Technology Partners Something Extra Podcast Episode 042: Krister Ungerbock

Whether it be with the people close to you at home or those you work with, Former CEO turned Author/Speaker, Krister Ungerböck, shares how the language of leadership is the communication tool that transcends all barriers.

Whether it be with the people close to you at home or those you work with, Former CEO turned Author/Speaker, Krister Ungerböck, shares how the language of leadership is the communication tool that transcends all barriers. This podcast originally appeared on Technology Partners Something Extra Podcast Episode 042. To listen to the full interview, visit Technology Partners Something Extra Podcast.

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Bio: Krister grew Ungerbock Software International from a small team in St. Louis to hundreds of employees in 8 countries. On top of that, while learning to lead in two foreign languages, he had the unique opportunity to build businesses on five continents, observe leaders in over 40 countries, and live in three of them. Krister is the Author of the upcoming book, THE LANGUAGE OF LEADERSHIP: Words to Transform How We Lead, Live and Love.

Krister’s Something Extra: Words and Empathy

Links and Mentions:
Krister.com
LinkedIn

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Simple Leadership Podcast: Why Becoming An Effective Leader Involves Changing The Language You Use, with Krister Ungerböck

Krister is a keynote speaker, CEO Coach, and global expert in The Language of Leadership. Prior to retiring at age 42, Krister was the award-winning CEO of one of the largest family-owned software companies in the world.

Being an effective leader is about more than just managing people efficiently. Krister Ungerböck (unger-bahk) joins us today to talk about why being a leader is about changing the language you use. This podcast originally appeared on the Simple Leadership Podcast with Christian McCarrick. To listen to the full interview visit, Simple Leadership.

Krister is a keynote speaker, CEO Coach, and global expert in The Language of Leadership. Prior to retiring at age 42, Krister was the award-winning CEO of one of the largest family-owned software companies in the world. His expertise in the Language of Leadership is based upon his unique experience as a global CEO leading teams in three languages while observing and doing business with executives in over 40 countries, building businesses in six and living in three.

As a corporate keynote speaker, Krister is passionate about sharing the secrets that his team used to win 5 consecutive Top Workplace awards and achieve remarkable employee engagement levels of 99.3%. His upcoming book, The Language of Leadership: Words to Transform How We Lead, Live and Love, will launch on Bosses Day, Oct. 16

On this episode of Simple #Leadership special guest Krister Ungerböck and I talk about his upcoming book, The Language of Leadership, and how #EffectiveLeadership can #Transform your life! CLICK TO TWEET

Outline of This Episode

  • [0:40] I introduce my guest, Krister Ungerböck

  • [5:00] The Language of Leadership

  • [10:15] Being a leader versus a manager

  • [12:15] Why you don’t want to lead with the language of expertise

  • [16:35] Employee Engagement

  • [20:40] How to “build better bosses”

  • [25:50] Why is empathy and emotional intelligence important

  • [31:05] How to overcome feeling trapped in your role

  • [34:30] Book recommendations & resources

The language of an effective leader

Are you in a leadership position, but often find yourself floundering, unsure of your role? Do people find you domineering or hard to work for? Krister sought to write a book to help you develop and embody a leadership style that isn’t only effective in the workplace, but in your personal relationships as well. A crucial element of effective leadership is the language you use.

Krister shares a story on this episode about a woman who stayed loyal to her company—despite the fact they forgot to pay her multiple times. Would your best employee stay if you were unable to pay them? Does your leadership elicit that kind of loyalty? You’ll want to listen as Krister and I discuss the language of requests and why it’s important to be a leader, not a manager.

Why the ‘language of expertise’ doesn’t work

Why do you think most people get promoted? It is usually because they have proven their expertise in whatever field they’re working in. They’re simply good at what they do. But does being an expert qualify you to be a good leader? Obviously, it’s a great quality to have, but Krister talks about why you do not want to lead from a place of expertise.

It puts you in a position where you are constantly required to give people answers. When you find yourself leading anywhere from 10-30 people, this is no longer a feasible option. There is not enough time in your day to constantly answer questions. Instead of giving answers, you want to equip your staff to be able to answer some of the tough questions and come to their own conclusions. Your goal as a leader is to attract and retain great people and build a company full of top-performers. You definitely want to listen to the full episode—Krister and I cover the key to employee engagement—you don’t want to miss it!

Do you need to be an expert in your field to be an effective leader? Not necessarily! On this episode of Simple #Leadership Krister Ungerböck and I cover why the #Language of expertise doesn’t work for #EffectiveLeadership. CLICK TO TWEET

The importance of asking better questions

Effective leadership requires the ability to ask better questions to get better responses. One way Krister puts this into practice is asking permission to give someone feedback. He does this for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it gives the person the opportunity to be honest and state they’re not in the right headspace. Secondly, you want them to be engaged, interacting with you, and be moving towards a solution.

One of Krister’s favorite ways to phrase a question is “On a scale of 1-10 how open are you for feedback?” Or, “What do you think are the top 5 things you need to work on?” You need to ask a question to engage your employee that doesn’t elicit a simple yes or no answer. When someone answers with a number, it gives you the opportunity to follow up with “What can we do to make that seven a nine?” It’s a great tool for better engagement and communication.

