Coaching For Leaders

Michael “Coop” Cooper: Innovators + Influencers Do you feel like you are playing whack-a-mole, constantly putting out fires in your organization? Are others and you clear on the real reason for most problems? In this conversation, I welcome Michael “Coop” Cooper from Innovators + Influencers to share a 5-step strategy that will help you define problems so it’s clear what to do next. 1. Describe the situation There’s a lot of information in the situation that people don’t talk about. This does not have to take as long as most people think it does. 2. Draft a problem statement The problem we’re trying to solve is… Find the simplest statement possible. 3. Ask “Why is that a problem?” (REPEAT) Be aware of the thud factor and the pause. 4. Is this the real problem? Involve someone else 5. Is this problem worth solving? Will it save you time or money? Will it make your company/department more competitive/productive? Will this solution make your work or life easier in the long-run? Does

Guest: David Sparks Author, Presentations* MacSparky.com and MacPowerUsers.com David last appeared on episode #119 to help us get control of our email. Memorize the opening and the closing of your presentation Nail the beginning. Close strong. Utilize an effective remote A green laser shows better than a red one Keep the button options simple Dark the screen when you’re not referring to a slide Find one with an on/off switch David recommends the Kensington K72427AM Wireless Presenter* Tools to consider You need to learn to be self-sufficient Adapters Extension cord Duct tape Speakers for audio David’s final advice Think about your presentation as a story Your slides are not your script David and the folks of Apple have shared 11 free copies of David's book with our community. To enter to receive one, simply leave a comment at the link below with thoughts on one of two things: One thing you gained from this episode that you'll use for your next presentation day Someth

Have you struggled with the generation gap between you and today’s younger employees? Do you find millennials to be a challenge to lead? You’re not alone and today, some proven principles and practical actions you can take to engage the millennial generation. Guest: Chip Espinoza, Ph.D. Author, Millennials@Work* Co-Author, Managing The Millennials* Director, Organizational Psychology, Concordia University Irvine Who are the millennials? They were born between 1980-2002 range. These are many of our newer employees in organizations. “The millennials are the first generation that has not needed an authority figure to access information.” -Chip Espinoza There is a dynamic in the workforce of a generation that doesn’t know how to reach up working with a generation that doesn’t know how to reach down. “The people with the most responsibility need to adapt first in an organization.” -Chip Espinoza “Ambiguity is the millennial kryptonite.” -Chip Espinoza This generation is used to experiencing success and m

Do you find yourself struggling with changing your behavior? Real learning is hard, but keeps you from making the same mistake again.   I wrote this article a few months ago: Sorry, I Don't Love Learning Have you seen this scene in the Matrix? I mentioned the book Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell* Practical Advice 1. Ensure that it’s something important for you to learn I mentioned the book Soar With Your Strengths by Donald Clifton and Paula Nelson* 2. Get comfortable with being uncomfortable “When you are tough on yourself, life is going to be infinitely easier on you.” -Zig Ziglar 3. Recognize that what you’ve been able to change your behavior on is really challenging for others “Every single time I get on a plane I’m really glad that the plane is not being flown by someone who just always loved planes.” -A teacher quoted in Building A Better Teacher by Elizabeth Green*. Feedback Join the conversation: http://coachingforleaders.com/157 Comments, questions, or feedback for future Q&A shows: ht

Bonni and I tackle questions from the Coaching for Leaders community on staying motivated and many other topics. Guest: Bonni Stachowiak TeachingInHigherEd.com Question from Gabriel [Audio] I recommended episode #144: How We Do Things Around Here To Get Results Question from Torrey: I would like to know if you have a group on book reads or know of any groups I can join to get advice about good reading for leadership? For example which of Peter Drucker's books should I read? Subscribe to Coaching for Leaders weekly update for a reader's guide to the 10 Leadership Books That Will Help You Get Better Results From Others Check out Dave's personal reading library on GoodReeds Dave recommended Leadership and Self-Deception by The Arbinger Institute* Dave and Bonni recommended The Essential Drucker by Peter Drucker* Bonni recommended The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz* Bonni recommended The Empowered Manager by Peter Block* Bonni recommended Difficult Conversations by Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton,

