Twice a month, we take 30 minutes to connect leaders to Admired Leadership® content and our Admired Leadership® coaches.
These sessions are specifically tailored for leaders who are craving universal, simple and actionable leadership content. Participants will leave the session with an understanding of Admired Leadership’s behavioral approach as well as valuable insights to implement immediately.
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Key Highlights
Common goals vs. common ground: While we naturally gravitate toward people who share our interests or backgrounds, focusing on what we're building together creates stronger, more sustainable relationships than waiting for personality clicks
Effort matters more than ease: The relationships that required the most work to build often become the deepest and most trusted - don't assume that natural or easy connections are automatically better
Incremental trust building: When relationships are damaged, create small, shared goals with quick wins rather than attempting one big conversation - trust builds through repeated small promises kept, not dramatic gestures
Organizational impact of leader relationships: When leaders have tension, it forces team members to pick sides and creates psychological unsafety - people have to watch what they say and consider political repercussions
Building collaboration muscles: Start with deliberately created shared projects, even if they're not mandated from above, to develop habits of communication and accountability that transfer to future collaborations
Notable Quotes
"If you focus less on commonality and more on common goals - what are we building that we can share together - that ends up actually unifying us more over time than waiting for some magical click to happen."
"Effort matters, and that's actually completely controllable, because we can control the amount of effort we put into a relationship. It doesn't have to be this mystical personality match."
"Trust happens incrementally. Trust doesn't happen in big, dramatic swoops - it's small, incremental promises that were made, kept, and followed through."
"When leaders have tension, we're subtly telling people around us that you gotta pick a side. That makes people feel less safe because now they have to watch what they say."
"Just by the fact of signing up to say 'I'm committing to doing this, it's not natural, it's not easy, but I'm committing' - that's what actually makes the relationship start gelling together."
Featured Speakers
Diana Hong is a Partner & Executive Coach at CRA | Admired Leadership, specializing in organizational change and relationship dynamics. With extensive experience coaching senior leaders through complex interpersonal challenges, she brings practical insights on building trust and collaboration in high-stakes environments. Her approach emphasizes actionable strategies over theoretical frameworks.
Wes Bender serves as a facilitator and thought leadership coordinator at CRA | Admired Leadership, helping to connect practical leadership insights with real-world application through webinars and educational content.
How Does Clarity Enhance Decision Making and Engagement?
Episode 25
Friday, August 22, 2025 • Duration 31:00
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Key Highlights
The Clarity Index reveals five essential topics for regular communication: strategy, culture, functional strategy, role clarity, and employee value proposition (why work here vs. elsewhere) - lack of clarity in these areas directly impacts engagement and decision-making speed
Connect everything back to strategy: Don't just communicate strategy once in January - every decision, change, or new initiative should be explicitly connected back to your organizational strategy throughout the year
Cultural clarity requires specificity: Values like "excellence" or "trust" are meaningless without behavioral examples - use promotions, hiring decisions, and daily interactions to demonstrate what these values actually look like in practice
Conditions of accountability drive clarity: Set clear expectations (format, detail level, deadlines), provide proper resources (templates, examples of excellence), give appropriate autonomy, and define positive/negative consequences
Tailor detail to audience: With senior leaders, be brief, brilliant, and be gone - they'll ask for more if needed. With teams, mix formats using pre-reads, focused meetings, and detailed follow-ups rather than cramming everything into one communication
Notable Quotes
"Message sent is rarely message received. People are looking at your actions, decisions, and interactions to see what's really true."
"When senior leaders want three things from you: be brief, be brilliant, and be gone. If they want more detail, they'll ask."
"Your strategy can only be clear if there aren't detractors from it. You have to proactively look for where skeptics will roll their eyes."
Featured SpeakersResources Mentioned
Your Admiration for Others Reveals Your Core Values
Episode 24
Tuesday, August 5, 2025 • Duration 28:34
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Key Highlights
Values vs. virtues distinction: Values should be specific, actionable, and behavioral (like "I include every voice in meetings") rather than abstract virtues (like "inclusion") that don't provide clear guidance for decision-making
The admiration approach: Instead of asking "What are your values?" ask "Who do you admire and what specifically do you admire about them?" This cuts through the noise of aspirational lists and reveals authentic priorities
Focus on attributes, not whole persons: Rather than putting leaders on pedestals, identify specific behaviors or qualities you admire - collecting "points of reference" from multiple people to build your own leadership approach
Making values actionable: Test your values by examining where they show up in daily decisions - who you hire, how you spend time, what you fund, how you give feedback, and who gets airtime in meetings
Organizational vs. individual values: In team settings, use inclusive language ("What do we value?") and let organizational strategy be the equalizer when individual values conflict
Notable Quotes
"Values should be specific and actionable and behavioral. Virtues are sort of that aspirational list of descriptors, but what we want to strive for are practical manifestations that show up in how we lead day-to-day."
