Ep.50 What's Your Strategic Narrative? Guest Guillaume Wiatr. Metahelm Strategic Consulting. Seattle, WA

SummaryIn this episode, Nate Leslie explores the concept of high performance culture, defining its key elements and discussing how to cultivate it within organizations. He emphasizes the importance of connection, clarity, and accountability, while also addressing the human experience and its impact on performance. The episode concludes with actionable insights and an invitation for listeners to engage further with the content.Get your ⁠FREE Leader Self Assessment⁠ here. Keywordshigh performance culture, organizational culture, team dynamics, leadership, psychological safety, values, performance measurement, feedback, accountability, employee engagementSound Bites"Culture is what you feel.""You are the weather.""Clarity is key."TakeawaysHigh performance culture is about achieving goals while ensuring a positive human experience.Connection among team members is fundamental to culture.Values must be clear and actionable to guide behavior.Psychological safety allows individuals to perform effectively.Meaning in work enhances engagement and satisfaction.Feedback should be specific, timely, and low in judgment.Accountability is crucial for team performance.Clarity in expectations leads to better outcomes.Cultivating a high performance culture requires structured approaches.Tangible actions can improve organizational culture.Chapters00:00 Introduction to High Performance Culture02:28 Defining Culture and High Performance07:10 Cultivating High Performance Culture11:38 Measuring Human Experience in Culture17:22 Elements of High Performance Culture21:01 Conclusion and Call to Action

SummaryIn this episode, Nate Leslie kicks off Season 4 of 'Leading with Curiosity' by reflecting on the journey of the podcast and reviewing the Top 10 Episodes of all Time. Each episode highlights key themes in leadership, coaching, and personal growth, featuring insights from various guests. Nate also shares his personal journey and the exciting developments in his business, culminating in the discussion of the most popular episode...listen to find out the most listened to episode of all time! Sound Bites"You are the weather.""I'd be dead without coaching.""Mentor is a gift word.""I must have more to offer the world than this."Keywordsleadership, coaching, mentorship, performance, personal growth, podcast, curiosity, top episodes, executive coaching, organizational changeTakeawaysThis podcast started as a way to connect during the pandemic.Top episodes reflect significant themes in leadership and personal growth.Measuring performance should focus on personal output, not just outcomes.Leadership influences team dynamics; we are the weather.Personal retreats can lead to transformative wellness solutions.Coaching is essential for personal and professional growth.The Great Resignation highlighted the importance of aligning values.Mentorship is a gift that should be bestowed by others.Personal growth often takes time and patience.Dynamic Shared Ownership can transform organizational culture.Chapters00:00 Season Four Kickoff and Reflection01:33 Top 10 Episodes Overview02:39 Rethinking Performance with Ben Sporer03:25 Life Choices and Values with Rusty Gaillord04:03 You Are the Weather with Dan Kerr05:40 Transformational Retreats with Brie Doyle07:24 Coaching vs Counseling with Howie Outerbridge08:51 Athlete-Centered Leadership with TJ Manastersky09:38 The Importance of Coaching with Dan Konigsberg11:41 The Great Resignation as Opportunity with Ilene Schaeffer13:27 Mentor is a Gift with Ian Chisholm15:31 Personal Growth and New Projects19:02 Dynamic Shared Ownership with Lars Brüning

