Winning Teams

Based in Japan and an expert in business, today's guest is very clear and direct on how to get things done at a rapid pace. Steven Bleistein has a multicultural background and his experiences living and working globally have created a fascinating approach to organisational change. Currently, Steven works with senior leaders in the Japanese market but proves in this episode that change and culture is defined by the leaders, not their location.

Listen to this episode to learn what gets in the way of executing change and getting things done at a pace that makes sense. There are several things that a leader has to face when it comes to organisational change and Steven is very concise in his communication of his tried-and-true approach.

• Steven's Background, Career, and Expertise in Japanese Business
• The Universal Language of Value
• Being Persistent and Avoid Fear of Failure
• What Separates Successful and Unsuccessful Leaders
• Distinct Corporate Cultures
• The Importance of Pace
• Change Your Mindset Through Behavior
• Professionalism and Discipline
• Success Determine Mindset
• Steven's Approach to Creating Change Fast
• The Bottleneck of Success
• The Refraction Layer
• The Problems Causing Performance Deficit
• How We Approach Performance Deficit
• The Reason Behind Lack of Progress
• Never Take No For An Answer
• Steven's Book Recommendation and Daily Rituals

Steven Bleistein, CEO and founder of Relansa, Inc., and author of Rapid Organizational Change is one of those rare international experts who bridges Western and Japanese business thinking. Fluent in Japanese and French, Steve has attracted clients from businesses such as Adidas, Michelin, AIG Group and Barilla. Working with leaders and their teams, Steve helps both Japanese and international companies create their own new realities. Prior to Relansa, Steve represented the Balanced Scorecard Institute in Japan. Steve helped companies achieve new heights with his expertise in strategy and strategy management. Steve serves as Vice Chair of the Independent Business Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan, where he takes an active role in supporting entrepreneurial and leadership capabilities inside Japanese companies. In addition, Steve serves on the board of Tsukuba International School, supporting the school's leadership on the path toward full International Baccalaureate certification. Steve holds a PhD in computer science and an International MBA. He is a U.S. citizen by birth, and an Australian citizen by naturalization.

Connect with Steven Bleistein:

https://www.relansa.co.jp/

Relansa Website Steven Bleistein on LinkedIn Rapid Organizational Change by Steven Bleistein

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Author of Who Saw This Coming? Robert Mixon joins the Winning Teams Podcast today to talk about something so relevant to today's current world climate: leadership during major changes. Robert has an extensive background in the military as a now retired major general in the US army for 30+ successful years. He left that environment and became involved in the senior level of high level businesses. Now he owns a consulting business that focuses on the strategies and operations in business and is based in Florida.

He is the author of several books, but today we focus on his most recent, Who Saw This Coming? and dive into the six principles that he refers to as fundamentally important. He offers practical action steps to take to improve your leadership skills in this ever-changing world of business and shares what it truly takes to build winning teams.

• Robert's Background in the Military, Entrepreneurship, and Business
• Leading People the Way They Deserve to be Led
• Adapting and Overcoming the Fear Factor
• Learning to Live and Communicate in a Virtual World
• The Leadership Challenges for an In-Person and Virtual Hybrid Workplace
• The Need for Authenticity
• Establishing Your Vision and Intent
• The Core Element of the Organization
• Acceptable and Unacceptable Behavior
• Developing Strong Listening Skills
• Creating and Committing to a Team Covenant
• Mutual Accountability and Balance
• Robert's Book Recommendation and Daily Rituals

Major General Robert Mixon is a retired officer of the United States Army, public speaker, author, and co-founder of Level Five Associates. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1974 and retired from active duty in 2007 after more than 33 years of commissioned service. At that time, he took over as president of Magnatag Visible Systems and later served as the Executive Vice President of Strategic Planning and Leadership Development at CDS Monarch. While with CDS Monarch, Mixon helped to found the Warrior Salute Program for veterans with PTSD and traumatic brain injury. Mixon is also the co-founder of Level Five Associates, a leadership consulting company specializing in change management. He is also the co-author of the best selling book Cows in the Living Room: Developing an Effective Strategic Plan and Sustaining It in 2014 and more recently Who Saw This Coming?

