Debbie Laskey's Blog

Welcome to Debbie Laskey's insights and commentary about BRANDING, MARKETING, LEADERSHIP, SOCIAL MEDIA, EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT, and CUSTOMER EXPERIENCES. Debbie has worked in high-tech, the Consumer Marketing Department at Disneyland Paris in France, nonprofits, and insurance. Expertise includes strategic planning, brand development, marketing plans and audits, competitive positioning, websites, communications, public relations, employee engagement, customer experiences, and social media marketing.

Showing posts with label leadership influence. Show all posts

Thursday, February 20, 2025

Tips to Celebrate #NationalLeadershipDay!

Today, February 20, is National Leadership Day. According to National Day website, "The aim of National Leadership Day is to instill the values of leadership in each one of us. A good leader not only leads but inspires those around him/her/they to be the best versions of themselves. Anyone can be a leader — you just have to show up and encourage others to do the same...We know that an organization is only as good as its leaders, which means that having empathetic and just leaders at the top, who lead by example, creates an environment in which everyone is inspired to be their best."

Moreover, it's a day to acknowledge those who inspire, guide, and motivate others toward achieving collective goals. By celebrating this important day, we honor those who have made significant contributions and inspire others to step up and lead with purpose and dedication.

Therefore, since last summer, I shared a review of the book entitled Jumpstart Your Workplace Culture, today is a great day to again welcome leadership expert and author Eric Stone to my blog as we discuss and promote leadership. Highlights of our conversation follow a brief introduction.

Eric D. Stone is a dynamic leader whose passion for business fueled a remarkable 26-year career at Enterprise Holdings, where he rose to become one of the most celebrated Regional Vice Presidents in the company’s history. Leveraging his expertise in cultivating high-performance cultures, Eric authored the award-winning book Jumpstart Your Workplace Culture, which has inspired leaders around the world. As an international speaker, Eric captivates audiences with practical strategies and real-world insights, empowering organizations to drive engagement and achieve exceptional results. Through his company, Clear Path Ventures, he provides hands-on consulting to help leaders and teams develop tailored engagement strategies that foster transformation and measurable growth.

QUESTION: How do you think leaders should address last November's Presidential election results, since workplace culture and collaboration/teamwork could be and were impacted?

(Read the related post here:

https://katherinespinney.com/silence-is-not-the-answer/)

ERIC STONE: Presidential elections often bring heightened emotions, differing opinions, and anxieties that can impact workplace culture and collaboration. While there's no one-size-fits-all solution, leaders should anchor their response in the organization's core values, ensuring clarity and stability during uncertain times.

Regular touchpoints, such as one-on-ones, team meetings, pulse surveys, and town halls, create opportunities to engage with employees, address concerns, and foster dialogue, helping to mitigate polarization and promote mutual respect. Additionally, investing in training for managers on how to handle sensitive topics with empathy and professionalism is crucial. Equipped with the right tools, managers can navigate difficult conversations in a way that fosters respect, trust, and collaboration, preventing conflict and maintaining a positive, high-performing workplace culture.

QUESTION: In an article by Barbara McQuade in TIME Magazine, she wrote, "The real danger when a leader traffics in half-truths and conflicting claims is that people don't know what to believe." Instead of looking at leaders' actions, let's flip the script. How can employees keep their leaders honest?

(Read the referenced article here:

https://time.com/7173492/second-trump-term-misinformation-essay/)

ERIC STONE: To keep leaders honest, employees must be proactive and intentional in their approach. First, employees should be observant and identify inconsistencies in messages or plans, raising questions that prompt leaders to clarify their positions. This can be done respectfully and with a focus on company values, emphasizing the importance of honesty and integrity. Employees should use data, facts, and examples to support their points, creating a foundation for productive discussions. It’s also essential for employees to collaborate with peers, uniting in a shared commitment to transparency and ethical behavior. Lastly, employees should leverage formal channels, such as feedback mechanisms or employee forums, to escalate concerns when necessary, demonstrating a commitment to maintaining the organization's values and ensuring that trust remains intact.

QUESTION: Erika Andersen wrote in a Forbes article, “This is the first time in history that four distinct generations are together in the workplace: Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z." What are some insights or advice to help everyone work together successfully?