Emotional Intelligence: Leading from a place of empathy

I think many leaders struggle with the idea of emotional intelligence and leading from a place of vulnerability. But think about it—you are more connected to people when you actually like them. Being an empathetic leader allows you to build deeper connections and creates a safe environment for your employees where they are not motivated by fear.

In this segment, Krister talks about how the phrases “to feel” or “I feel” have different connotations in different languages. Too often, in English, “I feel” is usually followed by “like” or “that” which takes a feeling and turns it into a thought. Doing so creates disconnect—and tends to make others defensive. The fear that ensures shuts down the creative part of the brain and you’ll quickly lose the ability to get them to problem solve.

So what should you do instead? Convey how you’re truly feeling. “This account is very important, and I am afraid we may lose them if we don’t meet this deadline.” You want to convey that you’re not accusing them or laying blame, but wanting to work with them to reach a solution. This is just a brief part of everything we cover on this episode of Simple Leadership—listen to the whole episode with Krister for more details on effective leadership.

#EmotionalIntelligence is so important! Today on Simple #Leadership my guest Krister Ungerböck and I talk extensively about leading from a place of #Empathy and connecting with your company! CLICK TO TWEET

Resources & People Mentioned

Connect with Krister Ungerboeck

Connect With Christian McCarrick and SimpleLeadership

Subscribe to SIMPLELEADERHIP on
Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, SpotifyPlayer FMTuneIniHeart Radio

Tweets

On this episode of Simple #Leadership we talk with Krister Ungerböck about the language of an effective #Leader and how it applies to your workplace and your home!CLICK TO TWEETDon’t spend your time answering questions when you can equip your team to #Learn how to come to their own conclusions. Krister Ungerböck and I cover the importance of asking better questions as a #leader and much more on this episode of Simple #Leadership! CLICK TO TWEET

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Absolute Advantage Podcast Episode 190: Learning the Language of Leadership, with Krister Ungerböck

Krister served as CEO of one of the largest family-owned software companies in the world before he retired at age 42. As a global CEO, Krister did business in 40 countries around the world and led hundreds of employees across 8 countries. With truly remarkable employee engagement rates of 99.3%, Krister won five consecutive annual Top Workplace Awards.

Krister Ungerböck is a keynote speaker, CEO coach, and global expert in the Language of Leadership. This podcast originally appeared on Absolute Advantage Podcast with Kelly Hatfield. To listen to the full interview, visit Absolute Advantage Podcast.

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Krister served as CEO of one of the largest family-owned software companies in the world before he retired at age 42. As a global CEO, Krister did business in 40 countries around the world and led hundreds of employees across 8 countries. With truly remarkable employee engagement rates of 99.3%, Krister won five consecutive annual Top Workplace Awards.

As a keynote presenter, Krister’s highly sought and engaging wisdom addresses today’s most pressing topics such as employee engagement, winning the war for talent, retaining high-potential employees, developing leaders, and business growth. He shares the hard-won skills he developed through his time as a CEO, with a particular focus on the importance of emotional intelligence.

Krister’s upcoming book The Language of Leadership: Words to Transform How We Lead, Live and Love offers business leaders a way to learn a powerful new language of leadership that allows them to speak in a more impactful and emotionally intelligent way. Krister’s methods can help maximize employee engagement, productivity, business growth, and talent retention. The Language of Leadership gives business leaders a simple, straight-forward and practical way to become a better boss.

“It’s not what you say, but how you say it.” Think about it, how many times have you heard that expression in your life? Even so, how often do you stop to consider not just your message but how you are communicating it? Are your words being received as you intended them?

My guest for this episode of Absolute Advantage is Krister Ungerböck. Kirster is an award-winning leader, keynote speaker, CEO coach, and a true expert in the Language of Leadership. Kirster believes that one of the most powerful ways we can level up our leadership is through emotional intelligence and in learning to understand how our choice of language impacts and sometimes alters the message we are communicating to our teams. In Krister’s upcoming book The Language of Leadership: Words to Transform How We Lead, Live and Love, he outlines many of the techniques he has used himself to become more aware of his own language and how it impacts those around him, both personally and professionally.

On this episode of Absolute Advantage, Krister shares smart tips and strategies for identifying and altering the language you are using as a leader, and he explains why emotional intelligence and language choice matters so much for employee engagement and morale. He discusses how the language skills he teaches others can be applied to all aspects of our lives, both professionally and personally. And he shares wisdom from his upcoming book on steps we can take to become more conscious of the language we are using in our interactions with others. I hope you learn much from our conversation that you can implement into your own leadership.

Ways to contact Krister Ungerböck:

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Happiness at Work by Management 3.0 Podcast: The Language of Leadership

How do the words we use lead to better connection, leadership and growth both in our personal and professional lives? The key is to avoid false emotion and eliminate the words ‘should’ and ‘you need’ from our vocabulary.

Find out why the world’s first leadership archaeologist and author of upcoming book, The Language of Leadership, Krister Ungerböck said if we change our words, we’ll change our hearts. This podcast originally appeared on Happiness at Work by Management 3.0 Podcast with Sam Mednick. To listen to the full interview, visit, Happiness at Work by Management 3.0.

