Special guest Harley Finkelstein, President of Shopify, joins TMG CEO Stephen Miles to discuss their successful coaching relationship and what an ideal high-performance coaching experience can achieve. For executives and founders who may have never considered executive coaching or are unsure of what a coaching relationship looks like day-to-day, Stephen and Harley illustrate what the very best executive coaching relationship can provide.

Employees and teams are experiencing burnout across all levels of the organization. Burnout challenges not only workforce engagement, but quality, productivity, and problem-solving abilities. Courtney Hamilton and Christina Woodard discuss the causes of burnout and the strategies to combat it in order to reconnect teams to their company, culture, and meaningful work.

Every time there’s a threat against a company, there is almost always a weak signal or a whiff of smoke that can serve as an early warning of the risk to the organization. If that threat is dismissed or ignored, the whiff of smoke can turn into a forest fire. Then the organization faces a much bigger problem, with fewer options to solve it. CEO Stephen Miles and Senior Managing Director John Nasr discuss the importance of embedding weak signal detection in the company culture.

Without trust, there is no shared or mutual accountability, and teams do not have strong enough foundations to accomplish their goals. Yet, many people cannot articulate what they and their teams actually need to do in order to form that trust. Stephen Miles and Maizie Nelson share the 8 ways to build trust on your team and inside your company.

Derailment rates for executives in transition, particularly in senior level roles, tend to be higher because they don’t always have the proper understanding of the degree of difficulty related to a given transition. Courtney Hamilton and Christina Woodard discuss how to develop an effective onboarding plan for the first year, allowing proper time to connect with stakeholders, build alignment on the mandate, and prioritize your time effectively, among other strategies.

Regardless of raw potential and natural talent, every person who is serious about their leadership development and growth demonstrates coachability. Taylor Griffin and Samantha Smith explore the concept of coachability – openness to feedback and new ways of doing things, and following through with those changes as part of an iterative, ongoing process.

Culture is most often shaped and fortified on the margin, when leaders must make hard choices. Depending on what they can tolerate, their decisions will either result in a high-performing company culture or one that leads to high levels of conformity and stasis. TMG CEO Stephen Miles and Senior Managing Director John Nasr discuss the criticality of a company’s culture to its longevity and long-term success; and explore the dark side of corporate culture – stagnation that can lead to an organization’s irrelevance and decline.

HR has changed dramatically over the last few years, growing well beyond recruiting and development. Jeff Vijungco – the former Chief People Officer at Rubrik and VP of Global Talent at Adobe, and now Partner at One North Talent – joins The Miles Group COO Taylor Griffin and Managing Director Samantha Smith to discuss the changing landscape of the industry and the needs of today’s Chief People Officers, senior talent executives, and CEOs.

Frustration among leaders is mounting when it comes to the overall effectiveness and collective performance of their leadership teams. Amplified by the shift to the virtual world, the transition has lowered shared context while increasing the default to individual executives executing in their own lanes. As a result, companies and leadership teams became more vertical and less horizontal, decreasing the sense of team, and increasing the cost of coordination. CEO Stephen Miles and COO Taylor Griffin focus on the areas where leaders can lower the cost of coordination in order to better establish high-performing leadership teams.

Special guest Tom Williams discusses key issues CEOs are facing today – and will face tomorrow. Executive chairman and former CEO of Parker Hannifin, the multi-billion-dollar, Fortune 250 global leader in motion and control technologies, Tom joins TMG CEO Stephen Miles to discuss leadership challenges such as driving productivity during high inflation, performance optimization, and utilizing AI.

Employees crave feedback on how to improve their performance, but according to workplace surveys, most say they don’t get it. Taylor Griffin and Samantha Smith suggest asking for advice, not feedback. Advice changes the content from backward-looking and often negative to something that is forward-looking and framed in a more constructive, developmental manner.

The world is less predictable – for many leaders and people inside companies, it’s hard and stressful. TMG CEO Stephen Miles and featured guest, Oracle EVP Rob Tarkoff, continue their discussion about how best to lead in stress events; the importance of “high context” leaders; building organizational capacity; and using resilience as a learning opportunity.

TMG CEO Stephen Miles invites a special guest, Oracle EVP Rob Tarkoff, to explore the preparedness playbook for leaders in difficult times. In this first of a 2-part series, they share their thoughts on performance leadership, rethinking basic assumptions, the necessity of triangulation, the importance of high content friction and low behavioral friction, and more.

CEOs and executives are facing a tsunami of real-time change – at a pace and velocity never seen before. Stephen Miles and Taylor Griffin discuss the leadership tools needed in today’s environment to create flexible and adaptable companies and cultures, so that change is something leaders can take on successfully and with confidence.

