The Introspective Leader Podcast

We at The Introspective Leader Podcast know that there have been times in our lives when we have desired something big, something well beyond our current realities, but were hesitant to push beyond our self-imposed limitations to achieve it.  Can you relate?  We bet you can, because staying within our comfort zones, and avoiding pushing through the internal barriers we have created for ourselves, is a common feature of human existence.  Mr. Art Turock, however, has developed an insightful and effective process that he says will free us from the confinement we have created for ourselves, and, today, he joins Rachel and Stuart on The Introspective Leader Podcast to share that process with you.FREE GIFT FOR OUR PODCAST LISTENERS FROM ART! LINKSCompetent is Not an Option: Build an Elite Leadership Team Following the Talent Development Game Plan of Sports Champions, by Art TurockInvent Business Opportunities No One Else Can Imagine, by Art TurockGetting Physical, by Art TurockArt's WebsiteTo help support our show, visit:https://www.buzzsprout.com/2017272/supportFor additional management resources and information, please visit us at:  https://managementworksmedia.com Support the show

Have you ever worked for a leader who had a high need for control?  You know, the type of leader who holds all the power and is reluctant to share it?  Perhaps even, you are that type of leader.  Well, whether it be your style or the style of someone you worked for, it is what Kurt Lewin identified in the 1930’s as the autocratic style of leadership; and what it is exactly, and what is its strengths and weaknesses is what Rachel and I discuss today on The Introspective Leader Podcast. SOURCESWGU Article Organizational Communication ChannelLeadership Theories Top 10 (useful for most of the ones we will be covering)Leadership Ahoy VideoTo help support our show, visit:https://www.buzzsprout.com/2017272/supportFor additional management resources and information, please visit us at:  https://managementworksmedia.com Support the show

Having been diagnosed with ADHD, Dez Rock is a neurodivergent leader who knows that having ADHD has been anything but a detriment to her career because her ability to see the world as a puzzle—and manage all of the pieces to that puzzle—has made her an exceptional leader. To help support our show, visit:https://www.buzzsprout.com/2017272/supportFor additional management resources and information, please visit us at:  https://managementworksmedia.com Support the show

At the risk of sounding like a brag, I have to say that by now there are few management and leadership concepts about which I don’t have at least a cursory knowledge.  However, an exception is the Agile methodology of project management.  Agile began in the IT field, but the success it has helped create through the years has propelled it beyond IT and to fields and industries of all types, and today’s guest, Mr. Daniel Gagnon, is here to educate us on Agile and how it can help you, your team, and your organization.  Mr. Daniel Gagnon is an organizational agility adviser who co-founded the Agile Leader Academy, a boutique training, coaching and consulting firm, to help leaders develop progressive team-building skills in dynamic and adaptive work environments—while avoiding the traps of naïve over-optimism or simplistic positivity. Agile Leader Academy works across a range of industries, including finance, energy, manufacturing, legal, and pharmaceutical.  Many business leaders are beginning to realize the benefits—both organizationally and financially—of creating an environment where all employees and stakeholders feel invested and validated enough to challenge the status quo and do what’s needed to help their fellow workers, their company, and the larger community thrive. And Daniel wants to reach and help these leaders.LINK TO:  The Agile ManifestoTo help support our show, visit:https://www.buzzsprout.com/2017272/supportFor additional management resources and information, please visit us at:  https://managementworksmedia.com You can email us at:  managementworks@managementworksmedia.com Support the show

We suspect that most of you are familiar with some version of the phrase, “As an employee, it is important to be able to separate home from work.”  But just how accurate is that statement?  Is it truly the standard for company professionalism that we think it is?  And what if we told you that there is now a strong contingent of organizational and leadership experts that think this maxim has been taken to the extreme, and that, in fact, believe allowing the totality of an employee’s human experience into the workplace actually contributes to greater and richer organizational performance?  Would you believe us?  If not, perhaps you will believe today’s guest, Ms. Vanessa Broers, who joins us to discuss why human experience is so often left out of human performance and how the omission of human experience in the workplace is costing organizations dearly. LINKSAccess to Vanessa’s free 60 minute Sacred Sales trainingVanessa's WebsiteLinked InInstagramTo help support our show, visit:https://www.buzzsprout.com/2017272/supportFor additional management resources and information, please visit us at:  https://managementworksmedia.com Support the show

