Chris Fuller is an author and the President and CEO of Influence Leadership Inc, an organization focused on serving businesses through the development and growth of their people. He is a keynote speaker and has facilitated many strategic sessions for large companies. This experience has given him valuable, best-practice insights. Tom Fox welcomes him to this week’s show as they discuss ideas and strategies to help you around leadership.
 

 
Mid-Level Management & Cultural Change
Chris wants to help leaders achieve their dreams, while also creating a great work environment for their employees. The day-to-day reality of leadership is a challenge, and new mid-level managers get burned out when they are promoted without proper preparation. “I have a strong focus on the first-time leaders, to prepare them so that they’re set up for success, not set up for struggle,” Chris says. Embedding this as a culture within an organization will have to involve senior leadership. “We start with the mid-level, we make sure that we equip and empower the new leaders, but then from an organizational effectiveness standpoint, we really want to impact cultural change at the senior leader level.”
Being Intentional & The Inspired Leadership Pathway
Becoming an inspired leader means being intentional and purposeful. Chris gives an anecdote of going to see Hamilton, and he expresses that the kind of dedication put into the play is the kind of dedication we need to apply to the workplace. “If we take that to our daily lives, if we take that to our professional lives, how much inspiration and how much achievement can we start with? We can’t have inspired results without intending to get there and being on purpose not on accident.” It’s part and parcel of Chris’ inspired leadership pathway which is about embodying a serving others mindset. Tom asks Chris to explain further. “It’s about being passionate and purposeful in what you do,” he responds. “It’s also about integrating operations with people and also being real and authentic in your relationships, while “executing with excellence.” The combination of cultural and fundamental execution is what will lead an organization to success. 
“And”, Not “Or”
Chris’s style of leadership takes into account the “and” of everything: results and relationships; people and production. He utilizes both aspects and encourages leaders to do the same. “I’ve got to infuse that adventure and that sense of reality, the gritty reality of leading in the trenches with this infused adventure set to make it…. I’m going to equip and empower you but in the middle of it we’re gonna have a blast.” People learn better through stories and when they’re having fun, Chris expresses. Culture is critical to a company’s development and ethical values, it needs to be emphasized from the top down. “A leader’s behavior can tell the rest of the organization under them or those that witness them, that the cultural statements are simply a poster on the wall.”
The Race Method & Celebrating People
Tom asks Chris to explain the Race Method. Chris states that it’s one of the methods that came out of studying the Iditarod. The race methodology says: are you ready to run the race that is going to be mapped out for you, and what are those action steps that you need to do if your team isn’t race-ready? You need to have action, or else the team is never going to be able to fulfill what you want them to fulfill. We have to teach them to do what we need them to execute. “We need checkpoints – evaluate the progress made and we can involve it. So ready, act, checkpoint, and evolve.” When employees do something right, we need to celebrate them, Chris adds. “When you celebrate and catch people doing something right, they want to do more of it and others want to be celebrated as well.” Make your values and culture clear, tie those literal behaviors together, and when they are activated in your employees, celebrate that to the fullest. 
Resources
Chris Fuller | LinkedIn, Twitter
InfluenceLeadership.com