Tools and Resources

Blending the 80% Emotional 20% Rational

How Do We Balance the Emotional and Rational Needs of People?

Change is continuous, and in our organizations, leaders have the responsibility of balancing employees’ emotions with the rational side of work.

Creating a Culture of Shared Leadership

Listen to People to Continuously Improve

What happens when an organization committed to improvement has to transform everything they do in five days? People let go of being perfect and rely on their relationships, values, and communication to achieve results.

Transform Culture with Communication

Use Feedback to Drive Culture

What makes employees engage, commit, and connect with their organization? Leaders that listen and use feedback to transform the culture of the organization. Today's podcast guest reminds us that there will always be plenty of work to do — make sure it's the right work.

Feedback is a Gift…or is it?

Provide Specific and Simple Feedback

Reflect on the last time someone gave you constructive feedback... did it feel like a gift? That likely depends on the intent of the person providing the feedback. Listen as Dr. Janet Pilcher describes how to provide feedback as a gift, instead of an insult.

The Power of Pause

Use Pause to Lead with Relentless Resilience

When we are faced with chaos, unexpected decisions, or new challenges, it’s always helpful to lead with a response, rather than a reaction. Leader Coach, Sabrina Hebeler, describes the power of pause and a simple tactic to help you get started.

Different Types of Leaders

Every Leader is Different

Sports and athletics have offered many of us an opportunity to develop critical leadership and life skills. This podcast episode features a special guest who faced a unique set of circumstances requiring him to remain agile and authentic throughout his childhood and young career.

Shifting Workplace Culture

Is Our Culture Off Track?

What are the signs of a workplace culture in need of shifting? Are you noticing a disconnect between what leaders are trying to accomplish and what employees are internalizing? We recommend 6 actions to stop doing and 6 actions to start doing to positively accelerate your culture.

How Can We Build Strategic Agility for Continuous Change?

5 Ways to Lead and Work Differently

A leader's most important challenge is to keep the organization from falling. To continuously improve and continuously adapt to change we need a fluid, dynamic, agile strategy and a workplace focused on continuous learning. Listen as Janet shares 5 ways to lead and work differently as learning organizations of the future.

Education Will Never Look the Same

One team, one mission, one community

When we are faced with change we have an opportunity to respond with creative solutions. Today, our podcast guest shares how her organization is inspired to navigate change by the vision: one team, one mission, one community.

Service in the Relationship Business

Innovation, Creativity, and Collaboration in Rural Districts

Building relationships with people is more important than ever as we shift to more virtual environments. Not only are relationships key, they also help us all get through obstacles and challenges.

Launching a New Strategic Plan

Shape the Future of the Organization

What does it take for an education organization to become a first-choice institution for students? In this video, Brendan B. Kelly, Ph.D., President of the University of West Georgia, reveals a new strategic plan to meet academic excellence in the 21st century.

Manage Disruption: Adjust Quickly & Communicate Transparently

Build Your Communication Around Your Strategy

Some years are more psychologically challenging for leaders and employees than others. At the same time, disruption can be our greatest innovator, and we've all learned important lessons from challenges that we carry with us into the future.

Purpose, Worthwhile Work, and Making a Difference

Take Your Community to the Next Level

Is your workplace culture vibrant? Is it a place where people want to stay and work? Is it a place that attracts top talent? Listen as Quint Studer shares the lessons he learned to help make communities vibrant places to live, work, and play.

How Do We Achieve Team Success?

Clear Systems and Execution

How can our teams reach the goals we set out to accomplish? What does it mean for our teams to be successful? Listen as Janet shares a short cycle process and questions we can utilize with our teams.

Why Do Words Matter?

Word Choice Can Change Perception

Words help us get where we want to go. Our words can make others feel better, or worse. Our words can diffuse difficult situations, or escalate them. This is why effective communication is so vital in every workplace.

The 5 Behavioral Traits for Sustaining Improvement

Avoid Choosing the Status Quo

There is a lot of information out there about continuous improvement and lean thinking. Do we know what is really at the core of those methodologies? Dr. John Toussaint and Dr. Christina Dixon join Janet in this podcast series to dig deep into the core of improvement work.

What is Micromanagement?

Are We Over-Generalizing the Term Micromanagement?

When we think of micromanaging, it typically has a negative connotation. But the reality is, extra supervision and coaching are sometimes necessary before some individuals are ready to leave the nest. What can leaders do to help employees feel supported, rather than micromanaged?

How Can We Help Our Colleagues?

Manage strong work relationships

It takes intentional effort to maintain great relationships with our teammates. Dr. Janet Pilcher shares tips to help us become better, more helpful employees.

The Ritual that Keeps People Aligned

Create rituals that energize

Routines provide structure and comfort within our teams. Rituals go beyond providing structure to instill a deeper meaning behind a sequence of actions. In this podcast episode, Dr. Janet Pilcher shares one of the most important rituals we can instill in our teams along with 6 suggestions to consider.

