There is a lot to be said about when to have rules, when to trust the team and when to provide guidelines. In this episode we cover the 10 principles author Kevin Kruse thinks you should consider when it comes to your leadership style. Some make perfect sense and you will wonder why you didn't think of them. And some, might take a bit of convincing for you to implement them. Either way, it is a great exercise to develop your leadership style or audit what you think you already know about...

Peterson does not mince his words when it comes to delivering his rules for living a good life, a considered life. Considered by some to be a divisive figure, Jordan Peterson is unapologetic about what ills society in this book. If you or someone on your team is stuck in a rut, this episode could unlock some of the mystery about how it was arrived at. The rules also lay out the path from where you are to where you want to get to. Love him or hate him, these rules are undeniable.

All any of us want is to do good work. We want to solve interesting problems with good people. This is easier said than done for some people. Kim Scott puts forth 6 issues that can cause untold damage for some people while others think everything is rosy in the garden. Just Work covers what issues need to be addressed and how to address them. Everything from bias, unwanted physical contact to prejudice and bullying. Heavy topics but this book covers them with a really deft expert touch. The...

According to Patrick Lencioni there are 5 dysfunctions in a team that left unaddressed will lead to disaster. In this episode Kevin speaks to executive coach and leadership expert Maggie Perotin, founder of StairwayToLeadership.com about how she has used the lessons in this book in her own teams. 

We have all had the feeling in our lives that we are surrounded by idiots - “If everyone did what I told them to do when I told them to do it we wouldn’t be in this mess”….does that sound familiar? It is extremely frustrating when you recognise that your plea’s, plans and persuasion techniques are falling on deaf ears. According to the author of ‘Surrounded by Idiots’ you may in fact be reading the room wrong. The chances are that you are not surrounded by idiots, you are surrounded by...

Going from pillar to post is a trap that a lot of us fall into. We are too busy working, looking after kids etc. to stop and think about the direction of your life. This episode addresses this 'busyness'. What is it all for? You need to find time to hit pause, take a breath, look around and decide if you are at least trending in the right direction in the areas of your life that are the most important to you.

Carnegie recognized that convincing people of your argument is an essential skill to have in business. He developed 12 hacks for winning an argument. Most of the time arguments only serve to make people even more sure that they are right and you are wrong. This is why Carnegie believes that it is better to prevent a disagreement from becoming an argument no matter how much you feel like you are right and they are wrong.

Most of us have had the pleasure of either owning or encountering a friendly dog. As soon as they see us, they become ecstatic, jumping up and down, their tail wagging, panting with excitement. Their full attention is on us and we are the most interesting thing in the world to them for that moment. Carnegie believes that dogs inadvertently teach us a lot about making people like us.

Dale Carnegie describes three techniques for building better relationships with your colleagues and customers. The first is to never criticise, complain or condemn. The second is to show honest and sincere appreciation. People perform better when they receive sincere praise.  Thirdly, arouse an eager want. How will you see it from their point of view?...will it solve a problem for them? Will it make them look good?

Being a leader is about managing people without causing resentment. Carnegie recognized that this was a fine balancing act and came up with 9 tips for being an effective leader.

In an age where distraction lies around every corner being able to perform 'deep work' is more valuable than ever. In his bestselling book 'Deep Work' Cal Newport puts forward 4 reasons why we should strive to do deep work and then provides rules for how we can achieve it. Newport says that 'Deep Work' is valuable, rare and meaningful.

How does Amazon decide on what to build or do next? How do they ensure that technical dependencies don't get in the way of continuous growth? In this episode we cover Working Backwards written by Colin Bryar and Bill Carr, 2 senior employees who worked closely with Jeff Bezos during some of the most explosive growth Amazon has experienced to date. This episode covers strategies that can be used by companies of any size. For example, Jeff Bezos banned the use of PowerPoint presentations in...

Each and every one of us is wired to seek comfort and avoid discomfort. But maybe too much comfort is a bad thing. The number 0.004% is a significant one in this episode. That is approximately how long we have been exposed to our modern way of life. Humans have been around for 2.5 million years in one way or another and our modern way of life is about 100 years old. Author Michael Easter proposes that the level of comfort we have at our disposal is in fact causing us harm in a myriad of ways....

