The Leadership Forum Podcast: Recent Episodes
James Felton
James Felton interviews various executives and coaches for their insights on the best practices for leaders.
In this episode we unpack the base of our Five Dysfunctions pyramid - Trust. How to build it, how to lose it, the benefits of having it and the dangers of lacking it. We explore courage and risk; even when to know whether you can and should trust someone. We end with the charge that slowing down to build trust is the best way to accelerate performance.
In this episode Keith & James explore the meaning of POWER in leadership. Power to do good, to influence, to shape, to solve, to move. We explore an old theory of leadership from researchers French & Raven (1959), called the Five Bases of Power and the implication of their insights for leaders who want to build followership today.
When we change even one member of a team, it becomes a whole new team. Most leaders fail to recognize the impact of bringing a new member onto the executive team. As such, we may overlook the importance of building trust and re-establishing “rules of engagement” that guide our behaviors. And this failure will certainly lead to disappointing results. Email us for a simple “New Leader Assimilation Guide" as our way of saying thanks for listening!
Every team needs to periodically set aside big blocks of relatively unstructured time to talk frankly about the needs and opportunities of the business. In this episode we do a deep dive into the magic of an executive team offsite and what leaders can do to maximize it’s impact. We’ll address some common misses when planning an offsite -- and why some leaders might choose to avoid them altogether -- to their detriment.
James and Keith explore the essential discipline of focus! In reality, something right now is more important than anything else in your business or organization. Whether we identify it or not! Our task as leaders is to constantly ask, “What is most important, right now?" We explore the Thematic Goal + Defining Objectives approach used by Patrick Lencioni and Table Group Consultants to help our clients focus. Simple idea, but hard to do in practice.
James and Keith talk about the ten most unproductive behaviors that derail our best intentions in meetings. If your meetings are already super productive and you are making the best decisions quickly and with seamless and agile execution -- you could sabotage it all by adopting these 10 behaviors.
Don’t let anything on this list ruin your team’s performance on the ultimate playing field for your business function: your meetings.
Keith & James explore the simple team technique of “Fist-to-Five” as an accelerator of debate and a driver of commitment. Teams use it to drive the efficiency of their conversation and prevent people hijacking meetings by verbally dominating or dropping an opinion bomb at the end of the discussion. Simple, but very impactful.
The Working Genius is a powerful new model from the Table Group that helps teams understand how they can drive innovation. It’s not another personality profiler, it’s a productivity tool; and one our clients immediately understand and leverage. Use it to understand self, understand the team and make faster, better decisions with a greater likelihood of successful implementation.
In today’s episode, Keith & James Felton interview Chris “Geeter” McGee, host of the Los Angeles Lakers Pre & Post Game Show - we discuss the differentiating qualities of the best coaches and best teammates and why these behavioral and character traits are so applicable to all organization. Behavior Precedes Performance!
In this episode we interview our good friend Paul Stansik, a Partner at Private Equity firm Parker Gale; exploring the impact of leadership and Organizational Health on business results. Paul shares his insights on developing winning Go To Market strategies, the role of the CEO and the importance of Disciplines 3 and 4.
In this episode we explore the benefits of creating simple Team Norms – or “Rules of Engagement” for teams. How Norms are different from Core Values? Why do we need them? How do use them, when to change them, and, of course, lots of Team Norm examples. If you want our full list, email us at keith.hadley@tablegroupconsulting.com or james.felton@tablegroupconsulting.com
In this episode we explore how to overcome the “Us/Them” mindset that emerges between units of the same business. Hey – we compete with our competitors, not each other! Learn what executives can do to promote cross-team alignment and productivity. We explore a simple exercise to build trust quickly and align on outcomes.
Interview with Rick Van Arnam, a Table Group Principal Consultant, who has spent the last 3 years going deep with the Anthony Marano Company (anthonymarano.com) in Chicago. As a member of the leadership team, he’s worked to embed “The Marano Way” into the bones of the company. He offers his simple, practical approaches for connecting with people, using peer-pressure and equipping champions to transform entire organizations. You can connect with Rick at rick.vanarnam@tablegroupconsulting.com.
Reaping the full benefits of Org Health requires executive leaders (and their exec teams) to gain a mastery of its frameworks, but many get stuck well before this is achieved. James and Keith describe how to get unstuck and discuss the journey of transformation that is essential for a true mastery of Organizational Health.
