Harness the power of leadership and embrace accountability with us in this enlightening conversation. We promise you insights, stories, and practical tips that can redefine your leadership trajectory. We'll reveal the importance of leaders inviting feedback, a practice not as common as it should be. Drawing from our personal experiences, we share how a leader's personality can influence a room's energy and the substantial growth our organization has witnessed from improved conversation and behavior observation.
Imagine a workspace where mistakes are not shamed but discussed openly. Intrigued? Join us as we delve into the crucial role of humility and learning from our errors. We'll guide you on fostering a team dynamic that promotes honest discussions about mistakes without any fear of judgement. We also shed light on 'guardrails' - a concept designed to avoid the repetition of errors.
Harness the power of leadership and embrace accountability with us in this enlightening conversation. We promise you insights, stories, and practical tips that can redefine your leadership trajectory. We'll reveal the importance of leaders inviting feedback, a practice not as common as it should be. Drawing from our personal experiences, we share how a leader's personality can influence a room's energy and the substantial growth our organization has witnessed from improved conversation and behavior observation.
Imagine a workspace where mistakes are not shamed but discussed openly. Intrigued? Join us as we delve into the crucial role of humility and learning from our errors. We'll guide you on fostering a team dynamic that promotes honest discussions about mistakes without any fear of judgement. We also shed light on 'guardrails' - a concept designed to avoid the repetition of errors.
📖 To access Travis' complete book list, visit his storehere
Speaker 1:
This is unleashing leadership, and I'm your host, travis Moss, and you are listening to our special eight episode mini series on our team interview for the ideal team player let's jump right in the top's got to be held accountable. You've got to come to the top and you've got to say I want to help change the culture, but it starts with you, buddy, right, and here's a tool that you can use Take it or leave it, but this is where it starts. And then somebody's got to accept that and receive that and do something with it. You know and I think that that's the amazing thing is is I think that that's in reflection how this has happened, whether it's divine intervention or I mean, like you don't know how sometimes people come together for the right reasons at the right times but it certainly has made a dramatic impact, I think, in some of the work that we're doing. You know that as you continue to progress, you'll be more and more involved in you know.
Speaker 2:
And for me, I think you know, in case you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly a shrinking violet, right? But I also acknowledge that and, david, I've talked about this before where I know that I have the personality and I have the wherewithal, because of the fact that I'm not a shrinking violet, like I can bring an energy in a room really high, but I can also bring that energy really low, and so, like I always have to be very aware of that. But in part of that it's like okay, if I can use that to inspire other, like if people see me use my non shrinking violet voice to be able to say things that are important, like maybe that will inspire people to be able to say that are important to them and I that's what I very desperately want to have happen.
Speaker 3:
So two things that I just want to make sure aren't overlooked. So we're sitting like just that example of you, right, you're okay, you're not on a management team or leadership team, but you're a leader at the company, right, and it's a diagram by made by John Maxwell, I believe, the five levels of leadership, right, the bottom level is position right. So that's the I have to. I have to follow you because you're of your position, right, you're marked as a leader because of your title, so I have to follow you. That's the bottom level of being a leader. Right, and the top is the pinnacle right. So that's because of what you're doing, right, because I respect you, how you act, your actions, I follow you as a leader.
Speaker 3:
I don't care what your title is, I don't care what anyone's telling me I have to do or not do. I'm following you because I respect what you're doing and the example that you're setting, right. So that's what we're saying there. And the other point I don't think it should be overlooked because we talked about it briefly, like it's a normal thing. It's not normal. So, travis, you talked about how you'll give me a call on a random night and ask was I a jackass there or how was that handled?
Speaker 3:
That's not normal for executives or leaders to do that. My whole experience go back to the consulting world. I'm sitting at tables with executives all the time and they have the biggest egos. They're never wrong, right. They never make a hard decision, but they're never wrong, right. So this is what I say. This is what everybody does. Go do it. I never heard one of them ask for feedback, ask how they should approach something. I can't imagine what was happening behind the closed doors either. So the fact that that's the example that I see, right, travis calls me. Well, I'm going to call Travis, or I'm going to call somebody else and say how did I handle that? Because that's what I see. So I want to emulate that. I want to get that feedback as well. I don't care title position, anything like that. I'm learning just as everybody else is. So that's a great example and that's not normal. So that's something that's very important to call out is that that's happening at the highest level. That's the example you follow.
