Moving Forward Leadership: Inspire | Mentor | Lead

Welcome back to another exciting episode of "Peak Performance Leadership"! In today's episode, we have the privilege of chatting with the highly experienced and insightful Wanda Wallace. Wanda is a leadership coach with years of expertise in guiding individuals within large corporations to unlock their full potential and achieve the next level of success in their careers. In this thought-provoking conversation, Wanda shares valuable insights on building credibility and trust, the importance of effective communication, and the balance between expertise and humility in leadership. We delve into the challenges of stepping out of one's comfort zone, taking on new responsibilities, and navigating the intricacies of working with different personality types. Wanda also explores the evolving nature of leadership, highlighting the shift from having all the right answers to asking the right questions. She emphasizes the power of collective intelligence within a team and how great leaders can bring out the best in oth

Welcome to another episode of the Peak Performance Leadership Podcast! I'm your host, Scott McCarthy, and today we are diving into a pressing issue that organizations are facing: a retention crisis. It seems that top talent is leaving their jobs at an alarming rate, leaving organizations struggling to maintain their staff levels. But fear not, because in this episode we have a real-life story that will help you understand how to avoid this crisis. In our discussion, we'll explore the concept of retaining employees by training them well enough so they can leave, but treating them well enough so they don't want to. We'll take inspiration from Richard Branson's famous quote and discuss the importance of providing training, skill development, and support to keep employees engaged and satisfied in their roles. Furthermore, we'll delve into the significance of supporting employees when they decide to leave, as this can leave a lasting impression on their perception of the organization and influence their recommen

Welcome back to another episode of the Peak Performance Leadership Podcast! I'm your host, Scott McCarthy, and today we have a groundbreaking topic to dive into: the role of AI in leadership. It seems like everywhere we turn, AI is making waves in various industries, but what about its impact on leadership? That's what we'll be exploring today as we navigate the AI frontier in leadership.  In this solo episode, I'll take you through the implications of AI in the three domains of leadership: leading yourself, leading your team, and leading your organization. We'll discuss the opportunities AI presents, such as AI-powered self-assessments that provide more accurate and in-depth insights into your strengths and areas of growth. We'll also explore how AI can enhance time management by helping you schedule, plan, and prioritize tasks based on your optimal productivity times.  But with these opportunities come challenges, particularly in terms of ethical considerations. We'll delve into the potential pitfalls of

Welcome back to another episode of Peak Performance Leadership! I'm your host, Scott McCarthy, and today we have a truly insightful guest joining us. His name is Brad McLain, and he is here to share his expertise on transformative leadership and the power of embracing risk and failure.  In this episode, Brad emphasizes the importance of taking a holistic approach to leadership, going beyond simply checking off tasks on a to-do list. He delves into the social and emotional aspects of leading a team, highlighting the difference between fitting in and truly belonging.  Brad explores how the dynamics of a team can have both positive and negative effects on performance and well-being. He strongly believes that by supporting and engaging team members socially and emotionally, leaders can unlock improved performance, enhanced creativity, increased retention, and ultimately, achieve greater overall success.  Throughout our conversation, Brad urges leaders to prioritize the social and emotional component of the tea

Welcome back to another episode of Peak Performance Leadership! In today's episode, we have the incredible Vanessa Vershaw joining us as our guest. Vanessa is a powerhouse when it comes to unleashing full potential and achieving remarkable results. With her expertise in leadership and a track record of driving change, she shares invaluable insights on how to embrace unreasonable ambition and pursue a higher calling. Vanessa begins by emphasizing the importance of having a "kill strategy" and making decisions when the costs outweigh the benefits. She shares a personal example of quitting a successful program despite winning an award, proving that sometimes it takes guts to step away even when you're winning. Vanessa believes in listening to your instinct and following your own path to tap into your true potential. She delves into the concept of a higher calling and how it can ignite personal change. Vanessa describes how some individuals need a significant event to initiate transformation, like a heart attac

On this episode of Peak Performance Leadership, join host Scott McCarthy as he delves into the topic of burnout and exploitation. Scott has extensively researched this issue and is passionate about finding solutions. Together with the audience, he aims to tackle this pervasive problem head-on. Scott begins by advising against abruptly quitting a job without communication. Instead, he suggests having a conversation with your supervisor to address concerns about time limitations and breaches of agreements regarding work hours and expectations. Saying no to unreasonable demands is another important step, and if necessary, considering taking your skills to another organization that aligns better with your values. Scott highlights the competitive environment organizations face in finding exceptional employees and encourages listeners to assess whether their current organization truly values their well-being. He stresses the importance of taking breaks to prevent burnout and announces the upcoming registration fo

Rebecca has been in the business of building better talent and enabling awesome careers for over 25 years. She has led large teams and significant business units, won brilliant awards, and totally stuffed things up, just like others. Rebecca earned her stripes leading large teams in complex organizations and built quite a reputation for 'doing business differently.' She knows that without the B-Suite (or middle managers), businesses fail. She can proudly say that she is the best-selling author of IMPACT: 10 Ways to Level Up your Leadership. Rebecca has fun appearing on TickerTV, ABC radio, and Leaderonomics, and she writes for Harvard Business Review, Forbes, The Australian, News Ltd, CEO World, HR Leader, HR Director, and In The Black. Rebecca is dedicated to building B-Suite Leaders with C-Suite Impact, and her best work is done with ambitious organizations, leaders, and their teams who want more impact from middle management. Timestamped Overview for Middle Managers With Executive Impact [00:05:10] "