Connect with John Murphy:

https://www.levelfiveassociates.com/

Level Five Associates Website Robert Mixon on LinkedIn Who Saw This Coming? Now What Do We Do? By Robert Mixon

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In his most recent book Stifled: Where Good Leaders Go Wrong, author Jim Wetrich explores the topic of good and bad leadership. A leader recognizes a person's potential and more often than not, many leaders are unknowingly stifling their team.

Jim Wetrich is the founder and CEO of The Wetrich Group of Companies. He now focuses on coaching and mentorship and spreading his leadership lessons to help individuals become better leaders and organizations create great leaders. With 40 years of experience, his expertise is highly sought after. In today's episode, we dig into the big and small challenges leaders face in today's world and the importance of cultivating new leaders. There are several misconceptions that Jim shares with us and reveals that transparency is crucial. Listen on to find out more.

• Jim's Background and Career Experience
• Stifling Employees from Growth
• Having Strong Leaders in the Right Positions
• Building Engagement with Every Team Member
• Nobody is Managing the Managers
• Leading Different in Cultures and Environments
• The Importance of Transparency
• Letting People Do the Work Their Way
• Jim's Advice in Avoiding Stifling Others
• Admit When You Don't Know Something
• Common Mistakes of Executives
• Jim's Definition of Good Leadership
• Helping People Find Their Passion
• Jim's Book Recommendation and Daily Rituals

James G. Wetrich, LFACHE is a best selling USA Today and WSJ author. He is the CEO of The Wetrich Group of Companies, through which he has consulted with over 100 companies in the past twenty years. He has been in the healthcare industry for forty years and has worked in senior positions at Abbott Laboratories and Mölnlycke Health Care. Jim has extensive international experience having responsibilities in Europe as well as Latin America. Jim has a bachelor of science from the University of Southern California, a master of health administration from Tulane University, and a master of business administration from Emory University where he was number one in his class. Jim has served on numerous boards and advisory boards in both nonprofit and for-profit corporations. Jim is an adjunct instructor at Texas Wesleyan University, where he teaches Principles of Marketing to business students. He received a certificate in executive coaching from the University of Texas at Dallas and now coaches senior executives in the healthcare industry. Jim received the Outstanding Alumnus of the Year award from the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine at Tulane University.

Connect with Jim Wetrich:

• https://jimwetrich.com/

• Jim Wetrich Website
• Stifled: Where Good Leaders Go Wrong by Jim Wetrich
• James G. Wetrich on LinkedIn

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Today's interview was a true honor for me with Dr. Jim Loehr. He is the author of several extraordinary books that have impacted my life and career, but today we focus on his most recent Leading with Character: 10 Minutes a Day to a Brilliant Legacy. He is a prolific author and does fantastic work in the area of high performance as a Performance Psychologist and worldwide expert in this space.

In this conversation with Dr. Loehr, we discuss what it means to win, the work that goes into developing character, and understanding how our brain filters information. All these things can help us or get in our way. He strongly brings the message home on how to leave a legacy including the process to follow to ensure you leave the legacy you want to leave. You will certainly want to take notes on this episode of Winning Teams as this is one of the most transformational interviews I've ever done.

• Dr. Loehr's Background, Education, and Career
• Performance Psychology and High Performance Teams
• The Difference Between Top Performers and Everyone Else
• The Science of Recovery From Stress
• Biomechanics of Performance
• Playing and Working for the Right Reasons
• Dr. Loehr's Definition of Legacy
• Leading with Character and the Accompanying Journal
• Health Ignites Performance
• Nurture, Nature, and Choice
• Reflective Consciousness is our Super Power
• The Brain as a Fiction-Creating Machine
• How the Brain Responds to Conflicting Information
• Showing Up as the Best Version of Yourself
• Exercises From Leading with Character
• The Power of Purpose and the Chase

Dr. Jim Loehr is a world-renowned performance psychologist, Co-Founder of the Human Performance Institute, and author of 17 books including his most recent, Leading with Character. From his more than 30 years of experience and applied research, Dr. Loehr believes the single most important factor in successful achievement, personal fulfillment and life satisfaction is the strength of one's character. He strongly contends that character strength can be built in the same way that muscle strength is built through energy investment.Jim Loehr is also well known for his individual work with top-flight athletes and Olympians. Dr. Loehr has a masters and doctorate in psychology, serves on several scientific boards, and is a full member of the American Psychological Association, the American College of Sports Medicine, the National Strength and Conditioning Association, and the Association for the Advancement of Applied Sport Psychology.