Mark Allen: Aha Moments In Talent Management Mark Allen is a professor at Pepperdine University and author of The Corporate University Handbook* and The Next Generation of Corporate Universities*. He just released his newest book, Aha Moments in Talent Management*. In this conversation, Mark and Dave discuss practical strategies that you can use to develop talent in your organization. Key Points “Having better people is the best source of competitive advantage, so attracting top talent is a top priority. Be willing to do whatever it takes to bring in top talent. Do not let your own policies prevent you from hiring exceptional people.” -Mark Allen Ask for the rationale for why rules are in place that are preventing talent acquisition “The job of manager requires specific skills and abilities. Promotion should be based on the ability to do the next job, not performance in the current job. Good performance should be rewarded appropriately, but promotion should not be a reward for past performance.” -Mark All

Dave Stachowiak: Eight Types of Power A brief word from Power vs. Force* by David Hawkins In 1959, French & Raven identified several types of power in their research: 1. Reward power Giving something of value 2. Expert power Knowledge, competence, and experience 3. Referent power Personality and charisma to influence others 4. Legitimate We have the legitimate right to command given our position in the organization In 1975, Raven & Kruglanski added to the list... 5. Connection power Access to powerful people and organizations 6. Information power Access to information that other parties don’t have In 1989, Liberatore et al. added... 7. Group decision-making power The decisions an entire organization gets behind Finally, in 1991, Yukl & Falbe identified... 8. Persuasive power The ability to influence through logic and dialogue A brief word about force Coercive “power” is also cited in the research This is the force against will - to threaten punishment and deliver penalty

Bill Bliss: Success In the C-Suite Bill last appeared on episode #118: What's The Difference Between Management and Leadership Myths and stopping points of succession planning The organization is only mine (I own it) The organization is too small I don’t know how to create a plan In reality, a lot of people just don’t want to make the hard decisions. Succession planning strategies and principles: 1. Development of leaders requires an investment of time and money Look at where the company needs to be five years from now - that’s where the discussion starts Then determine the competencies that will need to be ready at that time “The number one role of any leader is to identify and prepare their successor.” -Bill Bliss 2. Successful leadership development is a multi-faceted approach Bill mentioned the Center for Creative Leadership as a resource Mentorship is valuable for some organizations, as is experiential leadership Coaching is also very valuable for individuals 3. Backup successio

What do you want to be doing 5 years from now? It’s the first Monday of the month, and we tackle that question and more on today’s question and answer show. Guest: Bonni Stachowiak Bonni mentioned the This American Life show titled Trends With Benefits, citing a disability story from Hale County, Alabama. Question from Aaron During a one-on-one meeting my boss asked me where I wanted to go in my career, and I didn't have an answer for him. More concerning was that I didn't have an answer for myself. He recommended that I have a five year plan, and he gave me a few ideas to considers. With so many paths - both inside and outside my company - where do I begin? Your 90th birthday party Your ideal day or week What Color Is Your Parachute* by Richard N. Bolles Question from Birger “'After observing O Sensei, the founder of Aikido, sparring with an accomplished fighter, a young student said to the master, 'You never lose your balance. What is your secret?' 'You are wrong,” Ōsensei replied. 'I am constant

Many of us struggle with being more productive. Here are four steps we can all take to get better results. Guest: Tim Stringer Holistic Productivity Online Courses LearnOmniFocus.com “There’s only two problems in life. Either you don’t know where you’re going or you don’t know the next step.” -Tim Stringer, paraphrasing David Allen Tim recommended Tony Schwartz's book Be Excellent At Anything* Step 1 - Reflection Tim recommends journaling to separate the noise from what’s most important The Day One app* is an excellent resource for this Step 2 - Accepting life as is Step 3 - Focus on one thing A positive shift in one area of life will influence many other areas It’s a lot easier to get early wins by starting with one area first Step 4 - Inspired action Work on a specific action for a 90-day period Think a strategize about your action like it’s already occurred Strategies Name projects the define the objective Due dates only when things are actually due Resources OmniFocus for th

