Inspired Wisdom Podcast

Helping Others Navigate Change: A Mini-Lesson and Toolkit

Insights and Tips for Leading Others Through Change

In this episode of Inspired Wisdom, we are talking about change. Specifically, we are talking about how leaders help others navigate through change. The Covid-19 pandemic is an ongoing example of how our lives and the world at large are changing very dramatically. Very suddenly and with little warning, we have to change how we live our lives on a daily basis. At times it may feel surreal.

In episodes 22, 25 and 26, Karsten Drath, Jodi Coochise, and Rob Fazio discussed resilient leadership, navigating loss and grief, growth mindset, and mental toughness as skills we can learn to build resilience and thrive in work and life.

"You cannot change what you refuse to confront." John Spense

 

In Episode 27, we talked about navigating personal change and we provided resources to deepen self-awareness for how you respond to change. Understanding how we respond to change can help us lead ourselves and others through disruptive change more successfully. 

 

This mini-training on Helping Others Navigate Change will be of benefit if you: 

• Have undergone a change in your role or your organization has made a change that impacts your team
• Are experiencing changes outside your control (e.g., changes in your industry, new competitors, regulations or tariffs)
• Need a playbook for engaging and aligning your team on co-creating opportunities 
• Want a roadmap to navigate your team through current and future disruptions with better results

 

During this 20-minute mini-training on Helping Others Navigate Change, I will take you through two models of change, distinguish change and transition, and present a tool for reflecting on how you’ve navigated through change.

You’ll find downloadable handouts on Inspired Wisdom for change and transition, cultivating team resilience, tips for helping others navigate change along with the instructions for a reflection activity. 

 

 

Reflective Inquiry Creates Breakthrough Change

Reflective Inquiry is an active replay where people are invited to see their own truth.

Dr. Marcia Reynolds is the expert organizations call on to breathe life into their conversations and cultures using reflective inquiry.

Marcia is energetic, funny and 100% committed to transformational leadership.

As a child, she was described as precocious, opinionated and with some kind of social problem. When she was 19, she found herself in jail struggling with drug abuse and low self-esteem. But that changed when her cellmate unwittingly reflected what she saw - a smart, strong woman who cared about people. Her cellmate told Marcia, “when you get that in here (pointing to her heart), you can do anything out there.”

And Marcia has done just that. Over the past 30 years, she has spoken and coached leaders in 38 countries and reached over 100K people worldwide in her training programs.  

 

Reflective Inquiry provokes insight; questions just get answers.

My Interview with Marcia will be of benefit if you want to:

• Develop others
• Hold conversations that activate meaningful breakthroughs
• Enhance your listening and / or leadership skills
• Create profound connections that activate change, creativity, and joy 
• Inspire others to step up and work on their own
• Project confidence and a powerful presence 

 

Highlights of my interview with Marcia

• The skills of Reflection and Reflective Inquiry
• The power of Reflective Inquiry to help us learn and think more broadly 
• Coaches as Knowledge Sherpas
• You want to be a better leader - a demonstration of Reflective Inquiry
• Leading the agile workplace: Advice for leaders who want to develop their people
• The dominant emotions in the workplace - worldwide
• Cultural differences that impact leadership transformation globally 
• How to be present when you are feeling anxious, exhausted, overwhelmed stressed out, dissatisfied? 
• Marcia's mantra that keeps her focused on her larger purpose: what is it that I want to create in the bigger picture?

She published 3 books, completed 2 masters' degrees in Broadcasting and Adult learning, a doctorate in Organization Psychology, and has 2 highly engaging TEDx talks.

Marcia continues to research transformational leadership to help startups and established Fortune 500 firms prosper in today’s chaotic, unpredictable world. 

Please visit Inspired Wisdom for Dr. Reynolds bio and additional links

Her books include:

• Outsmart Your Brain
• Wander Woman: How High-Achieving Women Find Contentment & Direction
• The Discomfort Zone: How Leaders Turn Difficult Conversations into Breakthroughs

 For Marcia's bio and show notes, please visit Inspired Wisdom.

About Inspired Wisdom

Cynder Niemela, MA, MBA is an award-winning author and internationally recognized expert in executive coaching and developing global teams. As a result of growing up in the Middle East and Europe, Cynder leverages her international experience working in the Middle East as one of a few women permitted to work in Saudi Arabia. First, as a marine biologist followed by years of developing leaders and teams for Saudi-ARAMCO.  Mission: Interview 100 people from 100 countries who are working with heart and mind for positive social impact.  

Navigating Through Change: A Mini Lesson and Toolkit

Change is constant. It is part of life and it’s inevitable.  We are always evolving and changing, as is the world we live in.  Because change involves an element of loss, the degree and frequency of change we experience can be stressful and strain our sense of self-worth and resiliency. 