"It's really hard to put that lens on yourself and say, here's everything that I value. But a great indicator is discerning what people value or admire in others as a starting point."
"I think about it as collecting points of reference. Pretty much everybody's got something you can admire - not a person as much as pieces and parts of lots of people."
Featured SpeakersResources Mentioned
Learn to Respond Instead of React
Episode 23
Friday, July 11, 2025 • Duration 31:04
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Key Highlights
Two contrasting leadership stories: One showing how a senior admiral responded with grace when David made a career-threatening mistake with VHS tapes during a high-stakes presentation, and another where David's own reactive response to a difficult colleague cost him $50,000 in bonus and a promotion opportunity
Moving beyond conventional wisdom: Traditional advice like "count to 10" treats symptoms rather than root causes - the best leaders develop consistent behaviors that create natural space between triggers and responses
The power of inquiry over immediate answers: Develop the habit of asking 1-3 questions before responding, using phrases like "Tell me more about that" or "Say more about why you're feeling that way" to create thinking space
Throwing problems back strategically: When someone brings you an emotionally charged issue, ask them for more context about how and why they feel that way - this gives you time to reflect while helping them process their emotions
Judicious shows of emotion can be motivational: Sometimes a look or controlled display of frustration can be effective feedback, but only when built on a foundation of clear expectations and strong relationships
Notable Quotes
"Leadership is what you do. It's how people react to you that's most important. Everybody else that engages with us is grading our papers based on our engagement."
"Our goal isn't really to eliminate our emotional reactions because we are first human beings. What we want to do is develop consistent behaviors that create a space between the trigger and the response."
Resources Mentioned
When Self-Assessments Harm Your Personal Development
Episode 22
Tuesday, July 1, 2025 • Duration 27:27
Register to be part of future conversations in real time hereOr schedule a time to talk directly to our team here Key Highlights
Leadership resides in behavior, not personality: Excellence in any domain comes from what you do, not who you are - leadership is a composite of choices, routines, and actions rather than innate traits or psychological dispositions
Self-assessments can create self-limiting beliefs: Tools like Myers-Briggs, DISC, and others risk becoming excuses for behavior rather than catalysts for growth, leading people to say "this is just who I am" instead of "who do I want to become?"
Focus on commonalities over differences: Great teams function because of what they share - values, standards, expectations - rather than constantly highlighting how members are different from each other
Better alternatives for building awareness: Use direct feedback, smart questions, and honest conversations rather than formal assessments - ask "What's it like to be on the receiving end of me?" or "How do I get to the next number on a 1-10 scale?"
The Venn diagram approach to development: Focus where two circles intersect - things you're not good at AND things others need you to be great at, discovered through conversation rather than assessment
Notable Quotes
"Leadership resides in behavior. Who you are as a leader is a composite, a stained glass window of lots of things that you do or don't do."
"I'm much more interested in teams about what we have in common than what we have in difference. Great teams don't function because they all talk about each other's differences all the time."
"What a shame that I know what your DISC profile is, but I don't know why you asked your wife to marry you or where you asked her to marry you."
Resources Mentioned
The Ingredients of a Compelling Vision
Episode 21
Friday, June 20, 2025 • Duration 31:58
Register to be part of future conversations in real time hereOr schedule a time to talk directly to our team here Key Highlights
The four-ingredient framework for compelling visions: Strong purpose (why do we exist?), vivid imagery (people can see and imagine the destination), credibility (prevents eye rolls), and cultural resonance (uses language that connects with your specific team)
Strategic planning trap revealed: Most organizations develop strategy first, then try to communicate it - but once language gets "baked" into planning documents, it becomes nearly impossible to change the clunky management-speak
The eye roll test: Before launching your vision, identify every policy, practice, or behavior that contradicts what you're saying - either eliminate them publicly or explain why you can't change them yet
Leadership fatigue phenomenon: Leaders spend 6 months developing their vision and strategy, then get bored with it just as they need to start communicating it - "the song is in their head but not in anyone else's head yet"
Making visions actionable: Your vision must be something your average team member can actually do something about in their daily work - if they can't see how they personally contribute, you won't create intrinsic motivation
Notable Quotes
"You gotta keep the main thing the main thing" - everything you communicate should connect back to your vision and strategy
"People will believe what you do before what you say" - contradictory actions will undermine even the most compelling vision
"Everyone has a plan till they get punched in the mouth" - Mike Tyson's wisdom on why 5-10 year strategic plans may be foolhardy in today's world
"Great place for great people to do great work" - a vision so memorable that an employee could recite it perfectly 10 years later at a new organization
Featured SpeakerResources Mentioned
Cracking the Code on Talent
Episode 20
Tuesday, June 3, 2025 • Duration 31:21
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Key Highlights
Redefining high potential: High potential does not necessarily equal ready to lead - the skills that make someone excellent in their current role don't automatically translate to leadership capability
Two critical talent indicators revealed: - "Excellence Someplace Else": Look for people who've achieved excellence in any domain (sports, music, academics) as they understand the work ethic and commitment required to master skills - Deep Self-Awareness: True self-awareness means understanding not just your weaknesses, but how those weaknesses affect other people around you
Strategic hiring approach: Don't overweight background and track record since you can't determine if success came from the platform, team, or market timing - focus on talent indicators instead
Talent development principles: Leaders must get out of the way of talented people, remove obstacles, and focus on continuous feedback rather than annual reviews
Making it systematic: Talent assessment, nurturing, and development should be a standing agenda item with quarterly conversations, not an annual afterthought
Notable Quotes
"High potential does not necessarily equal ready to lead, or even fit to lead, for that matter."
