Joel is the co-founder and CEO of VSCO, a photography app and creative channel used around the world. Joel developed a passion for photography in college and never imagined it would lead developing and overseeing a multimillion dollar company. Joel has intentionally worked to build his leadership capacity and we thoroughly enjoyed talking with him; we know you will too!

Leadership Lesson:

Consider leadership icons in your life. How have they inspired and challenged your own leadership?

It is rarely ever easy to lead and often times getting critical feedback is essential not only to the success of your vision, but also to our own leadership growth and development. What is one area of your leadership that you may need to receive some honest feedback and what steps might you need to take to get it?

After listening to this podcast, would you choose to work at VSCO. After answering, consider if someone would choose to work for you and explain why or why not.

In this episode we got to hear from two current ASB presidents who aren’t letting COVID-19 get in the way of making an impact in their community and finishing their senior year strong! They shared their perspectives on leadership, highlighted lessons they’ve learned along the way, and addressed what legacy they hope they are leaving behind.

Maddie Wilson is a senior and current ASB President at Acalanes High School. She has been in leadership the last three years, is quick to adapt to new challenges including taking on video and sound editing to support events on her campus, and plans to attend University of Michigan after a gap semester next year.

Nathan Nguyen is a senior and current ASB President at Dougherty Valley High School. He has been in Leadership for 4 years and outside of school he is a tae-kwon-do instructor (where he is known as Mr. Nathan). He plans to attend George Washington University in the Fall.

Leadership Lesson:

Name an area, outside of your school leadership class, where you feel you have learned lessons about what leadership means. Be specific in sharing what you learned about leadership.

If you had to write two additional questions for Maddie and/or Nathan, what would they be?

After listening to this podcast, write your own leadership class pitch. What value does a leadership class bring to a campus and why should school or district administration approve a leadership class as an elective for their campus?

Episode notes:

Music created by Shawn Hoelsch and Daniel Gillette

Graphics and design by Tony Santoro

Grant King leads strategy, development and financing as a managing partner for Relevant Group. He primarily focuses on luxury hotels in Los Angeles and Hollywood. In 2012, Grant moved to China without knowing the language and only a few business contacts. He established the company’s first overseas office and now leads fundraising efforts for Relevant Group in both U.S. and China.

Most recently Grant opened up Dream Hotel in Hollywood, a luxury hotel in downtown Hollywood along with the dynamic two level, asian fusion, restaurant TAO. His company is currently in the process of opening up another 6 luxury hotels.

As a recent survivor of COVID-19, Grant speaks to us about what it looks to pivot leadership strategies in the middle of a global pandemic and how to lead with a vision that spans over a decade and goes beyond international borders.

Leadership Lesson

Grant alludes to this idea of “tiered leadership”; a concept wherein a leader has to empower other leaders in order to build capacity. Who are some people in your spheres of influence that you could empower to step into areas of leadership and how might that help you achieve your leadership goals?

Describe a situation where you had to keep effective communication among multiple leaders and stakeholders. What were some of the challenges and how did you overcome them?

Grant talked about going through a cycle of pursuing a vision only to see it fail when the economy burst in 2007/2008. This forced him to re-think, re-strategize, and re-start the process of pursuing his goal. How have you experienced something similar and what lessons did you learn?

Grant says his original dream was small and followed it up by saying “I don’t think you do yourself justice by dreaming too big […] because dreams evolve”. Do you agree or disagree and explain your reasons?

What is an area of your leadership that helps create a culture that others want to be a part of?

Leadership is never easy; however, many of us never have to experience leading when your life, or the life of someone else, is at hand! In this episode of the Matter Leadership podcast we talk with Shaun Leblanc, a nurse currently working in an Intensive Care Unit with COVID patients.

Leadership Lesson:

Listen to this podcast and answer the following the questions:

Consider a time when you have had a to lead under pressure. What was the most challenging component of that experience?

Shaun talks about separating his “job” from his “personal life”. Have you ever experienced a time where it felt like your leadership responsibilities were all consuming and it was hard to find a balance? Name one thing you could do to help create some balance.

Oftentimes we try to gather all the information before we start planning. Shaun talked about all the misinformation out there regarding COVID-19 and how the situation is constantly evolving. Name an example where you have had to adapt your own leadership due to circumstances changing.

“I think this whole situation is helping me to take a stronger role in leadership […] It's easy to be a leader when everything is going great, everyone is happy, things are running smoothly. Things get derailed when there is a high level of stress, things are rapidly changing... It’s easy to get flustered, irritated, or lose your cool.” It takes perseverance to lead. Consider those times you have had to lead in high stress moments and identify how you can build grit in your own leadership practice?

Shaun lists a handful of qualities, traits, and practices that he thinks represent leadership. Of those he names, what is one you do well and one area for growth in your own leadership practice.

Episode notes:

Music created by Shawn Hoelsch and Daniel Gillette

Graphics and design by Tony Santoro