The Smart Thinking Podcast
Ted Neitzke brings you the ”The Smart Thinking Podcast.” Smart Thinking is for anyone and everyone -- because we are all leaders. Join us weekly for reflective activities and strategies to grow yourself and others. Ted shares his leadership expertise with simple to apply tools. You will grow in your ability to step into the storm’s life presents with energy and optimism. Just like the 🦬!
Episodes

Sunday Oct 13, 2019
Episode 110: Stay In Your Lane (Leadership and Tools)
Sunday Oct 13, 2019
Sunday Oct 13, 2019
Listen as we explore why people put themselves in lanes they have no business being in and learn two processes to support your leadership. Stay in your lane!
Describe your three lanes and reflect on times you’ve chosen to go off road.
List areas that you could benefit others by using a decision-making matrix.
Describe one project that would benefit from an innovation configuration map.

Sunday Oct 06, 2019
Episode 109: The Ritual of Homecoming (Leadership and Strategy)
Sunday Oct 06, 2019
Sunday Oct 06, 2019
Developing customs in your worlds is critical to creating an engaging culture. This episode explores how we can take the lessons of homecoming and apply them in all of our environments.
Describe how you can provide voice for all involved?
List ways that you can celebrate past and present failures?
Describe how you can create collaborative opportunities for people to reflect.

Sunday Sep 29, 2019
Episode 108: Parents Just Don’t Understand (Leadership & Empathy)
Sunday Sep 29, 2019
Sunday Sep 29, 2019
This episode explores how parents think and why they “just don’t understand. Not that they are aloof – instead, that parents don’t always understand what to do to support their family. This is a discussion on strategies for parents and those that serve their families.
Describe how you can support parents with the details needed to support the narrative?
List strategies to support parents who are stuck in control mode.
Describe how you can be allies with parents when they are in protect mode.

Sunday Sep 22, 2019
Episode 107: It’s for you. (Leadership & Mindset)
Sunday Sep 22, 2019
Sunday Sep 22, 2019
Does life happen to you or for you? Take a listen as we explore the importance of recognizing that everything in life is you for you and you can take advantage of every challenge that comes your way. Why? Because you matter!
Describe what happens for you?
List strategies you can employ to shift your mindset to a "this is happening for me thought process."
Describe how you will place yourself second.

Sunday Sep 15, 2019
Episode 106: Breaking the Cycle of Conflict: (Leadership and Tools)
Sunday Sep 15, 2019
Sunday Sep 15, 2019
Have you ever found yourself in an argument and later on asked yourself – what just happened? In this episode we are going to explore the behaviors needed to get out of an argument or conflict that has become an unbreakable cycle.
Describe what you will do to see the threats others are feeling.
List the steps for disengaging from the threat cycle.
Describe how others can help you recognize your low tolerance areas.

Sunday Sep 08, 2019
Episode 105: Message in a Bottle – Communication (Leadership and Tools)
Sunday Sep 08, 2019
Sunday Sep 08, 2019
Communication is a frustrating topic and few people are ever satisfied with organizational communication. Join us for a discussion that shares the problem and the process to increase collaborative communication. This episode is applicable at every level of an organization.
Describe strategies you could employ to determine the best ways to communicate with your team.
List the ways you prefer to receive information
Describe an approach you could employ to change how people receive your information.

Monday Sep 02, 2019
Episode 104: Teachable Moments (Leadership and Tools)
Monday Sep 02, 2019
Monday Sep 02, 2019
This episode explores how we can address those in our lives that have fallen out of alignment with our expectations. A teachable moment provides the chance for you as the leader to step back and assess the situation and bring clarity to the person who is not in alignment with your norms or worse – trying to undermine the culture of your organization, classroom, division, department or company.
Confront the situation
Demonstrate how their behavior is impacting the situation
Support them with expected behaviors
Choice
Accountability
Describe what you can do to support someone who’s mindset is stuck in the negative.
List ways you can shift to teachable moments
Describe the ways in which you can support others in fixing the problem and not fixing blame.

Sunday Aug 25, 2019
Episode 103: That’s what she said?!? The FRANC Principle (Leadership)
Sunday Aug 25, 2019
Sunday Aug 25, 2019
This episode explains the FRANC principle. It will help you grow as a leader and serves as a great reminder to us all -- how to lead every day.
Forgive
Reinforce
Acknowledge
Notice
Closure
What do you need to do to be FRANC every day?
Describe what you need to do different today to apply one of the FRANC principles.
List those in your life that have been FRANC with you.

Sunday Aug 18, 2019
Episode 102: Meteorologists, Astrologists and Hope’rs (Leadership & Tools
Sunday Aug 18, 2019
Sunday Aug 18, 2019
Listen as we explore how we "get to" create the conditions of hope and optimism using tools in our organizations.
List your value propositions.
Describe your process for propagating the “get to’s” in your organization that will steer mindset.
List your behaviors so that you can be the fortune teller for your organization.

Sunday Aug 11, 2019
Episode 101: Don’t be dull. (Leadership, Reflection & Tools)
Sunday Aug 11, 2019
Sunday Aug 11, 2019
This episode is a reflection on what you are doing to stay sharp personally and professionally. Too often we fail to recognize that we are not at the top of our game.
Describe how you can sharpen yourself before you get dull.
List the people in your life that you could ask to keep you sharp.
Go into your calendar and block off the time to create your day to catch up, sharpen up, and proactively prepare.