THE IGFY NEWSLETTER
Higher Purpose Podcast Episode 86: Being a Brave Leader with Kimberly Davis
What does it mean to be a brave leader? This is our 10th installment in our HumansFirst series of heart-to-heart discussions on what it means to live, love, lead, and work in a
Being your authentic self
For many, authenticity means “I get to be what I want to be and it doesn’t matter what anybody else thinks.” But from a leadership perspective, it really does matter what people think and how they experience you. Authenticity is in the eye of the beholder, and the way Kimberly thinks of authenticity is: if we were seated together, would you experience this leader — from your lens — as someone who is genuine and worthy of your trust? Are they someone you can rely upon and believe in? Because that is what is going to allow them to lead and influence others.
How are you truly connecting with the human beings you’re trying to lead?
Leading in a humans first kind of way
Humans first is really about cultivating humanity in the workplace and bringing the whole person to work. So brave leadership is about bringing your best, most authentic and powerful self to every situation that you face, so that you can connect to the hearts of your team members, and be someone they don’t have to follow, but want to follow.
Reframing bravery
The traditional definition of bravery is to face and endure danger or pain. But you can’t work with that mindset. Kimberly reframes bravery as being her best, most authentic, and powerful self: the Kimberly she is when she is being respectful, responsible, and mindful, who pays attention to what other people need from her. It is stepping into your own power, that is, your ability to create change based on how you show up in the world.
We need leaders who are willing to take responsibility for the impact that they make in the situations that they face, and on the lives that they’re leading. We need leaders who are able to connect to the humanity in front of them.
Your best self
Your best self is you at your most positive and your most effective. It’s who you are when you’re at your very best — not who you’re told you should be. Your best self is your best you.
A caveat: many people will say “I’m just being myself” as an excuse for pretty crazy behavior. But if it’s hurtful to someone, it’s not your best self.
Qualities of a leader
One of the most important things a leader can do is see the possibilities in others that they may not even see in themselves. That bridges the confidence in their ability to do things greater than they didn’t even think they were capable of doing, and allows us to lift each other up and rise together.
You have the ability to have an impact in every situation that you face. So the question you should be asking yourself is: what impact do I want to have?
The comparison trap
When you feel yourself comparing yourself to others, remember: you matter simply because you’re you. Not because of anything you’ve done or achieved, but because of how you show up in the world and the impact that you make.
So take one small step toward having the impact that you want to have. One small action. Don’t think about the whole world, think about this moment right now. Who are you with? How can you make an impact on them? How do you want them to feel about their work, or what’s possible?
Heart and soul cannot be commoditized
You can mandate someone to come in to work, but you can’t mandate that they’re going to do it with excellence. You can’t mandate that they’re going to do it with care. You can’t mandate that they’re going to give it everything they’ve got. That’s something they get to choose, and if that’s something you want from people, you can’t treat it like it’s an exchange. It’s a gift they’re giving you, and they have to want to give it. What you can do is create the environment and the opportunity that allows them to flourish.
Want to grow as a HumansFirst leader and connect in meaningful conversations with other HumansFirst leaders?
Join me for the HumansFirst Book Club, where we do a deep dive into a book a month and often engage the authors in conversation.
Resources for Kimberly Davis
#BraveMoment Twitter Chat (8pm Central, Tuesday Nights)
Resources
The Abundance Loop: 8 Steps to Manifest Conscious Wealth (Amazon)
Higher Purpose Podcast Episode 85: How Leadership is Evolving with Sesil Pir
Is there a magic pill to make your team and organization work? Welcome to another installment in what it means to live, love,
Meaningful work for everyone
We all want to be seen. And in the context of organizations, we also want to be heard, cared about, and recognized for our contributions. We are all seeking a sense of belonging, and any workplace has the potential to be meaningful and to honor our humanity: who we are and what we bring to the table.
Finding out what’s important
People are often motivated by external factors like reward systems, upgrades, or even the opinions of others. But more frequently, people are motivated from within.
Sesil brings up the Self-Determination Theory, a broad framework for human motivation, and distills it into its three essential elements: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. There is a bit of self-interest there, but there’s also a need to be part of something meaningful and bigger than ourselves — and that’s where purpose comes in.
The best way for leaders to discover what’s important to the people in their organization? Ask.
Building an environment that allows people to flourish
Sesil helps organizations build environments of inspiration, meaning, safety, and joy, grounded in the core belief that all humans are worthy of dignity, clarity, well-being, and empathy.
There is no formula or magic pill or blueprint. No two organizations are the same, so the key is to translate or adapt these principles in ways that work best for each specific organization. You have to find what uniquely allows your people to show up and contribute. This must come from the organization itself. Sesil shares that they don’t touch anything as much as possible, they just show leaders the way, help them see things from a different perspective, and let them create.
The evolving workplace
Sesil shares a number of trends she’s observed that’s changing the landscape of the way we work now. Two things she highlights:
The world is changing so fast that 65% of our children entering primary school this year will ultimately end up working in jobs that don’t even exist today. How do we prepare them for that?
Leadership is evolving. The traditional notion of a leader is someone who does something well — but we see leadership now as having little to do with authority on a subject, and more to do with being a guide, putting up a mirror, and serving.
A message for you
Lean in and show up. There is a true contagiousness to our energy, mindset, and behavior. When we come in with a genuine smile on our face, consciously or unconsciously, the whole office will be smiling, too.
Final thoughts
When we say humans first, we are saying that we will always put people as the most critical factor in any decision-making process. Under no circumstances will people be secondary.
Cultural transformation is heavily influenced by design. The only time paradigms start to shift is if there is genuine intent and participation behind it.
Wanting to grow as a HumansFirst leader and connect in meaningful conversations with other HumansFirst leaders?
Join me for the HumansFirst Book Club, where we do a deep dive into a book a month and often engage the authors in conversation.
Resources
Get in touch with Kevin
kevin@higherpurposepodcast.com
(678) 744 5111
Higher Purpose Podcast Episode 84: Finding Real Happiness at Work with Brooke Erol
There’s job satisfaction, and then there’s the real happiness that comes from working at a company whose purpose aligns with yours AND where your job has meaning. We continue our HumansFirst series with Brooke Erol, the founder of Purposeful Business, and she shares how we can become more engaged at work, so we can become more engaged in life. Listen to the full episode:
Reflections from a HumansFirst Club meeting
What stays with Brooke the most are the conversations they have with their attendees. They opened up their hearts, called the group their ‘tribe,’ and immediately felt like this was a place they belonged to. Not only is this heartwarming to see, but it verifies what we already know: there’s a lot of hunger for ‘HumansFirst’ workplaces.
The hunger and the thirst for work to be HumansFirst
Our level of consciousness increases over time, and every time it does, the way we lead organizations changes. The concept of purpose is nothing new, but now we’re more aware of it and intrinsically yearn for it. We understand even more now that we can’t separate our work selves and our personal selves. The mindset from the industrial age definitely isn’t working anymore, especially with the new generation. Something’s gotta change.
Brooke’s path to HumansFirst
Brooke applied the formula given to all of us: good grades, good school, good job. She landed a great job at IBM and she was supposed to be happy. Everything looked great on paper. But in her early 20s, she began to question her purpose. Why was she working there? Was it really what she wanted to do for the rest of her life?
With the help of a coach, she realized her purpose was to make people happier at work, and now she has a tribe of amazing people she’s able to talk to about this every day.
On expressing her purpose today
Brooke runs Purposeful Business to help organizations reinvent themselves and grow based on a foundation of purpose. When that’s the case, profit becomes the byproduct, not the end goal, and everyone wins.
Making work more human is the answer — so what’s the problem?
Many workplaces don’t know how to motivate, attract, and retain the new generation. We now value different things than the generation before us, which leads to high turnover at a significant cost.
