Podcasts about strengthsfinders

378 Demonstrating Who You Are Through Story   Through the art of storytelling people can get a glimpse into who we are in the way that is most meaningful to show. Through our stories and how we tell them we can show an entire room of people, or just that one significant person, who we are and what matters to us.    Highlights Using story to show who you are as a person and what matters most to you. Creating an environment where everyone feels safe, welcome, and willing to share their stories. Reflection and the importance of examining our past actions.    Quotes “Every professional benefits when they can share stories that demonstrate their skills, values, and character.” “In 90 minutes we created an environment of significant trust, support, and vulnerability.”   Dear Listeners it is now your turn, What stories do you have that are integral to who you are as a person? What stories adequately show your character, value, and traits? Write these stories down, fine tune them, and share them in a way that continues to reflect your character. And, as always, thank you for listening.  As I mentioned I am celebrating my five year book-versary, starting today Your Stories Don't Define You was published May 31, 2020. Starting this podcast was a wakeup call for me, I realized I was coaching my guests in sharing their pivotal moment stories, and they were finding great value in our time together, way beyond any promotional opportunity the podcast was offering. The book is designed to guide readers in collecting and sharing their stories with exercises and worksheets throughout. To celebrate my book-versary, I'm offering to sign and ship copies from Montana to you, and every purchase will include an offer for a 20 minute bullseye story mining session. In 20 minutes we will uncover at least one meaningful story for you to fine tune for you to use in your next interview, team meeting, speaking engagement, networking event, or maybe it's a date.  I really appreciate your support over the years and this is my way of giving that back. About Sarah "Uncovering the right stories for the right audiences so executives, leaders, public speakers, and job seekers can clearly and actively demonstrate their character, values, and vision." In my work with coaching clients, I guide people to improve their communication using storytelling as the foundation of our work together. What I've realized over years of coaching and podcasting is that the majority of people don't realize the impact of the stories they share - on their internal messages, and on the people they're sharing them with. My work with leaders and people who aspire to be leaders follows a similar path to the interviews on my podcast, uncovering pivotal moments in their lives and learning how to share them to connect more authentically with others, to make their presentations and speaking more engaging, to reveal patterns that have kept them stuck or moved them forward, and to improve their relationships at work and at home. The audiobook, Your Stories Don't Define You, How You Tell Them Will is now available! Included with your purchase are two bonus tracks, songs recorded by Sarah's band, Spare Change, in her living room in Montana. Be sure to check out the Storytelling For Professionals Course as well to make sure you nail that next interview!

In this episode, Jimmy sits down with Dr. Rebecca Griffith (aka @theEDDPT) for a real-deal conversation on what it means to practice at the top of your scope—without losing yourself. They explore how PTs can use tools like ChatGPT to reduce stress, how the “Let Them” mindset (popularized by Mel Robbins) helps with boundaries in life and work, and why celebrating excellence is just as important as mentoring others.Topics Covered:The power of curiosity in trauma-informed careStudying for advanced PT certs with ChatGPTRethinking productivity: AI as your personal assistantLetting go of what you can't control (and focusing on what you can)The StrengthsFinders personality framework in team dynamicsPT leadership: how to lead, teach, and not burn outGuest:Dr. Rebecca Griffith, PT, DPT, NCS, EdDInstagram: @theEDDPT

Welcome into another episode of The Essential Oil Scoop Podcast. This topic we are highlighting in today's conversation is one I hope you truly tun into. Our emotions play a HUGE roll in our overall wellness and majority of the time our bodies are trying to signal to us even before we "feel" sick. So we hope you enjoy learning more about the emotions we store in our nose and sinuses.  Love ya'll.    Here are the links for books we discussed: Strengths Finders 2.0 https://amzn.to/4kN4hnY Essential Emotions https://amzn.to/3Qd1PJv Heal Your Body A-Z https://amzn.to/40SCBVJ   Don't forget to join our STEPS Challenge https://theessentialoilscoop.com/stepchallenge   Get this Book! Link for Essential Emotions book https://amzn.to/3Qd1PJv   Are you ready to release emotions that have been weighing you down? Book a session today! Book with Vicki: https://vickilebrilla.com/coaching Book with Sarah: https://sarahsepos.com/coaching     Vicki's Link- http://referral.doterra.me/1214454 Sarah's Link- https://referral.doterra.me/107766   Would you like a doTERRA Coupon Code that gives you even more FREE product on your first purchase? email us at TheEssentialOilScoop@gmail.com and we will send you the code for your purchase!   Get your FREE Sample of VMG (US listeners Only) https://theessentialoilscoop.com/vmgsamples   Scoop of the Day Diffuser Blend 3 Coriander  3 Passion 1-2 Roman Chamomile    Use Brave roller to help feel more courageous and confident    Welcome into our little essential oil world where we talk about the physical and emotional support of our essential oils.   Hi friends, don't forget to leave us a review, your feedback is always welcome, and helps this podcast reach more ears.  Join us in our New Facebook Community! Connect on Instagram  We upload a brand new episode every Tuesday and Thursday!   Join our step challenge: https://theessentialoilscoop.com/stepchallenge   Want to learn more about us? theessentialoilscoop.com   Remember to like, share, and subscribe to our podcast so you will be notified every time we upload a brand new episode.  Leave us a review as well, your feedback is always welcome.  Also opt-in to our newsletter at theessentialoilscoop.com/news If you have any questions or have subject ideas you would like us to cover please email us at theessentialoilscoop@gmail.com   Tag us on socials using #theessentialoilscoop   Disclaimer:  Welcome to The Essential Oil Scoop Podcast. We want to remind our listeners that the information provided in this podcast is for educational purposes only and should not be considered as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. The use of essential oils is a personal choice and should be done at your own risk. We are not medical professionals and cannot diagnose, treat, or prescribe any medical condition. Please consult with a qualified healthcare provider before using any essential oils or making changes to your healthcare routine. Any information or opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of any particular organization. Thank you for listening.  

Most leadership advice is broken. It's time to challenge the status quo and uncover the truth. In this video, we're going to expose the flaws in conventional leadership wisdom and explore the real reasons why most leaders struggle to inspire and motivate their teams. From outdated management practices to misguided motivational techniques, we'll dive into the common pitfalls that hold leaders back and discuss what you can do to break free from the mold and become a more effective leader. If you're tired of following the same old leadership advice that just doesn't seem to work, then this episode is for you. Get ready to think differently about leadership and discover a new approach that will help you achieve real results.In this episode, we talk about:How capitalism and the people at the “top” benefit from keeping you stuck in these old, outdated paradigmsSeven conventional leadership beliefs that could be sabotaging your successWhy popular personality test, such as DISC, Meyers-Briggs and Strengths Finders can do more harm than goodThe #1 leadership belief that destroys businesses and undermines leadershipHow to rewire brain to adopt beliefs that are healthy for you based on your human designResources:Free Human Design Core Four Success FormulaTM ReportThe New Success Blueprint for Entrepreneurs in 2025The CEO's Guide to Using Human Design for Sustainable Business Growth

Brad Crowell and guest co-host, author and actor Clare Solly, dive into key insights from Mark Collins' discussion about releasing imposter syndrome and living a more authentic life. They reflect on how “I Am” statements can ground your identity beyond job titles and external labels. Tune in for practical tips on shifting from life “management” to true mastery, plus why believing in who you are transforms both your personal and professional worlds.If you have any questions about this episode or want to get some of the resources we mentioned, head over to LesleyLogan.co/podcast. If you have any comments or questions about the Be It pod shoot us a message at beit@lesleylogan.co. And as always, if you're enjoying the show please share it with someone who you think would enjoy it as well. It is your continued support that will help us continue to help others. Thank you so much! Never miss another show by subscribing at LesleyLogan.co/subscribe.In this episode you will learn about:Why success can't erase imposter syndrome.Shifting from habit-based life “management” to true life “mastery”.The power of “I Am” statements for personal identity.How daily affirmations spark clarity.Seeing yourself as a hero instead of relying on external validation.Episode References/Links:Cambodia February 2025 Retreat - https://lesleylogan.co/retreatsCambodia October 2025 Retreat Waitlist - https://crowsnestretreats.comAccessories Flashcards Waitlist - https://opc.me/flashcardwaitlistPilates Studio Growth Accelerator - https://prfit.biz/acceleratorClare Solly's Website – https://claresolly.comCliftonStrengths - https://beitpod.com/cliftonstrengthsMark Collins Website - https://www.freedom-for-life.netLife Mastery - Life by Design by Mark Collins - https://a.co/d/bf0KDuoMark Collins Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FreedForLifeMark Collins Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_freedomforlifeMark Collins YouTube: https://beitpod.com/markyoutubeMark Collins LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mark-collins-freedom-for-life If you enjoyed this episode, make sure and give us a five star rating and leave us a review on iTunes, Podcast Addict, Podchaser or Castbox. DEALS! DEALS! DEALS! DEALS!Check out all our Preferred Vendors & Special Deals from Clair Sparrow, Sensate, Lyfefuel BeeKeeper's Naturals, Sauna Space, HigherDose, AG1 and ToeSox Be in the know with all the workshops at OPCBe It Till You See It Podcast SurveyBe a part of Lesley's Pilates MentorshipFREE Ditching Busy Webinar Resources:Watch the Be It Till You See It podcast on YouTube!Lesley Logan websiteBe It Till You See It PodcastOnline Pilates Classes by Lesley LoganOnline Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan on YouTubeProfitable Pilates Follow Us on Social Media:InstagramThe Be It Till You See It Podcast YouTube channelFacebookLinkedInThe OPC YouTube Channel Episode Transcript:Brad Crowell 0:00  We talk about "I Help" statements a lot when we're coaching our clients because you got this elevator pitch of what you say to someone else, but we never talk about the elevator pitch that we say to ourselves.Lesley Logan 0:10  Welcome to the Be It Till You See It podcast where we talk about taking messy action, knowing that perfect is boring. I'm Lesley Logan, Pilates instructor and fitness business coach. I've trained thousands of people around the world and the number one thing I see stopping people from achieving anything is self-doubt. My friends, action brings clarity and it's the antidote to fear. Each week, my guest will bring bold, executable, intrinsic and targeted steps that you can use to put yourself first and Be It Till You See It. It's a practice, not a perfect. Let's get started.Brad Crowell 0:54  Welcome back to the Be It Till You See It interview recap. Brad here again today with a very special guest of ours, who, if you've been listening over the last couple of weeks, she's joined us, stepping in for Lesley, Clare Solly. Clare is one of Lesley's, yeah, welcome back. Clare is one of Lesley's besties. They go way back to just after college they got a chance to work together, and they started a shoe company together then you guys had a blog together when you were living across the country, all the things. I mean, I don't know, I feel like I might have, you might have been one of the first people I was introduced to when I ever met Lesley, even though I think you were already in New York at that point. Clare Solly 1:27  Yeah, I was, yeah, yeah. Brad Crowell 1:29  Pretty cool. I think it's amazing. So basically, Clare is an actress, actor. She's an author. She's Lesley's slingshot friend from New York City all the way back in episode 19, and today I have the pleasure of having Clare join me to talk about Mark Collins. We're going to dig into that transformative convo that Lesley had with Mark on our last episode. If you have not yet listened to that, feel free to pause us now go back and listen to that. And actually you might want to listen to it twice. It was like nuggets of wisdom, like boom, boom, boom, kept coming and to the point where I was like, can I just rewind 30 seconds and let him say that again and rewind 30 seconds, I mean, it was pretty.Clare Solly 2:06  I rewound. Get your finger ready on the rewind button.Brad Crowell 2:10  Well, Clare, tell us about today. Clare Solly 2:12  Today is January 23rd and I'm very excited about this one. It is National Clashing Clothes Day. Brad Crowell 2:20  I'm so excited. I love that. Hold on. I was just reaching for something that I could clash with. So I want to put on my blue and green hat at the same time.Clare Solly 2:27  Although, you know, that's complimentary, but, oh, but yes, but, yeah, fantastic, beautiful. I tell everyone sometimes I dress like a kindergartner because I'm like, I want to wear that shirt and these shoes and those pants and this too, too. And sometimes it works and sometimes it does not. So National Clashing Clothes Day is the fourth Thursday of January every year, mark it in you calendars and people are encouraged to dress in head to toe clashing clothes anything neutral, like a black, a gray, a white, not allowed today. Brad Crowell 3:00  Yeah, no dice. That's a no go. Clare Solly 3:03  No go. Brad Crowell 3:04  Burn it.Clare Solly 3:04  Have fun with your clothes. Make people ask questions. Why not? And mix colors, prints, textiles, be clashtastic. Go for it. Brad Crowell 3:13  Clashtastic. I love it. Well, y'all, why don't you be clashtastic with us in Cambodia, we're going back in just a few weeks. We'll be there at end of February. We've got to retreat, but we have another one coming up in October of this year. And I think that we just had an offer that may be coming to a close right now or just closed, but if you hit me up and you say, hey, I just heard this on the pod, can I make sure to get that offer? It's a big offer. Okay? It's basically the early bird special, and only the people on the waitlist got that offer. If you're not on the waitlist and you want to go see what we're talking about here, go to crowsnestretreats.com, crowsnestretreats.com. Check out the dates for October. Go take a quick look and see if that offer is still happening. If not, just just ping me and I will sort it out for you. But it has to be like right after this episode comes out, if you're listening this six months from now, I can't honor that, so I love you very much. I'm trying to take care of you. Go check it out. crowsnestretreats.com. Lesley and I will take you to our house and our favorite place in the world. Siem Reap, Cambodia. Lesley also has been working super diligently on the flash cards accessories deck, the sixth deck in the series. Get on the waitlist for that, go to opc.me/flashcardwaitlist, so that you can get 30% off offer, because only the people on the waitlist get that. Go to opc.me/flashcardwaitlist. If you are feeling stuck in your Pilates business, I want you to join me for a free Profitable Pilates Pilates Studio Growth Accelerator webinar. Okay, if you're feeling.Clare Solly 4:40  And why would you not hang out with Brad for free?Brad Crowell 4:42  Yeah come hang out. Come hang out. It will be so fun. We were feeling like, how come I'm not making enough money, or I'm barely making enough money? How come I'm not getting any new clients, but I need new clients? Or I don't know what to do for my social media or my newsletters or any of that kind of stuff. Lesley and I have been able to coach more than 2500 businesses over the past seven years, and we've boiled it down to three massive secrets that I will be sharing with you for free on this webinar. So go to prfit.biz/accelerator. That's profit without the O dot biz slash accelerator. So come hang out with us. It's going to be a blast. But before we get into this convo that Lesley had with Mark Collins, we have an audience question. And the audience question is Lesley asking Clare directly, do you do a handwritten or do you do a digital calendar? Love Lesley.Clare Solly 5:58  It feels crazy that this question was being asked of me by day, I daylight as an executive assistant, so my life is a calendar. Brad Crowell 6:06  Don't tell your boss, that's your daylighting. Clare Solly 6:09  Yeah, huh? Brad Crowell 6:10  So don't tell your boss, it's only daylighting.Clare Solly 6:12  Oh, yeah, I'm in it to win it. I'm here for you always. But yeah, I mean, I work on a calendar, so I am 100% digital, almost to my detriment, because among the many things I do, I run a couple of theater companies. And so it's like, there's a theater company calendar and Clare Solly's calendar. And then I have a Bookstagram calendar, rewind to the last episode recap if you want to talk about Bookstagram. Brad Crowell 6:35  Oh yeah. Clare Solly 6:36  And then I have, like, my personal whatever calendar, and every grand once in a while I catch myself up and I don't cross calendars, but yeah, thank goodness that they all integrate these days and then I'm good at color coding. Brad Crowell 6:48  You're right on the money there. The color coding is the secret because we live exactly the same way. Because, I've got my personal calendar, then I have my work calendar, then I have a Brad and Lesley shared personal calendar, then a Brad and Lesley shared work calendar, and then Lesley has her personal calendar and her work calendar, right? And we are sharing two of those, but we've got all of it, and that's just our stuff. Then we have all the things that we do with a company. We've got this calendar and that calendar and those you know, when we brought on our executive assistants, the first thing we had to do was debrief why it's such a crazy (inaudible) thing, but it's a system that works, and color coding is the secret. I can visually just identify what's happening in my day, generally. That's for the win. But that wasn't the question, do you do a handwritten calendar? Clare Solly 7:37  I have. Above my desk at home, I have a handwritten calendar. Brad Crowell 7:42  Okay. Clare Solly 7:43  That I put, it's funny, I put anything I have that's fun on. So when I'm at work, I can look up and be like, oh, I'm traveling in 10 days, or oh, I have theater tickets next week. Brad Crowell 7:56  Nice. Clare Solly 7:57  So the handwritten calendar is for the fun stuff (inaudible). Brad Crowell 7:59  Special occasions. (inaudible). That's a great idea. Clare Solly 8:03  Or both. Brad Crowell 8:04  Yeah, how about that? Both. I think that's great. Okay, amazing. Stick around. We'll be right back. We're going to talk about Mark Collins. Okay, let's talk about Mark Collins. Mark is the founder of Freedom for Life and author of Life Mastery: Living Life by Design, Not by Default. It's a leadership guide that empowers individuals to unlock their true potential with a mission to help people overcome imposter syndrome and align with their authentic selves. Mark offers actionable strategies for mastering thoughts, words and actions. Inspired by his own transformative journey, he equips clients to live with intentionality. I think it's amazing.Clare Solly 8:43  I love that. Such a good word, intentionality. I loved everything he said in this. Again, it's the gift that keeps on giving. I'm gonna go listen to it again, like I'm gonna bookmark it and listen to it when I'm feeling, you know, down and out. But I loved that he talked about imposter syndrome and identity sabotage and that you can't success away imposter syndrome or anxiety, or any of those other things that we do. It was one of those, yeah, of course, duh. But also, like brain explode moments. And he emphasized that success is amazing, but it's a poor substitute for identity. You are not your success. It's what comes from you being you. I love that. Rather than chasing that external validation, he encouraged us to ground ourselves in our authentic selves, and I feel like that's sort of the journey that I'm on right now. So this one rang so true to me. I was so excited that you asked me to recap them, because often I'll listen to them and I'm talking back during the recaps. I'm like, yeah, I totally agree. Brad Crowell 9:49  That's awesome. Clare Solly 9:50  And I'll probably listen to this recap and agree with both of us here. Brad Crowell 9:53  Yeah. You're like, I agree with that point that I made. Clare Solly 9:56  Yeah, yeah. And speaking of agreeing, I felt like I was kind of on the edge of my seat when Lesley asked him is imposter syndrome beneficial? And I was like and then makes fun. And I was like, wait, is that, like, maybe I'm doing this right or wrong all along? (inaudible) There's no healthy imposter syndrome, because what imposter syndrome says is I'm not qualified for where I'm at.Brad Crowell 10:23  Yeah, it's like this own perspective. I used to do this when I was working at the tech company. Y'all have heard me talk about this over the years that I worked for a tech company, and it was like this crazy, chaotic environment, and it was basically survival of the fittest. If you could get along and you could figure out how to get money for your project in this startup house, then you could survive. And I'm good at negotiating stressful situations that I'm also really good at operational catastrophes. When something blows up, because somehow, inevitably, it blew up all the freaking time there, I could figure out the way through. But the entire time that I was doing this really high wire rope act, the story I was telling myself is, I'm just a musician. I don't even know why I'm here. I would never get paid this if I went and worked somewhere else, so I'm gonna stay even though it wasn't that awesome. There were definitely moments of awesome, but as a whole, it was a challenging experience. But the story I told myself is I would never be hired to do this job anywhere else, and this is my opportunity to do it. So I'm just gonna do it. You know and that sucks. Clare Solly 11:24  Yeah. I feel like we all sort of have a story like that too. That was me when I was in the event planning world, like I'm never gonna get this experience. I need to be here and dig in and live this life and be this person, live this life for right now. Because, you know, it's not. Brad Crowell 11:39  Yeah, well, you know, I'm just theater kid, or I'm just a, I'm a trombone player. Like, what am I doing running a company, you know? And so I totally get that. What I also found amazing was his idea about success. He said for one of his clients, success was like, relief. Clare Solly 11:54  Yeah. Brad Crowell 11:55  That was like, whoa, is that me? Holy cow. Because you've built this expectation of success, and what does it mean to be successful? And when you close the deal, because he was a real estate guy, and he's, like, closing a multimillion dollar deal, and like, the next multi million dollar deal he does, he felt like he's just lucky to get it again. And that goes really hand in hand with that imposter syndrome. And kind of amazing. One thing that he said, that I thought was really interesting was really interesting, was he introduced this concept of Life Mastery. Clare Solly 12:25  Yeah. Brad Crowell 12:25  And he said, you know when you live from who you're created to be, when you know who you are, when you live from that, that is the easiest life possible. Okay? And that sounds pretty straightforward, pretty obvious, but that's like, pretty profound. He explained that you're created to be operating at your highest level. When you're not doing what you're meant to be doing, then you're not able to operate at your highest level. The reason I know this is because I built websites. I am not a developer, but could I do it? Yeah. (inaudible) But every time I would, yeah, but every time I'd have to go back and relearn what I should have already known. And like, you know, it was just always a push, always a struggle. So, like, there's the things of, can you do it? Yes. Should you be doing it? Maybe not. And I think when you're doing the can I be doing it? Yes. Should I be doing it? Yes. Now you're living in where you're meant to be, you know, and that is going to really put you in this position where you can live a life, the easiest life that you're meant to be. Things are going to feel like they're flowing. It's also going to be a lot more fun. We've talked about this a million times, if we've ever talked about it, but StrengthsFinders, CliftonStrengths now is what they call it, it allows you to identify your strengths, and when you're operating in your strengths, things feel like they flow. They feel more enjoyable. You feel like you're winning. And so when people come into our company, we have them take this quiz, and the reason we do is because it really guides us as a company to know where is this person going to succeed, and it will help them feel more fulfilled. They're going to be happier doing their job, and they're going to do their job well, because it's going to feel innate to them. That's a recipe for success there. You know, he said it contrasts with life management. And this was another interesting thing he mentioned, where he's like, you know, I've done a lot of self help things. And he said what it often becomes is this series of rules. It helps me in the change in the moment, but it doesn't help me long term, because then it becomes another rule. I have to live my life by long term, and that doesn't feel like it flows. And so I thought that was really interesting, because he said that doesn't sound like transformation or freedom, it sounds like exhaustion. And I was like, wow, that's true, because now you're living this regimented life that you have to do because this is what the thing was so just again, really fascinating stuff.Clare Solly 14:50  Yeah, I mean, I think you, Lesley and I, I feel like we have some version of this conversation every time we get together, the good tired versus the bad tired. You're always tired at the end of the day. Because you've had a day, but if you're doing things that fulfill you, that make you happy, and you're living your authentic life, and you're not sitting in this imposter syndrome, you're not working really hard, you're not pushing against a wall, as opposed to, like the bad tired when you're just exhausted and you're just banging your head against a wall and going in the wrong direction, working in those companies, or working in those jobs that you're not right for, you're not fulfilling, or you're sitting in imposter syndrome and you're continually trying to reach for success when you're just questioning yourself over and over and over. So I'm going to listen to this podcast, he knows so much. Brad Crowell 15:36  Yeah, absolutely. Well, stick around. We'll be right back to dig into those, Be It Action Items, with Mark Collins. All right, welcome back. I said, with Mark Collins, I should have said, from Mark Collins, let's get into it. Let's talk about those. Be It Action Items. What bold, executable, intrinsic or targeted action items can we take away from Lesley's convo with Mark? I'll jump right in. He said hey, start with an "I Am" statement.Clare Solly 16:00  It's harder than you think it is. Brad Crowell 16:02  Yeah, I haven't done this exercise yet, but this is really intriguing to me. An "I Am" statement, who you are, apart from your things, who you think you'll become. I used to nerd out on this kind of stuff when I was in my teens, because I used to like network as my job. I used to intentionally ask people, What do you do? What is the first thing that they always say? Clare Solly 16:24  Their job. Brad Crowell 16:24  Their job. 100% of the time, people would answer with their job when I ask, "What do you do?" Then the conversation would wind down. And then they would ask me, what do you do? And I'd say, I sleep a lot. And they would go, what? Because I wasn't answering with my job, right? And it was like this mental game that I used to, I used to laugh so hard about it, because I realized that that is how we define ourselves. And I thought, when I was listening to this with Mark, I thought, man, this is so poignant, because he says, when you define yourself apart from your things or your job or your work, it's going to help you determine who you are instead of what you do by who you are versus what you do, right? And then he said, once you figure out this "I Am" statement, it becomes your affirmation, right? And you're going to use it to align with who you are. And he said do the affirmations multiple times a day, because life happens multiple times a day. And I thought that was also funny. That's also true is we have these different moments of I mean, if I look at my day, I wake up and I have my morning routine that I really enjoy, right? And I do my morning routine, and that feels like a whole separate day from then I'm like, alright, now I gotta get focused. I'm gonna spend three, four hours, and then I'm gonna, like, eat my lunch, and then hopefully I can get back in the groove and have another three, four hours before the rest of the day, right? So, you know, it is funny how it breaks up into these blocks. He emphasized, the more you tell yourself the truth, the more you will see yourself show up as a hero, that you're created to be.Clare Solly 17:53  Loved, that. Loved that. I love that we're rebranding, or we're reusing hero. Because right now, there's so many hero movies, we're all kind of relating to that, like we all kind of put in our cape the little girl with her arms out and being Wonder Woman, you know, Wonder Woman pose that was big a couple years ago. I love this, because hero, even though it's conceptual, it's something we can all tap into. We can all make it real in our lives. We all can be a hero, and that's also something we can strive for. Like, being a hero feels like anti-imposter, right? So I just, I love. Brad Crowell 18:30  That's great. That's a great way to connect the dots there. I really like that. You know, the hero is clearly confident and knows what the hell they're doing, you know, or they should, right, in the way that we envision a hero. You know, there's the anti-hero who maybe doesn't know what they're doing, but the hero, if you think of Superman, you think of the guy who knows how to solve the problem, or, you know, Batman or whatever. So, yeah, I love that. I love that. Clare Solly 18:53  I also had to laugh a little bit because I knew I was coming on and doing this recap with you. And I know you and Lesley talk about being like, one woo, two woo. And I was like, this is like the scientific side of woo. Brad Crowell 19:05  I knew there's a reason I connected with this guy.Clare Solly 19:11  I also loved the identifying moments when you are minimizing who you are, or when you're maximizing the issues and challenges that you have in your life. We all do that, like Lesley and I've talked about how we still feed drama into our lives because we knew how to deal with drama, or when you actually can do something, but yet, there's so many people around you that have done it before you or better than you, but they've paved the way. So what am I doing here? Well, I am my authentic self, and I am coming here because I have something to say, or I have a unique perspective, or I just have joy in whatever this is. So let me share with you my little corner of the world that spoke to me and I also loved the affirmations part. I loved the "I Am" statements. It was funny. As soon as I listened to it, I was like, I am, and I went right to job, right to job. And I was like, no, no. We've worked on this before, and my "I Am" statements are that I'm a creator and I'm a muse. Because I like to create things. I like to create stories. I like to create plays. I like to create environments where people find joy. And I also am a muse. I like to get together with people and talk through things and look at ideas and talk about books and pick apart things and go, how is this affecting us, and how are we putting this out into the world?Brad Crowell 20:39  I love it. I just decided my "I Am" statement. I, I'm creative, I am fun and I am happy. Clare Solly 20:45  I love this, because that's both, you know, in his sort of trajectory, It's something you are now and it's something you can do. Brad Crowell 20:57  Yeah and also, for me, it applies across what I'm passionate about, which is music, and what I do for work, which is run a company. I can be creative in music and be creative in the company, right? I can be fun in music and fun in the company, and I can be happy in music and happy in the company. When I first was talking about that, kind of had me feeling a little stuck. I like this "I Am" statement. We talk about "I Help" statements a lot when we're coaching our clients, because you got this elevator pitch of what you say to someone else, but we never talk about the elevator pitch that we say to ourselves. So I love this. Clare Solly 21:34  Yeah, it's so empowering and it can change, too. Like, it can also point you in different directions.Brad Crowell 21:40  Yeah, he had another example. I find quality answers for every problem I walk through, or I'm going to align my words and actions with the things I am and the things that I do. So, yeah, you can use the I am statement to give yourself instruction, not just speak affirmations, so.Clare Solly 21:58  And align yourself with what you are created to be, like, why you're here. I love it. Love it. That's so good.Brad Crowell 22:05  Yeah, that's amazing. Awesome. I'm Brad Crowell. Thanks so much for joining us today.Clare Solly 22:10  And I'm Lesley Logan, just kidding, I'm still Clare Solly.Brad Crowell 22:14  Check out more from Clare and follow her Bookstagram stuff. You can find all that at claresolly.com. C-L-A-R-E-S-O-L-L-Y dot com. We are so grateful that you are here, that you take the time out of your life to listen and enjoy the interviews and then hear us kind of chat about them afterwards. How are you going to use these tips in your life today? I mean, what amazing tips? I want to know. Lesley wants to know. Ping us on IG, send us a DM, or leave a comment on YouTube or send us a text, and otherwise we will catch you on the next episode. Be It Till You See It. Clare Solly 22:47  Bye for now.Lesley Logan 22:50  That's all I got for this episode of the Be It Till You See It Podcast. One thing that would help both myself and future listeners is for you to rate the show and leave a review and follow or subscribe for free wherever you listen to your podcast. Also, make sure to introduce yourself over at the Be It Pod on Instagram. I would love to know more about you. Share this episode with whoever you think needs to hear it. Help us and others Be It Till You See It. Have an awesome day. Be It Till You See It is a production of The Bloom Podcast Network. If you want to leave us a message or a question that we might read on another episode, you can text us at +1-310-905-5534 or send a DM on Instagram @BeItPod.Brad Crowell 23:33  It's written, filmed and recorded by your host, Lesley Logan and me, Brad Crowell.Lesley Logan 23:38  It is transcribed, produced and edited by the epic team at Disenyo.co.Brad Crowell 23:42  Our theme music is by Ali at Apex Production Music and our branding by designer and artist, Gianfranco Cioffi.Lesley Logan 23:49  Special thanks to Melissa Solomon for creating our visuals. Brad Crowell 23:52  Also to Angelina Herico for adding all of our content to our website. And finally to Meridith Root for keeping us all on point and on time.Transcribed by https://otter.aiSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/be-it-till-you-see-it/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

In this episode, we talk about the real challenges of being a business owner. There are difficulty with self-doubt and the feeling of intimidation by other business owners. But how do you overcome them? We talk about some helpful and proven tips like listening to audiobooks and taking self-evaluation tests such as the Enneagram and Strengths Finders to help increase you knowledge and understanding of what it takes to be a business owner.  If you are starting your own business and are finding some challenges, this episode is perfect for you. Hope you enjoyed this episode of The Daily Wind Up. See you tomorrow.

351 Communication Is In Everything We Do   We are always communicating in everything we do, from overtly talking to or texting someone, to smiling and nodding to strangers you pass on the street, it's human nature to want to be seen and heard and to give that to others.  In this episode Sarah Elkins and Jim Collison discuss the importance of communication and how understanding your strengths leads to better communication not just with others but with yourself.   Highlights Choose to put yourself into situations where you can tell a great story afterwards. Live a life bigger than the one you have. Strengths are sometimes seen as a weakness before you learn how to use them. Be patient enough to let things happen.   Quotes “You can't take people places you've never been.” “I think some people miss on Clifton Strengths, it does explain who you are, but it is also a productivity tool. How do you get better?”   Mentioned in this podcast National Suicide Hotline, Text or Call 988 Help is available. You are cared for.    Dear Listeners it is now your turn, This whole Clifton Strengths, any assessment, maybe this isn't the answer to our global communication issues but it can be an answer to your individual communication. And the reality is that each of us are responsible for our own communication and how it's received by the people and environment around us. You are communicating with everything you do; every like, every comment, every share, every honking of your horn, you are communicating who you are, your character. And when you can take responsibility with it, the world changes. So listeners, what are you going to do, today, tomorrow, over the next few days, to figure out what it is you want to work on.  And, as always, thank you for listening.    About Jim CliftonStrengths Top 5: Arranger | WOO | Maximizer | Communication | Activator I am the CliftonStrengths Community Manager for Gallup and Produce Gallup's Called to Coach and CliftonStrengths Webcasts found at http://gallup.com/cliftonstrengths. In my role I manage the global community of Gallup-Certified Coaches and help those customers who are engaged with our CliftonStrengths Assessment worldwide. In prior years I have managed IT resources, managed a high school and college internship program for Gallup and was a member of the Omaha STEM Ecosystem managing board. I have been at Gallup since 2007. Be sure to check out Jim's LinkedIn! About Sarah "Uncovering the right stories for the right audiences so executives, leaders, public speakers, and job seekers can clearly and actively demonstrate their character, values, and vision." In my work with coaching clients, I guide people to improve their communication using storytelling as the foundation of our work together. What I've realized over years of coaching and podcasting is that the majority of people don't realize the impact of the stories they share - on their internal messages, and on the people they're sharing them with. My work with leaders and people who aspire to be leaders follows a similar path to the interviews on my podcast, uncovering pivotal moments in their lives and learning how to share them to connect more authentically with others, to make their presentations and speaking more engaging, to reveal patterns that have kept them stuck or moved them forward, and to improve their relationships at work and at home. The audiobook, Your Stories Don't Define You, How You Tell Them Will is now available! Included with your purchase are two bonus tracks, songs recorded by Sarah's band, Spare Change, in her living room in Montana. Be sure to check out the Storytelling For Professionals Course as well to make sure you nail that next interview!

If you've ever wondered what I talk about on the regular with my friends -- this would be the episode for you.  And brace yourselves because there's no "small talk" allowed.  We start off right away with identity, crisis, authenticity, conflict of self --- and that's just the beginning!   My trusted friend and much respected peer, Executive Director, Heather Daniel-Kent gives her all when it comes to showing us how to "LEAD OURSELVES WELL".  From all of the tools that many of us know and love: love languages, basic needs, StrengthsFinders, enneagram and more, she gives us her genius on how to use that for our benefit and for others.     And if anyone can talk about how to do "hard things" it would be this girl who swam the famed Alcatraz swim and lived to tell about it.  Learn what lessons she discovered by pushing herself to the limit.  And find out if she's crazy enough to do it again.   You are going to love this collab convo between two really good friends who want every day to be better than the last.   Connect with Heather: On Social:

@1QLeadership Question: What happens when a perfectionist realizes that no one can be perfect? Jessie Gardner, Executive Senior Associate AD at UNT, discusses her evolution from being a perfectionist to considering herself an achiever. She acknowledges that perfectionism held her back in her prior leadership roles. Gardner gives credit to enneagram, Strengthsfinders, and self-reflection for her leadership self discovery. leadership is a constant evolution of who you are and how you show up in the world leaders must learn themselves to understand how they can be the most effective Gardner gives examples of her progress while acknowledging that people around played a big part in her development. She currently focuses on what the people she leads need from her, and how she can create spaces that people want to be in. - One Question Leadership Podcast - Tai M. Brown

Can practical skills and customer service knowledge set high school students on a path to career success? Our guest, Kathy Laidlaw, believes they can. In today's episode, we sit down with Kathy to hear her story that started with teaching customer service to high school juniors and seniors. Drawing from her background in conducting customer satisfaction surveys, Kathy developed a nonprofit organization aimed at aligning students' strengths and interests with potential careers. Her journey emphasizes the vital role of equipping teens with practical skills and understanding customer expectations to better prepare them for the job market.Recognizing the limitations of her network, she founded a nonprofit and launched a website filled with video interviews from various professionals. By becoming a certified Gallup Strengths Coach and integrating the Clifton StrengthsFinder assessment, she empowered students to identify their natural talents and apply this self-awareness in their career choices. Listen to the inspiring story of a student who turned a perceived weakness into a strength, showcasing the power of personalized assessments in guiding career development.Join us for a compelling conversation on navigating today's educational landscape and empowering teens to achieve meaningful, fulfilling careers.For more information about the work that Kathy does, check out her website here. You can find Kathy on LinkedIn as well here. Ohlone College Flea Market takes place this month on June 8. Do not miss it. For more info, check out their website here. Cars, coffee and cookies, Oh My!!!Check out Own It Fitness for your professional fitness solutions. You can find their website here. Connect with them on Instagram here. If you are interested in supporting the podcast, please reach out to us at thefremontpodcast@gmail.com, or you can contact us here. Fremont Bank has been partnering with and supporting people and small businesses for over six decades. Also, Petrocelli Homes has been a key sponsor for the Fremont Podcast almost from the beginning. If you are looking for help or advice about buying or selling a home, or if you are looking for a realtor, get in touch with Petrocelli Homes on Niles Blvd in Niles. Additionally, Banter Bookshop is the best little bookshop in Fremont. They are a sponsor of that podcast. And we are excited to have them as a partner. If you are in need of services for design or printing, check out Minutemen Press in Irvington. They have been serving the community for over 20 years, and they stand strong by their work and service. Intro and Outro voiceovers made by Gary Williams. Check out garywilliams.org.This episode was edited by Andrew C. Scheduling and background was done by Sara S. This is a Muggins Media Podcast.

How can you strategically grow your practice without the risk of losing everything? In this soul-stirring episode, our guest, Luke Infinger, provides the tools you need to stand tall in your field. He dives deep into the importance of mastering your existing practices, before even considering expansion, underlining the necessity of building a robust foundation and optimizing your operations for overall success. Luke's guidance will help you identify the right time to scale, steering you on a path of continuous and sustainable growth.In the second leg of the journey, Luke uncovers the crucial role of profitability and planning in expanding your practice. His words serve as a wakeup call, reminding dentists and practice owners alike that profit isn't all about numbers - it's the lifeline of your growing business. His riveting advice and personal experiences will guide you into understanding the intricate relationship between strategic growth, profitability, and optimal planning.What You'll Learn in This Episode:Importance of mastering your existing practices before planning expansionHow to build a strong foundation for your dental practiceThe role of optimizing your business operations for successIdentifying the perfect time to scale your practiceThe connection between strategic growth and profitabilityUnderstanding the value of proper planning in expanding your practiceReady to skyrocket your dental practice to a whole new level of success? Tune in to this episode with Luke Infinger!‍‍Learn More About the Ground Marketing Course Here:Website: https://thedentalmarketer.lpages.co/the-ground-marketing-course-open-enrollment/‍You can reach out to Luke Infinger here:‍Website: https://hip.agency/HIP Resources: https://hip.agency/resources/‍Mentions and Links: Software/Tools:Organizational ChartAudibleApple Books‍Personality Tests:The Predictive IndexStrengthsFindersEnneagram‍Books/Publications:The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About ItThe New York Times‍If you want your questions answered on Monday Morning Episodes, ask me on these platforms:My Newsletter: https://thedentalmarketer.lpages.co/newsletter/The Dental Marketer Society Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2031814726927041‍Episode Transcript (Auto-Generated - Please Excuse Errors)‍Michael: Hey Luke. So talk to us. What's one piece of advice you can give us this Monday morning? Luke: So one piece of advice for dentists, orthodontists, or really a lot of business owners. Uh, I've had the pleasure of working with probably about a thousand dentists or orthodontists, uh, within the past 10 years.And I think a false belief and, it's probably taught or, you know, talked to, uh, amongst peers is you need to be able to scale your practice through acquiring locations and adding more doctors. And while that could be the case, I see people do this way too quickly. Absolutely. they'll have a low production practice.They'll also be carrying a lot of debt. and think I need more cash flow. I need to look for my second location. I need to look for another associate doctor. And I've actually seen a lot of practices go under this way because they become over leveraged. So I always tell people, focus on what you have.Grass is not always greener, build what you have, prove the concept, get your business to an A player, and then duplicate that. Nobody wants to duplicate a D player. You know what I mean? So if I have a business, it's not performing super well, it's probably not time to duplicate the model. Michael: Interesting. Okay.So then what's too quickly in your experience? If we're specifically talking about, let's go with like a general practice. Sure. And they're busy, too busy, right? So they're assuming, Oh my gosh, I need a doctor. I need an associate. I need a more hygienist. Right. Would that be too quickly? Luke: Well, it really depends on the specific situation.It could be time. But. Most of the time I've never met a dentist or orthodontist that's actually too busy. It's very rare and I'll explain why. The reason why we become too busy when running a business is we're doing the wrong things. Thanks. Very rarely do you talk to a dentist or orthodontist running the practice.I mean, again, this could be any other specialty within dentistry or maybe even any small business. And I've done this myself as a business owner. Well, who is, uh, looking at payroll? Who's looking at our credit card statements? maybe a security camera goes out. We need that. I mean, you get the idea.We carry all this stuff and there's a lot of things we don't delegate. So if you look at an org chart within a dental practice, typically it's the doctor, Maybe an office manager and everybody else. And the office manager probably also does other things. Maybe she has to be an assistant some days, or maybe she has to pick up the phone or things like that.And so I think if the doctor sets up an org chart to just be a doctor, which is going to produce the most amount for the practice. That's why they went to forever, you know, because they're, they are the only ones who can do what they do. So on your genius and delegate everything else. The doctor within a practice.In the day to day should be the technician. And I don't mean like a dental tech. I mean, if you read the book, the E myth, which is one of the most popular books in the world for small business, there's technician, the manager, and the visionary. A dentist can be the technician and the visionary. They never want to be the manager.everything else has to be delegated. They have to be the dentist and outside of 8 to 5 or maybe on breaks or specific planned meetings. They can float into the visionarybecause they're the owner. So their vision, their mission is going to set the practice apart and have a unique identity, but they should not be managing.And this is where most dentists, I would say 98 percent get stuck on the hamster wheel and they can't grow. The number one thing we hear, I don't know if you hear this, is we just need more new patients. Makes sense. But I asked them, well, how many people filled out a form on your website last year?Well, I don't know. Well, where do those people go? Well, I think they go to Cindy. Well, does Cindy have a list? Um, no, I think she just like calls them then and sees if they pick up. Okay, well, how do we track that? How many times did we call them? What did we say? So you don't necessarily need more patients.You need better systems, right? Because if I scale marketing and just bring you more of those types of leads and they're falling by the wayside, do you need more patients or should we first fix system and then you may already have. The leads that you need to scale to your goal. Michael: And I guess that's where that, it of comes in where the front office sometimes, do you get this sometimes Luke where like they tell you, patients you're sending me, the quality is not good.I need better quality patients. And you're like, the only job is to be getting you leads, right? It's up to you to, you're not converting it kind of Luke: And And this is any sales process. Yeah. I don't care what business you're in. Uh, people are guarded. I don't know about you, but I've opted in to a lot of things.I missed an appointment with my chiropractor. I've been for like three years. Totally forgot. Am I a bad patient? Well, probably not. but we have access to anything we want right here. We have a supercomputer in our pocket at all times. And so, you know, dentists and orthodontists, and I can appreciate this.Typically, there's a little bit of an ego there. Hey, I'm a very specialized person. I'm a smart person. I'm skilled. I can help you. Um, you should come to me, but we don't know that as the consumer, we look at dentistry now, largely as, a commodity. And so you have to put yourself in the shoes of the patient, the consumer, the client, If they don't know, if they opt into a lot of things and click on a lot of things and forget.Or it's not at the top of the priority list. If my tooth's not in pain, how do we nurture them and establish a relationship and bring their guard down and let them know that we are the practice of choice? that is a real holistic sales process that we've forgotten because we think people should just click on our stuff and then show up in our practice.Doesn't really work that way. would challenge a lot of people listening to look at how they behave. When's the last time you checked your voicemails? Do you respond to all text messages? Do you call every number back that's red on your phone? Because red is like, on my phone, that's the missed calls. I never check my voicemails.only when it says 95 percent full. And I never call the numbers back that are red. And my phone, I haven't looked into changing the settings. Thanks. But if I don't have your number saved in my phone, it won't even ring. it takes you straight to voicemail. So if a practice is calling me and I opted in, do I save their phone number?When I opt into the ad. No, of course not. That would be ridiculous. So don't have your number saved. You go straight to voicemail. I don't check my voicemail. Did you send me a text? What did the tech say? You know, was it personable? Did it sound like a robot? Cause that's another thing is like people are getting spam texts all the time.I probably get five, maybe 10 a day. So we have to look at ourselves, uh, and this is why the rest of the team in the practice is so important as people who genuinely want to help people and know that people probably most people, especially when it comes into digital opt ins, they're on step one. If step 10 is getting them in the practice, what do we have to do to bond with that person, get that person's trust.Make them realize they do want to come in to see us when it's time to fix X, Y, and Z. And the people doing that should love doing that. They should not be complaining about doing it. If they're complaining about doing it, they're not in the right role. Michael: Interesting. If they're not in the right role, what do we do then?Luke: We have to either move them to another seat, Or move them off the bus. This is why planning is so important. If you don't build an org chart, if you don't look at the different roles, if you don't plan, if youdon't, give uh, tests to your team, like, predictive index is a test that we use. There's others, maybe, uh, strength finders, Enneagram, maybe all of them see what their strengths are, see what what they like to do.Even if someone's not highly trained, you're going to know if they have a passion for something. Based on their giftings and what they're genuinely, uh, succeeding at, right. They may need a lot of help, but they have a natural inclination to do this thing. Um, Uh, and that was me on the phones. Like I, I sold, uh, New York times in a call center.So I was like cold calling people and have to turn it into a game. and you have to have fun with it. And if you can't have fun in whatever role you're in, even as a dentist, if you can't have fun doing it, maybe you shouldn't be doing it. Michael: Interesting. Okay. So then if we scale back a little bit or rewind back a little bit, you mentioned when you have an A practice, like an A practice, that's when it's okay, let's start scaling.So then how can we tell, all right, this is an A player practice Luke: profitability. So it's not about how much money you make. It's about what you keep. ThereThere is a an average, healthy business when you look at profitability and you know, within based, it's probably about 30 percent is the benchmark.Now dentistry and then specialties within dentistry like orthodontics could even be higher. You know, your average orthodontic practice on the low end is going to be 30 percent net. I know some people who are 60 percent net, which is kind of unheard of. But we should be shooting for somewhere in there.Now, certainly if there's lab fees and you're doing, um, more indirect bonding or things like that, profitability may be a little bit lower. but that's the benchmark you should look at. You should be working with a CFO, like fractional CFO, accounting firm, whatever, to define that. and I would also look at.total revenue profitability and your time, you know, if my time and I'm 30 percent net and you know, at a, at a good run rate. If I still could add a day in, well, would I go start another location? Because I can still maximize where I'm at. So, you know, maybe I open Fridays, maybe I open up a half day Saturday.Now, if I don't want to all the time, then I would bring in that associate to cover the Friday and half day Saturday. While I went out and spent that time looking for that satellite location. Then when I create the satellite location, they're already trained. They've been working with you in the main location.Now you can place them into the satellite. Once you ramp that up. Michael: Gotcha. Okay. So that's when the associate kind of comes right? That that's when you're like, okay, It's a super need Now bring them in while looking. Interesting. Okay. Interesting. Okay. Awesome. of advice for this? this? Luke: Not I think you have to look at the flip side.And, and what I mentioned early on was people do it way too fast. what are you taking home? Uh, how are you having to pay these other doctors? What loans do you already have? How much are you going to have to pay for that new location? And if all those things are going to put you in a bad financial place, don't do it.you can focus on what you have and grow what you have. And so, like I said, I mean, I've seen people go under, people are producing very little, maybe even half a million a year. And they're like, I got to bring in a doctor. I got to get another location. It's like, with what? Like, you don't have the resources to do it.This doesn't make any sense. So slow down, pump the brakes, take a deep breath, get strategic, grow the practice that you have. Get it to a good place, then look at scaling and you may not want to scale. That's the thing. Like you don't have to do this. You could create a lifestyle practice three days a week, and it could be what you want.And then you only have one practice in one building and one note to worry about instead of two or three or four. Michael: Yeah, you're right, man. Bigger isn't always better. Yeah. Awesome. Awesome. Luke, thank you so much for being with us. I appreciate your time. And if anyone has further questions, where can they find you?Luke: Uh, can find me at hip dot agency. You could also reach out to us on the contact form And we have all this stuff in books. So we have several books, that are applicable for any specialty within dentistry that go through all this stuff. This one really talks about the org chart scaling and how to grow the right way.Um, and then I even created one for the doctor's mindset, which I think is very key, but yeah, you could, you know, Hit us up there. Uh, we'll actually ship all these to you for free. If you don't want to wait for hard copies though, you could just go pick your copy up on audible iBooks. They're on e readers and, and all audio platforms as well for purchase.Michael: Nice. Awesome. that's going to be in the show notes below for you to check out. Awesome, man. And Luke, thank you so much for being with me on this Monday morning episode. Luke: Absolutely. Thanks for having me.

In today's episode I'm excited to welcome Louise Taylor, a heart-centered marketing expert and a member of our Humane Marketing Circle. Louise brings a wealth of experience from her transformative journey in both corporate and creative realms. In this enlightening conversation, we explore how truly understanding yourself is key to standing out authentically in business. We discuss the profound impact of authenticity in resonating with your clients, and delve into how tools like the Fascinate assessment can illuminate your unique wiring. Join us for this insightful episode filled with practical tips for bringing your true self into your marketing and connecting deeply with those you serve. In this value-packed episode, Louise and I addressed: How Louise left her 20 year Corporate career and had to figure out how to market herself How taking the time to really figuring out who you are and how you're wired is the key to stand out authentically (and it's what we do so well in the MLWH program, which Louise participated in as well) How authenticity gives you deep inner peace and confidence to show up and stand out and resonate with your clients How Fascinate, an assessment created by Sally Hogshead truly helps you understand how the world sees you - and how you're fascinating How to bring this knowledge into your marketing (bring more of you to your marketing, as I always say) and much more... [00:00:00] Hello, Humane Marketers. Welcome back to the Humane Marketing Podcast, the place to be for the generation of marketers that cares. This is a show where we talk about running your business in a way that feels good to you, is aligned with your values, and also resonates with today's conscious customers because it's humane, ethical, and non pushy. I'm Sarah Zanacroce, your hippie turned business coach for quietly rebellious entrepreneurs and marketing impact pioneers. Mama bear of the humane marketing circle and renegade author of marketing like we're human and selling like we're human. If after listening to the show for a while, you're ready to move on to the next level and start implementing and would welcome a community of like minded. Quietly rebellious entrepreneurs who discuss with transparency what works and what doesn't work in business Then we'd love to welcome you in our humane marketing circle If you're picturing your [00:01:00] typical facebook group, let me paint a new picture for you. This is a closed community of like minded entrepreneurs from all over the world who come together once per month in a zoom circle workshop to hold each other accountable and build their business in a sustainable way. We share with transparency and vulnerability what works for us and what doesn't work so that you can figure out what works for you. Instead of keep throwing spaghetti on the wall and seeing what sticks. Find out more at humane. marketing circle And if you prefer one on one support from me, my Humane Business Coaching could be just what you need. Whether it's for your marketing, sales, general business building, or help with your big idea like writing a book, I'd love to share my brain and my heart with you, together with my almost 15 years. Business experience and help you grow a sustainable business that is joyful and sustainable. If you love this [00:02:00] podcast, wait until I show you my Mama Bear qualities as my one-on-one client, and find out more at Humane Marketing slash coaching. And finally, if you are a Marketing Impact pioneer and would like to bring Humane Marketing to your organization, have a look at my offers and workshops on my website at Humane. Hi there friends, thank you for being here. Today's conversation fits under the P of I'd say personal power and passion. So if you're a regular here, you know that I'm organizing the conversations around the seven Ps of the Humane Marketing Mandala. And if this is the first time you hear about this, you can download your one page marketing plan with the seven Ps of Humane Marketing at humane. marketing forward [00:03:00] slash one. Page. The number one and the word page. And this comes with seven email prompts to really help you reflect on these different P's for your business. So it's not a, a seven step list on how to do humane marketing, but it's a reflective so that you get to actually be in charge and be this responsible, uh, business owner and human being to, um, put the thoughts into that kind of. groundwork for humane marketing. All right. So today I sit down with Louise Taylor, a fellow marketer, HSP, and member of the humane marketing circle, and we're getting ready to co host another collab workshop, and this time the topic is standing out. Authentically. So Louise Taylor is a heart centered brand and marketing leader with 20 plus years of experience in corporate, [00:04:00] B2B, B2C financial services, and purpose driven businesses. Add to that a decade of expertise in creative services, including design and photography, as an entrepreneur and creative soul early in her career. A high sensory coach, fascinate. So, certified advisor, high sensitive person and mentor. She naturally focuses on creating sincere and meaningful connections with all she engages with. As the founder of Firefly Effect, she brings a discerning and analytical approach and leverages her breadth of experience to help purpose driven and mission led organizations achieve their business goals and create a positive impact on those they serve. So in this value packed episode with Louise, we addressed how she left her 20 year corporate career and had to figure out how to market herself, how taking the time during COVID to [00:05:00] really figuring out how Who she was and how she's wired and how that really is the key to stand out authentically. And it's what we do so well in the Marketing Like We're Human program, which Louise also participated in, in those COVID years. We also talked about how authenticity gives you deep inner peace and it gives you the confidence to show up. and stand out and resonate with your clients. We then talked about how fascinate, uh, which is this assessment created by Sally Hogshead, truly helps you understand how the world sees you and how you're fascinating. So it's one of these assessments dad, um, looks from the outside in where most of the other assessments, Myers Briggs, Enneagram, et cetera, uh, look from The inside out. So how you see the world, how to then bring this knowledge into your marketing, as I [00:06:00] say, always bring more of you to your marketing. Um, but we need to actually figure out what is more of me. And so that's what this assessment and, and the work with fascinate helps us understand, well, this is more of me. So now let me bring more of that into our marketing. Both Louise and I share our assessment results. And so that kind of gives you some information about how, uh, the world sees me and the world sees Louise and how we actually live that in our businesses and much, much more. So have a listen, and if you crave more and want to learn more about these seven fascinate languages and have heartfelt conversations in a safe haven, then join us on February 7th, uh, have a look at humane. marketing, uh, forward slash workshop. So let's dive in right now. Hi, Louise. [00:07:00] So good to hang out with you. Welcome to the Humane Marketing Podcast. Thank you. So great to be here. I'm so excited to be able to connect with you again. As always. It's always a great conversation. Yeah. And we, we did some prepping for this one because we're also collaborating on another collab workshop. And I'm really, really excited to have you on February 7th for the workshop that we do together around February 7th. You know, standing out authentically, but this is kind of like a teaser, uh, of this, uh, one on an hour and a half workshop. Um, but we're not just teasing. We're always giving great value as well. Right. For people who, who are, um, valued listeners, they, they know this about us and me. So I look forward to dig in. I was thinking maybe you can start with, um, you know, how you. Your story and how you moved [00:08:00] out of corporate, I was gonna say America, but corporate Canada. . How you moved corporate Canada, outta corporate Canada and then as, as a marketer, and then started your own business and, and then realized. Oh, okay. This is a different ball game. I have to now, you know, put myself out there and I have to sell myself and I still want to do it authentically. So, yeah, take us there. Tell us that story. How that evolved. Thank you. Yeah. So, you know, I spent. 20 years in corporate marketing and, you know, my last role as a, as a marketing leader, building marketing teams and functions and strategic, you know, making them a strategic function. And so it was very demanding. Um, I loved the work that I did. I loved, um, the learning that I got from all of those 20 years in, um, you know, developing myself as a marketer. And then in 2019, um, I [00:09:00] was, my, my role was eliminated and I was packaged and as part of a reorg, um, and then COVID hit and, you know, my initial thoughts were jump right back in and, you know, and, and get on that hamster wheel again. And when COVID hit, I had an opportunity to really sit back and kind of go, what do I really love? What would I love and instead of. Thinking that I need to do this. I mean, it was a single mom. I, you know, when my kids are older at the time, they're still, you know, what I call on my payroll because we're always supporting our kids. But, you know, I also had an opportunity at that time to stop and really reflect. And for me. Being authentic was something that I really struggled with. I'm an HSP, and in a fast moving corporate environment, there isn't always room, uh, for us. It's not always understood. Um, and so I, you know, I I tended to kind of push all of [00:10:00] that aside. Um, and when I had that opportunity to stop, I realized, you know, I really want to take everything I've learned over the last 20 years and bring back. I should mention before I spent 20 years in corporate. I had my own business. I was an entrepreneur for 15 years. Prior to jumping into corporate. And so there was a part of my heart that was like, I can help people, but I want to do it in a way that feels authentic to me. I need to honor that part of myself. And so I embarked on this journey to say, well, where do I go from here? I know a lot of things I've built brands. I've built, you know, marketing teams and, um, and I love so many different aspects of it, but how do I distill that down? To me, you know, going from a team of 15 people to one. And so there was a part of me that was like, how do I even talk about who I am and how I'm different because as a marketer, you know, you do a lot for other people and you're [00:11:00] building on this communication. But I didn't know how to talk about how I was different. And so that felt like, you know, the cobbler's got no shoes scenario where I, you know, I didn't know how to talk about how I was different. And so I embarked on this self, you know, this journey to try to self discovery. And then I stumbled upon, uh, fascinate. And for me, I'm, you know, I'm a junkie of all of the Myers Briggs and StrengthsFinders and Enneagram, like I've done them all and I love them because they've helped me understand who I am from the inside out. But what I loved about Fascinate when I took the test was that it's an outside in perspective. It's how the world sees me when I'm at my best. And when I took it, it I had an aha moment because it helps you understand the languages that you speak when you're in that flow state and you're excited and you're energized like you and I are doing right now. Um, I [00:12:00] am a passion person. So I speak the language of communication and connection. Um, but I'm also. A very, you know, 1 minute, I can be very in tune with somebody in the next minute. I can be a hermit. I can be this very quiet person who's always analyzing a situation. And I always felt that there was something wrong with me. Maybe there's something broken about me that I'm these opposite ends of the spectrum. And as it turns out, it's actually just who I am. And so when I learned that this is who I am, and it's actually my superpower. I was able to kind of start leaning into that a little bit more, not a little bit, a lot more. And I embraced it to the fact, to the point where, you know, the anthem that I created for myself is my guiding, is my guidepost. I, it helps me now distinguish myself and, and lean in and just embrace that I'm different and I'm okay with that now. You know, it was, it helped me understand and [00:13:00] embrace that, that difference. And so now I've incorporated that and it's part of what I do because I, I believe so strongly in, um, giving me the language, giving me the words that I could confidently feel like, yeah, this is really me. And here's how it's me. This is how it really is me. So it's going to be, I feel, yeah, I feel so obviously, you know, with marketing, like we're human and this is very aligned with, with what we're doing here. And And was it also in, in the COVID years that you, uh, came across the Marketing Like a Human program? I remember you reached out to me. I'm like, Oh, a fellow marketer. That is so great that other marketers are interested in, in that work. Was it during that time as well? 100 percent because as I was trying to discover, you know, there has to be a better way. I mean, I was in financial services and I still work in financial services in what I do now on my own, but I get to choose and I [00:14:00] work very purpose driven mission centered businesses. Um, that became really important to me and I didn't really know anybody else. Who felt that way about marketing. It's like, we do really good things and there's, there's a need for what we do. And there's a love of. Building strong brands that are authentic, but I was really searching for a community and a group that felt the same way that I did. And so my research led me to you, um, and you know, I bought your first book and I did your program and I was like, okay, I want to embrace and learn everything there is to know about what's been in my heart, but I haven't really, I've felt like this lone wolf in a sea of, you know, marketers who are all about the bottom line and let's. You know, what are the sales targets and everything? And to me, it didn't feel, that's not me. That doesn't feel like who I am. I care about, you know, doing good work. And I care [00:15:00] about making, you know, achieving results, but it's not what's driving me. What's driving me is how do we do good in the world? And how do we make it? A better place through what we know as marketers. Yeah. I feel like you're a really good poster child for marketing. Like we're human because I mean, really like, you know, 2019 we're now in 2024. That is a. A very short framework for launching a business. And so it just shows me that you gave yourself that deep reflection. And yes, probably the first or two first two years were a bit slow. Right. It's like, okay, who am I? How am I different? How can I be authentic and yet stand out? But. You gave yourself that time and invested in finding out who you are, and now you're bringing that to the table and look at you now, you have a thriving business. I mean, it really shows that [00:16:00] slow and deep really, really works. And I think that's what we want to talk about here a little bit. Like, what, what, you know, why would we even have. Pay attention to, uh, a workshop that's called, um, stand out authentically, right? Most people would just want to stand out, you know, bottom line. It's like, okay, I want to stand out, but we're talking here about standing out and being authentic and being different. So why does that matter to us? And I guess, and also to our clients, why does that matter so much? Yeah, that's a, it's such a great, it's such a great reflection, you know, because for, for most of my career, I did what I thought people wanted from me, you know, and I ignored and pushed down what I was actually thinking or feeling, um, because my value, I thought my value. Was in [00:17:00] what I do for others and the results that I give, but what I had the opportunity to reflect through covid was and do that deeper dive on myself is to understand that that that that was based and coming from a place of fear, not love. And when I've learned to love myself and take that time to sort of say, like, what matters to me, I feel there's this multiplication where I've lived this life that was divided between who I am and what I do. And when I was, when I embraced. Bringing all of that together and authentically being who I am in what I do and what I do. Um, I'm, I'm multiplying. I've gone from being divided to multiply where one plus one now equals three for me and the value that I feel like I add. And I'm attracting people who are more like me or who appreciate what I bring to the table. So [00:18:00] yes, we can all have the same skills. But the satisfaction and the, and the joy that I get from working with somebody who appreciates that authenticity that I bring to the table and sometimes a bit of woo, and sometimes it's a lot of logic and information, and my ability to see a light at the end of the tunnel and get us across the finish line, but I'm doing it with a deeper connection. And so there's just this, I don't know this inner calmness that I have of, of. Feeling like I, by bringing all of who I am to the table, I'm detracting those that don't care about that, which is great. You know, there is somebody out there who is in alignment with that person, but for the person who cares about. That authenticity and the purpose and the why we do what we do, I feel a greater amount of joy. And so my work doesn't feel like work. It's just [00:19:00] making an impact and doing it in a way that just is in alignment with who I am in my soul. Yeah. I think you just described the definition of a humane business that, that it really. That's what it is for me. It's like, yes, it's a business, but it's a business that is aligned with who you are. And so it doesn't feel like work. And at the same time, it feels very joyful to work with clients and, and, you know, do create change. And you, you mentioned that inner calm or inner peace. I think that is such a big part of it. Um, And it's, it's underestimated, like it's undervalued. I feel like, you know, we, we go out there and, and I, I know that a lot of people are like, well, what I need is tactics. What I need is, you know, learn how to be on LinkedIn and publish on LinkedIn. Yes, you need that. As well, what you need first is this, you know, [00:20:00] understand who you are, uh, your values, how you're wired so that you can then come to whatever place you choose to be with this inner, inner peace. And yeah, so let's go back to the, the, this, um, work with fascinate, right? Because that's what we're going to be talking about in the, in the workshop. Um, so tell us a little bit about. You mentioned it's kind of one of the assessments that, um, tells you how the world sees you rather than some of the other assessments like Myers Briggs Enneagram, um, where it comes from how you see the world. Right. So how is this one different and how maybe you can also, uh, share a little bit about Sally, uh, Hogshead who created this whole work and how did you go about finding all of this out? Like, I'm curious about that. Yeah, you know what? It's, it's, um, it's really quite brilliant. So as a marketer, you [00:21:00] know, finding the words and the nuances of how you communicate became a fascination with me, especially because as a child, you know, I was really Um, I was very introverted and, and, um, you know, as an HSP, I didn't, I learned to wall off how I felt and how I communicated, but it also became a fascination for me in my career, you know, going into marketing, um, was something for me that I needed to do for others, what I really struggled to do for myself and. The outside in perspective, when you're with Sally, what I learned, um, as I did my research, um, once I did the test and I was so fascinated by my, by my own results, I dug a little bit deeper and understood that, you know, so Sally was a marketer is a marketer and at heart, she was a very, very successful advertising writer. By the time she was 27, she had, you know, [00:22:00] she, she was one of the most decorated. Advertising writers working with some of the largest corporate brands, and she became really interested in understanding what makes brands so fascinating. It's not the amount of money that they spend. So she undertook to do this research, hired a research company, and they studied hundreds of thousands of brands globally to understand what makes them fascinating. What one brand more fascinating than another. And she Still that together through all this research, they distilled this down to seven languages. And I think it was in a conversation with her husband at the time who said, you know, what if we were able to do this for individuals? What if we were helped? We were able to help people understand leveraging what makes brands fascinating. What if we were able to make them understand what makes them fascinating? And when you fascinate somebody in a world that's filled with, you know, distractions, if you think about. How much time you have to capture someone's [00:23:00] attention. It used to be nine seconds. I think it might be down to three, you know, or two and a half. Yeah. And so if you're going, but when you fascinate somebody, you know, between. Competition. If you're in a business and you've got to get someone's attention, you're trying to get a prospect's attention in a world where commoditization, which is, you know, everything is the same. Think of toilet paper. You go for the cheap. It's a race to the bottom from a price perspective. It's not about value. And then you've got the distractions, how do you get someone's attention? Well, you get their attention by fascinating them. And when they're fascinated, if you think about the times when you're fascinated by something, everything else falls off the planet, you know, and you're totally zoned in and you're focused. And that's what the art of fascination is. But when you can't fake it, This is something you can't fake till you make it right it's, it's innate in you and everybody has one of these. [00:24:00] You know, we all speak these seven languages of the fascinate, um, system or the languages. We all speak them all, but there's two languages and one in particular that when you're speaking that language, you're like in this zone of, I could riff on this all day. I'm in my zone of genius for some people, that's the language of power. And confidence and they come in a room and they just command the room and they, they are the decision makers. And for someone else, it might be about trust and loyalty. They might speak the language of trust, which is that loyal person that, you know, you can always count on others. It's the language of listening and you're that quiet person in the room who's paying attention and people might not think that you're that Even there, like, you know, you're not paying attention and then you drop this bomb of, well, what about this? Because you're analyzing and paying attention to the whole room. And so whatever language you speak, when you're able to speak [00:25:00] that language, you will fascinate those who connect with you on that level. So it creates this deeper connection with people. And by virtue of understanding how you fascinate somebody, Bye. It allows you to be more of who you are, because, you know, you're not trying to be somebody else. You can have the same skills and have gone to the same school, um, and come out, you know, two writers who are equally skilled, but one is going to have a language that is. Is going to connect more deeply with somebody and don't we all want to have a world where we're connecting deeply with people that we get to engage with on a daily basis. So fascinating allows us to do that. Um, and I was so fascinated by it that I actually got certified. Um, because I said, this is part of my toolbox at the time. I was already working on brands and helping businesses build their, their [00:26:00] brands. And for me, being able to bring that to the individual that I work with in a, in a company, it's like, let's understand your language and the language of the people in your team, because. It also helps you create this balance on your team of, you know, you might have somebody who's a really, really good person, really skilled, but if they're in a role where they're not able to speak their language, they might feel like they're in quicksand. You know, alert is the language of details. And for some people that lights them up, the ability to. Cross T's and dot I's and think about the future and think about risk mitigation. For others, it makes them want to gouge their eyeballs out, right? And if you're someone who is in a role that you're passion driven and you need those connections and relationships, but your role requires you to be doing this work that is what we call your, your dormant advantage, your least Engaging and natural language, [00:27:00] you're going to feel like you're, you're in quicksand and you're going to, it's, it's a drains your energy. So why not understand and learn the language that you speak that resonates with other people at the same time. It's going to attract those people to you and you're going to just, you know, you're going to be living a life that feels like you're in a well spring rather than in quicksand. Yeah, totally. Well, as we were preparing for, for the workshop and the podcast, I went back to the, to my tests and I, uh, found out that I first took it in 2014 and back then I was the maverick and I think it was innovation and power. And so, so that was kind of like my first experience with Fascinate and I, and I remember being completely surprised and really realizing. How people see you differently sometimes than you see yourself, [00:28:00] um, because if you look at all the other, um, kind of assessments, the Enneagram and the Myers Briggs, um, so I'm very introverted and very calm and, you know, quiet and, and then I got this word that says power, the maverick. I'm like, what, what is this? Right? This is completely different. And. And yet when I was talking to people, they're like, yeah, that's, that's how we see you. We see you as someone who creates new things and leads a new way. And I'm like, I guess, yeah, I like doing that. Right. I just, I needed to kind of make peace with this idea of power and understanding it as something that I can do quietly. Right. Power doesn't need to be loud. It just needs to be kind of like to me, it's a quiet presence, but that somehow still has the ability to lead. [00:29:00] So I remember that for me, that was life changing and just really accepting that role and saying, okay, yeah, if that's what you want me to do, then I'll step into that role and, and kind of come out of the. The shadow, uh, maybe a little bit as well. So, um, it's funny that you mentioned power because I have almost the opposite. So power is my dormant advantage, but the story about how I named my company, when I started the company, I worked with this brilliant person, um, who I had worked with. For years in my corporate role to help me come up with a name for my business. Together we came up because I wanted my whole premise was I want to be able to empower my. clients to be better marketers and to do it their way, you know, to find a path that is right for you. You don't have to follow the trends. And so we came up with wheeled marketing, put the power [00:30:00] of marketing in your hands. It's not a bad name, but I didn't do anything. I sat on it for a year and this was all before I knew fascinated, didn't know anything about fascinating, but I sat on it for a year. It didn't design a logo. Didn't didn't build a website. Didn't do anything with the name because there was something in my heart that was like, it doesn't feel right. It doesn't feel right. And I did my fascinate. Test. And in my fascinate test, you know, my number one language is passion, which is the language of relationships and connection and intuitiveness and my, and I'll bet, you know, then you've got this waiting of all of seven languages will my dormant, which is my least powerful, um, or effective communication is power. And. I, and I really struggled with this because power, I was a leader in my, in my role for eight and a half years in my last role. I'm like, but I am a leader. [00:31:00] And then I realized power is about that natural ability to come in and dominate a room. And whether you do it quietly or loudly and, you know, making decisions quickly and, and I realized the reason I had been struggling with wield wield is a word that. Is all about power and it didn't sit well in my heart, but I didn't understand why until I did fascinate and as a result of that, I'm like, that's not the name of my company. Then that can't be the name of my business. And so I really did some soul searching and digging and wanted to really bring that that as an HSP and an introvert myself, I wanted to bring that light that shines inside of us and allow people to bring that out. And so I changed the name of my company to the firefly. Effect because the firefly is that is that beautiful little glow that sits inside everybody and the firefly effect because I wanted. To simulate the [00:32:00] butterfly effect where, you know, one little firefly can't maybe doesn't make a big difference, but imagine a whole field of fireflies and how beautiful is that? And so it's, it's about the culmination of bringing, bringing joy and bringing a voice. To everybody and doing it in their own authentic way. So that's where the firefly came from. And I have fascinated to some degree to thank for that. Yeah, but that's what it does for for 1, right? It really helps us with, uh, these words that we can then bring into our marketing. Because like I say in marketing, like we're human because we want to bring more of us to our marketing. So when people ask me, well, how do we learn to be authentic in marketing? Well, there's not like a seven step list, uh, where you can learn that it's, it's going into that deeper inner work. And probably part of it is, is, um, yeah, learning more about these seven languages and then bringing. More of that language [00:33:00] into your messaging. And, um, yeah, that's what we're going to talk about in this workshop on February 7th. So if you're listening to this and this resonates, we'd love for you to join us. Then you can go to the link humane. marketing forward slash workshop and sign up there. Um, I want to wrap up with a question that I feel like is really timely. Because we're talking about authenticity, right? In a time where AI has just developed like crazy over the last, let's say, 9 months. And we know as a fact, it's not going anywhere. Like, well, it's not leaving anytime soon. It's definitely going to develop. So how does something like, Oh, Knowing deeply who we are and, uh, having this language that helps us stand out. How does that help us in a time, um, where, you know, everyone else is using AI and chat GPT. [00:34:00] How can we tap into that system more to, um, yeah, feel like we're being authentic and standing up. That's such a great question. And, you know, building authentic brands is such a big part of what I do. And, um, and, and I'll be honest, I have leveraged AI. I've wanted to learn. I'm like, I need to understand. What everything, you know, all the hype, I need to understand, you know, so that we're not left behind, but I don't use AI to do my writing. I don't use AI to, um, put words in my mouth. What I use AI for, frankly, is to. Um, is to help me do what I don't do as well. So for instance, dice, you know, distilling when I have a great conversation with a client, I can record it on my otter, put it into AI. And help have AI help distill that [00:35:00] down to what are those key points so I can be more present and not feel like I have to take a million notes in a conversation because I'm capturing it and I'm going to leverage AI to help me create, you know, what are these talking points that I need to make sure that I'm including in our, you know, in the brand work or, or. Whatever work I'm I'm working on for that client. So I think there is a way to find out, you know, to leverage the tools that are at our disposal. And I is another tool. The challenges when you're looking at somebody. At somebody's work, it's going to become more evident. In time, and I, you know, that. It's a generate like that. It doesn't feel authentic. It's going to A. I is only pulling from what's already out in the Internet, right? It's not creating something that's from your heart. And so it comes down, I think, to trusting yourself and feeling confident that you're not. It's [00:36:00] not about FOMO. It's not about, um. Looking at, looking around the room and seeing, you know, what am I missing out on? I need to jump on this trend. I need to jump on this trend. I need to be on social media and posting six times a week or five times a week. I don't, I, that I've realized that that for me is, you know, is leveraging what I feel confident and know in my heart based on my languages that I speak, how I'm going to fascinate someone. And trusting that process, I'm still going to leverage and look at it as a tool in my toolbox for myself. And then you have to be discerning when you're looking at other people and trust that the right people are going to find you because authenticity. It's an untapped or an unnamed or a, you know, it's a language that we speak. And when you're being authentic, people [00:37:00] feel that they feel the vulnerability. They feel, they feel the connection. Um, and I think you just have to trust that, that, that that's going to. You know, leverage the tools where they make sense, be, be discerning. And, um, because AI, you're right. AI is not going anywhere. So yeah, I'm finding a way to make it, to bring it into what I need in a way that feels in alignment with my own values, right? I'm not going to use it to do all my writing because it doesn't feel authentic. And, and it would feel disingenuous for me to leverage AI and have it write everything I need to write for myself. Yeah, there's, there's. Something to be said about written text. That's what we use it for or what it's used for right now. But, um, what I feel like this work with Fascinate and knowing your languages also helps us become more [00:38:00] authentic, right? Because we then really tap into who we truly are and embrace that. Side of us where before we're just kind of pulled into every direction. Oh, I should, you know, kind of do whatever selling like they're doing it. And then I'm doing a little bit of this and and it's, it's helping us understand. Oh. No, there, you know, I can really truly be by, be myself, um, when you show up with clients and when you kind of step into that, uh, true version of yourself, I feel like the writing, okay, that's part of it, but it also just helps with the human and how you're going to show up with your clients, right? There are so many of my clients that at the beginning of. A workshop that I would have done with them and they get their assessment and they're like, well, it says that I'm, you know, I'm this, but I'm not this, you know, my one person's [00:39:00] passion was her dormant. And she's like, the name of my company is literally passion, you know, consulting or something. And I said, we went through the process and what I, what she understood was it doesn't mean you're not passionate. And it doesn't, you know, we have a preconceived notion of what these words mean, but when we unpack it, which we do, we unpack it all in, in the, in the workshops that we do, you learn that and you, and we dive into the stories of your life where you start to see that pattern. Of where this has been true. So it's not just words on a page. It actually are. We go back and we look and validate. And at the same time, it helps to provide this beacon for you. We create an anthem. Um, you know, that helps guide you and helps explain to people what you do in a really short like two words. My anthem. After going through this process is illuminating visions and it, and for me, [00:40:00] it's what it's in my e signature. It's everywhere, but it, it has become. When I looked at my past, what lights me up and what excites me are these moments when I've been able to bring somebody else. You know, we have an idea. We bring it to life. We launch a brand. We've, we launch a new product. We, so those are the things like that. Innovation is my why. The passion is, is the, is the, what I, you know, what I do and how I do that is by listening. It's my mystique. It's the listening. So when I understood that about myself, now it helps me to choose and to be selective about what I do going forward. I call it. A bit of a, it's a warm hug and a kick in the gut all at the same time, because it's like, yeah, this is who I am. And it becomes my guide to make sure that I stay on my path and I don't get distracted by these shiny objects along the way. So yeah. And the, and the moments in that I've seen people's, like the lights go on and kind of go.[00:41:00] Oh, you mean this is already who I am. And for some people saying those words feels very egotistical at first, because it's like, well, I can't say that about myself that. And then when we dive in deeper, it's like, but it's already how the world sees you. Yeah, that's exactly how I felt about the power. Right. It's like. Oh, but I'm very humble. You know, I grew up very in, in this humble environment. I'm like, ha, I can't say that . But, um, it's like, well, yeah. You know, it's like not me. It's to other people who are seeing it that way. So, yeah. Yeah. And, and that's why I feel like truly yes, ai, you know, is, is part of our path and the direction we're going. And I, I actually feel. There's a very positive side to AI and I'll be writing about that in the, in the business like we're human book, because I do feel like creates more spaciousness for actually [00:42:00] being human and that's part of this. Right? It's like, well, because we have AI for the mundane things, we can then focus on. Actually spending time on figuring out. Well, what is my fascinate language? How can I tap into that and be real? Because that's what we care about is having real conversations with real humans and taking the time to to be human. So I feel like there's a world possible with both being very authentic. And having AI, uh, as, as the, as a tool, like you said, I agree. I think when we have the confidence that, you know, who you are, the tools and all of these other distractions become just that it's a tool that you can add to your toolbox, learn how to use it in a way that feels. Authentic to you that helps you in your business that, um, you know, [00:43:00] saves time, saves energies, you know, and I'm, you know, I'm definitely in that camp where it is a tool and it's a tool that when we use it well, to your point, you end up with this freedom of time. Because something that might've taken me, you know, an hour and a half to distill and go through, I can get it done in 10 minutes now. Right. I can get to that point where I needed to get to in 10 minutes. And then I still apply who I am as an individual, my authentic self to bring that spin or the, you know, the, the, the necessary kind of finishing touches or whatever you want to call it so that it isn't just a cut and paste. You know, it's helping me think of it. I'm thinking of it as another virtual assistant. I actually think it will help a lot of small businesses, especially because, you know, you can do the roles of a number of different people. [00:44:00] So, yeah, I'm so excited. I, uh, um, I really am also excited about this workshop that we have coming up. And what I also feel like we always do well in these collab workshops is that there's part teaching, you know, you're going to share all of your wisdom about the fascinate system. And we also always create space for being human and having these. Exchanges in the breakout rooms. And I think that's really also a big part of the learning, right? It's like, well, actually apply this now and have a conversation about how you are different or how do you feel you're different. So really, really looking forward to that, um, February 7th. Embodiment of of it and that collaboration that that you foster in the humane marketing circle is, is really brilliant because it allows people to take their take your guard down.[00:45:00] This is a, you know, this is a real humane group of people who are all gathered because we have a very, um, similar approach. To life, you know, not just work, but life. And this is one aspect of it that, um, it's freeing. It's, um, you know, it is, it is really like giving yourself permission to be more of who you are. And Sally has this theme that runs throughout that I absolutely love, which is different is better than better, you know, when you think about it. You already, you know, be more of who you already are, because that's what's going to make you feel good. And it's what's going to attract the people who appreciate that beauty that you bring to the world and that uniqueness. Um, and, you know, it's like, give yourself permission to be that person. So. Can't wait. Thank you so much for sharing here on the podcast. And again, if you're listening to this before February 7th, [00:46:00] definitely sign up and we look forward to seeing you there and we'll look forward to it. Thank you for having me. I appreciate it. Thank you, Louise. Thank you so much for listening. I hope you got some great value from this episode. Make sure to find out more about Louise and her work at FireflyEffect. ca. And of course, for even more value, join us for the workshop on February 7th at humane. marketing forward slash workshop. The suggested price is 27. But you can also just make a donation and if you like the people and style of this gathering, then why not join us in the Humane Marketing Circle? That's how we roll. You can find out more at humane. marketing. com forward slash circle. You'll find the show notes of this episode at humane. marketing forward slash H M 1 8 1. On this beautiful page, you'll also find a series of free [00:47:00] offers, the Humane Business Manifesto and the free Gentle Confidence mini course, as well as my two books. Marketing like we're human and selling like we're human. Thank you so much for listening and being part of a generation of marketers who cares for yourself, your clients, and the planet. We are change makers before we are marketers. So go be the change you want to see in the world. Speak soon.[00:48:00] [00:49:00] [00:50:00] [00:51:00] [00:52:00] [00:53:00] [00:54:00] [00:55:00] [00:56:00] [00:57:00]