(Read the referenced article here:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikaandersen/2015/05/06/what-planet-are-you-from-5-ways-to-get-along-with-people-who-arent-like-you/)

ERIC STONE: With up to five generations now in the workplace and ongoing debates about flexibility — whether in-person, remote, or hybrid — the topic of building successful teams has never been more relevant. To bridge generational divides and create a cohesive team, it's essential to focus on five key factors of employee engagement:

(1) A strong relationship with your manager. Understanding individual motivations and tailoring your approach ensures trust and mutual respect thrive in a diverse environment.

(2) Clear communication of expectations and goals. There should be no confusion among your people about their role or what's expected of them, regardless of their background.

(3) The right materials, equipment, and information to achieve desired outcomes. Teams should have the resources, data, technology, and training to get the job done at a high level.

(4) A manager who encourages personal and professional growth. Your goal is to coach and mentor individual contributors to reach their potential inside and outside the organization.

(5) A system in which top performance is recognized. You consistently call out and reward excellence, incentivizing people to give their very best.

(Note: For more details about the five factors, check out my videos on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ericdstone1)

QUESTION: Some people believe that leadership is only possible with a title, however, there are many ways to be a leader. Please share some.

ERIC STONE: Embrace the mentality of "act as if," where leadership comes from the impact you make - not the title you hold. One way to demonstrate this is through becoming a Culture Carrier — excelling at your job, taking initiative, and consistently raising the bar. When you embody the values and standards of your organization, you inspire others to do the same. You can also focus on Jumpstarting Others by taking time to help colleagues achieve their goals and advance their careers. Whether through mentoring, collaboration, or offering guidance, you build trust and nurture a team-oriented, growth-focused environment. Finally, Sharpen Your Brand by proactively developing the specific skills you want to strengthen. Seek out people with expertise you admire and align yourself with aspirational brands to stay ahead in your field and motivate others to pursue their own growth.

Tuesday, September 10, 2024

Information, Disinformation, and Leadership - Oh My!

Since today is an important date in American politics: the second Presidential Debate will take place later today, I thought it would be appropriate to feature Barbara McQuade, the author of the new book, ATTACK FROM WITHIN, HOW DISINFORMATION IS SABOTAGING AMERICA. Barbara and I had a discussion about leadership and her book, a must-read for our current political climate, and highlights follow a brief introduction.

Barbara McQuade is a professor at the University of Michigan Law School, where she teaches criminal law and national security law. She is also a legal analyst for NBC News and MSNBC. From 2010 to 2017, she served as the U.S Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan. She was appointed by President Barack Obama, and was the first woman to serve in her position. She also served as vice chair of the Attorney General's Advisory Committee and co-chaired its Terrorism and National Security Subcommittee. Before her appointment as U.S. Attorney, McQuade served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Detroit for 12 years, including service as Deputy Chief of the National Security Unit. In that role, she prosecuted cases involving terrorism financing, foreign agents, threats, and export violations. She serves on a number of non-profit boards and served on the Biden-Harris Transition Team in 2020-2021. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan and its law school and calls Ann Arbor, Michigan home.

QUESTION: Since your background is in law, politics, and education, how have you seen the role of leadership change (evolve/devolve) in those fields over the last 20 years?

BARBARA McQUADE: We still have many wonderful leaders in all fields, but it is disappointing to see some people in politics use fear to stoke division in society. By promoting an us-versus-them mentality, we find ourselves unable to address real problems, such as, climate change and immigration. We need compromise to achieve policymaking, and it seems that some leaders would rather resort to simple soundbites than nuanced thinking.

QUESTION: In your new book, “Attack from Within, How Disinformation is Sabotaging America,” what are three important takeaways you hope readers will have?

BARBARA McQUADE: Here are my three:

First, I hope to raise awareness that certain tactics have been used throughout history to manipulate the public: blaming scapegoats, undermining critics, using fear, and more. Once we can recognize these tactics, we are less likely to be manipulated by them.

Second, I hope that readers will see the real harms caused to American society by disinformation. Lies and misleading claims are eroding democracy, public safety, and the rule of law. For example, false claims of a stolen election have led to laws in many states making it more difficult to vote. I expect we will see false content generated by AI in the upcoming election. I worry that claims that prosecutors are "weaponizing" the criminal justice system will lead to a loss of confidence in the legitimacy of law enforcement and the courts, leading to vigilante violence, just as we saw on January 6th.

