311: Former Amazon VP on Character and Leadership

Over the course of his career, Ethan Evans reviewed 10,000+ resumes, conducted over 2,500 interviews, and made more than 1,000 hires. He knows a thing or two about finding, onboarding, AND developing the right people.

In this high-energy conversation, Ethan shares the qualities he looked for and the aspects of character he believes are most important for leaders. You’ll find great value in reflecting on the lessons he learned from a big mistake he made at Amazon that got him in trouble with CEO Jeff Bezos.

Ethan is a former Vice President at Amazon. During his 15 years there, he helped invent many of the offerings that we take for granted today, like Prime Video, Amazon Video, and the Amazon App Store. Prior to Amazon, Ethan spent 12 years at 3 startups.

In September of 2020, Ethan retired from Amazon and made the decision to pay it forward. He devotes time teaching leaders to become true executives through courses he offers and free content he provides on LinkedIn and his website.

You’ll discover:

How Ethan added to the Amazon Leadership Principle of Ownership
What Ethan looks for when interviewing a candidate or considering someone for a promotion
The five steps in Ethan’s Magic Loop for managing up
What leaders can do to build trust quickly
A big mistake Ethan made at Amazon and the lessons he learned from it

Watch the episode:

Connect with Ethan

Ethan’s Website

Ethan Evans

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305: A Flooded Road Released a Flood of Emotions

Have you ever lost your cool when you encountered something unexpected?

In this solo episode, I describe a situation where I witnessed someone who became emotional and took it out on me.

Thankfully, I recognized that she was simply unable to think rationally in the moment, and I didn’t take it personally.

I’m the co-founder and president of Grow Strong Leaders. We’ve created online resources that help leaders strengthen their character and communication skills to build strong relationships and inspire others to perform at the highest level.

You’ll discover:

The event that triggered this person’s reaction
What I realized about the feelings she was experiencing
How I handled the uncertainty of the moment
The lessons I took away from that incident
Two questions you can ask yourself when you feel fear or uncertainty

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289: Why Strong Character Matters

I’ve been hosting my podcast for more than five years, since June 2019, and have never done a solo episode. That changes with this episode! Many of my listeners have requested that I share some of my thoughts about leadership, so I’ve decided to devote one episode each month to speaking directly with you.

For this episode, I focused on the topic of character—what it is and two specific areas that show why it’s essential for leadership. My business partner Denny Coates and I have been immersed in this aspect of leadership development for decades, and even more so in the past two years as Denny has worked on his latest book, Grow Strong Character, and the two of us have created content for our new self-paced leadership development program, GSL SkillBuilder.

I’m the co-founder and president of Grow Strong Leaders, a company that publishes software tools and books to help people build strong relationships at work and at home.

You’ll discover:

What strong character consists of
The role of character in leadership
Why character development strengthens emotional intelligence
The importance of helping people live into an organization’s core values
Resources that can help you strengthen your own character

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284: You Can Grow Strong Character

Character has always been essential for anyone in a leadership position. But what exactly IS character? And is it a fixed aspect of who you are, or can it be developed?

In this episode, you’ll learn the answers to those questions from a special guest, Denny Coates, who’s been Meredith’s business partner for almost 33 years. He’s the CEO of Grow Strong Leaders, and his genius is in writing and creating content for the company’s books and products.

Denny has studied character for decades, and he’s just published a new book, Grow Strong Character, that explores this topic in depth. Together, he and Meredith developed a new online, self-paced leadership program called GSL SkillBuilder that facilitates mastery of high-impact communication skills and character skills.

You’ll discover:

How Denny defines character
The relationship of communication skills and character to emotional intelligence
What’s required to strengthen a specific character skill
The role of coaching in the mastery of any skill
GSL SkillBuilder’s unique structure for growing strong character

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Dr. Denny Coates

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178: Leadership Is Not about Position or Title

What does it take to become a truly effective leader, one people want to follow? Pat Lattore has thought deeply about this question and has been involved in developing strong leaders for the past 45 years. In this conversation, he shares brilliant insights about the roles that influence, emotional intelligence, and culture play in the shaping of leaders.

Pat served in various leadership roles inside organizations and then founded his consulting company P.A.L. Leadership, LLC, in 1992 to: provide leadership development and executive coaching; improve collaboration and teamwork; and facilitate organizational change. His years of experience in so many fields have given him a unique perspective that you’re sure to enjoy and appreciate.

You’ll discover:

How Pat defines leadership
Why Pat says real leadership is not positional
The skills and traits required to be an effective leader
What leaders must do to build currency in order to have influence
Why Pat says the most profound leadership exchange happens between mother and child

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