Courtney Spence on How to Effectively Delegate Responsibliity

In Chapter 11 of 19 in her 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, non-profit executive Courtney Spence answers "How Are You Learning to More Effectively Hand Off Responsibility?"  As an organization founder, after years feeling she knew best, Spence learns to trust her team with roles and tasks she previously held.  She realizes she is not the best person for many roles and turns her attention toward supporting those that best perform in those roles.  Courtney Spence returns to CYF for her Year 3 interview.  As Founder and Executive Director, Spence leads non-profit Students of the World to empower college students to use film, photography, and journalism to tell stories of global issues and the organizations working to address them.  Spence graduated with a BA in History from Duke University.

Transcript:

Erik Michielsen: How are you learning to more effectively hand off responsibility?

Courtney Spence: I’m learning a lot about handing off responsibility. I think that as a founder, you know, there’s founder syndrome, and there’s tons of articles and books written about it, but I do think that for many years it was – I felt that I always knew what was best from a big level to a very micro, small level. And what has been so powerful for me to see in the last few months is getting the right people on the right seat and the right place. They will make decisions and they will come up with ideas and solutions faster, better, smarter, more creatively than you ever could.

Now, they’re not gonna go necessarily run the organization now, I mean I’m still leading it and providing the leadership and the vision and, you know, the blood, sweat and tears of it. But I recognize that at some point that role will not be the role that I’m most effective at for the organization, just as I am now not the most effective person to do recruiting for our students necessarily, I’m not the most effective person in coming up with the curriculum and the programming for our students as they participate, we have people in our organization who are way smarter about that stuff than I ever would be. And it’s really exciting when you start to see as you hand off responsibility to others, see things happen in a way that you never dreamed it could. And I think that’s a very encouraging thing.

I needed to see that before I could really let go. At the same time, you also have to recognize that mistakes will happen and some things will slip through cracks but – I make mistakes all the time and things slip through the cracks for me all the time, and it’s not a matter of well, if I’d only been a part of that, this wouldn’t have happened. Those situations do arise but I think in general, when you have the team in place that you trust, handing over responsibility is absolutely essential, and you have to do it joyfully, willing-fully, and with great purpose. And that’s what we’re trying to do.

How to Build Relationship Trust - Ken Biberaj

In Chapter 19 of 21 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, New York City Council candidate and public relations executive Ken Biberaj answers "How Do You Establish Trust When Building Relationships?"  Biberaj shares the challenge of creating relationship trust working real estate business and government public service.  He shares the importance of managing risks while being outgoing, sincere and committed to building relationships over time.  Ken Biberaj is currently a 2013 Candidate for New York City Council for the West Side of Manhattan.  He is also a public relations executive for the Russian Tea Room restaurant at One Fifty Fifty Seven Corporation, a family business focused on real estate development, investment sales and retail leasing.  Previously he was Florida Research Director for the Kerry-Edwards for President Campaign. He holds a JD from New York Law School, a Masters in Public Policy (MPP) from Harvard University Kennedy School of Government, and a BA in Political Science from American University. 

What Marriage Teaches About Teamwork - James McCormick

In Chapter 5 of 18 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, legal career advisor James McCormick answers "What Has Marriage Taught You About Teamwork?"  McCormick shares the importance of recognizing your respective role in a marriage, that of your partner, and understanding where you can give and receive help and support.  James McCormick is a Partner at Empire Search Partners in New York City.  Previously, he practiced law as an employee benefits and executive compensation attorney for Proskauer Rose and Jones Day.  He earned a JD at Tulane Law School and a BA in History at the University of Michigan. 

Why Mutual Respect Matters in a Marriage - James McCormick

In Chapter 6 of 18 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, legal career advisor James McCormick answers "Why is Mutual Respect Important in a Marriage?"  McCormick shares how marriage fails unless there is mutual respect and details reasons why this is the case building a lifelong relationship with a spouse.  James McCormick is a Partner at Empire Search Partners in New York City.  Previously, he practiced law as an employee benefits and executive compensation attorney for Proskauer Rose and Jones Day.  He earned a JD at Tulane Law School and a BA in History at the University of Michigan. 

How to Effectively Delegate Responsibility - James McCormick

In Chapter 14 of 18 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, legal career advisor James McCormick answers "What Have You Found Most Challenging About Handing Off Responsibility to Others?"  Delegating challenges McCormick as he progressively becomes responsible for managing teams and training junior team members.  He shares what his client services legal work experience has taught him about ensuring that responsibility best serves the business and its clients.  James McCormick is a Partner at Empire Search Partners in New York City.  Previously, he practiced law as an employee benefits and executive compensation attorney for Proskauer Rose and Jones Day.  He earned a JD at Tulane Law School and a BA in History at the University of Michigan. 

