LTL 132: Building People, Teams, and Processes with Micah Rowland Part Two
Release Date: 09/16/2019
LTL 144: Global Leadership Summit Takeaways Part Four
The Leader To Leader Podcast
Nelson Mandela once said, “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” I know few people who embody that quote more than Bear Grylls. This is the fourth and final part of my key takeaways from the 2019 Global Leadership Summit. I hope you have enjoyed listening to these episodes as much as I have enjoyed recording them! I’ve tried to keep them simple, short, and practical. My intent is always to make valuable use of your time. If it’s crap, you should shut it off and I should shut it down. Fortunately, there was a massive amount of content from the Global Leadership Summit. Bear...
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LTL 143: Global Leadership Summit Takeaways Part Three
The Leader To Leader Podcast
As you probably already know, this is Part Three of a series on my key takeaways from the 2019 Global Leadership Summit. I said that I would follow up with a summary of the leadership tips that I picked up during the August event and man, there was a lot to try to summarize for you! My intent was to only share the most practical and applicable points – those things you could take and then put to use immediately. Today’s episode captures my attention (and my heart!) just like it did almost five months ago during the Global Leadership Summit. I’ll do my best to convey these points with the...
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LTL 142: Global Leadership Summit Takeaways Part Two
The Leader To Leader Podcast
Back in August, I attended the 2019 Global Leadership Summit and I said that I would follow up with a summary of the leadership tips that I picked up during the event. While there was so much great content, I’m only able to pick my key takeaways and share them with you in a handful of shorter episodes over the next several weeks. Each episode contains tips that you can put to use immediately. This is Part Two. The takeaways from this second episode come from Danielle Strickland. If you don’t know who Danielle is, she is a pastor, author, and justice advocate. Having spent 22 years as an...
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LTL 141: Global Leadership Summit Takeaways Part One
The Leader To Leader Podcast
Back in August, I attended the 2019 Global Leadership Summit and I said that I would follow up with a summary of the leadership tips that I picked up during the event. While I’d love to share it all with you, I’m going to pick my key takeaways and share them in a handful of shorter episodes over the next several weeks. These will be tips that I believe you can put to use immediately. This is Part One. The takeaways for this first episode come from Craig Groeschel. Craig is a pastor, podcaster, speaker, and New York Times bestselling author. He’s also the global champion for the Global...
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LTL 140: Consistency Revisited And The Difficulty Of Things Worthwhile
The Leader To Leader Podcast
I know this happens to you at times. You hear something, and then you hear it multiple times and all of a sudden, you recognize that you need to sit up and pay attention! That happened to me recently. It started with a simple reminder: consistency is foundational to our effectiveness. But it didn’t end there – I heard it multiple times in a matter of a couple of days. I knew it was time that we revisited the topic of consistency together. And it wasn’t just consistency. It was connected to the difficulty of things worthwhile. Consistency: Critical Trait For Great Leaders Here’s my fear...
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LTL 139: A Controversy Regarding Forgiveness
The Leader To Leader Podcast
Isn’t it awesome when you run into validation for a perspective unexpectedly, especially when it’s from an authority that you respect? As you know, I’m a proponent of not allowing others to control my future due to unforgiveness. Episodes and were dedicated to the issue of resentment and the problems it causes us as leaders when we don’t resolve it. It can sometimes lead to a controversy regarding forgiveness. So I came across a post from someone who I admire greatly in the LinkedIn community. I always read his comments because he strikes me as well-balanced,...
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LTL 138: The Value Of Humility And Momentum
The Leader To Leader Podcast
Have you ever blown it? I knew it…you are! I tell people all the time that those who listen to my podcast are perfect – they don’t need me because they don’t struggle with human things! Ha! If only that were true. It’s hard to talk about being humble because media often represents humility as weakness. Regardless of your political leanings or affections, have you ever seen a less humble man than President Trump? Actually, I have. To clarify, the world is littered with arrogant and unapologetic men and women. Humility is strength. It’s the ability to admit when you’re wrong and to...
