Boost your leadership

Eliah Seton of SoundCloud

Can joining a college a capella group help launch a career in the family business? Yes it can, Eliah Seton, CEO of SoundCloud tells Kenning Associates Partner, Daryl Ogden–and it can provide the foundation for a marriage and family to boot! Eliah joins us on the pod to discuss his career in music:  One deeply rooted in his personal and family history, and one that was shaped by mentors and mentorship throughout. Eliah explains about what he gleaned from his mentors (e.g., where to find energy, how to measure progress) as well what he still gathers from those he mentors (e.g., a new way to use a product, a fresh perspective from another company).  Eliah and Daryl go on to dig deep into what makes Soundcloud supremely well-poised to exploit the disruptions in the music industry–trends that Eliah had seen first-hand in the making throughout his years at Warner Music.  As one of his mentors told him:  “When you’re on a train, you can walk or run… but what really matters is how fast the train is going.” 

Eliah Seton of SoundCloud2024-11-20T11:25:58-05:00

Three reasons to revisit Ted Lasso in 2024 for career inspiration

Is Ted Lasso still relevant? I am going to say yes. In fact, I’d like to suggest that 2024 is a great year to revisit the show as a support for your own personal growth. There are lessons for life, leadership, and learning baked into the stories and the character arcs that have enduring value for career inspiration. Here are my top 3 reasons why you should revisit the show now.

Three reasons to revisit Ted Lasso in 2024 for career inspiration2024-03-21T18:54:13-04:00

Helen Chiang of Mojang Studios (Makers of Minecraft)

In this episode, Kenning Partner Daryl Ogden speaks with Helen Chiang, head of Mojang Studios. Daryl and Helen’s relationship goes back many years, to the integration of Mojang, the Swedish creator of Minecraft, into the world of Microsoft’s Xbox. Despite the troubling reality of most acquisitions, they talk about how Helen and her team ensured continued growth and player satisfaction.  

Helen Chiang of Mojang Studios (Makers of Minecraft)2023-06-20T10:39:47-04:00

Women in Tech: Abby Kearns, advisor and investor

In this installment of our Women in Tech Series, Kenning Partner Cathy Boeckmann talks with Abby Kearns. Abby is a C-level business and technology executive who has held top roles at Puppet, Cloud Foundry Foundation, and Pivotal Software, to name just a few of the influential organizations she’s been a part of. She talks about how two roles – project manager and product manager – opened her eyes to the world of tech and inspired her strategic style as a leader. She shares her passion for enterprise infrastructure and for being a part of the open-source movement. Focused on the challenges of scale and complexity, Abby offers an inspiring take on how all of us, and women in particular, can look for ways to get more comfortable with risk. 

Women in Tech: Abby Kearns, advisor and investor2023-04-04T17:00:28-04:00

Coach Ron Adams on Working with Superstars

“The Guru of NBA Defense” is how Raptors coach Nick Nurse recently referred to Ron Adams, assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors whose time with the franchise has included 3 NBA championships.  Ron has coached not only Steph Curry and Kevin Garnett, but David Robinson, Ray Allen, and James Harden. In this wide-reaching conversation, Ron discusses with Kenning Partner Daryl Ogden how he builds rapport with players, especially superstars.

Coach Ron Adams on Working with Superstars2022-12-15T18:28:28-05:00

Gaining Competitive Advantage through 360° Feedback

Conventionally, we think of feedback as something we get from our immediate supervisor. But Kenning Partner Laurie Burkland Waller explains to Mike Merrill how we can use 360° feedback to broaden our perspective and ultimately provide us a competitive advantage.

Gaining Competitive Advantage through 360° Feedback2022-12-15T18:34:08-05:00

Time-travelling the Leadership Continuum

How is leadership like time travel?  Kenning Partner Daryl Ogden explains to Mike Merrill an important tool he employs in his coaching practice:  “The Leadership Continuum”.  In this framework, Leadership is composed of three elements, all intrinsically associated with a facet of time:  Administration, with the past; Management, with the present; and Vision, with the future.  

Time-travelling the Leadership Continuum2022-12-15T18:37:03-05:00

Shannon Loftis of Xbox Studios

On the eve of her announced retirement from Xbox Game Studios, longtime Microsoft veteran Shannon Loftis met with Kenning Partner Daryl Ogden to discuss her storied career.  Shannon talks about the early days of gaming at Microsoft, and what it was like to be a woman in that hard-driving environment.  She explains how Microsoft’s culture has changed in the intervening years, and how she has as well.  A timely talk by Melinda French Gates provided some rules to live by for Shannon, guidelines she still shares with the women she supports today.

Shannon Loftis of Xbox Studios2022-12-15T18:55:44-05:00

Best Practices for Facilitating Meetings

Kenning Associates Partner Jen LaChance says that facilitating a meeting means “creating space for group level sense-making”.  With that benchmark in mind, she and fellow Kenning Partner (and facilitation veteran) Thom Shaw discuss some of the best ways to prepare for a meeting, conduct it, and what you should do once it's done.

Best Practices for Facilitating Meetings2022-12-15T18:59:57-05:00

Leadership Versatility & The Birkman Method

Kenning Partner Laurie Burkland Waller speaks with Mike Merrill about leadership versatility, a trait she has found to be especially important for collaboration and effectiveness. Leaders with versatility have a kind of multilingual fluency: they are better able to adapt to stakeholders both inside and outside the organization and meet the needs of a particular person in a specific context. 

Leadership Versatility & The Birkman Method2022-11-29T13:10:29-05:00
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