MindsetGo Podcast

ICommunicate Podcast #108: Don't Test Me

In this week’s episode of ICommunicate, Mark discusses strategies and benchmarks to use to measure the effective of professional development and how to implement continuous learning so it sticks.
Segment 1:
It goes without saying that some methods of learning just aren’t as effective as others. Whether it’s Zoom fatigue or an abundance of distractions, maintaining the attention of our colleagues can feel like a battle. What methods of learning can we consistently rely on to motivate and engage our peers?
Segment 2:
Developing skills through a procedural, check-box method of learning just isn’t working as well as we’ve been hoping. How can we facilitate effective learning, so our peers learn and maintain their skills?
Segment 3:
Our baggage in combination with a limited, negative mindset can impede the way to develop skills in a motivational way. How can we change the narrative and adopt a mindset that motivates individuals to make learning a want to instead of a have to?
Segment 4:
Let’s face it, we’re not learning complex skills overnight. We know that it takes practice to improve new skills, but how can we train ourselves in effective and time-efficient ways? What strategies can we use to motivate ourselves and others when it comes to reaching our objectives through learning and practice?

ICommunicate Podcast #107: Full Disclosure

Wear your heart on your sleeve. Tell it like it is. These are phrases that people say with pride because we are taught that transparent communication is the best communication. This may be true, but knowing what to say, when to say it, and applying guidelines to make sure your words are appropriate are a set of core competencies many leaders lack. In this week’s episode of ICommunicate, Mark discusses what strategies to use to establish healthy internal communication and how to create a culture that motivates people individually and collectively.
Segment 1:
Being transparent when communicating with our peers often poses a complex challenge. How can we convey ourselves authentically while still providing positive and useful feedback?
Segment 2:
Companies both large and small face the struggle of setting a culture of transparency without the burden of motivating individual employees. How can we relay criticism in a way that is genuine and motivational? What is the appropriate time and place to have these essential discussions?
Segment 3:
When it comes to assessing the strength of internal communication, we often make the mistake of waiting for red flags to determine what action needs to be taken. How can we effectively make decisions about transparent communication on multiple levels of an organization? What processes can we rely on to create a stable and transparent culture?
Segment 4:
Now more than ever, with multiple generations in the workplace and COVID forcing many of us to work remotely, communication with employees has become a monster in and of itself. How can we appropriately get our messages across to people without confusion or disdain?

ICommunicate Podcast #106: A Bias Against Performance Reviews

When is the last time you have received or provided a performance review? How did it go? An ongoing problem that has been exacerbated by the increase in virtual relationships, continues to be the inherent biases that impact objectivity, employee engagement, and productivity. In this week’s episode of ICommunicate, Mark discusses why it’s okay to ditch performance reviews, how to avoid the biases that get in the way of assessing ongoing performance, and solutions to put in place to put everyone on a level playing field.
Segment 1:
Whether we admit it or not, we hold subconscious biases towards people over certain character traits or behaviors. What should our priorities be when conducting a performance review? How do those priorities and biases get in the way of our ability to objectively evaluate a person?
Segment 2:
Providing effective feedback when doing performance evaluations can be skewed by biases. How can we not only identify our biases, but replace them with effective habits and behaviors?
Segment 3:
Our behaviors and the events out of our control have a larger role in our biases than many of us are willing to admit, which often lead us to over or under compensate during an evaluation. How often should we be meeting with our team for reviews? How can we create an open-ended work environment through performance reviews?
Segment 4:
Gaining the mindfulness to identify biases that may be affecting the way we evaluate members of our teams is much easier said than done. How can we create more opportunities for open communication? What kind of subconscious biases do we have about our employees?