Jess Koscher is the founder and owner of Write Connections | strategy + design. A full-service marketing firm providing branding, website development, digital marketing, social media management, and graphic design. They are also a strategic firm that works with both nonprofit and for-profit companies in strategic planning, DEI consulting/training, board engagement, StrengthsFinders coaching, customized training, etc.Here's where to find more:makethewriteconnections.comhttps://www.facebook.com/makethewriteconnectionshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jess-koscherhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/write-connections-strategy-de…https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPH-hlB7WOA___________________________________________________________Welcome to The Unforget Yourself Show where we use the power of woo and the proof of science to help you identify your blind spots, and get over your own bullshit so that you can do the fucking thing you ACTUALLY want to do!We're Mark and Katie, the founders of Unforget Yourself and the creators of the Unforget Yourself System and on this podcast, we're here to share REAL conversations about what goes on inside the heart and minds of those brave and crazy enough to start their own business. From the accidental entrepreneur to the laser-focused CEO, we find out how they got to where they are today, not by hearing the go-to story of their success, but talking about how we all have our own BS to deal with and it's through facing ourselves that we find a way to do the fucking thing.Along the way, we hope to show you that YOU are the most important asset in your business (and your life - duh!). Being a business owner is tough! With vulnerability and humor, we get to the real story behind their success and show you that you're not alone._____________________Find all our links to all the things like the socials, how to work with us and how to apply to be on the podcast here: https://linktr.ee/unforgetyourself

No matter what you do, there's a good chance you lead or influence people in some capacity. Whether as pastors, ministry leaders, business owners, managers, parents, or any other role that involves people, it's essential to understand yourself and also to understand the people around you.   Patrick Molyneaux is the founder of Human Formation Coalition, an organization dedicated to helping Catholic leaders know more about themselves and others so that they can work effectively in teams to glorify God.   Human Formation Coalition trains people with the tools of APEST and Strengths Finders, and helps leaders make a significant impact in their sphere of influence. They believe that "better humans make better disciples and better disciples make better leaders."   If you want to become better at getting PEOPLE right, this conversation with Pat Molyneaux is worth a listen!   --- About Human Formation Coalition: Human Formation Coalition helps elevate the vision for human formation, human flourishing, team development and leadership development in Catholic contexts.   Learn More: http://www.humanformationcoalition.org   --- Interested in attending the DiscipleShift Conference this September?   ⇥ Learn more and register at https://discipleshiftconference.com

We are joined by Brian Pulliam, and we go waaaay deep into StrenthgsFinders. It was fascinating and fun, and a ton of fun. Brian's website is https://refactorcoaching.com/, and you can find more about StrengthsFinders at https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/en/strengthsfinder.aspx --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/abtesting/support

Leigh Anne Taylor Knight lead me through Strengthsfinders several years ago.  We share so many mutual connections and friends.  I fully expected to enter into this conversation talking about her personal leadership journey and knowing your strengths in order to be happier and more successful.  We ended up talking about the DeBruce Foundation and the amazing work they do to expand pathways to economic growth and opportunity.  I loved every minute of this conversation and am excited to apply what she shared with us myself.   Leigh Anne Taylor Knight is a resourceful, future-focused leader who currently serves The DeBruce Foundation in Kansas City as Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer.  A teacher at heart, Leigh Anne has also served as a K-12 assistant superintendent, advised learning institutions across the nation, and led a bi-state consortium providing powerful tools for data-driven educational research to inform practice and policy. Greater Missouri Leadership Challenge Leigh Anne's LinkedIn and Twitter The DeBruce Foundation's Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram accounts Agilities.org Agile Work Profiler

Our family has a wonderful announcement to share with the world! My son recently won an Emmy for cinematography for his part in a documentary called Challenge Accepted about a young girl named Faith-Christina. Every child is different, but I want to share with you some ways in which we went about raising a creative child who went on to win an Emmy.   This is the beginning of a series of episodes about raising different kinds of kids to adulthood and preparing them for their desired careers. There's no right way to walk this path, but there are good practices and wise choices. I can share through what I know about Strengths Finders and personalities some of how and why we did what we did. Read the full show notes with links here: https://conniealbers.com/raising-a-creative-child    Love this episode? Please leave us a rating/review and share this episode with a friend!   Have a question? Interested in having Connie speak? Send an email to Connie here: https://conniealbers.com/contact/ 

A cosmic-focused convo that is your beginners guide to all things Astrology and Feng Shui. Step into the concepts behind what astrology truly is and the reasonings behind society's obsession with the stars. If you have any questions about this episode or want to get some of the resources we mentioned, head over to LesleyLogan.co/podcast. If you have any comments or questions about the Be It pod shoot us a message at beit@lesleylogan.co . And as always, if you're enjoying the show please share it with someone who you think would enjoy it as well. It is your continued support that will help us continue to help others. Thank you so much! Never miss another show by subscribing at LesleyLogan.co/subscribe.In this episode you will learn about:Lesley and Brad are going on tour! Astrology signs don't define your behaviors.The perception of astrology in society.The difference between Feng Shui and astrologyHow the energies and stars can make senseWhat in your life are you becoming desensitized to? Episode References/Links:Join Brad and LL on tourThe Source Book by Dr. Tara SwartKate Wind WebsiteMom & Me Astrology Podcast  If you enjoyed this episode, make sure and give us a five star rating and leave us a review on iTunes, Podcast Addict, Podchaser or Castbox.Be It Till You See It Podcast SurveyUse this link to get your Toe Sox!ResourcesWatch the Be It Till You See It podcast on YouTube!Lesley Logan websiteBe It Till You See It PodcastOnline Pilates Classes by Lesley LoganOnline Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan on YouTubeProfitable PilatesSocial MediaInstagramFacebookLinkedInEpisode Transcript:Lesley Logan  Welcome to the Be It Till You See It podcast where we talk about taking messy action, knowing that perfect is boring. I'm Lesley Logan, Pilates instructor and fitness business coach. I've trained thousands of people around the world and the number one thing I see stopping people from achieving anything is self doubt. My friends, action brings clarity and it's the antidote to fear. Each week, my guests will bring Bold, Executable, Intrinsic and Targeted steps that you can use to put yourself first and Be It Till You See It. It's a practice, not a perfect. Let's get started.Welcome back to the Be It Till You See It interview recap where my co host in life, Brad and I are going to dig into the cosmic convo I have with Kate Wind in our last episode. If you haven't yet listened to that interview, feel free to pause this now, go back and then listen to that one and then come back and join us. Okay, I really loved this interview. I just have to say this before we get into anything else because I was like, I really want to have her on but I don't want her, I don't want it to be like to woo and people like freak out. But like, I really felt like it. It made a lot of sense. If you haven't listened to it, you should like listen to it. Because it's a it's a precursor. It's definitely like, a pre 101 you know, and (Brad: Yeah) it makes me feel like I understand a few things. I started listening to her podcast with her mom. And yeah, I feel like I actually know some of the words. I'm still learning things. And it's all very interesting. It's all very fun. So anyways, Brad just got back from Philly. And he was visiting his grandfather and family for the holidays. I don't even know the last time I spent Thanksgiving with them, Babe, but you got to spend Thanksgiving with them.Brad Crowell  Yeah, before we go on there, I had a comment about the conversation as well. You know, I'm I've never been a big fan of astronomy. Just kidding. Astronomy is the study of the stars. Astrology has always been weird. I always thought it was like, I don't know, just kind of that thing that you read in the newspaper that tells you that the world's coming to an end every single week. And I didn't know anything about Feng Shui either. And this was a really enlightening conversation for me because I I learned some of the concepts behind what astrology you know is and why there are charts and all this stuff. And I thought it was interesting to hear that the idea that it's like, I mean, she's got a psychology degree. (Lesley: Yeah) Right. It's this isn't like she just like read a couple books and became like a fairy who reads a crystal ball. Because in my head that's what other movies are with this kind of thing. The conversation wasn't like that at all it was it was really grounded. I thought so. I really enjoyed that. (Lesley: Good. Well ...) Anyway, my my my trip back home was really good. My grandfather is getting old and I really wanted to spend some time with him when it was possible to do that. So taking two weeks out of our crazy life was really important to me.Lesley Logan  Yeah, and you know, we don't really do a lot for Thanksgiving around here anyway, so I think it was really good that you got to spend Thanksgiving. I'm not gonna be, I'm be really honest like because Claire came to visit me and that was so exciting. But I like nothing brought me more joy then going, "I don't have to cook any thing."Brad Crowell  Except for bacon.Lesley Logan  I'm not even do it. I didn't even do that. I'm like I ordered in. I got to be by myself until my family like I mean like it was glorious. I love it. Um I am also on my way to Dallas (Brad: Oh yeah.) for it's coming becoming an annual event. (Brad: Yeah) Erika Quest and I are doing a WeLL weekend, well it's our second WeLL weekend. But it's definitely ...Brad Crowell  You've been down there three times but (Lesley: Yeah) this is the second, (Lesley: Yeah, this is ...) December.Lesley Logan  With Erika Quest. (Brad: Yeah) And it's just, it's gonna be a lot of fun. I really enjoyed working with her, we're gonna do things like that, if you don't know who Erika Quest is, you gonna listen to her episode. It's probably in the teens. And, and when we come back, we quickly get ourselves situated, close the house up for the winter and hit the road (Brad: Yeah) where it's our first stop being in Dallas. Well, one of the first class we're gonna do, so I'll be back in Dallas teaching some workouts, and then Houston and then we're going to spend a night in Memphis and then a day in Nashville, sometime in Atlanta with our friend Joel. Well, actually be in Nashville with our friend Lauren Zoeller. You've heard her episode. (Brad: Yes ...) And it's me so much fun ...Brad Crowell  It's gonna be an incredible tour. (Lesley: Yeah. And the Greensboro.) Yeah, we're gonna be doing multiple classes in a few cities. But I think we have. Yeah, Dallas, Houston, Nashville, just outside of Atlanta, Greensboro, North Carolina, (Lesley: Cleveland) Cleveland, Ohio and then St. Louis. (Lesley: Yeah. So so fun.) So seven stops.Lesley Logan  Seven stops. (Brad: Yeah) Yeah. And so anyways, if you are wanting to join any of those cities sound like something fun. You want to work out with me onlinepilates.classes.com/tour is our third official tour.Brad Crowell  Yeah. And if you're in the Philly area and you want to hang we're going to like get together for coffee. You know, in the Philadelphia just north of Philadelphia. SoLesley Logan  Yeah. And that and it's at night time that coffee might be a drink and and then ... (Brad: It might be a hot toddy.) And then Denver, yes loves of course, we're going to hang out and have lunch for you guys.Brad Crowell  Yeah. Denver we're gonna have lunch on our drive thru.Lesley Logan  We have a wedding to be at (Brad: Yeah) on December 31. So this tour is hot like hit it hard before the holiday. (Brad: Yeah) A couple days a family, get our ... back home. Yeah. So super, I'm just so excited that people love this tour so much that we keep doing it because it really is fun. And I just saw the art for the tour. And I can't wait to see what the merch is because we all need a tour shirt. (Brad: Yeah, you do.) We all do. (Brad: Yeah, you do.) Now ...Brad Crowell  Anyway, onlinepilatesclasses.com/tour.Lesley Logan  Yes. Okay. So instead of a question this week, we have a bold moment, right, Brad?Brad Crowell  Yeah, we totally do. It's exciting. We love hearing from y'all. So if you ever have any bold moments, you know, we are very excited to share with your permission, of course. SoLesley Logan  I got permission from Alison. She's an Agency member of ours. And she wrote lots of stuff on my mind this week. But there's a channel we have an Agency by the way, it's called Blow My Mind. "First, LL's podcast episode on fall routines and mindset helped me realize that for as long as I can remember, I have not wanted to do anything from roughly October to December. And yet also for pretty much my whole life, I have resisted that because I believe I should push on no matter what. And this October has been no exception. So as I look ahead to November and my business goals, I'm considering what kind of actions will cultivate a sense of nurturing rather than effort. Also, I started reading The Source recommended in that podcast episode. And the first journal exercise helped me realize how disconnected I feel from pretty much everybody since moving. Even though I'm still in touch with wonderful people from Austin and I love my partner's family. I still feel alone. This is definitely something to journal more about." So I loved this moment because it's all inspired from the pod. (Brad: Yeah) And and that's the whole point of this whole podcast is to help people, help you listening, understand yourself more and (Brad: Yeah) figure out how you can be it till you see it and like you cannot be it till you see it if you're pushing through when your body is saying it slowed the fuck down. So and I have, I have been watching what Alison's been doing. And all of her goals have been things to help set her up for a Q1 where she can go off and hit the ground running so she's not doing nothing, but she's not pushing. She's actually like it's it feels a little bit more like polling like what is what do I need to do over here. So thank you, Alison, for letting us share this and also for sharing it with us because it y'all podcast is so much fun. I love doing it. I love the interviews I get to do. It's like a really fun thing. But hearing how it affects you makes it like is like the why behind doing it. Like it's the fuel for it all. So thank you for sharing this and if you want to share yours, you can DM us at the @be_it_pod on Instagram. You can send it into the team, any place that you want to do that and will help us share it with other people.Brad Crowell  Yeah, we want to celebrate your bold moment. (Lesley: Yes) So awesome. Okay, now let's talk about Kate Wind. As a second generation Astrologer, Tarot reader and Feng Shui consultant. Kate has been raised around the language of the stars. But it wasn't until after she pursued her degree in psychology, that she got fed up with the corporate life and doing a decade in the corporate life, that it started that she started to recognize the cycles of astrology in her own life and circle back around starting her own business. So she got out of the corporate world and started her own astrology business. She now works to bring these tools to people in a digestible manner. Kate works with one-on-one clients with both astrology and Feng Shui and reads Tarot for events and is a co host of the podcast called Mom & Me Astrology.Lesley Logan  Yeah, it's a fun podcast. Can you just say how you read, reader before? Can you just say that again? I just want to hear how you said it.Brad Crowell  I don't have any idea (Lesley: Oh, okay.) what she talking about.Lesley Logan  At the top you said Tarot reader and I just thought that was really special. It's like tarjay, it's just Tarot. (Lesley laughs) (Brad: Oh) Yeah, you say it Tarot. And I was like, (Brad: Tarot reader) that is such a beautiful way of saying it and also a big (Brad: tarjay) a big light. Brad does not do I don't think he's ever had a Tarot reading before.Brad Crowell  I've definitely not had a Tarot reading. (Lesley laughs)Lesley Logan  I would have stopped you if you said (Brad laughs) Tarot. Okay, so this is a really fun conversation. This was really, I really wanted to have her on talking about this because I find what she does really interesting. I also it sounds like I've I've I know other astrologers and I haven't brought them I specifically brought her on because I love the way that she and her mom, look and use astrology as she mentioned, it's like, like can be like a therapy thing. And so I just find that to be really cool. Like, back during the US election, they had a whole episode on astrology and the election. And so they, they use it in an applicable sense as opposed to like a psychic sense. And I think that that's really unique. So one of the (Brad: Yeah) things that I loved, and this is, this is like super key as like your signs don't define your behaviors. So I say this, I'll just keep going with like, one of the things she talked about was like, talking about how your how you shouldn't use your sun sign as an excuse for behaviors. She like she, have you ever had this, like, "Oh, I'm a Virgo. So that's just who I am." Like, anytime you say (Brad: Totally) it's just how I am, and then you refer it to your sign. That's not how astrology was supposed to be used, or is actually used. It just just as much as like, one of my strength is WOO. And I ... I stayed in a relationship too long, because I was trying to win this person over. It doesn't mean like, I constantly put myself as a doormat because I'm trying to win others over. That would be like, I have choice there. I have I know who I know this about myself. (Brad: Yeah) And I know that I can do that. So I put boundaries in place. And so ...Brad Crowell  Well, we I mean, it's the same like we talk about strengths all the time, especially Strengths Finders, you heard us talk about that a lot. Every strength has a flip side, you can be empathetic, and it can be a benefit to you. That same empathy can be an anchor (Lesley: Yeah) for you, you know (Lesley: Yeah) on you. And so I think that in the same way, you know, why what how Astrology can define a possible character trait of yours, that character trait doesn't have to be negative.Lesley Logan  Right. Well, and also, it doesn't just go back to it's not an excuse for poor behavior, (Brad: Right) period. (Brad: Yeah) End of story. You don't get to be like, like a dick about something go that's just my like sun sign. Like, because (Brad: Yeah, or...) I'm a Taurus, I blow up at people. No, you have fire in you. But that doesn't exclude you, excuse you for like, blowing up on people just because you're upset.Brad Crowell  Or you're talking about being a doormat, you know, you don't necessarily like you could be prescribing yourself a negative situation, thinking that this is just the way it is because I'm X Y Z, you know, (Lesley: Yeah) because I'm a Cancer. You knowLesley Logan  Well, I mean, I lose things all the time. And yes, I am an Aquarius. And I put things in different places. That being said, I don't get to every time I lose something of ours and go, "Let's kind of have an Aquarius deal with it." Like no. (Brad: Right) Is he some people like you, I put things away on purpose, so that that are yours anyways. You know, so anyways, just to like sum that up, I really love that she brought this up, because I really do think a lot of times, we can use some qualities about ourselves or characteristics about ourselves that are unbecoming. And go, well, that's just who I am based on this sign ...Brad Crowell  And write it off, and then expect everyone to just be like, okay with it.Lesley Logan  And guess what, you know, you still are responsible for the actions that you take.Brad Crowell  Yeah, totally. Yeah, you know, one thing, actually, I have a couple things. You know, like she said, you ask her how do people take you know perceive, perceive you when you explain to them what you do. And she said, people either have two reactions, they are really excited about it, or they avoid it. Because they don't really understand it, and I don't know what to do. And we went out to dinner with her and her partner. And like, and I think I avoided it. You know, I wasn't like ...Lesley Logan  Oh you did. I was like, "Wait, tell me more."Brad Crowell  Yeah ... It just kind of got like, kind of made me glassy eyed where I was like, I don't know what that means. Okay, moving right along. Right. And it was a you know, you know, that said, with that in mind. I, it was a an awesome dinner. We had an amazing time and the conversation was fantastic. But what I didn't understand at the time until the interview that you just had was that there is a difference ... while they go hand in hand, there's a difference between astrology and Feng Shui. (Lesley: Oh, yeah.) And I didn't know that. I mean, I just heard a Feng Shui too, but like I don't actually know anything about Feng Shui. I just knew that like, it's a thing and people like you know, change ...Lesley Logan  My mom is going to call you up because my mom was so big on Feng Shui. She watches us on YouTube, shout out to mom, and she is going to teach you all the things and you're ended up with a crystal somewhere.Brad Crowell  I mean, I'm not opposed to that. But my point is I didn't know that there was a difference. Just kind of lumped it all into whatever. And I thought, you know, this conversation was still a merge of the two and I was trying to understand like, what's what and what's the other but I was, I was definitely drawn to the actionable steps that are possible with Feng Shui. I still don't really understand all the things with astrology. But I thought, I thought with the idea of like, there's a, you know, there's a clear timestamp in space and time when you were born. Okay, no problem. And when you were born, planets and things were in a specific space, and like they were, they were, where they were when you were born. Okay, totally get that. So I thought that was interesting. But then from there, there wasn't too much like, I didn't really understand action steps that could be taken from that. And then the conversation shifted over to Feng Shui where I did, where there was a lot of actionable steps. And I thought, okay, cool. So I was kind of learning about the practicality of Feng Shui, and how you can be setting yourself up for failure without even realizing it simply based on your environment. (Lesley: Yeah, well, I mean, and I think ...) Or you can be setting yourself up for success in that same environment.Lesley Logan  Yeah, I think like, that's the like, there's, and some people might even be doing some Feng Shui things not even knowing about it, because (Brad: Yeah) it's doesn't, when you actually look at it, it's it kind of as some of it is a little more common sense. Like, I wouldn't have known that the the money like that the girl's picture was in the wrong corner. But the girls had our picture that she talked about the back is turned towards her (Brad: Right) and your your clients are women, and they're not buying for you, like put that picture away. Right. Like ...Brad Crowell  Yeah, the most practical application of Feng Shui, from my experience growing up is you laugh about it, but the lipstick on the mirror in the bathroom in the morning of like, you got this, right, the positive messaging of like, you're a good person. And like the concept of a mantra, you wake up and you have this thing that you repeat to yourself, and you start the day, the day is amazing. And, you know, and I never really thought that there's anything weird about any of that, because I understand the story we tell ourselves is how we're going to experience the day. Right? So if I'm willing to embrace that idea, why would I not be willing to embrace these ideas of like, the way you've positioned the room can actually have an effect on your mindset.Lesley Logan  Well, and so I love that you brought that up. Because when you as you're talking earlier, and you're like, I didn't know about this, the I didn't put it together with the stars. Y'all you're most many people who might be like a little bit like, "I don't know about astrology. I don't know about this Feng Shui stuff. I don't know about this." But then you go to Machu Picchu or you go to the the pyramids, or you go to the temples of Cambodia (Brad: Temples of Angkor with us. Yeah.) How do you think these things got created and exactly where they are? Okay. I think we talked about this in, you know, when we were in Cambodia, some of these temples were built at the exact same time as other things halfway across the world were being built. And like, the only thing I can think of is like, well, what was going on at that time? Because there wasn't cell phones, there wasn't email, there wasn't someone chartering a boat, and like telling people this we're building. It's po... it had to been what was going on in the stars, because they could you know what I mean, like, there's just these energies things. So I, I know, it can sound like triple woo, when you talk about energies and stars and all and the Feng Shui. But some of it just makes a lot of sense.Brad Crowell  Yeah. And I thought that there was, I was, you know, what, also, I thought was really interesting was, she grew up in this environment, or, you know, parents are both astrologers, and her, she was fielding phone calls of like, you know, my triple Moon is jumping backflips over the rainbows of Mars, you know, like, as a 10 year old, and I don't, I don't speak that language. So I didn't really understand. And I was kind of making fun of it right there. And I hope she doesn't give me too much shit for that. But, you know, that's kind of what it sounds like, to me. And I'm like, "Ah, I don't really get it." But I also don't, you know, like, when she started to get nerdy about it, she was like, here's the relationship of the planets and the stars and the things and how they affect each other. And then when the, you know, as the Earth rotates, and we move around the sun, and all this stuff, and the position that we are in that, you know, it affects things and I was like, "Oh, get it, got it. Got that. That's kind of cool." You know, and her psychology degree, when she was looking like at her own life, experiencing her corporate life that she was living, you know, having speaking the language that she grew up with, and then applying the, you know, her knowledge from going to school, you know, allows her a really interesting get a bridge, like she speaks a language that I could connect with, because, you know, I can relate more to psychology that I can't do astrology, and she is connecting the dots there and I thought that was really helpful for me really revealing.Lesley Logan  Yeah, yeah. Well, basically, Kate, we love you and the way that you look at these things because it's approachable (Brad: Yeah) and easily to understand. And that's why I'd have her on. Brad Crowell  All right, so finally, let's talk about those BE IT action items. What bold, executable, intrinsic or targeted items can we take away from your conversation with Kate Wind?Lesley Logan  Yeah, so she had one kind of one BE IT action. I mean, I really love this because it's, you should be doing this annually, if not more often, but she says, take a look at your home. What is your home saying? And if your home is an apartment, or ...Brad Crowell  Yeah. There's a little more on the Feng Shui than the astrology side.Lesley Logan  Yeah, so look at the artwork, look at the pictures, are they current, any dead trees or plants, anything broken, remove the dead energy.Brad Crowell  Clutter. I mean, I'm, I'm such a culprit of this where like, things just build up on my desk behind, you know, my zoom camera. And then all of a sudden, I turn around, and it's been like, a month since I've moved things around on my desk. And it's just a pile of stuff. You know.Lesley Logan  Yeah. And then she and this is like, also, I thought this was a really actionable thing. She says, take note of where you walk around and curse. Where are you spilling your four letter words? Because I think sometimes people go, "Oh, it's fine. No, my plants are fine, or actually I don't have a lot of things. I'm a very clean, like, I have like a clean look." Or whatever you call that minimalist look. And it's like, okay, but then are you constantly like tripping on a table? Or are you like, are you avoiding like, do you even sit in your living room, like, what go in and do an inventory around how you use your house, and if it is actually bringing you any joy? Or like what the energy is (Brad: Yeah) because, you know, we do move things around a lot. Because we that's how we are. And that's kind of how it but it's really easy. Like I'm looking over at this like shelf and over here. And I don't even know why those things are on there. And if we chose for them to be on there, and maybe we should move those things around. Because maybe like, maybe they belong to somewhere else.Brad Crowell  These are my decorating skills, Babe.Lesley Logan  Yeah. I clearly, you know, take over on that. But anyways, I thought this is really cool. And I'm wondering, Brad, if there's if there's anything in your spaces that you're wanting to like, take a look at.Brad Crowell  So I'm not going to answer that question. No, I'm just kidding. Well, I thought I really connected to the idea of dead trees and plants. Because as you all know, I've been really excited about cactuses. And I never gave a shit about that before, for the first time in my life, like I actually walk around and water them and check on them and make sure that they're, you know, doing well. And, and like talk to them, which is weird, but I do. And, you know, so the I certainly wouldn't want a you know, if something has died. You don't leave it there. Seems pretty straightforward to me. But maybe you do because it's not important to you. But what I think the idea is, whether you think it's important to you or not, it is affecting you. Right? Whether you realize it or not, it is affecting you. Right. And you almost become I become desensitized to it. Until there is a boiling point. I remember I was thinking about this when I was listening to the interview. I remember at my old job, I had a desk and the desk was in a room with other people. And you know, unsurprisingly, my desk started to get clutter, right. And I didn't realize it but you know. And then over a period of time, it was clutter and clutter, clutter. And then I had like an epically bad day, like so bad that I wanted to throw my laptop, break things, scream, yell, and all this stuff. And I couldn't do any of that. But I literally, I just took my arms and I just went flew and I switched everything off my desk on the floor. And everyone in the office was like, "What just happened?" Right. And I was because I just needed space, I needed ... you know, all of it was there and ... And I just remember throughout basically throwing stuff against the wall, right? And and I don't know why, but it was very relieving for me. It was really weird for everyone else in the room. I created a lot of tension in that public outburst that I didn't scream and yell. But suddenly my desk was clean and it allowed me to go like ... right, so I didn't even realize all of that clutter was affecting me. But it was.Lesley Logan  Oh, it's like that having the tabs open on your computer. (Brad: Same thing.) It's the same thing. It's got things running in the background. And so I like that I um, I'm actually super excited because we're gonna be back in time for our New Year's day anniversary like (Brad: Yeah) and our thing that we have, we try to do every year at New Year's and what I'm hoping happens is we redo the closets. (Brad: Yeah) It's a little hard to do every single room in the house in one day but I believe in us and the closets and the kitchen drawers I think. So follow up with us y'all on January 2nd and ask us (Brad: How we did?) how we did on removing room like moving some energies and also where all cuz I definitely curse in the closet because I can't find things (Brad: Sure) and they're missing. (Brad: Sure) And I then I buy them again, because I forgot that I already own them or something similar. Like, "Why do I have four hot pink pair of pants?" Oh, because I couldn't find the other three. And I was like, "Oh, look at these. I already have that." So anyways, I thought this was really special. Let us know how this conversation worked for you. What parts of it were intriguing, which parts were like, oh, and it makes you understand, which part you're like, not into that. I'm happy to hear and also what you're going to remove or move around in your place like how are you doing? (Brad: Yeah) Take a picture or show it, like share you got any create a reel, create a reel of you like change the energy in your house. (Brad: Yeah, that's a great idea.) And tag ... (Brad: Tag us. Tag Kate.) And tag the @be_it_pod, tag Kate. She'll love it. (Brad: Yeah) And also take a listen, if this was really interesting to you, because I would love to have her back. But you don't have to wait for that you can actually go to Mom & Me Astrology and listen to their podcast. They have an episode every week, and I find them all very fascinating. So anyways, I'm Lesley Logan.Brad Crowell  And, I'm Brad Crowell.Lesley Logan  Thank you so much for joining us today. We are so so grateful to have you here and so until next time, Be It Till You See It.Brad Crowell  Bye for now.Lesley Logan  Be It Till You See It is a production of Bloom Podcast Network. Brad Crowell   It's written, produced, filmed and recorded by your host Lesley Logan. And me Brad Crowell. Our associate producer is Amanda Frattarelli. Lesley Logan   Kevin Perez at Disenyo handles all of our audio editing.  Brad Crowell  Our theme music is by Ali at APEX Production Music. And our branding by designer and artist, Gianranco Cioffi.  Lesley Logan  Special thanks to our designer Mesh Herico for creating all of our visuals, (which you can't see because this is a podcast) and our digital producer, Jay Pedroso for editing all the video each week, so you can.Brad Crowell  And to Angelina Herico for transcribing each episode, so you can find it on our website. And finally to Meridith Crowell for keeping us all on point and on timeTranscribed by https://otter.aiSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/be-it-till-you-see-it/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

You can subscribe and listen to every episode of the "Unleash the Awesome" podcast at https://gambrill.com/podcast .  0:58 "The Ultimate Jim Rohn Library" on Audible.https://amzn.to/3WKv2xp . 1:06 Try Audible via this special exclusive offer...https://gambrill.com/audible . 1:35 "Discipline is Destiny" by Ryan Holiday on Audible.https://amzn.to/3zXoyBL . 7:15 Jasper - Create amazing copy, content, blogs, and even books 10x faster with Jasper's AI tools and templates.https://gambrill.com/jasper . 8:10 "Coronavirus 2022: It Doesn't Matter What You Think - It Matters How You Respond" - Episode 21 of the "Unleash the Awesome" podcast with Dave Gambrill.https://gambrill.simplecast.com/episodes/coronavirus-2020-it-doesnt-matter-what-you-think-it-matters-how-you-respond . 12:35 "Now, Discover Your Strengths" - by Don Clifton and Gallup (followup to Strengths Finders).https://amzn.to/3zSn4bR . 13:44 "The best investment you can make is in yourself." - Dave Gambrill 13:46 Warren Buffet says investing in a Dale Carnegie public speaking changed his life. - YouTubehttps://youtu.be/k7gXaPY524I?t=30 . . . . . . . . .  Want some help deciding what tech tools to use in your business? Check out Tech Tools Tuesday.https://gambrill.com/ttt . Come join the conversation in our communities... Digital Marketing Mentorship with Dave Gambrill Facebook Grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/dmmdavegambrill . Digital Marketing Mentorship with Dave Gambrill Telegram Channelhttps://gambrill.com/telegramdmm . And let me know what you thought of this episode and what you'd like me cover in future episodes over on Instagram.https://www.instagram.com/gambrill/ .  #unleashawesome #mindset #personalgrowth #toolset #entrepreneur #success #skillset  #publicspeaking #digitalmarketing #coaching  #trainer #creatoreconomy #process #systems  #gambrill #davegambrill  #warrenbuffett #investing #psychology #dalecarnegie #strengthsfinder #gallup #ryanholiday #discipline #personaldevelopment #talentdevelopment #audible #jasperai #jasperart #artificialintelligence #copywriting #jimrohn   CONSUMER NOTICE: You should assume that I have an affiliate relationship and/or another material connection to the providers of goods and services mentioned in this broadcast and may be compensated when you purchase from a provider. You should always perform due diligence before buying goods or services from anyone via the Internet or offline.

It's another question from "Deep Talk: A year's worth of daily questions generated by a machine" by John Bohannon, Director of Science, Primer.ai (We changed it a little bit from the original question...)"These 365 questions were generated using GPT-J-6B, an autoregressive language model trained on 800 GB of internet text. The prompts used for the generation were randomly shuffled samples of human-written questions."  -https://primer.ai/deep-talk-questions/ What Do You Love About Your Job?...which turned into How Did You End Up in Your Career?The ladies have followed very different paths to find the jobs and careers that finally fulfilled them. It is a testament to the idea that not everyone knows what they want to do or what their gifts truly are as a teenager. It takes time and experiences to help open our eyes to the possibilities. Life is a journey...that doesn't follow a straight line. Listen to how Heather and Vanessa navigated the challenges that came at them and forged their way through to achieve even greater opportunities. Not everyone knows what they want to be when they grow up at 18...and that is O-K!Our Favorite Thing:Vanessa recommends another women owned business...Luxy Hair (https://www.luxyhair.com/). Want long flowing hair but can't grow it or it is too high maintenance? Luxy Hair has the hair extensions for you. From halos to clip ins to ponytails and buns. So many options and hair colors to choose from. Best faux hair ever! Save $25 on your first order: HTTP://RWRD.IO/S54XQ61 Please leave us a review and let us know what you love. Like, subscribe, and most of all, share this podcast with others! Things We Refer To In This Episode:Canyon Theater Guild - https://www.canyontheatre.org/ (go see Oliver! 7/23 - 8/27)The Fillmore on Central - https://thefillmoreoncentral.com/Clifton Strengths (formerly Strengths Finders) - https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/en/252137/home.aspxThank you to our supporters: Orange (I Got A Lot To Say About That Theme Song) Original music by Marcel Camargo and Leo CostaBoth are Grammy nominated artists, please check out their music here:http://www.marcelcamargo.com/385194ztbi4uegaj53ypbd2m0w98sg  https://www.instagram.com/marcelcamargomusic/https://www.instagram.com/leocosta1010/?hl=en Website Sponsored by Alison Lindemann at WSI Internet Consulting - Digital Marketing Services (https://www.wsiworld.com/alison-lindemann)Support the show

Have you thought about how your past history, hobbies, and habits make you who you are. They could be good things or they might be soemthing to work on. Knowing who you are is so essential to stepping into your purpose here and the key to finding lasting relationships. Tune in to Lesley and Brad's conversation recaping the importance of uncovering yourself to find your people and change your life.  If you have any questions about this episode or want to get some of the resources we mentioned, head over to LesleyLogan.co/podcast. If you have any comments or questions about the Be It pod shoot us a message at beit@lesleylogan.co . And as always, if you're enjoying the show please share it with someone who you think would enjoy it as well. It is your continued support that will help us continue to help others. Thank you so much! Never miss another show by subscribing at LesleyLogan.co/subscribe.In this episode you will learn about:The value in a scheduling tool How do you get to Cambodia and tips for international travel How to allow rejection to grow youHow hiding your truth is keeping you stagnant and from genuine relationshipsTo be yourself, you have to learn about yourselfEpisode References/Links:Replay of Profitable Pilates Free WebinarBe It Pod Survey!Cambodia Retreat  If you enjoyed this episode, make sure and give us a five star rating and leave us a review on iTunes, Podcast Addict, Podchaser or Castbox.Be It Till You See It Podcast SurveyResourcesWatch the Be It Till You See It podcast on YouTube!Lesley Logan websiteBe It Till You See It PodcastOnline Pilates Classes by Lesley LoganOnline Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan on YouTubeProfitable PilatesSocial MediaInstagramFacebookLinkedInEpisode Transcript:Lesley Logan  And I'm having headphone problems. That's fine. We're good now. How are they twisted? How does that happen? How does that happen? They literally just set them down and then they tangle that. It's like, it's like a like it's like the same thing with your like headphones with Apple. It's like you just put them down and then they're like a ball of yarn. Anyways my virtual problems over here.Welcome to the Be It Till You See It podcast where we talk about taking messy action, knowing that perfect is boring. I'm Lesley Logan, Pilates instructor and fitness business coach. I've trained thousands of people around the world and the number one thing I see stopping people from achieving anything is self doubt. My friends, action brings clarity and it's the antidote to fear. Each week, my guests will bring Bold, Executable, Intrinsic and Targeted steps that you can use to put yourself first and Be It Till You See It. It's a practice, not a perfect. Let's get started.Welcome back to the Be It Till You See It interview recap for my co host in life, Brad Crowell and I are going to have a meet where we're going, we're gonna dig in. we're gonna dig into the meaningful convo I had with Coach Lee Hopkins in our last episode. If you haven't yet listened that interview, go back, listen to it. There's full surprises, full of like, just some really amazing vulnerable moments, I think we all can relate to, no matter who you are, or (Brad: Yeah) what you do in this world. And I've been we traveled a course of their life. And I am just, I could have kept going. It was a little hard. Like, I think we had to stop now. It ... (Lesley laughs)Brad Crowell  It was it was a really well, meaningful convo. But I loved the all the different, actual, like, specifics of action items that Coach Lee had to share. I really enjoyed the conversation. (Lesley: Yeah) It was it was amazing.Lesley Logan  So yesterday, we had this amazing free webinar over at Profitable Pilates. I get a lot of questions. I have, first of all, a lot of people either overpaying for scheduling tools, so yeah, at least you have something. But there is too much. It's not working for them. And so you know, and most of them don't even know how to get their clients to use it. And they're afraid of losing their clients or making them use it. And then a ton of people don't think they're tech savvy enough, or don't think their business is in air quotes "big enough" to have a scheduling tool. (Brad: Sure) And so I just had a really fun time, like, explaining to people all the reasons why you need to have a scheduling tool, what you need to do to search for one, to make sure you pick one that works for you. And then also why mine is amazing. (Lesley laughs) So you can get all of that for free. If you go to profitablepilates.com/answer. And whether or not use my scheduling tool is fine. Like, look, we can't be all things to all people. Mine is friggin awesome. It has contracts, by the way to save you time and money. But I really am, I'm on a mission to help more bodies doing Pilates. And if you don't have all the clients that you want to teach on this planet, you're you're not helping me with my mission. So I got to help you teach other people you want to teach. And it's not enough for your scheduling to be full. I also want you to have a frickin life. I want you to have balance. I want you to time away from your business. And I want you to have clients that respect you. So you need to school, you need a tool. So go to profitablepilates.com/answer because that's what I did yesterday and you can watch the replay.Brad Crowell  Yeah, yeah, definitely. I love digging into this topic because I think the the we've been coaching people for years. And we've coached literally more than 1000 business owners now. And two things come up consistently. One is people are afraid to pay for tools ...Lesley Logan  Of any kind, just any kind.Brad Crowell  I mean, literally fucking credit card transactions, that one blows my mind. It is normal cost of doing business period, there's no question you will pay a credit card transaction fee somewhere.Lesley Logan  And also, that's not new. This is decades old. (Brad: Yeah) It's a write off, pay the transaction fee, build it into your cost.Brad Crowell  It's literally as you can give. So if you charge $1, but you only get 97 cents, which is the way it works. That 3% that three cents, you actually still charged. So on your your taxes, that is considered a banking fee that you had to pay. And it's a write off. (Lesley: Yeah) So don't be afraid of credit card transactions. Okay ... I didn't even take the time to go on a rant. The second thing is people don't look at themselves as if they are quote enough, a big enough business or a legitimate business enough to warrant a tool like this and these two myths, one that you aren't big enough to pay for a tool and two, that you're not big enough to even use a tool. They're myths, they're myths, because you can make your life easier and have a more a smoother functioning business experience when you have tools that will support you doing those things. Imagine being a graphic designer who never bought Photoshop. That's the dumbest thing, right? Of course, you have Photoshop, if you're a graphic designer, it is a given. Imagine being a musician, but you didn't buy a keyboard. How are you going to do that? You have to buy the tools, you have to have the tools to be able to function in the art that you're doing. Right? In the same way you are running a business as a fitness business owner. And so you there's no reason you shouldn't also have the tools.Lesley Logan  And by the way, you can have the tools and people can pay cash, and it's the same price, you can charge them the same price. And so they go, "What if I pay cash?" Yeah, that's the price, I still have to run it through the government, the government still has to know how many dollars I took in. (Brad: Yeah) So you need a scheduling tool. (Brad: Yeah) You need one. I don't care if you teach five hours a week, you deserve to teach five hours week, but not spend five hours additional a week to do the thinking and the scheduling and the rescheduling and the (Brad: the rescheduling) admin and the ...Brad Crowell  and the texting of your clients. And then oh, but one client likes to email you instead. You know, I mean ... (Lesley laughs) Right. It's so there's, there's all of that admin time, it actually, it's not even that it takes a lot of time, because that's the that's another story we tell ourselves. It's like, "Oh, it's not that big a deal. I can deal with it." Right. But it's not even about the fact that you sit down and have to text them back or the fact that you have to email them back. It's about that mental checklist that you are building in your head that I have to do these things, and that actually wears on you, it creates stress over time that you don't even realize it's happening. Imagine if all that stuff was consolidated into one spot, and you didn't have to, in your mind, remember, "Oh, I got a text sounds over here. I got an email. So it's over there. I gotta call this person." Like ...Lesley Logan  And they're like ... (Brad: You don't have to do that.) And also like, "Oh, a time opened up. I had to tell this person that time opened up." No, (Brad: Right) they can put themselves on a waitlist (Brad: Yeah) for the time that they want if you have a scheduling tool (Brad: Yeah) like ours that lets you do it. I'm just saying. I almost went down to like, I was about to give an example. I'm gonna give it to you anyways, we use a project management tool. And they're expensive when you find when to use like, you can use them for free when you're a loner. But when you start to add people to your team, they always charge you. (Brad: Yeah) So and it's like, you can justify like, "Oh, I don't want to spend this X amount of dollars, because I could just tell my assistant to do the thing." Yeah, but if every single week you do something, and then your assistant does something. The amount of time you spent, times that by 52 weeks. (Brad: Yeah) You know, you're talking hours and then ...And what if you have more than one person on your team? (Lesley: Yeah) Right. Like, you know, it becomes this compounding effect and it's the same thing ...And also you're gonna forget because you're not perfect. And that's okay because perfect is fucking boring. (Brad: Yeah) Anyways, we'll talk about scheduling tools in another day.Brad Crowell  Okay. Where did they find that webinar?Oh, you go to profitablepilates.com, profitablepilates.com/answerprofitablepilates.com/answer. And you can watch that replay. It was a great time. One other super quick announcement, and we'll get going here is we really need your input for this podcast. So we really value you sharing with us how your experience, if you've loved the episodes, you know, and if you think that there's other things we can be doing that make it even more valuable for us. We're really interested in your feedback. So go to beitpod.com/tellme, beitpod.com/tellme and share with us your feedback about this podcast so far. This is episode 126. And we, you know, we can make we can make completely sweeping changes. But before we do anything like that, we would love to have you share your thoughts.Lesley Logan  Yeah. So, I can't wait to hear what you're saying. Okay, our audience question this week is ... It's like a little Cardi B version.Brad Crowell  I never traveled internationally. How hard is it to get to Cambodia?Lesley Logan  So this is really fun because this is the response I got to us going to Cambodia and I first of all, I'm so loving that someone is like, "I've never traveled internationally like how do I get there?" I love that for you because everyone should do this. Everyone should travel internationally and ladies, every single one of you need to do a trip alone. And that trip alone could be with me. Because at least you're doing the like like you're traveling you're not like relying on waiting for a partner to go with you or something like that. Like you're like, take your signing yourself up for an adventure. You learn so much about yourself when you do that. (Brad: Yeah) So how hard is it to get there? Well, first of all, I don't know where you live. So that's a little tricky, but it's not that hard.Brad Crowell  Yeah, it's not even I think that the thing that's daunting about it is the idea that you'll be on a plane for, you know, 11 hours or something. And I think that in, I remember, I'm thinking back to the very first time we drove, we drove, we drove across the Pacific, (Lesley laughs) we flew to Asia from Los Angeles, and I remember thinking like, "Holy cow, I don't know what it's gonna be like. I'm not sure that I'm, I'm like, ready to be on a plane for you know, 12 hours at a shot." And what, what, in my head I was telling myself, I'm in the backseat of my parent's mini van, you know, and I'm 13 years old and my sister and my brother are there and we have nowhere to go there's one bucket seat and like we're banging elbows with each other for the entire ride. That's like the that's like what was going through my mind, right? But in reality if you've never flown internationally before the planes are bigger than domestic planes.Lesley Logan  Oh, my God. It's so amazing. I hate flying domestic like I hate it. I, even in Europe when you go from one country to another country that sorta, technically international when you're in the EU, those flights suck too. International flight (Brad: Yeah. They are small.) are better. Anytime the flight has to cross the ocean. It is the best, you will love it and also they get movies that are in the theater. They like like they get movies that are still in the theater, they get the best movies and they serve you too much food. So how difficult is it to get you in Cambodia? Look you will need a visa that is one of the hardest things if you've never done something like that you'll need a visa and a passport. So if you need a passport. But the ...Brad Crowell  Visa, I don't know, if the visa is the hardest part, then traveling to Asia is so easy. (Lesley: It's so easy because ...) Because it was just an application form, it was like 36 bucks, they get back to you in three days. You could even get a visa when you land in Cambodia.Lesley Logan  It's also like, you just go here's a picture of me for my passport and here's the dates I'm coming in. And here's the address, which is my house that you're staying at. Like, you know, the reason why we do the retreat the way we do it is because I want you leave, like take a flight after work on Friday. You'll get there with the time difference on Sunday. And then when you leave our house on Friday, if you decide to go other places I hope you do. We had this one mom who like never traveled internationally before by herself and she did and she like extended her trip with like four other places. But you can leave there on a Friday and be home on a Saturday see the whole day to get back and get used to like your current, your timezone at home. (Brad: Yeah) The the flights are ...Brad Crowell  We try to be conscious of that so that you can like take one week off of work (Lesley: Yeah) if that's what you need to do. But if you want to stay, you're already over in Asia, you can.Lesley Logan  And then hit real quick on this. My trick for traveling internationally is a suit whatever we get on the plane, I assume the timezone of where I'm going so that I don't actually have jetlag. And so like, if where are we, when we get on the plane, it's 11pm at night, our time and but it is like eight in the morning. Y'all if you hear dog stuff going on, these are not our dogs. And so just we're gonna leave it in because I gotta keep going. But the the I assume the timezone of where we're going so it's 8am there, I literally won't go to bed, Brad does. I like I stay up on like, it's the breakfast time I'm gonna have, I'll have coffee right now.Brad Crowell  No. What I do is I sleep on the plane. Like if it's I'll try to assume the timezone on the plane still. So that way I can sleep for six hours before we get off the plane to 8am. (Lesley: Yeah.) And then I'm not like dead tired.Lesley Logan  But my point is on that first leg, I assume it from that point on and so yes, that might mean that I'm like a little like bleary eyed and like watching a lot of movies. But then when it's like nighttime there I sleep on the plane on that time so that when we wait, we land, it's like, "Hey, I've been in this time for this whole time." And so I think you're, I think the, I think we put too much pressure like be build up the international travel be more than it is. It is like dealing. It's mostly like sitting on a long bus with great movies, and then standing in line ...Brad Crowell  Yeah, great movies and they serve you food and their are drinks, come on. Lesley Logan  And then you stand in a weird line and people stamp a couple things and then you're there and then you're there. So come it's not that hard to get to Cambodia. It's not that hard to do international travel. It just feels weird the first time and then you get really used to it and then any flight under 12 hours feels like a breeze.Brad Crowell  Yeah, if you actually want to join us, you can just go to lesleylogan.co/retreat.Lesley Logan  Okay, let's talk about Coach Lee.Brad Crowell  Okay, now let's talk about Coach Lee Hopkins. As a man who spent his entire life seeking connection and friendships Coach Lee has made, has made it his life's mission, to help people feel more in tune with themselves so that they can connect easier with others. He leans in his experience as a trans man to help people change past patterns to live their truth and form meaningful relationships.Lesley Logan  Yeah, I really, I really had a lot of fun as we said earlier in this episode. I had so much fun. I, Coach Lee, I hope that like we get to meet in real life. I hope we get to be friends. (Brad: Yeah) I hope that's not our last time having a conversation. It was just so fun to hear their journey. So one thing I love that they said was, how you allow rejection to grow you. So basically like, there was a lot of rejection in Coach Lee's life like, (Brad: Yeah) abundance amount of rejection. But instead of letting that like just live a lonely life of rejection, they actually figured out, he figured out like, what is this saying, and where am I going and what am I learning from this and it actually helped him grow and now he's doing this whole thing as a coach where he's really using that rejection to to change the trajectory of their path, and it's really, really cool. And it was a ... if you didn't listen to that part, you must listen to that part because it's so good. It's like it's just the best. So we've talked about the book before about rejection read ... I've talked about, we've talked about this before. So we've talked about Rejection Proof the book before, whose, by the way, the update on that author being on the pod, I got rejected. But it's not, it's not, it's not it never. It's just not right now. Anyways, I really, if you have a fear of rejection, I want you to do a rejection challenge. Brad actually has a course on 200 Noes if you need help with that. But it is, the more we can, you're going to be rejected more than you're not period. (Brad: Yeah) So the more you can actually excuse rejection to help you grow towards who you want to become in this world, the better. And I think Coach Lee is an example of that. So, I love that part.Brad Crowell  Yeah, really. It's very much a part of life. Right. Rejection, we all know this. And his story was not just that he was being rejected. But he figured out why he was being rejected, which leads to... What I really liked to what he said, is that hiding your truth will keep you stagnant. And he was very much being rejected, because he was hiding his identity, hiding who he was, and, you know, as a trans man. And I think that was, I really connected with that, because I remember when I was going through my divorce, for the better part of a year, I didn't tell anyone, I didn't tell anybody. Like, it took me a long time to even tell my closest friends who knew something was clearly wrong. They're like, "What the hell man? Like, you're not you right now what's going on?" You know, and I was I was unwilling to share. I was hiding this and after I shared with them, they were very supportive and encouraging. But I still hid it from anyone else. I didn't tell my colleagues, I didn't, you know, I certainly wouldn't talk about it to, you know, random people, when I was walking around doing whatever, I would just avoid that. And the reality is, it was helping, sorry, it was exacerbating this guilt that I had, hiding. When I was hiding this, you know, what was happening to me? I was actually, like, in my mind, that was making it more of a monster than actually even was. And I think that we, we do that to ourselves without realizing it, (Lesley: Yeah) you know, as you begin to embrace the, the reality of these, you know, of who you are and what's happening in your life. Whether that is, you know, you actually being becoming yourself, your true self. Like, like Coach Lee has, or, in my case, hiding, you know hiding something that was so profound in my life, like getting a divorce from, from someone who was part of everything that I was doing in life, it will affect you, when you hide that stuff. By then you when you start to embrace it, and work through that in your own head, it changes the story that you're telling yourself, it changes the story that you're telling others, it changes the way others perceive you. Instead of going, something's wrong with Brad, they, they can instead go like because even if they don't know me, and they don't know that they're gonna pick up on something, (Lesley: Yeah) something's weird.Lesley Logan  People are gonna, people people and also they people want to help you. Coach Lee ...Brad Crowell  I'm not being genuine either.Lesley Logan  No. But ... (Brad: You know when I'm hiding ...) Exactly. And that's and gonna people go, what's going on there. But also Coach Lee's friend is like, trying to give actual advice to make them feel better about their situation, but because they don't know the full story, the advice for that like, he probably was fucking great advice. But because Coach Lee is like you don't actually know the whole story. Coach Lee isn't even accepting the advice. So even if people (Brad: Right) are trying to be there for you, you're like, you don't know everything. So like it's it actually is keeping you from having real genuine relationships and also being exactly who you are. Like you're, it's affecting too many more compartments in your life rather than like, just you think it's all about you hiding something from other people, but protecting yourself but really, it's it's causing you to be protected from any experience of genuine around you.Brad Crowell  Yeah, I mean, specifically, building relationships, which is what he focuses on. You know, when when it became clear that by being honest and open about who he is, then he had a much different experience, building relationships with people. And I think the same thing was like that for me too, with with when I started to openly, when I stopped hiding the fact that I was getting a divorce, I felt immeasurably better as a person because it didn't have this, you know, dark thing in the closet, that was like eating me from the inside. You know, instead, I didn't need to talk about it. I wasn't trying to air my dirty laundry that's not what I mean. But the fact that I was always hiding and strategically maneuvering a conversation to avoid that specific topic, you know, like, I didn't have to do that anymore. (Lesley: Yeah) And that was like, such a relief. And I think that it came across so much in my personality, and my, you know, again, being genuine and, and it allowed things to be easier. And, you know, (Lesley: Yeah, I hear you.) Yeah, she's better.Lesley Logan  And, by the way, that's your, your version of hiding truth that's keeping you stagnant. If we're not relating, you're hiding your truth to anything that Coach Lee's hiding was. So just in case anyone's like, divorce is not the same as coming out as trans. We understand. (Brad: Yeah, yeah.) But I really think it's important that we share ...Brad Crowell  I don't even think. Yeah, I'm not trying to compare apples to apples there. My point is, if you're hiding something, you know, and that, and that, I think is you... it could be anything. And you know, it could could be anything. So ...Lesley Logan  Yeah. I agree. I concur.Brad Crowell  I concur. All right. Finally, let's talk about those BE IT action items. What bold, executable, intrinsic or targeted action items, can we take away from your convo with Coach Lee Hopkins?Lesley Logan  You want to jump in?Brad Crowell  I would love to jump in. How do you know I was gonna jump in? (Lesley: I know.) All right, so I kind of was just talking about not not hiding things. But I also think that on the flip side of that is, be you. Be yourself. Right. But in order for you to be yourself, which I think is like a nice thing to say. I always, I never asked that before in this pod. How the hell do you do that? What does that even mean? (Lesley: I know.) Like, you know, so somebody who actually (Lesley: ... yourself and it's like, okay.) Be yourself, whoo, go you, you know, and it's like, okay, I don't know how to do that. I don't even I don't even know who I am. And (Lesley: Yeah) that I think is the root of it. And so in order for you to be yourself, you have to learn about you.Lesley Logan  And that goes into my like, what I freaking loved. Because like some, I've we've had the beginning of the pod people go, learn by yourself, get to know yourself. It's like, "How the fuck do you do that?" Like, "What do you do?" And I couldn't believe how Coach Lee put this this together with a nice little bow. It is called history, hobbies and habits. So you've got to know your history, you got to know your history, you have to understand what your hobbies are, and what your habits are, because then you know who you are. And then when you can, when you go out to meet other people, you can recognize similar history, similar hobbies, similar habits, or you can go, "Ooh, actually, that habit and my habit, they don't go together. They're like oil and water." So it's like you can actually connect with people on a much better level. When you know your history, your hobbies, your habits, and that might take some time of you actually going, "What do I do all day? What do I like to do?" And you know, if you've listened this podcast, I'm on a hobby hunt. I'm still on it. I'm still still on this hobby hunt.Brad Crowell  Well, one of the things that I wanted to, just take it back to learning about yourself, and the history, hobbies and habits is a great thing to just write all that stuff out, but so that you can see it and it will allow you. Obviously, Lesley and I talked about our dating story where we, we took a test called Strengths Finders. And that was incredibly revealing, as I've previously shared, but it actually helped me define me. And that was like, that was the first time I really ever done that other than me saying, "I'm a musician," because that was how I personally defined myself. But I didn't know, I didn't know me very well. And what Strengths Finders did was it gave me the tools. It gave me the language to describe myself in a way that I connected with finally and went, "Oh, yeah, I'm really good at these things." You know, and then another thing that I've been thinking about a lot and I was talking about this the other day is, we live in the attention economy. (Lesley: Yeah) Okay. You know, we think that dollars is where the that's the economy. Well, online, it's all about attention, eyeballs, ear balls, you know, like listening, watching, typing, participating is all about attention. And what I've noticed about myself is that I've been so infatuated with the idea of consuming information and learning. And you know, like, whether it's a podcast or an audio book or watching TV or you know, missing another Netflix show of which there's eight gazillion, how are you ever going to watch them all? What I'm, what I realized is that I actually, I never leave time for me to be alone with me. And I've been thinking about this, because I remember back in, maybe not in middle school, in middle school I was like a dark brooding teenager, and, you know, the world hates me. But in high school, I actually used to revel in being peculiar, it was very much part of my, the way I saw myself, but part of what I would do is I would disappear. I would just like, I would be unavailable to anyone for like an hour, and what I would do is I would go on a walk, and I would just sit down, like under a tree somewhere, and I would just be under the tree. And I, I remember that I used to do this all the time. You know, and I used to write in a journal, and I used to think, and reflect, sometimes I'd pull out my homework or read a book, but I would, I would set aside time for me. And I don't do that anymore. You know, and because I'm always listening to a podcast, or, you know, the news, or, or whatever. So, when you're looking back at yourself, and you're learning about yourself, you actually have to dedicate time to get to know you and to identify who you are.Lesley Logan  And it might take more than an afternoon of writing down your history, hobbies and habits. And it might take a couple of weeks reflecting on the history you wrote down, and why you wrote those parts down and the hobbies and like, why do you like these hobbies? Like, do you still do these hobbies and the habits and like, which of those habits do you love? And which of those habits do you want to change? Which habits do you aspire to have? And so, you know, it's like, you get to, it's gonna take, (Brad: It's a journey.) it's gonna take you longer than after this episode, like, you're just just and it's ... (Brad: Which is okay.) And that's okay and in fact, like being it till you see it isn't like, you turn a light switch on and like, boom, you're it, you did it. It's like, it's like, you just, you just keep going. You just keep going. So how are you going to use these tips in your life? Tag the be_it_pod, tag Coach Lee, let us know. I know it'll make his day to see what your takeaways were from his podcast. Actually, Michael Unbroken sent me a DM that one of you listeners sent to him, because you listened to this podcast and how this podcast affected somebody in your life. And so yeah, share it with someone, it could change their life. And it's important that we do that for people because maybe they don't come across these things and they need them in their life to go over how to get to know themselves. So tag us at the @be_it_pod and Coach Lee and let us know. And until next time, Be It Till You See It.Brad Crowell  Bye for now.Lesley Logan  That's all I got for this episode of the Be It Till You See It podcast. One thing that would help both myself and future listeners is for you to rate the show and leave a review. And follow or subscribe for free wherever you listen to your podcasts. Also, make sure to introduce yourself over at the @be_it_pod on Instagram. I would love to know more about you. Share this episode with whoever you think needs to hear it. Help us and others BE IT TILL YOU SEE IT. Have an awesome day! 'Be It Till You See It' is a production of 'As The Crows Fly Media'.Brad Crowell   It's written produced, filmed and recorded by your host Lesley Logan and me, Brad Crowell. Our Associate Producer is Amanda Frattarelli.Lesley Logan   Kevin Perez at Disenyo handles all of our audio editing. Brad Crowell  Our theme music is by Ali at APEX Production Music. And our branding by designer and artist, Gianranco Cioffi. Lesley Logan  Special thanks to our designer Jaira Mandal for creating all of our visuals (which you can't see because this is a podcast) and our digital producer, Jay Pedroso for editing all videos each week so you can. Brad Crowell  And to Angelina Herico for transcribing each of our episodes so you can find them on our website. And, finally to Meridith Crowell for keeping us all on point and on time.Transcribed by https://otter.aiSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/be-it-till-you-see-it/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Today's guest is my friend and colleague,  Dr. Lynne Mouw - an Entrepreneur, Doctor of Chiropractic, Certified Strengths Finder, and Enneagram coach.  It felt like the right time to talk about the various assessments that exist: those based on personality, behavior, and even astrology. Do they depict who we are or do they pigeonhole us? How can we use them effectively so that they augment our lives - not hold us back? I'm like you … I love diving into Human Design, Enneagram, Myers-Briggs, Strengths Finders, and more recently, Gene Keys. I think we are all innately curious about who we are and what makes us tick. Am I right?  Our topic today is about how to work with your gifts and discover your innate strengths so you can step into your zone of genius.  Dr. Lynne is quick to point out that “you are not your personality test, you are not your strengths test, you are not even your enneagram test, but these tools are such important ways to find out get some insight to accept parts of yourself so you sink into who you already are in the core of your being.” What I love about Dr. Lynne's perspective is the way in which we can use these tests to see ourselves … truly see ourselves - and ultimately accept ourselves. It's the reason she coaches individuals, couples, and executive teams to see their results in a more wholistic way - to help communication, build bridges, capitalize on our strengths and build stronger, more effective teams and relationships. Dr. Lynne is also deeply passionate about helping women find their identity and passions in their midlife. This has resulted in a co-creation with Dr. Brooke Stillwell: Life After Kids. Be sure to check out what these two docs are doing over on their social media and website. It's brilliant.  This episode is about having the courage to be who you are on any level - and that's something you know I will create space to talk about every single day.   In this episode: How to identify your strengths and weaknesses, and what they can teach us about ourselves. We each have unique talents and gifts, but often we don't have the language or the self awareness to know exactly how we best show up to contribute to the world. Aligning your teams as a leader, how to figure out the strengths and weaknesses, as well how to embrace them.  How Dr. Lynne helps mothers with adult children find their sense of new purpose. Finding your purpose and identity in your midlife.    Quotes from Dr. Lynne: As leaders, people are our biggest assets. The best thing we can do is not project our filters onto others. This part of life can be very isolating. You just have to take one small, but a meaningful step at a time.  If we are not growing, we are actively dying. There is no stasis.    Take Dr. Laura's Free Quiz! — What's your Divine Feminine Sovereign Style? This quiz will help to reveal your soul-guided sovereign style so that you can harness your feminine spark with more confidence and courage than ever before. The quiz is quick but the results are epic — potent, robust, and exactly what you'll need to harness your unique feminine style in a way you've never done before. Get ready to speak your truth, walk in your fire, and own your gifts like never before. 10-Week Signature Program for Women: ROOTS + The Sisterhood ROOTS will help you tap into your feminine superpowers and remember who you are, why you are here, and why it matters. This dynamic program walks through intuition, connecting with your inner knowing, healthy boundary-setting, personal core values, finding your voice, speaking your truth, expansion, self-compassion, identity, your future self, and the frequency of your rise. You were never meant to do this alone. Are you ready to do the best work of your life? Sovereignty, Self-Compassion, and Standing In Your Personal Power. It's time to walk your path. Get on the WAITLIST here. ROOTS will help you tap into your feminine superpowers and remember who you are, why you are here, and why it matters. This dynamic program walks through intuition, connecting Continue On Your Journey: Soul Inspired Gurl / Instagram / Book A Coaching Discovery Call With Me   Dr. Lynne Mouw: Email | Website |  Instagram | Life After Kids episodes Dr. Lynne bio:  Hi! I'm Dr. Lynne. I'm a strategic thinker, reluctant entrepreneur (there's a good story there), voracious traveler and a passionate mom, chiropractor and wife.   Born and raised in Newfoundland, Canada, I should be living a quiet, unchallenged life in my little hometown, but instead I heard a little voice deep inside that told me I was destined for something else and listened to it.  Despite previously never having a chiropractic adjustment, I packed up and moved to Davenport, Iowa (talk about culture-shock) to begin chiropractic school and the best life path for me that I could have ever imagined.   Along that walk I met my amazing and talented husband Mark, who is also a chiropractor. We started a new practice from scratch, learning quickly what it means to be married as well as business partners.  I've spent the last 20 years with a passion for building a world class team whose mission it is to go out into the world every day to equip and empower people to make better health decisions and to live a clearer and more connected life through Chiropractic care and natural living.  Lots of mistakes, tears and animated discussions later, we have built one of the busiest chiropractic practices in the country and at the same time, an impenetrable partnership and epic love story.  Does that sound cheesy?   Maybe it is, but we get asked all the time what our secret is.   Here's my answer: I can honestly say a huge amount of my personal and professional success can be attributed to having Crystal-Clear Clarity around what my Strengths are but also what the Strengths of those closest to me are. This means having an actual language to decode, describe and communicate these Strengths when it mattered most. It means intentionally and purposefully finding out what you are THE best at doing and what truly brings you joy and fulfillment. It means really seeing your spouse or your children and understanding on a deeper level their motivations and why the behave the way they do.  I've invested years and thousands of dollars in learning this language and I am passionate about developing systems to teach and coach others to learn to use it in their relationships with themselves and others.   Thank you for taking the time to read this and look deeper.  Here's to making that next phase of life the best it could and should be, together. “Pick something today that you aren't just able to do; find something God made you to do, and then do lots of that.” - Bob Goff

