240: Focus on Serving, Not Competing

Which leadership skills and strengths are important for entrepreneurs in order to build a successful business? Geoffrey Kent shares the ones he needed to use, and they’re the same ones he advises every business leader to develop. You’ll be mesmerized by the stories Geoff tells to illustrate his points.

Geoff has been a serial entrepreneur for more than 40 years. As a result of his own experiences, he’s developed a comprehensive methodology to help entrepreneurs build their own unique, customized strategy for responsibly scaling exponential business growth.

Today Geoff teaches entrepreneurs – from business start-ups to those who are growing – how to connect their entrepreneurism with their passion.

You’ll discover:

The lessons Geoff learned along the way in his own entrepreneurial journey
Why leaders need to have a clear, compelling vision and be able to articulate it to others
What Geoff advises you to focus on instead of the competition
How Geoff served his customers so powerfully that they became his sales team
The 3 questions Geoff asks entrepreneurs to determine if they have a viable business idea

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Connect with Geoff

Geoff’s Websites

Think Big with Geoffrey Kent

Entrepreneur University

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239: How Villyge Is Growing Empathic Leaders

One of the most important strengths of an effective leader is empathy. But where do leaders learn this skill when they often feel driven by KPIs and ROIs? Emily Harper describes a compelling approach that Villyge is taking to develop empathic leaders in the context of supporting employees around significant life events.

Emily Harper is the Chief Operating Officer of Villyge. It’s a people-first platform that upskills managers in the power of empathic leadership. Emily joined Villyge to redefine the corporate landscape, and she firmly believes that organizations thrive when their employees feel valued, inspired, and empowered to bring their unique perspectives to the table.

Today, Emily is on a mission to increase belonging, dismantle career barriers, and elevate opportunities using the power of technology. Emily is a Certified Public Accountant, and she founded a SaaS company in the accounting space in 2012, as well as a women-focused coaching business in 2018. Most importantly, Emily is a proud mom to her 4-year old, and she is truly dedicated to shaping the future of work for the next generation to come.

You’ll discover:

Why empathy is an essential skill for every leader
How an organization benefits when leaders demonstrate empathy
The unique process Villyge uses to remind managers to practice the skill
The effective onboarding process Villyge uses to ensure active participation by managers and employees alike

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Emily’s Website

Villyge

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Mastering the Top 10 Communication Skills

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Peer Coaching Made Simple

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238: How to Live Life in Crescendo

Did you know that Stephen R. Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, was working on another book before he died in 2012? The book is called Live Life In Crescendo: Your Most Important Work is Always Ahead of You.

His co-author was his daughter Cynthia Covey Haller, and she was committed to see the book through to publication. This took several years because of all the stories she included as examples of the “Crescendo Mentality.”

In this unforgettable conversation, Cynthia takes us behind the scenes about the creation of the book and the key message that Stephen was eager to get out to the world in the last years of his life. She also reveals the condition that robbed Stephen of his ability to speak and write near the end.

You’ll discover:

The story behind the book’s title and subtitle
Examples of what the Crescendo Mentality looks like in action
Why contribution is a key theme running throughout the book
How Stephen turns the concept of “retirement” upside down
What you can do to be a “Transition” person who ends unhealthy patterns in a family or community

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Connect with Cynthia

Cynthia’s Book

Live Life In Crescendo: Your Most Important Work is Always Ahead of You

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Mastering the Top 10 Communication Skills

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Peer Coaching Made Simple

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237: Avoid Leadership Derailers and Common Traps of Living

In your role as a leader and in other areas of your life, what kinds of habits have prevented you from being as effective as you’d like to be? My guest Gregg Vanourek has studied and written about these leadership derailers and common traps of living, and we cover several of them in this conversation.

Gregg runs Gregg Vanourek LLC, a training and development firm, and teaches at the University of Denver and Stockholm Business School. He helps people with leadership, personal growth, and life design through his books, courses, workshops, speaking, and coaching.

Gregg has been an entrepreneur for most of his career. He was a tech startup executive at K12 Inc., which is now a market leader with $1 billion in sales. He also co-founded New Mountain Ventures, focused on developing entrepreneurial leaders.

Gregg is co-author of three influential books, including LIFE Entrepreneurs about infusing your life with passion and purpose, and Triple Crown Leadership: Building Excellent, Ethical, and Enduring Organizations. He’s working on a new book about the common traps of living.

You can take the two assessments Gregg refers to in this interview, “Leadership Derailers” and “Traps Test,” for free on his website.

You’ll discover:

What Gregg considers the superpowers of leaders
Why both Head and Heart are necessary to lead effectively
The #1 leadership derailer that causes problems for leaders and their teams
The most common traps of living that prevent people from experiencing the success and happiness they desire
Specific suggestions for changing these into positive habits

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Connect with Gregg

Gregg’s Resources

Websites

Gregg Vanourek

Triple Crown Leadership

Traps Test: The Common Traps of Living

Books

Triple Crown Leadership: Building Excellent, Ethical, and Enduring Organizations

LIFE Entrepreneurs: Ordinary People Creating Extraordinary Lives

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Mastering the Top 10 Communication Skills

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236: Overcoming Obstacles for Black Women’s Advancement to the C-suite

Black women are under-represented in the C-suite. That’s a reality that Dr. Mechelle Roberthon has seen first-hand, and she’s on a mission to turn that around. This is a must-listen interview if your organization is committed to ensuring diversity at all levels, including top executive positions.

Michelle shares important insights from her dissertation research and describes specific actions organizations can take to ensure opportunities for diverse representation at top leadership levels. Mentorship and Sponsorship are key elements of this process.

Mechelle is a Certified Professional in Talent Development. Her background includes training delivery, performance improvement, and managing learning programs. She received her Doctor of Education degree from Baylor University and holds a Master of Science in Education with a specialization in Training and Performance Improvement.

Mechelle is an experienced career and professional development instructor. She’s taught over 500 corporate courses and receives consistently high evaluations. Her dynamic teaching style has become a favorite amongst learners. You’ll understand why when you listen to our conversation!

You’ll discover:

The event that inspired Mechelle to choose her dissertation topic
What she learned from interviewing Black women already in, or aspiring to, positions in the C-suite
4 specific actions you can take to ensure opportunities for diverse representation at top leadership levels
What organizations do wrong when someone leaves voluntarily
What effective Offboarding looks like

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Connect with Dr. Mechelle Roberthon

Dr. Mechelle Roberthon ‘s Resources

Websites

Dr. Mechelle Roberthon

LinkTree

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Mastering the Top 10 Communication Skills

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Peer Coaching Made Simple

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