Permission to Offend Is it possible to be too nice? We have a vigorous discussion around this question in our Essentials of Project Management workshop. There’s almost always a resounding response of “Yes! It is possible to be too nice.” That discussion is based on an idea we covered in episode 320 with Greg Githins. Greg says, "Leadership is a practice of kindness, but it’s not always a practice of niceness.” Hmmm... We're going to build on that idea in this episode. I’m joined by Rachel Luna. She’s the author of a new book entitled Permission to Offend: The Compassionate Guide for Living Unfiltered and Unafraid. Are there times when you feel like you should be speaking up but are afraid to do so? Or when you worry perhaps too much about what other people think? Have you found yourself confounded about why someone reacted the way they did? Stay with us because Rachel will share some insights that you can start putting to work immediately. Learn more about Rachel and her work at RachelLuna.biz. Also, for more on this topic, check out episode 371 with Amanda Ripley and her book High Conflict. It's a great follow-up to this discussion.   Do You Have a High School or College Age Student in Your Family? If so, check out our e-learning program entitled Getting Stuff Done: Project Management for Students. It provides practical skills to reduce the stress of their school work and help jumpstart their career. Learn more and get access at https://i-leadonline.com/GettingStuffDone. Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast! Talent Triangle: Power Skills   The following music was used for this episode: Music: Tarantino 1 by Frank Schroeter Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/9573-tarantino-1 License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Music: Road Trip by Frank Schroeter Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/9761-road-trip License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Building Your Brand Without Being Pushy What comes to mind when you think of personal branding? Some feel that personal branding is superficial. Or inauthentic. Instead of focusing on our brand, we should focus on developing expertise. Doing good work. And that good work will stand on its own. In this episode, we’re taking this topic of personal branding head-on, and I’m joined by one of the most influential voices on the subject. Catherine Kaputa is recognized as one of the top 30 Global Branding Gurus and the author of five books on the topic. Today’s discussion focuses on ideas in her new book, The New Brand You: How to Wow in the New World of Work. By the time we’re done with this discussion, you’ll see how personal branding applies to you, whether you’re a student preparing for the workplace, someone trying to change industries, or someone feeling like you’re just not getting the opportunities or promotions you deserve. Learn more about Catherine and her work at SelfBrand.com.   Do You Have a High School or College Age Student in Your Family? If so, check out our e-learning program, Getting Stuff Done: Project Management for Students. It provides practical skills to reduce the stress of their school work and help jumpstart their career. Learn more and get access at https://i-leadonline.com/GettingStuffDone. Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast! Talent Triangle: Power Skills   The following music was used for this episode: Music: Bouncy Gypsy Beats by John Bartmann Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/3189-bouncy-gypsy-beats License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Music: End Titles (Romeos Erbe) by Sascha Ende Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/3149-end-titles-romeos-erbe License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Navigating Parenting As a dad of 5 kids, I think back to when we had our first child. Those early days were a blur for both my wife and me. And as more kids came along, and then we adopted two more when our oldest three were teenagers, we have lived through the challenges and joys of the project known as parenting. We’re talking about parenting today because it brings some unique challenges to us as leaders. How can we navigate parenting in a way that aligns with who we are and what is meaningful to us? And how can we, as leaders, support parents on our teams in a way that reinforces that we value their commitments and responsibilities at work and home? I’m excited to welcome a new friend to the podcast. Julie Foubert’s life project is to support individuals, future and young parents, perinatal professionals, and organizations to evolve toward a more fulfilled and enlightened parenthood. And her passion for leadership and project management informs how she goes about this. Learn more about Julie and her work at be-the-change.fr/. And contact Julie at julie@be-the-change.fr.   Do You Have a High School or College Age Student in Your Family? If so, check out our e-learning program entitled Getting Stuff Done: Project Management for Students. It provides practical skills to reduce the stress of their school work and help jumpstart their career. Learn more and get access at https://i-leadonline.com/GettingStuffDone. Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast! Talent Triangle: Power Skills   The following music was used for this episode: Music: A Picnic With My Family by MusicLFiles Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/6644-a-picnic-with-my-family License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Music: Love Beyond Gravity [Original] by German Tretyakov Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/9803-love-beyond-gravity-original License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Winners Never Quit? It's an overused cliche that winners never quit, and quitters never win. The only problem with that, of course, is that it oversimplifies the reality of the world we live and lead in. So much of what we do as leaders of projects and teams is to make decisions. And could it be our inability to quit a project, a vendor, a tool, or a team member--could it be that even our career is being hindered because we’re persisting instead of quitting? In this episode, I'm joined by one of my favorite voices on decision-making. Annie Duke is the author of a new book entitled Quit: The Power of Knowing When to Walk Away. You may know of Annie because of her previous books on decision-making, such as Thinking In Bets. In this episode, we’re going to discuss something that wasn’t elaborated on in her earlier books. We’re going to talk about quitting--and, assuming you keep listening--you don’t quit--you’re going to walk away with some practical ideas that you can start using this week. Learn more about Annie and her book at AnnieDuke.com/.   Do You Have a High School or College Age Student in Your Family? If so, check out our e-learning program entitled Getting Stuff Done: Project Management for Students. It provides practical skills to reduce the stress of their school work and help jumpstart their career. Learn more and get access at https://i-leadonline.com/GettingStuffDone. Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast! Talent Triangle: Power Skills   The following music was used for this episode: Music: The Gigantic Epic Day After Tomorrow by Sascha Ende Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/413-the-gigantic-epic-day-after-tomorrow License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Artist website: Music: Road Trip by Frank Schroeter Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/9761-road-trip License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Artist on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/frank.schroeter.52 “Rudy (4/8) Movie CLIP - Fortune's Truth (1993) HD” On YouTube at YouTube.com/watch?v=Qoh3YkxuwVo “Jerry Maguire (2/8) Movie CLIP - Who's Coming With Me? (1996) HD” On YouTube at YouTube.com/watch?v=6ZZI6-zh0GM

Help for Getting Out of High Conflict When you think of the word conflict, what comes to mind? I ask because I’ve had the opportunity to pose that question to groups around the world. How would you respond? What I hear most often is words like Stress. Arguments. Tension. Avoid! Rarely do I hear Opportunity. Or disagreement. I’m excited to welcome Amanda Ripley to the podcast. Amanda is the author of one of my favorite books from this last year. It’s entitled High Conflict: Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out. It's not just a book about the brain. It's a book that introduces you to your brain. For those of us responsible for leading teams and projects, learning how to avoid the traps of high conflict--and how to get out of them if we’re there--is critical to our success. And in a world of increased political and social polarization, we have a real opportunity to be a force for good instead of just adding fuel to the fire. I consider this book a must-read and I look forward to your feedback after you listen to the episode! Learn more about Amanda and her book at AmandaRipley.com/. For more insights related to this episode, check out: Episode 284 for my conversation with Peter Boghossian about his book How Have Impossible Conversations Episode 276 for my conversation with Buster Benson about his book Why Are We Yelling?   Do You Have a High School or College Age Student in Your Family? If so, check out our e-learning program entitled Getting Stuff Done: Project Management for Students. It provides practical skills to reduce the stress of their school work and help jumpstart their career. Learn more and get access at https://i-leadonline.com/GettingStuffDone. Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast! Talent Triangle: Power Skills   The following music was used for this episode: Music: The Inner Conflict by The New Geometry YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoeccLie1DU License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Music: RetroFuture Clean by Kevin MacLeod YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWjCZ60gxfI License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Everybody Loves Raymond Uses Active Listening - from Parent Effectiveness Training available on YouTube at YouTube.com/watch?v=4VOubVB4CTU