How can leaders bring their whole team along with them to a mastery of organizational health? The most effective way is to identify and leverage their Org Health Champions. In this episode, James and Keith break down the characteristics of an Org Health Champion and discuss how leaders can challenge these individuals to unite the entire team around this work.
In this episode James and Keith explore the power of the simple discipline: 10-minute daily check in with the team you lead! Primary benefits include high awareness, high trust, deeper relationships, fewer emails, no surprises and fewer dropped balls! Try this for 20-days -- 1-minute per person to share their focus; any useful or interesting information and asks for help.
In this second episode of the quick-hits mini-series, Keith and James talk about the 4 Cs - Confused, Curious, Concerned, and Convinced. Using the 4 Cs reveals the intent behind a question or statement and opens the way for clear and honest conversations. This habit is effective not only in the business world, but it can also strengthen relationships in one’s personal life.
James and Keith kick off a new mini-series - Simple Idea, Big Impact - where they introduce little concepts that make a big difference for Executive teams. The first is called Above the Line/Below the Line. This quick exercise changes the course of meetings that have become stagnant or hostile; it brings teams back into alignment and restores clarity and productivity.
In this episode, James and Keith identify 6 conversations that are essential for companies to have at the stage where high growth is expected in order to succeed at the next level. Especially during difficult economic times, these conversations are essential.
A truly great leader is one who has clear personal guiding principles and core values. As attested by many well-known leaders, one of the most critical values is Courage. James and Keith dive deep into what it means to have courage as a business leader; they discuss how vulnerability is so closely intertwined with courage and highlight simple (although not easy) ways that leaders can lead with courage.
Organizational Health transformation always starts at the Executive level, but there will not be true transformation unless the work cascades down through the organization. James and Keith make the case for doing the work to extend the Four Disciplines throughout an organization and look at three strategic groups of next-level leaders that Execs can empower to join them in this.
Leaders tend to make strategic plans at a comprehensive level, focusing on too many details about too many things. While this level of detail is important down the line, it should not be happening at the Exec level. In this episode Keith and James discuss the necessity of Focused Planning, and how this approach helps leaders find strength in simplicity.
Healthy conflict is a good thing for teams to engage in, because it allows an open-minded search for the best option. But how can Leaders move their team from Conflict to a Decision, that will then be executed fully by all? Join Keith and James as they walk through each part of this critical process. James shares a story of how The North Face exec team executed this perfectly.
Accountability. It is a key practice of High-Performing Teams, but, unfortunately, this word connotes something dramatic and uncomfortable for most people. In this episode, James and Keith set out to change this association around the word "accountability" with six simple mindset shifts, which they discuss in-depth in the context of real-life workplace stories.
The topic of meetings is one that most Exec teams struggle with, but it is one of the most important to get right to foster a productive and enjoyable team environment. Keith and James discuss how to use the Four Meeting Model to not only make meetings more effective and efficient, but more enjoyable. The two go in-depth on how to implement each of the four parts of the model, and tell stories of Exec teams that utilized different aspects successfully.
"Keith and James reveal the glue that really holds a team together, especially during the important transformation into a cohesive leadership team that has clarity around strategy and culture and succeeds in communicating that clarity. What does it mean for leaders to really "own" this process? What does it take to ensure that clarity is reinforced through all the human systems of a company? Leading a healthy organization is the one thing that a leader cannot delegate to anyone else."
James and Keith interview Todd Dauchy, CEO of SMA Technologies, about the mixed feelings that come with the immense responsibility of leading a team. It can feel lonely and stressful in important leadership roles; hear about the difficult decisions Todd made to create the team he needed in order to tackle hard issues, one-by-one, until the team and the company were healthy and thriving.
James and Keith talk with Hugh McCutcheon, Olympic volleyball coach and current Assistant Athletics Director / Sport Development Coach at the University of Minnesota. Hugh describes his transition from assistant coach to head coach and the importance of finding ways to add value as a member of the team in any position. He sees humility, clear expectations and principle alignment as essential components of all successful teams and thinks of coaches as service providers that create value through authentic influence. Hugh shares how connecting attention to action by rallying around a specific mission creates competitive advantage. Hear more from Hugh McCutcheon about his coaching and leadership philosophy in his new book, Championship Behaviors: A Model for Competitive Excellence in Sports.
In this podcast, James Felton and Keith Hadley discuss the importance of developing a three year vision. This allows the team to get aligned over a core set of hopes and dreams ...a common picture around the future. The team can then map out how to get the company from where they are to where they want to go over the next three years.
