Engaging Leader: Leadership communication principles with Jesse Lahey

Willpower is the ability to control yourself to determine your actions. It allows you (and your team) to accomplish what matters most to you — solving a business problem, losing weight, cornering the market, getting out of debt, etc. To control many of your actions, you can use selected disciplines to build a powerful habit. But to control other actions in any given day, it requires the power of will — a vital part of the self-management that’s necessary for leadership and personal success. You and your team need your willpower at full strength to ensure that when you’re doing the right thing, you don’t let anything distract you or steer you away from it. Then you need enough willpower the rest of the day to either support or avoid sabotaging what you’ve done. Unfortunately, willpower is not on will-call. All of us have a limited supply of willpower each day. Putting it to its best use requires you to manage it. To put your willpower to work, you need to think about it. Pay attention to it. Respect it. You make doing what matters most a priority when your willpower is its highest. In other words, you give your ONE Thing the time of day it deserves. In this episode, Jesse shares what he’s learned from chapter 7 of the book The ONE Thing and provides examples of applying the lessons. Tips include: Willpower is a mental muscle that doesn’t bounce back quickly. If you employ it for one task, there will be less power available for the next unless you recharge and refuel. Time your task. Do what matters most first each day when your willpower is strongest. Be careful about if and when you do other activities that tax your willpower, such as: Implementing new behaviors Filtering distractions Resisting temptation Suppressing emotion Restraining aggression Suppressing impulses Taking tests Trying to impress others Coping with fear Doing something you don’t enjoy Selecting long-term over short-term rewards Willpower has a limited battery life but can be recharged with some downtime. It’s a limited but renewable resource. To recharge, identify the activities that help you feel rested and re-energized. To refuel, eat foods that elevate blood sugar evenly over long periods — proteins, healthy fats, and “slow carbs” such as vegetables, whole grains, beans, and legumes. Willpower is a timing issue — when you use it first on what matters most, you can always count on it. Don’t spread your willpower too thin. On any given day, you have a limited supply of willpower, so decide what matters and reserve your willpower for it. When you have your will, you get your way. Resources Mentioned in This Episode Book: The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller Article with videos from the Marshmallow Test: How to Be a Great Leader, Even If You’re No Einstein Podcast episode 164: The ONE Thing to Do This Week for Extraordinary Results Podcast episode 165: Using the Domino Effect for Extraordinary Results Podcast episode 168: Singleness of Purpose Podcast episode 169: Use a Success List (Instead of a To-do List) Podcast episode 171: Stop Trying to Multitask — It’s Making You Dumb and Ineffective Podcast episode 172:

Ambiguity — in the form of uncertainty or conflicting priorities — has become the default state for organizations of all types. It lurks in the background when leaders can’t explain what success looks like, or what aspects of performance matter most for achieving it. It saps energy from talented team members operating in the dark […]

Ambiguity — in the form of uncertainty or conflicting priorities — has become the default state for organizations of all types. It lurks in the background when leaders can’t explain what success looks like, or what aspects of performance matter most for achieving it. It saps energy from talented team members operating in the dark about how their work contributes to the organization’s goals. In this episode, Jesse talks to Karen Martin about how to eliminate the ambiguity in your organization by starting with clarity. Drawing on her work with hundreds of organizations, Karen identifies and offers practical advice to perfect the “Six P’s” of organizational clarity: Purpose: Understand why the organization exists. Priorities: Define what matters now. Process: Design and manage how the work gets done — with excellence and precision. Performance: Know how the organization is doing on all fronts. Problem solving: Surface problems and use a disciplined method for solving them. People: Lead with clarity of thought, word, and action. This conversation includes: Why some organizations don’t have clarity — and even accept ambiguity as an unavoidable fact of life, The difference between ambiguity and uncertainty, Why having clarity doesn’t mean you can’t have flexibility too, The pitfalls of not setting a clear foundation and relying on ambiguous goals, A quick and easy method for assessing your team’s clarity, Tips for achieving better clarity for your team, and The CLEAR approach to disciplined problem-solving. Karen Martin is an author, speaker, and president of the global consulting firm The Karen Martin Group, Inc. She is a leading authority on lean management and performance improvement for businesses, government agencies, and the not-for-profit sector. Her newest book is CLARITY FIRST: How Smart Leaders and Organizations Achieve Outstanding Performance. Her previous books include The Outstanding Organization and Value Stream Mapping, both Shingo Research Award winners. Karen and her team have worked with clients such as AT&T, Chevron, Epson, GlaxoSmithKline, International Monetary Fund, Lenovo, Mayo Clinic, and many more. Resources Mentioned in This Episode Website: www.ksmartin.com Book: Clarity First LinkedIn: /Karen Martin Twitter: @KarenMartinOpEx Subscription Links iTunes Stitcher RSS Your Feedback If you like our show, please rate us on iTunes. That makes a huge difference in helping more people discover it. We love to know your thoughts about this episode. Please submit your comments below! You can also email comments to Jesse at jesse@engagingleader.com,

