The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk

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Full notes can be found at www.LearningLeader.com

Episode #358: Stephen Covey - The One Thing That Changes Everything (Trust)

Notes:

• Sustaining excellence = They get results in a way that inspires trust. If you cut costs for profits, you won't earn trust long term. You won't win long term.
  • "You must think... There always is a next time."
• Build a culture of character and competence.  Those are the components of trust.
• Taking shortcuts, cutting corners will get your short term results, but you will not sustain it. "Beware of the shortcuts."
  • Make expectations clear. Hitting the number is a commitment.
• For the mid-level manager: The middle is the key leverage point. You always need to be building trust and delivering results.  Leaders go first.
  • "Be trustworthy. Be trusting." Give trust to others, lead with trust.
  • If you have a bad boss? "Create an island of excellence in a sea of mediocrity."
• "If we think the problem is everyone else, we disempower ourselves." --> Look in the mirror: 'Here's what I can do..." Self trust. It starts inside of you.
• Neuroscience on trust - When there is low trust on a tea, it saps the energy and joy. It's not fun.
  • High trust = energizing. How can I be that type of leader?
• For the person that doesn't trust anyone else, they are really saying, "I don't trust myself." They know they lie.
• How to build trust with yourself?
  • Learn to make and keep commitments with yourself and others.
    • "Make, keep, repeat. Make, keep, repeat."
    • "Trust is doing what you say you're going to do."
    • "Saying it builds hope. Doing it builds trust."
• Trust = Character + Competence.
• Admiral McRaven - "If you wan to change the world, start with making your bed."
  • "Private victories precede public victories."
• Warren Buffett does deals based on trust. Trust impacts speed and cost.  "Trust decrease transaction costs." --> When you don't have trust, there is a tax on that.
• When trust goes time, costs go up. When trust goes up, costs go down.
• Focus on your credibility. Your character and your competence. Build your reputation. Start with your behavior. Behave in a way to garner trust.
• Distrusts is exhausting. It's not sustainable in relationships.
• How to handle a non-trusting boss?
  • "You can't change the conditions or change them. If you must stay, focus on YOUR credibility. The starting place is on increasing your credibility, it will create more clout, courage, and permission in your organization.  Always start with yourself."
• The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People
  • #1 - Be proactive. You're responsible. "You're not a program. You're a programmer." Between the stimulus and response, there is a space. I choose my response and take responsibility."
    • What's it like having Covey as his last name - "The power is in the principles."
  • #5 - Seek first to understand, then to be understood. A doctor diagnoses before they prescribe. It builds trust when the other person feels understood.
  • #7 - Sharpen the saw - Getting better.  "The Learning Leader has never arrived..."
• His Dad's ethos:
  • To Live
  • To Love
  • To Learn
  • To Leave a Legacy
• Here is WHY joining a Learning Leader Circle is a good idea...

