078: From Authority to Facilitation: The New Role of Leaders with Joel Onyshuk

In this episode of Evolve: A New Era of Leadership, I'm joined by Joel Onyshuk, host of the Frontline Leadership Podcast. Joel shares his profound insights on the human-centered approach to leadership, emphasizing the importance of authenticity and vulnerability in building strong connections within teams. With extensive experience in leadership roles, particularly in the manufacturing tech sector, Joel has witnessed firsthand the critical role of leaders at every organizational level. His podcast aims to connect leaders from diverse industries to share their challenges and successes, fostering a culture of continuous learning and growth.

Joel has a 19-year career in sales and sales leadership and is passionate about creating high-performance teams. Currently, he is the SVP of Sales at Atana, Inc., where he helps companies radically improve their culture with transformative e-learning and bleeding-edge data analytics. Prior to Atana, Joel helped scale QAD Redzone, the #1 connected workforce solution in manufacturing, from $7M ARR to a globally recognized SaaS unicorn, and co-founded a SaaS startup in the service industry with three former C-suite executives from Aramark Corporation.

Joel's leadership philosophy centers on transitioning from traditional management to facilitation, as he believes that leaders should focus on empowering their teams to solve problems collectively. This approach, according to Joel, not only fosters innovation but also enhances team morale and engagement. He emphasizes the importance of creating safe spaces where team members feel comfortable sharing their authentic selves, which in turn drives performance and satisfaction. Joel's extensive experience and passion for human-centered leadership offer listeners valuable perspectives on navigating the complexities of modern leadership.

🔑 Key Themes & Takeaways:

• The Value of Human-Centered Leadership: Joel discusses the significance of recognizing and embracing the humanity of leaders and team members alike, highlighting the importance of seeing beyond titles and roles to connect on a deeper level. 🤝
  
  

• Embracing Vulnerability: Exploring Joel's journey toward understanding the power of vulnerability in leadership, including the pivotal moments that led him to value transparency and emotional openness. 💬
  
  

• Facilitation as a Critical Skill: Joel emphasizes the evolving importance of facilitation over traditional leadership and management roles. He discusses how leaders must move people from one existing place to a new reality, empowering and encouraging them along the way. 🗝️
  
  

• Navigating Uncertainty with AI: Joel shares his thoughts on leading through uncertainty and ambiguity, particularly in the context of the burgeoning capabilities of AI. He explores how AI can take on transactional tasks, allowing leaders to focus on creating transformational experiences. 🌫️🤖
  
  

• Creating Safe Spaces: Insights into Joel's techniques for fostering environments where team members feel comfortable sharing their true selves, which in turn drives engagement and performance. 🛡️
  
  

• The Future of Work: Joel and Carolyn discuss the future of work in the context of AI's impact, including reimagining roles and leveraging AI for training and problem-solving. 🔮

We talk about:

• 00:00 Intro