The Crossroad Podcast: Redefining Effective Leadership

Building a healthy organizational culture is hard work. You have to crawl before you can walk. And walk before you can run. In today’s episode, we talk about life along the path. The daily grind is complicated and challenging. It requires us to learn and to adapt. It invites us to pursue our grand vision in small and intentional ways. When we set goals, milestones and strategies in alignment with our Transcendent vision, we will find ourselves participating in meaningful culture.

In this episode, we talk about what it looks like to steward your influence. There are lots of different kinds of influence, some more effective than others. All can be used for good or for ill. Building an effective organizational culture begins with individual character and the choices we make. We are all leaders, influencing the people around us. How do we steward that opportunity well? How do we open ourselves to learn and accept the leadership of others? In a healthy culture, each of us will teach and learn. We will influence and be influenced.

There is nothing more vital to building an organizational culture than effective communication. Although we are constantly sending and receiving messages, people are rarely as intentional as they ought to be. This results in divisive and confused organizations. How can we overcome the barriers of communication and unlock the key to organizational culture?

In this episode, we talk about the importance of human emotion. How can we steward our emotions well, giving them their proper due - no more and no less? People are emotional creatures. Although each person is responsible for stewarding their own emotions, organizations formulate mental models that serve as a framework or a template for how emotion is treated within the culture. With intention, we can build a framework that honors people and serves as a catalyst for healthy cultures and effective pursuit of our There.

In this episode, we address one of the most fundamental elements to building an effective organizational culture: seeking and sharing the truth. Truth is an acquired taste and when we seek it together, conflict is inevitable. But conflict is neutral, neither positive or negative. It is an opportunity. How we approach conflict and the path we take to resolve it can be a vital tool toward achieving the mission of our organizations.

In this episode, we discuss the nature of boundaries and consequences. How does boundary setting enhance freedom? It creates walls that keep us from actions inconsistent with our character. And, by doing so, boundaries create pathways that help funnel us toward mission, values, and productivity. Consequences are not an eternal indictment; they are a way to get us back on track, to re-align with the kind of life, organization, and mission that truly matter to us.

In this episode, we talk about blame. Most organizations develop a certain kind of dynamic - one in which all of the participants are competing with one another for the titles and the spoils rather than working together to collaborate toward a mission. What causes us to make enemies out of one another? What perspective, structures, and messaging can we adopt to help turn our organizations into places where teammates thrive? Join us as we discuss the transformational power of focusing on what you can control.

In this episode, we talk about the power of perseverance. The only thing that empowers us to push past obstacles, setbacks, and sorrow is a vision we believe in. If we want to establish a healthy organizational culture, our mental model around failing will play an integral part. Chasing after meaning is complicated and messy. We will make mistakes along the way. We will fall short. One of the key structures in organizational development is learning when to quit and when to see these setbacks as an opportunity to learn and grow.

In this episode, we examine the role of vision in an organizational culture. How do we determine a vision? Not just one that looks good or sounds impressive, but one that is true. Vision setting begins with analyzing what we value. The heart of a dysfunctional organization is the prevalence of competing visions. A clear and unified mission is the bedrock of a healthy organization.

In this episode, we talk about one of the most talked about, but ill-defined aspects of human society: culture. Although, to some degree, we know it when we see it, it is difficult for most to say exactly what culture is. We see the effects of a toxic culture and the benefits of a good one. How do we strip culture down to its core in order to be intentional about building it up into what we want it to be?

In this episode, we begin to discuss the importance of community in the human experience. We need one another in order to live a life of purpose. We need something bigger than ourselves, where we can test our abilities, learn from others, and chase after visions too big for any one of us. We form organizations in order to achieve these kinds of purposes. Participating in groups is a key component of life. To make the most of it, we need to be intentional about what kind of organization we are building.

In this season finale of The Crossroad Podcast, Joey and Kylie discuss how decision making impacts our ability to lead. The consequences of our choices do not just affect us. With every decision we make, our ability to influence others is either growing or shrinking. We should not make decisions solely for the influence it gets us - that is manipulation. But as we make decisions in alignment with our true character, we also steward an increased ability to lead.

In this episode of The Crossroad Podcast, Joey and Kylie discuss boundary setting. The very act of choosing establishes a boundary. That is one of the reasons it is so tough for us. As we endeavor to make better choices, an awareness and intention around the role of boundaries will serve us well. We need to set boundaries for ourselves, honor the boundaries of others, and recognize when setting boundaries is appropriate and when it is not. Good boundaries provide healthy parameters for our decision making, cultivating an atmosphere in which they can thrive.

When we encounter a choice, we often rush through it, grabbing a decision too quickly. Just as often, we wait too long, lingering and avoiding, hoping the right decision will fall into our laps. In this episode of The Crossroad Podcast, Joey and Kylie discuss how to find the sweet spot in between these pitfalls. How do we take careful consideration but not overthink? How do we weigh the options without being buried by them? Learning to operate within your sweet spot is an essential key to making good decisions.

  In this episode of The Crossroad Podcast, Joey and Kylie discuss what to do after a bad choice. There are so many decisions to be made. We will inevitably, eventually, make a bad one. How do we even know what is a bad decision and what is a good one? And, once we identify we have indeed made a bad choice, how should we proceed. Recovering from a bad choice takes awareness and intention. With a consistent eye on our values and a commitment to truth, we can avoid being defined by our poor choices. And use the mistakes that come as an opportunity to learn and improve.

In this episode of The Crossroad Podcast, Joey and Kylie are joined by special guest Serena Tuomi. We continue our discussion on avoiding choices, focusing on how to proceed and grow in decision-making capability. Covering Enneagram tendencies, boundary setting, time management, and a host of other categories, the team at Crossroad share stories and tips about making courageous choices.

In this episode of The Crossroad Podcast, Joey and Kylie discuss the temptation to avoid choices. Sometimes we just want to pull the cover over our heads and punt to another day. Unfortunately, decision making is not that easy. Even delaying a choice is a choice. Our decisions follow us and they all have consequences. Joey and Kylie discuss why we try to avoid choices, the consequences of doing so, and ways we can learn to make our choices with grace and courage.

In this episode of The Crossroad Podcast, Joey and Kylie are joined by Tim Dunn as they talk about the fear of imaginary negative consequences. You have heard of FOMO. What is FOINC-ing and how does it affect our ability to decide? Our ability to foresee potential outcomes can be one of our greatest assets. It can also be one of our greatest sources of deceit. Recognizing this reality and its influence on us can help us to make better decisions.

In this episode of The Crossroad Podcast, Joey talks about one of the most difficult realties humans have to face: uncertainty. There is no perfect formula for decision making. Life is complex. What do we do when potential consequences are heavy and certainty elusive? We do not need certainty to make choices, but we do need courage. In this episode, we explore the implications of what it looks like to be a courageous, if uncertain, decision-maker.