The go-to podcast for high performers and aspiring leaders is back for a third season. Hear CEO Stephen Miles, COO Taylor Griffin, and top executive coaches at The Miles Group and their special guests discuss how to thrive through impending recession and systemic inflation, how to build operating models that are flexible and adaptable, why ultimate high-performing leadership teams reduce friction, and more.

One of the most important elements of being a high performance, high growth executive is identifying ways to reduce behavioral friction. These “low friction” leaders line up to stakeholders’ preferences and styles. Stephen Miles and Taylor Griffin discuss common examples of behavioral friction, and explain how low friction leadership can lead to exponential growth and create leadership opportunities for executives.

Most founders and executives are so deeply immersed in their business model and products that they forget about themselves – their own personal growth as a leader. Everybody talks about business growth or the exponential growth of an organization, but personal growth is just as important, say Stephen Miles and Taylor Griffin. The research is clear that when a founder can effectively scale with the company, shareholder returns tend to be high. There must be commitment to personal growth. It’s an ongoing and continuous activity, not just for yourself, but also for the organization and the teams you lead.

Even though they can be inspirational, motivational, and passionate, many Silicon Valley leaders lack the right performance-driven toolkit to achieve success in every economic environment. Rob Tarkoff, EVP of Oracle, joins Stephen Miles and Taylor Griffin to describe the kind of “ambidextrous” nature VCs look for in executives – the combination of a potential-driven mindset with the performance-driven aspects of bootstrapping and doing more with less.

Operating in highly complex and dynamic environments, the best CEOs maintain alignment with their teams by communicating frequently, collaborating effectively, and prioritizing routinely. Good process delivers good outcomes, say Stephen Miles and Taylor Griffin, and if you take the time to thoughtfully recalibrate and refocus teams with constant context, you can create a culture and environment where everyone can win together.

As layoffs hit the tech sector, Stephen Miles and Taylor Griffin discuss how companies need to pivot from potential to performance. We’ve seen valuations come down at a catastrophic level that nobody could have ever imagined, say Miles and Griffin. They explain how the sudden change redefines expectations for leaders, who may need to refocus their teams on their core business – that “original wicked idea” that got them there.

Unlocking performance inside an organization requires delivering real outcomes, not just a proliferation of activities, say Stephen Miles and Taylor Griffin. This can prove difficult in our new multivariate and asynchronous operating environment. Miles and Griffin discuss how “executing for outcomes” can help refocus and reorient teams in turbulent, highly complex times.

There are three levels of leadership awareness that are critical for any leader, or aspiring leader: self-awareness (MeQ), one-to-one leadership (EmQ), and one-to-many leadership (SocQ), which includes the broader social context and environment. Taylor Griffin and Courtney Hamilton discuss why today’s “social economy” compels leaders to develop a more nuanced awareness toward various stakeholders and audiences, both within the company and without.

High-potential employees are easy to spot – they’re usually quick on the uptake, light on their feet, and have a high capacity for growth. Leaders are attracted to hiring people who they believe will grow into roles, however, they don’t always invest the proper training to get them there. Taylor Griffin and Courtney Hamilton discuss how leaders can ultimately build out a mosaic of talent across their team that’s going to meet the needs of the business today and the business of tomorrow.

Conversations around developing an effective executive presence tend to focus heavily on “leadership” but not enough on “followership.” Most executives are followers long before they are leaders. For Stephen Miles and Taylor Griffin, good followership requires understanding your own style and making sure it complements both your boss’s and your teammates’ styles. And that is critical to becoming a good leader.

Introvert or Extrovert; Thinker or Blinker – one is not better than the other when it comes to elevating your executive presence. Rather, it’s about mastering your personal leadership style to show up as the best version of yourself. Stephen Miles and Taylor Griffin explore the differences between these various styles and discuss how high-performing executives can add range to their style so they can better know themselves and show up appropriately and with confidence.

Many executives who have been working from home during Covid may need a wardrobe and executive appearance refresh. Yet the challenge for most leaders who receive feedback around their executive presence is that their sartorial style is fine. Stephen Miles and Taylor Griffin discuss how real executive presence extends far beyond dress, to the substance of executives’ contributions and their ability to both elevate and adapt their styles to new challenges, reporting relationships, and colleagues.

No matter where you work or whatever industry you are in, being best at the “people business” can help you succeed. When talent management is as critical to your company’s long-term goals as it is to your short-term bottom line, you need a team you can rely on, and one that can rely on you, too. Stephen Miles and Taylor Griffin explain steps leaders can take to set their people up for success.

