Leadership Currency with Dr. Doug McKinley

You can’t be everything to everybody, therefore strategy is a critical competency of effective leaders. Prominent thought leader Michael Porter says, “The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do.” Dr. McKinley is joined by Tony Burke, an innovative leader who has spent much of his career finding strategies to solve challenging problems. Tony has fresh insights, a positive view of people, an...

When I began the Leadership Currency podcast, I wasn’t quite sure where it would lead. But here we are at our 100th episode! Because I’ve come to understand that podcasts are useful for spreading thoughts and ideas, I’d like to share some memorable moments from the following situations: doing this podcast, working with clients, being coached myself, sayings or quotes I have benefited from, books I...

The Leadership Currency podcast exists to talk about and elevate leadership. Strategy is one of those leadership competencies that is both overused and misunderstood. I invited Dan Marino, a consulting colleague, to the podcast today to discuss his perspective on leadership and strategic planning. Dan routinely leads strategic discussions with large and medium size organizations. His observations...

Everyone is talking about the talent war. How do you find good people to join your organization? I sat down with Taylor Robinson, a seasoned and full-time talent recruiter, to ask him this and other related questions. He is a second generation leader in this field and his insights are worth sharing. If you are currently challenged with hiring people or are considering leaving your company, you wil...

We seem to have an adversarial relationship with ending things. Like it or not, endings are necessary. This principle is true whether focusing on work life, home life, and or our relationship with ourselves. It is important to recognize that endings serve a purpose. Listen to this podcast where Dr. McKinley discusses the psychology behind our resistance to ending things.

This is a re-post from last year, just a friendly reminder how the holidays can have an effect on some people on your teams.... Leaders need to be reminded that although many people enjoy this time of year, some struggle. If you are personally not feeling the “holiday” spirit or you have some in your organization who are, you will benefit from this brief message about things to watch out for. This...

One intentionally chosen word can have the power to simplify and enrich your life and work. In this podcast Dr. McKinley is joined by his family to share how they have leveraged this one word process into a family tradition. As you look to the start of 2023, consider trying something different than a New Year’s Resolution. Try the Word for the Year.

We all have unique qualities. Some that we’re proud of and others that we don’t feel so confident about. If these qualities trigger unpleasant feelings or embarrass us, we may hide them from public view. These hidden traits make up your shadow self, and this self longs to be heard. On today’s podcast Dr. McKinley will share some clues that may illuminate these self-limiting patterns.

Have you stopped to reflect if you have been growing as a leader this past year? Dr. McKinley is joined by frequent co-host, Tim Mohns, for a conversation about what makes leaders grow. As you might guess, there are as many reasons for that as there are changes in the weather. So, join the conversation to see if you resonate with any of the growth enablers discussed and leave with a few tips on ho...

Leaders are uniquely gifted to influence people into leveraging the currency of gratefulness. In the United States we formally celebrate thankfulness one time per year and hopefully for good reason. On this podcast, Dr. McKinley shares his insights on the value of being thankful and how demonstrating thankfulness could lead to better employee engagement and wellbeing.

What has been your go to strategy for accomplishing your professional or personal breakthrough and get your biggest goal across that finish line? All too often the “day job” chokes out the possibility of stretching for our hopes and dreams. Often, New Year’s resolutions are notorious false starters. And as we age we snuggle into a comfortable rhythm that lulls us out of our aspirations. Dr. McKinl...

What is your relationship with enough? Have you ever considered that you can’t get enough of what you don’t really need? Money certainly is a hot topic for most people. As such, leaders will inevitably be pulled into money type conversations. Dr. McKinley and his guest, Todd VanDerVoorn, will explore the tricky relationship people have with money. Todd is a financial advisor and has spent most of...

In a world that focuses on images, sound bites, and quick impressions, we have forgotten how to really know one another. Many leaders recoil from the idea that they need to be vulnerable. In this podcast, Dr. McKinley discusses the reasons why many leaders want to wear masks to protect themselves. Transparent and honest self-disclosure is something we tend to avoid at all costs. In fact, we are pr...

If you are a leader people expect you to get things done. Often the reality is that unless you make things happen, they don’t. One of the unsung benefits of great leadership is the ability to influence people to move in the direction that will ensure the organizational mission is accomplished. On the podcast with Dr. McKinley today is Martin Rowan, a proven leader who harnesses the power of forwar...

Do you ever feel like a fraud? Impostor syndrome is known to occur among high achievers who are unable to internalize and accept their own success. They frequently attribute their accomplishments to luck rather than to ability, and worry that others will eventually unmask them as a fraud. Though impostor syndrome isn't an official diagnosis, psychologists and others acknowledge that it is a v...

While in the flow of leading others, have you ever found yourself puzzled by their out of character behavior or unlikely things that happen that you would not have expected? Brian Zehr, a talent development specialist and colleague, is our guest on the podcast today and he and I discuss some of these puzzling predicaments. Consider this conundrum: how can a leader be both humble and bold? Drop in...

Leadership excellence is performing at your highest level. Whether it’s being masterful in conflict, having satisfying relationships, or improving your public speaking, engaging in excellence means you carefully think through your goal and make intentional plans, you take the time to do your best, and you work hard at achieving what you desire. Our podcast guest today is Amy Kemp. She has a commit...

We are all addicted to our own way of thinking. When we have success, we often sink farther into wanting to believe things that the world tells us about ourselves. No doubt our belief in ourselves helps us become successful. Yet, it can also make it very hard for us to change. If we permit the success to “go to our heads”, we can find ourselves stagnating in our career and worst of all putting a c...

Has there been a time when you woke up and realized you were not happy with your current career? A very busy psychologist, Pat Williams found himself in that very circumstance and made a career pivot that changed his life. He became one of the global influencers that began a whole new movement called COACHING. Dr. Williams is our guest on today’s podcast.

If you want to be effective in leadership, you may need to first determine whether people respect you or not. For the past 30 years, Scott Robinson has spent his career identifying talent in people, assisting them in finding a place to use their talents, and leveraging their potential into actionable results. Scott joins our podcast today and speaks candidly about the currency of respect. From his...

Everyone wins when leaders get better. James Hoard joins Dr. McKinley and cohost Tim Mohns today to discuss his unconventional path to leadership development. James discovered his leadership gifts while pursuing his passion in sales which ultimately led him to partner with one of the nation’s leading leadership development organizations led by John Maxwell. James offers fresh insight into the inte...

Integrity is a highly valued virtue in most leadership circles. Practice what you preach is one way we talk about this. This podcast is a discussion between Doug McKinley & Tim Mohns about ways we can lead better by simply showing up and participating in the activities we say we value.

In our fast paced digital age, taking time for personal reflection is a bit of a lost art. According to Socrates, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” In this podcast, Dr. McKinley gets an inside perspective from Keith Burton, a global thought leader in strategic communication. Keith suggests that reflection can be a powerful tool for personal transformation as well as ignite better overall...

Dr. Monica Berner, a physician and healthcare executive, joined Dr. McKinley on this podcast to discuss the importance of taking time to reflect on workplace realities. Physicians spend many long hours on the job with so many things happening that they hardly have time to process it all. Silence is an important part of everyday lives. Yet, physicians don’t often consider the importance of silence...

Great leaders look in the mirror first and recognize that being a great leader to others starts with being a great leader yourself. It’s not an external journey, it’s an inside job. It’s an inside out process which, if done well, will lead you to ask: why should anyone really be led by YOU? The reality is that when leaders get better, everybody wins. Dr. McKinley discusses the benefits of slowing...