Third, I hope that readers will choose to put truth over tribe. Today, it seems that some people don't care about the facts. They care only about winning. But blind allegiance to a political party is not democracy. We need to encourage independent thinking over the idea that our political system is us-versus-them. As Americans, parties are rivals, but not enemies. We are all in this together.

QUESTION: At the end of your book, Attack from Within, you wrote, "An informed electorate has always been necessary for democracy." However, with so much polarization, apathy, disrespect, ignorance, inequality, and disinformation, how can we as Americans transform into an informed electorate?

BARBARA McQUADE: It is somewhat ironic that we have never had as much access to information as we do today, and yet, it seems that we are more disinformed than ever. Part of that is due to feeling overwhelmed with information, and so we rely on proxies to tell us what to think. That is a very dangerous place to be, because we cede power to party leaders or media mouthpieces.

Instead, we need to embrace our duties as citizens to obtain accurate information about issues and candidates so that we can use the power of the people. Great sources for accurate information are your Secretary of State's website and the non-partisan League of Women Voters.

QUESTION: Which three leaders from business or history inspire you, and why?

BARBARA McQUADE: Here are my three:

[1] Frank Murphy, former justice of the Supreme Court, former governor of Michigan, and other public leadership positions - because he said that he wanted his legacy to be simply that he made government work for the people.

[2] Liz Cheney - because she put country over party by vice chairing the House Committee investigating the January 6th attacks and publicly stated that we cannot abandon truth and remain a free country. She lost her House race over her commitment to the truth. She is a profile in courage.

[3] Barack Obama - because he appealed to hope over fear, and unity over division.

QUESTION: One of my favorite leadership quotes is from author and consultant Mark Herbert (@NewParadigmer on Twitter/X): "Leadership doesn't require you to be the smartest person in the room. It requires you to block and tackle for others." What does this quote mean to you?

BARBARA McQUADE: Too often, people think of leadership as rock star adulation. Instead, leadership means doing the quiet little things necessary to empower others. Obtaining resources, removing bureaucratic obstacles, seeking input in decisions, allowing autonomy and discretion, and creating an environment where it is safe to fail or admit mistakes are the things that effective leaders do to enable others to achieve more than they could on their own.

My gratitude and applause to Barbara for appearing on my blog and sharing her leadership insights.

Tuesday, February 20, 2024

Inspiring Tips to Celebrate #NationalLeadershipDay!

Today, February 20, is National Leadership Day. According to National Day website, "The aim of National Leadership Day is to inculcate the values of leadership in each one of us. A good leader not only leads but inspires those around him/her/they to be the best versions of themselves. Anyone can be a leader — you just have to show up and encourage others to do the same...We know that an organization is only as good as its leaders, which means that having empathetic and just leaders at the top who lead by example creates an environment in which everyone is inspired to be their best."

Therefore, today is an especially appropriate day for Erika Andersen to appear on my blog for a conversation about leadership. I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Erika for many years, and she first appeared in a Q&A on my blog in 2011. She is the founding partner of Proteus, where she and her colleagues support leaders at all levels to get ready and stay ready to meet the future. Erika advises senior executives and also shares her insights through her books, speaking engagements, and social media. In addition to her latest book, Change from the Inside Out, she is the author of four previous best-selling books: Be Bad First, Leading So People Will Follow, Being Strategic, and Growing Great Employees. Erika is also a popular leadership blogger at Forbes.com, and the creator and host of the Proteus Leader Show podcast.

QUESTION: One of your inspiring quotes is, "Great leaders don't do it alone...they get help." What are some tips for new leaders in order to embrace this concept of collaboration?
ERIKA ANDERSEN: One thing that gets in the way of collaboration for new leaders is that they’ve often been socialized to think that "Leaders should have all the answers." Allowing yourself to get curious as a new leader – about your team, their likes and dislikes, their skills – is a pretty gentle first step toward collaboration. For example, when you’re meeting with your folks, either individually or as a group, ask curious questions: "What should I know about you as a team?" or "What do you think are your/our most important strengths?" or "How can we best help each other succeed?"

And how you respond is even more important than asking the questions. Listen carefully, and make sure you understand – either by asking clarifying questions, or by summarizing what you’ve heard to make sure you’ve got their main points. If you immediately dismiss or disagree with what you’ve heard, without considering it, that sends a strong message that you aren’t really interested in or open to what they have to say.