Many employers are also asking how they can get their employees more engaged. It’s an important question, too: when you’re disengaged at work, you’re disengaged from the rest of your life, and you bring that bad energy wherever you go.
The awakening
This movement is slowly but surely happening on a global scale. It’s getting much more attention than it used to. But many business leaders are trying to make people happy using the old tools: a good compensation plan, bonuses, free coffee, a ping pong table at work. Not that these aren’t great — they are! — but that’s not sustainable happiness.
Real happiness at work comes from more intrinsic things that we need as human beings, like relationships, and whether we find meaning and purpose in what we do. And that’s what helps with things like engagement, creativity, and innovation.
And if you don’t work for a company who’s had the awakening yet, Brooke shares some advice on finding meaning in what you do.
Final thoughts
It all boils down to our belief system. If you believe that it’s possible to treat people with the dignity and respect they deserve, and make them feel like they matter whatever their job is and that what they do contributes to a bigger purpose, that will bring the best results for your organization and for everyone.
Wanting to grow as a HumansFirst leader and connect in meaningful conversations with other HumansFirst leaders?
Join me for HumansFirst Book Club where we do a deep dive into a book a month and often engage the authors in conversation.
Resources
Everybody Matters: The Extraordinary Power of Caring for Your People Like Family (Amazon)
HPP Episode 33 – Explore, Discover and Transform Work with Gary Adamson
Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success (Amazon)
Higher Purpose Podcast Episode 83: The 7 Simple Superpowers of the HumansFirst Heroes
Today, we’re talking superpowers. We’re midstream in a series of conversations on what it means to live, love, and lead in a HumansFirst kind of way, and for this special solo episode, I want to talk to you about some important simple skills. Now, don’t confuse simple for easy. These skills require us to put someone else ahead of ourselves, which is difficult, and doesn’t come naturally to many of us. I call them: The 7 Simple Superpowers of the HumansFirst Heroes.
X-Ray Vision
This superpower means you’re able to see a person for who they truly are. This has three dimensions:
Seeing beyond the veneer and layers and the mask people put up around themselves.
Seeing into their heart and seeing the real beauty, value, and worth of the individual in front of you — which makes them feel accepted and valued for having been seen.
Seeing into the future, and seeing what this person is capable of becoming and what they’re capable of accomplishing.
Extraordinary Strength
This is the strength it takes to lift your team or organization to extraordinary achievement. These heroes believe in the power of community, and they have the uncanny ability of allowing different people from all around the world to see their part in this bigger vision, and invest their blood, sweat, and tears into making it a reality.
Supernatural Hearing
This is the ability to listen deeply. They value what you have to say more than what they have to say. Here are the three quotes I’ve gathered on listening:
“Many a man would rather you heard his story than grant his request.” — Lord Chesterfield
“When people realize they’re being listened to, they tell you things.” — Richard Ford
“Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.” — Stephen R. Covey
The first thing that we have to do is quiet the conversation that's already going on in our minds. Pause, breathe, and make it your intention to listen to the person in front of you.
Claircognizance
This is the amazing ability to gain information through intrinsic means. People with this superpower are able to pull out of themselves or others:
- things that they didn’t even know were there
- things they didn’t realize they were capable of doing
- a person they didn’t realize they were capable of becoming
They do this through asking questions that help cut through the clutter in your mind and your heart, draw you in, and engage you in a way you wouldn’t otherwise engage. They may already see something in you that you don’t yet see, and the gift of the claircognizant is getting you to see this possibility for yourself.
Web Weaving
This ability talks about relational webs: the ability to see people and connect with them. And it’s not just one-on-one. This superpower includes the ability to connect people to other people, whether inside or outside your organization.
Time Suspension
HumansFirst Heroes have an uncanny ability to be present in the moment. They recognize the power in the little things, see the opportunities in the mundane, and are able to stop time and create magic in that moment.
Super-sized Hearts and Enhanced Empathy
HumansFirst Heroes have a heart that oozes love, compassion, and compassionate care. When you interact with one of these heroes, you realize they genuinely care for you — no pretending here. They just operate with high levels of empathy and allow people to feel loved.
What would you add to the list?
This is far from a complete list, and I invite you to help me grow it. Who’s a HumansFirst hero in your work or world? And what’s their superpower? Email me at kevin@higherpurposepodcast.com or call me at (678) 744 5111.
Wanting to grow as a HumansFirst leader and connect in meaningful conversations with other HumansFirst leaders?
Join me for HumansFirst Book Club where we do a deep dive into a book a month and often engage the authors in conversation.
Past HumansFirst Episodes
Higher Purpose Podcast Episode 82: Being a Chief Heart Officer with Claude Silver
Higher Purpose Podcast Episode 81: The Future of Work with Dr. Heather Hanson Wickman
Higher Purpose Podcast Episode 80: Making Work More Human with Renée Smith
Higher Purpose Podcast Episode 78: Creating a ‘Humans First’ Workplace with Marcel Schwantes
Higher Purpose Podcast Episode 77: Putting Humans First with Mike Vacanti
Higher Purpose Podcast Episode 50: Make Work More Human with Renee Smith
Other Resources
Higher Purpose Podcast Episode 69: The Epic Partnership that Created the WD-40 Culture with Garry Ridge and Stan Sewitch
Deep Listening: Impact Beyond Words (Amazon)
Higher Purpose Podcast Episode 57: Becoming a Deep Listener with Oscar Trimboli
The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact (Amazon)
Higher Purpose Podcast Episode 82: Being a Chief Heart Officer with Claude Silver
What is it like to mentor almost 800 people? Claude Silver is the Chief Heart Officer at VaynerMedia, a global digital advertising agency. She was previously the company’s Senior Vice President, and was handpicked for the role three years ago by the CEO himself, Gary Vaynerchuk. Today on the show she’s talking about the immense ability we have to touch people’s lives, even in the smallest of ways.
Our power as human beings
The way we see a person is how we treat that person. And how we treat that person is what they will become. We have so much power as human beings to change lives, whether that’s helping someone get out of the gutter or, on the flip side, do harm.
Blind spots
Self-awareness is important. The more you’re aware of yourself, what you’ve gone through in life and what holds you back, the more you are able to see that in another human being — whether that’s the customer at Starbucks or the CEO. That’s empathy. And when we empathize, we can choose to relate to someone with softness and tenderness, telling them to come closer instead of pushing them away.
A day in the life of...
Claude is always on the offense: her job is to spot where there might be a fire and extinguish it before it gets out of hand. In her line of work, that means people problems like a lack of communication or team members feeling inadequate. Every day is different because she deals with humans — and humans have different issues. From time to time, she’s able to FaceTime with Gary V, which is fuel for her to give more of herself.
The magic of intentional micro-interactions
Looking someone in the eye is intentional. Giving someone a high five is intentional. At work for Claude, these micro-interactions might look like saying hi in the bathroom as they’re washing hands, or in her 15-minute sessions that she holds with people.Small moments like these light people up. Bringing the magic into the mundane starts by giving someone attention: when you’re able to make them feel like they’re the only person in the room and that is the only conversation you want to be having.We all want to be seen. Because of that, seeing people is powerful. This is a revolution of tenderness and of bringing humanity back into this life.
A message for you right now
I hear you. I hear that you have these beliefs that you are less than, that you don’t belong, that you aren’t connected to this world and that no one will understand you. But I want you to know something. You’re not alone. I got you. Kevin’s got you.Do something right now for me: I want you to think of three things that you’re grateful for. Just three things. It could be the blue sky, or the song you heard on the radio, or the high five someone gave you on the basketball court. It doesn’t matter.Get yourself to a place where you can think outside of yourself for a second. Think of something that makes you happy, that inspires you. Go to that place just for that moment, and remember how you feel in those moments.That’s magic. You DO belong to this planet because you had that experience. Because you’re able to have gratitude for that person in your life or the person who gave you a high five, that means you belong. You’re connected to that person.You’re not alone, my friends.