The three key steps to take after you conduct a survey, with the recent Coaching for Leaders listener survey as our case study. Guest: Bonni Stachowiak 1. Thank people Dave used Surveymonkey.com for the listener survey 2. Share the results Resources for visualizing results Column Five Piktochart Demographics Over 100 people participated 40% have graduate degrees 75% of listeners are managers Of those, 60% have managed five years or more Findings Dave needs to be more concise (introductions and show length) People want to continue to hear more advice for practical action People like and want more Q&A 3. Take action Show length will be 30-40 minutes Advice or practical action at the end of each episode Question and answer show the first Monday of the month (submit your question) Products and services Free online resource library is coming Paid monthly membership with access to weekly training videos will start with a private beta test Email Dave at feed

When we think of successful people, astronauts are often fairly high on the list. Chris Hadfield flew on two space shuttles and commanded the international space station. Here’s here today to share wisdom from his success that will help all of us us, right here on Earth.   Guest: Astronaut Chris Hadfield Author of the New York Times Bestseller: An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth: What Going To Space Taught Me About Ingenuity, Determination, and Being Prepared for Anything* “So many people in life, maybe without even acknowledging it to themselves, let fear dictate a lot of their decision-making.” -Chris Hadfield Some keys to balancing sweating the small stuff and avoiding micromanagement Visualize it going perfectly Visualize failure before it has happened What’s the most likely 10 things to go wrong? Let’s simulate them and figure out how we will react to them Then run the simulation again to find the best plan and change behavior Aim to be a zero Begin by soaking up what’s going on a

Leaders often hear about influence through storytelling, but don't know where to start. Here are four stories to tell and how to get started.   Guest: David Hutchens DavidHutchens.com Author of the Upcoming Book: Circle of the 9 Muses: A Storytelling Field Guide for Innovators Storytelling is utilized for influence “It’s more important to tell a strategic story, to tell the right story, even if you don’t tell it particularly well.” -David Hutchens The starting point of telling stories is permission Storytelling is a skill that nobody really has to learn since it’s our natural language Leaders needs to give themselves permission to tell a story in their organization The 4 stories leaders need to tell Who we are stories - what it means to be us Think about the stories parents and caregivers told you when you were young about what it was like growing up for them When we do this, we impart information about what we believe and who we are today Every organization and team has an origin story Da

Creativity isn’t the first thing that I hear most leaders wanting to get better at. However, most of us can reap huge rewards by being more creative. On today’s how, why we should care about creativity and how to get better at it. Guest: Todd Henry Author, The Accidental Creative: How To Be Brilliant At A Moment's Notice* “Creativity, at the heart of it, is problem solving.” -Todd Henry “We are creatures of habit and creatures of comfort.” -Todd Henry Focus is a key element of creative work Those who are most effective can define their work very well. Define your work by establishing challenges. “When we start framing up work as problem statements rather than as projects, it completely changes the way that we approach the work itself.” -Todd Henry Hours of work is important element of work and creativity to look at “You’re not being paid for replying to emails quickly. You’re being paid for the value you contribute to the organization.” -Todd Henry Most people don’t make dedicated time to t

Perspective from Steve Richardson, author of Become a Better Leader in 30 Days*, on what to stop doing in leadership. Guest: Steve Richardson Author, Become A Better Leader in 30 Days* “All leaders manage, but not all managers lead.” -Steve Richardson Three things not to do when managing people Avoid managing by suggestion Managers do this when they don’t want to be accountable What do people really want from leaders? Direct Decisive Avoid managing by hoping These managers maintain a positive attitude, but don’t really know how things are going Employees learn that managers like this want to hear only good news Avoid managing by redoing Some managers take on the work of employees and will re-do it This is trap for people who were the start performers in the previous role We mentioned episode #117: The Seven Steps You Follow To Delegate Work “Doing something well myself is different than doing something well through other people.” -Steve Richardson Ask: How can I hel

