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Bill Fox

Imagining a Workplace Where Every Voice Matters

By Bill Fox

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I imagine a workplace where every voice matters, everyone thrives and finds meaning, and change and innovation happen naturally. 

After witnessing and experiencing so many heartbreaking and unsuccesful organizational change initiatives over my 30 year career, I looked for a better way to transform and improve organizations. But how? 

To make it real, I interviewed leading change practitioners and other experts in a series I called 5 Minutes to Process Improvement Success. I asked, “What is your best improvement strategy?”

Remarkably, I rarely got an answer about process improvement. People didn’t talk about Agile, CMMI, Lean, Six Sigma or the latest silver-bullet solution. Instead, they talked about something deeper: about trust, reflection, new questions, new leadership, understanding the status quo and much more. People shared fascinating and surprising new strategies and insights with me. 

After 50 interviews, I discontinued the 5 Minutes to Process Improvement series because it wasn’t about process improvement. Something else seemed to happen, and I needed time to reflect on it.

In fact, conducting those 50 interviews was so powerful that it triggered my own inner transformation. My mind became noticeably quieter. I became a better listener. I was less reactive to my circumstances. I also realized there was an enormous power in my intentions — and in the questions those intentions led me to ask. 

These inner changes allowed me to have a new conversation. As I became less judgmental, more open and a better listener, people seemed to feel freer and safer, and they shared deeper insights with me. 

I also knew how rare that was in the workplace. And I recognized that I and so many others felt like aliens at work. On the surface, we may have seemed happy, committed and motivated. But look a little deeper, and there was more unease and dissatisfaction than most of us will admit.

Because of the deep and pervasive need for transformation in most workplaces—along with the changes occurring within me and the kinds of insights people were now eager to share—I came up with a new series of interview questions. With that, the Exploring Forward-Thinking Workplaces interview series was underway, which led to my most recent book, The Future of the Workplace.

The Future of the Workplace was published by Apress in October, 2019 and is available at Amazon.

Does your culture support telling the truth?

By Bill Fox

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What I learned about leadership, thought leadership and culture from a volcano.

Days before I left for the island of Maui the summer of 2013, Dr. Liz Alexander asked if I would consider writing a guest post about thought leadership for her new blog. Since her writing and thought leadership have greatly impacted me, I was delighted by her invitation. Yet I never could have imagined how this business trip would impact what I’d write.

I was on this trip with fellow consultant and private pilot Hillel Glazer. When we travel together, Hillel and I look for opportunities to explore the area by air since we are both pilots. On this trip, we decided to fly from Maui to the island of Hawaii to overfly a volcano.

I’ve since realized that volcanoes and thought leaders have a lot in common.

Unfortunately, I find that what’s passed off as thought leadership is, more often than not, a slight variation on what everyone else is saying. Most “thought leaders” are simply piling on to the favorite flavor of the month.

Why is this so?

Is this because we don’t agree on what thought leadership truly is? Or is something deeper going on?

I believe many leaders do not understand true thought leadership. And, I believe a deeper reason exists for this reality.

That’s why I selected Tweet #13 from the book, #THOUGHT LEADERSHIP, to address in this post:

Thought leadership is the willingness to go one way when most people are going the other. Does your culture support that?

I believe many “leaders” aren’t willing to go the other way because their culture doesn’t support speaking their truth. They’re unwilling to speak their truth because they fear the consequences of doing so.

True thought leadership is a lot like a volcano. 

How many volcanoes have you seen? A volcano is a distinctive feature that stands out clearly from the surrounding landscape. There’s no mistaking a volcano for something else.

Most of what I see being passed off as thought leadership doesn’t stand out like a volcano at all. It barely makes a ripple in the deep abyss of information that’s available to us.

Is what you’re calling thought leadership distinctive? Is it easily distinguishable from everything else?

Lava flowing into the ocean on the island of Hawaii. Source: Bill Fox and Hillel Glazer
A volcano creates something visibly new and changes the landscape.

When a volcano erupts, a new creation is brought forth. Lava flows. It flows seemingly naturally and effortlessly. In the case of our trip, we could visibly see new land springing forth in paradise.