The beginnings of the HumansFirst Club
It began in her office when Mike Vacanti came in and they decided they wanted to work together. Mark LeBusque was someone she found on LinkedIn, and it was like finding a brother across the world. She connected the two, and eventually connected with Jill Katz, and they all began jamming.The first HumansFirst Club session was in New York, and it was an exciting moment because nothing was planned. It was just: “What can I say and share about myself to encourage people to take a bigger step in their life?”
Ditching the deck
Some people prepare what they’re going to say, and fail to prepare to show up. She shares the story of Dubai — where, ready to give a talk to a room of 60 to 65 people, she made a split-second decision to ditch her deck, have everyone sit on the floor, and jam together. It’s about asking: “What’s going to be best for this group of people? What’s going to bring them together?”
Final thoughts
Go and call or text someone who isn’t expecting a call or text from you. Let them know that they’re loved and appreciated and that you’re thinking of them.
Resources for Claude
LinkedInInstagramTwitterHigher Purpose Podcast Episode 77: Putting Humans First with Mike VacantiHigher Purpose Podcast Episode 78: Creating a ‘Humans First’ Workplace with Marcel SchwantesHumansFirst ClubHumansFirst Club: New York City, Reflection of the Kick-Off Experience
Higher Purpose Podcast Episode 81: The Future of Work with Dr. Heather Hanson Wickman
What does the future of work look like? According to our guest, the future of work is ‘Love in Action.’ Heather Hanson Wickman is the co-founder of Untethered Consulting and the author of “The Evolved Executive,” and today we’re talking about what it means to lead with love, not fear. Heather shares that her purpose is to awaken the souls of leaders to create soulful organizations. So how can we do that? Listen to the full episode:
Why are so many people uncomfortable talking about love in the workplace?
There are still beliefs and baggage around what it means to love. In our language, we don’t have a distinction about what love means at work, but what this kind of love means is human connection.
How can we make love an easier topic to explore?
It starts with a one-on-one connection and conversation. Heather usually begins by defining what love means to her: the absence of fear, having freedom and autonomy, and human connection. And then they begin a conversation about what it means for them as a leader, what it is that they’re trying to create in this team or organization, and then creating a message that fits them and their voice.
What does a workplace rooted in fear look like?
There are many stories of things people do to maintain their power, control, ego, or status in such inhumane and debilitating ways.
It can show up in leaders like:
- Public humiliation
- Being passive aggressive
- Calling someone out for an error in front of their peers
Or
- Being unable to tell the truth, e.g. feeling like you can’t be constructive and honest when your boss asks for feedback
- Feeling like you need to keep up appearances, like looking busy or staying at the office late, even if there’s no extra work to do, otherwise something might happen to you
- Gossiping
Any of these scenarios say “it’s not safe to be here.”
What would you say to somebody under the weight of a toxic boss?
You can continue to try different strategies and solutions, like connecting with trusted peers and collectively trying some new initiatives. But there’s also a personal inventory that needs to happen internally. What’s this going to cost you, and are you willing to pay that price? It’s a choice between what you can do, and what’s best for your purpose going forward.
Can you share a few practices of love?
Know that practicing love at work is not easy, and it’s major kudos to you to try small experiments of love with your team. Heather also shares:
- How one organization approached gossip and made that approach a team effort that was embedded in their culture, and...
- How leaders can practice vulnerability in three small words
When it comes to changing culture, which comes first: the team’s desire for change, or the leader’s?
Both. But it’s most effective when the leader is out front leading the charge. Many times a team starts gaining momentum down a path of change — until the leader finds out and squashes the effort. Having a leader who’s open to change is a much easier path to success.
What’s needed for a leader to evolve?
The awakening is unique to every individual. For some, it’s slow and gradual. For some, it’s something as sudden as getting fired or having a heart attack. The important thing is to pay attention to the feelings when they’re alive within you: they’re there to tell us something.
How do people respond to this awakening?
In the beginning, people can be confused, but a few months down the road, when behaviors are continuing and growing, people become alive. They can stop hiding, and they can show up and contribute. It just takes some time for them to trust that this shift is real.
How can you guide leaders through this awakening?
It’s not about being good or bad. It’s solely about a belief or thought patterns, and we can have absolute permission to change those thought patterns once we understand what they are, and who and what they served.
Final thoughts
Continue the climb because this work is not easy work. It’s a revolution, and we need people like you to be on the journey with us, recreating the way that we work. Find people who can support you and move you forward, because nobody climbs Mount Everest alone.
Resources
The Evolved Executive: The Future of Work Is Love in Action by Heather Hanson Wickman, Ph.D
Becoming the Chief Joy Officer of Your Company with Rich Sheridan
Putting Humans First with Mike Vacanti
Creating a ‘Humans First’ Workplace with Marcel Schwantes
Making Work More Human with Renée Smith
Higher Purpose Podcast Episode 80: Making Work More Human with Renée Smith
What's needed to create HumansFirst workplaces and make work more human? Renée Smith serves as the Director of Workplace Transformation for Washington State as part of the Governor’s Results Washington Office. She leads the ‘Make Work More Human’ project, and she’s here to answer the question: “What’s love got to do with it?” Listen to the full episode here:
What are some of the developments you’ve seen relative to the Make Work More Human Project?
There has been a continuous growth of this movement, and people are embracing the big idea that people want less fear and more love in their lives -- work lives included. We flourish when we create more love in our workspaces, and making work more human-centered is the key to creating the kinds of organizations that prosper, both for people doing the work and the customers that we’re serving.
Renée shares two poignant encounters with people related to love — an exclamation of relief during a summit, and a sadness for years lost from an old gentleman, who had spent his entire career not thinking it was okay to be fully human.
What’s love got to do with it?
Love is the heart of the matter, even if people may not choose to use the word. Joy, gratitude, belonging, inclusion, respect, trust — these human experiences are wonderful, essential, and emanate from love.
The more brave and bold you become with using the word love, the more you invite other people to say, “You know, I actually as a human being want love in my life, both personally, and the versions of love that live squarely in my professional life.”
Renée shares stories about the different and concrete ways love shows up in the workplace. She underscores that listening is love in action. As leaders, the higher up we go in an organization, the greater our capacity and capability for love have to be.
What does it mean to be human-centered? (A workshop)
They run a workshop that guides people to explore the kinds of love that belong at work. During the workshop, different kinds of love are assigned at the tables (kindness, empathy, compassion, respect, inclusion, belonging, and trust) and people are invited to share stories and have dialogues about them. They come away with their own definitions of that kind of love, and the benefits that come to them as an individual, to their team, to their customers, and to the work.
What people come away realizing is that they’ve already experienced love at work. Here are all the different forms it shows up in. It’s not weird. It’s not squishy. It’s normal.
Love when it’s difficult
You can discipline the human way and resist the harshness that you’ve seen, or maybe even experienced, in the past. When having to tell someone that you can’t keep them in their position, for example, you don’t have to wall your humanity off in those moments and put up a shell. Leaders have to be in a space of emotional discomfort in the moment and be real. Being real helps them move along and you shouldn’t sacrifice your humanity.
The business value of love
Love changes how you interact with your team and how people behave from day to day. Go from being hesitant to becoming more centered and comfortable. From that comfort comes the ability to communicate, a sense of inclusion, and being able to argue and disagree in a healthy way to come up with better solutions. It’s all around being able to do better work.
Final thoughts
Don’t be afraid of love, and don’t be afraid to put that into action. It’s what we need to be fully ourselves and to bring our best selves into the world.
