Coaching For Leaders

Jonathan Raymond: Good Authority Jonathan Raymond is the founder of Refound, where he and his team work with organizations to create a company culture based in personal growth. He’s the author of the book Good Authority: How to Become the Leader Your Team Is Waiting For*. Jonathan’s team recently released The Accountability Dial 101* course to help leaders have great feedback conversations with their teams. If you are working to get better at accountability, it’s the most useful framework I know of to balance care for people and accountability for results. In this conversation, Jonathan and I discuss the Accountability Dial, how it’s most useful when leading virtually, and the importance of taking the first step. Key Points You don’t get to look good and grow at the same time. Assume positive intent, regardless of where you are on the accountability dial. The Accountability Dial: The Mention: In real-time (if possible), pull them aside to offer an observation about an undesired behavior. The Invita

Elizabeth Lilla: Metro Stars Gymnastics Elizabeth Lilla is the owner of Metro Stars Gymnastics. With her husband Erik, she has owned and operated gymnastics facilities for 13 years. She was named the Nebraska Occupational Therapy Association's Practitioner of the Year for developing the Special Stars Program at her facilities. Liz has previously served as the USA Gymnastics Nebraska State Chair, and loves sharing the sport of gymnastics with boys and girls of all ages. She is also a member of the Coaching for Leaders Academy. In this conversation, Liz shares the struggle of owning a small business that had to close its physical doors due to COVID-19. She tells the story of her business, the struggle in leading change in recent weeks, and their early success in pivoting to Metro Stars Online. Key Points Metro Stars Gymnastics has a long success story of serving kids and families for 13 years, until COVID-19 shut their doors. Liz and Erik made the difficult decision to retain their full-time staff and pa

Bonni Stachowiak: Teaching in Higher Ed Bonni Stachowiak is the host of the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast, a professor of business and management at Vanguard University, and my life partner. Prior to her academic career, Bonni was a human resources consultant and executive officer for a publicly traded company. She is the author of The Productive Online and Offline Professor: A Practical Guide*. Listener Questions Toni asked about the best way to deal with people who don’t want to grow. Russ wanted our opinion on the best way to interview potential new hires. Sami wondering about the best way to utilize personality assessments. Laura asked our opinion on taking a step back in compensation for a job position she really wants. Resources Mentioned StrengthsFinder Stronger Teams training for individuals and teams (use code CFL10 for a 10% tuition discount) How the Best Bosses Interrupt Bias on Their Teams by Joan Williams and Sky Mihaylo Related Episodes How to Get the Ideal Team Player, with P

Tina Payne Bryson: The Power of Showing Up Tina Payne Bryson is a psychotherapist and the Founder/Executive Director of The Center for Connection, a multidisciplinary clinical practice, and of The Play Strong Institute, a center devoted to the study, research, and practice of play therapy through a neurodevelopment lens. Tina is the author with Dan Siegel two New York Times bestsellers, The Whole-Brain Child* and No Drama Discipline*, each of which has been translated into over forty languages. She’s recently released with Dan their newest book, The Power of Showing Up: How Parental Presence Shapes Who Our Kids Become and How Their Brains Get Wired*. In this conversation, Tina and I explore what it means to show up for kids and why it’s more than just being physically present. We discuss the distinction between being seen vs. being shamed. Plus, practical actions that parents, family members, and other caregivers can take to empower children. Key Points Our research and experience suggest that raising happy

Gina Bianchini: Mighty Networks Gina Bianchini is the Founder & CEO of Mighty Networks*. She is an expert on network effects. Mighty Networks is a pivot from the enterprise-only platform Mightybell, which powered communities for Intuit, American Express, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Mighty Networks has unlocked the opportunity to elevate the rapidly growing world of creators with a purpose. Gina and Mighty Networks have been featured in Fast Company, Wired, Vanity Fair, Bloomberg, and The New York Times. In this conversation, Gina and I discussed the importance of a big, specific mission for an organization. In addition, the necessity to stay dedicated to that mission, especially during difficult times. Plus, she reminders us of the value in bringing all stakeholders along with that mission. Key Points We are a master class in having a mission and deciding it is important no matter what is happening elsewhere. Mission and Purpose Mission and purpose need to be big — and be specific. Make

