Thought Leader Profile: Nathan Magnuson

Ten years ago, I featured leadership consultant, coach, trainer and thought leader, Nathan Magnuson, for the first time on my blog. Since then, Magnuson has provided his leadership insights multiple times for my blog and in 2020, I named his book, Stand Out!, as the best new leadership and business book for that year.

I’m a big fan of Magnuson’s work and have enjoyed following his ever-growing career during the past decade.

Today, Magnuson shares more about his latest endeavors and provides some timely leadership guidance:

Nathan Magnuson

Question: Tell us about the evolution from Nathan Magnuson Everyday Leadership to Leadership-in-a-Box®.

Magnuson: It's been a great ride! I started the Everyday Leadership blog 11 years ago. I had just wrapped up a consulting project helping the FBI build a brand new leadership development program from scratch. I guess you could say my leadership engine was all revved up. I wanted to find a way to share what I was learning about leadership with everyone else. That's where the site (and subsequent books) started.

Leadership-in-a-Box® actually represented a completely new career move for me. Even though I had done some independent consulting and speaking projects, after 11 years I felt like working for a single employer at a time was limiting the impact I could have with all the leaders who need leadership support. I decided it was time to officially leave my corporate roles to start a new training company Leadership-in-a-Box®.

Question: What is your hope for your recently launched Leadership-in-a-Box®?

Magnuson: It's kind of crazy, but Leadership-in-a-Box® is actually almost three years old by now! I like to say that we're the "ridiculously practical" leadership training company. For us, this means 60-minute workshops (vs. half-day or full-day) with an emphasis on same-day skill application. We like to say that anyone who goes through a Leadership-in-a-Box® workshop in the morning can start using their new skills that afternoon! Not only that, but all our programs are also available for license. That means instead of having our team onsite to facilitate, we share the programs so anyone in our client organizations can facilitate. This keeps costs down and lets many more people participate.

Question: Early on in your business you wrote your books Ignite Your Leadership Expertise and then Stand Out! Any plans to write another book?

Magnuson: You heard it here first: the next book will be titled, Winning the Heart: Engaging & Retaining Talent in the New Era. Release is TBD (we're hoping for 2024), but we'll be sure to let everyone know. We want this to be the #1 book leaders use for corporate book clubs because it's so practical and relevant to discuss with their teams.

Question: Thinking about your presentations to the thousands of leaders over the years, at conferences, corporate leadership events, board meetings and webinars, what has been the most challenging leadership concept to teach and why?

Magnuson: The most incognito leadership challenge is setting clear expectations. It's so important that it's one of the 7 drivers of engagement. (I call it the "clarity driver.") It's challenging because when it's present, no one realizes it. But when it's absent, leaders misdiagnose the problem and usually the wrong people get blamed, which just creates more issues. It sounds basic, but it actually takes a high amount of discipline to communicate "who will do what by when" on a consistent basis. But results and relationships are ALWAYS better when leaders do this.

Question: How did the COVID years impact your business?

Magnuson: Actually, COVID was a major factor in deciding to launch Leadership-in-a-Box®! I always knew it was something I wanted to do someday, but for many people (me included), COVID provided the opportunity to contemplate what was important in life. I ended up hitting fast forward and going for it!

Question: Why are you so passionate about leadership?

Magnuson: I believe one of the greatest gifts in all of life is the gift of being well led. The difference between how happy people are when they are led well compared to how miserable people are when they are led poorly is very wide. I believe this is a cause that is big enough to give my life to.

Question: What trends do you see influencing business leaders in the near future?

Magnuson: Right now, it's engagement and retention. Individual employees and job seekers have more options than ever. There are more jobs available (and being created) than people available. That means employers have to compete for talent (including the talent they already have) and individuals get to pick where they want to work. Many organizations made very poor leadership decisions during COVID and now are paying the price with a workforce that has very little patience and loyalty left for them.

