Still Loading: A podcast all about Leadership for the Digital Age

Join me as I wrap up and reflect on season 4 of the Still Loading podcast! In this episode, I’m sharing my thoughts on the future of leadership in the digital age based on the observations and learnings from throughout this season.

We’ve had a diverse range of guests on the show who’ve offered some fantastic thought-provoking conversations. From insights on scale-ups and startups to challenges and successes with customer success, marketing, and leadership. We’ve covered it all and there will be more to come! Tune in to hear what we have in store for season 5!

(00:34) Ilona’s Reflections; TLDR

• We’ve explored the expertise and wisdom of leadership, both as a concept and what it looks like in the digital age

(01:36) Hype around ChatGPT and its effects on the workplace for the future

• Leaders in the digital age will need to be adaptable in this face-paced world of ever-evolving tech, but nothing will replace the emotional human-to-human connection that companies need to successfully grow and lead

(04:11) The importance of company culture

• Team members need to feel psychologically safe to voice their thoughts, opinions, and ideas

(7:35) Understand what your boundaries need to be as a leader

• Learn where you are willing to flex in those boundaries and where you aren’t and clearly communicate that with your team

Want to know where you’re at in your leadership journey?

Ben Norton shares his unique journey in the ever evolving tech industry. Offering insights on the cultural differences between agencies and larger corporations, the challenges of remote work and maintaining employee engagement and cohesion, and how difficult it can be to have an authentic leadership style and be a visionary for the company.

Ben Norton is a seasoned professional with over 25 years of experience in B2B sales and marketing strategy and execution. He is an expert in communication and presentation and has held executive positions in SaaS services. With a proven track record of building successful international teams and solving complex problems, Ben is a go-to market specialist and a strategic thinker. He brings a wealth of experience and expertise to any organization.

(00:34) Ilona’s Reflections; TLDR

• Ben Norton shares his journey as a seasoned veteran in the tech industry and what that’s looked like from a leadership perspective

(04:58) Transitioning from an agency to a major corporation

• It can take much longer to grasp the identity and the workflow for a role in larger organizations

(08:40) The biggest challenges in remote first environments

• Establishing a desirable workplace culture that can make up for the lack of human-to-human connection and offer something of value to the organization

(14:35) The balancing act between delegation and micromanaging

• Allowing freedom and ownership of a role while still achieving the desired results for the company

(20:41) A new perspective on authentic leadership

• Challenging the concept of it being possible to be an authentic leader and navigate a highly complex environment

(25:35) Who is a leader that influenced you?

• The idea of two types of leaders, the human leader and the visionary. What’s the difference and why both are necessary

(41:09) What are your 3 top tips for leaders in the digital age?

• The importance of grooming your team to become the next leaders in the business, making sure there isn’t much a of difference between who you are at work vs who you are at home, and setting expectations for your team

Links for resources from this episode:

Have you given up on the idea of setting goals for the new year? Before you do, let’s see if we can help set you up for success! In this episode, I’m sharing my top tips and helpful exercises to help you finally achieve your goals - or at least get you a lot closer to them! (Which is a win that many people forget to give themselves credit for).

Ready for a new perspective? Hit play!

(00:48) Ilona’s Reflections; TLDR

• For many reasons, it can be easy to feel unmotivated about a new year and a new beginning, and that’s fair
• Let’s rethink how we approach setting and achieving goals with some new ideas

(01:01) Break down your year into smaller periods of time

• Focusing on one goal for 12 weeks at a time
• Breaking down your bigger goals into smaller ones

(02:26) The best ways to keep yourself motivated and held accountable

• 3 fantastic exercises to help expand your mind, build your belief and become more confident
• Working with coaches, mentors, and accountability partners

(12:10) Choosing your own start to a “new year”

• Winter is a hard time of year to naturally feel renewed and rejuvenated
• Instead spend winter resting, reflecting, and planning for what's to come

Working remotely isn’t always as luxurious as it seems. Many people in remote positions struggle to stay motivated in their work and greatly miss human connection. So what can we do from a leadership perspective to alleviate the emotional pitfalls that remote teams often experience? Thankfully, Melissa Romo, wrote a book to show us the way.

