Coaching for Leaders

David De Cremer: The AI-Savvy Leader David De Cremer is the Dunton Family Dean of the D'Amore-McKim School of Business and professor of management and technology at Northeastern University. He's also an affiliated faculty member at the Institute for Experiential AI at Northeastern University and an affiliated researcher at the Center for Collective Intelligence at MIT. His newest book is titled The AI-Savvy Leader: Nine Ways to Take Back Control and Make AI Work*. We’ve all heard the warnings that AI is going to take our jobs. That’s certainly a possibility in the long term, but the story emerging, at least for now, is looking a little different. In this episode, David and I discuss how leaders can use AI to augment, not replace, human intelligence. Key Points AI is substantially different than prior digital transformations, and adoption efforts are failing at alarming rates. Instead of leading, too often leaders are being too deferential to data and analytics teams. Your expertise is exactly what your organization needs to deploy AI successfully. Leaders who learn the fundamentals of AI will play an essential role in narrating dialogue between the technology experts and everyone else. Get just enough foundational knowledge with statistics and modeling to communicate with the data and analytics folks better. Resources Mentioned The AI-Savvy Leader: Nine Ways to Take Back Control and Make AI Work* by David De Cremer Interview Notes Download my interview notes in PDF format (free membership required). Related Episodes How to Solve the Toughest Problems, with Wendy Smith (episode 612) How to Begin Leading Through Continuous Change, with David Rogers (episode 649) Principles for Using AI at Work, with Ethan Mollick (episode 674) Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic. To accelerate your learning, uncover more inside Coaching for Leaders Plus.

Keith Ferrazzi: Never Lead Alone Keith Ferrazzi is an entrepreneur and global thought leader in high-performing teams and Chairman of Ferrazzi Greenlight and its Research Institute. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller Who’s Got Your Back and bestsellers like Never Eat Alone, Leading Without Authority, and Competing in the New World of Work. His newest book with Paul Hill is titled Never Lead Alone: 10 Shifts from Leadership to Teamship*. Whenever I’m having a conversation with someone about getting better at coaching, it’s almost always through the lens of, “How do I do it well?” In this conversation, Keith and I explore another perspective most of us miss: how does the team do coaching better for each other. Key Points Good leaders give feedback and hold people accountable. Great leaders ensure the team gives feedback and holds people accountable. Teamship starts right at the start. Organizations like e.l.f. Beauty begin these practices during onboarding. We over-index on mindset. Starting with the right practices will shape the beliefs that help teamship emerge. Use an open 360 where people share one thing they appreciate/admire/respect and one thing they suggest. The 5/5/5 Learning Roadmap invites team members to share a struggle, respond to questions, and receive feedback. We’re used to feedback being directive. Feedback from peers is data. We can consider it without acting on it. Resources Mentioned Never Lead Alone: 10 Shifts from Leadership to Teamship* by Keith Ferrazzi Interview Notes Download my interview notes in PDF format (free membership required). Related Episodes How Top Leaders Influence Great Teamwork, with Scott Keller (episode 585) Becoming More Coach-Like, with Michael Bungay Stanier (episode 680) Team Collaboration Supports Growth Mindset, with Mary Murphy (episode 695) Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic. To accelerate your learning, uncover more inside Coaching for Leaders Plus.

Charles Feltman: The Thin Book of Trust Charles Feltman is the founder of Insight Coaching. He has over 25 years of professional experience coaching, facilitating, consulting to, and training people who lead others. He is the author of The Thin Book of Trust: An Essential Primer for Building Trust at Work*. It’s a reality of life that we need to interact with some people we’d rather not. And it’s absolutely a reality of leadership, that sometimes we need to have a conversation with someone we don’t quite trust. In this episode, Charles and I explore how to prepare so it goes better for both parties. Key Points The four assessment domains of trust include care, sincerity, reliability, and competence. Seven steps to prepare for a conversation: Identify the assessment(s) you are concerned with: care, sincerity, reliability, and/or competence. Define the standard you are using. Identify the specific actions or behaviors that have led to your assessment of distrust. Consider what you are doing that may be contributing to the situation. Determine what you need from them in order for them to regain your trust. Decide if you are willing to talk to the person about it. Ask the other person if they would be willing to have a conversation with you. Resources Mentioned The Thin Book of Trust: An Essential Primer for Building Trust at Work* by Charles Feltman Interview Notes Download my interview notes in PDF format (free membership required). Related Episodes How to Handle Pushback From Difficult Askers, with Vanessa Patrick (episode 637) How to Help Difficult Conversations Go Better, with Sheila Heen (episode 655) How to Change People’s Minds, with Michael McQueen (episode 676) Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic. To accelerate your learning, uncover more inside Coaching for Leaders Plus.

Stephen M. R. Covey: Trust & Inspire Stephen M. R. Covey is a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author and former CEO of Covey Leadership Center. He led the strategy that propelled his father’s book, Dr. Stephen R. Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, to become one of the two most influential business books of the 20th Century, according to CEO Magazine. He's the author The Speed of Trust and more recently Trust & Inspire: How Truly Great Leaders Unleash Greatness in Others*. Despite everything we know about good leadership, a lot of places still operate in a command and control mindset. In this conversation, Stephen and I explore the key ways to shift from command and control to trust and inspire. Key Points In spite of all progress, most leaders today are still operating from a command and control mindset. The carrot and stick approach still dominates most organizational cultures and tactics. The biggest barrier to becoming a Trust & Inspire leader is when we think we already are one. People are whole people. The best leaders care for the body, heart, mind, and spirit. There is enough for everyone. Trust & Inspire leaders elevate caring above competition. Enduring influence is created from the inside out. The job of the leader is to go first. All people have greatness inside them. Trust & Inspire leaders work to unleash potential, not control it. Resources Mentioned Trust & Inspire: How Truly Great Leaders Unleash Greatness in Others* by Stephen M. R. Covey Interview Notes Download my interview notes in PDF format (free membership required). Related Episodes How to Build Psychological Safety, with Amy Edmondson (episode 404) Leadership Means You Go First, with Keith Ferrazzi (episode 488) The Starting Point for Repairing Trust, with Henry Cloud (episode 626) Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic. To accelerate your learning, uncover more inside Coaching for Leaders Plus.