By Hall of Fame Speaker, Award Winning Author. Connie Podesta, CSP, CPAE While accountability is a common topic in organizations these days, I encourage my audiences to think about that concept as a promise. When employees are hired, they are essentially making a promise to the company to perform the duties of a particular job. It’s an emotional commitment as much as a legal contract. But if employees don’t consider themselves totally responsible for doing their jobs correctly, the promise is missing. The sense of commitment is lost. Trust erodes. And we all know it’s virtually impossible Read More
Unpacking the Psychology Behind Incredible Leadership
By Hall of Fame Speaker, Award Winning Author. Connie Podesta, CSP, CPAE Great leadership is 10% smart business strategies and 90% psychology. Admittedly, some people might not agree with that statistic. But I speak to tens of thousands of leaders every year, and I guarantee you it’s true. When organizations want to elevate the quality of their leaders, the first inclination is to provide them with training on the latest processes or technology. While that tactic quickly reaches the point of diminishing returns, helping these leaders to gain greater psychological insights into themselves Read More
Quit Allowing People to Sabotage You
By Hall of Fame Speaker Connie Podesta Nothing throws a wrench in a meeting like the sneers of passive-aggressive people. Sitting there, arms folded, huffing and puffing. But they never really say what’s bugging them. Ugh! The next move is yours, and it’s pretty clear-cut. If you don’t shut down that sabotaging behavior now, you’re basically giving them a free pass to be rude. They are getting away with it, and you’re letting them. The only solution is to take a stand—and take action. I know what you’re thinking now: “But Connie, I don’t like conflict.” I get it. Most people don’t. Read More
Quit Underestimating the Importance of a Non-Disruptive Work Environment
Leadership: The Irony of Disruption by Business Motivational Speaker Connie Podesta Scan the pages of any business publication, and you’ll come away with the message that successful leaders are supposed to innovate. Disrupt. Push the envelope. Think outside the box. Break the rules. Oh yes, disruption is very trendy right now. Let’s dive into that. Businesses have played a bit of a semantics game with the word “disruption.” For most of our lives, disruption was something to be avoided because it led to discord, turmoil, and problems. Not a healthy environment in which to do work or Read More
Quit Talking So Much
By Communication Keynote Speaker Connie Podesta Raise your hand if you’re a “talker”. I know I’ve been guilty of it. I remember as a kid, a teacher saying to me that I wouldn’t amount to much because I talked too much! Fortunately for me, I grew up to be a keynote speaker, so I learned to leverage that particular skill! As a former therapist and human relationship expert, I’ve also learned a whole lot since those school days about what connects us and what divides us as human beings. As leaders, spouses, partners, parents, friends – all of those roles require communication skills. In Read More
Quit Moving on When the Sale is Closed
By Connie Podesta, Hall of Fame Speaker Let’s be clear salespeople – if you’re only in it for the money, you’re leaving money on the table. How’s that for an attention-getter? Sales is an amazing industry, often with sky’s-the-limit earning potential, but you and I both know that there are plenty of people in it just for the quick dollar, not the long-term customer relationship. You know the ones, right? Those who literally move on to find their next deal before the ink is dry on the sale they just closed? Here’s what you are missing: The lifetime value of a client. Personally, more than Read More
Lead Like You Mean it!
The Psychology and Leadership Connection by Leadership Keynote Speaker Connie Podesta I was recently interviewed by a member of the California Special Districts ahead of their CSDA’s Annual Conference in September. The topic was leadership -- and the message (for the article and the keynote) is how leaders can use the power of psychology to help them drive bottom-line results for their teams. Psychology = profits and productivity. I shared, that for most people, their JOB isn't actually the thing that holds a team member back. It's the PEOPLE that they work with and an inability to Read More
Quit Listening to Employee Complaints
by Leadership Keynote Speaker Connie Podesta Here’s a question for you. What are three words that make managers want to run the other way? Open Door Policy. The original intent of an “Open Door Policy” was to create a communication mechanism to ensure that employees would feel free to honestly discuss key issues without fear of retribution or, even worse, losing their jobs. In other words, not only would a leader’s door be open but, hopefully, so would their mind. However, over time that concept has expanded and become an excuse for some employees to also feel free to complain. About Read More
Quit Trying to Make Everyone Happy
Leadership Lessons for Today’s World By Leadership Keynote Speaker Connie Podesta When did it become our job to make other people happy? Our kids? Our partners? The people on our team who follow our lead? Isn’t it about all we can do on most days just to make ourselves happy? Somewhere along the way, managers have been told by well-meaning people (and probably a few motivational speakers) that one of their priorities is to make sure all of their employees are happy. WRONG! Psychologically, it is IMPOSSIBLE to make someone else happy. I know you know that. You’ve certainly tried hard Read More
Quit Being Afraid to Fire People!
It’s Time for a Change of Perspective By Keynote Speaker and Leadership Expert Connie Podesta I totally get it! Psychologically, for most people, firing someone is one of the hardest things about being a leader. They obsess over it, lose sleep over it, and even get physically sick over it! Most of all they feel guilty –really guilty—about it. The question is: why do they take on what isn’t theirs to take on? The answer: because they feel responsible for “causing” another person to lose their job. So let’s get rid of the guilt and look at firing from an entirely different Read More