When it comes to diversity in today’s workplaces, understandably much of the focus is on systemic challenges members of various marginalized groups have to deal with.

But as my guest in this episode of my Leadership Biz Cafe podcast points out, that doesn’t mean there aren’t measures Black professionals can take at the individual level so they can succeed and thrive in today’s corporate environment.

Carice Anderson is a seasoned corporate leader and executive, having worked at numerous organizations including Deloitte, Korn Ferry, McKinsey & Company, Aon-Hewitt, and has worked with top companies like Google, Bloomberg, JP Morgan Chase and Bain & Company. 

I’ve invited Carice to join me on my podcast to talk about her book “Intelligence Isn’t Enough: A Black Professional’s Guide to Thriving in the Workplace” so that Black and non-Black leaders can learn from her insights about how Black employees can be empowered to succeed and thrive as members of their team. 

Over the course of my conversation with Carice, we spoke about:

• What is the Black Tax and how it impacts the productivity and perception of Black and non-Black employees.
• An examination of the “three major corporate muscle groups” Black professionals need to flex and develop to succeed in the corporate world.
• The mindset shift Black professionals need to make to have a healthier relationship with failure.
• How Black professionals tend to prioritize degrees over work relationships and why they need to change their focus to get ahead in the corporate world.
• The advantages of looking for sponsors and not just mentors to help elevate your career.
• Why we need to think of “difficult conversations” as “courageous conversations” and how to be more effective in having them.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How many of us would be happy knowing the high point of our career was that we were good at just getting through the day?

Unfortunately, that’s the reality leaders need to recognize as the focus of today’s leadership becomes less and less about achieving long-term goals and more about just putting out fires and ‘getting things done’.

While this certainly makes us look good from a day-to-day perspective, it also leaves us with little to point to as a true accomplishment and reflection of who we were and what we did as a leader.

No doubt this is why biographies and stories of successful leaders continue to capture our curiosity and imagination. After all, their leadership example is what we all aspire to be like – in our own way, of course.

But how we can be our own version of an exceptional leader when all we focus on are things that while urgent, are not important to achieving something lasting and meaningful? Something that changes things for the better, or at least opens the door for others to affect that kind of change

In this edition of my Leadership Espresso Shot series, I describe that one thing exceptional leaders never forget has to be at the forefront of everything they say and do.

It’s something that each and every one of us can make a part of our leadership focus, provided that we’re willing to make the effort of not letting the demands of our day-to-day dictate where we put that long-term focus. The lens through which we need to keep looking out through if we are to achieve something remarkable, something great.

So I hope you’ll take a short break from dealing with your day-to-day work tasks to listen to this episode, and gain inspiration for how you can be your own version of that exceptional leader your employees and team need you to be.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What do Uber, Apple, Netflix, and AirBnB share in common in terms of the successes they’ve achieved? According to my guest in this episode of my Leadership Biz Cafe podcast, what these and other successful companies share in common is that they’re all experience disruptors.

And he has a framework based on studies in consumer behaviour, behavioural psychology, and marketing analytics that can help any organization become their own version of an experience disruptor.

Allen Adamson is an expert in branding, experience creation, and innovation strategy. Over the course of his career, he’s worked as a marketing executive at Unilever, held senior management positions at iconic advertising firms, including Ogilvy & Mather and DMB&B, and has worked companies like Accenture, GE, FedEx, HBO, Marriott, MetLife, P&G, Sony, and Verizon.

He’s authored four books, and it’s his latest one, “Seeing the How: Achieving Market Advantage by Transforming the Stuff We Do, Not the Stuff We Buy”, that I wanted to talk with Allen about.

