Personal Leadership Growth Plans

Two Ted Talks

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Ted Talk: The Power of Self-Awareness Speaker: William L. Sparks Will Sparks illustrates the transformative potential of giving and receiving feedback; he recounts his first class during his doctoral program at George Washington University when his professor gave him an “A” on his final paper, but an “F” in life. During their exchange, Professor Jerry B. Harvey introduced Will to his “Shadow” and helped him see that the dysfunction in his failed marriage had been largely brought by himself, not his ex-wife. Confronted with this reality, Will discusses the implication of understanding how our Shadow often brings about the very thing we are trying to avoid. He closes his talk with the broader implications of this exchange, and the moral responsibility we have to give and receive honest and candid feedback with those in our lives.

Analysis your relationships. Can you relate to will? He:

Was co-dependent

Always had to have the last word in every argument

Gave unwanted and unsolicited advice

Felt like I was responsible for everything

Wanted an equal partner, someone to push me and challenge me

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Ted Talk: Increase Your Self-Awareness with One Simple Fix Speaker: Tasha Eurich Self-awareness has countless proven benefits -- stronger relationships, higher performance, more effective leadership. Sounds pretty great, right? Here’s the bad news: 95% of people think that they’re self-aware, but only 10-15% actually are! Luckily, Tasha Eurich has a simple solution that will instantly improve your self-awareness. As a third-generation entrepreneur, Dr. Tasha Eurich was born with a passion for business, pairing her scientific savvy in human behavior with a practical approach to solving business challenges.

People who are more self-aware...

Are more fulfilled, have stronger relationships, are more creative, are more confident, are better communicators, are less likely to lie, cheat, steal, perform better at work, are more promotable, and are ultimately more effective leaders with more profitable companies

How to test if someone is self-aware

“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I’m wise, so I am changing myself” —Rumi

They had to believe they were self-aware as measured by an assessment developed and validated

Using that same assessment, someone who knew them well had to agree.

They had to believe that they increased their self-awareness in their life, and

The person rating them had to agree.

Truly self-aware individuals have a belief in self-awareness and a daily commitment to developing it. No patterns by industry, age, gender, or any other demographic characteristic.

Analysis of Introspection vs. Happiness, stress and job satisfaction

Surprising Findings: Negative Consequences increased with more introspection

People who introspected were more stressed and depressed, were less satisfied with their jobs and their relationship and were less in control of their lives

20-Year Study: How widowers adjusted to life without their partners

Researchers found that those who tried to understand the meaning of their loss were happier, less depressed one month later but one year later, were more depressed. They were fixated on what happened instead of moving forward.

Thinking about ourselves isn’t knowing. Why asking “why” is bad

Psychologist Timothy Wilson and Richard Nisbett set up a card table outside their local thrift store. On the table was this image: Four identical parts of pantyhose — **Psychologist Timothy Wilson and Richard Nisbett set up a card table outside their local thrift store.** On the table was this image: Four identical parts of pantyhose

Research shows that no matter how hard we try, we can’t excavate our own unconscious thoughts, feelings and motives. Because so much is hidden from our conscious awareness, we end up inventing answers that feel true but are often very wrong.

They asked the people walking by to pick their favorite. Consumer research showed that people tend to prefer products on the right and that’s exactly what happened: people chose pair D at a rate of 4:1. When asked why they had chosen the pair, they confidently declared that D was just better. Asking why also leads us away from our true nature: we like to think of our brains as supercomputers rationally analyzing information and arriving at accurate conclusions.

→ Example #1: Fighting about how to load a washing machine correctly.

Problem: Why the hell is he mansplaining? or why the hell does it matter how I load the dishwasher? And before you know it, you’re thinking your relationship isn’t going so well. Asking “Why” created alternative facts. And over time, this leads us away from who we really are.

Best approach (through analysis of hundreds of pages of transcripts of the truly self-aware and saw a very clear pattern): Approach thinking a little bit differently. The word “why” appeared less than 150 times. The word “what” appeared more than 1000 times.

→ Example #2: Performance review goes bad for Nathan.

Instead of asking “Why are we like oil and water”, he asked “What can I do to show her I’m the best person for the job?”

→ Example #3: Sarah has breast cancer.

She says asking “Why me?” felt like a death sentence.

