Listen Now

Are your team members scrambling to get their work done at the last minute? Are they unable to complete their assignments on time? If your answer is yes, it may be time to do a temperature check on priorities and alignment. Without clear priorities, a team can struggle to spend their time effectively because everything seems equally important. This week Kim and Pepper share their strategies for determining priority work as well as the key communications that get their leadership, teams, and customers aligned. They also discuss the nuances of negotiating with customers and the added benefits of organizational alignment. Is your organization completely aligned on the priorities this year? Share your story with us at HeyThere@ExtraShotOfLeadership.com

Hey Leaders, it’s 2023! How you doing? Are you up for it? Feeling good about it? If you are not feeling it, how can you get yourself in a better place to engage in areas that really matter? This week Pepper and Kim have an open conversation about how they are feeling about 2023 and what they are doing to get their priorities straight, gain clarity and motivation, and get their brains engaged at work. Get ready to get pumped! What is motivating you this year? Share your story with us at HeyThere@ExtraShotOfLeadership.com Five Minute Journal discussed in episode.

Much like the ripples created by tossing a pebble into a pond, influence energizes an organization. The good news is you don’t need a C-suite office to get the job done. With a certain level of understanding and skill, influence that inspires others to change their thoughts, behaviors and actions can come from any level of an organization. This week Kim and Pepper start a discussion on influence. They each provide their thoughts on the elements of influence that can positively impact change as well as problems that can arise when specific elements are disconnected from the people they are trying to engage. What has been your best experience with influencing others? Share with us at HeyThere@ExtraShotOfLeadership.com

Do we really need an extravagant experience like a ropes course to build cohesion and the comradery within a team? The purpose of a team building event is to get team members away from their work and provide an opportunity to foster personal relationships. Leaders with heavy workloads, tight budgets, and demands for work-life balance may find themselves searching for ways to accomplish the same goal but keep it fast, cheap, and easy. This week Kim and Pepper break down the mechanics of a recent team event that was super simple but big on impact. They each share their thoughts on things to consider for team events, why it is important, and how they judge their success. What’s your favorite event for building team comradery? Share with us at HeyThere@ExtraShotOfLeadership.com

Trust. It’s a big deal. And it why we just can’t let this topic go without one last trustbuster that can get a leader and their team in the ditch. Taking credit for the work of others may seem like a no-brainer buster but there is an art to helping your team members to stand in the spotlight. This week Kim and Pepper share their thoughts on how to let others take center stage as well as some things to consider to increase trust with individual team members. Tune in for an extra shot on trust and our shortest episode to date. Share your trust busting and trust building ideas with us at HeyThere@ExtraShotOfLeadership.com

With trust being a huge component of leadership and team success, it is just too early to stop the conversation. In the last episode Kim and Pepper discussed how indecision and unpredictability experienced over time can erode the trust between leaders and their teams. While these actions made the list for obvious trust busters, this week they are digging into two actions that are a little less obvious, micromanaging and favoritism. They discuss what this may look like in a team setting and provide helpful guidance to leaders needing turn the ship around. Have you ever unintentionally busted trust with your team? What tips would you share for rebounding from the uh oh? Share with us at HeyThere@ExtraShotOfLeadership.com.

Trust. It’s one of the most critical elements of success for a leader and the team they manage. If you can build an environment of trust you will experience a team that is more energetic, more engaged, and more productive, but bust it one too many times and you will experience the reverse. This week Kim and Pepper discuss two big trust busters for leaders. They share the impact of the busters as well as tips to self-manage this potential issue. What’s on your list of trust busters? Share with us at HeyThere@ExtraShotOfLeadership.com

If people delivered better presentations, we wouldn’t be bored in meetings. Do you agree with that statement? It’s hard not to, and there have actually been a few studies that align with this thought. According to Poll Anywhere, a whopping 91% of working professionals admit to daydreaming during presentations, and 39% of them confess to actually falling asleep. With that in mind, creating a dynamic presentation that can grab and hold the attention of the audience is essential. This week Kim and Pepper discuss the topic of dynamic presentations. They each provide their top tips for presenters to effectively engage their audience and accomplish their objective. What are your top presentation tips? Share with us at HeyThere@ExtraShotOfLeadership.com

Great communication can have a profound effect on the success of a leader as well as the success of their team and their organization. But great communication requires flexibility. Leaders need not only understand communication styles, but they must also adjust their own communication style to the preferences of their boss, their teams, their colleagues and customers. Leaders who learn to adjust their communication style will increase their ability to convey ideas, motivate, persuade, and gain alignment which will also maximize their impact in their organization. This week Kim and Pepper discuss the various aspects of communications styles. They each share their thoughts on what leaders should know when it comes to the preferences of others. What are your thoughts on communication styles? Share with us at HeyThere@ExtraShotOfLeadership.com.

