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One of the common themes around leadership that I’m asked to speak on for a keynote or a corporate training workshop around is how can leaders create conditions that inspire employees to show up and deliver their best.
As a point out in these talks, a key ingredient to making such conditions is defining a vision that helps to inspire purpose in your employees and with it, drive success over the long-term.
So in this edition of my Leadership Espresso Shot series on my “Leadership Biz Cafe” podcast, I want to share two stories that reveal three critical steps leaders need to take to create a vision that inspires a sense of shared ownership amongst your employees that will strengthen their commitment and drive to overcome whatever stands in their way to achieving these shared goals. -
“The real job of leadership is the chance to sincerely, passionately, excellently elevate human lives. And the best businesses are very mission-driven and purpose-centered.”
This is just one of many brilliant and thoughtful insights Robin Sharma shares in this latest episode of my “Leadership Biz Cafe” podcast.
I can’t tell you how excited I am to share this episode with you. When I started this podcast almost 14 years ago, I never thought I’d be speaking with someone like Robin Sharma about leadership.
Robin is one of the top leadership and personal mastery experts in the world. In fact, many of the world’s top organizations have sought his advice and guidance, including Nike, FedEx, Microsoft, Unilever, GE, and PwC.
Robin is also the author of several #1 international bestsellers, including The 5AM Club, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, and The Leader Who Had No Title. His books have been translated into more than 92 languages and dialects, making him one of the most widely read authors alive.
Robin joins me on my podcast to talk about his new book, “The Wealth Money Can’t Buy – The 8 Hidden Habits to Live Your Richest Life” and some of the valuable lessons he shares about how we can lead a more fulfilling and rich life, as well as transforming the way we look at and approach our leadership.
I was so inspired reading Robin’s book that while I was travelling for work, I decided to take on one of the personal challenges Robin encourages readers to embrace to build one of those eight forms of wealth he describes in his book.
So what was Robin’s challenge I took on? And what did Robin say after I told him what happened to me when I did this challenge?
To find out, you’ll just have to listen. And trust me, there’s so many other reasons I’d encourage you to bookmark this episode to listen to and be inspired for how you can lead and live better.
Noteworthy links:
Buy “The Wealth Money Can’t Buy” on Amazon.*
Learn more about Robin’s work – robinsharma.com
*sponsored link that helps to support this podcast. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. -
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I’ve spoken with many highly successful people over the course of career and there’s one interesting characteristic I’ve noticed they all share in common.
Each of them exudes this quiet confidence about themselves and their abilities.
And to repeat, not just confidence, but quiet confidence, meaning they don’t try to be the smartest person in the room or the one who gets all the attention. And yet, when they speak, you can sense this sense of assuredness and inner peace about who they are and what they can do.
Naturally, most of us would love to be like these successful people – not just because of the level of success they’ve achieved, but because of that quiet confidence they exemplify.
So what’s their secret? How did they achieve this quiet confidence? Is it because of their success? Or could it be their sense of confidence gave rise to their success?
Well, recently, I delivered a morning keynote followed by an afternoon workshop to almost 1,000 leaders from a healthcare provider in the US and I realized that one of the exercises I shared with these leaders reveals how anyone can develop their own sense of quiet confidence.
It comes down to transforming that inner voice in our mind from that noisy, negative self-talk, to one that encourages and challenges us to fulfill our true potential.
As this idea wasn’t part of the leadership workshop I gave, I decided to develop into something to share in this latest episode of my Leadership Espresso Shot series.
More specifically, in this episode, I share four simple steps you can put into practice right now that will help you stop negative self-talk and replace that inner voice with one that these successful leaders have – an inner voice that believes in your ability to succeed and thrive in fulfilling the purpose of why you do what you do.
It’s a ten minute journey of self-exploration and discovery that I know you’ll derive a lot of benefit from. -
Over the past several months, there’s been a lot of attention paid to an organization’s workplace culture, particularly in terms of the on-going debate over the future of work.
But at a time where it feels we’re going from one crisis to another, it is important for leaders to consider what kind of workplace culture their promoting in their organization, and whether it will help their employees to adapt and thrive in spite of what crisis looms next over the horizon.
That’s why I invited Shaara Roman to join me on this episode of my “Leadership Biz Cafe” podcast to discuss her book, “The Conscious Workplace: Fortify Your Culture to Thrive in Any Crisis”.
