Conversations with exemplary leaders investing their passion and talents across all domains of life and work. They work with an entrepreneurial spirit characterized by resourcefulness, energy and a commitment to leading financially successful, sustainable organizations that make a positive contribution to society. Hosted by LeeAnn Mallory
Episodes
Tuesday Jun 07, 2022
Tuesday Jun 07, 2022
“I bet half of our anxiety is the energy of trying to remember which hat to put on in my relationship with [others]…And people end up becoming a less real version of themselves. …Why can't we be fully present to this process, and not have to put anything on the side - not try to take away the personal parts of who we are?”
Showing up fully human
What if I told you it’s possible to bring your full self to the workplace? Jeff Shiefelbein thinks it's not possible, but necessary for forming humans and building great cultures.
Jeff and I discuss how draining it is to change our personalities depending on where we are and who we're with. The expectations to leave your heart and your personality at the door when you come to work are changing. Jeff also explains the magnetism of authenticity and how facing difficult topics can help form connections and trust.
He speaks with experience: The company he co-founded has won multiple Best Places to Work awards, as well as five consecutive appearances on the Inc 5,000 fastest growing companies in America. His tenets behind the “Undivided Life” have contributed to this success.
You'll also hear how a run-in with the law in college inspired him to launch a nationwide nonprofit that has likely saved hundreds of lives.
At its core, successful businesses are comprised of engaged people working in concert.
Authenticity opens doors
“As you step into these bold moments of living, the way we’re actually designed to be, show up…what comes after [is] the freedom, mentorship, accountability, cool opportunities that you could have never predicted in your life. It’s because people feel like they know you, they might start to connect to you because you’re speaking and leaving a message that they have buried in their heart.”
Create connections at a micro-level for macro-change
“You start to develop this trusting relationship…And if you can keep building, your circle gets bigger and bigger, the ripples get further and further apart. You’re this pocket of people that you have a trusting and loving relationship with, and you're connecting…even if our big giant company or whatever organization has cultures within it that are toxic, let's just make the part that's right around us a place we like to come to. And that begets confidence; it begets this sense of ‘this is possible.’”
Caring about people leads to organization success
“You don't run the business by metrics, you run your run it by getting highly engaged, fully formed adults, loving, trusting, and empowering them, and getting out of their way…therefore, I think the whole health of that person becomes an input to the company's long-term health and success.”
“An undivided life also respects the fact that we weren't made to be 24/7 working machines that are 24/7 available. There's a dignity and respect to that person - that if I recognize the personal side of who they are, I also respect their personal time.”
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Undivided Life:
https://www.undivided.life
Connect with Jeff Schiefelbein on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/schiefelbein
Energy By 5:
https://www.energyby5.com
Rise Leaders interview with Nathan Havey - Episode 60:
https://rise-leaders.com/podcast/
Link between Heart Attacks and Monday Mornings study:
https://www.menshealth.com/health/a19524979/heart-attack-timing/
To subscribe to the Rise Leaders newsletter for more resources:
https://mailchi.mp/426e78bc9538/subscribe
To discuss executive coaching, leadership development program design, and workshop facilitation, please visit:
https://rise-leaders.com/contact-info/
Tuesday May 24, 2022
Tuesday May 24, 2022
“Business is the social institution that that makes the world go ‘round. At one point in time, it was government and monarchies, and another point in time, it was religion. Now, it's businesses. So if we want to change the world, we have to change business.” – Nathan Havey
3D Business: A force for positive change
In the 1970s, Milton Friedman said that the only responsibility of business is to increase profits for its shareholders. Today, conscious capitalism expands the definition of success for businesses to be three-dimensional, to include the environment, a diverse workforce, and more, and to ultimately leave a positive impact on the world.
Nathan Havey believes transforming business is one of the best ways to help all people thrive. To that end, he’s done an impressive job weaving together his passions for film and storytelling alongside his public policy and consultant background to bring us the documentary Beyond Zero.
