Talking Leaders

How well do you think about what you are going to say? Laura Sicola, Speaking to Influence Part II

In Speaking to Influence, Laura Sicola defines three key elements of developing a strong leadership voice: Verbal (what you say), Vocal (how you say it) and Visual (how you look). In the second extract of my conversation with Laura, we take a look at Verbal, including the power of stories and how not to get lost in the weeds (which you’ll hear me admit to being guilty of. But if you'll let me explain and put things in their right context... zzzzz) 12 mins 24 secs

For more info: http://vocalimpactproductions.com/

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How good is your leadership voice? Laura Sicola Part I

I recently listened to an online update given by a pharmaceutical company reporting on the progress of the development of its new drug. Afterwards, there was much discussion on the investor bulletin boards. One comment (here paraphrased) captured much of the sentiment of those who had listened – “…the data do look strong, but that guy (the CEO) really does not inspire me with confidence. Makes you think there’s something we’re not being told.” Many agreed.

To some extent haven’t we all been there? We think what we have to say is strong, but it doesn’t seem to be landing with people the way we’d like. Laura Sicola of Vocal Impact Productions has helped many leaders deal with just this disconnect. In part 1 of my conversation with Laura, we look at the overall approach she uses to help people master their leadership voice, and why good enough is not good enough.

For more info: http://vocalimpactproductions.com/

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How do you lead people who are expert in a field you have little knowledge of?

In the third and final extract from our interview with Richard Ingram, we look at leading experts. This can be particularly challenging if you are a senior leader in a complex, technical sector. How do you ensure that you can have meaningful conversations with and win the respect of experts? How important is it to do this as a leader? 9 mins 48 secs

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Can you believe what they tell you?

In the second extract from our interview with @Richard Ingram we discuss the importance of transparency. As a leader you need to be sure that the picture presented to you is true and not a slick façade hiding problems. 7 mins 19 secs.

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Leading from the front – the importance of acting on your own message

Richard Ingram started out as an engineer in the oil and gas industry, moving on through a career in aerospace, defence, and security to the position of CEO with a number of companies. In this first extract from his interview with Talking Leaders, Richard tells some great stories (listen out for the one about the “convenient loop of failure”) that illustrate subjects such as:

• The Importance of people development
• Changing business culture
• Being seen to act on your own message

13 mins 14 secs

https://www.talkingleaders.com

 

The problem with hard work

Do you work hard? When you do work hard, how does it feel? Tough, difficult? Paul explains his dislike of the phrase ‘hard work’ and describes how the concept of ‘Flow’ helped him with the idea that it’s ok to want work to be fun most of the time. And how he used the idea of Flow to make a major career decision. 21 mins 12 secs.

For more on Flow go here

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How do leaders really learn?

In a further extract from our conversation with Scott Eblin, leadership coach and author of "The Next Level", we asked for Scott's thoughts on how leaders really learn and how they can best use books like "The Next Level" in their development. 5 mins 00 secs

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Getting promoted is just the start.

Ever heard of the Peter Principle? Basically, it's the idea that people are promoted to their own level of incompetence. It’s a real thing and happens when someone fails to rise to the challenges that their new position demands. Scott Eblin is a leadership coach who understands this situation well. As a new edition of his book The Next Level: What Insiders Know About Executive Success hits the shelves, we spoke with Scott about helping people with the rise up the leadership ladder and his views on leadership development. 17mins 17 secs

For more information:  https://thenextlevel.info/

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Learning one sticky note at a time

How do you really learn? A nice bit of feedback reminds Paul and Kurt that applying newfound knowledge in meeting a real need is one of the best ways to consolidate learning.  6 mins 55 secs

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Leadership Development - Learn Apply Repeat

Developing yourself as a leader, like improving in almost any skill, is an ongoing, iterative process. Kurt talks about a particular book, The Leadership Pipeline, that he found helpful. He also shares the fact that even though the book provided many ideas useful to his development, it wasn’t a case of once learned never forgotten. Each situation where leadership is needed is different in its own way. Consequently, leadership development is often a case of needing to re-learn and re-apply old lessons. 4 mins 53 secs

https://www.talkingleaders.com