"In this process our team in Italy invented a tool that would have taken 18 months in our traditional model. They did it in 2-3 months. It makes it easy for the patients to keep the two vials and the two syringes, hold them in a little tool that is produced by a 3D printing in the end. It's called froggy because it has a little bit the face of a frog." "The traditional way of management stems from industrial revolution, right? It was all about doing a process in steps and having people work in that process hand in hand so it always passes on, but you needed to define very precisely what each individual was contributing to." "Leadership is needed. Even though you say the decisions are made on the lowest possible level and that's the operating teams really. But you need leadership. You need less than before, but you need leadership." Take my ⁠⁠High-Performance Leader Self Assessment⁠⁠ for FREE. Connect with Nate on ⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn Summary Lars discusses the transformation in leadership style at Bayer, focusing on dynamic shared ownership and its impact on innovation and people. The traditional hierarchical decision-making process in large companies can be slow, so Bayer implemented a new operating model where decision-making sits with operational teams called front runner teams. These teams have more flexibility and autonomy, allowing for faster decision-making. Lars shares an example of a team in Italy that invented a tool to make injections easier for hemophiliac patients, which was brought to market in just two and a half to three months. This new approach challenges the traditional command and control leadership style and emphasizes the importance of outcomes, authenticity, and trust. Takeaways Bayer implemented dynamic shared ownership as a new operating model to speed up decision-making and innovation. Front runner teams have more autonomy and flexibility to make decisions without going through layers of management. A team in Italy invented a tool to make injections easier for hemophiliac patients, which was brought to market in just two and a half to three months. The new leadership style challenges the traditional command and control approach and emphasizes outcomes, authenticity, and trust. Keywords dynamic shared ownership, leadership transformation, innovation, decision-making, autonomy, front runner teams, faster decision-making, hierarchy, traditional management, ownership, outcomes, authenticity, trust

Take my ⁠High-Performance Leader Self Assessment⁠ for FREE Connect with Nate on ⁠⁠LinkedIn Connect with Rusty: www.rustygaillard.com Summary In this conversation, Nate Leslie interviews Rusty Gaillard, a leadership consultant and coach, about the importance of mindfulness and compassion in leadership. They discuss the concept of eliminating unnecessary work and focusing on the big rocks that drive impact. Rusty emphasizes the need for leaders to have the courage to face discomfort and take action. They also explore the role of candor and trust in building strong relationships and effective teams. The conversation concludes with a discussion on the responsibility of leaders to set a positive example for the next generation and the impact of their words and actions on AI. Keywords leadership, mindfulness, compassion, eliminating unnecessary work, big rocks, courage, candor, trust, positive example, AI Takeaways Leaders should accept that a portion of their work may be unnecessary and focus on the big rocks that drive impact. Mindfulness and compassion are essential in facing discomfort and taking action. Candor and trust are crucial in building strong relationships and effective teams. Leaders have a responsibility to set a positive example for the next generation and be mindful of the impact of their words and actions on AI. The Impact of Words and Actions on AI Building Trust and Navigating Conflict Title Options The Impact of Words and Actions on AI Building Trust and Navigating Conflict Sound Bites "Is there 80% of the work that you're doing that might be irrelevant?" "What are those big rocks that you can really focus on that are going to support your growth?" "There's something I'm doing here, even though I've invested so much time and energy in it, I could walk away from it." Chapters 00:00 Eliminating Unnecessary Work and Focusing on Big Rocks 07:24 Building Trust and Navigating Conflict 26:28 The Impact of Words and Actions on AI

Take my High-Performance Leader Self Assessment for FREE Connect with Nate on ⁠LinkedIn Get Loreta's Free Brand Presence Checklist at www.loreta.today Hey listeners welcome to leading with curiosity today is exciting We have Loretta Tarozaita, former TV journalist and news anchor from Lithuania, who has taken so much of that experience into a completely new career, and we were just exploring offline how we have a lot in common. My life as a former professional athlete now doing something completely different, but bringing with us all those experiences and then both in businesses and service to other people. We're going to use me as a case study again today, which I'm very selfishly glad that we're doing because I'm going to learn a lot, but I really feel like for the listeners it's going to help you really see here and feel the work that Loretta does around brand and executive presence. Introductions and background Loreta shared her journey from TV journalist in Lithuania to business storyteller. Nate assessed his company's brand and executive presence and scored lower than expected due to a gap between marketing and core values. Assessing brand and executive presence Loreta analyzed Nate's scores, finding the brand presence in an "emergency stage" while executive presence was higher. Nate confirmed answering more from personal experience than representing his camp. Opportunities in storytelling and video content Loreta saw the potential to humanize the brand through athletes' stories from recruitment to graduation, captured organically. Nate's alumni could film testimonials strengthening community and values over marketing hype. Building community through shared experiences Nate aims to shift from one-person recruitment to alumni-empowering friends to attend. Loreta advised sharing families' experiences through social media to drive retention and recruitment through shared joy. Expanding reach through media relationships Loreta suggested contributing articles globally to spread unique stories and validate leadership. Nate wondered how a part-time team could achieve this; Loreta proposed alumni and niche sports media relationships for local and international influence. Next steps in humanizing the narrative Loreta encouraged focusing on social platforms to better integrate messaging and storytelling. Nate gained clarity that simplifying communication through a human lens could evolve the brand with existing resources instead of additional workload.

