Peak Performance Leadership

In a world where the pace of change and the complexity of challenges are ever-increasing, leaders are consistently tasked with making decisions that impact not only their organizations but also the people within them. Effective decision-making is crucial, yet many leaders rely on intuition or "gut feelings" rather than informed, evidence-based approaches. This reliance can lead to significant pitfalls and missed opportunities. This episode dismantles the myth of intuitive decision-making, illustrating why leaders should avoid going with their gut and instead employ strategies grounded in cognitive neuroscience and behavioral economics. Unpacking topics such as organizational tribalism, cognitive biases, and the dangers of unchecked intuition, this episode offers actionable strategies for leaders to improve their decision-making processes. Dr. Gleb Tsipursky is a cognitive neuroscientist and expert on behavioral economics and decision making. As CEO of Disaster Avoidance Experts, he spent over two decades consulting, coaching, speaking and training hundreds of clients across North America, Europe, and Australia, including Aflac, IBM, Honda, Wells Fargo, and the World Wildlife Fund. With over 15 years in academia, including 7 as a professor at Ohio State University, he published dozens of peer-reviewed pieces in academic journals such as Behavior and Social Issues and the Journal of Social and Political Psychology. His thought leadership is featured in Fast Company, CBS News, Time, CNBC, Inc Magazine, and elsewhere. Never Go With Your Gut Topics During this episode, Gleb and I discuss the following topics: [00:00:00] Introduction to Decision Making: The importance of leaders making informed decisions rather than relying on gut instincts.[00:01:48] Gleb Tsipursky's Background: Insights into Gleb's expertise in cognitive neuroscience and decision-making.[00:03:17] Why Intuition Can Lead to Poor Decisions: Discussion on the pitfalls of relying on gut instincts in leadership roles.[00:08:07] Evoutionary Background: Explanation of how our instincts are not evolved for today's business environment.[00:11:02] Organizational Tribalism: Exploring the impact of tribalism on organizational culture and decision-making.[00:16:04] Cognitive Biases and Leadership: Identifying common cognitive biases and their effects on decision-making.[00:25:06] Tools for Better Decision Making: Strategies to overcome biases and improve decision processes.[00:31:12] Effective Decision-Making Techniques: Tools and techniques leaders can use to make better decisions.[00:44:33] Final Thoughts on Decision Making: Importance of wise decision-making in leadership and organizations. For the complete show notes, be sure to check out our website: https://leaddontboss.com/98

There are no other leadership lessons which are in comparison than those which are learned on the front lines. The Royal Marines of the UK's armed forces know all too well this lesson. Military leaders are trained to think quickly, be decisive, and most importantly the importance of taking care of their soldiers. All leadership traits which apply as much in service as out of service. Rod Yapp is a former Royal Marine Officer and the founder of Leadership Forces, a program that takes the high performance principles of the Royal Marines and applies it to leadership development. Rod has exemplified leadership on the front lines (literally) in Afghanistan and Libya and now uses that experience in order to develop leaders within organizations such as Land Rover, HSBC, and NATO. Lead like a Royal Marine Topics During this interview, Roderic and I discuss the following topics: What the Royal Marines taught him of leadershipHow his first bosses were great mentorsHow subordinates can mentor a leaderWhat leadership lessons he learned from his deployments to Afghanistan and LibyaMental Models which leaders can useWhat civilian leaders can learn from military leaders For the complete show notes, be sure to check out our website: https://leaddontboss.com/97

Even leaders have their "baggage" which affects their emotions and can have negative consequences on their performance. Our people and organizations deserve leaders who operate at their peak, this is where neuroscience can come into play and give leaders that advantage. Michele is the founder and CEO of Nectar Consulting Inc., and co-author of the best-selling book “Breakthrough Healing”. She works with executives and entrepreneurs bringing more than 25 years of experience, intuitive insights and strategic business savvy to their success. She is an expert at enhancing the capacity of leaders, to build high performing teams and exponentially increase bottom-line results. Neuroscience Of Success Topics During my interview, Michele and I discuss the following topics: How she became an expert in the fieldWhy leaders should care about neuroscienceHow leaders can use neuroscience to their advantageAdvice for leaders who have a hard time controlling their emotionsHow leaders can release their “baggage” and move forwardHow leaders can use neuroscience to improve their team For the complete show notes, be sure to check out our website: https://leaddontboss.com/96