Hortense le Gentil: Aligned Hortense is an Executive Leadership Coach and the President and Founder of JAY Consulting. She works with C-suite executives from Fortune 500 companies, supporting them in their development and leadership by working with them on the alignment between their personal values and their professional activities. Hortense is part of the Marshall Goldsmith’s prestigious 100 Coaches Project. She has been selected to receive a Thinkers 50 coaching award for excellence in her field. She is the author of several articles about leadership and coaching in such publications as Leader to Leader. She is the author of the book Aligned: Connecting Your True Self with the Leader You’re Meant to Be*. Key Points We are often blind to these invisible lines running throughout our lives. Reflecting on the role models others have admired in their lives can provide insight on what they value. Fictional characters, colors, animals, tress, and even countries can also provide insight into values. Wisdo

Michael Bungay Stanier: The Advice Trap Michael Bungay Stanier is at the forefront of shaping how organizations around the world make being coach-like an essential leadership competency. His book The Coaching Habit* is the best-selling coaching book of this century, with over 700,000 copies sold and 1,000+ five-star reviews on Amazon. He’s the author of the new book The Advice Trap: Be Humble, Stay Curious, and Change the Way You Lead Forever*. In this conversation, Michael and I discuss why advice is overrated and often displays poor leadership. Michael shows up how to avoid coaching ghosts and dealing with people who can’t stop talking. Plus, we explore how to keep people engaged in the conversation, become more coach-like, and qualify advices when the time is right to give it. Key Points Advice is overrated. Not advice itself. There’s a time and a place for good advice. The problem is the default habit of giving advice. -Michael Bungay Stanier The Advice Trap: The more I give them advice, the more they w

Bonni Stachowiak: Teaching in Higher Ed Bonni Stachowiak is the host of the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast, a professor of business and management at Vanguard University, and my life partner. Prior to her academic career, Bonni was a human resources consultant and executive officer for a publicly traded company. She is the author of The Productive Online and Offline Professor: A Practical Guide*. Listener Questions Chris asked for ideas on changing behavior after hearing that his questions/challenges were being perceived as aggressive. Steve wanted to know if there are times when you shouldn’t lead. Colin asked for advice on supporting a colleague who is looking into leadership certificate programs. Jill wondered how I select guests for the show. Related Episodes How to Get Way Better at Accepting Feedback, with Sheila Heen (episode 143) How to Succeed with Leadership and Management, with John Kotter (episode 249) The Choice for Compassion, with Edith Eger (episode 336) Leadership vs. Manage

Susan Rice: Tough Love Susan Rice served at the United States ambassador to the United Nations during President Barack Obama’s first term in office. She was later appointed by President Obama as National Security Advisor, a position she held until the end of his presidency. Today she is the Distinguished Visiting Research Fellow at the School of International Service at American University, a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, and a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times. She is the author the New York Times bestseller Tough Love: My Story of Things Worth Fighting For*. In this conversation, Susan and I discuss how her upbringing shaped her skills at mediation, the course corrections she navigated in her career to get better, and how she ensured all perspective were heard inside President Obama’s National Security Council meetings. Key Points Susan’s early experience mediating the arguments between h

Colleen Bordeaux: Am I Doing This Right? Colleen Bordeaux is a best-selling author, speaker and human capital consultant based in Chicago. She has been published everywhere from the Chicago Sun Times to the Huffington Post and has been endorsed by New York Times columnist and past guest Barry Schwartz and Sunday Times bestselling author Louise Parker. Her popular blog has reached more than 200,000 readers and she leads a women’s mastermind group in Chicago. She is the author of the new book: Am I Doing This Right?: A Philosophical Guide to Life in the Age of Overwhelm*. In this conversation, Colleen and I discuss the power of relationships — and some of the key principles for cultivating the very best relationships to support you, both professionally and personally. Key Points You are the same today that you are going to be in five years except for two things: the people with whom you associate, and the books you read. -Charles Jones To be nobody but yourself in a world which does its best, day and night, t

