We need time to defuse, to contemplate. Just as in sleep our brains relax and give us dreams, so at some time in the day we need to disconnect, reconnect, and look around us. – Laurie Colwin

If you’re anything like me, you often struggle to disconnect from technology. We have iPhones, iPads, laptops – you name it, all within an arm’s reach 24/7, 365 days a year. In today’s Always Forward Leadership Podcast conversation, Tim and I discuss how we, as leaders, must disconnect from technology from time to time.

It isn’t that technology is a bad thing; in fact, it’s improved our lives and the way we do business, but we must set healthy guardrails. The truth is, we are robbing ourselves of rest and we’re experiencing anxiety that comes from our addiction to constant stimulation.

In today’s conversation, I want to give you permission to disconnect.

Take a listen and please share with anyone in your sphere of influence who might also need to hear this important discussion.

Always Forward.

Ron

Question: How has technology changed your leadership for the better – and for the worse? What strategies are you using to create healthy boundaries around technology in your life?

You don’t need a mask and a cape to be a hero. You don’t even have to save the world. You just need to make a decision that you’re going to help one person experience an opportunity, enjoy a moment, or achieve a goal they otherwise might not. – Tim Leman

Today’s Always Forward Leadership Podcast features and interview with an incredible leader, Tim Leman.

Tim is the Chairman and CEO at Gibson, a risk, insurance, and employee benefits advisor in Indiana. Under Tim’s leadership, Gibson has seen incredible success. As a result of focusing on employee wellness and engagement, Gibson been selected as a Best Places to Work in Indiana, named to Principal’s 10 Best list for employee financial security, recognized as one of 20 Indiana Companies To Watch and named to the Inc. 5000 list.

Throughout this conversation, you’ll undoubtedly hear that Tim has a passion for leadership – and he shares insights he learned throughout his own personal leadership journey in a very open, honest and vulnerable way.

Some of the keys to his personal leadership that he shares include:

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Be resilient. Being a leader is not easy. It takes time. Hang in there, fight through.

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Be introspective. Open to feedback from peers, direct reports, advisors.

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Be adaptive. Everything changes so fast, be willing to adapt.

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Be inclusive. Get input, allow people to participate in the process.

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Be clear. Clarity around everything you’re doing is key.

For more of Tim’s leadership, I encourage you to connect with Tim through his blog using #WhatsTheRisk and pick up a copy of his book, rEvolution – Turn Crisis Into Clarity and Ignite Growth.

Always Forward.

Ron

Question: What did you learn in the conversation with Tim today that you hope to apply to your own leadership practices?

The book you don’t read won’t help. – Jim Rohn

Thanks for joining us today on the Always Forward Leadership Podcast. Tim and I dive right into today’s conversation about the leadership books that have had a major impact on both of us throughout our careers.

If you’re looking for material to take your leadership to the next level, or perhaps you’re looking for some recommendations to guide your team through a shared book club experience, you’ll love today’s discussion.

Not only do we share which books are our top favorites, but we share what we learned from each one and how they are still impacting our leadership today. In fact, here’s a sneak peek at the list:

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Good to Great by Jim Collins

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Start With Why by Simon Sinek

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Love Does by Bob Goff

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Linchpin by Seth Godin

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Essentialism by Greg McKeown

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Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne

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Choosing to Cheat by Andy Stanley

The books I’ve read over the past 30 years have had a substantial impact on who I am and how I lead today. My hope is that you’ll hear the passion in our voices as we talk about the wealth of knowledge in these 7 books and that it will stir up a fire in your own soul to read something new.

Enjoy!

Always Forward.

Ron

Question: Which books would you say have most impacted your leadership?

Unity is strength… when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved. – Mattie Stepanek

Thanks for joining us for the Always Forward Leadership Podcast, where Tim and I are discussing leadership across the generations. In today’s workforce, there are four generations working alongside of each other – and it can be a really incredible thing.

As you’ve heard, Millennials are a hot topic today. Why? Because soon they will make up the largest segment of our workforce, but they are also going to be the largest segment of our customer base. As leaders, we have to pay attention to this generation…but where does everyone else fit in?

Some of the questions we discuss in this podcast include:

* What are some of the major generational differences we are seeing today in the workplace?

* We talk a lot about the Baby Boomers and the Millennials – what about those in the Gen X and Gen Y generations?

* For leaders today, how much emphasis should be placed on passing the torch of leadership to the next generation?

Regardless of how you feel about Millennials, they are here to stay. As leaders, our goal should be to draw out the talents and strengths of all of our team members in spite of their generational category.

Always Forward.

Ron

Question: How have you seen collaboration at work across multiple generations in your own leadership?

Successful people are simply those with successful habits. – Brian Tracy

Thanks for listening to the Always Forward Leadership Podcast. I am so excited for today’s podcast because you get to hear from a leader and a friend that I truly admire – Kendra Kinnison. In fact, you may remember her from when she joined us live on stage at Catalyst University 2014!

In addition to being a great friend, Kendra Kinnison is also known as the Habit Chef – which means she loves to help people and businesses achieve excellence by developing great habits. The “chef” part comes into play because she believes there’s a unique recipe for each leader to live and lead at their best.

In addition to managing her Habit Chef blog and podcast, Kendra works as the general manager of the Port Royal Ocean Resort in Corpus Christi, Texas and is president of PRexcel, a consulting firm serving the hospitality industry. She also provides leadership coaching through Coach.me to help people achieve excellence through habits.

In our conversation today, I had the opportunity to ask Kendra a few questions about her leadership, her passion around developing great habits and finding balance.

