Leadership Hacks from a CEO

Todd A. Ward, PhD, BCBA-D

bSci21Media, LLC

Brett DiNovi, M.A., BCBA

Brett DiNovi & Associates

In a recent video, Brett DiNovi and his team discuss ten leadership hacks to develop yourself professionally. The tips included in the video offer both insightful and practical methods of growing as a leader. Below, we will highlight three particularly helpful hacks that you can implement in your own work today.

Learn when to say “no”.

Brett suggests that learning to excel involves mastering the art of saying “no.” As you become a leader in any area, your skills are sought after more frequently. If you cannot give your all to a project, you should turn it down. You put your brand and reputation on the line with each new project, and knowing when to say “no” helps to preserve them.

Use technology to automate tasks.

As leaders and managers grow, especially in service-oriented industries, they often find themselves short of time. When you are sought after by customers, and directly involved in too many of the tasks in your business, you get stretched thin. To preserve and prioritize your own time, Brett suggests keeping an eye out for time-saving technologies to keep you on top of your game. Common examples include accounting software as well as Customer Relations Management (CRM) software. CRM software like Hubspot keeps track of your contacts with potential customers so you are constantly aware of which leads you need to re-contact.

Learn to receive feedback.

Receiving feedback allows you to contact the direct contingencies of your work more frequently, and thus, shapes more effective behavior. As you rise up the ranks in leadership, however, fewer people may feel comfortable giving you honest feedback due to their history of punishment by other leaders for their honesty. Brett provides a clever tip for dealing with this conundrum – ask your employees to provide you feedback in the third person. For example, you might ask your employee the following question: “If your friend had a perception of me, what would it be?” This may seem an unusual approach but this subtle change in verbal behavior promotes “defusion” on the part of both the employee and the leader, which can reduce potentially painful emotions that the feedback or the feedback situation may evoke.

To hear the other tips, be sure to check out the full video, and to subscribe to Brett DiNovi’s YouTube channel and let him know what you would like to see in future videos.  Also be sure to subscribe to bSci21 via email to receive the latest articles directly to your inbox!

Todd A. Ward, PhD, BCBA-D is the President and Founder of bSci21Media, LLC, which owns the top behavior analytic media outlet in the world, bSci21.org.  bSci21Media aims to disseminate behavior analysis to the world and to support ABA companies around the globe through the Behavioral Science in the 21st Century blog and its subsidiaries, bSciEntrepreneurial, bSciWebDesign, bSciWriting, bSciStudios and the ABA Outside the Box CEU series.  Dr. Ward received his PhD in behavior analysis from the University of Nevada, Reno under Dr. Ramona Houmanfar.  He has served as a Guest Associate Editor of the Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, and as an Editorial Board member of Behavior and Social Issues.  Dr. Ward has also provided ABA services to children and adults with various developmental disabilities in day centers, in-home, residential, and school settings, and previously served as Faculty Director of Behavior Analysis Online at the University of North Texas.  Dr. Ward is passionate about disseminating behavior analysis to the world and growing the field through entrepreneurship. Todd can be reached at [email protected]

Brett DiNovi, M.A., BCBA has the unique and distinguished experience of studying the principles of applied behavior analysis under the rigorous scrutiny of both Dr. Julie S. Vargas (formerly Skinner) and Dr. E.A. Vargas at West Virginia University’s internationally recognized program. For the past 26 years, Brett has used behavior analytic principles to create large scale change across school districts, Fortune 500 companies using principles of Organizational Behavior Management (OBM), and across individual learners. Brett has been a OBM consultant in Morgantown WV, an instructor at West Virginia University, a guest lecturer at numerous universities, a speaker on multiple Comcast Newsmakers TV programs, an expert witness in due process hearings, has publications in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, and has been in in executive leadership positions across schools and residential programs nationwide. In addition to an award from South Jersey Biz Magazine for “Best Places to Work,” an award for “Best of Families” in Suburban Magazine, and the distinguished “Top Ranked U.S. Executives” award, Brett’s proudest accomplishment is being a role model and father for his daughter and two stepchildren (one of which has autism). Brett can be reached at [email protected]

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