Join Mike for his podcast, We're All In This Together (which is also the title of his latest book). Mike shares his own wisdom and insight, and also interviews interesting and influential business leaders, thought leaders, and change makers on the show. Over the past 22 years, Mike has partnered with people, leaders, and teams within top organizations like Google, Wells Fargo, Airbnb, Gap, Microsoft, Schwab, the NBA, Genentech, eBay, the Oakland A's, and many others. Episodes of the show authentically address important topics and challenges, and offer specific tips about leadership, teamwork, and life. These conversations are designed to give you practical ideas, insights, and techniques to enhance your success, impact, and the performance of your team.
With the intensity of everything happening right now – the coronavirus outbreak, the U.S. presidential primary election, a volatile stock market, and many other events going on in the world and our lives today, there is a lot of understandable fear going around. This makes sense and can be hard for us to deal with personally, with our teams at work, and collectively. On this episode I share some of my own experiences with fear and powerlessness in my life, and some specific techniques we can use to embrace our fear and emotions, and tap into the power of them in a positive way. Our emotions are very powerful, but feeling emotion doesn’t mean that we are that emotion. When we’re mindful of the stories we tell ourselves, it can help us manage and harness our emotions most effectively.
There are a lot of lessons to be learned from sports teams, both in business and life. Whether you’re a sports fan or not, we can all benefit from looking to sports to see what makes the great teams great, and how we can apply things to our own groups. Rich Hollenberg joins me in this episode to dive into some of the things he’s observed and learned from his 25 years in sports broadcasting, specifically with ESPN college basketball and the Tampa Bay Rays. We explore some of the themes of sports, broadcasting, teamwork, and what really creates the chemistry necessary for teams to thrive. Rich also shares his insights about building a great team culture.
Full Show NotesIn light of the Houston Astros sign stealing scandal, I have been thinking a lot about cheating recently. The Astros are a client of mine and AJ Hinch, the former manager of the Astros is a good friend and former teammate of mine, so this is very close to home for me. And, given the intense reaction from the media and throughout the baseball and sports worlds about this situation, it’s had me take a deeper look at why people seem so upset about it. The reality is that, whether in baseball or in life in general, most of us cheat in some way, and at some time. We usually justify or minimize our own cheating. However, we often get extremely worked up when others get caught doing it, and hypocritically judge them for it. I explore some of my own feelings around the scandal, and why it’s so important for us to reflect on and evaluate our own actions before seeking to point the finger at others.
Full Show NotesWe’re living in politically divisive times. On the heels of impeachment, with the primary process in full swing, and with the Presidential election looming this fall, things seem to be getting even more intense on this front. And while we’re often told, directly or indirectly, not to talk about politics at work, it’s hard not to do so these days. For a number of reasons, it’s important for us to find ways to talk about politics, in a respectful and authentic way that brings us closer together – at work and in life. This week on the podcast I share my thoughts on how we can do this and specifically how we can create a more open and inclusive environment at work, where people feel safe to share their opinions about politics and more (even and especially if those opinions are different).
Full Show NotesLetting go of approval and relinquishing control are things that I’ve struggled with for many years, and continue to work on. My counselor Eleanor recently said to me, “You obsessively seek approval. Stop doing that. And, when you don’t get the approval you want, you go into control. Neither of these things serve you or work very well.”
She’s right. Seeking approval and/or trying to control everything can get in our way in life, both personally and professionally, and can stop us from achieving our goals. In this week’s episode, I share some of my thoughts around why we don’t need everyone to like us and approve of everything that we do, as well as why trying to control things and people doesn’t serve us or anyone else. I also talk about the things we can control, in a healthy way, and how to focus on those things to create the impact and outcomes that we truly want.
Full Show Notes