Understanding how we respond to change can help us lead ourselves and others through disruptive change more successfully. This is the purpose of our mini-training on moving through change.

A common thread throughout this first set of interviews is change and transition.

In episode 2, Lion Goodman talked about his near-death experience and how this external event inspired him to look at his beliefs and world view which ultimately led to him helping others shift and transform.

In episodes 6,7, 8, and 23 Simon Kozlowski, Steven Huang, Katie Hill, and Taylan Yildiz discussed their personal and professional journeys which led them to make changes and shifts in mindset for more fulfilling careers and lives.

In episodes 22, 25 and 26, Karsten Drath, Jodi Coochise, and Rob Fazio discussed resilient leadership, navigating loss and grief, growth mindset, and mental toughness as skills we can learn to build resilience and thrive.

During this 10-minute mini-training on Navigating through Change, I will take you through two models of change, distinguish change and transition, and present a tool for reflecting on how you've navigated through change. You'll find handouts for ways of cultivating resiliency along with the instructions for the Life Mapping exercise on Inspired Wisdom. 

 

Rob Fazio Leading Through Adversity with Resilience, Growth Mindset & Mental Toughness

On Sept. 11^th, 2001, Rob’s dad, Ronald Fazio, was on the 99^th floor of the South Tower of the World Trade Center in NYC.

Ron looked out the window that fateful morning and was one of the first people to see the North Tower hit.

At the time, Rob was a grad student. He recalls the next few days as he, his brother and mother searched for Ron. However, they learned that while Ron had successfully exited the building to safety, he returned to hold the door open for others. Tragically, Ron Fazio was killed that day.

 On 9/11 Rob lost his dad in an act of kindness. What did he learn about himself and navigating challenging times?

Rob tells us how he and his family turned their dad’s tragic death into his legacy. They formed a not-for-profit agency called Hold the Door Open for Others. Their mission is to empower people to grow through loss and adversity to achieve their dreams. They teach the skills of resilience and strength to navigate loss and grief.

We all experience loss of varying intensities. It’s our shared human experience. But we humans aren’t necessarily equipped to navigate loss in a healthy way. Rob gives us practical strategies for proactively responding to the wave of emotions that follow loss.

Rob covered a number of practical topics for leaders and individuals:

• Mental Toughness
• Growth Mindset
• Executive Presence
• Resilience and growth skills
• Leaders helping people prepare for adversity and the hierarchy of loss

Stay to the end, Rob talks about how we met.

My Interview with Rob will be of benefit if you:

• Want a new approach to coaching leaders
• Are a leader planning a change or want a model for helping your employees find meaning and purpose in their life
• Want a structure for understanding what drives your people to better motivate them
• Want to have more control over guiding your business and your life
• Are doing what is expected of you and more; but, at the end of the day you are spent and feel you are on a never-ending treadmill
• Want to have a well-defined purpose that is greater than your “self”

Bio and Links: Robert Fazio, PhD

Rob’s expertise is in sport psychology global leadership and organizational success. He teaches clients how to remove barriers to function at optimal levels. His approach to advising combines original research on power, influence, conversations, and motivation.

His book, Simple is the New Smart features success strategies gleaned from over a decade and a half of working with athletes, executives, and people-driven toward excellence.

Rob’s advice on navigating turbulent times and politics has been featured in the NY Times and on CNN, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, and local networks. Rob has been featured on NBC News, in Forbes, NY Daily News, CEO Magazine, Philadelphia Business Journal to name a few.

Links to resources mentioned and for connecting with Robert Fazio along with show notes are on Inspired Wisdom.

Jodi Coochise on Navigating Grief and Loss to A New Normal

In 2006, Jodi and her husband, Kris, were hiking Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Tragically, Kris lost his life in a rock slide. In a talk that is heartbreaking, courageous and inspiring, Jodi shares her hard-earned wisdom about life and her journey through grief and loss.

Jodi’s personal approach to loss and grief, something that affects us all, is as relatable as it is insightful. Most powerfully, she encourages us to shift how we approach loss and grief. Jodi shows us how to navigate this experience that loss and grief are while also living a new normal.

Jodi is a licensed psychologist, consultant and coach living and practicing in Boston. She coaches and conducts trainings for leaders, professionals, and clinicians on how to support those who are grieving and integrate psychological concepts into their work.

For show notes, please go to Inspired Wisdom.

Gregg Levoy: Answering the Call to Your Authentic Life

Gregg Levoy is the author of two books:

1. Callings: finding and following an authentic life, and 
2. Vital Signs: Discovering and Sustaining Your Passion for Life

Published in 1997, Callings was the first book to examine the many kinds of calls we receive. It is a passionate look at our natural search for authenticity.

"I don’t think of callings as singular … they are plural.  So many people wait for the great big calling and miss the smaller ones at their feet. These are the urgings and promptings and the imperatives that come from deep inside our lives that tell us that tell us at any point that tells us what it will take to stay true at true north."

