Dr. Karyn Gordon is the CEO and co-founder of DK Leadership, a global leadership coaching company whose purpose is developing GREAT leaders at work and home. Nominated for the 2021 RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Award, she has spoken to more than 500,000 people across 17 countries—including Fortune 500 companies, family businesses, entrepreneurs, professional associations, and others. Dr. Karyn Gordon and her new book The Three Chairs provides a proven framework to transform anyone’s ability to lead others.
The Three Chairs is the breakthrough leadership book for the 21st century. Learn about the three chairs – the 3 attitudes (insecure, confident, arrogant) – and how it impacts all parts of our lives – relationships, wellness, communication, leadership at work and home.
FWM: You are the CEO and co-founder of DK Leadership. Tell us about your company.
DK Leadership Inc. is a global leadership coaching company. Our purpose is developing great leaders in organizations and families. We help organizations increase engagement, motivate performance and build energized cultures. And we help families with their relationships, confidence and personal goals. Our sweet spot is teaching practical tools to drive communication, productivity and time-management while reducing stress (also known as EQ skills).
FWM: When did your leadership journey begin?
My leadership journey started when I was in the 8th grade. I was diagnosed with a learning disability and told by a clinical psychologist that it was unlikely I’d be able to finish high school. Quickly I learned the importance of asking for help, not internalizing failure, striving for excellence and setting realistic goals – the foundations of leadership!
FWM: You have built high performance teams over your career. Share a few success stories.
* To build a great team – its clear you know your vision – and hire the BEST people and fit for those roles. At 25 I produced my first TV series (it was a music talk-show that focused on psychology) – and hired people that were all more skilled and experienced than myself. We sold it internationally. It was a huge learning curve for me.
* At DKL – we hire based more on EQ than experience or education. We can train most of our technical skills – so we focus on hiring people who are hungry to learn, passionate, a team-player, arrive earlier – and people we want to work with. We get to know their values – what matters to them to create a great culture. As a result – our retention is extremely high!
FWM: Tell us about your new book, The Three Chairs: How Great Leaders Drive Communication, Performance, and Engagement.
In The Three Chairs is a NEW & FRESH leadership book – that provides a proven framework to transform anyone’s ability to lead others! In The Three Chairs, I teach leadership principles that are effective for work and home. I have spent over 20 years teaching more than 500,000 people across 17 countries. My unique approach, based on The 5 Leadership EQ Skills™, will show you how to:
Identify great leadership: Understand the most essential attitudes in yourself and others
Master communication: Give and receive feedback to drive team accountability
Enhance proper goal-setting: Build a confident mindset and alignment on key objectives
Improve decision-making: Drive performance, time management, and delegation
Reduce stress and anxiety: Increase wellness and reduce burnout
Increase employee engagement: Boost retention and build a better culture
The Three Chairs is the breakthrough leadership book for the 21st century. Discover tools you can easily apply at work and home that get results for everyone from students to CEOs. See yourself more clearly, engage more deeply with those around you, and equip yourself to be a confident great leader. It all starts with understanding what chair you sit in (insecure, confident or arrogant chair) – and learning the practical skills for all of us to learn to sit in the middle chair – the seat of a confident great leader!
FWM: The forward to your book was written by Shark Tank Investor Robert Herjavek. Why was Robert the perfect person for the forward in The Three Chairs?
Because he’s a great example of someone who has sat in all of the chairs (we all do!). In his Foreword he openly shares his own journey of learning to move into the middle chair – asking for help, giving back to others, learning from failure – all of these foundational leadership skills that helped him be so successful.
FWM: Your book offers an abundance of actionable tools. Take us through a few examples.
There are 5 core skills people have who sit in the middle chair which I call The 5 Leadership EQ Skills or CARDS (TM) as an acronym.
C = Communication Skills – learning how to give and receive feedback
A = Attitude & Goal-Setting Skills – learning how to set realistic yet stretching goals
R = Relationship Skills – learning how to see life through a different lens (generational, cultural, personality differences)
D = Decision-Making & Time-Management Skills – learning how to take initiative, be self-disciplined, prioritize and delegate to drive performance
S = Stress & Emotion-Management Skills – learning how to reduce stress and anxiety, focus on refuelling, setting boundaries, saying no.
FWM: The Three Chairs is filled with inspiring stories. What did you learn through this process?
People love stories! Its great to have the research / data / practical action steps … but readers LOVE to hear real people implementing those stories! It makes it more relatable, more hopeful!
FWM: Family businesses are your specialty. How can your book set the stage for leadership success?
I’ve read 100’s of business books but The Three Chairs is unique because …
(A) It’s a combination of research + practical action steps + storytelling.
(B) People LOVE that they can apply these leadership skills to their work AND personal life
(C) The concept / framework of these 3 chairs (3 attitudes) is so fresh and simple! I’ve taught it to kindergarten kids to Fortune 500 CEO’s … its so simple yet so powerful how our attitude impacts every decision we make and that we ALL can learn how to sit in the middle chair and become a confident great leader
FWM: Who will benefit from The Three Chairs?
Anyone who is hungry to develop their leadership skills (professionals, emerging leaders, managers, senior leaders).
The mission for the book is to get into the hands as as many people as possible! I want to see…
* Teams use it together to learn!
* Students / university students use it in their leadership classes
* Organizations use it as their textbook to develop a culture of middle chair leaders!
