Ready to Lead

As leaders, it can be tempting to bypass team building exercises and just get down to business already. That is a very bad idea.In today’s episode, co-hosts Richard Lindner and Jeff Mask build a solid case for why leaders in today’s virtual environment can’t afford not to design trust-building experiences for their team. If you want to make an impact—and you want it to be enduring—you have to rally people to do their best work, or it won’t be sustainable. Your dreams and aspirations will crumble, and work will be a drag. When you align people, connect with them, and build deep strong relationships, the output is the best work of your career. You can accomplish way more, way faster, and more profitably when you have a strong foundation of trust. Listen in for some great practical advice on intentionally designing organizational trust as a leader.IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:3 levels of trust-building experiences you need to implement consistently Creative ideas for shared experiences your team will love and remember 3 big questions to ask during a vulnerability-creating experienceWhat you need to know about assessments before you give them to your team LINKS AND RESOURCES:[email protected] (email your thoughts/questions to Richard and Jeff)OTHER SHOWS YOU MIGHT ENJOY:Business Lunch with Roland Frasier and Ryan DeissPerpetual Traffic with Ralph Burns and Kasim AslamDigitalMarketer Podcast with Mark de Grasse and Mandy McEwen

When is a decision yours to make as a leader and when do you entrust it to your team? On today’s episode, co-hosts Richard Lindner and Jeff Mask talk about the fine line leaders walk when it comes to making decisions. If you think that being a leader, being in charge, automatically means you make all the decisions, you need to take a step back. Sometimes the biggest decision a leader can make is deciding to delegate that decision-making to someone else. As leaders, we also need to take a deep dive into why we make the decisions we make. Are we being ruled by fear, or do we have the best interests of our team in mind? As leaders, our job is to multiply effective leadership—to lead others well so they may lead others well.Listen in for some actionable tips and helpful frameworks for making, delegating, and analyzing decisions. IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:Tips for creating decision-making opportunities for your team3 big fears that lead to unhealthy decisions 2 frameworks that can help you make better decisionsThe one thing NOT to say when a poor decision is made on your team LINKS AND RESOURCES:Ep. 35 : A Simple Decision FrameworkFierce Conversations (book by Susan Scott) Decisive (book by Chip Heath and Dan Heath)[email protected] (email your thoughts/questions to Richard and Jeff)OTHER SHOWS YOU MIGHT ENJOY:Business Lunch with Roland Frasier and Ryan DeissPerpetual Traffic with Ralph Burns and Kasim AslamDigitalMarketer Podcast with Mark de Grasse

What’s one of the single biggest frustrations/struggles for new leaders? Time management.  On today’s episode, co-hosts Richard Lindner and Jeff Mask take on the challenge of helping new leaders manage their time effectively as they transition from an individual contributor role to the role of manager. That shift is no joke, they say. And hopefully it helps to know that you’re not alone. No less than 100% of leaders find this difficult. And no two leaders approach time management the same way. Jeff and Richard don’t. Their suggestion is to learn as much as you can, then put a plan into action. Think of it as an experiment. If it doesn’t work, and you have to change it, that’s still a win. It’s a stepping stone on your way to success. Listen in for some helpful guidelines and frameworks you can test out as you transition into leadership. IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:How the 3 Ps and the 4 Ds can help eliminate frustration and challengesHow to use the Eisenhower Matrix as you plan your day, week, and monthThe pros and cons of a player-coach roleHow and why to use day-theming in addition to calendar-blocking LINKS AND RESOURCES:RTL 02/14 episode on delegating [email protected] (email your thoughts/questions to Richard and Jeff) OTHER SHOWS YOU MIGHT ENJOY:Business Lunch with Roland Frasier and Ryan DeissPerpetual Traffic with Ralph Burns and Kasim AslamDigitalMarketer Podcast with Mark de Grasse