Connect with Dr. Jim Loehr:

• https://www.jim-loehr.com/

• Dr. Jim Loehr on LinkedIn
• Books by Dr. Jim Loehr

Connect with John Murphy:

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Joining the podcast today is Andy Binns, co-author of the book Corporate Explorer. This book and Andy's perspective goes against much of what we have learned as the right way to retain talent. What Andy brings to the table today is how to develop an entrepreneurial mindset to large corporate organizations. In his experience, large organizations are great to incubate and nurture this entrepreneurial attitude and skill set. Why is this important and why aren't more organizations implementing this?

In addition, Andy and I discuss the challenges this current generation of talent is experiencing and what organizations can do to manage constant change. Developing an environment to retain people longer is different than it used to be and in this episode, you'll discover that it is entirely different than you might think. This topic is very timely in the current climate that we are in and I know you will find great value in Andy's perspective. His book Corporate Explorer is highly recommended. Enjoy listening to this conversation!

• Andy's Background and Experience
• Corporate Life and Entrepreneurship Can Go Together
• What is a Corporate Explorer?
• Large Companies Have Opportunities for Innovation
• What Companies Do to Foster Entrepreneurial Culture
• The Type of Culture for this Approach to Exist
• Cultural Incubators Within the Company
• Examples of Large Organizations That Use This Model
• Current Challenges in Business and Startups
• Things to Master and Managing Change
• Common Challenges for the Corporate Explorer
• Andy's Book Recommendations and Daily Rituals

Andrew Binns is a co-founder of Change Logic, a Boston-based strategic advisory firm. He works with CEOs, boards, and senior teams as they lead significant business change. His goal is to help organizations liberate their potential to excite the world with innovation. Andy has 25 years of consulting experience as both an external and internal consultant for McKinsey & Co., the IBM Corporation, and Change Logic. At IBM, Andy was deeply involved in the Emerging Business Opportunity program, for which he received an award from IBM's vice chairman. Andy is a frequent guest speaker and lecturer at companies and business schools. His article, "Three Disciplines of Innovation," co-authored with Professor Charles O'Reilly, was named Best Article in the California Management Review for 2020. He also co-authored the "Ambidextrous CEO" in the Harvard Business Review, "The Art of Strategic Renewal" in the MIT Sloan Management Review, and a book chapter on "Getting Started with Ambidexterity." He is an executive fellow at the Center for Future Organization at the Drucker School of Management and a member of the Fast Company Executive Board. Andy attended the University of Sussex, New York University, and the Quinlan Business School at Loyola University Chicago. He holds degrees in political science, marketing, and organizational development.

Connect with Andy Binns:

• https://thecorporateexplorer.com/

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With a very unique and expansive background, today's guest brings a totally different perspective to the topic of leadership. Peter Docker, author of the book Leading From the Jumpseat, joins the podcast today and how his experience in multiple and vastly different career fields have prepared him to be a successful leader and keynote speaker. In this episode, Peter discusses the whole concept of leadership, what it means, and what it doesn't mean. He explains what his non-negotiables are and why they are crucial to leading successfully, the role of personal commitment in your leadership style, and being very clear on what success looks like. This is a fascinating conversation and through his use of personal anecdotes and sense of humor, Peter will have you hooked on every word.

What We Talked About in This Episode:

• Peter's Background and Interesting Career Journey
• How to Create Extraordinary Opportunities by Giving Up Control
• What Brings Us Together
• Non-Negotiables in Life Applied to Business
• Being Comfortable in Leading Without Knowing the Answer
• The Four Stages in Leadership
• Embracing the Inevitable and Preparing Others to Lead
• Relationships as the Foundation
• Letting Others Take Control
• The Only Thing You Can Truly Control is Your Commitment
• Clarity of Success
• Focusing on the Big Picture
• Peter's Book Recommendations and Daily Rituals

