Leadership Insight with Rising Sun

Episode 36 - No, Thank You

Episode 35 – Allow Me

When it comes to building a healthy culture, there is no greater or more impactful example of culture than that of leadership.    Research continues to show that many of the world’s most profitable companies attribute a great deal of their success to their organizational culture.  At the forefront of these organizations are leaders who actively, regularly, and genuinely display the type of behavior desired for all of its members.    Some leaders equate their high visibility to constantly...

Episode 34 - I'm Sorry I Asked

Employee surveys can be a great source of information.  They can provide an intimate perspective of certain facets of the organization which may go unseen or unexperienced by leadership.  However, sometimes organizations are not prepared for the insight they receive.  They may feel that certain initiatives or decisions should be met with affirmation and positive accolades, only to find out that part of the employee population feels differently.    What do we do now?  Some organizations v...

Episode 33 - Crawl Before You Walk

John Maxwell said “A leader is great, not because of his or her power, but because of his or her ability to empower others.”  All too often, organizations are held hostage by their own people.  What does that mean?       We’re so glad you asked.    Being held hostage by your people is a dynamic that explains leaders who do more to withhold knowledge and experience than to share it with others.  When these leaders leave for new opportunities, the organization is left scrambling to rec...

Episode 32 - The Bold and The Atypical

We often hear that effective leadership requires bold decisions and behavior.  However, servant leadership principles tend to illustrate a very different type of leader from what most people are accustomed to.  While we don’t disagree with the premise that leaders need to be bold, we want to look at the term through a different lens in this episode.    One definition illustrates the word “bold” as showing the ability to take risks; to be confident and courageous.  Here, again, we wouldn’t ...

Episode 31 - Getting Around to Dealing with Conflict

Why are we still so afraid of conflict?  Why do we assume the mere presence of conflict is always negative?  When it comes to addressing conflict, there is an immediate assumption that the conversation/interaction will go poorly and possibly lead to something much worse.    Years ago, we used to rate a successful marriage by how little a couple fought.  It wasn’t uncommon to hear a story about a husband and wife who had been married for forty years and how they “never had a fight.”  The ...

Episode 30 - The Air You Can Wear

Nothing describes a late summer day in Central Pennsylvania better than the three H’s…hazy, hot and humid.  But what do the three H’s have to do with leadership?    While you can’t necessarily see the humidity outside simply by looking through your office window, you most certainly feel its presence the second you venture outdoors.  When we think of those of who have influenced us over time, most likely it’s not their physical appearance or blatant actions we recall.  As Maya Angelou once ...

Episode 29 - Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation

Today’s workforce is one of the most diverse in history.  Workers fall into one of five (yes five) different generations.  While diversity and inclusion continue to garner a great deal of attention, organizations and leaders are struggling to address tension and conflict when it comes to many different people working together and interacting with one another.    Perception is not always reality.  We like to say that our perceptions may be our reality, but are they truly reality?    One o...

Episode 28 - Finding the Big Impact in the Little Things

When is the last time you paused and gave thanks for the things in your life that you know to be true and good?    There is growing research on the multitude of benefits associated with gratitude.  From physical benefits such as the ability to lower stress and create better sleep habits, to psychological benefits like increased satisfaction and resilience; implementing a regular practice of gratitude can have a significant impact on our lives.   Taking time each day to be grateful can ac...

Episode 27 - High Expectations or High Adherence

“We have found that by reaching for what appears to be the impossible, we often actually do the impossible; and even when we don’t quite make it, we inevitably wind up doing much better than we would have done.” -Jack Welch  Oftentimes, leaders set high expectations for their organizations and their employees in order to maintain relevance and maximize potential.  However, many leaders wind up expressing disappointment and frustration when those expectations aren’t met.  Why do so many wel...

Episode 26 - Caught in the Middle

Author and professor, Adam Grant, recently wrote an article in the New York Times.  In the article, Grant discusses a concept which centers on the “stagnation and emptiness” that many are feeling as a result of the pandemic and other current stressors.  He refers to this aimless feeling as languishing.  (You can find a link to the article below.)    As many people wait for normalcy to return or a new normal to play out, they find themselves mired in this state of languishing.  This has bre...

Episode 25 - Welcome Back, I think

As more people become vaccinated and states continue to ease restrictions, many businesses are formulating a plan for how to bring employees back to the office, make work from home permanent, or adopt some type of hybrid model as their new normal.    Certain employees will welcome the opportunity to return -- to see friends, co-workers, peers…to see them period (physically).  For them, returning to the office represents a return to a place where they feel they can concentrate solely on the...

Episode 24 - What's Love Got to Do with It?

Does love have a valid place in leadership?  We say, absolutely yes!  In fact, effective servant leadership cannot exist without love.  Then why does the term not hold its rightful place in the leadership vernacular alongside concepts like compassion, empathy and respect?  Well, it starts with how the word love is defined in this case.    Love, for our purposes, has nothing to do with attraction or obligation.  Servant leaders who love express a genuine desire to want the best for others; ...

