MindsetGo iCommunicate Podcast

In this episode of ICommunicate, Company Founder Mark Altman is joined by fellow MindsetGo trainer Joseph Lyman to discuss the consequences that stem from a lack of commitment, how to recognize when people aren’t prepared or confident to give you commitment and how to get people to speak their truth.Segment 1: When somebody fails to follow through on a commitment, should we blame it on a lack of effort or is there something more to it? What goes through the mind of somebody who gives themselves permission to bail on a task or meeting? How can we discern between a breakdown in communication and an excuse?Segment 2:Even our most reliable and committed leaders have moments where they lack the self-awareness to be emotionally intelligent -- but how can they improve on that? When we fail to honor a commitment, how can we rebuild trust with the people we let down? Segment 3: Our internal motivation and values derive from our own perceptions; thus, it can be difficult to align our goals with those of another person’s whose goals and values differ from ours. In cases like this, where two people collaborating do not see eye-to-eye, how can both parties still make commitments, and both feel heard? How can leaders establish a culture of open communication around commitment? Segment 4: Telling our leaders that we will “try” rather than “do” a task assumes that failure is part of the plan, thus creating a preemptive excuse in case we fail to follow through. How can we ensure that, after giving somebody a task, that they are comfortable enough to tell us if there is a factor that they are uncertain about? How can a slight change in tone or word choice be enough to deter or open up a peer?

In this episode of ICommunicate, Mark Altman is joined by Ben Brearley, a Leadership Coach, Trainer, and Consultant with over 15 years of leadership experience. They discuss what it means to be a thoughtful leader, in addition to the challenges that may impede long lasting influence and change. Segment 1: When can a leader be certain that they’ve made a lasting, positive impact on the person that they’re coaching? Why is it so essential that coaches avoid using the righting reflex when problem solving with a colleague? Segment 2:It’s one thing to consider ourselves a thoughtful leader, but another to embody what that actually means. What does it mean to be a thoughtful leader? What does a “thoughtful” conversation look like between a leader and their team, and how can it lead to necessary reform in company culture? Segment 3: There’s a huge difference between “communicating” and “communicating with intent” that not all leaders recognize. Where does the motivation to continue learning come from, and how do we fuel other people? What are some leadership tools that we may be overlooking?Segment 4: It’s inevitable that leaders will find themselves in positions that no toolkit can fully prepare them for. In those moments, how can we adapt and find new solutions on our own? What is the tall poppy syndrome, and how can it affect the morale and performance of your team?

In this episode of ICommunicate, Mark Altman is joined by fellow MindsetGo trainer Joseph Lyman to discuss what it means to read people’s hearts and how understanding a person’s intentions and motivators sets a leader up to be in a better position to support and develop their growth.Segment 1: We all wish we could read somebody’s mind to dissect what their exact intentions are, but would the consequences be too much to bear? What’s the downside to quick-fix solutions regarding understanding somebody’s intentions, and how can it impact our confidence? What viable options do we have in a conversation that will allow us to uncover somebody’s motives in a non- threatening way?Segment 2:To be an effective leader and communicator, we have to distinguish when somebody is upset with us, personally, or if it’s their own circumstances. What ingredients of emotional intelligence do we need to consider before offering our advice or opinions to somebody in distress? Do emotions belong in the workplace? If so, why and when are they a valuable tool for communication.Segment 3: Are you aware of your behaviors that unintentionally impact your colleagues and peers negatively? If not, how can we identify those habits and gain a new awareness around how we subconsciously influence people?Segment 4: Oftentimes, the most important factors within a workplace are things that can’t be measured with an exact science, such as employee engagement and wellbeing. What aspects of an organization should be most important to us as leaders, and how can we prioritize those components within our team culture? What’s the value of collaborating on solutions, and why is it so important to be face-to-face with our colleagues when doing so?

