Episodes

  • Judo vs. MMA: Choosing Talent for Critical Roles

    Judo vs. MMA: Choosing Talent for Critical Roles
    Oct 8 2024
    Choosing the right talent for a role is always important, but it's even more crucial when that role is essential to meeting your company's strategic priorities. A leader in a critical position who can't foster deep team alignment and synchronized prioritization can have a cascading negative effect. In this episode, TMG CEO Stephen Miles and COO Taylor Griffin discuss how to determine a role's criticality and evaluate whether a leader has what it takes to be effective.

    Join us as we discuss:
    • Judo vs. MMA and why "sharp-elbowed" executives aren't always the most effective.
    • The importance of stress testing executives in critical roles.
    • How a clear 12-month plan can help mitigate scope risk when an executive takes on a new role.
    Show More Show Less
    19 mins
  • From Automatic to Manual: How to Lead With Intention

    From Automatic to Manual: How to Lead With Intention
    Sep 24 2024
    In today's episode, we're joined by Courtney Hamilton, Senior Managing Director at TMG, to discuss one of our favorite coaching concepts: shifting to a manual operating mode. As leaders succeed in their careers, they often start defaulting to autopilot. However, there are situations where making the conscious decision to "go to manual"–a process that involves consciously hijacking your automatic response to an event and taking a new, more deliberate approach–will help you become a more effective leader.

    Join us as we discuss:
    • How slowing down and staying open can help you avoid stasis and maintain a growth mindset.
    • Ways to shift out of automatic mode in everyday activities, such as meetings, to consistently show up as the best version of yourself.
    • The importance of shifting to manual during times of crisis to ensure you're acting as an absorber and not an amplifier.
    Show More Show Less
    26 mins
  • Developing Next-Gen CEO Talent: Practical Tips for Emerging Leaders

    Developing Next-Gen CEO Talent: Practical Tips for Emerging Leaders
    Sep 10 2024
    Join TMG’s CEO Stephen Miles and COO Taylor Griffin as they unpack the secrets to developing the next generation of general management talent. From doing a staff job to taking something good and making it better, they walk through key experiential moves that can help you take your career to the next level. Whether you're focused on your own development or tasked with developing people, this episode is your go-to guide for rounding out general management talent.

    Join us as we discuss:
    • The challenges facing general managers and practical skills that can help you lead more effectively
    • The importance of learning how to make your mark as a leader, whether you’re turning something around or working to improve something that is already successful
    • How staff and headquarters positions can help you develop a deeper understanding of how your organization operates
    Show More Show Less
    23 mins
  • Turning Stress Into Success: How to Manage Through Turbulent Times

    Turning Stress Into Success: How to Manage Through Turbulent Times
    Aug 20 2024
    Today, our host Stephen Miles, CEO of TMG, is joined by Senior Managing Director John Nasr for an insightful discussion on how executives can effectively lead during turbulent times. In today’s high-velocity, high-stakes environment, understanding the intricacies of leadership under stress has never been more important.

    From practical tips on turning outward and leveraging your team to the nuances of decision-making and prioritization, Stephen and John break down the hallmarks of effective leadership and pitfalls to avoid. This episode is packed with actionable advice to help you and your team navigate the storm.

    Join us as we discuss:
    • Balancing instinct and data to ensure best outcomes during a crisis
    • Learning to turn stress into strengths for effective leadership.
    • How absorptive leadership allows you to manage your emotions, slow down decision-making processes, and foster team cohesion.
    Show More Show Less
    23 mins
  • The Art of Followership: How to Reduce Friction and Drive Results

    The Art of Followership: How to Reduce Friction and Drive Results
    Aug 6 2024
    While the world is saturated with content on leadership, most of us spend the majority of our careers as followers. Today's guest, TMG SMD John Nasr, joins us to explain effective followership and why it's essential for career advancement.

    In this episode, we discuss practical strategies for creating a low-friction relationship with your leader and how to manage interpersonal dynamics between different personality types, such as introverts/extroverts and thinkers/blinkers. Together, we provide actionable advice on adjusting your energy levels and approach to match your leaders' goals, reducing friction and opening doors to new opportunities.

    Join us as we discuss:
    • The importance of understanding a leader's preferences for communication and interaction.
    • What distinguishes thinkers from blinkers, and how these two personality types can work together more efficiently.
    • How adapting to your leader's preferences reduces friction and drives results.
    Show More Show Less
    28 mins
  • Power in the Details: Using Micro-Leadership to Drive High-Performing Teams

    Power in the Details: Using Micro-Leadership to Drive High-Performing Teams
    Jul 23 2024
    Micromanagement gets a bad rap, but could more involvement in the details be the key to successful leadership?

    This week, Stephen Miles and Taylor Griffin dive deep into the difference between detail-oriented micro leadership and overbearing micromanagement. Listen in as we uncover how a hands-on approach empowers leaders, enhances team alignment, and boosts organizational velocity.

    Learn more about:
    • A disciplined management operating system that helps leaders remove obstacles for their teams while staying immersed in the details that matter.
    • How the weaponization of micromanagement has caused many leaders to take a hands-off approach centered on delegation that’s detrimental to team building.
    • Why detail matters for leaders and how micro leadership helps create psychological predictability for teams while maintaining healthy tension in the system.
    Show More Show Less
    27 mins
  • Pt. 2 Strategies for Success: A Guide to Leadership in a Complex World

    Pt. 2 Strategies for Success: A Guide to Leadership in a Complex World
    Jul 9 2024
    In part two of our discussion on the challenges facing CEOs in 2024, Stephen and Taylor dive deeper into the mechanics of the return to office, the ins and outs of virtual collaboration, what to expect from the regulatory environment in an election year, and the importance of embracing generative AI.

    Join us as we discuss:
    • How CEOs can help teams balance the need for in-person socialization and collaboration while maintaining flexibility.
    • Our predictions on how political change could affect M&A activity in the U.S.
    • Why CEOs should stop fearing Generative AI and start preparing for how executive, legal, and people teams will put guardrails around its use.
    Show More Show Less
    22 mins
  • Pt. 1 Strategies for Success: A Guide to Leadership in a Complex World

    Pt. 1 Strategies for Success: A Guide to Leadership in a Complex World
    Jun 25 2024
    ”What you actually hear from CEOs is that they're more in Crisis Leadership planning mode than ever before.”

    From the issues surrounding return-to-office policies and decreased headcounts to broader geopolitical challenges, Taylor Griffin, Chief Operating Officer at The Miles Group, joins us to talk about how CEOs can navigate the ambiguity of 2024.

    Join us as we discuss:
    • Leadership strategies for CEOs facing challenges to their company’s license to operate, including ESG, regulation, and more.
    • Learning to plow 40 fields instead of 5: how a dynamic approach to prioritization can help CEOs drive efficiency.
    • The importance of friction for CEOs and why being more involved in day-to-day challenges could actually open up capacity, as opposed to bogging you down.
    Show More Show Less
    20 mins