Today we’re excited to be connecting with Steve Dealph again. If you haven’t already, we suggest you check out our prior conversation with them here.
Steve, always such a pleasure connecting with you and thank you for sharing your stories, insights and inspiring messages with our community. We’re looking forward to getting the download and what you have been up to since our last interview, but first can you briefly introduce yourself to folks who might have missed the prior conversation.
I’m a Leadership Coach and Organization Development Consultant located in Burbank, CA. My main areas of focus are in coaching executives and other leaders to help them be more effective in leading their organizations. I also support organizations in developing their strategy, enhancing their culture, and implement systems, policy and procedural changes the will help their organizations but can be challenging to put into place.
Alright, so our main goal today is to give our audience an update on what you have been up to since our last conversation. We’d love to hear how things are going and what you are most looking forward to or excited about these days.
Yeah, so during the pandemic I would up returning to my roots quite a bit. More project management and change management projects which was the type of work I had done earlier in my career. Of course, the strategy work remained really relevent because all the changes in the way people had to work, resources/supply chain availability, etc. meant that companies and organizations had to reconsider their strategies. I also facilitated a lot of learning workshops; although remotely.
All this work helped remind me how much I had enjoyed those types of projects. It was great to reimurse myself in them again. And I also got to work with people all over the world because everything was remote.
I found that I took a more informed approach to both project management and change management because I had acquired so much more experience since that was my focus. It was great to do this type of work again and I enjoyed it.
I also learned new skills and knowledge. One of the projects I managed was the implementation of an employee survey platform for a large global pharma organization. I had worked with pharma before but this project meant that I would be working with employee data, which meant understanding and work global data privacy regulations (GDPR, etc.). They differ depending on the countries so I learned quite a bit about how to work within their respective regulations.
I find that I am now doing a variety of projects for clients. I continue to do the strategy work, and provide executive coaching, but I am also open to opportunities that allow me to do more project and change management work.
I am excited for a couple new offerings. I will be offering a video series on Effective Meeting Management (bad meetings are one of the most costly activities in any organization; costing both money, time and engagement) and I will be offering several remote workshops on leadership and “soft” skills. I find that I miss facilitating and engaging with people in their learning so I hope this will be a way to do that.
We also want to give folks a chance to get to know you a bit better so we’ve prepared a fun lightning round of questions. Ready?
- Favorite Movie: Still Shawshank Redemption. Love the messages of perserverance and hope. And amazing performances by the cast.
- Favorite Book: I’ve been re-visiting a leadership book by a favorite author, Steve Farber. The Radical LEAP: a Personal Lesson in Extreme Leadership was published 20 years ago and remains so relevent today. I was fortunate to work with the author and create a learning workshop around his “Extreme Leadership” framework he discusses in the book.
- Favorite TV Show: Have you seen “The Sandman?” I’ve watched season 1 several times. I’m eagerly looking forward to season 2.
- Favorite Band or Artist: Not really. I like a lot of music.
- Sweet or Savory: Savory.
- Mountains or Beach: Mountains. I love to hike!
- Favorite Sport (to watch): Tennis! In 2023 I completed a bucket list goal of attending all 4 of the Tennis Grand Slam tournames when I attended the Australian Open in Melbourne.
- Favorite Sport (to play): Tennis. This past spring I volunteered ath the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells and drove around many players; both past and present. It was awesome!
- Did you play sports growing up (if so which ones): Yes. Again, Tennis.
- As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up: Lots of things. I was born in Washington, DC and then grew up in the midwest so I had access to a lot of different careers. I spent the early part of my career as an educator in higher education.
- French Fries or Onion Rings: Onion Rings. Unless I am in Bruges, Belgium where I had the BEST fries EVER with a cold Amstel!
- Chuck Rhodes or Bobby Axelrod: I’m only a fan of billionaires who share their wealth and are willing to pay their share of taxes to raise up the countries they benefit from.
- Favorite Childhood movie: Schoolhouse Rock!!!
- Favorite Breakfast Food: All of it! Preferably for brunch!
Life is often about tough choices – can you talk to us about your thought process, strategy or philosophy when it comes to making difficult choices or tradeoffs.
I spend a lot of time working with clients who are responsible for making “tough” choices. Whether deciding for a company or organization or a personal decision, it is important to be clear on what is important to you and/or the organization.
Too often, decisions are thrust upon us, and the situation feels dramatic. A decision is needed NOW, and others are chiming in (it feels like yelling or loudly voicing their opinions). There is pressure to just get it over with and deal with the fallout.
When coaching leaders, I ask them to consider what is important. What is the company’s Mission and Vision? What are the values that drive the way the company gets results? How will the choice that needs to be made drive those things or detract from them? Or both?
When working with individuals, I often put it in the context of “What do you love?” When we know what we love and value, we can more easily make the tough choices to protect those things. Fear (love’s counterpart) can drive us to make the wrong choices. So be clear on what you love and value.
I’ve used this throughout my life when I’ve had to make tough decisions. It’s rarely easy, but I feel better about the outcomes, knowing that I was thoughtful and protecting what is most important to me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://dealphconsulting.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevedealph/
Image Credits
Steve Dealph