A big happy birthday to our 40-year old, dad joking co-host, Brad! Join in today's convo to hear Brad and LL's perspective of bringing each of your experiences with you to the next, discovering your strengths and then translating them into other positions in life.  If you have any questions about this episode or want to get some of the resources we mentioned, head over to LesleyLogan.co/podcast. If you have any comments or questions about the Be It pod shoot us a message at beit@lesleylogan.co . And as always, if you're enjoying the show please share it with someone who you think would enjoy it as well. It is your continued support that will help us continue to help others. Thank you so much! Never miss another show by subscribing at LesleyLogan.co/subscribe.In this episode you will learn about:Finding your strengths with StrengthFinder 2.0 Surrounding yourself with people who help create and support opportunities for your dreamIgnore the oddsTherapy, it's like laundry. Do it often.Someone is going to do it. Make it be you. Episode References/Links:StrengthsFinder 2.0 If you enjoyed this episode, make sure and give us a five star rating and leave us a review on iTunes, Podcast Addict, Podchaser or Castbox.ResourcesWatch the Be It Till You See It podcast on YouTube!Lesley Logan websiteBe It Till You See It PodcastOnline Pilates Classes by Lesley LoganOnline Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan on YouTubeProfitable PilatesSocial MediaInstagramFacebookLinkedInEpisode Transcript:Lesley Logan 0:25  Welcome back to the Be It Till You See It interview recap where my co host in life, Brad and I are going to dig into the candid convo I had with John Mollura in our last episode. If you haven't yet listened that interview, feel free to pause this now. Go back and listen to that one. And then come back and join us. You know what I saw something? Today, I was trying to listen to a podcast and it had a part two. And I was like, "Ah, I don't want to listen to part two I want to listen to part one." (Brad: Okay) So here's what you do, everyone this is for obviously, just for the one, the one way to listen to podcasts. But on the Apple, you can actually hit the little three dots, the little ellipses on the episode in your listen now. And then you can actually it'll have a bunch of options that go to podcast. And it will take you to all the episodes of that pod. And then you can drop down one below in case your podcast load up like mine, which is the newest one first, which might be the recap and not the original. Just so you know and just a little instruction, the ...Brad Crowell 1:19  I love where you're going with this.Lesley Logan 1:20  Yeah. Anyways, happy birthday, Brad.Brad Crowell 1:23  Hey, thank you. Thank you so much.Lesley Logan 1:26  It took you 40 years to lift this guy. (Brad laughs) Spoiler alert, I tried to order you that shirt and they're sold out.Brad Crowell 1:34  I'm so happy that they're sold out.Lesley Logan 1:37  I think he looks so cute in it.Brad Crowell 1:39  Oh, thanks. (Lesley: Anyways) I do not need that shirt.Lesley Logan 1:41  Brad is 40. (Brad: 40) And all week long, my father has been letting him know.Brad Crowell 1:48  Oh, it mercilessly. (Lesley: Since ...) Every time I go, he goes, "Looks like you're getting close to 40. What's the name of almost 40?" (Lesley and Brad laughs) Lesley Logan 2:00  Yeah, so this year, my mom turned 60, my dad turned 70. Brad turned 40. And the rest of us are going backwards in time. So sucks to be you. No kidding. (Lesley laughs)Brad Crowell 2:09  No. We're going we're also going to jump off a building.Lesley Logan 2:13  Yeah, you keep saying that. So y'all in Vegas, there is this situation on top of the stratosphere. And you pay a lot of money.Brad Crowell 2:25  The Strat is like the second tallest building in town. Maybe the tallest building in town, not even sure.Lesley Logan 2:29  I mean, it was from the 80s. So is it any of those things anymore? Who knows? But the reality is, is you can see it from space. And you can see it from our living room. And you can see people on the little rides. But ... (Brad: No, you could see it from space.) Yeah, that's what my Uber driver said and that you know, they're always correct.Brad Crowell 2:45  It's like the internet. It must be true.Lesley Logan 2:47  Where you should get your information. It's also the same Uber driver who knew what the inside of our house look like before it was remodeled. That was weird. (Brad: Yeah, that was weird.) That was weird. Anyways. Okay. So you're on the stratosphere, and you can pay a lot of money for them. It's not a bungee jump. It's more of like, you're connected to a cable that's ... (Brad: It's like a freefall.) Yeah, it's a freefall, which sounds so scary. And so a person I had dinner with, I was at dinner with Strong Fitness Magazine and somebody there with just did it and he showed me his the video because they put a GoPro on you. And so he was, he fainted at the top. So in the video he is out, he is falling, his out and then when he comes to, he just screams F U to the friend that signed him up, that 's the video. (Brad and Lesley laughs) Anyways, so that's a Brad, my Dad and possibly some other people are gonna do. I want to say I'll do it, but I'm gonna sit and tell you right now I just nothing's gears. I don't want to wet my pants. That is my biggest fear. Like I pee because I'm so scared. (Brad and Lesley laughs) Just coming all the way down. Anyways, happy birthday, Brad. (Brad: Thank you so much.) I love you so much and I'm so happy you're just a tad bit older than me.Brad Crowell 3:58  Somehow, I think I'll be able to maintain that.Lesley Logan 4:01  I love it. I love it so much. Okay, we do have an audience question.Brad Crowell 4:06  We do, which is so fun. And you can wish me a happy birthday or ask an audience question at the @be_it_pod on IG. (Lesley: Yeah, on the gram.) Just shoot us a DM. The question that we had this week was, "What is the quiz you took that told the two of you your strengths?" (Lesley: Yeah. So we ...) We probably alluded to about 4000 times.Lesley Logan 4:29  4000 times (Brad: Yeah) and just enough for people to go, I need to do that and then not know we talked about. So, this is great question. I love this getting this question because I, Brad and I are like obsessed with with the Strength Finders 2.0. So that is the qu... Is that a quiz?It's not really a quiz. It's a test. (Lesley: It's a long time ...) No, it's like 25 minutes, 30 minutes.What is the difference between a quiz and a test, length of time? The score ...Brad Crowell 4:55  That is a great question. (Lesley: The scores and tasks on your brain.) I think that it's a quest. (Lesley laughs)Lesley Logan 5:02  You're such a dad joke hit 40. (Brad laughs) And now, you're a dad joker.Brad Crowell 5:09  That's amazing. I'm proud of my dad joke skills even though I'm, no, I'm not really a dad.Lesley Logan 5:14  Quizzes are shorter than tests, whereas the test may have 50 questions or more, a quiz ... 10 or fewer questions. And by the way, when I was typing, what is the difference between a queue? It was quiz and a test or a quiche and a frittata ... (Brad and Lesley laughs)Brad Crowell 5:30  Thank you Google. (Lesley: Thank you Google.) What's the difference between a quiche and a test?Lesley Logan 5:35  Okay, so um, so anyways, it's Strength Finders 2.0. (Brad: Yes) It's a gallup thing.Brad Crowell 5:40  Yeah, gallup, g a l l u p, gallup.Lesley Logan 5:43  You don't have to read the book. Although there is a book that kind of explains why these different strengths matter and how different CEOs have put their strengths together. And we were just out having dinner with Michael Unbroken who was episode 100, something. And he was like, "You guys like Strength Finders 2.0?" We actually talked about why we liked it. So basically, for us, knowing our top strengths kind of allows you to realize like, you are a little bit more able to apply your strengths to different things like you might be thinking, you're really strong in this one job, and you're not sure you can switch over, but when you know your strengths, you know how you can switch it, you can apply those strengths in different roles. So Brad was a musician, but he realized that his strengths, were actually things that a CEO or CEO could use.Brad Crowell 6:29  Yes, Michael was 105.Lesley Logan 6:31  Thank you, 105. Thanks, Google. (Lesley laughs) This episode brought to you by not them. So anyways, um, so that's to me why it's really important for you to know also for us, since we do have people on our team, we, we knowing our strengths allows us to hire people that are not a duplicate of us, because that would be that would be a nightmare for the team if there was too many. Brad Crowell 6:54  Well, I think I think I can honestly say that taking this test, this quest 'changed my life.' Because when I was first took it in 2010. I'd been in Los Angeles for only two and a half years. And I was worried. My concern was, what if I don't become rich and famous from playing music? What am I gonna go do with my life? What do I just like move home? And like, I don't know, work at a bank or something? I don't know where. Because I was like, that's supposed to be where the money is at the bank? (Lesley: If you're gonna say. Oh my God. I don't think so.) I think I would be the best bank teller ever. I would be having a party and everyone would be like, "Dude, just do your job."Lesley Logan 7:37  Yeah, you, therefore the worse. But everyone would love you.Brad Crowell 7:39  Probably, the worst at my job. So anyway, I didn't know I that's the only thing I could imagine for myself. And I was like, I don't know, I don't know what to do if like, I don't sell a million albums. And this quest really helped me ...Lesley Logan 7:54  Just in case you didn't follow the quiz and a test is a quest.Brad Crowell 7:57  quantify, what I was doing in life into a, a skill that I could actually verbalize. For example, I was the guy behind the band, doing all the business stuff, booking the gigs, getting, you know, getting the marketing material together, actually promoting it, going out convincing people to show up, when we get to the venue, we'd be there early, I'd be hauling all the gear inside, it'd be connecting all the microphone cables and all the stuff and then at the end of the show, we would go to the venue and then we'd get paid, right? And it was like a whole, there's all these other things that happen around the band, that don't actually have anything to do with playing. Right. And I was doing ...Lesley Logan 8:43  He did play too, by the way. He said he's the man behind the band, but he's also the man in the band.Brad Crowell 8:47  Yeah, it was in the band, too. But basically, I had to do all these other things. And I didn't really, I never really understood that what I was doing was operations. And so when I took the Strengths Finders quest, what made me realize is that ... (Lesley: I just, can you imagine ...) For those of you who can't see, she's shaking her head.Lesley Logan 9:08  Yeah. Now, look, here's this, they're not like we're not affiliated with them ... (Brad laughs) This is not ... the promo. (Brad: When ...) Though it's not the copy. It's not the copy.Brad Crowell 9:18  It allowed me to tangibly identify what I was doing in a way that I could explain it to someone who isn't doing music, because that anybody else who's doing music, like, of course, you're going to haul the gear from the place to the other thing, of course, you have to rehearse, of course to do all these things. You know, it's just part of the game. But if you're not in a band, you might not really understand that and I certainly was not able to properly connect the dots for what I was doing, potentially being a viable hire at a company somewhere. (Lesley: That was not music like just that you could ...) Right. (Lesley: Yeah) And in fact, I didn't end up like the company that I ended up working for was a startup company and I ended up being the liaison between the CEO, the design team and the dev team because of my communication skills, and one of my top five strengths is communication. (Lesley: Yeah) And so, you know, I never would have understood, "Am I qualified to do this?" Well, maybe I've never done it before. But I can tell you that I'm really good at communicating and listening and understanding what they need. And I can go and I can communicate that to the rest of the team. And so, you know, it was just one of those really revealing moments.Lesley Logan 10:27  I think you all should do it. I think it's so important to know. I mean, there's so many tests out there, they all tell you different things about yourself. But like, even for me, I was I always struggled to understand like, why couldn't just do like, I'm like, "Oh, yeah, that's not I could do that." And I wouldn't like doing it. And so it's one of my strengths is significance. I like have to be do some, that means something, like everything I do, has to be bigger than the task. And it drives me crazy. But I also now understand like, well, that's a strength that I naturally have. (Brad: Yeah) And so no wonder I'm frustrated when the task is just like, kind of not impacting the world. I'm like, this isn't this isn't my strengths wise. So it just helps you make more sense of yourself. So take it and then let us know tag us and your top five. We want to know.Brad Crowell 11:10  Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. If you go take this test, this quest because of speaking with us, the you know what, we're gonna put a link in the show notes. If you want to go take this quest, I recommend it. And basically, we want to know what your top five strengths are. So you can you can just ig them to us, ig is IG. (Lesley: Oh my gosh.) So, now really going down. (Lesley: No, no we are not making that a word.) That was a bad one, that was a bad one. (Lesley: No, not and that ... winner.) I can see. That was that was pretty weak. You can just DM, you can DM them to us on the ig. (Brad laughs)Lesley Logan 11:43  No! No, no, you got to make one word up. You don't get to make three words up. It's like it's like multiplicity.Brad Crowell 11:51  Hey, it's my birthday. I can make up words.Lesley Logan 11:53  Happy birthday. I think no, I think in the fine print on birthdays, you could make it one word. Anyway ...Brad Crowell 11:59  Anyway, check the show notes. Really, I couldn't recommend it enough, 'Changed my life.' Okay. So ... (Lesley: Okay, let's talk about John.) Now then, let's talk about John Mollura, a travel enthusiast, ex NASA engineer and a lover of photography. John Mollura left the safety net of his government job become a multi award winning luxury portrait photographer, and he now works to empower individuals through portraits. And as a huge proponent of overcoming impostor syndrome to live out your dreams.Lesley Logan 12:30  I have to just share this I won't say who but one person on our team actually messaged us before you listen to this podcast and tell me all the things that she thought about it. And so way to go, John, the team was listening and talking about the pod before the pod was even released. (Brad: Yeah, our team.) Yeah, our team. Yeah. Yeah. So I mean, it was a great, he's a great person, and we're gonna all all go to Delaware and get our photos taken. (Brad: Oh) But I wonder if he'll drive out here to hang it because that ...Brad Crowell 13:00  Right, right, right. That'll be impressive, John.Lesley Logan 13:02  Yeah, cuz I would like to see how long it's gonna take ...Brad Crowell 13:04  Yeah and he also have helps out with wardrobe selection. So (Lesley: Yeah) you know, you're welcome to come to Vegas and do those things. That'd be so fucking ... (Lesley: I think you can do that on Zoom.)Lesley Logan 13:13  Anyways, okay. So something I love that he said is surrounding yourself with people who have been where you are. So he was talking about specifically investing in people who have gone through where you are, and listen to their advice and past. (Brad: Yeah) And, of course, I love this because obviously, we are coaches and we coach people, on past we've gone down, and But truly, I think so many people are like, "I gotta pull myself up by my bootstraps. I got to forge my own path. I gotta do it like this." Let me just tell you, it's so much easier if you get someone that you trust to be someone who invest your time and money in because you'll show up as a different person. And you'll actually take the advice. Like, for example, we go around and I have tons of people, friends who like have asked us questions, and we'd like given them a little bit of business advice or two, not a single one of them has applied any of it. And when we see them a year later, they're literally asking, they're be like, "I know, you told me to do blah, blah, blah." And I'm like, "Yeah, a year ago, I charge a lot of money for that advice and you ..." But because they didn't invest in it, they didn't put value on it. (Brad: Sure) And so I just, you don't have to do this these things alone and in almost any industry, except for maybe I don't know something in NASA. Someone has gone on the journey, even if it's not identical, even if it's like yes, I'm I'm a Pilates teacher who does business coaching but ...Brad Crowell 14:31  Even the guy, even even in NASA, (Lesley: Yeah) because he basically got brought under the wing of a guy who was like, "I like this kid. You know, he's somebody I could hang with." And then that became John's mentor.Lesley Logan 14:47  Yeah. So I just, I, I swear to you, every person that I see doing something I want to be doing, they all have a coach, they've all invested, they put themselves (Brad: Yeah) around and also put themselves in groups. So it wasn't just a one on one coach, but into a mastermind with other people (Brad: Sure) support them, hold them accountable, show them that there are opportunities out there that you may not even have dreamed of. And so if you are stuck, if you are not where you want to be, then I say surround yourself with people. Well, he said it and I agree. (Lesley laughs)Brad Crowell 15:19  Yeah, I mean, when you when you are around other people, you're constantly ideating, you're constantly growing, you're learning, you're referring things to each other, because you're all doing 'it', whatever 'it' might be. And, and then when you have a mentor, who's been where you are, that's the, that's like really a part of it is they know how much effort it takes, they know, you know, they, they're not going to sugarcoat it, they are going to be real with you, because they believe in you. And they know that this is something that can be done, probably because they did it already. And you know, there they are, where they were, or they are where you want to be. And so you know, obviously you're going to learn a lot from somebody in that position.Lesley Logan 16:07  Yeah. What did you like?Brad Crowell 16:08  So, clearly, I loved the Star Wars connection. And in fact, there's a whole lot more of a connection. By the way, side, total total side note, I laughed out loud when his wife said, your, your your skin looks the color of a, what did he say, wet ashtray right now? Because he hated his job. And he was just like, down the he was miserable. Right. And she said, she said, I laughed so hard, you know.Lesley Logan 16:38  I heard I heard you laugh out loud. Also, speaking of Star Wars, did I tell you that Jason went to the star... Jason Frazell from another podcast? He went to the Star Wars thing.Brad Crowell 16:49  No, down in Florida. Oh, yeah. (Lesley: Without you.) Everybody do that, without me. (Lesley laughs) Damn it J.Ah, that's okay. You can go with John. I'm sure he will go. I can go with John ... (Lesley: Anyways) So, so he started to talk about the story about the Nat Geo. And how he, when he was younger was like, "Wow, how amazing would it be? If I were to be able to be a National Geographic." And the odds are like, you know, like, microscopic, right? You basically, it's like trying to become a basketball player. Right. There's like one in one of their, like, 400 basketball players in the world or something, or in the US, anyway, and professional, I mean. And that, that's like, basically the odds of getting your, your photo published by Nat Geo. And he said, his hero, one of his heroes was (Lesley: 3% chance of becoming a basketball player.) 3% chance. Okay, (Lesley: Yeah) this seems even smaller.Lesley Logan 17:44  And less than less than 2% for women. SoBrad Crowell 17:46  Han Solo has a famous line in the movie where he says, "Never tell me the odds." And And so John had pinned that above on his board, were like, above the Nat Geo thing, "Never tell me the odds." And he didn't say how many years later. But that was always there in the back of his mind that he's working on it. And he's submitting things and he's doing all the things. And sure enough, they eventually published or included one of his photos and something, which is amazing. It is so incredible, is like the biggest bragging rights of a photographer to have. But, you know, since then, he's really taking that model to heart. You know, don't tell me the odds.Lesley Logan 18:29  I want that a poster on our wall. I can go above our new couch goal that we got.Brad Crowell 18:33  I'm in it. (Lesley: Yeah, I'm in. I'm in.) I'm in on it.Lesley Logan 18:36  I'm in. He's in it.Brad Crowell 18:37  I'm in it people. (Lesley: He's in it.) I'm in the downtown if you ask. (Brad and Lesley laughs)Lesley Logan 18:43  I'm sure there's a couple letters that make Brad in there. (Brad: Oh man.) Anyways ...Brad Crowell 18:48  I love it. So that was a that was I I don't think (Lesley: Well, you know ...) I've never really talked about this, but I almost went to college for photography. (Lesley: Did you really?) Yeah, yeah. (Lesley: I didn't know that about you.) Yeah, it was music or photography, and I ended up doing music.Lesley Logan 19:03  And now you do photography.Brad Crowell 19:05  And now I do ... Well that's because I was I've always been passionate about it. And and Star Wars and but yeah anyway,Lesley Logan 19:13  Well, John (Brad: good times) you know, made me think because my brain just went, "I'm gonna take you on the journey out." He said he's go... he wanted to go to photography in college if it wasn't music and my brain went to on Cambodia. He takes all of our pictures. And then it made me think that like John needs to come to Cambodia to take pictures because Peach could teach him a ...Brad Crowell 19:31  Oh, she could. Oh, yeah, our tour guide is a wizard.Lesley Logan 19:35  A wizard. Home girl knows how to use the iPhone in ways that Apple hasn't even taught us. I'm just gonna call it they've never said this. It's it's amazing.Brad Crowell 19:45  And we're not revealing her secrets. You're gonna have to come with us. (Lesley: You have to come.) Yeah. (Lesley: You have to come.)Lesley Logan 19:50  I do love that quote. I'm gonna keep it and remember it and even though it wasn't a BE IT action item. I think we should all like BE IT action item number one, never go look at the odds because ...Brad Crowell 20:00  Never tell me the odds.Lesley Logan 20:01  Well, because like, I think if every single person listening to this is like thought back about some of their accomplishments. I bet you all have beat me odds in some way or another. Right. (Brad: Sure) ... just so you know, the fact that you exist on this planet is a beat of the odds, because it's like one and 72 million sperm or something like that, that has to hit a particular one of them. Like, it's you beat the odds just by being born. (Brad: That's true.) Yeah. (Brad: This is true.) Anyways, um, but I'm down with it. And we should just like put on a shirt.Brad Crowell 20:33  All right. All right. All right. Finally, let's talk about those BE IT action items. What bold, executable, intrinsic or targeted action items can we take away from your convo with John Mollura? (Lesley: It's your birthday.) It is my birthday. So I'm take.. I'm jumping in. So he talks about overcoming the negative voices in your head. And I don't think that it was easy for him. And I don't think that it's something that's like 100% of the way either, because he talked a lot about it during the webinar that he did for our Agency members. But he mentioned therapy. And he said, it's one of the it was a really challenging thing for him to embrace. And the reason is, because he's very self sufficient. Right? So and he made this again, hilarious joke of like, "John, you need some help out there." And he's like, "No, no, it's cool. I got I got it's just a little awkward." You know, and, and that's his mentality for approaching everything, "Do it myself. I got this. I don't need any help." And I think that, what he transitioned that into, to therapy and why he went or how hard it was to go get therapy. But when he finally did, how powerful it was for for, you know, his own self talk, and how that began to make changes in the way that he thinks about himself talks, you know, to himself, and then how that's impacted him today.Lesley Logan 22:03  Yeah, I mean, again, therapy, it's like laundry. Do it often.Brad Crowell 22:09  Everybody needs to do it.Lesley Logan 22:10   Everyone needs to do it. Everyone needs to do it. Okay,Brad Crowell 22:14  What about you?Lesley Logan 22:14  I loved this. He said, like, somebody told them, like, "Somebody's going to do it. Why not you?" And I know you could say like, you can say that in many different ways. But the truth is, is like, let's just because the podcast with positivity, "Somebody's gonna do it. Why not you?" Why not you? Because I say this all the time to our and on Profitable Pilates for our business coaching, you are the only person who can do what you do the way that you do it. (Brad: Yeah) You're it because every single one of us has a life experience that is not duplicatable. (Brad: No) Even if you have a twin who did the entire life with you. You still have different personalities, you still have, like you, there's still different things you resonate with. And so I just, I know so many of you are thinking of all these different excuses of why you can't do what you want to do, or why you're not taking the next steps. But or why even you like who are you to do these things. But you're it,you're the only person who can do it. So why not you? And I just I think whenever your negative self talk is saying like, "Oh, no, you can't do it." And go, "Why can't I do it?"Brad Crowell 23:22  Well, I think that also like reading it again, someone's got it. Someone is going to do it. (Lesley: Yeah) You know, so someone's got to do it. But someone is going to do it. So why not you? Right. So and what I think he was talking about was quitting his job and making six figures as a photographer.Lesley Logan 23:22  Yeah, cuz someone's gonna make six figures.Brad Crowell 23:41  Someone's gonna do it. (Lesley: Yeah.) So why not you.Lesley Logan 23:44  Well, there's photographers making seven figures. (Brad: I'm sure, 100%) Yeah. (Brad: Yeah) So why not you? So whatever is keeping you back like, why can't why is it, why is it that you can't be the person?Brad Crowell 23:54  Yeah. You know, and that, and that's like, what he said was that, that stuck with him. It was a offhand comment from somebody that, you know, he knew and, and he said, over the years, he's brought that back (Lesley: Yeah) many times as, as kind of like a, it's almost like a mic drop. You know, like, when, when, when you're in self doubt, like, "Oh, you know, I am not qualified on that, that thing or whatever." And it's like, well, someone's going to do it. Why not you? (Lesley: Yeah.) Yeah.Lesley Logan 24:24  Yeah. Well, with that, mic is dropped. (Brad: Boom) I'm Lesley Logan.Brad Crowell 24:29  And I'm Brad Crowell.Lesley Logan 24:30  Thank you so much for joining us today. How are you going to use these tips in your life?Brad Crowell 24:34  These 40 year old tips in your life?Lesley Logan 24:35  Yes, because it took him 40 years to get to quest (Brad: to boom) By the way, we are so freaking grateful for you. (Brad: Yes) We really are. I love, I love that we did make this podcast for you. And I love your DMs. I love the way you share these BE IT action items. I love the screenshots you send me. So keep them coming, keep your questions coming and send us a DM to the @be_it_pod on Instagram and let John and us know what you're going to do with these tips. And until next time, Be It Till You See It.Brad Crowell 25:02  Bye for now.Lesley Logan 25:02  That's all I got for this episode of the Be It Till You See It podcast. One thing that would help both myself and future listeners is for you to rate the show and leave a review. And follow or subscribe for free wherever you listen to your podcasts. Also, make sure to introduce yourself over at the @be_it_pod on Instagram. I would love to know more about you. Share this episode with whoever you think needs to hear it help us and others BE IT TILL YOU SEE IT. Have an awesome day! 'Be It Till You See It' is a production of 'As The Crows Fly Media'. Brad Crowell 25:02  It's written produced, filmed and recorded by your host Lesley Logan and me, Brad Crowell. Our Associate Producer is Amanda Frattarelli. Lesley Logan 25:02  Kevin Perez at Disenyo handles all of our audio editing. Brad Crowell 25:02  Our theme music is by Ali at APEX Production Music. And our branding by designer and artist, Gianfranco Cioffi. Lesley Logan 25:02  Special thanks to our designer Jaira Mandal for creating all of our visuals (which you can't see because this is a podcast) and our digital producer, Jay Pedroso for editing all video each week so you can. Brad Crowell 25:02  And to Angelina Herico for transcribing each of our episodes so you can find them on our website. And, finally to Meridith Crowell for keeping us all on point and on time.Transcribed by https://otter.aiSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/be-it-till-you-see-it/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Nobody wants to get to the end of a day, a year, or a life, and feel like it was wasted. We want our lives to count for somethin'. But what does that mean? And how do we do it? Welcome to the Ramblings of a Revenant Alien podcast. Sit back, take a sip'a somethin' bold, and enjoy yourself. Strengthsfinders: https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/en/strengthsfinder.aspx For the searchers: https://revenantalien.com/searchers Follow me on Twitter: @ARevenantAlien Holler at me: https://www.revenantalien.com/contact Support the podcast: https://www.revenantalien.com/support --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

This is episode 1081 of the Arete Coach Podcast with host Severin Sorensen and guest coach Katie O'Malley, BCC, who is a leadership and development expert, executive coach, and Senior Associate Director of Leadership Development, at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and Board Certified Coach. Katie is the founder of (En)Courage Coaching and Consulting where she helps business leaders and executives live their most authentic and courageous lives in the Chicago area. She works alongside her clients to design authentic career paths, effective leadership practices, and courageous workplace cultures. In this episode, we explore Katie's passion for service and journey into coaching. She talks about courage, showing up courageous, and En-couraging her clients to be their best selves. She talks about her work with Womens coaching and career development at the Chicago Booth School of Business. She ventures into a discussion about several diagnostic tools such as Strengths Finders and Hogan Assessments, and the value she sees in these instruments for her work in coaching. Discover more on these topics at AreteCoach.io. The Arete Coach Podcast seeks to explore the art and science of executive coaching. You can find out more about this podcast at aretecoach.io. This episode was produced on March 8, 2022. Copyright © 2022 by Arete Coach™ LLC. All rights reserved.

If you're like me, you love a good personality test. Give me the enneagram, the DiSC, the Kolbe, StrengthsFinders, Myers Briggs any day, and that list can go on and on. But, I've spoken before about the detriments weaving in a personality test too early in your hiring process can have. So today on the podcast we are deep diving into all things personality tests, specifically:the trouble they can wreck in your hiring process, when they should and shouldn't be used, how you can best utilize them to benefit your team, and a stronger way to explore personality in the hiring and onboarding processes.Full shownotes and links can be found at www.joytolead.com/personality-testsJoin the Joy to Lead® Community! We bring together women entrepreneurs building teams from the ground up to grow in wisdom, leadership, and team management through community, coaching, and educational resources so that we can take our businesses to new heights and help our team members reach their fullest potential - collectively and individually. 

Stop living on Autopilot!    Design your life, your way!!  In order for us to get to where we want to go, we need a map. RIGHT? Well...technically, we don't. We "could" find our way eventually without a map, BUT we will most likely take a whole lot of wrong turns, waste precious time, and money too! «« that's not wise or the best use of our time and resources. IF this is true. WHY do most of us do it?  Why do we just "wing it"? »» Hopscotching our way through life, personally + professionally, shifting from one thing to another -- jumping or leaping from place to place -- without a clear plan, strategy or road map?  The answers vary: • lack of guidance or knowledge  • comparing ourselves to others, then do what they do • impatience •boredom • impulse • habit Let me suggest developing a STRATEGY! «« a well thought out plan, method, or series of maneuvers for reaching your specific goal or desired result, personally and professionally!  Having a map or a strategy is purposeful and powerful and there's no better time than NOW to develop it.  Here are 4 simple steps to get you started: Begin With The End in Mind. Decide what you want and where you want to go, then set goals to make it happen. Do this for ALL areas of your life: personal, professional, health and wellness, financial, professional, and relationships.  Determine What You Need. Just like the ingredients you need for baking a cake, you'll want to gather the tools or resources that will help you achieve success. Do you need time management tools or educational courses? How will you be held accountable? What other support roles do you need to fill?  Map It Out. Create your strategic plan. Identify and set goals. Research your market and collect feedback. Make tweaks as needed. Develop benchmarks to celebrate your wins along the way. Determine what steps you will take each day to move forward. Have FUN. Just like the childhood game of hopscotch, make sure you have a blast and enjoy what you're doing along the way. Whether you're playing alone or collaborating with others, look for the good, give thanks continually, and strive to experience joy in all you do. Remember: SUCCESS HAPPENS WITH STRATEGY! »» IF you need help or are stuck developing your strategy, personally or in business, send me a message! My top strength in StrengthsFinders is STRATEGIC! I'm GREAT at sorting through the clutter to find the best route! You'll want to tap into it. Use some of the following resources to help get you started.   Celebrate Everything FB group   Wellness Quiz   Book a Discovery call    Reply to get a copy of a habit tracker... just be sure to put " habit tracker" in your message or the subject line Chat soon!!  Sonya xo   One more question, before you go… Want a competitive edge?  Head over to https://linktr.ee/sonyajanisse and take one, or more, of the quizzes.    Design your life, your way Quarterly Planenr https://www.amazon.com/Design-Your-Life-Way-Planner/dp/B09WM2R8N2/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1BA5YG5I4P5X9&keywords=sonya+janisse&qid=1651493896&sprefix=sonya+janisse%2Caps%2C115&sr=8-1 Getting Started Guide https://www.amazon.com/Design-Your-Getting-Started-Guide-ebook/dp/B09SYR564V/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1BA5YG5I4P5X9&keywords=sonya+janisse&qid=1651493918&sprefix=sonya+janisse%2Caps%2C115&sr=8-2

Join Charles and Josh for the second half of their conversation with Susan Watson, COO of Carrollton Regional Medical Center. In this second half, Susan discusses how hospital administration and leadership adapted to the challenges of COVID, how Strengths Finders has helped Susan lead well, and more.

This week we share about what's been on our minds, including Strengths Finders, grape vines, the call to serve, and more. Don't miss out - this one went in some very interesting directions!

This week, Maria and Keith team up to do a little something different in the book series, and that is to explore the StrengthsFinders 2.0 program which they both find extremely valuable. It's a fantastic book, a fantastic assessment, and a valuable resource that people should incorporate into their day-to-day, and our hosts take the opportunity to delve into it all with listeners here today.   Keith starts off by describing StrengthsFinder and its importance, and then our hosts share their experiences with it. They go on to look at reasons to take the assessment at different points in your life, expanding the information it provides, the story of the Disney Brothers, and leveraging the strengths identified as your organization grows. They finish up by sharing an activity REL Talent runs as part of the program, Keith's recommendations regarding strengths alignment, and his top takeaways from this treasured resource. StrengthsFinders has so very much to offer for organizations and those working within them – listen in today and to future episodes as well to reap its full benefits for yourself. The Finer Details of This Episode:   ·   StrengthsFinders and Keith's experience with it ·   The importance of StrengthsFinders ·   Maria's experience with it ·   Taking the assessment at different points in your life ·   Expanding the information the assessment provides ·   The story of the Disney Brothers ·   Leveraging identified strengths as your organization grows ·   REL Talent's jigsaw puzzle activity ·   Keith's recommendations regarding strengths alignment ·   His top takeaways from StrengthsFinders Quotes:     “I do absolutely love StrengthsFinders, and I love the assessment that comes along with it.”   “It really gives you a pretty in-depth look at where your talents are and how you're able to contribute.”   “The idea behind StrengthsFinders is that you're uncovering where your strengths and talents are so that you can leverage those strengths to make more of a contribution, build your career further, all those sorts of good things.” “StrengthsFinders is not about ignoring your weaknesses. It's about addressing them in a different way.”   “Development is ‘Let's capitalize on where we're strong, so we can take it even further.'”   “It's probably a good idea to retake this because this is not about your personality.”   “So it gives you an opportunity to expand and see that there are other strengths that are there that you may not have thought were there, mainly because you may not have the opportunity to flex those strengths as often as your top five.”   “I use this a lot with our sales teams.”   “In order to maximize your impact to maximize your results, you've got to reach out to other people who have strengths that you don't have.”   “The most effective salespeople are the ones that are trusted by the clients to help them grow their business, and not in an artificial way.”   “Sometimes individuals really don't know what the right role is for them.”   “Don't get hung up on your top five.”   “Start with your top five, don't discount the rest of them, look for how this impacts your personal life, and then watch for blind spots. Make sure that you're not hyper focused on any one area of strength.” Show Links:   REL Talent: HR Consulting   Email REL Talent   REL Talent on LinkedIn   StrengthsFinder 2.0

Kareen and Lesley take a close look at what we do, why we do it, and talk about evaluating if it's still serving you. They ask questions about moving on, replacing yourself in the process, being in your zone of genius, following your strengths. Your hustle should never become a hassle!If you have any questions about this episode or want to get some of the resources we mentioned, head over to LesleyLogan.co/podcast. If you have any comments or questions about the Be It pod shoot us a message at beit@lesleylogan.co .And as always, if you're enjoying the show please share it with someone who you think would enjoy it as well. It is your continued support that will help us continue to help others. Thank you so much! Never miss another show by subscribing at LesleyLogan.co/subscribe.In this episode you will learn about:Evaluating your own role that you're playing in your businessAre you in your zone of genius?Annual evaluations - is this still serving you?Is your hustle now just a hassle?Morning routinesEpisode References/Links:Kareen's podcast, Your Badass JourneyKareen's Reflections JourneyKareen's IGHuman Design AssessmentCliftonStrengths (formerly StrengthsFinders 2.0)Guest Bio:CEO of Revampologist with 17+ Years entrepreneurial and executive experience leading and advising industry leaders in companies of all sizes. Clients include trillion dollar companies like BlackRock to Start Up Companies getting ready to launch and scale their business. I approach each business with a lens on People, Process, and Technology and hyper focus on Leadership to move the needle. I believe when you focus on operational optimization, leadership, and creative strategies, your company can survive any market fluctuation. When you focus on business growth mastery, you create unstoppable momentum in how you extend your reach and impact your clients. As a seasoned coach/mentor/and start up adviser, I love helping people align with their core values that allow them to thrive, leverage lessons learned, and build habits that keep them in action daily. https://www.kareenwalsh.com/gueston - for more info on Kareen.If you enjoyed this episode, make sure and give us a five star rating and leave us a review on iTunes, Podcast Addict, Podchaser or Castbox.ResourcesWatch the Be It Till You See It podcast on YouTube!Lesley Logan websiteBe It Till You See It PodcastOnline Pilates Classes by Lesley LoganOnline Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan on YouTubeProfitable PilatesSocial MediaInstagramFacebookLinkedInEpisode Transcription:Lesley Logan  Hello you, thank you for being here. I'm so excited for you to listen to this interview with my friend, I'm gonna call her my friend, Kareen. She is a coach of mine as well. And she is, well, you're gonna hear, you're gonna hear she has a soothing voice, she has this incredible way of looking at things. She doesn't, she doesn't just like do anything without pausing and asking a question. And in the best way, she shares such a great such great tips, multiple tips and multiple ways that you can connect more to who you are, and really figure out where you want to go. And she is literally the person that changed the trajectory of what Brad and I were going through when 2020 started, in fact, oh my gosh, y'all, so little story about this. So, she and I were introduced by a mutual friend. She got on an hour long conversation with me, which was like fucking just how generous and abundant she is. And then she did a call with my husband. And I was like, Yeah, I want us to work with her. She is our like, missing link to where we want to go and where we want to grow. And we were like, yeah, jazzed about it. We had breakfast on my birthday of 2020. And so amazing breakfast like, wouldn't have happened if I hadn't forgotten that I had to teach someone. I totally did forget. And I was totally at breakfast with her. And then ran into a friend of my friend's new fiance. He's like, look, I got engaged yesterday was crazy morning, right? And then not an hour later, we get the news that Kobe Bryant had died. And then like, you know, that was an interest as like, what an interesting way to start the year and you'll hear cream talk about how she believes like, New Year's is like her birthday, I always have treated my birthday is like my New Year's I'm like, well, we're just not going to see any of this is like, like what a weird time like I had a birthday with a woman I truly believe is going to change the trajectory of where I'm going help me make, like really helped me be step into what my power is. And then all this like it happened. And then two months later, we know the pandemic. Um, we got to... Brad and I got to still find time and ways to work with her. And the question she had us ask ourselves and the tool she gave us are literally why I live in this house I live in. And the reason and how this podcast is even here and how Brad and I work together and how we get OPC into your bodies and all this stuff. So I'm so grateful for her enough about how much I love her. Let me just tell you why you're gonna love her. So, in this interview, you're gonna hear like, just epic tips and questions you could be asking yourself right now. And so if you are on a run, or you're out doing errands, just save this episode and re listen to it. I still want to listen to it now because I do think that some things are going to get your mind going. But no, thank goodness, it's a podcast, you can really listen. And also make sure you check out at the end. She has an awesome tip you can do right now but also a great resource link for you with all of her resources, which I promise you will dive into and fall in love with. So Kareen is well, she is just an incredible light and she is also she's also a amazing strategist strategical coach. So some words that I promise you, I will learn on this podcast as you listen to me. I want you to see your entire bio in the show notes cuz I promise you'll be like, Whoa, what a badass. And she truly is. She's also the host of Your Badass Journey podcast, which I listen to every single week. If you follow me on Instagram, you know, I shared a lot because there's always a takeaway that I get out of it. And she really helps. She really loves helping people align their core values and help them thrive. And you will so see this and this you all she has been the CEO of Revampologist that she is that's her business, and she has been in 17 years of being entrepreneurial. There's so many things if you're not an entrepreneur, this is still a podcast for you. Because I promise you the question she asked, she asked herself every year when she's reflecting and everything are things you should be asking yourself, no matter if you work for someone or you work for yourself. So without further ado, I could just keep going on and on. But I just want you to hear her words and hear her tips about life and what you should be doing right now and I can't wait to hear your takeaways. So while we're here with interview and just a quick second.Lesley Logan  Welcome to the Be It Till You See It podcast where we talk about taking messy action, knowing that perfect is boring. I'm Lesley Logan, Pilates instructor and fitness business coach. I've trained thousands of people around the world and the number one thing I see stopping people from achieving anything is self doubt. My friends, action brings clarity and it's the antidote to fear. Each week, my guest will bring Bold, Executable, Intrinsic and Targeted steps that you can use to put yourself first and Be It Till You See It. It's a practice, not a perfect. Let's get started.Lesley Logan  All right, everyone. Okay, I just, I'm gonna, I'm definitely going to fangirl and also like, probably talk a little more nervously because this woman is one of my dear friends but also a woman that like I, she inspires me each and every week on her podcast, Your Badass Journey. And she has helped my husband and I and our business in so many ways. But she's also just an amazing friend. And I'm beyond grateful and so excited to bring her to you. Her name is Kareen Walsh. And I met her through another friend, this is power of networking. One of my dear friends was like, Oh, you know, you need your life, you need Kareen, you just need Kareen. I don't even know what time of the evening she texted you. But all of a sudden, there was a group text back and forth. We were on the West Coast or on the East Coast. And then within two days, I had an hour long conversation with you. And I was like, Brad, we have to hire this woman. And the way that fate works out is exactly the way it's supposed to. And we got to have an amazing weekend with you. You're such an incredible helper of all all people like but you specifically really do help people strategize and, and really make sure that their business is working for them. But we have so many things we could talk about. So Kareen, thank you for being here.Kareen Walsh  Oh, Lesley, well hanging out with you is always a highlight for me. And what I love the most is when we can like Marco Polo each other energetic like, "Hey, thought of you. This is something that you need to," you know, "just like hug on," or I mean, we were all our dog pics, the whole thing. But thank you so much for having me on your show. Congratulations for launching your podcast. I'm super excited to be able to serve your audience today.Lesley Logan  Oh, yeah, I really have no doubt that you will. I mean, but you're right. I love our Marco's and we you have a dog named Kaia. I have a dog named Gaia. They're two peas in a pod they haven't met but they're...Kareen Walsh  They're spazzing out in energy across the US right now by coastal doggy energy happening. I love them. They're so great.Lesley Logan  Absolutely! They're awkward ways of being on a couch. It's just like, it's like, were they born by the same? They say mom dog? Because it's like, how did you think that would get you on the couch? Anyways, if you're a dog lover out there, you totally understand. So, um, Kareen, you know, we met because of what you do with businesses. And, um, and it's if people who don't know, like Brad and I used to do different roles in the business, I was called the CEO. I was like, the, like, everyone went through and I'm like, I hate this. This is terrible. (Kareen: Yeah) I'm not happy in my business and and just by you giving me an Brad and I permission to the shift our roles and actually step into that in a different way. It's beyond it's been crazy, helpful and insightful. And I just wonder, like, Can you can you check cuz I think there's a lot of people out there who are happy, like they are doing what they want to do, but they're not happy in that. And what is that shift of a of the role mindset?Kareen Walsh  Yeah, so I think what happens when we bark, embark into like, entrepreneurial ventures, right, like or thinking we want to start our own hustle, or even in our own career life, we either feel like we have to do it all because there's no one else because it's our idea. And we think that there's a way that if we don't do it, it's not going to happen the way we want to do it. And I think that that we forget to pause and ask ourselves, is this actually what I want to be doing? Am I am I in my zone of genius? Am I at the highest level fulfillment in it? And? Or do I want to grow into what's next? Like, I think that was part of what was happening when I started working with you and Brad was, you had an amazing platform you had built, there has been amazing brand building that has occurred you're constantly on both of you are constantly on and it's amazing energy, like, that's what I feed off of when I hang out with you both. It's like, what are these to get it from? It's like, non-stop, right? What we realized when there was dissatisfaction or the undertone of, "Yeah, I can do it all. But it's kind of like draining me" or I'm feeling that when I do these things, these specific things of how I plan my day, and do my day because I think I have to do it for my business. I'm actually not feeling energized about it. I don't want to show up in it at all. And then I'm frustrated. I'm showing up in an energy that is not me. Well, when that happens, it's really good to just pause and reflect on where are you spending your time? Does it fill you up? And do you actually want to continue doing that? Then there's the guy with the lens of me as a coach, someone who has worked in so many different businesses helped so many other companies scale, my own business included, and like how I self manage to just give you the lens of what is needed in the business that you're in, what are the roles that are required, so you almost like take care yourself out of it. And if you were to look at it from the outside in, what are the roles required to actually optimize the business that I'm running? And then to ask yourself, what's the role I want to play in it? And then can I go enlist the help for everything else. And what was beautiful about working with you and Brad is that you both have, you're both creators, you both are genius at like coming up with solutions coming up with new ways to connect with people, different methods of of connection through Pilates, like both of you have very creative ways of showing up in life. But then you also have your own internal interests that are very different into what fuels you. So like, Brad, for example, is very operational, and he can like, see it and execute against it. And then for you, you're like, you see it, you want to design it, but you're like anyone else can execute, I'd be happy with that, I just want to, I just want to be able to talk about it, share it, connect with others, and like be in the moment of this experience that we're creating. And when we identified that in our time together, it was like, oh, aha, one of you has the product creation mode of like, this is our brand, this is what we're about, these are the partners we want to work with, this is how we want to do it. And the other one is like, I will run execution of all of that, but we can together be creative. But now you had clear separation of role and both are needed in your business. The other difference too is Lesley, you started your business on your own and Brad had a whole different career. And when you decided to come together as partners, and I why I bring this up is that when you enlist the help of others coming into your business with you to help you scale, you really want to be clear on that role that they play. And when you two initially had started together, there were a lot of assumptions underlying assumptions on how you each needed to show up. And it wasn't until we created the dialog for me to facilitate between, you know, the three of us to say, Well, what this is what's needed in the business. If we look from the outside in, what role do you want to play? And and asking that question, I think was super critical for you both to have clarity, and express it to each other. And this goes for any type of partnership and business and I personally see all team-building and accompany as partnership because it's a choice to be there. And so whether or not they report into or it's lateral, whatever, from a leadership standpoint, you're all partners in it to scale your business.Lesley Logan  Um, it's, it's so fun to like, kind of go back to the journey. And I hope that it even if you don't know who Brad and I are, you just dropped in, this is your first time hearing, it's like, it's important, because you know, from the outside, it might look like everything is just like going on all cylinders and it's perfect. But like, really, that's good, good work that we did. But we definitely had tons of assumptions. And also when you start to work when you start to partner up any time. I think a lot of people do with friendships, or they do it with like another co worker, and they decide to go out on their own. And most people skip that conversation, because no one tells you to have it like you didn't see it happen in the business that you're in or with other people. And then if you are married to the person, it's also very fascinating. It's like, I don't want to be your boss.Kareen Walsh  Not only that it can it can bleed into the relationship. You know, like Jeff and I, my husband and I, we tried to launch a business a few years back. And this is like that startup game where we were, we were launching an app and he was the product creation of it and I was the backend operations of it. And yes, that that is our zone of genius, but the way it started to affect our relationship was not good. So after going through that exercise of launching that company and, and and launching the app, etc, we actually identified it is not healthy for our personal relationship to actually be in business together, we can support each other and advise each other, but partners in business, not a fit. So not everyone has that, you know, ability to have really strong personal relationship and also be in business together. But I love that about you too.Lesley Logan  Yeah, I I definitely think we are meant to do something together. And I think that he and I will probably always have multiple different projects going on. But (Kareen: yeah), I wanted to go back because you talked about self managing, you asked like you, you put out some questions that we should ask ourselves and first I want to go back over those questions. And maybe a little bit about how you came into these questions. Because I think when someone hears it, it's like, oh, yeah, I should ask myself like, do I want to grow into this? Like, when you hear them it's like duh, why am I gonna ask myself this but like, also how do we even know when told us you should ask when I was never trained like, check in with yourself. How are you doing right now?Kareen Walsh  Yeah, most of our work life, right. Like if you think about initial work life, it starts with doing a job for someone now so it's very rare occurrence from a young age that you're taught to be like great something and go sell it. Now it's a little bit easier and more available, I'd say to younger generations because of the digital platforms we live in. However, most work ethics and like how we show up in a working life is because someone else hired us to do a job that they outlined for us to do. When you're conformed under that energy, you don't question. You don't ever question or pause... Is this a fit? Like, does that is this what I like? Unless you are evolving personally to realize that what you truly desire matters. And like you said, for my podcast, it's all about aligning what you love with what you do. Like that's what I'd love to share all these guests on their badass journey. And like showing the fact that what you once might have learned or were conformed to do in order to earn something doesn't necessarily mean it has to fit on top of you for the rest of your life. So there's a power in that pause. Right? There's a power in evaluating and I generally would start the evaluation process certainly happens around my birthday. Like it's, it's more as opposed to like New Year's eve, I consider like my birthday, my New Year's eve like because a whole new year starting. And I used to do this self evaluation for my career life. It's why I had a very aggressive growing career life was because I would always pause and say, is who I've become in this past year, and where I've been spending my time... Have I outgrown anything? So that's something to ask yourself, it's like, Do Is there something I've been doing, but I've just outgrown? Like, it doesn't fill me up to do it anymore. I've mastered it, and I'm seeking something else have outgrown it. Because when you ask that question, you're giving yourself an opportunity to realize, oh, cool, I've mastered that. But I don't want to do it anymore. So now it's time for a growth spurt. Like, what else? Do I and then that's the second question, what would I like to be learning next? Or where would I like to be taking my expertise next, in order to evolve? Like, what do I want to step into? And so then you're asking yourself that question, which then leads to the next question, which is like, well, what is the opportunity that would provide that learning for me? And the same thing happens when you're running your own company, because sometimes, especially in this digital world, we live in this whole entrepreneurial hustle. And we can talk about that too, on how I'm like on the total opposite of hustle lately, because I really am about being more than anything, but that's my evolution. I'm in my mid 40s. And I have done a lot in my career. But it's not about that as much anymore. The point being is that when you answer those questions for yourself, you're starting to set your, your intentional path for where you want to grow into in your career life. And career life is defined by the things you want to be known for in this world. So there's a package of skill sets, you can learn over time, that allow you to have that impact and that earnings or whatever that potential is, but it could show up in so many different modalities these days. It's really asking yourself the question to set yourself on that path.Lesley Logan  So I love that you do this on your birthday. Because I also like when people are saying their new year's resolutions or goals for the new year. I am I'm always very honest. I'm like, I kind of do it on the first like I like around December you know, I do a reflections thing. I love yours. We'll have to make sure we make if you're listening when you're listening to us. Go check out Kareen. She's got this reflections journey that I love. And I do it every month. It's really fun. But I like to reflect in December I do I try to get all my work done. So the December is gonna like what what are we doing next year, like, what fit what we like? And then I use because my birthday is in January. So it's at the end. And I use the first few weeks to kind of try on things. I'm like, do I like this? Do I like this? How's this working out? And then on my birthday, I'm like, Okay, so what are we really doing this year? Like, what are we wanting to do? But these questions, you know, you mentioned that you had you did this even early on, and like it really helped propel you to have an aggressive growth in your career at a young age. And I just wonder like, Was this something that you like, learned from your parents? Like, where did you pick this up? Like, where did you go, "Hey, let me check in and not just like sit in this job," like was there just like a it was an inside of you.Kareen Walsh  So I would say what drove me from a young age was I knew that if I could not figure out like my own financial wellness, then I couldn't create the life that I wanted. And at that time, I had a very traditional type of upbringing. It's like, you know, went to I was fortunate to go to private schools and then got had college paid for even more fortunate and but I was also told that as soon as I graduated from college, I was on my own and so from, throughout all College I always worked, I was like build up experience because when you come from a truly financial privileged background that I had growing up in the area I did where pretty much anything I wanted or asked for I could have had, I was not that way I always liked to earn it to have more value and the things that I receive that is probably more innate than anything. When I, when I took my my parents seriously when they were like, "Look, graduate college, that's all we're paying for you're on your own," kind of thing. I was like, Well, shit, I gotta go figure that out, right? So I appeared, I was also very much a seeker, I think I have an explorer energy in me. So I took every opportunity as like, tools in my toolbox to then go leverage in order to earn the answer is NO to the question of did I did I always pause in and like prepare, right or pause and think about like the next steps. What I was more so aligned with was observing behaviors of others the environment I was in, and how how my health breakdowns, actually demanded that I start to pause and question, how best to do this. Because if you can think about this fear of like not having enough financially to have food on the table, right, which a lot of people go through, and I definitely even coming from, like the affluential background I came from. that's how I felt, when I was first starting my career that I was on my own, and I had to make it for myself. I made some really bad choices that were quite unhealthy. And it took me to a point where, yes, my career was kind of climbing, but my health was declining. And that forced me to pause and really become more selective around what I said yes to when it came to my work life, and my career life so that I could find more alignment around it all.Lesley Logan  Yeah, I like the way you brought up being an observer. And I think that that's something a lot of people could probably try to practice a bit, I think it's easy to just like, look, and then assume and make judgments. And when you when you mentioned, you observe people at work, and you observe them in their life, it immediately made me go, of course, this is why you ask questions, because when you're observing all you can ask questions, "Well, I wonder why they did that? Well, I wonder what, wonder how that's gonna work out." Like, that's what observing is. And it's something that I've been challenging myself to do more of, in the last like, I think it's been about four years, I had one of my mentors was talking about a person who said, well, I and she said to our mutual mentor, she's like, well, I don't be disappointed, but blah, blah, blah. And the mentor said, "How can I be disappointed? I'm just an observer in your life." And I was like, "Huh, what does that mean? How do you how does one be an observer of life?" And like, and it was, it was a fascinating exploration for myself, like, how often I observing and like, what does that look like? And it does change the way you see things? And then the questions just come out of you because your brain is always looking for answers. Um, I want to talk a bit about you being a time bender. I've heard you mentioned this on your podcast. And I, this intrigued me because I'm like, I love creating time. Like I in the book, the big leap, he talks about like Einstein time and Newton time and like, you can actually like create time when you're in the flow. So can you talk about how you became How does one become a time?Kareen Walsh  How would I get typed as a time bender? Well, time bender is the actual term used when you do the Human Design Assessment. There, I'm a manifesting generator and we are typed as time benders like it is this ability to visualize the future what that manifesting energy is, like you're always kind of forward thinking or when you're in when I'm in creation, like solution mode, it's always 10 steps ahead, and then my mind just goes there. And in essence, that's time bending, because I can put myself in that future state and then bring it into the now that's how I define it. That's the manifesting side and then the generator bends time because it's all about the doing and the efficiency around process. So if you could imagine you could speed up time as a generator time bending energy because not only have you seen already where you're going, but now you can help get it there faster due to efficiency, so I didn't really understand that part of me or articulate it that well about myself until I did the Human Design assessment, but I freakin loved it. I'm like, Of course I'm a time vendor like it has never been it's never been explained to me that way. But I so see it now even clearer having that terminology because like, like, we started talking about your sessions and time with me, the reason why we connect so well is because I'm amazing listener. But as I'm listening, I'm actually visualizing on your behalf when you when you're telling me because I'm asking specific questions on like, where you're trying to go. The reason why I'm a strong strategist and help businesses grow and scale is that I visualize where you're headed, and then know what to ask to help you bend your own time to get there. Like I love helping people save time and money, achieving what they want. But I didn't know that that was actually part of my like, my birth energy, because that's how far back you know, these the Human Design goes, because it's based on idea.Lesley Logan  I'm gonna I gotta do this because I'm, I'm nerd about that and I it's like, when you when I did StrengthsFinders 2.0. And I'm like, Oh, well, yes, yeah, of course. (Kareen: Yeah, yeah, yeah) Of course some positivity, significant and woo, like duh. But like, you don't really you don't like it's like, you almost need someone to point that out to you. Because it's that whole thing. Like, you can't see what's on the label when you're on the inside of the bottle. Right? SoKareen Walsh  That's right! Yeah, it gives you a good like language and relatability and understand, I love different tools like that. So this one is just been the most recent one that I've done. And I work with my coach/mentor, making sure that I stay in that stance, because what has happened is that I've been more of a generator for most, I have a feeling to that you and have Brad do it because I think he's a manifesting generator also is, is that I've been too much in my generator side and not enough in my manifesting like visualization for myself, I do it so easily for others. But when it comes to me, it's something that I haven't given enough time to. And so it's been really fun this year, because that's the focus I've had is to sit in that visualization a little longer, before the doing.Lesley Logan  So that's the, I do think Brad is, because I'll come up with I want to see what I am just to see how it works. (Kareen: Oh you got to do both. I did Jeff's too. I did both) Yeah, gotta do it, for sure. Because I, I can get the ideas and he, like, he lights up and all and it's like, I can see it happening in his mind. And then he's like, "Okay, this is how..." like old computers are like printing out, "This is how we're gonna do it." And I'm like, "Perfect. Thank you so much. That's wonderful." But I'm glad that you brought up like that it's you were sitting in the generator side too much and I think, you know, we all have unique strengths. And I think it's easy for us to sit into one or another. And it's like any other muscle then even though that is something that's innate to you, and it's part of you, it doesn't mean that it's as strong. If you don't use it. If we just all sat here all day long, our legs would not be strong. (Kareem: Yeah, yeah) So what are what are some things that you are doing to sit more in your manifesting side, your visualization side.Kareen Walsh  So what's great is that my my coach/mentor that I work with now gave me a format, like a format, where it's like you sit in visualization for longer, and then you energize that vision. And then, and then you enlist for help or start visualizing, like, who do you need in it, and then you start to enlist the help. And then you start doing like it she gave me she had to give me a... generators need a formula, right? Like, I need steps so that I know that because I was leaping, I was going from visual to doing, visual to doing and I will tell you that it resulted in a lot of half baked situations, because I wasn't sitting in the true essence of visualizing it, standing in it. Like in my meditations, I now like I sit in it. And it's so much easier to just play and visualization for longer until I truly feel it like now's the time to act in it. That has been the game changer in that regard for this awareness, especially for this new business I want to launch it requires sitting more in visualization. And really, while I'm sitting in it, assessing where I'm resistant, because previously, I wouldn't listen to the resistance in me and I would just go do. And then that created its own ripple effect of pain and suffering, I would say you know, like where you say yes to the wrong services or you say yes to the wrong employee or you say yes to that, you know, like, because I didn't sit enough to visualize it, it turned into that type of response. And so that's been really great to to lean into more now.Lesley Logan  I can understand that a lot because I'm a little bit impatient, a lot impatient. So like, I'm like, Oh, we got it. Let's just go. And it's um, and I too had health issues early on. I think I probably would have a hustler longer if my health had been like you got to stop because we are not keeping up and and it's really funny, like how your body will start screaming at you if you just don't listen to it. And so I too, and like, I think there was a there's a time for a hustle. And then you got to like, you got to know when to put the brake on and like get into the groove. (Kareen: Yeah) Like taking the site, take the scenic route. And so I I, for many years was not listening to the resistance. And even now I can find myself like going, you should be doing this, like you should listen to what's happening right now. And there's that that's a push pull inside what it's like, No, but I really like that's just, it's gonna be fine. It's like, every time I look back, I'm like, you know that one point, you could have paused.Kareen Walsh  YEAH. SO HERE'S THE MEASURE FOR THAT, THAT I LIKE TO SAY IS LIKE, THE HUSTLE SHOULDN'T TURN INTO A HASSLE. SO IT'S LIKE IF YOU'RE HASSLING TO GET IT DONE, YOU'RE NOT HUSTLING LIKE A HUSTLE IS, IS THE FACT THAT YOU HAVE FOUND SOMETHING THAT YOU ARE SO BRILLIANT AT THAT WHEN YOU SNAP YOUR FINGERS AND WANT TO PUT IT OUT THERE IT IS SO ALIGNED, LIKE TRY AND FOCUS ON ALINGNED HUSTLE, BECAUSE I'M HUSTLING ALL THE TIME. BUT THAT'S ME STANDING IN MY HUSTLE IS REAL, LIKE IT IS SOMETHING THAT IS INNATE TO ME NOW, BECAUSE I KNOW MYSELF SO WELL. AND, AND IT'S TIRESOME TO SEE PEOPLE CALLING HASSLE, THEIR HUSTLE, WHEN YOU KNOW, IT'S BROKEN ON THE OTHER END, WHETHER IT'S BREAKING ON THE INSIDE BECAUSE THE HEALTH MANAGEMENT HAS GONE TO SHIT FOR WHATEVER IT IS YOU'RE TRYING TO ATTRACT BUSINESS WISE OR CAREER WISE. AND THEN THERE'S THE THE ALSO THE HASSLE THAT SHOWS UP WHEN THE CLIENTS AREN'T RESPONDING A CERTAIN WAY IS BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT STANDING IN LIKE VIA LIVE ENERGY TO TRULY SHARE WHAT YOUR HUSTLE IS. HUSTLE DOESN'T HAVE TO BE NEGATIVE. BUT I'VE BEEN SEEING SO MANY NEGATIVE RESPONSES LIKE OF HOW IT'S SHOWING UP IN THE WORLD BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE HASSLING NOT HUSTLING.Lesley Logan  That is my favorite even make a shirt or I'm making shirt and put your name on it because like that is exactly, that's exactly it. There's a difference in the hustle and a hassle. Oh, okay. One more question. Because, I mean, you're just a genius. And there's just so many things that we could talk forever. I you (Kareen: Anything you want) I think it was so many, there's so many tips, go ahead and listen to her podcast, because you're, there's gems every week. But, um, you are one of the few people I know who has a morning routine that's longer than mine. And and I'm also one of the people who like kind of gave me permission, because I had this long routine, but I was like trying to shove it into the tight like I was really (Kareen: Stressing yourself. Right?) Yeah. And it was like, my morning routine is stressful. And then I don't know, one day, I don't know, I heard you talk about but you talk about your morning routine. And I was like, Oh, why don't I just start my day later? And then I have all the time. So which sounds so obvious, but you have to hear it everyone. (Kareen: Yeah, you do.) So can you can you talk about how you started this morning routine and like how it's grown and kind of how you decide to add in things?Kareen Walsh  Well, what I realized that is that if I don't recharge myself and get connected to myself first thing of the day, that I'm disconnected for everything I'm doing all day long. So that was one thing was just like knowing that I had to do take care of me first thing in the morning. The second thing was if I am rushed, like if I have the stress of rushing, I get this amazing pit in my stomach and anxiety forms and my cortisol levels go off the chain. So I had to give myself enough time to gracefully move through my routine to feel myself. So I would say that it wasn't until maybe. And I do this whenever I travel too. But I think I've been in this routine now for almost, gosh, has it been like almost four years, like I'm last year was such a time warp that I'm (Lesley: I know), it's like for, for, and even through last year I continued like it's this, this has become so much a part of me. I don't know how I won't turn it off. I can't it's a part of me. But the routine itself is very simple in that it starts the night before where in the evening, I put my phone on airplane mode. I play my favorite sleep meditation music with a timer on for 33 minutes. It used to be 24. But for now, lately, it's been 33 I don't know why but this is what comes to me and then automatically goes off at that 33 mark and I'm in my sleep and I like to sleep for a good at least seven and a half, eight hours in order to feel rested. Then I do not start my interaction with other people, including my husband sometimes. Someday he'll give me a good morning but he knows that my my morning time is my space until, no meetings basically, with for work related or external until 11am. There are exceptions of course if I'm on client sites, etc. This whole routine just starts earlier. But I wake up around like, 7, 7:30, generally. And then I go into my, I take my supplements in the morning, and then I change and I start my meditation routine. And then I move into my movement routine. Sometimes during that I'm either doing a sorry, in between, I'll do a journaling, like my gratitude and forgiveness is very key on a daily practice, I think to recharge you as well. And then I do my movement routine, get ready for the day, have my protein shake, and then my meetings can start. So I really try to block my time in the morning until 11am. That's just for me. And that's the way I gift myself.Lesley Logan  Thank you for getting granular there because I think it's I think it's people can learn more from that, like, you hear that you're like, oh, oh, I could have you can put, Oh, I should put that order. Or I may try that out. Like you can try things on for size and whatever, like piqued your interest, like, ooh, she's a forgiveness journal. Like, try it out. I think that's so fun. I'm a big I'm a big believer. I actually after we're done with this, I'm gonna have to take you and show you I got this new lamp that does the sunset. (Kareen: Yeah.) And then it does (Kareen: Sunset was nice) the sunset. And then it does a sunrise. And oh my gosh, I have not hit snooze. Not one time since I've had this. And it is excellent because I would just wake up and I'm like, well, Hello, good morning. Like I am the person who's like writing in her morning pages. I hate the morning. Why am I up? What day is it? And then by the end of my morning pages, I'm like, Okay, let's go. But like (Kareen: Yeah) That's how I open my eyes.Kareen Walsh  I'll tell you though, I don't even set an alarm anymore Lesley, like, I allow my body to wake up when it needs to. And it's always at the right time. Because (Lesley: Yeah), that's just how my body needs to respond today. Like it's really only when I'm traveling which hasn't been for a year but what I know I'm on my body's gonna need to get reconditioned post pandemic trying to travel again, different time zones and like be be available to others and other times, but I still do this routine. Like everywhere I go, this is my routine, because I know that if I don't take care of me first, I cannot serve all day long. Which is what my business and just my general nature is.Lesley Logan  Yeah, no, I'm a big believer, I always tell you know, my members on OPC. I'm like, if you don't give 100% to yourself first, you cannot give to others. Like there just isn't like that doesn't that's not how it works. All right, so Kareen, where can everyone find you? Because now they're falling in love with you. And they're gonna want to have way, way more contact with you. So what's the best place to find you on?Kareen Walsh  So if you want to connect with me, and like DM me, I'm on Insta. So it's at Kareen the letter Z Walsh. And then if you want the retrospective exercise that Lesley talked about earlier, is on my website. So that's kareenwalsh.com/links, and you can find other workbooks I have there and other ways we can engage and access to my podcast there as well.Lesley Logan  You, you're amazing, everyone go check that out. We'll put it in the notes. So it's easy to click, but I promise I've used many of your resources. And it has, it's why I have this house here in Vegas. Like, we didn't even get into that y'all. But like (Kareen: Oh that's right) this is is the woman that in the beginning of the pandemic, Brad and I like rewrote our vision for the year. And then not two months later, where we live... like moving, which is (Kareen: It was beautiful) so definitely get that. So um, okay. So I, I really want to make sure that every time I do this, every listener gets some actionable steps, because it's really inspiring, there's so many great takeaways. I mean, you gave so many great questions. But I think it's really important that people who resonate with what you said, get some tips on how they can Be It and I think that being it is anything that's bold or executable or intrinsic or targeted. So what what would you suggest they could do?Kareen Walsh  So to be it to like, in a way where I would add is yourself like it's being it is truly showing up in your truest version of yourself. And so the biggest tip is to if you haven't paused for a while is to take a pause and really use my retrospective exercise. But just give yourself a moment to ask yourself exactly where you are right now what's working for you what's not working for you and figure out what you really want to be doing and come up with a plan that aligns who you truly are against it all because it'll always be out there. Whatever it is you want to achieve or bring into your world is out there for you to have. You just need to pause to see it sometimes and evaluate the direction you need to go in, in order to step into it and and really make it happen for you right now.Lesley Logan  Oh, I love that. Thank you so much. I love you so much, (Kareen: Thank you) Brad and I to just think of you and Jeff and Kaia all the time. And we're so grateful that our paths crossed and we had the year that we had because there was so many things that came out of it because of you. And so thank you for being here. Thank you for sharing all of your wisdom and everyone until next time, make sure that you Be It Till You See It.Lesley Logan  That's all I got for this episode of the Be It Till You See It podcast. One thing that would help both myself and future listeners is for you to rate the show and leave a review. And, follow or subscribe for free wherever you listen to your podcasts. Also, make sure to introduce yourself over at the @be_it_pod on Instagram. I would love to know more about you. Share this episode with whoever you think needs to hear it. Help us and others BE IT TILL YOU SEE IT. Have an awesome day!Lesley Logan  'Be It Till You See It' is a production of 'As The Crows Fly Media'.Brad Crowell  It's written, produced, filmed and recorded by your host, Lesley Logan and me, Brad Crowell.Lesley Logan  Kevin and Bel at Disenyo handle all of our audio editing and some social media content.Brad Crowell  Our theme music is by Ali at APEX Production Music. And our branding by designer and artist, Gianfranco Cioffi.Lesley Logan  Special thanks to our designer Jaira Mandal for creating all of our visuals (which you can't see because this is a podcast) and our digital producer, Jay Pedroso for editing all the video each week so you can.Brad Crowell  And the Meridith Crowell for keeping us all on point and on time.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/be-it-till-you-see-it/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Team Building, Strategy, New Hire Orientation all can benefit from the use of personality profile tools like Strengths Finders. If you have not heard of this tool, it's in over 500 countries in 50 different languages and gives credit union employees and their managers a common language that describes their God given talents and helps to break down barriers and build trust on teams old and new.  VLN Fall Class got the assignment of listening in to see if you can use SF assessments for Strategy and Team Building before their upcoming leadership development program- a hello to the Fall class of 2021! Finally we got to play my favorite game (Scott) What's in the box which is probably my favorite game because it's my box and I know what's in it :) Also it's made of birch wood...I digress. To get yourself the free assessment (full 34) and a free one on one coaching session ($100 value) Book time on my calendar here https://go.oncehub.com/ServiStarConsulting

