The Lead Up Podcast

In this episode of The LeadUp Podcast, Mike shares 8 ways how to create your high-performance team.

We have some major challenges in our workforce and recruiting efforts today. At some point, we must quit kicking the can down the road and implement the ideas we have been discussing for years. 

In these 8 steps, ask yourself where you are right now and where do you want to be at the end of 2022. Nothing will change until you have done this exercise. 

Here are the 8 steps to evaluate and then act on before we hit July. 

1. Culture—purpose, values, behaviors

    Recognize the importance of a leadership culture

2. Talent—Who, recruiting, interviewing, onboarding, and coaching 

     Build the team with the best talent

3. Accountability—coaching and measurable targets

    Enjoy the return of accountability 

4. Vision—can’t go if we cant see 

    Unleash the potential with a big vision 

5. Team building—Daily Rally 

     Require the power of teamwork

6. Development—monthly coaching, push meetings

7. Communication—who are you, who are they, and can you influence them. 

8. Productivity—daily compass tool to keep you on track to achieve daily goals.

Grab Mike's book Quit Losing Talent and call us to help you install a QLT Culture. 

On this episode of The Lead Up Podcast, Mike is joined by guest Jeff Atwood. Jeff grew up in a small town in Iowa and currently owns a small family farm just outside of Nashville. Jeff provides an insight into his past careers and how he worked in executive roles for multiple hospital companies and what those roles taught him about leadership. 

They discuss why the story of ‘you’ is so important today for leaders when it comes to leading and communicating with others. Jeff shares about how a lot of companies focus on metrics now but people crave authentic relationships and authentic leadership. He tells us that when we set the metrics aside and focus on the person and the relationship the metrics take care of themselves. Mike shares how research has shown that 94% of people say that they would stay with their current employer if they felt valued, developed, and treated like a human. 

They also talk about how the working environment is changing and Jeff shares how he feels it’s not about checking boxes to become successful anymore and suggests that the ideology of College is changing. He talks about why messaging is more important today than it’s ever been and how repeating the message can be super effective within the workplace as oftentimes the company mission can get put on the shelf. 

Jeff shares his best advice to leaders on how to effectively present the company message to their organizations and states that ensuring everyone is aware of and understands the purpose is key.

If you enjoyed and found value from this episode, make sure you leave us a review on the streaming platform of your choice and share it with a friend who could also benefit from this podcast.

You can find out more and contact Jeff through his website: https://www.jeffatwood.com/about.

You can get a copy of one of Jeff's books here.

In this episode of the LeadUp Podcast Mike shares how caring is a competitive advantage.

Mike is sharing 6 ways to help your team create a caring environment. These will help you to attract and retain talent.

Why you do the work that you do is a critical step in being happy because it fills a large part of your life. We should feel good at the end of the day about the work that we do. 

We are all leaders, we may not have the title, but we are always influencing others and having an impact on those around us. 

We are never just what we do..when we can connect to the why behind what we do, we create an energy advantage in our life and work. 

These steps will help you and your team to Quit Losing Talent. 

On this episode of The Lead Up Podcast, Mike is joined by Don Yeager. Don is a nationally acclaimed inspirational speaker, longtime Associate Editor of Sports Illustrated, and author of over 30 books.

Mike and Don talk about the importance of great leadership and how you can stand out as a leader.

Don shares how leadership matters and how great leaders are able to convince themselves and those they lead that every day is an opportunity for you to excel or for someone else to take that medal from you. He talks about his experience studying different organizations and how he came up with the sixteen things that high-performing organizations do differently. Don says that the best teams know who they serve and they know why it matters. They discuss how knowing your why is important, and that great teams thrive when they feel their why.

Don explains to us how great leaders make their teams feel like they’re really part of something bigger than themselves and shares some amazing insights that he has gained from working with teams over the years. Don points out how all the great leaders he’s worked with practice fourth-quarter thinking and operate in a ‘what if’ mindset so that they are prepared for critical situations. Amongst other amazing and knowledgeable insights, he shares how great teams allow culture to shape recruiting, and taking accountability for yourself and your team members will allow everyone to efficiently progress forward.

