Eight Essential Leadership Lessons with Brian Schubring

In this episode of the Leadership Vision Podcast, we present a compilation of eight little and insightful leadership lessons from Brian Schubring, the founder of Leadership Vision Consulting. These lessons, part of our 'It's What Leaders Do' series, cover essential qualities and actions for effective leadership. 

Topics include the importance of genuine care, maintaining momentum, changing perspective, self-focus, emotional capacity, learning from mistakes, taking small steps towards big goals, and naming personal needs. 

Each lesson is designed to inspire and challenge listeners to reflect on their own leadership practices and improve their effectiveness.

01:22 Lesson 1: The Importance of Genuine Care
03:02 Lesson 2: Maintaining Momentum in Leadership
05:07 Lesson 3: Changing Perspectives
06:56 Lesson 4: The Value of Self-Focus
09:11 Lesson 5: Emotional Capacity in Leadership
10:38 Lesson 6: Embracing Mistakes
12:43 Lesson 7: Taking Small Steps
14:06 Lesson 8: Naming Personal Needs
16:08 Conclusion and Call to Action

Chapters

• 0:00 Leadership Lessons From Brian Schubering
• 9:07 Leadership Through Emotional Capacity and Growth

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

You're listening to the Leadership Vision Podcast, our show helping you build positive team culture. Our consulting firm has been doing this work for the past 25 years so that leaders are mentally engaged and emotionally healthy. Hello everyone, my name is Nathan Friberg, and in today's podcast episode, we're doing something a little bit different. I've compiled a series of these small little leadership lessons from Brian Schubering, our founder. It's part of the or I should say it's from the it's what Leaders Do series. These are various podcast episodes that we've recorded over the last couple of years, and each of the segments that you're about to hear it just offers you a unique we'll call it insight in some of the qualities that Brian has seen over the past I don't know 35 or 40 years working with leaders, coaching leaders, consulting with some of the best of the best leaders. The whole series was kind of like this is just what leaders do.

Speaker 1: 0:56

These little lessons and I think we've got like 15 or more of them in total, but here are eight today of them in total, but here are eight today these are just designed to inspire you, to challenge you, maybe encourage you, just to reflect on your own leadership practice, and hopefully it'll just give you something to think about, just these small little nuggets and tidbits. So just sit back and let's dive into these eight essential lessons from Brian Schubring. Okay, so the first lesson is all about care, and Brian emphasizes here that genuine care is well, it's a foundational quality of effective leadership, right, I mean? This care extends beyond just the people around you. It encompasses your environment, your surroundings and, probably most importantly, yourself. All right, so here's Brian exploring what it means for leaders to truly care.

Speaker 2: 1:45

So what do leaders, do Leaders care? One of the things that I'm continuously impressed by are those leaders that I meet who genuinely care. These are the leaders that care for themselves. They care for causes, their surroundings in the environment. They care for moments, they care for the people that are around them, and when I say that leaders care, I mean that this care is the kind of standout characteristic that truly makes this individual unique. They have a genuine and authentic care that's rooted deep down inside them. It's almost as if they don't know how to live life without caring for someone, and that care is like a magnet that attracts other people to them, which gives these leaders more opportunities to care. So what the leaders do? They care? They care about their environment, they care about their surroundings, they care about their relationships and, perhaps most importantly, they care for themselves.

Speaker 1: 2:39

So caring is more than just action. Right, it's a defining characteristic of a leader. It's this deep, authentic care that attracts others and opens up more opportunities to lead with compassion. Some of the best leaders I've ever worked with are ones that I could say that they honestly care about me and they know how to take care of themselves too. All right, let's move on to lesson two, and in this one, brian is going to be talking about the importance of momentum in leadership. Leaders keep moving. He explores how leaders do that, both externally and internally, through things like perseverance, pacing, practice and a few other things. All right, here's Brian with a little bit more on why leaders must always keep moving forward.

Speaker 2: 3:24

Leaders keep moving. Leaders are those that have a great degree of influence and effect on other people, and one thing leaders know how to do is they know how to keep moving. Now, this movement may be the external movement that all of us see, or it could be an internal movement of paying attention to how their thoughts and their emotions and their intuition are guiding them. For leaders, keeping moving means they know how to persevere. There could be challenges or obstacles, or even opportunities that may take longer than expected, but leaders keep moving because they know how to persevere. Leaders also know how to pace. They know how to keep pace with other people who are teaching them. They may know how to keep pace with those that they're mentoring, but pacing and understanding timing is also really important. Leaders keep moving by paying attention. They observe what's going on around them. They observe what's happening in the environment and business trends. Leaders keep moving by sometimes pausing. It may look like they don't know what to do next, but they're actually reflecting and thinking into how it is that they're going to keep moving. And, most importantly, leaders keep moving because they know how to practice. They know how to practice what works well. They know how to practice what they're growing in. They know how to practice letting go and they know how to practice practicing. So what do leaders do? They keep moving.

