Leaders Within
Hello, I hope that you had a great weekend! The NBA Playoffs have always meant that Spring is here to me.
I’ve now run a few different organizations, ranging from a private company to a non-profit to a political entity. Each has required different qualities and attributes. I’ve gotten better at some things and probably worse at others, but I’ve seen or been a part of hundreds of success stories.
This week on the podcast I interview Keith Ferrazzi, one of the pre-eminent thinkers and authorities on helping both individuals and organizations succeed. You might know Keith as the author of the #1 bestselling books “Never Eat Alone” or “Who’s Got Your Back?” By day, he runs a firm helping teams organize and run better according to research, experience and principles of co-elevation.
Keith and I were connected by a mutual friend, which is fitting given that Keith first hit the public scene by pushing people to get out there. “It’s not about networking, it’s about true authentic relationships,” Keith says. “Relationships power your success . . . building your network isn’t about getting things out of other people. It’s about investing in people and deepening authentic relationships.” Having now spent time with Keith, he has a phenomenal depth to him where he actually cares about people and producing positive change in the world. He wants to help.
Keith experienced success early. “When you have momentum in life, grab it. Having a podium is not something you should look askance to. It’s a gift and a blessing. That can include even having that small podium within your company. I know young people who are loved in their company, but because they want to do something else they shun that success. Having success under your belt can always be pivoted into other success. But running away from momentum into something else that you’re interested in can be a real missed opportunity.”
Keith’s work has migrated over time to be very team-focused. “We’ve overindexed in leadership and underindexed in teamship,” is how Keith puts it. It’s less about individuals and more about networks.
“Leading without authority is the key. When we work in networks, not just our direct reports, is how we create disproportionate change in the world. If you’re in marketing, it’s not just what your marketing does it’s also about your relationship with the sales organization and the product organization. You need to partner with your head of sales and head of product to drive revenue and become a chief growth officer as opposed to just thinking about the brand.”
Right now, Keith is focused on helping organizations navigate remote and hybrid work cultures. “We’ve been looking at this since 2010 and no one cared. But then 2020 happened. We spent $5 million researching and published 30 to 40 studies. One aspect of work culture is connectedness and bonding . . . we’ve been measuring these qualities for 20 years. In the pre-pandemic world connectedness was measured at 2.8 from a zero to 5 as determined by answers to questions like, ‘I deeply care about all members of my team and they all care about me.’ During the pandemic, you’d imagine this bonding score went down and it did, to 2.3. One CEO started engineering practices that would accelerate the connections in his team while they’re remote. What if every week you have a check-in discussion, not just in 1s and 2s, but the whole group? Then the score goes up. We’ve identified 5 practices that if a team adopts them, bonding goes up to 4.4, better than it was pre-pandemic.” Keith challenges organizations to adapt and evolve. “We’re a bit lazy in thinking the only way to breed collaboration, innovation and relationships is old ways of working.”
Keith wants to make people and organizations who are doing great things work better themselves. It’s a beautiful mission. It reminds me of what I’d like to see Forward do in terms of unleashing our potential to solve problems and innovate. Can we get people there? We can if we grow and get better each day – and if we operate in networks.
For my interview with Keith, click here. For Keith’s books and teachings, click here. To check out Forward click here – we have events in your area upcoming, including SF and LA this weekend!