After making sure you’ve understood, ask them how you might incorporate their insights and opinions into the work you’ll be doing together. For instance, if a team member says, "I think one of our biggest strengths is that we look for ways to overcome even difficult obstacles," you might respond, "How do you think we could use that strength in reaching our current goals?"

Voila, you’re on the path to collaboration.

QUESTION: In a post you wrote for Linkedin, "This is the first time in history that four distinct generations are together in the workplace: Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z." What are some insights to help everyone work together?

[Post referenced:
What Planet Are You From? Five Ways To Get Along With People Who Aren't Like You
https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikaandersen/2015/05/06/what-planet-are-you-from-5-ways-to-get-along-with-people-who-arent-like-you/]

ERIKA ANDERSEN: I think three of the five approaches I suggested in the article you’ve referenced are particularly helpful when working cross-generationally.

First, realizing that other people are not you. It might sound silly, but when we’re dealing with people who have different assumptions or outlooks, we tend to filter their responses as though those people are us. In other words, that their responses mean the same thing as they would if we were saying or doing them. An example: a few years ago, I was coaching a Gen X executive, who was very irritated with an extremely smart and ambitious Millennial employee. He had asked her how he could become a vice president, and she was complaining to me about it.

I asked, "Why do you think he was asking you that?"

She responded, "Because he thinks he should get promoted right away, and that’s just ridiculous – he’s just been promoted to manager."

I then said, "Maybe that’s what you would have meant by that, if you’d asked the same question at his age. And I’m betting you never would have asked it."

"Darn right," she grumbled.

I proposed, "But what if he was asking something very different. Millennials are used to being able to get all the critical information they need online, and he may be frustrated about the lack of a clear path to get from where he is to where he wants to be. He may just be asking for that pathway."

She acknowledged the possibility, and they went on to have a good conversation.

Leveraging complementarity vs. similarity is also an important tool in working with other generations. For example, Boomer and Gen X bosses can take advantage of most Gen Z employees’ knowledge of and comfort with AI and other forms of technology, and work with those younger employees to figure out how to best incorporate those technological advances for better and faster results.

Millennial managers - and now even newly-minted Gen Z managers – can leverage Boomer and Gen X team members’ experience and connections in an organization or an industry to smooth difficult negotiations and avoid unseen pitfalls.

I’d encourage managers to do this "out loud," perhaps, by having a meeting where each person can share how they think the team could benefit from the strengths, skills, or knowledge they bring as a result of their age and the environment in which they grew up.

I predict people will find out a lot of interesting and useful things about each other, and it will also help to promote the final approach: starting from neutral. Unfortunately, one of the most common responses to differences between generations is to assume that different means WORSE. This seems to have been happening for most of human history: witness this quote from Socrates: "The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise."

If you can make a habit of saying to yourself, "This person sees things differently than me – I want to find out more about why," instead of "This ____ (fill in the generational blank) is so wrong/bad/unprofessional," then you’ll be well on your way to figuring out how to work with great people of any age.

QUESTION: You wrote a post for Forbes comparing great leaders to movie heroes. Who are some recent movie heroes that demonstrate effective leadership?

[Post referenced:
What Do Great Leaders And Movie Heroes Have In Common?
https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikaandersen/2015/07/20/what-do-great-leaders-and-movie-heroes-have-in-common/]

ERIKA ANDERSEN: My husband and I rarely watch movies these days, but we do watch a lot of TV! There are so many really well-made shows these days, and we especially like good science fiction.

One show we’ve been enjoying is Strange New Worlds, the most recent show in the Star Trek franchise. I’ve really been enjoying Captain Christopher Pike, as played by Anson Mount. One thing I’ve noticed is that Mount, in contrast to earlier versions of the show - particularly the original with William Shatner – is much more vulnerable. He lets his crew know when he’s struggling with a decision, and invites their input. He’s also much more likely to listen when a crew member who he respects disagrees with him.

I find this heartening, because I believe that TV and movies tend to reflect the beliefs and mores of popular culture, and what this says to me is that we, as a culture, are generally starting to be open to more collaborative and egalitarian approaches to leadership (back to your initial question!)

Monday, February 20, 2023

Let's Celebrate #NationalLeadershipDay!

https://www.forbes.com/sites/shephyken/2022/07/17/customer-service-the-marriott-way/?sh=242dd5037807

Marriott delivers excellent customer service by following these practices (further described within the Forbes article):
* The fundamentals of customer service happen one person at a time.
* Understand your customers: understanding starts with listening.
* Mistakes handled well can create a stronger bond.
* Embrace the digital customer experience.
* Employees must be empowered to take care of customers.

