The Success Talk Show

When it comes to understanding the world of recruiting, nobody knows the ropes like Dave Melville. Dave is the CEO of The Bowdoin Group has placed thousands of leaders in the Healthcare, Financial Services & Technology industries.  In this conversation Dave shares his perspective on the most sought after leadership qualities to position yourself for that next career move. You will gain a ton of insight from Dave so you should take the time to listen to this episode.

Assess potential leaders by asking how they've handled tough situations in the past.

If you are trying to fill a senior leadership position you have got to make sure that the person who fills the role handles difficult situations of all kinds, well. How do you find out? Aren't the candidates going to tell you their best success stories? On this episode of The Success Talk Show, I ask Dave Melville how a company can discern a candidate's true ability for handling difficult situations and he tells us what he's learned in years of corporate recruiting. You are going to be helped by the simplicity and clarity of his answer.

If you're interviewing for a high-level position, here's how you can engender trust faster.

Imagine yourself sitting across the table from an executive hiring team. You want to communicate that you are trustworthy and reliable, which is one of the main things every company needs from its senior leaders. How can you do it with such a small window of opportunity? My guest on this episode, Dave Melville shares some simple but important ways you can look across that table with confidence and cause the people who are questioning you to feel a level of trust in you that they don't necessarily feel with the other candidates. Are you interested? You've got to listen to this one.

The top mistakes leaders make when interviewing for a next level position

Is there one mistake that senior leaders make repeatedly when it comes to interviewing for executive positions that could take their career to the next level? Yes, there is. Dave Melville says that in all his years running a corporate recruiting company he sees top level executives make the same mistake over and over. What is it? Over-selling themselves. On this episode, you can hear Dave explain what it looks like to over-sell yourself, and he'll also give you some tips for avoiding it. This section alone is worth the time it will take you to listen.

Where companies go wrong when interviewing new team members.

When a company is looking for their next superstar team member they want to be sure they get the right person. But there's also the pressure of getting the position filled so the organization can move forward, sooner. It's those two dynamics that create the most common mistake hiring teams make when interviewing potential executives. Do you know where they go wrong? Dave Melville is on the show today to share insights from his experience as a corporate recruiter, so make sure you listen to avoid the mistakes most companies make.

Outline of This Episode

• [19:13] Lessons Dave wished he'd known earlier in his career.
• [16:37] Mistakes employers make when trying to get the best talent for their team.
• [15:20] The best ways to quickly establish trust.
• [13:36] Mistakes leaders make when interviewing for a next level position.
• [8:39] Understanding a leader's "why."
• [7:08] The importance of having clear values for the team or company.
• [5:07] Tips for how leaders can better empower their teams.
• [2:12] How candidates can communicate their skills to a potential employer.
• [1:25] What are the top leadership skills companies are looking for these days?
• [0:33] My introduction of my guest today, Dave Melville. Resources & People Mentioned
• Bowdoin Group
• Dave on LinkedIN

There are lots of people out there who fashion themselves as a personal branding consultant but when I need to know something about personal branding, my guest on this episode of The Success Talk Show is who I go to. Susan Chritton is an amazing woman who taught me everything I know about personal branding and as you'll see from our conversation, I'm still learning from her every time we speak. On this episode, Susan reveals the biggest mistakes people make when it comes to personal branding, how to spend the right amount of time developing your brand, and the top 3 tips for bringing your brand to life.

The biggest personal branding mistake.

In all of her work as a personal branding consultant, Susan Chritton has seen it all. When I asked her what the biggest mistake is that people make when working on their personal brand, she said that many people simply misunderstand what they're doing when they work on their brand. It's more than filling in your LinkedIn profile or getting some fancy headshots done. It's determining first who you are and secondly, how you want people to view you. Once you have those clear in your own mind, then you can move forward to figure out how you're going to communicate those things effectively. You are going to learn a lot from Susan on this episode.

Is personal branding inauthentic?

One of the arguments AGAINST personal branding is that it forces you to fashion yourself in a certain way - a way that isn't necessarily aligned with who you really are. Susan Chritton and I chat about that possibility and what I discovered is that there's a fine balance between being yourself and being yourself in a way that is beneficial to your audience. On this episode of The Success Talk Show, Susan Chritton, personal branding consultant and author tells us how to build your personal brand based on who you really are.

A good personal brand makes your audience feel comfortable.

