The Remarkable Leadership Podcast

When we talk about organizational change, we think about long meetings, lots of slides, and confusion on the goals. Further, we often default to how long will it take and how much will it cost me? Not to mention the change leaders are left to find for themselves. Brendon Baker shares with Kevin that to be successful, we need to ask different questions and continue to monitor and nurture the change. Key Points Brendon discusses why many change efforts fail. He shares the 3 valuable questions we should be asking. Why are we doing this? What does success look like? What are we exactly doing? Discusses scope creep and why. He share the 5 stages of momentum. Meet Brendon Name: Brendon Baker His Story: Brendon is the author of the best-seller Valuable Change: What You Need to Know to Ensure Your Change Pays Off, and has consulted on over $10 Billion in key transformation projects and programs across a range of industries and organizational sizes Worth Mentioning: Brendon established the Valuable Change Co. with one central mission in mind: to Help Change Leaders Drive Real Value, but on his way found his secondary mission: Fight Unnecessary Complexity. Brendon is based on the rural outskirts of Canberra, Australia and has a degree in Business Management. This episode is brought to you by… Future of Work Newsletter, a free weekly e-newsletter. It’s full of articles and resources to help you, your team and your organization be more successful in the ever-changing remote work environment. Book Recommendations Valuable Change: What You Need to Know to Ensure Your Change Pays Off by Brendon Baker Related Podcast Episodes Leading Change Intelligently with Barbara Trautlein. Leading Large-Scale Change with Bill Schaninger. Leading in a World of Explosive Change with Henry De Sio, Jr.

This is the last and fourth in a series of episodes about four-letter words. But don’t worry – this and all the other episodes carry a G rating. You can watch the other episodes here. As the title of this post says, I am talking about the longest four-letter word. So technically, it’s not a four-letter word. But since this series is about “dirty” words, and we often think of dirty words as four-letter words, we are including it in this series. The longest four-letter word is accountable. And I’m considering it a four-letter word here because most of the time when we hear it, it’s associated with things going wrong. And as a leader, it’s up to us to change this bad association/assumption and help empower our team instead. But this won’t happen overnight. We’ve heard this word used negatively for a long time and if we’re going to change its connotation, we must change the way we use it. You must not only use it when things are going badly, you must not only use it with the word “hold” in front of it. Not I’m going to hold you accountable, but rather I’m going to help you be accountable. I’m going to help you take ownership. I’m going to help you be empowered. Changing it and using it carefully. Changing it and using it differently. Tweet it out: Accountability isn’t a dirty word – though some act like it is. Being accountable is simply taking ownership and responsibility. When we talk about it all the time – and not just when things go badly – people won’t think accountable is a dirty word after all. @KevinEikenberry In this episode: Subscribe to the Remarkable Leadership Podcast.

Most of the problems we face today are messy, complex, and have no correct answer. Further, we have no precedence of how to solve them. Kevin chats with Sarah Stein Greenberg, who shares practical and maybe unusual ways to help you tackle the challenges you face. It is critical to have a curious mind and be intentional with your actions. Key Points Sarah shares her thoughts about design and risk. She discusses how to extend our curiosity. She shares examples of paths to creativity including: Come up with ideas. Locate your own voice. Tell a compelling story. Slow down and focus. Meet Sarah Name: Sarah Stein Greenberg Her Story: Sarah is the author of Creative Acts for Curious People: How to Think, Create, and Lead in Unconventional Ways. She is also the Executive Director of the Stanford d.school. She leads a community of designers, faculty, and other innovative thinkers who help people unlock their creative abilities and apply them to the world. Worth Mentioning: Sarah holds an MBA from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business and a BA in history from Oberlin College. She also serves as a trustee for the global conservation organization Rare. This episode is brought to you by… Unleashing Your Remarkable Potential, Kevin’s free weekly e-newsletter. It’s full of articles and resources to help you become a more confident and successful leader. Book Recommendations Creative Acts for Curious People: : How to Think, Create, and Lead in Unconventional Ways by Sarah Stein Greenberg System Error: Where Big Tech Went Wrong and How We Can Reboot by Rob Reich, Mehran Sahami, Jeremy M. Weinstein Related Podcast Episodes Innovation is Everybody’s Business with Tamara Ghandour. Making Creativity an Everyday Habit with Scott Anthony.

