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Business Communications Strategist, Jenni Field, shares tips and advice on how to take your organisation or team from chaos to calm. In these 15 minute episodes Jenni covers a variety of topics from employee communications, organisational culture, leadership and hybrid working.
Episodes
Wednesday Sep 04, 2024
Wednesday Sep 04, 2024
In the final episode of Season 5, Jenni recaps on the eight practices of credible leadership: capable, empathetic, integrity, likeable, supportive, trustworthy, visionary, and vulnerable.
Jenni provides definitions and highlights behaviours that may indicate deficiencies in each area, and also discusses how organisational support systems and a conscious mindset can bolster leadership credibility, urging leaders to integrate these practices consistently.
Episode Timestamps:
- 00:32 - The Eight Practices of Credible Leadership
- 01:37 - Identifying Your Strengths and Weaknesses
- 02:11 - Behaviours Indicating Lack of Practices
- 04:20 - Organisational Support for Credible Leadership
- 05:05 - The Importance of Mindset
- 07:04 - The Path to Becoming a Credible Leader
- 09:30 - Conclusion and Further Resources
Key Takeaways From This Episode:
- Leadership credibility requires ongoing effort, practice, and consistency
- Importance of understanding the impact of behaviour, communication style, and relationships for credible leadership
- The need for leaders to dial up the right behaviours for different situations to keep people engaged
- The impact of not having leadership support mechanisms like employee experience strategy, internal communication, leadership development programs
Thank you for listening!
Keep the conversation going, ask questions and share your thinking by joining the Redefining Communications community, and connecting with Jenni on LinkedIn, Instagram and X(Twitter).
Important Links & Mentions:
Wednesday Aug 28, 2024
Wednesday Aug 28, 2024
In the penultimate episode of Season 5, Jenni talks all about the role of vulnerability in credible leadership. She discusses its significance during the pandemic, defines what it means to be vulnerable for leaders, and highlights the potential disconnect and chaos when leaders fail to show vulnerability.
Jenni shares personal stories and outlines three practical steps to build vulnerability: asking for help, being honest, and leveraging all aspects of communication. The episode emphasises the need for leaders to demonstrate personal, yet professional aspects of themselves to strengthen connections with their teams.
Episode Timestamps:
- 00:41 - Defining Vulnerability
- 02:03 - The Chaos of Lacking Vulnerability
- 02:28 - Balancing Vulnerability and Connection
- 04:37 - Building Vulnerability: Practical Steps
Key Takeaways From This Episode:
- True vulnerability requires strength and assuredness
- The challenge with defining vulnerability is that it has different meanings for different people
- Leaders should have a balance in vulnerability, be personal but not intimate
- 3 practical steps for building vulnerability
Thank you for listening!
Keep the conversation going, ask questions and share your thinking by joining the Redefining Communications community, and connecting with Jenni on LinkedIn, Instagram and X(Twitter).
Important Links & Mentions:
Wednesday Aug 21, 2024
Wednesday Aug 21, 2024
In the eighth episode of Season 5, Jenni explores the concept of being visionary as one of the eight practices essential for credible leadership. She provides a definition of visionary and emphasises the importance of clear communication, passion, and the ability to inspire action.
Jenni also outlines three key steps to build this practice: inspiring others through courage and vulnerability, adapting communication to different environments, and maintaining consistency in storytelling. Tune in to the full episode to learn how to create purpose and drive through effective visionary leadership!
Episode Timestamps:
- 00:31 - Defining Visionary as a Leader
- 01:06 - The Importance of Communication in Visionary Leadership
- 02:13 - Consequences of Lacking Vision
- 05:09 - Building Visionary Leadership
Key Takeaways From This Episode:
- Visionary is about the ability to clearly communicate where you're going and inspire others
- It's not merely being a "visionary leader" like Steve Jobs but about articulation and passion for the future
- Without clear vision, teams cannot understand their purpose, leading to apathy and disorganised efforts
- 3 practical steps for building visionary as a practice
Thank you for listening!
Keep the conversation going, ask questions and share your thinking by joining the Redefining Communications community, and connecting with Jenni on LinkedIn, Instagram and X(Twitter).
Important Links & Mentions:
Wednesday Aug 14, 2024
Wednesday Aug 14, 2024
In the seventh episode of Season 5, Jenni explores the critical role of trust in credible leadership. She defines what it means to be trustworthy, highlighting the importance of reliability alongside character and competence.
Jenni discusses the detrimental effects of lacking trust in an organisation, sharing a story about Peter, a CEO whose oversight led to a slow erosion of trust. She also provides three actionable strategies for building trust: making the first move, transparent communication, and being reliable.
