Lead. Learn. Grow.

In this insightful episode of Lead. Learn. Grow, Robin welcomes Kim Lebowitz, a passionate expert in emotional intelligence (EQ).

Kim shares her unconventional journey into the world of EQ, from her corporate and entrepreneurial experiences to an unexpected opportunity that led her to immerse herself in the science of emotional intelligence. She explains how EQ is not just about emotions but about understanding and retraining the brain to manage stress, improve decision-making, and foster stronger relationships in business and life.

Kim breaks down the five dimensions of EQ—self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, social awareness, and social regulation—offering practical strategies for leaders and professionals to enhance their emotional intelligence. She discusses how being "hijacked" by emotions impacts performance and well-being and provides actionable techniques for shifting back to a calm, clear mindset. With real-world examples, she demonstrates how EQ skills can transform leadership, team dynamics, and personal resilience.

Robin and Kim explore how EQ directly impacts leadership effectiveness, citing research that shows EQ is a stronger predictor of success than IQ. They also delve into the challenges many high-performing professionals face when transitioning into leadership roles, emphasizing the importance of self-awareness and coaching in helping leaders develop the emotional intelligence necessary to inspire and engage their teams.

Whether you're an executive, a business owner, or simply someone looking to navigate life with more clarity and composure, this episode is packed with valuable insights on how EQ can be the key to unlocking your full potential. Don't miss Kim's expert advice on simple yet powerful techniques to improve your emotional intelligence and lead with confidence.

🔹 Resources & Links

🌐 Kim Lebowitz's Website: https://the-restored.com

📘 EQ Assessments: https://www.theovalgroup.com

📖 Recommended Book – Emotional Intelligence 2.0: https://amzn.to/xyz123

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Contact Robin Green at [email protected].

Robin interviews Kirk Roberts from CJGeo, a family-owned business specializing in unique infrastructure solutions. Kirk shares the fascinating origin story of CJGeo, from his father Preston's entrepreneurial journey in 2002 to how the company evolved from small residential jobs to tackling large-scale industrial projects across the Eastern U.S.

Kirk describes the pivotal moments that shaped their growth, including lessons from the 2008 recession that forced the company to diversify and adapt, and how Sandler training helped them transition to higher-value projects. The conversation delves into the challenges and rewards of running a family business, as Kirk works alongside his two brothers, each bringing complementary skills to the table. He reflects on navigating generational perspectives, balancing legacy with innovation, and the importance of shared values and culture in the company's hiring process. Kirk also opens up about the pressures of entrepreneurship, the importance of strategic discipline, and the impact of values-based leadership on building strong client relationships.

Robin and Kirk wrap up with insights for aspiring entrepreneurs, emphasizing the need for resilience, adaptability, and a clear sense of purpose. Kirk's story is a testament to how family businesses can thrive by embracing change while staying grounded in core values. Listen in for practical takeaways on managing business growth, fostering a collaborative culture, and finding work-life balance in a demanding field.

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Contact Robin Green at [email protected].

Welcome to the Lead. Learn. Grow. podcast, where we explore the intersections of busieness, education, technology, and personal growth. I caught up with my friend Paul Mylott, a veteran in higher education and the co-founder behind the innovative AI-driven startup Oblio. Our conversation dives deep into Paul's journey, the birth of Oblio, and the profound impacts of personalization in education and beyond.

Paul Mylott brings over three decades of experience in higher education, having served as a vice president in several institutions. His work primarily focused on the advancement side, but his roles have also covered admissions, giving him a holistic view of the student journey. Paul's latest venture, Oblio, is an AI inbox tool designed to enhance engagement and communication within higher education.

Oblio emerged from Paul's realization of the fragmented nature of the student experience in higher education. By combining his insights into behavioral chain philanthropy and the potential of AI, Paul aimed to create a solution that ensures a seamless journey for students from admission through to alumni engagement. Oblio's mission is to increase enrollment and foster a more personalized connection between institutions and their students, ultimately leading to a higher yield of engaged alumni and donors.