When people can freely express their truth, it flows naturally and effortlessly. And it has enormous power to create something new.

Is your thought leadership creating something fresh and new? Will it change the landscape of your organization or the world? Or is it more of the same?

A volcano doesn’t worry about what others think. 

Let’s face the facts: Volcanos erupt, and there’s not much we can do about it. A volcano doesn’t care what others think. Nothing stands in its way for very long.

True thought leadership must be willing to be expressed even when important values, practices, beliefs, etc., might be challenged.

Do you say what you believe, even if it calls into question important values, principles or beliefs? Or do you hold back because of what others might think?

A volcano is supported by a powerful but unseen structure. 

People commonly view a volcano as a tapering mountain, spewing lava and poisonous gases from a crater that’s bubbling with molten lava. But, underneath and unseen is a much more complex and powerful structure. A structure exists that forms and directs hot molten lava under enormous pressure towards the surface.

Your culture is a powerful but unseen structure too — an unseen but very powerful structure of beliefs, convictions and traditions that forms the foundation of your organization.

Are you recognizing the powerful role of culture in your organization? Are you nurturing and shaping the culture to support your organization’s mission?

Passion and purpose fuel your culture just like lava and powerful forces fuel a volcano. 

Hawaiian mythology tells of Pele, the goddess of fire, lightning, wind, and volcanoes. Pele is known for her creative power, passion, purpose and profound love.

Does your culture reward creative power, passion, purpose and profound love? Does your culture allow—or, better yet, encourage—people to express these same qualities? Does your culture allow your people to speak their own truth?

A culture that allows people to speak their truth enables more than just true thought leadership. A culture where everyone can speak their truth allows collaboration and co-creation to flourish at all levels. This creates an atmosphere and environment where everyone can engage more fully to contribute their own unique passion, creativity and intellect. Isn’t this what we ALL want anyway?

How about you? Are you able to speak your truth? Do you fear speaking your truth? If so, what would it take to change that? And what sort of true thought leadership would flow through you if you did speak your truth?

I’m looking forward to hearing anything that comes up for you after reading this post.


Author’s Comments:

This improbable flight to a volcano was made possible by amazing friends and co-creators. I’m very grateful for their contributions. First, Dr. Liz Alexander planted the seed that inspired me to share my thinking about thought leadership and catalyzed an adventure. On the way to Maui, Sue Elliott, Editor-in-Chief of Law of Attraction Magazine, coached me in her Magical Transformation Intensive the day before the flight. She also contributed her superb editing skills to this post. Then fellow consultant Hillel Glazer, CEO of Entinex, Inc., flew us safely through several challenging weather systems and cloud formations on the way to the volcano. Along the way, we faced several moments of truth. Those moments of truth and related discussions informed this post. Next, my web strategy and content advisor Crystal Street, Visual Storyteller, reminded me (gently) how to write with impact. And finally, Paul McMahon, Principal at PEM Systems, and Jeff Helman, Transformational Linchpin, both encouraged me to deepen the conversation. How does it get any better than this?


Author, Bill Fox at Maui Aviators the day of the flight.

Author, Bill Fox at Maui Aviators

Pivotal Moments at the Heart of My Work

By Bill Fox

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I’d like you to imagine having a conversation with someone you’ve known and worked with for many years that’s suddenly and dramatically different. Not only for you but for the other person too.

That moment happened to me eight years ago when I did my very first interview.

It was a magical moment because I heard this person speak in a powerful new voice saying things I never heard her say before. She expressed fresh new insights into the way we work and how we interact with each other.

I was awestruck. I realized that I had discovered something that would change everything for me. And it did.

I was so captivated by the conversation that I was compelled to do more and more of it, understand it, get better at it, and help others do it too.

That moment has now been repeated countless times in my world and will soon manifest itself in the form of a book.

In September, Apress will publish a collection of 30 of my conversations with global business and thought leaders. 

Apress and I will be working together to launch the book that will include a free book giveaway and access to exclusive content. 

If you’d like to participate, please sign up below:

go to the future of the workplace book

Can you help me out? (it’ll just take a minute):

I allow this work to lead me forward, so it’s a constant challenge for me to keep up with it and make it understandable and actionable for myself and others.