Personal Branding Expert, Mike Kim, Discusses His Bestselling Book, You Are The Brand Mike Kim is a brand strategist for business thought leaders, coaches, and authors who want to create impact with their ideas and get their message heard. Mike's refreshing approach has made him a sought-after speaker, online educator, and consultant for top thought leaders. Mike's clients include New York Times bestselling authors and other experts featured on PBS, TED, CNN, and Fox. Mike has been featured in and written for Inc., Entrepreneur, and The Huffington Post. Mike is the author of the best-selling book, You Are the Brand: The 8-Step Blueprint to Showcase Your Unique Expertise and Build a Highly Profitable, Personally Fulfilling Business. He is also the host of the top-rated and ranked podcast, The Brand You Podcast. He has spoken at industry-leading events including Social Media Marketing World, Tribe Conference, and Podcast Movement. He has been a guest on leading podcasts like Smart Passive Income, Marketing Made Simple, and Read to Lead. He lives in Alexandria, VA. Get the Bestselling You Are The Brand Book (no affiliate on this. I just love the book.) youarethebrandbook.com Connect with Mike Website: mikekim.com Instagram: @mikekimtv Facebook: facebook.com/mikekimtv Twitter: twitter.com/mikekimtv LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikekimtv/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/youarethebrand Episode Transcript 7-12-21 Mike Kim [00:00:00] Mike Kim: [00:00:00] This may sound super obvious, but no one really says this is that you can't just go out on eBay or Craigslist and buy a personal brand. You can't buy a Bernay Brown's influence. You can't buy Tony Robbins influence. Even if you were to acquire the rights to their intellectual property and their customer databases, their social media. [00:00:20] You can't buy it. It, when it comes to this, this, this thing called a personal brand, everyone starts from zero. [00:00:32] Izolda Trakhtenberg: [00:00:32] Hi and welcome to the innovative mindset podcast. I'm your host. Izolda Trakhtenberg. On the show. You get my conversations with peak performing thought leaders, creatives, and entrepreneurs. We explore how you can innovate through creativity, compassion, and collaboration. I believe that innovation combined with compassion and creative thinking can save the world and I aim to bring you ways. [00:00:55] You can do it too. If you're enjoying the show, I'd be super grateful. If you could support it by [00:01:00] buying me a cup of coffee, you can buy me a cup of@buymeacoffee.com slash Izolda tea. And now let's get on with the show. [00:01:17] Hey there and welcome to the innovative mindset podcast. My name is Izolda Trakhtenberg. I am thrilled that you're here and I'm so happy and thrilled and honored. To bring you this week's guest. Mike Kim is a speaker and marketing strategist, and that is putting it lightly, who specializes in brand strategy and copywriting. [00:01:34] He's been hired by some of today's most influential thought leaders, brands, including John Maxwell, Donald Miller, Suzanne Evans, and capital. For years, he was the chief marketing officer of a successful multi-million dollar company near New York city. Nowadays, you're going to find him speaking at conferences, looking for the next great place to scuba dive, which I love or sipping a glass of Macallan 15, which I also love all while teaching everything. [00:01:59] He knows [00:02:00] about branding, entrepreneurship, and life through his hit podcast brand. You Mike, I'm so thrilled that you're here. Thank you so much for being here. Well, [00:02:08] Mike Kim: [00:02:08] There's is all of the thank you for having me. Uh, it is a pleasure to be here. I hope to add some value to you today and to all of our listeners. [00:02:15] And I knew you were a good woman of taste Macallan 15 is the way to go. Nothing. [00:02:22] Izolda Trakhtenberg: [00:02:22] Yeah, absolutely. It's so smooth. Okay. We could, we could talk a whiskey till the cows come home, but let's not do that. Uh, so talk to me about what's going on with you. You have a brand new book you're first coming out. [00:02:36] Tomorrow. Talk to me about you are the brand, which I love as the title. What prompted you to write the book? [00:02:45] Mike Kim: [00:02:45] Well, it's funny. And thank you for allowing me to share a little bit about this. Um, it's funny. Cause I signed a book deal about five years ago. I was supposed to write this book five years ago. My publisher assigned me five years ago and then my, my personal life went sideways, [00:03:00] um, a little bit and I just had no creative energy to write the book. [00:03:03] And, um, every ear that passed since then, you know, I was kind of getting my bearings in life and in business and all that sort of thing. Um, last year happens, right? The quarantines, the lockdowns and everything, you know, I travel a lot. Um, and of course that came, you know, much to a halt and I thought about it. [00:03:27] What am I going to do this year? And I had a friend tell me, because I had done a lot of little things. I've built a lot of programs and stuff like that, but I found myself getting a little frustrated cause I was felt like I was a hamster on the, on the wheel running around and he said to me, Hey, um, you do a lot of things. [00:03:44] You're, you're very busy. You're always kind of moving on the move, but you know, it's really fun to build things, to build things that last a long time. And he's a multiple time bestselling author. And he shared that with me and [00:04:00] said, you know, maybe this is the time you build a book. I mean, you don't have to do it this year, but you know, it's fun to build things, build things that will take in last years. [00:04:10] And I really took that advice to heart. Hunkered down, call my publisher back, hired a book, coach hired several coaches and just started writing. And I was like, if there's anything I walk out of from this year of being locked down because of the current virus and all that, it's going to be a book. And that's, that is the hard and fast truth of it. [00:04:32] I mean, I think there are a lot of books that never make it to the light of day because their authors, uh, decide to give up. Um, and I did that for a while, but, um, I was like, this will be the year that I really, really, you know, put this into play and I'm really glad I did. So that's why I wrote it. [00:04:50] Izolda Trakhtenberg: [00:04:50] Oh, that's fantastic. [00:04:51] I love it. And here, here, there so much of what you just said made me go high. I have to ask all these questions in here. The, the, the [00:05:00] one that sticks in my head though, is. There is this, this notion that we can, that we can do something, but then there's the imposter that goes, you really can't do this. You, you know, the little voice inside your head, that's tap, dancing and telling you not to. [00:05:17] And it sounds like you had some strategies that allowed you to go, you know what? No, I I've gone through all sorts of infernos and now I'm coming out the other side and I'm going to do that. Did you have a voice inside your head? And if so, what did that voice. [00:05:32] Mike Kim: [00:05:32] The voice. So the biggest, I, you know, there's a lot there. [00:05:37] Um, I would say after I finished the book, uh, but I don't think it was a joke. I was like, this is like the third hardest thing I've ever done in my life. And partially it was because I was writing about a time in my life that was really difficult to revisit. Um, my life turned out very different than I thought it would all those years ago when I first signed this book. [00:05:59] Um, [00:06:00] secondly, my writing style changed over the years because I had been a blogger. I had written stories and you know, a lot of that stuff, but the last five, six years I've really spent more as a copywriter in the marketing space, which is to make sales. And when I sat down to write this book, It was a completely different discipline of writing. [00:06:24] Actually, one of my friends, Karen Anderson, who was, who served as a book coach for me through the process. She's like, she's known me for a long time. She said, Hey, your book has no heart in it. She's like, it's got great facts. The frameworks. It's got great information, but I need some more of your personality in this, right? [00:06:44] The warmth that is, you know, who you are. I need the humor. I need a little bit more story, you know, to contextualize it. In the, in the entire book really is about that journey. From how I reinvented myself, I had walked away from a [00:07:00] pretty established career, stepped into a new career, got a job as the chief marketing officer, as you mentioned for that company. [00:07:06] And then within two years, I left to start my own business. So really that three to four year period of my life was very turbulent. I look back on it now and just like, I don't know how I survived that or what I did. When I look back on what I intuitively did. The good things that I did. That's what made it into the book. [00:07:26] And all these years, since I've tested these frameworks, tested how to coach people in building a personal brand. And I'm actually really glad that the book is coming out now because it is, you know, two grades better than what it would have been five years ago. Um, and you can't mess with the timing. I mean, just in the last year and a half, we've all experienced this locked down and shut down and. [00:07:50] People are really rethinking work. They're working from home a lot more, and it is the perfect time for this book to come out. So I'm very, very grateful [00:08:00] for all those things. But yeah, there were definitely voices that were like, this is a pain. I hate this. This is like slogging through mud. And I just kept on putting one foot in front of the other and doing it. [00:08:09] Izolda Trakhtenberg: [00:08:09] And you know, it's funny that you say that, that the voices were saying, this is a pain you're going through molasses when you're in the stew, when you're in it. And you're, and you're just like, I just have to put one foot in front of the other. Do you have any practices, anything that you do that goes, okay, I'm going to get my head back in the game. [00:08:28] I'm going to get myself right to do this, or is it just survive at all costs for [00:08:32] Mike Kim: [00:08:32] you? Hmm. Well, one of the things that I really did was, um, stop trying to do it the right way because. When I have all these friends who are authors and they're like, oh yeah, I use this Scrivener program. It's like some software program that people write books in. [00:08:50] Right. And I'm like, okay, fine. I'll use that. Oh yeah. It makes it so easy. And I'm like sitting there on my computer is old and I'm like, I don't know how to use this program. I've never used this before. My job is [00:09:00] not to learn how to use using your program is to write a book. Right. So I stopped doing that. [00:09:04] Then I was like, okay, well I just got to tough it out, but in seat, that's what I heard all the time. BIS, but in C. Get just start writing and then I'd sit down at my computer and I wouldn't write. And I realized it's because I was on my computer all day because the zoom calls. So I hated sitting. On like sitting at my computer, it just, it just drove me crazy. [00:09:26] Right. So then I try to write in, in bed with my laptop and that wasn't good either. Cause I was like, okay, this time. So this is, this is crazy. What I actually did was I took everything out of these, you know, godforsaken programs. Everyone was telling me, you use dumped everything into Google docs and just started writing the book on my phone. [00:09:45] And I would chip away at it. I, I, once I live in Virginia, just outside of Washington, DC right now, and as soon as a couple of places opened back up, you know, bars, restaurants, whatnot, I would go out, I would call an [00:10:00] Uber. I would clack away on my phone and in Google docs in the 20, 30 minutes in the Uber sit down at the bar. [00:10:09] And just collect oil on my phone. And I just chipped away at this thing over the course of like probably nine or 10 months and just kept refining, kept refining, getting, setting it into the editor, getting feedback, you know, refining, refining, refining. And that was really the first and most important thing I had to find out what worked for me and be okay with that. [00:10:33] The second thing I think I really had to do, um, to, to push through that was to, um, create deadlines that I definitely had to stick with. Like I told the publisher, here's the release date I want. I went ahead and had the meeting with the publishers and the, okay. We've all decided it's going to come out July 13th. [00:10:52] Right. I'm like, sure. And I mean, every step of the way, they're like, we cannot print your book. If you don't get this in, by this day. [00:11:00] And those self-imposed deadlines are actually how I work whenever. And this is just how I've worked in business. Anytime that I've really needed to get something done, I've made promises to other people that have it'll be done. [00:11:13] And that has forced me. To take action. Those deadlines have driven action. Um, I'm very grateful to my publisher Morgan James fellowship. They were very patient with me, you know, um, in a lot of ways, uh, I was picky about the artwork. I was picky about the typeface in the book and all that, but all this is. [00:11:35] It's a journey as a creative, it's a journey as a leader, it's a journey as a journey in self-expression, um, to really understand yourself more. I feel so much better equipped if I ever write another book again, which I probably will, but I've learned a lot about myself through this process. [00:11:54] Izolda Trakhtenberg: [00:11:54] I'm taking all that in for a second, because there was so much in what you just said. [00:11:58] It's so [00:12:00] I love, love, love, love, love that you said that how much you learned about yourself as part of writing the book and, and it, and it's funny to me that you said that it took patients on the part of your publisher because you were picky about things and I'm like, well, I've written six books. By gum, you better be picky. [00:12:17] It's your baby, you know, and believe me when you hold it for the first time, it's going to be amazing. I wrote this, but, but yet this, this notion of learning a lot about myself, I CA I keep, you know, this is the innovative mindset podcast. So I keep coming back to that. What, what did you learn? What was the thing that changed from, from before you wrote the book to when. [00:12:41] Gave it to the publisher and said it's finished. What was, what was the transformation inside you? [00:12:47] Mike Kim: [00:12:47] I think the biggest thing for me with that was, um, understanding this is a little bit more out there. Um, When quarantines [00:13:00] first happened, bend, it really slowed my life down. Like it did for a lot of other people. [00:13:05] And I thought I had this dream one day, or like, I don't know, just, just one of these meditative experiences about what I really wanted to do with my life. And I realized, I was like, I don't know that I'm doing it yet. Or maybe that changes who knows. Right. And I said to myself, what do. Will really live on after I'm gone. [00:13:29] And again, this is framed by what my friend Jeff told me, you know, it's fun to build things, build things that lasts. And as I was writing this book, I realized, you know what, my nephews are going to read this. They're going to read this if they want to, it'll be there. You know, even after I'm long gone, you know, they're five years old and three years old right now. [00:13:48] And, uh, When I had that kind of experience that this little dream thing, you know, one of those in between waking and sleeping moments, I was like, I just want to write stories. I [00:14:00] just want to tell stories. Stories are what live on. We live. We read stories from hundreds of years ago that were written thousands of years ago. [00:14:06] These stories have been written and we still repurpose and reinterpret and re-express them today. So while I love marketing and I love business coaching, I, I felt very strongly what I really wanted to do later on tap back into telling stories in writing. The book has opened up or reignited part of my creative muscle to, to write, to just write for the sake of, uh, sharing my thoughts, sharing my, um, feeling feelings, but also holding space and creating space for other people. [00:14:43] So, right. Um, not too long ago, um, back in March, when, you know, there were a lot of crazy events going on in the county. And there was a shooting in Atlanta of many Korean women. Um, working out this massage probably really impacted [00:15:00] me because I was like these women, like my mom's age, you know, there's a lot of anti-Asian hate going on. [00:15:05] And I wrote an article it's old, it's just on my blog and it went viral thousands and thousands, and thousands of people read this. And, um, the feedback I got was just as, if not more fulfilling, Than the feedback I got from my clients. Hey, thanks for helping me discover my voice or giving me clarity on my marketing strategy. [00:15:29] But I realized with just a few strokes on the keyboard, I could really create space and hold space for people. Or for the world at large. And I, I don't know what that looks like yet. Right. I've just published the book comes out tomorrow. Right. But, um, and I'm not in a rush to leave the business and marketing space, but I'm starting to get an inkling of what I might want to do in the next phase of my life. [00:15:53] And that's been really funny. I don't think it would have happened. Had it not been for writing this [00:16:00] book. [00:16:03] Izolda Trakhtenberg: [00:16:03] I, I love the notion that it's opening, opening that part of you almost up again. You're such a creative person in all ways that I've seen, you know, you're one of my teachers I've learned so much from you and, and yet, uh, and not yet, but, and also. Having having, uh, learning something like marketing and business from someone who is a creative, like you is so fulfilling and inspiring. [00:16:31] And at the same time, this is a strange question because we who are in sort of the entrepreneur space, forget that most people aren't in it. Right. But if you want to further a cause or a business, it seems. It's a great idea to, to, to build that brand. And so I guess the question is how much do you think your personal brand, you might, Kim, your personal brand will, uh, help your [00:17:00] efforts in that next phase? [00:17:01] Whenever that comes you, you may not be in a hurry to leave the personal brand business, but when that next phase comes, how much of what you've built already? We'll help you move forward. [00:17:13] Mike Kim: [00:17:13] Okay. I think it helps a lot. And this is one of the concepts that I cover in the book. Um, the path of the personal brand, right. [00:17:21] And, um, one of the most unique and challenging things about building a business around my self. You know, w which I've done and you've done. Um, certainly as well. Uh, we hear this phrase personal brand thrown out around a lot. And, um, my best attempt to define what a personal brand is, is basically a public identity you've crafted for an express purpose. [00:17:43] Right. Um, and it's a confluence of your ideas, your expertise, your reputation, and your personality. That's, that's an identity, all those things in one. And the funny thing that I've seen in this space, And this may sound super obvious, but no one really says this is that you can't just go out [00:18:00] on eBay or Craigslist and buy. [00:18:02] A personal brand, you can't buy a Bernay Brown's influence. You can't buy Tony Robbins influence. Even if you were to acquire the rights to their intellectual property and their customer databases, their social media accounts, you can't buy it when it comes to this, this, this thing called a personal brand. [00:18:23] Everyone starts from zero. So. Um, when people talk about starting a brand or they, they ask me, you know, how should I start, um, building a brand, um, I asked a lot of them, well, what do you want it to do for you? And they, they often say, this is all they said, well, I want to do whatever I want. And they want to like live in this magical place, which I've since dubbed the land of whatever I want. [00:18:49] And they'll say things like, oh, look at the rock, Dwayne Johnson, you or Oprah, or Carrie Vaynerchuk or Joe Rogan. They can make money doing anything they want. And [00:19:00] what most people don't understand is that there is a path to a place of that kind of influence. That these folks have reached, but it requires that you walk through this really lonely place that I call the valley of focus. [00:19:13] So I can, I can jump into this if that's cool, because I think this will be fun for us to talk about. So, um, you know, let's say you start your journey, you write blog posts, you share some inspirational quotes on social media. You start a new podcast. And unfortunately it doesn't really feel like anyone's listening and this is totally. [00:19:30] Right. Your friends, your family, your colleagues. They're a bit confused by what you're doing in some even stuff following you online, because they're like, what is Mike doing? What is this all to doing? And you feel more alone than ever. And, uh, great news. You're now in the valley of focus and in this valley of focus, you whittle down all of your random ideas. [00:19:51] To focus on one topic, one idea or one market, and you decide, you know, whether you're going to specialize in, you know, helping [00:20:00] people get healthy or you'll make more money or build better relationships. You narrow your focus even further to, to determine what you're going to do in that particular market marketing is a big market, right? [00:20:10] So I had to like narrow that down and say, I'm going to help people with personal branding and copywriting writing their words. And you start to slowly understand much like a nightclub or dance club. You can't play five different types of music and expect like everyone to come to your place. Right. They just don't mix. [00:20:29] You have to have clarity. So I experienced this when I started in business and marketing, probably 90% of the people who follow me just start. Right. A few of them followed me. Um, as I stepped out into this venture, um, but what happens is when you stay focused and you get more narrowed down, um, you become known for a few things and then just eventually, you know, one or two things, but strangely enough, this attracts other influential [00:21:00] people to you who have followings of their own. [00:21:03] And because of that clarity, they may hire you. They may give you a platform. They meet you. Opportunity to speak to their audience about your area of expertise and lo and behold, a bunch of their followers just start following you. Right? And then some other influential person who sees that influential person. [00:21:19] Number one, connected with you, asks you to speak to their audience and boom, the phenomenon happens all over again, and you're starting to gain an audience, build an audience or gain followers rapidly, much more. And your, your story of becoming this rising star and over time. And this is where I feel like I'm starting to step into over time. [00:21:41] Over many years, your audience keeps following you. Not just because of what you know, but because you have who you are, you're not just building a brand, you're becoming your brand. That's the message of the book. You are the brand, right? Because of all this focus, your work [00:22:00] improves, your expertise becomes established and some of your biggest fans become super fans. [00:22:05] If you will, who will gladly follow you into any of your future pursuits? And if you have enough of these people, they will help you reach the land of whatever I want and stay there. Now I've seen this play out. In front of my very eyes with the rock, Dwayne Johnson. When I was in college, I loved this guy. [00:22:26] He was a wrestler, right? Does that today? Everyone knows him as one of the world's biggest action stars are used to all these movies, but yeah, professional wrestling for like 15 years was his valley of focus. And he didn't even really want to become a wrestler. He played college football and wanted to make the NFL and he didn't make. [00:22:45] Right. So this dude pivots into wrestling stays the course. Most people don't realize this either. They don't know this fans hated the rock. When he was first a wrestler, they boot him out of the building. They hated him, right. [00:23:00] They just thought he was so cheesy. He thought their character, the character was stupid and he just kept with it. [00:23:06] And the WWE, you know, his company started reform as I did. And just starting to get really popular. And at the height of his popularity, when I was in college, I remember this, um, he started to make some movies and he was just so good. He was so charismatic. He was so entertaining. He started to leave, uh, wrestling at times to go shoot these movies. [00:23:28] And what happened is the wrestling fans felt like he sold out. And not all of them were thrilled. He was acting so they just stopped following him. They started booing him when he'd come back to wrestling, even though he's one of the most popular people in the company. And yet enough people, enough people like me watched his movies. [00:23:49] I was a fan of him as a wrestler enough people like me watch this movie. And now I still follow him on social media. I probably have bought [00:24:00] under armor, you know, workout gear because he endorses it. Right. And he can do whatever he wants, the workout gear, the athletic apparel, Lisa, oddly enough, he sells tequila that doesn't really seem on brand for a guy who, you know, works out all the time. [00:24:16] You're drinking tequila, you know, but he could do whatever he wants, but people don't realize. Oh, my gosh, the guy labored for 15, 20 years as a wrestler, he had to deal with the heartache of not making the NFL. This is not somebody who just said, I'm going to just talk about everything and whatever I want and people are going to follow me. [00:24:36] So all, all of this, just kind of tying a bow on this. Do I feel like my personal brand will help me in future endeavors? Absolutely. I'm not as popular as a rock, but I do believe that there are some people who have said, Mike, we just like you, we just like what you do. We'd like what you stand for. And I'm curious to see where you're going to go and I'm going to follow. [00:24:58] And because of [00:25:00] that, um, I feel this amount of freedom, I feel a certain amount of freedom and Liberty to go explore these new things. [00:25:10] Izolda Trakhtenberg: [00:25:10] First of all. I'm so glad that you talked about the rock because it's a lot of what you said. It really resonates with me because what I, I, I follow him also. And it's not just because he's charismatic. [00:25:20] It's because he's welcoming. If you see what I mean, like he's doing his thing and I know there are millions of fans and it's not like, I feel like he is. Talking directly to me, except for, I kind of do. And, you know, and, and I think for him, it's probably on, on many levels, it's authentic, but also it's very practical, right? [00:25:41] It's a very practical, this is who I am, and this is what I stand for. And he kind of. Set all the dominoes up and knocked all the dominoes down. And that's one of the things I really respect about you is that you are, in addition to being creative, you're very practical. You break things down [00:26:00] in, in the work that I followed with you in the classes I've taken with you in, in a very, um, and I hate the word actionable because it's a weird word, but it's really true. [00:26:09] If I take action on the things that you recommend, things open up. Right? So, so. What, if you can talk about that a little bit, how do you reconcile or combined the very creative parts of who you are with that very practical part of you? [00:26:27] Mike Kim: [00:26:27] Yeah, I think it, you know, it, that's a great question. I think I have always felt more of a bias towards action. [00:26:36] Um, when I've taken various self-assessment, you know, tests and stuff like that, uh, StrengthsFinders was one of them. Uh, I dunno, how many of you listening may have heard of strength finders? Um, but with StrengthsFinder number one was maximizer. Um, which means that I don't like to start things completely from scratch. [00:26:56] I like to take good things and make them. [00:27:00] And I'm like, oh, no wonder I'm a consultant. Right. And then number two was, um, implement. Which means I just go do things. I, I overthink every other area of my life except for creativity and business. I mean, I'm like, I'm like, I want it done yesterday. I just go do it. [00:27:20] Um, it's probably why I work really long hours and get stressed out and stuff because I have more ideas than I can ever execute on. Right. And I have realized that I don't know if I came up with this phrase or I heard it somewhere, but I like it. Um, we are idea rich and execution. Poor. And this world of social media has made that even more of an anathema, if you will. [00:27:43] I mean, it is a sickness it's easy to post other people's ideas. It's really hard to go do them. Sure. So, um, when I see other people take a long time to execute on things, I'm just, it just drives me nuts. Right. And I'm like, okay, that's their own pace. That's their own journey. I'm not going to judge them. [00:27:59] But for [00:28:00] me, um, I, some, sometimes I can't sleep on this. I get it. So I'm like, okay. Uh, I I'm, I'm biased that way, you know, bias towards action. Um, and then the third strength on strength finder was just, it was just a strategic oversight. Like I just see the big picture. I'm always a big picture person. So I'm very bad with little details. [00:28:22] Um, it's why I have an assistant that handles these things, right. I'm just like, I have this idea. I want to see this happen. Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. And sometimes I, I am my own worst enemy because I know how to do too many things. And so I execute very quickly or I can't wait to get things executed, which makes me a very poor delegate. [00:28:41] Hmm. So I've learned all these things about my workflow in my work life and how I made, and I've realized that that has had to force me as a leader to grow in other areas. I have to become a better leader. I have to become a more patient person. I have to become [00:29:00] more of a visionary and less of a hands-on person. [00:29:02] These are all really big areas I have to grow in. You know, we're here, we're talking about the innovative mindset, right? I have to innovate those parts of my life. Otherwise I will relegate myself to living like this until I'm dead. Um, so it's either changed. And grow and, and, and work with people and work with teams or do this for the rest of my life. [00:29:25] And it is what it is. And there's no wrong answer. That's the other thing, um, that I've really realized there's no wrong answer. I know a lot of people who are like me, and this is what they want. That is how they want to live. They don't want a big team. They don't want an administrator. They don't want people on payroll. [00:29:44] They're okay with doing that. Right. And then there are other people who, who have made that shift and both are valuable. Both are building their business and their life around the kind of life and business they want. Um, so really I'm at that [00:30:00] crossroads where it's like, I'm a creative, but I'm also like very, very wired to take action. [00:30:05] And the more and more self-aware I become, I see options laid out on the table for me. It's like, okay, which path am I going to go down? I have to decide. And that's really, that's really how I see it. [00:30:19] Izolda Trakhtenberg: [00:30:19] And it's lovely that it's about self-awareness, you know, so much of this. Is knowing who you are and knowing what you can offer. [00:30:28] And I, and I, I I'm, I'm grateful that you, that you talked about that because I think that's what the book is going to do on a much larger scale for you is it's going to take that particular message and, and amplify it. Uh, and so I'm, I'm really grateful. I want to say that. Because it comes out tomorrow and you should all go get it. [00:30:48] It's you are the brand, the eighth step blueprint to showcase your unique expertise and build a highly profitable business. So if you are interested in learning how to do that, you need to go get this book. [00:31:00] That's just how it is Mike. I'm. I, I could keep you for the next six hours, but I know you have a life to get back to. [00:31:06] So I will ask you the one question you might remember this, you might not that I ask everybody who comes on the show. And before I do that, I will, I will say thank you again for joining me. This was so fabulous and wonderful to get to talk to you about your book and about where you are and where you're going. [00:31:24] The question is this. If you had an airplane that could sky write anything for the whole world to see, what would you say? [00:31:32] Mike Kim: [00:31:32] Oh, yeah, I remember this question. Okay. Um, you know what I've got to say, you are the brand. Um, and, and it's not just because of the book, but it's really the charge that I want to lay out, you know, to my readers, to my friends, to my colleagues, um, there we all, we all have a brand. [00:31:54] Um, we all have a reputation, you know, personal branding. This phrases become, you know, this. [00:32:00] Popular term now. Um, but it's just, it's just your reputation. It's just what people think of you. It's just the identity that you hold in in the, in the minds and hearts of people who know you. And, um, I think one of the things I've learned about life through my work is that entrepreneurship thinking outside the box, it has a way of bringing out the best parts. [00:32:26] And also revealing some of your roughest edges and in a world of image and social media followers. My message really is, you know, be someone worth following, be that truly be who you're trying to sell to people, whether it's, you know, through an Instagram account for fun or trying to land a new job or, or trying to start your business, like you are the brand, don't just build a brand. [00:32:53] Be the brand you that that's who you are. And it's a call for us to, to grow and mature and to be the [00:33:00] best version of ourselves. So that's what I would write across the sky. And it's not just because the book's out tomorrow. [00:33:06] Izolda Trakhtenberg: [00:33:06] No, but I w you know what? I think that's great. And it's a call to be. Your authentic self, which is, which is the best way to be, because there's so much that we have to fair it through that isn't authentic and real, and you're calling for us to be real. [00:33:22] And I think that's great, Mike, thank you again so much for being here and being so generous with your wisdom and your knowledge. I appreciate it very much. [00:33:31] Mike Kim: [00:33:31] It was a pleasure to be here. And thank you for, uh, sharing me with, with everybody here today and sharing your platform and salt. I've really, really appreciate it. [00:33:38] Izolda Trakhtenberg: [00:33:38] My absolute pleasure. This is Izolda Trakhtenberg for the innovative mindset podcast. If you want to find Mike Kim, you can go to Mike kim.com. You can learn all about him. You can learn all about the book. You can get the book, you should get the book because obviously he knows. Stuff until next time. This is Izolda Trakhtenberg for the innovative mindset [00:34:00] podcast, reminding you to listen, learn, laugh, and love a whole lot. [00:34:10] Thanks so much for joining me today. I really appreciate you being here. Please subscribe to the podcast if you're new and if you like what you're hearing, please review it and rate it and let other people know. And if you'd like to be a sponsor of the show, I'd love to meet you. On patrion.com/innovative mindset. [00:34:28] I also have lots of exclusive goodies to share just with the show supporters there today's episode was produced by Izolda Trakhtenberg in his copyright 2021 as always. Please remember, this is for educational and entertainment purposes. Only past performance does not guarantee future results, although we can always hope until next time, keep living in your innovative mindset.  

Want to build a dream team?! We hear ya, Sister Friend! Building a team is an amazing way to impact more lives and build legacy income. It requires intentionality; it requires developing yourself first so you can then develop other leaders. In this episode we talk about how to identify your strengths and use them to build the team you've been dreaming and praying for. (Resources mentioned: Strengthsfinders 2.0 and Strengths-Based Leadership). Remember, you can't duplicate wishy-washy. You must take inspired action, be incredibly consistent and be all-in on your business to attract and build a team. More cool ways we can help: JOIN THE HIGH VIBE SOCIETY: https://www.trueyouguide.com/high-vibe- society/ DAILY CONTENT TEXTS: https://www.trueyouguide.com/tyt-text- subscription/ FREE SOCIAL MEDIA GUIDE: https://www.trueyouguide.com/ FREE FACEBOOK TRIBE: https://www.facebook.com/groups/229825844804230 FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM: @trueyoutribe @angie.garner @stephaniegrandits @heyheyemmy @jessie.melcher

We dive into our history of personality type tests. Starting with the classic MBTI, we move to Insights, Strengths Finders, and then Working Genius (we also briefly mention our Harry Potter houses). Meyers Briggs Insights Strengths Finders Working Genius --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/abtesting/support

Applying Strengths For Sales Teams Can Boost Performance  If you look over those moments where you closed a deal or knocked out a killer proposal, you were likely in the zone. That whole idea of "flow" or being in the zone - it's a clue to your greatest strengths. Work feels effortless because either you were at your genuine best or you were dealing with a seller who was.  In this episode, Lisa Cummings and co-host Joseph Dworak reveal how voracious learners study up on a bunch of popular selling methodologies. Yet, sometimes they fail because they're implemented as if each person leads through the same strengths. You'll find out more about using strengths for sales. It's an individualized approach, yet it's easy to do because you're amplifying each person's good spots.  Here’s their conversation:  Lisa: You're listening to Lead Through Strengths, where you'll learn to apply your greatest strengths at work. I'm your host, Lisa Cummings, joined today by Joseph Dworak, another host,  Lead Through Strengths facilitator, and sales extraordinaire. Joseph: Hello, thank you. Lisa: Well, today I would love to talk to the audience about using strengths for sales teams - in the context of selling. So you have this unique position that I haven't seen in too many people, which is you've been a CliftonStrengths facilitator full-time, you've been a seller full-time, you've been a leader of sales people full-time, you've had a really wide array of these kinds of roles that allow you to know the philosophy behind strengths but also know how to put this into really practical application for a team.  Now, of course, not every listener that we have is a salesperson or on a sales team. So as much as we can today, we're going to apply this and make it functional and useful for somebody who might be able to pitch an idea in a business meeting, make a business case, do some influencing, because everyone is selling ideas. But when you think about using strengths for sales, let me just kick it off and say, "Say more about that." How do you see this benefiting a sales team? Joseph: I mean, so many ways. I think, people buy from people who they like and trust. And that's debated in the sales world but I would stick with that. And I think, at a really baseline, if you know who you are, you know how you're wired and you enter into a relationship with people in a way that's authentically you, that will differentiate you as a salesperson.  So if you're not authentic, I don't trust you, I'm not buying from you. Even if you have the greatest thing in the world, I'll find someone else to buy from. And one of the things in my current setting, which, I just absolutely love my company — they're fantastic, great culture — we from the top have been modeled to say, “We may or may not be a fit for you. If we're not, there's no drama with that." "If we are a good fit, great, let's keep talking. We know you have options. You could build something yourself. You could outsource, you could look at a solution like ours.” And we try to do that up front to say, “We're not here to push anything on you that doesn't work.”  Our products take sometimes a year, sometimes four months, sometimes a year, and they’re with multi-billion dollar companies, and so it's very un-transactional that way. And if we're in a competitive situation, which we often are, if other people are selling in competition with us and they are not those things, we will stand out.  And so I think the baseline “I know my strengths. I'm authentic in that. And I'm really upfront,” that can help. And I think, obviously, like you mentioned, that can apply to people who are not in sales roles — just being authentic and being you. So I hope I answered your question, Lisa, but that's what I think about. Lisa: You did, and you were taking me back to memory. So being in sales roles early in my career, where you had to memorize a script, and you were supposed to walk in and do a cold call, by opening a front door to a business and then launching into some scripted thing that doesn't sound like you at all - I remember, it felt so awkward until I decided to just discard that and do my thing. I was figuring out how to use strengths for sales before I knew it was a thing. Before I figured that out, it was awful.  I worked next to a mall, like old-fashioned indoor malls that you could walk into all the stores. There was a Franklin Covey store in there and they had all these inspirational planners and quotes and. It was my tool to revive my energy. After cold calling all day and just feeling so horrible because I was acting like someone else, I would start in the car, reloading on Zig Ziglar audio. And then I would go to the Franklin Covey store to try to re-energize myself with quotes and inspiration because it was such a draining effort.  But of course, it's all misplaced, like looking back on it from the future, I can see, oh of course it was really draining because I was using someone else's words, someone else's approach. Nothing about it felt right for me, and when someone receives you being disingenuous, I wasn't being that in a skeezy way but just like not me, they felt it. They felt my awkwardness. It makes them not trust me. Everything goes wrong about it. It wasn't strengths for sales. It was a template for sales - and it only worked for 2 or 3 people out of thousands. Use Your Strengths To Formulate Your Own Effective Selling Style Lisa: How do you help someone feel genuine when there are targets and quotas they have to cover? And, different companies have different types of requirements, but how does that come in where they can still honor who they are but they can also honor some of the requirements that the company might have with them? Can you use strengths for sales teams to align both sides? Joseph: That's a really good question. I think I would answer it two ways. One, I think if you hire the right people, that's not super hard. So I think Marcus Buckingham talks about...if you ever have to warn someone, you've made a casting error. So I always think about that, like, the best people that I've hired and the people who have done well, it's just directing them in the right way and helping them be who they are in the thing. But typically, like you've thought about that role, and you've made a good hire. And hiring is hard, but I love doing it. It's one of my favorite parts of the job.  The second piece is, I think, and I have to go back as you were talking before... I think I remembered a story, when I ran an admissions office at the university as you know, I've been kind of a career tourist and I'm always like, where we'll end up next, but it's been a fun ride — but when I was working in the admissions office in the university, I remember one time, my associate director was trying to get a lot of calls made to invite people to an open house. And she was enlisting people who normally didn't help us with more client-facing things. She was asking one of our office interns who was really introverted and really not wired for influencing people. She was more of the really organized, really productive kind of person. But she was like, “Hey so and so, you're going to make these calls." I remember I came back and this person was doing their darndest to make the call that they're reading a script. They did it, but it sounded terrible. And I remember talking to my Sales Director, and I’m like, “What are you doing? So and so shouldn't be making calls.”  “Why not, I gave her a script.”  And I'm like, “If you've given a script, you're probably a little bit off.” And I'm not dissing scripts. And I'm lucky too, I have enterprise sales folks who work for me, so they're pros of pros, and they're selling billion-dollar accounts like, they are at a certain level of functional expertise, where they do not have a script, typically. They may think about things that they want to say and hit, but I think the short answer to your question is, I think a lot has to do with hiring, and then I think you need to get people... I'm very results-oriented as a manager, so I give people different paths that they can choose to get to those results, where it doesn't have to be a formula that they follow.  And I think not everyone does that. But that's my, kind of where my background helps. It allows for their strengths in those different paths to get to the results. Lisa: Yeah, interestingly, that is a perfect way to sum up the strengths philosophy. It's not going to be that every single rep must make this many first calls on Monday, and take this many steps on Tuesday. Instead, using strengths for sales teams is giving them the performance outcomes and then working from that point of view, not working from the point of view of a one-size-fits-all.  And I have heard people go down that path with something like, “Oh, well, our organization uses the Challenger approach.” And then they're like, “Well, anyone who acts like a lone wolf is bad, and anyone who acts like a challenger is good, and anyone who has a relationship sales is bad,  because here, we are challengers.”  And they kind of bastardize the philosophies, and then make it sound like the only way for you to be successful in this organization is to use this one stereotypical way to talk to someone else. And it's just the opposite of strengths for sales teams.  Joseph: Well, yeah, and I'm really fortunate again. At my organization, my boss built a culture before I got there of, we look at… I mean, we're trained at Sandler, people have read Challenger, like, we're going through all of Jeb Blount’s cascade of books that he has in trainings, we worked with a gentleman called Joe Thomas out of Utah. And my boss is very much like, “We're going to provide you a lot of different methodologies, and we're going to combine them to be the unique best one for your talents.  But it's definitely the strengths that's in with that, because it was already like, we're not just Challenger, and there are people who use Challenger, but there's also people who are really Sandler-based, or there are people who are Impact Advantage based.  And we like to joke that my boss is like a ninja of all of those things, so he can pull out like the right one at the right time. It's truly amazing to watch someone who's done it for 20 years, and he studied, like, this master's level of sales because different situations call for different methodologies. So it also allows you to be flexible when you're in that moment. Strengths For Sales Is All About Being Authentic And Focusing On Fit Lisa: Yeah, that sounds very much like using someone's natural talents to honor their style. I remember being sold to as a business leader by someone who I knew personally. And when he was leaving the room, he did the old-fashioned Columbo technique on me, like - go back to the door, and you put your hand on the doorknob, and as you're leaving you, you have a thought, “Oh, one more thing.”  I mean, it was totally obvious that I was getting techniqued. There was a tactic being played like so clearly in front of me. And it lost so much credibility, because I'm like, “Hey, man” (I won't say his name here), I know you,” like, I got that moment, what that moment was.  It kind of undid everything that he had done before because it felt like a lie. And if I circle that back around to the way that you opened this up, it's about honoring who you are, what your talents are and how those show up to set you up to be at your best. The person who leads through Empathy and Connectedness and Developer and Harmony, they're going to approach sales differently from the person who leads through Analytical and Deliberative and Focus. It's going to look different. And it should, because it's going to feel right to them. Using strengths for sales teams is simply letting each seller do what puts them at their best. Joseph: Yeah. And, and one thing that I've appreciated getting back into in the software world is, sales is one of the hardest jobs. It's one of the most complicated jobs because you're being a consultant, you're being a project manager, you're being a coach. Sometimes you're being a sounding board, like, especially with the enterprise-level sale, where you're dealing sometimes with 50 people in the course of the sale. You have to be a politician, you have to be a diplomat. There's all these different things. It's interesting, the older I get, the more I realized, yeah, someone sees your technique, and then, “oh, no, that's a killer." You just have to be you.  I can think of someone who I ran into who was like that. They were really good at taking all the pieces, and they could put it into play. And they would say it and it just felt really inauthentic and rigid. And it was interesting, because after I didn't work with that person anymore, there was feedback from prospective clients who articulated that to me, kind of like what you just did, with the Columbo technique. And it's like, “Oh, no, we don't want that. We want it to be seamless. We want it to be helpful.”  And ultimately, it's about people, going back to, “Do they like and trust you?” And so you have to start there. And so if you... they start being like, “Are you using like some Jedi mind tricks on me?” That's not gonna go well. But I'm still learning a ton. And it's been great to be in an environment where they support learning that way. Lisa: Yes. Well, I think this is a great way to end the episode and broaden it. Because, number one, you started the episode talking about focusing on fit, and that is a brilliant way to apply the concepts that the best sellers use. Even if you're just trying to influence somebody in a meeting, and you're in an operations role, and you have nothing to do with sales, if you're talking to an audience and you're trying to offer an idea that you hope they will consider, If you focus on fit, it puts you in the other person's shoes, and it makes your message more palatable for them.  So I think that you offered a lesson that anyone could use in any role, even with your kids or your significant other. It's making an idea of something that fits both people. Joseph: Yeah, that's harder with family. I think my significant other will say like, “You need to parent that way too.” So I'm like, “Oh, sales is easy compared to parenting. That's a whole another conversation.” Lisa: We'll save that for another episode. Well, with that you've been listening to Lead Through Strengths, getting some great ideas about how to use strengths for sales, and how to not get stuck in that world of just being a user of tactics but instead coming forward with the genuine you using your differences to be your differentiators on the job.  If you would like Joseph to come in and do some team building with your team related to CliftonStrengths for sales teams, then be sure to request him over on our Contact Us form.  Alright, with that we will see you next time as you claim your strengths and share them with the world. Bye for now. Sell More Of What You Offer Through These Additional Strengths Resources The idea of ‘easy buttons’ supports this episode’s topic, as it encourages teams to tap on their natural talents, or whatever comes easily and enjoyable for them, instead of what drains them (such as following a script in selling or focusing on their weakness zone). If you want to sell better or have better influence, use strengths as easy buttons for better performance. Or listen to Andy Sokolovich as he shares tips on influencing audiences through strengths. These include identifying your talents and spending 80 percent of your time doing what you naturally love. So in the context of selling, that could be storytelling or just meeting people and talking to them. Again, it’s about being authentically you. Finally, in the episode Use Strengths To Create Customer Moments, Mike Ganino underlines the importance of creating an environment that helps each person bring their best performance to work. It’s about using individual strengths to get the experience you want for your customers and employees.

Work In Your Strengths Zone To Make Work Enjoyable How often you work in your strengths zone has a lot to do with living your best life. Here at Lead Through Strengths, we believe that choosing easy doesn't equate to choosing lazy. It means choosing efficiency and getting more of what works for you and what you enjoy focusing on. This may sound too good to be true. But what if the gap between you and your own strengths zone is actually shorter than you think? In this episode, Lisa Cummings and co-host TyAnn Osborn will walk you through some of the ways to get there. Read on and listen as they share stories and lessons that shaped their "work in your strengths zone" concept. Another spirited, inspiring and important discussion that you wouldn't want to miss. Here’s a full transcript of their conversation: Lisa: You're listening to Lead Through Strengths, where you'll learn to apply your greatest strengths at work. I'm your host, Lisa Cummings, and you know, I'm always telling you — it's hard to find something more energizing than using your natural talents every day at work. Well, something that's just about as energizing is when I get to hang out with my other host here in the room, TyAnn Osborn. TyAnn: Hi.  Lisa: So today's episode is all about using your strengths to make things easier, to make life easier. It's about doing more work in your strengths zone. There's actually a very high return on effort from using your strengths to get things done. However, many of us do things the hard way.  TyAnn: So true. Why do we do that? Lisa: Maybe we don't know we are.  TyAnn: Yeah. Lisa: I know that I've done it in my career or out of habit...  TyAnn: Me too.  Lisa: … where as a younger performer, and I wanted to prove myself, I would work the longest hours, I would, you know, you have the stuff to learn so you have to go through the learning curve part.  TyAnn: Right.  Lisa: But then you get in the habit of doing everything through brute force. And there comes some time when it doesn't matter if you work 72 hours a day. That isn't the thing that is going to get you to the next level. If you work in your strengths zone, you're way more likely to crush your performance goals. You have to figure out how to not do it through your hours...  TyAnn: Right. Absolutely. I think you have to really keep an eye on: What's the end goal here? What problem am I trying to solve? Am I trying to solve for “I need to work a lot of hours," or am I trying to solve for actually getting an end product done? But you know, this kind of reminds me of when we were in school and we were learning math, because I don't know if your math teacher was like this, but mine was where anytime you learned a new concept, you would learn it the hard way where you had to do it all by hand and write it all out. And then the next day when you came in, the teacher would say, “Okay, and here's the formula." Or, “Here's the shortcut.” And then invariably, you're like, “Why didn't you teach me that the first time?” And then there was always some answer about, “Well, you might be out without a calculator one day and…” — which no one's ever out without a calculator now. So anyway, but it's just one of those “We can get to the same place, and you can get there the hard way or you can get there the easy way.”  And it's interesting that as adults or are in our corporate world, we tend to think that the easy way, that there's something wrong with it. And it's funny how many times someone will kind of fight me on this concept, or say like — “That's cheating. I have to do everything the hard way." Or, you know, "Go uphill both ways, little brother on my back, in the snow with no shoes, or else it doesn't count.”  Like, where do we get that message? Lisa: It does make people feel awkward. There was a time when I was talking about strengths, making you feel like work is easier, that you could enjoy it, that you could be energized by it, that it makes you feel excellent with less effort. All of the E's you get when you work in your strengths zone. TyAnn: Right. Ease, enjoyment and effort. Lisa: Yes. And they're like, “So, making work easy?” It was this kind of cheating response, like, “So, where the goal is to make everything easy?” As if it's a shortcut that brings low quality.  TyAnn: Isn't that funny that it can only be work if it feels like it's awful or hard, or like I have to trudge off to the salt mine every day and... No, that that's not how it's supposed to be. And frankly, if it feels that way, I would say maybe we ought to take a pause and look at what's going on because it doesn't have to be that way. But this is a concept you and I talk about all the time. And I use this almost daily in my conversations with clients and other people and even kids. It doesn't have to be that hard. And you're making it too hard. And so here's where I think having like a spirit guide or a trusted person you can talk to can really help because when you're the one making it hard, it's almost impossible to see that you're the one making it so hard. Lisa: Yes.  TyAnn: It can be really hard to get yourself out of that.  Lisa: Yes.  TyAnn: Yeah. Because it makes sense to you at the time.  Lisa: You even did it to me as an accidental coaching one time. I remember I was like, “But I need to do more of this because I want this on my resume. I need this credibility.” And then you said, “It's already on your resume. And it will still be on your resume if you don't do it anymore.” And I had this moment where I was like, “Oh right, it's draining me. There are other ways to build this career…”  TyAnn: Right.  Easy Doesn’t Mean Lazy Lisa: And I don't have to continue that one. Somehow, I got convinced. And I also think with people like Gary Vaynerchuk, and there's a lot of messaging about hustle, and I'm not saying that hard work isn't good. And I'm not saying that there isn't a time in your career or when you're new to something like in startup mode for something, a lot of times, it is a glut of effort at the beginning. So I don't poo poo the idea of hustle because I don't want that to mean, “Well, then I believe in lazy." But I think that's part of the problem. It is easy doesn't equal lazy. But for some reason, we tell ourselves it does. What seems to be missing is the idea that finding work in your strengths zone can really step your game up. TyAnn: Yeah, I think that's baggage associated with that. Or yeah, that if it's not a struggle, it doesn't count, or something like that. I think that's kind of an American thing, too. I don't know where that comes from. But I would just say, let's revisit that. I don't think that is the way it has to be. Lisa: Mm hmm. TyAnn: I don't think you have to work 28 hours a day.  Lisa: How do you know when you're making it hard? So let's say I hire you as a coach, and I'm like, I'm totally overwhelmed. I'm working late into the night, I'm not seeing my family. It's just too much. And you're going to be assuming that I'm probably making something tougher than it needs to be.  TyAnn: Yeah.  Lisa: How do we even uncover what it is?  TyAnn: I would say, the first thing you've done well is you've brought somebody else to help. So, spirit guide! Again, you don't have to hire somebody. But do ask for help, because being overwhelmed, and then just trying to muscle through — here's what I know to be true: More of what's not working is going to get you more of what's not working.  Lisa: Oooooh. Tough truth. TyAnn: And I put that on a t-shirt. And so, and that's often what our natural response is — when something's not going well, like, “I'm just going to double down." Well, guess what? That's going to get you twice as much of what's not working. So good on you that you could recognize “I need help.” But after we don't know where we need help, so here's what I have people do. Just where's the crunchy? Where's the frustrating part? So here's a true story. I was working with an executive at a high-tech computer manufacturing place that we both worked at one time. And she was very frazzled, very frustrated, and you could just see it. She exuded this kind of hot mess energy, you know what I mean? Have you ever met somebody like that, just sort of, it was sort of repellent, honestly. It was sort of like, “I don't want that to get on me.” And you can imagine how that made her team feel and how that made her clients feel. And so I was asking her, like, “What is going on?” And the first thing she said to me was so funny. She said, “I can't get to work early enough.” And I thought, “Oh, maybe we're just looking at ’I work all the time.' Something like that."  “So tell me more about that.” Which by the way is one of my favorite questions. “Tell me more about that.” Because never assume you know what they're going to say. I have to tell myself this all the time.  "Tell me more about that." And she said, “Whenever I get to work in the morning, people are waiting for me in the parking lot. So they pounce on me when I drive in. I can't even get in the building and set my bag down before people are all over me and everyone is wanting a piece of me like there's nothing... I can't even get in the door and I've given myself away.”  And then I, “Oh my gosh, wow." Whoa, I can write a whole book about that. There's so much there. And so we talked about that. And then I just asked her, “What would make your life better?” And she said, “I would just like to walk in the door and put my bag down and get a cup of coffee and have a few minutes to look at my calendar, plan my day, and then start.”  And I said, “Okay, why don't we do that?” And so it was a little bit like that kind of doing it the hard way. Her solution was, “I'll just get to work earlier." And so literally, she had backed her work up to where she was showing up at 6 am. But then people kept showing up at 6 am. So whatever time she got there, that's what time they got there. Like, you're gonna start having a cut, you know, in the parking lot. This is crazy. "Why don't you just set a boundary and tell people what you need? And all you need is an hour or 30 minutes or whatever. So that's not unreasonable. Just tell people.” And she couldn't see it. But, so it was so easy for me and so “Aha” for her.  So again, she was doing things the hard way. And like I was, “Just make it easy. Let's just set a real easy boundary.” Totally changed her life.  Lisa: Hmm. It's amazing one thing — this might be one of your magic powers, because you did it for me, you did it for her... There are a lot of these conversations where you just need another person to help you see how simple it can be to shift into work in your strengths zone. TyAnn: You've done that back to me too. So I appreciate that.  You’ll Never Know What’s Possible Until You Try To Work In Your Strengths Zone Lisa: You also have this other great, favorite question. So besides, “Tell me more about that,” one that I think that you've asked very well on this theory of seeing where you've made a barrier between getting to the life that you want and the one that you're in, where you're just like, “I'm making it all too hard and can't do it all," your question of: “What would you do if you were brave?” Now it gets, you have to get in reflection mode to really answer the question.  TyAnn: Yeah, don't you love that question?  Lisa: Yes. Because even for her situation, this isn't like... A lot of times when we're talking about this brave question, it's more like the “I'm self-actualizing and I'm trying to come up with ‘what would I do with my life if I were brave?’”  TyAnn: Right.  Lisa: That's deep and it takes a lot of reflection, and there are probably five great answers to it. But what about her scenario, if you just said, “What would your solution be if you were brave?”  TyAnn: Yeah. And what's fascinating is, you know, we've talked before about fear, and I think she was afraid to set a boundary, because it was so easy when I asked what would make your life better. She's like, “I just want to put my purse down. I would like to have a cup of coffee. I would like to look at my calendar.” Okay, well, that all seemed super easy. None of that is crazy at all. She wasn't asking for a personal driver and, you know, a corner office or anything crazy. She was just asking basically for boundaries.  And okay. Well, what was holding her back from doing that? Fear. Fear that if she told somebody no, what would happen? She would be seen as a bad leader. She would be seen as a manager who didn't really care, that a good manager gives everything to their team. And you know, whatever, all these things, all the “shoulds” she should be doing.  And so I love that question. I wish I could take credit for it. I'm sure I heard it somewhere, though. But the “What would you do if you were brave?” because often again, your body knows the right answer, but your brain won't let won't let you go there because of fear that holds us back. So what would you do if you were brave? You're like, "You know what, I wouldn't even do this project.”  “Okay, well, why not?”  “Because it doesn't matter. This isn't really what we should be doing anyway. This thing is a waste of time. Our customers don't even want this. What would I really do? I would explore this other thing.”  “Okay, well, how come we don't do that then?”  “Ah, well, because we tried that once and it got shot down.” Or, “Well, you know, we're so far down the path now that we've expended all this time and energy. So I can't. I can't say no." Or whatever it is.  And so we don't even let ourselves go there. That's a great question.  Lisa: Yeah, it is. And you may not always use the answer, like, that's another really great practical example: "I would scrap the whole project." Well, we go back to this concept of where your personal preferences and your business priorities are that it may or may not align. But if you don't ask yourself the question, you can't discover the action that you could take to explore it.  And even if the business decides, “no, that project is going to continue," what if by expressing it and thinking through it in a way that is mature and well-thought-through. Who knows, maybe you end up having a conversation with your leader about that project and they go, “You know, but Jane's been dying to work on a project like that. So if you want to just get reassigned, if this thing's dragging you down, I'd love to get you over on this one.”  TyAnn: Right.  Lisa: That's a possible outcome. TyAnn: There's always possibilities, right? And I think sometimes we're afraid. Again, fear underlies all this stuff. We're afraid of what the answer might be. By the way, the answer might be, “You know, we just got, we just got to finish.” Which by the way, is always going to be the answer if you never ask.  Lisa: Oh, this is like the ultimate sales question. If you don't ask, the answer is no.  TyAnn: Right.  How Can It Make Things Easier For You? For The Team? For The Business? Lisa: So, you can always ask. Now, there are high-risk requests and high-risk things to put out there. But I think if you've thought through a process like this, like: What am I making too hard? Think about business terms. If I'm going to justify something in business terms, what would resonate with my leaders? What if work in my strengths zone actually translates into more revenue or more productivity (which it likely does). Well, being efficient. Getting a high return on our energy or effort or spend.  TyAnn: Yeah, absolutely.  Lisa: So if you can find a way to express that, you're more likely to get this new path.  TyAnn: Is this something that can help us scale? Is this something that really drives internal productivity? Could we decrease noise in the system? Could we increase market penetration? Could we increase customer retention? And there's all kinds of things out there that could be helpful to you. And again, the answer is always going to be “no” if you don't ask or if you don't think about it. But I think this is actually a really fun, creative question too that I've seen some teams use as, you know, in a team meeting, not every time but maybe once a month. Ask as a team: What would we do if we were brave as a group? And see what comes up. And you know, usually, there's a big silence at first because it's always hard to be the first one to be like, “I think we should ditch that project,” Or you know what. But once you kind of get the ball rolling, it's fascinating. And it's a really cool creative thinking activity.  Lisa: Yeah, it really is. And you could take that thinking activity and layer in strengths very literally as well, where you could say: How would you apply one of your strengths if you were brave this week? TyAnn: I love that. Be brave and work in your strengths zone. Lisa: That's like, real practical.  TyAnn: I love that. That would be great.  Lisa: And then I might say, “Oh, well, I would reach out to that colleague in Latin America, who is on a team and does a similar role. And I've been wanting to get to know him but I just haven't taken the initiative and felt a little awkward... Okay, I'll just… I'll do that and make that thing happen.” TyAnn: You know, it's interesting, and I'll bring up the Relator theme. And that one's a fairly common one, we see that a lot in team Top 5s. It's one of Gallup’s Top 5 for their overall database, and that is a particular theme that tends to get shoved aside because it's not an urgent theme, right? You’re usually not graded on your performance review for how your Relator skills are today. But that one tends to show up high in terms of personal needs, in terms of satisfaction for you. So that could be one of those things that — “You know what, it's not my job description to reach out to the guy Latin America, but that would actually kind of really be satisfying for me, and that would really help me build that relationship. And yeah, it's gonna take a little time and frankly, might feel a little bit awkward at first, but that's what I would do if I were brave.”  Lisa: Yeah. And what a great way to circle back to this concept of, “Okay, you're making things too hard.” So I can imagine a scenario where that Latin America team you've been trying to pass your work off and say, “Hey look, we've localized it.” And they're like, “No, you're not localizing anything. You've made some poor translations into Spanish, and it's awful.” And they think you're terrible to work with. And the team is resisting everything you hand off to them. And meanwhile, you have this nice little talent theme, Relator, sitting there waiting in the wings for you to say, “Okay, what would make my life easier? Where am I making it too hard? Where I’m making it too hard is I'm trying to shove the way everyone else has already done it, and I'm not stopping to say, 'I have tools in my tool bag right here.'”  TyAnn: Right.  Lisa: My Top 5.  TyAnn: Right.  TyAnn: You’re trying to lead with execution as opposed to a relationship theme when that's your jam. So lean into that.  Lisa: Yeah.  TyAnn: And you can even, you know, blame it on us, blame it on the podcast. You can say, “Hey, I was listening to Ty and Lisa, and they said, you can kind of lean into one of your themes so I'm going to try that even though it feels a little weird.”  You can use that. And that's a really good intro. And you can be like, “Okay, it didn't work so well.” Lisa: You're probably going to be at least back to where you were before. It rarely goes bad where you should at least ask or try. Just use it. TyAnn: You should give it a try. Again, first thing that can happen is you're back to where you were.  Lisa: Yeah.  When Work And Life Gets Hard, Lean Into Your Strengths TyAnn: And again, you know, you get better at things you practice. And so just, I would keep trying, but I would just say if something feels hard in life, or crunchy, or you really just feel like, “Man, why is this so hard?” And you hear that oftentimes on teams. I say that, like, “This shouldn't be this hard. Why is it this hard to get a decision made? Why is it this hard to get this thing approved?”  That's a really good time to kind of stop and think, “Yeah, what is going on here?” And there is another way to come at this thing, where we can lean into our ease, enjoyment and you know, effort on, and have it just better spent. So that's a really good verbal clue to pick up on. Lisa: It is. Every time I talk to Ty, I think of song lyrics. So now I'm thinking of this Cake song, I think it's Short Skirt/Long Jacket, where they say “she uses a machete to cut through red tape.” And I'm thinking about your talent themes as your machete.  TyAnn: Yeah.  Lisa: And now you've got some red tape. You've got like, “I can't get it. Why is it taking so long to get this approved? Why is there all of this bureaucracy?” Yeah.  TyAnn: There you go. Lisa: Start getting your strengths out. Start looking for ways to work in your strengths zone. TyAnn: When you talk about it, your easy button all the time, you have one lying around here somewhere, I mean, that's it. That's your way forward. And so if life feels hard, if projects feel hard, if communication fails, or whatever it is, go back to your strengths and like, “Okay, there's got to be a better way to do this. It doesn't have to be so hard.”  There's no medal for hard. There's no giant report card in the sky, that it's going to be like, “Gosh, Lisa did everything the hard way. Well done.” That’s not how life works. Because if you spend all of your energy on things that don't matter, getting things done the hard way, you're not going to have energy for the stuff that does matter. And we're never going to get the best of you out in the world because all of your goodness has been sucked up on junk.  Lisa: Hmm.  TyAnn: Makes sense?  Lisa: I mean, it's the end.  TyAnn: That's it.  Lisa: If you want the best of you, bring yourself the things that bring you ease, energy, and enjoyment. Remember to ask yourself that question: What would you do if you were brave? And we'll leave you for now. If you feel like you're getting sucked into the junk — I don't know, I just totally botched your saying right there — but that this is the way to rethink it. Ask those curious questions, and ask yourself, “Why not me and why not now?” And give them a try.  Alright, with that, we'll see you next time. Bye for now.  TyAnn: Bye. These Additional Resources Should Inspire You To Work In Your Strengths Zone We hope you enjoyed this episode with Lisa and TyAnn. Indeed, life can be draining when you don’t work in your strengths zone or not doing the things that you love. In the episode Can Working In Your Weakness Zone Lead To Burnout?, Lisa uses a plant that turned yellow as a metaphor for the poor attention to strengths. This important episode will especially help managers to detect the telltale signs of burnout in a team, and to discern their root causes, in order to address them ASAP.    That comes with a caveat though, because life is not perfect, and in reality, work comes with some tasks we love and some tasks that live in the draining weakness zone. In the Strengths Are Not An Excuse To Avoid Weakness Zone At Work episode, Lisa points out that you can’t use your strengths as a reason to have bad performance or low accountability — by neglecting something you don’t like doing. There are results that still need to be achieved, but your talents can help you get them in a strengths-focused way.

