Leadership Speaker - Executive Coaching Blog

Are You Strong Enough to Change Your Mind?

October 16, 2017 By John Mattone Leave a Comment

There’s a difference between something (or someone) that is strong and something that is brittle. A thick glass bottle might be ideal for holding mineral water without leaking, yet if you drop it on a concrete patio, it is liable to break.

Some things (and people) are shattered by change, while others are strengthened by it.

Materials that are brittle from an engineering perspective do not absorb much energy before fracturing, even if it is a very strong material otherwise. “Strength” from an engineering perspective has more to do with ductility and malleability, which are properties of being able to change rather than break under tensile or compressive stress.

Likewise, it takes a strong mind and strong character to be able to be acted upon by “stress” in the form of new information or previously unknown facts and to change conclusions. A brittle character, on the other hand, is likelier to simply snap and refuse to accept any other reality than the one they have constructed.

Reaching the Limits of Strength

When any material reaches the limit of its strength, it may change or it may break. Materials capable of changing can actually be made stronger by deformation. Of course, there are final limits to strength, but pure “toughness” often depends on something being able to change rather than break.

What happens when leaders reach the limits of their strength? Someone who may have appeared on the surface to be strong may in fact be brittle and simply not absorb the energy of new or challenging ideas. Likewise, someone who may appear perfectly ordinary may be able to take in the energy of new information or ideas, assimilate it, and become stronger as a result.

Commitment to the Truth

Ultimately, strength of character is based on a commitment to the truth, even if the truth is sometimes painful. This is not to say that truths never break strong people, because they do. The world can produce unbearable suffering that no one is equal to. But for the most part, commitment to the truth shows that we are ductile and malleable: when subjected to the “stress” of a new fact or idea, we absorb that energy (even if it goes against what we’ve thought all along), and use it to strengthen our character. And let’s face it: it can take tremendous strength for a leader to come out and say, “I was wrong. I now know more. Here is what I now believe to be true and why.”

Strength of conviction is ultimately about dedication to the truth.

The Most Impressive Structures Are Built to Sway

The past generation has produced the tallest skyscrapers in history, and building such a structure involves more than simply adding more stories on top. Wind flow can have significant effects on the materials used to build skyscrapers, and when vortexes flow on the side of a skyscraper opposite to the flow of the wind, they can bring a structure down if the vortex frequency matches the resonant frequency of the building materials.

This is all a long way of saying that skyscrapers, which to the human eye appear unmovable, are actually designed to sway a little. If they were truly unmovable, they would paradoxically be more likely to collapse.

Changing Your Mind Requires Courage

Changing your mind takes courage, but ultimately it can make you a stronger leader. Be aware, however, that “changing your mind” doesn’t mean being fickle, or not having strong convictions. It’s just that the strength of our convictions must be the right kind of strength, like the metal that ultimately strengthens under a certain degree of deformation rather than the glass that shatters upon impact.

The ability to change your mind helps you make wiser decisions, helps you become a better listener, and makes you a better example to your team. When I work with top executives, we spend time discussing convictions and beliefs, where they come from, and what affects them. Leaders must be focused, of course, but they must also be open to change. If you are interested in becoming the strong, effective leader you’re capable of being, I encourage you to learn more about my leadership coaching services.

How to Find the Right Executive Coach for Your Needs

October 12, 2017 By John Mattone Leave a Comment

Executive coaches represent a tremendous resource for both high-level executives and the companies for which they work. Their job is not to train an executive for their job – they’re already supposed to be fully qualified, after all. What executive coaches do is help good executives become exceptional executives through research, observation, candid discussion, practice, and feedback.

Executive coaches develop a custom program of observation, discussion, practice, and feedback for each client.

If your company wants to hire an executive coach for you, then you are to be congratulated. They clearly believe in you and what you bring to the table if they’re willing to make such an investment. But not every executive coach is right for every client. Here’s how to find the right executive coach for your needs.

First, Understand What Executive Coaches Can and Cannot Do

A coach can help the high-level executive excel in their job, assuming they are qualified and committed to doing that. But coaches cannot do the work for you. In order for the coaching relationship to be productive, you will have to first commit to the process, dedicate time to learning and practicing important skills, and communicate honestly with your coach.

A qualified coach can turn a good executive into an outstanding one, but they can’t necessarily get a derailed executive back on track. Nor can an executive coach rescue an entire organization that’s plagued with problems. But with a committed, focused client and a supportive organization, the results can be remarkably and measurably positive.

Learn What You Can About Prospective Executive Coaches

Executive coaches are not shy about sharing what they do and how they do it, so there’s no excuse for not thoroughly checking out the reputation and experience of any executive coach you consider working with. What is their web and social media presence like? What kind of thought leadership do they engage in? How long have they been coaching clients? Do they have experience in the industry or sector in which you work? Answers to all of these questions are important.

Ask About Credentials and Types of Clients They’ve Worked With

While there’s no “right” credential with executive coaches the way there is with, say, a brain surgeon, there are accrediting organizations, like the Association of Corporate Executive Coaches (ACEC) or the International Coach Federation. If a prospective executive coach has undergone training in an accredited training program, and has gained certification from an accredited organization, it’s likelier that they’re serious about their coaching career and not doing it as a sideline or a way to rake in more income.

Accreditation is an indication that an executive coach is serious about what they do.

Discuss How They Handle Confidentiality

Confidentiality must be understood by you, by your coach, and by your organization. If you can’t communicate honestly with your coach, you won’t get the best results. It’s important that your organization understand this too, and not expect your coach to divulge information you share with them. If there’s any question about this, the coach you are interested in working with can speak directly with your superiors or other appropriate people about the necessity of strict client-coach confidentiality.

Choose Someone with whom You Have Rapport

Finally, you should choose someone with whom you have positive chemistry. To determine this, you will need to meet with them. If meeting with a potential executive coach beforehand is impossible, then you should at least have a Skype or Facetime meeting. Ask plenty of questions, like the type of clients they have worked with, what relevant experience they have had in your industry, and what, precisely, the coaching contract will cover. While your coach should be compatible with you, they should not be a clone of you. You need someone who will challenge you, and if your coach is exactly like you, that might not happen.

I have decades of experience as a respected advisor and coach to executives at companies of all sizes, and have gained a reputation as one of the top leadership authorities and executive coaches in the world. In 2015 I was awarded the International Executive Coach Thought Leader of Distinction Award, and am one of only fifteen executive coaches in the world to have earned the Master Corporate Executive Coach (MCEC) certification from the Association of Corporate Executive Coaches.

My Intelligent Leadership Executive Coaching blueprint for success has been engaged with over 250 leaders, including 25 global CEOs, and my former clients include the late Steve Jobs and former PepsiCo CEO Roger Enrico. If you have been considering working with an executive coach, let’s talk. I would be delighted to discuss my leadership coaching services with you at any time.

Why Great Leaders Run Toward Problems

October 10, 2017 By John Mattone Leave a Comment

There is no shortage of problems in today’s world. At times, people can be tempted to hide out from what seems like a constant barrage of bad news. We can learn one simple, yet powerful coping technique from America’s best neighbor, the late Fred Rogers, of Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood. As a child who was occasionally frightened by large and scary world events, he said his mother told him, “Always look for the helpers. There’s always someone who is trying to help.”

Great leaders may not all achieve fame, but they all confront challenges with courage.

This advice can be just as helpful for the life-hardened adult as for the frightened child. If you followed news coverage of the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013, you undoubtedly saw the iconic news photo of Carlos Arredondo helping rush victim Jeffrey Bauman, whose legs were blown off, to get medical aid. Having lost one son in the Iraq War, and another to suicide, Arredondo nonetheless faced a harrowing situation head on, being one of those helpers that can reassure the rest of us when the world seems to be wobbling on its axis.

Conquering Inner Fears First

Leaders don’t run from problems because they know that the sooner a problem is solved, the sooner life or business can move forward. It begins with looking inward and learning what to do with fear. Learning to recognize irrational fears helps us focus on real fears and real ways to address them. We have to learn to rewrite the narratives in our brains that remind us of inadequacies and worst outcomes. Sometimes it helps to literally write out such narratives: “I have the knowledge and courage to tackle this financial crisis / scandal / bad news, even if only for today.”

How to “Prioritize” Problems

Learning to prioritize problems is critical too. Spending too much time figuring out how to address something that is fairly minor while the proverbial building is on fire is counterproductive. We have to know what our truest fears are, whether that’s losing a valuable contract to a competitor, letting down a colleague, or letting ourselves down. Our “comfort zones” have a way of expanding to include a new normal when we’re in the midst of working through a problem, and we’ll waste less energy if we know what the true root of the problem is and address it, rather than playing around the edges.

The Importance of a Sense of Purpose

A strong sense of purpose is self-empowering and inspiring to others.

