Let’s just go ahead and get right down to it: your team at work is not your family, and believing otherwise will lead you down a disastrous path. 

 It makes sense that people often compare the two because a cohesive family and team both operate in similar ways. However, how many functional families do you actually know? The two differ quite clearly when it comes to their purpose. This makes for completely different power dynamics and interpersonal challenges. 

 A good, kind, leader knows when, where, and how to draw the line and set the appropriate boundaries. These can be complex situations to manage and is why leaders have a tendency to confuse their teams with their families. We’re all fallible, mistake-making human beings, so it’s completely understandable!

 Tune in today for practical tips on how to navigate these different dynamics, what warning signs to look out for and how to (mostly) leave your family baggage at home, and out of the workplace.

(note: this classic episode was originally released on September 5, 2022. If you enjoyed it, explore the complete podcast archives!)  

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To listen to more episodes, head to kindleadershipchallenge.com!

Ready to Take Today's Challenge, but not sure where to start? Download the free Next Steps Checklist!

Want a likeminded community of leaders who'll have your back through thick and thin? Learn more about the Kind Leadership Guild.

You know how there are a few leadership sayings that have become overused almost to the point of cliché? “You can’t pour from an empty cup” is one of those for me. But then something struck me. Is there a difference between an empty cup and a cracked cup, and what are some things we can to heal the latter?

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Resources Mentioned
How My Cardiologist taught me about Kind Leadership (Challenge #2)

Related Episodes:
What if there's still too much to do? (Challenge #52)
When's the Last Time You Asked for Help? (Challenge #50)
How to Delegate--for Real! (Challenge #45)
Kind Leadership Secrets for Keeping your Cool (Kind Leadership Challenge 20)

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To listen to more episodes, head to kindleadershipchallenge.com!

Ready to Take Today's Challenge, but not sure where to start? Download the free Next Steps Checklist!

Want a likeminded community of leaders who'll have your back through thick and thin? Learn more about the Kind Leadership Guild.

As you're about to hear, I’ve got a lot going on, which my YOLO side always loves, but only up to a certain point. In the past, seasons like this have brought on overwork, or even outright burnout. I plan to use the three core skills of kind leadership to manage my stress over the next couple months, and stay balanced even when things are a little crazy. Keep listening to pick up some tips for your next busy season.
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Resources Mentioned in this episode:
Kind Leadership Comes Back Around: A Pop Culture Parable (Challenge #58)

Related Episodes:
How to Cure Your End-of-Year Burnout (Kind Leadership Challenge 16)
In Praise of "Quiet Quitting" (Challenge #36)
How To (Finally!) Tackle Your To-Do List (Challenge #51)
What if there's still too much to do? (Challenge #52)

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To listen to more episodes, head to kindleadershipchallenge.com!

Ready to Take Today's Challenge, but not sure where to start? Download the free Next Steps Checklist!

Want a likeminded community of leaders who'll have your back through thick and thin? Learn more about the Kind Leadership Guild.

I talk a lot about setting and maintaining strong boundaries on this podcast. That’s for a simple reason. Many principled leaders, your host included, suck at boundaries. However, too much of any good thing leads to its own problems. So today we’re going to explore the contradictory concept of empowered vulnerability, and how admitting a weakness from a position of strength is necessary to solve the stickiest leadership problems.
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Related Episodes:

The Godfather’s Guide to Saying No—Kindly! (Challenge #46)
In Praise of "Quiet Quitting" (Challenge #36)
Your Team Is NOT Your Family (Challenge #31)
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To listen to more episodes, head to kindleadershipchallenge.com!

Ready to Take Today's Challenge, but not sure where to start? Download the free Next Steps Checklist!

Want a likeminded community of leaders who'll have your back through thick and thin? Learn more about the Kind Leadership Guild.

As long time listeners know, the Kind Leadership Challenge isn’t my only podcast. I also co-host Zilch! A Monkees Podcast.  On the surface, Zilch! and the Kind Leadership Challenge are as different as two podcasts can be.  And yet...each podcast has informed how I approach the other, in ways both obvious and subtle. And that was especially true this week, when I saw an interview that hammered home the cool and unexpected ways that kind leadership can often come back around to you.
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Resources Discussed
Micky Dolenz and Jimmy Fallon: The Full Interview
See Micky Live this Spring!
Pre-Order Micky's Book, I'm Told I Had a Good Time
Zilch! A Monkees Podcast
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Related Episodes
What are your Leadership Values? (Kind Leadership Challenge #12)
How to Make Networking "Comfortably Uncomfortable" (Challenge #28)
When's the Last Time You Asked for Help? (Challenge #50)

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To listen to more episodes, head to kindleadershipchallenge.com!

Ready to Take Today's Challenge, but not sure where to start? Download the free Next Steps Checklist!

Want a likeminded community of leaders who'll have your back through thick and thin? Learn more about the Kind Leadership Guild.

When I was on a recent coaching call, my prospective client and I got onto the topic of Psychological Safety. It’s a theory that this person really resonates with, and I find it interesting as well. After we geeked out a bit, they mentioned that many of their colleagues had either never heard of the concept, or didn’t really understand what actions they could take to create a psychologically safe team culture. And in that moment, I realized that if those colleagues were a bit confused about the whole psychological safety thing, then some of you might be too. So let’s clear up some misconceptions and figure out how psychological safety can be used to heal a dysfunctional team culture.
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Resources Discussed
What Is Psychological Safety?
Psychological Safety Team Survey
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Related Episodes
First Principles February: How Kind Leadership Can Change the World (Challenge #56)
Who Will Tell You When You’re Being an Idiot? (Challenge #49)
Did You Tell Them what the Meeting's About? (Challenge #37)
Your team is NOT Your Family (Challenge #31)

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To listen to more episodes, head to kindleadershipchallenge.com!

