We’ve all seen the studies that have shown how a diverse workforce leads to better productivity, increased profits and market share, and greater creativity and innovation.But with so many positive outcomes related to diverse workforces, why are so many organizations failing to attract and retain a diversified workforce – including in the senior leadership ranks? What are we getting wrong and what should we be doing differently?According to my guests on this episode of my “Leadership Biz Cafe” podcast, Bertina Ceccarelli and Susanne Tedrick, the key is understanding how to use innovation principles to drive an organization’s DEI efforts.Bertina is the Chief Executive Officer of NPower, one of the most successful non-profits in North America committed to helping young adults and military-connected individuals launch tech careers. And Susanne is the author of "Women of Color in Tech" and a cloud computing technical trainer for Microsoft.Together, they co-authored the book “Innovating For Diversity – Lessons from Top Companies Achieving Business Success through Inclusivity”, which makes the compelling case for why diversity and innovation are not just interconnected, but how innovation can actually help organizations succeed in their DEI initiatives.Of course, to succeed in these efforts, we first have to get a better understanding of what these terms of diversity, equity and inclusion really mean.And I’m grateful to Bertina and Susanne for not only helping to bring clarity to this in our conversation, but for also providing practical advice for how leaders can succeed at creating a more diverse workplace that will not only benefit their organization, but also those their organization serves.No matter what you might think about diversity in today’s workplaces, I want to strongly encourage you to give this episode a listen as I’m sure some of what Bertina and Susanne share in this conversation will surprise you and definitely give you some food for thought.https://open.spotify.com/episode/47U7MrcuCKe7ktRhJplt0y?si=0b6b810c9af84b8dNoteworthy links:Buy Bertina and Susanne’s book “Innovating For Diversity” on Amazon.*Learn more about Bertina’s work - npower.orgLearn more about Susanne’s work - susannetedrick.com*sponsored link that helps to support this podcast. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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It seems like every day there’s another news report about a company’s decision to have their employees return to the office. Of course, if you’ve been following the leadership space for some time, this isn’t too surprising.After all, it was only a few years ago that organizations were limiting smartphone use in in the workplace to company-approved devices, only for their leaders to turn around and offer bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies to attract and retain employees.Of course, the current debate over when and where employees work is not likely to be resolved as quickly as the BYOD debate. Creating conditions that allow your employees to work whenever and wherever they want is not just about giving employees a choice.It also represents a disruption to how we understand the nature of work, not to mention changing many requirements for what will be needed to succeed at leadership in this new world of work.Seen from that vantage point, it’s not surprising to see such resistance from organizations to offering employees flexible work options. Though that doesn’t mean this resistance and desire to ‘go back to the way things were’ is a good thing – both for the present and future.That’s why in this episode of my “Leadership Espresso Shot” series, I share the story of Kodak and what a critical decision made by the organization’s top leadership can teach us about how leaders should be approaching the current debate over the future of work.Trust me when I say it’s a powerful lesson leaders and their organizations can’t afford to ignore … if they want to ensure their continued growth and success.https://open.spotify.com/episode/6PMGlGdt4tqVIOJPbGLhnO?si=faddeb2942bd42f3

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If there’s one challenge leaders everywhere share in common right now it’s how to ignite employee commitment. From the Great Resignation to quiet quitting, organizations have been grappling with how to motivate and retain employees who are critical to their long-term success and growth.Fortunately, my guest in this episode of my “Leadership Biz Cafe” podcast has discovered that there are three important keys that will ignite employee commitment and retention, three keys that every leader and every organization has the ability to employ … provided they’re willing to accept some realities about the new world of work.Joe Mull is a respected authority on what organizations need to do to drive commitment in the workplace. He’s written three books on this subject, including his latest “Employalty: How To Ignite Commitment and Keep Top Talent in the New Age of Work”, where he describes those three keys to igniting employee commitment.And as I told Joe during our conversation, one of them resonated strongly with me as it’s a common theme in many of my keynotes and workshops.So what are these three keys and how do leaders go about employing them? Well to find that out, you’ll have to listen to this episode. And I can tell you, some of them will definitely challenge many people’s thinking around issues like compensation and employee workload.But when you hear what Joe has to say about these topics, I know you’ll come to the same conclusion I did from reading his book that only those organizations that choose to embrace these changes will be the ones who succeed and thrive in the years ahead, while the laggards become this decade’s version of Blockbuster and Kodak.After giving this episode a listen, let me know which key resonated the most with you, and which one challenged you the most in terms of what you need to do to drive employee commitment and strengthen retention.https://open.spotify.com/episode/5q49VBdhE7ul5FPEMShbf1?si=529b7ef619ea4f0dNoteworthy links:Buy Joe Mull’s book “Employalty” on Amazon.*Learn more about Joe Mull’s work – joemull.com*sponsored link that helps to support this podcast. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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This might come as a surprise, but one of my favourite things about delivering a leadership keynote is the Q&A session I have afterwards. I love this part not only because it allows me to hear what key insights or ideas have taken hold with my audience, but also because sometimes the questions I get asked spur on new ideas I want to expand on and explore.For example, my TED talk “Forget Passion - Purpose is the Real Spice of Life” was inspired by a question I was asked after one of my keynotes where one of the attendees wanted to learn more about my own leadership journey and what inspired me to take that particular path.Recently, I delivered another in-person keynote and during the Q&A session I was asked yet another one of those thought-provoking questions whose answer was something I wanted to expand on and share.The question was from a leader who’d been working on becoming more comfortable with asking questions and after hearing my keynote he had a question he wanted to ask me.His question – “How do I encourage my employees to get better at asking questions, too?”It’s such a great question that, just like my TED talk, I wanted to share the ideas it gave rise to with those who weren’t present to hear my answer to this leader's question. And so, in this edition of my Leadership Espresso Shot series, I share four simple steps any leader can implement towards creating an environment where employees feel psychologically safe to ask any question that’s on their mind.https://open.spotify.com/episode/2hg6lmgAQaPEz2eP3IOkug?si=70e380f4c5504d08

