Right Now Leadership Kyle Gillette

In this episode of the Right Now Leadership Podcast, host Kyle Gillette interviews retired Navy chaplain and author Greg Woodard. They discuss Greg's book "Living the Connected Life: Soul Rhythms for Purposeful Leadership," which is based on his dissertation.

Greg shares his journey of writing, the importance of knowing oneself, and the challenges of pursuing dreams. He talks about overcoming fears, imposter syndrome, and the significance of journaling in personal growth.

Greg offers insights on staying connected to one's passions and the benefits of reflecting through journaling prompts. Listeners are encouraged to reach out to Greg for further dialogue and resources.

Email: greg@gregwoodard.com

Email List: https://page.gregwoodard.com/righnowleadership

Website: www.gregwoodard.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregory-woodard/

Book a free consultation call: https://tidycal.com/mpo46l3/35-minute-meeting

This episode focuses on the power of celebrating your team's efforts, big or small. Kyle Gillette argues that effective leaders go beyond just rewarding success; they acknowledge the hard work and progress throughout the journey.

Drawing a parallel to a child learning to walk, Kyle emphasizes celebrating the small steps and the dedication behind them. He encourages leaders to practice "Management by Walking Around" (MBWA), actively observing and recognizing incremental improvements within the team.

The episode also highlights the importance of understanding individual preferences for recognition. Kyle suggests open conversations with team members about how they'd like their successes and setbacks to be acknowledged.

I recently had a great call with a client. He was discussing the challenges of traveling for work and staying on routine. Many people face this, myself included.

But there are simple ways to stay disciplined during your travels, both for fun and work. Whether you struggle with sleep, food, exercise, or something else during your trips, this simple process will help you break the pattern. (For many permanently!) 

What to do? Don't get mad at me or yourself, but it's pretty simple. Stop it! No, just kidding. Here's what we did to help my client. Discovering the root cause of a negative pattern is key to eliminating it. Whether working with my clients or doing this work on myself, we need to get to the core of it.

Here are three questions to ask yourself. Before I share the questions, this approach works in many areas where our behaviors and mindsets aren't where we want them to be. Just try it.

Okay, the questions.

1. How do you do the problem? You're discovering the pattern of behavior here. Think about this as if someone asks you to describe exactly how you do the problem and map it out for them. Show them the model for this unwanted behavior.

2. How do you not do the problem? When you successfully maintain discipline, even when your routine is broken, how do you do avoid the problem? Once again, act as if someone wants to model your behavior and create a map of how your process works.

3. When was the first time? Ask yourself, when was the first time this problem occurred. Be patient. Wait a few minutes (literally) to get your answer if it doesn't come quickly.

Where were you? Who was there? What were you doing? What did you say to yourself in that experience?

Back to my client's story, we learned a senior told him he should be on the varsity team as a freshman. Then, he also noticed he could keep up or exceed the performance of guys who were working really hard. This is when an unconscious decision was made: "I don't have to work as hard to get great results."

Life changes. This pattern doesn't work in the long run. So, how did this play out? When routine changes, staying disciplined and getting the same results is more challenging, but he told himself a long time ago he could get the results of high performers with less effort.

This is untrue, but the decision created a negative pattern. Breaking the Negative Pattern: What's your challenge?

Whatever it is, go through the three questions above, and once you discover the first time this problem occurred, there's a final question to ask. What is there to learn from this root experience and all other similar experiences from my past?

In other words, you reflect.

Once you have clarity on the lessons to be learned from the root cause of your behavioral pattern, then do the following.

1. The next time you know your routine will be disrupted, visualize the successful completion of how you did it right (item 2 above).

2. Allow yourself to FEEL what it's like to stay disciplined even when the routine is broken. Lock that feeling in like you're sealing Tupperware! These are the steps that I took with my client. They work. This took us just 15 minutes.

Your visualizations can take 30-60 seconds. Everyone has time for that!

A podcast on leadership emphasized fostering a culture of empowerment and accountability. Leaders should be fascinated by those they lead, actively studying their strengths and communication styles. Asking powerful, open-ended questions like "What would success look like?" encourages ownership and problem-solving compared to simple directives.

Trust is crucial.

Micromanaging stifles initiative, while trusting team members to make decisions and learn from mistakes builds accountability. This trust fosters a culture of automatic accountability, where empowered individuals take ownership and report progress. Effective communication is key.

Leaders should be aware of nonverbal cues like body language and tone, ensuring they project an open and encouraging demeanor. Finally, recognizing and celebrating successes, even with small gestures, motivates continued ownership and striving for excellence.

These principles apply to all leadership situations, from work teams to families. By fostering trust, asking powerful questions, and celebrating achievements, leaders can empower others to reach their full potential.

Empowerment is engaging the whole person. Specifically, in this step, we are talking about engaging their unconscious mind. The fastest and simplest way to do this with those you lead is to ask open-ended questions. Questions that require a pause and real thinking.

I recently spoke with a client about her revenue goals for next year. She wants to raise support for her nonprofit and has a 100-200k figure in mind. I immediately heard, “What if you could 10x that number?” So I asked her that exact question. This open-ended question led to a spark of vision and empowerment that set her on an entirely different course about what is possible in her organization. That’s empowerment.

So far, you’ve learned to be fascinated by those you can empower, study them closely, and ask open-ended questions to engage their minds. When you combine all three of these steps, you are on your way to truly empower those you lead. But wait, there’s more.