One of the more intriguing and relevant motivation theories we have come across is Deci and Ryan's Self-Determination Theory.  We can very much relate to its wholistic approach and its emphasis on an individual's fundamental need for autonomy and I suspect that you will too.LINKSManagement Works ArticleProfessor Deci VideoManagement Courses VideoTo help support our show, visit:https://www.buzzsprout.com/2017272/supportFor additional management resources and information, please visit us at:  https://managementworksmedia.com You can email us at:  managementworks@managementworksmedia.com Support the show

To motivate our teams, we as leaders sometimes employ numerous and highly involved schemes.  However, lack of motivation can often come down to something as fundamental to human existence as a sense of fairness.  Luckily for us, we have the equity theory of motivation, which, as today's topic, Rachel and Stuart delve into to discover why employees can develop this sense of fairness and how we as leaders can help rectify it.  LINKSManagement Works ArticleManagement Courses Video EPM VideoTo help support our show, visit:https://www.buzzsprout.com/2017272/supportFor additional management resources and information, please visit us at:  https://managementworksmedia.com You can email us at:  managementworks@managementworksmedia.com Support the show

One of the most sure and organic means by which an organizational leader can motivate their team is through the setting and achievement of goals. And through goal-setting theory--our topic for the day--we can learn the best practices associated with setting and achieving those goals.LINKSManagement Works ArticleManagement Courses VideoEPM VIDEOMSG ArticleTo help support our show, visit:https://www.buzzsprout.com/2017272/supportFor additional management resources and information, please visit us at:  https://managementworksmedia.com You can email us at:  managementworks@managementworksmedia.com Support the show

While a multitude of employee incentives are by now well entrenched within the U.S. workplace, not all incentives are created equal. Sometimes they do help increase performance and sometimes they do not.  And through today's discussion of the incentive theory of motivation, Rachel and I--and you--uncover the reasons for such variability. LINKS:Management Works ArticleManagement Courses VideoIndeed ArticleTo help support our show, visit:https://www.buzzsprout.com/2017272/supportFor additional management resources and information, please visit us at:  https://managementworksmedia.com You can email us at:  managementworks@managementworksmedia.com Support the show

As an organizational leader attempting to motivate your team members, it is critical that you have a clear understanding of the internal process they go through when determining if what they get out of that performance personally is worth the effort that that reward requires.  And we think today’s discussion of the expectancy theory of motivation gets you several steps closer to having that clear understanding. LINKS:Management Works ArticleIndeed ArticleYou Tube Video To help support our show, visit:https://www.buzzsprout.com/2017272/supportFor additional management resources and information, please visit us at:  https://managementworksmedia.com You can email us at:  managementworks@managementworksmedia.com Support the show

And as an industry, esports is experiencing significant growth, and that growth is not expected to subside any time soon.  In the U.S. market alone, 2022 saw esports grow to almost 30 million spectators, with that number expected to reach 34 million by 2026; and, globally, the esports market value is expected reach as high as $6.75 billion by 2030, which would be almost five times what it was in 2022.     Because of such growth, and because I admittedly know very little about the esports industry, I am excited to welcome as today’s guest an esports industry leader.  Mr. Liam Brown is a seasoned esports executive who brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the topic. With a background in player recruitment, management, sponsorships, and brand building, Liam has a deep understanding of the competitive esports landscape. His insights and strategies are invaluable to both fans and commercial professionals looking to break into the rapidly growing esports market, and, more generally, to general leadership buffs like us, who are always excited to hear how leadership and management plays out across various industries.  LINKSThe Knights Arena WebsiteLiam's Linked InLiam's InstagramTo help support our show, visit:https://www.buzzsprout.com/2017272/supportFor additional management resources and information, please visit us at:  https://managementworksmedia.com You can email us at:  managementworks@managementworksmedia.com Support the show

