Lead Thru Values: Recent Episodes

James Mayhew

What separates great workplaces from average, ordinary workplaces? You know the ones that seem to effortlessly attract incredible people, dominate the competition and always seem to be on the leading edge? I’ve spent the last 10 years discovering what they do and how they do it… and designed a system to help you move your business from being average and ordinary, to one of excellence.And at the heart of that system are values. Because your values represent the best of who you are, what you stand for and what you don’t stand for… individually and collectively.Be sure to download your free Leading with Values guide at LeadThruValues.com. I’m your host James Mayhew, and you’re listening to Lead Thru Values.

Have you wondered how some companies are able to remain strong and seemingly able to withstand almost any external pressure like rising costs and even the threat of a global recession?

Do these companies have some sort of secret formula? And how do they seem to hold onto great people while many companies are struggling with turnover and trying to find great people.

If you’re experiencing some of these concerns and are hoping to find some answers, grab a notebook and get ready to take some notes as I’m joined by my friend, Ken Trupke.

Busy leaders hire Ken to help them identify the issues preventing them from growing their business, but what I like most about Ken’s approach is that he believes everyone wants to do work that excites them, to be part of something greater than themselves, and to be appreciated.

If you’re new to the podcast, my name is James Mayhew and i started this podcast with one thing in mind: to help you ensure that every person in your company has the knowledge, skills and confidence to do their jobs exceedingly well.

I’m glad you’re here. Now let’s jump in and learn from Ken Trupke.

You’ve probably heard that people don’t leave bad jobs; they leave because of bad bosses, poor management, and a lack of appreciation of their worth.

It’s cliche, yet it happens all the time and exit interviews confirm it.

Just because you’re in a management or leadership position, the immature, inexperienced or insecure leader incorrectly assumes that the people on their team will automatically respect, listen and follow direction directions.

It really doesn’t work that way. In fact, it takes a great deal of time, effort and skills to develop trust, let alone build true rapport with your team.

Here’s what doesn’t work.

Constant criticism, sarcasm, micro managing and just being downright cruel in your communication.

Think back to a time in your life when you’ve worked for a manager who routinely shoots down your ideas, doesn’t hear you out, and just overall, is disrespectful to you. It makes you miserable, erodes your confidence and overall, just makes your job intolerable.

This is a recipe for losing your best people.

But what if there was a better way? A simple, but powerful framework that promises to build trust and rapport?

That framework is the topic for episode 67 where I’m joined once again by my friend and turnaround specialist, Kevin Wormwood where we discuss the power of integrity, dignity and prosperity.

I’m James Mayhew, America’s Chief Culture Officer, and this podcast focuses on helping companies attract and retain great people, improve communication at every level, and boost your bottom line.

Comments, questions or feedback? Send James an email or initiate a conversation using this link: https://calendly.com/mayhew/connect

Contact James directly by calling (319) 929-2604.

There’s a lot of talk about #empathy as one of the most important — if not *the most important — leadership attribute.

I don’t disagree, except for when it’s not paired with #courage it doesn’t do anything for another person.

Empathy without courage is like having good intentions without action.

“Susan, I’m so sorry to hear about your mom last summer. The sympathy card is still on my desk all ready to go… I just keep forgetting to get a stamp and mail it.”

In that scenario, I feel better. But Susan doesn’t.

It’s likely I’ve just galvanized my relationship with Susan and from her perspective, I don’t really care her. She's clearly not a priority for me.

Be mindful about your thoughts as your thoughts become your words, and your words become your actions.

True empathy that’s paired with true courage — especially in a leader — means you say what needs to be said, while being mindful of the other person’s view and emotion.

It means you don’t delay having the crucial conversation. You make it a priority.

It means that you're open to how you could have done better. Clearer expectations. Giving helpful feedback. Listening better.

Courage is the ability to do the thing that frightens you.

Without it, empathy is just a feeling.

Comments, questions or feedback? Send James an email or initiate a conversation using this link: https://calendly.com/mayhew/connect

Contact James directly by calling (319) 929-2604.

Investing in your company culture will always pay off…

But only when you understand HOW to make culture an accelerator and not a detractor of individual, team and corporate performance.

Too many leaders of companies are trying to build culture with things like:

Food Truck Friday’s
After hours
Potlucks and celebrations
Quarterly awards
“Team building” activities

Don’t get me wrong. These aren’t bad things. Unless…

They’re seen as a deflection from addressing the real concerns that employees have such as:

Dumb rules and policies
Bad management
Poor hiring decisions
Tolerating or even promoting bullies (I see this all too often)
Not having any kind of performance review
Ideas that aren’t listened to
Frustrations with old, worn out equipment or technology liked phone systems and computers
Tolerating gossip by coworkers or managers

Leaders that won’t address any od these issues, but continuously paint a picture of how great everything is.

Wise leaders know that these issues are the killers of productivity, efficiency, and profit.

Wise leaders also take ownership for knowing that they’re 100% responsible for it.

And finally, wise leaders have the humility to know they may need some help to make it happen.

Then and only then can they be confident that their Investment in their company culture will show up in the bottom line in a powerful way.

Have you ever considered how you come across to others? Is it possible that the way you communicate might be creating some unintended issues between you and other’s? On today’s episode I’m going to walk you through the 4 communication styles that exist in every team so you can have more win-win situations. Hey, Team welcome back to Lead Thru Values. If you’re new, I’m glad you’re here. You should know that the purpose of this podcast is to help be a better leader and give you practical tips to ensure that every person on your team has the skills, knowledge and confidence to do their job exceptionally well. If you’re a returning listener, I want to thank you for giving me a few minutes of your day. I’m grateful for you. Communication can be a real struggle in business as evidenced by these stats: 86% of employees and executives cite the lack of effective communication and collaboration as the main cause of workplace failures. 97% of employees believe that communication impacts their performance on a daily basis. 28% of employees cite poor communication as the reason for not delivering their work on time. A Harvard Business Review report cites that 72% of employees feel their performance would improve if their managers gave them feedback on their work. Another report by Trade Press Services shows that as many as 85% of employees claim they are most motivated when regularly updated about company news and information. There’s a direct connection between communication and employee engagement. According to Gallup, team members with higher levels of engagement: Produce substantially better results Treat customers better and also attract new customers Are more likely to remain with their company Are overall healthier and less likely to experience burnout.

However, there are 4 prominent types of behavior that impact the effectiveness of communication in any company. The first one is Passive Communication. People who communicate in passive ways tend to give in. They want to keep the peace and they believe the best way to keep the peace is to remain quiet. As a result, this damages their own self-esteem as the wrestle internally with speaking up or just staying quiet. In other words, the Passive communicator views the situation as “You’re Ok, but I’m not.” The second type of behavior style is Aggressive Communication. People who communicate in an aggressive way look for ways to take advantage of a situation and/or another person. They tend to talk people down in an effort to damage the other person’s self-esteem. They use forceful tones, strong language and body language to attempt to intimidate their counterpart. They see it as adversarial or even combative. In short, the outcome they want is that, “I’m OK and you’re not. And I don’t care.” The third type of behavior style that impacts communication in the workplace is being Passive-Aggressive. This one is the most toxic because what’s not being said is what’s actually being said. The passive-aggressive individual pretends to go along with the group. A decision. A course of action. A strategy.

But, they use tactics like gossip and back biting to tear others down. They also use non verbal communication such as sighs and eye rolls that don’t match their words. “I suppose that’s best…” [punctuated with a sigh as they walk away] is an example of passive aggressiveness. It’s incredibly damaging to a team’s culture as it’s damaging both to the passive aggressive person as well as others. The mindset of the passive-aggressive individual is, “I’m not OK, and you’re not OK.” And that takes us to the fourth behavior style that impacts communication, but in a positive and powerful way, Assertive communication. Team, this is where we want to be! Assertive communication is rooted in compromise. You’ve said your peace. I’ve said mine. And, now we can move forward to find a solution where we both win instead of one...

Have you ever considered how you come across to others? Is it possible that the way you communicate might be creating some unintended issues between you and other’s? On today’s episode I’m going to walk you through the 4 communication styles that exist in every team so you can have more win-win situations. Hey, Team welcome back to Lead Thru Values. If you’re new, I’m glad you’re here. You should know that the purpose of this podcast is to help be a better leader and give you practical tips to ensure that every person on your team has the skills, knowledge and confidence to do their job exceptionally well. If you’re a returning listener, I want to thank you for giving me a few minutes of your day. I’m grateful for you. Communication can be a real struggle in business as evidenced by these stats: 86% of employees and executives cite the lack of effective communication and collaboration as the main cause of workplace failures. 97% of employees believe that communication impacts their performance on a daily basis. 28% of employees cite poor communication as the reason for not delivering their work on time. A Harvard Business Review report cites that 72% of employees feel their performance would improve if their managers gave them feedback on their work. Another report by Trade Press Services shows that as many as 85% of employees claim they are most motivated when regularly updated about company news and information. There’s a direct connection between communication and employee engagement. According to Gallup, team members with higher levels of engagement: Produce substantially better results Treat customers better and also attract new customers Are more likely to remain with their company Are overall healthier and less likely to experience burnout.

However, there are 4 prominent types of behavior that impact the effectiveness of communication in any company. The first one is Passive Communication. People who communicate in passive ways tend to give in. They want to keep the peace and they believe the best way to keep the peace is to remain quiet. As a result, this damages their own self-esteem as the wrestle internally with speaking up or just staying quiet. In other words, the Passive communicator views the situation as “You’re Ok, but I’m not.” The second type of behavior style is Aggressive Communication. People who communicate in an aggressive way look for ways to take advantage of a situation and/or another person. They tend to talk people down in an effort to damage the other person’s self-esteem. They use forceful tones, strong language and body language to attempt to intimidate their counterpart. They see it as adversarial or even combative. In short, the outcome they want is that, “I’m OK and you’re not. And I don’t care.” The third type of behavior style that impacts communication in the workplace is being Passive-Aggressive. This one is the most toxic because what’s not being said is what’s actually being said. The passive-aggressive individual pretends to go along with the group. A decision. A course of action. A strategy.

But, they use tactics like gossip and back biting to tear others down. They also use non verbal communication such as sighs and eye rolls that don’t match their words. “I suppose that’s best…” [punctuated with a sigh as they walk away] is an example of passive aggressiveness. It’s incredibly damaging to a team’s culture as it’s damaging both to the passive aggressive person as well as others. The mindset of the passive-aggressive individual is, “I’m not OK, and you’re not OK.” And that takes us to the fourth behavior style that impacts communication, but in a positive and powerful way, Assertive communication. Team, this is where we want to be! Assertive communication is rooted in compromise. You’ve said your peace. I’ve said mine. And, now we can move forward to find a solution where we both win instead of one...

Call James at (319) 929-2604 Connect with James on https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesrmayhew/ (LinkedIn) Learn more about how James helps companies attract and retain great people, improve how teams work together, increasing employee engagement at https://jamesmayhew.com (JamesMayhew.com) On today's episode...

A trillion dollars. That’s what US businesses are losing every year due to voluntary turnover. But here’s a hard truth for you: most of this is self-inflicted. Hey, Team welcome back to Lead Thru Values. This podcast exists to help you ensure that every person on your team has the skills, knowledge and confidence to do their job exceptionally well. And today, I want to share something I’m seeing in my work companies across a variety of industries and sizes. Turnover is expensive. According to Gallup the cost of replacing an individual employee can range from one-half to two times the employees annual salary (a very conservative estimate.) So a company with 100 employees that provides an average salary of $50,000 could have turnover and replacement costs anywhere between $660,000 and $2.6 million per year. That’s according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics report that measured an annual turnover rate of 26.3%… in 2017. That’s 5 years ago and pre-pandemic. Losing your best people means you have a leadership performance gap. And there’s no denying it. But, that means it is also fixable. It would be too easy to say that this is natural or inevitable. Yes, people move. Get married. Get divorced. Some people pursue their own dream to start their own company. Here are some additional statistics. 52% of voluntary exiting employees say their manager or organization could have done something different to prevent them from leaving their job.

It would be easy to assume or say, “we did everything to make it right and keep that person…” But over half of exiting employees tell that in the 3 months prior to them leaving, neither their manager or any other leader spoke with them about their job satisfaction or future with the company. Don’t miss that! In 3 months, nobody asked them how they felt about their job. No one talked with them about their future. This is the leak that I’m seeing and I want to help you know how to plug it. You train your managers to have consistent, meaningful conversations with employees. I train and coach my clients on how to have a real Progress Meeting where a productive, 2-way conversation occurs every 30 days. Now before you stop listening because you either think you’re already doing this, or you can’t stomach the thought of another meeting, stick with me. Here are 3 keys:The meeting gets scheduled out a year every 30 days. The goal is that a minimum of 10 meetings occur per calendar year. Why is scheduling them ahead of time so vital? Because what’s easy to do is also easy not to do. Getting them on the calendar creates accountability and an expectation that they’ll happen. All too often this simple step is taken for granted, resulting in gaps of 2, 3 or even 4 months. The progress meeting must be a conversation. Conversations create clarity, but you cannot get clarity without be an active listener. Managers, it’s not your job to do all the talking. You should be asking questions and listening to learn, not to respond. How are things going on the XYZ project? Have you run into any unexpected challenges or roadblocks? Do you have everything you need to hit the target?

And the best managers learn the communication and behavior style of themselves AND of each of their team members. This is absolutely vital, because a more direct manager who loves to ask rapid fire questions will easily intimidate the person who’s processing the situation. This one example is one I’ve seen played out many, many times. And it erodes respect and ultimately trust between both sides.

Create a space for radical candor. Conscientious leaders and managers

Call James at (319) 929-2604 Connect with James on https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesrmayhew/ (LinkedIn) Learn more about how James helps companies attract and retain great people, improve how teams work together, increasing employee engagement at https://jamesmayhew.com (JamesMayhew.com) On today's episode...

A trillion dollars. That’s what US businesses are losing every year due to voluntary turnover. But here’s a hard truth for you: most of this is self-inflicted. Hey, Team welcome back to Lead Thru Values. This podcast exists to help you ensure that every person on your team has the skills, knowledge and confidence to do their job exceptionally well. And today, I want to share something I’m seeing in my work companies across a variety of industries and sizes. Turnover is expensive. According to Gallup the cost of replacing an individual employee can range from one-half to two times the employees annual salary (a very conservative estimate.) So a company with 100 employees that provides an average salary of $50,000 could have turnover and replacement costs anywhere between $660,000 and $2.6 million per year. That’s according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics report that measured an annual turnover rate of 26.3%… in 2017. That’s 5 years ago and pre-pandemic. Losing your best people means you have a leadership performance gap. And there’s no denying it. But, that means it is also fixable. It would be too easy to say that this is natural or inevitable. Yes, people move. Get married. Get divorced. Some people pursue their own dream to start their own company. Here are some additional statistics. 52% of voluntary exiting employees say their manager or organization could have done something different to prevent them from leaving their job.