I’m feeling now is the time for me to get in closer touch with you to help me make it more helpful to you.

I’d love to learn a little bit more about you and what you do. 

If you could reply to this post with just a sentence or two that tells me a little bit about who you are / what you do and what are one or two things that I could help you with over the next few weeks?

This will help me make sure the content I’m working on is entirely in line with what you’re expecting.

I’m connected to many of you on LinkedIn and Twitter but not everyone. If we aren’t connected, I’d like to invite you to connect with me. You can find links in my signature below.

I’d love to hear from you and hope you will take a few mintues to write me a sentence or two.

To your great work life & success!

Bill Fox

Co-founder

Strategies for 21st Century Growth

Web ⎜ LinkedIn ⎜ Twitter ⎜ Email 

13 Ways To Improve The Most Important Skill You Possess

By Bill Fox

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Is there any leadership or professional skill more important than improving our communication skills?

Indeed, our communication skills have to be near the top of the list.

But somehow our communication skills are one of the most overlooked and underrated skills we think about and address!

I’m not sure I would have placed communication skills at the top of the list seven years ago. But after I met and worked with Simon Heath, I pay a lot more attention to these skills.

I recently interviewed Simon for the Exploring Forward Thinking Workplaces conversation. As I do with all interviews, I come back to each conversation after some time has passed and ask myself, “What’s most intriguing here?”

Below are the 13 most intriguing and actionable insights that I discovered.

Take 10 minutes to read through these insights, and I guarantee you that you will look at communications in a whole new way and be a better leader and communicator — today.

Care to get a copy of all the 13 insights in a beautifully designed PDF presentation? Just email me at bill@billfox.co to request a copy.

And please let me know what you find most intriguing here and if you have anything to add to this list.

To your great work life & success!

Bill Fox

Co-founder


Table of Contents

  1. The Biggest Thing We Can Do Is Talk to People Like Human Beings
  2. One of the Most Simple Things That We Can Do Is Change the Language That We’re Using
  3. Remove the Words Tell and Explain From Your Vocabulary
  4. Change the Culture of Meetings From Information Towards Ideas
  5. Structure Meetings in Such a Way to Put Ideas in the Forefront
  6. Provide a Sense of Clarity and Direction
  7. Communication Influences and Affects Every Single Aspect of an Organization’s Success
  8. What Can I Fix for You?
  9. Why Are We Doing This?
  10. Am I Doing What I Want to Be Doing?
  11. Every Single Interaction With Another Human Being Is a Leadership Opportunity
  12. Communication Is the Most Important Leadership Skill You Possess
  13. Structure Your Communication Around a Single Idea

1. The Biggest Thing We Can Do Is Talk to People Like Human Beings

Leadership sets the tone of how we talk to each other at the workplace. The biggest thing that we can do is talk to people like human beings. When we talk about speaking as human beings, part of that is the substance. The content of what it is that we’re talking about. Do we only focus on the business matter at hand, or do we recognize that people have lives outside of work? Is that being brought into the conversation? Are people allowed to bring in their experiences into conversations? I think that’s incredibly important because it will inform the culture and how we interact with each other.

2. One of the Most Simple Things That We Can Do Is Change the Language That We’re Using

Everywhere I work corporate speak is embedded in its culture. It starts with senior leaders. It’s in their presentations and meetings. Mid-level executives will emulate what the most senior leaders are doing. As soon as the CEO uses an expression, then all of a sudden, all of the VPs are using the same words. Buzz words and corporate speak create cynicism. We all kind of laugh at it, and people roll their eyes. But the other thing is that it creates a division between the human being and the working person. If I go into a meeting and everyone is speaking corporate speak, it creates a separation between myself and my professional self. I’m supposed to speak a different language. This way of speaking isn’t my language. All of a sudden, I realize I have to be somebody other than who I am.