When was the last time you praised someone on your team with specific, authentic feedback? On today’s episode, co-hosts Richard Lindner and Jeff Mask talk about the absolute importance of leaders expressing appreciation and acknowledgment for the work their team is doing—in a consistent way. If you do it randomly, whenever the urge strikes, it probably won’t happen. You need to build this mechanism into your weekly routine. They share some helpful stories (both good and bad) and some actionable ideas for appreciating your people and inspiring them to greatness. We often glaze over this issue, but it can be one of the easiest and most powerful things we do as leaders. “The ripple effect of this is literally incalculable,” Jeff says. Listen in for some helpful and tangible tools and frameworks you can put into action today. IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:How to do a quick self-audit to see how you’re doing in this area of affirmation Tips for offering feedback that is consistent, authentic, and specific Creative ways to offer praise in a virtual workplaceHow often to offer praise/appreciation (and why frequency matters) LINKS AND RESOURCES:The New One-Minute Manager (book by Ken Blanchard)The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace (book by Gary Smalley)[email protected] (email Richard & Jeff and toot your own horn) OTHER SHOWS YOU MIGHT ENJOY:Business Lunch with Roland Frasier and Ryan DeissPerpetual Traffic with Ralph Burns and Kasim AslamDigitalMarketer Podcast with Mark de Grasse and Mandy McEwen

The transition to leading virtually hasn’t been easy. It helps to learn from people who have been doing it for a really long time. On today’s episode, host Jeff Mask sits down with Ralph Burns, CEO and founder of Tier 11 and co-host of the Perpetual Traffic podcast, to talk about his new book, Virtual Boss. Jeff planned to just skim the book in preparation for their interview, but he couldn’t stop reading. He loves that it’s written from the actual trenches of virtual leadership, not some theory. Ralph has put in the work and has applicable, useful info for today’s leaders in virtual spaces. The guys geek out over human psychology together, talk about building trust and getting the most out of your team, and dig deep into what truly makes a leader great. Listen in for some encouragement and advice from a long-time (and well-respected) virtual leader.  IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:What leaders need to know about human psychologyTips for transitioning from in-person to virtual leadershipHow constructive reprimands can actually build trustWhy emojis are key to Ralph’s company being a virtual organization  LINKS AND RESOURCES: Virtual Boss (Ralph’s new book) Perpetual Traffic podcastTier 11  The 4-Hour WorkweekThe Motive [email protected] (email your thoughts/questions to Richard and Jeff) OTHER SHOWS YOU MIGHT ENJOY:Business Lunch with Roland Frasier and Ryan DeissPerpetual Traffic with Ralph Burns and Kasim AslamDigitalMarketer Podcast with Mark de Grasse and Mandy McEwen

“How in the heck do we keep people?” is the question on every leader’s mind right now in the midst of The Big Quit happening all around us. In today’s episode, co-hosts Richard Lindner and Jeff Mask sit down to talk about the tension of employee retention. Specifically, retaining the most talented people who are the best fit for your company. Of course you don’t want them to leave. And as difficult and scary as that thought might be, there are some really simple (not easy) ways to make sure it doesn’t happen. Listen in as they share some dos and some don’ts of keeping the right people on your team. Retention Starts with the Leader’s Mindset As Jeff and Richard talk to other people at different levels of leadership organizationally, they’re hearing a lot of stressful talk about retention. How do we keep people from leaving? Why are they leaving? Is this my fault? Tell me what to do! Jeff says one aspect of leadership that can happen is that you finally find the right team, a great fit, and you develop a scarcity mindset of “I hope nobody leaves.” He had a manager once with this underlying attitude of “I’m paying you well. You should be grateful. Your only way to grow is in this company and nowhere else.” The employees felt like they were under his thumb, like they were owned. He believes this is why much of the workforce is saying, “I’m done with this. I don’t have to keep enduring what I’ve endured. I don’t have to put up with this fear-based tactic.” Covid has opened our eyes to what matters, to what we’re willing to put up with. Jeff thinks that the lack of care and love for individuals is what has led to the Great Resignation. It’s not the only thing, but it’s a big part of it. It’s time to rethink and not repeat the habits and behaviors of that manager. Have you had that leader? Have you been that leader? Are you that leader right now?  We need to talk about how to retain people in a more healthy, holistic, long-term way of thinking, instead of a short-term, scarce, fear-based way of thinking. Some things are obvious. Don’t make your team members feel owned. Don’t posture as if they’re lucky to have this job. Don’t ask for inappropriate chunks of their personal time as the norm. Other things are less obvious and will take some thought and maybe even some trial and error. Building a Sense of Belonging A sense of belonging is so important in a workplace, but how do you build that? Richard has tried some things in the past that just didn’t work. They did team lunches once a week one time. The budget ballooned, and people would get their food and sit in the corner with their cliques. It had little to no effect on anyone’s sense of belonging. If you’re not prioritizing knowing your team, there’s no way you’ll know what to do or if it’s working. You need a cadence of communication. Jeff and Richard believe weekly one-on-ones are the key. They’re one of the best retention builders. And you need to posture the one-on-one as their time, not yours. Your “agenda” is getting to know them first and giving them clarity second. Building relationships is key. It’s easy for an employee to leave when there’s no relationship.  Jeff plays devil’s advocate for a minute. “Weekly one-on-ones? You don’t realize how busy I am or how many people I’m leading. We work together daily. We don’t need one-on-ones.”  Yeah, you do. Doing meaningful work together is great. Get stuff done and that builds bonding. But if you only do that, and you don’t dedicate time to finding out their hopes, dreams, and aspirations, it won’t be enough. This is not a secondary...

