Best of the Rest: Season 4 Finale

Today we’re doing the Best of Rest for our Season 4 Finale. This has been a really fun and rich season for us – and we even hit our 50th episode this season too!

Join us as we pull out meaningful and effective advice from our guests. We're going to look at 6 major themes from the season:

1. Focus on Leadership Development
2. Emphasis on Values 
3. Navigating Change
4. Empowerment and Representation
5. Personal Growth and Entrepreneurship 
6. Communication Strategies

Until next time, communicate with intention and lead with purpose.

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Transcript

Dr. Leah OH: 0:00

Hi, welcome to the communicative leader. Today we're doing the best of the rest for season four finale. This has been a really fun and a really rich season for us and we even hit our 50th episode this season to celebrate we've pulled out six themes to help us think about what we've explored and chatted about the season. We're gonna have a lot of fun and thank you again for joining us for the season four finale. Hello, and welcome to the communicative leader hosted by me, Dr. Leah Omilion-Hodges. my friends call me Dr. OH. I'm a professor of communication and leadership communication expert and the communicative leader. We're working to make your work life what you want it to be. It has a working adult and you're seeking to enhance your leadership abilities. Remember the importance of emotional intelligence, the importance of building relationships and of practicing self awareness. To dive into this theme in greater detail I want to raise up here Pia Wendelbo's episode entitled leadership, innovation and awareness. Pia is the CEO of Scandinavian Change Agents and does some really impactful, really thoughtful work. One takeaway from her episode that I still think about is her suggestion to limit the hours of your worry boutique. This suggestion comes with the work pa does to help employees and executives wrangle and overcome their self limiting beliefs? What are self limiting beliefs? Just as the name suggests, these are negative thoughts that we have about ourselves and our own abilities. And why are they problematic? Well, when we're trying to achieve goals, or learn new skills, push ourselves to hit higher levels of achievement, constantly dodging our own negative thoughts is not so helpful. So what might these beliefs sound like? I'm not good enough. I'm not the right person for this. And why would I think I could learn or do or achieve us? Instead, Pia suggests that we need to acknowledge these thoughts, but that it's likely more helpful to set aside a time when we can explore these doubts outside of the present moment. Aligning your personal values with your leadership practices is essential for creating a culture of trust and authenticity. You want to communicate those values clearly lead by example, and integrate them into your decision making process. Because when we do that, we foster the sense of purpose and unity and agency within our team as well. When I think about this theme, I think about two episodes from the season in particular, values driven leadership with Dr. David Schreiner, and the power of trust building authentic relationships for successful successful leadership, a conversation with Nikita Kumar. So when we think about values driven leadership I got I'm thinking about Dr. David Schreiner, he's the president and CEO of KSB hospital, author of a recent book, be the best part of their day supercharging communication with values driven leadership. The key point here, David is not just immersed in research and writing, but he is leaving living leadership, team and organizational life every single day. And in trying to learn more about values driven leadership, David conducted interviews with healthcare industry leaders to explore how authenticity and genuineness appear in the work that they do every day. So again, in in his episode, we're looking at this much greater detail. But for starters, values driven leadership is being intentional in Word indeed, listening deeply reflecting before responding, and using many channels, right as many as you have as many as your audience wants to communicate and connect. In short, values driven leadership means that you show up as your authentic self. Give your full attention to your team, your work in your community. In his episode, David also brought up an important communication tip, people aren't always looking for you to fix it. Whether it is a problem, a concern, or just a frustrating moment, I encourage you to return to his episode to think about different approaches that will better support your employee, your peer or your partner. For thinking about Nikita Kumar, she's a podcast Success Manager at Pikkle and Co. She exemplifies values through her steadfast focus on relationship development and building trust. As part of her role, Nikita has a team of multiple internal and external clients that she interacts with daily. But she doesn't look at these relationships, especially those with outside clients as just a service. Nope, that would not embody her deeply rooted value of relationships. Instead, Nikita sees herself as part of their team. How sell? Well, they're working on a shared goal. They develop trust, they provide feedback, their successes are her successes, and that also means their failures or her failures. This approach allows Nikita to develop really strong, authentic relationships. When we have the solid relationships in place. My friends, it is easier to be creative, it is easier to offer unique ideas and to work through long and challenging assignments. One of Nikitas takeaways is to show up as a friend and a collaborator. So it's essential to highlight the impact of embodying values and leadership for all employees. When we align our actions with our values, we create a sense of purpose we have integrity and authenticity, that then in hand inspires trust, and this culture of respect. Remember, again, leadership is not defined by a position or