Take The Path of Least Resistance To Save Time At Work One of the best things that happen when you are aligned with your natural talents is that work ceases to feel like "work." This is that sweet spot where you accomplish your tasks feel like you're in a state of flow. This is when things on your to-do list energize you, rather than drain you. Since the work is easier and the results are more excellent, you save time and precious energy at work. It's totally different on the flip side when you work out of your weaknesses. You feel this inner resistance, which can lead to self-doubt and early exhaustion. As your energy dips, you feel like you have nothing to give. Which is not the truth, because you have it in you all along. Here at Lead Through Strengths, we want you to drive towards what you want to have more of, such as work that gives a sense of meaning, while managing all other tasks at hand.  The more you use your strengths, the more you're able to offer your best to the world. But how exactly do you get more of what you want when your plate is already full of soul-sucking tasks, and for which you think there are no takers either?  Certainly, you don’t have to get stuck in this situation for long. So, listen up as Lisa Cummings and TyAnn Osborn put together and share great insights that will help you build a career centered on strengths that you love. Here's their conversation. Lisa: You're listening to Lead Through Strengths, where you'll learn to apply your greatest strengths at work. I'm your host, Lisa Cummings and you know, I'm always telling you, it's hard to find something more energizing than using your natural talents every day at work. Well, something that's just about as energizing is when I get to hang out with my other host here in the room TyAnn Osborn. Today, the topic is, you know, stuff that happens at work, that is, a little weird or awkward "things that make you go, hmm." And that thing…. it's a ridiculous call back to Arsenio Hall. It was way back. No really, it's those things that make you go hmmmm because you can't figure out how to quit making work feel so hard. TyAnn: Yeah.  Lisa: What if that thing is, “Hey, Ty, why is my manager keep giving me all the tasks that I hate? Hmm.” TyAnn: I think it's because they hate you. Lisa: (eyes widen) Hmmm. TyAnn: No, they don't hate you. That's what we're going to talk about today.  Lisa: But this is a real thing.  TyAnn: This does happen. This happens all the time. Lisa: I actually have an uncle who said from his corporate experience (shout out to Alan) he said that if you are doing a task that you can't stand, but you're the one who does it the best in the office, he's like, “Well, the next time they need to get that thing done, who are they going to come to to get the thing done? You, the one who did it the best.”  TyAnn: Right.  Doing A Great Job? Best If It’s On Tasks That You Love Lisa: So I do think this can happen because people get known for things that they don't even like, but they haven't worked on their career brand.  TyAnn: Right.  Lisa: They haven't talked to their manager about what they do like or hope for more of in their development. And I think that is one of the reasons you can be really good at something that you don't like. You're masterful because you keep getting it assigned to you. TyAnn: Absolutely. This happens all the time. This has happened to you and me. This happens to our corporate clients all the time and in a very innocuous way. There's no diabolical plot behind this. And especially when you're more junior in your career, where you might not feel like you can say, “I don't really want to do this, or, I don't really like this.”  And so, here's what happens: Oftentimes, when you're smart, you can do a lot of things, and do it in a very proficient way. And actually, your product can be pretty good. And then guess what, because you did a pretty good job at that, next time, they have that horrible spreadsheet that needs to be done — “You did a pretty good job so you're gonna get known as the horrible spreadsheet fixer.” Lisa: And you don't want to be the one... I mean, if you're a hard worker...  TyAnn: Yeah.  Lisa: ...yet you don't want to be the whiner, complainer...  TyAnn: Right.  Lisa: The purpose of this episode isn't to say, we're going to empower you to go tell your leaders all of the things that you just don't like.  TyAnn: Yeah, don't don't do that. That’s not the takeaway from this section at all. That's a career-limiting move by the way.  Lisa: High-risk conversation.  TyAnn: Yeah.  Lisa: It would be less risky to figure out a way to describe the stuff you do want more of that you would like to grow into. TyAnn: Yeah. So Lisa's got a great term that she uses about career crafting. She calls it "job shaping." So we're going to talk to you about how to lean your job more toward the things that you do like, and how maybe to get away from some of these legacy things, that kind of seems stuck to your shoe that you can't quite shake.  Lisa: Oooh, that's a good way to say it.  TyAnn: Or how to, how to avoid that thing you don't like. So, we'll give you some tips both ways. So how to lean more toward the stuff you want, and how to get out of this position of some stuff that you don't like.  Lisa: Yeah. And I mean, I think the simplest concept for the gum on your shoe, (that's a good one), is like, it starts to fade away from assignments if you continue to get known for the things that you *do* enjoy.  TyAnn: Right. Lisa: I call this concept, “don't expect your managers to be mind readers." Because it's easy to think, “They should know that that's a horrible thing, the horrible spreadsheet task, like they should know, I hate that. Why do the give the junk tasks to me? Yes, I might save time because it can turn into a mundane brainless task, but that's now how I want to save time at work.”  TyAnn: How would they know? And what do you...  Lisa: You call it something else, don't you? What do you call it? TyAnn: I call it "the psychic method doesn't work." Even though we might try to prove this over and over? Yeah, so and here's the deal, too. We see the world through our own eyes, because that's the lenses we were given, right. And we tend to think, "everything I hate, everyone else hates." Or the opposite: "everything I like everyone else likes."  But that's not how the world works. And certainly in the strengths world we find there's all kinds of different things. So just because you like something or dislike something, somebody else has a completely different set of likes and dislikes. So if you secretly hate that thing you're working on, and you don't ever say anything, guess what? How would anybody know that? Especially if you keep doing a really good job at it. And the other factor is that if you're working in your weakness zone, it's not going to be as intuitive. It's going to take you longer. The way to save time at work is to spend more of your time in your strengths zone. Lisa: Yeah.  TyAnn: And you never say anything. And then they're like, “Hey, Lisa, good job on that spreadsheet.” You're like, “Okay, thanks.” Lisa: Hey thanks. Hey, I'm a hard worker. And I keep getting more of this stuff that I don't like. It feels soul-sucking and time consuming. TyAnn: And think about this. What if you have a lot of Achiever and Responsibility in your top themes?  Lisa: I had it. I had a client, example, recently where she led through Responsibility. And she was on a big global project, all people in all time zones, and she thought it was really important to get people synched-up that someone would capture the initial conversation. This is basically a note taking thing.  TyAnn: Ahh Lisa: So she asked, “Who would like to volunteer?”  TyAnn: Okay, usually the answer is going to be, “no one.”  Lisa: That is pretty much what happened. Podcasts don't go well with me demonstrating the long cricket-silence she got in the meeting. But that's what happened. She asked, and all she heard was crickets. TyAnn: Yeah.  Lisa: *no answer, *no answer.  TyAnn: She probably felt like she had to do it.  Lisa: She did. She leads through Responsibility. She can't let a ball drop. She was like, “I'll take it.” So she takes it. And she said she found herself time after time after time taking it and she was new to the company and new to the role and six months in, she said — “Do you know my career brand here is I'm the team secretary?” Oh, and she feels like it was that one decision that led to the next one, to the next one, to the next one. And now that's how they see her. So now work feels slow and clunky. She drudges through it. She's dying to save time at work because she's bogged down in tasks she hates. TyAnn: And now for her branding exercise, she has to undo all of that, which is a, you know, a much more difficult spin.  Lisa: Our career-memories are long.  TyAnn: Yeah. So that's going to be a whole ball of work just to undo just to get her back to neutral. Because then we have to replace all that with something else. Lisa: Mm hmm. Yeah.  TyAnn: I mean, it can be done but that's just a harder way to go.  Lisa: I think that's actually a good one for the example of what you were talking about. Like there's the how, how do you unwind from what you don't like and then build into what you do like? Now if you imagine this person walking around declaring: “By the way, I don't like note-taking.”  “By the way, I’m not a secretary.”  “By the way, that's not really what I want. I'm, I'm so much more.”  "By the way, I'm actually trying to save time at work and be efficient here!" That would not go well. That would be awkward, whiny and bizarre.  TyAnn: Yeah.  Lisa: But if instead, she starts really knocking it out on these other three things that are a big deal (the ones that are in her strengths-zone), then over time, it doesn't take that much time. She gets known for other (good) things and the draining things fade away into a distant memory.  TyAnn: Right.  Lisa: And that is a path that is much more doable. And I like to give clients a script that is like a starting place for a career conversation with their manager. For example: “I just listened to this podcast episode and it got me thinking about what I would love the most to grow into next in my role. And so it made me think...I'd love to have more projects that require a person to create momentum on the team. I'd love it if you'd consider me next time a big change management effort comes up. (To TyAnn), give me another talent theme that she has besides Responsibility.  TyAnn: Okay, let's say she also has, um, Communication.  Lisa: Okay, so she also leads through Communication. And the team's doing a project where they need to roll it out to a bunch of end-users who aren't really going to love it. And it's going to take some real change management effort.  TyAnn: What clients don't always love what you have to roll out? Sometimes there's change management?  Lisa: And imagine how many people wouldn't like that? You know, I have to go out and convince a bunch of other people to do a thing, like most people go, “I don't want to do the dog and pony show. I just want to make the great thing.”  And then if you build it, they will come, right? No, you need people who lead through Communication, who can spark momentum and get other people excited about it, and communicate the benefits of it and get out there and spread the message and recruit other messengers. This kind of stuff that would be really fun to her would be loathsome to other people. TyAnn: Absolutely.  Lisa:  So if she comes around now and says, “I just listened to this podcast. It got me thinking about things I'd like to grow into. I know we have this problem right ahead of us. If you see a part of that project, where I could contribute my Communication talent theme to to be the spark of momentum, I would love to help with that. So I just want to put it out there. If you see this opportunity, I hope you'll think of me.”  TyAnn: Absolutely.  Lisa: Any manager would love to hear that.  TyAnn: They're probably, “Oh my gosh, thank you so much because I was cringing inside thinking how are we going to get all the engineers on board, or whatever it is. And hey, now that you've been working, you know, Pan Global, you've been, you know, all these people in all these different regions. You know, we can really tap into that.”  So what she didn't do was go around and whine about it. So I would say from personal experience, not the best approach. So she didn't put on her t-shirt, “Here's all the things I hate about my job.” Again, not the best approach. And she didn't go to her manager with an ultimatum, “If you don't give me this I'm gonna fight.” You know, be, “I'm gonna quit” or whatever. That's not also good.  What she did do is offer up something that she would like to be known for, she would like to lean into. And even in this case, she might not be saying “I have all this experience in this area.’ It sounded like she was saying, “I would like to get experienced in this.” And now she's getting assigned work she loves. Those lovable tasks feel like they save time at work because they do - they're easier. They're your space to get in flow. Lisa: Yeah.  Sharing Your ‘Trash And Treasure’ List To The Team Could Fast-Track A Career You Love TyAnn: So that means I'm going to be great at it. First, right out of the box, I might need to partner up with someone to try to offload some of the trash-tasks. But it's a great way for her to lean into something as opposed to just leading with, here's what I hate about my job, which would be great. Here's what's funny: because here's this task now that she loathes, but there is someone else out there, I promise you, who would love the opportunity to do the thing that she hates. This is what's so hard for us. Remember, everything that we hate, we think everyone else hates too.  But there's someone else out there who maybe you know, funny enough, maybe they also have Communication, but theirs show up in a written form. Maybe they are not the extroverted person out there, in terms of extroverted catalytic change. Maybe they are, you know, they are more introverted. They like the details, they want to keep everybody abreast through this great written form.  It could be all kinds of things. But there's somebody else out there who would love this. And so a great, you know, really well-functioning team is able to talk about these things. You've got this great trash-to-treasure team activity, where again, it takes a little bit of vulnerability, but we can say, here are the top three things I love, or I'm looking forward to. Here are the things that I'm kind of ready to pass on to somebody else. Lisa: I mean, look at that, like we, we love talking with each other. And we don't get to the actionable takeaway this fast usually. This is, this is great. That thing that you just described, where if you share it as a team….  Here's an example the other day. A guy goes, (I introduced trash and treasure sort of things, like, what are some things that you really enjoy?), and he said, “I really like escalation calls."  TyAnn: Which is funny, because a lot of other people are like, “Oh, my God, I would hate that.”  Lisa: They thought he added in the wrong column. And then and you know, you just get a lot of that. “Why? Why?”  TyAnn: Why?  Lisa: “What are you talking about?” Like, “surely he wrote that on the wrong side.” And he's like — “I, I am a deep subject-matter expert. I love when there's a big challenge. It's gotten.... I don't love that customer services are flustered, but he's like, “I love that it's been too big and hairy for anyone to figure out, and I can come in and I know when they talk to me, it is over. Their frustration is done.” He said, “It's so satisfying to know that there is no escalation after me. It is always solved.”  TyAnn: Wow.  Lisa: And that thing just made him feel so alive. And instantly, in that moment, people are like, “Can I give you mine? Can I give you mine? Can I give you mine?” And he is like, “In fact, yes. If other things can get off my plate, yes, I would love it if my day were filled with that.”  Imagine. He feels more productive doing escalation calls. He didn't study a time management book. He didn't even have to apply the Getting Things Done (GTD) method. He saved time at work because he loved it and that is a responsibility that lights him on fire. TyAnn: That's brilliant.  Lisa: Now, it's not always that clean and easy. I mean, you can't just be like, “Yes, let me give you my worst tasks ever.” For many on the team, that's their worst well ever. But it works. There are moments.  TyAnn: I love that like that. I love that. Or if we could find, usually there's somebody on the team who maybe highly Analytical or they have whatever skill, like the Excel skills, or the Microsoft Project skills. They love, you know, a good Gantt chart or whatever. Usually, there's somebody who, that’s their jam.  And someone else wants to poke their eye out if that's what they have to do. So wouldn't it be great if you could just shift a little bit so that, you know, “Hey, maybe I can't just unload this task? Maybe I'm still responsible for it but hey, Lisa, can I go to lunch with you? And you could just give this thing a once over and you know, make sure I'm on the right path?”  You know, and you're probably like, “That's awesome. Yes!” And I'll say I’ll buy your lunch. And you're like, “You don't even have to do that, I'm excited to help.”  Lisa: Mmmm.  TyAnn: I'm like, “Why would you be excited to help about this loathsome project?” But so you know, those kinds of things are easy ways you can ease into it, even if it's not possible for me to be like here at least. So you take it up.  Lisa: And I think you're bringing up a nuance that's important is that you don't just want your manager, the person you report to, to be the only one who knows what you want to grow into. Now, your teammates know new things about, you and you know things about them.  Maybe then you share with the leader like, “Oh, wow, he was so helpful to me in this way.” And now he's getting known for the thing that he likes.  TyAnn: Right. Lisa: And he's getting more of it. And it really does have this virtuous..  TyAnn: ...virtuous cycle — my favorite thing about Significance, right. Uhhmm, share with each other, what is the thing you love best about your job because, in the words of my friend, Lisa, notice what works to get more of what works. And so if I don't know what works for you, I can't ever help you get more of that.  Lisa: Yeah.  TyAnn: And I can't ever point out because if I keep pointing out your spreadsheet looks really good, and you're like, “Oh my god, I hate that thing. I am going to go to my grave and have that spreadsheet etched on my tombstone.” And you never want to say, “Ah, I'd really like to do this other thing.” So again, coming back to the idea that your manager doesn’t automatically know what you want, and the psychic method doesn't work, and it doesn't work for your teammates, either.  This is where I think being vulnerable, having that psychological safety, and I think also having that concept of, “just because I don't say, just because I don't love something doesn't mean I'm saying, “I hate this. I'm not going to do it.” Or, “I'm going to do it poorly.” Because again, I don't get to run my unicorn work. I don't only get to do the things I want to do all day long. I'm going to approach my work and always do everything with as much integrity as I can. But there are some things I would like to do more of, and probably have more of an act to do. Attract Opportunities By Striking A Conversation About Your ‘How’ Skills Lisa: Yay. Good luck on that, Ty. And don't make your take away, the refusal of the job...  TyAnn: Don't do that.  Lisa: ...or the excuse to get out of work or...  TyAnn: Don't do that. But as you know, as we tell children, you got to use your words. So you've got to put it out there. Whether you call it the secret, or the universe, or using your words, you've got to put out there what you're hoping to do more of.  Lisa: Oh, and you have to first decide what you want more of. If you're going to save time at work by doing work that puts you in flow, you have to reflect enough to know what responsibilities put you in the flow state.  TyAnn: Yeah. Lisa: Strengths, reading the book StrengthsFinder, doing the CliftonStrengths assessment, these are all helpful things if you've never even thought of, “Oh, it's not just that I would like more of this skill,  TyAnn: Right. Lisa: … but also, how I interact with people. Or like, in the Communication example, that was more of a ‘how’, not a ‘what’ skill thing” and...  TyAnn: Right.  Lisa: ...like, “Oh, I like to build momentum. Aha, I can ask my manager for things that require momentum building, that's not something that they've probably ever thought of using, as an assignment criteria.” And now they have a whole new realm of things to offer you instead of like that one specific job that you were hoping to move into next.  TyAnn: I think that's actually a really good point because if you just look at, you know, let me find the magic job title, well, I'll just tell you, that's going to be a long hard search. Because that often doesn't exist. But these “how” skills exist in a lot of places that you might not even realize, right? But that's where you can, the more you put out there what you want, the more other people will start to help you and say — “You know, there's actually the thing you didn't even know, but they could use you on that project team.” Like I didn't even know that was a thing.  And then, you know. But again, if you just sit there at your cube, or now you know, at your home office, hoping that the magical assignment comes your way and bluebirds into your, to your window, you're going to be sitting there a long time. So you can, you can have a little bit more control in your life when you do the right thing(?)  Lisa: Yeah. So if we bring this all together, I would say one action is, you want to have a conversation with the person that you report to.  TyAnn: Absolutely.  Lisa: And and try to find a way to express, “Here's this thing I would love to grow into. And I would love it, if you would think of me next time you're considering assignments that relate to x, and if you use those “how” skills.  TyAnn: Absolutely. And by the way, it's perfectly legitimate feedback for your manager to say, “Okay, I hear you saying that, but you know what, you don't have any of those skills today.” That might happen. And then you can have a conversation about, “Okay, how might I be positioned to get those skills? What would a path look like for that?”  Lisa : Yeah.  TyAnn: That is completely legitimate.  Lisa: Yeah.  TyAnn: Or for you to look up in the organization somewhere, and then just go talk to someone and say, “how did you get here?” How, and, you know, that's what, I kind of interview internal people all the time. Have, you know, and just have kind of an informational one-on-one. By the way, people love to talk about themselves, little tip, and people will meet with you all day long, for 30 minutes, just to tell you their story.  And so that's where real growth happens. So I love that. So talk to your manager. Again, second method doesn't work there. So that's the first tip, communication.  Lisa: I'd say, volunteering the talent out. So let's say for example, you lead through Learner and Input. And now your company is implementing Microsoft Teams, but no one knows how to use it, and they're resisting it. And you're like, “we're gonna have to get down with this program, because it's going to be the way of the world. Microsoft is embedded in everything we do, we need to figure it out.”  And so you decide, “I'm going to turn on my Learner and Input. I'm going to find all the cool features and things that could make life easier for teammates and then I'm going to share it with teammates. So then you get an opportunity to get known for what you want more of because you've decided, “I'm going to do it anyway. I can tell it we'll have to figure it out. I'm going to turn on my Learner and Input which would be fun for me because those are in my top five. And then I'm going to use those, volunteer them out beyond myself to help the team." By virtue of volunteering it out, you can see where using the talent makes you feel more productive and efficient. It's an experimenting process. It is a process, yet the compounding effect can save you a lot of time at work over the course of months or years. In fact, the job itself can be totally different as a byproduct of these experiments. If the team does StrengthsFinder as a team thing, then they know the words Learner and Input and you're able to say, “Okay, you know, Learner and Input. I nerded out on this. So I thought you might find this helpful, here are all the things that I've picked up.” And you give them the tip sheet. TyAnn: I love that. I mean, that's so cool. You've made yourself the super user. You've... and it's not just about you, you've created, you know, you've positioned yourself in a way of service to other people.  So by the way, anytime you're helpful to other people, they tend to want to come back to you to get more help, which is great, because you've, you know, you're killing kind of two birds with one stone, this is great. They're gonna be like, - “Oh, that you did such a great job that last time we had this thing. Now we've got to have this. You know, we're gonna put this in Slack. Nobody here knows anything about it. Can you help us with that?”  And yeah, you would be the person. So I love that. It's volunteering your talent, not again, sitting at your desk quietly with your head down, waiting for someone to come tap you on the shoulder and say, “Hey, Lisa, I know you're a high Learner Input. So I was thinking maybe here's an opportunity, you could, you could do.”  That, that's rarely going to happen. It's rarely going to happen. So you have to really keep your eye on the landscape and think, “How could I apply my top themes to what's going on here?” So...  Lisa: Those are big.  TyAnn: I know. Lisa: Okay. I have a third one, which would be, listen for what people kvetch and complain about.  TyAnn: Hmm.  Lisa: Not to join it?  TyAnn: Yeah.  Lisa: Again, more career limiting.  TyAnn: Yeah, don't do that.  Lisa: But if you listen, you can hear like when Ty was explaining the spreadsheet with doing the VLOOKUPs. She was good at them but when she remembers this role that she had where she had to spend all day in the spreadsheet doing Vlookups, her nose crinkles up when she says “Vlookup” like there's an uhm!  TyAnn: Yeah, there's a physical response when you don't like something. You're basically or even your body might hunch down a little bit.  Lisa: Yeah. So watch for that because let's say I were the teammate, I lead through Analytical and Deliberative and I love slicing and dicing data and living in Excel put me in Excel all day long as my favorite job, when I see her react that way, if I'm listening to other people's responses, both tuning in...  TyAnn: Yeah,  Lisa: ...even just to watch, but I'm watching, “Oh, saw your reaction in the Vlookup there.”  TyAnn: ‘Saw the nose crinkle.  Lisa: “Not your BFF, huh?” She's like, “NO!” And then I go, “Ah, I start to get ideas. I could, I could take that on for you. And maybe you could swap something out with me. Or maybe I could give you a shortcut template or something like that, where I'm just volunteering it out.”  She's thinking, yeah Vlookups are slow and cumbersome and awful. Meanwhile you're thinking that Vlookups are such a great way to save time at work and get really efficient. But beyond watch for things you could swap with others. And when you see others kvetching and complaining, you're often able to see — “Oh, that thing that I like, not everybody likes that.”  “Oh, that thing that I'm good at, not everyone else is good at it.”  TyAnn: Right. I think that's huge. And just thinking about that person with a spreadsheet, you know, maybe there's a meeting they have to go to every week where they have to report out on that spreadsheet. And that meeting causes them no end of angst. They get the pit in the tummy feeling, they get the flop sweat, they go in and even though they know it front and back, they can't communicate that to save their lives.  Lisa: Yeah.  TyAnn: And it's miserable for everybody. And you're like, “I could talk to those people cold.”  Lisa: That is perfect.  TyAnn: You're like, “How about I, you do the back end, I'll do the front end and together we are the Ty and Lisa show? Only if it was the two of us. There really wouldn't be a back end, we would only be to the front.  Lisa: We’re going, “To the back. To the back. To the front. To the front.” It would be stuck — a skipping record. “To the front. To the front. To the front”  TyAnn: We need to have a team. We would need Deena a lot with this, to help, to help round us out. Um, yeah. So again, the psychic method doesn't work. So you got to have that, those conversations, and I think that will really serve me well.  Lisa: Yeah. So let us know, how did your conversation go? How did you bring it up?  TyAnn: Yeah.  Lisa: And when you were thinking of the talents that you're trying to lead into, how did you phrase it with your manager. This is a scripting thing that I find a lot of people get stuck on. And that's why I like to give that thing where it's like, - “Hey, I've been thinking about what I want to grow into next.” Or even using this podcast because at least it's less awkward to say, “Hey, I was listening to this podcast. I was trying to learn more about being awesome at work," you know, in something that makes you sound like you're continuing to grow.  TyAnn: Right?  Lisa: “I've been putting a lot of thought into this and it gave me this idea.” And then you can offer it out.  TyAnn: And then let us know and we'll talk about it. Let us know if you tried it and it doesn't work either. We'll come up with something else for you. There's more than one way here.  Lisa: We can have the failure recapture. “Okay, here's a scripting idea that doesn't work. Don't try this because this goes back into that high-risk category that sits right along what...  TyAnn: Lisa and I laugh about this because we have tried a whole bunch of things that haven't worked before. So we, you know, we can, we're right there with you on that. We can help prevent you from having those same experiences.  Lisa: Yes. And although my stint in HR was very, very short, yours was much more significant. And the time that we got to spend with leaders saying, “All right, fire me.” Like, “We’re doing the roleplay. It's going to be an awkward conversation. I am now the person.” And then getting them to go through….  Scripting things out is tough. And there are so many hard conversations in the workplace. So even these when you're, you're trying to talk about yourself without sounding braggadocious.  TyAnn: Right. Lisa:  That's tough too.  TyAnn: Right?  Lisa: And it's not even awkward, and you're not telling someone they're about to… TyAnn: Right. Lisa: ...lose their job or be on a performance improvement plan. It's just simply like, “how do I describe something that I might be good at without sounding like an arrogant jerk?  TyAnn: Like a braggy jerk. So it's fine. We, again, it feels a little uncomfortable, because we don't have these conversations all the time. So that's where you're just, you know, you can get a little index card and just literally write this out. And then kind of practice in a mirror saying this. You can practice with a friend. You can call a spirit guide to help you out.  And the more you do it, the easier it will become. And again, we're not trying at all for you to say, “here's the list of things I'm not going to do.” This is just how can you lean your career, how can you steer it a little bit more toward the things that bring you energy, and a little bit less towards the soul sucker parts of the job.  Lisa: Yeah. And if you do decide that you want to do this as a team exercise, where you're talking about it and you want a facilitator, Ty would be a great one for this. She can come into your organization and walk you through that trash and treasure exercise. She's great at helping you figure out what fills you up - even a personal branding exercise for each person on the team. We have one where you walk away with three words that describe how you would love to be known and describe how you want to show up in the organization so that you can actually take the time to reflect because it's hard to carve the time out, and then your teammates can know how you want to be known, and your manager. TyAnn: That's a cool exercise too, by the way. People feel really good about that.  Lisa: Yeah. And it feels so good to hear them about each other.  TyAnn: Yeah. Very affirming. Lisa: And it takes away that...  TyAnn: Very affirming. I love that one.  Lisa: Yeah because you're not being awkward or arrogant when some facilitators ask you to do the exercise.  TyAnn: Yeah, absolutely.  Lisa: Yeah. TyAnn: So give us a ring. Let us know what works for you and if you need help on this process. Lisa: All right. With that, we will see you next time. Bye for now. More Relevant Resources To Support Your Strengths-Focused Career Growth The previous discussion on strengths as easy buttons for better performance truly supports today’s episode. You turn on your "easy buttons" when you go for tasks or projects that you find enjoyable and energizing. This leads to a better and well-recognized performance at work. But going more for these tasks that you love also means ensuring you don’t end up sounding braggy. Not all people around you might respond well to it. Here’s Lead Through Strengths Facilitator Strother Gaines sharing tips on how to not sound arrogant when building a career around your strengths, so you can review your script before you talk to others about yourself. If you’re a team manager, you can help and guide your team members realize their full potential in whatever roles they express to lean more into by assessing their top strengths, along with their trash and treasure list. Revisit Lisa’s interview with Adam Seaman to pick up more tips.

Ever beat yourself up for not staying positive enough? Feel like you’d be more successful in business if you could maintain your mindset? Entrepreneurs are taught that it’s imperative to stay positive, but the thing is … we’ve all got our sh*t. Listen in to find out how the Enneagram can help you understand the root of your less-than-positive patterns as I answer questions from Facebook.If you haven’t heard episode 28, The Enneagram & The Entrepreneur, be sure to listen as I dive into this valuable tool as it applies to business owners. It covers the basics of what the Enneagram is, the 5 things I’ve discovered about the types over the last 20 years, and how it can be used as a tool to connect both your personal growth and business success.After I recorded last week’s episode, I posted about the Enneagram on Facebook and the comments were so compelling and enlightening, I decided to bring the conversation here to the Soul-Sourced™ Podcast. I’m answering questions directly from my Facebook page and addressing some common misconceptions about the Enneagram. I explain more about the difference between the Enneagram and other personality tests like StrengthsFinders and Myers-Briggs, and I share my tips for the best way to identify your number. Learn what happens when you start to really understand your number and use it to navigate the complex terrain of your thoughts, knee-jerk reactions and fears … without judgment.

Do you ever find yourself caught in the same old patterns in your business?  Like, you apologize for things that aren’t your fault?  Or you never set boundaries. Or, you under-value your services? Or you never seem to do enough no matter how much you’ve achieved?  Well, you’re not alone! And today I’m talking about one of the most powerful tools you can use to transform any pattern or stuck spot. It’s called the Enneagram. Let’s get started.The Enneagram is one of my favorite topics, and this week I’m sharing 5 ‘things’ I’ve discovered about its potential to impact your business and yourself as an entrepreneur. We’ll cover the relationship between the Enneagram and entrepreneurship, and I’ll explain the vital difference between the Enneagram and other personality tests, like the Myers-Briggs or StrengthsFinders. Hear the story of how I first discovered the Enneagram (or actually, how it made its way to me), and the way it helped me not only get to the essence of who I am, but also to embrace that truth so I could make the shifts I wanted without spiraling into judgment or shame (or at least WAY less than usual).I share the story of a typical “pattern and trigger” in a business situation that almost cost one of my clients $12K, and the tale of another client who almost sabotaged her success when she got three new high-paying clients.  Luckily, the lessons of the enneagram helped both of these entrepreneurs turn around their typical reaction.The Enneagram is so much more than a personality test. It’s a lifetime path that can help you uncover and overcome patterns, reactions or fixations that block you from growing into the entrepreneur you want to be. If you’re someone who’s more about the “becoming” side of goals than the “getting” part, this is the episode for you.Featured in this EpisodeThe Enneagram & The Entrepreneur - happening Jan 20th and 21st, 2021Order The Soul-Sourced™ EntrepreneurWhere You Are, from the This Time Last Year Album - Listen to the full song on iTunes or YouTube Music 

Self Care Ideas That Most Corporate Professionals Haven't Considered You can't go very far when you're running on empty, no matter how hard you push. And that's why we've come up with this fun episode for you — consider it a virtual "filling station." All you need to do for now is hit the brake, find clarity, and refill your tank with self care ideas that use your natural talents. Just like operating from your unique strengths, practicing self care makes a world of difference. Self care is not self-ish, because it results in giving your world the best of you [very punny, right?]. No matter your role in your team, your strengths can guide you in choosing the tasks that replenish you so that you can contribute your best - and achieve goals with less effort. Our host Lisa Cummings is joined once again by TyAnn Osborn, and together they will guide you towards the things that could re-energize you. As you'll find out, filling up on self care ideas doesn’t have to be limited to studying mindfulness, meditation, and massage. Surprisingly, self care can feel really practical in the workplace, despite the typical connotation, which seems to live outside of the office. There are many self care ideas that come right out of your natural talents - ways you can approach your work to re-energize you while you simultaneously get things done. Here’s their conversation: Lisa: You're listening to Lead Through Strengths, where you'll learn to apply your greatest strengths at work. I'm your host, Lisa Cummings, and you know, I'm always telling you, it's hard to find something more energizing than using your natural talents every day at work.  Well, something that's just about as energizing is when I get to hang out with my other host here in the room, TyAnn Osborn.  TyAnn: Hi! Lisa: Today, we're talking about... We don't know yet what we're talking about, because we're doing a spin-the-wheel, where it tells us what we're talking about for the day. So let's spin.  TyAnn: Okay.  Lisa: Ooh, this one is talking about self care ideas...  TyAnn: Self care.  Lisa: When you run empty. TyAnn: Well...  Lisa: No, you should just start this Ty, because you've talked about when the cup is empty, you have nothing to give. We definitely need some self care ideas up in here. How These Self Care Ideas Can Help You Avoid Burnout TyAnn: That's it. So I think this is a really important topic right now. And, you know, we're all facing different struggles, no matter what it is. Depending on when you listen, there can be any number of things happening. Maybe you've got a personal health struggle, maybe you're facing job troubles, potential job loss. Maybe you've got some family stuff going on, kids stuff going on. I don't know, maybe there was a global pandemic. There's all kinds of things happening in the world right now, and something is probably happening in your life.  And here's the deal. You know, we have a lot of demands and pulls on our time and our energy. And often, we're trying to give so much to other people. If you're a manager, a people manager, you know, you're really trying to show up and be the best for your team. If you've got kids you're trying to give. If you're a volunteer, you're trying to give. But the truth is, you can't give from an empty cup. And so this is really where we've got to build self care ideas in our own life so that we can have our own replenishment - things that help us so that we can help give to other people. Because, believe me, if you're just gonna keep pouring, nothing's gonna come out.  Lisa: That's a good point. It's kind of like, if you use your cup metaphor, I'm going to drink, there's nothing there. I'm trying to take a sip, there's nothing there.  TyAnn: Yeah, you're still slurping on that straw, like (slurps)... Nothing happening.  Lisa: And I, I see this with a lot of clients where we want to be it all. We want to give it all. We want to do it all.  TyAnn: Yeah.  Lisa: I have very high expectations of myself that I never meet. I see customers who have high expectations of themselves that they never meet, and they feel crushing expectations from other people around them, so that same family member, teammate, boss, all of those situations, and they are like, "Everyone wants a piece of me, and I've got nothing." TyAnn: Yeah, "I've got nothing to give." And believe me, that is the number one recipe for burnout right there. Because, you know, we're people and a lot of us are strong in terms of achievement, and being able to really, you know, move forward. That's why we're successful in our careers. And we've kind of gotten to these points. But believe me, there's only so far you can push this before you will just hit a wall.  And often, you and I've talked about this before, oftentimes your body will tell you you've hit a wall before your brain will intellectually let you believe it. And, you know, I heard this one time on Oprah, she said, the universe speaks to you. And first, it'll be a whisper. And if you don't listen, then it'll start tapping a little louder. And finally, you know, if you keep not listening, it'll smack you upside the head. So I think it's really important to generate  self care ideas, and create a practice.  And we can talk about, "What does that look like from a strengths perspective?" Lisa: Yeah. When I think about self care ideas, I think about fitness. I think about fuel in the body, like what you're eating and drinking. I think about, "Am I consciously trying to direct my work to allow energizing things?" TyAnn: Yeah. Lisa: I also think about hobbies. Am I doing things in life that fill my cup back up?  TyAnn: Yeah. Different Energizers For Different Folks — Scrap The Judgment Lisa: There are a lot of things I think people can list if you ask, "What things energize you?" TyAnn: Yes.  Lisa: But then how many do you allow yourself to do, and how do you know the payoff, like, “Okay, if I allow myself to sleep 9 hours a night, which my body thinks it wants…”  TyAnn: Yeah. Lisa: We can have self care ideas, but we might not give ourselves permission to try them. It feels self-indulgent. TyAnn: So true. Lisa: ...I think, "I don't have time for that. I have too much to do." But I think I also would like to drive to a gym and go do yoga in the morning and then, start work around noon, and...  TyAnn: Play with your dogs and the drums and take a nap.  Lisa: Yeah, I have songs to write. I have drums to play. I have dogs to take care of. I have a husband to hang out with. I have a lot to do. And that takes up a whole workday all by itself. These are beautiful self care ideas, yet I need to bring home the bacon too. TyAnn: Right?! Did you time for work? Lisa: Who's got time for that?  TyAnn: Yeah. So how do you fit these self care ideas into your day? And how does this feel like not just one more thing I have to do? And then where can I get the biggest bang for my buck?  Lisa: Yeah. Good point. You can have self care ideas, but they can also feel burdensome because they take up time. So what's the first step? I mean, and we're doing this related to strengths.  TyAnn: So what are all the answers to this mystery?  So a few things. I will just offer a personal bias. I think this word "self care" is used a lot now. It's thrown around. And sometimes when I hear it, it feels a little soft. Or it's all about like taking long hot bubble baths or something. And I think that feels a little squishy to me. So how about we just say, things that replenish you? Whatever that is for you.  Lisa: The magic wand, we are now turning "self care ideas" into "things that replenish you." Very simple. That definitely makes it less squishy. TyAnn: Yeah. And I also think we can take away judgment on that, because something that makes you feel good might not make me feel good. So it's very personal to you.  Lisa: Well, I think that we have one of those because I think that you're making fun of bubble baths, but that you actually do like them. And you like to read in the bath.  TyAnn: I do.  Lisa: Meanwhile, when we built our house, we built a bathless house because we don't take baths.  TyAnn: Hey, interesting trend in real estate, right? Lisa: Is it?. I didn't realize that. TyAnn: As someone who just went through that process, now you go in, it's kind of polarizing. Bath person. No bath person. Some people have the big freestanding bathtub, it's a whole spa. Other people are like, "No, that's big waste." So it is a good metaphor for this topic.  Lisa: It totally is. TyAnn: Because one person's replenishment is another person’s waste of space. So that's something that I do for myself and actually recommend for my clients as well. It’s just...take out a white sheet of paper. I'm a big believer in like analog tools, or get a whiteboard, and then just list out stuff you like.  And here's what's interesting. Sometimes that can be paralyzing to clients, like, “Oh, my God, where do I even start?” So just take away all of the judgment. It can be little things like, "I like chocolate ice cream." That can't be my entire self care regimen, by the way, or I'd gain 50 pounds. But, you know, just start listing without judging the list. Creation and editing are two very different processes. Separate them so we can start listing out things. Start with the creation of a list. Write all of the things that replenish you. If that feels too limiting, just write things that you like - activities you enjoy. Lisa: Don't judge it while it's landing on the page. TyAnn: No judgment. As Planet Fitness says "this is a no judgement zone," (even though they misspelled judgment). So... Lisa: They did? TyAnn: Some judgment...  Lisa: You’re judging the judgment spelling, that is.  TyAnn: I know, judgment, right? Slightly judgy. So I would just say, try that, or I get clients stuck on... "I can only list work things that I'm excited about..." Lisa: Ha ha. I hear your Maximizer talent coming out. Maybe we can do categories for their self care ideas. Tyann: Yeah.  Lisa: Let's come up with some categories. You could list work things that you like,  TyAnn: Could be...  Lisa: Work people that you like. TyAnn: (laughs) That's a big one.  Lisa: Because people are like, “You replenish me. When I'm around you, my energy goes up.”  TyAnn: But there are some people who don't replenish us. So they wouldn't go on the list.  Lisa: Right? Ha ha. Okay. So we've got work...tasks or responsibilities. We've got people.  TyAnn: Maybe workplaces.  Lisa: Ooh, like physical places? TyAnn: Yes. Or maybe if you get to travel somewhere that's fun. Or maybe traveling for you to some location you dread that maybe you have to go once a quarter. And that's really a de-energizer for you. So don't put that on your list.  Lisa: And you might know, "Hey, I'll make another list of things I need to get my energy up because I know it's going to be drained more...when these things happen." TyAnn: So this is the “things that bring me energy” list. So work stuff... and get as granular as you can in terms of work tasks. So I don't recommend putting things on there like, the XYZ project, because that's way too big. So get very granular about what specifically about that project did you like? Did you like interacting with the project team members, because it was just that awesome team where you really felt like you clicked with everyone? Or was it because you got to be out front? That would be me. You know it to be out on stage or I get to be the one making the presentation. Or maybe you're that spreadsheet jockey and you came up with just a brilliant thing that you pushed a button and all these magic happened, and it was the coolest thing ever. That would not be me. But for someone that could be.  Lisa: You can also see trends after the list is complete...if you make yourself stick with the list-making when it gets tough for a minute. Then you can see bigger trends. Like one that I know for me I've figured out is, I like making things, but I like making a class. I like making an audio file. I like making a song up. I like making all sorts of different types of making. Some are very tech-focused. Some are super creative, but I couldn't see that trend until I listed a bunch of the details.  That's when you get self care ideas that you never expected. They don't come out on the first pass. TyAnn: That’s great! I love that. So then you can go back and say what is it about these things that are similar? It's a creative process.  Embracing What’s 'Weird' And Improving On What’s 'Standard' Are Self Care Steps Too TyAnn: Yeah. And this is for people who are like, "Oh, I can't list that, because that...that doesn't count. Or, I don't want anyone to know that I secretly like to….[insert whatever crazy hobby it is]. I was working with a group of chemical engineers. And this one gentleman, he stood up, and he said, “I like Dutch oven cooking.” And I thought, what a brave thing to say in front of a room of other chemical engineers. And I'm like, “You go! Dutch oven cooking! What a specific niche thing to do.” It's a brilliant self care idea, but he never would have called it that. Lisa: Yeah. It makes me think of "things you do to decompress" as another category for the list of self care ideas. Tyann: I didn't even know that was a hobby. And I like to cook too. And whatever it is, it doesn't matter. It's all about what rejuvenates you. Lisa: Back to your analog self care idea list: I facilitate an activity like this. I'll put the timer on two minutes, and I'll say, “Don't let the pen stop... keep going as a stream of consciousness thing." What did I like doing when I was 9? What am I doing when I lose track of time? What activities are fun? Who is fun to be around? What am I good at? What comes easily to me? What makes me feel alive? What am I saying when I crack myself up? What topics to I love to learn about? What makes me different from the average person? If you just can't think of an answer, keep the pen going and move to another angle." What you brought up for me is my follow-on, that I'll often have people do, which is: Keep this out for a week, because you need to grab the little moments that you didn't even know, “Oh, I got a little spark out of that idea and it reminded me of a whole new set of self care ideas.”  And one of them that I think is really cool is: What makes you weird? And if I just ask you that, like, how many things could you list? Well, I might be able to add more than a normal person. But the little things like, what has anyone ever commented on? Because they'll come up. They'll pop in your head later.  TyAnn: Right.  Lisa: Okay, a weird thing about me is I eat canned things, because I like to eat vegetables and I like to be efficient. And I don't like spending a lot of time on my food. But I do want quality food in me. So somewhere in the middle, I found a jar of beets that I eat for my snack or my lunch. That's weird. I just stick my fork in the jar of beets and I eat it. Isn't that bizarre?  TyAnn: Lisa eats green beans out of the can as well.  Lisa: I will. Green beans are doable... but.. some of them are too squishy, like canned asparagus and spinach. Those are a no-go… Green beans, corn, beets — all workable for moments of vegetable efficiency. But that is very weird. But if you start looking at it like, what energizes me? The energizing part isn't the beets. It's finding new efficiencies. Finding ways to break a rule, like that rule makes me think about how I don't have to cook because other people do. I remember a moment when I got feedback at my house that I was not running the dishwasher as often as it should be because we were running out of forks. And so my answer was *not* to wash dishes more frequently or run the dishwasher more frequently. It was to buy more forks. And I got a real kick out of that. It was my special way of being efficient and effective. So these weird things about you can generate surprising self care ideas. TyAnn: I love that.  Lisa: When you see “Oh, I love coming up with something that is a solution to a problem that is not normal, that no one else would think of.” And I'll get a jazz out of that that will give me an hour-long high.  TyAnn: Yeah.  Lisa: So being able to write down those things, like the moments where you got a boost or you got a kick out of yourself.  TyAnn: This is so great. So you've said a couple of things that I think are brilliant.  Life is made up of all these little moments that are punctuated by the big thing. But 99% of life is...just we go through life, right? So that's where we can look. And so much of what you said is like a Maximizer coming out, which by the way, I'm that as well. But two examples for you in the food realm. So we started getting those home boxes that come with the food and the recipe. The box comes in, you have the recipe and you put it all together. Usually it's my job to put the ingredients together. Occasionally, my husband will put it together but he takes the recipe and goes exactly step by step and it comes out and, you know, it's fine. I'm different. I take the recipe and use it as a launchpad. It's like a starting point because I'm often thinking, "Hmm, you know, what would make this better?Just a little bit of shallot, a little bit of garlic, you know, a dash of cinnamon..."  And then I’ll present it to him, he's like, “This is not the recipe.” I'm like, “I know. It's better. It's better.” That's like a hallmark of Maximizers: "I’m gonna make this better!" Lisa: And it makes you really excited. TyAnn: Oh, huge, huge jazz out of it. 'Cause I sort of have this image of myself back at the test kitchen of whatever company being all like, “I made it better,” even though that's not my job and I would never do that. Anyway, in my head, it's pretty exciting. So, and a long time ago, back when the interwebs were still very new, I had this website, and one of the things I did was reviews of restaurants and products. This is really crazy to think about now. But do you remember flight — I know, we'll get back there one day — and in the in-flight magazine, how there were always those lists of like, top 10 steak houses in the United States.... Well, I took that as a challenge. And so I decided to go visit all of them, and then do reviews on them and see if I really thought they were the top 10 steak houses.  So then I had a whole thing on. Lisa: And you had this whole energy...  TyAnn: I do!  Lisa: ...about it.  TyAnn: And I'm 100% sure no one ever read that. But it didn't matter. I wasn't doing it for the audience, I was doing it as, like, a quality kind of thing.  Lisa: Hmmm. What's your take...you're making me think of...on the topic of self care ideas...how fulfilled we feel as humans and how alive we feel as humans, because I think there's a difference between being alive and feeling alive, like feeling alive for what you're doing. And that so much of it can come from striving and having a goal and that there's something around it even if it's something like, “I have this thing, I'm going to visit these 10…places." TyAnn: Whatever… Lisa: Whatever that thing is, so even making one of those lists...instead of it being an inventory of things you've found yourself get a charge out of it, could be like, “Oh, that sounds fun. I'm actually going to go do that.” TyAnn: You know, there was research that was done about, and this was really done on couples and families. And something that was particularly bonding was something they came up with and called it a quest. But it works for individuals too, that whenever you have a quest, something that you're doing together, and it doesn't have to be like, “We're gonna go visit every continent,” even though that could be fun, but that might be a little unattainable for a lot of people, it could just be, “We're gonna go check out all of the state parks in a 30-mile radius from our house.”  Lisa: Yes! TyAnn: Or we're gonna find a public fishing hole near where we live. I mean, it doesn't, it literally doesn't matter what it is. It's just something that's a common goal for you.  Bringing Strengths Into Self Care By Focusing On Things That Energize You Lisa: I like that as a very actionable thing that you could do with this, where you're like, "How can I do self care? Can I bring my strengths into it?" And by the way, you can look at them and say, "What would light these up?" And that can be part of your list making. But also, if you do things that feel easy to you and energizing to you, they probably are in alignment with your strengths naturally. TyAnn: That's a clue to strengths, too.  Lisa: Yeah! TyAnn: Usually your strengths are things that bring you energy and you feel naturally attracted to. So it doesn't matter if it's, "You know what, I'm going to try a seasonal fruit or vegetable this month. This is going to be the month of asparagus, and I'm going to go try that.” Whatever. Or, "We're going to try a new place." You know, you often hear this, "We're going to try something new." Because if you put yourself out there a little bit, but it's a new adventure of some sort, it kind of satisfies a lot of this neat thing. And that's what really gets a lot of cool juices flowing for you. Doing the same thing over and over tends not to stroke that same area for you.  Lisa: Yeah. And I like how you do the... If you're going to come up with a quest as one of the action items like, what could your quest be? And could you have a quest that would be a workplace quest or a family quest? And then could you do one that would feel really enlivening to one of your strengths? And then even if you wanted to have a work or family conversation around it, how could this quest be really fun for this family?  TyAnn: Yeah.  Lisa: Or how could this quest, this big aspirational goal that the team is heading toward, which… How could you find a way that one of your strengths comes alive through it? It would be a really cool conversation.  TyAnn: Absolutely. Lisa: I don't know if this is the same video you were talking about with research? Jane McGonigal was a researcher and she was recovering from a concussion. She started a quest to get better. There's a TED talk where she describes what she did to power up. She called it Super Better. And it was how she gamified getting better. She was also a gamer and she figured out a way to get super better, but bits at a time. And this quest notion, whether or not she used those words. TyAnn: I love that.  Lisa: ...it was baked into it. And it gives you a way to get there. Instead of feeling like, I think when people are bad at self care, when we're doing ourselves wrong, it's because I'm like, “Well, I'm, I haven't worked out this week, so I'm going to eat tater tots for breakfast.”  TyAnn: We like tater tots in our house as well. Gotta say. Tater tots loving family. And then someone might say, well, and if I had tater tots for breakfast, I might as well just go all in and have cake for lunch. And... Lisa: Oh, and I put ice cream on my list of self care ideas. So we have that and then you're all downhill.  TyAnn: But it's an interesting kind of this concept too. So you know, a lot of people have workout on their list because they think that's what should be on the list. So I would say stop shooting on yourself. What brings you energy is what brings you energy. No one's creating this, by the way.  And so if you feel like a natural attraction to you would like to get more activity in your life, that doesn't have to mean I have to go to the gym for an hour and a half, and get on some torturous piece of equipment that I don't want to be on, that makes me feel icky... Or, I have to go to a Body Pump class where I'm embarrassed and don't know how to do it. That's not what that means.  Lisa: Yeah, I think that thing, like remembering, there's a notion, maybe it's one that other people have put out there for you. Or maybe it's something you've made up about what that word means. Workout is a good example of one that's loaded. TyAnn: Yeah, a lot of baggage, Lisa: I think quick shout out to the book, Eat, Move, Sleep. That’s a really good one for self care ideas. TyAnn: Absolutely.  Lisa: …asking yourself, how are you on your eating and moving and sleeping? But okay, like if you said, “Okay, I want to move.”  TyAnn: Right.  Lisa: What kind of moving is fun for me? Maybe for one person, it's taking a walk with a friend,  and you got to have the social connection while you were power walking. For the next person, it’s going to a group exercise class.  Like I had... I went and hooked up my Xbox again, for the Kinect, to dance to Fergie. I mean, it's silly, but that's a fun workout for me. So why don’t I do it? TyAnn: That counts. That counts.  Lisa: And then you go, “Oh, well. Well, I do. Why don't I hook that back up? TyAnn: Right!  Lisa: Why do I have that unplugged? TyAnn: So if you want to be Dance Dance Revolution, man, knock yourself out!  Lisa: I love Dance Dance Revolution.  TyAnn: Or if you just want to crank up the music, or take a walk, or if you want to try some, you know, whatever new class is out there... Lisa: Take a whole new class! Whatever sounds fun for you. TyAnn: ...there’s something. So I think it really is trying to get away again from, if you write something down because you feel you should, I would say take another look at that, because that's not bringing you energy. And this is supposed to be a self care list about things that are exciting to you and bring you energy.  So if you feel like you should call your mom every day and spend an hour on the phone with her, but that doesn't bring you energy, don't put that on your list. Don’t put that on your list. Or even working out. If that doesn't sound so great to you, think about, “What does sound great to me? Hanging out with my friend sounds great. So maybe, I get an accountability partner at the gym. Then, that can be where I go to see my friends, I've kind of paired something I'm a little more iffy at with something I'm excited about. So together, I'm sort of killing two birds with one stone in a way that still feels awesome."  Lisa: Yeah.  TyAnn: So I think that's part of that self care. So I would just say, get back to that creative space. Think about those things which bring you energy. Try to get down to those micro-segments. I like organizing, that brings me energy. And so if I'm feeling a little out of sorts,  Lisa: Labeler.  TyAnn: If I'm feeling a little out of sorts, I might just literally pull open my desk drawer and just get it sorted out.  Lisa: Oh, this is the perfect closing to this.  Self Care Need Not Be Hard Or Inconvenient — Grow On Micro Habits Lisa: On the best self care ideas: My favorite TyAnn concept of the universe is “stop making things so hard.”  I make life hard because I think of all of these things I should be doing or want to do or that would feel great. But then they feel too gratuitous. It just feels like too much time. I don't have that much time for these eight hours of things I would prefer to do during the day.  TyAnn: It's too much.  Lisa: So the opening one drawer, and organizing one little space...  TyAnn: Right.  Lisa: The reading one page of a book, not even one chapter, but I like reading, I read one page.  TyAnn: Yoohoo, ‘crushing it! I’m winning. Lisa: If you’ve read Atomic Habits, have you checked out that?  TyAnn: Yes. Yeah.  Lisa: It's like, I will put my workout shoes next to my bed, and I will put my workout shoes on and then maybe...I will do 10 push-ups, and that's your only expectation for yourself — 10 push-ups, just something that is...  TyAnn: ...that you can crush, you can win... Lisa: ...very small and doable.  TyAnn: Micro-habits.  Lisa: ...and let it grow.  TyAnn: And you're like, I want to eat more vegetables. Great, I ate one asparagus. Winning! (laughs) Right? As opposed to, “Well, now I have to become a vegan.”  ...which seems like a big thing.  Lisa: That is so funny as a closing thought too because I have some like vegan experimenting things that… TyAnn: Vegan-curious? Lisa: Yeah! Say I’m plant-curious. If you're listening, hey, Becky Hammond from Isogo Strong!  TyAnn: We love Becky!  Lisa: Becky's a vegetarian. I was talking about well, you know, if I were to do it, I would just go vegan because I don't eat dairy so I would just like, that's the big battle with going vegan to me anyway, is I can't eat dairy anyhow. So I got past the vegetarian vegan thing. But I don't know about that. And I started giving all of these reasons: "This gets in my way...this makes it a precarious approach...and this makes it inconvenient. And she's like, “Just have one more plant-based meal per day." I said, “Oh, hello!” I hadn't thought of that. TyAnn: Something doable. Lisa: Stop making everything all or none. Stop making everything have a mutually exclusive this or that.  TyAnn: Stop making it so hard. Stop making it so hard. Lisa: And with that, I think it is…the perfect ending. So you've been listening to Lead Through Strength. As you think about not making it so hard and bringing your strengths into your self care practice, walk away with your list. Log those moments over the next month, maybe just a week or a few days. But catch the moments that were fun to you. Come let us know on social what they were for you because it is fun to hear the energizing moments for other people.  TyAnn: Absolutely. We'll talk about all of the self care ideas. Lisa: We will. Because the variety is so much fun when you learn one person's trash is another person's treasure - in hobbies and in tasks at work. So with that, let us know which ones you're starting to implement. We would love to hear how you took five more minutes for your self care so that you can fill your cup because we don't want you out of water. With that, we'll see you next time. Bye for now. Resources: Self Care Ideas To Help You Fuel Up Your Strengths And Fire Up Your Life Vital to self care is staying at your top form and performing better at work by knowing what keeps your strengths honored and insulted. Visit Lisa’s insightful episode about finding energizing tasks at work to discover what situations (or cultures) can either drain or motivate you based on your strengths. But simply knowing what honors and insults your strengths or talents cannot complete a self care process. Lisa’s Strengths Blind Spots episode serves as a great reminder to “feed our talents the same way we feed our body." Spend time developing and nurturing them instead of squashing them down so they can best serve your performance and, ultimately, that of the team. Finally, check out this episode on Wellbeing: Bravely Build a Fit Body and Mind Through Strengths with Lisa and Matt Swenson. You’ll learn to create healthy strengths habits around the 5 essential elements of wellbeing: career, social, financial, physical, and community. Life-changing self care ideas!

I learned a few of my strengths on www.gallop.com after taking the strength finders test. I am actively working to deploy my strengths into my day to day life. Myson Jones’ Instagram Make sure you join me and a community of other verified basketball trainers who give FREE advice in The Basketball Trainer Mastermind Facebook Group The Basketball Trainer Mastermind Facebook Group --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/basketballtobusiness/message

