[00:00:00] Janet Taggart: All individuals, whether or not they lead in the traditional sense of having people report up to them, have a leadership role pertaining to their own job responsibilities and in their relationships with others. It’s not just about position, it’s about presence, and it’s about brand. At Peridot Circle Consulting, we’ve identified four major areas that drive a person’s success in their role and help them to show up as ready for the next opportunity.

[00:00:44] Stephanie Willmore: Welcome to the Leadership Transformations podcast. I’m your host, Stephanie Wilmore, accountability coach with Peridot Circle Consulting. In this podcast, we explore real-life situations with the help of our two founders and principal consultants, Janet Taggart and Linda Linfield. Today, we are joined by Janet Taggart. Janet, it’s great to have you again. 

[00:01:07] Janet Taggart: Thanks for having me. 

[00:01:08] Stephanie Willmore: And today we are talking about a powerful topic, and it is about the four drivers of professional success and leadership brand. And you know, we talk about this a lot in our coaching. We discuss this topic with all of our clients because we’ve found that this truly propels someone beyond being a solid contributor, toward becoming an indispensable leader. So, Janet, can you help us dive into this topic and explain why it’s so important? 

[00:01:38] Janet Taggart: You bet. Stephanie, today’s conversation is for anyone who’s ever wondered, “What does it take, not only to do well in my role, but also to be ready for the next one?” Because here’s the truth.

[00:01:51] All individuals, whether or not they lead in the traditional sense of having people report up to them, have a leadership role pertaining to their own job responsibilities and in their relationships with others. It’s not just about position, it’s about presence, and it’s about brand. At Peridot Circle Consulting, we’ve identified four major areas that drive a person’s success in their role and help them to show up as ready for the next opportunity.

[00:02:20] These four areas are expertise, performance, interpersonal, and disposition. 

[00:02:26] Stephanie Willmore: I love that. These four areas are so critical for leaders who really want to develop, and so let’s unpack that first one. Let’s talk about expertise. 

[00:02:37] Janet Taggart: So as you said, first is expertise. An employee, of course, must have the expertise and know how to do the job they’ve been hired to do.

[00:02:47] Expertise includes skills, capability, experience, education, and training. It includes certifications and other evidence of applied learning. It’s the foundation, and it’s not just what’s on the resume; it’s actually what you bring to the table every single day. 

[00:03:07] Stephanie Willmore: Yeah, and I think everyone wants to have a high expertise level, but what if somebody realizes that they need some growth in the expertise area? What would you recommend to them? 

[00:03:18] Janet Taggart: So if they have gaps, if the person lacks sufficient expertise yet is motivated to succeed in the role, the gap can be filled by taking courses or by gaining additional enroll experience, and by being mentored and developed by others with more knowledge and experience in the areas identified for improvement. At times, even a trial-and-error approach increases expertise.

[00:03:45] And we see this all the time with early career professionals and even those switching careers in tech organizations. What they lack in applied history, they often make up for in coachability and curiosity. We once worked with a software company in Utah where a product manager moved over from a completely different industry.

[00:04:06] She invested in getting certified, worked closely with their engineering partners, and was willing to fail fast. Within 18 months, she was leading cross-functional innovation sprints. That’s the power of applied learning. Additionally, to gain the expertise needed to advance your career, there’s a time factor involved. Knowing how to perform the job well and having time to face and successfully navigate the challenges, less-than-ideal situations, and political headwinds associated with the work is key.

[00:04:40] Demonstrating that you are able to do this with composure, grace, and optimism is an important component of expertise, which also relates to the other three areas: performance, interpersonal, and disposition. 

[00:04:53] Stephanie Willmore: That’s a great example, Janet. Thanks for sharing that. I love how you talked about how your client decided to grow in their expertise, but in a way that was strategic and helped increase her cross-functional capabilities, and so what’s the next one?

[00:05:07] Janet Taggart: The second driver is performance. To demonstrate and become known as a strong performer, an employee must be able to apply what they know their expertise to the extent that they produce a solid track record of results. That’s day after day, week after week, month after month, and even year after year.

[00:05:28] This is how they established their track record. It’s not just what you know, it’s how you apply what you know, and the best performers are consistent at applying what they know. Their outcomes are predictable, reliable, and certain. They can be counted on to overcome obstacles and achieve their goals. And here’s where tech leaders and HR professionals need to take note.