Speaker 2:
And I want to add just a little schmidge to that, the fact that I kind of on the lower level of things, I have so many of those types of interactions with other people, other colleagues. They're like hey, I just you know somebody's leading this meeting, I'll get a phone call. Hey, this happened. Do you like what is the feedback that you have on this particular you know part of the conversation and so this is happening through the organization, which I love. I think it's fantastic to be able to get that feedback and be able to provide the feedback. So I think that you know, it's really starting to kind of flow through.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, we kind of had to force this framework in, right. I mean, dave, you're a little bit more on the inner workings of it and just you've seen it start to unfold and seeing it start to show up in other places. This is something that you have to do deliberately. You, from an organizational standpoint, you need to have enough fortitude and enough belief in the people that you've pulled together that you can handle this right, because you this is not for the faint of heart there's going to be people that you find out don't match up right. But then, at the other end, what you're seeing in these meetings and these people following up with you is what Dave was just saying. They're starting to mimic the behaviors and I've seen the amount of growth we've had over the last, let's say, year really six to 12 months. The velocity of it is incredible and I think it's because everybody's having much better conversations about things that they're observing. They're not taking everything and saying, oh, what's that about? Should I be taking this personal and burying that in their heart. They're saying, hey, this happened. What should I be thinking about this, what don't I know? And then we have better conversations and people are like okay, and then a lot of times, the feedback is could we do it better next time? And it's like, yes, we could. Okay, great, let's just move on. And there's not a lot of grudges and stuff being held there anymore, whereas before, if you leave dark closets, people are gonna shove them full of stuff, Right, like if you leave, if you have an empty closet, people are gonna find stuff to put in it and hide in it forever, and it's just like this, I think, has helped us not do that.
Speaker 1:
And one thing I do wanna say, too, is that people follow you because they respect you. And what do they respect? People respect the virtues. They don't respect what you say, what you say. People say a lot of things. People don't respect what people say. People respect what people do when you're talking about the virtues humble, hungry and smart people respect you, jess, and they respect some of the work that you're doing. Because you're doing it, you're saying these things are important, even if you're not necessarily talking about the framework You're indicating in a way that is saying this is an important way to act and an important way to carry yourself, Because you're surrounded with people who have similar characteristics, the ones who are buying into it.
Speaker 1:
They're the ones who are already strong in those categories. Now they're learning how to have a voice, like you have. They're learning how to talk about it. The ones who are pushing back against it, the ones who are really creating any of that friction. They're telling you what you need to know. They're not at that same place. They're not buying into that. You just leadership, dave, I don't know where in the hierarchy of this is. I think you said it was at the top, but people respect you, but they respect you because of what you do. Maybe that's the ultimate form of accountability.
Speaker 2:
Yes, Actions speak the loudest. It never really occurred to me until you said this, just in how the feedback after the meetings like oh, was I a jackass. I think that historically, in other companies in particular, you would call people after a meeting and be like oh my gosh, can you believe that someone said this and did it and I? It never even dawned on me until you said that. But none of that happens. It is truly a productive conversation. If those conversations have been after the fact, they're productive or they're like hey, I totally. And even if it's a situation where somebody's like did I misunderstand what they were trying to communicate? What were they saying? It's a productive conversation, it's just not a bitch session.
Speaker 1:
Sometimes they would normally be.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, that's pretty cool Because you're teaching them how to do it. The more of us who are doing it this way, the more of us who are approaching communication issues this way by saying, okay, I trust that person's on the same page as me, but we're miscommunicating about something. Right now They've got an idea. Maybe either I didn't explain it well, they didn't listen well, they didn't write notes down, they were in a hurry, I was in a hurry. Maybe in my head it's really simple, but in reality it's much more complicated, or something like that. It really helps you not be afraid to go talk to that person. Like you're saying, the more people who are doing it, the faster you're able to address misconceptions. Because I don't care who you are, every couple who's in deep, deep love or whatever your relationship is, you're going to have misconceptions. You're going to take things completely wrong. Sometimes You're going to have to figure it out.
Speaker 1:
In Reqsa, some people say, nope, never a problem. I would say well, how hard are you really trying to grow if you never have friction in your life? Because to grow is to change and to change is to have friction. To learn is to have friction, because when you learn, you look at the things that you thought you knew and you go oh, whoops, that was really stupid. And this is why they say hindsight's 20-20. You think you're doing something perfect right now. In five years from now, when you know what you don't know now, you're going to be like wow, look at it, it's not even you know. I went from a moment.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, it's holy shit, like I Basically was drinking on a paper cup and now it's made out of diamonds, right. It's like it's that bizarrely Incredible when you see how far you can grow over a short amount of time. You look back and you say I thought I really knew what I was doing. Then I Was absolutely clueless and and and I mean, that's life, that's our journey that we're on, and if you're not trying to do that, then you're gonna. You're probably not gonna have these conversations you know think about in these situations.