Together, we discuss:
- Nathan's road to creating the documentary and how it illustrates Conscious Capitalism
- How we can bring Conscious Capitalism into business conversations – and who can drive it
- The 6 elements important for stakeholder / conscious capitalism
- And more
With the right mindsets and practices in place, business has the ability to become a restorative enterprise that creates good in the world.
Positive impact is best for business
[5:35] “Business people need to understand the consequences their companies have on the environment and on humanity, and they need to try to make sure those are positive consequences. That’s the way we can actually work together to create a world that works for everyone…because it’s the best way for capitalism to operate.”
What's your BHAG? And does it go beyond your shareholders?
[7:09] "...all of the macro life support systems on Earth are in decline. And they're in decline because of industrial activity. And as he read what Hawkins said, he realized that he, as the chief executive of a global industrial company, was part of the Vanguard that was driving the decline of the life support systems on Earth. And so it, it absolutely shocked him to his core.
Business success = helping people be the best version of themselves
[47:52] “Rather than using people in your company for your gain – ‘I'm gonna pay you as little as possible, work you as hard as I can so I get maximum benefit from you’ – is there a way you can help make them the best version of themselves? Can you help them become who they want to be, to help them be who they need to be for their family?
When you do that, counterintuitively, they perform far better, and you actually end up getting better performance.”
Progress, not perfection
[24:32] “That stops a lot of companies from starting this journey – they see all these different places – there's environmentalism, and there's economic justice, and there's animal rights, and welfare, and where do we even begin? If we're going to start to do anything, are we going to immediately get slapped for everything that we're not doing?...
”We can't let the perfect be the enemy of the good, but the best way to do that is by holding up how much farther we still have to go so that it’s all in context.”
What can you do? The smallest gesture may have big payoffs
[14:09] "But what there is for us, each of us, to do is to just do the things that we see to do. And you never know what the other extenuating circumstances are, that when your small gesture of giving a book recommendation might be the thing that changes a piece of the world."
About the documentary Beyond Zero:
https://beyondzerofilm.com/
Ray Anderson Spear in the Chest
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eUMdcgXxJo&t=11s
Interface
https://www.interface.com/US/en-US/homepage
Paul Hawken
https://paulhawken.com/
The 6-Part Stakeholder Score:
https://stakeholderscore.com/
Listen to Nathan’s 10-episode podcast:
10 Things You Should Know About Stakeholder Capitalism
Visit:
https://www.100monthstochange.com/
https://www.consciouscapitalism.org
Raj Sisodia
http://rajsisodia.com/
Firms of Endearment
http://firmsofendearment.com/
Emmanuel Faber, Former CEO, Danone
https://time.com/6121684/emmanuel-faber-danone-interview/
Leith Sharp
https://eesl.sph.harvard.edu/leith-sharp-program-director-biography
LEED Certification
https://www.usgbc.org/leed
Erin Meezan
https://www.linkedin.com/in/erinmeezan/
Jessica Schneider - Conscious Capitalism Consultant
https://www.linkedin.com/in/inspiringpossibilities/
Milton Friedman
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milton_Friedman
To subscribe to the Rise Leaders newsletter for more resources:
https://mailchi.mp/426e78bc9538/subscribe
To discuss executive coaching, leadership development program design, and workshop facilitation, please visit:
https://rise-leaders.com/contact-info/
Tuesday May 10, 2022
Tuesday May 10, 2022
Do you ever feel overwhelmed and even stuck by situations that feel complex, uncertain and ambiguous?
I certainly do.
My guest today, Jay Cone, tells us that there's a surprising power in not knowing what to do. He believes that if we can boost our immunity to feeling the chaos, we can respond with creativity and compassion rather than paralysis and tribalism. Does expanding your repertoire and freeing your mind sound useful? Then join us as we talk about bias, quicksand questions, and four disciplines for getting unstuck.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tuesday Apr 26, 2022
Tuesday Apr 26, 2022
“If we focus on goals alone, without being tethered into this beingness, [it] can activate and trigger us, and we see those goals as our persecutor…‘Was the goal big enough? Did I do it fast enough?’ So the goal-setting can actually become a persecutor. And in our own mind, we feel victim to that.” – Donna Zajonc
Are your goals also your persecutor?
