Chris Deferio: Keys to the Shop Chris Deferio is a cafe quality specialist who has dedicated 20 years of his life to working in and studying specialty coffee retail. He is also the creator and host of the industry leading podcast, Keys to the Shop, which gives listeners insights, inspiration, and tools to grow as specialty coffee professionals. Chris previously appeared on the show to help us get more perspective on managing part-time staff. In this conversation, Chris and I explore some of the practical steps that small business owners and general managers can take in order to support employee retention. Key Points Be mindful of the realities of turnover in a small business, but don’t let it stop you from thinking about the future and investing in people. Yes, hire for attitude — and also have an eye to future potential as the business grows. Ask people this question in interviews: “Where did you contribute to dysfunction in your prior organization?” Make an investment in people beyond the paycheck. This could be learning, culture, competitions, or more. There are ways to do this without tremendous expense. Practice intentional breaks in your rhythm, since nobody else in your business is likely to do this. Resources Mentioned Keys to the Shop podcast Good to Great* by Jim Collins Good Authority* by Jonathan Raymond Chris Deferio’s consulting Related Episodes Three Steps To Soliciting Feedback, with Tom Henschel (episode 107) How to Lead Part-Time Staff, with Chris Deferio (episode 289) Six Tactics to Achieve Extraordinary Performance, with Morten Hansen (episode 337) How to Connect Personal Growth to Business Outcomes, with Jonathon Raymond (episode 373) Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

Bar Schwartz: Bring Your People Along Bar Schwartz is a member of the Coaching for Leaders Academy. She’s a software engineer by training and today a consultant and coach who lives and works in Berlin. Bar helps leaders to look differently on how they lead people to create meaningful work — and building structures that put people first. When Bar joined the Academy last year, she quickly set a goal to capture a few ideas in writing. This goal led to her writing a book in just a few short weeks. More importantly, she discovered the power of consistent movement in creating future opportunities. Since this episode originally aired, Bar's book has been published as Leadership in a Time of Continuous Technological Change: Align, Strengthen, and Mobilize Your Team*. As a result, it is no longer available as a free download. Key Points Your team will be more productive if it feels connected. It’s not hard to find questions if you listen. Small, manageable steps are more likely to lead to long-term success. Bonus Audio How to work in your strengths Resources Mentioned Bar Schwartz on LinkedIn Leadership in a Time of Continuous Technological Change: Align, Strengthen, and Mobilize Your Team* by Bar Schwartz Happen to Your Career podcast by Scott Anthony Barlow (bonus audio) Related Episodes How to Know When to Move On (episode 175) Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

Hassan Osman: Effective Delegation of Authority Hassan is a project management office leader at Cisco, where he leads a team of over 150 project and program managers on delivering complex projects across the world. He’s also served as a management consultant at Ernst & Young (now EY), where he led projects and programs for the largest enterprises. He’s the author of Effective Delegation of Authority: A (Really) Short Book for New Managers About How to Delegate Work Using a Simple Delegation Process. In this episode, Hassan and I discuss the three stages of delegation, the critical importance of planning, and how to leverage delegation as a development opportunity. Also impressive is the ten books Hassan has published while working full-time as a manager at a Fortune 100 company. He teaches others how to do it on his Writer on the Side podcast. Key Points Before you begin the delegation process, decide on the outcomes you need and the right person to get you there. Set expectations for goals, not actions. Use checkpoints to ensure progress and adjust frequency for experience and visibility. Summarize delegation meetings in writing after they occur. The real work of managers is to define the work, before it starts. Resources Mentioned Effective Delegation of Authority: A (Really) Short Book for New Managers About How to Delegate Work Using a Simple Delegation Process* by Hassan Osman Writer on the Side podcast Book Notes Download my highlights from Effective Delegation of Authority in PDF format (free membership required). Related Episodes Start Influencing Virtual Teams, with Hassan Osman (episode 234) The Way to Stop Rescuing People From Their Problems, with Michael Bungay Stanier (episode 284) Five Steps to Hold People Accountable, with Jonathan Raymond (episode 306) Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

