Sydney Finkelstein: Superbosses Sydney Finkelstein, author of Superbosses: How Exceptional Leaders Master the Flow of Talent*, shows us how leaders can elevate their view of talent to benefit an entire organization -- and industry. Quotes A superboss is a boss who helps other people accomplish more than they ever thought possible. —Sydney Finkelstein When you help other people get better on your team … the payoff to you is exponential, because you’re now surrounded by superstars. —Sydney Finkelstein Superbosses will regularly create a job for a person when they didn’t even have the job open in the first place … wherever they go, they’re on the lookout for great talent. —Sydney Finkelstein Superbosses are not afraid of making a bad hire. —Sydney Finkelstein Superbosses are always looking for talent that is the absolute best, and and they know they need to look in places that the average person isn’t. —Sydney Finkelstein 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 is the host of the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast, Dean of Teaching and Learning and Professor of Business and Management at Vanguard University, and my life partner. Prior to her academic career, she was a human resources consultant and executive officer for a publicly traded company. Bonni is the author of The Productive Online and Offline Professor: A Practical Guide*. Question from Beth I have arthritis. It’s not severe, but after a wrist surgery there are things I can’t do. I had a team of 2 or 3 people and after the surgery I could perceive that my colleagues felt that workload was not equal towards the junior consultants and me. After many conflicts with the junior consultants, I decided to quit the job because I didn’t get the support of the office leader, and people in the office perceived I was taking advantage of my health situation. I have a new job and wouldn’t like that this problem to ever repeat. How can I assume leadership when I have this situation in my hands, how can I learn to delegate work without making people think that I’m over loading them. How can I have a strong position when I have health issues that don’t allow me to do some work? Question from Allison I had a question for a friend's situation. She has been a medical assistant for over a decade. The last 3 years she's been acting in a care coordinator capacity (i.e. non-clinical). Would you be able to provide advice for someone whose job title does not reflect the person's experience and capabilities? She is hoping to move into project management, but no one is willing to interview because of her title which implies only clinical experience. She has a graduate degree in healthcare management. How to Know Your Life Purpose in 5 Minutes by Adam Leipzig How to Get Value From Associations, with John Corcoran (episode 209) Question from Andrew What are your suggestions for how to plan out and use presentation software — or just lay out and plan a presentation in general. In the context of a business presentation, more than “from the stage.” How to Build a Good Presentation (episode 38) Practical Storytelling That Isn’t Awkward, with David Hutchens (episode 228) Piktochart What we’re doing for our own professional development: The Power of Habit* by Charles Duhigg The Automatic Customer* by John Warrillow Youtility* by Jay Baer Due app Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

Hassan Osman: Influencing Virtual Teams Key Points To avoid the bystander effect: Use direct language Assign to individuals, not to groups A lot of small to medium businesses ... tend to already be in the virtual team space without even knowing it. –Hassan Osman Anything that’s in writing usually carries a much more authoritative message. –Hassan Osman Resources Influencing Virtual Teams by Hassan Osman The War of Art* by Steven Pressfield Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

Learn how to achieve focused success in a distracted world with Cal Newport's rules for Deep Work. Train your brain to focus, set aside time for deep work, and make a move to signal your commitment to concentration. Discover the value of deep work in a competitive economy and explore practical strategies for prioritizing intense focus.

Tara Mohr: Playing Big Tara Mohr is an expert on women’s leadership and well-being. She is the author of Playing Big: Practical Wisdom for Women Who Want to Speak Up, Create, and Lead*, named a best book of the year by Apple’s iBooks. Tara is the creator and teacher of the global Playing Big leadership program for women, and of the Playing Big Facilitators Training for coaches, therapists, managers, and mentors. Your worst critic is probably yourself. In this conversation, Tara joins Dave to show you how to tame your inner critic. Actions to overcome your inner critic Write down your inner critic’s most commonly voiced lines. Create a character that suits your inner critic’s voice, and then picture it when you hear the voice. Look at the voice with compassion, trying to understand what your safety instinct is afraid of. Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

Janine Lombardi: J9 Leading Solutions On this week’s episode, Janine Lombardi provides a framework for how we can all get better results through effective energy use. Quote Part of a succession planning strategy is to have the role that you’re grooming people to take be attractive to them … We’re no longer going to see people stepping into leadership roles that are not attractive. —Janine Lombardi Ways to fuel mental energy Create a Gratitude Journal Relive a positive experience for two minutes a day Thank someone for something each day. Ways to fuel physical energy Get better sleep Eat healthily Take breaks often Resources Manage Your Energy, Not Your Time by Tony Schwartz and Catherine McCarthy 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 is the host of the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast, Dean of Teaching and Learning and Professor of Business and Management at Vanguard University, and my life partner. Prior to her academic career, she was a human resources consultant and executive officer for a publicly traded company. Bonni is the author of The Productive Online and Offline Professor: A Practical Guide*. Audio Question from Ian The Way to Lead After a Workplace Loss, with Andrew Stenhouse (episode 142) Audio Question from Nigel Question from Jennifer My company has two marketing departments. One is customer marketing which is more account focus and supports specific account managers. Account managers love them because they are their right hands. The other marketing department is consumer/brand marketing where I am in. We set corporate programs and brand strategies. I find myself constantly having to remind the sales team that we work for the same company with the same goal in mind. Some of them can be very critical about the new products and programs we developed because they are not tailored made for their specific accounts. Lately, some of them have been complaining about the new product launch timing. I am struggling with the situation because I want to support them as much as I can, but I cannot give them everything they want all the time. I read the below. Do you have any additional suggestions/actions I can take? I want to join them on sales calls to experience 1st hand what they are experiencing. I created a marketing pitch that I believe the buyers will like to hear and the sales team may not be able to articulate. I want to add value to the call. I thought they will be excited. I was wrong. None of them seems to like the idea. I really don't know what to do about it at this point. Ending the War Between Sales and Marketing by Philip Kotler, Neil Rackham, and Suj Krishnaswamy 5 Ways to Stop Teams From Fighting Question from Steve The book Flow which I read about two months ago was a great read, Mihaly describes the book as the first one written on the topic of flow specifically tailored for a wider audience as opposed to scholars of flow. I found it tough reading at times but having been introduced to the concept prior to reading the book, flow itself is an unmistakable feeling to experience and something that I get a lot of through writing which would deeply shock my high school English teachers today. I've often wondered if there is a lack of flow within business and job roles which leads to inefficiency and problems with micromanagement being one of these and then the constant disruption of phone, email, personal devices etc, what do you think? Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World* by Cal Newport Question from Hanan I am Hanan, from Saudi Arabia. I've been listening to your episodes and very curios to see more from you in future. I really appreciate the efforts and amazing thoughts and resources that you deliver. I admire you, and I have learned a lot from these episodes. So thank you very much. I have a question. I've grown in a place where men and women are separated in almost all life aspects (like family gathering, schooling, university, and sometimes work). But, there has been considerable change in the country towards allowing women to work where she wants, this is at the policy level. At the practice level, I think we "women", still need a lot of skills and qualities to be able to work in environment dominated by men. And even a lot more of leadership skills to be able to lead or acting as successful leaders in such environments. So, do you have any advice or resources that could help handle cultural issues? Note, due to the separation, misunderstanding is very common between men and women in everywhere. International Higher Education in the 21st Century (Teaching in Higher Ed)