In this episode of ICommunicate, Mark Altman, Founder of MindsetGo, is joined by Marlyn Feliciano, and they discuss how to shape team culture to promote vulnerability and collaboration without oversharing or crossing personal boundaries and how to hold people accountable in a constructive way, as opposed to making them feel guilty and embarrassed for their mistake?Segment 1: We’re more than leaders, we’re role models -- we should expect them to take our behavior to heart and hold us to our world. With that in mind, how can we shape our team culture to promote vulnerability and collaboration without oversharing or crossing personal boundaries? How can we turn around our workplace culture when people feel uncomfortable in that environment? Segment 2:When we’re not getting a productive response out of a coworker, a member of our team, or somebody that we’re trying to network with, the problem becomes managing our emotions and adapting to their preferred method of communication. How can we hold people accountable in a constructive way, as opposed to making them feel guilty and embarrassed for their mistake? Segment 3: Holding people accountable can be like walking around glass, given how difficult it is to avoid coming off as stern or demeaning. What strategies around mindset can we employ that will make delivering and receiving feedback feel as though it’s coming from a place of empathy? How can we be assertive by leading with curiosity, as opposed to leading with emotions? Segment 4: An underrated, but essential, habit of an effective leader is to employ proper selfcare -- we can’t expect other people to trust us until we first trust ourselves. How can we make ourselves aware of the value we add towards our team and the work we do? How can we create reasonable expectations for ourselves that promote self growth and empowerment?

When you are criticized, how does that feedback affect your thought process and your choice of response? In this episode of ICommunicate, Mark Altman, Founder of MindsetGo, discusses the Will Smith Oscar incident and how to respond before we react to effectively manage our emotions and model the right behaviors.Segment 1: One of the most difficult skills to develop is responding rather than reacting. What are some key awareness’s whenever we feel overwhelmed with our emotions? How can we develop the patience to think before we speak, even when we feel especially compelled to lash out?Segment 2:Far too often, we make blanket-statement value judgements, which simply aren’t true, before realizing how those remarks may be a trigger for people. What should we be asking ourselves before offering a potentially harmful opinion? What strategies can we utilize to manage our emotions?Segment 3: When we’re being criticized by someone, our first instinct in many cases is to defend or explain ourselves -- but is that the best course of action? What other strategies can we rely on in the heat of the moment so that we manage discourse in an acceptable and productive way? How can we reel ourselves in when we feel that our emotions are getting the best of us?Segment 4: Have you ever considered how tied to your goals you are? Are you able to incentivize and motivate yourself, or are you driven by consequences? What are the setbacks of a consequence-driven mindset, and how does that affect the relationship between leaders and their teams? How can value judgements impact our relationships and the way we communicate with people?

In this episode of ICommunicate, Mark Altman, Founder of MindsetGo, is joined by Susan MacConnell, a LinkedIn lead generation strategist and creator of The Client Connectorᵗᵐ method. Susan is also the president of Diversified Sales Solutions, which compliments her sales career that spans over 20 years. They discuss strategies to leverage LinkedIn to make a good first impression and simple content strategy ideas on how to secure meaningful connections.Segment 1: Being self-enterprising through LinkedIn or other social media outlets is something we know we should be doing, but it often feels like a daunting task. What kind of first impression should we be setting for potential connections? What strategies can we use so that we’re getting the most out of LinkedIn and the connections we’re making?Segment 2:We’re often under the impression that engaging over messaging takes an incredible amount of skill -- but all it really takes are a few engaging questions. What strategy should we be entering conversations with over LinkedIn messages that will engage our connections? At what point during the conversation have we earned the right to sell our product or service?Segment 3: With LinkedIn, we only have one opportunity to make or break a potential connection -- so we better make sure we’re making the best first impression that we can. How can we gauge what the best approach is for a potential connection based on their profile and our toolkit? What parts of our LinkedIn profile should we prioritize when editing our page?Segment 4: We should be viewing our LinkedIn as a reflection of ourselves and our assets, creating a sales pitch all in one spot. How should we organize our profile to effectively build credibility and advertise our skill set in an engaging and seamless way? How can we create opportunities for interaction that don’t feel agenda-driven?

In this episode of ICommunicate, Mark Altman, Founder of MindsetGo, discusses three level of self-awareness around setting and managing boundaries, the importance of avoiding the righting reflex, and creating rules of engagement for your team and company culture.Segment 1: The most difficult part of preventing somebody from crossing a boundary is understanding the root cause of why they did so. How do we identify, for ourselves and for others, when a boundary is being crossed? What are the three levels of self-awareness and how do we apply them when we suspect that a boundary has been crossed?Segment 2:When approaching conversations around crossing boundaries, we get so hung up on potential negative outcomes, that we feel there’s no chance the conversation can be productive. Why should we still allow ourselves the opportunity to have these discussions, even if we think they’re futile? How can we understand the intent behind somebody’s decision to cross a boundary? Segment 3: Throughout our lives, authority figures have told us what we’re doing wrong and why it’s wrong -- far too often, there’s no room for dialogue. How can we, as effective and inspiring leaders, allow the floor to our employees in a way that is productive for both parties? What’s the difference between an assessment and an assertion, and how can they impact your ability to set the tone for a conversation?Segment 4: When somebody has crossed a boundary, we often see it as a one-sided problem. In fact, there are ways to turn the conversation so that both parties walk away satisfied with a fresh, valuable understanding of the issue. What is A-Prep, and how can it be an extremely valuable tool in garnering understanding from the person you’re talking to? Why are we so afraid to ask other people what they want and need from us?

