Aim Higher: The podcast with purpose

This week I got the chance to sit down with one of my favorite people, Becky Robinson, CEO of Weaving Influence. Her digital marketing agency partners with authors and other thought leaders to grow their influence online. She’s also the author of “Reach: Create the Biggest Possible Audience for Your Message.” She shares some great advice on how to make sure that your online and offline brands are...

We can’t really escape stress. Even positive life events – weddings, a new job, new kids, travel – often cause “good stress.” But 8-out-of-10 people say that they experience stress regularly at work. That’s not the good kind. How can you, as a manager, help your team recognize, analyze, and deal with stress? This week on Aim Higher, my panel of leadership experts provides some excellent advice. Th...

Henry David Thoreau famously said, “Things do not change; we change.” Certainly, there are events and circumstances we can’t control. But as leaders, we must embrace the fact that change is not only inevitable—but often desirable. In fact, leadership is almost always about change: we don’t “lead” into areas we’re already familiar with. In this week’s podcast, my panel of experts reviews seven key...

What makes a smart leader? In this episode of “Aim Higher,” Skip sits down with Mark Miller, Chick-fil-A Vice President of High-Performance Leadership. Mark’s brand-new book, “Smart Leadership: Four Simple Choices to Scale Your Impact,” presents research-based “smart choices” that the best leaders make. In this fast-paced discussion, Skip and Mark talk about the “quicksand” that can encompass lead...

This week, my panel of experts and I discuss how a negative attitude can impact your career, your coworkers--and even your lifespan! It’s well known that a consistent, negative attitude can create health problems. That holds true for organizations as well as individuals. What can you do to help “heal” a negative attitude in others or yourself? My guests bring some really great, practical suggestio...

As Peter Drucker said, “Until we can manage time, we can manage nothing else.” In this episode of “Aim Higher,” my panel of business experts asks some tough questions for leaders at all stages of their careers. Are you more intentional about budgeting time than money? What would your “credit score” be for how you spend your time? How do you assess whether a future activity (especially a meeting) i...

One of my favorite podcasts is Jeff Brown’s, “Read to Lead.” He’s been doing it for around eight years, and I’m so pleased that he’s taken the time to write a book of his own, all about the power of reading and lifelong learning. “Read to Lead: The Simple Habit that Expands Your Influence and Boosts Your Career” is a wonderful guide to better and more effective reading as part of your leadership d...

Along with his panel of business experts, Skip confronts the top challenges waiting for leaders over the next year. While we’ve all made monumental shifts because of the pandemic, those changes aren’t done and neither are the ways we’re all reacting to them. Be a better leader by anticipating these challenges and confronting them directly. Because your biggest challenge may be keeping up your enth...

It's been nearly two years of living and working in a world shaped by COVID-19. And I think we’re all beginning to see that some of the ways we’ve adapted to this environment will linger after the pandemic is in our rearview mirror. But is it all bad? Throughout history, shifts brought on by seismic world events have driven some very important, positive changes. Join my expert panel this week as w...

In this wrap-up panel episode of "Aim Higher," season three regulars Drew and Tammi join Skip to talk about some of their favorite moments from the past year. While they touch on a variety of high points, one theme becomes apparent: the importance of feedback and continuous communication. This, they agree, is vital for leaders to do themselves and emphasize with teams during the pandemic. They als...

I'm a huge fan of this week's guest on "Aim Higher," Joann Lublin. Her first book about women business leaders, "Earning It," had insights from 52 women executives, and her latest, just out in 2021, is "Power Moms: How Executive Mothers Navigate Work and Life." I've been reading Joann in the Wall Street Journal for years, as she created its first career advice column, which she wrote until May of...

On this episode of "Aim Higher," Skip speaks with longtime friend Kary Oberbrunner--author, coach, and speaker who helps people and organizations clarify who they are, why they're here, and where they're going so that they can share their message with the world. Skip and Kary delve into the topic of clarity and why it can be something people seemingly avoid, even while saying they value it so much...

