with Craig Dowden, PhD
Author, Executive Coach, Keynote Speaker
It was a pleasure to speak with a kindred spirit, Dr. Craig Dowden, who has a similar background in organizational psychology, and is also a speaker and author. We align on our thinking around leadership, and I thoroughly appreciated reading his latest book: A Time to Lead. This book recently hit bestseller in the Wall Street Journal and USA Today. It is written in an insightful and practical way, with short chapters that are engaging and not overly cumbersome. Craig Dowden’s work bridges the gap between science in psychology and the behaviors leaders need to develop in today’s world.
Episode 53 | A Time To Lead: Master Yourself So You Can Master Your World
Tell us about your book: why did you write it and for whom?
According to Dr. Craig Dowden, A Time to Lead came from conversations he was having in the early days of Covid. The core principle is that great leadership starts with great self-leadership. How do we bring the best out of ourselves? The book identifies 7 leadership qualities that research has shown are essential to our personal and professional lives: mindset, emotions, our resilience, our strengths, receiving feedback, navigating difficult conversations, and authentic leadership. This book provides a roadmap on what these qualities are, why they are important, and how we can live them in our daily lives.
Craig explains how this book is really for everyone, as we each are the CEO of our own life, no matter what position we hold in an organization. The book helps us understand how we can best lead ourselves in whatever environment we’re in. Each chapter helps translate these essential leadership qualities into behaviours and practices – tools, tips, and techniques we can try in our everyday work lives.
Each chapter includes a CEO masterclass at the end, focusing on specifics of how Alan Mulally embedded these practices into his working together management system, which led to success and turnarounds in two world renowned companies: Boeing and Ford. According to leadership guru Marshall Goldsmith, Alan Mullaly is the best CEO he has ever worked with, and the power of his approach to leadership is in its simplicity and applicability.
What trends do you see in organizations that suggest some missing components of leadership?
Trends that are happening include the Great Resignation, quiet quitting, calibrated contribution, and employee engagement going down for quite some time. Craig explains that when we hit the ultimate pause button with Covid, people took stock of why they were doing what they were doing and who they were working for. As a result of these and other factors, leadership is incredibly challenging and is getting more challenging by the day.
According to Dr. Craig Dowden, if you weren’t focused on a human-centric or empathetic approach to leadership in the past and are trying to catch up on this now, it will be difficult given the pace the world is moving at. People are seeking true connection and authentic relationships, so self-awareness of leaders and their skills to deeply connect are vital.
The book includes reference to the “VUCA” concept, which is more relevant than ever before. This stands for the world, and in turn work, being volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous. Covid accelerated this. Uncertainty and ambiguity in particular drive up stress, as human beings don’t like uncertainty. Leaders are faced with challenges, opportunities, and changes at a level we haven’t seen before.
People are seeking true connection and authentic relationships, so self-awareness of leaders and their skills to deeply connect are vital.
Tell us more about authentic leadership and how it can help us make progress in this VUCA world?
According to the co-author of a Time to Lead, Alan Mullaly, authentic leadership requires our values, beliefs and behaviours to be in alignment. The only thing people see are your behaviours, and they interpret what your values and beliefs must be based on what they observe. One of the clear-cut advantages of authentic leadership is consistency – being consistent across situations and people. During these times of great uncertainty, an authentic leader provides the consistency people crave. In turn, authentic leadership drives engagement, performance, and innovation.
Unfortunately, some leaders talk the talk but don’t walk their talk. Craig reiterates how talk is cheap: people will talk a good game but then routinely not honor their company’s core values through their behaviours. This creates distrust and disengagement. Maximum alignment, according to Craig Dowden, is absolutely key for leaders.
“We need to be open and non-judgmental so we can learn and grow from difficult feedback.” Craig Dowden
Tell us about why you focused a chapter on receiving feedback?
Craig Dowden notes how phenomenal research shows that 81% of the most successful leaders thrive in giving and receiving feedback. “We’re more reactive receiving feedback, and many leaders struggle with this. When we get feedback, a natural reaction is to look at what’s wrong with it, and if we find one thing wrong we throw out the rest. Instead, we should ask what’s right with the feedback.” Feedback is especially useful from people who we don’t get along with, Craig explains. “We need to be open and non-judgmental so we can learn and grow from difficult feedback.”
The world is full of challenge and uncertainty, whether it’s the pandemic, economic uncertainty, war, or polarization, so how can authentic leadership help move things in a more positive direction?
What books and podcasts do you recommend?
His first book was Do Good to Lead Well, focused on positive leadership, and was about leading others. The current book is more about self-awareness as a leader, which is a companion piece to Do Good to Lead Well.
Craig is an avid reader and loves to understand the latest thinking. Here are his latest recommendations:
- “Difficult Conversations” by Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, and Sheila Heen
- “Humble” by Daryl Van Tongeren (professor from Hope College)
- “The Earned Life” by Marshall Goldsmith
- “Think Again” by Adam Grant
- “The Good Life” by Robert J Waldinger and Marc Schulz, PhD – based on the Harvard 80 year study on happiness
- “The Power of a Positive No” by William Ury
- Work Life with Adam Grant podcast
- Anxiety At Work with Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton podcast
- Deep Leadership with Jon S Rennie podcast
- Do Good To Lead Well with Craig Dowden podcast – a lot of fun having great conversations with leaders
One of the clear-cut advantages of authentic leadership is consistency – being consistent across situations and people. During these times of great uncertainty, an authentic leader provides the consistency people crave.
If you could have one wish for a better world, what would it be?
That we lead with more curiosity for ourselves and the people around us. We often rush too quickly to judgment. I’d love it if the world adopted the mantra of lead with curiosity and empathy for ourselves and the people around us.
About Craig Dowden, PhD:
Executive coach and keynote speaker, Craig Dowden, Ph.D., is bridging the gap between what science knows and what leaders do. Integrating evidence-based principles from the fields of positive psychology with those in leadership, and organizational excellence, Craig helps his clients develop real-life solutions to solve their greatest challenges.
Craig Dowden (Ph.D.) is an inspiring and thought-provoking executive coach, Forbes author and keynote speaker who partners with leaders and executives to tackle their most important personal and organizational challenges. Craig holds a Doctorate in psychology, with a concentration in business and is a Certified Positive Psychology Coach. In his role as a trusted advisor, he integrates the latest findings in the science of leadership, team, and organizational excellence into his coaching and consulting work.
A dynamic and award-winning speaker, participants have described Craig’s presentations as motivating, energizing, and empowering, as they come away with strategies they can implement immediately within their workplaces. Audience members also highly respect the scientific foundation of his ideas.
Craig is passionate about sharing world-class content and insights with his clients. To date, he has interviewed over 50 CEOs of North American companies, including Molson Coors, McDonald’s, IKEA, and VIA Rail. He has also interviewed widely known best-selling authors/TED speakers, including Marshall Goldsmith (Triggers, Mojo; What Got You Here Won’t Get You There), Daniel Pink (Drive; To Sell Is Human; When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing), Adam Grant (Option B; Originals; Give and Take), Susan Cain (Quiet), Dr. Marilee Adams (Change Your Questions, Change Your Life), Barry Schwartz (Why We Work; The Paradox of Choice), Adam Bryant (The Corner Office; Quick and Nimble), and Doug Stone (Difficult Conversations; Thanks for the Feedback). He routinely integrates these conversations and insights into his client work.
Craig has been asked to share his thought leadership in leading HR and business publications, including Forbes, the Huffington Post (U.S.), the Financial Post, the Financial Times, as well as Psychology Today.
Learn more on Craig Dowden’s website