[00:05:52] Performance isn’t loud. Some of your most impactful people are not the ones talking the most. They’re the ones producing value every single day, often quietly, reliably, and behind the scenes. 

[00:06:07] Stephanie Willmore: That’s such an interesting insight into performance, that it’s not necessarily loud, that it’s something that’s dependable. And so you’ve covered expertise and performance. What about the next driver?

[00:06:19] Janet Taggart: The next area of professional success is where a lot of leaders either soar or stall. It’s interpersonal. In order to apply their expertise and to achieve results through performance, virtually every role has interpersonal dependencies.

[00:06:36] Even the best educated and highest performers need interpersonal skills to work with and through other people effectively. I’ll say this directly. If someone can’t build strong, respectful working relationships, their ceiling is low, no matter their talent. The most highly prized leaders are those who build productive, inspiring relationships.

[00:07:00] These individuals interact with others in ways that cause the others to look forward to the next opportunity to work with them. 

[00:07:09] Stephanie Willmore: I love how you illustrate that low ceiling because I think sometimes people think of interpersonal skills as something nice to have. A soft skill is not necessarily essential, but you’ve definitely illustrated that it is essential. And can you give us an example? 

[00:07:23] Janet Taggart: Yes. And, you know, to your point, we do see leaders who don’t have those skills, and we wonder, is that what it takes? But we’re talking about a leadership philosophy in which you can operate authentically and with real power in a way that doesn’t cause harm around you.

[00:07:47] An example of this is, I remember we worked with a data analyst who had all the technical brilliance, but struggled to communicate her findings in meetings. She often appeared dismissive or impatient, which caused those in the meetings to not want to ask questions or work with her. After some coaching, she learned to ask questions based on genuine curiosity and active listening.

[00:08:17] Her teams began seeing her not only as highly intelligent, but also as someone they wanted to collaborate and work with. Within six months, she was leading a new initiative with high visibility. Individuals’ high and interpersonal capability can even disagree without being disagreeable. They can navigate high-stakes conversations with compassion and grace.

[00:08:41] They never have trouble attracting others to work with them or on their teams because they create an environment of respect, trust, and support. An example that comes to mind involves a leader who was promised something by her leaders that significantly affected her whole team, something the team would be very pleased with.

[00:09:03] A few weeks after that promise was communicated to her team, the promise had to be reversed through no fault of her own or fault of her own leaders. This really hit her hard because she knew communicating this reverse decision would have serious negative consequences for her, for her team, and the work the team needed to accomplish on behalf of the organization.

[00:09:27] She told me that she really leaned into the coaching and the skills she had developed over the previous six months of our working together. She decided to have the difficult conversation with her leader to clearly communicate the negative consequences to her team and then quickly pivot toward working with and being supportive of her leader.

[00:09:47] She began working with him on how to communicate the new reality to the team and committed herself to finding the best possible way forward for her team members and for the organization. She said, “I have really leaned into the coaching we’ve done together. I feel like I was able to leverage the things we talked about in practice. I was able to identify the impacts of the situation, start planning for the consequences of the announcement, and determine how I can support my leader through something that was impacting many on the team.” 

[00:10:19] Stephanie Willmore: Yeah. I love how those two examples really show how strengthening interpersonal dynamics can have a big impact on your team, but even the organization as a whole, especially as unexpected policy changes come about.

[00:10:34] So I think that’s a really great illustration of how interpersonal skills have power. And so let’s move to the last driver. Can you explain the importance of that one?

[00:10:46] Janet Taggart: Yes. The fourth driver of professional success is disposition related to, but distinct from, interpersonal skills, an employee’s disposition is vital to a person’s reputation or brand.

[00:10:59] It’s about energy, it’s about presence. It’s about how people feel when you walk into a room or pop up in a virtual meeting. Disposition refers to a person’s affect, the way they show up. When this person enters a meeting, do other people see the light? Do they know the conversation will be productive and that good things will happen?

[00:11:22] Do they believe possibilities will be uncovered and that success is inevitable? Or conversely, when this person enters the meeting, do they bring a gloomy, dark cloud? 

[00:11:33] Stephanie Willmore: Yeah, I love the point that it is applicable to both people in person and remote. Our disposition isn’t only important when we’re with other people in person, and you show kind of both ends of the spectrum of feelings that you can create based on how your disposition shows up.