Leadership Lessons

Reflecting on his career and life experiences, Paul emphasizes the importance of aligning personal and organizational goals, the value of mentorship, and the transformative power of personal challenges. His story is a testament to the impact of innovative leadership and the potential of technology to transform traditional industries.

Listeners interested in learning more about Oblio or exploring potential collaborations can reach Paul via LinkedIn or directly through his email at [email protected].

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You can connect with Robin Green by emailing him at [email protected] or connect with him on LinkedIn.

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You can subscribe to The Huddle, a weekly leadership newsletter, by visiting here.

Carla Fowler founded THAXA out of a passion for performance science, where the fields of strategy, productivity, and psychology intersect. Since its inception in 2013, THAXA's scientific approach to individualized coaching has attracted a devoted client base of dozens of executives at firms ranging from Fortune 500 technology companies to venture-backed startups to innovative non-profits.

Carla's coaching methods draw upon the multidisciplinary field of performance science to generate the best ideas surrounding strategy, execution, and mindset to assist leaders in their endeavors. Over the past 10 years, she has distilled the key principles of performance into understandable concepts and a method that helps leaders incorporate these ideas into their day-to-day performance, helping them go faster and improve their results.

Carla graduated from Brown University, then earned her MD and PhD at the University of Washington, and completed her internship in general surgery at Stanford University.

We touch on a variety of performance-related topics in our conversation, including:

-why Carla left medicine to pursue developing a coaching practice. -how Ultimate Frisbee taught Carla to focus on the essential few. -how she thinks about performance in a multi-disciplinary way. -why self-improvement often doesn't work. ...and much more.

A couple of books that Carla frequently recommends are Essentialism and Effortless, both by author Greg McKeown. You can find out more about Greg and learn more about both books here.

You can visit Carla's website here and get a free download, just for Lead. Learn. Grow. listeners.

You can connect with Carla on LinkedIn.

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You can contact host Robin Green by emailing him at [email protected].

You can subscribe to The Huddle, a weekly leadership email, by clicking here.

Matt Dira is the Founder of the Dira Group. He coaches and advises high-performers to better manage all aspects of their life, including money.

Our conversation touches on self-limiting beliefs, goals, and what it means to "have it all." Matt shares thoughts on why and how having a coach can be a life-changing investment.

I particularly enjoyed his take on kids and money. If you have youngsters, you'll want to hear some tips and ideas he has. He mentions an app called GravyStack and shares how he uses it in his home. The Green children should be happy that this app wasn't in existence as they were coming along. 😁

Matt also talks about the power of compounding and why seemingly insignificant actions have a profound effect over time.

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You can learn more about Matt and his coaching practice here. You can find Matt on Instagram @themattdira. Also, text MAP to 804 920 2436 for a free "Wealth Map."

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Connect with Robin Green at [email protected] or you can subscribe to his weekly leadership newsletter called The Huddle by clicking here.

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Episode 52 of the podcast features Chesdin Harrington, a product manager at Capitol One, and a graduate of the University of Virginia. Chesdin was an accomplished baseball player and was a member of the nationally-ranked Cavalier baseball program during his time in Charlottesville.

Chesdin talks about his college journey, lessons learned from playing sports, and how he has been intentional about building his career. He shares a couple of experiences that he sought out that were really good examples for other young professionals to follow.

If you'd like to connect with Chesdin, you can find him on LinkedIn here.

Here's a great article that Chesdin wrote that was first published in d1baseball.com about his thoughts and feelings when his career was cut short by COVID.

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If you'd like to connect with Robin Green, you can find him here, or contact him at [email protected].

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Welcome to episode 51 of the Lead. Learn. Grow. podcast with Robin Green In this episode, we dive into the art of persuasion with Adele and Chip, seasoned professionals in the convincing business and co-authors of a newly released book, Convince Me.

Key Takeaways:

• Innate Persuasion Skills: We all have a natural ability to convince others, but Chip and Adele's book provides strategies to refine and enhance these skills for more effective persuasion in our personal and professional lives.