Join the conversation
How do you feel about love at work? Join me in the Higher Purpose Community or on Twitter, or you can email me at kevin@higherpurposepodcast.com - or pick up the phone and call me at (678) 744-5111.
Resources
Make Work More Human (Website)
Radical Loving Care: Building the Healing Hospital in America by Erie Chapman (Amazon)
Chief Joy Officer: How Great Leaders Elevate Human Energy and Eliminate Fear (Amazon)
Higher Purpose Podcast Episode 79: Life Through the Lens of Purpose
I want to invite you to a different kind of episode today: a thinking-out-loud session on seeing the world differently when looking at it through the lens of purpose. Please join the conversation! I'll share more about how you can provide your feedback at the end of this episode.
One of my favorite quotes is from Anaïs Nin: “We don't see the world as it is, we see it as we are.” So I’m inviting you to look at life, the world, and your journey through the lens of purpose.
What looks different through the lens of purpose?
Time
It’s easy to see life as a blurred series of events. Many of our moments are similar. But at the same time, each moment is unique.
Through the lens of purpose, you realize that there may be something incredibly unique about this moment, and you may cross paths with a person who may desperately need even the smallest act of kindness, a word of encouragement, or even just recognition that they exist and that they matter, right now, in this moment. The lens of purpose allows us to see that now matters, and no kind word or deed
People
There are no little people: everybody matters.
- Always seek to engage your server (or anyone with a nametag) by name — and watch what happens when you do. That’s an opportunity to elevate and lift others.
- If you’re in a leadership position, give people a seat at the table, especially those who have been excluded from the conversation.
- In creating humans-first workplaces, remember that your boss is human, too.
Purpose helps us recognize that all people have value, and they’re all in need of our love, kindness, and respect.
Work
There are parts of our jobs that are repetitive and mundane at times, but purpose allows you to discover the magnificence in the mundane, the bigger quest to your menial tasks.
Helen Keller said: “I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble.” Love and compassion elevate even the most mundane acts of service.
Leadership
The traditional view of leadership is based on perks, privilege, and power. Now, how does the lens of purpose invite you and me to see leadership differently? It allows us to see leadership as a responsibility to use power: to serve, elevate, and develop others, rather than for self-advancement, self-aggrandizement, or personal enrichment. It allows us to use leadership as a platform for serving.
Success
How do you define success? In many places it’s fame, fortune, travel, and fun. Not that there’s anything wrong with any of those, but is that the ultimate definition of success? Or does success give way to significance? Success is all about you, but significance benefits others beyond you.
Mother Teresa gave my friend a plaque with three words: Faithfulness, not success. As a person of faith, I believe I’m called to live a life faithful to the principles and practices Christ taught.
I’m not saying you have to define success the way I do; what I’m suggesting is that you find your own definition of success that’s consistent with your values and priorities. How do you define it?
Failure
I grew up with the understanding that failure was final. It’s not.
Failure is an assessment about an outcome — that’s all it is. It’s feedback about a hypothesis. In fact, we shouldn’t even say you failed. It just didn’t work. And taking the real scientific approach means going ahead trying something else.
Through the lens of purpose, we see that failure is not the flip side of success. It's part of the journeyto success.
Adversity and Suffering
When you’re suffering through difficulties and challenges, this is the area where purpose is most potent. It helps us gain a fresh perspective when we believe there is purpose and meaning even in suffering and adversity. There are things we learn by going through difficult seasons of life and enduring trials and difficulties that we don’t learn any other way.
And when you get to the other side of adversity and suffering, you have a degree of moral authority that you didn’t have before. You’re able to comfort others with the comfort you received when you went through something, which allows you to have empathy on a whole other level.
Join the conversation
Would you add to this list? What would you see differently? Join me in the Higher Purpose Community or on Twitter, or you can email me at kevin@higherpurposepodcast.com or pick up the phone and call me at (678) 744-5111.
Resources
Empathy: The Human Connection to Patient Care
Episode #72: Hospitable Leadership and the Discipline of Hope with Terry Smith
Episode #78: Creating a ‘Humans First’ Workplace with Marcel Schwantes
Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl (Amazon)
Man's Search for Ultimate Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl (Amazon)
Phone: (678) 744 5111
Higher Purpose Podcast Episode 78: Creating a 'Humans First' Workplace with Marcel Schwantes
What goes into creating a humans first workplace? Marcel Schwantes is a keynote speaker and the and Founder and Chief Human Officer of Leadership from the core. Today we’re talking about that four-letter word: love. What does leading with love mean, and what does it look like in action, and how does it help people — and businesses — flourish? Listen to the full episode here:
What’s fueling the energy behind humans first movement?
Love. It’s the most powerful force in the universe, and as humans, we are wired to want to experience love. The definition of a true leader is somebody who meets the needs of others. If love is absent, then fear takes its place, and Marcel shares a personal example of what this fear-based toxic work environment can look like.
What makes a workplace humans first?
It’s putting love into action, like when leaders:
- Care and model that behavior all the way down to the floor
- Have patience and self-control over their emotions
- Remove themselves from the spotlight, and put the spotlight on the employees
- Build and nurture a trusting community
- Are authentic, meaning: they’re approachable, emotionally honest, and communicate the good, the bad, and the ugly instead of sweeping things under the rug
- Are transparent; they show their true selves instead of hiding behind a mask
And these are things that have been repeatedly backed up by research. The evidence is overwhelming in favor of human-centered leaders and workplaces.
What does love look like in the workplace?
It takes the form of agape love: unconditional love rooted in behavior towards others, without regard to their due. It’s what leaders should be striving for, because it’s an actionable type of love. It’s a verb, not a feeling.
Coach Vince Lombardi said of his team, the Green Bay Packers: “I don’t necessarily have to like my players and associates. But as their leader, I must love them. Love is loyalty. Love is teamwork. Love respects the dignity of the individual. This is the strength of any organization.”
What does a leading out of love look like?
Many airlines were going out of business and laying people off after 9/11, but Jim Parker (the CEO of Southwest at that time) said, we are willing to suffer some damage, even to our structure and stock price, to protect the jobs of our people.
The result of sticking to values and putting people first? Loyal and committed employees, higher-level performances, and the only profitable airline throughout that period. When you put your people first, profits take care of themselves.
Another way to show love is to release control. Share your leadership with your followers to empower them not only to succeed in their roles, but to help create a leader-leader culture rather than a follower-leader one. Steve Jobs said: “I don’t hire people to tell them what to do. I hire them so they can tell me what to do.” Help them take ownership of their own decisions and do what they do best.
As for Garry Ridge, becoming a human leader meant getting comfortable with three powerful words: “I don’t know.” For him, ego is a barrier to leading effectively.
Leaders are humans first, too
There are leaders who fear their roles because they don’t want to fail. They don’t want to be seen as weak leaders. So there’s usually a facade that keeps them from being authentic and connecting with their team. This is why many end up leading through fear and managing through power and control.
A true ‘humans first’ workplace involves everyone from the very top of the organization at the highest level, all the way to the least tenured position.
Final thoughts
What’s one thing you could be doing right now to improve the life of one of your employees?
Transform YOUR Team!
If you're a leader who is, or wants to be entrusted with the transformation of your team, join me and 6 other leaders for a year-long journey of transformation that will help you release your brilliance, and help others do the same. Email Kevin@Kevindmonroe.com to begin the application process.
Resources for Marcel Schwantes
Resources
Episode 29 – Interview with Jeff Harmon
Episode 69: The Epic Partnership that Created the WD-40 Culture with Garry Ridge and Stan Sewitch
Harvard Business Review: What CEOs Are Afraid Of by Roger Jones
The Evolved Executive: The Future of Work Is Love in Action by Heather Hanson Wickman PhD (Amazon)
Servant Leadership Books
Looking for a great book on Servant Leadership?