Episode Timestamps:
- 00:32 - Defining Trustworthiness
- 01:52 - The Importance of Reliability
- 02:52 - The Slow Erosion of Trust
- 06:10 - Strategies to Build Trust
- 06:46 - Three Key Practices for Trustworthiness
Key Takeaways From This Episode:
- Trustworthiness extends beyond not lying—it's intrinsically linked to credibility
- Trust often erodes slowly over time, leading to significant organisational challenges
- Slow erosion of trust can be due to a leader neglecting face-to-face interactions and focusing too much on external stakeholders
- 3 key practices for building trust within your leadership
Thank you for listening!
Keep the conversation going, ask questions and share your thinking by joining the Redefining Communications community, and connecting with Jenni on LinkedIn, Instagram and X(Twitter).
Important Links & Mentions:
Wednesday Aug 07, 2024
Wednesday Aug 07, 2024
In the sixth episode of Season 5, Jenni discusses the importance of being a supportive leader as a cornerstone of credible leadership. Jenni defines what it means to be supportive, and outlines the chaos that can occur when a leader isn’t supportive.
She also shares the three crucial steps to build a supportive practice: creating a safe environment for learning and failure, setting clear expectations, and embodying a service-oriented mindset. Tune into the full episode to find out why leaders need to be encouraged to understand individual needs, foster psychological safety, and ensure transparent communication to enhance their leadership credibility.
Episode Timestamps:
- 00:37 - Defining Supportive Leadership
- 03:16 - Consequences of Lack of Support
- 04:44 - Building Supportive Practices
- 05:23 - Three Key Strategies for Supportive Leadership
Key Takeaways From This Episode:
- A supportive leader creates safe spaces for failure, speaking up and asking for help when it’s needed
- Supportive leadership is about enabling others and creating a culture of support within the organisation
- It’s essential for being a credible leader and lack of support can lead to rejection
- 3 things you can work on to build supportive leadership
Thank you for listening!
Keep the conversation going, ask questions and share your thinking by joining the Redefining Communications community, and connecting with Jenni on LinkedIn, Instagram and X(Twitter).
Important Links & Mentions:
Wednesday Jul 31, 2024
Wednesday Jul 31, 2024
In this fifth episode of Season 5, Jenni Field emphasises the importance of likeability as a crucial practice for credible leadership. She explains what likeability entails, debunks common misconceptions, and highlights the chaos that can ensue without it, including people not agreeing with your direction or intentionally working against it.
Jenni also shares insights and real-life examples, as well as practical strategies to build likeability through explaining the 'why,' being positive with realism, and showing curiosity!
Episode Timestamps:
- 00:40 - Defining Likeability
- 01:26 - The Need to Be Liked vs. Being Likeable
- 04:18 - The Chaos of Lacking Likeability
- 05:21 - Building Likeability as a Practice
Key Takeaways From This Episode:
- You can’t be a credible leader if you are truly unlikeable
- Likeability is characterised by charisma, light-heartedness, and an agreeable nature
- Lack of likeability can lead to chaos, misalignment, and sabotage within a team
- Detaching from the need to be liked can enhance your decision-making and ability to handle tough conversations
Thank you for listening!
Keep the conversation going, ask questions and share your thinking by joining the Redefining Communications community, and connecting with Jenni on LinkedIn, Instagram and X(Twitter).
Important Links & Mentions:
Wednesday Jul 24, 2024
Wednesday Jul 24, 2024
In the fourth episode of Season 5, Jenni discusses the critical importance of integrity for leaders. Drawing from research and practical experiences, Jenni defines integrity as consistently keeping your word, being genuine, and behaving ethically.
She shares insights on the challenges of accountability and the consequences of lacking integrity, emphasising the need for leaders to take responsibility and follow through on promises. Through a previous case study, Jenni illustrates how a failure to demonstrate integrity impacts team trust and engagement. She also provides actionable steps to build integrity, including embracing accountability, learning to apologise, and prioritising commitments.
Episode Timestamps:
- 00:41 - Defining Integrity
- 01:40 - Challenges of Accountability
- 05:02 - The Consequences of Lacking Integrity
- 07:24 - Building Integrity: Practical Steps
Key Takeaways From This Episode:
- Integrity is fundamental for credible leadership and it is consistently valued by both leaders and follower
- Leaders with integrity do what they say they will do, are genuine, accountable, and behave ethically
- Accountability challenges arise from discomfort in admitting mistakes, justifying actions, and the fear of offending others
- Without integrity, there is no trust, which can lead to disengagement and frustration
Thank you for listening!
