Applied Leadership Podcast

There are a lot of unknowns happening around us in our country and the world, which add to whatever is going on in our individual lives. All we can do is control what we can control and find the good where we can.  Some highlights include:  Humans crave and look for predictive patterns. When something happens out of the norm, it can be unsettling.  Normalize your stress - feeling that way is okay,...

Creating a culture of initiative within your team requires a few things; competence, confidence and an environment where initiative is rewarded and supported. Initiative also requires solid guidance, resources and parameters set by leadership so their people can run and create good work. If leaders can provide those elements, they can help foster courage and responsibility within their team. 

The dreaded Q4 is upon us. It's hard for Q3 to come to an end and think that we've reached the summit. But that's a false summit, and we still have to persevere to the end of the year and truly hit the mountain top we aim for. It's an opportunity for greatness and to start the next year strong—stick with it! 

We feel this one! We've worked in the corporate world, know what it's like to play calendar Tetris and try to make it all fit. You may have more control over your calendar than you think. Ask yourself, "Does it have to be this way?" It takes some thoughtfulness - fully understanding the goals and objectives, setting, and the priorities of work. It may require some dialogue and communication with t...

We get asked a lot about how we come up with our content, modules, and ideas. We've always tried to ask ourselves, "What problem are we trying to solve? What is the need?" The creative process is a total collaborative effort between our team and our partners. We encourage you to set aside time intentionally on a regular basis to think and work on any creative ventures. And try to be genuine and us...

Leadership inspiration and influential figures come and go throughout our lives - parents, relatives, teachers, peers and people we don't personally know. Blayne and Brandon share the individuals who have shaped their leadership style and inspired them at different points in their lives.   

We are excited to have our friend Jan Rutherford on the show today. Jan Rutherford is a former Green Beret and founder of Self-Reliant Leadership® where he coaches executives, and leads Crucible® wilderness expeditions with executives and veterans. Jan has over 25 years of business experience and has held executive roles in business development, marketing, sales, training, product management, and...

Blayne and Brandon rehash some victories so far in 2024 in Episode 25 of the Applied Leadership Podcast, "Recent Proud Moments." We hope you enjoy it and take the time to reflect on your own personal and professional wins so far. Celebrate with your team, friends, and family!

We often get what we need, not what we want. You may not want to be a leader, but maybe you need to be one. It's where you're at now, so what do we do about it? It's worth digging deep into yourself and asking why you may feel the way you do. At the same time, you can feel like you don't want it, yet embrace it as a positive opportunity.

Do you have to always have all the answers as a leader? What do you do when you feel stuck in the moment, and everyone is looking to you?  Even as a leader, you cannot always have all the answers, even in a moment of crisis. However, you should always bring calm. Assess the situation and create the conditions for a good answer to emerge from the team. Calm is more important than always having the...

ALPs exist to share hard-earned leadership wisdom with leaders who are on the frontlines of missions that matter and are trying to get better every day. We're always thinking about how to responsibly grow the business, keeping our lives properly integrated as we want, and doing the work with people we love. There's a healthy tension within this that we wrestle with both in work and our family live...

There's an inverse relationship between completing the mission and being positively involved in building workplace relationships and advocating for your teams. Sharing the good work that our team is doing and hoping that others find value in it requires building and maintaining relationships.   

Social media is a tricky place, especially when you're a business. Companies have to be careful about posting too much on social media, yet they need to share intentionally to meaningfully attract the right partners and clients. This is something we wrestle with every day, both at ALPs and in our personal lives. Knowing the true motivation and why to use social media for your company is the key. ...

This is an episode everyone will relate to—as a leader, a teammate, a spouse, a parent, a family member, or a friend. We all wear different hats and have a myriad of responsibilities and interests that vie for our time. As leaders, we need to ensure that we are allowing our people the time to be the best versions of themselves in all aspects of their lives. As leaders, we need to make sure we are...

For this week's episode we are doing another round of answering questions from our Colorado Fire Leadership Series. Our second session with this engaging group of firefighters, volunteers, and dispatchers was about the foundations of leadership, different leadership styles, and theories. Questions answered during this episode include leaders who attempt to manage their way out of leadership, span...

We get asked all the time - "Don't you guys get nervous.... doing public speaking, speaking in front of large audiences, etc." YES! We are nervous every single time! We prepare like crazy, and whether we present to large audiences or small groups of high-caliber people, it's daunting no matter the group. But we also see the nervousness, the opportunity, the pressure, as a privilege.   

We usually tackle one question in our episodes, but today we're doing something a little different. We recently started our Colorado Fire Leadership Series with the Elizabeth Fire District of Colorado, a team of full-time and volunteer firefighters, dispatchers, and support personnel. Our first module of Cultures of Excellence resulted in so many engaging and thoughtful questions that we wanted to...

As leaders, how do we balance the relationship between authenticity and understanding we still have a mission and a purpose to accomplish? There's a line to be managed, which can be difficult. It's the work of the leader to understand and exercise judgment within appropriate context and within the company's culture. Authenticity, self-control and consistency together cab lead to overall trust with...

We get this question asked often - what are we reading, what podcasts are we listening to, what kinds of content and material do we find valuable? We aren't completely immune to the social media junk food, and do our best to stay intentional about what we mentally digest. Blayne and Brandon talk about topics, methods and content that they read and some specific recommendations.         

What are your goals and intentions for 2024? Our approach tends to lean toward a more thematic path for what we want to accomplish. We want to challenge ourselves in ways that are hard and lean into having clear objectives on the calendar. There are a ton of ways of how you put together the framework for your life, personally and professionally. Blayne and Brandon provide some of their methods for...

It takes a real balance to ensure you hear your people out and take care of their needs while at the same time ensuring the job is getting done. It takes integration of both. It takes hard work. It takes difficult decisions to keep the health of the business at the forefront. 

When you're a small business owner, choosing to bring on a business partner is one of the most significant decisions you can make. Our view is that in this decision, like a marriage or life partnership, you have to think long term. Finding another individual or small team that aligns with your life values is key, with the amount of time you all will be spending with each other, toiling, celebratin...

Establishing and documenting the expectations of a specific partnership from the very beginning is key to managing that relationship. How do you respond and address any concerns up front to keep the relationship going? What do you do when it's time to cut ties and walk away? 

There are so many events happening in the world that are difficult to understand and even more difficult to try and manage our feelings and not feel overwhelmed. Instead of having complete apathy or enmeshing ourselves in everything, our focus should be on doing what we can, where we can. Chipping away at making our families, our homes, and our communities better, doing it together with people we...

How you decide to push yourself depends on what your goal is and what you're aiming for. There's also a cost around how much you push yourself, and how it affects those closest to you.