226: Building Trust and Accomplishing the Seemingly Impossible

226: Building Trust and Accomplishing the Seemingly Impossible

226: Building Trust and Accomplishing the Seemingly Impossible

Is there something you’d love to have but think it’s impossible for you to achieve? Listen to this inspiring conversation with Kimberly Wiefling, and you’ll likely see ways that you can, in fact, create what you want. Along the way, you’ll discover how the best leaders build trust with their teams through vulnerability.

Kimberly is the founder of Wiefling Consulting, and cofounder of Silicon Valley Alliances. She’s also the author of the globally popular book Scrappy Project Management: The 12 Predictable & Avoidable Pitfalls Every Project Faces. Her latest book, Turning Ideas Into Impact, is an anthology with 15 other Silicon Valley consultants.

Kimberly’s superpower is turning managers into leaders and groups into true teams who can achieve together what seems “impossible” but is merely difficult. She’s been described as a “force of nature,” and she’s determined to use that force to make a significant positive impact on our world.

You’ll discover:

  • The key differences between managers and leaders
  • What Kimberly did wrong when she managed teams early in her career
  • Differences in the cultures of a typical Silicon Valley company compared to one in Japan
  • How Kimberly helps leaders and teams believe the impossible is actually possible
  • The importance of structuring the work environment to reinforce the culture

Watch the episode:

 

Connect with Kimberly

      

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

209: Why Paying Attention Is the Start Point of Emotional Intelligence

209: Why Paying Attention Is the Start Point of Emotional Intelligence

209: Why Paying Attention Is the Start Point of Emotional Intelligence

What’s required for a person with technical expertise to develop Emotional Intelligence (EI)? Susan Schwartz provides excellent insights and examples in this interview. As a high tech professional and leader, Susan learned the importance of developing EI in order to work effectively with her team. And now she coaches professionals in technical fields on how to become more effective as leaders of people.

Susan Schwartz is a leadership and management coach. For more than 20 years prior to that, she led teams herself and coached professionals to their next career level. Her Expert To Excellence® programs are designed to help knowledge experts in technical fields make sense of intangible leadership concepts and equip them to create amazing, collaborative teams. She uses the EQ-I 2.0 assessment to help them identify

Susan is the author of Creating a Greater Whole:  A Project Manager’s Guide to Becoming a Leader. In this excellent book she unlocks the not-so-secret secrets of how aspiring managers can become strong leaders. 

She also serves on the Executive Committee of the weekly group, Inclusive Leadership in a Virtual World (ILVW), where she and Meredith first met. If you’re committed to growing as a leader, this is an outstanding group to be a part of.

You’ll discover:

  • The one skill that’s at the core of all other leadership skills
  • What technical professionals struggle with most when they transition from individual contributor to leader
  • Why Susan emphasizes the importance of Reflective Exercises to learn from your experiences
  • Success stories of clients who’ve raised their emotional intelligence as a result of Susan’s coaching

Watch the episode:

Connect with Susan

  

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

149: Becoming a Highly Effective Leader

149: Becoming a Highly Effective Leader

149: Becoming a Highly Effective Leader

Why is it best to put people before processes in order to achieve the best possible results? My guest Tom Lawrence has learned the answers through intense study of thought leaders and dedicated application over the years with his own teams. Now he’s passionate about sharing his experiences and insights with aspiring and current leaders. You’ll get many practical tips from someone who’s still on the job every day honing his leadership skills.

Tom is unique among my guests because he’s worked in engineering for his entire career. His undergraduate degree is in mechanical engineering, and his master’s degree is in maintenance engineering. He had his first leadership role as a project manager in 2009. As a result of his various experiences in all levels of leadership positions, Tom is now on a mission to help aspiring leaders as well as current leaders enhance their leadership skills so they bring out the best in the people on their teams. As part of his mission, he’s written two books, Manager to Leader: How to Become a Highly Effective Leader and A Limitless Mindset: How a Highly Effective Leader Thinks. I highly recommend both of them!

You’ll discover:

  • Tom’s journey from acquiring engineering skills to a focus on people in order to achieve the best results
  • What Tom means by a “highly effective leader”
  • Why character-based leadership is the most powerful way to influence people
  • The differences between secure and insecure leaders
  • How Tom helps people learn how to solve their own problems

Watch the episode:

Connect with Tom

  

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