We have all asked ourselves at one time or another, “Why am I even doing this?” and it’s important that we take time to answer that question. On occasion, there may not be a reason, in which case maybe we’re better off moving on to the next challenge. Usually, however, what’s behind our actions is a sense of purpose, or the conviction that taking on this challenge is simply the right thing to do morally. That sense of purpose has tremendous power in keeping us going when we otherwise might have given up. You may not feel courageous persisting in your efforts, but you are most certainly demonstrating courage.

Examples of Leaders Facing Challenges Head-On

German Lutheran Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer never curbed his outspokenness in criticizing Nazism in World War II Germany. He never left his country, and eventually faced arrest and execution in a concentration camp, and believed that he was called to first question injustice by the state, help as many victims of injustice as possible, regardless of their faith, and finally work to bring the injustices themselves to an end.

Boudica, queen of a British Celtic tribe around the year 60 CE was the leader of an uprising against the occupying Roman Empire. Ultimately, she and her forces lost, but before that, the emperor Nero seriously considered withdrawing Roman forces from Britain. So great was her courage that, despite the lack of native British literature from the time she was alive, her story was passed down and became a potent cultural symbol due to the writings of the Romans themselves.

Great leaders may never have to face challenges of the magnitude of those faced by Bonhoeffer and Boudica, but they have in common a determination to face challenges rather than pretend they don’t exist, minimize them, or run from them. In my leadership coaching services, I commit myself to addressing each client’s inner- and outer-core strengths, and helping them develop the tools, techniques, and skills that will empower them to confront challenges with the utmost wisdom, strength, and commitment. Get in touch, and let’s talk.

Executive Coach Definition, Help, Services & Benefits

October 3, 2017 By John Mattone Leave a Comment

We’re used to thinking of coaches in terms of athletics, and that can help us understand what coaching is all about, whether we’re talking about the coach of a sports team, a singer’s opera coach, an actor’s dialog coach, or an executive coach.

Coaches teach skills and help people perfect them. They motivate people, hold their hand on occasion, and give them a metaphorical kick when they need it. A coach lets their charges know what is possible, and what a person must do to get there.

Executive coaches must have knowledge, passion, and outstanding communication skills.

When we try to take on major new responsibilities on our own, we may have tremendous drive and energy, but without a coach, we tend to expend our energy haphazardly, with more trial and error than is strictly necessary. With the help of a coach, we can focus our energies in ways that are likelier to get results, and avoid wasting time learning wrong or inefficient techniques.

It isn’t as if there’s no room for mistakes when working with a coach. The best coaches, in fact, look at mistakes as tremendous learning opportunities. But when we work with a coach, we’re less likely to have to undo prior learning and relearn skills from scratch. We’re also more likely to learn what our greatest strengths are and how to make the most of them.

That kind of knowledge is extremely difficult to acquire on one’s own, and that’s why people at the top of their game, whether the “game” is singing an aria, swinging a tennis racquet, or running a business, look to coaches for assistance.

What Is an Executive Coach?

An executive coach works with people at the top leadership levels of business and other organizations to improve their performance. When a company names a new CEO, vice president for operations, or other top executive, they do so because they expect that person to accomplish certain goals during their tenure. A celebrity CEO may make shareholders temporarily enthusiastic, but the long-term health of the business depends on looking beyond this quarter’s earnings, and the CEO who is a true leader wants to lay the groundwork for long-term success.

The executive coach takes in as much information as possible about a client’s history, qualifications, and ideals, observes that person in action, speaks with colleagues, direct reports, and superiors, and develops an overall picture of their values, their strengths, and their weaknesses.

Through various assessment techniques and extensive discussion of values and goals with the client, the executive coach helps the client define where they want to be as a leader, where they are now, and how to bridge the gap between the two. To this end, they may work on specific skills, like delegation or presentation skills, and will track progress throughout the coaching relationship.

Only rarely is the executive coach hired to turn around a “problem” executive, or to attempt to prepare someone who is not ready for their responsibilities. Today, executive coaches work with the best and help them improve further. The coach must be prepared to learn, adapt, teach, and practice skills with their client, because their own success depends on their clients’ success.

How Does an Executive Coach Provide Services?

Although some companies have internal personnel that provide coaching services, executive coaches are usually brought in from outside the organization. There are many reasons for doing it this way. An outsider can often develop a more objective and comprehensive view of an executive and their role in an organization than someone embedded in the organization can.

Outsiders don’t have the fear of getting on the wrong side of a client or company leadership, and so is able to be more candid and forthright with the client. If a harsh truth needs to be communicated to a client, the outsider coach knows how to do this with tact, and without minimizing the importance of the situation.

An executive coach enters a coaching relationship in learning mode. Who is the client? What are their values? What does the organization expect from them? What are their strengths and weaknesses? Who will this person be managing? What do those people think of their leader?

Before an executive coach can help the client create a plan of action, they must thoroughly understand both the client and the client’s environment. Along with the client, the coach develops a plan, defines goals and objectives, determines how progress will be measured, and creates a schedule for in-person meetings, phone check-ins, and other communication.

Effective coaching requires a plan of action and commitment to fulfilling it.

Once the coaching process concludes, both coach and client revisit initial goals, determine how much progress has been made, and develop a plan to maintain and fine-tune new skills.

Who Can an Executive Coach Help?

An executive coach can help leaders at every level of leadership, but most companies only invest in executive coaching for their top-tier executives. A coach may be brought in to assist someone who is newly promoted to a top leadership position, or may be brought in by the CEO him- or herself to help define and provide direction for that role.

Though it is rarer, executive coaches may be hired for the leader of an organization that finds itself in crisis. If, for example, a previous CEO dies unexpectedly, the company may choose to hire an executive coach for the new CEO to help minimize disruption and help leaders shepherd an organization through a healing process.

The executive coach is not, however, a miracle worker. They cannot help ill-prepared, uninterested, or recalcitrant leaders, nor can they turn someone with promise into an instant leader. An executive coach cannot “fix” a toxic organization, or somehow make a warring group of executives get along with each other.

Reasons for Enlisting an Executive Coach’s Services

The main reason organizations invest in the services of an executive coach is that they want their top leaders to perform at their highest levels. Hiring an executive coach is an act that shows great confidence in a leader. It says, “You are worth investing in, because you have outstanding potential.”

Sometimes, organizations hire an executive coach specifically for an executive in a critical assignment, who is facing intensive time, budget, and results expectations. This type of “stretch assignment” coaching is intensive and often has highly specific goals relevant to a particular project of initiative the client has been put in charge of.

Organizations may also hire an executive coach to help an executive enhance skills that confer a competitive advantage. In these cases, the coach helps the client acquire and develop skills that are geared toward driving stronger business and financial results.

Whatever the reason for an organization to hire an executive coach, the coaching process should follow a planned, multi-stage process designed to promote self-awareness, will to change, and the competencies that bring individual and organizational performance to a new, higher level.

The four major stages of the coaching process, though they are always personalized to the client, are awareness, analysis, action, and achievement. If all of these stages are given their due attention, businesses can have every expectation that their executive coaching client will demonstrate measurably better performance, improving business performance and making the overall corporate culture better.

People Who Have Benefited from Executive Coaching

Some of the people who have benefited tremendously from executive coaching are people you have heard of (like Steve Jobs), and other are not. But whether a leader is in the public eye or not, the most effective ones know they didn’t get to where they are without significant support and help, often from an executive coach. How do individual leaders benefit from executive coaching? The ways are almost as diverse as the individuals.

Clients can and should have high expectations for coaching outcomes.

Fabio Potenti, MD, the Chief Medical Operations Officer of the prestigious Cleveland Clinic operations in Florida states that coaching created “an enduring awareness of my inherent talents which have since been fueling both my personal and professional life.”

Richard Swanson, CEO of Nebraska Machinery found executive coaching to be instrumental in the development of the company’s talent management strategies, specifically in aligning team members’ capabilities with the overall business strategy, an alignment that resulted in sustained improvement in financial performance.

It is no exaggeration to say that a great executive coach can facilitate a life-changing experience in the client who is invested in the process. And just to put an end once and for all to the idea that executive coaches are remediators, Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Eric Schmidt of Google, venture capitalist Ben Horowitz, and the late Steve Jobs of Apple have all enlisted the services of executive coaches. They know that effective coaching can make good leaders into exceptional leaders.

What Does It Take to Be a Great Executive Coach?

Think about some of the great sports coaches, like Tommy Lasorda, Pat Summitt, or Eddie Robinson. What do they have in common? First, they all have extensive experience in their sport, and a reputation for demanding the best from themselves and others. They have high expectations of those they coach, but they’re willing to learn new skills themselves in order to coach more effectively. Most of all, however, they are committed to putting in the work required to deliver outstanding results. The executive coach should demonstrate similar qualities.

There’s nothing stopping a person from simply calling themselves an executive coach and trying to solicit clients. There’s no national or state certification or licensure program the way there is for doctors, for example. But the differences between being an executive coach and being an effective, outstanding executive coach are vast.

For one thing, the best executive coaches know what it’s like to have skin in the game, because they, too have held leadership positions. They must have a broad and deep understanding of corporate psychology, of business, and of what leadership really means – and what it doesn’t mean.

