Ignite your Leadership Impact
It all starts with one decision.
Do you want to be a great leader?
Leadership is a choice and mindset—not the result of a new job title.
To stand out as a leader, it takes courage and humility.
In leadership development, a lot of emphasis is placed on skills—that is definitely the place to start.
The winning moments happen when you apply the skills to a problem and reach a solution.
This podcast focuses on everyday challenges that leaders encounter and we share our experiences (good and bad) for tackling those challenges head on.
Lately, we've been discussing…
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1 Approach to Building Stronger Work Relationships
Are your team members stressed, are they focused, are they ok? How do you know? With the workplace playing a central role in many people’s lives, it is important for team members to feel connected and supported by their leaders. So how do leaders balance building relationships with getting all the work done? Are they two separate things or do better relationships actually help get the work done? This week Kim and Pepper discuss their thoughts on building relationships at work and open up about their hunger for deeper conversations. They each provide a few tips on getting the conversations started then share how these conversations and strong relationships help them to manage and guide the work. Are your relationships with your team members helping or hurting your leadership? Share with us at HeyThere@ExtraShotOfLeadership.com
Apr 3, 2024 -
What Caused Us to Pause The Show and How Has Our View on Leadership Changed
Have you ever felt like your life and leadership compass needed recalibrating? Many leaders often contemplate a reset in January as they begin a new year while others may choose the fall when the school year begins again. Don’t worry if you missed those two opportunities, because the best time for a reset is when the time is right...for you! It may be when your daily schedule is packed full with meetings, projects, after school activities, dinners, vacations, hobbies, and everything else you have said “yes, sure, no problem” to, or possibly during a life altering event. What matters most isn’t the time of year, but the time spent reflecting on where you are spending your energy and what truly matters. This week Kim and Pepper get back to their love of podcasting and roll on with episode #101. They discuss their hiatus from the show as well as what they did with their time while the record button was on PAUSE. They each share some personal stories of why they needed a reset and how it has impacted their life, their focus, and their leadership. When was your last leadership reset and what were the outcomes from your time of reflection? Share with us at HeyThere@ExtraShotOfLeadership.com
Mar 20, 2024
Hi, we're Pepper and Kim
We spend a lot of time thinking about leaders and leadership development.
- what makes a great leader?
- what causes a leader to derail?
- what are some common problems leaders handle?
We know that great leaders change lives. And being a great leader can be life changing. To be great it takes consistent focus on learning (that's the courageous part) and on helping others (that's the humility part).
Our lives have been impacted by both good and bad leaders. Which drives us to share our stories and experiences to help others leaders on their journey. We've got over 25 years combined in formal leadership positions and well over 40 years in informal leadership positions and cross functional project teams.
Other Recent Episodes
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The 1 Thing No One Can Take Away From You
What can you accomplish with a continuous learning mindset? The answers to this question are absolutely endless! Anyone with an ongoing and self-driven pursuit of knowledge can build, create, or attain just about anything they set their mind to. Apply this thinking to leadership and leaders can soar to a level of leadership where the sky is the limit for what they can accomplish both personally and with their teams. Cue the confetti cannons! This week Kim and Pepper celebrate their 100th episode of Extra Shot of Leadership. They reminisce about their early episodes and the things they have each learned over the past 3 years. They discuss their thoughts on lifelong learning and tie the conversation back to leaders that have their minds set on excellence. What’s your take on lifelong learning and what type of learning are you focused on now? Share with us at HeyThere@ExtraShotOfLeadership.com
Sep 11, 2023 -
#1 Reason Why Feedback is Painful
Great leaders rarely exist just by natural ability. Many great leaders have built their skills and reputation by way of feedback. Not the fluffy feedback but the tough stuff. The kind of feedback that can be painful to hear and can often leave a person feeling angry, confused, or frustrated. Just because they are a leader doesn’t mean they won’t struggle with the news or have to dig deep to listen, learn and take action. This week Kim and Pepper discuss the tough stuff. Pepper shares a personal story of tough feedback she received, how she got past the shock and into action, and how the feedback has helped her improve relationships, deliverables, and perceptions of others. What is the toughest feedback you have received and how has it helped you become a better leader? Share with us at HeyThere@ExtraShotOfLeadership.com
Aug 7, 2023 -
What Success Isn’t
