Leadership Biz Cafe With Tanveer Naseer

The arrival of Spring often brings to mind the idea of renewal and new beginnings. And it’s not surprising when we see trees waking from their winter slumber to transform their spindly branches into luscious clouds of green foliage. Or when we see spring flowers like tulips emerge from the ground, erupting into this dazzling display of bright yellows, reds, oranges, and whites. But there’s another common sight that evokes the arrival of Spring – the Canada geese flying in their distinctive V-formation across the sky. Watching this seasonal migration happen from my backyard brought to mind three important reminders of what leaders should be focusing on to ensure their employees succeed in their collective efforts. And it’s these three springtime leadership reminders that serve as the inspiration for this episode of my Leadership Espresso Shot series. As much Spring brings us a sense of hope for what this year might bring, I hope you’ll take a moment to listen to this episode to learn w

There’s no question that being an effective communicator is critical to succeeding at leadership. But as my guest in this episode of my “Leadership Biz Cafe” podcast points out, a leader’s ability to express the right kind of appreciation to their employees is key to driving employee growth and success. Dr. Paul White is a psychologist, author, and speaker who “makes work relationships work.” His work has been featured in Business Week, CNN, Entrepreneur, Fast Company, Fortune, and the New York Times. Along with Dr. Gary Chapman, Paul is the coauthor of the best-selling book, “The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace”, which has sold over 550,000 copies and has been translated into 25 languages. Over the course of this episode, Paul and I talk about how leaders can improve their ability to express appreciation to their employees by exploring some of the following topics: · Understanding why appreciation is different from recognition and why both are needed to inspire and motiv

One of the common themes around leadership that I’m asked to speak on for a keynote or a corporate training workshop around is how can leaders create conditions that inspire employees to show up and deliver their best.As a point out in these talks, a key ingredient to making such conditions is defining a vision that helps to inspire purpose in your employees and with it, drive success over the long-term.So in this edition of my Leadership Espresso Shot series on my “Leadership Biz Cafe” podcast, I want to share two stories that reveal three critical steps leaders need to take to create a vision that inspires a sense of shared ownership amongst your employees that will strengthen their commitment and drive to overcome whatever stands in their way to achieving these shared goals. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“The real job of leadership is the chance to sincerely, passionately, excellently elevate human lives. And the best businesses are very mission-driven and purpose-centered.”This is just one of many brilliant and thoughtful insights Robin Sharma shares in this latest episode of my “Leadership Biz Cafe” podcast.I can’t tell you how excited I am to share this episode with you. When I started this podcast almost 14 years ago, I never thought I’d be speaking with someone like Robin Sharma about leadership.Robin is one of the top leadership and personal mastery experts in the world. In fact, many of the world’s top organizations have sought his advice and guidance, including Nike, FedEx, Microsoft, Unilever, GE, and PwC.Robin is also the author of several #1 international bestsellers, including The 5AM Club, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, and The Leader Who Had No Title. His books have been translated into more than 92 languages and dialects, making him one of the most widely read authors alive.Robin joins me on my

I’ve spoken with many highly successful people over the course of career and there’s one interesting characteristic I’ve noticed they all share in common.Each of them exudes this quiet confidence about themselves and their abilities.And to repeat, not just confidence, but quiet confidence, meaning they don’t try to be the smartest person in the room or the one who gets all the attention. And yet, when they speak, you can sense this sense of assuredness and inner peace about who they are and what they can do.Naturally, most of us would love to be like these successful people – not just because of the level of success they’ve achieved, but because of that quiet confidence they exemplify.So what’s their secret? How did they achieve this quiet confidence? Is it because of their success? Or could it be their sense of confidence gave rise to their success?Well, recently, I delivered a morning keynote followed by an afternoon workshop to almost 1,000 leaders from a healthcare provider in the US and I realized that o

