PODCAST · business
Leading Smart
by Chris Williams
The show about Managing in the Brainpower Age. A field guide to the joys and challenges of leading and working in the modern workplace. Chris Williams is your guide to the stories and ideas that will inspire you to be a better leader in the world of knowledge work.
Episodes
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Academy Road
The end of Season Two heralds a new journey: the road to the Leading Smart Academy. The Academy will be a deep resource for leaders just starting out, those facing specific challenges, and veterans looking for a refresher. Sign up to be first in line. More information, a transcript, and a place…
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Time Change
The most indelible cultural change is led from the top. Where the leader lives, promotes, recognizes, and corrects in furtherance of the effort. In this episode we explore a small example that can be a model for all organization culture change. More information, a transcript, and a place to…
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Conversation with Bob Muglia
Bob Muglia has led teams from as many as 10,000 to a small startup, often taking over teams in distress and returning them to success. But his focus has always been as much on how teams work as much as what they do, in what he calls values-based leadership. More information, a transcript, and a...
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Sense of Change
Changing an organizational culture is a heavy lift even if the issue is not especially thorny. The real question is who can make that change? In this episode we explore an example where a fairly small cultural change requires a clear sense of how to change. More information, a transcript, and a...
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Conversation with Brian Pedersen
Brian Pedersen's team helps companies negotiate the maze of corporate taxes. On top of the unique experience that requires, he faces all the challenges met by any leader of knowledge workers. Yet Brian has done it all remotely, even before it was required. More information, a transcript, and a...
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Harmonics
When a solid team mixes with a clear vision and an outstanding culture, the resulting brew can be magical. Success that breeds more success, enough to break records. In this episode we explore the qualities necessary to create organizational harmonics. Twenty Thousand Hertz, the podcast, can be...
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Conversation with David Sobeski
David Sobeski has exercised his skill of a broad view with a detail focus at some of most customer-obsessed companies in the world including Disney and Nordstrom. All while remote working long before it was cool. This is my conversation with David Sobeski. More information, a transcript, and a...
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Culture Club
What makes up an organization's culture? What effect does culture have on the output of the team? Does a culture bend to the market or does the market select winners based on their culture? The series on organizational culture begins with: Culture Club. More information, a transcript, and a place...
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Conversation with Liz Pearce
Liz Pearce was in marketing at Sony, Google, and Amazon, and then a marketing consultant. At one of her clients, she rose from contract marketing consultant to CEO. Now leading Seattle startup Fresh Chalk, she discusses her journey, leadership, and the CEO role. More information, a transcript…
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I Swear
The series on communication wraps up with a look at cursing in the workplace. We explore my tendency to use expletives inappropriately as well as how cursing is indicative of organizational culture and the power of leaders. This time, "I Swear". More information, a transcript, and a place to...
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Conversation with Donn Denman
Donn Denman was an engineer at Apple in the very early years and is now at Google. In our conversation he shares what it was like working with Steve Jobs, what it's like today at Google, and how vision and passion can change the world. More information, a transcript, and a place to provide…
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How's It Going
The series on communication continues with the best way to understand how your team and project are doing. There's a wrong way and a right way to find out the answer to the question that keeps every leader up at night: "How's it Going?" More information, a transcript, and a place to provide...
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Bottom Feeder Redux
The exploration into firing continues with a look at the low end. What is magical about the bottom ten percent? How does stack ranking cheat some people out of a good performance review? What exactly is poor performance? This is Bottom Feeder. More information, a transcript, and a place to…
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Duck and Cover Redux
How a brutal performance review meeting ended with me getting a stapler hurled at my head. And how that lead to one of my most steadfast rules: in the workplace, no surprises. More information, including a transcript and a place to provide comments, can be found at:...
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Conversation with Adam Bosworth
Adam Bosworth has led major startup projects both inside and outside of seminal companies of the tech world. In our talk he shares what he learned about building teams and about the impact of company culture on the products, the team, and himself. More information, a transcript, and a place to...
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Survey Says
The series on communication continues with a look at how to get good feedback. We examine the many pitfalls and one good way to use surveys as a mechanism to gauge your organization's health. This is Survey Says. More information, a transcript, and a place to provide comments can be found at:...
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Conversation with Somasegar Part 2
Somasegar pushed Microsoft to "build the muscle" of remote work, long before it was cool … or required by the pandemic. He also stretched himself to become a venture capitalist. In this episode he shares what we all can learn from his journeys. More information, a transcript, and a place to…
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Conversation with Somasegar Part 1
Somasegar traveled from India to the US for his advanced degrees and ended up joining Microsoft for an illustrious 27-year career. Now he's a venture capitalist. In this first of two episodes, he talks with us about his journey and his thoughts on leadership. More information, a transcript, and a...