Group of businessperson in front of the city.

3 Changes to the Major Role of Leadership

Ready to level up your leadership?

What skills do we need to cultivate now to lead our organizations into the future? In this podcast episode, Dr. Janet Pilcher challenges the solution of reorganizing the hierarchical structures within our organizations and recommends we focus on increasing agility to manage through consistent and continuous change. As leaders our most important job is to develop and coach employees to work across boundaries, transforming people into leaders.

Becoming an Improvement Organization

Go all-in to get better

In this ever-changing climate, continuous improvement is more vital than ever. In this podcast episode, we discuss how to engage people in continuous improvement, 5 bold steps for implementation, and why it makes a difference in critical times.

Drawing tools lying over blueprint paper close-up

The Little Things Pay Great Dividends

Details matter if you want to make an impact

Have you ever felt a particular duty or aspect of your work was insignificant, small, or maybe even meaningless? In this podcast episode, our host Dr. Janet Pilcher shares a powerful story of the humble beginnings that led to Kyle Johnston becoming the head athletic trainer for the Miami Dolphins.

Words Have Power

Build Understanding with Communication

How can leaders respond when we are bombarded with questions - some of which, we may not have the answers to? In this podcast, we share a 3 part framework to create messages that enhance clarity, build trust, and reduce anxiety.

How Can We Stop Complaining, Comparing, and Criticizing?

Avoid the roadblocks to high performance.

What kind of impact does the energy we bring to work have on others? In this podcast episode, Quint Studer and Janet discuss 3 things to avoid as we try to inspire positive attitudes and productivity throughout our teams.

There is More than One Way to Round

Maximize Rounding in Your Organization

There isn’t a wrong way to conduct rounding – unless you are avoiding it all together. When we round, our goal is to build relationships with our stakeholders. It doesn’t matter if we approach rounding in a formal or informal fashion. Its true value is in the connection itself.

4 Tips to Become a More Vulnerable Leader

What is Vulnerable Leadership?

Vulnerable leadership is not a leader walking around sharing their deepest, most personal secrets with everyone. In this video, Janet shares 4 tips to help leaders become vulnerable in the workplace.

Learning

Blending the 80% Emotional 20% Rational

How Do We Balance the Emotional and Rational Needs of People?

Creating a Culture of Shared Leadership

Listen to People to Continuously Improve

Transform Culture with Communication

Use Feedback to Drive Culture

Feedback is a Gift…or is it?

Provide Specific and Simple Feedback

The Power of Pause

Use Pause to Lead with Relentless Resilience

Different Types of Leaders

Every Leader is Different

Shifting Workplace Culture

Is Our Culture Off Track?

How Can We Build Strategic Agility for Continuous Change?

5 Ways to Lead and Work Differently

Education Will Never Look the Same

One team, one mission, one community

Service in the Relationship Business

Innovation, Creativity, and Collaboration in Rural Districts

Launching a New Strategic Plan

Shape the Future of the Organization

Manage Disruption: Adjust Quickly & Communicate Transparently

Build Your Communication Around Your Strategy

Purpose, Worthwhile Work, and Making a Difference

Take Your Community to the Next Level

How Do We Achieve Team Success?

Clear Systems and Execution

Why Do Words Matter?

Word Choice Can Change Perception

The 5 Behavioral Traits for Sustaining Improvement

Avoid Choosing the Status Quo

What is Micromanagement?

Are We Over-Generalizing the Term Micromanagement?

How Can We Help Our Colleagues?

Manage strong work relationships

The Ritual that Keeps People Aligned

Create rituals that energize

3 Changes to the Major Role of Leadership

Ready to level up your leadership?

Becoming an Improvement Organization

Go all-in to get better

The Little Things Pay Great Dividends

Details matter if you want to make an impact

Words Have Power

Build Understanding with Communication

How Can We Stop Complaining, Comparing, and Criticizing?

Avoid the roadblocks to high performance.

There is More than One Way to Round

Maximize Rounding in Your Organization

4 Tips to Become a More Vulnerable Leader

What is Vulnerable Leadership?

Are You a Curious Leader?

Great leaders are curious

Tailor Your Rounding Questions

Do We Always Ask the Same Rounding Questions?

Take Off The Armor

What does vulnerable leadership look like?

The Advantages of Being Yourself

What Do All Leaders Have in Common?

Supporting People Who Leave

When People Leave Your Team

The Behavior That’s Holding Leaders Back

We All Reach Crossroads

Stories of Purpose

What can "Connect to Purpose" sound like?

Listen for Ideas, Perspective, and Connection

Include People in the Process

Anticipating Community Fear and Building Trust

Leading During Uncertainty

What Do We Do With Customer Feedback?

Collecting feedback is just the first step

Listening to Customer Feedback

What Makes Customers Loyal?

Continuous Improvement: Where Do You Start?

Jump All-In to Improve

Who Hears What When?

Choose your words and the cascade

Make Silos Disappear