You can learn more about Don at www.donyaeger.com

Don’t forget to share this episode and other episodes you found helpful with the people in your life who can also benefit from this podcast. And leave a review on your favorite streaming platform – let us know what you think!

On this episode of The Lead Up Podcast, Mike shares 7 ways to create an unfair leadership advantage today! These 7 pieces of advice will help you attract better talent, and retain and develop the talent you already have so grab your pen and paper for this episode! 

The first performance-enhancing tip is to do more than what is expected of you as a leader. Mike shares how when he was growing up he didn’t have a lot of money but his Grandmother and Dad taught him to always give a little bit more and put in some extra effort even since he was mowing lawns and doing odds and ends jobs during his summers. Mike explains how today’s workforce needs its leaders to have consistent growth, leadership development, and performance development plans. 

The second is to be curious before you are creative and step into problems seeking to understand. Mike states that you can achieve this by doing the following four things:

Mike’s third way to create leadership advantages is to consistently do the following three things with your teams:

Number four is, to increase your chances of success while others sleep. Unfortunately, studies have shown that 70% of people don’t read another book after they finish their formal education. Mike encourages you to read, listen to podcasts, set goals, and communicate with your teams about how you are going to collectively achieve the company goals.

Mike’s fifth way to create an unfair leadership advantage is to always find the silver lining in everything. Mike speaks about how we live in a great world and every failure is a seed of opportunity – so seek them out! Mike states that there is no limit on where or who we can learn from. 

The second last piece of advice is to develop a power team. Mike states that we are only as good as the people we develop, equip and empower to lead in our absence. 

The final way for you to create an unfair leadership advantage and enhance your and your team's performance is to never tolerate negativity. Mike talks about how you need to protect your attitude and mindset like nothing else. Mike encourages you to take social media breaks to help clear your mind as well as only keep people who are real and optimistic around you.

Mike states that to achieve what others want you to have to do what others don’t! Apply these seven steps to your routine today and you will begin to see a development in your leadership skills. 

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On this episode of The LeadUp Podcast, Mike is joined by Dan Neufelder. Mike and Dan discuss all things leadership – what it means, how it is developed over the years, and why effective leadership is vital for the success and wellbeing of an organization and its teams. Dan shares how he has been in the healthcare field for 42 years and only recently retired from his day-to-day leadership.

Dan takes us through the most valuable lessons he learned from his years in leadership. He shares how he began his career in 1979 and leadership was quite hierarchal back then. Dan says there was little attention paid to concepts such as change management and employee and associate engagement. Speaking from experience he mentions how leadership is about the engagement of people and how crucial it is for leaders to understand what their teams aspire to do. Mike and Dan also talk about the shortage of healthcare professionals. Dan shares that the healthcare industry is 250,000 nurses short in the country.

Dan tells us how he became a good leader by learning from the mistakes he made early on in his career. He credits the coaches and mentors he has had over the years. Mike and Dan talk about the difference between coaches and mentors and why leaders absolutely need both throughout their careers.

If you enjoyed and found value in this episode, please be sure to share with a friend and subscribe so that you never miss a new episode. Also, leave a review on the streaming platform of your choice as it helps us grow and reach new audiences so that Mike can continue to share helpful tools and strategies. Thanks for listening!

Links and Contact Information:

Website: www.harbourresources.com 

Email: [email protected]

On this episode of the LeadUp podcast, Mike brings us through the three quotes he thinks will impact your leadership, and talks about how they impacted his leadership.

He talks about how he didn’t start out as a good public speaker and regularly failed his speech classes and that he wasn’t born a leader and neither is anyone else. Mike had to search for modeling and mentorship at the age of 23 and has continued on that journey for the next 30 years. 

The first quote which will impact your leadership is “what we are communicated far more eloquently than anything else we say or do” which is from one of Mike’s favorite books, 7 Habits of Highly Effective Leaders. Mike explains you can call yourself a leader but if you don’t have the skills needed to be a leader, that will communicate louder than anything you say. You need to develop and plant the seeds of leadership in others. 

