The Thoughtful Leader Podcast

Fear does bad things to people in our workplaces. Fearful leaders might stay silent when they would normally speak out. They may fail to make a decision when normally they would act. There are many reasons why leaders feel uncomfortable and afraid to leave their jobs - are any of these reasons holding you back? The point is not that we should always be thinking about leaving our jobs. It's that when we feel like we have options, we will act more confidently and freely. In this episode, Ben looks at some ways to grow your confidence and give yourself options to free yourself from fear. Links: Article: Why Your Fear of Leaving Your Job Is Making You a Worse Leader. Article: Corporate Stockholm Syndrome from Psychology Today Resource: Managing Upwards eBook.

Motivation at work is tough - most of us need to work, and we spend more time with the people at work than we often do with our friends and families! Everyone is motivated by different things, and we have a whole range of people from those who love their jobs, to those who'd rather be doing something else that they're passionate about outside of work. Work does play an important part in people's lives, so it's important that as leaders, we try to help our teams feel as motivated as we possibly can. In this episode, Ben talks about the Motivation Spectrum, and how you can move people along the spectrum towards the high motivation end! Links: Audiobook: Motivating Your Team Audiobook. Article: Motivation at Work: Moving Your People Along the Motivation Spectrum. Podcast: Episode 29: 5 Questions to Ask an Unmotivated Team Member.

A challenge for every leader is to overcome limiting beliefs that we have developed over time. Productivity and effectiveness is one area where limiting beliefs can really damage performance as well as the motivation of your team. In this episode, Ben discusses 3 limiting beliefs that might be holding you back and how you can eliminate them. Links: Online Course: Time Management For Leaders Online Course. Article: 3 Limiting Beliefs That Damage Your Productivity. Article: How a Self Fulfilling Prophecy Will Make or Break Your Team.

Supportive leaders are great - but problems can occur when leaders step over the line from being supportive leaders to protective leaders. In this episode, Ben talks about some of the traps that supportive leaders can fall into and some ways to avoid them in your team. Links: Online Course: Time Management For Leaders Online Course. Article: 3 Traps Supportive Leaders Must Avoid. Article: 10 Simple & Effective Tips For Giving Feedback.

Time-wasters at work can really have a big impact on your team's productivity. But that's not all, time-wasters also have the potential to damage team motivation if your people realise that they're not working on tasks that really add value. In this episode, Ben looks at three common time-wasters and how you can avoid introducing them to your team! And don't forget to check out the Time Management for Leaders Online Course, to become a more productive and effective leader for your team. Links: Online Course: Time Management For Leaders Online Course. Article: 3 Major Work Time Wasters That Create an Unhappy Team. Article: Do You Have An Effective Team, or Are You Focused on Busywork?

It's easy for leaders to make assumptions about their teams when things get busy. But there are some assumptions that can really damage motivation in a team.  In this episode, Ben talks about these assumptions and how they can damage motivation in your team, as well as how to avoid making them in the first place! Don't forget to check out the new Leadership Confidence Online Course, which is open for pre-sale right now! If you're a leader who wants to build your confidence and feel more secure leading your team, this course could be just what you need - Click here for more details and to enrol now. Links: Article: A Simple & Effective Model For Team Motivation. Article: 4 Leadership Assumptions That Will Decrease Motivation in Your Team. Article: Motivation at Work: Moving Your People Along the Motivation Spectrum.

Communication is a critical leadership skill, but it's often a part of leadership that we get wrong.  If you're unable to communicate effectively, you run the risk of demotivating and frustrating your team and the people around you. In this episode, Ben looks at some common communication mistakes, and how we can avoid making them in our teams. As mentioned in this episode, don't forget to check out the new Leadership Confidence Online Course, which is open for pre-sale right now! If you're a leader who wants to build your confidence and feel more secure leading your team, this course could be just what you need - Click here for more details and to enrol now. Links: Article: 3 Communication Mistakes That Will Damage Your Leadership. Article: 5 Good Communication Skills Every Leader Should Focus On.

Confident leadership is not only useful for a leader's wellbeing - it's also great for their team too. In this episode, I look at some ways that confident leadership can help to improve motivation and trust within a team. There are also some tips to help you show confident leadership in your team... even if sometimes, you don't feel like it! Also, don't forget to check out the new Leadership Confidence Online Course, which is open for pre-sale right now! If you're a leader who wants to build your confidence and feel more secure leading your team, this course could be just what you need - Click here for more details.

Open communication is something that is valuable to every leader and team. In this episode, I talk about some of the benefits of open communication in a team, as well as simple ways to start encouraging it in your team. Open up those communication channels... because ignorance is not bliss! Links: Article: 5 Powerful Ways to Create Open Communication in Your Team.

