The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk 231: Michael Bungay Stanier - Say Less, Ask More, & Change The Way You Lead Forever
Michael Bungay Stanier, a renowned leadership coach and bestselling author, shares his insights on coaching and leadership. He discusses the rarity of sustained excellence and the importance of resilience and learning from failures. Michael recounts his journey from rejection to becoming a Rhodes Scholar and how authenticity drove his success. He introduces practical coaching techniques, like 10-minute coaching and essential questions to spark meaningful conversations. His focus is on integrating coaching into daily interactions for greater impact.
57:11
Learning Comes From Reflection
- People learn best by reflecting, not by being told or merely doing.
- Create moments to reflect to accelerate meaningful learning in teams.
Excellence Includes Failure
- Sustained excellence is rare and often involves both failures and successes.
- Growth comes from trying, iterating, and sharpening your capability rather than only chasing flawless outcomes.
Purple Suit Rhodes Moment
- Michael was rejected for a Rhodes Scholarship, applied again, and changed his approach.
- He wore a purple suit, cracked an unexpected joke in the interview, and ultimately won the scholarship.
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Intro
00:00 • 2min
Sustaining Excellence and the Role of Failure
02:14 • 7min
The Rhodes Scholar Rejection and Perseverance
08:54 • 4min
Where Courage and Individuality Come From
13:10 • 5min
Founding Box of Crayons After Career Setbacks
18:18 • 3min
Firing Bullets Then Cannonballs: Finding Focus
21:44 • 1min
What 10-Minute Coaching Means
23:11 • 5min
How to Start a Coaching Conversation: What's On Your Mind?
28:04 • 4min
How to End a Coaching Conversation: What Was Most Useful?
32:04 • 6min
What's the Real Challenge Here for You?
37:56 • 3min
Use 'And What Else?' to Go Deeper
41:25 • 4min
Three Coaching Principles: Be Lazy, Curious, Often
45:34 • 3min
Mix Coaching into Daily Life, Not as a Separate Task
48:10 • 1min
Help People Learn Rather Than Teach Them
49:30 • 5min
Where to Learn More and Resources
54:01 • 2min
Outro
55:36 • 2min
#249
• Mentioned in 68 episodes
The Coaching Habit
Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever
Michael Bungay Stanier
In 'The Coaching Habit,' Michael Bungay Stanier provides a straightforward and effective approach to coaching.
Drawing on his extensive experience training managers worldwide, he introduces seven essential coaching questions designed to help managers unlock their team's potential.
These questions include the Kickstart Question, the AWE Question, the Lazy Question, the Strategic Question, the Focus Question, the Foundation Question, and the Learning Question.
The book emphasizes the importance of saying less and asking more, fostering a collaborative and empowering work environment.
It combines practical advice with research in neuroscience and behavioral economics, making coaching a daily, informal part of managerial work rather than a formal event.
#14058
• Mentioned in 3 episodes
Do more great work
Michael Bungay Stanier
Michael Bungay Stanier's "Do More Great Work" helps readers identify and focus on tasks that truly matter.
The book categorizes work into three types: great, good, and bad, encouraging readers to eliminate bad work and increase great work.
Stanier provides practical exercises and frameworks to help readers clarify their priorities and improve their productivity.
The book emphasizes the importance of understanding one's strengths and passions to achieve greater fulfillment and success.
It's a valuable guide for individuals and organizations seeking to improve their work-life balance and achieve meaningful results.
#17
• Mentioned in 276 episodes
Good to Great
Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't
Jim Collins
In 'Good to Great,' Jim Collins and his research team investigate why some companies achieve long-term greatness while others do not.
The book identifies key concepts such as Level 5 Leadership, the Hedgehog Concept, a Culture of Discipline, and the Flywheel Effect.
These principles are derived from a comprehensive study comparing companies that made the leap to greatness with those that did not.
The research highlights that greatness is not primarily a function of circumstance but rather a result of conscious choice and discipline.
The book provides practical insights and case studies to help businesses and leaders understand and apply these principles to achieve sustained greatness.
#178
• Mentioned in 87 episodes
Eat, Pray, Love
Elizabeth Gilbert
In 'Eat, Pray, Love', Elizabeth Gilbert chronicles her journey as she leaves behind her outwardly successful but inwardly unfulfilling life in the United States.
