Coaching for Leaders

Lynda Gratton: The 100-Year Life Lynda Gratton is a Professor of Management Practice at London Business School. She has been ranked in the top 15 on The Thinkers50 list of the world’s top 50 business thinkers. She’s the author with Andrew Scott of The 100-Year Life: Living and working in an age of longevity*. Key Points Many more of us, and potentially a majority of our children, will live to be 100 or more Organizations (and society) still tend to frame our lives in three stages: education, work, retirement Transitions now happen more often for us and are less likely to be in lock-step with our peers The problem with transition: the people who know you best don’t want you to change Navigating more transitions in life means that we need to have networks with people who are not like us Truth is essential in leadership Resources Mentioned The 100-Year Life: Living and working in an age of longevity* by Lynda Gratton and Andrew Scott The 100-Year Life website Related Episodes The Surprising Truth About Influencing Others, with Daniel Pink (episode 84) The Way to Make New Behaviors Stick, with Marshall Goldsmith (episode 196) How Superbosses Master the Flow of Talent, with Sydney Finkelstein (episode 236) How to Be a Non-Conformist, with Adam Grant (episode 238) How to Succeed with Leadership and Management, with John Kotter (episode 249) 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*. Key Points Dave asked what advice we would give to our younger selves about leadership. Bill asked about how to balance stern and serious with light and loose. Luiza asked about how to lead volunteers. Jeff asked about influencing change in culture. Elmer asked what he can do with his StrengthsFinder results. Resources Mentioned The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom* by Don Miguel Ruiz Working Wardrobes 8 Ways To Influence Without Authority Finding the Career That Fits You What Color is Your Parachute?* by Richard Nelson Bolles Related Episodes The Value of the StrengthsFinder Assessment, with Steve Dosier (episode 89) How to Interpret Your StrengthsFinder Results, with Steve Dosier (episode 90) How To Create Joy At Work, with Richard Sheridan (episode 122) Start With Why, with Simon Sinek (episode 223) How to Figure Out Your Career, with Scott Anthony Barlow (episode 259) Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

Croft Edwards: CROFT + Company Croft Edwards is a Master Certified Coach who has been serving an array of clients from energy and mining, to forestry and aviation, since 2000. He’s a retired US Army Officer and has over eighteen years in the Army National Guard and Army Reserve. Key Points Much of leaders’ effectiveness has to do with their level of self-mastery. Flow is a combination of physical, mental, and emotional factors. We learn our behaviors from others, and they learn their behaviors from us. Resource Mentioned Flow* by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi Related Episodes Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do, with Amy Morin (episode 204) Increase Your Personal Capacity, with Beth Buelow (episode 218) How to Tame Your Inner Critic, with Tara Mohr (episode 232) Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

Susan Gerke: Teams Expert Susan Gerke is the president of Gerke Consulting & Development. She has worked with global teams and has certified facilitators around the world to deliver management, leadership, and team offerings. Susan is co-creator of GO Team, a training suite for organizations to power team performance. Key Points 20% of our workday is spent resolving conflict AIM Frame: What happened? What’s the goal? What options are there to move forward? Solve conflicts outside of email Resources Mentioned GO Team: Powering Team Performance Related Episodes The Four Unique Types of Teams, with Susan Gerke (episode 138) How To Maximize Team Performance, with Susan Gerke (episode 139) How to Create Team Guidelines, with Susan Gerke (episode 192) Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

Chris Voss: Never Split the Difference Chris Voss is the Founder and CEO of the Black Swan Group and the author of Never Split The Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It*. Chris was the lead international kidnapping negotiator for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as well as the FBI’s hostage negotiation representative for the National Security Council’s Hostage Working Group. Key Points Compromise is a dirty word. Really smart people often have trouble being negotiators. Negotiation is not just a rational conversation, but brings in the emotion of both parties. A successful negotiation is one where the other party walks away respecting you after the interaction. Beware of anchoring high at the start of a conversation as it may exclude you from an even better outcome. Resources Mentioned Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It by Chris Voss* The Dark Side of Emotional Intelligence by Adam Grant Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In* by Roger Fisher and William Ury Related Episodes How to Get Way Better at Accepting Feedback, with Sheila Heen (episode 143) How to Be a Non-Conformist, with Adam Grant (episode 238) How Women Make Stronger, Smarter Choices, with Therese Huston (episode 255) 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*. Key Points Rachel asked about how to balance performance and people. Mike asked about getting the employees to communicate, engage and work together as a team. Pierre asked about how to prevent the distortion of storytelling. Rasmus asked a follow-up question from a previous episode on our motivation for continuing to move forward. Resources Mentioned Leadership Dilemmas-Grid Solutions* by Robert Blake and Anne McCanse Managerial Grid Model Bonni recommended the author Debra Tannen Radical Hope: A Teaching Manifesto by Kevin Gannon Related Library Episodes The Four Critical Stories Leaders Need For Influence, with David Hutchens (episode 148) How to Transform Your Limitations Into Advantages, with Mark Barden (episode 207) How to Succeed with Leadership and Management, with John Kotter (episode 249) Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

