Rookie Leaders Podcast

What is your perception of military leadership? Military leadership doesn’t come from rank. It also isn’t about barking orders or command & control type of authority. Stephen Morris joins us on the podcast today to share his experience in Army Ranger School and his time training leadership in armies around the world. I’m certain he will clear up some of your misconceptions about military leadership. Having retired now from the Army, Stephen is teaching leadership through his company, Renowned Leadership. You can find out more about Stephen at renownedleadership.com. And you just have to check out Stephen’s new podcast. He started the podcast with his dad soon after we recorded this episode. Stephen told me about how he considers his dad a great leader and how you have the opportunity to learn from both of them. Episode Outline: Ranger school Differing ranks, but everyone serves as a leader Success isn’t just about accomplishing the mission Focus on maintaining accountability Leaders must listen to those on the team Extreme conditions demonstrate true leadership characteristics Training leadership around the world Divided power - commissioned officers & non-commissioned officers Decentralized command Commissioned officers actually rely on the experience and knowledge of non-commissioned officers Leaders must listen to those in the team Team members must be trained in leadership before they will accept responsibility Leadership is about relationships   Resources Mentioned: Renowned Leadership Stephen and his Dad’s Podcast The Leadership Calculator The Leadership Accelerator

What does it mean to you to positively impact the lives of those you lead? You’ve heard me mention before my mission to help you positively impact business results and the lives of those you lead. What does that last part of my mission mean? Do you have a strong desire to make a real difference with your leadership? A recent podcast guest, Aaron Walker, mentioned leading not just for success, but also leading for significance. He defines significance by the impact his leadership has on other people. Like Aaron, I want my leadership impact to reach far beyond business results. I want those on my team to win at home, excel in life, and perform well at work. I want team members to go home each day feeling empowered and encouraged. I hope they will even talk about their great team at home and while hanging out with friends on the weekend. I’m guessing you want to lead in this way also. In this podcast episode, I’ll tell you how to make such an impact in the lives of those you lead. Episode Outline: Article - I Want You To Win At Home https://www.credibleleaders.com/blog/win-at-home Attitude Confidence Winning Can’t control how team members behave at home Can send them home prepared for success at home Can’t separate work from the rest of life Trouble at home = struggles at work Worries in life = stress at work Benefits of helping the team win at home and in life More engaged team member More positive team member More empowered team member More encouraged team member Better business results How to positively impact the lives of those you lead Make it a leadership priority Adopt the mindset Build better relationships Serve, serve, serve Recognize and appreciate efforts and successes Resources Mentioned: The Leadership Calculator The Leadership Accelerator

Do you have concerns about the future of your team? Does your company utilize succession planning that seems ineffective? Or maybe you’re feeling to need for additional leaders in your team, but uncertain how to develop new leaders. Succession planning is often neglected, maybe even ignored. In cases where succession planning exists, it seems to be ineffective. The success of a team rises and falls on leadership, so the future of your team is dependent upon succession planning. You can set your team up for success in the future with effective planning. Effective succession planning isn’t an event, meeting, or document to complete. You may have a meeting scheduled with your leadership to review succession plans, but don’t fall victim to the illusion that a meeting represents effective succession planning. You have to view succession planning as a daily activity. In this podcast episode, I’ll share with you activities that will ensure the future success of your team. Show Outline “Leaders don't create followers, they create more leaders.” -Tom Peters Maintain the mindset of creating more leaders Should be a part of leadership job description Avoid feeling threatened by the growth of others “Do for some what you wish you could do for all.” -Andy Stanley You may have too many team members to mentor them all Define two layers of inner-circle What to be looking for inner-circles Self-starters, self-improvers Team members already going the extra mile Attitude over skill set or even performance Humble, hungry, & smart Mentor, Coach, & Delegate Mentor to inner-circle Coach and delegate to inner-inner-circle   Resources Mentioned: The Leadership Calculator The Leadership Accelerator