Working toward a goal or vision is important - but how often do we pay as much attention to the person that we're being while in that pursuit, as the pursuit itself?
It’s easy to get caught up in the goal without placing attention on who we are along the way. However, without tending to ourselves we can feel trapped by our own goals and wonder if we’re living up to the standards we’ve set. Distress and reactive behaviors follow.
Donna Zajonc covers this topic in her new book, Who Do You Want to Be on the Way to What You Want.
Alongside her partner, David Emerald, they’ve developed a framework for recognizing and responding more intentionally when life throws us a curve ball. We learn to move out of the toxicity of the Dreaded Drama Triangle (DDT), and how to reorient ourselves with the The Empowerment Dynamic (TED).
We’ll discuss her new book, along with 3 powerful practices for you to use to look inward, spur creativity and conquer stress.
Tangled up in your emotions? Notice and name
[00:28:21] “When we notice and name something, we are now able to see it and hold it in our hand and go, ‘Oh, look at that.’ We're not as enmeshed into it, so we're not subject to it. It’s really a powerful psychodynamic thing that's going on, that allows us to have it and not be it…when we can do that, our body starts calming down.”
Stuck? Tell 3 stories
[00:30:50] “When we're really stuck and attached to a particular point of view, we’re constricted in our bodies, our minds are constricted - and we are totally lost to the creativity of any other possibility. So we literally must broaden our perspective. That's really hard to do when we're stuck in one perspective. The practice of the possibility of telling three stories [helps you realize] there's even more going on here than I realized.”
Create space and see what space creates
[00:39:24] “[Leaders often feel they] need to be able to tell people more ideas about how to fix this or be that. And it's actually the opposite - to let go of needing to have the answers and to create a safe space for others to step into their genius, their creator, their sense of who do they want to be. … Let's take a timeout let's breathe, let's calm ourselves, and trust that our wisdom is going to rise if we can calm ourselves.”
Resources:
Donna Zajonc donna@theempowermentdynamic.com,
Who do You Want to Be on the Way to What You Want? https://bookshop.org/a/16835/9781733678100
Center for the Empowerment Dynamic: https://www.theempowermentdynamic.com/
Link to coach training in May 2022: https://www.theempowermentdynamic.com/coaching-2/
Episode 51 Focus 2022: From Surviving to Thriving with 3 Vital Questions (Replay from February 2020): https://rise-leaders.com/podcast/
Rise Leaders YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKZAhRU1iLsXYwpvCECVreg
To discuss executive coaching, leadership development program design, and workshop facilitation, please visit:
Tuesday Apr 12, 2022
Tuesday Apr 12, 2022
“Imagine if we could all show up in more, if not all, places in life fully ourselves - that we could fully open ourselves to learning, making mistakes, taking feedback, taking risks, and be being fully seen for our humanity and our potential without the fear of embarrassment or retribution.”
Move from socially defined to self-authored
Have you ever felt that internal tug-of-war where you yearn to bring your whole self to a situation - but you hold yourself back? Perhaps you self-impose guidelines for how you “should” speak and act in your organization?
Endeavoring to live with authenticity often causes internal conflict. We suffer when we constantly try to become what (we assume) others expect of us. As a result, we have less energy to innovate, improve and positively impact stakeholders. We end up with a decreased sense of well-being and satisfaction with work and life.
Ultimately, we want to live and lead in a way that exemplifies what’s most important to us.
To help you ground and elevate your authenticity, I share:
-What it means to live and lead with authenticity and be “self-authored”
-The cost incurred when we don’t fully show up as ourselves
-5 practices to help create more authenticity
Image management hogs organizational resources
[03:05] "In an ordinary organization, most people are doing a second job no one is paying them for ... spending time and energy covering up their weaknesses, managing other people's impressions of them, showing themselves to their best advantage, playing politics, hiding their inadequacies, hiding their uncertainties, hiding their limitations. We regard this as the single biggest loss of resources that organizations suffer every day.”
– From An Everyone Culture: Becoming a Deliberately Developmental Organization by Harvard Professors Bog Kegan and Lisa Lahey
When we’re inauthentic, we suffer
[04:55] “Jesus said, ‘If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you.’” – From the Gospel of Thomas
The result of authenticity? Vitality
[16:13] “Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” - Howard Thurman, author, philosopher and theologian".
“An Everyone Culture: Becoming a Deliberately Developmental Organization” by Harvard Professors Bob Kegan and Lisa Lahey: https://bookshop.org/a/16835/9781625278623
Self-Authoring mind: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2017/01/27/what-having-a-self-authoring-mind-means/?sh=51a3a1953b77
The Gospel of Thomas:
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/story/thomas.html
Howard Thurman:
https://www.bu.edu/thurman/about-us/who-is-howard-thurman/
StrengthsFinder; CliftonStrengths: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2017/01/27/what-having-a-self-authoring-mind-means/?sh=51a3a1953b77
Owning Your Value | Key Elements for Authenticity & Personal Power: www.rise-leaders.com/podcast Episode 21
A Guide for Owning Your Value: https://mailchi.mp/d37649fa5f04/own-your-value
Article: Authentic Leadership: https://www.wgu.edu/blog/what-is-authentic-leadership2004.html#close
Rise Leaders YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKZAhRU1iLsXYwpvCECVreg
Insight Meditation App (search for body scans that work for you) https://insighttimer.com/
To discuss executive coaching, leadership development program design, and workshop facilitation, please visit:
https://rise-leaders.com/contact-info/
Tuesday Mar 22, 2022
Tuesday Mar 22, 2022
“Can you discern between resistance and fear and strategic changes in direction? …not giving up and changing direction because something is hard or scary, yet being willing to change your mind even when something you really wanted to pursue is no longer a good investment of your precious resources?”
Reflect, refresh, and recalibrate
The change in seasons reminds us that it's time to pause and reflect on what's behind and what's ahead of us. In organizational life we do quarterly reviews to assess progress and determine what we might need to stop, start and keep doing. Where do we need to step on the gas? Where should we apply brakes?
Spring (our current season in the Northern Hemisphere) is symbolic of new beginnings. Can you find this feeling of a fresh start and new growth in yourself?
Respond with Agility
In a constantly changing world, it’s not a problem to adjust our approach or our vision – it’s a strategic response. We reflect on our commitments in order to respond with agility.
In this discussion, we’re going to:
- Pause in a deliberate way to connect with what’s important to us and our work in the world
- Locate ourselves in a broader context, beyond our goals
- Take the opportunity to apply discernment to our earlier planning: do our original commitments still make good strategic sense? Are we placing our efforts on the right priorities?
This is a worthwhile practice to do individually and with your team. You can do this activity anywhere, anytime you have a spare moment, mentally or with a journal.
Answer these questions quarterly:
- Who is the person (or team) you are committed to becoming?
- What is the impact you want to make?
- How are you doing on your goals? What adjustments do you want to make?
- How are your systems, processes, and practices supporting your intended impact?
Links & resources:
Beginning Again 2022 https://mailchi.mp/68e183fd18bf/beginningagain2022
Podcast (source of Locate Yourself) Tami Simon & Lynne Twist on Sounds True: An Evolutionary Leap https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yV3BwmYkOCU
Article: How Regular Rhythms Unlock Powerful Growth https://www.monkhouseandcompany.com/blog/how-regular-rhythms-unlock-powerful-growth/
Origin of Easter: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-04-15/the-origins-of-easter-from-pagan-roots-to-chocolate-eggs/8440134
To discuss executive coaching, leadership development program design, and workshop facilitation, please visit:
https://rise-leaders.com/contact-info/
Tuesday Mar 08, 2022
Tuesday Mar 08, 2022
“[In contrast to] the ‘either/or’, ‘right/wrong’ mindset where there's nothing in between - paradoxical thinking would say, ‘What if it's both? What if there’s value in understanding the first path, and value in equally understanding the other path, and even the third?’ … It’s about being able to hold that tension between paths.” – Renee Moorefield
Finding comfort in the contradiction
When we experience a paradox, we feel pulled in separate directions, without a clear or simple solution.