It would be easy to assume or say, “we did everything to make it right and keep that person…” But over half of exiting employees tell that in the 3 months prior to them leaving, neither their manager or any other leader spoke with them about their job satisfaction or future with the company. Don’t miss that! In 3 months, nobody asked them how they felt about their job. No one talked with them about their future. This is the leak that I’m seeing and I want to help you know how to plug it. You train your managers to have consistent, meaningful conversations with employees. I train and coach my clients on how to have a real Progress Meeting where a productive, 2-way conversation occurs every 30 days. Now before you stop listening because you either think you’re already doing this, or you can’t stomach the thought of another meeting, stick with me. Here are 3 keys:The meeting gets scheduled out a year every 30 days. The goal is that a minimum of 10 meetings occur per calendar year. Why is scheduling them ahead of time so vital? Because what’s easy to do is also easy not to do. Getting them on the calendar creates accountability and an expectation that they’ll happen. All too often this simple step is taken for granted, resulting in gaps of 2, 3 or even 4 months. The progress meeting must be a conversation. Conversations create clarity, but you cannot get clarity without be an active listener. Managers, it’s not your job to do all the talking. You should be asking questions and listening to learn, not to respond. How are things going on the XYZ project? Have you run into any unexpected challenges or roadblocks? Do you have everything you need to hit the target?

And the best managers learn the communication and behavior style of themselves AND of each of their team members. This is absolutely vital, because a more direct manager who loves to ask rapid fire questions will easily intimidate the person who’s processing the situation. This one example is one I’ve seen played out many, many times. And it erodes respect and ultimately trust between both sides.

Create a space for radical candor. Conscientious leaders and managers

Have you ever asked yourself this? What value am I bringing to this conversation today? Hey, Team welcome back to Lead Thru Values. This podcast exists to help you ensure that every person on your team has the skills, knowledge and confidence to do their job exceptionally well. And today’s podcast is a new, short form version that I’m calling Lessons From The Training Room, where I share a powerful real-world leadership examples with you from my work with executives, business owners and managers. Today’s topic is reflective… it’s designed to cause you think about the impact you’re making today. Because there are a lot of people in leadership roles out there who are just going through the motions… just checking the boxes… just trying to make it through the day and through the week. But if you have the burden of leadership… and yes, I specifically said burden — not privilege — then this might hit home for you, or for others on your team. So go and teach it. Before you send that next email… Before you have your next 1:1 with a team member… Before you start your next team meeting… Pause long enough and ask yourself this IMPACTFUL question: What value am I bringing to this conversation? Truly, this 5-second “Snicker’s moment” might be the difference between: A misunderstanding or clearly communicated action steps; A disengaged, unmotivated employee or an engaged, motivated employee; A missed opportunity to listen or a new idea that will save your company thousands of dollars (or more!); Giving the impression the person(s) on the other side of the conversation are just part of a machine, or showing them their value and your appreciation of it. Again, ask yourself, “What value am I bringing to this conversation?” And before you tell yourself, “I got this!” maybe you want to slow down and consider what questions you can ask to learn… instead of what items you want to tell. If you’re serious about building a competitive edge over your competition, you’ll need a system that ensures the right conversations are happening between managers and employees.

Because…

Conversations create clarity. Clarity produces action. Action drives results.

If you want to learn more about how to guarantee the right conversations are happening in your company, I invite you to pick up the phone and call me directly at 319-929-2604 for a free, no obligation conversation. I’m James Mayhew and I’ll catch you next time on LTV.

When you want engaged employees, but you only focus on metrics, you’re missing hundreds of opportunities through the course of the year to actually cause higher engagement. Hey, Team welcome back to Lead Thru Values. This podcast exists to help you ensure that every person on your team has the skills, knowledge and confidence to do their job exceptionally well. And today’s podcast is a new, short form version that I’m calling Lessons From The Training Room, where I share a powerful real-world leadership examples with you from my work with executives, business owners and managers. Many of you are very familiar… intimately familiar… with the term KPI. Key. Performance. Indicators. KPI’s have been around for years and have been used to measure progress on a variety of business stats. Closing ratios. Calls made. Efficiencies of all types. Revenue. Here’s what I’ve found: Most managers focus only on the metrics. I’d like to offer you a new perspective on the acronym, KPI. In fact, I’d like to offer you 4 new variations that are focused on engagement.

1. Keep people informed.

People want to know how they’re doing. James, you’re at 127% of your quota for outbound calls. Keep up the good work! James, your hourly production is steady at 96% of goal, but your QC is 13% below goal.

Be consistent and transparent with your reports and make sure the information is up to date and accurate.

2. Keep people interested.

James, did you know that if you just close one more deal each week, you’ll hit your target? Let me show you something…

The best leaders work with their team members to help them see where they need to improve. They’re comfortable and skilled with setting expectations, providing helpful feedback in a timely manner, and they provide guidance with HOW to improve.

3. Keep people involved.

If you want to deepen employee engagement, then be open to ideas and suggestions. James, what are you seeing right now? What opportunities are we missing?

Seek ideas and suggestions by asking specific questions. And listen to learn, not respond.

4. Keep people inspired.

Even great people can get into a slump. James, you’ve missed your targets 3 of the last 4 weeks. How can I help you get back on track?

You can go 1 of 2 ways. Treat the person with dignity… or treat them like a replaceable part of your machine. Here are the 4 most powerful words you might ever say to another person: I. Believe. In. You. Even the greatest athletes hit slumps. The best hitter in baseball goes 0 for 24. Or the basketball player with the 92% free throw percentage goes 2 for 7 in a pivotal loss. People don’t want to fail. They aren’t trying to miss targets. They may be doing everything right, but they’re just in a slump. And slump’s have a way of ending in amazing ways.

In each of these examples, if the conversation doesn’t go past the first stage of keeping people informed, you’re not leading. Leading a team requires you to make time for teaching, encouraging, motivating and being a champion for when things are going well… and when they’re not going well. You can focus on the metrics and keep missing opportunities, or you can go beyond the metrics and get to the real KPI’s. The choice is yours. If you’re serious about building a competitive edge over your competition, you’ll need a system that ensures the right conversations are happening between managers and employees. Because… Conversations create clarity. Clarity produces action. Action drives results. If you want to learn more about how to guarantee the right conversations are happening in your company, I invite you to pick up the phone and call me directly at 319-929-2604 for a free, no obligation conversation. I’m James Mayhew and I’ll catch you next time on LTV.

Hiring. Managing people. Leadership. Communication. Building a business through people. Kevin Wormwood and Kyle Steele join James Mayhew on Episode 60 of Lead Thru Values to share their thoughts on the idea of building up people while building your business. The three men are friends who share a passion for leadership development, building great teams and for simplifying business. Kevin Wormwood is a District Manager for Ashley Furniture. Connect with Kevin on https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinwormwood/ (LinkedIn). Kyle Steel is the Chief Revenue Officer for Premiere Plus. Connect with Kyle on https://www.linkedin.com/in/thekcsteele/ (LinkedIn).

In episode 59, James speaks with Melissa White, founder of Balanced Fitness and Health on the topics of grit, resilience and determination. Melissa reveals how multiple tragic elements from her past shape her dedication to serve her clientele with care and compassion. Melissa White Having struggled to recover from a serious car accident, Melissa White became an occupational therapist to help others who have suffered injuries. Today, she has a mission to empower people, cultivate change and improve health by educating and motivating people to own their health & wellbeing. She founded https://www.balancedfitnessandhealth.com (Balanced Fitness & Health) in 2015, leveraging her experience in the medical system and knowledge of psychosocial factors to apply a proactive approach to injury prevention and recovery from surgery and chronic pain.

If you’re in any kind of leadership role, there’s a reality check you need to be aware of, and it’s something I see a lot of leaders struggle with. The reality check is this: there’s a strong chance you’re not getting the full truth from people on your team. That’s right. They’re holding out on you and not being 100% open and honest with you. That’s a tough pill to swallow, but that’s why it’s an important issue to lean into. And that’s why it’s the topic for Episode 58 of Lead Thru Values. Contact James today: (319) 929-2604 coach@jamesmayhew.com Hello and welcome back to the podcast. It’s so great to be with you again because we’re doing important work together here. Building a culture of performance mastery is one of the hardest things you’ll do as a leader because of all the nuances, challenges and personal growth you’ll have to do… but that means it also has the greatest reward! It rewards your employees, your customers, your bottom line and of course, you and the pride in knowing you’ve done it well, good and faithful servant. And that’s what we talk about on this podcast. I want to help you connect the 30,000 foot view of your business to what’s going on at the ground level. When working with clients, the goal is to identify gaps: communication gaps knowledge gaps leadership gaps talent gaps training gaps ...and then work tenaciously with the business leaders to close them. Because there’s no shortcuts, no silver bullets to building a place where people want to come to, where they get a chance to do their best work and experience feelings of pride, fulfillment and accomplishment. I blessed to work with some truly wonderful people. Business owners and executives who truly care about dignity, integrity and prosperity. And this brings me back to the topic for today which is the reality check that when you’re in a position of authority - whether that’s being a business owner, CEO, a manager, executive director - those positions put you in a spot where you’re not always getting the complete truth. And for the people in those roles, that’s tough to hear even if they’re aware of it. The reason that it’s tough to hear is because they want to create a culture of open and honest communication. The mistake I see being made, however, is a gap between intention and action. More specifically, I’m referring to leaders that say they want open and honest communication, that they want people on their teams to bring ideas, help them see new perspectives, even questions decisions they’re considering. I have several people that are coming to mind right now that I know, without a doubt, want that. And when they say it to their leadership teams or to their staff, they all agree. They nod. They smile. And I believe they believe they’ll do it. So what’s the issue? The issue is rooted in the way we structure business. In 2009, I took a job for an upstart company as a marketing specialist. I was one of about 20 employees; a member of the team. At that time we were a pretty flat organization where all of us reported to both of the owners. When we hit about 40 people, I moved into a manager role. And instantly the relationship dynamics changed. Now I had 2 direct reports that I managed, who just a day before were coworkers. We had 1:1 meetings and our little team of 3 would meet together, plus we’d meet with the marketing department. Being a manager now, I was invited to meetings that my team wasn’t. As a result, I had information they didn’t. Now, they knew that. It comes with the territory. But when people know that you know more than they do about the company’s health, direction, plans, etc., no matter what, it creates distance. A gap. That’s what I mean about the change in relationship dynamics. About a year later I was promoted to vice president. Again, my relationships changed again. I was privy to even more inside information....

Contact James:
(319) 929-2604
Coach@JamesMayhew.com

I want to speak with you today about your company’s DNA. This message is really focused to business owners and founders.

So if you’re a business owner - even if you’ve been a business owner before - I want you to think back to when your company was formed.

What was going through your mind?
What emotions were you experiencing? As I speak with clients about this, one of the consistent reactions I get is a smile.

They smile because there’s an abundance of experiences that are playing through their mind like old family videos and films.

I’ve heard them say things like:

I didn’t know what I didn’t know.
I was naive.
I thought it I had it all figured out.
It was a blast.
We were killing it.
It was so much fun.

As I listen, I try to be careful not to ask questions too fast because I want them to stay locked into that moment.

After some silence, they’ll start to go deeper…

We had a really great group in the beginning.
Everyone just knew what to do.
We loved the competing with each other.
We couldn’t afford many benefits in the beginning, so we played video games together when we were slow.

When I watch them tell me about starting up, I see joy. I see excitement. Most of the time as they’re recalling this phase they’re not making eye contact with me. They’re looking at something on the wall or off into space.

When their eyes return to mine that’s when I know it’s OK to ask another question.

I can tell those are good memories for you. What are some of the reasons you were successful in the early days?

And their answers are where I begin to help them rediscover their company’s DNA.

They tell me about times when they landed the big account and wondered how they could possibly serve them.

Or a time when a major mistake nearly cost them everything.

We pulled together. Everyone pitched in. Everyone sacrificed.
We learned how to do things on the fly. It wasn’t easy, but it was exciting.
We learned about each other.

And this is when I know we’re getting to the best elements.

But the reality is that these elements - the best things about the company’s origins - in many cases are long forgotten. Or, in some cases, not forgotten, but they’ve lost their shine; their power.

Here’s what happens and why it’s absolutely vital to help my clients rediscover this who they are, where they came from, so they never forget what makes them uniquely better.

During a company’s startup there’s a nucleus of people; the brain trust.And there’s a powerful vision they’re following which is usually driven by the founder or founders.

They constantly talk about that vision almost as if they’re reminding themselves that “this is who we are, what we do, and why we’re better.”

It happens in meetings.

It happens in the moment such as dealing with an opportunity or an obstacle, dealing a customer who is unhappy and threatening to take their business elsewhere… or worse.

It happens as everyone is high-giving and jumping up and down because you just had your biggest month ever.

What happens next is inevitable. You GROW.

And with your growth you realize you must add more people to keep up with the work.

So you start recruiting. There’s something good about how you’re recruiting in the early days…

You have to sell great people on the opportunity to make a difference.
You know you can’t compete on pay, on 401k matches, or even vacation days.
But you can compete on opportunity and the ability to do what you do best and have that be noticed by you and everyone else.

Let’s call this the 2nd ring. These employees mostly understand who the company is, what it does, why it’s uniquely better, and mostly understand the tribal knowledge.

“Every minute you worry about external stuff is a minute that you’re not free.”
— Curt Mercadante

This is one of those episodes to listen to closely.

I mean really listen because taking 100% responsibility for your choices, for your attitude, for your belief system….

For your life…

Is a message we all need reminded of.

Curt Mercadante Bio & Contact Info
Connect with Curt on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/curtmercadante/
Buy Curt's book, Five Pillars of the Freedom Lifestyle on Amazon here.
Learn more about Curt's workshops and events at curtmercadante.life
Curt Mercadante helps driven men clear their limiting beliefs, dissolve their stress, and rediscover their lives of joy and FREEDOM.

For 25 years, he has counseled small business, entrepreneurs, as well as some of the largest corporations and associations in the country. He’s built three profitable businesses, including a 7-figure PR and ad agency.

Curt has trained, coached, and delivered keynotes and workshops to clients across the globe.

Curt is a Certified Human Behavior Consultant, a Certified Ho'oponopono and Law of Attraction Practitioner, and author of the bestselling book, “Five Pillars of the Freedom Lifestyle.”

Curt, his wife, and their four children currently reside in Sedona, Arizona following a year of traveling the country as part of their freedom lifestyle.

Five Pillars of the Freedom Lifestyle: How to Escape Your Comfort Zone of Misery

Have you ever had someone ask you for the outcomes that your company is counting on you to deliver in your job?

Well that’s a question I ask my clients.

And you know what I’ve found?

Most people really struggle to answer what seems to be a fairly straightforward question.

I’m James Mayhew, americas chief culture officer, and that’s the topic for this episode of LTV

Here’s the background as to why this is such an important question for business leaders to be able to answer:

When clients hire me they want to want to know how to consistently hit their targets.

And they want to know that everyone is doing a high level of work on the most important things.

And in working with a variety of business leaders I’ve found that these are consistent regardless of company size, tenure and title.

So over the years I added processes that help get alignment around what it actually takes to accomplish that.

It’s built around the function of creating a performance agreement between a manager and employee.

And it’s one of the most vital things you’ll ever do to create clarity and instill a sense of confidence and achievement.

The performance agreement process I use consists of three key parts, but the one I want to focus on today are defining your primary job responsibilities. Your PJRs.

And that brings us back to the question of the day: what outcomes the business is counting on you to deliver.

When I dive in, the first responses I get are things like managing the day to day, ensuring we stay profitable, set the direction, delegating work, and so on.

