Our Archive

Blog Archives

Dropinceo > Blog > aspiring leaders

CLARITY AMIDST CHAOS HELPS US AVERT CRISIS

When a CEO calls me to discuss a potential challenge, I run towards that opportunity with all the energy I can. You see, I can see that CEO in ways they cannot imagine. All I want to do is rush into the chaos to gain the clarity they are seeking to avoid the crisis that is looming.

In full transparency, let me share with you how I operate and if you’re my CEO who is in the same place, read on to see if you want to work with me!

Step 1: Listen to the CEO, but dig deeper

The CEO provides much insight into their world and often advices where they think the problem is. This is very helpful, but please know you commission me to see what you cannot see. I’ll validate your concerns, but I’m going to give you the systemic conditions that need to be addressed as well.

Step 2: Give you more than what you asked for

You see, I believe in providing tremendous value and see the world from the CEO perspective. Yes, we will “whack-a-mole” in what is obvious. I will also look at your landscape with lenses in Quality, Operational Efficiency & Waste, Environmental Health & Safety, Food Safety and Leadership. Be ready for a systemic implementation approach whether you hire me or not

Step 3: Distill the information into consumable and actionable chunks.

Life is complex, but feedback should not be. I will give it to you straight leveraging the SWOT approach and reveal or confirm what are your organizational Strengths and Opportunities. You can accomplish so much more by leveraging these insights than the Weaknesses and Threats. When it comes to the bad stuff (sad face), I position it so it focuses on Conditions & Management Practices. Fix those deeper issues and you fix it through-out the organization. You may not like what I say or become defensive, but you, the CEO hired me to show you the way, not what you want to hear

Step 4: Deliver with Gratitude

Maybe this should have been Step 2 or 3, but just know throughout the process, I am in deep gratitude to you for giving me the opportunity to see your world and help you navigate the challenges. I will use my 35 years experience to provide my best insights, but I will never give you my 5 step approach because it simply will not work. You and your organization are unique and like a surgeon, will apply the specific cure for your situation.

Step5: It’s a partnership

I care about you as a person and your organization that you take so much pride in. We collaborate on the insights and prioritize together; walking arm in arm. I’m in it for the long game as are you and I simply want to see you succeed.

So, this piece today was inspired by an amazing conversation I had with a CEO and VP yesterday and validate to me the work I’m best suited to do as The Drop In CEO.

If you are having a feeling in your gut that the near term chaos may manifest into a crisis without your leadership, act now and trust yourself. A partner such as The Drop In CEO may be who and what you need to elevate your leadership, shine a light on the people in your organization and solidify your Legacy.

Let’s talk!

-Deb

Read More

Secrets of the C-Suite: What an MBA Won’t Teach You…

In 2023, I recorded 52 solo episodes on The Drop In CEO™ Podcast for leaders that just want to have a seat at the table, but lack a support system on how to do that. I’ve not yet started writing the book, but I sense there is a strong need for it. I was once told, I needed an MBA on top of my engineering degree form Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to get ahead. While raising three kids and managing a career, I couldn’t do the MBA, but obtained certifications in Quality Engineering, Lean and Six Sigma. While technically those looked good on my resume and gained a few cool skills along the way, none of them prepared me for C-Suite level responsibility. The school of “Hard Knocks” and very little mentorship; somehow I learned what did and did not work. Want to learn more? Read on…

Presence is more than physical attributes; it’s what you stand for…

I asked a trusted colleague what was I missing to have more impact when I presented at my senior leadership meeting. They said technically I was spot on, but I needed presence. I asked if that was a new wardrobe, updated hairstyle and a firm handshake? They said, it was about what I stood for. Every time I walk into a “room”, everyone knew what I stood for. It wasn’t until I started my own business, that I figured it was the topics I was most passionate about and would get up on a soapbox to share what I thought was right.

If you don’t know what your presence is, I suggest you start writing down all your unique idea, things others have praised you for and also what may be contrary to the status quo. Let those ideas simmer a while and then take a chance on yourself to start speaking those words. Look carefully at how people respond and know if you are saying something that matters. Caution however if it does not resonate, you may need help in your messaging or you may be in the wrong environment.