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Echolocation
The series on communication continues with the focus on listening. We examine why careful examination of the echo of a leader's message can help not only make the team more effective but diagnose communication problems. This is Echolocation. More information, a transcript, and a place to provide...
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Conversation with Peter Spiro
Peter Spiro's work helped build Microsoft into an enterprise software giant. He also led one of the company's most visible project downfalls. Through it all, he built a deep passion for leadership that he shares with anyone who'll listen. This time with us. More information, a transcript, and a...
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Repeat After Me
The series on communication continues with a look at why saying something once is never enough. Even a few times is insufficient. The key to successful leadership is a clear, consistent, and frequently expressed vision. This is: Repeat After Me. More information, a transcript, and a place to...
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Conversation with Tod Nielsen
Tod Nielsen is a multi-time CEO who heads the ERP company FinancialForce. His journey is one of ever-increasing responsibility all the way to the corner office. In this episode we explore his growth and leading through adversity, like the dot com bust and the pandemic. More information, a...
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Not in Your Head
For the start of a series of episodes on communication as a leader, we delve into some scary territory: the boss's mind. We explore why letting the team in there is, though terrifying, a great idea. This is: Not in Your Head. More information, a transcript, and a place to provide comments can be...
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Conversation with Laura Butler
Laura Butler is much more than just the first female Technical Fellow at Microsoft. She is a smart, thoughtful, and accomplished leader. In this conversation we talk leadership, especially as a woman, and her latest passion: investing in people. More information, a transcript, and a place to...
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Suite Story
The corporate C-suite, with all its many Chiefs, has become crowded and unwieldy. Along with this has come some pretty crass pandering. This episode tracks the evolution of the executive offices over the last four centuries in this Suite Story. More information, a transcript, and a place to…
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Conversation with Michael Kennedy
Michael Kennedy's experience leading finance operations around the world has served him well as the CFO of the Muscular Dystrophy Association, especially during a global pandemic. We talk being a change agent, international leadership, and vision in finance. More information, a transcript, and a...
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Merit Badge
The goal of creating a meritocracy seems admirable. But as Michael Sandel points out, it's unobtainable, and working to get there creates a culture that is corrosive and divisive. We explore why merit is so hard to assign. Be careful with that Merit Badge. The episode of Stay Tuned that prompted...
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Conversation with Brenda Leaks
Brenda Leaks is developing the next generation of leaders. She does much of that by being an outstanding leader herself. Her op-ed in the Seattle Times on race and equity was a powerful example. In our conversation we discuss how you can lead on those topics too. Brenda's Seattle Times Op-ed is...
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Every Little Thing
Sweating the details isn't always about dollars and cents. It's often the little changes a leader can make that improve life for their team. Even if it costs just a dime. They can add up to make a huge difference. This episode is about Every Little Thing. More information, a transcript, and a…
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Conversation with David Risher
What do you do after you help Amazon grow by over 26,000 percent? You move on to the audacious goal of getting a billion people reading. In this conversation with David Risher CEO and co-founder of Worldreader we talk about leading in the world of non-profits. The Amazon easter egg page that is a...
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It's About Time
Sometimes building a team takes time. Building a team that consistently welcomes diversity of thought takes time in many ways. It takes leaders with skill and patience to nurture the kinds of teams that consistently think different. This episode: it's about time. More information, a transcript…
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Conversation with Rick Rashid
Building and leading a world-class research organization from scratch is an enormous leadership challenge. Pushing boundaries, attracting talent and managing it as it expands globally takes skill and expertise. This is my conversation with Rick Rashid. More information, a transcript, and a place…
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Think Different
The struggle for more diversity and inclusion is at its core a quest for more and better ideas, for an array of perspectives, and for a broader reach. The surest way to get that is to embrace a culture that not just welcomes but needs all kinds of people who Think Different. More information, a...
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Conversation with Tim Williams
Commercial building projects are one-off translations of ideas and creativity into incredibly complex creations that take years and cost millions. Leading the diverse teams that build them is the architect. This is my conversation with Tim Williams. More information, a transcript, and a place to...
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Not Just a Job
Many organizations struggle with the challenges of diversity and inclusion. In this episode we examine the many ways to make a lot of noise and not a lot of progress. Whether it's on purpose is anyone's guess, but one thing is sure: it's not just a job. More information, a transcript, and a place...
