A Leadership Beyond

"Good questions inform, great questions transform" -Ken Coleman

Asking the right questions, with clear intention is fundamental to personal transformation. This episode's guest, Heather H. Bennett, brings over two decades of experience as a marketing strategist to life in her excellent book: Fun and Fulfilling Careers One Question at a Time

Heather's brilliance is to help us discover our personal brand. Rather than tell us, Heather helps draw the answers from our depths through insightful questions!

Regardless of where you are in your career, it is valuable to keep asking in case we need to realign to ensure our career is a bright reflection of our values and core strength. The better this alignment, the more fulfilling and impactful our career will be.

A few highlights from our conversation:

• Keep your eye on the highest mountain top AND keep your feet on the ground.
• Leaders grappling with the great resignation should actively support career development of their talent.
• Revisiting these career questions periodically is a good way to help prioritization. The job demands can overwhelm the career need.

A Leadership Beyond exists to support the alignment between the business strategy and people strategy - to drive results with people not at the expense of people (Talent Optimization).

Subscribe to our podcast to join the Leadership Beyond Community of Conversation and hear insights from thought leaders and human development experts leading the way in the field of Talent Optimization.

As always, we'd love to hear from you about your insights, challenges, and successes around leading (self and others) through transitions.

Leading Through Transition

We usually feature a guest on our bi-monthly podcast. This time Tom and Adrienne chat about leading transitions. This conversation is timely as we enter a new season. Summer disrupts schedules for all of us.

Our schedules have been disrupted for multiple reasons over the last couple years. Add this "normal" transition to the mix and emotions run high.

Adrienne points out that, it's not the change, it's the uncertainty. As the founder of Positive Delta, Adrienne has been guiding global leaders to navigate change for over fifteen years. An expert isn't magically immune to the turbulence of change.

Change is not a project but rather a process. She (and we) must remember to practice what she teaches. The same dynamic happens on the individual, team, and organizational level.

The purpose of this conversation is to capture a few gems on effectively managing transitions (while maintaining sanity).

We pull these gems all together with these 5 Steps: Pause > Name it > Claim it > Document it > Communicate it.

A Leadership Beyond exists to support the alignment between the business strategy and people strategy - to drive results with people not at the expense of people (Talent Optimization).

Subscribe to our podcast to join the Leadership Beyond Community of Conversation and hear insights from thought leaders and human development experts leading the way in the field of Talent Optimization.

As always, we'd love to hear from you about your insights, challenges, and successes around leading (self and others) through transitions.

In this week's episode we speak with Lee Mozena, founder of Zena Consulting. Lee has a background that positions her well to support leaders as they navigate the challenges of DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion).

Lee has vast experience in Marketing communication; she facilitates strategic conversations for business, government, and community leaders with a lens on diverse populations She asks the necessary tough questions that people are hesitant, embarrassed, or afraid to ask.

A Leadership Beyond has collaborated with Lee since our beginning and we are excited to bring her insights to our community of conversation.

Here are a few gems from our interview:

Leaders need to rise to the challenge of the triple bottom line – beyond the financial bottom line. Decisions need to be:

1. good for the people
2. good for the environment
3. good for the profit

How that's done is difficult. The foundation is - not surprisingly - better communication.

• The marketplace and workplace are increasingly multicultural, not only gender, race, and nationality, but also generational, neurological, and more. Leaders that face this reality, assertively yet graciously will meet greater success on the triple bottom line.
• Define the elephant in the room for your organization. What component of DEI is a potential issue you want to explore? What does DEI mean for your organization, your marketplace, your employees?
• Starting a DEI Initiative and providing "training" can be a starting point, but we need to pay attention to sustainability. This initiative cannot be solely departmental; it must be top down, bottom up, and across. It must be core to the business strategy and embedded in organizational processes.
• Continue to ask the obvious question that often isn't asked: "Who needs to be at the table?".

We encourage you to continue to learn with Lee as she brings us Diversity updates and resources to support our DEI Leadership success.

Subscribe to the Zena News newsletter at http://zenaconsulting.com

We thank Lee for joining us in conversation. We encourage you to put your voice in the mix and welcome your experience and perspective.

A Leadership Beyond exists to support the alignment between the business strategy and people strategy - to drive results with people not at the expense of people (Talent Optimization).

Subscribe to our podcast to join the Leadership Beyond Community of Conversation and hear insights from thought leaders and human development experts leading the way in the field of Talent Optimization.

As always, we welcome YOUR voice in the conversation.

This week we have an insightful conversation with Judy Ringer, author of Turn Enemies Into Allies.

If you know any martial art, you already recognize how the principles can be applied to resolving conflict. Aikido is a martial art with a core principle of non-harm. "Render the attack harmless without harming the opponent." Our conversation with Judy gets right to the center of how this practice can be applied.

Judy Ringer was in Real Estate, a business that puts you in the center of conflicting, emotionalized counterparts. Her dominant tendency was to accommodate, to please the people. She became interested in conflict dynamics and took a class offered by Thomas Crum, then drawn to pursuing both Aikido and conflict transformation.

Judy uses the principles and movements of Aikido as a metaphor for every day emotional conflict. She continues to practice and teach Aikido as well as her own training company.

Judy gives us tips on centering, awareness, cooperation, practicing our non-dominant conflict style, listening, letting go of the need to be right, difference between conflict management and conflict transformation, and much more!

Wherever you are in your power and presence journey, begin. Begin again... and again. That is why we call it practice.

We do not have to do it alone! In this episode, Judy Ringer brings years of experience to guide us.

A Leadership Beyond exists to support the alignment between the business strategy and people strategy - to drive results with people not at the expense of people (Talent Optimization).

