E396 Inner Voice-A Heartfelt Chat with Dr. Foojan Zeine & Bob Kaplan on Leaders Striving to Improve

E396 – "Inner Voice: A Heartfelt Chat with Dr. Foojan Zeine." In this episode, Dr. Foojan Zeine chats with Bob Kaplan, the author of GRAPPLING: Leaders Striving To Improve, a series of short stories that bring executive coaching to life. His unique style is entertaining and offers a novel way of learning about leadership and self-improvement. The book is based on his decades of experience consulting CEOs and other senior leaders, including founders. He is the founder and president of his own leadership consulting firm, Kaplan DeVries. He invented a 360 survey, the Leadership Versatility Index, that earned a patent for its unique way of assessing leaders. He and his colleagues also take a unique approach to delivering feedback. They place unusually heavy emphasis on positive feedback to boost the leader's confidence. His last book was Fear Your Strengths: What You're Best Could Be Your Biggest Problem. An honorary senior fellow at the Center for Creative Leadership, he has a B.A. and Ph.D. from Yale University. He lives in New York City with his wife, Becky. You can reach him at bobkaplan@kaplandevries.com. # 1 on the 20 Best California Mental Health Podcasts list by FeedSpot. https://podcasts.feedspot.com/california_mental_health_podcasts/  Check out my website: www.FoojanZeine.com, www.AwarenessIntegration.com, www.Foojan.com Summary Dr. and Bob Kaplan discussed Bob's book Grappling Leaders Striving to Improve. Bob shared his inspiration for writing the book: his passion for helping people grow and his fascination with human nature. He explained that the book is a collection of stories exploring leadership's mental aspects, aiming to help senior managers overcome their limitations and become better leaders. Dr. agreed with Bob's approach, emphasizing the importance of understanding and shifting internal belief systems to achieve desired results. Bob and Dr. discussed strategies for effective coaching and management. Bob shared a personal anecdote about helping a head of engineering let go of an underperforming employee, emphasizing the importance of being direct and forceful. Dr. discussed her experiences as a therapist and mentor, noting that transitioning from a supportive to a forceful role could be challenging. The conversation also touched on the importance of establishing a structured system for accountability and how it can create a sense of responsibility within a team. Additionally, Bob shared his experience with an individual who failed to change despite efforts to help him and how changing the approach to build a tighter team around the person was more effective. Bob and Dr. discussed the importance of self-awareness and introspection for individuals, particularly those in leadership roles. They agreed that getting objective feedback from others can help identify one's strengths and weaknesses and that this outside perspective can guide personal growth. They also emphasized the need for individuals to recognize and address their biases, fears, and beliefs that might hinder their performance. Bob shared his personal experiences of balancing his need for achievement with the importance of relationships in the workplace. Bob and Dr. discussed balancing opposing forces or dualities in leadership. Bob shared his leadership model, which consists of two main dualities: strategic vs operational planning and forceful vs enabling. He mentioned the evaluation tool he developed, which uses a rating scale to assess individuals' tendencies to do too much or too little of each aspect. They also touched on the concept of "strength overdone" and the potential adverse effects of maximizing certain qualities. Dr. noted the potential for internal or external "blocks" that hinder progress and suggested exploring these to facilitate improvement. Bob discussed the importance of positive feedback in boosting a person's confidence, especially for those in challenging jobs. He highlighted that while some leaders may struggle to accept high regard, others can benefit from it. Dr. shared their experience of leaders focusing on areas they need to improve rather than recognizing their strengths. They also touched on the human tendency to seek change and acceptance, making it difficult for people to accept their strengths. Bob stressed the need to understand what blocks the uptake of positive feedback and suggested that this could be an area for further exploration. Remember to Subscribe, Listen, Review, and Share! Find me on these sites: *iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/i...) *Google Play (https://play.google.com/music/m/Inpl5...) *Stitcher (https://www.stitcher.com/) *YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/DrFoojan) Platforms to Like and Follow: *Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/DrFoojanZeine/) *Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/Dr.FoojanZeine) *Twitter (https://www.twitter.com/DrZeine/) *LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/DrFoojanZeine) *Tiktok (https:///www.tiktok.com/dr.foojanzeine)