Over the past several months, there’s been a lot of attention paid to an organization’s workplace culture, particularly in terms of the on-going debate over the future of work.But at a time where it feels we’re going from one crisis to another, it is important for leaders to consider what kind of workplace culture their promoting in their organization, and whether it will help their employees to adapt and thrive in spite of what crisis looms next over the horizon.That’s why I invited Shaara Roman to join me on this episode of my “Leadership Biz Cafe” podcast to discuss her book, “The Conscious Workplace: Fortify Your Culture to Thrive in Any Crisis”.Shaara is a seasoned executive, having held leadership roles in CGI, Fannie Mae, NRECA, and Visa, before founding her own workplace culture consulting firm, The Silverene Group. Her writings and insights on workplace culture have appeared in numerous publications, including like CEOWorld Magazine, SHRM, HR.com, HR Executive, Authority Magazine, and GovExec.Shaara’

When it comes to success, much of the focus tends to be on how do we go about being successful. We read books and watch documentaries about the lives of successful people in the hopes that we might better understand what allowed them to succeed in the hopes that we might achieve a similar result from our efforts.But a recent conversation with my daughter revealed something we don’t tend to think about when it comes to success and that is what lessons can we learn about ourselves when we succeed?That’s why in this edition of my Leadership Espresso Shot series, I share a story about how my daughter overcame an obstacle in achieving success in school and the three important lessons we need to make sure we never lose sight of when we achieve success.Not only to ensure that we might succeed again, but because of the powerful insights we gain about the journey we’re on and will continue to take. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When it comes to diversity in today’s workplaces, understandably much of the focus is on systemic challenges members of various marginalized groups have to deal with.But as my guest in this episode of my Leadership Biz Cafe podcast points out, that doesn’t mean there aren’t measures Black professionals can take at the individual level so they can succeed and thrive in today’s corporate environment.Carice Anderson is a seasoned corporate leader and executive, having worked at numerous organizations including Deloitte, Korn Ferry, McKinsey & Company, Aon-Hewitt, and has worked with top companies like Google, Bloomberg, JP Morgan Chase and Bain & Company. I’ve invited Carice to join me on my podcast to talk about her book “Intelligence Isn’t Enough: A Black Professional’s Guide to Thriving in the Workplace” so that Black and non-Black leaders can learn from her insights about how Black employees can be empowered to succeed and thrive as members of their team. Over the course of my conversation

How many of us would be happy knowing the high point of our career was that we were good at just getting through the day?Unfortunately, that’s the reality leaders need to recognize as the focus of today’s leadership becomes less and less about achieving long-term goals and more about just putting out fires and ‘getting things done’.While this certainly makes us look good from a day-to-day perspective, it also leaves us with little to point to as a true accomplishment and reflection of who we were and what we did as a leader.No doubt this is why biographies and stories of successful leaders continue to capture our curiosity and imagination. After all, their leadership example is what we all aspire to be like – in our own way, of course.But how we can be our own version of an exceptional leader when all we focus on are things that while urgent, are not important to achieving something lasting and meaningful? Something that changes things for the better, or at least opens the door for others to affect that kind

What do Uber, Apple, Netflix, and AirBnB share in common in terms of the successes they’ve achieved? According to my guest in this episode of my Leadership Biz Cafe podcast, what these and other successful companies share in common is that they’re all experience disruptors.And he has a framework based on studies in consumer behaviour, behavioural psychology, and marketing analytics that can help any organization become their own version of an experience disruptor.Allen Adamson is an expert in branding, experience creation, and innovation strategy. Over the course of his career, he’s worked as a marketing executive at Unilever, held senior management positions at iconic advertising firms, including Ogilvy & Mather and DMB&B, and has worked companies like Accenture, GE, FedEx, HBO, Marriott, MetLife, P&G, Sony, and Verizon.He’s authored four books, and it’s his latest one, “Seeing the How: Achieving Market Advantage by Transforming the Stuff We Do, Not the Stuff We Buy”, that I wanted to talk with A

