Leadership Beyond Borders

Now there is no debate that your professional image is important. Normally, when we think of professional image, we think about meeting or seeing someone in person, although in today's global marketplace we live in a world where contacts take place online. Images are built on social media and on professional online networks. There are many professional online networks where you can develop your professional image, but there is only one professional network that has 467 million members and that is Linkedin. With 87% of recruiters using Linkedin to find qualified candidates, this is the one place you need to portray your image and build your brand. A good Linkedin profile can propel your career forward, and if you have a profile that is not optimal you will just get lost in the crowd. This episode will give you tips on how to build a powerful Linkedin profile, what to pay attention to in your profile and how to use Linkedin to increase your future opportunities.

Jobs, we need them and when you have one the golden rule has always been never quit a job before you have another job to go to!, but maybe this has now changed. Although this advice seems sensible, it is sometimes difficult to follow when you find yourself in a job or position that you really do not want to be in. Even if it is harder to get hired when you're unemployed, sometimes you reach a point where you can't force yourself to go a job you do not like. You sometimes find it hard to motivate yourself and it begins to effect your entire life. You want to find a job you love, and you can, there are many ways to combine your passions with your job. Entrepreneurship is on the rise, because todays employees what to "to be their own boss", and "manage their own time!". People also want to create businesses around their passions, and this is what this episode is about. How you can find your passion and then make that passion into a career?

What is the VUCA world? It is a global work environment which has volatility, uncertainty, change and ambiguity as a norm and only leaders who can continually transform will suceed. But being able to transform means adapting a growth mindset. A growth mindset is when you can take your talents and abilities and develop them through effort, good teaching, persistence and by basically taking control of your own mind. Once you have control of your mind you can change and adapt. You will begin to see set-backs as chances, and you will have more impact on the world around you. For leaders, this is essential because your mindset influences and determines how you think about and interpret situations, your emotional reactions, the decisions you make, and the actions you take. It also is impacts how others see you. In this episode, we talk about how to develop a growth mindset that will help you be a better leader in this VUCA world.

Big data, it can, can bring big benefits such as targeted advertisements, smart cars and more. It is available in wearables, implantable devices and as artificial intelligence in normal household gadgets. But It can also lead to big privacy problems. We all generate thousands of data points every day about where we go, who we communicate with, what we buy, and when we do this it makes us vulnerable because we do not know where the data ends up. Because of issues like these there have been multiple expressions of concern from privacy advocates and governments, but there has been little action to improve privacy protection in the online, always connected world. And whose responsibility is it anyways? Companies certainly have a lot of responsibilities when it comes to data, but very often they do not fully understand what those responsibilities are. In this episode, we look at the obligations companies have when it comes to handling data and understanding privacy laws.

What is the VUCA world? It is a global work environment which has volatility, uncertainty, change and ambiguity as a norm and only leaders who can continually transform will suceed. But being able to transform means adapting a growth mindset. A growth mindset is when you can take your talents and abilities and develop them through effort, good teaching, persistence and by basically taking control of your own mind. Once you have control of your mind you can change and adapt. You will begin to see set-backs as chances, and you will have more impact on the world around you. For leaders, this is essential because your mindset influences and determines how you think about and interpret situations, your emotional reactions, the decisions you make, and the actions you take. It also is impacts how others see you. In this episode, we talk about how to develop a growth mindset that will help you be a better leader in this VUCA world.

If you thought you just figured out the Millennials, just wait for the next generation of future leaders. Gen Z-ers are now influencing the world. They are the ones that grew up digitally connected; they're accustomed to having data and content thrown at them all day and from all angles. As lifelong digital natives, they to have a special affinity for artificial intelligence, specifically because it mimics their natural tendency toward global mobile communication and engagement. In this episode, you will hear from two amazing Generation Z-er's, one of them who is a capital allocation analyst and the other who has made an impact in Artificial Intelligence, even before he is old enough to drive! You will hear insights from the world's youngest IBM Watson Programmer and his sister, who are setting the pace for Generation Z. You will also hear an amazing story of family support and encouragement which is inspiring and is a great example of the global economy will live in.

Years ago, if someone had told us that a social media site would be limited to 140 characters and still be successful, none of us would have believed them. But Twitter has accomplished this. With only 140 characters, they have made social media a contextual and personal experience. But why does work so well? Experts say it is because people can get a sense of who you are on Twitter or what your business is about. It reveals what type of things you are interested in; it will suggest things you are interested in. It essentially lies at the heart of this new sharing economy and it is a global. But it does not come without controversy, and Tweets become worldwide discussions. But it can also be great for your image or your business. In this episode, we talk about the advantages of Twitter, the pitfalls that you need to avoid and the advantages that come with Tweeting.

It is critical to diligently watch and manage your online reputation in order to ensure business success and growth. It is also important to have a have a well-thought-out reputation development strategy in place for your business, but what does that mean? It means understanding your online presence, engaging your potential clients /customers and managing the entire customer process, including customer feedback. It is crucial to know what your customers/clients are saying about your business while at the same time, taking measures to develop your business reputation. Many businesses are timid when it comes to feedback because of possible complaints. Learning to deal with complaints and turn them into improvements for your business is what business owners and leaders need to do. This episode deals with the entire online marketing process from online presence to reputation development and we talk about how to use customer complaints to improve your business.

Women make up approximately 50% of the today's workforce in many countries and 40% worldwide, although most of these positions are in not in management. When they are in management, they are normally below the middle management level and not at the executive level. The number of women in executive positions worldwide is less than 10%. If you look at the Fortune 500 companies, the numbers are even worse, accounting for approximately only 4.2%. So, what is happening? Are women not preparing themselves correctly for executive positions? Do women not have enough opportunities? Have women not learned to play the game according to the male rules that have existed forever? With over 60% of today's university graduates being women, how can women help shift the system and change these statistics? What has to happen to the system to get more women in executive positions? This episode looks at the challenges women face today, as well the opportunities that are available.

It is important for companies to form collective values that can be shared and communicated to their employees and customers. Many companies do this, they have core values, but many companies fall short. Many companies identify core values that very often become part of their vision statement, but unless these values are really lived, they are worthless. They also must be lived and lead by example-from the top of the organization. Core values are what support the vision, shape the culture and drive the essence of a company's identity. They are the principles, beliefs and philosophies that the leaders and employees must live by. Companies that focus only on competencies fall short because they forget the underlying values that make their companies run smoothly. Establishing strong core values can provide both an internal and external advantage to any company. In this episode, we look at why core values are so important in today's global and competitive market.