Connecting Is Not Enough - The Networking Radio Show

Andy Lopata continues to explore why humour is important in business. This week his guests on The Connected Leadership Podcast are John Cremer from the USA, a specialist in improvisation and Neil Mullarkey who started the Comedy Store Players and like John teaches improv in workshops. Both John and Neil teach using humour in building relationships and getting on in business. Improv is steeped in tradition and it is a high risk occupation depending on some audience participation. The bottom line is creating structure from chaos by working together. 'Being able to work in a new way with something you may have worked with before is a challenge'. It requires collaboration and communication. In leaders it means accepting the need for vulnerability; to listen, accept and commit, making the other person look good. This then leads to negotiation, collaboration and co-creativity. Andy carries on with this theme in next week's podcast with Jeremy Nicholas and Tim Guard.

Charlotte Kemp is the Futures Alchemist, a futurist keynote speaker who works with organisations to co-create preferred futures and to get ahead of trends. Andy Lopata asks Charlotte how we can distinguish between long-term trends and short -term fads. They discuss how leaders can prepare for and influence the future of their organisations. Leaders need the mindset for planning and the skills for taking their teams with them. Charlotte highlights four essentials for managing change and examines how we could change the problem of polarisation where every major trend has two distinct camps. Charlotte believes there is a strong trend towards collaboration, for finding and creating a middle ground. Andy and Charlotte also discuss hybrid working and binary views in this interesting and very topical edition of The Connected Leadership Podcast.  

The subject of this week's podcast is the interconnection of personal and professional relationships. Bernard Savage's company, Size 10½ Boots helps professional service businesses develop skills and strategies. Andy and Bernard explore the resistance and the strict dividing lines that exist to sharing personal information, especially in large companies. Bernard believes a fresh, more authentic approach is needed. There should be a focus on people and being true to yourself. This is easier in small businesses where there is more freedom and flexibility. But, openness and transparency lead to trust which is so important in leadership. Connections on personal levels such as sport or music lead to different conversations and can develop deeper relationships. Bernard illustrates this referencing his Friday On My Mind playlist on LinkedIn, where music has created a bond with a wider network.

This week Andy Lopata discusses leadership styles and how to encourage and inspire teams with Heather Wright. Heather is a neuro-scientist and is well known for her Leadership Programmes. Andy and Heather pick up from last week's podcast about command and control leadership to see if it is still used and do employees expect it? Are leadership styles changing because of hybrid working? Heather argues that effective leaders are promoted because they are good at building relationships, good at building teams and encourage collaboration. Exceptions are in crisis situations where there has to be trust and clarity of authority, such as in the military. Personal relationships are important within accepted behavioral standards. Leaders can be vulnerable and authentic in taking their team with them but must also be able to criticise, pull up, direct when necessary. If a team is not performing the leader is not working properly. Heather gives us five recognizable categories of leadership.

In an enjoyable 150th edition of The Connected Leadership Podcast, Andy Lopata's guest is comedian Athena Kugblenu. Athena makes regular appearances on the UK circuit and at comedy festivals and has a Radio 4 show Athena's Cancel Culture. Andy and Athena start by discussing the fact that one of the greatest fears is speaking in public, and stand-up comedy is a real challenge. But, Athena believes most important is to be likeable, otherwise you can't make people laugh. Andy asks Athena how she managed the change from a business career to a creative one. Endorsement from others was important and having the tools to adapt material if necessary for different audiences without deviating from her core USP. Her improv skills, mean she is able to respond quickly and are also useful tools in business. Athena talks about managing hecklers and dealing with corporate audiences. Finally they discuss being an introvert off stage, the need for your own quiet space and how generally, comedians are a supportive and appreciat

Is 'command and control' management on the way out? Andy Lopata discusses with Myles Downey, business coach for leaders and author of 'The Enabling Manager'. In the week PM Boris Johnson had to give in to pressure to resign, his leadership style is questioned. Is there a need for more vulnerable and inclusive leadership? Millennials and GenZ generations do not respond to command and control, so as leaders they could be changing the culture. The question Andy and Myles ask is, what replaces command and control? Myles believes that trust based relationships in business are important, align and enable is the future. If everyone understands what the primary business objective is, then leaders can lead, manage and coach to achieve goals.