How do the words we use lead to better connection, leadership and growth both in our personal and professional lives? The key is to avoid false emotion and eliminate the words ‘should’ and ‘you need’ from our vocabulary.

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Gut + Science Podcast Episode 054: Father’s Day Special Episode: Creating a Unified Language of Leadership | Krister Ungerböck

Krister is breaking down his book “Language of Leadership,” which digs into a new, powerful language that drives emotional intelligence and better relationships at work and at home.

In this special Father’s Day episode, we’re talking to Krister Ungerböck (@MeetKrister), father, author, award-winning CEO, leadership expert, and national keynote speaker. This podcast originally appeared on the Gut + Science Podcast with Nikki Lewallen. To listen to the full interview, visit Gut + Science.

Krister is breaking down his book “Language of Leadership,” which digs into a new, powerful language that drives emotional intelligence and better relationships at work and at home.

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You’ll also hear about Krister’s Father’s Creed Challenge, an exercise that has the potential to transform relationships between fathers and their children. (It’s also an excellent exercise to do this Father’s Day).

Listen in as Krister explains how our language and relationships impact our children and their future relationships.

Truth You Can Act On:

  1. 360 Feedback. This is a process that helps us understand how others see or experience us. Get an audience of 20 people or more for a larger sample size, and make it an annual habit.

  2. Focus on the difficult relationships around you. Most of us do the opposite, but with the process we learned in this episode, it can be simple (maybe not easy, but that will make us grow).

  3. Powerful next steps from feedback have 3 parts: Write down what you are going to do; make a commitment; have a date to check in.

Book Recommendation:

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HR Studio Podcast Episode 81: How the Language of Leadership Can Make You a Better Leader

Krister Ungerböck, a keynote speaker, CEO Coach, and global expert in the Language of Leadership joins us this week to share his personal career journey and leadership lessons learned. This podcast originally appeared on HR Studio Podcast with A.J. O’Conner.

Krister Ungerböck, a keynote speaker, CEO Coach, and global expert in the Language of Leadership joins us this week to share his personal career journey and leadership lessons learned. This podcast originally appeared on HR Studio Podcast with A.J. O’Conner. To listen to the full interview, visit HR Studio Podcast.

He shares cultural differences between leading in Europe versus America, drawing a parallel between speaking in a foreign language and effective communication in one’s native language. Krister highlights how generational differences impact leadership, with powerful advice for HR leaders on being more effective by listening more and offering solutions less. He proposes the Magic Management 8-Ball Challenge as a tool to help. Tune in to hear Krister discuss emotional intelligence, soft skills, and his personal journey to becoming a better leader.

Prior to retiring at age 42, Krister was the award-winning CEO of one of the largest family-owned software companies in the world. His expertise in the language of leadership is based upon his unique experience as a global CEO leading teams in three languages while observing and doing business with executives in over 40 countries, building businesses in six and living in three. As a corporate keynote speaker, Krister is passionate about sharing the secrets that his team used to win five consecutive Top Workplace awards and achieve remarkable employee engagement levels of 99.3%. His upcoming book, The Language of Leadership: Words to Transform How We Lead, Live and Love, is planned for release in the Fall of 2019.

Key Learnings From This Episode

Download the Show Notes

  • A pivotal moment in Krister’s career trajectory. Krister did not learn his most profound insights while he was the CEO for one of the world’s largest family-owned software companies, but rather while signing up for a gym membership at the YMCA. He was asked for his emergency contact, which brought him to tears. He was 42 and focused on work, building a company with hundreds of employees in eight countries. He had just initiated a ‘business divorce’ with his partners (his father and brothers) and two weeks later, his wife walked out. He had no one in his life as an emergency contact. He had been reading business bestsellers since he was 12 years old, which clearly worked in building the successful business. He was mastering all the tools of business leadership, but he could not convince his own family to follow him. In asking himself where he went wrong, Krister began a journey in which he discovered some surprising insights about communication and leadership.

  • Experiences that businesspeople would typically never do. While interviewing someone for his book Krister asked, ‘so it is like a race car going from 0 to 200 mph, because I’m not really prepared for it.’ The interviewee said, ‘no, it would really be like being pulled behind a race car naked through bramble weeds from 0 to 200 mph. And Krister thought, ‘that sounds like something I need to do.’

  • How learning languages helped to teach leadership skills. Krister learned a new language of leadership that had eluded him for many years and he was trying to figure out how to teach it to others. In the early 2000’s, he learned French and German while opening businesses in France and Germany, hiring the best business French teacher. He applied the shortcuts he was taught in learning languages to this new language of leadership, teaching people practical tools for emotional intelligence and the practice of asking better questions.

  • Differences in leading in the US versus Germany and France.There were two major learnings:

    1. In the US, you give someone a project and then catch up in 2-3 days to ensure he/she is on track, checking in early and often. Germans want you to give them a project, and they will deliver on the date that you specified. It is the total opposite.

    2. People have a different personality when they speak a different language. Krister was an engineer and very analytical, and sometimes had difficulty with empathy and emotional intelligence, even though he understood it intellectually. He always felt that he needed to change his personality. Over a few years, he discovered a language of emotional intelligence and thought, ‘do we really need to change ourselves?’

