Ladderburners Unite!

Colleagues Will Hines, Davin Stavroplos, Alex Ostermann, and Ben Larson continue their discussion on how, as young professionals, their experiences and insights as they maneuver moving through the early stages of their careers.

Insightful discussion about right off the bat about the difference between performance and judgement of performance.

This discussion is highly instructive for a group of college students as they hear firsthand what to expect when they leave education and enter the world th of work.

Dan Castle has traveled far and wide in his career, a jouney of emotional and spiritual growth. His career reaches across a range IT positions, yet he is grounded in the pursuit of meaning and purpose.

Dan is a story teller, which makes listening to him nothing short of thought provoking to your core.

Podcast Notes

This dialogue reveals the extraordinary life journey of Dan Castle, who navigates through pivotal moments from his upbringing in Hoboken, New Jersey, to surviving the 9/11 attack while working at Sun Microsystems in the World Trade Center. Dan's path takes him through a series of professional changes, from thriving at BlackRock to Cigna, and eventually facing a life-threatening stroke, coinciding with the loss of his job. Despite these challenges, Dan finds solace and meaning in education, with degrees in psychology, philosophy, and organizational dynamics, and in his roles as a father and husband. Through his experiences, Dan continually re-evaluates his concept of success and purpose, emphasizing relationships, continuous learning, and the importance of staying true to oneself over conventional markers of success. The dialogue encapsulates a profound reflection on work-life balance, personal growth, and the quest for meaning beyond career achievements.

In this case study, George Wheaton, CFO, (not his real name) embarked on a journey to change the image of the accounting and finance from that of policeman to a one of supporting the business. Everything was up for discussion - the structure , processes, roles and responsibilities, and use of new skills. The overarching objective was to change the culture by aligning the F&A organization with the business units for more effective decision making . For every ten culture change initiatives that fail, George Wheaton was the one that succeeded.

CASE NOTES

Case Study: Strategic Talent Development at Real Resources

This script studies the case of Real Resources and its CFO George Wheaton. Faced with a rapidly evolving post-Covid business environment, a retiring baby boomers population, and a distinct view of work by new workers, Wheaton initiated a strategic transformational initiative.

Wheaton's quest aimed to transition the finance and accounting department's image from that of a 'policeman' to that of a valuable business partner. The transformation focused on not just changing the department's culture but also attracting, developing, and retain talent, positioning finance as a vital part of the decision-making process. Challenges included overcoming organizational inertia, generational differences, and short-term thinking.

Real Resources implemented various strategies for this transformation, including fostering a talent development culture based on specific behaviors, a structured recruitment and selection process, on-boarding through clarifying expectations, and the crucial role of ongoing coaching and mentoring.

The final sections of the case study discuss approaches to employee retention and separation, demonstrating that managing talent is a holistic process. The script concludes by contemplating study questions surrounding the initiative, its implementation, the role of leadership, and potential vulnerabilities.

While the need to change the culture is as great as I've seen it, the commitment and perservance needed is one of the toughest initiatives to implement - and even harder to sustain.

George Wheaton (not his real name), was one such person who pulled it off. Here's how.

SHOW NOTES

Case Study: Strategic Talent Development at Real Resources

This script studies the case of Real Resources and its CFO George Wheaton. Faced with a rapidly evolving post-Covid business environment, a retiring baby boomers population, and a distinct view of work by new workers, Wheaton initiated a strategic transformational initiative.

Wheaton's quest aimed to transition the finance and accounting department's image from that of a 'policeman' to that of a valuable business partner. The transformation focused on not just changing the department's culture but also attracting, developing, and retain talent, positioning finance as a vital part of the decision-making process. Challenges included overcoming organizational inertia, generational differences, and short-term thinking.

Real Resources implemented various strategies for this transformation, including fostering a talent development culture based on specific behaviors, a structured recruitment and selection process, on-boarding through clarifying expectations, and the crucial role of ongoing coaching and mentoring.

The final sections of the case study discuss approaches to employee retention and separation, demonstrating that managing talent is a holistic process. The script concludes by contemplating study questions surrounding the initiative, its implementation, the role of leadership, and potential vulnerabilities.

Patrick Walters is a childhood friend, colleague, and among the world's best people who care - a lot. In this brief session, he explains how asking for permission comes from a number of sources, including growing up in a loving and "chaotic" family. But it was a boss at roughly mid-career that gave Patrick and his colleagures self -confidence to bypass the issue of permission and foregiveness. He paints a protrait we can see and relate to.

In the first of two installments, four colleagues - Will Hinz, Ben Larson, Davin Stavroplos, and Alex Osterman, share their experience in moving from college into their careers. They discuss the importance of taking responsibility for their own career development, the concept of perfectionism, the role of failure, the pressures of education, and the need for a sense of community in the workplace.

Why is that people feel the need to ask permission? Members of the Ladderburning Crew- Jenny Knuth, Nick Pretesky, and Alan Patterson discuss the impact that needing permission has on personal competence and organizational capacity and culture.

It doesn't matter how much experience you have in the work world — truly listening, caring, connecting, and helping other people be successful will ALWAYS get you ahead in your career. If it doesn't, you're working at the wrong place or with the wrong people.

In this bonus episode, we chat with a young professional, William Hinz. It's 8 mins of your life that will inspire you and fill you with hope regarding the next generation of leaders.

Doesn't matter whether you're a new or seasoned manager. There are three common mistakes that will sneak up on you when you least expect it. Take note!