QUESTION: Many people believe that leadership is only possible with a title. But there are many ways to lead and be a leader. Can you explain some?

Eric Jacobson: You definitely don’t need to have a leadership title to be a leader. Here are 30 ways to be a good leader at work or away from work. The more of these you do, the stronger a leader you become:

1.   Build trust with your colleagues.
2.   Be courageous, quick, and fair.
3.   Constantly challenge your team to do better.
4.   Celebrate your employees' successes, not your own.
5.   Communicate clearly and often.
6.   View every problem as an opportunity to grow.
7.   Summarize group consensus after each decision point during a meeting.
8.   Praise when compliments are earned.
9.   Be decisive.
10.   Say "thank you" and sincerely mean it.
11.   Teach something new to your team.
12.   Show respect for all team members.
13.   Follow through when you promise to do something.
14.   Respond to questions quickly and fully.
15.   Give credit where credit is due.
16.   Take an interest in your employees and their personal milestone events.
17.   Mix praise with constructive feedback for how to make improvement.
18.   Foster mutual commitment
19.   Admit your mistakes.
20.   Show trust.
21.   Encourage individualism and welcome input.
22.   Be willing to change your decisions.
23.   Be a good role model.
24.   Be humble.
25.   End every meeting with a follow-up To Do list.
26.   Explain the process and the reason for the decisions you make.
27.   Encourage personal growth and promote training, mentoring, and external education.
28.   Seek guidance when you don't have the answer.
29.   Don't interrupt.
30.   Ask questions to clarify.

QUESTION: What inspiring leadership books have you read recently?

Eric Jacobson: A very inspiring leadership book I’ve read recently is Compassionate Leadership: How to Do Hard Things in a Human Way by Rasmus Hougaard and Jacqueline Carter. This book is timely and compelling.

A favorite key leadership takeaway from the book is where Hougaard and Carter explain how to unlearn management and relearn being human. That entails:
* Remembering the Golden Rule.
* Putting yourself in their shoes.
* Listening intensively.
* Always giving more than you take.
* Asking yourself, How can I be of benefit?
* Stretching people to help them see their greater potential.
* Helping people to see what they really need to be happy.

Another favorite recent read is, Leading with Heart, by John Baird and Edward Sullivan. They share that heart-led companies have:
* Lower turnover.
* Decentralized decision-making.
* Healthy and constructive creative conflict.
* Rigorous debate and truth-seeking in meetings.
* Strategic alignment.
* Sharing of resources to support company goals.
* Seamless flow of crucial information leading to early problem detection.

And, for a different perspective on where to learn leadership lessons, check out Joseph Lalonde’s book, Reel Leadership. He delves into the leaderships lessons one can find in movies. First, he sets the stage by chronicling the history of film, the history of leadership, and the science of learning, and then he shares some of the best leadership lessons from his vast catalogue of movie watching through the years. If you are a movie buff and hungry for leadership lessons, this is a quick, entertaining, educational read.

QUESTION: If you could dine with any three leaders - from history or business - who would they be, and why?

Eric Jacobson: I would like to have dined with Nelson Mandela and Maya Angelou from history and Herbert Kelleher from business.

I would want to learn so much for Nelson Mandela about his years in prison, his passion for activism, and all about his philosophy on leadership. It’s his leadership quotes like these that I find inspiring, and I feel I could have learned much from him:

* "Lead from the back - and let others believe they are in front."
* "The greatest glory in living lies not in never failing, but in rising every time we fall."
* "It always seems impossible until it's done."
* "I like friends who have independent minds because they tend to make you see problems from all angles."
* "I've learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear."
* "Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again."

Maya Angelou: I find equally inspiring and imagine I would have learned a lot from her while dinning together. Through her long and extensive career that included poetry, plays, screenplays for television and film, directing, acting, and public speaking, she certainly learned much that I would be interested in hearing more about. Furthermore, she was authentic, dignified, courageous, and enduring – often a voice of reason, and a leader with many lessons and experiences worth hearing about.