According to DDI’s 2023 global leadership forecast, the top skills of leaders who boost engagement, retain great employees and create cultures that thrive is interpersonal communication skills. When it comes to interpersonal communication skills, one of the most common questions we get asked is, “How do you balance kindness, care and concern with attention to outcomes?” Everyone struggles with this tension. Yet, it’s the holy grail for safe, thriving cultures. Here’s the conundrum. Compassion without accountability gets you nowhere. Accountability without compassion gets you alienated. You can’t win if you pick sides, and trying to perform a balancing act between them is no better. The good news is that leaders no longer have to choose. Nate Regier, PhD, is the CEO and founder of Next Element Consulting, a global leadership consulting and training firm helping build cultures of compassionate accountability. Dr. Regier is a former practicing psychologist and expert in social-emotional intelligence, interperso

Lots of programs and benefits most often don’t lead to a more well employee. However, when employers install a culture of health in the workplace, employees are more than twice as likely to reach their well-being goals than employees who are still subject to a workplace wellness model that formed more than 60 years ago. Richard Safeer, MD, earned his BS in Nutritional Biochemistry at Cornell University under the tutelage of T. Colin Campbell, author of the China Study, before attending medical school at State University of New York at Buffalo. Dr. Safeer is the Chief Medical Director of Employee Health and Well-being at Johns Hopkins Medicine, where he leads the Healthy at Hopkins employee health and well-being strategy. He also holds faculty appointments in the School of Medicine and Public Health at Johns Hopkins University. Prior to arriving at Hopkins, Dr. Safeer practiced family medicine in Northern Virginia. He was then on faculty at the George Washington University, serving as the Residency Director

Burnout has become a pervasive and pressing problem in today's world. With increasing working hours, heightened expectations, and ever-present digital connectivity, people are finding it harder and harder to maintain a healthy work-life balance. Leaders and teams are no exception, as they experience heightened pressure to perform at their best on a consistent basis. Burnout is no longer just an individual issue, but has spread across industries and even whole societies. High levels of burnout can result in lost productivity, declining mental and physical health, and turnover in organizations. It is essential that we create a culture that supports work-life balance and employee well-being to mitigate this problem and enhance the performance of leaders and teams alike. On this episode I discuss burnout prevention in leaders and teams. I starts by highlighting the importance of being proactive rather than reactive and how burnout is prevalent in leaders worldwide. The goal is to provide tangible tips to combat

When productivity spiked during 2020 many thought that this trend would continue once life returned to a sense of normalcy. However, since returning to the office many businesses are seeing lower levels of productivity and profitability from their employees who are no longer have any happiness in their lives. So how do we combat this problem? The first solution we tend to leap towards is higher pay brackets. But after a certain level of income, this simply doesn’t work anymore. We have to look deeper. Once we look past the paycheck we see engagement in work. Highly engaged employees record 23% higher profitability than those with low levels of engagement. Highly engaged employees are 87% less likely to leave their organization and we are all aware that staff turnover not only kills profits, it erodes team cohesion and therefore results. In today’s competitive job market, it’s more important than ever for leaders to focus on employee engagement and retention. CEO’s it’s time to prioritize job satisfaction in

Welcome to this episode of the podcast, focused on personal and professional growth, leadership, and self-improvement. In this episode, we'll hear from a speaker who shares his experiences playing rugby league and arm wrestling, training in martial arts, and now using his platform to help others improve their vitality. We'll explore topics like the difference between leadership and coaching, the importance of constant change and improvement, and the power of celebrating wins, as well as the importance of personal health and fitness for high performance and success. Join us as we dive into strategies for leadership and personal growth in this episode. In the last ten years David has studied many successful teams and individual athletes, from The All Blacks (Rugby Union), to Rafael Nadal (Tennis), Ronda Rousey (MMA, UFC) and many other successful teams and individuals. They all in their own way, follow a similar structure to the "5 Step System Towards Improved Vitality in the Workplace" that David has come up

The workplace of the future — the officeverse — will disrupt many of today’s organizational models. The future officeverse will be the anytime/anyplace world of where we will work, when we will work, and how we will work. It will consist of a network of networks, with tools that will shape us in surprising ways over the next decade and beyond. The officeverse will provide a more equitable, accessible, purposeful, climate-positive future for knowledge work. While it will bring many challenges, including new concepts of sharing and managing boundaries, in the officeverse organizations will require flexibility and empowerment rather than command and control.  To prepare for the potential opportunities of the wider officeverse, every office worker, organization and policy maker should imagine how the world of work will look 10 years into the future. Such “futureback” thinking — opposed to present-forward — helps us to work backward from the future and make better decisions in the present. Questions to ask, starti