Melissa Romo is a veteran of global business management, having held executive roles in Warsaw, Paris, London and New York for some of the world’s most recognized companies. Melissa has built and managed high-performing teams around the world in office-based, hybrid and fully remote settings.

She is the author of the forthcoming book “Your Resource Is Human” (2023), a practical guide to empathetic leadership for building culture and connections in the remote and hybrid workplace. Melissa’s book has been lauded by workplace and leadership experts as “the book 21st century leaders and followers have been pining for.”

(00:40) Ilona’s Reflections; TLDR

• The human connection through empathetic leadership in the digital age
• Beginning to understand cyber psychology

(05:13) About the book

• Identifying the truth behind what it’s really like to work remotely
• Learning how to support your remote team

(18:31) What do leaders in the digital age need to do differently?

• Why it’s important for leaders to have a diversified skillset
• Companies need to decide if they want to be 100% remote or hybrid

(29:08) Who is a leader that influenced you?

• Understanding what it means to have a sponsor
• Ken Chenault - carrying yourself with unwavering conviction

(35:07) Tell me about something that helped you on your leadership development journey

• Melissa’s baptism by fire story of managing a team in another country

(42:07) What are the trends in leadership that you are seeing in your field?

• Authentic leadership is a hot topic but many are still trying to discover what it actually means and how to adapt

(48:07) What are your 3 top tips for leaders in the digital age?

• Spend time with your people, trust your team and don’t fuss with the detail, but also get your hands dirty

Links for resources from this episode:

The side hustle economy is on the rise! With more and more people developing an interest to launch there own thing, it’s predicted that by 2030 there will be more side hustlers than full-time employees. But even with this rapidly growing trend, most side hustlers are afraid to inform their day-time leadership, fearing that it’ll be perceived as a distraction from their day job. But Mary Agbesanwa, founder of female millennial entrepreneurial community, ‘Now You’re Talking Network’, shares her insights and perspectives on how side hustlers have the potential to become great leaders in a larger organization.

Mary is passionate about how technology is transforming and democratizing the financial services industry and supporting millennials to achieve their full potential. Now she works at a B2B fintech leading sales and she also runs the 'Now You’re Talking Network' which has over 850 members and aims to help women earn more and be more confident. The network runs regular events and workshops for their community of women and staff at over a dozen leading companies including PwC, WeWork, Multiverse, Henley Business School and British Land.

(00:47) Ilona’s Reflections; TLDR

• How can we embrace the holistic nature of people’s interests and skill sets and bring it into the working environment?
• As a leader, how can you think about broadening your understanding of the ways of work?

(18:15) Who is a leader that influenced you?

• How Michelle Obama is a great role model for leadership in the way she speaks, in the way she acts, and by the way she exudes confidence and belief in herself

(21:43) Tell me about something that helped you on your leadership development journey

• The power of networking and how it can help you further your career in a leadership role
• The importance of communication in-person and remotely and why there is such a difference between the two

(33:16) What are the trends in leadership that you are seeing in your field?

• Seeing leaders be more empathic with their team
• Employee’s putting a lot of trust in their leaders to support them
• Employee’s profiling a company for the right cultural fit

(39:47) What are your 3 top tips for leaders in the digital age?

• The importance of continuing to educate yourself in your industry
• Continue building relationships with new people in your industry and those similar
• Take the time to work on your confidence

Resources from this episode:

How do you successfully manage and lead a team remotely? This is a question that comes up a lot. When it comes to remote vs. in-person, the basic principles of good leadership remain the same. The only difference is the method in which we are interacting with others and our surrounding environment, however, it does require a different skillset to be able to develop those crucial soft skills and deliver them online.

In this episode, I’m having a conversation with my business collaborator, Nicola Scott, all about her leadership journey in the digital age. Nic is an experienced learning and development consultant, facilitator and Coach and is building her own thriving business, pulling together all her knowledge and experience. Through years of hands on frontline experience of supporting others to grow and develop, and as an L&D consultant, Nic has developed a passion for coaching in all its forms, delivering team, personal development, leadership, wellbeing and career coaching. She truly believes in the potential of others and feels that it is a real privilege to support others through their learning journeys.