The job of high-performing leaders isn’t what it used to be. On top of running the company amidst a complex business environment of overlapping crises, CEOs and other C-Suite leaders bear the weight of increasing responsibility, at times defending their companies’ very license to operate. Stephen Miles and Taylor Griffin explain how a new kind of ‘Leader of the Future’ is emerging as we begin to recover from the pandemic despite setback after setback.

What does it mean to successfully reframe “The Great Resignation” into “The Great Transition?” Top executive coaches Stephen Miles and Courtney Hamilton discuss how companies are successfully onboarding new employees; what it’s like to welcome someone remotely; and, what the best and worst practices are in this environment for leaders, employees, and those taking on senior roles in new companies. In this important new podcast, Miles and Hamilton share strategic and practical tips for success as the pandemic waxes and wanes, but does not disappear.

As business leaders continue to reimagine the way we work, offices everywhere are getting revamped to support new organizational priorities. For Stephen Miles and Christina Woodard, office density and intentionality top the list. We need to be purposeful about what we’re doing, says Miles, and why we’re asking teams to convene. Working together, colleagues can peel away from virtual meeting rooms to reforge strong connections and trust in person, and then tackle the hard issues with creativity and high performance. In a sense, the office of the future will be like a private club, where employees are the members.

“This is what happens when you put everybody in solitary confinement for an extended period of time,” says Stephen Miles, Founder and CEO of The Miles Group. “Covid quarantines have led to all kinds of strains on individuals’ energy” adds Taylor Griffin, COO of The Miles Group. “We have a lot of senior executives coming to us and asking how they deal with this for themselves, as well as for their broader teams and employee base. Employees have high expectations of their leadership teams that they are really going to learn something through Covid, and that the future office is going to look different from before. Many people really enjoyed the flexibility of working from home.” Miles and Griffin discuss the high expectations employees have of their leaders, and offer insights, tips and tools on how the future office can look different, and work better, than it did before Covid. Part of getting your mojo back is building relationships, learning lessons, and reestablishing your comfort zone with getting to work,” they say.

The pandemic lockdown called for CEOs everywhere to transform their businesses to remote operation. Two years in, millions of white-collar workers are returning to the office – an exercise that is playing out in multiple phases and to varying degrees of success. As Stephen Miles and Taylor Griffin explain, since 2020, remote work has gotten very transactional and people are less engaged. With attrition rates at an all-time high, they discuss the importance of meaningful interactions among teams and managers, and how leaders can leverage their virtual toolkit to optimize “Office Next.”

Inflation continues to climb at its fastest pace in decades, but most CEOs and board directors today have never dealt with hyperinflation – that’s when inflation “turns from transitory to intrinsic, affecting every facet of business in the world today.” Stephen Miles and Taylor Griffin discuss how executives can begin to lead – and win – in this new dynamic environment.

Faced with new challenges every day, the world we live in is full of setbacks. Stephen Miles and Taylor Griffin discuss how unfamiliar setbacks can test even the strongest leaders, and why leaders should practice embracing these learning moments.

The coronavirus pandemic is challenging leaders at unprecedented levels. Executives are facing the complexity of severe business impact and employee health concerns while they and many employees work from home. But many leaders haven’t led during a crisis, says Stephen Miles; they react poorly, amplify stress, and ignore critical information and advice. Miles provides tools for leading powerfully during this crisis, including how to make decisions, communicate, and engage employees with empathy.

The incredible challenges companies are facing today are creating shocks to the system that every CEO needs to prepare for, says Stephen Miles. From the stunning impact of the coronavirus to the increasingly rigorous ESG expectations placed on every company to the exceptional level of performance demanded of leaders 24/7/365, the best CEOs are shifting the way they and their teams approach these daunting problems. Miles takes us through 10 keys that are critical for companies to survive today.

During times of sudden change, how leaders respond is critical to driving the best outcome. Leaders who are less effective make decisions too quickly or not at all. The best leaders are like the best athletes: they slow the game down around them and make it easier for other people to participate. Stephen Miles and Taylor Griffin explain how great leaders communicate with and leverage their teams, absorb rather than amplify stress, and create the context for people to be successful.

Nearly all leaders wait far too long to deal with underperformers. “I wish I had handled the problem sooner” is what Taylor Griffin says she hears from every person she coaches. Leaders are evaluated on how well they select and develop talent by whoever is the lowest performer on their team, so managing underperformance is critical. Griffin explains how to recognize signs of habitual low performers, how to give meaningful feedback and how to address issues swiftly to minimize damage to the team.

The General Counsel acts as air traffic control for all legal issues across a company, says Billy Stern – from HR, compliance, and IP to a host of business risks. But while a lawyer is typically a “no” person, the best GCs have a “yes” mentality, working with the CEO to think expansively as a true business partner. Stern explains the complex job of GCs as they serve this and other roles including succession advisor, company “heavy,” contract enforcer, and fierce legal and regulatory advocate.

