Out Of The Comfort Zone

Top athletes need to be physically and mentally fit. But how do they prepare mentally? How do they sustain the endless hours of practice, work through injuries and bounce back, face wins followed by losses and focus on the next event not the loss. The insights from sports training have a lot to say about leading a business. Tune in to hear both the state of the art in coaching athletes and the implications for business leaders.

Leaders typically take on a new role knowing that change is needed. However, the journey from concept to reality does not form a straight line. Today we are going to drop the frameworks and models of change and instead look at real cases of how leaders made change happen whether that is a change in habit, a change in mindset or a change in the culture.

Imagine you have a message you want the world to hear – whether that’s about a new business or a product or an opinion. So, you turn to the press to generate publicity. What do you need to know before you speak to the press? How do you prepare? How do you answer tough questions? How do you make sure the press will be interested in your message? By the way, the same insight applies to presenting to key stakeholders as well as to the press.

Have you noticed that some of the most creative minds, as well as the critical experts in your organization, are a little quirky. They work in different ways. Working with them and managing them can be a challenge unless you understand the secrets. How does all of this insight help us have be more creativity in general? Tune in to learn more.

We know we need a network, but how do you know how effective your network is? What distinguishes the top performer’s networks? When do networks and collaboration become overly taxing? How does a network enhance a sense of purpose?

As human beings we tell stories – stories about who we are, what we have learned, what to do and not do. We are fascinated by each other’s “stories”. We remember stories better than facts. Stories convey emotion and intent. The success of TED Talks is based on telling compelling stories. Yet, we don’t think systematically about how they impact work, engagement, culture and leadership. Tune in to hear where stories are most significant and how to lead with stories.

Stepping out of the comfort zone and doing things you are not skilled at doing is never easy - whether that is networking, speaking in public, working outside your culture or taking a role without knowing much of the content. The myths we hold about how easy it is for others to step out of their comfort zone do not help. And, we have numerous ways to avoid stepping out of our comfort zone. Tune in to hear how to make it all work for you.

Influence may be the one of the top three most critical skill for leaders, especially those who are not leading as an expert. Rarely does one have the luxury of being able to decide unilaterally. Influencing people to do something different, to change, is essential to execution of any great idea. Yet, as human beings, we are terrible at influence, unless of course you already agree with me. We need a better framework for understanding influence. Tune in to hear how to influence more effectively.

Engagement surveys are now common place and the results are typically discouraging. Despite much effort, results barely move. There is another way and it’s not about chasing survey results. Tune in to hear how.

Getting out of your comfort zone, taking on larger and larger roles, means increasing your power within the organization. However, dark sides come along with increased power which can become stumbling blocks. Tune in to learn about the challenges of breadth, power itself and self-doubt along with what you can do about each.

Those who know how to navigate the organization and get what they need to excel in their career. They seem to have inside knowledge on what to do. What is the inside knowledge you need to know? What can you do as a result? Tune in to hear how.

The leader of the future will need to be comfortable in a totally new paradigm – one that provides purpose and meaning at work. When organizations have a sense of higher purpose, not only are people more engaged and more committed, profits also follow. Then, organizations can achieve true collaboration. Doing so requires new ways of making decisions and resolving disputes – new rules of the road. Tune in to learn how.

Are you ready to get out of your comfort zone? Do you have an idea that you want to sell to your organization, to the board or to the marketplace? We will show you how. My guest listens to many new product pitches every month and selects the ones he thinks will lead to marketplace successes. Tune in to learn how to make a great pitch to anyone.

Strategy and leadership go hand in hand. You can’t do one without the other. Tune in to hear why you need both, why they are joined and how to get more of each.

If you want to be inspired to achieve more than you can imagine, to conquer your own fear about taking action or to attempt to inspire others, this show is for you. Tune in to hear what one person has done and the advice that keeps him going the extra mile.

Asking great questions is a powerful way to engage your team, motivate people, create inspiration, delegate, innovate… Just about anything you need to accomplish as a leader will have better results if you ask great questions. What questions are best and for what purpose? Tune in to here from the expert on asking questions.

Most successful leaders attribute some part of their success to luck. Is it possible to prepare to have good luck? What’s the role of luck anyway? And, ultimately, can you really plan your career? Tune in to hear more.

Getting people to do what you want them to do is a never easy. We have talked on past shows about how to influence people and to bring them along mostly by changing their perspective, beliefs and attitudes. Those techniques are hugely important. Today, we are going to talk about a different technique called behavioral design, that focuses on creating change by changing the environment. Tune in to hear one more tool for your tool kit.

Your team needs a sense of direction, so you toil alone in your office to create a vision for the team. However, it leaves the team uninspired. Tune in to hear what you should do instead to create a vision that gives a sense of direction, unites the team, builds collaboration and inspires people to truly deliver.

After researching over 200,000 companies, Jason Jennings has discovered a surprisingly small number of things that all the best, authentic leaders do. Tune in to learn about three of the five key findings.