TLP382: The Power of Conscious Connection with Talia Fox

Talia Fox is the CEO of KUSI Global, Inc. A leadership strategist and a legacy builder, she has transformed thousands of executives over the last two decades in every sector, including major corporations in health, higher education, technology, and government. Talia shares her unique approach to leadership and her upcoming book, "The Power of Conscious Connection: 4 Habits to Transform How You Live and Lead." Talia's book focuses on four habits: Listen, Observe, Value, and Engage. She stresses the importance of happiness in achieving success and introduces key leadership skills: emotional intelligence, systems thinking, and cultural competence. Talia also discusses dealing with diverse values on a team, the significance of aligning values in both concept and behavior, and the value of practicing restraint for gaining wisdom.      Key Takeaways [02:22] Talia Fox, CEO of KUSI Global, Inc., is a leadership strategist with a unique mission: making people happy and improving lives. She emphasizes that personal happiness is the key to achieving remarkable results in business and leadership.  [03:58] Talia shares her unique approach to leadership. She introduces the KUSI competency model, comprising Knowledge, Understanding, Strategy, and Implementation. Talia identifies three game-changing skills for leaders: Emotional intelligence, Systems thinking, Cultural competence. Talia explores how these competencies relate to disciplined leadership with an emphasis on adaptability.  [11:21] Talia  discusses the importance of emotional intelligence, systems thinking, and cultural competence in leadership. These competencies work together to navigate complex situations and promote adaptability. Talia introduces Conscious Equity, emphasizing its holistic approach to leadership development. Addressing resistance, she suggests embracing it as an opportunity for growth and unity by focusing on the heart of the matter: people.  [19:10] Talia introduces her upcoming book, "The Power of Conscious Connection: 4 Habits to Transform How You Live and Lead," released on October 24, 2023. She discusses the book's four essential habits: Listen, Observe, Value, and Engage. These habits encourage individuals to slow down, gain self-awareness, and connect with their inner wisdom. Talia explains how each habit serves a specific purpose, such as emotional intelligence, systems thinking, and cultural competence. The book emphasizes customization and aligning behavior with personal values, creating a positive impact in one's life and the world. [22:35] Jim and Jan ask Talia to talk about understanding your values, assumptions, beliefs, and expectations (VABE) when communicating with others. Talia discusses an exercise called "Identity Therapy" where you choose a role model and think about how they would tackle your challenges. This helps you explore your values and recognize any habits that might be hindering your progress. Talia emphasizes that values can change as you grow, and it's essential to align them with your goals and make deliberate choices that reflect those values in your life. [25:18] Talia shares a powerful childhood experience that set her on a path to the work she does today. At eight years old, she helped her illiterate father navigate contracts. A key moment was when she confronted a restaurant hostess, realizing that her actions should lead to a better outcome for everyone. This early experience inspired her to pursue leadership development as a way to foster connection and improve people's work experiences. [28:54] Talia's Love System - Listen, Observe, Value, Engage - is a foundation for success. Barriers to its effectiveness include ego, judgment, and trying to change others. Focus on practicing these skills without ego and judgment. Embrace the basics of human interaction: listening, understanding systems, aligning with values, and engaging effectively. [34:07] Talia shares insights into dealing with diverse values on a team. Understanding that values may be shared in concept but not in behavior is crucial. Aligning with values requires a shared mental model of what those values look like in action. Talia shares the significance of practicing restraint and how it can lead to greater wisdom. Talia's book, "The Power of Conscious Connection: Four Habits to Transform How You Live and Lead," is highly recommended. [43:14] Closing quote: I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by conscious endeavor. — Henry David Thoreau   Quotable Quotes "Make the people happy and better and listen to them without bias."   "Emotional intelligence is a game changer."   "Systems thinking is the capacity to look at things and analyze them, not based on our bias and our experiences, but really the feedback loops of what is in the moment and what we're seeing that's changing as time goes on."   "Cultural competence is the person who is willing to know. 'I don't know about everyone in this room, and I am willing to show up and be present in the moment.'"   "It's one of those things where you're engaging in a very present way and allowing yourself to be open to new ideas and new approaches."   "And so with resistance, we turn that resistance into an opportunity to connect and to identify key questions or the one thing that needs to be addressed."   "Leadership is about people, and the only thing that we're working on is being better at interacting and managing, leading, inspiring, moving people forward."   "The Power of Conscious Connection is about being conscious about who you are in the world and connected to your power to make a difference."   "Listening is an opportunity for us to slow down, and it is a portal to wisdom."   "Values, Assumptions, Beliefs and Expectations. When you're listening and observing, pay attention to other people's values, assumptions, beliefs, expectations before you engage."   "There's something tricky about values. You've got to figure out what's yours, what's other people's values. There may be some things that you value that are just bad habits that are holding you back."   "Conscious equity is not a license to start looking at the world and identifying all of the lack of listening, observing, alignment with values, or poor engagement going on. We start with modeling that experience and being patient, kind, and open for the journey that others are on."   "Observation is associated with systems thinking. Now, you're not just observing by way of looking, but I think that's good too, with your senses."   "Values, that's an opportunity for you to pause for a moment and say, this is where you customize life."   "It matters less what you do, how you do it. It matters more why you do it."   "You can share what you do, but you don't want to judge or even try to begin to get... judgment can really cloud all of these skills."   "The emotional intelligence, systems thinking and cultural competence are so critical."   "I think sometimes we get values confused with choices and behaviors, preferences and desires."   "When we're really hyper achievers and we're very excited about getting results, sometimes we need to just pause a moment and hold back." Here are the books mentioned in this episode     Resources Mentioned The Leadership Podcast | Sponsored by | Rafti Advisors. LLC | Self-Reliant Leadership. LLC | Talia Fox LinkedIn | KUSI Global Website | Talia Fox Instagram | Talia Fox YouTube | Talia Fox Twitter |