The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk

Text LEARNERS to 44222

For full notes go to www.LearningLeader.com

Episode #357: General Stanley McChrystal - Leadership In Uncertain Times

• “As we lead through this time of crisis, leaders are more important than ever:
  • 1) Communicate relentlessly
  • 2) Match your internal operating pace with that of your external environment
  • 3) Continue to reiterate what ‘winning’ looks like to your organization.”
• Foreword from his book Team of Teams, legendary author Walter Isaacson wrote: “Whether in business or in war, the ability to react quickly and adapt is critical, and it’s becoming even more so as technology and disruptive forces increase the pace of change. That requires new ways to communicate and work together. In today’s world, creativity is a collaborative endeavor. Innovation is a team effort.”
• Stockdale Paradox - (named for Admiral James Stockdale - the highest ranking POW of the Vietnam War who described how leaders survive terrible ordeals) "You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end — which you can never afford to lose — with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.”
• From page 104 in my book, Welcome To Management -- General McChrystal extended a gracious invitation for me to tour the hallowed grounds at the Battle of Gettysburg alongside the students he teaches in his leadership class at Yale. We learned a lot about the history of the battle over the course of two days with General McChrystal and some of his friends as tour guides. However, one teaching point that I specifically remembered was this, “The real lesson is . . . it’s not tactics, not strategy; it’s always about the people.”
• Uncertainty -- What’s most scary for people.  While you can’t predict the future, you can be that sense of calm, cool, composed (QB in the huddle in tense moments).  General at war. The quarterback at Yale (where Stan teaches) said, "When you throw an interception, don't say 'My bad.' The guys know it's your bad. Say, 'here's what we're going to do next.'"
• Recent events:  “These observations remind us of our early months fighting Al Qaeda in Iraq: We struggled to keep up with the pace of events, needed to unlearn conventional management rules and had to learn to lead in a totally new way.”
• From James Clear - “The most useful form of patience is persistence. Patience implies waiting for things to improve on their own. Persistence implies keeping your head down and continuing to work when things take longer than you expect.”
• "You have to navigate from where you are, not where you wish you were."
• From Stan -- The German Army had a say, "feel the cloth." They were referencing when the men were walking so close to one another they could literally feel the cloth on the person next to them. Right now, we don't have that luxury with our co-workers, and it's a challenge. But what we do have and what we need to utilize are communication platforms to stay connected to our teammates. This is our new normal and it's our time to be a leader and help our team get the job done.
  • Communicate -- Losing these in person interactions in a remote-work environment means leaders need to start communicating with more regularity and breadth to their organization.
  • Set Realistic Goals - This is not business as usual, but you can still succeed. Your role as a leader is to be brutally honest about what is achievable in the coming weeks and months as this disruption continues to ripple across the economy.
  • Be Patient - Many of your employees, especially the younger ones, have not experienced turmoil like this in their careers. Be patient, but start communicating now. It is your responsibility as a leader to be a source of calm and steady for them. (from CNN)
• Questions from members of my Leadership Circle:  Nicci Bosco --What values can we hold in our mind/should we be thinking about/allowing to guide our own actions with when speaking to a group/leading a group/etc in uncertain times? What can we do to re-fill our own reservoir when we notice we're depleted? If we don't know the answer to something, but still want to provide guidance and a response, what are some options? Tom Carvelli -- If you had to sum up your leadership principles into a single unified concept, what would that be?  What does your your daily fitness routine look like in times like these when resources and activities are curtailed? Matt Spitz -- In a world that is incredibly uncertain is there anything in his life that never changes?  Matt Mullins -- In times of adversity and uncertainty how do leaders ensure that their people are prepared and confident to thrive and maintain character through those moments?  How does one develop the ability to maintain composure in stressful situations? How?
• Stan's daily routine - It always starts with a workout in the early morning hours. "Always start the day lifting. Do a lot of Abs. Work on your core." That discipline creates consistency and that creates confidence. Stan weighs exactly the same today as he did when he was 17! He's only eaten one meal per day for 40 years.
• If you have to fire someone (or lay them off) -- "Explain it, be honest, do it with grace."
• Roosevelt during Pearl Harbor - "We are going to do whatever it takes to prevail. It's an unthinkable time, but we will get through it."
• "You exist for the team... To give them what they need."
• People are watching what you (the leader) is doing at every moment. How do you respond to good news? Bad news? What is you facial expression on that video conference call? The "Say-Do" gap. As a leader there should not be a gap between what you say and what you do. You must LIVE your values.
• Building a committed team -- Top CIA agent said to Stan when they were overseas... "I don't know what the Ranger way is, but I will commit to YOU as a person."
• A two-thousand-year-old Stoic phrase (from Ryan Holiday's Daily Stoic): What is up to us, what is not up to us? And what is up to us? Our emotions. Our judgments. Our creativity. Our attitude. Our perspective. Our desires. Our decisions. Our determination.
• Here is WHY joining a Learning Leader Circle is a good idea...

