Back when I started leading, I did what most leaders do:
I focused on the strategy
Leading teams at Starbucks and later becoming an Executive at one of the nation's largest credit unions, I was obsessed with the how.
How were we going to win, how to get others on board, how long would it take…. (I was super impatient, so the answer would always be not soon enough)
I would get all pumped up, trying to transfer my excitement about the plan, the product, the way we were going to do it.
And... it kind of worked, for a minute… but then the results, excitement, and buy in would always drop off and I would feel the need to keep manufacturing something within my team by focusing even more on the how.
If I am being honest, it was incredibly exhausting and I felt really defeated.
I was constantly spinning my wheels, attempting to manufacture something within my team, to have them care as much as I did, but it never really happened.
Until... I stopped focusing on the fruit and spent time nourishing the root.
For myself first, because I could not keep trying to chase the next “big thing” that was going to change everything for our team.
I realized that what I needed to do first was love, care for, and discover who I was first, so I actually had capacity to serve my teams beyond being a low rent hype man all the time.
To speak to their desires, to their dreams, to their futures.
I started helping my team by loving them as people first, getting to know what made them tick, and investing in the areas that would help them maximize their superpowers.
Then it hit me, what if I developed a system for those I led..
I mean, I had systems for everything else, why not have something that could help me consistently grow my leaders through radical engagement and accountability?
And then, this crazy thing started to happen…
My team started to care about everything we did, big and small, to a radical level.
We built a world-class culture, had explosive sales growth, and became known for our personal, intentional service to everyone in our communities.
All because I chose to scrap the “normal” way of focusing solely on numbers and strategies and helped my team build their own plans, that taught them how to:
- Motivate the best parts of their teams and themselves, with specific questions and action plans that spoke to the head and the heart.
- Tracking people and purpose driven tasks first (like investing time with your best instead of diving into emails that can wait)
- Celebrating, even the small wins, because success always builds on success and teams will run through brick walls for you when they know you care deeply for them.
Which… only, always, changes everything.
And now I get to share and implement this system with empowered executives all over the country through my consulting practice.
What a privilege it is to help leaders and teams up level how they lead:
- Which drives up engagement
- Which leads to higher productivity and performance
- Which leads to record profits, sales growth, and a work culture everyone loves being a part of.
This is the kind of transformation my clients get to experience