If delegation is challenging for you right now as a leader, this simple, proven exercise will help. Today’s episode is a micro-session with host Jeff Mask, and it’s for any leader who has big goals for the year but way too much on their plate to get it all done. It’s okay to admit it: to accomplish what you need to accomplish going forward, you’re going to need help. You’re going to need to delegate. Listen in as Jeff walks us through a simple delegation exercise that can make a huge difference for any leader. The Decision Tree Without meaning to, leaders tend to be bottlenecks. A lot of things have to run through you for approval. Or you have your team coming to you for questions that seem really elementary and self-explanatory. You know you don’t actually need to be part of every decision or meeting, but no one is clear on who has ownership of what. People feel disempowered and disenfranchised, because they’re constantly coming to you for permission. Jeff came across a very helpful delegation framework while reading Susan Scott’s book, Fierce Conversations. One of her employees shared it with her. It’s called The Decision Tree. Think of your organization as a tree. Trees have trunks, branches, leaves, and roots.  Each decision fits into a category. It’s either a leaf decision, a branch decision, a trunk decision, or a root decision. To visualize this framework, imagine 3 columns going left to right and 4 rows going top to bottom. Column 1: Decision Type (leaf, branch, trunk, root)Column 2: Team Member’s RoleColumn 3: Leader’s Role When you get clear on what type each decision is, and get clear on each person’s role, then it’s amazing how you can eliminate bottlenecks, confusion, and frustration. Leaf, Branch, Trunk, or Root? If you pluck a leaf off a tree, does it make much of an impact on the tree? No. A leaf decision is something that doesn’t require your approval. Something like setting up a team meeting. You don’t need to sign off on it. A branch decision is something a little bigger, like handling a high profile client. The team member can decide it, do it, and just let you know. A trunk decision is a little bigger. Maybe this is something like changing a strategy. The team member can decide what they think, connect with you, get approval from you, then go do it on their own. A root decision is something major, something very impactful to the company. Maybe a core value needs to be changed. A team member can make a recommendation, but you make the ultimate decision as the leader. Implementing this simple exercise is powerful, magical. There are no more bottlenecks. Everything works more quickly. People have autonomy. The leader is relieved. And it’s onward and upward to those big goals. Google “decision tree template” to find the one that works for you. Richard and Jeff want to hear from YOU. Did something in today’s episode resonate with you? What insights or actionable items are you going to run with today? They’d love to hear your feedback on this episode. Email them here with your thoughts/questions: [email protected]  LINKS AND RESOURCESFierce Conversations (book by Susan...

