The Leadership Podcast

Mark Johnson is the co-author of the book, Lead from the Future: How to Turn Visionary Thinking into Breakthrough Growth. Mark offers creative and different ways of approaching the future. Timing is always everything and it can be tricky for leaders to gauge when it makes sense to act. To navigate, you need a north-star vision for your company. Key Takeaways [3:15] Mark discusses the passing of Clayton Christensen and the impact he has made on his life and the lives of many others. [6:45] Small businesses have the opportunity (and flexibility) to reinvent themselves. You don't have to go down with the sinking ship. [11:10] Nobody has a crystal ball about the future, but business is in business for the customer. Look to the customer and their needs when adapting your services. [13:35] Timing is always everything and it can be tricky for leaders to gauge when it makes sense to act. To navigate this, you need a north-star vision for your company. [15:10] It's a risky time for businesses, which means they need to start getting good at learning, and quickly adapting from those insights. [22:05] We often look for constraints before a project has even begun. However, if we put constraints on it prior to the request, the mind is forced to think outside of the box to solve the task at hand. It's a creative way to use psychology to help spark innovation. [23:55] With information technology, our brains get easily distracted, which means our room for creativity becomes less and less. [24:55] The cavalry is not coming. You have to break free from your biases. [25:55] Mark shares examples of companies thinking in the future instead of the present. Like, how do you completely prevent a disease from occurring, and prove that you've actually prevented a disease? [32:45] The truth is, we're not necessarily risk-averse, we just don't know how to properly manage risk. [39:55] Develop a compelling vision, align the organization, and then motivate/reward to allow it to stick. Quotable Quotes "It's not an either/or. Yes, you want to have a good professional career, but it can't be a replacement for your family." "Entrepreneurs, to begin with, are resourceful people, they are imaginative people, they are visionaries." "It's more important to have the right way of thinking and a process that enables you to be forward-looking at the same time as operationally-oriented." "It's a risky time and the only way to mitigate risk is to be good about learning. In order to be good about learning, you've got to be good at running experiments." "With information technology, we're much more hunkered down with the volatility and uncertainty of the world to try and address the here and now." "Everybody in the organization doesn't need to be creative. However, you've got to bring everyone in your organization along through your communication and explain the reasons why creativity is important, even for those who are not involved directly." Resources Mentioned Innosight.com Connect with Mark on Twitter: @InnosightTeam & LinkedIn Mark's book: Lead from the Future How Will You Measure Your Life?, by Clayton M. Christensen, James Allworth, and Karen Dillon "Leaders, Do You Have a Clear Vision for the Post-Crisis Future?" "The Innovator's DNA" The Leadership Podcast is Sponsored by: Cultivate Grit. Amplify Action. Investing in yourself isn't selfish. Click HERE to get gritty! Free downloads of Quick Reference Guides on Delegation, Time Management, Sales, and more.

Alexandra Carter is Director of the Mediation Clinic at Columbia Law School, where she is also as an award-winning professor, and a world-renowned negotiation trainer for the United Nations. She also serves as Executive Director of Stand Up Girls, helping tween girls develop relationships for greater self-esteem and resilience. She has appeared on CBS This Morning, MSNBC's LIVE Weekend and Hardball, Marketplace, and in The New York Times and Wall Street Journal. Alex is the author of ASK FOR MORE: Ten Questions to Negotiate Anything. Alex believes you don't have to be the most aggressive person to get a deal done, all it takes is asking the right questions and you can negotiate anything. Key Takeaways [3:25] Alexandra had that moment when she was a law student in Columbia that this was the career path that she wanted to do for the rest of her life. [7:35] Acknowledgement is a hugely important tool, not just for negotiators, but for leadership as well. [9:25] The pandemic is changing the way we negotiate because we are no longer in the same room together. Right now, it's more critical than ever when you're not face-to-face to lead the negotiations with a question. [11:40] Whenever possible, Alexandra tries to set up video calls, not just phone calls. It feels more like a conversation than an interrogation. [12:15] Zoom fatigue is very real. Our brain is trying to process the 'unknown' that it can't pick up on when it's not in person. [14:35] The handshake is not the only way to greet someone, to show appreciation, or even to confirm a deal. Through Alexandra's multicultural experiences, she has discovered you can build connection without touch. [17:20] Negotiation vs. Mediation. The difference between these two things is meditators are third-party people trying to help bridge a gap between a negotiation. They act as a coach to help both parties ask the right questions. [23:15] Most people want the same things, even at the higher