TECC 111: Engineering Your Leadership to Generate Flow

In this episode, Chris Knutson, PE interviews Croft Edwards, author on GeneralLeadership.com and an extremely accomplished leader and leadership coach on how to generate flow through leadership. Engineering Success quote: Here are the key points from the episode: Leadership is the authority granted to an individual by their followers. Management is the authority granted to an individual by an organization. Leadership flow is the melding of the emerging study of Flow with the field of Ontological Coaching which looks at how leaders show up in their use of language, moods and emotions and the body. Leadership is a skill that can be practiced and learned. We tend to view the human side as a system that can be controlled like a machine, but you have to realize that every person is fundamentally a human first, who has needs and issues. People have to be led, you cannot just manage people. The fundamental tool we use as leaders is how you conduct your conversations. The mood and emotion behind the conversation is very important when approaching others. The root of leadership flow is passion. Time slows down when you are in the ‘flow zone.’ Leaders should also be in the flow and try and bring out the best in each individual. If you hit a wall and don't know what to do, stop what you are doing and go and do something different. You will then most likely find the answer to the problem you had before. In Flow our bodies release all the chemicals necessary to succeed in your job. The goal of leadership is not to produce results, the goal is to unleash flow in your team. Leadership flow through self-mastery is expressed through three systems of action we call: Visioning the Future Cultivating other Leaders and Teams Creating Culture and Expanding Capacity Generative Leadership looks at: The actual behaviors and if you can learn and practice them What it means to be human How effectively you use language Learning what is causing emotions and how to deal with it The body – It determines what is possible Historical Discourse Practices Listening to others and treating others with respect More in this episode… In the Take Action Today segment of the show, Croft shares a piece of actionable advice that you can implement right away to get yourself into leadership flow. “Leadership flows out of who we are, not just what we do.” – Don Flow About Croft Edwards: Croft Edwards, MCC, leadership coach and speaker, is a thought leader in the field of leadership and organizational change. He is the President of CROFT + Company, a global leadership and organizational change firm with clients spanning the spectrum from oil companies and manufacturing firms, to government entities and non-profits, to small businesses and start-ups. He has coached hundreds of leaders at all levels of organizations from front-line supervisors to CEO’s and TED Fellows.  Learn more about Croft in LinkedIn, Twitter or his website. Book mentioned in this session include: Flow Emotional Equations: Simple Truths for Creating Happiness + Success The Rise of Superman: Decoding the Science of Ultimate Human Performance Resources and links mentioned in this session include: Croft's Website Croft's Twitter Croft's Linked In GeneralLeadership Engineering Career Summit 2016 TECC 84: Leading An Engineering Career on the Razor’s Edge Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi TEDTalk