The Leader Factor

This is a LeaderFactor Single Point Lesson. These 10-minute episodes are packed with practical learning on a single topic. These episodes will be published in addition to our regular full-length episodes every Monday. Today's lesson: Leadership makes it harder to get to reality. Key Points: When you step into a formal leadership role, you face a built-in obstacle: you have to work harder to stay i...

In this week's episode of Culture by Design, Tim and Junior dive into the penultimate episode of their series, Leading With Character and Competence, with a discussion on judgment. If decisions are the primary output of any leader, then improving decision-making is a crucial part of becoming a better leader. The two define and frame the concept, and then share practical ways to improve judgment as...

This is our first LeaderFactor Single Point Lesson. These 10-minute episodes are packed with practical learning on a single topic. These episodes will be published in addition to our regular full-length episodes every Monday. Today's lesson: You will grow based on what you demand of yourself. Key Points: As humans, it is natural for us to seek comfort and equilibrium, but equilibrium leads to medi...

In this episode, we're continuing our Leading with Character and Competence series with a discussion on the second cornerstone of competence, change. Previous episodes in this series have been on the four cornerstones of character, which in case you missed them, are integrity, humility, accountability, and courage. In order to become an effective leader and become what we would truly consider comp...

In this episode of Culture by Design, we're entering the second half of our Leading with Character and Competence series with a discussion on the first cornerstone of competence, learning. Tim and Junior discuss what it means to be an agile self­-directed learner, why it's important to learn at or above the speed of change, and how to keep yourself competitive and relevant in an increasingly fast-...

In this episode of Culture by Design, Tim and Junior talk about courage as a leadership trait. Courage is a characteristic you need if you want to take risks, innovate, and progress. It's the biggest difference between managers and leaders. This episode is full of practical advice on developing courage, including embracing reality, deep listening, and aiming high.  (0:02:38) Management vs. Leaders...

In today's episode, Tim and Junior continue the "Leading with Character and Competence" series by discussing the third cornerstone of character: accountability. Great leaders love accountability. They are not afraid of transparency and take ownership of their actions and outcomes. Their high levels of accountability help them avoid blame, denial, or excuses. (02:30) Tim and Junior describe account...

In today's episode, we're continuing our leadership series on leading with character and competence with a discussion on the second cornerstone of character: humility. Humility is a performance accelerator; it allows you to develop, grow, and progress faster. It's the culminating stage of a leader's emotional and psychological development, and it's also one of the most difficult character traits t...

In today's episode, we're continuing our Leading with Character & Competence series with a discussion about integrity. Integrity is the first cornerstone of character and is about being honest, trustworthy, and reliable. It's about doing the right thing even when it's difficult. Integrity is key to building trust and credibility, which are essential for effective leadership.  (0:01:27) Integri...

At LeaderFactor, we view leadership as an applied discipline. It’s a learnable skill. It’s something that you can improve with good information and a lot of effort. Leadership is a factor in every decision and every outcome. Character and competence are two big pieces of leadership that will frame everything that follows. (0:07:04) Character is your core. Your core refers to the way that you gover...

This episode is part two of our two-part mini-series on Psychological Safety in Personal Relationships. Tim and Junior will pick it up right where they left off and start by discussing contributor safety as it relates to our personal lives. They will continue with practical examples, and you’ll even get introduced to the LIVE model, an acronym to help you recognize and reward vulnerability around...

We all have relationships we wish to improve. The concepts behind The 4 Stages of  Psychological Safety™ can help us improve our relationships both at work and beyond the office into our everyday lives. This week Tim and Junior will get personal and discuss how recognizing and rewarding the vulnerable acts of others can make a positive impact on everyone around us. This is part one in a two-part m...

In today's episode, Tim and Junior dive into the world of cross-cultural communication and explore the importance of understanding cultural differences. From nonverbal communication to attitudes towards conflict and time orientation, they examine how cultural dimensions impact our behavior and interactions with others. Join them for an episode full of practical tips for developing intercultural co...

In this episode of Culture by Design, Tim and Junior discuss the importance of psychological safety in healthcare. They highlight the significant issue of medical errors in the industry and propose creating a culture of rewarded vulnerability to overcome the fear of speaking up. They also discuss the barriers to psychological safety in healthcare and the ultimate impact of psychological safety, wh...

Layoffs are not just big business decisions. They are profoundly personal for both the individuals who are affected directly and those who remain after them. The goal of this episode is to explore how organizations can navigate through these difficult decisions and prioritize people and culture. If you haven't been affected by a layoff yet, chances are you'll eventually find yourself affected by o...

In this episode, Tim and Junior will discuss the catastrophic consequences of a "nice" culture. The intention behind cultivating a nice culture is often genuine. Leaders believe they are doing a good thing that will motivate people and create inclusion. However, it often has the opposite effect, resulting in a lack of honest communication, intellectual bravery, innovation, and accountability. (11:...

In today's episode, Tim and Junior will also talk about why psychological safety is impossible without emotional intelligence and the connection between these two important concepts. Emotional intelligence or EQ, as we define it, is your ability to interact effectively with other humans. It's your delivery system. This is a practical episode full of tips on improving your emotional intelligence an...

What do you do if you want to bring psychological safety to your organization, but don't find yourself in a position of authority? Or if you do have some authority, how do you approach the topic of psychological safety with your teams and others who are not as familiar with the concept? In this weeks episode Tim and Junior will help you gain a better understanding of change management and cultural...

Leadership is not an ethereal concept. It’s not as cinematic as you might think. It is about one simple and profoundly human thing--Influence. In this episode Tim and Junior breakdown 10 misleading leadership theories and how to avoid them. It's a straightforward and practical episode focused on core leadership lessons we can all learn from. (13:32) Leadership is not about charisma. Just because y...

In this episode Tim and Junior introduce the two leadership failure patterns found in The 4 Stages of Psychological Safety™ model - paternalism and exploitation. This is a very practical episode for managers and leaders but applies to anyone working with other humans. Progressing through The 4 Stages of Psychological safety requires balancing a combination of respect and permission while avoiding...

In this episode of Culture by Design, Tim and Junior explain the 5 Functions of Leadership, originally created to provide a job description for a CEO. When you're an executive leader, nothing is your job and everything is your job. Delegated authority is hard to find success in, but this episode will help you better understand how to be effective in any leadership role. Function 1: Vision & St...

Psychological safety is the key to creating a safer workplace where employees can bring up concerns and problems before they become disasters. This week Tim and Junior explore the link between psychological safety and physical safety for organizations where lives are on the line. (02:24) Tim shares a personal experience about his time managing the Geneva Steel Plant. Safety protocols were not foll...

In this episode Tim and Junior discuss the seven misconceptions surrounding psychological safety. Some organizations and some leaders dismiss psychological safety because they believe that it means a whole host of things, that it doesn't mean. So they dismiss it and they ignore it. When helping leaders understand the topic of psychological safety, defining what psychological safety is not can be j...

There’s a power dynamic in every room. If you’re the CEO and you’re in the room, you control that dynamic. Positional power is consolidated in your hands, and what you say and do can draw people out or make them recoil with anxiety and fear. In this weeks episode Tim and Junior discuss 10 ways CEO's can create higher levels of psychological safety in the room. (11:48) Hierarchies often create ineq...

This episode is part five in our five part series on "What's Driving Demand for Psychological Safety". When individuals feel psychologically safe at work, they are more likely to report positive mental health outcomes such as increased job satisfaction, higher levels of well-being, and lower levels of stress and burnout. (05:20) What is mental health? Mental health includes our emotional, psycholo...