The most effective executive coaches have solid business leadership experience.

When looking for an executive coach, many organizations go by word-of-mouth recommendations, because when an executive coach helps a business get terrific results, people notice, and people talk about it. Otherwise, many organizations look for executive coaches certified by the Association of Corporate Executive Coaches (ACEC) or the International Coach Federation (ICF).

The ICF is the main credentialing body for training programs. Therefore, a coach who has trained in an ICF-accredited training program, is a coach who has met strong standards and understands the full hopes and implications involved in executive coaching.

What if You Want to Become an Executive Coach?

If you’re not passionate about helping clients achieve their own goals and solve their own problems, then perhaps becoming an executive coach is not for you. Likewise, you should bring something substantial of your own to the table. Maybe you have been a business owner, or a coach in some other capacity, and have first-hand knowledge and education in business. Don’t look to executive coaching as your ticket to making a living by giving advice, because that’s not what coaching is.

Assuming you are passionate about helping leaders reach their full potential and have relevant knowledge and experience, your next step is undergoing coaching training. Training programs that are accredited by the ICF let you be confident that you will receive high-quality training that has been fully evaluated.

Eminent executive coach John Mattone, who has coached Steve Jobs and other world-class business leaders, offers an Intelligent Leadership Executive Coaching Certification program that is accredited by the International Coach Federation and approved for 22.25 Continuing Coaching Education credits. Executive coach training programs differ, of course, but this one is a three-day, immersive program that focuses on four game-changing outcomes leaders can leverage: altruism, affiliation, achievement, and abundance.

This particular program offers an optional year-long follow-up program to help coaches learn the finer points of executing the Intelligent Leadership Coaching Process. “Advanced” and “Master” level certifications are available to coaches who complete further requirements. The coaching education program you select should not be quick and easy, because coaching is an involved and personalized process that requires coaches to be able to establish unique relationships with high-potential individuals to their benefit.

The coach-client relationship is a unique type of business relationship.

Being an executive coach means working largely out of the spotlight so that executive clients are able to fulfill their potential and get the results their organization needs. It isn’t something just anyone can do, and it requires commitment to continual personal improvement in order to help clients achieve their goals. Ideally, the work done between an executive leader and their coach creates something that is greater than the sum of their skills, resulting in a more effective leader and a stronger, more capable business or organization.

As more businesses understand what coaching is and is not, what it can and cannot do, and who benefits most from coaching, you can expect executive coaching to become an expected part of the development of the world’s top business leaders. John Mattone is one of the most in-demand executive coaches in the world and has won numerous awards with his coaching, coach training, and books on leadership and corporate culture.

If you want to learn more, whether as an executive or as an aspiring executive coach, check out John Mattone’s books on leadership and culture, as well as his American Management Association HR Briefs, one of which is on the topic of “Powerful Executive Coaching.” As someone who has long recognized the value of leadership coaching, John Mattone is uniquely positioned to not only coach today’s leaders, but to train tomorrow’s leadership coaches.

Glossary of Terms

Assessment techniques – the tools and processes used by executive coaches to get to know clients, evaluate their strengths, weaknesses, leadership styles, and personality traits

Celebrity CEO – a type of CEO of a decade or two ago who was often also chairman of the board. These CEOs were often given outsized power and adulation, but the tide has turned in recent years, with more companies focusing on long-term results rather than fame.

Executive coach – a business professional trained not only in business principles, but also in personal leadership coaching. The executive coach is to the CEO or other high-level executive what the championship boxing, opera, or acting coach is to their world-class client.

International Coach Federation (ICF) – an international organization started in 1995 for fellow coaches to offer mutual support and bring attention to the profession. The organization now has a regional support structure designed to strengthen the global coaching community.

Learning opportunities – otherwise known as “mistakes,” or “missteps.” Learning opportunities abound, and the right executive coach is adept at recognizing them and putting them to use to bring their clients’ performance to higher levels.

Plan of action – a blueprint created by an executive coach and their client that outlines strengths, weaknesses, goals, objectives, and the steps to take to reach them. It is an essential document in the executive coaching process.

Stages of coaching – Awareness, analysis, action, and achievement are the basic stages of coaching. All must be pursued, with some stages receiving more emphasis than others, depending on the client and their particular coaching needs.

Stretch assignment coaching – coaching of the executive who has been given a task that stretches their current knowledge and skills and that will require them to learn and grow in order to succeed.

Toxic organization – a business or other organization characterized by infighting, disharmony, poor communication, and “drama.” Toxic organizations cannot reasonably expect an executive coach to be the answer to their deep-seated problems.

Intelligent Leadership – All You Need To Know

September 27, 2017 By John Mattone Leave a Comment

The challenges facing today’s business leaders are unprecedented in history. This is not to say that the life of, say, Marco Polo was a cakewalk, but that challenges have sprung up from a connected, global economy that no one could have predicted even a century ago. Today, going international doesn’t require a business to be huge, and in many cases, it doesn’t even require a business to have branch offices in different countries.

Expectations are different too. No one wants to (or has to) wait for answers, and businesses have to be nimble and flexible while still providing value above and beyond what used to be expected. Information is power, and the people and businesses buying products and services have more information instantly at their disposal than ever. Usually if one provider disappoints, there are plenty of others ready to step in and fill the gap.

Expectations for today’s business have never been higher in terms of flexibility, quality, and expertise.

What does leadership mean in the 21st-century world of business? In many ways, it means the same thing it always has: passion, commitment, decisiveness, and the ability to inspire, for example. But there is less room for trial and error, and recovery from setbacks has to be swift and sure. In short, leadership must be highly intelligent on many fronts.

But what does “intelligent” mean?

Naturally, it includes subject matter expertise, but so much more is required. Emotional intelligence is necessary in our always-connected world, and the ability to see several moves ahead, like a chess master, is essential too. Self-knowledge, coupled with a vast knowledge of resources and how to make use of them are indispensable components of intelligence, and self-knowledge must include an understanding of our own blind spots and shortcomings. What is intelligent leadership, and how does a person develop it?

How to Define Leadership

At its simplest, leadership is the ability to motivate people to achieve a common goal. In business, leadership is closely associated with bottom-line results, but can a person who gets unprecedented quarterly profits at the expense of the people doing the work really be called a leader? Won’t hiring and staffing issues eventually catch up to them?

Leaders have to have both strategic and tactical vision, and can never forget that without the people doing the work, it all falls apart. And though some iconic leaders have been spoken of as “born leaders,” the best leadership is the product of hard work and commitment. Sure, some people have stronger innate qualities like assertiveness and empathy, but great leaders don’t simply emerge from nowhere, fully formed and ready to take charge.

Neither can leaders be defined by their “type.” Great leaders may be more authoritative, or more democratic. They may be charismatic or deadpan. Yet they all have several things in common. The main thing outstanding leaders do is that they make their world (or the world) better. Additionally, they know how to maintain a positive attitude without being in a state of denial, and ultimately, they understand the importance of building the next generation of leaders.

Effective leaders not only improve their environment, they ensure others will continue to do so after they’re gone.

Poor Leadership and Its Consequences

The destructive power of bad leadership can be astounding. There are several possible causes of bad leadership, including:

Lack of communication
Unclear communication
Micromanagement
Not making expectations clear
Intimidation of team members
Low emotional intelligence

Bad leadership is costly, directly and indirectly. For one thing, the hard costs of turnover when a leader has to be fired and replaced can be staggering. The indirect costs, however, can be even worse. Team performance suffers under poor leadership, as does employee development. Tomorrow’s leaders, who may be able to recognize how bad the situation is becoming, may be the first to jump ship, which means it may be harder to plan for future leadership succession. Eventually, the entire organizational culture can turn toxic, and it can be plagued by high turnover, poor morale, and declining business performance.

What Is Intelligent Leadership?

Intelligent Leadership is a comprehensive leadership concept. It is designed for exceptional people who want to break through the (largely self-imposed) limits that prevent them from reaching their full potential. It is effective, strategic, operationally sound, and is practiced by energetic, passionate people. Intelligent Leadership doesn’t just happen, but is the product of intentional choices and practices that have the ability to unlock opportunities beyond what might be apparent at first.

Intelligent Leadership involves cultivating the heart, mind, and soul in order to bring exceptional leadership skills to an organization. In John Mattone’s book Intelligent Leadership, he describes a process based on empirical research that uses a leader’s inner-core strengths and outer-core competencies.

Intelligent leadership rests in the sweet spot of commitment to excellence, inner-core strengths, and outer-core competencies.

Inner-core strengths include traits like character, positive emotions, positive beliefs, self-concept, and values. Outer-core leadership competencies are made up of a person’s capabilities, commitment, and connectedness. When inner and outer core are aligned, and when a leader recognizes what they:

Can do
Will do, and
Must do

They have the building blocks for Intelligent Leadership success. With the guidance of the intelligent leader’s ever-improving competence, teams come to form powerful, engaging organizational cultures where people make their own free choice to commit to giving their best effort and continually seeking to improve.