Do you struggle with negativity in your team? Do you often hear comments like “that won’t work because…” from team members? Or maybe you feel a real struggle to energize or excite your team about the goal you're working to achieve. Negativity can be a cancer that robs your team of productivity, efficiency, and success. You can minimize, even eliminate, negativity in your team. You can remove this obstacle that prevents your team from achieving goals. The key to doing so is focus. Focus is a simple concept. The difficult aspect of focus is identifying what to focus on. In this episode, I’ll identify exactly what you need to focus on in order to minimize, even eliminate, negativity in your team. Show Outline Why Negativity Must Be Removed If you say you can or can’t, you’re right Contagious Often grounded in fear, not reality Focus Not on what you don’t have Focus on what you have How to shift focus Not a covert operation Acknowledge what you don’t have, but don’t dwell on it List everything you do have Benefits Shift to positive mindset More efficient plans Justifications for more Why not just fire negative team members? Negativity will persist New hires will also turn negative if negativity isn’t addressed properly Resources Mentioned The Leadership Calculator The Leadership Accelerator  

Have you ever tried to take a family vacation, but your vacation turned into a frustrating repeat of you responding to office emails, answering urgent phone calls, or trying to pull away from your laptop to spend time with your family? I’ve been there. I’ve done that. I’ve had family vacations that I worried would end in divorce because I just couldn’t seem to devote my attention to my family while on vacation. I understand the pressures of being a leader and the struggles of taking some time “actually” away from your team. Your vacation time doesn’t have to follow the pattern of my past vacations. You can take a vacation of complete rest and relaxation. You can leave the laptop and phone at home, and enjoy a vacation worry-free with your family. Most importantly, you can do this without your team or business suffering from your absence. I’m going to tell you how in this episode. Show Outline: Prepare ahead of time Delegate Define escalations Out of office message (email & phone) Maintain normal disciplines Morning routines Exercise Keeps mind active Have fun Say yes philosophy Do new things Fun rejuvenates you Properly plan your return No meetings first day back New out-of-office responder Visit your team members  Resources Mentioned: The Leadership Calculator The Leadership Accelerator

Every leader wants to be an excellent leader. But the loneliness and isolation of being at the “top” can make excellence feel like mission impossible. Aaron Walker has been in small business and community leadership for over 42 years. Aaron joins me on the podcast to share the secret to defeating isolation and loneliness as a leader. It doesn’t have to feel lonely at the top. Aaron says isolation is the enemy of excellence. In this podcast episode, he will share the secret to leadership excellence. Hello Friend. This is the Rookie Leaders podcast. It’s the podcast offering leadership lessons to newbies. My name is Michael Tanner, and with 30 years of leadership experience, it is my mission is to help YOU become the leader everyone loves and wants to follow. So YOU can positively impact business results and the lives of those you lead. Personal Takeaways I’d rather fail in front of a few than everyone Vulnerability is key to success No one pushes through a ceiling alone If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go with someone. Get into a group now, not when a crisis hits Iron Sharpens Iron Mastermind Group https://www.viewfromthetop.com/   Resources Mentioned: The Leadership Calculator The Leadership Accelerator

Do you have a team member that is underperforming, but you are afraid to give them a bad performance review? Giving performance reviews, especially for poor performance, are typically the first scary act for a new leader. But you can deliver a performance review that addresses poor performance and yet remain a leader that your teammate loves and wants to follow. Forget the compliment sandwich and other similar gimmicks. Deliver a performance review with confidence that properly addresses the poor performance. Hello Friend. This is the Rookie Leaders podcast. It’s the podcast offering leadership lessons to newbies. My name is Michael Tanner, and with 30 years of leadership experience, it is my mission is to help YOU become the leader everyone loves and wants to follow. So YOU can positively impact business results and the lives of those you lead. Before we start talking about performance reviews, let me quickly make you aware of our Leadership Calculator. You are listening to this podcast because you want to improve your leadership. To improve your leadership, you must first measure it. Our free calculator provides you with an objective leadership score and details for improving your leadership based on your result.  I’ll share more about our Leadership Calculator at the end of the show, but for now let’s talk about delivering performance reviews. Show Outline: Abandon the ANNUAL performance review Even if it’s the HR policy Utilize regular 1-1 meetings Too awkward to talk about things that happened 6 months ago Establish selfless motive Serve Build relationships Find out why poor performance Address performance, not person You are trying to change the performance, not the person Can eliminate defensiveness Have documented evidence Be their coach Game plan Mentor Cheerleader Do this also for good performance reviews If you need to deliver a poor performance review or you want to be prepared to do so, then start with our Leadership Calculator so you can understand how to establish those all-important relationships and pure motives we talked about earlier! All you have to do is head over to theleadershipcalculator.com. Until I speak with you again next time, remember that I love you because that is what leaders do, and want you to be blessed & lead well.   Resources Mentioned: The Leadership Calculator The Leadership Accelerator

