Dani Lombard, is an amazing leader. This Leadership Whisperer Podcast episode was fun and a little embarrassing for me, Dani has put the challenge out of her interviewing me. So stay tuned for the next episode.
Dani is full of insights and very different from some of our previous guests. If you are interested in understanding what it takes to be an entrepreneur and still smile at the end of the day this is one episode you are not going to want to miss. She is an international PR veteran with over 20 years of experience in running campaigns and making brands shine.
Dani is an incredible entrepreneur, starting her own PR agency Dani Lombard Public Relations when she was just 28. Since then, her company merged with a Melbourne agency, taking on the same name – Soda Communications.
Running her own agency, she has learned a lot about running a business and motivating teams.
What is Dani’s insight into what is leadership?
Good leaders care.
Leadership is hard to describe but you know when see it and you feel it when you are around a good leader. Behaving and acting in way that inspires the people around you to be better. In addition it is some one who is good at creating a strong community.
You will want to listen to this episode to find out more about what Dani thinks about leadership. Shares her personal stories about meeting Richard Branson. She shares her vulnerability in talking about managing people and the reality of how hard it actually is, and it is an ongoing challenge.
What it is like to be a woman in leadership and the trap of falling into feeling like you need to appear powerful adopting those masculine traits.
In this interview, she also talks about not taking yourself too seriously.
Dani’s recommended reading list
Culture Fix , How to create a great place to work, by Colin D Ellis
Leadership is something that we are all called upon to provide at some point. One of the most common examples given is the parent-as-leader. If you are a parent, then you are required to provide guidance, teach, support, provide structure, and discipline for your children. We all know that there will be times when you must inspire your children to be the greatest versions of themselves. But there will also be times when you need to provide strict and stern instructions that could save their lives! I would argue that being a parent is the hardest leadership skill to learn in your whole life as it is a title you have 24hours a day seven days a week.
An influential leader will know how to listen and make the child feel heard, while at the same time giving them the space and the protection they need to grow.
We all think leadership is a topic that will typically interest businesses, managers, and CEOs. That is certainly very true that these are people who should try to understand what makes a good leader, but I think everyone should.
When your leadership skill could end up being a superpower. Imagine there is a crisis. Imagine that you’re in a public space when suddenly the place collapses. You are trapped beneath the rubble and everyone is panicking. This panic means people are trampling one another. You all need to work together in order to get help. This can only happen if a leader emerges in this crisis. In this situation your leadership skills are a superpower and you can be the one that everyone needs to step up and step forward in that moment. In this situation, the person who rises to become the leader will be the person who is the most informed, and the person who is the most confident. Imagine this situation if no one takes this position it is absolute chaos. Everyone is a capable of being this leader if the situation arises but you need to know how to step up in confidence.
Finally, leadership is something that can make your social life and even your dating life that much more enjoyable. In every relationship and certainly every group dynamic, there is a power structure. Being the leader means being the one who gets to call the shots, who decides the activity, and who takes responsibility. If you can be that person, then you’ll find it does wonders for every aspect of your life and career.
Being a great leader is not about yelling or controlling it is about nurturing, protecting, inspiring, guiding, and sacrificing. One of the most important skills for any influential leader to cultivate, is communication regardless of the role you playing. Your ability to write and speak will greatly impact on the way that people treat you, and the way that they respond to your instructions.
Feel Gratitude in Challenging Times, The Top 5 Ways.
Life is unpredictable and often very challenging. So learning how to feel gratitude in challenging times takes some practice. Each day we’re faced with obstacles that test our ability to cope well with difficulties. It’s easy to get angry, scared, or resentful and forget about gratitude for the good things in our life. If we don’t cherish and feel grateful for the good things, how can we justify wanting more of them?
Consider these easy gratitude practices when you need support in challenging times:
1. Include an act of kindness in your day.
When we’re going through a stressful or difficult period in our life, we get so self-centered and focused on self-pity that we rarely stop to think about others. This is precisely why we need to break away from this negative mindset by doing something kind.
Who is the most deserving of my simple act of kindness today? And who has shown me support and love lately? Or what can I do to honor their support and affection?
