Getting Unstuck – Cultivating Curiosity

How do you show up as a leader at work (and in life)? What impact do you want and need to have to feel engaged, energized, and accomplished? In this episode, Kirsten and Jeff talk with leadership expert, Kimberly Davis, author of the best seller, Brave Leadership. Here we'll learn how to show up authentically in life and at work, and how to define our "super objective" – our personal impact statement – and what can hold us back from implementing it.

Our lives are rarely linear. Most of start out "here" and then make a series of twists and turns. In this "Transformation Story," we talk with Becca Bycott. Becca's life began to take a major turn one day riding the Metro in Washington D.C. "Courage" she would later say, "is the willingness to realize that something isn't working and to change it." As she stepped off the train, she began a journey toward self-awareness that now expresses itself in rich and honest conversation, and at the keyboard.

How do you view change – as episodic or as a constant? In this episode, which is Part 2 of a two-part series, we'll continue to explore the idea of building a culture of change – a culture of continuous curiosity, experimentation, and learning. We'll focus primarily on leaders and organizations that operate in the absence of that philosophy. We're joined Amy Sokal. Amy brings almost twenty-years as a leader in non‐profit development and fundraising.

How do you view complex changes – as one-offs, or as a constant to support getting desired results? In this episode, which is Part 1 of a two-part series, we'll start to explore the idea of building a culture of change, or as we prefer to call it, a culture of continuous learning and improvement. We'll be joined mid-way through the episode by Edtech innovator, Claire Hollenbeck. Claire will draw on her extensive experience to share what happens in an organization that encourages a culture of learning.

OK, you've agreed on a plan for a complex change. Now, what do you need to consider to implement the plan? How do you get staff buy-in? In the first part of this episode, we'll suggest some answers to those questions. Then we'll hear from veteran educator and consultant Margaret Zacchei. With more than 25 years of experience as a school principal and teacher backing her up, Margaret will comment on how she worked with her staff to increase the likelihood of implement successful complex changes.

How can organizations and individuals experiment with change in a way that reduces risk and prevents the "fixedness" monster from keeping them stuck? In this episode, we focus on the experimentation phase of change for both organizations and individuals. Midway through, we'll hear from master experimenter, Alyssa Boehm. She describes the various methods she and her team use to prototype, test, and adapt new product concepts so as to increase the likelihood that the customer will like and benefit from them.

New ideas are often met with criticism and concern. In this episode, Kirsten and I review a number of strategies individuals and leaders can employ to overcome obstacles to change. Midway through this episode, we talk to author and leadership expert Lyle Kirtman who has worked extensively with business, government, and educational leaders. In this far ranging interview, Lyle explains why change initiatives often fail and explains how leaders can increase the likelihood of change success.

Our lives are rarely linear. Most of us start out "here" and then make a series of twists and turns. In this series we're calling "Transformation Stories," we interview one individual about how they came to be where they are now – aligned with who they really are and where they want to be in life. In this episode, we talk with Mike Johnson. Mike's work life began in the corporate world, but he exited that highway for a series of careers without which, he says, wouldn't have allowed him to retire at age 52.

You or your organization are stuck. How do you break free and come up with new ideas to help you move forward? Dr. Esmilda Abreu, Getting Unstuck's producer, interviews hosts Kirsten Richert and Jeff Ikler to share a few systematic methods for helping teams and individuals generate break-through ideas. Kirsten shares six key steps toward creating an effective Innovation Lab. Jeff closes the show with a coaching technique to break fixedness and shift thinking by adopting multiple perspectives.

Here, Kirsten is interviewed by Joe Kwon, our friend and host of the uniquely formatted "Why It Works" podcast. We'll learn what motivated Kirsten to give up the relative safety of a full time position and step out on her own as an innovation consultant. Kirsten and Joe will discuss common misconceptions people have around innovation, what holds us back from innovating, and how we can move beyond our "fixedness" to creatively engage ourselves and employees to increase the likelihood of reaching our goals.