The intelligent leader – the outstanding leader – must possess a clear vision of the capabilities, commitment, and alignment of inner-core values and outer-core competencies required to lead effectively. The definition of leadership success isn’t really unique to each organization, though each leader is unique. There exist some fundamental, universal target behaviors and characteristics of Intelligent Leadership, and John Mattone has explored them in great depth.

How Does It Differ from Traditional Leadership?

Traditional leadership as we usually think of it is goal-oriented. It has to be. Why bother having a leader if there are no goals to be accomplished? Intelligent Leadership is, in addition, vision-oriented: what is our situation right now, what is our best possible outcome, and how can we put our resources and strengths toward achieving that?

Leaders must be skilled at guiding operations toward goals, and there are countless ways to do this, good and bad. Setting down objectives and ensuring proper resources are available are positive, effective ways of guiding a team toward goals. Micromanaging, or at the other extreme, trying to lead by fiat (“Make it happen, however you have to do it.”), are ineffective ways of doing moving toward goals.

Micromanagement is remarkably counterproductive in a leader.

A leader cannot be focused on the past, but must be able to look realistically at the present situation, with its good qualities and its bad ones. With Intelligent Leadership, a leader not only has a focus on the here and now, but also puts practices into place to ensure the good work outlives their tenure. This involves recognizing and cultivating emerging leadership.

Leaders cannot lead effectively unless they know themselves. We all know that trying to be someone you fundamentally are not eventually derails. Therefore, leaders must know, “This is how I am.” Intelligent leaders, in addition to knowing “This is how I am,” know their own character and values, as well as how they are manifested outwardly in their work.

In summary, the main difference between leadership and Intelligent Leadership is that the latter takes it to a more expansive level. John Mattone didn’t just come up with these concepts from scratch, but developed them as the result of extensive global experience over the span of more than three decades. He has also conducted extensive research on talent management and executive development, consulting with hundreds of organizations, and has leadership coaching experience with over 200 executives.

Who Needs Intelligent Leadership?

Any organization that wants continuing success needs Intelligent Leadership. Theoretically, an organization might not require Intelligent Leadership if it were temporary, devoted to a single goal, and ready to disband once that’s over, but even that would be short-sighted. Intelligent Leadership isn’t only devoted to getting excellent results right now, or this business quarter, but indefinitely thereafter.

Implementing Intelligent Leadership requires first finding leaders and future leaders with the potential for greatness, and helping them develop their unique leadership gifts and talents while understanding their own weaknesses so they can address them. And it continues with keeping an eye out for emerging leaders of tomorrow, because succession planning is essential to any organization that wants long-term prosperity.

The world in general, and the business world in particular, will only become more complex, more demanding, and more accountable in the Information Age. A business that doesn’t care whether it exists in ten or 15 years may not need to worry much about leadership, but some would argue that guiding an organization to a singular accomplishment isn’t really leadership at all. In short, the realities of today’s world require Intelligent Leadership.

How Can Leadership Coaches Help?

Leadership coaching helps leaders further fine-tune strengths, while bridging skills and performance gaps.

Coaches, in general, can have outsized influence on people’s lives. John Mattone regularly asks executives to tell him about the great leaders in their lives, and often that person is a former coach. Great leaders often have role models as inspiration, but when it comes to the people who actually made a difference in their lives, a parent, teacher, or coach is often credited.

Leadership coaches can make an immense difference to the person who is soon to assume a leadership role. When someone must perform as a leader before having been adequately trained and coached, the learning curve is steeper, and the risks are higher.

Perhaps it is ironic, then that when he coaches executives, John Mattone explains that taking the more difficult path is the right decision. Saying no to decisions that don’t align with what is true and ethical can be difficult. But the difficulty is short-term. Over the long term, making those difficult decisions lead to better-operating results without the stain of ethical or moral lapses and other long-term consequences.

Targeted coaching that aims for real prescriptions for strengthening both a leader’s inner and outer core characteristics helps today’s and tomorrow’s leaders recognize and seize the amazing opportunities they will encounter. At the same time, coaching helps them avoid and mitigate risks that are increasingly common in a fast-paced, high-stakes business world. It is the leaders who are willing to understand what’s in their hearts and minds, and who are honest and objective about their inner- and outer-core characteristics that have the greatest chance of not just being good leaders, but of being legendary ones.

What Benefits Come with Intelligent Leadership?

Even the best leader is imperfect, and no one should think of Intelligent Leadership as being entirely without flaws, but the benefits of Intelligent Leadership can be disproportionately good compared to the effort that goes into it. One of the main benefits of Intelligent Leadership is that everyone works within the security of knowing their leader has consistency of character. The leader is not going to change the rules, lie, or otherwise throw people under the proverbial bus to make things easier in the short run.

Another critically important benefit of Intelligent Leadership is that it saves time. Intelligent Leadership is deliberate and clear in communication. Team members don’t get mixed signals or conflicting instructions, so time isn’t wasted clearing up confusion or going back and redoing things that were done incorrectly. Everyone moves forward, without having to backtrack, and that fuels momentum to accomplish big goals.

Clear, deliberate communication saves time and empowers team members.

Intelligent leaders set an example for others, and at the same time they make sure others know how valued they are. Everyone, whatever their function in an organization, needs to feel appreciated in order to bother giving their best, and Intelligent Leadership understands and practices this. At the same time, intelligent leaders continually thirst for wisdom. They know they never will have “arrived,” because the world will continue to change, like it or not.

The benefits of Intelligent Leadership are evident in the moment, and they’re evident over time. Today, team members know what is expected of them and know they are appreciated. Tomorrow, they will be able to look back on something amazing and have the satisfaction of knowing they were a valued part of it.

Some Real-Life Examples of Intelligent Leadership

Examples of outstanding leadership take different paths and arrive at different destinations, but they all combine passion, humanity, hard work, and accountability. One example is Theo Epstein, President of Baseball Operations for the Chicago Cubs. Not much united Americans in the fall of 2016, but even the most casual baseball fans couldn’t help but be moved by Game 7 of the World Series that made the Cubs into champions. Epstein has demonstrated the importance of understanding the human qualities of players that turn a group of athletes into a true team: one that is greater than the sum of its parts.

Jeff Bezos would make most people’s lists of leadership superstars, having revolutionized retail with Amazon.com, and having revolutionized the business of IT with Amazon Web Services. Amazon has even won Academy Awards, leading some to wonder if there’s anything this company can’t do.

Chief executive officer of Lloyd’s of London Inga Beale has had tremendous impact on business in the City of London. She has focused on modernizing Lloyd’s of London by embracing technology, and assists London Mayor Sadiq Khan in an advisory role. She has been granted the title of dame by the Order of the British Empire, and has been outspokenly committed to increasing workplace diversity.

Intelligent leadership allows long-established organizations to continue to develop and thrive.

Zimbabwean Strive Masiyiwa is not only successful in business, but is a devout philanthropist, having founded with his wife the Higher Life Foundation that provides scholarships and food to destitute orphans in his country. He has also used his considerable influence to pursue sustainable investment and leadership in environmental policy to help preserve the African continent’s natural resources.

Intelligent Leadership isn’t about fitting into a mold, but about shaping one’s own destiny with tools like hard work, integrity, compassion, and the ability to listen.

Whether or not a person reaches the status of world-renowned leader, their character (or lack thereof) has an enormous impact on how they are remembered, regarded, and talked about. The conscious choices we make wherever we stand on the corporate ladder add up to strong or weak character. It’s often not easy to make the right choices, and everyone is sure to make mistakes sometimes. But Intelligent Leadership puts a person in a contest not with others, but with themselves, and a habit of continually striving for improvement, authenticity, and just plain doing what is right, even if it’s hard, is what eventually turns a good leader into a great one.

John Mattone is the author of several books, including Intelligent Leadership: What You Need to Know to Unlock Your Full Potential. Here you can learn the details of inner- and outer-core characteristics, your own tendencies, and the risks your unique leadership style entails. Better still, you will learn how to make the most of the gifts you possess, and how to address areas where there is room for improvement. Intelligent Leadership means much more than just “intelligence plus leadership.” The leaders who have achieved it are the ones who have left their mark and inspired others, paving the way for the exceptional leaders of the future. If you want to learn more, you can contact John Mattone to learn more.

Glossary of Terms

Emotional intelligence – a person’s ability to maintain awareness of, express, and control their emotions, and handle interpersonal relationships with maturity and empathy

Inner-core strengths – a person’s values, character, thoughts, emotions, and beliefs. In other words, inner-core strengths are fundamental to what makes a person themselves and unlike anyone else.