Shaara is a seasoned executive, having held leadership roles in CGI, Fannie Mae, NRECA, and Visa, before founding her own workplace culture consulting firm, The Silverene Group. Her writings and insights on workplace culture have appeared in numerous publications, including like CEOWorld Magazine, SHRM, HR.com, HR Executive, Authority Magazine, and GovExec.
Shaara’s upbringing also gives her a unique insight into different cultural norms and how to bring people together, growing up in India, Nigeria, UK, and Greece before settling down in the US.
Some of the topics Shaara and I discuss in this episode include:
The four types of organizational culture found in today’s workplaces, and how one of the common ones is more problematic than we might realize.
The impact Millennial and Gen Z will have on leadership and the mindset change that’s going to be needed to keep organizations agile and responsive to the evolving talent landscape.
The blindspot many leaders have about how certain actions of theirs are inadvertently transforming the workplace culture, and often times, not for the better.
How a leader’s own innate sense of purpose drives an organization’s sense of community and belonging.
Noteworthy links:
Buy Shaara’s book “The Conscious Workplace” on Amazon.*
Learn more about Shaara’s work - silverenegroup.com
*sponsored link that helps to support this podcast. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. -
When it comes to success, much of the focus tends to be on how do we go about being successful. We read books and watch documentaries about the lives of successful people in the hopes that we might better understand what allowed them to succeed in the hopes that we might achieve a similar result from our efforts.
But a recent conversation with my daughter revealed something we don’t tend to think about when it comes to success and that is what lessons can we learn about ourselves when we succeed?
That’s why in this edition of my Leadership Espresso Shot series, I share a story about how my daughter overcame an obstacle in achieving success in school and the three important lessons we need to make sure we never lose sight of when we achieve success.
Not only to ensure that we might succeed again, but because of the powerful insights we gain about the journey we’re on and will continue to take. -
When it comes to diversity in today’s workplaces, understandably much of the focus is on systemic challenges members of various marginalized groups have to deal with.
But as my guest in this episode of my Leadership Biz Cafe podcast points out, that doesn’t mean there aren’t measures Black professionals can take at the individual level so they can succeed and thrive in today’s corporate environment.
Carice Anderson is a seasoned corporate leader and executive, having worked at numerous organizations including Deloitte, Korn Ferry, McKinsey & Company, Aon-Hewitt, and has worked with top companies like Google, Bloomberg, JP Morgan Chase and Bain & Company.
I’ve invited Carice to join me on my podcast to talk about her book “Intelligence Isn’t Enough: A Black Professional’s Guide to Thriving in the Workplace” so that Black and non-Black leaders can learn from her insights about how Black employees can be empowered to succeed and thrive as members of their team.
Over the course of my conversation with Carice, we spoke about:
What is the Black Tax and how it impacts the productivity and perception of Black and non-Black employees.
An examination of the “three major corporate muscle groups” Black professionals need to flex and develop to succeed in the corporate world.
The mindset shift Black professionals need to make to have a healthier relationship with failure.
How Black professionals tend to prioritize degrees over work relationships and why they need to change their focus to get ahead in the corporate world.
The advantages of looking for sponsors and not just mentors to help elevate your career.
Why we need to think of “difficult conversations” as “courageous conversations” and how to be more effective in having them.
Noteworthy links:
Buy Carice’s book “Intelligence Isn’t Enough” on Amazon.*
Learn more about Carice’s work - cariceanderson.com
*sponsored link that helps to support this podcast. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. -
How many of us would be happy knowing the high point of our career was that we were good at just getting through the day?
Unfortunately, that’s the reality leaders need to recognize as the focus of today’s leadership becomes less and less about achieving long-term goals and more about just putting out fires and ‘getting things done’.
While this certainly makes us look good from a day-to-day perspective, it also leaves us with little to point to as a true accomplishment and reflection of who we were and what we did as a leader.
No doubt this is why biographies and stories of successful leaders continue to capture our curiosity and imagination. After all, their leadership example is what we all aspire to be like – in our own way, of course.
