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69. Management Mess To Leadership Success, an Interview with Scott Miller, EVP of Thought Leadership at FranklinCovey

Oct 11, 2019

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After a year of doing this podcast, I’ve noticed trends in the topics I’ve been requested to do. My Human Behavior Lab interview with Dr. Palma was very popular. People also know that I read and do a lot of research, so I get a lot of requests for book recommendations. Today, I’m incorporating a new segment to the podcast where I interview authors who have written great books about or incorporating concepts from brain science. When I find a fit for the audience, I’ll have the author on the show, so that we can really dig into the lessons and how they apply to business.

Today’s episode features a great discussion with Scott Miller, Executive Vice President of Thought Leadership at FranklinCovey, and author of the new book, Management Mess to Leadership Success. Scott is the host of the On Leadership podcast and Great Life, Great Career on iHeartRadio. He is also a fellow columnist on Inc.com. I’m super excited to share our conversation with you.

Show Notes:

[06:22] Scott's book sold 20,000 copies in the first 6 weeks. (Wow!)
[07:25] Scott is Executive Vice President of Thought Leadership at FranklinCovey. They are the world's most prominent leadership development firm and have been in business for over 40 years.
[07:42] Their influence is built upon a variety of thought leadership books including The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. They do a lot of consulting around leadership development, productivity, and executing strategy.
[08:07] Out of the hundreds and hundreds of business leadership books written every year, Scott never had one that spoke squarely to him, so he wrote his own.
[08:30] He wrote a very vulnerable and relatable book that challenges conventional wisdom. He talks about the 30 challenges that every leader faces not only in business but in life.
[09:01] His book is raw. He lays out his messes and his successes. It's also short and digestible, which is part of the reason it's done so well in the four months since the launch.
[12:13] Scott's philosophy is that we all have messes, but let's not wallow in them or make excuses for them. It's hard to improve if you don't acknowledge your mess.
[14:01] The 11th challenge is Check Your Paradigms. One of Dr. Covey's gifts to the world was understanding your paradigms or belief systems. Leaders don't always have the full picture. Their lens is tinted by what they believe to be true.
[16:21] Stereotyping and brain bias is an issue for everyone. They serve us in some ways, but we also need to know how they impact us.
[17:48] Challenge two is to Think Abundantly. Having an abundance mindset means you believe that there is enough to go around.
[22:00] Being loyal to the absent. Defending those who are absent obtains the trust of those who are present.
[22:49] Great leaders don't speak about people when they're absent any differently than they would if they are present.
[26:18] Challenge 23 and 24 are about setting wildly important goals (WIGs). WIGs are like BHAGs (big hairy audacious goals). Leaders need to be very articulate about elevating some goals over others.
[27:36] Properly defining goals is also super important. You can influence lead measures but not lag measures.
[28:37] Align your actions with the goals. To accomplish a wildly important goal, you either have to learn something new or do something different.
[32:40] Most people confuse opinion and emotions with facts.
[34:39] Assume good intent and declare your intent.
[36:10] Leadership in organizations has been positioned as it's easier if you just keep doing what you've been doing. Leadership is hard and it's not for everyone. Acknowledging and understanding your messes can make you a genius maker.
[37:13] Leadership is a combination of confidence and vulnerability.
[40:57] Scott is giving up some things on B level like his radio show to do more things at A level.
[41:45] The tips in Scott's book align well with the concepts of this podcast even if the terminology is different - I’ve linked to some relevant episodes and other items we discussed below.

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