Leaders with a continuous improvement mindset can drive their teams to accomplish great things. But what happens to leaders and teams when the leader is always striving for more? As they encourage their teams to do more and be more, what other message are they sending, and what are they giving up by chasing more? This week Kim and Pepper reflect on their definition of success and discuss their thoughts and challenges with a life focused on more, more, more. They each share some ’aha’ moments then tie the conversation to leadership and the potential issues leaders and teams with the same mindset could experience. How are you managing “the more”? Share with us at HeyThere@ExtraShotOfLeadership.com
Jul 21, 2023 -
Most Impactful Development Tool
Excellence in leadership can be reached with time and a conscious effort spent on skill improvement. This improvement requires an understanding of leadership skills, identification of personal strengths and opportunities, and a willingness to continue to grow. Let’s just assume for a minute that you know or have googled top leadership skills, and you are willing to continuously grow. Now, what’s the best way to assess your strengths and opportunities? This week Kim and Pepper discuss the assessment tools that have helped them grow through their years of leadership. They share insight on the one tool they value the most and their personal stories of how the tool has helped them improve both personally and professionally. The best news is Pepper’s tool proves to be free and simple! Have you assessed your leadership skills lately? What is your favorite assessment tool? Share with us at HeyThere@ExtraShotOfLeadership.com
Jul 16, 2023 -
Making the Most of Failure: Creating an Environment Where Employees Learn from Failure
Good employees make mistakes and great leaders allow them to. If this statement is true, then how do leaders allow these learning opportunities without putting their organization’s and personal reputation in jeopardy? This week Kim and Pepper discuss their thoughts on the value of failures. They share how they set boundaries around failures, manage them when they happen, use them as learning opportunities, and most importantly. recover from them quickly. What are your tips for managing failures? Share them with us at HeyThere@ExtraShotOfLeadership.com
May 25, 2023 -
Building Leadership Skills Early: Engaging Children in a Leadership Discussion
When do you begin the discussion of leadership with your kids? Is there a specific age that you begin discussing topics like influence, leadership presence, and decision making? Kids of all ages have many opportunities through school, extracurricular activities, and sports to begin thinking about the type of leader they want to be. If you don’t engage them in a leadership discussion, who will? This week Kim and Pepper share their thoughts on leadership and kids, when to start engaging your kids on being a leader and discussing what type of leader do they want to be. They also discuss how decision making and leadership connect and share practical ways to getting the topic of leadership introduced to kids. Are you discussing leadership with your kids? How do you engage your kids? Share your approach with us at HeyThere@ExtraShotOfLeadership.com
Apr 20, 2023 -
Inclusive Leadership: Is This the Style for You?
Learning new words is good for the brain and a larger vocabulary. They can enhance a conversation or a book, or even a great podcast, but do we really need to create new words for leadership terms that already exist? What’s the added value of the new word if it has the same meaning as a leadership term that already exists? This week Kim and Pepper discuss the term inclusive leadership. They break down the definition, the meaning, and their thoughts on the value of this leadership style. Are their new words that are adding value to your leadership growth? Share with us at HeyThere@ExtraShotOfLeadership.com
Apr 6, 2023 -
Leadership Presence: What is it and Why You Should Think About It
Are your shoes right for this meeting? Should you even be in this meeting? How much thought have you put into why you are showing up and how you are showing up? These are some things to consider if you want your leadership presence to work for you rather than against you. As busy leaders, it is important to maximize the opportunities we have with our teams to ensure our message is what is needed and is well received. This week Kim and Pepper discuss their different points of view on leadership presence. They each provide a few things to consider ensuring your leadership presence is primed, aligned, and appropriate for your moment of influence. Has your leadership presence been working for you or against you? Share with us at HeyThere@ExtraShotOfLeadership.com
Mar 23, 2023 -
Who is Defining Your Skill Sets?
Quick, tell us 5 things you are really good at. What is taking so long? Many of us can be quick to point out our list of personal flaws, but then stutter a bit when it comes to verbalizing the things we do really well. If this sounds like you, tune in to this episode! This week Kim and Pepper discuss a skills inventory and who they may have allowed to identify their unique personal strengths. They each share their thoughts on the benefits of creating a skills inventory for yourself and the value this could bring to an organization if leaders could teach their team members to do the same. Who have you let identify the strengths and the skills you bring to the table? Share with us at HeyThere@ExtraShotOfLeadership.com
Mar 16, 2023