• Storytelling as a Tool: Chip, with his FBI background, emphasizes the power of storytelling to translate complex experiences into relatable business lessons.

• Emotional Regulation: Adele highlights the importance of forensic listening and emotional regulation in building trust and effectively persuading clients.

• Quick Trust in High-Stakes: Chip discusses strategies to establish a quick sense of trust in high-stakes situations, crucial for successful outcomes.

• Mirroring and Matching Techniques: Learn how these techniques can build rapport and lead to deeper insights into others' thoughts and feelings.

• Understanding Unstated Narratives: Addressing the internal beliefs and perceptions that everyone carries can be a game-changer in negotiations and sales.

• Balancing Empathy with Action: While empathy is essential, Chip and Adele discuss the importance of guiding clients beyond empathy to improve their situations.

• Avoiding Righteousness in Persuasion: Adele's favorite concept from the book involves starting from a point of agreement to steer conversations effectively without imposing self-righteousness.

• Experiential Learning: Chip's preferred aspect of the book is the focus on learning from experiences, featuring interviews with experts to offer practical methods for engaging with others.

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Connect with Adele and Chip on LinkedIn.

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Connect with Robin Green on LinkedIn. You may also reach him at [email protected].

Jessica Marsh is the Executive Director of the Richmond Chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth. ACG is an association for corporate growth, development, and mergers and acquisitions professionals.

Jessica discusses her role, how it impacts the organization, and lessons learned during the pandemic. It's a wide-ranging conversation touching on a number of interesting topics.

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Connect with Jessica on LinkedIn here. You can learn about ACG here.

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Click here to sign up for The Huddle, a weekly leadership email. You can contact Robin Green by emailing [email protected].

Have you ever considered that what we are being sold about digital marketing is wrong? What if it's hurting the business? What if we all are buying the powerful tools and leaving out the fuel that powers them?

Tom Schwab believes the best things in life come from conversations. It's these powerful, sometimes awkward conversations that propel us from where we are personally and professionally to where we dream of being.

As an engineer, a Navy Veteran, and Nuclear Propulsion Plant Operator, Tom thinks differently. Tough Minded, Skeptical, sometimes even Cantankerous, but always technically competent, always thinking – "What if" is how the head of the Nuclear Navy described it.

As a small business owner and entrepreneur, he understands the unique challenges of business owners. This led him to be an early pioneer of using inbound marketing for eCommerce and targeted podcast interviews for marketing that connects.

Tom is the author of two books: Podcast Guest Profits: Grow Your Business with a Targeted Interview Strategy, called the bible of podcast guesting and One Conversation Away: A manifesto for a rich life and a profitable business.

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Contact Robin Green at [email protected].

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Jesse Grapes is the President of Benedictine Schools of Richmond, which include both Benedictine College Prepartory School for boys, and St. Gertrude's School for girls. These unique schools offer single-sex educational opportunities for high school students on a growing, beautiful campus on the bluffs of the James River.

Jesse earned his B.S. in Information Sciences from Carnegie Mellon University and upon graduation, joined the world of business consulting. He shares that although his career was off to a good start, he felt like something was missing. Then, the world changed.

On September 12, 2001, he volunteered for the United State Marine Corps. That began a long and storied career that included three combat duties in Iran, and many notable achievements, including the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.

After his military career, Jesse began his equally successful career in education. He was Principal and Regional Director of an innovative, 7,000 student for-profit school in the San Francisco Bay Area. He also was the Headmaster at BCPS prior to his current role.

Jesse Grapes is a leader of leaders, and he shares his philosophies, stories, and how he has continually re-invented himself to live a meaningful and virtuous life.

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My Early Life by Winston Churchill Jesse shares this as one of his favorite books and an example of seeking opportunity, taking risks, and inspiration stories.

7 Habits of Highly Effective People and the importance of sharpening the saw.

Plutarch's Lives

Rich Dad, Poor Dad

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Contact Robin Green at [email protected].

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