And those are true, but what we need to get to are the things that are beyond the day to day activities of the job description.

By the way, most job descriptions I see posted are a disaster. They’re written with excess corporate gobbledygook, that no one can really be held accountable to.

That’s a different topic for a different day, but this is why people struggle to identify the outcomes that the business depends upon them for. They talk about what they do and how they do it, but not why behind it or what the impact is.

I’d like to share an example with you using the top of safety to show you a great PJR.

Let’s imagine that you’re a supervisor in a manufacturing environment.

One of your primary job responsibilities is around creating a safe environment.

Your job description would probably say something like ‘ensure all safety procedures are in place and everyone is trained in them.’

Sounds ok, right? And that’s what most people end up writing. And we don’t really take it further than that to arrive at an outcome.

So what are some of the outcomes of your responsibilities around safety?

If we lean into this further, we’ll find some clues.

Passing inspections. Avoiding citations. Making sure people are safe.

And that last statement is where you can start to really dig into deeper.

What does it actually mean to make sure people are safe?

What I’ve found is this is the desired outcome: At the end of the day we want our people to go home to their families in the same condition they started.

And that’s when you get to the heart of the PJR. It becomes bigger because we’re now talking about valuing Becky, John and Sue as humans, not just parts of our business machine.

It’s powerful.

Remember that conversations creates clarity around things like primary job responsibilities.

And having that clarity gives you confidence, permission and authority to take action on the most important work.

And that’s the hallmark of a high performance workplace.

Today I want to talk with you about the word “drift.”

Here in the midwest we have snow drifts in the winter that can be both beautiful and dangerous on the roads.

If you’re into motorsports and racing - especially the virtual type - then the word drift is exciting and fun as you create a controlled high speed slide around corners.

But what happens when drift occurs in your business? I’m specifically speaking about culture drift.

And that’s the topic for today’s episode, so let’s get started.

Let’s talk about the impact culture has on reaching your objectives and goals.

First, your organizational culture is a set of shared beliefs, attitudes and behaviors that either enhances how you get work done… or gets in the way of how you get work done.

Don’t miss this…

Your culture exists whether you’re paying attention to it or not, and just because you’ve done a workshop or two about company culture and your core values are on the wall, you will not have lasting results.

None of those things will ensure that your employees are doing exceptional work on the most significant things.

Culture isn’t just something you discuss in meetings.

And, culture isn’t created because you have potlucks in the summer, team building games, Food Truck Fridays, or because you added a game room with foosball air hockey and table tennis.

Now don’t get me wrong, those are NOT bad things. But they could be bad things when they take priority over improving the working conditions such as replacing slow computers, addressing quality or safety issues, or holding purposeful meetings so employees know where they stand.

We have to remember that culture is something you DO daily. It’s a collection of attitudes, beliefs and actions that define…

HOW you serve your customers;

HOW you help employees grow;

HOW you make strategic decisions;

HOW you develop products and go to market;

HOW you attract, hire and retain people;

In short, your culture sets the expectations for everything you do in business.

How many of you have a statement on your company’s website or job postings that states something like, “We pride ourselves in consistently delivering outstanding customer service?”

What you may not realize is just how lofty that statement actually is!

You’re really setting the bar high by using words such as consistently outstanding.

Now I’m not suggesting you don’t use those words, but what I am suggesting is that a culture that supports those words is a company that makes that a reality instead of ‘good intention.’

That means you and everyone in the company understands what it takes to deliver a consistent and outstanding experience for your customers.

You will need to define, communicate and constantly teach the behaviors that lead to that desired outcome.

This is the point when most culture initiatives fail.

If you aren’t defining and clearly communicating your expectations it’s impossible and unethical to hold people accountable to them.

What happens next is what I’m referring to as culture drift.

I want to share the four most powerful words you’ll ever say to another person.

These words will…

Boost confidence
Build self esteem
Give encouragement
Empower creativity
Enhance decision making
Deepen rapport
Increase trust

And as a result, you’ll see…

Leadership abilities develop.
More honest and open communication.
Renewed energy.
Joy.
Fulfillment.
Passion.

So, are you curious about these four words?

Here they are. Say them out loud in your mind as you read them.

I
Believe
In
You.

That simple sentence will unlock hidden potential in another human being.

The best leaders see potential in others and work to cultivate it.

They don’t fear it. Don’t envy it.

They give it life!

Make a difference in someone’s life today and give them some encouragement!

And if the situation calls for it,

Don’t be afraid to honestly and confidently tell them you believe in them.

In this conversation between Mike Henry, Sr. and James, the two men discuss how faith has impacted their careers.

Mike shares his thoughts on feeling stuck, limited and aiming too low at work, and how he found new energy by aiming higher and serving others.

Mike's Bio
Mike Henry Sr. began Follower of One to help every marketplace Christ-follower experience the joy of working with Jesus.

Follower of One is a global community for individuals who follow Jesus and want their life to matter. He desires to help every workplace believer intentionally follow Jesus full-time regardless of their position on an organizational chart.

Prior to Follower of One, Mike was vice president for a nationwide technology service provider and before that he worked in several industries including Financial Services, Energy and Telecommunications.

Mike and his wife Vicky reside in the Tulsa Oklahoma area. They have two adult children, two children-in-law and 3 grandchildren.

Connect with Mike on LinkedIn
https://followerofone.org
mike@followerofone.org

Contact Zach at https://zachmessler.com or connect with him on LinkedIn

Be Perfectly Understood. Those 3 powerful words summarize how Zach Messler helps his companies explain their unique solutions to their client's problems in a clear, concise and remarkable way.

On episode 51, James and Zach explore 4 powerful words and the history behind them: Stand In Your Power.Some of the greatest things to ever happen...won’t. Zach Messler wants to change that. See, Zach had a 20-year career in technology product marketing, teaching non-technical sales pros to explain complex software to executive buyers.

As attention spans and buying behaviors evolved before his eyes, Zach learned first- hand about the importance of being heard...and how to achieve it.

A messaging and positioning adviser with a knack for what to say and how to say it, Zach believes some of the greatest things to never happen, should.

And it’s the power of messaging that makes all the difference.

There’s a wall between people who work on the production floor — and those in the office.

That wall is a barrier in both the literal and figurative sense.

I want to address how that wall creates separation between employees in unintended ways that results in miscommunication, misunderstandings, misperceptions and missed opportunities.

According to some research from Gallup, less than 25% of employees in the US strongly believe their company cares about their wellbeing.

That figure was highest among those in management positions.

And, most alarming to me, the percentage of employees who are extremely satisfied with their company as a place to work dropped from 23% to only 18% over roughly the past year.

Obviously there are many external factors that are contributing to this.

But not all of them are external. There are many that are internal. And that means they can be addressed and corrected.

I've found that great manufacturing companies that truly see their employees as humans (not some sort of cog in a machine) do these 5 things consistently well.

Have questions for James? Send James an email.

Several years ago I was siting across from the company owner and he told me…

"Your goal is that all of our employees are fully engaged."

I remember how I was taken aback by that statement.

I thought,
How is that possible?
Is that eve a reasonable expectation for him to give me?
Several years later, I have a new perspective.

I learned that he was right in concept but not how he was demanding it of me at the time.

It is possible.
It is reasonable.
There’s not a magic formula. .

I finally get it. I see it differently.

Because I see it now through a lens of EXECUTION excellence…

Today I have a very special guest for you, Ann Richardson.

Ann is a visionary and transformative health care consultant. She is often referred to as “the doctor whisperer” because of her tenacious commitment to improving the healthcare industry.

Ann works with administrators and clinicians helping them deliver the highest possible patient care through program development & training, leadership development, and operational effectiveness.

A fierce patient advocate, Ann is passionate about being a voice for frontline workers to implement their ideas for improving patient care.

Ann and I became acquainted through LinkedIn because of our like-minded views on creating high performance workplaces and our desire for developing elite performers who exemplify great leadership through strong values, morals and ethics.

Ann's contact info:
Ann Richardson
Healthcare Systems Transformation & Operations Consultant
Lead Well Healthcare Consultants
ann@leadwellhealthcareconsultants.com
(508) 726-3270

What if this structured training system — a system that’s been in place for generations in various trades — became part of your company’s formal recruiting-hiring-development process?

As the employee you receive a comprehensive education about the business that goes far beyond the baseline knowledge required for the job.

How your job impacts the business: sales, fulfillment, purchasing, finance.

How each person’s contributions drive revenue and profitability.

How your culture of development and history of churning out rock stars at all levels is your greatest competitive advantage.

As a job seeker, you’re getting paid two ways: one in the currency of money, the other currency of experience

You get the benefit of a head start on your career. You’ll be 2-6 years ahead of where you’d be if you went to college first.

You’re learning the business, the market, the industry. You’re getting professional development opportunities…

Leadership. Presentation skills. Collaboration.

Being surrounded by other high performers who’ve “come up through the ranks” gives you multiple people to go to for advice, wisdom, and mentoring.

And there’s also another currency… you build loyalty to a company that saw potential in you, sometimes before you saw it in yourself.

Apprenticeship is not a function of conventional HR;

Rather a new, strategic aspect of your company;

As important as any other operations team such as sales, fulfillment or purchasing.

Why not embrace apprenticeship as part of your organizational culture and your overall business strategy?

The cost vs benefit analysis seems pretty clear.

It’s my belief that this is the evolution in business and embodies the flexibility that young people are seeking.

I’m helping a client discover and define their core values and behaviors.

This week we dug deep and uncovered some absolutely fascinating attributes of their culture.

People around the room are in various roles. Some are executive level. Some are management.

Some are neither.

But one thing they all have in common is that they’re invested.

Invested in the company.
Its customers.
Its products.
Its solutions.
Its people.
Its mission.
Its vision.

One word that surfaced during the discovery process was Grace.

Grace has been a cultural attribute in this company from the very beginning.

That struck me as highly unusual. I’ve not seen that particular word come forward before. At least not like this.

Here’s the interesting thing: they didn’t think it was a big deal until I showed them an outsider’s perspective of just how amazing it was by the way they were describing the history and impact of grace..

And that’s when the energy changed.

This team started to believe more in the process we’re going through.

They started to think differently. Deeper.

And they began to not only understand - but embrace what they’re a part of and how they’re contributing to it.

This is what makes my job so fulfilling and exciting for me!

Now what comes after this discovery and defining stage is bringing these attributes to life so they are visible, measurable, and teachable.

We’ll integrate them into formal and informal feedback.
We’ll integrate them into their hiring process.
We’ll integrate them into their strategic planning process.

And, they’ll become an integral part of their culture of execution excellence.

It will forever change their company for the better.

This process is so much more than writing statements. This process is about investing in the development of individuals and team.

It’s about inspiring greatness in every activity.

It’s about instilling a sense of confidence and belief in what WE are building and accomplishing.

Like I said, I love what I do because I keep looking until I find the spark. And then I pour gasoline on it.

What unique attributes of your company culture are waiting to be discovered — or even re-discovered?

Is there something that’s missing… something that used to be there but has been stolen by the busyness and disruption of the last couple of years?

Perhaps you’re a business owner who’s looking for a way to get your team re-energized and re-engaged in the business but you’re not sure what you need to do.

Or maybe you’re the leader of a fast growing company and the growth has started to level off and you want to breathe new life into it.

Or maybe a new competitor has moved into your market and they have a better way of doing things.

If those examples hit home, you have options.

I give my clients an unfair advantage over their competition because we’ll build something that no one else can duplicate: a high performance workplace based on your unique and distinct business DNA.

I start conversations that need to happen that just don’t happen on their own.

Here’s why that’s important: Conversations create clarity and that clarity produces action, and action drives your results.

Contact James at (319-929-2604) or email your questions, comments and feedback to James at 'coach @ james mayhew.com'

This might be one of my most important episodes of this podcast. I touched on this subject briefly in episode 14 which is actually a video series I made called JAM Sessions.

But today I’m going to peel back the curtain around why so many companies who have core values are failing to make them real and they become nothing more than words on the wall.

1 Your values are not mentioned - or at best - are just after thoughts in your job postings, your intervies and your new hire onboarding process.

Employees don’t know how they’re doing at their job.
Every high performance workplace has a high level of accountability. Employees who care create lasting impact.
Your Technology and customer management systems are outdated and inefficient.
Turnover. Consider the first 4 examples I’ve given you. One of these will cause people to be irritated. Two or 3? People will be frustrated. All 4? Well, your best people will probably move on to something better. When your core values are just words on a wall, you will have higher turnover. Your will struggle to keep talented and smart people for very long.

Please understand that discovering and defining your core values isn’t something you do in a leadership team meeting or two to check a box.

Just like hiring, if you shortcut it and don’t have an execution strategy to go along with it, they will become words on a wall.

One of the most dangerous things that executives can do to negatively impact your workplace culture is to come up with your core values and and not have a plan or a system to bring them into your day to day operations.

So before you take on this initiative, make sure you understand how easy it is to create unintended consequences around your values. It’s entirely possible you’ll do more harm than good.

A few episodes ago in episode 41, I discussed some practices to hold better 1:1 meetings. On today’s episode, I want to touch on an unintended outcome that could cause you a lot of stress and disruption to your business.

That unintended outcome is what I’m about to share with you regarding the manager and employee meeting.

Let’s say you have a standing 1:1 meeting with one of your team members.

It’s on the calendar at the same time month after month and perhaps it’s been going for the better part of a year or more.

You hear that other managers are scaling back their 1:1 meetings because we need to be more productive with our time.”

You’ve been a manager for several years and you think you’re pretty much up to speed on what’s going on… and the number of meetings you’re required to be in with upper management keeps increasing.

You hear from your team that they also feel like 1:1 meetings have become stagnant. One of them even called them pointless.

You reflect on how this time used to be more productive, however, over the past six-plus months it’s been very routine… another box to check off.

The update part of your meeting is over in 5 minutes because your questions have boiled down to:

“How is the project coming?”

And you get answers like, “It’s going good.”

You ask, “Is there anything you need from me?”

“Nope. It’s all good.”

So it seems that the two of you are both satisfied with the overall progress. Everything is fine and good…

and since you’re all “so busy with the work,” like the other managers, you make decision to end regular 1:1 employee meetings.

Everyone agrees that, “We’ll meet when we need to.

Weeks go by. There are no scheduled meetings but you do an occasional fly-by to check-in.

How are things going? Anything you need from me?

You get mostly the same short answers.

It appears that things are going well. You hear a few small ideas and suggestions around great flex time and ideas for the next company party.

One day, your best employee schedules a meeting with you. You accept the meeting request for tomorrow afternoon,

And that’s when they drop the bomb.

“I wanted you to know that I’ve accepted a new position with company XYZ and I start next month on the 10th. This is my 2-week notice. I’m leaving.”

You’re surprised. Caught off guard.

You ask them why and what you hear rocks you a little.

“I have an opportunity to do some really important work, and they’re looking for someone like me to develop that position into a bigger role.”

You feel betrayed because you’ve been talking about that scenario with them for the past 6 months here.

You’re gracious, however. Wish them well. Really gonna miss you.

You go to your closest peer and learn that they just lost two people last week in a similar fashion.

This might be hitting home with you right now because this exact scenario is common in business.

Is it because of a lack of opportunity?