HR leaders sometimes think they need to change a person who is not performing. Often, we need to just help them change their words. When you learn a new language, you have to think a lot about your words, and it can be very painful to have a conversation because you have to speak very slowly. If we can be that present about choosing our words in our native language, it can improve our language patterns and improve our ability to communicate effectively.

  • How does the language of leadership apply to the next generation of HR leaders? Leaders who are in charge today are generally in their 50s and 60s and they were trained by the leaders who were from the generation before them, and those leaders grew up in the war. The model was military leadership. At the time, women were not in the workforce, and millennials, who desire an environment of more positive rather than negative feedback, did not exist. The workforce has changed significantly. With the language of leadership, the desire was to create one language, both professionally and personally. Once Krister found language patterns that worked equally well in both settings, he wanted to help people master just one. Practicing one language helps people communicate better. With the way the workforce is evolving, people are looking for leaders who are stronger on soft skills and are not coming from a military basis of leadership. These tools ultimately helped make Krister a better father and partner.

  • 360 feedback improved professional and family/personal environments. Krister thought the negative behaviors in which he was engaging were isolated to work, but he discovered they carried over to his personal life as well. Although the words can sometimes be different, the underlying beliefs and behavior (e.g., constant criticism) were leaking into his personal life. By changing the behaviors, it had a powerful impact on his personal relationships and life also.

  • How can leaders be more effective? Leaders often lead with ‘the language of expertise’, meaning they lead with solutions because they think their primary value is to provide solutions. It is very seductive to be the person who gives all the answers, and it is very seductive for the people who want to shut down at 5:00 pm and not think about work until the next day. These people are outsourcing the problem-solving to their bosses. However, the employees who tend to be least motivated by the language of expertise are the top performers who want to come up with the answers themselves. Leaders inadvertently draw closer those who rely on their leadership to solve problems for them while pushing away people who want to solve issues themselves.

  • Marshall Rosenberg, a peace activist, and psychologist had a quote: ‘Listen for people’s needs, not their words.’Leaders who are constantly giving out advice and solutions to people may be fulfilling their own need of validation or self-esteem. If we look at ourselves and others with that lens, it can be a powerful way of understanding people’s behaviors.

  • There is a solution for this called the Magic Management 8-Ball Challenge. It is an experiment to help a leader convince him/herself that asking questions can be more powerful than giving answers. There are 15 questions, and before going into a meeting with their team, a leader randomly selects 3-5 of the questions and commits to asking the questions and letting the team call out some solutions. It takes less mental energy for the leader to just ask questions and not try to solve the problem. Leaders also find they have more productive meetings and learn more from their people because they are shifting their perspective from ‘my job is to give solutions’ to ‘my job is to ask powerful questions that lead other people to solutions’.

  • The Socratic method of asking questions is to reveal. Leaders ask people questions that will lead to the solution the leader already had in mind. Instead, ask open questions to lead people to their own solutions. Start questions with ‘what’ or ‘how’. Don’t ‘lead’ by asking ‘are you considering ...’ This leads to the solution the leader wants. Go in with an open mind.

  • Advice to his younger self or to an aspiring HR leader? Krister’s advice is to lead with questions more than answers. Learn the language of emotional intelligence, although Krister finds HR tends to be more emotionally intelligent than others. Conduct anonymous 360 surveys every 3-5 years or within 3 to 6 months after the composition of someone’s team has changed to get feedback on blind spots and to head off anything negative that may be creeping in.

Recommended Reading and References From this Episode

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NPR Podcast: Applying 'The Language Of Leadership' at Work and at Home

Krister Ungerböck often works with high-profile CEOs, coaching them on best practices when it comes to leadership, communication and employee engagement. But his efforts to help people lead well extend beyond the upper echelons of organizational management and into everyday workplaces as well as family life.

Listen to the radio interview here on National Public Radio

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Krister Ungerböck often works with high-profile CEOs, coaching them on best practices when it comes to leadership, communication and employee engagement. But his efforts to help people lead well extend beyond the upper echelons of organizational management and into everyday workplaces as well as family life.

On Monday’s St. Louis on the Air, St. Louis Public Radio’s Jeremy D. Goodwin talked with Ungerböck as he looked to travel to St. Louis a little later in the week to speak  at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

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Ubiquity Inspiring Leaders Podcast e087: The Language of Leadership with Krister Ungerbock

Krister Ungerböckis a keynote speaker, CEO Coach, and global expert in The Language of Leadership. Prior to retiring, Krister was the award-winning CEO of one of the largest family-owned software companies in the world.

Are you inspired by your life? This podcast originally appeared on Ubiquity Inspiring Leaders Podcast Episode e087 with Terry Lipovski. To listen to the full interview, visit Ubiquity Inspiring Leaders Podcast.

Krister Ungerböckis a keynote speaker, CEO Coach, and global expert in The Language of Leadership. Prior to retiring, Krister was the award-winning CEO of one of the largest family-owned software companies in the world. His expertise in the Language of Leadership is based upon his unique experience leading teams in 3 languages while doing business in over 40 countries, building businesses in six and living in three.