But how we can be our own version of an exceptional leader when all we focus on are things that while urgent, are not important to achieving something lasting and meaningful? Something that changes things for the better, or at least opens the door for others to affect that kind of change
In this edition of my Leadership Espresso Shot series, I describe that one thing exceptional leaders never forget has to be at the forefront of everything they say and do.
It’s something that each and every one of us can make a part of our leadership focus, provided that we’re willing to make the effort of not letting the demands of our day-to-day dictate where we put that long-term focus. The lens through which we need to keep looking out through if we are to achieve something remarkable, something great.
So I hope you’ll take a short break from dealing with your day-to-day work tasks to listen to this episode, and gain inspiration for how you can be your own version of that exceptional leader your employees and team need you to be. -
What do Uber, Apple, Netflix, and AirBnB share in common in terms of the successes they’ve achieved? According to my guest in this episode of my Leadership Biz Cafe podcast, what these and other successful companies share in common is that they’re all experience disruptors.
And he has a framework based on studies in consumer behaviour, behavioural psychology, and marketing analytics that can help any organization become their own version of an experience disruptor.
Allen Adamson is an expert in branding, experience creation, and innovation strategy. Over the course of his career, he’s worked as a marketing executive at Unilever, held senior management positions at iconic advertising firms, including Ogilvy & Mather and DMB&B, and has worked companies like Accenture, GE, FedEx, HBO, Marriott, MetLife, P&G, Sony, and Verizon.
He’s authored four books, and it’s his latest one, “Seeing the How: Achieving Market Advantage by Transforming the Stuff We Do, Not the Stuff We Buy”, that I wanted to talk with Allen about.
Over the course of this episode, Allen and I discuss:
What is experience innovation and moving past our assumptions of what our customers want.
Why a singular focus is the critical key to creating a successful consumer experience.
How to use our company’s strengths to meet the unique expectations of our customer base.
What kind of partnerships with other companies you should consider to strengthen the consumer experience you can offer.
Why getting closer to your customer is less about proximity and more about bringing more empathy to your consumer experience.
Noteworthy links:
Buy Allen’s book “Seeing The How” on Amazon.*
Learn more about Allen’s work - allenadamson.com
*sponsored link that helps to support this podcast. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. -
The last few weeks of the year are an ideal time for self-reflection and review as on the one hand, there’s an understandable eagerness to plan and map out goals for the upcoming year.
But at the same time, it’s a perfect moment to take note of both the successes earned and lessons gained over the past 12 months.
It’s in the vein of the latter that I wanted to look back at the numerous conversations I had with my guests on my Leadership Biz Cafe podcast to select my favourite guest moments and insights from 2023.
To be sure, this wasn’t an easy task as I’ve had the privilege of speaking with some insightful and knowledgeable experts over these past 12 months.
Combing the perspectives of looking back and looking ahead, here are my favourite highlights from some of the conversations I had on my podcast in 2023:
John Baldoni - Why great leaders take care of their employees by creating community and why grace is the how to making that happen.
Adam Bryant - Why your ability to offer feedback and give recognition is key to your ability to make the leap to leader and why so many of us struggle with this form of communication.
Tamara Sanderson – How leaders can address concerns over loneliness when offering remote work options, and what the shifting dynamics of relationships at work tell us about the future of work.
Bertina Ceccarelli and Susanne Tedrick – What leaders should be doing to retain a diverse workforce during today’s uncertain economic conditions to ensure they can attract key talent needed to grow the organization when the economy roars back to life.
James Burstall – How creativity can help leaders be better prepared for the next crisis by treating it as an opportunity for growth and not just a time to hunker down.
Erika Andersen – What leaders need to do to make their organization more agile and responsive following a major change.
If you’re looking for some inspiration and guidance on how to be better prepared to address the challenges your organization will face in 2024, I want to encourage you to listen to this year-end retrospective episode, and to check out upcoming episodes of my podcast that we’ll be releasing in 2024.
My thanks to John, Adam, Tamara, Bertina, Susanne, James, and Erika for these insightful moments shared in this last episode of my podcast for 2023.
Episode links:
John Baldoni | Leading Through Change And Crisis With Grace
Adam Bryant | How Managers Can Make The Jump To Leadership
Tamara Sanderson | How Leaders Make Remote Work A Success
Bertina Ceccarelli & Susanne Tedrick | Innovating For Diversity
James Burstall | How Leaders Can Prepare For The Next Major Crisis
Erika Andersen | Addressing Change From The Inside Out
Noteworthy links:
Buy James’ book “The Flexible Method” on Amazon*
Buy John Baldoni’s book “Grace Under Pressure” on Amazon*.
