Tag: technology

How to Share: Secrets of Collaborative Leadership

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“The best leader is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and the self-restraint to keep from meddling with them while they do it.” – Theodore Roosevelt

I played on a tennis team when I was in my 20’s. It was a loosely organized group of women who played at the public tennis courts. We were part of a league that created matches with other teams, some of whom were the “fancy” ones who belonged to a club with a pro.

But my team had a secret weapon: our coach, Evan. A quiet-spoken man who seemed to take everything in. He’d meet with us at practice and not only run drills to improve our skills but also strategically position who should play singles versus doubles, and forehand versus backhand.

I don’t remember our records of wins and losses so it probably wasn’t that great. But I know we got better as a team and also as individuals. It was largely because of Evan. He could see our strengths and vulnerabilities and help us position them to the best advantage.

I was reminded of Coach Evan when I recently talked with John Hernandez, the Director of IT at Leisure Care on the How to Share podcast. John has an incredibly collaborative leadership style and knows how to balance giving people on his team leadership, agency, and backup when needed.

In short, he’s a very good coach for a strong team.

John told me how he landed on this leadership style and how it’s worked as his team and responsibilities have grown. We talked about how people in technology can sometimes be protective of their knowledge and not want to share. And we discussed how AI changes the game for so many people in technology and how to wrangle it as an asset, not a competitor.

I asked John about how he adapts his message for people who are less technical. He brought it back to the power of telling a story and finding key beats, regardless of the topic.

This is a great episode about how leadership, openness, curiosity translates to infectious passion for sharing – and for team building. I know you’ll love it!

Takeaways

  • John emphasizes the importance of sharing knowledge to build effective teams.
  • A collaborative leadership style fosters a culture of openness and mentorship.
  • Technology professionals often hoard knowledge due to fear of job security.
  • AI is changing the landscape of IT, enabling more collaboration.
  • Storytelling can help convey complex technical concepts.
  • Creating a supportive environment encourages team members to grow.
  • Passion for technology can be infectious and motivate others.
  • Adapting messages for different audiences is crucial in IT.
  • Building a knowledge-sharing culture can lead to better team dynamics.

Here’s a clip of John describing how he landed on his leadership style:

Here are some ways you can listen and watch this infectiously energizing episode:

Please listen, watch, provide feedback and subscribe.

Secrets of Collaborative Leadership transcript

Reinvention, Resilience and The Courage to Try| Lindsey Goldstein on Gap Year – The Life of Try: Personal growth, one try at a time.

What do you do when life falls apart? In this episode, Wynne Leon sits down with Lindsey Goldstein, author of Gap Year, for a conversation about personal growth, self-improvement, and finding the courage to try—even when the path ahead feels uncertain. From writing and running to parenting, failure, and fresh starts, they explore how confidence is built one brave step at a time. If you’ve ever wondered whether it’s too late to try something new, this uplifting episode is a reminder that growth often begins the moment we say yes to the challenge.In this episode, you’ll learn: → When life falls apart, it can also become an opening → Courage often starts before confidence → Trying, failing, and learning are all part of growth. → Small steps lead to bigger transformations. → It is never too late to begin again → You do not always end up where you expected—but you still growLindsey Goldstein shares how writing in short windows of time highlight that progress often comes from regular effort, not waiting for the ideal moment. Check out Lindsey's book Gap Year and experience Jane's courage vicariously – but beware, it's contagious!If your kids are leaving for college, you want to try a new hobby, or a travel spot is calling you, this episode is for you. 📘 Order Gap Year on Amazon🌐 Visit Lindsey Goldstein's website🌐 Show notes and more inspiration: https://wynneleon.com🔔 Subscribe for more:Subscribe to The Life of Try for more conversations on:personal growth, creativity, reinvention, resilience, writing, and mindset.📌 Subscribe & Stay UpdatedABOUT MEHi, I’m Wynne Leon — host of The Life of Try, a personal growth and self-improvement podcast exploring resilience, reinvention, uncertainty, and the courage to keep trying.Through thoughtful interviews, reflective conversations, and real-life stories, I share insights to help you navigate change, get unstuck, and move forward with more intention.🌍 Website: https://wynneleon.com━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━🎥 Watch Next➡️ Letting Go Of Outcomes: The Mindset That Keeps You Moving➡️ 48: How to Get Unstuck: Michael Yang on Saying Yes, Resilience and Coming Alive➡️ How to Finally Write That Book You've Been Dreaming About | Writing Motivation 🔗 CONNECT WITH ME:• Website:→ https://wynneleon.com/• Instagram:→ https://www.instagram.com/wynneleon/• Facebook:→ https://www.facebook.com/wynne.leon/
  1. Reinvention, Resilience and The Courage to Try| Lindsey Goldstein on Gap Year
  2. 51: Letting Go of Outcomes: The Mindset That Keeps You Moving
  3. 50: How to Write the Book You've Been Meaning to Write | Dr. Victoria Atkinson (Slivers)
  4. 49: Personal Growth Pivot Points: Pause, Quit or Keep Going?
  5. 48-How to Get Unstuck: Michael Yang on Saying Yes, Resilience, and Coming Alive

Links for this episode:

John Hernandez on LinkedIn

In-Person Meetings and AI

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“We live in a world where there is more and more information, and less and less meaning.” – Jean Baudrillard

For this week, I’ve actually had to leave the house to go to work. It’s made me realize how much technology has changed our lives. I’ve worked remotely for years so somehow it was lost on me how different it is to have to walk out the door every morning, until I experienced a stab of anxiety at the beginning of this week.

