Knowing Kenning: Recent Episodes
Kenning Associates
Why leaders need to build trust, and how to do it
When teams have a strong foundation of trust, the work just feels easier. Even when there's a lot going on -- changing technologies, pressing business imperatives, strategic uncertainty -- team members who feel a high degree of trust with each other can work through their challenges more successfully. But trust is a nebulous thing. What specifically can a leader do to increase trust when it seems to be lacking?
In this episode of the Knowing Kenning podcast, Partners Annie Howell and Jennifer Lachance share a powerful framework: the trust equation. They walk through four elements that build trust, and they bring them to life with illuminating case studies drawn from their own coaching work. In doing so, they describe small shifts that any leader can make to show up in a way that enhances stability, clarifies priorities, makes people feel seen and understood, and brings multiple perspectives into the room. If you suspect trust might be slipping on your team, they offer a call to action to make changes in small but important ways.
Reach out to Jen and Annie at https://www.kenningassociates.com/
We all have unique strengths that we bring to our work. And we rightly celebrate all the ways that our strengths support and improve our performance. At the same time, it’s also possible to overuse a strength in ways that lead to unintended, less than ideal results.
In this episode of the Knowing Kenning podcast, Partner Annie Howell interviews Partner Jennifer Lachance about how, at times, we all need to “Beware our Strengths”. Jennifer offers a wealth of examples of how strong leaders she has coached have come to realize that their strengths are on “overdrive”. She shares a step-by-step process that anyone can follow to name their strengths, build greater awareness of how these strengths show up, and take small steps to purposefully and productively dial back how they bring their strengths to bear.
To reach the hosts:
https://www.kenningassociates.com/jennifer-lachance/
https://www.kenningassociates.com/annie-howell/
What’s the secret to running great meetings? Stellar content and a modicum of charisma? According to Kenning Partner Laurie Burkland Waller, that’s not enough. Experience with hundreds of leaders has shown her that great meetings are actually the product of carefully considered preparation.
An experienced executive coach and leadership development expert who helps senior leaders show up with impact when it matters most, Laurie has developed a practical preparation framework called “The 5 Ps of Meeting Mastery.” This checklist highlights the importance of carefully planning for:
- Purpose
- Process
- People
- Pivot
- Presence.
Join Laurie as she demonstrates the value of each element with scientific research and provides real world examples of their successful application.
References
- Harvard Business Review (2017), “Stop the Meeting Madness.”
- Fortune (2023), “The Art of the Effective Meeting.”
- Harvard Business Review (2022), “The Science of Communicating with Impact.”
- Forbes (2023), “Mastering Difficult Conversations.”
- Harvard Business Review (2024), “The New Rules of Executive Presence.”
To reach Laurie: https://www.kenningassociates.com/laurie-burkland-waller/
Everyone tells stories. It's a natural part of our everyday lives. But should you tell stories at work? And if so, how can you do so skillfully?
In this episode of the Knowing Kenning podcast, Partner Cathy Boeckmann speaks with Ramya Mahalingam, Expert Practitioner, about the power storytelling. Ramya explains how telling a story is one of the most powerful ways to make the information you share memorable. She gives her take on why anyone who is trying to grow as a leader should also sharpen their skills for telling stories. And Ramya offers five practical tips for how to make stories effective:
- Identify a micro story
- Build a world
- Focus on the people
- Work in an exterior-interior frame
- Find the emotion and show, don't tell
Can joining a college a capella group help launch a career in the family business? Yes it can, Eliah Seton, CEO of SoundCloud tells Kenning Associates Partner, Daryl Ogden–and it can provide the foundation for a marriage and family to boot!
Eliah joins us on the pod to discuss his career in music: One deeply rooted in his personal and family history, and one that was shaped by mentors and mentorship throughout. Eliah explains what he gleaned from his mentors (e.g., where to find energy, how to measure progress) as well what he still gathers from those he mentors (e.g., a new way to use a product, a fresh perspective from another company).
Eliah and Daryl go on to dig deep into what makes Soundcloud supremely well-poised to exploit the disruptions in the music industry–trends that Eliah had seen first-hand in the making throughout his years at Warner Music. As one of his mentors told him: “When you’re on a train, you can walk or run… but what really matters is how fast the train is going.”
In this episode, Kenning Partner Cathy Boeckmann looks back on the enduring value of the streaming series Ted Lasso. She ponders the question, is Ted Lasso still relevant? Her answer is yes, and she suggests that 2024 is a great year for anyone to revisit the show as a support for personal growth. She shares three ways the show could have practical value for career inspiration: for facing challenges around new roles, for enhancing relationships, and for changing your story to make new things possible.