Toxic workplaces are horrible places to be, but they don't just happen by accident. In this episode, Ben talks about some of the ways that toxic behaviour can start to cause problems and then looks at how we can try to do something about it before your workplace turns septic. Resource: If you struggle to have the hard conversations in your team, try the Difficult Conversations eBook, with tools and techniques to help you tackle the tough conversations and get results for your team. Links: Article: Toxic Workplaces: How Leaders Can Stop Them. Article: 3 Ways Leaders Can Survive a Toxic Work Environment.

Employee turnover is a topic that can see leaders breaking out in a cold sweat. However, it's not all bad. In this episode, Ben talks about some of the reasons why turnover in your team can be a good thing. However, it's not always good - Ben also covers some of the situations when you actually should worry about turnover in your team. Links:  Article: 5 Reasons Why Employee Turnover is Your Friend. Article: 3 Signs Should Worry You When Team Members Are Quitting.

We all want to hold our teams accountable. In almost every workplace I've been, I hear the familiar phrase "There's just no accountability!" This episode deals with that issue. In this episode, I talk about 4 of the most common reasons why I believe leaders can't hold people accountable, and what we need to be doing to make sure that doesn't happen. After listening to this episode, if you would like more information regarding accountability and how to improve it in your team, be sure to  check out the Hold Your Team Accountable eBook. Links:  Article: 4 Reasons Why You Can't Hold People Accountable. Resource: Hold Your Team Accountable eBook.

One of the primary causes of bad outcomes in our workplaces is short-term thinking on the part of leaders. Taking action or failing to take necessary action often occurs because we don't take the time to think of the long-term outcomes of what we're doing. In this episode, Ben talks about short-term thinking and some of the simple questions to ask yourself to help you shift from a short-term to a long-term mindset. Links:  Article: How Short Term Thinking Leads to Bad Leadership. Resource: Time Management For Leaders Online Course.

It's never fun having a stressed and overworked team. But did you know that all stress is not created equal? In this episode, Ben talks about Eustress vs. Distress and how applying the right amount of pressure to your team can improve work performance, without burning everybody out. Learn how applying just the right amount of pressure and stress can be beneficial to your team. Links:  Shownotes:  https://www.thoughtfulleader.com/podcast/30/ Article: How to Use Work Pressure to Help Your Team Thrive.

Early in my career I remember thinking that people who were unmotivated at work were just "slackers". Now, my perspective has changed a lot, because I believe that one of the biggest factors in motivation is the work environment and how people are treated, rather than it all being up to the individual. In this episode, I talk about some questions you might try asking your unmotivated team members, to try to uncover the root causes of motivation issues, so you can improve the situation. Links:  Article: 5 Questions to Ask An Unmotivated Team Member. Article: Improve Motivation In Your Team With This Simple Theory. Article: 4 Job Satisfaction Killers That Are Demotivating Your Team. Audiobook: Motivating Your Team Audiobook. Online Course: Time Management For Leaders Online Course.

Softly spoken leaders face some challenges in the workplace, struggling to be heard over the noise of their dominant, outspoken counterparts. In this episode, Ben talks about the challenges and strengths of being a softly spoken leader, and some things softly spoken leaders can do to succeed in leadership. Links:  Article: Why Softly Spoken Leaders Make a Big Impact. Article: Important Ways That Leaders Can Earn Respect at Work.

Ever walked away from a meeting you thought was going to be controversial, where there was actually no conflict at all? You could have a problem, because your team isn't speaking up. You don't have all the answers, so you need your team to be offering up their opinions to help you to achieve better results. In this episode, Ben talks about some common reasons why your team doesn't speak up at work, why you really need them to and what you can do to help them be heard.

Leaders can be one of the greatest sources of wasted time in the workplace. This is unfortunate, but true! In this episode, Ben talks about how leaders who manage their time better can have a positive effect on their teams and improve their productivity. We also cover some of the ways that poor time management can really waste a lot of time in the workplace...and we don't want to let that happen! Don't forget to check out the link to the Time Management for Leaders Online Course below! Links:  Online Course: Time Management For Leaders - Online Course Article: How Better Time Management Will Help Your Team (Not just you!) Article: 4 Ways Leaders Can Build Empathy in the Workplace (and Why It Matters).

Ever worked in a team where an adversarial attitude builds against people outside of the team? This can be a damaging mindset if left unchecked. In this episode, Ben talks about trying to break down some of these adversarial attitudes that often build up between teams in large, complex organisations. Shownotes: https://www.thoughtfulleader.com/podcast/25/

Having the confidence to speak up and out about issues and inefficiencies in your workplace is a key role of a leader. But it's not always easy to do that. In this episode, Ben speaks about some of the reasons why leaders need to speak up, and the reasons why they don't. Shownotes: https://www.thoughtfulleader.com/podcast/24/