3. Remove the Words Tell and Explain From Your Vocabulary

One of the first things I say to clients is I want to remove the words tell and explain from your vocabulary. I want you to replace those words with inspire and convince. If you can convince people that this is a great strategy or here’s the direction that we’re headed and why we’re headed in that direction, why it’s a good thing, and here’s how you can help, then people bring their full attention. Why? Because people know why they’re doing what they’re doing and how they can help. It’s essential to move away from telling people information and move towards convincing people of ideas. When you convince people and focus on inspiring them, then you have their full attention.

4. Change the Culture of Meetings From Information Towards Ideas

I remember one organization that told me they had two types of meetings in their company. There are meetings when you walk out, and you have less energy. Then there are meetings when you walk out, and you have more energy. The vast majority of our meetings are the ones where you walk out with less energy, and very rarely do you walk out with more energy. We want more of the second kind. How can we do it? So I started talking to people asking questions to figure out what the difference was between these two types of meetings. The meetings where people walked away with more energy were usually because somebody had an idea. They said they spoke their idea and that sparked somebody else’s thinking. What became apparent very quickly was that it was the ideas that sparked the energy.

5. Structure Meetings in Such a Way to Put Ideas in the Forefront

What we did next was very simple – we worked on agendas. Every single meeting had to have a single clearly articulated point. For example – here is the idea that we are trying to address in this meeting. It was sent out in advance, so people could walk into that meeting thinking about the idea. What that meant was that people came prepared for the meeting. The meetings were shorter because they had clarity and purpose, and they sparked a lot more energy because they were built around ideas. When people are involved and engaged in ideas, that’s when you can have their full potential and best performance.

6. Provide a Sense of Clarity and Direction

Clarity and direction are absolutely attached to a sense of accomplishment. If I’m communicating strategy, goals, and direction in a persuasive way, then that means that people can then look at how they spent their day. They can then understand whether or not they accomplished what it is that we’re all trying to achieve together. If I don’t have that sense of clarity and direction, I’m not going to have a sense of accomplishment. If I don’t have a sense of accomplishment, then basically all I’m doing is earning a paycheck.

7. Communication Influences and Affects Every Single Aspect of an Organization’s Success

I was working with a project management organization recently that said they were trying to shift from being project managers to project leaders. So I asked them, “How would you distinguish between the two?” They said that project managers are really ticking boxes to make sure that things are on time, scope, and budget. If there’s a problem, then you react to it. Project leaders understand where you need to be getting to. They are looking proactively at it and making sure that they’re guiding and leading in that direction. But what was interesting is that the bulk of the shift that needed to be made was around communication.

8. What Can I Fix for You?

If you’ve given people a sense of clarity and direction, people are then mapping out their sense of accomplishment against that sense of clarity and direction. They’re trying to do an excellent job because they believe in what they’re trying to do. If they encounter problems they cannot fix, they need their leaders to be able to fix those problems for them. What you want are employees that are engaged and thinking for themselves, trying to do an excellent job at achieving the organization’s strategy and goals. But sometimes there are things that they cannot fix for themselves. It is their leader, their manager’s job to say, “What can I help you fix?”

9. Why Are We Doing This?

That’s the absolute most important question an employee can ask a leader. “Why are we doing this?” And that question can get applied at a whole host of different directions. “Why is the strategy what it is? Why has the organizational restructuring happened?” The questions can be big picture why questions or they can also be on the day-to-day matters. Why are we meeting? Why is this the strategy? Why are we doing what we’re doing? When people get an answer to that question, it gives them a) a sense of engagement and a sense of belief in what they’re doing, and b) it empowers them to make good decisions.

10. Am I Doing What I Want to Be Doing?


We can talk ourselves into all sorts of different things. We can rationalize, but I think that we need to be incredibly blunt and direct with ourselves in asking ourselves unavoidable questions. “Am I doing what I want to be doing?” Usually, I think an immediate answer will pop into your head, and that answer will be yes, or it will be no. I’m going to venture a guess for most people; the answer is no. Then you have to have to follow up questions going. What do I need to do to get myself to a place where I’m doing what I want to be doing? And it may not be straightforward.

11. Every Single Interaction With Another Human Being Is a Leadership Opportunity

What I mean by that is that every single interaction with another human being is a leadership opportunity, which means that my entire day is filled with them. If you look at your calendar, chances are there are phone calls, emails, and meetings. There are people that you’re going to bump into in the hallways. It’s what we do as human beings unless we’re sitting at a computer coding all day long. For most people, the bulk of their day is spent communicating. Each time I interact with another human being, I have an opportunity to make a difference. That difference can be positive, negative, or neutral.