The idea of quieting the mind, of stillness, is not new. In fact, Seneca, Marcus Aurelius, Cicero etc. understood it's importance centuries ago. If you've had a particularly hard time the last while, you might find some solace in this episode. You will find some simple techniques to help quiet your mind. These techniques generally involve stopping doing things rather than picking up more stuff for your to do list. If in the whirlwind of your mind, you seek inner peace, stillness is the...

What is it that makes a company that is trundling along with OK results suddenly turn into a great company with hockey stick growth in all the right areas? In his book Good to Great, Jim Collins and his team dig into the companies that fit this typeof growth and look the variables that seemed to influence it. They discover some pretty basic rules that you must follow to achieve the status of 'Great'.

The School of Facilitation is a space for corporate and freelance practitioners to connect, learn and share. They host regular online and face to face gatherings, classes that will give you the skills to be an awesome trainer or facilitator and 5-day retreats where you can slow down, regroup your thoughts and reflect. They work with corporates to create in-house training teams, build the relevant skills and share how to transfer learning effectively.  They support global companies create...

Aaron is the UCD President's advisor on all commercial activities, tasked with helping them to grow new and existing income sources in line with their core mission as one of Europe's leading research-intensive universities. UCD is Ireland's largest university, with over €500m in revenues derived in the majority from non-state sources.   Aaron is the former Managing Director of The Digital Marketing Institute (DMI).  DMI has the most widely taught digital certification in the world. Aaron was...

How are some companies able to create 'tribes' or raving fans around not just their individual products but their entire company? According to Simon Sinek, author of Start with Why, they focus on the fact that people do not buy what you do, they buy why you do it. After listening to this episode, you will understand what it is that makes Apple, well Apple. We touch on a possible reason why HMV, Blockbuster and KODAK fell to the competition when they had what seemed like an insurmountable...

As an educator or trainer, are you feeling exhausted and unproductive at times to teach via e-learning platforms like Zoom? In this episode, we discussed how learning and development (L&D) changes under COVID-19 and introduced various innovative L&D technology usage. If you are interested in enhancing interactivity with and engagement of audience in e-learning.

In a career spanning the globe, Graham Owens is currently living in Qatar in the Middle East working in an L&D function within global operations in a Qatar gas – Pre-Covid they worked an 80/20 blended learning an approach which was working them, but most L&D always wanted a more online course. Since Covid happened, they broke down some barriers by working online and had to pivot very quickly with the teams' help internally to ask how they would like to learn now. Bringing in external...

Orlaith is a Leadership, Talent and Development Director, Executive Coach (EMCC Senior Practitioner) and High-Performance Trainer with global experience. She runs her business with her partner/Husband Gavin Duffy and works with senior executives and organisations on personal and business growth. Orlaith started her career as a journalist and worked with RTE until she had kids' and then pivoted her learning to do a masters in communication and then as an executive coach as she had already...

A psychopath is not necessarily a serial killer, your friendly neighbourhood neurosurgeon could possibly be a psychopath and believe it or not that is probably the best person for the job. There is so much to be learned from the characteristics of a psychopath that we can apply to our own lives and careers. In this podcast we delve into what those characteristics are and how to apply them. This episode covers two books that are essentially two sides of the same coin. Get new content on our...

There is a wealth of information on what leadership looks like. But I really believe this book hits upon an aspect of leadership that you might not have considered. Author Sam Walker devised stringent criteria for choosing 16 top performing sports teams and asked himself a very definite question - 'What, if anything, do these teams have in common?'. His discoveries are insightful because they are unexpected but when you hear what he figured out about what real leaders are you cannot help but...

If you are anti-participation medals or you are overwhelmed with trying to please everyone…. If you are tired of trying to ‘crush it’ everyday, then this is the episode for you. Mark Manson has a no holds barred book based on the realities of life. Chapters with names such as ‘You are not Special’ and ‘You are always wrong’ will wake you up to the things you are spending your time on that perhaps you should not be spending your time on. The message is pretty clear - we all have a limited...

One of the most difficult things about leadership is finding the balance between opposing forces. When to mentor or when to let someone go. When to provide instruction and when to leave your team to figure out their own solutions. You can understand all of the 'rules' of leadership but what sets this book apart is the explanation of how  these rules can come into conflict with each other. You will not find a solution for these dichotomies through reading books or listening to podcasts. You...