Leading with Fearless Authenticity in Insecure Times

A conversation with Leaderology President Jillian Lappetito and Matt Stephenson of Blackberry’s InSecurity Podcast

The InSecurity Podcast, hosted by Matt Stephenson, interviews leading authorities in the security industry to gain an expert perspective on topics including risk management, security control friction, compliance issues, and building a culture of security. Each episode provides relevant insights for security practitioners and business leaders working to improve their organization’s security posture and bottom line. One of our Fearlessly Authentic leaders, Jillian Lappetito, had the opportunity to share her views on achievement, Leaderology and being a Fearlessly Authentic leader in the face of a globally ambiguous economy.

Matt and Jillian had amazing rapport and were able to discuss topics currently plaguing business leaders across industries today. If you are a leader interested in Leadership, Excellence, and running a Fearlessly Authentic business, then you’re in for a treat! The following excerpts from their conversation can help any leader to navigate their industries and organizations.

Matt: As a world-class athlete and President of Leaderology, you know a lot about human achievement. What should we keep in mind when aspiring to achieve?

Jillian: You have to be persistent and purposeful in your pursuits, and that takes heart, grit and in the words of John wooden, "competitive greatness."

M: As someone who has made it to the top, what do you keep in mind when there?

J: What do we do when we're in that room with the top of the top? That's where I believe there's an opportunity for us. There needs to be a commitment there of how we as leaders elevate others so that this room of a dozen people multiples to a hundred, and so on. You are only as strong as your weakest link, 'So what role, whether in athletics or business, do we play to set our weakest links up for success?' ...That commitment is elevating others to join the room with you which is something we need to be intentional about as leaders."

We need to be aligned to a purpose. Diversity of thought and experiences add to this idea of how we are successful together, but at the core of it we have to commit and align to that."

M: What are your thoughts on Mentorship?

J: Younger [sports] players and early career [professionals] are full of hope and energy. What drives their passion and what hinders it? When you think about how your passion's being carried forward or how it's being hindered oftentimes the answer is leadership. There's a direct effect of good and poor leadership on all of our journeys.

When we reach top-tier ranks, there's this tendency to also develop a personal learning block. We become conditioned to our successes because we know it works and it's only natural to continue those specific behaviors or thinking because it's worked so far. When we bring this younger generation in and ask what we can learn from them, we need to consider the idea of reverse mentoring. Maybe our mentors are not only the been-there-done-that’s, but they're the ones to come. We need to make sure that we're unlocking these diverse perspectives and seeking out learnings across the generations. That all starts with building a relationship and investing time.

M: Tell us about Leaderology.

J: We’re here to make fearlessly authentic leaders, day in and day out. That is our purpose, that is our drive, and that's what we stand for.

When you bring a leadership company in, or you're investing in a leader, it doesn't necessarily mean that it's negative. Quite the contrary. What we look to do is create cultures of investing in people and showing that whether you're having an executive coach or there is a leadership program for the same cohort within the company this is an investment to make you a better leader. Not a shame on you, you have bad behavior... it's more on the positive lens of elevating and creating the awareness that leader's impact everyone else.

What drives your passion and what hinders it? It comes down to leadership so if we can improve that and make people more fearlessly authentic in their leadership, we're doing our job in creating a better community.

M: You all have something different: a Spotify channel. Can you tell us about that?

J: Our working relationship with clients can pretty much be summed up with the phrase that I mentioned earlier of you got this, we got you. Our Spotify channel is just another way we encourage people to be their most fearlessly authentic selves. It's easy to think about fearless authenticity when it relates to big moments in life, but it's also the countless little moment in between that make up the most of our days. Through our playlist we're able to pump people up as they get ready for the big pitch, ride with them in the car, or lounge with them by the pool as they soak up the sunshine on a weekend afternoon. When you work with Leaderology, we have your back, and our playlists are a musical example of that.

M: How did Leaderology respond to COVID-19?

J: Our first reaction was to slow down, and consider how we can help our community survive through this crisis... We needed to be of service to them immediately, and we decided to launch our coaching on call initiative right away. We had some great coaching partners who wanted to be part of the cause, and we basically offered our coaching services to anyone who needed guidance and direction. No fees, no strings attached, completely complimentary and totally from the place of being fearlessly authentic and how we can support.… Our mantra has always been “You got this; We got you” and I'm thrilled to see examples of it every single day from that initiative as well.

Very early in we called a team meeting and shared our initial game plan. The first commitment my business partner Marissa and I communicated in March was that every member's position and entire year's salary was protected, fully protected. So if not a new piece of business or a single dollar hit our bank account, they were protected for the entire year. We did this because we wanted to provide our team with the sense of security and allow them to continue to focus on their initiatives and delivering excellence to our clients.… The immediate communication allowed our to remain committed to the success of our clients which led to the growth and success of our business over the past 6-7 months. I am so proud of how our team has reacted and their attitude throughout this entire journey.

M: What is the most important thing to focus on during these times?

J: Regardless of the situation or the current events that are happening, it is always imperative to pay attention to our relationships. That is family, friends, coworkers, just human connection. In a time where we are so virtual and things are so chaotic and changing rapidly, going back to that human to human connection, conversation, and enjoyment of one another... Valuing that and making a deliberate attempt to be invested and involved with our relationships is critical for us to watch and to continue moving forward.

M: Is there a place for fear in leadership?

J: I absolutely think there's a place for fear... It's coming and voicing if you feel fear or concern. It's not leading from a place of fear but its having a conversation and saying, 'I'm bringing it to everyone's attention that there is some fear here, there is some concern' and sharing why and how can we get through it? I don't want that to be confused with leading from fear... and instilling fear in you. That's not appropriate at all in any type of setting.

M: Talk to us about Fearless Authenticity.

J: Authenticity is around who you are and coming to a relationship, conversation, event, as your best self. Authenticity depends on the person and is very individual on what their authentic nature may be, what their self-awareness may be, and that will completely be up to the person and what their authentic self looks like.

M: How does it look to be a Fearlessly Authentic leader in these times?

J: This time has allowed executives to see employees in their fearlessly authentic environments and grants us the ability to have more empathy and understanding of what our coworkers are experiencing daily away from office life. On the flipside, it's important to be aware of burnout. With all this technology and the ease of jumping from one meeting to the next and dealing with personal responsibilities at home, we are always on. No breaks. We're not building that in as much as we need to and being intentional about it.