Subscribe to our podcast to join the Leadership Beyond Community of Conversation and hear insights from thought leaders and human development experts leading the way in the field of Talent Optimization.

As always, we welcome YOUR voice in the conversation. Tom & Adrienne

This week we are sharing our conversation with Catherine Johns, author of Show Up and Shine.

When it comes to communication, Catherine Johns wrote the book. And did the radio show. And gave the talk. Catherine's audience benefits from her years of experience on the stage and in the studio.

What do you say about yourself, your work, and the value you offer? And how are you perceived while you say it?

Catherine offers a practical path to making a stronger impression when you speak in a meeting, on a conference call, at a rally or anywhere else. A catalyst for compelling communication, Catherine can show you how to create more impact and achieve greater success.

Even in a short interview, Catherine demonstrates the skills she teaches. She has practiced long and hard at connecting with the audience, being clear and concise and knowing how to manage the unexpected. As you listen, notice the power and impact of the pause. Catherine wants to be sure she is clear on the question before answering and that she leaves space for us to process. And the answers are clear, crisp, concise and on point.

The encouragement for us is that these are learnable skills. Not easy, but learnable.

We hope you enjoy and benefit from our conversation with Catherine Johns as much as we have!

A Leadership Beyond exists to support the alignment between the business strategy and people strategy - to drive results with people not at the expense of people (Talent Optimization).

Subscribe to our podcast to join the Leadership Beyond Community of Conversation and hear insights from thought leaders and human development experts leading the way in the field of Talent Optimization.

As always, we welcome your voice in the conversation.

An insightful conversation with Ann Latham, author of The Power of Clarity.

Before becoming an independent consultant, Ann asked for feedback to determine the core value she provided. The answers she got pointed in one direction: Ann creates clarity out of complicated issues. She points out that people often don't know they are looking for clarity. They know they want to solve a problem.

During our conversation with Ann, we quickly recognized the urgency of the problem of disclarity (not a typo!) and how costly it really is. In fact, the first chapter of The Power of Clarity is entitled "We Aren't as Clear as We Think We Are… and it's Costly."

This conversation is filled with insights for immediate application (really! Ann shares a very easy way to get started toward achieving more clarity) as well as a framework for continuous improvement on the continuum toward Uncommon Clarity.

We are confident you will enjoy and benefit from this interview.

A Leadership Beyond exists to support the alignment between the business strategy and people strategy - to drive results with people not at the expense of people (Talent Optimization).

Subscribe to our podcast to join the Leadership Beyond Community of Conversation and hear insights from thought leaders and human development experts leading the way in the field of Talent Optimization.

As always, we welcome your voice in the conversation

A thrilling interview with Dr. Nadya Zhexembayva! Dr. Nadya is a scientist, entrepreneur, author, and a 4-time TEDx speaker specializing in resilience and reinvention. This conversation with Nadya is rich and chock full of reinvention tips applicable at the individual, team, organization, and community level.

Reinvention is messy and certainly not a straight line. In her book, 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐶ℎ𝑖𝑒𝑓 𝑅𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑂𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑒𝑟 𝐻𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑏𝑜𝑜𝑘: 𝐻𝑜𝑤 𝑡𝑜 𝑇ℎ𝑟𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑜𝑠, Nadya shares a framework that allows us to repeat and build on previous reinventions. As Nadya reminds us: Change is NOT a project. We are designed to thrive and Nadya is passionate and determined to support us on this path.

A Leadership Beyond exists to support the alignment between the business strategy and people strategy - to drive results with people not at the expense of people (Talent Optimization).

Subscribe to our or Podcast to join the Leadership Beyond Community of Conversation and hear insights from thought leaders and human development experts leading the way in the field of Talent Optimization.

This week we are honored to hear the story of one career journey.

The frenetic pace of our work and the challenges of each day make it difficult to take a moment to step back, zoom out, and reflect on our own career journey. This neglect can result in our being swept away in a river of reactivity rather than designing a career that challenges us, grows us, fulfills us, and allows our strengths to expand our contribution. Do not blink or 15 years vanish!

The lock downs of the pandemic created new space for reflection. This reflection allowed more people to demand that work provide greater meaning than a role and a paycheck – and a continuous run around the hamster wheel.

Fran chose to remain anonymous to be as open, authentic, and free from concern of what the neighbors may think.

Fran recently made the decision to part with her employer of over 30 years. She is charting a new path, better aligned with her values and work style. You can hear the youthful excitement at the new level of engagement.

Fran expresses no regret, or remorse, as her career has been successful by any measure. And yet, as she reflects, she becomes consciously aware that she done more reflecting, she could have shortened the time it took to reach the decision to move on.

It is our hope that as you listen to Fran's story you will take time to reflect on yours. And if you would like a partner in finding critical insights from that reflection, we can help.

Among the valuable gems in this stimulating conversation with Brian:

* 3 things that differentiate ethical influence from manipulation

* A concise summary of the 7 principles of persuasion

* An acronym to help us D.E.A.L. with differing styles

* Concrete examples to help us learn the practical application of this wisdom

You've seen the people who seem to take a blow, get up, dust off and keep going.

The question arises, "are great leaders born, or developed?" The age old : "nature/nurture" strikes again.

We never met a leader who wasn't born, nor a great leader who isn't still developing. To quote our friends in the improv world "Yes, AND".

In this week's interview, Jeanie Cockell talks about the positive impact of being raised by a mom that always emphasized hope and possibility. We don't get to choose the environment in which we were raised. But we CAN choose to create positive environments at work and at home using the framework and tools of Appreciate Inquiry.

We can make resiliency a practice. Authors Joan McArthur-Blair & Jeanie Cockell will gladly be our guides. They show up not as gurus, but as fellow sojourners on this vibrant path.