Bonni Stachowiak: Teaching in Higher Ed Bonni Stachowiak is the host of the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast, a professor of business and management at Vanguard University, and my life partner. Prior to her academic career, Bonni was a human resources consultant and executive officer for a publicly traded company. She joins me monthly to respond to listener questions. Listener Questions Elizabeth asked about a tricky issue with an underperforming team member she inherited. Gordon wondered what he could do to support resilience during a time of massive change. Leona asked how she might think about the disconnect from what her organization espouses and what she sees in practice. Anthony was curious about when it’s appropriate to ask “why” and when it’s not. Resources Mentioned Scaling Up: How a Few Companies Make It … and Why the Rest Don’t* by Verne Harnish Scaling Up Growth Tools Analyzing Performance Problems* by Robert F. Mager and Peter Pipe Related Episodes How to Succeed with Leadership and Management, with John Kotter (episode 249) How to Build Psychological Safety, with Amy Edmondson (episode 404) How to Clarify What’s Important, with Ron Williams (episode 410) Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

Dave Stachowiak: Coaching for Leaders I am often asked about the tools and technology behind our work. As we’ve updated our systems over the past year, I’ve identified seven tools that may also be helpful for you in creating more margin. Used thoughtfully, tools like these help us automate the things we can automate so we can spend more time doing the things we should never automate. Here are seven that may help: Technology Tools to Create Margin Acuity Scheduling* powers our all our calendars and serves as a 24/7 scheduling assistant. Automated reminders, time zone adjustments, rescheduling, and video meeting integration happen seamlessly. TextExpander* saves us tons of time each day to quickly populate documents, emails, forms, and other repeatable typing so we can respond to others faster and with more accuracy. The link above will provide you a 20% discount. 1Password* helps us create unique and strong password for every account. Plus, there families and teams programs allow us to share passwords with others who need access. Pipedrive* is the customer relationship management system that’s just right for us. Powerful enough to visually help us to track every business conversation, but simple enough to be affordable and practical. The link above will provide access for a free trial. ConvertKit* gives our listeners a lot more choices on the kind of emails they receive. Plus, it provides its own automation to help your organization build its brand. This link above will provide access for a free trial. SaneBox* automatically filters our email so we can prioritize what’s most important. Plus, tons of other reminder tools come along with it. The link above will save you $15 if you decide to try it out. WP Engine* is the leader in WordPress managed hosting and now powers all of our sites. This link above will save you 10% hosting or three months free over a year. New Podcast: Dave’s Journal I announced a project titled Dave’s Journal. It’s a new podcast airing episodes of five minutes or less. The goal of each entry is to capture a valuable insight or reflection for leaders. Subscribe to Dave’s Journal on your favorite platform: Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Stitcher Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

Ron Williams: Learning to Lead Ron Williams is a veteran business leader, turn-around expert, and advocate for value creation. Today he is chairman and CEO of RW2 Enterprises and also a member of the board of directors for American Express, The Boeing Company, and Johnson & Johnson. Ron is the former chairman and CEO of health insurance giant Aetna. When he joined Aetna in 2001, its loss from continuing operations was $292 million, with earnings per share at a loss of $0.46. In 2011, the year he stepped down as Chairman, Aetna’s full-year operating earnings were $2 billion, with operating earnings per share of $5.17. In this conversation, Ron shares wisdom from his book, Learning to Lead: The Journey to Leading Yourself, Leading Others, and Leading an Organization*. Ron discusses his own leadership journey and how he asked the right questions to inspire a successful turn-around at Aetna. He also shares the reason for avoiding “why” questions and the value that knowledge maps provided at Aetna. Key Points Ron’s five kinds of questions that help challenge your organization’s reality: Highlight key problems Clarify the facts Probe an underlying story Suggest alternatives Drill down to basics In addition, Ron suggested: Ask questions that start with “what” instead of “why.” Utilize knowledge maps to support business literacy for complex issues. Make yourself better every year by aiming for 15% improvement. Resources Mentioned Learning to Lead: The Journey to Leading Yourself, Leading Others, and Leading an Organization* by Ron Williams Book Notes Download my highlights from Learning to Lead in PDF format (free membership required). Related Episodes The Way to Grow Your Leadership Career, with Ron Wallace (episode 267) Executive Presence with Your Elevator Speech, with Tom Henschel (episode 316) How to Create an Unstoppable Culture, with Ginger Hardage (episode 350) Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

