One of the questions I get asked a lot by leaders after one of my keynotes is – how do drive growth and success when you have to work under a controlling boss? How do you get them on board with your initiatives when they only seem to like their ideas or those from their ‘inner circle’?

So for this instalment of my Leadership Espresso Shot series, I share 3 measures I’ve shared with leaders who are grappling with how to move initiatives they want to get done while working for a controlling boss.

If you’re in such a situation, hopefully listening to this episode will help you understand how you can continue to succeed and grow, in spite of whatever obstacles and issues your controlling boss puts in your way.

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A troublesome and persistent issue facing organizations today is their inability to develop and promote women to leadership positions where they can play a key role in the decision-making process.

But as my guest in this episode of my Leadership Biz Cafe podcast points out, this doesn’t mean there aren’t things women can do to make the case in their organization to promote them into leadership roles.

Shelmina Abji is a former IBM vice-president, philanthropist, angel investor, and active gender and racial equality advocate.

I invited Shelmina to join me on my show not only to share her inspiring story of growing up in a rural village in Tanzania to being one of the first visible minority women to hold the position of vice-president at IBM, but to talk about her book, “Show Your Worth: 8 Intentional Strategies For Women To Emerge As Leaders At Work."

Just as she does in her book, Shelmina shares a powerful, empowering, and honest message for how women – and in particular visible minority women – can address the current obstacles – both within the organizations and themselves – that impede their ability to, as Shelmina puts it, “create higher levels of value at your maximum capacity.”

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Have you ever had a workday where you were so busy that the time flew by, but you didn’t really accomplish anything? The sad reality is that you’re not alone.

One study found that 42% of employees spend half of their workday on busywork.

Another study by Visier found 43% of employees spend more than 10 hours a week on “productivity theatre” work – essentially, tasks that make them appear to be busy, but which aren’t critical to the organization’s long term objectives.

So what can leaders do to put a stop to busywork and help employees focus on work that really matters?

A good place to start is to get clear about what tasks are critical to your ability to achieve your goals today and in the weeks ahead, and which tasks are as useful as watching paint dry.

So for this edition of my “Leadership Espresso Shot” podcast series, I share a simple, but powerful strategy that will help you to not only identify and banish busywork, but develop a laser-like focus on those tasks that will drive value creation and growth for the organization.

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I’ve had the distinct pleasure of speaking to so many incredible and world-renowned experts on my “Leadership Biz Cafe” podcast, and I’m elated to now include Dr. Marshall Goldsmith to that list.

Marshall has been recognized as the #1 executive coach in the world, two-time Thinkers50 #1 leadership thinker in the world, not to mention being a New York Times bestselling author whose books have sold over 3 million copies and been translated into 32 languages.

All of which is to say that you’re in for a real treat with this episode as Marshall brings so much wisdom, insight, and thought-provoking ideas over the course of our conversation about his books, “The Earned Life: Lose Regret, Choose Fulfillment” and “Triggers: Creating Behavior That Lasts”.

In fact, I’d encourage you to be ready to take notes as Marshall not only offers so many revealing ideas on how to reframe how we approach work and our lives, but he even gives a coaching session during our conversation directed to both you the listener and myself to help us do and be better.

Without question, this episode will be one of the highlights of my podcast as it’s filled with inspiration, laughs, and moments that challenge us to recognize how we can become that better version of who we can be.

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As team lifespans continue to shorten as a result of both layoffs and employee leaving for opportunities elsewhere, leaders are having to deal with another growing issue in today’s evolving workplaces: specifically, how do you ensure team harmony when everything – including the make-up of your teams – is in flux?

In this Leadership Espresso Shot, I share three important strategies that leaders can use to foster team harmony through promoting collaboration, trust, and a sense of shared purpose within your team, no matter how often members of your team change.

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In the face of rising levels of workplace anxiety and burnout, there’s a natural tendency to consider building resilience as being the key to keeping such mental health issues at bay.

But my guest for this episode of my “Leadership Biz Cafe” podcast argues that resilience is not enough and what’s needed instead is building our mental strength.

Scott Mautz is a former Procter & Gamble senior executive, faculty member at Indiana University’s Kelly School of Business for Executive Education, and the author of four books, including his latest “The Mentally Strong Leader: Build the Habits to Productively Regulate Your Emotions, Thoughts, and Behaviors”.