a title is about upholding values that guide your decisions, your actions and your interactions with integrity and empathy. Now on to our third theme, navigating change, as John F. Kennedy once said, change is the law of life and those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future. When facing organizational change approach with adaptability with clear and honest communication and an eye toward Innovation, develop a change management plan, involve stakeholders in the process, and embrace feedback. And thinking about this theme. There were two episodes from Season Four that came to mind, leadership change and communication, a conversation with CEO and former TEDx Talk coach Jacqueline Farrington and manage your metaphors. Are you Alliance, a coach or the anti Midas exploring applied leadership communication research with Scott Shank. Jacqueline Farrington is a former TEDx speaker coach and a London Business School lecturer, and she is the founder and president of Farrington partners. She also has a new book out as well. Well, Jacqueline, of course, left us with very thoughtful concrete tips for improving our presentation game. I was really struck by the coaching work she does with clients to leave this idea of executive presence where it belongs in the past. So Jacqueline walked us through some tips for feeling like our authentic genuine selves as we give presentations or lead speeches. But she also talked about how she coaches her clients today on authenticity via strategic presence. So in the past executive presence was the buzzword of the time. Why? Well, not so long ago. And folks, unfortunately, this is still the case in some organizations. But title leaders were expected to dress and speak and engage with others and very prescriptive specific ways. Well, pretty cookie cutter ways. Think back to that untouchable manager, the closed doors, the power distinctions. Well, that approach is really exclusive. And also it's pretty lonely for managers. Not so helpful for employees either. It's just about impossible to develop trusting solid relationships. Being a title leader is a hard job, my friends and it is even harder when you feel the need to put on airs. So if executive presence is out what is contemporary prevailing wisdom, strategic presence? According to Jacqueline's strategic presence is about tapping into your multiple identities, your roles you play in life, your lived experiences and your values, to adapt how you communicate in the moment, so that you meet your audience halfway and help them to hear your message in the moment. This shift from executive presence taught them to city freely helps to illustrate positive change, and also related to navigating change. Scott shank, a PhD candidate at Michigan State University, talk to us about some vibrant and important leadership communication research. I really love this episode, because Scott is a good friend. And we get to geek out about metaphors that people use to describe their managers, from pilots, to lions, to a member of the KGB, and certainly everything in between. And then Scott took it a step further to help us consider the role of the title leader in a deeper and more meaningful way. That's actually pretty simple to grasp. So Scott introduces the idea of power over people in power over the work environment. and pulling out this theme I immediately thought of the incredible women who joined us for our women in STEM series. In this series, we looked at behind the stats with Julie Sturza, breaking barriers and reshaping norms with Dr. Megan Grunert Kowalske standing her ground building a presence as a woman developing her career in STEM a conversation with Sara Buchel. These guests really brought it my friends, they were forthcoming and thoughtful with their experiences, what they've learned and tips for anyone interested in a career in STEM. And honestly, these tips are going to serve you well whether you are in STEM or any other field. So let's start with an idea that Julie shared with us related to mentors, Julie Sturza, is a pediatric research statistician at a large academic medical center. And in this role, she works with physician researchers to design pediatric research studies, conduct and interpret statistical analyses and disseminate research findings. So her title and expertise lie in statistics. But my friends, a large portion of her role involves building relationships, establishing trust, and on the occasion navigating conflict. So in this episode, Julie talks about the importance of mentors. And what I love about her take is that we often need more than just one. Julie's found it really helpful to develop relationships with a couple of different types of mentors. And she talks to us about them. So she brings up technical mentors. And these are the relationships you develop with content experts. In Julie's case, she talks about statistician peers she can chat with or to double check coding or analysis. Having that technical mentor can mean having another set of eyes on your work, having a great sounding board to keep you you know, you're brainstorming and thinking about how to innovate. But that's not all folks, right? While having that technical peer, that mentor to connect with is great. What about when we're chewing on things like asserting opinions in a meetings or navigating some organizational politics? That's when we bring in lifestyle mentors. Lifestyle mentors are those you look up to Julie talks about these as folks who are role modeling the skills whether it's leadership, communication, work, life balance, these things that we're working on, were impressed by and we are striving for. Julie also points out and another important takeaway. Not all of our mentors have to be formally assigned. Again, we're not knocking formal mentorship programs and anyway, but as Julie illustrates, in her episode, we can learn a lot from observing others who are really excelling in specific areas. Also exemplifying empowerment and representation is Dr. Megan Grunert Kowalske. She's an