I've curated a list of Servant-Leadership books for you. These are 12 of my favorite books to help you better understand and practice Servant Leadership. If you read one book a month, this list provides you with a year's worth of reading.
The Servant: A Simple Story About the True Essence of Leadership. ~ James Hunter
Servant Leadership: A Journey Into the Nature of Legitimate Power and Greatness (25th Anniversary Edition). ~ Robert K. Greenleaf (edited by Larry C. Spears)
Seven Pillars of Servant Leadership: Practicing the Wisdom of Leading by Serving ~ James W. Sipe and Don M. Frick
Dare to Serve: How to Drive Superior Results by Serving Others. ~ Cheryl Bachelder
Helping People Win at Work: A Business Philosophy Called "Don't Mark My Paper, Help Me Get an A” ~ Ken Blanchard and Garry Ridge
The Case for Servant Leadership ~ Kent Keith
It’s Not About the Coffee: Lessons on Putting People First from a Life at Starbucks ~ Howard Behar
The Serving Leader: Five Powerful Actions to Transform Your Team, Business, and Community. ~ Kenneth Jennings and John Stahl-Wert
Chief Joy Officer: How Great Leaders Elevate Human Energy and Eliminate Fear ~ Richard Sheridan
Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don't ~ Simon Sinek
Turn the Ship Around!: A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders r ~ L. David Marquet
Leadership and Self-Deception: Getting Out of the Box ~ The Arbinger Institute
Get your copy of the book list here:
Servant Leadership Quotes
Looking for a list of Servant Leadership quotes?
I've got a list of Servant Leadership Quotes for you. Here are 31 of my favorite Servant Leadership quotations. That's one for each day of the month.
This list has been 15 years in the making and includes quotations I've incorporated in the hundreds of presentations I've developed and delivered on Servant Leadership.
Anytime I'm delivering a presentation, there are always people in the audience either scrambling to snag a photo of a slide with one of these quotations on it. Or worse, I've watched people scribbling as fast as they can to copy it down. I always tell them, "Relax and listen. You can get a copy of the slides."
Here's a sample of some of the quotations you'll find in the 31 Servant Leadership Quotes. In addition to these quotations, you can find a great list of Servant Leadership Books.
If you really live it, Servant Leadership changes everything. ~ Ari Weinzweig
Servant L
One of the great ironies of life is this: He or she who serves almost always benefits more than he or she who is served. ~ Gordon B. Hinckley
The servant-leader is
Would you like the full list of Servant Leadership quotes emailed to you?
Higher Purpose Podcast Episode 77: Putting Humans First with Mike Vacanti
We’re at an inflection point and it’s time for a business culture shift. Today we have Mike Vacanti, the founder of the HumansFirst Club, here to share about the movement, the community, and what happens when you bring like-minded and like-hearted people together to put humans first. Listen to the full episode here:
What is the HumansFirst Club?
It’s a consortium of people interested in understanding and recognizing that we can create business environments where people can grow and thrive. Its simple mission is to ‘ignite and accelerate a shift in business culture that values humans first.’
Where did this idea come from?
When Mike first started his consulting work, he zeroed in on some key phrases: “people are your business,” “it’s much more than what we accomplish, it’s who we become along the journey,” and “the intent to lift others.”
He’s always had a human-centered approach to helping companies, and it was his idea to get a bunch of people in the room together and talk about being human. That was the first HumansFirst Club event.
How do you describe the HumansFirst Club?
It’s a movement. People are raising their hands from different cities and countries asking for this to take place there. It’s time we started the dialogue because we can do more collectively than any one of us could do alone. There’s a collection of talents coming together and combined, it’s a wonderful playground.
What does it mean to be human first?
It’s re-prioritization, not a replacement. We’ve created processes and systems, and at some point, the human element — the employee — has become just another part of that process.
We can’t squeeze any more capacity out of humans, so now it’s time to see how we can expandcapacity. Take an element from your systems and processes, then prioritize people over everything that goes on: does that change the process? Does it enhance it? Break it? Can we make it better?
What might people expect at a HumansFirst Club event? How is it different?
Where most events are “talk-to” events, a HumansFirst Club event is interactive. Participants are leaders who are volunteeringto hang out and have real conversations about their experiences in their daily work as leaders.
Participants get the chance to let their guards down, engage and connect, and belong. There’s so much value in the back-and-forth with everybody: it’s comfortable, it’s unique, and it’s needed.
What kind of feedback have you received from these initial meetings?
“Something so simple and obvious apparently wasn’t.” The statement is a testament to how powerful it can be to make “humans first” the focus and address just that. And everybody knows they stand a great chance of enjoying work the next day better than they did today.
If somebody wanted to host or organize a HumansFirst Club meeting in their community, could they do that?
The answer is always yes.
What’s your hope for the world if this movement takes off and flourishes?
Mike would love to see the overall concept continue to bloom and grow, but at the same time, bring the seeds from that and plant them into the hearts of new leaders, our corporations, and our communities. These are principles that need to be in place for businesses to be sustainable as we go through this era of rapid change.
Final thoughts
Set aside your expectations of what you’re going to experience. This really is a true heartfelt connection to other human beings with a desire to do better. You’re welcome. You belong. So take down your guard, come with curiosity, share your voice, and bring your ideas.
Resources:
HumansFirst Club Calendar of Events
Higher Purpose Podcast Episode 76: Unwrapping Your Purpose Package
We’re kicking off the new year with another solo episode. For many, this is a time of New Year’s resolutions, transitions, or taking those next steps. For this episode, we’re exploring the idea of purpose and using new language to frame it: What does it mean to unwrap your Purpose Package? Listen to the full episode:
What is the Purpose Package?
The Purpose Package refers to two things: (1) purpose as a gift that arrives in your life and that you have to share with others, and (2) the benefits you receive when you choose to embrace and express purpose through your business and your life.
The joy in the search
Take joy in the search for your purpose. It’s a journey. Enjoy it and don’t rush to your destination. And the destination is not the end journey, it’s a doorway. The goal is to live and lead out of your room of purpose as much as possible.
Finding your Purpose Package
Purpose is like a Russian nesting doll. There are many layers to exploring, unpacking, and understanding your gift:
1) The first area to look at is your gifts, talents, and abilities. Everyone is gifted, but most of us don’t recognize it in ourselves because it comes so naturally. To help you identify your gifts, ask those close to you: What is it that they see you doing effortlessly that they wish they could do?
2) Another element of purpose is your life experience. Map out the milestones of your life journey and think of three types of moments as you’re doing this:
- Defining Moments, or moments that changed the trajectory of your life for good or bad.
- Refining or Crucible Moments are the hardships you’ve encountered. These are some of your greatest gems because you have the ability to comfort or encourage others with the lessons you’d learned going through these moments.
- Confining Moments are moments that alter your perception of yourself or some aspect of your life. It’s what Brené Brown calls Creativity Scars, and they seek to seal up the gift that’s in you and close you off from others.
Now, others may have similar gifts, talents, and abilities as you do, but when you bring your personality, life journey, experiences, and perspectives to the table, that allows you to make a contribution in the way only you can make it.
3) The next area is your joy and your genius. Genius is putting your gifts to work and spending as much time as possible doing what you are most gifted to do. And that produces joy.
4) The last thing to consider is your values. You might be using your gift and tapping into your genius, but if you have to compromise your values in the process, you’re living in frustration. Understand what matters most to you and never sacrifice it for what’s convenient.
The benefits of sharing your purpose with others
Shining your light invites others to do the same. People are waiting for you to share your gift, so they can benefit from it. And the benefit for you is living in joy from sharing that gift.
Another benefit is the love, peace, and harmony we experience from living in rhythm with who we are created to be, and doing what we are created to do.