Buy Adam Bryant’s book “The Leap to Leader” on Amazon*
Buy Tamara Sanderson and Ali Greene’s book “Remote Works” on Amazon.*
Buy Bertina Ceccarelli and Susanne Tedrick’s book “Innovating For Diversity” on Amazon.*
Buy Erika’s book “Change From The Inside Out” on Amazon.*
*sponsored link that helps to support this podcast. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. -
If I were to ask your employees if your organization is ready to navigate the next global crisis, what would they say?
As much as we’d like to think we’re prepared for whatever crisis comes our way, the pandemic and subsequent global supply chain crises clearly proved many organizations are vastly under-prepared to handle any kind of global crisis, let alone internal ones that risk upending our well-laid plans.
So what can leaders do? How can you ensure your organization will fare better when the next storm arrives at your doorstep?
In this episode of my “Leadership Biz Cafe” podcast, I spoke with a leader who not only successfully navigated his company through two major crises, but who’s developed a practical guide any leader can put into practice right now to help them prepare for the next crisis.
James Burstall is the CEO of Argonon, a major international TV production company based in London, with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Liverpool, and Glasgow. His company has produced a number of popular shows, including House Hunters International, Hidden Potential, Lost Treasures of Egypt, Attenborough and the Mammoth Grave, and The Masked Singer UK.
James has worked as an executive producer and producer-director for broadcasters all over the world, and has been featured in the Financial Times, Guardian, Variety, Deadline and Daily Telegraph to name a few.
I’ve invited James to join me on my podcast to talk about his book, “The Flexible Method: Prepare To Prosper In The Next Global Crisis”, which offers a practical guide for leaders based on James’ own experience, as well as the crisis management experience of several other successful leaders, on how to prepare for the next crisis that will inevitably arise.
Over the course of our conversation, James and I spoke about:
The importance of calm and purposeful leadership and how to accomplish this during a crisis
In times of crisis, what and how leaders should be communicating to their team
How organizations can become more adaptable to external change while still holding true to their values
How to use a crisis as an opportunity to tap into the collective creativity of your employees
If you want to make sure your organization is truly prepared for that next global crisis waiting just around the corner, make some in your day to listen and learn how this successful leader helped his organization to not just survive, but thrive under the pressures and fallout of two major global crises.
Noteworthy links:
Buy James' book “The Flexible Method” on Amazon*
Learn more about James' work – Argonon
*sponsored link that helps to support this podcast. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. -
Have you ever had the experience dealing with after-sales support where you not only get the runaround, but you spend days just trying to get someone on the phone to acknowledge your problem?
That’s the situation my wife and I had to content with when we contacted a major retailer about an issue with our newly purchased recliner sofa.
While on the surface, this would seem like a problem with customer support, the truth is this experience reveals a far more problematic issue that every leader should be making a concerted effort to avoid.
That’s why for this edition in my Leadership Espresso Shot series, I wanted to use this experience to illustrate four questions leaders should be asking themselves to evaluate whether their actions are setting up their employees to succeed … or whether it’s only serving to create silos within their organization.
As many of us begin to look ahead to what we want to achieve in 2024, this is the ideal moment to reflect on what you can improve on to better support and empower your employees.
Reflecting on these four questions is a great place to begin that process.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/3sW5PjEKfOPbUcfZBUsb9F?si=0d84d94a36a04cd7 -
With the explosive growth of AI and other emergent technologies, it’s not surprising to see many organizations focusing on digital business transformation. Unfortunately, many leaders are making a critical mistake in their strategy, something I discuss and explore with my guest Kamales Lardi in this episode of my “Leadership Biz Cafe” podcast.
Kamales is an award-winning digital transformation expert and the CEO and founder of Lardi & Partner, a global digital and business transformation firm. Kamales is a Teaching Fellow at Durham University Business School and she served as the first Chair of the Forbes Business Council of Women Executives.