Speaker 1: 4:47

I really think movement is essential for leadership, whether that's through perseverance, through pacing, like he talked about, or just taking time to reflect. As leaders, we're always moving. Hopefully, we're not just sitting completely still, and the best leaders understand the importance of maintaining momentum. So let's talk about next here kind of another important aspect of leadership. In this clip, brian's going to share with us about why leaders often face complex challenges, and he's going to talk about the importance of changing your perspective. In fact, this happens all the time. You're going to hear him explain how this broadening of, maybe, your viewpoint or worldview, or whatever you want to call it, through seeking input through others, it can really lead to better decisions and continuous learning. All right, here's Brian again.

Speaker 2: 5:35

So what do leaders do? They change their perspective. Most leaders understand that their unique perspective is just that unique. But oftentimes, when the pressure increases and there's decisions that need to be made and we're facing really complex problems, our perspective sometimes narrows. So what do we need to do? We need to be made and we're facing really complex problems. Our perspective sometimes narrows. So what do we need to do? We need to ask other people to enhance and broaden our unique perspective so that we can make better decisions. Changing your perspective. It keeps you open to learning and increases your curiosity, Because, as long as we understand that our unique perspective is limited, we can change it by asking other people to help inform us.

Speaker 1: 6:14

So a leader's ability to change perspective is, I think, key, crucial, obviously most important, in making informed decisions and staying curious.

Speaker 1: 6:23

You can probably pause a moment here and just think about a leader that you know who hasn't done that, and then maybe another leader who has done that. Well, I would like to think that I am someone that when I do get more information or different information, I'm able to change my perspective or think more broadly. But I think sometimes I probably think a little bit better of myself in that way. I don't know that I'm always open to new viewpoints, at least not as much as I should be, and I know that will help navigate more effectively in the future. All right, this next one, lesson four, brian's going to be talking about the importance of self-focus for leaders, which is interesting and maybe a little bit different than what we just talked about about changing your perspective, but in it he shares some insights on how personal reflection and self-care practice can strengthen a leader's ability to support others. All right, let's dive into the value of focusing on oneself as a leader when we choose to spend time focused on ourselves.

Speaker 2: 7:23

I believe some of the best ways that we can invest in our own development is by asking and answering questions of ourselves.

Speaker 2: 7:29

It's almost this way that we can invest in our own development is by asking and answering questions of ourselves.

Speaker 2: 7:32

It's almost this way that we can care for ourselves, by letting us reflect and respond on what really matters, without anyone else influencing our answers or any other distractions that often come if we're trying to do this with other people.

Speaker 2: 7:48

And so, when we think about mindfulness practices and things that can be done by ourselves, these three questions are questions that we truly could spend time reflecting and answering for ourselves, jotting the answers down, going back to it at similar time and sharing with other people, just to remind ourselves of what you just said, nathan, the things that anchor us into our present reality and, as I often illustrate with people that I talk to, is the reason why I practice things that are caring for who I am as a person is because I believe that that practice is giving me the space and the permission to drive my roots deeper and deeper into that which I believe, so that my branches can extend further and further, as I'm being asked for care and for compassion about other people as I live out my daily life, so I think that there's always time, or that we can always make time, to pause, ask ourselves some questions and then listen to how it is that we are responding ask ourselves some questions and then listen to how it is that we are responding.

Speaker 1: 8:57

Focusing on yourself isn't selfish. It's a necessary practice for leaders to deepen their roots and extend their impact. Just take some time for personal reflection and that can really lead to more effective leadership. All right, let's go on to the next one, which I don't know if this is going to be hard for it to talk about or think about, but it's about emotional capacity. So lesson five here Brian talks about how effective leaders are those who are aware of their emotions, the emotions of others and the overall emotional environment.

Speaker 2: 9:28

So what do leaders do? Leaders have emotional capacity, capacity. One of the things that we've observed with leaders that are really influential in changing people's lives and changing organizations are those that have an emotional capacity, and by emotional capacity we simply mean they either have an emotional awareness or they're aware of the emotions around them, or they have a great degree of emotional vocabulary just many words to express, in many ways, to understand emotions or they have emotional sensitivity. They're just sensitive to the people around them and their emotional state. So what the leaders do? They have an emotional capacity.

Speaker 1: 10:06

Emotional capacity allows leaders to connect deeply with others and navigate complex emotional landscapes. That's a key factor here in building trust and influence and just kind of doing anything. It's also one of the most challenging ones to, I think, grow. And going back to the earlier lesson about changing perspective, I would challenge listener, how can you maybe implement something today or this week or this month that will boost your emotional capacity? All right, in number six here Brian's going to tackle the idea that leaders often get it wrong, and I put it here in this order because it's coming right after this idea of changing your perspective, of focusing on yourself, of having greater emotional capacity. Leaders get it wrong and that's okay. He's going to explain how making mistakes and learning from them is a natural part of leadership and actually, if you go into our podcast archives and look for the one on self-compassion, that is a great tie-in to this one. So let's listen to Brian's thoughts on why getting it wrong is an important part of the leadership journey.