Messaging for impact and it’s not about having a great looking presentation…

Having a presentation that is technically perfect and delivered well won’t get the impact that you want. I know having done many that it’s often met with silence. You are no longer celebrated for having the best content, but for how you articulate the main message. The rest of your content is just back up. Learn how to look at a slide and the key takeaway. Start with that message and the risk or opportunity and your position. You can then enrich it with information on the slide. By doing so, you move from technical expert to influential leader. I’m very good at this work and offer coaching to others to have an impact and get a seat at the table.

Mindset matters and the words you use are key…

When we use words like I “can’t”, “I’ve not” or any other derivative of the “n’t”, you project a persona of backwards or present only thinking. When faced with a challenge, too often people think about the possibility of failure based on uncertainty. When we change our mindset to possibilities and project forward, you’re seen as that “can do” person to trust. Such phrases as “based on past experience, we could”, or we “must” or I “believe” or I “propose” are powerful words for influence. Once we recognize these small nuance in how you communicate, you’ll catch yourself and make the shift. Then watch how the world reacts to you!

I didn’t learn these via an MBA, but through asking well placed questions, reading, studying others who seem to have what I want, I soon gained confidence in how I present myself. If you want to learn more about “Secrets of the C-Suite”, I offer several ways to work with you. Also, some of these lessons may also be found in my 1st book The CEO’s Compass: Your Guide to Get Back on Track. This was meant for people already with a “seat at the table”, but once think of yourself in that role, people see you in that role.

I’m here for you so you struggle less and if I can be of service, I would be grateful for you to reach out. Until we meet, I wish you well-Deb

Read More

Pursuing Outcomes vs Chasing Outputs Can Bring You Peace of Mind

Society distills what we do down to agendas, action items and report outs; leaving very little to the human element. While we talk about change management, stakeholder engagement and team building are vehicles to help humans move through a project, they fall short of making a deep connection needed for sustainable results. I’m talking about the difference between Outcomes and Outputs for which we need to dig deeper and why we need to shift our focus achieve a Strategic Advantage in your work.

To illustrate this point, I had an opportunity to engage with a senior leader and get a particular result for my initiative; aka the output. I had my agenda and prepped what I wanted to achieve. Through our engagement, I got what I needed, but not before I realized there was something deeper that needed to be achieved. This leader was struggling with their messaging to move forward their strategic initiative. I realized they needed my superpower of deep listening to reframe what they said into something that was concise and messaged what needed to be said.

We took a moment to discover the disconnected thoughts and after they spoke at length, I played back what I heard and the enrichment that was needed to present a strong message. As soon as I delivered this to the leader, I immediately saw calm in their face and body. I was able to say what he’s been needing to say in a way that made sense. The outcome of this interaction was Peace of Mind for this individual. I also became a trusted partner for them in the future; for tasks unknown.

I could have stopped at the output of my agenda to get their support on my initiative. Instead, I carved out enough time to build a trusting relationship for which that outcome is far more important and may now be a strategic advantage for me for the next initiative or to support this leader.

The point is that we are rewarded daily for results, transactions and executing on an agenda. This behavior is short sighted and while necessary does not achieve sustainable results nor achieve outcomes that pay higher rewards. How do we balance the two and evolve our behavior and leadership? Ultimately, aren’t we in pursuit of Peace of Mind? The image on this article should be what we’re striving for through these insights both for ourselves and those we serve.

Actionable Tips for Strategic Advantage and Achieve Peace of Mind

Start with the outcome you want to achieve. Could it be to build a relationship, establish trust, or finding ways to build a long term partnership. This is the ultimate focus of your efforts and success criteria

Continue with your tactical agenda, but be open to not completing it in favor of achieving your Outcomes

Change your mindset on what does success look like. No one will remember you for the action item you completed. You will be memorable the relationships you establish and outcomes you achieve. Think about it.

I hope you found this article helpful. If you have a situation that is unique that you want a better outcome, I’m happy to talk you through it in a complimentary 15 minute conversation to help you to achieve a better outcome!

Read More

‘We were afraid you would be like most other consultants…’

I’m laughing inside as a recent client of mine commented during our debrief, ‘We were afraid you would be like most other consultants…’ to which I am grateful I was excluded from that demographic!