Jim Harter: It’s the Manager Jim Harter is the Chief Scientist for Workplace at Gallup. He has led more than 1,000 studies of workplace effectiveness, including the largest ongoing meta-analysis of human potential and business unit performance. He is the co-author with Jim Clifton of the new book, It’s the Manager: Gallup Finds That the Quality of Managers and Team Leaders is the Single Biggest Factor in Your Organization’s Long-Term Success*. Key Points Millennials and Generation Z have influenced the changing nature of work. Six key findings from Gallup: People don’t just work for a paycheck — they want a purpose. People are no longer pursuing job satisfaction — they are pursuing development. People don’t want bosses — they want coaches. People don’t want annual reviews — they want ongoing conversations. People don’t want a manager that fixates on their weaknesses. People say, it’s not my job — it’s my life. Resources Mentioned It's the Manager: Gallup Finds the Quality of Managers and Team Leaders is the Single Biggest Factor in Your Organization's Long-Term Success* by Jim Clifton and Jim Harter CliftonStrengths (formerly StrengthsFinder) assessment Gallup Access Book Notes Download my highlights from It’s the Manager in PDF format (free membership required). Related Episodes These Coaching Questions Get Results, with Michael Bungay Stanier (episode 237) How Teams Use StrengthsFinder Results, with Lisa Cummings (episode 293) Three Steps to Great Career Conversations, with Russ Laraway (episode 370) Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

Oscar Trimboli: Deep Listening Oscar is a mentor, coach, speaker, and author. He was a director at Microsoft for over a decade and headed up the MS Office division in Australia. Today, he works with leadership teams and their organizations on the importance of clarity to create change, how to embrace the digital economy, and the role values play in the achievement of your purpose. He is the author of Deep Listening: Impact Beyond Words*. Key Points Listen beyond the words that are said and try to determine what the speaker is really trying to say. The more senior you are, the more listening you’ll do. Ask the speaker: “Tell me more” or “What else are you thinking?” or “How long have you been thinking about that?” To be a great listener, you have to create a space where you’re available to listen. For every hour you listen, you need to spend another hour in action. Leaders often are not great at hearing all the opinions in the room. Bonus Audio Three tips to becoming a better listener Resources Mentioned The 5 Myths of Listening Deep Listening: Impact Beyond Words* by Oscar Trimboli Book Notes Download my highlights from Deep Listening in PDF format (free membership required). Related Episodes How to Be a Non-Conformist, with Adam Grant (episode 238) How to Increase Your Conversational Intelligence, with Judith Glaser (episode 271) How to Become the Person You Want to Be, with James Clear (episode 376) Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

Bonni Stachowiak: Teaching in Higher Ed Bonni Stachowiak is Dave’s life partner and best friend, business professor, past executive leader, and the host of the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast. Listener Questions Brad asked about supporting a team member who’s being taken advantage of by someone else in the organization. Mark is wondering about how to help an existing team move on to being a high-performing team. Ashish asked about how to determine more in the interviewing process. Craig wanted perspective on how to be more visible. Resources Mentioned The Empowered Manager* by Peter Block Essentialism* by Greg Mckeown Related Episodes How to Deal with Opponents and Adversaries, with Peter Block (episode 328) The Path to Start Leading Your Team, with John Piñeiro (episode 349) Develop Leaders Before You Leave, with David Marquet (episode 405) How to Work With an Executive Recruiter, with Becky deSouza (episode 406) Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

Becky deSouza: Conexus Talent Acquisition Solutions Becky is a partner with Conexus Talent Acquisition Solutions and has dedicated her career of 20+ years to developing effective solutions for Talent Development and Recruiting. Becky spent 11 years running DreamWorks Animation’s Corporate Recruiting team. Today she leads the human resources recruiting practice with Conexus. Key Points Recruiting firms can be regional, industry-specific, or functional. Look to your network for leads, but be careful when networking with your colleagues. Work to fully engage with your recruiter. Be honest with your recruiter, even if you aren’t totally ready to commit. Always keep your LinkedIn profile updated since it can serve as a type of resume. Make sure your web and social presence is consistent with the expectations of your desired job. Check your privacy settings on social media. Resources Mentioned Becky deSouza on LinkedIn Related Episodes How to Figure Out Your Career, with Scott Anthony Barlow (episode 259) How to Write a Killer LinkedIn Profile, with Brenda Bernstein (episode 285) How to Get the Ideal Team Player, with Patrick Lencioni (episode 301) How to Find Your Calling, with Ken Coleman (episode 352) Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.