We address this dynamic in our program "Engaging & Retaining Teams" where we share the 7 drivers of engagement. One client even reported that not one single employee left in 4 months after using this program! And it's actually created an interesting value proposition for us because we can demonstrate that retaining just one or two key employees will actually more than pay for an entire year of Leadership-in-a-Box® for their organization.

Question: Is there any last encouragement you'd like to share?

Magnuson: Yes! Many people tell me I have a cool job (and I do!). But I like to remind them that you don't have to be an executive or work in HR or be a coach or consultant to work in leadership development. It's part of all of our jobs no matter who we are! The person with the most leadership influence is the person’s direct supervisor. So, if you manage people, or aspire to, or even have influence with others, you already work in leadership development! It's a privilege and also a high responsibility. Let's all commit to keep growing, serving, and leading well!

Comments

How To Harness Employee Experience Design To Attract And Retain The Best Talent

Employee Experience Design (EXD) is designing with people and not for them. It’s a proven method for engaging and collaborating with your employees to help solve your most difficult workplace challenges. You’ll learn all about EXD in the new book, Employee Experience Desing: How To Co-Create Work Where People And Organizations Thrive , by Dean E. Carter , Samantha Gadd, and Mark Levy . “Many organizations are drowning in policies and initiatives. EXD is a way to reduce that burden while delivering better results both for employees and for the bottom line,” explain the authors. The book includes inspiring stories from brands like Airbnb and Patagonia, among many others, including those in retail, healthcare, hospitality, apparel, and biotech. It describes the power that’s unleashed when organizations design with and not for their employees. The first part of the book covers The Why of why EXD is so important and addresses legitimate – and tough –...

How To Survive, Reset And Then Thrive

“Uncertainty is here to stay. Rather than seeing it as an obstacle to overcome, integrate it into your strategic approach to invigorate your high-growth potential and outperform competition under any market condition,” explains Rebecca Homkes , author of the book, Survive, Reset, Thrive . “Most books aren’t honest enough about how hard it is to reset ,” adds Homkes. Yet, resetting and leaning into change is essential. “If you are ready to embrace change as a central element of your growth strategy, this book is for you.” Homkes’ book is a timely, comprehensive, and essential read for business leaders looking to take the next step toward ensuring high growth for their companies. The book brings together more than 15 years of Homkes working directly with high-growth companies of all sizes and across a wide variety of industries. Survive, Reset, Thrive (SRT) is a practical and innovative interconnected three-mode approach : Survive : Stabil...

Why Your Middle Managers Are So Important

The book, Power To The Middle , shows how managers are the crucial link between a company’s ground floor and top brass. “Too often company leaders view middle managers in a negative light as expendable employees who can slow down productivity and overall strategy,” explain the book’s authors and McKinsey partners Bill Schaninger , Bryan Hancock , and Emily Field . “However, new KcKinsey research reveals that this outdated perspective needs to change and that well-developed managers are the strategy that companies must prioritize to succeed today,” they add. Most importantly, by the end of their book, the authors sum up their insights and provide a playbook that will help senior leaders let go of the command-and-control mindset that has hobbled their managers for so long. The authors define middle managers as the people who are at least once removed from the front line and at least a layer below the senior lead...

How To Build Great Work Relationships

Here is a book I wish was published back when I was early in my career. It’s called, Bosses, Coworkers, and Building Great Work Relationships . It’s one of four books in the new Harvard Business Review ( HBR ) Work Smart Series . The book includes adapted content from 20 articles that previously appeared on HBR.org. “We probably spend more hours with our coworkers than with anyone else. So even if they’re not all perfect, it’s worth it to build connections that will provide you with support, help you network and learn, and keep your career moving forward,” shares HBR. “This book helps readers make so-so work relationships better, keep the bad ones from bringing them down, and help them build lasting connections with incredible people.” HBR adds that the book includes chapter takeaways and dozens of resources so that you can go beyond the book to engage in the media (video, audio, etc.) you learn from best. As you read Bosses, C...