How to Establish Yourself as a Leader - James McCormick

In Chapter 15 of 18 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, legal career advisor James McCormick answers "What Does It Mean to Be a Leader in What You Do?"  McCormick shares how providing advice, delegating responsibility, and managing and meeting client expectations establishes a leadership position as an individual or company.  James McCormick is a Partner at Empire Search Partners in New York City.  Previously, he practiced law as an employee benefits and executive compensation attorney for Proskauer Rose and Jones Day.  He earned a JD at Tulane Law School and a BA in History at the University of Michigan.

Fabian Pfortmüller on What Qualities to Seek in a Business Partner

In Chapter 13 of 15 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, community builder and entrepreneur Fabian Pfortmüller answers "What Makes a Good Business Partner?"  To Pfortmüller, it comes down to trust and to love.  He shares the importance of having workplace chemistry, being able to resolve conflicts meaningfully, and maintaining kindness and respect toward one another.  Pfortmüller is co-founder of the young leader accelerator, Sandbox Network, and HOLSTEE, an apparel and design firm that sells meaningful products to mindful shoppers.  Pfortmüller graduated from Columbia University and its school of General Studies. 

Transcript:

Erik Michielsen: What makes a good business partner?

Fabian Pfortmüller: I’ve been incredibly fortunate with the people I’ve worked with and I think I put a lot of focus and attention to the people I’ve worked with. It’s so important to me. In one word I would summarize it with trust. You know, it’s people that I completely 100% trust but even more so -- I think I would even use the word love.

It’s quite an extreme thing to use I guess in the business context but I admire those people. I'm so fortunate to be working with Dave and Mike at HOLSTEE. I've been so fortunate to have founded Sandbox with Nico and the others because I can learn from them every single day. I admire their values and I completely trust them. And I think that makes really good business partners. And I don’t know if you know this but Dave, Mike and I we actually live together. We live in the same apartment. We love hanging out and it’s not hard to work together and at the same time it’s not to say that we don’t have conflicts.

We have, you know, we fight but I would say we fight in a friendly way and we fight in a way where we respect each other, where we keep each other’s interest, I think, in mind, where we try to understand what is the other person is trying to say and yeah, we try to be friendly to each other. I think that makes a huge difference. And also one thing about business partners I think we can really just take time off and we don’t have to talk about work and just be easy just hanging in California for a week -- it doesn’t matter.

Michael Margolis on How Vulnerability Creates Trusting Relationships

In Chapter 6 of 17 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, educator and entrepreneur Michael Margolis answers "How Do You Establish Trust When Building Relationships?"  Margolis uses vulnerability, which he cites as the most overlooked part of storytelling.  He notes how truth gets attention, empathy establishes connection, and vulnerability reminds people of shared values and similar interests. 

Michael Margolis is founder and president of Get Storied, an education and publishing platform dedicated to teaching the world how to think in narrative.  He earned a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology from Tufts University.

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen: How do you establish trust when building relationships?

Michael Margolis: So, it’s something that I called the V-factor and it’s actually the most overlooked element of storytelling, it’s vulnerability. So, you have to have truth. Truth is what gets people’s ears to go [make sounds], right? It’s like Scooby Doo time, oh, there’s something over here. I better pay attention. Or, wow, this looks interesting. So, truth gets people’s attention. 

Then you have to establish empathy, which lets people know that you really care about them. You care about their world and what they’re going through, right? You really give a crap and you understand what your audience is facing or struggling or challenged with and it all comes home though. 

The third principle is vulnerability. So, vulnerability is reminding people that, “you know what, I may be an expert or I may have a solution for you but we’re more similar to each other than different. Here’s what we share in common”, I have my own foibles you know, it’s why -- you know as we sat down I talked to you about, “Geez, the last six months my health has kicked my ass”, right. Very humbling process. When I'm teaching or coaching students, you know, in my programs online, I'm very open about sharing my own personal journey because this is a fallacy – This I think really, in a way it captures the paradigm shift of what we’re all going through in the world of business. It used to be we lived in this world of objective reality. Of being the brand that spoke with the voice of God, “I have all the answers for you. I am the guru”. And instead we’re now shifting into this place where it’s peer-to-peer learning, right. Where we’re all co-learners together. Part of it is things are so challenging and so complex. None of us have like all the answers. 