In this episode, we’re talking about a four letter word, a four letter word to be careful with. And that word is lazy. Lazy is a word of judgment. It’s something that we see inside of their behavior. It’s something that we infer about their intentions. Like just because someone’s laying on their couch right now, does that necessarily mean they’re lazy? I don’t know. All I know is there’s a difference between judging and observing, and the word lazy is typically used as a word of judgment. So we use it on others. And then once we’ve labeled them as lazy, it changes our perspective about them and we use it on ourselves. Now, I used to say to myself, if I didn’t get up, when I’d plan to that I’m lazy. Now I try to remember to say not that I’m lazy but that I didn’t get up when I planned to. Those are two different things. They have two different inferences about myself. And so here’s my point. The word lazy is a label that rarely serves us, whether we’re thinking about ourselves or whether we’re thinking about someone else. Because the fact is, we’ve all been lazy. But no one is always lazy. Lazy is a choice or maybe a habit, but it’s not a character trait. Tweet it out: Be careful with using the word ‘lazy’ – because it places judgment that could be incorrect and is seldom helpful for anyone. @KevinEikenberry In this episode: Subscribe to the Future of Work Newsletter.

We are social beings and our relationships with others are critical to our happiness. That is just one of the ways that Beverly Jones shares on how we can get unstuck and create fulfillment and happiness. She tells Kevin that what works for us as individuals is just as important for leaders. When you manage your happiness, you are more empathetic and better able to motivate your team. Key Points Beverly Jones offers practical strategies to create joy and meaning at work (or home). The include: Making better use of your calendar. The importance of networking and what it is and isn’t. Learning something new; when you are in learning mode you are more creative. The “engagement triangle”: by managing 3 factors you can increase awareness and motivate yourself and team members. Meet Beverly Name: Beverly Jones Her Story: Beverly is the author of Find Your Happy at Work: 50 Ways to Get Unstuck, Move Past Boredom, and Discover Fulfillment. She works with leaders to spark engagement and productivity in their teams and helps professionals to thrive in their careers. She is a Visiting Fellow at the Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service at Ohio University. Worth Mentioning: Beverly started working at 13 She was a Washington lawyer, and then an energy company executive, before women were always welcome, and learned career and leadership lessons the hard way, a little at a time. She is a born pessimist who learned optimism by trial and error. This episode is brought to you by… Future of Work Newsletter, a free weekly e-newsletter. It’s full of articles and resources to help you, your team and your organization be more successful in the ever-changing remote work environment. Book Recommendations Find Your Happy at Work by Beverly E. Jones Finding Comfort During Hard Times: A Guide to Healing after Disaster, Violence, and Other Community Trauma by Earl Johnson Related Podcast Episodes Creating Happiness in the Workplace with Kris Boesch. Networking for People Who Hate Networking with Devora Zack. Putting Happiness to Work with Eric Karpinski. Getting Unstuck with Craig Lemasters.  

This is the second in a series of videos on four-letter words. This might shock my Grandmother – that is until she watched them to see what these words are and are not. 🙂 The last video was on the most dangerous four-letter word (You can watch that here). And this video is on the hardest four-letter word. Today we’re talking about WORK. Tweet it out: Your perspective on the word work is an indicator of what you will achieve in life. @KevinEikenberry In this episode: Subscribe to the Daily Email.  

