The Look & Sound of Leadership
An ongoing series of Executive Coaching Tips designed to help you be perceived in the workplace the way you want to be perceived.
Episodes
252 episodes
Building Listening
A vice-president gets kudos for likability but knocks for her inability to listen. With her coach, she talks about listening repeatedly. This episode features one of those conversations. The 3 listening mindsets:<...
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Episode 248
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22:53
Mastering Anxiety
Battling perfectionism and anxiety, a leader asks her coach for help and learns a tool that helps her tame her terrors. This episode dovetails with many ideas in last month’s episode about Coaching versus Therapy.<...
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Episode 247
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18:41
Coaching versus Therapy
Tired of feeling like a fraud, a leader searches for help down different paths. She and her coach talk about how coaching is, and is not, like therapy.The leader in this episode wrestles with feelings of being a fraud. Tom talks about th...
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Episode 246
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23:19
Giving Upward Feedback
A leader and her coach discuss a three-step model for turning upward feedback into a learning conversation that might allow the boss to hear the message. This month’s coaching conversation explores whether feedback should be given u...
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Episode 245
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22:01
Networking Conversations – Part Two
Knowing she’ll need to network to achieve her career goals, an ambitious leader asks her coach what a good networking conversation actually sounds like.Resources for Building Your Networking SkillsLeverage the la...
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Episode 244
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23:52
Networking Conversations – Part 1
An ambitious leader knows she’ll need to network to achieve her career goals. But, to her, networking feels slimy, so she asks her coach for help. Some core concepts from this episode:The purpose of networking...
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Episode 243
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16:16
Mastering Nerves
Before testifying in a high-stakes case, a theorist and his coach swap horror stories about their nerves hijacking them and the lessons they learned. Tom’s Top Three Ideas for Mastering Nerves:Celebrate Incremental Impr...
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Episode 242
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23:36
Conquering People Pleasing
Angry at himself for continually putting others’ needs before his own, a leader turns to his coach for tools. He learns a new way to think and a behavior to try. Be in touch with Tom
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Episode 241
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26:10
Finding Management Courage
A vice president, struggling to control his team of artists, learns a technique for managing bad behavior from his coach. He likes it so much, he uses it with his high performers, too.The tool described in this episode is simple to under...
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Episode 240
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18:46
5 Strategies for Dealing with Narcissists
A leader is so furious with his self-absorbed boss, he considers quitting the company. He asks his coach to help him manage himself and defuse his triggers.In addition to the five strategies Tom talks about in this episode, there are lot...
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Episode 239
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18:17
Leading with Political Savvy – Part 2
Tired of losing to more savvy players, a leader seeks to decode the secrets of playing politics, focusing particularly on company culture. Download our free Political Style Chart
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21:41
Leading with Political Savvy – Part 1
A leader feels stuck. She sees others winning resources she felt should have been hers, but she hates playing politics. What to do? Download our free ...
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Episode 237
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27:09
Building Consensus – Savvy or Sin?
A leader, surrounded by people she knows and trusts, can’t seem to get traction with them. In conversation with her coach, she discovers an unexpected cause.Tools for teams abound in this episode. The four tools T...
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Episode 236
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27:06
The Conflict Resolution Wheel
A co-founder, at odds with his partner (also his best friend!), reaches out to his coach for help saving the business and the friendship. The episode introduces
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Episode 235
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24:56
Essential Skills that Shaped a Leader
A senior leader, having risen through the ranks, ends her coaching engagement by comparing notes with her coach about the skills that have helped her most. This episode identified seven essential leadership skills:Conque...
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Episode 234
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21:31
Taming the Defensiveness Dragon
At the end of her rope, a leader asks her coach for help managing a direct report who, she says, is the most defensive person she’s ever met. This episode was packed with tools. We’ve put them into an easy-to-understand infographic....
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Episode 233
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27:56
Unlocking Executive Presence through Emotional Intelligence
During her first C-suite years, a leader burned a lot of bridges. Her boss, who’d traveled a similar path, gets her a coach and sets only one goal: repair relations through emotional intelligence.Lots and lots of tools and resources ...
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Episode 232
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22:11
Staying Afloat in a Shitstorm
A highly effective leader finds herself in the middle of a terrible mess, not of her own making. When her coach marvels at her ability to stay calm amidst the chaos, she shares a lesson she learned from her dad.In addition to the tools d...
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Episode 231
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26:01
How to Command a Room
Wanting to command rooms with her voice, a team leader turned to her coach for exercises. She learned the secrets of “RVP.”In this episode, five practices to help you develop a voice that will command a room are discussed:...
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Episode 230
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21:31
The Sound of Leadership & Management - 2023
In conversation with her coach, an executive explores whether leaders and managers use language differently in order to be effective in their roles.There are lots of ideas in this episode. To help you sort the tools and put them into...
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20:51
Leadership v Management - 2023
An executive, in conversation with her coach, wonders if leaders and managers are different. And whether it matters.This episode has lots of ideas flying around. To help you sort the tools and put them into practice, we’ve created an inf...
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Episode 228
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21:21
Finding a Lighter Path
A leader, stuck in an unhealthy cycle, searches for a way out. In conversation with his coach, he learns a four-square tool that just might work.A new free Essential Tool illustrating the four-square model is available for
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Episode 227
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19:10
How to Act in Your Own Best Interest
A team leader had a habit of jumping to conclusions. His most recent leap landed him in hot water. In conversation with his coach, he learns a tool for making better choices.We created a new free Essential Tool illustrating
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Episode 226
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21:41