One of the foundational principles Susan Chritton insists on when doing work on a client's personal brand is that they keep in mind who their audience is. The WAY you go about communicating your brand will depend largely on the culture surrounding your ideal audience. If you'd like to know more about how to do that, including how it impacts your appearance, the words you use, and more, you'll want to hear what Susan has to share on this episode.

Here's what you can do to "try on" your personal brand ideas.

As you work on your personal brand, you won't know if everything you come up with is the right approach. So how do you find out? You try them on for a while. On this episode, Susan Chritton, author of "Personal Branding for Dummies" shares how you can work out a personal brand idea using one word, then try it on for a while to see how it feels, how your audience responds, and even more. It's a great episode that ranges through the topic of personal branding so be sure you set aside the time to listen.

Outline of This Episode

• [1:24] Why having a personal brand is extremely important today.
• [2:30] The biggest mistakes made when it comes to personal branding.
• [6:05] What's the balance between being yourself and building a brand?
• [9:40] A good personal brand makes your ideal audience feel comfortable.
• [13:20] How much time does a person need to spend developing their brand?
• [19:03] The top 3 tips for bringing your brand to life.
• [22:11] Building your personal brand on LinkedIn.
• [24:21] How you can reach out to Susan

Resources & People Mentioned

• Susan(at)SusanChritton(dot)com
• www.SusanChritton.com
• BOOK: Personal Branding For Dummies

Every single one of us who is in a leadership role knows that a lack of leadership growth will keep the organizations we lead from moving forward. Because of that, it's only natural that we'd want to accelerate the process of our personal leadership growth. But we have to resist the urge to forge ahead until we first know the environment - and that begins with ourselves. On this episode of The Success Talk Show, I'm going to walk you through a way that you can acclimate yourself to the leadership environment so you will be able to lead with excellence, and it starts with discovering your strengths.

My recent trip to Colorado taught me the importance of acclimating.

When I traveled to Colorado recently to go snowboarding I was so eager - I love snowboarding. I got my gear on and headed up the mountain. I jumped on the lift and went all the way to the top, which turned out not to be the wisest choice of the day. Once I got off the ski lift I found myself short of breath, I had a headache, and I wasn't able to come down the mountain the way I'd imagined I would. Why? I didn't take the time to acclimate to the altitude. We have to do the same thing when it comes to stepping into leadership roles. Leadership growth starts with knowing yourself as a leader, and on this episode, I'm going to tell you one of the best ways to start that process.

This is one of the absolute best ways for you to discover your leadership strengths.

If you've not heard of the book, "Strengthsfinder 2.0" I recommend you go out and get it today. It's an incredible tool for discovering, understanding, and assessing yourself as a leader, which is vital for leadership success. You need to know the areas where you exhibit strengths and the corresponding areas where you have weaknesses. It will enable you to excel like never before and surround yourself with the right people who can help you and your organization succeed. On this episode, I tell you the fastest way to use the information you discover from the book, so be sure you take the time to listen.

What are the specific activities that flow from your top 5 strengths?

When you take the assessment tool provided in the "Strengthsfinder 2.0" book, you're going to wind up with a list of your top strengths. It's nice to know where you are gifted but if you don't know what to do with the discovery you'll stall. There are activities that naturally fit with every strength and it's important that you know what they are for you. In this short leadership coaching segment, I give you a way you can link your strengths to specific activities that are suited to those strengths. Once you have your most productive and effective activities identified you're going to see how helpful it is for staying in your areas of gifting and empowering others to take on everything else. You won't want to miss this.

What are the things you most want to be known for?

Too often when we think of leadership we allow ourselves to imagine a vague, nebulous role that is out in front of everyone else. But don't often have clearly defined characteristics or practices in mind that enable a person to be effective in that leadership role. One of the ways you can think more specifically about the type of leader you want to be is to decide what you want to be known for as a leader. When you do, you'll be able to focus your efforts and amplify your impact in ways you didn't know were possible. Find out more on this episode.

Outline of This Episode

• [0:33] Tips to help you accelerate your success.
• [1:31] Getting acclimated to leadership will help you accelerate your success.
• [3:17] Identify the activities that flow from the top 5 strengths you discover.
• [4:41] Think of the top 2 things you most want to be known for.
• [6:05] The importance of these basics for you as a leader.

Resources & People Mentioned

• www.AltitudeAssessment.com
• BOOK: Strengths Finder 2.0