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EPISODE 10: TRANSFORM YOUR LEADERSHIP WITH GREG LAYTON: INSIGHTS ON PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT, SHADOW SELF, AND BUILDING OPPORTUNITIES AS A CEO

By March 5, 2023No Comments
Greg-Layton

Greg Layton is the founder of Chief Maker, host of the Inner Chief Podcast and an Executive Coach specialising in helping CEOs and Executive Teams lead turnarounds and transformation. Greg has coached senior executives from more than a hundred companies on five continents and has also written an Amazon best selling book, the Chief Maker. 

2:23 Greg on pivotal moments that shaped his career:

  • Making mistakes early in his life helped him understand the importance of knowing oneself. 
  • A candid conversation with his mentor led him to evaluate his own life and begin his personal development journey. 
  • Enrolling into development courses introduced him to a network of coaches and eventually acquired the skill set which led him to the world of coaching. 

5:40 Greg shares his beliefs on personal development:

  • He is a firm believer in brain plasticity. While we are all born with strengths and weaknesses, he is convinced that we can change and grow.
  • Although he agrees that we should focus on our strengths to win in life, he thinks being aware of our weaknesses and effectively managing them is a smart move. 

7:50 Greg recalls his travelling experiences and how it has shaped his personal and professional life:

  • At a personal level, he highlights the sense of amazement he felt in discovering how big the world is and the humbling experience of realising how insignificant he was in the grand scheme of things.
  • Professionally, it offered him the opportunity to learn the nuances of working in a different cultural environment which he believes make him a better professional today.    

9:40 Lauren asks Greg to dive deeper on the concept of shadow self:

  • According to Greg, the shadow self is a part of ourselves that we do not like or that which we are not aware of. 
  • Greg suggests reflecting on our negative traits to become aware of our shadow self and see it as an opportunity to learn and grow from it. 

11:23 Greg on ways we can take care of ourselves when life gets busier:

  • Start our day right. He says, avoid checking our phone first thing in the morning. He believes in taking some time to be present at home.  
  • Reconnect with our plan before starting work to establish our focus, purpose and objectives for the day.  
  • Learn to say no.
  • Greg believes having a focus, being intentional and owning your time will help us declutter our schedule helping us become more strategic, think better and have more control of our days. 

18:00 In line with the theme of the building door podcast, Greg outlines how he was able to create opportunities for himself:

  • He started a podcast which helped him build connections with hundreds of CEOs.
  • He invested time, effort, and money to acquire a professional skill set that now feeds him consistent new opportunities. 

21:05 Greg discusses the prepare, perform, recover, and review model for performance improvement and the performance theatre:

  • Athletes review their performance to improve their game consistently and Greg thinks executives should review their performances as well.
  • According to him, executives perform in the meeting rooms demonstrating their ability to lead and showcase their technical expertise. 
  • Greg says executives ought to approach their performance like an athlete to be memorable. 

26:30 Greg on how to persevere through challenges in life:

  • When faced with challenges in life, Greg suggests coming up with an actionable response to take charge of the situation. 

32:30 Greg on the importance of mentors and managing our inner circle:

  • Greg acknowledges that he has learned a lot simply by being around successful people.
  • While it may help to cut out certain people from our lives, he says we should take the time to help people we care about get through difficult times in their lives.

35:11 Greg on how goals can help us navigate the complexities of modern life:

  • Greg acknowledges the complexity of our lives in the age of social media. 
  • His opinion is that if we can find something we truly care about, and have a goal that drives us to get better, then we would be adept at de-prioritising things that are insignificant in our lives. 

38:25 Greg on his career mission and one change he’d would like to make in the world:

  • He wants to help executives find their purpose and execute them.
  • He’d like to educate people on their psychology and help them develop self awareness  which he believes is foundational to being a good person.   

You can connect with Greg Layton on LinkedIn.  

About your host: 

Lauren Karan, Director and Founder of Karan & Co

With over a decade of experience as a recruiter and development coach, Lauren Karan found that her priorities rapidly changed after the birth of her two children. In 2022 she founded Karan & Co flipping the out-dated recruitment model with a focus on retention through career coaching and development. 

Lauren believes that If opportunity doesn’t knock, you have to build a door – and it’s this same philosophy that inspired her to create the Building Doors podcast.  

The Building Doors podcast is for anyone undergoing a transformation in their life. Regardless of whether you feel stuck in your current role, need some inspiration on what steps to take next, want to learn how to level up as a business owner or simply want to listen to the experiences of successful entrepreneurs and industry professionals, the Building Doors podcast is all about unlocking your potential.

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In case you missed it:

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👋 To say hello, provide feedback, or express interest in a guest appearance on The Building Doors Podcast get in touch with us at reachout@buildingdoors.com.au

Lauren Karan

Lauren Karan

Lauren has over 12 years’ experience as a Technical and Engineering specialist recruiting in the building and civil construction markets. She holds a degree in psychology, accreditation in behavioural interviewing and psychometric testing and is also a certified organisational coach. Lauren is the Director, Recruitment Specialist, Certified Organisational Coach of Karan & Co.