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His expertise in the Language of Leadership is based upon his unique experience leading teams in 3 languages while doing business in over 40 countries, building businesses in six and living in three.

“When you become the version of you that you would love to meet, other people will love meeting you”

As a keynote speaker, Krister is passionate about sharing the secrets that his team used to win 5 consecutive Top Workplace awards and achieve remarkable employee engagement levels of 99.3%. His upcoming book, The Language of Leadership: Words to Transform How We Lead, Live and Love, will be published in spring 2019.

“To change how you lead, change your words”

LINKS
Krister Ungerböck on LinkedIn
Krister Ungerböck’s Website
Krister's Book “The Language of Leadership”

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Jake Carlson Modern Leadership Podcast Episode 121: The Language of Leadership with Krister Ungerbock

As a corporate keynote speaker, Krister is passionate about sharing the secrets that his team used to win 5 consecutive Top Workplace awards and achieve remarkable employee engagement levels of 99.3%. His brand new book is, The Language of Leadership: Words to Transform How We Lead, Live and Love.

Krister Ungerböck is a leadership keynote speaker, CEO Coach, and global expert in The Language of Leadership. This podcast originally appeared on Jake Carlson Modern Leadership Podcast Episode 121, to listen to the full interview, visit Jake Carlson Modern Leadership.

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Prior to retiring at age 42, Krister was the award-winning CEO of one of the largest family-owned software companies in the world. His expertise in the Language of Leadership is based upon his unique experience as a global CEO leading teams in three languages while observing and doing business with executives in over 40 countries, building businesses in six and living in three.

As a corporate keynote speaker, Krister is passionate about sharing the secrets that his team used to win 5 consecutive Top Workplace awards and achieve remarkable employee engagement levels of 99.3%. His brand new book is, The Language of Leadership: Words to Transform How We Lead, Live and Love.

Top Takeaways: The Language of Leadership with Krister Ungerbock

Stop reading HBR and tons of business books and figure what Are YOU Missing as a leader

  • Balancing professional success with personal success

  • Leadership in relationships – taking the best practices in business and personal relationships to create a lasting business

  • Many successful businesses are made up of people who have worked successfully together for a long time

  • Practical fill-in the blank phrases to speak the language of leadership differently than what we have previously learned

  • The Language of Leadership drives increased commitment, emotional connection and growth both personally and professional

  • Perspective shift occurs in learning a new language of leadership

  • Drop the “should” just tell people what you want from them –

  • Applying the same tactics, you would in learning a new language when you “learn the language of leadership”

  • Heart in the right place but the words are not –

  • Difference between the Language of Leadership and the Language of Management

  • Lead with Expertise – lead with solutions (Ego boost but also becomes addictive to having the answer)

    • Good for those employees who are not progressive and engaged

    • The one’s who do not like this style are pushed away or repelled because they want to be a contributor

  • Questions lead and answers follow – Are you leading with questions or are you following with answers?

  • The difference between leading questions and leading WITH questions

  • Asking questions is not about leading people to my solutions it is about leading people to THEIR solutions

  • Ask questions you don’t know the answer to

  • Make sure all your questions start with WHAT or HOW

    • Check your ego and allow yourself to be taught

    • Surround yourself with people who are smarter to help us grow as leaders

  • Let go of your need to be right

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Modern Manager Podcast Episode 51: The Language of Leadership with Krister Ungerböck

This week’s guest, Krister Ungerboeck, is a CEO Coach, and expert in The Language of Leadership. Prior to retiring at age 42, Krister was the award-winning CEO of one of the largest family-owned software companies in the world.

How many languages do you speak or understand? Learning a new language helps you appreciate the importance and nuance of language and how it impacts your ability to communicate and connect with others. This podcast originally appeared on The Modern Manager Podcast with Mamie Kanfer Stewart. To listen to the full interview, visit The Modern Manager Podcast.

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Leadership and management have their own language which you can learn.

This week’s guest, Krister Ungerboeck, is a CEO Coach, and expert in The Language of Leadership. Prior to retiring at age 42, Krister was the award-winning CEO of one of the largest family-owned software companies in the world. His expertise in the Language of Leadership is based upon his unique experience as a global CEO leading teams in three languages while observing and doing business with executives in over 40 countries, building businesses in six and living in three

Krister and I talk about the importance of language as a manager, how to use language to engage people, and how positivity can transform productivity.

Join the Modern Manager community to get special four tools from Krister including a leadership assessment, plus episode guides and other guest bonuses to support your learning journey!

Subscribe to my newsletter to get episodes, articles and mini-guides delivered to your inbox.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

Leadership or management is all about how you use language. Even when the underlying meaning is consistent, how you say it matters. Choose words that are too strong and you risk alienated people. Choose words that are too soft and you risk not getting the behavior you’re asking for. Power your productivity with positivity by setting metrics that allow each person to compete with themselves rather than each other. Aim for each person to become their personal best. This eliminates room for excuses and allows everyone to be celebrated. Create metrics that can always be increased rather than a percentage so there is always room for improvement. It takes lots of energy to figure out answers, but asking good questions is often easier and leads to better answers. Ask open-ended questions that generally start with ‘what’ or ‘how’ as these will lead to more interesting answers than yes/no questions or questions that are really ideas disguised as questions. To improve your emotional intelligence, try guessing at the emotion the other person may be experiencing and why. What is it they’re needing? Use language like “I’m wondering if you’re frustrated by…because you want more autonomy to make decisions,” or “I’d imagine you’re feeling excluded from…because the team didn’t loop you in at the start of the project.” If your guess is accurate, the person will reinforce it, but if it’s not, they’ll likely correct you. This gives you more accurate information and helps them articulate their situation.