Then, the episode continues with a special bonus – the full first episode of Cathy’s other podcast, Lasso Lessons, which was first released in September 2021. In what follows, Cathy and co-host Mike Merrill break down Ted Lasso S1E1. You will find out why Ted learns everyone's names and even over-praises Nate's sports drink. And you’ll get an analysis of Ted’s "Inclusive Leadership” with a comparison between Ted’s vs. Rebecca’s communications styles. Plus hear how you too can flip the pyramid for organizational success!
Also Mentioned:
Inverting the Pyramid: the book & the organizational principle
The Key to Inclusive Leadership
Kerouac’s The Dharma Bums
Barry Jentz on challenges to sense-making
In this episode, Kenning Partner Daryl Ogden speaks with Helen Chiang, head of Mojang Studios. Daryl and Helen’s relationship goes back many years, to the integration of Mojang, the Swedish creator of Minecraft, into the world of Microsoft’s Xbox. Despite the difficult reality of most acquisitions, they talk about how Helen and her team ensured continued growth and player satisfaction.
Helen’s long career in gaming, she explains, wasn’t her original plan in college or business school. But once exposed to the business side of gaming, she was drawn into the creative process. Discussing mentorship and sponsorship, Helen describes her own trials with imposter syndrome, and explains how she works with contributors throughout Microsoft to give their career in gaming a boost.
Daryl and Helen also focus on what it means to be a people-first leader, highlighting lessons learned in how to support creative, innovative talent. In a world where remote and hybrid work is becoming the norm, Helen’s experience with working across continents has great salience. She speaks of how diversity of insight is key to Mojang’s success, and how she and her team experimented with working arrangements until they got it right.
Note: This interview was recorded before Mojang released Legends.
In this episode, Kenning Partner Daryl Ogden speaks with Helen Chiang, head of Mojang Studios. Daryl and Helen’s relationship goes back many years, to the integration of Mojang, the Swedish creator of Minecraft, into the world of Microsoft’s Xbox. Despite the troubling reality of most acquisitions, they talk about how Helen and her team ensured continued growth and player satisfaction.
Helen’s long career in gaming, she explains, wasn’t her original plan in college or business school. But once exposed to the business side of gaming, she was drawn into the creative process. Discussing mentorship and sponsorship, Helen describes her own trials with imposter syndrome, and explains how she works with contributors throughout Microsoft to give their career in gaming a boost.
Daryl and Helen also focus on what it means to be a people-first leader, highlighting lessons learned in how to support creative, innovative talent. In a world where remote and hybrid work is becoming the norm, Helen’s experience with working across continents has great salience. She speaks of how diversity of insight is key to Mojang’s success, and how she and her team experimented with working arrangements until they got it right.
C-Level Leader Abby Kearns Shares Insights into Tech Roles that Build Leadership Judgment and What We All Need to Know about Risk
In this installment of our Women in Tech Series, Kenning Partner Cathy Boeckmann talks with Abby Kearns. Abby is a C-level business and technology executive who has held top roles at Puppet, Cloud Foundry Foundation, and Pivotal Software, to name just a few of the influential organizations she’s been a part of. She talks about how two roles – project manager and product manager – opened her eyes to the world of tech and inspired her strategic style as a leader. She shares her passion for enterprise software and for being a part of the open-source movement. Focused on the challenges of scale and complexity, Abby offers an inspiring take on how all of us, and women in particular, can look for ways to get more comfortable with risk. Anyone contemplating a career in tech, potential founders who want to understand how investors think, or rising leaders who are curious about what top tech executives focus on will find something of value in this conversation.
Julie Kantor and Felice Ekelman share advice for leaders who want a productive, happy hybrid workplace
Kenning partner Cathy Boeckmann talks with Julie Kantor, a business psychologist, and Felice Ekelman, an employment attorney, about their new book, Thrive With a Hybrid Workplace: Step-by-Step Guidance from the Experts.
In this conversation, Julie and Felice describe what makes their book unique: a dual focus on both the “institutional” challenges of flexible work, like setting fair and clear policies, and the need to face up to fundamental leadership imperatives like ensuring good communication and fostering connection across a hybrid workforce.
Cathy invites Julie and Felice to share their perspectives on what the best organizations and leaders are doing right, which include:
- Inviting diverse groups of employees to give input on policies, which can be revisited and changed if things aren’t working
- Anchoring the approach to hybrid work in the mission and supporting the kinds of work that need to get done to achieve that mission
- Being intentional about creating the “interpersonal glue” that helps workers be productive and engaged.