Intelligent Leadership – a concept developed by John Mattone that integrates a leader’s inner strengths and outer competencies to maximize leadership success

Leadership – a set of inner qualities and competencies that allows a person to inspire and guide a team toward a common goal

Leadership coaching – a type of executive coaching specifically designed to increase an executive’s leadership ability, strengthen competencies, and address deficiencies

Micromanaging – managing with excessive, unnecessary control or attention to detail that ultimately disempowers the person attempting to perform the task being micromanaged

Outer-core competencies – the skills, knowledge, and abilities that allow a leader to know what they can do, must do, and will do to create a blueprint for success

Succession planning – the process of identifying and developing leaders so they will be prepared to replace existing leaders when they are no longer present

Leadership Coaching Skills, Results, Training & Needs

September 25, 2017 By John Mattone 1 Comment

Leaders exist in innumerable contexts and circumstances. Yet even among leaders, some stand out and become iconic. From Simón Bolivar to Margaret Thatcher, some leaders inspire and provoke on a level that is exceptional. How are such leadership icons created? The key word is “created,” because despite some people seeming to have innate leadership potential, world-class leaders in politics, business, or humanitarianism don’t just spring onto the world stage fully formed. Time and hard work are both necessary.

Though young, Alexander the Great was immersed in military intelligence education practically since birth.

While an aptitude for leadership may give someone a higher baseline from which to start becoming a great leader, the greatest leaders are shaped internally and externally. They not only have the training and knowledge they need to lead in their respective fields, but also introspection, emotional intelligence, and the ability to work with people with widely varying personalities, backgrounds, and beliefs.

Leadership coaching is a profession that assists individuals with their capacity to achieve both short- and long-term goals. It’s a personalized, typically one-on-one process that occurs over a defined time period, usually with specific, articulated goals in mind. Organizations that invest in the particular type of leadership development that leadership coaches offer find that they strengthen their existing and emerging leaders, giving organizations a deeper “bench” that can be called on to meet organizational challenges.

Who Are Leadership Coaches?

While leadership coaching can be provided by an internal coach, a supervisor, or even a colleague, typically leadership coaches are brought to an organization from the outside, due to their fresh, more objective perspective.

Leading organizations regularly choose to bring in an external coach to work with their senior leaders. Gone are the days when a coach was only brought in to “rehabilitate” the leader who was going off the rails. Today they are seen for what they are: valuable providers who can take an organization’s leaders to a higher level of leadership, with benefits that can reach through all organizational levels, vertically and horizontally.

As for “who” specifically they are, leadership coaches may hail from just about any business and personal background you can imagine. Many are former business executives, to be sure, but they often have something extra that they bring to the table, such as a successful side career, unique personal experiences, or a career trajectory that has not followed a traditional path.

In other words, you can’t really choose a leadership coach the way you do, say, a can of soup on the way home from work. Finding the right leadership coach is going to require time, research, questions, references, and follow-up. The right leadership coach for your needs is out there, and rest assured they are worth the time and effort you put into locating and selecting them.

Who Needs Leadership Coaches?

Don’t sell yourself or your organization short by sticking to the old thinking that leadership coaches were only needed for “fixing” problem leaders, like someone who arrived at their position through nepotism who doesn’t have anywhere near the right skill set or experience. That may make a good premise for a sitcom series, but successful businesses know better. In reality, leadership coaching concentrates on enhancing the performance of leaders at any organizational level. Most businesses, however, are only able to invest in leadership coaching for leaders at or near the top.

Leadership coaching is almost universally pursued as an investment in further development of highly competent leaders.

A majority of Fortune 500 CEOs are estimated to have their own personal coaches. They already have the education and training they need to handle the technical demands of their role, and they may show outstanding leadership potential, but they (and their organizations) know that becoming a true leader will happen faster with the help of a one-on-one leadership coaching relationship. The type of focus and candid feedback provided by a leadership coach simply isn’t available to many leaders at the highest levels of the corporate hierarchy. Therefore, “blind spots,” and lack of key leadership competencies can go unnoticed, holding back both the leader and the rest of their organization to fulfill their potential.

In short, the right leadership coach teaches top executive how to truly lead. Furthermore, they help executives practice leadership skills and techniques so they become almost a reflexive action when those skills and techniques are needed. There are many parallels between leadership coaching and sports coaching of world-class athletes.

Coaching addresses a custom blend of personal, business, and organizational needs.

What Kind of Training Is Involved with Becoming a Leadership Coach?

Theoretically, anyone could print up business cards and call themselves a leadership coach. But the leadership coaches you want to invest in for your top leaders is one who has not only established their own leadership capabilities, but has also undergone the right combination of coaching training and experience to be able to address your needs.

Coaching training programs vary, of course, but the ones that help people become effective leadership coaches examine and teach proven coaching principles and best practices. They typically offer extensive personal assessment tools to help emerging leadership coaches to understand how they are perceived, and train coaches on competencies involving how to think and what to do as a coach.

Effective leadership coaching training helps people learn to adapt their coaching practices to the specific needs of the leaders they will be coaching, using techniques like mirroring, guiding, and facilitating productive conversations. Programs also teach methods of overcoming common challenges coaches face, like how to deliver sensitive feedback in a constructive manner.

Hundreds of coaching training programs exist, and the most effective ones are generally ones accredited by organizations like the International Coach Federation (ICF) and the Association of Corporate Executive Coaches (ACEC), which establish several criteria for training programs.

What Types of Issues Can a Leadership Coach Help With?

Excellence in time management is one of countless skills leadership coaches can help clients with.

The main issue a leadership coach helps with is development of a more effective leadership style. How this happens varies with the client, the coach, and the context. Some of the issues leadership coaches frequently assist with include, but are not limited to:

Excellent time management and prioritization
Succession planning
Communication skills
Work-life balance
Presentation skills
Networking skills
Conflict management
Self-confidence and assertiveness

In addition, leadership coaching may be called upon because of a specific event, such as a recent or upcoming merger or spin-off. Perhaps one department is absorbing another department, and the leader of the conglomerate department suddenly leads twice as many people. The point is, whenever the answer to an issue is (in whole or in part) “better leadership,” then leadership coaching can be beneficial.

What Is It Like to Work with a Leadership Coach?

The relationship between a client and a coach is a partnership. The coach is not the “expert” teaching the “student” executive in the way of executive wisdom as set out in some comprehensive leadership manual. Rather, both have expertise. The client is the expert concerning the organization, and the coach is the expert in helping the client maximize potential. How this is done may follow a particular coach’s proven techniques, but it is always customized to both the organization and the individual. Here are some ways in which coach-client relationships proceed.

The coach may use active listening or other guiding techniques to help the client solve their own problems
Survey and inventory tools may be used to identify which client behaviors are linked with which business outcomes
The coach and client together may outline potential obstacles, and then set priorities and develop methods of overcoming them
The coach may recommend specific learning sources like books, videos, or podcasts
The coach may help the client emerge from their “comfort zone” so as to explore new opportunities
The client may perform “homework” between coaching sessions designed to accomplish certain things, like develop better setting of goals and action planning
Throughout, the coach maintains strict confidentiality in the coaching partnership. While the business or organization is the “official” client who pays the bills, the individual is considered the real client.

What Results Can Someone Expect from Working with a Leadership Coach?

Organizations can expect not only improvement in the specific coaching client, but throughout the organization.

Can a leadership coach turn around a completely derailed coach in a failing organization? Probably not. Coaches can do a lot, but they’re not miracle workers. In the best scenarios, leadership coaches help executives and other leaders who want to excel to do so in order to improve both themselves and their organization. When this happens, the benefits ripple outward, throughout the organization. Often, it leads to a significantly healthier organization, with many more people than just the coaching client experiencing better performance and stronger motivation.

The client should also expect their goals to be addressed during the coaching process. If the client says, for example, “I want to learn how to delegate better,” then by the end of the coaching process, they should be regularly demonstrating improved delegation. If a client wants to improve their presentation skills, they should have had several opportunities to put new presentation skills into practice during the coaching relationship. The client’s goals should never be ignored or given short shrift.

What Should Someone Not Expect from Working with a Leadership Coach?

Clients should not expect their coaches to offer them the technical guidance they need to do their job. Even if the coach happens to have the same technical background as the client, that’s not what leadership coaching is for. Coaching relationships assume that the client is fully qualified for their position.

Neither is coaching career counseling. The client who isn’t sure that being an executive is the right career for them in the first place won’t get much from the coaching relationship. And while the coaching process shares similarities with consulting, generally consultants are brought in as experts on a particular problem they have been hired to solve.

Coaching, mentoring, and consulting have some overlap, but each has its own goals and techniques.

Coaching and mentoring are not the same thing. Mentors often have years- or decades-long relationships that naturally ebb and flow as the mentee develops as a professional. Mentoring is generally less formal and involves more sharing of company- or industry-specific wisdom. Coaching, by contrast, is typically done for a defined time period, and the skills and techniques developed through leadership coaching tend not to be organization- or industry-centric.

Coaching is not training. Returning to a sports analogy, a trainer helps a pitcher develop and perfect the different types of pitches, but the coach helps the pitcher know where and when to put those specific skills to work for the betterment of the team. Training is critical, of course, but it generally involves less introspection than coaching does.