By being kind and generous to others, you create a greater sense of connection that generates a more positive outlook on life. You feel better about yourself.
When things don’t go your way and you feel like a victim of life, it can be extremely hard to feel grateful and notice things to be thankful for. Yet, there are plenty of small joys around you even on the most difficult of days. You can notice them by shifting the point of your focus.
What kind of blessings have I received lately? How can I show my gratitude for those blessings? Is there someone who deserves a thank you note from me?
Being able to say thank you for the small things helps you in shifting your focus from life’s challenges to life’s pleasures. This way, your mind expands and supports you in finding solutions and ways to get unstuck and move forward.
3. Re-frame your negativity.
Challenging times bring on lots of negativity. If you struggle for any reason, you will likely start to sabotage yourself by creating sadness, falling into despair, evoking regrets, and generating tons of unproductive negative thoughts.
Changing your perspective is the best way to re-frame negativity. Remember that everything in life comes in the form of duality. Nothing is purely good or bad. Look at the goodness and benefits in your current struggles and try to learn from them.
Negative thoughts only have the power to hurt you if you let them.
4. Keep a gratitude journal.
This is likely the most popular gratitude practice. It comes with a variety of benefits, including better quality sleep, increased immunity, greater levels of resilience, and improved mood. All these benefits are needed when you’re going through a tough time in life.
To start a gratitude journal all you need is a few moments of undisturbed time, willingness to reflect, and a way to capture your thoughts (notebook, phone, laptop). You can start by reflecting on the following questions:
What experiences in my life can I be grateful for? And what happened lately that makes me feel thankful? Or what opportunities do I have today? In addition, what have the significant others in my life done that I am grateful for?
The practice of loving-kindness meditation is designed to emphasize the practitioner’s strength and capacity to feel unconditional gratitude. Besides opening your heart to appreciation, this tool is great for building lasting compassion towards yourself and others. Compassion is crucial if you’re looking to reduce stress and overcome obstacles in your life.
Loving-kindness meditation serves as a tool for creating unconditional, inclusive love that leads to true wisdom. The love created this way has no conditions and it doesn’t need to be deserved in any way. Everyone struggles, gets stuck, and experiences difficulty. Next time you find yourself having a tough time, remember that crisis is also a wonderful growth opportunity. Embrace the challenge, enrich it with gratitude, and you’ll experience genuine growth.
I hope that with practice these tips will help you experience gratitude in challenging times.
Peter Griffith talks live with Leadership Whisperer
Peter Griffith is an exceptional leader and mentor. He is a brilliant facilitator and has an impressive background in strategy, leadership and coaching. For almost 20 years he has specialized in unlocking the winning potential of organizations and individuals, particularly in customer experience, sales and service, and leader-led culture change.
He is a brilliant facilitator and incredibly generous with his time and expertise. He has an impressive background in strategy. leadership and coaching. His insights and experience are always motivating and inspiring. As a leadership coach he has the perfect balance of helping you extract you
Peter’s insight into what is leadership?
Leadership is about finding good answers to tough questions. If you can crystalize the problem by asking the right questions you can find the solutions.
Listen to this episode to find out more about what Peter thinks about leadership.
In this podcasts he talks a little about The Grey Scale Most leaders have darker, less desirable aspects of their personality which, left unknown and unchecked, have the potential to derail them. The GreyScale Test ™ examines dark personality traits that contribute to highly effective leadership or pose a risk.
Blake Davies is a strong digital marketer who has some incredible leadership skills. He leads others from a place of authenticity and as such quickly builds trust with those around him, leading with empathy, humour and great insights.
He is a unique individual who is very personable, and also able to understand technical platforms. Which make him a great asset for building business and relationships. His experience in building business success across hospitality & tourism, non-profit, health, property and digital marketing.
Blake’s insight into what is leadership?
Leadership is about peing brave and pushing through and building people up.
Listen to this episode to find out more about what Blake thinks about leadership.
In this podcasts he talks influences for him, empathy and the importance of connections. Really inspirational leader.