During my interview with Gregg, he talks about the different forms and channels we receive calls – how to recognize and respond to them to create a life that really belongs to you … and you thrive.

This interview will be of benefit to you if you:

• Feel like you are avoiding a call
• Are thinking of retiring or recently retired and you are wondering how to maintain your sense of vitality
• Have a loved one who has lost their passion for life 

“How do you create a life that really belongs to you? That isn’t a hand-me-down or knock off? That really has some power and passion to it?”

About Gregg Levoy:

A former adjunct professor of journalism at the University of New Mexico, he has written for the New York Times Magazine, Washington Post, Psychology Today, Fast Company, Omni and many others, as well as for corporate, and television projects.

Please visit Inspired Wisdom for links and additional information on my interview with Gregg Levoy.

 

About Inspired Wisdom 

Cynder Niemela, MA, MBA is an award-winning author and internationally recognized expert in executive coaching and developing global teams. As a result of growing up in the Middle East and Europe, Cynder leverages her international experience working in the Middle East as one of a few women permitted to work in Saudi Arabia. First, as a marine biologist followed by years of developing leaders and teams for Saudi-ARAMCO.  

Mission: Interview 100 people from 100 countries who are working with heart and mind for positive social impact.  

Taylan Yildiz On Driving Economics at Google and Humanitarian Efforts in Turkey

Musician, New Generation Politician, Global Citizen

Taylan Yildiz, Ph.D. joins us from Istanbul Turkey where he is Deputy Chairman of the Good Party. As Deputy Chair, he is responsible for communications and technology affairs. 

 Prior to entering into politics, Taylan was at Google in Silicon Valley for 10 years. At Google, he built novel measurement methodologies and managed a team of Ph.D. level statisticians who built these tools for Google and its advertisers. 

Taylan was responsible for approving all global 3rd-party advertising research studies paid for by Google. He also led executive level meetings with top global advertisers to build custom and scalable research solutions on media planning, measurement and customer insights.

Taylan discusses the following topics:

1. Turkey. the political environment and what inspired him to leave his 10-year career at Google and return with his family to Turkey.
2. Behavioral Economics: Are there similarities between buying an expensive handbag and voting for or supporting a politician?
3. US Politics and relations with Turkey:

• Insights regarding our current political environment and Turkey’s
• When we in the West think about Turkey, what do you want us to know? (i.e., our similarities or differences?)

Taylan Yildiz, Ph.D. Bio

Taylan is the Deputy Chairman of the Good Party (İYİ Parti), where he is responsible for communications and technology affairs. 

Prior to entering into politics, Taylan was at Google in Silicon Valley for 10 years. At Google, he built novel measurement methodologies and managed a team of Ph.D. level statisticians who built these tools for Google and its advertisers.

Taylan was responsible for approving all global 3rd-party advertising research studies paid for by Google. He also led executive level meetings with top global advertisers to build custom and scalable research solutions on media planning, measurement and customer insights.

He is the founder of the industry-leading products DFA Experiments and DFA Brand Insights which have enabled many of the Doubleclick's Fortune 500 advertisers to measure display campaign impact starting from awareness down to site visits and sales. These tools help advertisers precisely measure their return on advertising investment and get actionable insights on how to maximize this ROI. They also help to evaluate the effectiveness of new display advertising technologies such as remarketing, Doubleclick AdExchange, and YouTube Ads. Taylan also managed Google Active GRP, where he holds a patent on the methodology. 

Taylan gives regular guest lectures to MBA Students at Stanford Business School. He wrote a case study at Stanford on how display advertising can be measured through experimentation, which was also taught at Chicago Booth School of Business. This case helps the new generation of companies demand the right set of effectiveness metrics from the industry.

Connect with Taylan Yildiz

• Speaker Notes, Bio, and Links on Inspired Wisdom
• Taylan Yildiz website
• Taylan Yildiz, Musician on YouTube

 

About Cynder Niemela

My mission with the Inspired Wisdom Podcast is to bring together successful entrepreneurs, leaders, and individuals around a global campfire to build a shared understanding of our human community. My goal is to interview people from 100 countries who are working with heart and mind for positive social impact. 

 

Karsten Drath of Germany is Making an Impact on Resilience and Innovation

Around the world cyclist, Karsten Drath joins us from Heidelberg, Germany to discuss what he has learned about resilience training. He also shares how he builds his capacity to withstand hardships and adversity in order to create environments where people and teams thrive.

At Inspired Wisdom, our mission is to interview 100 people from 100 countries who are making a social impact. Karsten is making an impact by navigating the globe by bike to raise money for the Resilience of young people.  

Karsten discusses how Zis, a non-profit organization, provides scholarships for study trips to young adults between ages 16 and 20. When Karsten was a teen, he received a scholarship to work on a whaling station in Iceland and study Scientific Whaling. 

