The Workaround by Bob Gilbreath Podcast

This is the 3rd episode in a series that asks: How can we lead people with love rather than fear?

I’ve shared a theory and some models for making it work, but “Leading with Love” may still sound like the next pithy book on the podcast circuit.

To channel Emerson: Without action, thought can never ripen into truth.

So today we’re talking about Practice.

Today I share some real-world ways that we can make decisions using Love > Fear. Each section below covers a tough topic you may have experienced as a leader—and/or may face in the future.

Relevant links:

Schedule Office Hours with Bob: https://calendly.com/bob-gilbreath/bob-gilbreath-office-hours

Fleet: https://fleetholdingco.com/

This is the 2nd post in a series that asks: How can we lead people with love rather than fear?

Reflect back on your best managers—These rare leaders love the work, the clients, the game, and the people they get to play with. What if it’s just this easy—to Lead with Love?

Now we’ve got to channel those best bosses—the ones who seemed to be born knowing how to do things the right way. They don’t teach this stuff in business schools or corporate leadership training.2

Thankfully, a few wonderful role models sent me in the right direction. From there, I keep coming back to three mental models they shared with me when I’m trying to lead with more love.

Relevant links:

The Great Game of Business: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0385348339

Schedule Office Hours with Bob: https://calendly.com/bob-gilbreath/bob-gilbreath-office-hours

Fleet: https://fleetholdingco.com/

“People need at least some fear, or they won’t do their work.”

An old friend I respect a lot rattled this line off quickly amid a bigger discussion with over 20 people on Zoom. I wanted to stop the conversation and ask, “Really?”

It stuck in my head like a mental splinter—maybe because the longer I’ve built companies, the more I've seen that love is a better basis for leading than fear. And the longer I’ve lived, the more fears I’ve cast off to make room for love.

In both cases, the shift has resulted in greater financial and emotional benefits. And I’ve realized the two tend to go hand in hand.

So increasingly I wonder: Can leading with love, rather than fear, be the path we choose to build organizations? It’s certainly not a topic I hear much about in MBA programs or Wall St. Journal articles. But I keep finding people who are searching for the answer.

This is my modest attempt to make a case for love.

Relevant links:

Schedule Office Hours with Bob: https://calendly.com/bob-gilbreath/bob-gilbreath-office-hours

Fleet: https://fleetholdingco.com/

This short story shows how your company can be a platform for people to be their best for one another.

Relevant links:

Schedule Office Hours with Bob: https://calendly.com/bob-gilbreath/bob-gilbreath-office-hours

Fleet: https://fleetholdingco.com/

They say when life gives you lemons, you’re supposed to make lemonade.

It’s easy to say until a semi-trailer full of that sour, yellow fruit jackknifes in front of you at 75 mph.

Like when…

Your company sale falls through at the last moment.

The doctor says she found something funny in the blood work.

HR suddenly appears in the weekly Zoom meeting with your boss.

A bucket-list vacation that you’ve been planning for years goes sideways.

That last one happened to me a few weeks ago. It was another wonderful life test and lesson. But perhaps the biggest glass of lemonade is a serving for you: A story to hold onto when, like me, you do something really stupid and have to pick up the pieces.

Relevant links:

Schedule Office Hours with Bob: https://calendly.com/bob-gilbreath/bob-gilbreath-office-hours

Fleet: https://fleetholdingco.com/

I’m excited to share the next episode in my podcast series of conversations with interesting people about where business and life intersect.

Meghan French Dunbar is an accomplished business leader who could choose to put a lot on her nametag: Founder, consultant, author, podcaster, and much more. But perhaps she’s best described by the title of her Substack: Unbehaved…

We’re both members of a community of fellow seekers and got to spend time together at a small group retreat this summer. At the retreat, we both exorcised some personal demons. Back in the real world, we discovered a lot of common career experiences, and I had to get her on audio here.

Relevant Links:

Meghan French Dunbar on LinkedIn

Unbehaved Substack and podcast

Meghan’s book: This Isn’t Working: How Working Women Can Overcome Stress, Guilt, and Overload to Find True Success

Schedule Office Hours with Bob: https://calendly.com/bob-gilbreath/bob-gilbreath-office-hours

Fleet: https://fleetholdingco.com/

As a leader, parent, or friend, it’s really hard to watch someone in your life fail at a project they initiated.

It’s even harder to watch when you told them failure was likely to happen based on your experience.

But both parties have a growth opportunity when we share our thoughts, get out of their way, and learn from whatever happens.

Failure is the greatest teacher. As business leaders (and parents and friends), we have an opportunity—maybe even a responsibility—to allow the people we work with and love to set themselves up for failure. Here’s why and how…

Relevant links:

Schedule Office Hours with Bob: https://calendly.com/bob-gilbreath/bob-gilbreath-office-hours

Fleet: https://fleetholdingco.com/

I’m excited to share the next podcast episode in my series of conversations with interesting people on topics where business and life intersect.

Grift Krehnbrink is the CEO of Thoughtium, a human-centered experience design firm that helps organizations bring strategy, leadership, and learning to life through immersive experiences.

A few weeks ago, I appeared on his podcast, The Blank Page. Now it’s my turn to put Grift in the hot seat and ask him about his unique take on leadership consulting as he takes on some of the biggest players on the planet. I also pull out some rules of the road he's developed over a career coaching senior leaders.

Relevant Links:

Grift Krehnbrink on LinkedIn

Thoughtium

The Blank Page podcast

Man’s Search for Meaning

Schedule Office Hours with Bob: https://calendly.com/bob-gilbreath/bob-gilbreath-office-hours

Fleet: https://fleetholdingco.com/

I’d bet you’ve got a handful of things in your life that are important but not urgent, and feel like they will drain what little spare energy you have in your busy day.

This especially includes tasks you haven’t mastered yet and aren’t sure will positively impact your business or life.

One good friend is struggling to embrace networking as the key to a career switch.

Another has delayed addressing an employee who is barely cutting it.

I’m sitting on a collaborative creative project that I semi-committed to but haven’t gathered enough gumption to act on.

But last week I was inspired to hear a success story and model for mind-shifting that I can’t wait to bring to such projects—and share with you here:

Relevant links:

Bob’s email: [email protected]

Bob’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobgilbreath/

Schedule Office Hours with Bob: https://calendly.com/bob-gilbreath/bob-gilbreath-office-hours

Fleet: https://fleetholdingco.com/

Linnea Butler is a psychotherapist and trainer who has operated a clinical practice for 15 years. She provides individual and group therapy services to adults and couples with complex mental health needs.

She is the founder of Bay Area Mental Health, a private practice that offers cutting-edge treatments such as ketamine psychotherapy for trauma and PTSD. Linnea also writes frequently on Substack under the title "How Healing Happens."

We met through a wisdom group that we’ve been part of, and both frequently write about our career perspectives on Substack. One topic comes through a lot for each of us…Entrepreneurship tears down your ego and builds up character.

Here are a few things we discuss:

·      Behind the scenes of building, growing and selling a therapy business

·      How Entrepreneurship accelerates our personal growth

·      Why selling your business can be the best way to continue growing as a person

Relevant Links:

Linnea Butler on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/linneabutler/

How Healing Happens: https://linneabutler.substack.com/

Schedule Office Hours with Bob: https://calendly.com/bob-gilbreath/bob-gilbreath-office-hours

Fleet: https://fleetholdingco.com/