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Awesome Office: Lead. Create. Inspire.

The Awesome Office Show is all about helping you lead people, create culture, and inspire Awesome at your company. Each week we talk to a business leader, entrepreneur, HR pro, or engagement specialist at the most successful and buzzed about companies in the country, and learn their most actionable tips, tactics, and best practices - and share them with you. This is a behind the curtain look that you’re not going to find anywhere else. If you care about developing stellar cultures that provide lasting value for employees, customers, and shareholders, then this is the podcast for you. The Awesome Office Show is hosted by Sean Spear. Similar to Entreleadership and HBR Ideacast.
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Now displaying: November, 2016
Nov 25, 2016

On the surface, feedback seems like an uncontroversial topic. Most of us probably agree that accurate, timely feedback is critical to our jobs, no matter if we’re a junior team member or at the top of the organization. But in reality, our understanding of feedback is mostly one-sided - especially when it comes to leadership.

While most leaders focus on techniques and strategies for providing feedback for others, only the top leaders focus on the right way to receive it.

Why? Because even for the most accomplished among us, feedback is scary.

When we receive feedback, often our first instinct is to put up our defenses. We are naturally averse to it. We bristle at the idea that we aren’t perfect, and believe that recognizing feedback will reveal our flaws and shatter our perception of ourselves.

But as this episode reveals, to deny feedback is deprive ourselves of one of the greatest gifts in life. Because while change might be inevitable, growth is optional. Growth is up to us, and much of it depends on our ability to receive the feedback the world is gifting us, in all its forms.

Yep, as it turns out, receiving feedback is an art unto itself. Here’s how to master it.

(This episode was recorded live in front of the team at Awesome Office HQ in Los Angeles.)

 
Key Takeaways
  • Why receiving feedback is just as - if not more - important than giving it. 5:05
  • Why feedback is fundamental for growth, and the difference between change and growth. 5:30
  • Why it’s so hard to receive feedback, and the first step to becoming open to it. 7:05
  • The benefits of recognizing imperfection in ourselves, including the impact on relationships. 8:29
  • Why it’s better to find the truth than to be right, and why teams who see reality for what it is are the ones who win. 9:27
  • Only when you are not willing to change are you able to achieve great things, and why feedback that triggers your defenses is actually a gift. 12:28
  • How to practice conscious listening. 15:31
  • The importance of body language and posture when receiving feedback. 17:05
  • Why it’s important for both parties to repeat the feedback. 17:42
  • How to evaluate the feedback you receive. 18:56
 
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Nov 18, 2016
We're back with part two of our exploration of The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership, a book that's full of powerful and practical prescriptions, and one that I find myself reaching for again and again. (Missed part one? Check it out here.)
 
Commitments 8-15 build on the themes of candor, curiosity, and integrity that we talked about in part one. Some of the ideas might sound familiar. Commitment 8, for instance, bears a resemblance to several concepts from positive psychology, while Commitment 11 reminds me of the Stoic philosophy I discussed with author Ryan Holiday in a previous episode.
 
I think that's one of the reasons that I love this book so much - it combines brand new insights with proven leadership advice, and packages it in a way that's useful and just makes sense.
 
Here's a quick rundown...

Commitment 8 - Express Your Zone of Genius

  • This commitment is all about finding that one thing that you do well and love to do. Similar to concepts like "unique ability" and flow state,  your "zone of genius" is the area where you make the most valuable, creative contribution.

Commitment 9 - Remember to Play

  • Contrary to what most of us are taught earl in life, work doesn't have to be nothing but stress, misery, and toil. Play, laughter, and improvisation are vital to being productive and fulfilled. (Besides, what good is life without a little bit of laughter?)

Commitment 10 - Consider the Opposite of Your "Story"

  • We all have a "story" - it's the way we see the world, the assumptions we take with us when we approach problems. The idea here is to consider that the opposite of your story is as true or truer than your own.

Commitment 11 - Be Your Own Approval

  • Commit to being your own source of approval, rather than relying on it from others.