Read Good To Great

Near the top of virtually every list you'll see of the best leadership books, you'll find, Good To Great , by Jim Collins . The book, five years in the making, and published in 2001, addresses the all-important question of: Can a good company become a great company, and if so, how? Some of the lessons from the book are: "Leadership is equally about creating a climate where the truth is heard and the brutal facts confronted." "Leading from good to great does not mean coming up with the answers and then motivating everyone to follow your messianic vision. It means having the humility to grasp the fact that you do not yet understand enough to have the answers and then to ask the questions that will lead to the best possible insights." "Good-to-great companies use technology as an accelerator of momentum, not a creator of it." "Engage in dialogue and debate." Good-to-great companies are those who have the ability to get and kee...

How To Energize Your Work And Life

Tom Rath is the author of the incredibly popular Strengthsfinder 2.0 book . His latest book is, Are You Fully Charged? The book draws on the latest and most practical research from business and psychology and identifies the three keys that influence most of our daily well-being, as well as our engagement at work : Meaning : doing something that benefits another person Interactions : creating far more positive than negative moments Energy : making choices that improve your mental and physical health "This book will challenge you to stop pursing happiness and start creating meaning instead ," explains Rath. And, by doing so, you will rethink your daily interactions with the people who matter most. "The actions you take throughout every single day accumulate to shape your years, decades and overall life," adds Rath. Even brief interactions count, says Rath, such as exchanging a smile or greeting while passing someone on the s...

Mission Versus Vision

Here's a good definition of the difference between a mission and a vision by leadership book authors George Bradt, Jayme A. Check and Jorge Pedraza: Mission - A mission guides what people do every day. It informs what roles need to exist in the organization. Vision - A vision is the picture of future success. It helps define areas where the organization needs to be best in class and helps keep everyone aware of the essence of the company.

My Favorite "Moral Of The Story" Tips From Harvey Mackay

I'm a big fan of best-selling author Harvey Mackay . He writes about business, sales and leadership and typically ends his articles with a moral of the story. Culled from his writings of the past few years, here are some of my favorites of his moral of the story endings: Change your thinking, change your life. It's not enough to know how to do things - you must know why you do them. If you live in the past, you won't have much of a future. If you want to outsmart the competition, you have to outthink the competition. Don't be afraid to make a decision. Be afraid not make a decision. What you learn on your first job will last through your last job. Minds are like parachutes - not much good unless they are open. If you can't be an expert, hire one. People have a way of becoming what you encourage them to be. It only takes a little spark to ignite a great fire. Doing the right thing is never the wrong thing to do. Mackay's best-...

Dig Deep For Ideas

The next time you are looking for ideas for how to grow revenue, streamline processes and procedures and/or reduce expenses, dig deep within your organization . Don't ask only your direct reports for their suggestions. Instead, ask everyone at all levels . Some of the best ideas will come from your lower and mid-level employees who are interacting with your vendors, customers and co-workers every day in the very areas that, if improved, could make the most dramatic impact. Be sure to acknowledge receipt of each idea . Keep everyone informed of the types of ideas you've received . Perhaps update them on a monthly basis. When you implement a suggestion, recognize and reward the submitter , including possibly financially. Feel free to accept ideas anonymously. But, if employees know you are sincere about wanting their input, and witness you acting upon suggestions, most of your team members will be proud to tie their names to their ideas. Finally...

What Will Your Leadership Legacy Be?

As a leader, you likely have asked yourself, " How do I want to be remembered as a leader ?" But, perhaps the more important question is, " How will I be remembered as a leader ?" The answer to that question is likely going to be based on the valuable lessons you shared with those you led, among other things. The Kansas City Star newspaper last year wrote a story about Marion Laboratories and its 60th anniversary. In its heyday, Marion had 3,400 employees with sales of nearly $1 billion and in 1989 merged with Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals. Mr. Ewing Kauffman, fondly known as Mr. K, led Marion during its peak, and is remembered as one of the most effective, influential leaders ever in the Kansas City area. Former employees quoted in the newspaper article remember Mr. Kauffman as a leader who shared these lessons with them: "You can do anything you want if you set your mind to it and if you study your competition." "You can...

Eric Jacobson On Management And Leadership

Search This Blog