Instead, asking herself “What’s most important to me?” This helped her define what she wanted her life to look like in whatever time she had left. She is now focused on the relationships that mean the most to her.

→ Example #4: Jose hates his job.

Instead of asking “Why do I feel so terrible?” he asked, “What situations make me feel terrible and what do they have in common?” He quickly realized that he would never be happy at his job and it gave him the courage to pursue a new and far more fulfilling career path. Move forward. Don’t be trapped in the rear-view mirror.

ASK WHY, NOT WHAT.

Want to test your leadership qualities? Check out the Leadership 360 Tool

The Leadership 360 Tool is a systematic, reliable, on-line leadership diagnostic tool that gathers information on how you and others perceive your leadership behavior plus key skills and competencies the leader needs to develop to become an exceptional leader.

Don’t be blindsided by your own expertise

Unfamiliar with new approaches or tech

“We’ve always done it that way”

Overly focused on risk vs. opportunity

Colleagues work together in ways you have not: Slack, WhatsApp, text, mobile, etc.

You keep proposing the same old strategies & tactics to address new challenges.

Try to extend obsolete solutions rather than investing / pioneering new ones.

Millennials leave your team faster than other teams in the company

→ Confidence vs. Over-confidence: I seek respect vs. I seek attention

Traits of being over-confident:

Over-confident Traits:

Unrealistic Optimism

Better-Than-Average Effect

Illusion of Control

Illusion of Knowledge

Self-Serving Bias

9 common traits of arrogance:

Poor expectation setting — 58%

Plays favorites — 57%

Shows no concern for my career — 55%

Talks behind my back — 54%

Not open to feedback — 54%

Want to prove themselves right — 52%

Not self-aware — 51%

Betrays Trust — 51%

Does not listen — 50%

How to tell which one you are:

How much time do I spend listening?

Do I originate most of the ideas?

Do I act like I’m the smartest person in the room?

Do I think of myself as indispensable?

Aligning Your Talent with Optimal Professional Opportunities

Practice Ikigai (the Japanese Concept of Purpose) in business by having gratitude, a positive sense of humor, and supporting/recognizing your team.

Ikigai is about finding joy in whatever you do, finding a balance amongst the hectic daily routine we find ourselves stuck in. There is no other life-concept as direct and definite as this one. With Ikigai, you can find your purpose and live one full of joy.

Entrepreneurs are experts at making tough choices and managing change. They teach others how to take risks in their own lives. The following are tips from the book, Life Is a Startup: What Founders Can Teach Us About Making Choices and Managing Change. To learn more about these tips, visit Why You Should Apply Entrepreneurial Decision Thinking to Every Big Decision You Make.

Constrain your personal burn rate — "Anticipate what is going to be the toughest stage of life in terms of finances," Wasserman says, "and don't get used to the cushy stage that will be really hard to give up."

Don't obsess over status — "Guard against falling in love with the secondary trappings of your current life," Wasserman advises, "and think about potential gains in the future."

Don't dive before you can swim — “Entrepreneurs who start companies while working their old jobs are 33 percent less likely to fail . . . Not just jumping in gives you the luxury of time to develop your skills"

Set your favorability threshold — “Different people have different ‘favorability thresholds’: the point at which they're willing to go for it . . . But once people understand what conditions must be satisfied, ‘they can start planning what it takes to get them over that threshold.’”

Keep some variables constant — “People switching careers should keep some variables in place, so they don't have to learn everything fresh . . . "If one [variable] is unfamiliar . . . you can be productive from day one because you still have two [others] to build on."

Reframe failure — "Don't see failure as something to recoil from. See it as a blessing."

→ Take Advantage of Opportunity Marketplaces and others

Opportunity Marketplaces Research Report (Click here to view)

In response to unrelenting digital disruption, many leaders are rethinking how they value and invest in their workforces. Across the business landscape, corporate leaders are seeking to develop more flexible, adaptive, and valuable workers. MITSloan’s global research study directly addresses this challenge. Based on a survey of nearly 3,900 respondents and 18 executive interviews, it has found that the most effective approaches to achieving a higher-value workforce have a common core: opportunity.