How Can I Turn Conflicts Around When My Manager Hates Me? Certain situations can highlight the stark differences within a team, especially when your strengths seem opposite of others' strengths. For example, you might think “my manager hates me” when they seem to value other team members' ideas and blow off yours. To conform or to stay true to your natural talents becomes a tough choice to make.  When you’re the manager, it takes some skill to build a balance between honoring your team members' strengths and honoring yours, especially where you think the business priorities and values are at stake. And when you manage a team with a very different set of top 5 or top 10 strengths, how exactly do you do it? Welcome to this episode, the first in a series with TyAnn Osborn, who role-plays and reflects with our host Lisa Cummings on the difficult scenarios where team members may have conflicting strengths. How do they handle the situation and turn conflicts around? Here’s the transcript of the episode. Lisa: You're listening to Lead Through Strengths, where you'll learn to apply your greatest strengths at work. I'm your host, Lisa Cummings, and you know, I'm always telling you, it's hard to find something more energizing than using your natural talents every day at work. Well, something that's just about as energizing is when I get to hang out with the other host here in the room, TyAnn Osborn. TyAnn: Hi! Lisa: Today, we're going to talk about a topic that we haven't decided yet, because I am going to use this spin-the-wheel thingy thingy, to tell us. *Spins the wheel* TyAnn: I like the sounds. Lisa: Oh, it says: ‘You don't like a teammate.’ When Someone On The Team Drives You Crazy Lisa: So today, we're going to talk about what you could do with your strengths when you don't like one of your teammates. Has this ever happened to you, Ty?  TyAnn: No, I've always loved everyone that I worked with... No...[hint of sarcasm] Lisa: But I bet one of your clients has had this situation since you've never had it, 'wink-wink...'  TyAnn: Of course, there's always someone that - for some reason - rubs you the wrong way. You just, you know, they're not your love language. And I work with clients all the time who have... there's always seems to be someone on the team who they just can't seem to get along with. Has this ever happened to you too?  Lisa: Definitely. I mean, it's funny because I feel like a big thing about me is that I love people. And I love most people.  TyAnn: Right. Me too! Lisa: But there are people that I don't jive with as well.  TyAnn: Yeah.  Lisa: And it takes some extra effort to understand where they're coming from, or really feel like, ‘Oh, I fully get them,’ or something like that. TyAnn: Which, you know, that's interesting when you're an individual contributor, when you feel that way, because you're like, ‘yeah, maybe that's just him’, you know. But when you're a manager, and you think, ‘Oh, I'm supposed to like everybody on the team’, or, ‘I need to not show favoritism but, eh, I kind of don't like that person. What do I do?’ It's kind of like being a parent; you're not supposed to not like one of your kids. So...  Lisa: Or not have a favorite.  TyAnn: Or not have a favorite. So, what do you do? Lisa: Okay, so let’s do a scenario? Let's do it like, you’re a manager. It will allow us to see the perspective of the manager thinking, "Ugh, that person is high maintenance on the team." And it will allow us to explore the flip side where a team member is thinking, "Ugh, my manager hates me. What should I do?" TyAnn: Yep.  Lisa: You happen to have done CliftonStrengths as a team.  TyAnn: Because you're a great manager. Lisa: 'Cause you're awesome. And there is a person on your team that you appreciate as a human, but as a performer, they feel very high-maintenance to you, they drive you kind of crazy. Let's pick some talent themes that might be seemingly opposite each other so we can make it a real scenario.  TyAnn: Okay. Lisa: Does one pop up for you as one that is least likely to be paired with another?  TyAnn: I see Deliberative being perceived as a problem child, especially when a lot of other people on the team might be more, say Activator, or something that's very forward in motion. Either Achiever, Activator, something like that. So maybe you've got a team that's like, ‘Oh, we're always ready to go!’ And there's one person who seems like they never can just get on the bus. And they're always the one dragging their heels. Lisa: Yeah. Oh, we should do this on both directions.  TyAnn: Okay. Lisa: Let's take Achiever-Activator.  TyAnn: Okay.  Lisa: And then let's take Deliberative. Say these are the two different people. And we can start with the manager, having Achiever-Activator, wanting stuff to get done quickly, and wanting to make decisions quickly. And the person who wants to take a little more time is the team member who reports to you, and then we’re gonna swap it.  TyAnn: Okay. Okay, I've got a real life example on that.  Lisa: Awesome. Okay. TyAnn: Absolutely.  Lisa: So you're my manager.  TyAnn: Okay.  Lisa: You're Achiever-Activator [role play begins you can also watch the video version to get the subtleties]. TyAnn: Woohoo! Let's get going, man, come on! Lisa: And I'm saying, "Well, bad news. I'm going to miss that deadline that you gave me." TyAnn: Lisa, what's going on? I gave you the deadline. Come on! Chop, chop!  Lisa: Well, the thing is, I *could* get it done, but I can't get it done *properly* right now, because we don't have all of the information. I've been trying to work with this other department. They've been dragging their heels. I’m waiting for them. If I do it now, I might just be giving you completely incorrect information because I'm seeing three or four ways this could all go wrong if I blaze ahead today, and it feels like I'm just gonna be wasting time…. TyAnn: Lisa, all I hear is excuses. I have stuff to get done too. We owe the marketing department this information. They're waiting on us to get this stuff into print. We're behind already and you know what, you're never going to have 100% confidence in what you do. So just give me something.  Lisa: Uhum...[hangs head]. Okay, now that we've come out of our characters from our roleplay, I would say, you were kind of playing like the in-between our manager where you were trying to give the people listening to the podcast, like a little bit of a glimpse of inside your head, but also be somewhat mature, like, in how you...  TyAnn: Right, right.  Lisa: ...because you're balancing the two - and that the inside voice and the outside voice are really different.  TyAnn: That’s true. My Team Member Frustrates Me: How Can I Moderate My Message To The Person? Lisa: Can you explain what was going on fully inside voice? Unfiltered. TyAnn: Yeah.  Lisa: ...and then how, if you wanted to maturely talk to me, and still keep me engaged...how that might look?  Tyann: I think that's a good point because hopefully, as you progress in your career, you just don't say the first thing that pops into your head. I always say, there's the reason why there's a little space between your head and your mouth. Yeah, have a little filter in there. But inside your head, it's very normal be like, "Oh, my God, you are so frustrating! I gave you the deadline. Arrgh, why didn't you say something sooner? You, you always do this. And all I'm hearing is excuses. Now you're throwing this other department under the bus. I cannot count on you. The rest of the team - we're getting it done. And we have to deal with the same things." So typically, what I see when I see this combination of strengths is a lot of frustration. That is usually the emotion that I see a lot, it’s frustration. Whoever has the action, it's like, "Oh, I'm just really angry with you." And whoever's on the receiving side, well, we can debrief how you feel. But usually it's a lot of frustration on that side, too. So that's kind of what's happening inside.  And then on the outside, but I'm trying to be a good manager, and I'm trying not to just say, "Oh my God, you're such an idiot, and I hate you." 'Cause I would never say that to someone. But I'm trying to say, "You know, of course, we're never going to have 100% confidence in what we do, because that's not real life. So we have to get to a point where we may feel 80% confident, and how do we do that? And too, you can't always have an excuse for why things aren't happening. You have to take ownership of something, too." So that's what I was trying to moderate in the message. So you could feel some of that?  Lisa: For sure. And I put you on the spot and I know this person is thinking, "I know my manager hates me, but I still don't want to deliver shoddy work." TyAnn: Right.  Lisa: It's easier when you have time to think out the words for the feedback. It's simpler to give the vibe that, "I've been thinking about how I'm going to coach you and how we can improve this over time." What we've been doing is the in-the-moment heated feeling, "Oh, we just missed a really important deadline. You didn’t tell me. I am so upset." Tyann: Right. And now my butt's in the sling because of you.  Lisa: Yeah. And I hear things from managers, like, "Everybody else can do it. You're the only one…" And then you don't want to give that as feedback... TyAnn: Right. Or you start hearing that relationship language like "always," and "never," which we say, you know, anytime you start hearing, "always," "never," that should be a clue. But when you definitely start feeling...  Lisa: Alarm bells. TyAnn: Yeah, alarm bells should go off. But when you start feeling inside, like, "Oh, my God, you're always the problem. You're the problem employee. Everyone else can get it done on time, how come you can't?" And that's when you start hearing things like, you know, "Lisa's got to go." Lisa: Right. The employee also feels the My Manager Hates Me alarm bells. TyAnn: Absolutely. From the manager, perspective they're already thinking of firing the person. I always call it "my employee’s broken, I want a new one" syndrome. And, you know, that might be an answer. But I don't want that to be the first answer. To me, I want that to be the last answer. And I would like to try and see, "Can this marriage be saved before we go to it's broken?" Lisa: Yeah.  TyAnn: Because it takes a lot of effort to get another employee.  Lisa: Oh, yeah. And I have something valuable to offer you with the Deliberative talents when they're dialed in well.  TyAnn: Right. Yes. Absolutely. Lisa: I might sit in the seat... Okay, here's what I would say, like, what would be in my head if I were this team member? I would be thinking, "Yeah, other people get it done on time. And all of my teammates, ‘always’, ‘never’... all, all my teammates, give crappy work. I'm on a team where no one cares about quality, all they care about is speed. We do so many things three or four or five times because we were refused to do it right the first time because we won't take an extra minute to get the information from the other department, or fix that relationship that's creating the block that won't let us get the information. My manager hates me and hates my style. "And anytime I bring up the ‘what ifs’ or ‘this might go wrong’, people treat me like I’m the negative Nellie so I just shut down and don't say anything. But it doesn't mean I want to give you bad work." TyAnn: Mm hmm. So yeah, so you're surrounded by people that you think are...yeah... Lisa: Half-assing it.  TyAnn: Half-assing it. And I like to say why half-ass when you can whole-ass? [smiles] Because you're right - then you're pretty probably seeing a bunch of rework that has to happen. When if we just put in the correct effort to begin with, you know, that wouldn't happen. But meanwhile, you've shut down.  Lisa: I've shut down.  TyAnn: ...because you've been shut down.  Lisa: Yes. And I might be thinking, leading through Deliberative, seeing all of the activity that is resulting in, in my opinion, bad quality work out there, now I'm thinking, "Oh, look, the whole team is running around like chickens with their head cut off. Looks totally foolish. I'm the only one actually putting reasoning behind what we're doing. I'm the only one who's thinking I'm the only one who is bringing some rigor to this process. How is it that my manager hates me when I'm the voice of quality and avoiding a crisis that we're bound to experience if we don't pump the brakes?" TyAnn: Right. Lisa: And no one's valuing it. And then I'm thinking, "Well, clearly, I'm not a good fit for the job, or the company or the team, or maybe my manager. But if the whole team I perceive it like that…" TyAnn: Yeah.  Lisa: And maybe they are like that. Or maybe they've just conformed to your behavior, because as a manager, you've been so strong in your speed. TyAnn: Right. Lisa: At least you're clear. So that I'm grateful for. You know, opposites.  My Manager Hates Me: Do I Conform And Please, Or Do I Look For Another Team? TyAnn: So you said two things that were really interesting. In this scenario, you talked about this, you were waiting on something from another team, so you were the only person who brought up even an interaction with another team. So to me that says you were thinking a little more systematically and holistically. So maybe these other guys should have been interacting with this other team, and they haven't been, so there's something going on there that should be paid attention to.  But you also said something about maybe the rest of the team, they actually know things should be being done differently too, but here's what you find in a team. People want to please the manager. Because why? Because we are self-serving creatures. We do self-preservation activities, because that's what help... helps keep us alive. And at work, that's what helps keep us employed and...  Lisa: You’re writing my performance review!  TyAnn: You’re writing my review, you're helping me keep this job, you're helping me get paid more. And so it's not that there's a diabolical plot, it's just we are human beings, and we are doing these behaviors because if that's what you want for me, that's what I'm going to deliver. Even if I know there's something else that's possibly better.  Lisa: Oh, it could even be especially if. What if I think I need you to think I'm a good performer? Because if I want to change roles, because this one isn't a good fit for me, I need you to...  TyAnn: ...to support me.  Lisa: Yeah, I need your support to move into another team. And when the next manager asks how I am as a performer...  TyAnn: Right.  Lisa: ...I want you to just say how amazing I am, not that I was your highest maintenance team member, right? TyAnn: So even if I thought you would be good for another role, they're going to say, what was Lisa's performance on your team? And I'm going to have to say Lisa was the worst performer. Who's going to want to take my lowest performer? That's going to be a much harder sell.  Lisa: Yeah.  TyAnn: And so you end up with kind of these, I always call them like aberrant behaviors. And again, not because people are diabolical, or someone sitting around trying to figure out, you know, the worst way to do things. It's just...it's self-preservation in action. And so if we don't make a conscious effort to really stop and think about things, this is what happens unintentionally. So at the end of the day, you have good ideas, probably that aren't being heard. People are running off half-cocked. And you know, there's a bunch of rework - probably not very high quality. You know, ultimately, it's just not the best product and not the best environment, or certainly not as good as it could be something. That's what we tend to see.  Lisa: Now even though this could be a perfectly good place to end this example, let's make sure that we've flipped the scenario. Because I think it's a good example for people to experience when the same situation exists, but the themes are flipped around, because it can just change the whole scene of how the team culture looks. You actually said you have a real example of this. So...  TyAnn: Yeah.  Lisa: Is that, is that a shareable example if it's anonymized?  Leverage Communication To Resolve StrengthsFinder Talent Theme Conflicts TyAnn: Absolutely. So I had this happen. And it doesn't often happen this way. But it did. And I thought it was a good story. I was working with a news crew, so the people you see on TV to put out the news. And the manager was very high Deliberative.  Lisa: Okay. Nice. TyAnn: And the news people as you can imagine, very high action-oriented. I mean, and it was a newsroom. It was very much "we have to get this on the air right now." I mean, it was very high-pressured. And so Deliberative, you know, doesn't like high pressure, needs time to think, really wants to make sure that all the facts are correct, I would hate to put something out and have it be wrong. So the manager was feeling like, "I am working with a bunch of people who don't care about quality, are willing to be excessively risky with the reputation of our brand, because we might have to put a retraction out on the air. And that we're just going to be putting stuff out there that's half-baked, and I work with a bunch of people who I can't trust." Meanwhile, the reporters are saying, “Our manager is a wet blanket. Every time we take him a really cool idea, his first reaction is ‘no’, or he asks me 17,000 questions that I haven't fully thought through, I don't have the answers to. So he makes me feel stupid, or he makes me feel like, by the time I get through all of his questions, you know what, the moments passed, like, it doesn't even matter anymore. Or he'll never get back to me at all.”  And so there was this just huge conflict between them with none of them feeling valued on the team. But you know, the funny thing is, I wasn't called in because there…to do a remediation or a problem. I was called in, because they were all high performers. That was a really interesting one to step into.  Lisa: Wow. What you're bringing up for me is this idea that it really doesn't matter what the themes are, or what the job is, because you can take any of your top CliftonStrengths talent themes, and they could be applied to serve any role. Because it's easy to get caught up in this thing, where we're like, "On this team, this group of them feels bad and this group of them feels right, or for this manager, this, this serves me, and these are not serving me. But the reality is that our natural talents are (if we allow them to be) our easy buttons to performance." TyAnn: Yeah.  Lisa: It's this concept of, well, maybe it's gone wild. You know, strengths gone wild. So if they could be honed in a little bit, both things that you were just bringing up in that scenario, are valuable to the organization. TyAnn: Right. Lisa: It's just all of them can't be on blast...  TyAnn: ...All the time. Right. So, Lisa, you often talk about keys on a keyboard, and when we play them together, and they're harmonious, we've got some good chords going. It sounds awesome, right? And so you're right, it's not that there's good strengths and bad strengths, or that, you know, these things are naturally in conflict. It's just kind of finding that right level, because I don't think anyone would say, "Yeah, we're just gonna slap junk on the TV. And if it's not, right, well, who cares?" I mean, no one's gonna say that, right? And no one's gonna say, "Well, we're going to chase down every possible lead until we get a 100%, you know, confidence in this. And meanwhile, it's just gonna be black on TV until we feel like we're 100% confident." Because that's not realistic, either. So ideally, it would be great to feel like, we can work with the pace that we need to and put out really quality content that I feel good about. And in the event of an escape, you know, or a quality issue, we have a good process in place to catch that and to do whatever we need to to make a quick correction.  Lisa: Yeah.  TyAnn: And so what I got him to do was, actually, to codify his thinking process. I said, "What are the top three questions you usually ask when someone comes to you with a new idea?’ And he said, ‘Well, I just wish people had thought through things a little bit better. So I wish they would think about this, this and this." And I said, "Great, let's capture that. Let's get that out to the team so that they can do that thinking and you don't have to." And that's it. That's easy. And I said, "How long would it take you to get back to the team then when they come to you with ideas? What...what would feel good and realistic?" And he said, "I could get back to people within 24 hours." So okay, so we went back to the team said, "Is that a commitment that's workable for you?" So we had both sides in a satisfied position. I wouldn't even say it's a compromise because it didn't feel like anyone was giving something up. It just felt more like communication. And so that together, we're better. And it was like a light bulb went on in terms of, now It didn't feel like I was just doing things the hard way, like it didn't feel like a struggle every day. It felt like people were almost looking for that next opportunity so that they can test the stuff out. Find Out Where One Is Coming From And Assume Positive Intent Lisa: Love it. So when you think about action items to give listeners, lets see what they can do with this. Maybe a person is thinking, "my manager hates me, so what are my next steps?" Or a manager is thinking, "Jim wears me out, so how can I give him a chance to show up at peak performance?" It's too bad that this becomes a recurring theme at the office. It's the same frustration over and over again, it's just that they haven't figured out how to talk about it yet. Often they'll bring in Ty to say, “Can you help us communicate better because we haven't been facing the tough conversation with each other - now it's messing things up." Tyann: Right. Lisa: I love that there's the facilitated process that could happen. And by the way, you can bring Ty into your organization to do this, if you need help. Sometimes it just still feels awkward for you to do it because you can't be neutral like a 3rd party. TyAnn: I'm always happy to come in and facilitate awkward conversation [all smiles].  Lisa: You are the number one awkward conversation facilitator.  TyAnn: I could totally do that. But you can start this on your own as well.  Lisa: Yeah. I think if I were to leave any parting words for the person who's trying to do it on their own first before they blow up to the team, or before they verbalize the feedback to someone else, it would be, really get clear. “Is it because my personal preferences are different from the business priority?” It's personal preference, business priority, which is which? Are they not the same? And if they're not, that can be okay. You just have to get clear with yourself to go, “Ah. I get it - this is why it wraps my gut up in a knot.” This is what I would rather it be like, but it's not like that, because it's real life. TyAnn: Right. Lisa: So I need to proceed like this. And then as I proceed like this with the business preference, because it's my job, it's what they're paying me for, then can I see some positive intent coming from that other person? Like, what are they actually aiming for here? Even though it's making me upset or making me feel frustrated, what are they trying to do that has good intent? Because nearly always, (sure, not always, there are nefarious characters out there somewhere), but nearly always people have good intent.  TyAnn: Yep, absolutely. That's one of my favorite things, is assume positive intent. Because believe me, your life will be much better when you do. It's amazing how many people that I run into don't or do think someone's out there trying to get them. Believe me, the vast majority of people go to work, and they want to do a good job. So let's assume positive intent. And I think that's just when you feel yourself getting... getting anxious, or you see that team member and you can just feel yourself getting triggered, or that thing happens again, and you feel it in yourself, that's a really good moment to think, "What is it specifically that is triggering me about this?" And again, it doesn't have to be they are an awful human being, it's just something in them is different than how you would react in that situation. So I think, stop. Think about what it is. Think about the good thing that they bring. And then again, what problem are we trying to solve? What's our ultimate goal? And how can we both get there together?  Lisa: What a perfect way to end this one.  TyAnn: Yeah.  Lisa: So next time that comes up for you, be thinking of the other person, what's the positive intent? Where are they coming from that is good and how could that, if you know CliftonStrengths talent theme language, then what are they trying to accomplish? And since you already have the talent themes in a list (or the StrengthsFinder 2.0 book), you might get some ideas about where they're coming from.  Tyann: Right. Lisa: Because sometimes you do feel a little baffled...  TyAnn: Yeah.  Lisa: ...at the beginning, like why do they act like this, or why do they think like this, or why do they approach work like this? Or why does my manager hate me like this? Just going to someone else's CliftonStrengths report and going, ‘Oh, they think this way, aha. This makes sense now.’  TyAnn: Reading the reports is a really good place to start.  Lisa: It's great for helping you understand the other person.  Alright, with that, you've been listening to Lead Through Strengths, where you've been learning to apply your greatest strengths, to make your work stronger, and now also looking at other people's strengths and trying to notice those so that the whole team can get better together. Thanks, Ty. TyAnn: Thanks, Lisa. Hate Is Unproductive — Understand More With These Additional Resources Whether you’re a manager or a team member, you can stop any tendency to hold a theme bias against others’ so-called “bad strengths." Listen to our conversation on that for more. Of course, most teams don't have true hate, but when a team member thinks that a leader dislikes them, their engagement and performance can take a quick nose dive. With the premise that conflicts arise in any widely diverse work environment, Lisa and Lead Through Strengths Facilitator Strother Gaines exchange views and tips in another episode on how to Ignite Better Team Collaboration Through Strengths. All this highlights the importance of energizing tasks at work. What can fuel or discourage best performance lies in how much CliftonStrengths talent themes are allowed and supported within the team — a challenge for some teams but highly doable.

“Through my continued research, I realized there's a way you can blend and merge identities. And actually that's your truest form of yourself when you're in the intersections of multiple identities. And that's the hybrid.” Sarabeth Berk   Sarabeth Berk, Chief Creative Disruptor of More Than My Title, is a researcher and innovation strategist demystifying the human experience. She is known for her research on the hybrid professional - people with multiple professional identities who integrate talents together and bring unique value to employers and clients. I had the pleasure of speaking with Sarabeth about the professional identity crisis that inspired her research on the hybrid professional, the increasing demand for hybrids in the job market, and how you can network to learn someone’s identity rather than their position. Listen in to find out if you might be a hybrid professional.   Show Highlights [0:59] Sarabeth’s professional identity crisis [6:25] Jobs of the future will always become commonplace [16:17] Emerging hybrids vs established hybrids [23:00] Identity work & being seen [26:25] Gaining clarity of self through misunderstanding [31:21] How to network with identity in mind   Links | Resources Sarabeth on LinkedIn More Than My Title Are You a Hybrid Professional? Sarabeth’s TEDx Talk   About the Guest Sarabeth Berk is a creative disruptor and innovation strategist who demystifies the human experience. As a researcher, she is known for her research on the hybrid professional - people with multiple professional identities who integrate talents together and bring unique value to employers and clients. Sarabeth is currently the Chief Creative Disruptor of More Than My Title, a professional coaching agency in Denver, CO that helps clients discover their truest professional identity. About Voltage Control Voltage Control is a facilitation agency that helps teams work better together with custom-designed meetings and workshops, both in-person and virtual. Our master facilitators offer trusted guidance and custom coaching to companies who want to transform ineffective meetings, reignite stalled projects, and cut through assumptions. Based in Austin, Voltage Control designs and leads public and private workshops that range from small meetings to large conference-style gatherings.  Share An Episode of Control The Room Apple Podcasts Spotify Android Stitcher Engage Control The Room Voltage Control on the Web Contact Voltage Control   Intro: Welcome to the Control the Room Podcast, a series devoted to the exploration of meeting culture and uncovering cures for the common meeting. Some meetings have tight control, and others are loose. To control the room means achieving outcomes while striking a balance between imposing and removing structure, asserting and distributing power, leaning in and leaning out, all in the service of having a truly magical meeting. Douglas: Today I’m with Dr. Sarabeth Berk. Dr. Sarabeth Berk is a hybrid professional, who also researches hybrid professional identity. She’s also the author of More Than My Title. Welcome to the show, Sarabeth.  Sarabeth: I’m so glad to be here. Thanks, Douglas. Douglas: So, tell us a little bit about how you got started in this work you do, this notion of hybrid professional identity. Where did that even come from? Sarabeth: Yeah. It's been a wild journey, and it really started with that age-old question: What do you do? And I was going through my own career-change transition and trying to figure out what my next move was. And when people asked me, “What do you do?” I just struggled. I didn't know who I was. I wanted to be seen as more than my current job, and at that point, I was a teacher, and I was ready to break out. I wanted to transform systems and do more strategy and design and innovation work. And so essentially, I was having a professional-identity crisis. I didn't know who I was.  And that led me onto this big research journey and interviewing a lot of people and starting to understand, what is this notion of professional identity? We just don't talk about it. And I looked at existing research. But what was fascinating to me the most was when I talked to other people, I thought they had it figured out and that I was the one that was confused, and this was a problem only I experienced. And that was so far from the truth. I quickly realized that people, many people, are more than their job title. That's just this kind of generic way that we give ourselves a frame and a label. And everyone I spoke to was so much more. So it gave me a sense of ease and peace to realize, oh, my gosh. Okay, it's not only me trying to figure out my identity.  And then it started to open up a lot of new questions and thinking of, why don't we talk about this, and why is it so hidden that people do many things. But beyond that—here was the real kick—I realized I have multiple professional identities. I was an artist and a teacher, and I was becoming a researcher, and I loved design. I probably had a handful of others. But I didn't want to be just one identity at a time. When I took a job, I didn't want to just be hired as the designer or the researcher. I loved using all of those identities together.  So through my continued research, I realized there's a way you can blend and merge identities. And actually that's your truest form of yourself when you're in the intersections of multiple identities. And that's the hybrid.  So that's sort of my short story on how I happened upon it. But now that I've unlocked it and I'm sharing it with other people that are trying to figure out how do they get their next job or how do they really explain and articulate what their value is, this notion of the hybrid is just the game changer, and I'm so glad people are liking it. Douglas: You know, I personally resonate with this a lot because my degree that I obtained in college was entitled multidisciplinary studies because I didn't want to be in school and get four different majors, but I wanted to study a lot of different things. And in fact, I had spent a lot of time in computer-science-type stuff in high school but enjoyed it so much I was just, like, figured that stuff out. I want to go study other stuff. And so I think I personally carved out this journey where there wasn't this one to one between my degree and my job. And I think a lot of folks, that's the classic route. And I felt a little bit different early in that journey. But it seems like it's more and more, we're finding whether you're a product manager or a facilitator or just this podcast is dedicated to, there are so many roles out there where you can't just go and get a degree in that role. And in fact, it takes a very diverse and well-rounded background to make you excel in the role. So I’m just kind of curious. How much do you think it has to do with these new types of roles that of themselves are not super well-defined. They’re kind of hybrid in nature. Sarabeth: I love everything you just framed because the truth is you're not alone. A lot of people are not the exact thing they went to school for or got a degree in, and they've changed jobs and accumulated so many talents over time that they are like, yeah, what am I now? And I just wrote a really popular blog post a couple weeks ago that looks at this issue of job descriptions and positions and the way that roles are being named.  One that really stood out to me is a company called Jump, and they do a ton of design and design-thinking-type work. And they were hiring a person to be an innovation strategist, which is something that resonates with me. And what I loved in the job description is the first thing they wrote is, Are you a hybrid thinker? They call that out. And then below that, they described it as someone who’s one part a humanist, one part technologist, one part anthropologist and filmmaker, entrepreneur. They kind of listed these identity mashups that nailed it for me because companies are starting to realize they need someone that is multidisciplinary or multifaceted. And that's actually the value when you can find a person with this crazy combined skill set and identity set. Douglas: You know, as someone who's hired a lot of people over the years, I hear that and part of me is reminded of this really, I would say, treacherous territory of carving out this unicorn that maybe doesn't exist, and then you have these unrealistic expectations on finding the person. But I think as the job market or the pool gets more and more sophisticated and people have more and more experience, these unicorns do tend to, they're out there.  Sarabeth: Yeah. Douglas: And so I’m just kind of curious of your thoughts on that. Sarabeth: Yeah. It's that notion that the jobs of the future will eventually become commonplace today. So an example of that would be a social-media manager. We never knew we needed that role 10 years ago. That was really outlandish and exotic. And now it's so normal that multiple people have that in their job description underneath other duties. And I think now we see things like a DevOps manager. Well, that's hybrid. You're doing development and operations. Or even a data scientist. What is that? That's a hybrid title that now is becoming more normalized because we're like, yeah, of course, you have to look at data scientifically with other methods and insights behind that.  So I think it's that notion that when things are hybrid, I'll use more of a product example for a second. When CamelBak created a backpack that had a water-bottle bladder inside of it, well, what the heck do you call that? That was a new product that combined two existing functions. And they named it CamelBak.  And that suddenly caught on as the new way to call that object. Well, the same thing goes for people in roles. We don't know what they are until we sort of adopt it and get used to it. So I believe the unicorns are out there. We just don't have enough language to define them. Douglas: Yeah. It's interesting. It's like, are we tapping into an emergent phenomenon or really just dreaming up something that some really crazy custom-fit jigsaw-puzzle piece that would just help our organization? Or are we tapping into some trends that are just starting to emerge? Sarabeth: Probably all the above. Douglas: Yeah. I think the risk is when we overfit that jigsaw puzzle, and it’s like, oh, here's this thing that's like—does that thing even exist? Maybe that’s two different people. Sarabeth: Yeah. No, and that’s part of the art and the science of this, so thanks for putting that into perspective. We can't say we need someone that is the jack of all trades and an expert in everything, because that's not realistic.  So my quick framework is that there's three types of professionals: people that have really one type of expertise, I call that singularity. People that have multiple things they do for work, I call that multiplicity. And then the hybrid is somewhere in the middle, where you're blending and combining multiple expertise as well as multiple areas of generalists. And so it’s sort of fuzzy. And so people say if you're a hybrid, then you're not an expert. And actually, I disagree. I think you're an expert in your own hybridity, because in that emergent space—I love that word you used—and you're in the intersection of multiple identities simultaneously, that's an expertise no one else can replicate.  And to your point a moment ago of, is it too crazy to ask for someone to be all these things? Yeah. I think it is. So when I work with people one on one or in groups, I say you have to first have a ton of self-awareness and know what are your core professional identities, the two, three, four at the most, that are really the ones you’re best at. They light you up. You want the world to know you for. If you stop doing any of those tomorrow, you'd feel like part of you is missing. Once you land on those two, three, or four, that's what makes your hybridity. That's kind of the ingredients of a mixture. So, yes, you probably can do more than those three or four identities, but that's not going to be the best use of who you are as a hybrid. Where I’m trying to go with this is that there is sort of—a hybrid needs to just be a certain set of components. It can't be everything. Does that make sense? Douglas: Absolutely. And I think that was the risk I was trying to point out to folks that wanted to tap into this phenomenon is temper your expectations. We can’t just sit there and just conjure up the most perfect combination of skills and experience, because the more things you layer on, the less the probability that someone in the world has accumulated those things and is available and is interested in working with you. Sarabeth: Yeah, that’s true. And people are fluid and dynamic, and as the workforce is shifting, people are changing industries. And so once you start not just getting new jobs, but you're going from finance into healthcare, into tech, now you have this whole different set of who you are and how do you articulate that value. And I think that's what I'm trying to help people discern is you need to tell a story of the relationships between the different identities you have. Douglas: I love that. Gosh, that brings up a lot of stuff for me. I was even thinking about internal family systems. But this notion of fluidity is really fantastic. And maybe the advice to hiring managers, and the thing I would probably internalize, is that if we're hiring people that are hybrid or have that hybrid affinity, it means that we can benefit from that fluidity and adaptability because they realize that they have this growth mindset and they are accumulating new skills. And so even though they're not this unicorn, maybe they're missing a few pieces, then they're going to grow into that, and they can adapt and they're not just fixed into this identity of who they are and what they do. Sarabeth: Absolutely. Identity is a really big spectrum, and we change depending on context and time of our lives. We are not the same individuals that we were 10 years ago, you and I. We have different tastes and interests and hobbies and probably even friends. So why would we ever think that our career stays stagnant too? Douglas: Mm. Also, just kind of tying this back to meetings and facilitation and also your comment around people saying that hybrids aren't experts, I would say that my interpretation of that would be hybrids are experts at gluing things together, because you may have—and in fact, a hybrid could be a deep expert in two things, and they're gluing together a bunch of other things. But even if they're not super-deep expertise in whatever is the topic at hand, their deep expertise might be somewhere else, even if they have the ability to span these different spectrums, it means they're going to be able to glue together the deep knowledge that others on the team have, and that is super powerful. And I would argue that hybrids make great facilitators because our role is to glue together, it's to understand enough to say, hey, what you're saying is contradicting this other person, even though you seem to be agreeing. And that takes some hybridity. You have to understand enough of each of these things and have enough experience to be able to call on that knowledge and apply it in a way that everyone can kind of come to the table and understand it. Sarabeth: Yeah. That's really a great insight and observation. I agree that hybrids definitely have one foot in different worlds, and so they get to be these master translators, which isn't the route of facilitation to make it easier. And so you're the person transferring knowledge between disciplines or industries or sectors or departments or whatever to help them make it easier of, What are these languages and ideas and concepts we're doing? How do they fit together? Douglas: Yeah, one thing I also say is one of the superpowers of a facilitator is really quick synthesis, to be able to take a bunch of inputs in, synthesize them, make some meaning of it, and then kind of spit it back out for the group to react to. And so there’s a balance between totally mirroring what you're hearing but also synthesizing some things to help spur and move things ahead. And I think a lot of, I would say, varied and diverse background and perspective can really make that synthesis easier, because it's not about necessarily how fast your brain is processing stuff. I mean, sure, there’s an element of that. But if you have different models and contexts that you can draw on, it definitely reduces the need for your brain to have to go into hyperdrive. Sarabeth: Yeah. I love what you're saying. That was one of the findings I had in looking at hybrids, and where does hybridity show up? And hybrids are masters at pattern recognition and meeting making. And you just said that in your own words. Douglas: That's fantastic. You know, I'd written down complexity earlier, for a different reason. And I think you could kind of map this stuff onto a Cynefin framework even, based on a few things I've heard you speaking about today already. Early on, before hybrid, we have a very simple view of the world. It's like I learn to do something, and I do it. And then as I learn more and more difficult things and get more and more specialized, moving into the complicated domain, that hybrids really thrive in this complex domain, where things are adapting and changing, and we have to respond to them. And we have that fluidity that we can lean on so that if something new comes at us, we don't just get knocked off. We kind of just, we remain in balance. Sarabeth: Yeah, definitely. I think hybrids are very adaptable, and they tinker and invent and hack, and they see the standard process, and they know how to kind of tweak it or make it better or change it completely. Douglas: The other fascinating thing about the Cynefin model is that in between the domains, because a lot of people look at it and think it's just a two by two. The lines between the domains is a domain in and of itself, so this disorder that you move through when you transition. And you were talking about these hybrids transitioning, and I think whenever we transition domains, there's some disorder. We have to, you know, like, Clark Kent can't just turn into Superman. He has to go into the phone booth and emerge as Superman.  And I think that that in itself, I mean, there's two things I think of that might be interesting to unpack from your work, which was, do you see that there is a transition, an uncomfortable transition, as people start to learn? As they're moving from a simple, like, “I know this one thing. I'm starting to learn, build this other skill,” it’s like maybe there's some identity crisis starting to happen. Sarabeth: No. I was completely agreeing. I have a table I created in the book I wrote, More Than My Title, where I talk about emerging hybrids versus established hybrids, because there is sort of this developmental thing that's happening as you're feeling the push and pull and tension of having multiple identities, but not understanding the relationship between them, how they fit together, and how to build that as the way you're working in the world. You're sort of stuck in this awkward phase. And there's a few different indicators I have of that. And one of it is this, I call it, crossover. It's like sometimes you know how to tie your identities together and you're in that zone of genius, and other times you don't. It's like you only are one or the other, and you haven't found that natural cadence or just natural ability to let it be simultaneous.  And one thing that just my kind of artsy head that inspired some of my research findings was I was looking at paintings by Rene Magritte, and he is one of the ultimate surrealists. And he had one painting where it's a sandy beach, it's the seashore, and there’s a doorway, just the frame of a door, and the door is open. And so you can walk through that doorway and get to the water or you can stay on the beach. It's sort of that moment of this invisible gateway between the two worlds. And that's my visual mental metaphor of us trying to figure out, How do we find these spaces of transition between the different parts of ourselves? Douglas: It's amazing. As you were sharing some of that I’m starting to formalize some of, like you were helping me articulate where my head was going previously, which is I think there's two modes, maybe. One is as you're first exploring the land of hybridity, it's almost like going through puberty because it's like, wait a second. This is a real awkward transition.  Sarabeth: Yeah. Douglas: And as you start to become more hybrid, so you're developing different facets of yourself, when you're in that zone, I would imagine early on that fluidity isn't quite so fluid. Being able to shift between those modes may be more awkward. I'm actually taking this hat off, putting it on the table, and putting this other hat on, and it's a little clunky. I have to maybe reboot a little bit. But then more and more you do it, the more skilled you are of just blending between the two to where it's almost like a dance. Like, you don't even notice that you're shifting between these modes. Sarabeth: Yeah. That's exactly right. The other tool that I brought into my work is this idea of developing your consciousness. Hybrids don't realize they're even hybrids. They have to learn that construct and realize, oh, my gosh, this might apply to me. And even once you learn the term, you still might not understand how it looks for you and what makes you a hybrid.  Oftentimes when I speak to people that they're excited and this resonates, and they go, “Of course, I'm a hybrid. I do marketing and sales, and I'm a gardener on the side. And I love to do graphics and computer animation,” but they don't understand how those things fit together or how they're using synergies and a marriage of all that. Then there's still that emerging phase. That's more multiplicity, in my mind, when you are just putting one hat on, taking it off, putting the next hat on. And the hybrid is literally wearing all the hats at once and has tentacles of skills.  Let me give a clear, concrete picture of my hybridity in action. So actually, when I'm facilitating a meeting and I start to do either some visual recording, graphic facilitation, or in the moment ask people to take on roleplaying, to play out different personas of stakeholders that we're trying to imagine how would they experience this thing, those are moments when I notice big shifts in the room, and other people don't run meetings that way. That's me and my hybridity because the researcher is turning on, the designer’s turning on, the educator’s turning on, in that moment to get people to do things they don't normally do to make sense of information we're struggling with. So that’s kind of how detailed I push people to see themselves in these moments of their hybridity, to reveal it to themselves. Douglas: You know, that reminds me of one of the thoughts that I had when we first met and I was starting to wrap my head around your work, and it was that this is in a way, is a really practical, pragmatic approach to personal branding. Sarabeth: Definitely. It has that connection, which I think is just one of the outcomes of doing the work. So I didn’t even really do my full hybrid introduction, but essentially I've designed my own title for my hybridity, and I call myself a creative disruptor because to me that encapsulates who I am in the intersections. And it's a unique name. It's not too out there or trendy, but it feels authentic and accurate, and it takes some practice and exploration to find that right combination of words.  And what my “creative disruptor” title represents is that I'm comprised of being an artist, designer, educator, and researcher. Those are my four primary, or core, identities that mean the most and I have to use pretty frequently in the work I do. If I don't, I get bored or I stop doing that job, or other things happen, more disengaged. So that’s really kind of the building blocks of this work is having self-awareness of your identities, and then asking yourself, Who are you in those intersections, and what do you call yourself in that bullseye of your intersections? That's your hybrid title, which then becomes a beautiful personal brand that all of your history and work experience connects to. Douglas: Yeah. I love this notion of authenticity in its purest sense, right?  Sarabeth: Mm-hmm. Douglas: A lot of times we hear that word thrown around, be authentic, etc., but I truly believe that if we're going to be great facilitators, we have to be authentic. And that means being true to ourselves and showing up in that way. And I love that your work is a tool for folks to do that self-reflection and think about, well, what are these elements that are critical? And I think in a way, it's not all that dissimilar than thinking about values as well. But I think that values is such an overused and diluted term that a lot of times people, especially when you're at the company and it's the things that are just hanging on the walls, and no one really lives by them. So I love it as a framework that helps us get to that same need, but it's not a bunch of handwaving stuff. Sarabeth: Yeah. And one other thing I’ll add to that would be I think it's about being seen, which ultimately is about belonging, right? And we know that's one of the steps to have safety and strong teams and trust is you have to feel like you belong and people understand who you are. And when we just walk around and know each other on teams or companies as you're the director of programs, you're the head of A.I., you do sales, I don't really know who you are, and I actually don't really understand your job. And I understand that we need a hierarchy of formal job titles, so I'm not pushing against disrupting and changing all that. But what I am saying and what I've started doing with more teams during workshops and companies is let's do some of this identity work to reveal your professional identity so your colleagues and peers see you the way that you want to be seen and know you for what you’re best at. And that’s more than just your StrengthsFinders or Myers-Briggs profile, which are other talents and skills. Your identity is something that just defines who you are and overarches your passion, your purpose, your skills, everything. Douglas: I'm kind of getting into my nerd brain now on the facilitation, but I’m starting to visualize. It could be—we've been building a lot of MURAL templates for various activities and a lot of the things we would do in real life. And one of them—you mentioned StrengthsFinder—one of them is based on StrengthsFinders, and there was another one based on the books everyone's reading right now. So how do we, coming together as a team, visually kind of exciting each other around possibility or around vision, around the makeup or composition of the team—I think it'd be really fascinating to do some of this exploration as a team. What you're talking about is deeply introspective, and I'm sure you coach a lot of folks and help draw that stuff out—I can imagine teams helping each other draw it out because they see things in their teammates that their teammates might not see in themselves or aren't recognizing. They're a little blind to it because it's things they do but don't perceive or don't say about themselves. Sarabeth: I just have a huge smile on my face right now. You couldn't have said it better. I think doing this work in collaboration with your teammates is one of the best ways because they mirror back to you how they see you and help you realize the truer parts of yourself that maybe you've never given a name to or wouldn't have called out. Like you said, they perceive things and they can reflect it back. Yeah, I think that's really powerful. Douglas: I think one of the thoughts I was having, too, is one of my favorite ways to dispel a conflict is something I call roles and coffee, and as two people were kind of at loggerheads or whatever. And I don't feel like—usually you can tell as a leader, is something bad going on here, or they just misunderstanding each other? Ninety percent of the time, it's just some silly misunderstanding stuff. And so I’ll just tell them to schedule a coffee. And there are no rules besides one simple rule that they can't talk about work or the task that they're doing. They can't discuss the project or anything. They can only discuss what they think each other does from a role standpoint. “I want you to sit down and tell me what your role is. I'm going tell you what your role is, and you're going to tell me what my role is. And you have to sit and listen.”  Sarabeth: Yeah. Douglas: And it can be very eye-opening to hear how people misunderstand what you do and what you bring to the table. Sarabeth: Completely. That is the beginning. I have a workbook that complements my book, and the first section is, What do other people say you do? Talk to your colleagues. How does your partner or family members describe what you do? How does a child, how does a neighbor? Trying these different scenarios to understand how people interpret and perceive you and what words they're using. And if they're totally vague or uncertain, that's also evidence as well. And it's not that everyone has to be super crystal clear, because it is really hard to define all the different things we do. But if people are that fuzzy and if you're not telling a story that's articulating the way you want to show up in the world, then other people won't get it either. So that's kind of why I think this is a really big deal of how you describe your hybrid identity and find language that you believe in will start to cascade to your boss, to clients, to everyone.  And the more I've talked about being a hybrid, I've noticed people start to introduce me that way, or they've walked up—I had a boss one time say, “Hey, Sarabeth. Are you able to use enough of your identities in this job? How is that going for you?” And that blew me away because when would you ever expect a manager or a boss to say that and to make sure you're feeling supported and seen? And I think the more we talk about this explicitly, the more we feel, wow, this is really what's been missing from our lives. Douglas: That’s amazing. You know, and it's like I think that to me the fascinating piece is absolutely others are going to help you identify things that you may not realize that you might want to kind of craft into that narrative. They may actually also point out things that they're perceiving that are incorrect or that maybe we're presenting things in a way that it's confusing or people are reading into it in ways that we don't want. We can repair those things as well. Sarabeth: Oh, definitely. Yeah. If people are reflecting back to you—like, I used to get called the design-thinking guru a lot, and it was kind of just a fun, easy way for people to reference me. But that kind of drove me crazy because that's not who I saw myself as. Like, yes, I know design thinking, but that wasn't the way I wanted to show up in a room or be introduced. So, yeah, that was good feedback where I needed to tailor and tweak how I introduced myself and how I talked about myself. And then it started to shift that introduction when other people said it. Douglas: Absolutely. I had the same thing happen to me when I first started Voltage Control, because I was doing a little bit of fractional CTO work, as well as facilitating and running design sprints. And I would tell people that, right? I would tell them that hybrid nature of, like, I’m a fractional CTO, and I do design sprints.  It is fascinating to me how people would always remember one or the other. And so I’d either get introduced as the CTO guy or the design-sprint guy. And as I was doing less and less CTO work, it was even more frustrating because people would still introduce me as this fractional CTO. And it's like, “Well, I’m not really doing that as much anymore.” It's a struggle, and it's real. Sarabeth: Yeah. And it just takes practice and experimentation. I tell people to keep iterating. It took me a while to even figure out my hybrid title. And if you don't have one, if that's daunting, because going into these intersections, I will say right now, is the hardest work. People get really lit up, and they're like, “Oh my gosh, you just want me to draw this Venn diagram and look at my overlapping identities. I love it. That's genius.” And then they start scratching their heads and go, “Oh, my god, I don't know how to do that.” But if you just want a starting point, even just saying, “Hey, I'm a hybrid. I work at the intersections of, in my case, being an artist, designer, researcher, educator,” that is a nice gateway, and that's a really simple way to start reinforcing this stuff. But I agree. It takes a while for people to actually, like, hold onto it and remember it. Douglas: So, I want to come back to something you mentioned in passing earlier as this kind of a setup to kind of explaining this work. And it really struck me, it brought me back to a place that I haven't been in a while, which is bumping into people in a networking environment or maybe at a party, and you just met them. You didn't get a really good intro. And the easiest, the most mundane question is, So what do you do? Sarabeth: Every time. Yep. Douglas: Yeah. And so, you know, I always kind of feel awkward with that question, but it was the thing I always wanted to ask, but I felt like an idiot asking it. And so now that we've advanced, well, (a) it's kind of difficult to even find ourselves in networking situations these days, but I guess in your work, have you found more interesting questions, better ways to probe into this hybridity and to learn more about people rather than, “So what do you do?” Sarabeth: Oh, definitely. I mean, a quick one that's not as much identity related is just, What do you love to do? Adding that love part shifts it more into hobbies and extracurricular activities. But if you're trying to stay on a professional note and especially hybrid stuff, I'd say, “What do you call yourself?” You know, that right away, I ask people, “What is your identity?” or just “What are your different professional identities?,” which right away assumes people are more than one thing. Some of those might need a little bit more contextualization to help people not feel affronted or thrown too far off. You might say, “Hey, I realize we're more than our job titles. Tell me about the different identities you use in your work.” And shifting to an identity conversation could be interesting. So those are maybe the top three that just came out of my mouth. Douglas: Yeah. As you were kind of sharing some of those, it reminded me my friend has a great prompt that I’ve totally stolen. And it's, What's lighting you up these days? Sarabeth: Yeah. I love that. Douglas: I find that people always have some really fun answers to that question. So speaking of questions, questions are kind of, I think, the facilitator’s Swiss Army knife. They get us out of a lot of trouble. They can kind of move us forward, etc.. So apart from just the breaking-the-ice, “I just met you” questions, what are some of the questions that you think are provocative or helpful when we're in meetings or just helping people work better together? Sarabeth: Yeah. One of the top things I notice when I'm working with groups and we're problem solving is all the assumptions that they're holding onto that they don't hear and kind of those limited beliefs. So probably a few of my top questions I ask the most is, How do you know? You know, just asking them if they're like, “Oh, we don't need to research that. We already talked to those people and they said blank.” And it's like, well, how do you know they really feel that way? Or what do you see that makes you say that? Getting really objective and moving away from their interpretations and subjective feelings so that they have to back it with actual fact and have a reality check and kind of question where did this story in their head start from?  And probably the last one, it's sort of a loose tool, and I adjust this in so many ways. I could use it for an interview script or facilitation and brainstorming. But these four words, I think, are my driving, just ideas when I'm doing facilitating. And they are needs, beliefs, pain points, and desires. I'm constantly returning back to those to understand, What does a user need? What are they believing? What are their pain points and desires? And I just found if we can answer those, we can reveal the next best set of insights to get us moving forward. Douglas: I think that's also true for the participants, too. Are we pointing that inward to what's going on inside the hearts and minds of the folks in the room as well as who this room is focused on solutioning for.  Sarabeth: Mm-hmm. Douglas: So I love that, yeah. Excellent. Well, Sarabeth, it's been a pleasure chatting with you today. And I'm sure if everyone enjoyed this as much as I did, then they're eager to find out where they can learn more and maybe also think about—I'd love to hear what you might be interested in leaving the audience with. Sarabeth: Ah, so many good nuggets. Douglas, you and I just have the best synergy. We could have talked forever. Let's see. So essentially the work I'm doing, go to my website, morethanmytitle.com. I just wrote a book with the same name called More Than My Title: The Power of Hybrid Professionals in a Workforce of Experts and Generalists, because essentially I think this is a movement of a hidden segment of the workforce, and I'm really trying to build awareness and give people practical tools to both help them with their own personal identity, but also to realize the workforce is made up of more than just experts and generalists. And then you can find my workbook, and I have online courses. So my goal is just to help people activate and learn about themselves and their identity.  And my takeaway for your audience today is my favorite question, which is, Who are you in the intersections of your multiple professional identities? And when you can start to answer that question, you are going to see a whole new side and really just version of who you are in the world. Douglas: Fantastic. Sarabeth, it's been a pleasure chatting with you. And I'm really excited to see how the listeners take this work to heart and what they find as they start to explore new identities. So thanks so much for being on the show, and we'll talk again soon. Sarabeth: I hope so, Douglas. I'd love to come back anytime. Just keep me on your radar. You're great. This is wonderful. Thank you. Outro: Thanks for joining me for another episode of Control the Room. Don't forget to subscribe to receive updates when new episodes are released. If you want more, head over to our blog, where I post weekly articles and resources about working better together, voltagecontrol.com.

On "Bad" Strengths: The Perception Behind Annoying Coworkers If you just got into StrengthsFinder, chances are you are all fired up knowing about your top strengths and, maybe, how they compare to others'. Many of us scroll through all the 34 talent themes and then mentally assign some of them to people or teams that we know.  This tendency is generally okay because our experiences working with people or teams allow us to match up some positive perceptions of their dominant themes, albeit on a surface level. It comes naturally to us. But when you skew this perception a little bit on the wayward side, what do you get? Theme bias. In this episode, host Lisa Cummings and Lead Through Strengths facilitator Sara Regan introduce the different forms and dangers of theme bias and how to reverse a perception of bad strengths or annoying coworkers. Here’s the transcript of Lisa’s interview with Sara as they exchange views about theme bias and seemingly annoying coworkers. Lisa: Hello, everyone, it's Lisa and Sara from Lead Through Strengths, and we're here today to give you some fresh ideas about how to apply your strengths at work. Are Bad Strengths A Real Thing? Lisa: So you talk about the demonizing of a strength or making a strength the bad guy, or even fearing that there's a bad one that maybe this isn't the good one to have in this organization. How would you experience that in working with teams and what would you offer them as another way? Sara: Sure. And I think anytime that I'm working with a team, I am going to bring up theme bias. And that's whether it's the first time I'm seeing them, or maybe the fifth time in a year, I'm going to return to this because I think it's just natural for us. I can say to groups that if they look through that full list of 34 themes and kind of scan that, I will stop on one or two of them. And they will think, “Oh, I'm really glad I don't have that one.” Or maybe, "That's good for the work that other people do in a different kind of organization, but for our team, we don't really need that here. That wouldn't fit.” Or they point their finger to one and say, “Oh, I bet so and so had that theme and that's why I find it so hard to work with them.” So I feel like all of those are examples of theme bias, and it's really important for people to be on the lookout for it because a little bit of StrengthsFinder language can sometimes be detrimental, where people start labeling each other and making assumptions. It takes a long time to develop the fluency of understanding all 34 themes.  So for me, what I want people to do is to have that awareness of their own dominant themes. I wouldn't fully understand every other theme that folks have in the room, but that they have an understanding that none are better than others. And all of those themes are neutral.  So I try to bring that conversation up regularly. If I'm working with a team over time, you know, how are we doing with that theme bias and check in with people. I just feel like it's very foundational to the whole principle. And that we are different people. We bring something different to the party, and we need to be honored and appreciated for that. I see also some ties in with diversity and inclusion, about how we bring our whole selves to work. And it's really a very profound metaphor, I think, for thinking about diversity. We want to start with curiosity, not making assumptions. We want to ask questions, we want to assume that differences are an advantage, or to know that and to seek that out.  And so I feel like that's an important message or for teams to take away with this work. Dissolving Bias By Starting Conversations Through StrengthsFinder Lisa: Totally. And I see a lot of eyes open when we talk. They'll bring up diversity and they'll say, “Oh, this is a big thing in the organization.”  And then we can introduce the idea of cognitive diversity, and how you think differently because you lead through these different talent themes. For a second, forget all the other really obvious, surface things that people are talking about. Let's talk about how you think, how you act, and how these things drive you. And I've noticed that over the years, when we bring up that "theme bias" stuff, you get them to the end of phase one where they're realizing, “Okay, I'm a little bit biased against this other one in other people. I think people who lead through xyz talent are my annoying coworkers." Then they start to see, “Oh, I have this bias against this talent theme. I had something on my top 5 or top 10 and I like it, but I don't think that it's really going to be accepted well in this work culture, so I think I'm going to turn that one down to a volume-level-one or save that more for my home life.”  Have you experienced that kind of example personally or with teams? And how do you get them through that bias when they're convinced that they have an annoying coworker who causes all of the toxicity on the team?  Sara: Yes. Both within myself and with teams. And certainly, the bias can be directed towards other things, but it can be towards our own. And I think what people struggle with is, as you were talking about seeing the workplace and application of a particular thing, you might say, “Yeah, that shows up in my parenting role or as a volunteer or outside of work but I don't know that that is going. I don't know that that's what the team is looking for. Or I don't need to know that I use that.”  And so I really want people to not dismiss and leave something in the door but to look, I think usually through some questioning and some deeper conversation. They might see the small ways that...and even big ways that they just haven't been tuned into, that something that's really serving them well.  My personal example was being caught up or when somebody was asking me about Connectedness. I call Connectedness sometimes the "squishy" theme — it can take all different kinds of forms I feel like it's a bit of a shapeshifter. But it was early on when I was maybe like, first few months of doing StrengthsFinder trainings and somebody asked me about Connectedness like, “Yeah, well, how do you use that at work?”  And I wasn't really sure. And I'm the facilitator, like I should know this stuff. And it prompted me to really do a lot more reflection. Connectedness is certainly a bit of my mindset in which we are all connected. We're all people sharing the same planet at the same time. It's about how we treat each other. It's about reciprocity.  So it ties into my values. But since learning more, I’ve also seen very strong business applications and have met people in very high-powered jobs who are using things like Connectedness. One of the people that I will often tell a story about was a person who is a chief economist at a Wall Street firm that everybody would know the name of. He had Connectedness in his top 5, and had a lot of thinking themes. But for him, he was able to explain well.   “Of course, I’m Connectedness. I'm thinking on a macro level. I'm taking things that are seemed disparate to other people, but I'm seeing a connection that other people don't.”  So when there is bias about a particular theme, and I'll just ask people, you know, “Are you struggling with any of these things? Is there anything you want to learn more about?” And in sharing that story, you can almost see the person who's been a little reticent just comes to life like that.  “Yeah, you know what, I do have that one. And that's okay.”  And so that's part of what I feel — a value that I bring to this — because I've been asked for a while that I've accumulated a lot of those stories so that if there's people who need a new perspective, I can usually draw upon somebody else's experience with it. And it just puts them to ease.  Annoying Coworkers: 'Outliers' Who Bring An Important Contribution To The Table Lisa: Yeah, that is so good. And those examples make all the difference. I mean, sometimes exploring examples of people you respect and admire can turn your stereotype-loving mind in a new direction. Instead of assuming they're going to be the annoying coworker, you instead show up with an open mind about how that talent can bring unexpected nuance. In fact, often, the teammates who used to be frustrating will suddenly seem ultra-valuable to you because they live in a headspace that isn't fun for you. Isn't it great if someone else can do the work in that space if it sucks the life out of you. So, using Sara's example of Connectedness, I've seen several people get surprised when they learn nuances about this talent theme - how it shows up in different people. This respected economist leads through Connectedness. It helps her see the economy as a complex system with many levers. The software engineer was worried that he would be viewed as "soft" but quickly realized that Connectedness is exactly why he's so good in his coding language. He sees the ripple effect of every action. One character can change the whole app." The business analyst who leads through Connectedness has an outstanding network of peers. She keeps in touch with people across verticals, industries, and past companies. It helps her get things done because she has relationships everywhere. The account manager who leads through Connectedness sees how his answer to the customer impacts people in another department. He understands the downstream impact, and can simultaneously help the upset customer feel like the only person in the room. Well, it's the same thing happening. It's just different words to describe the same thing. And you have so many rich examples to help people make it concrete. Sometimes you need these examples to allow yourself to see the value. Even if it's not an annoying coworker - sometimes you might think it's your personal talent that is frustrating. Sara: I've also noticed people might have a harder time coming to appreciate certain talents inside of certain industries (whether inside of themselves or someone else). At this point, I'm kind of prepped that this perception might happen. It's helpful to look at their team charts ahead of time. And I do pay attention to who are those outliers. There is this group where there's a lot of Context, Analytical, Strategic, and some people who have different themes.  I want to make sure that everybody will understand that they're bringing something different, but something that's equally valued and maybe even more important, because it's an outlier thing. And so I feel like it has helped people who might feel like they're a little bit of a fish out of water or they know they're different than a lot of their teammates. But know that that's bringing a value and helping other people to appreciate that as well.  Given the language, it's really about the common language because often people have intuited this or they have a sense, but it's being able to put language to it. And because it's a validated instrument, and it's been around and done by Gallup, the polling people, I feel like it gets a little bit of that credibility as well.  Lisa: And something that you've mentioned often is permission. Sometimes it just allows them to say, “Oh, there's this way I think and this thing that I do,” And instead of feeling like, “one of these things is not like the other, and I don't do this like everyone on my team, so therefore, I should squash it.”  If it gives them the feeling, “Oh, here's this thing, they're gonna miss this. It’s a contribution I should offer because they're not thinking.” This suddenly gives them permission to use it as a contribution rather than that "annoying coworker" person who thinks of the other things.  Sara: Oh I think that is so true. Those outline the strengths you know. And if we believe the definition of a strength's near-perfect performance every time, we want everybody on the team to bring that, and that's what's really exciting — it’s when you think about not only your own individual performance, and how that can impact striving for that near-perfect. But what if you're surrounded by teammates who are also delivering the appropriate performance? What does that mean for what that team can accomplish? And what's possible because of that? So to be able to tap into that, unleash it to set up the right type of conversations, related to "that is really exciting for me."  Lisa: So many good ideas from Sara. Now, it's your turn to go apply these and think about how they could show up in your workplace and how you could make a bigger contribution with your strengths by taking these ideas and actually applying them to your real life. Make them real for you. So let us know how it goes for you as you begin to claim these talents. Do something with them, apply them at work, and share that strengths contribution with the world.  Bye for now. More Insights On Theme Bias With These Additional Resources In an earlier podcast, Lisa exchanged insights with another Lead Through Strengths facilitator Strother Gaines on What To Do When You Don’t Like Your Strengths or when you think you don’t like someone else’s strengths. Strother encourages viewers to bring out what they deem to be their “weird” or “rare” strength, leverage it fully and make it stand out instead of squashing it. Then Lisa yet again tackles the dangers of strengths-related cognitive biases in another podcast, Do Your Strengths Come With Unconscious Biases? using mostly her own experiences, especially her accidental biases to highlight her points. She's not immune to thinking that there's an annoying coworker out there - it takes effort to show up with your most mature thinking.

Once You Get Your CliftonStrengths Report, How Should You Take Action? Your CliftonStrengths report reflects your greatest strengths. As you focus on applying them to work, you might also wonder how to handle situations that call for talent themes way below your top 5 or top 10.   If you're like most people, you'll want to dial up your bottom talents. Unfortunately, this can be a very draining process with a low return on your effort. Instead, your high-leverage will come from studying the top talents in your CliftonStrengths report — then double down on your superpowers. If you need to take action on your lesser talents at the bottom of the CliftonStrengths report, there are strategies for mitigating these potential weaknesses: 1. You can partner with others who have that as a top talent. 2. You can stop doing some of the activities that call on the low talent area. 3. You can even do a task-switcheroo with a peer so that you're both in your respective strengths zones. In this interview, Lisa Cummings and StrengthsFinder facilitator Sara Regan reflect on the value of looking at the full CliftonStrengths report as you navigate through work using your strengths. Here’s the transcript of the insightful conversation between Lisa and Sara: Lisa: Hello everyone, I'm Lisa Cummings from Lead Through Strengths. So excited today to be joined by Sara Regan, one of our facilitators from Lead Through Strengths, and I'm psyched to bring you some new fresh thinking and tips on applying your CliftonStrengths report (results) at work. Intentionally Applying Top Talents From Your CliftonStrengths Report Lisa: So that makes me think of a question on situational fluency. So a lot of people in the workplace, are thinking about — “How do I read a room?” “How do I get comfortable?”  “How do I hone my chops in a skill?”  And usually, people think about putting in the hours, putting in the work — doing the hustle behind the thing they want to get good at. What else could you layer on for them, related to using their results from the CliftonStrengths report? Sara: Right, I guess a few things. 1) I wouldn't discount just putting the time in but putting the time in a very conscious way. To be reflective about what they're learning along the way, can really help people to build that ability to shift and pivot in a little bit more fluency so that level of consciousness strengths come into play.  There will be people who have certain themes and profiles and talents that allow that to happen more naturally. One of the things I like about strengths is it can certainly help us zero in on what we're really gifted at and where our talent lies.  2) When I'm doing coaching with people, or sometimes working with teams and we're looking at the whole 34, there are some lesser themes and it's sometimes they simply need the awareness. Let's take Adaptability, it is a strength that usually allows people to go with the flow and adjust in a very calm and seamless way when maybe other people are freaking out, or the house is on fire these people maintain that calm presence and can shift.  If Adaptability is number 34 for you, sometimes just knowing that, and knowing there will be situations when I need to really dig deep and so it can bring that clarity of focus of…”this is hard for me, but it's possible.” I need to think and act like somebody with high Adaptability. Study them. Listen to a podcast. Learn as much as you can and emulate what you can to do that shift, and then leaning on your other strengths that can help fill in as well.  Now let's say that same person has Learner at very high — will stay curious, keep asking questions, partnering with other people who have different things that you can lean on. That, I find, is what helps people to navigate the unknown.  CliftonStrengths Report: Knowing What To Do With Your Bottom 5 Lisa: I love it. I think you just gave a really good case for getting the premium version of Clifton strengths to get the full 34. You can do it without, but you get that very quick look at what is at the bottom of the CliftonStrengths report. And then instead of thinking of them as weaknesses, you think of them as potential drains or challenge points.  I experienced the exact one that you were describing, but I could only see it in the rearview mirror so I looked back at an old job and I realized, “Oh I was so...soul-sucked.”  And I couldn't figure out why because I loved the people, I loved the job. It all looked great on paper but it wore me out and I couldn't figure out why. Adaptability was the explanation for it when I look back, because it's low on my list. I can do it and I would tap into the need to have urgent phone calls and get interrupted constantly.  I did it, well, because I cared about the people that I worked with so that's what gave me the juice to keep going. But it wasn't fun because focus wanted to be like — “Hey, I'm in my cave working, and I need to have an uninterrupted time to be at my best.”  So have you ever found any like that in yourself? Sara: Absolutely. The situation that came to my mind was thinking about a different leader that I worked with before. He had Positivity as number 34. He became more conscious of when he needed to dial that up. Sometimes, I'm talking about calibrating these things and when we dial them up and dial them back and he had gotten some feedback along the way that people didn't always feel like there was the opportunity to celebrate, or the pat on the back.  Achiever number 1 so we're off to the next project. You don't want to be uncomfortable. They were in place for too long, we need to keep moving. And so for him that was that — that way to think of the specific times when he needed to bring more of that Positivity forward.  Your example was really interesting to me too because I think it proves that point that we can do these as needed with a lot of thought, and some consciousness. We can put the items at the bottom of our CliftonStrengths report into action. But we can't really live in that zone. And if we do, we're gonna experience burnout. We'll be stressed or just not as engaged — and maybe in a way that we don't fully understand. So I think that that can be a really powerful takeaway, and then that seeing the full 34 helps us with that.  Your question about my own personal experience. Consistency is pretty low on my CliftonStrengths report. Context is low. And I know this is interesting too that I have had people who have Context very high, reporting to me. I've also reported to someone who had Context number 1.  So, it sets up really important conversations about how you can get your best work done and how to communicate most effectively. I love it when we can bypass what might be an interpersonal attention or a misunderstanding or just literally not seeing eye to eye. But with that awareness and stepping back, being able to have a much greater appreciation.  The other thing that has happened to the Connectedness believes that the universe gives us things that we need and opportunities to learn. My daughter has Context number 1, and so I had to develop an appreciation for this theme. I can't have bias. I really wanted to understand and I see how beautifully it helps her do what she needs to do.  So there's lessons to be learned I think by seeing that full report and paying attention to when we can dial them up and when we just need to maybe step away from work that really calls us to stay in that that we can assume too much. Lisa: So many good angles there and more cases for getting the full 34 CliftonStrengths report — because you can identify, “Oh that wears me out to be in that headspace. Wouldn't it be convenient if I used partnerships with other people, rather than feeling like you're head-butting with them, and they drive me crazy. Instead it could be like, oh they like thinking like this. What a benefit we could bring to each other.” So good! One person's trash is another person's treasure.  All right, now that you've picked up some new ideas from Sara, think about this: How does it apply to you? How does this concept show up in you and what could you do with it, given your top five talent themes and how you could apply those at work?  We wish you the best as you claim those talents, and share them with the world. Learn More About Maximizing Your CliftonStrengths Report In an earlier Lead Through Strengths podcasts, Pete Mockaitis, trainer and chief at Awesome At Your Job, gave some more interesting scenarios to this podcast’s topic when he provided insights on How To Use Your StrengthsFinder Report. Through the CliftonStrengths assessment, he recognized how he had been applying his strengths in his academic and professional life.  But there are instances when a CliftonStrengths report reveals a strength or two that you think are irrelevant to your job, are not supported by the workplace culture or something that you simply don’t like. Listen as Strother Gaines talks about What To Do When You Don’t Like Your Strengths in this podcast episode with Lisa. On whether Working On Your Weakness Zone Leads To Burnout?, Lisa presents 3 tell-tale signs you could be and what you can do about it, whether you’re an employee, a strengths-champion or a people-leader.  Better yet, if you’re a manager looking to power up your team’s efficiency and wanting to contribute to overall business performance, Jessica Rhodes shares magical ideas in this podcast episode on How To Use Your Team’s Talents To Swap Tasks And Leverage Their Strengths.

How do you know if you are suited for a career in operations, and how can you figure out if you have the innate strengths and instincts that it requires to be successful in this path?   Today I’m sharing the most important assessment that I use in my business for screening applicants for the Director of Operations (DOO) certification program and matching candidates to my clients. I’m going to be talking about the Kolbe A assessment.  Kolbe A Assessment This assessment is used in lots of industries, and in corporate settings. In fact, one of my last big projects in corporate was to administer the Kolbe A assessment to all of the managers and senior executives. This required me to become extremely familiar with the test, to learn how it worked, why it worked, what the value was and how to explain the test to the leaders in the company.   I’ve been using Kolbe A Assessment for the last 15 years, and I’m going to use some of that same knowledge to explain it to you today.    3 Different Parts of the Mind These all compartmentalize different parts of the way that we process information and feelings.    Cognitive: The thinking part of your mind, including intelligence, experience, skills, knowledge, learned behaviors which become habits. This is all formed and held in the cognitive part of your mind. It is the piece of the brain that allows us to understand what we can do.  Affective: The feeling part of your mind that looks at your values, personality type, types of emotions you have, your preferences and motivations. This is what you want to do.  Conative: The doing part of the mind. This is all of our instinctive, innate strengths that we have, our purposeful actions, our mental energy and our problem solving methods. It increases performance and it decreases stress. It is how you will take action or execute. Different Types of Tests There are specific tests that measure each of these categories. You need more than one assessment to get a good idea of who is on your team, and what their gifts are.   Cognitive: The Predictive Index or the Wonderlic. Both of these are cognitive assessments that measure IQ.   Affective: The DiSC, Myers-Briggs, StrengthsFinders, and the Enneagram are all looking at the affective or feeling part of the brain.    Conative: The Kolbe A is looking at the way you execute. It's how your brain takes a task and goes to work.  The Conative Part of the Brain Everyone has equal amounts of conative mental energy. That's not the case with the affective and the cognitive parts of the brain.   The conative is your natural way of taking action if you are free to be yourself. It strips away your feelings, values and what you have learned over time, and is the default way you process information.    “It is massively important for operators to understand what someones natural innate strengths are because it allows us to put them in the best roles and develop people on our teams.”  Kolbe A Action Modes Kolbe A looks at 4 different modes. There is not a perfect profile, although I have done extensive work to identify what profiles work best as an operator.    Fact finder: How you gather and share information Follow through: How you organize and design Quick Start: How you deal with risk and uncertainty  Implementer: How you deal with space and tangibles   Kolbe looks at these on a scale of 1-10, and assigns a number to each of the categories. Kolbe is the superior conative test because:   Its unique It is the only assessment which measures your effort and energy It is positive and predictive; your results will be focused on your strengths and how you solve problems It is unbiased, and looks at the way that your brain takes action It's valid and reliable   “When you have this information you can stop trying to change who you are, and you can adapt who you are.”   How Assessments are Helpful in Hiring When you are hiring, you want to make sure the candidate has the education and required skills for the position.    If you are looking at the affective (feeling part)... will their personality be a good addition to the leader or culture? Do they share the same values?    Regarding the conative... do they have the instincts or natural innate abilities that are needed to do this job?   “The Kolbe A takes an unbiased look at how we can add the right person to our team.”   If you ever see job descriptions that I create, you will always see that I ask for Myers-Briggs, DiSC, and Kolbe A scores. It is a huge benefit to know this information, and I would love to see you take the Kolbe A assessment. If you are craving to know exactly what you are good at and how you can position your services and your business, you won’t regret taking this assessment!   “The knowledge that you can gain by knowing your Kolbe can truly change the trajectory of your decisions.” Weekly Ops Activity Take the Kolbe A assessment and share the results in the Facebook group.   Other Ways to Connect with Me: Website Private Facebook Community Facebook Page Instagram This episode was first published at theopsauthority.com/podcast/66.

This week Emma sits down with Britney Tezanos-Pinto to discuss codependency. After being "diagnosed" as codependent, Britney set off on a personal journey to break these bonds and learn to prioritize herself— which has led her to be stronger as an individual and, as a result, a better mom and wife. Emma and Britney explore how personality tests (like Enneagram, Myers Briggs, Strengthsfinders, etc) can provide useful information to assist you on your own self-improvement journey. (As well as what it is like to be featured on a kitchen renovation show!) For any moms out there who struggle with the idea of putting yourself first, this is for you! Check Britney out @yourcreativecounterpart https://yourcreativecounterpart.com/ Check Geminii out @geminiicoaching www.geminiicoaching.com Find out your Life Management Style: https://bit.ly/3l85lTN

StrengthsFinder Legit? Valid? Accurate? If you're wondering, you're actually just like Sara Regan, the Lead Through Strengths facilitator in this interview. Before being exposed to the tool, she was a bit skeptical about it. Usually, before doing some strengths finding with the team, one or two among us are wondering if psychometric tools are accurate. Is StrengthsFinder legit? Is it valid? The CliftonStrengths Assessment has not escaped such skepticism from some of our participants. You're not alone. Many of us come to these tools with a cautious eye. We want to know that it's more than parlor games. We hope for a tool that allows for more than a 4-hour kumbaya team building event at work. Most of the time, skeptical people wonder, "Hmmmm, is StrengthsFinder legit, or is my boss making me go to a gimmicky feel-good-training today?" Other times, it's an industrial organizational psychologist from the HR department who wants to know about the peer-reviewed literature on the tool. Either way, people like having the confidence of knowing that the tool is tested and valid. Here’s the transcript of this episode where Lisa interviews Sara about her journey from being a skeptic to someone who fully embraces StrengthsFinder. Lisa: Hello everyone, you're listening to Lead Through Strengths, and today it's both me, Lisa and Sara Regan. You've heard a lot from me over the years and it's about time to get some new angles from some other facilitators here at Lead Through Strengths.  So let's get right into some fresh angles on strengths, from Sara.  From Skeptical Customer To StrengthsFinder Facilitator: What Prompted The Change? So Sara, sometimes we walk into a StrengthsFinder event. We're doing CliftonStrengths kickoff, it's a big thing. And you know, there are a couple of people in the room who are really skeptics. They wonder, "is StrengthsFinder legit, and is this an accurate tool?" Tell me, how did you come to CliftonStrengths, and have you ever experienced that either in your own skepticism or other people in the room and how has that gone for you?  Sara: Absolutely. I think at this point, I almost expect that there will be a skeptic or two in the room. And I, myself, also had that skepticism, when I was first introduced to StrengthsFinder. I think for me it was the opportunity of “let's bring the team together.”  I was leading a group of around maybe 25 people or so at that time, and I thought I know team building is a good thing. We do this from time to time. We'll have coffee, we'll have bagels. Maybe people will get to know each other a little bit more. But I didn't really expect there to be much of a profound takeaway.  But for me, I was really struck by reading my own report and feeling like it really did help to highlight some things that I was aware of. So my skepticism really certainly changed after I got to look at my own results. And then in seeing the results of the team members too, I mean it just really dramatically changed the way I thought about my work, my career, the types of things I said “yes” to to the type of things I said “no” to, and how to position other people for success as well.  So even though I was a skeptic, I think I was a quick convert, and really felt like even in my homegrown fashion, I was doing strengths at any chance that I could with new team members or other people that I worked with.  So now as a facilitator, I expect that there will be the skeptics who wonder if StrengthsFinder is legit. I think one of the things that really helps is that people have some of the research underpinnings, and to be able to see that ahead of time there will be people who will want to understand how was this validated, what's the reliability, why did they choose these questions...  So to make that available for people, whether it's before or after a session, that can help as well.  Lisa: Yes, that's great. We always do that in the pre-work where it's like, “Are you one of the people who wants to validate whether StrengthsFinder is legit? Here's a deep meta analysis if you want to look into it. It's a 40 page technical report with all of the design elements and reliability data from Gallup's behavioral scientists. (and for those of you who will gloss over it, just come to the session - you don't have to read it).”  So, speaking of legit...you have a master's degree in psychology, don't you?  Sara: I do.  Lisa: So I can imagine with that kind of point of view, you might have needed to dig in when you first got exposed to the book StrengthsFinder 2.0. So when you saw your own results, let's say you're fast forwarded. You're good with the tool. Now you've looked at the validity and the reliability statistics and you're feeling good. You believe that StrengthsFinder is legit. Now you look at your own results.  Unravel Your Hidden Strengths Through Your StrengthsFinder Results Lisa: Did you have any that you were personally surprised by, or even not quite sure that they were "you"?  Sara: I think the biggest surprise for me was Strategic. And as I read the description, I think it's one of the strengths that people have a lot of confusion about because our mind can go many different places about what that word means. But in understanding fully the definition in that Gallup definition of Strategic, I did find that it really clicked for me, and it was a style of thinking about systems and problem-solving.  I think I've always, as I traced back to hobbies and things that I've enjoyed, it has to do with patterns and how things fit together, so it explained a lot. I think at that point of my career, I had been in this role, or in this organization for probably seven or eight years, and I had so many ideas about how to, things that needed to change, and some of my ideas were pretty radical, and about how to reconstruct something, we need to go back to the basics and tear something down and start over.  And I think I was holding back on presenting these ideas partly because they were pretty outlandish, some of them. Some were beyond probably my pay grade or I wasn't, it didn't have a seat at the right table for that. But I began to trust that perhaps some of these ideas about how to solve systemic problems were right on and I think it gave me more permission to share what I was thinking. And then I have some opportunities to put things in practice. And what I found is, I was completely engaged in my work. I loved what I was doing.  And these things were working like they were solving systemic problems. So that was for me I felt like it was so powerful like I think it helped me to lean into my strengths in a way that I don't know that I would have otherwise.  Lisa: I think that's such a cool example of seeing things through a workplace lens where you looked for systemic problems and you gave yourself permission because so many people look at their results and go,  “Oh, this is why I'm always the voice of that in meetings.”  “This is why this is always running through my head.”  And suddenly, now that they have the result in front of them, they knew this about themselves but they say,  “Oh, that's why I ought to just leverage that.” I also love that you read the results with an open mind. So often, when people are surprised by one of the items, they want to dismiss the tool and say, "hmmmmm, is StrengthsFinder legit? It doesn't seem to capture what I think of myself." Meanwhile the disconnect is usually as simple as a terminology issue. It can also be one of those situations where you believe what the report says, yet you haven't found it valuable at work, so you don't view that thing as a strength. Sara: Absolutely. Your Strengths Are Making An Impact In Your Life Outside Work Lisa: So, I can't help it. You mentioned hobbies and you mentioned patterns, so now that we have one workplace angle on you, will you give us a way that you've seen Strategic show up in your life outside of work and how these patterns came to be?  Sara: I can. It's a hobby that I've gotten away from a little bit just by having a busy life and three teenagers. But one of my hobbies, for quite a while, was mosaic tile work. And so, I love to be able to sketch out a design. And then, I would take my tile in the driveway with a hammer and be smashing pieces of tile, and looking for exactly the color and the texture and the right piece to fit into this larger whole of the design.  And so I did some commission works for a while. I got some things that were being sold in shops, and I loved it. I love to do in this work. And so, it's partly I think goes back to that, “How can I make everything fit and very strategic?”  I feel it's the way I approach my work too. It’s I always feel like…(muffled)...optimistic like there is a solution for every problem. There is a way that this will work. I just need time, I need access to the resources, I need to play around with it but I'll get there.  And that was completely the process of doing the mosaic tile work too.  Lisa: That is sooooooo cool. I love hearing about this hobby. Also, I love looking at mosaic tiles because I thought about putting them on a shower floor - making a dragon formation - but all the same color, where the pattern and the angles of the pattern is what makes the dragon pop out to you, except they're actually all the same color. It would be a monochromatic thing. Someday, watch out, I’ll commission you. I'll get, “Come over from Boston. I need a dragon on the ground.” After your teenagers are off the payroll, right?  Sara: 'Cause even as I talk about it, I remember how much fun I had. It is definitely one of the things I plan to return to.  Lisa: It's a perfect way to end that question because this idea of strength and how you can reconnect to the things that energize you and how, when you tap into it, it's not just saying,  “Oh yeah, this hobby or this skill energizes me." “Oh, that's why I like that thing that I didn't expect to like that much, just because it uses this pattern in my mind.” So cool. This speaks to an unexpected angle of the question "is StrengthsFinder legit." It's a powerful angle because often the reports from the CliftonStrengths assessment will give you a spark. You then think, "hmmmm...that's totally true in my personal life, but I don't really use that one at work." If you have those thoughts, you might have a spark for some seriously untapped potential. Maybe you have a strength that you can unlock at work if you look for ways to apply it. --- Okay, now it's your turn. You have some great new perspective from Sara to go apply in the workplace. We wish you the best as you take these ideas, and you learn to spot them in yourself, and then apply them to your life to make the workplace a better place.  Most of all, you may believe that StrengthsFinder is a legit tool, but there's something bigger: it's believing that your strengths are valid. It's believing that you have a contribution you can offer the world. You have untapped awesomeness inside of you, and we look forward to hearing how you offer it out to the world! Want To Explore More Of The "StrengthsFinder Legit" Question? Some time ago, Lisa delivered a podcast episode that answers the question, Is StrengthsFinder A Personality Test? The podcast debunks any quick assumption that StrengthsFinder is just another one of those personality tests being used by managers. Instead, it asserts that it’s a performance-based tool that focuses not only on what is needed to do the job but on how to do it well. So does StrengthsFinder work? In another episode, Is There Proof That Strengths-Based Development Works?, Lisa provides answers anchored on 1) proof points through some Gallup research and 2) a visual way to imagine why strengths make sense. Lisa’s resource for this episode is the classic book Soar with Your Strengths: A Simple Yet Revolutionary Philosophy of Business and Management by Donald O. Clifton and Paula Nelson, which uses a metaphor to bring us the powerful lesson of focusing on strengths rather than on fixing what’s missing or broken about us. It's a quick read. Warning: yes, the metaphor uses little animals like rabbits, which seems elementary at first blush. That's exactly why it works though - it's simple and totally understandable. Want to know how else StrengthsFinder can provide practical value for you and your team? Listen to Lisa’s interview with Adam Seaman: Why Use StrengthsFinder For Your Team? or her conversation with Pete Mockaitis on How To Use Your StrengthsFinder Report. These are StrengthsFinder-focused conversations that can show you the practical side of living a strengths-focused life.

