The New Leader with Ian Daley

Hey everyone! Welcome to the show. The topic we’re going to dig into right now is Why Coaching is the #1 Leadership Skill Today. I have a special guest with me, who, in my opinion, is the best person on the planet right now to talk about this particular topic – Michael Bungay Stanier.

Michael is the founder of Box of Crayons, a learning and development company focused on coaching. He’s the author of The Coaching Habit – my personal favorite business book – and he has another one coming out on February 29th called The Advice Trap. I’ve already preordered my copy – make sure you preorder yours too (link at the bottom of the show notes).

In this episode, we dive into:

• What it takes to be a good manager,
• 5 Reasons why people resist being more coach-like,
• Michael’s definition of coaching,
• How coaching drives impact and engagement,
• Coaching conversations, and a whole lot more.

Click that play button to listen! Don’t forget to subscribe and rate us on Apple Podcasts!

This is my definition. It’s a behavior, and the behavior is this: can you stay curious a little bit longer? Can you rush to action and advice-giving a little bit more slowly?

It’s simple, but it’s difficult.

In essence, the two key drivers in an organization are impact, which is productivity, and meaning, which is engagement. Coaching is one of the key skills – I know it is, because research tells us – to drive both impact and engagement.

That is a great question to crack open a conversation, just to accelerate it into a “Let’s get down to brass tax here”. It’s an easy question to ask and hard to answer, because people often don’t know what they want, but it’s really powerful to hold them in that space. Because once you know what you want, it grounds you. When you’re grounded – that’s the basis for action and movement.

Another thing I really love about that question is to ask it of yourself, particularly when you’re feeling annoyed, discombobulated, knocked off balance, when things have been hard for you and you’re struggling with a particular relationship. Just go, “What do I want?”

Often we hesitate around difficult conversations, not because we’re scared of the scary conversations; we’re just not clear on what we want.

Be skeptical about advice, because often, they don’t know what they’re talking about. They’re projecting all sorts of things. It’s the same as feedback. Feedback often tells you more about the person giving you the feedback than it is actually useful for you at that moment.

Connect with Michael: LinkedIn

https://www.mbs.works/

Box of Crayons

The Advice Trap: Be Humble, Stay Curious & Change the Way You Lead Forever by Michael Bungay Stanier (will be released on February 29, 2020)

The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever by Michael Bungay Stanier

Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything by BJ Fogg Ph.D

Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works by A.G. Lafley and Roger L. Martin

Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success by Adam Grant

Do More Great Work: Stop the Busywork. Start the Work That Matters by Michael Bungay Stanier

Bullet Journal

#MyBestQuestion on LinkedIn

Get to the point where you actually are confident enough in your team, in your decision-making prowess, in your ability to consider failure, to think totally differently about the problem and see if there is a better way to attack it. – Matt Confer

Hi everyone! Welcome to today’s show. Today we talk about the Effective Decision Making For New Leaders with Matthew Confer. Matt is the VP of Strategy & Business Development for Abilitie, a leadership development company based in beautiful Austin, Texas.

We also discuss:

• The importance of developing relationships
• Trusting and leaning on your team and allowing them to fail,
• Preparing for worst-case scenarios,
• Testing your comfortable limits,
• Thinking differently, and more.

Click that play button to listen! Don’t forget to subscribe and rate us on Apple Podcasts!

Good relationships contribute to project success

If you don’t invest early on in developing a relationship with those that you manage, it’s going to be very hard when you get into the thick of a project and you have to really push your comfortable limits about what is possible to deliver.

If you just jump right into the pure, active managing and delegating and never build any sort of a substantial relationships, it just makes things all the more difficult especially when you’re talking about thousands of miles between you and doing all of your work virtually.

Identify the problem, and simplify it

When we throw a problem at leaders in our simulation, the initial instinct that everybody has is, “Ooh – a problem. I’m going to jump in and I’m going to solve it.”

The problem is, most teams don’t take the one to two minutes to say what actually is the problem that we’re embarking on. They get so excited by the chance to solve something, that they never take a step back and identify what the problem is.

The first step should be to identify it, and then simplify it. That should come before ever trying to embark on solving it.