David Marquet: Leadership is Language David Marquet is the former commander of the U.S.S. Santa Fe, a nuclear-powered attack submarine. Under David’s command, the ship had an impressive turnaround, achieving the highest retention and operational standings in the Navy. David is the author of the bestseller Turn the Ship Around: A True Story of Turning Followers Into Leaders* and has just released his new book, Leadership is Language: The Hidden Power of What You Say and What You Don’t*. In this conversation, David and I explore the seven sins of questioning. David shares the story of the ill-fated El Faro and how we can discover better information in leadership by making the shift from self-affirming to self-educating. Key Points A leading question comes from a place of thinking the person is wrong, or that you have the answer. I hear this a lot from people who think they have the right answer but don’t want to use say so, so they use the Socratic method as a “teaching moment.” It’s annoying and arrogant.  

Bonni Stachowiak: Teaching in Higher Ed Bonni Stachowiak is the host of the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast, a professor of business and management at Vanguard University, and my life partner. Prior to her academic career, Bonni was a human resources consultant and executive officer for a publicly traded company. She is the author of The Productive Online and Offline Professor: A Practical Guide*. Key Points Create margin by under-scheduling family and kid commitments. Our default setting is to have a limited about scheduled on weekends. We collaborate on schedules by using shared iCloud calendars as a family. Acuity Scheduling supports both of us professionally in automating scheduling to ensure conflicts are rare. We both use systems to capture ideas and activities before we decide to move on them. The Drafts app helps both of us do this quickly. Bonni keeps a “someday/maybe” list and Dave keeps an “incubation” list. We get the kids involved with household responsibilities, so everybody learns to con

John Maxwell: The Leader’s Greatest Return John Maxwell is a #1 New York Times bestselling author, coach, and speaker who has sold more than thirty-one million books in fifty languages. He has been identified as the #1 leader in business by the American Management Association and the most influential leadership expert in the world by Business Insider and Inc. magazine. He is the founder of The John Maxwell Company, The John Maxwell Team, EQUIP, and the John Maxwell Leadership Foundation, organizations that have trained millions of leaders from every country of the world. He is the author of the new book The Leader’s Greatest Return: Attracting, Developing, and Multiplying Leaders*. In this conversation, John and I discuss his work to develop leaders and the distinctions between motivating followers and motivating leaders. We also explore the seven key motivations of leaders that John has uncovered. Key Points Successful people have discovered what they are good at. Successful leaders discover what other

Scott Young: Ultralearning Scott’s work is intended to consistently answer this question: what’s the best way to learn? This has led him to take on two year-long experiments in learning: The MIT Challenge, where he attempted to learn MIT’s 4-year computer science curriculum without taking classes, and The Year Without English, where he worked with a friend to learn four languages in one year. Scott is the author of the new book, Ultralearning: Master Hard Skills, Outsmart the Competition, and Accelerate Your Career*. In this conversation, Scott and discuss what ultralearners do diffusely, the importance of transfer in learning, and four key tactics to enhance directness. Key Points Transfer is critical for learning, but most formal education programs don’t address it. “Many ultralearners who have specialized in a smaller subset of fields are masters at transfer; no doubt this is largely due to their depth of knowledge, which makes transfer easier to accomplish.” The key to ultra learning is to enhance

Nancy Duarte: DataStory Nancy Duarte is a communication expert who has been featured in Fortune, Time Magazine, Forbes, Fast Company, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and many others. Her firm, Duarte, Inc., is the global leader behind some of the most influential visual messages in business and culture. Nancy has written many best-selling books, including Slide:ology*, Resonate*, and Illuminate*. She is the author of the new book DataStory: Explain Data and Inspire Action Through Story*. In this conversation, Nancy and I discuss the realities of executive life, how executives are measured, and why you should expect to be grilled when briefing them. With intentional preparation, you’ll be prepared to more successfully influence executives both inside the organization — and with your customers. Key Points “The higher their level of authority, the more structured and brief your approach should be.” -Nancy Duarte Time is an essential asset for executives. Appreciating how much they work to maximize ef

