Authority Optional: Leadership Beyond the Rulebook

Max and Josh, in their second topic at the CFMA, discuss some valuable practices they've discovered and utilized over the years when dealing with situations that require some delicacy. Techniques range from prep to tone, and they cover a few questions from the audience to dive into specifics.

Max and Josh had the privilege of being invited to speak at a CFMA annual conference. In this episode they covered the topic of leading culture as a middle manager, how to deal with possible resistance to creating a great culture, and some methods on making your role easier by crafting an environment people like to work in.

Max and Josh explore this very common phrase in corporate America: Perception is reality. It can be used as a trope, a shield to hide behind for those that can't come up with something better to say. But with a slight twist and perspective and a few valuable added words, it's also a tremendous tool for development and communication.

Max and Josh sit down with an old friend of Max's; Daylin has lived a lot of lives and has found his home in psychology as a family therapist. The three discuss some therapeutic elements of leadership such as attachment styles, what happens when you’re a leader trying to make everyone like you, and how different kinds of questions suit different situations and the value of knowing when to use what...

Max and Josh talk about some of what they learned with Courtney through the series and focus on in what they learned about themselves, answering some prompts to explore some of the details. As an added bonus, Josh opens up about a book they read in their BDC days and the fellas offer it as a challenge to any team that thinks they're already bulletproof.

Max and Josh get to wrap up the Enneagram Series with the final triad, which just happens to the one they both land in. This triad includes the Quiet Specialist, The Loyal Sceptic, and The Enthusiastic Visionary. They dive into some specifics about their main motivation (both Loyal Skeptics), how they are very different versions of the same number, and of course cover the other triads as well.

How an employee enters an organization might be the single most pivotal experience you can have an influence over. Max and Josh discuss their findings on when and how to engage, the importance of timing, and how critically vital it is to a business or team on what to do in this crucial time period of an employee's tenure.

Max and Josh sit down with another teammate from their former team, this one mentioned a handful of times over the last year on the show. Scott has been many things in his lifetime including a regional manager, front man of a band, a wanderer, and will be much more before he's done as he talks about in this episode. They discuss "new rich" and steps we can all take to achieve it.

Max and Josh cover the 4th and final cornerstone of the Team Principles they adhered to in corporate. They share some stories of counterexamples that show what can happen when this principle is not in place as well as some anecdotes about how it impacts their lives still.

Max and Josh cover the third cornerstone of their former team principles: Recognize and Respect the Impact your Behavior has on Others. Wordier than some of the other principles, it's actually pretty straightforward as concepts go and invites us all to be self and socially aware.

In this season premiere of their second year recording Authority Optional, Max and Josh discuss their most heavily influential team principle, Leave it Better Than You Found it. They talk about how valuable it is when everybody buys in and, of course, tell some stories on how it works. If you've listened to our first season, thank you. If not, this season kicks off an attempt to get less high-leve...

Max and Josh tackle the difficult subject of being an unemployed leader, what the market seems to bear these days, as well as how challenging it can be to get through the first few steps of applying to a new company- or even your current one if you’re being laid off. They share their experience with it and offer some suggestions for anybody in the position themselves.

Max and Josh discuss another one of the Team Principles utilized in their corporate life, one that Max admits contributing directly to their common language. Eliminating aggravation ranges from not dodging accountability to doing things outside the scope of your job role, and invites everyone to imagine a world where everyone else is trying to improve the lives of those around them.

Max and Josh field a question about taking an employee engagement survey, whether one should bother or, if bothering, the merits of answering truthfully. They cover the ins and outs of making the best decision for yourself by way of their own experiences with surveys in a BDC, and explore the options.

Max and Josh discuss a principle that was part of their team culture when they worked together in a BDC. Fighting for the moral high ground captures both being imperfect humans and trying to do the right thing. They provide the backstory as to where it came from, explore the benefits of utilizing it, and finally offer some implementation tips if you find you’d like to see this in your own culture.

Max and Josh continue the series on Enneagram with Courtney returning as a registered IE9 practitioner and guide. In this episode they cover the Heart/Feeling Triad. Numbers 2, 3, and 4: The Active Controller, The Considerate Helper, Competitive Achiever, and Intense Creative, respectively. The fellas identify some traits they've seen in others and dive in with some questions to tap into Courtney'...

Max and Josh break down a process where they worked shorter weeks without taking pay cuts, and were even more productive than teams working standard or longer weeks. There's some high level concepts as well as pinpointed steps in this retelling with the idea that some of it could still be useful to others.

Max and Josh break down “Workplace Wellness.” They go into what it actually means as well as some steps frontline and middle managers can take to implement productive methods of increasing wellness. Specifically they dive into Holistic Wellness with some stories of their own to show ways they’ve excelled in creating excellent work environments.

Max and Josh launch a series on Enneagram with Courtney returning as a registered IE9 practitioner and guide, in this episode diving into the Action/Body Triad. Numbers 8, 9, and 1: The Active Controller, The Adaptive Peacemaker, and The Strict Perfectionist, respectively. If you've been a listener so far you know that the fellas are very on board with assessments that help people learn about them...

In the third and final part of their interview with Rob, they explore the value of going outside of the team whether it's for new ideas or fresh perspective, both for a single challenge and to improve the ongoing strength of the team. They discuss how leadership is a craft and should be treated accordingly, how much of it is talent acquisition, and wrap up with leveraging strengths to optimize a t...

In part 2 Rob answers our story-based questions starting with the hat trick and tells some interesting stories about ideas, leadership, and values. They move on to bad bosses, misconnected teams, and who should (and shouldn’t) work remote.

Max and Josh sit down with a man who's been mentioned in several other episodes, Rob Cole helped Max define his leadership style very early on. In the first of this 3-part interview they discuss the value of seeking out side-hustles, war stories of Max in his earlier leadership days, and the value of making way for good ideas.

Max and Josh continue the conversation with Courtney. With the basics of Enneagram covered as well as some of its awesomeness, they move on to asking their more story-based questions so we all get some peaks into Courtney’s origins as an expert in the field of connected leadership.

Courtney returns! She talks to Max and Josh about the core basics of Enneagram, the core types, sub types, wings and more. The fellas have completed the basic free version and express how just the high-level overview of those seem dead-on accurate and how they’ve played into their lives. This will be a 2-parter and in round 2 Courtney fields our updated questions for leaders.

Max and Josh share some stories around their Core Principles. Ranging from origin stories to tales on how they’ve implemented them in life, they cover why these can be so important to know, how pivotal instances in life can shape them, even how they can translate to skills not commonly acknowledged in the zeitgeist.