(01:25) Ilona’s Reflections; TLDR

• Insights into our philosophy and approach to remote first leadership
• Remote leadership not being as new as it may seem

(06:08) What was it like to transition from working as a employee to doing your own thing?

• Took advantage of temporary roles during the transition
• Normalizing career changes, shifting roles and encouraging learning and development

(15:37) Who is a leader that influenced you?

• Leaders who were very supportive in my aspirations and dreams and who stood up for their beliefs and exercised thought leadership in that way

(27:33) Tell me about something that helped you on your leadership development journey

• Having an organization invest in my leadership development because of potential they saw in me, not because I requested it
• Someone else believing in me before I did and leaning on the support of a coach

(41:06) What are the trends in leadership that you are seeing in your field?

• Organizations investing in coaching support for their team
• Giving colleagues the opportunity to connect and network with others in similar roles

(46:24) What are your 3 top tips for leaders in the digital age?

• Genuinely connecting with your remote team on a regular basis
• Taking advantage of the talent and diversity in this digital age
• Taking care of yourself

Links for resources from this episode:

Poor leadership could mean the difference between a thriving business and one that’s struggling to survive. So what does it mean to be an effective, and respected, leader in your organization? It means connecting with your team on a human level and giving them the support they need to succeed.

In this episode, we’re reflecting on the stories, expertise, and the wisdom of our guests so far. Tune in to hear my take on developing sales skills, building relationships as part of your marketing strategy, and the importance of focusing on your customer’s journey after they buy your product.

Let us know what part of these conversations resonated with you the most! Email us at hello.stillloadingpodcast@gmail.com

(00:38) Ilona’s Reflections; TLDR

• Adapting to think like the customer
• What’s the problem and how do you communicate a solution that connects with the customer?
• What are you doing to support your customer’s success?

(01:44) Key learnings from episode 34

• Curse of Knowledge - “The curse of knowledge is a cognitive bias that occurs when an individual, who is communicating with other individuals, assumes that the other individuals have the background knowledge to understand. This bias is also called by some authors the curse of expertise.”

(07:50) Key learnings from episode 35

• Increasing visibility as a brand
• Honing in on your messaging
• Building influential relationships

(11:24) Key learnings from episode 36

• Customer experience with your company
• What are the touchpoints?
• Is the customer supported?

Want to know where you’re at in your leadership journey?

You don’t have a business without your customers - but are you focusing on customer success?
To build momentum and survive in the market, start-ups have to evolve rapidly, and oftentimes that means that there’s a tendency to solve problems from the top down instead of from the bottom up. It’s easy to think that hiring a more senior role with a specific set of skills is the right solution for customer success but a lot of times, that’s done too soon.

Digital transformation leader and customer success expert, Rebecca Jones, shares about the challenges of customer success in the start-up world and how taking a deep dive into the customer journey can make all the difference. After 15 years in the corporate financial services industry, Rebecca took her experience and started making waves in the FinTech start-up world, doing all things digital transformation and customer success.

She shares more about building a community for customer support and the importance of properly managing it, understanding the customer journey, and understanding the role of customer success in your business.

(00:40) Ilona’s Reflections; TLDR

• Customers need to be at the forefront of what you’re developing, regardless of your business
• How are you incorporating the customer’s voice in your business?

(20:14) Who is a leader that influenced you?

• So much experience and growth came from being trusted with big opportunities and getting feedback often
• I was provided a safe space to fail

(27:57) Tell me about something that helped you on your leadership development journey

• Understanding how quickly everything is going to change and setting those expectations

(35:28) What project are you currently working on?

• Higher and Old - Opening up the conversation about hiring candidates that have invaluable experience although it may not be the exact experience you’re looking for

(47:03) What are your 3 top tips for leaders in the digital age?

• Learn to say no to the customer, be your customer’s advocate, and understand that customer success is a part of everyone’s role

Links for resources from this episode: