SPRING LEADERSHIP SERIES – Featuring Anthony Gaenzle

 

Last fall, I featured an inspiring series here on my blog called, "Fall Back to Reading Series." Nearly 30 leadership, marketing, and customer experience experts participated and shared their favorite books and their thoughts about the importance of reading.

Joseph Lalonde, one participant, wrote a book entitled, REEL LEADERSHIP, which focuses on nontraditional ways to think about leadership. After I read the book, the seeds for this "Spring Leadership Series" were planted. Today, I’d like to introduce Anthony Gaenzle, and following a brief introduction, Anthony shares some nontraditional ways to think about leadership!

Anthony Gaenzle is VP, Strategy and Content at Synapse Marketing. Additionally, he works as a personal brand consultant for executives, business owners, and others through Gaenzle Marketing. He is a two-time published author and digital marketing influencer. He has helped brands both large and small grow and thrive across multiple industries through strategic marketing campaigns and leveraging a powerful network of influencers.

QUESTION: Which TV show or TV series showcases leadership in a memorable way? This could be due to a specific character and their actions, a series of events, the plot of one or several episodes, or a specific time reflected in history.
ANTHONY GAENZLE: I appreciate the role that Tom Selleck plays in BLUE BLOODS. It shows the complexities of managing a major leadership role with public backlash, organizational issues, and all that, while also balancing complex family issues. Finding that balance is so important as a leader.

QUESTION: Which film showcases leadership in a memorable way?
ANTHONY GAENZLE: I’m a big fan of the Marvel films, although as of late, they have not been delivering quite as well. I think the SPIDER-MAN films are a great example of leadership. Peter Parker, at the end of No Way Home, makes the decision to have everyone who has ever known him, including his girlfriend MJ and his best friend Ned, forget who he is, so that the world can be saved. This selflessness is an excellent quality for a leader to possess.

QUESTION: Which work of fiction showcases leadership in a memorable way?
ANTHONY GAENZLE: I’m currently reading a book called The Chosen Twelve. I like to mix up fiction with educational, so I’m reading that and Good to Great again at the same time. The Chosen Twelve is a fun sci-fi story that has the world run by machines and AI while the human race was virtually wiped away. The machines are teaching the remaining 22 humans (organics as they call them) to build a society. Ultimately, only 12 will go to the planet they’re expected to re-populate, and it’s interesting to see the different leadership styles as they all come closer to the reality that only 12 of them will move on and the rest will stay behind. Some falter, others band together, and one becomes a true leader, bringing everyone together in the most dire of times.

QUESTION: Which product, or product line, stands out as a symbol of leadership?
ANTHONY GAENZLE: Richard Branson, to me, is an inspiring leader. He allows his team to make mistakes and learn from them. He seems to bring in the right people and then lets them do their jobs. This is hugely important. We hire smart people because they are experts in their space. As leaders, we need to realize our strengths and weaknesses and hire people who build up and make up for our weaknesses, and then trust them to do amazing work.

SHARE THIS: As leaders, we need to realize our strengths and weaknesses and hire people who build up and make up for our weaknesses, and then trust them to do amazing work. ~@AnthonyGaenzle #SpringLeadershipSeries #DebbieLaskeysBlog

QUESTION: Lastly, which brand is the best embodiment of an industry leader, and why?
ANTHONY GAENZLE: Tesla is impressive to me. While the leadership is controversial at times, ultimately, the fact that the brand spends virtually $0 on advertising and still sees over $60 billion in revenue is something to marvel at. The personal brand of its leader, the placement of Tesla stores in malls – all so amazing as well as the exclusivity of the brand.

Did these questions open your eyes to thinking about leadership in nontraditional ways? That was the hope. My gratitude to Anthony for appearing on my blog and for sharing his leadership insights.


Image Credits: Debbie Laskey, iStockphoto, Amazon, and Classroom Clipart.

Connect with Anthony at these links:
Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/Anthony-Gaenzle/e/B096WJ3DZ6/
Websites: https://www.gaenzlemarketing.com and https://www.synapseresults.com 
Twitter/X: @AnthonyGaenzle
Instagram: @anthonygaenzle/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonygaenzle/

Check out Anthony’s previous appearance here on my blog:

The Importance of Branding (May 2022)
https://www.debbielaskeysblog.com/2022/05/the-importance-of-branding.html