There is a quality that can set a great organization apart from the rest – the ability to make bold, effective decisions in difficult and uncertain times. As you’d expect, it starts with the leader. After all, leaders are deciders. Yet many leaders struggle with this essential duty – making the decision and asking people to commit.
In this podcast, James Felton and Keith Hadley discuss the importance of making faster, better decisions and four fears that often make this difficult.
James interviews Pat Vihtelic, founder and CEO of Home Chef. Home Chef is a subscription based meal kit company that delivers quality meals to millions of subscribers each month. In this podcast, Pat discusses his evolution as a leader, the traits he looks for in his employees, and the successful merger of his company with Kroger, currently one of the largest supermarket chains.
James is joined by Tim Leman, the chairman and CEO of Gibson located in South Bend, Indiana. He is on a number of boards and is the author of the book rEvolution: Turn Crisis into Clarity and Ignite Growth. He shares his experiences about creating a healthy company that is built upon a strong leadership model, his hiring practices, and his emphasis on connecting with his employees in a genuine way.
James Felton and fellow colleague Keith Hadley, interview Jon Brady, President of Midtown Athletic Club. Jon shares his unique experiences prior to Midtown that crafted the philosophies he holds today. Jon also shares that he was on the trajectory to having one of the best years yet because he took the time to develop a cohesive team and create clarity that has been adopted company wide. While COVID has presented a challenge to the industry, he's confident that because of the solid foundation, Midtown will continue down its strong path.
James interviews Keith Hadley, friend and colleague. They discuss a variety of lessons that they learned from working with leadership teams during 2020.
James interviews Mitch Bell, Vice President and Co-Producer at Marvel Studios. Mitch shares about the culture at Marvel and why it has become so successful over the past several years. He shares that the passion for making these movies, along with several other core values, is what brings back quality staff and loyal fans time and time again.
Debbie Ellisen, formerly a Table Group consultant, shares about her experiences transitioning from a career of coaching CEO's and executive teams to being the CEO of a company called TeamSight. TeamSight specializes in helping teams work together more effectively by leveraging the strengths of each team member.
Check out more about the company by visiting https://teamsight.co/ and enjoy a 30-day free trial to find out more.
James interviews founder of Hudson Jeans, Peter Kim. In this interview, they discuss the challenges and the opportunities that came out of his family background and his experiences establishing a healthy culture at Hudson Jeans. He also will share about the exciting new work he is doing creating a "brand laboratory".
In this episode, James interviews Stanford volleyball coach, Kevin Hambly. Kevin has had great success over the years coaching at both Stanford and University of Illinois. He attributes a lot of his success to building a positive culture, growing in self-awareness, focusing on peer to peer accountability, and looking for both athletic ability and a positive culture fit when recruiting new players.
James interviews Ben Westra, CEO of WDS Construction. He explains how he evolved as a leader throughout his time working and leading the company.
James is joined by friend and colleague, Mike McHargue. Mike has 20+ years of leadership experience and is now serving as a Table Group consultant. In addition to being a consultant, he recently wrote the book "Rookie Mistakes". In his book, he provides a collection of wisdom and advice from some of the top executives in the US. On this podcast, he shares some of the leadership advice he has gleaned over the years from these leaders and how to apply it into a variety of situations.
To find out more about Mike, feel free to visit his website www.mike-mchargue.com and be sure to check out his book Rookie Mistakes on Amazon.
This episode is all about the advantage a strategic HR leader brings to an organization. James brings in friend and colleague Joyce Schaefer. Joyce has been with the Table Group for 3 years. Prior to that, she founded the successful company, "Breakthrough ROI". Before starting her own company, she worked at Monsanto for 20 years where she made the unique career transition from accounting to HR. That pivot made her a valuable strategic HR business leader - the basis for our topic today.
Keith Hadley, a Principal Consultant with the Table Group, shares his insights on Leading Through Crisis. Keith brings over 20 years of organizational and strategy leadership to his partnership with The Table Group. Keith provides expertise in helping CEOs build cohesive teams and competitive advantage. Whether he’s consulting to CEOs one-on-one or with their teams, or leading a large workshop, Keith’s passion and excitement are contagious. His skill for helping teams tackle complex issues has made Keith a sought-after advisor.
For more of his articles, please go to keithhadley.com.
What is organizational health all about? In short, it is increasing productivity and morale, while minimizing politics and confusion. James and Keith make the case for the powerful and simple discipline of Organizational Health.