Is it the result of disengaged employee who only want better pay or more benefits?

Or is it something else? Something bigger? Deeper?

Have you considered that the reason people are leaving has little to do with pay, benefits or even opportunity?

Could the old adage of people don’t quit companies, they quit bosses actually be true?

That is true… but sometimes managers take the fall when it’s actually a series of small things that have been allowed to occur consistently over time that eventually lead to a formerly great employee wanting to leave?

I would tell you that you don’t have an employee engagement or comp package issue.

You have an execution issue.

In episode 43, James breaks down the pitfalls of the controlling boss:

lowered confidence
broken, incomplete commmunication
frustration
apathy
turnover

If you have a Controller in your company, you probably have a great employee with some rough edges that need smoothed out. But if you're not helping them improve, you will lose your best people and be left with people who are uncertain about their abilities and unwilling to make decisions on their own.

Has your business missed a goal and what you heard was, "but we did our best!"

The reality is that people actually do only as much as they were willing to do.

That sounds a little harsh, but it's absolutely what happens every day in businesses around the country.

In fact, "we did our best" is what I consider a Dangerous Phrase because it's hard to rebuke it. But when you approach it with a mindset to learn why and really dig into the causes, you'll find that something was amiss.

In episode 42, James breaks down the challenge of missed goals, even when that happens in great workplaces.

Have your 1:1 meetings lost their impact?

The hard truth is that most 1:1 meetings aren't very good. They lack substance and action. And they tend to be a one-sided conversation where the manager does most of the talking.

In episode 41, James shares 3 tactics to hold better 1:1 meetings.

How do you describe the ‘culture’ at your workplace?

Is it ‘like family?’
‘Relaxed and casual?’
‘Laid back?’

If so, please read on.

When I see videos and job descriptions that talk about how we’re ‘laid back’ and like ‘a big family,’ I immediately think, BORING!

And, If I were the founder of that company, I’d take exception to those phrases to describe our culture.

Why?

Just because people wear shorts and flip flops to work (‘casual dress code’) does NOT mean we aren’t driven to kick butt daily.

It does NOT mean we’re slow to respond to product development and market shifts.

It does NOT mean we won’t have crucial conversations.

It does not mean you can get by with mediocre work here!

Founders became founders because they think differently. They are motivated to break convention — to do things differently; driven by a vision, passion, new ideas and a better way of doing things.

They are willing to put everything on the line to make a difference for themselves and for people who join them.

They do not make excuses because they know every success and failure ultimately points back to them.

They are burdened with the knowledge that if they make a catastrophic mistake, people’s lives will be adversely impacted and so they have to make courageous decisions. (Yes, I acknolwedge that some founders are only in it for themselves — that’s not who this post is referring to.)

Founders establish these cultural attributes at the beginning.

But as a business evolves and new people join the company, each team member is one more step removed from the founding culture.

When you promote your workplace culture as relaxed, laid back, casual and like family, it tends to miscommunicate ALL of these attributes and you have unintended culture creep.

Don’t miss this: you CAN have a fun and friendly place to work while wearing shorts and flip-flops AND completely dominate your market at the same time!

So the next time your team wants to produce a culture video to attract great people, please don’t water it down or otherwise miscommunicate the soul of your company with trendy catch phrases that others use…

Describe your grit, the determination, the resiliency and the attitude behind your success!

Talk about how you overcame adversity.

Tell why you’re an organization that makes feedback desirable and accountability the norm.

Set the bar high1 You’ll attract the RIGHT people, not people who are looking to ‘chill’ for 8 hours a day.

After all, High Performance Workplaces are about getting the right people doing the right things, moving in the right direction. Together.

What are your thoughts about culture and how you communicate it?

Are you paying attention to culture in a way that drives performance, or hinders it?

Speaker. Educator. Storyteller. Please meet Sam Thiara.

On episode 39, Sam and James dive into a variety of topics from authenticity, finding your voice through your life story, and the concept of followership.

Contact Sam at his website, SamThiara.com

Sam Thiara's bio:
Sam Thiara is a professional who has created a personal journey as a speaker, storyteller, writer, educator, mentor, coach, entrepreneur, problem solver and community activator.

His goal is to engage individuals in their personal and professional development, work with teams and organizations on alignment and the 45+ non-profits that he has worked with over the years.

Presently, Sam teaches at the Beedie School of business, at Simon Fraser University and is also the Founder and Chief Motivating Officer at Ignite the Dream Coaching and Consulting, a platform that engages his audience to define their path. Sam has become an expert in career coaching (15-40 year old’s) with over 5,000 conversations to date… and supporting teams and organizations.

He has authored two books, one on storytelling and the other a travel memoir about his journey to India to find his ancestral roots with a faded photograph.

He has also spoken at two different TEDx conferences.

It's my honor to introduce you to Marshall Mosher. In this episode, Marshall and I discuss how he's helping companies build stronger teams by recreating amazing (and extremely dangerous!) experiences using virtual reality (VR). It's a fascinating conversation!

marshall@vestigo.co
@marshallmosher
Check him out on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn

Marshall's Bio:
Marshall is the founder of Vestigo, a company that specializes in shared virtual reality adventures designed to enable radical innovation and adaptibility in your company.

Marshall is also a pro action sports athlete, podcast host, TEDx speaker, and future technology consultant as a graduate of Singularity University. Marshall fundamentally believes that our default human desire for stability and comfort no longer serves our best interests in a world of exponential change. Therefore, throughout all he does, Marshall strives to inspire a mindset of possibility and courage to promote outcomes of innovation and change.

As the lead Jet Suit pilot for Gravity USA, Marshall teaches the world’s top executives to physically embrace a passion for new technology by learning how to fly a jet pack! As the Founder and CEO of Vestigo, Marshall builds immersive challenges in virtual reality to help teams embrace adaptability and foster a mindset of innovation through courage with his company, Vestigo, working with clients like CNN, Microsoft, and Amazon. In his free time, Marshall personally lives by this mindset an avid action sport poly athlete, constantly seeking to challenge his own limits as a pro kiteboarder, paraglider pilot, whitewater kayaker, mountain biker, snowboarder, and caver.

Reducing complexity.

That's the name of the game for Chad Greenlee.

On this episode of Lead Thru Values, James talks with Chad Greenlee about building trust, the value of having mentors, and how he has grown over the years.

Chad's Bio:

“I love the fact that no two clients are alike, but often times your toughest situations can create the best relationships.”

Chad serves as the external point person for service to all clients in the ICR Market. He also has an internal focus of helping employees work together across teams to provide the best solutions. The end goal of his work is providing a WOW experience to both employees and clients. Chad specializes in management, sales and client relationships, real estate, finance, and technology. He takes pride in being a community connector through networking and building lasting relationships.

Chad loves being a mentor and one of his most admired accomplishments is watching several of his mentees turn into successful leaders in their communities. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Marketing from Mount Mercy University and currently serves as Board President at the Eastern Iowa Arts Academy.

Connect with Chad on LinkedIn

Hey, team! Welcome back to Lead thru values.

I am your host, James Mayhew and I help my clients create a high performance workplace by focusing on 3 key areas:

improving how teams communicate and work together;
creating a robust leadership pipeline with leaders who are ready to lead on day 1;
and by helping them attract, develop and keep great people.

And one of the ways I do that is with my leadership accelerator program, called XLR8.

XLR8 gives new and emerging leaders — as well as veteran leaders — the essential skills and training that they’ll need to lead their teams effectively.

This is a very situational type of coaching for leaders to build confidence in themselves and others, to improve how they listen and communicate, as well as gain the respect and trust of their teams.

If you’d like to learn how to register for the next open session – or you’re interested in bringing XLR8 to your company, I’d love to speak with you. You can learn more at my website, JamesMayhew.com

Today I want to talk with you about how people’s perceptions factor into conflict and some of the causes of conflict that sneak into our workplaces.

Back in episode 34, I talked with you about the devastating costs of unresolved conflict. So if you haven’t had a chance to listen to that episode, be sure to go back and check that one out.

Today we’re going to continue discussing unresolved conflict, specifically focusing on how our behavior styles might actually magnify conflict as we think we’re working toward a resolution.

Let’s start with this realization.

9 out of 10 times, conflict between two people starts with a difference of priorities.

We have to understand that some people are very task oriented while others are very people oriented.

So a task oriented individual tends to view conflict as a task to be resolved. to them it’s a necessary step for growth to happen.

They approach it as an action item - something on their list of ‘to-do’s. That doesn’t mean they won’t be uncomfortable and they may not look forward to it but instead of putting it off, they’re more likely to address it

The task oriented person believes it’s necessary for growth to happen.

But for others who are more people oriented - which is actually about 2/3 of all people,they tend to see conflict as a broken relationship that needs repaired.

This puts them in a different mindset about how to approach it.

don’t miss this

you will not offend a task-oriented person by treating them like a person, like a valued relationship.

But.. it’s very likely you will offend a people-oriented person when you treat them like a task.

Here’s four common ways that people view conflict through the lens of their own behavior style:

the fast paced, task oriented person sees conflict as a challenge. something to be conquered. in some cases they even find it energizing.
the fast-paced, people oriented person sees conflict as a roller coaster of emotions. Depending on how it goes, they may never feel the same about that person.
The slow paced, people oriented person wants to avoid conflict at all costs. They don’t stand up for themselves well. Opposite of the first type, they find it draining.
the slow paced, task-oriented individual takes the position that they’re right. period. I’m right. you’re wrong.

So understanding your own pace and your priority is imperative.

"Can you imagine being on a team where everyone exhibited the competencies of being a great leader? I believe that can happen!"

Join James and Cherrie as they explore what it means to lead with compassion, lead with intention, and lead with integrity.

Cherrie Spurlin is an Executive Director at MRA—The Management Association. Those who have worked with Cherrie describe her as a very positive person. She is often told that her enthusiasm is contagious. Cherrie believes people are a company’s greatest assets and true leadership is about taking the time to mentor, coach, and develop others.

Cherrie has a master’s in strategic leadership and is currently working on her Doctorate Degree. She is a 2021 Corridor Business Journal Forty under 40 honoree.

Cherrie is the funder of the Business & Leadership Book Club that has over 200 members.

Connect with Cherrie on LinkedIn

Welcome back to Lead thru values

I am your host, James Mayhew

Before we begin I just want to mention an ongoing leadership accelerator program I run called XLR8.

I designed XLR8 to give new and emerging leaders — even veteran leaders — the tools and training on the essentials they’ll need to lead their teams and companies effectively.

XLR8 is a live, virtual training program. It’s 8 weeks of intense, high-impact training delivered through Zoom.

There are 6 modules from human communication & behavior through feedback and accountability and more.

I saw the need for a program like XLR8 because as I’m working with my clients, I’m hearing their desire to promote leaders from within, but then they find that they’re missing vital responsibilities.

So XLR8 gives them the solid foundation so they are more confident, have greater clarity and focus, and less stress about managing growth.

Coming soon XLR8 will also be available as an online course with 45+ videos, 11 cheat sheets and 10+ hours of content.

So today I’m going to be talking about the causes and impact of unresolved conflict in your workplace.

Understand that any workgroup will experience conflict between 2 or more people at some point.

It’s inevitable.

It starts with disagreements about how to approach a particular challenge or problem
It might be a disagreement about the urgency of said challenge or problem
It might even start over something small like a thermostat setting in an office!

And as the disagreements continue, it can escalate and deteriorate into 2 people unwilling to work well together:

they stop communicating well
they avoid collaborating on a customer’s project
so now we have a bigger problem that could result in losing a customer

That’s why I always teach my clients that if they want to create a great customer experience, that they MUST focus also on the employee experience

Because two or more people who aren’t working well together because of a difference of opinion, method, pace or whatever their issue is, CANNOT and WILL NOT provide the top level of customer experience that they either can or have in the past.

Unresolved conflict is costly

It will cost you time and profit because work is progressing slower
It will cost you customers or clients because of slower response time, poor quality or missed deadlines…
And that could add up to some staggering numbers

One thing I do with my clients in training is ask them, How much revenue does a medium-sized customer bring you on a monthly bases?

Let’s say it’s $10,000

So over a year, that’s a $120,000 customer

And over a 10-year period of time, that’s a $1.2M customer!

Is it worth risking $1.2M over unresolved conflict between people in your team or company?

That’s why training around teaching conflict resolution is absolutely vital. In fact, teaching healthy conflict resolution skills could be the difference between keeping — or losing — your best customers.

It’s also the difference between keeping — or losing — your best employees.

What are some other results of unresolved conflict on a team? Here are 10. All of them have varying degrees of severity, but the one thing they absolutely all have in common is LOSS.

Loss of time.

Loss of productivity.

Loss of revenue.

Loss of joy.

Confidence covered by humility.

Being a professional 'noticer.'

Self assurance to know you'll land on your feet.

Godfidence.

Unrest.

Connie Barnes has a unique, wonderfully warm presence that brings a calmness and reassurance to any situation. She's driven. She has mad skills. And she lives within a core value system to keep her focused on the end goal... even when it's not quite what you expect.

Enjoy this conversation between Connie and James on episode 30 of Lead Thru Values.

Contact Connie and Mike

@SoldbyBarnes on Facebook
SoldByConnieB@gmail.com
Contact Connie by phone at 319-981-6221

Connie Barnes' Bio
Through working hard, researching, a can-do attitude and the pursuit of integrity I have achieved greater and loftier career opportunities than I could have ever planned out for myself.

My personal philosophy is simple: Always do the right thing... a concept instilled in me by my father. Work harder than everyone else and that hard work will pay off. Leading with a genuine heart and a strong desire to see others succeed, my career has been blessed.

The best part of my job is helping others find their greatness and then the confidence to use it.

When you visit with Kyle Steele, there's one thing you can count on... authenticity. A self-described 'golden retriever', Kyle loves to get to know people.

But so much more than that, Kyle is someone who others want to rally around.

On this episode of Lead Thru Values, James and Kyle discuss everything from entrepreneurship to how leaders need to create a company culture that treats people like humans, not like cogs in a machine.

Themes in this podcast:

Working through self-confidence and self-doubt
Starting and Doing
Fearlessness
Marketing and simplifying messaging
The "One Minute Wednesday"
The struggles and success of entrepreneurship

Kyle Steele is a curious, self taught Marketer, Salesperson, leader & so much more who has accomplished amazing things in life simply by putting in the work.

Living and loving life to its fullest on a daily basis he finds his fuel from people. He has many vices, some good, some bad... however his number one passion is his love of people.

A self proclaimed golden retriever, he finds comfort in a room full of strangers – or as he would say – friends he just hasn’t met yet. He comes in one flavor regardless of audience- himself: his genuine, authentic, pure Midwesterner self.

Kyle is the most interesting man in leasing, the worst bartender in Iowa, a father, husband, friend to many and creator of One Minute Wednesday where you will find him on Linkedin distilling business & life’s most complex subjects into easy to understand concepts for the layperson to digest.

Connect with Kyle on LinkedIn

Welcome to this very important episode of the Lead Thru Values podcast

This is James and today we’re going to be discussing how accidental elements about your company culture are disrupting your growth, creating layers of busyness for you and others, and ultimately damaging the customer experience.

If you’re new to this show and found this podcast based on doing a search about this topic, I’d like to acquaint myself with you and be clear what organizational culture is.