In this week's edition of the Connected Leadership Podcast, Andy Lopata's guest is David Avrin, speaker and author of five books on marketing and customer experience. The interesting question,'does convenience trump experience?' leads on to a discussion covering processes, digital automation, transactional relationships and  chatbots. Technology, in particular automation has allowed companies to simplify their processes, making life easier for them, but sacrificing the personal touch and convenience for the customer.  Andy and David go on to look at the reasons customers leave and what businesses can do to get them back.

Jayne Beyler is host of The Smart Connector Podcast and known for her global brand marketing and media career. Jayne and Andy Lopata discuss the question 'how to be the 'go to person' in your organisation or industry'. In a fascinating conversation they cover leadership roles, how to stand out from the crowd by being interesting, relevant, sometimes provoking or challenging and how this is important if you want to take your career to the next level. Just doing your job is not enough. They look at the role networks and relationships play. With years of experience in advertising and media, Jayne talks about the culture of drugs and alcohol that exists in high pressure environments and the importance of the move towards mental health concerns.

Andy Lopata's guest in this week's episode of the Connected Leadership Podcast is Alan Stevens, the Media Coach and expert on reputation management. They examine how a leader's reputation inpacts on their organisation.  A topical subject in the light of the recent confidence vote in the Prime Minister. Alan is convinced that dialogue and communication are of the utmost importance in crisis management. But, do we allow politicians to be vulnerable, to own up to mistakes? Is it ever too late to repent, to admit you got something wrong? Mistakes are usually forgiven. Slowly, enlightened businesses are moving from 'command and control' to a more inclusive culture emphasising the importance of relationships at all levels.

In this week's Connected Leadership Podcast, Andy Lopata discusses the theory of ONA or Organisational Networking Analysis with Can Papuccuoglu and how important this is for leaders and their organisations. Andy and Can investigate how to use ONA to collect data and map organisations, promoting the use of diversity and collaboration. They look at identifying cognitive diversity and whether leaders are underestimating the importance of hidden gems within their companies. The qualities needed for leadership are changing; mutual support and collaboration are shifting the culture of organisations. Leaders are encouraged to find where the creativity lies, to know where to find the information and the expertise. Most of all, to celebrate those people and encourage everyone to help each other

In this week's Connected Leadership Podcast, Andy Lopata discusses the topical and important issue of toxic masculinity with Luke Ambler, founder of Andy's Man Club, a talking group, a place for men to come together in a safe environment to talk about issues and problems they have faced or are currently facing. Andy's other guest is Dion Jensen, a New Zealander former soldier and policeman, now involved in mental health initiatives. The discussion covers several topics including the relationship between men and women, the decline of the alpha male, suicide, the importance of the culture of the environment and the importance of leadership in controlling that environment to the benefit of their employees.

In the final search into the archives for Connected Leadership Gold, Andy Lopata has an interesting conversation with Geoff McDonald of Unilever and Perry Burton from PWC about diversity and dealing with mental health problems. Both guests have had problems which they have overcome with the help of a caring and supportive culture in the workplace. This experience has made them very aware that it is important leaders recognise that having healthy staff enhances performance. Stigma is still attached to mental health problems and a culture has to be created where this changes.  There should be openness, acceptance, normality and the ability to talk about issues and, most important, acceptance of the power of allowing people to help. "It's all about self-compassion"

In the third glimpse into the Connected Leadership Podcast archives, Andy Lopata talks to Andy Woodfield and Heather Manville of PWC, innovators of building and encouraging diversity in leadership teams. Andy Woodfield was determined to create a truly diverse culture that unlocked potential and identified risks and opportunities. The danger exists that companies concentrate on only one aspect of diversity instead of recognising the pool of talent that exists. Andy, Andy and Heather discuss the support or push back when trying to implement diversity into a company. How do you make a strong business case for building a diverse leadership team? Leaders need passion and the will to accomplish this. Once a diverse team with unique talents exists, it is a leader's responsibility to create an inclusive culture.