The world is constantly changing and it is becoming more and more difficult to keep up with "the Jones'" per say. Teams are no different in this case. Teams need to evolve and change over time to ensure that they stay relevant and meet your organization's needs. So it's imperative that you learn how to transform your team for the future. Not learning this could cause something that work okay to crash and burn. In 2000, Jill Valdez joined a start up team for a non-profit organization and was thrust into creating all of the systems and processes necessary to grow the organization. Eight years later, they were operating on two sites with a 30% increase in clients and a simple operations plan that was successfully passed on to the next director. Her next position was for an established organization that had been doing things the same way for over 40 years. Her empathy, combined with her aptitude for assessing people and connecting their passion to a purpose, allowed her to introduce updated processes in order for the team to enjoy greater success at accomplishing Transform Your Team Topics During the interview, Jill and I discuss the following topics: Why would leaders need to transform teams in the first placeHow to deal with resistance to change and transformationHer 5 ways to transform teamsHow to deal with problems during a transformationWhat to do when a team is done transformingHow to address “good idea fairies” For the complete show notes, be sure to check out our website: https://leaddontboss.com/95

Organizational productivity is linked to the organization's culture. If the organization's culture is of one which stuffs out ideas, limits creativity, or enables backstabbing then it will implode. However, if your organization embraces a culture where people can talk, collaborate, and resolve conflicts then it'll be a highly productive culture. For 30 years as a management consultant, executive coach, and facilitator, Liz Kislik has helped clients such as American Express, Orvis, The Girl Scouts, Comcast, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, and Highlights for Children solve their thorniest problems while strengthening their top and bottom lines. Her specialty is developing high performing leaders and teams. Liz is a frequent contributor to Harvard Business Review, Forbes, and Entrepreneur, and gave a TEDx talk on “Why There’s So Much Conflict at Work and What You Can Do to Fix It.” She has served as adjunct faculty at Hofstra University and New York University. Highly Productive Culture Topics During this interview, Liz and I discuss the following topics: Why organizational culture is so important to herWhat a highly productive culture actually meansHow leaders can create highly productive teamsHow conflict destroys productivity within an organizationHow to fix conflict as a leader For the complete show notes, be sure to check out our website: https://leaddontboss.com/94

It’s 2019, almost 2020 yet gender-based biases still exist in the western world. Leaders need to stand and making eliminating gender biased workplaces a thing of the pass. The ideology that a gender is inferior to another must be stuffed out if our organizations are going to succeed in the future. Andie Kramer and Al Harris are married, practicing lawyers who have been mentoring women and speaking and writing about gender communication for more than 30 years. Through their writing, their keynotes, and their global workshops, Andie and Al help multinational organizations better understand the power of gender in the workplace, providing concrete, non-disruptive suggestions for workplace changes to make women’s career opportunities more comparable to men’s. Gender Biased Workplaces Topics During this interview, I discuss the following topics with Andie and Al: Why does gender-biases still existKey reasons why the gender gap closure has stalled.How leaders can aware of their own biasesHow can leaders best stuff out gender issues in their organizations?How can a leader best resolve a gendered conflictIs gendered-focus policy truly a solution? For the complete show notes, be sure to check out our website: https://leaddontboss.com/93