Most of us find sitting with that paradox uncomfortable, which is why we tend to look for a quick and easy solution - something we can rally around as well as defend. Our brains to do not like open loops, which makes tolerating paradox uncomfortable and why we avoid the feeling of being stuck in the middle!
Renee Moorefield’s Be Well Lead Well Pulse assessment measures the wellbeing of leaders across 19 dimensions. Research conducted by external experts shows that when leaders have a strong sense of wellbeing, they're more able to thrive amidst paradoxical situations. They can more easily navigate opposing ideas, extract important elements from each, and propose integrated solutions.
So when we expand our minds beyond the binary, we can avoid oversimplification and transcend it to create new, richer and more sustainable paths.
Be Well Lead Well Pulse overview
[04:12] “The Be Well Lead Well Pulse assessment is built on a framework of thriving, and the framework of thriving has 19 dimensions of wellbeing and stress resilience [that] feed into six dimensions…the framework was built to support leaders and all of us in having a sense of internal resourcefulness, and meet our complex demands.”
Wellbeing and paradoxical leadership
[24:06] “[You have] the ability to transcend the situation, because you’re looking for other perspectives, so you're not stuck in the conflict. You're really looking at it like, ‘I wonder how this could be true,’ almost with a sense of play and experimentation and looking for value - and then looking for another perspective that transcends what you feel you're in.”
[23:25] “We found that leaders reporting high levels of well-being were 38% (so close to 40%) more apt to report scoring high in their ability to lead paradoxes.”
Our brainstorm of practices
[27:22] “A paradox is not a problem that can be solved easily…To understand, usually have to slow down and start asking questions and start seeking a new perspective that maybe you weren't taking on the situation.”
[43:29] “As a daily routine, [start] a very basic mindfulness practice…the heart of mindfulness is about being present in the moment without judging it as good or bad, right or wrong, either/or…that alone can create insight, and possibly some movement, just becoming aware without judgment.”
Previous episodes with Renee Moorefield:
Episode 6: An Essential Link: Wellbeing and Leader Effectiveness
https://rise-leaders.com/podcast?ppplayer=2166354b3000fc311ad1272907939efb&ppepisode=1bc82973e146e48e32750026acef538d
Episode 24: Leadership, Ethnicity + Wellbeing | Renee Moorefield & Jane Cocking
https://rise-leaders.com/podcast?ppplayer=2166354b3000fc311ad1272907939efb&ppepisode=56f067defda899999cbb06f0e8d904d6
Resources:
Be Well Lead Well Pulse Insights: Effectively Leading Through Paradox: A Pivotal Role for Wellbeing https://www.bewellleadwell.com/effectively-leading-through-paradox/
Renee Moorefield https://www.linkedin.com/in/reneemoorefield/
Be Well Lead Well Pulse https://www.bewellleadwell.com/
Be Well Lead Well Pulse certification program in May 2022: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/be-well-lead-well-pulse-certification-a-remote-learning-experience-registration-258172730587
Thinking Hats - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Thinking_Hats
EDS: Electronic Data Systems: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_Data_Systems
Newsletter sign up: https://mailchi.mp/426e78bc9538/subscribe
To discuss executive coaching, leadership development program design, and workshop facilitation, please visit:
https://rise-leaders.com/contact-info/
Tuesday Feb 22, 2022
Tuesday Feb 08, 2022
Tuesday Feb 08, 2022
“Is our life an illustration of the ideals that we hold dear? Are we a living example of our personal philosophies for how to live meaningfully?”