Success is about doing the right thing, not about doing everything right. Achieving extraordinary results doesn’t require you to be a full-time disciplined person or team, where your every action is trained and where control is the solution to every situation. Instead, the trick is to choose the right habit and bring just enough discipline to establish it. Use selected discipline to build a powerful habit. Habits require much less energy and effort to maintain than to begin. However, no one has the discipline to acquire multiple new habits at the same time. That’s why it’s key to build one powerful habit at a time. Once a habit is solidly established, you can either build on that habit or, if appropriate, build another one.    In this episode, Jesse shares what he’s learned from chapter 6 of the book The ONE Thing and provides examples of applying the lessons. His personal tips include: Figure out the one right habit using reflection, reading, discussion, journaling, meditation, prayer, and/or experimentation. Give each habit enough time to stick; don’t give up too soon. Apply selected discipline long enough for it to become routine. On average, habits take 66 days to form (three times as long as the often-quoted 21 days). Lock in one habit so it becomes part of your life. Trust the process and keep doing one right thing at a time. Focus on developing a positive habit, rather than stopping a negative habit. Imagine how great things will be in one year after you’ve locked in 1-6 powerful habits. Build momentum by noticing how a powerful habit also simplifies your life. Your life gets clearer, less complicated, and less stressful, because you know what you have to do well and you know what you don’t. Not only does the habit become easier, but so do other things as well. Harness the power of selected discipline to build the right habit, and extraordinary results will find you. Resources Mentioned in This Episode Book: The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller Podcast episode 164: The ONE Thing to Do This Week for Extraordinary Results Podcast episode 165: Using the Domino Effect for Extraordinary Results Podcast episode 168: Singleness of Purpose Podcast episode 169: Use a Success List (Instead of a To-do List) Podcast episode 171: Stop Trying to Multitask — It’s Making You Dumb and Ineffective Subscription Links iTunes Stitcher RSS Your Feedback If you like our show, please rate us on iTunes. That makes a huge difference in helping more people discover it.

Success is about doing the right thing, not about doing everything right. Achieving extraordinary results doesn’t require you to be a full-time disciplined person or team, where your every action is trained and where control is the solution to every situation. Instead, the trick is to choose the right habit and bring just enough discipline […]

Multitasking doesn’t save time — it wastes time. When you try to do two things at once, you either can’t or won’t do either well. If you think multitasking is an effective way to get more done, you’ve got it backward. It’s an effective way to get less done.  Every time we try to do two or more things at once, we’re simply dividing up our focus and dumbing down all of the outcomes in the process. “Multitasking is merely the opportunity to screw up more than one thing at a time.” ~ Steve Uzzell Researchers have found these surprising facts about multitasking: People can actually do two things at once, such as walk and talk, but they can’t focus on two things at once. Their attention actually bounces back and forth. Bounce between one activity and another, and you lose time as your brain reorients to the new task. We lose 28 percent of an average workday to multitasking ineffectiveness. The more time you spend switched to another task, the less likely you are to get back to your original task. (This is how loose ends pile up.) Chronic multitaskers develop a distorted sense of how long it takes to do things. They almost always believe tasks take longer to complete than is actually required. Multitaskers make more mistakes than non-multitaskers. They often make poorer decisions because they favor new information over old, even if the older information is more valuable. Multitaskers experience more life-reducing, happiness-squelching stress. Distraction undermines results. When you try to do too much at once, you can end up doing nothing well. Figure out what matters most in the moment and give it your undivided attention. In this episode, Jesse shares what he’s learned from chapter 5 of the book The ONE Thing and provides examples of applying the lessons. His personal tips include: Jedi mind training (also known as mindfulness meditation) to improve focus and resist distraction, Minimal smartphone notifications, Going off-grid for deep work, and Email hacks to minimize distractions. Resources Mentioned in This Episode Book: The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller Meditation app: Headspace Podcast episode 113: Top 7 Email Hacks for Leaders – Don’t Let Email Kill Your Strategic Leadership Podcast episode 164: The ONE Thing to Do This Week for Extraordinary Results Podcast episode 165: Using the Domino Effect for Extraordinary Results Podcast episode 168: Singleness of Purpose Podcast episode 169: Use a Success List (Instead of a To-do List) Subscription Links iTunes

Multitasking doesn’t save time — it wastes time. When you try to do two things at once, you either can’t or won’t do either well. If you think multitasking is an effective way to get more done, you’ve got it backward. It’s an effective way to get less done.  Every time we try to do […]