It’s not all rainbows and unicorns though: tapping into your purpose helps you persevere through tough times, and may mean
Final thoughts
Purpose thrives in
Resources
Episode 75: 7 Hopes for You in the New Year
Living Your WHY – a Mini Manifesto on Purpose
Episode 56: How to Find Your Purpose with Nick Craig
Episode 12: Interview with Thom Winninger
Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts. by Brené Brown (Amazon)
The Big Leap: Conquer Your Hidden Fear and Take Life to the Next Level
Higher Purpose Podcast Episode 75: 7 Hopes for You in the New Year
This is the first episode of 2019, and it comes with a disclaimer. This one might be a little weird. In fact, it could be the weirdest episode we’ve done yet! While the actual New Year only comes, well, once a year, these seven hopes should be with you every month of every year, starting right now. Listen to the full episode:
That you are awakened to purpose, and that you awake and arise to purposeful living
Purpose is a choice that we all make on a daily basis. Do we live for ourselves or for something larger? Living for yourself is a very small life. A year of purpose is lived 365 days a year, one day at a time.
That you live authentically, and that you live in authenticity
Poet E. E. Cummings has several quotes that Kevin shares which drive this hope home:
- “It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.”
- “To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else - means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.”
- “We do not believe in ourselves until someone reveals that deep inside us something is valuable, worth listening to, worthy of our trust, sacred to our touch. Once we believe in ourselves we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight or any experience that reveals the human spirit.”
That you displace the limiting beliefs that hold you back
We all have limiting beliefs; some we are aware of and some we aren’t. Kevin invokes another poet, Marianne Williamson, and her work, “Our Greatest Fear.” In short, many of us aren’t really afraid of failing. What we’re really afraid of is being very successful. Instead, liberate others by liberating yourself.
That you ride the waves and make ripples
We did warn you this would be a little weird, but think about it. We’re all riding waves that began long ago, but are you aware that you’re making ripples that will one day become waves? Kevin shares some anecdotes you might be able to relate to about both waves and ripples.
That you will be present more often in the next 12 months
What’s the value of living in the now? It’s the only time we truly have. We might be blessed enough to live tomorrow, and that will be another ‘now,’ but it isn’t guaranteed, and it won’t be the same as THIS ‘now.’ You won’t have the same opportunities as you have in this ‘now.’
That you flourish and thrive in the next 12 months
You might think this is Pollyanna, airy-fairy, but if you want the truth, flourishing isn’t ‘fluffy.’ Instead, a state of flourishing is how we were created to live. This is how we express the great concept of ‘shalom.’ Kevin explains what it really means.
That you enjoy community
If you’ve listened to the podcast, there’s no doubt you’ve heard Kevin’s rallying cry: “Purpose thrives in community and starves in isolation.” Be intentional about who you surround yourself with, perhaps now more than ever before. Check out the Higher Purpose community on Facebook!
Transform YOUR Team!
If you're a leader who is, or wants to be entrusted with the transformation of your team, join me and 6 other leaders for a year-long journey of transformation that will help you release your brilliance, and help others do the same. Email Kevin@Kevindmonroe.com to begin the application process.
Resources:
kevin@higherpurposepodcast.com
Higher Purpose Podcast Episode 74: The Top 10 Books on Purpose
Welcome to the last episode of the Higher Purpose Podcast for 2018. This special release is coming to you on Boxing Day and we’re wrapping up this year with the 10 most influential and inspirational books on purpose Kevin has read this
Leading from Purpose by Nick Craig
Purpose is defined as the unique gifts you bring to the world that only you can bring, the way you bring it.
“Purpose is most valuable to us when there are no right answers, just choices for which time alone will give us the clarity to choose wisely.”
Find that life of purpose and occupy it as much and as fully as you can.
The Power of Meaning: Finding Fulfillment in a World Obsessed with Happiness by Emily Esfahani Smith
Happiness is better as a byproduct than as the main search. People who live meaningful lives have satisfied three conditions: Number one, they evaluate their lives as significant and worthwhile — as part of something bigger. Number two, they believe their lives make sense. And number three, they feel their lives are driven by a sense of purpose.
How Will You Measure Your Life? By Clayton M. Christensen
“The first step down the path is taken with a small decision. You justify all the small decisions that lead up to the big one, then you get to the big one, and it doesn’t seem so enormous anymore.”
If you have life principles and values, and those are how you say you're going to live your life, stick with them 100% of the time.
Story Driven: You don't need to compete when you know who you are by Bernadette Jiwa
“Great companies don’t try to matter by winning, they win by mattering.”
If you're always focused on what others are doing, it’s hard to be great at what you do, in the way only YOU can do it. If you’re a business owner, you need to give customers a reason to be loyal to your brand, rather than 100 reasons you’re better than the competition.
The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups by Daniel Coyle
In this book, Dan goes behind the curtain of some of the groups who are known for their legendary accomplishments and teamwork that’s so fantastic, it’s an outlier. He shares the secrets of how they do it, and how you, too, can have that kind of amazing culture.
“Culture is a set of living relationships, working towards a shared goal. It’s not something you are, it’s something you do.”
Chief Joy Officer by Rich Sheridan
This is the follow-up to the book, Joy Inc., and it shows how to put those priciples into practice. Rich believes a leader’s primary job is to ‘pump fear out of the environment.’ But the biggest takeaway from the book is the story of the book, and Kevin explains why.
“If we get the definition of success right, leading becomes much easier.”
The Hospitable Leader by Terry Smith (special link for HPP Podcast listeners)
The message of The Hospitable Leader is a topic we need more now because polarization happens not just in politics, but in the world at large: people are shouting at one another, instead of having a conversation. The Hospitable Leader is a strategy for humanizing the workplace and being intentional about being hospitable.
“If you really want to see people flourish, you invest in the environment.”
Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts. by Brené Brown
Shame is the intensely painful feeling of believing that we're flawed and therefore unworthy of love, belonging, and connection, and Brené goes into that and unpacks it. Where shame exists, empathy is almost always absent, and that’s what makes it so dangerous. Belonging and connection is what heals, and we all have a longing for belonging under the banner of culture.
“Daring leaders must care for and be connected to the people they lead.”
The Abundance Loop by Juliana Park
Fear leads to anxiety, anxiety leads to poor choices, poor choices produce negative outcomes. If you want a different outcome, start with gratitude. Gratitude produces peace of mind, peace of mind leads to wise choices, and wise choices allow you to have a positive outcome. That’s the abundance loop.
Deep Listening: Impact Beyond Words by Oscar Trimboli
Listening is a critical skill, and is an accelerator for greater opportunity. The single greatest barrier that most of us have to listening is the conversation that’s already going on in our minds. We can all become better listeners, and the biggest productivity gain comes from listening more, not learning more.
Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter by Liz Wiseman
Would you rather be known as the genius — the smartest person in the room — or the genius maker —the person who unleashes the brilliance of the people around you? A Multiplier can get twice the productivity from their team by making everyone else smarter, and I believe you're listening to this podcast because you want to be a multiplier and bring out the best in others.
What books have you read, and what would you recommend to other listeners of the Higher Purpose Podcast?
Let Kevin know at kevin@higherpurposepodcast.com.
If this book list has got you thinking about your plan for personal and professional development as you go into 2019, Kevin has created a simple resource and a reading list to help you develop your plan. Just send him an email.
If you want to do a deep dive into a year long, transformational journey with a very small group, email him as well.
