Reality-Based Leadership

Today I am so excited to introduce Joe Topinka to my podcast. He is the founder of CIO Mentor and CIO at SnapAV. Like me, he is an advocate for big change in the workplace. His philosophies align closely with mine and his ideas are invaluable to me. He also brings a fresh new perspective from the technology side of things. Listen in for more.

A couple months ago, Jonathan Solórzano-Hamilton, a software architect at UCLA, wrote a Medium article called "We fired our top talent. Best decision we ever made." It's no surprise it took off - to many people, that makes no sense at all. But it struck a chord with me. I know that no matter how high performing someone is, if they are high drama, they can't stay. I got to chat with Jonathan last week and this is the result our amazing conversation. Enjoy!

In today's episode, I talk about why you should live your life with great expectancy instead of expectations. There's a big difference, so I want you to dive into it with me and see how drastically different it can make your day to day.

Accountability: it's a topic I bring up a lot because I believe it is one of the most misunderstood words in today's workplace. How do you measure for it? What is the end goal? And how do you introduce it to your company? I sat down with Jackie Froendt from Home Instead Senior Care to talk about all these things and so much more. Sidenote: we were meeting to film my new Facebook Watch show, Life's Messy Live Happy! Check out my Facebook to tune in to that as well.

With the holidays approaching, and the added stress that can come with them, I thought I'd focus on one big topic of mine today: that suffering is completely optional. I don't say this to be insensitive or trite - it's just that so much of our suffering comes from stories we make up in our own head and not reality. In today's episode, I'll show you tools you can use to fix that and be stress free this holiday season.

This week, I'm taking you through the steps and actions that go into defusing drama and how you can do it in your own workplace or worldplace. It can feel daunting approaching drama, but through thoughtful questions and a few other tips I have for you, you'll be well on your way. 

Would you believe it if I told you that recent surveys suggest 90% of workers are ‘disengaged from their work?’ My friend, and guest on the podcast this week, Robb Holman, started with this alarming statistic, and has used it to inform his philosophies at Inside Out Leadership. Join us as we discuss the inherent problems facing today's leaders, and our ideas on how we can fix them.

In this week's episode, I answer the often asked question, “How do I make someone change?” with a surprising answer. You can’t make anyone do anything - but, you can stop enabling them. When you stop enabling your teammates, it 's the quickest way to ensure that their relationship with reality is a direct one and that they have the best information possible with which to make better decisions. 

I got wind of a fan of who was starting their own reality-based leadership revolution at their company so I surprised them with a phone call. We managed to capture the conversation and get great tips on how to start from where you are, even if it's not a company sanctioned program. 

On this episode, I'm so excited to introduce you all to Ricardo Palomares, and international keynote speaker and author and one of the most inspiring people I have ever met. He's been faced with seemingly insurmountable hardship in his life but has always prevailed. I often speak about how true freedom is having nothing to lose. It's the perfect recipe for no ego moments. We broke down some of his standout stories from his life.