KEEP UP WITH KRISTER

Website: krister.com

Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/theleadershiparchaeologist

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/meetkrister

Book: https://www.krister.com/book

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Business Owners Radio Episode 136: LEADERSHIP | Why your leadership language may be limiting your growth

Krister Ungerböck is the world’s first Leadership Archaeologist™.  He travels the world to unearth the most powerful – and often surprising – models, ideas, and secrets of leadership.

Krister Ungerböck, employee engagement and global business growth expert, shares insights from his research on the language of leadership. Learn how to change the way you listen and respond to your team to increase employee engagement,  and become a more effective leader. This episode originally appeared on Business Owners Radio Episode 136 with Craig Moen and Shye Gilad. To listen to the full interview, visit Business Owners Radio.

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Krister Ungerböck is the world’s first Leadership Archaeologist™.  He travels the world to unearth the most powerful – and often surprising – models, ideas, and secrets of leadership.

Previously, Krister was the award-winning CEO of a 3,000% growth tech company. During his time leading Ungerboeck Software, he did business in 40 countries, built businesses in six, and lived in three. He also learned to speak French and German as an adult, which gives him a unique perspective on communication. Then, over the past few years, he became a prominent CEO coach and highly desired keynote speaker… but a very different kind than one might expect. In a sea of speakers spouting clichéd success secrets, Krister stands out as a successful CEO who bravely shares breathtakingly real stories of his own setbacks, combined with concrete, immediately actionable steps for audiences to sidestep the mistakes he’s made.

For the past decade, Krister has been on a “seeking secrets” journey, mining the minds of some of the greatest thinkers around the world and across disciplines, digging in dark places where others don’t… all to unearth unseen insights into the question of why growth companies tend to outgrow their leaders so quickly.

In addition to exploring the globe for new leadership insights and ideas, Krister is a top-rated leadership keynote speaker, CEO coach and consultant, and author of the highly upcoming book, THE LANGUAGE OF LEADERSHIP: Words to Transform How We Lead, Live and Love

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Leaders of Transformation Podcast Episode 244: Krister Ungerböck: Learning The Language Of Leadership

Prior to retiring at age 42, Krister was the award-winning CEO of one of the largest family-owned software companies in the world. His expertise in the Language of Leadership is based upon his unique experience as a global CEO, leading teams in three languages while observing and doing business with executives in over 40 countries, building businesses in six and living in three.

Krister Ungerböck (unger-bahk) is a keynote speaker, CEO Coach, and global expert in The Language of Leadership. This podcast originally appeared on Leaders of Transformation Podcast Episode 244 with Nicole Jansen. To listen to the full interview, visit Leaders of Transformation.

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Prior to retiring at age 42, Krister was the award-winning CEO of one of the largest family-owned software companies in the world. His expertise in the Language of Leadership is based upon his unique experience as a global CEO, leading teams in three languages while observing and doing business with executives in over 40 countries, building businesses in six and living in three. As a corporate keynote speaker, Krister is passionate about sharing the secrets that his team used to win 5 consecutive Top Workplace awards and achieve remarkable employee engagement levels of 99.3%.

On stage, Krister is a keynote speaker, but when he works one-on-one with CEOs and their highest potential executives, he’s more like a speech writer. Krister helps great leaders craft the words they use in high-stakes conversations, the million-dollar conversations that can make their year or their career, as well as the countless other conversations those leaders have every day.

His upcoming book, The Language of Leadership: Words to Transform How We Lead, Live and Love, provides leaders a practical, fill-in-the-blanks approach to learning a powerful new language of leadership that helps leaders speak in a more impactful, emotionally intelligent way and maximize employee engagement, productivity and employee retention.

In his candid conversation with us, Krister shares his defining moment in life and how it reshaped his view of leadership going forward. We explore the use of specific words and phrases and how they can either break trust or foster connection. Krister further explains the language of expertise and why top performers hate it.

Want to transform your business and personal relationships and be a more influential and effective leader? Listen as Krister teaches us the language of leadership.

Key Takeaways

  1. The number one destructor of business value is broken relationships.

  2. Fear shuts down creativity.

  3. Drop the “you should” or at least replace it with “consider”.

  4. Let your words match the intention of your heart.

  5. In order to get an enthusiastic YES you have to give people permission to say NO.

  6. We listen for people’s needs, not their words.

  7. Top performers hate to be lead with the language of expertise.

  8. Are you leading with questions or following with answers?

  9. Build employee engagement by building better bosses.

Resources

https://www.krister.com/lot

  • The Language of Leadership: Words to Transform How We Lead, Live and Love (October 2019)

  • Download deleted chapters in advance of book release

  • Become a beta-reader and provide feedback for the book

Connect With Krister Ungerböck

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Breakthrough Success Podcast Episode E325: Understanding The Language Of Emotional Intelligence With Krister Ungerboeck

Prior to retiring at age 42, he was the award-winning CEO of one of the largest family-owned software companies in the world. His expertise in the Language of Leadership is based upon his unique experience as a global CEO leading teams in three languages while observing and doing business with executives in over 40 countries, building businesses in six and living in three.

