Peak Performance Leadership

It is not uncommon for many of us to set lofty goals and make ambitious New Year's resolutions at the start of every year. However, unfortunately, those resolutions are often doomed from the outset, as our expectations can be too difficult to live up to. Research has demonstrated that only 9% of us are actually successful in keeping their New Year’s resolutions and a staggering 81% quit before the second year even concludes. Shockingly, most people give up on their goals by February, achieving virtually nothing in the process. But it doesn’t have to be this way. If we look beyond our traditional approaches and focus tenaciously on creating a new mindset towards goal setting, then we can defy probability and establish goals that will stay with us all throughout the year. Carla Fowler, MD PhD. founded THAXA out of a passion for performance science, where the fields of strategy, productivity, and psychology intersect. Since its inception in 2013, THAXA’s scientific approach to individualized coaching has attracted a devoted client base of dozens of executives at firms ranging from large technology companies to agile startups to innovative nonprofits. Carla’s coaching methods draw upon the multidisciplinary field of performance science to generate the best ideas surrounding strategy, execution, and mindset to assist leaders in their endeavors. Over the past 10 years, she has distilled the key principles of performance into understandable concepts and a method that helps leaders incorporate these ideas into their day-to-day performance, helping them go faster and improving their results. Outside of her coaching, Carla truly enjoys sharing her key performance principles with audiences while engaging in thought provoking conversations. surrounding her passion for performance science. Topics During this interview Carla and I discuss the following topics: The mindset of goal setting The mindset of breaking big goals down into smaller ones The questions she asks when setting goals for herself and her teams How to run experiment with yourself and/or your team How to learn from your mistakes and failures to move forward in a positive direction Motivation vs discipline and how to keep going For the complete show notes be sure to check out our website: https://leaddontboss.com/246

As a leader, it’s essential to recognize that people don’t leave their work issues at home nor do they leave personal issues at work. Instead, they bring these two lives together in a way some might refer to as “integrated life strategy.” Employees can’t afford to be distracted by personal worries while on the job and employees need comfort of family and friends after a rough day at work. Without the ability to let both work and home life blossom, employees often feel unhappy and unproductive. Gone are the days when people believed that work and life were two distinct identities. The truth is, they’ve become increasingly intertwined in this day and age. In fact, the most successful leaders understand that happy employees are more productive, so it’s important to create environments where workers can be their whole selves. Whether you think of it as “work-life integration” or “work-life balance,” it’s essential to create an ecosystem in which employees thrive both inside and outside of the workplace. This means allowing them to bring their home issues to work (and vice versa) while still getting the job done. It may seem like a difficult balance to strike, but with the right strategies, it’s certainly achievable. Investing in your employees’ well-being will pay dividends for years to come. For the complete show notes be sure to check out our website: https://leaddontboss.com/245

2022 is about to be in our rearview mirror and here is 2023 about to stare at us in our faces... Are you ready? Goal setting is so crucial for success in life and as a leader. Here in this episode I am discussing the framework that we use for goal setting which is a values-based methodology. This pyramid is the basis for how we go about selecting, planning, and achieving our goals. Topics In this episode I discuss the following goal setting topics: Why it's important to set goals How values play a crucial part Why planning is more important than executing How you can have a goal crushing mindset For the complete show notes be sure to check out our website: https://leaddontboss.com/244

Many of you have said that all the world-renown coaches, authors, and speakers are great but sometimes it is hard to relate to them. Their ideas and methods are sound but do they work? You've longed to hear about a real leader, one who is there with you day-in, and day-out. A leader who is not an "expert" but rather a peer to help you understand truly what is achievable. Well today that is exactly who we have. Jonathan Audet spend over 20 years in the Canadian Army as a full-time officer and now serves in the Primary Reserve Force (part time) as a Commanding Officer while working a full-time job with the Canadian Coast Guard. He's a leader through and through and I am lucky enough to call him a friend. Topics During this interview Jonathan and I discuss the following topics: His background as a leaderWhat drove him to become a leader in the militaryWhat works in motivating others in achieving the organization’s aimHow he coaches othersLessons learned from failures as a leaderHow he’s applying his military experience to his civilian lifeThe biggest leadership challenge he’s currently facing Guest Resources Jon has no resources or anything of the kind. But as a member of the Leader Growth Mastermind, even he finds the value in said group.