So, we have to be more in relationship with each other. So, it’s really important this vulnerability piece is what makes you human. And here’s the kicker on vulnerability, is if you establish vulnerability with people in an authentic way, you really share a part of yourself and where your edge or your struggle is, do you know what happens? People become more forgiving of the hiccups and the bumps in the road. It’s a really important principle for any brand especially if you're in startup mode, you have a new product, a new service, you’re doing something that’s different. If you wanna build that halo around your brand where people feel emotionally connected, vulnerability is key. 

A great case and point is look at Netflix in the last year, they’ve got an awesome product, okay, so they raised their prices from what was it $8.99 to $11.99 and everybody had a shit storm. I think the way that people reacted was actually the way that Netflix talked about it. They talked about the price increase like they were doing us a favor as a consumer and then once sort of the crisis hit they were still -- sort of they came off in a very arrogant fashion, which I think ultimately really hurt their brand. Now, are they bouncing back, are they here to stay? I think so, because ultimately they have a product that many of us want and reflects sort of the new way that we’re consuming media but that’s a really great example to keep in mind the power of the V-factor or vulnerability. And if you can build that halo of having more disclosure, of letting people in sort of behind the curtain, the places where you’re struggling -- not in a poor pity me or [make sounds], okay but in a way that’s relevant, in a way that’s relatable. 

Again, by building a brand halo that includes vulnerability, people become so much more forgiving about the bumps in the road. It’s just like being in a relationship with a significant other and let’s say your partner has certain places that are kind of their tough spots, their edge, their place of growth. You’re far more forgiving if you have a partner that’s like, “Yeah, honey you know what? That’s what I'm working on” versus if you have a partner that’s like, “What are you talking about? That’s not my problem, that’s your problem,” right. That same dynamic that shows up in relationships, same thing shows up with brands or, you know, in our own individual relationships with each other and that’s the power of vulnerability when it comes to storytelling.

How Leadership and Management Roles Differ - Mike Germano

In Chapter 10 of 19 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, social media ad agency CEO Mike Germano answers "How Do Leadership and Management Differ in What You Do?"  Germano acknowledges his weaknesses as a manager and what he has done to compensate in a team setting.  He shares what behaviors and experiences have shaped him as a leader and how he has recruited and empowered managers working in digital media.  Mike Germano is co-founder and CEO of DUMBO, Brooklyn based social media advertising agency Carrot Creative.  Previously, Germano ran for and was elected to public office in Connecticut.  He is a graduate of Quinnipiac University. 

How to Delegate Responsibility - Mike Germano

In Chapter 16 of 19 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, social media ad agency CEO Mike Germano answers "How are You Learning to More Effectively Hand Off Responsibility?"  First, Germano notes the importance of sincerity and communication in transitioning responsibility to junior staff.  He notes the importance of establishing trust in this process.  Second, he highlights how he identifies the appropriate person and manages the political response to the decision.  Mike Germano is co-founder and CEO of DUMBO, Brooklyn based social media advertising agency Carrot Creative.  Previously, Germano ran for and was elected to public office in Connecticut.  He is a graduate of Quinnipiac University. 

Why Mutual Respect Matters in a Marriage - Jason Anello

In Chapter 2 of 20 in his 2012 interview, creative director Jason Anello answers "Why is Mutual Respect Important in a Marriage?"  Anello shares how respect plays into basic communication and experience fundamental to living with a spouse.  He shares why respect matters in a marriage of two professionals who may not always be able to understand each other in a day to day job context.  Jason Anello is a founding partner and creative director at marketing services agency Manifold Partners.  He is also the co-founder of the Forking Tasty Brooklyn supper club.  Previously, Anello held creative leadership roles at Yahoo! and Ogilvy & Mather.  He graduated from the University at Albany. 

How to Create Collaborative Film Project Teams - Doug Jaeger

In Chapter 15 of 17 in his 2012 interview, entrepreneur Doug Jaeger answers "What Do You Find Most Rewarding About Collaborating With Others on Projects?"  Jaeger shares what he has learned about working in a film project environment and assembling creative teams that thrive in his business environment.  Doug Jaeger is the co-founder of JaegerSloan, a multimedia design services firm in New York City.  His street front office doubles as the JS55 Gallery. Jaeger is also an adjunct professor at the School of Visual Arts (SVA).  He graduated from Syracuse University.

