Episode 70 – The Future of Competitive Advantage with Doug Stephens

Episode 70 – The Future of Competitive Advantage with Doug Stephens

Plan for the future, episode 70 of Leadership Kung Fu is here!

Today Jen and Sandi welcome Doug Stephens to the show to talk about his latest book The Future of Competitive Advantage: A Business Plan to Save Your Customers, Your Company, and Democracy and how to navigate a leadership role in an uncertain business world. Join them in their dive into the texts and discuss:

  • Doug’s accolades as an author and futurist
  • How workplaces are changing as political and economical climates change
  • How silence is no longer considered “neutral”
  • An example of Patagonia and Bear’s Ears Monument as an act of defending a value core to the brand
  • Doug’s 3 main ideas in his newest novel
  • What collective prosperity looks like
  • What “stoking white male anxiety” has done to workforces over the decades of different workforces
  • DEI and the role in male anxiety
  • Where the workforce has trended due to these factors
  • Bryce Hoffman’s American Icon
  • The difference between fairness and equality

and much more!

Thank you so much for joining us on Leadership Kung Fu, Doug!
You can connect with Doug on LinkedIn, check out his blog, and his business website!

As a business owner or leader, are not alone in your fears for our society and the future. Knowing that there are other business leaders and executives out there who are just as concerned as you, who are seeking to learn more about how they and their organizations can become part of the solution to saving democracy.

Doug recommends establishing or joining a community of like- minded business leaders. Here are few places he suggests you might start:

https://leadershipnowproject.org/

Leadership Now Project (U.S.): A membership organization of

business leaders who believe democracy is the foundation for a thriving economy and a politically engaged citizenry. LNP invests in leaders, influences policy, responds to risks, and partners to drive solutions. LNP’s membership is national, with members in more than 25 states and chapters in 8, drawing on extensive business and alumni networks to drive local and national impact.

https://www.wfd.org

The Westminster Foundation for Democracy (U.K.): WFD is a public body dedicated to strengthening democracy around the world. Through its programs, expertise, and international partnerships, WFD helps solve problems of democracy so that democracies can address challenges, from climate change to corruption.

https://www.bfa.us

Business for America (U.S.): Business for America is a nonpartisan nonprofit business organization that focuses solely on improving America’s civic health by increasing civic participation and voter turnout, restoring trust in elections and democratic institutions, reducing gridlock and polarization, and setting a positive example for business engagement in the political sector.

https://www.civicalliance.com

Civic Alliance (U.S.): The Civic Alliance is a nonpartisan coalition of businesses united by a commitment to democracy. The Civic Alliance supports its member companies as they inspire their employees and consumers to engage in civic life and their communities.

https://www.isdglobal.org

Institute for Strategic Dialogue (U.S. and Europe): This group is dedicated to safeguarding democracy and human rights by reversing the rising global tide of polarization, extremism, and authoritarianism.

https://defenddemocracy.eu/about/mission/

Defend Democracy: Defend Democracy is an independent, non-partisan, nonprofit civil society organization with the mission of strengthening and defending democracy against foreign, domestic, and technological threats. Defend Democracy is registered as a non-profit foundation in The Hague, the international city of peace, justice, and security, and while most of its day- to- day work is done in Brussels, it engages both European and transatlantic allies.

https://www.samaracentre.ca

Samara Centre for Democracy (Canada): This nonpartisan charity produces research and holds events that advance a vibrant culture of civic engagement across Canada. The Samara Centre works to support a resilient democracy with responsive institutions, shaped by an engaged public.

Thank you so much for listening! If you like what you hear, leave us a review on your favorite podcast platform, and make sure to check out the video under the “Videos” tab or over on the Leadership Kung Fu Youtube Channel!
Connect with Jen on LinkedIn and visit her website Own Up!®
Connect with Sandi on LinkedIn and visit her website Satori Consulting, Inc!

Have a comment, question, or topic for Sandi and Jen? Email us at podcast@dramafreeworkforce.com or leave us a comment on LinkedIn.

Episode 69 – Leadership and All This Uncertainty: Do Better

Episode 69 – Leadership and All This Uncertainty: Do Better

Welcome to episode 69 of Leadership Kung Fu!
When times feel uncertain and people are dealing with so much both in and outside of the workplace, where does that put leadership? Jen and Sandi say “Do better!”
Join them on this episode as they tackle:

  • The role of the passing of time
  • Why it’s a non-HR issue
  • What influences decision-making and the impact it can have
  • Value vs. price increase
  • The corporate spin
  • What goes first in tough times or when you’re ill-prepared
  • Fairness vs. sameness
  • Measuring capacity and cognitive load
  • External and internal pressures
  • What optimism can truly do when capacity is measured correctly

and more!

