ChoinqueCast

During an Advanced Leadership Course with six attendees, we found ourselves repeatedly comparing development-driven decision making with time-driven decision making. For some in the group, the whole idea of a development-driven decision may have been a brand new idea. This should be no surprise. Imaging you are a project manager. Most metrics are tied to fundamental criteria such as cost and sched...

By the third follow-on executive coaching session after a three-day Leadership Excellence Course , a chemistry usually forms between coach and learner. It is important to understand that the best coaching relationships are two-way: for sharing, for learning, and for continuously improving. Two positive indicators of substantial learning and ongoing chemistry from a recent coaching session come to...

In Episode 19, we turn the tables on the host, Jim Emerick . Rather than have Jim interview an author, leader, or influencer, we’ll learn a bit more about the choinquecast host, and how this all started. Our interviewer today, Amy Coppola , attended Jim’s first Leadership Boot Camp over seven years ago, and has stayed in touch with Jim ever since.

August is time for vacation, and it’s also time for the fall semester for college students. After a successful two-day drive returning our daughter to her apartment and roommates, we had a day together before leaving Tori to begin her senior year. It was a gorgeous morning and we found ourselves at Buttermilk Falls State Park, just southwest of Ithaca, NY, for a discovery hike. After just a few mi...

In Episode 18, we meet S Chris Edmonds , founder and CEO of The Purposeful Culture Group . For nearly three decades, industry-leading executives have sought Chris out to help them build and sustain values-aligned cultures that are purposeful, positive, and productive. When it comes to improving workplace cultures, Chris cut his teeth in the trenches, through 15 years of leading and managing teams....

A recurring theme this past week is staying healthy and energized. During an executive coaching session a client shared that a key personal goal is better health for increased energy. Turns out this is a good idea since eight more people were just added to her team. In an Academy Leadership Excellence Course follow-on coaching session, a client shared they are waking up an hour earlier to exercise...

In Episode 17, we meet Kimberly Davis , author of Brave Leadership . Since 2001, Kimberly has been leading development programs world-wide, around authentic leadership, purpose, presence, influence, presentation skills, communication skills, engagement, and customer experience. In March of 2009, Kimberly launched OnStage Leadership , which has received rave reviews and has made an impact on leader...

Earlier this week, an Academy Leadership Energize2Lead Workshop was held for the administrative team of a private high school. It was a fun, informative, and of course, energizing workshop - a favorite to facilitate. At the end of the workshop, the head of school asked me a question: “Jim, do you have any advice for us now that we have finished this workshop?” That’s a pretty good question, and th...

While facilitating a Leadership Excellence Course this week, we separated attendees into three generations during a motivation workshop: Baby boomers born between 1946 and 1964 Generation X born between 1965 and 1977 Generation Y born between 1977 and 2000 Baby boomer group perceptions of Gen Y included: Sense of entitlement, digitally connected all the time, did not pay their dues, sought equalit...

Have you ever left a business due to lousy service? Of course you have. How about afterward? Did the business, upon realizing you no longer wished to be a customer - magically seem have unlimited resources, processes and procedures available to regain your loyalty as a customer? This past week such thoughts are on mind. A colleague who I’ve had the privilege to coach, on and off over the years, sh...

On the first day of a Leadership Excellence Course , we share the first draft of our Personal Leadership Philosophy . By the end of the course, we have a working draft of the document to share with others and to help hold ourselves accountable. On day three of an Advanced Leadership Course , we explore our organization’s Core Values, defining them and attributing Normative Behavioral Statements to...

A common question after facilitating a Leadership Excellence Course is: “How do I know when I’m actually living my leadership philosophy ?” Good question. One of the best indicators is when we make a tough decision, an uncomfortable decision, and realize - often after the fact - that something violated our leadership philosophy. Over the past month an informal coaching session formed with a Linked...

Are you a marathoner or triathlete? In Episode 16, we meet Dr. Alison Eyring , author of Pacing for Growth - Why Intelligent Restraint Drives Long-Term Success -  who has run marathons and is currently training for a triathlon. Dr. Eyring is a growth expert, organizational psychologist and CEO of Organisation Solutions in Singapore which combines her 25+ years advising the “Fortune and FTSE 5...