Especially with two kids and a dog, the number of things I had to plan for was enormous. Knowing that I can dial-in to a meeting even if any one of the three is sick is an amazing benefit. I’ve been spoiled not having to plan transportation and care outside of their schools for my three when I work from home.

But this week I’ve been attending a Microsoft conference that is here in Seattle. No surprise – but the most predominant topic is Artificial Intelligence (AI). [Is it somewhat ironic that as I started to type Art…that Word suggested Artificial Intelligence to fill in?]

Microsoft has made something like a $20 billion investment in AI. The conference was awash with examples of all the things we can do with AI. I will never claim to be a prognosticator, but as someone that’s been in the computer consulting field for 30 years, it’s interesting to puzzle through the application of this technology. All of the below is just my opinion so take it for what it’s worth.

Fine line between helpful and creepy

The most recognizable use of AI is in natural language search. We can type in or say search terms and Bing (Microsoft’s search product) will return results that are (hopefully) right on target for what you want. I question whether it’s helpful to have that abstraction from where the data comes from which makes it harder to verify the veracity of the source of the research.

And then there’s a line between helpful and creepy. The other day a search result popped up about whether to store your open cheese block in a Ziploc bag. It was something I’d recently pondered but hadn’t done any research on. It must have been just a coincidence? Either way, I refused to click on the result – it was too creepy.

Fine line between cool and useful

I was talking about AI with a Microsoft program manager that was in the booth next to me. As we talked through some of the examples, he offered “that’s there’s also a fine line between cool and useful.” All the prototypes and fun demos that have been shown, there’s a cool factor – that still leaves most people scratching their heads over the utility. No doubt humans will figure out how to leverage it but for now, it’s still an idea that is not very real-world.

We’re not getting replaced

This brings me full-circle to the start of the post and why I’ve been leaving the house every day. Because there’s no substitute for in-person relationships. Meeting others, reading body language, having collaborative conversations – there’s no short-cut for that. Even online there’s a palpable difference between a real conversation and a bot supported one.

As I’ve been away from my computer this week, there’s no AI I can set to read my favorite blogs and leave meaningful comments. Not to mention that I wouldn’t get the benefit of reading them. [Yes, this is a roundabout apology for being behind on my blog reading.] So for many reasons, I’m looking forward to staying home, sitting on my couch, and catching up.

In a timely but also ironic way, we’ve started using Otter AI to provide transcripts of our Sharing the Heart of the Matter podcast. See how it does by visiting our latest podcast: Episode 44: Hot Tips for Writing about Family With Brian Hannon

(featured photo from Pexels)

Are Buddhists Bad Texters?

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“Joy is not in things; it is in us.” – Richard Wagner

I have a couple of friends that identify as serious Buddhists. Neither is the Dalai Lama but I’d stereotype them as people that have made mindfulness a way of life which is a level (or more) up from my I’m committed to sitting down and meditating every morning level.

They are both terrible texters. That is to say I will text them and they will respond without my prompting them for a response. But probably not for days. And no, it isn’t something specific to this friend group because neither knows the other.

Not responding for days seems to me like a violation of the texting technology. It’s made so that you don’t have to pick up the phone at any specific moment but that conversational-ish communication is available to you when you are ready. Right?

My other explanation about their behavior was that they could be unfamiliar or uncomfortable with the technology. Nope, not true – they both will initiate text threads.

But I was listening to the Ten Percent Happier podcast the other day with Matthew Hepburn, a Buddhist Teacher and it prompted another thought.

Matthew Hepburn’s summary about mindfulness was a practice so that we can use our attention intentionally. That is to say that if life is made up of what we pay attention to, mindfulness helps make the sum total of what we pay attention to better and under our control.

When we meditate or sit quietly in any practice and notice where our mind goes – and I’ll speak for myself personally here – it’s most often to my to-do list or where my loved ones are. My attention when I call it back is somewhere between the laundry and my next meal. Nothing wrong with that except that I don’t imagine that is where I’d like the sum total of my life to be. I’d rather it be in the love and friendships I had with others and my usefulness on this planet Earth.

I don’t have a big enough sample to know if Buddhists are bad texters. But my theory reminds me that I can’t pay attention to everything. And that means putting down my phone, turning off the sound on my laptop so I can’t hear the <ding> of a new email. Or better yet, going for a walk outside with a friend.

The idea that we can intentionally set our attention is so appealing to me. It rings true that I can determine the life I want to live just by aiming my focus. Even if that means I won’t be a very good texter.