Leadership Lifestyle Podcast

It sounds completely counterintuitive to not correct your team when things go wrong.  This is not about accountability.  This is about what happens every day and all day.  On this week’s episode of the Leadership Lifestyle Podcast, listen in about what happens when you constantly lead through correction.  More importantly, learn how much more productive your team can be when you focus on the behaviors you actually want, not what you don’t want. We all know that is the way forward in our own lives that when we focus on good behaviors such as eating right and getting enough sleep, we feel better.  So why don’t we do that for the people on our teams?  Too many managers want to control things and micromanage but that never leads to growth.  Take the 30-day challenge of simply focusing your team on the behaviors you want and watch how they gravitate to that, while at the same time, some of the bad behaviors start to disappear on their own. Let’s connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-charest-a08369a4/

Ok, we all know it.  Most meetings are time wasters.  You don’t learn anything knew.  It could have been an email.  However, meetings can be a super valuable tool, if you use them the right way!  On this week’s episode of the Leadership Lifestyle Podcast, we promise not to waste your time about meetings :).  Learn how to make them effective and maybe even share this with your leadership to help them help you. Let’s Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-charest-a08369a4/

With so many things competing for your time and attention as a leader, how do you know what to focus on first?  How do you build teams for long term success?  I’m not saying it’s a simple math problem, but I am saying you can compartmentalize your priorities and learn 2 things.  One, you are probably better at doing some things than you think you are and two, if you know what is really driving some frustration, you can make plans to start attacking those frustrations.  On this episode of the Leadership Lifestyle Podcast, learn the 4 Quads of Leadership so you can get clarity on how to improve! Catch me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-charest-a08369a4/

First, what on earth is an amygdala?  It’s a small piece of your brain that controls your response to things.  As a leader, that is what really tells your team what kind of leader you are.  In this week’s episode of the Leadership Lifestyle Podcast, we talk about how your amygdala can derail who you really want to be.  When you uncharacteristically respond in a bad way, that’s called an amygdala hijack and that can be damaging.  We’ll give you tangible tips to hijack your amygdala hijacks so you stay in control.

The short answer is yes.  But…….managers are people too.  Most managers do want to help others and do a good job.  In this week’s episode of the Leadership Lifestyle Podcast, I’ll discuss the 5 biggest frustrations with managers and more importantly, how you can implement small changes this week to really grow your leadership and your team. Check out this article about 4 Things Managers Wish They Knew before starting their role.  https://mbachic.com/2023/03/13/four-lessons-managers-wish-theyd-learned-sooner/ Let’s Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-charest-a08369a4/

How do you show up?  Does it change based on who you’re with?  Maybe it changes with the situation?  They say IQ gets you in the room and EQ keeps you in the room.  Have you thought about your GQ status?  In this episode of the Leadership Lifestyle Podcast, we talk about all 3 Q’s.  Why they are important and how you can actually hurt you when you don’t know which Q to use or how to use them.

Seems simple enough. Things aren’t going well?  Just change your environment.  The question is, what do you need to actually change? Some changes you need to make are obvious and some are not.  One this week’s episode of the Leadership Lifestyle Podcast, we’ll break down how you can change your environment either through small changes, or big changes.

Those words may be very hard to hear.  No one wants to think they can be replaced.  Maybe, you’ve been at the same company for 20 years or more and it’s never happened to you.  For many of us, it’s a very possible reality.  Even within your job, maybe you’ve been reassigned or didn’t get that promotion you should have.  Or…..maybe you were replaced.  The feelings of anxiety, feelings of, “am I not good enough?” start to creep in.  Maybe it was just a vindictive boss that wanted you out of the way.  For whatever reason you’ve been replaced, there is only one question.  How do you move on? It’s time to examine what truly happened and how you can move past it to become the person you wanted to be.  Stop thinking about being replaced, and start thinking about how you can be renewable.

Moving forward is easier after a win than it is after a loss.  However, the process is still the same.  On this week’s episode of the Leadership Lifestyle Podcast, we’ll share the process for continuously moving forward.  Yes, even after winning or achieving a goal, you can’t just rest on that.  As the great Ben Franklin said, “some people die at 25, but aren’t buried until they are 75.”  It’s not healthy to be stagnant regardless of winning or losing. You need to understand that failure is a part of success.  Not one single person that has accomplished anything hasn’t failed at something.  So don’t make it personal.  Make it a process for consistently moving forward.  It really can be as simple as 2, Two Word Sentences to always propel you forward.

It sounds completely counterintuitive to not correct your team when things go wrong.  This is not about accountability.  This is about what happens every day and all day.  On this week’s episode of the Leadership Lifestyle Podcast, listen in about what happens when you constantly lead through correction.  More importantly, learn how much more productive your team can be when you focus on the behaviors you actually want, not what you don’t want. We all know that is the way forward in our own lives that when we focus on good behaviors such as eating right and getting enough sleep, we feel better.  So why don’t we do that for the people on our teams?  Too many managers want to control things and micromanage but that never leads to growth.  Take the 30-day challenge of simply focusing your team on the behaviors you want and watch how they gravitate to that, while at the same time, some of the bad behaviors start to disappear on their own.