Have you heard of the great resignation? Have you seen it? If you are paying attention to business news, you will see numerous articles about the high numbers of people leaving their current jobs. But why? What is causing all this movement? According to a recent study by McKinsey and Company, the reason the majority of people (41%) are making their exit is lack of career development/advancement. Ouch! This week Kim and Pepper discuss the issue of lack of career development. They share their thoughts on where leaders may be missing the mark on developing members of their team, and who should be getting involved in the conversation. How do you ensure your employees feel valued, challenged and are continuously growing in their role? Share with us at HeyThere@ExtraShotOfLeadership.com

If you are truly interested in becoming a good leader, you’ll want to consider your feedback skills and strategy. Providing regular feedback is one of the most powerful leadership tools for boosting employee performance, learning, and growth. Master the art of feedback, and there is a good chance that many other things will fall into place. Things like employee engagement, job satisfaction, moral, and stronger relationships. This week Kim and Pepper discuss their perspectives and experiences with feedback. They share how they use it, when they give it and when they don’t, as well as several things they consider to make their feedback most effective. Have you mastered the art of feedback. Share your best tips with us at HeyThere@ExtraShotOfLeadership.com.

Conflict doesn’t need to be negative. It can be productive and create solutions to unresolved problems. To engage in productive conflict, teams must get better at having uncomfortable conversations rather than avoiding the tension. This week, Kim and Pepper share an uncommon approach to solving unresolved team problems – by creating the “Problem Meeting.” They discuss the issues leading up to the new meeting format, benefits of the meeting, and a few unexpected benefits. What is your approach when managing team issues? Share with us at HeyThere@ExtraShotOfLeadership.com

Warning… potential hazards ahead! You have just been promoted into your first supervisory role of managing people…and quite possibly people who were once your former peers or friends. What could possibly go wrong? This week Kim and Pepper discuss the danger zone for newly promoted supervisors. They each share their number 1 tip of what NOT to do as well as the impact these mistakes can have on the newly acquired team. What’s your number 1 tip to keep a newly promoted supervisor out of the ditch? Share with us at HeyThere@ExtraShotOfLeadership.com

Do you find your schedule crammed with meetings? Are you often the last one at the office? Are you feeling swamped in your leadership role? If so, you may want to check your delegation skills. Perfecting the art of delegation won’t create more hours in a day, but it should free up some time for leaders to focus on the big picture of the business and while also developing a well-rounded team. This week Kim and Pepper discuss their thoughts on delegation. They share their experiences, their processes, and the implications to the leader and the team when leaders keep too many tasks for themselves. What are your delegation tips for leaders? Share with us at HeyThere@ExtraShotOfLeadership.com

To follow up or not to follow up…that is the question. There are many times when leaders have what they consider to be a successful development conversation with an employee, only to find out the employee never took action on their recommendations. So now what? Do you chase them down for a follow-up conversation or let it go? This week Kim and Pepper discuss their different approaches to follow-up coaching conversations. They each share their typical approach to these conversations, who should own the responsibility for action, and the reasoning behind their decisions. What is your approach to follow-up conversations? Share with us at HeyThere@ExtraShotOfLeadership.com

We continue our discussion on informal coaching with a role play between a boss and employee. This week, the employee wants a promotion and is following up with the boss on the way to a meeting. When leaders spend a few minutes coaching their teams, they unlock their team’s potential and empower them to determine what success looks like. One important learning from this episode is that coaching allows the employee to better understand themselves by gaining clarity into what they want and are willing to do for career growth. Are you building your coaching skills? Do you consider yourself to be effective in coaching your team? If so, share your best resource with us at HeyThere@ExtraShotOfLeadership.com

The role of a coach has a high value with winning sports teams, but it is a valuable skill that is often overlooked in the workplace. Many leaders can get bogged down with overseeing day to day tasks and project work and lose sight of their responsibility to coach and mentor. When leaders learn to coach effectively, they can maximize employee potential and put their teams in a position to grow and help their organization succeed. But how do we keep this coaching thing simple? This week Kim and Pepper role play a coaching moment and share their thoughts on how to keep the conversation short, informational, and effective. Pepper provides her perspective on asking questions to build relationships, gain insight, and guide team members to expand their own thinking. What are your best coaching tips? Share them with us at HeyThere@ExtraShotOfLeadership.com

Leadership roles can be rewarding and draining at the same time. We can feel the highs when we are winning, but the lows can creep in with daily grind of overwhelming demands, conflict, or lack of support. These lows can diminish our sense of well-being and capacity to care for ourselves, our teams, and others. Remembering that our mind is our most powerful and unique leadership resource, it is important to find simple ways to keep it revived and refreshed so that we can continue to lead with gusto! This week Kim and Pepper discuss the brain drain and share their top 5 insights that help them revive, refresh, and recharge their minds. What’s your number 1 tip for leaders who need a little refresh? Share with us at HeyThere@ExtraShotOfLeadership.com

And just like that, the first quarter of the year has passed. Has your team made progress on your vison and goals for the year? If not, you may want to check your messaging. A strong and consistent message is key for moving the needle forward. It can help a team stay focused and find ways to incorporate the leader’s vision into their daily work tasks. This week Kim and Pepper discuss their thoughts on leadership messaging. They share the importance of the message, a practical tool for crafting it, and how to incorporate it into normal ongoing conversations for maximum impact. Have you honed your leadership message for 2022? Share it with us at HeyThere@ExtraShotOfLeadership.com

I’ve worn the same pants every day for a week. Is that ok? What if I wear a uniform? What if I don’t have a big clothing budget? With so many questions, the show must go on. This week Kim and Pepper continue their discussion about dressing for work. They provide some things to consider when wearing informs as well as tips for building a wardrobe when you are working within a budget. What are your top wardrobe tips? Share with us at HeyThere@ExtraShotOfLeadership.com