As the Drop In CEO, I don’t come in to cause chaos, but to take a business through the crisis scale from Crisis->Chaos->Control->Continuous Improvement->Competitive Advantage, while elevating their team’s capabilities for a lasting impact.

Then I wonder why so may (not all) consulting experiences leave a bad taste in ones’ mouth? Don’t blame it on the consultant; they were just doing their job. Could it be how they were introduced to the organization and how they were deployed? It goes to leadership practiced that could be responsible for the havoc they cause an organization. It could be how we set the expectation for what we want consultants to do. Is it to achieve a business transaction and / or is it to bring people along for a change? Again, go ask leadership what the expectation should be.

To avoid creating chaos for you, I’m offering a few tips to help you navigate the changing landscape for you and your team:

Ask what do we hope to achieve?

If we want to implement a new system for better efficiency, that is the wrong answer. A better outcome statement may be: want to help our people realize efficiency gains while making they’re lives easier. With a better outcome in mind, the consultants might create a workstream that engages the people in how best to deploy the new platform. Simply deploying a new platform will bring an organization to a screeching halt if the people don’t realize the gains.

How do we prepare the team for a consultant?

Often, they show up on your doorstep with little notice leaving a very awkward moment when the consultant starts reaching out to people. Your team does not have context nor know their role in the change you are hoping for. Leadership needs to communicate in advance why is the change needed, how the change will impact them and how they consultant will engage with them. Oh, most important during this period is to let people know how much their valued and maintain constant communications. An information void will damage what you are trying to achieve.

Find the right consultant; they’re not all created equal.

I propose you find someone who becomes integrated into the day to day operations of your business and is seen as a business partner. When they become one with your team while on a mission, people will trust the resources more and move as one. When you hire someone that promises a result and then complains how the team is not supporting the work, you may have mis-represented what you wanted from the consultant. It always goes back to leadership to set the expectations. Some consultants are just think tanks and want to give you their expertise and simply execute. They are note as interested in working with the teams from a change management perspective. The want to get in and get out. You then have to determine if you have the capacity for change management or do you want to hire someone that has both the technical and change experience?

The choice is yours. If the consultant fails at the outcome, you may want to look inside and see what it was you asked for.

Shameless plug here, I’m the Drop In CEO and I drop into organizations and partner with you to assess what is needed in the changing landscape and also elevate the people in the process. I love that work and would love to be “that consultant” who is memorable.

Read More

How a chance encounter can change the trajectory of your career.

How often do you take a chance to reach out to someone you don’t know for the pure join of getting to know someone?

Even more important is how deeply do you ask questions and listen to the wisdom they may share with you?

I ask this because forming human connections is the antithesis of networking which can be quite superficial.

Sound familiar? Read on…

I took a chance to speak to a quality professional and they took a chance on me to share their story.

While I was listening to both their backstory, a piece of wisdom came from them that I’d never heard before. They shared that in an organization where compliance requirements need to be met, they set that as their “Ceiling”. Their philosophy is to set the compliance requirement as the “Basement”.

Organizations who only seek to meet compliance requirements will forever be in a place of just seeking results and never take advantage of the power of compliance and how in the end it builds confidence in your customers to buy your products or services.

Organizations who see the compliance requirement as the “Basement” and seek to achieve a higher level of performance are ultimately rewarded with your customers dollars and achieve sustainable peace of mind.

It’s a monumental mindset shift when it comes to true leadership and I ask you to ponder this point. Are you a leader that seeks to simply meet requirements or use them as a platform for achieving excellence?

Because you took a chance to read this article and apply it to your situation, might I / we have changed the trajectory of your career?

I’d love to hear your successes or the battle scares you received while leveraging this wisdom.

I’m forever grateful I took a risk to get to know someone on a deeper level. They were excited I found value in their words and allowed me to share them with my community.

If you have a story or want to form deeper connections as part of building a valuable network, reach out to me and let’s talk.