What Are Some Different Types of Leadership Coaches?

There are probably as many “types” of coaches as there are coaches, because leadership coaches aren’t categorized. Each coach has their own specific style of communicating and working toward goals. Different coaches may operate on different psychological depths with their clients too. For example, some coaches may focus more on skill refinement, while others may dig a little deeper to understand the motivations behind performance, and why certain competencies are necessary.

Different coaches and clients operate at different, personalized psychological depths.

Other coaches focus more on reflective and experiential learning, helping clients improve their emotional intelligence to improve their leadership style. This type of coaching relationship may deal with psychological or emotional “blind spots,” bad habits, or the uncovering of hidden agendas. Clearly, this requires a different approach and different techniques compared to the coach who has been brought in to help a client develop better communication or presentation skills, for example.

All coaches work with their clients and others in the workplace (while maintaining confidentiality) to define and address performance gaps and reach a defined set of goals. All of them include accountability as part of the coaching process.

Why Is John Mattone Unique among Leadership Coaches?

The most effective leaders set ambitious goals, and challenge their employees to help meet them, giving them the appropriate autonomy to do what they do best. This type of corporate culture substitutes “yours” with “ours,” helping everyone develop a sense of being in it together rather than each person being a replaceable cog in a huge corporate machine.

John Mattone is an expert in corporate culture, having written several books on the subject. He is also an extensively experienced leadership coach. As one of the world’s most in-demand CEO coaches, John was recently named one of only eight finalists for the 2017 Thinkers50 Leadership Award, which recognizes the world’s top leadership authorities and influencers. He has received honors from executive coaching peers through the Association of Corporate Executive Coaches, and won the 2015 International Executive Coach Thought Leader of Distinction Award. That same year, John Mattone’s Intelligent Leadership program was named, along with programs by Tony Robbins and John Maxwell, as one of the top three Advanced Leadership Development Programs that Change Lives.

His Intelligent Leadership Executive Coaching Process is an immersive leadership and personal growth journey lasting six to 12 months. It is designed to unlock each client’s full potential, based on a leadership blueprint he developed himself, and in which he certifies other world-class executive coaches. John Mattone not only has the experience and developed expertise to be a globally respected coach, but he has also taught many other world-renowned coaches.

Worldwide demand for leadership coaching has never been greater than it is today. That is because enough globally influential and successful organizations have experienced for themselves the positive difference that leadership coaching has made to individuals and to their organizations as a whole. Business moves at a faster pace than it ever has, so leaders must be able to cope effectively with change, and who can guide their organizations in a rapidly evolving business world. John Mattone is a globally respected leadership coach who is ready to take individuals and the organizations they work for to a higher plane of leadership and operation through his leadership coaching services.

Glossary of Terms

Accountability – a condition of taking responsibility and being held responsible

Accreditation – certification or recognition that a person or program has been qualified by an independent entity to perform a particular task

Blind spot – actions or thought patterns that a person doesn’t recognize as occurring within themselves

Confidentiality – the status of being kept private

Consultant – someone with special expertise brought in to solve a specific business problem

Emotional intelligence – a person’s capacity for self-awareness, control of emotions, and ability to handle interpersonal relationships responsibly

External (outside) coach – a coach brought in from outside the organization with the client being coached

Internal (inside) coach – a coach that is already within the organization of the client being coached

Introspection – the act of self-examination, or observing one’s own intellectual, mental or emotional processes

Leadership coaching – a personalized process designed to build a leader’s capacity to achieve personal and organizational goals

From CEO to Football Coach: The Amazing Story of Joe Moglia

September 13, 2017 By John Mattone Leave a Comment

Right culture

The Horatio Alger story is an entrenched part of American mythology: If you’re honest, self-reliant, thrifty, and cheerful, you can rise from poverty to respectable upper-middle class. During the 20^th century, it became shorthand for the concept of meritocracy – however true or untrue that may be.

Joe Moglia could be viewed through the lens of the Horatio Alger myth, but that would oversimplify things. For one thing, he didn’t have the kindly, rich benefactor that played a role in so many of Alger’s stories. And for another, even after being CEO of a major American corporation that survived the 2008 financial disaster intact, Joe Moglia couldn’t give up a lifelong love: football.

Early Experience as a Football Coach

Most people know Joe Moglia as a CEO who became head football coach at Coastal Carolina University a few years ago. It is, after all, an unusual career transition. But what many people don’t know is that Moglia had experience as a football coach, only it was a decade or more before most of his current players were born.

After growing up in the hardscrabble Bronx of the 1960s, Moglia went to college and grad school and became a high school football coach in Delaware. From there, he climbed the coaching ladder to become defensive coordinator at Dartmouth, and in 1983 was offered a spot on the defensive staff for the Miami Hurricanes – the defending national champion team.

But Moglia needed to provide for his four children, and coaching salaries weren’t sufficient, so he read books and called in favors and relied on a strong personal and professional network to land an entry level job at Merrill Lynch.

A Detour to Wall Street

Joe Moglia became Merrill Lynch’s most successful rookie salesperson when he started out in the fixed-income division and eventually worked his way up to head of municipal lending before becoming the CEO of Ameritrade in 2001.

While in the financial industry, Moglia never forgot about football. In fact, in 1994, he interviewed for a head coaching job at the University of Buffalo, and when the NFL was scouting for someone to replace NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, they called him. Moglia, however, wanted to follow through on his commitments in the financial industry, so he stayed with Merrill Lynch, and then Ameritrade until retiring in 2008.

An Inauspicious Return to Coaching

Moglia’s being named Coastal Carolina’s head football coach raised eyebrows.

Shortly after retiring, Moglia realized that landing a head coaching job would not be easy, having been away from the profession for over two decades. So he took what he could find, which included an “internship” with the University of Nebraska football program. Eventually he took a job with the Omaha Nighthawks of the United Football League, right about the time the league was fizzling out.

He eventually got the call from Coastal Carolina University in 2011. The university’s president, David DeCenzo, wanted to make some changes to the school’s athletic program, and one of those changes was firing well-liked head football coach David Bennett. This represented a big risk for the school, and it did not go over well at first. Some accused Moglia of using his considerable wealth to “buy” the job. But DeCenzo had confidence that a former CEO with football experience might be just what Coastal Carolina’s program needed.

Success on the Field

DeCenzo’s gamble paid off. Since taking over as head football coach in 2012, Moglia led the Chanticleers to a record of 51-15. The stadium underwent a major expansion, and Moglia has made a genuine positive impression on his players. Recent news that he would take a five-month sabbatical to address some health issues only solidified players’ commitment to fill the stadium and take the team to a bowl game this season.

What We Can Learn from Joe Moglia

Joe Moglia reached impressive heights both as a coach and as a CEO by his willingness to start at the bottom and stick with it. He’s had his share of doubters, but has put in the time and effort to put those doubts to rest. And he’s done it largely by refusing to do things “the way they’re supposed to be done.” Maybe that’s part of the reason Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett admires the Joe Moglias of the world: “Guys like Joe who have that passion come out winning.”

Joe Moglia has succeeded beyond expectations because he knows how to instill the right culture in his team, whether that’s in the boardroom, or on the football field. I am passionately committed to the importance of corporate culture, and I invite you to learn more about my corporate culture services.

Leadership Speakers Experience, Types and Organizations

August 29, 2017 By John Mattone Leave a Comment

To some extent, everyone who takes the stage in front of a room full of people and speaks to them is a leadership speaker. Maybe they’re informing their audience of employees about a new safety regulation, or maybe they’re sharing a highly unusual personal experience, but for a few moments, they have the attention of their audience and are by default leaders of a sort.

While every speaker should “lead” to some extent, great leadership speakers know how to take their influence on stage to a higher level.

Leadership speakers as we normally think of them go beyond simply taking the stage to impart information. People in the audience feel like they have been affected in some lasting way after having heard a powerful leadership speech. It is not an exaggeration to say that an amazing leadership speaker can change the world, even if it is the sentiment rather than the exact words that carry on after the speech is over.

In 1883 in Buffalo, future president Theodore Roosevelt told his audience, “The first duty of an American citizen, then, is that he shall work in politics; his second duty is that he shall do that work in a practical manner; and his third is that it shall be done in accord with the highest principles of honor and justice.” Are those words any less applicable today than they were over 130 years ago?

In 2013, at the young age of 16, schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai, after having been shot in the head by a Taliban assassin for attending school, told the United Nations, “They think that God is a tiny, little conservative being who would point guns at people’s heads just for going to school.” In a single sentence, this young woman encapsulated the decades of hatred that fueled the religious extremists who ruled her home with an iron fist.

Though radically different from one another, Roosevelt and Yousafzai more than fulfilled the duties of an effective leadership speaker.

Who Are Leadership Speakers?

True leadership speakers combine passion with experience, and there is no way to predict who will become one. Whatever their age or background, the most effective leadership speakers infuse a room with energy. They speak frankly about obstacles and barriers they have faced, and they emphasize how they moved forward regardless.