Ready to Take Today's Challenge, but not sure where to start? Download the free Next Steps Checklist!

Want a likeminded community of leaders who'll have your back through thick and thin? Learn more about the Kind Leadership Guild.

Talk about a convenient coincidence! As I was starting to write this final episode of First Principles February, I got a notification from Facebook. The group chat function for the Kind Leadership Challenge community was finally activated! As soon as I got it turned on and invited all 1200 members of our community to start discussing their leadership challenges in real time, it hit me. The third skill of kind leadership is creating collaboratively, where leaders learn to let go of some control, start to trust, and in so doing move toward their organization’s shared vision of a better world. And when it comes to my vision for the Kind Leadership Guild I already have an inkling that our new community features will allow us to do just that.

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Resources:
Download the Kind Leadership Framework

First Principles of Kind Leadership:
Part 1: What Is Kind Leadership? (Challenge #53)
Part 2: How Can Kindness Make You a Confident Leader? (Challenge #54)
Part 3: How can Kindness Create a Resilient Organization? (Challenge #55)
Part 4: How does Kind Leadership Build a Better World? (Challenge #56)

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To listen to more episodes, head to kindleadershipchallenge.com!

Ready to Take Today's Challenge, but not sure where to start? Download the free Next Steps Checklist!

Want a likeminded community of leaders who'll have your back through thick and thin? Learn more about the Kind Leadership Guild.

Welcome back to First Principles February!  This week is all about the second skill of kind leadership, managing effectively.

As I discussed in episodes 53 and 54, Kind Leadership is ultimately about making decisions that heal, and healing decisions are easiest to make when you are confident in yourself, your values, and in your understanding of the underlying problem.

However, generally your organization is more than 1 decision away from the better world you are trying to build. In addition, the problems that stand in the way can feel much to large and complex for your limited time, money, information, and political capital.

That’s where managing effectively comes in. This skill is all about developing repeatable decisions in the form of systems and processes that will begin shifting your institution from unsustainable dysfunction to organizational excellence.

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Resources:
Download the Kind Leadership Framework

First Principles of Kind Leadership:
Part 1: What Is Kind Leadership? (Challenge #53)
Part 2: How Can Kindness Make You a Confident Leader? (Challenge #54)
Part 3: How can Kindness Create a Resilient Organization? (Challenge #55)
Part 4: How does Kind Leadership Build a Better World? (Challenge #56)

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To listen to more episodes, head to kindleadershipchallenge.com!

Ready to Take Today's Challenge, but not sure where to start? Download the free Next Steps Checklist!

Want a likeminded community of leaders who'll have your back through thick and thin? Learn more about the Kind Leadership Guild.

Welcome back to First Principles February! To celebrate the first anniversary of the kind leadership challenge and all the amazing growth we’ve experienced over the past year, I’m releasing a 4 part series on the basics of Kind leadership.

In week 2 of this mini-course, we’re focusing on the first of the three core skills of kind leadership, growing humanely. As I discussed last time in Challenge 53, Kind Leadership is ultimately about making decisions that heal.

That means your skill as a decisionmaker will determine how successfully you can build a better world without burning out yourself or those you lead and serve. Therefore, the first skill needed for kind leadership is learning how to be a kind leader to yourself.

By learning how to grow humanely, you can create a firm foundation of kindness that will serve you well in the storms of leadership and life.
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Resources:
Download the Kind Leadership Framework

First Principles of Kind Leadership:
Part 1: What Is Kind Leadership? (Challenge #53)
Part 2: How Can Kindness Make You a Confident Leader? (Challenge #54)
Part 3: How can Kindness Create a Resilient Organization? (Challenge #55)
Part 4: How does Kind Leadership Build a Better World? (Challenge #56)

~~~
To listen to more episodes, head to kindleadershipchallenge.com!

Ready to Take Today's Challenge, but not sure where to start? Download the free Next Steps Checklist!

Want a likeminded community of leaders who'll have your back through thick and thin? Learn more about the Kind Leadership Guild.

Greetings Kind Leaders and welcome to First Principles February! A little over a year ago, on February 1, 2022, I launched the kind leadership challenge podcast. To mark this anniversary month, we’re going back to the first principles of Kind Leadership in a four part mini-course that will teach you how you can impement the kind leadership framework to build a better world. And we're kicking off with the most common question I get when I talk about this show:

"What is Kind Leadership?"

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Resources:
Download the Kind Leadership Framework

First Principles of Kind Leadership:
Part 1: What Is Kind Leadership? (Challenge #53)
Part 2: How Can Kindness Make You a Confident Leader? (Challenge #54)
Part 3: How can Kindness Create a Resilient Organization? (Challenge #55)
Part 4: How does Kind Leadership Build a Better World? (Challenge #56)

~~~
To listen to more episodes, head to kindleadershipchallenge.com!

Ready to Take Today's Challenge, but not sure where to start? Download the free Next Steps Checklist!

Want a likeminded community of leaders who'll have your back through thick and thin? Learn more about the Kind Leadership Guild.