Letting your life speak
As Maya Angelou famously said, "People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
As conscious and conscientious leaders, we not only strive for business results - we want to leave organizations, families and communities better than we found them. To gauge our impact, it’s helpful to look at it from the lens of our actions. What do they say about us?
The informal leaders in our lives are often unsung heroes, shaping families and communities for generations. They leave the world a better place by 'letting their life speak', as Parker Palmer famously wrote. They live in alignment with their often unspoken, yet embodied values.
This episode is about a very special woman in my life. Without ever explaining them, I knew Betty Mallory's values. She always made me feel special, welcomed, trusted and loved.
Reflections: Are you Walking Your Talk?
-
For you, what makes for a full and meaningful life?
-
What is most important to you (aka your values)
-
After several observations and interactions with you, could someone reflect back to you your values? Can you describe why or why not?
-
What does embodying your values look like? What actions and behaviors would I observe?
Links & Resources:
Episode #43: Pay Attention, Stay Curious | Hokusai Says - www.rise-leaders.com/podcast
Episode #33: Putting Your Values Into Action | Jerry Magar - www.rise-leaders.com/podcast
"Let Your Life Speak" by Parker Palmer: ( via my Bookshop affiliate link) https://bookshop.org/a/16835/9780787947354
Maya Angelou: https://www.mayaangelou.com/
Never miss an episode! https://mailchi.mp/426e78bc9538/subscribe
Subscribe to Rise Leaders on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKZAhRU1iLsXYwpvCECVreg
Reach out to LeeAnn: https://rise-leaders.com/contact-info/
Tuesday Jan 25, 2022
Tuesday Jan 25, 2022
“What if life was a place full of possibilities for us to get better at the things that we care about? Instead of a place where we need to prove that we’re great and perfect?” – Fran Cherny
If we expect ourselves to master new skills easily and in short time, we’re setting ourselves up for disappointment and very likely a resistance to future change efforts. To give ourselves the best chance for growth and development, it’s important that we align our efforts with our values.
Also important and often overlooked, we need to find joy in the journey.
Fran Cherny elaborates on this concept in a humble, passionate and compassionate way in his book, Be the Change: The Art of Becoming Our Own Innovation Project. Fran situates this book as "an invitation to learn how to learn: something to help us constantly seek the best version of ourselves".
What I enjoy about viewing myself as “an innovation project” is the idea of experimentation. I can approach any change in dynamic ways that make sense to me while caring for myself along the way. It's a welcome contrast to how-to hacks with 'five easy steps'.
A playful, iterative approach to progress
[20:00] “Once we give feedback to each other…the person is not going to be perfect tomorrow. And the moment we treat them in a way that … they're experimenting, they're trying, they're evolving, they're they're progressing, interaction after interaction, we’re creating a world where it's easier for people to change and to evolve.”
[21:10] “Let's share what we saw someone doing better than the previous time and then getting positive feedback from the session. That’s connected to growth mindset.”
Initiating change? Include gratitude
[45:20] “Transformational change can come from a place of appreciation and gratitude for who we are right now, for what already happened to make us who we are.”
[47:00] “I was not used to doing things from a place of gratitude … I was coming from a place of what needs to be fixed. And that created a lot of tension for me, for people around me and for the people I lead.”
Resources
To purchase Fran's book and to learn more about his approach to leadership, please visit: Francherney.com
Fran Cherny on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/francherny/
Fran Cherny twitter: https://twitter.com/francherny
Fran Cherny on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/Fran-Cherny-106803110751503/about/?ref=page_internal
Immunity to Change: https://www.gse.harvard.edu/hgse100/story/changing-better
Axialent: https://axialent.com/
Be the Change Spotify Playlist (Libro): https://open.spotify.com/playlist/139T2Gc92soP1j21gTqBnH?si=vVAzKjrZQQSqX_cHC8iA3g
Rise Leaders' newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/426e78bc9538/subscribe