What Gets Easier and What Gets Harder - Yoav Gonen

In Chapter 1 of 11 in his 2011 interview, education reporter Yoav Gonen answers "What is Getting Easier and What is Getting Harder in Your Journalism Career?"  Gonen notes how he has become one of if not the most experienced reporter covering education news.  After writing over 1000 articles and building over 2000 contacts, he finds it easier to find stories.  Gonen finds challenge in not telling the same story twice and finding new angles to tell similar stories.  Yoav Gonen is the education reporter for the New York Post newspaper in New York City.  He earned a Masters of Journalism degree from New York University and a BA in English from the University of Michigan.

Why to Be Trusting When Building Relationships - Phil McKenzie

In Chapter 18 of 21 in his 2011 interview, Phil McKenzie answers "How Do You Establish Trust When Building Relationships?"  He notes trust is something you just have to give.  McKenzie notes that people's actions will prove out that trust over time, so he feels it unnecessary being suspicious entering situations.  McKenzie is the founder of Influencer Conference, an international event series bringing together tastemakers across the arts, entrepreneurship, philanthropy and technology.  He is also managing partner of influencer marketing agency FREE DMC.  Previously he worked in Domestic Equity Trading at Goldman, Sachs, & Co.  He earned his BA from Howard University and MBA from Duke University. 

How Marriage Exemplifies Teamwork - Marc Ferrentino

In Chapter 3 of 16 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, cloud computing technology executive Marc Ferrentino answers "What Has Marriage Taught You About Teamwork?"  Ferrentino notes how the relationship with his spouse is a peer relationship built on trust, communication, and shared responsibility.  He notes how having a sounding board enables improved iteration and collaboration which provides support in a two working parent household.  Ferrentino is Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of cloud computing at BMC Software.  Previously, he was Chief Technology Architect (CTA) at Salesforce.com.  Previous to Salesforce.com, Ferrentino worked in mobile and Internet startups and at Goldman Sachs.  He earned a BSEE in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan.

Nina Godiwalla on Improving Diversity Training with Sharing and Story

In Chapter 10 of 22 in her 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, author Nina Godiwalla answers "How Can Diversity Training Become Less About Avoiding Problems and More About Creating Opportunities?"  Godiwalla sees diversity training as an option to have a discussion rather than give a lecture.  She shares an example from learning diversity training from a theater group as well as from her own account in her book.  Godiwalla is the author of "Suits: A Woman on Wall Street". She is also a public speaker on workplace diversity and founder and CEO of Mindworks, where she teaches mind-based stress reduction techniques to help organizations improve employee wellbeing.  Godiwalla holds an MBA from the Wharton School of Business, an MA in Creative Writing from Dartmouth University and her BBA from the University of Texas at Austin. 

Transcript:

Erik Michielsen:  How can diversity training become less about avoiding problems and more about creating opportunities?

Nina Godiwalla:  One of the things is, is the mindset that people have and I love it that you said you know that of kind of avoiding these situations.  I remember when we had diversity training specifically in investment banking, because it was a more conservative culture and there weren’t a whole lot of minorities.  There was just this incredible dread like people were angry almost that they had to take an hour or two out of their day and it was pushed on you and it was you have to do it, nobody wants to do it. I really see it as an opportunity to have a discussion and those – those typically those weren’t discussions, it was basically like, “You all are not allowed to do this.  You’re not…” You know it’s almost like these slap on the hands, slap on the hands and the people that are in the room which is interesting, that do some of the stuff.  They don’t see themselves as the people that are doing those things. 

One of the most effective things I’ve seen is when I was getting a degree up on the East Coast, the university did diversity training and they brought in a theater company and what they did is they took real issues that happened at different universities and this was for the university staff.  They took the real issues and they had a theater people act it out, so all of a sudden it’s not you know you did this or you’re inappropriate, it’s like, “Hey, we’re just showing you some of the things that didn’t necessarily happen at your university but it’s happened in places.”  And they’re nuances things, it’s not someone hitting on someone which is like, “Okay, we all know that’s not supposed to happen.”  It’s really difficult conversations where someone might make an inappropriate joke but it’s not quite that inappropriate but at the same time, it offended four people in the room but no one’s going to say anything because that person is so senior, so it’s those types of things and what happened is afterwards, it became a discussion, the whole audience was engaged in the discussion and not everyone agrees and it was the most remarkable thing because you want to hear the different perspectives and I think when something was inappropriate I didn’t know, if I thought it was inappropriate, I didn’t even know the perspective of someone who doesn’t think it’s inappropriate and so it was amazing to hear those different perspectives and it was fun.  I loved it and I thought it was interesting.

