Newsletter Issue 5

Every few weeks we send a newsletter to our subscribers with the new content we have written, new episodes of our podcast, and other interesting links we’ve found on the internet.

Subscribe to our Newsletter here.

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From The Heartbeat Podcast: A chat with Halleemah Nash

When I think of people I admire, I think of Halleemah Nash – an acclaimed nonprofit leader, speaker, and author. Currently, she serves as the Executive Director of iMentor Chicago. In this interview, she shares one thing she wished she learned earlier as a leader.

Transcript of the interview here

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Latest leadership reads

The Problem with Saying “Don’t Bring Me Problems, Bring Me Solutions”
“The ‘bring me a solution’ approach can also cause employees to shut down in fear, breed a culture of intimidation, and prevent some problems from surfacing until they’re full-blown crises.”Written by Sabina Nawaz, Harvard Business Review

It’s a Good Thing Some People Don’t Like You
“Trying too hard to convince someone to like you or what you offer can backfire in many different ways.”Written by Julien Adler, Executive business coach

Improving Company Culture Is Not About Providing Free Snacks
“We’ve learned through our work at the Katzenbach Center that the key to unlocking performance via organizational culture is to align company culture to business priorities.”Written by Alice Zhou, strategy + business

The Art Of Delegating To Great People
“After delegating some task, I’d find out later that it didn’t turn out as I was expecting or wasn’t even close completion. I took it personally and it weighed on my mind.”Written by David Bailey, Entrepreneur + VC

I’ve Interviewed Over 300 Entrepreneurs–Here’s Their Most Counterintuitive Advice
“I’ve learned that the most successful entrepreneurs’ real strengths aren’t necessarily their product visions or executional abilities. Those certainly matter, but their habits and mind-sets might carry even more weight.”Written by Jenna Abdou, Fast Company

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Favorite leadership reads

Leadership is a quality that you can teach yourself
“Even the most intense apprenticeship phase isn’t designed to endow you with leadership skills. That’s why you should find ways to develop these skills on your own, as soon as you get your feet wet.”Written by Christian Bonilla, Quartz

Your Company’s Culture is Who You Hire, Fire, & Promote
“The gap between aspirational and practiced values is diagnostic of how much your company’s culture needs to improve. The actions you are taking to bridge the gap is prognostic of whether it will.”Written by Dr. Cameron Sepah, Professor of Psychiatry at UCSF Medicine

The Don’ts That Turned Alexis Ohanian into the Leader He Is Today
“For leaders, being a real, whole, relatable human being, is a core strength and a competitive advantage.”Published by First Round Review

How new CEOs can boost their odds of success
“…The sheer number of moves seems to make a difference, at least for CEOs who join poorly performing companies. Also, external hires appear to have a greater propensity to act.”Written by Michael Birshan, Thomas Meakin, and Kurt Strovink, McKinsey Quarterly

51 Things Your Employees Won’t Tell You (Unless You Ask)
“Your employees have something to say but probably won’t tell you. Are you asking the right questions?”Written by John Brandon, Inc

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Just for fun

The “Other Side” Is Not Dumb
Written by Sean Blanda (it’s one of my favorite pieces I’ve ever read on Medium)