Crucial Talks Podcast

Mike Sedam welcomes Brian Cunningham back to the Crucial Talks Podcast.

In this episode, Brian and Mike talk more theoretically about leadership and how the "Hero's Journey" can help bring people to a new level of performance.

The discussion talks about transformation, employee engagement, and emotional decision-making.

The discussion includes references to Gary Varynerchuk's discussion about people that may want to try something new because they are unhappy in the workplace and the importance of self-awarness.

It also mentions Jill Christensen and her work in employee engagement.

Please visit www.crucialtalks.com for more information or to have Mike speak at your organization.

Mike Sedam brings another short crucial chat with lessons about the importance of roles in our decision-making and behavior.

This week as my son's second indoor soccer game. He's eight and hasn't really played before.

During the game, he had to play goalie. The first time ever. He had only seen goalies play on television and on video games.

As social storytellers we all use prototypes to figure out the behaviors of the roles we play. He did the same thing. He tried his hardest to exhibit the behaviors of the "goalie" prototype he had built in his head. As a result, he did fairly well for never having played the position before.

Later in the game he also took a ball right to the face. It was traveling fast enough that it took him off his feet. He popped right back up and wanted to keep playing. Normally, a hit like that would have stunned him and put tears in his eyes. This time was different because his role as "soccer player" was so important to him that he stayed in that role. He was also amongst his team, and we all know that being with others makes us stronger.

Finally, I learned that sometimes we take a soccer ball to the face. The important thing is we get back up and keep playing our game.

Please visit www.crucialtalks.com

Mike Sedam and Dan Oblinger talk about Dan's book, Life or Death Listening: A Hostage Negotiator's How-to Guide to Mastering the Essential Communication Skill. Amazon: https://amzn.to/2RGFSGb

Dan is a hostage negotiator, speaker, and trainer that focuses on the essential need to actively listen to others.

In this episode, the role of "listener" is discussed as something we need to do in anything we do and in any other role we play.

Listening adds value to everything we do.

Master listeners excel at eight different listening skills.

People should listen more and learn more from listening.

Email Dan at: [email protected]

Connect with Dan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-oblinger-speaks?lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_profile_view_base_contact_details%3Buq20dVihRFqQkyHf57pAKA%3D%3D

To get in touch with Mike please visit www.crucialtalks.com and connect via email, LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook.

Mike Sedam talks with Douglas Vermeeren about his book, Personal Power Mastery. Available from Amazon: https://amzn.to/2VvlLd0.

Doug has interviewed over 400 of the top achievers of today to write his book.

He has focused on people as having power over their choices.

People are not always prepared to take the outcome of their lives personal.

People need to "own it" and that lets them affect changes in their lives.

Choice is our biggest fundamental power. Power is the ability to act or take action.

Perception allows people to see possibilities and opportunities. How we see things impacts the decisions we make.

Emotions are tied to expectations.

To connect with Douglas Vermeeren, visit www.douglasvermeeren.com

To connect with Mike Sedam, visit www.crucialtalks.com

Clips from 2018 episodes of the Crucial Talks Podcast.

Have a great 2019.

Please stay in touch by visiting www.crucialtalks.com

Mike Sedam talks to Jason Weber about his enterprise-level experience in the state of Wisconsin. This episode applies to multiple industries in both the public and private sector because it discusses concepts that apply to any human-based system.

We discuss the need for trust, how to build relationships, and how self-awareness is necessary to help see another person's or group's point of view.

Jason is a training and development manager for Wisconsin, but also has his own consulting company, www.elements-consultingllc.com.

For more information or to connect with Mike, please visit www.crucialtalks.com

Remember, if we want to understand behavior, we need to understand what drives people.

Santa Claus is part of the magic of Christmas for a child. Ultimately, one day, some kid will mention something negative about Santa Claus to other kids.

Similarly, every day in our organizations, our businesses, our communities, and our relationships, communication is happening.

Sometimes communication is about something negative.

Communication is more than just sending and receiving words. Those words carry meaning and emotions.

We need to be responsible for the words we say and how we use them.

The first lesson we can take from this is about the person communicating the message.

Does that person have the responsibility to communicate that message?

Does that person have the right to communicate that message?

Is the person communicating that message for the right reasons?

What is the purpose of communicating that message?

In this case, this student could have wanted to show her superiority to other students, or she was impacted negatively by hearing this news and wanted to bring other people down to her level.

This is important for us to understand. Information like this can cause someone to feel alone, to feel like they no longer understand the belief system of other people around them and one of the ways people deal with that is to bring others down to their level.

I know we have people like this in our organizations. They try to stir up negative feelings because they feel negative. Or they try to make other people dislike someone because they dislike them. This is a cancer in our workplaces and needs to be removed.

Remember we are responsible for the words we say and the meaning of those words because they have a huge impact on people and can have a ripple effect.

For more information or to connect with Mike via email, LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook, please visit www.crucialtalks.com.

We are all social storytellers and can be the hero of our own story.

My son and I were watching the Bumblebee movie trailer and he asked if Bumblebee could be the hero since he wasn't the leader.

Absolutely he can, and so can you.

Heroes are uplifting, improve the lives of others, uphold values, and protect others.

Please connect with me via www.crucialtalks.com

In this episode, Mike Sedam speaks with Brian Cunningham about his journey from parking lot attendant to CEO and his book, The Leadership Revolution - Because Evolution Takes Too Long.

You can buy his book from Amazon: https://amzn.to/2BtsBq2

More about Brian and his book can be found at: http://awarenessquotientleadership.com/

In this episode, we talk about how leadership skills have to be functional. This means we don't just need theory, but we need to be able to operationalize those theories.

Brian talks about the levels of leadership in a way that is not just theory-based. He talks about them while wearing a lens of reality. He lets us learn about what works in the real world, not just in books.

This is a positive, strength-based focus on leadership, from someone who is doing it every day as a CEO.

To connect with Mike or to get your own story onto the Crucial Talks Podcast, please visit www.crucialtalks.com.

Mike Sedam talks with Jill Christensen about employee engagement. This includes talking about the fact all people want the same things we always have: openness, trust, purpose, and a feeling of belonging. 

Jill has written a great book about employee engagement that can be found on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/2QY5y0G

Put people first and the rest will follow. People that do not feel they are trusted will not go above and beyond.

When employees are engaged, they trust their senior leaders and feel an emotional connection to those leaders.

We can improve engagement by helping employees feel acknowledged, appreciated, and heard.

For more information from Jill, text JILL to 42828 and you'll receive her top ten tips.

Also visit her at www.jillchristensenintl.com

To contact Mike, visit www.crucialtalks.com.