ICommunicate Podcast #105: One Size Doesn't Fit All

Have you ever heard a C-Suite executive share frustration about knowing how to motivate their teams? Often they’ll say, “I give them a great salary, an amazing benefits package, and all the time off they need and they still aren’t happy.” Too often, motivational strategies fail because assumptions are made without meaningful conversations to really understand what people want and need. We try to use a one-size fits all approach, but with five active generations in today's workforce, employees have increasingly different motivators. In this week’s podcast, Mark discusses how to implement personalized recognition and curious conversations to get to the heart of what drives people to demonstrate and sustain the behavior leaders seek.
Segment 1:
What we often fail to realize is that there isn’t a single thing that serves as a blanket motivator. Every individual has a variety of motivators that contribute to their output. How can we find out what truly motivates our employees to allow for mutual benefit?
Segment 2:
Monitoring changes in motivation are one of the many responsibilities as a leader. How can we create an environment that allows for open and honest communication?
Segment 3:
It’s so easy to assume extrinsic motivators are what motivates people, but what we often neglect are the intrinsic motivators that are unique to each and every employee. How can we create an environment where achieving these personal goals becomes more accessible?
Segment 4:
We often fall back on snap judgements when we’re considering the value of a person to protect us from getting out of our comfort zones, which leaves little room for genuine reflection. How can we avoid these assumptions and seek out the true value of an individual without letting stigma cloud our judgment?

ICommunicate Podcast #104: Better To Be Good Than Lucky

With so much fear of the unknown and a perceived loss of control, do you ever wonder anymore what you can control? In this week’s podcast, Mark discusses the three things that you can still control and how they ultimately drive results for your life personally and professionally.
Segment 1:
Too often, our hard work and dedication is overshadowed by a simple word: luck. What strategies can we use to shift our mindsets to have a more positive outlook on ourselves and others? What is the impact that word choice has on how we convey messages to other people?
Segment 2:
Internal and external bias exists and they impact decisions on a daily basis, ultimately swaying our judgements on situations both big and small. How does bias impact our decisions? How can we prioritize our needs and avoid a reactive mindset?
Segment 3:
As leaders, we’re tasked with making critical choices under pressure in both our personal lives and professional careers. How can we keep our emotional intelligence in check and pave the way for efficient decisions to be made?
Segment 4:
We strive to create an environment and a culture within the workplace that allows for vulnerability and open and honest communication. What questions can we ask ourselves and our peers to open the door to habit change and replacement? What are some effective strategies that we can use to create a culture built around trust and honesty?

ICommunicate Podcast #103: Virtual Habits

Imagine if you were told with virtually no notice that you had to become a remote parent prior to your kids graduating high school. What would change? How would you adapt? Could you maintain a strong connection with your kids? Experts have often said parenting and leadership are one and the same. Now, not only do leaders have to suddenly learn and hone skills around remote leadership, but they have to help their teams adapt to re-integration in the workplace and handle conflict with evolving challenges related to people’s mindset and fears returning to work. In this week’s podcast, Mark Altman and Joseph Lyman discuss how to motivate teams and provide the support tools individuals will need to overcome obstacles, stay engaged, and maintain a focused/positive mindset.
Segment 1:
The temptation to micromanage our children to ensure their safety in the same ways we handle our employees can hinder our mindsets when it comes to being an effective leader. Are we making the right decisions when it comes to managing remotely? How can we be effective remote leaders even when we don’t have the same control as we otherwise would?
Segment 2:
Adapting to a growth mindset and avoiding tunnel vision can be especially difficult now that we’ve lost the ability to connect with employees face-to-face. Are we in a position to disregard virtual interactions as temporary and insignificant in the long run? How can we adapt to the difficulties presented by remote interactions and avoid being blinded by short term goals?
Segment 3:
Staying accountable and advocating for ourselves and our teams is especially difficult now that our priorities have changed in our virtual workplace. How can we effectively manage and accommodate for the rapidly changing needs of our employees?
Segment 4:
The virtual world has caused habits in the workplace to change, as remote interaction causes ambiguity and forces us to think differently on how to be engaging leaders. How can we use the growth mindset and set expectations going into meetings to avoid being overbearing and micromanaging?

