Leader Fluent with Stephen Blandino

About Leader Fluent with Stephen Blandino

Equipping leaders to develop thriving churches and organizations.

Publisher

Stephen Blandino

Category

business · education · religion & spirituality

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

15 Dec 2020

Latest episode

3 Mar 2025

Latest episodes

40 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   3 Mar 2025

   How to Coach Others

   On the Leader Fluent Podcast, we're in a series on my book, Insanely Practical Leadership: 12 No-Nonsense Keys to Master the Art of Leading Yourself and Others. The book addresses a host of insanely practical skills, and it provides you and your team with the tools to apply the insights to your life and leadership. The book is now available on Amazon, Kindle, and other retailers. On today's episode, you'll get a taste of my chapter on, "How to Coach Others." Be sure to order Insanely Practical Leadership today, and check out the Masterclass as well as the bonus content that goes with the book HERE. In his book, Aspire, Kevin Hall provides some insightful backstory on the origin of the word coach. A village named "Kocs" in old Hungary produced horse drawn vehicles used to comfortably transport royalty between Budapest and Vienna. These carriages became known as “coaches,” borrowing their name from the township where they were designed. And their comfortable design made travel across the bumpy roads in fifteenth century Europe more bearable. Over time, the term “coach” was applied to other modes of transportation such as the stagecoach, railway coach, and motorcoach. But I love something Kevin Hall observed about the word coach. He said “However far-reaching and prevalent the word has become since the first coach rolled out of production in Kocs, the meaning has not changed. A ‘coach’ remains something, or someone, who carries a valued person from where they are to where they want to be.” We’re used to seeing coaches in the arena of sports. But the truth is, leaders need coaches too. And not only do we need coaches, but we need to practice the skill of coaching when we’re investing in others. So, what does a leadership coach do? At the risk of sounding simplistic, I want to provide an insanely practical framework to help you develop your coaching skills. I call it AIM…A-I-M. Good leadership coaches take AIM at the potential in people. Simply put, they coach leaders toward Assessment, Insight, and Movement. “A” – “Assessment” You can’t help someone remove barriers, increase their leadership capacity, or grow their organizational effectiveness unless you first assess where they are and what they need. After all, without assessment, you’ll risk prescribing solutions to problems that don’t exist. First, Ask Questions. Coaching usually begins with some casual conversation. A simple question like, “How’s it going?” or “What’s new since we last talked?” is a great way to start. Your goal is to build rapport and express a genuine interest in them. Then, once you connect, shift the conversation by saying, “What do you hope to gain from our time together?” In other words, you want to identify their goal for the coaching conversation. The second way to practice Assessment is to Administer an Assessment Tool. For example, if the person you’re coaching wants to leverage their strengths for greater organizational impact, administer a tool like CliftonStrengths. If they want to improve their leadership skills, you might administer the Leadership Practices Inventory by James Kouzes and Barry Posner. Good assessment tools provide a base line for the coaching conversation. As you practice assessment, your goal is two-fold: you want to connect with the individual, and you want to clarify their needs, struggles, and goals. “I” - “Insight” Insight is where the person you’re coaching discovers perspective, wisdom, and ideas to take measurable steps forward in their leadership journey. This is where the majority of your coaching conversation will happen. And it’s where the person you’re coaching will discover answers to their biggest challenges.

2. 

