In this episode hear business strategy expert Berta Aldrich describe how the global marketplace has changed and explain why companies are struggling to hire and retain high-performing talent. She shares tips from her latest book, Winning the Talent Shift to show you how to overcome the three main barriers to unlocking the potential in today’s workplace. By redesigning your talent acquisition strategy, you will increase revenue, engage teams and leaders, and set your company apart from the competition in the marketplace. About Berta Aldrich For more information about Berta Aldrich, go to www.bertaaldrich.com, or LinkedIn “Winning the Talent Shift” by Berta Aldrich.

Join us to hear learning strategy and design expert Julie Dirksen explain how to create a learning experience that’s effective instead of one that gets forgotten as soon as the learner completes the session. The first important steps in Dirksen’s process are to understand who your learners are, then define the behavior you want them to learn. This might seem obvious—but the trick is to identify the specific steps required to make that behavior visible and then teach them in a way that is both memorable and applicable to the learner. Dirksen understands that the goal of good learning design is to help learners emerge from the learning experience with new or improved capabilities—skills they can take back to the real world and apply immediately. With the recent shift to virtual learning, this includes using methods to keep people engaged in the session. Dirksen encourages you to use tools available on learning platforms to keep people active, such as asking participants to write on a whiteboard or put comments in the chat, or calling on them to unmute and answer a question. She also stresses the important role that repetition plays in the transfer of knowledge and offers methods to enhance memory. Dirksen’s favorite learning tip? Designers should ask themselves one question about every single thing they are trying to teach: Can I provide a real-world example that will illustrate this learning point?   About Julie Dirksen: To learn more about Julie Dirksen, go to www.usablelearning.com.

Marcus Buckingham believes there are some basic assumptions about work that are just no longer true in the business environment today. In this episode, he shares his insights on eight of the nine lies featured in his latest book, Nine Lies About Work: A Freethinking Leader’s Guide to the Real World, including ideas such as: People care which company they work for; The best plan wins; The best companies cascade goals; The best people are well-rounded; People need feedback; and more.

In this exciting episode, you’ll hear how aviation pioneer Carey D. Lohrenz learned what Fearless Leadership means in two of the most demanding and extreme environments imaginable: the cockpit of an F-14 and the flight deck of an aircraft carrier. Through her experiences, Lohrenz identified a fundamental truth: high performing teams require fearless leaders. “Fearless leadership isn’t about not feeling fear. It’s having the ability to feel uncomfortable and to move through it and show up to be the best you can be,” explains Lohrenz. Hear her describe the fundamentals of Fearless Leadership: Courage: If you cultivate courage in yourself, you’ll have what it takes to see limitless possibilities for yourself as a leader. Tenacity: Embracing the persistence it takes to keep going after a goal—even when it becomes difficult or risky—and continuing to take action. Integrity: Do the right thing, be honest, be trustworthy, and lead by example. Lohrenz also describes how to put Fearless Leadership into action by first setting a clear vision, then being the catalyst for moving your team toward that vision by creating the culture to support it. She also illustrates the importance of being resilient as a leader and describes the seven steps you can take to become more resilient: Reject victimhood Embrace change Focus on what matters Find a wingman Know what you can control Learn from adversity Take action “Above all, Fearless Leadership is the difference between having the life, team, culture, and organization that you want, and settling,” says Lohrenz. So risk more, worry less, and take action—because bold, fearless action drives success. For more information about Carey Lohrenz, visit www.careylohrenz.com

A finite game has known players, fixed rules, and a clear end point, like baseball. But with infinite games such as business or politics, the players come and go, the rules are changeable, and there is no defined end point. There are no winners or losers in an infinite game—there is only ahead or behind.