From business, I always wanted to meet Herbert Kelleher. He was the co-founder, later CEO, and chairman emeritus of Southwest Airlines until his death in 2019. In general, Southwest and its company culture have always intrigued me. From what I’ve read, Herbert (Herb) was a strong, visible, caring leader that shaped a culture that set Southwest apart from many other air carriers and many businesses overall. Under his leadership, Southwest has consistently been named among the most admired companies in America in Fortune magazine’s annual poll. He helped create a corporate culture which made Southwest employees well known for taking themselves lightly but their jobs seriously.

Saturday, December 3, 2022

Reading Opens Doors and More

Today is an important day if you like to read - it's Take a Child to a Bookstore Day. To quote Jenny Milchman, "Bookstores hold a place in the hearts and times of our community. They are places to discover an author, a story, a life. Nothing affords the conversation and interaction among books and book lovers that a bookstore does. In the future, whether you download your story or pluck a volume off a shelf, a bookstore will be able to accommodate. But in order for bookstores to flourish and thrive, we must expose future generations to the unique pleasures they offer. On December 3rd, 2022, take a child in your life to a bookstore. Watch his/her/their face light up as you give free access, not just to a new book, but to tomorrow."

As a member of the Twitterverse for more than 13 years, I always enjoy meeting new people and learning from them. To quote Matthew Kobach (@mkobach), "Twitter is a key that unlocks thousands of doors, some of which you never even knew existed." Recently, I connected with Kt McBratney from Atlanta, Georgia, and issued an invitation to appear here on my Blog in a Q&A discussion about entrepreneurship, marketing, reading, and business inspiration. Highlights of our conversation follow a brief introduction.

Kt McBratney (they/she) is the co-founder & chief community officer at OwnTrail, the new social network for people to achieve their next (fill in the blank). They’re also an artist, strategist, recovering marketer, and aspiring Jungle Cruise skipper.

QUESTION: You are a Co-Founder of your own company. How did that happen?
Kt McBratney: I knew my next career move would be entrepreneurial, but I didn’t know what form that would take. I was working with a wonderful team in my role as chief marketing officer at Seed&Spark when I met my now co-founder, Rebekah Bastian. She introduced herself with such unapologetic authenticity as a tech executive, writer, parent, and aerial acrobat that I had a strong feeling we’d hit it off. I asked her out on a friend date to get to know her more. It was over this coffee that she shared the idea she’d had for her upcoming book launch, which had the possibility of becoming something much bigger. That was the seed of OwnTrail as we now know it — the platform where people can be their most authentic selves, make meaningful connections, and taking action toward a more fulfilling life.

The impact OwnTrail could have struck me right away. As we brainstormed, Rebekah mentioned that she knew she’d want a co-founder. She invited me to work with her first as an advisor to see how we worked together, and a few months later, I knew I had to make the leap to cofounder. We transitioned out of our respective leadership roles at Zillow and Seed&Spark to go full-time on OwnTrail right as the pandemic unfolded in the first months of 2020. It was a wild time for any career move, especially launching a company, but I don’t regret it one bit.

QUESTION: Janet Yellen, the current and first female Secretary of the Treasury, has been described as, "A proven leader who knows how to build consensus, the kind of person who makes everybody around her better." What three characteristics are necessary to create a consensus-builder?
Kt McBratney: Consensus-building is a muscle I’m always working to strengthen, and I don’t think anyone is perfect at it, let alone me! But we need it in all areas of our lives, especially in a culture that can easily confuse winning with success.

To develop consensus-building chops, it takes:
(1) Clarity - so you can convey the idea effectively.
(2) Empathy - so you can create space for people to process it in a way that works for them.
(3) Confidence - so you can help move people from idea to action.

TWEET THIS: We need consensus-building in all areas of our lives, especially in a culture that can easily confuse winning with success. ~@k_to_the_t #DebbieLaskeysBlog

QUESTION: What is your favorite RBG (Ruth Bader Ginsburg) quote, and why?
Kt McBratney: "Reading is the key that opens doors to many good things in life. Reading shaped my dreams, and more reading helped me make my dreams come true."

Reading was my first love. I was the kid who would skip recess on a beautiful day to read The Hobbit unbothered in the library. The ideas, places, people, and possibilities that reading has opened up for me are literally countless. While it’s easy (and valid) to quote RBG on gender and women’s rights, this quote reminds me how READING is one of the keys to making that reality and so much else.