In this episode of ICommunicate, Tracy Burns, CEO of Northeast Human Resources Association (NEHRA), joins Kyrah Altman, Chill Officer of LEAD to discuss how to promote an environment that inspires vulnerability and collaboration as well as manage an employee’s recovery for setbacks like burnout and indecisiveness. In 2017, Tracy was featured in Boston Business Journal’s series “Women of Influence”. A sought-after expert in “all things HR”, Tracy is often quoted in local and national media outlets and has been featured on various industry-related podcasts, including The Hennessy Report and HR Rebooted.Segment 1: With workplaces needing to adapt to changing Covid policies, HR leaders have the opportunity to guide employees through difficult times. How can HR dissipate the fear of employees and feed into a transparent culture? What resources and tools can we offer employees to prevent burnout and increase engagement?Segment 2:In HR, it’s essential that we avoid blanket solutions for problems, and instead treat every employee as independent. How can we ensure that employees feel comfortable collaborating with HR on solutions to their problems? How can leaders help their team recover from burnout?Segment 3: With awareness of workplace culture and ethics increasing over the past few years, the job market is shifting in a way that allows employees more leverage. What’s the power in changing the language we use in our company culture, and how can that improve attitudes in the workplace? Why is it significant, now more than ever, that we allow employees the right to make mistakes?Segment 4: We’ve witnessed an unprecedented uptick in people questioning their satisfaction in the workplace. It’s time for leaders to help their teams find out what decisions are best for them. How can we motivate employees to feel as though they are making a significant contribution to the company as well as their own wellness? What behaviors should we be modeling to improve company culture?

When leaders go into problem-solve mode with quick-fix solutions, they often end up solving the wrong problem. In this episode of ICommunicate, Founder of MindsetGo, Mark Altman, addresses how leaders can stop enabling and start empowering their teams to develop essential problem solving skills.Segment 1: When we’re upset about a circumstance that we feel is out of our control, the last thing we want to hear from somebody is how our misfortune is actually an unrealized advantage. However, that might just be the case. How can we adjust to an advantage mindset? How can we grow and truly see the benefit of mistakes?Segment 2:What’s the three-step formula to giving feedback that will empower and motivate your employees? What do our past experiences and downfalls have to do with how we support our team while they overcome their own problems?Segment 3: Far too often, we find ourselves blaming other people or circumstances for our own problems. How can a little self-reflection open our eyes to what’s really going on when we get upset over something? How can you empathize with somebody without agreeing with them, and how can that be a powerful tool of influence?Segment 4: One of the biggest compliments you can receive as a leader is when a team member feels comfortable sharing a grievance with you. What practices can we adopt to get to that point with our teams? How can we dismantle the illusion of a workplace hierarchy within an employee so that they feel comfortable being vulnerable with their leaders?

In this episode of ICommunicate, Founder of MindsetGo, Mark Altman, discusses why leaders waste so much time having repeat performance conversations and how to problem solve while developing a team of critical thinkers. Listen and learn how to motivate people to change habits through cooperation and not compliance.Segment 1: When pushing for change in company culture, it’s essential that we’re able to influence other people by helping them recognize the need for change. How do we get cooperation from our team instead of just compliance, and why is it important to distinguish between the two? How can we inspire our team to want change, as opposed to it feeling forced upon them?Segment 2:The standard power dynamic in any workplace is: boss tells employee what to do, employee follows through -- but is that the optimal form of leadership? How do we shift the workplace culture in a way that promotes psychological safety and empowers our teams to speak up? What does it mean to be victimized, and why is it becoming an increasingly relevant topic?Segment 3: A key attribute that optimal leaders should strive for is the ability to empower employees enough to where they feel comfortable problem solving on their own. How can we frame feedback with our teams in a way that gives them the room to think critically? How can “asking for permission to help” in a situation give your employees the fuel that they need to advocate for themselves?Segment 4: What leaders often fail to recognize is that when their employees ask them for help, it’s because they’re striving for perfection. How do we construct conversations with employees to instill confidence as well as empowerment in them? How should we react to employees when they deflect a request of ours with excuses?