Be well-Deb

Read More

How Networking is an Investment in Elevating Humanity

I took a chance and reached out to a CEO of a company with an invitation to get to know who they were as a person and what did they do to leave a legacy. What unfolded was 45 minutes of realizing what an amazing human I found and someone who was so aligned with my values and leadership style. I can’t wait to get them onto my podcast for you to meet them, but until then here are a few things we can learn:

Take a chance and just say “Hi and I want to learn more about you!”.

I reach out to 100-200 people per week just to connect with humanity. Unfortunately, there is so much transactional outreach, people are numb to entertaining a real conversation. I persevere for the few that are willing to say yes! For those who have met me, I think you will agree that I’m sincerely interested in learning about you and also imparting some kind of value during that time. No transaction, but real human connection. I take a chance on humanity and it has rewarded me in people I can help and even those who come onto the podcast.

Be present and seek the outcome of building a relationship.

I’m sorry, but networking groups who advocate for “closing the deal” and get 2-3 referrals or push “how can you help” makes the encounter transactional and puts too much pressure on people. What we are truly after is building relationships that if you’re patient can turn into trust and possible collaboration. I made this mistake early on in my networking days and since being more intentional about relationships, the transactions come in the form of a collaboration or commitment of support. Play the long game and don’t be fooled by the guru’s that promise 10x inbound calls or 10x your Linkedin or YouTube following.

Treat those as you want to be treated.

If you are lucky to arrange a networking call, lead by seeking to learn about the other person. This is no time to download your CV/Resume because you revert to the transaction vs. the outcome of building a relationship. When people see you are sincerely curious about them and asking follow up questions, you build trust. Naturally the person will reciprocate and ask about you; ensuring you lead with who you are as a person and then what do you do to be in service to others. When you treat others with respect, it will come back and further deepening the relationship that is part of humanity.

I leave you with one last thought that while Humanity has evolved to be fast paced, divisive at times and we lose sight of what really matters, we need to depend on each other to survive as a race. Connect with others, seek to build deep bonds and help the collective survive what can feel like impossible times. Networking if we do it right can be the key to survival in business, careers and even family and community.

Focus on what really matters. The Human race depends on it.

If you like this article, please share with others so we can inspire others to reach their fullest potential.

Be well-Deb

Read More

The Networking Conundrum: Warding off unwanted connections and those that will pay dividends.

We’re bombarded on Linkedin and Email with people offering services for pain points we don’t have; we become numb to all people knocking on our door.

The result of all this noise is most people ignore or close the door on everything when in fact you might be hurting your career by not building a network.

The other thing I see wrong is we’re so isolated by our career and other activities, we don’t invest in a network. So many of the people I’ve met soon realize that is their demise when they need a network to further their career opportunities.

My advice to you is to find a way to triage the unwanted messages you get and delete those. The rest of the ones that seem like real humans, be open to vetting them if they’re open to just getting to know each other and schedule those conversations. More importantly, if it’s an old colleague who you were on good terms on, most definitely open the door and let them in.

Just yesterday, I had a conversation from someone I worked with over 15 years ago and it was like we never stopped talking. The conversation flowed and the experience was rewarding. Whether we connect again or not, it was memorable and that is enough.

Another person was brave enough to accept my invitation to connect; someone in my field and I was curious about them. The conversation was amazing and I am pleased to have found my next inspirational leader to drop in on my podcast. I never would have found such talent unless a) I was curious and sent the invite and b) the individual being open to networking and unknown possibilities.

Oh, and one other piece of advice… never burn a bridge.

Sometimes we leave bad cultures or bosses and leave behind people. Nurture those relationships too. I have found career and business opportunities from people that reconnect with me after 5-10 years. These have been some of the best opportunities I’ve experienced.

Be open to receiving new invites, be proactive in seeking new connections and always nurture the ones from the past. This is your networking capitol at work and your best in vestment in your future.

If you haven’t figured it out, I’m a huge proponent of networking. After being in business over 5 years, this has been one of the pillars of staying viable.

If we have not met, this is an open invitation to connect and form real human connection.

If you enjoy my content, please consider signing up for my weekly newsletter for more insights and resources to support your career.

Until we meet, I wish you well and much success! – Deb

Read More

How to Lean Into Your Leadership Legacy

Marketing Strategies are broken because they lean into your pain points and tell you how they can fix you.

How many people out there are saying you are great and how can I help you to be greater?