Thank you so much for listening! If you like what you hear, leave us a review on your favorite podcast platform, and make sure to check out the video under the “Videos” tab or over on the Leadership Kung Fu Youtube Channel!
Connect with Jen on LinkedIn and visit her website Own Up!®
Connect with Sandi on LinkedIn and visit her website Satori Consulting, Inc!

Have a comment, question, or topic for Sandi and Jen? Email us at podcast@dramafreeworkforce.com or leave us a comment on LinkedIn.

Episode 68 – Disagree and Commit: Real Dissent, Psychological Safety and Accountability in Action

Episode 68 – Disagree and Commit: Real Dissent, Psychological Safety and Accountability in Action

Let’s create space, it’s episode 68 of Leadership Kung Fu!
How do you like our new art and look?
Many workplaces feel like disagreeing is stopping progress, when in reality, it can be the beginning of it! Jen and Sandi sit down in episode 68 to encourage you to make room for dissent by discussing:

  • Why creating space is currently not happening in workforces
  • The role of Psychological Safety in creating space
  • Identifying where the insecurity lives within the workforce
  • Setting up a space with intention
  • The “meeting after the meeting” actions
  • How prep work might be your most important work
  • The worth of being vulnerable
  • What silence can mean versus what it should mean
  • Levels of agreement
  • The effects of holding back
  • What alignment actually is compared to what we think it is

and more!

Thank you so much for listening! If you like what you hear, leave us a review on your favorite podcast platform, and make sure to check out the video cast under the “Videos” tab or over on the Leadership Kung Fu Youtube Channel!
Connect with Jen on LinkedIn and visit her website Own Up!®
Connect with Sandi on LinkedIn and visit her website Satori Consulting, Inc!

Have a comment, question, or topic for Sandi and Jen? Email us at podcast@dramafreeworkforce.com or leave us a comment on LinkedIn. If you like what you hear, leave us a review on your favorite listening platform!

Episode 67 – Expectation Drift: How Vague Leadership Breaks Execution

Episode 67 – Expectation Drift: How Vague Leadership Breaks Execution

Welcome to episode 67 of Leadership Kung Fu!
If you’ve ever come up empty-handed when searching for answers from a leader, or your team is divided on what they thought the project completion standard was, you might have experienced Expectation Drift! Sandi and Jen jump in to tackle this topic to help teams and leaders identify and get ahead of a potential problem. Listen along as they discuss:

  • What IS Expecation Drift and how it happens
  • Employee engagement rates and other statistics around misalignment
  • What happens when leaders don’t know what expecations are
  • Leaders as learners
  • The role of accountability in expecation drift
  • Micromanaging vs. checking in
  • A rock analogy
  • How to get in front of the Drift and own it

and much more!

Thank you so much for listening! If you like what you hear, leave us a review on your favorite podcast platform, and make sure to check out the video cast under the “Videos” tab or over on the Leadership Kung Fu Youtube Channel!
Connect with Jen on LinkedIn and visit her website Own Up!®
Connect with Sandi on LinkedIn and visit her website Satori Consulting, Inc!

Have a comment, question, or topic for Sandi and Jen? Email us at podcast@dramafreeworkforce.com or leave us a comment on LinkedIn. If you like what you hear, leave us a review on your favorite listening platform!

Episode 66 – Stop Outsourcing Thinking: Rebuilding Your Team’s Problem-Solving Muscles

Episode 66 – Stop Outsourcing Thinking: Rebuilding Your Team’s Problem-Solving Muscles

It’s critical that you know that Episode 66 of Leadership Kung Fu is here!

Welcome to February’s topic of what outsourcing thinking actually does to your team and how your practices can keep the problem-solving muscles healthy. Sandi and Jen dive right into:

  • How the cost of time with critical thinking is a lie
  • Low accountability and leaderned helplessness
  • The role of psychological safety
  • System 1 and System 2 thinking
  • The importances of exploring your problem-solving tools
  • Critical Thinking and A.I.
  • Leadership self-reflection and the role it plays
  • Managing discomfort
  • How many places you might have abandoned thinking

and much more!

Thank you so much for listening! If you like what you hear, leave us a review on your favorite podcast platform, and make sure to check out the video cast under the “Videos” tab or over on the Leadership Kung Fu Youtube Channel!
Connect with Jen on LinkedIn and visit her website Own Up!®
Connect with Sandi on LinkedIn and visit her website Satori Consulting, Inc!

Have a comment, question, or topic for Sandi and Jen? Email us at podcast@dramafreeworkforce.com or leave us a comment on LinkedIn. If you like what you hear, leave us a review on your favorite listening platform!