12. Communication Is the Most Important Leadership and Professional Skill You Possess

I’ll even go a little bit further because not everybody sees themselves as leaders. Communication is the most valuable professional skill you possess. Communication is the most important leadership and professional skill you possess. There is absolutely nothing that you can invest your time in that is going to have more of a direct impact on your career or your success and on your ability to advance and become better at what you do. And as you pointed out earlier in our conversation, communication is a bit of a blind spot for us. We don’t think about it. Anything that you can do to improve your communication skills is going to be a valuable investment. It doesn’t matter if you’re right at the beginning of your career, mid-career and transitioning, or if you’re more senior later in your career. If you invest time in thinking about it, it will pay off.

13. Structure Your Communication Around a Single Idea

Most communication books are basic and tell you one thing in terms of structure. They’re going to give you a version of the hamburger approach, which is, “tell them what you’re going to tell them and tell them what you told them.” The structure I teach is an essay structure. It’s about two and a half thousand years old. It’s have a thesis, which is a single point. Then convince the audience of your thesis and return to your thesis and turn it into action. Structure your communication around a single idea. Make sure that you’re persuading as opposed to telling. Structure your communication around a single idea. Make sure that you’re persuading as opposed to telling. Then come back to that idea and turn the idea into action. That simple model can apply to emails, one-on-one conversations, presentations, everything.

What is the #1 most important leadership skill you possess?

By Bill Fox

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Seven years ago, I suddenly found myself with an urgent need to upgrade my communication and presentation skills.

Almost overnight my first interview series, 5 Minutes to Process Improvement Success, was getting attention from many corners because of the surprising and intriguing insights that were emerging from my interviews with industry experts. 

I was receiving a sudden inrush of invitations to speak at conferences, local meetup groups, and in companies. At the same time, I was struggling to find ways to make sense of all that I was learning and then communicate it effectively.

I can’t recall how I first met Simon Heath, but he was exactly the coach I needed at the time. He helped me take my presentations and speaking to the next level. His ideas on how to organize and present my work have stuck with me and served me well. Simon’s thoughts on communicating and presenting are contrary to the way most of us communicate and present today, so I urge you to give Simon’s interview your full attention because they can have a significant impact on you and your work. 

Recently, Simon posted an update on LinkedIn announcing his new web site. When I visited his new website, I spent several hours reading through his blog posts that share an abundance of practical and straightforward ideas to improve one of our most important critical skills. Yet this key skill is frequently overlooked and underappreciated.

As I was reading Simon’s articles and reconnecting with his work, I quickly realized that he had a great and powerful message to contribute to the Exploring Forward Thinking Workplaces conversation. 

So what are Simon’s simple and powerful ideas? 

Here are the six most intriguing takeaways that came up for me –

  • The biggest thing that we can do is talk to people like human beings, and one way we can do that is by eliminating corporate speak.
  • Remove tell and explain from your vocabulary and replace those words with inspire and convince.
  • Communication influences and affects every single aspect of an organization’s success, but it’s often an afterthought.
  • Every single interaction with another human being is a leadership opportunity, and your day is filled with them.
  • Communication is the most important leadership and professional skill you possess. There is absolutely nothing that you can invest your time in that is going to have more of a direct impact on your career or your success.
  • Structure your communication around a single idea. Make sure that you’re persuading as opposed to telling.

Please read my interview with him to discover why communication is the number one most important leadership skill you can possess. 

go to the interview

To your great work life & success!

Bill Fox

Co-founder


About Bill Fox

I help leaders and teams ignite new strategic conversations that engage and leverage the collective voice, energy and wisdom of everyone. This approach helps people discover how to advance beyond best practices, working harder or even smarter in the post Industrial Era. In my interview series, Exploring Forward-Thinking Workplaces, I lead a new type of conversation for the 21st Century with global business and thought leaders that is uncovering exciting new solutions to our most vexing workplace challenges. 

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