If you are deciding how to position your business in the market, set your organizational values or plan a vision, you may need to find your Strategic Narrative. Take my free High-Performance Leader Self-Assessment. Take Guillaume Wiatr's free Strategic Narrative Self Assessment. Guillaume Waitr was in the process of publishing one of his highly successful The Next Narrative blogs when he came across some mental dissension when comparing the terms story and narrative. After reflecting on this, Guillaume was hit with a revelation. These two terms were used interchangeably in business and psychology constantly but were actually different. The story has a beginning, middle and end like a movie, while a narrative is the ongoing collection of beliefs and perspectives behind many interconnected stories. Guillaume delved into narrative deeper and discovered that each business has it’s own narrative and through identifying and aligning it, business can develop their own Strategic Narrative. Connect with Nate on LinkedIn Connect with Guillaume on LinkedIn Celebrating 50 episodes and our 3rd season with you! Listen to this podcast episode with Guillaume Wiatr, originally from France, now based in Seattle. I'm flying high right now because I was pretty vulnerable in this episode. We used me as an example. Guillaume is a creator of Strategic Narrative, the business strategy consulting and coaching methodology for entrepreneurial leaders and professional service firms. He looks young, but for like 30 years he's worked with some big, big consulting firms. He's founded several companies. He's worked with organizations like Microsoft and the Gates Foundation, AIG. He walked me through some of his methodologies as I'm exploring this inflection point that I'm in my career and my business. We took a gamble by using me as the example and I have a feeling it's going to resonate with you the listener. We jump right into what we mean by Strategic Narrative, his trademark methodology. If you're wondering where you're at in positioning your company or your team's vision and your strategy, this was super helpful for me. This is free advice, some coaching, and a bit of consulting. Enjoy. Guillaume explained strategic narrative is a system of interconnected stories that shape one's mindset, language, and actions to achieve goals more efficiently. Guillaume emphasized building an authentic narrative from the inside-out to avoid distractions, focus on core values, and efficiently reach one's desired future through small consistent actions. Nate aims to scale their impact by growing a team of coaches to serve more leaders, as they successfully did in their hockey development business, moving from sole proprietor to leader. Guillaume stressed developing one's authentic expertise through publishing seeds of ideas continuously to clarify perspective for differentiated impact, like coaching from experience. Guillaume suggested prototyping ideas quickly through publishing to build confidence in one's message and overcome doubts, focusing outward on small actions over big plans. Guillaume recommended cultivating ideas through presence like walks, then publishing seeds immediately online to develop expertise iteratively through feedback in a low-risk yet impactful way.

Take our FREE Leader Self-Assessment Connect with Nate on LinkedIn Today, we have a truly remarkable guest who has navigated through various facets of leadership, from military to the boardrooms of global corporations. Joining us is Peter Forsberg, a seasoned leader with an extensive 33-year career, spanning roles in the Army Reserves, Sales and Marketing in IT and Tech, Training and Development, Consulting, and key leadership positions in Human Resources. Peter’s journey begins at the age of 20, taking command of a platoon in the Army Reserves. This early experience laid the foundation for their views and approach to leadership, becoming the cradle of their current leadership style. The lessons learned in the disciplined and dynamic environment of the Armed Forces have undoubtedly shaped our guest's ability to lead in diverse settings. After the military, our guest transitioned into the fast-paced world of Sales and Marketing in IT and Tech, where the skills honed in the military found new applications. From there, they delved into Training and Development, offering insights into the importance of continuous learning and adapting in an ever-evolving landscape. Host: Moving into the realm of Consulting, our guest leveraged their multifaceted background to assist organizations in optimizing their performance. The ability to understand and navigate complex challenges became a hallmark of their leadership. The journey then takes a significant turn into the realm of Human Resources. Our guest served as the Head of Global HR at AB Enzymes, overseeing a workforce of 400, owned by AB Foods, a British organization with a workforce of 135,000. Through these roles, our guest gained invaluable experience in managing large and diverse teams on a global scale. The global journey doesn't stop there. Our guest also held key HR positions at Astra Zeneca, where they led in a workforce of 70,000. And, notably, at Nokia, a company he still regards as one of the best he’s worked for. The experiences gained in these roles undoubtedly contribute to the rich tapestry of leadership lessons that our guest brings to the table. It's not just about the big corporations; our guest has also been involved with Small and Medium Enterprises, understanding the unique challenges and opportunities that arise in more intimate organizational settings. Join us for this insightful and inspiring episode of "Leading with Curiosity" as we unravel the experiences, challenges, and triumphs of our distinguished guest. Stay tuned for a deep dive into the world of leadership and the wisdom gained from a remarkable 33-year career.