Ever notice how some of the greatest lessons are found by looking to the past? As what we may call a purpose-driven economy expands, and the global competition for talent likewise increases, the importance of communication skills in leaders becomes paramount. Leaders must be able to communicate well with different constituencies, from the board room to customers, and perhaps most of all, to the in...

Ever have a life-changing event? In Episode 15, we meet Carla Moore , author of Crash - Leading Through the Wreckage -  who has. An empowering and proven leader, Carla currently serves as Vice President of Sales Strategy and Education for Home Box Office (HBO) in New York. She began her career with HBO as an entry-level sales trainer 20 years ago and worked her way up, working in multiple dep...

We’ve learned through authors such as Mark Crowley that engagement in the workplace has been flat for about thirty years. Maybe old habits don’t die at all. Maybe we just need a fresh way of looking at things. In Kim Scott ’s refreshing book Radical Candor , she challenges the classical Nine-Box Matrix Talent Model , developed by McKinsey , which positions individuals into a box based on potential...

It’s refreshing when a professional reaches out and asks for help during a period of career growth - for executive coaching. Since this has happened quite a bit this month, Marshall Goldsmith and Mark Reiter ’s terrific coaching book, Triggers , came to mind. You may have heard of Marshall before, he’s a really good coach and he’s been doing it at a very high level for decades. Powerful and lastin...

Retention. Talent pipeline. We keep hearing these HR terms. In the past couple weeks, a military commander reached out wishing to improve low reenlistment numbers for first term airmen, a federal bankruptcy court shared plans for a 12-month regional leadership development program for junior team members and a local CEO seeking executive coaching connected on LinkedIn. What’s going on? In Dr. Sydne...

Has watching professional poker ever fascinated you? In Episode 14, we meet Annie Duke , author of Thinking in Bets , who has leveraged her expertise in the science of smart decision making to excel at pursuits as varied as championship poker to public speaking. For two decades, Annie was one of the top poker players in the world. In 2004, she bested a field of 234 players to win her first World S...

Has anyone ever said to you that they or their organization embraces “continuous improvement.” It’s a pretty common buzzword, and don’t all of us want to get better at something? How can we think, and more importantly, do, something about that? In Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool ’s masterwork Peak , they describe a significant term —  deliberate practice — as a combination of purposeful pract...

Have you ever made a decision with incomplete or imperfect information? How did it feel? Many of us struggle with daily distractions, and the pressure of making decisions with imperfect or incomplete information. In Annie Duke ’s amazing new book, Thinking in Bets , Making Smarter Decisions When You Don't Have All The Facts , she informs us that is the normal state in poker, where over the course...

During a recent coaching session, a client mentioned employee turnover issues within their organization, in particular with newer, younger hires.  Among the factors brought up for the recent departures was low pay. I paused and asked how frequently coaching occurred between supervisors and subordinates. A culture check if you will. Let’s just say it got really quiet for a bit. You see, there’...

Are you a CPA, attorney, or a partner in a professional services firm? Choinquecast thirteen showcases Wesley Middleton ’s personal and professional journey in his book Violent Leadership . Unsatisfied with the practice and lifestyle found within the usual managerial-styled CPA firm, Middleton has pioneered a different kind of firm, a twenty-first century CPA firm, MRZ Financial , based on a leade...

In our Academy Leadership Excellence Courses, self-evaluation scores at the beginning of the Setting Leadership Priorities workshops usually plummet - with distractions and interruptions common culprits. Perhaps never before has the opportunity for distraction been so commonplace. Yet, there are those who are still effective getting things done and those who are effective leaders. Most of us proba...

Choinquecast twelves takes direct aim at generational differences in the workplace as we meet Kelly Riggs who has co-written - with his son Robby - Counter Mentor Leadership , a pathfinding generational work. Kelly is the founder of Business LockerRoom , host of the CounterMentors Show, and a dynamic thought leader in the fields of sales and leadership. He is also a business performance coach who...