Leadership is a learned skill and that learning is never ending. “What got you here won’t get you where you want to go,” an uncomfortable truth Fast Rising High Achievers run into at every level of their career. In fact, what got you here won’t even help you do your new job effectively.
Every step up the ladder requires a new level of leadership and “people skills.” Because “people” are now your job.
On your way to the senior leadership team, you will need to master skills on four fronts:
LEADING UP - You are now a trusted advisor. That means you are a sounding board, speak truth to power, help your CEO get their job done, all while getting your job done.
LEADING ACROSS - You are peers are the power players in the organization. This is the team you are on. Your job is to lead from within that team while being a part of it. You are now a student of the Art of Co-opetition.
LEADING YOUR TEAM - You’ve spent a career honing your leadership skills and now have even less direct impact on how things get done. Your success will only come from your team’s success.
LEADING YOURSELF - Relentless pressure, ambition, burnout, sleepless nights, and resentments, are the price you may be paying for your lofty position. Mastering your emotions, perspective, health and relationships are essential to make this fun and sustainable.
Join us each week as we bring you experts, skills and insights that will help you thrive as you climb the ladder of success.
In this episode, I share quotes from da Vinci, Jesus, and the Buddha about self-mastery and freedom. I explain why leading up, leading an organization, and leading a team all start with leading yourself. I also reveal what the worst self-esteem killer is and offer advice on building self-discipline.
Read MoreTom joins me today to discuss why he attributes his career’s success to his curiosity and interest in people. He shares why he doesn’t like the word “networking” and why self-awareness is essential to every leader in any organization. He describes the leadership skills he lacked and what he did to change and improve them. Tom also highlights why a people-centric culture is more powerful than a data-centric one and explains why having children later in life has changed Tom’s perspective on work, life, and career.
Read MoreToday, Brian joins me to share his journey from the early days in 90’s Silicon Valley with Netscape and other hi-tech startups to a fast track of success and substantial corporate responsibility. He reveals how a creeping feeling of lack of direction and meaning led him and his wife to quit their high-status jobs to reevaluate their lives while on a worldwide sabbatical. Brian stresses the need for people to look at the quality of our lives and why we should be considering what we will think of our life lived when it comes to the ‘rocking chair test.’ He also explains the necessity for sales leaders to have genuine introspection of their methods and results and why self-awareness is key to achieving the right mindset for a high-performing leader.
Read MoreDavid joins me today to discuss how leaders can accelerate their level of leadership. He outlines how the best leaders recruit and hire their team members. He explains how managers and leaders can add value to the people around them. He describes the “lovable B-player” and how managers avoid hard conversations that could help ignite an employee’s career. David also shares best practices for giving great feedback and reveals the level of leadership most leaders are failing in—and how they can overcome it.
Read MoreIn this episode, I discuss how leadership can make a difference in other people’s lives. I describe how leaders can heavily impact the lives and well-being of their mentees. I also highlight how a great leader’s confidence in me helped me transform my life and underscore how a leader’s words and actions carry more weight the higher they are in the organization.
Read MoreMark joins me today to share the reason behind writing A Beautiful Constraint and discusses how it helps transform your limitations into advantages. He describes what it was like working with big names in the industry and how he worked with them to elevate their brand. He explains how the Mindset, Method, and Motivation diagram works. Mark also discusses why people should adapt to new ways of living and consider dropping habits that made them successful when they were younger.
Read MoreKim joins us today to discuss the art of radical candor and giving, soliciting, and receiving feedback without losing your humanity. She reveals how she came up with the idea of Radical Candor and how she got out of the conundrum between being kind and giving people direct feedback. She explains why the phrase “Don’t take it personally” should be eliminated from your vocabulary. She describes the “Asshole Quadrant” and explains how radical candor differs from “obnoxious aggression.” Kim also elaborates on creating a healthy culture and environment of feedback and offers her best practices for giving and soliciting feedback with radical candor.
Read MoreIn this episode, I discuss what I realized about leadership after journaling about my dream. I also describe why leadership is a decision and a personal choice you make and underscore how to be the person you need to be to get the job done.
