Your effectiveness as a leader is only as strong as your ability to influence others. Unfortunately, too many companies aren't giving their leaders the ability to positively influence their teams and workplace culture. In this episode of The Forward Thinking podcast, host Stephanie Barton, VP of Marketing and Communications at FCCS sits down with leadership consultant and speaker Anton Gunn for a discussion about the impact of an effective leader. Anton is a former Senior Advisor to President Barack Obama and is a speaker at the upcoming FCCS Leadership Conference. Today he offers his philosophy of leadership, questions need to be able to answer and actionable steps leaders can take today to improve their workplace culture.
Episode Insights Include:
Serving as Senior Advisor to the President
Coming from a four generation military family, Anton understands that service comes before leadership.
Determination drove his opportunity to serve under Barack Obama.
Persistence is required for success — Anton called the office 11 times before he got a response.
Anton's belief in himself led him to serving and working with the president.
Anton's leadership philosophy
The proof of a company's values are found in their leaders.
Anton lives by 4 leadership values.
Service is the prerequisite of leadership.
Empowerment — a leader's greatest responsibility is to give others the tools they need to be successful.
Justice — it is a leader's responsibility to make things right. It may not be your fault but it is your problem as a leader.
Legacy measures how we live every day of our lives.
Leaders need to find out what tools their team members need to be productive and effective.
Just Lead with diversity, equity and inclusion
Anton's new book contains 44 actions to break down barriers and boost retention.
He highlights the characteristics of leaders that people admire.
Leaders need to recognize the element of diversity that each team member brings to the table.
Leaders need to increase their competency around diversity within their organization and develop a skill set that applies it in a way that drives value.
Actionable ways to improve the workplace today
Consider how a leader should answer the following three questions about their employees.
Do you care about me? Leaders have to know their team before they can care about them.
Leaders need to be able to pronounce each team member's name correctly, identify where they grew up, and remember their favorite candy bar.
Will you help me be successful? Ask employees if there are any obstacles that are keeping them from performing at their best.
Can I trust you? Trust is built over time as you show your team that you are invested in their success.
Connecting through hip hop
Anton's experience brought a powerful understanding and dimension of connection into his world.
Diversity of people is what made hip hop what it is today.
Increased diversity in cultural perspectives and ways of thinking is a critical skill for effective leadership.
Anton shares his top five favorite rappers of all time.
This podcast is powered by FCCS.
Learn more about the upcoming FCCS Learning Conference - https://www.fccsconsulting.com/conferences/learning-conference
Connect with Anton Gunn - https://antongunn.com/
