No Bullsh!t Leadership

Episode #261 // The central element of the No Bullsh!t Leadership Framework is value . It should be the primary focus of every leader, at every level, in every organization. Value first… that’s it! Although we automatically think of financial value, value can be created in many different forms. Your imperative, as a leader, is to understand which of the things your people do genuinely create value...

Moment #31 // How comfortable are you when making “ high-impact ” decisions? You know, the ones that really test you… the ones that scare you... the ones that you know can potentially have serious consequences if you get them wrong.  You don't have to be the CEO of a Fortune 100 company to make high-impact decisions. The founder of any small business has to make decisions every day, many of w...

*SPECIAL EPISODE* #260 // Are you fed up with average team performance and missed targets? Or maybe you feel like your passion for leadership has been on the decline? Get ready to breathe new life into your team with Day 1 of the Motivate to Elevate bootcamp - Setting the Bar: Raising the standard of leadership excellence. Soon you'll all be saying goodbye to mediocrity and embracing a future of e...

Moment #30 // Why are such vast numbers of senior leaders so prone to believing their own bullsh!t? There are a bunch of underlying (but observable) factors, which we’re all subject to, that push us to believe our own bullsh!t. It takes discipline, self-awareness, and insight to overcome them, and to rise above the facade. This moment looks at four of the key psychological drivers, and how they op...

Episode #259 // I’ve been doing quite a few guest appearances on other people’s podcasts in recent weeks, and I’ve been asked on several occasions, “ Marty, what do you know now, that you wish you’d learned earlier? ”…  There are any number of life lessons that I could absolutely have used earlier on, and lots of stuff that would have made me a better leader way sooner.   But, then again...

Moment #29 // Having close friends is one of life’s ultimate joys. But, as a leader, that’s the last thing you want. Being friends with someone who works for you dilutes your objectivity. And no matter how much you think you can overcome this, the reality is… you can’t! A friend in your team will take advantage of your good nature… and you’ll cut them more slack than you should. It’s not intention...

Episode #258 // One of the principal occupations of many consultants, speakers, and business experts is to try to predict the future. And, although this is virtually impossible, it doesn’t stop them from trying!    If you’re a regular listener, you’ll know that I try to stay away from predictions for the most part. I’d rather deal with the leadership imperatives that drive performance, a...

Moment #28 // How do you go about making an outsourcing decision for your company?  It’s important to be clear on exactly why you want to outsource, and to understand the relative cost of doing something yourself, as opposed to having a specialist external firm do it for you. Knowing when to outsource is as critical as any skill you need in business, and this Moment exposes the key questions...

Episode #257 // I came across an article by Shanna Hocking , which introduced me to the concept of the Leadership User Manual . Hocking credits its origins to Adam Bryant, who wrote an article almost 10 years ago titled, What if you had to write a user manual about your leadership style?   Imagine the power of a physical document that can help your people to understand how they can best work...

Moment #27 // Weak leaders are characterized by what they’re not prepared to do. Weak leaders are unwilling to push back on the boss; they don't put the team's interests ahead of their own; they’re unwilling to set ambitious goals; they’re afraid to challenge, coach, and confront their people; and they’re reluctant to challenge the status quo. What's the price of leadership weakness? Unrealized po...

Episode #256 // The concept of EQ isn’t new. It was the subject of academic research way back in the 1960s, but it took another 30 years before we gained widespread awareness of it through Daniel Goleman’s classic book, Emotional Intelligence . These days, we have fairly robust tests to measure a person's EQ, and I would never hire a senior executive without having them take those tests… it’s not...

Moment #26 // Of the many mistakes that new leaders are prone to make, over-functioning for certain individuals is one of the most common, and the most insidious.  When you do this, it tells your people that what they're doing isn't good enough. It trains them to be lazy and complacent, because you'll always step in to finish their job for them if you’re not happy. And they'll keep getting pa...