Pivot, Pivot, Pivot

I almost never see a team in our simulation that ends up winning or ends up as one of the teams near the top that had one strategy, completely, effectively delivered that strategy, and never had to change course.

You have to be comfortable with the fact that you need to adjust to changing dynamics – either changing dynamics at your company, changing dynamics in your industry.

Matt’s Leadership Advice

Don’t assume that the people on your team want to be managed the same way you would want to be managed.

Links and Resources

Connect with Matt: LinkedIn Twitter

Abilitie

Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner

Productivity Tip: Time Blocking and Reminders App

"Debate with data and facts, not just opinions and passion." - Jacqueline Rideout

Today my special guest is Jacqueline Rideout, Team Lead for Learning & Development at Verafin, the industry leader in financial crime management solutions.

Based in St. John's, NL, Verafin's rapid growth has become a Canadian tech success story. In November 2020, Verafin was acquired by NASDAQ in a deal worth $2.75B US. We'll chat with Jac about her fast-paced leadership journey over the last eight years, and how you can leverage the lessons she's learned working in a world class company.

In today's episode, you'll learn:

• How you can love what you do by finding "red threads" at work (no, really!)
• Why mapping strengths can open new career doors for you
• Why culture is critical to organizational success (hint: words on a wall don't cut it)
• What has surprised Jac the most, and much more!

If you find this episode valuable, please rate us on Apple Podcasts!

How to Fight Burnout

Marcus Buckingham talks about the ‘red threads’; it’s about finding those activities that bring you joy and energy, and then incorporating more of that into your day. Because that gives you a little bit more control even if you’re in the most regimented type of job.

Mapping your strengths

A strength isn’t necessarily something that you’re good at, or a weakness something that you’re bad at. For me, your strengths are those tasks or skills that give you energy while weaknesses are the things that drain you. And it’s not the same for everyone

What It Takes To Be A Good Leader

Before, I actually thought that being a ‘good’ leader means that you must know everything and that you have answers for everything. But that kind of mindset just made me a bad coach.

Later on, I realized that being a good leader is not about just always having the right answers at hand; it’s more about listening to the other person and asking the right questions so that you can truly understand the problem that you’re trying to solve.

Links and Resources

Connect with Jacqueline: LinkedIn

The Leadership Challenge by Barry Posner and James Kouzes (book)

Everyday People, Extraordinary Leadership by Barry Posner and James Kouzes (book)

Death by Meeting by Patrick Lencioni (book)

"You are not granted a position of influence. You have to earn it." - Iain Boomer

Today my guest is Iain Boomer, Head of Learning at AbbVie Canada, a research-driven biopharmaceutical company. In 2018, I spent time on a panel with Iain during a Chief Learning Officer (CLO) event, and found his viewpoint unique and interesting. Prior to his Canadian position, Iain spent time as Sr. Global Product Training Manager with AbbVie in Heidelberg, Germany. He is also the President of PMCQ (Pharma Marketing Club of Quebec), a non-profit organization. Iain has studied at both the University of Guelph and McGill University, and currently resides in "la belle province."

In today's episode, you'll learn:

• Why you're the catalyst for discovering your own growth opportunities (hint: don't wait for formal assessments!)
• How international roles create opportunities to seek and embrace change
• What Iain's mentor taught him about the "weight of leadership"
• Why professional coaching is a hallmark of high performance, and much more!

If you find this episode valuable, please rate us on Apple Podcasts!

How to Start a Mentor-Mentee Relationship

A mentor starts with the mentee wanting to be absolutely transparent with that individual. If we think about it, we often gear towards that family member or someone who has known us for years because we already have that existing relationship. And you can easily create it with individuals along your leadership journey as long as you have that agreement at the start.

How Coaching Helps In Your Leadership Journey

One of the things that really impacted my leadership journey was coaching. Your coach will help you along in your journey to be able to talk out your ideas, to align you and focus you on the development aspect that you need, because there’s a lot. We never stop learning in this leadership journey.

Accept That You’ll Make Mistakes As A Leader

It doesn’t always have to be negative, overarching mistakes; it could be in hiring, or perhaps in the decisions that you make.

