In this week’s episode, I reconnect with a former colleague of mine, Dr. Mike Smith, to talk about how we should all look at ourselves as leadership athletes & the CEO of our own career.
Dr. Mike Smith is the Founder of Huddle Advisory, a firm that guides leaders & teams to their “Leadership Athlete” potential. Mike founded Huddle after 25+ years in sports & entertainment working with the NFL, NBC, & Deloitte. His unique background includes leadership roles in Human Resources, Finance, Technology, & Administration. He has been repeatedly tapped to lead the most important initiatives ranging from creating a coaching culture at the NFL to Super Bowl weather planning to NBC’s acquisition of Universal.
Having been both a CHRO & CFO, Mike has a special lens to align business & talent strategy. He guides leaders & teams through skilled inquiry, objective data analysis, & practical counsel. His diversified background allows him to work effectively with public company CEO’s, startup founders, & rising talent across consumer-facing and B2B industries.
Mike recently completed his Doctoral degree in Leadership & Learning at Vanderbilt University. He received his executive coaching education at Columbia University & is certified in a number of leadership assessment tools.
Key Takeaways:
The importance of talent mobility - careers are employee driven & manager supported. You are the Chief Executive of yourself & your own career. Declare what you want, why you want it, & how it’s good for the organization.
Hold a mirror up to yourself, & get a clear sense of how people are perceiving you, how you are showing up, what your strengths are, & what are your blind spots. Determine these so you can see the entire field clearly.
Ask people & mentors for advice & to be candid with you - when do they see you at your best & when do they see you not playing to your strengths. Constantly try to learn, grow, see what’s working, what’s not. It’s a cycle of revising that never ends.
When taking a pause, step back & re-evaluate where you are, what’s important, & how you want to show up in service of others or to benefit others are around you.
Growth comes from the recovery, your muscles grow back stronger. Think about your personal growth & development the same way as your own work performance.
If you are thinking about taking a career pivot, identify your “fadeaway jumper” (Michael Jordan) that you are developing, & how do you develop it months or even years in advance, so if and when you make the pivot, you run through it with full confidence.
You are the CEO of your own career. Make it easy on people, tell people what you want, why you want it, why it’s good for the organization, & start with a conversation. Declare what’s your ambition & what you’re looking for, have people view you in a new light.
You have to marry up strong performance with navigating & creating your own options, including networking & building strong relationships.
Relational Leadership Theory - all about the power of relationships, communication, & collaboration in order to achieve a result.
Connect with Kaycee, Host of Hello Flow Podcast:
Website:
https://www.hello-flow.co/
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/helloflowcollective/
Connect with Dr. Mike Smith, Ed.D., Executive Coach and Founder of Huddle Advisory:
Website: https://huddleadvisory.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-p-smith/
Donate to Maui
In 2023, Maui experienced devastating wildfires that is considered the most deadliest & destructive in modern US history. The entire town of Lahaina, a historic town & former capital of the Kingdom of Hawai’i, was completely destroyed. To support the relief efforts, see links below to donate:
Donate Directly to Families impacted (locally vetted) - Help Maui Rise
https://www.helpmauirise.org
Hawai’i Community Foundation - Maui Strong Fund
https://www.hawaiicommunityfoundation.org/maui-strong
© 2024 Hello Flow Collective
*Podcast Produced By Alpha Echo Media L.L.C.