I know you’ll find her insights impactful for your own leadership.

Always Forward.

Ron

Question: What habit could you start today that will help grow your leadership?

When we’re able to put most of our energy into developing our natural talents, extraordinary room for growth exists. – Tom Rath

Thanks for checking out the Always Forward Leadership Podcast. In this conversation, Tim and I dive into strengths and how important investing in strengths is for your team and organization to thrive.

Just to give you some context, these are our top 5 strengths according to Gallup:

* Ron: Strategic, Achiever, Learner, Maximizer, Futuristic

* Tim: Positivity, Woo, Maximizer, Activator, Strategic

If you’re familiar with the 34 Gallup Strengths, you’ll probably understand both of us a little bit better just knowing our top five! But, regardless of whether you use this scale of measuring strengths or something different, you simply can’t be a high performing organization without knowing your teams’ strengths.

Why? Without knowing strengths, you won’t know how to best invest in the potential of your teammates. As you’ll hear in the discussion, we believe great leaders and organizations invest in strengths, not in weaknesses. However, knowing where your team is weak is important so you can hire for those areas to bring balance and diversity to your organizational makeup. If you don’t know your strengths, you may end up hiring the same person over and over again.

Whether you’re new to this conversation or you’re a huge believer in strengths and talent-based hiring, I know this podcast will help you become a better leader.

Always Forward.

Ron

Question: What are your strengths and weaknesses? Have you developed a team that will bring diversity of strengths and compensate for the areas in which you, as the leader, are not strong?

Trust is the glue of life. It’s the most essential ingredient in effective communication. It’s the foundational principle that holds all relationships. – Stephen Covey

Today’s conversation is all about a key ingredient of leadership – trust. And trust me (no pun intended), this is not a soft element in leadership. It is critical.

Here are a few of our main discussion points:

* Establish guardrails. What are the boundaries for each team member?

* Trust is something that can be measured. According to Gallup’s recent survey, only 34% of American employees feel engaged in their work. The gift of trust would go a long way to improve that percentage.

* What happens when trust is violated in an organization? There is a difference between a moral failure and just not executing well.

* What can leaders practically do to build trust in our organizations? Sometimes it starts with admitting you aren’t perfect.

* What can great communication, or lack thereof, do to contribute to trust growing or declining in your team?

If all else fails, one of the best ways to build trust among an organization is to throw a party and just spend time laughing together. If you can’t laugh and relax together as a team, you probably won’t be able to get through the tough stuff together either.

Always Forward.

Ron

Question: Is trust something you are committed to building in your organization? When you can honestly answer yes, the next question is – how are you measuring the trust quotient on your team?

Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase. – Martin Luther King, Jr.

It’s a big week for the Always Forward Leadership Podcast! This episode marks #50 since we first launched back in September of 2014 – AND, you’ll hear a new voice on the podcast today as Tim Terrentine joins me as our new co-host.

Today’s conversation is all about ‘firsts.’ Like Ricky Bobby said in the movie Talladega Nights, “If you ain’t first, you’re last.” So, we’re talking about what you can learn from your ‘firsts’ and about having an attitude of being first in leadership.

Great leadership requires taking risks and taking risks requires great courage. The word ‘leader’ inherently implies that you will go first and lead something. If you are waiting to see what others do, or if your desire is always to be second, then you aren’t truly leading.

To illustrate the importance of firsts, I share lessons learned from:

* My first job

* My first major speaking engagement (that I can remember)

* My first leadership role where I was responsible for other people’s paychecks

My hope is that today’s podcast encourages you to take a step of faith and strive to be first in your own leadership.

Always Forward.

Ron

Question: When reflecting back on your life, what have you learned from your firsts? First job? First leadership role? First failure?

All the world is my school and all humanity is my teacher. ― George Whitman

Today, Amanda and I decided to do something a little different on the podcast. We thought it would be fun to go over some of the axioms, idioms or clichés – whatever you like to call them – which we hear most often and discuss the leadership takeaways they each contain. We also tell you the etymology or the origin of their meanings when we can.

The axioms we cover today include:

* The Early Bird Gets the Worm

* Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely

* Many Hands Make Light Work

* You Can’t Learn to Swim Without Getting in the Water

* Chief Cook and Bottle Washer

* When People Show You Who They Are, Believe Them

So what’s the point? First, we wanted to have a little fun looking back at old clichés, but the truth is, leaders should be looking to pull wisdom from every situation and every lesson – even from the most overused of phrases. This process is simply a form of mentorship, nothing more and nothing less.

Always Forward.

Ron

Question: What’s your favorite axiom for leaders? Are you looking for leadership lessons throughout your everyday lives?

If you want to do a few small things right, do them yourself. If you want to do great things and make a big impact, learn to delegate. – John Maxwell

Thanks for listening to the Always Forward Leadership Podcast! This week, we’re sharing on the art of delegation and why it can be so difficult to do. While it may be counter-intuitive for high achieving leaders to share the responsibility, it is necessary not only to grow your own leadership, but to grow the leadership of those around you.

Today, we talk about the dangers of not delegating and try to convince you of the many benefits of learning to delegate well. We’re also breaking down the right way to delegate that lifts everyone up; it’s not about simply dumping the grunt work on others.

The bottom line is this: if you want to maximize the impact of your leadership, your team or your organization, you have to delegate. Leadership is not about doing the work solo.

Always Forward.

Ron

Question: What can you delegate this week that will not only lift the load, but help grow and develop the leaders on your team?