"Hiring and managing talent is one of the most strategic and symbolic acts you can do as a leader."
"True talent finds a way to win in good times and bad, high tide, low tide. They tend to operate well in different contexts, and even different organizations."
"When's the last time someone misperceived you? And why? Because true self-awareness is understanding weaknesses and also knowing how that rubs off on other people."
Featured SpeakerResources Mentioned
Expanding a Leader's Gravitas and Executive Presence
Episode 19
Friday, May 9, 2025 • Duration 55:57
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Key Highlights
Distinguishing between three key concepts: - Leadership style: How you express yourself verbally, non-verbally, and contextually - Executive presence: The energy you project when entering a room or engaging with others - Gravitas: Verbal precision and fluidity that makes others hang on your every word
Understanding style as developable: - Like a singing voice, everyone has a natural range they can expand - Most people can improve their style by 20-30% while remaining authentic - Focus on small changes in verbal, non-verbal, or contextual elements
Practical development strategies: - Collect and intentionally use more intense vocabulary - Increase lexical diversity to avoid overused words and phrases - Adjust your approach based on audience (more attractive markers with junior staff, more power markers with senior executives) - Start with power markers and then back off rather than starting too attractive
Common coaching scenarios: - The "bull in a china shop" who needs to add more attractive markers - Leaders who struggle when changing contexts or industries - Those who need to balance being powerful enough to be listened to while attractive enough to be followed
Notable Quotes
"Style is a set of behaviors or habits, and it's more about what you do than who you are on the inside. Therefore, everybody can flex their style and they can do so authentically."
"Style is the largest contaminator of your competence. No matter how good you are, negative style can take away from your competence."
"To have real executive presence would be to be powerful enough to be listened to, but have enough attractive markers to be followed and for people to want to be around you."
Featured SpeakersResources Mentioned
When to Delegate a Decision
Episode 18
Tuesday, May 6, 2025 • Duration 30:24
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Key Highlights
Understanding delegation as a strategic decision: - Delegation is itself a decision, not an abdication of leadership - Effective delegation serves as a performance multiplier for organizations - The best delegators view it as a developmental tool, not just time management
What leaders should never delegate: - Strategy and strategic direction - Talent decisions for direct reports - Material legal or regulatory matters - Anything related to organizational character and values - Delivering bad news
Framework for effective delegation: - Consider the strategic importance of the decision - Assess the urgency and reversibility of the decision - Evaluate team member capabilities and experience - Identify learning opportunities for team development
Follow-up cadence after delegation: - Adjust based on the importance and urgency of the decision - Consider the experience level of the person you're delegating to - Focus on process over outcomes when evaluating results - Create psychological safety when mistakes happen
Notable Quotes
"Deciding to delegate a decision is still a decision. You're not giving up decisiveness by delegating."
"You're robbing yourself of free time to think strategically, robbing yourself of the force multiplier of other perspectives, and robbing individuals of developmental opportunities by not delegating."
"As you get further in your career, you really start to have more of a focus on what your legacy is going to be, and your legacy is going to be the people."
"Don't focus on the outcome. Focus on the process and how we got to this point."