Kelli Thompson  is a keynote speaker, writer, and award-winning leadership coach, who has been featured in Forbes, MarketWatch, HuffPost, Parents, and elsewhere. She has over 10 years of leadership experience for financial services and technology organizations and her newly-released book, Closing the Confidence Gap, was chosen as a Next Big Idea Club nominee — a book list curated by Malcolm Gladwell, Dan Pink, Adam Grant, and Susan Cain.LINKSClosing the Confidence Gap (Book)WebsiteTo help support our show, visit:https://www.buzzsprout.com/2017272/supportFor additional management resources and information, please visit us at:  https://managementworksmedia.com You can email us at:  managementworks@managementworksmedia.com Support the show

Mr. Vin Infante is a psychotherapist, former firefighter, and master mindset coach who combines his own personal mental health struggles with his experience as a mental health professional to help people achieve mastery over their mindsets to live a more aligned and powerful life.  He specializes in, and speaks on, the deeper psychological aspects of the subconscious mind and our deep-rooted internal programming, and on neurology and physiology and how all of these aspects operate in tandem to create the life we are living.LINKSVin's WebsiteLinked InInstagramTo help support our show, visit:https://www.buzzsprout.com/2017272/supportFor additional management resources and information, please visit us at:  https://managementworksmedia.com You can email us at:  managementworks@managementworksmedia.com Support the show

I am sure most of us would agree that when a product or service has such a high level of quality for an extended period of time, it’s a manifestation of clear, well-thought-out design.  Afterall, exceptional quality rarely happens by accident, but is instead the result of carefully considered effort.  However, if we acknowledge this is case with the products and services we buy, why do we so often take the opposite approach to the lives we live; that is, why do we not apply this principle of carefully considered design to our own lives?  Well, today’s guest has made it her life mission to address that question because she believes that our present and future are transformed when we take ownership for designing our lives.  She believes that each of us have the ability to write our own life story and that that story is greatly determined by the level of intention we infuse into the many small decisions we make every day.  Ms. Shana Francesca helps people live more joyful and connected lives through the principles of life design.  Shana believes our present and future are transformed when we infuse our lives with intention, we design our lives, and realize the power in accepting ourselves as the author of our story.  Shana overcame a history of family abuse when she was growing up to become a successful interior designer, speaker, writer, entrepreneur, and Life and Leadership Coach.  She has been interviewed on more than 60 podcasts worldwide and is widely published.LINKSGuest's WebsiteTikTokYouTubeLinked InTo help support our show, visit:https://www.buzzsprout.com/2017272/supportFor additional management resources and information, please visit us at:  https://managementworksmedia.com You can email us at:  managementworks@managementworksmedia.com Support the show

Referred to as a “future leader” and “strategic capability hire”, Ms. Minal Joshi Jaeckli commenced her professional life as a chemist in the pharmaceutical industry before transitioning to corporate roles including project manager for a product-line with complex software and hardware in Silicon Valley, and investor relations expert for a listed wealth manager in Zurich, Switzerland.Not unlike her unconventional career progression, Minal’s inspiration for her company, OpenElevator, is somewhat unexpected: the online dating website, eHarmony. Intrigued by the apparent symmetry between romantic and employment relationships, Minal undertook research and development to examine the kinds of personality modeling implemented by dating websites and how these concepts could be adapted for the professional world. From this research, OpenElevator was born.LINKSOpenElevator WebsiteTo help support our show, visit:https://www.buzzsprout.com/2017272/supportFor additional management resources and information, please visit us at:  https://managementworksmedia.com You can email us at:  managementworks@managementworksmedia.com Support the show