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To offer remote work opportunities or not to offer remote work opportunities? If you look at the articles found in various business outlets these days, it would seem organizations are facing an existential crisis when it comes to how today’s workplaces should operate.At the heart of this debate is an on-going tug-of-war where leaders on the one hand worry about a loss in productivity and organizational culture, while employees on the other hand want the flexibility to decide when and where they do their work.But in our drive to figure out the future of work, are we focusing more on the symptoms rather than the root causes behind such issues as declining productivity, rising levels of loneliness, and diminished opportunities for career growth that are being linked to remote work?Thankfully, I’ve had the chance to speak to an expert – and seasoned remote leader – to help shine a light on what it really takes to make remote work, well, work and overcome those understandable concerns many leaders have.In addition to being a former Googler, Tamara Sanderson is the co-founder of Remote Works, an organizational design and consulting firm with a mission to liberate teams from the nine-to-five and teach them how to do their best work, anytime, anywhere.Along with her co-author, Ali Greene, Tamara has written a fantastic book called “Remote Works: Managing for Freedom, Flexibility, and Focus” that offers a clear blueprint to help leaders not only get better at leading remote teams, but details the systems and processes you need to have in place to help with onboarding new employees and strengthening your organization’s culture.And over the course of our conversation, Tamara shares a brilliant answer to my question about how should we address the loneliness issue in today’s organizations – whether your employees are working fully remote or in some hybrid work arrangement.If you’re struggling with how to adapt and transform your workplace to address the growing demands of employees for greater flexibility around the way they work, I strongly encourage you to make the time to give this episode a listen. It will give you a better handle on what you need to do to solve this issue in your workplace.https://open.spotify.com/episode/3sOY8opSN8yG5xY0Wh6a2z?si=cbfda8caba6d4586Noteworthy links:Buy Tamara Sanderson and Ali Greene’s book “Remote Works” on Amazon.*Learn more about Tamara Sanderson’s work: www.remoteworksbook.com.*sponsored link that helps to support this podcast. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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During periods of economic uncertainty, a common response from leaders is streamlining their operations and focusing on what they deem as being essential to their organization’s ability to ride out the storm.Unfortunately, one thing that often is considered in these moments to be a luxury is taking time off work to go on a vacation. At a time where we’re seeing rising levels of employee stress and burnout, there’s certainly an argument to be made for why leaders need to model for their employees the importance of self-care and taking time away from work to spend with their family.But the truth is there are other reasons why leaders should seriously consider making time to go on vacation this year. In this latest edition in my Leadership Espresso Shot series, I share three powerful benefits you get from going on vacation that will make you a better leader.I hope you’ll check it out and that it inspires you to start making plans to block off time in your calendar to take a vacation break from work.https://open.spotify.com/episode/2PNeLXSdP7J8UfQFiZKxQm?si=6d1cb980a70d4fa6