Because that sets the foundation for understanding what accidental culture is, how it happens and the unintended impact it causes in your company, your department and even at the team level.

So what exactly do I mean when I’m talking about workplace culture?

Simply put, it’s the collection of attitudes, agreements and behaviors that dictate how work gets done here.

Organizational culture is all about performance. It’s the driver of your strategies, goals and the results you achieve.

It defines how you’re different (better) from your competition, what you stand for, what you don’t stand for.

In the beginning stages of a business, culture is at the forefront of every discussion.

It’s the things that get written down on a napkin at the restaurant as you’re talking about who we are, who we want to be, how we will better, the things we’ll never compromise on, a desire to make it fun, and this is what people rally around and get excited about.

And as the business grows roots, these things continue to be talked about in every meeting, over coffee, over a beer, over a burger.

But as the business grows and there’s more things to do and manage, this tribal knowledge gets kind of lost.

The founders and first core group of employees still know it. It still guides their actions and decisions for the most part.

But growth means that the pace increases

The workload increases

there’s more responsibilities

there’s more things oversee

more processes to manage.

And as you hire new people to join, that tribal knowledge isn’t really passed on.

The new employees don’t have the luxury of being part of those meetings where you determined your non negotiable.

They get a glimpse of the culture.

And without this foundation of tribal knowledge, they do things a little different.

Perhaps they cut a corner here or there.

They may not be as committed to returning phone calls the same day so your customers that you’ve trained to expect ultra responsive service aren’t getting that.

Growth outpaces your technology and your systems.

When spreadsheets and sticky notes used to work well enough, you’re now realizing that you’re missing important details more often than not

And that means you’re missing sales, which means you’re missing revenue and profits

You’re in the storming stage now. And without realizing it, the great culture you started with that set you apart… has become something else… something less.

While accidental culture shifts happen because of rapid growth especially in the startup phase, it can also occur from a lack of leadership.

That leadership gap could be due to business growth… or business decline.

In either case, a leader’s day will be occupied with how to manage it.

phone calls, meetings, more meetings, emails

They find themselves in reaction mode and this can dominate their calendar and focus for weeks - even months.

Accidental culture shift may also occur by putting a leader into a role who’s not a good leader

They may be inexperienced, insecure and/or immature.

I just published podcast on August 3, 2021 entitled Why You Might Be Setting New Leaders Up To Fail where I break those 3 characteristics down.

Here are

There are 5 essential skills you're going to need to be an effective leader:

How to communicate 'Why'
How to evaluate performance
How to give feedback
How to delegate
How to create a culture of accountability to drive excellence

It can feel overwhelming, even intimidating at times. So when I’m working with a client we focus on creating wins by focusing in on one key element at a time.

Communicating why things are they way they are…
Evaluating performance of people and projects
Giving feedback that’s helpful, timely and honest…
Knowing what, when and who to delegate to...
And creating a high performance culture around accountability…

These are the fundamentals for creating a winning team, which in turn, creates a winning experience or your customers.

Do you have an accidental element of your workplace culture that actually sets new leaders to...

Fail?

I see this with a lot of my clients – especially within fast growing companies. Business growth causes an accelerated demand for leadership.

Most leaders turn to their best performers to take on the mantle to lead a team or department. But just because you have someone who's a tremendously gifted high performer does not mean they'll be great at leading.

In this episode I explain how in an environment that wants to promote leaders from with, that we set new leaders up to fail... not to succeed.

So grab your notes as we talk about three vulnerabilities of new leaders: inexperience, insecurity and immaturity.

Check out my live, virtual training that's designed to equip and empower leaders with the essential skills they'll need to be successful:

How to identify and understand different communication styles
How to identify and coach differing behavior styles
How to diagnose and coach through 4 leadership style pitfalls that lower engagement and productivity
How to master giving (and receiving) feedback and make it your #1 go-to development tool
Understand what drives conflict and how to coach through it
Create a culture of proactive accountability that improves communication and performance
How to know what, when and how to delegate authority

Learn more at JamesMayhew.com or call James at (319) 929-2604.

How can you create a more enjoyable in life? What can you do to help create a more favorable daily experience?

Where at work, you don't have to do a task... you get to, and where at home, you don't have to make dinner for the family... you get to.It starts with a decision to have a positive mindset. And that's the topic that Mitchell Dean Harris and James discuss on episode 25 of Lead Thru Values.

Mitchell has a Masters in Social Work with a focus in Human Service Leadership. After years of volunteering and working professionally within social services he has taken a shift in his professional trajectory. His values have lead him each step of the way and it is because of his strong values that he is currently employed by Justworks, a company that leads through COGIS (Camaraderie, Openness, Grit, Integrity and Simplicity).

Mitchell loves to learn and be involved with self development, motivational content, and goes through his days with a growth mindset. These attributes allow him to share his experiences and knowledge in a way to uplift, encourage and inspire others.

Mitchell is happily married to Ilana and together they have a 14 month old daughter named Maya Ruth.

What does it look like to live with a heart of gratitude?

In this episode, Jessica Fairbanks describes the power of living with a heart of gratitude through her own story of writing a letter to a former employer thanking them for believing in her.

Grab a notebook and a pen... Jessica and I share some powerful examples of leading with a servant heart.

Watch this podcast!

Jessica's Bio
Jessica is the owner and client care manager of Home Care Assistance of the Cedar Valleyas well as a wife and mom of her 3 amazing boys.

The care and compassion that Jessica and her team provide their clients stems from a deep respect for the lives of elderly seniors. As she says, "I am not in health care because I have to be, but because I value our aging population and want to make sure they have an empowering and fulfilling life!"

Jessica's mission is to help seniors live independently in their own home for as long as possible.

_________

If you want a culture of operational excellence, you must know what makes each person on your team exceptional.

Hi, I’m James Mayhew and I work with successful leaders who want to maximize their business and 'hold people capable' to their potential.
I’m the former chief culture officer for an INC. 5000 Fastest Growing Company that became one of the top workplaces in the Midwest.

I know firsthand about the complexity of rapid growth and the challenge leaders have to create & protect culture.

That's why I created the Culture Mastery System... to give you
confidence that you have the right people, doing the right things, all moving in the right direction.

Learn more at JamesMayhew.com

Grab your notebook and pen because this episode is jam packed with 'Joeisms' from my guest, Joe Pici who is the world's #1 ranked sales trainer by Global Gurus.

Joe and I have an energetic and fun dialogue about confidence, humility, messaging clarity, and how to recapture lost revenue by setting yourself apart from the competition.

Listen and see for yourself why so many people describe Joe and Dawn Pici as 'the Real Deal'!

Crowned with the highly coveted ranking of #1 in the world for sales training and keynote speaking by Global Gurus, Joe Pici is a strategist for top professionals and coach specializing in results driven training through Rapport MasteryTM.

Since 1992 he has spoken across 4 continents and functioned as a catalyst for corporate teams and individuals, helping them to create purpose, direction and activation.

COO and co-founder of Pici & Pici Inc and host of The Sales Edge podcast, Joe is a human behavior expert, author and intellectual resource behind the best selling book, Sell Naked on the Phone. Joe has expanded this knowledge and coaching expertise into a comprehensive, turn-key system for success in sales.

He has had the honor and responsibility of sharing this methodology as a speaker, trainer and coach for hundreds of thousands of individuals and companies world wide.

Animals have emotions and it's one of the reasons we love them so much and develop deep emotional bonds with them.

In this episode, Dr. Barb shares about her experiences in interpreting behaviors, to working with 'pet parents' as a veterinarian, how we can give our animals a long and healthy life, as well as how animals deal with end of life situations differently than humans.

Dr. Fox has been practicing veterinary medicine for over 27 years. For the past 14 years, she has focused primarily on holistic medicine, using therapies and products from nature to bring about positive health benefits in her animal patients.

The radical change in her practice came about after she experienced a life-threatening health scare in 2007, where she chose to treat her disease without conventional drugs and medications. Thrilled with the miraculous changes in her health, Dr. Fox began to research how she could use the same products, therapies, and techniques to help her animal patients.

Today, she speaks at holistic veterinary events across the country, is a published author in several holistic veterinary journals, and does consulting work for clients seeking holistic care for their animals. She is a member of the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association, The American Veterinary Medical Association, and is a board member of the Veterinary Medical Aromatherapy Association.

Check out Dr. Barb's online courses or schedule an online consultation at BarbFoxDVM.com

Email Dr. Barb at drbfox@yahoo.com

Barb is the author of The Animals Never Lie and The Infinite Bond and you can purchase them on Amazon.

Turning a struggling company around takes more than X's and O's from a playbook. It takes an understanding of people.

What strengths they bring.
What talents they have.
What they're passionate about.

But most of all it takes strong leadership.

Kevin Wormwood built a career around turning underperforming businesses around for a national retail chain. In this episode of Lead thru Values, he shares many insights of what it takes to create a culture of performance excellence.

Kevin Wormwood has an expansive background in leadership and sales training which has resulted in his teams winning numerous awards and most importantly making an impact on the people he serves.

He first learned about the impact a leader can make on others early on and later discovered his passion for coaching and developing others.

His ability to maximize strengths while minimizing weaknesses has allowed the teams he’s led to win awards and set new standards.

Kevin can be reached via LinkedIn or email

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinwormwood

kevinwormwood@yahoo.com

What does it take to create a workplace environment that draws people to it, set them up for success by creating opportunities for them to grow, and that can adapt and transition through change?

That’s the topic of discussion with Cheryl Benedict on this inspiring episode of Lead Thru Values with your host and chief culture officer, James Mayhew.

——

Cheryl Benedict is an award winning author, leadership consultant, executive coach and trusted advisor who partners with successful organizations to grow their leaders, guiding them in the midst of professional and organizational change and transition.

She thrives on collaboration and works with clients in a true partnership. She develops leaders and prepares them for what's next. Cheryl builds long- lasting relationships with her clients that are based on mutual trust and commitment. A signature of working with Cheryl is that the relationships formed are deep, empowering and meaningful.

Cheryl lives in the mountains of Evergreen, CO with her husband Paul and their adorable ragdoll cats. Her book, The Wisdom of Transition, has been 30 years in the making and comes from the wisdom of working with real clients as they navigate change in the workplace.

Connect with Cheryl through her website: https://www.morfconsulting.com

Get free downloads on navigating transition at: https://www.thewisdomoftransition.com

Buy The Wisdom of Transition book on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Wisdom-Transition-Navigating-Change-Work/dp/1676827250/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=the+wisdom+of+transition&qid=1605888683&sr=8-1

———————

Watch this episode on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZw5bPmG1bU

Learn more about James Mayhew at https://jamesmayhew.com

The Wisdom of Transition: Navigating Change at Work

What happens when dreams that you have dissolve, where everything you have planned and planned for is gone?

You can go two directions: run from the challenge...

Or...

You can run towards the challenge and find something even greater.

Joe Ponds joins James on this motivating podcast about the impact of mindset, choices and perseverance creates a lifetime ripple effect for others around you!

Reach Joe by phone at (813) 541-3994
Send Joe an email at joe@pondsconsulting.com
Connect with Joe on LinkedIn

Joe Ponds is a speaker, trainer, coach, entrepreneur, and certified Human Behavior expert.

Joe specializes in helping fellow business owners and sales professionals: generate better quality leads and get in front of their target market and helps folks save 60-90% on their prescription medications.

Culture or strategy?

Or, is it...

Strategy and culture?

In this episode, Monte Pedersen and I dig into organizational culture and how it impacts your company's performance and goals.

Connect with Monte on LinkedIn or visit his website: https://www.clarifydeployachieve.com

Monte Pedersen enjoyed a 35-year career in the managed services industry before deciding in 2016 to start his own leadership and training firm focused on “Strategy Execution Management”.

His new expressed goal being to help businesses and organizations deliver consistently on their strategic plans and get better at it every year.

His extensive tenure and experience working in the corporate sector demonstrated to him that people and leadership are the two most important elements in any workplace and they’re also the most taken for granted.

Monte’s full-time focus is now driven by the desire to help others avoid many of the mistakes and failures he experienced over the course of his career.

He is a life-long learner, avid golfer, above average cook and is constantly on the lookout for the best bottle of wine under $20.

He resides in the United States in the great Midwestern hamlet of Galena, Illinois with his wife and daughter.

Mental toughness. Grit. Resiliency. Anti-fragility.

No matter how you describe it, Holly explains that mental toughness is understanding how you process things, how you react and how to manage that when it comes to performance.

Discipline
Accountability
Managing emotions

In this episode, James and Holly discuss how mental toughness is more important now than every in business.

Links to books we discussed:

Emotional Agility by Susan David, PhD
The Attributes by Rich Diviney

Holly has served in various Human Resources roles in different industries for over 20 years. In April 2018, she chose to open her own practice, Holly Adams Consulting, to focus on providing clients a valued coaching partnership as they journey through the development process.

Holly has a master’s degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology, and is passionate about topics like trust, leadership, grit, self-awareness and emotional intelligence.

She loves learning and believes in the power of gratitude, green smoothies and coffee.

Emotional Agility: Get Unstuck, Embrace Change, and Thrive in Work and Life

The Attributes: 25 Hidden Drivers of Optimal Performance

Imagine delivering your greatest presentation... You were masterful, eloquent, on-point with your message, but most of all, you weren't trembling with nerves.

Fear of public speaking is a real challenge, yet most business leaders will be called on to deliver a pitch, a presentation or keynote at some point.

Being able to deliver a compelling and well organized message is vital. That's why exactly why Cindy Skalicky launched On Point Communications.

In this episode, Cindy and James discuss zones of brilliance, practical tips to help you prepare before delivering an important message, and how to reduce your nervousness or anxiety.

Connect with Cindy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cindy-skalicky/

Learn more about Cindy’s Revolving Door Rehearsal Session by emailing her at info@onpoint-communications.com.

CINDY'S BIO

Cindy Skalicky is the Owner of On Point Communications, LLC.

She provides expert speaker training and brand consulting to individuals and teams who seek to master their message on stage, online and in publications.

With experience at global advertising and PR agencies and advanced degree in rhetoric from the University of Georgia, Cindy is passionate about helping clients "Nail It" by crafting, analyzing and presenting their messages with mastery. She provides group speaker trainings to large teams and works with individuals on messages from pitch decks to TED talks, teaching on storytelling, executive presence and more.

Originally from Chicago and a lifelong Cubs fan, Cindy has lived in Fort Collins since 2007.

It's graduation season around the country and high school seniors are facing the "So, what's next?" question from well-intentioned adults.

In this episode of Lead Thru Values, Nate Clayberg and James discuss the power of experiences and connections shape who we are... and who we become.

Nate Clayberg, CEcD, is a certified economic developer, broadcaster, marketer, and career navigator. He has spent his career helping others to solve problems and make connections for success.

Over the last 25+ years, Nate has switched careers over seven times and knows the frustration many people can have in not finding purpose in their career.

Today, through Cedar Valley CAPS and the Career Adventure Academy, he helps students of all ages and early and late-career professionals better identify "What work they are wired to do for a living." Nate is also active with his local community in Northeast Iowa. This includes involvement in his kid's school and activities.

He resides with his wife of over 20 years and two teenagers near Jesup, Iowa, and enjoys traveling, golf and life on the water.

