The LeaderShifter Show

109: Making Stupid Optional with leadership experts Doug Lennick and Chuck Wachendorfer

Leadership experts Doug Lennick and Chuck Wachendorfer [https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuck-wachendorfer/], partners at think2perform [https://www.think2perform.com/], endeavor to help clients “make the ideal real.” Their approach emphasizes self-awareness and emotional competency as the foundational elements for improved decision-making, effective self-management and in turn, authentic leadership. The first step is to strengthen your own leadership skills through learning agility, effective communication, and embracing empathy and compassion. An interesting distinction we discussed is the difference between the ideal self and your real self. Ideal self is about intention and aligning your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors to your values. The real self is representative of the behaviors experienced by others and requires great self-awareness to bridge the gap between the two. Most people skip self-mastery and go straight to technical mastery, which is a huge mistake because living out of alignment is a source of stress, dissatisfaction and poor decision-making. Values are such a big underpinning of Doug and Chuck’s work that they developed The Values Card Exercise [https://www.think2perform.com/values/], which has been completed by over 120,000 people in 146 countries. The research they conducted from the results revealed that the top 10 values are consistent around the globe. Tune in to learn what they are! As a hint, the #1 value is Family. Doug and Chuck are co-authors of the new book in which they share all their wisdom and experiences: DON’T WAIT FOR SOMEONE ELSE TO FIX IT: 8 Essentials to Enhance Your Leadership Impact at Work, Home, and Anywhere Else That Needs You [https://www.amazon.com/Dont-Wait-Someone-Else-Fix/dp/1394175795/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=]. The post 109: Making Stupid Optional with leadership experts Doug Lennick and Chuck Wachendorfer [https://theleadershiftproject.com/leadershifter-podcast/109-making-stupid-optional-with-leadership-experts-doug-lennick-and-chuck-wachendorfer/] appeared first on The LeaderShift Project [https://theleadershiftproject.com].

108: Spiritual Intelligent Leadership with Yosi Amram, PhD

You’ve head of Emotional Intelligence (EI). The next evolution is Spiritual Intelligence (SI), so tune in to learn all about it! Yosi Amram [https://yosiamram.net/about/] is a licensed clinical psychologist, CEO leadership coach, author, and pioneering researcher in the field of Spiritual Intelligence. Spiritual Intelligence harnesses the immense resources of spirituality such as Purpose, Presence, Egolessness, Compassion, Freedom, and Grace – which are components of effective leadership in general. Yosi’s research has shown that people with high levels of SI have a greater sense of well being and satisfaction with life, and make better and more inspiring leaders.   Lest you think Yosi is solely “woo-woo,” know that he is a former Israeli IDF serviceman, during which time he received numerous leadership awards. He’s also a Harvard MBA and founder and CEO of two technology companies that he led through successful IPOs. Then, despite his company’s success, Yosi shares how he experienced a “dark night of the soul” leading to a new path. That’s when he pursed a PhD in clinical transpersonal psychology, which integrates the psychological with the spiritual, ultimately designing a model for Spiritually Intelligent Leadership. We had an interesting discussion about mirror neurons and the electromagnetic field of energy that is palpable between people and in organizational culture.   Yosi recently published a book on the topic, Spiritually Intelligent Leadership: How to Inspire by Being Inspired [https://www.amazon.com/Spiritually-Intelligent-Leadership-Inspire-Inspired/dp/1960583697/ref=sr_1_1?crid=50QCPK3OZQRS&keywords=spiritually+intelligent+leadership&qid=1707747284&sprefix=spiritually+int%2Caps%2C119&sr=8-1]. He is also the founder of several non-profits including trueMASCULINITY.org [https://www.truemasculinity.org/] and Engendering-Love.org. [https://www.engendering-love.org/] If this groundbreaking topic is of interest to you, he offers a free SI assessment [https://intelligensi.com/product/spiritual-intelligence-basic-assessment/] as well as a paid SI 360 [https://intelligensi.com/product/spiritual-intelligence-360-assessment/] on Intelligensi [https://intelligensi.com/]. Also, check out his community for “Awakening SI [https://yosiamram.net/awakeningspiritualintelligence/],” a free series of gatherings and workshops occurring every third Friday of the month starting in February 2024. The post 108: Spiritual Intelligent Leadership with Yosi Amram, PhD [https://theleadershiftproject.com/leadershifter-podcast/108-spiritual-intelligent-leadership-with-yosi-amram-phd/] appeared first on The LeaderShift Project [https://theleadershiftproject.com].