Kamales is also the author of the best-selling book, “The Human Side Of Digital Business Transformation”. I’ve invited Kamales to join me on the show to talk about what leaders need to do to successfully drive digital transformation in their organization, starting with a better understanding of what digitization, digitalization, and digital transformation really mean.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2YiSRbRw9MO52WCxho7POt?si=9617020b52174b98
Noteworthy links:
Buy Kamales’ book “The Human Side of Digital Business Transformation” on Amazon*
Check out Kamales’ Digital Transformation School resource: dbxschool.com
Learn more about Kamales’ work: kamaleslardi.com
Listen to my interview with IMD Director Michael Wade – Successfully Navigating Change In A Digital World
*sponsored link that helps to support this podcast. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. -
Does your organization encourage a sense of curiosity? According to a survey in the Harvard Business Review, 83% of leaders say they do, but barely half of their employees would agree.
Far from being something that's 'nice to have', encouraging a sense of curiosity in your workplace is going to become increasingly critical, not only to ensure better agility and adaptability in an ever uncertain world, but also because the burgeoning use of AI in organizations will lead to a shift towards more creativity-focused work.
Seen from this vantage point, it becomes clear that your ability to promote curiosity in your organization is fast becoming a critical factor to your organization’s long-term success and viability.
So how can leaders ensure they are in fact encouraging curiosity in their organization?
In this latest instalment in my Leadership Espresso Shot series, I share four steps leaders can take that will help them create a culture of inquisitiveness in their organization.
By putting these four steps into practice, you will not only help create conditions that ignite the curiosity and imagination of your employees, but you’ll also have the added bonus of fostering deeper, more meaningful relationships with those you lead.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/0pKBIxe9bSIsF1tR13s2h4?si=_GdTbSmVRiCFeF0Oa_yiQg -
“One of the biggest stumbling blocks for organizations is an unwillingness to be brutally honest about the challenges they face.”
There’s no question leadership is becoming a more challenging role than it was 5-10 years ago. The rapid pace of change, the on-going uncertainties, even the very nature of the way we work have made being a leader a more strenuous and stressful job.
But another factor that’s making it challenging for people to succeed at leadership is that many people in leadership roles today haven’t asked themselves a critical question before taking on the role – why do you want to be a leader?
This question serves as the starting point for my conversation with best-selling author Adam Bryant about what those interested in taking on the leadership reins need to prepared for in this latest episode of my “Leadership Biz Cafe” podcast.
Adam is probably best known for his New York Times column, “The Corner Office”. He’s also the best-selling author of “The Corner Office: Indispensible and Unexpected Lessons from CEOs on How To Lead and Succeed” as well as “Quick and Nimble - Lessons From Leading CEOs on How To Create a Culture of Innovation”.
Adam was a guest on my podcast two years ago when we talked about his book “The CEO Test - Master The Challenges That Make or Break All Leaders” and I’m delighted to welcome him back so we can talk about his latest, “The Leap to Leader: How Ambitious Managers Make the Jump to Leadership”.
Adam and I had a frank and fascinating conversation about the realities of what it takes to move into a leadership role. But even those in leadership positions will benefit from hearing what Adam has to say.
I hope you’ll make some time to give this episode a listen, and do let me know what you think.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2x8e0p2X20HeVwe63t69NB?si=46193fe60a454f71
Noteworthy links:
Buy Adam’s book “The Leap to Leader” on Amazon*
Learn more about Adam’s work - adambryantbooks.com
Listen to my previous conversation with Adam – Episode #91: Adam Bryant | Mastering Challenges That Make Or Break All Leaders
*sponsored link that helps to support this podcast. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. -
Few issues have captured the attention and focus of leaders over the past few years as the ongoing debate over whether to allow employees to work remotely or demand they return to office (RTO).
And because it’s a contentious issue, there’s invariably numerous articles and studies out there which are meant to clarify things, but which honestly probably make the situation more ambiguous than it needs to be.
But what’s especially troubling about this growing push by many organizations to overlook employee concerns and issue RTO mandates is that leaders are sending out a message that will negatively impact their leadership for many years to come.
That’s why in this latest episode in my Leadership Espresso Shot series, I challenge leaders to rethink what they’re focusing on right now if they are to not only help their employees in today’s uncertain economic environment, but create the conditions to ensure their collective growth and success in the future as well.