Today’s guest—Dan Freehling—is a coach and the author of the new book, The Career Design Map, and he specializes in working with fellow purpose-driven Millennial leaders who know that the old school, step-by-step career advice they're surrounded by isn’t just limiting and unfulfilling—it’s clearly no longer working.LINKGuest's WebsiteTo help support our show, visit:https://www.buzzsprout.com/2017272/supportFor additional management resources and information, please visit us at:  https://managementworksmedia.com You can email us at:  managementworks@managementworksmedia.com Support the show

Since first trying to convince Syracuse University to change its mascot from that of a Native American stereotype, the common thread in Brian’s journey has been change. At the personal level, he has gone from an introverted Eagle Scout as a college freshman, to a public speaker (including TEDx), author, podcast host, and podcast guest. At the organizational level, he has been a change catalyst, consultant, and leader working with everything from startups to century-old global companies. At the social level, he has been an AIDS activist and LBGTQ+ rights activist, and volunteer with an organization that works to help heal child sexual abuse. Simply, Brian’s commitment is to share everything he knows about moving through change with everyone he can in every way he knows how, even as he continues to learn and grow himself.LINKSTransforming Lives (Brian's Website)mBraining: Using your Multiple Brains to do Cool Stuff (Book)The Universal Change Journey: Finding Your Way Through Life’s Challenges (FREE eBook)To help support our show, visit:https://www.buzzsprout.com/2017272/supportFor additional management resources and information, please visit us at:  https://managementworksmedia.com You can email us at:  managementworks@managementworksmedia.com Support the show

For whatever reason, I have for many years had an outsider’s fascination with the construction industry, although I know very little about it.  However, with today’s guest I hope to lessen my ignorance at least a smidge.  April Moss is the COO and Co-founder of DigiBuild, a construction software company that streamlines and removes approximately 30% of administrative burden and costs associated with procuring materials.  However, the ultimate goal of the company is to create a healthier and happier industry in construction.  This passion is driven by April’s personal story about her father who was a custom cabinet maker and finisher.  He loved what he did and was good at it; however, the high-pressure environment, the seasonality, getting paid/not getting paid, loneliness and the drink culture within construction was a main contributor to her father taking his own life when April was 9 years old, with the suicide rate within the construction industry nearly 4x greater than the national average and 5x greater than that of all other construction fatalities combined.  Therefore, helping construction projects and construction people is a personal mission for April.LINKSDigiBuild WebsiteTo help support our show, visit:https://www.buzzsprout.com/2017272/supportFor additional management resources and information, please visit us at:  https://managementworksmedia.com You can email us at:  managementworks@managementworksmedia.com Support the show

Today’s guest is Mack Story, a long-established and highly respected leadership coach and a co-founder of Blue-Collar Leadership.  Mack has an intriguing backstory and his insights into personal development and transformation are not something you want to miss.  LINKS:Blue-Collar Leadership: Leading From the Front Lines (Book)The Blue-Collar Leadership PodcastThe Blue-Collar Leadership Website To help support our show, visit:https://www.buzzsprout.com/2017272/supportFor additional management resources and information, please visit us at:  https://managementworksmedia.com You can email us at:  managementworks@managementworksmedia.com Support the show

Mark Hayes is a sales coach and the author of Sales Coaching Essentials, described by Matt Dixon (Author of Challenger Sale) as “A Must-Read for any Sales Leader” and shortlisted as a Finalist at the 2023 UK Business Book Awards.  Today, Mark and I will be discussing the difference between training and coaching, what happens when sales teams are not coached,  and the importance of being coachable.LINKS:The Sales Coach PodcastSales Coaching Essentials:  How to Transform Your Sales TeamTo help support our show, visit:https://www.buzzsprout.com/2017272/supportFor additional management resources and information, please visit us at:  https://managementworksmedia.com You can email us at:  managementworks@managementworksmedia.com Support the show