Welcome!

The mission of this newsletter is to provide you with a leadership advantage. We are sharing knowledge from our leadership workshops, podcast guests, research, trends, and experience.

Before we get going this month, I want to thank you for joining the Newsletter and supporting GLG! This has been a year of learning and growing and your support means everything.

This week’s focus…

What Problems are we helping to solve at GLG?

How to professionally disagree and maintain trust.

In episode 46 of Keep the Line Moving, our guest Dr. Andrew Campbell and I talked about several important leadership topics and I want to highlight one that you will find helpful:

The relationship is more important than the problem.

Dr. Campbell was a self-admitted toxic leader. As you listen to the episode (link above), he did the work to understand how he was coming across as a leader. This work included; looking inward first rather than blaming others. Dr. Campbell emphasized self-awareness. He asked his team questions on how he was coming across, always understanding that the relationship is more important than the problem. In other words, as a leader if you value the connections with your people and they are not just a means to an end – together you can remain calm and strategic because you both know nothing is ever personal.

Throughout these conversations, in every episode, great leadership always comes down to making the time to connect with your people.

Leadership Observation…

Get this story… In my six years teaching leadership at NYU, this might have been one of the only times I was close to speechless.

Recently in our Senior Seminar in Leadership class, the students were asked to say one word to summarize their main takeaway from a recent assignment of interviewing a leader of their choice.

As we went around the room answering this spontaneous question, each student said their words – empathy, grace, passion, resilience, to name a few.

Out of the two dozen responses, not one student repeated what the others had previously said. Each student had a unique word of reflection. This shows the complexity of leadership and it says a lot about the students. They could have easily repeated a previous term.

We talk about this all the time in class – share original thoughts and care about the greater group. Mission accomplished.

What we are working on…

I would say the most common issue that I am asked about in both coaching and consulting is how to prepare for and have difficult conversations. If we are all honest with ourselves, these conversations are very challenging and they take a lot of practice, preparation and nuance.

Recently, I held a very productive and interactive new workshop series with an organization on this very topic.

Showing vulnerability and courage, these professionals admitted that sometimes they entered difficult conversations focused more on wanting to be understood as opposed to wanting to understand the other person. This is when conflict escalates. As we discussed in the workshop, the goal is to create common ground and it is all about your tone and word choices. An example is saying, “No, we are unable to do this, but here is what we can do.” A difficult conversation can be less challenging if there is a mutual goal of doing what is best for the department and ultimately the organization.

These professionals acknowledged these challenges by showing vulnerability, by sharing real stories which creates trust. We all learn and get better by listening to each other and by creating avenues to explore and discuss these topics.

Discussing how to have a difficult conversation can be a difficult conversation! But, it is worth it to have them.

I want to thank all of you for following The Gargano Leadership Group!

Chris Gargano

Founder of The Gargano Leadership Group

#career #emergingleaders #leadership #inspiration #courage

Lastly, we would love to know who you want to hear from on the podcast. If you know a leader and someone who can inspire us, please email our Marketing Coordinator, Savin Narwal at savinn@garganoleadership.com.

How to Work with The Gargano Leadership Group:

If you lead people and want to maximize your impact and create better time management – The Gargano Leadership Group is here to guide you. Whether you are a senior executive or an emerging leader, we all need help with our self-awareness and to examine how we are leading. Check out our group and individual coaching services here. To book a call, please visit https://calendly.com/garganoleadership or to get more information, email me at chrisg@garganoleadership.com.