Resources
Episode 56: How to Find Your Purpose with Nick Craig
Episode 37: Story Driven with Bernadette Jiwa
Episode 72: Hospitable Leadership and the Discipline of Hope with Terry Smith
Episode 63: Abundance and Scarcity Loops with Juliana Park
Episode 64: Experiencing and Cultivating Abundance with Juliana Park
Episode 57: Becoming a Deep Listener with Oscar Trimboli
Higher Purpose Podcast Episode 73: Creating a People and Service Centered Business with Josh Watts
Have you ever started a business you didn’t know anything about? On the show today is Josh Watts, CEO of MedTrust Holdings, a private ambulance provider who specializes in "inter-facility care”: the medicine in between buildings when patients transfer from one facility to another. Josh got into the private ambulance business after beginning in aviation sales and recruitment, and shares what that journey was like, the challenges along the way, and what it’s like to be one of the fastest growing companies in South Carolina. Listen to the full episode here:The journey to MedTrustJosh shares how he started in sales and recruitment in the aviation industry — that is, until 9/11 happened and he ended up moving departments. There, he met his wife who was working in pharmaceuticals, and that’s when he fell in love with healthcare. He worked as a pharmaceutical sales representative, and even got into real estate, but nothing felt quite right.Eventually, he was approached with the idea of starting an ambulance company. The problem, they said, was that most ambulances are run by burned-out paramedics. The industry was ripe for innovation — not a dramatic one, just one about taking care of people better — and in 2012, MedTrust was born.Growing pains and motivationsIn 2014, one of the co-founders passed away. With an investor and a right-hand person on board, they tore the company down to the studs and had to decide what they wanted to be when they grew up. Many companies want to be everything to everybody, but a company serving many audiences doesn’t serve any of them well. They made the decision to focus, and built the foundation from a system and people perspective into the company it is today. Josh has two ‘why’s’ that spur MedTrust’s growth: First, if you truly believe what you’re offering is dramatically better than what other people are currently experiencing, then you want more people to have that thing.Second, there are 160 families that depend on the company; the families of the people who work for MedTrust. Josh wants to build a company worth owning and a company worth working for that is able to provide that opportunity for the staff.Challenges along the wayThe initial challenge was showing that they could serve one hospital, since they had never done it before.As the company grew, so did the challenges. Josh shares that currently, their main concerns are 1) maintaining the company’s quality and performance while his attention as CEO is divided, 2) growing without falling over as they add more and more clients at a faster and faster pace, and 3) expanding and being experts in an altogether new market: Florida.So the team took time to engage with their clients on a deeper level and focus on areas for improvement. For patients to come first, the company has to take care of their employees, and Josh shares what that means for them. He also shares how they recruit the right people by leveraging MedTrust’s differences and core values, and Kevin coaches Josh on how to make those core values come to life as they scale the company.What message would you like to pass on to other business owners?Don’t be afraid of losing control by bringing in really smart people and look for them beyond the four corners of your area. Challenge your team: Can you take all that great knowledge and build us a different, better box?It’s easier to see the opportunity for innovation from the outside, but it takes humility to say, “I don’t know everything.” That creates a unique partnership. Transform YOUR Team!If you're a leader who is, or wants to be entrusted with the transformation of your team, join me and 6 other leaders for a year-long journey of transformation that will help you release your brilliance, and help others do the same. Email Kevin@Kevindmonroe.com to begin the application process.ResourcesJosh Watts (LinkedIn)MedTrust Website
Higher Purpose Podcast Episode #72: Hospitable Leadership and the Discipline of Hope with Terry Smith
On today’s episode, we have Terry Smith, Lead Pastor of The Life Christian Church, and the author of The Hospitable Leader: Create Environments Where People and Dreams Flourish. What does it truly mean to be hospitable, and how can it transform your leadership? And what do you know about the discipline of hope? Listen to the full episode:What does it mean to be a hospitable leader?Being a hospitable leader is about creating environments of welcome. It’s a worldview, mindset, approach, and philosophy that can have multiple expressions. Terry discovered this connection between hospitality and leadership from the church he serves. Their congregation is extremely diverse across several measures, from age to race, and even religious backgrounds — and yet these people who are so different love each other. Creating an environment where people and dreams flourish“Flourish” might be looked down upon as a soft word, but it’s been proven again and again that soft leadership skills bring hard results: an environment where people and their dreams can flourish is an environment that paves the way for success.Creating an environment that’s hospitable to people engages their hearts and makes them ready to run through a wall and make something happen. Terry breaks this down into five different environments — physical, spiritual, emotional, attitudinal, and communicative — and shares how all of this is paralleled in the story of The Last Supper.When you prepare this environment, you can say things that people will hear in a way that they wouldn’t have heard otherwise.The corporate implications of a spiritual environment in the workplaceWhether or not you’re a believer, there is tremendous power in being connected to something transcendent and bigger than you are. You want to connect what the people in your organization are doing to something beyond themselves, something that has meaning. The challenge now becomes: How do you get your people to think about what they’re doing as more than just their tasks? From hostility to hospitality Right now, everyone is yelling at each other left and right, and that doesn’t accomplish a bit of good. This is true in families, in churches, and in businesses. We need to be able to sit at a table and talk about differences in a way that speaks the truth, wrapped in grace. At the end of the day, we all want the same things: a world where people are respected, and a world where nobody is falsely accused. What’s keeping us from working that out?The word hospitality in the original Greek means to love a stranger. We need to love people who are strange to us and to whom we are strange. When you’re willing to approach life like that, you’ll discover that people can expand your life in ways you never could have contemplated.What are the empty seats around your table? What perspectives and insights are you missing out on because you’re not welcoming those who may be strange to you?Hospitality, influence, and the discipline of hopeLeadership is about influencing people, but for that to happen, you have to speak truth. Hospitable leaders create environments where truth can be spoken… and most importantly heard. And when truth is received, it can be acted on. To practice this kind of leadership, you need to practice the discipline of hope. You cannot encourage others as a discouraged person. Create an environment in your own person so full of hope and happiness that it bleeds out into whatever you are creating, and people will be more inclined to follow your lead. ResourcesTerry A. Smith (website)Special Resources PageThe Hospitable Leader: Create Environments Where People and Dreams Flourish (Amazon)
Higher Purpose Podcast Episode 71: Becoming the Chief Joy Officer of Your Company with Rich Sheridan
We’re pleased to welcome Rich Sheridan back to the Higher Purpose Podcast. He joined us for episode 36 and what a great episode it was! Rich is the author of two books: Joy, Inc. and Chief Joy Officer. He’s also the CEO, Chief Storyteller, and Tour Guide of Menlo Innovations, a software design and development company. In this episode, we dive even deeper into creating a culture of joy in the workplace and what that looks like in practice. Listen to the full episode:Starting from the topWhere do you begin? By creating the kind of company you want to come into every day. Rich is the first person in the office every morning, turning on the lights, putting on the coffee, cleaning the kitchen, and watching what he likes to call the “Sunrise at Menlo.” He emphasizes that the role of the CEO is the example setter; you set the tone, and the tone Rich wants to set is, “Hey, this is everybody’s job, including mine.” There’s nothing he would ask his employees to do that he wouldn’t be willing to do himself. Where does this joy come from? Rich wasn’t always joyful. He often shares that, in fact, he found joy from escaping from the tough and miserable times he was going through. He reveals this because he wants people to see that, if they were as miserable as he was, and he found a way out, then maybe they can, too. Joy is something they can achieve.What is joy?Joy is different from happiness. It isn’t possible to be happy every day. But joy is about having a purposeful long-term view of where you’re going, how you’re going to get there, and what you’re willing to put up with to get to that outcome.To Rich, joy is serving others, and you won’t find joy until you can answer these two questions: Who do you serve? And what would delight look like for them?Leading with love at MenloAt every point in our dealings with others, we can be harsh or kind. Both approaches are free, but one comes at a high cost.One of Rich’s core values is taking a chance on people, which rolls all the way back to their interview and hiring