What is it with trust? Nobody argues with its importance, but yet we never really spend the time needed to break it down to better understand it. When was the last time you unpacked trust? Join Alan, Jenny, and Nick as the dig into the components, behaviors, and feelings of trust. There are three unique takes on trust shared. Is trust more head or heart? We hope you make connections to this discussion. Reach out! We would love to hear from you.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a young professional starting out in your career, stuck in a career slump, or just punching the clock to earn a paycheck. A healthier and more fulfilling path forward depends on a mindset devoid of climbing the ladder or being the best.  Listen to how Professor Steve Hart and recent grad, Dajana Walters, discuss how believing in the importance of people and connecting, not personal accomplishments, creates meaning and purpose.

There wasn't much of a debate on this one. Hands down, we all agree LISTENING is a top skill to build bridges (a.k.a. improve your relationships) – be it at work, at home, with friends, or out in the community.

But why are we soooooo bad at it and CAN we get better? Join the discussion as Dr. Trouble, Jenny Knuth, and our newest Burner, Nick Pretasky, share their struggles and explore candid ways to improve.

We're excited to kickoff the podcast again this fall. Stay tuned.

Do you have a job description? Here's how to best use it.

 One of the toughest things for a high achiever to do is give up control for the quality of her work. What happens, however, when that person is promoted into a leadership position? Do they hold tight to their standards and tell people how to do the work, can they delegate even though the quality might now be there, or do they just tell the team to figure it out for themselves.

Listen to a rollicking discussion with Jenny Knuth, Art Director at Wisnet  and Sheryl Guglielmo, Project Manager at DiPrete Engineering, about the how they deal with high standards, delegation, and the on-going desire for a perfect product when they no longer are doing the work. 

What happens when you're not speaking to the audience - whether one person or hundreds- who don't understand what you're talking about. That's a big problem. It's the responsible of the leader to speak to any audience at their level of understanding.

And then there's the issue where the written words- such as in an email - and the spoken words -such as those delivered at a department meeting  -don't line up.

Listen to Alan Patterson and Kelly Norton discuss these communication mistakes and ways to avoid them. 

In our last episode Alan Patterson and Kelly Norton discuss the over-reliance on email and the impact of virtual communication. In this  episode they  discuss the importance of on-going communication and why " I know how you feel" makes people nuts. Ladderburners, unite!

No communication? Dumb. "I know how you feel." Dumber. Next episode will be out on Wednesday. Come join us!

In today's episode, Alan Patterson and  Kelly Norton  discuss two critical modern-day communication vehicles that are used, misused, and abused.

Email owns us. Since it's one-way communication, there's a lot we can get out of our heads without anyone interrupting us.  It enables us to  write dissertation-size messages,  solve  problems, start wars and spread rumors with just a few clicks of the keys. Is it ever effective? Yes, when you understand how to use it to augment what and how you'd say things in personal conversations.

Then there's our dependence on virtual meetings.  Sure, they are not the same as meeting in person, but, is that a bad thing? 

Listen to the first of three episodes on common leadership communication mistakes and how to remedy them.

Getting commitment and buy-in requires pre-selling your ideas and getting others to help in getting support you need. 

In this week's episode you'll hear from Kelly Norton why building relationships and searching for meaningful work outweigh the quest to climb the corporate ladder. 

What happens when you realize that a good job does not speak for itself? And then you discover that self-promotion has nothing to do with you? Here's my story and what I learned along the way - admittedly a little self-promotion on my part!

One  characteristic leaders share in common is confronting their sense of weakness and  insecurity , even though they may not admit it.

Meet  Kevin Faul, founder of Conway Electric - colleague,  classic entrepreneur and quintessential Ladderburner.  Kevin explains why he believes  "chance favors the prepared," even, as he claims, when you're not that smart.  Is your career a series of random events and what if's, or is it the path you've chosen?

 Kevin  is a living example why burning the ladder and broadening  your relationships and experiences increase  your leverage.  Fear is not real. It's only a mirage.

Throughout your  educational and professional career people have told you to  realize your dreams,  be all that you can be, let nothing stand in your way.

Good luck with that. 

We are led to believe that climbing the corporate ladder is  based on personal success. But it's is an illusion. It's demotivating as hell.  And  it's a rigged system unless you're male, white with gray hair, and over 6' tall.  

 In  this podcast  you will hear the story of how  a medical school drop-out came to his senses, even though it took him another  10 years to get his head out of his ...

I'm Alan Patterson. Please join me to learn more about a  gang of professionals known as Ladderburners, people who value personal impact and helping others over their own achievements.

It is so important to treat people with dignity and respect. And in your job, there's something else to consider.   Are you spending time with the people that are most critical for you to be effective in your role, both now and in the future?  Learn  a technique you can use to determine who those people are and should be.

Ever caught off-guard when someone says something to you that you don't understand, and you say nothing? Or having a conversation you're dreading and don't know where to begin?

The key is to get the first sentence right. Then let the conversation develop. 

Here are some common examples for you to think about.  Have fun!

Ladderburners across the globe, unite!  

Stop with this nonsense about climbing the ladder. It's a myth. It doesn't exist. There's a much better way that we will dig into.

 We have lots of work to do.  

 We're testing out the mechanics. So hold on, hydrate, stay safe, and get ready for a wild ride.

This is a test. It's only a test. Stand by for more!

Onward!

Alan