Because sometimes, we’re put in this leadership position without having learned all the skills and capabilities of having that 20 to 30-year journey, so don’t be too hard on yourself. You’re a new leader – accept that you’ll make these mistakes.

Links and Resources

Connect with Iain: LinkedIn

Influence Redefined: Be the Leader You Were Meant to Be, Monday to Monday by Stacey Hanke (book)

"In order to effectively lead others in increasing complexity, leaders must first learn to lead themselves." - Rebecca Zucker

Today my guest is Rebecca Zucker, founding partner at Next Step Partners, a leadership development firm with offices in San Francisco, New York, and LA. We discuss her recent HBR article that outlines six strategies for improving a leader's ability to learn, develop and navigate our increasingly complex world.

Prior to founding Next Step, Rebecca worked as an investment banker for Goldman Sachs, and spent time as VP, Learning & Development at Robertson Stephens. She holds a degree in International Business from NYU, as well a MBA from Stanford.

In today's episode, we cover:

• How to embrace discomfort as a normal part of navigating choppy waters
• The important difference between complicated and complex
• Why resisting oversimplification can lead to better decision making
• Why high achievers need to let go of perfectionism, and much more!

If you find this episode valuable, please rate us on Apple Podcasts!

The Difference Between Complicated VS. Complex Problems

Complicated problems are figure out-able. There could be someone who has an expertise that can be applied where an answer can more or less be determined.

With complex challenges, there is no one right answer. An example of this would be trying to solve climate change. There’s not a clear single answer.

Leadership and Humility

You take people in the hospitality business or travel business, they were much more adversely affected [by COVID-19]. So how do you address that or mitigate the losses you incurred? Those things are really challenging.

Different businesses and different people were certainly affected differently, but I think dealing with those challenges also requires some humility – that we don’t have all the answers and that we need to work together to find the best solution.

Why You Get Overwhelmed With Challenges

Part of what makes these challenges overwhelming for leaders is because they feel isolated, and they feel pressured to come up with a solution and to be the ‘savior’. And they don’t need to do this.

This is everyone’s challenge together. It would be good for leaders to reach out to other team members who may have good ideas and reach out to people on the front line as well who may see things that you don’t see.

Links and Resources

Connect with Rebecca: LinkedIn, Twitter and Email

"You don't need everything to come to you immediately. Learn the business. Gain the trust and respect of the people around you, and you'll be very surprised how quickly those career goals will materialize." – Mike Abbott

Today my guest is Mike Abbott, VP Labour Relations at Air Canada. We discuss the most impactful lessons Mike has learned as chief spokesperson in over 50 rounds of collective bargaining with large, multinational unions across many countries. This episode is full of sharp insights for new leaders.

Prior to Air Canada, Mike held senior roles in Operations and HR at Brinks Canada and McCain Foods. He holds a BA/MA in Political Science & Business from Memorial University, as well as a Masters in Industrial Relations from London School of Economics.

In today's episode, we cover:

• The importance of learning the business. Understanding the realities of not only your own function, but other business units in your organization is critical in developing your business acumen (and your credibility with senior leaders)
• How self-awareness links to great leadership. Knowing what drives you, how that changes over time, and being able to self-reflect are simple actions that any leader can take right now.
• Who wins the title of greatest guitar player of all time...and much more!

If you find this episode valuable, please rate us on Apple Podcasts!

If you want to be a successful manager, learn your business

Especially when you’re new to the industry, you really need to take time to learn your business, to learn the inputs and the outputs that run your business; like what are the factors that drive profitability, customer satisfaction, and what helps you keep employees and keep them motivated.

You can’t do that unless you know your business.

Good managers see the bigger picture

Try to see the big picture, like what the vision of the company is and where the company is going, and where your particular department falls in, but also try to see what drives the people you’re managing. Because not everyone is driven by the same things that you’re driven by.

Labor relations: looking at overarching themes

If a union has 20 proposals, try to find out the commonalities. Try to figure out the general constructs that they’re looking for, and likewise with the operation, too.