multi-million-dollar deal level. [24:30] Alexandra never had a 'one-time' client, because she's made a conscious effort to create relationships. [26:45] No matter your background, negotiation is for everyone. You don't have to be the most aggressive person in the room to do it. [31:50] Relationships create a deal, not the other way around. [33:00] When you find out the types of objections people have, you find out what they really need. [36:25] Alexandra's advice: People start their negotiations in the wrong place. Instead of trying to brainstorm or come up with the right solutions right away, first, start with finding the right problem to solve. Before you negotiate, figure out what's the first problem you want to solve. [41:00] Even in a pandemic, you can still ask for more of the things that make life worthwhile, even going out to grow your business and serve people. Quotable Quotes "Questions have tremendous power." "When a leader acknowledges his/her team, people go the extra mile for you." "When we can't see each other, we're less likely to trust each other." "As a mediator, the work that I've been able to do with folks has saved a lot of relationships." "Most of the time, you can find a way to create value for both people." "You don't have to be the most aggressive person in the room to be a good negotiator. You just have to ask great questions and create great relationships." Resources Mentioned Alexcarterasks.com Connect with Alexandra on Twitter: @alexbcarter & LinkedIn Alexandra's book: Ask for More: 10 Questions to Negotiate Anything The Leadership Podcast is Sponsored by: Cultivate Grit. Amplify Action. Investing in yourself isn't selfish. Click HERE to get gritty! Free downloads of Quick Reference Guides on Delegation, Time Management, Sales, and more.

Brian Ahearn specializes in applying the science of influence and persuasion in everyday situations, and authored the LinkedIn course Persuasive Selling and has been cited in The small BIG, Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive, and Introducing Persuasion: A Practical Guide. Brian believes the ability to connect with someone is everywhere, it just takes a conversation and an intense curiosity to find commonalities. Key Takeaways [2:45] Brian trained under Dr. Robert Cialdini. Dr. Cialdini loves to research and experiment with different theories. Brian, on the other hand, loves taking that research and applying it right away. [6:05] Leaders can use influence for good (instead of manipulation) by being empathic and taking the time to truly know the person working for them. When you have people's best interests at heart, it's easy to get good work done. [10:50] Salespeople who understand technology and know how to build a connection virtually are really going to thrive in this new environment. Understanding the technology you're working with right now is critical when you can't shake someone's hand. [13:25] The biggest mistake that Brian sees in coaching is when companies do not give coaches the correct space or training for them to excel in their company environment. [14:55] Coaches shouldn't be 'telling' people what to do. They should be asking the right questions and getting the mentee to act on their own. [17:30] A good salesperson asks questions, allows the customer to talk, and when they're listening, they start to understand the customer's needs and buying type. The same applies to coaching. [20:40] People right now are finding out how strong their customer relations really are because they have to connect differently than before. [22:20] During this time, it's important to show genuine concern for people! Sometimes just reaching out to check in and see how they're doing, is all you need to do. [24:20] The more we find we have in common, the more we naturally like that person. [31:00] It's up to you to emotionally start connecting with people. Look for everything you can find about a person that the two of you have in common. 31:00] It's up to you to emotionally start connecting with people. Look for everything you can find that you have in common with this new person or acquaintance. [32:55] A lot of good things are coming out of quarantine. People from all over are using Zoom to connect with old friends. [36:20] People are more motivated by what they might lose than what they might gain. [39:15] You need to trust that when you have people's best interests at heart, that they will respond positively to that. It all starts with you and the choices that you make. [42:30] There's something good in everybody and if you can find it, even the most difficult people will become someone you could enjoy working with. Quotable Quotes "If I ask the right questions and help you come up with a solution, you will be much more committed to that solution because you came up with it." "It's easy for us to say yes to people we know and like." "Go in with a mindset of how can I come to like them." Resources Mentioned Influencepeople.biz Connect with John on Twitter: @BrianAhearn Brian's book: Influence PEOPLE: Powerful Everyday Opportunities to Persuade that are Lasting and Ethical Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, by Robert B. Cialdini The Best of Enemies (film 2019) The Leadership Podcast is Sponsored by: Cultivate Grit. Amplify Action. Investing in yourself isn't selfish. Click HERE to get gritty! Free downloads of Quick Reference Guides on Delegation, Time Management, Sales, and more.