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LTL 137: Move Past Resentment To Take Control Of Your Future
The Leader To Leader Podcast
I’m excited about today’s episode. Last week, in , I talked about why leaders can’t afford the high cost of resentment. Well, today I’m going to show you how to move past resentment to take control of your future. Initially, you might be wondering why this matters. It’s a reasonable question. Furthermore, it would appear that many people have used resentment as a form of motivation. Instead of getting past resentment, it seems that storing it up fueled their success. Surprisingly, this doesn’t work out the way you might think. Imagine that one person who you have always sought...
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LTL 136: Why Leaders Can't Afford The High Cost Of Resentment
The Leader To Leader Podcast
It’s usually not my intention to allow the introduction to direct the content for a podcast, but I felt like that needed to happen today. I want to share a couple of stories with you that are examples of why leaders can’t afford the high cost of resentment. And while this might be a little longer than usual, I think it’s important because I want to give you an example of what I’m talking about. After a meeting this week, I wanted to grab a few mins at the gym before heading home. So, I jumped in the truck and headed toward the gym. At the intersection where the gym is located, there...
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LTL 135: Four Solid Principles Supporting Team Growth
The Leader To Leader Podcast
In the previous episode, I was able to share some of the experiences that shape who I am. This isn’t Part Two of that discussion. Yet I recognize that I didn’t offer any explanation for how those unique aspects about me impact my approach to leadership. So, today is my opportunity to do that as I talk about four solid principles supporting team growth. You likely already know some of this, especially long-time listeners of the podcast. As a result, you will have to resist the temptation to zone out. Stay engaged, because there is some significance here that I haven’t had an opportunity...
info_outlineWelcome to Part Two of my conversation with Micah Rowland. Micah isn’t your everyday builder. As Chief Operating Officer of Fountain, he builds people, teams, and processes that have taken multiple companies from 50 to 300 people and beyond, and $5 million to $35 million in revenue.
After starting his career as a software engineer, Micah Rowland earned a Stanford MBA before switching tracks to management consultancy. This unusual path from engineering to business led him to roles with industry leaders, such as McKinsey & Company and Starbucks, where he worked in global strategy and brand management before gravitating toward startups in the SaaS space.
Over 17 years, Micah has worked with companies ranging in size from 30 employees to over 100,000 and multiple startups from Series A to Series D funding. Through this journey, he has learned how to solve problems in everything from leadership and organizational development to operations, strategy, and pricing.
With Fountain, the Series A-funded startup providing hiring automation software for today’s high-velocity service economy, Micah now helps to solve problems on a different scale. He credits being allowed to make mistakes and learn from them for sharpening his leadership, coaching, and human development skills. In fact, developing those skills has led him to discover what he most enjoys about his work — helping people grow both personally and professionally through the rewarding friendships he’s been able to build in the workplace.
Key Takeaways From Micah Rowland
- In a coaching relationship, the most important characteristic is teachability
- You must be open to being told that you are wrong or that you need to modify your approach
- It’s up to the coach to create an environment where the learner feels secure
- The McKinsey model says we ALL have an obligation to dissent, to disagree and even create conflict when we aren’t aligned
- Manage that conflict in a way that doesn’t allow the team to be torn apart by disagreement
- Consequences for failure aren’t borne by a team member, they are borne by leadership
- Fear is the number one inhibitor of creative thinking
- Fear prevents an individual from taking initiative
- An organization without creative and inventive thinkers won’t scale or be able to retain key talent
- An investment is made with an expectation of return
- When a leader provides personal or professional development for a team member, it’s a gift
- A gift becomes a powerful motivator, especially when you see what others did for you
- Make sure you aren’t treating human beings as objects
- Leadership is about people and if you are going to be good at it, you have to care about people
Resources Mentioned In This Episode:
Connect with Micah Rowland on LinkedIn
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