Follow on LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nateclayberg/
And at www.nateclayberg.com
check out where Education and Economic Development come together at www.preparingforpurpose.org
CAPS info at www.cedarvalleycaps.org

When I work with leaders in business, I emphasize this powerful truth:

If you want to achieve organizational excellence, you must understand how the people on your team are exceptional.

That's why it's such an honor for me to talk with Kristin A. Sherry.

In this conversation we discuss how managers miss opportunities to recognize and coach the magnificent talents of their employees.

Kristin A. Sherry is a bestselling and award-winning author, globally recognized career expert, and creator of the YouMap® profile which won a 2020 Career Innovator Award from Career Directors International.

She is a speaker, trainer, and author of international bestseller, YouMap, and a 2020 Pencraft award-winner in business books for Your Team Loves Mondays...Right?She is the managing partner of YouMap LLC, which certifies coaches, career services and HR professionals as YouMap® coaches and facilitators.

Kristin is also an award-winning children's book author, and her #1 New Release personal success book, Maximize 365, released February 2021.

YouMap® is a holistic self-discovery tool that uncovers a person's strengths, values, preferred skills and personality-based interests. Visit us at www.myyoumap.com.

Hello, everyone this is James and this is Lead Thru Values where we talk about how to create a sustainable, scalable business where people want to come to work because their values align with the values of the organization.

I enjoy conversations around leadership development because you can’t create a high performing culture without strong, committed leadership.

And that is exactly why I’ve been looking forward to this conversation.

I’m blessed to have Brent Henley, CEO of The Pyramid Group, join us today.

Brent founded The Pyramid Group in 1980 to assist clients in increasing performance in sales, customer service, supervision and leadership in various industries including manufacturing, financial, service, technology and community leadership.

One thing that caught my attention when we spoke is that he is a practicing Industrial Psychologist emphasizing performance technology for rapidly changing businesses.

He’s the author of The Nexus Initiative, a book he wrote about how giving is the catalyst for helping you reach your long term goals and growth initiatives.

Links:

Brent's website: http://www.thepyramidgroup.com
Right People Right Now https://www.rightpeoplenow.com
Order Brent's book, The Nexus Initiative:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0982923910/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_RCKK042EB48CVHSDVFRP

The Nexus Initiative

There are 4 key areas that define how you’re exceptional:

How you think
How you communicate
How you relate
How you work

But the very thing that makes you exceptional could very well be the thing that frustrates you most about them.

That’s the topic for today’s jam session

If you want to achieve organizational excellence, as a leader, you have to understand what makes people exceptional.

But don’t miss this…

How YOU think, communicate, relate and approach work absolutely guides your perception of how others do.

In other words, you are impressing your own abilities onto others…

…sometimes unfairly.

For example, I’m a futuristic thinker and that means I can quickly and easily step 5 years into the future.

I can see it. Hear it. Touch it. It’s vivid and very real.

But the problem is that it comes so naturally for me that I forget to invite others along into the vision…

And it leaves them confused, wondering how I made such a leap.

So they ask questions or probe for the details, or they just have bewildered look.

To them, my head was in the clouds again.

But for me, I’m frustrated that they were failing to see what could be…

And that’s exactly how what makes me exceptional can be very frustrating to my teammates.

Other examples include:

Your tolerance for risk…
Your careful and considerate planning every little detail…
Your desire to include every opinion…
Your eagerness to dive right in…

Each of these are your unique and wonderful gifts… what makes you exceptional.

And the very thing that can drive disagreement and conflict between people in your business.

If you want to achieve organizational excellence, you must first understand what makes people exceptional.

This is at the core of my coaching and training programs.

Leaders, It is essential, vital – critical even to know the talents and abilities of your team.

Because when you do that, you unlock creativity and insights by getting out of the way of what your team is most gifted at.

Lots of companies have invested in their core values.

However, much like with vision and mission statements, core values for most businesses end up as little more than words on a wall.

So how do you make sure that your values aren’t just a ‘feel good, warm and fuzzy’ experience for your business? How do you make them integral to your business goals?

Thats the topic for today’s JAM session.

Monte Pedersen is a fellow consultant of mine on LinkedIn and he recently posted that the problem with most core values is that they’re largely aspirational in nature.

And in my experience, he’s 100% right.

In other words, you can’t have a strong culture without a set of core behaviors that drive action.

Don’t miss this: Values just don’t ‘say’ what you do… they characterize everything you do.

They are the fuel that powers your strategy… and ultimately your profits.

So unless you’ve made your core values observable, measurable and coachable, they may inspire people for a while, but over time they’ll lack substance because they lack accountability...

They become little more than words on a wall.

I have yet to meet a great business leader who’s satisfied with checking boxes or who settles for average performance and mediocre results.

Great business leaders create high and measurable standards for performance and they are unwavering in their commitment to

recruiting & hire to them;
set goals and expectations around them;
and create a culture of ownership through them.

Create lasting and positive impact.

That's what it's all about for electrical contractor, Tom Manternach of Electrical Concepts in Cedar Rapids, IA.

Tom and James discuss their client/coach relationship and the friendship that has grown from that. In this episode, they discuss the 4 unique core values that emerged for Tom's business, how they've impacted him and the crew.

About Electrical Concepts
Electrical Concepts is an electrical contractor that desires to create lasting and positive impact each and every day. Nothing more. Nothing less.

We believe in keeping things simple. And, while we are mindful of managing the strategies of a growing business, the true measure of success we’re most focused on is creating better lives for everyone we work with from our employees, to our partners, and our customers.

We abide by four simple, yet powerful core values to help us be better tomorrow than we were today:

We enjoy what we do.
We are prepared.
We are uncompromising in our quality.
We build lasting relationships.

From small businesses to large operational plants, from demolition to repairs and new installation, the professionals at Electrical Concepts will provide quality, experienced services for all your commercial electrical needs.

Learn more at ElectricalConceptsCR.com

Martin Harshberger joins James on the Lead Thru Values Podcast where he shares his experiences about taking a business from a few employees to over 500.

Enjoy the back and forth dialogue with James and Martin as they dive not the intricacies of leadership and building teams that perform.

From a General Manager to a Founder of One of the Fastest Growing Inc. 500 Companies in the U.S.

Martin's humble journey of entrepreneurship began right after he reached the highest peak in his corporate career. He became General Manager for an international, multi-million-dollar organization. In reality, he acted as a Vice President, but he couldn't officially receive this title because he never finished college.

At the Control Data Corporation, Martin interacted with senior executives at hundreds of companies. He felt he was ready to leave and start his own company.

He founded Logistics Management Inc. with 800K cash investment by two investment groups. They subsequently guaranteed bank loans of an additional $2M.

Martin grew the company to over $50M in the U.S. and Europe and had five separate offers to buy it at a minimum of 12 times the investor's cash investment. They made the Inc. 500 as one of America's fastest-growing companies. When it became clear the Board was not interested in selling the business at any price, Martin cashed out in 2000. He knew that technology changes would eventually make their services less profitable, and a sale was their best option.

Martin invested his time in a second venture financed by friends. They started with 1M in sales and got it to 8M in 5 years. They sold the company to a large organization. Next, martin decided to launch his consulting business.

Martin started consulting at 58. He moved from Memphis to Tupelo, MS, 90 miles away from his previous home, but 25 years back in time. A nice community, low crime, low traffic, just what he needed. He bought a house on a golf course and was going to slow down. Martin had a health issue in 2005, kidney cancer. He had surgery, and all is ok now, but Martin began to think about how he wanted to spend the rest of his life. He took a few months off and really got bored. His wife was still working and was going to be for at least five more years. So, Martin was looking for something productive to do part-time.

Learn more about Martin at MartinHarshberger.com

We've always done it that way.

Some would say they're the costliest words in business.

I've found something different...

Those 6 words are the (shhh...) the SNEAKIEST words in business.

But if one of the tools from the weather lab could shed some light on why?

Bari Richter joins the Lead Thru Values podcast.

In episode 10, Bari shares her experiences from the corporate world, being a small business owner, creating a top customer experience and how to create a values system that empowers people to perform at their best.

Enjoy the episode!

Bari Richter owns Convey Sign Solutions in Waterloo Iowa, a signage company whose niche is business graphics, vehicle graphics and color change wraps.

In her previous life working in casinos, she held a variety of positions. She most recently was Vice President General Manager of casino which employed over 500 people. During that tenure her property consistently held top tier scores in the corporation for Employee Engagement.

Bari learned the importance of taking an organizations desired outcomes and supporting those through messaging, procedures and accountability to help it become a part of a company’s DNA. She also learned about warning signals to watch for when an organizations voiced desires do not match the company’s true DNA or culture.

Bari is certified in Sametrix Net Prompter System, holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business with a minor in Psychology, taken way to many additional college accounting classes, a proud mother of 2 sons and very appreciative of her husband of 30 years who has been her rock in this very crazy so called journey of life.

https://conveysign.com

bari@conveysign.com

Connect with Bari on LinkedIn: Search for Bari Richter and Convey Sign Solutions

Fred and I pick up right where we left off in part 1 and we dig into the leadership and organizational culture that's helped Queensboro deliver an outstanding customer experience for over 30 years.

Download my free guide, How Culture Drives Performance, at LeadThruValues.com

Part 1 of 2

Fred Meyers, President & Founder of Queensboro.com joins the podcast and talks about what he's learned about leadership, innovation and culture across 4 decades of business.

In Part 1, Fred shares Queensboro's 4 P's of Greatness.

As Fred writes on the Queensboro website:
We will never be better than the people we have working here. If we want to be great, everyone working here has to be great.

Always do the right thing.
Value relationships above all.
Innovate and have fun!

And this list became Queensboro's Four P's of Greatness:

Productive
Do you have the basic skills and ability to do your job well? Attitude and hard work are important but they will never be a substitute for skills and ability. You don't have to be a superstar to be Productive, but you do have to be good at what you do. And this, of course, is often much easier said than done.
Positive
A great teammate will actively lift up all those around him or her. As simple as it sounds, not everyone believes or is capable of doing this. Many feel if they are Productive, they shouldn't need to be Positive. And while being Positive is like breathing to some, it truly can be very difficult for others. But we believe it is central to greatness. No single thing has so significantly transformed Queensboro over the past two years than the implementation of the Positive P. And it is not like we were so negative before! This emphasis on Positivity, however, has given us a new energy that now accompanies everything we do, and it is this energy that fuels us in our quest for greatness. One more important point about Positive? Neutral is not positive. Only Positive is Positive. If you are not actively lifting people up, you are not being Positive.
Principled
We all have our beliefs, but one thing we can all agree on is to treat others as we would like to be treated ourselves. When someone is principled, you know how he or she is going to act and you know they can be trusted. There can be no real communication without trust and without communication, nothing can get done. How do we want to be treated? This can also be a tricky thing some times. Some like the direct approach. Others prefer a little more subtlety and encouragement. What do we all want? Respect, feedback that is job focused and not personal, encouragement, and a little compassion.
Proactive
OK. So someone is great at their job, and is positive and principled. That's a pretty good employee and teammate, right? No doubt about it. To be truly great, however, it is not quite enough. To be truly great you need that something "extra", and that quality we capture in our final P, Proactive. A proactive person doesn't just do his or her job and react to whatever is comes at them. By instinct and nature, they question, learn, push and strive. Proactivity is the special sauce of Greatness! Proactivity is what causes a person to stop and pick up a piece of trash instead of walking right over it, and it is what causes a boy scout to stop while rushing on the way to the ball field to help an old lady across the street. Proactivity is at the heart of our humanity and is ultimately where all innovation and positive change comes from.

Jarrett Samuels is a husband, father of three, pastor, mentor and creator of the Pursuit of Manliness community and podcast. His passion is to equip and challenge men to raise the standard of what it means to be a man of God.

In this powerful conversation, we get deep about the concept of confidence covered by humility, being coachable and how time is non-refundable.

Additional topics include:

Mind your own affairs
Work with your hands
Depend on no one
Have a strong inner circle
Self-inflicted greatness
Building culture
“First 5, Next 5”

Jarrett also reveals the inspiration behind the movement, The Pursuit of Manliness and why he’s driven to vigorously equip men to pursue biblical manliness.

This is part 5 of a 5-part series on what it means to lead thru values.In its simplest form, culture is defined as, “How we want to get work done around here.”

Cultural attributes that influence a company’s performance include:

Constant improvement
Risk tolerance
Opportunistic
Solutions
Leadership development
Hiring processes & hiring decisions
How information is communicated
How tribal knowledge is shared

Put each of the above attributes through the “how we want to get work done ‘filter’…”

We are driven to constantly improve.
We view risk as a necessary element for growth (or, We are serious about taking risk out of your future.)
Our entrepreneurial spirit creates unlimited opportunities for our people.
We think with the end in mind; we’re always working to solve challenging problems.
We believe in developing leaders from within.
We will never compromise our hiring process as it’s an integral strategy for our growth.
We believe in sharing vital company information to everyone.
We believe in the power of mentoring and passing on tribal knowledge.

Each of these have significant impacts on performance, and how the process might look.

When you have a strong value system as part of your culture, your profits increase, you’re more innovative, you’re able capitalize on opportunities… and your brand becomes more ‘human.’

Just like when you enter a workplace that has a poor culture, the energy (vibe) inside a thriving workplace is not only palpable, it’s also observable (and therefore, measurable).

What a thriving culture looks like from the inside:

Positive vibe/energy; excitement; high-5’s and recognizing others is common practice
People know what’s expected of them: quality, deadlines, hand-offs, urgency/prioritization
Employees have the tools & resources to do their job with excellence
Zero tolerance for toxic attitudes & behaviors
People want to work there; they are drawn to the concept of working for a great company
There are abundant opportunities for growth
Values are present & observable in meeting rooms, workspaces, and everywhere in between
People at all levels have open & honest communication with each other
Feedback is a daily occurrence, something that employees desire, and do not fear
People are excited to share information and collaborate with each other
Individual & team excellence is encouraged and recognized
Leaders are constantly looking for and developing other new leaders
There is a sense of urgency, but not hurriedness; stress is low
Employees have a sense of ownership over decisions…

When you lead thru values, you’re communicating at the level of trust:

Can you recall a time when you were on a team that just “clicked?” If it was a basketball team, you probably had a magical season. If it was in business, you probably routinely knocked out high quality, high impact work. People experience being “in the zone” are working where their strengths and passion intersect.

The best teams know and understand each other’s abilities (their unique gifts, skills & experience.) They also know what each other are passionate about, so they’re not only doing important work, they’re doing work that’s highly important to them. The best managers are skilled at arranging individuals in such a way that they create championship-level teams.

At the heart of your culture, your values represent the best of who you are and the best of what you want to become. They define your standards for excellence and what others can expect from you.

When your values are lived out on a daily basis, they powerfully communicate:

This is what we stand for
This is what we don’t stand for
This is how we make you feel valued (because you are!)
This is what sets us apart from everyone else
This is why you can rely on us
This is how we will continue to improve

This is part 2 of a 5-part series on what it means to lead thru values.

There are 4 types of values systems present in any organization:

Core values –Your uncompromising performance standards for how you do business.

We do what we say
We are always on time with our production orders; never late
We refuse to take shortcuts or compromise our quality

Aspirational values – What you aspire to be now, and in the future.

