Hindsights and Insights Podcast

Episode 8: Leadership versus Management: Achieving the Perfect Balance in the Workplace

Sat, 13 Jan 2024 17:00:00 -0600

Can a role can be both manager and leader or it's only one or the other? It was an interesting question, as I too have seen these terms used interchangeably in the past, or seen someone with a leadership title and yet to me the behaviour doesn’t exemplify leadership but more management.

In this episode, I discuss how to discern between the leadership and management parts of a role, focusing on the KPIs that align.

The questions I share to assess a specific role can be found on my website.

If this podcast episode spurred some questions for you, let me know.

Until we meet again, I leave with you this parting thought:
We are the leaders, the change agents, and the advocates for this new world to unfold.
Our world is waiting for us to create the change we seek. It's time. So Let's go!

Episode 7: Holiday Harmony: Fostering Hope, Peace and Joy (A Holiday Reflection Guide for Professionals)

Fri, 01 Dec 2023 13:00:00 -0600

In this episode I delve into how we often find ourselves frantically preparing for the holiday season and with all this crazy-busy-ness, we can lose sight of the underlying values that define the true intent of this season, the core values of hope, peace, joy, love and gratitude.

As a result, as the holiday season approaches, it's a perfect time to carve out a wee bit of time for some self reflection on these core values that make this time of year so special.

I have included a self reflection exercise that includes questions to reflect upon during this holiday season. These questions are designed to help you uncover any obstacles you face in experiencing these emotions and discover opportunities to pivot and uplift your own experience and that of those around you, including your colleagues and leaders in the workplace.

The full list of questions can be found on my website.

Reflecting on these questions each day can significantly enhance your holiday experience. By focusing on hope, peace, joy, love and gratitude by considering how to cultivate these qualities in yourself and those around you, you can make this holiday season a more joyous one for all. Enjoy! Happy Holidays!

Episode 6: Navigating Entitlement in the Workplace: Balancing Expectations with Reality

Wed, 01 Nov 2023 18:00:00 -0600

In this episode, I delve into an issue leaders often encounter: candidates who possess talent but also hold expectations about compensation and titles that don't align with organizational norms. I discuss how this is rooted in our societal norms and influences, including tv and movies. I then provide seven solutions that one can take in these instances to best manage the situation for all involved for reflection.

If this episode spurred some questions for you, please reach out.

Episode 5: Inspiration from Binge-Watching

Thu, 14 Sep 2023 17:00:00 -0600

In this episode I share about the visionary leadership I observed in a Netflix series “Partner Track” - which I loved. No matter how extreme the change is, visionary leadership is key to strategic change with telling the story of why the change is needed and inspires others to embrace it versus resist.

In this spirit, as usual, at the end I share some question for you to incubate on in:

To what extent do you have the forward thinking, plan orientation, optimism, creativity and effective communications to successfully lead this change?
Do you have the story of why the change is needed that can and will inspire others to embrace it instead of resist?
Where do you see opportunities to shore up to improve your quest to be realized?
What is your next step on your visionary leadership path?

Episode 4: Navigating the Storm

Thu, 14 Sep 2023 16:00:00 -0600

In this episode, I share about a lesson I learned awhile ago at an online training event about being an optimistic and how that can limit progress. It’s a lesson that all of us who are driving change can leverage, especially in times like this. And in today’s episode I am going to go a little deeper with this and share questions for you to reflect on to apply to your situation

In this episode, I shared 3 quotes from Jeffrey Walker:

“Optimism is about hoping the storm won’t come.”
“Optimism needs something good.”
“Faith is belief in your ability to navigate the storm.”

At the end, as usual, I shared the following questions for you to reflect upon:

Do you believe you can take on the situation before you and create the change you seek?
What can hinder your confidence and conviction?
What can you do to minimize the impact of those hindrances and stay in faith in yourself more throughout your day?

Episode 3: Can Your Colleagues See the Incoming Ocean Liner Like You Do?

Wed, 26 Jul 2023 06:00:00 -0600

Often when we lead significant change, others around us don’t agree with the need for the change that we see and they can resist.