Hi! Meet Your Brain Have you ever looked at how someone made a decision and wondered, “What were they thinking?” For me, it’s not just even watching other people. Sometimes I reflect on how I felt about something or a decision and wonder, “Huh… I wonder what was going on there?” Chantel Prat is one of today’s most important researchers and voices in the field of neuroscience. And she’s the author of a fascinating and entertaining new book entitled The Neuroscience of You: How Every Brain Is Different and How to Understand Yours. It's not just a book about the brain. It's a book that introduces you to your brain. If you’ve ever wondered how the brain works but instantly found your eyes rolling back because the material was too boring, you’ll want to get a copy of this book. Chantel is as funny as she is brilliant--I’m looking forward to sharing today’s discussion with you. Learn more about Chantel and her book at ChantelPrat.com/. For more insights related to this episode, check out: Episode 188 for my conversation with Dr. John Medina about his Brain Rulesbooks   Do You Have a High School or College Age Student in Your Family? If so, check out our e-learning program entitled Getting Stuff Done: Project Management for Students. It provides practical skills to reduce the stress of their school work and help jumpstart their career. Learn more and get access at https://i-leadonline.com/GettingStuffDone. Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast! Talent Triangle: Power Skills   The following music was used for this episode: Music: Crime Time by Frank Schroeter Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/9136-crime-time License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Artist on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/frank.schroeter.52 Music: Everybody Up by Sascha Ende Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/9244-everybody-up License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Artist website: https://www.sascha-ende.de Young Frankenstein Abby Normal available on YouTube at YouTube.com/watch?v=C9Pw0xX4DXI

Influence and Manipulation Where's the line between influence and manipulation? Well, I’ll save the answer for when you hear from today’s guest. Andres Lares is the Managing Partner at the Shapiro Negotiation Institute and author of a book entitled Persuade: The 4-Step Process to Influence People and Decisions. In this episode, Andres talks about the difference between influence and manipulation, and how to persuade in an ethical way. He explains why persuasion doesn’t just start with logic--or emotion. Rather, it’s with building credibility, and Andres shares some ideas on what that means and how to do it. Along the way, you’ll learn about Borrowed Credibility, Belief Biases, salary negotiating, and more. It’s a discussion that I’ve been looking forward to sharing with you. Learn more about Andres and his book at ShapiroNegotiations.com/. For more insights related to this episode, check out: Episode 157 for my conversation with Dr. Robert Cialdini about his books on influence Episode 194 for my conversation with Tim David about his book on influence Episode 347 for my conversation with Zoe Chance about her book Influence is Your Superpower   Do You Have a High School or College Age Student in Your Family? If so, check out our e-learning program entitled Getting Stuff Done: Project Management for Students. It provides practical skills to reduce the stress of their school work and help jumpstart their career. Learn more and get access at https://i-leadonline.com/GettingStuffDone. Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast! Talent Triangle: Power Skills   The following music was used for this episode: Music: Crime Time by Frank Schroeter Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/9136-crime-time License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Artist on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/frank.schroeter.52 Music: Lofi Chill Hip-Hop by WinnieTheMoog Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/6347-lofi-chill-hip-hop License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Artist website: https://linktr.ee/taigasoundprod

Leadership Lessons Over the years of hosting the People and Projects Podcast, we’ve heard from authors from all kinds of backgrounds. I enjoy bringing you insights from researchers and professors and authors from diverse backgrounds and perspectives. But I particularly enjoy talking with people who have been in the trenches--they’ve had to lead in daunting situations, and they have the stories--and the scars--that come from being in the arena. In this episode, you’re going to hear from someone just like that. Jim Wetrich has led teams on three continents for more than 40 years. Jim, who also goes by the name Big Red, has put his top lessons about leading into a new book entitled Stifled: Where Good Leaders Go Wrong. In this episode, Big Red talks about how failing fast is easy to say--and important--but can also be difficult emotionally. He talks about why self-awareness is critical for leaders--and why we probably struggle with it more than we realize. We talk about hypocritical leaders and what we can do to make sure we don’t come off that way to our teams. Big Red shares how he manages the tension between getting his hands dirty but not micromanaging. Before we’re done, we’ll talk about the importance of staying positive, office politics, and more. I can’t wait to share this discussion with you. Learn more about Big Red and his book at JimWetrich.com/.   Do You Have a High School or College Age Student in Your Family? If so, check out our e-learning program entitled Getting Stuff Done: Project Management for Students. It provides practical skills to reduce the stress of their school work and help jumpstart their career. Learn more and get access at https://i-leadonline.com/GettingStuffDone. Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast! Talent Triangle: Power Skills   The following music was used for this episode: Music: Inspiring Advertising by Rafael Krux Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/5515-inspiring-advertising License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Artist website: https://www.orchestralis.net/ Music: Pop Cinematic Credits by Rafael Krux Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/5586-pop-cinematic-credits License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Artist website: https://www.orchestralis.net/

