Do Good To Lead Well with Craig Dowden

Todd Cherches is the CEO and cofounder of BigBlueGumball, an innovative New York City-based leadership development and executive coaching firm. A member of Marshall Goldsmith’s MG 100 Coaches, Todd was nominated in 2021 by Thinkers50 as one of eight global finalists for their Distinguished Achievement Award in Leadership. Todd is a three-time award-winning Adjunct Professor of leadership at NYU, as well as a Lecturer on leadership at Columbia University. Lastly, Todd is a TEDx speaker and the author of the groundbreaking book, VisuaLeadership: Leveraging the Power of Visual Thinking in Leadership and in Life, which was published in 2020 by Post Hill Press/Simon & Schuster. In this episode, Todd speaks on diversity in leadership, how to give feedback, and getting out of your comfort zone.

How can you champion diversity and inclusion while still honoring individual uniqueness? Join us for an enlightening conversation with Dr. Stephanie K. Johnson, the director of the Doer Institute for New Leaders at Rice University and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of "Inclusify." Dr. Johnson shares her journey back to Rice and her dedicated efforts to cultivate future leaders through innovative coaching and training programs. Get ready to uncover the driving force behind her influential research on unconscious biases and her mission to foster truly inclusive leadership practices. We'll dissect the delicate balance of fostering belonging without forcing conformity. Drawing on concepts like optimal distinctiveness theory, Dr. Johnson sheds light on how businesses can create environments where employees feel both included and free to express their unique contributions. In our final segment, we get tactical about creating fair and welcoming workplaces. From acknowledging headwinds and tailwinds in professional development to navigating biases in recruitment, Dr. Johnson offers actionable advice on setting clear, unbiased hiring criteria and challenging the "white knight" phenomenon in leadership. With empathy at the core, she provides practical strategies to champion diversity and inclusion effectively. Don't miss out on this episode packed with resources and expert guidance to enhance your organization's commitment to true inclusivity. What You’ll Learn: • The delicate balance between fostering a sense of belonging and maintaining individual uniqueness within inclusive environments. • Practical exercises and tools to recognize and manage unconscious biases. • The concept of headwinds and tailwinds in personal and professional development. • Strategies for fair recruitment and hiring practices and addressing biases to build truly inclusive organizational settings. • The nuances of the "white knight" phenomenon in leadership and how good intentions must align with effective behaviors to support inclusivity. Podcast Timestamps: (00:00) – An Introduction to Inclusify (09:43) - Fostering Belonging and Uniqueness (19:12) - Creating Inclusive Environments (31:23) - Navigating Bias in Recruitment and Selection (37:26) - Establishing Clear and Fair Hiring Criteria (44:20) – Good Intentions Can Lead to Negative Outcomes (59:01) - Embracing Empathy and Understanding More of Stefanie: Stefanie is passionate about finding strategies to maximize employee innovation, engagement, and well-being by (1) overcoming unconscious bias and (2) building more diverse and inclusive workplaces. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drstefjohnson/ Key Topics Discussed: Positive Leadership, Inclusion, Diversity, Coaching, Unconscious Bias, Inclusify, Corporate Culture, Belonging, Uniqueness, Optimal Distinctiveness Theory, Empathy, Diversity in Hiring Practices, Promoting Fairness, Inclusive Leadership, CEO Success More of Do Good to Lead Well: Website: https://craigdowden.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigdowden/

This week, Craig sits down with Jim Detert to explore the topic of courage. Jim is a professor at the Darden Graduate School of Business and the Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia. Jim's research focuses on workplace courage, improvement-oriented voice (why people speak up or stay silent at work) and ethical decision-making and behavior. He believes systemic change is impossible without individual change from top to bottom in organizations. That’s why he focuses on helping people honestly examine themselves, what drives them and holds them back and what skills they must develop and personal commitments they must make if things are going to be different. When research-based theories are applied through innovative experiential learning, people build confidence in their ability to say and do the right things despite risk. Choosing Courage represents nearly two decades of learning how to help people on this journey. Tune in to find out how to be mindful with the language you use, be an effective leader and choose courage.

Anne Whelan is principal shareholder and CEO of Seafair Capital, a growth-focused company with investments in community, behavioral health services, technology, e-learning and corporate services. Anne also serves as a corporate director of CSA Group and Nova Leap Health. She was appointed to the Bank of Canada’s Board of Directors in June 2018. Anne has been nationally and regionally recognized for her business and community contributions. She was named one of Canada’s 100 Most Powerful women in 2016 and 2021. In 2019, she was awarded the Red Cross Humanitarian of the Year Award. In 2017. She was named Startup Canada’s Entrepreneur of the Year for an outstanding contribution to Canadian entrepreneurship. Anne was also named Atlantic Business Magazine’s CEO of the Year in 2014 and was inducted into Atlantic Business Magazine’s Top 50 CEO Hall of Fame in 2015. In this episode, Craig and Anne have a fascinating conversation about breaking biases, finding your authentic self and establishing core values.