If you hope to grow your revenue, your teams, and your company, you have to find a way to delegate. There’s simply no way around it. In today’s episode, co-hosts Richard Lindner and Jeff Mask take on the evergreen, but ever-challenging, topic of delegation. Delegation is something all leaders need to take a look at annually (okay, and monthly, weekly, daily), but it’s especially timely right now. As we kick off a new year and aspire to achieve new goals, we realize we can’t continue to own everything we owned last year if we hope to grow this year. We’ve got to find a way to hand off tasks. So how do we do it? Who do we delegate to? How do we let go of control? How do we set the person up for success? Listen in as Richard and Jeff answer all of these important questions and more.  The Delegation Doom Loop If you’re paralyzed by fear at the very thought of delegation, you’re not alone. Maybe you’ve delegated in the past and gotten burned. Maybe you tried to delegate and ended up wasting a bunch of time and doing everything yourself anyway. Jeff says that leaders often find themselves in a difficult doom loop when they try to delegate: I’m so overwhelmedI semi-delegate a critical taskI semi-train someone on said taskIt doesn’t work out, and I take it back overRepeat  But what if a simple mindset shift could make you sprint toward delegation instead of running away? What if you could delegate confidently and give up control easily? What if you could help your team truly own what you’re delegating, and then grow it beyond anything you could have done yourself? What if you really invested the time to train people well? What could happen in your future? Most of us leaders have the human tendency to want to control things. This makes delegation challenging. But the more you delegate, the easier it gets. Your company can’t grow if you’re always holding on to the most important things. And it’s always the most important thing for where you’re at. It’s not the most important thing for where you want to go. If you don’t delegate, you’re always going to be treading water. You won’t get anywhere.  It all starts with your mindset. Think of the top of that doom loop. You’re so busy. You’re so overwhelmed. Replace: “I’m so busy” with “I have all the time in the world.” And look at what happens to your energy and your thinking. When we think that way, rather than using busyness as a badge of honor, we have all the time in the world to go create and innovate. It enables our mind to delegate in a truer form, a way that’s more enduring and sustainable instead of coming from a place of scarcity and fear and franticness.  The E.D.G.E. Framework for Delegation Jeff learned a methodology 20 years ago as a Scout Master teaching 13-year-old boys. It’s called E.D.G.E. ExplainDemonstrateGuideEnable Explain the why behind the task you’re delegating. Help them understand why it matters to them, the purpose behind it. Give visual aids/examples to solidify the idea/end product. Demonstrate the actual skill when done well. Show them what success looks like, all the while keeping in mind that they might do it a little differently than you do. Guide them, coach them through the process. This is where you let them try and experiment, so it sinks deep into them, instead of just watching you, then being left on their own. This step takes time and patience. This is the key step we...

Millions of people left their jobs last year, and the elephant in every office right now is: how do we talk about money? In today’s episode, co-hosts Richard Lindner and Jeff Mask tackle the difficult topic of salaries and raises head-on. 2021 was the Big Quit, the Great Resignation, the Year the Employee Leaves. Everyone has felt it. When 38+ million employees in the U.S. quit their jobs in a single calendar year, everyone feels it. That’s a lot of people walking out. That’s a lot of investment in training and onboarding and growth. That’s a really big hit. So, what are we going to do about it? If you’re a leader freaking out a little (or a lot) about this right now, know that you’re not alone. Listen in as Jeff and Richard calmly and wisely walk us through next steps. Let’s Be Honest: No One Really Knows What Richard is hearing from people he leads and in his communities, masterminds, and from other CEOs, executives, and mid-level managers is this: My employees are asking for raises, and I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how much to pay them. I don’t know if I should pay over market. I don’t even know what the hell market is right now.  Richard doesn’t know either. He says it feels like we’re sitting here bidding on a house in the hottest real estate market out there. How much over market do we have to go? There are times when the answer is whatever it takes. Sometimes it’s none. How do you know?  The next big question is: How do you have these conversations with team members? If they haven’t asked, they’re thinking about it, building up the courage to ask. The longer they’ve waited, the bigger issue it’s become in their minds. When they do ask, how do we have that conversation from power, not fear? From humility and vulnerability? How do we model leadership practices and principles within that conversation? How do we stop waiting for them to ask and just initiate, so it’s not this big elephant in the room? Avoid Panic and Emotionally-Driven Decisions Richard passes the puck to Jeff who doesn’t have solid answers either, but he does have some really good ideas. His first tip is to avoid extremes. Don’t panic. Don’t rush into decisions that are driven by emotion. This time may seem unprecedented, but he and Richard have seen a lot of ebbs and flows over the past 20+ years. They’ve been through up markets and down markets. There are some tried and true principles that can give you peace, clarity, confidence, and unity as a leadership team. You need to be unemotional. This doesn’t mean you don’t care about your people. It means your decisions aren’t rash and made in the moment based on feelings. (Like panicking and thinking, “I can’t lose this person!”) You need to be united as a leadership team. You need responsibility and alignment. You have to do what’s best for both the person and the company as a whole.  Looking at a situation unemotionally means that the question isn’t “What are we going to pay Jeff?” But: “How do we pay here?” You need an agreed-upon compensation strategy upfront from the beginning. When this is missing, there will be friction and tension. You need to know what your principal stance on compensation is at your company. What’s your compensation methodology? If you’re not in charge of this at your company, ask your leader that question.  Clarify and Communicate Your Compensation Strategy Conversations around money are much easier when everyone understands the company’s compensation methodology. And when that methodology has been clearly communicated to all employees. The whole team needs to be aligned. You’re overtaxing everyone when