And I think of my book as that, to me it’s a story, so that you get the theater thing and you get to hear a story, the book to me is a narrative.  It’s a story.  It’s removed from everybody.  It’s not threatening necessarily to them but let’s talk about some of the things that it raises and what does that mean for people. And I think the discussion makes people from all different areas feel like they’re heard because I don’t think diversity is minorities against non-minorities or women against men, it’s how do we all come to an understanding and see each other’s perspective because so often, so many things happen innocently.  I don’t think -- there are people that are out there to get other people but I think they’re very much in the minority.  That’s not the average person.  The average person thinks they’re doing the right thing.

Nina Godiwalla on Why Mutual Respect Matters in a Marriage

In Chapter 21 of 22 in her 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, author Nina Godiwalla answers "Why is Mutual Respect Important in a Marriage?"  Godiwalla, who had a child amidst the process of publishing her first book, finds mutual respect for things she and her partner both want in life fundamental to their wellbeing.  She shares how this mutual respect is key to achieving a manageable and meaningful work-life balance.  Godiwalla is the author of "Suits: A Woman on Wall Street".  She is also a public speaker on workplace diversity and founder and CEO of Mindworks, where she teaches mind-based stress reduction (MBSR) techniques to help organizations improve employee wellbeing.  Godiwalla holds an MBA from the Wharton School of Business, an MA in Creative Writing from Dartmouth University and her BBA from the University of Texas at Austin. 

Transcript:

Erik Michielsen:  Why is mutual respect important in a marriage?

Nina Godiwalla:  Well, I think it depends what you want to accomplish and what you want out of your marriage but you know one of the things that I’ve gotten so much from for a lot of people have said to me is, I had a baby while – right when I had – in the middle of having a book and I’ve had so many people say to me “Oh, I don’t understand how you did it all.  Like how are you able to do both?”  And I remember growing up, I used to go to these women’s conferences and I’ve never – never been very excited about marriage or having kids because to me I was always – I was so career oriented but I had this fear that once that would come like a husband and a child it would take away from my career life and I remember being in these conferences and you know women’s conferences and having women say it’s true like they just you know once you have the kids, it all falls on you, so much of it falls on you and I’ve always had this fear that it would – having a kid would take you know kind of the excitement of my life away. 

And what I’ve realized is, one, I married a person that in the end I wasn’t going to get married unless I had somebody who completely was inline with what I wanted and there is that and it’s not just mutual respect it’s mutual respect for the things that you both want out of life and I find that a lot of people that say that they have it all, that they never worked that out with their partner to some extent or their partner doesn’t have that mindset of you know I see that these are the three critical things for you let’s see how we can work on them together and my husband is an exceptional person in general but he makes everything – he makes everything possible.  I mean we both have difficult travel schedules and he never says “Well, you know you’re supposed to be here this week and I’m supposed to be here this week this just isn’t going to work.”  He’s always like “Okay, let’s sit down.  Let’s sit down and talk about how we make this work.”  I mean I fell in love with him and then he just happened to be this person that wanted to work everything out and he works out things you know even better than I can even think of. 

I think sometimes “Well, yeah, like one of us can’t go or you know we can’t figure this out.”  But we always seem to make things work and we have this respect in understanding that you know first things first, is our child is going to be in good hands.  Whether it’s with him or the child is with me or we have incredible grandparents that are always around so we – we make it work and there is this understanding that what’s important to you is important to me because if I don’t keep you happy you know I’m not going to be happy either and I find that people that say that they don’t have it all or that there’s no way to do it all, part of it is maybe you know maybe the goals aren’t realistic, I don’t know what their goals are but also I don’t know that there is a mutual respect on both sides for, you know what when I married you, you didn’t want – you only wanted two things and now you want three things.  Well, we just move with the flow.  It’s like okay, well you changed what you wanted but how do I still do things to keep you happy. And I don’t know that everyone really goes of their way to do that for the other person.

Learning Relationship Trust Playing in a Band - Conrad Doucette

In Chapter 13 of 21 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, musician and Takka Takka drummer Conrad Doucette answers "How Has Being in a Band Informed Your Approach to Establishing Trust With Others?"  He notes how trusting yourself allows you to trust others and, ultimately, trust as a collective.  Each level provides for creative space that allows the band to thrive.  Doucette is the drummer for the Brooklyn-based band Takka Takka.  He also performs with The National, Okkervil River, and Alina Simone.  When not performing, Doucette works as a copywriter, blogger, and digital media producer.  He has worked at Blender, Fuse TV, and Heavy.com.  Doucette earned his BA in History from the University of Michigan.