John Rogers is the author of The Renaissance Campaign - a mindset that has put him at the helm of a billion-dollar transportation company, working alongside Michael J Fox promoting the advancement of stem cell research, and testifying in front of the U.S. Senate. His core worldview posits that most all challenges can be solved with the right mix of holistic thinking coupled with an effective high-impact campaign. Key Takeaways [3:45] If you don't have revenue, you're not a business. Leaders often find themselves so busy working in the business that they end up not working on the business. The same holds true in government. [7:15] Whether it be non-profit, business, or government, they're not making conscious time to create space for the long-term picture and the health of the organization. A piece of this is that they don't know how and they don't have the discipline. [12:05] The Cassandra Syndrome is something that occurs when you know what's going to happen, but nobody believes you. This applies to things like climate change and artificial intelligence. [14:30] Our society has become so wonderfully specialized, but that can also get in our way. [15:35] Today's problems require multiple heads with multiple expertise to solve for. [16:15] In order to get holistic thinking into an organization, it first starts with getting some creatives in the door. [18:55] In order to break out of silos within your organization, you need to have diversity of thought. [23:55] John immerses a wide variety of people in a room for a couple of days and doesn't give them a break. This is to see how they work under pressure. [26:35] John's coach made him go through an exercise to use three words to describe himself in all areas of life. It was a tough challenge because of all the words that you end up leaving behind. [34:45] John shares a little bit about the stem cell work he did with actor Michael J. Fox. Quotable Quotes "We have short-term challenges that leaders have to navigate, but we have bigger, long-term challenges at the same time." "We are all prisoners of our own perspective." "The naysayers, they disappear, they get swallowed up." Resources Mentioned Johnrogers360.com The Renaissance Campaign: A Problem-Solving Formula for Your Biggest Challenges, by John Rogers Connect with John on Twitter: @_JohnRogers360 Tom Wujec — "First, tell me how you make toast" — TED Talks Loonshots: How to Nurture the Crazy Ideas That Win Wars, Cure Diseases, and Transform Industries, by Safi Bahcall The Leadership Podcast is Sponsored by: Cultivate Grit. Amplify Action. Investing in yourself isn't selfish. Click HERE to get gritty! Free downloads of Quick Reference Guides on Delegation, Time Management, Sales, and more.

Justin Tosi is the author of the recently released book, Grandstanding: The Use and Abuse of Moral Talk. Such one-upmanship is not just annoying, but dangerous. Using the analytic tools of psychology and moral philosophy, Justin explains what drives us to behave in this way, and what we stand to lose by taking it too far. Key Takeaways [2:50] Grandstanding is the use and abuse of moral talk for self-promotion. [5:45] As we see ourselves in such a positive light, it makes sense why we want to grandstand and let the whole world know how great we are. [9:50] The difference between morality and ethics is that ethics showcases a general baseline on how to live, what's good for you and others around you. Morality, on the other hand, is much narrower. [14:25] No matter what you believe or the environment you are in, you will have people try to move up in status within their peer group. [20:15] Leaders don't need an official ideology when it comes to politics. We're here to do good work and your political views don't necessarily impact the quality of your work. [23:10] It's important to treat people the way they like to be treated, so politics aside, it's also important to understand their points of view and beliefs. [25:50] We want to bring intense culture to an organization, and this is important, but when you do it, the main motivation should not be trying to impress people. [30:50] Morality is about helping other people, it's not about helping yourself look good. [34:35] Figuring out what a good life is to you is one of the most important questions, not just in moral philosophy, but also in life. [40:45] Listener challenge: Stop grandstanding yourself! Quotable Quotes "People want recognition for being morally good." "Shallow agreement is your friend. You can agree on a general principle without getting into definite disputes." "Do what's right, do your best, and treat others as they'd like to be treated." "How can you talk about values without slipping into this trap of trying to show other people how good you are?" "Am I trying to do good or just look good?" Resources Mentioned Justintosi.com Grandstanding: The Use and Abuse of Moral Talk, by Justin Tosi and Brandon Warmke Connect with Justin on Twitter: @JustinTosi Lou Holtz The Good Place The Leadership Podcast is Sponsored by: Cultivate Grit. Amplify Action. Investing in yourself isn't selfish. Click HERE to get gritty! Free downloads of Quick Reference Guides on Delegation, Time Management, Sales, and more.