   16 Feb 2025

   How to Lead Through Conflict

   On the Leader Fluent Podcast, we're in a series on my book, Insanely Practical Leadership: 12 No-Nonsense Keys to Master the Art of Leading Yourself and Others. The book addresses a host of insanely practical skills, and it provides you and your team with the tools to apply the insights to your life and leadership. The book is now available on Amazon, Kindle, and other retailers. On today's episode, you'll get a taste of my chapter on, "How to Lead Through Conflict." Be sure to order Insanely Practical Leadership today, and check out the Masterclass as well as the bonus content that goes with the book HERE. In the session on, “How to Lead People,” I recounted the story of Sir Ernest Shackleton and his astonishing Antarctic journey. But what I didn’t tell you was how critical Captain Frank Worsley was to the expedition. This was especially true when Shackleton assembled a small crew in a lifeboat for the journey to South Georgia. South Georgia was only 25 miles at its widest point, and 850 miles away. Finding this needle in the haystack of a vast ocean without Worsley’s navigation skills would be near impossible. So, the Captain gathered his navigational tools and tables, and then, despite the severity of the winds and the enormity of the waves, the crew set sail. After three barbaric days, Captain Worsley was finally able to use his sextant to get a rare glimpse of sun to determine how much progress they had made. In fact, in the span of 16 days, the captain got only four shadowy sightings of the sun. But thankfully, his ability for dead reckoning gave him the instincts to know his position, even without the help of navigational aids. And finally, on May 10, 1916, they reached South Georgia. The journey from Elephant Island to South Georgia is considered one of the most heroic ocean voyages of all time, and Captain Worsley’s navigation skills were indispensable to their success. So, why am I revisiting the story of Endurance and Captain Worsley’s extraordinary navigational skills? Because they powerfully resemble the navigational challenges you’ll face when you lead through conflict. When you’re navigating conflict, it’s difficult to read what the parties in the conflict think, want, or expect. Opposition looms large like a giant iceberg, and unseen motives act like the undercurrent of an ocean, quickly changing the course of your direction. One wrong word, one mishap, one lapse in judgment can sink your efforts to resolve conflict and find a way forward. And here’s the harsh reality: If you can’t navigate conflict, you won’t be a successful leader. That sounds blunt—perhaps even unreasonable—but it’s true. Conflict is inevitable in leadership, and your ability to steer through it will determine how far you go. Here's another sobering truth: how you deal with conflict reveals the level of your maturity. Let that sink in. The way in which you handle conflict provides an unfiltered view of your spiritual, emotional, and relational maturity. So, where do we begin? Effective conflict resolution requires six ingredients. 1. Cultivate Trust Trust doesn’t just play a role in conflict-resolution, it plays the central role. In other words, trust is the starting place and the driving force behind resolving conflict. To cultivate trust, begin with the right posture. In Matthew 5, Jesus said that if you come to your place of worship and realize you have a grudge against someone, you should, “leave immediately, go to this friend and make things right.” In other words, Jesus doesn’t permit us to stew with anger or blast people on ...

3. 

   10 Feb 2025

   How to Communicate with Others

   On the Leader Fluent Podcast, we're in a series on my book, Insanely Practical Leadership: 12 No-Nonsense Keys to Master the Art of Leading Yourself and Others. The book addresses a host of insanely practical skills, and it provides you and your team with the tools to apply the insights to your life and leadership. The book is now available on Amazon, Kindle, and other retailers. On today's episode, you'll get a taste of my chapter on, "How to Communicate with Others." Be sure to order Insanely Practical Leadership today, and check out the Masterclass as well as the bonus content that goes with the book HERE. On January 28, 1986, just 73 second after lifting off from Cape Canaveral, the space shuttle Challenger exploded above the Atlantic Ocean. The 6-day mission abruptly ended, killing seven crew members—including Christa McAuliffe, a middle school teacher from New Hampshire. As a result of the disaster, President Ronald Reagan established a commission chaired by former Secretary of state William P. Rogers. What came to be known as the Rogers Commission Report identified the cause of the explosion: an O-ring seal had failed. But it turns out, the failure was much deeper. In addition to an equipment failure, the report revealed organizational communication failures. In fact, the night before the launch, Bob Ebeling and four other engineers from Morton Thiokol raised concerns about the forecast temperatures and the impact they could have on the O-rings. Alarmed over the risk, they recommended the launch be grounded if the temperature fell below 53 degrees. But senior management overruled the recommendation. That night Bob Ebeling told his wife Darlene, “It’s going to blow up.” And the next day, it did. In an interview 30 years later, Ebeling said, “I was one of the few that was really close to the situation. Had they listened to me and wait[ed] for a weather change, it might have been a completely different outcome.” The Rogers Commission Report stated that “failures in communication” and “selective listening” resulted in the decision to launch. As a result, seven innocent lives were lost. In most cases, poor communication isn’t a matter of life and death. And yet, it is. Why do I say that? Because in Proverbs 18:21, King Solomon said, “Words kill, words give life; they’re either poison or fruit—you choose.” So, as a leader, how do you effectively communicate with others? I believe it requires six essential communication skills. 1. Life-Giving Content Proverbs 10:11 says, “The words of the godly are a life-giving fountain; the words of the wicked conceal violent intentions.” So, what does a life-giving fountain sound like? The substance of your words must pass three tests to be life-giving. First, are your words truthful? Ephesians 4:15 says, “speak the truth in love.” Second, are your words wise? While truthful words are facts, wise words are discerning and full of perspective. King Solomon said, “Some people make cutting remarks, but the words of the wise bring healing” (Proverbs 12:18). And third, are your words helpful? The apostle Paul said, “Say only what helps, each word a gift” (Ephesians 4:29, MSG). 2. Clear Speech Mark Twain once said, “The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug.” If people can’t understand what you’re saying, then everything you say will undermine your credibility. That’s why clear speech is marked by three qualities: clarity, conciseness, and pace. First, clear speech is obviously clear. If it lacks clarity,

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Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

13 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 31 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

16

Social presence

0

YouTube

64

Engagement

51

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