107: Simply Put communication with marketing entrepreneur and author Ben Guttman

Do you struggle with communication clarity, brevity, and/or effectiveness? If so, tune into this episode with award-winning marketing entrepreneur Ben Guttman [https://www.linkedin.com/in/benguttmann/]. In addition to founding and growing a successful marketing company, Ben is an adjunct professor at Baruch College and author of Simply Put: Why Clear Messages Win and How to Design Them, [https://www.amazon.com/Simply-Put-Messages-Win_and-Design/dp/1523004681/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1705421759&sr=8-1] which “simply put,” is about how to communicate with clarity. But simple is HARD WORK, so join us to learn how to break through the noise, why some messages work when others don’t, and why some leaders inspire change when others don’t.    We had conversations about a few specific brands with memorable messages such as Geico with the caveman and gecko campaigns. Other interesting topics discussed included why constraints are good in that they create pressure to experiment and do something different, playing Jenga with your message, additive bias, and the Dunning-Kruger effect.   An author after my own irreverent heart, Ben penned chapter titles such as “Our stupid brains in our busy worlds,” “Fighting the Frankenstein idea,” and “Say shit without the bullshit.” In this insightful (and often funny) book, Ben explains how to design effective messages that feature five key pillars:   1. Beneficial 2. Focused 3. Salient 4. Empathetic 5. Minimal   Ben also offers speaking, consulting, and fractional CMO services [https://www.benguttmann.com/consulting], with the SIMPLE tagline, “I help good people and great brands tell the world why they matter.” The post 107: Simply Put communication with marketing entrepreneur and author Ben Guttman [https://theleadershiftproject.com/leadershifter-podcast/107-simply-put-communication-with-marketing-entrepreneur-and-author-ben-guttman/] appeared first on The LeaderShift Project [https://theleadershiftproject.com].

106: A Framework for Building Stronger, More Resilient Businesses with Entrepreneur and Author Patrick Esposito

If you are a business owner or entrepreneur interested in strengthening your business outcomes, worrying less, and improving personal time management and work/life balance, then tune into this episode with Patrick Esposito [http://www.patrickesposito.com/], an entrepreneur and attorney who has supported 100+ organizations. The cold hard truth is that 50% of businesses fail by their fifth year, and Patrick wanted to know why. With wisdom from his new book, The Structure of Success: A Framework to Help Build Your Business Better [https://www.amazon.com/Structure-Success-Framework-Business-Better/dp/1639090185/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1702392514&sr=8-1], we discuss the eight categories that his research showed most impact success:   1. Governance models and composition 2. Management team models, composition, engagement, and compensation 3. Adjustments and pivots 4. Growth and infrastructure development 5. Business disputes and breakups 6. Acquisitions, mergers, exits, and other transactions 7. Disaster preparedness 8. Succession planning   As a former salesperson and leader, one of the highlights for me was failure to align compensation with business goals. For example, when salespeople are paid based on top line only, there is little incentive to be cost conscious and compliance focused, for example.   Patrick currently serves as president of ACME General Corp [https://acmegeneral.com/], a leading public sector innovation advisory business. Also, he recently launched Initiative Labs LLC [https://initiativelabs.com/] to help small and medium-sized business leaders apply the approaches, methodologies, and tools from this book. The post 106: A Framework for Building Stronger, More Resilient Businesses with Entrepreneur and Author Patrick Esposito [https://theleadershiftproject.com/leadershifter-podcast/106-a-framework-for-building-stronger-more-resilient-businesses-with-entrepreneur-and-author-patrick-esposito/] appeared first on The LeaderShift Project [https://theleadershiftproject.com].

105: Observational Listening with Leadership Psychologist Markus van Alphen

In this episode, we bust the longstanding myth that “emotions don’t belong in the workplace.” I am joined by Markus van Alphen [https://marcusvanalphen.com/], Founder and Director of The Excellent Organization [https://excellent-leader.com/about/]. Markus is a renowned leadership psychologist, author of more than 15 books in Dutch and English, and lecturer on Excellent Leadership and Observational Listening, a term he coined to describe a methodology that takes active listening to a higher level.  The psychological safety to express one’s authentic emotions is the key to improved workplace communication because these can’t be faked. Observational listening demands consistent and purposeful awareness of and empathy for our colleagues. This helps them feel supported, thus boosting performance, well-being, and ultimately, business success. In other words, empathy is a competitive advantage! In fact, an extensive Oxford and British Telecom study [https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2019-10-24-happy-workers-are-13-more-productive] into happiness and productivity found that workers are 13% more productive when they’re happy.    Markus’ most recent books include The Excellent Leader [https://www.amazon.com/Excellent-Leader-Influence-Observational-Leadership/dp/B0BW2ZKN6P/ref=sr_1_1?crid=RP4WPNIZ7RZ4&keywords=The+Excellent+Leader+markus+van+alphen&qid=1693165913&sprefix=the+excellent+leader+markus+van+alphen%2Caps%2C147&sr=8-1] and The More Excellent Leader [https://www.amazon.com/More-Excellent-Leader-observational-Leadership/dp/B0C47PN5HS/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3NI2FLIZ5XRXQ&keywords=The+More+Excellent+Leader+markus+van+alphen&qid=1693166074&sprefix=the+more+excellent+leader+markus+van+alphen%2Caps%2C139&sr=8-1]. The third book in this trilogy, The Most Excellent Leader, will be released in late 2023 and teach leaders dynamic conversation skills in specific situations. In addition, Markus offers a variety of courses [https://excellent-leader.com/courses-overview/] sharing essential tools the excellent leader can use to be more empathic and emotionally intelligent. The post 105: Observational Listening with Leadership Psychologist Markus van Alphen [https://theleadershiftproject.com/leadershifter-podcast/105-observational-listening-with-leadership-psychologist-markus-van-alphen/] appeared first on The LeaderShift Project [https://theleadershiftproject.com].