Today's episode features Dr. Steve Yacovelli, author of  Pride Leadership and creator of TopDog Learning Group.

Steve brings an incredible amount of expertise on leadership as well as diversity and inclusion.

He also brings an interesting backstory where he went from working on a Disney Cruise line to being hired by Disney as a consultant on those very cruises.

Steve will teach us all how to listen, build trust, empathize, and ultimately to lead.

Listen, learn, and let us know what you think about this awesome episode!
Episode Summary
Steve's Leadership Foundation

He got his first taste of leadership in his fraternity in College
Steve calls out how people just simplify leadership at times to just having people skills
He has distilled his leadership principles into six areas

Being authentic
Having leadership courage
Having empathy
Building relationships with those around you
Effective communication
Shaping the culture around you



Listen to Understand not just to Respond

He talks about how you should listen to understand and not just to respond
This is avoiding that feeling you get when you feel like you can't wait for someone to stop talking so you can make your point
In reality, you can't be empathetic to someone if you can't get to really know and understand them

Inclusion is Good for Business

When hiring and building a team, it's important not to hire people just like yourself
Not only does it increase your chances of missing a great hire, but it also opens you up for more risk
This risk is because you'll hire people with your strengths but also your weaknesses
By hiring a more inclusive group we not only support people without bias, but we also cover our blind spots
Steve says it's better to strive for conscious inclusion instead of just working on your unconscious bias
Later in the episode, Steve goes into more metrics of why inclusion impacts the bottom line and not just social initiatives

Leadership in LGBTQ+

Steve makes it clear that he's not trying to say being straight or not means you won't be a better or worse leader
Instead, he helps the LGBTQ+ community see how they can use something like their sexual orientation as a strength
One example he gives is authenticity
If he hid the fact that he had a husband, that wouldn't be very authentic, and he helps this community spot these opportunities

There's More Diversity to Diversity than you think

Sometimes we only think of diversity as race, sex, and sexual orientation but there's a lot more
Steve prefers a specific model that is illustrated by layers and rings
In the center is our personality
Your personality is completely unique
Next out are those items we traditionally think of (sex, race, sexual orientation, etc)
Those are dimensions that typically don't change frequently
Then you have the external dimensions which can change frequently
In this section, you have pay, parenthood, income, habits, physical appearance, etc
Next, you have the organizational dimensions (hourly, manager, legacy groups, etc)
Finally, you'd have the country in which you're operating
This is important just because there are many different cultural norms to consider

Key Takeaways

Listen: It's always a good idea to really listen. Maybe you don't know the person, fully understand the problem, or even know what you're supposed to be doing. Listening can fill all of those holes.
We're all leaders: Steve made a point to call out that we can all practice leadership even if we don't have people reporting to us.

Call to Action

When in conversation this week, make a conscious choice to really listen to others. Listen with the goal to understand and not to look for holes to poke in their argument or to show how smart you are with a great question. Instead, really listen to learn from them and understand their points.

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