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About this Episode:

In this episode of The Transformative Leader Podcast, I’m excited to bring you a discussion with leadership expert, speaker, and consultant, Beth Wonson. And yes, in case you’re wondering, I definitely consider Beth another kindred spirit! She really “gets it” when it comes to leadership, culture, and the role that self-awareness, insight, and emotional intelligence play in bringing them together. Beth understands that often traditional leadership training is absent for those moving into leadership positions, leaving them to ill-prepared for the challenges they will face. And even when training is present, it usually falls fall short of equipping people with the skills and mindset they need to thrive and succeed, both in terms of results and satisfaction. It is this gap specifically that Beth and her team work to address, through her Navigating Challenge Dialogue workshops and related training aimed at guiding leaders in developing the inter- and intra-personal skills necessary for them and their organizations thrive. All in all, it was a great conversation with great leader doing the hard work of creating more leaders, and I hope you give this episode a listen!

In our conversation, and in Beth’s work, we touch on many topics that I have experienced and talked about in my career. For example, if companies are spending billions of dollars in leadership development every year, why isn’t the needle moving on employee engagement and satisfaction? Why is so much money spent on apparently ineffective transfer of tools and some skills, and yet companies don’t see the value in shifting mindsets and cultivating self-awareness and insight, i.e. the so-called “soft skills?“ One of Beth’s main focuses is why and how traditional leadership training is inadequate, and what are some viable alternatives to that we can use to supplement and/or replace it?

Beth understands, as do I, how much value there is in equipping people with “intangible“ leadership skills, rather than simply focusing on increasing their functional competence. By the same token, we both recognize how much waste, inefficiency, disengagement, and anguish is caused by leaders who don’t have the training they need to overcome their egos, quash drama when it arises, communicate effectively, and unite the organization around a common vision. In fact, the characteristics and outcomes of ineffective leadership seem so distinct and predictable that it’s often a wonder that anyone is surprised by them at all. These are just some of the topics we covered in our discussion, and anyone interested in these subjects would do themselves a favor by checking out what Beth has to offer.

Beth Wonson is a leadership coach, consultant, and creator of the Navigating Challenging Dialogue® workshops. These workshops ensure that clients develop meaningful tools to best navigate necessary growth and change while serving the good of their whole organization. Developed through her study of brain-based research, Beth’s workshops are driven by the notion that self-awareness is an essential component of leaders thriving in the workplace and driving growth and success of the organization on the whole.

Guest Links:

To learn more about Beth and her work, you can visit her website, and follow her great blog and podcast. You can connect with Beth on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

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