Do you have a workplace bully on your team? Have you dealt with that bully yet? Are you worried about the impact this bully is having on the rest of your team? Dealing with a workplace bully is difficult and scary - especially for a leader that doesn’t like conflict. But it doesn’t have to be difficult or scary, and it doesn’t have to lead to firing the bully. In this episode, I will share my experience in dealing with workplace bullies. Hello Friend. This is the Rookie Leaders podcast. It’s the podcast offering leadership lessons to newbies. My name is Michael Tanner, and with 30 years of leadership experience, it is my mission is to help YOU become the leader everyone loves and wants to follow. So YOU can positively impact business results and the lives of those you lead. Before we start dealing with workplace bullies, let me quickly make you aware of our Leadership Calculator. You are listening to this podcast because you want to improve your leadership. To improve your leadership, you must first measure it. Our free calculator provides you with an objective leadership score and details for improving your leadership based on your result.  I’ll share more about our Leadership Calculator after the show notes, but for now, let’s talk about dealing with workplace bullies. Show Outline: Shout-out to Ashley Not physical bullying or harrasment Story of new team member (not recruited, inherited) with specific technical skill our team was moving into. Personality was abrasive, impatient, arrogant Other team members offended, wanted bully fired Consider the Golden Rule - episode 103 Establish policy regarding bullying Address bully privately Confront the actions or behavior, not the person Explain the policy Explain the impact to team and performance Explain the consequences if it continues Create a plan of improvement If you need to deal with a workplace bully or you want to be prepared to do so, then start with our Leadership Calculator so you can understand how to establish those all-important relationships and pure motives we talked about earlier! All you have to do is head over to theleadershipcalculator.com. Until I speak with you again next time, remember that I love you because that is what leaders do, and want you to be blessed & lead well.   Resources Mentioned: The Leadership Calculator The Leadership Accelerator  

Are you in a temporary or interim leadership position? This is often the pathway to a permanent leadership position. There are certainly nuisances to interim positions that can be difficult to navigate. In this podcast episode, we will be learning from Deborah Coviello. Deb Coviello is an advisor, author, podcast host, and Founder of Illumination Partners, a consulting firm for CEOs navigating change. A trusted partner to C-Suite Leaders, Deb brings 25+ years of experience and strategy in Quality and Operational Excellence roles combined with her 20 years in the Flavors and Fragrance industry to support her clients as they work together to identify, assess, and solve the issues that are preventing their business growth. Certified as Lean and Six Sigma Blackbelt in Process Improvement, she has developed powerful programs devoted to helping CEOs identify emerging leaders, understanding “People’’ is the greatest tool in your toolbox. Deb is a board member of Women in Flavor & Fragrance Commerce, (WFFC), an avid Curler with the Cincinnati Curling Club, a mother of three, and resides in Cincinnati Ohio with her husband Dan of 32 years. My Key Takeaways To succeed in an interim leadership position can-do attitude model good leaders around you get and act upon feedback envision yourself as the leader you want to be How to determine if leadership is what you want permanently Ask if it serves your needs, serves your wants, and serves your passion   Connect with Deborah LinedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deborahacoviello/ Website: https://dropinceo.com/ Podcast: https://dropinceo.com/drop-in-ceo-podcast/ Book: https://dropinceo.com/book-page/   Resources Mentioned: The Leadership Calculator The Leadership Accelerator

I’m often asked leadership questions that follow the form, “how would you lead in a situation where ________?” And they fill in that blank with whatever difficult situation they are facing at the time - where you need to fire a team member, you have a team member destroying the morale of the team, you have to reprimand a team member for bad behavior, and the list of difficult situations could go on forever. I know it’s frustrating initially to the person asking me this sincere question, but I always answer that question with a question. “How would you want to be led if you were that person?” As the person considers my question and we talk through it, the knowledge and courage to lead through their stated difficult situation become apparent. It’s simply the golden rule applied to leadership. Taking some creative liberties with the rule, I’ve changed it up to address leadership specifically. Lead others the way you would want to be led. I’ll further explain the golden rule and its value to you as a leader in this podcast episode.   Resources Mentioned: The Leadership Calculator The Leadership Accelerator