In this episode Claire dives deeper into the findings and assessment of her Clifton Strengths Assessment results.  She discusses her top 5 strengths and the blind spots she needs to look out for. She shares a critical piece of her results that has been a double edged sword for her.  She only became aware of this critical interaction of her traits from doing the assessment, but knowing this has created a lot of clarity. Claire’s top 5 strengths: Relator, Strategic, Ideation, Responsibility, Futuristic We will also discuss action steps for you to put your strengths to work.  We know you’ll see some of yourself in this episode and can’t wait to hear your takeaways from listening! Personal Assessments Links: Myers-Briggs: https://www.16personalities.com Strengths Finders: https://store.gallup.com/p/en-us/10003/cliftonstrengths-34 DISC: https://discpersonalitytesting.com/free-disc-test/ Come learn about Poi!  A fun, dynamic way to dual task with your clients.  Free webinar Tues Aug 25th at 5:30 pm PST / 8:30 pm EST go to https://www.neurocollaborative.com/poi  

Your Superpowers At Work - New Ideas For Finding Them And Using Them From Lead Through Strengths Facilitator Strother Gaines  In this episode, Lisa Cummings and co-host Strother Gaines discuss, through analogies and practical examples, the impact of knowing how to wield your superpowers at work. If our previous episode suggested ways of striking a balance between making your strengths known and not sounding arrogant about it, this topic is all about using your superpowers at work with out overusing your power. Listen as Lisa and Strother explore one of the important paths towards professional maturity, through which StrengthsFinder has been guiding so many. You can also watch the video version of the interview on our YouTube channel. Lisa: You're listening to Lead Through Strengths, where you'll learn to apply your greatest strengths at work. I'm your host, Lisa Cummings, and you know, I'm always telling you about how energizing it is to lead through your strengths every day at work. But sometimes, the truth is, it feels like the work culture is not aligned to our strengths. And it's really soul-sucking. And we don't know how to ask for what we need, because you don't want to look like you're throwing a temper tantrum. You feel like you have more potential yet you don't know how to let it out. Heck, you might even feel like you have some superpowers to unleash at work, but you don't know how to make them known or useful. So if you're in that situation where you're thinking — "Yeah, the culture and what would put me at my best, they're not fully aligned. And I get by because I'm trying to be a good team player. "But yeah, there are some things that really get me down whether that's too many distractions, or how many details someone goes into or won't go into." There are many, many colors of this example. And I'm here in this interview with one of our facilitators, Strother Gaines. And we're chatting about this topic of superpowers at work - and how you might contribute with them without sounding like you're arrogant. We go through a few examples of people and how they have asked: “What?” “How?”  We go through a few practical examples of where people are frustrated by this at work and how they have signaled to their team some of the needs that they have or how they've explicitly asked for them without sounding like a bratty jerk.  So without making you wait any longer, we're just going to jump right into an example that I experienced in a workshop where someone was not liking her superpowers at work (AKA her list of talent themes) because she wasn't getting what she needed at work and she felt like she wasn't able to express them or figure out how to express them.  So watch for this thing. You've heard me call it the volume knob, and you'll hear Strother talking about controlling your powers. Finding Opportunities To Leverage Your Superpowers At Work Lisa: I'm thinking of a person who looked at her list of strengths from CliftonStrengths, and she sees Communication in her Top 5 and she's like — “Number 1, number 2, number 3, number 4 ….. yes, yes, yes, yes. Those are sooooooo me.”  “And then Communication — whelp, I have been told in the last few performance reviews that that's actually one of my weaknesses. So I'm not going to claim that one as a strength. That's actually been my greatest weakness.”  And if you think of it like the “This or That” situation, I feel like when I look back on the situation that she was describing to me, she was saying — “I'm going to give you all my Communication all the time, turned all the way up...or down. Since they don't like it up, I’m shutting off my superpowers at work because they're not welcomed here.”  Strother: Yeah.  Lisa: "I'm not speaking. So..." Strother: Which is great in the meeting, and people love that like…no.  Lisa: Yeah, suddenly you went from, “Hey, you don't give anyone room to speak in a meeting,” to getting feedback that “Hey, you have a resting, grumpy face." Yeah, just literally shut down.” Strother: Yeah. The on or the off, I think it's...you're totally right, it's back into what is the appropriate level right now.  And as you become more adept at your strengths and you give them the space, I think that we struggle with that because in order to learn, it's like your mutant powers. I was just watching the old X-Men cartoons...and they really apply to superpowers at work. This is a weird deviation. You're like, "Yeah, where are you going with this?” And the old X-Men cartoon starts with Jubilee just sort of coming to terms with being a mutant and she has this sort of fireworks powers. And she just doesn't know how to control them. So they kind of help sometimes and sometimes they just go off and destroy everything and she hates them, because she hasn't learned to wield them yet. And you can't learn to wield those powers if you're too protective of them.  She has to swing the pendulum too far to see — “Oh, that's….and now it's too much. I got to learn to pull back my fireworks because if I go that far, it hurts people.”  And so in protection of ourselves and other people's, and not looking stupid and not feeling silly, and all those sort of things that we protect against, when you have it, in particular, strength that has a bias against it, like Competition or something like that, where it's like, “Well, you're just being a jerk,” we're nervous to swing for the fences, because we see really clearly what it's going to look like if it goes wrong. But you have to allow yourself that grace and that flexibility to learn how to control your superpowers at work, or you're going to waste them. So swing for the fences, let the pendulum swing in both directions until you find that nice, juicy middle ground where you're actually leveraging them appropriately. Lisa: Yeah, what a great way just to give yourself permission to experiment with it. And to not think that there's only one way to do it because Competition doesn't mean I'm shutting down or I'm challenging you to a gunfight. It doesn't have to mean this or this all the way. It can be simple things like — “Hey, when I lead through Competition, I'm keenly aware of our standing compared with our competitors. And it means that I make really cool bubble charts that show how we stack up in the industry. And the fact that I'm driven and motivated by that makes me a better performer.” And so I think when people go from the “This or That” pendulum, they shut off the ability to even play with the middle and say — “What else could it mean? How else could I contribute through my superpowers at work" And what else? And what else? And what else? Strother: Well, you and I do, both of us, when we facilitate, oftentimes will do that activity “This or That.” The thing is you ask people, “you do this, you do that,” and then they spread themselves out throughout the room.  And it's very rare that you'll get people who are like, “I’m the full polar.” And sometimes it happens, and that's an identifier for people and they really care about that.  But most people do fall somewhere in that mid-ground. And so in that respect, it's easy for people to see that it's shades of gray. But when it's intellectual, and you're not in like the actual physical practice of the strength, people are like, well, it's “I'm one of the poles,” and you're probably just not. Show People How You Perform At Your Best And Solicit Support To Make It Long-Term Lisa: Yeah. Well, let's end with an example like that. So I did that exercise. And I remember this event vividly. The woman led through Intellection. And it was a question in my “This or That” exercise, I was having them line up on a continuum, whether they do their best thinking when they're in the midst of a group conversation, or if they're able to be alone and do the deep thinking.  And she literally slammed her body against the sidewall to show — “I am so far on the... I need to be by myself.”  But she was in an environment where she was not allowed to work from home. And she didn't have any physical space where she could be alone. At the same time, she felt that her superpowers at work came out when she had space to be alone and think. Yet she felt like she was always getting barraged with “Collaborate!” and “Group work!” and all of these things. But she's saying — “I can't be at my best like that — and I need you to know it.”  And so that was a moment where she could bring it out and say,  “I need more alone time... I need to go in my cave to think.”  But how do you do that where if you just decided "I'm gonna maturely bring that up at work. I feel like I don't have a physical space to do that," without sounding like you're having a temper tantrum and stamping your feet and saying, “I need my corner office where I can be alone.”  You know, how do you raise it...? She's afraid that if she brings up her superpower at work she will actually seem like she's anti-teamwork, and that's not a message anyone would want to hear. In fact, it could be a ding on her personal brand rather than an unleashing of strengths. We know StrengthsFinder can help a lot with these conversations about what we individually need to be at our best. But once you realize "I have this need, but I don't know how to bring this up with my peers or my leader without sounding selfish or like a child or absorbed in me and not thinking about the business needs or how the culture actually works."  So how do you face that?  Strother: I think the first piece that we, anytime we're asking for something like that, framing it in what's in it for you instead of for me. If I come to someone and I say — “Well, I need a corner office because I really need time alone and I just need you to make this accommodation for me.” Like, “Deal with it. You're not gonna get any good work for me until you do it.” Like, "Even if I have that corner office. I'm already like I'm not.... No."  Lisa: You just sound like a brat or a diva. Strother: Yeah, I don't want to give that to you, because you're just complaining right now.  But if you can frame that for me in,  “Here's how I produce my best work.” Especially if you've done like a team StrengthsFinder type thing where everybody kind of knows, and we're all sort of moving into that methodology, we get it.  “Let's find a way to activate your CliftonStrengths and activate mine.”  “How can we make space for everyone?”  If you're lucky to have that culture, then frame it in that way.  Say — “Hey, you want the best work from me? We've found that one of the things I found in my report is that I do my best work like this. And I don't feel like we have access to that. Is there any way? What could we do?” Lisa: What could we do?  Strother: Instead of “Do this,” say, “What can we do to make this work?”  And then it's a co-creative process. Then you are collaborating and you're giving them the opportunity to throw something out there, which maybe you've not considered either.  Apply Your Superpowers At Work *For Work*, Not Just For Yourself Lisa: Yeah, maybe you don't have a corner office. So you get to go down to the park outside and instead of someone thinking that you're just messing around out there for an hour, you're actually at the park alone doing your thinking time and you come back and when you show that produce better work that way, then people will say, “Oh, okay, yeah, go to your thinking in the park. Because right, we want that brainpower that comes back when you do it.” Strother: And don't let your anticipated thoughts of what you think people will think about you, stop you, because I think oftentimes we're trying to project ourselves into other people. And we usually get that wrong. So when you think, “If I went to the park, I bet they would think that I'm lazy, or I bet they would think I'm just slacking off—”  Then tell us you're not.  A lot of times we're very nervous to throw those things out there, especially if it feels like an accommodation, or something that not everybody gets. People feel like,  “Well, I have to do things the way they've been done.”  There's no rule that says we have to do things the way it's been done. And if you can frame it in “Look at what you get from me.”  Even when sometimes you might have to have a little data to support it, like, “This week, I tried out this thing, and I found that I produced so much better or it was easier work with me or I had an easier time in this way... Here's the data from my experiment. Can we make this more long-term?”  So there's lots of ways to make it less like jump your feet and being a brat and more like “How can we build this together?” Lisa: Make it about the business, not about you. Make it a pilot. And use your superpowers at work in service of the team. And I like what you brought up about: “What else could we do? How could we accomplish it, given what we have available to us?”  And then knowing things like, you may not get the whole thing that you want. Certainly getting a physical office space, that's a big request. That's probably not likely. But what if the concession is that the team understands, “Hey, I'm going to put these big ol headphones on, and it's my one hour tiger time, and I'm not going to answer Skype, no instant message, no text. I'm going to shut out the world just for one hour a day.”  And that's not something you've ever been able to have before and suddenly you're super productive, then your team's gonna want to honor that one hour. That seems very reasonable compared with you just deciding that “Well, I can't be productive here so I'm going to pout.” Be Inoffensively Transparent Strother: I had a client who, on the door of their cubicle or like the entrance of their cubicle, had a traffic light magnetic piece and he would put the magnet on the line like — “Could you come talk to me?” was on green.  “Am I deep on something? Don't come in.” was on red.  So he let people know, “I'm in a deep workspace. Don't interrupt.”  Because I think that is a challenge at work, it’s that constant, like,  “Wanna gonna go grab coffee?” “Can I ask you a quick question (that will turn into a 20 minute chat)?”  “Hey, can I grab you for just a second? Can I talk to you for a second?”  And his solution was, “I'll just be very clear and very transparent. Right now, no, you can't.”  And they loved it because they knew when it's green, cool, great. And when it was red, he's busy and I'm not offended because that's not, “I don't want to talk to you.”  It's “I'm not talking to anyone right now because I produce better work that way.” Lisa: And even knowing the talent themes like having the conversation where this is a team event so that someone can see, for example, someone who leads through the superpower of Focus at work -  that they could be in an open work environment and have their back to the room and literally not be able to hear everything that's going off behind them because they are so focused on that one thing. Other people are so distractible that they wouldn't understand that's possible. They may not even believe it to your point about, you know, putting your own behaviors or the thoughts in your head, your lens on other people. So that's a powerful one. Strother: Yeah. Want To Grow As A Professional And Wield Your Superpowers At Work? Do CliftonStrengths With Your Team Lisa: That moment when Strother said the example of his friend who said, “Life is so dynamic right now,” this is what it feels like at work when you're trying to be really mature about it. It's like, “Oh my god, there's so much chaos and I'm burnt out and I'm just overbooked on my calendar and everything has gone awry.” And then you're like, “Alright, now I need to show up and be a pro. So okay. Things are so dynamic right now.”  You find a way to say it, you find a way to frame it, so that you still feel professional, but you still have needs. Even though you show up as a mature pro, there are still things that would put you at your best at work.  And I loved how we were able to just jump around different examples and chat through some simple ways that people have signaled those to their teammates, and how they've asked for those kinds of things from their manager without seeming high-maintenance, without seeming like a brat or a jerk. You may not feel that you can leap from today's current state to "superpowers at work." Maybe that seems to far right now. That's okay. Take the smallest action in that direction. If you think this kind of conversations would be useful for your team to have with each other, and I'm just gonna go — hint, hint — they're really useful to have with each other, meaningful conversation about your talent themes. Over time, they're going to open up so much understanding for you so that you know: What another person's interest is How they would naturally process information How they would naturally relate to the world How they make decisions How you could be helpful to each other by honoring those talent themes What their untapped potential might be (AKA hidden superpowers at work) This would be a great time to do CliftonStrengths with your team, and then consider doing some team building conversations. Many people are doing virtual training today. And Strother definitely facilitates those. So if you're interested in having him in for one of your virtual events, feel free to request him for your event.  It's these kinds of open conversations that you have with each other that ensure you understand what each person on the team needs. Many people will consider it too high-risk, they won't come forward with these kinds of requests or wishes or thoughts because of the brat factor.  They don't want to be seen as a brat. But they also see it as high-risk. They see it as a conversation that if they raise this, and that makes them go down a notch or two in your view, it's not going to be great for them in the workplace.  And if you contrast that with what happens when you're having these strengths-focused conversations at work around CliftonStrengths, it opens it up in a whole different way. It puts it in a new context and makes people feel open in a way that they wouldn't if they were just going to come up with this conversation and raise it to you like it were an issue. With that, thank you for listening to Lead Through Strengths and for bringing your best strengths to the workplace, because you know our workplaces need that from you.  Next up: It's the last interview in the series with Strother and in that one we are talking about whether your commitments match your calendar, whether the things you say you want match what you actually do with your time. It's a powerful self-audit, and we'll see you over there. Charge Up Your Superpowers At Work With These Helpful Resources You can supercharge your career when you can do your best work in a way that will work not just for you but also for those around you. If you lead through Focus and Achiever, consider engaging in some mature conversation with your team and being more sensitive towards the needs of others and the business while striving for your best. In fact, why not conduct a fun experiment with your strengths? Remember the volume knob that Lisa talked about? It’s a metaphorical way of regulating your strengths — in the context of the situation and the people around you. You’ll discover whether you need to turn your strengths up or pull back a bit. And once you’ve found that sweet spot, you’ll find that your strengths are better received. Finally, review Lisa’s episode on how you can offer your awesomeness without sounding arrogant, where she explores the idea of balancing your talent’s energy with outward focus, i.e. thinking about the business outcome your strengths and talent can serve.

We’ve both used the Myers-Briggs to learn about our personalities and it has hugely impacted our work and personal lives once we really embraced it.  We’ve used assessments to hire the perfect virtual assistant and craft our ideal roles.  In this episode we talk (excitedly) about how useful personal assessments are and wonder why they are not used more in healthcare workplaces.   We discuss the Myers-Briggs, DISC, and Clifton Strengths Assessment revealing findings about each of us.  These assessments have been so useful in helping us see what we should be doing more of and what should be delegated.  Why do healthcare workers feel like they need to be good at everything and do it all?? Is that just the culture? Why are we not delegating out more of the things we don’t like in therapy like documentation?   Personal Assessments Links: Myers-Briggs: https://www.16personalities.com Strengths Finders: https://store.gallup.com/p/en-us/10003/cliftonstrengths-34 DISC: https://discpersonalitytesting.com/free-disc-test/ With our traits we all have strengths and blind spots we need to be aware of so we can keep doing our best and growing. Anti-racists actions: Watch something that helps move your education further.  John Oliver, Netflix catalog of Black Lives Matter programs  Come learn about Poi!  A fun, dynamic way to dual task with your clients.  Free webinar Tues Aug 25th at 5:30 pm PST / 8:30 pm EST go to https://www.neurocollaborative.com/poi  

Lead Through Strengths Facilitator Strother Gaines - Helping You Figure Out What To Do When You Don't Like Your Strengths This episode is all about the situation when you don't like your strengths — or you don't think you like someone else's strengths. It's easy to stereotype one of the CliftonStrengths talent themes, good or bad, when you only take a cursory glance at it. It's also easy for your talent to masquerade as a weakness if you have the volume turned up too high for the situation. Here's the transcript of the interview with Lisa Cummings and Strother Gaines as they explore the nuances: Lisa: You're listening to Lead Through Strengths, where you'll learn to apply your greatest strengths at work. I'm your host, Lisa Cummings.  I'm always saying it's tough to find something more energizing than using your strengths every day at work. And today, the topic of the podcast episode is about those moments when you're asking yourself ⁠—  “Oh, should I not use my strengths at work?”  “Are these not good ones to have for a given job?”  Or, “I don't know that this talent theme is going to be well appreciated in the work culture that I'm in, so maybe I should just bring it down a little bit because I don't think people at work are going to appreciate it.” This will help you figure out whether it should go into hiding when you don't like your strengths. The format is going to be a little bit different in the following series coming up for the podcast here. I actually have Strother Gaines joining as a co-host, he's one of our facilitators here at Lead Through Strengths. So many times now people are experiencing facilitators other than me when they do training classes on CliftonStrengths, StrengthsFinder, strengths leadership development, etc. And so I thought, wow, our customers and our podcast listeners need to get to know these amazing facilitators. So, coming up over the next weeks and months, you will be getting to meet many of them.  In the next six episodes, you'll meet Strother, where I'm having a conversation with him. Having A Case of ‘Bad’ Talents? Don’t Like Your Strengths? We Get You Lisa: We're talking about that thing today, where you get your list, and you're loving a few of them, but one of them is leading you to think ⁠—  “I don't know about that one... I don't think I would call it a strength... I think I want to get that one back.”  “Can I see my #6, 7, 8, 9, 10? Can I choose from some other ones?”  So when I jump into this interview with Strother, you'll see that we are cracking up a little bit because I had just been a klutz in the office and caught my pocket on the table in the office. And so we're busting a gut a few times in these episodes. I'm going to do an intro for each one, I'll do a closing for each one. And if you hear us jump right into some laughter, well, yes, some shenanigans are probably going on me being a klutz, or us goofing around. If you want to see some of the shenanigans and silliness - things we were doing where we're playing around in the office - then make sure that you go to YouTube and look at the video version. At the end, I'll include some of the outtakes so that you can see them there.  So let's jump right in to talk about what to do when you don't like your strengths. Shifting Perspective When You Don’t Like Your Talent Themes Lisa: Let's say you take the CliftonStrengths assessment, and four of the five of them you're like ⁠—  “Oh, yeah, these are so me... I love that, but that one -- well, I mean, it's kind of me, but I don't really like one of my strengths…”  Or, “I don't really think that in this workplace they're gonna love it. I don't want to be seen like that... I don’t know if that would be valuable here or even accepted here if I let that one out.”  So what's your opinion on that? What do you do with it? Strother: Well, I totally had that happen in mine. I have Significance in my Top 5, and to me when I read Significance, it came across as like, “Tell me I’m pretty… Tell me I did a good job..." I need everyone else to tell me, like, “This is a good thing.” And one of my greatest fears in my work is that I required external validation. Everyone tells you to find that joy, find all of that inside of you. And then my StrengthsFinder came back and it's like, “No, you actually need people to tell you what’s good. And I was like, NO.  But then, after I sat with it for a long time ⁠— you encouraged me to, like, “Stay with it for a little bit...”⁠ — I started to find that it influences so much of the types of projects that I take on, and it helps me actually delineate what I would be good at, what I would be excited about, and what I'm not.  I'm not great at something that I'm not passionate about, and I don't like creating something that doesn't have that feedback loop where I get someone else's opinion or other people are collaborating with it. It's re-visualizing how you conceptualize that strength. Find a way that you can tilt that so that it is still you... Your ‘Bad’ Strengths Are Good Enough To Make You Stand Out We've talked a lot about “basements and balconies.” Do you have a strength that's in the basement, and that's where you're viewing it from? What does it look like when it's fully actualized, when you're actually taking control and being intentional about it, instead of letting it run the show underneath all of the things, that when you look at it, you go, “That's the thing I want.” Then it's a lot easier to bring it out, even in a culture that might not support it, because that's your unique offer. This is a tricky situation - training participants will often say that you save a talent for your home life because you don't like your strengths for work purposes. If it's something that doesn't show up a lot, if you have a rare strength, you're going to stand out. And standing out can be challenging sometimes, but it's also the thing that's going to get you noticed. Most of the time, anytime you want to move forward, first you have to get noticed. So use it, like leverage that weird thing and make it your strength. From ‘Irrelevant’ Strengths To Workplace Impact Lisa: I love how Strother framed this one out for you, as a way to bring your unique offering to the workplace. We always talk about your differences being your differentiators. So, instead of thinking of a strength as something that you need to squash down and say, “Oh, maybe I have a bad strength...” ⁠— which is an oxymoron ⁠— use your strength fully, figure out how to mature it, and get the most out of it.  Now sometimes people feel like they have skills that aren't relevant on the job. This is definitely a case where you might wonder what to do when you don't like your strengths because they don't feel helpful in your current role. For talents, we're talking about something different. We're talking about how you naturally think, or feel, or act when you are at your natural best, and you wouldn't want to squash those out ⁠— because it would be squashing down the best of you.  With that, thanks for listening to Lead Through Strengths. You've been getting to meet Strother Gaines, one of our facilitators from DC. In the next episode, you will hear us talking about how to not feel arrogant when you're talking to other people about your strengths. We'll see you there. Want More Ideas For What To Do When You Don't Like Your Strengths? A while back, Lisa interviewed Ben Fanning on what to do when you think your job isn't a good fit for your talents. Ben was funny and insightful. He gave lots of ways to reconnect with what you like about work, build a personal brand around strengths, and to mold your job in that direction. Ben wrote a whole book on the topic called The Quit Alternative. The book is excellent, and it hits on a common situation where people think they might need to quit their job to be content again. If you read Ben's book, you'll almost certainly think that the grass isn't greener on the other side — it's greener around the corner of the same company. Another episode you might like to explore is the one where Lisa answers the question of what to do when you only have 2 of the colors in the CliftonStrengths lineup. This is another situation that makes a typical training attendee say that you don't like your strengths.

Replace frustration with joy by giving yourself and your children permission to be the strong person God made them to be. Connect with the Millers Facebook | Instagram Resources Mentioned in this Episode Millers Website Incredible Kids: Free Assessment Play to Their Strengths book StrengthsFinders

8:18- What is Strengths Finder? 16:20- 4 step process how to tap into those strengths24:28- Anna’s journey with Strengths Finder36:24- How knowing your strengths can help during this crisis42:17- Moving forward with these Strengths Finders principles to make better changes46:16- Resources how to take the assessment  47:39- Ways to connect with Anna Welcome to the Your Day Brighter Podcast. Each week, host Tracey Tiernan shares real stories from real people who are making a real positive impact in their communities, giving us real hope in this world. You will walk away not only feeling encouraged but with practical ways to live a positive, hopeful, joy-filled life.Tracey Tiernan is a veteran morning radio personality at 95.1 SHINE-FM in Baltimore, Maryland.  She served as the Creative Arts Program Director at her local church for nearly 20 years.She is a true enneagram 4, proud redhead, artist, worship leader, songwriter, coffee snob, wife to Gary and stepmom to her six bonus kids. Her superpower? Empathy.  She is convinced of five things:Everyone needs hope and encouragement.Everyone has something good to contribute to the world.We can learn from absolutely anyone.Life is better when we do it with GodDiversity is a privilege that’s given to us to share the journey of life with people that are different than we are.Thank you for taking the time to listen to Your Day Brighter. We are glad you’re here. 

Dr. Ted Prince introduces you to the world of Behavioral Finance and how it may be your best weapon during this current Covid Crisis. Now more than ever, your behavior will determine how well your company emerges from this crisis. Learn why your instincts may work against your company's success.

Welcome to the Multi-FAMILY zone podcast, where business meets family. The hosts of the show, Julia and Gino Barbaro, have been married for over twenty years, and have six children.  Julia homeschools the children, and recently became a marriage and life coach to help couples become better communicators and help enrich their lives.  The couple is constantly asked about how they balance their entrepreneurial and real estate journey while raising their kids. The Multi-FAMILY zone was created to address these questions, along with a host of questions from the Jake and Gino community.  In this episode, Gino and Julia talk to Ritchie and  Betsy Robertson Molitor. They are from Buena Vista, CO, a small mountain town. They have been in real estate for nearly 20 years and own 2 REMAX franchises. They currently own a duplex (our first investment) and are ready to expand with the Jake and Gino community. The light has definitely turned on, they see the value in multifamily investing and what it will mean for our family. As you can see, they have a large family and their goals are to be able to visit them, nurture them and enjoy them as they grow into their own families. Betsy is a strengths coach and has  been doing strengths coaching for the last 2 years but for the last 8 years with her family! People can reach out to her to learn how to take the online test and/or their kids or colleagues.  Then, she can  meet with you for a virtual coaching session.  In this podcast, Ritchie & Betsy discuss family life, homeschooling their ten kids, running their business, how they work together effectively as a team, and how to enjoy your family and be a huge, positive influence in their lives. You can reach Ritchie & Betsy here: rbmolitor@gmail.com https://www.instagram.com/betsymolitor/ https://www.facebook.com/BeautyByBetsyM/?modal=admin_todo_tour   Strengthsfinders     Questions or comments? Email us at juliabarbaro@gmail.com  

From the S.E.T and “Aspirational You” concepts in the previous episode, we now move towards a seemingly favorite topic for discussion: troublemaker talents! When talking about strengths, curiosity about the other side -- the so-called “shadow side” or “blind spots” -- tends to surface. And that’s exactly why our next core concept is worth discussing. Troublemaker talents are natural talents that have the potential to make you great yet may be causing pain or trouble to you, or to others within the team, due to misapplication, talent overuse, or squashing down of talent.  Note that you may be squashing down a talent or not developing it because you don’t see the necessity. But when it does come out inevitably, it doesn’t come out looking good. Join us explore these “T” talents, and towards the end you will get these takeaways: Some workplace scenarios where troublemaker talents can show up How these scenarios may affect teams and team projects  What you can do as a team in order to address the possible impact on timelines and results caused by the misapplication, overuse, or squashing down of talent Are These 'Troublemaker' Scenarios Familiar To You? Scenario 1: Love For Learning Let’s say a member of your team leads through Learner and Input. Coming out of such strength is her love for learning, such as data gathering. As she’s bent on really getting to know the stakeholders and the end-users before beginning a project, she spends time on the front end of the projects not only collecting stakeholder specifications, the end-user information, and the end-user preferences but really digging into these items.  What makes it a troublemaker talent? This is showing up as a troublemaker talent for her because in the process of thorough and in-depth learning, you would see her as being too slow-paced or a “deadline-misser.” This is rooted in the following: 1) Her non-communication of how her workflow looks (70% of the time on front end then hastened towards completion) 2) Her lack of awareness that would make someone else nervous What can you do as a team? As you are following a more sensible timeline, and it’s clear that the troublemaker talent is going to make her miss the deadline, you have no choice but to step in. In this scenario, she’ll keep getting her projects pulled as she’s getting them started because you think she’s not going to complete them on time. Scenario 2: Digging In Or Intruding? For this same person who loves gathering information, it also comes out as a talent overuse when she spends most of a meeting with a colleague, asking too many questions -- to the point that she causes skepticism and guardedness on her colleague.  What makes it a troublemaker talent? While the main point of the meeting is to explore and learn as much as she can, “too much curiosity kills a cat” as they say, and may spell trouble by way of perceived intrusion.  “Why the 20 questions?” “Why are you digging into my business?” “What’s the deal here?” In the end, when the colleague senses that she’s prying into their business, she might not obtain the information she was driving for. What can you do as a team? Self-awareness - It’s important that this particular “troublemaker” be made aware of where she is not being well-received by others, and where her supposed talent seems to be getting in the way of her desired results. The ability to reflect on this starts the active process of addressing the “trouble” or pain.  Maximizers also want to think about things longer and improve on them through constant reworks. However, they tend to get stuck on that phase rather than just jumping in and executing it. Naturally they go for the highest quality output, which requires that everything must be thought through. In effect, it keeps them from getting ahead along the timeline. But if high stakes are involved, Maximizers must not let themselves be okay with a B+ work.  The Yin-Yang Complex Another concept to watch out for in troublemaker talents is the “yin-yang complex’ where within a team, we often find talents that look the opposite of someone else's.  Consider the previous example of the leader through Learner and Input. As her boss, you happen to lead through Activator. That means you want to get things moving, and in contrast to her Learner-Input themes, you are really fast on the front end of projects.  Now due to self-awareness or team awareness about each other’s talent themes, you will know in advance how to handle and address potential “trouble” brought about by varying cadence and preferences in approach. Action steps may look like the following: The Learner-Input team member effectively communicates and aligns with you where she’s at in the milestone 1-10 through regular updates, providing  explanation where there may be gaps  assurances of how she will strategize to meet the deadline You determine the types of projects you can (or cannot) assign to her, depending on where her thoroughness may be best utilized.  Your Team Challenge: Identify A Troublemaker Talent And Develop It This challenge may take a little thinking through or maybe backtracking.  Think of someone right now that you know, or someone that you've worked with in the past whom you think you’ve often butted heads or clashed with because you were always coming from totally opposite directions. Recognize that these people are a great case study for troublemaker talents. Assume both their positive intent and your positive intent. See how they're both trying to achieve results for which you may have a very different approach.  Develop a troublemaker talent into a value-adding talent. Suppose you're a visionary, and while you're passionately presenting about the vision of a project, you feel that your team or a team member is dragging it down into something that's irrelevant at present. It can be quite maddening.  If you recognize the troublemaker talents in your team, you can avoid the frustrations of being derailed in your vision presentation by talking to that person in advance. Example: “Hey, I'm going to give you the high level in the meeting, and then let's book an hour after because I know you're gonna have a lot of detailed questions." This short and direct approach will most likely provide the win-win situation where you can cast an inspirational vision for the team. At the same time, these “troublemakers” are given the opportunity to raise questions, be heard, and add value to company-wide results. So rather than merely point out to them what’s wrong that needs fixing, it’s far more constructive to focus on the team member’s potential, to inspire them to further develop their strength and express confidence that they can be among your top talents in the world. As you both commit support towards this person’s development, imagine the fulfillment for you both if they transform from a “troublemaker” to a superstar! Bottomline: It's so much more inspirational to craft and develop something that is already strong in you or others than to feel like you need to squash something and stamp it out. Ready For The Next Concept? Up next: Learn how to regulate by situation. Stay tuned!

Core Concepts for Stronger Teams In this series, you’ll explore 9 core concepts that will help you implement strengths with your team at work. The concepts we chose for you came straight from you - both from listeners of this show and from participants in our training classes. These are the concepts that pop out as most important or elusive. If you know the overlooked or unconsidered angles that can help you make the most of strengths on your team, you'll make big leaps. Keep reading to see the full list. There will be one dedicated podcast episode and blog post for each of the concepts. Stronger Teams This series of nine topics is inspired by Stronger Teams. Stronger Teams is a live, virtual training program we just launched to the public. It all came from that thing you’re constantly asking me about - making it stick. Nearly every day, I get questions like, “Hey, we read the book StrengthsFinder 2.0 and we did a team building day. Now what? How do we keep this going? What do we do next?” Oy vey, I’ve been there. When you’re leading a team you have so much on your plate. You don’t have time to come up with constant conversation prompts and activities. You’re busy enough trying to stay caught up on IMs and emails. If you feel too busy to take on the project of strengths, you’re normal. You probably feel like you don’t have the time or expertise to pull it off well. Or if you’ve tried, you might feel dorky and awkward as you set up these conversations with your team. Well imagine if you and your team could just show up to a regularly-scheduled strengths training: an easy-peasy team building cadence built into your schedule. Think of what that would be like: You get to grow. They get to grow. You learn about each other, so you get the team building effect in your meaningful conversations over time. There’s no prep work. No planning. No travel & expense budget to beg for. No writing of business cases to get the team in for an offsite, and No more losing 3 days of productivity so that you can do one day of meals and bowling together. This is where strengths-based cultures get really useful at work. It’s when you have conversations over time. Rather than a once-per-year outing, it becomes a steady trickle into the everyday work and conversations you’re already having. Why Do Teams Fail To "Do Strengths" After Their Initial StrengthsFinder Training? The #1 reason I see CliftonStrengths initiatives fail? It’s because they think of it like an initiative. Like an event. The hype fades off as soon as they get back to work. So, if you do a program like Stronger Teams instead, you get a full year of development together. If you’ve been thinking that you need to do more to make strengths stick, go check out Stronger Teams. For less than the cost of one in-person training event, you can bring in an entire team of 10 people for a full year. That’s 12 live, virtual trainings. That’s 12 activity guides to help you expand it beyond your immediate team. That’s 12 live Office Hours for live Q&A where I offer strengths coaching conversations. That's access to a Strengths Vault where you can get quick-hit team tools and watch past recordings. And an online community of peers.  This peer part is really cool because there are members from lots of companies and industries. You also get to  expand your professional network with other strengths-focused teams around the world. The 9 Core Concepts Each concept will have a separate podcast episode and blog post to go into detail. After all, this list won't make full sense until you see the descriptions. Skills, Experiences, and Talents Troublemaker Talents Regulate by Situation Easy Buttons Not an Excuse Gimme That Escalation Takes Time and Intention Honored and Insulted Starved and Fed Notice What Works: A Challenge The 3-Coin Challenge  is based on the concept “Notice what works to get more of what works.” It’s simple. You put 3 coins in your pocket. Or paper clips. Or any small item. Try it. Put 3-small-somethings in your pocket right now. Then, you can get rid of one item at a time as you give away a bit of recognition. Now, you’re not giving the person the actual coin. You’re giving them recognition. You'll see some examples below. Do this as a once-per-week challenge. Build a habit by doing it regularly--even daily if you’re game. Keep the recognition small and simple. Don’t give a thought to “saving your pennies for something extra good.” For the purpose of this exercise, there’s no benefit to withholding praise, no matter how small. Here are a few examples: Recognizing Ishaan, a Teammate Imagine that I have a teammate named Ishaan. He takes a call from an irate customer. I hear it, and it’s good. Rather than silently nodding to myself about his moment, I acknowledge it aloud. I say, “Wow Ishaan. You really worked magic when you talked her off the ledge. She sounded like she was going to leave us, and now she’s a fan again. That was amazing to hear.” Recognizing Sonia, a Direct Report “Dang, Sonia! Your 3D data visualization finally made sense of our Q2 forecast. Everyone seemed lost, and then, BAM! Your chart helped it make sense to everyone. Thank you for making it so clear.” Recognizing Sam, a Peer “Sam, that question changed the course of this meeting. Thank you for helping us see a new angle. We would have totally missed that.” So that’s it. Have fun with it. Be generous and specific with the recognition. Get the pesky coins out of your pocket as you "earn them out" by giving away recognition. You Get What You Measure--And What You Affirm The beauty of doing this challenge is that you get more of what you affirm. It’s repeatable by the recipient of your praise because they already did it well. Imagine how powerful that small thought can be. When they think, “Oh, that was easy, and the team seemed to like that. I can do more of that - no problem.” If you hadn’t told them anything, it’s like they’re walking around the wilderness with a blindfold on and no compass. They just keep trying things to see if anything works. On the other hand, when you recognize them, it’s like taking off the blindfold. What you appreciate and want is no longer hidden. And it’s like giving them a compass - they have a general direction to align with. And that direction is likely aligned with their strengths, so it will also be easy for them to offer more of it. That’s why you’ll get more of what works when you notice what works.

Len Tiso is a Gallup-certified Strengths coach and a Certified Professional Coach through World Coach Institute. He owns Tiso Transformational Coaching where he helps people to Target their Strengths to Transform their life. In this Episode, Len Tiso gives us an overview of what StrengthsFinders is, and why knowing your Strengths can empower you to perform better by doing more of what you naturally do best. StrengthsFinder is a dynamic tool for assessing, measuring and developing talent. StrengthsFinder was introduced in 2001 with the best selling book, Now Discover Your Strengths. The updated StrengthsFinder 2.0 was later released in 2007 and is consistently a best selling book on Amazon. StrengthsFinder is an online test called CliftonStrengths by Gallup Research. It is a unique assessment to measure your talent DNA to discover your specific order of 34 CliftonStrengths themes. “CliftonStrengths helps you aim your purpose at greater performance and helps you harness what makes you uniquely powerful” www.gallup.com Len Tiso is passionate about helping people and teams to flourish. His clients include executives and teams from leading Fortune 500 companies and professional services firms; nonprofit Boards of Directors, executives, and teams; and entrepreneurs. He is based in Los Angeles, but coaches clients across the U.S. and internationally. Connect with Len - https://www.lentiso.com/ CliftonStrengths34 Assessment: https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/en/home.aspx Follow Host Dr Beth Teran on Instagram: Balanced by Beth Special Thank You to @beseenco for collaborating to produce this podcast. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/balancedbybeth/support

Theresa Henson SVP and Global Account Director of ITRS Group and Certified Strength Coach. She is an experienced President with a demonstrated history of working in the computer software industry. Skilled in Sales, Partner Management, Marketing, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), and Go-to-market Strategy. Strong business development professional. Proven leader with a strong track record of 35% YOY company growth in a high-paced network management software organization. Theresa is uses her leadership skills and Strengths Finders traning to build and lead effective teams. To connect with Theresa Linkedin: theresa-henson-124bb78/ www.gallup.com To connect with Evan Uyetake www.patreon.com/yblpc twitter: @utalkie facebook: /youngbusinessleaderpodcast instagram: @utalkie LinkedIn: /evanuyetake This podcast is sponsored by Trost Marketing www.trostmarketing.com

In this episode, Jennifer interviews Michelle Bentham, founder of Blooming Inspired Network and host of Blooming Inspired Podcast. Today, they talk about how Michelle began to realize that personality tests like the DISC or Enneagram assessments and Strengths Finders don't really define who she is, but rather help her to become more self-aware. The most important thing to realize is that we are unique in how we were created but who we are is more about discovering who Jesus is and how He wants to express Himself through us. Christ in YOU is the hope of glory! More about Michelle: Michelle loves Jesus! As a wife, mother, daughter, friend and ministry leader - Michelle seeks to connect people to God's heart through creative expression. She is passionate about seeing women walk in their role and reign in God's Kingdom. As a prophetic artist she paints pictures that resonate with the hearts and minds of women as she expresses God's word and her prayers through visual images. As an Executive Coach she uses creativity and intuition to help individuals take well-thought out steps of action toward their desired goals -- helping them reach their unlimited potential. She recently joined The John Maxwell Team as a certified Speaker, Trainer, Teacher & Coach. When she is not changing the world through ministry, art or coaching, she is at home with her husband, #TheFisherman, on the lake in Granbury, TX. Want to support the show? Like, share, subscribe, follow, or leave a review! We have also launched a Patreon for those wanting to contribute with a gift, find more information at Patreon/accidental-hope or our www.accidentalhope.com. Thanks again!Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/accidentalhope)

Back in Episode 18, I shared how I was introduced to the Enneagram, a little bit about my type— I'm a type three. I also gave a glimpse into my life and thoughts and struggles and strengths as an Enneagram type three. But I don't want to assume everybody listening knows what this weird word the Enneagram means. So I kind of want to go back to basics for a minute before jumping into the book, The Sacred Enneagram, so let's start with this. What the heck is the Enneagram? Basically, the Enneagram is like a personality typing tool. The difference between the Enneagram and other personality tests that you see out there is that the Enneagram sticks with you for life. You're going to figure out what your number is on the Enneagram, what type you are, and that's the same in childhood, and adolescence, and in your adult life, and even as you age, it doesn't change. I've taken other personality tests like Strengths Finders or DISC and I love this kind of stuff. I love it. I think it's so fascinating. With those things, they kind of change. Like, I had different strengths in one season of my life and then different strengths in another season of my life. But this one, if you know your type on the Enneagram, it doesn't change it. It's based in what motivates you. It's based in your basic fears. It's based in a lot of different things. But one thing I found interesting, most of the Enneagram authors agree that we are all born with a dominant type, so people don't change from one basic type to another. Like I said, your type is your type for life. And there is kind of a mix of I guess nature versus nurture, but they said you're born with a type and then oftentimes your childhood wound or something that you experienced in childhood is also what shapes your type. Anyway, I thought that was pretty interesting, as well. If you don't know what your number is on the Enneagram, there are free tests that you can take online to find out. (Side note, I recommend reading The Road Back to You over taking a test.) As we kind of transition into the book, The Sacred Enneagram, just know that this is more of a deeper dive for someone who is more familiar with the Enneagram and someone who kind of wants to bridge that gap between, okay, I know my type, what does this mean for my faith walk? What does this mean for my relationship with Jesus? And that is why I wanted to read this book. Listen in as we jump into The Sacred Enneagram and my three takeaways from this book. For the full transcript, head to this episode's blog post! Resources from this episode: The Sacred Enneagram, by Chris Heuertz Episode 018 - Life as an Enneagram 3 Enneagram Institute website The Road Back to You, by Ian Cronn & Suzanne Stabile Practicing the Presence of God, by Brother Lawrence Nancy Ray Book Club   *Affiliate links have been used!

In this episode, Jennifer interviews Michelle Bentham, founder of Blooming Inspired Network and host of Blooming Inspired Podcast. Today, they talk about how Michelle began to realize that personality tests like the DISC or Enneagram assessments and Strengths Finders don't really define who she is, but rather help her to become more self-aware. The most important thing to realize is that we are unique in how we were created but who we are is more about discovering who Jesus is and how He wants to express Himself through us. Christ in YOU is the hope of glory! More about Michelle: Michelle loves Jesus! As a wife, mother, daughter, friend and ministry leader - Michelle seeks to connect people to God's heart through creative expression. She is passionate about seeing women walk in their role and reign in God's Kingdom. As a prophetic artist she paints pictures that resonate with the hearts and minds of women as she expresses God's word and her prayers through visual images. As an Executive Coach she uses creativity and intuition to help individuals take well-thought out steps of action toward their desired goals -- helping them reach their unlimited potential. She recently joined The John Maxwell Team as a certified Speaker, Trainer, Teacher & Coach. When she is not changing the world through ministry, art or coaching, she is at home with her husband, #TheFisherman, on the lake in Granbury, TX.

In this episode, Jennifer interviews Michelle Bentham, founder of Blooming Inspired Network and host of Blooming Inspired Podcast. Today, they talk about how Michelle began to realize that personality tests like the DISC or Enneagram assessments and Strengths Finders don't really define who she is, but rather help her to become more self-aware. The most important thing to realize is that we are unique in how we were created but who we are is more about discovering who Jesus is and how He wants to express Himself through us. Christ in YOU is the hope of glory! More about Michelle: Michelle loves Jesus! As a wife, mother, daughter, friend and ministry leader - Michelle seeks to connect people to God's heart through creative expression. She is passionate about seeing women walk in their role and reign in God's Kingdom. As a prophetic artist she paints pictures that resonate with the hearts and minds of women as she expresses God's word and her prayers through visual images. As an Executive Coach she uses creativity and intuition to help individuals take well-thought out steps of action toward their desired goals -- helping them reach their unlimited potential. She recently joined The John Maxwell Team as a certified Speaker, Trainer, Teacher & Coach. When she is not changing the world through ministry, art or coaching, she is at home with her husband, #TheFisherman, on the lake in Granbury, TX.

Scott and Cole talk about the difference between the intellectual virtue of skepticism and the vice of cynicism. Scott asserts that there are Christians operating in the public square who echo the lazy cynicism of Pilate's question, "What is truth?" Show Links: "Why Did We Go to War?" PBS Frontline "Lie of the Year: 'If you like your health care plan, you can keep it'" by Angie Drobnic Holan CliftonStrengths (Formerly StrengthsQuest or StrengthsFinders 2.0) "What are Intellectual Virtues?" Educating for Intellectual Virtues John 18:38; "What is truth?" "Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs" Wikipedia "The Apology of Timothy" Contact Us: Email: cpsquarepodcast@gmail.com Twitter: @cp_square Dr. Self's Website: jscottself.com Privacy Policy: Privacy Policy

You know how important stories are in effective communication, but did you know that the stories you choose to share, and how you choose to share them have a huge impact on your internal messages, and in how you’re being perceived by the people around you? This book will help you identify pivot points in your life – those moments that really shape who you are and why, and can help you figure out where certain damaging internal messages came from. When you understand that, you can find patterns in your life and address those messages and communication challenges that are limiting your success at work and in your relationships. Preorder your copy today! Focus You wouldn’t think that word could cause such discouragement and frustration. Focus. It was the Women’s Leadership Retreat in early January, and my first experience on a board of a community organization. I was that year’s Vice President, and my primary responsibility for the year was to organize, coordinate, and host the annual conference that fall. That evening over our dinner in that beautiful lodge just outside of White Sulpher Springs, Montana surrounded by encouraging, inspiring women, Mary, our Past President, told us about her family’s New Year tradition: We each pick a single word to focus on for the year. That is a word which helps us prioritize our activities, and our choices in how we spend our time. My word this year is “healing.” Last year was a hard one for me, and I don’t feel like I’ve spent enough time recovering from those difficult situations. This year, I’ll be paying attention to healing from those painful experiences. Every choice I make in terms of how I spend my time will be viewed through that one word. Each of us in the room took some time to think about this, and to offer our word for the year. Cassie, the incoming President, and I both picked the word FOCUS. We picked it for different reasons; she had jumped into multiple businesses the previous year and was running herself ragged with kids and work. She had been offered many exciting opportunities, and felt compelled to accept them without really considering the impact on her health and happiness. Cassie decided on FOCUS as a word to help her prioritize which opportunities she would take, and which she would reject with grace. For me, the word focus had more to do with my inability to stop multitasking. It was about the way I went about my days, flitting from one thing to the next and not spending uninterrupted, focused time on any one thing. I was the queen of distraction, and wanted to address that weakness. I wrote FOCUS on small sticky notes and placed them on my monitor at work, my laptop at home, on the bathroom mirror, and even on the dashboard of my car. Every once in a while I would switch them up on different colored paper, doodle drawings around the written word, and different colors of markers, because I know our brains start to ignore the things we get used to seeing. The entire year was spent looking at that word, working hard to remember to focus on one thing at a time… and failing. Literally – for an entire year I tried hard to be someone who could focus on thing for longer periods of time, and consistently beat myself up over not being able to do that. January came around again, and this time I was President of Women’s Leadership Network, Helena, and it was my turn to host the annual new board retreat. I told Mary’s story about her family tradition and asked the board members to think about their word for 2018. I started: “My word this year, like last year, is FOCUS. I failed miserably in 2017 with my word, but this year will be different. I’m going to make this work! I may need your help, though, so please be my accountability partners?” We went around the table after dinner; everyone shared their word for 2018 with enthusiasm, eager to use this tool to help prioritize time and energy. Focus. Focus. Focus. I tried hard, with a variety of tools, and by March was highly discouraged, frustrated with myself, and felt like a failure in that part of my life. By April I had completely given up, had thrown away all the sticky notes and other reminders, and beat myself up over it for weeks. We are our own worst critics, right? In mid 2018 I took the StrengthsFinders assessment and wasn’t at all surprised by my results.  Of 34 themes, FOCUS is number 29. The lightbulb went on. Memories of my best, most effective studying times came back in a rush: Sitting in a coffee shop or busy student center in college, just enough activity around me to keep my brain focused on the textbook or notes in front of me, and intermittent interruptions of friends stopping to say hi, or a nice waiter/waitress offering more coffee. Focus is NOT one of my top strengths. I beat myself up for a year and a half for trying hard to be something I’m not. It was like hating myself for not being a famous basketball player – I’m just over five feet tall and probably the least coordinated musician you’ll ever know. One of the things I love most about my work as a communication coach is the time I’ve spent being coached. (I believe strongly that you cannot be a great coach without getting great coaching.) And what I’ve really enjoyed in my 150+ of hours coaching using the StrengthsFinders tool is the “ah ha” moments I’ve experienced with my clients. The beauty in knowing your strengths, those go-to skills that you use so naturally to solve problems and build relationships, is that you also know what doesn’twork for you. I see the word focus these days, and I laugh out loud, imagining myself trying a jump shot at the basketball court across the street. Uh uh. Not going to happen. That doesn’t mean I never have a use for focus, it just means I have to use my innate strengths to achieve the same goal, I have to do things differently to get from point A to point B. Rather than hunker down in a quiet spot to focus, I think strategically about what it’s going to take, what helpful vs. harmful distractions I’ll experience, and how long the task is likely to take if I include the breaks I need to recharge and return to the project. Hint: It’ll take LESS time if I use my strengths, rather than try to force myself to focus in a way that doesn’t come naturally to me. Now it’s your turn: What do you beat yourself up over that you have no natural, innate ability? Is there another way to accomplish a goal, other than to force-fit yourself into a specific method of doing things? If you’re interested in figuring out what your top strengths are, I published a post & podcast called “What is your top strength?” that offers some ideas to help you identify your top strengths. When you know them, you might just be able to apply what you learn to do what you do even better. Or better yet, I’m accepting new coaching clients now, individuals & teams; contact me at Elkins Consulting for more information!

Lisa was promoted and knew she would work hard to be a great manager. She had enough experiences, good and bad, to know what she didn’t want to do. But she had an immediate challenge in one of her employees, and had almost decided to find a way to let her go, to fire her. Something about having that kind of power, the ability to make a decision that would at least temporarily have a big impact on a person’s life, made her question her decision, thank goodness. That was when she was introduced to StrengthsFinders. She took the assessment, began digging into applying what she was learning about herself through the reports generated for her results, and realized she could be a much better manager as she became more self-reflective. What really opened her eyes, though, was the realization that she could be an even better manager if she knew the results of her staff using that assessment. She recognized the value of better understanding not only what motivated them, but what they were particularly good at - what lit them up. She used that tool for years, uncovering strengths in her staff while becoming more and more aware of her own filters and bias' in how she saw her team. With the woman she had considered letting go, she realized how great a complement that woman could be on the team because she thinks so differently from Lisa. In this episode, we spoke about some of our strengths, and discussed how we coach people within their specific themes. The Maximizer theme came up a couple of times, and I referred to the movie This Is Spinal Tap, a mock-umentary, a fake rock band documentary. A maximizer is someone who sees something that’s a 7.5 or an 8 on a 10 point scale and immediately has ideas about how to make it even better, they want to make it an 11. Think about the person in your life who always has an idea about something to add to improve an already awesome recipe. They’re usually perfectionists and have a hard time stepping away from something. The only time you’d hear this person say: “That’s good enough.” is when they weren’t all that excited about the project to begin with - they didn’t see the potential for it to be GREAT. We also spoke about the differences in how people get from point A to point B, and the fact that there are always multiple ways to do that, but most of the time we have a narrow vision based on our own experience and strengths. When we recognize others for the value they bring, we find more effective ways to accomplish our goals. Connect with Lisa Cummings on LinkedIn, and check out her website Lead Through Strengths.

There are a lot of different personality profiles out there. Some folks swear by Myers-Briggs (e.g. INTJ), while others the DiSC profile, StrengthsFinders, or one of the 78,000 other options out there to label ourselves. So on today’s episode, we invited our friend and colleague, Jenaye White to join us on the show to discuss the Enneagram. (Do we need a trigger warning?) Listen in to the first of a two-part conversation where we discuss: What Jenaye appreciates about the Enneagram (and how she first learned about it) The results of our survey about Dave’s increasingly hilarious nicknames How “ancient” are the ancient roots of the Enneagram Why you shouldn’t be the person who labels people by a personality profile But don’t worry, we make sure we talk about books in there, too! Apple Podcasts Google Play Spotify Stitcher A few of the books we share on the show today include: The Road Back to You by Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile Emotional Intelligence by Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves The High Divide by Lin Enger The Secret Diary of Heindrik Groen, 83 1/4 Years Old The Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens Bonus content: Read Jenaye’s post that inspired this discussion from LifeWay Books. And meet Chicken Dave Schroeder, who is apparently still alive: @DavidMSchroeder @malContentsPod pic.twitter.com/EIUS1q7Wt6 — Scarlet Hiltibidal (@ScarletEH) March 10, 2019 Sharing and supporting the show Leave a five-star rating and review on Apple Podcasts. This only takes a second and will go a long way to helping other people find the show. If you know someone who would benefit from listening, share the show on your favorite social media network. Give us a follow on Twitter at @malContentsPod We use affiliate links from Amazon to help us pay for the costs of producing and hosting the podcast. Be sure to purchase a book or ten that we talk about on every episode. Interested in sponsoring Table of (mal)Contents? Let’s talk via email or DM @malContentsPod on Twitter. The post Personality profiles, the Enneagram, and Chicken Dave Schroeder appeared first on Blogging Theologically.

ON THE 'GRAMhttp://www.Instagram.com/BeyondSundayPodcastQuestions, comments, concerns? Email podcast@trinitynewlife.com. On this podcast:* This is TNLC, who is this?* Knowing the person, knowing the position* Understanding PERSONALITY PLUS* Understanding DISC* Strengths Finders, Golden, and the Enneagram* Special guest!!! Ok, let's get into it!

This episode I talk with Deb Tillett about growing up "Mad Men" style and how her fearless drive to achieve led her to ETC Baltimore, with many glamorous stops along the way. She unapologetically encourages entrepreneurs and everyone to assess your personal and professional vision... and go for it! Deb wanted me to add that the book referenced is actually called "Strengths Finders 2.0" and on that My Fair Lady part-- it's George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion. Now, who knew that?!

Almost every church planter assessment utilizes a personality test of some type (e.g. DISC, Meyers-Briggs, and StrengthsFinders). Many churches are also discovering the power of incorporating these tools into their leadership pipeline. At Connect Church we've been using the Enneagram to help people better understand themselves, and in this episode we discuss why we think you might find it helpful too. SHOW NOTES: Online Enneagram test Download our ENNEAGRAM PACKET and our ENNEGRAM BINGO -- New Church Hustle is a podcast designed to highlight the big faith and hard work behind every thriving church.

I’ve had a handful of good managers in my career. I consider them good when a manager trusts me to get my work done, cares about me, doesn’t micro-manage, and does their best to advocate for me and provide the resources I need to do my job. What’s missing here? Mentorship. Early in my career, I was offered an incredible opportunity to be a branch administrator in Washington DC as the branch transitioned to a new owner, a company based in Vancouver, Canada. It was probably beyond my experience and skills, but the branch manager interviewed me (in a coffee shop, one of the best interviews of my life), hired me on the spot, and generally trusted that I could figure out my role and be successful. In other words, he trusted his instinct that I could make him look good to the new owners. I did. He didn’t micromanage me. He gave me full authority to make decisions, while making sure I knew I could talk to him and ask for guidance at any time. Over the course of about 10 weeks, I negotiated a lease for new, raw office space, 3x larger than the space we were in, worked with an architect to design the interior (layout/offices, paint, carpet, etc.), negotiated data and phone system installation, and even purchased artwork. When the time came, I organized, coordinated, and managed the move of our employees and the contents of our tiny office space into our new location in about 24 hours, losing only about 4 hours of productivity for those employees. I was 24. It felt like a huge accomplishment, especially because I had never done anything like that before. After I set up and trained staff in A/R, A/P, payroll, benefits, and basic processes and procedures of the new company, I settled into my position… and promptly got bored. Six months after the move, my boss saw the minor mistakes I was making, called me into his office, and asked me about them. I honestly didn’t know how to answer him, so I got defensive. He figured it out before I did, thank goodness, and within a few weeks, he hired a new branch administrator and transitioned me into a junior consultant role. I enjoyed every client site I worked on, moved around enough to keep me interested and constantly learning, and was appreciated and valued by our clients. But I still hadn’t figured out exactly what my unique skill sets were, so I simply moved between tasks, learned a lot about everything I touched, and moved on again. I look back now and think: Thank goodness I had a boss who basically understood me, so I could learn and grow in that position. What incredible opportunities I had, despite my age and lack of experience! I also think: What if my boss had a tool back then so he could coach me, mentor me, to guide me in the direction of applying my unique strengths to a specific role? I made him look good because he gave me the tools and challenges I needed to succeed, but how much better could I have made him look if he had the ability to see into my future and guide me to my best self, using my natural talents? I’m not one to look back with regret; I look back because I love to learn lessons from my experiences, and apply them to help others. So when I look back at that time, I am grateful for what Melvin Sassoon did so early in my career. He trusted me and saw skills in me that I didn’t know were there. I also look back and think about what we both could have done differently to have different, even better outcomes. What if you had a tool that would transform your relationship with your employees from manager to mentor or coach? What if you had a language to speak that would help your employees understand their role and value in your company, and would help them understand their own strengths and how to apply them to be more productive and happier at work? You can even begin with selfish intentions: When your employees are successful, productive, effective and happy, they can make YOU look REALLY good. The end result is that you will find more satisfaction in your relationships at work, even if you don’t start with that intention. It would be almost impossible for you not to improve on your success, leaning into that style of management. Here’s the good news: There are tools to help you mentor and coach your employees to bring their best selves, their greatest talents to work. The difference in the tools is simply how you manage to apply them to improve communication. I could have focused my attention on a number of assessments and tools to help me in my communication coaching; StrengthsFinders is simply my tool of choice because I find the concept to be so positive and easily applied to the workplace. Whatever assessment you use - whatever tool you use to help uncover the natural talents of your employees, take the time to coach them to apply those talents to their role in your organization. Think about your own career, and how it could have benefited from having a manager who truly understood your strengths, and could have helped guide you to lean into them and use them in every aspect of your life. Those strengths don’t always show up in positive ways, especially in relationships with people who have very similar strengths, and those who are on the opposite end of the spectrum. It’s as if you’re speaking different languages when interacting with people with different strengths. When you coach with a tool like StrengthsFinders, you can help your employee understand every aspect of their talents, and how those can be negatively perceived by the people around them. In time, that employee will start to be more self-reflective, and will be able to adjust how they present their strengths to others, basically finding ways to get out of their own way (their heads), and move past obstacles. And when they truly understand their natural talents, their career will gravitate to roles that they will find great success and satisfaction. At that early stage in my career, if my boss had access to a tool like StrengthsFinders, and understood how to use it, it’s likely he would have steered me in the direction of sales for the company. I love people, and I love to share information and tools that help people improve their daily lives. My natural, unique talents would have made me an excellent sales person in that industry, with just a bit of training and guidance. Who really knows what might have happened? I could fill my days with alternative futures based on those “what if” questions. What matters at this point is that I now understand how my natural strengths have helped make me successful in the past, and how they’ve created obstacles when I haven’t known how I was being perceived by the people around me. I also know how I can apply them to improve my future, and the lives of the people I have the honor of working with. If you had a tool to help transform your relationship with your employees from manager to coach, would you use it?

Deneé and Shannon welcome their very first guest to the show, Alia Stowers! Today the ladies talk about the importance of understanding how to leverage the strengths that are unique to each of us. Alia is a Leadership Consultant and while she uses many different tools in her business, she always asks her clients to take the Strengths Finders test. You’ll find out why this tool is so valuable, while having a lot of fun as they sing and laugh their way through another episode!To potentially win a consultation and top 5 Strengths assessment, send us an email! Write to us at “pictureimperfectshow@gmail.com”. The winner will be announced on our next minisode!Connect with Alia Stowers at www.aliastowers.com or email her “alia@aliastowers.com”Want to know more about Strengths Finders? Head to: www.https://www.gallupstrengthscenter.com

If you're from the south, or in Christian culture, you've probably heard of the Enneagram. If you haven't, you're in for a REAL treat.  Today we're talking with Enneagram Coach, Lauren Gray, as she walks us through the Enneagram (think: personality typing like Myers-Briggs or StrengthsFinders) and how it can be utilized in our workplaces. Lauren walks us through each of the types and shares how managers, future leaders, and teams can utilize this tool to become more effective and productive. ------ Intro music by Rachel Troublefield. Take this test to figure out your type: exploreyourtype.com/details Get in contact with Lauren, here! IG: @laurenelkinsgray Website: laurenelkinsgray.com ------ https://jenaviviano.com/ IG: @jena_viviano LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenaviviano/ Share this podcast with the #yourcareerstory hashtag on LinkedIn, Instagram, or Facebook!

In March I was gifted a book and code to take the StrengthsFinders assessment. Because I trust and admire the person who gifted it to me, I took the assessment and read through what it meant. I’m not a big fan of personality tests and other assessments for a few reasons: They can be used in a negative, labeling way, giving people an excuse to not pay attention to the needs of the people around them. They often aren’t paired with coaching or clear strategies for applying what you learn about yourself. If they are done out of context, without a specific purpose or mission, they miss an incredible opportunity for self-reflection. Again, because it was a gift from someone I trust, I decided to dig a little deeper and actually started to read the introduction for the book. It turns out that I was taking the assessment out of context, exactly what bothers me about most assessments! As I read the book, I started to realize the incredible value in the concept of focusing on our strengths to build and improve on them, as opposed to finding our weaknesses and trying to improve those. The lightbulb went on in my head. Regardless of the tool we use in terms of these assessments, we need to focus our attention on what we do really well, and build and develop those skills. When we work on those things we don’t have a natural ability to do, we not only miss opportunities to spend that time and energy nurturing our unique strengths, we miss opportunities to collaborate with people with complementary strengths, making it feel like we have to do things all on our own, when we absolutely know that strong teams are more effective than someone working alone. There are some things we simply have to do in our lives, like basic math, reading, and laundry. But when it comes to other parts of our lives, especially professionally, knowing what we are really good at, what makes us feel confident, competent, and satisfied, focusing on our strengths simply makes us happier, more successful, and more productive. When I finished the book, I checked out the website and clicked the button “become a Strengths coach”, and a few months later I completed the requirements and was certified through Gallup. Thanks to the training, I am now exploring my own strengths more deeply as I coach others using this tool. And it was as I was hiking on the mountain behind my house that I finally understood how one of them really shows up in my life. I had some ideas about it, but most of what I was considering were things I believe other people (without Strategic in their top 5-10), could also do well. You know those things you do every day, those things you do without thinking about them at all, but that make your life make sense? Think about what annoys you about someone you love and spend a lot of time with, and consider this: It annoys you because you do it too, and you don’t like that aspect of yourself or; it annoys you because you do it differently - better and more efficiently - and you can’t figure out why THEY don’t do it that way. If the answer is the second one here, this may give you a clue about how a certain strength shows up in your life. As I was walking up the mountain, I was thinking about exactly the path I would take, how I would get home, and exactly why one path might be a better option than another. BAM. Strategic just showed up. When I get into the car to go somewhere, before I even leave the driveway I’ve planned my route to be the most efficient way to get to point B from point A. And if it’s a variety of stops, I’ve figured out how to avoid turning left onto a busy street, whether I’ll have frozen or cold groceries in the car and what that might mean for which stops are first vs. last, and how much time each stop should take. Do you do this before you leave your home? Strategic might be one of your top strengths. I was riding with our older son yesterday; he pulled out of the parking spot in front of our house and immediately turned left onto the cross street. It was everything in me not to make a suggestion about how to get to where we needed to be. That’s when I realized that he simply doesn’t think like I do. Strategic is not the first place he goes when interacting or solving a problem. This kid is really smart (of course I think so), and though he hasn’t taken the assessment yet, I know FOCUS will be one of his top strengths. EMPATHY will be another. Neither of those are anywhere near my top 10. As a matter of fact, focus is nearly at the bottom of my list. In a perfect world, my family and friends would simply ask me: “What order should we run these errands, and what is the route to get to each?” That would mean they understood and valued how STRATEGIC shows up in my life. And when I need someone to help me with empathy, I would go straight to my son to ask for guidance. But it’s not a perfect world, and I often choose not to say anything when my husband is behind the wheel… unless he asks. In the rest of my life, though, that strategic way of thinking has been an tool that my best employers have found incredibly valuable. It’s also a strength that was not so appreciated or valued by employers who didn’t understand it, especially when I didn’t know how to present the best, most efficient solution to a problem to them in language that matched their strengths. Prior to reading the Clifton StrengthsFinders book and taking the assessment, I was sitting in a session about scaling our business at the No Longer Virtual event in Denver in February, 2018. I listened closely to Benjamin Walker, CEO of Transcription Outsourcing, Inc. as he spoke about when to hire staff or a contractor to delegate certain tasks. “You started your business because you feel passionate about ___ and you’re especially talented at ___, so when you’re spending time on other aspects of the business, you’re practically leaving money on the table. Focus on what you do really well, and outsource the rest.” Damn that’s smart. Now it’s your turn. Here’s your challenge, should you choose to accept it: Find your top strengths. Use an assessment if you’re having trouble identifying those activities that you thrive in, those things that come naturally to you. Try StrengthsFinders, DiSC (ask Heather Younger about this one), or Stand Out if you’re struggling, or if you just love this type of thing. After you have a good idea about your top strengths, take a few weeks to absorb it, to find the ways it shows up in your life so you can really own it. Next? Find ways to use those strengths in your everyday activities, and take a moment to email me to share your observations. I’d love to hear from you. Want to learn more about StrengthsFinders, and Elkins Consulting can help you and your team apply the results of your assessment to improve outcomes and communication? Email Sarah at sarahelkins@elkinsconsulting.com.