Episode 23 - PPP: The Power of the Purposeful Pause

A great thinker, Ferris Bueller, once said “Life moves pretty fast.  If you don’t stop and look around once in a while you could miss it.”  If only Ferris knew how fast life would move in 2021 compared to 1986.  While the world continues to get faster and faster, we are submitting a campaign for slowing down.  One of the problems we as humans face is an inability to react both quickly and rationally….consistently.    What happens when conflict emerges or the unexpected occurs and our des...

Straight, No Chaser

Would you like your compliment sandwich on white, wheat, or rye?    We’ll politely decline the sandwich overall and instead ask for a slow-cooked plate of relationship building, a side of trust, and we’ll finish it off with a tall glass of praise.    The premise for the compliment sandwich is not a bad one; build one’s confidence so that they can handle and overcome critical feedback. However, the problem with the ‘sandwich’ rests in its short-term, oftentimes disingenuous, and infrequen...

Episode 22 - Straight, No Chaser

Would you like your compliment sandwich on white, wheat, or rye?    We’ll politely decline the sandwich overall and instead ask for a slow-cooked plate of relationship building, a side of trust, and we’ll finish it off with a tall glass of praise.    The premise for the compliment sandwich is not a bad one; build one’s confidence so that they can handle and overcome critical feedback. However, the problem with the ‘sandwich’ rests in its short-term, oftentimes disingenuous, and infrequen...

Episode 21 - It's Anybody is Self Aware, it's Me

How well do leaders really know themselves?  Many like to think they are excellent communicators or attentive listeners.  Yet, the true numbers are usually much lower when leaders are pressed for additional insights and examples.  So why the disconnect between those who think they are and those who actually are?  The answer lies in a leader’s ability to be accurately self-aware.  Don’t gloss too quickly over the key word from that last sentence; accurately.  Oftentimes, leaders mistakenly...

Episode 21 - If Anybody is Self Aware, it's Me

How well do leaders really know themselves?  Many like to think they are excellent communicators or attentive listeners.  Yet, the true numbers are usually much lower when leaders are pressed for additional insights and examples.  So why the disconnect between those who think they are and those who actually are?  The answer lies in a leader’s ability to be accurately self-aware.  Don’t gloss too quickly over the key word from that last sentence; accurately.  Oftentimes, leaders mistakenly...

Episode 20 - Put Me in Coach, I'm Ready to Lead

The practice of coaching has exploded recently as more and more leaders are looking to increase their overall effectiveness.  However, the impact of coaching can be seen not just in the formal coach/client relationship, but also the supervisor/employee relationship as well.    Coaching can sometimes get lumped in with other terms like counseling or therapy, but the practice is actually quite different.  Coaching is about helping others to grow through genuine curiosity and strategic partn...

Episode 19 - Goal Playing

With the new year in full swing, it’s a good time to assess your growth and development.  Gauging your effectiveness as a leader starts from a standpoint of humility.  Having a keen self-awareness of both your strengths and weaknesses can provide you with the proper foundation for how best to move forward in 2021.    Research shows that people who not only set goals, but continually reach them, are more successful than those who don’t.  Additionally, those who apply specificity to their g...

Episode 18 – The Proof is in the Behavior

If asked whether or not their organization has a set of core values, many leaders would respond in the affirmative.  A smaller number could recite all or at least some of those values, as well as identify where those values could be found within the organization (i.e. company intranet, posted on the walls in their building, conference rooms, etc.).  We submit that even fewer leaders yet, if many at all, know what those values specifically mean to and within their organization.    Organizat...

Episode 17 – Quality and Quantity are Key

In this episode, we wrap up the conversation on resilience by looking at some character traits of resilient people.  The list is certainly not exhaustive by any means, but rather a starting point when thinking about your own capacity for resilience and how to ultimately grow it.  Awareness – Understand that life happens.  Know that adversity is a big part of it.  Life doesn’t always need to come to a screeching halt when adversity strikes; nor do we have to become paralyzed by its impact. ...

Episode 16 - Resiliency: I've Got So Much I Could Give Some Away

It’s fair to say that just about every one of us has dealt with some form of adversity in our lives.  From smaller bouts that have come and gone quickly to more prolonged episodes that really brought on a significant amount of stress; life happens.  Yet, what is far less consistent, are the responses to adversity.  Those with higher levels of resilience don’t shy away from it.  They may not have an immediate or wholly successful solution, but this doesn’t impact their willingness to face a...

Episode 15 - Resiliency: This is Going to Hurt a Little

In this episode, we start a new series centered on a word that quickly became synonymous with 2020 and the ability to handle adversity; resilience.  It’s our position that the ability to be resilient is comprised of three factors: personality, or our natural resilience; experience, or our exposure to adversity thus far; and skill set, or the tools we’ve developed in order to become more resilient.  Two fundamental points stressed in the podcast are these: Our ability to be resilient equat...

Episode 14 - Communication: Can You Hear Me Now?

Effective communication is vital to the success of an organization.  So much that oftentimes it represents what leaders feel is one of the largest contributing factors to a poor company culture.  While sometimes the issue lies primarily with the amount of communication taking (or not taking) place, other times this “quantity perception” is actually masking other problems.  Leaders increase communication across various channels, or even create new channels, as a means of showing employees t...