Outstanding leadership speaking comes from the right combination of passion and experience.

Leadership speakers may be polished, like the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., or they may be gritty, like the character Blake in the movie Glengarry Glen Ross when he delivers the famous “Always Be Closing” speech. They may be controversial, like Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who refused to support passage of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments as long as women were denied the right to vote. Or they may be almost universally beloved, like the late Fred Rogers in testifying before Congress in 1969 in support of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

The one thing that great leadership speakers have in common, regardless of their other differences, is passion about a subject. And you may be surprised by how much passion the right person may bring to a topic that many people find mundane. Sally Rubenstone, who spent 15 years reading application essays at Smith College, says that some of the most memorable application essays she read were on the most mundane topics, like laundry mishaps or playing in hopelessly inept school bands. As with speeches, it was the people behind these topics and their passion that kept their audience spellbound.

Who Needs to Hear Leadership Speakers?

It could be argued that everyone, at some time or another, can benefit from hearing a powerful leadership speaker. We like to be inspired, and most of us like being surprised by who can inspire us. Why are we so moved when a barefoot Ethiopian wins an Olympic marathon, or when a random young man who had only recently moved to town takes charge of an emergency shelter during a hurricane? We’re moved because these are people who appear to be ordinary people like us, and yet they accomplish amazing things, sometimes having been thrust into their role with little warning.

We all need to be inspired now and then by people who have reached their goals.

The very word “inspiration” implies life-giving breath, writ large. The word comes from the late Latin “inspirationem,” which is formed from the stem word “inspirare,” which literally means “blow into, breathe upon.” Figuratively, the word implies excitement and giving of life force. Inspiration can be short term, helping us get over a hurdle that’s holding us back, or it may be long term, motivating us to make ourselves and our world better.

Leadership speakers may address either or both of these needs, depending on context. They may prompt us to “dig in, and make this holiday season the most successful ever,” or they may shape our thinking more subtly, inspiring us to make our organization more environmentally sustainable over the next decade.

An effective leadership speech should inspire audience members to do or feel something different right now, and to refine longer-term actions as well.

Just as we need clean, fresh air to energize our bodies, we periodically need clean, fresh inspiration to energize our spirits. And the need isn’t confined to a single state of being. We need inspiration when we hit rock bottom, but we also need inspiration when we’re in the midst of an ordinary day, or enjoying success. And those called upon to lead especially need regular inspiration to avoid burning out.

How Does One Become a Leadership Speaker?

Leadership speakers are special because not everyone can be one. But that’s not to say that a person has to fulfill a checklist of personal, educational, and professional accomplishments before being “qualified” as a leadership speaker. An interview with the late Kurt Vonnegut offers advice that works as well with speakers as it does with writers: “I think it can be tremendously refreshing if a creator of literature has something on his mind other than the history of literature so far.” Writing isn’t so much about unimpeachable grammar so much as it is about the content. Likewise, leadership speaking isn’t so much about perfect elocution as it is about what is said and how.

But becoming a leadership speaker, like becoming a writer, requires that first you learn how to do it. If you don’t have much experience speaking in public, there are numerous online resources that can help you learn. Toastmasters International has clubs all over the world, and they give members plenty of actual practice in public speaking as well as constructive feedback and encouragement.

Succeeding as a leadership speaker requires that a person be authentic. A speaker who rehearses and masters the speech they think everyone wants to hear ultimately rings hollow. People love to vicariously experience who another person is, and there is only one of you, so why “be” anyone else? Your leadership speech is the speech that only you can deliver.

The most effective leadership speakers deliver the content that only they can deliver.

On a more practical level, you have to practice public speaking, in public. Doing so at every opportunity is how you develop your own voice as a leadership speaker. Learning to read an audience and engage with them isn’t something that people can tell you how to do. You have to experience it for yourself. When you build a solid reputation for yourself, there are any number of public speakers’ bureaus you can apply to, so you can gain additional speaking experience.

What Makes John Mattone Unique as a Leadership Speaker?

What makes John Mattone unique as a leadership speaker is his one-of-a-kind background as a thought leader, a business coach, an author, and someone who is passionate about business, leadership, and corporate culture. He is the ideal leadership speaker on the subjects of:

Unlocking leadership potential
Reinventing organizational culture
Optimizing organizational use of talent
Identifying and developing high-potential leaders
World-class HR leadership

But it isn’t just experience that drives John Mattone’s leadership speeches. He has also put in the research and scholarship necessary to back up what he says with solid data. His goal is no less than to prepare organizations, their leaders, and their future leaders to face important challenges while continuing to thrive and evolve.

What Should Organizations Expect from a Leadership Speaker?

Hiring a leadership speaker is an investment, and naturally, organizations want to feel that they invested wisely. While some employees or organization members will look forward to learning new things and being inspired, others will fear being bored, or see the opportunity as little more than having an hour or so “off work.”

Organizations should expect their leadership speakers to be both personable and relatable, even if they come from a significantly different background from the people in the audience. Organizers should expect to hear an important message from their speaker, not just the random thoughts of someone who happened to win an award, or attain some other achievement.

Leadership speakers should do far more than recount what they have done. They should use their speaking opportunity to share what they have learned. Everyone in the audience wants to know what is in it for them, and by sharing real, relatable lessons learned, speakers are likelier to communicate what’s in it for the audience members while keeping them enraptured.

Through their speaking, audience members should see something of themselves in their leadership speaker.

In some cases, leadership speakers are chosen specifically for practical lessons they can offer to the people in your industry. Someone who has a long track record, and who has plied their trade admirably for decades has probably “seen it all,” and should have a valuable store of practical wisdom to share with your group.

Organizations should expect professionalism and preparation from their speaker. The speaker should let them know before any contract is signed what types of equipment they will bring, and what equipment they will need. You will need to work out how long before the actual speech they will need to arrive, and how long they are expected to remain afterwards. Organizations that take the time to work the details, like how long the speech will be, and whether or not that time includes a question-and-answer session are the ones that will gain the most from an experienced leadership speaker.

What Should Organizations Not Expect from a Leadership Speaker?

Organizations should not have unrealistic expectations from a leadership speaker. Inspiration is vital, but inspiration alone cannot turn around an organization in crisis. A leadership speaker can certainly be part of an overarching strategy to turn around an organization that is in trouble, but organizational leadership should not expect even the most rousing speech to fix morale and purify toxic organizational cultures.

Even the most accomplished leadership speaker can’t be expected to fix a toxic organizational environment.

Organizations should not expect the best results if they are unable to provide the venue and infrastructure a leadership speaker needs. Most leadership speakers are highly adaptable or they wouldn’t have gained the success they have. But if they are not able to use the tools they are used to, you can’t expect their best speech. Organizations should also not expect leadership speakers to go significantly outside what their agreement specifies. Again, most are flexible enough to adapt their speeches to the audience, but expecting a speaker to stay for another event when that was never discussed isn’t realistic.

What Are Some Different Types of Leadership Speakers?

Leadership speakers can be difficult to categorize, because their stories are so varied and unique. But there are speakers who bring certain intangible elements to the stage, and you can (and should) find out what they are when you research possible leadership speakers in advance of your event. Here are a few examples of broad types of leadership speakers.

Speakers with a Hero’s Journey to Share

Some people have simply lived through extraordinary circumstances and inspire others by sharing their stories. Imagine being able to hear firsthand the story of Marie-Hélène Lefaucheux, who convinced the Gestapo to release her prisoner husband from the Buchenwald concentration camp in 1944! Not every “Hero’s Journey” is as epic as Lefaucheux’s, but there are leadership speakers who inspire by offering living proof that ordinary people can sometimes rise to an occasion they never thought they’d face, and do things they never thought they could.

Speakers Who Want to Inform

Leadership speakers who want to inform their audience range from the scientist giving a technical presentation at a highly specialized conference, to a tech leader talking about their latest product offering. But informing audiences doesn’t have to be about making sales or boosting one’s own professional reputation. A speaker discussing a new technology that will change people’s lives inspires by sharing possibilities and encouraging people to reach further in their own personal and professional lives.

Speakers Who Want to Teach

Some leadership speakers want to teach their audience. Many TED Talks fall into this category. These leadership speakers may teach people how to genuinely become more productive, how to collaborate effectively, or how to optimally schedule a business or product launch. Other surprisingly effective leadership speakers want to teach something less glamorous, but equally important, like how and when to use an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) to potentially save lives.

Speakers Who Want to Persuade

Persuasion and oratory have gone together since ancient times, and speeches to persuade or inspire people to action are as popular now as they ever were. In 342 BCE, Demosthenes used leadership speaking to persuade his fellow Athenians to arms against Philip II of Macedon’s incursions on the Greek peninsula. During the American Revolution, Patrick Henry’s famous “Give me liberty or give me death” speech persuaded fellow Virginians to ban the Stamp Act of 1764. Such speeches can be rousing and excellent for overcoming apathy.

The power of speech to persuade has been utilized since ancient times.