In this episode, hear virtual training pioneer Cindy Huggett share information from her book Virtual Training Tools and Templates: An Action Guide to Live Online Learning. She offers tips to ensure your virtual training is successful by meeting the specific needs of your organization. The first step is to define what virtual training means for your company. For example, if you are trying to replicate an in-person experience for a small audience, your design will have different requirements than it would if you were trying to reach a large audience. When creating a virtual program, the three most important things to consider are an engaging facilitator, an interactive design, and prepared participants. Preparation is a key to success. Virtual facilitators must understand the specific features of the technology they are using and have backups in place. Huggett’s book offers a virtual trainer checklist to help. Most of all, facilitators need to realize that delivering in the virtual arena involves much more than simply making a presentation. Facilitators must make learners the focus—and think of the training as a conversation. To help the learning come alive, make use of the time together in the virtual setting exactly as you would in a face-to-face session. About Cindy Huggett:   To learn more about Cindy Huggett, go to www.cindyhuggett.com, or find her on Twitter: @cindyhugg.

Alexa Shoen, author of #EntryLevelBoss, shares secrets for finding your dream job. She challenges the beliefs that hinder job search efforts, like the need for the right degrees. Shoen advises answering three key questions before starting the search. She reveals creative methods for making connections and emphasizes the importance of being interested rather than looking interesting to potential employers.

In this week’s podcast, you’ll hear Brendon Burchard explain why and how some people perform at a higher level than others. He identifies six habits successful people practice to sustain long-term achievement in their personal and professional lives. Seek clarity. Successful people continually seek clarity. They are curious and ask questions. They are intentional about understanding how they are perceived by others and about the specific differences they want to make. Generate energy. So much mental, emotional, and spiritual fatigue exist today that we all must take control of our own energy. High performers develop routines such as meditation or other wellness practices to increase their energy throughout the day. They practice the exercise of releasing tension and they set their intentions before starting a project or activity. They create transitional moments to refuel their bodies and minds, and to increase creativity and focus. Raise necessity. High performers amp themselves up to do a good job. Before any situation, they define why it is important to excel, and they increase the psychological stress on themselves. They understand who and what they are performing for, and strive to be their best. Increase productivity. Focus is the key to increasing productivity. High performers don’t do something just so they can cross it off their list. They continuously determine the most important work they should be doing—and then they intentionally block out time for that work in order to achieve their most critical goals. Develop influence. High performers influence others by asking them to think about things differently and to challenge themselves. When you think about someone who influenced you, you’ll realize they probably challenged you in the same way. Demonstrate courage. Demonstrating courage doesn’t have to be a Herculean feat. Practical things done on a daily basis help people perform at higher levels. Speaking up for yourself, sharing your truth, and speaking up for others are all acts of courage. As Burchard explains, “The things that matter most to your performance might seem like common sense, but they are not common practice. You must identify the things that make you extraordinary and align the right habits to help yourself become a higher achiever.” About Brendon Burchard For more information on Brendon Burchard, visit www.brendon.com

In this episode, hear Keith Ferrazzi explain the new rules for work presented in his latest book, Leading Without Authority. The days of authoritative command and control are gone. “Work doesn’t happen in organization charts anymore. Leaders need to learn the power of co-elevation to bring collaboration to a higher level of effectiveness,” says Ferrazzi. When a leader thinks of themselves as a servant, host, or Sherpa, their role changes to one that focuses on working hard to get the most out of a group of individuals. If the whole team is committed to the mission and to each other, extraordinary and transformative things happen. A team isn’t necessarily a group of people in the same department reporting to the same person. Today’s teams are made up of peers working together across functions to achieve results. Co-elevation requires a shift in mindset and behaviors. Ferrazzi shares how to re-contract with colleagues to define new ways to work together collaboratively and offers bold solutions you can put into practice tomorrow. Now more than ever before, it is critical for individuals to step up and lead even if they don’t have the title, the authority, or the position. It might not be comfortable at first, because it will be disruptive. But disruption drives innovation. The true power behind co-elevation breaks down silos and gets people focused on crossing the finish line together. For more information about Keith Ferrazzi, go to www.keithferrazzi.com. To access the handout mentioned in the podcast, go to www.keithferrazzi.com/leaderchat.

In this episode, hear leadership expert Dave McKeown challenge leaders to break the cycle of mediocrity and take responsibility for their own development. In his latest book, The Self-Evolved Leader, McKeown acknowledges that it is easy for leaders to get stuck in the busyness of the day-to-day and allow themselves to be disrupted at any time. Leaders need to spend less time taking care of every little detail and more time developing, inspiring, and encouraging their staff.