On this episode of Peak Performance Leadership, I am doing a live Q&A in a Facebook group and answering questions about effective leadership. I tackle the challenge of showing appreciation to remote workers, motivating employees to care about their job, and improving punctuality. In addition, they explore whether discipline is effective in the workplace. I talk about how the three domains of leadership: Leading Yourself, Leading Your Team, and Leading Your Organization, and how excelling in all three can make a leader successful in their role.  For the complete show notes be sure to check out our website: https://leaddontboss.com/259

On this episode of Peak Performance Leadership, we discuss the importance of effective planning practices and leadership strategies to improve productivity within a business or team. We explore how to effectively incorporate AI into processes, address employee concerns and trust, and build relationships among team members in both in-person and virtual settings. Our guest speaker shares the ten core areas of waste that hinder success and introduces his lean strategic planning technique as a simplified approach to planning that can be tailored to any team or company. Tune in for tips on streamlining processes, improving productivity, and seizing opportunities as a leader. All of this with the new hybrid workplace in mind. Crista Grasso is an international lean and agile business consultant to Fortune 50 multi-billion dollar businesses, strategic advisor to 6 - 8 figure small businesses and entrepreneurs, and creator of the Lean Out Method®, 90-Day Lean Out Planner, and the Lean Business Scaling SystemTM. She i

Naval fighter pilots are known for their unwavering commitment to excellence, exceptional decision-making skills, and expertise. These top performers offer valuable insights that can be applied in the business world. With decades of experience in stressful situations, they have mastered ten key leadership skills: staying calm under pressure, setting expectations, delegating tasks, building trust, giving feedback, evaluating risk, adapting to change, embracing failure, encouraging innovation, and inspiring others. Despite operating in dangerous and uncertain conditions, Naval fighter pilots consistently perform at the highest level, confidently making life-altering decisions with their expertise.  A former “Top Gun” fighter pilot (call sign “Nasty”), Retired Admiral Mike Manazir’s distinguished U.S. Navy career spanned 36 years and included multiple commands: VF-31 ‘Tomcatters’ F-14D squadron, USS Sacramento, USS Nimitz, and Carrier Strike Group Eight in the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower. His new and best-selling

Marc Lesser is a speaker, facilitator, workshop leader, and executive coach. He is known for his engaging, experiential presentations that integrate mindfulness and emotional intelligence practices and training. He is the author of 4 books, including Seven Practices of a Mindful Leader: Lessons from Google and a Zen Monastery Kitchen, and CEO of ZBA Associates, an executive development and leadership consulting company. His podcast Zen Bones: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Times features cutting-edge interviews, supportive tools for creating more meaningful work, and potent mindfulness practices to develop yourself, influence your organization, and change the world. ​ Marc helped develop the world-renowned Search Inside Yourself (SIY) program within Google – a mindfulness-based emotional intelligence training for leaders which teaches the art of integrating mindfulness, emotional intelligence, and business savvy for creating great corporate cultures and a better world. He founded and was CEO of 3 companies, and

Leadership is not just about commanding people and getting results. It’s also about the subtle nuances of influencing and manipulating one’s followers in order to achieve desired outcomes. The ability to effectively tap into the “psychological strings” of individuals, while at the same time establishing mutual trust and respect, can vastly increase a leader’s capabilities. However, it’s important to note that such strategies must be used carefully as any misuse could lead to fallouts or even backfires. In this article, we will discuss some common methods for influence and manipulation among leaders and explore how their nuances have a significant impact on their success. On this episode of Peak Performance Leadership, we talk about the differences between influence and manipulation, inspired by a discussion in the Leader Growth Mastermind. Topics During this solo episode I touch on the following topics: Discussion on the differences between influence and manipulation Key distinctions between the two, and

Accountability was once a concept associated primarily with punishment and failure. However, today it has become much more than that—it's seen as an essential part of any successful business. When practiced correctly, accountability has the power to create well-motivated teams who are actively engaged in their work and committed to success. It encourages individuals to take responsibility for their actions and practice good communication and collaboration skills. By creating an environment where everyone is held equally accountable, organizations can foster a culture of mutual respect and trust that encourages employees to thrive. "In fact, research suggests that when organisations get accountability wrong: 75% of team members see solving problems as ‘someone else’s job’,65% don’t see due dates as real commitments,80% don’t seek and offer feedback often,82% try but fail to hold others accountable (or avoid it altogether), and85% are unsure what the organisation is trying to achieve." - Dr. Paige Williams,

Gallup recently reported that only 15% of employees in the U.S. are truly engaged in their workplace. Yet nearly 70% of employees say they would work harder if they felt more appreciated. Over 90% of employees surveyed believed their leadership “lacked communication skills to lead.” The gloomy stories behind sobering statistics reveal employees’ disappointment with current leadership approaches. Leaders can do better. DeKoch, with over 40 years of diverse executive leadership experience, which included 20 years leading The Boldt Company, a $1 billion construction services and real estate development company, has developed novel insights into leadership thinking and practice. Clampitt, an endowed, award-winning communication and information science professor at University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, has over 40 years of experience in university teaching, ground-breaking research, and business consulting.  Topics During this interview Bob, Phil, and I discuss the following topics: How we got to the point where