The book is divided into three parts, each set in a different country: Italy, where she seeks pleasure and indulges in the local culture; India, where she delves into spiritual practices and meditation; and Bali, Indonesia, where she aims to find a balance between worldly enjoyment and divine transcendence.
The memoir is a personal and introspective account of Gilbert's struggles, growth, and self-discovery during her travels.
#9320
• Mentioned in 4 episodes
Coaching for Performance
Sir John Whitmore
Episode 231: Michael Bungay Stanier - Say Less, Ask More, & Change The Way You Lead Forever
Michael is the Senior Partner at Box of Crayons, a company that helps organizations do less good work and more great work. He’s the author of several books, including The Coaching Habit and Do More Great Work. Michael has written for or been featured in numerous publications including Business Insider, Fast Company, Forbes, The Globe & Mail and The Huffington Post. Michael left Australia 25 years ago to be a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University. He was the first Canadian Coach of the Year. At Box of Crayons, Michael and his team of facilitators teach 10-minute coaching so busy managers build stronger teams and get better results. Clients come from all sectors and include Box, the United Nations, Gartner, the University Health Network and USAA. A sought-after speaker, Michael regularly speaks to businesses and organizations and has delivered keynotes at Leadership, HR and Learning & Development, conferences around the world.The Learning Leader Show
"If you can't coach in 10 minutes or less then you don't have the time to coach at all"
Show Notes:
- Commonalities of leaders who sustain excellence:
- "They probably haven't sustained it. It's really hard."
- Role Models -- They succeed AND they fail. "You can't hit it out of the park every time"
- Some times you do it all right and you still fail
- Resilience and persistence are commonalities among people who have success
- Michael's list of failures "is long"
- The incredible story of how Michael was initially rejected as a Rhodes Scholar... And then how he persevered to earn it (the story about how he differentiated himself from the others is fantastic)
- "Purple suit, long hair" -- "Everyone else had a blue suit, white shirt, red tie"
- Where did he develop so much courage?
- From his parents -- They gave him unconditional support to be different and unique
- He's a bit of a rebel who also follows the rules sometimes
- Ask yourself "Do I want to be playing this game?"
- Box of Crayons -- A training company on how to coach in 10 minutes
- The mistake of saying "yes" to everyone who asked for his help when he started the company
- Jim Collins -- "Fire bullets and then cannonballs" -- Low risk experiments
- The 3 ways coaching shows up in corporations
- Executive coaching -- People at the top of the Org Chart
- Training internal people to be the corporate training team
- Train all managers/leaders to be more coach like -- This is what Michael and his team does
- "If you can't coach in 10 minutes or less then you don't have the time to coach at all"
- Transforming to be more "coach like"
- The 7 important questions to ask:
- What's on your mind?
- And what else?
- What's the real challenge here for you?
- What do you want?
- How can I help?
- If you're saying yes to this, what are you saying no to?
- What was most useful to you?
- Why most 1 on 1's are terrible
- The first and last questions are vital (must bookend the meeting well) -- "Start fast and end strong"
- The Learning moments -- Help them learn. They learn when there is a moment to reflect on what just happened
- Be careful when "the advice monster" kicks in... "Can you stay curious a little longer?" -- As the coach, you need to. You must solve the correct problem and focus on the person you are coaching
- If you just give advice, very little brain activity happens. If you ask questions, it grows the brain activity...
- Coaching for performance vs. Coaching for development -- There is a big difference
- The best question in the world is... "And what else?" -- It helps them go a level deeper. Keep asking it, keep going deeper
- "Be lazy, be curious, be often" -- Michael's motto towards coaching. Listen, ask questions, help them learn
- "Be more coach like"
- "Help them learn rather than teaching them" -- We do this by asking great questions
- Learning Leader = "A great coach is a great teacher. A learning leader is the essence of what it means to be a great leader." You help people learn by constantly learning more yourself
"Less Advice. More Curiosity."
Social Media:
- Read: The Coaching Habit
- Follow Michael on Twitter: @boxofcrayons
- Connect with me on LinkedIn
- Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community
- To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12
More Learning:
Episode 078: Kat Cole – From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon
Episode 216: Jim Collins -- How To Go From Good To Great
Episode 179: How To Sustain Excellence - The Best Answers From 178 Questions
Episode 107: Simon Sinek – Leadership: It Starts With Why