Commitment 12 - Recognize You Have Enough

  • How many times have you caught yourself saying "if only I had enough time. Enough money. Enough support. Enough space. Enough energy." This commitment reminds us that this imagined state of "enough" is never going to happen, and asks us to be satisfied in what we have now - and get stared solving problems!

Commitment 13 - See People as Allies

  • Whether or not you consider someone an ally or obstacle is largely a matter of choice. So which would you rather have, enemies or allies? Choose allies. 

Commitment 14 - Win for All

  • Recognize that life is not a zero-sum game and commit to creating win-for-all outcomes.

Commitment 15 - Be the Resolution

  • Finally, the most important commitment - be the resolution the world needs. Stop being content with apathy and recognize problems as opportunities to step up and become the solution.

To see more of what the 15 Commitments look like in action, check out the Conscious Leadership Group.

Recommended Reading

 
Special Offer for AO Listeners - Try SnackNation Market for FREE

Introducing SnackNation Market.  

For the past few years SnackNation has only been available to businesses, but now it’s available for homes and awesome individuals too.

SnackNation Market brings health- and taste-conscious folks expertly curated boxes of the most delicious, innovative and healthier snacks right to your doorstep.  With SnackNation there is no more worrying about having a weak, unhealthy and tasteless snack game.

We’ve secured a special offer for the listeners of this show: you can try SnackNation for FREE.

Just visit SnackNation.com/AO right now, and get your first box free (just cover shipping and handling).

That’s SnackNation.com/AO.

 

Nov 11, 2016

 

Ask yourself - as a leader, are you coming from a place of fear and uncertainty? Do you look for fault and blame in others, cling to an opinion and fixed worldview, and believe in scarcity over abundance?

Or are you open to outside interpretations, curious about the world around you, and committed to learning more about yourself and those around you?

In other words, are you leading below or above the line?

That’s the topic of today’s special #SPKup episode as I explore the concepts contained in The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership, a fantastic read and a book that’s proven to be a true game changer for me.

As you’ll hear in this episode, the entire leadership team at Awesome Office HQ is currently reading (or re-reading) this amazing book, so I thought it was the perfect opportunity to share some of my learnings as I explore its valuable concepts yet again.

We only cover half the points in part one, and will pick up again in part two.

Here’s a quick recap of the points we Cover

Commitment 1 - Radical Responsibility  

  • The idea with this first commitment is to locate the “cause and control” inside us, not in external events. This means we stop believing that the world should be a particular way, and instead believe that the world just shows up.
  • In the second part of this process, we move from rigid, closed mindedness to curiosity, learning and wonder (something that naturally occurs if the first shift happens.)
  • But most of all, radical responsibility is not about being right! Letting go of the need to be right is something all top tier leaders do.

Commitment 2 - Learning through Curiosity

  • Conscious leaders are passionately committed to knowing themselves (the basis of curiosity) and allow themselves to wonder.
  • Success here depends on approaching people with an unreasonable benefit of the doubt, especially those you manage. Be truly curious in what they say.

Commitment 3 - Feeling All Feelings

  • So many leaders stay in their head and don’t access their guts or hearts enough. To be an effective leader, you need to acknowledge all your feelings.
  • Emotions are just energy in motion. They’re neither good nor bad - they just are. The key is learning how to deal with your emotions and process them. Every feeling we experience is a way for us to grow and improve in awareness.

Commitment 4 - Speaking Candidly

  • According to the book, the team that “sees reality the best wins.”
  • So many people are scared to speak candidly, but when they do that they’re robbing themselves and other people from the natural flow of energy, from what really needs to be said.

Commitment 5 - Eliminating Gossip

  • Gossip is defined as anything said with harmful intent, that you wouldn’t say in front of the other person. While gossip is a manifestation of our species’ desire for deep social bonds, it no longer serves us, especially in business.
  • Here we break down why we gossip, and discuss strategies for reversing and avoiding our tendency to engage in this destructive behavior.