The following is the Conclusion of the above Opportunity Marketplaces Research Report:

“Embracing opportunity marketplaces represents a truly fundamental shift in how most organizations can maximize returns on human capital investment. It recognizes the workforce as a uniquely human resource. It demands a shift in core workforce management practices such as workforce planning and deployment, and performance management and development. Leaders accustomed to compliance and control should lead through influence and create options for workers — in much the same way that companies attract and create options for customers. Practices that support workers’ growth within the company and the promotion of top talent should be driven by opportunity rather than prescribed career paths. With this opportunity approach, organizations and their people are better able to recognize that their mutual success depends on ever-smarter investment in themselves and each other.”

Seek opportunity or grow an existing one w/Catalant.

Catalant helps companies go from strategy to execution — fast.

Thousands of top global companies — including more than 30% of the Fortune 100 — trust Catalant to help them get from strategy to execution faster.

Business leaders around the world turn to the Catalant Expert Marketplace for on-demand access to more than 70,000 independent experts and 1,000 consulting firms. In the face of unprecedented uncertainty important work must go on, with smaller budgets for full-time hires and traditional consulting firms.

High-performing executives and their organizations use the Catalant Platform to align their goals, work, and resources on the fly. Rapidly evolving market conditions and remote work is forcing leaders to accelerate the enablement of a digital workplace, adapt plans, and quickly reallocate resources to achieve their goals.

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Video: Aligning Talent with Opportunity Speaker: Mike Grandinetti Great Leaders are self-aware (1 of 2)

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Video: Growing Talent: Yours and Others Speaker: Mike Grandinetti Great leaders are self-aware (2 of 2)

%	Feelings
84	I continue to learn valuable skills have valuable experiences in my current job
82	I am confident in my ability to get another job (inside or outside my organization) based on the skills and experience I’m gaining from my current job.
41	I have the skills I need to thrive professionally in the next five or more years.

Growth Mindset

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Ted Talk: The Power of Believing that you can Improve

Speaker: Carol Dweck

Carol Dweck discusses the idea that we can grow our brain's capacity to learn and to solve problems by choosing to engage with the “power of Yet”. When reacting to a difficult problem, do you ask yourself (1) “Am I smart enough to solve it?” or (2) “Have I just not solved it yet?”

The words “Yet” and “Not Yet” are profound in that they instill a sense of ability to exhibit growth rather than success or failure.

By saying “yet”, you imply that you can do it, but you just haven’t yet. Dweck explains that through the “power of yet”, individuals are able to influence their literally brain activity.

By having a growth mindset, you are able to overcome problems (your brain also shows high level of activity)
If you believe you cannot improve, disengaging with material becomes far easier and not even trying to solve the problem presented (your brain also shows low level of activity)

Reward the journey (process), not the destination (result) → More effort, more strategies, more engagement, and more perseverance over longer periods of time.

Jack Welch and Reverse Mentoring

In 1999, Jack Welch, CEO of GE, popularized the notion of reverse mentoring when he created a program which paired 500 of his top executives with junior associates to ensure that everyone in the business could learn how to use the internet.

The first approach is a really effective way of sharing skills in business. Employees are more likely to develop a varied skillset and be more well-rounded, keep business up to date (keep ideas fresh), improve work culture, and develop better teamwork and relationships

Fixed Mindset vs. Growth Mindset

Fixed Mindset (Focused on End-result)	Growth Mindset (Focused on Process)
I believe that my [Intelligence, Personality, Character] is inherent and static, locked-down or fixed. My potential is determined at birth. It doesn’t change.	I believe that my [Intelligence, Personality, Character] can be continuously developed. My true potential is unknown and unknowable.
Avoid failure	Desire continuous learning
Desire to look smart	Confront uncertainties
Avoids Challenges	Embrace challenges
Stick to what they know	Not afraid to fail
Feedback and criticism are personal	Put in lots of effort to learn
They don’t change or improve	Feedback is about current capabilities

Developing a Personal Board of Directors

Do you have a personal board of directors? A group of people you can consult to regularly get advice and feedback from?

If you do not, creating your own personal board of directors is highly recommended! This Personal Board of Directors can add to your thinking and give you critical insight and expand your overall horizons. These are people that invest in you, the advancement of your career, and they are a team of individuals who inspire, challenge and motivate you. While developing your board, you should cultivate an extensive network of professional contacts, developing a strong “inner circle” of individuals who fulfill a specific role.

When you’re building a personal board of directors, consider including these six types of people.

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Article: Choosing Your Personal Board of Directors

End of Module Exercises

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