How do great leaders overcome resistance to change ― and the stress that accompanies it? Navigating change is hard, and people often get emotionally hijacked in the process. Leaders need potent, easy to learn, highly effective brain-based tools to navigate the emotions connected with growth and change ― and get their team on track.  In this episode, Jesse talks to Christine Comaford about tools to help leaders overcome resistance to change ― not by manipulating people, but by helping them develop emotional agility. The latest book from top leadership consultant and employee engagement expert Christine Comaford is Power Your Tribe: Create Resilient Teams in Turbulent Times.  Whether it’s diminished sales, increased competition, or corporate restructuring, change is a natural part of doing business in today’s high-speed, information-overload, instant-response environment. But at the same time, inherent in human nature is resistance to change ― a basic emotional response that is well-documented by neuroscience. By training and empowering your team members to shift their emotional states ― and see the positive potential of change ― you can lead your tribe through any challenge and ensure success for years to come. This conversation includes: Using the Emotional Wheel to plan leadership communications about the change, Helping your people process their feelings about the change, Using the SBM Index (Safety, Belonging, Mattering) to quickly assess employee engagement and then develop effective influencing messages about the change, and How to respond when employees express mockery about the new program (converting mockery into usefulness). Comaford has helped countless leaders navigate growth and change. The potent neuroscience techniques she teaches are easy to learn and immediately applicable to help leaders see into their blind spots, expand their vision, and more effectively influence outcomes. Recently named one of the Top 50 Human Behavior Experts to Follow and one of the Global Employee Engagement Influencers, Christine is a leadership columnist for Forbes.com and lectures at Harvard Business School. Her two previous New York Times bestselling business books are SmartTribes: How Teams Become Brilliant Together and Rules for Renegades. Resources Mentioned in This Episode Website to sign up for free videos, worksheets, and webinars: www.PowerYourTribe.com Website: Smart Tribes Institute Book: Power Your Tribe: Create Resilient Teams in Turbulent Times LinkedIn: /Comaford Twitter: @Comaford Tool: Emotion Wheel  Tool: Maneuvers of Consciousness  Tool: Making New Meaning  Tool: Outcome Frame  Subscription Links

How do great leaders overcome resistance to change ― and the stress that accompanies it? Navigating change is hard, and people often get emotionally hijacked in the process. Leaders need potent, easy to learn, highly effective brain-based tools to navigate the emotions connected with growth and change ― and get their team on track.  In […]

Instead of a to-do list, you need a success list — a list that is purposefully created around extraordinary results. A to-do list becomes a success list when you apply Pareto’s Principle to it. Does it seem like every day you and your team have more and more that “simply must get done”? Do you often feel overbooked, overextended, overcommitted, and “in the weeds”? Do you (or your direct reports) feel like a human pinball, bouncing from task to task throughout the day, hoping to check as many things as possible off your to-do list — but later realizing you didn’t actually accomplish anything that truly matters? To-do lists (whether in our head, on paper, or in an electronic system) can help collect our best intentions, but they also tyrannize us with trivial, unimportant stuff that we feel obligated to get done. If allowed, a to-do list or inbox can dictate our priorities — keeping us busy but not letting us achieve real success for ourselves and our organization. Activity is not related to productivity or success — and certainly not to extraordinary results. So how do you decide what to do, or what to do first? Successful people have an eye for the essential. They: Pause long enough to decide what matters. Do sooner what others plan to do later. Defer to later (or indefinitely) what others do sooner. Work from a clear sense of priority. In this episode, Jesse shares what he’s learned from chapter 4 of the book The ONE Thing and provides examples of applying the lessons. His personal tips include: Success list: At the end of each day, selecting and writing down the ONE Thing you will do tomorrow that will make it a successful day for you; any other to-dos are relegated to a different list and generally not worked on until the ONE Thing is done. Cerato or Scleranthus: Gentle herbs in the family of Bach remedies; these two options can help your mind be more clear and decisive about setting priorities. They are inexpensive and available many places online or in many health food stores. Decision points: As discussed in episode 165, these are moments in your day when you have the opportunity to decide what to work on next, based on your priorities, your energy, and the amount of available time. Mindfulness meditation and prayer: Helps you become more aware of what really matters in your work and personal life; helps improve your focus and resistance to distractions throughout the day; helps you make the most of each moment for maximum effectiveness, satisfaction, and fulfillment. Pareto’s Principle, also known as 80/20 Rule: Apply this lens to your to-do list to identify the few things that matter more than the rest. Then with your shorter list, apply it again, and again, until you identify the essential, imperative ONE Thing that matters the most.   Resources Mentioned in This Episode Book: The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller Podcast episode 164 — The ONE Thing to Do This Week for Extraordinary Results Podcast episode 165 — Using the Domino Effect for Extraordinary Results Podcast episode 168 — Singleness of Purpose Podcast episode 111 — Getting Things Done (GTD) for Leaders with David Allen Headspace Subscription Links