Krister Ungerboeck is a keynote speaker, CEO Coach, and global expert in The Language of Leadership. This podcast originally appeared on the Breakthrough Success Podcast Episode E525 with Marc Guberti. To listen to the full interview, visit Breakthrough Success.

Prior to retiring at age 42, he was the award-winning CEO of one of the largest family-owned software companies in the world. His expertise in the Language of Leadership is based upon his unique experience as a global CEO leading teams in three languages while observing and doing business with executives in over 40 countries, building businesses in six and living in three.

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Quotes To Remember:

“It starts with the leader.”

“Frustration is a form of anger.”

“Emotional intelligence is a key element.”

“Anger is an alarm bell.”

“Speak to more people with empathy.”

What You’ll Learn:

  • Becoming a leader

  • Harnessing emotional intelligence

  • Building the EI of your team

  • Better communication skills

  • Getting into the creative flow

Key Links From The Episode: 

Krister’s site

Magic Management 8 Ball Challenge


Recommended Books:

Content Marketing Secrets by Marc Guberti

Podcast Domination by Marc Guberti

Nonviolent Communication by Marshall Rosenberg

Leadership Language by Chris Westfall

Quiet Leadership by David Rock

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The Other Side of Potential Podcast Episode 36: The Language of Leadership with Krister Ungerboeck

As the award-winning CEO of a 3,000% growth tech company, Krister created The Language of Leadership to help leaders master the high-stakes conversations that can either make or break their careers.

Krister Ungerboeck works with high-potential leaders to help them learn the practical language of leadership because he knows, from his own experience as a CEO, that language has the power to transform their lives. This podcast originally appeared on the Other Side of Potential Podcast Episode 36 with Sharon Spano. To listen to the full interview, visit the Other Side of Potential.

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As the award-winning CEO of a 3,000% growth tech company, Krister created The Language of Leadership to help leaders master the high-stakes conversations that can either make or break their careers.

During his time leading Ungerboeck Software, Krister did business in 40 countries, built businesses in six, and lived in three. He also learned to speak French and German as an adult, which gives him a unique perspective on communication.

On stage, Krister is a keynote speaker, but when he works one-on-one with CEOs and their highest potential executives, he’s more like a speech writer. His upcoming book, The Language of Leadership: Words to Transform How We Lead, Live, and Love, provides a practical, fill-in-the-blanks approach to learning a powerful new language of leadership, one that is is guaranteed to help leaders speak in a more impactful, emotionally intelligent way. This level of expertise will help them maximize employee engagement, productivity, and employee retention.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

  • How Krister joined the business world through his family’s small business and what lessons he learned during his time there

  • How Krister learned the “language of emotional intelligence” and springboarded into a new career path

  • Why changing your language style is an effective way of changing yourself from the outside in

  • How the “language of management” and the “language of leadership” differ, and why the difference matters

  • Why one of the most difficult parts of being a CEO is the business outgrowing leaders

  • How to use “empathy guesses” and a fill-in-the-blanks approach to emotional intelligence

  • Why Krister’s self-awareness of language has been transformative in all of his relationships

  • How the feeling of being trapped in an executive role can lead to extreme stress and even PTSD

  • Why Krister works to help business leaders grow their leadership, and how the skills he teaches can help in all aspects of your life

  • How your company culture can help encourage happy people to stay and unhappy people to leave

How to contact Krister Ungerboeck:

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Krister Ungerboeck joins LeaderTHRIVE with Dr. Jason Brooks Podcast Episode 66

Krister Ungerboeck, The Leadership Archaeologist, joins LeaderTHRIVE podcast with Dr. Jason Brooks to share about the Language of Leadership and the power that comes when living this every day.

Emotional intelligence is key in leadership. And today's guest brings powerful experiences and principles to help us all lead well by connecting authentically. This podcast originally appeared on LeaderTHRIVE with Dr. Jason Brooks Podcast Episode 66. To listen to the full interview, visit LeaderTHRIVE with Dr. Jason Brooks.

Krister Ungerboeck, The Leadership Archaeologist, joins LeaderTHRIVE podcast with Dr. Jason Brooks to share about the Language of Leadership and the power that comes when living this every day.

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Krister Ungerboeck shares with high-potential leaders a practical Language of Leadership to transform leaders’ lives, and the lives of those who follow them. The Language of Leadership was created while he learned business French and German as the leader of one of largest family  owned software companies in the world.

On stage, Krister is a keynote speaker, but when he works one on-one with CEOs and their highest potential executives, he’s more like a speech writer. Krister helps great leaders craft the words they use in high-stakes conversations, the million-dollar conversations that can make their year or their career, as well as the countless ten-thousand-dollar conversations those leaders have every day.