Episode #255 // Ralph Waldo Emerson once said: “ Build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door! ”. This quote, espousing the value of innovation, has been liberally used and abused over the years. I came across it again recently in an article from McKinsey: Turning Around the Productivity Slowdown … so, what is productivity? And what’s the relationship between productivity...

Moment #25 // High-performance is fragile. Teams can lose their lustre for a whole range of reasons, and leading a team of high performers can be incredibly challenging. The best teams push each other pretty hard, and it can be difficult to maintain constructive tension, without it boiling over into acrimony. And, yes, sometimes your people just stop listening to you. Over time, familiarity breeds...

Episode #254 // We’re approached all the time to interview other thought leaders on this podcast. However, since No Bullsh!t Leadership is predominantly a solo cast, we reluctantly decline 99% of these requests.   But one email popped into our Inbox a few months ago, and we couldn’t resist it: Scott Jeffrey Miller is a speaker, author, and podcaster (sounds familiar, I know!)   What’s di...

Moment #24 // As a leader, how do you set appropriate boundaries in your work relationships? How do you strike the balance between establishing trust-based, caring relationships with your people, and maintaining professional distance?  The social pendulum has really swung in the last 3-5 years. Organizations are increasingly seeking to impose themselves in the personal decisions of their peop...

Episode #253 // In life, there tend to be two kinds of people: there are lifters and there are leaners . Lifters carry the burden for themselves and others… they take on more accountability than the average person, and they don’t rely on anyone else to make things happen.   And leaners are happy to let them do so!   In this episode, which I hope you find to be pretty straightforward and...

Moment #23 // You don't want your business to suffer the impact of poor decisions that are driven by fear. If you can sense, and then short-circuit your physiological reactions as they arise, you’ll be in a better position to implement some coping strategies, rather than just letting nature take its course. If you learn to control your physical state, it opens up the pathways for your conscious mi...

Episode #252 // Chris Licht, the former CEO of CNN, resigned recently after a scathing exposé in The Atlantic. What was supposed to be an opportunity to provide a firsthand account of a miraculous company turnaround, ended up in embarrassment, reputational damage, and the inevitable sacking. This isn’t the first time someone has invited the media to make a contemporaneous record of a firm’s excell...

Moment #22 // Some people really don't want to lead. But they don’t necessarily know that they don’t want to. So, why would they take on a leadership role if they have no desire to lead? And how do you identify a reluctant leader? The clue is in the expectations they place upon their team? Do they lead them to greater heights, or just accept whatever an individual chooses to do on any given day? W...

Episode #251 // There are a range of competencies required to forge a successful career. On this podcast, of course, we focus predominantly on how to develop and improve your leadership capability to uplift your team’s performance. Leadership competency gives you leverage : it enables you to multiply and accelerate the results you can achieve through others. And the higher up you go, the more valu...

Moment #21 // There are a few key things you need to do in order to maximize your promotability.   How do you stamp yourself as a trusted advisor, rather than just a workhorse? Why should you strive to make yourself redundant, rather than indispensable? And why is it critical to focus on your leadership capability just as much as your business acumen? Your goal should be to position yourself...

Episode #250 // One of the most intractable issues affecting gender equity in the workplace is maternity leave. Companies and countries are trying to find ways to make it easier for women to have families, without significant disruption to their careers.    Our CEO, Emma Green recently became a mother. She’s just flown half way around the world, by herself with 9-month-old Florence to at...

Moment #20 // In a hot job market, you can't retain every one of your people, which is why it’s important to think about who your star performers are, and to make sure they don’t go anywhere. This necessitates a very deliberate approach to talent management and retention. Looking at individual performance first, identifying any critical roles, and understanding which core functions truly enable yo...

Episode #249 // Did you know that while 83% of organizations acknowledge the importance of developing leaders, only 5% actually follow through? It's no wonder many leaders feel lost and unfulfilled. If you've been yearning for a more fulfilling leadership career, this episode is for you. Imagine taking control of your own development, transcending the boundaries set by others. The truth is, nobody...