TWEET THIS: The ideas, places, people, and possibilities that READING has opened up for me are literally countless. ~@k_to_the_t #DebbieLaskeysBlog

QUESTION: In your pinned Tweet, you state that "Business leaders should read at least as much fiction and creative nonfiction as they do business books." So what are you currently reading in the fiction and nonfiction genres?
Kt McBratney: I’m currently reading The Dawn of Everything by David Graeber and David Wengrow, which is a light 800-pager on human history and social evolution. It’s fascinating to look at how we tell the stories of civilization through their perspective as an anthropologist and archaeologist, especially as we think about possible futures.

On the fiction side, I just finished Outlawed by Anna North. It’s a Western novel in an alternate past where women unable to bear children were often hanged as witches, and the hero Ada joins a gang of outlaws who just might create a new frontier along the way.

Both deal with the past as a way of looking toward better futures, which is so related to my work with OwnTrail!

QUESTION: If you could have dinner with any three people from history or the current era, who would you choose, and why?
Kt McBratney: I’m not one for small talk, so I’m stacking my fantasy dinner party with people unafraid to get into the deep, abstract, or strange! I have to include my longtime role model LeVar Burton. His work as a storyteller and advocate absolutely shaped the trajectory of my life, from encouraging me from a TV screen that loving books was actually a great thing, to helping me realize that a creative and nonlinear career can (and arguably should) center on your values. Imagine the stories he could tell!

We definitely need to invite Dolly Parton, who can hold her own and then some in storytelling, but is an inspiration for humility, generosity, and letting your sequins shine as bright as the sun.

And, in that last spot? The final spot is a toss-up between bell hooks and Jim Henson. Both are incredible teachers of important life lessons on love, identity, community, and care. Complete geniuses in very different ways. I would be honored to pour them a glass of water, let alone share a dinner table.

(For those who may not know, bell hooks was an American author and social activist best known for her writings on race, feminism, and class.)

QUESTION: In your Twitter bio, you describe yourself as many things including "an aspiring Jungle Cruise skipper." As a Disneyophile who worked in the Consumer Marketing Department at Disneyland Paris in France, I know what you mean, but please explain for others.
Kt McBratney: I now have a thousand questions for you about that experience! My aspiration to be a Jungle Skipper is just that — my retirement dream job is to be a skipper on the Disneyland Jungle Cruise ride, slinging puns, making people laugh, and putting joy into the world via the simple magic of human connection and wordplay. I promise I wouldn’t take the job for granite!

(Clarification for non Disney fans and those who don't ride the Jungle Cruise every time they visit a Disney theme park, Kt's last sentence alludes to a memorable joke from the Jungle Cruise ride: “The rocks you see here are sandstone. But some people just take them for granite. It’s one of my boulder attractions.”

My thanks to Kt for sharing their marketing insights and for appearing here on my Blog.

Image Credit: Kimberly Farmer via Unsplash.

Connect with Kt at these links:
Website: www.owntrail.com
Twitter: @k_to_the_t
Instagram: @k_to_the_t
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ktmcbratney

Tuesday, September 7, 2021

Leadership Is Not About the "I" - It's About the "WE"

Over the last decade, thanks to social media, I have had the privilege of meeting a myriad of amazing marketing, branding, customer experience, leadership, and social media experts. One of these experts is Suzi McAlpine from New Zealand. We recently discussed leadership, and highlights follow Suzi’s bio.

Suzi McAlpine is an executive coach, international speaker, and author of the bestselling book, Beyond Burnout, and award winning leadership blog, The Leader’s Digest. She is a self-confessed "leadership geek" and is passionate about igniting better leadership in leaders and organizations. She lives in Nelson, New Zealand. Visit her website at www.suzimcalpine.com and connect on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/suzimcalpine/; Twitter at @suzimcalpine; Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/theleadersdigest; and Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/suzimcalpine/.

QUESTION: You recently wrote a book about burnout. What did you learn while writing the book that surprised you?
SUZI MCALPINE: What a great question! What surprised me (and somewhat annoyed me at first) is that we’re treating burnout like it’s an individual problem, when it is, in fact, an organizational problem.

This is a bit like treating the sick fish, when it’s the water that’s contaminated. The internet is awash with articles for the burnt out – how to avoid it, what to do when you experience it and how to recover from it.