processes, and rolls forward to a company culture of helping people succeed. He shares more anecdotes about how love manifests at Menlo, from parents sending their children to work there, to what happened collectively, as a community, when one of his team members had a new baby and couldn’t find child care.When it’s time for tough love, Rich drives home the fact that we don’t have to harm the other person to do that. The conversation needs to shift from “build an employee” to “build a human being” — a lesson underscored when he ran into the first person he ever fired, years later, and also as he recounts the story of another employee who had left Menlo and returned… thrice!Final thoughtsRich shares with us some parting messages:Stop the contemplation, and just start trying small things. Run small experiments, and see what one thing you could do today to make things a little better tomorrow for you and the people around you. Be the example you want to see throughout your organization, and that contagion can ripple quickly. You have permission to think differently. There's nothing stopping you, except that moment where you take a step. Ready to make your OWN transformation?We all feel the need to transform our lives, whether personally, in business, or in the way we lead others. Join Kevin for a 28 day sprint to transform your life!ResourcesRich Sheridan (LinkedIn)Rich Sheridan (Twitter)Menlo Innovations (Website)Joy, Inc.: How We Built a Workplace People Love (Amazon) Chief Joy Officer: How Great Leaders Elevate Human Energy and Eliminate Fear (Amazon)
Higher Purpose Podcast Episode #70: How Purpose Intertwines in Business and Life
Joining Kevin today is Jeremiah Smith, the Founder and CEO of Simple Tiger. Simple Tiger is an SEO agency specifically for software companies, helping them drive simple, effective marketing for clients they love. Today, Jeremiah shares the joy of discovering purpose along the way: in business, in life, and how the two intertwine. Listen to the full episode:A business with a clear set of valuesJeremiah’s company, Simple Tiger, has a clear set of values — simplicity, integrity, and joy — that’s evident as soon as you land on their website. Jeremiah shares the journey behind each of these core values, and how they are brought to life in the company. Integrity is an especially relevant value in the SEO field. Because it’s so complex and so lucrative, it’s easy to become a snake oil salesman and confuse unsuspecting customers. But by carrying core values into the way we build and run our companies, we can go back to having a solid, healthy, wonderful impact on people.Humanizing of the workplaceA more human workplace starts with the business owner bringing their whole self to the business. You don’t lead by shouting or yelling or directing: you lead by doing. You lead by example. To have a company made up of people who ascribe to the core values, you must bring that in as a leader and exemplify it yourself.Jeremiah then shares examples of how these values shape the culture of the workplace: from screening applicants during the recruitment process to brainstorming with the team when it comes to making decisions. This has built an extremely strong, incredible team, which is important because they work remotely and everybody is spread throughout the country. It’s a unique culture with its own unique challenges, so a top concern is always to make sure everyone has a healthy morale, feels good about their work, and is enjoying things.Discovering personal purposeJeremiah shares how his journey of discovery began in church. The more deeply involved he got in his ministry, the more he started growing: becoming someone who was much more patient, much more loving, and able to deal with people much deeper and much better. Soon this growth found its way back to how he interacted with the team, and it produced massive fruit. The team began to excel, and Jeremiah found himself shifting his personal thinking: maybe I should try to start letting go of things and letting other people run them. The business now is the means by which Jeremiah could live out his personal life’s purpose, and how he wants his team to have that as well: the realization of their purpose, and to live fulfilling lives. Jeremiah hopes that his company can help them along the way, and shares stories of how this has trickled down to his team. Final thoughtsJeremiah challenges anyone who may not be clear on their purpose to focus on something that’s free. You're not guaranteed to get anything tangible out of it right away, and getting that selfishness out of the way helps you to be clear on your life’s purpose. If you’re on this path of figuring out your purpose, Jeremiah shares the advice his mother gave to him: keep doing whatever you’re doing. Eventually it will find you, and eventually you will figure it out. But what you can’t do is sit down and be bumped. It will show up; you just have to get up and go back to work. And just keep working until it shows up. ResourcesJeremiah Smith (LinkedIn)Simple Tigerjeremiah@simpletiger.com
Higher Purpose Podcast Episode 69: The Epic Partnership that Created the WD-40 Culture with Garry Ridge and Stan Sewitch
We’ve got a dynamic duo joining us today to talk about the epic partnership they share and the culture they’ve helped build in WD-40 Company. Garry is the CEO and Stan is the CHRO of this wildly successful organization. Today, they share their stories about creating a unique and fulfilling company culture, what it means to run a business with values at the forefront, and emphasizing the importance of fun and meaningful work. Listen to the full episode here:
- When Garry became CEO, he realized micromanagement wasn't scalable. They had to come up with a way of empowering people around a culture that was very specific about what they wanted it to accomplish. Coming from Australia, the concept of tribes was a perfect fit for Garry. He wanted to encapsulate the qualities of an enduring and positive place to work where people wanted to be and stay.
- In a tribe, you belong. Garry and Stan envision a place where you go to work every day, make a contribution to something bigger than yourself, learn something, feel respected, feel safe, and go home happy. It’s working: the current employee engagement measure is at 93.3%, compared to the average 33%.
- Garry shares that he and Stan share common beliefs in life: that they have to be in a position to empower people to do good work, that it’s all about people and helping them succeed and develop, and that ego is not a positive place to be. Many leaders fail because the ego eats their empathy instead of empathy eating their ego.
- Stan adds that another thing they share is the idea that leadership is about serving the organization and its future. It’s not about you. If you’re not the best solution for the need of the moment, you should happily step aside for someone else who could lead better. It's a function that needs to be done. It's not a prize, it's not a place on a ladder, and it's not a right. It's a service.
- Garry talks about how a company culture is like a petri dish, and should any foreign bodies get into that petri dish, he and Stan don't allow them to impact the quality of the culture; they get them out of there as quickly as they can.
- If people are looking to work at WD-40 Company, the first thing that pops up on the website is the company values. And they say: if these don't align with you, don't bother going any further. There are only two measures of values: you either live them or you visit them. And we don't want a lot of visitors.
- Stan and Garry share how they bring values to life at the WD-40 Company: detailing what each one means so there isn’t any misinterpretation, ranking and prioritizing them, and a values-based exercise Garry uses to make decisions.
- A supportive CHRO needs to understand the business and have complete alignment with where the company wants to go. If you're providing value in your role, if you understand the business, if you know how to contribute towards that organization, strategy, and long-term set of goals. If you know how to advise, then you won’t have to ask for a seat at the table - people will drag you there.
- The CEO, on the other hand, needs to think of themselves as the chief people officer that others can follow by example. It means living the values, living the culture, and adopting the role of an elder and teacher. That cannot be delegated; the head of the company must set that example.
- It’s important to keep the business strategy and people strategy synchronized, especially in an international company this big. This cannot be managed through policy books; instead they’ve arrived at a coherent set of principles, values, and philosophies, and then delegate accountability for implementation to the regions. Garry and Stan dive in to other practices they’ve developed and maintained to cultivate a culture of mutual respect: reframing mistakes as learning moments, a video series called “What were we thinking?”, and a practice they call honoring the absent.
Final thoughtsStan says to other leaders of HR: if you're complaining about not being at the table, then you're paying attention to the wrong things. Be better, get better, be more valuable, be a better advisor, a better business partner, and honestly, quit whining. Go get it done.Garry’s message to CEOs: you will have a much richer, more enjoyable, and more fulfilling role in an organization where you have people at the forefront, improving themselves and their lives. That’s more important to you than the 30-day result. It is very possible for any other organization to create a culture of fun and meaningful work. It doesn't take anything except the intention to make real, meaningful connections with human beings to jointly try to improve their lives.Ready to make your OWN transformation?We all feel the need to transform our lives, whether personally, in business, or in the way we lead others. Join Kevin for a 28 day sprint to transform your life!Resources: Garry RidgeStan SewitchWD-40 CompanyGarry’s Blog PostHelping People Win at Work: A Business Philosophy Called "Don't Mark My Paper, Help Me Get an A" (Amazon)