So I hope you’ll take 10 minutes out of your day to give this episode a listen. Although there's a bit of tough love in what I share, I think it's nonetheless something every leader needs to hear right now.
And I'd love to know what you think and especially what suggestions you might have for how leaders can better address the growing demands employees have for organizations to adapt and evolve the way they approach work.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2JU7CzlL1RzSkcpWmfeeTS?si=5d4e7808bd974535
Noteworthy link:
Listen to Leadership Espresso Shot 29 - Why Leadership Should Be Hard -
We’ve all seen the studies that have shown how a diverse workforce leads to better productivity, increased profits and market share, and greater creativity and innovation.
But with so many positive outcomes related to diverse workforces, why are so many organizations failing to attract and retain a diversified workforce – including in the senior leadership ranks? What are we getting wrong and what should we be doing differently?
According to my guests on this episode of my “Leadership Biz Cafe” podcast, Bertina Ceccarelli and Susanne Tedrick, the key is understanding how to use innovation principles to drive an organization’s DEI efforts.
Bertina is the Chief Executive Officer of NPower, one of the most successful non-profits in North America committed to helping young adults and military-connected individuals launch tech careers. And Susanne is the author of "Women of Color in Tech" and a cloud computing technical trainer for Microsoft.
Together, they co-authored the book “Innovating For Diversity – Lessons from Top Companies Achieving Business Success through Inclusivity”, which makes the compelling case for why diversity and innovation are not just interconnected, but how innovation can actually help organizations succeed in their DEI initiatives.
Of course, to succeed in these efforts, we first have to get a better understanding of what these terms of diversity, equity and inclusion really mean.
And I’m grateful to Bertina and Susanne for not only helping to bring clarity to this in our conversation, but for also providing practical advice for how leaders can succeed at creating a more diverse workplace that will not only benefit their organization, but also those their organization serves.
No matter what you might think about diversity in today’s workplaces, I want to strongly encourage you to give this episode a listen as I’m sure some of what Bertina and Susanne share in this conversation will surprise you and definitely give you some food for thought.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/47U7MrcuCKe7ktRhJplt0y?si=0b6b810c9af84b8d
Noteworthy links:
Buy Bertina and Susanne’s book “Innovating For Diversity” on Amazon.*
Learn more about Bertina’s work - npower.org
Learn more about Susanne’s work - susannetedrick.com
*sponsored link that helps to support this podcast. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. -
It seems like every day there’s another news report about a company’s decision to have their employees return to the office. Of course, if you’ve been following the leadership space for some time, this isn’t too surprising.
After all, it was only a few years ago that organizations were limiting smartphone use in in the workplace to company-approved devices, only for their leaders to turn around and offer bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies to attract and retain employees.
Of course, the current debate over when and where employees work is not likely to be resolved as quickly as the BYOD debate. Creating conditions that allow your employees to work whenever and wherever they want is not just about giving employees a choice.
It also represents a disruption to how we understand the nature of work, not to mention changing many requirements for what will be needed to succeed at leadership in this new world of work.
Seen from that vantage point, it’s not surprising to see such resistance from organizations to offering employees flexible work options. Though that doesn’t mean this resistance and desire to ‘go back to the way things were’ is a good thing – both for the present and future.
That’s why in this episode of my “Leadership Espresso Shot” series, I share the story of Kodak and what a critical decision made by the organization’s top leadership can teach us about how leaders should be approaching the current debate over the future of work.
Trust me when I say it’s a powerful lesson leaders and their organizations can’t afford to ignore … if they want to ensure their continued growth and success.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6PMGlGdt4tqVIOJPbGLhnO?si=faddeb2942bd42f3 -
If there’s one challenge leaders everywhere share in common right now it’s how to ignite employee commitment. From the Great Resignation to quiet quitting, organizations have been grappling with how to motivate and retain employees who are critical to their long-term success and growth.
Fortunately, my guest in this episode of my “Leadership Biz Cafe” podcast has discovered that there are three important keys that will ignite employee commitment and retention, three keys that every leader and every organization has the ability to employ … provided they’re willing to accept some realities about the new world of work.
Joe Mull is a respected authority on what organizations need to do to drive commitment in the workplace. He’s written three books on this subject, including his latest “Employalty: How To Ignite Commitment and Keep Top Talent in the New Age of Work”, where he describes those three keys to igniting employee commitment.