Over the course of this episode, Allen and I discuss:

• What is experience innovation and moving past our assumptions of what our customers want.
• Why a singular focus is the critical key to creating a successful consumer experience.
• How to use our company’s strengths to meet the unique expectations of our customer base.
• What kind of partnerships with other companies you should consider to strengthen the consumer experience you can offer.
• Why getting closer to your customer is less about proximity and more about bringing more empathy to your consumer experience.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The last few weeks of the year are an ideal time for self-reflection and review as on the one hand, there’s an understandable eagerness to plan and map out goals for the upcoming year.

But at the same time, it’s a perfect moment to take note of both the successes earned and lessons gained over the past 12 months.

It’s in the vein of the latter that I wanted to look back at the numerous conversations I had with my guests on my Leadership Biz Cafe podcast to select my favourite guest moments and insights from 2023.

To be sure, this wasn’t an easy task as I’ve had the privilege of speaking with some insightful and knowledgeable experts over these past 12 months.

Combing the perspectives of looking back and looking ahead, here are my favourite highlights from some of the conversations I had on my podcast in 2023:

• John Baldoni – Why great leaders take care of their employees by creating community and why grace is the how to making that happen.
• Adam Bryant – Why your ability to offer feedback and give recognition is key to your ability to make the leap to leader and why so many of us struggle with this form of communication.
• Tamara Sanderson – How leaders can address concerns over loneliness when offering remote work options, and what the shifting dynamics of relationships at work tell us about the future of work.
• Bertina Ceccarelli and Susanne Tedrick – What leaders should be doing to retain a diverse workforce during today’s uncertain economic conditions to ensure they can attract key talent needed to grow the organization when the economy roars back to life.
• James Burstall – How creativity can help leaders be better prepared for the next crisis by treating it as an opportunity for growth and not just a time to hunker down.
• Erika Andersen – What leaders need to do to make their organization more agile and responsive following a major change.

If you’re looking for some inspiration and guidance on how to be better prepared to address the challenges your organization will face in 2024, I want to encourage you to listen to this year-end retrospective episode, and to check out upcoming episodes of my podcast that we’ll be releasing in 2024.

My thanks to John, Adam, Tamara, Bertina, Susanne, James, and Erika for these insightful moments shared in this last episode of my podcast for 2023.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If I were to ask your employees if your organization is ready to navigate the next global crisis, what would they say?

As much as we’d like to think we’re prepared for whatever crisis comes our way, the pandemic and subsequent global supply chain crises clearly proved many organizations are vastly under-prepared to handle any kind of global crisis, let alone internal ones that risk upending our well-laid plans.

So what can leaders do? How can you ensure your organization will fare better when the next storm arrives at your doorstep?

In this episode of my “Leadership Biz Cafe” podcast, I spoke with a leader who not only successfully navigated his company through two major crises, but who’s developed a practical guide any leader can put into practice right now to help them prepare for the next crisis.

James Burstall is the CEO of Argonon, a major international TV production company based in London, with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Liverpool, and Glasgow. His company has produced a number of popular shows, including House Hunters International, Hidden Potential, Lost Treasures of Egypt, Attenborough and the Mammoth Grave, and The Masked Singer UK.

James has worked as an executive producer and producer-director for broadcasters all over the world, and has been featured in the Financial Times, Guardian, Variety, Deadline and Daily Telegraph to name a few.

I’ve invited James to join me on my podcast to talk about his book, “The Flexible Method: Prepare To Prosper In The Next Global Crisis”, which offers a practical guide for leaders based on James’ own experience, as well as the crisis management experience of several other successful leaders, on how to prepare for the next crisis that will inevitably arise.

Over the course of our conversation, James and I spoke about:

• The importance of calm and purposeful leadership and how to accomplish this during a crisis
• In times of crisis, what and how leaders should be communicating to their team
• How organizations can become more adaptable to external change while still holding true to their values
• How to use a crisis as an opportunity to tap into the collective creativity of your employees

If you want to make sure your organization is truly prepared for that next global crisis waiting just around the corner, make some in your day to listen and learn how this successful leader helped his organization to not just survive, but thrive under the pressures and fallout of two major global crises.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.