Ed Hess is Professor Emeritus of Business Administration, Batten Fellow and Batten Executive-in-Residence Emeritus at the Darden Graduate School of Business, University of Virginia, and the author of Hyper-Learning: How to Adapt to the Speed of Change. He spent twenty years in the business world as a Senior Executive and has spent the last 18 years in academia. Ed is the author of 13 books, over 140 articles and 60 Darden Case studies. His work has appeared in over 400 global media outlets including Fortune magazine, Forbes, Huffington Post, Washington Post, Dow Jones Radio, MSNBC Radio and Business Insider. His recent books and research have focused on “Human Excellence in the Digital Age: A New Way of Being; A New Way of Working; Humanizing the Workplace; and Hyper-Learning”. In this episode, Ed talks more about redefining the ego, setting daily intentions and collaboration.

This week, Craig sits down with President and CEO of LifeLabs Medical Laboratory, Charles Brown, to discuss the importance of good leadership during challenging times. Since joining LifeLabs in 2018, Charles has worked to evolve the company into a commercially driven organization that brings customer-centered value to market. By showcasing the possibility of delivering value-based outcomes, Charles empowers his employees to make a difference and facilitate innovative change. During COVID, Charles’ leadership empowered the team to quickly pivot and adapt to respond to the pandemic by providing essential COVID-19 testing, while maintaining full operation of lab testing and diagnostic work. Charles was named one of the Top 100 Innovation CEOs by World Biz Magazine in 2022 and Top 25 Biotechnology CEOs by the Healthcare Technology Report in 2021 and 2022. Tune in to join this fascinating conversation about leadership, business and innovation. What You'll Learn: 1. The importance of learning 2. Staying positive for your team 3. Using social media responsibly 4. Channeling empathy 5. Leaving things better than you found them

For 21 years, Howard Behar led Starbuck’s domestic business as President of North America and was the founding President of Starbucks International, opening the first store outside of North America in Japan. He served on the Starbucks Board of Directors for twelve years before retiring. Howard's career in business spans over 50 years, all in consumer-oriented businesses, and most recently as a speaker, advisor, mentor and bestselling author. The author of the classic It's Not About Coffee, a guide to leading by putting people first, and The Magic Cup, a parable about the power of personal values, he now travels the world speaking to leaders, organizations and students. His wisdom, generosity and level of integrity have had a profound impact on thousands of people who have been touched by his example, books and speaking. Tune in to hear Howard's expertise on leading in hard times, building good culture, working in the people business and constantly being a student.

This week's guest, Jon Clifton, is CEO of Gallup, the global analytics and advice firm. Mr. Clifton's mission is to help organizations create thriving workplaces; put 1 billion people in touch with their strengths; and help 8 billion citizens be heard on their most pressing issues through the Gallup World Poll, a 100-year initiative spanning over 150 countries. He previously served as Global Managing Partner of the company's worldwide consulting group, advising global leaders on how their organizations and countries can thrive using behavioral economics and analytics-based insights. In this episode, Craig and Jon discuss the rise in global unhappiness, how to measure that happiness and the complexity of the human mind.

Dr. Barry Schwartz is a Visiting Professor at the Haas School of Management at Berkeley. He is a top TED speaker, with 5 different talks, which have reached an audience of over 25 million views. He has written numerous books, including The Paradox of Choice, Practical Wisdom, and Why We Work. In this episode, Craig speaks with Dr. Schwartz about the psychology of human decision-making and how we can learn to make the right choices, at the right times, and for the right reasons. Please listen to this fascinating conversation with one of the most highly respected experts on human behaviour in the world!

Yousry Bissada is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Home Capital Group. He has more than 30 years of financial services experience focused on the mortgage industry and is a member of the Home Capital Group Board of Directors. Mr. Bissada is a CPA, GCA and Accredited Mortgage Professional (AMP) and holds an ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors. In this episode, Craig speaks with Mr. Bissada about his journey and the lessons he has learned about positive leadership along the way. What You'll Learn: 1. Covid's impact on communication 2. Preserving company culture 3. Engaging your team 4. The impact of going remote 5. Changes in the mortgage industry 6. Managing your emotions while maintaining a team 7. Virtual onboarding 8. Navigating a crisis