Bonni Stachowiak: Teaching in Higher Ed Bonni Stachowiak is the host of the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast, a professor of business and management at Vanguard University, and my life partner. Prior to her academic career, Bonni was a human resources consultant and executive officer for a publicly traded company. She joins me monthly to respond to listener questions. Listener Questions Susan asked for advice on some of the challenges she is facing with an aging workforce. Nellie wondered if she should report a difficult situation before she moves onto another opportunity. Thiaga asked how Dave manages to read lot of books and how he remembers the key message from these books. Robert asked about the best way to position his experience as a faculty member when applying for a role as an administrator. Resources Mentioned Digital Reading by Bonni Stachowiak The First 90 Days* by Michael Watkins Big Rocks by Steven Covey Related Episodes How To Create A Personal Knowledge Management System, with

Neil Pasricha: You Are Awesome Neil Pasricha helps people live happy lives. He is the New York Times-bestselling author of The Happiness Equation and The Book of Awesome series, which has been published in ten countries, spent over five years on bestseller lists, and sold over a million copies. He’s a Harvard MBA, one of the most popular TED speakers of all time, and after ten years heading Leadership Development at Walmart he now serves as Director of The Institute for Global Happiness. He is the author of the new book, You Are Awesome: How to Navigate Change, Wrestle with Failure, and Live an Intentional Life. In this conversation, Neil and I explore the importance of being uncomfortable to drive professional development. We discuss both of our journeys through mediocrity and how those times helped us to serve many more people today. Key Points “I know see that my anger stemmed from my deep disappointment in myself.” “I didn’t see it then and I wouldn’t see it for at least ten years that the P&G fail

Shelley Winner: Restorative Justice Shelley Winner is a Restorative Justice Activist whose goal is to change the world, reduce crime, and advocate for justice involved people all while helping companies improve productivity and revenues. She is also a technology specialist, is very active in the restorative justice movement in San Francisco and wants to educate the public about the benefits of hiring the formerly incarcerated. Through her work with Winner’s Circle, she is closing the gap between soon to be released inmates and technology companies by developing and delivering training to inmates and helping technology companies create internships for justice involved individuals. In this conversation, Shelley shares her story of moving from incarceration to successful employment in the technology industry. We highlight how some organizations are leading in this work and what the research shows about companies that are helping to unlock the formerly incarcerated workforce. Key Points “There isn't anyone y

Jim Kirkpatrick: Four Levels of Training Evaluation Jim Kirkpatrick is co-owner of Kirkpatrick Partners. He is an expert in training evaluation and the creator of the New World Kirkpatrick Model. He trains and consults for corporate, government, military, and humanitarian organizations around the world. Jim co-authored three books with his late father, Don Kirkpatrick, who is credited with creating the Kirkpatrick Model. He also has written four books with Wendy Kirkpatrick, including Kirkpatrick's Four Levels of Training Evaluation*. In this conversation, Jim and I explore the details of the New World Kirkpatrick Model. Many leaders miss the critical nature of focus on level 4 (results) and level 3 (behavior). We examine these two levels in detail and show leaders how they can take practical steps to link training with results. Key Points Ask yourself this when considering results: “Is this what the organization exists to do, deliver, or contribute to its customers or society, at a high level?” Level

Mindy Pankoke, Jeff VandenHoek, and Andrew Mugford On this SaturdayCast, longtime listeners Mindy, Jeff, and Andrew join Dave to discuss how they’ve worked together to support each other in their leadership development. They share the importance of setting expectations in advance, getting external perspective, and celebrating key milestones. Key Points Getting people together outside of the organization/industry is helpful for objective perspective. “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” -Jim Rohn There’s the temptation to think, “What could I possibly offer?” Almost always, each person is able to offer a lot more than they expected. Say “thank you” when someone offers something, even if you’re not sure it’s useful. It is important to celebrate significant milestones. Resources Mentioned The Coaching Habit* by Michael Bungay Stanier Related Episodes These Coaching Questions Get Results, with Michael Bungay Stanier (episode 237) How to Create Meaningful Gath