Speaker 3:
Think about how the conversations happen. Like what? Why is this happening? Why is it not a bitch fest, like you said just right, like Because you walk? You're walking in the door and you have this understanding now and it's talked about, yes, right, this framework that we keep referring to. But the key there and I heard it trust and respect. I Trust you and I respect you, jess, because I know what you're doing. I know you're bought into the framework and you're improving and you're developing and you're spreading it amongst the company, right. So I Know I'll have a productive conversation. I trust it's gonna happen. I respect you. There's no question I will. I don't look at it as you're bitching about something or here comes another complaint, or like what wasn't perfect this time for you. That's not a thought when I trust your approach to it and I respect you, right. So that's the key overall. On that same page, there's no question about the intention of anything.
Speaker 2:
Taking over the world man.
Speaker 1:
Well, I think it helps too, and one of the things I try to Teach people on, it's hard for them when they first come and join seed and they first get into our atmosphere. One of the things I try to teach them is you know, own your mistakes, because it's not your mistake that you're gonna get in trouble for. If you are making a Decision or doing something with the right intentions and you make a mistake, you make a mistake. We'll look at the process, we'll look at the training. We'll, you know, figure out what it is that's causing the mistakes to happen. So it's very easy to move on from a mistake. It's not a. It's not a. There's no going home at night and crying because you made a mistake and you're afraid, right, or that you got to hide it, or that you have to fight for your survival. If you make a mistake, if you're on the right framework, if you make a mistake, though, because you're not humble, if you make a mistake because you're getting greedy, you know. If you make a mistake because you're acting like an idiot, right, and you just don't care about anybody else, those are mistakes you got to own Right. No, those are mistakes, that, those are your problem. But if you're not doing those things and you make a mistake, you, that's where the rest of the team can say you know what Dave or Travis will use me. Travis, you made a mistake, but we believe in you because of what you do and what you stand for and the fact that you learn every time you make a mistake. So we're gonna make mistakes.
Speaker 1:
Every single person, at every single level, is gonna make a mistake at least once. Not a single one of us are perfect. Probably more often than we want to admit, we make mistakes. But if you're able to communicate and say okay, that was a mistake, because blah, blah, blah, what do we need to do to help make sure that we don't get into this again? Think about it Not everybody has to repeat every mistake. You made them. Like.
Speaker 1:
If you're humble enough and you make a mistake, it's not embarrassing when you say I made a mistake. I mean, it can be a little bit embarrassing, but it's not like some people melt down if they get called out for anything. It's like okay, you made a mistake, let's talk about the mistake. Let's talk with the team about the mistake and why it was a mistake, so that everybody understands that's a mistake and this is what we're going to do. If we make that mistake, we're going to do this, this and this, and this is what we're going to do so we can eliminate that mistake.
Speaker 1:
Now everybody understands why we're doing something. Sometimes we roll out policies and procedures because we're like, oh, somebody made a mistake and we need to fix that so nobody can make the mistake again. And everybody else is looking around going, well, how to make a mistake? Why are you punishing me? And it's like it's not punishment. It is because you know we realized when that happened, this, this and this wasn't set up, so that accident, I mean, why do they put guardrails, you know, around roads?
Speaker 2:
In case you make a mistake For Kayla's driving.
Speaker 1:
Right To make sure that if you make a mistake, you don't go too far, and you know what I mean. Like it's, but it's the same thing. It's you're going to make mistakes, but it's creating an environment where, when you make a mistake, we can leverage the benefit of the mistake. We got to pay for the mistake one way or another. We're going to pay for it. We're going to pay for it as a team because we're a team and we're all as long as we're all bought into this. If you're not bought into this, you're going to pay for the mistake yourself. That's your problem. But if you're bought into this and you're making the mistake, but with the right intentions, then as a team we're going to fix it and as a team we're going to move on, because that's what you do.
Speaker 1:
People talk about family all the time. What's good family? Good family handles their business this way, Right? Broken families? Don't Broken families blame and kick people out and that kind of and shame people, Right, but good families, they say look, we're going to handle this together, we're in this together.
Speaker 2:
It's a synergy right Like that's you get the support If you're part of a team, the ideal team player, if there's a lot of ideal team players, you're going to have the latitude, you're going to have the support. When people, when someone screws up, they're going to be like that's okay, I got you, I can help with this. I can help with that, that's okay, I got you, and it's. It really is a support mechanism.