Best of MBS

You’re either born with backbone or heart.Mary Beth O’Neill is one of my heroes. I spoke with her back in 2011, and it’s a conversation that still resonates today. (Plus it is one of my most popular podcasts from the previous 300 episodes.) She is the author of Executive Coaching with Backbone and Heart and has coached leaders to have a greater impact on their organizations.Her work is about finding that sweet spot where you can bring both backbone and heart into balance, and be clear about your position but also connected to the people you’re working with. Mary Beth helps leaders build resilience, focus, and engagement.In this interview, Mary Beth and I discuss: How to have and maintain your own signature presence without going through a personality transplant. Lessons for corporate executives learned from watching soap opera characters on TV. The trick to easily identifying the patterns that are running a working relationship, and how to inspire the people you’re coaching to shift those patterns

Part of the self-growth work for me right now is creating space in my life to think, to regenerate, to allow what’s next to emerge. And, frankly, I need help because of my lifetime habit of filling my calendar. That’s why I’m talking to Juliet Funt today. Juliet is the CEO of White Space at Work, an organizational efficiency consultancy to organizations big and small. She is a globally recognized warrior in the battle of effectiveness versus reactive busy-ness. In our conversation we look at the diminishing cycle of busyness and exhaustion we can all find ourselves in; what she means by “white space” and why it’s so essential at a personal and an organizational level; and why a critical question is “how much is enough?”

Ron Carucci is co-founder and managing partner of Navalent, where he works with CEOs and executives pursuing transformational change for their organizations, leaders and industries. In this episode, Ron explores the importance of picking client partners and constructing transformational journeys.

My friend Sally Hogshead is a New York Times bestselling author and world-class branding expert. Her book How the World Sees You: Discover Your Highest Value Through the Science of Fascination is based on the premise that to become more successful, you do not have to change who you are—you have to become more of who you are. It’s an excellent book, and an amazing tool for gaining insight into how others see you.I’m revisiting this interview for the #GWP300 celebration because it’s filled with actionable tips and insights. And I want to hear from you! What’s your favourite line or takeaway? Share it by either commenting below or tweeting me @BoxofCrayons with the hashtag #GWP300 for your chance to receive a gift from me. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be randomly selecting 10 participants and sending them a coupon for a free ebook version of The Coaching Habit.In this interview, Sally and I discuss: The benefits of shifting from looking at yourself to looking at how others see you. How to identify what you naturally do best. How to make your success more predictable. What traits high performers share. How to capitalize on what you do best. Discover more at MBS.Works

Dorie Clark has been described by no less than the New York Times as an expert in self-reinvention and helping others make changes in their lives. If you’re known for something, you’re more likely to be valued; and if you’re valued, you’re more likely to get through whatever’s ahead. In our conversation we talk about why we shouldn’t get tripped up on the whole idea of “a personal brand”; why, if you build it, they won’t come; the necessity of creating content, and how to start even if you don’t know where to start; the power of social proof; and why networking really isn’t as bad as you probably think it is.

I'm very excited to be speaking to Eric Klein. He has been part of my mastermind group for the past 10 years or more, and is a real pioneer in mindful leadership and coaching. He was talking about bringing mindfulness into the workplace before "mindfulness" was even discussed in the corporate world.

Philip Zimbardo is a psychologist and a professor emeritus at Stanford University. He’s probably best known for his book The Lucifer Effect, which is a powerful and disturbing look at why good people do bad things, based on the findings of the Stanford Prison Experiment. His latest initiative is the Heroic Imagination Project, where he looks at the psychology of heroism and, in particular, at why some people act heroically on behalf of those in need.

Bina Venkataraman is the editorial page editor of The Boston Globe and a fellow at New America. She served as a senior adviser for climate change innovation in the Obama White House, was the director of Global Policy Initiatives at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. She is the author of a terrific book, The Optimist's Telescope: Thinking Ahead in a Reckless Age. In our conversation we talk about the power of a vividly imagined future; how to deal with vulnerable decision points; lessons learned from professional poker players; and both the flaws and usefulness of the marshmallow test.

After 10 years of heading Leadership Development at Walmart, where he was responsible for CEO onboarding, executive development and intelligent management across all levels of the organization, Neil Pasricha now serves as director of the Institute for Global Happiness. He has dedicated the past 15 years of his life to developing leaders and creating global programs inside the world’s largest companies.

If you’ve ever felt that someone has been rude or uncivil to you at work, I think you’ll really enjoy today’s conversation. My guest is Christine Porath, associate professor of management at McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University and author of the new book Mastering Civility: A Manifesto for the Workplace. It’s a fantastic read in which Christine gets to the heart of what’s behind on-the-job rudeness, what it costs us all and what we can do about it. I’m thrilled to dive into this meaty — and very timely — topic with her.