But the research tells us unequivocally that the causes of burnout are rooted in the leadership practices, the organizational ecosystem, and even the culture of an organization. So that’s one of the reasons I focus on first and foremost on what leaders and organizations can do (as well as individuals) to stamp it out - in my book, Beyond Burnout: How to spot it, stop it and stamp it out (check it out here: https://suzimcalpine.com/beyond-burnout/).

QUESTION: How do you recommend people who aren’t in a leadership position, or don’t have a leadership title, make a difference in the workplace?
SUZI MCALPINE: Just because you have a title of manager, doesn’t mean you are a leader. Conversely, you don’t need a title or a formal leadership position to demonstrate leadership. Some of the best acts of leadership I have ever seen have come from individual contributors in organizations.

One way to make a difference in the workplace is to start by getting clear on your leadership values – and then work, live and lead by them every day. Small acts, done often, which are in line with your values, shows leadership. And it will make a bigger positive difference to those around you – and to yourself – than you think. I wrote a blog on how to define and lead by your values for my leadership blog The Leader’s Digest.

(Check out the post that Suzi referenced:
https://suzimcalpine.com/i-used-to-think-values-were-bull-heres-why-ive-changed-my-mind/)

QUESTION: How can a President/CEO become an organization's number one brand ambassador?
SUZI MCALPINE: Leadership starts with leading yourself, before you can lead others. That’s especially important for CEO’s. Modelling what you want to see in those you are leading is one of the most powerful ways to influence others. Leaders often underestimate the shadow they cast – their whisper often comes across as a shout. So I would suggest to a CEO that you ensure you are looking in the mirror first. Are your behaviors, actions, and words in line with the brand and values you are espousing for the organization? What can you do to ensure that you are moving closer, each day, to living and leading by these.

TWEET THIS: Leadership starts with leading yourself, before you can lead others. ~@suzimcalpine #LeadershipTip #EmployeeExperience #EmployerBranding #DebbieLaskeysBlog

QUESTION: There is a relatively new title in the C-Suite: Chief Happiness Officer. What do you make of this, and can it, or should it, become standard in all organizations?

(Here's the article about the CHO: https://www.fastcompany.com/40582655/employers-your-idea-about-employee-happiness-is-all-wrong)

SUZI MCALPINE: I’m always a little nervous about catchy titles or slogans. But I like some of what the article you mention espouses. So for me, it’s less about whether an organization has a Chief Happiness Officer or not. And more about what the leadership team and CEO of an organization believe in and put into practice around this concept. What are the strategies and practices of an organization in these areas? What are you doing to measure and hold yourselves and the organization to account on these things? Are your leadership practices throughout the organization reflecting these priorities?

Having said that, having this sort of role on an executive team is a pretty important symbol of how important it is. So it could be a start for some organizations. Just don’t let it be that alone.

QUESTION: One of my favorite leadership quotes is from author and consultant Mark Herbert (@NewParadigmer on Twitter): "Leadership doesn't require you to be the smartest person in the room. It requires you to block and tackle for others." What does this quote mean to you?
SUZI MCALPINE: I love this quote. To me, this means that leadership is not about the “I,” its about the “we.” Leadership is all about enabling others to reach their full potential at work – for them, their organization and even to help achieve a wider vision and purpose. Sometimes, that’s about removing the pebbles in people’s shoes. Sometimes, its about being their challenging cheerleader. At other times, it’s about influencing up and going to bat for your team. Many times, its simply about listening deeply to another person and being fully present. It’s almost always more about EQ than IQ.

Post referenced in Suzi's final response:
Why Every Leader Needs a Challenging Cheerleader:
https://suzimcalpine.com/why-every-leader-needs-a-challenging-cheerleader/

Further reading on this topic referenced in Suzi's final response:
EQ vs IQ - Why it matters what you measure
https://www.6seconds.org/2020/07/26/iq-vs-eq-why-it-matters-what-we-measure/

Emotional intelligence is more than a buzzword—it’s a requirement for a return to life
https://www.fastcompany.com/90637028/emotional-intelligence-is-more-than-a-buzzword-its-a-requirement-for-a-return-to-life

TWEET THIS: Leadership is all about enabling others to reach their full potential. ~@suzimcalpine #LeadershipTip #EmployeeExperience #EmployerBranding #DebbieLaskeysBlog

My gratitude to Suzi for appearing on my Blog and for sharing her inspiring leadership and workplace insights.

Image Credit: Debbie Laskey.