A keynote speaker and facilitator, Peter presents around the world offering workshops and bespoke leadership programmes. He draws from his life experiences that range from being the pilot faced with crash landing a passenger jet with 140 people on board; being 'hunted' in the Borneo jungle while trying to survive; and many other leadership situations in which, at the time, he felt largely out of his depth. Peter's commercial and industry experience has been at the most senior levels in sectors including oil & gas, construction, mining, pharmaceuticals, banking, television, film, media, manufacturing and services - across more than 90 countries. His career has spanned professional pilot; leading an aviation training and standards organization; teaching postgraduates at an international college; and running multi-billion dollar procurement projects. A former Royal Air Force senior officer, he has been a Force Commander during combat flying operations and has seen service across the world. He is a seasoned crisis manager, a former international negotiator for the UK Government and executive coach.

Connect with Peter Docker:

• https://www.leadingfromthejumpseat.com/

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• Facebook

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Today's guest, Abdallah Aljurf, is a consultant working with leaders in the Middle East. His extensive background has given him the experience necessary to guide organizations and companies to leadership success and his passion for coaching is evident in this interview. In this episode, we focus on the skills needed in leadership, the pitfalls of new leaders, and integrity. What is integrity and why is it important in business leadership? How can you demonstrate integrity in everything you do?

Abdallah provides a fascinating insight in terms of business growth and development in his current role as a consultant. And although this episode will certainly be helpful to those new to a leadership role, the interview is a good guide and reminder for those already leading a team.

What We Talked About in This Episode:

• Abdallah's Background and Current Work
• Observing and Understanding Culture and Work Environment
• Agreeing on What Success Looks Like Early On
• The Pitfalls of New Leaders
• Always Know and Communicate a Clear Vision
• Ask for Clarification and Avoid Assumptions
• What Is Leadership Integrity?
• Optimizing People for Peak Performance
• Abdallah's Personal Drive as a Leader
• Abdallah's Book Recommendations and Daily Rituals

Abdallah's experience is in Leadership Development Professional focusing on high performance and Human Resources Development (HRD) applications, including coaching, training, career development, designing career paths, competency profiling, talent management, and improving recruitment practices. Abdallah is a unique guest for podcasts that talk about leadership development and coaching. He brings fresh perspectives to these podcasts as he was a guest on famous radio stations such as MBC FM and Panorama FM. Abdallah delivered training as a Professional Trainer for many organizations in Saudi Arabia. As a Coach, Abdallah delivers Coaching Services, including Executive, Leadership, and Career transition coaching. His coaching niche is coaching executives to deliver results in the 1'st 100 days in a new executive leadership role.

Connect with Abdallah Aljurf:

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/aljurf

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According to today's guest, everyone has a leadership voice, whether they know it or not. But unfortunately, most people don't know their leadership voice or how to use it. Not only that, but most people don't understand the voices of others and thus creates a communication conundrum. That's where the 5 Voices comes in. Jeremie Kubicek joins me today as we talk about the design of the 5 Voices and its impact on organizations.

5 Voices helps teams communicate effectively and helps everyone understand the voices of others which is arguably just as important as knowing oneself. The premise of the program is that you've got within the organization different variations of these voices and several that might be lost in the noise. As Jeremie demonstrates in this interview, the ones that get lost in the noise might be the one with the most important thing to say.

What We Talked About in This Episode:

• Jeremie's Background and Work with GiANT Worldwide
• The 21st Century Learning Style
• The Concept of The 5 Voices
• Variations on Personality to Determine Different Voices
• Big Organizations Like Google Using the Model
• Avoiding Being Put in Boxes
• Knowing Yourself and Valuing Your Different Voices
• Speaking to the Dominant Voices of Others
• The Ease of Learning the 5 Voices
• Taking Conflict into Consideration
• John's Personal Experience with Voices
• The Success of the Team on the Shoulders of the Leader
• Common Language in the Program
• Building the Bridge
• Giving Everyone the Chance to Communicate
• Jeremie's Book Recommendation and Daily Rituals

Jeremie Kubicek is co-founder of GiANT Worldwide and the GiANT companies. He is a bestselling author of Making Your Leadership Come Alive and speaker to organizations throughout the world on transformational leadership, emotional intelligence, and personal growth.

