The Leadership Shot

Unless you’ve lived under a rock and in a cave and been there for a long time, you’ve heard of SMART goals.

It sounds so simple, right? Using the acronym SMART to write great goals. But I think you know that an easy-to-remember acronym doesn’t write the goals for you. 

I think it can be easier to write SMART goals, and if you’re like most of the leaders I know, you need some help with this. 

So, join me as we dive into SMART goals. You need just 15 minutes to get started.

In this episode, I’m going to bust some common myths on goal setting. There are 5 common myths about goals I want to discuss. These are things I feel many leaders believe in falsely, and it holds them and their teams back.

If you led a team or function during the pandemic, you used some skills new to you, and you had to double down on other skills you had been using for a while.

As I coached leaders during the pandemic, I noted the behaviors strong leaders were falling back on—and those they were developing anew. These leaders juggled remote work, masking on and masking off, and being resilient, and they managed their fears and struggles during the pandemic. 

There are some things that strong post-pandemic leaders do—and other leaders fail to master.

In this episode, I share how you need to behave as a post-pandemic leader. This information will help you as you move forward in 2023 and beyond. 

Let's admit it: the term psychological safety can make you groan or roll your eyes. Leaders know they have to learn about it, but it seems too hard to understand what it is and how to implement it--without reading a long book or taking a class.

I'm making it easy for you! In this episode, I interview Minette Norman, one of the authors of the new book, The Psychological Safety Playbook. 

Minette shares quick ideas for leaders, teams, and those without a formal title: ideas on how to use psychological safety.

This episode is longer than usual, and it's worth 20 minutes of your time. 

Has it been three years since the pandemic started? It's crazy but true. 

What's changed for you during the last three years? How have you grown as a leader?

I've continued to coach executives and teams during the last three crazy years, and in this episode, I share post-pandemic leadership lessons. 

I've collected a list of what I feel leaders have done differently: the best practices you need to know about. I also discuss the mistakes leaders are still making, pandemic or not. You'll want to hear that, so you can avoid these mistakes, ones that cost you time and money and lower employee engagement.

In my 25 years of coaching executives, I've learned there are some common tough love conversations they don't want to have. 

I wonder if you might also struggle with these discussions. You know you need to have them, but they are awkward and difficult. Primarily because you love some element of what you're talking about: the topic, the project, the person, the company, etc. You love what you do, and you don't want to disappoint anyone. 

But leaders often find themselves in situations where they need to speak straight about something, and it hurts them to do so. I'll help you figure this out!

This episode is bit different than my usual ones, and that's a GREAT thing because for my first interview on this podcast, I spoke with Amy Porterfield.

Amy Porterfield is the host of the top-ranked podcast "Online Marketing Made Easy." She's also the author of the new book, Two Weeks Notice: Find the Courage to Quit Your Job, Make More Money, Work Where You Want, and Change the World.

Her book was released on February 21, 2023, and you can learn more and order a copy at https://twoweeksnoticebook.com. 

Amy and I talked about leadership, emotional intelligence, and her journey as an entrepreneur. 

Amy's built a seven-figure business and in her book, she says how she gave . . . you guessed it: Two weeks notice! Her story will inspire you. 

I'm thrilled to share this interview with you. 

Do you want an easy way to assess your leadership? Or to plan your leadership to look back at a certain time period--such as a quarter or a whole year?

Well, I've got you covered because in this episode, I'm going to walk you through three exercises to help you plan to be a better leader.

We're going to talk about your skills, your hard and soft skills. We're going to talk about stakeholders, and we're going to talk about your strategic and behavioral accomplishments. It's going to be under 15 minutes. Take the time now to plan to be an awesome leader.

Do you ever look at your calendar and sigh as you see the same weekly status meeting that could be an email instead? Or maybe you look at it and smile, thinking about the meeting with a high performer and how you love coaching them. Well, your calendar not only helps you plan your work and tells you which conference room or the Zoom link, but it can also be a tool to help you grow your self-awareness as a leader.

Self-awareness is a vital part of emotional intelligence, otherwise known as EQ. Developing your EQ can make your life and work easier. Really.

And your calendar is a great way to help you learn how to become more self-aware.

So, get out your calendar and green, yellow, and red markers, as I’m going to guide you through how to raise your self-awareness fast!

I love and hate the idea of New Year’s Resolution. I bet you feel the same way.

It’s so easy to get wrapped up in the energy of the new year and then get frustrated.

Whether you write resolutions or not, there are some common myths out there--statements that can put pressure on you as you start a new calendar year.

When you think about creating resolutions, I want to help you avoid falling into some traps about what the new year means for you as a leader.

So, let’s bust 5 typical new year’s resolutions myths.