Bob Frisch and Cary Greene: Simple Sabotage For over 30 years, Bob Frisch has worked with Senior Executive Teams and Boards on their most vital strategic and organizational challenges, both as a consultant and a corporate executive. Cary Greene has over 20 years’ experience working with senior executives and boards on challenging and complex strategic issues. They are co-authors with Robert Galford of the book Simple Sabotage: A Modern Field Guide for Detecting and Rooting Out Everyday Behaviors That Undermine Your Workplace*. Key Points When creating a book on how to sabotage an occupying enemy’s industry, the OSS (precursor to the CIA) recommended a list of organizational sabotage techniques. Ironically, these techniques look very similar to common actions we see in our organizations today. Committees Make sure a committee is appropriate for the task. What is the purpose of a committee? Who actually needs to be on a committee? Make sure committees are structured and have an agenda. Make it clear what authority the leader of the committee has. Is the committee being asked to make a recommendation or asked to make a decision? Emails Overusing the CC function in emails creates an overwhelming and unnecessary amount of communication. Remember that sometimes it’s best to just pick up the phone or walk down the hall to communicate with someone. Use the email subject line effectively. Resources Mentioned Simple Sabotage Field Manual (1944) Simple Sabotage: A Modern Field Guide for Detecting and Rooting Out Everyday Behaviors That Undermine Your Workplace* by Robert Galford, Bob Frisch, and Cary Greene Related Library Episodes Communication in a Family Business, with JoAnne Norton (episode 74) How We Do Things Around Here for Results, with Kent Rhodes (episode 144) How to Tame Workplace Incivility, with Sharone Bar-David (episode 210) Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

Scott Anthony Barlow: Happen to Your Career Scott Anthony Barlow is the Founder of Happen to Your Career. He’s been featured on CNBC, Yahoo, CareerBuilder, Fast Company and Huffington Post and various colleges and universities as a top expert on career happiness. He’s held roles executive roles in human resources, business development, and career coaching. Scott is the host of the Happen to Your Career podcast, featuring the career stories of many successful professionals. His team and him have worked with over 25,000 people to help them stop settling, find their signature strengths, and start doing meaningful work they are enamored with. In this conversation, Scott and I explore common career misconceptions, how framing your career around your strengths is key, and tools and assessments like StrengthsFinder that will support you. Key Points Common career misperceptions: You need to have it all figured out at the start You should focus on getting better at the things you’re not good at It takes a ton of experience to move into the job you want Framing a career around your strengths is key. If you had to work extremely hard to get good at something, it’s probably not a true strength. There are exercises and assessments like StrengthsFinder (also known as CliftonStrengths) that you can participate in to help you gain clarity on the above. Resources Mentioned Finding the Career That Fits You (Scott’s FREE 8-Day Video Course)* The Ultimate Guide to Using Your Strengths to Get Hired* How To Become a Career Coach* Scott interviewing Dave on why your career is not a straight line StrengthsFinder training for individuals and teams* (use code CFL10 for a 10% tuition discount) StrengthsFinder 2.0 Related Episodes The Value of the StrengthsFinder Assessment, with Steve Dosier (episode 89) How to Interpret Your StrengthsFinder and CliftonStrengths Results, with Steve Dosier (episode 90) The Secret To Happiness (episode 134) Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

Brian Robertson: Holacracy Brian Robertson is the primary developer of Holacracy, which allows leaders to release the reins of personal power and persuasion into a trustworthy and explicit governance process. He co-founded HolacracyOne to support Holacracy’s growth, and he fills and loves a broad variety of the company’s roles. Brian is the author of the book Holacracy: The New Management System for a Rapidly Changing World*. Key Points Holocracy functions like a city; everybody knows the parameters, and they go about their business without constantly having to consult a leader. It replaces the functions of managers with a set of processes. It holds meetings to decide who has authority and is responsible for each project, but not to decide how to do a project. Resources Mentioned Holacracy: The New Management System for a Rapidly Changing World* by Brian Robertson Related Library Episodes The Surprising Truth About Influencing Others, with Daniel Pink (episode 84) How to Delegate Work Effectively (episode 117) New Practices in Organizational Leadership, with David Burkus (episode 253) Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

Tom Henschel: The Look & Sound of Leadership Tom Henschel of Essential Communications grooms senior leaders and executive teams. An internationally recognized expert in the field of workplace communications and self-presentation, he has helped thousands of leaders achieve excellence through his work as an executive coach and his top-rated podcast, The Look & Sound of Leadership. Key Points There is a certain amount of fear involved in a promotion over peers. The situation has feelings attached to it. People’s reactions will be based on a bell curve, with most people not caring, but with a few being either really happy or really unhappy. What group will you focus on? Don’t take things personally. Have intentional conversations with your former peers to acknowledge that feelings are there and to listen to how they feel. Resources Mentioned The First 90 Days* by Michael Watkins Self-Esteem at Work* by Nathaniel Branden The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem* by Nathaniel Branden The Look & Sound of Leadership podcast Related Episodes Three Steps to Soliciting Feedback, with Tom Henschel (episode 107) How to Handle a Boss Who’s a Jerk, with Tom Henschel (episode 164) How to Improve Your Coaching Skills, with Tom Henschel (episode 190) Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.