Keep the conversation going, ask questions and share your thinking by joining the Redefining Communications community, and connecting with Jenni on LinkedIn, Instagram and X(Twitter).
Important Links & Mentions:
- How to Become a Credible Leader [Free Resources Included!]
- Join the Redefining Communications Community
- Season 2, Episode 8: Why Accountability Can Be Hard
Wednesday Jul 17, 2024
Wednesday Jul 17, 2024
In the third episode of Season 5, Jenni explores the importance of empathy in leadership. She defines genuine empathy beyond just 'stepping into someone else's shoes' and shares personal stories highlighting the chaos that arises from a lack of empathy.
Jenni also provides three practical tips for leaders to build empathy, including: actively listening, being flexible, and avoiding self-centred storytelling. The episode emphasises that empathy is crucial for forming genuine connections and maintaining credibility as a leader.
Episode Timestamps:
- 00:29 - Defining Empathy
- 01:19 - The Importance of Empathy in Leadership
- 02:18 - The Chaos Without Empathy
- 03:55 - A Real-Life Example of Empathy in Action
- 06:36 - Building Empathy as a Leader
- 08:43 - Practical Tips for Demonstrating Empathy
Key Takeaways From This Episode:
- Genuine empathy involves believing someone else's lived experiences and is closely linked to communication and leadership
- Empathy vs. Compassion: Empathy requires understanding and believing others, while compassion is about connection
- Lack of empathy in leadership leads to people disliking and not trusting their leaders
- Three actionable steps for how leaders can build empathy
Thank you for listening!
Keep the conversation going, ask questions and share your thinking by joining the Redefining Communications community, and connecting with Jenni on LinkedIn, Instagram and X(Twitter).
Important Links & Mentions:
Wednesday Jul 10, 2024
Wednesday Jul 10, 2024
In the second episode of Season 5, Jenni discusses the practice of capability as a crucial component of credible leadership. She explores the definition of capability, the chaos that ensues from its absence, and draws from her professional experiences to illustrate its impact on organisational credibility.
Jenni outlines three key areas to build capability in leadership: industry knowledge, action-taking, and respect. She also touches on the challenges of demonstrating leadership capability without prior experience and emphasises the importance of continuous learning and mutual respect in effective leadership.
Episode Timestamps:
- 00:49 - Defining Capability in Leadership
- 02:38 - The Chaos of Lacking Capability
- 02:59 - Real-World Examples of Capability Issues
- 06:35 - Building Capability as a Leader
Key Takeaways From This Episode:
- Capability includes experience in the industry or role, respect for those you lead and taking action
- Chaos can be caused by a lack of capability which includes disrespect from team members when they don’t believe you’re capable, avoidance, conflict and challenging relationships
- Leadership respect is earned, not simply given due to position
- You can develop your capability by sharing personal experiences and stories, taking action, respecting team members and serving them, as well as continuous learning and self-development
Thank you for listening!
Keep the conversation going, ask questions and share your thinking by joining the Redefining Communications community, and connecting with Jenni on LinkedIn, Instagram and X(Twitter).
Important Links & Mentions:
Wednesday Jul 10, 2024
Wednesday Jul 10, 2024
In the first episode of Season 5, Jenni delves into the theme of credible leadership. She discusses the importance of credibility in leadership roles, her research on the topic, and introduces her definition of a credible leader.
The episode reflects on the impact of the 2020 pandemic on leadership behaviours and explores the eight practices associated with credible leadership. Jenni also shares insights from her LinkedIn community and presents findings from her research report.
Throughout the season, each episode will focus on one of the eight key practices that define credible leadership, as well as provide you with practical things that you can implement to build that practice that will enable you to lead effectively.
Episode Timestamps:
- 00:16 - The Importance of Credible Leadership
- 00:26 - The Pandemic's Impact on Leadership
- 01:31 - Exploring Empathy and Authenticity
- 02:56 - Defining Credibility
- 03:04 - Research Insights on Credibility
- 06:22 - Challenges to Credible Leadership
- 08:05 - The Eight Practices of Credibility
Key Takeaways From This Episode:
- Why there was an emphasis on being empathetic, human, and authentic during the pandemic
- Key blockers to credibility include change and uncertainty, leadership development, communication issues, and remote work challenges
- The eight key practices of credibility and understanding what they all entail
- Effective communication combined with accountability ensures genuine leadership and followership
Thank you for listening!
Keep the conversation going, ask questions and share your thinking by joining the Redefining Communications community, and connecting with Jenni on LinkedIn, Instagram and X(Twitter).
Important Links & Mentions: