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Rusty Gaillard

Executive Coach, Lifelong learner, Dad, Bass player, Outdoor Enthusiast, Former Apple Worldwide Director of Finance.

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[ROM] The leadership paradox

The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things. —Ronald Reagan It’s performance review season in Steve’s company. Working in a big tech company, that means extra work. Not only does he have to write reviews for his team, but He also has to provide input on the performance of business partners. It’s a time consuming process. This year, the SVP also asked each leader to create a succession plan. Steve has...

1 day ago • 1 min read

It's not the lack of resources that causes failure, it's the lack of resourcefulness that causes failure. —Tony Robbins I’ve been in a sales conversation with the same company for months. They want to work with me — we’ve done work together in the past, and had great results. But this year, we haven’t made any progress. The issue? They don’t have budget. Many of the projects I do are with big tech firms. Having worked at one for 14 years, I know the budgeting process can be very had to...

8 days ago • 1 min read

Open, frank communication is the linchpin to teamwork. —Patrick Lencioni I ordered a new coffee maker last month. It arrived yesterday. Two months from order to delivery. During those two months, I considered cancelling the order at least 10 times. Not that I could even cancel the order. My email requests for an update went unanswered by the company. For weeks I heard nothing from them. Then a single update, then more weeks of silence. I had no idea when… or if… the order would ship. I...

15 days ago • 1 min read

It's an essential exchange in the world of work to be seen and heard. —Lisa Bragg My son is 17. If you’ve ever had a teenager in your house, you know… It’s hard to keep the refrigerator full. Two full plates of food is normal at a meal. Then I can hardly believe he’s hungry again a few hours later. I’m finally starting to adjust to the reality. Three meals + multiple snacks every day are required just to get him enough calories. With meals and snacks on my mind, I was discussing self...

22 days ago • 1 min read

Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards. —Søren Kierkegaard Being a leadership coach is like being a Center of Excellence. I learn new tools weekly, and I get to share them with clients. Sometimes I even learn from my clients. That’s what happened this past week with Steve. He had a particularly challenging meeting with his boss. The kind where the boss interrupted him 60 seconds in. Steve’s boss told him he was way off track, that none of what he brought for...

29 days ago • 1 min read

When you argue with reality, you lose. —Byron Katie Grace told me her workplace is toxic. There seemed to be no respect for her or her time. Over and over again, she had to incorporate last-minute feedback. The night before leaving for an international trip, she was asked to update a document she had circulated for review weeks earlier. Others hadn’t responded for weeks, only providing their feedback at the 11th hour. And this wasn’t the first time this had happened. Every time she pushed to...

about 1 month ago • 1 min read

We are so busy doing the urgent that we don't have time to do the important. —Confucius My friend had an unexpected trip to the hospital this weekend. As soon as I heard, I dropped everything. All of our plans for the weekend took a back seat. The most important thing in that moment was my friend and his well being. Thankfully, after an ambulance ride and good medical care, he is doing well. As always, there is a business lesson from this experience. When something matters enough, you make...

about 1 month ago • 1 min read

The key to successful leadership is influence, not authority. —Ken Blanchard Charlie has an unruly client. It is a high growth company with a great product and powerful marketing. But the operations — Charlie’s area of expertise — are a mess. They hire good people but can’t keep them. The executives micro-manage decisions. And they change direction weekly. As an operations expert, Charlie sees the problem. But he spends most of his time picking up the pieces. When he does have the...

about 2 months ago • 1 min read

Every adversity… carries with it the seed on an equal or greater benefit. —Napoleon Hill After running a masterclass at Salesforce last week, I held revolving door 1:1 office hours. Each person had a 15 minute time slot for laser coaching. It was an opportunity focus on a specific challenge they have & develop an action plan. Think of it like having a new suit tailored to fit you perfectly. It looks great off the shelf, but the details matter. That’s what we did in the 1:1 laser coaching...

about 2 months ago • 2 min read
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