Read MoreMichael joins me today to offer his ideas on leadership, authenticity, and aligning with your values. He shares leadership principles from his time in the military that he applies in his work today. He describes how he found his knack for developing other people. He explains how authenticity can help people gravitate toward you and be open to your advice and describes how diversity creates momentum and velocity for organizations. Michael also highlights the value of being true to your convictions and underscores navigating systematic oppression as an African American in corporate America.
Read MoreBeth joins me today to discuss the role of leaders as influencers. She describes her background and recounts how working under a poor leader inspired her to become a great leader. She explores the value of adapting your language according to the team you’re managing and explains how she evolved her language through trial and error and working with her peers. Beth also highlights why it’s okay to lose, underscores the value of forming coalitions in an organization, and offers advice on leading a team through a crisis.
Read MoreBeth joins me today to discuss the role of leaders as influencers. She describes her background and recounts how working under a poor leader inspired her to become a great leader. She explores the value of adapting your language according to the team you’re managing and explains how she evolved her language through trial and error and working with her peers. Beth also highlights why it’s okay to lose, underscores the value of forming coalitions in an organization, and offers advice on leading a team through a crisis.
Read MoreBeth joins me today to discuss the role of leaders as influencers. She describes her background and recounts how working under a poor leader inspired her to become a great leader. She explores the value of adapting your language according to the team you’re managing and explains how she evolved her language through trial and error and working with her peers. Beth also highlights why it’s okay to lose, underscores the value of forming coalitions in an organization, and offers advice on leading a team through a crisis.
Read MoreWilliam joins me today to discuss the NAKED mindset. He explains why he fears being onstage—despite his ability to go into military combat—and describes our daily war with mediocrity. He highlights the value of confronting fear and doing uncomfortable things. He explains why learning to follow is a crucial component of being a leader and reveals what’s missing in the leadership of many organizations. He also outlines three Navy SEAL leadership secrets and what it takes to lead a team of leaders.
Read MoreAnton joins us today to discuss the characteristics of great leaders and what it takes to build world-class companies. He describes his experience in advocacy work and explains how to help people believe in themselves by finding passion, purpose, and expertise to create opportunities. He highlights the power of understanding people and their motivations. Anton also explains why authenticity is essential when leading peers and outlines how leaders can transform their organization’s company culture in 100 days.
Read MoreIn this episode, I discuss Alcoholics Anonymous’ 10th Step—also known as the Personal Inventory—and what it teaches about what to do when we screw up. I also highlight the inevitability of making mistakes and share some instances in my life where I screwed up, let someone down, and took responsibility for it.
Read MoreJohn joins me today to discuss his career journey to becoming a sales leader. He describes how helping others succeed empowers him as a leader. He reveals the characteristics of a natural leader and explains the true responsibility of leaders. He discusses how knowing what you really want to achieve can help you gain trust as you move up an organization’s ranks and highlights the value of career experience. John also underscores the secrets to managing disputes in a team and what everyone needs to do to become a successful executive in a company.
Read MoreIn this episode, I share why we may want to consider overcoming our resentment over sales skills. I explain why everyone needs a coach—or a friend to have in their corner. I also highlight the role of curiosity in becoming better communicators and why I refer to sales as “the process of enrollment.”
Read MoreKevin joins me today to discuss his career journey from working as a sales representative to serving as an advisor to the CEO. He describes the normal path to becoming a leader in enterprise tech sales and how the best sales representatives don’t necessarily make the best managers. He explains why having a positive attitude is essential to becoming a trusted advisor to the CEO and why focus and ruthless prioritization are critical when leading a team through difficult times. Kevin also offers advice on managing burnout and handling the pressures of leadership and underscores what it takes to become a productive leader.
Read MoreKevin joins me today to discuss his career journey from working as a sales representative to serving as an advisor to the CEO. He describes the normal path to becoming a leader in enterprise tech sales and how the best sales representatives don’t necessarily make the best managers. He explains why having a positive attitude is essential to becoming a trusted advisor to the CEO and why focus and ruthless prioritization are critical when leading a team through difficult times. Kevin also offers advice on managing burnout and handling the pressures of leadership and underscores what it takes to become a productive leader.
Read MoreIn this episode, I discuss dealing with stress from outside of work. I reveal why complaining about work and stress to your coach is natural and often beneficial. I explain what “allostatic load” means and describe the two ways of managing it. I also highlight the importance of self-care and underscore the value of meditation and journaling.
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