Grow Strong Leaders Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Leading people who aren’t like you can be challenging. In this episode, Stephanie Chung provides important insights and tips to help you be more effective in this critical area. You will love the passion and stories she brings to our conversation. 

For the past 30 years, Stephanie has been a force of strategic innovation, a beacon of change, and a titan in the world of business growth and human capital management.   

Stephanie blazed trails as the first African American to serve as President at a private jet company. Under her visionary leadership, JetSuite evolved from a mere service provider to a symbol of luxury and excellence. During her tenure, JetSuite was named one of the Best Places To Work by the Human Rights Campaign and one of the 100 Fastest Growing Private Companies by the Dallas Business Journal. From there, she became Chief Growth Officer and Global Brand Ambassador at Wheels Up.  

Stephanie's impact extends far beyond the boardroom. She serves on the Make-A-Wish Board and the Advisory Council for the National Business Aviation Association. Stephanie is also a #1 international best-selling author with her excellent book, Ally Leadership: How to Lead People Who Are Not Like You.

 You’ll discover: 

• What the acronym ALLY stands for
• How to meet people where they are
• What to do if you don’t like someone on your team 
• Why the most effective leaders are “culturally intelligent”
• The various kinds of privilege that exist and how to leverage yours

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Here’s a startling statistic. Harvard published the results of a survey of 17,000 managers, and one of the questions asked was this: When did you experience your first formal leadership training? The average age was 42.  

What would happen if we started with children instead of waiting until someone is so far into their career? You don’t have to wonder what would happen because our guest, Dr. Alan Nelson, has focused on teaching leadership to young people for almost 20 years.  

Alan is the Founder of KidLead Academy, the world’s first online course to train parents how to develop their child’s leadership potential. Alan has been passionate about leadership throughout his career. 

 Alan is the author of 40 books and over 200 articles on personal growth and leadership. He has a doctorate in leadership from the University of San Diego and has taught leadership courses at several universities, including USC’s Marshall School of Business and the Naval Postgraduate School. 

In this conversation, we focused on his book for parents, My Kid Leads! A How-to Book for Parents Wanting to Raise Future Leaders Today. Highly recommended!

 You’ll discover: 

• The answer to the question of whether leaders are made or born
• Why Alan says the sweet spot for teaching leadership to kids is ages 10-13
• The 4 primary indicators of giftedness in leadership in both children and adults
• What parents can do to help their children develop self-control and critical thinking skills
• How Alan uses peer-led teams in his programs to teach leadership and followership

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In this episode, I talk about different ways you can uplevel the way you serve others in your world. When you apply these ideas, you won’t just surprise or delight them, you’ll actually ASTONISH them.  

I share specific examples of things I’ve done. As you listen, consider how you can incorporate some of them in your own unique way with the people in your life. 

I’m the co-founder and president of Grow Strong Leaders, a company that publishes software tools and books to help people build strong relationships at work and at home. 

You’ll discover: 

• The one question to ask yourself before every conversation that’s important to you
• What another person feels from you when you express genuine curiosity in them
• How to make introductions that stand out 
• Ways you can use social media to acknowledge people in your world
• Why expressions of appreciation are so powerful

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Have you ever gone on a Listening Tour? That’s what Hillary Miller did in her first 3 months at Penn State Health in her role as Chief Learning Officer. What she learned in her conversations with hundreds of people allowed her and her team to design programs that were relevant and well received.

Hillary has also set up a Learning Council across the organization that enables people in all types of positions to have a voice. You will love the types of questions Hillary shares throughout this conversation that encourage people to speak openly and build strong trust.

You’ll discover: 

• The 4 questions Hillary asked each person she met with during your listening tour
• What Hillary has done to build trust and high performance with her own team
• The weekly Development Sessions Hillary and her team have…and how she’s expanding them to other parts of the organization
• The growth she went through to make it easy for her to say “I’m not perfect” and “I made a mistake”
• Why Hillary is a big believer in humor and laughter

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Does “lead from the heart” imply touchy-feely or weakness? Not according to Mark C. Crowley, who used this approach successfully throughout his 25 years in the financial services industry, an industry known for being highly competitive. Mark shares the science and research that backs up the value of this approach. 

Mark is the author of what’s become one of Meredith’s favorite business books ever, Lead from the Heart, and he’s the host of a podcast of the same name. You’ll find out WHY Mark was so successful by leading from the heart in this riveting conversation. 

You’ll discover: 

• Experiences Mark had early in life that shaped his purpose today
• The science that shows that the heart is more than “a blood pump”
• What Mark learned about the power of engaging both the minds and heart of others to achieve extraordinary results
• How “Love Your People” became Mark’s mantra
• The 4 Practices of leading from the heart 

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How can we reconcile the different (and often conflicting) perspectives that employers and employees have? You’ll get important insights in the lively conversation I had with Tony Carnesi and Brian Gorman. They work closely with both groups, and they share important steps business owners and leaders can take to open the door to understanding and trust.  