Episode 13 - The Pressure and Peace of Leadership: Many Hands Make Light(er) Work

As we wind down the conversation on the pressure and peace of leadership, we look at the peace that can come from looking outward.  When we lead solely from the standpoint of satisfying our own needs, we miss opportunities to put others as well as the organization in the best position to be successful.  This desire to satisfy our own needs can oftentimes lead to fear and arrogance; thereby increasing pressure. Leaders who desire only for their own success have the propensity to downplay or...

Episode 12 - The Pressure and Peace of Leadership: Put on Your Oxygen Mask First

As leaders, we must accept the fact that pressure applied by internal and external forces is a given.  If we set out with the mindset of trying to make it go away, we will be sorely disappointed.  But does this pressure have to consume our lives?  Rather, can we find ways to live with the pressure and maybe even turn it into an opportunity for growth? Bad days, mistakes, and poor decisions can and will happen; period.  But one way to reduce the pressure associated with our leadership hiccu...

Episode 11 - The Pressure and Peace of Leadership: The Pressure is Real (or is it)?

We start a new series looking at the pressure placed on leaders every day.  Whether it’s the internal pressure we put on ourselves or external pressure applied by groups like employees, supervisors, clients, board of directors; the pressure itself is real.  But is it rational or appropriate? Oftentimes the pressure itself isn’t as overwhelming as how we choose to accept it, debate it, or even resist it.  For example, leaders have a tendency to apply excessive pressure at the hands of criti...

Episode 10 - Making Lemonade

In this episode, we continue our discussion around the mindset we choose to employ when dealing with adversity.  Effective leaders have the courage to behave differently despite what the environment or dynamic might suggest.      Making lemonade is about balancing realism with optimism.  It’s understanding and accepting the present, while not letting it stifle optimism for the future.  Furthermore, it replaces a mentality for why something can’t be done (yeah but) with a strategy that fo...

Episode 9 - It's Time to Make Lemonade

Jim and John start a new series that looks at turning our negatives into positives.  While the pandemic has shown us there are things which are certainly out of our control, we can still determine how we will approach life when adversity strikes.   It all starts with mindset.  In times of adversity, we can wallow in feelings of hopelessness.  Or, we can make peace with the fact that we now have new challenges to face and new solutions to generate.  A little optimism still goes a long way...

Episode 8 - Transactional vs Transformational Leadership: Interview with Karl Brummer

We wrap up our discussion with an interview of Karl Brummer SVP at Messiah Lifeways.  Karl shares his thoughts on the effect transformational leadership can have on employee motivation, engagement, empowerment and conflict resolution.  We walk with Karl through his leadership journey and the lessons he learned along the way about curiosity and humility.  Finally, Karl offers his insights on the power of a transformational mind when it comes to embracing change.   

Episode 7 - Transactional vs Transformational Leadership: Leading for the Long Haul

In this episode, we round out our discussion by focusing on the long-term focus and benefits of transformational leadership.  Transformational leadership, unlike its transactional counterpart, is not just a means to an end.  It’s an opportunity to improve processes, drive change, and alter the status quo.  The leadership mindset is one that is proactive, as opposed to reactive.  Transactional leaders can get stuck in the present.  Transformational leaders, however, move towards a future that...

Episode 6 - Transactional vs. Transformational Leadership: Transforming Our Communication

We continue our discussion on the shift from transactional to transformational leadership.  In this episode, we look at the impact a transformational mindset can have on communication.  Transformational leaders are focused, intentional and curious.  They engage in better discussions and display greater humility when it comes to conflict resolution; seeking to fully understand the perspectives and emotions of those involved and being genuinely committed to finding the best solutions.  We’ll a...

Episode 5 - Transactional vs. Transformational Leadership: The Battle Rages On

In this digital age, much of our interaction is very short, informal, and oftentimes driven from the standpoint of satisfying an immediate need.  Such interaction could be described as transactional.  We see this in leadership as well; shorter, one-sided interactions designed to provide instruction, a quick update, or to address a pressing business need.  The opportunity for discussion, meaningful interaction, and change is limited or maybe even nonexistent.  Conversely, transformational lea...

Episode 5 - Transactional vs. Transformational Leadership

Episode 4 – Change Management Part 3

Jim and John wrap up the series on Change Management with an interview of Sara Kennedy, VP of Associate Experience at Members 1st Federal Credit Union.  Sara discusses her role as a change champion, as well as the importance of things like communication and building trust.

Episode 3 – Change Management Part 2

In the third episode, the guys continue the discussion on change management by looking at some strategies leaders can take to be more successful in executing change and limiting employee resistance such as creating a sense of urgency and asking questions.

Episode 2 – Change Management Part 1

Jim and John kick off a series which discusses the emotional toll that change takes on people.  While the change itself may happen quickly, the transition can take much longer and can ultimately have the bigger impact.

Episode 1 – Introduction

Our initial episode centers on some of the underlying principles of Servant Leadership such as engagement, care, and listening.  Jim and John compare these principles to those associated with other leadership styles, as well as work to dispel some of the myths of Servant Leadership.

Leadership Insight with Rising Sun Trailer

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