Coaching for Leaders

Michelle Smith: O.C. Tanner Vice President, Business Development for O.C. Tanner The 10 steps we discuss: Strategic planning Understand your audience Fact finding Program structure Communication Type of awards Budget Measurement Tracking Analysis Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

Michelle Smith: O.C. Tanner Vice President, Business Development for O.C. Tanner 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*. Towards the end of his life, Mark Twain famously said, “I’m an old man and I’ve known many troubles, most of which never happened.” Like Twain, many of us find ourselves captivated by worry on a regular basis. In this episode, we’ll take a look at this human reality and some of the things that each of us can do to better control worry, both professional and personally. Make a decision that it’s OK to worry once in awhile Take Dale Carnegie’s advice of “What’s the worst that can happen?” Get out of your own box and focus on serving others rather than worrying about ourselves Address challenges proactively – when there is trouble, take action! Live in day-tight compartments Some of the books we mentioned on this episode are: How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway by Susan Jeffers Getting Things Done by David Allen 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.

Heather Backstrom: Executive Coach Some people live about 90 years. Some people live one year, 90 times. Which one are you and how does it affect your leadership of others and yourself? In this episode, my guest Heather Backstrom and I discuss the topic of purpose and how clarity of purpose can help us be more effective leaders and have more balanced and fulfilled lives. Not clear on your values? My one-page values exercise is available at this link. Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

Jacquelyn Thorp: Train Me Today Sometimes things show up in the workspace that we don’t want and didn’t anticipate. In this episode, my guest Jacquelyn Thorp and I discuss what to do when someone on your team smells and is causing issues for colleagues. Jacquelyn brings her experience from handling this situation many times to help us address this proactively. 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.

Bringing smart ideas to the table isn’t enough; we also need to be able to sell those ideas. The best idea communicated poorly will fare much worse than a mediocre idea communicated well. In this episode, I’ll examine what you can do to help your ideas take off. Six mistakes you may be making when pitching a great idea: 1) Neglecting to interact with the people who are impacted most by your idea. 2) Ignoring people who could help you. 3) Spending too much time on the unimportant details. 4) Assuming the “pitch” is the decision point. 5) Failing to strategize how to work around obstacles. 6) Hesitating on bad news. Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

JoAnne Norton: Family Business Consulting Group Family businesses account for 60% of all jobs in the United States and 98% of all companies elsewhere. The dynamics of family business are unique and communication becomes even more critical. In this episode, I interview family business consultant JoAnne Norton of the Family Business Consulting Group on how family business can prosper from one generation to the next with effective communication. Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

Charles Max Wood As our careers grow, we get more and more opportunities to attend conferences. Most people fail to maximize what they can gain from a conference. In this episode, I interview experienced conference-goer and speaker Charles Max Wood of Ruby Rogues and Javascript Jabber on how he maximizes the value he gets from conferences. 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.

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*. Where people go wrong on birthdays and other important occasions: Many of have defaulted to no more than “HBD” on Facebook or other social media Some people even send birthday cards and just sign their names (gasp!) We’ve lost the personal touch I ever get robocalls now on my birthday How you can be better Have something to remind you (but not automated to send to the other party) Avoid the obligatory stuff you do because you feel like you have to Focus on the people who are close to you first and spend more time engaging with them on special days Instead of a “happy birthday,” how about sharing why you are grateful that that person showed up in your life I record a brief audio greeting for special people in my life to share why I’m grateful for them Whatever you do, make the personal connection…and do it sincerely 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.

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*. We discuss a few examples of stubbornness showing up in our work and lives. Some of the reasons that we fall into a pattern of being stubborn: 1) We are perceived as experts in our field or topic (or we’ve convinced ourselves of this) and it simply doesn’t occur to us that we might be wrong about anything related to it. 2) We decided that we know enough about the situation, topic, or problem already and refuse to put in effort to discover more. 3) We need to fight every batte instead of carefully choosing them. 4) We miss the grey areas with people that make each situation unique and worthy of different types of responses from us. How We Can Work To Fix It:  1) Let’s examine how we react or respond when people bring us new ideas, suggestions, or changes – we can notice this ourselves, solicit feedback, or do assessment work. Either way, its important to become aware of our own patterns and tendencies. 2) We need to decide what shift (if any) is important for us to avoid stubbornness. For Dave, this shift is spending more time listening and less time explaining. 3) Find a way to hold yourself accountable for the results you want. If we’re not holding ourselves accountable in some way, then we don’t have sustainable change. 4) Find a shared truth (not just my truth or your truth – but a truth we can hold together). 5) Surround yourself with people who support you – Dave mentions how Bonni has been a big support in this way. Books We Mentioned: Getting to Yes by Fisher and Ury Getting Past No by Ury Difficult Conversations by Stone, Patton, Heen, and Fisher The Abilene Paradox by Harvey 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.