The Remarkable Leadership Podcast

Chris McGoff states that darkness is not the opposite of light but is the absence of light and just waiting for the light. As such, any person can stand up a peak performance culture. He is the author of "Match in the Root Cellar: How You Can Spark a Peak Performance Culture". This book is unique in that it is broken into two parts. The first is the story of a CEO and her team—all based on real people— and how together they achieved a peak performance culture at their company despite the odds. The second part is a straightforward guide to reference for quick answers when developing your company's culture. Chris and Kevin discuss culture in organizations and what we will and won't tolerate.

Reflection is an important part of moving forward. Host Kevin Eikenberry is in the guest seat today to 'reflect' on two years of podcasts. He shares information for want-to-be podcasters, technology challenges (we've all had them) and guests he would like to have. Further, he touches on the evolution of his questions and segments, and the action items he has taken from the past 100+ guests. Kevin's book recommendation for this episode is to go back to any previous guest and read what they are reading.

In June my newest book, The Long-Distance Leader: Rules for Remarkable Remote Leadership, was released! And to celebrate this occasion, in this episode, I am sharing some of my best ideas from the book for leaders (or future leaders) of remote teams.

Research shows us that creativity is not for a select few. 40% of the population has the same creative potential. So, who becomes the next big tech genius, author, producer…? Allen Gannett, author of The Creative Curve: How To Develop the Right Idea, At the Right Time, shares the truth about creative success. Allen explains the mechanics of what he calls the "the creative curve" – the point of optimal tension between what is familiar and what is new. Creative people don't just consume content, they are deliberate. As a bonus, Allen shares some tips if you find yourself on The Wheel of Fortune.

Cash Keahey works with new and emerging leaders and is often asked what personality types make the best leaders? It's a difficult question at best and he didn't have the data to provide a solid answer. So, he took his interest in politics and studied successful presidents based on the assessments of 120 presidential historian-experts and accompanying analyses and authored Eight Leader Types in the White House: Discover and Leverage Your Oval Office Leadership Style. Cash used the Myers-Briggs/Jungian personality theory to develop his leadership types. We all demonstrate these styles depending on our view of the world and we evolve. He suggests we find our leadership type and jump to that presidential chapter in the book to learn more about our strengths and blind spots.

I am starting this episode with a very important question for leaders. Commitment or compliance: WHICH do you want? And your answer to that question will make all the difference to which you will actually get. Check out the video to learn more.

Statistics show that we spend more time with the people we work with than we do with our family. Todd Palmer, CEO of Extraordinary Advisors and author of The Job Search Process: Find & Land a Great Job in 6 Weeks or Less, discusses servant leadership and taking care of those that take care of you. He tells Kevin that there are fewer people working than 40 years ago, yet not enough people for jobs. Leaders need to be thinking about their talent search and the opportunities their companies offer. Todd also offers a bonus to listeners of the Remarkable Leadership Podcast

In leadership, there are a couple of types of problems or challenges: there are skill problems and there are habit problems. And in today's episode, I am sharing some ideas with you that will help you to address the habit problem of how to listen more and listen better.

Early in his career, Carter Cast sat in a tough meeting with his supervisor and learned a hard truth about himself. He says it derailed him for a time and then led to the research to understand what impeded the career progress of talented people. Carter is very candid with Kevin about that meeting and shares his research and about his book, The Right (and Wrong) Stuff: How Brilliant Careers are Made. Carter believes we must understand our own vulnerabilities to work around or manage them, so we don't sabotage our future.

It's inevitable that there will be "silos" in organizations – groups that operate individually and separately from the rest of the organization. And unfortunately, this can often lead to the "Them vs. Us" syndrome. And as leaders, we need to be breaking down barriers between project teams, groups and departments so that we can be more inclusive and therefore more successful. In today's episode, I am giving you five pieces of advice to help you and your organization be more inclusive.