How to Get into Flow as a Leader | Matt Comand | Episode 155

How to Get into Flow as a Leader | Matt Comand | Episode 155

In positive psychology, a flow state, also known colloquially as being in the zone, is the mental state in which a person performing some activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity. In essence, flow is characterized by the complete absorption in what one does, and a resulting transformation in one’s sense of time. As leaders its important to hit our peak performance all the time, flow is one of those ways which ensures we do so.

With over 10 years of coaching experience, Matt has developed expertise in areas such as mental skills training, personal behaviour change, leadership development, high-consequence environments, and team dynamics. Upon earning his Masters of Sport & Performance Psychology at the University of Denver, Matt was a professor at Humber College for 5 years and has worked with clients in professional, athletic, and academic settings. In 2019, he founded Emergent, a High Performance consulting firm.

How to get your Business’ Strategy in Gear | Sean Ryan | Episode 154

How to get your Business’ Strategy in Gear | Sean Ryan | Episode 154

Far too many organizations do a poor job of translating their well-formulated strategies into their anticipated results. Whether related to unclear goals, lack of accountability or undertaking activities irrelevant to results, the inability to deliver comes from poor execution. To actively manage your organization so that everyone is working toward a common vision, strategy and set of priorities requires aligning “seven gears of execution” to alleviate the friction that’s slowing you down. These involve ensuring you have the right people in the right roles with the right capabilities; you align your organizational architecture in the direction of your strategy; you promote a culture of communication; and more.

How to have the Leader Mindset to Overcome Adversity | RBC SVP Michael Hamilton | Episode 153

How to have the Leader Mindset to Overcome Adversity | RBC SVP Michael Hamilton | Episode 153

Prior to his private sector career, Mike served as a paratrooper in the special operations, and as Captain of the 2/2 Armored Cavalry Regiment for the U.S. Army. He oversaw border security during the collapse of the Berlin Wall in the late 1980s. In the second Gulf War he was an integral part of the victory in the battle of 73 Easting – regarded as one of the top ten most significant tank battles in history. He is a recipient of the Bronze Star for Valor, the Combat Cavalry Badge, and Presidential Citation; and received medals for the Kuwaiti Liberation, the Iraq Campaign, the Global War on Terrorism, and Distinguished Service.

As Senior Vice President, Sales & Distribution, Mike Hamilton is responsible for leading the RBC Insurance Sales and Distribution team across Canada and across multiple channels. This includes 800 employees who serve our personal and business clients spanning our various life, health, home, auto, travel, wealth, and group and creditor products. RBC Insurance’s sales forces include: a network of over 50 stores, an advice centre, online channels and advisors who are focused on group and small business clients. In addition, there are teams that provide relationship management for our third-party broker network. Mike also leads the national office Sales and Distribution team, consisting of sales enablement and sales support professionals who help drive productivity, revenue growth and improve the client experience.

How to Deal with Bad Bosses | Michelle Gibbings | Episode 152

How to Deal with Bad Bosses | Michelle Gibbings | Episode 152

At one time or another we’ve all had a bad boss – whether it’s through bullying and intimidation, unfair feedback or unrealistic workloads. Their behaviour sets the tone for what’s acceptable at work and can cause major issues for productivity, staff turnover and wellbeing, especially in turbulent times we’re experiencing. In a tough or toxic […]

How to create High-Performance Boards | Didier Cossin | Episode 151

How to create High-Performance Boards | Didier Cossin | Episode 151

Executives around the world are scrambling to cope with a tsunami of crises: a global pandemic, shattered economies, trillions in debt, and more. Yet there’s a specific group of people who can single handedly make—or break—your organization’s response to it all: the board. Best-in-class boards create the agility to adapt to rapid growth, looming recessions, and unexpected shocks. But broken boards, or those that are simply inefficient, create environments where failures and scandals easily take hold (think: Boeing, Volkswagen, and FIFA). Today, this risk of disaster is tenfold.

Professor Cossin is the founder and director of the IMD Global Board Center, the originator of the Four Pillars of Board Effectiveness methodology and an advocate of Stewardship. He is the author and co-author of books such as Inspiring Stewardship, book chapters (such as Governance Risk: A Guide for Investors) and many articles in the fields of governance, investments, risks and stewardship, several of which have obtained citations of excellence or other awards.