When you know your purpose, your why, as a leader, you’re able to set harmonious and powerful goals for yourself and your team. In a previous episode, co-hosts Richard Lindner and Jeff Mask talked about setting relevant goals that align with their overarching purpose as a company. In today’s episode, they want to continue that conversation and connect some dots. How do you go deeper into your own personal why, your personal purpose? This is a topic that is absolutely invigorating for Jeff and, frankly, pretty intimidating for Richard.  As they chat, Jeff plays the teacher/coach/guru/spiritual guide and Richard is the critic/cynic. Listen in for two very different and valuable perspectives on discovering your life’s purpose. Richard’s Reluctant Perspective What if you don’t know what your personal why is? What if you’re not even sure you care to know? Then you’re on Team Richard. Richard says, “I don’t clearly know my personal why. I don’t have a personal mission statement. I can’t tell you my personal purpose.”  What Richard does know is that, at the Scalable Company, their purpose is to help entrepreneurs scale themselves so they can scale their companies. It’s something he’s really passionate about. He’s also passionate about the Ready to Lead podcast because he believes he and Jeff can help other leaders learn from their failures and mistakes. Richard is envious of those who have personal mission statements. It’s hard for him. Blue ocean thinking and dialing that in are not his strengths. He just wants to get to work on his goals. But, because of his deep respect and admiration for Jeff, he’s willing to listen and is open to changing his mind. Jeff’s Passionate Perspective Jeff believes this episode will be so valuable to people on both sides of the issue. Those who don’t know their purpose and those who do. He’s going to share a few exercises and frameworks he uses to help the CEOs and leaders he coaches uncover their why, the gift they bring to the world.  “The clearer we are on our why,” he says, “and the more effectively we can set goals that are relevant and in harmony with our why, the more we’ll be in the flow, excited and energized.” So many people are already exhausted and burnt out, and the year has barely begun. He believes it’s because we’re not anchoring to our bigger purpose and the reason we exist. We’re missing out on a deeper, richer meaning we could attach to our goals that could fuel us and keep us going. Jeff and Richard are both leading people in all walks of life. It’s important to understand people’s mindsets and backgrounds to lead them from where they’re at. Maybe you know your true why, but you’re leading people who don’t. Or maybe you don’t know yours, but you’re leading people who do. It’s important that we understand each other.  Some Necessary Prep Work in 3 Steps Jeff has a valuable framework to share that includes four questions to ask yourself when trying to figure out your purpose. But, like most things, we need to do a little prep work first. We need to set a foundation for discovering our purpose and living into it. Here are 3 important first steps: Step #1: Avoid perfectionism. What happens very often when people try to discover why they exist is that they get stuck on making sure it’s perfect and exactly right before they go anywhere else. You kind of have to try it out. I think it’s this, or it might be this. Be okay to flex with it, tweak it, change it. If you’re a perfectionist, it’s all or nothing—and most often, it’s nothing. Step #2: Ask yourself how at peace you are