(He’s also a very good friend of mine who I enjoy spending time talking about leadership and the challenges leaders face leading today’s organizations.)

As Scott points out during our discussion, mental strength is about your ability to regulate your emotions, thoughts and behaviours so you can successfully overcome whatever challenges you face, and help your team achieve its goals.

So how can we build our mental strength? In his book “The Mentally Strong Leader”, Scott describes six habits that are key to building your mental strength and he shares several strategies for each on how you can do this.

And as if that wasn’t enough, Scott was kind enough to offer listeners a free 60 page ebook that will help them begin the process of developing these habits of a mentally strong leader.

This is without question one of my favourite interviews of the year about one of my favourite books I read this year. So give this episode a listen and do yourself a favour and pick up a copy of Scott’s latest book.

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One situation every leader needs to be ready for is when a crisis hits your organization. Unfortunately, most leaders are ill-prepared and lack proper experience to know how to best address a crisis in such a way that allows the organization to pivot while still staying true to their long-term goals.

Fortunately, my guest in this episode of Leadership Biz Cafe has developed a pragmatic leadership model that leaders can employ to not only ride out the storm, but come out stronger on the other side.

Eric McNulty is the Associate Director of the National Preparedness Leadership Initiative at Harvard University, and Instructor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He also teaches graduate-level courses on leadership, negotiation, and conflict resolution at Harvard, as well as several executive education programs at MIT and Harvard.

Eric joins me in this episode to talk about his latest book “You’re It: Crisis, Change, and How to Lead When It Matters Most” and the research-based, leadership framework that can not only help leaders be better prepared for any future crisis, but develop a mindset to transform crisis situations into opportunities to evolve and grow your organization.

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Whether you’re a sports fan or not, there’s no denying there’s something special about watching the Olympics. No doubt a big draw is the immediacy of knowing who the winner will be.

Instead of months, it only takes a matter of days to discover which athlete will end up rising up to the top to clinch the gold medal.

But there’s another reason why I enjoy watching the Olympics and that is the real-time examples and reminders of what it takes to succeed.

Of what drives us to push ourselves to the fullest of our abilities, knowing that for many there’s a slim chance of even landing on the podium.

So in celebration of the start of the Paris Summer Olympic Games, I wanted to share this edition of my Leadership Espresso Shot series where I share four leadership lessons inspired by the Olympics that will help you to ignite your team's performance.

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If you’re feeling like things are getting more negative each day, the sad fact is you’re not alone.

From our social media feeds to news outlets, we’re exposed to unprecedented levels of negativity that are impacting not only our mental health, but fuelling a rising tide of divisiveness that is fracturing our social and political norms.

So what can be done about this? How do we replace this growing tide of negativity with a grounded-in-reality positivity that drives success and fuels collective growth?

According to my guest in this episode, the key is to take control over how we see the world by focusing on what’s going well and where we can have a meaningful impact.

Anthony Iannarino is a best-selling author and sales leader with over 20 years’ experience selling and leading sales forces in the staffing industry.

In this episode, I speak with Anthony about his new book “The Negativity Fast – Proven Techniques to Increase Positivity, Reduce Fear, and Boost Success” and how we can change our mental outlook so we can engender more positivity, gratitude, and a compelling vision for what we can achieve in the months and years ahead.

It’s a fascinating conversation covering the latest findings from neuroscience and psychology, along with some intriguing advice like the best way to overcome negativity is to become a hydra (yeah, you’ll have to listen to this episode to understand what that’s all about).

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One of the biggest challenges – and at times, headaches – you’ll have as a leader is having to deal with an employee who’s under-performing.

Of course, it’s not just leaders – we’ve all had experience working on teams where there was one person who wasn’t doing their part to help carry the team’s load.

As employees, it’s easy for us to be annoyed and frustrated with these colleagues of ours. But as a leader, it’s your responsibility to help struggling employees to improve their performance.

But with so many demands and tasks on their plate, how can leaders address the problems one struggling employee creates for their team?

In this latest instalment in my Leadership Espresso Shot series, I share lessons inspired from work I did to revive a rose plant in my garden that reveal how you can help a struggling employee improve their performance to once again become a valued member of their team.

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