Look for overarching themes. Keep that in the back of your mind when you’re negotiating. A chief negotiator needs to be able to see through that and look at the common pieces you need to put together so that both sides are satisfied.

Links and Resources

Connect with Mike: LinkedIn

Getting to ‘Yes’ by Roger Fisher & William Ury (book)

Any book by Peter Drucker

Ali: A Life by Jonathan Eig (book)

"Ask questions first. Be curious, with positive intent." – Vasundhara Sawhney

Today my guest is Vasundhara Sawhney, Senior Editor at Harvard Business Review. We talk about why it's ok to disagree with your boss and co-workers, and how to do that effectively. I really enjoyed her stories and practical advice. Especially what to do when you have great friends at work - and then become their manager :)

In today's episode, we cover:

• How to oppose the idea, but not the person
• Why you should pick your battles wisely
• Why speaking up often leads to better ideas… and much more!

If you find this episode valuable, please rate us on Apple Podcasts!

Why It’s Important to Disagree With Your Boss

Speaking up is important even in your first job. When you disagree with something, it’s important to speak up and let the other person know, and I’m talking about the good fights where you respectfully disagree for a better outcome; it’s a two-way street.

It’s not to say that ‘your opinion is bad’ or ‘you have a crappy idea’, but it’s really about honoring those differing opinions. And they’re good because you might end up with the most fabulous idea ever.

Enable More Effective Communication Through Disagreement

When you’re starting out, it is important to understand that disagreements are, A, inevitable. B, they’re normal. And C, they’re a healthy part of relating to somebody else, and that’s when great relationships are formed.

And if you go in with the thought that you and the other person possess different points of view, or you have different data to argue on, that’s a good thing. You manifest a conversation from a place of curiosity, not disagreement.

How to Disagree With Your Co-Workers

First, pick your battles wisely – disagreeing with everything can be seen as being argumentative. If you have an opinion and you strongly disagree, you should present it as support instead of opposition.

For example, instead of saying, “I don’t think this will work,” you could say, “I think that’s a great idea, but how about we try ‘x’?”. So if you present your ideas as support, it’s more likely the other person will also be agreeable to listening to you and picking up on your idea.

Links and Resources

Connect with Vasundhara: LinkedIn, Website

No Hard Feelings by Liz Fosslien (book)

"Believe in yourself, sooner." – Tammy Heermann

Today my guest is Tammy Heermann, a keynote speaker who's passionate about advancing women and high potential talent. I had the pleasure of seeing Tammy in action five years ago at a corporate offsite, and I appreciated her commitment and message.

Currently residing in Toronto, Tammy holds a BComm from the University of Saskatchewan and a MSc from the London School of Economics. Before founding her own company in 2018, she was SVP of Leadership Transformation at Lee Hecht Harrison.

In today's episode, we cover:

-The importance of new leaders owning the entire experience. Management is difficult and rewarding, and new leaders must embrace both the good and the bad aspects of their role.

-Prove possible. Building confidence becomes easier when you prove to yourself that it can be done. What have you attempted that you once thought was impossible? Regardless of outcome, you made it feel possible.

-Reframe your story. Catch yourself when you start to say, "I can’t, shouldn’t..." etc. Reflect on why you automatically default to this way of thinking. Reframe and think about what is needed for you to say "I can, I will, I may, I am.." instead.

-And much more!

If you find this episode valuable, please rate us on Apple Podcasts!

Women Empowerment and Why It Matters

The experiment’s hypothesis was that women would reduce their career aspirations if they were told that they weren’t good at something.

So at the beginning of the test, women had set higher expectations than the men in the study. And when the women were told that they performed equally well for this fake test as the men, they kept their career aspirations. But when they were told that they did worse than the men, they significantly reduced their career aspirations.

Misconceptions About Working Women

The common assumption is that women are less ambitious especially when they’re in their family planning years. But what large studies have shown is that women actually seek balance and will make it work when their organizations are seen as investing in them and giving them opportunities and acknowledging their work.

The Importance Of Speaking Up

Some women think it’s safer to not say anything. And I’m here to argue that it’s actually not safer because then people think that you have nothing to add to the conversation, or that you don’t know anything, or that you’re too lightweight to operate on high-level responsibilities.

