What is your perception of military leadership? Military leadership doesn’t come from rank. It also isn’t about barking orders or command & control type of authority. Stephen Morris joins us on the podcast today to share his experience in Army Ranger School and his time training leadership in armies around the world. I’m certain he will clear up some of your misconceptions about military leadership. Having retired now from the Army, Stephen is teaching leadership through his company, Renowne...
Sep 14, 2022•1 hr 2 min
What does it mean to you to positively impact the lives of those you lead? You’ve heard me mention before my mission to help you positively impact business results and the lives of those you lead. What does that last part of my mission mean? Do you have a strong desire to make a real difference with your leadership? A recent podcast guest, Aaron Walker, mentioned leading not just for success, but also leading for significance. He defines significance by the impact his leadership has on other peo...
Sep 07, 2022•29 min
Do you have concerns about the future of your team? Does your company utilize succession planning that seems ineffective? Or maybe you’re feeling to need for additional leaders in your team, but uncertain how to develop new leaders. Succession planning is often neglected, maybe even ignored. In cases where succession planning exists, it seems to be ineffective. The success of a team rises and falls on leadership, so the future of your team is dependent upon succession planning. You can set your ...
Aug 10, 2022•31 min
Do you struggle with negativity in your team? Do you often hear comments like “that won’t work because…” from team members? Or maybe you feel a real struggle to energize or excite your team about the goal you're working to achieve. Negativity can be a cancer that robs your team of productivity, efficiency, and success. You can minimize, even eliminate, negativity in your team. You can remove this obstacle that prevents your team from achieving goals. The key to doing so is focus. Focus is a simp...
Aug 03, 2022•33 min
Have you ever tried to take a family vacation, but your vacation turned into a frustrating repeat of you responding to office emails, answering urgent phone calls, or trying to pull away from your laptop to spend time with your family? I’ve been there. I’ve done that. I’ve had family vacations that I worried would end in divorce because I just couldn’t seem to devote my attention to my family while on vacation. I understand the pressures of being a leader and the struggles of taking some time “a...
Jul 20, 2022•33 min
Every leader wants to be an excellent leader. But the loneliness and isolation of being at the “top” can make excellence feel like mission impossible. Aaron Walker has been in small business and community leadership for over 42 years. Aaron joins me on the podcast to share the secret to defeating isolation and loneliness as a leader. It doesn’t have to feel lonely at the top. Aaron says isolation is the enemy of excellence. In this podcast episode, he will share the secret to leadership excellen...
Jul 13, 2022•43 min
Do you have a team member that is underperforming, but you are afraid to give them a bad performance review? Giving performance reviews, especially for poor performance, are typically the first scary act for a new leader. But you can deliver a performance review that addresses poor performance and yet remain a leader that your teammate loves and wants to follow. Forget the compliment sandwich and other similar gimmicks. Deliver a performance review with confidence that properly addresses the poo...
Jul 06, 2022•28 min
Do you have a workplace bully on your team? Have you dealt with that bully yet? Are you worried about the impact this bully is having on the rest of your team? Dealing with a workplace bully is difficult and scary - especially for a leader that doesn’t like conflict. But it doesn’t have to be difficult or scary, and it doesn’t have to lead to firing the bully. In this episode, I will share my experience in dealing with workplace bullies. Hello Friend. This is the Rookie Leaders podcast. It’s the...
Jun 29, 2022•29 min
Are you in a temporary or interim leadership position? This is often the pathway to a permanent leadership position. There are certainly nuisances to interim positions that can be difficult to navigate. In this podcast episode, we will be learning from Deborah Coviello. Deb Coviello is an advisor, author, podcast host, and Founder of Illumination Partners, a consulting firm for CEOs navigating change. A trusted partner to C-Suite Leaders, Deb brings 25+ years of experience and strategy in Qualit...
Jun 22, 2022•49 min
I’m often asked leadership questions that follow the form, “how would you lead in a situation where ________?” And they fill in that blank with whatever difficult situation they are facing at the time - where you need to fire a team member, you have a team member destroying the morale of the team, you have to reprimand a team member for bad behavior, and the list of difficult situations could go on forever. I know it’s frustrating initially to the person asking me this sincere question, but I al...
