Randy Cantrell

Randy Cantrell is the founder of Bula Network, LLC - an executive leadership advisory company helping leaders leverage the power of others through peer advantage, online peer advisory groups. Interested in joining us? Visit ThePeerAdvantage.com

No Excuses Leadership

No Excuses Leadership

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You’ll either find a way…or an excuse.

Lisa and I were discussing understanding. Mostly, we were considering this quote from an unknown author…

If only we fought just as hard to understand as we do to disagree.

It morphed into a conversation about the difference between high and low performers. Not that there’s only one difference, but we were considering the one difference we most notice today in our work. We landed on something we’re both seeing – and one we’ve always seen. Making excuses. Blaming something or somebody else. 

Great city government leadership leans heavily on a culture where excuses are unacceptable. As Harold Geneen said, “Managers must manage.” Translation: we have to find a way. 

Be well. Do good. Grow great!

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Connect With Lisa On Linkedin •  Connect With Randy On Linkedin

We encourage you to contact us. Feedback, suggestions, criticisms, insights, and experiences are welcomed. Thank you for watching and listening!

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Great Leaders Don't Misplace Their Empathy

Great Leaders Don’t Misplace Their Empathy

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From childhood until this present moment…I suffer from high empathy. When recently describing my empathy I reiterated how the depth of my empathy wasn’t some universal brush used to paint everybody or every situation. I’m discriminating. Selective. Because I know I’m a finite resource with only so much to give, only so much time to serve, and only so much ability to make a difference. I also know not everybody wants or deserves my empathy, but I can offer high value to those who do. High-performing players dominate high-performing organizations. Low performers don’t exist on high-performing teams. So I limit or restrict my empathy for those who serve the organization best. It’s not equal, but it is fair. 

What do you want?
What kind of team/group/organization do you want?
What is your tolerance for poor performance or behavior? 
How do you want to spend your days?
Who do you want those days with?

We can ask ourselves many great questions as we work to figure it out. High performance doesn’t just happen. We have to make up our mind that we will pursue and do whatever is required to achieve it. Today, we discuss one requirement – directing our empathy appropriately to foster high performance! 

Be well. Do good. Grow great!

Check out the Hosts page for our profiles.
Connect With Lisa On Linkedin •  Connect With Randy On Linkedin

We encourage you to contact us. Feedback, suggestions, criticisms, insights, and experiences are welcomed. Thank you for watching and listening!

Great Leaders Don’t Misplace Their Empathy Read More »

Get Uncomfortable, Grow Great

Get Uncomfortable, Grow Great

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Be scared and do it anyway. Be under-qualified, and get in the room anyway. Be messy, imperfect, and unsure and show up anyway. Comfort is the enemy of growth. Get uncomfortable.

Growth requires learning. Learning requires us to attempt things we’ve not tried before. Along the way, there will be missteps, mistakes, and failures. But if we persist, and learn as we go, we’ll figure it out. That’s today’s topic – embracing discomfort as we learn to grow great!

Be well. Do good. Grow great!

Check out the Hosts page for our profiles.
Connect With Lisa On Linkedin •  Connect With Randy On Linkedin

We encourage you to contact us. Feedback, suggestions, criticisms, insights, and experiences are welcomed. Thank you for watching and listening!

Get Uncomfortable, Grow Great Read More »

Earning The Trust Of Your Boss

Earning The Trust Of Your Boss

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Today, I ask Lisa to pull the curtain back and share a part of her journey as a new Managing Director, being part of the City Manager’s Office, that involves earning the trust of your boss(es). For her, it’s a new role, but it still speaks to our need (and opportunity) to show our leadership upward.

Be well. Do good. Grow great!

Check out the Hosts page for our profiles.
Connect With Lisa On Linkedin •  Connect With Randy On Linkedin

We encourage you to contact us. Feedback, suggestions, criticisms, insights, and experiences are welcomed. Thank you for watching and listening!

Earning The Trust Of Your Boss Read More »

Listening Like That Wise Old Owl

Listening Like That Wise Old Owl

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This version was first published in Punch, April 10, 1875, and ran as follows.

There was an owl liv’d in an oak
The more he heard, the less he spoke
The less he spoke, the more he heard.
O, if men were all like that wise bird.

We saw this posted on social media some time back. It sparked a number of conversation between Lisa and me, including today’s recorded episode. 

That Wise Old Owl

Be well. Do good. Grow great!

Check out the Hosts page for our profiles.
Connect With Lisa On Linkedin •  Connect With Randy On Linkedin

We encourage you to contact us. Feedback, suggestions, criticisms, insights, and experiences are welcomed. Thank you for watching and listening!

Listening Like That Wise Old Owl Read More »

Time Will Often Tell The Stories You Can't

Time Will Often Tell The Stories You Can’t

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You don’t always have to tell your side of the story because time will.

Leaders can be honest without being completely open with all the details. Sometimes we must deliver a deeper service by protecting others. It’s part of the loneliness of leadership – the knowledge we have that would serve no useful purpose other than serving ourselves. 

Lisa and I mulled over that opening line in hopes of sharing our insights so you won’t feel so alone in your leadership journey. It’s not always in the best interest of those you serve (or your leadership) to share the full details of every story in your life. 

More often than not time does tell the story. So we don’t have to. 

Be well. Do good. Grow great!

Check out the Hosts page for our profiles.
Connect With Lisa On Linkedin •  Connect With Randy On Linkedin

We encourage you to contact us. Feedback, suggestions, criticisms, insights, and experiences are welcomed. Thank you for watching and listening!

Time Will Often Tell The Stories You Can’t Read More »

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