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During times of uncertainty, it’s natural for leaders to want to lean into their ‘best practices’; of sticking to what they know and what got them to where they are today. But is this really the smartest and best approach? Or should leaders instead “lean into risk” by embracing different mindsets and conducting experiments to help gain new information and insights?It’s the latter approach that my guest on this episode of Leadership Biz Cafe advocates for, especially if leaders and their employees are to become better problem solvers and innovators during times of uncertainty.Charles Conn is an investor, environmentalist, and entrepreneur.  He is co-founder of Monograph, a venture firm, the founding CEO of Ticketmaster-Citysearch, and was previously CEO of the Rhodes Trust in Oxford. Currently, he is the Chairman of the Board at Patagonia and sits on The Nature Conservancy European Council.Along with Robert McLean, he co-authored “Bulletproof Problem Solving: The One Skill That Changes Everything”. His latest book is “The Imperfectionists: Strategic Mindsets for Uncertain Times”, in which Charles makes the compelling case that there are six distinct, but critical mindsets leaders need to have if they are to become better problem solvers and innovators who embrace periods of uncertainty, while their competition hunkers down to hopefully wait out the storm.It's a fascinating discussion on leadership and uncertain times that not only challenges what many leaders are doing right now, but actually provides some clarity on leaders should be doing to not just how their organization endure periods of uncertainty, but thrive in spite of what’s going on around them.https://open.spotify.com/episode/5A8c5oqKN4Uu3cFbSxRi6J?si=cc67f34a68e74430Noteworthy links:Learn more about Charles at Monograph.Buy his book “The Imperfectionists” on Amazon.**sponsored link that helps to support this podcast. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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Over the past several weeks, I’ve had the pleasure of delivering keynotes to several audiences on a wide range of issues leaders are grappling with today – from how to better navigate the current turbulent waters of change, to how leaders can create impact in a fast evolving and transforming workplace.While the insights and advice I shared varied, what I enjoyed immensely – in addition to being on stage in front of a live audience – was the depth and breadth of conversations I had with the leaders in attendance around what I shared and in particular, with these new insights in mind, where do we go next.It was during one of these conversations with these many leaders that I was asked an intriguing question – which naturally lead to a fascinating discussion – about how leaders go about inspiring their employees to not just deliver on stated targets, but to go beyond them.At a time of rising employee stress and declining trust for those in charge, how do leaders inspire others to do more than just survive the day, but to thrive in spite of what’s going on around our organization and at times, within in?In this latest instalment of my Leadership Espresso Shot series, I share two important and powerful truths about leadership and inspiration. And I’m confident once you become aware of them, it will not only change your understanding of what it means to inspire others through your leadership, but of our collective capacity to do so.As I spoke about in a previous episode of Leadership Espresso Shot, leadership is hard and it’s meant to be. But I hope this episode will give you the drive and yes, inspiration to recognize what your employees require from you to not just succeed, but thrive under your care.https://open.spotify.com/episode/2bMqUSVUBKZuvHFoQUCiVq?si=f62c38e44dfa4c7a

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If there’s one certainty in leadership these days it’s that you better be comfortable leading through unending change. Key to your ability to succeed under such conditions is making sure you take care of your employees and also yourself, while also helping their organization prepare for the future. And according to my guest for this episode of the “Leadership Biz Cafe” podcast, John Baldoni, you have to do all of this with a firm sense of grace.John is a globally recognized executive coach, speaker, and author of 16 books that have been translated into ten languages.  He’s been recognized by Thinkers 360 and Global Gurus as one of the world’s top thought leaders on coaching. And he’s written more than 800 leadership columns for a variety of online publications including Forbes, Harvard Business Review and Inc.com.John and I have been mutual fans of each other’s work, but we’ve never had the chance to sit down and speak about leadership and the current challenges leaders face. That’s why when he released his latest book, “Grace Under Pressure – Leading Through Change and Crisis”, I knew this would be a perfect opportunity for us to meet up and talk about a subject we both care deeply about.And I can definitely say the conversation was worth the wait. I hope you’ll check it out and let me know what you think of some of the ideas John and I talked about in terms of what leaders should be doing to help their organizations not just succeed today, but be prepared for whatever’s to come in the future.https://open.spotify.com/episode/6VSJkeiUhl35yMlHkZCXwS?si=9dccab1d51824419Noteworthy links:Buy John’s book “Grace Under Pressure” on Amazon*. Learn more about John’s work on his website.*sponsored link that helps to support this podcast. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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There’s a lot of attention and efforts being put forth by organizations and their leaders to promote ‘greater collaboration’ in their workplaces.  This drive has lead some organizations to completely rework their office spaces in order to create “collaboration spaces” that would encourage the exchange and free-flow of ideas and thoughts.While it might be the case for some that this drive is an attempt to rationalize why leaders want more employees to return to the office, the bigger issue at play here is that mandating collaboration is not the same thing as empowering collaboration within the various teams in your organization. Indeed, what leaders should be putting greater focus on – especially as concerns continue to linger about the possibility of difficult economic times ahead – is how to engender and empower team cohesion at a time when an organization's workforce is being disrupted by both employees leaving and being laid off.That’s why in this latest edition of my Leadership Espresso Shot series, I explore three principles leaders in every industry and field should be employing to promote team harmony.At a time when things remain not only uncertain, but in flux thanks to issues as broad as a scarcity of workers to the burgeoning rise of AI, it’s becoming even more critical for leaders to ensure team cohesion no matter how often their team changes or will change in the months ahead.These three principles discussed in this episode of my leadership podcast will help you create conditions to ensure your team can weather any storm that crosses their path.https://open.spotify.com/episode/7A1H2RjwzEbZcpc1lTu9s6?si=1858843a62524689

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