Written by Brent Lacey on March 29, 2021. Posted in Early Career and Young Professionals, Podcast, Podcast Episodes, Practice Management.

Podcast Episode 52 – Management Mess to Leadership Success – Scott Miller

Management Mess to Leadership Success with Scott Miller

Episode 52 – I’m unusually excited about today’s guest. Scott Miller is the EVP for Thought Leadership at Franklin Covey. You’re probably familiar with the book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Dr. Stephen Covey. He co-founded Franklin Covey to be one of the premiere leadership companies in the world. When I say that they are first class, it’s really not an exaggeration, and Scott Miller has been leading their thought leadership team for years now. His book, Management Mess to Leadership Success was a #1 new release on Amazon and has been transforming business cultures around the world.

He and his team only select a few podcasts a month to be on and I was ecstatic when he asked to be a guest on The Scope of Practice. He’s fun, witty, and highly knowledgeable about leadership topics. I expect this is going to end up being a top 10 episode this year. Trust me, you’re going to love it! Bookmark this episode because you’ll want to listen to it again. This would be beneficial to your entire leadership team too.

Free Resource: The Scope of Practice Reading List

This list is the top 35 books that I recommend for physicians who want to have a more successful career and stronger personal finances. If you can read just one book from each of the seven recommended categories, you’ll be in the top 5% of physicians in terms of knowledge about this stuff. Just click on the link to download the guide for free.

Check out the additional free resources available at The Scope of Practice!

Meet Scott Miller!

Scott Miller has been with Franklin Covey Co. for over two decades and currently serves as the executive vice president of Thought Leadership. He is the host of the FranklinCovey sponsored On Leadership With Scott Miller, a weekly leadership webcast, podcast, and newsletter that features interviews

with renowned business titans, authors, and thought leaders. Additionally, Miller authors a weekly leadership column for Inc. magazine.

Miller leads the strategy, development, and publication of FranklinCovey’s bestselling books and thought leadership. He is the author of FranklinCovey’s Management Mess to Leadership Success: 30 Challenges to Become the Leader You Would Follow and is the coauthor of The Wall Street Journal bestseller, Everyone Deserves a Great Manager: The 6 Critical Practices for Leading a Team.

Connect to Scott Miller

Website: www.scottjeffreymiller.com

Management Mess to Leadership Success

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Show times

00:00 – Introduction to the episode.
01:22 – Subscribe to the podcast, and please leave a review!
01:33 – Dr. Lacey reads a review of The Scope of Practice Podcast
03:26 – Introduction to Scott Miller, the EVP for thought leadership at Franklin Covey..
04:38 – Let’s meet Scott Miller, a true thought leader!
07:01 – Scott Miller had the privilege to study under Dr. Stephen Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. He’s the author of a great book called Management Mess to Leadership Success.
08:37 – People don’t leave jobs. They leave bad leaders and toxic cultures.
08:53 – People tend to get promoted because of competence and excellence in a role and often end up getting promoted to a role just beyond their capabilities and then they stay there. That can lead to cynicism and distrust among employees.
09:53 – Most people should not become leaders. Scott Miller says that instead of luring people into leadership roles, people need to be led to those roles. Leadership of a group of people doesn’t necessarily require expertise in the technical skills of the people you’re leading. That’s how we can go from management mess to leadership success.
11:53 – It’s not our job as leaders to be the smartest people in the room. Our job is to multiply the smarts of our team members. That’s central to going from management mess to leadership success.
12:28 – The coach isn’t the best player on the team, says Scott Miller. The coach brings out the best in the team players.
13:18 – If you have little expertise compared to the people you lead, acknowledge that to the people that you lead. They’ll respect you more.
15:22 – The best leaders trust their team members enough to allow them free reign to release their genius in an environment of trust. Don’t try to be the genius; be the genius maker!
17:17 – What are the leadership traits that we should be looking for that will predict that someone will be a successful leader? Scott Miller says we need someone who will be humble and whose ego doesn’t drive the team’s strategy.
20:18 – Let’s dive into Scott Miller’s book: From Management Mess to Leadership Success. Humility is the first chapter, and that was chosen specifically.
23:28 – One of the early sections in “From Management Mess to Leadership Success” is to carry your own weather. Be deliberate in knowing your own values and knowing how that guides your reputation.
26:22 – It’s ok to not know the answer to everything. It’s ok to just own the mess some days.
27:13 – If you want to go from management mess to leadership success, you need to be a good spouse and a good parent if you’re a spouse or a parent. Don’t allow your ambition at work kill your role at home.
30:11 – How do we figure out where we’re falling short? Do we have to find our own blind spots or do we need to have people around us who will help us recognize those blind spots?
33:03 – You may have to ask people several times to help you find the blind spots. You have to find ways to make it super comfortable to let them tell you the truth. Dr. Lacey admits to Scott Miller that this is an area of constant improvement for him.
35:18 – We have to lear to lead ourselves before we learn to lead others. Going from management mess to leadership success involves you leading others. You have to get work done with and through others. Don’t be the genius and save the day every time. Get others to be brilliant and multiply their genius!
38:49 – You need to be close enough to your employees for them to trust you and be collegial, but you need to be able to have difficult “high courage” conversations. It starts with building an environment of trust.
42:51 – If you’re going to have a “high courage conversation” with someone, take the tension out of the room by admitting that you’re uncomfortable and nervous about having the conversation.
45:20 – If you want to go from management mess to leadership success, you need some WIGs (wildly important goals). Scott Miller says this is an extension of the work of Jim Collins in Good to Great and Built to Last.
48:14 – Instilling cultural values in your team isn’t the same as saying to yourself over and over.
49:52 – Connect to Scott Miller and buy the book, From Management Mess to Leadership Success.
50:45 – Summary of the episode.
51:34 – This week’s free resource is a guide called “The Scope of Practice Reading List.”
52:34 – Signing off!

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