In this second episode looking into The Connected Leadership Podcast archives, Andy Lopata talks to Goldie Sayers, Olympic bronze medalist, GB team captain and more recently, business coach.  They discuss the issues arising in bringing together a group of exceptional individual talents and making them into a team. Goldie has used her experiences in sport to help business executives inspire their staff. Andy and Goldie also explore the transition from one career to another, highlighting the importance of a strong, broad and diverse network that doesn't disappear. Maintaining links, having mentors, planning ahead and being prepared to ask for help. These are the factors that will make the transition achievable.

In this week's Connected Leadership Podcast, Andy Lopata delves into the archives and talks to Lee Cockerell and David McQueen about the power of storytelling in business. In a fascinating and instructive discussion, they cover presentation skills, storytelling at Disney, using stories to motivate staff, visual elements and the importance of using stories effectively and with relevance. Andy, Lee and David also look at when to use stories to demonstrate things that went wrong and the emotional connection necessary for a call to action.

Kevin Gaskell, popular podcaster, serial entrepreneur and intrepid adventurer returns to The Connected Leadership Podcast to discuss his new book 'Catching Giants' with Andy Lopata. Can a small business successfully compete with big business giants? To illustrate how this can be done, Kevin and Andy discuss Kevin's record breaking Atlantic rowing race. A truly fascinating story of dedication, discipline, hard work and a culture of trust, responsibility and strong relationships. The five man team believed they could achieve their goal despite their initial lack of the qualifications needed and no rowing skills. Kevin relates this  experience to solving problems in business and moving forward as one team, working together, giving their best, not complaining and achieving inspiring goals. 'Enjoy the journey'.  

A former broadcaster on Virgin Radio Dubai, HBO Asia and CNBC, Simone Heng seeks to inspire others to connect in a meaningful way. Simone’s first book, 'Secret Pandemic: The Search for Connection in a Lonely World', explains how her upbringing impacted on her ability to connect and what she learned on the journey to reconnection. Andy focuses on the importance of connecting at a professional level, Simone examines the need for connection at a personal, human level and social media is an important tool by the use of engaging content. That engagement lays the foundation for the professional connections explored in this podcast. Simone's story is a very personal one and highlights the cultural differences of the East and West. Andy and Simone also discuss the changes that have taken place with virtual and hybrid working and how a phone call to 'hear your smile' and using the time in the office for connection with colleagues is so important.

Andy Lopata talks to his guests Sam Rathling of Pipeline 44 and Phil Jones MD of Brother UK about how leaders can embrace social media and why it is so important. Both Sam and Phil agree that 10-15 minutes per day impacts your talent acquisition, impacts your personal brand and reputation and should be a priority and not ignored. Digital reputation is a tool and not a distraction. They discuss the power and reach of using LinkedIn for business and how your LinkedIn profile should represent you. Phil emphasises that content should not be just about your company. He shares knowledge that he believes will help others and most importantly he writes his own posts. Sam recommends ways to make your engagement more effective. They both stress the importance of empathy, the human element.

This week's podcast sees the return of Dr Ruth Gotian to discuss her new book, 'The Success Factor' with Andy Lopata. Original, with new perspectives on established themes and with new ideas on what goes into becoming a high achiever. The book contain a series of interviews with the most successful high flyers. Interviewees include a Nobel Prize winner, Olympians and an Astronaut.  All relied on professional relationships and teams and many of those relationships were retained and became friendships. Andy and Ruth discuss the importance of mentors and mentoring and the effective use of LInkedIn and other social media to engage and increase your network. They conclude by looking at the difference between extrinsic and intrinsic motivation, the latter becoming 'the fire in your belly'.

Alisa Cohn was voted the top start up coach in the world. She is the author of 'From Start-Up to Grown-Up'  and is a regular contributor to the Harvard Business Review and Forbes Magazine. Alisa discusses with Andy Lopata their use of the terminology of 'Champions' and their importance to your world. They look at the differences in relationship building between leaders of start up, scale up and established businesses and how virtual meetups can be managed, avoiding 'Zoom fatigue'. Also, how to use LinkedIn effectively. In her book, Alisa discusses the psychological journey leaders need to go on and how your self-image and self-talk affect how you build relationships. The book's appendix offers scripts for delicate conversations. Alisa shares some examples and why this approach works.