[00:11:51] Janet Taggart: Absolutely, and here’s the rub. Both interpersonal and dispositional development are not as simple as taking a course or receiving feedback that a person needs to change their approach. Often, a person believes that the current state of interpersonal skill or dispositional effect are just who they are.

[00:12:13] These are part of their character and feel like they are unchangeable. And so when you’re asking someone to change something about who they are, you tend to encounter a lot of resistance. But here’s the breakthrough: some of the most significantly beneficial work we’d undertake at Peridot Circle Consulting is to work with expert high performers who have the potential to grow their influence and effectiveness by confronting their self-limiting beliefs in areas of interpersonal and disposition.

[00:12:48] When we can help those individuals to identify what’s truly authentic to them, we can then navigate the interpersonal and dispositional aspects of their brand, of the way that they show up in order for them to cause more positive outcomes. 

[00:13:05] Stephanie Willmore: Yeah, that’s powerful. And you said that they sometimes give you this resistance, like, “Oh, this is just who I am.”

[00:13:12] So how does somebody who needs that interpersonal and dispositional development, how can that be developed? How do you coach them to make those changes? 

[00:13:22] Janet Taggart: I can tell you it’s 100% learnable. In fact, we’ve seen leaders who once believed they were just not people persons go on to become incredible mentors, facilitators, and even public speakers.

[00:13:37] These two readily observable aspects of professional success, interpersonal and disposition, can be developed and dramatically improved. And it works because we model it. We have both the expertise and the track record, the interpersonal skill, and the disposition to help those who want to quit being held back by their beliefs that they are who they are.

[00:14:01] They have always been this way, and it’s useless to try. If they’re willing to be open to suspend disbelief even briefly, we can help, and we can help without diminishing their focus on stellar expertise and relentless achievement. 

[00:14:17] Stephanie Willmore: You know, this sounds like this is really the heart of transformation, and this is the Leadership Transformations podcast, how we help leaders move beyond who they think they are or who they could become.

[00:14:30] And like you said, it’s a limiting belief. It’s not a fact, it’s something that we help them have a more elevated perspective about. 

[00:14:38] Janet Taggart: Absolutely. We really want leaders to lean into their authenticity, and that’s why we do what we do. At Peridot Circle, we help leaders lead, and we help the best leaders become even better.

[00:14:52] Stephanie Willmore: Yeah, that’s so true. And so let’s shift gears to our audience. If you are an HR leader listening, or an executive at a fast-paced tech company, and they’re trying to scale their leadership, what’s your advice in relation to this topic with the four drivers of professional success? 

[00:15:11] Janet Taggart: I would recommend starting by assessing the four areas: expertise, performance, interpersonal, and disposition. Which ones are strengths, which ones are holding your people back? Then invest. You don’t have to do it all yourself. Our team is here to help support that journey. Through coaching, training, and workshops, we tailor our approach to your culture, your people, and your real challenges.

[00:15:37] If you want to retain high-potential employees, develop mid-level managers into strategic thinking or build succession-ready senior leaders in this way, and we’re ready to partner with you. 

[00:15:51] Stephanie Willmore: Well, thank you, Janet, for sharing that. This has been an inspiring conversation, and you know, we’ve seen how assessing these four areas and strengthening them and our clients has really made a powerful difference to both individuals and organizations.

[00:16:05] And so thank you for sharing the framework, and the examples, the real-life examples, and humanity behind it. Do you have any last words you wanna touch on with this topic?

[00:16:17] Janet Taggart: I would say this: your people are ready for more. Sometimes they just need the belief and the tools to get there. And when you unlock that potential, it changes everything.

[00:16:28] Stephanie Willmore: Well, great. That’s powerful. And thank you for joining us today. And for those who are listening, thank you for joining us on this episode of the Leadership Transformations podcast. If you are an HR leader committed to building a strong leadership pipeline or a business leader who knows that your company’s growth depends on the growth of its people, we would love to connect.

[00:16:50] At Peridot Circle Consulting, we partner with forward-thinking organizations and help leaders at every level rise to their potential with programs, coaching, and tools that create real impact. You were meant for greater things. Until next time.

At Peridot Circle, we facilitate the growth and transformation of individuals, leaders, and emerging leaders of fast-growing tech-savvy organizations. If any of our listeners are interested in learning more about our approach to leadership coaching at Peridot Circle Consulting and how to help transform how you show up at work, book a consult with us online at peridotcircleconsulting.com. We would love to help you and your organization achieve more than ever before.