No Bullsh!t Leadership

Episode #180 // I’ve heard many leaders in my time making statements about their team being “more like a family” than anything else (as if that’s a good thing)!Recently, the CEO of one of the largest companies on the Toronto Stock Exchange railed against the company’s decline into a family culture. He sent a lengthy memo to his employees explaining exactly why this was a problem…and when it was leaked it caused quite a stir!In this episode, I unpick the mystique of family culture. What are the distinguishing features of a family culture? How do you incorporate some of the positive elements of the family culture, without also suffering the destructive elements it inevitably brings? And is it even possible to get high performance from a family culture?👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode #179 // While enjoying my holiday Netflix binge, I watched the documentary series, Formula 1: Drive to Survive. While I’m not a fan of motor sports, I found the series unbelievably compelling.There are countless lessons to be taken from the series about leadership, high-performing teams, organizational culture, and the consequences of the extreme pressure that comes with performing at the absolute highest levels. In this episode, I unpick the cultural dynamics of F1 racing portrayed in the documentary, both good and bad. How does capital investment affect the teams? Do the team principals callously discard underperformers? How does nepotism affect performance? And does the F1 ethos allow a culture of bullying and harassment to flourish in some of the teams?👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode #178 // Since the pandemic forced us into remote working, many people have turned their work day into performance art. They now pursue the goal of appearing to be busy, rather than actually delivering value-adding results. The activity becomes the end, rather than the means to an end.Although this is nothing new (there have always been people who appear to be busy, while achieving little), it has definitely become harder for leaders to identify and deal with than it was in the past. How can you tell when someone is replacing real work with demonstrations of their own busyness?We’d all like to think that we’re able to spot this behavior a mile away, but it’s sometimes a little more complicated than we might imagine. This episode is all about identifying and managing the people on your team who are potential Oscar nominees for the award of “Best Performance in a Working Role”.I've also put together a completely free PDF guide to go with this episode '5 Ways to Keep Your Virtual Team on Task', which you can download at https://www.yourceomentor.com/episode178!👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode #177 // In the billable hours world, supplier companies deliver services to client companies in an exchange of time for money. It’s the dominant business model in legal, accounting, and consulting firms.This presents a wonderful opportunity for organizations to leverage expertise and capability that they don’t possess themselves. But it also comes with its own peculiar issues and risks, which can erode or negate any potential value. In this episode, I explore the billable hours model from both sides of the equation. Why is it so hard for service providers to think long term? What are the ‘traps for young players’ when engaging service firms to deliver work on a time and materials basis? And what can you do to increase the likelihood of extracting real value from any engagement?👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode #176 // Apart from the multitude of listener questions on leadership and business that we get at Your CEO Mentor each week, we also field quite a few seeking career guidance.The question we deal with in this episode is, “What should I do when I don't get the job that I thought I was certain to get?” To come up with an answer, I went back through the No Bullsh!t Leadership catalogue. When I realized how much relevant content we’ve already produced, I decided to bring together this broad range of concepts into a cohesive framework.Every person, every career, and every situation is unique, but if you adapt and apply the principles and tools in this episode, you’ll find you have a comprehensive guide for managing your career under any type of boss, in any company, under any circumstances.👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode #175 // 2021 is now behind us and we’re looking forward to what 2022 will bring! The time for uncertainty is over—the people and companies that are successful are the ones that understand ambiguity and complexity for what they are. They recognize the things that are out of their control, and map a bold path forward, regardless.In fact, the process of making bold, decisive moves in an uncertain environment is a key source of competitive advantage. Wherever there’s great uncertainty, there’s even greater opportunity. It's time to move beyond the ambiguity that the last 18+ months has thrown up at you, and really attack the opportunities! That’s why we’re re-releasing our FREE Crush Your Career Challenge to help you set up 2022. It’s your companion guide to working out where you are, where you want to be, and how to take concrete, practical steps to get there. You can join the *free* 5-day challenge at yourceomentor.com/cyc👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode #174 // As we traditionally do at Christmas time, we take a look back on our year of podcast episodes. Em and I have picked our favorites for you to go back and listen to while you’re enjoying some downtime in the New Year.2021 has been a big year for Your CEO Mentor! Amongst other things, the No Bullsh!t Leadership podcast recently reached 2 million downloads. That translates into a whole lot of impact for the leaders in more than 100 countries who have tuned in.Once again, to break up the Marty monologues, we had a bunch of Q&As where Em hit me with some of the best listener questions we received. We also introduced a handful of interviews for the first time. NHL legend, Luc Robitaille; global jewelry mogul, Samantha Wills; and leadership futurist, Jacob Morgan each brought another dimension to the show. Whether you enjoy the current affairs commentaries, the practical ‘how to’s, or the straight no bullsh!t talking, there’s a perfect episode in the annual wrap for you!👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode #173 // Today we bring you an in-depth interview with Paul Scurrah. Paul is the CEO and Managing Director of rail freight business Pacific National. When we recorded the interview almost 12 moths ago, Paul had just finished his stint as CEO of Australia’s second-largest airline, Virgin Australia, which had undergone a tumultuous change of ownership on the back of the covid pandemic. Given that it’s only a couple of days before Christmas, we thought this would be a nice free-flowing discussion for you to sink into as you reminisce about the year that was!We cover why the airline industry is so tough, yet still so attractive… We talk culture, politics, and crisis management. We talk about how to win the customer, and we even talk about one of Paul’s leadership roles in an organization that wasn’t winning.Wishing you a very happy and safe holiday from the Your CEO Mentor team!👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode #172 // When one of my articles for Harvard Business Review blew up recently on social media, we decided to make it more accessible to our community of No Bullsh!t Leaders by turning it into a podcast episode. And because I don’t have a word limit here, I can expand it out and offer examples until my heart’s content!When you first move into a leadership role, it’s easy to develop bad habits… one of those habits is over-functioning for your people: doing their work for them. We think we’re doing it for all the right reasons and it’s easy to rationalize. But it’s also the surest way to weaken your team, limit its potential, and constrain its culture. In this episode I briefly touch upon the transition from individual contributor to people leader, explore why we love to do our people’s work for them, and give you three surefire ways to build the discipline to let your people do their jobs, without your well-meaning but unhelpful intervention!To make this episode even more valuable for you, I've put the key points into a *free* PDF resource, '3 Failsafe Ways to Stay Out of Your People's Work' which you can download at https://www.yourceomentor.com/episode172👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode #171 // Christmas party season is upon us, and many of you may have already partaken in an early celebration to mark the end of the year. If you’re a leader trying to navigate the vagaries of the office Christmas party, there are a few considerations that will help you make good decisions. Let’s face it, you don’t want to be staring down the aftermath of a significant incident in the days following an event. You want everyone to enjoy the celebration appropriately, and at the same time, feel as safe and respected as they do in their normal work environment. In this Q&A episode we cover all things Christmas parties, from venues to fancy dress to alcohol-free zones...and everything in between. It’s our hope that this conversation will help you to navigate this year’s Christmas party with confidence! 👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.