His upcoming book, The Language of Leadership: Words to Transform How We Lead, Live and Love, provides leaders a practical, fill-in-the-blanks approach to learning a powerful new language of leadership that helps leaders speak in a more impactful, emotionally intelligent way and maximize employee engagement, productivity and employee retention.

Connect with Krister at

www.Krister.com

www.Krister.com/leaderthrive

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Culture Eats Strategy Podcast Episode 019

Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.

THE LEADERSHIP ARCHAEOLOGIST Being in a position of leadership can often make you feel like you’ve hit rock bottom, but it’s always possible to dig deeper. This podcast originally appeared on the Raise Your Game Podcast with Christine Wong. To listen to the full interview, visit Raise Your Game.

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Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.

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Culture Eats Strategy Podcast Episode 019: The Language of Leadership Leading the Way Through Language

Language transforms. It has the power to change the way organizations think and act. Today, award-winning CEO Krister Ungerböck discusses the language of leadership and how to wield it beginning with the 10-day talking diet. This podcast originally appeared on Culture Eats Strategy Podcast Episode 019 with Jaime Jay.

Language transforms. It has the power to change the way organizations think and act. Today, award-winning CEO Krister Ungerböck discusses the language of leadership and how to wield it beginning with the 10-day talking diet. This podcast originally appeared on Culture Eats Strategy Podcast Episode 019 with Jaime Jay. To listen to the full interview, visit Culture Eats Strategy.

“By changing our words, we can change our thoughts. And if we change our thoughts, then we can change our hearts from the outside in.” – Krister Ungerböck

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Leading the Way Through Language

Krister has worked with CEOs and executives in over 40 countries. He is a corporate keynote speaker, coach, and global expert in the language for leaders.

He loves sharing the secrets of how his team succeeded. To wit, they have achieved 99.3% of employee engagement. His upcoming book The Language of Leadership: Words to Transform How We Lead, Live and Love is coming this spring.

Breaking the Barrier

Krister once led a large family-owned software company. During his term as CEO, he conducted a three-day workshop in France educating people how to use their product. There was one challenge — language.

“My heart was at the right place but my words were not.” – Krister Ungerbock on the language barrier

His French was terrible. Their second customer, the host of the Cannes Film Festival, said they couldn’t work with him because of it. So, he immediately went to train with a business French teacher.

A Language That Transforms 

How do you learn a new language? According to Krister, it requires thinking through the words first and then saying it. The same applies when learning to communicate as a leader.

“You can’t think your way into a new way of acting, but you can act your way into a new way of thinking.” – Habitat for Humanity Founder

Leaders first become aware of the words they want to use and then translate it. The easiest way to achieving change through words is by speaking differently. This realization gave birth to the language of leadership.

Download and listen to The Language of Leadership to learn more. Remember to let Krister know you heard about him on Culture Eats Strategy with Jaime Jay!

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The Business Power Hour Podcast: Real Life Stories & Techniques to Power-Up Your Business

Prior to retiring at age 42, Krister was the award-winning CEO of one of the largest family-owned software companies in the world. His expertise in the Language of Leadership is based upon his unique experience as a global CEO leading teams in three languages while observing and doing business with executives in over 40 countries, building businesses in six and living in three.

Krister Ungerböck is a keynote speaker, CEO Coach, and global expert in "The Language of Leadership. This podcast originally appeared on The Business Power Hour Podcast with Deb Krier. To listen to the full interview, visit The Business Power Hour.

Prior to retiring at age 42, Krister was the award-winning CEO of one of the largest family-owned software companies in the world. His expertise in the Language of Leadership is based upon his unique experience as a global CEO leading teams in three languages while observing and doing business with executives in over 40 countries, building businesses in six and living in three. As a corporate keynote speaker, Krister is passionate about sharing the employee engagement secrets that he and his Executive team used to win 5 consecutive Top Workplace awards and achieve remarkable employee engagement levels of 99.3%. His upcoming book, The Language of Leadership: Words to Transform How We Live, Live and Lead, will be published in the Spring of 2019. The book provides leaders a practical, fill-in-the-blanks approach to learning a powerful new language of leadership.

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Manager Mojo Podcast: Your Words Can Create a Highly Engaged Team

Are you choosing words that will inspire others to follow you? Struggling leaders should examine their words, assess where they come from and how they may be putting a damper on the people who follow them. Just like everyone else, leaders default to the words of those who influenced them from a young age.

Your Words Can Create a Highly Engaged Team. The words you choose are having a significant impact on the people you lead. This podcast originally appeared on the Manager Mojo podcast with Steve Caldwell. To listen to the full interview, visit Manager Mojo.

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Are you choosing words that will inspire others to follow you? Struggling leaders should examine their words, assess where they come from and how they may be putting a damper on the people who follow them. Just like everyone else, leaders default to the words of those who influenced them from a young age. The words we speak to others are often an echo of the words we are speaking to ourselves, and those words were initiated by our original leaders. When we grow up hearing negative words, we often speak negative words ourselves. Examine your words, determine where they come from and how you can select words that will inspire those around you. Become the leader whose words transform others to want to follow you.

 Learn more about Krister Ungerboeck and his newest book, The Language of Leadership: Words to Transform How you Lead, Live and Love, to be out in Spring 2019, by clicking here.

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