Connect with Jeremie Kubicek:

• https://www.giantworldwide.com/

• GiANT Worldwide Website
• Jeremie Kubicek on LinkedIn
• 5 Voices Website

Connect with John Murphy:

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• Twitter
• YouTube
• Facebook

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Today's guest is Dr. Bob Nelson who is an expert on the subject of employee recognition and engagement. He is the author of several books, but today we hone in on the topic of making work fun and his most recent publication Work Made Fun Gets Done: Easy Ways to Boost Energy, Morale, and Results. This topic is badly needed right now during the "great resignation" which Dr. Nelson discusses in this interview.

Morale is incredibly important in talent retention and in attracting new talent. While it is so crucial, it is also lacking in many workspaces. Why is that? In this episode, Dr. Nelson gives many real examples from his book as well as from organizations he has worked with personally. The best part about this concept is that it is based on science. So take a step back, loosen up, and bring fun to the workplace.

• Bob's Background and Impressive Experience
• Taking Employee Morale Seriously
• Dr. Nelson's Most Recent Book
• Retaining Current Talent Before Hiring More
• The Benefits of Remote Work
• Bob's Use of Real Examples in His Books
• Bringing Out the Best in the Team
• You Can't Legislate Fun
• The Differences Internationally
• Generational Differences
• Being Open to Other People's Ideas of Fun
• Fun as a Core Value
• Dr. Nelson's Book Recommendation and Daily Rituals

Bob Nelson, Ph.D. is president of Nelson Motivation, Inc. and the world's leading authority on Employee Recognition and Engagement. He has published over 30 books that have sold over 5 million copies that have been translated into over 30 languages. He has presented on six continents and worked with thousands of organizations including over 80 percent of the Fortune 500 companies. He is currently a Senior Fellow for The Conference Board, a Top Thought Leader for The Best Practices Institute, and has been named a Leading Global Employee Engagement Influencer by EE Awards, and a Top Five Management Guru by Global Gurus. He received an MBA in organizational behavior from UC Berkeley and a PhD in management education

Connect with Dr. Bob Nelson:

• https://drbobnelson.com/

• Dr. Bob Nelson Website
• LinkedIn
• Books by Dr. Bob Nelson

Connect with John Murphy:

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In her most recent book, Drinking From a Different Well, author Annette Simmons looks at the "genius of women's narratives about power." After reading the book myself, I highly recommend it to both women and men in leadership. It is both challenging and fascinating, helpful and informative, because whatever we say about progress, there's more to be done for equality in this space.

Annette is a keynote speaker, consultant, and author of several books. In this episode, we focus on Drinking From a Different Well and the topic of women's stories changing what power means in action. She tackles huge problems and how there are different perspectives not only on the problem but the solution as well. Listen to this episode with Annette to learn more as she is highly articulate about this topic and although she says the book was primarily written for women, I found it extremely helpful as a male reader to see how we can bring the best out of everyone in an organization.

• Anette's Background and Lessons Learned About Equality
• The Books Annette Has Written
• The Stages of Changing a Habit
• Empathy as a Woman's Superpower
• The Catalysts Needed to Push Progress Further
• The Difference Between Avoiding Harm and Avoiding Risk
• Shifting Narratives in the Moment
• The Danger of Only Having the Competitive Narrative
• The Price of Efficiency
• Different Perceptions of the Same Problem
• Moral Distress
• The Results of Having Women in Leadership
• Striking a Balance and Avoiding the Extremes
• Annette's Book Recommendations and Daily Rituals

Annette Simmons is a vibrant keynote speaker, consultant and author of several books: The Story Factor, Whoever Tells the Best Story Wins, A Safe Place for Dangerous Truth, Territorial Games: Understanding and Ending Turf Wars at Work, and her most recent publication Drinking From a Different Well. Annette started with a business degree from Louisiana State University in 1983, spent ten years in Australia in international business, attained a M.Ed. from NC State in 1994 and started Group Process Consulting in 1996. Annette is surprisingly honest, ferrets out hidden opportunities, joyfully takes risks and tells a good story.

Connect with Annette Simmons:

• https://annettesimmons.com/

Annette Simmons Website

Books by Annette Simmons

Annette Simmons @TheStoryFactor on Twitter

Annette Simmons on LinkedIn

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