And as I told Joe during our conversation, one of them resonated strongly with me as it’s a common theme in many of my keynotes and workshops.
So what are these three keys and how do leaders go about employing them? Well to find that out, you’ll have to listen to this episode. And I can tell you, some of them will definitely challenge many people’s thinking around issues like compensation and employee workload.
But when you hear what Joe has to say about these topics, I know you’ll come to the same conclusion I did from reading his book that only those organizations that choose to embrace these changes will be the ones who succeed and thrive in the years ahead, while the laggards become this decade’s version of Blockbuster and Kodak.
After giving this episode a listen, let me know which key resonated the most with you, and which one challenged you the most in terms of what you need to do to drive employee commitment and strengthen retention.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/5q49VBdhE7ul5FPEMShbf1?si=529b7ef619ea4f0d
Noteworthy links:
Buy Joe Mull’s book “Employalty” on Amazon.*
Learn more about Joe Mull’s work – joemull.com
*sponsored link that helps to support this podcast. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. -
This might come as a surprise, but one of my favourite things about delivering a leadership keynote is the Q&A session I have afterwards. I love this part not only because it allows me to hear what key insights or ideas have taken hold with my audience, but also because sometimes the questions I get asked spur on new ideas I want to expand on and explore.
For example, my TED talk “Forget Passion - Purpose is the Real Spice of Life” was inspired by a question I was asked after one of my keynotes where one of the attendees wanted to learn more about my own leadership journey and what inspired me to take that particular path.
Recently, I delivered another in-person keynote and during the Q&A session I was asked yet another one of those thought-provoking questions whose answer was something I wanted to expand on and share.
The question was from a leader who’d been working on becoming more comfortable with asking questions and after hearing my keynote he had a question he wanted to ask me.
His question – “How do I encourage my employees to get better at asking questions, too?”
It’s such a great question that, just like my TED talk, I wanted to share the ideas it gave rise to with those who weren’t present to hear my answer to this leader's question.
And so, in this edition of my Leadership Espresso Shot series, I share four simple steps any leader can implement towards creating an environment where employees feel psychologically safe to ask any question that’s on their mind.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2hg6lmgAQaPEz2eP3IOkug?si=70e380f4c5504d08 -
To offer remote work opportunities or not to offer remote work opportunities? If you look at the articles found in various business outlets these days, it would seem organizations are facing an existential crisis when it comes to how today’s workplaces should operate.
At the heart of this debate is an on-going tug-of-war where leaders on the one hand worry about a loss in productivity and organizational culture, while employees on the other hand want the flexibility to decide when and where they do their work.
But in our drive to figure out the future of work, are we focusing more on the symptoms rather than the root causes behind such issues as declining productivity, rising levels of loneliness, and diminished opportunities for career growth that are being linked to remote work?
Thankfully, I’ve had the chance to speak to an expert – and seasoned remote leader – to help shine a light on what it really takes to make remote work, well, work and overcome those understandable concerns many leaders have.
In addition to being a former Googler, Tamara Sanderson is the co-founder of Remote Works, an organizational design and consulting firm with a mission to liberate teams from the nine-to-five and teach them how to do their best work, anytime, anywhere.
Along with her co-author, Ali Greene, Tamara has written a fantastic book called “Remote Works: Managing for Freedom, Flexibility, and Focus” that offers a clear blueprint to help leaders not only get better at leading remote teams, but details the systems and processes you need to have in place to help with onboarding new employees and strengthening your organization’s culture.
And over the course of our conversation, Tamara shares a brilliant answer to my question about how should we address the loneliness issue in today’s organizations – whether your employees are working fully remote or in some hybrid work arrangement.
If you’re struggling with how to adapt and transform your workplace to address the growing demands of employees for greater flexibility around the way they work, I strongly encourage you to make the time to give this episode a listen. It will give you a better handle on what you need to do to solve this issue in your workplace.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/3sOY8opSN8yG5xY0Wh6a2z?si=cbfda8caba6d4586
Noteworthy links:
Buy Tamara Sanderson and Ali Greene’s book “Remote Works” on Amazon.*
Learn more about Tamara Sanderson’s work: www.remoteworksbook.com.
*sponsored link that helps to support this podcast. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. - もっと表示する
