The Path to Inspired Leadership

In this interview we discuss the importance of setting intentions each morning to bring focus, forgiveness and calmness to the day ahead. Karen Stultz is a coach and podcaster who supports entrepreneurs by shatterning their self-imposed limitations. One of my favorite parts of the interview is the story of how her boss showed her how to lead with empathy, but still help them improve their work.

Here are the highlights from the interview:

Empathy and listening as leadership skills

Karen emphasizes that empathy through active listening is key to effective leadership. Leaders must understand employees’ perspectives to inspire them and find solutions together.

She explains why she was afraid to ask for help and what she did to overcome this fear.

Inspiring employees through understanding

Karl stresses the need for leaders to understand why return-to-office pushback occurs, in order to flexibly find compromises like hybrid schedules. Karen agrees understanding contexts fosters inspiration over command-and-control. Understanding your values and how it matters to your employees.

Setting processes to reduce friction

Karen advocates documenting the work to justify flexible arrangements. Karen notes clarifying needs and communicating respectfully to tech support helps address challenges directly.

Finding flexibility through communication

Karen argues leaders should consider employees’ values and happiness. With open communication and caring about people, leaders can inspire loyalty through flexibility and opportunity.

Developing empathy through self-awareness

Karen’s first boss exemplified empathetic Coaching through consistent check-ins. His non-judgmental support helped her improve and find a better role fit, prioritizing employees’ wellbeing. It starts with improving your listening skills. An employee must feel heard to trust their boss/manager/leader.

Morning routines for intention and inspiration

Karen’s daily routine of affirmations, oils, and talismans in bed and on waking prepares her mindset to feel accomplished and help others joyfully, with focused yet flexible intention-setting inspiring motivated action.

Recommended Book

Check out the book: One: The art and practice of conscious leadership, written by Lance Secretan

You can learn more about Karen over at Karen Stultz. You can also connect with Karen over on LinkedIn.

As always, if you have any questions or want to submit a guest for the podcast that you think would be amazing, just reach out to me on the Dig to Fly website, and I’ll do my best to get them on. If you enjoy the interview, please take 30 seconds to rate the Dig to Fly podcast on your favorite platform. Thanks!

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Karl Staib Systematic Leader

Karl Staib founded the SOPguy Method and author of Bring Gratitude. He trains people to create processes that fit the employees’ and the company’s personality. He has been featured by Forbes, NPR and Zen Habits and has worked with great companies such as Philips Global, Southwest Research Institute and Pioneer Nation.

He has been helping clients develop SOPs since 2020, he would likely be utilizing his expertise in workplace happiness and productivity to design effective, efficient, and enjoyable procedures. SOPs are essential for businesses to ensure consistency and quality in their operations, and someone with Karl Staib’s background could bring a unique perspective to this task by focusing not only on the functionality of the procedures but also on how they impact employee satisfaction and morale.