In this episode, Skip talks with Scott McKain about his Forbes Top 10 Pick, "ICONIC: How Organizations and Leaders Attain, Sustain and Regain the Ultimate Level of Distinction." Scott is the author of four #1 business bestsellers on Amazon and has delivered over 2000 presentations in 36 countries. Their discussion about moving past distinction -- being top within your industry -- to becoming a tru...

Patrick Donadio, MBA, is a Certified Speaking Professional and Master Certified Coach who teaches others how to lead more effectively, communicate clearly, present more powerfully, and positively impact the lives of others. In this interview, Skip and Patrick break down some of the lessons from Patrick's book, “Communicating with IMPACT," a process he's developed to help leaders improve interperso...

In this episode of "Aim Higher," Skip talks with leadership development experts Karin Hurt and David Dye about their most recent book, "Courageous Cultures." In their first book, "Winning Well," they set the stage with lots of practical advice on creating a business while, as Karin says, "maintaining your soul." Their new book builds on that, helping leaders create a strategic framework to leverag...

When Skip was diagnosed with COVID-19, his initial thought as CEO was to be transparent about it to his team and employees. That was one thing he'd learned long ago: the importance of honesty in building bridges and maintaining clear communications. But throughout his illness and recovery, Skip also made discoveries about openness, appreciation, and vulnerability. This has been a challenging year...

In the previous episode of "Aim Higher," Skip and his panel discussed how you can cultivate approachability as a leadership skill. In this follow-up, the group talks about why this is an absolute necessity for successful leaders. Ask yourself: why do you think a good leader needs to be approachable? Employee engagement? Transparency? Sharing ideas? Whatever your reason, Skip says -- and his leader...

Skip and his guests often discuss qualities of leadership that you can work on by yourself; organization, planning, delegation... even gratitude can be something you reflect on personally. The thing about approachability, though, is that it's entirely dependent on other people's perceptions. In this episode of "Aim Higher," Skip and his panel of leadership experts discuss ways that you can chip aw...

Legendary sports announcer and author Bob Rathbun has been observing successful athletes, coaches, teams, and leaders for decades. In this interview, Bob shares some great tips from his remarkable career on how to do well yourself and inspire others on their journeys. One of the most important things, Bob says, is to start with a dream... but then find someone who can teach you the steps. That way...

Most of us say we want to improve our performance, and most employees report that they want more feedback from their managers. But very few of us actually prepare for (or are trained in) how to receive feedback well. In this episode of "Aim Higher" Skip and his panel of leadership experts go over some lessons they've learned in how to be more effective "feedback takers." They also reflect on 7 tip...

As a leader or manager, you're going to be called on to give feedback more often than most people. How can you make sure that the critiques, comments, and assessments you provide to your team are helping them improve as much as possible? In this episode of "Aim Higher," Skip and his panel of leadership experts explore this vital skill and dig into some very necessary--and sometimes thorny--issues...

What is a "performance culture" and how do you transform your organization to get there? In this episode of "Aim Higher," Skip and his expert panel take on that challenging subject and discuss Skip's "7 Steps for Creating a Performance Culture." From an initial definition, through the importance of communication and internal selling, all the way to celebration... the group brings their insights an...

Leadership, by definition, requires at least some minimal level of delegation. Yet we all know leaders who seem to feel as if their success is defined not by how well their team or organization does as a whole, but by their own individual performance. That's an obvious failure of both leadership and delegation. In this episode of "Aim Higher," Skip and his panel take you through his "7 Rules for S...

How, as a leader, do you model the benefits of self-confidence without falling into the trap of arrogance? In this episode of "Aim Higher," Skip sits down with his panel of experts to discuss the importance of self-confidence to leaders, both in terms of their own work, and as a leadership skill itself. As Skip says, "Confidence sweeps people to you, arrogance drives people away." Listen closely f...

The COVID-19 crisis has touched every aspect of our personal and professional lives, and leaders are certainly not exempt. How are you helping your team cope? And how are you taking care of yourself during this difficult time? Join Skip and his panel of experts as they discuss key aspects of leadership during this unique era, including stress, trust, vulnerability, and the role of technology. They...