Labrador Leadership

The discussion of communication continues with the topic of listening in the 21st century. There are tactics we need to consider writing and emailing in the current day. The foremost of these is to seek brevity, but this runs counter to the idea that you would take more time in an effort to be clear.

Having covered the problems with stress in the office, Bob and Alex talk abut the toxic behavior that some people bring to the workplace.  Alex suggests that we need strategies to not let them effect your motivation and to go to work happy.

The constant complainer is a very common example of this.Bob suggests that being a positivist helps.  A positivist is someone who is enthusiastic and goes out of their way to tell others you value their contributions and help others fit in.  The complainer is at the other end of the spectrum.  When they are constantly complaining, they want validation from you that their feelings are grounded in misery and rightly so.  A positivist may want to support them in an effort to help them pull out of it, but you can be seen as being similar to them and as a colleague of complaint with them.

A second type of toxic person is the BFF who has trouble recognizing appropriate boundaries.  You may welcome their out ward friendship when you are at the first day on the job and feel they are being very supportive. As time goes on though, they having frequent conversations about non-work issues, wanting to spend time together outside of work, more than the occasional happy hour.  It ends up being up to you set the boundaries.

Finally, there is the issue of bullying on the workplace. Alex says that those with big personalities seem to feel they can steamroll a new employee or a younger employee.  Recent research from this year says that 65% of workers dread going to work because of a co-worker.  55% says that they have indeed been bullied by a co-worker.  Bob suggests that unmet needs are often at the root of this kind of behavior.  To recover from this, it is important to step back and draw a breath.  You may have to go to your manager if you need to, but always try to respond from the point of view of a business case rather than an emotional one.  Granted that at some point it becomes impossible to keep it from being emotional, and at that time you will need to go to your manager, or to his manager if he is part of the problem.

Robin Madell's article on Toxic People at Work.

 

 

Alex takes the opportunity to introduce us to her Dad Sylvio Mossa to celebrate Fathers Day!  For listeners who want to get to know our cohost a little bit better, listen to Alex and her Dad talk reminisce about life in Greensboro, NC, and what it took to successfully start and build Mossa Construction.

Many thanks to Sylvio for joining us on the program.

Bob discusses the results of a new study from McKinsey & Company on the behaviors that different the big companies that are successful in the major transformations and those that are not.  The details can be over whelming, but they boil down to a few general strategies that we have talked about before:

* The importance of communication;

* The importance of leaders being actively involved;

* The importance of a positive attitude; and

* The importance of making sure you get the right people involved.

The summary of the McKinsey study can be found here.

The establishing of an authentic sense of trust is critical to the success of any leader and entrepreneur. Bob and Alex talk bout why trust is really the secret word. After a sidebar into the history of Groucho Marx explaining the nature of the secret word, Bob says trust is wired into ethics, integrity, and confidence.

A big event in the form of a simulcast with Thom Singer of The Conference Catalyst and Cool Thing Entrepreneurs Do. Bob and Thom met through working in a couple of mastermind groups. Labrador Leadership and Cool Thing Entrepreneurs Do are both broadcasting this episode today.

As the HBO series "Game of Thrones" wraps up its most recent season this past weekend, there is a lot being written about leadership lessons that can be learned from these tales.  Bob and Alex raise their eyebrows at that contention but then enjoy a welcome "entertainment break" to talk about just how this popular tale may apply.

The lessons from these quotes will be familiar to followers of the show:

* "A Lannister pays his debts."

* "The man who passes the sentence should swing the sword."

* "Any man who must say 'I am the king' is no true king."

* "Chaos isn't a pit. Chaos is a ladder."

* "Winter is coming."

Gathered from Quora, you can find the post here.

 

 

Bob talks about the concept of Servant Leadership and what the traits of good servant leaders are. He points out that many of these traits are among those considered important for all types of leaders, and how servant leadership can create the relationships that a great leader needs to foster.

Kate Erickson of Entrepreneur on Fire talks with Bob about her leadership journey from college life to retail banking to running one of the most successful online communities with the Future Nation and Entrepreneur On Fire.  She and Bob talk about her recent adventure to the Phillipines for Tropical Think Tank  and the mind changing community that she was immersed in.

Kate started her career in banking, but that only lasted until she returned to graduate school to study English literature.  She had a passion for writing, and this was what moved her enough to declare a major.  She had a professor that inspired her to find new ways to appreciate the work. She started to envision herself teaching in college. Bob recounts the moment his favorite teacher introduced him to the importance of critical thinking skills through writing a Tolkien paper.

As her most significant person in her past, Kate names Dr. Barton Thurber as encouraging her in a way that made her more confident as a writer and as a reader.  While she no longer sees herself teaching any longer, she feels the community she builds at EOF allows her to impact that community's members the same way that a great professor encourages their students.

Just as any professor would have done though, Kate has written a book in The Fire Path. She calls this a step by step guide to growing your business.  She breaks down each action so readers know actually what needs to be done.

Kate says she strives to be a better leader by immersing herself in the community rather than being above them.  She enjoys  A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.  She believes this from the heart and is the driver of what she does daily.  She fully believes that being approachable is accomplished

Kate's advice to a new MBA?  "Don't give up. Don't let fear or the imposter syndrome hold you back from achieving your potential."

Find Kate at EOFire.com.  Read her book The Fire Path.

Bob talks with Brad Wachter about  the challenges leaders face in the senior living industry.  As the population ages and many os us look for the next place for our parents, Brad's perspective on the complexities of good leadership show us just how difficult this can be.

Brad brings his HR experience to the industry.  It is here that leadership issues are often centered within a corporation.  He was inspired by a college professor that did work with the FBI.  He also remembers another professor that showed him the importance of HR topics and how they applied in the real world.

The two guys compare transcripts in their early academic careers.  The comparison shows both starting poorly and finished strong.

As Brad talks about the senior living industry grows as the population ages.  Brad was attracted by the fact that it is really a combination of three industries:  health care, hospitality, and real estate. Another wrinkle Brad mentions that in senior living you are working where you customer is living.  As an example, if you are a chef there, serving a bad meal results in more than a customer who would never return.

Bob suggests that working in the industry requires a special type of person.  Brad agrees, saying that they need to have a certain compassion for those that they are serving. This is often an attraction to those that come to the industry.  He has heard it called the "second paycheck", the first being the salary you earn and the second being the good feeling you generate in your work.

Brad started Senior Living Recruiters in 2008 but faced the severe economic downturn of the time.  The industry was somewhat insulated from this and enabled him to create the successes there. The three overlapping industries  may suggest that there would be a very narrow candidate pool for senior leaders, but prime candidates are those with previous senior living experience.

As for leadership traits, Brad says that empathy, servant leadership, and emotional intelligence are critical skills for folks in the business.

Senior Living Recruiters