Dr. Ruth Gotian is the Chief Learning Officer, Assistant Professor of Education in Anesthesiology, and former Assistant Dean of Mentoring and Executive Director of the Mentoring Academy at Weill Cornell Medicine. A leadership development and mentorship expert, she researches the most successful people of our generation, including Nobel laureates, astronauts, CEOs, and Olympic champions, to learn about their habits and practices to optimize our own success. On this episode, we discussed the process of curiosity and exploration that led Ruth to study such a broad array of successful individuals, the lessons she learned early on about exploring the mundane as deeply as the impressive, and how her studies have influenced her own style of work. Finally, Ruth explains a few key factors that all the successful people she interviews have in common and shares the advice that has the most potential to improve everyone’s ability to achieve their goals.
The Simple Truths of Leadership
Dr. Ken Blanchard is the co-founder and Chief Spiritual Officer of The Ken Blanchard Companies and co-author of the iconic 1982 classic, The One Minute Manager. In the past three decades, Ken has authored or coauthored 60 books whose combined sales total more than 23 million copies. His groundbreaking works have been translated into more than 42 languages. In 2005 Ken was inducted into Amazon’s Hall of Fame as one of the top 25 bestselling authors of all time. Randy Conley is the Vice President of Client Services and Trust Practice Leader at The Ken Blanchard Companies and co-author of the new book, Simple Truths of Leadership . On this episode, we discussed how Ken and Randy developed the lessons of their new book, how they see leadership show up in their own lives, and what they hope rising leaders might learn from their work. Ken shares some key lessons from his many years as a leading thinker and teacher on leadership. Additionally, Ken and Randy give insight into how they approach the book writing process and share their advice for organizations that want to better serve their people.
Focus On Values Over Goals
Jennifer Brenneman is a Senior Director of Leadership Development at MongoDB. Prior to her work at MongoDB, Jennifer worked in Leadership Development and Instructional Leadership at Teach For All. Thus far, her career has focused on supporting adults to achieve their potential through facilitated experiences, coaching, and leadership development programs. On this episode, we discussed the difference between a career built on a foundation of values rather than goals, why Jennifer isn’t interested in “building a career,” and why knowing yourself is arguably one of the most important skills to develop. Finally, Jennifer shares a bit about how becoming a parent changed her work and some of the misconceptions folks often carry about work-life balance.
Finding Your Way to Leadership
Morag Barrett is a highly accomplished keynote speaker, leadership development expert, and bestselling author of Cultivate: The Power of Winning Relationships and The Future-Proof Workplace. Morag is the founder and CEO of SkyeTeam, a boutique leadership development firm, and has supported more than 15,000 leaders from 20 countries and on 4 continents achieve outstanding results by improving the effectiveness of their leadership and teams. On this episode, we discuss how she found her way (accidentally) into leadership development, what advice she’d give her younger self, and why it’s so important to cultivate a sense of reflection for leaders. Finally, she shares her simple technique for staying focused on the right goals and getting the right work done.
Succeeding As An Outlier
Niiamah Ashong is the Founder of the Outliers’ Edge Multiverse, a leadership expert, and a high-performance coach. His work focuses on what you can do when you realize you have a different perspective or don’t “fit in” — when you’re an outlier. Niiamah’s experiences working at organizations as varied as the leading global consulting firm Deloitte and cutting-edge tech companies have given him a unique perspective on what it takes for leaders to grow and ultimately achieve their goals. On this episode, we discuss why Niiamah believes it is essential that all leaders understand with deep clarity what makes them unique and the importance of differentiating between your Zone of Excellence and your Zone of Genius. Niiamah also shares a story about “the moment [he] became a Black man” and what that moment meant for his life, his leadership, and his career. Finally, Matt and Niiamah discuss how he works with growing leaders to shift from thinking about their productivity to how they can think about managing their energy.
Building a Career in L&D
Susan Kushnir, co-author of Decoding Executives: What They Say, What They Mean, and What You Should Do, has enjoyed a career in learning and development spanning the non-profit, public, and private sectors with a focus on leadership and people management. She has been the Head of Learning & Development at Sterling National Bank, Director of Lean Six Sigma & Director of Global Learning and Development at S&P Global, and Director of Organizational Development, Learning, Talent and Engagement for the Girl Scouts of the USA. On this episode, we discuss her advice for folks who are early in their learning & development careers, what she wishes people understood about how to get a lot done with few resources, and the lessons she’s learned about what it really takes to achieve a goal. Finally, she shares some key insights about interacting with executives and how leaders can better teach these lessons to younger generations entering the workforce.