Matthew Butterick: Practical Typography Written communication may say as much about you as what you wear. Typography is more than just font. Matthew's rankings of common system fonts Book resource: Garner’s Modern American Usage* by Bryan Garner Mark Twain received the following telegram from a publisher: NEED 2-PAGE SHORT STORY TWO DAYS. And famously replied… NO CAN DO 2 PAGES TWO DAYS. CAN DO 30 PAGES 2 DAYS. NEED 30 DAYS TO DO 2 PAGES. Use one space after a sentence. Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

Kent Rhodes: The Family Business Consulting Group Culture is how we do things around here. The three Levels of Culture from Edgar Schein Artifacts Espoused values Underlying assumptions Culture is difficult to identify when you are inside of it. Organizations confuse climate and culture: Climate comes from the outside and tends to be more temporary Culture is what is happening internally and more difficult to change Resources Books Organizational Culture and Leadership* by Edgar Schein Diagnosing and Changing Organizational Culture* by Kim Cameron and Robert Quinn Articles The Trader Joe's Experience by Mark Mallinger and Gerry Rossy Recognizing Organizational Culture in Managing Change by Mark Mallinger, Don Goodwin, and Tetsuya O'Hara The Competitive Advantage of Culture in a Family Business by Kelly LeCouvie and Kent Rhodes Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

You may have received training on giving feedback, but do you maximize how you receive it? On this show, discover how to get way better at accepting feedback. Guest: Sheila Heen Author with Douglas Stone of Thanks for the Feedback: The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Well* Author with Douglas Stone and Bruce Patton of the New York Times Business Bestseller Difficult Conversations* Feedback sits at the core of two human needs: Our need to get better Our need to be accepted, respected, and loved for how we are now “Who’s giving the feedback is often a louder message than what they’re saying.” -Sheila Heen The six steps: 1. Know your tendencies Baseline (or set point): a level of satisfaction that you gravitate towards in the absence of life events Swing: how far positive or negative feedback knocks you off your baseline Recovery: how long it takes you to come back to your baseline Recovery speed can be different for positive and negative feedback Understanding your profile can help yo

We’ve talked a lot on this show about what to do in challenging situations. Today, what to do when the worst happens. Guest: Andrew Stenhouse, Ed.D. Dean, School for Graduate and Professional Studies Vanguard University of Southern California Loss is pervasive and we don’t often recognize how much we’re dealing with loss at the time. Three broad categories of emotions tend to show up for people during a time of workplace loss: Fear We don’t know the loss will affect us personally We don’t know how we are going to react to the loss These fears can surprise us and cause even more anxiety Anger We can be angry at the person who we lost We need to be able to express our anger in some way Anger sometimes feels good because it provides some illusion of control Sadness Anger tends to yield to sadness Guilt is the feeling that we could or should have done something We can sometimes feel guilt that we are not in as much pain as we think we should be What leaders can do after a l

Bonni and I respond to community questions this week on increasing your leadership confidence and a number of other topics. Guest: Bonni Stachowiak, Ed.D. Mishal in Saudia Arabia: How do you increase self-confidence as a new leader? Phil in the UK: What advice would you give to someone who hasn’t had the opportunity to lead people in an organization? Dave reference Coaching for Leaders episode #94: What To Do When Managing Without Authority Another article that might be helpful is 8 Ways To Influence Without Authority John: How can I build time into my day for the long-term goals? Jenn: How do you cope with a difficult coworker when your boss doesn’t want to acknowledge the problem? Dave referenced Coaching for Leaders episode #64: Eight Ways To Get Results By Managing Up Just for fun, we mentioned our Sonos PLAY:3 station* in this response Lisa shared a comment.  Lisa referenced Coaching for Leaders episode #117: The Seven Steps You Follow To Delegate Work Dave mentio