When we look deeper though, it’s not that they don’t agree with the need for change, it’s that they actually don’t see things the same as us - in light of their belief systems. And in today’s episode I am going to go a little deeper with this.

I mention a great quote from Paul Ray and Sherry Anderson, authors of the book “The Cultural Creatives - to me they summarized it well:

“Changing a world view literally means changing what you think is real.”

At the end as usual, I shared some questions for you to reflect upon:

What are the ships that you see so vividly that your colleagues simply do not? Describe it in much detail. As much detaIL as possible.
What would your colleagues need to accept as true if the ships that you are seeing are truly real?
When will you know you need to help your colleagues see further? When would that be? What would be your signal?
What will you do if your colleagues continue to resist?
And lastly, What’s your next step?

If you do have colleagues or partners who don't see the “incoming ocean liner” like you do, I encourage you to take the time to write down the answers to these questions to get clear for your path forward.

Episode 2: The 4 Levers to Positive Transformation

Thu, 13 Jul 2023 18:00:00 -0600

In the last episode, I shared the 4 things that I have found that limit progress in positive change initiatives and how to address them. To me these are fundamentals.
Join me in this episode where I go a bit deeper, with a different way to look at things through a more fuller refined model and share with you the 4 “Strategic Levers” to apply when leading transformational positive change. By looking at it in this way you can gain further perspective of what actions to take. And then share what the outcome you create when you have pairs of these levers are applied.

At the end of the call, I share some questions to ask yourself to help prioritize which of these 4 to focus on. The questions I shared are:

For each of these levers, are they already a strength or do they need some shoring up? You could rate the 4 of them with a scale from 1-5 with 1 being weak and 5 being rock solid.
Which of these 4 results or outcomes of Influence, Capacity, Preparedness and Execution) do you see that you most need?
Look at the levers with the lowest score and the outcomes with the highest need, you will know which levers you need to build to create the leverage in creating the positive transformation that you are seeking.

You can see a visual depiction of the model I talk about in this pdf on my website.

Episode 1: The 4 Things that Limit Progress for Initiatives of Positive Change and How to Address Them

Fri, 02 Jun 2023 15:00:00 -0600

Join me in this episode where I dive into the "The 4 Things that Limit Progress for Initiatives of Positive Change and How to Address Them. ” I have seen these 4 things repeatedly and if we can limit them, it can significantly increase our likelihood for success for our quest.

These 4 things are:

The Urgent Always Usurps the Strategic
Change Management is viewed as a part of Project Management
Unexpected Resistance Will Appear
Lone Wolf Goes as The Lone Ranger

During the podcast, I shared questions for you to reflect upon to help you avoid these pitfalls. Here they are:

What is it that continues to overtake your / your team’s time and attention and away from the strategic change your inner voice keeps reminding you of?
What could be put into place so that the urgent items are taken care of the timing that this needed and time and attention can be placed on moving the needle on the strategic positive change quests you see needed?
Do you have sufficient time and attention on the people change management issues to making this positive change initiative a reality? Are the people change management issues large and don’t have a dedicated person(s) on it?
Have you already observed lip service or other forms of resistance? Have you looked who that is coming from, why it could be and what messages are needed to reduce or preferably eliminate the resistance so you can move forward, and with more ease?
Do you sometimes feel like a lone wolf during the change with not knowing who you can truly trust and brainstorm with? If you haven’t experienced that yet, do you see the potential for it? Who could help you to and can create a safe, objective space to talk things out?

If you would like to be notified automatically when new podcast episodes or other resources are available, you can signup on my website donnalendzyk.com. You will also be notified when this podcast is available on Apple Podcasts & Stitcher.

Episode 0: Trailer - Welcome

Mon, 01 May 2023 16:00:00 -0600

Join me in this introductory episode where I will share more about me, my quest, who this new podcast is for and what you can expect in future episodes.

In this episode I mention an essay I have written that you may want to check out - its called The 4 Things that Limit Progress for Initiatives of Positive Change and How to Address Them. In my next episode I will be doing a deeper dive on it so stay tuned for that.

If you would like to be notified automatically when new podcast episodes or other resources are available, you can signup on my website donnalendzyk.com. You will also be notified when this podcast is available on Apple Podcasts & Stitcher.