ArchiveFM

The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk

449: John Amaechi - The Traits Of Effective Leaders, Excellence Is In The Mundane, & Giving Proper Feedback

Duration
56m
Broadcast on
05 Dec 2021
Audio Format
other

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Full show notes at www.LearningLeader.com

Twitter/IG: @RyanHawk12 https://twitter.com/RyanHawk12

John Amaechi is an organizational psychologist, best-selling author, and CEO of APS Intelligence Ltd. In 2019, John was recognized as one of HR's most influential thinkers by HR Magazine. John is the first Briton to have a career in the NBA. John is a Chartered Scientist, a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD and a Fellow of the Royal Society for Public Health. He is a Research Fellow at the University of East London and his research interests are effective, inclusive leadership, building high-performing teams and organisational design that maximises productivity and human thriving in readiness for the future world of work.

Notes:

  • "Excellence is in the mundane." The hours and hours of work when no one is watching.
  • Effective feedback - If it's not developing them, it's not feedback. And feedback is never cruel. Ask, what can we learn from this?
  • The evidence-based traits he shared about effective leadership
  • "Promises have an enormous impact when kept by giants. And a devastating impact when broken. To keep these promises, unconditionally and persistently, is the duty and honor of being a giant."
  • "You can't be a part-time man of principle."
  • There is a difference between elite teams and a group of elite individuals. We want to build elite teams.
    • Look at how you reward people -- What gets measured, gets managed. Reward people for being great teammates.
    • People must earn and maintain their job titles.
  • Coaching leaders:
    • Start at the end - What does great look like?
    • Introspection - How well do you know yourself?
    • Pragmatic - Measure real progress
  • Introspective work - view yourself critically, but not cruelly
    • "You need people around you to be truly candid and caring."
  • John and his team take an analytical approach - "I have a geek squad and we analyze data."
    • They use expertise to provide commentary on the data
  • Feedback - It must be timely and effective. Do regular micro-appraisals. What made you think of that? What can we learn from this?
    • If it's not developing them, it's not feedback
    • Feedback is never cruel
  • Mantra: "I promise to reject excuses and embrace discomfort."
    • You can't skip to comfort...
  • The Promises of Giants is the product of a lifetime spent observing and studying effective leadership - from accompanying his mother's visits to her dying patients to competing at the highest levels of professional sport, through two decades of management consulting with multinational corporations. These experiences have shown that everyone has the ability to act decisively to influence the world in a positive way.
    • Everyone is a giant to someone...
(upbeat music) - Welcome to The Learning Leader Show presented by Incite Global. I am your host, Ryan Hawk. Thank you so much for being here, Tex. Learners to 442-22 to become part of Mindful Monday. You along with tens of thousands of other learning leaders from all over the world will receive a carefully curated email from me each Monday morning to help you start your week off right. You'll also receive details about my new book, The Pursuit of Excellence, and you'll have the opportunity to read its early text. Learners to 442-22. Now, on to tonight's feature, leader of the great John Amici, founder of APS Intelligence, a professional consultancy. He is a psychologist, a scientist, a writer, a self-confessed bookworm from Stockport, England, who made it to the NBA. And he's the first former NBA player to come out as gay and much, much more. His latest book is titled The Promises of Giants, how you can fill the leadership void. During this conversation we cover the difference between an elite team versus a group of elite individuals. Then his researched fact answer to the question, what makes an excellent leader? With a really cool surprise, I think you like this part. And then John shares a better and more useful model to give and receive feedback. Ladies and gentlemen, it's John Amici. All right, John, it's so good to have you here on The Learning Leaders Show. Welcome, man. - Thank you, really appreciate it. - I've told you before that part of my research process is turning to the very back of the book, this current book, The Promise of Giants. I know you've written multiple books, but turning to the very back, as well as turning to the very front. And the back is the acknowledgments, the front is the dedication. And this book is dedicated just simply to mom, right? To mom, I might call her my mom, but you would call her mom from where you're from. So can you share what made you dedicate this book to your mom? - Every book that I've written has been to mom.

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