Jun 08, 2022•30 min
In a recent parenting failure, I learned a really important leadership lesson. This lesson is related to the question if your team knows that you believe in them. Do you believe in your team’s ability to succeed? Do they know you believe in them? Our youngest son just graduated from high school. On the night before his graduation ceremony, he and I were sitting on the front porch going over the logistics of the next day. He half-jokingly made the comment to me, “I bet you never thought this day ...
Jun 01, 2022•28 min
I often hear leaders complaining about the burden of problems. They are referencing the fact their team members are consistently bringing problems to them. I’m always quick to point out this is exactly what leaders are supposed to be. As a leader, you must welcome team members bringing problems to your attention. That said, I acknowledge the fact this can be a tremendous burden. Decision fatigue is a real thing. The pressure and stress of trying to solve every problem can be overwhelming. There ...
May 25, 2022•21 min
It's a celebration! The Rookie Leaders Podcast hits 100 episodes! To celebrate the milestone, I revisit the story behind the podcast. Me Leadership credentials - listen to episode 1 Fear of rejection Dyslexic Maybe ADD Credible Leadership Group Purpose: Serve others with leadership development so they can win Why Definition of success - serve others Enjoy seeing others win How Course Coaching Workshops Speaking Podcast Content creation of the business Audience New leaders Unsupported leaders Bus...
May 18, 2022•33 min
“Free your inner critic to inner confidence so that you have more impact as a leader” - Olivia Carter Imposter syndrome impacts us all differently. While I’ve understood imposter syndrome for some time, I’ve never recognized how our individual personalities are impacted differently. In this podcast episode, Olivia Carter will literally read your mind. At least she read my mind. You will gain great insights into how you are impacted by imposter syndrome and, more importantly, how to overcome it. ...
May 10, 2022•47 min
Firing a team member is a difficult situation, especially for a new leader that has never done it before. There is no advice I can give you that will make it easy, but there are ways to ensure you do it correctly. In this podcast episode, we will talk about why it’s important you fire a team member correctly, why you would need to fire a team member, and then how to actually fire them. Why Firing Correctly Is Important Right thing to do Impacts remaining team members Protects the team and busine...
May 04, 2022•36 min
I’m often asked to identify the best leaders I’ve worked for. I’ve been very fortunate to work for some really good leaders. Additionally fortunate, I’ve also worked for some really bad leaders. So I can easily tell the difference. Good leadership isn’t identified by a title, position, attitude, or even actions. I can’t make a list of actions to take that make a good leader. Ultimately, good leadership is recognized by the way it makes those following feel. Let’s identify a few feelings that ind...
Apr 27, 2022•33 min
Students of our Leadership Accelerator course recently brought up a question about politicians. The question was essentially, “should we view politicians as examples of good leadership?” “Well, no.” While my response to the question is definitive, it needs a little explanation. While a politician may be a great leader behind closed doors (that is within their team), the general public will never be allowed to see that side of the politician. So my response speaks more about the political system ...
Apr 20, 2022•21 min
“I’ve just been promoted to a leadership position. What is the most important thing I should do first?” I get this type of question all the time. Now that I’m a leader, what do I do first? I’m always glad to see new leaders asking themselves such questions. Almost without exception, however, those leaders seem disappointed in my answer. They seem to think I’m going to tell them how to charge into their team and show them they are the boss. Instead, I tell every new leader the first and most impo...
Apr 13, 2022•21 min
I am obviously unqualified to tell you about the unique challenges that women face in leadership. But that is certainly not the case with my guest, Nichole Harrop. Nichole is a leadership and career coach. She is a wife, mother of two daughters, and most important to this episode, a female leader. Nichole believes the world needs more female leaders, and through her efforts at nicholeharrop.com , she intends to create them. Resources Mentioned: Connect with Nichole on Instagram @nichole.harrop n...
Apr 06, 2022•55 min
Very early in my corporate career, I went to my boss to request some leadership training. I was the new leader of a small group of software developers and I wanted to be the best leader I could be. My boss seemed excited that I was asking for training and was eager to send me to what he considered to be top-notch leadership training that was developed in-house by the company's training department. I should have known by the title this training wouldn’t be all that beneficial for me. The training...
Mar 30, 2022•27 min
Small groups of like-minded people have been a huge influence on my leadership journey for many years. Are you in a small group? Maybe you call it a support group, accountability group, or mastermind group. It doesn’t matter what you call it, you need to be in one (or several). My good friend, David McGlennen joins me today on the podcast to share his expertise in leadership groups. He has a wealth of knowledge and experience participating in and leading such groups. Connect with David with the ...
Mar 23, 2022•48 min
You probably have a lot of misconceptions and misunderstandings about military leadership. You don’t want to miss today’s podcast episode. We have Mike Ettore on the podcast to clear up all your wrong views of military leadership. Mike’s distinguished record of providing effective leadership and achieving superior results in a wide range of challenging environments stems from his unique professional background. In addition to having retired as a Marine Corps Infantry Officer and decorated combat...
Mar 16, 2022•1 hr 2 min
Relationships are the most important element of effective leadership. Good relationships will help you overcome any shortcomings you have in other areas of your leadership. In today’s podcast, I’ll describe what type of relationships you need as a leader. I’ll discuss why relationships are important, how it fits within the leadership equation, and how you can build great relationships as a leader. Other Episodes in This Series 086 - The Leadership Equation 087 - Credibility 088 - Competence 089 ...
Mar 09, 2022•22 min
Why do you want to be a leader? The answer to this question will greatly impact your leadership effectiveness. Your team members are constantly questioning your motives for being a leader. Their questions are answered by their perception of your leadership motives being selfish or selfless in nature. Are you in leadership for you? Or are you in leadership for the team? In today’s podcast, I’ll introduce you to leadership motive. I’ll discuss why motive is important, how it fits within the leader...
Mar 02, 2022•27 min
Do you have the skills necessary to lead your team well? Your team members have this question swirling around in their minds. Leadership is a learned skill, just like sales skills, plumbing skills, roofing skills, or engineering skills. In today’s podcast, I’ll introduce you to leadership competence. I’ll discuss why competence is important, two types of competence, and how you can quickly develop it. Other Episodes in This Series 086 - The Leadership Equation 087 - Credibility 089 - Motive 090 ...
Feb 23, 2022•32 min
Do you have a track record of success? Do you have some type of history that makes your team believe you can lead them to success? One of my favorite leadership books, The Leadership Challenge, suggests that credibility is the foundation of effective leadership. Credibility is that track record or history of some type of success. It is your credibility that makes success believable. But maybe you don’t have credibility yet. Maybe you are new to the team you are leading and they aren’t aware of y...
Feb 16, 2022•31 min
How do you measure leadership? This is the second question I ask all my clients and I’m yet to receive a good answer. The answers range from “we don’t” to woefully inadequate answers like “attrition.” Why would anyone use attrition to measure leadership? That’s like trying to change the score of a game after it’s over. Your best team members have left, it’s too late to try to measure leadership now. In today’s podcast, I’ll introduce you to our leadership equation. It’s the mathematical science ...
Feb 09, 2022•25 min
I’m violating one of my core principles here, but I believe the exception is warranted. Though the topic of this episode is both politically and emotionally charged, there are great leadership lessons to be learned from it. The core principle I’m violating is publicly commenting on a topic while emotionally engrossed in the topic. Typically, I will wait until I’ve had time to rationally consider a topic and work through my emotions related to the topic before commenting publicly. In the case of ...
Feb 02, 2022•35 min
I suddenly found myself in the position of boss over a team member that just yesterday was my boss. The leadership journey for many goes through the tricky transition of team member to team leader. My journey is no different. I left the office one day as a team member and returned to the office the next day as the team leader. To make matters more complicated, the guy that was my boss yesterday is now on the team that I lead - so now I’m his boss. This tricky transition is common and can be diff...
Jan 26, 2022•29 min
Have you ever had the question running through your mind, "I'm a leader, now what?" In today's podcast episode, we have Mick Speirs join us to help you with that very question. Mick Spiers is the founder and principal of The Leadership Project. He is an experienced executive with a strong track record in the development of exceptionally high-performance teams. Mick strongly believes that his success in business and life has been through the development and support of the people, teams, and leade...
Jan 19, 2022•46 min