Instead of a to-do list, you need a success list — a list that is purposefully created around extraordinary results. A to-do list becomes a success list when you apply Pareto’s Principle to it. Does it seem like every day you and your team have more and more that “simply must get done”? Do you […]

Success demands singleness of purpose. ~ Vince Lombardi, arguably the greatest football coach of all time Extraordinarily successful people, companies, and teams always have one product/service/idea they’re most known for or that makes them the most money. They may have other important things too, but only one of them is the most important. Having clarity on a single purpose — especially one that combines your top passion and skill — is the simplest and smartest thing you can do to propel yourself toward the success you want. This principle shows up consistently in the lives of successful people and companies because it’s a fundamental truth. It is those who concentrate on but one thing at a time who advance in this world. ~ Og Mandino Technological innovations, cultural shifts, and competitive forces often require that your ONE Thing evolve or transform. The most successful leaders and organizations are always asking, “What’s our ONE Thing?” If you don’t currently know what your ONE Thing is, then your ONE Thing is to find out. And as a leader, you need to engage your team to find out, get clear, and stay focused.In this episode, Jesse shares what he’s learned from chapter 3 of the book The ONE Thing and provides examples of applying the lessons. Resources Mentioned in This Episode Book: The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller Article: The Paradox of Choice, 10 Years Later Podcast episode 164 — The ONE Thing to Do This Week for Extraordinary Results Podcast episode 165 — Using the Domino Effect for Extraordinary Results Subscription Links iTunes Stitcher RSS Your Feedback If you like our show, please rate us on iTunes. That makes a huge difference in helping more people discover it. We love to know your thoughts about this episode. Please submit your comments below! You can also email comments to Jesse at jesse@engagingleader.com, subscribe to him on Facebook, or follow him on Twitter.    

Success demands singleness of purpose. ~ Vince Lombardi, arguably the greatest football coach of all time Extraordinarily successful people, companies, and teams always have one product/service/idea they’re most known for or that makes them the most money. They may have other important things too, but only one of them is the most important. Having clarity […]

Why do some people perform better at work than others? This deceptively simple question continues to confound leaders, as well as all professionals who want to advance and succeed while maintaining balance and wellbeing. We often equate working longer hours with success, but the fact is that type of work leads to stress, burnout, and overall inferior work performance. A new, groundbreaking study of more than 5,000 managers and employees shows that top performers actually work less — and it reveals the tricks they use to accomplish much more. The newest book from Morten Hansen is GREAT AT WORK: How Top Performers Do Less, Work Better, and Achieve More. In the book, he provides key practices that emerged from the study’s data — “work smarter” practices that overturn many of our basic “work harder” conventions. In this episode, Jesse and Morten discuss: How people who “work less, then obsess” outperform people who work longer hours; Why applying intense effort in a few chosen areas leads to greater success; How top performers decide what will be the critical few tasks or goals they will focus on; How to say “No” to your boss, when a longer to-do list would hurt your performance; How to avoid being a pesky, “do-more” boss who lacks direction and sets too many priorities; How “disciplined collaboration” produces much higher results than either under- or over-collaboration; and How to lead better (and fewer) meetings and stop wasting time. Morten T. Hansen is a management professor at University of California, Berkeley. He is the coauthor (with Jim Collins) of the New York Times bestseller Great by Choice and the author of the highly acclaimed Collaboration. Formerly a professor at Harvard Business School and INSEAD (France), Professor Hansen holds a PhD from Stanford Business School, where he was a Fulbright scholar. His academic research has won several prestigious awards, and he is ranked one of the world’s most influential management thinkers by Thinkers50. Hansen was also a manager at the Boston Consulting Group, where he advised corporate clients worldwide. Resources Mentioned in This Episode Website: www.mortenhansen.com Quiz: Find out if you can be a top performer Book: GREAT AT WORK: How Top Performers Do Less, Work Better, and Achieve More LinkedIn: /mortenhansen Twitter: @MortenTHansen Subscription Links iTunes Stitcher RSS Your Feedback If you like our show, please rate us on iTunes. That makes a huge difference in helping more people discover it. We love to know your thoughts about this episode. Please submit your comments below! You can also email comments to Jesse at

Why do some people perform better at work than others? This deceptively simple question continues to confound leaders, as well as all professionals who want to advance and succeed while maintaining balance and wellbeing. We often equate working longer hours with success, but the fact is that type of work leads to stress, burnout, and […]