And so the risk of not speaking up, I believe, outweighs the risks of speaking up. By not saying anything, you’re actually putting yourself in a worse position.

Links and Resources

Connect with Tammy: LinkedIn, Website

Reframe Your Story by Tammy Heermann (book, COMING SOON)

The Coaching Habit by Michael Bungay Stanier (book)

Burnout by Emily Nagoski Ph.D. and Amelia Nagoski DMA (book)

"Always be friendly, but, you are not always their friend." – Brian Bachand

Is the term intuitive leadership leaving you intrigued? Puzzled? Annoyed?  You're in the right place! Today we dig into a topic not often covered on the show, with someone who walks the walk.

My guest is Brian Bachand, founder of Evolution Evolution, a global coaching company. Brian has an interesting story, having started his career as a priest, before moving into senior roles in executive recruitment, and corporate development with organizations like NYU Langone Health, American Cancer Society, and University of Toronto. He is a Boston-native who now calls Toronto home, but still has love for the Red Sox.

In today's episode, we cover:

-What intuitive leadership is, and why it should play a role in your  life

-Concrete examples of how it's used with new CEOs and senior leaders

-Lessons from Brian's time working in a religious institution

-How he over delivered on fundraising during the height of the 2008 crash

-And much more!

If you find this episode valuable, please rate us on Apple Podcasts!

How Our Intuition Helps In Decision-Making

Every single human being has intuition. Every single business leader is using their intuition whether they know it or not. And our intuition is always gathering information; it’s whether or not we’re being open to it and how to assess and look at that information.

Our intuition is always guiding us and helping us to make decisions, and it can be very helpful especially if you’re someone who’s looking to grow a pipeline, and with relationships.

Growing Your Confidence in Your Own Intuition

When you have one of those moments of just being intuitively nudged, pay attention if what you acted on comes to reality or what it leads to. The more you pay attention to your intuition and see the results of trusting that intuition, the more you will be confident in following it when it happens.

“The Greatest Failure” As A Leader

One of the biggest issues that I have seen from leaders that are younger, that are aspiring to grow is that they often compromise who they are because of what they think they need to be like to get ahead. And that is the greatest failure you can have as a leader

Links and Resources

Connect with Brian: LinkedIn, Website, Email

The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin Sharma (book)

“Some things are worth fighting for.” – Liane Davey

Conflict is not always a bad thing! Do you struggle creating the kind of productive conflict your team needs to excel?

Today's guest is Liane Davey, founder of 3COze, psychologist, keynote speaker, and author.  She also loves a good old fashioned factory tour - I mean, who doesn't ? :) Having been to the Fender guitar factory myself in Corona, CA, I can understand her fascination!

Liane's latest book, The Good Fight, focuses on how to create the kind of conflict teams and organizations need to get along - and get stuff done

In today's episode, you'll learn:

- 3 unique ways to create productive conflict that teams actually embrace

- Why conflict should be viewed as "flossing," and not a root canal

- The power of ritual and how it creates calm & control

- And much more!

If you find this episode valuable, please rate us on Apple Podcasts!

I think one of the reasons that people aren’t using the new skills that they’re learning is that they’ve been taught that conflict is impolite, unprofessional, not lady-like, etc.

So the first thing I did is changing people’s mindset about conflict. And to do that, you have to look at what shaped that mindset, and also, make a business case as to why conflict is necessary and important in organizations.

Conflict is a feature, not a bug, on teams. It’s the purpose of having teams - to present different perspectives and create tension. Otherwise, if one person can do it all by themselves, then they should just go do it themselves.

So to handle conflicts better, we need to identify the different roles on the team and answer some questions. What’s the unique value or superpower of this role? Who are the shareholders of this role?

Say something that makes the person feel heard or understood, ask a question to let them expose their emotions and values, then speak their truth, and then you are in the right to add your truth and to turn it into a conversation. There’s supposed to be tension but not friction.

Links and Resources

Connect with Liane: LinkedIn, Website

The Good Fight by Liane Davey (book)

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey (book)

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lecioni (book)

Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip Heath & Dan Heath