associate professor and department chair of the Department of Chemistry at Western Michigan University. She shared some really powerful examples of how she's leaning into her title leadership role. To help reshape norms to establish a healthier, more inclusive work environment, I'm going to share two of the very many examples that she shared with us. So one leave the laptop at home. As Megan was preparing for scheduled time off, a colleague made a comment that she was the only chairperson to ever leave the laptop at home. Think about how powerful Meghan's decision is to actually use her vacation time for Wait, wait for it vacation. i i modeling that time off truly means time off from work, she sends a really powerful message to her colleagues that she does not expect to hear from them, or expect them to use her time off to complete work tasks. Another example she shared with us equitable policies for all, Megan talks about some of the challenges she experienced with maternity leave, such as comments about her quote unquote vacation upon her return. Megan talks about how she works with all employees, women and men to help them access the time off they're entitled to in these situations. By role modeling and facilitating these pro social healthy organizational behaviors. Megan is actively reshaping group norms for the better every single day. And again, my friends, these are just two of the many examples Meghan shared. She tackles delegation, innovation and empowerment through many other illustrations in our episode, so please go check it out. Our final guest in the women in STEM series Sara Buchel is a chemical engineer in the automotive industry. She discusses the unique challenges she has faced, including impostor syndrome and the need to assert herself as a young professional. And one thing that helps Sarah successfully navigate these challenges is her strong network. Why is networking important especially for women in STEM fields and young professionals? It's more than just a professional connection. As Sarah points out networking with other women, the field offers a vital source of support the opportunity to share experiences, those check ins can foster a sense of community, and lead to personal and professional growth can help to build confidence as well. When we network with others in the field, it can give us a platform to showcase our expertise, our accomplishments and our unique perspectives. By engaging these conversations or attending professional conferences. Women can garner again social support and confidence while collaborating with others. And finally, knowledge sharing and skill development. Networking allows women in STEM to exchange ideas, best practices and knowledge with peers and professionals across organizations. This leads to continuous learning, skill development, and staying up to date with advancements in your field. I can't tell you all how much I enjoyed our women in STEM series. I learned so much from these three incredible women, again, all of whom my daughter would bestow the title of kick butt girl to well, it was fun to raise up voices of women in STEM their suggestions. Again, they're guaranteed to help you in any industry any level of your career. And I am pretty sure this trio of women could take over the world if they wanted to. Let's move on to our fifth theme, personal growth and entrepreneurship. Steve Jobs said Your work is going to fill a large part of your life and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. So this means to prioritize personal growth by setting ambitious goals. Investing in yourself in continuous learning and training and building a personal brand that reflects your passion and your expertise. When we embrace challenges as opportunities for growth and strive to make a meaningful impact that really enhances our professional journey. With this theme in mind, I thought about two of our episodes from the season, igniting your thought leadership brand a conversation with Deevo Tindall and leading your own business transitioning from an employee to self employed. Thinking about Deevo. He is the chief experience officer and brand and marketing expert. Deevo practices what he preaches he posts regularly on LinkedIn and social media. He's a frequent guest on podcasts and he gives keynotes and is widely sought out for his advice. Point is that when Deevo gives you suggestions and how to move from just another industry player to the gold standard, you listen. So some of the tips and strategies he suggests include one self awareness Deevo shares some transformative advice he received two decades ago, as we are unable to read our label when we get stuck inside our own chart. What does this mean? If we don't take the time to step back and reflect on who we are, what we value, and what we're here to deliver them, we're not likely to find much success. Number two want you to focus on audience and content. If you want to amplify your voice and your reach, doing an audience analysis, and content planning is essential. When we try to reach everyone, we tend to connect with just about no one. Well, that might sound counterintuitive. The more specific or focus, the more likely we are to make meaningful connections with the right people. And the final be you right Be yourself. Sure others might have similar backgrounds, similar experiences, but what sets you apart is your uniqueness. Yes, another Seussical word, but at the end of the day, being authentic to your perspective and leaning into your own voice is what is going to allow you to form genuine connections with others. Other episodes from Season Four related to personal growth and entrepreneurship was when Ben Gaskill, co owner of Everest, ice and water systems joined us. Ben suggests that one of the best things that new entrepreneurs can do is to ask questions, why? Asking questions, it helps us get rid of that uncertainty it helps to get helps us to gain confidence. We increase our knowledge base, we demonstrate interest and commitment. It can help us to avoid silly