Influencing Skills for Project Managers One of the constant challenges for those of us who lead teams and projects is influencing people around us. Whether it’s a boss, our team, clients, or other stakeholders, we’re often in situations where we’re trying to influence an outcome, yet running into a brick wall while doing so. In this episode, we continue a series of discussions we’ve had over the years on the topic of influence. We’re joined by Rene Rodriguez, author of a new book entitled Amplify Your Influence: Transform How You Communicate and Lead. In this episode, Rene discusses what we often don’t get right about influence. He shares a simple way to learn more about influence just by paying attention to the people around us. You'll get an understanding of how the brain can help us be more effective at persuading or others--and how ignoring it can get in the way. And relates ideas from his AMPLIFII process to give us a taste of how we can communicate more effectively while persuading those around us. I’m looking forward to sharing this discussion with you! Learn more about Rene and his book at MeetRene.com/. For more insights related to this episode, check out: Episode 157 for my conversation with Dr. Robert Cialdini about his books on influence Episode 194 for my conversation with Tim David about his book on influence Episode 347 for my conversation with Zoe Chance about her book Influence is Your Superpower   Do You Have a High School or College Age Student in Your Family? If so, check out our e-learning program entitled Getting Stuff Done: Project Management for Students. It provides practical skills to reduce the stress of their school work and help jumpstart their career. Learn more and get access at https://i-leadonline.com/GettingStuffDone. Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast! Talent Triangle: Power Skills   The following music was used for this episode: Music: Lofi Chill Hip-Hop by WinnieTheMoog Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/6347-lofi-chill-hip-hop License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Artist website: https://linktr.ee/taigasoundprod Music: Crime Time by Frank Schroeter Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/9136-crime-time License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Artist on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/frank.schroeter.52

Accountability on Project Teams In this episode, we’re taking on the subject of accountability. And though fostering accountability among our team members is something we’ll talk about, you’re going to see that developing a culture of personal accountability might have a lot more to do with us than we realize. My guest today is Michael Timms. He’s the author of a fantastic leadership book entitled How Leaders Can Inspire Accountability: Three Habits That Make or Break Leaders and Elevate Organizational Performance. In this episode, Michael helps us get a better understanding of what accountability is--and isn’t. He explains how looking at accountability through the lens of systems thinking can help us better understand why we’re getting the behaviors we’re experiencing. Michael shares his litmus test of whether or not someone is a leader. And he introduces us to some habits that, when done well and consistently, can develop transforming levels of impact on you, your team, and your organization’s results. Learn more about Michael and his book at MichaelTimms.com. For more insights related to this episode, check out: Episode 213 for my conversation with Christopher Avery about his book The Accountability Process Episode 20 for my conversation with John G. Miller, author of The QBQ   Do You Have a High School or College Age Student in Your Family? If so, check out our e-learning program entitled Getting Stuff Done: Project Management for Students. It provides practical skills to reduce the stress of their school work and help jumpstart their career. Learn more and get access at https://i-leadonline.com/GettingStuffDone. Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast! Talent Triangle: Power Skills   The following music was used for this episode: Music: Soft Interlude by Alexander Nakarada Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/7766-soft-interlude License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Artist website: https://www.serpentsoundstudios.com/ Music: Road Trip by Frank Schroeter Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/9761-road-trip License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Artist on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/frank.schroeter.52 “With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility” Scene – Spider-Man (2002) Movie CLIP HD On YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuS5NuXRb5Y