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Conversation with Brad Silverberg - Part III
The conversation with Brad Silverberg concludes with a discussion of his move into the world of venture capital. In this third and final episode, Brad shares his thoughts on leadership in a startup, and what the world looks like post COVID-19. More information, a transcript, and a place to…
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Conversation with Brad Silverberg Part II
The conversation with Brad Silverberg continues with a detailed discussion of leadership and vision. In this second of three episodes he shares his management journey and how his passion for personal computing morphed into a passion for the internet. More information, a transcript, and a place to...
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Conversation with Brad Silverberg - Part I
Brad Silverberg's fascinating life in the tech world included leading the creation of Windows 95. In this first of three episodes, he shares the serendipity and persistent vision that built his amazing career. This part one of my conversation with Brad Silverberg. More information, a transcript,...
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Mass Exit
In the fifth and final episode on firing we look at how to do a layoff. The pandemic has given us a number of great examples of how NOT to do it. We explore the right way to lay people off, prepare for a fresh start and avoid a mass exit. More information, a transcript, and a place to provide...
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Conversation with Matt Horvat
Leading Smart Season 2 begins with the first of my conversations with leaders. This inaugural is on leadership in education. All about managing and leading teachers as they work to improve in their craft. This is a conversation with Matt Horvat. More information, a transcript, and a place to...
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Pulling the Plug
The fourth episode on firing, this time for the hard part: actually firing someone. We explore the do's and don'ts of firing an individual. How it's so easy to do it badly, and what it takes to do it right. This time, we're Pulling the Plug. More information, a transcript, and a place to provide...
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Season Two
A short announcement about the exciting changes and additional voices coming to Leading Smart with Season Two. It starts in just a couple of weeks, with a new look, new music, and lots of great conversations with smart leaders. More information, a transcript, and a place to provide comments can…
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Trading Places
In this third episode on firing, we ask a lot of questions. When is performance bad enough to cut your losses? When is a superstar worth having around? What is it about attitude that answers the question? Time to explore Trading Places. More information, a transcript, and a place to provide...
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Bottom Feeder
The exploration into firing continues with a look at the low end. What is magical about the bottom ten percent? How does stack ranking cheat some people out of a good performance review? What exactly is poor performance? This is Bottom Feeder. More information, a transcript, and a place to…
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Superstar
This episode begins a multipart series on firing, on when and how to let go. The exploration starts with that special person, the amazing performer who appears to be the cornerstone of your project. The Superstar. What's behind the magic? More information, a transcript, and a place to provide...
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Hocus Focus
In the final episode on visions, we take a look at how to use your well-crafted vision. And explore how overheard conversations provide a window into the impact a great vision can have on team effectiveness. More information, a transcript, and a place to provide comments can be found at:...
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Remote Control
This is a special episode prompted by the Stay at Home orders due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In this episode we explore the movement from centralized headquarters to remote work. And offer several tips and best practices for managing teams at a distance. More information, a transcript, and a place...
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Mark My Words
Why words matter, especially words you use for your mission and vision. We also explore how wasting words is an easy trap to fall into. In this third episode in the series on vision, we show how to craft a clear, crisp vision for your project. More information, a photo of Hilton's lighted orbs, a...
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Clear View
How the greatest business failure of the 20th Century was largely caused by the lack of a good vision. And how success lies in the framework of Mission, Vision, Strategy, and Tactics. This second episode on vision explores how what you say impacts what you do. More information, including a...
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2020 Hindsight
A clear, crisp vision is the foundation for a successful project, especially one that involves brainpower workers. And a project with a poor, or no, vision is almost guaranteed to flounder. This episode begins a series on the importance, development, and communication of visions. More…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
The show about Managing in the Brainpower Age. A field guide to the joys and challenges of leading and working in the modern workplace. Chris Williams is your guide to the stories and ideas that will inspire you to be a better leader in the world of knowledge work.
HOSTED BY
Chris Williams
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Leading Smart have?
Leading Smart currently has 60 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Leading Smart about?
The show about Managing in the Brainpower Age. A field guide to the joys and challenges of leading and working in the modern workplace. Chris Williams is your guide to the stories and ideas that will inspire you to be a better leader in the world of knowledge work.
How often does Leading Smart release new episodes?
Leading Smart has 60 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Leading Smart?
You can listen to Leading Smart on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Leading Smart?
Leading Smart is created and hosted by Chris Williams.
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