IDL138 Season 3: The Flourishing Effect with Tonille Miller
How do you strengthen and grow your business from the inside out? What is the real reason why leadership can be fulfilling? Why should every leader seek out feedback?
Welcome back! Today’s guest is Tonille Miller, an organizational psychologist, consultant, and the author of The Flourishing Effect. Our conversation investigates shared perspectives on leadership, and we discuss how to best support people. We also reflect on how leaders can attract employees to a business, but also, allow them to leave.
Meet Tonille Miller
Tonille is a prominent organizational psychologist and consultant with a deep understanding of human behavior, high performance, and organizational dynamics. With over 15 years of experience advising Fortune 500 corporations, top consulting firms, and high-growth start-ups, she has become a respected figure in the business transformation, leadership, and employee experience space.
She has been featured on various shows and in media outlets, including the Huffington Post, Nasdaq, TechFunnel, Employee Experience Magazine, and the American Journal of Health Promotion. Her inaugural book, The Flourishing Effect, out in September, is a playbook for unlocking employee and organizational thriving and sustainable performance.
Visit Tonille Miller’s website, EXT, and connect on LinkedIn.
IN THIS EPISODE WE DISCUSS:
Be an incubator, not an incinerator - 09:00
Lead from every level - 21:40
Gather insights from new workers - 27:01
Tonille’s advice to leaders - 34:09
Be an incubator, not an incinerator
“I would much rather be an incubator than an incinerator … if you were working with me today and you said to me, “Tyler, I’m so excited about going and doing XYZ and it’s because of what I’ve learned here that I now am brave enough [and] skilled enough, I [feel] empowered enough to go and do it”, I would be the biggest cheerleader you ever had. ”
If you truly want to unlock the fullest potential of your employees and bring out the best in them, then you need to help them grow as the individuals that they are and not see them only as cogs in your machine.
The world has changed away from life-long nine-to-five jobs where employees stick with the same role or within the same company for their entire professional career, and the companies that force this approach end up losing out on great employees.
If you want to attract top-quality employees for your business, then you need to get with the times. People may come and go, and if you want them to stick around or spread a good word about you, that includes allowing them to move when they decide to.
Lead from every level
Leadership can be found at any point within a business.
A leader of the company sets the stage, and if they do it well, then there will be moments of leadership that bloom throughout the company as people feel respected and comfortable showing up.
“Regardless of which path you take, we need to be constantly developing ourselves and our people … We can lead from every level … no matter how junior you are, you have your team around you … there’s ways that you can take on different leadership roles and try things on, even if people don’t report to you, and that’s important. ”
True leadership is not only based on one person.
Being a leader is a role that someone takes on, and that role can be assumed at any level within a company. One person embodies this and sets the standard, but every person should be invited to try it out for themselves in their environment too.
“Leadership isn’t a title … Now we’re really seeing it play out that leadership starts with me first and if I’m willing to lead myself first, [then] my family, my peers, and those around me, then that influence ends up [with a knock-on effect]. ”
A leadership role is far more fulfilling when it supports and boosts the community that it is responsible for.
Gather insights from new workers
The new workforce that is stepping into the corporate world is vocal about what they want, what they stand for, how they want to be treated, and how they can create their best work (at the moment).
“As leaders that are leading or who are looking to step into more leadership roles … I can’t go back to what it was, so I need to be willing to sit down with the people that are coming into our business and [ask them], “How can I best lead you?” ”
Any leader worth their salt is going to want to listen to them. You will have more experience than they do, but they are more vocal than any of your previous employees about what they want, and if you want them, then listen to what they have to say.
“Leaders, take it as a bonus, as a benefit. They’re sharing with you … they’re helping you help them. ”
If you look at life anywhere outside of the office space, feedback is everywhere, and it is asked for.
You need to be willing, as the leader, to ask for, welcome, and utilize feedback where you see fit. This incongruence causes tension, and whenever there is tension, people are more likely to avoid vulnerability.
Tonille’s advice to leaders
Apart from receiving valuable feedback, you create psychological safety by remaining in open conversation with your employees and staff, and this is one of the best ways to dramatically strengthen, boost, and grow your business from the inside out.
“I call it the organizational lubricant. If you have psychological safety, everything happens quickly after that. Everything can happen much [more] easily, seamlessly, all that good stuff. ”
At the beginning of an important meeting, you could share a vulnerable story that happened to you. You are essentially role modeling the vulnerability, honesty, and community that you want to create within the business.
Resources, books, and links mentioned in this episode:
BOOK | Tonille Miller - The Flourishing Effect: Unlocking Employee Thriving and High Performance as Your Competitive Edge
Visit Tonille Miller’s website, EXT, and connect on LinkedIn.
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About the Impact Driven Leader Podcast
The Impact Driven Leader Podcast, hosted by Tyler Dickerhoof, is for Xillennial leaders who have felt alone and ill-equipped to lead in today's world. Through inspiring interviews with authors from around the world, Tyler uncovers how unique leadership strengths can empower others to achieve so much more, with real impact.
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