Tony Carnesi and Brian Gorman are the co-founders of Do-Be Associates. Tony is the consultant who helps business owners and leaders focus on what they need to DO to get what they want from their Business. Brian is a certified Executive Coach, and his focus is how they "Show Up", or who they need to BE. Their combined objective is for the business owners and business leaders to fully realize the vision they have for their success.

You’ll discover: 

• What Tony has learned in recent conversations with business owners and executives
• The importance of understanding both employers’ and employees’ perspectives
• Questions business leaders can ask to understand the needs of their employees
• How Judith Glazer’s TRUST model can be applied to building strong relationships in the workplace
• The powerful and effective combination of DOING and BEING to get the best results

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What happens if you refer to new initiatives in scientific terms like “experiment” and “test”? That’s exactly what Mark Kaestner, Ed.D., does at Ball Corporation. You’ll be fascinated to learn how that approach ensures success later, when scaling the program. Mark also explains why continuous feedback is a critical piece of the process. 

Mark is Vice President of Talent Development, Learning and Development, People Analytics and Transformation at Ball. He has more than twenty years of executive experience in these fields with companies like Coca-Cola and Graphic Packaging. Mark finds it exhilarating to have the opportunity to impact leaders and employees through talent solutions, and you’ll feel his enthusiasm come through in this conversation. 

You’ll discover: 

• 3 core values that drive behavior and performance at Ball
• Why Mark uses the words “experimenting” and “testing” with initial implementation of a new program instead of “pilot”
• How continuous feedback is used by managers coaching employees and by employees giving upward feedback
• The 3 power questions that managers are encouraged to ask employees in their monthly meetings
• The key lessons Mark has learned in his own growth as a leader

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What happens when a major university partners with a huge corporation to offer a program that helps employees earn college degrees? You get University of Memphis (UofM) Global’s LIFE: Learning Inspired by FedEx. 

Dr. Richard Irwin and Courtney Brafford, both of UofM Global, describe how the two organizations worked together to create a program that requires no out-of-pocket payments by employees and has resulted in high retention rates. 

Dr. Irwin is the Executive Dean, Academic Innovation and the College of Professional & Liberal Studies, and Courtney is Director of Student Success. They’ve created corporate partnerships that provide employees with opportunities for professional development that translate into college credit.

You’ll discover: 

• The need FedEx had that caused them to approach UofM Global
• Key elements of the LIFE program that have led to great results for participants
• The PREP Academy that UofM Global created to ensure participants succeeded with their coursework
• Benefits that both FedEx and their employees have experienced
• Why the LIFE program now serves as an excellent recruitment tool for FedEx

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What’s wrong with the term, Human Resources? In this enlightening conversation, Eugene Whitlock explains why he prefers People and Culture. He also describes the valuable work his DEI team has done to put in place an Equity Training Series and an Inclusive Leadership Academy for faculty and staff. 

Eugene is Associate Vice Chancellor for Human Resources and the Chief People & Culture Officer at the University of California Berkeley. Eugene leads a 75-person human resources department including talent acquisition, people and organization development, employee and labor relations, total rewards, diversity equity, inclusion and belonging, and human resources information systems. During his time at UC Berkeley, Eugene has emphasized the creation of a workplace where everyone can be themselves and feel like they belong.

You’ll discover: 

• What Eugene did when he became a leader for the first time
• Why he’s a big believer in feedback
• The reason for changing from Human Resources to People and Culture
• Why Eugene set up a DEI team and the programs now offered to faculty and staff
• Two research projects in the Psychology Department and the Haas School of Business that Eugene is involved with 

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In many organizations, those who supervise individual contributors are often neglected when it comes to development opportunities. Not at WM. Phil Rhodes describes how they are providing a transformative program for all 3,600 of these leaders, which has led to 90%+ retention rate for those who complete the program. You’ll want to take notes to capture all the fantastic strategies Phil shares.

Phil is Head of Learning and Leadership Development at WM, formerly Waste Management, a Fortune 250 company and North America’s largest environmental services company. Phil joined the People Organization at WM in 2021 and led the successful reorganization of WM’s learning organization. This effort supported the design and delivery of more consistent learning and leadership development solutions for the company’s 50,000+ employees. 

Phil and his team at WM were just named Bronze Winner of the Learning in Practice Award by Chief Learning Officer for their first-line leaders program.

You’ll discover: 

• The “listening tour” Phil conducted before re-designing WM’s learning organization
• How the CEO and the leadership team consider “People First” before making decisions that impact employees
• What WM did to provide a virtual coach to every front-line leader
• How Cohort Learning is used to support learners and ingrain skills
• WM’s generous program for educational assistance

Check out all the episodes
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