314: From Vision to Action: Embracing Change and Driving Success

314: From Vision to Action: Embracing Change and Driving Success

314: From Vision to Action: Embracing Change and Driving Success

Change can be daunting, no matter what size your organization is. Our guest Dr. Mary Lippitt sheds light on the common fears—fear of the future, fear of the process, and fear of unintended consequences—that often accompany new initiatives.

Mary shares how organizations can address complexity through holistic strategies that emphasize listening, collaboration, and adaptability. We also discuss the power of asking the right questions to surface hidden concerns and ensure buy-in from all levels of an organization.

Dr. Lippitt is a renowned thought leader in the field of organizational development. She’s an award-winning author, speaker, and consultant. As President and Founder of Enterprise Management, Mary has more than 30 years of experience implementing change, delivering results, and boosting strategic thinking. As a researcher, Mary has studied the strategic and critical thinking patterns of 6,000 leaders.

She is proud to be a second generation Organizational Development professional, following in the footsteps of her father Gordon and uncle Ron. Her new book Leadersheep: Saving the Herd offers a fable about successfully executing change along with the steps necessary to make change stick.

You’ll discover:

  • Why top-down approaches often fail and how leaders can stay engaged to create lasting change
  • How to achieve a clear and actionable vision by leveraging situational awareness and data-driven decision-making
  • What you can do to identify gaps, monitor progress, and make necessary course corrections when implementing change
  • The benefits of adopting a situational mindset to enhance leadership flexibility

Watch the episode:

 

Connect with Dr. Mary Lippitt

  

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313: The Leadership Playbook: Access, Advocacy, and Action

313: The Leadership Playbook: Access, Advocacy, and Action

313: The Leadership Playbook: Access, Advocacy, and Action

Not everyone has equal access to mentoring and sponsorship opportunities. Ayana Carroll is on a mission to change that for Black mid-level managers. In her work with clients and in our conversation for this interview, Ayana shares valuable tips that can help those managers as well as those who make decisions around promotions.

Ayana is the Founder of ARC Consulting, and she’s dedicated to elevating Black mid-level professionals into transformative leaders. With over 25 years of HR leadership and DEI expertise, Ayana specializes in breaking down barriers to leadership, including limited access to high-visibility projects, mentorship gaps, and challenges in self-advocacy.

As the first Black professional to rise to the level of Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer at Fluence, Ayana created and led the company’s first DEI department. This pioneering initiative established pathways for diverse hires, increased representation in leadership, and drove inclusion at all levels.

Ayana has extensive experience coaching C-suite leaders as well as mid-level managers, creating tailored learning paths to accelerate their development. She also volunteers with various homeless organizations to support individuals on their journey to stability and success.

You’ll discover:

  • Why Ayana focuses her work on mid-level managers
  • The current narrative around Black talent…and how Ayana is reshaping it
  • What mentors and sponsors can do
  • Why STAY interviews are vital to retaining talent
  • How Ayana helps managers create a plan for career development

Watch the episode:

Connect with Ayana

  

Ayana’s Resources

Website

ARC Consulting

Course

Leadership Course

Listen to the GSL Podcast on YouTube
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Listen to the GSL Podcast on Pandora
Listen to the GSL Podcast on Spotify
Listen to the GSL Podcast on Amazon
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Connect with Your Team

Mastering the Top 10 Communication Skills

Peer Coaching Made Simple

How to Do the 6 Things That Matter Most When Helping Someone Improve a Skill

312: Aligning the Dots to Accelerate Business Growth

312: Aligning the Dots to Accelerate Business Growth

312: Aligning the Dots to Accelerate Business Growth

What causes companies to experience rapid top-line revenue growth? Philippe Bouissou, PhD, provides the answer in this impactful conversation. His framework is brilliantly simple. Identify the four possible areas of misalignment between the company and the customer, then make changes to create alignment.

Philippe outlines the four areas and provides concrete examples of each. He also describes one of the world’s most successful companies that excels in aligning all four.

Philippe has been in Silicon Valley for 33 years. He launched and scaled Apple’s eCommerce business from zero to $350 million, working closely with Steve Jobs. Since leaving Apple, he’s had success as a CEO, entrepreneur, and venture capitalist, and he’s served on the board of 23 companies. He is a growth expert, a TEDx speaker with over one million views, and the author of the bestseller book Aligning the Dots.

Today, Philippe is Managing Partner at Blue Dots Partners LLC, a Palo Alto-based advisory firm he founded. The firm is dedicated to solving one problem: helping companies grow faster.

If you’re responsible for any part of top-line revenue growth in your company, this episode is a must-listen. And you’ll want to pick up a copy of Aligning the Dots, too!

You’ll discover

  • Why Philippe said Steve Jobs was the best leader he ever worked with
  • Key lessons Philippe has learned in his leadership journey
  • The one question he asks CEOs about their business (and it’s not, “What do you do?”)
  • The four axes of alignment required to grow a business
  • Why there’s a 5th axis that determines the execution of the other four

Watch the episode:

Connect with Philippe

  

Listen to the GSL Podcast on YouTube
Listen to the GSL Podcast on Apple Podcasts
Listen to the GSL Podcast on Pandora
Listen to the GSL Podcast on Spotify
Listen to the GSL Podcast on Amazon
Listen to the Grow Strong Leaders Podcast on iheartradio

Connect with Your Team

Mastering the Top 10 Communication Skills

Peer Coaching Made Simple

How to Do the 6 Things That Matter Most When Helping Someone Improve a Skill

311: Former Amazon VP on Character and Leadership

311: Former Amazon VP on Character and Leadership

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

Related Podcast Episodes

302: Becoming a Generous Leader

 

Listen to the GSL Podcast on YouTube
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Listen to the GSL Podcast on Spotify
Listen to the GSL Podcast on Amazon
Listen to the Grow Strong Leaders Podcast on iheartradio

Connect with Your Team

Mastering the Top 10 Communication Skills

Peer Coaching Made Simple

How to Do the 6 Things That Matter Most When Helping Someone Improve a Skill

310: Moving Past Perfectionism

310: Moving Past Perfectionism

310: Moving Past Perfectionism

Have you ever taken on a project that you thought would be straightforward…and then discovered it wasn’t?

Sometimes that occurs because of the expectations we put on ourselves to perform at a certain level.

That’s what happened to me when I tried to record a headshot video.

In this solo episode I describe the situation, how I handled the setbacks, and what I learned from the experience that might be helpful for you, too.

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 challenge I was given in a LinkedIn course
  • How I define perfectionism
  • Why I struggled initially to complete this assignment
  • What slowing down and reflecting helped me realize
  • 3 insights that allowed me to relax and enjoy the process

Watch the episode:

Connect with Meredith

        

Listen to the GSL Podcast on YouTube
Listen to the GSL Podcast on Apple Podcasts
Listen to the GSL Podcast on Pandora
Listen to the GSL Podcast on Spotify
Listen to the GSL Podcast on Amazon
Listen to the Grow Strong Leaders Podcast on iheartradio

Connect with Your Team

Mastering the Top 10 Communication Skills

Peer Coaching Made Simple

How to Do the 6 Things That Matter Most When Helping Someone Improve a Skill