In this podcast, James Felton and Keith Hadley discuss the importance of developing a three year vision. This allows the team to get aligned over a core set of hopes and dreams ...a common picture around the future. The team can then map out how to get the company from where they are to where they want to go over the next three years.
There is a quality that can set a great organization apart from the rest – the ability to make bold, effective decisions in difficult and uncertain times. As you’d expect, it starts with the leader. After all, leaders are deciders. Yet many leaders struggle with this essential duty – making the decision and asking people to commit.
In this podcast, James Felton and Keith Hadley discuss the importance of making faster, better decisions and four fears that often make this difficult.
James interviews Pat Vihtelic, founder and CEO of Home Chef. Home Chef is a subscription based meal kit company that delivers quality meals to millions of subscribers each month. In this podcast, Pat discusses his evolution as a leader, the traits he looks for in his employees, and the successful merger of his company with Kroger, currently one of the largest supermarket chains.
James is joined by Tim Leman, the chairman and CEO of Gibson located in South Bend, Indiana. He is on a number of boards and is the author of the book rEvolution: Turn Crisis into Clarity and Ignite Growth. He shares his experiences about creating a healthy company that is built upon a strong leadership model, his hiring practices, and his emphasis on connecting with his employees in a genuine way.
James Felton and fellow colleague Keith Hadley, interview Jon Brady, President of Midtown Athletic Club. Jon shares his unique experiences prior to Midtown that crafted the philosophies he holds today. Jon also shares that he was on the trajectory to having one of the best years yet because he took the time to develop a cohesive team and create clarity that has been adopted company wide. While COVID has presented a challenge to the industry, he's confident that because of the solid foundation, Midtown will continue down its strong path.
James interviews Keith Hadley, friend and colleague. They discuss a variety of lessons that they learned from working with leadership teams during 2020.
James interviews Mitch Bell, Vice President and Co-Producer at Marvel Studios. Mitch shares about the culture at Marvel and why it has become so successful over the past several years. He shares that the passion for making these movies, along with several other core values, is what brings back quality staff and loyal fans time and time again.
Debbie Ellisen, formerly a Table Group consultant, shares about her experiences transitioning from a career of coaching CEO's and executive teams to being the CEO of a company called TeamSight. TeamSight specializes in helping teams work together more effectively by leveraging the strengths of each team member.
Check out more about the company by visiting https://teamsight.co/ and enjoy a 30-day free trial to find out more.
James interviews founder of Hudson Jeans, Peter Kim. In this interview, they discuss the challenges and the opportunities that came out of his family background and his experiences establishing a healthy culture at Hudson Jeans. He also will share about the exciting new work he is doing creating a "brand laboratory".
In this episode, James interviews Stanford volleyball coach, Kevin Hambly. Kevin has had great success over the years coaching at both Stanford and University of Illinois. He attributes a lot of his success to building a positive culture, growing in self-awareness, focusing on peer to peer accountability, and looking for both athletic ability and a positive culture fit when recruiting new players.
James interviews Ben Westra, CEO of WDS Construction. He explains how he evolved as a leader throughout his time working and leading the company.
James is joined by friend and colleague, Mike McHargue. Mike has 20+ years of leadership experience and is now serving as a Table Group consultant. In addition to being a consultant, he recently wrote the book "Rookie Mistakes". In his book, he provides a collection of wisdom and advice from some of the top executives in the US. On this podcast, he shares some of the leadership advice he has gleaned over the years from these leaders and how to apply it into a variety of situations.
To find out more about Mike, feel free to visit his website www.mike-mchargue.com and be sure to check out his book Rookie Mistakes on Amazon.
Today's topic is all about the advantage a strategic HR leader brings to an organization. James brings in friend and colleague Joyce Schaefer. Joyce has been with the Table Group for 3 years. Prior to that, she founded the successful company, "Breakthrough ROI". Before starting her own company, she worked at Monsanto for 20 years where she made the unique career transition from accounting to HR. That pivot made her a valuable strategic HR business leader - the basis for our topic today.
Keith Hadley, a Principal Consultant with the Table Group, shares his insights on Leading Through Crisis.
Keith brings over 20 years of organizational and strategy leadership to his partnership with The Table Group. Keith provides expertise in helping CEOs build cohesive teams and competitive advantage. Whether he’s consulting to CEOs one-on-one or with their teams, or leading a large workshop, Keith’s passion and excitement are contagious. His skill for helping teams tackle complex issues has made Keith a sought-after advisor.
For more of his articles, please go to keithhadley.com.