Buy the book:
On Amazon
On Barnes & Noble
Reach out:
feliceekelman@gmail.com
jkantor@jpkantor.com
cathay.boeckmann@kenningassociates.com
Kenning Partner Daryl Ogden speaks with Philip Holt, head of Undead Labs, about his experiences running a gaming studio within the Xbox empire. Philip explains his unusual introduction to the business of gaming, and why he found joining Undead to replace a charismatic founder both challenging and rewarding. Daryl and Philip explore the deeper meaning of “State of Decay”, and how it might reflect on our own pandemic world.
They go on to discuss how Philip worked with his team to develop and codify working values for the studio, and the role that DEI concerns played in that effort. Daryl asks Philip how he has dealt with “The Great Resignation” and the ongoing challenge of attracting and keeping the highly skilled talent needed to create great games. They explore the value Philip has found in his own coaching, and what it might offer studio leaders more broadly. Philip reveals the 7 books that made up his original leadership book club, and points to where the club will go next. Finally, Philip and Daryl discuss how being a goalkeeper in his youth shaped the way Philip still sees risk and reward.
Reach out:
Philip Holt
Daryl Ogden
Book Club:
Ego is the Enemy
Endurance
Leadership in Turbulent Times
Lead from the Outside
Conscious Business
Dare to Lead
Creativity, Inc.
Solito
Join Kenning Partners Cathy Boeckmann and Jerry Stauduhar as they speak with Mike Merrill about the challenges facing strategic business communicators today. Despite a wealth of data–or maybe even because it is so plentiful–drawing out the “so what” and generating business insights seems ever more difficult. Experts in technology, the creative arts, or medicine can do great work and gather excellent data, but they can find it challenging to pull it together and present it in a way that helps decision makers take action. And the tools that allow for greater collaboration–like virtual meetings and cloud-based documents–can actually make things worse.
Find out how Cathy, Jerry, and their Kenning colleagues have addressed these challenges using tried and true methods as well as innovative new ways of meeting today’s needs. From investing in communications skills to building a culture that rewards judgment over raw information, see how Kenning has helped clients to make shared meaning.
Contact:
Cathy.Boeckmann@Kenningassociates.com
Jerry.Stauduhar@Kenningassociates.com
Michael.Merrill@Kenningassociates.com
Continuing our series with Assistant Coach Ron Adams of the Golden State Warriors, Kenning Partner Daryl Ogden talks with Ron about coaching across the generations. A collegiate and professional coach for over 50 years, Ron has seen a lot of changes, but as he tells Daryl, he’s had to adapt himself in order to “stay in the game.”
How has practice changed over the course of Ron’s career, and what does it have to do with disruptions in education? How can music serve as a bridge between generations and how is basketball like jazz? What role can generation markers–Boomers, X, Y, Z–play in helping you understand younger players and employees, and why are individual connections more important? Ron and Daryl discuss these issues and more, and then Daryl and Mike Merrill apply Ron’s lessons to challenges you may face in working across generations in your own business context.
“The Guru of NBA Defense” is how Raptors coach Nick Nurse recently referred to Ron Adams, assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors whose time with the franchise has included 3 NBA championships. Ron has coached not only Steph Curry and Kevin Garnett, but David Robinson, Ray Allen, and James Harden. In this wide-reaching conversation, Ron discusses with Kenning Partner Daryl Ogden how he builds rapport with players, especially superstars.
Are superstars just regular people, or should they be given extra privileges? How does Ron span the chasm of his years of experience and rural upbringing to speak with today’s young stars? Why was being left-handed a good way to build camaraderie with James Harden? How can you develop relationships with your stars while telling them the truth? What is the role of authenticity in leadership, and how can you build an inclusive culture, one founded on joy?
Join Ron and Daryl as they discuss this and more, and hear how Daryl and Mike Merrill apply Ron’s NBA wisdom to common business challenges.
Contact:
daryl.ogden@kenningassocaties.com
michael.merrill@kenningassocaties.com
Conventionally, we think of feedback as something we get from our immediate supervisor. But Kenning Partner Laurie Burkland Waller explains to Mike Merrill how we can use 360° feedback to broaden our perspective and ultimately provide us a competitive advantage. Laurie describes how Kenning uses both standard tools as well as custom interviews to gather feedback not only from senior leadership but peers and direct reports as well to provide a more comprehensive view of a leader’s performance.