ICommunicate Podcast #102: Peeling Back the Labels

As we navigate what seems like a permanent state of unrest and the charged emotions around the ongoing riots, we are seeing and hearing a lot of people label policemen and protesters as good or bad with no in between. Labeling sets up an expectation of life that is often so compelling we can no longer see things as they really are. The expectation often gives us a false sense of familiarity toward something that is really new and unprecedented. In this week’s ICommunicate podcast, Mark discusses thought processes and conversation templates to avoid labeling and creating a fixed mindset around change and growth.
Segment 1:
We often label individuals or even entire groups of people without taking the opportunity to second guess ourselves. Why are we so quick to categorize people and make drastic judgements on entire groups? Why do we feel compelled to choose sides in a conflict and ignore the middle ground?
Segment 2:
Whether we realize it or not, having labels assigned to us from a young age heavily impacts the way we develop into those particular roles. How can we shed these labels and advocate for ourselves and for others? What makes labels so detrimental to our development?
Segment 3:
Succumbing to the contagious nature of gossip can make us forget that people are much more than the labels we attach to them. How can we change our mindset and focus on the essence of a person rather than the expectations we have towards them?
Segment 4:
No matter what the truth is behind them, confronting labels of our own can be overwhelming, as it forces us to come to terms with who we are. What do our labels tell us about ourselves and how can we reflect on them? How can we grow from our failures and become the people that we want to be?

ICommunicate Podcast #101: I'll Take a Delayed Coffee Please

If you’re a parent you are familiar with asking your kids to do the chores or complete their homework only to have them respond I’ll do it later. This often frustrating response is due to a child’s need for instant gratification to continue what fun chosen activity they are doing. On this week’s show, Mark and fellow MindsetGo trainer Joseph Lyman discuss why leaders and managers struggle with delayed gratification and how much that struggle adversely plays a factor in motivating, developing, and supporting the teams they guide. The mere connotation of the word instant feels wonderful for impatient people while delayed feels long or arduous, not to mention encourages procrastination in the world of busyness, bottom line, and strict deadlines.
Segment 1:
Too often, we find ourselves expecting instant gratification largely due to the ease of access allowed to us through technology, which inadvertently makes assessing ourselves through delayed gratification more difficult. How can we properly self reflect on our abilities to determine our effectiveness as salespeople?
Segment 2:
In a number of cases, the needs of our team tend to come second to personal victories and instant gratification, which often eliminates opportunities for learning and development. What makes self-control and time management so difficult and how can we overcome that?
Segment 3:
Setting goals for ourselves and our team brings up questions around trust in our ability to sustain success over the long term. How can we set goals for our team that push for long term success? What strategies can we use to motivate and develop our team moving forward?
Segment 4:
Networking events provide opportunities for collaboration and mutual benefits for salespeople, but our mindset going into these events may not complement our approach towards seeking potential relationships. How can we take advantage of networking events without the mindset of instant gratification to create more opportunities for referrals and sales?

ICommunicate Podcast #100: Keep Your Eye On The Prize

In our everyday lives, we come across triggers and pet peeves that serve as distractions while we pursue our goals. Without the proper strategies to overcome these triggers, salespeople can become overwhelmed with emotion, causing them to miss out on potential prospects and opportunities. How can we control our triggers in an emotionally intelligent way so that we can focus on our goals? In this week’s podcast, Mark explains how to deal with rejection and set expectations to generate more leads and close deals more effectively.

ICommunicate Podcast #99: Looking In The Mirror

Now more than ever, we need to use self-reflection as THE tool to reset, re-strategize, and re-evaluate important aspects of our personal and professional lives. Assessing our motivations, goals, and doubts can drain us emotionally, but the clarity that follows leads to major improvements to our happiness and success. In this week’s podcast, Mark talks about how self-reflection improves our emotional intelligence by enabling us to be more influential and inspirational leaders in and out of the workplace.