Featured SpeakerResources Mentioned
Dilemmas Are Problems That Never Get Solved
Episode 17
Friday, April 25, 2025 • Duration 31:32
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Key Highlights
Distinguishing problems from dilemmas: - Problems are solvable issues where you have control or influence - Dilemmas are situations largely outside your control that must be managed - Recognizing the difference changes your approach and energy allocation
Hallmarks of a dilemma: - It's 90-100% out of your control - Attempting to solve it often makes things worse - It has a "long tail" with cascading effects - When you zoom out, you see it has many tentacles across the organization
Effective approaches to dilemmas: - Reframe as "not yet" rather than "never" - Focus on what you can control rather than what you can't - Document potential solutions for when circumstances change - Choose effectiveness over being right
Leadership communication strategies: - Help teams recognize dilemmas without becoming demotivated - Validate past work when implementing change - Involve people in data collection and analysis - Redirect energy toward solvable problems
Notable Quotes
"Do you want to be right or do you want to be effective? Pick one."
"Just because the answer is 'not yet' doesn't mean that it's 'never'."
"You can't just only talk about the new legacy going forward because that erases what everyone else has done so far."
"Think of yourself as a precious resource here... focus on the places where you're going to get the biggest return on your investment."
"The measure of success is nobody's talking about it anymore."
Featured Speaker
Diana Hong is a Partner and Executive Coach at CRA | Admired Leadership with over 20 years of experience advising on strategic communication, change management, executive visibility, and stakeholder relationships. She specializes in coaching leaders and teams through complex organizational challenges and has worked with clients across numerous industries. Diana is known for her practical approach to leadership development and her ability to help leaders distinguish between problems they can solve and dilemmas they must manage.
Resources Mentioned
"Do a little bit more work up front to create clarity for better results the first time, rather than going back and forth on details later."
"Before important communications, ask yourself: What is the one thing I want people to take away from this?"
"Culture itself is intangible - we have to tie cultural values into things we're already communicating about, like promotions and daily interactions."
Sierra Holland is a Managing Director in CRA | Admired Leadership's Strategic Communications practice, specializing in helping leaders become better communicators for their teams. With expertise in organizational communication strategy and the proprietary Clarity Index research, she focuses on creating communication experiences that drive engagement and decision-making effectiveness. Known for her sharp facilitation skills and curiosity-driven approach to client work.
Wes Bender serves as a facilitator and thought leadership coordinator at CRA | Admired Leadership, helping to connect practical leadership insights with real-world application through webinars and educational content.
"The great equalizer is the organizational vision and strategy. When values are in tension, the question shouldn't be personal preference as much as what does the organization need."
"If I've said this is important to me, would somebody else be able to observe that and say, yeah, that's important to you?"
Ben Stringfellow is an Executive Coach and Partner at CRA | Admired Leadership, known for his expertise in organizational communication and strategic leadership development. Despite being one of the firm's busiest members, he's recognized for always making time to support colleagues and clients with thoughtful guidance and practical insights.
Mallory Stacey is an Executive Coach at CRA | Admired Leadership, filling in as host for this session. She brings expertise in leadership coaching and team development, with a focus on helping leaders translate abstract concepts into actionable behaviors.
"You need to look for signals that you're not serious about your vision and strategy" - identifying and eliminating contradictions is critical for credibility
Carolynne Thomas is an Executive Coach and Partner at CRA | Admired Leadership, specializing in strategic organizational communication and leadership coaching. She spends her time helping organizations mobilize around vision and strategy, working across both the leadership and strategic communications practices of the firm.
"If they're truly stars, you got to provide direction and guidance... but then get out of the way. You're never going to know their job as well as they know their job."
"If talent is the most important thing, then we need to make time for it... it needs to be a standing agenda item."
John Cook is an Executive Coach & Partner at CRA | Admired Leadership, specializing in talent assessment and leadership development. As a father of four and avid fly fisherman, he brings both professional expertise and personal perspective to helping senior leaders identify and develop talent within their organizations.
10-minute coaching conversations with Admired Leadership coaches
"Much easier to start a little bit more powerful and then back off versus coming in more attractive and trying to go power from there."
"When you enter any situation, you have to ask, how do I want to be seen?"
Dr. Suzanne Peterson is a Partner at CRA | Admired Leadership and a leading expert on leadership style, executive presence, and gravitas. She specializes in helping leaders understand how their style impacts their effectiveness and how to make strategic adjustments to expand their range.
Mallory Stacey is a Managing Director at CRA | Admired Leadership who partners with Suzanne on style code coaching and programming. She brings practical experience having transformed her own style from management consulting to leadership coaching.
Previous webinar recording on leadership style
Style Code coaching program
Power markers vs. attractive markers framework
"The number one thing you never want to do to your leaders is give them work to do. You want to be taking work off their desk."
Bryan Downey is an Executive Coach and Managing Director at CRA | Admired Leadership with over 20 years of experience as a corporate executive, including roles as CEO and President in both public and private organizations. He specializes in helping leaders develop their decision-making capabilities and maximize their impact through effective delegation and team development.