We’re not afraid to take risks
We don’t just maintain, we multiply

“Permission to play” values – The baseline expectations at your company.

You are honest
You treat others respectfully
You are reliable – others can count on you

Accidental values – values that develop accidentally and have a negative influence on personnel and strategy.

Taking a “one size fits all” approach for employee development
Stale mindsets such as “We’ve always done it that way,” and “We tried that before” are visibly present
Low accountability that allows people to cut corners or settle for ‘good enough’ attitudes

High-cost consequences of accidental values

Accidental values are the result of poor leadership styles or structure and lead to:
Incomplete and inconsistent communication; lack of transparency;
Lack of unity; work is completed but frequently misses critical company objectives
Little or no collaboration; people working in isolation accentuates problems with communication
Apathetic attitudes
Suspicion & gossip run rampant
Struggle to attract new employees; weak candidate pipeline
Growth is stagnant
Low energy; no new ideas
Stress and hurriedness are the norm, not the exception

This is part 1 of a 5-part series on what it means to lead thru values.
Your values and the culture you’re creating around them communicates to your partners, clients, vendors, volunteers, staff, board members:

What you can expect every time you work with us. Things like:

Our rapid response time
Our goal to deliver an unmatched quality of products and/or services
Our commitment to friendliness & professionalism by every person at every level in every department
We follow thru on promises. (I once had a client tell his team, “If we just deliver on what we promise, we’ll be better than 90% of our competition.” And he was right.)

Your competitive advantage is deeply rooted in your culture

Your values (and the culture you’re creating around them) tells your partners, clients, vendors, volunteers, staff, board members:

Who you are, what you do, and why you’re the best.
This is what you can expect from us every time you work with us.

Your values must be:

Personal – they connect with every member of the team in a deeply meaningful way

Corporate – this is how we make decisions, this is how we recruit, this is who we hire, this is how we treat our employees, this is how we take care of customers

Defining – they define your competitive advantage

Don’t miss this: Culture exists whether you pay attention to it or not.

In this premiere episode, James shares what keeps business owners, executives, and anyone who's responsible for leading a team, up at night...

Sales and revenue
Competition
Engagement
Culture
Mistakes
Issues with vendors, suppliers
The Brilliant Jerk(s)
Employees with toxic behaviors and attitudes
How to grow / get unstuck
Feeling overwhelmed, stressed
Hurried & rushed
Feeling like you don't have the answers...

James lays out the expectations for the podcast, why the transition from The Unbusy Leader to Leading Thru Values, and who this podcast is for.

James is passionate about human potential and behavior:

How you make decisions
How you build relationships
How you approach your work
How you communicate with others

In future episodes, James will give you insights and shared experiences from his work as a leadership & business coach, corporate trainer and consultant – as well as from his high-caliber guests.

When should you work on your company culture?

When you start to notice an increase in turnover?
When business just doesn’t seem enjoyable anymore and it feels stagnant?
When some drama hits and it impacts your yearly goals?
When you reach a certain milestone such as employee count or a certain revenue?

I’ve been hired to work with companies in each of these situations. And the truth for each situation is that they’ve already missed the signs...

Don’t miss this: Culture exists whether you’re paying attention to it or not.

Accidental values emerge... behaviors that you aren’t noticing such as gossip, poor communication between departments, employees that are stressed, customers service that lacks... real service.

The answer to “when” is NOW...

When you’re doing great!
When you’re building your business!
When you’re hiring rapidly!
When you’re considering cutbacks and layoffs!

Start now because it’s only going to get harder when there’s more customers, more employees, more locations;

More drama
More busyness
More mistakes

Make culture a priority just as you make sales, marketing and product development a priority.

Shifting culture takes work. It takes strategy and it takes a commitment.

And making it a priority will be the greatest decision you’ll make for the future of your business.

Most businesses haven’t fully tapped into how their culture actually helps them gain a competitive edge and close more business.

My name is James Mayhew, YOUR chief culture officer, and that’s the topic for this Jam Session.

Make no mistake, your organizational culture drives revenue and profitability for your business.

But very few companies have figured out how culture actually helps them sell better, deliver a better product and experience, and ultimately win more customers.

Good business invest in the resources, tools and equipment to do the job well.

They’ll work on product and sales training, competitive pricing and driving traffic to their stores or websites.

But often they miss one key ingredient: creating a culture of excellence and developing people.

Companies that are excelling in 2020 are going all in on coaching up people.

They’re investing in things like essential skills training,
how to give and receive feedback

They’re teaching their people to identify emerging leaders and providing ways to mentor them

They’re focused on extracting potential instead of trying to managing people

See your culture is all about performance — it’s the driver of your performance.

It works for you by attracting more great people to your team

Develops those great people into rock stars

your culture becomes your standard for how you approach work, make decisions and share information

And it organically teaches and trains those standards on an ongoing and frequent basis

In business it’s easy and even ordinary to talk about “great customer service”

And as a leader in their industry, they know it’s uncommon — even extraordinary — wen you can consistently deliver an outstanding employee experience.

And I promise you this, it will drive sales and boost your bottom line.

"Why Are YOU Here?"

Have I got a great story to share with you today about those three words on this edition of JAM Session!

I was leading a training last week for a client and I wanted to do something to engage their minds — and their hearts.

I opened the training with the question, Why are you here today?

After a few variations of “its my job” I continued to ask the question.

I placed a lot of emphasis on YOU. Why are YOU here?

Still, I got mostly surface responses.

I must have asked it a dozen times as I acknowledged their responses but kept pressing.

I knew exactly what I was going for.

Finally, the youngest employee — not a manager said — because I belong here?

And I looked her in the eye and said, ok, now we’re getting somewhere.

Why do you belong here?

And that follow up question to her brave and somewhat confident response opened the flood gates for a great meeting.

If you lead others, you have to engage their minds — and their hearts.

When when you want to jump right in and start teaching, start training, the best leaders know that their job is to connect people to your mission.

By asking a simple question and letting them work through it, we had a phenomenal training session.

I could have easily told them why they were there; why others weren’t asked to be part of this training...

But I wanted them to identify it.

I wanted them to take ownership of it and to build some confidence in themselves.

And when you show your team their value, they’ll believe in you and trust you even more.

And that, my friends, is invaluable.

“I want our company to be an employer of choice.”

I’ve worked with a number of business owners who’ve said this exact phrase to me.

You can try it by:

Paying top of market
Offering a comprehensive benefits package
Selling great products
Managing expenses closely
Crafting clever job descriptions and posts

But...

If you truly want to become an employer of choice, you’ll focus on developing people.

And the most sustainable, most scalable way to do that?

VALUES.

Your organizational values are the most important part of your culture.

Values define what you stand for;
and what you don’t stand for.

They provide a foundation for expectations, how to work, and they eliminate excuses.

I’m working with a manager to integrate their company values into their daily operations.

She’s growing in confidence and her leadership has taken leaps!

Why?

Because the majority of people she’s responsible for helped write the values!

They’re already bought in!

She’s moving from managing people to leading them;

Delegating responsibilities, not just tasks.

Coaching instead of telling.

To be an employer of choice you build a culture around values!

Learn more about business & leadership coaching with James at https://jamesmayhew.com

Your culture drives everything you do;
- what you do
- why you do it
- and how you do it

It communicates exactly what you can expect anytime that you do business with us.

A select few businesses have mastered it and they continue to thrive in a year where most are just trying to survive.

So what do they do better?

My name is James Mayhew, and I’m YOUR chief culture officer, and that’s the topic for this Jam Session.

There’s a meme going around social media that says,
Whoever came up with the Chick-Fil-A drive-thru process
should be in charge of the
government,
hospitals, and
the DMV.

I say amen to that!

They’ve gone all-in on differentiating from their competition by creating a culture of serving others.

They have a value that reads “We pursue what’s next” and they’ve defined it by saying “we find energy in adapting and reinventing how we do things, from the way we work to how we care for others.”

That means that even though there’s 20 cars lined up in their drive thru, they’ll get you through timely, accurately and stress free.

They bring their team outside - closer to the customer - because that helps eliminate the bottlenecks at the window.

They are well trained on the menu options.

They smile.

And, when you say thank you to them, they reply with My Pleasure.

They’ve adapted to 2020 and as a result, in my hometown, they’re thriving.

I was craving a good burger a couple of weeks ago;
But when I saw the line at my favorite burger joint NOT moving,
it was an easy decision to head on over to CFA.

I was #11 in line and was served and on my way in less than 7 minutes. I timed them.

As I watched the staff work, there was Hustle. Smiles. Organization. Teamwork.

This is how what it means to live out your values:
because the CFA culture prioritizes, trains and creates a system for serving others first

That’s a competitive advantage that their competitors cannot duplicate.

Working with new and emerging leaders requires patience and humility and a healthy dose of self reflection.

My name is James Mayhew, YOUR chief culture officer, and that’s the topic for this Jam Session.

The other day while working with a small group of new leaders, I was reminded of the importance of our language and communication styles.

We began our session with a recap of how their week had gone.

One of the things we’re working on is communicating the company’s core values to their teams as the new standard for what great performance looks like.

One of them relayed parts of a conversation they had with a particularly challenging employee. “These aren’t going away and ‘they’ are making them a big deal.”

I asked the manager a follow up question:

"What did you mean by 'they?'"

"You are part of the group that created these!"

I smiled. The manager smiled...The message was received.

It’s not theirs... it’s ours.

That's why that it's so important to be patient with new leaders.

To coach them. Encourage them. Support them. Challenge them. Lead them.

And show them how to take ownership for the culture of their team.

Do you remember how it was when you were new to leadership?

You were probably confident and had been preparing yourself for a while.

But the first few times you had to have a hard conversation or make a difficult decision, it was awkward.

And in an effort to make it easier, you positioned yourself below your leadership level to relate to them...

“They want this, so we just have to do it.” (referring to the senior leadership or business owner)

I know that situation because I DID IT.

And I’m guessing you can relate.

But whatever ground I thought I had gained with the team I later learned was actually a back slide.

I failed at that part of leadership because I hadn’t taken ownership.

That’s why it’s imperative to create a culture of coaching within your company.

Be patient with new leaders, but not passive.

Have a sense of urgency for their development but without rushing it.

And instill a sense of confidence that’s covered by humility.

That’s a winning formula.

Ask any leader if they operate by values in their business, and they’ll probably say, “Yes!”

But unless you’ve actually defined them and created a system where they’re part of your daily function, you’re leaving the most critical part of your company culture to chance.

I was invited to speak to a group of financial professionals on the art of giving & receiving feedback.
It was a wonderful group and they contributed a lot to the conversation.

I close that training by emphasizing that you must become skilled at giving feedback based on your organizational values.

Now, The person that invited me to present, asked the question to each person around the table, Do you have established organizational values?

Each person responded with a “yes!” Our team knows to do the right thing, we always operate within our values. honesty, respect, take care of the customer.

So I asked a follow up question: if I came to your business today and interviewed 6 people about your company values, would I get consistent answers?

Their responses were something like “I’d like to think so.”

That tells me that there’s a significant interpretation gap around those shared values.

My clients can respond to that question with, “Absolutely.”

Here’s why your values are so vital to your culture:

Your values determine what you do and how you do it, and that ultimately drives your results.

Don’t leave your values up to interpretation.

Make your values a part of every meeting, every decision, every communication and your employees, your partners.

The experience you’re creating for your employees will translate into increased sales, higher retention, and establish your competitive edge.

Faith-based health coach, Jill Boogerd joins James on episode 17 to talk about the correlation of health and wellness and how you perform at work.

Upcoming Webinar – Wednesday, September 23, 2020 at 11:30am CT

Register to attend (it's free!) at https://pages.purposedriventeams.com

The overly busy leader will always struggle to be a leader that others want to follow.

I’ve chosen the word ‘follower’ intentionally.

It’s not bad to be a follower.

I’m a follower.

You’re a follower.

We follow those who’ve gone before us. We follow those who’ve been called to a position to lead

As a follower, it’s our responsibility to be all-in

But that doesn’t mean we’re supposed to be yes-men or yes-women. It doesn’t mean that we won’t have disagreements or even healthy conflict

It means we respect and trust that authority until there’s reason where that trust is broken.

At that point, it’s our responsibility to speak truth and help hold our leaders accountable.

But, being a leader who wants to create followers is the mark of a broken leader.

A leader who is insecure

A leader who is unsure

A leader who is uncentered

A leader who lacks humility

The point I want to emphasize is this: The best leaders don’t set out to create followers. The best leaders desire to develop other leaders.

That’s why the topics we’re discussing in this series are so crucial.

Because when you start to slide into any of these negative leadership attributes, you risk losing the respect and trust of your team and colleagues.

The overly busy leader will always struggle to be a leader that others want to follow.

That’s why the topics we’re discussing in this series are so crucial, because when you start to slide into any of these negative leadership attributes, you risk losing a lot more than time.

You risk losing the respect and trust of your team and colleagues.

Regardless if you’re a small business owner with a few employees, or you oversee a lot of people in a large organization, your behaviors will create a ripple effect.

And you have to decide if you want that ripple effect to limiting and hurried, or do you want to create an environment that is positive and empowering?

Busyness is a sign that there’s something not right within your organization… more specifically, that there may be some behaviors that you're doing – consciously or unsconsciously – that are creating bottlenecks with communication, delgating, decision making or essential skills such as giving feedback or having critical conversations.

So what are some of the behaviors and qualities of the Avoider?

Generally speaking, they’re afraid of conflict and confronting others. So, they tend to put off things like hard conversations and giving constructive feedback because it makes them uncomfortable.

In many cases, the Avoider is more concerned with being liked as a person, than they are being respected as a manager or leader.

And that creates some significant challenges for people who report to them.

We are smack dab in the middle of a series on the 5 undesirable attributes of leadership that any leader can struggle with regardless of position, age, or experience.

This is part 3 of 5, so I’d encourage you to listen to episodes 12 and 13 where we discuss the first two attributes that cause busyness - not just for you - but for your team.

Regardless if you’re a small business owner with a few employees, or you oversee a lot of people in a large organization, your behaviors will create a ripple effect.

And you have to decide if you want that ripple effect to limiting and hurried,

Or do you want to create an environment that is positive and empowering?

I think you know which way you have to go.

Busyness is a tell.

It’s a sign that there’s something not right within your organization… more specifically, is there something not right with the way you’re leading your team?

Are there some behaviors that you're doing – consciously or unsconsciously – that are creating bottlenecks with communication or decision making?

This content is based on coaching from my Unbusy Leader workshops as well as 1:1 coaching with my clients

In those instances, I’m working closely with them to take a deep dive into the reasons that we feel overly busy, hurried and rushed.

It’s frustrating when your team is constantly adjusting to

Changing deadlines
Feeling that they have to rush through their work
And things get overlooked leading to mistakes and re-dos
Not being able to give it their best or having to cut corners

Those are examples of how costly busyness an be and why I spend so much time teaching leaders to become less busy and more trusting of teams.

That’s a great intro into our topic for the day, the Rescuing leader.

So today we’re going to talk about the 3rd type of negative leadership trait that I’m calling the Rescuer. and like before, we’ll look at it from 2 angles:

How to identify a Rescuer
How the Rescuer contributes to a culture of busyness and the negative impact it creates

Got questions for James about leadership? Send them to coach@jamesmayhew.com and your question may be featured in an upcoming podcast. James will personally respond to your questions even if they aren't featured.