The last few weeks of the year are an ideal time for self-reflection and review as on the one hand, there’s an understandable eagerness to plan and map out goals for the upcoming year.But at the same time, it’s a perfect moment to take note of both the successes earned and lessons gained over the past 12 months.It’s in the vein of the latter that I wanted to look back at the numerous conversations I had with my guests on my Leadership Biz Cafe podcast to select my favourite guest moments and insights from 2023.To be sure, this wasn’t an easy task as I’ve had the privilege of speaking with some insightful and knowledgeable experts over these past 12 months.Combing the perspectives of looking back and looking ahead, here are my favourite highlights from some of the conversations I had on my podcast in 2023:John Baldoni – Why great leaders take care of their employees by creating community and why grace is the how to making that happen.Adam Bryant – Why your ability to offer feedback and give recognition is key

If I were to ask your employees if your organization is ready to navigate the next global crisis, what would they say?As much as we’d like to think we’re prepared for whatever crisis comes our way, the pandemic and subsequent global supply chain crises clearly proved many organizations are vastly under-prepared to handle any kind of global crisis, let alone internal ones that risk upending our well-laid plans.So what can leaders do? How can you ensure your organization will fare better when the next storm arrives at your doorstep?In this episode of my “Leadership Biz Cafe” podcast, I spoke with a leader who not only successfully navigated his company through two major crises, but who’s developed a practical guide any leader can put into practice right now to help them prepare for the next crisis.James Burstall is the CEO of Argonon, a major international TV production company based in London, with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Liverpool, and Glasgow. His company has produced a number of popular shows, inc

Have you ever had the experience dealing with after-sales support where you not only get the runaround, but you spend days just trying to get someone on the phone to acknowledge your problem?That’s the situation my wife and I had to content with when we contacted a major retailer about an issue with our newly purchased recliner sofa.While on the surface, this would seem like a problem with customer support, the truth is this experience reveals a far more problematic issue that every leader should be making a concerted effort to avoid.That’s why for this edition in my Leadership Espresso Shot series, I wanted to use this experience to illustrate four questions leaders should be asking themselves to evaluate whether their actions are setting up their employees to succeed … or whether it’s only serving to create silos within their organization.As many of us begin to look ahead to what we want to achieve in 2024, this is the ideal moment to reflect on what you can improve on to better support and empower your emp

With the explosive growth of AI and other emergent technologies, it’s not surprising to see many organizations focusing on digital business transformation. Unfortunately, many leaders are making a critical mistake in their strategy, something I discuss and explore with my guest Kamales Lardi in this episode of my “Leadership Biz Cafe” podcast.Kamales is an award-winning digital transformation expert and the CEO and founder of Lardi & Partner, a global digital and business transformation firm. Kamales is a Teaching Fellow at Durham University Business School and she served as the first Chair of the Forbes Business Council of Women Executives.Kamales is also the author of the best-selling book, “The Human Side Of Digital Business Transformation”. I’ve invited Kamales to join me on the show to talk about what leaders need to do to successfully drive digital transformation in their organization, starting with a better understanding of what digitization, digitalization, and digital transformation really mean.h

Does your organization encourage a sense of curiosity? According to a survey in the Harvard Business Review, 83% of leaders say they do, but barely half of their employees would agree.Far from being something that's 'nice to have', encouraging a sense of curiosity in your workplace is going to become increasingly critical, not only to ensure better agility and adaptability in an ever uncertain world, but also because the burgeoning use of AI in organizations will lead to a shift towards more creativity-focused work.Seen from this vantage point, it becomes clear that your ability to promote curiosity in your organization is fast becoming a critical factor to your organization’s long-term success and viability.So how can leaders ensure they are in fact encouraging curiosity in their organization?In this latest instalment in my Leadership Espresso Shot series, I share four steps leaders can take that will help them create a culture of inquisitiveness in their organization. By putting these four steps into practi