Commitment 6 - Practicing Integrity

  • Remember that integrity has nothing to do with being right or wrong, it’s all about being whole. (The root of integrity is integer, after all.)
  • We discuss the importance of not blocking the natural flow of energy, and the Four Pillars that help us maintain our integrity.

Commitment 7 - Generating Appreciation

  • For this commitment, we talk about what it means to give people the unreasonable benefit of the doubt and why leaders need first and foremost to pay attention.
  • Additionally, we dive into the various reasons why people don’t accept appreciation, and what masterful appreciation really looks like.

Again, that’s just part one. We’ll cover Commitments 8-15 in part two next week.

Recommended Reading

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Nov 5, 2016

 

When you get to know Dr. Joseph Antoun, you quickly realize that he’s deeply curious about the world in which we live.

In fact, he’s a renaissance man of sorts. Dr. Antoun Holds a Master’s in Health Care Policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, a Master’s in Public Health from Johns Hopkins, and an MD and MS from St. Joseph University. On top of that, he holds four separate executive positions at places like the Health Systems Reform, the University of Chicago, the Journal of Health Systems Reform at the academic side, and the Global Healthspan Policy Institute. (I’m exhausted just typing that.)

But we were most interested in L-Nutra, the company for which he serves as CEO, and that’s poised to be the single most disruptive nutrition company in the 21st century.

It all comes down to the science of fasting. According to Dr. Antoun and his fellow researchers, fasting could hold the key to preventing many of the chronic illnesses that occur later in life. In fact, Dr. Antoun contends that it’s no coincidence that these conditions occur in our golden years. It turns out, most are actually symptoms of aging itself.

The key discovery is that when we fast, our bodies go into a protective, regenerative state, effectively reverse the process of aging, and therefore helping prevent and delay the onset of age-related chronic illnesses.  

Building on these findings, Dr. Antoun and L-Nutra have developed a product called Prolon, meal kits that don’t register as food to the body. Prolon causes the body to enter a regenerative fasting mode, while still providing proper nourishment.

We dive into this and a whole lot more, including Dr. Antoun’s upbringing, his views on leadership, and why creating positive change means finding alignment in both the public and private sectors. Needless to say, this was a fascinating, illuminating conversation.

Key Takeaways

  • Dr. Antoun explains the science behind fasting, and how it has the potential to prevent chronic age-related illnesses.
  • Dr. Antoun explains why our healthcare system is broken - and why “sick care” might be a more accurate name for it.
  • Dr. Antoun explains the term “health span,” and why increasing our health span - not our lifespan -  should be the goal.
  • Dr. Antoun makes the point that age related diseases come in series, and they might be better thought of as symptoms of aging rather than as illnesses in their own right.
  • Dr. Antoun explains how they developed Prolon, how it works, and why it has the potential to disrupt healthcare as we know it.
  • Dr. Antoun talks about his upbringing in Lebanon during the Palestinian occupation, and how years of struggle and hardship shaped his personality and forged his formidable drive.
  • Dr. Antoun recalls his early days as a cardiologist, and how he actually lost patients simply because they couldn’t afford healthcare.
  • Dr. Antoun explains how his journey from medicine to public policy to business is actually part of a three-pronged strategy to affect change.
  • Dr. Antoun explains his role in the war against aging, and why there has to be alignment between the public and private sectors.
  • Dr. Antoun explains how he is able to hold so many executive leadership positions, and shares his number one leadership trait.

Links

 

Special Offer for AO Listeners

Save 25% off Your First Order at shop.SnackNation.com

How legit is your snack game?

It's a pretty important question. How you snack will determine how you eat, and snacking well is essential to experiencing an awesome life.

Step up your snack game by visiting Shop.SnackNation.com. Use code AO25 for 25% off your entire order. Choose from a variety of today’s most innovative, delicious, and healthier snacks. You can even purchase just one unit at a time, rather than an entire box - or you can choose one of our curation boxes, where our SnackNation Snack Scientists do all the hard selection work for you. Check out Shop.SnackNation.com and use code AO25 to experience some snack magic and save 25% off your order.

 

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