Determining strengths and opportunities is key, but Laurie notes that a well-conducted review can uncover issues that might derail a leader–for example, an overuse of a strength in a particular situation where it is not warranted. Laurie goes on to explain the importance of pursuing a developmental plan based on what has been learned in the process, and how ongoing coaching can not only help a leader experiment with new ways of working, but find ways to make change stick as well.
Contact:
laurie.waller@kenningassociates.com
michael.merrill@kenningassociates.com
Mentioned in the pod:
Korn Ferry 360° Assessment
The Leadership Circle
Culture Amp
How is leadership like time travel? Kenning Partner Daryl Ogden explains to Mike Merrill an important tool he employs in his coaching practice: “The Leadership Continuum”. In this framework, Leadership is composed of three elements, all intrinsically associated with a facet of time: Administration, with the past; Management, with the present; and Vision, with the future. A good leader is one who can skillfully navigate through time, first gaining the measure of how much effort they expend on each element, and then intentionally focusing in turn on each with the amount of attention it warrants. Daryl explains how to Manage successfully in the present, plant yourself in the future to gain Vision, and even animate the past through inspired Administration.
Mentioned in the pod:
Neil Stroul,In Memoriam
The Eisenhower Matrix
Contact:
daryl.ogden@kenningassociates.com
michael.merrill@kenningassociates.com
On the eve of her announced retirement from Xbox Game Studios, longtime Microsoft veteran Shannon Loftis met with Kenning Partner Daryl Ogden to discuss her storied career. Shannon talks about the early days of gaming at Microsoft, and what it was like to be a woman in that hard-driving environment. She explains how Microsoft’s culture has changed in the intervening years, and how she has as well. A timely talk by Melinda French Gates provided some rules to live by for Shannon, guidelines she still shares with the women she supports today.
Daryl and Shannon dig deep into how she arrived own leadership philosophy–one defined by the values of individual development, diversity & inclusion, and respect. They talk about how to handle failure gracefully, and how to support individuals proactively. Shanon identifies some of her favorite career moments. She then examines the challenges posed by pandemic to the culture she and her team had built, and how they overcame those challenges.
In wrapping up, Daryl and Shannon explore the impact of coaching–for Shannon, and for her team. On the eve of her retirement, she feels good about her team’s readiness to step up to fill the void she is leaving.
Mentioned in the pod:
Ages of Empire
The Coaching Habit
Contact:
Shannon on LinkedIn
Daryl: daryl.ogden@kenningassociates.com
Kenning Associates Partner Jen LaChance says that facilitating a meeting means “creating space for group level sense-making”. With that benchmark in mind, she and fellow Kenning Partner (and facilitation veteran) Thom Shaw discuss some of the best ways to prepare for a meeting, conduct it, and what you should do once it's done. How do you define goals and outcomes going into a meeting, and how can you create a sense of progress during? What are some of the ways you can profitably arrange the meeting room, where should you stand, and when does it even make sense to sit down? What are some of the ways to deal with disruptive behavior, and why is some level of conflict actually a good sign? And finally, what’s “the bike rack”?
Thom and Jen draw upon their deep experience to speak to these issues and many more. In the end, Thom and Jen promise that facilitating a meeting–helping a group solve problems and build alignment–can be rewarding, meaningful, energizing, even fun.
Kicking off our Women in Tech Series, Kenning Partner Cathy Boeckmann welcomes Katie Brown, Founder and Chief Education Officer of EnGen. Katie charts her course from academia, to EdTech startup, and now to a public benefit corporation. Katie describes the dire need for high quality English Language Learning for immigrants to the U.S. and explains how EnGen’s pedagogy, founded on real English language example, can aid in these learners achieving a level of proficiency in English that can help them gain employment with the potential for economic mobility. She goes on to note how the EnGen’s technology allows for a true “flipped classroom”, in which out-of-class individualized language activities can support in-class learning.
Katie and Cathy discuss Katie’s own journey: How she learned to adapt her academic communication capabilities to business needs. And they dig into both what it takes to be a “B Corporation” as well as the fundraising landscape for women founders. Finally, Katie paints a picture of where she would like EnGen to be within 5 years time.
Kenning Partner Laurie Burkland Waller speaks with Mike Merrill about leadership versatility, a trait she has found to be especially important for collaboration and effectiveness. Leaders with versatility have a kind of multilingual fluency: they are better able to adapt to stakeholders both inside and outside the organization and meet the needs of a particular person in a specific context.