Ben Sporer has held multiple roles with the Canadian Sports Institute and, as an accomplished physiologist, has led support teams at summer and winter Olympic games, as well as at World Cup and World Championship events. Ben is an adjunct professor at the University of British Columbia and the vice president of performance strategy for the Vancouver Whitecaps FC of MLS. Connect with Nate: www.nateleslie.ca Connect with Ben Sporer: output-book.com LinkedIn.com/in/bensporer  IG: outputbook, @Ben_Sporer #highperformance Summary: Nate and Ben Sporer had a conversation about Ben's journey and the motivation behind his book. They discussed how the pandemic and the curiosity of others led Ben to compile his experiences and perspectives on performance into a book. -  Nate and Ben discussed the importance of balancing detail and preparation in optimizing performance. They emphasized that while outcomes are important, focusing on controlling and delivering the necessary output is key to achieving objectives. Ben and Nate discuss the importance of measuring performance based on personal output rather than external outcomes. They emphasize the need to be clear about objectives and focus on delivering consistent, proud outputs to achieve success. Nate and Ben discuss the importance of being honest about one's objectives and the necessary steps to achieve them. They emphasize the need for clear planning, hard work, and self-reflection to measure success and overcome obstacles. Ben and Nate discussed the importance of recovery and avoiding burnout in both sports and the business world. They emphasized the need to prioritize rest and sleep for improved performance and productivity.

Get my free High-Performance Leader Self Assessment at nateleslie.ca/gift. At the heart of today's episode is the role that executive and career coaching can play in career transitions. Professionals may start out loving what they do and one day woke up realizing, they just don't love it anymore. Randi Roberts, 30-year corporate career, now ICF certified coach working with people at points in their career where they're ready to make changes. It was a fascinating conversation. Listen to the end of the episode or click here to find resources for free on Randi's website if you are someone thinking that you just don't love what you're doing anymore. There's a career satisfaction survey, a diagnostic that she's developed, as well as the Right Time Guide. What is it the right time for? Is it time for a change or is it time to dig in to the root of the issues that you're currently having to solve them to get back to loving what do? And I want to remind listeners of a new feature. If you are listening on Spotify, you can head to the episode to answer a listener question.I want to engage with listeners there. And if there's a leader out there wondering how you're doing as a leader, you're happy with what you're doing and career transition is not not top of mind right now. But you want to know how you're performing as a leader. I would love to give you some of my time at wwwnateleslie.ca/gift where you can take the high performance index free leader self-assessment. I will personally debrief your report with you. Give you 30 minutes of my time to help you make sense of that report to identify where you're crushing it and where some areas for opportunity or areas of development may be for you as a leader. This is Randi Roberts, host of The Fulfilling Career, Happy Life Podcast, and www.RandiRobertscoaching.com. Enjoy. 

Take a FREE leader self-assessment at www.nateleslie.ca/gift and schedule a complimentary debrief with Nate! http://www.mindfulchoiceacademy.com. Christie Garcia and Nate discuss the concept of the ego, its roles (controller, protector, complier), and its impact on leadership. Christie, a leadership coach, emphasizes the importance of managing the ego for effective leadership.  They stress the need for self-awareness, balanced leadership, and understanding of different ego types. They also highlight the significance of giving feedback with care and authenticity and discuss the impact of a leadership development program called the Leadership Circle for personal growth and leadership effectiveness.