Speakers Who Want to Entertain

Who says entertainment isn’t motivating? While a leadership speaker seeking to entertain is a bit outside the mainstream, outstanding entertainment can be highly motivational in itself. Suppose your team has worked hard and landed a major new contract. Clearly, they know how to pull together and get things done. What’s wrong with allowing them to ride the wave of accomplishment by enjoying a performance by an outstandingly gifted entertainer?

Leadership speakers, contrary to many people’s belief, do not come from “central casting” and deliver platitudes to make their audience feel good and then collect their paycheck. Search and you can find leadership speakers from just about every background, of all ages, and with an astounding range of personal experiences.

Before choosing a motivational speaker, know the reason you want to hire one. What do you want the leadership speech to accomplish? Are you interested in informing or teaching your crew something new? Do you want to persuade them to action? Or do you want them to appreciate the power of the individual who has to rise to extraordinary challenges? Do your research on any leadership speakers you consider, and get to know more about them as people and professionals. They’re not interchangeable, and the right speaker for today may not be the right speaker for one year from now. But with the right leadership speaker, you can expect your team to metaphorically “breathe in” the inspiration they deliver, and to become more effective individuals and professionals for having done so.

John Mattone is a leadership speaker, executive coach, author, and business professional with over 30 years of experience engaging and inspiring audiences across industries. You can check out John’s speaking ability by clicking here.

Glossary

Authenticity – the quality of being genuine rather than copied or false

Hero’s journey – a cultural tale that generally includes a call to action, tribulations, and ultimate victory

Inspiration – the quality of being stimulated mentally or spiritually to feel a certain way or to accomplish something

Leadership speaker – a professional who speaks to groups of many different types, sharing information and experiences, with the goal of inspiring the audience in some way

Morale – a state of confident readiness and discipline to tackle a task or move toward a vision

Persuasion – the action of encouraging, convincing, or inducing others to believe or do something

Relatability – a quality of being told, or being connected to some common experience. Relatability allows people to see themselves in others’ lives or work.

Speech content – the “meat” of a leadership speech. This is what audiences grab onto and take away with them once a speech is over.

Voice – all the factors that make up the individual style of a speaker, including their syntax, diction, and pace. It is what makes each effective leadership speaker unique.

John Mattone Named a Finalist for Thinkers50 Leadership Award

August 17, 2017 By John Mattone Leave a Comment

John Mattone, author, executive coach, and leadership expert, was named one of eight finalists for the Thinkers50 Ranking Award for Leadership in 2017. This award, along with the other Thinkers50 awards will be announced November 13 in London.

John Mattone will be in the company of world-renowned thought leaders for the Thinkers50 Ranking Awards in London in November.

Mattone’s nomination to the short list for the award was due to his 30-plus years of experience in leadership and human capital management. His 4As of leadership (Altruism, Affiliation, Achievement, and Abundance) have been globally recognized as hallmarks of outstanding leaders, and he has coached numerous CEOs and other high-level executives in his career.

Who Are Thinkers50?

Begun in 2001, Thinkers50 was the first ever global ranking of management thinkers and its award list has been updated every two years since then. In the 16 years since it started, the organization has expanded, now including a range of activities that support its primary mission: identifying and sharing the world’s top management thinking.

Thinkers50 bases their mission on three core beliefs:

Ideas can change the world
Management is indispensable to human affairs
Innovative thinking can create a brighter future

The Thinkers50 Awards were introduced in 2011, and today the brand is admired worldwide for its marketing intelligence and objectivity, making it one of the world’s leading authorities in management ideas.

How the Thinkers50 Ranking Is Produced

Independence, integrity, and accessibility are three drivers of the Thinkers50 ranking system. The ranking is based on objective metrics, plus input from an advisory team led by Thinkers50 founders Stuart Crainer and Des Dearlove. Half of the ranking criteria relate to how the nominee has performed in the most recent two years, including their:

Relevance of ideas
Rigor of research
Capability for idea presentation
Accessibility of ideas
International perspective

The Thinkers50 award recipients have demonstrated short- and long-term excellence.

The other half of the ranking criteria are based on nominees’ performance over the past 20 years, including the originality of their ideas, the impact their ideas have had, how practical their ideas are, their business sense, and power to inspire. The public can cast votes at www.Thinkers50.com to suggest names of people who they believe should be considered for the ranking.

Why the Thinkers50 Ranking Is Called “The Oscars of Management Thinking”

The Thinkers50 Ranking is known as “the Oscars of Management Thinking” because of their prestige globally. Ranking awards are given in the following categories:

Leadership (the category in which John Mattone is nominated)
Strategy
Innovation
Breakthrough Idea
Ideas into Practice
Talent
Digital Thinking
Social Enterprise
Radar Award (for up and coming thinkers)
Lifetime Achievement

Among the many thought leaders suggested by the public on the Thinkers50 website, only eight in each category are designated as finalists to attend the Thinkers50 Award Gala in November in London.

A Prestigious Recognition

John Mattone was named to the Leadership Award short list because of his ability to shed “powerful and original” new light onto the topic of leadership. Every type of team, organization, or corporation requires exceptional leadership to get exceptional results, and the role of the leader is constantly evolving as the world changes.

The Thinkers50 Leadership Award recognizes management thinking leaders who have demonstrated mastery of leadership while demonstrating their own powerful perspective on what outstanding leadership means, how it can be developed, and what should be expected of leaders. John Mattone will be in rarefied company in London in November, alongside leaders in digital and innovative thinking, and leaders who have accomplished a lifetime of positive results in their field.

To learn more about John Mattone’s areas of expertise, you can check out his books, which include three best sellers. Mattone is recognized by multiple organizations as one of the top independent leadership consultants, executive coaches, and speakers in the world.

Need Goal Motivation? Try Executive Coaching

August 8, 2017 By John Mattone Leave a Comment

We all know motivation when we feel it, but what is it made up of? Motivation is partly due to enthusiasm for something, like achieving a long-held goal. It’s also due to having a reason to do something, whether that’s to provide well for a family, make the community better, or pursue a high-powered career track.

Enthusiasm and reason combine to build motivation.

Many business leaders and executives enlist in the services of an executive coach, and one reason why is to develop the motivation they need to reach their and their organization’s goals. But it’s essential that executives not put the burden of “providing” motivation onto their coach. Sure, external factors can be motivating, but the only motivation that lasts through thick and thin comes from inside a person.

Both Carrots and Sticks Are Short-Term Tools

Did you play sports or participate in performing arts as a child? If so, you may have had different types of coaches along the way. Some may have wielded intimidation in an attempt to get results, while others may have held out the possibility of rewards, say, a pizza party after winning an important game, to motivate kids.

While both the metaphorical carrot and stick can be useful, they do not make up the entirety of successful coaching. Why? Because intimidation and rewards are both external motivators, and for most people, external motivation isn’t enough to inspire the drive and passion necessary to achieve true, lasting excellence.

Self-Motivation Is Lasting

If you were lucky enough playing sports or performing on stage to have a coach who inspired you to want to achieve important goals, you probably already know that the only kind of motivation that is truly long-lasting is that which comes from within. You may not develop this internal drive when you first pursue an interest, but to succeed with an important interest, you will develop it at some point, and rely on it as just as much a part of your makeup as your throwing arm or your voice.

That’s why the most exceptional executive coaches are the ones who inspire self-motivation, by getting to know you and getting to know what makes you passionate and committed. While there is nothing wrong with being externally motivated sometimes, like when you know you’ll receive a bonus for exceeding last quarter’s numbers, external motivation is ultimately insufficient.

External motivation can only accomplish so much.

What an Outstanding Executive Coach Does

The way a successful executive coach operates is the key to inspiring and fostering self-motivation in coaching clients. One way great coaches do this is by building a relationship with clients based on trust and on truly getting to know what drives a person. Excellent coaches also understand the uses and benefits of assessments, at the beginning of the coaching relationship, and at its conclusion.

Outstanding coaches are willing to challenge your assumptions and help you recognize when your goals are your own, and when they have been imposed or accepted from outside yourself. They know how to support and encourage you, and are willing to present you with harsh truths when necessary. And they want to measure success and progress toward goals not only so you can see how you have changed, but so they can measure their own effectiveness as coaches.

The Best Coaches Want Your Feedback

One essential element of the coach-client relationship is feedback. A coach that doesn’t listen to what the client has to say isn’t a very good coach. Feedback is essential for developing and articulating goals, and for building a strong relationship based on trust. A great coach is constantly aware of visual and verbal feedback given by a client, whether it’s specifically designated as feedback, or is just part of a typical coaching session.

If an executive coach doesn’t help clients develop motivation from within, they’re not a very good coach. Understanding motivation and understanding what you are genuinely passionate about is something that can be assisted by a positive coaching relationship. In fact, if motivation and passion aren’t present, all the coaching in the world won’t help in the long term. I invite you to contact me to learn more about my leadership coaching services. My goal as a long-time executive coach is to help each and every client reach their goals and achieve success.