Patrick Thean is a thought leader in strategic business execution and a successful serial entrepreneur who has started and exited multiple companies. As Founder and CEO of Metasys, Inc., he grew Metasys to a ranking of 151 on the Inc. 500 list. He is best known for helping companies accelerate their growth by focusing on great execution. He is exceptional at getting executive teams and their departments focused, aligned, accountable, and executing as a team to achieve their company objectives. His clients experience breakthroughs using this approach and tools that result in drama-free, accelerated growth. These tools are also part of the curriculum for the Entrepreneur Organization’s world-renowned Entrepreneurs Master’s Program held at MIT, where Patrick served as Program Cochair for seven years. He also chairs a similar program in Malaysia: “Taipan: The Making of Asian Giants.” Currently a Cofounder and CEO of Rhythm Systems (formerly Gazelles Systems), Patrick is the creator of Rhythm Software. Patrick received his Masters of Engineering and Bachelors of Science in electrical engineering from Cornell University. He was named an Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year for North Carolina in 1996.  Topics During this interview Patrick and I discuss the following topics: How strong Mondays set the week for success How to setup your team achieve peak performance How to prepare yourself for the upcoming week How to establish a culture of the “gift of red” How to establish a “stop doing list” For the complete show notes be sure to check out our website: https://leaddontboss.com/242

Recently I was on a work trip and came across a former subordinate of mine. We have an interesting past which includes, a trial, a challenge, and a reward. However, at this meeting he said something which absolutely rocked me and inspired this recording. Ultimately as leaders what we do matters to those we lead. Sometimes it is hard for us to see it or even feel it but it does matter. So when you make your decisions and think about ways forward. Remember as always. What you do as a leader matters. 

Jennifer Allen started her career in the private sector in Human Resources and developed an expertise in organizational design.  She joined the public service in 2007 and worked at various government departments including Transport Canada, Employment and Social Development Canada and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, before joining the CRA in 2017. Throughout her career Jennifer has developed skills in inclusive design, process improvement, and change management. She is now the Assistant Director responsible for Character Leadership Development for the Agency. Jennifer holds a Honours Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce with a specialization in Human Resources. Jennifer is passionate about food, her family, and dancing!   Steve Virgin joined the Canada Revenue Agency in July 2018 as the new Director for Character Leadership. He is a former senior naval officer in the Canadian Armed Forces and he joined the Public Service in 2015. During his military career he was fortunate to have a variety of leadership experiences including submarine captain, frigate command, and a variety of strategic leadership appointments in National Headquarters in plans, policy and strategic resource management. His final appointment in the Forces was as the Deputy Commander of Canada’s Special Forces Command. As an Executive employee in the Department of Defence, he was the Director of Business Management and Director of Analytics for the Defence CIO. Steve holds a Bachelor of Military Arts and Science from the Royal Military College of Canada, he is a graduate of the Canadian Forces Command College, he is a fellow of the National Defence University of the PLA Beijing, and he recently completed a Certificate in Regulatory Leadership at the University of Ottawa. Mr. Virgin is a volunteer citizenship presiding official with IRCC where he very much enjoys the opportunity to welcome new Canadians. He was invested into the Order of Military Merit in 2015 and he was awarded two meritorious service medals during his career.     Topics During this interview Jennifer, Stephen, and I discuss the following topics: How they got into character leadershipWhat Character Leadership is what it is notComprises of Virtues, values, and traitsThe character leadership model aspectsThe cruciality of self-awareness in character leadershipHow to explore temperance and transcendence How to train in the areas where you are struggling For the complete show notes be sure to check out our website: https://leaddontboss.com/240

Dane Espegard is a culture consultant who teaches, assists and executes the implementation of a Culture centered around Dream Achieving. The system is bottom-up and puts the emphasis on the development and personal lives of the team members. Dane works with companies in a very simple manner to get the culture started and leaves them with some very easy to implement steps. Dane has been public speaking and training individuals for 15+ years while implementing his system for Vector Marketing where he is a Division Manager and operating one of the top performing teams in the nation.  Topics During this interview Dane and I discuss the following topics: Where the idea of tapping into people’s dreams came aboutHis ideology of growth mindsetWhat the dreams mindset isHow dreams is about a journey is not a destinationHow to enable our team members to make dreamsHow to reward our team members with their dreamsHow to “Dreamstorm” For the complete show notes, be sure to check out our website: https://leaddontboss.com/239

It has happened already and it'll likely happen again... You will fail as a leader. In this episode, I get real and raw about how I failed as a leader recently. But most importantly I talk about what I am going to do to overcome that failure to make sure it doesn't happen again. For that, it's not always about what we have done in the past but rather what we will do in the future.  For the complete show notes check out our website: https://leaddontboss.com/238

Leaders know that high performing teams achieve better results faster and effective teams outperform effective leaders, so how do you get teams to operate as more than the sum of their parts more often? How can they achieve better outcomes working more interdependently? Bernard Desmidt is a renowned leadership coach, facilitator, and trainer. As a team coach his expertise is in in helping teams transition to become more collaborative, high performing teams so they access more of their collective capacity and capability to achieve the greatest things possible. Topics During this interview Bernard and I discuss the following topics: What the 5 different disciplines areDiscover our mandateDeclare our purposeDesign our cultureDeliver our resultsDevelop our learningHow trust, competency are utilized in these 5 disciplines.How psychological safety is required for High-Performing teamsHow to understand when one discipline is complete and when to move to anotherHow the hiring process can be utilized to ensure the integrity of the high-performing team For the complete show notes be sure to check out our website: https://leaddontboss.com/237