There is a surprisingly close parallel between music and leadership. For an ensemble (team) to deliver a great performance, every member must be skilled, aligned, and follow their score… and the conductor 

The same for teams in organizations. To reach a common goal everyone has to have strong communication, collaboration, and accountability. 

In this episode, Stephen underscores the parallels within his two passions: music and leadership development highlighting the steps to deep listening, being fully present, and achieving what matters most.  

Stephen Kohler is Audira’s Founder & CEO. He brings a passion for growing people along with 25 years of extensive corporate experience within organizations ranging from startup to Fortune 100, across multiple industries.  

His credentials include an MBA from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, a BA in Philosophy from Northwestern University, and is a Certified Professional Coach (PCC, CPCC) and balanced Scorecard Professional (BSP). His passions include spending time with his wife, two children, and two dogs. He is a life-long musician, avid BBQ enthusiast, and loves traveling the world.

What you will learn from this episode: 

• Discover the three leadership challenge areas for leaders to focus on, to create a greater impact within the organization 
• Re-approach leadership communication, collaboration, and accountability in an insightful, creative, and unique way. 
• Find out the three steps of listening to help you identify what's missing and needed to generate action within the organization

“Practice the three levels of listening, really getting present with not only yourself but those around you in the space. After you practice that listening, identify what's missing or needed, and then act and create action with intended impact.”  

- Stephen Kohler

Topics Covered:

01:46 - A musician’s unique approach to leadership training, coaching, and development 

03:28 - The parallelism of musicianship and leadership in critical areas of communication, collaboration, and accountability 

06:07 - Areas of challenges that many of his clients tend to fall into at some point in their careers 

08:05 - Getting a clear understanding of the mistake of assumptions that leaders usually commit 

09:31 - Actionable tips that you can apply now: The three steps of listening 

12:09 - Free resource to help leaders in all situations: audiralabs.com 

12:58 - Imagine yourself in your final hours on the planet or perhaps at your retirement party, and you're looking back, what would you like that impact of your life to have been, what would you like your legacy to be? 

14:27 - A beautiful quote to live by: "Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens."

Key Takeaways:

“A lot of organizations struggle with accountability and learning what that looks like. And that's no different where we can use the lens of music, for example, if you're playing in an ensemble, we all have to play our part.”  

“The first challenge that I help leaders with is really become more self-aware, in terms of really helping them clarify what their personal leadership mission-vision values are, and then also become just aware of what their impact on others is.” 

Connect with Stephen Kohler:

• Website: https://audiralabs.com/ 
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/audiralabs/ 
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kohlerstephen/ 
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8Cz99_OMLkZsqcOnN5FBeg