mistakes or incorrect assumptions and to cultivate relationships. Benson says that one of the biggest mistakes he sees individuals make struggling to ask for what they need, including help. Getting into the practice of asking questions can help you to sidestep this common obstacle. Like my dad always says, If you don't A-S-K you don't G-E-T and this brings us my friends to our final theme and one you all know is near and dear to my heart communication strategies. In the words of Simon Sinek communication is not about speaking what we think it's about ensuring others hear what we mean. It can enhance our communication skills by practice practicing active listening, we can use storytelling to convey our messages effectively, and refining our written communication to engage with others. Remember that clear and empathetic communication. It is the key my friends to building trust, and fostering collaboration. As a leadership communication podcast, we do a lot of leaning into communication. But there are three episodes from the season I really like to raise up in this regard. It's storytelling and leadership with Karen Eber. Writing as problem solving and leadership with Pam Hurley and a blueprint for effective leadership, communication, building relationships, implementing strategies and fostering self awareness, a conversation with Dr. Julien Mirivel and Dr. Alex Lyon, Karen Eber. Talk to us about storytelling as a basic unit of human connection. Karen Eber is a co author and speaker and just a really cool person. Karen made the case to integrate storytelling into your everyday talk. What why why would she do that? Well, storytelling is a fundamental way to exchange information in a way that we remember it. Memorable is the key word here. Sure, we can make lists, we can send emails and lecture at our team. But that's not the way to connect or to convey information in a lasting fashion. Storytelling also leads to increased comprehension and again, retention. Kieran walked us through what happens in our brain when we listen to a story. In the most basic of terms, storytelling engages more real estate of the brain, then listening to lectures, for example, and using more of that real estate of your brain enhances your comprehension and retention of the information. Finally, storytelling impacts our psychological safety in a positive way. When we listen to our story, our brain mirrors the activity of the storyteller, creating a shared experience increasing empathy, and increasing trust. What does this mean? As Karen points out, this helps to highlight the impact storytelling has on energy and productivity. Karen talks about these points and so much more in her episode. I also highly recommend her TED talk how your brain responds to stories and why they're crucial for leaders. Also related to communication strategies is Pam Hurley's episode, Pam has been coaching corporate clients on how to improve their writing and speaking for 30 years, she often works with individuals who are technical experts in their fields. These are folks who are highly educated and very well trained for specific high level areas. Think engineering design automation. The problem is that many of these folks see writing just as an irrelevant task, or at the very least, just another thing that has to be completed. Instead, Pam works with them to reframe writing as problem solving. When we view writing as problem solving, it transforms from just another thing on our to do list to an activity that requires expertise, strategy, planning and savvy. So if you or your colleagues are struggling with documenting processes, or communicating about projects, remember, you are not just doing something to cross another item off that list. Or rather, you're still engaged in highly technical project based work. The final episode of the season that really embodies communication skills is that with the dynamic duo of Dr. Julian Mirivel and Dr. Alex Lyon, Julian and Alex are also communication scholars, and they've recently teamed up to write a really great book entitled positive communication for leaders. In their episode, they walk us through so many pragmatic tips to improve our communication and exemplify our leadership abilities. But one I'd like to raise up here relates to self disclosure, authority and courage. Alex and Julian highlight the idea of self disclosure and the courage to speak up and share one's views authentically, as a key communication strategy. So why should leaders and employees not be afraid to express themselves respectfully, authentically and professionally? Well, when we engage in intentional communication, we work to get to know our team members, and we let them get to know us and you know what the following happens, we have increased understanding, we're more likely to collaborate and to do so effectively. And we develop authentic connections with our teams, which often means less conflict and less misunderstandings. Like we've said from episode one on the communicative leader, your communication is a yardstick others use to assess your leadership ability. When we are intentional with our words and our actions, we tend to see improvements in all areas of our life, from the workplace to our home life. Thank you for joining us on the communicative leader. We hope that the specific examples these practical strategies, and inspiring quotes shared will inspire you and empower you. Remember, leadership is a journey, my friend, and it is one of learning and growth, and we all have missteps. But when we are mindful of the strategies, and we think about our communication and our daily interactions, we can make a huge positive impact on our professional life and again, our personal life as well. Stay tuned for more episodes on leadership communication, coming soon in season five on the communicative leader. All right, my friends. That wraps up our conversation today. Until next time, communicate with intention and lead with purpose. Looking forward to chatting with you again soon on the communicative leader.