'The Critic' is part 2 in a series of 5 negative leadership behaviors of overly busy leaders.
The Critic has good intentions. They believe that the best way to help someone improve is to show them what they did wrong. But this trait can be very discouraging for team members and actually create insecure followers by:

feeling compelled to point out what's wrong;
failing to recognize wins or areas that are going right;
unintentionally creating a culture of fear where people are constantly second-guessing themselves;

When things go wrong or mistakes occur, the Critic assigns blame. But a strong leader – an Unbusy Leader – will take responsibility for the mistakes and give away praise when things go well.

Negative Aspects of Overly Busy Leader series:
This is a new series that will explore five negative, undesirable attributes of leadership that we all struggle with.

The reality is we all have at least a primary and probably a secondary attribute; but if you’re thinking you don’t struggle with at least one of these, then I’d suggest you may lacking some self awareness and some humility!

Often, these behaviors are driven out of a sense of pride or fear, perhaps out of a scarcity mindset… or even due to being overwhelmed or stressed by things like our current economic situation.

So over the next 5 episodes we’re going to look at

The controller
The critic
The rescuer
The avoider
The people pleaser

This is content that I’m pulling from my Unbusy Leader masterclass workshops as well as from coaching with clients 1:1 or inside their organizations.

The Controlling leader is the first of 5 negative leadership behaviors of overly busy leaders.

The controlling leader is described as a control freak, a micromanager... even as a dictator in some cases because of their desire to take control of every situation. They may lead with intimidation and use fear tactics.

They can be highly effective in short term situations – especially in times of chaos and rapid change.

However, this dangerous leadership behavior is very disempowering to team members.

The controller often apologizes for their behavior; even laughs it off as, "that's just how I am."

But don't miss this: the controlling leader develops compliant followers. They stifle creativity, innovation and autonomy that will limit a team's success.

Negative Aspects of Overly Busy Leader series:
This is a new series that will explore five negative, undesirable attributes of leadership that we all struggle with.

The reality is we all have at least a primary and probably a secondary attribute; but if you’re thinking you don’t struggle with at least one of these, then I’d suggest you may lacking some self awareness and some humility!

Often, these behaviors are driven out of a sense of pride or fear, perhaps out of a scarcity mindset… or even due to being overwhelmed or stressed by things like our current economic situation.

So over the next 5 episodes we’re going to look at

The controller
The critic
The rescuer
The avoider
The people pleaser

This is content that I’m pulling from my Unbusy Leader masterclass workshops as well as from coaching with clients 1:1 or inside their organizations.

<< Check out James Mayhew's 'Leading Remotely' live online workshop schedule >>

5 tips for effective ZOOM meetings

Make no mistake, virtual meetings are here for good. But leading an effective ZOOM meeting can be intimidating, especially during times of unplanned and rapid change.

There are plenty of ‘how-to’ articles out there to help you learn the technical aspects of the software, so this guide is going to focus on the human side of virtual meetings, from etiquette to setting expectations, and how to create the best possible meeting experience for your attendees.

1. Be on time and be prepared.It might surprise you, but one of the biggest reasons that meetings are ineffective is because the organizer isn’t prepared. Challenges with technology, neglecting to distribute documents, links or files, not using an agenda, or showing up late are all signs of being ill-prepared.

2. Set ground rules.Will this be a working meeting or mostly informational? Or, is it for your team to share progress updates and status reports? Make sure everyone knows and if there’s a chance, communicate it ahead of time.

I help my clients discover and define their culture (how they get work done.) Part of the discovery process is to identify their ‘Accidental Values.’ A common accidental value is lateness (ie, being late to appointments, missing deadlines and adjusting due dates.)

The expectation of holding meetings on-time will spark a microshift in your culture of being on-time.

3. Let people know what you are – and what you are not doing.This one is also courtesy and sign of respect for others. Let your team know that the reason you’re looking away is due to you taking notes, or some other meeting-related activity.

4. Keep people engaged. (Yes, it’s possible.)You can run a great virtual meeting where people are engaged if you do a little extra homework prior.

Give people a job… some examples might include:

Have one team member write down any questions that come up during a brainstorm.
Have someone take notes on key discussion points.
Have another manage Zoom resources like chat or document sharing.

Keep the lengths of your meetings down. We’ve all endured the never-ending meeting, and online meetings for remote workers can be especially tiring, boring and tedious.

5. Be a human. Remember to smile.Virtual meetings fill an important role, but they aren’t a perfect replacement for human connection. It can be easy for high achievers to run efficient, effective meetings.

But don’t miss this… build in a little extra time for connection.

Leaders, it’s so important to remember to be a human. Smile a little more. Tell a funny story or something interesting that happened to you. If you don’t have anything, ask someone ahead of time to do it.

Be patient in times of constant change. You could even close your meeting by asking people to recognize others. Call it something clever. A department in a company that I used to work called this ‘kudos’ and they ended their meetings by recognizing someone else who helped them or did something above and beyond.

Leadership isn’t about creating followers; it’s about developing other leaders.

A good leadership coach understands the client’s needs.

Their culture
Their organizational structure
They’ve learned about the dynamics that are driving the need for this new leadership role.

Compared to Training, leadership coaching doesn’t assume the starting point, doesn’t assume everyone is starting at level 1 and how they should progress through levels, 2, 3, 4 and so on.

It’s not a one-size-fits-all approach.

When I’m coaching a client, I’ve built a relationship with them.
I’ve invested time in getting to know about their journey;

If they know their Strengths
What type of leadership experience they’ve had
Who has been influential in their development
How they like to learn
How they prefer to receive feedback

This creates a foundation for respect, especially because I’m showing them the importance of making time to invest in them.

I’ll remind them of that later.
And it shows them that I’m interested in them - not just as a client, but as a human.

When coaching new leaders, it’s so beneficial to let them reveal what they know and what they don’t know.

An experienced coach will pick up little clues about a new leader’s mindset about leadership.

And, because you’re ultimately working for the organization and you have the organization’s best interest in mind at all times, it provides a framework to help the new leader be successful.

Another difference between training and coaching is that training is typically destination based.

Coaching is direction based.Destination based refers to having a defined start and end.
It assumes that at the end of the training, everyone will be at the same level, will have learned the same.
But good trainers recognize that’s not true, and they create options for that.
Regardless, it still has an end.
You may get a certificate upon completion stating you have arrived.

Leadership coaching is directionally based.

The start line and finish line are different for each person.
In fact, with directional based leadership coaching, there simply isn’t a finish line
There may be a handoff to another coach;
There are milestones to track and celebrate progress,
But there is no arrival; no finish line.
There’s simply more to learn.

And that’s what leadership is all about.
Consistent learning. Constant growth.

Three simple, yet powerful attributes of Unbusy Leaders:
Aware
Available
Approachable

Remember: the real sin of busyness is hurriedness.
But the best leaders – unbusy leaders – are Aware:

They are "Noticers"
They see what's going well, and what's not going well, team and people dynamics, opportunities & challenges
Their eyes are up and they are listening.

Having awareness makes you a better leader, a better manager... but also a better spouse, parent and friend.

There are 4 qualities that Unbusy Leaders possess that help them be Available:

They listen well
They eliminate distractions
They get close to their people
They value and create margin time

Unbusy Leaders are also Approachable.

They are consistent in their mannerisms; in how they react to situations.
They are fair and honest in how they deal with people.
They don't get too high or too low.
They are trusted and respected.

Don't miss this: if you are NOT approachable, people will not share critical information with you.

4 Ways Overly Busy Leaders Get This Wrong:

You value work over people.
You get in over your head and behind with work.
You confuse commitments with priorities; you overcommit.
You are in a constant state of being hurried.

BONUS episode : Has COVID19 forever changed how we run meetings?

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word, Meeting.

Does that word make you cringe?

Is it because you’ve been a victim of bad meeting after bad meeting?

Meetings are a fact of life in business.

If you’re leading a meeting, you cannot afford for it to be

Unproductive
Meaningless
Or otherwise irrelevant

With this massive shift where many people are working remotely, I have to wonder, will the result be that we’re going to be smarter about meetings?

This whole event has disrupted how we’re working.

And I believe it’s exposing the inefficiencies of meetings in new ways…

No defined purpose for the meeting
No agendas
People leaving without clear action items
Lacking accountability

Many of you are experiencing new meeting formats.

Having to deal with the learning curve of using new technology

As well as technical issues and trouble shooting

Here are 5 quick tips to making your next virtual meeting successful (NOTE: these are based using Zoom paid accounts)

Send out the invitation with at least 24 hours notice with the link – always with the link – to the meeting. Every time.
Turn off Chat. As the meeting organizer, this is an option when you set the meeting up.
- Using chat can be distracting and often is downright disrespectful if it’s unrelated or could even contribute to some toxicity between members
Make video mandatory. We need to see faces and this increases engagement.
Teach, and then remind everyone to mute when they’re not speaking.
- The background noise, slurping a coffee, or environment noise will make it hard to hear.
Be a great facilitator.
- If this is your meeting, ask someone else to take notes if necessary.
- Don’t allow someone to hijack your meeting with their own agenda.
- Break in and ask for that conversation to go offline

Do these 5 things well and watch how your team responds. Your meetings will become:

More focused
More productive
More engaging
Shorter

As always I invite your ideas, comments and questions.

Meetings are fact of life for leaders, so take ownership for their success.

Your team will thank you for it.

Thank you for listening, and remember, the unbusy leader releases the talent, passion and skill of everyone around them.

You’ve heard these dangerous business phrases before...

We’ve always done it that way.
We tried that before.
That’s not my job.

Except it’s so easy to slide back into them.

They subtly creep back into your life when...

You are overly busy.

Yes, busyness will take you backwards. It will get you and your team stuck.

Because when you’re the leader and you feel stuck, you stifle your team’s progress.

Just look at it from your ability to make decisions:

Indecision
Poor judgement
Hurried decisions
Inconsistency

These are not the behaviors of good leaders.

I may be the worst person to produce a podcast on busyness.

But maybe, I’m the best.

I’ve realized something in this journey…I have a humble calling to an extravagant call.

That calling is to help author your story.

To increase your awareness – not just about being busy – but the awareness that will help you be a better leader;

To make yourself more available to the people that need you; to be approachable and fully present with them.

If we’ve learned anything over the past few weeks, it’s that most of us have been doing life poorly;

We’re in the midst of the pause;

We’re learning how to adapt our businesses and our personal lives…

And in many ways, we’re learning how to deal with a significant amount of extra time

Because we’re no longer running as frequently and as fast

I think it’s a blessing…

But I’m confident that we’ll return to our ‘old normal’ and forget some valuable lessons

We’ll become overly busy again…

Why am I doing this

I believe the world demands a better brand of leadership.

Leaders who release the talent, passion and skill of everyone around them.

It’s time to raise the bar of leadership and become the leader your organization hired you to be, the leader your team needs you to be, and the leader you know you can be.

So what should you expect from me – your host and leadership coach?

We will have an honest conversation about the true cost of busyness.

That means it might be a little raw at times
You may not agree with what I’m saying
You may even feel as though you’re being called out – that’s called conviction. And it can feel personal. But don’t make it personal.
This is about learning.

The 2nd thing you should expect are breakthroughs in perspective.

I believe that breakthroughs in perspective are the catalysts for meaningful and lasting change
Otherwise, what are we doing?
The 3rd thing you should expect from me is honesty.
I’m going to share some of my own experiences and experiences that I’ve helped others through – or that they’ve taught me.
As I share experiences and breakthroughs from others, I’ll change names/locations even time periods. It’s not about Who – it’s about What they learned and How it will help you.

Let’s’ talk about podcast structure…

As of today, I have 25 episodes outlined and the first 7 are recorded and produced.

They’re tending to be pretty short.

I don’t think we have to elaborate on some of these topics too much.

And, a major component of this podcast is to introduce ideas and concepts that you can go back and talk through with your coworkers or in your professional network.

“I don’t know if I agree with what the coach was saying today… what do you think?”
“Am I failing at this? Am I unapproachable at times?”
“Am I creating a culture of busyness on my team?”

So there you go…

Like you, I struggle with busyness

It has strained my relationships; caused me to lose focus and taken me off course.

It’s why I’m so passionate about it why I’m devoting so much of my own time and energy to helping others.

Because the unbusy leader releases the talent, passion and skill of everyone around them.

Leader: Has your nose been 'down to the grindstone' lately?If so, do your team a favor and pause... take a look around and intentionally notice things.

Here are 5 things you might notice when you become a notice:

People who are crushing it. Recognize them!
People who aren't working well together. Coach them!
A great customer success story. Champion it!
A toxic situation on a team. Eradicate it!
Market shifts and opportunities. Seize them!

Unbusy leaders rise above the minutia of the day. They intentionally and actively look for opportunities and take decisive action.

Send your questions, ideas and feedback to coach@jamesmayhew.com.

Are you giving energy away to negativity?

This is my lesson for today and I want to share it with you.

I allowed myself to blame LinkedIn for stealing 30 minutes from me after a post that I created vanished into thin air, unrecoverable.

In disgust I murmured, “Well, I can see that’s how my day is going to go!”

Except that’s BS.

It’s my negative OVER reaction to a random occurrence beyond my control. I gave it power. If I allow it to continue, it will become my reality.

Leaders, we have to stop giving away our power to stupid crap.

“I’m going to allow that to ruin my day?? Allow it to take me off mission?”

Heck no!

That’s why I’m sharing it with you here. I don’t want stupid stuff to cause you to be distracted, disrupted or otherwise disgusted.

I’m better than that. You’re better than that.

It’s not going to be a bad day. It’s going to be an amazing day!

Negativity will steal your energy if you let it, and that will make you less productive, more hurried, lead to more mistakes, and have more stress.

You’ll be more productive when you rise above negative thoughts and the associated negative beliefs you tell yourself about other people.

Would you hire a company that specializes in restoration and cleaning services if...

Their fleet vehicles were excessively dirty and with rust and dents?

The employees who drive the vehicle aren’t in clean uniforms?

The music that was blasting from that vehicle while filling up for gas was filled with derogatory lyrics?

That’s what I noticed recently as I was filling up for gas.

The company logo and slogan was plainly visible on the truck’s doors and tailgate.

And I thought to myself, if I ever need their services after a fire or flood, there’s absolutely no way I’d hire them.

Image matters. Brand matters.

From my perspective, this is a both an organizational culture and leadership issue.

And I can tell you right now that they don’t value training, customer experience, quality or excellence.

But they do have a set of accidental values that have become their standards.

When you know how you're gifted it lays a solid foundation for your success.

Fundamentals are vital to coaching individuals in sports – and in business.

Essential skills
Having awareness
Having humility
Acting courageously
Being confident
Working within your strengths

These fundamentals separate the great ones from the mediocre ones.

StrengthsFinder is where I typically start with all coaching clients. It creates breakthroughs in perspectives that are otherwise missed.

Not only for yourself, but for how you perceive others.
StrengthsFinder improves:

how you relate to others
how you communicate
how you organize work groups
how you approach challenges
how you relate to shifts and changes (such as 'social distancing')

StrengthsFinder initiates conversations that need to happen, but don't happen naturally.

When you work within your Strengths, you are much more powerful, productive and effective.