032 - Sometimes Yes Means No

The Effective Executive, by Peter Drucker, outlines 4 challenges that effective executives have to overcome. Your time is not your own, drive an agenda to avoid busy work, align with organizational goals and customer requirements are usually murky.  This podcast covers these 4 challenges at a high level, and future casts will talk in detail about each of these categories. This podcast is part of a book review series, covering Peter Drucker's "The Effective Executive". Join the conversation on twitter by using #TechnicalLeadership, or including @techleadrship in your tweet. Check out the Technical Leadership youtube channel by searching for TechnicalLeadership or go to https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_FvZUXWAxjYyMWj99T5qRA

Doing the right things is an essential element of being an effective leader.  The Effective Executive, by Peter Drucker, is a book written for listeners of the technical leadership podcast. "Knowledge Workers", as Peter Drucker says, need to do the right thing to help the organization move forward. Essentially all knowledge workers are executives, and the skills of effectiveness can be learned by anybody. Join the conversation on twitter by using #TechnicalLeadership, or including @techleadrship in your tweet.  Check out the Technical Leadership youtube channel by searching for TechnicalLeadership or go to https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_FvZUXWAxjYyMWj99T5qRA You can also practically support this podcast, by joining our patreon community https://www.patreon.com/technicalleadership

In this episode we wrap up our series on negotiation, as well as the first season of this podcast. We will continue with original content in January 2021. The easy way to say 'No' is by using non-confrontational 'what' or 'how' questions. There are some useful side-effects to this approach as well, that will help you build trust while saying 'No'. Join the conversation on twitter by using #TechnicalLeadership, or including @techleadrship in your tweet. You can also practically support this podcast, by joining our patreon community https://www.patreon.com/technicalleadership

We're often told to compromise with others to get things done. For an FBI hostage negotiator, there can be no compromise. In this episode we learn how tactical empathy can get results without compromise. This episode is part 4 of our negotiating series, inspired by the book "Never Split the Difference" by Chris Voss. Join the conversation on twitter by using #TechnicalLeadership, or including @techleadrship in your tweet. You can also practically support this podcast, by joining our patreon community https://www.patreon.com/technicalleadership

I'm agreeable by nature, and getting folks to tell me 'no' is uncomfortable. But it yields results. In this episode, we discuss the 3 flavors of 'yes', and how to make your counterpart feel in control by getting them to say 'no'. This episode is part 3 of our negotiating series, inspired by the book "Never Split the Difference" by Chris Voss. Join the conversation on twitter by using #TechnicalLeadership, or including @techleadrship in your tweet. You can also practically support this podcast, by joining our patreon community https://www.patreon.com/technicalleadership

Labeling negative emotions defuses them. This episodes is part 2 of our negotiating series, inspired by the book "Never Split the Difference" by Chris Voss. Labeling is an important tactical tool to remove obstacles. Often, its negative emotions about a situation, that prevent a positive outcome. To be successful, a negotiator needs to deal with fears, concerns, anger and other fight-or-flight emotions to establish a rapport, so that the negotiation can continue. Labeling is valuable in work and home situations and can be practiced in virtually every conversation. Join the conversation on twitter by using #TechnicalLeadership, or including @techleadrship in your tweet. You can also practically support this podcast, by joining our patreon community https://www.patreon.com/technicalleadership

Life is a negotiation. A successful leader needs excellent negotiation skills to help them and their teams succeed.  This episode is the first of a 5 part series on negotiation. It is based on the book "Never Split the Difference" by Chris Voss and Tahl Raz. In this episode, we learn about tactical empathy, and how connecting with our counterparts will create trust and a better outcome for everybody. We also cover a technique called "Mirroring" that is used to uncover more information, and help your counterpart feel heard. Join the conversation on twitter by using #TechnicalLeadership, or including @techleadrship in your tweet. You can also practically support this podcast, by joining our patreon community https://www.patreon.com/technicalleadership

A team that is divided, requires good leadership to repair. The first steps are to be curious about what is going on, listen to people's perspectives and ask questions. Don't push your agenda. First seek to understand. Listening and understanding others doesn't put an obligation on you to take an action. You don't need to compromise your values by listening to others. Once you can fully understand and appreciate the opposing perspectives, you'll be in a better position to align on an action. Taking action too soon can lead to more division. Join the conversation on twitter by using #TechnicalLeadership, or including @techleadrship in your tweet. You can also practically support this podcast, by joining our patreon community https://www.patreon.com/technicalleadership

Imitate the tortoise in Aesop's fable. If you're moving too fast, you'll be demotivated by challenges that seemingly take a long time to overcome. A slow and steady approach will help you to tackle challenges without a drastic drop in motivation. Executing slowly, and by inference, methodically, doesn't mean you shouldn't have a big vision; you should. However, you need to execute the vision with a thought-out approach. Join the conversation on twitter by using #TechnicalLeadership, or including @techleadrship in your tweet. You can also practically support this podcast, by joining our patreon community https://www.patreon.com/technicalleadership

The saying goes that "the best time to plan a tree was 10 years ago. The second best time is today". Sometimes we don't start an activity because we feel that we should already have achieved the result. Our judgmental attitude to our starting point stymies action. But without action, there is no progress. In these situations, we need a mindset shift, to measure the improvement and not the end result. Judging the fact that we didn't plant a tree 10 years ago will not help the earth have more trees. But looking foorward to having a seed in the ground, will get us to plant more trees. This simple change in mindset will have extraordinary long term consequences. Join the conversation on twitter by using #TechnicalLeadership, or including @techleadrship in your tweet. You can also practically support this podcast, by joining our patreon community https://www.patreon.com/technicalleadership