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The Leadership Podcast

The Leadership Podcast

We Study Leaders

December 4, 2019

TLP179: Control the Controllables

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As a leader, you’re able to create the conditions where good things happen at your workplace. You can influence the environment in ways where your team can create, innovate, and solve wicked problems. In this episode, Jim and Jan discuss how to address fear, how to cultivate hope and creativity, and how leaders can strive to be better leaders with the scarcity of time we all share.

Key Takeaways

[3:00] There’s a wide spectrum of people out there and with that comes a wide spectrum of internal motivation and what incentivizes them.

[5:00] With that being said, people are also completely different at work than they are in their personal lives.

[5:55] So what can leaders do if they see someone who is fearful at their job? The best thing to do is to look at yourself. How do you react when your staff presents you with new ideas? How do you react when there is a major failure in the company? As a leader, your reaction shifts the entire culture of a company.

[11:15] If we are just a victim of the world around us, we are perceived as weaker. We are weaker because we have a lack of options in our lives so we might develop a victim mentality in the workplace. It’s important to be active in seeking alternative options, even if you don’t plan to take them because it makes you stronger.

[17:00] Hope is not a strategy but it is needed in the workplace. Hope is created when people feel like they’re in control and that they have multiple options to pursue.

[19:55] We need creativity in the workforce but in order to cultivate it, the leader’s workforce needs to be relatively happy and stress-free.

[22:05] We are very confident that we can read human emotions. In reality, we’re really bad at it.

[27:55] Leaders are busy. They often don’t have extra time to study how to be good leaders, which is why we need to surround ourselves with a good support system that will help keep us accountable.


How to Contact Jim & Jan


Quotable Quotes

  • “It goes back to how people are incentivized and motivated. The baseline of those things is fear and overconfidence.”
  • “Fear doesn’t always show up in the form of somebody that looks scared. Fear can show up in someone that’s indecisive.”
  • “Let’s find the optimal solution with the information we have, in the time we have to make it.”

Beyond the Uniform offers over 300 free episodes to help military Veterans succeed in their civilian career. This includes overviews of potential career paths, deep dives on necessary skills to succeed, and reviews of other free services that support the military Veteran community. You can find more info at BeyondTheUniform.org.

Jim & Jan

These are the books mentioned in Jim and Jan’s podcasts.

Grandstanding: The Use and Abuse of Moral Talk

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Grandstanding: The Use and Abuse of Moral Talk

Philosophy for Life and Other Dangerous Situations: Ancient Philosophy for Modern Problems

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Philosophy for Life and Other Dangerous Situations: Ancient Philosophy for Modern Problems
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Philosophy for Life and Other Dangerous Situations: Ancient Philosophy for Modern Problems

The Power of Habit

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The Power of Habit
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The Power of Habit

When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing

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When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing
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When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing

All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten

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All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten
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All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten

The Spirit of Leadership: Optimizing Creativity and Change in Organizations

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The Spirit of Leadership: Optimizing Creativity and Change in Organizations
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The Spirit of Leadership: Optimizing Creativity and Change in Organizations

The Power Paradox: How We Gain and Lose Influence

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The Power Paradox: How We Gain and Lose Influence
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The Power Paradox: How We Gain and Lose Influence

The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life

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The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life
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The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life

THE COMPASS SOLUTION – A GUIDE TO WINNING YOUR CAREER

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THE COMPASS SOLUTION – A GUIDE TO WINNING YOUR CAREER
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THE COMPASS SOLUTION – A GUIDE TO WINNING YOUR CAREER

Team of Teams

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Team of Teams
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Team of Teams

Plato’s Lemonade Stand: Stirring Change into Something Great

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Plato’s Lemonade Stand: Stirring Change into Something Great
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Plato’s Lemonade Stand: Stirring Change into Something Great

Man’s Search For Meaning: The classic tribute to hope from the Holocaust

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Man’s Search For Meaning: The classic tribute to hope from the Holocaust
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Man’s Search For Meaning: The classic tribute to hope from the Holocaust

Everybody Lies: Big Data, New Data, and What the Internet Can Tell Us About Who We Really Are

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Everybody Lies: Big Data, New Data, and What the Internet Can Tell Us About Who We Really Are
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Everybody Lies: Big Data, New Data, and What the Internet Can Tell Us About Who We Really Are

The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion

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The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion
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The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion

The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure

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The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure
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The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure

Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It

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Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It
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Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It

How to Win Friends and Influence People

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How to Win Friends and Influence People
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How to Win Friends and Influence People

Practical Wisdom: The Right Way to Do the Right Thing

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Practical Wisdom: The Right Way to Do the Right Thing
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Practical Wisdom: The Right Way to Do the Right Thing

Choosing Courage: The Everyday Guide to Being Brave at Work

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Choosing Courage: The Everyday Guide to Being Brave at Work
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Choosing Courage: The Everyday Guide to Being Brave at Work

Discipline Is Destiny: The Power of Self-Control

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Discipline Is Destiny: The Power of Self-Control
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Discipline Is Destiny: The Power of Self-Control

The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of The Learning Organization

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The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of The Learning Organization
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The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of The Learning Organization

Look: A Practical Guide for Improving Your Observational Skills

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Look: A Practical Guide for Improving Your Observational Skills
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Look: A Practical Guide for Improving Your Observational Skills

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones

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Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
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Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones

Dress for Success

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Dress for Success
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Dress for Success

The Experience Economy

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The Experience Economy
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The Littlest Green Beret

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The Littlest Green Beret
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The Littlest Green Beret

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion

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Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion
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Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion

The Future of Management

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The Future of Management
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The Future of Management

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

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The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
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The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us

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Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us
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Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us

Leaders: Myth and Reality

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Leaders: Myth and Reality
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Leaders: Myth and Reality

Dying for a Paycheck: How Modern Management Harms Employee Health and Company Performance and What We Can Do About It

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Dying for a Paycheck: How Modern Management Harms Employee Health and Company Performance and What We Can Do About It
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Dying for a Paycheck: How Modern Management Harms Employee Health and Company Performance and What We Can Do About It

The Responsible Company: What We’ve Learned From Patagonia’s First 40 Years

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The Responsible Company: What We’ve Learned From Patagonia’s First 40 Years
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The Responsible Company: What We’ve Learned From Patagonia’s First 40 Years

Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life

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Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life
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Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life