“One of the biggest stumbling blocks for organizations is an unwillingness to be brutally honest about the challenges they face.”There’s no question leadership is becoming a more challenging role than it was 5-10 years ago. The rapid pace of change, the on-going uncertainties, even the very nature of the way we work have made being a leader a more strenuous and stressful job.But another factor that’s making it challenging for people to succeed at leadership is that many people in leadership roles today haven’t asked themselves a critical question before taking on the role – why do you want to be a leader?This question serves as the starting point for my conversation with best-selling author Adam Bryant about what those interested in taking on the leadership reins need to prepared for in this latest episode of my “Leadership Biz Cafe” podcast.Adam is probably best known for his New York Times column, “The Corner Office”. He’s also the best-selling author of “The Corner Office: Indispensible and Unexpected Less

Few issues have captured the attention and focus of leaders over the past few years as the ongoing debate over whether to allow employees to work remotely or demand they return to office (RTO).And because it’s a contentious issue, there’s invariably numerous articles and studies out there which are meant to clarify things, but which honestly probably make the situation more ambiguous than it needs to be.But what’s especially troubling about this growing push by many organizations to overlook employee concerns and issue RTO mandates is that leaders are sending out a message that will negatively impact their leadership for many years to come.That’s why in this latest episode in my Leadership Espresso Shot series, I challenge leaders to rethink what they’re focusing on right now if they are to not only help their employees in today’s uncertain economic environment, but create the conditions to ensure their collective growth and success in the future as well.So I hope you’ll take 10 minutes out of your day to giv

We’ve all seen the studies that have shown how a diverse workforce leads to better productivity, increased profits and market share, and greater creativity and innovation.But with so many positive outcomes related to diverse workforces, why are so many organizations failing to attract and retain a diversified workforce – including in the senior leadership ranks? What are we getting wrong and what should we be doing differently?According to my guests on this episode of my “Leadership Biz Cafe” podcast, Bertina Ceccarelli and Susanne Tedrick, the key is understanding how to use innovation principles to drive an organization’s DEI efforts.Bertina is the Chief Executive Officer of NPower, one of the most successful non-profits in North America committed to helping young adults and military-connected individuals launch tech careers. And Susanne is the author of "Women of Color in Tech" and a cloud computing technical trainer for Microsoft.Together, they co-authored the book “Innovating For Diversity – Lessons from

It seems like every day there’s another news report about a company’s decision to have their employees return to the office. Of course, if you’ve been following the leadership space for some time, this isn’t too surprising.After all, it was only a few years ago that organizations were limiting smartphone use in in the workplace to company-approved devices, only for their leaders to turn around and offer bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies to attract and retain employees.Of course, the current debate over when and where employees work is not likely to be resolved as quickly as the BYOD debate. Creating conditions that allow your employees to work whenever and wherever they want is not just about giving employees a choice.It also represents a disruption to how we understand the nature of work, not to mention changing many requirements for what will be needed to succeed at leadership in this new world of work.Seen from that vantage point, it’s not surprising to see such resistance from organizations to offerin

If there’s one challenge leaders everywhere share in common right now it’s how to ignite employee commitment. From the Great Resignation to quiet quitting, organizations have been grappling with how to motivate and retain employees who are critical to their long-term success and growth.Fortunately, my guest in this episode of my “Leadership Biz Cafe” podcast has discovered that there are three important keys that will ignite employee commitment and retention, three keys that every leader and every organization has the ability to employ … provided they’re willing to accept some realities about the new world of work.Joe Mull is a respected authority on what organizations need to do to drive commitment in the workplace. He’s written three books on this subject, including his latest “Employalty: How To Ignite Commitment and Keep Top Talent in the New Age of Work”, where he describes those three keys to igniting employee commitment.And as I told Joe during our conversation, one of them resonated strongly with me a