Sara Canaday is the author of You — According to Them, and Leadership Unchained: Defy Conventional Wisdom for Breakthrough Performance. Sara shares how leaders can better adapt to the changing landscape, because conventional or traditional success strategies can now limit our recovery and growth. Sara contends we need to shift from being a doer to being a driver. Key Takeaways [3:00] Conventional or traditional success strategies that we've learned can now limit our future success as the landscape today is so different. [6:15] When Sara says take a strategic pause, she doesn't mean to take a mental time out. She means to really absorb all the knowledge you've learned lately and see what stands out. [8:45] The idea of doing nothing scares a lot of people, even when they consciously know it could benefit them greatly. [16:30] In Sara's book, You — According to Them, the biggest thing that leaders took away from that book was shifting the focus from being a doer to a driver.[24:35] It's up to all of us to find our own purpose in the bigger scheme of things. A company tells you what your function is - not necessarily purpose. [31:35] As a young woman, Sara learned that if she wanted to be taken seriously, she had to be serious, and that thinking backfired on her. [33:40] There is a balance between standing out and fitting in. Be a renegade in your ideas, but not in your behavior. [37:15] People like listening to the loudest person in the room because it feels like action-taking, but those people can create massive casualties in an organization. The only way to prevent this is to really slow down and think things through, but that's not deemed 'efficient.' [39:55] You have a lot of control over who gets your time and attention more than you realize, even if you feel like you don't have the 'authority' or a high-demanding boss in front of you. [43:10] In order to get people engaged, we have to show them that we're just as engaged in what they want for themselves. [47:00] Leaders need to be willing to shake up the way they think. Quotable Quotes "Take a strategic pause, make unbreakable appointments with yourself to sit, and let everything you've read/seen/heard in a week or a day marinate so you can see connections you may not have seen." "How many of us were rewarded for being doers? We've been conditioned, so it takes a real mind shift to sit still." "You can have all the smarts in the world, but that alone is not going to get you where you need to be." "The experiences we give ourselves are important." "If you enter the game of business, you enter the game to play. So play to win!" Resources Mentioned Saracanaday.com Leadership Unchained: Defy Conventional Wisdom for Breakthrough Performance, by Sara Canaday You — According to Them: Uncovering the blind spots that impact your reputation and your career, by Sara Canaday What Got You Here Won't Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful, by Marshall Goldsmith The Leadership Podcast is Sponsored by: Cultivate Grit. Amplify Action. Investing in yourself isn't selfish. Click HERE to get gritty! Free downloads of Quick Reference Guides on Delegation, Time Management, Sales, and more.

