Salmat, CEO Xenith Ip, and now CEO of Qantm IP. It’s not the titles but the work he did: growing the business three-fold at Avanade, leading the largest transformation program in the company’s 40-year history at Salmat, and leading through a period of substantial change and steady earnings growth at Xenith IP. His secret? Focus on People First.
Why you should listen:
Why you need to reward values and behaviour as well as outcomes
How to transformational change fast, at scale: Get the people right, then identify three priorities: Focus, Simplify, Grow
As the CEO you need to be the chief change sponsor and chief storyteller
The hardest part about building high performing teams is getting the people right: a fit for behaviour and values, performance can be coached, but performance without values and behaviour is toxic
***
Read MoreMarene Allison is the Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer at Johnson & Johnson. Previously she was head of Global Security at Avaya where she secured the World Cup network in Korea and Japan in 2002. Before that she was an FBI Special gent, working on undercover drug operations, terrorist bombings, and a mock nucelar terrorism exercise. She received a Bachelor of Science degree from the U.S. Military academy at West Point in the first class to include women.
With a long list of firsts, in a stellar and remarkable career, Marene shares her insights and lessons on leadership and people.
Why you should listen:
Why moving from command and control style to collaboration is a key move to thriving as a leader in a corporate environment
Learn strategies of a highly successful leader who garners fierce loyalty and commitment from her teams
Secrets from FBI interrogation to tell when people are lying
***
Read MoreWhat does it take to build a wildly successful business? Author and entrepreneur Frank Fiume shares his deeply personal story on the highs and lows of creating a business based on passion. What looks like a linear journey is rarely that clearcut: Frank shares how he worked his way through each low and the lessons about life and leadership along the way.
Why you should listen:
Learn from Frank’s experience of turning adversity and a life in poverty to an advantage in shaping his ambitions.
Three strategies to make through the tough times: hire for your weakness, restructure to make sure you get the balance right and join a group of peers for sounding board and advice.
Anticipate the three stages of entrepreneurial growth: hunger, resilience, and fulfillment.
***
Read MoreDo you feel like a creative dunce? Do you think that creative people are born with talent, and you’re just not one of them? Author, speaker, and creative powerhouse Kieran Flanagan breaks a few myths and lets us know we can all be commercially creative if we’re prepared to do the work.
Why you should listen:
Learn the number one strategy to generating awesome ideas
How to develop creative judgment
How to know you’ve got an idea that really hits the mark: Listen for the ‘ahhhs’
Don’t go into brainstorming cold - you need mental fodder
***
Read More