The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk

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Full show notes can be found at www.LearningLeader.com

356: Stewart Friedman - How To Parent With Purpose & Fuel Your Career

Notes:

• Sustaining excellence = "they take seriously the idea that it's not just about work. It's about life." --> Know what you care about... "It takes courage to look inside yourself."
  • Ask yourself, "What am I here to do?"  For Stew, "I'm here to help people grow as leaders and make an impact on the world."
• What Stew learned from his time as a cab driver: Patience... Everyone is unique. You see how people treat others.  "It created a love of geography."
• There is a lot of perspective to be gained from working in the service industry.
• Stew was hired to run the leadership development program at Ford
  • It was important to connect with everyone around him
    • "Be respectful of all people you interact."
    • Humbled -- "I realized I knew nothing when I went to Ford."
      • "I get up there and devise what the next 10 years will look like... And talked about myself the whole time. A key leader pulled me aside and said, 'What the F are you doing?'"
• Be WHOLE - It's about you as a whole person both at work and at home.
• "Firms that fully embrace the needs and interests of the whole person will win today's competition for the best talent."
• "Leading is about mobilizing people toward valued goals."
• Learn how to talk with others and show them that you truly value you... LISTEN
  • "Ryan, you're one of the most important people to me in my life..."
• What does the team need from the leader?
  • values, vision, an understanding of the stakeholders
• The leadership leap:
  • You must care about people
  • Understand the specific priorities
  • Ask, "What am I missing?"
• Total Leadership:
  • Projection - "If you had control, what would you be doing?"
  • "What's distinctive about you?"
    • Get clarity on what you care about right now
  • Identify the most important people in your life
• Be innovative -- Constantly experimenting
• Create 4 way wins:
  • Business
  • Family
  • Community
  • Personal
• Take initiative - "What's a win for your company? Your boss?"
• "At the individual level, you need to examine what you truly value, share this with key stakeholders in various life domains both to get feedback and support, and then to experiment with new ways of doing things so that - over the arc of a life - you can achieve harmony and have more of what it is that you uniquely want out of life."
• Work life integration is a more useful term than work life balance. "Balance is the wrong metaphor."
• The four elements, where do you devote your attention?
  • Do an assessment - Take 100 points... Divy up how important each of the following are based on your actions:
    • Work
    • Home
    • Community
    • Self
• Do you find yourself saying, "I'm not paying enough attention to the things that matter to me."
  • "It's like a jazz quartet. Four people paying attention to each other, improvise, respond, make something beautiful over time."
• "The only failure is the failure to learn from conscious and deliberate efforts to make things better, even if those attempts fall short of the mark."
• Writing Parents Who Lead -  Crafting a collective vision. "What does our life look like?"
• The question to ask: "How do you be you?"
  • "The courageous ones are able to bring that question forward..."

The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk

Text LEARNERS to 44222

Full show notes can be found at www.LearningLeader.com

The Learning Leader Academy: http://bit.ly/thelearningleaderacademy

Episode #355: Ramit Sethi - How To Live A Rich Life

Notes:

• Ramit's book buying rule - If you are even thinking about buying the book, don't deliberate, just buy it.  You could invest $17 and it could change your life.  Even one idea makes it worth it.
• Excellence - "Consistently do the work."
  • Put it on the calendar
  • Seek out people who are successful and then ask them for advice
  • In motion - Refuse to be stuck or paralyzed -- Take action
• "Show me your spending and your calendar and I'll show you your priorities."
  • What are the 3-4 most important things in your life? Does your spending and your calendar reflect that?
• Ramit starting learning how money worked while he was in college at Stanford... "The basic, boring truth. Consistency..."
• Starting your blog can be your experimental laboratory
• What is the future of online courses?
  • Online learning will continue to grow -- "Great leaders are always learning."
  • You should join The Learning Leader Academy
• The trajectory of hiring as you're growing a business:
  • Part time assistant --> Researcher --> Full time
• What do you look for when choosing who to add to your team?
  • Excellent at the task of doing the work
  • Curious - They ask great questions
  • Likable - They are someone you want to spend time with
• Start your business on the side:
  • It's practical... Going from zero to 1 is very hard: Start this part while you have a job and don't need the money from your new endeavor
• The psychology of pricing:  There is a profound difference in customers who get it for free vs. those who pay for it
  • You need to create "skin in the game."  People value it more if they have a financial stake in it.
  • "In business, you're not looking for the most people, you're looking for the right people."
    • "If you're a cheapskate, you'll attract cheapskates."
• The power of mentors: They can be massively helpful, but you need to do the work to be a valuable mentee.  Show up to your meetings prepared and with a purpose.  Don't wander through life.
• Atul Gawande - A coach in the operating room -- EVERYONE needs a coach.
• Automate your finances - It's the crown jewel.  Set up your system so you don't need to think about it after it's created.
  • Create auto saving behaviors
• "People are so busy asking $3 questions instead of $30K questions."
  • "How do I use my money to live a rich life?"
  • "What does rich mean to you?"