Speaker 2: 11:11

So what do leaders do? They get it wrong. They get it wrong, and they get it wrong a lot. But conversely, leaders also believe that they're getting it right most of the time, and herein lies the tension. And if you're a team member of a leader that tends to get it wrong, you'll understand that by what they say, they're often convincing themselves that they're getting it right. But the leaders that we have found that are making significant impact on their people and their organizations do this. They get it wrong, and in getting things wrong, they recognize that in giving themselves permission and freedom to fail, they're also giving other themselves permission and freedom to fail. They're also giving other people permission and freedom to fail. They're not afraid to cast new visions and set goals, knowing that many of them will be missed. And leaders also have this ability to continue to move on, to adapt, to change and to navigate. What do leaders do they get it wrong? What do leaders do they get it wrong?

Speaker 1: 12:01

I don't know about you, but I'm wrong kind of a lot as a leader, as a parent, as a husband, as a friend, as a co-worker and sometimes I think just embracing these mistakes and learning from them, well, it not only builds resilience but also sets a good example for others. I mean, I can think of so many times in my younger self we'll say where I have been just unwilling to be wrong or admit that I'm wrong or have any sense that, like I did something wrong and I think most of life is just being wrong and learning from that and growing, which is a small step I think we can take to becoming a better leader, which is number seven here. So in the seventh little tidbit on leadership, brian talks about how big visions often require small steps and he discusses how leaders can break down larger goals into manageable actions and explains the importance of inspiring others by making big challenges feel attainable. All right, here's Brian again.

Speaker 2: 13:02

What do leaders do? They take small steps. We all know that we rely on leaders to cast the vision and to inspire us in challenging times, even to come alongside of us and help us grow. But the extraordinary leaders are the ones that understand that time of needed inspiration is best utilized when it's broken down into small steps, that all of us can be involved in ways that are unique to us and we get that satisfaction of being involved in something much bigger. Because what do leaders do? They inspire us to attain big vision, but they're able to break that vision down into small, attainable steps vision down into small, attainable steps.

Speaker 1: 13:46

I heard from a college professor once that the best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time, and I was trying to explain that to my son and he was confused why we're eating an elephant at all. But the big idea is that leaders who break down big visions into small, attainable steps, they can inspire others to more effectively do the same thing, because it's those small little steps that add up over time and lead to progress. Which, in the final section here, section eight, brian is going to address, I think, the often overlooked importance of naming personal needs as a leader, and he explains how identifying and addressing those needs can really help leaders sustain their energy and effectiveness. It's kind of like what are the small steps that you need to do, the small little needs you have on a daily basis, to kind of make it to the end. All right, here's Brian.

Speaker 2: 14:34

Well, what I've learned is that leaders are able to name their needs, and one of the reasons why naming your needs is so important is often leaders are themselves the last person they pay attention to, because they have so many other needs that they are paying attention to that the prioritization of paying attention to what their needs are tends to fall down the ladder.

Speaker 2: 14:59

Now I've met many people that are very, very attentive to needs and some of their own perceived needs, and they've been some of the worst leaders I've ever met and ever worked with, because they thought that they were meeting their own needs, but their needs could have been for greed or pride or some type of selfish ambition that they were masquerading as a need. That being said, the needs that I'm talking about I think are more challenging for leaders to identify, and that is your needs as a human being, like what are the types of needs that you need for sustenance? What are the types of needs that you need for provision? What are the types of needs you have? And these are the types of needs that I think are often overlooked, because, like I said earlier, leaders pay attention to the priorities, the vision and the mission that's right in front of them and often don't take care of themselves in ways that allow them to be the best person they are when they're showing up.

Speaker 1: 15:54

Naming your needs as a leader. It's crucial for sustaining your effectiveness and well-being. By acknowledging and addressing these needs well, you can just continue to lead with strength and clarity. Thanks so much for joining us on this journey. Through these eight little leadership nuggets, these little tidbits of wisdom from Brian Schubering, we hope that they have really sparked something, maybe a reflection, or maybe inspired you just to consider how you can apply some of these principles in your own leadership journey.

Speaker 1: 16:26

And we've got a bunch more of these, so if you would like to hear them, could you just leave me a little note? Either email me, connect at leadershipvisionconsultingcom, you can drop a comment on social media, or there's even a comment section on the blog post that is connected to that. We would just love to hear from you, even if it's not about this episode, but just any other way that we might help your team build more positive team culture or help you maybe grow in your own knowledge and appreciation of your strengths. I'm Nathan Friberg, on behalf of our entire team. Thank you for listening to the Leadership Vision Podcast. If you wanna learn more about us and what we do, you can visit us on the web at leadershipvisionconsultingcom.