He works with owners, boards and senior leaders to provide the latest thinking on best-in-class governance, board effectiveness, the governance and selection of investments, board dynamics and strategy design. He favors an adaptive and interactive approach to finding distinctive solutions for organizations on a wide range of governance topics. His latest research focuses on stewardship, how we can foster organizations to have long-term positive social impact while creating economic value for all. His past research has dealt with optimizing governance in critical decision making, M&As and risks.

How to Lead Yourself and OVERCOME | US Navy SEAL Jason Redman | Episode 150

How to Lead Yourself and OVERCOME | US Navy SEAL Jason Redman | Episode 150

The coronavirus pandemic came from out of the blue and infected hundreds of thousands around the globe, causing more than 1.3 million deaths to date. It also shuttered businesses, affecting 3.3 billion jobs. COVID ambushed the lives of people globally. Whether affected by the pandemic or some other unforeseen and monumental setback, we have to find a way to move beyond anger, guilt, emptiness or pain. We must adopt a mindset that it’s not only possible to overcome adversity, but it’s imperative. Adopting an overcome mindset will compel us to learn acceptance, choose action over inaction and triumph over adversity.

How We Can Get Beyond Personality problems | Zoe Routh | Episode 149

How We Can Get Beyond Personality Problems | Zoe Routh | Episode 149

Zoë Routh is one of Australia’s leading experts on people stuff in leadership. She helps leaders and teams overcome silos and turf wars to work better together. She has worked with individual teams internationally and in Australia since 1987. From the wild rivers of northern Ontario to the remote regions of Australia, Zoë has spent the last thirty years showing teams struggling with office politics and silos how to work better together. Zoë is the author of four books: Composure – How centered leaders make the biggest impact, Moments – Leadership when it matters most and Loyalty – Stop unwanted stuff turnover, boost engagement, and build lifelong advocates. Her fourth book, People Stuff – Beyond Personality problems – An Advanced Handbook for leadership, was released July 2020. Her past leadership roles include Chair of the Outdoor Council of Australia, President of the Chamber of Women in Business, and Program Manager at the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation.

Develop yourself to Roger Up! | Brent Magnussen | Episode 148

Develop yourself to Roger Up! | Brent Magnussen | Episode 148

Brent Magnussen is a best selling American author, professional speaker, and a former U.S Army Combat Engineer. An adventure seeker, and self-proclaimed human test subject for peak social, mental, and physical development, in 2020 Brent released his much-anticipated book, ROGER UP.

Stop being a Victim | 40 Under 40 Winner Nelson Tressler | Episode 147

Stop Being a Victim | 40 under 40 Winner Nelson Tressler | Episode 147

Murder, Rape, and Abuse is just the start of Nelson’s story. Nelson’s mom had him when she was 15 years old. When she was pregnant her father shot two police officers. His mom testified at his grandfather’s murder trial that the reason that his grandfather shot the police officer was because he had raped her, and she was now pregnant with Nelson. Nelson Tressler is the Founder and CEO of
IGotSmarter, a program created to support and motivate people to achieve their goals. For the past 25 years, goal achievement and personal development have been Nelson’s passion; but his true obsession was awakened several years ago as he began the development of IGotSmarter. The principles, philosophies, and accountability intricately built into every aspect of the App have not happened by chance. It is a program comprised of a lifetime of study and determination to succeed not only financially and professionally, but in every area of life.

The Life-Saving Skill of Story | Michelle Auerbach | Episode 146

THE LIFE-SAVING SKILL OF STORY | MICHELLE AUERBACH | EPISODE 146

Michelle Auerbach is in the business of saving lives and increasing bravery. When things fall apart, Michelle is the world builder and a community maker who uses all her geeky skills to transform what we’ve got to work with into a more just and loving place where more people get taken care of better. She holds an MFA in prose writing from Naropa University and is completing her PhD in Transformational Leadership with her dissertation on story as a technology for trauma aware change for individuals, organizations, and communities. 

Michelle solves problems and creates change through story across diverse contexts. She works with businesses on change management, leadership, and creativity through story. She works with communities on creating social good, connection and working across difference through story. She coaches and teaches individuals through workshops, trainings, and one-on-one explorations. She writes for the New York Times, The London Guardian, and is the author of three books: Resilience: the Life Saving Skill of Story, Alice Modern, and The third Kind of Horse.