The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk

Text LEARNERS to 44222

For full show notes, go to www.LearningLeader.com

Episode #354: WELCOME TO MANAGEMENT Book Launch Party With Doug Meyer

This is the recording from the conversation I had with Co-Founder/President of Brixey & Meyer, Doug Meyer, in front of many of our friends, clients, and colleagues at the Dayton office of Brixey & Meyer.

In WELCOME TO MANAGEMENT, I provide practical, actionable advice to help new managers build and lead committed teams in the face of daunting, unanticipated challenges. He presents a three-part framework outlining best practices distilled from interviews with more than 350 of the most forward-thinking leaders in the world, as well as his own professional experience transitioning from individual producer to new leader.

Through compelling stories and data-backed case studies, the book helps high performers make the leap from individual contributor to manager with greater ease, grace, courage, and effectiveness.

Notes:

• The book writing process: How long did it take to write? What was the proposal writing process like? What led you to sell the book rights to McGraw-Hill?
• Curiosity? Always natural or a learned skill? -- For me, this was something I learned to do... As I learned more, I realized there was so much more to learn.
• The Cycle of Learning -- Operating Framework
  • Consume/Learn - The intake engine (read, listen to podcasts, speak with mentors)
  • Test - Experiment with what's been learned (You can't just be a learner, you have to be a doer) - "We learn who we are in practice, not in theory."
  • Reflect - Analyze results, make adjustments
  • Teach - Reinforce learning through sharing with others
• Mentors vs. coaches. Interesting comparison and need throughout life. We discussed the difference and importance of each...
• “Build the skills to do the job, not to get the job.” -- The act of putting your high potential employees in position to actually do the job, not just prepare for an interview.
• Developing self-awareness -- It's important to regularly hold a mirror up to ourselves and surround self with people who will be brutally honest and caring of you and your development.
• WELCOME TO MANAGEMENT  will teach you
  • Where the real work of leadership begins
  • The greatest medicine for fear and how to put it into practice
  • Why you need an “Operating Framework” and how to create one
  • The 3 key elements to creating a performance culture
  • The opportunity that many managers miss after they achieve success
  • The seven keys to earning respect
• The quickest way to build trust is through vulnerability
• Managing a team you inherit -- The instant you sign for the job, those are YOUR players.  Don't use terms like 'they' or 'them.'  It is US and WE.
• The difference between leadership, management, coaching
  • Leadership:
    • The act of leading is about providing purpose, direction, aligning expectations, and inspiring the team.
  • Management:
    • Figuring out how to work within the current constraints of the system you are in... It is the administration and stewardship of resources.
  • Coaching:
    • The two types of coaching:
      • Coaching for performance - The 'right now' actions... Behaviors.
      • Coaching for development - Longer term
• Dustyn Kim is a fantastic model for humility, vulnerability, and intelligence -- That's what she's the type of leader that I committed to doing everything I could to help her be successful.
• Nobody is 'self-made.'  We are are built from communities of people who care about us, help us, and show love and support.