As leaders we need to prepare for the future the best we can. It's impossible to foresee events such as the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the 2008 financial crisis, or even a key person leaving the organization but we can develop the skill sets to adapt, adjust, and overcome to ensure the impact is minimal. Leading into the future means that we as leaders do our best to ensure that our people and our organizations are set up for success. Diana Wu David is the author of Future Proof: Reinventing Work in the Age of Acceleration, a book about how to adopt more agile mindsets and practices to prepare yourself for success in a fast-changing world, across a 100-year life. A former Financial Times executive, Diana now works a CEO and board level to boost agility and collaboration and build a competitive, resilient workforce. Her clients have included Credit Suisse, The Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, Wharf Hotel Management Group, Expedia, the World Bank, Asia Development Bank and KPMG. Leading Into the Future Topics During this interview Diana and I discuss the following topics: Lanes which people tend to focus on when thinking of the futureChanges which she foresee’s leaders needing to be aware ofThe effects of technology on organizationsHow leaders can tackle Globalization For the complete show notes, be sure to check out our website: https://leaddontboss.com/92

The world is constantly changing, this has been said over and over again. In order to keep relevant organizations need to change with current trends. However, those organizations which are well-established and successful are often those the most difficult to change. It is a paradigm of epic proportions. Therefore, leaders within these organizations need to learn that transforming their organizations is crucial in order to remain competitive when the startup is the most powerful organization currently. Kris Østergaard is the co-founder and Chief Learning & Innovation Officer of SingularityU Nordic, a country partner of Singularity University, as well as a faculty member of Singularity University. Kris is the author of Transforming Legacy Organizations: Turn Your Established Business into an Innovation Champion to Win the Future; translator of the best-selling business book Exponential Organizations into Danish; and also the co-author of The Fundamental 4s: How to Design Extraordinary Customer Experiences in an Exponential World. He is also a Certified Experience Economy Expert and the first recipient of the prestigious Experience Management Achievement Award outside of the US. Transforming Legacy Organizations into Innovative Ones Topics During this interview, Kris and I cover the following topics: His and background and storyHis motivation to write this bookWhy innovation is much harder in large organizationsThe three immune systems of innovationHow culture plays a very important role in innovationWhy established organizations must innovate in three tracks simultaneously.Culture hacks leaders can use to develop an innovative culture For the complete show notes, be sure to check out our website: https://leaddontboss.com/91

Burn out continues to be a world problem and with technology today people cannot get away from their workplace. This is just as relevant to leaders as their subordinates and as both it is important to recognize this issues in both your people as well as your boss. Sometimes, as a junior or middle leader, or even as a subordinate we need to step in and help our bosses recognize their own burn out. Vicky Oliver is an award-winning author of 6 books on career development. Her savvy career advice has been featured in over 901 media outlets, including the NY Times, WSJ, NY Post, and Esquire. She blogs for B2C, ThriveGlobal, Harvard Business Review Ascend, LifeHack, and KivoDaily. Her 3rd book, Bad Bosses, Crazy Coworkers & Other Office Idiots (Sourcebooks, 2008) won 9 awards, including the National Best Books Award for "Best Business Careers Book," and placed in the NY, SF and Hollywood Book Festivals. Saving Your Burned Out Boss Topics During this interview, Vicki and I discuss a range of topics including the following: Her background and storyReasons why people are burning outWhy are bosses are prone to burn outHow we can recognize burn out in our bossesHow to avoid burn outHow to help your boss when they are burnt outWays to find a mentor when your boss is burnt out Vicky Oliver’s Resources If you are interested in learning more about Vicki and her resources be sure to check out the following links: vickyoliver.comVicky on LinkedInVicky on Twitter301 Smart Answers to Tough Interview QuestionsBad Bosses, Crazy Coworkers & Other Office Idiots: 201 Smart Ways to Handle the Toughest People Issues301 Smart Answers to Tough Business Etiquette QuestionsLive Like a Millionaire (Without Having to Be One)Power Sales Words: How to Write It, Say It And Sell It With Sizzle For the complete show notes, be sure to check out our website: https://leaddontboss.com/90

From time to time we leaders need to sit down and think about what is in store for the future. What issues are on the horizon, what will be our challenges, and how can we best prepare for them. In this solo episode, I simply share some thoughts I have had over the past couple of days or weeks. I discuss topics such as changes to business, technology impacts, globalization, the next generation among others. Enjoy! For the complete show notes, be sure to check out our website: https://leaddontboss.com/89