Not many I bet you!

Marketing guru’s create a narrative that you’re broken and when people adopt that, it’s a tool to get you to buy services you don’t need.

What would it look like to lean into your leadership greatness to leave a legacy?

How many people are out there to help you on this journey to greatness?

Sure, there are publicists and media relations people that say you can promote yourself to get into the spotlight, but that’s not for everyone.

I propose you can do all of this yourself to leave a lasting impact and here’s how:

Get your thought leadership out to a broader audience!

You have what it already takes to be a thought leader and impact more people you can image. Consider taking your purpose, your talking points and leadership insights to more speaking events. Consider a podcast or even writing a book. It builds your credibility and your reach can be so much greater. You already have leadership figured out. Why waste it by not sharing it with others.

Mentorship is a gift!

If you prefer more intimate conversations to inspire people, consider mentorship or even better yet, start a program where you work. It doesn’t take much to set it up and with a simple structure, you can impact people on a deeper level. By the way, if you’ve had a mentor in the past, make sure you reach back out to them to let them know their impact. Giving the gift of mentorship one person at a time can leave a lasting impact for this and future generations of leaders.

Build a powerful network!

Connection is what humanity is about and we survive as a civilization because of our connection with other humans. By investing time in building not just vanity metrics, but deep connections, we build a set of advocates for what we stand for. They have your back when you need support, but they can also amplify your brand and personal to others who have not met you yet. Take advantage of building a powerful network as part of leaving your legacy. The worse time to build a network is when you’re out of work and need it. Build it during good times and they’ll have your back when the time is right.

In about 2 minutes, I’ve suggested ways to lean into your leadership legacy because you’re already great. I hope you can use some of these tips as you think about your future and the impact you want to make. If this was helpful, let me know. If you know of another great leader who might benefit from this, please share this article with them.

If I can be in service to you and you want to add me to your network, let’s talk and see how we can make you even greater!

If you want to learn more, I recently was on a Linkedin Live on 16 April where you can hear the full conversation on this topic. It will also be a future Podcast & YouTube episode for you to share with others.

Until we meet, I wish you well and much success!

-Deb

Read More

How to Manage the Mental Mayhem of Delayed Responses

The recruiter is not calling you back.

The job opportunity is put on hold.

The manager is out of office.

The client is not responding to your proposal.

The list goes on and on for which there is a growing trend of Mental Mayhem plaguing professionals today trying to navigate their next opportunity. We don’t prepare professionals for these challenges and instead they fester over what “is not” happening vs. what “is” happening.

I call this Mental Mayhem because as professionals we are results driven with heroic skills to “get things done”. When it’s out of our control, nothing we do can force something to happen. And there lies the Mental Mayhem when nothing we do seems to work.

I’m going through the same challenge right now for which my coach inspired an A HA moment in me that may help you as well.

When we think about what we cannot effect, think about everything you did up until this point to reach a point where the world is saying “No”. You took control of your situation, researched the opportunity, composed an email or set up a call and engaged in healthy dialog or interaction that appeared to be going in the right direction. When you hit a wall and nothing has happen, I propose to you that actually something did happen and it’s up to you to decide what to do next.

Given the world is saying “No”, you have a choice. You can continue to bang on that door and waste energy or quickly pivot, leverage what you learned and pursue another direction. Gone are the days that you should feel victim to circumstances, but quickly take these events and move on… quickly.

Had you not done all that work to get to this point you may not have tested your value, updated your resume or made 2-3 connections in the meantime. You have moved the needle and like my coach said; celebrate the wins that got you to this point in time. It’s not the actual result, but it’s about the journey.

As we speak, I’ve had no-shows to meetings, I’ve re-opened doors that I thought I should shut and, I’ve shut doors that looked promising, but my gut said they were not. Each day we have a choice to move forward or sideways, but never feel stuck or retract.

That is my thought for you to Manage Mental Mayhem. If there is a delayed response to something you are pursuing, pursue those things in your control. It’s a healthy state of being and will serve you well while navigating the obstacles of delayed responses.

What Mental Mayhem have you had to Manage? I’d love to know. When you share, you inspire others.

Be well-Deb

Read More