Extra Shot of Leadership

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,...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 al...

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...

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 im...

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 thought...

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...

Are you looking to increase your leadership presence? There are many attributes of a leader that can take years to hone and master, however there are a few things you can actually change in a much shorter time frame. Clothing, grooming, and personal appearance won’t improve the strength of a leader, but they can help with how you are perceived. If you look like a strong leader in your dress and ph...

Reading. It’s a great way for leaders to gain insight into other people’s experiences, stay up to date on business trends, and get new ideas for honing specific leadership skills. This week Kim and Pepper share what’s on their reading list. The books span a wide range of genres from the obvious…leadership, to the not so obvious…books for kids. They discuss what they are enjoying about each book an...

When leaders have the ability to focus their own attention, they can lead their teams to achieve new heights. Their ability to filter out distractions and zero in on specific aspects of their business and personal leadership, can help them align and focus a team to improve efficiency, productivity, skill sets, and team moral. This week Kim and Pepper share what they are focused on in 2022. They di...

Reset buttons, sometimes they are the only option for getting our electronics back to working properly. The same is true for our work and personal lives. Taking time to do a reset can get our bodies and brains back to optimal performance. This week Kim and Pepper discuss their hiatus from the podcast and what they did with their time off. They share their stories of how a reset has impacted their...

It’s not the gifts that we will remember most, but the traditions and time spent with special people that make the biggest impressions. As we begin to prepare for Christmas day, remember why we celebrate and hold on tight to the memories made with family, friends, and colleagues. This week Kim and Pepper take a trip down memory lane as they recall their most cherished holiday memories and let us i...

Building deep relationships is top leadership skill. While many leaders work hard to create personal bonds with their team members it is natural for some relationships to become deeper than others. So how do you navigate the relationships to ensure that these relationships don’t lead to an unhealthy team environment? This week Kim and Pepper share their thoughts on employee relationships. They dis...

Thanksgiving. It is that time of year where we purposely push the pause button to take a little extra time to reflect on what we are grateful for, the things that bring us joy, and how we will spend the extra time away from work. Finding a way to express the things you are most thankful for is an important part of the celebration. This week Kim and Pepper skip the leadership conversations and take...

It is nearly impossible to have everyone like you but as a leader it is a bit concerning when it is someone on your team. Sometimes it is just a personality clash between you and a specific employee, but as the numbers grow it may be time to reflect on the root of the issue. This week Kim and Pepper discuss the reasons someone on the team may not like you, as well as their personal experiences in...

Feedback, here are the stats: Nearly 60% of us want it, more than 75% of us believe that it is valuable, yet less than 30% are receiving it on a regular basis. Say what?? A few well-spoken words coming from the right person at the right time can truly change the trajectory of your career. This week Kim and Pepper discuss the best feedback they have ever received, how it helped their performance, a...

“Surprise, you’re fired!” Is it really a surprise? Or are there a few signs that you’re heading down the bumpy road of getting fired? These warning signs can be subtle and build over time. The signs can also be very clear that you need to make a hard left with your current performance. This week Kim and Pepper discuss the signs that will help you determine whether you’re overthinking and worrying...

A great relationship with your boss can make the most stressful workdays easier, while on the flipside, having a boss that doesn’t like you can make even the best days miserable. So what can you do about the latter? Should you stay and fight for a better relationship or pull the rip cord and eject? This week Kim and Pepper share their experiences and ideas for what to do when you have boss doesn’t...

Many eager employees have their sights set on a promotion. The question is how do they get there? Organizations will typically choose one of two strategies for promoting their employees: seniority or performance. Which of these is best? And why? This week Kim and Pepper discuss the pros, cons, and tips for choosing and communicating a promotion strategy. What is your measuring stick promoting team...

No title? No problem! Informal leaders have the ability to influence and impact the bottom line of an organization without a leadership title on the org chart. While they don’t control who reports to them, informal leaders can still influence those around them and prepare themselves for a smooth transition into leadership when the promotion opportunity arrives. This week Kim and Pepper discuss the...

Crying, it is a natural result of various emotions. We spend nearly one third of our lifetime at work so it shouldn’t really come as a surprise that nearly half of us have (or will) at some point shed a few tears while on the job. The question is, is it appropriate? This week Kim and Pepper discuss their thoughts on letting the tears flow at work. If it is ok, when it can be overlooked, and a few...

What separates good leaders from extraordinary leaders is often their ability to perform in high pressure situations. Two leaders with very similar skills can perform drastically different when faced with high-pressure situations. The key difference between those who succeed and those who don’t is often between the ears. This week Kim and Pepper continue their discussion about mental toughness and...