The Smart Thinking Podcast

Behind each champion there are other people who are championing for him or her. Each of us as leaders has the opportunity to be part of that story when we choose our leadership behaviors and actions. Champions have characteristics that are universal – they are resilient, committed, driven, talented, strong – but champions are not only athletes - -they’re ordinary leaders and people who every day demonstrate the skills and mindsets necessary to be their best for others.   What will you do moving forward to ensure that you can support the needs of future champions? How are you advocating for the success of others through your behaviors? When a future champion is in need – how are you demonstrating empathy? Who stood behind you and showed you the way to your success? Can you be kind to everyone you meet and genuinely compliment or encourage them this week? Finally, who in your mind is the most successful person you know and what role did you play in their story?   Twitter: https://twitter.com/tneitzke Smart Thinking Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/smrtthnkng/ Smart Summary: https://www.cesa6.org/cms_files/resources/The%20Power%20of%20Moments.pdf  

The path of least resistance is paved with things forgotten -- no one remembers the ordinary things we do -- we remember the extraordinary moments of courage and risk. The path of reward is paved with the chances we took and filled with memories, emotions, tears, and joy. Join us this week for a conversation about risk and regret.    If you see a child, student or colleague facing a tough choice – how will you support them in taking the risks they need to find success? “Most of us have two lives: the life we live and the un-lived life within us. Between the two stands resistance.”  -- what is stopping you from the unlived life? What is your greatest failure and what lessons can you share with others to encourage them to take risks? What risks are you facing that you are avoiding taking?

There is a lot of research that shows that the act of forgiveness in leadership and life makes you a better and stronger person. This episode will help you to develop the practice of forgiveness in your leadership.  Who around you do you need to forgive?  When someone around you falters, what will you do different in order to support them and their leadership?  Do you actively put time between your reactions and actions in situations when those you serve fail to meet an expectation? How good are you at forgiving yourself?

What is it like to be a professional musician? How do you start? What are the obstacles and lessons when you take on the leadership of following your passions? Join us for an extended conversation with two extraordinary people as we discuss their journey and their motivations. The Well Pennies provide the theme music for the Smart Thinking podcast and the founders are also a remarkable couple that demonstrates buffalo leadership behaviors. This episode is especially insightful and powerful for those aspiring to have a life in the arts.

One of the greatest qualities of leadership is reflection and we often forget to take a second and elevate ourselves out of the micro moment and move ourselves to the macro analysis. Join us for a conversation of how to step back from your situation and look at it differently and/or with another person to gain perspective.  Thinking of your current and most significant issue – how could you change your view so that you see the problem in a new way? Can you scrabble that problem so that a solution may emerge? When mountaineers climb, they often bring along a guide or Sherpa – who are your Sherpa’s – who are the people who can guide you to new heights so that you can see the problem or issue for what it is? Finally, when you get emotionally engaged in a situation, what will be your strategy to step back and climb to a new height of understanding before responding.  

True collaboration has to be defined and modeled. In a multi-generational world we do a poor job of demonstrating collaboration. I suggest that you start by showing popular examples of collaboration and then breaking down the roles that people play in truly collaborative environments and then asking the team members to identify what they can contribute.   What processes can you put in place to ensure that the right people are working together? What strength(s) do you bring to the group? What anchors or weaknesses do you bring to the group? How confident are you identifying those strengths and gaps for others? When we expect people to collaborate, do we first show them examples of real collaboration? Finally, what do you need to do differently in the future on teams in order to be more collaborative so that people will seek you out for their team?

Happy New Year and welcome to 2018 and goodbye 2017. This podcast is about growing yourself as a person and a leader in the upcoming year as well as developing a process to help you be better. Go small to go big and find yourself content in 365 days.   What is your vision for a better you? What is one small thing you can do today to change your life? Instead of spending money on trying to diet and upending your entire life – what small step can you take everyday to improve your eating habits Write down your three strengths – and then one strategy to build upon each of those. Finally, this year each morning when you look into the mirror can you set one goal for the day that gets you toward your vision?

Listen on the ride in between traditions this holiday season. This is an active reflection podcast for the people in the car! Take some time to discuss what is good about being friends and family and plan a moment for the future.  

This podcast is dedicated to making you think differently and reflectively about your roles with your friends, your colleagues, and your family. Every culture has traditions and they are key to our culture. They’re important because they are the fabric of a family, a community, a workplace, a classroom, and civilization. Who is the tradition leader in your culture? What values will you model when celebrating ? How will you demonstrate your gratitude for the traditions?  What traditions have gotten lost and lead the tradition once more? Lastly, who in your life will not have the opportunity to celebrate a tradition and how can you weave them into your cultures fabric this season? Buy the Well Pennies Holiday Song Jingle Bells here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/jingle-bells-single/575053297  

Join us for a discussion that explores your legacy and how two headstones in a colonial graveyard sparked deep reflection. We will explore how you and the way you lead and live define your legacy.   How consistent are you in living your life in the service of others? Can you be described simply by those you are around? When you lead – do you lead from your core values? Finally, write down the six words you’d like to define your history.

Happiness is a key driver for success, engagement, and satisfaction. This episode focuses on the keys to being a happy leader. They are: friendship, kindness, movement, getting caught up in what you are doing, purposeful reflection, having a set of guiding principles and being optimistic. Will you find a way to persevere when faced with an unhappy situation and model for others the strength it takes to be an optimist? How are you going to serve others this week by modeling happiness? Of the qualities discussed for happy people – what one area can you focus on this week so that you can grow your own happiness? Finally, who is the least happy person you know and how can you shine a lot of light on them this week to help heat their spirit?

Leaders are always on the look out for opportunities to find buffalos and emulate their behavior, learn from their choices, and observe them in their natural settings. We ourselves gain courage from seeing others take a risk or doing something different. Join us for an episode where we explore how the main character from the book WONDER can inspire us all to be a little more buffalo. When faced with an uncomfortable situation what will you do different this week? Take sometime to think through the situations you may face this week and reflect upon your response. Describe the characteristics of others with courage. If you are in the triangle of conflict – can you think empathetically for the person who needs your help and take that first ride on the road to courage for others?   See Sharon’s story at: www.graymatter-matters.com WONDER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ob7fPOzbmzE  

This episode is a conversation with Dr. Dan Hagerman. We learn about his education and how he formed his thinking around many of the issues facing parents and children today. We discuss everything from peanut allergies to autism, ADHD to picky eaters as well as why he believes things are a little bit the same and different for today’s children and parents.   Like us: https://www.facebook.com/smrtthnkng

How do we take the tradition of Thanksgiving and shift it a little to increase the true nature of giving thanks? Join me for a discussion on how to make sure that those around you recognize what it is they’ve done for you.   Reflect on who you will be around this thanksgiving. What have each of them taught you? Once you identify the learning from those in the room—how can you quickly articulate the gift they’ve given you? Can you make this year different for yourself and others by bringing to light how thankful you are for the gift they’ve given you? Giving Tuesday – help me help others: https://join.riveredgenaturecenter.org/campaign/riveredge-nature-center-giving-tuesday-2017/c153271      

This episode explores thinking and more specifically – divergent thinking. When did all the creativity and ability for adults to come up with bold new ideas slow down or even stop? We explore the need for adults to stop interfering in the creativity of children and work together through collaboration to be divergent in our thinking. As a parent, teacher, leader – how can you promote divergent thinking? If you’re in a leadership position, how can you promote divergent thinking by allowing people to figure out how to do what needs to be done instead of telling them and disengaging them in the process?   Twitter @tneitzke Facebook: www.facebook.com/smrtthnkng