20 years later, Karsten rekindled his passion for the Zis organization and combined it with his love of endurance sports. His goal is to circumnavigate the earth by bike in 10 annual 3-week rides. In the show notes, I’ve included additional details with itineraries if you’d like to meet up with Karsten or contribute to his campaign.

Karsten is a leadership coach and expert on resilience with an extensive 16-year career in international consulting and leadership.

Karsten has a very special passion and commitment to learning. He has navigated his career through engineering, business, an E-MBA from the Kellogg School of Management in Chicago, executive coaching and psychotherapy.

Karsten has written several books and articles on the subject of coaching, resilience and leadership, including

• Coaching and its Roots (in German)
• Resilience in Corporate Leadership (in German)
• Resilient Leadership, and
• Rules of Success

Karsten will talk about his two latest books titled Resilient Leadership and Rules of Success.

More About Karsten

Currently, Karsten is a Managing Partner at Leadership Choices, one of the leading providers of executive development in Europe. He is accredited with the International Coach Federation, Fairfax, the Center for Creative Leadership, Brussels and the World Economic Forum, Geneva. In addition, he works as adjunct faculty at the Center for Responsible Leadership of the WHU business school in Koblenz.

Karsten spends his free time with his family and endurance sports like bicycling for 3 weeks at a time around the globe.

 

Inspired Wisdom

Cynder Niemela, MA, MBA is an award-winning author and internationally recognized expert in executive coaching and developing global teams. As a result of growing up in the Middle East and Europe, Cynder leverages her international experience working in the Middle East as one of a few women permitted to work in Saudi Arabia. First, as a marine biologist followed by years of developing leaders and teams for Saudi-ARAMCO.  Mission: Interview 100 people from 100 countries who are working with heart and mind for positive social impact.  

Hollywood Costume Designer, Kristen Anacker: What is the Potential of Your Life's Work

"Daydreams are basic design." - Frank Lloyd Wright

Kristen Anacker was a costume designer for movies and TV in Hollywood for 26 years. She has 49 movie credits to her name. 

Kristen started designing costumes for her husband’s rock band; when he left she had no way of expressing her passion and livelihood. Or so she thought.

Kristen will share with us her most challenging times – of leaving the security of her home in Sonoma for the ever-changing world of Hollywood and of putting herself out there every time one movie ended to make the transition from one movie to the next.

She first took the Conference in 1989, and with the support of A C N, she began her career in film. She has been a Conference Coach since 1999, and she now leads the Sonoma Conference.

 

We all seek a network that supports us in clearing away our limiting beliefs and cheers us on as we find our voice in the world. Kristen found the support she needed to be courageous and step out onto a bigger stage in the Artist Conference Network. Kristen will share with us the origins of this national organization that is open to anyone who wants to play on the outer limits of possibility and the highest potential of their life’s work.

More about Kristen Anacker

• Connect with Kristen on Facebook
• Artist Conference Network website
• Kristen Anacker on IMDb

A few of her favorite movies

• Christopher Munch, Director
  • “Color of a Brisk and Leaping Day” on Youtube
  • Sleepy Time Gal trailer
  • Letters from a Big Man
• Orgazmo:
  • The trailer for Orgazmo on Youtube.
  • Sketch by Kristen Anacker on ACN website

Artist Conference Network (ACN) 

ACN founder, Beverly Cassell, was a painter and teacher. She saw that many artists lived and learned their art in a context of critique and isolation. She envisioned a new culture for the arts, one that evoked the field of creative possibility in an atmosphere of mutual respect and camaraderie.

The Purpose of the Artist Conference Network is to access mastery in the work, careers, and lives of people doing creative work. We stand for the power of a creative coaching community to catalyze great art and lives!

Karen Keller on Mastering Your Influence Potential

Karen Keller, Ph.D., is the author of the Amazon #1 Best Seller Influence: What's the Missing Piece.

 

Over 20 years of research and client work led to the creation of the Keller Influence Indicator® (KII®). The KII® is the ONLY tool in the world that measures an individual’s potential to be influential.

 

Personal Tragedy Informed Karen's Purpose

Karen discusses with Cynder how personal tragedy led to her researching the topic of Influence and ultimately to her 20 years of research and the creation of the Keller Influence Indicator®.

Karen will share the 7 factors that comprise one’s ability to be influential.  

If you

• strive to reach peak performance but find the effort is taking a toll
• are confident in some situations but come across as less confident in others
• receive feedback that you aren’t consistently trustworthy or likable
• find your level of passion and commitment waxes and wanes like the phases of the moon
• want to know the relationship between executive presence and influence

 then, you won't want to miss Cynder's interview with Karen.

For additional informational information about the KII and how to reach Karen Keller, please go to Inspired Wisdom.