"Don't burn bridges. Be graceful in all of your converations, especially when people say or do hurtful things." -Lisa Toney, speaker, author & leader On this week's Better Together podcast, we're talking about one of my favorite ways for us to get better together. On today's episode, we're talking leadership! Not only that, but our leadership inspiration is Lisa Toney, an executive and teaching pastor from Purpose Church in California. She's a seasoned leader who loves investing in both men and women, equipping them to lead at the highest levels of God's call on their lives. Lisa is the author of Thrive: Live Like You Matter and her new book, The Scripture Challenge releases this fall. Not only that, but Lisa is a new voice in the next generation of Women of Faith. Any Women of Faith fans out there? Me! For over 20 years, WOF events around the country mobilized hundreds of thousands of women and now, a generation of voices, including Lisa's are on deck to make a global impact. Lisa tells us all about WOF's vision to reach the world and how YOU can be a part of it. In my humble opinion, today's conversation is like a min-leadership retreat that packs a big punch! Who should listen to today's podcast: If you've been struggling with confidence; If you're trying to figure out how to be a leader, wife, mom and friend; If you're just tired and wanting to give up. Friends, if any of those fit, then I believe that today's podcast is exactly where you should be right now! Let me share a few bits of Lisa's inspiring wisdom: "This competeition thing that we have between women doesn't get us very far. When I get together with other women and we exchange ideas, all of our lives get so much better!" "When I think about work life balance, I just laugh. Is it ever balanced? I don't know. I love living every day to the full." "I want people to see Jesus in me because that's evidence that I'm living the call that God has placed on my life." SHARE YOUR COMMENT: Have you taken Myers-Briggs (MBTI), Strengths Finders, Enneagram or other personality tests? Tell us about your results below.  LINKS FROM TODAY'S CONVERSATION: Lisa Toney  website | Facebook | book Women of Faith Facebook Page (To find Scripture Challenge and Aloud) Strengths Finders   About your Better Together podcast host... Barb Roose is a popular speaker and author who is passionate about equipping women to win at life with Christ-empowered strength and dignity. Barb loves speaking at women’s conference and leadership events such as the Aspire Women’s Events, She Speaks Conference and the UMC Leadership Institute. Barb is the author of multiple books and Bible studies, including her newest releases: Winning the Worry Battle: Life Lessons from the Book of Joshua and Bible study called Joshua: Winning the Worry Battle. Barb’s writing has been featured in magazines or blogs such as Simple Truth Magazine, iBelieve.com, Crosswalk.com, More to Life Magazine, Just Between Us Magazine, Cherished, InCourage and Women of Faith.  An avid traveler, reader, and lover of all things chocolate-peanut butter, Barb and her family live in NW Ohio with their dog, Quimby and a very grumpy 10-year rabbit. Visit Barb’s online home at barbroose.com.  

What are my talents

Are you clear about your identity as an entrepreneur? Is your vision for your business solid? As Entrepreneurs it is vital to the success of our businesses to have a strong voice and position when presenting our services and goods to the world. Listen as Shawn shares his journey and provides wisdom on how to take our Black Business to the next level. Shawn Moore was born in Texas, raised in Baltimore, MD, and currently residing in Atlanta, GA, Shawn Moore holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Communications (concentration in Public Relations) from Bowie State University and a Master of Science Degree in Management (concentration in Organizational Leadership) from Wilmington University. Shawn seeks to help students actualize their potential and move towards self-authorship, the internal capacity to construct one's beliefs, identity, and social relations. In the student affairs field, Shawn has presented and facilitated workshops at the professional level on the topics of marketing/branding, leadership development, and sexual orientation and identity development for various organizations institutions. Shawn freelances as a graphic designer and creative consultant. He also hosts a podcast called The Mindful Rebel. The podcast highlights #LeadershipfortheCulture with interviews of entrepreneurs, educators, creatives and more to bring attention to everyday leaders in the community and focus on their success strategies in leadership journey. In between reading comics, checking out the latest movies, collecting FUNKO Pops (yes, he has a mad obsession), and an occasional round with his PS4, Shawn is a Ph.D. student at Mercer University in the Educational Leadership program (concentration in Higher Education). Shawn explores student leadership and identity development for black gay/queer identifying men and mindfulness in education in his research. He is currently Associate Dean for Residential Education and Morehouse College. A quote that reflects Shawn’s professional mantra is a quote by John Buchan, "The task of leadership is not to put greatness into humanity, but to elicit it, for the greatness is already there. Music: Blasian Beats Special Guest: Shawn Moore Website: www.shawnjmoore.com Twitter: @shawnj_moore Instagram: @shawnj_moore Resource Book, Strengths Finders by Tom Rath Where to find us: Facebook: Minding My Black Business IG: @drjanaetaylor Twitter: @mindingmyblackbiz Email: info@mindingmyblackbusiness.com Website: www.mindingmyblackbusiness.com Don’t forget to Like, Subscribe, and Comment!

I share my experience trying to answer the loaded question, "what is your biggest strength?" Stick around to learn how I overcame the shame of not even knowing how to answer this question as an educated working professional and the practical approach I took to help find the answer. If you have iTunes and liked the show, I would be forever grateful for a rating & short review here: http://bit.ly/2j4mnrS For show notes and links, visit http://www.activatepurpose.com/episode2 Topics discussed include: The Success Principles by Jack Canfield; CliftonFinders (formerly StrengthsFinders); My "Signature Themes" Results;

Joe gets a new computer, and the purchase sparks some discussion on the merits of the touch bar. It’s…good? Drew provides some iOS 11 note-taking updates, and brings up the topic of Twitter and the idea of meaningful distractions. Show notes: HFS+ (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/HFS_Plus) Cortex Episode 15 (https://www.relay.fm/cortex/15) Joe’s mysterious gift (https://www.instagram.com/p/BVicuKlFIFk) Razer DeathAdder (http://amzn.to/2u6fQk4)
Mad Cats M.O.U.S. 9 (http://amzn.to/2uFpZRX) Mad Catz n64 Control Pad (http://amzn.to/2tDFYQj) Razer Firefly (http://amzn.to/2tWMNik) Stoner (http://amzn.to/2u0pDHQ) The Art of Thinking Clearly (http://amzn.to/2tX4aQk) Getting Things Done by Edwin C. Bliss (http://amzn.to/2u6waBq) Prizmo Go (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/prizmo-go-instant-text-capture/id1183367390?mt=8&uo=4&at=1010l7cc&ct=wtw) Scanning in Notes freaking out (https://twitter.com/drewcoffman/status/884228448603979776) Ambivert (https://lonerwolf.com/ambivert/) StrengthsFinders (http://amzn.to/2tYdmUr) The Strength of Input (http://www.gallup.com/businessjournal/688/input.aspx) Libby (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/libby-by-overdrive/id1076402606?mt=8&uo=4&at=1010l7cc&ct=wtw)
Drew’s Kindle (http://toolsandtoys.net/reviews/the-amazon-kindle-oasis-review/) Productivity Guild (https://productivityguild.com) Matthew Cassinelli and Drew Coffman (https://twitter.com/mattcassinelli/status/882014332422205441) Workflow (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/workflow/id915249334?mt=8&uo=4&at=1010l7cc&ct=wtw) Federico Viticci (https://twitter.com/viticci/) The End of Absence (http://amzn.to/2tDecDp) ‘Snapchat is getting a reality TV show’ (https://www.engadget.com/2017/02/10/snapchat-is-getting-a-reality-tv-show-from-a-e/)

This Episode’s Focus on Strengths This week Lisa speaks with Pete Mockaitis, who joins us in a live example of what it’s like to explore your StrengthsFinder results for the first time. Pete's Top 10 StrengthsFinder Talent Themes:  Ideation, Strategic, Learner, Activator, Input, Connectedness, Woo, Communication, Positivity, Individualization Lisa’s Top 10 StrengthsFinder Talent Themes:   Strategic, Maximizer, Positivity, Individualization, Woo, Futuristic, Focus, Learner, Communication, Significance Resources of the Episode You can reach Pete through the Awesome at Your Job website. You can also connect with him on Twitter and LinkedIn. And you should because he's awesome! Here's the link to Pete's podcast, and to his interview of Lisa Cummings. Books, terms, and other websites mentioned in this podcast: Book: Pre-Suasion: A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade by Dr. Robert Cialdini Study: 80/20 Rule, which is also called the Pareto Principle Term: Leadership Domains as explained by my friends at Leadership Vision Consulting. They're another firm who offers Strengths based leadership training. And our favorite resource of the episode: evidence of Pete's wicked-awesome talent of one-handed clapping:   You'll also find lots of StrengthsFinder, leadership, and team tools on our "https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://leadthroughstrengths.com/resources&source=gmail&ust=1487264698482000&usg=AFQjCNHUtPcayNXycHfGq_r2Crj5sPIU7w">Strengths Resources page.   Subscribe To Lead Through Strengths To subscribe and review, here are your links for listening in iTunes and Stitcher Radio. You can also stream any episode right from this website. Subscribing is a great way to never miss an episode. Let the app notify you each week when the latest episode gets published.   Here's The Full Transcript of the Interview Lisa Cummings: [00:00:08] You’re listening to Lead Through Strengths, where you’ll learn to apply your greatest strengths at work. I’m your host, Lisa Cummings, and I’ve got to tell you, whether you’re leading a team or leading yourself, it’s hard to find something more energizing and productive than using your natural talents every day at work. And today you’re going to get a really unique episode on StrengthsFinder. It’s different from our usual guest interview. Today, your guest joins us in a live example of what it’s like to explore your StrengthsFinder results for the first time. So I think a lot of guests are going to identify with his love of learning and his corporate experiences. He’s actually a former consultant for Bain so he has that pedigree company thing on his list that many of you. And today he’s the trainer and chief at Awesome At Your Job, so you’ll hear more about that and his show as we dig in. So, you know, if you’re a regular listener of this show that we’re going to talk about how his differences are his differentiators. So you’ll enjoy hearing a fun fact about him. So, here it goes. This guy has a unique talent of being able to clap with one hand. So, Pete Mockaitis, welcome to the show. Please give yourself a one-handed welcome and demonstrate for us. Pete Mockaitis: [00:01:34] Oh, Lisa, thank you. That’s such a unique welcome and it’s fun to do, and here we go. [one-handed claps] Lisa Cummings: [00:01:40] I can’t believe that is really happening with one hand. It is blowing my mind. You’re going to have to make us a video so we can see what that actually looks like. I can’t believe that’s possible. Pete Mockaitis: [00:01:51] I can do that, yes, and that’s probably my number one strength is one-handed clapping. It opens a lot of doors. Lisa Cummings: [00:01:58] [laughs] Your hand can open a door in a traditional way...but his hand...watch out. Pete Mockaitis: [00:02:01] Oh, well-played. Lisa Cummings: [00:02:05] Watch out. Oh, my gosh. We’re going to totally have this video on the show notes, so if you’re listening click on over to that because that’s a serious talent. I love it. [laughs] Okay, let’s get into the serious side of super powers. That’s one, I tell you, parlor tricks though they could fuel the Woo that you have up in there. I think there’s something tied here. Maybe that’s how you discovered it. Maybe we’ll uncover that today. Pete Mockaitis: [00:02:30] Oh, are folks being won over as we speak, or are they turned off? We’ll see with your emails that come flowing in. Lisa Cummings: [00:02:35] That’s right. Okay. So, you know in this episode, we’re going to do this like a sample of exploring your StrengthsFinder talents for the first time. Well, we’re going to have to start by telling them what your Talent Themes here. So give them your top five. Pete Mockaitis: [00:02:50] Okay, can do. With just the words or the descriptions as well? Lisa Cummings: [00:02:54] Let’s get a little “Meet Pete” moment. So do the word and also the one sentence what this looks like on you. Pete Mockaitis: [00:03:03] Okay. So, first, I’ll give a quick preview – one, Ideation; two, Strategic; three, Learner; four, Activator; and five, Input. In terms of the one sentence: 1) Ideation, it’s true I am fascinated by ideas and how they connect together on my podcast with guests. I eat it up when I see “Oh, wait, there’s one thing someone said” can combine with that other thing they said, so I’m going to focus on prioritizing with the one thing but also building some tiny habits and, boom, there’s this combination synergy goodness, and so that resonates. 2) Strategic. I buy that in terms of if I’m always thinking about sort of what’s the optimal path forward, that’s the name of my company – Optimality, LLC – getting the band for the buck and sort of that 80/20 Rule and action, I’m really after that. 3) For Learner, it’s true. Ever since I was a youngster that’s kind of where my trainer and chief story starts. I was always going to the library reading books about goal-setting, success, teamwork, collaboration, influence. I was just into that stuff, and I remain to this day. 4) Activator, it’s true. I am often impatient. I’m excited to put things into action. Just this week I was thinking it’s just too much trying to manage the guests with merely emails and spreadsheets. I need a CRM, customer relationship management piece of software, and five hours later I had tried nine of them and made my decision. So, yeah, I got after it right away. That’s kind of my nature. I’ll wake up and I’ll have an idea and I just want to like run to the computer and implement it. 5) And then, finally, Input. I do, I love to get perspective from wise folks and learn all that they have to offer and collect multiple opinions to really prove or disprove the sort of key facts or assertions that are going to make or break a given decision. Lisa Cummings: [00:04:59] These are so good. Thanks for adding the Pete color because even for people who don’t understand the basic definition of it and Gallup’s terminology you explained it and then added your individual color. Just seeing as a kid in the library, I’m imagining you going back and training them so it’ll be fun to hear the depth on that. And then Activator, one that just happened the other day. It’s just a really great specific example so we can see what these are like in real life. So, let’s talk about if we really relate this to career, and you think back on one of your proudest accomplishments, tell us about that snapshot in time. Pete Mockaitis: [00:05:40] You know, I’m thinking, the first thing that leaps to mind is just getting the job at Bain & Company itself. I’d say it was very meaningful to me because I had been interested in it for some years before it came about, and it was just a vivid moment. I can recall when I was emceeing a date auction event as a fundraiser in college for a student organization, and when I got the call I just handed the microphone to someone, walked off stage, received the call. It was great news. I was excited. I hugged my friend, Emily, who was wearing a red puffy coat. It’s forever enshrined in my brain as like the moment that this thing I had been after for some years was now mine. Lisa Cummings: [00:06:31] I love how vivid your imagery is and all of these. Take us through the preparation, what it was like for you getting ready for applying for this job, making it a thing. It sounds like it was a long time coming. So how was that playing out in your life, leading up to that phone call? Pete Mockaitis: [00:06:49] Oh, sure thing. Well, I was sort of an odd kid in my sort of freshman year of college. I was sort of determined like, “By golly, I want to work in a top strategy consulting firm when I graduate, and so that’s just what I’m going to do.” And so I began exploring different avenues very early on in terms of student organizations and what were the linkages and how I could have sort of a distinctive profile that I would be intriguing to them. I went to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign which is not a hotbed for recruiting into those firms, but there are a few each year who get in, and I wanted to be one. So, I remember I would sort of try to find the right people, and the right organizations, and learn from them and see what I could do. And I remember, talk about vivid experiences, I was chatting guy named Bo who was wearing a Harry Potter wizard hat at a Halloween party. And he said, “Oh, you should join the student organization.” And I was like, “Oh, I was thinking about that, but isn’t that kind of more technology stuff?” And he’s like, “Oh, no. It’s much broader than that. Yeah, and they’re always chatting with so-and-so and they do case interviews,” which is a key step to get a job in these firms, “to get in and, yeah, I think you’d like it.” And so I was excited to discover that opportunity and then go after it. Then once I met a real person named Jeff who had the position, I was just having a real lot of fun chatting with him and seeing, “Hey, what’s it like on the inside? Is it really what I’ve built it up to be?” and sort of receiving that reinforcement that it was good. And then, ultimately, I think the biggest hurdle to get the job is the case interview where you have to sort of solve business problems live before the interviewer’s eyes. And so I did a lot of prep. I got the books, I even recorded myself doing case interviews. I’d listen to them back to see how I was doing and to see how I might tweak it to seem more engaging or succinct and insightful. I remember I was listening to myself doing case interviews while driving up to the interview the day before. So those are things that leap to mind there. Lisa Cummings: [00:09:06] Those are so good. Now, if you look at your talents, and then you try to make some linkages, now I’ve made a bunch of linkages and I’ve even, although the listeners can’t see your list beyond your top five, as you would not be surprised if you know a Learner and Input. Pete immediately goes out and wants more input and grabs the full 34 premium version of assessment so he can see the whole lineup. So I see a bigger lineup and I have some things popping into my head about your number 6, Connectedness, and your number 7, Woo. But when you look at your list and you think back on that experience, what links do you see where you’re using those talents as you’re preparing? Pete Mockaitis: [00:09:47] Oh, sure thing. Well, it’s interesting, in terms of Activator it’s like, “This is the thing I want and so I’m going to start now.” I was a freshman and I was evaluating opportunities. Not only whether they were fun and I would get to meet people, but if they would take me to where I wanted to go, and then jumping in full force for those things I thought could really do it. So, I guess that’s Activator. I’m getting right to it yet Strategic is that I was kind of being selective, and saying, “You know, while that club sounds kind of interesting, I don’t think it’s going to have as much sort of bang for my buck, in terms of taking me where I want to be.” And so the interestingness is not quite enough to offset this. And then with Ideation, I think I did take some novel approaches to having distinctive profile, like I authored a book in college about leadership and student organizations, and I saw the opportunity to be the Secretary General of our model United Nations, which I thought, “Well, that’s a really cool leadership opportunity in terms of managing dozens of people and thousands of dollars to put together an event for hundreds of folks. Ooh, that’ll be a real nice concept to make an impression, as well as having a ton of fun.” So I was a pure career-seeking robot along the lines. But I do see those in learning, yeah, talking to folks, learning what the firms want, how they operate, getting the books. And Input, certainly, talking to numerous people along the way to confirm, “Is this really what I think it is?” and learn, “Well, what needs to be done in order to get there?” Lisa Cummings: [00:11:30] You’re bringing up what happens for a lot of people where if they heard the descriptors in the StrengthsFinder Talent Themes, and they listen to the thing that you just described, they would probably think, “Achiever” because it seems like the easy way to describe what you accomplished. And although Achiever is middle of the road for you, 13, it’s not extraordinarily high but you found extreme achievement at that age. So, you’re demonstrating something that’s really cool which is I always tell people. StrengthsFinder doesn’t tell you what you go do in your career. It’s more about how you can go do it, leaning through the talents you have. So you found achievement through totally different talents and it’s dangerous to try to look at the words on the surface. And I think if I listened to your show, which I do. Pete Mockaitis: [00:12:21] Oh, thank you. Lisa Cummings: [00:12:22] Which is called Awesome At Your Job. So, for those of you listening and you want to check it out, we’ll put the link in the show notes. It’s a great show about being awesome at your job overall. I think if listened to that show I may hypothesize that you have an Analytical talent, for example, because I know that you mention research studies very often, you mention proof points, your favorite hobby is Monopoly. So you have some of these things, right, that some people might think, “Oh, that sounds like an Analytical guy.” And Talent Themes show up more in how you approach what you do not necessarily what those interests are. So, kind of fascinating thing you’re bringing up. So, tell us about yearnings and interests, like Monopoly and research studies and proof points, and things that you talk about in your show and how your Talent Themes speak to those. Pete Mockaitis: [00:13:14] Oh, that is interesting in terms of just what’s fun. So, on my honeymoon, just a few months ago – Yay. Lisa Cummings: [00:13:23] Yay. Pete Mockaitis: [00:13:24] I was reading this book Pre-Suasion by Dr. Robert Cialdini on the beach. And so it’s funny, it’s non-fiction but that was just fascinating and fun for me, I was like, “Oh, wow. Well, here’s an interesting fact. They did study and here’s what happened.” And so I’ll find that all the more thrilling than most works of fiction because I guess Ideation is fuelling that fascination in terms of I’m thinking, “Oh, look at all these implications for how I could go put that to work and make things happen.” And for Monopoly, it’s so funny. I remember one time I was meeting this guy for the first time, his name is Peter; fine name, fine guy. Lisa Cummings: [00:14:09] Fine name. Pete Mockaitis: [00:14:11] [laughs] And so as we were playing Monopoly he kept asking me some questions about my career journey and how I went into Bain and why I left Bain and started my own business and these things. And I’ll tell you what, I was so focused on the strategic options and decisions I had to make in that game Monopoly to win I actually had in my head the idea that this guy is trying to distract me in order to win at Monopoly. Lisa Cummings: [00:14:40] [laughs] Pete Mockaitis: [00:14:41] I thought, “Pete, that’s crazy. Most people don’t care. They play games to socialize in fun ways.” [laughs] I was being a little rude in retrospect. I kind of apologized to him. I gave him very short answers, I was like, “Well, ultimately, that’s just something I’ve always loved to do.” You know, just one- or two-sentence responses. Lisa Cummings: [00:15:01] Let’s get back to the seriousness of Park Place, buddy. [laughs] Okay. So, now what you’re helping me see and raise is this concept of domains. I don’t know if you know this about StrengthsFinder, but they’ve done some studies on leadership, and these four domains of leadership actually came from quite a large study on followers. So, if I look at your talent lineup, not to get too nerdy and distract from the story of you, I’ll give you the quick version. There are four different domains of leadership that people often find their strength in, and yours, to give you the tell as I lean into it, you come in really hot on the Strategic Thinking Talents, and then second highest your Influencing. So, there are four categories. You have the Relationship Talents. You have the Influencing Talents. You have the Strategic Thinking talents, the thinker guy that you probably are, and then you have Executing Talents. And so, as I listened to your reaction to the Monopoly thing, I could see you being really in your head about what was going on in the situation. The way I look at these four domains is that they’re all valuable, and they’re all useful ways that you can demonstrate leadership, but this is kind of, when you have one that comes in heavy in your top five, it’s often the color of glasses you’re wearing. Like yours would be, if you looked at your StrengthsFinder report, the Strategic Thinking Talents are actually colored red. And you could see, “Okay, look, my first view on things, the lens I’m going to see the world through will, first, likely be thinking about it.” Now you have a lot of fast-thinking talents, so Ideation is fast and Strategic is fast, so it’s not like you’re going to go deep and sit around and ponder things deeply for months. You can boom, boom, boom, react to that guy and have your answer. And I noticed your Influencing Talents are also high on your list. You have Activator, Woo, Communication up in your top 10. It’s interesting to see those two. How does that play into how you’ve seen yourself and your career? Pete Mockaitis: [00:17:12] Well, that is interesting. And what’s funny is I have a little bit of a hard time switching at times in that I really do like people and building relationships, and connecting and laughing and seeing how we’re similar and how we can help each other and collaborate and all those good things. That’s fun for me. But surprising, or I don’t know, just kind of part of how I go, is that when I get deep into the realm of this Ideation, Strategic, Input, Thinking and I’m trying to crack something, or figure it out, it’s just sort of like Peter in that game of Monopoly. It’s like, “I’m not in people mode right now. I am in finding an optimal solution given all of my options and constraints mode right now.” And I feel a bit sort of like I’m being pulled away from that which I’m attached to and I’m into at the moment, or I’m just sort of like I’m not really present or there. I think that does show up in that they are different clusters and I feel them differently in terms of my whole headspace and emotional state. It’s like, “I’m not in people mode right now.” And sometimes my wife will notice and she would like me to enter into people mode as we’re being together, or where she’ll just say, “Okay, you’re in your groove. Go ahead and finish that first.” So that’s the first thing that pops to mind there. Lisa Cummings: [00:18:45] What a deep powerful insight. I love hearing how the thinking stuff is playing out in your head, and then also the relationship part. So, I apply StrengthsFinder to work all the time and find that sometimes the easiest ones to get how you perform relative to other people is through people you’re really close to. So your wife probably knows you about as well as anyone in the world so she’s going to be more comfortable saying it out loud or noticing it or mentioning it. Do you happen to know hers? Has she taken this yet? Pete Mockaitis: [00:19:20] You know, I don’t think she has. Lisa Cummings: [00:19:22] Okay. Would be fun. So this could be one where you say, “Okay, look, your first Relationship Talent is Connectedness. It’s your number six. I hear you relying on it relatively often.” So you could ask a question like how could you lean on your Connectedness talent when you’re trying to consciously switch into a mode that would complement the conversation you two are having? Pete Mockaitis: [00:19:47] That is a great question. And, particularly Connectedness, that’s one of those words for the Strengths Finders that makes me think of, “Oh, like a super network.” But, no, no. Connectedness is more about having sort of like the faith in why things are the way they are or a higher power. And so, for me, that is big. I’m a Catholic Christian. I think tapping into some of those, well, one, I guess is the headspace of worship or sort of loving people and serving them as folks made in the image and likeness of God can be pretty potent in terms of a reminder of, “Hey, what’s really important here?” “Well, how about we give that person the listening ear and respect and attention that they deserve?” Lisa Cummings: [00:20:32] Oh, this is so good. I could take this in 20 directions because, one, I hear the interplay of Talents, how your Connectedness and Strategic gets so wound together because you do have so many Thinking Talents, the connection of ideas and not just people and meaning but pull all those things together – connecting meaning, connecting people, connecting ideas. Those are going to play out for you in a way that might even be difficult to separate, you know, “Which talent thing is talking here?” And then your first Executing Theme is Belief and that, of course, I hear it in what you just said, and so it really helps me see when you say it. Oh, yeah, this would drive how you go about getting things done as well with the perspective of the meaning in your life and what is this all for and how does it play out. I also think this is the direction I’ll ultimately take it, because there are so many ways we could go from that conversation. So a lot of people struggle with this. You look at your lineup, and I’ve told you about these leadership domains, and you see, “Oh, my gosh. My first Executing Talent is number 12. This sounds like a person. Oh, no, I might be doomed. Does it mean I never get anything done?” Well, clearly you get a lot done. You are a machine it seems. So, where do you get your ability to achieve and get the outcomes and results you want? Because you clearly do. Pete Mockaitis: [00:22:00] How does it happen? Well, I think part of is just that I think about it in terms of I have a standard in mind in terms of how things should be or go. I think that’s kind of a vague broad thing to say. But, day after day, what mostly happens is I have kind of a picture in my head for what is done, good, complete, dream, nirvana state look like, and then I have all these ideas for what are the things that I could do that I couldn’t bring it there. And then I just become very excited about those ideas and I just sort of run after them. In terms of the CRMs, I was thinking, “I have a dream” – so dramatic. Lisa Cummings: [00:22:57] [laughs] Martin Luther Pete has a dream of CRM systems. Pete Mockaitis: [00:23:03] In which every guest that comes on my show will be absolutely outstanding, like leaving me and listeners with, “Wow.” Well, what’s it take to get there? Well, probably a fuller pipeline so that I don’t ever have a scramble in terms of, “Oh, I’m a little light on interview appointments. I better get some right away.” That’s like an obstacle to that is like when you have the time to patiently vet candidates as opposed to, “Oh, I’ve got to grab somebody,” then the odds are in your favor in terms of getting great ones. So then, I think, “Well, then what does that system look like? And how can I do that without spending my whole life stuck into analyzing their tweet history?” That’s how I often think about how it gets done, is I feel this tension inside me. It’s like, “I want that to be real and I’ve got these compelling, exciting ideas for what I could do to make that real so let’s go do it.” Lisa Cummings: [00:24:01] It’s really pretty deep what you just said because I could see Strategic helping you sort quickly, “Here’s the outcome. What’s the best way to get there?” Boom, your Activator says, “Go!” and then you create these systems and the insight that listeners won’t have, is that you and I have had some other conversations outside of this. Pete and I are pals. So we’ll talk podcast nerd-talk and he has all these great systems and team members who make things happen, and it actually is one of the great things you can do as Activator. You partner with people who see it through the finish line so that you can get the excitement at the starting line, and then other people can do the execution of the systems you’ve established and the vision you’ve created. So it’s actually a beautiful way you’ve worked through it. Pete Mockaitis: [00:24:43] Oh, thank you. You know, it’s so funny, when you say it like that I think, “Well, of course, isn’t that how everyone does it?” And the answer is I guess clearly, “No, it’s not.” Because I think, “Well, isn’t executing the same thing hundreds of times kind of dull?” But, no, some people are into that. Lisa Cummings: [00:24:59] A-ha. Okay. So, here’s the last topic we’ll bring up only because we’re running out of time because, geez, this would be so much fun to keep going and going and going. So that comment you just made made me think of the Talent Theme of Consistency, doing the same thing hundreds and hundreds of times. Well, it is Pete’s number 33 talent, so we call that a lesser talent, or maybe somebody else’s talent. Meaning somebody else, right? Yes, somebody else might get really excited about doing something the same way consistently over and over every day. But if Pete had to do that every day, what would work feel like for you? Pete Mockaitis: [00:25:37] Oh, it would just be so dull. It’s like I would want sort of some spark of newness to make it come together. Lisa Cummings: [00:25:48] This is a great way to end the show because living in your strengths makes you a stronger performer. Living in your strengths brings you energy and enjoyment about your job. If you’re pulling on your lesser talents, or someone else’s talents, all day every day, you feel drained, you feel burned out, and so many people feel like that and wonder, “You know, gosh, it’s not so hard and people are nice. So why do I feel like this?” And that’s often why, it’s because they’re calling on their weaknesses all day every day but they just don’t quite realize why. So, thanks, in an unexpected way, for illustrating that point because that is so powerful for people to have that insight. Pete Mockaitis: [00:26:25] Oh, thank you. It’s been a blast. Lisa Cummings: [00:26:27] It has been a blast. I’m so excited to have you here to do this. I wish we could triple down on it. Let’s get listeners over to you because you have so many great shows to help people be awesome at their jobs. So, where should they go to dig into your content, your training, your podcasts? Pete Mockaitis: [00:26:42] Oh, sure thing. Thank you. Well, I’d say if you’re already, well, you are a podcast listener, fire up your app and whatever you’re doing and search Awesome Job. That should be enough to pop up the show How To Be Awesome At Your Job. Lisa herself is a guest on an episode. You might check that out to get another flavor for her. Or just my website AwesomeAtYourJob.com. And it’s been fun. I’ve had about 130, wow, conversations with tremendous folks and every one of them is about trying to sharpen the universal skills required to flourish at work. So, whether you’re an executive, or a manager, or an individual contributor in marketing, or finance, or anything, it should be applicable because that’s kind of the primary screen we’re using. Lisa Cummings: [00:27:26] I second that. It is a fantastic show. I met Pete last year, and ever since leaving our meet-up in Chicago, I just have been an avid listener, and it’s just full of great guests and great tips. If you want to go back and listen through the lens of the StrengthsFinder Talents it’ll be really fun to do that. Also, for listeners, if you want some Strengths focus tools to use with your team at work, also check out LeadThroughStrengths/resources and you’ll get a bunch of great free info there. As we close episode, remember using your strengths makes you a stronger performer at work. If you’re putting a lopsided focus on fixing your weaknesses you’re probably choosing the path of most resistance. So claim your talents and share them with the world.  

This Episode’s Focus on Strengths This week Lisa speaks with Alexsys (Lexy) Thompson. They discuss lots of ideas about how to apply strengths to both conflict on your team and gratitude on your team. If you interact with others in your daily life, then this is the episode for you! Lexy’s Top 10 StrengthsFinder Talent Themes:  Strategic, Connectedness, Futuristic, Intellection, Command, Input, Activator, Ideation, Self-Assurance, Relator Lisa’s Top 10 StrengthsFinder Talent Themes:   Strategic, Maximizer, Positivity, Individualization, Woo, Futuristic, Focus, Learner, Communication, Significance Resource of the Episode You can reach Lexy through the Trybal Performance website. You can also connect with her on Twitter and LinkedIn. A great way to improve your communication skills is to take Lexy's communications course, Conversation Mechanics: How To Talk About It (Strengths-Based Communication) Lexy's website has cool resources, including Gratitude Coupons, 34 Strengths Appreciation E-Cards, and more! Books that are mentioned during this podcast: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Stephen R. Covey The SPEED of Trust: The One Thing That Changes Everything by Stephen M.R. Covey The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom (A Toltec Wisdom Book) by Don Miguel Ruiz and Janet Mills Strengths Tools You'll also find lots of StrengthsFinder, leadership, and team tools on our Strengths Resources page. Subscribe To Lead Through Strengths To subscribe and review, here are your links for listening in iTunes and Stitcher Radio. You can also stream any episode right from this website. Subscribing is a great way to never miss an episode. Let the app notify you each week when the latest episode gets published.   Here's a Full Transcript of the 30 Minute Interview Lisa Cummings: You're listening to Lead Through Strengths where you'll learn to apply your greatest strengths at work. I'm your host, Lisa Cummings, and I've gotta tell ya, whether you're leading a team or leading yourself, it's hard to find something more energizing and productive than using your natural talents every day at work. Today, in this episode, we are going to talk about how strengths apply to conflict at work, and how you can apply strengths to gratitude on your team, and why that's important. Your guest today is the founder of a company, Tribal Performance. I left last week, doing several events in New York City, and at those events a bunch of participants said they wished they had more Self-Assurance and more Command, so those are two specific talent themes people were wanting for. Your guest has both of those in her top 10 talents. Even though I always tell participants, "spend your energy working with what you've got instead of worrying about what other people have - you can always get your outcomes through the talents you have," I figure you would still find it very fascinating to know that your guest has both of those talents. Shhhh. Even though she has them she's still totally terrified of snakes. As a gardener, this can be a scary thing, so even if you lead through Command and Self-Assurance, it doesn't make you bulletproof. Besides being super unique, and out there with these unique talents, she's also top notch in strengths-based development. She focuses on delivering StrengthsFinder coaching, performance coaching, and training like I do. She's also planning an epic Airstream RV adventure and has some really awesome communication course content that will dribble into our conversation today. All kinds of great stuff. With that, Lexy Thompson, welcome to the show. Lexy Thompson: Thanks Lisa. Happy to be here. Lisa Cummings: Let's dive right in. I mentioned conflict, and this is one of those items that is tough for teams to master. I'd be curious what your number one thing is that you think creates unproductive conflict in the workplace. Lexy Thompson: Number one I would say is the avoidance of it, the fear of it, the almost aversion to it. Once we can get past that, we can figure out how to actually lean into it. The funny part about this is at the executive level this seems to be the one competency that sets everybody apart. The best of the best at the senior levels are able to manage this day in and day out with some grace and kindness and high level of accountability. You and I do our work at that mid-level management often times, and that's often a really good space for them to start trying to get comfortable with what's uncomfortable for them. Lisa Cummings: I think that's really smart because a lot of people listening are people managers and they want to be in executive roles and I could absolutely agree that that does seem to be a distinguishing factor, someone able to go in and really work in those situations confidently. There are also a lot of listeners who are individual contributors trying to be promoted into manager roles and that is about the number one complaint when I am working with people managers, and they say people have these conflicts on the team and they come into their office like tattle tales saying, "Oh, I'm having this issue with so-and-so ..." and are not addressing it head-on. If you want to be viewed as a high performer, as self-sufficient, as having high emotional intelligence, you start learning your ways of addressing that head-on in a mutually respectful way, in a way that builds trust, you're going to be looked upon as a great candidate, or at least that area of you will make you a much more viable candidate for a leadership position in general. What is the why that finally makes people see that this is important? Lexy Thompson: The self-awareness piece, the strengths journey for somebody, is really eye opening. Inside of that awareness, as much as they're willing to really enter in and do some work, the confidence just builds because you start to ... The wiring's there, you just haven't run down the road long enough to pave it. Once you've got that paved, your ability to run down and come back, you can do it within nanoseconds where it might have taken you minutes before. The more you do that the more confident you become, the stronger runner that you are and then you're willing to enter most races and give it a spin. Conflict really isn't much different than that; it's just knowing that you can take what you've learned here and see how you can apply it in a new situation. Lisa Cummings: If you're a manager, how do you know whether your team is functional or not? Let's start with how it looks. If you walk in a room and you see a functional team contrasted with a meeting with a dysfunctional team, what are the differences in how they appear? Lexy Thompson: There are actual body language cues. There are, like the way people sit, the way people walk in a room, the eye contact that you'll see in the meeting. Whenever I see teams talking to a person in the room but they're looking somewhere else, that tells me there's an avoidance of some type going on, whether it's conflict or self-confidence or whatever, there's something that isn't working amongst at least that two-person group, much less the whole group. Sometimes you walk in a meeting and you feel high-energy and you feel productivity and in other meetings, you'll walk in and you'll feel flat and kind of dull, and that's another cue too. Lisa Cummings: What do you do next? Say you're a manager, you've walked into a team, you're new to the company, you get the vibe of the 'something is wrong here' and you have to figure out how to put your finger on it. What are the steps that you take to start to unravel it and understand what the root of it is? Lexy Thompson: Firstly you check yourself. We all, every single one of us, bring our baggage with us when we go anywhere. What I found helpful when I was learning to be really proficient here was to see what was the story I brought into the scenario I was experiencing called conflict, or avoidance of conflict. Once I could check that, I could either say, "Okay, it is something that's outside of me that I'm going to need to engage with," or "It's a filter and a judgment that I just ran and I called it conflict but it really isn't, there's no data on the other side of this table or this room to help me validate that and I can check myself before I start diving in with someone else." That's the first part. That's the hardest part sometimes because it's called fatal attribution when we think that our faults are about the other person or environment but if it's someone else's faults, it's their character, so we really have to do that homework first. Lisa Cummings: I love that, when it's simplified down to the idea that you judge yourself by your intentions and you judge somebody else by their actions. It's easy to see the actions and say, "Oh, that's a character flaw," because you don't know the thing that's going in behind the scenes in the mind. I also think it's tough to know what you're assuming because you only know what's in your own head. How do you take people through that process? You've been checking yourself, how do you check in on assumptions and what's going on and probe into what's happening in a way that maintains the trust? Lexy Thompson: Probably the next step would be really owning your part of that, and making sure that you use language that shows the other person that you own your part of that. If you and I are in a room and I'm concerned about something in relationship to you, I would say it just like that, "Lisa, this is my story. This is what I'm experiencing. I'm not sure if I'm checking myself or do you feel something, a different version of this or any version of this where you are?" At that point the conversation will evolve and it will go where it needs to go and there may be avoidance on your part, maybe you don't see it or you're not ready. There's going to be a dialog there but at least when I open up and say, "I have something going on over here and I'd really like your help to discover what that is." You have to make sure your intention and your authenticity is just that because what I'll see new people when they're learning this do, is they'll use the language, but they really are just waiting to tell you what's wrong with you. That doesn't build trust because people sniff that out, right? Lisa Cummings: That's funny because the surface reaction is always to go back to the Stephen Covey concept of seek first to understand, and then to be understood and to actually genuinely do that. There's a little deeper level around subtext. That concept about you saying people can sniff that out, I think that's surprising to a lot of managers and I know it's surprising to a lot of people, I see it in my workshop. This just happened last week where someone when I asked them about when you're getting triggered and when you're at your worst, what does that look like? This woman said, "Well, I get really quiet and I kind of shut down, so maybe people would realize I'm not talking as much but I don't think they would know anything is wrong." Several teammates started laughing, and a guy said, "No, no, no you have this eyebrow thing," and he was just being really specific about, "I know exactly when something is wrong." She was totally surprised by all of this. I think people fool themselves into thinking that they can have a poker face, even the people who will beat their chests and say, "I don't bring my feelings into the workplace, it's just about the facts, ma'am." They're still going to show it. This kind of reminds me of your whole concept of a safe place for souls to show up and that you really can't hide how your soul needs to show up because it's there and no matter what words come out of your mouth, people will be able to tell if it's incongruent, or if it doesn't really sound like you feel like you, act like you, at your core. They'll know something's off, even if they can't name it. How do you go through that process to really even understand how you're showing up to you and to other people? Lexy Thompson: Yeah, so this is kind of where that beautiful 360 that everybody enjoys doing comes in. You actually do need mirrors in your life, whether it's a good friend who you trust with everything or it's a work mate that you've just met, really seeking feedback in a space where you're willing to take it in and then do something with it, process it, and that doesn't mean that everybody's feedback is equal and it doesn't mean everybody's feedback you have to wear like a shawl. Inside all of it there's some level of truth, because if you're resonating with one person like that, the odds are that there are more. The biggest ... The funny part, or the odd part of this is most people will say to me, "This happened today in a team meeting." They're learning each other's strengths. One person said something they needed around a belief that they have, and then another person said, "Yeah, now that I know you need that I know you need that ..." and she's like, "Well, are you going to give it to me?" She goes, "Well, I don't know. Why should I have to change how I approach it to meet your need?" There it was, right? There's that concern about having to change who I am, in order to be with you the way you need me to be. That's a really interesting paradigm for someone to venture into, and really have their own internal conversation around, "How can I hold my own authenticity, and still meet the need of someone else in a conversation so that they can hear what I'm saying, I can hear what they're saying, and we can receive each other as we need to in that space?" I have not experienced it. I won't say it never exists because just because I haven't experienced doesn't make it so. I have not experienced in the many, many negotiations and conflict mediations I've done, where someone couldn't show up in an authentic way, and meets someone's need and lost in that scenario. It doesn't mean it wasn't scary, it doesn't mean that it didn't take a lot of guts in some situations, but I've never, ever seen anyone lose. Lisa Cummings: Talk about authenticity at work, and what you see most often people being afraid to show. Lexy Thompson: Most people are not willing to show what they need. When we talk about strengths, going back to that topic, that whole precedence is that we have a needs and contribution piece to strengths. That conversation, when we have that and people are discovering and I'm sure, Lisa, you've had the same fun, amazing transformative times with your clients. When they're able to actually look across the table and do it in a really safe way. My Responsibility needs these things so that I can contribute in this way. When people can communicate that cleanly to each other, people are actually willing to meet the needs so the contribution can be realized. I think it gives them a way to access that that didn't exist before. Lisa Cummings: If one of the biggest obstacles in the way of people not showing up authentically, and they need to be able to express their needs, is one of the solutions for it, how do they really get to know their needs in the workplace? Lexy Thompson: You're right, strengths is one, and it's a really nice, clean way to at least start to explore the possibilities. There are lots of other good assessments, I think, out there. They're as good as we want them to be and master them to be. The journey that I took to get myself there was really, and this is going to sound interesting I think, but it took me six years to get to the place where that was really true for me, and it started with a class we took as a company, and we were supposed to write a paragraph about our mission statement in the world, our purpose kind of thing. Over time, I took another class and boiled it down to two sentences and then I got it down and down and down to the place where I can tell you that it's safe places for souls to show up. Every time that I choose to do anything in the world, personal or professional, if it can't meet that need, I don't do it. When I got that clear about my life, I was willing to show up and when you're willing to show up then you've got to take risks, right? You're not always going to be received in the way that you might like to, and certainly you won't be liked by everybody. That also, I would tell you, would also help people with that Self-confidence piece because it goes through that filter of your main purpose on this planet and everything else just falls to the wayside. Lisa Cummings: This is a great. I think a great pivot point to move into gratefulness as well, because we said we would talk about conflict and gratefulness at work. Some people I see receive this concept really open armed and I've worked with some companies that this has become just baked into their culture, and it's how they operate and they don't even have to think about it consciously. Other people have a reaction about, "Really? At work? This doesn't even sound like something that belongs in the office." Talk about that. Why gratitude? Lexy Thompson: I wish I could remember whose quote it was but I think you'll know it when I refer to it, but there's that thing that someone who's appreciated will fight the last battle with you and that their performance is better and their health is better and all of those good things. There's a lot of science around it. I do a keynote about Tribal Gratitude. I do think there's the personal gratitude. Every morning I'm up in my journal, and I do my stuff there and then at the end of the day I wrap up my day in gratitude, every day for many years. Then there was the, "Then what?" Beyond me, what do I do with that? We've been out exploring some of those things and reading some of the best stuff out there. The reality is when you start to extend it across to another human being, the emotional release in a really positive way is overwhelming. I think that might be the hesitation in the workplace, because for so long we didn't want to think feelings had a place. Even now, I'll hear hiring managers be like, "Oh, that's a feeling group. They cry at everything," or "They're upset at everything." The reality is we don't do much without an emotional jaunt to make us move one way or the other. If you can be in a space where you're expressing gratitude in an appropriate way in your work environment on a pretty regular basis but very sincere and very specific, that's the other part, then that person, those behaviors that that person is sharing with you, are getting anchored over and over again so you're getting more of that good stuff and by default you'll get less of the stuff you don't desire. It also makes it, you know there's that old adage, "You need money in the bank to make a withdrawal." Lisa Cummings: Yeah. Lexy Thompson: We're really clear about that too that there's going to be times where it isn't going to be all happy and it isn't going to be easy. If you've done this other really good work on the front side it doesn't have to be really, really hard either. Lisa Cummings: You're making me think back to a meeting when we were together a couple of months ago, and you suggested that we start off the meeting like that. I thought it was a really cool way that supports your point about understanding other people's needs, as well, and then getting more of, I call it, "Notice what works to get more of what works," because if you're noticing what's working about someone's contributions and then they see, "Oh, someone appreciated that. It's easy to deliver more of that,” because it's repeatable and then I noticed in the meeting where you asked us to kick off that way that the thing that resonated with each person was really different. The thing that the person decided to comment on, they were all over the map and it told me about each person. It told me about what they value. It told me about what they want the meetings to be about. It told me a lot of information that without that conversation I wouldn't have understood their needs and their contributions in the same way. I can only imagine if you do that a daily practice as a team, you get some really deep insights into how the other people in the room are at their performance best. Lexy Thompson: Yeah. It's pretty powerful and at Trybal we're virtual so we meet via the web, but at the end of every meeting we have Sunshine Shout-Outs where we, you know, they're not forced, not everybody has to say anything, it's just if it's showing up for you, we ask each other to share those things. We actually have gratitude coupons that are electronic that we give, they're free, and we just say, "Spread it." There's that, I don't know, it's some meme or something floating around saying that they're, you know, gratitude is one of those currencies you just never go bankrupt with, so why not? Lisa Cummings: Oh, for sure. Yeah. Lexy Thompson: Yeah. Lisa Cummings: If you're talking to a team and whether it's an individual contributor or a manager, and they just want to start doing some of this at work and get a movement going, what are some of the practical tools and habits and things you can do? Give me some examples. Lexy Thompson: There's actually just saying so, right? It doesn't even have to be a big to-do, it could just be at the end of a team meeting. You could just say, "Hey Lisa, I really appreciate that you had my back on that project, and if you hadn't been there it wouldn't have come out anywhere near as good as it, and thank you for that." Then you know, you know what your behavior was and you'll do more of that most likely next time. Too, you can be really formal. You can put pictures or memes or whatever into e-mails and just shoot them whenever someone's knocked it out of the park for whatever reason. It doesn't have to be big stuff. I got a gratitude coupon once, and this is one of my favorite ones, and it was just a, "Hey thanks for saying 'hi' to me this morning. I needed that." We forget about those little things, about eye contact because we all have our heads down in or our phone or we're walking from here to there. In that vacuum people are just missing that human connection at some time or another. It helps us keep that stuff present. Lisa Cummings: I agree. It doesn't have to be big and formal. I like that you leave people with a concept that no one has to ordain this. It doesn't have to be a company movement. It can be as simple as you deciding that when you walk by another human at work you're going to make eye contact and make them feel seen, and that can be a form of it. Just taking the time to give credit. I had a leadership session recently where they were having some issues in the organization where employees were saying their managers were taking credit for the work they did. If you talked to the people managers, they have no idea that this is how that could even be perceived because they weren't intending to do that. People weren't feeling seen or appreciated, or that the credit was getting spread around, so essentially determined that they were all kind of being credit hoarders and takers instead of givers. Once they started shifting that and saying, "Hey, the more generous I am with thanking people, and sharing that, "Oh, they made our team look really successful. They made our team act successful, and so we're going to give as much credit as possible." That it just spins up into more desire to be productive and more desire to do it, not just to say it but also to do more of it. Lexy Thompson: Yeah, it does translate it into action. One of the most interesting phenomenons of it is the actual receiving of the gratitude. Most of us are willing and able to extend it. We may not have a practice of it and we may not be consistent, however when it's given back to us, sometimes it feels really awkward. There's also a learning about Self-awareness and even it could be a strengths conversation with yourself or your coach about what is that. What's going on with you when someone says, "Hey, thanks for a great job," and you feel awkward. Whatever that awkward looks like for you. Lisa Cummings: I think this is a really important topic because it is a gift that you can receive and if you make someone feel like it's less than, "Oh, no, no, no, it's not a big deal. Oh, no, no, no ..." and you're dismissive of the gratitude, it could actually be like you're turning it down. Lexy Thompson: Uh-huh. Lisa Cummings: What does a gracious receiver do? Lexy Thompson: They just smile and say, "Thank you." It's that simple. It's that simple, and it's that hard sometimes. I've had it happen to me. I'll do a keynote and I'm just as nervous every time I do it, and I could have done it a hundred times and someone will come up and say, "Thank you," and if it's more than that and they're trying to expand on that, I feel uncomfortable. I just stand there and I continue to say, "I really appreciate that." I actually let it into my heart. That's part of it, that I've gotten very deliberate with around heartful and mindful practice around receiving, and not just giving. Lisa Cummings: I know you've been talking a lot lately, because I know you, about letting love in and you take a set of talents like Command or Self-assurance or Intellection or some of the talents in your line-up that people might stereotype as to saying your tendencies could be to not lead with a big loving heart. I don't know your full journey. I just know where you are today and really focusing on that. For somebody who is feeling more like, "Hey, I lead with the logic side and it's all just about the facts for me, and I just try to keep emotions out of work." Why would someone consider leading with a big old heart the way that you were just describing? Lexy Thompson: Yeah. Thank you for that question. What comes up for me when you ask that question is my grandfather. He was a pretty savvy entrepreneur in a small town in Vermont, where I grew up, and when he was passing away, his cold, old hands were holding mine and I will never, ever forget this, and he said to me, "I won't ever wish I worked an extra day. I will have wished I loved a lot better." That stuck with me. I was young and I didn't really know what that meant at the time and I will tell you I'm just now starting to be able to manifest it in a way that I feel like I'm honoring that. I will also tell you I work with a lot of people that come out of really bad places in their life, whether it's the death of a loved one, or their near death, or some tragedy. They don't wish that they could do more of the non-emotional work, it is always the relational work. When I look at my lineup of strengths I have Connectedness and Relator in my top ten. They're my only blue lines to humanity because I can spend days and weeks alone, and be quite content but at the end of all of that what matters is the impact that I left and that impact isn't on the bottom line, it's with people. Lisa Cummings: Without them in your life what would your impact be on? It would just be on a thing. Lexy Thompson: I think we're in interesting times, being where technology is leading us and there are so many exciting things to explore with technology. This podcast would be a good example of that, right? This conversation wouldn't have existed. Lisa Cummings: What a great point. It would have only been able to be in a big network environment in a niche like people who are interested in strengths development. I don't think that's going to make it to primetime 20 years ago. Lexy Thompson: Yeah, I agree. Yeah. It's exciting because I think that we also have an opportunity to find the things we need, when we need them, rather than just when they show up. Lisa Cummings: Speaking of things that you need, when you need it, we can make some resources show up for people right now. We've referenced a couple of books and resources. We've mentioned Stephen Covey and The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. I have a feeling that you do a lot of reading and gathering and researching. I also know you have a class on communications that is darn good. I've flipped through a lot of your content. Maybe since you're going to officially move from Houston, Texas, to Austin, Texas, I can just sit myself down into one. Anyway, tell people about some of your very favorite resources on this concept of communication, on conflict, on gratitude, and be sure to share your course inside of that. Lexy Thompson: Around the communications piece, difficult conversations, crucial conversations, and non-violent communication are my favorites. They're easy to get to. They're usually on the top reader lists. I think they're all on Audible as well, which is my preferred mode right now. Around conflict, interestingly enough, it's not a conflict direct book but it's The Speed of Trust, also a Covey book, that I think answers a lot of the 'why' around 'why bother' and the value of building trust and the void that's there in conflict that is not trust, and how to bridge that gap. Another favorite of mine, a real simple read that made a huge impact when I was going through kind of my mission for my own life, was The Four Agreements. It's a very simple thing and yet so very hard to keep top of mind and in action, but it made a difference. Those would be some recommendations I have. Lisa Cummings: Great ones. Thank you. Lexy Thompson: Yeah, you're welcome. The one we've developed that's on our website, we'll have a link here, it's a communications course and it has some of the best of the ones I mentioned kind of woven in there. The thing that I think sets it apart, is that it has the assessment StrengthsFinders on the front so as you're moving through the model of communication, you actually bring yourself and all your glorious baggage with you. When you come out of the course, you are quite clear, or at least beginning to be clear, where some of your weak points are going to be, and then how to make corrective action when you need to. Lisa Cummings: I love it. I can't way to attend. It has been really cool exploring all of our glorious baggage - yours, mine, the listeners' thinking of their own. We'll make sure that we link up to all the resources that Lexy just mentioned, so that you can get your hands on those books and I'm with you, The Four Agreements, you don't even have to go to Audible because it's just teeny, it's a teeny little thing. Lexy Thompson: Yeah, it is. Lisa Cummings: There you go. It's like a back pocket size. Lexy Thompson: It is. Lisa Cummings: We'll get them all the links to that and to your course. I want to thank you, everyone, for listening again to Lead Through Strengths. Remember, using your strengths at work makes you a stronger performer at work.

Sometimes, you just don’t feel it. After attempting to record a different episode for this week’s podcast and struggling to get it done, I had a stroke of insight about why I was feeling so indifferent to doing the work. Instead of spending the morning deep in my own work, I had instead spent it consuming other people’s content. I fell down the rabbit hole of link after link after link, and before I knew it, I had whittled away too much time ingesting information and not making anything. This noticing gave the idea for today’s podcast as I experiment with a new way of navigating the way I do my work. I identified three core things I need to be putting my attention toward in 2017 to grow my business. And while none of this is particularly new, what was clear is that the order of when I do these three things matters. A lot. Listen to today’s episode and find out the three things I’m doing to achieve more this year.  Recommended Resources The case for drinking as much coffee as you like StrengthsFinders 2.0 by Tom Rath What questions to ask when your business needs to change CEO Fast Track Guide  

Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it. ~~ Bruce Lee Click Below to Listen to Today's Show Insert Podcast Link Here   Don't go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it. Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself. . . . Who Do You Think You Are? Who are you? What is it to be yourself? About three years ago, I started wondering who I was, or more specifically I was looking for what my calling was. I wasn't happy with my current career choice. I had worked in the field for many years but wasn't feeling it any more. I had actually changed careers from that career about 5 years earlier, but went back into it after the mortgage crash. I had left IT and Enterprise Content Management and went into a sales role as a Loan Officer. I loved it, but the mortgage crash dashed that career.   At the end of that run, I also purchased a Coffee News franchise. I became a publisher of "Good News" and sold advertising to local businesses. I loved it, too.     While doing these two careers I started attending Business Networking International (BNI) and learned how to network.   I joined and worked in the local Chambers of Commerce. I loved it. I loved to network with the local business and community leaders. I loved helping businesses grow and build their business and networks. Unfortunately, the economy that was driven by the real estate and building market in the local areas I worked went down considerably and that business failed as well. I was unable to pay the bills, unable to afford insurance, etc. I found a part-time job working at a local grocery store bakery for a couple years and work my way to a Bakery Manager position. I always strive to be my best and excel. I couldn't just be a bakery clerk. But, this wasn't what I wanted to do forever. I started looking for something with my prior experience and skills that could bring in a good salary. I was offered a position in the field I had left before in Enterprise Content Management in Lending and moved to California. After a couple years I realized I wasn't happy doing this. It paid well. I was well respected among my peers, but I just didn't enjoy it anymore. I wasn't feeling like I was making an impact. I wasn't feeling satisfied or significant. I heard about and then read Jeff Goins' book, The Art Of Work. Jeff said to think about what you were doing when you were the happiest in your life. What were you doing when you loved going to work or what did you do when you weren't at work that made you the happiest? Pick up Jeff's book here: On GoalGettingBook.com / Audible or [amazon template=image&chan=goalgettingpodcast&asin=0718022076] I sat down one day when I went for an early morning walk in the East Bay hills near my house, which I loved to do. I started thinking about when i was happiest. I realized it was when i was when I was doing these things: meeting new people marketing business networking working with and building communities online and offline speaking at events training people motivating others to reach and achieve their goals social media writing I joined a new Toastmasters club our company started so I could improve my public speaking and start meeting new people in the company. I started taking marketing and social media classes at UC Berkeley Extension. I decided I wanted to start working towards a career in marketing, social media, public speaking. I realized that the type of career that would work well for what I wanted to do, what I wanted to be, what would make me happy and satisfied was something in the line of Community Management. I started researching and learning. This was who I was. This is what would make me happy. Really?  How did I know? This has been a long discourse to get to the point of this podcast episode, which is to talk about "Who Do You Think You Are?"  If, as Bruce Lee says, you should "be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself" then shouldn't you know who you really are? How the heck do you do that? I started by doing what Jeff Goins suggested. I did find my dream job as a Community Manager. One of the great benefits of our company is that they value their employees. One of the benefits is they often allow us to take personality tests. Yes, there are personality tests. I've taken a few over the years, but I never really took the results and looked at what they meant. They are developed to give you an idea of the strengths and weaknesses you have based on your personality. YOUR PERSONALITY, not someone else's. As Bruce said, "don't look for a successful personality and duplicate......" There are several of these types of tests: Gallup StrengthsFinder Myers-Briggs DISC 16 Personalities and more. . . . We have been given the opportunity to take a couple of these this year and I have been amazingly surprised how accurate they are. I took the Gallup StrengthsFinder and the 16 Personalities tests. Gallup StrengthsFinder The StrengthsFinder Test cost a few dollars to take, but it is well worth it. There are 34 Themes in this test. We signed up for the Top 5 Themes test that shows your 5 themes that define the majority of your personality. My top 5 are: Strategic Activator Self-Assurance Significance Futuristic These are my most dominant themes of the 34 the test shows. These are very important. The program also puts together an Action Plan for you to maximize these strengths. To help show what this means, here are the top 2 of 5: Strategic The Strategic theme enables you to sort through the clutter and find the best route. It is not a skill that can be taught. It is a distinct way of thinking, a special perspective on the world at large. This perspective allows you to see patterns where others simply see complexity. Mindful of these patterns, you play out alternative scenarios, always asking, “What if this happened? Okay, well what if this happened?” This recurring question helps you see around the next corner. There you can evaluate accurately the potential obstacles. Guided by where you see each path leading, you start to make selections. You discard the paths that lead nowhere. You discard the paths that lead straight into resistance. You discard the paths that lead into a fog of confusion. You cull and make selections until you arrive at the chosen path—your strategy. Armed with your strategy, you strike forward. This is your Strategic theme at work: “What if?” Select. Strike. Activator “When can we start?” This is a recurring question in your life. You are impatient for action. You may concede that analysis has its uses or that debate and discussion can occasionally yield some valuable insights, but deep down you know that only action is real. Only action can make things happen. Only action leads to performance. Once a decision is made, you cannot not act. Others may worry that “there are still some things we don’t know,” but this doesn’t seem to slow you. If the decision has been made to go across town, you know that the fastest way to get there is to go . . 16 Personalties When I took the 16 Personalities test, which is FREE, I find I am an ENFJ - The Protagonist. You can learn what each personality is and the characteristics of each. Like the StrengthsFinders test, I found the 16 Personalities test to be pretty accurate. Here are a couple of points from this test that I feel describe me: ENFJs are genuine, caring people who talk the talk and walk the walk, and nothing makes them happier than leading the charge, uniting and motivating their team with infectious enthusiasm. Charismatic – Charm and popularity are qualities ENFJs have in spades. They instinctively know how to capture an audience, and pick up on mood and motivation in ways that allow them to communicate with reason, emotion, passion, restraint – whatever the situation calls for. Talented imitators, ENFJs are able to shift their tone and manner to reflect the needs of the audience, while still maintaining their own voice. Altruistic – Uniting these qualities is ENFJs' unyielding desire to do good in and for their communities, be it in their own home or the global stage. Warm and selfless, ENFJs genuinely believe that if they can just bring people together, they can do a world of good. Natural Leaders – More than seeking authority themselves, ENFJs often end up in leadership roles at the request of others, cheered on by the many admirers of their strong personality and positive vision. Very interesting, and I have to agree they are fairly accurate as well. Essentially both tests say the same things about my personality. If you look at these traits and characteristics of my personality and the things that made me the happiest when I was doing them, you can see why. It is me. It is who I am.  What's the point of all of this? It's to understand what Bruce Lee is said, AND it is to understand YOU. If you want to be successful at your career, if you want to live a happy, satisfied, fulfilling life, then you need to be you. You need to be yourself, express yourself and have faith in yourself. Find your calling. If you are in your calling, live it with passion. Find these personality strengths and take the action needed to use them for your life. I have a career now doing what I am. I am a Community Manager for the company I work for. I am a Podcaster, helping people set and achieve their goals. I help people take action and Get The Goals They Set. I am the happiest I've been in a long time doing what I love and what I am. Are You?  Take one or many of these tests if you haven't. Be honest when taking them. Find out who you really are and then set your goals to be what you are.  If your goals are not in alignment with who you are, then you will have the hardest time achieving them. Your subconscious mind will work to sabotage you. Don't let your mind play goalie for the other team! Go Out Today - Be Yourself, Express Yourself, Have Faith in Yourself. Be You and Be Successful   I get a lot of my quotes from great books that I read. And if you like to listen to books on Audio like I do, I put together a deal with Audible to give Goal Getting Podcast listeners a FREE Audiobook of your choice AND a 30 Day Trial of Audible's service to try them out. Just click the link in the Blue Box to get to the Audible sign up! Get Your Free Audiobook Here  ~~~~ Goal Getting Masters Private Facebook Group ~~~~ Are you a Goal Getter that wants to learn to Master Goal Getting! We've started a private Facebook Group to have a place for you to meet other like-minded, Goal-Oriented people that will support you and help you Get The Goals You Set. If you want to be a part of the Goal Getting Masters Group, go to Goal Getting Podcast.com / masters Sign up and I will add you to the group. Come prepared to participate and share your goals with other Goal Getters.       If you like our podcast you can easily go Subscribe to our show on iTunes at Goal Getting Podcast.com/itunes   QUICK & EASY - Click here to go leave a review on iTunes   Make Today a Great Day! Please follow us below on your favorite social media channel.  We would love to hear from you there, too. Send us a Tweet, or Instagram Like. You can connect with us on your favorite by going to GoalGettingPodcast.com / and then Twitter or Facebook, or Instagram They will easily take you to the social media platforms and make it easy to follow us. Like our Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/GoalGettingPodcast Follow us on Twitter: Podcast at @GoalsPodcast Tony Woodall, Your Host at @TonyWCMB   Follow us on Instagram at @GoalGettingPodcast  

On this episode of Rhodes to Success I interview Lee Caraher who is an entrepreneur and CEO with more than twenty years experience building great high producing intergenerational work teams that get a lot done and have fun at the same time. Lee is an acclaimed communications strategist known for her practical solutions to big problems. She is the founder of Double Forte and has figured out the secret to working well with millennial clients and staffers. Lee is the author of Millennials and Management: The Essential Guide to Making it Work at Work. During the podcast Jessica and Lee discuss the profile of millennials, negativity surrounding the term, and the secret to working with millennials and teams.   Main Questions Asked -       How do you define and what are the characteristics of millennials? -       Talk about your struggle with hiring millennials. -       What was the point where you figured out how to work with millennial clients and staffers? -       What is the secret to working with a different generation?   Key Lessons Learned  -       Everyone wants his or her process to be better but no one wants to have it discounted.   Profile of Millennials -       Millennials are the 15-35 year old age group also known as GenY. -       The midway point for this generation was the year 2000, which is why they are called millennials. -       Even though your age can be in a different generation your mindset can be that of a millennial.   Negativity of the Term Millennial -       The term millennial is often seen negatively and a lot of millennials don't even want to be known as such. -       Millennials can be seen as entitled, job hoppers, expecting rewards just for showing up, and lazy. -       Lee believes that millennials are conditioned by the way they grew up.   Working With Millennials -       If you don't have millennials in your business your business doesn't have a future. -       Lee went back to the basics of leadership management by reading a number of management books. -       Things that work for other generations don't work for millennials. -       If you do things to help millennials get engaged and stick with you, everyone benefits. -       Boomers are the ‘wait my turn' generation but millennials have never had to wait as they've always had instant access. -       Millennials have grown up with amazing access to information and people, the ability to make a change, expectations of access and no hierarchy. -       Millennials require a lot of context and ‘just do it because I said so' won't work. The more you provide context the better.   Two Key Tips for Working With Millennials -       1. Bring the context of your project to the forefront of the conversation and ask for people's input. -       2. Do a project the established way first and then improve it.   Teams & Strengths -       Know what personality types are within your team and don't be afraid to conduct MBTI and Strengths Finders tests. -       Figure out the dynamics within your team so you can accommodate them. -       Regardless of age, discover how people optimize their engagement and how they will work with others. -       WOO is the ability to keep talking until someone comes to your side and believes in you. -       Often when you are young on a team you don't get the creditability for having strategic ability. Strategy isn't earned it is a strength. -       It takes 30-60 days to get used to new processes. -       If you're not easy to work with then you don't have a business in the client service economy.   Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!   The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic    Links to Resources Mentioned Lee Caraher Double Forte Millennials and Management (book) The Art of Conversation (book) Stephen Covey Daniel Goleman Pat Lencioni Strength Finders MBTI