Reality-Based Leadership

Today I have a short version of my most recent keynote addressing living Reality-Based in these challenging times!

Uncertainty and ambiguity are universally difficult mind states for all human beings that inevitably produce stress, anxiety, and fear. If this is pervasive in the culture, we are all affected. It is pervasive now. Join me as I discuss these challenges and more with Jacqueline Anderegg, LCMSW.

When I hear people talk about trust in the workplace, I get concerned because we make it sound like something we can create for another. But that leaves us dependent on other people and creates situations where people end up waiting to be offered something. When you say there is a lack of trust in your organization, is it due to leadership or due to your own choices? That's what I want to get into today. Whether or not you trust someone has a lot to do with you.

When you are blaming others for your circumstances and not taking control of your own actions, that is when your ego really comes out swinging. And I want to get into today one of the major factors of blame, something I like to call learned helplessness. Learned helplessness is the opposite of accountability, and personal accountability is the death of the ego. And we all know that when you ditch your ego, it allows for growth and collaboration.

In today's episode, I want to talk about conflict. As a researcher, I've spent so many hours dissecting and trying to understand conflict and why it happens. What I've found is this: so much of the time, the root cause of conflict is ambiguity. And a leader's job is to facilitate clarifying conversations. Listen in for more on this and what else I've discovered are the best ways to fix it.

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 heads 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.  

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 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.