Laurie explains how the Birkman Method is an especially useful assessment for executives and teams looking to deepen their leadership versatility. Offering insights on four important dimensions – motivation, self-perception, social perception, and mindset – the Birkman can help colleagues adapt in ways that suit their teammates best. Finally, Laurie suggests some simple ways that anyone can develop greater leadership versatility.
Kenning Associates Partner Mark Ledden has worked with many coaching clients on problematic behaviors. Speaking with Michael Merrill, he focuses specifically on behaviors where you know you have a problem, but cannot seem to fix it. You may even exhibit the “ideal” behavior in other–typically less pressured–situations.
Mark provides 4 steps for remedying the problem behavior. First, you need to identify the triggering cues: where, when, and what sets you off. Secondly, you must notice your habitual response in the moment. Thirdly, you devise a clearly articulated alternative ready when the behavior happens. Finally, you speed up the cycle of noticing the behavior and replacing it with the preferred alternative.
Mark explains how you can effect this change both on your own, but perhaps even more effectively with outside help, namely a coach. Finally, Mark discusses the value of mindfulness practice and describes how he works to help people not only improve their professional outcomes, but also generally to reduce some of the stress, even fear in their lives.
Reach out:
Mark: mark.ledden@kenningassociates.com
Mike: michael.merrill@kenningassociates.com
Kenning Associates Partner Daryl Ogden talks with Mike Merrill about the 4 types of new jobs that he commonly encounters in his coaching practice, and how those finding themselves in transitions to these new roles can best navigate the challenges that await them.
The first three are moves internal to a company: moving laterally within a large organization; being promoted, often to lead the team you were once part of; and switching from a creative or managerial role to an executive one. Finally, Daryl discusses the particular circumstance that attend being hired to an external company.
Daryl explains that in all these cases curiosity and subsequent reflection are your best tools to make sense of your experience. “Grow big ears,” he says, learn as much as you can and reflect on what you are learning, on your own and, importantly, with others. By doing so, you can find a way not only to succeed personally, but also to align yourself with the organization’s values and strategies, adding your voice to theirs, harmoniously.
To contact Daryl: daryl.ogden@kenningassociates.com
Or Mike: michael.merrill@kenningassociates.com
In June of 2020, when it was clear that it would be a year like no other, Kenning Partner Mark Ledden started a conversation with his friend and mentor Barry Jentz. Barry, the founder of Learning & Leadership, Inc., is a coach, leadership consultant, and author of the book Talk Sense.
Over the course of his 50-year career, Barry has explored the way our brains are hardwired to treat people as if they are problems. As a result, even seasoned, talented people can become locked into simplistic black-and-white thinking when under stress.
The good news is that it is possible to cultivate a more complex mindset, and the transformation begins with recognizing discrepancies. In this ten-minute excerpt, Barry talks about what discrepant moments are, how he became interested in them, and how they can serve as a gateway for growth. He also explains why he insists on video recording the people he works with.
To contact Barry https://www.linkedin.com/in/barry-jentz-8531989
Or Mark mark_ledden@kenningassociates.com
Mike Merrill talks with Kenning Partner Jerry Stauduhar about what Kenning has learned over the past year or so about best practices for virtual training. Jerry talks about how Kenning adapted to the new Zoom realities, and some of the major lessons they learned in the process: Deliver your content in small bites; mix up the modalities you work in; and lean into the performance, especially with your voice. Jerry finishes up by explaining some of the benefits to virtual training, and explores the future of the virtual and hybrid training models.
Contact Jerry: jerry.stauduhar@kenningassociates.com
Or Mike: michael.merrill@kenningassociates.com
Kenning Partners Jennifer Lachance and Cathy Boeckmann discuss how you can get the most out of your end of year review. They first look at two common but not ideal reflex reactions to feedback in reviews: “Not Me” and “All Me”. Since neither of these stances engage much with what you are hearing, Jen suggests a different one: “Let’s Talk”. Here you approach the feedback with curiosity: you try to truly understand what your reviewer is telling you, and you work to integrate it into your understanding. Jen delineates the power of this approach before, during, and after the review. And she explains how using it at review time can have positive after effects throughout the coming year.
Reach out to Cathy.Boeckmann@kenningassociates.com or Jennifer.Lachance@kenningassociates.com
In this introduction to the new "Knowing Kenning" podcast, Kenning Associates' Managing Partner Cathy Boeckmann talks with Mike about the purposes of and plans for the new podcast.
Contact Cathy.Boeckmann@kenningassociates.com or michael.merrill@kenningassociates.com