Mike’s second quote is “when you were made a leader, you were not given a crown. You were given the responsibility to bring out the best in others.” Mike feels this is what he has tried to do with this podcast, also explaining how the people Mike leads are the real heroes. 

Mike’s final quote is “People may not remember what you say, but they will always remember how you made them feel.” This reminds Mike to always treat everyone he comes across with respect as that is what will last on people.

If you enjoyed this episode, please be sure to subscribe so you never miss a new episode, leave us a review, and let us know what you think of the podcast! Thanks for listening!

On this episode of the Lead Up Podcast, Mike is joined by David Marquette, a former submarine commander in the Navy, who shares his leadership style, and tells us about his new book.

David tells us about high school when he didn’t care about what people thought about him and how he brought that with him to the submarine. He cared deeply about the mission and the people on board, but he wasn’t worried about the next promotion or the next review, allowing him to be the best leader he could be. 

David talks about how he changed the structure of leadership around him. Leaders usually apply their authority to make decisions, although David decided to turn against the grain and shifted it so that he used his authority to structure an organizational design. 

Another change David brings under his leadership is the removal of jumping to the defense of an opinion. Naturally, you will want to defend yourself in a difference of opinion, but David teaches you to ask why first, which can be less confrontational. 

Mike asks what the biggest challenges are in creating a new culture of intent-based leadership, to which David answers we act our way to new thinking, we don’t think our way to new actions. A leader may have a vision of what he wants to see, but nothing changes until he begins to act on it. 

Finally, David tells us about his new book Leadership Is Language, which he wrote after feeling like he was programmed to speak a certain way. He encourages us to stop asking binary questions like “is the covid vaccine safe?” This should be replaced by “How safe is the covid vaccine?” You can buy the book online here.

To find out more about David you can check out his company Intent-Based Leadership. You can also find him on LinkedIn and on Twitter @ldavidmarquette. He also does some short leadership videos on YouTube under the channel name Leadership Nudges you can check out too!

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On this episode of the Lead Up Podcast, Mike shares 3 ways to improve your talent selection. Mike has conducted tens of thousands of interviews, and over his years of recruiting leaders for hospitals and owning his own recruiting company, he has come up with and developed these three ways you can improve your talent selection.

If you enjoyed this episode, please be sure to subscribe so you never miss a new episode, and be sure to leave a review so we can improve and grow to give you better content. Thanks for listening!

On this episode of the Lead Up Podcast, Mike talks to Sandy Stosz, a retired coast guard who served for 40 years, with 12 years on seas. Sandy talks about her experiences with leadership in the coast guard as a woman, and also about her new book Breaking Ice and Breaking Glass. 

After telling us about herself, Sandy explains the differences between the Coast Guard and the Navy and how the Coast Guard gave equal opportunities to women whereas the Navy did not when she was entering the field. 

Sandy commanded 2 ships in her time, one of which she led 75 crew and only one other woman. She talks about how she became a commander, providing a great story about how her boss told her she would be promoted if she stood on the bridge like John Wayne barking orders. She realized quickly she couldn’t be John Wayne so she decided to be Sandy, which worked as she got the promotion in the end. She also mentions how she can use her differences to her advantage and how being the only woman was normal to her. 

Mike asks Sandy about her biggest challenges and she explains that it wasn’t what you think. It was actually to do with funding from the government being insufficient, causing a failure to run critical programs and failure to support people properly.

When asked about what changes she implemented in the coast guard, she talks about how women brought a softer side of leadership with them, which was tough for those there previously to adapt to because it wasn't a common form of leadership. She tells us about how emotional intelligence is the key for a leader today, as well as her three P’s of power;

Creating a workplace culture of success and inclusion and helping your people achieve their version of success is also crucial for any leader

To learn more about Sandy, you can visit www.sandrastowes.com, where you can purchase her new book Breaking Ice and Breaking Glass. She also has a weekly blog in Homeland Security Today which you can sign up for and read every week.

If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe and leave us a review, and let us know what you think so we can improve and grow to become bigger and better. Thanks for listening!