The Look & Sound of Leadership

By Essential Communications - Tom Henschel

An ongoing series of Executive Coaching Tips designed to help you be perceived in the workplace the way you want to be perceived.... more

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How many episodes does The Look & Sound of Leadership have?

The podcast currently has 275 episodes available.

Best of The Look & Sound of Leadership

The most played episodes among Podcast App listeners.

Number 1: How to Deal with Difficult People
A highly effective leader finds herself in the middle of a terrible mess, not of her own making. When her coach marvels at her ability to stay calm amidst the chaos, she shares a lesson she learned from her dad. Tools and concepts in this episode: “People are doing their best” embodies acceptance, and acceptance creates better outcomes. Quiet cycles of doubt by:Clarify what exactly are you upset about;Identify what you feel about having those feelings;Decide what action you want to take.Listen to the stories you tell yourself. If you hear villains and victims, are most likely ascribing bad intent. Don’t make up stories that create adversaries. In addition to the tools discussed during this episode, Tom also talks about: “Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High.” Conversations with Coaches – Episode #184 Executive Coaching Special Interest Group The Feeling Word Grid This episode is tagged in three categories in the Podcast Library: Managing Yourself Perception – How You Perceive Yourself Self-Talk Five episodes to help you command a room: 109 - Building Emotional Intelligence 246 - Coaching versus Therapy 152 - Combating Emotional Hijacks 189 - “Don’t Take Anything Personally” 263 - Leading When Ego at the Top is Unchecked All our free infographics are in the Essential Tools bin. Your reviews supporting the show help us continue as an ad-free podcast. Let us know how we can support you. Until next month, be well! Thanks from Tom and The Look & Sound of Leadership team.
September 03, 202629min
Number 2: Overcoming the Barriers of Leadership
A chief officer reflects on the burdens of senior leadership. While grateful for its privileges, he’s keenly aware his title can put up barriers between himself and others. Typical burdens of leadership:People put up barriers because of your power;You are a public figure and will get judged, often harshly;You are always on display;Feeling entitled because of your heavy lifting. Tom suggests three tips to help you manage your power:Get conscious about your power;Share selectively;Be humble. Resources for humilty: Humility as Strength Humble Inquiry If you’re like Michelle and feel yourself being star struck in the face of corporate celebrity, these episodes might help: 252 - How to Build Self-Esteem 219 - How to Set Boundaries 241 - Conquering People Pleasing JOIN US FOR DINNER! Tuesday, September 1, 2026, Irvine, California. Join Tom and Coaching for Leaders host Dave Stachowiak for a lively gathering. Find out more and reserve your space here. Got questions? Shoot Tom an email here. Sign up for our monthly resources here. Want to explore Leadership & Power? Related Library Categories: Leadership Managing Yourself Perception – How You’re Perceived Related Episodes 189 - “Don’t Take Anything Personally” 128 - The Honorable Executive 252 - How to Build Self-Esteem 210 - How to Grow Your Self-Management 231 - Staying Afloat in a Shitstorm A transcript of this month’s episode is here. Thanks for being in touch! All of us here at The Look & Sound of Leadership are grateful for you!
August 06, 202621min
Number 3: How to Talk so People Understand You
A leader is losing credibility with her senior leaders. Her boss thinks she can turn it around by learning the sorting tool that transformed him as a communicator, so he brings in the coach who taught him. Sorting & Labeling! The grandaddy of all communication tools. If you can sort and label you will sound like a leader. The four steps in Sorting & Labeling:Use a headlineUse a numberLabel each numberTransition with clarity See it all for yourself in our free Sorting & Labeling infographic. To all women who work in social or environmental change: Women’s Impact Alliance wants to support you. Check out their website to see all they ways they can help you succeed. Coaches! Come join our Executive Coaching Special Interest Group. Check us out on the ICF-LA website. Categories of episodes that have more ways to help you talk so people understand you: Communication Skills Leading Teams Presentation Skills Five episodes that’ll speed you down the path: 106 - Communicating with Clarity 253 - How to Answer Questions Powerfully 65 - Sorting & Labeling 16 - Sounding Well-Spoken 20 - Staying on Track Curious about coaching for yourself? We offer a special program for listeners. Reach out to Tom here. Transcripts of this and every episode are available for free here. More resources are in our monthly email. Sign up here! Until next time! From The Look & Sound of Leadership team
April 03, 202524min
Number 4: Leading When Ego at the Top Is Unchecked
A chief officer is infuriated by the behavior of his egomaniacal CEO. With his coach, he explores how to be a healthy leader while reporting to a boss he doesn’t respect. Core concepts in this episode:Egomaniacs rattle our sense of self.They will not change.Worrying does not help.Be accountable for how you show up. Manage yourself.Don’t take anything personally. They’re just a piece on a chess board.Ask yourself: “Am I seeing this person clearly?” Don’t allow emotions to drive your actions.Ask yourself: “How do I want to show up?” You have choice about what you prioritize and how you react in the workplace. Resources mentioned in this episode: Crucial Conversations provides scripts and thoughts that will help you manage yourself when dealing with difficult people. Tom and host Dave Stachowiak discussed “How to Handle a Boss Who’s a Jerk” on this episode of Coaching for Leaders. Great tools if you have a challenging boss. Before sharing your reactions in the workplace, consider the politics around you. These two episodes will get you “Leading with Political Savvy” Parts 1 and 2. Each month, there are additional tools in our monthly email. If you’d like to explore Private Coaching, reach out to Tom. [email protected]. This episode is tagged in three categories in our podcast library: Managing Yourself Leadership Perception – How You Perceive Others RELATED EPISODES 239- 5 Strategies for Dealing with Narcissists 189 - “Don’t Take Anything Personally” 245- Giving Upward Feedback 114- Gravitas 133- The Narcissist Executive Thank you, thank you, thank you for your reviews! Wishing you a year of growth and development! From The Look & Sound of Leadership team, thank you so much for listening.
January 08, 202624min
Number 5: How to Motivate and Inspire
After a leader turns around the performance of one of his direct reports, he and his coach explore how it happened. And how to make it stick. Core ideas in the episode:Workplaces improve when positive feedback is presentOur natural human negative bias is a barrier to giving positive feedback.Learn to notice when things go well.Tell people how they are helping solve the puzzle that is work.Research says the most effective feedback ratio is 4-to-1, positive to developmental. Positive Feedback might sound like this:Recognize what’s going well – and be specificAppreciate how it’s helping solve the puzzleExpress your thanks Developmental Feedback might sound like this:Describe what happened – and be specificExplain how it affects the puzzle solving effortExpress your hope for a different outcome You can Sign-up for more resources and tools in our monthly email. If you’re thinking about coaching for yourself, or for someone on your team, let’s talk. [email protected]. This episode is tagged in three categories in our podcast library: Managing Yourself Perception – How You Perceive Others Relationship Building Related episodes to listen to are: 146 - Building Empathy 119 - Creating Devoted Followers 212 - How to Coach Your People 255 - How to Deepen Relationships at Work 260 - How to Guarantee Psychological Safety Thanks, as always, for your reviews! Until next time, thanks so much for listening. From The Look & Sound of Leadership team
November 06, 202521min