Brine Hamilton is an example of someone who does not wait for position or power to have an impact. Yes, he has spent his career in the industry starting as a front-line guard and now a Healthcare Specialist and consultant. But he decided that the voices in the industry carried so many interesting stories and learnings that he launched a podcast that is now reaching hundreds of people. We sat down with him to learn more about what drives him and what he has learned.

Talking about leadership is one thing. Creating an empowered, engaged workforce and a leadership culture is another. There is every reason to believe that this should rise to a level of urgency when you speak with Daniel Edds, a researcher, practitioner, and thought leader in reinventing and innovating leadership for the 21st Century.

One of the first things we address is what George Clifton the CEO of Gallup states: "The American leadership philosophy simply doesn't work anymore".  We naturally want to know why it does not work and what should take its place.

Dan has written a book on the subject: "The Genetics of Leadership: Cracking the Code of Sustainable Excellence“. It provides case studies and results of personal interviews with experts such as General Barry McCaffrey, 4-star general and Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy for President Clinton.

You will want to hear what the general said about leadership. It might just change the way you lead.

The core mission of Human Resources is focused on organizational strength: how an organization activates its purpose and mission by attracting the right people, integrating them into the operational processes, and sustaining a high level of engagement over time.

We turned to the Assistant Vice President of Total Talent Management at the University of Washington, Ujima Donalson, to help us understand what that looks like. Ujima first asked two questions before she assumed the role: “What are our strengths and how can we crank that up a notch? How do we move from excellent to premier?”

And now she has become an articulate and inspiring advocate for the university’s stakeholders.

This has become even more important during the era of the pandemic: not just the virus, but, according to Ujima, the pandemic of economic disparity and racial injustice. Now more than ever, leaders must come to terms with the fact that “Their next will become our next.”

Words are real things. They shape our world. Security Leaders do not often talk about their employees as customers who deserve an exceptional experience from their services and the technology that facilitates those services. Words like convenience, frictionless, and delightful experience are not often associated with security. Which is why it is an excellent market for digital transformation. If Security is focused purely on keeping the bad guys out, it gets disconnected from the rest of the workplace/building experience that customers are looking for. Security and Convenience have been inversely related to each other - does that always need to be the case? Can we challenge that assumption and create "high security AND frictionless" access experiences?

We wanted to meet up with someone who has lived through the disruption of other markets and found Saurabh Bajaj, the CEO and Founder of Swiftlane. Saurabh’s long tenure with companies like Instagram, Facebook, and Lyft gives him a unique perspective on how to best disrupt an established industry. It wasn’t too long ago that he was leading a team at Lyft exploring the advancement of the driverless car, before developing Swiftlane’s touchless access control and video intercom solutions.

Swiftlane’s story has attracted investment capital because of the rapid intersection of computer vision and audio providing the context for creating a positive, delightful physical security and identity experience. Saurabh began exploring this with his Silicon Valley contacts and their security teams before creating the investment value proposition that started Swiftlane. 

How do you become whole while you are becoming a successful leader of a business?

To be whole, you must know who you are, what your purpose is, and how you show up authentically within your chosen pursuits.

Authenticity infers trust.

One you have authenticity; how does it inform your actions and your mindset? Optimization implies you have the right people in the right roles, doing the right things in a measurable process using tools. (or technology) Authenticity requires empathy, humility, and discernment.

We turned to a business that helps owners of dental practices begin this journey to their authentic and productive leadership role transforming their practice into a business. And we quickly realized the principles apply to business owners across all markets.

Regan Robertson is the President & Chief Marketing Officer for Productive Dentist Academy. As an award-winning marketing professional, she is driven to help business owners communicate their vision so they can capture the market share they deserve.

We took a virtual ride up north from Seattle to sit by a virtual fire outdoors in the woods near Puget Sound. It was a camp that is used for corporate retreats and much more. Over 350 organizations visit Warm Beach Camp and Conference Center in Washington State every year. We wanted to know its secret sauce for creating the context for profound organizational change and innovation that for many, is repeated year after year.

We had a conversation with Ed McDowell, the Executive Director, to get his insights into why this venue has prospered, what he has learned, and how he is growing to meet the needs of our time.

Located just one hour north of Seattle Warm Beach offers year-round camp, conference, and retreat rental facilities and has programs for youth, families, and adults. Serving greater Puget Sound since 1956, Warm Beach Camp provides rental facilities and event planning services for church, school, non-profit, and governmental groups throughout the Pacific Northwest and the lower mainland of British Columbia, Canada.

“People need hope and purpose to sustain what they are doing in life”, Ed says. “The combination of camps, retreats, conferences and consulting provides a rich platform for me to help people sustain hope and purpose in their lives. My faith informs my purpose.”

Kim Quaintance is the co-founder of two unique companies, ‘IQ Gemini’ and ‘Move to Think’  focused on personal development, organizational engagement, and the digital transformation of both.

Our conversation starts with a huge source of human suffering: feeling disconnected from your work. If your employees experience this it builds pressure in the systems of your company eventually causing cracks that create uncertainty, doubt, and fear. With Covid amplifying these pressures, we must begin the journey of reinventing our dialogue and discovering the lost art of play in imagining our future.

We have all been through some form of personal development. One of the courses I took was the Clifton Strengths Finder that later was purchased by Gallop. I read the original book, took the assessment, and, later, as a parent, experienced my kids doing the same. But you know the drill. The path to value is littered with good intentions without a persistent practice of discipline in achieving your goals. 

Because of this, I would later ‘rediscover’ Strengths Finder through a course taught by Brandon Miller of 34Strong right before the lockdown in 2020. I also recently noticed that Brandon has recently co-authored a book with his wife called ‘Incredible Parent’ and I asked him into a Great Conversation to help me connect great parenting with great leaders.

When a Security Executive tells me he is reading a book on Disney (Be our Guest), Kahneman's Think Fast and Slow,  and a book on rebels at work, I sit up and listen. Clearly this is not your Father's security program.

Brian Uridge, Deputy Director of the Department of Public Safety and Security for the University of Michigan, sat with me in the middle of the chaos of 2020 to talk about his unique approach to people, process, and technology. 

He discusses his development as a leader and how it reframed how he looked at his mission. Through Brian, we look at our unique ability to honestly see ourselves and our unique contribution in a new way. And, perhaps, a more creative way in which to govern ourselves as well. 

Mark Reid, Director of Security and Safety for Seattle Pacific University, recounts the tale of two fires that occurred on and near his campus. He shares transparently the lessons learned on preparedness, the right tools, and the inherent risks that must be considered to ensure the safety of his campus. 

To Mark, security should be measured in seconds, not minutes. And through his stories, you can see why. You will also get a keen sense of how he has leveraged the culture of his university and its people to ensure their safety and the viability of their education.