Allan McDonald: Truth, Lies, and O-Rings Allan J. McDonald retired as vice president and technical director for advanced technology programs at ATK Thiokol Propulsion in 2001. He was the director of the Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Motor Project at the time of the Challenger accident and, later, vice president of engineering for space operations during the redesign and requalification of the solid rocket motors. Al passed away in 2021. Al was the one person who officially refused to sign off on Challenger's launch on January 28, 1986. His concerns for the launch conditions were ultimately overridden by his boss. He would eventually testify to the Rogers Commission which had major implications for their findings. Later in life, he spoke to audiences all over the world on ethics and decision-making. He's the author with James Hansen of Truth, Lies, and O-Rings: Inside the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster*. In this conversation, Al shared the details of the conversation between NASA and Morton Thiokol the evening prior to the launch. He also detailed what happened after the accident and his extraordinary decision to interrupt NASA's testimony to the Rogers Commission. He also shared a key message on why it still matters, all these years later. Key Points As director of the solid rocket motor project, Al McDonald refused to sign off on the launch, concerned that launch weather conditions were unsafe. Despite almost perfectly predicting the accident, Al himself was initially unconvinced that the solid rocket motors were the cause, believing the shuttle would have exploded on the pad had that been the case. When it appeared that NASA officials weren't being fully transparent about the events leading up to the accident, Al interrupted their testimony to the Rogers Commission, a move he fully expected would end his career. Al was effectively demoted after his testimony. Congress ultimately intervened with a law that would have ended his organization's government contract, unless they reinstated his prior position. It's the only time the United States Congress has passed a law aimed at benefitting a single individual. It's your responsibility as a professional to have an opinion and to speak up. Don’t assume that other people will always do their job. Resources Mentioned Remembering Allan McDonald: He Refused To Approve Challenger Launch, Exposed Cover-Up by NPR Major Malfunction: Revisiting Challenger by The New York Times Related Episodes How to Deal with Opponents and Adversaries, with Peter Block(episode 328) The Way to Make Better Decisions, with Annie Duke (episode 499) The Way Out of Major Conflict, with Amanda Ripley (episode 529) Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic. To accelerate your learning, uncover more inside Coaching for Leaders Plus.

David Hutchens: Circle of the 9 Muses If you’ve found telling stories awkward in leadership, David Hutchens shows us how to leverage practical storytelling for results. Quotes The most important part of the work [of storytelling] is all the stuff that happens after a story is told. When you tell a story, that’s not the end of a conversation, it’s the beginning. —David Hutchens Instead of me saying, “Hey, this story is important,” I always ask the audience why it’s important, and let them make a case for it. And they always do. —David Hutchens When a group starts having meaning-making conversations together, they’re surprised at the feeling of connection that it creates. —David Hutchens You can stumble and stutter your way through the story, but if it’s the right story, and if it’s connected to the work that matters to us, then it can be transformational. —David Hutchens Resources Mentioned GO Team program* Leadership Story Deck* by David Hutchens Circle of the 9 Muses: A Storytelling Field Guide for Innovators and Meaning Makers* by David Hutchens David’s email: David@DavidHutchens.com Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

Chip Espinoza: Millennials Who Manage Chip Espinoza shares wisdom from his new book, Millennials Who Manage: How to Overcome Workplace Perceptions. Chip is the Co-author of Millennials@Work: The 7 Skills Every Twenty-Something Needs to Overcome Roadblocks and Achieve Greatness At Work and Managing the Millennials: Discover the Core Competencies for Managing Today’s Workforce. He is also Academic Director of the Organizational Psychology program at Concordia University Irvine. Quotes The major challenge [millennials] have in getting to the next level is their lack of patience. —Chip Espinoza It’s not the people that are against us that are going to hold us back from achieving what we want; it’s the people who love us the most. —Chip Espinoza The number one challenge of moving from a peer worker to being a boss is a redefinition of a relationship with their peers. The second greatest challenge is the fear of disappointing the person who promoted them. —Chip Espinoza Resources Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ by Daniel Goleman Google’s Quest to Build a Better Boss by Adam Bryant Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.