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In this episode, Heather speaks with Scott Miller, EVP of Thought Leadership at Franklin Covey about his leadership style, his drive to lead, and his unique view on leadership and self-awareness.
Key takeaways:
- As leaders, we must be aware of our shortcomings to truly meet our people where they are.
- Do your people feel safe to tell the truth about you to your face?
- Great leaders are more concerned with the right thing than being right.
- Be the leader who is comfortable with your people eclipsing your leadership.
Listen in and take as much wisdom as you can from this leader with heart!
Scott Miller's Full Bio
Scott Miller is a 25-year associate of FranklinCovey and serves as the Executive Vice President of Thought Leadership.
Scott hosts the world’s largest and fastest growing podcast/newsletter devoted to leadership development, On Leadership. Also, Scott is the author of the multi-week Amazon #1 New Release, Management Mess to Leadership Success: 30 Challenges to Become the Leader You Would Follow, and the Wall Street Journal best-seller, Everyone Deserves a Great Manager: The 6 Critical Practices for Leading a Team.
Previously, Scott worked for the Disney Development Company, and grew up in Central Florida. Scott served under the tutelage of Dr. Stephen R. Covey for close to two decades as a sales producer and sales leader.
He lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, with his wife and three sons.
Cycling Back
I think I am transitioning out of leading people. It's been a wonderful journey.
[Leadership] can be unrelenting. It can be unrewarding and it's not for everyone. Not everyone should be a leader and I'm not sure if I should have been a leader early on. I've grown and matured a lot. At this stage of my life, I'm very comfortable saying my leadership journey is coming to completion.
I'm going to cycle back into becoming an individual producer. Right now, I'm leading three boys that my wife and I have brought into this world.
Just because you're in the C-suite does not mean you perfected all of the leadership management strategies. - @scottmillerj1 #leadershipwithheart Share on X
Blind Spots
Sometimes, I have extreme courage. I'm too courageous when it comes to calling up people's blind spots. I don't let issues linger. Also, I could use some growth on balancing my courage with my diplomacy or consideration.
It's your job as a leader to constantly become more self-aware, whether it be through seeking feedback and making it safe for others to tell you their truth about you. I say their truth because sometimes it’s about their ex-boss who sounds like you, or their ex-husband who looks like you. You have to make it safe for others.
What I often do in a conversation is I just ask people what's it like to work for me, to be in a zoom call with me, to work a trade show booth with me, to go to lunch with me, or to work on a product launch with me. I would make sure they know that I'm not going to refute, deny, or explain it away. I'm just going to listen and write it down.
Then I would take it a step further. I would show extraordinary levels of vulnerability, and ask them what they think is going on with me when I'm showing those. I’ll ask if I seemed jealous, insecure, unprepared, or threatened. I would roll out some adjectives so that they can share with me what they haven’t felt safe saying before. Occasionally, someone will tell how I react and I become more aware of why I act that way in front of a meeting. It’s insightful.
No one is as self-aware as they think they are. - @scottmillerj1 #leadershipwithheart Share on X
Scott’s best talents are two things: taking nothing and turning it into something, and giving my people feedback on their blind spots. - @scottmillerj1 #leadershipwithheart Share on X
Leading People
I don't believe that everyone should be a leader of people. Sometimes it gets confusing that everyone has leadership skills in them. Of course, you lead yourself, or your legacy, or a project. But I don't think that everyone should be a leader of people. I think, too often, people are lured into being leaders of people.
A study said that the average age when someone is promoted into their first management role is at age 30. But the average age they receive their first leadership development training is at age 42.
Now there’s a whole lot of people wrecking carnage across cultures and organizations because they were not trained to be great leaders. Either they weren't vetted properly or they weren't told that this is what leadership looks like.
If your people know that you're willing to grow and learn, they can share insights about your own blind spots with you. - @scottmillerj1 #leadershipwithheart Share on X
Effective leadership is not acquainted with charisma or vocabulary. It's confidence, humility, vulnerability, and listening. - @scottmillerj1 #leadershipwithheart Share on X
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