Why do you need another podcast about leadership?

In this first episode I:

• share the story behind the leaders with impact podcast
• start to explore why the impact you make as a leader matters
• explore the only 3 reasons your leadership isn't making the mark you would like!

About leaders with impact

Want to know the secret of great leaders? In Leaders with impact we'll be exploring what makes an impactful leader; sharing stories of success and strategies that set them apart.

If you are ambitious for your organisation but are struggling to identify what you can do differently as a leader to deliver the right improvements, then hit subscribe to learn how you can get clear on your strategy, implement some self-leadership and connect with those you serve.

New episodes are released every fortnight.

Get in touch

If you enjoyed the episode please leave a review on Apple podcasts (or your app of choice) and let me know what you thought on LinkedIn or instagram.

I’ll be back with the next episode in two weeks so in the meantime remember to sign up to my newsletter to get notified of new episodes, guest appearances and further insights on how to lead with impact.

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Why do you need another podcast about leadership in your life?

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This is the question I asked myself earlier this year, when I first

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started plotting leaders with impact.

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I was pulling a thread, one that I'd picked up when I started my business

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sunday skies just over two years ago.

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And it's woven its way through my how to take the lead collaboration

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with Carrie-Ann from cat's pajamas.

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And this thread was that there was still a long way to go to improve the

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standards of leadership in our companies.

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I know you don't need me to tell you the problems are in and out of

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the media, all across social media.

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And if you listen to my other podcast, you know, that we debunk

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many of the myths and stereotypes.

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What I realized is that whilst many people recognize the problems and want

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to change the way leadership's done.

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Many people actually want to be a different kind of leader themselves.

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They're not always sure how to go about it.

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I'm Lee Griffith, a communication strategist, executive coach, and

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all around champion of leaders who shun the old school stereotypes.

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I'm here to help you get clear on your strategy, implement some self-leadership

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and connect with those you serve through your communications so that

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you can deliver improved organizational performance, engagement, and reputation.

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Visit sundayskies.com to subscribe to my newsletter and get notified when new

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episodes are released every fortnight.

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Leadership's hard.

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It's lonely, but it can be so rewarding for you and your

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organization if done well.

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And that's why I think we need more voices talking about the realities of leadership

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and challenging the way we do things.

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We need different role models.

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Let's stop celebrating the old archetypes.

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Stop repeating the mantras of the so-called gurus.

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And let's show there can be a different way.

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That you can lead with values, integrity, great communication vulnerability,

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and still be high-performing.

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So my intention with this podcast is to prove it's possible.

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By talking to those leaders who do things differently.

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By sharing practical changes you can make from experts that you're

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not going to find in your typical leadership development courses.

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And by exploring the insights I have as someone who's worked in

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corporate roles for almost 20 years.

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I was often one of the youngest female leaders in the teams I worked in,

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who's a self-proclaimed introvert and has learned the hard way by

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trying to follow the outdated rules.

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This podcast is all about making the right impact as a leader.

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And for this first episode, I want to take it back to the basics of why you

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might not be hitting the notes that you'd hoped for when you first started in post.

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From the leaders I've worked with -both in my corporate career and through sunday

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skies- whilst the problems they present with a varied ranging from operational

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performance issues, financial worries, low staff morale, poor customer satisfaction,

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falling organizational reputation.

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There are only three reasons that things are going in the wrong direction and

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they all revolve around leadership.

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Reason one.

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Strategy.

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And I don't mean your organizational strategy, although that

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obviously can be an issue too.

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I'm talking about your personal leadership strategy.

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Your roadmap.

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It's how you provide clarity to yourself and others about where you're

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trying to take the organization.

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It's the markers you set to show the way for the bigger

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picture organizational strategy.

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If you don't know what you're trying to achieve as a leader for

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your organization, how are you expecting other people to follow you?

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High impact leaders are really clear on their personal vision and strategy.

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They know what their role is in delivering the aims in the organization.

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They understand the state of the organization and elements

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of their leadership approach that would be most valuable.

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For example, are they a fixer that's going to come in when things are bad.

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Are they a turnaround person focused on short-term survival?

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Maybe they're the culture builder the slow burner who's going to nurture and rebuild.

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These leaders are clear with themselves and their board about who they are, where

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they'll take the organization and who they need around them to compliment and

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balance their strengths and weaknesses.

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Reason two is self leadership.

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I believe that you can't successfully lead others if you

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don't know how to lead yourself.

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The best leaders know what they stand for, are clear in their style

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and approach, have tried and tested ways to stay in touch with what's

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happening without working in the weeds.

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They get that balance between strategy and execution just right.

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They're clear with others in how they work.

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They set and stick to boundaries.

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They create alignment across their teams.

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They take care of themselves.

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The nub of it is they know what conditions they need to set to

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be high-performing themselves and to enable others to be the same.

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And the third reason leaders often make the wrong impact is communication.

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It's the thing that pulls everything together for high impact leader.

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It's the how.

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How you convey your strategy and self-leadership as part of the

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day-to-day execution of your role.

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It's how you demonstrate clarity in your message, knowing who you need

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to engage with, having a rhythm of communications and engagement in

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order to build trust and reliability.

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It's the cog that keeps everything else moving.

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Impactful leaders are normally outstanding communicators.

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And I'm not talking jazz hands or full of charisma.

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You'll see all styles and approaches.

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But a leader who does this well, first and foremost is listening and

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understanding the environment, the context and the people that they work with.

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They're testing what they see and they hear, and they're using that information

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to inform their strategy and approach.

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They know where they need to build a nurture relationships.

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They work on everyone being able to tell the story of the organization.

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Strategy.

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Self leadership.

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Communication.

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There are no other reasons that you're not making the right impact.

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If you don't have these three elements nailed as leader,

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then you're going to struggle.

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And you see this when leaders fail.

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It's usually because a) They've not taken people with them to

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deliver their vision and strategy.

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B) they're chaotic in the way they manage themselves and their

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work, creating mistrust and disruption amongst their people.

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And C) it shows up through their communications or the lack of it, what

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they do or don't do, how it is, or isn't said, whether they demonstrate

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empathy, listening, compassion, trust.

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If they show vulnerability.

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These three reasons are so interlinked that to have a weakness in one

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area will impact the other two.

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So if you've not been having the right impact, If your metrics are going

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in the wrong direction, if people aren't getting behind your vision,

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or if your board or key external stakeholders are questioning your value.

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You need to troubleshoot what the real issue is.

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Well, that's it for the first episode is a really short one, but hope it's

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given you an insight into some of the themes we're going to be exploring in

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more detail through future episodes.

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And hope it's given you a chance to reflect on the type of impact

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you want to be having as leader.

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And maybe start to think about how you fare against the three

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reasons leaders often fall down.

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If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review on apple

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podcasts or your app of choice.

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And let me know what you thought over on LinkedIn.

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You can find me at Lee Griffith.

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I'll be back with the next episode in two weeks.

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So in the meantime, remember to sign up to my newsletter at www.sundayskies.Com

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to get notified of new episodes, guest appearances, and further

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insights on how to lead with impact.