Change. The soft skills measurement company, Pairin, describes change as the drive to pursue complexity, novelty or variety, and to avoid the predictability of order and routine. Listen in to help guide your team through tough challenges when everything seems to be overwhelming. Jim and Jan share Kotter's 8-Step Process for leading change and how to remove the barriers to support change efforts that stick. Key Takeaways [1:35] It's very rare in life that the entire world experiences change at the same time. [6:45] Wake up every morning determined to give more than you take. [9:25] It's inspiring to see how mankind can come together in terms of crisis. [11:25] If you're getting stressed out, take a big breath, and say, "I have time." [14:25] A review of Kotter's 8-Step Process for Leading Change. [15:25] Short-term wins. [19:50] Focus on the changes that are happening around you and how you can better support the people struggling. A 'woe is me' approach is an unhealthy mindset. [23:05] Gig economy nuances. [26:00] Pay attention to your fears. Quotable Quotes "There are all kinds of things out there that we can not control, but we can control how we respond to our environment and our attitude." "When you're going into situations, breathe, and say, 'I have time. I have time.'" "Great leaders remove big barriers." "Get out of the world of 'what's changed for me' and start thinking about what's changed for everyone." "It's time to reinvent work, and make more time for other important things in life." "Events like this are critical for you to understand what really motivates you and what's keeping you from accomplishing your goals." Resources and Books Mentioned Man's Search for Meaning: The classic tribute to hope from the Holocaust, by Viktor Frankl Kotter's 8-Step Process for Leading Change Adamgrant.net "Dan Pink — When Fear Motivates" The Leadership Podcast is Sponsored by: Cultivate Grit. Amplify Action. Investing in yourself isn't selfish. Click HERE. Free downloads of Quick Reference Guides on Delegation, Time Management, Sales, and more.

General Martin E. Dempsey served as the 18th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the senior officer in the Armed Forces and the military advisor to the Secretary of Defense and to the President. General Dempsey is the co-author of "Radical Inclusion: What the Post-9/11 World Should Have Taught Us About Leadership." "No Time For Spectators: The Lessons That Mattered Most From West Point To The West Wing" is Dempsey's latest book, and he examines the limits of loyalty, the necessity of sensible skepticism, and the value of responsible rebelliousness, and explains why we actually should sweat the small stuff. The conversation with General Dempsey takes listeners behind the closed doors of the Situation Room, onto the battlefields of Iraq, and to the East German border at the height of the Cold War. The conversation also answers: Why are the best leaders the ones who are most adept at following? What should we expect of those who have the privilege of leading? Key Takeaways The relationships between leaders and followers—employers and employees, politicians and constituents, coaches and athletes, teachers and students—are most productive when based on certain key mutual expectations. [3:05] General Dempsey spent some time as a youth really getting to know his origins and understanding his Irish background. [6:50] Chapter 5: Don't Hurry. If you try to spend up the process, you are bound to miss a few steps along the way. For example, it takes time to build critical relationships from within the organization. Trust takes time. [14:25] People are wondering when they can get back to normal. The question really is, was normal even that good? Can we build a better 'normal'? [16:15] We all have our own lens or level of expertise but it's our character that really brings these levels to light. Character is the final filter for making tough decisions based on the limited information you might have. [22:15] Innovation happens with a bit of rebelliousness. The question becomes whether you can define the limits of rebelliousness so that it can still be responsible and valuable to the organization. [28:35] General Dempsey really enjoys the 'art' of Twitter and how he creatively has to convey his message within a limited amount of characters. There is real power towards being able to share your message concisely. [34:10] This is our first global crisis in the social media age. You see people being very helpful and also manipulative. General Dempsey wrote a chapter in his book about sensible skepticism. In the world we live in today, you can't take anything without applying your own common sense to it. [35:10] General Dempsey believes you can get people to come together through influence and collaboration. Do not rely on your authority as a leader to get empowerment/trust done. [42:15] Sometimes not everybody can have a say or voice in the decision-making process, but if you try to make it as inclusive as possible when you can, people are not going to think less of you during the times where you can't include them. [49:35] It was tough for General Dempsey to see fallen soldiers, but it was even tougher trying to comfort the men who still had to fight after losing someone they cared about. He could see in their eyes the mix of emotions between fear and guilt. [54:00] General Dempsey's challenge: What has this pandemic done to you/for you? Quotable Quotes Make it matter. "You have to get off the sidelines if you want to have positive, productive relationships." "I hope we don't go back to normal, but rather to a new normal." "Character exists in the privacy of our own individual consciousness, and it's a willingness mostly invisible to others to allow our aspirational self to confront our actual self." "Almost every decision made at the presidential level is of such importance that character is the final filter, or it should be the final filter. " "Innovation normally occurs with a little bit of rebelliousness." "There are 330 million people in this country and the vast majority of them want more knowledge, want more honesty, want more clarity, and want it more concisely." "I don't think, in the world we live in today, you can take anything without applying your own common sense to it." Resources and Books Mentioned Generaldempsey.com General Dempsey on LinkedIn General Dempsey on Twitter: @Martin_Dempsey No Time for Spectators: The Lessons that Mattered Most from West Point to the West Wing, by General Martin Dempsey General Martin Dempsey retirement ceremony, "Parting Glass" The Leadership Podcast is Sponsored by: Cultivate Grit. Amplify Action. The Self-Reliant Leadership® Manifesto reveals the Three Pillars of a Self-Reliant Leader, which encompass the character attributes, interpersonal skills, and levers required to lead today's workforce. Get your free copy HERE. Free downloads of Quick Reference Guides on Delegation, Time Management, Sales, and more.

Wayne Baker is a professor at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business, and author of All You Have to Do Is Ask, his sixth book. He directs the Center for Positive Organizations and also co-founded Give and Take Inc., an Ann Arbor-based technology firm. Through Wayne's research, he has discovered that leaders are often happy to help others, but are unwilling to ask for help themselves. The good news is that you can create healthy environments in your organization where asking for help is encouraged and rewarded. Key Takeaways [2:40] As an avid sailor, Wayne had to learn to not panic when everything went awry. [5:35] Some people ask for what they want and others take what's given. [7:50] Wayne has observed that there are some mentors that want you to be mini versions of them, but he recalls a great mentor of his who was always trying to push Wayne to be a better version of himself. [11:20] People want to be generous, but don't always know how to help unless you ask them to. [12:15] There are four steps to making a thoughtful request.1. What is the goal of your request?2. What are the resources you need? Come up with a SMART request. And then find 'who' you need to ask. [16:50] Most people will help you if you ask! [19:25] It's hard for leaders to be vulnerable and to ask for help. You can break this mold by creating a 15-minute staff meeting addressing what you need help with. When it's expected that everyone is supposed to ask for help, it makes it easier for leaders to get the support they need. [25:00] When asking for feedback, it's important to know what are both your strengths and weaknesses, but you want to get these two pieces of information at different times so that you can better process it. [26:35] Don't feel comfortable asking for help? Go out and help others first, and then you'll feel more confident asking for help in return. [30:00] Nobody associates Bill Gates with having a partner or a team, but throughout his career, Bill has relied heavily on the partnerships of others. [32:15] Men have a harder time asking for help compared to women. Wayne believes it has something to do with the way boys and men were raised and socialized. [35:20] It's a powerful leadership moment when you ask someone for help and together you co-create a solution. [36:20] We are living in a time where we get to reinvent work. [37:00] People support what they help create, so it's critical to ask for feedback, input, and help. [39:30] Asking for help now is more important than ever. As more people work from home and feel isolated, reach out to your network, do work lunches together, and be proactive in being connected to your social network. Quotable Quotes "The greatest hazard to a mariner is your calendar when you feel you've got to be someplace at some time." "What I discovered over time: asking is the key to generosity." "One of the barriers to making your request is we might assume that people are unwilling or unable to help us." "When you know everyone's going to make a request, it's a lot easier for you to make a request." "By helping other people, you earn the privilege of asking for help." "Unless the leader is willing to ask, they're going to get limited success in getting other people to do it as well." "It's a leadership moment if you ask someone for help and together you co-create a solution." Resources and Books Mentioned Waynebaker.org All You Have to Do Is Ask: How to Master the Most Important Skill for Success, by Wayne Baker "Feed Forward: Leadership Excellence," essay by Marshall Goldsmith "Self-Reliance," essay by Ralph Waldo Emerson The Leadership Podcast is Sponsored by: Cultivate Grit. Amplify Action. The Self-Reliant Leadership® Manifesto reveals the Three Pillars of a Self-Reliant Leader, which encompass the character attributes, interpersonal skills, and levers required to lead today's workforce. Get your free copy HERE. Free downloads of Quick Reference Guides on Delegation, Time Management, Sales, and more. ~~~~~ ~~~~~ Strategic Partners The Leadership Podcast is proud to announce a new initiative with thoughtLEADERS to provide very short podcasts called Chalk Talks. They're bitesize hacks on common (but challenging) leadership issues. Interested in learning more? You can only access the Chalk Talks by subscribing to our mailing list at The Leadership Podcast. Beyond the Uniform offers over 300 free episodes to help military Veterans succeed in their civilian career. This includes overviews of potential career paths, deep dives on necessary skills to succeed, and reviews of other free services that support the military Veteran community. You can find more info at BeyondTheUniform.org.