Probably one of the most disruptive leadership issue teams have, is being led by the wrong level.  Meaning, what level is the leader on compared to the group of people they are leading?  In this week’s episode of the Leadership Lifestyle Podcast, learn how being at the wrong level hurts the team.  It’s certainly not an intentional thing, but when you don’t see the connection, it really creates a drain of energy for your team. There are 3 main focus levels of leadership: The Execution Level, the Bridge Level, and the Vision Level.  Not knowing where you are at as a leader and then working from the wrong level can hold you back from really achieving your goals.  When you are clear about what level you’re on and then leading that way, well……if the sky is the limit….why are there footprints on the moon!

Don’t you just wish everyone on your team would just do the things they are supposed to do?  I mean, how many times do you have to say it?  Didn’t they understand the “clear” instructions you gave the whole team?  Pretty frustrating, isn’t it?  These are some of the questions we’ll answer on this week’s episode of the Leadership Lifestyle Podcast.  You have two different objectives as a leader.  One, the team must work toward a higher, common result.  Second, each member of the team gets there differently. Avoid lazy leadership.  As the US Post Office says, if it fits it ships. That might work for mailing products, but it doesn’t work for leadership.  You can’t just put everyone on your team in the same box.  You also can’t box yourself into a corner with one style of leadership.  We’ll give you an easy way to see how to approach the team with both a team and individual mindset.  It might sound like more work, but it actually becomes much more productive, sooner than you think.

Every successful person you know or have learned about, wasn’t.  No one just arrives and never fails or never makes a mistake.  You know what drives most failure?  People’s constant behavior of not starting or giving up.  On this week’s episode of the Leadership Lifestyle Podcast, we ask the question, Why Not You????   Why not?  Really! Once you realize that stages come in stages and growth is a process of eliminating what doesn’t work (it’s not actually that you’re not good enough…..no….it’s not that!) you can move forward and start achieving the things you want.  

Ken Blanchard had it 100% right.  Your leadership isn’t complete until your team doesn’t need you anymore.  When you invest so much in your teams and create new leaders, they won’t need you anymore.  What that really means is you are ready for a higher leadership level, and most importantly, someone or multiple someone’s are also ready for more.  In this week’s episode of the Leadership Lifestyle Podcast, listen to how your ultimate goal should be to create other leaders. There is no such thing as a winning team with ONE player.  It’s impossible.  Create new leaders: find them, grow them, and give them room to run!  Leadership is not about you….but later….it will be about you. Share this podcast 🙂

That’s a lot of dogs!!!  Well….I’m not talking about real 4-legged dogs.  DOGS stand for Disciplines Of Growth Success.  There are 5 categories you need to not only understand, but focus some of your time in.  You will probably be naturally gifted at some of these Disciplines and others you will not.  However, you will need the Disciplines you are not good at.  You don’t have to be great at all 5, but you have to acknowledge their importance, so you aren’t held back to what you can actually accomplish. The good news is that even if you aren’t good at some of these Disciplines, you can improve your ability in them, making you the most effective version of you.  So, have an open mind and challenge yourself to be better at all 5 DOGS.  This podcast episode of the Leadership Lifestyle Podcast, is all about investing in yourself!

You’re dreaming of doing something big.  You’re about to do something big.  Then…..it hits.  Imposter Syndrome.  Who the hell are you to accomplish something?  Are you good enough, talented enough, smart enough….and the list goes on and on.  Well, guess what?  It is actually normal when imposter syndrome hits.  Every successful person you know has had their doubts and challenges.  Many people give up better they break through.  That’s exact what it is, a breakthrough. On this week’s episode of the Leadership Lifestyle Podcast, we talk about how normal imposter syndrome is and that, once you realize it’s a process, you can process through it.  If you haven’t listened to last week’s episode, Why Everyone Needs 5 DOGS, go back and listen.  It will reframe your prospective on yourself.  Then, come back to this episode and discover that you can achieve the dreams you want by giving imposter syndrome the thought process it deserves.

Work evaluations are a standard work practice.  After all, how else can you help your team get better without feedback?  The question really is, is the feedback you’re giving current, accurate and effective?  On this week’s episode on the Leadership Lifestyle Podcast, we break down what’s wrong with the current evaluation system and how you can fix it.  It may sound like a boring topic, but I think we all have a story of receiving a bad evaluation and how that changed our focus of work. If you really want to empower your team forward, break the old cycle of evaluations and make feedback meaningful.  Evaluations shouldn’t be for HR style documentation to “hold people accountable.”  It should be, and can be, a great tool to moving your team forward by acknowledging their daily behaviors and decisions that support the Vision and the Strategy.  Evaluations…..what an amazing tool to move your team forward!

Productivity.  Every business and every leader wants high productivity.  Things have to get done, and they have to get done right now.  You know the feeling, the pressure, the need to produce.  Sometimes, leaders do not realize that there is a hidden productivity killer, and it’s them.  On this week’s episode of the Leadership Lifestyle Podcast, understand how behaviors influence not only what gets done, but how it gets done.  As I’ve always said, the leader’s attitude is the thermostat for the team’s culture. It’s a hidden killer because you can’t necessarily measure it, but you sure can feel it.  You know when your team is rocking it out and when your team can’t seem to get out of their own way.  Here’s the good news.  Once you realize how you can easily influence your team’s productivity simply based on how you carry yourself.  We give clear, strategic advice to help you get the most out of your team and along the way…..make you a better leader!