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How can care help us navigate and lead teams innovating for the future? Our hosts Amy Vodarek and Steven Jones, welcome Jason Kessler, the program executive for NASA's Small Business Innovation Research & Small Business Technology Transfer...
How can care help us navigate and lead teams innovating for the future?
Our hosts Amy Vodarek and Steven Jones, welcome Jason Kessler, the program executive for NASA's Small Business Innovation Research & Small Business Technology Transfer Program. Kessler’s team engages small business entrepreneurs and innovators to deliver cutting-edge technology to support NASA missions. He combines his experiences as an entrepreneur and consultant in the private sector with more than fifteen years as a program executive with NASA before taking on his current role.
Jason shares his experience developing partnerships, leading teams, and fostering innovation in his role at NASA. Working at the intersection of NASA's technical needs and small business innovation, Jason prioritizes being present and listening as foundational to understanding what drives everyone on the team. He recognizes they have a multitude of cares, and those cares can change from day to day. Continually revisiting the question "What do we care about?" regrounds his teams with a shared focus and supports their ability to coordinate action–especially when working virtually.
As Jason highlights, being a leader calls on us to cultivate such values as genuine care for others and lifelong self-development.
"The idea of care is a fundamental foundation of connecting to folks; like a North Star, we can continually come back to the things that are important to us."
Developing and sustaining trust with his team is critical for team success. Jason practices taking care of trust by being present, consistently showing up, and being clear in his communication and expectations. He believes trust is essential for innovating and finding new solutions to address complex challenges.
Jason explores the top three gems of wisdom about developing team culture.
Know yourself by continually coming back and reflecting on your leadership, how you affect others, and by asking what kind of leader you are and want to become.
Leading is not your position. Wherever you are in the organization, you can take the initiative to identify missing conversations and breakdowns.
Fostering a mood of possibility and intentionally bringing this mood to your team meetings and interactions. As leaders, we have a role to play in bringing awareness to and shifting the mood of a team.
Jason is an executive coach and author of Simple Acts, Practices for a Broken World. He is committed to supporting others to make the changes they need to transform their lives.
We'd love to talk to you if you want to expand your leadership influence, shift your results, and develop a highly engaged, accountable team. Schedule a conversation with an Altus Team Member here: https://altusgrowthpam.as.me/Zoom30min
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Jason’s Linkedin profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-l-kessler/
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Keywords: #leadership #care #NASA #team