NOTE: This episode was accelerated and is being promoted out of order because of the timely discussion on pandemics that Jim and Jan recently had with Lisa Monaco, an expert in this area. We will return to our normal schedule (episode 195 next week). Lisa Monaco served as the Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Advisor to President Barack Obama from 2013-2017. In this role, she coordinated the federal government's crisis management and response to cyberattacks, pandemics, and terrorist threats. She also spent 15 years at the Department of Justice, serving as a career federal prosecutor, and in senior management positions including at the FBI. It was there where she was Chief of Staff to the Director, and helped lead the FBI's post-9/11 transformation. Lisa discusses how to lead during a crisis, and ways to create a readiness plan for potential threats; pandemic or otherwise. Key Takeaways [3:35] The role of 'duty' in business: A true test of a leader is whether they can put the organization's role ahead of their own personal views, interests, and what's safe. [5:25] Leaders can know when they're on the right track by checking their inner compass and understanding their gut intuition. [8:55] Lisa spent every day in the situation room when she was the Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Advisor to the President. She found that the best decisions that came out of that room were when they had an inclusive process and having multiple different voices in the room to express their facts and opinions. [10:55] The best leaders have built their credibility and trust long before they've needed to use it. [11:45] Lisa puts the complex Taliban/Afghanistan peace treaty into perspective. This is only the beginning of the process to end the war. [19:40] What keeps Lisa up at night? Pandemic diseases. As businesses are facing repercussions from the coronavirus, Lisa reminds us that we have to think about resilience and to always have a readiness plan for potential threats. [22:55] Communication and preparation are the two main ingredients to survive unforeseeable events. [24:55] A leader needs to shift through the opinion pieces and be the person that delivers reliable information that the team can trust. [29:25] CEOs are so focused on being busy that they're not looking to the future. Instead of planning for March or April 2020, you should be planning for March 2025. [30:10] The tone and pace of an organization come from the top. [31:40] When Lisa worked for the President, every day there was a crisis happening. She was able to manage the stress by having an amazing team and having a repeatable process to gather information and assess the importance of it. [37:25] Throughout Lisa's career, she has been surrounded by amazing leaders. [37:55] A moment that stood out was during the tragedy that happened at Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. It cost the lives of nine people. Lisa personally saw how President Barack Obama demonstrated a whole range of leadership skills in just one day. [42:30] Try to live every day as a custodian of the institution that you're leading. Do not focus as much on the individual needs and desires of the daily decision. Quotable Quotes "One of the things that make for an effective president is they realize their job is not about being busy, it's about slowing things down." "Panic ensues when people don't have information or don't believe they're getting enough clear information." "The best leaders have really built up and honed their ability to be effective in that moment well before the moment arrives." "If the leader has built credibility as somebody who doesn't shade, who doesn't put spin on the ball, then they're going to be able to deliver that uncomfortable, or perhaps, unwelcomed, but truthful message in that moment." "We should not lose sight of the fact that those servicemen's and women's sacrifices are ongoing every day as we go about our daily lives." "We have to think about resilience across all these types of threats, whether it's terrorism, cyber-attacks, or pandemic disease." "Are you being clear? Are you being candid about what you know and what you don't know, and are you being regular in that communication?" "Leaders are best when they really listen to their inner compass." Resources and Books Mentioned Lisa on Wikipedia What Only the CEO Can Do — Harvard Business Review President Obama delivers Eulogy in Charleston, South Carolina The Leadership Podcast is Sponsored by: Cultivate Grit. Amplify Action. 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