What do you do when you don’t know what to do? If the past has taught us anything, it is the future is unstable. Further, we like the change we opt into, but struggle with the change we can’t control. April Rinne joins Kevin to discuss why we should focus on preparing for the future, not predicting the future. Key Points April shares the significance of the word ‘flux’ and her thoughts on a flux mindset. Details around the flux superpowers of “trust” and “get lost”. The shift from predict to prepare. Meet April Name: April Rinne Her Story: April is the author of Flux: 8 Superpowers for Thriving in Constant Change. She is a change navigator: she helps individuals and organizations rethink and reshape their relationship with change, uncertainty, and a world in flux. Worth Mentioning: April is a trusted advisor to organizations ranging from Airbnb, Nike, Intuit, the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, NESTA, Trōv, AnyRoad, and Unsettled, as well as governments spanning Singapore to South Africa, Canada to Colombia, Italy to India. This episode is brought to you by… Future of Work Newsletter, a free weekly e-newsletter. It’s full of articles and resources to help you, your team and your organization be more successful in the ever-changing remote work environment. Book Recommendations Flux: 8 Superpowers for Thriving in Constant Change by April Rinne Change Sings: A Children’s Anthem by Amanda Gorman Mr. Flux by Kyo Maclear Related Podcast Episodes Helping People Change with Melvin Smith. Growing People and Companies Through Change with Stacy Henry. Leading in a World of Explosive Change with Henry De Sio, Jr..

Bet you weren’t expecting a video title like that on this podcast?!  Well, don’t worry. The episode and the entire topic is totally SFW (safe for work – and anywhere for that matter!) In fact, the four-letter word I’m talking about in the video below is one we hear ALL THE TIME. And in the episode, I’ll explain why it’s so dangerous and how you can ban it from your vocabulary for good! Tweet it out: Saying we are busy is an excuse – and focuses on activity. Stop making excuses and start focusing on what you need to accomplish. No one really cares how busy you are anyway. @KevinEikenberry In this episode: Subscribe to Remarkable TV.  

Do you want compliance, or do you want engagement? Jeremie Kubicek joins Kevin to discuss how we need more leaders worth following. There is a balance of support (not coddling) and challenge (not demeaning) to get the most from your team. Quite frankly, if you are leading and no one is following, you are just going on a walk. Key Points Jeremie shares the definition of a 100x leader. The idea of challenge and support. The importance of setting and managing expectations. Why leaders need coaches. Meet Jeremie Name: Jeremie Kubicek His Story: Jeremie is the coauthor of The 100X Leader: How to Become Someone Worth Following. He is the Executive Chairman of GiANT, a technology company focused on unlocking the potential of people, teams, and organizations. Worth Mentioning: Jeremie is a powerful communicator, serial entrepreneur and content builder. He creates content used by some of the largest companies around the globe found in the books he has authored: The 100X Leader, 5 Voices, 5 Gears and the National Bestseller, Making Your Leadership Come Alive. He has started over 20 companies while living in Oklahoma City, Moscow, Atlanta and London. This episode is brought to you by… The Daily Email, daily inspiration for leaders sent Monday-Friday every week. Kevin writes a short message to inform, inspire, engage, and focus you on becoming the best you and the best leader you can be. Book Recommendations The 100X Leader: How to Become Someone Worth Following by Jeremie Kubicek and Steve Cockram The Age of Eisenhower: America and the World in the 1950s by William I Hitchcock Related Podcast Episodes Conscious Leadership with Carter Phipps. The Coaching Effect with Bill Eckstrom. A Leadership Development Revolution with Jennifer Mackin.

Today I am challenging your thinking on how you give and receive feedback. And I’m starting by asking you: How do you see feedback? Do you see feedback as a gift? Your answer to these questions will help determine how successful you are in both giving and receiving feedback. Tweet it out: Feedback is a gift. See it as such, and you will learn more from it and build trust with those who give it to you. @KevinEikenberry In this episode: Learn more and sign up for our Remarkable Master Class, Giving Feedback Successfully.