The most critical decisions around an employee’s future at a company usually happen when they aren’t in the room. But most organizations have an “agent problem,” says Stephen Miles: its leaders aren’t effective agents or advocates for valuable employees, and talent discussions can get dominated by fast talkers or bullies who push forward “their” people who are less qualified. Miles explains steps you can take to represent your best people most effectively and create a stronger team overall.

Working with colleagues and clients who come from many cultures, countries, and backgrounds is a hallmark of global business today. But how effective are you when working with people who are not like you? To succeed in an economy that is increasingly diverse, says Taylor Griffin, individuals must adapt to culture and gender differences as well as to a broad range of personality and communication styles. Griffin walks us through some of the challenges and opportunities in dealing with difference.

As we move from a knowledge-based to a “social economy,” leaders must build what Stephen Miles defines as their “social intelligence quotient” or SocQ. This skill goes beyond having one-to-one empathy to being able to connect with the broader public in a way that communicates a company’s purpose and values yet is in sync with the community’s standards. Miles explains how leaders’ SocQ and ability to connect one-to-many are essential to organizations’ survival under the global magnifying glass.

They’re hard to get along with and difficult to manage, but they bring disproportionate value creation to a company, says Stephen Miles. He dubs them “high-beta” executives, and explains how their breakthrough thinking and willingness to take on a business’s most difficult problems can result in massive opportunities for a company and its future. Miles describes the leadership style required to manage the idiosyncratic “high betas” and how to create a place for them to be wildly successful.

Many high-performing executives promoted or hired into a new senior role are “uniquely unqualified” for the position – they have never done that job before. This carries significant risk for the organization, as even the best people can fail when facing scope or scale beyond their experience. But companies can mitigate risk, Stephen Miles explains, if they give people adequate developmental support and ensure that there is strong enough capacity in place to support new talent coming onto a team.

One of the most effective tools to get the results you want, Taylor Griffin explains, is to think of your job as asking questions. Whether you are CEO or anywhere along the path to running a company, being Socratic in your interactions is the way to learn more, gain clarity, and understand the reasoning behind how decisions are made – good and bad. Taylor discusses the tone, timing, and context to consider when asking questions and how leaders can model a learning culture for their organization.

Leaders can find it tough to get their teams to engage in real debate around a topic. Why? When people’s ideas are challenged, many take it too personally. Workplaces can also fall victim to groupthink by over-collaborating. Stephen Miles explains how leaders can elevate growth by fostering “idea conflict” – pushing hard on the idea, not the person – and creating a space where different voices can challenge one another to advance their thinking.

Private equity firms want the best management teams in place when they purchase companies. If your company is being evaluated by a PE firm, what do you need to be prepared for when it comes to your job? Where can you bring value to the company under its new ownership? Courtney Hamilton and Billy Stern discuss talent assessment in a private equity takeover and how employees can position themselves as the right talent to drive investor goals and growth.

Meetings are the most expensive use of company resources, yet they are still too long, poorly organized, and a waste of everyone’s time. But they don’t have to be. Stephen Miles describes what’s necessary to make meetings productive, efficient, and on-topic.

Working for a tough boss doesn’t mean that you are powerless in your job, says Taylor Griffin. There are strategies for adapting to a range of challenging leadership styles – from finding information elsewhere in the organization when a boss is uncommunicative to diffusing heated conversations with a boss prone to anger. Griffin explains ways to be effective in your role even in difficult situations and how working for a demanding boss can be one of the most valuable experiences of your career.

When new owners take over your organization, how do you protect your job? As five consecutive years of acquisition top $3 trillion and robust private equity markets continue to chase company investments, the reality of M&A today makes changes in management inevitable. Courtney Hamilton explains the best ways to prepare yourself for company takeovers and how to arm yourself with vital information about the company and its new leadership.

For some companies, success can be dangerous: a “stasis mindset” can take root, with a complacent “we know best” attitude capable of bringing down even the highest-performing companies. Stephen Miles explains that the best leaders actively fight off this mentality by embracing a “growth mindset” – they seek out new challenges and learn new ways of thinking by looking beyond what they already know. He discusses how both individuals and organizations cultivate this critical leadership mindset.

Boom or bust, the smartest CEOs put plans in place well before the next downturn arrives, says Stephen Miles. Without scenario planning and taking steps toward “recession inoculation” during periods of growth, leaders can be caught by surprise when the economy turns, forcing them to make decisions with less time and thought. Miles discusses how CEOs are planning with their top teams and speaking with their boards and investors about how to weather the next recession.