Leadership Takeaways: Tippie College of Business Summit

On March 1, I attended the Tippie College of Business Summit in Iowa City as a program alumni. Here are my leadership take ways from the conference. 

Three keys to leadership- Open communication, Trusting data, Innovation
Open Communication:

• Always listen first, be ready to hear hard and difficult things
• Hear multiple perspectives to better understand
• People want to be heard

Trusting data:

• Understand nuances of the data
• Data reveals how processes are really working
• Data can bring opportunities and innovations

Innovation:

• Innovation driven by the organization’s core values, vision, and strategy
• Ask “How do we improve?” or “How do we come up with something new?”
• Give permission to “fail fast” when trying something new

How do you inspire employees?

• Focus on things we can control
• Lead with clear organization mission, vision, and values
• Involve the team, ask with it means to them to be part of the association
• Have a process in place for the association’s annual priorities and communicate them through the organization
• Every employee should have a development plan tied to the association’s mission
• Ask “Why are we coming to work every day?” or “What do you want for the association?”
• Create values for the association and live those values, i.e., “We have each other’s backs”
• Create value for employees through cultivating company culture which directly correlates to value to members.
• Have conversations about how we create value
• Treat people with respect and transparent communication
• Provide a path forward for career development so that each employee will grow
• Share something you are working towards and educate on why its meaningful
• Build relationships and get to know team members individually
• “In order for this organization to be where we need to be it is going to take all of us.”

Leadership challenges:

• In difficult situations such as letting an employee go, ask yourself “Is it better to be right or be respected?”
• Partner with other business leaders
• Take time to think about the bigger picture
• Struggles with short-term versus long-term decisions
• Investing in resources, tradeoffs, impact on organization
• Communications: making sure people understand why leaders are making decisions
• Lead because you care about the organization

Leadership communications:

• Disseminate information from leaders to the rest of the organization:
  • Monthly all company meetings
  • Monthly managers forum scheduled for 12 months at a time
  • Meeting with teams monthly or weekly
  • Instead of performance reviews, implement ongoing development plans
  • Leadership bi-weekly Q&A with company
  • Goal is to be visible to as many as possible with messaging aligning with leadership team
    
  • All company call via Zoom (850+ employees)
  • Senior leaders meet once per week
  • Monthly managers’ meetings
  • Once per year visit a location across the country to learn about how the company is doing at all levels
  • Weekly company newsletters
  • Being out or ‘on the floor’ with team members is important
  • Annual employee feedback surveys conducted by a third party
  • There is a direct correlation to employee engagement and business success/stock price
  • It is important to understand how people feel drives performance
  • Midyear pulse survey of employees

Other leadership notes:

• Resilience: How you show up in stress creates psychological safety for your team
• Many times, the issue is not problem solving, but it is problem identification. Be sure you are solving the right problem
• Advice for future leaders – get involved, build your network, be curious, challenge yourself
• EQ or emotional intelligence is not only understanding how your leadership style impacts other people but caring about it
• “You can’t go to every party”
• Be an advocate for those who are not in the room
• Be candid with people: “Can I give you candid feedback?”
• Seek out resources such as podcasts, Ted Talks
• Leadership traits: Be a continuous learner, fierce competitor, and have humility
• Be thoughtful around goals
• Go with the flow; there will be learning experiences, learn from other leaders and mentors
• When you’re thrown curveballs, you want to be able to hit them
• Grow where you are at
• Care about more than yourself, demonstrate you care about others
• Remember you will have moments of challenge. What do we do in those moments? How do we take action?
• Be curious, create, innovate, ex: launching a podcast during the pandemic
• What can you do that is out of the box?
• Just be; As a “doer” being is so hard. Take care of yourself
• Find joy in your work
• Don’t get too comfortable. Push yourself.
• The more senior leaders you are, the more space you need in your day. Build in a margin.
• Really important decisions are being made. Will you be there or not?
• Find an institution that you care so deeply about that you want to be at the table. Are you working on something important to you?
• You must love people. It is important to be mindful of how you are working with them and working through other people.
• Leadership is service
• Love being the person who is bringing other people along
• Fill your cup
• Think about your mindset
• Your vision and strategy need to be compelling

How do you take care of yourself?

• Work out, enjoy life, set boundaries, family first

Mentorship for new employees:

• There is mentorship at both the industry and company levels, ex: Women in business mentorship program
• Doesn’t have to be super formal, ex: networking events
• Meet once per quarter for coffee
• Participation in the mentorship program is voluntary, part of the employees’ development plans is seeking opportunities
• Meeting with executives in one-on-one sessions

Evolving your leadership journey:

• Evolving your career is like driving for the first time. Early in your career you are getting comfortable in the driver’s seat, familiarizing yourself with the gas pedal, brake, gear shifter, windshield wipers, etc. As your leadership journey develops, the real joy of driving is when the focus becomes external, taking in the scenery, navigating the landscape, or listening to music on the drive
• Make people feel like they come out of conversations or interactions with you whole
• Help people thrive and the payback is enormous
• Pivot to find what is fulfilling or exciting to you
• Give yourself permission to pursue opportunities that fulfill your mission
• Challenge your personal limiting beliefs
• Ask for feedback
• Don’t “should” on yourself
• We exert a lot of time and energy at work. If it is draining, you can’t be a good partner, parent, friend, or community member
• Flip your mindset on your own development plan and take charge, ex: “I think this will be a good opportunity and it will be helpful if . . .”
• “I am focusing on this . . . how do I do that?”
• Own your development plan and make it work for you
• Make your leadership part of the solution
• Negotiate everything
• For proposals or presentations be sure to practice, role play, record self
• Help solve problems
• Ask yourself where you can add value

How have relationships set you up for success?

• Participation in outside organizations has brought opportunities, ex: Chamber of Commerce Board
• Remember that tension within leadership trickles down to tension within the organization

Resources identified from the conference:

• Difficult conversations webinar “We Need to Talk: Difficult Conversations in the Workplace”
  
• Tippie College of Business YouTube Channel
  
• Joe’s Photos: Professional photography service and custom face recognition app
  
• Tippie College of Business Student Consulting Projects